How to make a Berry Meringue Pie

I used Blackberries that I had picked for this, but the recipe can be applied for any berry. 

I ate too much of this as my family did not like it and got indigestion and had dreams about eating things that did not taste very nice so I would not recommend eating a large portion of this in one go as it is quite rich. 

Ingredients:

•  400g Blackberries (Or any berries)
• 3 Egg Yolks
• 50g Caster Sugar (Extra can be added depending on sharpness)
• 3 tsp Cornflour
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice (Can be from a fresh lemon)
• 1 tsp Water
• 30g Butter Margarine
• Shortcrust Pastry 

Meringue Topping:

• 2 Egg Whites
• 140g Caster Sugar

1.) Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/ 190°C. Roll out the shortcrust pastry to a thickness of 5cm and line a fluted flan dish with the pastry. 

2.) Cover the pastry with greaseproof paper and weigh down the paper with baking beans or a suitable substitute (I used pasta). Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and paper and cook for another 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

 3.) To make the filling crush the blackberries into a puree using a blender and pass through a sieve to remove the seeds.

4.) Mix the cornflour with 50g of Caster Sugar and add the lemon juice and water, stirring until it forms a paste. 

 5.) Pour the paste, butter, egg yolks and blackberry puree into a saucepan and cook on a medium heat until it starts to boil. Taste the mixture and add the extra sugar if it tastes too sharp.

6.) Leave the filling to cool for around 10 minutes before pouring into the pastry case. Use a palette knife to make the surface as smooth as possible. Leave to cool for a further 30 minutes and use the time to make the meringue topping.

7.) Whisk the egg white in a bowl until the mixture forms soft peaks.

8.) Gradually add the caster sugar and mix until the mixture becomes soft and glossy and able to hold peaks fully.

9.) Spoon the meringue on top of the filling and swirl to form peaks. Bake in the oven at Gas Mark 4/180°C or until the meringue is a light golden brown.

How to make Easter Nests

It's a family tradition to make Easter nests at Easter. As most of the people that I know do it, I suspect that it might be an English tradition. Although I thought I would do something a bit different last year, but it didn't turn out like intended (see below) so I went for the bog standard easter nests this year.

The amounts are not exact, they're based on judgement. As one of my science teachers frequently says with enthusiasm as he seems to hate titrations (amounts have to be very precise), it's bucket chemistry.

Ingredients:

• Chocolate (I used about 200g which made 7 nests)
• Shredded Wheat or a similar cereal. Cornflakes and Rice Crispies are often used, but they don't come anywhere near making a realistic looking nest. I used 4 portions which was sufficent for the amount of chocolate I used.
• Mini Eggs. These don't have to be Cadbury, most sweetshops have a jar of chocolate eggs that you can purchase.
• Bun/Cupcake cases.

1.) Crush the shredded wheat so it breaks up into smaller parts, I used a rolling pin.  Do not overcrush it as a powder would not be useful. If not using shredded wheat, this step is not needed. 

2.) Melt the chocolate using a bain marie.

Trivia: one of these photos comes from the pocky tutorial that's why the photos don't match.

3.) Add the crushed shredded wheat into the melted chocolate making sure to mix in properly. It is best to add a small amount at a time.

4.) Once you are happy with the consistency-it should be fairly solid but with some give so you can mould it, place spoonfuls into the bun/cupcake cases and push the middle down to make a nest shape. 

5.) At this point add in the eggs so that they will be stuck there when the chocolate has solidified. Then place the nests to harden in a cool place for a minimum of 20 minutes. 

How to make Fudge (without cooking sugar)

To put it simply: I like fudge. However it gets a little embarrassing when I get recognised at the local sweet shop and they know exactly what flavour I want and how much of it so I decided to start making my own. 

I began researching it, but all the recipes I found involved a sugar thermometer which I didn't have so I gave up hope. Then I found this recipe. 

Original Recipe

Ingredients:

• 75g Unsalted (Sweet) Butter (Margarine also works)
• 4 Tablespoons Condensed Milk
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 400g Icing (Confectioner's) Sugar
• 25g Cocoa Powder (Hot Chocolate Powder also works)

1.) In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, condensed milk and vanilla extract until smooth. (You may want to hold your breath as condensed milk can whiff a bit.)

 2.) Next, sift the icing/confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder into the mixture until it is smooth. Do this in small quantities until you have mixed in all the sugar and cocoa powder. Towards the end it will get harder to stir it in, but persevere and it will work. You may also have to use your hands as well as a spoon.

3.) Work the fudge which should now be solid, into a ball.

 4.) Dust your work surface with icing/confectioner's sugar and roll out your fudge ball to a thickness of about 2cm. (It depends on what you want to do with your fudge.)

 What do next can differ. You can chop it into cubes or you can use cutters to get different shapes which is what is good about this recipe. (You can guess which method I prefer)

 You can eat the fudge at this stage or you can put it on a baking tray to leave to harden in a cool place.

Variations:

• I made used half quantities for this tutorial so the amounts may look quite small.
• To make different flavours, swap the Vanilla Extract for a different flavouring and add an extra 25g of Icing Sugar to compensate for the loss of Cocoa Powder. If adding colouring and flavouring also add more icing sugar, otherwise the consistency will be too soft.
• I made this last year for some Christmas presents and I completely forgot that there wasn't any butter or cocoa powder at home so I ended up using margarine and hot chocolate powder and surprisingly it worked like the original which made me very happy.

How to make Melon Bread

Contrary to its name Melon Bread does not contain any melon at all. Instead, the name derives from the shape, but some versions may contain melon. It consists of a bread dough surrounded by a biscuit dough. Melon Bread originates from Japan where I first ate it. In Japan it is named Melon Pan as Pan is the Japanese word for bread. Over the two weeks I stayed in Japan I ate so much that I missed it when I came home so I researched recipes and ended up adapting two to make mine.

Ingredients:

Bread Dough:

• 400g Strong White Bread Flour
• 14g Dried Yeast
• 40g Unsalted Butter/Margarine
• 60g Caster Sugar
• 6g Salt
• 1 Egg
• 230ml of Lukewarm Water

Biscuit Dough:

• 300g Plain Flour
• 100g Unsalted Butter/Margarine
• 125g Caster Sugar
• 1 Egg

1.) Sieve 400g of Strong White Bread Flour into a mixing bowl, add the yeast and salt and mix.

2.) Add one egg and mix in before adding the lukewarm water in small amounts to ensure a smooth consistency.

3.) Knead the bread dough that should have been formed for 10 minutes until it becomes smoother and easier to work with.

4.) Sprinkle 60g of Caster Sugar on top of the dough and continue to knead until it becomes smooth again.

5.) Dice the butter/margarine into chunks and place them on top of the dough and work them into the dough until it becomes smooth again and the butter/margarine chunks are not visible.

6.) Shape the bread dough into a ball and leave to prove in a warm place for an hour. Whilst you are waiting you can make the biscuit dough.

7.) Cream together butter/margarine and sugar until the colour becomes paler.

8.) Add the egg and mix until smooth.

9.) Sift the plain flour into the mixture in small amounts and stir it in until the flour is no longer visible.

10.) Take the bread dough and knead it into six small balls. Do the same for the biscuit dough. 

The balls at the top of the photo are the biscuit dough and the ones at the bottom are the bread dough.

11.) Roll out each ball of biscuit so it becomes flat. Wrap the sheet of biscuit dough around the ball of bread dough, ensuring that it does not tear. Using the back of a knife, cut the surface of the biscuit dough into a lattice, taking care not to actually cut the dough. Sprinkle some extra caster sugar on top the the melon bread and do the same for the other 5. 

12.) Place the six melon breads onto a baking tray and bake in the oven at Gas Mark 4/ 180°C for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

13.) Leave to cool before eating.