Easy Strawberry Labneh

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• This post does contain affiliate links. Which means I get a small commission if you click on one of the links and purchase something at no extra cost to you.
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• I found this recipe on the BBC food website, I regularly go on it for inspiration. And this recipe is just too good to not share with you. 
• As it's the month of Ramadan this would be excellent if you're looking for something refreshing and that's not too heavy for late night eating. You could even have it in the morning as it will give you lots of energy.
• It's also the perfect recipe if you, like me, have a nearly full bottle of rosewater in your cupboard and have no idea what to do with it. Lol.
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• The Recipe

• Prep time: 15 mins, plus 4 hours draining  Serves: 4    Cooking time: 0
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• Ingredients:
• 400g natural, thick, full-fat Greek yogurt
• 400g strawberries
  
• 1 ½ tsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp Rosewater
• 3 tbsp good-quality honey
  
• chopped pistachios, to serve

 Instructions:

• Mix the yogurt with a pinch of salt. Line a sieve with muslin and sit over a deep bowl. Spoon in the yogurt and put in the fridge to strain for 4 hrs.
• Meanwhile, hull and quarter the strawberries, mix them with the sugar and rosewater and leave to macerate.
• After 4 hrs, turn the labneh out into a clean bowl. Gently fold through the honey. Take ¼ of the strawberries and purée them in a blender, then fold into the labneh, so you have a rippled yogurt. Serve in glass bowls with the rest of the strawberries on top, scatter with pistachios.

Eurovision Cupcakes

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It's that time of year again, Eurovision! I love Eurovision, I watch it every year. And it's a perfect excuse to get in the kitchen and do some baking.

Cupcakes are excellent for parties and you can decorate them any way you want. In this recipe we will be decorating them with the flags of the Eurovision countries. Or alternatively you can just write the name of the country with some icing on top of the butter cream.

First you'll have to make the cupcakes. They can be made up to 2 days in advance before the actual day you need them. So if you're planing a party for Saturday for the final, then you can bake the cupcakes on Thursday and put them in a sealed container to keep them fresh.

Then on Saturday you can focus on the decorations, which can be a bit time consuming. So best to make the cupcakes a few days in advance

and then you don't have to worry about it.

Cupcake recipe

Prep time: 20 mins              Serves: 24              Cooking Time: 17-20 mins

Ingredients:

250g Softened Unsalted Butter

250g Caster Sugar

250g Self Raising Flour

4 Large Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Butter cream:

125g Softened Unsalted Butter

250g Icing Sugar

1 tbsp Vanilla Essence

Instructions:

• Set the oven to 160-170 degrees on the fan setting. Line two cupcake trays with cupcake cases.
• Whisk the butter and caster sugar until it looks light and fluffy. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix until everything is well mixed, make sure there are no flour lumps. If your flour is a bit older then you need to sift it first.
• Fill the cupcake cases a little bit more than half way with the cake mixture. Top tip: Use an ice cream scoop to the fill the cases, makes it so much easier and a lot less messy.
• Bake the cupcakes for 17-20 mins or until golden brown. Then leave the cupcakes to cool. They need to be fully cooled before you put the butter cream on.

If you're baking the cupcakes in advance then you don't need to make the butter cream just yet. Make the butter cream on Saturday for the final. Just put the cupcakes in an air tight container after the cupcakes have cooled.

• For the butter cream whisk together the butter, sugar and vanilla essence. Whisk until it looks a bit like whipped cream. This does take about 10-15 mins. The rule is, whisk longer than you think. That's a common mistake people make, the result is that the butter cream often tastes very bitter, so make sure you whisk for a long time.
• Then spoon the mixture into a piping bag, use a star nozzle.
• Pipe the icing over the cupcakes
• Now comes the fun bit, the decorating! If you're in a hurry because you're like me and left this to the last minute, then just use the writing icing from Dr. Oetker and just write the names of the countries on the cupcakes. Or better yet, enlist the kids to help while you get on with the rest of your to-do list before the party guests arrive.
• If you do have the time, then use ready to roll icing to make the flags of the countries in the final. Do a Google search for each flag so you know what to make. You will also need some extra icing sugar and a rolling pin. Put the finished flag on top of the cupcake and voila you have made your very own Eurovision cupcakes. 12 points for you!
• Alternatively I found a company on Amazon who actually sell ready made flags made out of wafer paper. I used it this year and they look amazing. I hosted a semi-final get together, people thought I had bought them. So best choice ever!

Happy Eurovision day and good luck to the UK!

Baking Accessories you will need if you don't have them already:

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• 2 Cupcake Trays
• Cupcake Cases
• Ice Cream Scoop
• Piping Bags
• Piping Nozzle
• Writing Icing
• Flags

Flapjacks

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I love flapjacks because they are so versatile. You can add anything to them and they still taste amazing. And they are so easy to make and take no time at all.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Serves: 12-16 Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

150g Unsalted Butter

150g Light Brown Muscovado Sugar

150g Golden Syrup

300g Porridge Oats

Optional Ingredients:

• 1 Grated Apple, 1 Tbsp Cinnamon, 50g Sunflower seeds
• 50-70g Nuts, 50g Melted Chocolate
• 1 Chopped Banana

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees on the fan setting. Line a brownie tin with butter and baking parchment.
• Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan. And then add the oats.
• Add your optional ingredients now.
• Bake in the oven until golden brown for about 20 minutes.
• Take out and cool slightly, then cut them into squares while they are still a bit warm. 

Brownies

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Prep Time: 20 Minutes              Serves: 10                 Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

200g Dark Baking Chocolate

100g Unsalted Butter

4 Large Eggs

350g Caster Sugar

150g Plain Flour

Optional Ingredients:

75g Dried Apricots, chopped

75g Pistachios, chopped

Zest and Juice of 1 Orange

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees on the fan setting.
• Line a brownie tin or roasting tin measuring 20 x 27 cm, with butter and baking parchment.
• Melt the chocolate and butter in a Bain Marie. If you've never heard of that term, then don't worry, it's just a fancy term for putting a bowl on top of a saucepan. So you'll need a small saucepan with high sides and a larger bowl which will go on top of the pan. Into the pan you will need to put some water, but make sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the bowl! Then heat up the water and keep an eye on your ingredients in the bowl, until they have melted. Alternatively if this is too complicated then you could also use a microwave to melt the chocolate and butter.
• In a separate bowl mix together the eggs and sugar until it looks light and fluffy, this is important as this is where the air in the brownies will come from and the cake will be less dense.
• Mix in the chocolate and butter mixture.
• Carefully fold in the flour, again making sure not to lose too much air. If you're adding some optional ingredients then this is the time to add them, but again this has to be done carefully so not too much air escapes.
• Bake the Brownies for about 30 minutes.