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.

Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Everyone seems to pull a incredibly unimpressed face when I mention avocado mousse. They seem to imagine a green guacamole type dessert that doesn't sound particularly appetizing, but, they couldn't be more wrong. The avocado simply works as a thickening agent creating a vegan alternative to a chilled chocolate pudding or mousse. The dessert is particularly smooth in texture and the intense chocolaty flavour will deter you from ever going back to the original. The dessert is made with purely natural ingredients so with only four more days of Healthy January to go, why not hold out and give this tasty treat a go.

You will need 

2 ripe avocados 

Half cup of coconut milk 

Half cup of raw (or regular) cocoa powder

6 tbsp Honey (may need more - add to taste)

Small handful of desiccated coconut 

2 tbsp Raw Cocoa Nibs 

What to do...

First, you will need to peel, de-stone and blend the avocados. I find using the hand blender the easiest.

In a separate bowl, gently whisk the coconut milk and cocoa powder until combined. Add the avocado and honey to the mix and whisk again until incorporated. 

You can now add your desiccated coconut and cocoa nibs before piping the mixture into the glasses or dishes you plan to serve it in.

Once piped, refrigerate overnight for best results or alternatively for a minimum of four hours. I like to serve the mousse with something a little tart and fruity on top - frozen mixed berries or orange or grapefruit segments work really well.  

Mixed Berry Frozen Yoghurt

I don't know about you but I'm beginning to seriously struggle through healthy January. I'm in need of a little something sweet but am determined to steer clear of chocolate and all other unhealthy sweet things. In order to satisfy my cravings I'm making an essential tub of mixed berry frozen yoghurt that I can scoop and enjoy when I feel the urge to annihilate the contents of the biscuit tin. For this particular fro-yo, I've substituted the the sugar for honey therefore using nothing but natural sugars - the healthier, the better.

 
You will need...

200g Frozen Berries
8 tbsp Honey
Juice of half a lemon 
500g Natural Greek Yoghurt
5 tbsp any fruit liquor (Limoncello, Cointreau or Creme de Cassis work best)

What to do...

First you will need to make your berry compote. To do so, put the frozen berries, 2 tbsp of honey and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a saucepan over a medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to the boil, turn off and allow to cool.

Once the berry compote has cooled, you can make the frozen yoghurt. Empty the yoghurt into your mixing bowl, add the remaining lemon juice and honey and stir. Add the fruit liquor of your choice and stir well. The alcohol keeps the yoghurt from freezing over completely. 

Empty the mixture into the container you will be freezing the yoghurt in. Add the berry compote next and keep stirring to a minimum to create an almost rippled effect.

Pop the lid onto your container and freeze overnight. Scoop and enjoy as a delicious sweet yet healthy snack.

If you somehow manage to get fed up of eating your frozen yoghurt as a sweet treat you can add a few scoops to your blender with some orange juice and a banana for a delicious smoothie. 

Once the yoghurt is covered properly, it lasts at best for two weeks in the freezer.

Healthy Option Pancakes

After realising that you have somehow managed to eat triple your body weight in Christmas goodies, one must vow to eat healthily and possibly to restrain from indulging in any desserts or treats for the entire month of January. As you prepare to return to the office, you find yourself thinking of the boring, chocolate-free breakfasts and lunches you're going to have to prepare for the coming weeks. But, hold on, what if you could somehow manage to eat healthily without sacrificing too much flavour at all? This month, I am going to share a series of recipes for healthy alternatives to meals and treats that will leave you wondering how you ever found eating healthily that difficult at all.

First up is the 'New Year, New Me' Pancake, something that my gym-crazed brothers eat on a regular basis. I once turned my nose up at the thought of these three-ingredient-oddities, but, after working up the courage to try one, will never go back.

For one portion of these tasty pancakes, you will need...

1 medium sized ripe Banana

4 tbsp Porridge Oats

2 tbsp dessicated coconut

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 Egg

1 tbsp Raw Cocoa Nibs (optional)

What to do...

Simply break your banana in three, throw it into a cup and mash using the back of a fork. Add the egg to the cup and combine the ingredients. Stir in the cinnamon, oats, coconut and nibs and you're ready to start cooking.  

Melt a teaspoon of coconut oil in your pan over a low heat. Using a ladle, spoon your mix into the hot pan. My brothers go for one whopper pancake whereas I like to make three separate smaller ones. The mix should cook off like regular pancake batter, so, once you see that one side is done, flip them over to cook evenly.

How I like to serve them....

The banana can make these pancakes quite sweet so I like to pair them up with something a little tart. First, I stack them, then I plonk a dollop of home-made grapefruit curd on top followed by another dollop of Glenisk natural, organic, Greek-style yoghurt. I then throw on some segmented orange and top it all off with a few dried cranberries and dessicated coconut. 

Delicious.

Take my word for it.

To make these pancakes gluten-free, simply leave out the porridge oats when making your pancake batter.

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If you don't trust me and find the thought of banana and egg together totally revolting, why not try this second recipe for gluten-free pancakes. These will work out a little more expensive but they're worth it.

For one portion, you will need...

1 Egg 

2 tbsp coconut flour

4 tbsp semi skimmed milk

1 tsp maple syrup

Pinch of baking powder

What to do...

Whisk the egg, milk and syrup until combined. You can do this by hand - it only needs a little whisking,

Sift the flour and baking powder into the wet mixture and whisk again. 

Once combined, melt a teaspoon of coconut oil in your pan and spoon the mixture in allowing it to cook evenly on both sides.

Stack your pancakes up along with toppings of your choice and enjoy!

Gingerbread Cookies

Deciding which treat to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve was always a big deal in our house. My brothers insisted on a can of Guinness whereas l loved to pick the special sweet treat. We went from mince pies to Lemon drizzle cake but my favourite has to be gingerbread cookies. If you happen to have a little time on your hands this year, why not try these super easy gingerbread stars. They're delicious dipped into a mug of hot chocolate or dunked into a glass of ice cold milk. 

Ingredients

100g Light Muscavado sugar 

125g Butter (softened)

1 Egg yolk 

125ml Golden Syrup

1.5 tbsp Ground ginger 

1 tsp Mixed Spice 

1 tsp Baking powder 

375g Plain flour 

Method

1) Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/ Gas 4 and line your flat baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in the electric mixer. Once pale in colour, add the egg yolk and golden syrup and beat again. 

3) Sieve the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger into a separate bowl and combine. Add this to the wet mixture and beat again. 

4) Empty the moisture onto a lightly floured worktop and knead the dough until combined (add more flour if needs be). Roll the dough out and using cookie cutters of your choice, cut the dough and bake for approximately 10 mins until golden brown in colour. 

5) Allow the cookies to cool while you prepare the icing by combining ten tbsp of icing sugar with three tbsp of water. Pipe the icing onto the cool cookies on a pattern of your choice. To colour the icing, add a few drops of food colouring to the mix. 

Spiced Christmas Hot Chocolate

I love nothing more than curling up in front of the fire with a great big mug of hot chocolate at Christmas time. To make my hot chocolate that little bit extra special, I add a few surprises to give it a delicious festive kick. Go on, throw on that onesie and pick your favourite festive flick.

- Image via Tumblr -

For four large mugs you will need...

3 mugs of milk 

1 cup of whipping cream

6 tbsp Cadbury's drinking chocolate 

50g dark chocolate 

Half tsp nutmeg 

Half tsp of hot chilli powder 

1 cinnamon stick 

Large Marshmallows (to serve) 

To make the hot chocolate...

In a saucepan heat your milk, cream and cinnamon stick. Add the drinking chocolate and dark chocolate and stir until combined. Once at the desired temperature, add the nutmeg and chilli powder. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve with heaps of large marshmallows (not the crappy small kind!). 

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.