Lavender honey rice pudding

As long as I can remember my family have been a clan who love their rice pudding, we didn't even need an excuse to make it there was always a big dish of the creamy stuff out on the table with the dark skin shielding it from busy fingers.

I myself much prefer making rice pudding in a pot than in the oven you get longer out of the dessert not that it will be allowed hang around long enough to check its freshness.

During the summer I ransacked my dads lavender garden + took bags of fresh lavender home to dry out for future recipes, there's something about lavender that puts a smile on my face my front door is surrounded by the purple stuff, nothing nicer when you walk out that door +  this is the first breath of fresh air you take in mmmmm.

So for this recipe you will need:

500ml of milk( whole or low fat your choice)

125g of short grain rice

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon of lavender honey

Toasted flaked almonds

Firstly pour your milk in a pot and bring to the boil. Add your rice + sugar in and reduce the heat + turn your timer on for 25 minutes. Don't go far from your hob as you will need to stir this oozy goodness every now + again.

Once you are coming up to the time have a wee taste + if the bite from the rice has gone take it off the heat. While the pudding is still hot drizzle in the fragrant honey + then stir, taste again + add more honey if the flavour is to subtle.

When serving I like to add an extra drizzle of the lavender honey + then sprinkle with the toasted flaked almonds, these give a fantastic texture to the creamy pudding. I just hope you can control yourself when it comes to sharing lol

Enjoy

Rebecca

Chocolate, cream cheese + blackberry brownies

I love when a recipe slaps you in the face right out of the blue. I gave myself yesterday to concentrate and enjoy the task of recipe writing, the hubby pottered off to our local insomnia coffee shop with his Mac book to send off a few cvs + brought Lottie-daisy with him. I put lillie-b down for her snooze and away I went on my baking tangent.

Like anyone who is juggling a thousand things in their daily life when a notion hits I have to write it down quickly as it flithers off just as smart, in the full knowledge that a window will arise that I get to give it welly in the kitchen.

It could be one ingredient that sparks a whole idea or it would have to take a few jotted down notions to compile to one eureka moment. It just so happened it snowballed with me yesterday, half way through one recipe test another popped in so that got made + then written down. And sure here we all are  for this ridiculously good baked goody you will need...

100g butter

200g 70% chocolate

250g caster sugar

4 eggs

70g gluten free flour( or normal)

50g cocoa

Cream cheese layer

175g cream cheese room temp

3 tablespoons of butter room temp

50g sugar

1 egg

3 table spoons of Flour

1 cup of fresh blackberries

Firstly make your brownie batter. Over a double boiler melt the chocolate + butter, while that's melting beat the eggs until light in colour + then add the sugar. Whisk this until all the sugar is dissolved.

By now the chocolate and butter should be completely melted so take it off the boiling water + leave to the side. In another bowl sift together the dry ingredients then add to the eggs. Once fully folded in pour in your melted ingredients.

Now in another bowl add your cream cheese + butter and cream together thoroughly until smooth. Add the egg + sugar in next + mix well. Lastly add your flour.

So lets put this altogether, firstly line your shallow brownie pan with baking paper this makes it so easy to take out the brownies. Pour in the brownie batter first next pour over your cream cheese batter evenly over the chocolate you can even spread it slightly with a spatula. Lastly evenly place your fresh blackberries on top of all this gooey goodness, pop it all in the preheated @180' for 30 minutes + I mean 30 minutes don't even check it when the timer goes take it out any longer + the whole thing loses its gooey ness...

Once out of the oven let it sit for a few minutes before cutting into slices you should easily get 18 squares out of this recipe.

Now this can be devoured on its own or you can up the anty by pairing it with some of my country creme fresh{ you will find this in my blog}

Enjoy

Rebecca xx

Instant Salty chocolate prezels

Sometimes there's nothing nicer than a "ready in moments" treat with all the flavour + none of the effort. Well the other night was one of those moments that I needed a quick fix of indulgence but couldn't think of anything I had in the press that would do the trick.

When we lived in Canada for the summer the shop shelves were jammed with every sugary sweet going but one thing that always caught my eye was chocolate dipped prezels but me being me never bought them as you could only buy jumbo bags of them + You know yourself once you open the ptack sure it would be rude not to finish it HA...

So back to my munchie dilemma I had a craving but didn't think I had anything to hit the spot until I copped I had a "normal" size bag of little prezels + a big bar of dark chocolate stashed up in my baking press, you gotta love the 74% coco solids for baking....

So for this uber quick quick + rewarding snack you will need

175g bag of prezels

100g 74% dark chocolate

1 teaspoon of butter

Baking parchment

Firstly in a double boiler melt your chocolate. Once melted add the butter making sure it's fully combined.

Take the chocolate off the heat + one by one dip half the prezel into the choclate, then shake the prezel gently to remove any excess chocolate. Place it onto the baking parchment. 

 Once all the prezels have had a dip and are chilling out on the paper leave them for a while to set, don't be tempted to pop them in the fridge this will coz the chocolate to lose its shine.

I stored these bad boys in a large jar so there was no chance of them going stale , that would just be cruel now wouldn't it.

The combination of the salty prezel with the bite of the dark chocolate is a match made in heaven, I will be tucking in these with a vino tonight to watch the Great British bake off...it's the sime things people....

Enjoy

Rebecca xx