Weekend Fun!

I had the house full of friends to celebrate a very good friend's birthday. The theme was Italian (with a few Asian bits added on request). Here are some pictures I took - unfortunately not all pictures came out well to publish but below is the menu;

Tomato and mozzarella bruschetta
Spicy Italian meatballs in a tomato sauce with spaghetti
Lemon and basil pesto chicken with parpadelle pasta
Mince and onion pizza (hubby's request)

Non Italian
Spicy vegetable samosas
Chicken curry

Dessert - death by chocolate
Decadent chocolate mousse
Chocolate cake
Chocolate chip cookies
Pizza       Trio of dessertSpicy Italian Meatballs in rich tomato sauce

Lemon drizzle .....

I love lemon drizzle cake as it always turns out so moist and crunchy, a yummy combination of sweet and sharp flavours.  I tend to mix juice of a small lime to the lemon juice to give the extra tang! As we all know lemon drizzle cakes have been made by many so this recipe is a mixture of different recipe ideas and in no way my own (original). It is still enjoyable and I can guarantee you it won’t last a day!

Preparation:  10 minutes             

Cooking:  up to 45 minutes depending on whether it is cupcakes or a large cake

Tin size: 10 inch round or 12 hole muffin tray

Oven: 170* C

Ingredients

250 g self raising flour

250 g soft butter

250 g fine sugar

3 medium eggs

175 ml semi skimmed milk

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

Drizzle

Zest of 2 large lemons and one small lime plus juice

110 g sugar

Method

• Preheat the oven to 170* C . Butter and line cake tin or put muffin cases in muffin tin.
• Beat butter and sugar together with a hand mixer till light and fluffy. Then add the eggs gradually and mix well after each addition.
• Fold in the milk then beat the mix again for a couple of minutes. Fold in sifted flour and baking powder and whisk for a final 2-3 minutes. Mix in the zest then pour the batter into the prepared tin.
• Depending on tin used check the cake mix after it has been in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes. It is cooked once a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean or the cake bounces back when gently tapped on top.
• Prick the cake with a toothpick or skewer immediately after taking out of oven and spread the drizzle on top. Leave to cool in tin before transferring to a cake plate. 

Drizzle

Mix the lemon and lime juices and sugar with a spoon and pour evenly over the cake while still hot so it can absorb all the juices.

Decoration

For an extra crunch just crush some pistachios and sprinkle on top of drizzle cake.

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing

Here, after a couple of busy days, is the recipe to go with the pictures below! I used a mix of white and wholemeal flour to give it some texture and lots of carrots to make the cake moist. The cake will keep for up to three days but in our house it does not even last a day!

Preparation:  20 minutes             

Cooking: 1 hour

Tin size: 23 cm round or 20 cm square greased and lined with baking paper

Oven: 180C (fan 160C)

Ingredients

3 cups thickly grated carrots

1 plain flour

¾ cup whole meal flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon mixed spice

¾ cup roughly chopped walnuts

¾ cup sultanas

3 large eggs

1 ½ cups dark brown sugar

¾ cup vegetable oil

Method

• Whisk oil and sugar together until combined.
• Add eggs one at a time beating well into the mixture.
• Sift flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda & spices over the wet mix and stir with a metal spoon until almost combined.
• Then add the grated carrots, sultanas and walnuts – mix well with the spoon.
• Pour into the prepared tin & bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer (inserted in the middle) comes out with clean/with little crumbs. Check the cake after 40 minutes and cover with baking paper if browning too much.
• Cool in tin, then tip out on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, spread with icing of your choice.

Cream cheese icing

Take 250g full fat cheese and mix with a wooden spoon till smooth. Add 1 ½ cups sifted icing sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons of finely grated lemon rind and 1 ½ teaspoons of lemon juice and mix until well combined. Spread over the cake and chill in fridge for one hour before serving.

Notes

• If you don’t like icing then just give a dusting of icing sugar or simply eat plain – the cake is yummy eaten warm or cold.
• If you don’t like nuts, substitute with half a cup extra of sultanas.
• To make the cake more decorative, place whole walnuts on top of the cake mix before baking.

Carrot cake

Here's one I've just finished. . . recipe later!

Apple and yoghurt cake with sultanas

This cake was given to me by my sister Saira.  I was looking for a light cake which would satisfy my sweet tooth and also reduce the fat content a bit - no I am not a health freak but like to try lighter versions as they leave me satisfied and feeling less guilty!

Serves 6 generous slices

This version of the cake has brown sugar to give a
crunchy top

Ingredients

3 oz sugar

4 oz plain or all purpose flour

4 tbsp low fat yoghurt

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

3-4 hard apples peeled, cored and sliced (thick or thin - it's up to you)

1 small cup raisins

Method

	Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees (160 for fan oven)
	Grease and line an 8 inch loose bottom cake tin.
	Beat sugar and eggs with vanilla until the mixture becomes light and fluffy
	Add the flour and beat well.  Add yoghurt and beat for a couple of minutes till the mixture is smooth.
	Put sliced apples and raisins and mix together.  Pour the mixture into prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes or until firm to touch.
	Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or custard along with a nice hot cup of tea!

Note:  The mixture will be wet so don't worry about it.  If the mixture looks runny, just add some more flour before adding the fruit.  This cake is good warm or cold but always refrigerate once cooled and it will keep for two days.

If you want to give it a richer look sprinkle top with brown sugar then bake as above. This will give a nice shiny (and crunchy) finish to the cake as seen in the picture above.

Upside down raspberry & pear cake

I don’t know what it is about upside down cakes but I am mad about them! The original upside down cake involved a pineapple, however, I have used all kinds of fruit and the results have been the same juicy, caramelized and sometimes stunning displays of fruit placed delicately on a light sponge (see plum upside down picture).

Give it a try and I guarantee the taste will put a smile on your face J

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Oven temperature: 180C (160C fan oven)

Deep Pyrex dish: 28 cm

Ingredients

6 oz self raising flour

6 oz butter softened

6 oz sugar

3 eggs

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons golden syrup

1 teaspoon extra butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large pears peeled, cored and sliced

1 punnet raspberries

Method

• First prepare the dish – rub the base roughly with one teaspoon of butter and drizzle one table spoon of golden syrup on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and then place the fruit in any design you fancy.
• Put the flour, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of golden syrup into a mixing bowl and whisk/mix on a medium speed till all ingredients are well combined.
• Pour batter over the fruit mixture, level the top and put in the oven to bake, checking after 30 minutes.
• The cake is cooked once the middle springs back once lightly touched or cake tester comes out clean when the centre is pierced.
• Cool for about 5 minutes in the dish then turn upside down on a plate. As you can see from the pictures, the sugar and golden syrup give a nice glaze to the fruit.
• Enjoy warm with a large scoop of ice cream or cream or pour custard on a generous slice once cooled.