Raspberry Banana Smoothie

Just a quick post from me this morning, I just had to share this recipe!

Yesterday I bought one of the smoothies that where I work sells, it was called "Raspberry Heaven" and it was certainly true to it's name because it didn't even last long enough for me to take a picture, but I did manage to get one of my pals in the coffee shop part of the farm shop to tell me the ingredients, although I've added some of my own!

1 banana

Half a glass of frozen raspberries

A handful of frozen blueberries

6 strawberries

Splash of almond milk/coconut/soy

I like my smoothies slightly slushy, icy and thick, but if you don't, simply don't use frozen berries!

 Load up your instrument of torture (I used a blender because it works better) and blitz the fruit until smooth, add a little milk and pour into a glass!

This recipe would work perfectly to make dairy free ice cream if all of the fruit was frozen before hand, but that's a recipe for another post and I'm happy with my smoothie for now!

It made a filling breakfast which packed a whopping amount of flavour, this is definitely going to become a staple recipe!

Cornflake Tart

I work in a local farm shop and working every week has given me some regulars and favourite customers.

Two of these favourite customers just happen to be a pair of friends called Mrs Daniels and Mrs Howard and I think they're fantastic.

Long story short, Mrs Daniels told me that Mrs Howard was renowned for her jam making skills and Mrs Howard was kind enough to bring me some jam in to try, I don't think she knew that she had given me my two favourite flavours, Raspberry and Blackcurrant!

 I had been invited to a meal with lots of friends and the host had asked us to bring something each, I was given "Sweet", which is good, I can do sweet.
I decided to do a cornflake tart, firstly to try out this amazing jam and secondly because it's such an underrated pudding, I know it's quite wintery, especially served warm with custard, but I like it just as much cold and there's something very comforting about it. It's essentially a hug in a pudding.

You'll need:
9oz plain flour
4.5oz butter
About 6 tsp water (you may need less, or more)

1 jar of your favourite jam, Raspberry works best
125g cornflakes
9 dessert spoonfuls of golden syrup
75g butter
35g dark brown sugar
A pinch of salt

First I made my shortcrust pastry, and popped it into a cake tin (I don't have a tart case), lightly pricked it with a skewer and blind baked it in the oven at about 180 celcius for about 20 mins.

When it's out, grab your jam and smother the base of it. (I might have eaten a few spoonfuls, it was that good. Best jam I've ever had.)

Pop a large saucepan on the heat, and pour in your golden syrup, butter and sugar and melt them down.

 Fold in your cornflakes, try to coat them all in the sugary mixture, but not crush them at the same time!

 Spoon the cornflake mix into the pastry case, pressing it down into the jam evenly.

Put this back in the oven for about 5-10 mins so it goes slightly more golden and delicious.

Wait for it to cool and voila! A rather rustic looking cornflake tart, made with the world's best jam!

Thank you Mrs Howard!

Raspberry & Rosemary Sorbet

Three years ago my best friend and I went to Italy, and one of the places that we visited was San Gimignano's "Gelateria de Piazza" who do exciting flavours like Lavender & Blackberry and Ricotta & Bilberry . Each time we visited I had the same thing, Raspberry and Rosemary ice cream.
Sadly I can't find anywhere that sells it back in the UK, so I've made my own.

To make one bowlful:

3 ramekins of raspberries (I used 2 ramekins of frozen and 1 fresh from the garden)
75ml almond milk (alternatives: orange juice or water)
1 sprig of rosemary (stalk removed, finely chopped)
Honey (optional)

Pop your raspberries into a blender, and whizz them about until it stays the same consistency.

Slowly pour in your almond milk whilst blending, so that the mixture starts to come together, you might not need all of it, so do it slowly.

Add your finely chopped rosemary, give it a blend, and if you're adding honey, taste it now, add your honey and give it a final whizz.

If you used fresh raspberries, pour into a tupperware box and put in the freezer to firm up slightly for a while.
If you used frozen raspberries, you can gorge straight away!

Not only is this super low on the calorie front, but the raspberries are rich in Vitamin C, rumoured to fight cancer and help you lose weight, plus, the almond milk has magnesium, potassium and Vitamin E!
A septuple threat!

You might see a couple more of these posts because the "Gelateria de Piazza" website has given me lots of ideas!