Vegan Chocolate and Honeycomb Parfait

Hey guys,

How are you all? I am back from France and I had such a good time. Now as promised I do have some traditional french recipes which will be coming in the upcoming weeks but while I type them all up I have another recipe which caught my eye whilst I was going through a couple of different pudding recipes.

I haven't actually done any vegan recipes yet but I know a lot of people with allergies so maybe some of these recipes will help you too. If you have any allergies that you would like me to work around and get a recipe for then please do let me know in the comments below.

Ingredients: 

200g of dark chocolate
85g of blanched almonds
150g of dairy-free margarine
85g of glace cherries
100g of dried cranberries
 5 tbsp of granulated sugar
2 tbsp of golden syrup
1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

Method: 

1. The first thing that you need to do is make the honeycomb. Start by greasing a baking tray with vegetable oil. Melt the granulated sugar and the golden syrup in a pan over a low heat. Once the granulated sugar has dissolved into the golden syrup, turn up the heat and bubble the syrup until it a rich golden colour.

2. Whisk the bicarbonate of soda into the syrup and once it starts to foam up pour into the greased baking tray. Then leave it to cool on the side for 20 minutes and once it has completely cooled roughly chop up.

3. Line a 450g loaf tin with enough clingfilm so that it drapes over the edge by 7-8cm. Break up the dark chocolate and roughly chop up the almonds. Melt the chocolate and the margarine in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water.

4. Take the bowl of melted margarine/chocolate off the heat and stir in the almonds, cranberries, honeycomb and glace cherries. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and level off at the top. Fold the loose ends of the clingfilm over the parfait and freeze for an hour.

5. Take the parfait out of the freezer and pop in the fridge until it is completely set. Once you are ready to serve take out of the tin and slice up.

I hope that you found this recipe useful.
Anja x

Links:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/angelicbaking_x/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakingbuddies_ 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AngelicBaking/ 

Email: bakingbuddiesblog@gmail.com  
         

 

Baking With Kids- Vanilla Cookies

Hey guys,

I have 4 younger siblings and I sometimes love to bake with them. But often recipes that I want to do are too complicated or just not very fun for them. But I have found a couple of recipes that you can recreate very easily at home. These vanilla biscuits have melted sweets on the inside which look super cute.

Ingredients: 

100g of butter
300g of caster sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
2 eggs
500g of plain flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of cinammon
pinch of salt
a dash of milk
a handful of coloured hard boiled sweets

Method: 

1. Grease and line two baking trays with parchment. Cream the butter and the sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then add in the vanilla extract and the eggs, one by one. Beat in well. Then add in the plain flour, little by little so that the mixture doesn't split. Mix in the baking powder, cinnamon and a dash of milk.

2. Leave the dough to cool of an hour or so. Then preheat the oven to 190C and roll out the dough. Using different  shaped cutters cut out as many biscuits as you can and make a well in the center of each biscuit. Fill each well with some crushed biscuits and bake for 10 mins. Leave until completely cool before you move them.

This simple recipe can be adapted in many ways and it is still one of my favorites. Please tell me any other recipes that you would like to see.

Anja x   

July Favorites

Hey guys,

Today's blog post is going to be a new blog post which will be the first in a series this series as you can probably tell from the title is a monthly favourites series. It will include my favourite foods recipes bloggers and other general favourites so let's get started...

My first favourite is a food favourite and this is salad. I absolutely been loving having a salad for lunch or if I've had a big meal during the day then I'll have a salad for dinner. I think they're so nice in the summer and I generally have iceberg lettuce, avocado, tomato, pepper and sugar snap peas. I make my own salad dressing using about a teaspoon of mustard and a half teaspoon of cider vinegar pinch of sea salt pinch of pepper and about three or 4 teaspoon of olive oil. I do generally change up what I have in my salad so sometimes it I might have a bit of chicken or some olives but you can basically change up what ever you want in a salad and it can be different every day! Salads are also super healthy and they're good meal to have if you're on a detox week. 

Next is a drink favourite and this is cucumber infused water. Now infused water has been a big thing so far this year and I've only just started to get into it. I love putting cucumber in my water throughout the day as it just gives it that extra flavour, makes it really yummy and also just a lot healthier and you can get lots of extra vitamins from it. Another favourite of mine is strawberry and lemon infused water. I just chop up a couple strawberries and put them in a glass of water with ice and squeeze in a little bit of lemon juice for extra flavour. I have done a blog post on some fruit infused water so I will leave a link to that at the very bottom of this post.

Recently I have been absolutely loving the weather, we have had a bit of a heat wave here in the UK and is just been so nice to get a little bit of summer sunshine. Just to be able to go out in the sun in the morning and eat my breakfast in the garden. It's just been really nice to finally catch a little bit of sun and get some use out of my new sunglasses which are from accessorise and they are kind of like the ray ban aviator style so I've been loving them as well as this gorgeous weather. It's also nice because I can play out in the garden with my younger siblings.

I have been lucky enough to go sailing a couple weeks ago which has been so much fun. It was basically a massive outdoorweek and we went sailing every day, we went surfing one day in the week and it's so much fun to be outside and although was in particular sunny the whole week apart from like the last two days is it's nice to get a little bit of fresh air and have fun! 

Now onto TV favourites. I have absolutely been loving this season of  Pretty Little Liars. I definitely recommend it as a series to go and watch if you're kind of into almost like thriller kind of style-ish TV series. Another TV favorite is Gossip Girl. I love this series, though it isn't to everyones tastes.
series to go and watch if you're kind of into almost like thriller kind of style-ish TV series. Another TV favorite is Gossip Girl. I love this series, though it isn't to everyone's tastes.

I have recently been more interested in other bloggers and YouTubers. My current favorite blog is My Baking Addiction, it is an easy access blog that has a variety of recipes and is definitely worth checking out. And my favorite Youtuber is Elise. She runs the channel MyCupcakeAddiction. Her recipes are amazing and there are a varitey of different recipes that are for a range of abilities.

So I hope that you liked this blog and please let me know if you want to see more blogs like these, once a month. I love to hear your opinions on my blog and for you to get involved. You can always email me at bakingbuddiesblog@gmail.com or simply tweet me.

I also hope that you like the new blog name and layout. I felt that it was time to re vamp the blog and make it a little bit more personal. Thank you so much for all the support that I have had from you it means so much to me. Baking and blogging are two of my favorite hobbies and I love that I can share them with you.

Anja x

Links:

Infused Water Blog Post: http://bakingbuddiesblogs.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/three-fruit-infused-waters-tasty-but.html

Instagram: https://instagram.com/angelicbaking_x/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakingbuddies_ 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AngelicBaking/ 

Email: bakingbuddiesblog@gmail.com  

 

Stuffed Paratha

Hey guys,

I have realised that I don't have any Indian recipes on this blog. So I thought I would bring a taste of India to my blog. This recipe is pretty simple but tastes amazing. Enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

300g of chapati flour

Pinch of salt 

50g of unsalted butter

Stuffing: 

250g of sweet potatoes

1 tbsp of sunflower oil 

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed 

1 tbsp of finely chopped red chillies

1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh root ginger

2 tbsp of chopped coriander 

1/2 tsp of garam masala 

Pinch of sea salt 

Method:  

1.  For the dough, sift the flour and salt together. Add in the melted butter and water and bring the mixture together to form a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes and then leave the dough in a bowl with clinglim over the top for 1 hour.

2. Boil the sweet potatoes by using the instructions on the packet and then drain them. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry the red onions for 3-5 mins so that they are soft but not yet browning. Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and continue to fry for 1-2 mins.

3. Add the cooked onion mixture to the sweet potatoes and mash well. Add the coriander, garam masala and a good seasoning of salt and beat until smooth. Set aside to cool.

4. Then divide the dough into four equal pieces. Knead each piece and then roll into a thin disk shape. Put a quarter of the filling into the middle of each disk and lift up the edges to form a purse shape. Lightly roll them out, being careful that the filling doesn't seep out. 

5. Then heat up a frying pan to a medium heat and fry the parathas for 2 minutes each side. Brush them with oil and then fry then for 30 seconds so that they crisp up and get a little more colour.

I hope that you enjoyed a little bit of Indian flare to my blog. Please make sure that you subscribe and tweet me using the hashtag #bakingbuddiessummer.

Xx.

Pizza Bianca with Parma Ham, Rocket and Mozzarella

Hey guys, 

Here is a savoury recipe to change things up a little bit. As you can tell from the title we are making pizza! I love pizza but this is a healtherish recipe. This recipe is good for all those that don't like tomato sauce. 

Ingredients:

500g of strong white flour

Pinch of salt

7g sachet of dried yeast

350ml of warm water

60ml of olive oil 

Semolina, for sprinkling

Topping: 

200g of mozzarella

Freshly ground black pepper

4 slices of Parma ham 

Handful of wild rocket

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/gas 9. Very lightly grease a baking tray and place in the preheated oven.

2. Sift the strong white flour in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and the dried yeast. Make a well in the centre of the flour and slowly add in the warm water. Mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together. Then add the olive oil and mix until it forms a soft dough. 

3. Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead the dough, using the heel of your hand and folding the dough over. Do this for 10 mins. Place the dough into a bowl and cover with cling film for 30-40 minutes or until it has doubled in size. 

4. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead a little bit. Then using a rolling pin, roll out the dough as thin as you can. Sprinkle the hot baking tray with semolina and then pop the dough onto it. 

5. Top the pizza with mozzarella and black pepper and bake for 10 mins or until the crust is crispy. Drape the Parma ham over the pizza and scatter the wild rocket over that. Season and then serve. 

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and don't forget to tweet me and use the hashtag #bakingbuddiessummer. 

Xx. 

Summer Key Lime Pie

Hey guys, 

So here is another #bakingbuddiessummer recipe. As a lover of all things citrus this is an amazing summer pie. 

Ingredients: 

8 egg yolks

2 x 397g tins of condensed milk

Zest and juice of 5 limes 

450ml of double cream 

Crust: 

500g of digestive biscuits

200g of unsalted butter

(A 23cm pie dish)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas 3 and then grease a pie tin. 

2. Roughly break up the digestive biscuits and put in a food processor and process until finely ground. Then melt the butter and slowly pulse into the biscuits. 

3. Then press the biscuit mixture in the pie dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins or until golden and firm. Then set aside until completely cool. Turn down the oven to 150C/300F/gas 3.

4. Put the egg yolks, condensed milk, lime juice and zest in a bowl and mix well with a balloon whisk. Then mixture will naturally thicken. 

5. Pour the mixture into the cold pie crust and bake for 20- 30 mins. The filling should be firm but still soft in the middle. (not wobbly!) Leave to cool and then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

6. When you are ready to serve the pie, whip the cream and using a piping bag, pipe on top of the pie. To finish, decorate with a little lime zest. 

Please tell me if you like this recipe and any other recipes that you want to see this summer. Tweet me any recipes that you have been making with the hash tag #bakingbuddiessummer. Thank you for all your support, please check out some of my other recipes. Love you all, 

Xx. 

Maple syrup and Pecan Muffins

Hey guys, 

Hope you are all having an amazing summer.  I have just come back from sailing and have realised that I need to upload a blog post so sorry if this is a bit late. After this post I will go back to normal and upload on a Monday and. Thursday. The theme for the next week or two is going to be healthy summer food that still has amazing flavour. This is because I am having a bit of a detox week after all the fudge I ate when sailing in Cornwall! 

These muffins are pretty basic but they are super delicious and are perfect for a summer snack. 

Ingredients:

350g of plain flour

160g of caster sugar 

3/4 tsp of salt

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda 

375ml of buttermilk (if you don't have this just mix 375 ml of milk with a tsp of lemon juice) 

1 egg

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract 

70g of unsalted butter

240g of shelled pecans, chopped plus 12 pecan halves

200ml of maple syrup

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/ gas 3. 

2. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Then add the egg and mix in. Add in the flour. The mixture may become a little stiff so add all the butter milk to loosen up the mixture.

3. Add in the salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. To give the cake a bit more flavour add the vanilla extract and 100ml of the maple syrup. 

4. Once the maple syrup and vanilla extract has been well mixed, add in the pecan nuts and stir until well distributed. 

5. Spoon the mixture in a lined cupcake/ muffin tin until 2/3 full. Drizzle the remaining maple syrup over the top of the muffins and finish off with half a pecan nut on top of each one. 

6. Bake for 20-30 mins or until sponge bounces back when you touch it. Leave the cakes to cool and the. They are ready to eat. 

I hope that you enjoyed this recipe and please tweet me by using the hashtag #bakingbuddiessummer so I can see all of your bakes over the summer. See you soon . 

Xx.

Marbled Muffins

Hey guys,

Another recipe for you guys. I hope that you enjoy! By the way I have an important announcement coming up in around a week. If you want to stay up to date then follow me on Twitter.

 

This is a simple Swiss roll. They look really professional if they are done well and can be perfect for the summer season.  This recipe is from the Children's Book of Baking Cakes.

Ingredients: 

 

3 large eggs

125g of caster sugar 

125g of plain flour

1 tbsp of tepid water

2 tbsp of caster sugar

150g of fresh rasberries

2 tbsp of raspberry jam

Method: 

 

1. Heat the oven to 200C/400C/gas mark 6. Grease and line a swiss roll tin. (these are very shallow, rectangular baking trays). 

2. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk together with the sugar until the mixture is pale and thick. Then sift in half the flour and fold in with a big metal spoon. Make sure you are careful as you don't want to knock any of the air out of the eggs.  Then sift in the rest of the flour and add in the water. Make sure that everything is folded and well combined. 

3. Then pour the mixture into the pre-greased tin and use the back of the metal spoon to smooth the mixture out. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until pale gold and springy. 

 

4. Cut a piece of baking parchment that is slightly bigger than the actual tray. Lay it out and scatter the caster sugar over it. Run the knife around the tin and then turn the cake out onto the baking parchment. 

 

5. Peel off the old parchment and then roll up the cake, from the short end, with the new baking parchment inside. Then unroll and leave to cool. 

 

6. Then make the filling. Put the raspberries into a bowl, mash them with a fork and mix in the jam. When the cake has cooled, spread the filling over, evenly and roll it up again, this time without the parchment. The cake is ready!!!

 

For more summer recipes, please subscribe and check my links out below. 

 

Xx.