speedy cinnamon swirls

Cinnamon is my favorite spice, scent and taste.

Nothing beats the sweet, sticky and warm gloriousness that is cinnamon swirls.

But sadly I and many other people don't have the time to make puff pastry in the morning, so here is my quick easy and morning friendly cinnamon swirls.

Ingredients 

• 3 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups of muscovado or caster sugar 
• 1/4 pack unsalted butter
• 1 pack ready made sweet puff pastry 

If you have bought frozen pastry leave it to thaw in the fridge overnight, if you are using chilled pastry take it out of the fridge about 5 minutes before baking just to let it get to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 190c or gas mark 5.
You will also need to grease a medium pyrex dish or any other oven proof  deep glass dish.
Take your pastry out of the packaging and unroll it onto a floured board.
Melt your butter over a low heat, once melted using a pastry brush paint a thing coating of butter over the whole pastry sheet.
In a bowl mix your sugar with the cinnamon, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over the pastry sheet until completely coated.
Now it's time to rock and roll...
sugar side up! gently start to fold over the pastry, slowly roll the pastry forward until you reach the end of the sheet then using a small amount of butter dab the ending of the pastry and smooth it down so that there is no seem.
To cut the pastry you will need a larger sharp knife so you can make clear cuts.
Gently moving the knife in zig zag motions, each piece should be about 2cm wide.
Once you have finished cutting the pastry, you should be able to see the very defined swirls. Place them in your buttered glass dish, make sure the swirls are close together so that when it cooks the expand and cling on to each other.

 Using your pastry brush,
 glaze the cinnamon swirls with the rest of your butter. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden in colour.

You can serve with home made sweet cream cheese frosting, or a quick glace icing. They are gorgeous on their own with a cup of coffee! best served warm enjoy!

Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie

       Even the name "banana cream pie" promises you comfort, love and butter. 

       What else do you need in life?! 

       This is the first cream pie I have ever made... and god it was scrummy! 

        Now get ready,...Get set, bake! Ooops I mean refrigerate! No oven fuss with this recipe!! Enjoy! 

      Ingredients 

      Banana cream ingredients 

• 225g of over ripe bananas ( brown bananas have the most flavour!)
• two separate measurements of double cream one 90ml and one180ml 
• 60 ml of full fat milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 sachets of powdered gelatine (or two leaves of gelatine)
• 40g butter
• 25g cornflour 
• 160g icing sugar
• 100g sugar
• 2 or 3 drops of yellow food colouring

      Chocolate crust ingredients

• 200g butter 
• pinch of salt
• One and a half packets of chocolate biscuits (preferably bourbons or oreos!)

      Garnish ingredients  

• 3 tbsp grated chocolate 
• 1tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 ripe bananas (yellow)
• 100ml whipping cream

Method

Use a blender to puree the bananas, cream (80ml) and milk together. When the mixture becomes smooth. add the sugar, cornflour and egg yolks to the blender. Blend until the mixture increases in size and is thick and creamy. 

Pour the mix into a saucepan, whisk it on a low heat, it will thicken (this is because of all the cornflour in the mix) we want too whisk the mix until it has a glue like consistency, it is important to cook it long enough to bake out the starch from the cornflour. Leave to cool for a minute then pour the mix back into the blender!

If you're using powdered gelatine or a vegetarian alternative, follow the directions on the pack, I promise the water you add to the powdered alternative will not change the consistency of mix.

 If you are using gelatine, leaves soak in cold water (add some ice cubes) for two minutes then gently squeeze the excess water from the leaves.

Put your gelatine or gelatine alternative into the blender, add the butter and blend the banana mix, gelatin and butter together. Now drop in some yellow food colouring until it looks like its from a cartoon, give it another whizz in the blender then decant into a big bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge to set for 40 minutes. 

While your banana mix is chilling, whisk 180 ml of cream with the icing sugar (it will only take a minute or two because the icing sugar will thicken it very quickly). Now put this mixture to the side while we make the chocolate base!

Time to make the buttery biscuit base ...base (sorry couldn't help myself!)

Put whatever chocolatey biscuits your heart desires into the blender, whizz it until it looks like edible gravel. Melt your butter in a small pan, when the butters melted but it in a mixing bowl with your chocolate gravel mix until it thoroughly combined.

Get a 25 cm cake pan or pie dish, grease the inside with butter. Tip the chocolate mix into the cake tin using a fork, press the mix down until compact. Put the biscuit base in the fridge then retrieve the banana mix from the fridge, stir the cream mix into the banana mix until gloriously yellow and creamy. Now place the mix back into the fridge and leave for ten minutes.

Ten minutes later... get the base and the banana mix out of the fridge. Time to assemble your masterpiece!

Slice your ripe bananas thinly and whip the 100 mls of cream.

Place half of your banana cream onto the chocolate base, smooth it over, place half the banana slices on top of the layer of banana cream. Pour the rest of the banana cream on! Smoothing it down appropriately, Place the rest of the banana slices in a pattern of your liking over the banana cream. Grate the nutmeg over the pie, dollop your cream onto the middle of the pie and generously sprinkle the grated chocolate over the top. 

And voila!

Banana cream pie!

 You're welcome. 

English Rose Cake

English Rose Cake

A sweet and fluffy raspberry and rose cake, with rose and raspberry buttercream and a raspberry glaze.... that will leave all mouths drooling!

      Ingredients for the cake

• 8.oz sifted self raising flour 
• 8.oz of granulated sugar or golden caster sugar
• 8.oz  unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 2 tsp of a good quality vanilla extract 
• 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder 
• 4 eggs (beaten)

Preheat our oven to 160C fan or gas mark 3. 

Grease two 20cm round cake tins and line with baking parchment (leave some extra parchment on the sides of the cake tins, so that its easier to remove the cake once baked.

In a mixer cream the butter and sugar together until light in colour and fluffy. If you do not own a mixer beat the mix with a wooden spoon until it is at the desired texture and colour, warning you   might grown extreme arm muscles in the process. 

Once you have finished mixing, slowly drip in the beaten eggs to the mix while stirring thoroughly. Do NOT worry if the mix begins to curdle! it may look gross but I promise it will still taste lovely.

Add your baking powder to the mix and sift in your flour. Fold the flour and baking powder gently into the mix (by folding the flour in gently you avoid knocking the air bubbles that the mix has in, if you knock the air bubbles out the cake won't rise correctly.

      

Now the mix has finished, split the mix between the two lined and greased cake tins. Smooth down the mixture until it is even. Place in the pre - heated oven for 20 minutes.  

Don't peak in the oven while it is cooking! or the cake will deflate, Go make yourself a cuppa tea and have courage! 

      

Now that you have finished your tea, and the timer has bleeped! Get a metal skewer (or a fork)           and press it into the middle of one of your cakes. If the skewer come out clean with no mix on it is ready to take out! if there is mix left on the skewer place the cakes back in the oven and leave for another 5 minutes. When the cake is cooked take it out of the oven and leave it on the counter while it is still in the tin, leave it in the tin for 20 minutes. When the twenty minutes is up gently remove the cake from the tin by using the extra parchment to hoist it up! place the cakes on a metal cooling rack and leave until stone cold! (any heat from the cake will make the icing melt and drip off!) The cooling should take 1-2 hours.

   

     Ingredients for the rose buttercream filling

• 5.oz of butter (room temperature) 
• 10.oz icing sugar (sifted)
• 2 tsp of rose flavouring (or rose water to taste)
• 1 tbsp on raspberry jam or 2 tbsp of raspberry sauce

Beat the butter until very soft, add the icing sugar and mix until combined and thick! be careful not to completely cover yourself in the icing sugar like I regularly do. Add the rose flavouring and your chosen jam or raspberry sauce mix until a glorious shade of pink!

    

    Ingredients for the raspberry glaze 

• 7.oz of icing sugar 
• 3 tbsp water 
• A handful of frozen raspberries or fresh raspberries 
• A drop of red food colouring 

In a bowl mix the icing sugar with water add the food colouring and drop the raspberries into the

mix.

   Time to assemble! 

Get a plate or a cake board for your base, Place one of the cakes on the plate. Using a palate knife spread your buttercream over the middle of the cake, keeping the sides clean. Now place your second cake on top of the buttercream icing making sure it looks even. Pour your raspberry glaze over the top of the cake letting it drip down the sides if your heart desires. 

Your English Rose Cake is now complete! I finished my cake with homemade fondant roses for a      extra rosey touch! fresh raspberries would also be a lovely decoration to complete this cake.

Until next time! Keeeeeeep baking!