Recipe: Weight Watchers Lemon Meringue Pie

It’s been ages since I baked anything half decent and as I’m back on the healthier eating plan I had a go at this Weight Watchers recipe for a recent family party.  It was definitely a different take on this British classic although I had to make some adjustments.

Firstly, in the 3 supermarkets I went to I couldn’t get the low fat digestive biscuits so had to buy the normal ones.

Secondly, the recommended amount of biscuits in the recipe for the base, 6, is not enough for the required size 8″ tin.  So I ended up doubling the ingredients for the 8″ tin which was perfect but not ideal for the healthier lighter option and Weight Watchers point counters.  I do wonder if Weight Watchers test their recipes before uploading to their app because this amount of biscuit base is definitely not enough!

What you need:

7″ pie dish or baking tray

For the base:
1 x egg white, raw
6 x low fat digestive biscuits, crushed

For the filling:
3 level tbsp cornflour
2 x medium lemons, grated zest and juice of
200ml water
3 tbsp powdered artificial sweetener
2 x medium eggs, whole, raw, separated
2 tbsp caster sugar

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/fan oven 160°C.
2. First make the base.  Lightly whip the egg white until slightly foamy, then stir in the biscuit crumbs.
3. Tip this mixture into a pie dish/tin and spread out evenly over the base. Bake in the oven for about 5-6 minutes, until set. Remove and leave to cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling. Blend the cornflour with the water in a small non-stick saucepan. Add the lemon zest and juice and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and add the sweetener. Cool slightly.
5. Stir the egg yolks into the lemon mixture, including the one left over from making the base. Pour this mixture over the base and return to the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes.
6. Whilst the filling is cooking, whisk the egg whites in a grease-free bowl until they hold their shape. Add the caster sugar and whisk again until stiff and glossy.
7. Pile this mixture onto the set filling and return to the oven for 5-6 minutes, until browned.

Top tip: ensure your bowl and mixer beaters are scrupulously clean to give your meringue its best chance!

It made a change to have it with a biscuit base instead of pastry, like a cheesecake but no cheese 🙂

Until next time…Happy Baking!

Recipe: Lemon Meringue Cake

Here’s a recipe I tried for a recent family party.  It was my first go at a Nigella Lawson recipe and honestly it went pear-shaped!  It disappoints me when my baking doesn’t turn out right because I follow the recipes religiously, some take a lot of time and the ingredients are always cheap.  I won’t be rushing out to try another and will stick to my trusted Mary Berry recipes!

What you need:

Makes 8 slices

125g very soft unsalted butter
4 large eggs (separated)
300g caster sugar (+ 1 tsp)
100g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
25g cornflour
½ tsp cream of tartar
150ml double or whipping cream
Zest of 1 lemon
4 tsp lemon juice
150g lemon curd
2 tsp milk

What you do:

• Preheat your oven to gas mark 6/200°C/180°C Fan/400ºF.
• Grease and line 2 x 8″ sandwich tins.
• Mix the egg yolks, 100g of the sugar, the butter, flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarb, and lemon zest in a mixer.
• Add the lemon juice and milk and mix again.
• Divide the mixture between the prepared tins. it will look like you don’t have enough to cover the bottom of the tins as it’s a thick mixture. Spread with a rubber spatula until smooth.
• Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks form and then slowly whisk in 200g of sugar.
• Divide the whisked whites between the two sponge-filled tins, spreading the meringue straight on top of the cake batter.
• Smooth one flat with the back of a spoon, peak the other and sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over the peaks.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. Mine took 45mins because the cake batter wasn’t cooked and was then overdone – be wary of time!
• With a knife or cocktail stick, pierce the cake that has the flat meringue topping to check it’s cooked all through. No sponge mixture should stick to your knife.
• Sit the cake tins on top of a wire rack and leave them to cool completely in the tins.
• Place the flat-topped one on to a cake stand or plate, meringue side down.
• Whisk the double cream until thick but not stiff and set aside.
• Spread the flat sponge surface of the first, waiting, cake with the lemon curd and than spatula over the cream and top with the remaining cake, bronze-peaked meringue uppermost.

I was told that the cake was a success but I’m doubtful! I did have a little taste before I sent it on its way, and, it did taste better than it looked!  But I was really disappointed that the cake part was so overdone yet I’d checked it so many times and the stick kept coming out soggy! Aaarrgghhhh

Until next time…Happy Baking!

Recipe Post: Old School Chocolate Tarmac / Chocolate Concrete / Chocolate Crunch

I think this old school cake has a different name depending on where you went to school and when.  I know it as Chocolate Tarmac, or just plain old Tarmac.  If you’ve not experienced this cake before then you’ve missed out.  The only way I can describe it like a chocolate shortbread but less biscuit like, and more cake like – great description huh!!

What you need:

1 greased and lined 8″ sandwich tin
200g plain flour
200g granulated sugar
50g cocoa powder (don’t be tempted to use hot chocolate powder)
100g butter

 

 

What you do:

• Preheat your oven to 180°c.
• In a mixing bowl mix the flour, sugar and cocoa.
• Melt the butter (either on a hob or in microwave) and add to your dry ingredients.
• Using your fingers rub in the butter until you have a crumble consistency.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and pat it down so it becomes compacted.
• Bake for 20 mins.
• Sprinkle on a little extra sugar, if required, straight out of the oven.

Serve as a dessert à la school with chocolate or pink custard or on its own with a nice cup of tea!

Not gonna lie this is the one of the best things I’ve baked in flippin’ ages and got the thumbs up from my overly cake fussy daughter!

Do you remember having this at school? If so, what did you call it? 

Until next time…Happy Baking!

Recipe Post: Triple Chocolate Scones

So here we have another tried and tested recipe from the National Trust’s Book of Scones.  Now readers, I followed the recipe to the letter and whilst they looked ok, they were pretty dry and needed more chocolate.  Despite smelling divine during the mixing process this didn’t translate through to the bake.  On reflection, I’m probably going to stick with the more traditional fruit based scone.  If you get better results, do let me know 🙂

 

 

 

What you need for approx 10 large scones:

500g self-raising flour
70g cocoa powder
1 heaped tsp baking powder
70g soft brown sugar
140g butter, cubed
115g white chocolate drops
115g milk chocolate drops
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
Approx 200ml milk

What you do:

• Preheat your oven to 190°c.  Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
• Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and sugar into a mixing bowl.
• Add the butter and rub in using your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add 75g of each of the chocolate drops and stir in.
• Make a well in the middle of the mixture, add the eggs and vanilla.
• Gradually add the milk to make a damp dough.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 4cm thick.
• Stamp out the scones using an 8cm cutter and place on the baking tray.  Brush the tops with milk.
• Bake for approx 16-18 minutes.
• Melt the remaining white and chocolate drops and drizzle over the scones.  This was a disaster, the chocolate would just not drizzle nicely!

I wasn’t sure what the best thing to serve chocolate scones with is – maybe clotted or whipped cream or smothered in custard so you can’t taste how dry they are 🙂 and next time I still need to roll the dough out thicker and more evenly – some of them were a little on the slim side!

Until next time…Happy Baking!

Recipe Post: Weight Watchers Breakfast Bread (or French Toast / Eggy Bread to you and me)

Whatever you call it, be it Eggy Bread or French Toast this quick breakfast is great for a weekend treat (especially as I adapted from savoury to sweet!).  Ok, so not technically a bake but still this is a tried, tested and adapted Weight Watchers recipe.  I fancied something different for my brekkie and the Weight Watchers app does have lots of recipe inspiration and this fitted what I had in the fridge.

What you need:

Makes 4 servings

4 eggs
4 slices Weight Watchers thick wholemeal bread
4 tbsp skimmed milk
Low calorie frying spray (e.g Frylight)
Vanilla essence, if required
Cinnamon, if required

What you do:

• Lightly beat the eggs and milk together.
• Add some vanilla and cinnamon if required, mix.
• Put the bread in a shallow dish and cover with the egg mixture.  Allowing to soak in….repeat for all slices of bread.
• Mist a large frying pan with cooking spray and heat.
• Fry the bread until golden.  Recipe states 2-3 minutes, realistically this took mine closer to 12 minutes.

I’ve never made this before and it was really quick and easy, however the cooking spray is not ideal for getting a golden brown or stopping the bread stick to the pan.  Next time, I think I’ll sacrifice 1 of my daily points and use oil instead.  In all honesty, I didn’t think I was going to like it as I don’t like fried eggs.  However, they were really quite yummy.  I do surprise myself sometimes.

I served my Eggy Bread with a couple of teaspoons of vanilla yoghurt and some fresh blueberries.  Next time, I’ll add cinnamon.

If you are following the Weight Watchers Flex plan, these equate to 2 points per slice!

Until next time…Happy Baking!