Mr Whippy Raspberry & White Chocolate Cupcakes

 

The lovely English Mum is very kindly hosting a Big Bake Off over on www.englishmum.com and all and sundry have been invited to submit their best baking efforts with the most fabulous prize of a Green & Blacks hamper on offer.  Needless to say the competition is fairly stiff… just pop over to EM’s and take a look at the deliciousness. My son and I put our thinking caps on and came up with these fun cupcakes… we figured if the summer won’t come to the west of Ireland then we’d just have to create our own, and what could be better than a Mr Whippy on a misty, drizzly Sunday afternoon in doors? [Read more…]

Cranberry and Pecan Cookies

At the suggestion of Sarah from Musings of a Med Student and Kristin of Dinner du Jour a group of Irish food bloggers jumped at the chance to hold a Twitter Cookie Bake-Off or “Twookieparty”.  Taking part in Twitter cooking parties is a bit of fun and a great way to discover or share recipes.

I must admit I was a bit stumped as to what to bake as I generally don’t make cookies or biscuits.  In fact I don’t recall trying anything other than the gorgeous double chocolate chip cookies posted by Like Mam Used To Bake.   As I was just back from holiday and didn’t have a chance to visit a large supermarket I decided to pay a visit to the local health food shop and it turned out to be an Aladdin’s Cave of wonderful ingredients for something like this.  I discovered some beautiful jewel like dried Cranberries and lovely pecan nuts and decided I would make Cranberry and Pecan Cookies. [Read more…]

Cottage Pie

One of the first meals my husband ever cooked for me was Cottage Pie and it (or Shepherds Pie if lamb mince is available) is still a firm favourite in our house.  Over the years we have tried out a few different recipes but the one I favour most is that of Gary Rhodes in New British Classics, which forms the basis for the recipe below.  I don’t feel the need to add wine – I like the mince to be savoury but not too rich.  I serve my pies in small pudding bowls and it is a great one-pot dish with no need for anything else, unless of course you wish to add more veg. [Read more…]