Mother’s Day Berry Sponge Cake
I decided to bake a sponge cake for Mother’s Day as a treat. It was a risk as my Ma makes a great sponge cake but I think it worked out pretty well! 
Berry Sponge Cake
2015-03-14 21:34:00
Serves 6
The addition of fresh berries to this sponge cake elevates it to the next level and really makes it a special treat. You can *almost* pretend it's healthy!
Prep Time
2 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
47 min
For the sponge
- 175g sugar
- 100g butter
- 2 eggs
- 190g self raising flour
- 200ml milk
- Vanilla essence
For the topping
- Fresh berries. I used blueberries, raspberries and strawberries but any mixture will do.
- 2 tbsp of caster sugar
- 1 carton of Avonmore double cream
- 20g icing sugar
You will also need
- Electric whisk
- 2 cake tins (ideally spring-form)
- Sieve
- Wire-tray
To prepare
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC.
- Grease the cake tins.
For the cake
- Rub the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and beat until well combined.
- Sieve the flour into the mixture gradually and combine.
- Add the milk and vanilla essence and stir well. Use an electric whisk to ensure the ingredients are well mixed and enough air has been added.
- Divide between the two cake tins and pop in the over for about 30-35 mins until golden. A knife inserted into the cake should come out clean.
Prepare the berries
- While the cake mixture is baking begin preparing the berries. Place half of the berries in a small pot. Chop larger berries such as strawberries.
- Add the caster sugar to the pot and place over a med heat for about 10 minutes. The berries should soften and release some juice.
- Strain the berry mixture to separate the softened fruit from the juice.
To serve
- Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and transfer to a wire-tray to cool.
- Spread one of the slices with most of the berry juices we reserved earlier.
- Whip the cream and the icing sugar together and once the cake is cooled spread about half of the cream over the berry juice mixture.
- Place the other half of the cake on top and spread the remaining cream over the top. Drizzle over the remaining juice then place the softened fruit on top of the cake. Top with the rest of the fresh fruit and serve.
Double Cream
- Be careful when whipping the double cream, especially if using an electric whisk. It consistency jumps from liquid to butter very quickly!
Be careful with the temperature
- I'm using a fan oven so I'm baking at 160ºC. If you aren't using a fan oven then you'll need to bake at 180ºC.
No self raising flour?
- Simply use regular flour with two teaspoons of baking powder instead.
Nutty Makes http://nuttymakes.ie/
Key Lime Pie
As a self-confessed food addict, I have always maintained that dessert goes into another stomach. Key Lime Pie is a great easy alternative to a Lemon Meringue and it’s very tasty. You’ll need to make this the night before but that has the added bonus of taking the pressure off you the next day.
Key Lime Pie
2015-03-12 00:19:06
Serves 6
Key Lime Pie is a traditional American dessert hailing from Florida consisting of a biscuit base topped with a zesty lime filling and whipped cream. Rest in the fridge overnight for best results.
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
4 hr 25 min
Total Time
4 hr 30 min
Biscuit base
- 175g digestive biscuits (about 9 biscuits)
- 75g butter (plus extra for greasing)
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Topping
- 1 400ml tin of condensed milk
- 125ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- Finely grated rind of three limes
- 4 egg yolks
Baking
- Nonstick pie tin (ideally springform)
- Food processor for pulse the biscuits (optional)
- Electric whisk (or strong hands!)
To Serve
- Carton of whipping cream
- Sprinkle of cinnamon
To prepare
- Preheat the oven to 170º. Grease the pie tin with a little butter.
- Melt the butter over a bowl of hot water.
Make the base
- Pulse the biscuits, sugar and cinnamon in the food processor until you get coarse crumbs or smash manually with a rolling pin and combine the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Gradually add the melted butter to the biscuit mixture and combine well.
- Tip the mixture into the pie tin and press firmly into place to create a solid base.
- Put in the oven for 5 minutes to set.
Make the lime topping
- Whisk all of the filling ingredients until well combined.
- Remove base from oven once set and pour the filling over, smoothing out to the edges.
- Put back in the oven for 15 minutes until the edges have start to set. The pie should still be a bit wobbly at this stage.
And now we wait
- Allow to cool completely then put in the fridge for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight.
To serve
- Whip the cream and spread over the pie. Dust a small amount of cinnamon over the top.
- Slice and enjoy!
Leftover Eggs?
- You'll have the white of 4 eggs left over after creating this. You don't need to throw it out, egg white freezes very well!
Nutty Makes http://nuttymakes.ie/
Delicious, Topped Pancakes
Pancake Tuesday! I’m not an expert with pancakes. In fact I’d even go as far as to call myself bad at them. However, as it is Pancake Tuesday I am obliged to have a good at this once-a-year treat. No matter how badly your pancakes turn out, once you have enough delicious toppings no-one will notice!
Simple Topped Pancakes
2015-02-17 22:14:03
Serves 2
A simple pancake batter, topped with your choice of chocolate, nuts and fruit.
Prep Time
1 hr 10 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
1 hr 20 min
For the Pancakes
- 50g plain flour
- 1 egg
- 150ml milk
- 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil
- A pinch of salt
- Butter (for frying)
Toppings Suggestions
- Caster Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Cinnamon
- Fresh berries
- Greek Yoghurt
- Nuts e.g. Chopped Almonds or Walnuts
- Nutella
- Peanut butter
To prepare the batter
- Sieve the flour into a large bowl then add the salt. Beat the egg and the oil into half of the milk. Gradually add the egg mixture to the flour and beat until you have a smooth, thick paste. (Add more milk if required).
- Once you have a paste, add the rest of the milk gradually. Your batter should have the consistency of slightly thick single cream by now. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Cooking the batter
- Set a non-stick frying pan with a small knob of butter over a medium-high heat (4 or 5 for electric ovens) until the butter melts. Add a scoop of pancake mixture to the pan, swirling to ensure equal coverage. Be careful not to put in too much, Irish pancakes are quite flat.
- After about a minute once the pancake is golden underneath, carefully flip it with a fish slice (or flip it with the pan if you're some sort of pastry artist). Cook for about a minute on the other side then serve.
No berries? No problem!
- At this time of year it may be difficult to get fresh berries, but the tinned variety are too sweet. A good trick is to buy some frozen fruit and heat it over a medium to high heat until it starts to thaw. You can use a wooden spoon to smush the berries, making a sort of easy compote.
Too hungry to wait?
- If you didn't make your batter on time and you don't have the time to refrigerate it, don't fret. You can still use your freshly made batter! Refrigerated batter has a nicer consistency and is easier to work with but weigh up what's better; amazing pancakes later or good pancakes now?
Nutty Makes http://nuttymakes.ie/
