That's What I Call New! #1

Right, I’m trying something NEW here!

Just a quick round up of a couple of things I have been sent to try and a couple of things which I found myself on  trips ‘down the town’ as we say up here.

Actually, this is kinda based on 'New in my Kitchen' a feature by my good friend Jac on her blog Tinned Tomatoes. She gets sent loads of things to try out and does regular round-ups.

So, imitation is the best form of flattery as they say,  and my feature is called ‘That’s What I Call New!’

MOOSE MAPLE BUTTER

First up, when I was in London recently,  I met up with a lovely woman called Farrah who makes the most delicious product called ‘Moose Maple Butter’. I tried it at the Food Bloggers Conference in June and contacted Farrah, to meet up in July, when Disneyboi and I were back down, to collect a pot. Moose Maple Butter is a spread made from organic butter, grade A maple syrup and a pinch of sea salt. Imagine spreading the flavour of pancakes on your toast? It’s like that, but so much better. I will be baking soon with this product so keep your eyes peeled.

OXO GOOD GRIPS SPATULAS

My friends at OXO UK sent me a couple of their new silicone spatulas to try out. They come in two sizes and a wide variety of colours (although none in my favourite orange sadly), I chose white and green. They are heat resistant up to 315C, have a non-slip grip and won’t discolour. I used these in a bowl of quite firm cookie dough and found them sturdy enough to cope with the stiff dough, but soft enough to curve round the side of the bowl. As far as spatulas go these are really rather good!

OATLY 

Again, whilst at FBC in June, I came across a product called Oatly. It’s like milk, but made from 100% oats packed with protein, fibre and added calcium. Good for those who can’t take or are trying to cut down on their lactose levels. The range includes original, organic, chocolate flavour and creamy oat, which is like a single pouring cream. Oatly kindly sent me some vouchers to try out the range. I have made ice pops with the chocolate flavour, been mixing the original with some cold-brewed coffee for a refreshing latte and best of all on my cereal. I love this stuff and will be baking with it soon. Keep an eye out.

BACO PRESS 'N' SEALWRAP 

I recently picked up a product in my local Home Bargains called Baco Press 'n' Seal. I’d seen it advertised in the States and was glad to find it here – although strangely it’s not on their website. It’s a multi-purpose, sealing film which you cut to size. It has a really tight seal that clings to itself and lots of surfaces such as wood, plastic, metal etc. when pressure is applied. I used it to store cookies first off. But it has so many uses – sealing open cans, half-full pans, wrapping sandwiches, meats. It can even be used to seal paint cans, sealing wet toiletries in a wash bag etc. Let’s hope it’s available in more places soon!

MALTESER TEASERS SPREAD

And lastly – I found this in the supermarket last night – Malteser Teasers Spread! Yes – spreadable chocolaty, malty goodness. Full of little crunchy malt balls, this spread is going to be BIG!

Disclosure Statement: I was sent some of these items free to sample. I have not been paid for this post and any opinions expressed are my own.

Watermelon Bubble Tea

When we were in London recently I noticed a big rise in places serving bubble tea. I’ve been aware of bubble tea for a long time, but never tried it.

Well, due to the abundance of places I could buy it, this was obviously the time to give it a go. I had strawberry and coconut flavour which was lovely.

Hang on, some of you may be asking what bubble tea actually is?! Apparently its origins are in Taiwan, back in the 1980’s. It started out as a cold milk tea drink and somewhere along the line large tapioca pearls (boba) were added. The tapioca pearls are the bubbles! They are sooked up when drinking and add a nice chew to the drink. The popularity of the drink has since risen and risen – so if you haven’t heard of it already, you probably will soon.

The teas you can buy are very sweet and loaded with things like condensed milk and artificial flavourings. So I decided to make a slightly healthier version.

The bubble tea I tried in London had dark tapioca which I couldn’t get in my local Chinese supermarket. But the white ones work just as well.

I used green tea as the base, some coconut milk to sweeten it and half a watermelon. I whizzed this all up in my Optimum 9400 blender from Froothie. Because I did it in this, I didn’t have to worry about deseeding the watermelon as the blender made light work of these.

The fiddliest bit was prepping the tapioca, which actually wasn’t too bad once I knew what I was doing. The tapioca in bubble tea is sometimes flavoured, so I added a little lemon flavouring to the ‘bubbles’ whilst they cooled, ready to add to the tea.

It tasted very fresh and healthy and when sooking through the oversized straw, the bubbles pop up and provide a bit of chew. It’s strange but good. 

You will need very thick straws for drinking bubble tea. (I got mine in Tiger store).

Ingredients:

2 green tea bags

150 ml boiling water

40 grams large tapioca pearls (white or dark)

500 ml water to boil

½ teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon agave syrup

½ large watermelon (800 grams approx.) chunked

60 ml coconut milk

Method:

Steep the tea bags in the boiled water for 5 minutes, or longer, for stronger tea. Let this cool completely.

Prepare the tapioca pearls by adding to the 500ml of boiling water. Stir until they float and then simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover the pan for another 15 minutes. Add the lemon and syrup, stir and let the pearls cool completely.

To make the tea, add the cooled tea, watermelon chunks and coconut milk to a blender and whizz until smooth. Add some more agave syrup if you like it sweeter.

Place the cooled tapioca pearls into the bottom of glasses and pour on the watermelon tea. Place in your oversized straw and sook away! Great fun.

Disclosure Statement: I received the blender free to review. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Top Coffee-Break Snacks

(courtesy of Nyul; Dreamstime.com)

Do you, like me, find yourself at work counting down the hours until the next meal? Going without food may seem like the healthy option, but hunger can be very distracting, especially if you’re tired or stressed. Snacking really doesn’t need to be unhealthy and I’ve recently been coming up with a few healthier alternatives myself. But, if you’re stuck for ideas, here are some top healthy coffee-break snacks that will taste delicious as well as fill you up.

1. Edamame

(courtesy of Kenishirotie; Dreamstime.com)

Edamame are the perfect savoury work snack. These immature green soybeans can be eaten fresh or cooked and aside from their healthbenefits taste delicious! Edamame are high in fibre, with 8 grams of cooked Edamame representing 23% of your RDA. Research has shown that high-fibre diets are great for reducing the risks of heart disease and stroke. If eating them on their own doesn’t seem appealing, why not add them to some tomatoes for a sweet and tasty salad!

2. Yoghurt

(courtesy of Johnfoto; Dreamstime.com)

Delicious, healthy, easy and quick to prepare – yoghurt just had to make the list for top coffee-break snacks. Keep a tub of 100% fat-free Greek yoghurt at work and customise it any way you like in seconds. The health benefits of the lactic bacteria in yoghurt are well documented, aiding the immune system, lowering body fat and helping strengthen your bones. Be sure not to pour away the liquid that form at the top of the yoghurt though – it’s full of great protein.

3. Coffee

(courtesy of Dave Berenson; Dreamstime.com)

No coffee break would be complete without coffee  -DUH. Simply turn on yourTassimo coffee maker and read the paper whilst you wait. A fresh cup of java will provide you with the buzz needed to get through the day. The health benefits of coffee have often been called into question, but rest assured – a cup of black coffee is good for you! Coffee beans are rich in antioxidants and are said to keep your liver healthy, as well as help reduce the risk of developing type two diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

4. Smoothies

(courtey of Liv Friis-larsen; Dreamstime.com)

Smoothies are a great way to help you eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. They have been getting quite a lot of negative press, due to manufacturers adding lots of sugars and preservatives to their products. That being said, if you make them yourself, they can be extremely healthy. Whether you’re after something sweet –apple, mango and raspberry, or something nutritious – spinach and banana – these snacks can be made in no time and they taste great.

5. Nuts

(courtesy of Graphichive; Dreamstime.com)

There are many different nuts to choose from, all with their own health benefits. While they may not sound like the most exciting thing in the world, nuts are great for staving off hunger and staying healthy. People often say that nuts are high in fats, and this is true. But nuts are high in unsaturated fats, meaning they are actually good for you. Unsaturated fats are essential in a healthy diet as they help lower cholesterol. A 80g serving of mixed nuts will often provide you with a healthy mix of protein, Vitamin E, Calcium, Zinc and Magnesium.

Disclosure Statement: This is a sponsored post for which I have received payment.

No-Bake Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pinwheels

These chocolate and peanut butter pinwheels sound decadent don’t they? Who doesn’t love chocolate and PB together?

But what if I told you these are ‘no-bake’ and contain no bad fats or refined sugars? You wouldn’t believe me would you? But these really are quite virtuous – made with only natural ingredients, this is another recipe whizzed up in my brilliant Optimum 9400 blender from Froothie.

The recipe is in two parts. First a ‘chocolate’ layer is made from dried fruit, nuts and raw cacao powder. This is pressed down into a pan and chilled.

A peanut butter is made from raw peanuts, a bit of coconut butter and salt.

This is spread on top of the chocolate layer then chilled again, before rolling into a log.

Once chilled for a final time, the log is sliced into little discs which look just like cookies.

The Optimum 9400 made light work of the ingredients in this recipe. Lesser blenders would have burnt out with such a thick, sticky ‘dough’ but the motor in this beast copes no matter what.

If you are looking to purchase a new blender, then I highly recommend the Optimum 9400 from Froothie which you can buy at the moment for a special price of £329, much less than other high spec blenders.

If you purchase the blender through this link, you get a further 2 years warranty added on using the code ‘Special Ambassador Offer’ just for being a Cakeyboi reader. Not bad, eh?

Back to the recipe however…You might need to visit a health food store to purchase some of the ingredients such as raw cacao powder or coconut butter, but it is worth it.

print recipe

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pinwheels

by Stuart Vettese August-11-2014

No-baking and natural ingredients are used in these delicious choccy PB bites.

Ingredients

• 225 grams pitted dates
• 125 grams whole raw almonds
• 70 grams raisins
• 30 grams whole raw pecans
• 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 120 grams raw peanuts
• 2 tablespoons coconut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Line a 9"x9" baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a heavy duty blender, add the dates, almonds, raisins, pecans and cacao powder. Blitz until a ball forms. Add a little water if the mixture seems too dry. Transfer to the tin and press down firmly into an even layer. Pop into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and peel the layer from the paper carefully. Place back on the paper and back into the tin. Make the peanut butter by placing the peanuts, coconut butter and salt into the blender. Whizz until a smooth paste is formed. Spread all over the chocolate/date layer, leaving a 1 cm gap on one edge.Chill for 30 minutes then remove from the fridge. Using the greaseproof paper as a guide, roll the square up tightly, starting with the end which has no PB on it. Wrap the rolled log in clingfilm and roll on the worktop so it is perfectly round. Chill in the fridge for an hour before slicing into discs about 1 cm, or so, thick. Keep the discs refrigerated until you are ready to enjoy them.

Details

Total time: 2 hour Yield: 20 pinwheels approx.

The pinwheels are slightly sticky and taste of good old chocolate and PB. A perfect energy snack!

If you get a chance, pop over and look at the Blender recipe board on Pinterest to give you inspiration as to what you can do with a powerful blender.

I am entering these into several blogger challenges!

Firstly Alphabakes hosted alternately by Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker and this month Caroline at Caroline Makes. The letter is P, and P is for Peanut Butter.

And this month Laura at I'd Much Rather Bake is hosting a no-bake theme for her Biscuit Barrel Challenge.

And you may remember our own challenge Treat Petite is also no-bake this month. My lovely co-host is Kat at

The Baking Explorer.

Lastly, I am entering these into this month's Tea Time Treats hosted by Jane at Hedgecombers and this month Karen at Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is Picnic Food and these would go down a storm at any picnic.

Disclosure Statement: I received the blender free to review. I happen to love it and any opinions expressed are my own.

Lovin’ Summer at Pizza Express

I was recently asked I would like to go along and sample the new summer menu at Pizza Express with my friends Jac of Tinned Tomatoes and Genna from Blethering Boys.

Our nearest Pizza Express is in the town of St. Andrews on the east coast of Scotland. Famous for it’s golf and university, St. Andrews is a lovely town in Fife well worth a visit if you are in the area.

But on to Pizza Express and when we arrived we were put at a lovely table at the back of the restaurant, but I asked to be moved. Not that there was anything wrong with the table, I just wanted something closer to the windows, so I could photograph the lovely food for you.

We were asked if we would like drinks by the attentive waiter, whilst we perused the menu. As we were to be trying the summer menu, we all decided on trying the ‘Hugo’ – Prosecco flavoured with elderflower, fresh mint and lemon.

The drink was lovely and fresh and as it was such a hot evening, really cooled us down. I was the designated driver for the night, and only had the one. But I could have gone a few more!

To start with, we had polenta chips, shared a Leggera Superfood Salad and a Bosco salad. The superfood salad which come in at under 300 calories included seasonal leaves, squash, beetroot, mozzarella plus more. It was light and tasty.

My favourite however was the Bosco salad which came with mushrooms, mozzarella, avocado, tomatoes, spinach, rocket, balsamic syrup and a honey mustard dressing, served with dough sticks. Very delicious!

On to the mains and we each had, you guessed it – pizza! I went for the Emilia Romana from the Summer menu. This is what I would describe as a white pizza. No tomato sauce on this, but hearty mushrooms, goats cheese, a garlic oil and mozzarella base with rocket, lemon juice and black truffle oil. The truffle oil gave it a deep earthy flavour which I loved.

Jac, who was sat next to myself, tried the Caprina Rossa which included beetroot, goat’s cheese, red onion and pesto drizzled over the top. I tried a bit and loved it.

For dessert the ladies tried the two desserts from the Summer menu. Jac had the Leggera Lemon and Blueberry Glory, a lemon curd sorbet with blueberries, coulis and a chocolate straw. It looked heavenly.

Genna  had the Stawberry & Cream Glory which was gelato with strawberries, cream, mint and a sugar wafer curl. Again this looked fantastic (and I wish I had ordered it). I hate it when you get restaurant envy looking at other people’s dishes and wished you’d ordered that.

But my own dessert was not a disappointment! I opted for Dolcetti – a small and sweet treat to accompany coffee. I went for the Double Chocolate Espresso Torta with a machiatto. The torta had a rich ganache made from chocolate and espresso on top of a chocolate biscuit base. It was devilish and delicious!

It was beginning to get dark outside and we realised we had been in the restaurant for 3 hours. We were made to feel at home and there seemed no rush for us to move on. But we had to eventually and took away boxes of leftover pizza for our other-halves to try. We had a slow meander around St. Andrews as we were so full, before we got back in the car and made our way home.

A lovely summery evening was had by all.

If you want to try the Summer Menu at your local PizzaExpress take a look and book your table now!

Disclosure Statement: We received our meal free to review. We were not committed to writing a favourable review. Any opinions expressed are my own.  

Cola Bottle Brownies

Who remembers (or still loves) cola bottles? The small gummy sweetie which tastes just like cola. I loved them when I was younger, when I used to get at least 20 in a 10p bag (they used to cost 1/2p when I was wee).

So, after making a couple of treats inspired by sweetie favourites such as rhubarb and custard (my rhubarb and custard cookie bars) and my Chocolate Lime Krispie Treats, I decided to pair cola bottles with chocolate for cola bottle brownies.

I made Chocolate Cola Cupcakes back at the start of Cakeyboi and loved the pairing of cola and chocolate, so knew that the fudginess of brownies would work well with the distinctive flavour of cola.

I used a mix of real cola in the brownies, cola flavouring which you can find in a few supermarkets these days (I got mine from Sainsbury’s) and added cola bottles into the batter. The cola bottles dissolve when baking, leaving pools of delicious cola intensity when you bite in.

The brownies are dark in colour and very moist. They do break up quite easily, so leave them to set for a few hours after baking, if you can wait that long! This gives them a chance to set up and get a bit sturdier to handle.

I did toy with the idea of putting on a cola flavoured frosting, but I liked the simplicity of the naked brownies, but that is always an option for you.

print recipe

Cola Bottle Brownies

by Stuart Vettese August-7-2014

Delicious chocolatey moist brownies with the flavour of cola throughout.

Ingredients

• 125 grams plain flour
• 375 grams granulated sugar
• 65 grams unsweetned cocoa powder
• half teaspoon salt
• half teaspoon baking powder
• 150 ml cola (diet is fine)
• 150 ml vegetable oil
• 1 medium egg
• 2 teaspoon cola flavouring
• 100 grams cola bottle sweets

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with foil and grease lightly. In a bowl sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and powder. In a jug mix the cola, oil, egg and cola flavouring together. Pour this on to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Lastly add the cola bottles and stir through the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool fully before slicing into squares.

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 9"x13" pan

I am entering these brownies into this week's CookBlogShare hosted by Lucy at Supergoldenbakes.

Kiwi Cupcakes with EASY 'Strawberry' Frosting

Strawberry and Kiwi always seem like a good pairing to me. So when I made these delicious Kiwi Cupcakes, I knew the exact frosting I wanted to put on top.

Strawberry Cream Cheese frosting might not seem too radical, but wait until you see how this one is made – it is easy as can be.

I love kiwifruit, scooping it out of its little skin like an egg. Its unique flavour works really well in these cupcakes and tastes very fresh and light. It just takes a couple of very ripe, mashed up kiwifruit to pop into the cupcake batter. The little black seeds are flecked through the baked result which is delicious.

On to that Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. Why I am I so excited about it? It only takes a tub of cream cheese (light versions are fine) a packet of pudding mix such as Angel Delight and some milk. That’s it. Pop the ingredients in a mixer and then into a piping bag (it’s too thick to spread) pipe the mix on to cupcakes and you are done. Easy. Plus, you could totally change the flavour depending on what pudding mix you buy – chocolate, butterscotch, banana?!

The frosting holds up well for a few days too, if kept in the fridge.

Yield: 12 Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

2 ripe kiwifruits (peeled)

350 grams plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

65 ml milk (I use almond)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

113 grams unsalted butter, softened

170 grams granulated sugar

1 egg

2 egg whites

1 extra kiwifruit for garnish

Adapted from My Edible Memories

Frosting Ingredients:

1 packet Strawberry flavour pudding mix (such as Angel Delight)

1 pack any cream cheese (250 grams)

2-3 tablespoons milk (I used almond again)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake tray.

In a small bowl mash the kiwifruit with a fork. Get it as smooth as possible.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl mix together the milk, kiwifruit and vanilla.

In a mixer blend together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg and egg whites and beat until combined. Add one third of the four mix and blend in. Add one half of the kiwi mix and blend in. Repeat with flour, kiwi and lastly flour.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or so. They will have turned golden brown and a toothpick will come out clean from the centre. Allow them to cool completely before adding the frosting.

To make the frosting cream the cream cheese in a mixer with the beater attachment (not the whisk). Add the pudding mix and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat until the mixture is smooth. If it seems a little tight, add more milk until it loosens to a pipe-able consistency. Transfer the frosting to a disposable piping bag with a nozzle of your choice and pipe onto each cupcake.

Decorate the tops with a little wedge of kiwifruit and that’s it. Light, fruity and fluffy these cupcakes will delight kids and grown-up kids alike!

And if you have any leftover kiwifruit why not give Helen, at Fuss Free Flavour's  pavlova recipe a try?

I am entering these Kiwi Cupcakes into October's Alphabakes hosted alternately by Caroline at Caroline Makes and this month Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker. The letter this month is K, so these fit the bill perfectly.