Let's Play Catch Up

It's been a helluva long time since I last posted so much as a picture up here - but - have no fear - I am back in action! I have had a pretty hectic past few months between travelling and beginning to work at the new place that I haven't had a second to even scribble down an idea for Yummmmyy. I have however been snapping away, making sure to take pics of everything I have made or eaten over the past few weeks.  And so, without further adieu,  here's the food camera role...

Salted Caramel Glazed Choux Buns with a Vanilla Pastry Cream Filling. Trying recipes from work at home has to be one of my utmost favourite things. I spend so much time talking about what I'm doing in the pastry kitchen that when I finally show my family and friends the real goods that I can actually also produce at home there's a real sense of achievement.

Breakfast is clearly still a huge deal for me - it's 100% my favourite meal of the day. This is home-made granola, natural Greek yoghurt, fresh fruit and home-made rhubarb, apple and ginger compote. Grandad has a seriously overgrown rhubarb patch in the garden so when he began to offer me bundles after bundles of the stuff I had to be a little more creative than good old rhubarb crumble.

  

After a pretty crazy night out in town, myself and my brother Al decided to venture to TBC, the pop-up cafe by Daniella Moyles and Yogism in the George's St, Arcade to try the famous buckwheat-flax breakfast pancakes and frozen yoghurt. Holy moly were they good! Al went for the protein pancakes with fresh berries and fro-yo and I decided to try them with pineapple, maple syrup and coconut natural yoghurt. If I lived in town you would more than likely find me perched at a coffee table there every morning - they really were that good.

I HAVE FINALLY MASTERED THE SOUFFLÉ

I was seriously proud in work one evening to find that my soufflé had risen almost half its height. According to our head chef, my soufflé won out, hands down, over our chef de partie's best! No one has been able to wipe the smile off my face since.

I live in the Happy Pear - the greatest place to eat in County Wicklow. I really don't know how it has possibly taken me so long to discover this place but I'm so unbelievably happy to have now. The food there is unbelievably good. Everything is organic and healthy. Their salads are, hands-down, the best I have ever tried. They use fruit juices and nut butters to dress which I absolutely love due to my strange fear or mayonnaise and vinegars. Myself and my pal Mai have made it our morning ritual to stop by for a bowl of the place's delicious porridge topped with fruit compote and granola after the gym. The porridge is FREE and it's a mere euro for any toppings - you'd be a fool not to try it!

After a seriously long week I snapped a quick pic of my last plate in the restaurant. Peanut parfait with peanut brittle, cardamom foam, sesame paste and Dulcey Chantilly. I was one happy chef watching the waiter take that final plate from my pass.

It was my little cousin Oisín's 6th birthday a few weeks ago so, to celebrate, I baked him a lemon sponge with lemon curd, fresh strawberries and lemon butter cream. 

Another work recipe tried at home - homemade marshmallow. We make some pretty whacky flavours to serve as petit fours. However, at home I made a batch of vanilla which were deeeeelicious in vanilla and chilli hot chocolate.

Cutting chocolate biscuit cake - one of my least favourite things to do in work. They always seem to crumble to pieces. When I was asked to make a chocolate biscuit cake for an order I was amendment to find a recipe that held and would be easy on the poor soul left with the awkward task of cutting it. My head chef suggested using condensed milk as an alternative to sugar and golden syrup which actually worked a treat. Hopefully Ireland's bakers catch on and I no longer have to piece crumbly old biscuit cake together in order to form a few slices !

Macaroons - something I had never made up until a few weeks ago. I was so surprised at how easy they are to make - it's unbelievable! 

My "healthy balls ".

I have been warned by Mam not to call them that but I couldn't resist! These raw cacao, pecan and date bites are made with all natural and healthy ingredients. They're a delicious health conscious treat that really don't taste the slightest bit healthy. Don't worry, there will be a recipe to follow.

My Dad has entered into a new fase that I like to call smoothie madness. I'm not complaining though - every morning I wake up to a delicious vitamin packed smoothie to set me up for the day. The best part is that I don't even have to wash the blender! He puts everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, into his smoothies - carrots, ginger, cinnamon, avocados, even oranges and lemons with skins and all -  the list goes on. They're surprisingly delicious nonetheless. 

Hubba hubba...

Mam arrived home yesterday with a pack of Belgian sugar waffles. I decided to be bold and topped them with Nutella, fresh raspberries, date syrup, natural Greek yoghurt and toasted pecan nuts. They were heavenly.

Mince Meat

Seens as December is upon us, I thought I'd make the mince meat for my Christmas Eve batch of mince pies. It's good to make your mince meat early to allow it to rest for a few weeks, but, if you run out of time in the lead up to Christmas - don't panic - leave it to sit for a couple of hours and it'll still taste delicious. Making it early did give me an excuse to indulge in that festive buzz without feeling too guilty about it so go on whip out your wooden spoon! 

I love my mince meat to be nutty, full of fruit and to have a real boozy kick so I have carefully chosen the following set of ingredients... 

250g Flaked Almonds

300g Raisins

400g Sultanas 

250g Currants

2 large cooking apples (grated)

Zest of one orange 

Zest of half a lemon 

Juice of half an orange 

1 250g box of shredded beef suet 

200g Dark Muscovado Sugar 

150g Demerara sugar 

1 tsp mixed spice 

1 tsp cinnamon 

200ml Brandy  

100ml Cointreau 

You can substitute and other flavoured liquore for Cointreau - disaronno works well, or, you can simply add a further 100ml of brandy. 

To make the mince meat, simply empty all of your ingredients into a large bowl and mix. Leave the bowl sitting for approx six hours - giving it a little stir each time you pass by. After the six hours have passed, fill your sterilised or dishwashed jars with the mix. 

The meat will last for upto six months at it's best.

Horaaaay For Pancake Tuesday!!!

You might call me an overgrown child, but my eyes light up at any mention of pancakes, and, Pancake Tuesday is definitely one of the highlights of my year! The tradition of Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, dates back to the beginning of the Christian festival of Lent, when, for 40 days, in the days leading up to Easter Sunday, Christains resisted eating any 'luxury' food. Christians made pancakes in order to use up any 'luxury' items and also to resist temptation throughout Lent. Pancake Tuesday is still celebrated in many countries around the world, not only by Christians. 

I'm a huge fan of pancakes of all kinds - traditional style, American style and crepes, however, on Pancake Tuesday I always stick to the traditional....

TRADITIONAL CREPE STYLE PANCAKE BATTER 

Makes approx. 12 Pancakes 

Ingredients 

300ml Milk

4oz Plain Flour (sieved)

2 Eggs

Pinch of Salt 

Image from theDailyShift.com

Method

1) Lightly whisk the eggs, salt and flour together in your mixer

2) Gradually add the milk as you mix

3) Leave the mixture to sit for at least half an hour before making the pancakes

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

5) Spoon one ladle of batter onto your heated pan cook evenly on both sides 

Image from theSkinnyDollsJourney.blogspot.com

Some of you might prefer the slightly thicker American style pancake so, just for you...

AMERICAN STYLE PANCAKE BATTER

Makes approx. 12 pancakes

Ingredients 

260ml Milk

270g Plain Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

4 tbsp Butter (melted) 

2 Large Eggs

4 tbsp Caster Sugar

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) Flip until both sides are evenly cooked

To name a few of my favourite toppings....

> Nutella and Strawberries 

> Maple Syrup and Pecan Nuts 

> Nutella and Coconut

> Nutella and Icecream 

> Fresh Orange Juice and Sugar

> Ice cream and Baileys 

Cupcake Minis

So I turned 21 this week which came as a bit of a shock to the system with officially being an adult and all that, but, I wasn't making the transition without one final almost tea party! Besides, what's a party without lots of cake? Along with my Chocolate Tower Cake, I decided to make a few batches of cupcake minis in a selection of different flavours for my party.  I went with a batch of vanilla, a batch of chocolate and a batch of lemon drizzle. The cake and buttercream recipes are both extremely easy to follow and I'd definitely recommend giving them a go. Just so you know, each recipe starts out the exact same and the flavours are added nearer to the end.

Ingredients

FOR ONE BATCH OF TWELVE

225g Butter

225g Caster Sugar

4 large Eggs

225g Self Raising Flour (sieved)

Rind of one lemon OR 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder OR 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

Method

FOR ONE BATCH OF TWELVE

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/ 360F/ Gas Mark 4

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until nice and fluffy

3) While the butter and sugar are mixing, line your small cupcake tray with mini cupcake cases

4) Add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time, and continue to beat

5) When combined, add the sieved flour, one spoon at a time, and mix until light and fluffy

6) Add in the flavouring of your choice (the cocoa powder, lemon rind or vanilla extract) and mix again

7) Spoon roughly a tsp of the mixture into each muffin case and bake in the oven for 10 -15 mins (check the cupcakes after 10 mins and leave in if not yet golden brown in colour) 

8) Leave the cupcakes to cool fully on a wire wrack before icing - while you're waiting you can get cracking on the buttercream...

Ingredients 

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM

50g Butter (softened)

100g Icing Sugar

I tsp Lemon Juice OR 1 tsp Vanilla Extract OR 50g Melted Chocolate and 1 tbsp Cocoa Powder

2 tbsp Boiling Water

Method

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM

1) Cream the butter and icing sugar together in your electric mixer until light and fluffy (the lighter the better)

2) Add in either the lemon juice OR the vanilla extract OR the cocoa powder (if you are making the chocolate cupcake minis, add the cocoa powder first and when combined add in the melted chocolate, one spoon at a time)

3) Continue to beat and add the boiling water, again, one tbsp at a time

4) Beat for a further few minutes and you're ready to decorate

 You can then decorate the cupcakes however you wish. I piped the icing using different techniques on each of the different styles and used "Princess sprinkles" which I bought in Lidl. 

Spread the Love with a Red Velvet Cake

Why not spread the love this Valentine's Day by baking something sweet for that special someone? This Red Velvet Cake is the perfect for the occasion. I've been fascinated by Red Velvet and have been meaning to try a Red Velvet Cake for a while, so when I was considering recipes for Valentine's Day this cake really did seem like the perfect cake to bake. The deep brownish-red colour of the cake comes from the chemical reaction of the anthocyanins in the cocoa powder with an acid which in this case is the buttermilk and to add to the effect red food colouring is also used. 

Ingredients 

FOR THE CAKE 

225g Butter (softened) 

4 tbsp Water 

55g Cocoa Powder

3 Eggs (lightly beaten) 

250ml Buttermilk 

2 tsp Vanilla Extract 

2 tbsp Red Food Colouring

280g Plain Flour

55g Cornflour

1.5 tsp Baking Powder 

280g Caster Sugar 

FOR THE FROSTING 

90g Butter

20g Cream Cheese

200g Icing Sugar 

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

FOR THE CAKE

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and grease your two 8inch round or your two heart shaped cake tins with oil and line with greaseproof paper

2) Melt the butter along with the water and cocoa powder in a saucepan until fully melted and smooth, then take off the heat

3) In your mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract and red colouring until frothy

4) Then quickly and evenly stir in the flour, cornflour and baking powder, followed by the caster sugar 

5) Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for approximately 25-30 mins, until the mixture has risen and is firm to te touch 

FOR THE FROSTING 

1) Cream the butter and cream cheese together, followed by it and the and icing sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy

2) Add in the vanilla extract and beat again until smooth 

3) Using your pallet knife spread the frosting between the two layers and completely over the rest of the cake 

4) Decorate the cake however you wish - I used pink confetti hearts seens as it's Valentine's Day.

If you'd rather individual red velvet cupcakes instead of one large cake, simply half the mixture for 12 cupcakes, and, spoon 1-2 spoonfuls of the mixture into each bun case. Bake the cupcakes for approx 15 minutes until they are risen and from to the touch.

If you happen to have a heart shaped muffin mold, go ahead and use it, but if not, have no fear, there's a solution. Simply place a marble into each slot in your cake tin along with the bun case as demonstrated in the picture above. 

And again, decorate the cupcakes as you wish with the frosting and any other little hearts and bits n bobs to make them all the more special. 

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