Fruit Bowl Crumble

Some nights it's all about the tastes of home and something that's super simple to make (that looks like it is more complicated than it is, so you can lie and say it was hard work and look uber talented) Tonight, aka a lazy Sunday, was without a doubt one of those nights and so, my glorious fruit bowl crumble was born. A crumble which enables you to use up some in seasonal fruits, just before they turn bad, because you didn't eat as much fruit as you thought the past week on account of Haribo Starmix being on offer in your local supermarket. Whoops.

Anyway…so you don't feel too bad about that for too long as it doesn't do to dwell on wrongdoings, particularly ones you would repeat in a heartbeat given half the chance, I offer you this wonderful crumble recipe, ready in about an hour from start to finish, to make you feel better about your recent life choices.

In mine, I used pears, apples and a handful of raspberries because I like crumbles that are tart on the bottom and super-sweet on the top (Nigella, pun-your-heart-out) however, the fruits listed in my recipe can of course be substituted for others, just make sure you keep roughly the same quantities over all.



Recipe


Ingredients:


For the filling:


6 pears, peeled and sliced
5 apples peeled, cored and sliced
200g raspberries
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp caster sugar


For the crumble topping:


75g butter, softened
150g plain flour
100g light brown sugar


Method:

1. Firstly prepare your fruit and heat your oven to 180 degrees (based on a fan assisted oven.) The apples will need to be peeled and cored before being sliced, the pear will need to be peeled and sliced and the raspberries can be left whole. 
2. Place your fruit into a large saucepan with the water and sugar and cover. Heat on a low-medium heat. This little concoction will stew away until the fruit almost seems to be a mushy consistency, at these point, remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.
3. Once slightly cooled, place your fruit into a suitable, oven proof dish and leave to one side.
4. Prepare your crumble topping by putting your flour, sugar and softened butter into a bowl and mix by hand until it reaches a breadcrumb-type consistency. 
5. Once done, sprinkle evenly over your filling and, when ready, pop into the oven for 30 minutes.
6. If you don't wish to put this mixture in the oven straight away, that's no problem, simply cover and cook when desired. 
7. Serve as you wish. I had takers with vanilla ice cream, some completely on it's own and some went for custard. IT'S ALL GOOD. Promise.

Amuse l'eau

Hello diehard blog watchers, it's time for my daily rundown of something wonderful and today, I'm all about fruit infusing (or whatever wondrous infusions you wish to dilute into an otherwise boring, tiresome pint of water) water bottles. This seems to have become a big deal overnight, people I follow on Instagram are forever lusting after one or have just got one and numerous people I know just float fruit in normal water bottle, wishing they had one. Tip: this is not so desirable due to frequent mouthfuls of soggy, colourless fruit. Trust me, a strawberry isn't so fun when it's been floating for a while.

So, I've had this water bottle for about three weeks now, having waited four months for it to arrive from China (I paid a lot less for it but had to wait to scratch my water bottle itch, if you can do the same then eBay is a hub of wondrous water bottles) and I have since found some delectable ideas, which I will share with you now.

I was a little bit blind as I did think this would make sin-free naturally strong squash, it is not quite that strong of  a taste; rather it tastes like fruit, but only a bit. However, I am not a girl who really thinks about her water intake as some so vehemently do and this does take that edge off the boredom of guzzling gallons of water  and make me drink more of it, so it's clever whatever it's doing.

So, my top three picks for stacking up this little bottle are:

1.) Lime, cucumber and mint. It's water but it tastes a little like a mojito, go figure. That's my sort of water. Go heavy on the lime, you won't be disappointed, promise.

2.) Ginger and orange water. A perfect way to soothe your stomach and replenish your fluids and it tastes gorgeous. One of the most flavoursome ones I tried. Ginger gets surprisingly potent when it's left to its own devices in fresh water. You'll only need about an inch of ginger, cut up into smaller pieces and then stack it up with orange slices.

3.) Frozen raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. A hint of summer berries, it's delicious. It made me crave Eton Mess, but so long as you can stave off from hurriedly and guiltily eating  a handful of meringue, you'll be golden.

I hope you all love these recipes as much as I do and if you have any combinations to add to my repertoire, please comment below. I'm always keen for any new suggestions. I'm one of those girls who will try anything once…you know…so long as it's edible or I can take it off with a make-up wipe.

Nutribullet

For months now I've been seeing photos people who are actually managing to get horrible things such as kale and spinach and raw beetroot into their systems, with what I had assumed to be ironic hashtags such as #Yum and #Delicious.  I thought it was high time to see if my friends were trying to make us all feel bad for not eating veg, or whether there truly is a way to make salad enjoyable, so it's time to step forth and take a bullet and see how I get on.

I'll be posting recipes I try, good or bad, and be genuinely honest about whether this is a money making scheme or a waist-shaping tasty invention and ALL your comments, words of encouragement (especially on days when I'm downing things that are lurid green) and also any tasty recipes you have tried, will be welcome.

Valentine's Raspberry Confetti Cake

I am one of the few women you will ever meet who is deadly serious when they say they don't like Valentine's Day. 
     I've never appreciated the obvious tackiness of it all: heart balloons that deflate too quickly, boxes of chocolate I won't eat for fear of them never leaving my hips and being given bouquets of luridly coloured flowers, by misinformed men, that clash with the monochrome décor in my bedroom.  
    Despite being in relationships, I choose to spend Valentine's Day with my best friend every year, getting horribly drunk, without a love heart or neon pink flower petal in sight. 


     However, now I'm taking my cake making quite seriously, I decided I should probably bake something for Valentine's Day, seeing as lots of people do seem to rather enjoy it.
     I'm more than slightly ashamed to say that I surprised myself with how horribly glittery, heart-filled and smushy I became. Apparently the one thing that can melt my icy exterior and stony heart, and in turn, make me a sickening 'hearts-and-flowers' kind of girl, is cake. I'm not quite sure why I'm so surprised...
     This cake is a raspberry sponge with cream cheese frosting, which you can decorate however you please. I planned on topping it solely with raspberries, however, as you can see, this plan soon changed and became just a few raspberries and far more heart sprinkles than I care to admit. So decorate as you wish, I won't judge you now mine looks like romantic carnage.

For the Sponge: 

350g butter
350g caster sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract 
450g plain flour
2 tbsp + 2 tsp baking powder
300ml soured cream
250g fresh raspberries
(One 25cm ring mould, greased.)

• Preheat your oven to 170ºC (Gas Mark 3)
• After you have whisked together the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder and soured cream, spoon in your raspberries and mix well using a wooden spoon. 
• After this, pour the mixture into your preprepared ring mould and place in the oven for 40 minutes. 
• Once your cake has been baking for the full 40 minutes, test with a cake skewer. If your skewer comes out clean, leave to cool completely. If it doesn't place back in the oven for 5 minute instalments, testing after each one. 
• Leave to cool completely on a cooling rack, do not remove the cake from the tin until it is completely cool. 

For the Frosting:

600g icing sugar
100g butter
250g cream cheese 

• Simply whisk all your ingredients together for around 5 minutes, or until your mixture is light and fluffy.
• Once your cake is completely cool, spoon on your frosting and smooth over the cake. (Preferably using a standard palette knife.) 
• Once your cake is evenly covered in frosting, decorate it as you wish. Having raspberries on the outside looks beautiful and slightly rustic, but feel free to add whatever else you like.

     You'll be surprised how allowing your creativity to run free, also allows the hidden romantic in you to run far freer than you would usually allow it to. So have some fun with this loved-up little cake because; as the English proverb goes: "If you can't beat them, join them."

Best of luck with your amorous baking,

Enjoy, K x