Viennese fingers

This recipe was mostly from Mary Berry’s baking bible - I say mostly, because when I’d done what Mary suggested it did not remotely resemble something that could be piped out, and so I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mix in order to get it more into a dough.  This is the first time I’ve ever used a piping bag and it’s fair to say that it hasn’t gone brilliantly!  I just didn’t get it!  I’m sure it’s a practice making perfect thing so I will keep trying.  There is no uniformity whatsoever to these biscuits so I don’t doubt that Mary would give me no points for presentation. However, these went down a treat here and I was surprised at how much they did taste like a Viennese finger, so I’m glad I gave it a go.

Pear crumble

More correctly this should be pear and ginger crumble.  Not sure which book it’s from but it is a Jamie Oliver recipe. Once again, Jamie never fails on his flavours and the ginger element of this crumble, both in the topping and the fruit itself,  along with the juice and zest of a lime make the dish absolutely sing.  A total winner - thanks Jamie.