Swirl Crazy

So I had a little bit of a break over half term and now I'm back to baking. Today's offerings are: Toffee apple cinnamon rolls and cheesy marmite swirls. I may have got a bit carried away with making whirls today. I had planned on making a swiss roll but I have work this evening and haven't got the time.

First up are the toffee apple cinnamon rolls.

 This recipe came from the bbc good food website and can be found here. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1993668/toffee-apple-cinnamon-buns

These tasted absolutely amazing and also used up some of the apple that were just about to turn. You can't see it in the picture but the bottom has a layer of butterscotchy toffee sauce.

Next up is the cheesy marmite swirls. Simply roll out a pack of puff pastry to around 2-3mm thick. I did this in two batches making each rectangle around 30cm x 50cm. Next spread a thinish layer of marmite  over the pastry. Cover the marmite with grated mature cheddar and then roll it up. Pop in the oven at 200C and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until golden. They are very morish and make an excellent afternoon snack.

'Til next time- Steph x

Baking Mondays

Another monday and another baking day! Todays bounty includes banana bread, chubby breadsticks and pea and ham soup.

 

 These are big fat salt and pepper breadsticks and are so moreish that I had to bake double so they could last more than one day around my house. This recipe was taken from Lorraine Pascale's Baking made Easy book which has loads of brilliant ideas include the "I can't believe you made that"cake that lookes awesome and as the book title suggests is actually quite simple to make.

 

This pea and ham soup is a variation on a recipe for pea soup by Sophie Dahl. Simply chop and fry 3 spring onions in a little olive oil for around 3 minutes. Next add 450g of frozen peas and coat them in the oil before adding 1 litre of vegetable stock and either some mixed herbs or some mint (or even both) and leave to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Blitz it up in a blender and serve in bowls with some chopped ham and a dollop of creme fraiche. Miss Dahl suggests her version cold for the summer but as there has been a surprise snow shower today I kept it hot and served with the breadsticks to dip.

  

This banana bread is also taken from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights and is by no means a disappointment. My sister and me grew up on banana and chocolate chip cakes and this is a little bit of an adult version albeit without the chocolate. Next time I think a few chocolate chunks thrown into the mix or a melted chocolate frosting on the top might make it even better. Served warm with a swipe of butter and a pot of tea.

The first post!

Today is the start of my blog and it has been a proper making and baking day. A feast of flapjacks, gooey lemon bars, cheddar, bacon and leek sandwhich loaf and mexican chicken tortilla soup.

 

 Golden syrup flapjacks: 250g of porridge oats, 125g of butter, 125g of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of golden syrup (or a spoon or two more if you like them gooey!). Just blitz it all together in a mixer until it forms a loose dough and press into a ready greased baking tin and pop in the oven for 20 minutes or so.

 The cheddar, bacon and leek sandwhich loaf was a great recipe from good food magazine and can be found here http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2540640/leek-cheddar-and-bacon-loaf-sandwich 

It tastes awesome and isn't nearly as difficult as it sounds. Best eaten pretty much straight out the oven!

This is my first attempt at the lemon bar recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and they are awesome. An almost shortbready biscuit with a creamy lemon curd type topping then dusted with icing sugar. Perfect with a nice cup of tea in the afternoon.

This may not looked like much but this mexican chicken tortilla soup is packed full of hot and sour flavours. Chilli, garlic, sweetcorn, tomatoes and pulled poached chicken in a delicious broth and topped with fried tortilla strips. I will definately be making this again!

Next post I will hopefully be adding in some crafty things including some knitting and sculpey. So stay tuned for next time- Steph x