Cook the Books - April

Week One:  Fresh grapes and freshly picked rosemary.  A nice simple Focaccia recipe from here.

Verdict:  Why did  I ever wait so long to make this.  Just make sure you start it when you are not starving already.

Week Two:  Autumn obviously brings out the bread maker in me.  Because The Scout, Miss B and Mr J weren't going to be home for Easter, I decided to do some Easter baking a week early.  From Chelsea Winter's  book, Scrumptious, I made Chelsea Bunny Easter Scrolls.  Lightly spiced, and with a chocolaty (I used quite a bit less that what the recipe said too) fruity filling, these were simple if somewhat time consuming (while waiting for dough to rise) bun to make.

Verdict:  I didn't glaze them as we are still trying to not add too much extra sugar to our food, however this did not affect the taste at all.  They were a big hit, and I would definitely make them again.

Week Three:  Chocolate was in order after a week of work stresses . This recipe for Chocolate Custard Cake was in the April edition of delicious magazine.  It features in Valli Little's new book My Kind of Food. A very easy dessert to make. Lots of very similar recipes available on the internet.

Verdict:  It looks rich and decadently sweet, but it isn't, which was a nice surprise. Not a hit with Mr J, who doesn't like anything custard (we told him it was a mousse) but the rest of us enjoyed it.

Week Four:  Feijoa season means buckets of the fruit given to us by our neighbours.  While we all enjoy them raw, it is nice to try different ways of using them.  This recipe for Feijoa and Custard Crumble Tart was actually one that fortuitously popped up on my Facebook page .

Verdict: Not really a difficult recipe to make, we all enjoyed it warm for afternoon tea, including Mr J who didn't realise it had a custard filling.


Due to lack of interest in the Cook the Books Link up, I will not be continuing it, however Cook the Books posts will still carry on as usual for at least the rest of the year.