Pink Walnut Bomb Cake

2 cups plain flour

1 stick butter

1 cup Sugar

One tablespoon instant coffee

Food Colouring - Red

1/2 cup whole milk

2eggs

1/2 stick butter

Small handful of walnuts

Icing Sugar

In a small bowl, sieve out 2 cups of plain flour. Add baking powder and set aside.

Dissolve the coffee and red food colouring and also set aside.

I intend on making a pink cake so i did not use too much. However, you can add any colour you want!

Measure out the butter and sugar and cream together.

Add the eggs one at a time

Add the food colouring and coffee to the butter and sugar mixture.

While slowly mixing, alternately add the flour and milk (you can replace this with buttermilk or even creamed yoghurt!)

Add vanilla extract.

Grease and flour the cake pan

Place into a pre-heated oven at 175 for 20-25mins.

Once cooled add vanilla butter-cream between the layers.

Then crush walnuts (or hazelnuts) and add to butter-cream icing.

Cover the cake with the mixture and add one single walnut to decorate.

Enjoy!

Klecha - Sweet Walnut Pastry Bites

A traditionally middle-eastern sweet. Usually served with tea after dinner. There are many variations to this sweet from morocco through to Iraq.
Here I have made it Iraqi style with sugared walnuts.

Two and a half cups plain flour

Three teaspoons Fast Action Dried Yeast

One teaspoon salt

Half Cup Oil

Natural Yoghurt 

Half Cup Warm water

One egg white

For The Filling:

Walnuts

Sugar

Cardamom

To start with, measure out two and a half cups plain flour, add the salt and yeast and sieve into a mixing bowl.

Separate the egg whites from the yolk. Set the yolk aside for later and stir the egg whites into the flour mix. 

Then add half a cup of oil (I have used sunflower, but again vegetable or olive oil are fine!)

Mix half a cup of water with a small amount of natural yoghurt and stir in, this helps the pastry tenderize.

Continue to mix until all ingredients are blended together.

Once the pastry is easily malleable cover with cling film, then a tea towel and keep in a warm place for 1-3 hours depending on how much time you have. 

While you wait prepare the filling.

Walnuts and Sugar.

Next add the Cardomom. You can make life easy for yourself and use ground Cardomom, the hard work already done for you, but I find by grinding it myself with a pestle and mortar I get a much better flavour, taste and smell!!

Remove the outer shell and with the walnuts and sugar, use the pestle and mortar again to grind the mixture.

You are now ready to make the pastries!

Here I have used the tools specifically for making Klecha, but there is no wrong in using your hands. To be honest, it actually comes out better when you do so anyway. You are able to make and mould it yourself. 

Place the walnut mixture into the centre of the pastry and wrap up into any shape desire. You can even 

have some plain empty ones!!

Now using the egg yolk from earlier, glaze the tops of all the Klecha.

Place into a pre-heated oven at 180 for 8-10mins keeping a close eye on them!

Leave on a rack to cool, make yourself a tea, and enjoy!

Cinnamon delights

Cinnamon Delights

with honey custard and orange cream

Ingredients:

Just Roll Ready Puff Pastry

Cinnamon

Honey

Custard

Double Cream

Orange (or whatever flavour you desire)

What to do...

Lay out the puff pastry and cut into strips

Generously sprinkle over cinnamon

Add a dash of honey

Roll each strip over into a spiral

Place into muffin/cupcake tray

(Or place into balls on a piece of parchment paper 2inchs apart)

Bake in the over for 10-15mins or until golden brown

Add more sweetness by sprinkling over some sugar and place under grill under tops are caramelized.

There you have it, a delightful dessert in under thirty minutes.

Serve with Orange cream.

Whip double cream until thick, add the juice of half an orange 

(or several drops of an extract/flavour of your choice)

Or Serve with custard and a drizzle of honey!