Vanilla Ice Cream – using a Philips Delizia Ice Cream Maker

This is going to be an ice cream recipe and an ice cream machine review blog post!

For Sunday Lunch dessert I made French Apple Tarts, but I wanted to serve them with some nice ice cream. Steve’s Mum got a Philips Delizia Ice Cream Maker last year, but I’m the only one that has used it since she got it! I think it’s a very good machine for the price, so I thought I’d better give it another outing in the kitchen.

It’s from Lakeland and I’ve just read on their website some people are having problems with their disc leaking. Steve’s sister has the same machine and she had problems with her disc too, in that it wouldn’t freeze properly. I think she got a replacement quite easily though.

Well we’ve not had any problems with our machine, touch wood. It’s a nice compact machine, that is really easy to put together and easy to clean. At Tante Marie I used a Magimix Gelato Ice Cream Maker and it was a nightmare to clean, plus it was about 4 times the price!

There are 3 main components to the Philips machine:

1. The bowl
2. The lid (contains the motor) plus mixing paddle
3. The freezing disc

You keep the freezing disc wrapped in a plastic bag in the freezer. When you’ve made your ice cream mixture, then you unwrap the disc and place it into the bowl. Then you attach the mixing paddle onto the lid and then lock the lid into place on the bowl. Then you switch the machine on before pouring your ice cream mixture in through the hole in the lid. After about 30 minutes you have wonderfully churned ice cream that you can eat straight from the machine, or you can decant it into a container and chuck it in the freezer.

So using it is pretty straightforward and you don’t need to spend ages reading the well explained instructions. Cleaning the bowl, the freezing disc and the paddle is very easy in some hot soapy warm. Obviously you can’t do the same for the lid as it contains the motor, but this part doesn’t really get dirty if you’re careful when pouring in your ice cream mixture (use a jug). My only issue regarding cleaning, is the bowl is not made from one piece of plastic and there is a part at the bottom which traps water. I only really noticed it when I was packing it away and loads of water started dripping out. I have tried shaking it out but there is still some that remains, so I’ve stuck it next to the radiator to try and dry it out!

Overall, it is a good machine for the money as it is around £50, whereas a Magimix one will cost at least £200 and the results are just the same in my opinion. The quality of your ice cream will depend on the ingredients that you use. Steve’s sister makes her ice cream without eggs and it isn’t as good as when you make a proper custard based ice cream because there isn’t the necessary fat to stabilise it. The texture is therefore not as creamy and crystals form when it has been in the freezer.

So here is my recipe for ice cream:

• Makes: 1 pint
• You will need: a large bowl, a saucepan, a measuring jug

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 250ml milk (semi-skimmed is fine)
• 250ml double cream
• 100g white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and foamy.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan and place over a medium heat and scald the milk (this means to bring it nearly to a boil, until you can see bubbles around the edge of the pan and little wisps of steam) stirring to prevent a skin forming.
3. Pour the milk onto the egg and sugar mixture, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves (if you’re a bit worried about scrambling the eggs, temper the mixture first).
4. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently until the custard thickens, stirring constantly. It is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool (you can speed this up by placing in a bath of iced water).
5. When the mixture is cold, stir in the cream and vanilla extract, then it is ready to put into your ice cream machine. If you’re not using the mixture straight away, cover it with cling film to prevent a skin from forming.

COOK’S NOTES:

• The custard mixture will taste quite sweet and strongly of vanilla, but remember that once it has been churned and is frozen it won’t taste as sweet/strong.

Dauphinois Potatoes

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
I used the Rachel Allen recipe for Garlic Layered Potatoes from her book Rachel’s Favourite Food for Friends (which Steve bought for me many moons ago and I am sorry to say that I haven’t used very much!) for the ingredients and quantities, but I changed the method. This was mainly because I wanted to speed things up and also because I thought her way required too much faffing about with lots of layering of the potatoes and dotting with the garlic and butter. My way is a lot more slap dash, but at least you won’t want to commit hari-kiri before you’ve even put it in the oven and it still tastes great.

Even though I was only cooking for Steve and myself, I made a full quantity which should serve 5-6 people because I love potatoes and I knew that any leftovers would be just as good reheated. We ate half of the whole thing with steak and asparagus and the other half with a chicken, mushroom and pea dish that I made up (a recipe might get posted if I can remember the quantities!).

The photo above is of the reheated half and as you can see it really is a dish that doesn’t suffer from a night in the chiller. 30 minutes at Gas 6 should do the trick and keep it covered with foil if it is already quite brown from its first visit to the oven.

• Serves: 5-6 (but more realistically 4 greedy people)
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: a shallow wide gratin/ovenproof dish (I used a 10x10 inch square dish)

Ingredients:

• 250ml (8¾ fl.oz) double cream
• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 25g (1oz) butter
• salt and pepper
• 800g (1¾ lb) peeled potatoes (weigh when peeled), sliced ½cm (¼ inch) thick
• 2 small pinches of freshly ground nutmeg (I left this out)
• 40g (1½ oz) finely grated Parmesan Cheese (I used Twineham Grange)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Grease your ovenproof dish liberally with butter.
3. Place your cream, butter, garlic and salt and pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil.
4. Add the potatoes and heat for a few minutes until the potatoes have absorbed some of the cream.
5. Pour the potatoes into your ovenproof dish (arranging the top layer as neatly as possible!), then scatter the Parmesan over the top.
6. Cover with tin foil and place in the oven for 1 hour, removing the foil after 30 minutes. The potatoes are done when you can easily stick a knife into them and the top should be golden brown.

COOK’S NOTES:

• Use a mandoline or V slicer to slice the potatoes to an even thickness. Go and look in the back of your cupboards, I’m sure you have one gathering dust!
• Use a dish that is big enough so that the potatoes are only about 3 layers deep, otherwise it will take longer to cook.

Crème Brulee – second attempt!

MUNCH RATING 5/5

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
Steve requested I make him crème brulee for his birthday meal, but I only had whipping cream so I improvised the recipe I used before and it worked out even better than before! The texture was a lot smoother and the added bonus is whipping cream contains less fat (double cream is at least 48% fat, whereas whipping is at least 35%). Because the whipping cream was much runnier than double cream, I added more egg yolks and omitted the milk and I also put the mixture back in the pan to thicken slightly, like when making custard. I also didn’t bother using a baking sheet to cover them when baking in the oven as it seemed a pointless exercise. I also reduced the oven temperature to Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C.

I’m pleased that I managed to sprinkle the sugar over the top and brulee it without making such a mess around the edges! I didn’t even need to wipe up the sugar around the edges before subjecting it to the blowtorch so I’m becoming a dab hand at this!

Steve did shout at me for changing the recipe when the first attempt was so good, but he let me off when I explained I didn’t have the right type of cream. Plus I’m pretty chuffed that I managed to pull off my improvisation and made the recipe better. After all, that’s what cooking is all about!

His only other complaint was that there wasn’t enough of it! Because I omitted the milk there was slightly less in each ramekin, but I thought a half-full ramekin of crème brulee was plenty, especially as it was to follow his favourite Thai Massaman curry which he always has second helpings of (this was for his birthday meal, but we were both so stuffed from birthday cake that we had the crème brulee the following evening). Anyway, I let him eat half of mine and he said 1.5 portions is just about the right amount! So I’m going to have to double up next time!

• Makes: 2
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: 2 ramekins, a small saucepan, a deep roasting tin (at least 7.5cm deep)

Ingredients:

• 200ml whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large egg yolks
• 25g golden caster sugar, plus extra for the topping

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C. Sit two 175ml ramekins in a deep roasting tin at least 7.5cm deep (I used a loaf cake tin).
2. Pour the cream into a small pan with the vanilla extract and bring almost to the boil. As soon as you see bubbles appear round the edge, take the pan off the heat.
3. Put the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk for 1 minute with an electric hand whisk until paler in colour and a bit fluffy. Pour the hot cream onto the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a whisk as you do so. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring constantly until it has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat.
4. Set a fine sieve over a large wide jug or bowl and pour the hot mixture through to strain it. Using a slotted spoon, scoop off all the pale foam that is sitting on the top of the liquid (this will be several spoonfuls) and discard – Don’t skip this step! Give the mixture a stir.
5. Pour in enough hot water (from the tap is fine) into the roasting tin to come about 1.5cm up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the hot mixture into the ramekins.
6. Put them in the oven bake for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is softly set. To check, give the ramekins a jiggle and if the crème brulees are ready, they will wobble a bit like a jelly in the middle. Don't let them get too firm.
7. Lift the ramekins out of the roasting tin with oven gloves and set them on a wire rack to cool for a couple of minutes only, then put in the fridge to cool completely (mine were set after about 3 hours). This can be done overnight without affecting the texture.
8. When ready to serve, wipe round the top edge of the dishes, sprinkle 1½ tsp of caster sugar over each ramekin and swirl the ramekin around the evenly distribute the sugar. Then use a blow torch to caramelise the sugar. Hold the flame just above the sugar and keep moving it round and round until caramelised. Serve when the brulee is firm (after about 5 minutes), or within an hour or two.

Sausage and Tomato Quiche

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

When I made my Leek and Bacon Quiche I came up with the idea of doing a Breakfast Quiche with sausage, bacon and mushrooms. I wanted to add some cherry tomatoes and now that Steve likes my home-grown ones, I decided to just do a Sausage and Tomato quiche (plus we didn’t have any bacon as we’d had Bacon Sarnies the day before!).

I thought the tomatoes tasted fantastic so I’d definitely put them into a quiche again.

I used the pastry that I’d previously made and put into the freezer. I defrosted it in the fridge overnight and it had little white spots all over it. It looked a bit like mould, but it didn’t smell off and Steve said it was probably just the fat in the pastry that had separated. So I just kneaded the pastry until it was smooth and it was fine to roll out.

• Makes: 1 quiche but enough pastry for 2
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C
• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 1 hour
• You will need: an 8-inch flan tin

Ingredients for the Shortcrust Pastry:

• 225g plain flour
• 55g butter, cold
• 55g lard, cold
• approx. 9 teaspoons water

Directions for the pastry:

1. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Cut the fat into small pieces and add to the flour. Rub the fat into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you shake the bowl, any big lumps of fat should rise to the surface, so you need to rub these in.
3. Make a well in the centre, then add the water and using a round bladed/palette knife, mix into a firm dough. Don’t force the mixture together, if you need to add another teaspoon of water to bring together the dry bits at the bottom of the bowl then that’s fine.
4. There is no need to chill this dough, so you can roll it out and use it straight away or store it in the freezer for another time.
5. You only need half the amount of pastry for 1 quiche, so split it in half and freeze whatever you don’t need - if you have a spare flan tin then it’s ideal if you line that tin with the pastry and then pop the whole thing in the freezer, then it’s ready to use for next time!
6. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C.
7. Roll out your pastry to 2-3mm thick and use it to line an 8-inch flan tin, pressing it into the flutes, then neatly trim away the excess with a knife. If your tin has a lip then make sure it is covered with pastry as when it bakes it will shrink. Then line the tin with some greaseproof paper and fill with a layer of baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, it should be pale golden brown. Remove the baking beans and the paper and return the pastry to the oven for about 5-10 minutes to dry out the base.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 4 sausages (I used Lincolnshire)
• big handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 75g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 large eggs
• 150ml double cream (I used Elmlea)
• salt and black pepper

Directions for the filling:

1. Grill the sausages until they’re golden brown. Slice on an angle about 5mm thick.
2. Arrange roughly half the sausages into the blind-baked pastry case, sprinkle on the cheese, then arrange the tomato halves and the rest of the sausage over the top in a pretty pattern.
3. Whisk the eggs with the cream, salt and pepper. Pour the liquid into the pastry case, being careful not to overfill it (you might not need all of it).
4. Place in the top third of your oven and cook for 25-30 minutes at Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C. Serve hot or warm.

Crème Brulee – first attempt!

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

This is the first time I’ve made a proper crème brulee. We made a Simple Fruit Brulee on my cooking course at Tante Marie, but this was basically just sweetened creme fraiche on top of fruit and then the burnt sugar on top, so unfortunately I didn’t actually learn very much from that recipe except how to use a blowtorch!

I got this recipe from the BBC Good Food website, but I have basically halved the quantity as I only wanted to make 2. I didn’t use a vanilla pod as they’re too expensive, so I’ve altered the method slightly as I used vanilla extract instead.

When they came out of the oven I was a bit worried I’d scrambled/curdled the eggs because the top wasn’t smooth. I think maybe the water I put into the bain marie was too hot, as it had just boiled in the kettle, so next time I will let the water cool down a bit before pouring it in or I’ll just use hot tap water. This recipe says you should cover the tin with a baking sheet, but I’m not convinced this is the best thing to do because of the risk of condensation, so next time I’ll try it without the sheet.


But surprisingly they did have a lovely texture and we both enjoyed them immensely! I used my new blow torch that I bought from Amazon and it’s brilliant! I should have cleaned up the sugar on the ramekins to make them look nicer, but I’m still very pleased with my first crème brulee effort! I also got my ramekins from Amazon.

I found the video tutorial on this website incredibly helpful: rouxbe

• Makes: 2
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: 2 ramekins, a small saucepan, a deep roasting tin (at least 7.5cm deep), a baking sheet (optional?)

Ingredients:

• 300ml double cream
• 40ml full-fat milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large egg yolks
• 25g golden caster sugar, plus extra for the topping

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C. Sit two 175ml ramekins in a deep roasting tin at least 7.5cm deep (I used a loaf cake tin), one that will enable a baking tray to sit well above the ramekins when laid across the top of the tin.
2. Pour the cream into a small pan with the milk and the vanilla extract and bring almost to the boil. As soon as you see bubbles appear round the edge, take the pan off the heat.
3. Put the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk for 1 minute with an electric hand whisk until paler in colour and a bit fluffy. Pour the hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a wire whisk as you do so.
4. Set a fine sieve over a large wide jug or bowl and pour the hot mixture through to strain it. Using a big spoon, scoop off all the pale foam that is sitting on the top of the liquid (this will be several spoonfuls) and discard – Don’t skip this step! Give the mixture a stir.
5. Pour in enough hot water (from the tap is fine) into the roasting tin to come about 1.5cm up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the hot cream into the ramekins so you fill them up right to the top - it's easier to spoon in the last little bit. Put them in the oven and lay a baking sheet over the top of the tin so it sits well above the ramekins and completely covers them, but not the whole tin, leaving a small gap at one side to allow air to circulate. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is softly set. To check, gently sway the roasting tin and if the crème brulees are ready, they will wobble a bit like a jelly in the middle. Don't let them get too firm.
6. Lift the ramekins out of the roasting tin with oven gloves and set them on a wire rack to cool for a couple of minutes only, then put in the fridge to cool completely (mine were set after about 3 hours). This can be done overnight without affecting the texture.
7. When ready to serve, wipe round the top edge of the dishes, sprinkle 1½ tsp of caster sugar over each ramekin and spread it out with the back of a spoon to completely cover. Spray with a little water using a fine spray (I didn’t do this and it was fine) to just dampen the sugar - then use a blow torch to caramelise it. Hold the flame just above the sugar and keep moving it round and round until caramelised. Serve when the brulee is firm, or within an hour or two. 

CHECK OUT MY SECOND ATTEMPT HERE!

Mandy’s Millionaire’s Shortbread

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I had loads of leftover Butterscotch Sauce that I’d made hanging about in the fridge, so I decided to make Millionaire’s Shortbread. The Butterscotch Sauce is Rachel Allen’s recipe that I got from her book Rachel’s Favourite Food for Friends. The sauce is much runnier than in your usual Millionaire’s Shortbread, but it was still absolutely delicious!

The Shortbread recipe I used was the one on my blog and it worked really well. Obviously because it was thicker and cooked in a tin it wasn’t as crunchy, but it still had a really good texture.

• Makes: 16 squares
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: a large mixing bowl, an 8-inch square baking tin

For the Shortbread:

1. Make the shortbread as directed in the recipe, then press it into your 8-inch square tin, using the back of a spoon to smooth it flat. Bake on the top shelf for 20 minutes at Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C until light golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin. Meanwhile you can make the sauce.

For the Butterscotch Sauce:

• 125g golden syrup
• 75g light brown sugar or muscovado
• 50g white sugar, caster or granulated
• 50g butter
• 100ml double cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and melt slowly, stirring all the time, then simmer for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
2. Pour the sauce over the cooled shortbread (you probably won’t need the whole amount, as remember I used leftover sauce. You can store any extra covered in the fridge for weeks.) then put in the fridge so it can set a little bit (or if you’re really impatient like me, chuck it in the freezer for about 10 minutes!).

For the Chocolate Topping:

1. Simply melt about 100g of milk or dark chocolate (minus any squares you have eaten!) in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then pour over the set butterscotch sauce and spread – you will have to work quickly as the chocolate will harden as it cools on the cold sauce. 100g of chocolate will give quite a thin layer of chocolate. If you want a thicker layer, use a couple of bars!

I keep this covered in the fridge. The butterscotch sauce stays runny, so it’s a bit messy to eat!

Leek and Bacon Quiche

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I’ve never made a quiche before and even though I like Quiche Lorraine, I thought I’d do something a bit different by making a Leek and Bacon one.
I made some shortcrust pastry which was really easy to do and the recipe below makes enough pastry for 2 quiches if using an 8-inch flan tin.
Steve and I did like this quiche a lot as the pastry was really nice and the filling didn’t taste too eggy, but we were discussing different fillings and agreed next time I’ll make a Breakfast Quiche with sausage, bacon and mushrooms. I’d like to add some cherry tomatoes but Steve wasn’t keen on that idea, so I’ll add caramelised onions instead.

• Makes: 1 quiche but enough pastry for 2
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C then Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 1 hour
• You will need: an 8-inch flan tin

Ingredients for the Shortcrust Pastry:

• 225g plain flour
• 55g butter, cold
• 55g lard, cold
• approx. 9 teaspoons water

Directions for the pastry:

1. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Cut the fat into small pieces and add to the flour. Rub the fat into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you shake the bowl, any big lumps of fat should rise to the surface, so you need to rub these in.
3. Make a well in the centre, then add the water and using a round bladed/palette knife, mix into a firm dough. Don’t force the mixture together, if you need to add another teaspoon of water to bring together the dry bits at the bottom of the bowl then that’s fine.
4. There is no need to chill this dough, so you can roll it out and use it straight away or store it in the freezer for another time.
5. You only need half the amount of pastry for 1 quiche, so split it in half and freeze whatever you don’t need - if you have a spare flan tin then it’s ideal if you line that tin with the pastry and then pop the whole thing in the freezer, then it’s ready to use for next time!
6. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C.
7. Roll out your pastry to 2-3mm thick and use it to line an 8-inch flan tin, pressing it into the flutes, then neatly trim away the excess with a knife. If your tin has a lip then make sure it is covered with pastry as when it bakes it will shrink. Then line the tin with some greaseproof paper and fill with a layer of baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, it should be pale golden brown. Remove the baking beans and the paper and return the pastry to the oven for about 5 minutes to dry out the base.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 2 medium sized leeks
• 25g butter
• 2-3 rashers of bacon, grilled and cut into pieces
• 75g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 large eggs
• 150ml double cream (I used Elmlea)
• salt and black pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions for the filling:

1. Trim the leeks, discarding the dark green part. Wash the white part of the leeks and slice thinly into rings.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the leeks and mix well. Season with salt and black pepper. Cover with a piece of damp greaseproof paper and a lid and sweat the leeks until they are tender. Stir in the bacon.
3. Place the leek and bacon into the blind-baked pastry case and sprinkle on the cheese.
4. Whisk the eggs with the cream, salt and cayenne pepper. Pour the liquid into the pastry case, being careful not to overfill it (you might not need all of it).
5. Place in the top third of your oven and cook for 10 minutes at Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C , then reduce the temperature to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

I served the quiche with Vichy Carrots: allow one large carrot per person and peel and cut them into even sized batons. Place in a fairly small saucepan and add a generous knob of butter, a pinch of sugar and some salt and pepper. Add enough water to the carrots so that they are barely covered, then boil rapidly for about 10-15 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the water has evaporated so that you are left with a lovely buttery glaze.

Chicken Thigh Pie

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I’ve adapted a Rachel Allen recipe to create a filling with a creamy sauce. I
made the pastry myself and it was lovely and flaky, but ready-made puff pastry would be good for this too.

Next time I will add a bit more beurre manié (equal parts of flour and butter mixed to a firm paste) because the sauce was a bit thin after the pie had been baked – I think the frozen peas released a lot of water.
This was quite a time consuming and labour intensive meal to prepare, but it was worth it as both Steve and I really enjoyed it. You could of course cut loads of corners by using ready-rolled pastry and cooked chicken, but I get so much pleasure out of cooking that I prefer to cook from scratch.

I called this Chicken Thigh Pie as that is the part of the chicken I like to use, but you can use breast if you prefer and adjust the cooking time of step 1 for the filling.

• Serves: 4 people if served as part of a 3 course meal (or 2 very greedy people for a dinner)
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C for 15 minutes, then reduce to Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C for 15 minutes.
• You will need: a shallow 1 – 1¼ pint capacity ovenproof dish

Ingredients for the Flaky Pastry:

• 100g plain flour
• 38g cold butter
• 38g cold lard
• 4-5 Tablespoons water

Directions for the Flaky Pastry:

1. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl, then add half the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Add 4 Tablespoons of water to the mixture and blend lightly together with a palette knife. If the mixture isn’t coming together easily and there are dry bits in the bottom of the bowl then add more water a ½ Tablespoon at a time (there are many factors that affect pastry-making, so only use measurements as a guide).
3. Once you can bring the mixture together with your hands into a soft but not sticky dough, then you can roll it out into a long rectangle, about 30cm long, onto a lightly floured board until it is about 5mm thick.
4. Mark the rectangle of the dough into thirds, without cutting all the way through.
5. Dot the top two thirds with half of the lard, then fold the bottom third up to cover the middle third.
6. Fold the top third down to enclose all the fat. You should now have a small rectangle.
7. Using your rolling pin, seal the edges by pressing down firmly. Give the pastry a quarter turn clockwise.
8. Roll again to form a long rectangle and repeat steps 4 to 6 but this time use the remaining butter.
9. Fold and roll again, but this time use the remaining lard.
10. Fold and roll for the last time without any fat being added.
11. Cover the pastry with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using.

* I thought a diagram would be useful so here are my best efforts using Photoshop and Steve’s help! (click to enlarge):


Ingredients for the filling:

• 500g chicken thighs, bone in
• ½ carrot, cut into chunks
• ½ onion, cut into wedges
• 300ml chicken or vegetable stock
• pinch of dried rosemary and thyme (or fresh if you have it)
• salt and black pepper
• 85ml double cream
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 3 rashers of bacon, chopped
• 6 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1-2 Tablespoons of beurre manié
• 100g frozen peas
• ½ small tin sweetcorn
• 1 beaten egg, to glaze

Directions for the filling:

1. Put the chicken, carrot, onion wedges, stock, herbs and seasoning into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked and no blood appears when you cut into the chicken.
2. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the pan (you can discard the vegetables), reserving the stock for the sauce. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones and cut the meat into bite size pieces. Put the chicken in the pie dish.
3. Whilst the chicken is cooking, gently fry the chopped onion until it is soft but not coloured. Add the bacon and the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Put this mixture into the pie dish with the chicken and mix well.
4. Put the reserved stock back into the saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the cream and whisk in 1-2 Tablespoons of the beurre manié. Boil the sauce for a few minutes to cook out the flour in the beurre manié and for the sauce to thicken. Pour the sauce into the pie dish over the chicken mixture and mix well. (If you are baking the pie immediately then you can proceed with the next steps, otherwise allow to cool before covering with the pastry).
5. When you are ready to bake your pie, add the peas and sweetcorn to the chicken mixture and mix well.
6. Roll out your pastry onto a lightly floured board until it is large enough to cover your pie dish.
7. Cut a strip 1cm wide from the outside of the pastry and place it on the moistened rim of the pie dish, then brush with water.
8. Carefully place the rest of the pastry over the pie mixture and seal the edges together by pressing firmly. Trim off the excess pastry and knock up the edges of the pie with the flat of your knife.
9. Make a small hole in the centre of the pie to allow steam to escape and place a greaseproof paper funnel in the hole.
10. Glaze the top of the pie with the beaten egg.
11. Cook in a preheated oven at Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C for 15 minutes or until golden brown and then reduce to Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C for 15-20 minutes.

River Cottage Scones

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I saw these being made on River Cottage recently and they looked truly delicious, so I had to try them as all the scones I’ve made in the past were quite heavy and stodgy. But these are light and crumbly and absolutely AMAZING! Easily the best scones I’ve ever made and possibly eaten! They are not for anyone on a diet as they contain double cream, but they are well worth making and doing a bit of exercise to burn the extra calories!

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
I will admit I forgot to glaze them with milk as I was too busy thinking about sprinkling them with demerara sugar, which is my own addition to the recipe, as I like the crunchy sweetness it gives. They still came out brilliantly without the milk.

• Makes: 8 scones
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C
• Oven shelf: upper-middle
• You will need: large mixing bowl and a baking tray, lightly greased
• Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 300g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt (optional, I didn’t use this as I used salted Anchor butter)
• 75g unsalted butter (at cool room temperature), cubed
• 50g caster sugar (on TV they used 100g but I found 50g enough)
• 1 egg
• 120ml double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional, I only used ½ tsp)
• Milk, for glazing (optional)
• Demerara sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C and lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, do this in a food processor before transferring the mixture to a bowl. Either way, then stir in the sugar.
3. Beat the egg and cream together, with the vanilla extract too, if you’re using it. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and bring together lightly with your hands into a dough. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead very briefly to form a fairly smooth ball (it will be a bit sticky so just dust with a little bit of flour).
4. Pat or gently roll the dough out to a thickness of about 4cm. Use a 6-7cm diameter cutter to stamp out scones from the dough (I used a 7cm cutter and only managed to get 7 scones).
5. Put them on the prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with a little milk or demerara sugar, and bake for about 15 minutes until risen and golden.
6. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes, then serve slightly warm. Scones do not keep well so eat them up quickly!

No Cook Chocolate Tart

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I got this recipe from the BBC Good Food website and the original recipe can be found here.

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
I tweaked it slightly by using chocolate chip cookies for the base, to make it extra chocolatey! There seemed to be a lot of butter in the base mixture, so I used a whole pack of biscuits so that it wasn’t so greasy.
Other people on the website have said that adding the vanilla to the chocolate makes it go funny, so I added it to cream instead as suggested.
This was really easy to make and tasted delicious – it’s very rich though so you only need a small portion!

• I used a square 8x8 inch tin as the rectangular one they suggested seemed far too big. It’s a good idea to line it with a piece of greaseproof paper which is bigger than the tin so that it’s easier to remove it from the tin.
• Serves 8 

Ingredients:

• 250g pack chocolate chip cookies (I used Tesco own brand)
• 100g butter
• 1 tbsp golden syrup or honey
• 100g bar dark chocolate (I used Bournville)
• 100g bar milk chocolate (I used a Cadbury Easter egg)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp icing sugar , plus extra for dusting
• 200ml whipping cream 

Directions:

1. Crush the biscuits by putting them in a large, strong, plastic food bag and bashing with a rolling pin. Melt the butter with the syrup or honey in the microwave, then stir in the biscuits. Press onto the base and up the sides of your tin and chill while you make the filling.
2. Break up the two chocolate bars and put in a large bowl. Melt in the microwave for 2-3 mins on Medium, stirring halfway through, then sift in the icing sugar.
3. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Stir in the vanilla extract, then fold into the melted chocolate. Pour into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Chill for at least 2 hrs or for up to 2 days.
4. Just before serving, remove the tart from the tin and slide it onto a flat plate (loosen edges first with the tip of a small pointed knife). You will find it easier to remove the tart if you leave it at room temperature for 30 mins.

Butter Chicken Curry

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

When I first got my Tefal 4-in-1 I was desperate to find some decent slow cooker recipes and this is one I found on a forum. I’ve never had Butter Chicken in an Indian restaurant or as a takeaway, but the ingredients sounded nice and it was a simple recipe to follow.

This was the first time I’ve cooked chicken in the slow cooker and it was amazingly tender! We did enjoy the curry, but we couldn’t taste the butter so I would leave it out next time to save on calories! I would also increase the amount of spices as it needed a bit more flavour and chilli!

• Serves: 2 generously
• Cooking time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients:

• 500g chicken thigh fillets, quartered
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger (or ½ tsp ground)
• ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 cinnamon stick (or 1 tsp ground)
• 6 cardamom pods, bruised (or 1-2 tsp seeds or ground – I left these out)
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 400g tin tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoons sugar (I used honey)
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup cream, plus extra if desired

Directions:

1. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and brown chicken. Transfer to preheating slow cooker.
2. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, frying gently until the onion is softened.
3. Add butter and spices, and continue frying gently until spices are fragrant.
4. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper and increase heat to med - med/high. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring until mixture has thickened.
5. Add cream and stir well to combine.
6. Remove from heat and pour into slow cooker, stirring to distribute the sauce evenly. Replace lid and slow cook for ½ hour on high (if using traditional slow cooker), then about 3-5 hours on low, stirring occasionally.
7. Remove cardamom and cinnamon stick. Add extra cream or yoghurt to taste.

Gnocchi with Chorizo and Butternut Squash

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I love the flavour and the great meaty texture that chorizo gives to a dish and the sweetness of the butternut squash gives an excellent balance.
This is by no means a healthy dish with the chorizo, 2 types of cheese and cream, but I have added lots of vegetables and this isn’t a dish I would eat all the time so I think it’s OK!

It’s an easy one-pot meal, but if you don’t have an oven-proof pan then just cook it in a normal pan and then transfer to an oven-proof dish.

• Serves 4 (or 2 greedy people!)
• You will need: oven-proof pan and a large saucepan
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• ½ chorizo sausage (I used Revilla Chorizo Pueblo from Sainsburys)
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Handful of mushrooms, sliced
• Some leftover cooked peas and sweetcorn
• 1-2 tablespoons double cream
• 2x 150g packs mozzarella (I used Sainsburys Italian mozzarella)
• 1x 400g pack of dried gnocchi, cut into chunks (I used Italfresco Gnocchi from Sainsburys)
• Handful of mature cheddar cheese, grated (optional) 

Directions:

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil and gently sweat the shallots until softened and slightly brown.
2. Add the chorizo and fry until nice and crispy.
3. Add the dried oregano.
4. Add the butternut squash and fry for about 10-15 minutes until soft and tender (adding a tablespoon of water and covering with a lid will speed things along).
5. Add the mushrooms and any other veggies to the pan.
6. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the gnocchi for a few minutes or until they rise to the surface of the water. Drain and reserve some of the cooking liquid.
7. Add the gnocchi to the pan, with the double cream and the mozzarella and mix thoroughly. Add a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid so you get a nice sauce.
8. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top, then put the pan in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown.

Mini Chocolate Tarts

MUNCH RATING: 4 OUT OF 5

This is from Rachel's Favourite Food for Friends book and it uses half of the pastry batch made from using her Sweet Pastry recipe. You can make this as one big tart by blind baking a whole batch of the pastry and doubling the chocolate filling quantities. A big tart takes 17-20 minutes to bake.

• Makes: about 18 mini tarts
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: 2 shallow bun/mince pie/mini bun trays 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 quantity Sweet Pastry

CHOCOLATE FILLING

• 75 g (2.5 oz) milk chocolate, chopped
• 75 g (2.5 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
• 100 ml (3.5 fl oz) cream
• 75 ml (2.5 fl oz) milk
• 1 egg, beaten 

Directions:

1. Roll the pastry very thinly, to about 2 mm thick (putting the pastry in between 2 sheets of cling film). *I found the easiest way to roll it thinly was to divide the pastry into 3 balls and then roll those out separately.
2. Cut into rounds to line the bases of the tins. *Use a cutter which is just slightly bigger than the holes of your tins.
3. Freeze the pastry (for about 1 hour) till frozen (this means you don't have to use baking beans). *I found that my pastry did rise in places, so next time I will try pricking the bases before baking.
4. Pop into a preheated oven at Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C and bake for about 8 minutes or until pale golden.
5. To make the chocolate filling: Heat the cream and milk to almost boiling point, then remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir to melt all the chocolate. Let cool slightly for a few minutes, then stir in the beaten eggs.
6. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pastry shells. *I found the easiest way to do this was to put the mixture into a Pyrex jug and pour from that.
7. Cook the tarts for another 8 minutes or until they are just setting.
8. Take out of the oven and allow to sit in the tins for 10 minutes before taking out. *They might look quite undercooked but if you leave them for a couple of hours the filling will set more.
9. Dust with icing sugar and serve. *This is optional as I found them sweet enough as they were.

Chicken Tikka Masala

MUNCH RATING: 4/5
 
This is a dish you will need to prepare in advance as you need to marinate the chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight. This makes the chicken lovely and tender and really flavoursome. I served this with pilaf rice which I cooked in my Tefal 4-in-1 rice cooker, but you can do this in the oven using this pilaf recipe.

This dish is actually really easy to make, as the sauce is basically a spicy tomato and onion sauce laced with cream or yoghurt.

• Serves 4

Ingredients:
About 4 – 6 Chicken pieces, cut into 2 inch chunks (I always use thighs but they tend to vary in size, so I allow at least 1 large thigh per person and add a couple extra).

FOR THE MARINADE

• 4 cm /1 ½ inches ginger, grated
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon garam masala*
• 1 teaspoon curry powder*
• ½ teaspoon chilli powder*
• ½ ground cumin*
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons natural yoghurt (this is about half of a 150ml pot)

FOR THE SAUCE

• ½ onion, chopped (use the other ½ for the pilaf rice)
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 or 3 tinned plum tomatoes or third of a tin of chopped tomatoes
• 200ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 5 tablespoons natural yoghurt (this is the other half of the 150ml pot) or double cream for a creamier, less tangy flavour.
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional) 

Directions:

1. Make the Marinade: Put the ginger, garlic, spices, salt and lemon juice into a wide shallow non-metallic dish and mix into a smooth paste, then add the chicken and mix to coat thoroughly. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Make the sauce: Fry the onion in a tablespoon of oil until softened and golden brown. (If making pilaf rice then set aside ½ of the onion at this stage). Stir in the curry powder and cook for 2 minutes, adding a splash of water if it starts to catch on the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and stir over a high heat for a few minutes until they have broken down. Add the chicken stock and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Take off the heat and use a blender to make the sauce smooth. Return to the heat and stir in the yoghurt or double cream and honey.
3. Cook the chicken: Heat the grill to its highest setting. Arrange the chicken pieces on an oven tray and cook for 5-10 minutes until charred at the edges, then turn the chicken pieces over and cook for a further few minutes until completely cooked through.
4. Add the cooked chicken to the sauce, along with any juices from the oven tray and give it a good stir. Heat through until piping hot and serve with rice.

COOK'S NOTES:
You can adjust the spice mix to your own tastes or whatever you have in the cupboard. The 4 main spices used in curries are: turmeric, cumin, chilli and ground coriander. These were the main spices that were in my curry powder and garam masala and I added extra cumin and chilli as ‘top notes’ to my curry.