Baked cheesecake with blueberries

Some blueberries appeared in the fridge again... :)

I actually had a bit of an issue when baking this but it turned out really well. I used a spring-form tin as I always do with cheesecake, but this time as soon as I poured in the mixture over the base, it started to leak through the bottom! In the end, I shoved it into the oven as fast as I could with a baking tray on the shelf beneath it to catch the dripping mixture. It stopped dripping after about 10-15 minutes when the mixture started to set...

Tip: Make sure your spring-form tin is a tight fit and that there are no gaps in the base. Alternatively, try lining the base and covering the join with greaseproof paper.

Verdict: Well worth the hassle. This cheesecake was enjoyed by the whole family.

This recipe serves 10-12 and is taken from a cake book by Rachel.

Ingredients
175 g digestive biscuits
75 g butter, melted
175 g blueberries, plus extra for decorating (optional)
450 g cream cheese
150 g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Icing sugar, to dust

24 cm diameter spring-form/loose-bottomed tin

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Butter the sides and base of the cake tin.
2. Place the biscuits in a food processor and whi until quite fine. Alternatively, place them in a plastic bad and bash with a rolling pin. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and press down into the base of the tin so that it is nice and even. Spread the blueberries over the base and allow to chill in the fridge while you make the topping.
3. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and the eggs together in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. Pour over the top of the blueberries and then bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until it is pale golden and should only wobble very slightly when you gently shake the tin.
4. Allow to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen it and carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin. Transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle over a few blueberries, if you wish, then dust with icing sugar. Cut into slices to serve. This cheesecake is best eaten when it is at room temperature.

Victoria Sandwich Cake (a lovely gift)

It was my fiance's grandparents wedding anniversary not long ago and we didn't know what to get for them. We eventually decided to bake them this cake and they absolutely loved it. So much that they ate the whole cake between them... (warning: it is actually family-sized and will easily feed 8 or more!)

This recipe is again taken from my favourite Mary Berry cake book but I have adapted it to include butter cream.

Verdict: I've made this cake several times and it has never gone wrong. If you need to whip up something quick for a family dessert or when you have guests, this cake is reliable and tasty and uses simple store cupboard ingredients.

This recipe makes 1 20cm cake.

Ingredients

For the cake
225 g soft margarine (I use butter)
225 g caster sugar
4 eggs
225 g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder

For the filling and topping
4 tbsp raspberry or strawberry jam (although you can use as much or as little as you prefer)
a little caster sugar

For the butter cream filling
100 g butter, softened
200 g icing sugar, sifted

Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line 2 20cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
2. Measure the margarine (or butter), sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended.
3. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and level out.
4. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes or until well risen and the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.
5. Leave to cool in the tins for a few moments then turn out, peel off the paper and finish cooling on a wire rack.
6. While the cake is cooling, make the butter cream icing. Beat the butter and icing sugar until well blended.
7. When the cake is completely cold, sandwich the cakes together with the jam and butter cream. Spread the butter cream on the bottom half of the cake and spread the jam on the top half and sandwich together.
8. Sprinkle with caster sugar to serve.

Blueberry muffins (a classic)

A couple of packs of blueberries appeared in our fridge a while ago and I thought what better to do with them than use them to make blueberry muffins! So much for the healthy snack... :)

Blueberry muffins are a classic and there are many recipes out there but I would really recommend you try this one as it is particularly scrummy. This recipe makes 12 muffins and is taken from my favourite Mary Berry cake book.

Tip: The recipe states that these muffins need 20-25 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees C. I have a fan oven and they were done in 18 minutes at 200 degrees C...

Verdict: Scrummy - you can't go wrong with these muffins!

Ingredients
250 g self -raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
50 g soft margarine (I use butter)
75 g caster sugar
175 g fresh blueberries
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 eggs
250 ml milk

Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C. Place 12 paper muffin cases into a muffin tin.
2. Measure the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Rub in the margarine (or butter) with the fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Stir in the sugar, blueberries and the grated lemon rind.
4. Mix together the eggs and milk, then pour the mixture all in one go into the dry ingredients. Mix quickly to blend. The mixture should have a lumpy consistency.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared paper cases, filling almost to the top.
6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 20-25 minutes until well-risen, golden and firm to the touch. Leave the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the tray, then lift out and cool for a little longer on the wire rack. Serve warm.

Ginger and honey snaps (Sorry it's taken me so long...)

I'm back - finally... and I have quite a few posts for today...

I actually made these a while ago but have been too busy to post the recipe on here. They are well worth the wait, I assure you! I love ginger cookies and this is the best recipe I have found for them so far.

This recipe is taken from a recipe book by Rachel (of Rachel's organics range) and it makes about 20 cookies.

Ingredients
225 g self-raising flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
100 g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra, for sprinkling
125 g butter, cubed
100 g runny honey

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a large baking tray with vegetable oil (or butter).
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices into a large bowl, add the 100 g sugar and mix well. Add the butter and, using your fingertips, rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Heat the honey gently in a small saucepan, then pour it into the flour and butter mixture and bring together to form a dough using a wooden spoon.
4. Sprinkle the 1 tbsp of caster sugar over a plate. Using floured hands, roll the dough into small balls, then roll in the caster sugar and place on the greased baking tray about 5 cm apart. Flatten down with the back of a damp fork and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until they are medium brown.
5. Leave on the baking tray for 2 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Tip: If you prefer your cookies to be more squidgy, take them out of the oven a couple of minutes earlier. Take care not to over-bake these cookies as they will taste bitter if they come out of the oven too dark.

Coconut & Raspberry Slice (getting my baking fix!)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a ever so slightly bored Clare in want of something to do will end up baking....

 .... and eating said baked goods...

.... and feeding them to her b/f (hahaha) and ever-expanding colleagues!

THANK YOU to everyone who has commented so far (and for the recipe!  It looks yummy!)

Today folks it was a brand spanking new recipe for me... 

Coconut Slices 

From the Channel 4 food website: http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/baking/biscuits/coconut-slice-recipe_p_1.html

Verdict: mmmm.... I'd write a verdict down if my brain was able to think of something other than how yummy these slices are!

Ingredients:

Base:

100g butter, plus extra for greasing

200g self-raising flour

50g caster sugar

2 egg yolks

Topping:

7 tbsp raspberry jam

3 egg whites

100g caster sugar

150g desiccated coconut

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.  Grease a dish (about 17.5 x 27 x 4cm deep) - I used a lasagne dish which worked quite well.

2) In a large bowl, rub the butter into the flour, then stir in the sugar.  Mix the egg yolks and 2 tbsp cold water to form a moist dough.  Press evenly into the base of the tin, then spread the jam on top.

3) In a clean (glass) bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks (preferably with something whisk-like and  electric - I did this by hand.. with a fork!)

4) Using a metal spoon, fold in the sugar and coconut.  Spread over the jam.  Bake for 20 miutes, or until the topping is golden.

5) Cool in the tin, then cut into 21 squares to serve (or fewer, larger, squares if you're got a particularly bad case of the munchies!)

 

Banana muffins (aka yes I do have a baking problem!)

Why do I end with so many bananas?!

It seems like every other week I have half a dozen overripe stinky bananas to use up!  I did come to the bottom of it, though - Alex was buying them for me because he thought I liked them, and I was buying them for him because I thought he liked them.. hence the persistent mountain of bananas in our kitchen :)

I made banana muffins a while ago now, but felt a bit guilty for having so many consecutive posts (letting the team down Anika :P ) and so didn't put the recipe up.  But this may be the only way to stop me eating all my baked creations before Alex gets back home... and so I post.....

Banana Crumb Muffins

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Crumb-Muffins/Detail.aspx

Verdict: I think I'm losing my (insanely!) sweet tooth - these were faaaar too sweet for me, and it's rare I say anything bad about sugary goodness!  Next time, I'll lose the crumb topping - straight up banana muffins are definitely the way to go!

Ingredients, Directions etc... since I didn't change the recipe at all (and I'm feeling very lazy) use the link above!