Green Apple Cafe Rocky Road

My very favourite treat at the Green Apple Cafe (and the one most likely to run out in the space of one hour due to people buying extra to take away!) is our Rocky Road. Some people think of this as more of a chocolate biscuit cake or no-bake cake, and almost everyone has a verision of this in their repertoire but this is my favourite. It is a great treat to make with children (especially if you use the microwave version for safety) and left at room temperature for a few minutes, tastes almost like chocolate fudge.... delicious.

Green Apple Cafe Rocky Road
125g  butter
75g golden syrup
200g dark chocolate,  broken into pieces
1 egg
50g chocolate digestive biscuits
50g walnuts or hazelnuts
50g mini marshmallows
50g cranberries
50g glacé cherries

Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper then set aside.
Melt the butter and syrup together in a small saucepan over a gentle heat until they begin to boil. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended over a saucepan of barely simmering water (or in the microwave) , add to the butter and golden syrup.
Add the egg very slowly to the hot chocolate mixture (it needs to amalgamate well not turn into chocolatey scrambled egg) and stir well.
Break up the biscuits into good sized chunks and add to the chocolate with the marshmallows, nuts, cranberries and the cherries.
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and leave to set in the fridge overnight (or around 4 hours if you can't bear to wait). Remove from the fridge and cut into slices.

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne Cupcakes

Doesn't this look gorgeous. Ok, so its stretching the truth a little to call it a cupcake but it definitely holds lasagne and isn't it sweet? I made a big pile of them in all different flavours to serve at the cafe and another pile for visitors heading out for a loch-side picnic, next I will try them as little mini cupcakes for a party.

Lasagne is one of my all-time favourite comfort foods so a mini portable version seemed like a cute idea. In Scotland we can't be too complacent about the weather at any time of the year so planning a summer picnic becomes a hazardous activity. We made the cupcakes, then double wrapped them in foil to keep them from cooling down too quickly and sent them on their way to warm up our guests as they sat appreciating Loch Lomond on a blustery summer's day.

As well as the spinach/ricotta cupcakes there are butternut squash/goat cheese and venison/Isle of Mull cheddar cupcakes.
Oh and they freeze well so can be defrosted and heated up in a warm oven for a speedy supper, how cool is that?

Lasagne Cupcakes (spinach, ricotta and walnut)

2 tbsp olive oil                                                                                      

1 pack (170g) filo pastry sheet              

1 pack fresh lasagne sheets

Good quality tomato sauce (bought or home-made)

300g fresh spinach, cooked and with any excess liquid squeezed out

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

50g walnuts, chopped roughly

250g ricotta cheese

100g grated parmesan cheese 

Prepare a muffin or cupcake tin by spraying or brushing lightly with oil. Cut filo pastry into squares slightly bigger than you need to fit your muffin or cupcake tin. Line each cupcake tin with 2 layers of filo pastry, one on top of the other with the excess hanging over the edges.  Stir the walnuts and nutmeg through the spinach. Cut circles of lasagne to fit the cupcake tin with a cookie cutter.

 

To assemble:

In the bottom of each cupcake, place one layer of lasagne. 

Next top with a tablespoon of tomato sauce, then a spoonful of spinach. 

Finally top with a dollop of ricotta and another layer of lasagne. 

Repeat until your cupcake is full. 

Top each filled filo pastry "cake" with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. 

Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes until brown and gorgeous.

Broccoli Soup with Blue Cheese Croutons

It has been such a beautiful week that I have laid aside all thoughts of cold weather soups and instead have become obsessed with salad platters, barbecue food and picnic parties. The Green Apple Cafe has been busy but we are approaching the new summer season and I need to plan a whole new menu. I'd love to attract tourists holidaying the in the area and families looking for a relaxed place to visit during the summer holidays as well as keeping all our regulars coming to the cafe during the summer break.

We are open thursdays and fridays all through the summer holidays and seasonal salads, tapas-style plates and freshly made paninis and sandwiches will be on the menu along with frappés, milkshakes and smoothies. All this warm weather food means I am experimenting like mad at home trying to come up with new salads, soups and fresh flavours for summer. Blue cheese and broccoli are a magical combination, the blue cheese transforming the soup from a light and frugal meal into a rich and complex supper dish.

If the weather stays as beautiful, come and enjoy the gardens and playpark. If the skies open, just come along and enjoy the food! 

Broccoli Soup with Blue Cheese Croutons

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500ml vegetable stock
350g broccoli, chopped roughly
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes
Salt, pepper and fresh nutmeg
4 thin slices of baguette or other crusty bread
2 tbsp olive oil
100g blue cheese


Preheat the oven to 160C.
For the soup:
Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions and garlic together until soft.  
Add the stock and broccoli together along with the chopped potatoes. 
Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are tender. 
Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. 
Season to taste with salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg.

For the croutons:
Brush the bread with olive oil then top with sliced or crumbled blue cheese (depending on the texture of the cheese)
Place the slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until the bread is crispy and the cheese melted. 
Cut the bread into small squares. 
Serve the soup scattered with a few blue cheese croutons.

Thai Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

The weather gods are on our side this week, West Linton must be in favour. The sun is out, the sky is blue and the cafe is buzzing.

We are working hard to get word out about the Green Apple Cafe, dropping flyers, setting up a facebook page, tweeting regularly, I hope it gets everyone in our local area to come by and visit, catch up with friends and try out our new menu. Every day we make fresh soups, salads, paninis and lots of yummy cakes.

At home, I am testing out new soup recipes to add some spice to the summer menu. If we have the predicted "barbecue summer" we will be needing some fresh and light flavours to entice people in so we are experimenting with flavours from hotter climes: India, Thailand and the Middle East. We've had curried butternut squash soup, chicken noodle soup with lemongrass and ginger and today, a gentle sweetly spiced Thai soup with creamy coconut milk and a little bit of a chilli kick.

Thanks to everyone who has come out to support us in our first few weeks, I hope you all come back again soon.

Thai Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
 
1tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
2 heaped tsp Thai red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 litre chicken stock
1 kilo sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
Fresh Thai basil or coriander to serve

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Saute the onions and garlic gently until soft - around 5 minutes.
Stir in the curry paste and fry gently for anonther minute or two to release the flavours from the spices.
Add the coconut milk and chicken stock, bring to a simmer and stir to blend.
Put the sweet potatoes  in the pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes until they are soft.
Blend the soup to a smooth puree then season to taste with salt and lots of black pepper.
Sprinkle with basil or coriander and serve with hot naan bread.