Lemon Meringue Pie - Revisited

Recently, on Facebook, I was asked to share the very first post I wrote for my blog. It was for a blogging group I'm part of and it was such fun to see how much everyone has changed over the years, especially me. Dark images taken at night on my little point and click digital camera, I truely had no clue. I bet you're desperate to see it, well here you go, Lemon Meringue Pie. My favorite dessert in the whole world and the very first recipe posted on this here blog.

When I looked back on this sad excuse for food blogging a thought hit me, I haven't made a lemon meringue pie since that day back in 2008! That is something I had to rectify immediatly.  One thing hasn't changed, I still prefer a buttery biscuit base, but this time I went for gingersnaps rather than digestives. The ginger crust is just the perfect acompanyment to the zingy lemon custard.

This recipe is addapted from Gorgeous Cakes, which is one of the very first baking books I ever bought and one I still refer back to today.

Lemon Meringue Pie with a Gingersnap Crust

Ingredients

• For the crust:
• 250g gingersnap biscuits
• 110g unsalted butter, melted


• For the topping:
• Zest and juce of 4 lemons
• 1 tin of condensed milk
• 4 large, free range eggs seperated
• 110g caster sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Whizz the biscuits in a food processor untill finely chopped. Put the crumbs in a bowl, add melted butter and mix until the crumbs are evenly coated with the butter. Press the mixture into a 20cm tart tin with a removable base. Start with the sides then move onto the base, using your fingers to press the mixture down.
2. Preheat the oven to 170C. Before juicing the lemons roll them on the counter to release as much juice as possible. Combine the zest and juice with the condensed milk in a bowl, whisking till you have a smooth cream. Now, whisk in the egg yolks and pour onto the biscuit base.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk the egg whites until they rise to a froth. Sprinkle over the sugar 1tbsp at a time, whisking well with each addition until you have a stiff and glossy meringue.
4. Mound the meringue mixture on top of the lemon cream, taking it to the edge of the tin. bake for around 30 minutes or until the surface of the meringue is lightly golden and crusty, and the custard set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before removing it from the tin.
5. The pie is best eaten on the day it is baked. 

Of course, if you decide to give this a go please do tag me in your instagram posts, I'd love to see. I'm over at Katie_Petlamb.

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Strawberry Prosecco Cupcakes

My love of prosecco is well documented on this blog, there really is nothing better than popping that cork and settling down for a good gossip with the girls.  Last week we went extra with our flutes, topping them with a plump, red strawberry before adding a dash of wild strawberry liquor. Needless to say it was utterly delicious, which got me thinking about cupcakes.  How can I incorporate this delicious flavour into a little bun, thus these strawberry prosecco cupcakes were born.

The best thing about these cupcakes is the surprise on peoples faces when they bite through the sponge to discover a full, juicy strawberry hiding inside.  What a treat.

With Mothers Day on the horizon I can imagine many a deserving mother who would be delighted with the gift of these babies.  Serve them up alongside a chilled glass of prosecco for the queen of Mothers Day treats, you'll even get bonus points for making them with your own hands.  No store bought cakes for you, oh no!

Strawberry Prosecco Cupcakes

Ingredients

• For the cake :
• 175g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 175g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 175g (1 1/2 cups) self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 3tbsp whole milk
• 12 strawberries


• For the frosting :
• 125g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 300g (2 1/2 cups) icing sugar
• 100ml prosecco
• popping candy and straws to decorate

Cooking Directions

1. Heat your oven to 170C and line a 12 hole cupcake tray with liners. Set aside. 
2. In the the bowl of an electric mixer whip the butter and sugar together till light and creamy, around 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time mixing between each addition. Add half the flour and mix, add the milk followed by the rest of the flour and the baking powder. Mix till combined the mix in the vanilla extract.
3. Using an ice cream scoop fill each cupcake liner to 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes until risen and springy when touched. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to a baking rack to finish cooling.
4. To make the frosting first mix the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale and soft. Add the icing sugar and 3/4 of the prosecco. Turn the mixer on low and gradually increase the speed. Whip for 5 minutes, if the frosting looks too stiff add a touch more prosecco until you reach a nice piping consistency.
5. One the cupcakes have cooled slightly brush the tops with the remaining prosecco then take a small knife and hollow out a cone in the center of each cupcake, pop a strawberry in each hole. Fill a piping bag, fitted with an open star nozzle, with the prosecco frosting and pipe a cute swirl on each cake. Sprinkle with the popping candy and pop a little straw in the top.

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Lemon Madeleines

Madeleines have always held a whimsical fascination for me. Their delicate crumb, distinctive shell shape and the cute hump, without which it isn't really a madeleine, is it?!

 When LionsHome got in touch with me and asked me to create a recipe for them, my mind skipped right over to madeleines. I've had a hankering for the adorable little tea cakes for the longest time but always put off baking them as my madeleine pan is of the vintage persuasion. Beautiful to look at but the non stick coating is, to say, non existent.  That's where I decided enough was enough, I just had to invest in a new Madeleine Cake Tin. No need to over grease the holes, no need to gently jimmy a knife around the edge of each cake only to completely destroy their beautiful shape.  They just slipped out like a dream.  I can see many more madeleines in my future.

One thing I must say about baking these little delicacies, you must follow the chilling advice.  The chilling of the batter is what helps the cake form their distinctive hump.  Chill the batter, chill the pan and you should have perfectly formed little cakes. 

With a plate of still warm from the oven lemon madeleines, a piping hot cup of tea I had nothing else to do but peruse the Kitchen section of LionsHome for a spot of window shopping.  One of my favourite things in the world is to just sit and pour over online shops full of gorgeous home wares and imagine what I would buy and where I would put them in my home.  If only I had a bigger house to fill.

Lemon Madeleines

Ingredients

• 3 large, free range eggs
• 130g caster sugar
• 175g plain flour
• zest of 1 small lemon
• 125g unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature.
• 1tbsp unsalted butter, melted for greasing the moulds

Cooking Directions

1. Brush the holes of a madeleine pan with melted butter. Dust with flour, tap off any excess, and place in the fridge or freezer while you make your batter.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whip the eggs and caster sugar for 5 minutes until frothy and thick.
3. Sift the flour into the whipped eggs, fold in gently. Once the flour is just incorporated add the lemon zest to the cooled butter, then dribble the butter into the batter a little at a time, folding the butter in as you pour until it is all incorporated.
4. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Batter can be chilled for up to 12 hours.)
5. To bake the madeleines, preheat the oven to 175C. Pop around 1tbsp of batter into each mould and bake for 9-10 minutes until the cakes just feel set and have gone golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 5 minutes and slide the madeleines out onto a cooling rack. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy. 

*Sponsored Post

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Orange Drizzle Loaf

With Valentines day a mere 24 hours away, I'm feeling the love in the air and the romance in the water. This year I decided to join in on Food Blogger Love and share a little bit of loveliness for my fellow online foodies.  My chosen Valentine is Kelly Lynn from Kelly Lynn's Sweets & Treats. Happy chocolates and flowers day Kelly!

Kelly's blog is jammed full of tasty treats and I just loved drooling over her recipes.  For the purpose of Food Blogger Love I thought I'd whip up my take on her delicious looking Orange Loaf Cake.  My orange drizzle loaf is a bit different from Kelly's version, hers is a traditional pound cake smothered in yummy frosting where mine is a fluffy loaf soaked in an orange syrup. I think between us we've got everyones preferences covered.

I have to admit, I'm super jealous of Kelly's orange tree, imagine having a bounty of fresh fruit right in your own back yard! I'll have to make do with my local green grocer, oh well.

Drizzle cake is my absolute favorite cake in the world. Normally you attribute this style of loaf with lemon but it lends itself perfectly to any citrus fruit. I've had excellent results from lime and even grapefruit.  There's nothing like breaking through that sugary crust and letting the zingy citrus sponge melt on your tongue.

Orange Drizzle Loaf

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 250g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 250g self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 2tbsp orange zest from 2 oranges


• For the drizzle :
• juice from 2 oranges
• 250g caster sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 170C and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer mix all of the cake ingredients together untill fully combined.
3. Pour batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45-55 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. Allow to cool while you make the drizzle.
4. Stir together the sugar and orange juice, once combined pour over the loaf and leave to cool in the tin for 2 hours or overnight.
5. Once cool, use a sharp knife to release the edged of the cake from the tin and remove. Slice and enjoy. 

An InLinkz Link-up

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Matcha and Raspberry Cupcakes

There's a bit of a theme with the tea based recipes here, I promise I'll give you a break after this one but I just couldn't hold it in any longer.  I love a cup of green tea, the health benefits are off the charts. It helps with bloating, is packed with antioxidants, boosts metabolism and lowers cholesterol.  Matcha is the heavy hitting big brother of a normal cup of green tea, and boy is it delicious.  I don't drink coffee so a matcha latte is my favourite go to drink when we're out and about.  We'll not mention the Starbucks version though, godawful!

I was gifted a pot of ceremonial grade matcha tea from The Tea Makers a while ago, and I just couldn't bring myself to drink it. It's like killing a unicorn.  So, instead I decided to incorporate it into some recipes and share the joys of matcha tea with my friends and family.  First up I baked up a batch of matcha and raspberry cupcakes and boy are they something special.  I fed them to my boyfriends bandmates and they went wild, something I was just not expecting from a bunch of hairy musicians.  I was overjoyed, these cupcakes are gold medal winners.

Matcha has a bit of an earthy undertone, which I personally love, but it's not for everyone.  With that in mind I decided to fill the cakes with a sweet and sticky raspberry jam to balance out the flavour.  It worked perfectly, matcha and raspberry are a match made in heaven.

I picked up these adorable matcha pocky from my local Asian supermarket for less than £1, and you can get freeze dried raspberries from Waitrose and Amazon.  

Matcha Green Tea and Raspberry Cupcakes

Ingredients

• For the cupcakes:
• 175g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 175g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 175g (1.5 cups) self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 2tbsp matcha green tea powder
• 50ml whole milk
• 1 jar of good quality raspberry jam


• For the frosting:
• 125g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 250g (2 cups) icing sugar
• 1/2tbsp matcha green tea powder
• 2tbsp whole milk
• freeze dried raspberries to decorate
• green tea pocky cut in thirds to decorate

Cooking Directions

1. Heat your oven to 170C and line a 12 hole cupcake tray with liners. Set aside.


2. The the bowl of an electric mixer whip the butter and sugar together till light and creamy, around 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time mixing between each addition. Add half the flour and mix, add the milk followed by the rest of the flour, the baking powder and matcha powder. Mix till combined the mix in the vanilla extract.


3. Using an ice cream scoop fill each cupcake liner to 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes until risen and springy when touched. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to a baking rack to finish cooling.


4. To make the frosting first mix the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale and soft. Add the icing sugar, matcha powder and the milk. Turn the mixer on low and gradually increase the speed. Whip for 5 minutes, if the frosting looks too stiff add a touch more milk until you reach a nice piping consistency.


5. One the cupcakes have cooled take an apple corer or a small knife and hollow out the center of each cupcake and fill with raspberry jam. Fill a piping bag, fitted with an open star nozzle, with the matcha frosting and pipe a cute swirl on each cake. Sprinkle with the freeze fried raspberries and top with 2 pieces of the pocky. 

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