Vegan Roasted Tomato and Basil Tart

Last weekend I had my first Sunday off from work in a long time so I seized the moment to bake as much as I possibly could in one afternoon! As it was a sunday and usually in our house we have a Sunday roast but this week I took charge and did something a little different in the form of a roasted tomato and basil tart. This meal did not take long at all and I highly recommend serving it with new potatoes, maple roasted vegetables and balsamic vinegar dressing salad.

 

 

Ingredients~

 

2-3 Vine tomatoes sliced

250g Cherry tomatoes sliced in half

3 Garlic cloves minced and put to one side

5-6 Tbsps Olive oil

2-3 Tbsps Tomato puree

A small basil plant

A plain dough recipe

 

Method~

 

1. Put the oven on to 160'C. Mix the minced garlic with the olive oil. Place the sliced tomatoes on a baking tray and using a cooking brush, brush the garlic oil over the tomatoes leaving a little in the bottom for later. Bake in the oven for 10-20 minutes (I say this so you can check it frequently, it may take longer so just take care.)

 

2. With your tart tin, or pie, grease it and line it with the dough. With tomato puree and the rest of the olive oil make a sauce and with the brush, brush it across the base and the sides as all the tomatoes may not get all the way up resulting in it being a little to plain and dry. 

 

3. Place the basil leaves over the base and then layer the tomatoes on  top and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Once done show this as a centre piece and enjoy the show! 

OliveeKid xx

 

Lemon Meringue Crown Cupcakes

For family members birthdays I always do the desserts and for this family members birthday I decided to do something I have never done before and that is marshmallow type of meringue in a crown pattern on top of a lemon cupcake. Heaven I know. As I was following this recipe I was quite confused on the second bake of the cupcake for their meringue but trust me they are like little bits of clouds!

 

 

 

Ingredients~

 

For the Cupcakes

 

150g Unsalted Butter

150g caster sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract

2 medium Eggs

175g Plain flour

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

 

For the Crown

 

2 medium Egg whites

1 tsp Lemon juice

70g Icing sugar

150-200g Lemon curd (well enough to fill the middle of your crown)

 

 

Method~

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180'C fan and line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners.

 

2. In a bowl beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.

 

3. Stir the eggs into the butter mixture, then mix in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda until well blended.

 

4. Spoon this mixture into the paper cases, then bake in the oven for 19-23 minutes or until golden brown.

 

5. Once the cupcakes are out of the oven increase the temperature to 200'C, and slice the tops of the cupcakes off so you have a flat surface to pipe on.

 

6. For the meringue crown whisk together the egg whites with the lemon juice until peaks start to form. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar until stiff and shiny.

 

7. Spoon the meringue topping into a piping bag, now pipe small rounds in a circle on top of the cupcake, pulling away the piping bag each time to create peaks.

 

8. Now bake the piped meringue tops in the oven for 3-6 minutes until it starts to brown. Once browned remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

 

9. Once the cupcake is cool spoon the lemon curd into the centre of the cupcakes to finish.

Now enjoy and eat 4, screw the diet!!

 

 

OliveeKid xx

 

Vegan Kiwi Bakewell Slice

When me and my dad go on days out it usually consists of seeking out weird and unusual ingredients and on this particular adventure we came across one of the best creations ever... KIWI JAM!!!

 

One of the best things about being a baker is that you can add anything to a recipe or change its flavours and it can turn into something completely different, and all you have done is change the jam flavour! This is what makes baking such a marvel to me is that the prospect of all these combinations excites me! In this classic twist the jam compliments the sponge perfectly and not to add it is 100% VEGAN!!
 

Millionaires Shortbread with a Gingerbread Base

When I was little I have fond memories of walking down the road with my mum to get a magazine and some millionaires shortbread for that evenings movie night, so when it came around for this weeks blog post I knew I had to do millionaires shortbread as well it is just so damn tasty!

 

For this classic recipe I wanted to spice it up and the ginger complements the sweet caramel then the chunky chocolate so well I have eaten nearly half the tin, but be warned as this is super sickly so when you slice it up slice this into small chunks.