COOKBOOKS GALORE

  I had to repost this as my computer went a bit haywire! Sorry if your comment has disappeared! I was  looking for something in my tins cupboard when I found a large tin of peaches hidden at the back. I remembered a recipe that my friend used to make so decided to make it. It’s an unusual recipe in that it uses semolina and crème fraîche , and is cooked on top of the cooker. You need:                                                          traybake tin large tin of peaches in syrup,  250ml syrup from the tin,  250ml milk ,100g crème fraîche   75g semolina  mint sprigs to decorate   Drain the peaches and keep 250ml of the syrup. Cut the peaches into 1/4s. Heat the milk and syrup in a pan till boiling then add the semolina and cook on gentle heat for 15mins, stirring all the time. Whip th...

I made these recently for a family tea. They're delicious and the filling is rather like a brownie. I found the recipe in my scrapbook, so not sure where it originated. I bought a pack of shortcrust pastry, but you can make your own. For the filling you need -   1 egg, 100g caster sugar, 55g melted butter, 1/2 tspn vanilla extract, 20g cocoa powder, 20g ground almonds, 1/2 tspn instant coffee and a pinch of salt raspberries, crème fraîche and flaked almonds for the top.  Preheat oven 180C/gas4           Grease a 12 hole cupcake tin [or a little tart tin] . Roll pastry out thinly and cut out 12  x 4" or 10cm circles. Press gently into the holes in the tin and put in the fridge while you make the filling. Beat the egg till thick and frothy with an electric hand beater. Add the sugar and keep on beating till light and fluffy. Pour in the melted butter and vanilla, beating all the while. Fold in the cocoa, ground al...

 I decided to have a good sort out of my baking cupboard, to find any bits and pieces that needed using up. I found some pine nuts and ground hazelnuts, both very near their 'use by' date, so decided to use them in a tart. What would go well with them?  I always have some frozen raspberries ready to use, as they're one of my favourite fruits and thought these would work well with the nuts. For the filling I'd use creme fraîche instead of cream, not to make the tart too rich. My loose-bottomed tart tin is 23cm. Preheat oven 200C/gas6 You need 300g of shortcrust pastry, bought or home made [ I added a little sugar to it]. Roll out the pastry to fit the greased tin, and put in the fridge. Break 3 eggs into a bowl; add another yolk, 120g caster sugar and 60g ground hazelnuts. Whisk together , then add 100cl creme fraîche  and 1 tspn vanilla extract and mix together well. Put 200g of raspberries on top of the pastry and pour over the egg mixture. Sprinkle 80g of pin...