All That I'm Eating

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

Stilton Scones with Sloe Port Jelly

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stilton scones
Is it just me or does everyone seem to open their fridge at some point in December and a wodge of Stilton has magically appeared? Cheese and biscuits is a must over the festive season but sometimes you can get left with an odd or and end of cheese that’s not only in the way but is also stinking the fridge out. Enter Stilton scones. They take minutes to make and around 10 minutes to bake so they are a quick and simple way to use up a bit of cheese. Delicious with any membrillo, redcurrant jelly or whatever else, I knocked up some sloe port jelly to accompany these powerful scones.

Ingredients

You will need (for 10-12 scones):
240g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
Black pepper
50g butter
60g Stilton
130ml milk plus extra for brushing

For the sloe port jelly:
100ml sloe port (any other port would be good too)
60ml water
30g sugar
2 sheets gelatine

Method

Make the jelly first.

Put the gelatine into some cold water to soften.

Get a small saucepan on a low heat and add the sugar and water. Once the sugar has dissolved squeeze out any excess water from the gelatine and stir the gelatine into the hot sugar syrup. read more

Baked Blackberry Cheesecake

By 22 Comments

baked blackberry cheesecake
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.

Ingredients

You will need:

  • 180g digestive biscuits
  • 75g butter
  • 600g cream cheese
  • 220g caster sugar
  • 150g sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbsp. plain flour
  • Large handful blackberries

Method

Line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin. Spring form is your friend for this.
Preheat an oven to 130C.

Crush the digestive biscuits in a bowl; I like to use the end of my rolling pin as it’s immensely satisfying. Melt the butter and mix this into the biscuits.

When the biscuits and butter are well combined press the mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and then chill in the fridge.

Whisk together the cream cheese and sugar then mix in the sour cream.

Add the eggs one at a time then add the flour. read more

Millionaire’s Tart

By 25 Comments

Millionaire's Tart with Salted Chocolate - All That I'm Eating
Baking is something I save for one of two occasions; a rainy day (classic excuse) or a day where my eyebrows have been almost continuously furrowed. With the return of the Great British Bake Off on our screens I felt it was high time I got out my scales and greaseproof paper to make something truly indulgent. Well if you’re only going to bake occasionally then why make something healthy? Millionaire’s Tart is possibly my favourite tart of all time. Also, I wanted to make sure that I could retain my pastry skills to ensure I avoided the dreaded soggy bottom.

Ingredients

You will need (for a 20cm tart):

For the pastry –

  • 220g plain flour
  • 120g butter (I used salted)
  • Cold water
  • 1 can dulce de leche

For the chocolate topping –

  • 200g high cocoa chocolate
  • 150ml double cream
  • 25g salted butter
  • Sea salt, I really like Cornish Sea Salt for this as I think it has a lovely clean flavour

I was so impressed with how my pastry case turned out I felt I needed to provide evidence that I had made it myself!

Method

Make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour until you have a breadcrumb texture then bring the mixture together into a dough using a little cold water.

Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface then roll out and line a 20cm tart tin.

Cut or roll off the excess and prick the base with a fork. read more

Wild Hazelnut Brittle

By 25 Comments

I have been noticing more and more things in the hedgerows. Perhaps it’s due to the purchasing of a foraging handbook which has become the mainstay of my bedside table or maybe my observational skills have drastically improved. Whichever the reason it has meant even more slowing down and stopping on a walk; not irritating if you are me but rather tiresome if you are walking with me. Apparently. read more

Sticky Toffee and Date Cake from Baked In

By 14 Comments

sticky toffee and date cake with toffee sauce and cream
Back in July I was at a food festival and got talking to a company called Baked In. They sell the dried ingredients you need to make a cake, all pre-weighed and ready to go. They asked me if I’d like to give one of their mixes a try, the sticky toffee and date was calling out to me so I grabbed a bag and headed off looking forward to putting on my apron. Since then we have had some very lovely hot weather and baking on a hot day wasn’t appealing to me; I’d much rather be outside in the sun. Last week however there was a rainy day last week which was the perfect time to get baking!

Ingredients

You will need (for one finished cake):

  • 1 sticky toffee and date cake mix
  • 1 egg
  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 175ml boiling water

Method

The instructions were really easy to follow and the kit contained everything including a butter measurer, a skewer to test doneness and baking paper. It smells lovely when you open the bag too thanks to the fresh vanilla in the sugar.

You start by greasing and lining a 20cm x 20cm tin and preheating the oven. The pre-weighed dates are mixed with boiling water to soften them. The sugar is mixed with butter before the flour is added. The egg and date mix is added after that. I’ve not made a cake with that method before but it worked a treat and was really easy to mix up. This goes into the oven for around 30 minutes. read more

Strawberry, Mint and Elderflower Mini Crumbles

By 18 Comments

strawberry and elderflower crumble
A crumble to me has a whiff of autumn about it. Apple crumble is a classic pudding but a while ago I tried a strawberry crumble and it was so good I couldn’t wait to give it a try myself. This is a pudding form of my previous cocktail post; a mixture of strawberries, mint and elderflower syrup but under a biscuity crust. The ingredients in this crumble scream of summer and the smell of cooking strawberries and buttery crumble is irresistible.

Ingredients

You will need (for two mini crumbles):

  • 200g strawberries
  • A few sprigs of mint
  • Elderflower syrup
  • 75g butter
  • 175g flour
  • 50g golden caster sugar and a little extra

Method

Start by chopping the strawberries up into halves, quarters, slices and all sizes so that you have a varied texture when the crumble is cooked. Put the strawberries into a little dish or ramekin, until it’s just over three quarters full, then sprinkle over a few chopped mint leaves. Drizzle over a little elderflower syrup; I used around a tablespoon for each ramekin. 

In another bowl mix together the flour and butter with your hands until you have a mix that resembles breadcrumbs. Then stir in the sugar. Top each little strawberry filled dish with the crumble and then sprinkle over a little extra sugar on top.
Put the dishes onto a baking tray and then into a preheat oven at 180C for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. read more

Elderflower and Yoghurt Ice Cream

By 13 Comments

elderflower yoghurt ice cream
I like making ice cream. I don’t do it that often but when I do I try to make something a bit special. My grandparents bought me my ice cream maker for my graduation present a few years ago; it’s one of those where the bowl inside the machine is frozen before use and I love it. Having the elderflower syrup hanging around means every time I walk past the bottle I think of another way to use or cook with it. I’ve always wanted to make yoghurt ice cream (richer than frozen yoghurt) and here was an opportunity to do so.

Ingredients

To make around 600ml finished ice cream you will need:

Method

Whisk together the yoghurt, cream and around a tablespoon of elderflower syrup in a bowl. Give it a taste to see if it needs more syrup; it depends how strong your syrup is and how you like it. Chill the mixture in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

If you have an ice cream maker put the mixture into your machine and churn until it’s all frozen then put into a container and into the freezer until you’re ready to eat.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker put the mixture into a container in the freezer and leave until almost solid. Remove, blitz in a food processor then put back into the container and back into the freezer until you’re ready to eat. read more

Summer Berry and Elderflower Pavlova

By 21 Comments

elderflower berry pavlova
There is a guilt associated with serving up a berry laden pudding. Someone is always going to end up with more fruit or more of one kind of fruit than everyone else. You could of course try making a coulis to atop your dessert of choice but sometimes it’s not the most attractive option; or the most sensible, no one wants a soggy shortbread stack. To counteract any unfair fruit distribution I scatter a few fruits onto the pudding and then serve the rest up on the side so everyone gets their fair share. This berry and elderflower pavlova is the epitome of summer and a great way to use some elderflower syrup.

Ingredients

You will need (for one pavlova, to serve 6-8 people):

  • 3 egg whites
  • 180g caster sugar
  • 150ml whipping cream
  • Elderflower syrup
  • Berries of your choice, I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries
This was my first ever attempt at a pavlova; indeed my first attempt of any form of egg white whipping since the unfortunate incident about ten years ago. I shan’t go in to details but the finished meringue was far from white and the baking tray ended up in the bin. Anyway, it turns out that meringue is a doddle if you are just brave. Put the egg whites into a mixer or use an electric hand whisk; whisk them until soft peaks form. Then add the sugar a spoon at a time until shiny firm peaks appear. Honestly, it’s that easy. I was most surprised.

Spoon, smear or pipe the egg white onto some greaseproof paper and then bake at 140C for one hour. Turn the oven off and then leave the meringue in the oven for another half an hour before removing and leaving to cool.
While the meringue is cooling whip the cream with a tbsp of the elderflower syrup. I ended up putting about three tbsp of syrup in but it depends on the strength of your syrup. Whip it all together until you’ve got firm peaks. Spoon the cream onto the meringue and top with berries. read more

Coffee and Chocolate Shortbread

By 25 Comments

chocolate and coffee shortbread
I have been meaning to make some shortbread for a while but things just seem to get in the way and before I know it I’m tucked up in bed thinking, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be shortbread day”, it seemed to be a never ending cycle. However many things happen I always try to make time to bake a biscuit; there’s nothing else that can fill the void like making a homemade treat. To bring about my biscuit making I set about creating a coffee chocolate shortbread.

Kopi sent me some coffee and instead of making a mug of coffee and telling you about it I wanted to mix it up in something tasty! I like the idea of Kopi coffee; you sign up and get a different coffee sent to you each month. I was sent Sumatra Aceh Organic and it was deep and smooth with a little hint of bitterness but not too much. It formed a distinct crema layer on top with no effort on my part; I’ve been told a good crema is the sign of a good coffee. 

Ingredients

You will need (for 12 fingers):
  • 180g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150g softened butter
  • 40g dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • 10g ground coffee

Method

Preheat your oven to 160C and grease a baking dish; I’ve used round, square and rectangular for this mixture before and all work well. read more

Rhubarb, Honeycomb and Hazelnut Fool

By 21 Comments

rhubarb honeycomb and hazelnut fool
It’s that rhubarb time of year. A little later than last year but it’s finally arrived and I am exceptionally pleased as it’s one of my absolute favourite ingredients. I love the smell, texture, flavour and sourness and the fact that it can be pink, white, stripy, green, tall or stumpy. To me it’s also a sign of changing seasons; its appearance in the garden and on market stalls tells me that there’s plenty more to look forward to in the coming months.

Ingredients

You will need (for two fools):

  • 2 sticks rhubarb
  • 1 tsp honey (runny or set)
  • 1 tsp water
  • 150ml double cream
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • Small handful chopped hazelnuts
  • A few pieces of honeycomb 

Method

Chop the rhubarb into inch sized chunks and put into a saucepan with the tsp honey and water. Cook on a medium heat until the rhubarb is soft and most of the water has gone. You do need to make sure it’s quite thick otherwise your fool will be more like a soup. Set the rhubarb aside to cool.

Put a small dry pan over a medium heat and toast the hazelnuts, watching that they don’t catch, then set aside.

In a large bowl whip together the double cream and runny honey until firm. Fold in two thirds of the rhubarb with the hazelnuts and crush in a few bits of honeycomb. Divide the fool into glasses and top with the remaining rhubarb and a few more hazelnuts and honeycomb. read more

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