Caramalised Plum & Frangipani Tart

I adore frangipani anything including the stunning frangipani flowers that look like there made out of thick white icing giving off such a pretty scent and when I remembered I had a huge sack of ground almonds in the cupboard (courtesy of Mother) and a punnet of plums rapidly getting softer a tart came to mind...

I hate to admit this but I cheated and had some shop bought frozen shortcrust pastry that I used instead of making my own, sorry

For the frangipani filling:

200g unsalted butter
200g caster sugar ( I used brown as that's what I had!)
200g ground almonds
2 free range eggs

For the filling:
6 to 8 plums stoned and cut in half
sugar to coat them in
knob of butter
splash of dark rum






I started by putting my sugar and butter in a bowl and creaming together


Next I added my eggs one at a time and my ground almonds and mixing everything together and get the oven on at gas mark 4.



I rolled out pastry and put some fork marks in the bottom, not sure if this is necessary but pastry is not my thing and I'm still learning!


I then blind baked my pastry case for 20mins



I got my plums ready by cutting them in half and removing the stones


Then I covered them in sugar


I love dark rum and had some in my cupboard so though it might be nice to caramelise the plums in the rum, some butter and sugar before putting on top of the tart.


The caramelised of the rums, awful photo but you get the idea!


After the pastry had cooled a bit I put my filling in it.


The lovely plums on the tart ready for the oven, my eyes there so shiny!!!




A lovely slice of tart and a cup of tea using probly one of the best tea sets in the world....
I would of liked to have had it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but didn't have any so will be going to the shops for some tomorrow

Brussle and Cauliflower Gratin with roast Gammon

I was invited to my lovely friend Gemma'a house for a Sunday cooking and eating lot's day because It's something were very good at. We went to the shops bought our gammon and decided what to have with it, I always have cauliflower cheese with it because its a marriage made in heaven and decided to be a little different and make a creamy cheesy gratin with brussle sprouts and cauliflower and boy it was good.

Brussle sprouts
Cauliflower
Flour
Butter
Double cream
Mature cheeder Cheese
Parmesan
Bread crumbs
Pepper


I par boiled my veg before putting in a baking dish


Next I made a roux and used cream instead of milk and stirred a mound of grated cheese into it and poured it over the veg. And yes cream is indulgent but what are Sundays for if there not for indulgence and treating yourself before going back to work Monday morning I ask you!


I whizzed up some stale bread for part of the topping


Then I covered the gratin with Cheddar, Parmesan and breadcrumbs and put it in the over for around 20 mins.


The delicious gratin in all it's glory


I boiled my gammon in water for around 20 mins before covering in foil and roasting in the over for around half an hour


Had to make some goose fat roast potatoes, it's Sunday!


I also made a cider gravy using some of the water I boiled the gammon in and the veg water, it was a truly delicious Sunday dinner and bit of a change to the normal Sunday roast I would cook.
If you were going to have the gratin with chicken or lamb I think adding some pancetta or bacon and thyme would be nice addition to. Happy Sundays everyone.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Garlic and smoky Bacon Risotto

Store cupboard meals can sometimes be the best kind and this is exactly what this turned out to be. My fridge was looking rather bare but I did have some smoked bacon a large butternut squash and a Parmesan rind with a thick layer of Parmesan still on it perfect for just throwing in the risotto and letting it work it's cheesy magic! I didn't have wine so just used chicken stock and it was perfectly fine.

Risotto Rice
Butternut squash
6 cloves of Garlic
6 Rashers of Smokey Bacon
Parmesan cheese/Rind
1 Large Onion diced
Olive Oil
Knob of Butter
Salt and Pepper




I started by chopping my onion up and gently frying in butter and olive oil. I also chopped up my butternut squash and tossed It in a roasting tin with garlic and olive oil. I keep the garlic in there skins to stop them burning and so I can squish them out of there skins later







After frying the onions I add the risotto rice to the pan and take the cloves of garlic out of the over to add to it.




I cooked my bacon under the grill because I like it crispy, I saved the crispiest bits to go on the top!


My boyfriend isn't keen on chunks of butternut squash so it was scraped from the skin when it had been roasted and was mixed in to the risotto, fussy boy.


That's my lonely cucumber in the background, I had no other salad items to go with it.........