A COLLECTION OF EASY RECIPES CREATED BY SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE BLOGGERS

- x -Valentine’s Cookbook

- x -

Pea & Ham SoupBy Amelia from www.xameliax.com @xameliax

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel and chop your onion and potato and dice the cooked ham.

2. Add your ham, onion, potato and peas to your soup maker.

3. Dissolve the stock cubes into 900ml of boiling water and tip into

the soup maker along with your other ingredients.

4. Add a knob of butter, pop on the lid and set your Tower Soup

Maker to 30 minutes.

5. When the timer goes off, simply press the blend button until

smooth and serve with crispy bacon bits, croutons and some.

crusty bread!

EQUIPMENT USED:

Tower Soup Maker

“ It does EVERYTHING for you and after

its first use it’s become my new favourite

gadget – making soup is criminally easy

with this bad boy! ”- Amelia

INGREDIENTS:

1 Onion

1 Medium potato

500g Frozen peas

2 Pork stock cubes

300g Cooked ham

A smidgen of butter

Butternut Squash & Feta Lasagne

By Sarah from www.essbeevee.co.uk @essbeevee

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel and chop up the butternut squash.

2. Chop up your mushrooms, onion and pepper into chunks and put into your

lasagne pan (spray liberally with your cooking oil of choice) along with your

chopped butternut squash.

3. Sprinkle with dried rosemary, salt and pepper and chuck some crushed garlic

on, too.

4. Roast in a 200c oven for about 25mins.

5. Wilt your spinach by popping it into a frying pan or wok along with a tiny bit of

water. It’ll cook faster with the lid on, but should only take about 5 minutes. It’ll

look like loads, but it reduces a lot.

6. When your veg is cooked, you can assemble the lasagne – so make sure you

leave the oven on!

7. Put about half the veg into the bottom of your lasagne dish.

8. Lay 3 lasagne sheets over that and then put all the spinach over them, making

sure they are evenly spread across the surface of the lasagne sheets.

9. Chop up your feta and sprinkle the lot over the top of your spinach, then spoon

the remainder of the roasted vegetables and squash over.

10. Cover with 3 lasagne sheets.

11. Spoon the can of mushroom soup over, making sure the lasagne sheets are

all covered. You can actually use any white sauce here, but mushroom soup is

really easy and low fat.

12. Tear up your mozzarella and sprinkle over the lasagne sheets.

13. Pop your pan in the oven and cook for 20-30 mins at 200c.

14. Get it out, serve it quickly, eat it all up. This also freezes really well! I recommend

adding more cheese when you reheat it, because more cheese makes

everything better.

INGREDIENTS:

6 Dry lasagne sheets

125g Light mozzarella

200g Feta cheese

1 Can low fat condensed mushroom soup

1 Butternut Squash

200g Spinach

1 Onion

1 Pepper

6 Portobello mushrooms

4 Garlic cloves

Choco late Irish Cream Liquor Biscui t Cups

By Steph from www.missmamosworld.com @missmamo

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Combine the chocolate spread, Irish cream liquor, butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Sift and fold in the flour.

3. Mix together until a dough is formed.

4. Roll the dough into a 1-inch sausage and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

5. Slice the dough into 1cm rounds.

6. Spray the underside of a Yorkshire pudding tray with cake release spray.

7. Press each slice of the dough over each ridge.

8. Press lightly until the dough has the shape of the ridge in the tray.

9. Bake in a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 3 for 10-15 minutes depending on if you like them soft and chewy or with a bit of crunch.

10. Leave to cool slightly until they can be handled.

11. Carefully twist each cup to remove from the tray.

12. Leave to cool completely.

13. Serve with vanilla ice cream, fresh raspberries and grated chocolate.

INGREDIENTS:

20g Chocolate spread

5ml Irish cream liquor

200g Softened butter

110g Sugar

275g Plain flour

Mud Cake with Sa l ted Butterscotch

By Ai Lin from www.nomsieskitchen.com @leowailin

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C and grease and line baking rings/tin.

2. Put butter, chocolate, light brown sugar and dark chocolate in a small

pot and melt down over low heat. Slowly add in the water and stir, once

the water is hot add in the coffee and stir to dissolve. Leave mixture to

simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once done,

remove from heat and pour mixture into a mixing bowl.

3. Sieve self raising flour, ground almonds, cocoa powder and baking

powder together. Add the sieved ingredients into melted butter and

chocolate mixture. Mix until evenly combined. Add in the egg and mix

until just combined.

4. Pour mixture into baking rings/tin and bake at for 30-35 minutes. The

cakes should be well risen and the smell will be amazing. As the mixture

is quite moist, a skewer when inserted should’nt come out clean - you

want the middle of the cake to be a little gooey and not completely dry.

5. If you have not made your butterscotch sauce, you can make it while

the mud cakes are baking. Recipe for Salted Butterscotch follows. Use a

skewer or a chopstick to poke a hole in the middle of the mud cakes. Put

butterscotch into a freezer bag (or piping bag), snip off the end and fill

the cakes with butterscotch. Drizzle the remaining butterscotch over the

cakes. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

INGREDIENTS:

125g Butter

110g Light brown sugar

80g Dark chocolate

150ml Water

1 tbsp Instant coffee

100g Self raising flour

50g Ground almonds

10g Cocoa powder

½ tsp Baking powder

1 Egg

Egg Free Exot ic Mango and Cardamom Pancakes

By Chintal from chinskitchen.wordpress.com @chintalkakaya

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a bowl mix sifted flour, baking powder, sugar and ground cardamom.

2. Mix water and coconut oil into the milk, stir and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir into a smooth batter but do not over beat.

3. Place a non-stick frying pan on medium heat, add ½ tsp melted coconut oil, turn the pan to ensure even coating of oil.

4. Using a ladle, pour batter into the frying pan, spread the batter to a thin consistency using the base of a ladle.

5. Let one side cook for at least 30-40 seconds or until evenly brown, flip the pancake and let cook for another 40-50 seconds. If your pancake is slightly stuck you can add a bit more coconut oil.

6. Continue this process until all the batter has been used.

7. Peel the mango, cut out the flesh into thick finger slices as shown in the photograph.

8. Take a pancake, fill with mango slices, wrap and drizzle with white chocolate add a dusting of icing sugar.

9. Serve with cream or ice cream for extra indulgence.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Onion

250g Sifted plain flour

2 ½ tbsp Caster sugar

2 tsp Baking powder

¾ tsp Ground cardamom

4 tbsp Melted organic coconut oil plus extra for cooking

550ml Warm milk

30ml Water

1 Large green skin ripe fibreless mango, ensure mango isn’t over ripe.

50g - 100g Melted white chocolate

Icing sugar for dusting

Fortune CookiesBy Charlotte from www.myrecipebook.co.uk @MyRecipeBookUK

4. Add the vanilla extract, flour and caster sugar and whisk until combined.

5. Bake the cookies two at a time as they need to be formed before they cool. If you try and bake more in one go you’ll find that they crack when you try and shape them.

6. For each cookie, place a teaspoon of mixture onto the greased tray/silicon sheet and use a palette knife to spread the mixture into a circle roughly 10cm in diameter. You need to spread the mixture as thinly and evenly as possible (about 1mm thick).

7. Place into the pre-heated oven and bake for 4-5 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown (the centre will still be pale).

8. While the first two cookies are baking, prepare the second batch on a different tray.

9. Once the cookies have baked, remove from the oven and shape them.

10. You need to shape the cookies as quickly as possible after they have been removed from the oven. Please be careful as they will still be very hot.

11. Place your pre written fortune in the centre of each cookie and fold the cookie in half.

12. Pick up the cookie by the two corners of the fold. Place the centre of the fold on the edge of a cup or mug and gently pull down the two corners, ensuring the edges stay as held together as possible. This will create the typical fortune cookie shape.

13. Place the cookie into a muffin tin (or similar) to help it hold its shape until it cools completely.

14. Repeat until all cookies are baked and shaped.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare your fortunes by writing the messages for the inside of the cookies on the pieces of paper roughly 1cm x 10cm, and fold them a few times to make them small enough to fit.

2. Preheat the fan oven to 220C/200C and grease two baking trays/silicon sheets with a little butter.

3. In a bowl, whisk the egg white until foamy but not stiff.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Egg white

40g Plain flour

40g Caster sugar

⅛ tsp Vanilla extract

A little butter (to grease the baking trays)

Rose Fairy CakesBy Daisy from www.prettygreentea.co.uk @prettygreentea

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Whisk together the butter and sugar. Once combined it’s time

to stir the rose water in.

2. Next, add the eggs into the mixture and whisk slowly, adding

the flour a little at a time.

3. Spoon the mixture into fairy cake cases and place into a

preheated oven (180C) for 15 minutes. Once the cakes are

lightly golden take them out and place on a wire rack to cool.

4. While the fairy cakes are baking it’s time to put together the

cream cheese icing!

5. In a big bowl combine the icing sugar, cream cheese, butter

and rose water. Add a couple of drops of food colouring to

give them that Valentine’s Day feeling.

6. Once the fairy cakes have cooled you can get creative with

the icing.

INGREDIENTS:

The Cake

150g Butter

150g Brown sugar

2 tsp Rose water

3 Eggs

200g Self raising flour

The Icing

150g Cream cheese

50g Butter (or use cream to make thicker)

400g Icing sugar

2 tsp Rose water

Pink food colouring

The Va lent ine ’ s Steak Sandwich of Lurve

By Sera from www.theagoraphobicfashionista.com @The_AF_blog

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fire up your health grill (easiest way to cook steak quickly and to the specified preference).

2. Rub some oil into your steak fillets, season with salt, pepper and a dash of paprika and rub all that in.

3. Pop your fillet steaks onto the grill and leave to cook.

4. When the steak is cooked to your preference, remove but keep the grill on.

5. Leave steaks to rest and pop your baguette halves into the health grill to soak up any of the juices left over (this gives a great chargrilled taste!).

6. Slice up steak and arrange on the warm crusty baguette.

FOR THE SAUCE:

7. Fry garlic in the tiniest bit of oil until softened, add peppercorns, Dijon Mustard and the stock pot. Pour in 2 cups of hot water and bring to the boil, allow to simmer (this aids thickening process) and then cool slightly before stirring in the cream.

8. Serve in a little fancy dish to the side and enjoy!

9. If you like mushrooms and fried onions, improvise. For me, on Valentine’s Day, it’s about something quick and simply thrown together whilst I slip into something altogether less comfortable!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Large crusty baguette

2 Fillet steaks

Paprika

Spray Oil

Salt & Pepper to season

1 Clove of garlic

2 tbsp Black peppercorns

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 Beef stock pot

3 tsp Double cream

Bites ize Lemon and Lime Sy l labub Rec ipe

By Nik from nikspeller.tumblr.com @NikSpeller

INGREDIENTS:

500ml Double cream

1 Lemon

1 Lime

75g Icing sugar

5 Ginger nut biscuits

6-8 Small cups

Crème de Framboise au Cognac (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour the cream and sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add

the juice and zest from the lemon and lime. Whisk until the

mixture is stiff.

2. Crush 4 of the biscuits with your hands and divide between all

of the cups.

3. Spoon over the mixture.

4. Drizzle with the Crème de Framboise (this adds a sharp note

that helps cut through the rich cream).

5. Crush the last biscuit and dust between the syllabubs.

6. Serve using small cups means that you get a bitesize amount

of what is an incredibly rich pudding.

Choco late & Raspberry CakesBy Charlotte from www.thegoodowl.co.uk @The_Goodowl

INSTRUCTIONS:THE CAKE

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line your baking tray.

2. Add the butter to a large mixing bowl, beat with a wooden spoon until softened.

3. Add the sugar to the mix and continue beating until light and fluffy.

4. Beat the eggs separately and then slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture.

5. Sift the flour and then slowly incorporate into the mixture.

6. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the water.

7. The mixture should now be quite stiff - add the water a little bit at a time until you

have a pourable yet firm mixture.

8. Place in the oven and bake for roughly 20 - 30 minutes, check it’s cooked by

sticking a butter knife into the cake and checking the knife comes out clean.

9. Once it’s ready, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

10. When it’s cool enough take your heart cutter and cut out some heart shapes.

11. Slice these hearts through the middle horizontally using a bread knife.

THE FILLING

12. Add the butter and the raspberries to a bowl and mix with an electric mixer.

13. Add the salt, icing sugar and cocoa, and continue mixing.

14. Gradually add the cream until you reach a fluffy mixture.

15. Add this to a piping bag and pipe onto 1 half of each your heart cakes.

16. Pop the other halves on top and leave to set in a fridge for 30 mins.

THE ICING

17. Add the cream to a small milk pan and heat.

18. Break the chocolate into little pieces and gradually add it to the pan.

19. Stir with a wooden spoon until it’s all smooth and combined.

20. Place your cakes onto a cooling rack and pour the chocolate ganache over.

21. Pop it back into the fridge and leave to set.

22. Decorate with a sprinkle of dried raspberries.

INGREDIENTS:

Chocolate Cake

225g Plain flour

350g Caster sugar

85g Cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp Baking powder

1 ½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

2 Medium free range eggs

250ml Milk

125ml Vegetable oil

2 Tsp Vanilla extract

250ml Water

Square or Rectangular Cake tin

Heart Shaped Cutter

Chocolate & Raspberry Filling

113g Room temp butter

200g Icing sugar

32g Cocoa

¼ tsp Salt

1 Handful of raspberries

3 tbsp Double cream

Chocolate Ganache Icing

200g Chocolate

200ml Double cream

Dried raspberries (optional)

Choco late & Sa l ted Caramel Tart l e ts

By Angela from www.patisseriemakesperfect.co.uk.co.uk @cherubpaddock

4. To make the caramel put one third of the granulated sugar into a saucepan and place on

medium heat. When it dissolves add the next third of the sugar. Once that has melted, the

final batch of sugar can be added. Heat the sugar until it turns a golden colour.

5. Turn down the heat to low and add the cream in small batches. Take care as the mixture

will bubble up, so you will need to stir it quite quickly. When all of the cream has been

added, take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter - this stops the caramel from

cooking any further.

6. Finally use an immersion or stick blender to mix the caramel until the butter and caramel

are combined. Pour into a bowl, cover with cling-film and put it in the fridge to chill.

7. To make the ganache, heat the cream and butter together in a saucepan and bring it to

the boil. Take the cream off the heat and allow to cool slightly before pouring it over the

chocolate.

8. Stir the chocolate from the centre working outwards until the cream and chocolate are

combined. Leave to cool - if you refrigerate the ganache you may need to warm it in the

microwave when you want to use it or it will be too hard to spread.

9. Roll out the pastry until it’s 2mm - 3mm thick. The pastry can be very sticky, so it may be

easier to roll it out between two sheets of baking parchment. Stamp out 8 circles for the

individual tarts and press the pastry into the sides and trim the edges.

10. Bake the pastry blind, weighing it down with greaseproof paper and baking beans. Bake

the individual tarts at 180C for 10mins, remove the baking beans and finish baking the

pastry at 160C for a further 10 - 15 mins. Leave the pastry to cool.

11. Half fill the cases with the caramel using a piping bag, or a knife (you may need to warm

the caramel slightly as it can set quite well).

12. Pipe or spread the cooled ganache on top to fill the tarts, smooth it so the edges are

completely sealed. You will have ganache left over - this can be rolled into truffles or

frozen for up to 3 months, ( just defrost it overnight and warm it slightly in a microwave to

make it soft enough to spread or pipe).

13. The tart can then be decorated with more salted caramel and if you’re feeling very

indulgent, some gold leaf or a square of your favourite chocolate.

INSTRUCTIONS:1. First, to make the pastry; add the butter, icing sugar and eggs to a food mixer and mix

together.

2. Add the flour and cocoa powder and mix until the pastry comes together in a sticky

paste.

3. Cover in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight if

possible. This is a very sticky pastry and it needs a lot of time to rest.

INGREDIENTS:

Chocolate Ganache

150ml Whipping cream

25g Unsalted butter

280g Dark chocolate (at least

50% Cocoa)

Salted Caramel

140g Granulated sugar

75ml Double cream

100g Salted butter (diced and chilled)

Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Sable pastry

100g Unsalted butter

50g Icing sugar

1 Egg (lightly beaten)

85g Plain flour

40g Cocoa powder

Tower Valentine’s Cookbook BloggersAMELIA | www.xameliax.com | @xameliax

CHINTAL | chinskitchen.wordpress.com | @chintalkakaya

SARAH | www.essbeevee.co.uk | @essbeevee

STEPH | www.missmamosworld.com | @missmamo

AI LIN | www.nomieskitchen.com | @leowailin

CHARLOTTE | www.myrecipebook.co.uk | @MyRecipeBookUK

DAISY | www.prettygreentea.com | @prettygreentea

SERA | www.theagoraphobicfashionista.com | @The_AF_blog

NIK | nikspeller.tumblr.com | @NikSpeller

CHARLOTTE | www.thegoodowl.com | @The_Goodowl

ANGELA | www.patisseriemakesperfect.co.uk | @cherubpaddock