Perfect, imperfect Lemon Meringue Pie

Posted in Recipes, Sweet Treats by Niav Halpin

What is your ‘death row’ dessert – this is mine, absolutely hands down. I just adore it’s melt in the mouth full on sweet, lemony deliciousness. The pastry in this recipe is part of the secret as it is really, really light and is the perfect host or backdrop for the lemon filling and the soft, sweet, crispy meringue topping.

Pastry is not one of my strong points – something always seems to go wrong and this was no different.

The pastry base bubbled up from the base of the tin when it was baking in the oven (not lined with enough baking beans to weigh it down) then it shrank and a little part of one side fell in completely. Then to top it off some of the filling leaked out of a little crack in the pastry when it was baking in the oven. Disaster!

Guess what ?? It tasted divine and all of the ‘disasters’ made no difference at all!

Sometimes things don’t go to plan however sometimes that’s ok

So go get yourself some lemons and some eggs and give this a shot to see if it is a contender for your favourite dessert.

Continue reading →

12Mar2017

Skinny Lemon Cupcakes

Posted in Sweet Treats by Niav Halpin

It’s been a busy few weeks with unfortunately little time for writing or blogging. My darling daughter (DD) is currently doing her Leaving Cert so blogging time has been taken over by ad hoc counselling, feeding, listening and tea making while LC mock exams were underway and various project deadlines loomed. In fairness DD is a very hard worker and the stress these kids are under is enormous so I try to do anything I can to help and food always works! I keep telling her that if you can get through the Leaving Cert you can deal with anything and will definitely have proven you can cope with pressure. That brings me to these skinny lemon cupcakes which are a perfect guilt-free treat for any occasion where comfort food is required and you can even have two at a time if you want! The recipe is from “The Hairy Dieters” i.e. from the Hairy Bikers. Continue reading →

8Jan2017

Ginger, honey & lemon tea

Posted in Bits & Bobs! by Niav Halpin

Happy New Year to each of you and I hope that you are all looking forward to some good and interesting things in 2017. Most of all I wish you all good health for yourselves and your loved ones. Our house has been riddled with all forms of colds, ‘flu, coughs and sore throats for the last 3 weeks and my poor Mum has been in and out of hospital and has had an utterly miserable Christmas and New Year. So my very first New Year’s resolution of 2017 will be to appreciate good health whenever it arrives (and I dearly hope it will be soon!) It will be no surprise then that the first recipe of the year is a cold remedy! Continue reading →

10Aug2016

Fresh Lemon Posset

Posted in Recipes, Sweet Treats by Niav Halpin

Time was at a premium last weekend so I was looking for a tasty quick dessert to have for dinner on Sunday. This Lemon Posset fitted the bill perfectly, quick and easy to make with a light creamy delicious fresh lemon flavour. This recipe is adapted slightly from one that was part of a wonderful 3-day course I did in The Tannery Cookery School in Dungarvan last Summer.

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Chilling Time: 4-6 hours in fridge

Ingredients

500ml cream

140g caster sugar

¼ vanilla pod

Zest and juice of 2 lemons (preferably unwaxed*)

Method

Put the cream, sugar and vanilla pod into a saucepan and bring to a simmer

Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk well.

Bring the mixture back to a simmer for 20 seconds while stirring constantly.

BEWARE : DO NOT LET THE MIXTURE BOIL OR IT WON”T SET !

Take off the heat and pour into glasses or little cups.

Cool and put into a fridge for 4-6 hours to set.

*It is relatively easy to remove the wax coating from a citrus fruit. Put the fruit in a colander and pour over water from a recently boiled kettle or rinse the fruit under a hot running tap. Scrub the fruit all over with a stiff brush, such as a vegetable brush, under a cool running tap but try not to use a brush or scrubbing sponge that you use for dishes as this could cause some soap residue to get on to the fruit. Rinse the fruit thoroughly with cold water and leave to dry, or dry with paper towels.