The Ultimate Guacamole

I absolutely love Mexican food and, nachos with chicken, guacamole, jalapeños and melted cheddar is one of my all time favourite dishes. To make this dish you need to the ultimate guacamole, so simply follow the recipe below. The guacamole can also be used as an alternative to hummus in which you can dip peppers, carrots, crisps and crackers - super healthy and delicious. 

Ingredients

2 large Avocados 

Half clove of Garlic

3 tbsp of Creme Fraiche or Natural Yogurt

Half tsp of grated Parmesan 

Pinch of Sea Salt

Pinch of Cracked Black Pepper 

Method

1) Peel the Avocados, slice across the middle, remove stones and chop into cubes

2) Peel and chop the garlic finely 

3) Add the salt, pepper and parmasan and blend using a hand blender 

4) When smooth, add the natural yogurt/ Creme Fraiche and blend again 

5) Spoon into ramkins and sprinkle with some cracked black pepper to serve.

American Style Blueberry Pancakes

Fancy making something different for the family for breakfast this Sunday morning? Why not try these deeeeelicious American Style Blueberry Pancakes? I decided to try them last Sunday morning and I have to say they were a massive hit in the Murphy house. The blueberries cook into the pancake batter, which leaves them tasting similar to those in blueberry muffins. They are pretty heavy, so, my advice is to make them pretty small in size and to serve them in stacks of three with chopped banana and maple syrup drizzled over the top.

Ingredients

260ml Milk

270g Plain Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

4 tbsp Butter (melted) 

2 Large Eggs

4 tbsp Caster Sugar

Blueberries

Method

1) Whisk your milk, eggs and melted butter together in a bowl / jug

2) Sieve your flour and baking powder into another bowl, mix and then combine the wet with the dry using a handheld mixer 

3) Put your pan on the ring and melt one tsp of butter and a few drops of oil

4) Spoon one ladle of the mix into the pan and using your spatula, shape the mix into a round shape

5) Stick 5-7 blueberries onto the top on the pancake and flip until both sides are evenly cooked

6) Dust with icing sugar and serve with maple syrup

New Year, New You

Almost everyone begins a new year with great intentions of eating healthy and exercising more, so I'm starting 2014 with a series of pictures to motivate my followers to try out some sort of new and healthy lifestyle. After all, not all Yummmmyy food is bad for you.... 

Eat Well

Get Out & Do Something

Treat Yourself

Quote Images from theBERRY

2013 - What a Year!

I know I'm a few days late, but, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy New Year. I hope it's a fab year for each and every one if you. I myself have great intentions for 2014 which, if go to plan, I'll be blogging about in future. But, for the moment, let's do a quick re-run through Yummmmyy's 2013.

2013 really has been such a brilliant year with so much happening with Yummmmyy. I've learned an awful lot in a year and, I really like to think that my bakes have improved by miles. I'm now baking cakes and other bakes to order - something I would have only dreamed of at the beginning of 2013.

Lets return to February 2013 when I was awarded the Liebster Award for best up and coming blog of the month. I couldn't believe it when I opened the email informing me that my blog had been given such an award. I was actually a little bit skeptical as I'd only been blogging for a few months at that stage and I thought of Yummmmyy as more of a private baking diary that no one really paid any attention to. Little did I know, Yummmmyy was actually reaching many other bloggers and followers in all corners of the world! Winning the Leibster Award really gave me that boost of confidence I needed to keep blogging and to believe in myself as a blogger.

In March 2013 another achievement made me realise that I really did have a group of followers who appreciated what I was doing. I was approached by an Irish company called Ads on Bags, who asked if they could feature some of my recipes on the surfaces of their biodegradable supermarket bags. Once again, I found myself second guessing the offer and asking myself why this company would choose my recipes to feature on their bags. How and ever, I agreed to submit a recipe for publishing once every month which turned out to be such a good opportunity.

With the Summer came more exciting opportunities, the first being my invitation to the launch of Kenco Millicano's new travel mug designed by Orla Kiely. I was so excited at the thoughts of mingling with other Irish foodies at the launch when I received the invitation.... Aaaand, would you believe, myself and my boyfriend Dave were pictured at the launch in the Irish Tatler!!! 

Also during the Summer, I was a recipient of a fabulous  cooler box full of Philadelphia products to try, which I had been sent courtesy of Kraft Foods - I felt so important being asked to test a new product. Like I said, SO much has happened in one year! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

WELCOME 2014

Chocolate Orange Triple Layer Cake

I baked this chocolate orange triple layer cake for a friend who loves chocolate but isn't a huge fan of traditional fruit cake this Christmas. The more I look at it though, I think that it would be a perfect celebration cake to serve at any party on New Years Eve. There are a couple of different elements involved in making this cake - the orange and chocolate marble sponge, the chocolate orange buttercream & the dark chocolate orange ganache - but, it's still not overly difficult to make and believe me it's well worth the effort.

Ingredients

FOR THE MARBLE SPONGE...

225g Butter

225g Plain Flour (sieved)

4 Eggs

2 tbsp Cocoa powder
Rind of 1 large Orange

Method 

FOR THE MARBLE SPONGE...

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F / Gas Mark 4, grease a 6" round baking tin with melted butter and line with greaseproof paper

2) Cream your butter and sugar together in your mixer

3) When the mixture is of a creamy consistency, add in the eggs, one by one as you continue to mix

4) Add the sieved flour to the mixing bowl, one spoonful at a time and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy 

5) Split the mixture in half and to one half add the orange rind and to the other add the cocoa powder 

6) Pour some of the dark mixture into your lined tin, then some of the white mixture and repeat until all batter is in the tin 

7) Using a metal spoon, draw "S" shapes into the batter to create a marble effect
8) Bake in the oven for approx 40 mins and when done leave to cool on a wire tray over night 

You can make your Ganache and Buttercream while the cake is cooling, but don't assemble until the cake is fully cool.

Ingredients
FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM...
200g Icing Sugar
100g Butter (softened)
50g Dark Chocolate (melted)
1-2 tbsp Boiling Water

Method
FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM...
1) Using your electric mixer, cream the butter and icing sugar until the mixture is really light and creamy
2) Add the melted chocolate to the mixture, one spoonful at a time and mix until all is combined
3) Then add one tbsp of boiling water and mix on a high speed to make the buttercream that little bit lighter and more fluffy.
4) Leave the buttercream to one side while you make the ganache

Ingredients 
FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE & ORANGE GANACHE...
280g Dark chocolate
130g Whipping cream
2 tbsp Butter
2sp Cointreau

Method 
FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE GANACHE...
1) Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a pot with the butter
2) When melted and combined, add in the cream and continue to stir
3) When combined again, add in the Cointreau and combine



To assemble (when the cake is fully cool)

1) Split the cake in three using a sharp bread knife
2)  Place the bottom layer on a cake board or plate and spread a layer of buttercream over it using a pallet knife
3) Place the next layer of sponge on top and spread a layer of ganache followed by a think layer of buttercream
4) Place the final sponge on top and cover the sides of the cake with the chocolate buttercream
5) Then spread the remaining ganache over the top of the cake in a thick layer and finally, using a piping bag, pipe the remaining buttercream around the bottom and top edges of the cake

I used Dr. Oetker chocolate stars and gold shimmer food spray which I won through an online competition this month to decorate the cake. I'm delighted I tried them as I really loved the effect and will definitely be using them in future! 

Cheats Crumbly Mince Pies

Looking to make your own mince pies this year but haven't had a chance to prepare your own mince meat? Don't worry! Just follow this extremely simple recipe. Although I did, you don't even have to make your own pastry - this could be a super east 5 minute job! 

I didn't get a chance to bake my own mince pies last year so I promised myself I'd definitely get around to giving them a go this Christmas. I cheated a little as I didn't make my own mince from scratch, I just added to a shop bought jar or two... Sssshhhhh.... I did make my own pastry and crumble however so I you could say I didn't reaaaally cheat hehe... 

Ingredients

FOR THE FILLING...

1 jar of shop bought mince meat

1 small handful of flaked almonds 

1 handful of raisins 

1 handful of sultanas 

1 cup of Brandy

FOR THE PASTRY 

7oz Plain flour 

4oz Margarine 

2 tbsp Icing sugar 

3-4 tbsps Cold Water 

FOR THE CRUMBLE 

2 Handfuls of Plain flour 

1 Handful of Brown sugar 

1 Cup of Butter 

2 pinches of Cinnamon or nutmeg 

Method 

You will have to prepare both the mince meat and pastry the night before...

THE NIGHT BEFORE...

1) Empty the two jars of mince meat into a bowl along with the almonds, raisins, sultanas and whiskey and stir 

2) Cover and leave overnight if possible.  

3) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, icing sugar and margarine using your fingers, until the mixture I of a breadcrumb consistency 

4) Then add in the water and again mix using your hands (be careful not to over handle the pastry)

5) When the pastry is sturdy enough, empty it onto a surface that had been sprinkled with flour and pat lightly into a rectangular shape 

6) Then wrap the pastry in greaseproof paper, place on a plate and refrigerate overnight

TO ASSEMBLE THE FOLLOWING DAY...

1) Preheat your oven to 220C and grease your tray with melted butter

2) Take your pastry from the fridge and roll out 

3) Cur your pastry using a pastry cutter and place into each slot in your tray

4) Put one to two spoons of mince into each depending on how full you like your pies

5) Sprinkle some of the crumble on top 

6) Bake in the oven at 220C for 10mins and then for a further 15 mins at 180C until golden brown 

6) Leave to cool partially on a wire tray and serve warm with fresh cream or my favourite brandy cream :) 

If you'd rather ordinary mince pies to the crumbly version simply brush egg wash around the pastry on the bottom, cut out a pastry lid and press the two together . You can egg wash the top and they take the same amount of time to bake. 

Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with cream.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

  

Candied Almonds

My brother Niall has a bit of an obsession... He absolutely LOVES almonds. He eats them day in, day out and mam can buy anything between two and five packs on a weekly basis for him. I suppose they are a good source of healthy oils and nutrients, but, he's been trying out a few not-so-healthy recipes lately, one of which is these absolutely deeeelicious salted caramelized roasted nuts which really are a must try. 

When Niall mentioned that he was planning on making these scrumptious treats I insisted on documenting his every move for Yummmmyy. I seriously couldn't wait to try them.

The aromas that filled the kitchen as he made the caramelized nuts, instantly brought me back to the streets of New York. The smell was almost identical to that of the freshly candied nuts sold by vendors on almost every street corner in the city. I did try the candied nuts while in New York, one evening on my way to the Museum of Modern Art, so I had great expectations and lucky Niallo had a lot to live up to! 

You Will Need...

2 Cups of Nuts of your choice (We used a mix of almonds and peanuts)

1 and a half cups of Brown Sugar

Half cup of Honey or Golden Syrup

2 tbsp Salt

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 5 and line a flat baking tray with greaseproof paper

2) Put all the nuts and the half cup of sugar into a pot, cover in hot water and bring to the boil

3) When boiled, drain the water and leave the nuts in the pot

4) Add the honey and half the remaining sugar and stir

5) Pour the nuts onto the baking tray and sprinkle with the remaining sugar and the salt

6) Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the nuts are golden brown

7) Leave to cool and enjoy