Butterscotch & Chocolate Doughnuts

It is fair to say that the doughnut maker I received for my birthday last year has not only greatly improved my life, but undoubtedly satisfied all the sweet cravings of my friends and family. I may have only had this remarkable contraption for 10 months now but I have lost count of the hundreds of doughnuts I have churned out and the numerous flavour combinations I have created.

My own doughnut maker

Interchangeable plates -  Cake pop tray

It is unfortunate that this recipe does require such a specific piece of kit as I don't wish to alienate my readers, but if you have a few pounds to spare or need a great gift idea, I couldn't recommend this more. 

It includes three interchangeable plates for doughnuts, cake pops and cupcakes, making it a worthwhile investment for any sweet toothed 'lazy' cook.

Available now for £29.99 on Amazon.

Butterscotch & Chocolate Doughnuts

Prep Time - 10mins
Cooking Time - 15mins
Decorating Time - 30mins

Cost - £2.05
(all ingredients from Tesco)
.
Makes 20-25
Calories per doughnut - 207kcal (x20) or 104kcal (x25)

Ingredients

210g Plain Flour

115g Caster Sugar

220ml Milk

2 Eggs

4 tsp Baking Powder

4 tsp Vegetable Oil

1 Pinch of Salt

1x 49g Butterscotch Flavour Delight Packet (Tesco's own 'Angel Delight')

+ Butter or oil to line

Icing

300g Milk Chocolate

200g Icing Sugar

15ml Water

+ Remaining half of the Butterscotch Flavour Delight Packet

Method

*Pre heat your doughnut maker with the doughnut plates inside by turning it on at the mains. Leave it closed while you make up the mixture*

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and combine before then adding approximately half of the Butterscotch Flavour Delight (25g) to the mix.

Now add the eggs, milk and oil to the bowl and mix thoroughly, either by hand or with a hand mixer, until you have a smooth batter.

Using a wad of kitchen roll, cover the wells of the hot plates with a nob of butter or a dribble of oil, this will stop the doughnuts sticking.

Now it's time to load up your machine with mixture! You want to use about a tablespoon of mixture in each of the seven holes of the plate, and don't worry if the mixture drips on the centre section of each mould, when you close the lid this will be forced out leaving the hole in the centre of the doughnut.

Once full, close the lid and leave for up to 5 minutes. It is at this time when it is up to you to decide how much steam/smoke pouring from the sides is still a good sign or a sign your doughnuts are about done! Once the doughnuts have risen into a distinct shape, take them out of the machine using a teaspoon and place on a cooling rack or chopping board. Repeat until you have used all of your mixture!

Leave your doughnuts to cool while you prepare the decorations.


To Decorate

Break up the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring in between until all is melted.

Using your fingers, dip each doughnut individualy into the chocolate so it that one side is coated in chocolate. Place onto a cooling rack allowing any excess chocolate to drip off as it cools. Repeat with all your doughnuts.

Make up the icing in a clean bowl using the icing sugar and a minute amount of water (approx 15ml). Once smooth, add the remaining half of the Butterscotch Flavour Delight (24g) and stir until smooth once more. It is at this stage where minimal amounts of water can be added if you feel the mix is too thick to drizzle, it is however important that it is not too thin. If you think your mix is too thin, add more icing sugar at this stage.

Once you have allowed the chocolate covered doughnuts to cool, you need to drizzle them with the icing. The easiest way to do this is to pipe it. If you do not have a piping bag with a small nozzle, put your icing into a sandwich bag and direct it all to one corner, gathering the reamaining bag either with your hands or tie off with an elastic band. Now using a pair of small scissors, chop the very tiny end off of the corner and you will now have a hole to pipe from.

Drizzle all of the doughnuts in whichever pattern you please using your icing. I chose to put stripes on mine!

Allow for the icing to harden, or dig right in, it's up to you, but it's time to enjoy your creation! (You can wash up later!)

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from cookbook included with Giles & Posner dessert maker.

30 Photos | Day 2: Animal

Lake District National Park | 28.10.2015 |


Sheep. I love them!

Having lived my entire life in what only can be described as textbook modern day suburbia, you may question my choice of animal, but sheep make me laugh and smile in a way only my cat can match.

Whether it be their affiliation with my beloved home from home, The Lake District, or just their ridiculously cute and smiley faces, I can't deny my love for these silly little wool makers.

I captured this smiling little guy (or girl) as I struggled near the summit of Angle Tarn on my trip to the lakes last week. Standing all alone on the rock, it was just me and him on that peak and he made me smile as I plodded along to catch up with the rest of my walking party!

30 Photos | Day 1: Person

Olivia | 21 | Lake District National Park | 28.10.2015 |

Who is she to me?

I met this beautiful human in bottom set maths class way back when, in year nine of school, 2007. Since then we bonded over more than our lack of mathematical skills and she is a vital part to my life and happiness, as she is to a great many people, especially our close knit group of girls at home.

Fondest memory?

It would be impossible to pinpoint one moment out of hundreds of happy days spent with Olivia, but a few times that stick in my memory now are, surprisingly perhaps, when I was in fact not as my happiest. In particular, in my gap year between school and university, which was Olivia's first year at university, she surprised me with visits home only announcing her arrival once on my doorstep. On one occasion she sent me a text just to let me know there was a parcel of sweets and other such comforts waiting for me outside the front door, just because she knew that was what I needed. May the delightful surprises continue!

Unacceptable flaws?

She won't eat/drink: Hot cross buns, mince pies, Maltesers, cheese, peanut butter, Malibu rum or honeycomb! Considering these are the majority of my favourite foods, I think I should find a new best friend! (Of course I am entirely joking here, flaw or not, just means more for me!)

Favourite things?

Just like me, you give Olivia a big cup of tea and a nice fluffy cat and she's a happy bunny but throw a few biscuits in there too and she'll treat you like a princess!

Butternut Squash & Gruyere Soup

THIS. IS. HEAVEN.

I will not lie to you when I say this, but this soup is honestly to die for. It is the perfect combination of silky cheese, strong earthy tones of squash and a kick of smoked paprika. All in all, it is well worth the effort of making as I am yet to find a fresh soup on the supermarket shelves that tickles my winter taste buds as this recipe does.

I last made this recipe for my 21st birthday dinner and all of my extended family requested the recipe once they had experienced its greatness (if I do say so myself), so here it is for all of you too!

Served with cream and ground black pepper

Prep Time - 25mins
Cooking Time - 30mins
Cost - £6.20 
(all ingredients from Tesco)

Makes - 1.5lts/ serves 4-6
Calories per portion - 538kcal

Ingredients

80g Butter
1 Large Butternut Squash
195g Smoked Gruyere Cheese
1x 400ml Can of Coconut Milk
2x Chicken Stock Cubes (made up to 850ml)
1 Large Onion
4 Garlic Cloves 
1tsp Black Pepper
Salt (to taste/ approx 1/2tsp) 
1/2tsp Nutmeg
1/2tsp Smoked Paprika



Method 

Cut the Onion and Garlic finely and cook in a large saucepan with the Butter until softened (approx 5-8 minutes)

Add black Pepper, Nutmeg and Smoked Paprika to the mix and cook for a further 5 minutes

Peel the squash, and cut into cubes (approx 2x2cm), removing the pips inside. Add the cubes to the onion mix and cook for 5 minutes

Make up the chicken stock in a jug using boiling water (or as instructed on the packet), and add to the saucepan. The squash should almost be all covered by the mix.

Leave to simmer and cook until the squash is soft through, this should take about half an hour on a medium to low heat.
 
Taking the saucepan from the heat, use a hand blender or food processor to blitz the mixture until smooth. 

Add the can of coconut milk to the pan and blitz again until the mixture is smooth once more.

Grate the cheese before putting the pan back on to the heat. Once you have out your saucepan back on the low heat, stir in the grated cheese until melted and combined with the mixture.

Add salt and pepper to taste and serve! You may even decide to serve alongside a slice of rustic crusty bread from your local delicatessen and a drizzle of double cream if you so desire to indulge in such luxury!

Enjoy!

Image From How Sweet Eats - served with spicy chickpeas, cream and chives

Adapted to English measures from the wonderful How Sweet Eats blog.

Devil's Oreo & White Chocolate Cheesecake

This quick and easy recipe had popped up on Facebook one too many times to ignore so I took the calorific plunge and whipped up my own.

Prep Time - 15mins
Cooling Time - 1hr
Cost - £4.11 
(all ingredients from Tesco)
1x Baking tin/tray (approx 9x9")

Makes - 16 squares
Calories per portion - 388kcal

The diet is well and truly out of the window!

Ingredients

Base

2x - 154g Pack Oreo Vanilla (approx 28 biscuits) 
(or any other flavour, I think the peanut butter ones could be even more deadly!)
150g Butter/Margarine

Filling

250 g White chocolate
150 g Cream cheese
1x 154g pack Oreo Vanilla (approx 14 biscuits)

Topping

1x 154g pack Oreo Vanilla (approx 14 biscuits)
100 g Dark chocolate

Method

Ideally using a food processor, or if not available, with a strong hand, combine two packets of Oreos (208g) with the butter until smooth.

Line your tin with cling film and continue to press the mixture firmly into the bottom of your tin until even. 

To make the filling, break the white chocolate into a microwaveable bowl and microwave in 15 second intervals stirring in between, until completely melted. Add the cream cheese to the chocolate in the bowl and beat until the mixture is smooth.the 12 Oreos.

Using your hands or a hard work surface, break up one packet of Oreos while still in the packet or alternatively put the biscuits in a freezer bag a whack them with a rolling pin. Once you have your desired chunks, fold them into the chocolate and cheese mixture. Pour the mixture onto your biscuit base and smooth evenly, pressing the mixture into the corners.

You will now have one packet of Oreos left to use and these are going to form the crunchy topping. Once again, break up the biscuits into chunks either by hand or with a rolling pin. Now it is up to you how you do this part, but the easiest way by far is just to take a handful at a time and sprinkle the biscuits evenly onto the top of your chocolate and cheese layer. Once covered, lightly press the chunks so that they stay put on the top of the mixture. 

Lastly, using the same method as before, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave while remembering to stir every fifteen seconds. Using a teaspoon drizzle (or trickle, or pour, you have artistic license her) the melted chocolate over the top layer of Oreos, finishing off your creation!

If you really can't wait, grab a spoon and dig in, however if you intend to serve these as adorable bitesize squares, then you need to chill it as a whole for about an hour in a fridge or freezer before cutting them.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Sweeten

Easy Sugar-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake

Prep Time - 15mins
Cooking time - 1 hour
Cost - £5.70 
(all ingredients from Tesco)
.
Serves 8-10
Calories per portion - 280kcal

I was lucky enough to be invited down to The New Forest with my best friend Olivia's family for a few days this week and I made this sugar-free lemon drizzle cake as a thank you. Olivia's mum has diabetes and this cake was a great surprise for her on my arrival! Its sweetness comes from natural sweeteners xylitol and sucralose, both of which are suitable for diabetics and contain far less calories than regular cane sugar. This recipe was based on one from bbc good food and can be found at the link below, however my version is a little simpler and a little cheaper!

Notes for shopping list

- Xylitol is sold most commonly in packs of 225g and ranges from £2-£3, so I have used Sucralose to make up the other 75g required for this recipe as this is conveniently sold for approx £1 for a 75g pack.

















- Tescos conveniently sells 0% fat Greek Yoghurt in pots of exactly 200g for 50p.

- This recipe requires the zest of two lemons and then the juice of one, however I find that I never get enough juice from a lemon and its a messy job, so I was extremely lazy and bought a 'Jiff Lemon' for 50p and used the juice from there and I can then save my real lemon to add to my summer cocktails!
.

Ingredients

225g Self-raising Flour
1 Level tsp Baking Powder
155g Xylitol
75g Sucralose/Splenda
2 Lemons (zest only)
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Milk
200g Greek Yoghurt (0% fat)
125ml Sunflower Oil

For the Drizzle
Juice of 1 lemon/Half a 'Jiff Lemon' (juice)
70g Xylitol

Method

This recipe really is simple and consists of mixing the wet and dry ingredients in seperate bowls before combining them together but before you start any of that you must pre-heat your oven to 160C/Gas 4.

Line a 1.2Ltr loaf tin (22cm x 13cm width, 7cm depth) with greaseproof paper or a purpose loaf tin 'case' like I did. This cases are like huge cupcake cases that fit perfectly in the loaf tin and you can find them at any home-ware shop such as Lakeland or in larger supermarkets such as Sainsbury's.

Mix together all of your dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, xylitol/sucralose and lemon zest in a large bowl.

Then in a separate bowl mix together all of your wet ingredients; the eggs, sunflower oil, milk and yoghurt. Now combine both in one bowl, stirring thoroughly until you have a smooth batter and finally pour the mix into your lined tin.

Once the mix is in the tin, place in the centre of your pre-heated oven and leave for 45mins before checking, thus allowing the cake to rise. After 45 mins check that the top of the cake isn't becoming too dark in colour and if it is more than a golden brown, cover with foil. 

These last minutes of cooking time give you plenty of time to make your drizzle. slightly heat your lemon juice in a small pan and add the remaining 70g of xylitol until it has fully dissolved.

Continue to cook the cake for another 10-15minutes until there is a rich golden brown crust and a distinctive 'crack' down the top of the cake.

Once the cake is cooked, take it out of the oven and pour over the drizzle. I recommend you do this slowly and with a spoon so that you allow time for the liquid to absorb into the cake and not just flood over the edges of the tin.

Wait until the cake is cool before turning out, especially if you haven't used a loaf tin liner as the greaseproof paper won't come away from the cake as easily if it is still warm.

Finally, put the kettle on and enjoy this fabulously zesty and guilt-free cake with a nice big cuppa!

Adapted from BBC GoodFood

Exploring the coast from The New Forest

The Spit at Hurst Castle Keyhaven

I was lucky enough to be invited along to The New Forest to stay with my best friend Olivia's family last week (4th-7th July) and aside from some horrific sunburn it was a beautiful couple of days. We ate, drank and indulged in all of the pleasures of being at the sea.

We stayed in a town inland called West Wellow which meant a scenic drive through the forest to the beach each day and of course ultimately I read the map wrong a handful of times and we ended up reversing down a bridleway but hey what's life without an adventure right?

Muddeford

I realised once I'd got home that I had in fact been to Muddeford when I was a lot younger with my family, but while we were there, everything felt new and exciting and beautiful as if I was seeing it for the first time. While on the sandy beach, I also took my second dip of the year into the cold English sea, having already tried out the water in Suffolk the week before, which although seems like an ice bath when you first dive under, it's a feeling from ones childhood you can only really get from diving straight in! I love the English seaside and swimming in the less than tepid waters is a vital part of the experience for me!

Swimming with Lucy at Muddeford

Muddeford beach-huts

Olivia loving the sun in Muddeford

My Last Day

Christchurch, Keyhaven & Hurst Castle

After suffering the worst sunburn of my life, (entirely my own fault for not wearing sun cream, I mean look at the sun in the photos!) I was rather hesitant about spending another day out in the sun, but I'm glad we went anyway as it turned out to be another jam packed day.

We started off at Christchurch marina with picnic in hand ready to hire a couple of boats for a trip up the river. Rather concerning for me was the sun, but it made for a gorgeous little cruise captained by Olivia, and I wore Ali's scarf around my blushed shoulders while I tucked into a sandwich and some lemon drizzle cake! The boats were around £20 to hire for the hour and totally worth it if you every find yourself down by the river, not only to enjoy the water, but to be nosey and enjoy staring at all the extensive riverside homes and their grounds!

Once we had exhausted the parks and bars next to the harbour, we moved on in convoy along the coast to the small harbour of Keyhaven where the view of the Isle of Wight is as clear as it could possibly be from the mainland. There isn't much in terms of amenities at Keyhaven but an ice cream van and a footpath to walk upon is all one really needs and that's exactly what we did, walked around the little port, before making our way up to the spit to look out onto the open sea. As one can imagine, up on the spit we were fighting against the wind to tame our hair and stand up straight, but it was definitely worth it for the view which included Hurst Castle in the distance and a faint glimpse of Yarmouth on The Isle of Wight.

Girls boat trip up the river in Christchurch

Lucy at Keyhaven

Fighting against the wind on the spit at Hurst Castle

The spit separating the sea and Keyhaven harbour

Watching kite surfing
(And yes the guy was totally showing off!)

Time to say goodbye!

After a mere three nights, I had to leave the family and head back home to my own family to celebrate my Grandma's birthday, but it was more than enough time to enjoy great company and even better views. I rediscovered a childhood love of the game UNO Extreme and a familiar dislike to ancient editions of Trivial Pursuit which only those above the age of 50 had a chance of winning, as well as cementing a hatred towards those darn UV rays of the rare English sun! Mark my words, I will be back and next time I shall devote myself to a pair of walking boots and I will discover what the forest has to explore!