RASPBERRY RIPPLE FRO-YO

Over the past few days the weather here in Britain has been incredible, almost too hot!  What better way to cool down than sat in the garden with a pot of fruity homemade frozen yogurt?! This recipe is perfect for a cool treat on a hot day, and even better it is super easy and quick to make.

To make one small tub all you need is:

500ml greek yogurt

3 tbsp raspberries

2 tbsp honey

Method:

Put the yogurt into your chosen freezable container.

Add the honey and stir until fully encorporated.

Sieve in the raspberries, pressing them through to get the juice, but leave behind the seeds!

Mix the yogurt and berry mixture with a chopstick (or skewer) until it turns pink, but still has some swirls of darker, for the traditional ripple effect!

Freeze for a minimum of 1 hour.

Spoon into small bowls and sprinkle with desired toppings, I love flaked almonds, but granola, coconut, and more fruit also go perfectly!

The yogurt may appear to crack in the freezer, but don't worry, simply get it out a couple of minutes before you want to serve it and it'll have started to soften up!

Hopefully this super easy, super tasty recipe will keep you cool on even the hottest of days!

Happy baking,

GUILT FREE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES.

Hello! So this is my first post in nearly a year and I have to apologise for my lack of recipes.  Settling into my first year of uni was more mental than I could have ever imagined and posting my bakes took a back seat!  Now that I am home for the Summer, I plan to get back to more regular updates and continue this once I have moved into my new house ready for the start of second year.

This recipe is the first in my easy, cheap bakes series, which is ideal for students or anyone who is tight of time or money. If you're like me and have a craving that only chocolate can satisfy, then this recipe will be perfect for you.

Chocolate Truffles.  Rich, indulgent, completely delicious.

But surely not wallet or waistline friendly?!

Inspired by Deliciously Ella, these chocolate truffles are a much healthier version of the original indulgent sweet, made with a secret ingredient; dates.

To make 10 truffles you need:

12 dates (you can sub in roughly 180g raisins for an even cheaper option, the truffles just won't come out as smooth)

2 tbsp (preferrably) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp ground almonds

2 tbsp olive oil/coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

Extra cocoa/ dessicated coconut for dusting

Method:

Simply deseed the dates (if necessary), chuck them into a food processor with the other ingredients and blend until smooth.

If the mixture is too sloppy, add some more ground almonds, and if it's too stiff add a little more oil.

Roll a ping pong ball sized amount of mixture between your palms into a rough sphere shape, then

roll in the cocoa, coconut or other desired topping (crushed nuts such as hazelnuts also work really nicely).

Pop them in the fridge until you're ready to eat them!

Easy, healthy, yet indulgent, what could be better?

Happy baking,

LOVELY LEMON CURD.

After last week's cake extravaganza for my sister, I've taken a break from the kitchen for a few days, purely for the sake of my family's waistbands!  As a little something to keep you going, i've written up one of my simplest staple recipes - homemade lemon curd.

Now its good when you buy it from the shops, but homemade its even sweeter and even lemony-er (yes, I've just invented a word!)

You will need:

4 unwaxed lemons, zest and juice

200g/7oz caster sugar

100g/3.5oz butter/margerine, cubed

3 eggs + 1 egg yolk

Method:

Put the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the butter into a large bowl. 

Put over a pan of gently simmering water, but don't let the bowl touch the water!

Stir the mixture until all of the butter has melted.
Lightly whisk the eggs and egg yolk and stir them into the lemon mixture. 

Whisk all of the ingredients until combined, then leave to cook for 10-13 minutes, stirring every so often, until the mixture is creamy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Leave to cool, stirring occasionally, then use, or place in the fridge.

So easy, yet so tasty!

Happy baking,

WELCOME HOME OLIVIA.

My big sister has been in Guyana (South America) for the past 4 weeks arrived home today! While in Guyana she helped to develop Girl Guiding, and I'm very proud of her for travelling away and doing something for such a good cause!  So far, she's introduced me to some Guayanese music (not to my taste!) and some Guyanese rum (much more to my taste!)

As a surprise welcome home present, I decided to try my hand at fondant icing and make her a celebration cake.  In true Hardacre style, I went all out with a two tier, iced cake, complete with fondant figurines.

It may not be the prettiest cake ever, but with it being my first fondant iced cake I was pretty happy with the result!

The cake itself was a simple victoria sponge cake with jam in between the layers.

You will need (for 2x 8" cakes and 2x 6" cakes):

8 medium eggs

1lb (453.6g) flour

1lb (453.6g) caster sugar

1lb (453.6g) margerine or soft butter

Raspberry (or whatever you like) jam

Fondant icing

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a (very!) large bowl.

Pour the mixture into the greased cake tins, I did one of each size, cooked it and then did the next two.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and springy.

Leave each layer to cool.

Put one of the 8" cakes onto a cake tray and cover in jam.  Place the second 8" cake on top, and again, cover (lightly) in jam.

Repeat with the 6" cakes.

For the icing, roll out your desired colour of icing, on a table/surface dusted liberally with icing sugar, until it is quite thin.

Using the rolling pin, carefully lay it over the cake and smooth down.

Repeat this with the smaller cakes, then place them on top of the bigger cakes.

Now its totally up to you on how you decorate! I found a good website on how to make fondant figurines that takes you step by step: http://caketrails-nz.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/simple-fondant-figure-tutorial.html

 Its actually a very easy cake to make as a celebration cake as you can personalise and decorate it however you like! 

Happy baking,