All That I'm Eating

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

Elderflower and Blueberry Jelly

By 15 Comments

elderflower and blueberry jelly
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.

Ingredients

You will need (to make enough for four generous servings):
  • 150g blueberries
  • 1 pint water and elderflower cordial, mix it slightly stronger than you would to drink
  • 1 sachet powdered gelatine
  • 8 tbsp boiling water (or whatever your gelatine says!)

Method

Put the blueberries into the bowl you will serve the jelly in. Add the hot water to a large measuring jug and sprinkle the gelatine on top. Stir to make sure the gelatine is well mixed in and fully dissolved. I ended up adding a little more water to help the gelatine along. Pour in the elderflower cordial mix and stir together well. Add the elderflower mix to the blueberries and refrigerate until set.

I’m not sure why some of the blueberries sank but the majority floated; it didn’t matter at all, if anything it added a slight curiosity to the dessert. A large serving spoon is your friend when serving this up lest it wobble its way off a smaller spoon onto the table or floor. I made it in a bowl as I thought it looked pretty but you could divide it between glasses or jars as I did for my blackberry and perry jelly previously. I love the delicate colour of the elderflower jelly broken up with the little blueberries. The flavours worked really nicely together too; a light bowl of summer perfect for the warm evenings. read more

Christmas Trifle

By 10 Comments

Christmas Trifle
I’m not one for Christmas pudding or Christmas cake. It’s a bit too intense for me. I think if I made my own my opinion may change but until then I’ll stick to alternatives. It doesn’t help that I despise marzipan. To make an equally lovely centrepiece I thought I’d try my hand at a festive trifle: mulled wine jelly, panettone and orange juice and softly whipped cream reminiscent of a snow scene. All it needs is some edible glitter; but they’d run out when I went to get some.

Ingredients

You will need (for 6-8 portions): 400ml mulled wine 5 sheets gelatine 100g sugar 160ml water

Few slices panettone
2 tbsp fresh orange juice

150ml double cream

Method

Make the jelly by dissolving the sugar in the water on a low heat. Put the gelatine into some cold water. Bring the sugar syrup to a boil then remove from the heat, squeeze out the gelatine and then stir it in to the sugar syrup. Add the mulled wine and stir well. Pour into the dish you’ll be serving the trifle in then refrigerate until set.

When set, lay the slices of panettone on top of the jelly and drizzle over the orange juice. Whip the cream until firm and then smooth over the top of the panettone. Decorate however you like. 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

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

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

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

Caramelised Rhubarb Galette des Rois

By 25 Comments

rhubarb galette
Oh rhubarb. Not only the choice swear word for the less potty mouthed among us but also a rather delectable vegetable. I know it’s sort of a fruit but as it doesn’t have any seeds I will class it as a vegetable. I acquired my most recent handful of stalks after spending a lovely morning at a local farm shop (more about that in a separate post). I was even allowed to pull this straight out of the ground myself which was a rewarding, if somewhat exhausting, activity.

I have wanted to attempt this classic French ‘King of Tarts’ for so long; the rhubarb seemed like a perfect addition. I have made many frangipanes in the past so just halved what I would normally put in my large fluted tart tin for this recipe.

Ingredients

You will need (for one finished galette des rois):

  • 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry
  • 3 large sticks of rhubarb cut into inch sized pieces
  • 2 tbsp demerara sugar
  • 75g unsalted butter, very soft
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 75g ground almonds
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp milk and 1 egg beaten together (for glazing)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C and put the rhubarb onto a baking tray in a single layer. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and then toss the rhubarb in the sugar so it all gets nicely coated. Put this in the oven for 15 minutes to roast. When it’s done the rhubarb should have softened but retained its shape and be gently caramelised. Put the rhubarb to one side to cool. Leave the oven on after you remove the rhubarb as you’ll need it at 180C to bake the tart. read more

Coconut Yoghurt Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit

By 29 Comments

I find I get a craving for tropical flavours this time of year; pineapple, mango, dragon fruit and such but it’s a bit of a bore to just eat it raw.

I have been enjoying a coconut yoghurt with banana for breakfast but I wanted to make something creative with it. I do like yoghurt on its own but I think it gives a great flavour to icings, ice creams and other desserts. I like the tang and interest it brings and so it was high time I got my Hawaiian shirt on to start making a delectable panna cotta. read more

Citrus Carpaccio with Champagne Sabayon

By 21 Comments

Citrus Carpaccio with Champagne Sabayon
January is the month in which we all need a bit of sunshine. When the clouds fail to part sometimes you need to rely on a plateful of bright beams to keep you going. The dark mornings and evenings are easily punctuated by citrus fruits; particularly the blood orange. If anything is going to brighten a chilly evening it’s a platter of thinly sliced citrus fruits covered in a decadent Champagne sabayon with hints of mint and pomegranate.  

Ingredients

You will need (for two):
1 blood orange 1 pink grapefruit 1 white grapefruit Pomegranate seeds Mint leaves 3 egg yolks 3 tbsp caster sugar 150ml Champagne

Method

Start by peeling and slicing the citrus fruits as thinly as possible. Put to one side.

To make the sabayon put a bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water taking care that the bowl and water do not touch. Whisk together the eggs yolks and sugar in the bowl until combined and then whisk in the Champagne. Keep whisking for around 10 minutes until it is completely frothy and doubled in size. 

Serve the slices of fruit on a big plate, spoon over the sabayon and top with some pomegranate seeds and mint leaves.  read more

Recent Tweets

  • Error: Invalid or expired token.