Scone Recipe

Ingredients

 
245g Strong flour
28g Sugar
12g Baking powder
37.5g Butter
86ml of Milk
56ml of Double cream

Method

Crumb the flour, sugar, baking powder and butter together until a fine crumb is achieved and then slowly add the milk and cream. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, using a little flour to dust a surface, roll out thee scone mixture to bout 2cm thick. Cut the scones into the desired size. Using a little milk wash, brush the tops of each scone and bake the scones at 180°c until golden in colour.

Once the scones have been baked and look lovely and golden, let the scones cool before cutting them and filling them. This is the fun bit, you can now fill your scones with lovely fillings such as, clotted cream, Chantilly cream, fresh jams and the list goes on.

Bon Appétit

 

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne

 

Ingredients

14 lasagne sheets
4 packed cups chopped spinach (about 300g)*
2 tbsp. oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 white bell pepper, chopped
60g parmesan cheese
100g mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
400g ricotta cheese
2 cups tomato pasta sauce
1/3 tsp salt
pinch ground pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a pan and add onions and bell pepper. Sauté them until they have softened and turned lightly golden. Add garlic and sauté a little more. Turn off the heat and let cool a bit.

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the ricotta, spinach, half of the parmesan and half of the mozzarella cheese. Add salt and pepper. When the onion/bell pepper mixture has cooled, add it to the spinach mixture. Mix everything until combined.

Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare a 23x23 square baking dish.

Pour 1 cup of the pasta sauce onto the bottom of your baking dish and coat it evenly. Place lasagne sheets on top. Spread some spinach mixture on top of them. Repeat these steps 3 times (except for the pasta sauce). Finally, spread the remaining pasta sauce onto the lasagne sheets and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for additional 15-20 minutes. Let the dish sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

Banana and chocolate cake

Ingredients

250 grams plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
125 grams unsalted butter (softened)
250 grams caster sugar
4 bananas (ripe and mashed)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
175 grams dark chocolate (good quality or milk chocolate)

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

Mix the butter, sugar, banana, eggs, vanilla extract and chocolate chips in a separate bowl.

Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine, being careful not to over mix.

Pour the batter into a non-stick, or lightly greased and floured, 19 x 11 cm (7 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch) loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer.

Leave the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes, and then turn the cake out onto wire rack. When the cake is cooled all the way through, slice the cake thinly, serve and enjoy

Bon Appétit

Watercress Soup with a lemon yoghurt

Ingredients

1kg watercress; leaves removed

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large leek, roughly chopped and washed
60ml vegetable oil
400g floury potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
5ltrs vegetable stock

Method

Gently cook the watercress stalks, onions and leeks in the vegetable oil until soft. Add the potatoes and vegetable stock, bring to the boil, season and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the watercress leaves and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

Blend in a liquidiser until smooth and strain through a fine meshed sieve into a container that is in a ice bath. Correct the seasoning if necessary.

For the lemon yoghurt, take Greek style yoghurt and add a squeeze of lemon juice and the zest of half a lemon. Quenelle the yoghurt into the centre of the bowl and gently pour the soup into the bowl around the yoghurt.

Bon Appétit  

White chocolate and raspberry marquise

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

175g self-raising flour
1 rounded tsp baking powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
175g golden caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the raspberry filling

250g mascarpone
284ml carton whipping cream
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g raspberries
8 tbsp raspberry jam

To decorate

White chocolate shavings
Dark chocolate shavings
Mixed fruit (we used passion fruit cut into wedges, blueberries, raspberries, redcurrants and canned apricots, quartered)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan160°C/gas 4 and lightly grease and base line 2 x 20cm round x 4cm deep loose-bottomed cake tins with baking paper. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add all the other cake ingredients and mix with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is a smooth, dropping consistency. If a little stiff, mix in a dash of water to loosen.

2. Divide the mixture equally between the tins and level. Bake for 25 minutes, until well risen, springy and golden. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Using a serrated bread knife, slice each cake horizontally into 3 thin discs, to give 6 in total.

3. Put the mascarpone, cream, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and mix with an electric hand whisk until smooth and thickened.

4. Put 1 disc, cut-side up, on a plate or cake stand. Spread over a little of the filling (about a fifth) and scatter with half the raspberries. Place a second disc on top and spread with a little more filling, then top with a third disc and spread with half the jam. Put a fourth disc on top and spread with a little filling, scatter with the rest of the raspberries and sit the fifth disc on top. Spread with the remaining jam and more filling, then sit the final disc on top. Press so the filling oozes out a little. Spread the remaining filling on top. Chill to firm up.

5. Smooth the sides with a palette knife and stick the chocolate shavings all round the cake. Secure with a piece of wide ribbon. Push more of the chocolate shavings gently into the filling all around the top edge of the cake. Pile the mixed fruit into the centre of the cake, arranging if you like, to serve.

Bon Appétit

*In the picture about, the cake is wrapped in a white chocolate collar and not the chocolate shavings*

Crispy Potato Galette

Ingredients

3 large potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
1 table spoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Fresh thyme leaves

Method

MeMMmethPat the potatoes dry if they are starchy and moist. In a large frying pan, sauté half the potatoes with a tablespoon of olive oil over the potatoes, and sprinkle half the nutmeg and black pepper over the potatoes to taste. Starting in the centre of the pan, start arranging the potatoes into layers, over lapping them into a spiral.  When the potato slices are finished repeat the process with the remaining potato slice.

Cover the pan and place it on a medium heat and cook the potatoes until they are golden brown and cooked on the underside, about 15 minutes, occasionally shaking the pan gently to avoid the potatoes sticking. Wipe the inside of the lid to keep it dry as and when needed.

After the potatoes have cooked and turned golden brown. Press the potatoes down with a flat spatula and remove the pan from the heat. Place a plate over the pan, and flip the pan so that the galette is now on the plate. Then slide the raw side of the galette back into the pan and cook for a further 15 minutes. Once the galette is cooked through, transfer it back onto a serving plate, and garnish with the chopped parsley, crushed garlic and seasoning.

 

Bon Appétit