Boysenberry and Apple Strudel

Tomorrow night we have decided to only have desserts for dinner because we can. As this isn't 'best practise' when it comes to parenting, I was trying to think of a recipe that might contain fruit and protein, that might be 'almost healthy'. Then the word 'strudel' popped into my mind. No, it is not healthy, but it is good, and if you're only going to eat desserts then why not have your favourites. It does contain fruit and ricotta cheese which is healthy, just ignore the sugar and butter parts of the recipe. If you want a truly healthy dessert, try freezing banana and strawberry bite size pieces. Blend these with a little yoghurt/milk until it reaches ice-cream consistency. The end result is sugar free ice cream which can be lactose free if you use soy milk or yoghurt.

Anyway, back to the strudel...

75g butter
90ml light muscovado sugar
3 egg yolks
1 lemon, grated rind only
¼ tsp nutmeg, grated
250g ricotta cheese
8 large sheets filo pastry
200g boysenberries
2 apples, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp sliced almonds
icing sugar, for dusting
To serve créme fraîche


Preheat the oven to 190C. Soften 15g of the butter. Place it in a bowl and beat in the sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon rind, nutmeg and ricotta. Set aside. Melt the remaining butter in a small pan. Working quickly, place a sheet of filo on a piece of greaseproof and brush generously with the melted butter. Put a second sheet on top and repeat the process. Continue until all the filo has been buttered and layered. Spoon the ricotta mixture over the filo pastry and spread until it covers the pastry - leave a border around the edge. Scatter over the apples and boysenberries. Fold in the filo border and use the greaseproof paper to carefully roll up the strudel. Grease a baking sheet with butter and place the strudel on top. Scatter the almonds over the top. Bake the strudel for 35-40 minutes until golden and crisp. Dust with icing sugar and serve with créme fraîche.

Bella Biscotti

I love biscotti especially with a cup of real coffee or accompanying a chocolate mousse. This recipe is so easy, and is much tastier than the variety you get in coffee shops. I have included milk chocolate in this instance as I am baking them for children, but you can add different flavour chocolates like dark, or white, you can roll the biscotti mix in the kneading stage in a tablespoon of instant espresso powder for a coffee flavour, or add nuts like almonds.

Biscotti

1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup of castor sugar
60g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
250g slab milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Mix the flour, baking powder and castor sugar
Cut in the melted butter
Beat the eggs and vanilla
Add to the flour butter mix to make a dough
Sprinkle flour on clean work surface
Knead the dough lightly before flattening dough on surface an inch thick
Chop the chocolate in 1cm square pieces and push into flattened dough
Roll the dough into a sausage shape approx 30cm long
Place on greased pan and flatten with the back of a spoon
Sprinkle top with castor sugar and bake for 30 minutes
Cut log into slices 1cm thick
Place slices on a greased baking sheet and bake for another 5 minutes
Allow to cool before indulging in one or two or the whole lot

Bake a Cupcake

Finally getting back into the swing of things after a lovely hiatus on the South Island of New Zealand where we survived on the red wine, dark chocolate and french fry diet. Was very pleased to see my kitchen again as campervan cooking is rather challenging.

Tomorrow my eldest son is finally having his kindergarden graduation. To celebrate this momentous occasion, he has to arrive armed with treats for all his friends. His suggestion was to bake cupcakes which ended up being a fun activity for both him and I, although I must confess I don't think I'd ever attempt more than 4 dozen at a time because just dealing that amount of sugar is a bit disturbing, let alone the colouring and decorations.

Cupcakes are the easiest things in the world to make, and there is no limit to what you can put on top of them in terms of colour and decorations. You can keep it simple by simply icing the tops, or add cherries, sugarcraft or any edible naughty you might like.

To make cupcakes in a food processor mix together 2 eggs, 125g soft butter, 125g self-raising flour, 125g castor sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 tbsp milk. Divide evenly into 12 cupcake paper cases placed in a 12 muffin baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes on 170 degrees C. Remove and allow to cool. Cut the tops off to level the cupcakes. Mix icing sugar with a little water to a thick icing consistency. Add colour of your choice and ice the tops of the cupcakes. Decorate to your hearts content and enjoy.