Posts in 'Recipes'

If you’re a peanut butter addicted like me then this recipe is the one for you. Filled with fresh blueberries but with a cheeky twist to indulge in!

Ingredients:

• 100g fresh blueberries


• 150g spelt flour or oats


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 large egg, beaten


• 150ml milk


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 2 ripe bananas, mashed


• 1 tsp peanut butter per pancake

Optional Toppings

• Greek Yoghurt


• Raspberries


• Maple Syrup

Instructions:

• In a mixing bowl, combine the spelt flour with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Make a well in the centre.


• In a second bowl, beat the egg, milk, vanilla and mashed banana together. Pour into the well in the first bowl and mix lightly to form a batter. Stir in the blueberries.


• Alternatively; add the bananas, milk, egg, vanilla, baking powder and spelt flower in a food processer and mix together.


• Then stir the blueberries into the mixture


• Put a frying pan over a medium heat. Brush the surface lightly with oil and add a small ladleful of batter into the centre of the frying pan. Add the tsp of peanut butter into the centre of the mixture and cover with another tbsp of batter.


• Cook for a couple of minutes, or until bubbles appear on the surface and the undersides are lightly browned. Flip over and cook for a further minute or so.


• Repeat to make 10 pancakes in total. Serve the hot pancakes in stacks of 3 with a dollop of fresh yoghurt, raspberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.


• Slice into the middle to reveal a gooey peanut butter centre! Enjoy!

Pancakes are really easy to make and delicious with a sweet or savoury topping.

100g plain flour
2 eggs
300ml semi-skimmed milk
1tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
pinch of salt

1. Put the flour and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.


2. Crack the two eggs into the middle and pour 1 tbsp of oil and about 50ml of the milk into the well and gradually draw the flour into the eggs, milk and oil.


3. Once the flour is incorporated, beat until you have a smooth and thick paste with no lumps. Add a little more milk if it is too stiff to beat.


4. Gradually add the rest of the milk, whisking until you have a batter that is the consistency of slightly thick single cream.


5. Allow the batter to rest for at least 30 minutes to allow the gluten to develop.


6. When you are ready to cook your pancakes, heat a frying pan over a moderate heat and add a little oil.


7. Ladle some of the batter into the pan, tilting it to spread the mixture around to create a thin even layer. If you have too much batter in the pan, pour it back into the mixing bowl.


8. Leave to cook for about 30 seconds without disturbing the batter. After about 30 seconds, the pancake should turn golden brown on the underside and be ready to turn.


9. Slide a palette knife under the pancake and quickly lift and flip it over so it is flat on the frying pan. Cook on this side for 30 seconds, then it turn onto a warm plate.


10. Continue until you have used up all the batter. Stack the pancakes on the warmed plate and cover with foil or greaseproof paper to keep them warm.


11. Serve with lemon and sugar, golden or maple syrup, jam…. The list is endless.

Chef’s tip 1:  You can make the mixture in a blender by putting all the ingredients in the jug together and blending until smooth.

Chef’s tip 2:  You can freeze pancakes for 1 month, layered with greaseproof paper and wrapped in cling film.

This fail safe recipe for the classic Crepes Suzette is from Delia Smith.  Impress your guests with this delicious dessert that was allegedly created for the future King Edward VII.  The pancakes can be made in advance and finished just before serving.

For the pancake batter
110g plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs
200mls milk mixed with 75ml water
50g butter
1 medium orange, grated zest only
1 tbsp caster sugar

For the sauce
150ml orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges)
1 medium orange, grated zest only
1 small lemon, grated rind and juice
1 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp Grand Marnier, Cointreau or brandy
50g unsalted butter
a little extra Grand Marnier, for flaming

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs - any sort of whisk or even a fork will do - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.


2. Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don't worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any elusive bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake. Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter.


3. Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. These little crêpes should be thinner than the basic pancakes, so when you're making them, use ½ tbsp of batter at a time in a 18cm pan. It's also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate. If the pancakes look a little bit ragged in the pan, no matter because they are going to be folded anyway. You should end up with 15-16 crêpes.


4. Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.


5. For the sauce, mix all the ingredients - with the exception of the butter - in a bowl. At the same time warm the plates on which the crêpes are going to be served. Now melt the butter in the frying pan, pour in the sauce and allow it to heat very gently. Then place the first crêpes in the pan and give it time to warm through before folding it in half and then in half again to make a triangular shape. Slide this onto the very edge of the pan, tilt the pan slightly so the sauce runs back into the centre, then add the next crêpe. Continue like this until they're all re-heated, folded and well soaked with the sauce.


6. You can flame them at this point if you like. Heat a ladle by holding it over a gas flame or by resting it on the edge of a hotplate, then, away from the heat, pour a little liqueur or brandy into it, return it to the heat to warm the spirit, then set light to it. Carry the flaming ladle to the table over the pan and pour the flames over the crêpes before serving on the warmed plates.

reference www.bbcfood.com

Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts.  Lent is the time of fasting in the Christian faith lasting approximately 5 weeks before the major festival of Easter.  In the UK, and some other countries, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated by cooking pancakes.  Shrove Tuesday is celebrated in other parts of the world such as Brazil, the US with the Mardi Gras and famously the Carnival in Venice, Italy.

So why do we eat Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? And what does Shrove mean?

Let’s start with Shrove.  This is a corruption of the old English word shriven.  To be shriven meant a person had gone to church to confess what they’d done wrong and received a pardon from the priest.  This always had to happen before Lent started.

Pancakes were made because Lent was a time of fasting, so people had to use up all the fattening ingredients in the house such as eggs and milk.  By adding flour to use up eggs and milk you create a batter and can make pancakes.  There are pancake races in towns across the UK, the most famous being in Olney in Buckinghamshire where the High Street is closed to allow the runners to race along the street flipping pancakes!

Of course pancakes can be eaten at any time!  They are delicious as a dessert with all sorts of toppings from lemon and sugar, to Nutella, to golden syrup.  Crepes Suzette are a show off dish in a restaurant, where the pancake is served with orange and sugar, and flambéed (set alight) in Grand Marnier at the side of your table!

They can also be used for a savoury dish with fillings such as chicken and mushroom, spinach and ricotta.  Pancakes can also be made in advance, and once cool, frozen with a piece of greaseproof paper between each one. They can then be reheated quickly for either a sweet or savoury dish.

Breakfast pancakes are made slightly thicker as are Scotch pancakes which are delicious as an afternoon tea snack.

For the basic pancake recipe click here

For Crepes Suzette recipe click here

Cakes don't always have to be heavy and decadent, this cake combines the sweet flavor of cinnamon with the earthy tones of beetroot! Not only is it gluten free but dairy free as well. This cake is a perfect treat with a cup of tea, follow the instructions below!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs


• A pinch of salt


• 140gr white sugar


• 4 small beetroots(already peeled and boiled)


• 1 banana


• 200ml soy unsweetened yogurt


• 200gr rice flour


• 16gr instant yeast


• 2tsp ground cinnamon


• 60gr coconut flour


• 50ml soy milk (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a bowl whisk with an electric mixer 3 eggs with 140gr white sugar and a pinch of salt until you have a white and foaming consistency.


2. Process the 4 small beetroots with 1 banana and 200ml of soy unsweetened yogurt.


3. Add the yogurt mix to the eggs & sugar


4. Sift together 200gr rice flour, 16gr instant yeast, 2tsp of ground cinnamon and 60gr coconut flour into a bowl.


5. Then add the dry mix into the yogurt & eggs etc mixture.


6. Mix and if the consistency is too firm, add 50ml soy milk


7. Oil a 2lb loaf tin and transfer the mixture inside it.


8. Cook in the oven for 45/50 minutes at 170 *C


9. Enjoy with a cup of tea!