COOKBOOKS GALORE

  For some reason, I seem to have an awful lot of onions. With this wintry weather I thought I'd use some up and make an onion and bacon tart. Nothing fussy, just pastry, onions and lardons.  I knows chopping onions can be a tearful job, so I admit to using the slicer on my food processor. I used the grater for small slices, but they can be hand chopped!   You need 200g short crust pastry, 2 big onions [or more if you really like them!], 400ml crème fraîche, 150g lardons and some grated Gruyère or other flavourful cheese Preheat oven 180C/gas4                   You need a baking sheet Peel and chop the onions. Put into a frying pan, add half a glass of water and cook gently for 5-10 mins. leave to cool. Roll out pastry into a circle that will fit the baking sheet. My sheet will take a 28cm circle. prick with a fork. Spread the crème fraîche over the pastry leaving a gap round the edge. Spoon the onions on top and fin...

A Happy New Year! Bonne Année!  I can't let Epiphany pass without a Galette, and I think we all need something sweet to keep us going in these difficult times.  I asked my French friend for ideas for something different and she sent me this recipe. I found the ground hazelnuts in Waitrose, or you could grind your own. So you need: 2 sheets of butter puff pastry, 125g ground hazelnuts, 100g dark chocolate, 100ml single cream, 1 egg, 75g caster sugar, 50g melted butter, 1 tspn vanilla extract and 1 egg yolk Preheat oven 200C/gas6                       Baking sheet Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water. Beat the egg with the sugar till fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and mix well. Add the hazelnuts and vanilla extract and stir together. Roll out the first sheet of puff pastry and cut out a circle using a large dinner plate or something similar. Place on the baking she...

Wanted to make something Christmassy for my neighbours bake this week, and  I found some fresh cranberries in my local supermarket. These and mincemeat would be great in a cake. I found this recipe in my folder - it's from a magazine, but not sure which one! For the cake you need: 150g soft butter, 150g caster sugar, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 100g sr flour, 100g ground almonds, 4 tbspn milk, 200g mincemeat and 200g fresh cranberries. For the streudel topping: 25g cold butter, 75g sr flour, 1 tspn cinnamon, 75g demerara sugar, 100g pine nuts or flaked almonds. Icing sugar to dust Preheat oven 180C/gas4                 Line 20cm springform baking tin with baking parchment, making sure that the paper comes above the sides of the tin. Beat the sugar and butter till light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time plus the vanilla. Fold in the flour and ground almonds, then the milk and mix in. Add the mincemeat and cranberries and mix in gent...

Not sure if the problem is completely sorted, but at least I can post again! Couldn't think of a good name for this cheesecake, but as it has chocolate and coffee in it I thought this name would do. It's my normal cheesecake, but with an added something. It's a rich cheesecake, just right for an occasion, so am going to make another for Boxing Day. It's for those who love dark chocolate and coffee.   You need a 23cm springform tin. Preheat oven to oven 160C/gas3   Make sure that the cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature.   Put 200g of chocolate digestive biscuits in a bag and crush with a rolling pin [or use a food processor]. Add 125g plus 2 tbspns of melted butter and 1/2 tspn almond essence and mix together. Press this firmly into the bottom of the tin. Put in the fridge to set.   In a bowl mix together 140g granulated sugar and 1 tspn of espresso or any other strong coffee granules [more if you want a strong coffee flavour]. Melt 250...

I'm sorry but seem to be unable to post any photos and my text goes haywire! This has all happened since I changed the look of my blog. I don't know how to rectify it! If I try and look at past posts, I get a muddled text and the photos are in words! Am ok with technology until something goes wrong. I hope business will soon return to normal!

I have to confess to not being a cupcake fan. This is because I find the topping too sweet and too much! My  friend loves them, so I made some for her birthday. It was yet another way of using up some very ripe bananas. 225g plain white flour 1 1/4 tspn baking powder 1/4 tspn bicarb of soda 2 ripe bananas, mashed 115g butter, softened 115g caster sugar 1/2 tspn vanilla extract 2 eggs 4 tbsp soured cream 55g walnut pieces, roughly chopped Topping 175g butter, softened 350g icing sugar some walnut pieces, roughly chopped Preheat oven 190C/gas 5.               Line 2 cupcake or muffin tins with 14 paper cupcake cases  Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarb of soda. Beat the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, then stir in the mashed bananas, soured cream and walnuts. Fold in the flour mixture.  Put the mixture into the paper cups and bake for a...

  I presume that this cake has its origins in the USA, as there's the famous Mississippi Mud Pie. My family love chocolate cakes, and as my son was coming to visit, I decided to make a mud cake, a recipe I'd kept for ages in my folder.  So for the cake you need: 220g butter or margarine, 220g dark chocolate, 6 tspn instant coffee, 160ml water, 125g sr flour, 125g plain flour, 50g cocoa, 1/2 tspn bicarb, 480g caster sugar, 4 eggs, 35ml vegetable oil and 110ml sour cream For the ganache you need: 280g good chocolate, 140ml double cream and 40g soft butter Preheat oven 160C/gas4                         Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin In a pan, put the chocolate, butter, coffee and water on a low heat, till chocolate has melted, then stir together. Sift the flours, cocoa and bicarb together in a bowl and stir in the sugar. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and sour cream together. Spoon the egg mixture and t...