Apple Slice

ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup sugar
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced (1cm)
125g butter or margarine
1 egg

directions

Toss apples with self raising flour and sugar in a medium mixing bowl.

Melt butter in a small saucepan on the stovetop or in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in egg.

Pour butter and egg into the apple mixture and mix until combined.

Spoon into a greased and lined slice tin.

Bake at 180 C for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Keeps for about 3 days.

Lime Cheesecake

I've finally managed to perfect my cheesecake recipe. I like to make the English-style cheesecake, which is unbaked. I've never been very successful folding in whipped egg-white, and so I leave that out. Some recipes simply use whipped cream and soft cheese, but I find that it doesn't really set, and so serving it gets messy. Some recipes use gelatine, but I've found that too much makes the cheesecake set like a jelly. I've settled on using a very small amount of gelatine, which makes the top of the cake firm but still creamy.

Ingredients

• Digestive biscuits - 175g
• Butter - 75g
• lime - 1 (cut a slice or two and reserve for decoration)
• full-fat soft cheese - 350g (one and a half 8oz tubs if using 'Philadelphia' type cheese)
• Whipping cream (whipped until stiff) - 150ml
• Gelatine - I use the granulated type. 1/4 of a sachet dissolved in a very small amount of hot water and allowed to cool

Method

1. Put the biscuits into a small plastic bag and get brutal with a rolling pin until they're crumbs
2. Melt the butter gently until all liquid, then stir the butter and biscuit crumbs together. Press this into the bottom of an 8" flan dish.
3. Mix the whipped cream, cheese and the lime juice and gelatin together in a food blender.
4. pour / spread this over the biscuit base. Arrange a slice or two of lime on top
5. Leave in the fridge overnight to set
6. Enjoy!!

Pears poached in red wine

OK, presentation has never been a strong point of mine, but what these pears lack in presentation, they more than make up for in flavour.

There's no need for an ingredients list here, it's so simple. Other recipes add cinamon and other spices, then require you to strain and reduce the sauce. I prefer the lazy way!

Peel and halve the pears, scoop and cut out the core and stem, then place in an open cooking dish. sprinke with sugar to taste (I don't use too much), pour red wine into the scooped-out-core and allow to overflow into the dish. Add a little water, maybe half the quantity of wine.

Place in the oven on medium heat and leave until the pears are soft, and the wine / sugar / pear juice has started to thicken a little, but not dried out.

I like to serve them this way up, with the sauce poured into the middles.

I've been making these recently using last year's home-made elderberry wine; the result is heavenly.

Banana custard

I heard once that custard was a favourite dessert of ex-pm Margaret Thatcher. I don't know how true that is, but if so, she would have known it as creme anglais, and I'm sure she wouldn't have accepted the stuff if made from tinned custard powder. Check out the ingredients on a tin and you'll see that it's cornflour plus flavourings and colourings.

Try making it with egg yolk and real vanilla, and you won't buy another tin! The recipe below adds banana to make a delicious standalone dessert, but you can leave out the banana and pour it over any pie or crumble.

'Real' creme anglais recipes use a large number of egg yolks, which I find a little uneconomical. I've also never managed to get the stuff to thicken properly without using some flour. My recipe below is essentially a standard white sauce, with egg yolk, sugar and vanilla.

Ingredients

• flour (wheat flour) - 2 tsps per serving
• sugar to taste
• knob of butter per serving (approx equal volume to flour)
• egg yolks - one or two per serving
• milk - approx 1/4 pt per serving
• vanilla extract (the real stuff, not vanilla flavouring or vanillin)
• banana - 1 per serving

Method

1. put the sugar, butter and flour in a pan over a gentle heat, and blend together, allowing to cook for a minute or two
2. gradually add milk, just the right amount to get a thick, creamy consistency, with lots of stirring to avoid lumps forming
3. remove from heat and stir in vanilla and egg yolk
4. slice banana and add to the sauce.
5. put back on a very gentle heat. The aim is to cook the banana until soft, without allowing the sauce to get hot enough to start bubbling - this will cause the egg to cook and change the texture.
6. Enjoy!!

Bread and Butter Pud

Another for Dive. Easy to make and uses up the last half of a loaf of bread which is past its best.

Ingredients

• Bread - 4-6 slices - nice and thick
• Butter - some
• Milk - 1/4 pt
• Single Cream - 1/4 pt
• Eggs - 2 of
• Vanilla extract (the real stuff!) - 1 tsp
• Nutmeg - a pinch
• Brown Sugar - a little
• Sultanas - some

Method

1. Cut the crusts off the bread, or leave on if they're fairly soft
2. Butter the bread heavily on both sides and make 'sandwiches'.
3. Cut the sandwiches up and arrange in the baking dish (as pictured)
   
   
   
   
   
4. Add the fruit between the layers
5. Warm the milk, cream, vanilla and sugar in a pan - go up to but not above the temperature that will start to cook the egg
6. Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs
7. Sprinkle in a little nutmeg.
8. Pour the milk mixture over the bread and let it soak for a little while.
9. I like to squeeze the bread a bit to help it absorb the warm milk.
10. Bake in a preheated hot oven for about half an hour. There should be no liquid left, it should be golden brown on top, but still nice and soft.
11. Enjoy!

Scotch Pancakes (or Griddle Scones or Drop Scones)

This website is about cutting unnecessary additives out of your life, not fat or sugar!! Here's an 'anytime' treat. The recipe below makes enough for two people, or one greedy one (eg me).

Ingredients

• Self Raising Flour - 4 oz
• Butter - a good oz + more for frying
• Currants or other fruit - 4 oz
• Ground Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp
• Egg - 1
• Milk - 3 floz / 90 ml

method

1. Rub the butter into the flour until well incorporated (I hate doing this, but it's worth it!)
2. Push the flour up the sides of the bowl to make a well, pour the milk and crack the egg into this well.
3. Beat the milk and egg together with a fork, then carry on beating, gradually working in the flour. Youre aiming for a smooth, creamy, thick batter.
4. Stir in the nutmeg and fruit.
5. Heat a frying pan or griddle, melting some butter.
6. Drop a good tablespoonful of the mixture into the pan, you can do 3 or 4 at a time in a 12" pan
7. Cook until they're set and golden brown on the bottom. Turn them over, and cook the other side to match.
8. Serve with a little lemon juice and sugar, or syrup, honey, or whatever you fancy.
9. Enjoy!