Cherry & Almond Cake

Sorry it's been such a long time since the last post but opening a restaurant is hard work! Just a quick one today, a recipe for the Cherry & Almond cake I made for the restaurant. I hate marzipan, so it's not to my taste, but that's for the best when you're making cakes eh?

Ballet Outfit

Tonight was my Christmas present from Matthew - a night at the ballet! Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake'. It was wonderful, although I'm not so sure he enjoyed it so much.

To the point though... my outfit. I've got a dress which I bought for my birthday 3 years ago. Black, gorgeous, but a bit like a sack. I've always had to wear a waist-cinching belt to make it look nice, but still the neckline was too high.

Tonight I decided it was time for a bit of an update!

Apple Crumble

Peel, core and slice 6 red apples. Put 3/4 into a pie dish with a sprinkling of cinnamon, a few whole cloves, a bay leaf, some brown sugar (as much as you think it needs, depending on how sweet the apples are) and a tablespoon of elderflower cordial. Cover and microwave for 4 - 5 minutes, until you can smell the spices and it all looks gooey. Remove the bay leaf and cloves then stir in the remaining apple along with 10 dried apricots (chopped up a bit).

Rub 75g butter into 175g plain flour until it looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in 75g brown sugar and sprinkle the whole lot evenly over the apples.

Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes at 190c. Let it stand for 10 minutes before bringing to the table (or else everyone will burn themselves - no-one can resist hot apple crumble) and serve with loads of double cream.

Home-made KFC

I'm not going to lie, I love KFC. But, being on a diet there is no way I could justify it. Costs quite a lot too! So, here's my guide to your very own home-made KFC dinner.

Cowboy Toasties

A nice little snack for me and the kid ...

Toast some bread on one side only. Butter the toasted sides, marmite on one piece, beans (pre-warmed) topped with grated cheese (preferably mature cheddar done on the little bits of the grater). Make into a sanrnie, butter the outsides and bung in the grill for a few minutes each side. Yummy!

Quiche

Quick(ish) lunch.

Chestnut Bread and Butter Pudding

For Christmas I got some jars of chestnut puree from my French relatives, so decided to experiment!

Liberally butter both sides of 6 slices of bread, slightly stale is ideal. Make sandwiches filled with a mixture of chocolate and orange chestnut puree and put them in a buttered dish. Mix together 2 eggs with 275ml milk, 60ml double cream, 50g caster sugar and pour over the the sandwiches. Leave to soak in for about half an hour before baking at 190 celcius for 30 - 40 minutes. Serve hot with a generous helping of vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

(I seem to have lost the photo - sorry!)