Caramelised Leek, Asparagus and Goats Cheese Tart

If you could die from an Asparagus overdose, then last week would have been my sweet end. Not satisfied with eating a whole bundle in a day, I proceeded to buy a further 2 bundles and eat them all within 2 days. Can you blame me though? Asparagus is freaking good. What started this Asparagus epidemic you ask? Well Abel and Cole sent it to me 2 weeks in a row, and I just couldn't get enough of it. They also sent me some leeks and I promised to make Daddy Hef some dinner so I mixed them all together with some pastry and goats cheese and this is what happened. It was nice, really, really nice (maybe because I LOVE all of the components) and the next time I get leeks in my box I'm making it straight away!

For 2 tarts:

8 asparagus spears
Salt and pepper
300g leeks, washed, trimmed and sliced
20g butter
4 tbsp cream cheese with black pepper
100g puff pastry
50g goats cheese

1. Stick the asparagus on to a griddle on a medium heat with a little salt and pepper and griddle for 5 minutes, then pop to one side. 
2. Melt the butter on a low heat in to a sauce pan, then add the leeks and cook gently for around 20 minutes, until softened, then turn up the heat and give them a good old fry until the start to brown a little. 
3. Roll out the pastry in to a kind of rectangle, then score 1cm in along each side. 
4. Spread the cream cheese in to the boarder you have just cut, then top with the leeks, asparagus and goats cheese. 
5. Pop them in to a preheated oven (200 degrees) for 10-15 minutes, serve them straight from the oven with fresh salad and enjoy!

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Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Mr Hef and I have now been together for 7 years, yes SEVEN. I can't quite believe it myself, especially as he does ridiculous things on a daily basis, (yesterday he pulled me backwards off the end of my bed, for no reason, resulting in my back hitting his bony knees with quite a lot of force. And at the weekend he drunkly hunted me with a BB gun) but his ridiculous ways are why I love him and I really wouldn't have it any other way. So it was his birthday and our anniversary last week and I've made him a cake every year. This year I was debating it, as he wanted to throw the Slutty Brownie cake I made him last year away (I think my baking embarrasses him) so I asked him if he wanted a cake. 

He said no, but sounded a little hurt that I had even asked. So I ended up making him one any way. As I have previously mentioned, Mr Hef doesn't actually like cake, so it's a bit tricky. He does however love cookies (as you can see from the previous birthday cakes) and cheesecake. So this is how this cheesecake was born. It was born in to a world where Mr Hef was too drunk to eat and I was quite sure it would be destroyed before he even got to it (this was cemented by the fact that Mike, of kitchen assistant fame woke me up at 2am to tell me it had already been eaten). Anyway cheesecake + cookie dough = good, the end.

Makes around 12 slices

For the cookie dough:

110g butter
110g caster sugar
65g light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
275g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g milk chocolate chips

For the cheesecake:

175g unsalted butter, melted
300g digestive biscuits, crushed in to tiny pieces
130g vanilla infused sugar from Sainsburys
3 tbsp cornflour
800g cream cheese
2 free range eggs
100ml double cream

1. Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees, then start by making up the cookie dough. 
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until soft and fluffy, then beat in the egg and the vanilla extract. 
3. Tip all of the dry ingredients in and beat until you have cookie dough and leave to one side for now. 
4. Take your crushed digestives and the melted butter and mix well until it is all combined, then pop the mixture in to a well greased (high sided) 8 inch cake tin and flatten down with the back of a spoon. 
5. Pop it in to the oven for 15 minutes, then leave to cool fully. 
6. Pop the cream cheese, corn flour and sugar in to a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth, add the eggs and keep mixing until all combined, finally gradually add the cream and keep beating until lovely and smooth. 
7. Spoon the mixture on to the digestive base, then take the cookie dough and roll it in to small balls, and squidge them in to the top of the cheese cake, so that only a little bit of dough is showing. Use as much cookie dough as you like and put it where ever you like! (if you have some left over roll it in to balls, squish them down a little and cook for 1 minute for fresh cookies)
8. Cover the top of the cake pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 10 to brown the top. 
9. Remove from the oven, let it cool completely then pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours before getting stuck in. 

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Eggs Florentine with Asparagus

About 4 years ago a series of 'bad egg' events put me off of eating eggs, I've still been eating them in things, (mostly cake) but every time I try to eat them in pure egg form I manage to put myself off again. So last week armed with some fresh organic asparagus (I really, really love asparagus) I decided to give them another go. I used to love eggs florentine and my mum kept talking about making asparagus with boiled egg so I thought I'd combine them together for the best brunch ever! And that it was. I brought some really good eggs (which made me feel better about eating them) and as you can see I over cooked them a little bit, but I am an egg novice! So yeah, if you enjoy yummy vegetables and good eggs, I highly recommend this! 

Serves 2:

8 spears of asparagus
Salt and pepper
2 free range eggs
1 granary bap
200g spinach
2 tbsp hollandaise sauce

1. Pop a griddle pan on to a medium heat and add the asparagus, season with salt and pepper and griddle for around 10 minutes. 
2. While the asparagus is cooking poach your eggs (I have an egg poacher, I have no idea how to poach them properly) to your liking. I did mine for around 5 minutes. 
3. Split your bap in half, then toast to your liking. Then put the spinach in to a sieve and pour boiling water over it. Drain the water off and top the bap with the wilted spinach. 
4. Top with the egg, then the asparagus and then cover in hollandaise sauce. 
5. Yep it really is that simple! Enjoy. 

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Cinnamon Rolls

I spend too much time on the internet (I am a blogger after all), I'm addicted to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you name it, I'm on it. So, as you can imagine I also love Pinterest, I spend absolutely ages on there looking at pictures of other peoples food. One thing that comes up all the time is cinnamon rolls, god knows how many times I've 'pinned' them, looked at the recipe and decided I am too lazy to make them. But this weekend my uni friend Laura came to stay, and after a long list of things I suggested doing, I suddenly realised we could bake. After a not so long internet research trip we decided on cinnamon rolls. I wish I hadn't waited so long to make them! They're so easy, taste delicious and make your house smell like actual heaven (really, if I die and heaven doesn't smell like freshly baked cinnamon rolls, God has some explaining to do). I have absolutely no idea about anything to do with 'bread' baking (it always goes wrong) so I used this recipe and have since fallen in love with her blog, it's full of amazing recipes. So I've popped the recipe on here in metric measurements for all of us in the UK to enjoy and made a few little changes to the method! So... Enjoy!

Makes around 16

For the dough

1 packet of dry yeast
230 ml warm milk
75g golden caster sugar
110g butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
550g plain white flour

For the filling

75g melted butter
225g brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

For the frosting

100g icing sugar
Enough water to make it in to a thick mixture (I never measure)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Start by tipping the dry yeast in to the warm milk in a large bowl, add a tea spoon of the golden caster sugar and leave for around 10 minutes until it's all bubbly. 
2. Then pop the rest of the caster sugar, butter, salt and eggs and mix together with the yeasty milk with and electric mixer until well combined. 
3. Add the flour and fold it, mixing until it forms a dough. 
4. Tip the dough out on to a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, until you have a lovely smooth dough. 
5. Pop the dough back in to the bowl, cover it with a tea towel and leave it in a warm place to rise for at least an hour (it should double in size).
6. Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees then tip to dough on to a floured surface and roll out in to one large rectangle! (21 inches by 16 inches).
7. Once it's rolled out brush the butter all over it, then mix the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle it all over!
8. Cut up in to around 16 even sized slices, then pop them in to a greased 8inch baking pan (I put 7 around the outside and 1 in the middle, which fit perfectly!)
9. Then pop them in to the oven for 15-20 minutes.
10. While they're baking, make up the icing by mixing the icing sugar with water and adding the vanilla extract. 
11. When the rolls are golden brown, remove from the oven, cover them in icing and eat (they taste best fresh from the oven)

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