Virgin Pina Colada

So nice. So easy to make. After having this out at a restaurant, I decided I had to recreate it at home - pretty easy to do, with only 3 ingredients. This can easily be up-scaled for as many people as you like. Coconut cream is basically a thicker, more indulgent form of coconut milk, and is also a great ingredient for Thai and other oriental cuisine. One thing to remember - you may need to heat it slightly as it can separate into liquid and solid quite easily at a cool room temperature.

Virgin Pina Colada
Serves: 1
Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
200ml pineapple juice
60ml coconut cream
A cup of crushed ice

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a jug - for the crushed ice, I literally just put some ice in a freezer bag and wacked it with a rolling pin (not all blenders/choppers can break up icecubes)
2. Blend on a high setting for a few seconds, until foamy and smooth.
3. Serve in a tall glass, garnished with a cherry and a pineapple wedge.
4. Best enjoyed cold. 
   

Doughnuts

Doughnuts are usually associated with deep fat fryers, and thus as a result unhealthiness. But everyone loves doughnuts, so there must be a way... but wait! Perhaps there is! It turns out you can bake doughnuts, too. For this recipe, if you have a cooking syringe you can pipe the jam into the doughnuts, but an easier alternative is to serve warm with a bowl of jam for dipping. The cinnamon makes a really nice twist to the traditional jam doughnut.

Doughnuts
Prep time: 1 hour, plus 3 hours ten minutes proving
Serves: 20
Cooking temp: Gas 5, 190C
Cooking time:   12 minutes

Ingredients
250g plain white flour, plus extra for kneading
1/2 a 7g sachet of fast-action yeast
50g golden caster sugar, plus 50g to coat
2 large egg yolks
150ml of milk
50g butter, plus 50g extra to coat
Cinnamon powder (optional)
Jar of raspberry, strawberry or cherry jam (or try all three!)

Method

1. Preheat the oven. Melt 50g of butter and heat the milk until it is tepid.
2. Mix the flour, yeast and sugar in a large bowl. 
   
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, and pour in the milk and butter. Stir into the dry mix to make a dough, and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
   
4. Flour a work surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth. Oil a bowl lightly and place the dough inside, then cover with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise for 2 hours. 
   
5. Knead for a few more minutes, then shape into 20 balls (I weighed mine... :D ) and space out on greased baking sheets. Cover, and leave to rise for a further hour until they have puffed up. Preheat the oven towards the end of the prove.
   
6. Bake for 12 minutes until lightly golden and risen.
   
   Melt the extra butter in a pan and put the sugar in a bowl or on a plate. Sprinkle over some cinnamon, just enough to flavour each doughnut.
   
   When the doughnuts are cool, brush each with butter and then roll in the sugar. and cinnamon powder. Pipe in the jam or serve in a bowl. Best enjoyed warm.... mmm.
   

Apple crumble cake

Sorry for the lack of posts - school, and all that inconvenience. Well, it was Alice's 18th so we had to celebrate with a cake... I chose this one as it is getting into Autumn and the perfect time for UK apples. Decoration was a challenge, (how do you decorate crumble?!?) but the caramelised apples were effective and extremely quick to make, though they can be omitted. As you can see from the ingredients, this is a pretty hefty cake, so would be good to serve a large party of people!

Apple crumble cake
Prep time: 2 hours
Serves: 16
Cooking temp: Gas 4, 160C
Cooking time: 45-55 minutes

Ingredients
120g butter
100g brown, granulated sugar
200g plain white flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
3 medium eggs
2 tsps. vanilla extract
Zest of a lemon and a squeeze of juice
6 apples
A sprinkle of cinnamon powder (optional)
For the crumble:
150g plain flour
125g butter
120g sugar
50g rolled porridge oats
For the caramelised apple
1 small apple (approx. 110g)
20g butter
25g caster sugar

Method

1. Mix the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix to coarse crumbs.
   
   
    
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest/juice. Add to the large bowl and stir, sprinkling in some cinnamon if you like.
   
3. Grease a 23-25cm square tin and preheat the oven to gas 4. Spread the batter over the base of the tin.
4. Peel and core the apples, and cut into 3cm chunks (or thereabouts). Cover the batter in apple.
   
    
5. Combine all the ingredients for the crumble in a clean bowl and run together to crumbs: you may have to add some more oats/sugar. Sprinkle over the top of the crumble, breaking it up into smaller pieces as you do.
   
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Leave to cool whilst you make the decoration...
7. Slice the apple (without peeling) into quarters and core. Cut each wedge into slices 3mm thick (you can eat the very smallest piece) so you have roughly 25-30 pieces.
   
8. Melt half the butter in a large frying pan (20cm diameter) and, when foaming, add half the sugar and mix. Quickly add half the apples and cook for 30 seconds on each side, then flip for a further 30 seconds. Remove to baking parchment and repeat with the rest of the butter, sugar and apples.
   
   
    
9. When the apple slices are cool enough to handle, arrange over the cake in a nice pattern.
   

   

   Who's already started eating it?!?

Happy Birthday Alice!
To celebrate your birthday, here's a little overview of making your card...

Just one of the applications of quilling!