Easy2Name Blog

An Easy2name favourite, enjoy        

Key Lime Pie.

Serves 6-8

 Ingredients:

 *300g Digestive Biscuits

*1 x 15ml tablespoon cocoa powder

*120g unsalted butter, melted

*50g dark chocolate broken into squares

*1 x 397g can sweetened condensed milk

* 4 limes to give approx. 2 x 15ml tablespoons finely grated zest and 175ml juice

*300ml double cream

*Extra chocolate to decorate

Method:

Put the biscuits, cocoa powder, broken chocolate and melted butter into a food processor and process until finely chopped and thoroughly mixed. Tip into a fluted tart tin and press onto the base and up the sides. Place in the fridge to chill while you make the filling.

Pour the condensed milk into a bowl. Zest the limes into another bowl and reserve for decoration later. Add the juice of the limes to the condensed milk, whisking to mix.

Pour in the double cream and whisk together until thick, then spoon the mixture into the chilled crust and smooth the top.

Chill the pie until set… about 4 hours. When you are ready to serve, unmould the pie from the tart tin but leave it on the base.

Grate the extra chocolate onto the top of the pie and sprinkle with the reserved lime zest.

Stuck for a recipe for pancake day? We have a Mary Berry recipe that is so easy and simple.

BASIC PANCAKES – from Mary Berry’s Complete Cook Book

250g (8oz) Plain Flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
250ml (8fl oz) milk
250ml (8fl oz) water
75ml (21/2 oz) sunflower oil, plus
extra for frying
20 t0 23cm (8 to 9in) frying pan

* Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and a little of the milk and gradually blend in the flour. Whisk together the remaining milk, measured water and oil and sift into the flour mixture.

* Heat the frying pan. Brush with a little oil and pour in batter. Roll around the pan until it covers well. Cook for one minute, turn (or flip!) and cook second side until golden.

Delicious with sugar and lemon or add a scoop of ice-cream. We also love them spread with Nutella chocolate and rolled up French crepe style.

* Make approx 10 to 15 pancakes depending on how large your frying pan is and how thick you like your pancakes.

Tip: You can also make a stack of these pancakes earlier and when you want to eat them, simply reheat in microwave or fry lightly again on each side. They will also keep rolled up in your fridge to eat next day.

Enjoy

I know it is a little late to post about Christmas… but this is baking related so hopefully we will be excused. Over the Christmas holidays baking was an occurrence that happened most days- it’s Christmas (time to indulge). One of my highlights was decorating my first homemade Christmas cake- and what a joy it was. Myself and fellow Easy2name employee Holly dedicated a whole afternoon and we certainly needed it- it’s not a job you want to rush. We both kept our designs fairly straightforward, we didn’t want to be too ambition seeing as it was our first ever attempt. We were both worried about the icing (having attempted this previously and failed miserably) however we both took our time and made a grand job of it, even if we do say so ourselves! Holly’s cake was themed green and red- with pretty Holly leaves to add that special Christmas touch. I used stars, snowflakes and a Snowman for a centrepiece, the cakes were simple yet effective. We then finished the cakes off with some decorative ribbon- also very handy for hiding messy edges. We both thoroughly enjoyed making our cakes and it was rewarding to get such great feedback from family and friends.

We now have bigger and better plans for next year

CALLING ALL DOGGIE LOVERS! Check out our personalised collars and leads- all embroidered with your choice of text. They are available in a wide range of colours and sizes. All our leads and collars are machine washable. Collar and lead sets are also available. Check out Maddie the office dog showing off her new set. What a perfect Christmas gift for your beloved pet.

A yummy chocoalte brownie reciepe we wanted to share with you:

Ingredients:
110g butter
110g plain chocolate
225g caster sugar
2 beaten eggs
110g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
110g chopped walnuts
A pinch of salt

Oven Setting 180 degress celcius / Gas mark 4.

1. Grease a shallow oblong tin (approx 18 x 28 cm).
2. Break up the chocolate into a bowl and add the butter. Fit the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water.
3. When the butter and chocolate have melted, take the bowl off the heat and stir in all the other ingredients.
4. Spread the mixture into the greased baking tin and put in the oven for 30 minutes to cook.
5. Let the mixture cool in the tin for 10 minutes (it will sink a little bit)
6. Cut the brownies into squares and cool them on a wire rack.

This is an office favourite.

Ingredients: Base: * 100g (3oz) butter, melted * 250g (9oz) digestive biscuits Filling: * 100g (3oz) butter * 100g (3oz) dark brown soft sugar * 397g can Carnation Condensed Milk Topping: * 4 small bananas * 300ml carton double cream, lightly whipped * grated chocolate You will also need: * 20cm (8″) loose-bottomed cake tin, greased

1. To make the base, process the biscuits until crushed. Stir in the melted butter. Press the mixture into the base of the tin. Chill the base in the fridge while you make the filling.

2. To make the filling: place the butter and sugar into a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Add the condensed milk and bring gently to the boil, stirring continuously as it thickens. When the caramel has started to boil, remove from the heat and ddpour over the biscuit base. Cool, and then leave to chill for about 1 hour, until firm.

3. To serve, remove the pie from the tin and place on a serving plate. Slice the bananas, and layer over the caramel base. Whip the cream and put on top then decorate with the grated chocolate.

Enjoy

Chloe Katie Rimmer

On the 26th August Claire gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Chloe Katie Rimmer. She went into labour early Sunday morning but without realising, thinking she just had severe back pain. After realising later in the day that she was actually in labour Malcolm quickly rushed her to the hospital, with 25 minutes to spare! Chloe was born at Reading hospital weighing 6lbs 2 oz. Claire came to visit us girls in the office on Tuesday with Chloe, she was absolutely adorable. We all had a cuddle before they went home to start their family life together.

It was a very exciting time for us ladies in the office last week, Holly successfully got through to perform in the Olympic stadium for the closing Ceremony. We all enjoyed following the olympics and supporting team GB so this was a perfect way to end the two weeks. We all got together to try spot Holly on the TV- what a lovely evening we all had! Holly loved the whole experience, something she will remember forever!

Some of the ladies from the office went off to the Olympics on Saturday- and what a great day they had!
They both went on a bit of a sightseeing tour of London in the morning- visiting Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Hyde Park and Downing street. Claire went off in the afternoon to Horse Guards Parade to watch the Beach Volleyball. The first game was Latvia vs Germany and the second Brazil vs Czech Republic. Both were great games and the atmosphere within the arena was brilliant. Amy went off to the Olympic Park to watch the women’s Hockey. She said the Olympic Park itself was absolutely fantastic- such a great atmosphere again. The structures of the venues are phenomenal- especially the aquatic centre which has such an unusual design. The hockey match was New Zealand vs USA- which ended in a NZ victory.
Lots of Mexican waves were created throughout the match which was great fun!
They certainly both came away from the day feeling very proud to be British!

Building sandcastles is part of many childhood memeories. I certainly remember spending hours playing around on Weymouth beach. Sand sculptures are famous here. Mark Anderson (along with his Grandfather until he passed away in 2002) has built many things over the decades, from film and TV scenes to trains, cars and jungles. A trip here to see them is certainly worth it.
If you are enjoying some days at the beach, trying to build the best sandcastle ever, check out their website for some tips and ideas www.sculpturesinsand.com

They even built a sandcastle hotel here one time, have a look at this video: