Mango (or Raspberry) Cream Pastry Stack

This dessert is simpler than you think. Perfect for wowing guests or taking to a BBQ (when the sun comes out of hibernation!)


Serves 9

1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup caster sugar
25g plain flour
300ml Thickened Cream, lightly whipped
2 sheets of pre-rolled puff pastry
3 mangos, sliced. (this would also work with Raspberries - fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp pistachios, finely chopped

• Preheat oven to 210°C or 190°C fan. Line two large baking trays with baking paper.
• Heat milk on low, until just simmering. 
• Using an electric mixer, beat yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Add flour and mix to combine. 
• Pour egg and flour mixture over hot milk and mix well. 
• Transfer this to a clean saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. 
• Transfer to a bowl, cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. 
• Fold through 1/2 cup whipped cream.
• Place your pastry sheets on prepared trays. Bake for 15-20 mins, until puffed and golden. Set aside to cool completely.
• Lightly press one of the pastry squares to flatten slightly. Split the remaining pastry in half, lengthways, between the puffed layers. 
• Spread half of custard mixture along the flattened piece of pastry. Top with one third of the mango slices and a piece of pastry. (this gets messy!)
• Spread over remaining custard mixture and half the remaining mango slices. Top with remaining pastry. 
• Spread over remaining whipped cream and top with remaining mango slices and pistachios. 

Serve on it's own or with pouring cream. YUM! Looking forward to summer already!

Cheat's Carbonara - No Cream, Low Fat

I created this recipe on a day when dinner didn't work out and I had to make something from the odds and ends I had. I found some bacon in the freezer and spaghetti in the cupboard, and we always have eggs so I thought "I'll make carbonara!" then remembered you need cream, which I never have unless we have guests :( I was a little bit stuck for ideas so I decided to just 'fake' a carbonara, and this is how.

Serves 2

You need:
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 cups skim milk
1 cup cheese (this is cheat's carbonara so use what you have, Parmesan is best though)
1/2 cup chopped bacon pieces/diced bacon
250g spaghetti (or whatever pasta you have)

• Put a saucepan of water on to boil with a pinch of salt
• Once your water is boiling add your pasta
• Heat your butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat.
• When the butter is completely melted, add your flour and stir until a paste forms.
• Now slowly add your milk, a bit at a time, whisking well before adding the next part.
• Once you have added all your milk, stir in your cup of cheese. The sauce should now be nice and thick (add more milk if it is too thick).
• In a small frying pan, fry up your bacon pieces until they are crispy and stir into the cheese sauce.
• When your pasta is soft, drain it and return it to the pan. Pour over the cheese and bacon sauce and serve!

Serve with freshly ground black pepper and grated cheese.

What's your dinner back up plan?

Italian Meatballs the Nigella Way!

I have to confess, I totally stole this concept from Nigella Lawson, so credit to her for the great idea! I saw it  on the Nigelissma show and to be honest I didn't take the whole recipe just the fact that she squeezed the meat out of Italian Sausages and turned them into meatballs - YUM!

So here is my recipe for Italian style meatballs with spaghetti.

Serves 6

You need:

1 pack of Italian pork sausages (500g-600g)
2 x glug olive oil
2 cloves of garlic - crushed or sliced
1 onion, diced
3-5 fresh basil leaves
2-3 stalks thyme
3-5 fresh oregano leaves
3 400g tins diced tomato
300g mozzarella cheese (approx.)
500g dry spaghetti

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
• Prepare a large deep baking dish with a glug of olive oil
• First you need to get the meat out of the sausages, this can be a little fiddly and to be honest gross - but persevere, it's worth it! Once you have a bowl of sausage meat, roll into small balls about this size of a walnut and place in your prepared baking dish. Put in the oven to brown
• Now put your water onto boil for the spaghetti.
• Gently heat another glug of oil in a large saucepan over a low heat and add your garlic, after the garlic has softened slightly add your chopped onion and fry gently until soft. Try not to colour them too much.
• As your onions are cooking, add in your herbs, chopped into medium pieces, and stir to spread the flavour.
• Add the spaghetti to the water when it is boiled.
• Once your onions and garlic are nice and soft add your 3 cans of tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.
• By this time, your meatballs should be nicely browned. Take them out of the oven and pour your tomato sauce over them and sprinkle generously with mozzarella cheese.
• Put back in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.

Serve with spaghetti and garlic or herb bread. Molto delizioso!

The Easiest Cookies You Will Ever Make

You know when you just want a cookie, like, right now? Well this is what to make when you have that moment. Even a beginner could make these 3 ingredient flour-less cookies in 15 minutes flat!


You need:

1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c
Line a large baking tray with baking paper
Mix together your 3 ingredients well
Spoon teaspoons of mixture onto the tray and flatten with a fork
Bake for 7-10 minutes until they are golden.
Cook on baking tray until they harden slightly

Makes 20 cookies, serve with a cuppa, or two :)

Voila! A quick post for quick cookies! ENJOY!

Adapted from 4 ingredients' website

MYTH: Meringues are Too Hard

My husband loved meringue nests, as a kid, he used to buy packets of them and eat them dry! As a good wife, I decided I really should learn how to make them but was a little afraid as I had heard so many stories of them going wrong, on top of the fact that fluffy pavlovas and lemon meringue pie topping gross me out!

I looked at a number of recipe and settled with one that looked simple enough and just gave it a go!

They turned out beautiful and chewy, just the way I like them (after I put them in the oven for the second time because they were sticky!) and I made them, and even larger pavlovas a number of times over the summer - even on very hot humid days! And once, I dripped a bit of egg yolk in, fished it out, and it still worked. So basically, if I can make these work - so can you!

So here is the recipe I borrowed from the blog Being Creative.

• 3 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 175g sugar (when on health kick I reduced this to 140g and it still worked)

• Preheat your oven to 140 degrees c and line a large baking tray with baking paper
• First you need to separate your egg whites, this can be a daunting task for some, and there are many methods out there. My favourite method, though it feel a little gross, is to simply tip the egg into my clean hand and let the white run through my fingers keeping the yolk in my hand. It eliminates the risk of the shell breaking into the yolk.
• Once you have your 3 egg whites (it really is important to keep it as pure as humanly possible) pour them into a large bowl and add a pinch of salt.
• Whisk your egg using an electric mixer for 1 minute on low
• Increase to medium speed and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes until your mixture is firm and fluffy and clings to the whisk when pulled out of the bowl.
• Keeping the mixer running, add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time and whisk until the mixture is very firm and glossy.
• Either spoon free-form shapes onto the baking tray, or pipe nests using a piping bag with 1cm nozzle.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes until the shapes are pale and dry to touch. Cool in the oven.

Serve with fresh whipped cream and/ or marscapone and fresh berries.

If you are looking for a snack on a diet, try it with Greek yogurt and a any fresh fruit!

Do you have a story of something you thought you could never cook?

Microwave Potato Wedges

Ok confession. I'm an over commiter. Yesterday's over commitment was to dinner. I came home from work around 5.30 and my husband had to be out by 6.30, and his family were on Skype from Ireland so it was probably 5.45 before I even got in the kitchen... And I thought it would be a good idea to make potato wedges from scratch.  Good plan Becki! After I chopped and seasoned them I realised I should have parboiled them but it was too late. I thought for a moment then make a crazy decision to microwave them! So here is my recipe for microwave  potato wedges in 15 minutes (7 if you skip the crisping stage)

Feeds 4 as a side dish:

2 large potatoes cut into small wedge shapes
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/4 tsp ground chilli
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C
In a non-metallic dish, mix together your oil and spices.
Add your potato wedges and shake to cover well - use a basting brush to cover any bare bits!
Place your dish in the microwave and heat on high for 7 minutes or until your potato is soft enough to eat (microwave times may vary, check every 30 seconds after 5 minutes).
Take your dish out of the microwave, drizzle with a little olive oil and place in the hot oven on the top shelf.
Cook for 7-10 minutes until crispy.

Serve with sweet chili sauce and sour cream!

Quinoa Porridge: Not as gross as you think!

I can't eat oats.  I don't like to say I'm allergic, but it is quite painful when I accidentally do eat them! Anyway, that over-share to say, I miss porridge! I survived many a cold winter morn by the magic of porridge but now it's no longer an option for me. With the mornings getting colder (and the toast options getting boring-er) I decided to try quinoa porridge.

I happened to have quinoa flakes in the cupboard from when my lovely husband accidentally bought some (that was a weird salad let me tell you!) so after a bit of research , I decided I needed something to mask the grossness of the flakes and make it yummy. So here is my recipe for Not Gross Quinoa Porridge

Serves one hungry person:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup quinoa flakes
1/3 raisins/sultanas
1/2 tsp cinnamon
brown sugar to serve

In a small saucepan add all the ingredients (minus brown sugar) and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce to simmer, still stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and porridge-y.
Serve hot with a sprinkle of brown sugar.

That's it - my easy Not Gross Quinoa Porridge! Enjoy :)