Chocolate Orange Mince Pies

I'm huge fan of baking and I love having Christmas as an excuse to cook up plenty of treats. Mince pies are definitely festive favourites of mine, so when I received a recipe book as a present and found the 'chocolate mince pie' recipe inside I couldn't help but try it out.

I've tried a few different recipes since then and the BBC Food one has to be my favourite.

I added a couple of handfuls of cranberries to the mincemeat and cut out small circles rather than covering the top with pastry but other than that I've kept the same recipe.

I'd love to try out adding orange zest to the pastry to add an extra orangey kick.

What's your favourite Christmas recipe?

(apologies for the rubbish photo, I didn't have my camera with me - bad blogger!)

Foody Friday - Goats Cheese Pasta

I have my dad to thank for this amazing recipe, it's now one of my favourite meals and it's so quick and easy to make, which of course makes it even better! This recipe serves two but can easily be adapted.

Ingredients:
75g Butter (or alternative)
1-2tsp Crushed Chilli (adjust to taste)
2tsp Rosemary
220g Green Beans
150g Pasta
125g Soft Goats Cheese (make sure you get the type that is in my picture)
30g Pine Nuts

• Boil the pasta in a large pan.
• Melt the butter in a small pan and add the chilli and rosemary. Leave on a low heat for 2-3 minutes before adding the green beans, cook green beans until soft.
• Toast the pine nuts under the grill until golden brown.
• Remove green beans from heat when they are soft.
• When pasta is cooked, drain and return to the large pan.
• Add the butter mixture to the pasta and mix.
• Stir the goats cheese into the pasta until mixed well.
• Serve sprinkled with toasted pine nuts.
• Enjoy!

Foody Friday - Cranberry and White Chocolate Flapjack

I love flapjack but the same old plain or raisin variety gets a bit boring so I thought I'd create something a bit more exciting, and here is it!

Ingredients:
175g Butter
175g Golden Syrup
175g Muscovado Sugar
350g Oats
75g Cranberries
50g White Chocolate

 

• Preheat the oven to 150°C, Gas Mark 2.
• Start to melt the butter in a large pan and grease and line a 20cmx20cm cake tin.
• Once the butter has started to melt, add the syrup and sugar until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
• Stir the oats into the syrup mixture and mix well.
• Add the cranberries to the mixture and mix.

• Transfer the mixture to the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes.
• Leave to cool in the tin before turning out onto a chopping board and cutting into portions.
• When the flapjack is completely cool, melt the chocolate and drizzle over the flapjack pieces using a spoon.
• Leave the chocolate to set.
• Enjoy!

x

Ginger Cake Recipe

I love to bake, I find it so relaxing (eating the finished product isn't too bad either). I've been waiting to share this ginger cake recipe with you, I was first given the recipe back in secondary school and was so proud of myself when I baked it at home for my parents. The ginger cake doesn't call for too many ingredients and is relatively quick to make.

This is still one of my 'go-to' recipes, it tastes great and keeps well for a few days.

It's great plain or with lemon glacé icing drizzled over, any other icing would probably be too much as the cake itself is very dense.

Ingredients
75g soft unsalted butter
200g self raising flour
50g caster sugar
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g golden syrup
1 egg
4 tbsp milk (plus a little extra if required)

Equipment
Loaf tin (or other cake tin of a similar size)
Pan
Sieve
Mixing bowl
Small bowl/jug
Tablespoon
Wooden spoon

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (gas mark 3) and grease and line the baking tin.
• Put the margarine, sugar and golden syrup into the pan over a low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger into the mixing bowl and mix. Make a well in the centre.
• Beat the egg and 3tbsp milk in a jug and pour into the well with the contents of the pan.
• Mix into a thick batter and add more milk if required.
• Transfer the mixture to the tin and level the mixture.
• Bake for around 35 minutes (until an inserted knife comes out clean and the cake bounces back if pushed).
• Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin, finish cooling on a cooling rack.

Unfortunately when making glacé icing I tend to make up the quantities as I go along so I can't tell you exactly what I used, although the Silverspoon website suggests 125g icing sugar (sieved, else you'll end up with lumpy icing!) to 1tbsp water. I then add lemon juice to taste. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Do you have a treasured childhood recipe?