Elderflower Champagne

I had zero faith in this working and had nightmares about exploding bottles but it was really really easy and is totally delicious i will be making a lot more next year

I got this recipie from Channel4.com and its a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipie

Makes 6 litres

4 litres Hot Water

700g Sugar

Juice and Zest 4 Lemons

2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar

15 Elderflower Heads in full bloom (i used about double this)

I used a bucket to make mine. Put hot water and sugar into the bucket and stir until sugar dissolves. Top up with cold water so you have 6 litres in total. Add the lemon juice and zest, white wine vinegar and elderflowers and stir. Cover with muslin (i used pillowcase) and leave in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. The recipe says to check it after two days and its not foaming to add a pinch of yeast. To be honest mine wasnt foaming but when i shook the bucket i could hear it fizz so assumed it was alright. Leave again for another 4 days. Then strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into plastic fizzy drink bottles. I didnt have any glass and didnt want to risk the explosion with glass but the plastic bottle were perfect. Seal bottles and leave to ferment for at least a week before serving chilled.

I really didnt think this would work and would be left with flat scuzz but it really does work and was left with proper fizzy champagne!! (very, very low alcohol content) Lovely flavour and apparently keeps for several months so saving a bottle for christmas

Blackberry Crumble Cake - the last of last years blackberries!

115g Butter
175g Caster Sugar
1 Egg
280g Self Raising
125ml Milk
200g Blackberries
Crumble :
115g Caster Sugar
85g Plain Four
50g Butter

Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl with electric whisk until light and fluffy. Whisk in the egg and fold in the flour and milk. Spoon into tin - i used 9inch square tin. Sprinkle the blackberries over the cake mix. To make the crumble mix the flour and sugar together in a bowl and rub in the butter until you get breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the cake/blackberry mix and bake in oven 180/160/4 for 45 mins
It took longer than this for mine to cook through. There was too much cake mix really i would be tempted to halve the cake mix next time or use a larger, shallower tin. Cake itself is very good will definately make more when the blackberries are in season

Cinnamon Nutella Cake

175g Butter

175g Golden Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

200g Self Raising

1tsp Baking Powder

2tsp Ground Cinnamon

4 tbsp Milk

4 tbsp Nutella

50g Hazlenuts

Put all the ingredients apart from the hazlenuts into a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy

Spoon 2 thirds of the mix into 20cm round cake tin. Spoon in the nutella in 4 blobs and cover with the remaining cake mixture. With a skewer or sharp thin knife swirl the mixture. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and sprinkle over the top.

Bake in oven 180/160/4 for about an hour. If it starts to catch cover with tin foil. When a knife inserted comes out clean the cake is done.

I found the nutella sank to the bottom so i would put it on the top of the mixture and just push under rather than the recommended 2 thirds/third above

Sausage and Egg Pasties

This is from August Good Food - really easy as uses ready made pastry, taste = :-p Original recipe was for 8 so I have halved it here :
5 Medium Eggs (not large otherwise they wont really fit in)
4 Pork Sausages with the meat squeezed out
3 or 4 Spring Onions finely chopped
500g (1 block) frozen short crust pastry defrosted
Plain Flour for dusting

Bring pan of water to the boil and add 4 of the eggs. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 4 mins. Drain under cold water and peel
Meanwhile mix the sausagemeat and spring onions together. Dust surface with flour and roll out the pastry. You will need to make 4 x 25cm circles out of the pastry. Using wetish hands so the sausage meat doesnt stick to you, spread quater of the meat onto each circle going almost to the edges. Place one of the eggs in the middle of the circle, then pull the sides up over the egg and seal. Place all pasties onto a lined baking sheet. Beat the remaining egg and brush over the pasties.
Cook in oven (220/200/7) for 30 mins or until pastry golden brown all over

Red Onion and Cheese Tart

500g (1 block) frozen short crust pastry
1tbsp olive oil
1tsp caster sugar
1tbsp butter
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
500g red onions thinly sliced
3 large eggs
300ml single cream or full milk
125g grated strong cheddar

Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 23cm flan/quiche tin. Price the base and bake blind (cover with baking paper and use cooking beans to weight it down) for 1o mins. Uncover and cook for further 4 mins. Remove from oven and leave to one side to cool.
Meanwhile fry the onions in a large frying pan with the oil and butter until soft. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook for further few minutes until deep brown. Place the onions into the flan and season. Beat together the eggs and cream/milk and add the grated cheese. Pour over the onions and bake in oven 2oo/180/6 for 30 mins
Make sure the flan sits flat in the oven unlike mine which slopped over a bit

Red Velvet Cup Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

140g Self Raising
2 tbsp Cocoa
1/2 tsp Bicarb of Soda
110ml Buttermilk (I made my own using 110ml milk and few drops of lemon juice)
1 tsp Vinegar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Red Food Colouring
60g Butter
170g Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg
Oven 170 15-20 mins
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, bicarb and a pinch of salt. In a mug, mix the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and red food colouring. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg a little at a time. Mix in a third of the flour mixture, followed by half the buttermilk mixture, then another third of the flour, the rest of the buttermilk and finally the last of the flour mixture. Line 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases. Divide the mixture between the paper cases. Bake for 20 minutes, until risen and springy
Cream Cheese Frosting :
50g Butter
100g Cream Cheese
250g Icing Sugar
Cream the butter and cream cheese and add the sieved icing sugar, the cream cheese/butter gets quite soft so I added more icing sugar and chilled in the fridge. Double the recipe if you want to smother the cakes in icing. I grated a bit of chocolate over the top for decoration

Apple Strudel Muffins

250g Self Raising
3g Baking Powder
2g Bicarb of Soda
115g Butter
100g Soft Brown Sugar
100g Golden Caster Sugar
2 eggs
190g Apples peeled and cored (I used 4 - two shredded using cheese grater, two choopped into small cubes)
1 tsp Mixed Spice or Cinnamon
Topping :
150g Soft Brown Sugar
20g Self Raising
30g Butter
2 tsp Mixed Spice or Cinnamon
I found this recipe on line but have amended it using more apple, brown sugar and mixed spice and doubling the topping
Preheat oven to 180 and line muffin tin with paper cases makes approx 10-12

Mix flour, baking powder, mixed spice and bicarb in bowl. In separate bowl mix butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in the apples and gradually add the flour mix until smooth. Spoon into the muffin cases.
Next make the topping by mixing sugar, flour and mixed spice/ cinnamon. Then cut in the butter with a metal knife until you have coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle generous amount of topping over each muffin and bake in oven for 15-20 mins. These have been taste tested and get the thumbs up!

Cookies

175g Margerine

225g Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

350g self Raising

100g Chocolate Chips (i used chopped up dairy milk and smarties as thats what I had in the house)

Oven 180 15-20 mins

This is so easy : put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until it forms a dough. Spoon onto a lined baking tray and bake. depending on how you like cookies use between 1tsp and 1tbsp of mixture per cookie. I like the dough raw in the middle so cooked for less than the specified time. I made some big and some small so watch them in the oven if smaller so they dont over cook. The raw dough is also very nice with ice cream :-p

Lemon Drizzle Cake

225g Butter
225g Caster Sugar
4 Eggs
225g Sel Raising
Finely grated zest 1 Lemon
Drizzle:
85g Caster Sugar
Juice of 1 and 1/2 lemons
Oven 180(f)/160/GM4

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, then add the eggs one at a time with a spoonful of the flour with each. Sift in the rest of the flour and add the lemon zest and fold in. Transfer to a lined loaf or cake tin (to line a loaf tin use strips of greaseproof paper leaving little handles dangling over the edge which you can use to lift the cake out) and cook as above for 40-50 mins. While the cake is still warm in the tin make the drizzle: mix the lemon juice and sugar together. Prick the cake all over with a skewer or thin knife and pour the drizzle over. Leave in the tin until completely cool. I served mine warm with extra thick double cream and ice cream