Say farewell to winter and hello spring, with fresh homemade recipes from Tate & Lyle Sugars. Your picnic basket has never looked so tasty!
Bake delicious savoury Spring Garden Foccacia, bursting with colour, nutrients and flavour, followed by a fuss-free No Bake Eton Mess Cheesecake, sure to put a spring in your step.
SPRING GARDEN FOCACCIA
Ingredients
Strong bread 500 g
Strong bread flour 500 g
Golden caster sugar NaN ml
Fast-action dried yeast 7 g
Pinch of herbs (rosemary, basil)
Choice of vegetables cherry tomatoes, spring onion, red onions, peppers
Olives black or green
Sun-dried tomatoes
Instructions
Step 1
Sift the bread flour into a mixing bowl and add 1 tsp salt. Whisk together to combine and leave to one side. Fill a jug with 300ml lukewarm water and stir through the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top and leave it aside for 10 minutes. A foam layer will form on top of the water.
Step 2
Pour the water into the dough with 2 tbsp olive oil and stir them together to make a sticky but soft dough. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead for 10 minutes until bouncy, with an elastic feel. Keep slapping it down onto the work surface and stretching it out, repeating the motion when kneading the dough. Avoid adding additional flour, to avoid drying the dough out.
Step 3
Clean your mixing bowl, lightly grease it with olive oil and then place the dough in.
Step 4
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave it to one side in a warm place for 2 hours.
Step 5
Once it has doubled in size it is ready for the next stage.
Step 6
Slide the risen dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface, knocking it back into a round ball.
Step 7
Lightly grease a 28cm x 18cm baking tray with olive oil and put the dough into the tin. Gently stretch it out so it is the same shape as the tin. It should expand to fill it. Cover the top of the tin with cling film and put it in the fridge to rise overnight.
Step 8
Take the focaccia out of the fridge and set it aside for 1 hour before you bake it. Gently use your fingers to poke dimples in the top of the dough and drizzle with olive oil and a bit of salt. Preheat your oven to 230°C.
Step 9
Prepare your toppings from the “garden” using mixed herbs, soft veg, olives, antipasto and sundried tomatoes. Use your vegetables to create your arrangement on your focaccia. We used onions, tomatoes, spring onions and olives. Then add your herbs to create the leaves.
Step 10
Once added to your focaccia place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until golden and risen. It should be hollow to touch.
Step 11
Take your focaccia out of the oven and let it cool before carefully removing it from the tin, then place it on a wire rack and finish to cool. Add extra olive oil for extra deliciousness.
NO-BAKE ETON MESS CHEESECAKE
Cold butter, unsalted 80 g
Digestive biscuits 150 g
Strawberries Cut into quarters 400 g
Fairtrade Tate & Lyle Icing Sugar 115 g
Cream cheese 560 g
Double cream 400 ml
Vanilla extract 2 tsp
Meringue nest Broken into smaller pieces 3
Instructions
Line the base of 20 cm springform or loose-bottom tin with baking parchment.
Place the biscuits into sandwich bag and use the rolling pin to crush them into fine crumbs (you can also use food processor).
Transfer the crushed biscuits into a medium bowl and mix with melted butter until the mixture resembles the texture of the wet sand. Transfer this mixture into prepared baking tin and press firmly with the spoon to create the base. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes, while you prepare the filling.
Blitz 200 g of strawberries with 15 g (1 Tbsp) of Tate & Lyle Cane Icing Sugar and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese, the remaining 100 g of Tate & Lyle Cane Icing Sugar and vanilla in a bowl to combine.
Whip 250 ml of double cream until soft peaks, then fold it through the cream cheese mixture.
Pour the mixture over the chilled cheesecake base, level it out and smooth the top with the spatula or back of the spoon. Chill for minimum of 4 hours, or ideally, overnight.
Release chilled cheesecake from the tin. Whip the remaining double cream until soft peaks, transfer into piping bag and pipe on top of the cheesecake.
Top the cheesecake with the remaining strawberries and pieces of the meringue and drizzle with strawberry syrup. Slice & enjoy!