Mango and Coconut Cream with Pistachio Brittle

If you wanted the quickest (homemade) dessert in the whole entire universe then look no further, because trust me this is quicker than walking to your local supermarket, and buying something, unless you live right outside a supermarket, and can run around it like Usain bolt.

I thought i might mention that it utterly delicious, but then for someone who could eat about 10 mangoes per day, and never get bored then i suppose i might be a bit biased. Whatever you do though, use alphonso mangoes! Oh, and once you've made the brittle, I would hide it away until you need it, because unless you have super strong will power, then you might find it magically disappears! 

In this version photographed I used coconut cream (hence it's very white), instead of cream, which is a great option if your lactose intolerant, or if you prefer not to eat dairy/animal products. Instead of using a small expensive tins of coconut cream, I used a tin of coconut milk, and the solid part which had naturally separated (sainsburys own is the best to use), then just whipped it, with the same amount of cardamon. If you don't like cardamon, or want to freshen up the dessert, grated lime zest would also work well.

Serves 4

Ingredients

5 tbsp caster sugar
50g shelled pistachios

300ml double cream, or coconut cream
2 tbsp caster sugar
10 cardamon seeds, shelled, crushed into a powder
400g alphonso mango puree, or flesh of a fresh mango blended
fresh mint to garnish, optional

1. Toast the pistachios until fragrant, roughly chop 
2. In a pan, heat the sugar with 1 tbsp water until it dissolves and cooks to a golden brown caramel
3. Mix the pistachios into the sugar, and spread on baking paper and leave to cool
4. whip the cream with the sugar and cardamon, until it forms soft peaks 
5. divide the mango between 4 glasses, spoon over the cream
6. roughly break up the brittle, sprinkle over. top with a spring of mint.

Cinnamon Buns

Well, i bet that title post is what made you click. There is no shame in admitting it, because those two words put together = heaven. Don't even try to deny it, because I know you would be lying, as no one can resist sugary, buttery, cinnamony goodness. There just so yummy, i get distracted and casually invent new words! 

These are no ordinary cinnamon buns, as they are super rich and buttery. They are also folded in a traditional Nordic way, and as well as being loaded with cinnamon, they have cardamon in them as well. They are almost like a hybrid between croissants and cinnamon buns, as they have layers which are soft and flakey, almost pastry like.

Feel free to add your own flavours, such as vanilla or saffron, or if you don't like cardamom feel free to remove it. I also added a lot more cinnamon than the recipe suggests, the filling didn't  taste that nice on its own, but since the cinnamon is distributed throughout 16 buns it tasted fine( and actually needed more to suit my tastes).

Ingredients

Dough

135g caster sugar

100g butter

700g plain flour

18g dried yeast

1 egg

200ml milk

100ml cream

Filling

90g caster sugar

150g unsalted butter

1-2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp cardamom seeds from pods, ground( to taste)

Glazing syrup 

1 egg, beaten

50ml golden syrup or treacle, mixed with 1 tbsp water

2 tbsp caster sugar

1. Beat together the butter a and sugar until light and fluffy

2. Add in the egg and beat for a further 2 mins

3. Fold in the sifted flour and yeast, alternating with the milk and cream, until you have a smooth and slightly sticky dough

4. Knead for 15 mins until the dough is smooth and elastic, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour

5. Shape the risen dough into a rectangle, roll out to 2cm thick, keeping in as much air as possible

6. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, add in the cinnamon and cardamom to taste spread evenly over the dough

7. Fold the dough in half, the half again, keeping in a rectangle shape

8. Roll out again to 1.5 cm thick, cut the dough into 2cm wide strips, it should make about 16 strips

9. Roll each strip around 3 fingers twice, using your thumb as an anchor point, fold the end of the strip over the loops & tuck it under. Or roll into snail shapes.

10. Place onto lined baking tray, and cover with a tea towel, and allow to rise for 45 mins

11. Preheat the oven to 200°c, gas 6

12. Brush the buns with beaten egg. And place in the oven for 10mins or until golden brown

13. Once cooked immediately brush with the syrup and sprinkle with sugar.

Lemon and Cardamom Drizzle Cake

During the spring and summer months, i tend to lean towards bakes that contain citrus fruits, or fresh fruits, as they tend to be less heavy, and are fresh and light, perfect for afternoon garden tea party. This lemon and cardamon cake is delicious, and a nice change to normal lemon drizzle cake, with the addition of cardamon, a spice that i rarely use, its fast becoming one of my favourite cakes.

The cardamon works perfectly with lemon in this, and i always ask myself why i don't use it more! Then i remember how tiresome it is to get all of the seeds out, then grind them(luckily this time i found a really quick way).The seeds though give a beautiful black flecked sponge, and obviously coat your fingers in an unbelievable cardamon smell which later is accompanied with lemon... et volia you have the cake smell on your fingers making your mouth water before the cake is even ready, oops!

As per usual, i didn't have any granulated sugar to create a crunchy top, but since i had zested the lemon in big strips, i think the lemon looked pretty and wouldn't be as pretty with it mixed in with the granulated sugar. So maybe just this once i was glad that i didn't have granulated, but feel free to use granulated if you like a crunchy top.

Ingredients

1 1/2  tbsp green cardamom pods

175g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

175g butter

175g light brown sugar

finely grated zest of 4 lemons and juice of 2

3 medium, lightly beaten

50g granulated sugar

1. preheat the oven to 180°/gas mark 4

2. grease and line loaf tin

3. slit the cardamon pods open with a sharp knife and shake or poke out the dark seeds(this tends to take quite a while, but is totally worth it in the end)

4. crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar, or chop them with a knife, until a coarse powder is formed

5. put the butter and light brown sugar into a bowl with the crushed cardamon seeds and half of the lemon zest, and cream together, until light and fluffy.

6. beat in the eggs, a splash or two at a time, until everything is fully incorporated

7. fold, in the sifted flour and baking powder, until smooth

8. quickly beat in half the lemon juice

9. tip into the lined loaf tin and smooth the top, then pop into the oven and bake for 40 mins until set and golden brown.x

10. while the cake is still hot, spike the top with a fork. Mix together the remaining lemon juice and zest, then stir in the granulated sugar. 

11. spoon over the top, guiding the liquid towards the holes. 

12. leave to cool completely in the tin before serving.

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