Classic Caggs

Yesterday I was invited over to a friend's house for a "wii and juicing" party on the same night as the very first social of the year at university. It's obvious which option I went for. After having a glass of the juice she whipped up I decided that following our exam results, due to be released the following day, I would treat myself to a slightly cheaper smoothie maker that I had set my heart on. Unfortunately the results were delayed by three days, but I decided to buy the smoothie maker anyway because I was so desperate to try out some recipes! The two that I have tried out so far are a cucumber, mango and ginger beauty, the other a peanut and banana smoothie. Both are super duper. The quantities are for the 600ml smoothie maker I used; you may need to adjust accordingly! A lot of the quantities are halves of fruit BUT if you chop up the lot you can freeze it ready for the next time you want to make it! I'm excited already! For the cucumber, mango and...

Not a lot beats freshly baked goodies, particularly those that aren't labour intensive in the slightest and flipping delicious. These cinnamon swirl buns are perfect for brunch with a nice hot coffee, which is how I just enjoyed them! I used a  London Eats  recipe for these beauties.  You can top them with sugar nibs (which is how the Swedes enjoy them) but I wanted to keep them as fuss-free as possible…more importantly though I don't own sugar nibs (though if you wanted to give it a go I'm sure granulated sugar would do the trick!) To make 12 cinnamon swirl buns (actually 14, you'll see later) you will need: The buns 2 tsp dried yeast 50g sugar 60g soft butter 150ml milk 1 egg (actually half an egg - the other half you can use to glaze!) 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp ground cardamon seeds (I did this by hand using a pestle and mortar) 325g strong white bread flour  The filling 60g soft butter 60g caster sugar 3 tsp ground cinnamon Op...

The weather today was crazy - one minute sunny and the next windy and tipping down with rain. With such unpredictable weather the best plan of action was definitely to stay in and bake, which is how this little beauty was born! It is an adapted version of an Emma Goss-Custard recipe. The brownies are super duper rich and so work magically with a good scoop of ice cream. The photo above is of the non-topped versions but you can include the chocolate-orange topping if you so choose; I quite like them in their most deeply dark version.  To make a tray of gluten free chocolate orange brownies you will need: Brownies 150g salted butter 600g plain chocolate 240g ground almonds 1 tbsp coffee granules (you can't taste it but it makes the brownies even more decadent) 1 tbsp of a mix of orange juice and zest (or if you wish just orange juice with bits) 6 eggs Chocolate orange top 50g plain chocolate 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp of a mix of orange juice and zes...

Millionaire shortbread is one of my ultimate favourite treats: the combination of shortbread, caramel and chocolate is pretty special. This recipe is a Phil Vickery one that is gluten free, which makes a bit of a change (and you would never guess it's gluten free!) I managed to get 24 squares out of the tray but it's totally dependent upon how large you want to make your shortbread; it's very rich (but very moreish!) so little squares make you feel less guilty about having more than one.  To make gluten free millionaire shortbread you will need: Shortbread base 150g rice flour 55g caster sugar 115g butter Caramel 150g butter 150g soft brown sugar 397g tin of condensed milk Chocolate 200g chocolate (milk or dark - I love dark but it can be too intense for some people!) Start by preheating your oven to 180C and greasing and lining a square tin.  The shortbread base involves you rubbing the butter into the rice flour and sugar until it rese...

I'm home for the summerrrrrr!! My 11 month year at university is at last over!  Gluten free pastry is notoriously tricky to work with - don't be disheartened if it cracks after coming out of the oven; I tend to patch it together with the last few scrapings from the pastry bowl to prevent the entire contents of the quiche leaking out. My filling was bacon and cheese but you can adapt the filling, provided you use the same volume of liquid to fill the pastry case.  To make your gluten free quiche you will need: Pastry: 200g rice flour 1/2 tsp xantham gum Pinch of salt 100g cold butter 4-8 tbsp cold water Liquid filling 5 eggs 100ml milk 200ml double cream Contents 250g cheddar 6 rashers bacon Sliced tomato Start by preheating your oven to 180C and preparing your quiche dish by buttering it.  Add the rice flour, anthem gum, pinch of salt and cubed butter to a bowl and rub in the butter until it forms a breadcrumb-like...

This cake came about as there were 4 bananas that had been sitting in the fruit bowl for as long as I could remember that were crying out to be used. I wanted to make something a little more exciting than banana bread and so created this little number. It's exceptionally quick and easy too. Possibly a new favourite recipe... To make a banana, coconut and sultana cake you will need: 140g self raising flour (or 130g plain flour with 2 tsp baking powder) 50g desiccated coconut 150g soft brown sugar 180ml sunflower oil 2 eggs Mashed bananas (I used 4) 100g sultanas Preheat your oven to 170C and line your cake tin with greaseproof paper Weigh out and sieve your dry ingredients (flour, coconut and sugar). Stir with a wooden spoon Pour in the wet ingredients (oil, eggs and banana) and stir this through. Throw in the sultanas and gently combine. Pour into your cake tin and bake in the oven, checking at 35 minutes to see if it needs any longer th...

Anyone that knows me will know how obsessed I am with elderflower cordial. For that reason I thought it was about time I started incorporating it into my baking. I found a lovely recipe on Wallflower Girl's blog and decided to give it a go. It was originally going to be a white chocolate and elderflower combination but there was a lonely lemon that I thought would make these even more of a springtime treat.  I managed 2 cake tins worth of shortbread, which equated to 16 slices. To make elderflower and white chocolate shortbread you will need: 250g butter 100g caster sugar 2 tbsp elderflower cordial 1/2 tsp vanilla extract The rind of 1 lemon 300g plain flour 100g chopped white chocolate Preheat your oven to 180C and prepare your baking tins. I went for 2 silicon cake tins to get the classic shortbread eighths but you're welcome to go for a square tin and create fingers...cut out rounds...whatever you fancy! You'll just need to increase the cooking time ...