Ham and Tomato Quiche

This is a family sized version of the mini quiches I made previously, for the recipe, follow the link below:

Ham and Tomato Quiche

Shortcrust Pastry

For the filling use:

6 Eggs

300ml Single Cream

Grated Cheese

Chopped Ham

Sliced Tomato

Chocolate Ganache Cake

This is another version of my chocolate cake, 

For the cake:

9oz SR Flour
1tsp Baking powder
2tbsp Cocoa Powder
8oz Margarine
8oz Castor Sugar
4 Eggs
2tbsp Milk

For the Frosting:

8oz Dark Chocolate
8oz Sour Cream

Make the cake:

Cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add beaten eggs and milk a little at a time, adding a little flour if needed, to prevent curdling. (scrape down bowl).
Sift together flour, baking powder and cocoa, and fold into cake mixture.

Place cake mix into greased and lined 8" round cake tin, and bake on Gas 5, until risen, and centre springs back, also use skewer to test if middle is cooked.

When removed from oven, leave in tin for about 20mins before removing, and cooling on wire rack.

To make Chocolate Ganache:

Melt chocolate in bowl of pan of simmering water, remove bowl from heat, and beat in sour cream for 5 minutes, leave to cool (it will thicken),
To decorate:

When cake is cool, with large serrated knife cut into 3 slices horizontally.
Spread each layer with chocolate ganache, and whipped cream if desired.
Coat outside and top of cake with ganache, and decorate as you want.
I had a try at basket weave around sides, but ganache is not really suitable for piping, as you can see, I piped the roses with vanilla buttercream.

Enjoy!

Batten-burg Cake

This is the freshest batten burg cake I have ever tasted!
Goes to show how many preservatives are in shop bought cakes to make them last on the supermarket shelves....

Ingredients listed below, actually made 4 good sized cakes.

1lb SR Flour
1lb Castor Sugar
1lb Margarine
8 Eggs (beaten)
2tsp vanilla essence

strawberry or apricot jam
White marzipan
red & yellow food colouring


Make cakes by beating sugar and margarine till light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs and vanilla a little at a time, with a spoonful of the flour to prevent curdling.
Fold in rest of flour.
Divide cake mix into 2 separate bowls, add a little red food colouring into one bowl, and mix gently, and yellow into other.

Grease and flour 2 tins, ( I used 11" x 8" tins, with 2" depth)

Put yellow mix in one, and pink in other.
Bake in oven Gas 5, until risen and starting to turn golden brown.

Turn onto wire racks to cool.

When cool, trim tops and edges so you have straight sides, and cut into 4 rectangles.

For each cake, finish as follows:

Take one yellow rectangle, spread jam on top, and place pink cake on top.
Cut down middle length ways, reverse colours and stick together with jam again.

Roll out marzipan thinly, use knife or pizza cutter to straighten edges, spread with jam, and roll cakes gently on marzipan till covered, and trim again.

Trim ends of cakes to get a straight and even finish.

Hope you enjoy making these!

Fatless Victoria Sponge

This is a sponge done without butter or margarine, lovely and light in texture, filled with chocolate ganache and strawberry filling.

3 Eggs (separated)
75g Castor Sugar
75g SR Flour


Whisk egg whites until peaks form.
Whisk in sugar half at a time, and bring back to peaks.
Whisk in eggs yolks until just combined.
Sift flour TWICE, then fold into batter mix with spatula.

Pour mixture into greased and lined 8" round tin, and bake Gas 5 till risen and starting to turn to golden brown.

Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

When completely cool, slice in half and fill with ganache and strawberry filling.
(You can use any filling you like, whipped cream and jam goes well.)

Dust top with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Pies

This is an easy way to make pie fillings with any fruit you want to use up.

Make pastry from this page shortcrust pastry

I greased and lined 4 x 3" pie tins with shortcrust pastry.

Make filling by adding blueberries into saucepan with 2 tbsp of water, and simmer for couple of minutes to release juices.
Add 1 cup of sugar, bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix a little cornflour with cold water, and add a little at a time to the blueberry mix until it gets to the required thickness.

Share pie filling between pastry cases, and add pastry topping of your choice. 
Brush with beaten egg, and bake in oven until golden brown.
Remove and sprinkle with a little castor sugar, then after 10 minutes, remove from tins, and allow to cool on wire rack.

Best served warm with ice-cream or fresh cream.

Enjoy!

Lemon and Poppy Seed Shortbread

A nice twist variation on shortbread 

9oz Plain Flour
6oz Softened Butter
3oz Castor Sugar
2oz Blue Poppy Seeds ( I got mine from Amazon)
Juice and rind of 3 lemons


Mix together flour, sugar and butter until resembles breadcrumbs.
Add poppy seeds, juice and rind of lemons, and knead gently till it comes together,
Knead gently on floured surface and roll out to about half inch thickness.
Use cookie cutter and place on greased tray.
Bake in oven, Gas 5 till just starting to turn golden brown.
Sprinkle with a little castor sugar, and cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

For the base:

300g Crushed Digestives
120g Butter

For Filling:

500g Cream Cheese
100g Icing Sugar
300ml Double Cream

For Decoration:

Strawberries
Whipped Cream
Strawberry Gel

Make base by melting butter in large pan, then mixing in crushed digestives throughly.
Place in 8" loose bottomed cake tin and press down with back of spoon.
Put in fridge to cool.

For the filling, whip the double cream till thick, add icing sugar and cream cheese, and whip again until it forms peaks.

Divide the cheesecake mix into 3 separate bowls.
Add a little red colouring into 2 of the mixes, more in one than the other to have 2 different shades of pink.

When base is cool, spread the darkest pink mix onto base.
Add sliced strawberries around edge ( as shown in picture).
Then spread other pink mix on top gently, then finally white mix.

Decorate top with whipped cream and strawberries and chill in fridge until required.

Enjoy!