Cheese, tomato and herb quiche

I absolutely love quiche but have never attempted to make one before because whenever I look at recipes they always seem to use so many eggs and so much cream! I also love making (and eating..) shortcrust pastry but was always afraid that turning it into a quiche would leave it with a soggy bottom. Well, today I proved my assumptions to be very wrong! I looked over a few recipes and decided to use all milk instead of cream, with a bit of light soft cheese, and only one egg. I used fresh tomatoes, lots of herbs and some cheddar and parmesan, and the flavours were amazing. The texture was absolutely perfect as well - no soggy bottom, but crisp pastry instead, hoorah! I made this for Father's day as we decided to have a buffet. This quiche is perfect party food for buffets, makes a great lunch, or even dinner - serve with a side salad and some new potatoes in parsley butter for a delicious, summer meal (suitable for vegetarians!) I can't wait to create more quiche recipes, maybe bacon and leek, and next time I make this tomato one, I want to try putting broccoli in it too (I've had one like this from Sainsbury's and it is scrummy). If you are to try out one recipe this summer, I think it should be this one! Pastry isn't as tricky as you might think to get right, just follow the steps below.

Makes 1 large quiche (4-8 people)

For the pastry:

- 175g plain flour

- pinch of salt

- 40g lard

- 40g margarine

- 1 tsp thyme, chopped (I used dried)

- 2-3 tbsp water

For the filling:

- small knob of butter

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 350g tomatoes, sliced

- pinch of salt and pepper

- handful of parsley, chopped (I used fresh)

- 1 tsp thyme (dried)

- 1 tsp basil (dried)

- 2 tbsp boiling water

- 250ml milk

- 1 egg

- 1 tbsp light soft cheese

- handful of parmesan, grated

- handful of cheddar, grated

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180 degrees. For the filling, gently fry the onion in the butter for a few minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper and stir.

2. Add the boiling water and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the tomatoes are softened. Leave to cool.

3. Whilst this is cooling, start on the pastry. Sieve the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and add the margarine and lard.

4. Rub the fat into the flour with your fingertips 'from a height' (oo jamie oliver style...) until it resembles breadcrumbs. You can add in the thyme at this stage or the previous stage.

5. Add the water and knead gently into a soft dough. On a floured work-surface, roll out the dough until large enough to fit into a flan dish or metal case. Push down into the case, pressing into the sides.

6. To finish the filling, whisk together the milk, egg, soft cheese, parmesan and chessar until combined. Stir into the tomato and onion mixture and gently pour into the pastry case until filled to the top. Grate some more cheddar on top. I found that I had too much filling for the case, maybe because my case was too small. I put the remaining filling into little ramekin dishes and baked in the oven with the quiche so that it could be eaten anyway and not wasted.

7. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the filling has set and is golden brown. 

Enjoy :)

Fruity flapjacks

I have never made flapjacks before today, in fact, I was never really that keen on them before either, but these have completely blown me away! I looked up a few different recipes and decided on the ingredients that I thought would work best (and with what I had in the house!) These are prune flapjacks, but the prunes can easily be swapped for apricots, dates, cranberries etc. They are incredibly moist, yet still crispy and crunchy when you get an edge piece. I used mainly margarine so I was shocked that they tasted so satisfyingly bad for you and buttery - obviously they're still not particularly 'healthy' but the marg does help a bit... I nearly always say this about the recipes I post, but these really were so easy to make as well! A brilliant treat to make if you're having friends or family over, everyone's bound to love them. I would probably modify the recipe if I was making chocolate flapjacks because the textures would be different, but you could always try just swapping the dried fruit for chocolate chips although I don't know if the texture would be as perfect! I will definitely stick to this recipe in the future and make these again and again - hope you like them as much as me.

Makes about 9 flapjacks

- 125g margarine, plus extra for greasing

- 50g butter

- 75g soft, brown sugar

- 55g runny honey

- 100g dried prunes (pitted), chopped

- 40g mixed dried fruit (raisins, saltanas etc.)

- 1 tsp sesame seeds

- 1 tsp golden linseeds (flax)

- 225g oats

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180 degrees and grease a square or rectangular tin (e.g. 10.5 x 6.5 inches)

2. Over a low heat, melt the margarine, butter, sugar (leaving a little bit left) and honey in a pan, stirring until fully melted and the sugar dissolved.

3. Stir in the prunes, dried fruit, seeds and oats until fully mixed and coated.

4. Spoon the mixture into the tin, flattening with the back of a wooden spoon. Sprinkle over the remaining sugar and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

5. Remove from the oven and cut into squares/rectangles, and leave to cool in the tin.

Enjoy :)

Low fat blueberry muffins

So the one's I baked were incredibly low fat since I forgot to put margarine in... As you can imagine I was extremely annoyed remembering I didn't put any in when they were 5 minutes away from being done in the oven! I tried one straight from the oven (always best when they're warm) and it was still delicious, soft on the inside, crisp on top and a lovely fruity flavour along with warm cinnamon flavours - mmm! However, they were stuck to the paper cases which I presume may not have been so bad if there was more fat in there (from the marg). I also think they would be more moist with marg in as well, so of course, don't be silly like me and forget to put it in! What I particularly love about these is the golden colour from the sprinkling of sugar and spices before baking in the oven.

Makes 6 muffins

- 115g plain flour

- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

- pinch of salt

- 1/2 tsp mixed spice (or just cinnamon)

- 55g caster sugar

- 1 egg

- 1.5 tbsp low-fat margarine

- 75ml (5 tbsp) low-fat natural yogurt

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 40g fresh blueberries

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5/190 degrees. Place 6 muffin cases in a muffin tin.

2. Sift the flour, bicarb of soda, salt and half the mixed spice into a mixing bowl. Add 6 tbsp of the sugar and mix together well.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, margarine, yogurt and vanilla extract. Stir in the blueberries then pour the mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently stir until combined.

4. Divide the mixture into the muffin cases (about 2/3 full). Sprinkle over the remaining sugar and some mixed spice over the muffins.

5. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until well-risen and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Best eaten warm!

Enjoy :)

Jam butterfly cakes

 I think these are so cute, and I love making cupcakes where you don't have to then make a buttercream or other frosting after - less washing up! These are perfect if you want something a bit more special than just a plain vanilla cupcake, and, like the smartie squares, these would be brilliant to bake with kids. With it being spring, and the summery weather emerging, the butterfly design is very fitting - make sure you use pretty, coloured cupcake cases! You can use any flavoured jam you like and fruit or sweet to decorate, so these are versatile as well.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes
- 125g soft margarine
- 125g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 125g self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- spoonfuls of jam (e.g. raspberry or strawberry - I used damson)
- fruit, to decorate
- icing sugar, to dust


1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5/190 degrees.
2. Cream together the butter and the sugar. Gradually stir in the egg and add the vanilla essence.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder and fold into the micture.
4. Spoon into cupcake cases on a baking tray, filling half of the case.

5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden. Place on a wired rack to cool.

5. Once cool, carefully cut the tops of with a knife and spoon jam into the centre. Cut the top in half to make butterfly wings and place on top of the jam.

6. Repeat until all done, place a raspberry, or another fruit or sweet, on top (optional), then dust with icing sugar!

Enjoy :)

Chocolate smartie squares

Do you have a particular food that you associate with your childhood? Well, these are mine! My mum used to make these for parties and other special occasions, and I practically begged her for the recipe today. As a kid you can imagine how chocolate squares with bright smarties on top can be so exciting - and they still are... They are no-bake cakes - just need to set in the fridge so are really simple to whip up. They are great for making with children because they are easy and fun. They are also perfect treats for Easter if you don't want to splash out on a ton of expensive shop bought cakes and eggs. For Easter celebrations you could top with cadbury's mini eggs instead of smarties. If you're making these for a party or event with a large number of people then I would recommend doubling the recipe because they don't last for long! (In fact they're so good, my mum was reluctant to give the recipe away, haha)

Makes 16 squares

- 50g margarine

- 150g dark cooking chocolate, broken into pieces

- 2 tbsp runny honey

- 250g digestive biscuits, crushed

- 16 smarties

1. Line a square tin (7 inch) with grease proof paper, and grease with margarine. (make sure the paper sticks up out the sides of the tin as you will need to use this to grip when removing the squares from the tin)

2. Melt the margarine, chocolate and honey in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from the heat and add the biscuit crumbs, mixing thoroughly until coated.

4. Spoon into the tin and push down, smoothing the top. Mark into 16 squares with a sharp knife, and place a smartie in the centre of each.

5. Leave to set in the fridge for a couple of hours, then break into the squares and serve.

Enjoy :)