Posts in Delicious Food
Caketails - Lemon Cheesecake

A little while ago I had an idea for a mini series. We love cocktails, you can check out our mini bar mini dresser here, but what could be more fun than cocktail recipes inspired by cakes?! 

So I had a go at one... and then never got round to posting the photos! 

Here it is - my lemon cheesecake inspired caketail! 

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Ingredients:

  • Brandy (to give warmth and depth for the base)
  • Limoncello (for the creamy lemon filling)
  • Cava/Prosecco - I used a supermarket brut (for the lighter refreshing after taste)
  • Angostura Bitters 
  • Candied lemon peel (to garnish) 
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Pour a tiny splash of brandy in the bottom of your glass. Add a measure of limoncello and using a flat based cocktail spoon, pour a layer of cava onto the base of the cocktail. Hold the base of the spoon and pour the cava down the long handle, raising the spoon as you pour.  

I then added a splash of bitters (Because we stick them in everything!) and a garnish of candied lemon peel.

Creamy but refreshing! 

We have a well stocked bar at the moment on account of the muggy weather (Which never makes you feel like an adventurous cocktail does it?), being snowed under with work and having a hacking cough. You know when I am really ill as there are no wine glasses to wash up ;)

So when I am fighting fit watch out for some delicious caketail recipes coming up on the blog, ready for the festive party season. 

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Any favourite cakes to inspire or challenge me?! I am itching to use the white and milk chocolate liqueur next! 

Wonderful Wedding Wednesday • Autumn Wedding Food Inspiration

I had always imagined a summer wedding when I was a little girl, but when I started dreaming up this post idea I realised all the food I love to eat is so Autumnal that perhaps I picked the wrong season! 

Every week I support The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation, a charity helping terminally people get married, with a wedding related post, so this week it's food! 

I love canapés at a wedding. As a guest I am always racing around getting ready and too excited to eat lunch before the ceremony, and then feel ravenous when we get to a reception venue!  

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I made these sweet and sticky fig canapés, which would be perfect for an Autumn wedding buffet. 

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In fact they went down a treat with my 2 year old too! I am tempted to make another batch and save them for pre school packed lunches.

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Ingredients: 

  • Puff pastry sheets cut into circles approx 3 inch diameter. I used a scalloped cutter
  • Figs
  • Walnuts
  • Acacia Honey
  • Desiccated coconut
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Instructions: 

  • Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees/Gas Mark 4
  • Cut your circles from the puff pastry sheets
  • Slice your figs thinly and layer 3 slices per pastry circle
  • Chop your whole walnuts and sprinkle over the fig slices
  • Drizzle half a teaspoon of honey onto the figs (I preferred a thicker honey to start with as it will melt in the oven whilst cooking) 
  • Sprinkle desiccated coconut over and bake for 20 mins. 
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Add a little extra coconut and honey to the top layer if you choose to stack them for extra wow factor. The coconut works just like a dusting of icing sugar. Embrace the gooey wonder that falls out of the oven, it's not about perfect shapes, let the pastry do it's thing!

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Check out these other delicious Autumn wedding food canapé and starter ideas, using seasonal ingredients. Which one would you fancy eating the most?! 

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Top left to right; pumpkin quiche, autumn favour bagsapple crisps, sausage and mushroom canapés, butternut squash soup, parsnip and roasted vegetable crostini, beetroot and goat's cheese canapés, plum and cobnut tarts

Please take a minute out of your busy days to read about the work of The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation and if you have another minute, donate £1. If ever person who reads this post donated £1, it would go a long way towards paying for someone's entire wedding.

Linking up with The Great Bloggers Bake Off with Helen and Jenny

Honfleur Autumn Salad

Our holiday to Honfleur was bursting with blog inspiration! From the architecture, to the beautiful boutique bed and breakfast where we stayed, to the food. Oh, the food! 

One of the most delicious things we ate was a salad (yes I know a salad!!!) at the Bistro des Artistes. But this was a salad with a difference. One woman doing it all, and one dog saying hello every time she ran upstairs, who then got shooed in French back to his bed!

We couldn't have loved it more. 

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It was described as salmon blinis but what came out was the most thick and bouncy pancakes with ripped smoked salmon scattered around a bed of salad leaves.

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So today is a very belated shrove tuesday on the blog! Only joking, here is my version of the Summer salad ready for Autumn days. A simple lunch that is filling and only a little bit naughty, depending on how many pancakes you rip up!  

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Ingredients:

For the pancakes (Makes 6): 

  • 220g/8oz plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 pint milk
  • Olive oil

For the salad: 

  • I used a mixed living salad and snipped off the top leaves
  • Sliced radish
  • Smoked salmon - ripped into thin pieces
  • Lemon
  • Lime
  • Salt and Pepper

Sieve your flour into a bowl from a height and make a well in the centre. Crack your eggs into the well and whisk. Add your milk and whisk until smooth. Leave for 20 minutes or so.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan and add a ladle of pancake mix. As the mix begins to set and your pancake forms, add a little more mix to add height to your pancake. 

Turn after approximately 5 minutes until golden. 

Leave to cool until you can touch them and rip at random.  

Layer your plate with salad leaves, salmon, pancakes, sliced radishes and squeeze a little lemon and lime juice over the top. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

I served mine with a little chilli mayonnaise on the side. 

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I felt completely inspired by the town of Honfleur, I still have a couple of posts to share, including the wonderful Saturday market. Until next time... 

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