La Différence

La Différence
A passion for food

Thursday 31 May 2012

Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars


I have been making Nanaimo Bars since I first visited Vancouver in the 1970s. The original recipe was from one of my most used cook books ever. 'Mama never cooked like this' by Susan Mendelson. This book also has the best baked cheesecake recipe ever. The pages are stuck together with all sorts of delicious ingredients from over the years. Hopefully it could still be in print so I can invest in another copy one day.

 


This recipe has been adapted to incorporate the boys favourite combos of chocolate & peanut butter. It also proved to be a big hit on my Facebook page coming in at number 3 in my popular baking posts. The recipe is such a easy no-bake and will make lots & lots of bars which will freeze well if they're not all scoffed as soon as they're made. Hope you're going to enjoy them.


The main difference between the original and this recipe is the 2nd layer which has been changed to a peanut butter filling.

The Base:- to fit in a 9" /23cm square tin, greased & lined with parchment
125 gms/ around 1/2 cup butter
55 gms/1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1tsp vanilla extract
1tbsp cocoa powder
400gms Digestive biscuits crushed / 2 cups Graham Cracker crumbs
100 gms desiccated coconut / 1cup sweetened coconut flakes
100 gms chopped nuts / 1/2 cup. I used walnuts but almonds, pecans or any other chopped nuts should do nicely.
Melt the butter, sugar, vanilla gently in a bowl placed over a pan of gently simmering water.
As soon as it's melted but NOT HOT beat in the egg, add the cocoa, biscuit,, coconut & chopped nuts
Press firmly into the baking tray. Put into the fridge until really firm

The Middle layer:-
75gms butter/ 1/3 cup butter
115gms/ 1/2 cup Smooth peanut butter ****(if you don't like peanut butter see below)
100 gms icing sugar / 2 cups Confectioners sugar
Beat together until light & smooth
Spread evenly over the base
Place in the freezer for 25 minutes to set

Chocolate top:-
100gms / 4oz 70% dark chocolate
75 gms/ 1tbsp butter
Melt very gently together in a bowl over a pan of hot water stirring all the time.
Pour over the peanut butter layer & roll carefully into the corners completely coating everything.
Chill until cool. Cut into slices, squares or however you want.

***** alternative 2nd layer the original ingredients are 55gms Butter, 3tbsp milk, 400gms icing sugar, 2 tbsp custard powder, beaten together.

Thursday 24 May 2012

Apple Strudel

Apple Strudel
        This is possibly my all time favourite apple dessert and it's always a big hit with my customers.
I love to serve it warm with vanilla ice-cream, so delicious. I have used the easy method here with filo pastry from the supermarket. I always used to make my own strudel pastry but it's such a faff to prepare. I love the crispy result that the filo gives. I also like to use salted butter to brush to filo, it just adds a little extra dimension to the strudel.

The Ingredients:-

700 gms/ 1½ lbs apples. I like to use Bramleys but green dessert apples work well. Peel, Core & Chop
zest of 1 lemon plus the juice of half of it
8 sheets of filo pastry
125g/4oz soft light brown sugar
60g/ 2oz melted  butter for brushing the pastry
30g/1oz butter for frying the breadcrumbs
2tbsp breadcrumbs
1tsp cinnamon
60g/2oz sultanas

set the oven to 180c/375f/gas 5

edges are folded in to secure the filling 


melt 1oz of butter in a frying pan, add the cinnamon and breadcrumbs and lightly colour.
sprinkle over with the sugar & mix together.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface
Slightly overlap two sheets of filo to make one large piece
brush with butter
Repeat with a second and a third layer (using six sheets in total)
scatter over the apples leaving around 2" edge all the way around.
scatter over the lemon zest and sprinkle it with the lemon juice
sprinkle on the breadcrumb & sugar mixture & sultanas
fold in the edges as shown in the picture
fold up the ends
turn the strudel so that the long side is parallel to your body

roll up with the aid of the parchment paper underneath



now holding the parchment carefully roll the strudel keeping it tight without breaking the pastry.
place on a buttered baking sheet.
scrunch up the remaining 2 sheets of filo and place on top .
brush over with melted butter
scrunch up a couple of sheets of filo and brush with butter

Bake for around 30/40 mins or until the filo is golden and crispy.

The finished strudel







 

Friday 11 May 2012

Coffee & Walnut Victoria Sandwich


I haven't got a very sweet tooth but I adore the combination of slightly bitter coffee cake with the also slightly bitter walnuts. I whipped buttercream until it's very light but you could also use fresh cream with a little added Tia Maria, I would have preferred that & I just wish I had some in.
You'll need a pair of  8"/ 20 cm Victoria Sandwich tins, greased & lined at base for this. Alternatively bake in one tin for a little longer and slice the cake in half horizontaly when completely cold..


If you prefer to measure your ingredients rather than weigh them here's a handy Conversion Chart

Set the oven to 180c/350f/gas 4

you'll need 8oz/250g of each of these items soft margarine (I used Stork), caster (superfine) sugar & self-raising flour and 4 eggs.
1 heaped tbsp coffee granules dissolved in 2tbsp hot water

for the buttercream, 4oz/125g softened butter, 8oz/250g icing sugar, 1 heaped teaspoon coffee granules dissoved in 1tsp hot water.

around 25g/50g of walnut halves to decorate

beat the margarine and caster sugar together until light & fluffy,
add 1 egg at a time beating well between each addition.
fold in half of the sifted flour
add the coffee & water mix then fold in the rest of the flour gently to combine.

Divide into the tins and smooth out.

Bake in the centre of the oven for around 25 minutes until the cakes are springy to the touch in the middle.

Leave to cool for about 10 minutes, turn out onto a cooling rack and remove the parchment lining.

Buttercream, whip the butter & icing together for around 3 minutes, add the coffee liquid little by little while still whipping. Continue beating for another 2 or 3 minutes until very light & fluffy.

Sandwich the cooled cakes together with half of the buttercream
Top the cake with the rest and spread into swirls.
Decorate with the walnut halves.
I chopped a few more and scattered them about as I just love nuts.







Saturday 5 May 2012

Apple and Lemon Cake



This apple & lemon cake has been a firm family favourite over the years. It's very light & moist and probably more of a dessert than cake,  just delicious served with some cream fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

If you prefer to measure rather than weigh your ingredients, here's a Handy Conversion Chart

110g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
300g caster sugar
5 tbsp plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
100ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 lemons
4 Golden Delicious apples
150g ground almonds
23cm spring form baking tin
method:- preheat the oven to 150c
line your baking tin with non stick parchment.
Grate the zest from the lemons (saving the juice for another recipe)
slice the peeled apples quite thinly
melt the butter
beat the eggs with the sugar & vanilla until the ribbon stage
very slowly add the melted butter & milk
mix together the almonds and flour & baking powder
Fold into the egg using a figure of 8 movement
Add 2/3rds of the apple & the lemon zest, & gently mix through
Place into the tin, adding the remaining apple over the top, sprinkle over around 1 tbsp of sugar
Bake for around 60-80 mins. Cover over with a loose piece of parchment paper if it's browning too quickly.  The cake is very moist but it should be quite firm in the middle when it's cooked.  Leave in the tin until cold
Slice & serve with mascarpone, Greek Yoghurt, clotted cream or just cream poured over.