Parmesan Pastry Tartlets

(Makes 12 muffin-sized tartlets)

Ingredients:                                                 Time Taken to Prepare:   10 minutes

250g (8oz) plain flour
80g (3oz) grated Parmesan
125g (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cold water


Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to approx 200C,  or 180C fan oven, or gas mark 6.
2. Pop the flour and salt into a Magimix or similar food processor and blitz for a few seconds to sift.
3. Add the butter and Parmesan to the food processor and mix until resembling breadcrumbs.
4. Sprinkle the water over the mixture and then process again until the pastry starts to come together.
5. Remove and knead slightly to form a smooth ball.
6. You can either freeze at this stage or put into the fridge for 20 mins or so to chill before cooking. (If freezing now, defrost until a chilled temperature and then re-join recipe at stage 7.)
7. While chilling grease a 12-hole muffin tin.
8. Remove from fridge an roll the pastry to approx 2mm thick.  Use a cookie cutter large enough to fill the muffin case to cut out individual rounds, then just gently push into the muffin holes.
9. Put a bit of grease proof paper into each tartlet and then fill with baking beans.
10. Cook blind in the oven for approx 7 minutes.
11. Remove paper and beans and pop back into the oven until golden brown.  
12. Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
13. Either use now or freeze for later use, defrosting before filling!

Hints, Tips and Alternatives:

• Fill with a spoonful of onion marmalade, topped with sliced baby plum tomatoes and your favourite cheese then pop into the oven to melt.  Serve with salad leaves and drizzle with dressing.
• If you don't like Parmesan, just leave it out of the recipe for a plain pastry case.
• The same recipe makes one fluted quiche case, measuring approx 26cm in diameter.
• We will also be doing more quiche recipes, the fillings of which could go in any of these cases.

Spiced Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

(Makes one loaf tin aprox 25cm x 12cm x 6cm deep)

This might not make it to a dinner party, but it is truly one of the easiest recipes and ridiculously yummy.  Freezes so well, but smells so good coming out of the oven that I normally make two at a time, one for freezing and one for now!

Ingredients:                                                                         Time Taken:  15 minutes

2 large eggs
3 very ripe bananas
150g (5oz) caster sugar
100g (4 oz) softened butter
225g (8 oz) self-raising flour
100g (4oz) dark chocolate chips
1 level teaspoon baking powder
1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons semi-skimmed milk

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C (160C Fan or Gas mark 4).
2. Lightly grease and line the loaf tin with greaseproof paper.  (Alternatively fill a 12-hole muffin tin with cases for individual cakes.)
3. Pop the ripe bananas into a large mixing bowl and squash with a fork until almost a pureed consistency.
4. Literally just tip all the other ingredients into the bowl and beat for a couple of minutes until well mixed.
5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for about 1 hour, checking after 50 mins, until risen and dark golden brown.  (If using the muffin cases they will obviously not take as long so check after 20 minutes or so and keep checking until they are firm and springy to the touch.)  A skewer in the center should come out clean...unless it has struck a chocolate chip!
6. Leave to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes and then remove from the tin and take off the grease-proof paper.  Transfer to a wire rack until ready to eat.   
7. If you can bear to freeze it let it cool completely and wrap in foil and then clingfilm to keep fresh.
8. Defrost and then warm through in a coolish oven (approximately 110C) until ready to eat!

Hints, Tips and Alternatives:

• Once completely cooled, cut into thick slices and freeze each slice individually.  These are great then pulled straight from the freezer and popped into children's lunch boxes, keeping their sandwiches cold but defrosted by lunch-time!
• Use walnuts instead of chocolate chips, or half and half for a nutty affair.
• Mixtures of different chocolate chips works too...although we do find the dark the scrummiest!
  
  
  

Well, they didn't last long!

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse

(Makes 6 Small Pots)

Ingredients:                                                                                       Time Taken:  15mins

175g dark chocolate                                                                                                                       

75ml water

3 eggs, separated

10g unsalted butter

2 tablespoons Frangelico

Method

1. Break the chocolate into a bowl sitting over a pan of simmering water (or bain-marie) and add 75ml water.  Dissolve, stirring occasionally.
2. Take the liquid chocolate off the heat and mix in the butter.  Allow to cool slightly, while you whisk the egg whites until stiff.
3. Stir the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture, one by one.Add the Frangelico to the chocolate mixture, stirring until combined.
4. Take a spoonful of the egg white and beat into the chocolate to loosen the mixture.
5. Fold the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture using a large metal spoon.
6. Pour into individual pots and cover with clingfilm. 
7. Freeze (or if eating the following day just pop in the fridge).
8. Defrost at room temperature for approximately one hour (depending on the size of the pot and the warmth of the room!).  Then chill until needed.
9. Scatter a few chopped roasted hazelnuts over the top before serving.

Hints, Tips and Alternatives:

• Don’t worry if the chocolate mixture looks a little grainy.  Once the remaining ingredients have been added and the egg whites folded in it will look scrummy!
• Try brandy or rum instead of Frangelico, or some cold espresso and top with a chocolate coffee bean.

Welcome to The Effortless Cook blog

We are two mums who are passionate about food and love entertaining. However, with busy work schedules, five children, five dogs and a host of poultry and other pets between us the luxury of spending hours in the kitchen creating divine dinner parties seems long gone.

Our standards are high but we don’t want to be slaves in the kitchen while our guests enjoy cocktails without us, so we started creating more sophisticated food for special occasions which can be prepared well ahead of the event. Over the last three years we have been looking at canapés, starters, main courses and puddings, along with the trimmings, all of which you can cook in advance and freeze until you need them. How much easier would a birthday celebration or a house full of people at Christmas be if you knew that your meals were planned, prepared and waiting in the freezer for you?

Thus we came up with the idea of The Effortless Cook….we hope you enjoy it!