Ellie Ellie Crisp Challenge

Here at Ellie Ellie, we love trying new foods and attempting a fun food challenge. Now that we are all moved into our new HQ, we had our first Ellie Ellie food challenge, in which we has to guess the various flavours of the new Walkers crisps.

It was such a fun activity for everybody at HQ. If you have a chance, have a go, it's such fun! We made one of us the crisp master, who labeled up all the packets with a number (so you don't forget which is which). All the crisps were but into bowls and one by one, we guessed the different flavours. We had various random guesses, which were not even close to the flavours, such a hummus flavour, vegetable flavour and taco flavour!

Have a go at your fun crisp challenge, and look out for another food challenge at Ellie Ellie soon. Cheese obsessed Danielle is getting ready for a cheese challenge soon!

For Fabulous Foodies Out There!

The Foodies Festival arrived in Sussex on the first May bank holiday last weekend at Brighton Hove Lawns and what a great event it was. Perfect for food and drink enthusiasts, budding cooks and bakers too.

On its fourth consecutive year, each year the event brings together some of the best food around for visitors to try and sample. With cookery classes and how to sessions as well, the event catered to everybody no matter how you wanted to spend the day. 

I arrived to the glorious smell of different types of food and drink and found it hard to decide what to eat first, a lovely choice of pad Thai and satay chicken, along with freshly cooked dim sum won the contest and i was not disappointed (even going back for seconds). This was not the only tasty food on offer, with Paella, duck wraps, noodles, bbq, hog roast, olives, cheeses and chutneys on offer! 

Here are some of the pictures i snapped throughout the day!

This event is not just limited to Sussex, and the Foodies Festival visits different places throughout the summer! Find out more about where you can find the next festival here and enjoy!

Arundel Food Festival!

Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of October 2013 sees the Arundel Food Festival take place in the community of Arundel!

Celebrating the fourth annual food festival, events take place throughout the town and surrounding countryside on the 19th and 20th as well as the following week.

The historic market town of Arundel is uniquely positioned between the idyllic South Downs National Park and the Sussex coast.

 

This enables the festival to provide some of the freshest and tastiest food and drink in the South East for a great weekend!

With great events going on throughout the festival, there are many enthusiastic participants taking part in the festival.

Saturday sees the Arundel Farmers Market, which is a great way to kick-start the festival and with more than 40 stalls it brings together the best food and drink suppliers across West Sussex!

With other events such as bread making, cheese tasting, fudge making and the beer and cider festival, the weekend is sure to be a great weekend for food lovers!

To find out more about the festival visit the website now!

Goodwood Bank Holiday Weekend

Goodwood have a treat lined up for families on the August Bank Holiday starting this Friday (23^rd) as they rekindle the British nostalgic Summer Holidays of yesteryear, just what Ellie Ellie likes to hear.

The Goodwood August Bank Holiday Weekend provides a three-day festival of 1950s fun and excitement, with traditional entertainment, live music and lovely food. 

There is fun for all the family at this superb festival, including an old fashioned fun fair and magnificent racing!

Pop over to the Goodwood website for all the details and get excited for what is sure to be a great weekend with the family!

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend!!

The Ultimate Summer Treat- Frozen Berry Parfait

Perfect for that after dinner treat, or even with a glass of pink lemonade on a sunny afternoon; this great alternative ice cream is sure to be a winner! 

Ingredients-

• 400g raspberries
• 300ml double cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites
• 100g golden caster sugar

Start by lining a 900g loaf or terrine tin with clingfilm. Blend 300g of the raspberries to a purée then sieve, using a nylon sieve. Keep the rest of the raspberries whole then whip the cream and vanilla extract to very soft peaks.

Next pop the sugar in a pan with 11/2 tbsp water. Heat very gently until the sugar dissolves then turn up the heat and boil for 2 minutes. Whilst the sugar is boiling whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. You pan should now be filled with a syrup, start to pour in a thin stream onto the egg whites, whisking all the time! Keep whisking until the meringue has cooled completely.

Then fold the meringue into the cream bit by bit. Divide the mix between 2 bowls. Add the raspberry purée to one bowl and fold it in, then chill.

Pour the plain mixture into the bottom of the tin, then carefully push in the remaining berries. Freeze for 1.5 hours then take out and add the chilled raspberry flavoured mix. Freeze for at least 3 hours or until you want to serve. Take out of the freezer 20 minutes before serving.

The recipe serves eight people so perfect for summer dinner parties, or of course to keep in the freezer to indulge in when you fancy! 

Check out the full recipe here.

Bake it! Rhubarb Custard Tea Cake Recipe

As you can imagine, this was a pretty exciting discovery with the Ellie Ellie girls. We are all avid bakers and are always on the look out for something a bit different; its Lindsay's turn to bake this week and we can barely contain ourselves! Will be eating this by the wedge, with a nice cup of tea on Monday!

tweet us a photo of your cakey masterpiece @ellieelliecouk

Get baking - Chocolate and Banana Bread! Perfect Easter Recipe.

Looks good, huh?

Here's what you'll need:

• 100g plain chocolate
• 150g unsalted butter , softened
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 25g cocoa
• 2 large banana peeled and mashed 

For the streusel topping:

• 25g unsalted butter
• 2 generous tbsp plain flour
• 1 level tbsp demerara sugar.

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the bases of 2 x 450g loaf tins with baking parchment. To make the streusel topping, rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the demerara sugar and chopped pecans. Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or in a small glass bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and remove from the heat.
2. Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the egg, beating well between each addition. Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in using a large metal spoon. Add the mashed banana and chocolate and mix well.
3. Divide the mixture between the 2 tins and top each with the streusel. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a rack, then wrap in baking parchment or foil.

Easter Cake Recipe- Sweet, cheap, easy and guaranteed to slap a few smiles on a few faces.

Easter eggs?! Esshhhh, Cliché.

I think we can do a little bit better then a mass produced Easter egg this year guys! We’d like to share with you an age old recipe...maybe one of the best recipes of all time.  The humble Chocolate Cornflake Cake, Easter style!

So easy to make they’d be a great afternoon activity with the kids, or if you’re feeling particularly charitable why not make them for your partner in crime? Definitely win you some brownie points (pun alert).

Our recipe allows for 12 little cakes- they’ll take you about 30 minutes to make (2 minutes to eat) and don’t even require any baking! Brilliant!

Ingredients

    225g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
    2 tbsp golden syrup
    50g  butter
    75g cornflakes

    36 mini chocolate eggs (or a few packets, to you and me!)

Grab yourself a cupcake tray and pop in your cake cases. The chocolate then needs to be melted in a bowl, along with the golden syrup and butter over a pan of gently simmering water, (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water otherwise all hell will break lose). Stir the mixture until silky smooth. Take off the heat and then begin to softly fold in your cornflakes until all the cereal is nicely coated in the mixture!

 Divide the mixture evenly between the paper cases and then add about 3 chocolate eggs into the centre of each. Pop in the fridge for about an hour until they are completely set and VOILA! The yummiest scrummiest (if not easiest) little treats around!

 Great idea if you're purse is a bit light but you still fancy spreading some Easter love.  Share them with friends, family or even office pals (chocolate smells suspiciously like a ticket to your boss's good book to us!)