Donal Skehan's Raspberry Goddess Pie

I always love Donal Skehan's recipes so when I saw him making this on Kitchen Hero: HomeCooked, I had to try it! It was very easy to make. I used our own freshly picked raspberries loganberries and it was extremely delicious!

Raspberry Goddess Pie

Ingredients 
225g plain flour
125g caster sugar
125g cold butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
250g raspberries
200ml crème fraîche
Handful of raspberries, to decorate
Small handful of mint sprigs, to decorate
Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method

1. Whizz together the flour, sugar, butter, vanilla extract and baking powder in a food processor until it forms a dough.
2. Press the dough into a lined baking tin with a removable base. Pop in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 225˚C.
4. Mix together the raspberries and creme fraiche in a bowl and then spread over the base of the pie dough.
5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Then lower the heat to 150˚C and bake for a further 15 minutes.
6. Allow to cool and serve slices with vanilla ice cream.
7. Enjoy

Donal Skehan's Dig-In Beef Fajitas

A few weeks ago, my Mam got Donal Skehan's new book, Kitchen Hero. When I was flicking through the book I found these beef fajitas and they sounded delicious so I made them for dinner. Then last night Donal's show Kitchen Hero was on RTÉ 1 and he made these fajitas also!! The first episode was great and if you missed it you can watch it on Donal's Website.

Donal Skehan's Dig-In Beef Fajitas

Ingredients
400g (14oz) striploin steak, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 peppers (red, green and yellow), sliced into strips
A small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Sea salt
8 wholemeal tortilla wraps

To Serve
Guacamole
Salsa
Soured cream
100g (31/2oz) Cheddar cheese, grated


Method
1. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, chilli powder, oregano, cumin and black pepper then add the beef and toss until coated. Cover and place in the fridge.
2. Heat half the sunflower oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and peppers and fry for 3-4 minutes until caramelised. Set the vegetables aside in a dish.
3. Add an extra drizzle of oil to the pan and fry the marinated beef for 3 minutes until cooked but still tender. Make sure the pan is hot before cooking the beef.
4. Add the reserved onions and peppers and the coriander and stir through then season with salt to taste.
5. Heat the tortilla wraps in the microwave for 40 seconds and cover with foil to keep warm.
6. To assemble, spread a little guacamole on a tortilla, add some steak, peppers and onion and then top with soured cream and cheese.

Donal Skehan's Crunchie Sticky Banoffee Pie

This is another recipe from The Good Mood Food Blog. This banoffee pie is really nice. The base is simple. It’s just mixing digestive biscuits and butter together! I find the flavour of the banana in the banoffee pie is a bit strong, but it’s still nice.

Donal Skehan's Crunchie Sticky Banoffee Pie

Ingredients
Serves 6 
1 can condensed milk (297g)
230g digestive biscuits, about 16 crushed finely
115g butter, melted
3 bananas
250ml of cream
3 crunchie bars, roughly chopped

Method

1. In a small high sided pot, cover the tin and boil the unopened can of condensed milk for 2 hours, keep an eye on it making sure the water level is always above the top of the can.

2. While the can is boiling, prepare the base of the pie.
Mix together the crushed digestive biscuits with the melted butter until they are combined and then spread the mixture evenly over the base of a 18cm cake tin with a removable base.

3. Cover and chill for 2 hours in the fridge.
When the can has finished boiling remove from the water and allow to cool. When the can is cool to the touch, open and spread the caramelised condensed milk over the biscuit base.

4. Slice the bananas evenly and arrange over the caramel.
Whip the cream until it is just about stiff and spread on top of the bananas.

5. Sprinkle the crunchie bar over the top of the cream as artistically as you feel necessary! Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Donal Skehan's Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Oreo Cupcakes

I found this recipe off Donal Skehan's Blog. I was lucky enough to meet Donal at the Taste of Dublin Festival. These taste really nice and are easy to make.

Donal Skehan's Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients
175g of self raising flour
110g of soft margarine or butter
110g of caster sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 large eggs
50g of good quality chocolate chips
50ml of water/milk

For the Oreo Cream frosting
250ml of fresh cream.
25g of icing sugar.
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
8 oreo cookies, crushed.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 ̊ C/350 ̊ F/gas mark 4. Line a cupcake tray with paper cases. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips.
2. Make a well in the center of the bowl and break in the 2 eggs. Using an electric hand mixer beat all the ingedients together until combined. Add in half the milk/water and beat again until combined. You are looking for the batter to be light and creamy.
3. Add the rest of the liquid if you need it you may not. Divide the batter evenly into the paper cases and place in an oven for 15-20 minutes or until firm and light brown on top. Allow to cool on a wire rack before applying the oreo cream.
4. For the Oreo frosting, simply beat the cream, vanilla extract, and icing sugar until it becomes thick. Gently fold in the oreo cookie crumbles and spoon the mixture into an icing bag with a large round nozzle.
5. Squeeze the oreo cream onto the cupcakes and top with broken cookies.

Me with Donal Skehan at Taste Of Dublin