Today is the day I turn 61.  However did that happen?  I don't know, but it has and there is no lamenting it.  I am 61.  This is the cake I make myself every year for my Birthday.  Raspberry Celebration cake.

When I was a child Gammon/Ham was the centre piece of every Easter celebration dinner.  It was always served cold, thinly sliced, with mustard and mashed potatoes and vegetables on the side.  In all honesty as a child, I was far too full of chocolate and candy to really get too excited about Easter dinner.  There would have been a lemon pie for dessert though and that would have gotten me plenty excited.  (Its my favourite!)

This is the cake that I always used to bake for the Mr when I worked and cooked at the Manor down South.  It was his Birthday cake of choice and I dutifully baked one for him every year.  And small wonder, as it is a most delicious cake!  From it's moist and flavourful crumb, to it's fudgy chocolate frosting, it pleases on all levels.

It's not surprising when you start to add up all of the calories in all of the dishes, mains and sides, that people in the UK and other Western countries take in by eating Christmas lunch alone we are talking at a massive amount of caloric intake, for just one meal, not to mention the whole day through . . .  as the feasting begins in the morning and continues on up into the night!   I have tried to come up with a few sides this year that won't break the calorie bank, and yet are still delicious and which feel luxurious.  This Skinny Sprout and Carrot Gratin I am showing you today is one of them.

 (source)


This Sunday is Mother's Day Mothering Sunday here in the UK.  I'm not sure why they choose to have it a couple of months earlier than they have it everywhere else, but I am sure there is a good reason for it.  In any case I have a lovely variety of beautiful baked goodies to show you today from the people at Dr Oetker, guaranteed to make any mom happy.  I know I would be thrilled to pieces if one of my babies showed up with one of these!

On Valentines day I like to pull out the stops a little bit when it comes to serving a lovely dinner to my beloved.    Nice needn't be complicated however.  A simple soup for a first course . . .  a steak (with a bearnaise butter) and baked potato for the main, along with a salad . . .  and for dessert, this simple, uncomplicated yet delicious dish.  Floating Islands.  A bit old fashioned yes, but impressive nonetheless and light.  Perfect for afters when you've eaten a somewhat heavy meal.

I did us some lovely Lamb Chops for our New Years Eve Supper last night.  I simply rubbed them with a mixture of rosemary, thyme, garlic, sea salt, white pepper, olive oil and a bit of  good balsamic vinegar that I mashed together with my mortar and pestle.   I let them macerate for a good hour or more while these delicious potatoes were baking and then I quickly grilled them in a hot skillet with a bit of butter for about a minute and a half per side.   They were done perfectly!

Two of my children had birthday's in December.  One on the eighth and the other on the ninth.  I always tried to make each of my children special cakes for their birthdays, and as you can imagine having two birthdays two days in a row, this sometimes presented a bit of a challenge.   I used to bake this Ruby Slipper Cake for my youngest daughter's birthday (the ninth) each year.  This was Amanda's cake.  Some years I dressed it up to look like a wreath in honor of December.  It was always a lovely cake that we all enjoyed very much.

This is another recipe I like to bake each Christmas.  It just wouldn't be Christmas without a plate of these on offer.   Simple to make and yet so very impressive.  Perfect for a holiday breakfast or brunch, or even for coffee breaks or elevensies.

 Well today is my birthday.  Boo Hoo  Fifty nine years old.  However did that happen.  No matter, happen it did and I am celebrating!  Ten friends are coming over for lunch today and we are going to do it in style.  I am looking forward to seeing and spending time with them.



This is the cake that I always  make for my Birthday.  It just wouldn't be my birthday without it.  I make it every year, no fail, and this year it is no different.

Do you like Dulce de Leche?  I love the stuff.  I could sit and eat it with a spoon. Dulce de leche is a South American confection prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that derives its taste from the Maillard reaction of the product, changing the flavour and colour to a deep rich caramel.  You can buy it ready made from a variety of sources, but it's also very easy to make your own.  (See note below.)



One of my favourite ways to use it is in this fabulously moist and rich Dulce de Leche cake.  That lovely rich caramelized sweetened milk is used not only in the batter but also in it's indulgent and delicious filling and frosting.



The batter also uses soft light brown sugar.   Any time you use brown sugar in a batter, it will result in a terrifically moist cake.  There is also ground almonds in it (almond meal.)  This also helps to make a moist cake into a light cake.



The Dulce de Leche is used as well to help create a fabulously rich filling and frosting for the cake.  It's absolutely delicious.  Just look at the richness of that filling and that moist crumb  . . . and then that frosting over the top.   Just beautiful.  Rich flavours, beautiful textures . . . moist caramel deliciousness!  In any case, it makes full use of one tin of dulce de leche without any leftovers.  (I would have had to eat it with a spoon, and we can't have that!)



A bit of crunch is added by scattering a handful of toasted flaked almonds over top, adding to the pleasure of this cake.  By all means leave them out if you are not fond of them, but if you are . . .  then do add them.  They add yet another depth of flavour and texture to what is already a beautiful cake.



Do give your cake plenty of time to cool down prior to frosting it.  I was a bit impatient and so my frosting got a bit warm and didn't say on the top like it should have done, but never mind . . .  it tastes just as good oozing down the sides as it does laying on top. It's just not as pretty as it could have been.  You will want to enjoy this with either a nice cold glass of milk, or a nice warm cuppa.  Either way, frosting dripping down the sides or not . . .  this is a cake that pleases on multiple levels.   Go on . . .  make it for Dad. It's his weekend after all!

  

I wanted to do a special bake for Easter this year.  Something sweet to celebrate this special holiday.  

Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth.  Cover and chill until needed.  Place into a serving bowl.  Drlzzle the top with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a few thyme leaves.  



I also made these lovely little Lamb Kofta Meatballs.  Spicy and just wonderful served with some pita breads and Tzatziki for dipping.    You could fry them if you wanted to, but I just bake them in the oven because they brown nicely, evenly and as lamb is a rather fatty meat anyways it helps to cut down on some of that extra fat.



Crumble the meat into a bowl.   Add the chopped onion, parsley and cooled spices.   Season with salt and pepper.  (If you wish you may cook a small bit of this in the frying pan and taste it to see if you have seasoned it correctly.)   Shape the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and place them evenly spaced on the baking trays.  Bake in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until nicely browned and cooked through.  Serve warm or at room temperature with sauce for dipping if desired.  

Note: These are also nice served hot and tucked into warm Pita Breads with some lettuce and sauce. 

Happy New Year!  Have fun and stay safe!

I just love using mincemeat during the Christmas season.   It's one of my favourite ingredients and I am sure I go through several jars.  Each year I try to do something different with it if I can.  There has been a photo circulating on the net and Pinterest over the past couple of months of a nutella bread which is layered and twisted and I got to thinking that the same thing done with mincemeat would be really nice.



I decided early on though that I would use puff pastry instead of bread dough however, because I wanted these to be like mince pies.   I also decided that if they were going to work properly I would have to puree the mincemeat a bit so that it wasn't too lumpy.



As you can see they turned out really pretty.   Golden on the edges . . . lovely to look at . . . flakey and sweet and spiced just nicely.  I created a thin icing, lightly flavoured with cinnamon (if you want) to drizzle over top once baked and I sprinkled them with some white sparkle sprinkles.



I was really pleased with how they turned out!  They tasted really nice as well.   I think they were just that little bit different than the usual mince pies! In short, I fell in love with them.  Very Festive.  And no . . . they were not as fiddly as they look to make.  Trust me.




Blitz the mincemeat in a food processor until the particles in it are very small.  Almost, but not quite a paste.


Remove from the oven and allow to sit for just a minute or two before scooping off onto a wire rack to finish cooling.   Whisk together the icing sugar and enough milk to give you a thick drizzle icing.  



You can flavour it with a bit of cinnamon if you like.  Drizzle this over top of the snowflakes and sprinkle with the sparkle sprinkles.   Store in an airtight container.  Will keep several days.