Speculaas Bundt Cake...

 

 Speculaas is not entirely new to me and actually brings back very fond memories of travelling through Belgium with two of my favourite people in the world.

 

 

The  'Speculaas flavour' is becoming more and more popular and It's biscuit spread, Speculoos is even tipped off to be the next Nutella. The flavour is  based on a traditional shortcrust biscuit made around Christmas in the Netherlands and Belgium.        

 

 

The Speclaas spice I have used in this recipe is special and that's because of where it comes from, The Speculaas Spice Company.
Steven created this little taste of the Netherlands based on fond memories and old family recipes.

"The Vandotsch Speculaas is a spice mix of nine organic spices that delivers deliciously warm, sweet and spicy ‘layers’ of taste taking any simple cinnamon taste to another level. "  

It can be used in so many recipes, some of which you can actually pick up off their websites blog . I although tempted to try and bake the traditional biscuits, decided to bake a cake using this wonderful spice.

 



 

Ingredients

The cake

200g Butter

200g Sugar

200g Flour

1 tsp Baking powder

2 tsp Speculaas Spice

4 eggs, beaten

 

Icing

1/2 Cup icing sugar

a little milk

1/2 tsp Speculaas spice

 

Method

1. Cream your butter and sugar together then add your eggs one by one, mixing between each one.

2. Mix in your dry ingredients until all combined.

3. Prepare a bundt tin and then poor in your cake mixture. Tap the tin against the counter to ake sure its even.

4.Bake in the oven at 170 until cooked through and your skewer comes out clean. About 30min. Leave to cool completely.

5. Remove cake from the tin and then prepare your icing. If I am honest when it comes to icing like this I just wing it as exact measurements can vary when it comes to 'your' favoured consistency. But once you have got your icing how you want it and its nice and dribbely...dribble over your cake in a arty way ;)

 

This cake is FABULOUS with a cup of tea.

This cake and spice is something I will make and use over again as its delicious and because it reminds me of travelling with friends and one of my favourite places to visit the Netherlands. Which funny enough is where I am off to in the morning...in an hour to be exact. Better get moving...

 

PLEASE make sure to get your hands on this delicious spice mix and of course share your recipe. Hope you all have a fabulous week and I will post more deliciousness when I am back.

 

you can purchase the spice here .

 

Recipe - mine

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice-Cream ...

I have been wanting to make some ice-cream for ages and have been trying to decide if I should make a healthy one or a totally indulgent one... Of course I went for the one full of delicious hip expanding goodness! BUT for all my SW followers and healthier fans I will include a healthy recipe option too. One that is dairy free and vegan friendly :)

Let's start with the naughty one...

 

Ingredients

1 can of condensed milk

1 tub of single cream

2 tbsp. peanut butter, I used manilife peanut butter

50g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

 

Method

1. Pop all the ingredients into a bowl except the chocolate and mix together well.

2. Once mixed fold in the chocolate and then transfer into a freezer proof tub.

3. This is non churn ice-cream but I do recommend mixing it a little every hour so the peanuts and chocolate don't sit on the top.

4. In about 3 hours it should be ready to serve but you can leave it over night,just remove from the freezer a few minutes before serving.

 

my happy helper today... handy when it came to drippy ice-ream



This ice-ream is so deliciously creamy, peanutty and chocolately that you could eat the whole tub in one go. But try not to as it is rather sweet.

 

For a healthier version just freeze couple of bananas in chunks. Once frozen whiz up adding your peanut butter and a spoon of coco instead of chocolate. Its instant ice-cream for half the calories but still super yummy!!

 

 

What is your favourite ice-cream, and have you ever made your own?

 

recipe - mine

syns - ALLOT sorry, maybe something for treat night.

Pork with Satay Sauce...

Today I met a lovely fellow Redbourner Hayley, who introduced me to Manilife Peanut Butter. It's so amazingly peanutty and delicious that I just had to cook with it...literally straight away!:P I had planned to create a recipe for the blog today and things just fell right into place and gave me one scrumptious lunch! WIN WIN!

Before I tell you how to make this super scrummy Satay sauce I will tell you a bit about Manilife all natural crunchy Argentinian peanut butter.

Manilife is all natural peanut butter. 'No sugar, no palm oil just really really good nuts sourced straight from Argintina.'

Manilife is peanut butter at it's best. They roast a fresh batch of nuts every week in their London factory and those roasted nuts are the only thing used to make their peanut butter, absolutely nothing else is added.
They say 'Argentine nuts are naturally sweeter and with a fat profile akin to olive oil, naturally better for you as well. You’ll taste the difference.' and believe me you do!

Now let's get into the tasty stuff... well... recipe...

Ingredients

Satay Sauce
2 tbsp , crunchy Peanut Butter - I used Manilife .
2 tbsp, soya sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped - I used my own home grown chilli's!
1 tbsp sugar
1 can of coconut milk
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Coriander, roasted peanuts and chilli to garnish.

Pork
Soya Sauce
Pork loin, cut into strips - you can use chicken in this recipe if you don't like pork or even tofu if you are vegetarian.

Method

1. In a wok soften your onions, garlic and chili in the sesame oil.
2. Add your sugar, soya sauce and peanut butter and stir to combine. Then slowly add your coconut milk till you reach your desired consistency. At this point give it a little taste and add more soya sauce if not salty enough. You want a balance of sweet and savoury with a fiery kick.
3. For the pork just marinade in some soya sauce, place onto skewers and then grill until cooked through.
4. Serve straight away with a sprinkle of fresh coriander and chilli.

Satay sauce can be made beforehand and stored in the fridge.

And there you have it, a quick and easy recipe perfect for lunch, dinner, as a snack or even as an horderve at a party.

And for the peanut butter lovers out there if you haven't tried Manilife peanut butter before...what are you waiting for! It's vegan friendly, its delicious and its nothing but NUTS!

Buy it online for just £5 at www.mani-life.com.

recipe - my own

Beef and Mushroom Pies featuring Joules Animal Ceramic Plates...

Sun is out , the days are long and the weather is warming up which to me means Picnic time and these little beef and mushroom pies are great for just that.

As these are not made with steak it does take a few hours to cook but the recipe is still really easy, here is how to make them.

Ingredients

400g cubed beef

300g mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 pints of beef stock

sprig or 2 of rosemary

1 large onion, roughly chopped 

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper

ready made puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

 Method

1. In a large pan fry your onion and brown your meat. Then pour over the stock, chuck in some rosemary and bring to the boil. Once boiled for a few minutes turn down heat to a simmer and leave to cook for about 3 hours. You want the meat to break down and become soft but keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't catch or run out of liquid.
2. Once your meat is cooked add your mushrooms, paprika and seasoning and cook for a further 15 minutes or so. You want a slightly thick gravy. If its not you can add a tbsp of gravy powder. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
2. Cut 3 - 4 circles out of your ready rolled pastry, using a bowl as a template and fill half with the beef and mushroom mixture. Fold over and then crimp with a fork.
3. Brush with your egg and season with your salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 - 30 minutes at 160 fan.
4. Once golden and crispy remove from the oven, leave to cool slightly and then wrap ready for your picnic.

I served mine with a few salad leaves and some strawberries but feel free to go wild with what you take along.

These pies are super tasty and juicy thanks to the slow cooking. And the puff pastry gives them a wonderful crispy outside.
They are also great served with some mash and gravy for dinner.

Now I couldn't end this post without directing your attention to the amazing plates. These beauties are from Joules and cost just £8.95 each. They are classed as side plates but are still a good size. My choices are along a woodland theme but you can also get a cow, dog and chicken as well as floral print. They are truly lovely and I can't wait to grow my collection. Matching tea towels and aprons are also available.

If you would like to get your hands on these GORGEOUS side plates you can find them here.

recipe - mine
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Lets Celebrate and Eat Cupcakes with Eat Your Photo...

Lately I have really been enjoying blogging and I am so happy with my choice to move away from beauty blogging and blog about something I really love ... FOOD!! 

And what better way is there to celebrate then with cupcakes!! :) Not just any cupcakes but amazing and delicious cupcakes with my logo on thanks to Eat Your Photo and their edible goodness!

The cupcakes were hand delivered within days of confirming details and packaged really well, insuring they wouldn't be damaged. They also included a sheet with the ingredients which I thought was great as I like to know what is in what I am eating.

Each cupcake was perfectly filled and neatly decorated with my chosen picture - my blogs logo.

As you can see below the picture is clear and every inch edible :)

The cupcake itself was light and fluffy and topped with just the right amount of frosting. They got a huge thumbs up from me, my OH (my biggest cake critic) and Mr Benjamin of course.

Overall I was hugely impressed and with my sons upcoming Birthday in May, they will definitely be hearing from me.

You can order your own unique cupcakes via the Eat Your Photo website - www.eatyourphoto.co.uk and you can follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates and examples of their work and creations.

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