Blueberry Tea Cake

This is a comforting and delicious cake recipe from Bill Granger's new book Feed Me Now!

I have spent a perfect Sunday in my kitchen preparing this cake and I have just enjoyed my first slice with a cup of tea...yum! It is fairly easy to make and I will definately be doing it again soon. The cream cheese frosting is highly recomended, although you can choose to have it without.

Ingredients:
180g butter at room temp, plus extra for greasing
210ml soured cream
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
330g caster sugar
2tsp grated lemon zest
1tsp vanilla extract
3 medium eggs
250g blueberries
375g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

For the cream cheese frosting:
250g cream cheese
100g butter at room temp.
1tsp grated lemon zest
1tsp vanilla extract
250g icing sugar, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease a 23x33cm baking tin and line it with baking paper. In a bowl mix the soured cream and bicarbonate of soda and set aside for 5mins.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and creamy. Add the lemon zest and vanilla, and beat to combine. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then add the soured cream mixture until combined.
3. In another bowl, toss the berries with a little of the flour. Sift the rest, with the baking powder, over the cake mixture and carefully fold in, until just combined. Gently fold in the berries.
4. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 45-55mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (except for some berry juice). Cool in the tin for 10mins then turn out onto a wire rack.
5. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, lemon zest, and vanilla in a bowl until light and fluffy, then mix in the sugar until smooth. Top the cooled cake with the frosting.

Give it a go....its tasty!

Tomato and Rocket Bruschetta

This is a simple and tasty dish from the Italian issue of Delicious magazine. It is perfect as a starter but even better as a light main course...enjoy!

1. Finely chop 2 garlic cloves, then put in a bowl with 4 large vine-ripened tomatoes,deseeded and roughly chopped. Add in 2 tbsp of fresh, chopped basil leaves and 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil.

2. Brush 4 ciabatta slices on both sides with extra-virgin olive oil, then place under a hot grill for 1 minute each side until golden. Halve 1 garlic clove, then rub 1 side of the bread with the garlic.

3. Pile the tomato mixture on top of the grilled bread. Top with a handful of rocket leaves, drizzle of oil and some Parmesan shavings.

Deeeee-lish!

Taste Festival

I went to the Taste of Edinburgh festival a couple of weeks ago. It was a great day out, the weather was fantastic, which makes a change! There were lots of stalls filled with local and international produce. I discovered a gorgeous New Zealand wine called O:TU. It was a Sauvignon Blanc, very delicious and worth a try if you can get your hands on it! There were plenty of free samples to be had and i ended up spending a small fortune on Welsh cheese, Scottish rum, and English biscuits.

Perfect day!

Vegas!

I havn't posted for a wee while because I have been away, enjoying the sights and sounds of las Vegas! I have been once before, 5 years ago, whilst travelling the west coast of the USA with my best friend. We were poor students at the time and backpacked it on Greyhound buses, lodging in dodgy hostels and could definately not afford to gamble! We promised that we would return...and do it in style, which we did!

We stayed at The Palazzo, one of the newest editionts to the strip. It is connected to the Venetian and follows a similar idea of Italian luxury. We were only in vegas for a long weekend, probably the best way to do it. We lounged by the fantastic pool in the day, making the most of the sun, then ventured out to The Stip at night, when it really comes alive, with plenty of great opportunities for neon sign photography.

I can't recommend this crazy city enough! It has to be experienced to understand it, and it's truly a love it or hate it destination... I LOVE it!