Peach Melba Cheesecake for a summer party

 

 

Cheesecake seems to be my default dessert in the summer as it's light and creamy, and you can add all sorts of flavours - my husband prefers chocolate desserts but I don't want to cook with chocolate that much when the weather is hot!

Last weekend we went to his aunt and uncle's house for a family party and I was asked if I could make a dessert. Cheesecake is usually popular and easy to make, so I chose a peach melba cheesecake recipe from a book called Cheesecake by Hannah Miles.

I was buying the ingredients several days in advance and have found fresh raspberries go mouldy very quickly before, so decided to use tinned; I also had tinned peaches in the cupboard so decided to use those instead of fresh. Finally I decided not to make the glaze to go on top - so here's what I did.

for the base
300g malted milk biscuits
150g butter, melted
300g tin of raspberries in syrup, drained - reserve a few for the decoration

for the filling
4 sheets leaf gelatine
410g tin of peach slices in juice or syrup, drained
100g caster sugar
200g cream cheese
250g ricotta
150ml double cream

for the topping
half a 410g tin of peach slices in juice or syrup, drained
a few raspberries to decorate

I didn't make the glaze to go on the top partly due to lack of time but partly as I didn't think I fancied it - it looked like a thin layer of jelly essentially. If you want to find out how to do that part have a look at the book.

Crush the biscuits in a blender in a few batches.

Melt the butter in a small pan or in a microwave-proof bowl in the microwave and stir in the biscuits.

Press into the bottom of a loose-bottomed cake or tart tin, pressing some of the biscuit up the sides to form a crust. Spread the raspberries over the biscuit base.

Soften the gelatine leaves in a bowl of water for 5 minutes or according to pack instructions.

Meanwhile puree the peaches in a food processor and set aside.

Mix the sugar, cream cheese and ricotta in a large bowl until creamy.

Heat the cream in a small pan until it is just warm. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and stir into the cream, mixing until all the gelatine has dissolved. Whisk into the cheese mixture in the bowl and then fold in the peach puree.

Pour onto the prepared base and leave overnight in the fridge to set.

Just before you want to serve, decorate the top of the cheesecake with the peach slices and reserved raspberries.

This cheesecake was really light and creamy, with a nice flavour from the peaches and a burst of raspberry on the base. It disappeared quite quickly at our family lunch!

I'm sending this to Baking Crumbs hosted by Only Crumbs Remain
 and  CookBlogShare hosted by Glutarama

Homemade Iced Hazelnut / Caramel Latte

It's well known that during pregnancy some women develop cravings and others gain an aversion to foods they previously liked. I didn't really experience either so it was quite a surprise when I developed a post-natal taste for coffee.

I've never been a coffee drinker, unless you count a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato with extra cream, which to me never tasted much like regular coffee as it was so sweet and deliciously caramel-y.. I did occasionally self-medicate with a coffee when I felt extremely tired but it wasn't something I particularly enjoyed drinking. But since having baby S five months ago, I've sometimes found myself swapping my breakfast cup of tea for a coffee, and I've recently gotten an expensive habit of ordering the 250ml bottles of Starbucks Coffee Frappucino in caramel flavour from Tesco when I get my groceries delivered, which at £1.80 a pop soon adds up.

It must be possible to make something similar myself, I thought... a little bit of experimentation later and I've found the perfect iced latte drink to enjoy during the hot summer weather. I made it with hazelnut flavour as that's what I already had in the house, but it would be amazing with caramel, vanilla or any other flavour you want to try.

You need:
ice cubes
coffee - instant works perfectly and makes this super quick to make
Monin hazelnut syrup for coffee (or any other flavour) - see below
cold milk



Make a strong cup of coffee using two teaspoons of instant coffee.

Fill whatever drinking vessel you want to use - I used a cute little jam jar style glass with a straw that I got from Tiger - half full with ice cubes.

Pour over the hot coffee so the glass is half full - the ice cubes will start to melt but this actually makes the coffee the exact right temperature, once you add the milk. Add your flavoured syrup and then top up the glass with milk. Stir and enjoy!

Tuna Ice Lollies for Cats

Animals have been suffering in the heatwave we've had recently - I've seen several reminders on Facebook not to walk dogs during the hottest part of the day. My cat spent several days moving from one spot in the living room to another, seeking out the coolest bit of floor, so when I saw this idea on the internet (on Facebook again actually) I decided to give it a go.

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Tuna ice lollies for cats - whatever will they think of next?! To make these, you simply mix the liquid from a tin of tuna in spring water (rather than brine which is too salty), with a little tap water, and freeze them in ice lolly makers.

To get the lollies out, stand the mould in a bowl of boiling water for a few seconds.

Unfortunately my cat didn't seem particularly interested but I have seen videos on the internet of cats licking these so apparently they do work at least with some animals!

Summer Watermelon Spritz

You can find frozen diced fruit in most supermarkets for making smoothies but I found something I'd not come across before recently - Tesco has frozen watermelon balls in beautiful little spheres which are good for so much more than throwing in a blender!

I made this drink which took just moments but tasted delicious. It's a glass of lemonade straight from the fridge with frozen watermelon balls instead of ice cubes and some fresh mint. If you like tonic water you can try that and I bet it would be nice with a splash of something alcoholic!

I muddled the fruit around in the glass as it softened and ate it at the end using a milkshake straw - a straw that has a little spoon on the end. It was just the thing for this hot weather we've been having!

I'm sharing this with CookBlogShare hosted this week by Lost in Food.

5 Easy Lunchbox Salads you can take to work for lunch

I've been eating a lot of salads lately, and taking one in to work every day for my lunch. It's cheaper than going out and buying one every day and this way I can put exactly what I want into it. Sometimes I get into a bit of a rut eating the same salads every day and end up looking around the internet for inspiration so I thought I'd share my current top five.

Please excuse the simple presentation - this is literally how I take the salads into work for lunch!
First up is really easy - any types of lettuce that you like, topped with feta cheese and chunks of fresh watermelon. A light vinaigrette dressing goes well with this. I usually eat this salad with a packet of ready cooked chicken pieces for protein and to make it more filling.

This salad is my latest addiction: pear, blue cheese and walnut. Again you can use any type of lettuce as a base, and if you like things like cucumber add it in (I don't). I used gorgonzola - I was going to use Roquefort but couldn't get any, but this worked really well. Top with peeled and sliced pear and a handful of walnuts. This goes well with a blue cheese dressing.

 

A different type of cheese for this salad: goat's cheese with bacon lardons (you need to cook the lardons first then let them go cold before adding to the salad). Use on a bed of your favourite lettuce. This goes well with a wine vinegar and Dijon mustard dressing.

 

 

 

This one takes a little longer to make but is good if you want something more substantial for lunch or to take on a picnic. Cook some pasta and drain; while it's still warm, toss through some green pesto from a jar, add some crayfish or prawns (I used crayfish here) and some pine nuts. You can serve this hot or cold.

Finally a bulgur wheat-based salad. This one does take a bit of preparation but you can make a larger quantity in one go. Put the bulgur wheat in a bowl and cover with water; leave for 15 minutes and then drain. Bring a pan of water to the boil - you need roughly three cups water to one cup bulgur wheat. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes and drain off any excess water.

I used cubes of roasted butternut squash in this salad; sweet potato works really well. If you don't have time to cook, you can buy tubs of roasted sweet potato, butternut squash and carrot to add to salads from Tesco. I've also added feta cheese and some fresh parsley.

 

 

I've certainly got no excuse to have the same thing every day for lunch now!

Summer Soft Drinks: Apple Ice Tea and Orange & Lemon Barley Water

 

 

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You replied on 17/08/2016 06:17.

It's nice to have soft drinks in the summer that are a bit different - especially if you're having a barbecue and don't just want to serve lemonade, water or squash.

I've made two drinks over the last couple of weeks that are delicious and really nice in hot weather - I made up a big jug and served it over ice.

The first one I made was a very simple ice tea using an instant mix from Whittards and the second was orange and lemon barley water, from a recipe in Tesco magazine (see below).

 

 My favourite instant tea from Whittards was peach flavour but they don't seem to make it any more. This time I tried Turkish Apple flavour - I made it up with a little boiling water to dissolve the granules then topped up the jug with cold water and waited for it to cool. I added some sprigs of fresh mint from my garden and some apple slices - a few added extras like this make drinks look even more appealing at summer parties.

I came across the recipe for orange and lemon barley water and realised I'd had no idea you actually use pearl barley to make it.

 

 

 

 

 

To make a large jug, you need:

75g pearl barley

1 lemon and 1 orange, zested and juiced, plus extra slices to serve

3 tbsp. runny honey

 

Soak the pearl barley in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain, then simmer in 1.5 litres of water for 20 minutes.

 

Remove from the heat and add the orange and lemon zest. Allow to steep for 20 minutes.

 

 

 

Strain the liquid to remove the zest and barley and allow to cool. Stir in the orange and lemon juice and the honey and garnish with extra slices of orange and lemon.

 

This is a lovely refreshing drink that tastes as good as, if not better than, the shop bought stuff but with nothing artificial!

 

 

Homemade Peach Sherbert Ice Cream

Posted  on Caroline Makes.Net

After a very successful first use of my Kitchenaid ice cream maker with this triple chocolate ice cream, I decided to have another go and make something completely different. I had a punnet of peaches that I thought would work well in ice cream, and found a recipe in my Kitchenaid recipe book for 'minted mango sherbert'. It's called sherbert because it's not quite sorbet but not quite ice cream I think. I replaced the mango with peach and left out the chopped mint and the result was really good.

You need:
230g caster sugar
700ml whole milk
60ml cane sugar syrup - I used corn syrup which I bought in the US (I brought some back with me as I kept finding recipes that called for it) and it is referred to by this name elsewhere in the recipe so I think it's the right thing to use. A UK equivalent is usually golden syrup but I'm not sure how it would change this recipe!
punnet of fresh peaches, peeled, stone removed and diced
2 tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice

In a medium saucepan heat the milk, sugar and corn syrup until very hot but not boiling, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Put the peaches and lime or lemon juice in a food processor and blend until smooth. Carefully stir in to the milk mixture then cover and chill for at least 8 hours.

Following the instructions I'd kept the bowl of my ice cream maker in the freezer overnight. Attach it to the kitchenaid and pour in the milk mixture while the mixer is on the slowest speed. Leave it stirring for 10-12 mins. I found the chocolate ice cream I made was lovely at this soft scoop consistency but this peach ice cream was a little runny; it's better served from the freezer and will keep in an airtight container.

 

I decided to serve this in cocktail glasses with a sprig of mint when I had friends over for a barbecue.

 

 

I'm sharing this with Bloggers Scream for Ice Cream, hosted by Kavey Eats, as the theme this month is fresh fruit.

Peaches and Cream Summer Sandcastle Cake

Copyright Caroline Makes dot Net

I bought a sandcastle cake mould from Lakeland two years ago and only used it once, when I made this pineapple and coconut sandcastle cake. The uncomfortably but beautifully hot weather we've had for the past week or so inspired me to dig it out again and to come up with another summery flavour for the cake. I decided not to decorate it as a lot of fondant or buttercream is not always a great idea in hot weather, and I wanted the natural colour of the cake to reflect the colour of the sandcastle.

I wanted the cake to be light and moist so decided to make it peaches and cream flavour. I used tinned peaches as I had some in the fridge to use up, and it meant I could use the peach juice from the can as well, but if you want to use fresh peaches I'd use three or four peeled and chopped, and for the liquid element, perhaps the Granini Peach Drink that's made using peach puree (available in Tesco and Waitrose) or peach-flavoured squash, made up quite strong.

Peaches and Cream Cake - an original recipe by Caroline Makes, for Caroline Makes.Net

You need:

Cake Release spray for greasing the mould

200g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

4 eggs

1 cup peach juice or squash

about 200g peaches, either tinned or fresh, peeled and sliced if necessary

275g self raising flour

 

 

I used the Lakeland sandcastle silicone mould for this cake, which doesn't seem to be available on their site any more - if you want to purchase one, keep an eye on Ebay, or you can use any shaped cake tin or mould.

Preheat the oven to 150C. Spray the sandcastle mould with Cake Release or similar.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer then mix in the eggs.

Add the peach juice and mix again. Finally add the sliced peaches and the flour and gently fold in.

 Stand the sandcastle mould in a large roasting tin and pour the cake mixture into the mould. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

Allow to cool in the mould and then turn out onto a cooling rack.

 This was a beautifully light and moist cake; so moist in fact it started to break as I took it out of the mould before it was completely cooled, which will teach me to be more patient next time!

 

I'm sending this to Love Cake, hosted by Ness at JibberJabberUK; her theme is garden party and this cake would make a great centrepiece.

 

I'm also sharing this with the Food Calendar linky on Charlotte's Lively Kitchen as it's summer holiday season!

 

Beach Fun Birthday Card

I love outline stickers when it comes to sentiments but they can be hard to use when it comes to actual shapes and pictures. Do you stick them directly onto the card? Or some kind of cardboard backing? And they are often gold, which isn’t a colour I usually use on greetings cards – other than Christmas cards.

 

I once bought a plastic folder for keeping outline stickers in, that came with 20 sets of stickers already. So there are a few sheets I’ve never found all that much use for, including one of beach images. I think this would be quite useful in scrapbooking to make a holiday page but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a beach holiday!

 

Instead, I decided to use them on a birthday card for a friend who has her birthday in August. I wanted to use yellow card to go with the gold stickers but thought they would get a bit lost on a card that was completely yellow, so instead I chose a piece of backing paper with fine coloured dots, as it made me think a little bit of sand. I used that to cover a standard card blank, and mounted a rectangle of yellow card with lacy edges (I think this is a Tattered Lace die cut, which I bought from Ebay) onto that.

 

As well as some beach images like a sandcastle, deckchair, beach ball and shells, I added the words ‘summer fun’ and ‘sun’ as I thought that was related to birthdays as well as holidays. I also put a wave sticker along the bottom of the card but it doesn’t particularly stand out and I think it may have been better without.

 

To make it clear this was a birthday card I used a little banner die-cut from another pack saying ‘on your birthday’ at the top.

How to have a Vegan Barbecue

A few years ago a friend went to a summer event at the company he worked for at the time where a manager announced the barbecue was ready, allegedly saying: "There are burgers in bread rolls, sausages in bread rolls, and for the vegetarians: bread rolls." I'm sure he was joking but when I invited a vegan friend to a barbecue at my house recently I did have a moment of "aargh, what can I cook?".

So I thought I'd share with you some top tips for hosting a vegan barbecue - vegetarian recipes often seem to include halloumi as it barbecues really well, but that's not much good for vegans.

Firstly, burgers and sausages. Some vegans don't like the texture of meat but for those who do, it's not fair for them to miss out. There are loads of veggie burgers and bangers (sausages) available, but not all of them are vegan.

First of all Quorn - my go-to veggie choice which is great for meat-eaters too as it's low in fat - is not actually vegan as it contains meat. Some other brands of burgers and sausages that are suitable for vegetarians  - and sometimes different products within the same brand can be vegan or not. I'm afraid you're just going to have to read the labels (luckily this info is also provided if you shop online). STOP PRESS I learned recently that Quorn are launching a vegan range later this year which is great news!

Look out for Fry's in Waitrose (all Fry's products are vegan), Grassington's and Goodlife and one that is particularly easy to get hold of is Linda McCartney. But be careful - the sausages are vegan but burgers are not. For my recent barbecue I bought Linda McCartney vegetarian sausages (pack of 6, chilled) and mushroom and spinach burgers (frozen pack of 2) which my friend said were particularly good. Don't forget to either cook these first and put in a low oven wrapped in foil to keep warm or have a separate side of your barbecue for vegetarian/vegan food.

Home-made kebabs are good at barbecues as you can thread whatever you want onto skewers (soak wooden skewers first to stop them from burning). For vegans, you can use any veg that you can cut into chunky pieces, eg courgette, button mushrooms, red, yellow or green pepper, red onions or pieces of new potato. To give my kebabs extra flavour I dipped each veg piece into a little bowl of oil mixed with paprika; this ensures the kebabs get an even coating of oil and don't stick on your grill.

Side dishes: I love potato salad at barbecues and you can easily make it without salad cream or mayonnaise. I mixed oil with Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar to drizzle over some new potatoes which were delicious.

It's nice to have a few dips you can serve with fresh crusty bread; guacamole is made from avocado and works for vegans, and I previously made a white bean dip from a Slimming World recipe which you can spread on bruschetta.

Most barbecues seem to involve a big bowl of pasta salad as it can be made in advance at fairly low cost. Again it's easy to make one that is vegan.

Similar ideas are couscous salad with roasted veg chunks. And of course a big bowl of green salad (just don't add parmesan).

You can also grill lettuce - little gem works best - or artichoke hearts.

Whole flat mushrooms can be grilled and eaten in place of a burger. Grilled corn on the cob are great for barbecues too, as are jacket potatoes and sweet potatoes.

And don't forget dessert! Most fruit barbecues really well - everything from bananas with plain chocolate (if it doesn't contain milk solids it should be vegan, some brands are and some aren't), to grilled peaches or even fruit kebabs. And I have plenty of recipes on my site for vegan cakes and other desserts including cheesecake and pavlova so have a look around my blog!



 

Watermelon Smoothie Mixer Hack (and a cocktail)

I saw this on Facebook recently - someone had a brilliant trick with a whole watermelon (I don't know why these things are always called 'hacks') which enables you to turn the fruit into a refreshing drink in less than a minute - without needing to peel and cut it up and put it in a blender.

On Saturday I went to a barbecue at the home of Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker, who is a good friend of mine. She'd seen this Facebook clip as well and had tried it out, with perfect results! She had more than one watermelon so demonstrated again to a rapt audience, and allowed me to film it and put it on my blog.

All you need is a whole watermelon - putting it in a bowl to keep it steady like Ros does here is a good idea. Use a sharp knife to cut a square out of the top of the watermelon, large enough for the paddle beaters of a hand mixer. You can take one of the beaters out and just use one if you like.

Stick the mixer into the watermelon, and turn it on! Ros said you can tell when you've mixed it enough - then all you do is turn it upside down and pour out the watermelon juice!

It's brilliant and a real party trick. The juice tasted lovely, though was quite thick, so I mixed mine with lemonade and added a shot of vodka for a very refreshing cocktail.

Summer Fun Birthday Card

When I was card making last Saturday I took inspiration from some of the crafting blog challenges that I'd come across. One of them had the theme of flip flops and I knew I had a pack of beach-themed stickers somewhere so decided to hunt them out.

I used a yellow card blank to represent the beach, and began by sticking on the felt stickers that I had left in the pack - a bikini, pair of flip flops, beach umbrella and a bucket and spade. I wanted the wording to be similarly bright and bold and found I had the right letters left in a packet (where I had already used some up) to spell the word 'fun'. As the letters were quite large there wouldn't have been room to write a much longer word anyway!

The card was still lacking something - lacking a lot actually as it looked like a plain card with some stickers added randomly - which is pretty much what I had done! I found a mini rubber stamp with a sun and dotted that all over the card. It still needed something to bring all the elements together and I found I had a few pieces of a coloured border sticker left in a couple of different patterns so I added that around the edges of the card. I was much more pleased with the final result!

I'm sending this to the Fairytale Challenge which has a flip flops theme this week.