And here we are again, a new year, a new start, an opportunity to undo all the less than nutritionally dense treats we’ve consumed all in the name of celebration and festivity. READ MORE
I’m not going to pretend for a moment that this cherry clafoutis is the same as the classic version. (You can find a good recipe here or here). Sometimes though, a version of a recipe, a sort of nod to it, is just about fine. And if cherry clafoutis is what you are craving and you just don’t have a huge amount of time or energy, then this is the recipe for you. READ MORE
Mother’s Day is looming. This recipe isn’t a Mother’s Day suggestion. Not that these cookies aren’t delicious and a wonderful gift to bestow on any well behaved mother, but well, they’re not quite formal enough for my liking. I think Mother’s Day needs something a little more old fashioned and restrained.
So, Mother’s Day gifts. I have been contemplating buying some frames, filling them with prints of the children and wrapping them in pretty tissue paper for the family matriarchs. But then it occurred to me that this could well be the worst kind of self absorption. Obviously I would never frame a picture of myself and bestow it to a family member. That would make me seem rather in love with my own reflection, a little bit of a horror frankly. But giving photos of my offspring seems okay, thoughtful even. But is it?
They’re my greatest life’s work, my biggest, most important project. They’re the thing I point at as an excuse for my under eye wrinkles, sagging belly and constant yawning. So to frame photos of them as a gift, is it really a right and proper gift for Mother’s Day? Or is it akin to an ex boyfriend of mine who prided himself on buying his girlfriend’s massage courses for their birthdays. As in ‘how to massage’ courses; not a course of massages. Perhaps these photos are a similar indulgence. A projection of being obsessed with oneself and ones achievements. A silent scream of “Look what I made! Aren’t they just wonderful?”
Or maybe I’m over thinking it.
Lots of great recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, The Works, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
One year ago: Florentine quiche and Flourless chocolate cake and Cadbury Creme Mini Egg chocolate flapjackand School fair rocky road
Two year ago: White chocolate & cranberry hot cross buns and Cadbury creme egg mess and Banoffee pecan mini pavs
Three years ago: Easter Apostles scone loaf and Carrot cake in a cup for Mother’s Day and Cranberry oaty biscuits
Four years ago: Mini chocolate birds nests and Puff pastry and Walnut bread
Chocolate chip cookies
Ingredients:
Makes about 15
Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5 and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper. Melt the butter and syrup in a saucepan over a low heat until dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the flour, sugar, and bicarbonate of soda and give it a good mix with a wooden spoon. Leave the mixture to cool for a few minutes before stirring in the chocolate chips.
Using your hands, form handfuls of the warm mixture into balls about 4cm across, you should make about 15. Place them on the lined trays, making sure that there’s plenty of space for them to spread in the oven. I leave a 5cm gap between each. Bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes until the dough has spread into cracked looking biscuits.
If you like your biscuits with a bit of ‘chew’ (more cookie like) then take them out when only the sides are brown. If you like them crunchy then let the whole biscuit get a suntan. Let them cool on the baking tray for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pancake day is looming. So I thought I’d offer you up something just a little different. I know you like your wafer thin crepes with sugar, lemon, Nutella, jam, caramel, bananas etc, but I wanted to champion the savoury pancake. It’s thicker, it’s less about tossing and it’s very happy when sitting next to sliced avocado.
Lots of great recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
Last year: Chocolate and banana flower shaped cupcakes, Subtle coconut rolls, Easy chocolate cupcakes and Chocolate orange tea buns. Oh and I almost forgot my Almond and fig granola.
Two years ago: Love cupcakes and White chocolate, lemon and macadamia cake and Roasted celeriac, carrot and parsnip soup and My lightest Yorkshire puddings.
Three years ago: Bake me not chocolate cake and Jelly and ice-cream meringue roulade and Good flapjack and Banana, butterscotch and fig traybake.
Four years ago: Treasure hunt ice-cream and Rhubarb and ginger chutney and Carrot cake.
Fluffy sweet potato pancakes
Makes 12
Ingredients:
NB: These keep in the fridge for 3 days, well wrapped. Or freeze in bags separated by non stick baking parchment. Re-heat in a preheated oven at 180C/gas mark 4 for 15 minutes before serving (slightly longer from frozen). Remember, if feeding these to under 1’s then leave out the salt.
Disclaimer: the picture is rubbish, I know. I am going to endeavour to use my grown up camera this year rather than my phone.
I’m not going to pretend like these are healthy, because sometimes you don’t want healthy. Sometimes the kale and the almond milk chat and the steaming rather than frying can give you healthy fatigue. If that’s the case then I prescribe something so trashy, so incredibly grubby that it sends you straight back on the wagon. This is that very thing. You’re welcome.
NB: They need to be eaten within 7 days of baking OR you can freeze them and then defrost at room temperature. Why not pop down to the corner shop, buy some Mars Bars, bake a batch, cut into little pieces and then open freeze, before storing in a freezer bag until you’re ready to decide which day is trashy day?
I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make these brownies. You can see the vid on my YouTube channel. You can watch it below too.
Lots of great recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
Last December: My slow cooker beef bourguignon pie and Crumble topped mince pies and a very ugly but delicious cranberry & raspberry traybake
Two years ago: Mini Yorkshire pudding canapes and Christmas pudding fizz and Brandy butter icing and Rudolf morsels
Three years ago: Lime meringue pie with chocolate pastry and Christmas scones and Ginger cake with Christmas cottage and Hot chocolate on a stick
Four years ago: Moonuts and Cheese biscuits and Parsnip soup and Inauthentic chicken tagine
Mars bar brownies
Makes 9 large brownies or 16 smaller ones – cut them as small as you wish
Ingredients:
Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm tray and preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large saucepan, stirring regularly to ensure the chocolate doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat when molten and add the sugars, eggs and flour. Stir well. Pour half into the tray and then slice the Mars Bars into 6 pieces and layer over the brownie mixture. Pour the rest of the batter over the top, ensuring the Mars Bar pieces are covered.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the brownie has stopped wobbling and is starting to look a little cracked at the edges. Cool on a wire rack and refrigerate for an hour before cutting with a knife dipped in warm water. You can clean the knife after each cut to get perfect little squares.
NB: You can make this less floury and substitute the flour for ground almonds if you wish.
NB II: I have noticed that when using very expensive 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate these brownies get a kind of funny space crater like look on the top. To avoid this then use a chocolate with a lower cocoa solids content – something more like 40%. I am a big fan of Lidl’s cheap dark chocolate for baking. It seems to melt and bake very well indeed.
What a year! What a glorious year. My third baby born, my first book also ‘born’ (ahem), I’ve become one of the Huffington Post’s recipe writers, am proud to be one of Scoff’s recipe presenters and this here blog is going to be 5 years old in 2015. I might even hold it a birthday party.
That’s quite enough showing off for one blog post (no-one likes a show off do they?) Instead, here are your top 10 blog posts of 2015:
1) A very humble ginger cake that I made with the folks at Scoff. You just mix it up (not even with a mixer… just a spoon will do), bung it in the oven and top with a little icing sugar. Easy as.
2) Spiced apple cupcakes with gingerbread buttercream. Another no mixer cake recipe. I am completely and utterly with you on this one – easy wins every time.
3) Psychedelic school fair rocky road. Best to make this in gargantuan quantities and then remove from the house asap.
4) Flourless chocolate cake. Now if you want this gluten free then be sure to source GF chocolate. Not all chocolate is created equally.
5) Cut out vanilla biscuits. The best biscuit dough ever for making cute cut out shapes. Ice or don’t ice.
6) Carrot, courgette and cheese mini pancakes. Mini pancakes or fritters? Whatever you call them, they’re delicious. My sons love them, my Dad loves them. I love them. Canapés that work as weaning fodder get a big tick from me.
7)Lemon button biscuits. Look good, taste good and one from my book. I made these in honour of my very talented Nanna who used to be a bespoke tailor-ess.
8) Easy chocolate cupcakes. Another easy recipe with no mixer required. These are way too easy to whip up. Pass the chocolate ganache icing will you?
9) I’ve written a recipe book! Not even a recipe in sight – just a post about my book, which is out now and is doing well (hurrah, thank you to you gorgeous lot who have bought it!)
10) Lemon drizzle loaf. Classic, simple. Yes please.
What does 2015 hold? Well there will be very few giveaways I’m afraid. They take me way too long to set up and with three boys and loads of other bits and bobs of work I just can’t spare the time. I’ll be trying to shoot some videos (which will likely be dreadful at first so bear with me please) instead and will continue with the weekly recipes I so love to blog. Probably included will be a fair few weaning and finger food recipes, for that is what life is about at the moment. Little Lawrence may even make a guest appearance in some of the recipes.
I wish you all a healthy and happy 2015!
Holly. x
Okay, we’re almost there. It’s Christmas Eve. Are you okay? Have you finished work yet? This is my last recipe before the big day. It’s a bit of fun for the school holidays. And if biscuits feel a step too far then use whatever’s languishing in the biscuit tin.
Lots of great recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
Last December: My slow cooker beef bourguignon pie and Crumble topped mince pies and a very ugly but delicious cranberry & raspberry traybake
Two years ago: Mini Yorkshire pudding canapes and Christmas pudding fizz and Brandy butter icing and Rudolf morsels
Three years ago: Lime meringue pie with chocolate pastry and Christmas scones and Ginger cake with Christmas cottage and Hot chocolate on a stick
Four years ago: Moonuts and Cheese biscuits and Parsnip soup and Inauthentic chicken tagine
Melted snowman biscuits
Makes about 30 x 12cm biscuits
Ingredients:
• 200g castor sugar
• 225g soft salted butter
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 385g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 20g orange fondant icing
• Icing sugar
• 30 white marshmallows
• A black icing tube (can easily be found in the baking aisle)
• 90 small coloured sweets
Cream together the butter and sugar until really light and creamy looking – about 4 minutes in a stand mixer, about 6 with a handheld mixer of 8 – 10 by hand with a wooden spoon. Add the egg dribble by dribble, beating well after each addition. Lastly add the flour and baking powder and mix until combined. Use your hands to pull the mixture together, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 40 minutes.
Use a little flour to dredge the work surface and coat a rolling pin then roll the biscuit dough to about 3 – 4mm thick. Cut out circles about 12cm wide using a knife (they don’t need to be completely circular, they can happily be puddle shaped)and pop onto a baking tray (you can line with non stick parchment though these biscuits didn’t stick on my baking trays without it) then chill the whole tray in the fridge for 15 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. (The chilling is what keeps the shape of the biscuits, as does the preheating of the oven – you need cold biscuits to hit a hot oven and immediately bake. Skipping either step can result in biscuits that spread. They’ll still taste fine but won’t look so pretty.)
Bake the chilled biscuits for 10 -12 minutes until they’re just starting to brown at the edges. Leave for 5 minutes to cool on the tray then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. In the meantime make 30 carrot noses with the orange fondant icing and set aside to harden.
Make some white icing by mixing the icing sugar with water until you have a stiff icing. Spread over each biscuit, add three sweets as buttons, place a marshmallow in the middle and add a fondant carrot nose (you can use icing to do this if it won’t push into the marshmallow) and draw on a mouth and two eyes with the black icing tube. Once the icing is dry draw on two stick arms using the icing tube. Leave to dry completely.
I went to a reasonably posh school. For Leicester that is. It wasn’t the really posh one where the kids got so much pocket money they spent the surplus on freshly cut flowers (yes, this is a true story – I mean, imagine having so much money at the age of 15 that you have bought all the 20:20 you need, all the black Wonderbras and all the copies of the Catcher in the Rye, so you have to use the money up buying freesia’s and the like. Madness). But it was posh enough to mean I had to wear a kilt, a blazer, had to ask to remove said blazer in the heat of the summer and had to open doors for teachers. I remember that being very important. I also had the opportunity to learn Latin. Like I said, posh.
It was hard work being at a posh school in the 90’s when you really weren’t very posh. It wasn’t cool to have short vowels then, or to have a very normal, regular life. I remember a few of the things I was deeply embarrassed by as an unposh teen at a slightly posh school:
It was deeply painful. I even remember being embarrassed by the Tupperware cake stand my mother kept her coffee and walnut cake on. I mean, really? Tupperware embarrassing? Teenage years are tough aren’t they.
DISCLAIMER: Obviously I know that my teenage years weren’t tough. Obviously I am aware that going to a posh school is a privileged position to be in. This post is tongue in cheek. Okay? Good.
This recipe features in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make this cake. You can see the vid on my YouTube channel and also the Scoff one. You can watch it below too.
One year ago: Chocolate hazelnut truffles and a Delicious microwave Christmas pud
Two years ago: Mini Yorkshire pudding canapes and Christmas pudding fizz and Brandy butter icing and Lemon drizzle secrets
Three years ago: Lime meringue pie with chocolate pastry and Christmas scones and Ginger cake with gingerbread Christmas cottage and Bonfire night treacle toffee and My festive take on cheesecake
Four years ago: Moonuts (forget cronuts… these are fab and much easier), Cheese biscuits and Parsnip soup and a Steamed cherry and pecan pudding
Ingredients:
For the cake:
For the icing and decoration:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and grease and line two 20cm-round nonstick cake tins with baking paper. Cream together the margarine and the caster sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 4 minutes using a mixer or about 7–8 minutes using a wooden spoon and some elbow grease.
Slowly add the beaten egg to the mixture, a little bit at a time and beat well after each addition – this does take a little time but it is worth it for a superior texture. If the mixture curdles, worry not. Just add a tablespoon of the flour to rebind the mixture and carry on mixing as before, until all the egg is added. Beat in the cooled coffee.
Now fold in the flour using a large metal spoon in a smooth and looping slicing motion, be careful not to beat the air out of the wet mixture. Fold in the chopped walnuts then spoon the batter equally into the cake tins, spread to the edges and made level with a knife. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 35 minutes but do check after 25 if your oven is over zealous. The cake is ready when the edges have slightly shrunk away from the sides of the tin and a toothpick comes out of the centre of the cakes clean. Leave to cool a little in the tin, then gently remove and let cool on a wire rack.
Whilst the cake is cooling, make the icing. Cream the butter until light in colour and fluffy looking using a mixer or a wooden spoon. Add the icing sugar a tablespoonful at a time, beating well after each addition. Lastly add the coffee and beat well. For a super light buttercream I beat at the highest setting for 7 minutes in my stand mixer – this makes for a mousse-like icing flecked with air. Sandwich the cakes together using half of the buttercream icing, then spread the rest over the top and decorate with walnuts.
P.S. To sign up for my free monthly newsletter just click here. It has a baking SOS, recommendations on bits of kit I can’t live without, my kitchen catastrophe of the month, a sneak preview of a recipe coming up on this blog and a letter from me telling you what I’ve been up to. Remember to check your inbox for a confirmation email and also to add my email recipesfromanormalmum@gmail.com to your contacts. Otherwise I could go to spam.
So youthful types get a bad press in general, no? I know I find myself crossing the road from large groups of teens, as if they’re a dangerous species, liable to snap and scratch. We’re conditioned to think of teens as feral, difficult and just plain bad. Well, I feel guilty about my presumptions after my experience with a carriage of silver drunks at the weekend.
A large group of men all over the age of 55 monopolised the carriage. (Actually, I am being kind. They were 60 if they were a day). They were very, very drunk. So far down the path to a a hangover that they couldn’t stand without help. They were shouting, swearing and I’m afraid to tell you, vomiting. One man, a delightful specimen, was telling the whole carriage what a dreadful woman his wife was. Guess who picked him up at the station?
The teenage girl next to me sat reading a classic novel, earphones in, occasionally rolling her eyes. I’m not sure whether to be impressed at their joie de vivre or appalled as she was. The only answer to the trauma of this very long journey of being terrorised by inebriated middle aged men was to make a batch of these brownies just as soon as I got home.
Lots more recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, Morrisons, Waitrose, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
One year ago: Hazelnut cupcakes with Nutella buttercream and Red root reblochon bake and Simple banana cake
Two years ago: Cherry tomato frittata and Lemon brioche or Death by chocolate cake
Three years ago: Tiramisu profiteroles and Drunken cherry brandy mincemeat or Macarons
Four years ago: Easy cheesy pasta and Almond coated chicken and Mince pies for mince pie haters
Makes 12 brownies or one larger traybake
Gluten free black forest brownies
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Line a 25 x 20cm tin with non-stick paper. Drain the tinned cherries and discard the syrup then heat in a small pan with 2 tbsp of the kirsch for 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Place 325g chocolate and the butter into a medium saucepan and heat on a very low heat, stirring all the time until dissolved and molten then remove from the heat. (If you are worried about the chocolate going grainy then use the bain marie method). Put the rest of the chocolate in the fridge.
Add the vanilla extract, both sugars, almonds, the eggs and the tinned cherries to the molten chocolate and butter and stir well. Pour into the tin and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the top of the brownie has formed a crust but there’s still a little squidge left in the middle. (The sides will be a little better cooked.) It may have puffed up a bit but will sink after removing from the oven. Cool on a wire rack still in the tin until completely cool.
Once cooled spread the top with a very thin layer of conserve, ensuring you spread all the way to the edges. Then whip the double cream with the icing sugar to medium peaks. Spread over the top of the jam covered brownie. Make some chocolate shavings with the refrigerated dark chocolate by pushing a sharp non serrated knife across the top. Decorate with fresh stalk-on cherries and chocolate shavings.
Slice with a hot knife (dipped in boiling water) for perfect little squares.
P.S. To sign up for my free monthly newsletter just click here. It has a baking SOS, recommendations on bits of kit I can’t live without, my kitchen catastrophe of the month, a sneak preview of a recipe coming up on this blog and a letter from me telling you what I’ve been up to. Remember to check your inbox for a confirmation email and also to add my email recipesfromanormalmum@gmail.com to your contacts. Otherwise I could go to spam.
I fell off the wagon. Thump, spectacularly to the ground. I was so very nearly there. Just 1.5 stone to go in my 5 stone battle of the bulge. It started with just one night off and ended in a weekend of gluttony. Here’s how I regained 6lb in just 3 days:
So there you have it. Impressive, no? I am back on the horse so to speak from now on. I am going to think like a slim person and eat small quantities in a dainty fashion. I have even made croissants in small doll like proportions. Maybe I have the wrong idea after all…
Lots more recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, at Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
One year ago: Hazelnut cupcakes with Nutella buttercream and Red root reblochon bake and Simple banana cake
Two years ago: Cherry tomato frittata and Lemon brioche or Death by chocolate cake
Three years ago: Tiramisu profiteroles and Drunken cherry brandy mincemeat or Macarons
Four years ago: Easy cheesy pasta and Almond coated chicken and Mince pies for mince pie haters
Double chocolate chip & orange bundt cake
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3 and grease your bundt tin. (Mine is about 25cm across and 15cm deep – and do feel free to flour the tin too, whatever it says on the packing really.)
Zest the orange and tip into a bowl then juice the orange and tip into a measuring jug. My orange made about 45mls juice. Then top this up to make 225mls of liquid using milk – so for my orange I added 180mls milk. Stir well and add to the bowl. Then add all the ingredients apart from the chocolate chips. Whisk the mixture for about 5 minutes using an electric hand held mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. If whisking by hand this will take about 10 minutes. You will not see a huge difference in volume of the mixture but the air will help it rise.
Pour into the prepared tin and then sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and use a fork to swirl them about a bit. This is the best way I have found to stop the chips from sinking to the bottom. Bake for 1 hr 25 minutes in the middle of the oven or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and then invert and tip out to cool completely. This cake can be left alone or drizzled with some melted chocolate. It seems to improve after a day or so too.
P.S. To sign up for my free monthly newsletter just click here. It has a baking SOS, recommendations on bits of kit I can’t live without, my kitchen catastrophe of the month, a sneak preview of a recipe coming up on this blog and a letter from me telling you what I’ve been up to. Remember to check your inbox for a confirmation email and also to add my email recipesfromanormalmum@gmail.com to your contacts. Otherwise I could go to spam.
Holly Bell 