Recipes Archives - Page 15 of 37

Franklin’s Drinks Review

Franklin’s Drinks Review, a thorough honest look at Franklin & Son’s soft drinks and mixers, with a fabulous mocktail and boozy sorbet recipe included.

Firstly, I really need to say that this was one of the best reviews I’ve ever undertaken.

Carrying out the Franklin’s Drinks Review has been an absolute pleasure. Not only were the company a delight to deal with their product completely wipes out the competition in terms of taste, variety and drink-ability.

Gone are the sticky, sickly sweet soft drinks that line supermarket aisles. In their place we have a company founded by three brothers in 1886, creating soft drinks and mixers using real fruit juice. Each soft drink and mixer easily drinkable on it’s own, or with the mixers a multitude of cocktails, classics and creative new possibilities abound.

Franklin & Son’s is a British Company producing the very best drinks using natural ingredients. No artificial additives, preservatives or colours are allowed into their drinks and they taste all the better for it.

I was sent 5 different flavours of soft drink and 3 different mixers. It should be noted before I go any further that, I have never liked tonic water – until now!

Franklin’s Soft Drinks:

Sicilian Lemonade and Elderflower with crushed juniper – ooh if you like lemonade you will love this. The juniper hits your nose as you breath in the tantalising aroma. Once sipped, the tart lemon, which in my humble opinion should be how all lemonade is made, immediately awakens your tastebuds. Mellowed and softened by the hint, I could detect no more, of elderflower, creating an incredibly refreshing drink. I imagine, this drink alone would make a wonderfully balanced sorbet. Just how lemonade should taste, a firm 9.5 out of 10.

Dandelion and Burdock with star anise – the drink of my childhood, the reason I wanted to carry out this review. Unlike any other drink, dandelion and burdock has a unique, fruity, spicy flavour. This drink has a deeper, more complex flavour than the others with layers of flavour lingering on the palette as it is drunk. The slight anise flavour from the star anise could be too overpowering, yet again, the balance is perfect. Exceptionally delicious, not too sweet, not too spicy. I cannot find fault, not that I’d want to, so a firm 10 out of 10.

Ginger Beer with malted barley and a squeeze of lemon – this is the ginger beer of old. Intense, throaty, warming as you drink it and yet refreshing at the same time. Although not a mixer, I could see this pairing with a really good rum. Likewise, as the weather turns cooler, I have reserved a bottle for making ginger pudding with. True ginger in taste, the barley adds a slight softness, although it was hard to detect any lemon. This drink does not disappoint. A firm 9.5 out of 10.

Apple and Rhubarb with cinnamon – my personal favourite. This very more-ish drink reminds me slightly of the rhubarb in rhubarb and custard sweets, without any artificial flavour coming through at all. The balance of apple and rhubarb is exquisite. A very faint hint of cinnamon is present when the drink is poured, although I could not detect any specific cinnamon flavour on my palette. If I had to pick one drink, that I had to drink for a whole year, this would win. Again the freshness of the fruit flavour, without being lip puckeringly tart is perfect. A very easy 10 out of 10.

Strawberry and Raspberry with a twist of black pepper – oh my, this drink is utterly delicious. Freshly poured the smell of cracked, black pepper hits your nose and lends a spicy aroma to the strawberry and raspberry. When drinking, the perfect fruit combination is balanced by the black pepper and the lack of over sweetness. A beautiful drink both in appearance and taste, this gets a firm 9.5 out of 10.

During this Franklin’s Drinks Review not one single soft drink disappointed. The fruit juice and complementing flavours, even if I couldn’t detect them, meant they were extremely well balanced.

I thoroughly recommend Franklin & Son’s Soft Drinks, for their natural flavour achieved without an ingredient list as long as your arm. The truth is in the taste. No obscure chemical after taste was present in any of these drinks.

Why not see how I made this Franklins Fruity Summer Drink, using Franklin’s Soft Drinks. It’s alcohol free but tastes suspiciously like another, famous, British Summer drink!

Franklin’s Mixers:

To say I felt vastly under qualified to review a drink I didn’t even like, would be an understatement. I am of course, talking about tonic water – or so I thought.

I received 3 mixers to try, Sicilian Lemon Tonic, Natural Tonic Water and Light Tonic Water. I won’t be giving them scores out of 10 as I feel that would be a little unfair, simply my views on their taste.

It took one glass on Natural Tonic Water, over ice to convert me! Such a refreshing drink, especially with a slice of lime or lemon. Maybe more importantly it made THE BEST gin and tonic, my new favourite tipple.

The Light Tonic Water, was just that, lighter in flavour, however, I was just as happy to drink it in a G & T, or over ice with a slice!

Sicilian Lemon Tonic, oh how I wish there had been more bottles of this in the box I received. Utterly delicious, it is key to giving the Franklin’s Fruity Summer Drink just the right balance of flavour.

I shall be ordering more soft drinks and mixers, especially as I want to try Franklin’s signature drink 1886 a mix of sloe gin and their Sicilian tonic water. Perfect for warm summer evenings, or cool Autumn nights.

Me being me I wanted to try and create a sorbet using Franklin’s Natural Tonic Water. I decided to make my own Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup add a couple of measures of good gin and see if it would work!

This Strawberry Sorbet with Gin & Tonic was an absolute success. Perfect as a grown up dessert, or let it melt a little and you have a rather yummy, adult slushy!

To Make Strawberry Sorbet with Gin & Tonic:

600mls Natural Tonic Water – from

200mls Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup – see here

Double measure of Gin – I used Bloom Gin

Pour the tonic water into a jug and allow to sit for a couple of hours, until almost flat.
To the flat tonic water add the strawberry simple syrup and gin. Stir to mix.
Churn in an ice cream machine until the mixture has a slushy-like consistency.
Pour the sorbet into a freezer proof tub, pop on a lid and place in the deep freeze overnight.

To serve, remove the tub from the freezer 10-20 minutes before serving. This allows the sorbet to soften slightly.
Scoop balls of sorbet and serve in a martini glass for an elegant dessert. Alternatively, you could wait a little longer and serve the sorbet as an adult slushy in double shot glasses!

I have had so much fun carrying out this Franklin’s Drinks Review. Not only will I be ordering more delicious drinks, I have plans to keep experimenting with them too!

If you have enjoyed this Franklin’s Drinks Review you may also like these:

Refreshing Tropical Fruit Sorbet

Mr Sherick’s Milkshake Review

Whatever you do this weekend, remember it’s not a party unless there are Franklin’s Soft Drinks available. Perfect for those who cannot, or choose not to drink alcohol.

Sammie xx

Franklin’s and Son’s sent me a selection of drinks to review. All opinions, views, content and photographs are my own. I was not paid to write this review, please see my Disclosure Policy.

Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup

I came up with the idea of making a Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup, that could be used as a mixer in drinks, or to provide a base for a sorbet!

This Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup is so easy and quick and adds a crazy amount of fresh strawberry flavour to whatever you add it too.

FF Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup. — **Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup** used here in a delicious sorbet.

Also this Strawberry Sorbet with Gin and Tonic is an elegant adult dessert, that is also very refreshing, see Franklin’s Drinks Review

Recipe: Makes 300ml Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup

400g Strawberries

300g Sugar

500ml Water

Method:

First of all remove the green hull and cut the strawberries in halves or quarters, depending how big they are.
Place the strawberries into a large, heavy based saucepan and cover with water.
Add the sugar and place the saucepan on a high heat.

Allow the strawberries to come to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium.
Cook the strawberries for a further 20 minutes until the volume is almost halved.
Remove the saucepan from the heat.
Line a sieve with muslin cloth or kitchen towels (ones that won’t disintegrate – like Plenty) and place on top of a large bowl.
Pour the strawberry mixture through the sieve.
Especially IMPORTANT – do not push or stir the mixture in the sieve, this will cause it to become cloudy, we want a beautiful, clear, red rose coloured syrup.

As soon as all the juice has dripped through, remove the sieve from the bowl. The strawberries are very tasty as a breakfast topping to plain yoghurt.
Pour the beautifully clear, red liquid into a jug.

Store the Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup in a bottle with a lid, in the fridge.

Finally, enjoy the beautiful, intense flavour of fresh strawberries in this syrup.

Sammie xx

Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits

Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits sandwiched together with a light, white chocolate ganache. These light, melt in your mouth biscuits are perfect for an Afternoon Tea or morning coffee treat.

The first time I made Chocolate Dipped Viennese Fingers was an experience, shall we say. It was relatively early on in my blog and in my wisdom I decided to set the dipped Viennese biscuits on a cooling rack!

Most of them stuck. Badly.

Resulting in a kitchen full of broken biscuits where I managed to salvage just enough for a decent photograph. So, learning my lesson I did not make the same mistake when making these delicious, finger biscuits.

FF White Chocolate Ganache Filled Viennese Sandwich Biscuits — Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits

These light, meltingly delicious Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits are so yummy and are a favourite of my husbands.

Starting my day right

Now we all know I am a self confessed Cookie Monster. So are my whole family. When I was younger my Grandad would bring my youngest Auntie, my sister and I a cup of tea, in bed, every morning. And, no one can make tea like my Grandad did. Anyway, we would always get three biscuits, which we would swap so that we had our favourites. I still cannot understand the appeal of custard creams, but each to their own.

Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits

Since I was little, staying in the comfort and security of my grandparents home having biscuits with my morning tea was my routine. It still is. I can miss breakfast and lunch, so long as I’ve had a cup of tea and a biscuit or cookie first thing in the morning. And, it is the one thing I would choose to never give up. It is part of my morning routine, so much so, that when I was in hospital last year see here, I would save my packet of 3 biscuits given out with the hot chocolate in the evening, so that I could have them with my morning tea.

Why Homemade Biscuits Are Best

While growing up, although my Grandma was an accomplished cook, I cannot recall her making biscuits. Yet for me, it was the very first skill I mastered in my kitchen. Although these days I tend towards lazy cookies rolled into balls, or scooped with an ice cream scoop. So, to actually pipe biscuits, make a ganache and sandwich them together is a first for me (not the piping), I’ve definitely never made sandwiched biscuits.

I made and baked one batch of my Chocolate Dipped Viennese Fingers and then tweaked the recipe to make a chocolate version. There’s a tiny bit more icing sugar in the chocolate finger biscuits as I wanted to offset any bitterness from the cocoa.

Tomorrow morning, I will have a luxury start to my day. A Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuit to accompany my morning cup of tea!

Recipe: Makes 18-24 Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits

200g/7oz Very Soft Unsalted Butter

60g/5.2oz Icing Sugar – sifted

Pinch 1/8tsp Salt – I use Maldon

1tsp Vanilla Extract – I use Nielsen-Massey

15g Corn Flour – approx 1tbsp

50g/2oz Cocoa Powder

100g/4oz Self Raising White Flour

50g/2oz Plain White Flour

100g/4oz White Chocolate – for dipping the ends of the biscuits

100g/4oz Dark Chocolate – for dipping the ends of the biscuits

For the white chocolate ganache:

100g/4oz White Chocolate

100mls Double Cream

Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan, gas mark 4, 350F.

Making And Piping The Viennese Biscuit Dough

First of all line 2 baking trays with non stick silicone mats or baking parchment.
Whisk the butter until it is very soft and pale – approx. 5 minutes.
Add the sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract and continue whisking for 2 minutes.
Next sift in the cocoa powder. Whisk for a further 2 minutes until the mixture is a dark, chocolatey brown colour.
Sift the corn flour, plain and self raising flour into the bowl.
Using a metal spoon mix the ingredients together until the are just combined, with no visible white streaks present.
Fit a large piping bag with a large, Wilton #1M star tip.
Fill the piping bag with the soft, chocolate biscuit dough.
Pipe 3″/7-8cm lengths of biscuit dough on to the lined baking tray.

FF Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits — Piped **Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits** ready for the oven.

Baking The Biscuit Halves

Place both trays of piped biscuits in the centre and lower part of the oven.
Bake the biscuits for 12 minutes. They will be firm to touch and may have spread a little.
As soon as the biscuits are baked remove from the oven and allow to cool completly on the tray.

Making The White Chocolate Ganache Filling

While the biscuit fingers are cooling make the chocolate ganache that will be piped on the underside of the fingers for sandwiching together.
In a heatproof, microwaveable jug add the white chocolate and double cream.
Zap for 1 minute on medium power.
Remove from the microwave and stir. If there are still lumps of unmelted chocolate, pop it back in for a further 30 seconds on medium.
Stir the ganache until the melted white chocolate is fully mixed into the cream.
Whisk the ganache to cool it and continue whisking until the ganache thickens and becomes airy – today it was so warm that I wasn’t able to get the ganache to solidify.

If the weather is cool the thickened ganache can be scooped into a piping bag with a medium round tip fitted – I poured the ganache into a disposable piping bag, which I then sealed with an elastic band and I placed it into the coldest part of the fridge until it had thickened.

Decorating And Filling The Chocolate And Vanilla Viennese Sandwich Biscuits

While the ganache was cooling I melted both the dark and white chocolate in small heatproof, microwaveable bowls.
Dip the chocolate fingers into the white chocolate and the vanilla fingers into the dark chocolate. Lay the dipped biscuit fingers on to anon stick silicone mat or baking parchment.
Not all of the biscuit fingers will be dipped in chocolate, that’s fine it is nice to have a variety.
When the ganache has firmed up to piping consistency, think buttercream, then you are ready to assemble your biscuits.
Pipe a line of white chocolate ganache down the length, flat side upper, of one biscuit.
Place a similar sized biscuit on top and set aside.
Continue until all of the biscuits are sandwiched together.

NOTE: Due to the fragile, melting nature of the Viennese biscuits, it is inevitable that some will break. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘taste testing’ the few breakages with our 2 daughters!
I ended up with 18 perfectly sandwiched biscuits.
Due to the heat I popped all the filled biscuits on to a baking tray and placed them back into the fridge to set, before taking the photographs.

To store place the Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits into a shallow tin and put in the fridge. With temperatures set to rise over the next few days, assuming they last that long 😉, they will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.

Serve on a pretty plate, adorned with flowers from the garden. These Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits are perfect with afternoon tea, or morning coffee.

If you have enjoyed these Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Finger Biscuits here are some other recipes you may like:

Apricot Oat Crumble Cookies

Bakewell Shortbread Bars

FF Chocolate Vanilla Viennese Fingers Biscuits — **Bakewell Shortbread Bars**

Lemon Drizzle Cake Bars

Sitting together with friends over a mid morning coffee, or with family for afternoon tea, doesn’t have to be a formal occasion. Yet when a little extra effort is made, for example, adding the rose to the centre of the plate, it really lifts the occasion.

All food should be feasted on and enjoyed, not just eaten for the sake of it (unless circumstances, for example illness, dictate otherwise). Food shared, tastes better and eating with company can be more fun.

Make the most of what’s left of the summer to eat outside. Watching the butterflies, listening to the birds, bees and ruffling leaves of the trees, adds an extra element of fun to our feasting.

Sammie xx

Mascarpone Topped Carrot Cake

Mascarpone Topped Carrot Cake, moist, cinnamon spiced carrot cake, with added walnuts for crunch and sultanas for sweetness. Finished with a lemon scented mascarpone cream cheese and walnuts.

What To Do When A Cake Craving Hits

When I crave cake, I really, really C R A V E it!

There are two important points to note:

First of all I rarely crave cake, maybe once or twice a year – but when I do I have to have it.

Secondly, without exception it HAS to be homemade. Too often I have been let down by supermarket copies, or bakery flops. And the only way to satisfy my craving is to bake the cake myself!

Yesterday, the craving hit for carrot cake. I’d been struggling with a migraine all day and wanted to snuggle under the duvet until the pain had passed. Yet during a brief respite in the afternoon I whipped up this Mascarpone Topped Carrot Cake in less than 10 minutes.

I have dozens of cookbooks and even have a Crazy Caramel Carrot Cake recipe on here, but in all honesty I didn’t have the patience to trawl through them deciding which cake to make. Because I knew the flavours I wanted to taste in my head I created the recipe as I went along. Fortunately having baked a lot of cakes I did have a rough idea of proportions.

Creating This Mascarpone Topped Carrot Cake Recipe

From memory I recalled baking a carrot cake with our youngest daughter, following a school recipe book method. Except all I could remember was that the recipe used oil! And because I love the flavour that butter imparts to a moist cake, I added both!

The need for walnuts, both flavour and crunchy texture was prevailent, so I made some walnut flour to boost the nutty flavour within the cake. It’s so easy, just toast the walnuts to bring out their flavour and either pulse in a food processor or use a mini chopper to achieve the desired result. Think ground almonds and you’re spot on.

One of the big problems I find with shop bough carrot cakes is that they are simply too sweet. I’m not talking the frosting or icing, the actual cake itself. Carrots are an inherently sweet vegetable, sultanas plump up and provide natural sweetness, why dump loads of extra sugar in the recipe? Don’t get me wrong there is sugar in this cake. It is there to add sweetness in balance with the other ingredients.

Can you tell that I’m really picky about my carrot cake 😉

Recipe: Mascarpone Topped Carrot Cake serve 8-10

100g/4oz Unsalted Butter plus a little extra for greasing the tin.

50g/2oz Sunflower Oil

1tsp Vanilla Extract – I use Nielsen Massey

150g/5oz Light Soft Brown Sugar

1/4tsp Salt – I use Maldon

3 Large Free Range Eggs

150g/5oz Plain White Flour

50g/2oz Walnut Flour – walnuts chopped in a food processor or mini chopper until flour like consistency

2tsp Baking Powder

2tsp Cinnamon

150g/5oz Grated Carrot

50g/2oz Walnut Pieces – plus extra halves for topping the cake (approx 10)

75g/3oz Sultanas

375g Mascarpone Cheese

2tbsp Icing Sugar – sifted

1/2tsp Lemon Extract – Vanilla Extract can be substituted

Method: Preheat the oven at 180C/160C fan, gas mark 4, 350F.

Making And Baking The Carrot Cake

Grease and line the base of loaf tin with baking parchment.
Place all of the walnuts into a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Shake the pan occasionally and remove from the heat when you can smell the walnuts – approx 3-5 minutes. Tip the walnuts on to a tray so they can cool.
In a large bowl add the butter and microwave on low until just melted.
Add in the sunflower oil, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Whisk for 5 minutes.
Next add all 3 eggs. Continue whisking on high for a further 2 minutes. You want the liquid mixture to be very light and frothy.
Prepare the 50g of walnut flour by chopping in a mini chopper, or pulsing in a food processor.
Add the walnut flour, plain flour, cinnamon and baking powder to the bowl.
Next add the grated carrots, sultanas and 50g of walnut pieces to the bowl.

Using a metal spoon fold all of the cake ingredients together until they are fully mixed, taking care not to over mix the batter.
Tip the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top.

Place the cake tin in the centre of the oven and bake for approximately 1 1/2 hours, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
As soon as the cake is baked remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes.
Gently go around the outside rim of the cake with a palette knife to ensure no part of the cake has stuck to the tin.
Tip the cake out, removing the base layer of baking parchment and allow to fully cool on a cooling rack.

FF Mascarpone Topped a Carrot Cake — Beautifully scented carrot cake cooling.

Making the Mascapone Topping

In a bowl add the mascarpone cream cheese, sifted icing sugar and lemon extract (vanilla if you do not have lemon).
Whisk on a high speed for 3 minutes until the mascarpone is light and fluffy.
Dollop the mascarpone cheese on top of the cold carrot cake.
Using a palette knife spread the mascarpone so that it evenly covers the top of the cake. you can leave the topping smooth or create a pattern with the palette knife.

Adorn the top of the cake with the saved walnut halves and your Mascarpone Topped Carrot Cake is complete.

How To Enjoy This Cake At It’s Best

My suggestion for serving, is, to chill the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes – somehow it just seems to pull the cake together as one and set it – if you can’t wait, don’t worry.

Slice and enjoy with a delightful cup of afternoon tea, preferably made in a pot, it gives the leaves time to release their flavour as well as colour.

I love this pretty tea-for-one set that my hubby bought me for our anniversary. It really does turn a simple slice of cake and cup of tea into a sumptuous afternoon feast.

The Mascarpone Topped Cream Cake absolutely satisfied my cravings. The tiny hint of lemon in the mascarpone is very subtle and works with the nutty, fruity, spiced cake. This may very well be one of THE very best recipes I have come up with so far!

No I’m not egotistical, in fact the very opposite. So many recipes do not make it on to Feasting is Fun as they aren’t good enough. Also considering I wasn’t at my best, physically, this cake hits all the right spots. Spiced, crunchy, moist, fruity without tasting like a fruit cake.

If you have enjoyed the recipe for this Mascarpone Topped Carrot Cake you may also enjoy these:

Classic Coffee & Walnut Cake

Double Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake

Loveliest Lemon Curd Cake

Any of these delicious cakes would make a wonderful gift to new neighbours, friends who have moved home, even bereaved families. Although taking cake to those struggling with grief isn’t necessarily for them to eat. Rather it’s likely they will have endless visitors wishing to pay their respects. And a slice of cake, that someone has thoughtfully made, served with a cup of tea, may just make the visits more bearable.

The walnuts used in this recipe come from a a very dear friend who has a walnut tree in her garden. Sadly my dearest friend passed away a few months ago. Yet making this cake, or cooking using either things she bought me, or those her family have kindly given me, has, in some way, made her passing easier.

Everytime I use her cutters, cake stand, dragee balls or a myriad of other everyday kitchen items, I feel close to her. Whether it’s the memory of her laugh, tinkling across the gardens mid afternoon, or how we finished each other’s sentences. And she truly was the very best of people who lived her life to the full, despite becoming a widow at too young an age. Pat was the Green Goddess, my chief taste tester.

So this post is dedicated to her and the love she had for people. Because life is not about what we do. It is not about who we love. Rather it is indeed about those whose hearts we touch. How much we are loved in return. Please see Important Stuff.

Sammie xx

Monster Mint Chocolate Cookies

This this week just happens to be National Afternoon Tea Week. Not that we need an excuse to enjoy a good cup of tea with a little something on the side, however, I decided to get into the spirit of things and make these Monster Mint Chocolate Cookies.

Afternoon Tea is traditionally served with dainty finger sandwiches, delicate pastries, intricately decorated cakes and the like. I seem to have stamped all over tradition with these Monster Mint Chocolate Cookies!

I do not apologise for this.

For one simple reason, these cookies are really, really good.

I seem to have got out of my regular cookie baking. There was a time when I made almost all of our biscuits and cookies along with our bread. I’m still keeping up with the bread making see here, but have been remiss with baking cookies.

Sometimes I think it is good to be reminded just HOW much better homemade food is. Instead of ripping open a packet of bourbon biscuits I made these cookies this morning. Boy am I glad I did!

Deep chocolate biscuit, flavoured with peppermint extract and chunks of Elizabeth Shaw Dark Mint Chocolate Crisps throughout, make these cookies an unforgettable experience. The crunch from the mint crisps only serves to add to the variety of textures from soft cookie, melted chocolate and crisp, crunchy mint pieces.

Yep. These are pretty much Mint Chocolate Cookie perfection in plus size.

You could of course make these smaller, but I think you’d lose the thickness and density these cookies need to conceal their hidden mint chocolate delights. Besides having one Monster cookie simply stops you going back for a second one!

Recipe: Makes 14 Monster Mint Chocolate Cookies

225g/8oz Unsalted Butter softened to room temperature

150g/5oz Light Soft Brown Sugar

1 Large Free Range Egg Yolk

1tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4tsp Salt – I use Maldon

1tsp Peppermint Extract – I use Nielsen-Massey

50g/2oz Cocoa Powder – I use Callebaut

225g/8oz Plain White Flour

1 box Elizabeth Shaw Mint Crisp Dark Chocolates – unwrapped and broken into quarters

Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan, gas mark 4

Line 3 large baking trays with baking parchment or a non stick silicone mats.
In a large bowl add the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and peppermint extract.
Whisk/beat for a good 5 minutes until the mixture is pale and very creamy.
Add the egg yolk and continue to beat for a further 2 minutes.
Next sift in the cocoa and flour.
Add the broken mint crisp chocolates.

Mix by hand using a large spoon until everything is combined – don’t over mix or you’ll end up with tough cookies (which make be a good personality traight but not so pleasant to eat 😉).
Using a large, spring loaded ice cream scoop, scoop out mounds of delicious mint chocolate cookie dough on to lined baking trays.
Using a damp hand press lightly to flatten the cookie.

Place all three baking trays in the oven, rotating them twice during the 20 minutes baking time.
Remove from the oven after 20 minutes and allow the Monster Mint Chocolate Cookies to cool on the baking trays.

Once the Monster Mint Chocolate Cookies are cooled, make yourself a proper cup of tea and enjoy.

I have to confess, deeply chocolate cookies are not my favourite kind. In general I prefer oat/fruit combinations. These cookies though, with their refreshing, lingering minty aftertaste are utterly scrumptious. Even on a hot, Summer’s afternoon, I felt thoroughly refreshed after my tea and cookie.

I like pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. Making a cookie that isn’t necessarily my ‘cup of tea’ for the children. This time they’ll have to watch out for mum raiding the cookie jar 😉

If you have enjoyed the recipe for these Monster Mint Chocolate Cookies, here are some others you may also like:

Cherry Bakewell Cookies

Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Caramac Caramel Cookies

I am known as a bit of a Cookie Monster. The cookies mentioned are but a small representation of the recipes on my site. Type cookies into the search bar and see what else you may like to make.

Thank you for you photos on Instagram and Twitter. It really makes my day to see you having fun making my recipes. I also love reading your comments.

Is there a cookie recipe that you would like to see on Feasting is Fun?

Would you like to share a favourite family recipe that has been passed down through the generations?

Let me know and I’ll do my best to create cookies for you to share and feast on.

Sammie xx

Elizabeth Shaw provided the chocolates used in this recipe. All opinions, views, content and photography is my own. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Refreshing Tropical Fruit Sorbet

The smell of Summer. Sun tan lotion, seaside air and luscious seasonal fruits. Ok, I accept that the fruits in this Refreshing Tropical Fruit Sorbet are not necessarily grown in this country, although they are cheaper and more readily available during the summer.

Making your own Refreshing Tropical Fruit Sorbet is so worth it. Forget about the adverts telling you that ‘you’re worth it’ this is a delicious, good for you treat, that tastes of fruit heaven!

The marriage between the flavours will make your tastebuds sing in harmony.

There are a couple of steps needed to prepare the fruit for this sorbet, but they are absolutely worth it to extract every drop of flavour from the fruit.

Once the fruit is prepped it is then cooked for a short time. This breaks down the pineapple and separates the passionfruit seeds from their surrounding juice. The cooked fruit mixture is then sieved, to remove the very crunchy seeds. A quick whizz with an immersion blender, or liquidiser, cool and your sorbet is ready to be churned.

This sorbet tastes of Summer. Light, intensely fruity, sweet – but not overly so and with a colour to brighten the dullest of days.

A light dessert or a delightful palette cleanser between courses for a more formal meal.

The mangos I bought for this recipe spent a few days on our sunny lounge window ledge ripening up, in fact they were warm when I prepared them. The passionfruit were smooth skinned when bought and ripened to a prune-like wrinkling of the skin. To test if a pineapple is ripe I suggest smelling it. If it smells of pineapple then it’s ripe.

Recipe: Makes 1L Refreshing Tropical Fruit Sorbet

6 Passion Fruit

2 Large Mango

1 Medium Pineapple

400mls Water

100g/4oz Sugar

Optional – see note at the end – Orange Blossom Water 1/4tsp – I suggest Nielsen-Massey

Method: Ensure the frozen compartment of your ice cream maker has been in the deep freeze overnight or according to manufacturers instructions.

Scoop the contents of the 6 passion fruit into a large heavy based saucepan. Squeezing the empty skins to ensure every drop of precious juice is used.
Next prepare the mangos. Cut down either side of the central stone, you will have three pieces. Take a fleshy side of the mango and score into three pieces using a sharp knife. With the blade flat to the skin, run the knife along each third, releasing a long slither of juicy, ripe mango. Repeat for the other side. Place the mango slices into the saucepan. Hold the central flesh and skin covered stone over the saucepan and squeeze as hard as you can. Scrape all of the pulp and juice from your hand into the pan.
Prepare the pineapple by cutting off the green spiky top and the flat base. Cut the pineapple into half and then divide each half into 3 sections. Cut down the outside of the central hard core – it will be the point of the pineapple. As with the mango, lay the blade flat between the fruit and the skin and slice to separate the two. Chop the pineapple into large chunks and add to the saucepan. Squeeze the skin and the hard core pieces over the saucepan to extracte as much juice as possible.
Pour the water over the fruit.
Add the sugar and turn the heat on to high under the pan.

Once the contents of the pan have started to bubble reduce the heat to medium, keep an eye on the fruit to ensure it doesn’t boil over.
Continue cooking for 20 minutes.
Carefully remove a spoonful of liquid from the saucepan, allow to cool and taste. The flavour should be pure fruit, not watered down and not super sweet – just as if you had eaten a slice of ripe mango. If the flavour is a little weak, continue cooking for a further 10 minutes and taste again.
When you are happy with the tropical fruit flavour, remove the saucepan from the heat.
Place a sieve over a large bowl.
Carefully pour the hot fruit mixture into the bowl through the sieve.

Using a strong dessert spoon press all of the fruit through the sieve. Occasionally clearing the underside of the sieve with a clean spoon, so that all the fruit pulp and juice goes into the bowl below.
This takes about 10 minutes to get it to this stage.

I did taste the remaining pulp and although crunchy it was pretty flavourless, that said you could still have it swirled through yoghurt for breakfast.
If you have an immersion blender or liquidiser, blend the resulting lumpy liquid until velvety smooth.
Place the bowl on a trivet, to aid cooling air circulation and cover with a net food tent, or cling film to stop flies having a taste!

Allow the sorbet liquid to cool and then place in the fridge to chill.
Once chilled set up your ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.
Transfer the sorbet liquid to a jug, this makes pouring the liquid into the frozen chamber much easier.
With the machine churning pour the sorbet liquid into the ice cream maker and churn until slushy like.
Stop the machine, remove the paddle and scoop/pour the slushy mixture into a freezer proof, resealable tub.

Pop the lid on and place in the deep freeze, generally I leave ice creams and sorbets overnight, until frozen through.

To serve, remove the sorbet from the freezer 15-20 minutes to allow to soften slightly.

For me, this is the perfect dessert after a hot spicy meal such as a curry or my Chunky Chilli. The cool, fruity sorbet, soothing on your tastebuds.

This is the perfect sorbet to make if you happen upon marked down fruit in the market or shops. It will keep for 3 months in the deep freeze and brighten a dull Winter’s day.

If you have enjoyed the recipe for my Refreshing Tropical Fruit Sorbet here are some others you may also like:

Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream

Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream

Lemon Ripple Ice Cream

I love creating, experimenting, tasting and testing different recipes. If you love mangos but aren’t a fan of pineapple, add more mango and leave the pineapple out.

Being allergic to oranges, means I always have to double check when I buy anything labelled ‘tropical’. Making my own Refreshing Tropical Fruit Sorbet means I know exactly what has gone into it. By all means adjust the sugar quantity if your fruit is sweeter, or riper. That’s why it is important to taste the liquid from the pan, remembering all the flavours will be dulled slightly by the freezing process.

I hope I have inspired you to get creative in your kitchens. Cooking should be fun. Combining flavours, adding a little something here or there, I hope that you take my recipes, try them and then change them to suit your tastes. I very much suspect a drop or two of orange blossom water would work very well in this recipe. But then I’ll never know 😉

Sammie xx

Vanilla Fudge Chocolate Brownies

Who doesn’t love a delicious brownie? I know I do. So, when I received a small selection of fudge to try out, I knew where the vanilla version was heading, straight into these very tasty Vanilla Fudge Chocolate Brownies.

The Vanilla Fudge from Fudge Angels, is creamy with a definite vanilla taste, not just sweetened sugar and cream. So I kept with a deeply chocolate brownie recipe, allowing the fudge to ‘sing’ as it hits your tastebuds.

Also, I received a delicious Strawberry Pavlova Fudge, which was very popular with our eldest daughter, in truth a little too sweet for me, although it did leave a delightful strawberry flavour in my mouth. In contrast, the Smooth Ginger Fudge was delicious. So, if you love ginger, which I do, then you will enjoy this fudge. I can imagine using it in some ginger cookies, if I don’t snaffle it all beforehand!

These Vanilla Fudge Chocolate Brownies are perfectly delicious on their own.

However, here at Feasting is Fun, I wanted to turn them into a fantastic dessert.

Brownies And Ice Cream – A Great Dessert Combo

What goes better with brownies than ice cream. And not any ice cream, one created to perfectly compliment the flavours found within these Vanilla Fudge Brownies, Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream.

See how good I am to you!

While they are both perfectly delicious on their own, bring them together and we have a taste bud party starting baby 😉

Such an easy traybake, turned into a jaw dropping, beautiful dessert!

Finally, a drizzle of white chocolate on top of the brownies echoes the flavours of the vanilla fudge within. So you can be assured, if you have no desire to make your own ice cream, that the brownies are still, one hundred per cent, top class.

Our youngest daughter gave these a 10!

I wish there was a way of putting that in BIG FLASHING LIGHTS. Because she rarely awards a 10 for my efforts. I am literally cock-a-hoop with joy.

Did I mention the 10?

Ok I’ll leave it for now.

TEN OUT OF TEN – yup I’m done 😉

Also, something else I should tell you before you make these, is that all the preparation, mixing etc. is carried out in a saucepan. And (I know your not supposed to start sentences with and – but I got a 10!!!), you line the swiss roll tin with foil, so there is very little clean up.

You’re welcome xx.

Recipe: Makes 15 Vanilla Fudge Chocolate Brownies

275g/10oz Dark Brown Muscavado Sugar

150g/5oz Unsalted Butter

50g/2oz Cocoa Powder

150g/5oz Plain White Flour

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1/4tsp Salt – I use Maldon

1tsp Vanilla Bean Extract or Vanilla Extract – I use Nielsen-Massey

4 Large Free Range Eggs

100g/4oz Vanilla Fudge – from Fudge Angels

50g/2oz White Chocolate for drizzling over the top

Making The Vanilla Fudge Chocolate Brownies

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan, gas mark 4, 350F.

First of all, line a 28cm x 20cm x 5 cm (12″ x 8″ x 2″) swiss roll tin with aluminium foil.
Place the butter, sugar and salt into a large heavy bottomed saucepan, over a medium heat.
Gently melt the butter and sugar together, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until melted.
Move the saucepan from the heat and add the cocoa powder. Stir in immediately and the cocoa will combine easily with the melted sugar and butter.
Add the flour and bicarb and mix in.
Crack the eggs into a jug and add the vanilla bean paste. Beat lightly with a fork to combine.
Pour the egg mixture into the warm chocolate mix in the saucepan stirring constantly. Don’t worry everything will come together into a smooth batter.
Tip the brownie batter into the foil lined swiss roll tin.
Lift the tin and rap it hard against the worktop a couple of times. This brings any bubbles within the batter to the surface – remember brownies aren’t cake, so we want to encourage density in the bake.
Break off small pieces of the vanilla fudge and dot them on to the top of the uncooked brownie.

Baking The Brownies

Place the brownies in the centre of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Halfway through the cooking time, open the oven and rap the tin against the oven shelf. Again this stops the brownies from rising and becoming cake like.
The brownies are cooked when the surface has a sugary sheen and has a very slight wobble in the centre.
As soon as they are baked remove the Vanilla Fudge Chocolate Brownies from the oven.

Allow the brownie to completely cool in the tin. I actually left this brownie, once cooled, wrapped in foil for 2 days post baking, due to illness and it kept beautifully.
As soon as they are cooled remove the big slab of brownie from the tin and place on to a board.
Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in the microwave, taking care not to overheat it.
Pour the melted chocolate into a small, disposable piping bag. Snip the very end off to create a small hole.
Drizzle or pipe the top of the brownie slab, however you like, with the melted chocolate.
Finally, place the brownie to one side to set. In very warm weather pop the bake into the fridge to allow the chocolate to set.

To serve, use a pallet knife to slide beneath the base of the brownies and the foil. This ensures that any fudge at the bottom of the brownies sticks to the brownies, not the foil!

Serve the brownies as they are or with a delicious scoop of ice cream on top.

An easy traybake transformed into an elegant dessert.

If you have enjoyed this recipe for Vanilla Fudge Chocolate Brownies you may also like these:

Blackberry Nectarine Tart

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Bites

Almond Blackberry Pear Crumble

I love dual purpose bakes. For example, creating these delicious brownies and then turning them into a fabulous dessert. And with the weather looking good for a few days, why not have a go at making your own ice cream? So, you too can adorn your delicious bakes with homemade ice cream too. Because Feasting really is Fun!

So, whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchens, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie xx

Fudge Angels sent me 3 different types of flavoured fudge to try. All opinions, views, content and photographs are my own. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream

Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream, perfect on it’s own or to accompany sweet, hot, fudge brownies.

Using Callebaut Dark Chocolate Belgian Chips ensures this ice cream has more than a touch of luxury to it.

Vanilla bean speckled ice cream, crammed full of dark chocolate chips is the perfect treat for those who enjoy a not-too-sweet-treat. It also is the perfect accompaniment for a sweet treat, such as my Vanilla Fudge Chocolate Brownies. Balancing out and complimenting the sweet, chocolate and vanilla fudge brownie with dark chocolate chips in a vanilla ice cream.

Ok so that’s the technical side to things, in my mind there is only one way to improve a brownie and that is by warming it slightly, 10 secs on medium, in the microwave and crowning it with one great big scoop of ice cream!!!!

The ultimate combination.

So much so, I actually created this Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream to go with Brownies. By all means serve it in a cone or bowl, but my recommendation is to serve it on top of a homemade Chocolate Macadamia Nut Brownies.

Just a quick note about the chocolate chips – I use chocolate chips that are designed for melting, that is they are not the chocolate chips you find in the baking isle with added stabilisers to make them bake stable. Alternatively use a couple of bars of good quality (70% cocoa) chocolate chopped up into chunks.

Recipe: Makes 750ml Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream

300ml/ 1/2pint Double Cream

300ml/ 1/2pint Milk – Whole or Semi Skimmed – not skimmed

1tsp Vanilla Bean Paste – I use Nielsen-Massey

4 Large Free Range Egg Yolks – freeze the whites in bags for meringues, for up to one month in the freezer.

6tbsp Caster Sugar

1tsp Corn Flour – I used certified gluten free by – Doves Farm

250g/9oz Dark Chocolate Chips – I use Callebaut

Method: Ensure the freezing compartment of your ice cream maker has been in the freezer overnight, or according to the manufacturers instructions.

For step by step photographs showing how to make the ice cream custard base please see Very Vanilla Ice Cream

Place the cream and milk together in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan, over a medium heat. Heat to scalding point – this is just before boiling and you will see a ring of bubbles appear around the rim of the liquid. Once scalding point is reached remove from the heat.
Meanwhile in a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla bean paste, sugar and corn flour until pale and creamy.
With the whisk running on slow, gradually add the hot cream mixture to the egg mixture in the bowl.
Once combined pour the custard base back into the saucepan and place over a medium heat.
Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thickened and coats the back of the spoon.
Pour the cooked custard, through a sieve, into a clean bowl.
Cover the top of the custard base with cling film, so that it is in direct contact with the liquid, this prevents a skin from forming.
Allow the liquid to cool on the work top, I place the bowl on a trivet to aid air circulation.

When the liquid is just warm place the bowl into the fridge until chilled.
Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.
With my Andrew James ice cream maker the machine must be churning as the liquid is poured in. If it is easier, transfer the custard base to a jug for pouring.
Pour the liquid into the ice cream machine and churn until you have a soft set ice cream.
Stop the machine, remove any paddle and scoop the contents into a freezer proof, sealable container.
Add most of the dark chocolate chips to the soft ice cream and swirl through using the handle of a wooden spoon.
Sprinkle the remaining dark chocolate chips on to the surface of the ice cream. Clamp on the lid and place in the deep freeze until fully frozen.

To serve, remove the Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream from the freezer 10-20 minutes before needed, so that it can soften and be easily scooped. One of the fantastic advantages of making your own ice cream at home, is, that no preservatives or additives are present. Yes this means waiting for the ice cream to soften a little prior to scooping. For me I’m willing to wait!

The contrast between the clattering, crunchy chocolate chips and the smooth, velvety, vanilla ice cream simply creates one of the best ice creams I have tasted so far. Trust me, that says a lot.

I have made plenty of ice creams this year with my beloved Which Best Buy Andrew James Ice Cream Maker, some haven’t made it on to the blog yet as they either haven’t delivered on taste and texture, or simply need tweaking. I really am tough on the recipes that I’m willing to post. They have to be excellent, not just ok!

Trust me this Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream is excellent.

If you have enjoyed this recipe for Dark Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream then you may also like these:

Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream

FF Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream — **Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream**

Chocolate Orange Ice Cream

Lemon Ripple Ice Cream

Making ice cream at home is so simple, the range of flavours are limitless and the cost of the ice cream maker justified by the quality of ice cream you can make at home.

I have put this Andrew James Ice Cream Maker, which has been awarded a Which Best Buy, through rigorous testing and I thoroughly recommend it.

Have fun, making, creating and baking in your kitchens.

Sammie xx

Andrew James provided me with the ice cream maker for the purposes of a review. All opinions, views, recipes, content and photographs are my own. please see my Disclosure Policy.

Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut

Ooh this Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut has been made twice now, once using regular flour and then using gluten free flour. Nobody could tell the difference! Delicious, light vanilla sponge, sandwiched with strawberry jam, whipped cream and topped with chocolate piped strawberries.

Piping the strawberries with white and dark chocolate takes this cake to the next level in terms of prettiness. That said, beautiful, lush summer strawberries, left un piped would still look fabulous.

FF Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut — **Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut** such a pretty cake.

Having made this cake with both whipped cream and whipped buttercream, I have to say we all preferred the whipped cream. I have given quantities for buttercream in the recipe for those who prefer it.

I don’t know about you, but I love making the most of our delicious, homegrown, seasonal strawberries in summer. Yes I am guilty of buying the occasional punnet of imported ones during the colder months. With the invention of poly tunnels and huge greenhouses, we are increasingly able to buy British grown berries over a longer period. Thank you farmers!

Large, baked doughnut filled with whipped cream and decorated with chocolate strawberries. — Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut

Going Gluten Free

As you can see from the photographs there is no real visual difference between the gluten free and regular Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut. Only the size of the strawberries! The ones in the photo above were huge, which made them easier to pipe. Whereas the smaller ones were more tricky. If possible choose longer strawberries as they look more effective with the piping on. That said, I’d definitely choose flavour over size any day. The strawberries above may have been big, but they were also utterly delicious!

How do I tell if they are going to taste good? I smell them. If the punnet smells of warm summer strawberries they will taste delicious, however, if you can barely detect that delicious strawberry smell, move on as they will be bland.

Both of these giant doughnuts were made to go with afternoon tea and they were a huge hit. So, whether you are on a restricted diet or not, you can make this Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut and feast!

Recipe: Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut serves 8-10

225g/8oz Plain White Flour – or gluten free flour I used Doves Farm

2tsp Baking Powder – ensure certified gluten free

225g/8oz Unsalted Butter at room temperature – plus a little extra for greasing the silicone doughnut moulds.

225g/8oz Caster Sugar

1/4tsp Salt I use Maldon

5 Large Free Range Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Bean Paste – or Vanilla Extract – I use Nielsen-Massey

10 Good Quality Strawberries

2tbsp Good Quality Strawberry Jam – I used Hartleys Best Strawberry Jam

300mls Cold Double Cream – alternatively for buttercream use 300g/11oz icing sugar and 150g/5oz butter and a drop of vanilla extract

50g/2oz White Chocolate

50g/2oz Dark Chocolate

Optional – edible glitter

Method: Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan, gas mark 3

Making The Cake Batter And Baking The Doughnut

Grease both the silicone doughnut moulds thoroughly with butter. Place on a large baking tray.
Into a large bowl add the butter, sugar and salt.
Whisk/beat for a good few minutes – 5 minutes ideally – until pale and creamy.
Add in the vanilla bean paste (or extract) and beat until incorporated.
Next add all 5 eggs. Continue whisking/beating until the mixture is pale and creamy. If the mix looks as though it has split (curdled) add 1 tablespoon of the weighed flour, continue mixing and it will pull back together.
Sift in the flour (gluten free or regular) and the baking powder.
Fold in the flour until just combined.
Divide the batter equally between the 2 doughnut moulds.

These silicone doughnut moulds from Lakeland are so easy to use.

Place the baking tray into the centre of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes.
The sponge is baked when it is a golden colour and springs back when lightly pressed – note – the gluten free doughnut was slightly paler than the regular doughnut, this is nothing to worry about.
As soon as they are baked remove the baking tray from the oven and allow the doughnuts to cool for 10 minutes before turning them out on to a cooling rack.

Filling And Decorating The Doughnut

Whilst the doughnut’s are cooling, break up the white and dark chocolate and place into separate heatproof, microwaveable bowls. Zap until just melting and stir until completely melted. Fill 2 small disposable piping bags with each melted chocolate. Snip off the very end, leaving a small hole. Place the strawberries on baking parchment or a silicone mat placed on a baking tray (helpful if you need to move them). Pipe some with white chocolate zig zags and others the same using dark chocolate. Allow to set, in hot weather pop in the fridge for a few minutes to set.
When completely cooled place one doughnut half, flat side up on to a board or plate.
Whisk the cream (or icing sugar/butter/vanilla) until it holds its shape (or until the buttercream is pale and creamy).
Spoon the strawberry jam on to the base of the doughnut and spread so that it almost reaches the edges.
Fill a disposable piping bag, fitted with a large star tip, with the cream/buttercream.
Pipe some cream on top of the jam.

Place the other half of the doughnut, flat side down, on top of the base.
Pipe swirls of cream/buttercream around the doughnut and then pipe stars around the centre, on the side.
Top the swirls with chocolate piped strawberries and sprinkle with edible glitter.

Serving The Giant Doughnut

Make sure you take a photo of your beautiful Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut, as once it is assembled I can guarantee that it will not last long!

I have specified more strawberries in the recipe than you see on the cake. This is so that everyone gets a delicious, chocolate piped strawberry with their slice.

Served with a proper cup of tea, I can think of no better way than feasting on this delicious treat any afternoon.

I bought the giant doughnut silicone mould from Lakeland at a silly price in the sale. That said, they are so much fun, I’d happily pay full price for one!

If you have enjoyed the recipe for Strawberry Whipped Cream Giant Doughnut then you may like these too:

Raspberry and Cream Giant Doughnut

Black Forest Giant Doughnut

Loveliest Lemon Curd Cake

The idea of Afternoon Tea really appeals to me. Even if I can’t be fussed to make finger sandwiches and the like, making a treat for Sunday afternoon, where we sit down and enjoy as a family, is becoming a tradition.

Quite often I will bake the cake/giant doughnut on the Saturday, ready for icing the following day. We give a lot of the sweet treats that I make away. Primarily because as a family we love sharing, we are also conscious of our health too.

If you have family traditions I’d love to hear about them. Leave a comment for me to read in the comments section?

Whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchens, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie xx

No part of this post may be reproduced or duplicated without the written permission of the owner. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Large 3 Malts Sunflower Loaf

Many of you may have realised by now, that I love baking bread. Especially as the smell and taste, is far superior to any supermarket loaf. Also, no unnecessary additives are added to home baked breads. Finally, having been asked numerous times for the recipe to make my Large 3 Malts Sunflower Loaf here it is! A tasty, family sized loaf of bread that’s ideal for sandwiches and toast.

Since I have been asked a few times if I’m sponsored by Shipton Mill I will set the record straight, I am not. Yet their’s is simply THE best bread flour I have ever used. And I adore that their 3 Malts with Sunflower flour blend gives the loaf a chewy, nutty, malt flavour, without the heaviness of 100% wholemeal Flour.

Likewise, this Seeded Cob Loaf is also a tasty, semi wholemeal bread, that’s easy to make and bake and highly recommended.

Since I’ve baked this Large 3 Malts Sunflower Loaf a number of times now, I’ve found it to be consistently good. Resulting in a fantastic, family sized bread, that slices well and tastes great toasted, made into sandwiches, or buttered and served with soup.

Recipe: Makes one Large 3 Malts Sunflower Loaf

Note: A large plain white loaf can also be made using this recipe. Substitute an equal quantity of Strong White Bread Flour and follow the recipe and method as given.

750g 3 Malts with Sunflower Flour from – Shipton Mill – Alternately use a malted bread flour mix and add 3tbsp of sunflower seeds.

530mls Tepid Water

12g Fast Action Dried Yeast – I use Allinson Easy Bake Yeast

1.5tsp Runny Honey – alternatively use either the equivalent of Maple Syrup, or sugar for a Vegan loaf

40g Softened Unsalted Butter – alternately use 2tbsp Rapeseed Oil (Canola Oil)

10g Sea Salt – I use Maldon

You will need a large 4lb loaf tin that’s been buttered for this recipe.

Making, Shaping And Proving The Malted Dough

First of all, place the water, honey and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attached.
Add the 3 Malts flour on top of the wet mixture in the bowl.
Next add the salt and butter – broken into small pieces.
Lower the dough hook and mix on low speed for ten minutes. The dough should be stretchy and coming clean away from the sides of the bowl.
Lift up the dough hook and scrape any dough off, using your fingers, into the bowl.
Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl with a clean tea towel.
Leave the dough to prove in a draught free place until it is doubled in size.
Lightly dust the worktop with flour.
As soon a the dough has doubled in size, using a clean, flour dusted hand, tip the dough on to the work top, easing it out of the bowl with your hand.
Flatten the dough slightly and fold the bottom third up and the just over the top third down. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat.
Turn the dough over and tuck any edges underneath so that you have an oval shaped piece of dough.
Place the shaped dough into the buttered bread tin and cover with a clean tea towel.

Place the covered dough in a warm, draught free place until doubled or tripled in size.
As this loaf starts to rise above the tin put the oven on to preheat at 230C/210C fan, gas mark 8, 450F.

Making The Large 3 Malts Sunflower Loaf

As soon as the loaf has risen well and is above the edge of the pan place in the centre of the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes.

FF Large 3 Makts Sunflower Loaf — **Large 3 Malts Sunflower Loaf** 3 times its original size and ready for the oven.

You can check your loaf at 25 minutes. It is baked when golden brown and sounds hollow when rapped on the base with your knuckle.
For a deeper, darker crust, tip the loaf out of the tin and bake for a further 10 minutes directly on the oven shelf.
Once baked to your liking, remove the bread from the oven and place on to a cooling rack.

You simply cannot get the smell of freshly baked bread at home, well, without freshly baking it yourself!

During the summer, I cover the loaf with a net food tent to keep flies and bugs off.

Finally, leave the bread to cool completely before slicing. Not only will the bread slice better, it is also said to be better for digestion.

I had a delicious slice of this bread toasted, with jam, for breakfast this morning. Sitting and relaxing in our garden, cup of coffee in hand, watching the bees and butterflies, while munching away!

Note: For a smaller loaf use the weights and timings for the Lighter Wholemeal Loaf.

Homemade bread is so easy using a stand mixer. Alternatively, you can by always make this loaf by hand.

If you have enjoyed the recipe for this Large 3 Malts Sunflower Loaf here are some others you may enjoy too:

Lighter Wholemeal Loaf

Large White Bloomer

Family sized white bloomer loaf cooling on a rack. — Large White Bloomer

Farmhouse White Loaf

Importantly, the process of making bread, for me, is really enjoyable and fun. Also, if you look at the ingredient list on any standard, plastic wrapped loaf and compare it to mine, prepare yourself for a shock!

As you begin to routinely make your own bread, it will become easier to double the recipe and make two loaves. Resulting in an extra loaf for the freezer and lessening the need to buy a loaf from the supermarket. Most importantly, the nutritional quantity and flavour homemade bread is far superior and less expensive than it’s supermarket counterpart.

So, whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchens, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie xx

No part of this post may be reproduced or duplicated without the written permission of the owner. Please see my Disclosure Policy.