Poached Apricots

For me, these beautifully golden orange coloured fruits truly mark the start of summer. Walking into the supermarket or visiting the local market, I can't help but pick up a punnet of the golden orange delights, encasing a smooth and sweet flesh within their velvety outer body. I love them because they're so delicious and can provide numerous health benefits. They're also rich in many plant antioxidants and are extremely low in calories. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many recipes take advantage of these gorgeous fruits. They're great in a crumble or a tarte tatin, but I think they're delicious poached and served with some natural yoghurt for pudding or granola at breakfast. They're perfectly sweet and unbelieveably quick and simple to make. 

Makes 1 large bowl

640g of apricots (I used 2 punnets)

200ml of water 

1 dessert spoon of vanilla extract 

2 tbsp caster sugar or runny honey

Method

- De-stone the apricots by chopping them into halves. 

- Put the apricots, water, vanilla extract and caster sugar into a large pan and leave to simmer over a medium-low heat with the lid on for 8-10 minutes. 

- Put into a large serving bowl. Either serve hot or cover with cling film and put into the fridge once cooled. 

Top tip: If you want to make the apricots slightly 'posher,' add a small splash of Cointreau, the beautiful orange-flavoured liqueur whilst the apricots are simmering and serve with good quality vanilla ice cream. 

Enjoy!

10 Minute Peach & Raspberry Crumble

I absolutely love crumble. It is such a crowd pleaser and I don't think a traditional English Sunday Roast would be the same without without one. When the family are all together, I would not even hesitate about making a large crumble that I can stick into the oven just before we sit down to eat our main course. However, when cooking for yourself (like moi...) it's a little different. I didn't want to make something that would take 30 minutes or more in the oven. I wanted something that would be ready to eat under 15 minutes with a health kick twist I'd never tasted before. Therefore, I picked some of my favourite ingredients from past recipes I've posted on this blog and made them into a marvellous crunchy crumble that would give any other traditional crumble a run for its money. 

Healthy sweet dishes are the best as they're completely guilt free and still sensationally satisfying. The traditional flour has been replaced by crunchy desiccated coconut, fibrous oats and magical milled flaxseed, while the butter has been replaced with pure maple syrup. Did you know that despite maple syrup's high sugar content, pure maple syrup is a much healthier sweetener than processed white sugar, which is stripped of its nutrients in manufacturing. In fact, a ¼ ; cup serving of maple syrup contains more calcium than the same amount of milk and more potassium than a banana! It’s also a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and iron.

Serves 1 

2 dessert spoons organic oats

2 dessert spoons pure maple syrup

1 1/2 dessert spoons desiccated coconut

1 dessert spoon flaxseed (with biocultures & vitamin D)

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 can halved peaches

6 fresh raspberries

Method

- Preheat oven 200 celsius, (392 F), Gas Mark 6 and find 1 ramekin. 

- Slice the two peach halves and put in a high watt microwave for 1 minute. Remove then and add the raspberries and put in for a further 30 seconds.

- Place the oats, flaxseed, cinnamon, maple syrup and coconut into a pan and delicately heat on a medium to low heat, stirring often for 3 minutes.

- Put the sliced peach and raspberries into the base of the ramekin and cover with the crunchy oat topping. 

- Place the ramekin in the oven and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Remove and serve with raspberries and cream. 

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Lava Surprise

This is the most delicious, forgiving yet impressive yummy chocolate pud I've ever made. There is something special about breaking through the chocolate outer shell to uncover a gooey chocolate lava stream that oozes out onto the pristine white plate. 

It is the perfect dinner party delight as it will surprise the oblivious guests and make you feel like an accomplished chef (if you get it right..no pressure). You can make the mixture  days in advance, put into the ramekins, freeze & then defrost a couple of hours before you want to cook them, or simply make on the day and put into the oven 10 minutes before you want to serve. 

Serves 4

125g finest quality dark chocolate (70% +)

125g unsalted butter

3 large eggs

150g sugar

35g plain flour (Italian 00 is ideal)

butter & flour to prepare the ramekins

Method

- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease 4 ramekins with butter and dust with flour. Put the chocolate and butter suspended over a pan of simmering water and allow to melt (if you're feeling lazy, put in the microwave for about a minute to 90 seconds, but pause and check often).  Stir gently until smooth and beautiful.

- In a separate bowl, whisk the golden caster sugar with 3 large eggs.

- Combine the 2 bowls, beat together and then stir in 35g plain flour.

- When you’ve finished your main course and you feel like you could eat again, divide the mixture into 4-5 ramekins and bake hot for 8-10 minutes until they are well risen and cracked on top.  Serve with sprinkled icing sugar and single cream. I like to add a couple of raspberries to give it more colour and attempt to make it look slightly healthy.

When you break into it, it should look like this below…mmmm!

Mango, Flaxseed & Strawberry Yoghurt

I don't think I can go a day with out eating yoghurt. There are so many available in supermarkets and my mouth literally waters when I see Rachel's Organic Greek Style Coconut Yoghurt - if you haven't tried it yet please do, it's an absolute must! However, it is quite expensive and high in sugar, so I wanted to make my own yoghurt for a change. 

You'll notice that I've used flaxseed. Now, I'm not one to use these fancy health food products, as they're expensive and hard to get hold of, but I wanted to give it a go to see what it's really all about. The flaxseed I used here is Milled Flaxseed with Bio Cultures & Vitamin D (£5.79). It's health benefits include:

Vitamin D – This helps the body absorb calcium and contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and teeth. Omega 3 (ALA) – which are essential fatty acids that contribute to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels. Finally, minerals that provide calcium, iron and zinc. However, if you (like the majority of the population) don't have flaxseed spare in your cupboard, don't worry as you can just leave it out!

Serves 1

- 1/4 ripe mango

- 100g strawberries

- 4 dessert spoons natural probiotic yoghurt

- 1 dessert spoon flaxseed 

Method

Simply blend all the ingredients together until smooth and serve in a dessert dish. 

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Roulade

The perfect pudding for a hassle free dinner party. Mary Berry's chocolate roulade is simply gorgeous. The absence of flour in this recipe makes it extremely light in texture, but the high cocoa content makes is super rich and delicious.

This recipe is great for dinner parties as you can do the bulk of it (the cakey bit) the day before and simply cover with a damp cloth, place into a plastic bag and leave overnight until the big day.

Serves 8-10

175g/6oz good-quality dark chocolate finely chopped

6 free-range eggs, separated

175g/6oz caster sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

300ml/10fl oz double cream

icing sugar to dust 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160 Fan/Gas 4. Lightly grease a 33cm x 23cm/13in x 9in Swiss roll tin then line the base and sides of the tin with a large sheet of greaseproof paper, pushing it into the corners. Make a small diagonal snip in each corner of the paper; this helps to fit the paper snugly into the corners of the tin.

2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. (Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water.)

3. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk until stiff but not dry. If you turn the bowl upside down, the whites should be stiff enough not to fall out.

4. Put the egg yolks in a separate bowl with the sugar and whisk using the same whisk (no need to wash it) on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until thick and creamy and the mixture leaves a thick ribbon-like trail when the beaters are lifted. Pour in the cooled chocolate and gently fold together until well combined.

5. Gently stir two large spoonfuls of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen the mix, then fold in the remaining egg whites using a large metal spoon (you don’t want to squash out the air you have just beaten in). Sift the cocoa over the top and lightly fold it in. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and gently move the tin around until the mixture is level.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes until risen and the top feels firm and slightly crisp. Remove from the oven, leave in the tin (expect the roulade to fall and crack a little) and set aside until cold.

7. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Lay a large piece of greaseproof paper on the work surface and dust it lightly with icing sugar. Turn the roulade out on to the paper so its lining paper is on top, then carefully peel off the paper. Spread the roulade with the whipped cream, leaving a border of about 2cm/¾in all the way around the edges. With one of the shortest edges facing you, make a cut along it with a sharp knife, going about half way through the sponge. This will help to start the rolling up. Now roll this cut edge over tightly to start with and use the paper to help continue the tight rolling, by pulling it away from you as you roll. Don’t worry if the roulade cracks - that is quite normal and all part of its charm.

8. Finish with the join underneath then lift the roulade onto a serving plate or board using a large wide spatula or two fish slices. Dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!