Sunshine and Key Lime!

So I may have been absent for nearly a year, but in that year I've advanced in my degree to my fourth and final year, and that has meant total stress! However, I've recently finished all my academic work for the Summer and have been back in my favourite place, the kitchen. 

Recently, I've come to realise that although I'm studying fashion and want a career in it, my ultimate goal career wise is to settle down eventually to my own tearoom business, where I can bake all day long and chat! Therefore, I've decided to set aside a little time every week to practice and build on my baking so that when the day comes I'm ready! This practice time has led to a rather hefty weight gain over the past 6 or so months, alas, you can't just have your cake and eat it, not without consequences anyway!

Today the sunshine is out and its reached 18 degrees in Lytham St Annes, therefore i've decided today's bake should replicate the summer - Key Lime Pie. Key Lime Pie originates from Florida, and is named after the small key limes found throughout the Florida Keys.The dish dates back all the way to the 1800s, however the recipe has somewhat modernised since then!

This dessert is ridiculously easy and cheap to make, there really is no excuse not to try it!

Here's what you'll need:

300g Hobnob biscuits (1 packet)
150g Unsalted Butter
4 Limes, zest and juice.
3 eggs, yolks only.
1 can 297g Condensed Milk
300ml Double Cream
1 tbsp Icing Sugar


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees, gas mark 3.
2. Either in a food processor, or bash in a bag with a rolling pin the biscuits until broken into crumbs.
3. Melt the butter and add to the crushed biscuits and mix.
4. In a 22cm tart case with removable bottom, press in the biscuit mix oven base and up the sides until evenly distributed.
5. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes then allow to cool.
6. Seperate the yolks from the whites and put the yolks in a bowl and mix. Then add the condensed milk and mix for a few minutes until fully combined.
7. Grate the zest and squeeze the juice of 4 limes and add to egg/milk mixture and stir for a further few minutes until mix is thickened up slightly.
8. Add lime mix to tart case and return to oven for a further 15minutes.
9. Cool for around 3 hours or overnight if preferred.
10. Whip the cream with a tbsp of icing sugar to sweeten it up and either pipe or just dollop onto the cooled lime pie, (note I only whipped 150ml of cream and this was enough to just cover the pie, if you like more cream definitely use 300ml) 
11. Grate a little lime zest on top and enjoy!

Luscious Lime Drizzle Cupcakes

I've been busy in the kitchen recently as I'm currently on my summer break from University and finding that baking is a productive way to fill my days, especially as I then get to eat my creations, it's a win/win situation for me! With the British weather finally looking up and becoming more summery, I thought I'd better steer away from the stodgy, comfort food desserts I've generally been making to cheer myself up about the cold weather and head down a more fresh and zingy root.

Hence my next recipe is for a lovely lime drizzle cupcake with lime buttercream icing. I tend to look in the fridge and cupboards and use what needs using however I can in my baking. My mum bought some limes last weekend to enjoy with Pimms, but did not quite finish them off, so I thought what could be better than some moist cupcakes to enjoy with the glass of pimms on a sunny afternoon?!

Say goodbye to dry and bland cupcakes because these super moist but light cakes pack a limey punch! Here's the recipe, you won't regret making them!

Makes between 8-12 cupcakes depending on your case size. 

for the cakes:

150g softened unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

2 large eggs

2 limes

175g self-raising flour 

1 tsp baking powder.

for the drizzle:

100g caster sugar

Juice from the previously used limes

for the frosting:

300g icing sugar

100g softened unsalted butter

1 lime 

Preheat oven to 170C and cream the butter and sugar till soft and fluffy.

Beat the eggs and gradually add them to the butter and sugar and mix until thoroughly combined.

Grated the zest of 2 limes and add to the mixture. Keep the limes as you'll need their juice for the drizzle!

sift in the flour and baking powder and gently fold in, trying to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.At this point, if your mixture is too thick, add a tsp of milk to soften it up. 

Spoon the mixture into prepared cupcake cases (I used an icecream scoop to do this, meant I got even amounts into each case) and bake in the middle of the oven for around 20/25 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch.

Check the cakes are thoroughly cooked before removing by inserting a skewer into the middle of the cakes and if it comes out clean, you're done!

In a bowl mix the 100g caster sugar with the juice of the 2 limes to form a drizzle topping.

While the cakes are still warm, gently prick all over with a sharp knife or skewer to form holes for the drizzle to sink into. Gently pour over the drizzle and leave to cool.

once completely cool, either eat as they are or you can add a buttercream icing like I did. Beat the butter till light and fluffy then add the juice of 1 lime. Gradually add the icing sugar and mix thoroughly until a smooth frosting is made. 

Pipe or spoon buttercream onto cakes and decorate however you like. I simply grated the zest of the remaining lime! 

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Super Moreish Cookies

So my first recipe begins with an ingredient that I simply could not live without... Peanut Butter. Have it in a sandwich, have it in a cake, have it out the jar by the spoonful... it's a food that I adore! Last weekend at a vintage fair I visited, there was a beautiful cupcake stall selling all kinds of varieties of flavours... but I was instantly drawn to one of the lesser attractive cakes on the stand... the peanut butter and jelly cupcake. It was slathered in peanut butter icing, and crammed full of lovely strawberry jam, absolutely delicious! 

This is where my idea for my first recipe came about. I love cookies but often find them too sweet and sugary for my taste. Also, I prefer moist and chewy cookies, like the ones you buy at the supermarket bakery, but often find my bakes never turn out that way! Therefore I searched around for a recipe that I could use for some peanut butter cookies in the hope that the butter would make the cookies more moist while also adding a more nutty and less sugary taste.

             
                

And here is the end product. While I can admit they aren't the most aesthetically pleasing bake I've made, cookies are hard to make look pretty and part of me prefers them to be misshapen and clearly homemade! What the cookies most definitely lack for in look they definitely made up for in texture and taste, and I devoured two in the space of a couple of hours! They turned out moist and chewy just like I had wanted with a perfect peanut buttery taste, helped along by the addition of some peanut butter M&Ms. The recipe stated that it made 10, however, I like my peanut butter cookies LARGE, so got 6, but you could easily make up to 20 little ones if you wanted. The recipe I got from British Bake off's Jo Wheatley and her lovely cookbook, 'A passion for Baking'. Her recipe states you can add chocolate chips or peanuts to the cookie mix but I decided to add peanut butter M&Ms for a change but you can add whatever you like! If you have as much love for peanut butter as me, these are a must, I assure you you won't be disappointed!

100g Softened Unsalted Butter 

100g Peanut Butter (I used crunchy but you can use smooth)

60g Demerera Sugar

60g Caster Sugar

1 Large Egg, Beaten

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Bicarbonate of Soda

100g Plain Flour

100g Peanut Butter M&Ms

Preheat oven to 180C and cream the butter, two sugars and peanut butter together until thoroughly mixed and light and fluffy. 

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into the mixture and mix until the dough comes together. At this stage, add the M&M's or peanuts or whatever you fancy. 

Scoop balls of the mixture onto a lined baking tray, ensuring they are well spaced out so that they don't merge into one great big cookie. (has happened to me before!) 

If you like your cookies flattened like mine, give them a little flattening with a fork. Orelse place in the middle of the oven for 5 minutes, then bring the cookies out, give the tray a bang on the work surface to deflate the cookies, then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until they are a golden brown colour. 

Cool in the tray to allow them to firm up a little before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

:)

Welcome:)

Hey everyone,

Im Briony, a 20 year old fashion student living in Aberdeen. Having started blogging on my primary love and interest, fashion, I've gotten rather addicted to blog viewing and posting! My second love in life is without a doubt, food; food from a range of culture and countries, there isn't much that I wouldn't eat! Despite my student budget, going out to eat is something I set aside money for, as there's nothing better than having beautiful food cooked for you by somebody else.

From an early age, I've had a sweet tooth. This has somewhat lessened over the years, which is fortunate as my mum was rather worried that my teeth would have fallen out by this age had I continued on my diet of sugar laden treats! However, my love of desserts and home-baking still exists and for me a meal isn't complete without a little treat. Although I love cooking savoury meals, there is nothing more satisfying than making a successful cake, pretty in its presentation and delicious in its taste!

I aim to test a number of tasty dessert and baking recipes, presenting the recipe, documenting the end product and reviewing.. so that you too can enjoy desserts as much as I do:)

love