dessert Archives - Foodie Hub

Super easy rocky road ice cream cake

July 25, 2020July 25, 2020

I love recipes like this. It is easy on the washing up, quick and easy to make, and really the cake part itself requires no cooking a bit of mixing and chopping that’s it. The texture is that of a creamy delicious vanilla gelato which is great as is, but what really makes this extra special is that it is loaded with delicious rocky bits giving it a nubbly texture. Almost every time I make this I add different bits and pieces. I always use shop-bought meringues and mini marshmallows as these never freeze solid and really give it a magnificent texture. You could add crushed crunchy bars, chocolate-coated peanuts or raisins, finely chopped up a brownie, really almost anything you like, within reason.

So after the quick initial mix together and adding your favourite ingredients it’s just a matter of dumping into a lined loaf tin smoothing the base. Pop it into the freezer for about 4 -6 hours, although I usually get on with this a day ahead, making it a great make-ahead dessert.

The warm chocolate sauce is really only a matter of meting chocolate together, nothing difficult there. The chocolate sauce itself isn’t terribly sweet as the ice cream cake is sweet enough and it brings balance. I have used a combo of milk and dark chocolate so that you don’t need to get out sugar or any other sweeteners at the last minute. Who wants that extra work? If you are making for kids you may want to increase the milk chocolate or entirely milk chocolate or failing that just a couple of squeezes of golden syrup whilst it’s melting.

I hop you enjoy the recipe and for anyone who prefers to watch a recipe check out my You Tube channel where you can view all my recipes. Please leave a comment, give it a thumbs up, subscribe, and switch on the bell notification if you haven’t already.

pecan caramel cheesecake

May 26, 2020May 26, 20205 Comments

I’m not sure whether I have ever met someone who didn’t like cheesecake and I’m not sure whether I want to. What’s not to love, right? I love a no-bake cheesecake, but I do think that a baked cheesecake has the edge that wins for me. It’s a little bit like instant coffee vs going through the whole process of grinding your own beans and making a proper coffee. Most of us by far prefer the flavour and taste of a real coffee and why not. Although I am sure due to convenience you will find a jar of instant coffee in every coffee lover’s kitchen. I think we can be a little like this when it comes to cheesecake no-bake cheesecakes are a great dessert for those experimenting with their first desserts and those short on time. Baked cheesecakes take a bit more work and that’s ok. They are worth it. Honestly, they sound more daunting than they are. Often words like bain Marie can scare people or the cooking steps and stages but it’s not as difficult as it sounds. Firstly, a bain Marie simply means a water bath so all we have to do for this is wrap the cheesecake base in kitchen foil to prevent water from getting into the cheesecake. Place it in a roasting tin and pour water from a recently boiled kettle into the roasting tin around the cheesecake, simple.

The next step that can be off putting is all the warnings in recipes about baked cheesecake tops cracking. Firstly, I say “Big Deal” who cares if the top cracks it’s not the end of the world. It isn’t ruined and often the topping will disguise it even if it does. So fear not. I have found the best way to prevent the top cracking is to allow my cheesecake to sit for an hour after its baked in a switched off oven. The reason I do this is because one of the main reasons for cheesecakes cracking is the extreme temperature changes and living in Ireland my kitchen most of the year isn’t very hot and taking it straight from the oven to the kitchen counter will shock it and create cracks so instead I let it rest for an hour in the oven after baking then transfer to the kitchen counter to cool completely. If it is very cold in my kitchen after the hour I open the oven door fully and let it cool completely in the oven with the door open.

One other important factor to keep in mind when making baked cheesecakes, and one I wish I had known about when I made my first baked cheesecake is that it should still have wobble when shaken after it has been baked.

I hope you enjoy the recipe below as much as I do.

Passion Fruit Pavlova

September 7, 2019September 7, 2019Leave a comment

A pavlova is one of my favourite desserts. I make them so often as you may have noticed. All that tender sweet marshmallowy centre and the crisp exterior topped with softly whipped cream and berries, how could you not love it? It is a perfect dessert for feeding a large gathering as most of the work can be done ahead of time then it’s just a matter of assembling. It is also great for using up eggs, every time I make something that requires egg whites only or egg yolks only, I freeze the part I’m not using in freezer bags. This prevents any waste. Anytime I want a custard or a pavlova I know I have a stash in the freezer, simply grab them from the freezer and defrost in the fridge.

If you would like a quicker version and don’t want to make your own curd, although, when you have the yolks leftover from the pav base it would seem like madness not too. You could buy a jar of lemon curd and scoop the pulp and seeds of a few passion fruit into this with a little squeeze of lemon juice to increase the zingyness.