Chocolate OD Pie!!

Helloooooo friends!!

I'm back (for now anyway)

I'll tell you what I've been up to...

• Starting a Bookkeeping course
• Looking after my home/animals/kids/husband
• SLIMMING(ish)
• Shed tears over my eldest starting primary school
• and I've gone back to work!! (boo hiss)

It's been hectic to say the least.

You know you're busy when you can't play with your own blog. Who knew I'd be one of those "on the go" mums, I'm a lazy sod at the best of times! 

But having 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 chickens, a big house, a "needy" husband, a job, a blog and a course really takes up my time.

This pie is one I made about THREE MONTHS AGO, this is how far behind I am! 

Anyhoo this is how I made this scrumptious dessert...YOU MUST MAKE THIS YOURSELF!!

Recipe

Ingredients ~ serves 16

Base
400g triple choc cookies
150g unsalted butter (melted)

1. Blitz the cookies in a food processor.
2. Add the melted butter and blitz again until it looks like damp sand.
3. Press into a 10 inch, fluted, loose-bottomed tart tin.
4. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hr (or until cool).

While it's chilling make the filling...

Filling

200g mini marshmallows
2tbsp cocoa powder
125ml milk
300ml double cream

1. Place the mallows, cocoa powder and milk into a saucepan and heat on a low heat until the mallows have completely melted. 
2. Set aside to cool.
3. Thickly whip the cream (be careful not to turn it into butter!!!)
4. Using a hand whisk mix the mallow mixture into the cream.
5. When completely combined take the base out of the fridge and fill with the mallow/cream mix.
6. Stick it in the fridge again or at least 1 - 2 hours.

Cut that bad boy into 16 slices of joy!

You are welcome!!

Until next time...

xx Kat xx

Courgette Cake

So now I live in the sticks I have space; space to play, space to relax, space to grown my own.

And grow I have (I'm using the word "I" loosely...hubby may have done it!)

We've had all sorts of things...

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, apples, rhubarb, peas, string-beans, carrots, lettuce, spinach, sprouts and herbs. But no courgettes!!

Why?...I have no idea...ask the hubs.

Luckily my gal pal, up the lane, has tonnes of them.

She asked me when she should harvest them, I told her to take her fella up there with his measuring stick! Admittedly I didn't really think that one through, now she's given me a bunch of them and I feel all awkward taking my knife to 'em...ouch!! 

Plus...the hubs gets all moody when I compliment Sammy on her impressive courgettes!! Ha!

Anyhoo...slightly off topic, back to business.

Hubs was really please to come home to this delicious delight after a hard day at work.

The smile makes it worthwhile. 

Recipe

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour

250g caster sugar

250g butter (soft)

3 eggs

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp poppy seeds

1 tsp vanilla

270g grated courgettes

Preheat oven to 180 / 160 fan / GM4

 Grease and line 2x 20cm tins.

 Place all dry ingredients into a bowl.

 Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time making sure each is fully mixed before adding the next.

Add the vanilla and poppy seeds.

Fold in half of the dry ingredients.

Fold in the courgettes.

Fold in the rest of the dry ingredients.

Divide equally between the tins and bake for 25-35mins (depending on how wet your courgettes were)

Lemon-pop Buttercream

100g butter (soft)

200g icing sugar

1-2 tsp lemon juice (dependant on taste)

1 tsp poppy seeds

Cream the butter until light and fluffy.

Add the icing sugar a spoon at a time (avoids sugar clouds)

Add the lemon juice and poppy seeds and whip until fluffy.

Lemon Drizzle

150g icing sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp water

Stir a small amount of liquid into the icing sugar to make a paste

Add the rest of the liquids until you have a good pouring consistency (not too runny)

Place the buttercream on one of the cakes and place the other on top. Drizzle the, er, drizzle, on top letting some of it fall over the edges. Sprinkle on some poppy seeds to finish.

ET VOILA!!

Enjoy the bounty of your harvest.

xx Kat xx

Lindt Chocolate & Strawberry Layer Cake...and a giveaway!!!

Well helloooooo my friends,

I have been lazy.

In the garden.

In the sun. 

No "British" weather complaints coming out of my mouth I can tell you.

Whilst I was enjoying what was left of my maternity leave, I got a very exciting email from the chaps at Lindt asking if I'd like to try some of their new chocolates and host a giveaway for my lovely readers. 

"YES" I say.

Gimme, gimme, gimme

Mmmmmmmm...Lindt (she says with a mouthful)

I had my choice of goodies so I picked the 70% cooking chocolate and the Strawberry Intense. 

When it's hot outside there's nothing better than a light, sweet dessert to finish a meal. 

So I make a stonking great Chocolate and Strawberry Layer Cake! 

YOU ARE WELCOME!!

Here's how you can make you beloved's cry with joy...

Recipe

250g sugar

250g butter

200g self raising flour

50g Cocoa

2 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp baking powder

Dash of strong (cooled) coffee... I used about 15 ml

• Preheat oven to 170/150 fan/GM4 and grease and line 3x 18cm cake tins.
• Cream the butter and sugar.
• Add the vanilla.
• Add eggs one at a time making sure each is fully mixed before adding the next.
• Add the golden syrup.
• Fold in half the dry mixture.
• Fold in the rest of the dry mix.
• Add the coffee.

Divide the mixture equally between the tins and bake for 30 minutes. Leave to cool in the tins then wrap each cake and chill for a least 2 hours.

Icing

250g unsalted butter

460g icing sugar

3 tbsp strawberry jam (no bits)

30ml milk 

• Cream the butter.
• Add the icing sugar a few spoons at a time.
• Add the jam and mix well.
• Mix in the milk until you get an easy, smooth cake covering consistency.

Place one sponge on top of your turntable/plate and frost with a small bit of icing. Place another on top and do the same again. Then do the crumb coat (thin layer of icing all over the cake to catch the crumbs) chill for 1 hour. When the icing on the cake has hardened off you can frost the cake as normal.

Chocolate drizzle

100g Lindt 70% cooking chocolate

100ml double cream.

• Place cream and choc on a double boiler until melted and smooth.
• Leave to cool for a bit then pour over your chilled cake...letting it drip down the sides. 

ET VOILA

If you'd like to win a bar of cooking chocolate and two packs of Strawberry Intense then all you need to do is leave a comment to say what you'd do with them. One comment will be randomly selected next Saturday and the winner will get these...

This is my first giveaway and I'm really excited about it! I can't wait to see all the wonderful things you'll do with this amazing chocolate!

Until next week...

xx Kat xx

Citrus Cheesecake

I love no-bake cheesecake, baked ones just seem wrong to me and are never as good.

Every Sunday myself and the brood go to my husband's Great Aunt's house for a roast, the woman is 92 but wouldn't have it any other way. I set the table, do the gravy and drinks, Aunty P and Brad dish up. I tell you what, her roasts are sooooooo good! 

Anyhoo, last Saturday my husband decided it would be a good idea to take a baseball bat to our windscreen! (not really, he broke it with a plank of wood by accident) Thus rendering us car-less at the last minute.

So it was down to me to make us a roast! Um...OK, I'll just wing it, it'll be fine.

And it was LOVELY!! So chuffed with myself. 

The only problem is that I didn't have any carrots (edible ones anyway) because the hubby decided to go all fancy and not peel them or boil them, but to just cut the ends off, throw them in a tin with a foil tent and throw in what I can only describe as EVERY BOTTLED JUICE WE HAVE in there...lemon, lime, Worcester etc!!

URGH!!

The rest of the roast was at least edible.

The best bit though, was the dessert, which I made in 20mins + chilling while the food was cooking.

Us women can multi-task...oh yes!

I call it Citrus Cheesecake because of the lemon, lime and mandarins used, here's what I did....

Ingredients

300g digestive biscuits

140g unsalted butter (melted)

4 tbsp lemon curd

1 tbsp icing sugar

2 tbsp lime juice

300ml double cream

300g cream cheese (at room temp)

1 tin of mandarin segments (in juice NOT SYRUP)

1. Line the bottom of a 8" round, deep sided cake tin.
2. Blitz the biscuits in food processor (or by hand) until fine crumbs.
3. Add the butter and mix until it looks like damp sand.
4. Put base mixture into tin and press firmly and evenly.
5. Chill while you make the topping. (15mins minimum)
6. Mix the cream cheese with the lemon curd, lime juice and icing sugar.
7. In another bowl whip the cream until it just gets to the thick whip stage.
8. Using a hand whisk mix the cream into the cheese mixture.
9. Smooth the mixture onto the base and decorate with the mandarins.
10. Chill for at least an hour.

Serve this delicious dessert straight from the fridge by placing the tin on a pint glass, slowly pull down the sides of the tin to release the cake, then slide the cake onto a plate and dish that beauty up!!

My guests definitely thought this cheesecake was the best part of the meal.

ENJOY

xx Kat xx