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I spotted these amazing cupcakes in Leila's book when I first scanned through it, they really pop out! They would be absolutely perfect for kids parties as I am sure they would get a great reaction. In fact there is a whole chapter in "A Piece Of Cake" dedicated to Leila's fab cupcake creations, including flavours like, raspberry, lemon and poppy seed, banana fudge, blueberry corn, and carrot, ginger and walnut!

I know I have been talking about Leila all week but as I said I am a little bit in love! :) I hope you have been enjoying learning a bit about her and some of her recipes. Tomorrow I have a really exciting competition for you to win a copy of the book, so make sure you stop by to enter!

Leila Lindholm's High Hat Cupcakes
These fantastic-looking cupcakes should be served cold. You can keep them in the fridge for about three days, but cover them carefully in clingfilm to keep them fresh. They are the yummiest of cupcakes.

Makes 12 cupcakes
3 organic eggs
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
50g unsalted butter
100ml sour cream
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cold coffee
210g plain flour
4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
100g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

For the meringue topping
6 organic egg whites
850g caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

For the chocolate coating
350g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Prepare the cupcakes according to the basic recipe.
Preheat the oven to 175oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4.
Beat together the eggs, butter and vanilla sugar until pale and fluffy.
Mellt the butter, add the sour cream and coffee and blend with the egg mixture.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and carefully fold into the mixture.
Chop the chocolate coarsely and melt it in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the the mixture.
Put paper cases in a muffin tin and pour in the mixture until the cases are two-thirds full.
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool.

In a stainless steel bowl mix together the egg whites, caster sugar and lemon juice. Beat by hand for about 1 minute until fluffy.
Rest the bowl over a pan of boiling water. Beat until the sugar crystals have dissolved and the mixture has a consistency as fluffy as meringue. You should see the trail from the whisk to them foam.
Remove the bowl from the pan and beat the vanilla sugar into the foam. Use a hand-held electric beater to mix the meringue for a few minutes until it is thick and cool.
Put the meringue in a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe the meringue on top of the cupcakes in spirals. Leave about 1cm around the edges.
Leave to set in the fridge.

Make the chocolate coating. Chop the chocolate and melt it with the vegetable oil in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Pour the chocolate into a small bowl and leave to cool.
Take the cupcakes out of the fridge and dip each peak in the chocolate. Brush on additional chocolate if there are any gaps.
Leave to set on a plate in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

These are possibly the most tasty little buns I've ever had! I first sampled them homemade at a Swedish friend's house, and was intrigued by the very foreign shape, yet familiar Christmas flavors. When I moved to Sweden last year, I quickly found out they were standard fair for everyday life and were similar to what the croissant does for the french and what the scone does for the English. All in all they were pretty bog standard! However, I was given a Swedish cookbook recently which had the recipe so I had to try recreating them, it's not really your standard fairy cake mixture, but the effort was worth it, even if just to put a smile on my homesick girlfriend!

Generally if you stick to the recipe you can't really go wrong, the only variation I made to the recipe was rolling the dough a bit more thinly to get more rolls, but that is entirely up to yourself!

If you don't have pearl sugar, which I didn't the first time I made them, you can substitute it with a sprinkling out dark brown sugar.

Swedish Cinnamon Buns
Makes about 40 Buns

1. 2 Cups of whole milk
2. 4oz butter
3. 2 packs of dried yeast
4. 1/2 tsp salt
5. 2/3 cup sugar
6. 5-6 cups of flour

1. 4oz butter
2. 1/2 cup of sugar
3. 2 tbsp of cinnamon
4. 1 egg beaten
   

When the mixture is lukewarm add the two sachets of active dry yeast, making sure it is really mixed through.

Stir in the sugar and the salt.

Slowly incorporate the flour in one cup at a time, try not to loose it, as the mixture will eventually come together, and you won't be left with a sticky mess forever!

When the dough has taken shape and is no longer sticky, turn out onto a floured surface and need for about 3 minutes.

Leave the dough to rise in the bowl covered with a damp cloth for 45 mins. Try and find somewhere warm as the yeast will do it's job a lot quicker.

While the dough is rising , prepare the filling. Gently melt the butter and add the cinnamon and sugar, making a thick spreadable mixture.

When the dough has risen, cut it in half and roll it into a rectangle about 5mm thick, and then spread the filling all over.

Then roll the dough so you get a snail effect, and slice into approx 15-20 pieces. Place the slices in those cute little paper wrappers face up and coat with the beaten egg.

Then sprinkle your little babies with some pearl sugar, or brown sugar if you can't get some.

Bake the rolls in the oven at 250 degrees Celsius for about 5 mins or until the turn golden brown!

Enjoy! Perfect with some afternoon tea, a wild night in with the lads, or even a sneaky one to yourself! The choice is yours!

After a few days in Sweden I'm back on Irish soil this week before I head off to Paris today. It's nice to be back, the more I travel the more I enjoy coming home; I'm not sure if it's because I don't like to leave my kitchen for too long or because it's that time of year where your house really becomes your home.
As always I left Sweden with lots of Scandinavian inspiration, the shops are always so packed with amazing displays but the most interesting items I left with weren't from an expensive shop; they came from a 1950s basement. People with an interest in food photography will know that props can really make a photo and give it a certain style. Since the summer I've been on the hunt for retro kitchen items, rustic table spreads, old doors and pieces of wood to create the pretty scenes that make my food photos what they are. I hit the jackpot when I walked into Sofie's grandmother's basement - an Aladdin's cave packed with an amazing collection of 1950's style kitchen equipment and a fantastic selection of retro cookbooks, complete with old style imagery. After I'd scooped up enough potential props as my baggage restrictions would allow, I spent hours trawling through old Swedish cookbooks (I have enough Swedish to get me by and surprise, surprise, my food vocabulary is top notch!).

I found some really fantastic recipes for gingerbread cookies, gooey chocolate cake, Saffron bread and, of course, all the aspic jellies and gaudy plastic food images that were all the rage back when. The major find of the day was a beautiful old book in which Sofie's grandmother had written her favourite recipes into. It's in these books, handed down through the generations, that you find out what home cooking is really all about. If you have time this weekend, pull out the family cookbook and delve into the recipes which are closest to your heart. Why not start writing one yourself?

Between all the retro diving and cookbook reading, we did manage to stop for a warm hot chocolate and the famous Kanelbulle at Saluhallen, a cook's paradise not unlike the English Market in Cork, which is well worth a visit for a foodie in Gothenburg.

Swedish Cinnamon Buns
Swedish cinnamon buns, or Kanelbulle, were the first thing I learned to bake when I stayed in Sweden. Pearl sugar is sprinkled on top to give it that distinctive finishing touch, but if you can’t get your hands on any, simply sprinkle a little Demerara sugar to finish.

Makes about 40 Buns
400ml/14fl oz milk
110g/4oz butter
2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast
110g/4oz sugar
750g/11⁄2lbs cream flour
1⁄2 teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of Pearl sugar
1 egg beaten

For the filling:
110g/4oz butter
90g/31⁄2oz sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon

Melt the butter in a large pot gently on a low heat and then add the milk. When the mixture is lukewarm, remove from the heat and add the two sachets of dried yeast, sugar and salt.
Slowly incorporate the flour one cup at a time; be patient, as the mixture will eventually come together and you won’t be left with a sticky mess forever!
You may need to add less or more of the flour to get the right consistency. When the dough has taken shape and is no longer sticky, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about three minutes.
Leave the dough to rise in the bowl covered with a damp cloth for 45
minutes.
Try and find somewhere warm, as the yeast will do its job a lot quicker.
While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Gently melt the butter
in a sauce-pan and add the cinnamon and sugar, making a thick
spreadable mixture.
When the dough has risen, cut it in half and roll it into a rectangle about 5mm thick, and then spread the filling all over.
Then, from the long side, roll the dough so you get a snail effect and slice into approximately 15–20 pieces. Place the slices in paper wrappers face up and coat with the beaten egg. Repeat the process with
the second half of the dough.
Sprinkle the buns with pearl sugar. Bake the rolls in the oven at 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7 for about 5–10 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Enjoy!

We arrived in Cannes for a holiday last week, I came armed with a copy of Elizabeth David's French country cooking and Sofie my girlfriend with a copy of "The Notebook" (yes the soppy love story, the big screen version of which she has seen way too many times to count), so as you can imagine we have fairly different agendas on this summer holiday! I think it's always important to have a sniff around the local food market as a way of getting your bearings when you first arrive at a new place. It's been something that is engrained on my mind from an early age after hours of traipsing behind my parents on every family holiday, my dad busy comparing prices to the fruit and veg at home, while my mom being a bit more practical would be eyeing up a nice piece of meat for dinner. Needless to say it didn't take me very long to tire of reading by the pool and after a long drive the wrong way into Cannes and a fight with the GPS who I thought might be more interesting if we changed the language to French, we discovered the most beautiful French food market.

The Marché Forville is a massive covered market specialising in fruit, vegetables, fish and flowers and takes place every day except Monday's when it becomes the home to a spectacular antique market. The place literally crawls with activity. Big beefy stall holders eyeing up potential customers and of course the many well endowed Cote D'azur ladies, savvy French shoppers in the know, picking up up pieces of fish to inspect every inch of it, bronzed grannies beating their way through the crowds filling those distinctly French wheely bags to the brim with the best the market has to offer and then of course the tourists who like ourselves are busy snapping photos and taking it all in. You can't leave a place like this without a paper bag heavy with the summers finest fruit.

Baked Peaches with Vanilla Sugar
Stoned summer fruits are whack bang in season at the moment and there are lots and lots of different recipes you can use to make the most of them, however I think keeping things simple brings out the natural juicy flavours and leaves you with far less washing up to do. A win win situation I think you'll agree! If you can't get vanilla sugar you can quite easily make a homemade batch by popping a vanilla pod in a jar filled with caster sugar. Or alternatively just use caster sugar and a splash of good quality vanilla extract.

Serves 4
8 peaches, halved with stones removed
3 tablespoons of vanilla sugar
2 tablespoons of water
Vanilla ice cream to serve

Preheat the oven to 200oC/Gas Mark 6.
Arrange the peaches in a non stick baking tray and sprinkle over the water.
Dust each peach with a little of the vanilla sugar until each one is nicely coated.
Place the peaches into the oven for around an hour or until the fruit is tender when pierced with a knife.
Serve the peaches with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Who doesn’t like Meringues? They always go down well in my books and are a really great dessert to make in advance because you can bake them ahead of time and they store extremely well. In our case for foodstock we baked off a mammoth amount of them, 700 to be exact on the Monday before the event on Wednesday and when it came to serving all we had to do was give them a scoop of Jameson whiskey cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a sprinkle of chopped toasted hazelnuts!

I have to say that by the end of the night, there was a fantastic sense of team work when everyone who had been helping us all night, came down to the kitchen- the chefs, the girls from Bord Bia, the staff at the Chalet and the guys from Le Fooding, to work together to get the meringues out and ready! Every free space in the kitchen was taken up and there was meringues as far as the eye could see and in no time we were ready to serve up the last course. Let me just say that these chewy mocha meringues dripping with chocolate sauce didn’t last long in front of the eager crowd and within no time at all we had served them all up!

Mocha Meringues with Jameson Whiskey Cream, Chocolate Sauce and toasted Hazelnuts
This batter makes a really chewy, marshmallow meringue, which goes perfectly with the whiskey cream. If you aren't a coffee fan, drop the espresso powder from the recipe and replace it with more cocoa powder.

Makes 12 meringues
250g icing sugar
4 egg whites
2 teaspoons of cornflour
1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
10g of good quality cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder
60g of chopped toasted hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 150oC/Gas Mark 2
Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
Place the icing sugar and egg whites in a standing food mixer and whisk on high for 10 minutes until glossy white peaks form.
Using a spatula, gently fold in the cornflour and the white wine vinegar. When this is mixed through, sift the cocoa powder and espresso powder over the meringue mix and gently fold in.
Using a tablespoon, place 3inch/8cm spoonfuls of the meringue mix onto the baking tray and flatten each one gently in the centre with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 45 minutes.

For the dark chocolate sauce:
30g caster sugar
60ml of water
50g of good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder

Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over a medium heat and stir gently to dissolve the sugar.
Add the espresso powder, whisk through and bring the mix to a steady simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat, allow to sit for 1-2 minutes, then add the chocolate and whisk through until combined.
Sift in the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.

For the Jameson Whiskey Cream
375ml of cream
3 tablespoons of Jameson whiskey
3 tablespoons of icing sugar

Whisk the cream into soft peaks.
Dissolve the icing sugar with the whiskey in a bowl and then add to the cream, folding to combine.

To assemble the meringues, place one on each plate, add a spoonful of Jameson whiskey cream on top, drizzle with the chocolate sauce and sprinkle with the toasted nuts.

I have mentioned Leila Lindholm on this blog quite a few times at this stage, she is my baking hero, plus I think I might have a little bit of a crush on her! Leila is from Sweden and I was given a present of her book "A Piece Of Cake" in Swedish last year by Sofie's dad. I have been hooked on her delicious recipes ever since. She has been in the kitchen since the age of three helping her grandmother and still remembers the first batch of muffins she ever cooked. I love hearing about those sort of stories when you read other cooks books, it gives a much more interesting sense of where the recipes come from.

Leila is extremely successful in her native Sweden and has released 3 cookbooks there, including my favourite "A Piece Of Cake". I speak a good bit of Swedish, enough to read a cookbook, and having worked over there in a restaurant, my Swedish food vocab is pretty up to scratch, so I have worked my way through a good few recipes in the book. However I recently got sent a copy of her book in English, as it has just been released in the UK and it has rekindled my love for her recipes. The ones without pictures, which I may have skipped over in Swedish, I am now salivating over and reading properly! It's all very exciting, so I have decided this is going to be Leila Lindholm week here on the blog, featuring a recipe everyday from her fab book "A Piece Of Cake". The first recipe I have chosen for today is these fantastic Peanut Butter Cupcakes". As you might have noticed I have a bit of a weakness for cupcakes and I have been meaning to try these ones in particular for so long! Enjoy!

Leila Lindholm's Peanut Butter Cupcakes
There are loads of delicious frostings you can use to ice your cupcakes, and there are no limits to how you decorate them. This frosting is as tasty as it is simple to make.

Makes 12 cakes
3 organic eggs
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
50g unsalted butter
100ml sour cream
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cold coffee
210g plain flour
4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
100g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
150g salted peanuts and extra for decoration

For the peanut butter frosting:
100g soft peanut butter
240g icing sugar
4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
150g cream cheese
1 tablespoon warm coffee

Preheat the oven to 175oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4.
Beat together the eggs, butter and vanilla sugar until pale and fluffy.
Mellt the butter, add the sour cream and coffee and blend with the egg mixture.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and carefully fold into the mixture.
Chop the chocolate coarsely and melt it in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the the mixture.
Put paper cases in a muffin tin.
Chop the peanuts and add them to the paper cases, layering them with the cake batter until two-thirds full.
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool.
Stir the peanut butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla sugar and cream cheese until creamy. Stir in the coffee.
Spread the frosting on top of the cakes and decorate with extra peanuts.

So things are all set for the big day tomorrow, I spoke to the lovely Faye at Market Kitchen yesterday and she talked me through each step of the filming process. Apparently all the members of the audience will be given a little sample of what I'm cooking, so no pressure like! It's my first on air experience, so there are a few butterflies, but I have done a bit of cooking to camera so I guess it's more excitement than anything else. The really good news is that Faye said I was allowed to take pics over there, so expect lots of them up here!

There are some days when recipes just float around my head after reading something or seeing something on tv, in most cases they go as quickly as they come, but sometimes, when I am organised, I write them into a little notebook I have with me at all times. I have had this recipe in my mind since last summer, probably because of my love of Swedish Cinnamon Buns, I guess it just stuck, so as you can imagine I have been dying to finally make it.

Pink Berry and Almond Swirly Buns

This recipe is a fresh take on the Swedish Cinnamon Buns which have been so popular on the blog and in the book! Inspired by Leila Lindholm (my current hero!) who uses blueberries in the filling, I decided it would be great way to use up the last of my leftover frozen berries. This recipe makes a lot of buns, but they freeze really well in ziplock bags and can reheated straight in the oven.

Makes about 40 buns
400ml/14fl oz milk
110g/4oz butter
2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast
110g/4oz sugar
750g/1½lbs flour
½ teaspoon of salt
1 egg, beaten
A handful of flaked almonds

For the filling:
200g of butter, at room temperature
150g of sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
450g of mixed frozen berries
2 tablespoons of icing sugar

Melt the butter in a large pot gently on a low heat and then add the milk.
When the mixture is lukewarm, remove from the heat and add the two sachets of dried yeast, sugar and salt.
Slowly incorporate the flour one cup at a time; be patient, as the mixture will eventually come together and you won’t be left with a sticky mess forever!
You may need to add less or more of the flour to get the right consistency.
When the dough has taken shape and is no longer sticky, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes.
Leave the dough to rise in the bowl covered with a damp cloth for 45 minutes.
Try and find somewhere warm, as the yeast will do its job a lot quicker.
While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. In a small bowl beat the butter with cinnamon and sugar until you get a light and creamy consistency. In another bowl combine the berries and icing sugar. You may have to zap the berries in the microwave to defrost them first.
When the dough has risen, cut it in half and roll it into a rectangle about 5mm thick, and then spread half the creamy butter filling all over. Top with half the berry mixture and spread evenly over the dough.
Then, from the long side, roll the dough so you get a snail effect and slice into approximately 15–20 pieces. Repeat the process with the second half of the dough.
Place the slices in paper wrappers face up and bake the rolls in the oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for about 10–15 minutes or until they are a light brown colour. Remove from the oven brush with a little beaten egg and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Place back in the oven for another 5-6 minutes or until the buns are golden brown and the almonds are toasted.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack, if you can wait that long!

As I mentioned earlier in the week we got landed with a large amount of pears last weekend. Not that I was complaining, and by Sunday I had already cooked my way through the majority of the box! They were absolutely, deliciously ripe and ready for use, the leftovers, which didn't make it into the fresh salad, rich tart, and warming crumble were quickly devoured without any fancy cooking involved.

This is the perfect recipe to wow guests at the end of a lovely homecooked meal, it's extremely easy to throw together. Plus the pastry can be made ahead of time, so all you have to worry about is rolling it out and slicing the pears.

Rustic Pear Tart with Apricot Brandy

This pastry can be made ahead of time and should be good for about three days in the fridge.

Serves 4
Pastry:
200g of plain flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
140g of chilled butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon apricot brandy

Filling
4-5 ripe pears pealed, cored and chopped into rough slices
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of plain flour
Cool whipped cream and a little icing sugar to serve

Add the flour, sugar, salt and butter to a mixing bowl.
Using your fingertips, combine the dry ingredients with the butter, until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. This can be a little worrying, but don't worry the mixture will come together.
Add the egg yolk and apricot brandy to the mix and form the dough using your hands.
Cover the dough in clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30-40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190oC/Gas mark 5.
Place the pears in the mixing bowl and toss with the sugar and flour.
Remove the clingfilm and place the dough in between two sheets of greaseproof paper.
Roll out the pastry until you have a large disc. Transfer the pastry disc to a baking tray and remove the top sheet of greaseproof paper.
Add the pears to the centre of the pastry and using the sides of the greaseproof paper fold the sides up and over the pears.
Place on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of thick, cool whipped cream and dust with a little icing sugar.

After a fairly busy weekend the majority of my worldly belongings have been moved into our new house! The bad news we got today however is that it's going to take a whopping 25 days to get broadband installed in the house because there hasn't been a line there since 1994. So a life of robbing other peoples internet is what's on the cards for the next 25 days. Which isn't a bad thing really, I mean I would get far more things done if I wasn't drooling over my new favourite food blog What Katie Ate and talking crap on twitter. The truth is that I will probably far more focused now on cooking in the kitchen without my laptop keys getting covered in flour, corners nearly being singed and screen getting a lovely smattering of grease.

We should really talk about the kitchen, it is a bit of a work in progress but there is lots and lots of light and space so in the next few days I'll be adding a few touches to make it perfect and then you most definitely will be due a photo or two. Very exciting stuff! The other advantage this new lovely house has is a big back garden, which at the moment looks like an overgrown jungle, but with a bit of work, by next spring will make the perfect little vegetable garden! Right enough new house talk how about a recipe?

Rustic Apple and Blackberry Galettes
These are one of my favorite little autumnal (yes I said autumnal, it rolls off the tongue doesn't it!) desserts, because they are really easy and make you look like a baking genius, when, realistically all you do is make some pastry and fill it with apples and blackberries. No messing around with blind baking, pie tins, or fancy latticing here, this is a no fuss dessert which you have to serve with cream or, even better, a soft scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Serves 4
Pastry:
250g of plain flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
140g of chilled butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons of cold water

Filling:
250g of blackberries
250g of cooking apples, peeled and sliced thinly
4 tablespoons of light brown sugar
A good squeeze of lemon juice
1 egg whisked together with a drop of milk to brush on the galettes

Add the flour, sugar, salt and butter to a mixing bowl.
Using your fingertips, combine the dry ingredients with the butter, until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. This can take time, but don't worry the mixture will come together.
Add the egg yolk and water and form the dough using your hands.
Press the dough into a sausage shape and cover it in clingfilm, place in the fridge to chill for at least 30-40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190oC/Gas mark 5.
Mix together the blackberries, apples, sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside.
Split the dough in four and roll each quarter out into 6"/15cm circles on a floured work surface with a rolling pin. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet with a non stick surface.
Add a handful of the blackberry apple mix to the centre of each pastry circle and fold the sides of the pastry up and over the sides of the fruit mix. Brush with the pastry with egg wash and place in the oven to bake for 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool before serving with a dollop of thick, cool whipped cream and dust with a little icing sugar.

I am not a big alcohol drinker, I never have been, mainly due to being a complete lightweight, who feels the effects of it after one glass! Unlike many other fellas my age I don't love beer and generally stick to spirits if I am drinking on a night out. Which leads me on to my little confession... I have a, not so secret, penchant for cocktails! I have no shame in ordering an apple martini or a mohito while everyone around me is skulling pints and generally don't care if the glass is frosted with pink sugar or if a tropical mini umbrella has been elegantly plopped in the glass. I just feel if I am going to spend money on alcohol it might as well be worth it and have a sense of occassion about it. Probably one of the best things I have done for nights in, with friends over has been, to create my homemade versions of my favourite cocktails. Check out this quick and easy recipe for Strawberry Daiquiris. If you aren't big on specific measurements think of the recipe as, half rum, half apple juice, a handful of strawberries, a tablespoon of caster sugar and a handful of ice cubes- blitz and enjoy!

Simple Strawberry Daiquiris
In my opinion nothing is more impressive than a good cocktail at a dinner party, to get a great night started! Now although strawberry daiquiris may not be the most manly of cocktails, they are my drink of choice and this is my recipe for foolproof super tasty daiquiris. Though I have to add, this recipe does come with a warning, once you learn it, you may find yourself making them all too often! I use frozen strawberries here as it is so convenient to have a few packets of them stocked up in the freezer. Using frozen berries means you end up with a really delicious slush and you can also use any other frozen berries in this mix, so experiment with the ingredients!

Serves 6
400g strawberries, frozen
300ml white rum
300ml pressed apple juice
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
A small handful of ice cubes

Place the strawberries and ice cubes in a food processor, pour in the apple juice, rum and sprinkle in the sugar.
Blitz for about 30 seconds until you get a smooth slushy mixture.
Taste a teaspoonful as you may need to add a little more sugar to taste.
Serve in frosted cocktail glasses, it's the only way to enjoy them!

Blackberry picking always reminds me of my childhood. Quiet late summer evenings were spent grazing the edges of golden fields, slowly wandering down the sides of little lane ways in search of overgrown brambles full and heavy with blackberries ripe for the picking. Time was spent in comfortable silences with my mom, as we focused on finding the biggest, plumpest fruits on offer, quickly passing over the bushes which had already been scoured by fellow, free, berry hunters. With a warm smile she would bend down the brambles of the higher bushes, so I could reach them and squeeze the little black pearls off into my red bucket, being extraordinarily careful so not to get pricked by the giant thorns.

By the end of a long evening out in the open, with pink stained fingers, we would bring the buckets, heavy with our bounty, back through the dusk light to the kitchen. I would be occupied with stirring the pot, standing on a stool, while she got on with making fresh scones. All the while the comforting smells of hot blackberries wafted around the room. Cold butter melting rapidly on a freshly baked warm scone, served with a little runny blackberry jam was always the best way to end those evenings.

Homemade Blackberry and Apple Tart

(Adapted from FoodandWine.com)
I absolutely love the look of this pie, it is the epitome of everything home baking should be- local ingredients, homemade pastry and little bit of love and care thrown in for good measure! If you can't get your hands on cooking apples, pears also work nicely in this tart.

Serves 6-8
Pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
170g cold butter, cut into cubes
2 large egg yolks mixed with 3 tablespoons water

Filling:
750g blackberries
750g cooking apples, peeled cored and sliced into small chunks
100g cup granulated sugar
35g flour
1 large egg yolk, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
A little extra sprinkle of sugar on top

In a mixing bowl, using your fingertips, combine the dry ingredients with the butter, until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. It takes a few minutes but it will eventually come together.
Add the egg yolk mixture and combine until you get large clumps. Turn the pastry out onto a work surface and form it into a disc. Wrap the pastry in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Make sure to take the pastry out and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out two-thirds of the pastry to an 11 1/2-inch round. Gently lift the pastry with a tray or the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9-inch tart pan 1 inch deep. Press into the pan, folding in the overhanging dough to reinforce the sides. Trim the overhang and knead the scraps into the remaining dough.
Dust the work surface with flour again and roll out the remaining pastry to a 9 1/2-inch round. Using a pastry wheel, cut the round into 3/4-inch-wide strips.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a bowl, toss the blackberries, apples, sugar and flour; spoon into the tart shell. Scatter the butter on top. Arrange the strips over the berries in a lattice pattern, pressing the ends onto the pastry rim. (Just think over under and start from one corner of the pie) Trim any excess pastry. Brush the lattice with the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with a little extra sugar.

Bake the tart for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the pastry is golden and the juices are bubbling. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool.

What I think I love most about Gizzi's book is her take on recipes, a perfect example being this Sticky Banoffee Pudding, what an inspired idea of combining banoffee pie and sticky toffee pudding, clearly the woman is a genius! If you are intrigued by the lovely Gizzi then you should definitely take a peak at the video below, where she talks about her style of cooking and her favourite recipes in the book.

Which reminds me I really should make one of those for Good Mood Food! Now that you have a full grasp of what Gizzi is all about I think it's high time we getting cracking with one of her recipes. I chose this recipe basically because not only does it look delicious, but because it combines two of my favourite desserts, simple really! :) Also don't forget to give me your questions for Ms. Erskine in the comments below or on twitter and facebook.

Gizzi Erskine's Sticky Banoffee Pudding
This is my boyfriend Dean’s recipe. While he is a fantastic cook, he is so lazy he never cooks for me, except for this. And my God, does it make up for it! The banana is terrific with the toffeeish dates and keeps the pudding really moist.

Serves 6
Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes
250g dates, stoned and chopped
250ml hot black tea, made with 1 teabag
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
85g softened unsalted butter, plus extra butter
for greasing
175g caster sugar
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
175g self-raising fl our, sieved
3 bananas, roughly mashed
1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
vanilla ice cream, or clotted cream, to serve

For the sauce
100g light muscovado sugar
100g unsalted butter
150ml double cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4 and butter a 22cm baking dish.
Place the dates in a small pan and cover with the hot tea. Bring to the boil and cook for 3–4 minutes, until the dates have softened, then stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the fl our, banana, mixed spice and the date mixture and pour into the baking dish. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is springy and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
While the pudding is cooking, make the sauce. Put the muscovado sugar, butter and cream into a pan, place over a low heat and melt until the sugar has dissolved. Then whack the heat up and simmer for 3–4 minutes, or until the sauce is a light toffee colour.
Serve the pudding with the warm sauce and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or clotted cream.
Or remove the bananas from the ingredients and you’ve got a classic sticky toffee pudding!

(Taken from Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic by Gizzi Erskine published by Virgin Books, price £20)

I have over one hundred cookbooks in my possession and although I love to flick through them for ideas and inspiration, I have rarely cooked a recipe exactly as it is written. One of my new years resolutions was to cook my way through some of my favourite cookbooks and seek out the best recipes! I made these chocolate caramel squares recently and they went down a storm!

Bill Granger's Chocolate Caramel Slices
(Recipe from Bill Granger's "Holiday")
This fantastic and highly addictive recipe comes from Aussie chef, Bill Granger and it makes possibly the most delicious chocolate caramel slices you will ever taste. The addition of coconut here gives a great extra texture and flavour.

Makes about 20 squares
125g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
90g dessicated coconut
115g caster sugar
125g butter, melted

Filling
100g butter
100g brown sugar
397g tin of condensed milk
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
150g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease and line an 18 x 28cm baking tin.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the coconut, sugar and butter and stir together well. Press firmly into the base of the tin and bake for 12 minutes, or until light golden.
To make the filling, put the butter, brown sugar, condensed milk, golden syrup and vanilla in a saucepan over a low heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes , or until light golden. Pour evenly over the cooked base, then return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Once the caramel is cool, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted (or melt the chocolate very carefully in a microwave oven). Spread the chocolate evenly over the caramel and place in a cool place to set, before slicing into squares.

Growing up I was never a fan of traditional christmas cake which was, in my house, laced with alcohol. The solution for me was these cupcakes. They are perfect for a spot of christmas baking with kids, you can get them involved by rolling out the ready to roll icing and allowing them to cut out the holly leaves and rolling the balls for the berries! Endless hours of fun!

This is the recipe I sent in to KISS magazine for their December issue!

Christmas Cupcake Recipe

These cool Christmas cupcakes knock the socks of Christmas pudding any day! This recipe also works super for normal cupcakes too!

Makes approximately 8 cupcakes.
175g of self raising flour
110g of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
110g of soft margarine or butter
2 large eggs
50ml of water/milk

To decorate:
Ready to roll icing
6 heaped tablespoons of icing sugar
1-2 teaspoons of water
Red and Green Food Colouring
A holly leaf cookie cutter

Preheat the oven to 180oC and line a cupcake tray with paper cases.
In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the bowl and break in the 2 eggs and add the butter in small pieces. Using an electric hand mixer beat all the ingredients together until combined. Add in half the milk/water and beat again until combined. You are looking for the batter to be light and creamy. Add the rest of the liquid if you need it- you may not.
Divide the batter evenly into the paper cases and place in an oven for 15-20 minutes or until firm and light brown on top.
Allow to cool on a wire rack before applying the frosting.
Combine the icing sugar and water until you get a thick icing, you may need to add more sugar or water depending if it's too thick or too thin! Spoon a little amount on the top of each cupcakes and allow to set while you get on with the holly and berries! Make sure to leave a little aside to attach the rest of the decorations.
Knead a small amount of the green food colouring into a little of the ready to roll icing until you get a nicely coloured dough. Repeat this with the red food colouring. Roll out the green icing and with a holly cookie cutter cut out two leaves for each cupcake. Dusting the worksurface with icing sugar will prevent any sticking. With the red icing dough, roll out little balls. With a spoon add a little dollop of the icing to the bottom of the holly and the berries and place on top of the cupcakes.
Allow the icing to set before eating, if you can wait that long!

One of the first things to grab me when flicking through Leila's book was the fantastic food photography and styling. There are some super shots of table settings and food spreads scattered throughout the book. From what I have read Leila does most of her styling herself even more reason to be impressed! As you might know, one of my huge passions is food photography, so I am always on the lookout for inspiration when it comes to the style of shots. Leila also has a magazine in Sweden called "Leilas Country Living" which is packed with even more inpirational photo and style ideas, which has unfortunately stopped for some reason, but from the issues I have there is a great mix of styling and recipes. Check out todays Leila recipe, Butterscotch Pecan Pie.

Leila Lindholm's Butterscotch Pecan Pie
This pie is good all year round, summer as well as Christmas! If you'd like to vary the flavouring you can add some ginger or cardamom. To check if the butterscotch is ready, drop a little of the mixture into a glass of really cold water. If it hardens a little so that you can form a soft, little ball it is ready and will set in the pie. I allow the pie to come to room temperature before serving, because keeping it in the fridge makes the filling a bit hard. Serve the pie accompanied by Raspberry Fool Cream.

Makes 1 Pie Serves 8
1 batch of classic shortcrust pastry dough (see below)
2 handfuls of pecan nuts

For the filling:
1 vanilla pod
500ml whipping cream
270g caster sugar
40g brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
150ml golden syrup
1 tablespoon good quality cocoa powder
50g unsalted butter, softened

Prepare the dough according to the basic recipe.
Preheat the oven to 175oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4.
Roll out the pastry on lightly floured surface to a circle and use it to line a loose-bottomed pie tin. Prick the base with a fork. Fill the case with foil or beans and bake blind for about 10 minutes.
Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds.
Put all ingredients except the butter in a saucepan. Heat, then simmer for about an hour.
Use the cold water test described above. When the butterscotch is ready, stir in the butter in knobs.
Fill the pie case with butterscotch, sprinkle whole pecans on top and put in the fridge to set.

Leila Lindholm's Classic Shortcrust Pastry Dough
When you make shortcrust pastry dough don't knead it too much or it will turn dense and lose its crustiness. You can easily make a chocolate shortcrust pastry dough by adding 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

Makes enough for 2 tarts
150g cold unsalted butter, diced
240g plain flour
30g icing sugar
1 organic egg
1/2 tablespoon cold water

Put the butter, flour and sugar in a bowl and mix with your fingertips to make breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and the water and gently work the dough to bind the ingredients together. Don't knead.
Cover the clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

I made this delicious pancake based dessert for a BBQ and it was really tasty. I bought a huge amount of cherries at the farmers market in howth recently, so the lucky few which didn't get eaten on the way home, saw a much more elaborate end in this lovely dish!

Cherry Clafoutis
To be honest, even though I served this on a hot day, I think this dish would work better on colder one, as I find it's a little bit too heavy for the summer sunshine.

Serves 4-5 people.
50g of flour.
3 eggs.
100g of sugar.
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
1/4 teaspoon of salt.
250ml of milk.
450g of stoned sweet cherries.
Icing sugar for decoration.

Preheat the oven 190oC/Gas Mark 5.
Whisk the eggs with the sugar, vanilla extract and salt. When they are combined sift in the flour and whisk to combine. When the mix is smooth, add the milk and whisk through to form a light batter.
Add half the batter to a floured and buttered dish then add the cherries, arranging them nicely in the dish. Cover the cherries with the rest of the batter and place in the oven to bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the batter fluffs up and goes a nice light golden brown. Sift a little icing sugar over the top and serve warm with some vanilla cream.

The blog and book got a great mention in today's Irish Independent LoveFood magazine. This recipe was used and I have been saving it especially until the piece was published! So here to get you in the Christmas spirit, is my Christmas Mince Pie Star Slices!

Christmas Mince Pie Star Slices

These mince pie slices are a wonderful alternative to the traditional mince pie. Use your own mince meat recipe here if you have one, if not most supermarkets stock handy jars of the stuff!

Serves 4-6
For the pastry:
170g flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
100g cold butter, cut into small chunks
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons of water

For the filling:
420g jar of mince meat
1 large cooking apple, peeled and cored
A sprinkle of brown sugar

Place the flour and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
Add the butter and rub in using your finger tips until you have a rough breadcrumb like mixture. Don't worry it will come together!
Add the sugar and the egg yolk and mix through with a spoon.
Add the water slowly until a dough comes together.
Form a ball with your hands, cover in cling film and place in the fridge to chill for at least 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200oC/Gas Mark 6.
Chop the apple into small rough slices and combine in a bowl with the mince meat.
Roll the pastry dough out to about half a centimetre in thickness and line a fluted tart tin with it. Make sure to cut out little stars from the pastry to decorate with later!
Prick the base with a fork and fill with baking paper and ceramic baking beans. Place in the oven and blind bake for 10 minutes, remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes.
Fill the pastry base with the apple and mincemeat mixture and top with the pastry stars and a sprinkle of brown sugar.
Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the pastry turns golden brown.
Serve cut into slices with a drizzle of cream!

After all the excitment over the weekend and the last few days on tour with JLS, I am just about back in the land of the living! It's these days, after the big highs, which are always the hardest, it becomes really important to pick yourself straight up and keep going, otherwise you don't know what to be doing with yourself! I can see the addictive side to performing in front of crowds that size, and with 10,000 people screaming for you it is extremely easy to see why, the problem then becomes that you expect that sort of addulation when you leave your house to go to the car, but unfotrunately nothing really comes close. While my band is not quite on the scale of JLS we have had an amazing journey so far which has provided us with more than a bit of a taster. But I am very glad I have another passion in my life, which of course is cooking, it keeps me distracted and after the big high, there is nothing better than getting back into the kitchen to refocus! In my case the answer is cupcakes!

Mega Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
(Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food and food styling by Erica Ryan)
This batter makes really delicious and moist cupcakes which will give you more reason to have just one more! The batter is a lot more runny than normal cupcakes batters, but will rise so just make sure not to overfill the cases, halfway up is just perfect.

Makes about 16
175g Self raising flour
2 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda
150g caster sugar
2 eggs beaten
150 ml (1/4 pint) sunflower oil
150 ml (1/4 pint) semi skimmed milk
2 tablespoon of golden syrup

For the frosting
75g unsalted butter
175g icing Sugar
3 tablespoon cocoa powder
Drop of Milk

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a muffin tray with cupcake cases.
Sieve the flour, cocoa and Bicarbonate of Soda into a bowl. Add the sugar and mix well.
Make a well in the centre and add the syrup, eggs, oil and milk. Beat well with electric whisk until smooth.
Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases about halfway up and bake for about 20 minutes or until they have risen and are firm to the touch. Remove from oven, leave to cool before turning out onto a cooling rack.
To make your butter icing, place the butter in a bowl and beat until soft. Gradually sift and beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder then add enough milk to make the icing fluffy and spreadable.
Top the cooled cupcakes with delicious frosting and enjoy!

I am all geared up for Thursday's cookery demonstration in Ballingcollig, I hope to see some blog readers down there, and if you are around do pop down, I will be demonstrating dishes from the book and there will be books on sale! I have heard there are still a few tickets left which can be bought directly from the Oriel House Hotel. I have another cookery demonstration tomorrow in a local school here in Howth and then I'm off to meet the lovely Sophie from Kooky Dough to learn all about her brand new product. Pictures that will make you want to lick the screen, to follow! :)

Now, everyone needs a reliable birthday cake recipe. My aunt passed this recipe on to me recently and it is absolutely fool proof and makes a really delicious moist cake. That combined with the deeeeelicious frosting makes for the perfect chocolate cake!

Naughty Chocolate Fudge Cake
(Recipe from BBC Good Food)
If you want to get the four tiers, slice the each cake in half and place on top of each other to create the layers.

Makes 1 delicious cake!
175g self raising flour
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
150g caster sugar
2 eggs beaten
150 ml (1/4 pint) sunflower oil
150 ml (1/4 pint) semi skimmed milk
2 Tbsp golden syrup

For the Coating and filling
75g Unsalted butter
175g icing sugar
3 tablespoon cocoa powder
A drop of milk

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two 18cm (7 inch) sandwich tins.
Sieve the flour, cocoa and Bicarbonate of Soda into a bowl. Add the sugar and mix well.
Make a well in the centre and add the syrup, eggs, oil and milk. Beat well with electric whisk until smooth.
Spoon the mixture into the two tins and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Remove from oven, leave to cool before turning out onto a cooling rack.
To make your butter icing, place the butter in a bowl and beat until soft. Gradually sift and beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder then add enough milk to make the icing fluffy and spreadable.
If the cake has risen a little to high then use a serrated knife to even off the top, now sandwich the two cakes together with the butter icing and cover the sides and the top of the cake with more butter icing.

On Monday I took the train up to Jonkoping to visit my best buddy Jonathan and his lovely family! Jonathan and I were in a boyband together a few years ago and we always had similar interests so ever since the band went its separate ways, we have always been in touch! He was in the Swedish version of Eurosong and released his second album this year so he's a bit of a celebrity over here!

Celeb status aside we spent the day baking! Every year his whole family traditionally do a huge amount of baking of Christmas goodies ahead of the big day, so by the time I arrived there was already a room full of cakes and treats! We made a gingerbread and blueberry loaf, the makings of a gingerbread house and these calorific but oh so worth it Peanut Butter Snicker Squares!

Peanut Butter Snicker Squares
This snickers recipe makes delicious squares which are miles better and totally different than the commercial bars you can buy in the shops, way more chewy, crunchy and chocolatey and totally worth it! We used 100g of white chocolate and 100g of milk chocolate when we made these and swirled the two together to get a super marbled effect to make our squares a little unique.

Makes about 20 squares
200g of smooth peanut butter
100g of caster sugar
200ml of golden syrup
100g Special K flakes
100g coconut flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
200g of chocolate

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a small simmering saucepan of water and allow to melt gently.
In another saucepan, over a gentle heat, melt together the peanut butter, sugar, and golden syrup until runny and smooth.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the Special K flakes, flaked coconut, and vanilla sugar until combined.
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon stir until everything is nicely combined.
Turn the mixture out into a 2 inch deep baking dish and spread out evenly pressing down with the back of the spoon.
Pour over the melted chocolate and place in the fridge for a few hours until firm.