Berry Custard Flan

It's now a standing joke on family meal night that where possible I like to add toffee sauce to everything. I mean I do make my own sauce and it is very tasty and everyone likes it, I just seem to try and pair it with everything ;)

So once again this dessert was paired with a lovely homemade toffee sauce. The beautiful thing about this dessert is that it looks so pretty and tastes very yummy, but requires very little skill or effort, which is very handy when you've been paying more attention to the main course :)

This is similar to a dessert I've already posted except I changed the cream to custard and chose berries instead of strawberries ....

Ingredients:
1 store bought flan case.
custard - I used birds custard powder and made it thicker than the instructions said but you could be fancy and make your own
your jam of choice
a selection of berries or your favourite seasonal fruit.

Method:
Cook the custard according to the instructions / your recipe.  Remember to make it thicker than usual as it will need to set and hold it's shape. Place in the fridge to set and cool. (roughly and hour).
Spread an even layer of jam on the flan case, this I like to call the moist maker like on friends with the turkey sandwich episode? anyone ? no, ok...
Now spread/pour on the cold custard and return to the fridge to set again, roughly half an hour or so.
Now your flan is ready to decorate s you wish. I used raspberries, blueberries and red currents but you can choose what you like.
Layer them on top of the custard and that is it!

TOFFEE SAUCE.
1 large knob butter
3 tablespoons soft dark brown sugar
1/2 pint double cream.
 Melt the butter in pan, add the sugar, gently stirring, and then add the cream. Do not over cook, but make sure the sugar is dissolved.  I serve my toffee sauce warm so it is runny as it goes thicker is cool.

 It's a little messy to dish up, but I think that was because my custard wasn't quite thick enough, so be careful not to make it too runny..

Lastly Alfred was being a little pain as I was photographing the dessert, cheeky little worm :)

Chocolate dipped ice cream cones

Once again family meal night has been around, and last night I made these pretty little cones for dessert! They are the perfect thing for a quick effortless pudding, for children or sunny days outside! Adding your own chocolate and toppings changes the store bought cones into a more personal pudding that can then pass as you 'making' the dessert ;)

We had them after our main meal which was roasted sausages, tomatoes, red onions and swede. My Grandma wasn't here this week as she was at a writing course in Swanick with her friend, so it was my parents Scott , Grandad and I.

 

Ingredients:

Ice cream cones - I would have preferred the thicker wafer cones, but our local supermarket only had these cheapies, but they were still lovely too (and only 15 calories each??!)

milk, white or dark chocolate. - I used milk but any variety would have worked well.

A large handful of nuts - I used Pistachio's and whole Almonds

chocolate or candy sprinkles

(Or any topping of your choice - marshmallows, dolly mixtures, seeds etc)

Method:

Melt you chocolate in your desired way, I always prefer to melt it over hot water, but the microwave works well too.

Chop your nuts and place them in piles on a chopping board or clean surface. I would advise you chop them quite well, as initially i tried to leave them quite large, but after trying to put them on the cone the heavier pieces fell off. 

Roll (or spoon) the chocolate onto the top of your cone, you could also add a little bit to the bottom of the cones (inside) like Cornetto's do, I always feel a little disappointed if their is no chocolate at the bottom of my cone, but this bit is up too you!

Get read a large try, or one that will fit in the fridge/freezer. 

Now for the fun bit - Roll your cone with the melted chocolate into your piles of goodies. For my last cone I used a mixture of everything, but the one that were either just pistachio, almonds or sprinkles looked better. 

Place them in the freezer or fridge for a few minutes after adding the toppings so that they set and the sprinkles don't fall off! - And that's it!! Now your ready to add ice cream, we had Cornish clotted cream ice cream which is so yummy. 

The only problem was carrying them too the table as they were all top heavy! But if everyone takes them as soon as they are ready then there shouldn't be a problem! :) 

  

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 :)

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 :)

Pudding in a hurry

This dessert is a bit of a cheat, but let's face it who really cares in the end as long as it tastes good!

I was stuck for an idea for a pudding after our Thursday meal night, and nipped to the supermarket to find something to make! I could have bought a fully ready made dessert but then you loose the fun of making it and the glory when everyone devours it, so I bought the flan base and topped it with fruit and whipped cream. I also had a toffee/butterscotch sauce to drizzle on top which made it really yummy.

Ingredients:

1 large flan case

1 tablespoon of lemon curd (or another jam/jelly of your choice)

1 tablespoon of icing sugar

300 ml double cream

1 punnet of raspberries

1/2 punnet of strawberries

a few sprigs of mint

Sauce:

75g butter

78g dark brown sugar

100ml  double cream

Simply unwrap your flan case and place on a serving dish/plate. Spread a generous layer of lemon curd of jam along the top of the flan case. This helps to add more moisture as they can be a little dry, and adds a little tang. Now add the icing sugar to the cream and whip until firm but not over whipped. Spread your cream over the lemon curd layer.  Now chop your strawberries and layer them, along with the raspberries over the cream. I added a few mint leaves for colour, but that's optional! Dust with a little more icing sugar and that is all folks!

If you want a sauce- which I highly recommend, then this goes perfectly!

Melt the butter and sugar in a large pan. Stir gently and once all is melted, pour in the double cream. Mix thoroughly and pour into desired jug. I left the jug on the table so everyone could help themselves, and it was very popular!

It's also really good on ice cream or on its own on a spoon if you have no will power like myself....