Wednesday 29 July 2009

Cooking with Craig....

...and Happy Birthday Rob!

Last month we celebrated Hannah Oddy's 24th birthday with a 'lovely' Hannah Montana cake...to follow on from the (very new) tradition of extra special birthday cakes we sent Craig back into the kitchen to work his magic.

This time he really surpassed himself (and has a lot to live up to on the next birthday!).

His very special strawberry cheesecake (complete with a very fetching pink birthday candle) went down an absolute treat, and he has now set a precedent for birthday cakes from now on!

Biscuit base
100g unsalted butter, plus a little to grease the tin
200g digestive biscuits
50g caster sugar

Filling
500g cream cheese, at room temperature
200g caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp cornflour
300g sour cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
How to make...
1 Lightly grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin.
2 Melt the butter gently in a small pan on a low heat. Roughly break up the biscuits and place them in a food processor. Process the biscuits for 2-3 minutes until they resemble fine crumbs. Add the sugar, then pour in the melted butter and process for 30 seconds to combine.
3 Put the biscuit mixture into the base of the tin, using the back of a tablespoon to smooth the surface evenly. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4 Rinse out the processor bowl. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl and process for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cornflour, cream and vanilla essence, and process for 30 seconds to combine.
5 Pour the filling into the tin and bake in a low oven at 150C/Gas 2 for 1 hour. When cooked, the cheesecake should be well risen, with a golden-brown top. It should feel slightly firm to touch - if the mixture still appears wet, continue to bake a little longer. When cooked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door open. When completely cool, place in the fridge.

Credit for the above to Gordon Ramsay!

For the additional topping that’s all my own:

1 Pack of Raspberries
2 (heaped) tablespoons of raspberry jam
100ml cold water
70g sugar

This ones an easy part, simply throw all the ingredients in a pan and simmer until the ingredients have fully dissolved, continue until the mixture has no loose water left and has started to thicken.

Cool quickly by placing the pan into a sink filled with cold water for several minutes (whilst stirring) once this is fairly cool to the touch spread generously over the top of the cheesecake and return to the fridge to set.

And the winner is...

We've been running a bit of a competition here at ID over the last couple of months. After a bit of a website redesign and a reconsideration of our 'offerings' we decided it was high time we found out what our current clients actually thought about us!

With the enticing offer of a bottle of champers up for grabs we sent out a feedback form and asked our lovely clients if they wouldn't mind filling it out for us.

After an overwhelming response...a massive thank you to everyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to take part - we got ready to choose a winner.

Congratulations Leanie Welch from Bodycote!

Our MD, Karen, presented Leanie with the bottle of bubbly last week. Suffice to say our lucky winner was very happy indeed, and was looking forward to spending the weekend with her feet up in the garden and a lovely glass (or two) of fizz.

Tuesday 28 July 2009

New website for IFHTSE...

The International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE) is a not for profit body founded in Switzerland.

IFHTSE's central function is to promoter and generate international communications on important scientific issues.

Requirement
IFHTSE were looking for an easily maintained site that would provide clients with information about IFHTSE as well as up to date news on the company and events that were being held around the world.

The redevelopment
Since its redevelopment the website provides IFHTSE members and interested parties with a wealth of information about the company, its structure and education and training programmes.

Built using our CMS Express the site allows IFHTSE to add and update content quickly and efficiently. We also provided them with a bespoke secure members area, allowing registered users to log into the site to obtain more specific information on the company.

Visit the website

Wednesday 15 July 2009

Cooking with Craig...

We had an unexpected treat the other day when our Support Manager, Craig brought in some goodies that he had rustled up the night before.

The chocolate and vanilla cream pastry parcels were absolutely delicious, and the only complaint we heard was that he hadn't made more!

If you fancy trying them for yourself his receipe is below...

Required:
300ml whipping cream
Cocoa Powder
Cooking chocolate (milk rather than plain)
Filo Pastry Sheets
1 Shallow Muffin Tray
1 Vanilla Pod (fresh)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
Approximately 2 tablespoons golden syrup

· Take a regular sized muffin tin suitable for fairy cakes etc, remove 2 sheets of filo pasty and cut into 9 equal shaped squares
· Lightly grease the muffin tray & press the squares into the holes, pinching the corners
· Place a small piece of chocolate into the bottom of each one & then place a small square (just big enough to cover the chocolate) of filo pastry over the top
· Place these in the oven at gas mark 6 for approximately 8 minutes (or until just turning brown and crispy)
· Using a spoon squash the chocolate blocks in the parcels so the entire base is covered.
· Allow these to cool
· Split the vanilla pod and scrape out all the seeds into a small bowl, add the caster sugar and cream
· Whip the mixture until very thick
· Place the cream into a piping bag with a star shaped nozzle
· Once the parcels are cool put a large drop of golden syrup into the bottom of each & begin piping the cream in...don’t be shy, fill them all up!
· Once done place a spoonful of cocoa into a sieve and dust the finished articles
· Enjoy!

Friday 3 July 2009

Why get a content management system?

The majority of the sites we create here at ID are built using one of our very own content management systems. Take a look at the benefits to see if it would help your website...

Manage your own content
A key benefit of a CMS is that you are in control of your content and updates. There's no need to go back to your developer everytime you want to post a news item, or update some details. The ID content management systems are all web based as well, allowing you to update them from anywhere you can access the internet - and with no need to download any tricky applications.

Cost saving and efficiency
While the initial cost may be more than that of an html site the cost saving benefits of a CMS far outweigh that. By having control over your own content updates there is no need for costly developer input whenever you need to make a change. By cutting out a third party for content updates you're also adding to the speed and efficiency with which you can update...no need for out of date information to sit on your site for months!

Keep it fresh
Site visitors hate to see out of date content and old, invalid information. Keeping your content fresh and news - even by simply updating your news pages - shows visitors that your company is constantly evolving.

No need to be a technical whizz kid
Absolutely no programming skills are required to find your way around the CMS. It is easy to log in, navigate to the area you want to update and use a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You GET) to update your content. If you can use Word then using the ID CMS is simple!

Search engine friendly
Getting your website found is key to a site's success. All of our CMS's are built to include simple SEO tools, allowing you to make a start on optimisation (of course, if you want something even more in depth we can help you out with that as well!)

Fancy having a go on our CMS and seeing just how easy it is? Get in touch and we'll set you up a demo.