Recipe | Elderflower, Prosecco and Summer Fruit Jelly

Hosting a winter party? Or just fancy a refreshing dessert after eating an enormous amount of food over the holiday period? Well these jellies would be perfect whatever the occasion. 

These jellies are really easy and look stunning so they are the perfect showstopper!

Ingredients 

1 punnet of mixed berries

4 leaves gelatine

140 ml elderflower cordial 

2 heaped tablespoon caster sugar

425ml prosecco, chilled

Method

1. I made individual jellies but you can make a big one if you'd like, if you are making a big one then it would be a good idea to line the dish with cling film. Either way the first step is to disperse the fruit into the serving dish. Then place these into the refrigerator to keep the fruit cool. Tip - I used frozen fruit and it worked just as well.

2. Put your gelatine leaves into a bowl of cool water for a minute or so, then drain and add to the cordial. place the cordial and gelatine mix over a medium heat on the stove and stir constantly until a syrup is formed

3. Add the sugar and stir again until the sugar has dissolved. Then take the mixture off the hot and set aside for a minute or so until it reaches room temperature.

4. Take the fruit and prosecco out of the fridge (keeping the prosecco cool helps keep the bubbles in and results in the jelly having a lovely fizzy texture) and add the prosecco to the cooled cordial and gelatine mix. 

5. Slowly pour the jelly mixture into the serving dish and chill in the fridge to let the jelly set. this would take at least an hour. 

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with family and friends!

Annie xxx

Recipe | Halloween Brain Cupcakes

Happy Halloween!

Here is the recipe for some Brain Cupcakes I whipped up at the weekend to share with some family friends who came to visit.

Serving: Makes 9 cupcakes
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 1 hour

For the cupcakes you will need

• 100 grams self raising flour
• 100 grams caster sugar
• 100 grams butter (at room temperature)
• 2 free range eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Buttercream you will need

• 200 grams icing sugar
• 100 grams butter
• Dr Oetker red food gel – a couple drops until buttercream is tinted a flesh colour.

Method

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until light a fluffy

2.Beat in the eggs until all combined

3. Sift in the flour until all is mixed together

4. Divide into 9 cupcake cases and bake for 12-15 minutes – or until golden brown and bouncy to touch

5. While the cupcakes are baking make the buttercream by mixing the butter and icing sugar together

6. Then add a few drops of red food gel until the desired colour is produced.

7. Leave the buttercream to chill in the fridge until the cupcakes are cool enough to ice.

To make the brain pattern you will need to make a long line down the centre of the cupcake and then create a squiggly line down the two sides – you may need to practise this on baking parchment to achieve the right shape

To finish I watered down some of the red food gel and flicked it onto the cakes to look like blood.

Hope you all had a lovely day!

Annie xx

Recipe | Savoury Pancakes for Pancake Day

Happy Pancake Day! 

So it’s pancake day! The day that it is acceptable to eat as many pancakes as you want and although not many today I’ve eaten a total of 8! 

As a tradition on pancake day we, of course, try to have as many pancakes as possible in a day or at least try to sneak one into every meal – which means savoury pancakes! And although the idea of a delicious sweet treat being savoury sounds absurd it can actually be nice – especially when done right 

This year I made some savoury pancakes which had a cheese sauce, mushroom and gammon inside and they turned out great so I decided to share the recipe with you! 

For this you will need:

• 150 grams plain flour
• 450 ml milk
• 3 large free range eggs
• Slices of gammon or ham ( preferably one per person)
• 3 mushrooms 
• Tablespoon of butter
• Tablespoon of plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 250 ml milk
• 225 grams grated cheese (and a little extra to sprinkle on top)

Method 

1. Combine the flour, milk and eggs together in a jug and whisk until smooth, then set aside. 
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add flour and salt, and which till combined. 
3. Add milk. Whisk vigorously until there are no lumps. 
4. Pour into a glass or ceramic bowl and microwave for 6 minutes, stopping to stir every 2 minutes to whisk. 
5. Add cheese and microwave for 2 further minutes and whisk. 
6. Slice up the gammon and mushroom and stir into the cheese sauce. 
7. Heat up a frying pan and make your pancakes ( I did two per person). 
8. Place one pancake on to a baking sheet and spoon a generous amount of the cheese sauce mixture onto the pancake and roll as you would with a sweet pancake and repeat with the rest of the pancakes 
9. Sprinkle some cheese on top and grill until the cheese has melted. 

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did and have a great week!

Annie xx

Recipe | Hidden Heart Cupcakes for Valentines Day

Struggling on what to get your partner for Valentine’s Day? Or maybe you just fancy a sweet treat? Well I’ve got the fix for you! 



What seems like an ordinary cupcake actually holds a lovely surprise inside. So why not have a go at these delicious sweet treats.  

To make these cupcakes you will need:

• 125 grams self raising flour
• 125 grams caster sugar
• 125 grams butter 
• 2 free range eggs 
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
• 1/2 tbsp milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• Dr Oetker pink gel food colour

• 80 grams butter
• 160 grams icing sugar
• 1 tbsp milk

Method:

1. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and whisk until combined. 
2. Add in the eggs one at a time and whisk again until combined. 
3. Then add in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and whisk until all combined. 
4. Add the vanilla and milk and whisk again. 
5. Place a tablespoon of mixture into 3 cupcake cases and bake for 10-15 minutes at 180c. 
6. Crumble up those cakes and add food colouring, 1 tablespoon of cake batter and 1 tablespoon water and mix well to combine. 
7. To make the hearts you’ll need a small amount ( about a teaspoon) of the pink cake mixture and roll it into a ball. 
8. Then using the palm of your hands, pinch in one side to make the base of your heart. 
9. Using a pointed cake tool or a cocktail stick make a hole and move around in a circular motion, making sure that the tool is on a angle (this should look like a 3D heart). 
10. Place half a teaspoon of cake batter into the cupcake cases and bake at 180c for 4-5 minutes, then place in the hearts and put more batter on top (until the tops of the heart is covered) and bake for a further 5-7 minutes. 
11. Once the cakes have cooled, mix together your butter, icing sugar and milk until combined and pip onto the cupcakes. 

This recipe make around 6 cupcakes. 

I hope you these do the trick and you have a wonderful valentines day!

Annie xx