Eton mess in a teacup

Another quicky of a recipe - As you can see even when I have no time I still like to eat nice things :) I made my own meringue as an experiment for the tearoom, and had a lot left over so I decided to make a quick Eton mess style dessert for my dad and I.

I love summer puddings, and nothing says summer to me like Eton mess - Strawberries, meringue and cream  YUM.I used this recipe for the meringue in case you were wondering -  Pavlova good food

Ingredients:

Meringue

A punnet of strawberries

Double Cream

Icing Sugar

A mint sprig

Crumble your meringue into your dish/teacup/plate. I like to make individual puddings but you can make a larger one by following the same steps but just changing the quantities.

Whip your double cream and add a tablespoon (or two...) of icing sugar to sweeten the cream. Try not to over whip your cream - it' not so nice when its too thick, ideally it should be soft and light still. Add a dollop to your meringue, there is no real measurements here just add more or less depending on your own particular tastes.

Chop your strawberries and sprinkle them on top of the cream. I like to add a mint sprig because I'm going to a bit of a food obsession with mint at the moment but that is again optional! And that is all..... Enjoy your summery dessert , we certainly did :)

Tadpoles to frogs

I'm proud to show off my beautiful little forggies!! They've finally grown legs, arms and look like miniature frogs now :) Their tails are still little stubs, and they have a lot of growing to do - but they no longer look like tadpoles!

I have released all of the grown froggies into the pond now, so they have more room and can live naturally in the wild again. It's half very exciting but also quite sad as i no longer get to see them every morning ... But hopefully they will grow quickly outside and I will see them hopping around outside in no time!

 

You can see here from the scale of my hand how small they are still - But look fully formed and completely like normal frogs. 

Quick and easy Raspberry tarts

I have been so busy with college work and the tearoom recently that Ive had to come up with a few quick recipes for meals and desserts that I could whip up quickly and that didn't involve too much time. This little tart is perfect and takes no time at all!

Ingredients:

All butter pastry cases (you could make them yourself, but for a quick dessert these are really good)

clotted cream or creme patisserie

a punnet of raspberries (or a fruit of your choice)

150g milk or white chocolate

1 tablespoon jam

1 dessert spoon of sugar

Melt your chocolate over a pan of hot water or in the microwave. I used milk chocolate because that's what we had in, but white chocolate usually goes with these types of tarts (but it's totally up to you which you pick). Spoon roughly 1-3 teaspoons of chocolate into each tart case.

For the creme -  I used clotted cream as Scott hates custard style fillings, but both work well. I loosened my cream with a little milk, and added a dessert spoon full of sugar to sweeten it a little. Spoon it over the tart until it's almost full.

Now add your fruit! I like raspberries best as they are my favourite fruit and they look quite symmetrical which looks good really. You could try strawberries, mixed fruits, or whatever you liked (that's the fun part).

This part is optional, but it adds a little shine to the tarts - Melt the jam with a tablespoon of water until melted. Gently spoon over the fruit to create a sort of glaze for your tart.

And that is all! They look like a lot of time and effort but really they're dead simple as you can see.I hope you enjoy :)