Malteaser Cheesecake!

Malteaser cheesecake

There is not much I can say about this only its mega simple to make and the proof really is in the pudding!!

p.s thanks Awa!!

20 digestive biscuits
2oz  of melted butter
300g light soft cheese
500ml of double cream
3oz sugar
About 20 malteasers

Method

1. Place the biscuits into a sandwich bag and bash with a rolling pin into crumbs, pour into a bowl and pour the melted butter over and mix around until all coated. Pour into a cake tin and firm into a level layer(i use a potato masher). Place in the fridge for a half hour.
2. In the same bag place the malteasers in and bash until lightly broken up, leave bigger chunks too.
3. Whisk the double cream, soft cheese and sugar together until thickened and pour the bashed malteasers and mix evenly through. Pour the mixture into the cake tin on top of the buscuit base and even out with a palet knife or a spoon.
4. Pop into the fridge for an hour before serving... its that simple!!

After8 Cheesecake

AfterEight Cheesecake 

This cheesecake is very light and helps a full belly after a hearty main course. It is very quick and easy to make and can be made a day in advance to take a bit of pressure off if you have guests coming. just cover with clingfilm and it will quite happily sit in your fridge over night. 

Serves 6-8:

1 pint of double cream

300g soft cheese

3 oz sugar

15 digestive biscuits

2 oz butter

1 box of AfterEight dinner mints (2 if decorating like mine)

Method     

Put the digestive biscuits into a large strong sandwich bag and bash with a rolling pin or put through a blender to crush up. Melt down the butter over a medium heat and pour over the crushed biscuits in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
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• Put the mix into a cake tin and firm down to form a compact even layer. I use a potato masher for this. Place in a fridge for a half hour.
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• On a chopping board roughly chop up the contents of one box of AfterEight dinner mints, set aside.
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• Place the soft cheese and sugar into a bowl and pour in the double cream. Whisk this mix until it starts to firm. Add in the chopped dinner mints and whisk the whole mixture again. Pour over the top of biscuit base and smooth out with a spatula.
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• To decorate I placed the 2nd box of dinner mints standing around the inside of the cake tin so that when you lift off the section of the tin you are left with a 'wall' of dinner mints that are held in place by the cream.
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Zingy Rainbow Trout

Zingy Rainbow Trout with Fennel & Toasted Walnuts 

I was sitting thinking what I could make for dinner, looked in the fridge and freezer but nothing jumped out and screamed 'cook me'. I guess I was in one of those moods today where i just wanted something different, something new and exciting.
 So I took a spin into the butchers looking for some inspiration but again they had nothing that appealed to my notion. So I then walked down the street a little bit to the local fish monger and when I went in everything looked a blur except for the most beautifully fresh looking Rainbow Trout fillets that caught my eye right away, that was it... that was my inspiration for dinner. Sometimes it just takes a blind trip to the shops for you to come up with something that you would otherwise never think off. Then as the nice chap was pin boning the fillets for me, Fennel jumped into my head along with ginger and nuts (not to be confused with Ginger nuts... although... eh.... no!!) I have a fresh supply of fennel growing in my garden and this was gonna be the first harvest of it. So I went home and this is what i concocted... the walnuts give a great crunchy texture in this dish which just brings it altogether for me.

Serves 2:

2 Large Trout fillets (rainbow or brown)

A knob of butter

Fresh thyme

1 fat clove of garlic

2 medium bulbs of fennel

A handful of chopped walnuts

The zest and juice from 1 orange

Juice of half a lemon

A thumb sized piece of root ginger (grated)

2 tablespoons of honey

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

Black pepper

Sea salt

When buying fish be sure that it looks fresh, wet looking and shiny , it shouldn't smell 'fishy'

Method

1. In a small mixing bowl combine the orange juice and zest with the lemon juice, soy sauce, grated ginger, honey and a few twists of black pepper. Also in a pestle and mortar bash up the garlic with some sea salt to make a paste, add the leaves of the thyme and a knob of softened butter and mix well together.
2. Slice the fennel bulb into thin slices, brush them both sides with a little olive oil and put them into a medium to hot pan, add the chopped walnuts and gently fry off the fennel turning occasionally while also toasting the walnuts for about ten mins.
3. Very lightly season the trout fillets. Place another pan onto a high heat and empty in the garlic butter mix and spread over the whole surface, add in the fillets skin side down. Immediately spoon over the mix from the mixing bowl to create a sticky sauce. Fry the fillets for about 3 mins skin side down then turn over for a further 2 mins or until cooked right through (do not over cook though).
4. Serve with the fennel and nuts and pour over the remaining sauce. Serve with rice or a nice summer salad.