banana and coconut pancakes

There's nothing much I can say about this recipe. They're simple, delicious and a great weekend breakfast treat. If you've got a blender or food processor you can make these pancakes even faster by throwing everything in together and blitzing until it is well combined.

Ingredients (makes 8-12 pancakes)
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
2 bananas, mashed
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil

1. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, coconut, sugar and salt. In another combine everything else (bananas, egg, milk and oil). 
2. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet and whisk everything until it is thoroughly combined.
3. Heat up a skillet or non-stick frying pan over a medium heat then pour the mixture into the pan using 1/4 or 1/3 cup measures. Once bubbles form on the pancake flip them over and continue to cook until they puff up and are golden brown on both sides. 
4. Serve with syrup, butter, yogurt, fruit or whatever you fancy. 

apple pie with cheddar cheese crust

I love apple pie. Short, rich pastry encasing sweet, soft apples flavoured with cinnamon - what's not to love? I've been hearing a lot about cheese incorporated into the pastry crust of an apple pie quite a lot recently, and whilst it sounds a little weird at first there was something about the combination that seemed to make sense. You can experiment with any kind of cheese but I decided on that for my first attempt I would try a medium mature cheddar.  This pie is delicious with a drizzle of cream, custard or a good dollop of ice cream.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

225g plain (all purpose) flour

100g softened butter

75g grated cheddar

3-4 tbsp ice cold water

For the filling:

5-6 eating apples (such as golden delicious, granny smith, jazz) peeled, cored and finely sliced

6 tbsp soft brown sugar (adjust this to your own taste)

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp cornflour, regular flour or semolina

1. Start by making the pastry. Combine the butter and flour in a large bowl and rub between your finger tips until everything is combined and is the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Alternatively you can pulse the two together in a food processor until you have achieved the same consistency.
2. Add all the cheese and a couple of tablespoons of the water and bring together the breadcrumbs until a rough dough ball is formed. You may need to add some extra water or not as much. Be guided by the consistency you achieve, just remember you want to handle and work the pastry as little as possible to make sure it retains its short, crumbly texture when cooked. Cover the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 
3. Once the pastry has rested, pre-heat your oven to 220C. Next put the sliced apples, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix together until the apple is thoroughly coated in everything.
4. Cut off a third of the pastry and set aside for the lid. With the remaining two thirds roll it out thinly so that it is large enough to line the base of your pie dish. Alternatively you can coarsely grate the pastry into the pie dish and push together the pieces to form the base. 
5. Sprinkle the cornflour over the base (this will help to avoid a soggy bottom on your pie) then spread the apple mixture over the top. 
6. Roll out the pastry for you lid then carefully place it over the filling. Crimp together the edges and cut a hole in the top to allow steam from the filling to escape. You can use beaten egg on the rim of the pastry to help it join together if you like but I didn't find it was needed. 
7. Brush the top with beaten egg or milk if you want a golden, shiny top then place the pie in the oven. Cook at 220C for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 190C and continue to cook for a further 45 minutes or until the pie is golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven when it's done and leave it to cool for 20 minutes or so before eating.

'grown-up' chocolate cakes

I'm still in the process of going through my pantry and using up as much of the stuff I've got in the house as I can before I move. I had lots of chocolate around, the usual cakey ingredients as well as a bottle of whiskey I was never going to get around to drinking. Using my Dr Pepper cupcakes recipe as the starting point I came up with this rather grown up recipe. The whiskey flavour isn't particularly strong but it does add some complexity to the end product. You could replace the chocolate spread with the equivalent amount of melted chocolate or a dark jam such as cherry or blackcurrant, why not try out whatever you've got to hand.

Ingredients
100g unsalted butter
300ml whiskey
100g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
2 tbsp chocolate spread such as nutella
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g demerara sugar

12 dark chocolate lindor truffle balls or similar.
2 eggs

Ganache Topping
100g dark chocolate
100g butter
pinch of salt

Makes 12 cupcakes.

1. Start by add the sugar to the whiskey then heating the mixture of a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, the alcohol has evaporated off and the mixture has reduced by about two thirds (around 200mls or so).
2. Preheat the oven to 180C fan oven. Put the paper cases in the muffin tray and fill a large oven proof dish with water and place in the bottom of the oven. The steam that is produced will help the cakes to rise and be lovely and light.
3. Put the butter and chocolate spread in the saucepan and allow it to melt in the residual heat. Stir through and add the vanilla extract.
4. Sieve together the dry ingredients to get rid of any lumps, then beat in the whiskey mixture followed by the eggs until thoroughly combined. 
5. Put a dollop of the mixture into each of the paper cases (about 1/4 cup if you have a measure). Place a chocolate ball in the centre of each case then put in the oven. Bake for around 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool completely before decorating with frosting or ganache.

Making the ganache

1. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water. You can use it now as it is to give a thin covering to the cupcakes but I prefer to allow it to set in the fridge, returning to beat it every 10 minutes or so until it is a spreadable consistency. Once you've achieved this consistency you're ready to go.

summer berry sernik (polish cheese cake)

I can never resist a proper Polish style baked cheese cake. This is a fairly light, and not at all overly sweet version. Theres no biscuit base and it's relatively low in fat and easy to make your own variations. I like this recipe so much that we served it at my recent wedding as part of the afternoon tea offering. It's based on this lovely recipe from the Whiteplate blog.

Ingredients
1kg polish cottage cheese (I use this one)
6 large eggs
190g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 heaped tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
zest of a lemon
around 300g berries (blackberries, strawberries or raspberries would be my preference but whatever you fancy)

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a springform cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Beat the cottage cheese with electric whisk until it starts to come together.
3. Add the eggs one at a time beating between each addition.
4. Finally add the salt, vanilla and lemon zest and beat well. You're not trying to beat air into it, just make sure it is smooth and thoroughly combined.
5. Pour into the cake tin, place the berries on top then bake in the oven for 45-60 mins. The centre will still be a bit loose when done but not liquid. Turn off the oven and leave to cool completely with the door left slightly ajar. 
6. Chill for several hours, preferably overnight.

caramelised pear and pecan pavlova

Ok, so I admit this pavlova was developed out of a love for alliteration but this is a flavour combination that really works and perfectly fits with the autumn season. I also cant resist the combination of chocolate with pears so I got a little experimental and added a chocolate swirl to the meringue base. You can just as easily make mini-meringues but you may need to adjust the cooking time.



You can make meringues with any quantity of egg whites as long as you keep in mind that you need double the weight of sugar to egg white. I usually weigh my three egg whites then double that weight for the caster sugar, depending on the size of your eggs this is going to be roughly 150g sugar to 3 egg whites.

Ingredients
Pavlova: 
3 egg whites
approx 150g caster sugar (see note above)
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Chocolate Swirl:
100g chocolate, just melted

Caramelised Pears & Pecans:
approx 500g pears (about 4-5 pears), cut into thin 0.5cm slices (it's up to you whether you peel them or not)                      
2 tbsp caster sugar
50g unsalted butter
handful of pecan nuts

approx 300ml double cream lightly whipped

1. Preheat the oven to 120C fan and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
2. Using an electric whisk beat the egg whites and lemon juice until you get stiff peaks.
3. Gradually add the sugar a little at a time making sure you beat thoroughly after each addition. You will know you can add more sugar when you rub a little of the egg white mix between your fingers and you can't feel the grains of sugar. Continue this process until all the sugar has been added.
4. Carefully melt the chocolate then swirl into the egg whites taking care not to over mix. 
5. Dollop the mix onto the prepared baking sheet in a rough circle then place in the oven for around 1.5 - 2 hours. You are aiming for long slow cooking.
6. When the time is up turn the oven off and leave the meringue in the oven to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile prepare the caramelised pears. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the butter and melt then add the pears, pecans and sugar. Cook together for around 10 minutes until the pears are soft and golden and the sugar and butter is completely amalgamated. Remove from the heat and set aside until you are ready to assemble the pavlova.

gypsy tart

My sister's on a roll at the moment. Here is her latest contribution, I'll post my recipe for a delicious sweet short crust pastry soon, in the mean time use which ever recipe you prefer or even cheat and by an (all butter) pre made case...

"This is my attempt at Gary's Gypsy tart. So simple but amazing. Extremely sweet, caramel, butterscotch flavour. Just remember to whisk until the surface is covered with small air bubbles and the texture becomes thicker and lighter in colour. 

One of my favourites that I first ate in childhood baked by Pani (mrs) Michalska - my Polish grans Polish friend that my sister and I would often visit with her after school. Not sure she would have been using Gary Rhodes recipe however........

banana and chocolate peanut butter cupcakes

Peanut butter, chocolate and bananas are three of my favourite things and when you put them all together in any combination they're great. Apparently Elvis didn’t mind that mix either. This recipe is an attempt at a healthyish cupcake/muffin and depending on how indulgent you are at breakfast time it could be a delicious start to any day. The muffin recipe is based on Felicity Cloake's 'Perfect Banana Bread' initially but quickly deviates.

If you make 24 cupcakes I've worked out that they will have approximately 143 calories each and 7.1g fat.

Ingredients
350g ripe bananas (peeled weight)
160g self raising flour
20g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
160g sugar (ideally light, soft brown, but I only had caster sugar this time)
2 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp vegetable oil

approx. 150g peanut butter

1. Makes approx 24 cupcakes or 12 muffins.
2. Preheat the oven to 170C and place muffin or cupcake liners in your tray.
3. Put the peeled bananas into a bowl and mash until smooth.
4. Put the sugar, eggs and oil in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk them until pale and slightly increased in volume. Fold in the bananas and the dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed together.
5. Spoon into your muffin/cupcake cases until 1/3 full then place 1tsp of peanut butter on top of the mix. Then you will need to add more of the banana cake mixture so that each case is 2/3 full.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Try and be patient and leave the cupcakes in the tray for a few minutes before turning out on to a rack to cool completely.

gooseberry and blackberry crumble

Feeling inspired following a visit to this great farm shop in Kent on the bank holiday weekend we came home and made an awesome, yet super simple gooseberry and blackberry crumble. This recipe is not too sweet so the sharpness of the fruit really shines through. Feel free to add more sugar if you have a sweeter tooth than me. It is particularly good enjoyed with some good quality vanilla ice cream. I had some assistance making this crumble so don't be concerned by the masculine hands appearing in the pictures!

Ingredients
Crumble topping:
280g Self Raising Flour
140g unsalted butter
140g sugar
60g rolled oats / ground almonds or other nuts (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Crumble filling:
1 punnet of blackberries, rinsed
500g gooseberries, rinsed
Generous sprinkle of sugar. (approx 50g)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan assisted)
2. Place the fruit in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the sugar.
3. Place the flour, butter, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and rub together with your hands until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. You can also complete this step in a food processor. Use the pulse function so that you don't over mix it.
4. Stir through the oats or nuts if using them. 
5. Sprinkle to crumble topping over your fruit then place in the oven.
6. Depending on the size of dish and what your oven is like it will take about 30-40 minutes to cook. You want the topping to be golden brown and the fruity mixture below just bubbling through.
7. Serve with a generous scoop of ice cream or custard or cream.