Pies and Wardrobes

Hi all

The pie was fab-u-lous. Sorry about the rather awful photo but I snapped this quickly while we were both drooling in anticipation of PIE.

It was very easy to make. I used ready-made pastry to save on time and the addition of big juicy blackberries with the apple was a definite success. My pie dish isn't very deep so there was enough of the filling mix left over to fill two large ramekins and top them off with a circle of pastry. The cinnamon topping was delicious and, although there didn't seem to be much of it when I crumbled it on, it did spread and cover the top of the pie during cooking. I left the sides rustic, rather than crimped, but probably should have brushed them with a little egg or milk too. All in all, it was a great success and no doubt we will be making this again.

I went back to check out those beautiful 1950s wardrobes today and they are on their way! I couldn't pass up the chance of having the matching dressing table too - so crossing everything that they will all fit in the bedroom. There are two matching wardrobes and a lovely mirrored dressing table, all in honey coloured wood, with pretty glass knobs. 

I'm all set for starting my new job - clothes are pressed, new notebook and pen packed ready, nerves on edge. Tomorrow we are having a day off from unpacking - the choice of where we go is all mine so I just need to decide now ...

Take care people,

Melanie

Springish!

Hello there my darlings! Hope you all had an enjoyable Easter. I had a wee break from work, which I spent at home with my sweet man. We kept to our new 'tradition' and treated ourselves to some delicious chocolate from our favourite chocolate shop in Henley. Of course, we just had to indulge in a cup of steaming hot Madagascan chocolate while we were there too! Absolutely yummy, and all the better for being served in dainty vintage cups. I also spent a little time making some truffles to take to my work chums before we went on our hols.

 

I made up a simple ganache of cream and chocolate and piped little blobs onto a tray when it was beginning to set. A short stay in the fridge and they were ready to roll into balls and cover in toasted coconut, toasted nuts or cocoa powder mixed with icing sugar.

 

 

Needless to say, they didn't hang around long!

 

I also dusted off my broom and gave the house a thorough going over - and then stood back to admire my handiwork.

 

 

We added some Spring flowers and almost convinced ourselves that Spring had actually arrived!

 

Great news! Today I went to my first boot sale of the year! Hurrah! The sun actually shone and, although it was a little breezy, I had lots of fun browsing the various stalls and unearthed some wonderful treasures for my Etsy shop. Some are in there already so why not pop over and take a look?

 

Have a lovely week!



  

Craving Chocolate

I had really big chocolate craving on the weekend and was inspired by my favourite blog, Posie Gets Cozy by Alicia Paulson, to try out this recipe for chocolate brownies. They were everything I wanted - easy to make, quick to cook and deliciously chocolatey.

 

This is my version of the recipe - I do own a set of 'cups' for measuring American style but I've converted some of the other ingredients into metric for those who, like me, find it easier to follow.

 

120g butter

100g dark chocolate broken into small pieces

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs straight from the fridge

1/2 cup flour

few drops vanilla essence

 

Preheat oven to 170C (Gas 3, 325F). Grease and line an 8" square cake tin with parchment and set aside. Melt the butter gently in a saucepan and when hot remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir once and leave 'til the chocolate has melted. This doesn't take long and you can prepare the cake tin while you're waiting if you like. Stir the chocolate and butter mix until smooth and then beat in the sugar and salt (I tipped the chocolate into a bowl before doing this but you can use the saucepan if it's big enough). Then beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla if using and then add the flour. Mix until the flour is thoroughly incorporated. Tip the mix into the tray and bake for 30 minutes. I found the timings to be perfect and a skewer put into the middle came out clean. Leave the tin to cool on a wire rack and then remove from the tin. Dust with icing sugar and cut into 16 small squares.

 



These were sooo scrummy - particularly the corners with that lovely combination of chewy gooey centre and slightly crisp edges. I'm afraid they didn't stick around long...

 

 

I'm thinking that next time I'll add some toasted hazelnuts for nutty chocolate heaven!

Baby it's cold outside

It may be cold outside but on the weekend we had a go at making ice cream for the first time. We've always been fans of Margaritas so this recipe for Margarita ice cream  (from Nigella Express) sounded right up our alley. It was as simple as pie to make and positively scrumptious to eat!

 

Margarita Ice Cream

 

125ml lime juice

2 tablespoons Tequila

3 tablespoons Cointreau or Triple sec

150g icing sugar or powdered sugar

500ml double cream

 

Pour the lime juice, Tequila and Cointreau (or triple sec) into a bowl and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Add the double cream and softly whip until it is thick and smooth but not stiff. Spoon this into an air tight container and freeze overnight. There no need to churn it and it won't freeze too hard.

 

We found it was delicious served in Margarita glasses with salted rims (run a lime around the top of the glass to moisten and then dip in coarse sea salt) and a smattering of grated lime zest on top. Wow. Who cares if it's cold outside when you can put the heating up high and eat this. 



Champagne Cocktails

Aaahh, Champagne Cocktails - how did I ever live without them?

Now a tradition on high days and holidays here at English Rose house, the Champagne Cocktail is intoxicatingly divine. I don't know why it took me so long to discover them but now I have I'm making up for time!

Here's how to knock up a wow of a cocktail at the drop of a hat ...

Drop one sugar cube in the bottom of your champagne glass and add to it about six drops of Angostura Bitters.

Add to that a tablespoon of brandy.

Then top up your glass with champagne (Cava will do but champagne is better).

Then tuck in - preferrably with a close friend - but beware - they're potent stuff!



Dark chocolate and orange cake

If you've read my previous entries you'll know I'm a bit of a sucker for fine chocolate. I'm celebrating having a whole month off work this weekend so something special was called for to follow last night's home made pizza. I haven't posted a recipe before but this dark chocolate and orange cake was so tasty and really quite simple to make. We bought some very good quality dark chocolate (Valrhona's Guanaja - 70%) from our favourite chocolate shop in Henley during the week and then I searched my cook books for some inspiration. I just wasn't sure what I fancied and in the end I remembered tearing a recipe out of an old magazine recently and decided to give it a try. It's supposed to have a white chocolate and icing sugar topping but personally I love the simplicity of a warm chocolate pudding with cream.

As long as you have an electric whisk this really takes very little effort. You'll need a bit of elbow grease though if you're whisking it by hand.



You will need:

100g butter
100g dark chocolate broken into pieces
125g caster sugar
3 large eggs, separated
finely grated zest of 2 oranges (or 1 large one)
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons Cointreau
30g plain flour, sifted
25g cocoa powder, sifted

Warm the oven to 180C or gas mark 4. Grease and line a 20cm cake tin (it doesn't need to be very deep) and in the meantime melt the broken chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water. As soon as it has melted take the pan off the heat and allow to cool a little.

Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until light and fluffy then add the egg yolks one at a time. Carry on whisking until it's smooth and creamy. Add the orange zest and juice, Cointreau and melted chocolate. Mix a little then fold in the flour and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form medium peaks then fold one large tablespoon into the cake mix to loosen it. Carefully fold in the rest of the egg white until fully mixed (but be gentle). Turn the mix into the cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean.

You'll end up with a dense, chocolatey cake that's wonderfully good warm with a large dollop of thick cream. I can feel a trip to the gym coming on just thinking about it. And the good news is - we've still got plenty left for today!