Lemon & Blueberry Individual Trifles

Nothing could be easier than trifle as a quick and easy dessert. It’s one of those recipes where it seems it’s okay to use ready made products like custard, cake and tinned fruit, like a cheat’s recipe. I’m sure there are a million different variations and a million different ways to layer your trifle and what to layer your trifle with but with the lovely new range of tea flavoured jellies available from Aeroplane Jelly, we won’t have to worry about history repeating itself.

“The earliest known recipe to include jelly dates from 1747, contained in the Art of Cookery authored by Hannah Glasse. In her recipe she instructed using hartshorn or bones of calves feet as the base ingredient for the jelly. The poet Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote of trifles containing jelly in 1861.” (from Wikipedia)

The new Aeroplane Jelly Lite Tea Infusion flavours are amazing!  I used the Lemon Tea flavour in this recipe but they also come in Peach Tea, Orange Blossom with Green Tea, Raspberry Licorice with Green Tea and Mixed Berry Tea.

I used the Peach Tea flavour in the above trifle with seasonal, stewed white peaches and it was delicious. The layer of Peach Tea jelly was delightful. Peach flavoured teas are my absolute favourite.

These kind of desserts are so easy to put together and you can keep all the ingredients on hand. I used a homebrand lemon loaf (which you can keep in the freezer until needed), store bought custard (you can get longlife custard and any kind of fruit (fresh, preserved, canned or even jam, like I did for this recipe. I used a jar of blueberry preserves as well as fresh blueberries. Just make your jelly up, as per the instructions on the packet, the morning of or the night before you need the trifle.

There are no right or wrong ways to make these. Just find a suitable glass or dish and start layering.

I made two individual trifles but a whole jelly would quite possibly make up 4-5 individual trifles or one large one.

They were really refreshing and ‘light’ and just the right amount. The lemon tea jelly gave it a more ‘grown up’ taste even though my 9 year old son loved the flavour of it and they’re lighter on sugar but not on taste.

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Trifle is perfect to feed a crowd in either a large bowl or in individual smaller shot glasses. Perfect for Christmas, a High Tea, Brunch or a wedding dessert buffet.

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED!

Congratulations to Di for your lovely recipe idea and thank you to everyone who entered.

 

How would you like to win your own selection of Aeroplane Jelly Lite Tea Infusions jelly PLUS a tea cup set for your next high tea? All you have to do is tell me in the comments below which of the above flavoured jelly you’d use to make a trifle and what other ingredients you’d use to make it. Please don’t forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you won. The competition will run until 12pm, AEST (Brisbane time), Monday, 7 December 2015. Good luck!

Terms & Conditions

1.  This is a game of skill.
2. This competition is open to Australian Residents only.
3. The prize is a selection of Aeroplane Jelly Lite Tea Infusion Jelly and a tea cup set.
4. This prize is not redeemable in cash.
5. This competition is open from now until  Monday, 7 December 2015 12pm (Brisbane time) AEST.
6. The winner will be announced on this blog,  Domesblissity Facebook page and Twitter accounts and I will contact you via email.
7. The winner will have 7 days to respond, otherwise the prize will be redrawn.

Mini lemon & blueberry loaves with lemon drizzle

Did I ever tell you I love a mini loaf? Its not too small and its not too big, just right (as Goldilocks would say). They pack well in square containers, big enough for the big school appetite and big enough for a morning tea break without being too full for lunch. Oh what the heck! I love cake, at any size but I do love how these mini loaves turn out.

I was lucky enough to take part in trialling some of the new Coles Create & Bake range and I must admit, what could be so different about these packet mixes that I haven’t tried before? I’ve always bought the ‘no name’ brand for the kid’s birthday cakes and I might use one if I’ve got to ‘take a plate’, that age old Australian tradition of taking something with you when you’ve been invited for a bite to eat.

I really had visions of something with lemon and blueberries so I picked up the blueberry mix in the Create & Bake range and was pleasantly surprised at how full of actual blueberries it was. There was two packets of blueberries in the box and the other will keep for a long time in the pantry. I filled the mini loaf pan with the delightfully lemon scented batter (and I got to lick the bowl all by myself) and swirled through the chunky blueberry puree.

If you had ‘smellovision’, when these little loaves finished baking the house smelt like a cake shop. I was really surprised at how well the loaves had risen and how the cake had such a beautiful crumb, very much like a homemade cake and unlike normal packet cake mixes.

I had one packet of the lemon icing mix in the Coles Create & Bake range leftover from the Apple & Ginger Cakes with Lemon Icing I made the other day so used that to drizzle over the cake. I served it with some new, in season strawberries, with a cup of hot tea in Mum’s china and I felt like a Queen.

I think I’ll be keeping a couple of packets of this basic lemon cake mix on hand, if not for the convenience but for the taste and the versatility of this mix. Stay tuned for another recipe using the lemon cake mix later this week.

Disclaimer:  This is not a sponsored post. I received products from the Coles Create & Bake range to try. All thoughts, opinions, photos and recipes are my own.

Lemon & Blueberry Yoghurt Cakes

“I’m forever pinning recipes….” (sung to “I’m forever blowing bubbles”). And it’s true. The last thing I do at night, before I turn off the computer is check Pinterest for recipes. I have to admit that about 80% of recipes I see are related to S’mores, peanut butter and chocolate or brownies in some way but the odd one comes up that makes my mouth water and I can think of nothing else until I make it. Lemons and blueberries was the case this time.

This was the culprit. A Lemon-Blueberry Yoghurt Loaf by Sweet Pea’s Kitchen. The recipe is adapted from a Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) recipe. I just love cakes made with yoghurt. The cake is more dense without being rich and not so sweet. This recipe didn’t disappoint. I made them in individual cupcake wrappers as they’re easier for little fingers and my portion control. I can also pop them in the freezer easily too.

The cake is your typical cake recipe but what’s special about these is that after baking, they are brushed with a lemon sugar syrup a couple of times, adding to the lemon flavour and then topped with a lemon drizzle icing.

Even on their own, without the blueberries, I think they’d be nice. This one’s a keeper and now I’m already thinking about all of the different flavour combinations I could come up with.

Lemon & Blueberry Yoghurt Cakes

(from Sweet Pea Kitchen’s Lemon-Blueberry Yoghurt Loaf recipe)

For the Loaf:

• 1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon plain flour, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

For the Lemon Syrup:

• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:

• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 deg C (350 deg F). Line a texas muffin pan with cupcake papers.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes.
5. While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.
6. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops of the warm cakes. Brush the top with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.
7. To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the icing sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each cake. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.







Blueberry & Ricotta Crumble Cake Bars

Typically winter is a great time for baking for me. It’s lovely and cool in my part of the world and having the oven on heats up the house. I’ve lost my baking mojo a bit lately.  Other than the usual suspects of cookies and muffins for the kids and being on a bit of a health kick, I haven’t really felt like baking anything or in fact eating anything. (I’m into my third week of non stop coughing and its driving me mad.)

I had about a quarter cup of ricotta left, blueberries in the freezer, plain yoghurt and all of the other basic ingredients. I felt like cake but only in bar (or slice) size. It’s easy to pack in lunch boxes and freeze too.

After googling a few keyword combinations, I found this, a Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Coffee Cake but it had quite a few ingredients and processes I couldn’t be bothered with so I adapted it with my usual No Fuss Fudge Cake. You remember the one? It was done in no time and it was delicious. A moist fudgey cake with a nearly cheesecake fruity filling and a crunchy crumbly top. Just what the doctor ordered.

Blueberry Ricotta Crumble Cake Bars

Cake mixture:

• 1 and half cups plain flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 6 tablespoons oil (I use canola)
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
• half teaspoon salt

Ricotta filling:

• 1/4 cup ricotta
• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 2 tbs icing sugar
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Crumble mixture:

• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 2 tbs butter
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped finely

1. Turn oven to 160 C (320 F).
2. Line a slice pan, 16x26cm (6″x10″) with baking paper.
3. Mix flour,
   sugar and water in a bowl.
4. Add vanilla, vinegar, oil, baking soda and
   salt. Mix  until smooth. (Mixture is runny.) Pour into prepared pan.
5. Mix together ricotta filling and spoon gently onto wet cake mixture. Sprinkle blueberries over cake/ricotta mixture and lightly press down.
6. Sprinkle crumble mixture over cake and bake
   35 to 40 minutes.
7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan. Slice into squares and serve warm with ice cream and/or custard or eat cool for morning tea or for school lunch boxes.
8. Suitable to freeze.