Deconstructed No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

Sometimes you want a proper dessert but really quickly - something that you can literally put together in five minutes after dinner. Mug cakes are really good for this, or here's another idea I came up with (quite a while ago, pre-wedding diet!) from just looking at what I had in the house.

I broke up some chocolate digestive biscuits and put the pieces into the bottom of two serving glasses.

I melted some milk chocolate in the microwave and mixed it with double cream to create a ganache

I spooned this on top of the broken biscuits, and drizzled over some Choc Shot liquid chocolate

And here you go - a deconstructed chocolate cheesecake (of sorts ) that only took five minutes to make, involved no cooking other than the microwave, and tastes delicious!

I'm sending this to Credit Crunch Munch. This month the challenge is hosted by Michelle at Utterly Scrummy and was devised by Helen and Camilla.

M&M chocolate birthday cake

 

When I made my fiancé this chocolate birthday cake from the Outsider Tart cookery book the quantities given were so large that it made three big layers. I didn't need the cake to be that big so I put one of the layers in the freezer, and used it a few weeks later when I wanted a cake to take into work.

The cake broke a little while it was defrosting but otherwise was absolutely fine - this is a really good cake that includes Coca-Cola in the mixture!

 

I made some chocolate buttercream which I spread on the top and around the side of the cake. It does look a bit messy at the moment, but that won't matter!

To decorate this cake I decided to use up some things I had in the cupboard. I wanted to use things up and I also didn't have much time - we'd gotten back from a weekend away in Wiltshire and I only had the evening to do it before work the next day, and as we'd been away all weekend I had a lot of other things I needed to do!
I had some white chocolate fingers left over from this anti-gravity Easter cake but not quite enough to go around the whole cake, and I couldn't find any more white ones in the supermarket. So I decided to alternate with some milk chocolate fingers which I thought actually made a nice pattern and looked really good.

I also had some M&Ms and larger peanut M&Ms I wanted to use up as they had been hanging around for a while. As they were different types I decided to use some chocolate fingers to mark out sections on top of the cake, but actually the colours all blend together and I probably didn't need to do this.

Finally I tied a ribbon around the cake, which helped to keep the chocolate fingers upright. I was really pleased with this given it was a last minute job using up cake and chocolate I already had in the house!

F is for fingers - chocolate fingers - so I'm sharing this cake with Alphabakes, the blog challenge I co-host with Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker.

As I used up things I already had in the house this was a very cost-efficient cake so I'm sharing it with Credit Crunch Munch, hosted by Michelle at Utterly Scrummy on behalf of Helen and Camilla.

Lorraine Pascale's Blueberry and Limoncello Drizzle Cake

 

I have a great relationship with my personal trainer. She pushes me hard, but not too hard; she's encouraging, we have a good chat while I'm working out and she isn't draconian when it comes to diet. To prove th point, she hinted that since I like baking I could make her a cake for her birthday, which was the day after mine.

She'd told me she liked loaf cakes and I decided I wanted to make something that wasn't too unhealthy, so would involve less sugar than some cakes, not have piles of frosting, and include fruit but have an indulgent quality at the same time - it was her 40th birthday so a special occasion after all.

I turned to Lorraine Pascale's book A Lighter Way to Bake and found a recipe for a blueberry and limoncello drizzle cake, which ticked all those boxes - it wasn't a loaf cake but as it wasn't filled I decided there was no reason why I couldn't bake it in a loaf tin.

The recipe can be found online here; I had some blueberries in the freezer from a previous recipe and since I don't like them this was a good opportunity to use them up; I already had about a quarter of a bottle of limoncello left, I think from the Christmas before last, so the only ingredients I therefore had to buy was a little tub of yogurt and two lemons.

Making the batter

Adding the blueberries

ready to go in the oven

Here's the cake!

about to make the icing

drizzling over the icing

The cake took a bit longer to bake than the time given in the recipe; if you do it in a loaf tin the best thing is to keep testing it with a skewer.

I gave it to my personal trainer the day before her birthday when we had a gym session (actually on my birthday, I'm that dedicated!) and she said afterwards she and her friends really enjoyed it.

This isn't the cheapest recipe to make but for me it was pretty frugal as I was using up blueberries and limoncello I already had, which is quite a thrifty approach, so I'm sending this to Credit Crunch Munch. This month the challenge is hosted by Michelle at Utterly Scrummy and was devised by Helen and Camilla.

Strawberry and Flaxseed Smoothie

I was at someone's house recently and noticed she had a Nutribullet which reminded me of my much cheaper jug blender which I got as a birthday present from my friend Jane when I was at university - so that was about 15 years ago and it's still going strong! I hardly ever make smoothies as I just don't have time in the mornings, and smoothies to me are really a breakfast drink. I usually end up making a cup of tea in the mornings, only having time to drink half before I have to leave to get my train, and having breakfast at my desk at work which is usually a yogurt, or cereal if I remember to put some cereal in a Tupperware container to take with me!

But I had some strawberries that needed using up, plus a couple of over-ripe bananas - we are still getting a fruit basket every week at work and whenever there are some black bananas left at the end, my boss puts them on my desk as he knows I can bake with them!

I also had some soya milk left over from when a vegan friend came to stay and thought the creamy flavour and thicker texture (as I usually buy skimmed milk which is very thin) would be lovely in a smoothie.

I also had some flaxseed in the back of a cupboard; flaxseed is incredibly good for you as it's an anti-oxidant and good for your heart, blood pressure, is a source of fibre and all sorts of other things too.

So into the blender went the soya milk, strawberries, banana and flaxseed.

I also added a squeeze of agave nectar (a vegan honey substitute) for a little sweetness. I tested it and added a little more milk to thin it down and decided I really ought to make smoothies more often!

Smoothies are a good way to use up leftover fruit which is going soft; for that reason I'm sharing this with Credit Crunch Munch, hosted by Charlene at Food Glorious Food on behalf of Camilla at Fab Food 4 All and Helen at Fuss Free Flavours.

Banoffee Cheesecake with a Cornflake Base

It all started with a basket of fruit that we were sent at work. By the end of the week, there were a couple of bananas left that were going really soft. I was the last person in the office on the Friday (sigh) so thought I may as well take them home as they would only be thrown away otherwise - even though I don't like bananas! A few of my boyfriend's family were coming to our house at the weekend for an informal barbecue and I wanted to make dessert; I knew they liked bananas even though I didn't so I thought this would be a good way to use them up. Though I don't think the person who sent the healthy fruit basket necessarily expected the fruit to end up in a sugary dessert - we did eat the rest of the fruit whole!

I remembered that I had bought some cornflakes at Easter to make chocolate cornflake cakes and it had been a massive box. I'm not a big fan of cereal anyway and find cornflakes very plain so most of the box was left. I wondered idly whether you could use cornflakes as a base for cheesecake rather than crushed biscuits - and it turns out you can!

I used this recipe from RTE Food but I had to almost double the amount of cornflakes as it wasn't anywhere near enough to cover the base of the glass-bottomed pie dish I was using.

To serve 8, you need:
2 bananas
100g chocolate, melted
300g cornflakes
100g caster sugar
100g butter
100ml double cream
400g soft cheese
50g icing sugar
dash of vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate and mix with the cornflakes in a large bowl. Press down the cornflakes into the base of the serving dish and place in the fridge for half an hour to set.

 Heat the butter and sugar in a pan until the sugar has dissolved and carefully place the peeled bananas sliced in half into the pan. Bring to the boil and turn the bananas occasionally until they are caramelised.

Remove the bananas to a plate with a slotted spoon. Keep the caramel over the lowest heat until you are ready to use it otherwise it will start to set hard.

Mix the soft cheese, cream and vanilla and icing sugar and spoon onto the cornflake base.

Slice the banana and place over the top of the cheesecake then drizzle over the toffee sauce.

This was a delicious cheesecake (though I took the banana pieces off mine!) but it doesn't keep long - the cornflake base started to go soggy after the second day. It won't be sitting in our fridge for long I expect anyway!

 

I'm sharing this with Credit Crunch Munch, hosted by Camilla at Fab Food 4 All, and Helen of Fuss Free Flavours, as it uses up leftovers.

 

 

Ham and Cheese Quesadillas

The letter for this month's Alphabakes is Q - a little difficult when it comes to baking (I did a Queen of Puddings when this letter came up last time) - but there are a few savoury dishes and ingredients that begin with Q.

I've made quesadillas before and they are quick and easy; they are a Mexican dish so it was particularly good timing as I was looking for ways to use up ingredients in my fridge before going on holiday to Mexico, and as I was in the middle of packing didn't want to make anything that would take too long.

A quesadilla is basically a tortilla, filled with cheese and anything else you fancy, folded over and fried on both sides or grilled, so the cheese melts, then cut into triangles to serve.

I had some soft flour tortillas in the fridge to use up and a packet of ham, and bought some spicy cheese which I thought would work really well in this recipe.

Heat a frying pan and spray with Fry Light, then place the tortilla in the pan. Place the ham and cheese on top - you only need to cover one side of the tortilla with the cheese. Fold in half and cook for a few minutes, then carefully turn over and cook on the other side.

Slice into half to serve. You can see the melted cheese oozing out here - delicious!

I'm sending this to Alphabakes, the challenge I co-host with Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker, as the letter she has chosen is Q.

As I was using up ingredients before I went on holiday this is perfect for the Kitchen Clearout challenge, hosted by Madhouse Family Reviews.

For the same reason I'm sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge, hosted by Elizabeth's Kitchen...

.. and Credit Crunch Munch, hosted by Baking Queen74, on behalf of Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla of Fab Food 4 All.

 

The theme for this month's Tea Time Treats is sandwiches, rolls and wraps. Tortillas are used more commonly as wraps but a quesadilla is basically a toasted sandwich. The challenge is hosted by Jane at the Hedgecombers and Karen at Lavender and Lovage.

Salmon with Linguine and Leek Pesto

I was looking for a springtime pasta recipe and came across this recipe for salmon with linguine and ramp pesto. I'd never heard of ramp but according to Wikipedia the allium tricoccum is known as many things, including ramp, spring onion and wild leek. I don't think it's actually the American word for spring onion though as that's scallion. I had some leeks in my fridge and decided that would be close enough and I would give it a go!

I didn't have Asiago cheese (whatever that is) but did have parmesan in my fridge, and a packet of sliced almonds that needed using up. So I decided to throw the whole lot together and make my own springtime pasta!

To serve 3-4, you need:
1 leek, sliced
2 tbsp. oil
30g grated parmesan
30g flaked almonds
handful of fresh parsley
approx. 4-6 tbsp. oil
to serve: linguine
salmon fillet

Cook the pasta according to pack instructions and cook the salmon fillet in whichever manner you prefer - pan fry, poach, oven roast or even microwave. This is really just the recipe for the pesto...

Slice the leek and add to a large pan with 2 tbsp. oil. Heat until the leeks are softened but not browned.

Transfer to a food processor along with the parmesan, almonds and parsley, and pulse for a few seconds. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until it reaches your preferred consistency.





Toss through the cooked pasta and top with the salmon. Enjoy!

This had a different flavour (obviously) to pesto I'd had before but thanks to the parmesan and nuts it was still definitely a pesto, and I really enjoyed it.

I'm sending this to Credit Crunch Munch, hosted this month by Jo's Kitchen on behalf of Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All. Parmesan isn't cheap but I'm sure a lot of people like me have half a packet hanging around to be used up, and as this recipe only used things I already had open in my fridge, hopefully it counts!

This recipe is a good way to sneak in some veg so I am sending this to the Extra Veg challenge, hosted by Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. The challenge was started by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle at Utterly Scrummy.

Leeks are in season so I am sending this to Simple and In Season, hosted by Ren Behan.

The recipe uses fresh parsley so I am sending it to Cooking with Herbs, hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage.

 

Finally I am sending this to Pasta Please, hosted by Family Friends Food on behalf of Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes as the challenge this month is for springtime pasta recipes.