Organic Seasonal Produce

What a wonderful start to the long bank holiday weekend we have had here at IDEAS, two of our lovely customers who grow their own fruit and vegetables brought in boxes of homegrown produce for us to enjoy over the weekend, we really do have the best customers.

Helen quickly got to work using some of the produce by making a beautiful meal of beef wellington, roast potatoes and lots of the wonderful vegetables. Next on her list is to use is the beautiful rhubarb in which a Rhubarb cake is going to be made, below is the recipe for you all to try at home.

Please note that we are closed this bank holiday from Saturday 24th August - Monday 26th August and re-open on Tuesday 27th August at 9am. We hope you have a lovely, relaxing weekend full of sun!

Ingredients

For the cake

300g Rhubarb

165g Self raising flour

175g Butter

175g Caster sugar

3 Large eggs

2 tsp Vanilla paste

Juice of ½ a lemon

For the crumbly topping

25g Butter

2 tbsp Self-raising flour

1 tbsp Caster sugar

2 tsp Ground ginger

Cream or ice cream to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 c, fan 160 c. Grease and line a 23cm square tin

Trim and chop the rhubarb stems into 3cm pieces, mix with the lemon juice & set to one side

Whisk the remaining cake ingredients together to make a smooth batter

Fold in half the rhubarb and spoon the mixture into the greased tin, scatter over the remaining rhubarb

For the topping, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar & ginger. Sprinkle over the cake batter and bake for 50 minutes

Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out

Cut the cake into squares and serve warm or cold with a big dollop of cream or ice cream.

Recipe taken from the Sainsbury’s magazine

Mince Pies with a Twist

The epitome of Christmas time, the humble mince pie! But they aren’t always everyone’s cup of tea, due to their sometimes overpowering filling. Helen of IDEAS has come up with a recipe that takes the edge of the often overfilled mince pie. Beautiful mincemeat, encased in homemade butter pastry with a sponge top to balance the pie. Perfect with a cup of tea after a festive day of fun!

For the pastry: (You could also buy a block of shortcrust pastry)

4oz Butter

8oz Plain Flour

6oz Soft Brown Sugar

A pinch of salt

A tiny bit of water!

For the cake topping:

6oz Butter

6oz Soft brown sugar

8oz Plain Flour

3 Eggs

1 ½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp of milk

1tsp Vanilla paste

For the mincemeat filling:

1 jar of good quality mincemeat

2oz Butter

A good glug of maple syrup

Method

To make the pastry rub together butter, sugar, flour and salt until fine breadcrumbs are formed. Slowly add in water to bind the mixture together until a ‘ball’ is formed. Leave the pastry to rest whilst the filling is made.

For the mincemeat mix, combine all the mincemeat filling ingredients into a pan and put over a medium head until butter has fully melted and the mixture has started to turn silky. Take of the heat and allow to cool.

Set the oven to 160°

To make the sponge topping, cream the butter & sugar together until light and fluffy. Using a spatula gently fold in one at a time the eggs with a spoonful of flour and the baking powder until all are mixed in. The mix may feel a little thick at this point so add in a little of the milk at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Grease 2 x 12 case cupcake tins.

Roll out the pastry until around 1cm thick and using a round 9/10cm cookie cutter make 24 cookie rounds. Pop each pastry round into the tin and spoon a teaspoon of the mincemeat mixture into each pastry case (leaving enough room on top for the sponge!) Top each mincepie with a teaspoon of cake mixture.

Pop each tin into the preheated oven for 20mins or until the cake mixture is looking golden brown and springs back when touched.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or a glass of mulled wine!

The Bake Off Series - Lemon Drizzle

This week the lovely ladies from our kitchen door retailer Second Nature traveled to our showroom to see Helen in action and baking one of our favorites Lemon drizzle cake! We had a lovely chat all things baking, kitchens and interior trends along with lots of tea a few slices of cake! Follow the recipe below to make your very own.

Ingredients for the cake

9oz Salted Butter

9oz Soft Brown Sugar

12oz Plain Flour

4 Eggs

2 ½ Tsp Bake Powder

3 Tbsp Milk

The rind of 2 Lemons & a little juice

Pinch of salt

Ingredients for the Lemon Curd (You could buy this also!)

• 100g (4oz) butter

•  225g (8oz) granulated sugar

•  3 standard eggs and 1 extra egg yolk

•  Juice and grated rind of 3 lemons

Ingredients For the Icing

6oz Icing Sugar

Lemon juice from 2 lemon

Lemon rind to decorate

A little water if it is too thick

Method

Step 1

Preheat your oven at 160°c/325°f, Gas No 3.

Prepare 2 20cm/8inch round cake tins with greaseproof paper.

Cream your butter with the sugar, lemon rind and a pinch of salt for 3 to 4 minutes, until appearance is light a fluffy. 

 Step 2

One at a time, beat in the eggs, adding a tbsp of flour, lemon juice and milk with each. Sieve together the rest of the flour and the baking powder, then gently fold this into the egg mixture with a large metal spoon. 

 Step 3

Split your prepared mixture in to the two cake tins and smooth the tops. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours.

Step 4

While the cakes are baking, it’s now time to make the lemon curd filling.

Start by melting butter over a pan of simmering water. Next, beat together the eggs and extra yolk, then combine with the sugar, lemon rind and juice.

Step 5

Add the mixture to the melted butter and cook gently (not allowing to boil) until the curd thickens enough to cover the back of a spoon. Don’t allow to overheat as this could make the mixture curdle.

Pour into a storage container and allow to cool as your cakes bake.

 Step 6

Once you’re satisfied the cakes are baked, take out of the oven and leave them in the tin for 5 minutes. Then, turn the cakes out on to a wire cooling rack.

 While they are warm, mix together the juice of ½ a lemon and a little icing sugar, and drizzle this over both cakes to keep them moist.

 Allow to go cold, then peel off the greaseproof paper.

Step 7

Spread a desired level of lemon curd on to the top of one of your cakes, then place the other cake on top, forming a sandwich.

 Next, whip up some icing using icing sugar and lemon juice to taste.

 Pour over the top of your cake, allowing to trail the outside. As a finishing touch, decorate with lemon rind.

ENJOY!