Blood Orange, Mango & Peach Granita

The weather over the weekend was rather blustery, not cold but mild enough to remind us that we're entering the tail end of summer. Time to start wishing for an Indian summer, and maybe still time to make some truly summery recipes.

I made this Blood Orange, Mango & Peach Granita a few weeks ago during the heatwave. It's summer in a little glass bowl. The recipe is from What Katie Ate: Recipes and Other Bits and Bobs by Katie Quinn Davies. It takes no time at all to make a batch of this pretty ruby-iced pudding, so seize the opportunity while the sun is still shining. The autumn crumbles will have their moment all in good time.

Blood Orange, Mango & Peach Granita

1 mango, peeled, flesh cut into round pieces
3 ripe yellow peaches, stone removed, cut into chunks
2 cups fresh blood orange juice
Juice 1 lemon

Add all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and whizz until smooth. Hold a sieve over a deep baking tray (approx 42 x 30cm). Pour the granita liquid through the sieve into the tray pressing as much of the pulp through as you can, discard whatever final bits which won’t pass through then carefully transfer the filled tray into a flat shelf in the freezer. Freeze for 2-3 hours or until required then scrape into fluffy granita snow using a fork or two. Serve immediately.

Photography: Buttercup Days.

Banana Granola

Have you ever made your own Muesli or Granola? It is well worth the effort; though actually there is very little effort involved. I love the fact that you can tailor the ingredients to suit your taste and you know exactly what you are putting into it. Earlier this week I had an urge to fill a Kilner jar with something wholesome and delicious to start the day with. So I did.

These days as well as dipping into my growing library of cookbooks for inspiration, I find myself looking at some of the amazing food blogs that are out there. Green Kitchen Stories, Pastry Affair, What Katie Ate, My Darling Lemon Thyme and Pratos Travessa are just a few that I follow with a passion.

It was Green Kitchen Stories that I turned to for this recipe. I didn't tweak or tamper with it in any way or form. It was a Lily that needed no guilding. In a mere half an hour you can have yourself a jar of this good stuff that will last you a week or more. You can find the recipe here. I like it served with plain yoghurt and fresh berries, Arthur opts for yoghurt and raisins and Lily prefers just plain old milk. David on the other hand sticks to his usual bowl of branflakes. Oh well, that's his loss.

Photography: Buttercup Days

Blood Orange + Rosemary Cake

A couple of weeks ago I made this Blood Orange & Rosemary Cake to take to a friends birthday party. The recipes comes from my latest cookbook purchase What Katie Ate: Recipes and Other Bits and Bobs by Katie Quinn Davies. It was a case of 'wishing I had bought this book a few months earlier' as the author obviously has quite a thing for blood oranges - there are several recipes in the book that feature them. I too, love a blood orange, but sadly their fairly short season finished a couple of months ago. 

However, I was determined to make this cake. I simply replaced the blood oranges for regular oranges and hunted down a carton of blood orange juice to use when the juice of an orange was called for. Essentially it hit the spot - the marriage of orange and rosemary was still very much there and it was worth sourcing that carton of blood orange juice to make the natural dusky pink icing - so, so pretty.

I will, of course make a point of re-visiting this recipe when blood oranges are back in season. It just has to be done.

Blood Orange & Rosemary Cake

Serves 8 - 10

225g unsalted butter, softened

220g caster sugar

2 tsps cointreau (absent from my drinks cabinet, I used brandy)

3 free-range eggs, beaten

1 blood orange, peeled, pith removed and cut into segments

3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked

300g plain flour, sifted

2 tsps baking powder, sifted

blood orange syrup:

juice of 2 blood oranges

juice of 2 oranges

1 tbsp caster sugar

blood orange icing:

juice of 1 blood orange

320g icing sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to 180℃ (fan), 200℃, gas mark 6 and grease a 9cm, 1.4 litre capacity bundt tin, or alternatively, grease and line a regular 22cm springform cake tin.

Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar for 10 mins until light and creamy. Add the Cointreau and the eggs and combine.

Whizz the blood orange, orange and rosemary in a food processor until the rosemary leaves are finely chopped and the oranges are blended to a pulp. Add to the butter and sugar mixture and beat together on low speed until combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture, beating between additions, until everything is well incorporated.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Meanwhile, to make the blood orange syrup, place the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 mins or until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has reduced by about a third. Keep warm until the cake is ready.

Leave the cake to cool a little before transferring it to a wire rack. Place a plate underneath the rack to catch any drips, then prick the top of the cake with a skewer and spoon the warm syrup over the cake and leave to be absorbed.

Make the icing by combining the blood orange juice and icing sugar until smooth. Drizzle the icing all over the cooled cake, then chill the iced cake in the fridge for 20 mins before serving.