All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Blackcurrant Frangipane Tart

By 31 Comments

I can’t say no to blackcurrants; whatever they are in I will like it. They have such a distinctive flavour and when I found some at the market I had to set about making a blackcurrant frangipane tart. This tart is a marriage of two of my favourite things: blackcurrants and sweet almond frangipane.

The best thing about this tart comes from using raw blackcurrants. As they cook in the frangipane filling they burst and become sweet and sticky. The blackcurrants retain their sharp berry flavour but taint the tart with splashes of deep purple impromptu jam. With autumn just around the corner I can’t think of anything else I would rather spoon into my face. read more

Peanut Butter and Raspberry Brownies

By 12 Comments

peanut butter brownies out of the oven

I’m not sure these Peanut Butter and Raspberry Brownies need an introduction; just the name gets my mouth watering and a hankering for a piece with a coffee shortly follows. I’ll be honest from the outset, these are not exactly what you’d call healthy. They are full fat, properly indulgent, to-hell-with-it brownies. And frankly, when you’ve been working hard all day coming home to one of these and a cuppa is like a hug for the soul. A gooey, chocolatey, nutty…stop it…slice of comfort.

Ingredients

You will need:

  • 100g salted butter
  • 170g golden caster sugar
  • 50g light muscovado sugar
  • 100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 1 1/2 tbsp golden syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g self raising flour
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 150g crunchy peanut butter
  • 100g fresh raspberries

Method

Grease and line a 9 inch square cake tin. Preheat an oven to 180C.

Add the butter, sugars, chocolate and golden syrup to a saucepan and melt over a low heat. Stir occasionally until everything is melted and well combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.

Beat the eggs in a bowl then add the melted chocolate mixture.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and then fold through the mixture. Stir through half the raspberries.

Tip the brownie mix into the tin. Dollop the peanut butter over the top then swirl this through the brownie with a skewer. Top with the remaining raspberries.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before removing and cooling on a wire rack. Mark into portions when cold.

The raspberries on the top have a completely different texture to the brownies inside the mix; a lovely acidic, fresh contrast to everything that’s going on around it. Chocolate brownie wise you’re looking at a cakey on the outside, gooey in the middle kind of situation; full of the richness from the dark chocolate and cocoa and just sweet enough. Using crunchy peanut butter means they have a wonderful additional crunch and texture. As autumn creeps up on us these will give you as much warmth as any blanket. If you’re loving the look of these brownies, perhaps you might be interested to try my Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake Brownies (yes, you read that correctly) or my White Chocolate and Blackcurrant Blondies.

If you find yourself in the awkward situation that I did where there was one peanut butter and raspberry brownie left and two people wanting to eat it I have an excellent plan for such an occurrence. Take two bowls and scoop some vanilla ice cream into each one, warm the brownie up slightly, then divide warm brownie between bowls. Thank me later.

Blackberry and Pear Pavlova

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Blackberry and Pear Pavlova

This is only my second pavlova. To me, meringue has always been steeped in mystery and wonder and I found it slightly intimidating. Crispy on the outside, gooey in the middle; is this all really achievable with just two ingredients? Well yes, turns out it is. My two attempts I couldn’t have been more pleased with; previously a summer berry version and this time my Blackberry and Pear Pavlova (which also happens to be all organic) and the pudding portion of my #thriftyorganic challenge.

You will need (all ingredients organic):

  • 3 egg whites,
  • 150g caster sugar,
  • 1 pear, diced,
  • 1 punnet blackberries (not organic, they’d run out!),
  • 2 tbsp water,
  • ½ tbsp caster sugar,
  • 150ml double cream,
  • vanilla extract (not organic)

Whip the egg whites (in a mixer, with an electric hand whisk or by hand if you’re feeling strong) until soft peaks form. Then continue whisking adding the sugar (150g) a little at a time until glossy stiff peaks form.

Preheat the oven to 140C and spread the meringue onto some greaseproof paper in a rough circle. To keep the fruit and cream contained when you assemble it all later it can be useful to make the meringue slightly bowl like in shape so it’s slightly higher at the edges.

Place in the oven for an hour then turn the oven off and leave the meringue in for a further hour. Remove and leave to cool.

While the meringue is cooking put the pear, blackberries, remaining sugar and water in a pan and cook gently until most of the water has evaporated (some will come out of the fruit) and it’s all glossy. Leave to cool.

Once the meringue is cooled whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick then spread on top of the meringue.

Top with the fruit and serve.

Using organic sugar (which is golden) gives the meringue a lovely toasted light brown colour which I really like. I don’t add sugar to the cream as the vanilla extract adds a little bit and the meringue is sweet enough; the fruit is a fantastic purple colour and adds a nice bit of tart freshness. I think pavlova is a great dinner party dessert as it’s sweet without being too heavy and I think it looks good but you’ve put in minimal effort: win!

Frozen Blackcurrant Cordial

By 8 Comments

Frozen Blackcurrant Cordial

Freezer roulette, UFO night (unidentified frozen object) or whatever you call it when you select and defrost a frozen item of interest for your dinner can result in complete success or failure. I know there are those of you with very regimented and organised freezers who don’t have this issue but I know plenty of people who have chosen what they think is a delicious beef stew for their supper only to find out it used to be a chocolate gateaux. This recipe is for you; those freezer lovers who froze the summer’s berries in order to make the most of them at a later date. My frozen blackcurrant cordial recipe could easily be made of whatever berries you have; although probably best check that they are in fact berries and not spaghetti bolognese.

Ingredients

You will need (for just over 300ml):

  • 500g frozen blackcurrants or mixed berries
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 200g sugar
  • 250ml water

Method

Put all of the ingredients into a pan on a low heat, cover with a lid and bring slowly to the boil stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.

Using the back of a spoon or a potato masher, squish and squash the berries to get all the juice out. Bring back to the boil with the lid off.

When done, strain through a muslin into a sterilised container then keep in the fridge until you’re ready to drink.

My mixture above filled my bottle right to the top and I had to put the extra into a jug to use up first so it may yield slightly more or less depending on the ferocity of your squashing technique.

The flavour of the cordial is probably more subtle to the blackcurrant cordials you can buy readymade but this one only has four ingredients, all of which you can choose yourself and know where they come from. The colour is gloriously rich and dark and you don’t need a lot to get the sweet, delicate flavour so it lasts quite a long time. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to make this cordial myself and I bought the berries from a local farm shop where 500g cost me just less than £2. Add a bit of sugar, water, lemon mix it all with a bit of heat and job done. Before you ask, yes I have tried it in a gin and tonic and it’s delicious with a slice of lime.

White Chocolate and Blackcurrant Blondies

By 4 Comments

It’s been a while since I made anything really indulgent and full of butter. Sometimes you just need to make something you know is ‘bad’ for you although I think anything you make yourself can never be bad and will certainly be better (for you and in taste) than something you can buy. These white chocolate chip and blackcurrant blondies are sumptuous enough to keep the crave away but the added blackcurrants add some acidity and freshness. And fruit, which we all know is good for you. read more

Elderflower and Blueberry Jelly

By 15 Comments

I do like a jelly; easy to make, it doesn’t need many ingredients, it looks lovely and it makes for great entertainment when trying to serve it into smaller bowls. You might have seen I made some elderflower cordial recently and other than trying it with sparkling water in the evenings this elderflower and blueberry jelly was what I rustled up to take to a Sunday evening BBQ with my parents. A fantastic dessert to make in advance and forget about in the fridge. read more

Baked Blackberry Cheesecake

By 22 Comments

You know when you go out blackberry picking you end up eating pretty much all of them and have nothing to show for it when you get home? As much as it is very hard to resist keeping any of the berries for later I thought it would be well worth the effort for a sort of hidden gem baked blackberry cheesecake. Beneath the pillowy layers of soft cheese you can find little bits of sweet, purple fruit. I didn’t have to save too many either as you only need a handful for this recipe. They do say that picking blackberries in October isn’t a good idea as the devil is meant to have peed on them. If you feel like living on the edge then by all means take the risk; if not, a quick trip to the shops should sort you out. read more

Elderberry and Einkorn Scones

By 25 Comments

I think it’s fair to say that autumn has arrived. I feel like I made the most of summer this year so I welcome the autumn with much more gusto than usual. It’s been a very long time since I had an apple or a pear so I am looking forward to getting my hands on some fine specimens at the farmers’ market or when I’m lucky enough to find a fruitful tree. Until then I have elderberries to tide me over.  read more

Cardamom infused Porridge with Raspberries

By 20 Comments

A weekend breakfast is a completely different thing to a weekday breakfast. I don’t know about you but my weekday breakfasts consist of shovelling yoghurt (if I’m lucky I’ve added some fruit or nuts) into my mouth while running around trying to get ready being very careful not to spill anything on myself. It’s not what you would call relaxing. A weekend breakfast is a whole new affair; the possibilities are endless. Pancakes, pastries, fruit, tea, coffee, juice, a full English, toast and jam and many others are all contenders but can sometimes involve a need to purchase these items in advance. This cardamom infused porridge is for one of those mornings where you feel like something luxurious but only have basic ingredients. read more

Lime Macerated Cherries with Caramelised Brioche

By 22 Comments

Considering how much I like cherries I don’t get the chance to eat very many of them. I have never had much success with a supermarket cherry preferring to take my chances at the farmers’ market where I might be lucky to nab a punnet if I am early enough. The cherries used for this spontaneous dessert were earned by my own fair hand. I was meandering through the market, deliberating how many doughnuts were too many for breakfast, when I was called to help one of the stall holders who couldn’t fill enough punnets to keep up with demand. My reward for much scooping was a big punnet of cherries all to myself. read more

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