Intensely fruity and deliciously flavoursome – cherry jam!

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful sunshine and wonderfully toasty weather we’re having!  This is definitely one of those summers we’ll all look back on as being what a stereotypical summer should be in the chilly UK!  It’s been a bit busy here in the Dyer-Titmus house.  Being a teacher (I hear you all groan and stand poised with rotten tomatoes) means I am now 2 weeks in to my summer holidays.  This is a brief opportunity for me to explain the trauma of summer holidays – lots of time and not a lot of money!  Trying to make finances you’d normally frivolously spend on 4 weekends of a month, stretch to 30 days is quite stressful and so I have been taking part in frugal and free activities that keep me busy!

This is where jam comes in!  I’ve been preparing for my ZoBird Crimbo Hampers for the family, and as last months Rhubarb Glut post showed, it’s always fun to find exciting recipes that I know my mum in particularly will relish (pun intended).  So this is where I get in to why I LOVE Newcastle and in particular at this time of year.  Newcastle is an incredible place, anyone who has been here will know that and anyone who lives here knows why it grasps a hold of you and won’t let you go.  I came for University 12yrs ago and never left!

These are the reasons why I am feeling an overwhelming swell in my heart for Newcastle these days: Continue reading »

A classic pudding made in to a perfect portioned cake – Banoffee Pie Muffins

So, it’s been a few weeks hasn’t it?!  Many a thing has happened and besides the craziness of my work and having some great friends over to stay, we have actually been over in the States for the past 2 weeks.  An amazing gastronomic adventure in San Francisco, down through Santa Cruz, along the Pacific Coast Highway, to Big Sur, San Luis Obispo and ending up at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend in Vegas…Phew!  Believe it or not, despite sampling the best burgers, steaks, sandwiches, breakfasts and coffees on the planet, we didn’t come back ten times the size as Frisco is incredibly ‘hilly’…you literally walk off the indulgent goodies!

Anyway, less about the holiday that i’m still in blues over and more about the recipe and why!  We went to Peggy Sue’s Diner in Yermo whilst away and it’s a proper retro diner and very famous…it’s on the way in to Vegas.  They are very famous for their pies and even though I had the Pecan Pie here, the Banoffee Pie was staring at me from across the counter in all it’s nanary, creamy and toffeelicious goodness.  So I figured, why not bring a bit of Peggy Sue’s here and replicate this infamous pudding-pie in a smaller format.  Youa ll know I love using up whatever is in the fridge and today was no exception: sour cream, creme fraiche and bananas.  But if you don’t have sour cream and creme fraiche you can use milk as a substitute; although I have found using sour cream and creme fraiche gives a deliciously moist texture and awesome medley of flavours! Continue reading »

Tasty egg-action!

Scotch Egg tea…

So a savoury feature isn’t normally my ‘area’ but the eggs were in need of being used up and this seemed as good an opportunity as any to incorporate sausages in to a meal!! Fun to make and super speedy these are worth a go and make the perfect supper or picnic snack. Continue reading »

Creme Egg Brownie HEART-ATTACK!!!

So there is this AMAZING blog where this woman made the worlds most delectable brownie – Creme Egg Brownie!  I know, I hear you cry ‘What an amazing idea – make worlds most delicious treat and ADD some of the best chocolate combos ever’.  So I made them and the result can be seen above.  They went down a treat by all and induced creme-egg-brownie-sweats!  Check out there recipe here and make those around you smile…and sit down, refusing to be beaten by it’s chocolatey awesome-factor.

I really loved these brownies but wanted to make my own recipe combo and make them a little bit lighter; finding a base brownie recipe that I could add any goodies to, be it Easter, Halloween or Christmas…or just a Friday! Continue reading »

Creme Egg Cupcakes looking egg-ceptionally egg-stravagant!

I LOVE Creme Eggs and as you know I LOVE baking so it was inevitable that the two would collide in a delicious concoction of cakey gooey goodness.  This week I plan on making a few more batches of these and trialling out some Creme Egg borwnies which were posted by Cadbury on their Faceook page…om nom!!!  So here it goes, a recipe to get you dooling and hopefully put a smile of my A level Performing Arts students’ faces when they nosh these down tomorrow! Continue reading »