Lemon Posset with Fresh Strawberries

Hurrah for Friday! It's been a long busy week and I'm really looking forward to the weekend. This is a really quick and easy dessert to make. I had some leftover double cream that was near exipiring so I did a quick search on google and came up with lemon posset. This is actually something I wanted to make for my New Year's Day Afternoon Tea but I never got round to it. I also had some fresh strawberries in the fridge so I did a mini layered dessert with fresh strawberries, lemon posset and more fresh strawberries. It was really zingy and fruity and felt quite refreshing despite the cream in there. 

I'm sending this to No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. I used up leftover cream that was near expiring and some fresh strawberries for this recipe.

 cooking the lemon posset 

Recipe from BBC Good Food 

600mls double cream
200g golden caster sugar
zest and juice of 3 lemons
fresh strawberries (optional)

• Place and cream and sugar in a large saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has melted.
• Simmer gently once the mixture is bubbling and turn off the heat.
• Add the lemon juice and lemon zest and stir.
• Allow to cool in the pan before dividing into serving dishes.
• Chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
• I placed a layer of chopped strawberries followed by the lemon posset and more fresh strawberries. 

Hot Cross Buns

If you read my blog regularly you will see that I love baking cakes, cupcakes and cookies. I've started to bake more with pastry recently which includes trying different types of pastry and I even had a go at hot water pastry but that's for another post. Bread baking is a different matter and I've tended to stray away from baking bread or dough.  

J has been asking for hot cross buns since before Easter. It's traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the UK and in many other countries. Unfortunately I didn't get round to baking it and Easter flew by in the blink of an eye.  A week after Easter and J was still asking for his hot cross buns so I decided to give it a go. 

I used a Paul Hollywood recipe from BBC Good Food and followed it exactly. As it's my first time baking hot cross buns I decided not to stray from the recipe. The dough needed to prove 3 times and by the time I finished baking this it was almost dinnertime! Luckily we had a busy day doing some home improvements and did not have a chance to have lunch so these were a welcome treat with a cup of tea. I also gave some to our lovely neighbours next door and to our new neighbours who moved in a few weeks ago. 

They were very impressed with the homemade hot cross buns and so were we. The buns were soft and fruity and tasted so much better than the shop bought ones. We had them warm from the oven with lashings of butter and they tasted heavenly. We also had them toasted the next day with some homemade marmalade (from a friend) and it tasted just as good. 

I'm sending this to Bready, Steady, Go! hosted by Jen from Jen's Food and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy Food For Families.  Both Jen and Michelle are keen bread bakers so they've decided to host this challenge together. I think it has a great challenge name which was chosen by one of Michelle's daughters. 

It's also going to Treat Petite hosted by Kat from The Baking Eplorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is Hello Spring. 

Food Year Link Up hosted by Charlotte from My Recipe Book. These are of course for Easter.

Finally to Let's Cook for Easter hosted by Nayna from Simply Food.

 bread flour with salt, yeast and sugar 

 the dough is soft and crumbly...

 ...but becomes smooth and glossy after kneading 

 adding in the fruit after allowing the dough to prove 

 looks delicious!

 I weighed each bun as suggested to ensure even cooking 

 The cross is made from a flour and water paste 

 The glaze gives it a really nice shine 

 Lashings of butter! 

Recipe from BBC Good Food 

Spinach, Ricotta and Mushroom Quiche

This is one of the tastiest quiches I've made. Although I'm not vegetarian, I have found that the vegetarian quiches tend to taste better than the meat/fish ones. This broccoli and red pepper quiche was a real hit at my Christmas party last year and I've had repeat requests to bake it again. However, this may well trump that as it was just so tasty! I was a little worried about a soggy bottom particularly as the recipe calls for spinach and mushroom - two ingredients that excrete a lot of water whilst cooking. I made sure I strained the spinach well ensuring it was very dry before using in the quiche.  The mushrooms were roasted in the oven first so you can discard any excess water.  The quiche looks very impressive with the large mushrooms on top with the green spinach poking through. The mustard and ricotta worked well and really brought all the flavours together. 

I'm sending this to Extra Veg hosted this month by Jo from Jo's Kitchen on behalf of Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy Food For Families.

Cooking with herbs hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage as the recipe uses thyme. 

Vegetable Palette hosted by Shaheen from A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table. The theme this month is white vegetables and these large flat mushrooms are definitely white! 

Simple and in Season hosted by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours on behalf of Ren. Spinach is available all year round but it's in season in spring. 

 mix the ricotta cheese with grainy mustard 

 spread cheese/mustard layer on the bottom of the quiche 

 add the cooked and strained spinach 

 arrange the flat mushrooms on top 

 pour in the cream/egg mixture 

 Ready to eat! I took this to work so I don't have any pictures of the cut slice. 

Recipe adapted slightly from BBC Food which is a James Martin recipe from Saturday Kitchen

For the pastry (or use ready made)
280g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
140g cold butter, cut into pieces
8 tablespoons cold water

For the filling

4 large flat mushrooms 

Handful of thyme leaves

400g spinach leaves

250g ricotta cheese 

1 tablespoon grainy mustard

3 egg yolks

300ml double cream 

salt and pepper

• To make the pastry using a food processor - place the flour and butter and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly add the water one tablespoon at a time until a dough forms. 
• Alternatively, rub the butter and flour together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly add water one tablespoon at a time until a dough forms. 
• Roll into a ball, wrap with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking. 
• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line your tart tin. 
• Use a small ball of pastry scrap to press the pastry into the corners of the tin. 
• Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200C.
• Line the tart case with kitchen foil or baking paper and fill with baking beans. 
• Blind bake for 20 minutes, then remove the beans and foil/paper and continue baking for 5 - 10 minutes until the pastry is light brown.
• Grease a 25cm/10in loose-bottomed tart tin with butter.
• At the same time, place the mushrooms onto a baking tray and sprinkle with thyme leaves. 
• Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes or until they start to soften and excrete water. Discard any excess water.
• Bring a large pan of water to boil and add a tablepoon of olive oil. Add the spinach and cook until it's just wilted.
• Drain twice and press with a paper towel to ensure that the spinach is dry. Season with salt and pepper. 
• Place the ricotta into a bowl and stir in the grainy mustard. 
• Spoon the mustard and ricotta mixture into the bottom of the tart case, top with the wilted spinach, and carefully place the roasted mushrooms on top.
• Place the egg yolks and cream into a bowl and whisk until mixed. 
• Pour this mixture into the tart case.
• Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until it's golden brown and gently bubbling.
• Allow to cool before slicing. 

Banana and Berry Lemon Muffins

The sun is shining and the daffodils are blooming. Spring has definitely arrived. These muffins are perfect for spring as it's full of berries, banana and lemon. They are moist and fruity and you definitely get some of your five a day in this. I adapted a muffin recipe from BBC good Food and used up leftover fruit that I had. It was also a good chance to try out the lemon extract paste from Taylor & Colledge. They kindly sent me a range of their new flavour pastes to try. The range includes vanilla bean, lavender, lemon, coconut, almond and peppermint. They come in a handy tube and it's very easy to use with no mess. The lemon one smells really nice and lemony and the paste is a good consistency - not too thick and not too thin. These are a great way to add flavour to your bakes. 

I'm sending these muffins to AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter ths month is B for banana and blueberries.

Treat Petite hosted by Kat from The Baking Eplorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is Hello Spring. 

Credit Crunch Munch guest hosted by Michelle from Utterly Scrummy. The challenge is run by Camilla from Fab Food 4 All and Helen from Fuss Free Flavours. This is quite a frugal recipe as it uses up store cupboard ingredients and leftover fruit. I didn't buy anything new for this recipe. If you don't have the lemon paste, a bit of fresh lemon juice and zest will suffice or you can omit it.

No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. I used up lots of leftover fruit and yellowing bananas for this recipe. 

  

 adding lemon paste 

 adding berries 

 sprinkle some chopped strawberries before baking

Makes 12 muffins

250g flour
115g brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 ripe bananas
125mls vegetable oil
60mls milk
60mls honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
85g blueberries
220g strawberries - keep aside about 6 or 7 strawberries to put on top of the muffin before baking
1/2 teaspoon lemon paste

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and set aside.
• In a large bowl, roughly mash the bananas with a fork.
• Add the vegetable oil, milk, honey and eggs.
• Add in the flour mixture followed by the lemon paste.
• Stir gently until just combined - be careful not to overmix.
• Add in the strawberries and blueberries.
• Divide the mixture into 12 muffin cases
• Sprinkle the tops with the reserved, chopped strawberries and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

Disclaimer: I was sent a range of flavour pastes from Taylor & Colledge for review purposes. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post. 

Triple Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

A quick and easy recipe today. I love chocolate chip cookies and usually bake them for bake sales or group events. I tend to avoid putting nuts in case there are any nut allergy sufferers. So far, my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe is this one but I have to say these are a close second. I saw this recipe on Averi Cooks blog and just had to try it out. She replaces some of the butter with cream cheese and it gives the cookie a lovely, soft and creamy texture. I used triple chocolate chips - milk, dark and white and omitted the nuts. This cookie got lots of rave reviews and they kept well in an airtight container for up to a week. I can imagine that the cookie dough would work well with leftover Easter chocolate.

I'm sending this to Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and Jane from The Hedgecombers. The theme this month is Chocolate!

Recipe adapted slightly from Averi Cooks

113g butter
50g cream cheese
125g brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
315g plain flour
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g milk chocolate chips
100g dark chocolate chips
100g white chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Cream the butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Add the flour, cornflour and bicarbonate of soda.
• Mix well then stir in the chocolate chips by hand. 
• Place small scoops of cookie dough spaced apart on a lined baking tray.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. 
• It will still be soft but will harden as the cookies cool.
• Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Cinnabunnies for Easter

Another quick and easy recipe for Easter. This will be a hit with both adults and children alike. The kids will have fun making and eating these and there's still time to get the ingredients before Easter Sunday. I saw this reipe online from Pillsbury. It's an American brand and I wasn't sure if I would find the equivalent here so I was really pleased when I saw this Jus Rol Cinnamon Swirls in the supermarket. One box makes 6 swirls which is 3 bunnies as you need 2 per bunny. You also need some raisins and almond flakes for decoration. It's really simple and looks so cute! The pastry was really flaky and you can definitely taste the cinnamon. It also comes with a little tub of icing sugar - just add water and drizzle over the pastry. This is brilliant for when you don't have time to make cinnamon buns from scratch.

 flaked almonds, raisins, box of Jus Rol cinnamon swirls 

 It comes in a can and the dough looks like this. Cut into 6 even slices. 

 You need 2 swirls - one for the face and one for the ears. Place one swirl on your baking tray then unravel the second swirl as shown. Turn it around so the cinnamon filling is facing downwards. 

 Push the middle of the top pastry on to the swirl and tuck both ends under to look like bunny ears. Pinch the adjoining ends to ensure that it bakes in 1 piece. 

 add 3 raisins per bunny - two for eyes and one for the nose and 2 almond flakes for the teeth. Press firmly in the dough before baking. 

 Bake in the oven according to the box instructions. 

 I tried drizzling the icing and only putting the icing on the ears - which do you prefer? 

I'm sending these super cute Easter Cinnabunnies to a few blog challenges this month...

AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter ths month is B for Bunny!

Treat Petite hosted by Kat from The Baking Eplorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is Hello Spring. 

Food Year Link Up hosted by Charlotte from My Recipe Book.

Cook Blog Share hosted by Lucy at Supergolden Bakes

Credit Crunch Munch guest hosted by Michelle from Utterly Scrummy. The challenge is run by Camilla from Fab Food 4 All and Helen from Fuss Free Flavours. This recipe uses ready made ingredients which cuts down on time. It's also quite cost effective as I bought the box of cinnamon swirls for £2 and it makes 6 swirls which is a cost of 33p each or 3 bunnies at 66p each. The raisins and almond flakes were store cupboard ingredients.