Recipe List
HONEYCOMB CRUNCH REFRIGERATOR SQUARES
RAINBOW SPRINKLE RICE KRISPIE TREATS
RASPBERRY & LIMONCELLO VICTORIA SANDWICH
CHOCOLATE GANACHE & FRESH RASPBERRY TART
CLASSIC CRÊPES WITH SUGAR & SALTED BUTTER
RHUBARB, ORANGE & GINGER CRUMBLE
DARK CHOCOLATE & BROWN BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING
WHITE WINE-SOAKED STRAWBERRIES
HONEYCOMB CRUNCH REFRIGERATOR SQUARES
Piled up on a plate in the fridge, these are super-addictive. I like to grab one if I’m after something sweet after a big meal, or for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.
Feel free to chop and change the ingredients a little: the honey/butter/chocolate base is the starting point for a whole world of different possibilities. Add mini marshmallows, raisins and glacé cherries for an easy rocky road.
MAKES: 12 squares
PREP TIME: 5 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling
COOKING TIME: 5 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
2 tablespoons runny honey
a pinch of salt
50g plain chocolate, chopped
FRESH
50g unsalted butter
7 digestive biscuits (approximately 100g)
3 chocolate-coated honeycomb bars (approximately 100g)
1. Measure the butter, honey and salt into a saucepan and set over a medium heat. Stir until the butter has completely melted and combined with the honey. Add the chocolate to the pan, and stir until it is all melted and the mixture is smooth.
2. Break up the biscuits and the honeycomb bars into chunks. Stir into the chocolate mixture until everything is coated.
3. Line the bottom of a loaf tin, baking tray or brownie tin with a double layer of cling film. If you’re using one of the larger types of tin, you may want to double the amount here, or press the mix into only half the tin to avoid making super-thin and fragile bars. Press the mixture into the prepared tray, and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
4. Once the mixture is solid, turn it out of the tin, remove the cling film and slice the slab into 12 small squares. Store in the fridge for up to a week, if they even last that long!
ORANGE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Everyone loves a good chocolate chip cookie. While I used to be all about the triple or quadruple chip cookie, stuffed with every type of chocolate and enriched with cocoa powder, these days I’m after something a bit more refined. A dusting of orange zest and a couple of handfuls of dark chocolate chips now make these my favourite cookie. Oh, and did I mention that they only take half an hour to make?
This is also a good base recipe for additions. I love to make bright and colourful M&M cookies by switching out the chocolate for M&M’s, and the orange zest for ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
MAKES: 10 cookies
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 10–12 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
½ teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
200g plain flour
FRESH
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g soft light brown sugar
zest of 1 orange
1 large egg
150g dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3 and line two baking trays with baking parchment. If you only have one tray, you can bake these cookies in two batches.
2. In a mixing bowl and using a mixing spoon, beat together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the orange zest and the egg until the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the baking powder, salt and flour, and mix until everything is just combined – overmixing the dough will result in tough cookies. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Divide the mixture into 10 balls (they will flatten and spread during cooking) and arrange them on the baking trays. Bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the cookies are golden and, when pressed with a fingertip, they are still soft, but definitely cooked in the middle.
5. Leave the cookies on the baking tray for a couple of minutes to harden a little before sliding them off onto a wire rack to cool.
Getting the perfect cookies: There is a thin line between getting a nice, chewy cookie with a soft middle that hardens up as the cookie cools, and a doughy one that’s still raw in the middle. It may sound hard, but I promise they’ll come out perfect the second time if they don’t the first! The temperature of your particular oven has a lot to do with it, and you’ll get to know your oven over time.
BANANA & NUTELLA MUFFINS
These muffins are great when freshly baked, so that the Nutella is still gooey. You can eat them at any time of day, but I do like them for an indulgent weekend breakfast as they only take 25 minutes to throw together. They’re best the day you make them, but they freshen up well in the oven for a few minutes.
MAKES: 6 muffins
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 20 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
150g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons golden caster sugar
3½ tablespoons light oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
FRESH
1 large egg
3 tablespoons milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed
Nutella, softened in a warm place
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Separately, mix together the egg, milk, oil, vanilla and bananas.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix together until just combined. It does not matter if there are a few lumps of flour in the mixture, and overmixing the batter will make for tough muffins.
4. Divide the mixture between six paper muffin cases in a muffin tin (although I make these in a silicone muffin tin) or arranged snugly in a high-sided baking tin or roasting tray so that the mixture can’t make the muffin cases splay out.
5. Spoon a generous dollop of Nutella on top of each muffin and swirl it into the batter. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes until they are puffy and golden. Remove the muffins from the tin so that they cool down enough to eat.
RUM-SPIKED BANANA BREAD
Banana bread is always the answer when you have a couple of bananas going brown hanging around the kitchen. This is what happens when you let me loose on my mother’s go-to recipe – I spike it with rum and pack it with chocolate chips.
This is great on the day you make it, and after that toasted and spread with salted butter.
SERVES: 6–8
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
120g golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
280g plain flour
FRESH
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
100ml buttermilk
3 tablespoons rum
75g dark or plain chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 and line a 900g loaf tin (they make two sizes, you’re after the larger one) with a loaf liner or baking parchment.
2. Beat together in a large mixing bowl the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.
3. Mash the bananas and stir them into the mixture along with the buttermilk and the rum. Mix in the bicarbonate of soda, salt and plain flour until everything is just combined, then fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, until the loaf is cracked and golden on top. If you insert a sharp knife or a skewer into the loaf, it should come out clean.
5. Remove the loaf from the tin as soon as it is cool enough to touch, and wait at least half an hour before slicing.
ONE-BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE
Everyone needs a good chocolate cake in their repertoire. Bake this cake for someone’s birthday, when you’ve got people coming to visit at the weekend or just because.
What people tend to love about this cake is the super-easy yoghurt icing. It adds a nice tang to the cake, and makes it just that little bit more interesting than a regular chocolate sponge. You can use softened butter instead of margarine, but I find that margarine makes for a lighter sponge.
SERVES: 6–8
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOKING TIME: 30 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
170g golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
120g plain flour
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
200g plain chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 tablespoon runny honey
FRESH
170g margarine, plus extra for greasing
3 eggs
100g natural yoghurt
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Line the base of a 20cm cake tin with baking parchment and grease the sides with a little margarine.
2. In a mixing bowl using a mixing spoon, beat together the sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, followed by the eggs, one at a time. Sift in the baking powder, flour and cocoa powder until everything is just combined.
3. Mix in 1 tablespoon of boiling water and pour the cake batter into the prepared tin. Shake the tin a little to help knock out any big air bubbles, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. The cake should be firm and slightly springy to the touch when it is cooked, and when you insert a sharp knife or a skewer into the middle, it should come out clean. Don’t open the oven door to check if the cake is ready until it has been in for at least 25 minutes, otherwise it may sink in the middle.
5. Once the cake is cool enough to touch, transfer it from the tin onto a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, make the yoghurt icing.
6. Melt the chocolate in an ovenproof bowl in the microwave in 30-second bursts (or melt over a pan of simmering water – see here). Once the chocolate is almost entirely melted, stir vigorously to finish the job. Leave it to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, I sometimes use chocolate chips here so I don’t need to bother chopping the chocolate.
7. Gently stir in the yoghurt and the honey until the icing is just combined. If you over-stir, it will stiffen too much and become unmanageable. Don’t leave out the honey or the icing will be lumpy.
8. Once the cake is cool, smooth the icing over the top, pushing it gently towards the edges so that it just spills over.
EASY CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
In my second year I stumbled across the idea online to make brownies with cocoa powder, rather than melted chocolate. The first recipe I tried resulted in the easiest, richest brownies I’d ever made. I’ve worked on simplifying a recipe for these squishy, chocolatey squares down to the bare bones, and this is the result.
One of the earlier versions of these brownies has been the most popular recipe ever on my blog, and they’ve been baked by blog readers all over the world from Canada to Pakistan. I hope that you enjoy them too.
MAKES: 16 brownies
PREP TIME: 10 minutes, plus 10 minutes cooling
COOKING TIME: 20 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
300g golden caster sugar
100g cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
120g plain flour
FRESH
150g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas mark 3 and line a 24cm square cake tin or brownie pan with foil.
2. Boil a kettle, and pour a few inches of boiling water into a saucepan. Set the saucepan over a very low heat. Measure the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt into a heatproof glass bowl and set the bowl over the saucepan of water. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl, and the steam from the water should melt the butter in the bowl. You can also use this method to melt chocolate.
3. Gradually stir the butter as it melts, until the mixture in the bowl is smooth, and remove from the heat to cool for 10 minutes. You need to let the mixture cool a little, so that the eggs don’t instantly cook when you add them.
4. Beat the vanilla extract into the chocolate mixture, followed by the eggs, one by one. Mix in the flour, and pour the batter into the cake tin or brownie pan.
5. Bake the brownie mixture for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift the foil-wrapped giant brownie out of the pan. Leave it to cool before peeling off the foil and slicing it into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
RAINBOW SPRINKLE RICE KRISPIE TREATS
Some people would say that Rice Krispie treats are for kids, and I’ve added to the kids’ birthday party theme by throwing some rainbow sprinkles into the mix. To balance out the extra sugar hit, I’ve made these gooey squares slightly more grown up by adding in a bit of sea salt. The salty/sweet combination is not for everyone though, so feel free to leave it out.
MAKES: 16 squares
PREP TIME: 5 minutes, plus 15 minutes chilling
COOKING TIME: 10 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
a large pinch of sea salt
FRESH
50g unsalted butter
80g mini white marshmallows
100g Rice Krispies
2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
1. Line a brownie pan (or whatever shallow pan you have that is about 24cm square) with a double layer of cling film.
2. Melt the butter over a medium heat in a large saucepan. Once the butter has melted, stir in the marshmallows until they have melted into the butter to form a goo. Stir in the Rice Krispies until they are well coated in the marshmallow mix. Add the rainbow sprinkles and the salt, and stir until the sprinkles are well distributed. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and press it in, making sure the mixture reaches every corner. Stash in the fridge for 15 minutes until the mixture has hardened.
4. Tip the pan upside down over a clean chopping board and peel off the cling film. Using a large knife, cut into 16 squares.
5. Store the Rice Krispie treats in an airtight container in a cool place. They should keep for 2 to 3 days, if they even last that long!
RASPBERRY & LIMONCELLO VICTORIA SANDWICH
A classic Victoria sandwich is one of the easiest, but also most impressive, cakes you can bake. While the original is great for afternoon tea, I’ve jazzed it up a little here with a limoncello buttercream and some fresh raspberries to make it a bit more of a celebration cake, or perfect for dessert.
You can use this recipe to make a classic Victoria sandwich by filling the cake with fresh strawberries and cream with a little icing sugar whipped into it. In our family we like to make a cake that lasts a couple of days by sandwiching it with vanilla buttercream (100g butter to 200g icing sugar, plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract) and raspberry jam.
While we’re on the subject of substitutions, you can use room-temperature butter instead of margarine in the sponge if you’d like. I just find that margarine makes a lighter sponge.
SERVES: 6–8
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOKING TIME: 25 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
170g golden caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
170g plain flour
FRESH
170g margarine, plus extra for greasing
3 large eggs
80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
200g icing sugar
1 tablespoon limoncello
zest of 1 lemon
1 × 150g punnet fresh rasberries
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 and line the base of a 20cm deep-sided cake tin with baking parchment, buttering the sides with margarine.
2. In a mixing bowl and using a spoon, beat together the sugar and the margarine until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the salt, baking powder and flour until the mixture is just smooth.
3. Mix in 1 tablespoon boiling water and pour the batter into the cake tin. Bake for 25 minutes until the sponge is springy and golden, and when you insert a sharp knife or a skewer into the middle, it comes out clean.
4. Once the cake is cool enough to touch, turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave until it is completely cool. In the meantime, make the limoncello buttercream.
5. Beat together the butter and the icing sugar until smooth. Add the limoncello to loosen up the mixture, and then beat in the lemon zest.
6. Once the cake is completely cool, use a very sharp knife (preferably a bread knife) to cut it in half horizontally. Place the bottom half on a serving plate, and top with two-thirds of the buttercream. Spread the remainder of the buttercream over the bottom of the top half of the cake. Scatter raspberries on the bottom half of the cake, and sandwich together with the top half.
EASY NUTELLA CHEESECAKE CUPS
The combination of Nutella and mascarpone cheese makes for the perfect, simple no-bake cheesecake. If you’re making these in winter when Nutella still might be solid at rom temperature, you may need to sit the jar somewhere warm, like on top of a radiator, for half an hour to make sure it is smooth.
MAKES: 4 cheesecakes
PREP TIME: 10 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling
STORECUPBOARD
a generous pinch of sea salt
FRESH
4 digestive biscuits
30g unsalted butter
1 × 250g tub light mascarpone, at room temperature
120g Nutella, at room temperature
1. Put the digestive biscuits in a plastic bag without holes in and tie a knot in the it. Using the end of a rolling pin, empty wine bottle or jar, a tin from the cupboard or even your fist, bash the biscuits until they form crumbs.
2. In a small bowl, melt the butter for a minute in the microwave or in a small saucepan over a low heat. Add the biscuit crumbs to the melted butter with the sea salt and mix until everything is combined. Divide the crumbs between four ramekins or small glasses and press into the corners with your fingers to create a firm biscuit base.
3. Beat together the mascarpone and Nutella until smooth, and divide between the four ramekins. Smooth over the top of each of the cheesecake cups, and transfer to the fridge to chill and firm up for a couple of hours.
LIME CHEESECAKE CUPS
These easy zesty, creamy cheesecake cups would be perfect to finish off a Mexican meal. I like to serve them up for dessert after I’ve made a big stack of Chicken Fajitas (here) with all of the accompaniments and a couple of beer margaritas (here) for friends on a Saturday night.
Usually I don’t mind if I use full-fat mascarpone or light mascarpone in desserts, but here light mascarpone is best as it makes for a smoother cheesecake once combined with the lime, as the citrus juice sets the cheesecake.
MAKES: 4 cheesecakes
PREP TIME: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling
STORECUPBOARD
a pinch of salt
FRESH
30g unsalted butter
4 digestive biscuits
1 × 250g tub light mascarpone, at room temperature
4 teaspoons icing sugar
zest and juice of 1 lime, plus extra zest to decorate (optional)
1. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan over a low heat and add the salt. Place the biscuits in a plastic bag, tie a knot in the top and bash the bag with a rolling pin or another heavy object to create crumbs. Mix the butter and the crumbs together to create the biscuit base. Divide the base between four ramekins or small glasses and, using your fingertips, press the biscuit crumbs down to create a solid base.
2. Beat together the mascarpone, icing sugar, lime zest and juice until smooth. Divide the mixture between the four ramekins and smooth it into the corners with the back of a teaspoon.
3. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour until the cheesecakes have had a chance to set. Sprinkle the top of each cheesecake with a little more lime zest, if you have any, before serving.
THAI FRIED BANANAS
This easy Thai-inspired dessert only takes 5 minutes to make, and is the perfect way to finish up any Asian-style meal, especially if you have people over. It is really simple to double or quadruple up to feed more people; just cook the bananas in a bigger pan.
I like these plain, but they’re also great served with single cream or a scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream.
SERVES: 1
PREP TIME: 2 minutes
COOKING TIME: 3 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
1 tablespoon runny honey
FRESH
a large knob of butter
1 banana, peeled and sliced into chunks on the diagonal
juice of ½ lime
1 tablespoon shredded or desiccated coconut
black sesame seeds (optional)
1. Heat the butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat until frothy. Add the banana, followed by the honey and half the lime juice. Fry the banana until all of the liquid has evaporated, then add the coconut. Toss the banana so it is well coated in the coconut, and transfer to a warm bowl. Add the rest of the lime juice, and sprinkle with black sesame seeds, if you have any. Eat straight away.
ROCKY ROAD ICE CREAM TERRINE
This makes a fantastic dinner party dessert. I like to make it to keep in the freezer so that I can cut off a slice or eight whenever I need an impressive last-minute dessert, but have not had time to make anything.
Use chocolate ice cream to make a classic rocky road. However, for somethig a bit different I like to use salted caramel chocolate ice cream. You don’t usually find salted caramel in rocky road, but once you’ve tried it, you’ll think all rocky road needs it.
SERVES: 8
PREP TIME: 15 minutes, plus 2–4 hours freezing
FRESH
1 × 500g tub chocolate ice cream
6 digestive biscuits
100g glacé cherries (approximately 2 handfuls)
50g mini marshmallows (approximately 1 large handful)
50g sultanas
1. Take the ice cream out of the freezer so it starts to soften. Double-line a 900g loaf tin (they typically make two sizes of loaf tin; you want the biggest) with cling film, with enough to drape over the sides of the tin. Break up the biscuits into small chunks. Rinse the cherries and quarter them.
2. Scoop the ice cream into a large bowl and add the biscuit and cherry pieces, along with the marshmallows and sultanas. With a mixing spoon, mash all of the ingredients together until they are combined, but the ice cream is still at least partly frozen. Press the mixture into the loaf tin, fold the overhanging cling film over the top and refreeze for 2 to 4 hours until the ice cream is solid again.
3. Take the ice cream terrine out of the freezer 5 to 10 minutes before you want to slice it.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE & FRESH RASPBERRY TART
This easy, four-ingredient tart looks super-impressive, tastes fantastic and requires very little effort at all. Feel free to mix up the fruit a little; I happen to find the combination of raspberries and chocolate ganache irresistible.
SERVES: 6–8
PREP TIME: 5 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling
COOKING TIME: 5 minutes
FRESH
1 × 20cm all-butter pastry case
1 × 150ml pot double cream
100g plain chocolate chips
200g fresh raspberries (approximately 2 large handfuls)
1. Gently heat the cream in a small saucepan over a medium-high heat until it is just boiling. Immediately remove it from the heat, and stir in the chocolate chips until they have melted and the chocolate ganache is smooth and uniform. You can use any plain chocolate rather than chocolate chips; just chop it into very small pieces first.
2. Pour the chocolate ganache into the pastry case, and arrange the raspberries in the chocolate. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours until the ganache sets and can be sliced. Try to remove it from the fridge about half an hour before serving to take the chill off of the raspberries.
CLASSIC CRÊPES WITH SUGAR & SALTED BUTTER
I know someone who constantly has a recipe for crepes open on their tablet for weekend mornings. Everyone needs a good recipe for crêpes to hand that will suit any occasion. This recipe serves one, but is easily doubled, tripled or quadrupled.
I always thought that sugar and fresh lemon juice was the ultimate crêpe topping until I had sugar and salted butter as part of a set menu on holiday with my parents. I promise you that it will change your pancake game forever.
MAKES: 5–6 pancakes
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOKING TIME: 20–25 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
4 tablespoons plain flour
sea salt
golden caster sugar, to serve
FRESH
unsalted butter
1 large egg
125ml milk
1. Melt a small knob of butter in the microwave or in a small pan over a low heat. In a jug, whisk together the egg, milk and melted butter. Gradually add the flour, whisking it in until you have a smooth batter.
2. Heat a small (preferably non-stick) frying pan over a medium-high heat, and melt a little more butter in the pan so that the crêpes don’t stick. Once the butter is frothy, pour a little of the batter into the pan and swill it around quickly so that the base of the pan is covered. Cook the crêpe until it starts to curl up at the sides and bubble up in the middle. Flip the pancake, and cook until it is golden on both sides. Transfer to a warm plate while you cook the rest of the pancakes.
3. Melt another knob of butter either in a small saucepan or in the microwave, and stir in a good pinch of sea salt. Serve this over the crêpes as you would a pancake syrup, with a good sprinkling of sugar.
MIXED BERRY & OAT CRUMBLE
Crumbles are among the most satisfying and easy desserts to make if you want to feed a crowd, or to use up any fruit you may have left over from other recipes. Use this recipe, or my recipe for Rhubarb, Orange & Ginger Crumble (here), as a guide for how to turn practically any fruit into a crumble with the topping of your choice. As a general rule of thumb, soft fruits don’t need precooking and other fruits do.
If you don’t have any ground almonds, just replace with 30g more plain flour.
SERVES: 4–6
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 25–30 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
50g golden caster sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for the filling
100g plain flour
a pinch of salt
FRESH
1 eating apple
300g frozen mixed berries, defrosted
50g ground almonds (optional)
75g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge
50g porridge oats
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
2. Peel, core and thinly slice the apple and mix it with the berries and 1 teaspoon sugar. Spoon into the bottom of an ovenproof dish.
3. Mix together the flour, ground almonds and a pinch of salt. Cube the fridge-cold butter and add to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips, rub the flour mixture and the butter together. The mixture should start to form crumbs. Now add the remaining sugar and the oats, and rub them in until everything is combined.
4. Sprinkle the mixture over the berries and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the topping is golden and the fruit has started to bubble up from underneath. Serve with vanilla ice cream, Greek yoghurt, crème fraîche or whatever else you have to hand.
RHUBARB, ORANGE & GINGER CRUMBLE
While I’ve already laid out the blueprint for a basic crumble, I wanted to include this version made with rhubarb, orange and a generous amount of ground ginger, as it is just such a great combination. Cosy and warming, this would be perfect served up after a Sunday roast, with single cream, ice cream or even a dollop of thick, rich clotted cream to finish off the meal in style.
Brilliantly pink forced rhubarb or ruby-tinged green English rhubarb work equally well here. For the orange juice you can use either freshly squeezed or from a bottle or carton.
SERVES: 4–6
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 35 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
170g plain flour
55g golden caster sugar
FRESH
2–3 large stalks of rhubarb
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon soft light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
100g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.
2. Chop the rhubarb into bite-sized chunks. Arrange the chunks in the bottom of an ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the orange juice and brown sugar. Cover the top of the dish with foil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until the rhubarb is tender.
3. Meanwhile, make the ginger crumble topping. Combine the flour and the ginger in a mixing bowl. Cut the cold butter into small chunks and add them to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips, rub the flour mixture and the butter together. The mixture should start to form into crumbs. Add the sugar, and rub in until the crumble comes together.
4. Remove the foil from the rhubarb, and sprinkle over the crumble topping. Return to the oven to bake for 15 minutes until the crumble is crisp and golden.
DARK CHOCOLATE & BROWN BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING
This is my favourite bread and butter pudding. Just as easy, but so much more complex than the regular version, it can be made in one dish or in individual portions. Feel free to adapt this recipe to make a regular bread and butter pudding, forgetting the marmalade, using white bread and switching out the chocolate chips for raisins or currants, and perhaps a little bit of candied peel.
You’ll want to use granary bread rather than wholemeal here. When I’ve tried using wholemeal, the results ended up reminding me far too much of school lunches. If you can’t find any, just use white instead. Thick-cut marmalade is best here, but smooth also works if that is all you’ve got. Demerara sugar makes a lovely, crunchy topping if you’ve got it, but caster sugar will also work.
SERVES: 3–4
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 35–40 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
5 teaspoons golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FRESH
unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 slices of granary bread
a handful of dark chocolate chips
marmalade
3 large egg yolks
250ml milk
2 tablespoons demerara sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas mark 2.
2. Grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Butter one side of each of the pieces of bread. Tear the buttered bread into medium chunks and spread a layer, butter side up, across the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle evenly with half the chocolate chips and spoonfuls of marmalade. Layer with more bread, the rest of the chocolate and some more marmalade. Layer the rest of the bread over the top.
3. To make the custard, place the egg yolks in the bottom of a jug. In a small saucepan, mix together the caster sugar, milk and vanilla and set over a medium–high heat. Whisk until all of the sugar is dissolved and the milk is just boiling. Remove from the heat and gradually mix into the yolks, whisking vigorously.
4. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the bread and buter pudding and sprinkle the top with the demerara sugar. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the pudding is set, has puffed up a little and started to brown.
5. Ten minutes before the pudding is due to come out of the oven, preheat the grill to 200°C/400°F. Once the pudding is baked, pop it under the grill for a few minutes until the top is crisp and golden.
WHITE WINE-SOAKED STRAWBERRIES
This is a super-simple and refreshing dessert for the summer. Serve in wine glasses or tumblers with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, over Greek yoghurt or spooned with a bit of cream next to a slice of my One-Bowl Chocolate Cake (here).
You want to choose either a fruity white wine here, or something medium and Spanish. Get whatever is on special offer.
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 5 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling
STORECUPBOARD
1 teaspoon golden caster sugar
freshly ground black pepper
FRESH
10 large strawberries
100ml white wine
1. Hull and thickly slice the strawberries. Place in a small bowl and combine with the sugar, wine and a generous few grinds of black pepper.
2. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving. If you can, take the strawberries out of the fridge and bring them up to room temperature beforehand.
LEMON POSSET
This lemon posset is super-rich, super-creamy and super-simple. Serve it with fresh berries or just by itself to round off a special meal for friends, or for your family if you’ve got them coming to visit and you want to show off the culinary skills you’ve built up since moving out. You don’t actually have to tell them how easy it was to make! The lemon and lime juice will react with the cream to make it set, just like magic.
MAKES: 4 pots
PREP TIME: 5 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling
COOKING TIME: 5 minutes
STORECUPBOARD
75g golden caster sugar
FRESH
1 × 300ml pot double cream
juice of ½ lemon
juice of ¼ lime
curls of lemon zest, to decorate
1. Heat the cream and the sugar together in a small saucepan over a medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has all dissolved and the cream is just starting to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon and lime juice.
2. Divide the cream between four small pots or wine glasses, and leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Decorate with curls of lemon zest before serving.
BOOZY SMOOTHIE ICE LOLLIES
You can save old yoghurt pots to make ice lollies in, but if you’re a popsicle person I’d invest in some cheap lolly moulds as you can freeze anything from fruit juice to yoghurt to make frozen desserts and snacks. Typically, you can pretty much make any grown-up, boozy smoothie combination by mixing a carton of smoothie with 85g alcohol. My favourite combinations are strawberry and banana smoothie mixed with limoncello, as here, and piña colada lollies made with coconut, pineapple and banana smoothie and rum.
Alcohol does not freeze, so too much booze may stop the lollies from freezing. You’ll be okay with any spirit containing 40% alcohol or less. Vodka is typically around 40%.
MAKES: 10 lollies
PREP TIME: 10 minutes, plus 5–6 hours freezing
FRESH
1 × 750ml carton strawberry and banana smoothie
85ml limoncello
1. Combine the smoothie and the limoncello, and pour into 10 lolly moulds. Freeze for at least 5 to 6 hours, before removing the lollies and wrapping them individually in cling film for freezer storage.
2. If you’re making the lollies in yoghurt pots, freeze them for an hour before inserting a wooden lolly stick in each so that it stands up straight.
