Festive Mince Pies

Hello Everybody! 

It's been ages since I've written a new recipe on here, but I've been really busy with school. I have been baking though, in fact, I made a Dorset Apple Cake, Victoria Sponge and Cinnamon Shortbread. But I'm back with something festive, that I think you'll love. Mince Pies! 

Now, I didn't make the pastry myself as the mince pies I made are to take to the pheasant shoot tomorrow. I decided to use Sainsbury's sweet shortcrust pastry and I also had a packet of Jus-Roll on standby. 

I began by buttering the mince pie tin (Yorkshire pudding tin) and rolling out the pastry until it was quite thin but not so thin that it broke. 

I used a flower peaked cutter to shape the case of the mince pie and placed each flower inside a hole in the tin. 

Using two teaspoons, I pushed an even amount of mincemeat into the holes. 

Mmmmmm 

To top the mince pies, I opted for a small star cutter and the same sweet pastry I used before. 

I egg washed each mince pie to give them a nice shiny glaze once baked. 

To finish, icing sugar. 

Festive Mince Pies! 

I hope you enjoyed this really easy recipe, I enjoyed making them! See you soon, 

Georgia xo 

Coffee and Walnut Cake!

Hello Everybody! 

There is nothing better on rainy days like these than curling up on the sofa with a hot cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate and a slice of cake, am I right?

  I went shooting this morning and a lovely lady gave me a bag of Walnuts from her Walnut tree. When I got home, I was looking for inspiration for my next post and came across the nuts. I found a recipe for Coffee and Walnut cake in a baking cookbook my aunt gave me quite a while ago. So, I thought, what better way to make the most of a rainy day indoors than bake a cake!

If you would like to bake this cake for yourself, then as always, the recipe will be below.

    I began by washing some of the walnuts in a sieve over the sink. This removed most of the dirt and debris left on them. I left the Walnuts to dry in the sieve as I prepared the rest of my ingredients.

                 

   I used the nutcracker in my pair of scissors to separate the shell. (Thanks Dad for helping me with the pictures!) You may have a nutcracker like normal, but I found that using the built in one was easier for me. 

                 

This is what a good Walnut looks like, lighter in colour and brown in some areas. I would recommend using these types of nuts if you can find them on your tree. If you don't have a Walnut tree, all Supermarkets sell de-shelled Walnuts. I really like Sainsbury's ones. 

                

This is an example of a Walnut I would not use. Don't be put off by the colouring of the shell, make sure to crack open all of them as some may be good ones when their shells don't look too nice. This one is black in colour with green furry. Ew, 

                 

I measured out all of my ingredients into appropriate sized bowls and containers as this helps me make sure I combine the correct amount of ingredients without having to keep checking the recipe. I really like the small bowls I put my sultanas and Walnuts in, they're so cute!

                  

                         Carefully following the recipe, I created the dry mixture. 

                  

    I  made the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients separately and then added them together. I put          the fruit and nuts in and stirred the mixture together. 

                   

     I  had already pre-greased my spring-form cake tin and then emptied the cake mixture out into the     tin. I  find that levelling out the cake before putting it in the oven helps it rise evenly. 

                   

                      This is what it looked like when it first came out the oven! Mmmm!

                    

   To finish off the cake once cooled, I made my own Coffee and vanilla flavoured butter icing and used    a star nosed nozzle to pipe some flower-like rosettes. I also topped the inside ring off with left over        Walnut pieces. 

                      

                                                   Tea and cake. How British. 

                       

                I think it's safe to say that this cake was enjoyed, I thoroughly enjoyed baking it! 

                      

                    I hope you enjoyed this post, come back next week for a new recipe!

Thankyou for reading, see you soon!

                                                                        Georgia xo

Ingredients: 

                                                               85g softened butter

 275g plain flour

 1 tbsp baking powder

 85g caster sugar

2 eggs

 150ml milk

3 tbsp strong black coffee

 60g shelled chopped walnuts

50g sultanas 

 Method:

Preheat the oven 190°c. 

Grease a cake tin (I didn't measure mine but I used a medium sized spring-form tin from Sainsbury's).

Combine the dry ingredients and set aside. 

Combine the wet ingredients and add them to the dry mixture and stir until fully combined. 

Stir in the Walnuts and Raisins. 

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and place in the oven for 1 hour. 

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. 

Enjoy your cake! 

Cheese and Cayenne Pepper Scones!

Hello Everybody!

I hope you're enjoying my blog. A couple of weeks ago I made some fruit scones and posted the results on Facebook. A few family members then asked if I could make them some cheese scones and I agreed. You can find my recipe below.

I adapted my own recipe to add a hint of spice in the form of Cayenne pepper. I am going to be taking them over to my aunt and uncle's house tomorrow, I hope they enjoy them! I begun, as always, by weighing out my ingredients and then following the recipe I've always known. After combining, I then used a medium to large cookie cutter to form 13 scones. 

I put them in the oven for 14 minutes as I found this the best time to make them golden and cooked through. You could add a little extra cheese and a glazing of milk before putting them in the oven. 

I hope they taste as good as they look! Thankyou for reading, if you would like this recipe for yourself, you can find it below. See you soon! 

Georgia xo

Ingredients: 

• 225g self raising flour
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 55g butter
• 100g cheddar cheese
• 80-90 ml milk, plus extra for glazing

Method:

1. Preheat oven with the baking tray inside to 200.C (slightly less for fan ovens). In a medium-large bowl sift together the flour, salt, cayenne pepper and baking powder.. Sift again to make sure the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
2. Cut the butter into cubes, place in the bowl and then mix with your fingertips to make breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the grated cheese into the breadcrumb mixture and rub in until the cheese is evenly distributed. Try not to mix too much as the heat from your hands may start to melt the cheese.
3. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in enough milk to give a fairly soft but firm dough. Do not pour in all the milk at once as you may not need it all to get the right consistency. 
4. Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough to approximately 2cm thick. Cut out the scones with a medium cutter and then place on the hot oven tray. Glaze the tops with the extra milk and sprinkle a little cheese on the top of each scone before putting in the oven.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

THIS RECIPE MAKES 6 SO I DOUBLED IT TO MAKE 12 

Mary Berry's Pork and Red Pepper Burgers!

Hello! I'm new to the world of blogging, but thought that as I have always wanted a place to document things that interest me, or that I love, I would give it a go! 

It may take me some time to get used to this whole idea so I probably will not frequently upload, as I would love to make each post the best quality. 

I have decided to write about a recipe I made for dinner for my family this evening. 

These are the Mary Berry pork and red pepper burgers. 

As well as below, you can find the offline version of this recipe in her book, Mary Berry cooks.

As my family have made a real effort to start eating more healthily, I looked through all the cookbooks we had and ended up deciding on these healthy alternatives to shop bought burgers. 

 The recipe is for 8 burgers but I made four slightly larger ones. 

This meal looked like so much fun to make, so I had a go myself.

I find it's easier weighing out all of your ingredients before you start cooking, it just makes life a lot easier.

For cooking the burgers, I started by browning both sides in a pan for four minutes, and then placed them on a baking tray and popped them in the oven.

I served my burgers on a bed of salad with sweet potato chips,

My family and I all enjoyed these burgers and I am sure I will make them again.

Thankyou for reading my first blog post, If you would like the recipe for yourself, you can find it below. See you soon!

Georgia xo

For this recipe, you will need: 

1 tbsp Sunflower oil

1/2 diced onion

3 rashers of finely chopped bacon
1 crushed garlic clove

75g crustless bread

2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

450g minced pork

2 roasted red peppers

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper 

Method: 

1. Begin by heating the oil in a frying pan and add in the bacon and onion. Fry both ingredients over a low heat until the onion is completely softened. Add the garlic and fry for one minute. 

2. Place the bread and parsley into a food blender and blitz until they are of a breadcrumb texture. Add the bacon and onion mixture, pork, red pepper, salt and plenty of black pepper. Combine all of these together in the blender. Shape the burgers into 8 and leave for 30 minutes to cool.

3. Preheat your grill to 180°C and grill the burgers for 6-8 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through. 

Alternitavely, cook in a pan with a small amount of oil until golden and cooked through.