Old-Fashioned Vanilla Fudge

 

Fudge isn’t difficult to make, but it is dangerous and a tad tedious. You must be willing to stir a pot for 25 minutes. That’s nonstop stirring - no looking at your phone. If you’re lax with the stirring, or worse, you stray from the cooker, you’ll end up burning your saucepan or yourself. These oh-so-sweet, melt-in-the-mouth cubes of comfort are worth the trouble though. Box them up or wrap in cellophane like I did – they make a gorgeous gift for any occasion.

 

 

Ingredients: 450g demerara sugar, 1 x 397g can of condensed milk, 115g butter, 150ml milk, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

 

1.       Line a square tin with greaseproof paper.

2.       Place all of the ingredients, apart from the vanilla extract, into a large heavy-based saucepan. Melt over a low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.

3.       Bring to the boil for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring all the time. To test it’s ready, drop a teaspoon of mixture into a bowl of cold water. A soft ball of fudge should form.

4.       Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

5.       Beat the fudge with an electric whisk for 5 minutes or until it's very thick and starting to set.

6.       Pour into the prepared tin and the smooth the top as best you can.

7.       Allow to cool, there’s no need to put it in the fridge, before cutting into squares.

 

                                                                             Enjoy!

 

 

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day With A Simple Zesty Green Cocktail

I plan to be quite unpatriotic this St. Patrick’s Day. When I toast family and friends, there won’t be Guinness or a famed Irish whiskey in my glass. No, a Kiwi Caipiroska will be my tipple of choice. This Brazilian-inspired cocktail is incredibly refreshing and sweet, and easy to make. It’s also green, well, green-ish!  

Retro Recommends: This recipe requires muddling. What’s that, I hear you ask?! Well, it basically involves mashing fruit/herbs in the bottom of a glass to extract juice/oil. You can buy a muddler; I purchased mine in my beloved Tiger for €3 (see below), or you can use the handle of a wooden spoon.

Ingredients: vodka, kiwis, limes, caster sugar, tonic water

1.       Juice a lime and put to one side. Take another lime or two (it depends on how many people you’re serving) and cut into wedges.

2.       Peel and dice the kiwis.

3.       Line the bottom of your glasses with kiwi, lime, 1 teaspoon of sugar and approximately half a shot glass of lime juice.

4.       Muddle together.

5.       Fill each glass with ice and pour in a shot of vodka. Top with tonic water.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

“If you’re lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough.”

Old-Fashioned Lemonade

Another spell of sticky weather calls for another refreshing summer drink recipe. This one from Rachel Allen’s book Rachel’s Food for Living is a delicious and effective thirst-quencher that takes mere minutes to make. Easy peasy lemon squeezy? Oh, yes.

Ingredients: 150g honey, 600ml water, juice of 4 lemons

1.       Place the honey and 60ml of the water in a saucepan. Heat up just enough to liquefy the honey, stirring all the time. Pour into a jug and allow to cool slightly.

2.       Add the lemon juice to the jug along with the rest of the water and serve with ice...lots of ice! 

                                                                        Enjoy!

Raspberry Frozen Yoghurt Floats

There’s a permanent smell of barbeque in the air, you’ve a strong urge to head to the nearest beer garden and most of the male population are parading around shirtless – yes, it’s a sunny day in Ireland (i.e. approximately 16 degrees)! We Irish certainly make the most of the few days of sunshine we’re granted each year. While you’re basking in the warm weather this weekend (don’t forget the SPF!) treat yourself to a refreshing drink. This delightful recipe is a guilt-free take on the classic ice cream float and takes less than 5 minutes to make.

I found this recipe in Catherine Fulvio’s book The Weekend Chef and altered it slightly.

You will need: A food processor/blender, tall glasses, drinking straws

Ingredients: 100g raspberries (plus extra to decorate), a tub of natural frozen yoghurt, a bottle of white lemonade (Serves 4)

1.       Place the raspberries in a food processor and blend until smooth.

2.       Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the raspberry puree into each glass, pour in the lemonade and float two scoops of frozen yoghurt on top.

3.       Add in a straw and a few raspberries on top to decorate. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Ginger And Chocolate Valentine’s Day Cookies

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey

 Your perfect kiss thrills me so

 Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey

 I'll never ever let you go

  

This recipe is from Rachel Allen’s book ‘Bake’. It makes approximately 35 cookies. Once I had the dough made, I only used half. I popped the other half in the fridge where it will keep for up to 2 weeks.

You will need: A heart shaped cutter, a food mixer (or muscular arms!), a rolling pin and a baking tray or two.

Ingredients: 225g (8oz) butter, 110g (4oz) caster sugar, 275g (10oz) plain flour, 25g (1oz) crystallised ginger, 50g (2oz) milk or dark chocolate.

1.       Take the butter out of the fridge in advance, it must be slightly softened. Preheat the oven to 170°C or Gas Mark 3.

2.       Beat the butter in a large bowl or food mixer until soft. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is soft and fluffy.

3.       Finely chop the crystallised ginger. Add to the mixture along with the sieved flour.

4.       Bring the mixture together to form a dough. Place on a lightly floured work surface and knead slightly.

5.       Roll out the dough and using the cutter, cut out the cookies. Place on a baking tray (no need to grease or line) slightly apart.

6.       Bake in the oven for 10-13 minutes or until they are medium brown. If the cookies are too dark, they'll taste bitter.

7.       Remove the cookies from the baking tray while they’re still warm and allow to cool on a wire rack.

8.       When the cookies are cooled, dip the tops (or the bottoms!) in melted chocolate, then allow to set on greaseproof paper.



An Alternative Christmas Dessert: Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

I'm a huge fan of traditional Christmas desserts – mince pies, Christmas pudding, Yule log – I love them all. However, many people don't. Here’s a recipe for a non-traditional Christmas dessert, a lighter option but still delicious and festive. If you’re flat broke this Christmas, these would make a gorgeous gift. Wrap in cellophane and tie with a big red ribbon.

I found this recipe in Easy Food magazine and altered it slightly. You will need:
400g sugar, pinch of salt, 90g butter, 240ml double cream, 100g mini marshmallows, 940g plain chocolate (this seems like an enormous amount but trust me,  you need it all!), 1 teaspoon peppermint essence, half teaspoon vanilla essence.

1.       Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Coat evenly with cooking spray or melted butter. Break the chocolate into pieces.

2.       Put the sugar, salt, butter, cream and marshmallows in a saucepan. Stir over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes until the butter and marshmallows are almost melted.

3.       Bring the mixture to the boil and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4.       Once it has been removed from the heat, add the chocolate, peppermint and vanilla. Stir until melted.

5.       Pour the mixture into the lined dish.

6.       Allow to cool at room temperature for 3 hours. If you disturb the cooling phase, you increase the likelihood of seed crystals forming which causes grainy fudge. Lift the fudge out of the dish using the edges of the greaseproof paper. Remove the paper and cut into squares.