Cardamon & Lime frozen yogurt

It's been a while since I posted any recipes, and I came across something recently that was so mouth-wateringly divine, I had to find out how to make it.
At a pop-up restaurant at Vulpes Vulpes recently, I tasted the most amazing home-made cardamon frozen yoghurt, topped with pomegranate and rose water. I went home and tried to find a recipe for this - and found lots of recipes but not quite the right one. So I improvised, and it turned out brilliantly! Also, all the recipes called for an ice-cream maker - which i do not own, and I'm sure a lot of other friend's don't have one lurking in their cupboard :-) So if this is the case, it's still easy to make with a bit of (wo)man-power, and a few hours to spare to keep checking on it and mixing it up.

The best type of yoghurt to use for this is greek yoghurt because of it's fatty nature. I used more cardamon than I should have, more like a tablespoon rather than 2 teaspoons! It depends on your taste, I liked the added kick however it was a bit much for some. I guess put in a little bit to start with and taste in and see what you think... add more if necessary.

Ingredients
200g extra fine (granulated) sugar
scant 1 cup 200ml water
3 cardamon pods lightly crushed (or 2 teaspoons of cardamon powder)
juice of 1 lime (I grated some skin in too for extra zest!)
400ml Greek yogurt


Method
- In a plastic square container, mix the yogurt with the sugar, fresh lime juice and zest, and cardamon powder
- Put straight into an icecream maker according to manufacturers instructions - OR, if you don't have one do the following::


- Put in freezer without lid. After 45 mins check on it, it should be going frozen around the edges. Vigorously whisk the mixture so it is smooth and creamy again.
- After 30 mins do the same thing. Keep checking the mix for about 3 minutes, whisking every 30 mins
- leave to freeze over night, amazing!!
- To serve, spoon into bowl with a few drops of rose water, and add fresh pomegranate as a topping.

Picture taken from the Dictionnaire encyclopédique Trousset,  Paris, 1886 - 1891.

Queen of Heart shaped biscuits

Tomorrow I have a double special occasion to bake for. It is my Granny's 80th Birthday, and she is in London for the weekend staying with my Aunt in Forest Hill. I 'm really looking forward to seeing her, in all honesty it's been about 18 months since we were last together as she doesn't come down to London very often.
In the afternoon, I am heading West for Alex and Matt's wedding (party) to celebrate their civil ceremony that took place on Wednesday.

We all know how much I love making heart shaped biscuits, so I thought I would experiment away from my usual "lavender shortbreads" and try a jammy dodger style instead.

These are actually surprisingly easy to make! But they do require a little time and patience. I found the recipe online and thought I would share it with you.


Heart-shaped jam biscuits

Ingredients

* 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced
* 100g caster sugar
* 200g plain flour
* 100g ground almonds
* 150g seeded raspberry jam
* icing sugar, for dusting


Method
1. In a bowl or food processor, mix the butter, sugar, plain flour and ground almonds until the mixture forms a dough.

2. Knead the dough into a large ball, then cover in clingfilm and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 140C/gas 1.

4. Remove the dough from the fridge and knead it until softened. Divide into three equal portions and roll each portion out into a sheet 5mm thick.

5. Using a heart-shaped cutter of 6cm, cut out an even number of biscuit shapes. Using a palette knife, carefully place half of the biscuits onto a greased baking sheet.

6. Using a smaller (preferably 2cm) cutter shape of your choice, punch out the middle portion of each of the remaining biscuit shapes. Carefully transfer these onto a baking sheet using a palette knife and bake both batches of biscuits for 30 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

7. Remove the biscuits from the oven and take them off the baking tray straight away and put onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

8. Spread a generous blob of jam onto the centre of the whole biscuits, then place the biscuits with the cut-outs on top and press together so that the jam peeks out through the heart.

9. Sieve a little icing sugar over the top.

(By Tana Ramsay - From Market Kitchen)

Delicious! My finished product is below:


All photos © me.

Elderflower cordial

I realised maybe I should post the recipe for the Elderflower cordial I made from scratch, for the Madhatter's tea party a few weeks ago. I only discovered this recently - you'll be surprised how many times in London you have probably walked past an elderflower bush and not realised that these beauties are what make the gorgeous cordial.



It's so simple!

Ingredients

* 1.5 litres of boiling water
* 1 kilo of white granulated sugar
* 20 large elderflower heads (if they are small, pick more)
* 4 lemons
* 55g of citric acid

Method:
1. In a Pyrex bowl (or deep saucepan) pour the boiling water onto the sugar and stir. Leave to cool, stirring every now and then to dissolve the sugar.
2. When cool add the citric acid, the lemons (zested and sliced) and the elderflower heads.
3. Leave to steep for 48 hours.
4. Strain twice through sterilised muslin
5. Using a jug and funnel carefully pour into hot sterilised* bottles

*to sterilise the bottles, wash and rinse the bottles and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c (140c fan-assisted). When the oven has reached the right temperature turn off the heat. The bottles will stay warm for quite a while. Sterilise the lids by boiling these for a few minutes in water.

Thanks Fiona!

Look out for elderflowers on your daily travels. They are usually around from May-July. You could also use them to make jam (matched nicely with gooseberry) or champagne or jelly.


Top image © me