A crumble is a lovely dessert during Autumn and Winter. I make okay crumbles, my wonderful girlfriend makes amazing crumbles. This blog post is how my wonderful girlfriend made a ‘Pear and Plum’ Crumble, rather than an ‘Apple Crumble’. The reason why it was pear and plum was to use up some fruit. I now strongly believe a fruit crumble is a grand way to use up fruit.

Please note: This recipe should not be attempted by children, unless supervised by an adult.

What you need:

• 4 Pears (we used a tin of pears)
• 6 Plums
• 2 heaped tablespoons of Butter
• 4 heaped tablespoons of Flour
• 2 tablespoons of Sugar
• Mixing bowl
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Wooden spoon
• Pyrex Dish

Step 1 – Prepare the fruit.

Wash your fruit, then peel and remove the core of the pears. Also remove the stones from the plums. Chop the fruit and place in the pyrex dish. Sprinkle one tablespoon of sugar over the fruit and stir in well. Now my girlfriend used pears and plums, but you could use apples or another fruit. Many fruits are suitable for this recipe.

Step 2 – Create the Crumble.

Put the flour and the butter in a mixing bowl and rub together until it turns into bread crumbs. Stir in a tablespoon of sugar and mix well.

Step 3 – Bring together and then cook.

Spread out the crumble mix over the fruit. Then place in the middle shelf of a pre-heated oven on gas mark 4 for thirty minutes or until golden brown on top.

Suitable on its own or with cream, custard or ice-cream. Enjoy! I know I did.

Want to know how to make chocolate cornflake cakes? If you don’t, you should! These delicious naughty chocolate treats are incredibly simple to make, but wonderful to eat. My better half made some last week and the twenty chocolate cornflake cakes vanished within a matter of days. So if you want to cook a lovely treat, why not give these a go?

How to Make the Chocolate Cornflake Cakes

What you need

- A bag or box of cornflakes.

- 300g bar of Milk Chocolate suitable for home baking.

- A large glass bowl.

- Wooden spoon.

- A small saucepan.

- Baking cases (what each cake sits in).

- Cake baking tray (with places for individual cakes to sit).

- Heat prove mat.

We brought our chocolate and cornflakes from Tesco.

Step 1 – Melt the chocolate.

Pour water into a saucepan until it is a quarter full and then bring to a simmer, but not allowing it to boil. Then on your counter break up the chocolate and place into the glass bowl. When the water in the saucepan is simmering, place the bowl on top of the saucepan and stir the chocolate whilst it melts. Remember not to allow the water to boil.

Step 2 – Pour the Cornflakes into the bowl.

Once the chocolate is melted, turn the heat off to the saucepan. Then place the glass bowl onto your heat proof mat. Now pour in the cornflakes in stages, stirring them into the chocolate. Use your best judgment, but don’t be tempted to use too many cornflakes. All the cornflakes need to be thickly covered. My better half used under half a tesco value cornflake bag.

Step 3 – Place in the baking cases.

Put your cake tray on the side, then place baking cases in each slot. Using the wooden spoon place the chocolate cornflakes into the baking cases. Leave them to cool on the side, then once cooled transfer into a box once set and then place into your fridge for a couple of hours.

I think the secret is to store these in the fridge, which probably adds to the chocolate cornflakes cakes being extra solid and crunchy. If you get the mixture of chocolate and cornflakes right, they are quite solid. Hope you enjoy!

Those who follow me on twitter will often read my tweets about cooking veggie fry-ups. One of my favourite additions is mushrooms and onions and here is a quick ‘how to’. This version does not use oil or a frying pan.

What you need:

• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Margarine or Butter
• Saucepan
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Wooden spoon

How to cook:

Step 1 – Chop the mushroom and onions!

I’m pretty lucky when it comes to peeling onions, I rarely cry. Perhaps it is because I try and breathe more through my mouth and have the window open. Small onions I will chop in half once peeled or large ones into quarters. I always wash the mushrooms before I chop them, but I never peel them.

Step 2 – Place them into the saucepan.

Depending on whether you want to have just mushrooms and onions on toast or accompany a dish, plus how many people you are cooking for will dedicate the size of the saucepan.

If the breakfast is only mushrooms, onions and toast for two people then I will use a large saucepan. If they are accompanying other items such as plum tomatoes, hash browns, beans etc, then I will use a small saucepan.

Step 3 – Add the margarine or butter.

I used to always cook the butter for a few minutes before I added the onions and mushrooms, these days I rarely bother. Instead I place generous helpings of butter throughout the pan before cooking.

Step 4 – Cook!

I place the saucepan on the hob with the lid slightly off and cook for around twenty minutes, but I stir occasionally. However in the accompanying photo I forgot for a few moments and slightly burnt them!! By using the lid you are helping to cook them and use less butter in the process.

My favourite way to cook mushrooms is actually with flavoured oil in a frying pan and served with fresh bread, but this is tasty as well.

Let’s talk about cheese! The following short blog post is going to focus on extra mature cheddar cheese, my favourite type of cheese. Though I do appreciate stilton, brie and a many other types, including cheap spread and processed slices!

When I was a young child I would have black pepper added to my cheese sandwiches and in later years I grew to appreciate extra mature cheddars. Many cheddar cheeses that others deem mature I find hard to enjoy, unless grilled or supported by mustard, pepper, pickle or a delicious chutney.

Really strong mature cheddars I enjoy in sandwiches, with crackers or bruschetta. Extra mature cheddars are great for a weekend treat or to serve with other types of cheese on a cheese board after a meal. As you would expect it can be quite expensive, so the majority of the time I do not indulge in my extra mature cheddar passion.

When my wonderful girlfriend and I treat ourselves we do not just go for strength, but accompanying personality as well as being suitable for vegetarians. We love Collier’s, Cornish Cruncher, Tickler, Vintage Farmhouse Cheddar from Tesco and many others.

Why not leave a comment about your favourite cheeses or write a blog post?