Tag Archives: fruit

The Best Gooseberry Crumble Recipe!

Posted on by Abi

the best gooseberry crumble recipeGooseberries bring back fond memories of my childhood, playing with my best friend in her Grandma’s garden while rushing to pick all the fruit so she could make us a yummy dessert. Unfortunately I never managed to find space to grow a Gooseberry bush at our old house and this year was the first time our new bush produced a useful quantity of fruit. It wasn’t a huge amount but it was definitely enough for one dessert heaped in comforting memories. So today I’m sharing what is in my opinion the best Gooseberry Crumble recipe, it’s super quick and easy plus it has a mega quantity of crumble topping. Incidentally if you think my Gooseberries look odd that’s because they’re pink Gooseberries!

gooseberriesWhat You’ll Need

450g / 16 oz Gooseberries

100g / 4oz Soft Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Water

350g / 12oz Plain Flour

180g / 6oz Butter

180g / 6oz Soft Brown Sugar

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

 

Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F or Gas Mark 4

Step 1

After washing cut the top and tail from all the gooseberries. Tip. If you don’t want to get bored it helps to have another pair of hands to help with all the topping and tailing! Place the fruit into the bottom of your pudding dish.

Sprinkle over the brown sugar, then add the water and give the gooseberries a gentle stir to coat.

Step 2

Rub together the flour and butter with your fingertips until it resembles rough breadcrumbs in texture. Next add in the sugar and ground cinnamon and stir together gently.

Tip. If unlike me you prefer a leaner topping on your crumble then the quantities can easily be halved.

gooseberrycrumbleStep 3

Sprinkle the crumble evenly on top of the fruit and bake in the centre of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm with oodles of cream, custard or ice cream.

 

 

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SodaStream Naturals Review & Fruity Fizz Recipe!

Posted on by Abi

SodaStream became a household name back in the 1980s and it’s recently been making something of a comeback. With gorgeous new machines that would grace any kitchen side, SodaStream are moving with the times. It’s not all about aesthetics though. We are all increasingly conscious of the foods we put into our bodies and the potential damage we could be doing. Fizzy drinks do not traditionally conjure up healthy images, but SodaStream have recently launched a brand new Naturals range which hopes to combat past prejudices and encourage us all that fizzy can mean healthy.

SodaStream Naturals are available in three flavours:

  1. Lemon & Lime
  2. Blackcurrant & Pear
  3. Pink Grapefruit

With a sub range created just for kids which is also available in three flavours:

  1. Apple
  2. Strawberry
  3. Orange & Peach

I received Apple, Strawberry and Lemon & Lime to review.

I was surprised by the size of the bottles, they are quite a bit larger than a standard SodaStream concentrate bottle. Each makes up six litres of sparkling soft drink and every bottle of flavouring has to be refrigerated after opening. If you open more than one bottle they take up quite a bit of space in the fridge. This was problematic for myself as I only have door storage where they will fit.

The drinks are made by carbonating tap water in your SodaStream drinksmaker. The flavouring is then carefully added. All the flavours in the Naturals range have no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners, using only cane sugar and natural fruit juices. Plus the Naturals for Kids range also contains 100% RDA of Vitamin C per serving.

Flavour wise the drinks are very refreshing and obviously more natural in taste. I would liken the flavour to a quality fruit juice, gentle, delicate and wonderfully fruity.

To really add to the appeal of this new range, they make the perfect base for fun and fizzy cocktails. The following recipe makes a non-alcoholic ‘mocktail’ that’s perfect for the kids at Christmas.

Fruit Fizzy Recipe

  • Fill a tall glass with ice.
  • Top with equal parts of SodaStream Naturals Apple and SodaStream Naturals Strawberry.
  • Garnish with an orange slice and a sliced strawberry.

Would I recommend this product?

Yes, they’re fun, fruity and have a lovely delicate taste.

Could they be improved in anyway?

I found the bottles a little hard to fit in the fridge, but this is more of a niggle than a point needing improvement.

Details

750ml bottles of SodaStream Naturals syrups are priced at £3.99 each.

SodaStream drinksmakers are available from John Lewis, Selfridges, Comet, Argos, Robert Dyas, Lakeland, Harvey Nichols, The Range, Maplin, Curry’s Megastores and selected Sainsburys, Asda and Homebase stores. Prices start at £49.99.

500ml standard flavour concentrates are priced at £3.29.

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