A couple of years ago, whilst searching the 'net for marmalade recipes, I came across a guy who simply added all the old fruit from his fruit bowl to his orange marmalade mix. At the time I thought this was a bit odd, but...
I was looking through the jams in my larder and realised that not only were many of them a year or two old, but some were decidedly uninteresting in the first place (carrot and apple is a big NO!). So I tipped it all out into a large saucepan, cooked it all up again with some lemon juice and created 'Adam's decidedly uninspired re-cycled jam' - for personal use of course!
Then I had about a jar-an-a-half's-worth left and added a jar of this year's orange marmalade and Behold! a rather fruity marmalade! Definitely still marmalade, even though it is 3/5ths old fruit jam.
Next year I shall contemplate the fruit bowl with renewed interest!
Sunday 16 June 2013
Friday 8 March 2013
Baby Cheese Cakes
I was invited to my friend Chris Rowlatt's birthday party earlier this week and made these little cakes to take along. They disappeared very quickly!
They are based on a Swiss Easter cake recipe (Öster Pfladen - Easter Flan):
500g puff pastry
1 cup sultanas (optional)
300g cream cheese (ie: Philadelphia)
200ml single cream (or double if you are feeling extravagent)
1 Tbsp cornflour
6 Tbsp sugar
Grated rind of one good-size lemon plus, if you like it really lemony, half the juice
2 eggs
Set the oven to hot (200°C).
Put the sultanas in a bowl and soak in hot water until plump.
Grease a half-height muffin tin and line each dip with a circle of puff pastry.
Place the remaining ingredients into a blender and blend well. Tip the mixture out into a bowl.
Drain the sultanas, pat dry on kitchen paper and stir into the mix.
Using a tablespoon, or small cup, ladle dollops of the mix into each pastry cup, making sure there's a few sultanas there too.
Place the tray/s into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the top is brown - personally, I check after 15 minutes. The filling will rise up, but usually settles back down again once out of the oven.
Allow to cool before serving - and try not to eat too many at once!
Makes about 30...
To make as a flan, grease and line a 9" springform tin with the pastry and pour the mixture in. Bake for about 45 minutes.
They are actually dead easy to make, however I'm supposed to be on a diet at the moment so, just for the hell of it I totted up the calories - BIG MISTAKE ! Have you any idea how high pastry is in calories???
So, next time I shall a) try half quantities and b) try something other than pastry; sliced white bread rolled out flat onto a little sugar perhaps - in which case I'll leave everything to sit for an hour or so before cooking so that the bread absorbs some of the custard. I might also try a little less sugar in the mix...
They are based on a Swiss Easter cake recipe (Öster Pfladen - Easter Flan):
500g puff pastry
1 cup sultanas (optional)
300g cream cheese (ie: Philadelphia)
200ml single cream (or double if you are feeling extravagent)
1 Tbsp cornflour
6 Tbsp sugar
Grated rind of one good-size lemon plus, if you like it really lemony, half the juice
2 eggs
Set the oven to hot (200°C).
Put the sultanas in a bowl and soak in hot water until plump.
Grease a half-height muffin tin and line each dip with a circle of puff pastry.
Place the remaining ingredients into a blender and blend well. Tip the mixture out into a bowl.
Drain the sultanas, pat dry on kitchen paper and stir into the mix.
Using a tablespoon, or small cup, ladle dollops of the mix into each pastry cup, making sure there's a few sultanas there too.
Place the tray/s into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the top is brown - personally, I check after 15 minutes. The filling will rise up, but usually settles back down again once out of the oven.
Allow to cool before serving - and try not to eat too many at once!
Makes about 30...
To make as a flan, grease and line a 9" springform tin with the pastry and pour the mixture in. Bake for about 45 minutes.
They are actually dead easy to make, however I'm supposed to be on a diet at the moment so, just for the hell of it I totted up the calories - BIG MISTAKE ! Have you any idea how high pastry is in calories???
So, next time I shall a) try half quantities and b) try something other than pastry; sliced white bread rolled out flat onto a little sugar perhaps - in which case I'll leave everything to sit for an hour or so before cooking so that the bread absorbs some of the custard. I might also try a little less sugar in the mix...
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