Galway Art School
Corrandulla, Galway, Ireland, Phone: 00353 85 7411813
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Galway Art school offer art classes in Galway, childrens art classes, art parties and more. Visit the relevant pages on this site to find the service that suits you.
In this section we want to share recipes with you for our treats that our students enjoy during their tea break at the art classes.

 

Here at Galway Art School we know that painting and drawing make you hungry. It must be the intensity of concentrating for a prolonged period of time. Once you stop, you feel ravenous. Hence, what better accompaniment to the art class than a wholesome treat at break time? Susanna loves experimenting with recipes and trying out new ones.  In this section you will find some of our students favourites.



Muffins

Muffins are a really handy little treat. Great for parties, people feel free to walk around with them in their hand. You've got them ready, portion size. No worrying about cutting, and less washing up, too. And hundreds of recipes to choose from. seriously, try googling 'muffin recipes' and you will see. Absolutely everything from pineapple muffins to fish and onion muffins. (Not so sure about those...) The last couple of years Germany has been experiencing a real 'muffin craze', so I am told. Little wonder. Anyhow, here are a couple of our favourites.

Raspberry and Chocolate Muffins.


This recipe is my own invention. I changed a basic muffin recipe to suit my needs- I wanted to combine the two classic tastes of raspberry and chocolate for that gorgeous contrast of acidic bite versus sweetness.

Preparation time: 15 mins
Baking time: 20 mins

Ingredients for 10-12 muffins in large cases:
75g butter, preferably soft
200g caster sugar or brown demerara
2 eggs
120g yoghurt natural
30 g golden syrup
1 teasp. vanilla essence
220g self-raising flour
50g plain flour
appr. 100g frozen or fresh raspberries
60g (real) chocolate sprinkles

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Combine butter, sugar, eggs and yoghurt, vanilla essence and golden syrup in a food processor and blend until smooth, alternatively beat until fluffy in a mixing bowl. Transfer to a mixing bowl if you used a food processor, then sieve in the two types of flour and mix until just combined. The dough should be solid enough, definetely not runny. If needed adda spoonful of extra flour. Use large muffin cases (Dr. Oetker), and fill them by 1/3 first. Put in the rspberries creating a layer of fruit in each cup. Fill with remaining dough. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Take them out, spoon chocolate sprinkles on top, and put back in the hot oven that you have turned off for a few minutes so the chocolate will melt slightly. Then take them out and place on a wire rack to cool. Eat the same day preferably. Would go well with whipped cream. Enjoy.


Double chocolate muffins.


Preparation time: 15 mins
Baking time: 20 mins.

Ingredients;
80g butter
80 g milk chocolate or dark chocolate
150 g yoghurt
1 teasp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
200g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
150g chocolate chips, personally I like a creamy milk chocolate

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate in a pot over small heat. Get out your bowl or food processor, and beat the 'liquid' ingredients- chocolate and butter mix, yoghurt, eggs, vanilla extract. Transfer to a baking bowl if not already using one, and sieve in the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder and cocoa. Add your chopped up chocolate now, it's particularly nice if you leave most of the chips quite large. Mix in the dry ingredients, but only until just combined. Then transfer to 9-10 muffin large cases, and bake at 200 degrees for 20 mins. Yum.


Cakes and Treats

Banana Bread.


My super-scrummy banana bread recipe is a combination of the best bits of four other recipes. I have reason to believe that you will love it. I have been told also that this is the perfect type of cake to tempt men that otherwise don't really like sweet things.
So here it goes:

Preparation time: 15 mins
Baking time: 60 mins

Ingredients:
2 Bananas mashed
120g butter, soft
30g honey, runny
120g sugar, brown demerara is good
2 eggs
85g wholemeal flour
135g plain flour wheat, but you could replace it with white spelt if you wanted  amore healthy version
3 teasp. baking powder, I should say I only use Baking powder from the health food shop as ordinary bp contains aluminium
1/2teasp. cinnamon
120g sultanas
80g chopped walnuts

Start by preheating your oven to 180 degrees. Then combine the ingredients starting from the top of the list as far as the eggs in a food processor or bowl and beat them until fluffy. Then sieve in and stir in flours and baking powder. at the end add sultanas and walnuts. Bake in a LINED loaf tin for 60 minutes and cover with silver foil after 30 minutes so that it won't brown too much. keep in mind that every oven is different, so the first time you make it you should keep a close eye on it and adjust the times to suit your situation.


Sweet Coconut Bars

This is a recipe that came from a friend. The coconut bars are a bit like bounty bars, a delectable treat both for children and adults. 

Preparation time: 10 minutes the first day, 20 minutes the second day
Baking time: No baking involved.

Ingredients:
300g desicated coconut
300g icing sugar
1 tin of condensed milk
185g cooking chocolate milk or dark

First day: In a bowl, combine icing sugar and coconut. Then add the condensed milk in batches, stirring it in every time. Stirring becomes difficult eventually. In the end the texture will be that of a kneadable dough. Knead it inside the bowl if you want making sure that all the coconut is covered in moist stuff. When the texture is right, transfer to an 8 inch square lined cake tin and press into the corners, then flatten the top. Next, put the cake tin into an airtight container and leave on the counter overnight. (Do not put in the fridge as it doesn't do well in there!) The next day, cut into bars. Melt the cooking chocolate and dip both ends of each bar in chocolate. Place on a rack until the chocolate is set. Keep in an airtight container.

Lenten treats

What to make for people for their teabreaks during painting courses during lent? A lot of people are off sugar and all the other 'good' stuff...
That's when I got into making savoury scones and speciality breads...Foccacia bread was by far the most popular. It is full of a mix of flavours, and with the rock salt on top there's a great variety of textures in every bite, too.

Foccacia Bread.


I got this recipe from "River Cottage Everyday" (Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall). It's really easy and actually quite quick. (Don't be put off by the long waiting periods for a yeast dough. There isn't much actual work involved) I love it because it's full of flavour. Can be served with a dip such as humous or guacomole. Impress your guests with this easy peasy treat!

Preparation time: 20 minutes. Start 2 1/2 hours before baking.
Baking time: 15 to 20  mins.

Ingredients:
for the dough:
500g strong flour, but I have made it successfully with plain flour; I have also made it replacing 150g of the flour with wholemeal flour for a healthier option)
10g fine sea salt
5g fast action yeast (Tesco)
2 tbsp. olive oil
to top the dough: gererous gulp of extra virgin olive oil
flaky seasalt, my favourite for flavour is grey French seasalt collected at the beach (from Evergreen)
fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped, but hey dried ones work, too

Combine flour, salt, and fast action yeast in a large bowl and mix, then add 350 ml warm water, (but not above 40 degrees)
Mix into a messy dough in the bowl, then knead on a floured work surface with floured hands until it becomes a silky elastic dough, this will take 5-10 mins.
Leave it to rise covered in a bowl in a warm place (or put a hot water bottle near it if your house is cold) until it's doubled in size, appr. 1 hour. Knock it back by kneading it and leave it for another hour until it's doubled in size again, then put into a shallow baking tin, or what I use is a springform 28 cm lined with baking paper. Press the dough into the edges. Leave to rise for 30 mins. Then, spread a generous gulp of olive oil on it, I use a brush to do this, then poke deep dimples in the dough with your fingers. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary. Bake at 250 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180 degrees for another 5 or 10 minutes. You can serve this warm, but if not warm, definetely serve it the same day.

Scones.

Scones are brilliant. There are lots of different types of scones, both sweet and savoury. They are quick to make. They are the kind of thing you can make when you have unexpected visitors. They are nutritious. Everyone loves them. And the ingredients are typically so simple that you are bound to always have them around. There are a couple of things you need to know about scones that I learned the hard way as they say. Once you follow those tips, they are very easy to make. Firstly, never knead or overwork the dough. Bring it together with a knife or fork. It is done as soon as the ingredients have come together. Secondly, scones love the heat. Always place them at the top of your oven to support them rising. Thirdly, you need a couple of simple kitchen tools, such as a rolling pin, and a round cutter for cutting out the scones. But if you don't have those handy, you can be creative: pat your dough flat rather than roll it, and cut the dough into squares with a knife instead. Now, lets start with everyones favourite:

Fruit Scones.


Preparation time: 15 mins
Baking time: 25 mins

Ingredients for appr. 8 scones when using a medium cutter:
225g self raising flour
50g brown demerara sugar
50g butter, best cold straight fromt he fridge
1 egg
110 ml milk
125g sultanas

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Mix the egg and milk in a cup and beat, set aside.
flour, butter, and sugar go into a baking bowl. Work with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sultans. Then, make a well in the middle, and pour in most of the egg and milk mixture, (but leave behind a small bit for glazing the scones.) Now, with a knife or fork, bring the dough together. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and pat or roll out quickly and only once until 2cm thick. With a cutter, cut out rounds and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. There will always be some dough left over when working with a cutter. bring this together, careful not to overwork it, and cut out the remaining scones. Glaze them using a brush or the back of a teaspoon with the remaining mixture of milk and egg. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 mins. They should b People will love them and praise you!



More recipes to come soon!


Everything Chocolate

Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Another classic, everyone loves these, but this recipe is particularly good, and very easy to make. The students on our painting courses love them.I got the recipe from a friend who lived in America for a long time, Americans sure know what they are doing when making cookies.This recipe is for 10 to 12 cookies.

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Baking time: 10 to 15 mins depending on your oven.

Ingredients:
175g plain flour
1 tsp. baking powder
75g salted butter
50g soft light brown sugar
3 tbsp. Golden Syrup, be generous
125g chocolate chips, I use cooking chocolate chopped.

Sieve your flour and baking powder into a baking bowl, and chop the butter into small pieces, work it in as for scones, rubbing it until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Then add the sugar, stir it in, and then the chocolate chip. Make a well in the middle, and add the golden syrup, then stir it in really working the mixture until most of it is bonded, then use your hands to do the rest. it should be a dough that sticks together in one lot, no crumbs left in th bowl. Then you are ready to divide the mixture into small balls of equal size, squeeze them flat and bake the lot on a lined baking tray at 190 degrees for between 10 and 15 mins until the cookies have just started to turn brown. Leave them some room to spread while baking. ?This recipe makes approximately 10 to 12 large cookies. Yum! Irresistible.


The Easiest Chocolate Cake Ever

...also gluten free and the most successful chocolate cake you'll ever make, too,once you have figured out how exactly it works out in your oven. The baking process is where the tension is with this one. You have to get it exactly right, slightly moist in the middle, but well set at the same time. You will have to experiment with your oven. Start on a safe, low temperature with a longer time and leave the cake until it's just right. From that observation you will be able to deduce the perfect setting for your circumstances. Every oven is different. The times and temperatures given below are my own. I should tell you that my oven is very hot.
The recipe itself is a Nigella Lawson recipe, but I changed a couple of ingredients as I do...

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour at 140 degrees Celsius in a preheated oven

Ingredients:
150 g good quality chocolate, I use dark chocolate for grown-ups and milk chocolate for children depending on who I am making the cake for
150 g unsalted butter
6 eggs
250g brown raw cane sugar
100g almond flour (ground almonds)
4 heaped  teaspoons cocoa powder
juice of 1 lime, optional for me
icing sugar for sprinkling if desired

Preheat your oven. 
Melt chocolate and butter in a pot over low heat, keep stirring, when melted set aside to cool.
In a large bowl beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy and moussy. In another bowl, mix almond flour and cocoa powder, then lift those under the egg and sugar mix, then lift under the chocolate and butter mixture. Pour into a lined 24cm cake tin (I use baking parchment) and bake immediately.
Should you find that the oven was too hot (when the top layer lifts off the cake) and the cake doesn't look quite right, you can still save it by covering it in butter cream, works very well with this cake. Otherwise just sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.



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