Lavender Meringues

Perfect as a summer dessert or for afternoon tea with loved ones.

Ingredients

• 115g Caster Sugar
• 115g Icing Sugar
• 4 Large Eggs, yolks removed
• 1 TSP of Purple food colouring
• Half a handful of Lavender buds/flowers
• Double cream (for the filling)

Pre-heat the oven to – fan 100C, conventional 110C and gas mark 1⁄4. Tip all of the egg whites into a clean cool bowl. Whisk the eggs on a medium setting until they are soft and fluffy. They should form a soft peak. Continue to whisk at a faster setting, whilst slowly adding the caster sugar a tbsp at a time and all of the food dye. Be careful to not over whisk as it can lose volume. Once all of the sugar and food dye has been added the eggs should look soft, thick and sticky like marshmallow..yum! Sift in the icing sugar a 1/3 at a time and tip in half of the lavender. Stir gently with a large metal/rubber spoon. Once all of the icing sugar as been mixed in it should look like shiny velvety goodness! Either pipe or dollop onto a lined baking tray. For desserts make the meringues bigger. For afternoon tea bite size meringues make them as large as a £2 coin. Don’t forget that they expand in the oven!! To finish, sprinkle a few lavender buds onto the meringues. Bake in the oven for around an hour and a half until crisp. Leave to cool then sandwich together with softly whipped double cream.

Of course with any recipe, if you are using any fresh produce from your garden avoid consuming if you have used any chemicals i.e. insect repellent.

 

Cinnamon Swirls

I saw a lady eating these on the bus the other day and i immediately wanted to stuff my face with them! So i have decided to share with you one of my ultimate bake recipes! The combination of cinnamon, sweet sticky icing and golden doughy bread is heavenly. I would make a few of these delicious wheels as they are very morish!

Ingredients

• 300 g strong bread flour (extra included for dusting)
• 1 tsp salt
• 40 g caster sugar
• 15 g fresh/dry yeast
• 20 g butter, softened
• 150 ml warm water

Filling

• 40 g butter
• 40 g caster sugar
• 2 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
• handful of raisins (optional)
• 1 medium egg

Topping

• 100g Icing sugar
• Juice from one Orange / 50ml water

Combine the butter, water, yeast, sugar, flour and salt in a bowl and mix until you have a smooth dough mixture. Kneed the dough on a flour dusted surface for five minuets. Place the dough into a bowl and cover with cling film and leave to rest and rise for an hour. Once the dough has risen and rested, roll the dough into a rectangular shape on a flour dusted surface with a 1.5cm thickness. For the filling mix the butter, cinnamon and caster sugar into a bowl then spread evenly onto the rolled out dough. (scatter with raisins if being used). Roll from the shorter end of the rectangle into a sausage then cut into discs. Coat the discs with a brush of the beaten egg, this makes the swirls golden brown. Place on parchment paper lined trays, spaced apart with room to rise. Bake in the oven for 20 mins a temperature of 190C/Gas 5.Whilst the swirls are in the oven, mix the orange juice/water with the icing sugar. Once the swirls are baked until golden brown, leave to cool then drizzle with the sweet sticky icing.

Best served with a cup of tea!