Lotus Biscuit and Cinnamon Cupcakes

I LOVE Lotus biscuits and the spread is one of my favourite things to have on toast so I decided to try making cakes that celebrated this wonderful creation. Cinnamon is another of my favourite flavours and works perfectly with the spread in these cupcakes to give a warming, indulgent feel. The amount of cinnamon in this recipe may make you think I've made a typo, but I promise I haven't and the taste is not overpowering in the slightest. This recipe makes 12 large cupcakes and can easily be scaled up to feed a crowd. I took these to my work and they lasted seconds. 

Ingredients:
For the cakes:
6oz self raising flour
6oz butter - I use Dairy Free
6 oz light brown sugar
4 generous tbsp lotus biscuit spread
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon

For the icing:
12oz icing sugar
3oz butter
2 generous tbsp lotus biscuit spread
2 tsp cinnamon
Lotus biscuits

Method:
Preheat your oven to 160c fan and muffin tins with muffin papers. Mix together the flour, butter, eggs, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon until light and smooth then beat in the biscuit spread.

Place around a tbsp and a half of the mixture into each muffin case until all the mixture is used then bake for 20 minutes until springy and golden brown. Place on a baking rack to cool.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, beat together the icing sugar and butter then add the cinnamon and biscuit spread and mix until combined. If the mixture is a little stiff, gradually add water until the icing is soft and spreadable.

Spread each of the cupcakes with a generous dollop of icing, I use a butter knife dipped in hot water, then place a lotus biscuit on top so it sets into the icing.

Serve with a large mug of hot chocolate for a delicious winters treat.

Please take a picture when you make these and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife.

ENJOY!

Winter Salad

Having eaten rather a lot of pizzas and other delicious carbs recently my body has been crying out for a salad but I haven't fancied the usual lettuce, cucumber etc combo so I decided to create a hot salad using more wintery vegetables. The addition of the broccoli and asparagus offer a lightness to the dish while the addition of spices gives depth and warmth.

Ingredients:
1 large carrot
4 large fresh beetroot
300g cherry tomatoes
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp celery salt
1 bundle asparagus
1 pack tenderstem broccoli
1 pack woodland mushrooms
2 large cloves garlic
olive oil
butter - I use dairy-free

Method:
Preheat your oven to 160c. Peel and chop the beetroot and carrot into bite sized pieces and place in an oven dish. Add the tomatoes, all spice and celery salt then drizzle with olive oil before mixing thoroughly. Roast for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Trim and chop the asparagus and broccoli into bite sized pieces and steam lightly until just tender then add to the roasted vegetables and toss together.

While the green vegetables are steaming, add a large dollop of butter to a frying pan along with the garlic (crushed) and the mushrooms and saute until soft.

Serve immediately, topping the winter salad with the garlic mushrooms and drizzling over the melted butter.

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Tart

Having seen all the pictures of peoples beautiful rose inspired apple pies on Instagram recently, I decided to put a savoury spin on the dish combining the rich flavours of the Mediterranean with a luscious buttery pastry. This recipe is a little more fiddly and time consuming than some of my others but I think the results are worth it, both in appearance and taste.

Ingredients:
For the pastry:
225g plain flour
100g butter - i use dairy free
pinch salt
4-6 tbsp cold water

For the Tomato Sauce:
300g ish cherry tomatoes
1 jar sun-dried tomatoes
salt and pepper

For the Filling:
1 large Aubergine
1 large courgette

Method:

In a large bowl, carefully rub together the flour, salt and butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Pop the cherry tomatoes on a baking tray and drizzle with the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes along with a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Place in a preheated oven at 160c for 15 minutes or until soft and starting to caramelise. Place the roasted tomatoes along with the sun-dried tomatoes into a blender and blend until smooth, adding more salt and pepper if required.

Finely slice the aubergine and courgette, cutting the larger slices of aubergine in half.

Take the dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface to around a 30cm circle. Take a loose bottomed tart tin and carefully drape the pastry over. Take a small piece of excess pastry and use this to push the pastry into the tin, getting into all the corners. Trim the pastry to the top of the dish.  Line the pastry with baking foil and blind bake for 10 minutes, at 160c.

Once the pastry is blind baked, place a generous layer of the tomato sauce over the base then top with the slices of aubergine and courgette in circles to create a flower design. Drizzle with olive oil then bake for a further 15 - 20 minutes until the pastry is golden and the vegetables are cooked.

Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin then serve instantly.

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!