Cinnamon churros

Churros are something I've steered well clear of due to the fact that they are made from choux pastry but thankfully not anymore as in my last post I shared my succesful recipe for choux in my last post, so I thought it was high time I gave them a go.

The beauty of churros is that you can experiment with different flavours or dipping sauces to go along side them as they are so simple in flavour themselves.

For my first attempt I decided to stick to the classical cinnamon sugar, but I discovered a jar of lotus roscoff spread lurking in my cupboard of baking stuff so I ended up using it as a dipping sauce and it went very well


You could just have them dusted with icing sugar and devour them on their own or drizzle with melted chocolate or for a bit of a cheekier treat - a good lashing of nutella.

For my cinnamon churros you will need

1 x batch of my choux pastry
Piping bag with a star nozzle attached
Caster sugar
Ground cinnamon
Sunflower/ vegetable oil for frying

• To start, make up the cinnamon sugar by mixing tog some caster sugar with some ground cinnamon in a large flat plate- I didn't measure the cinnamon or the sugar, I just did it by eye.  I then lined another flat plate with kitchen paper to drain the oil off the churros as they are deep fried.

• I then made up one batch of my Choux pastry, and transferred the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

•  Heat up your oil in either a deep fat fryer or a a deep heavy based pan. The oil needs to be at a temperature of 190/195c 

• Very carefully, hold the piping bag with the dough in over the oil, and pipe the batter straight into the oil. Use a knife or pair of scissors to cut the dough off to your desired length. I piped my churros roughly just a little longer than my index finger, and fried 5- 6 at a time.*

• The churros should take about 4-5 minutes to cook and turn golden brown in colour. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, then straight onto the kitchen paper. 

• Quickly transfer the churros to the plate with the cinnamon sugar and toss gently until evenly coated. Serve them as they are, or for a bit more of a treat, I drizzled mine with melted biscoff spread 




* I ended up with a batch of  almost 30 churros with the amount of dough for this recipe 

My ''When you've always been a crumble kinda girl'' Apple pie

I have always been an apple crumble kinda girl, not sure why, but it's probably because I learned to bake it at school and loved it so much I never even thought of trying alternate versions.. Until now. Whilst trying to muster up a bit more motivation and to push myself out of my comfort zone of cakes and cupcakes, I decided to trawl Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration. 

Apple pie was one of the desserts that was popping up consistently, so it seems to be the dessert to indulge in as we head into the cold crisp winter evenings. 
So Apple pie it was .. and oh my I think I have been converted and may just be on team pie as well as team crumble... I dont think I could ever choose one over the other now.. It really was lip licking delicious. I tweaked mine from a combination of a few different recipes and the recipe below is what i ended up with

So to make my My ''When you've always been a crumble kinda girl'' Apple pie to serve 6-8 people you will need:

For the Filling

1 kg apples (mixture of cooking and eating apples)

3 tbsp lemon juice

55g Butter

100g Soft Light Brown Sugar

2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp cornflour
4 tbsp water

For the Shortcrust Pastry

340g Plain Flour

Pinch of Salt
2 tbsp Caster Sugar

240g Butter, cubed and cold

2-3 tbsp cold water

20g Demerara Sugar
beaten egg to seal & glaze 

• Peel and core the apples. Roughly chop into 1cm chunks. Stir in the lemon juice - this will help reduce them discolour

• Heat the butter and brown sugar over a medium heat. Once melted, add in the apples. Mix together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water and add to the apples, along with the cinnamon. Stir and cook over a medium heat until the apples are soft but not mushy. add Taste and add more cinnamon or sugar, if you feel it is needed. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

• Into a food processor, place the plain flour, salt, caster sugar and cold butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add in the water and give it another quick blitz. Lightly flour your work surface and bring the dough together using your hands. Do not knead it as this will result in a tough dough and not the crumbly texture needed. Wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes to half an hour.

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan) Take a 20cm oven proof dish*. Cut the dough into half, roll out one half on a floured surface to roughly half / 1 inch  thick. Line your dish making sure the pastry overlaps the edges.

•  Add the apples, and level them ensuring they evenly fill the tin. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg. Roll the second piece of pastry, and place it top of the apples making sure it again overlaps the edges of your dish. Trim the excess with knife and seal the edges down by crimping with a fork.

• Brush the egg wash all over the pie lid and edges. with the beaten egg. If you're feeling creative,use the left over pastry to cut out designs... I did an apple with leaves going all around the edge. Brush your decorations with eggwash. Sprinkle the top with a generous amount of  demerara sugar. Make 3-4 small cuts in the top of your pie- this will help in releasing steam and stop the pie form cracking/ bursting as it is cooking . Bake for for 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve as you wish 

* I used my 20cm loose bottom cake tin. I lined the bottom with a sheet on greaseproof paper so to make it easier to lift the cake off the base once it had cooled.

Team Strawberry or Team Apple ?

So are you team strawberry or team apple when it comes to the turnover variety ? I have to say I cant choose between them so to trial a recipe I cast a vote on Facebook and the winner by just one vote was Apple... So off I went on a virtual hunt to get inspiration for my own take on apple turnovers and this recipe is what i came up with.. You can find the Strawberry recipe here



To make 16 turnovers you will need:

3 Granny Smith / Bramley apples - peeled, cored & chopped
2 tbsp butter
300g soft brown sugar
1 -1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water
160 ml double cream
1 egg - whisked
1 ready rolled puff pastry sheet* 
icing sugar to dust 

• Preheat your oven to 180c and start making the apple filling. Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks. Put the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter in a saucepan. 
• Mix together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water to make a smooth paste and add to the saucepan 
• Cook the apples on a medium heat, till they've softened, but don't let them mush and you have a thick sauce formed from the butter and sugar** - I found it took about 20 minutes. Set the mixture aside and leave to cool completely 
• Line a large rectangle baking tray with baking paper, and open out the pastry sheet. Cut the sheet of pastry into 16 equal rectangles***
• Brush each of the rectangles with the beaten egg and place the pastry in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the each of the sheets has risen and are golden brown on top. Leave to cool completely then cut each rectangle in half, straight through the middle- so you'll end up with 16 top halves and 16 bottom halves
• Whip the double cream till you get semi stiff peaks - when you pick it up with a tablespoon it shouldn't drip off and should just hold its shape.
• On each of the bottom halves of pastry, place about 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream, then put about a tablespoon full of the apple mixture on top of each slice. Then place the top halves of pastry back on to each slice, and finish off with a good dusting of icing sugar and they're ready to serve 

* I use the Jus Rol ready rolled out sheets

** it should be about the consistency of apple pie filling

** if you don't want to make as many as 16 .. use just half the sheet instead of the whole sheet and cut into 8 rectangles .. and save the other half by wrapping up and placing in the freezer as i used my pastry as soon s i'd bought it and it wasn't already frozen

My Dobsters mint Tea

I am definitely one that loves a good cup of tea at the end of a long hectic day, but drinking caffeine fuelled drinks in the evening isn't the way to go for a good nights sleep and there's not many herbal teas out there that i like either.  
So I made a few attempts at making fresh mint tea and couldn't quite get it right. Now my niece makes a mean cup of tea - Hence the title My Dobster's Mint tea- Dobster being my chosen term of endearment to call her by- so i got her to show me her version & this recipe is based on that with a tiny little twist 



For Dobster's Mint tea - with a twist you will need :

3 - 3 1/2 pints of water 
large bunch of fresh mint
4 inch piece cinnamon stick broken into pieces 
8-10 whole green cardamom pods cracked open
2 x pukka peppermint & liquorice teabags*
handful of mint leaves for garnishing
honey to sweeten - optional

• Pour your water and all the ingredients  except for the teabags into a large saucepan and on a high heat bring to the boil.
• When the water has reached boiling point, reduce to a low heat and leave to simmer till the water has reduced by about half.
• Add in the pukka tea bags and leave to simmer on a low heat for 10-12 minutes. Pour the tea into a teapot ( through a large tea strainer or plastic sieve to catch all the bits ) 
• Take the glasses or cups you are wanting to serve the tea in and drop a few mint leaves into the cups. Pour in the tea, sweeten with honey if wanted & serve 

* you'll find these in any superstore in the tea and coffee section 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.... carrot cake

Easy peasy lemon squeezy carrot cake.. because it really is so easy and has a bit of a twist on the cream cheese frosting. I actually turned mine into a tray bake to take to work for my colleagues as an end of week treat. You can alternatively divide the mixture between 2 9 inch round tins or even divide into cupcake cases and you'll get 24 cupcakes.

To get a decent 18 - 20 square pieces as a tray bake you will need

For the cake :

340g/12oz self raising flour
170g/6oz soft light brown sugar
170g/6oz soft dark brown sugar
340g/12oz softened margarine*
7 medium eggs - at room temperature*
4 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp milk
3 large carrots grated 

50g/2oz roughly chopped walnuts

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 

125g/4oz dried mixed fruit 

2 tablespoon golden syrup 

juice and zest of a large orange

For the cream cheese topping/filling:

250g/8oz marscapone cheese

450g/16oz full fat cream cheese

170g/6oz icing sugar 

zest and juice of 1 lime 

100g/4oz chopped walnuts

• Preheat your oven to 180c/350f/Gas mark 4. Grease and line a deep rectangular baking dish/2 deep 9 inch round tins/ 2 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake cases.
• Cream the margarine with both sugars with an electric whisk or a freestanding mixer until pale in colour and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and mix until smooth.
• Add in the flour, olive oil, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, golden syrup, orange juice and zest, and whisk together till smooth
• Fold in the carrots, dried fruit and walnuts. Pour the mixture into the tray or divide equally between the 2 tins or cupcake cases.
• Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes or until lightly golden in colour and the cake starts to just come away from the edges of the tins/tray. Alternatively use a skewer/ cocktail stick to check that the cake has cooked. The skewer should come out clean if the cake is cooked through. If it comes out a little sticky, give the cake a little longer.
• Leave the cake to cool slightly before removing from the tray/tins ; Then leave to cool completely.
• Make up the frosting once the cake has cooled by mixing together all the ingredients till smooth and there are no lumps and spread generously over the tray baked cake or for the cakes spread some of the filling over one half of the cakes, place the other half on top and spread the top with some more of the frosting. For the cupcakes, just spoon the frosting over the tops. Don't worry if the frosting isn't perfect and neatly done - slightly messy an rustic frosting is perfect for this cake.
• Finish off the cake with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts and if you can resist leave in the fridge for about 20 minutes for the frosting to firm up a little but if you're anything like me then dig straight in 

* Having your margarine soft and eggs at room temp really does help in getting a better rise out of your cake rather than using them straight from the fridge. I quite often use the defrost function on my microwave for my margarine- at 30 second bursts till its softened  

**The tray i used was actually a deep roasting tray which measured 15'' by 12'',  round tins i have are about 3'' deep and for the cupcake cases i use standard size cupcake cases not mini cupcake cases 

Starbucks .. Eat ya heart out

It's 7:30 am, it's dark and its unbelievably cold. I don't do mornings or this arctic weather. What does help though on mornings like this is a well made cup of chai - a milky tea infused with mild spices

In an Asian household there is always that one person that won't settle for your boiled water based cuppa, in my house
it's my dear sister in law ( don't tell her I told you !)

As if I didn't love Starbucks enough (sorry Costa but you just don't do it for me) I'm loving that they have their take on our Chai, fortunately for my pocket but not for me * insert sad face here* the nearest Starbucks is Meadowhall and I can't bear to step out my front door and risk getting frostbite in this cold - so my own mug has to be made up.

So to warm yourselves up and save yourselves a few pennies, here's my concoction for chai per person:

• quarter fill your favourite cup or mug with water, place the water in a saucepan with a tea bag and bring to simmering point

•using the same cup pour a cup full of milk  ( full fat ) in the saucepan and keep simmering for about 10 minutes on a low heat

• next add 1 clove, 2 green cardamom pods, (give the pods a slight squeeze with your fingers so they open up a bit) a piece of cinnamon, (about 2cm) or if you've got ground cinnamon lying around a quarter of a tsp will do

• leave to simmer on a low heat till its darkened slightly in colour and its reduced by about half

• use a tea strainer to pour into your cup, that way you won't be having a fight picking the spices out ! So there you have it "one chai latte to go" (said in best barista voice possible)

you can experiment and adjust the spices to your liking.. I love cinnamon so I always add a bit extra. 

You can also use all milk for a full on latte flavour rather than half milk & half water.

For a cheeky treat i love to top it up with squirty cream & dust it with ground cinnamon