Domestic Goddess in Training

I've moved

2009-12-09T22:14:00.002+00:00

With a new decade upon us I've decided to move the blog, change name and hopefully include more of Hubs' fantastic food projects. To be honest I don't think he wants to be known as a goddess!

We can now be found at www.thebutcherthebaker.wordpress.com

See you there!

Fresh from the oven - White Tin Loaf

2009-11-28T00:01:00.006+00:00

Since baking my own bread I can't remember the last time I bought a sliced loaf. As much as I love all the artisan style bread I bake, sometimes only a traditional white tin loaf will do and shop-bought bread certainly doesn't cut the mustard for me any more. When I found out that this months Fresh from the Oven's host was going to be Linda from With Knife & Fork and she had chosen White Tin Loaf I was really pleased.

This recipe uses a different kneading method to what I'm used to and sometimes the urge to whack all the ingredients into the KitchenAid can be to much, but this time I stuck with it and was genuinely impressed with the results. When I initially read the kneading instructions I could see how it could work, but I was proven wrong.

It produced a loaf with amazing oven spring and the perfect texture and size for bacon cobs. Although it doesn't have the strong taste like some of my bread does this makes it great for simple sandwiches. Everyone once in a while wants a basic, comforting sarnie be the filling ham and pickle or cheese and tomato. Don't be put off by the long looking method. It is truly worth it.

The 1 tip I would give would be that 10 min before the end of baking turn the loaf upside down in the tin. This helps the bottom of the loaf to crusten up.

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Dan Lepard says he developed this when he was working full time in commercial kitchens (that made artisan hand kneaded bread) because there wasn’t time for full 10 minute knead of all the different bread batches so he switched to short kneads spaced out and found it works just as well, part of the development of a good gluten structure is dependent on the time elapsed not the vigorous kneading. I liked the idea because I’d not been getting good textures with either a machine or a normal hand knead. I am now a wholesale convert.

Note:

You must use oil not flour on the kneading surface and your hands. Something like vegetable oil is good.

The dough must be quite sticky and soft to start with. It will firm up when kneaded and as time progresses.

Steps:

* Once you have soft sticky dough leave it covered in the bowl for 10 minutes.
* Now oil your kneading surface and hands and tip the dough out.
* Knead for about 12 seconds by folding in the edges to the centre, a bit like shaping a round loaf, rotate the dough as you go.
* Flip the dough over, leave it on the surface and cover with a cloth. Wash out the bowl and then oil it lightly. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover.
* Leave for 10-15 minutes and then do another 12 second knead. You will notice the dough is already less sticky and firmer.
* Leave for 20 -30 mins and repeat the fast knead. You are aiming to have kneaded the dough 3 times in the first hour.
* Leave covered to rise until at least 50% larger but not more than double in size.
* Tip out onto the oil surface and press the air out of the dough using the tips of your fingers so its square-ish in shape. Repeat the fast knead process (or fold in to thirds then rotate through 90, flatten again and fold into 3rds again).
* Shape the dough as required for the particular loaf you are making. Put it in a tin, or supported in a floured cloth in a bowl.
* Leave to rise until at least 50% larger and preferably almost double in size.
* Slash top and bake as per your recipe.

White Tin Loaf (based on Dan Lepard’s Quick White Loaf, p63 of the Handmade Loaf)

2lb loaf tin greased and floured or lined with baking parchment (no need to line the short ends just oil them).

Oven to be pre-heated to its maximum setting (R10/250C) and with a tray of water in the bottom to create steam.

Ingredients:

200g semi skimmed milk at room temp (Dan uses whole milk but semi skimmed seems to work fine)

150g water at room temp (remember 1g = 1ml but its easier to be accurate weighing fluids)

1 tsp fast action yeast (or 2 tsp fresh yeast crumbled)

200g plain white flour

300g strong white bread flour

1 ½ tsp fine sea salt

Method:

Mix the flours and salt together in a bowl.

Mix the water and milk together in a separate bowl and whisk in the yeast.

Add the liquid to the flour and mix with the fingers of one hand to a soft sticky rough dough. You may need to add a little more liquid do this a teaspoon at a time until you have a soft sticky dough.

Follow the kneading instructions above.

The first rise will probably take about an hour from the last knead.

To shape for a tin loaf, flatten the dough to a square about the same width as your tin. Roll the dough into a cylinder and press the seam firmly, fold under the two short ends and place in the tin seam side down.

Allow to rise (covered) to 1 ½ to 2 times volume i.e. to the top of the tin.

Slash the top of the loaf along it length and put it straight into the oven for 10 minutes at maximum temperature. After 10 minutes check how it’s browning and drop the temperature as follows (these baking guidelines are from the River Cottage Bread Book):

R6/200C if the crust is pale

R4/180C if crust is noticeably browning

R3/170C if crust is browning quickly

And cook for a further 40-50 minutes.

I usually check again part way through this time and either adjust temperature again or cover the top with foil if it’s brown enough. Also note that with a traditional gas oven (i.e. one without a fan) the top may brown far too quickly on the side near the heat at the initial temperature so you might want to start at a lower setting of R8/9 for the first 10 minutes. Adapt the setting for what you know about your oven and how things usually bake.

When it’s cooked turn it out of the tin and allow to cool.

Festive Muffins

2009-11-23T18:44:00.007+00:00

Yes the C word is around the corner. Coca Cola have aired their annual "Holidays are Coming", Hellman's Mayonnaise have shown their credit crunching been-showing-the-same-unremastered-ad-since-1980's, households are beginning to compete as to who can rack up the biggest electricity bill with gaudy decorations and various z-list "celebrities" are battling out in the OZ jungle by eating various parts of a kangaroo's anatomy.

A great respite from all this was a trip to the Fabulous Places Christmas Market at Blackbrook House near Belper to discover some great Derbyshire independent businesses and people. I Spoke to Julie at Vintage & Cake about 50's Swing Dresses, discussed gluten-free cooking with Charlotte from Cupcake Corner, debated the virtues of edible glitter with Wendy at Quirky Cookies, picked up some stunning parrot tulips and anemones from Kerry at The Blossom Tree and finally Claire from Things We Make. I've been chatting to these businesses via twitter so it was lovely to be able to put a face to a name. Another great business there was Jack Rabbits. They have a fab new little business opposite the Cathedral in Derby, sell gorgeous food and cook on an Aga...need I say more!

I've been playing around with festive recipes for a while. Primarily for my Cookery Club Kids. Mince pies went out of the window as a straw poll of my Cookery Kids told me that kids don't like mince pies, Christmas truffles not idea, (you wouldn't believe how long it takes to melt 16 sets of chocolate of chocolate in the microwave!) even these festive muffins couldn't tempt them away from Stained Glass Biscuits. Some of the children have made these biscuits before, but they still insisted in making them again. Kids are always amazed by the way the boiled sweet melts to make sugar glass. So given most of the Cookery Kids claim to not want to make these muffins due to the dried fruit in them these are for the adults to enjoy.

To make these muffins extra Christmassy I cooked them in my star moulds. I have to admit funky shaped silicone moulds don't cook as evenly as traditional round moulds, but they still taste great. One thing I would say is don't over mix as this mixture has a tendency to make dense heavy muffins if mixed too much.

Festive Muffins
Makes 16 regular or 8 large

300g plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
150g caster sugar
225ml milk
50g butter, melted
1 egg
handful of typical festive dried fruit (eg glace cherries, sultanas, citrus peel, cranberries)
1 tbsp mixed spice
flaked almonds, for decorating

1) Preheat oven to 200oc. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar.

2) In another bowl whisk together egg, milk and butter. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, stir until well combined.

3) Carefully stir in the dried fruit and spoon into cake cases into 2/3 full. Sprinkle with flaked almonds. Bake for 25-30 min until risen and golden.

Quince Jelly and Gooseberry & Elderflower Jam

2009-11-16T19:26:00.006+00:00

Hubby is the god of preserving - I'm rubbish. This may be due to my lack of perseverance. If it doesn't work first time I resign myself to the fact I can't do it and pass the reins over to Hubby.

In terms of preserve making, here in the UK, jam uses the whole fruit whereas jelly is clear and bright and is made using the juice extracted from the fruit. Hubby decided rub in how good he is at this jam making malarkey by making both a successful jam and jelly. One using quinces and the other using blush gooseberries.

Quinces look a bit like ugly, overgrown yellow pears and in the UK can be very hard to get hold of unless you have a friend with a quince tree. A few veg box schemes were also selling them too. Hubby has a friend who offered us some of his quinces. Only after he had made a cracking batch of quince jelly did he announce that his friend has chopped down the said quince tree. The romantic ideas of making refined quince jelly for all the impressed relatives for Christmas was dashed.

Now for the science bit - when quince is boiled it turns red (leading me to be boring and wonder if it was a pH indicator *yawn*). Be warned this stains the cloth you use to strain the juice with. Strangely this stain is intensified with heat and stain remover. The resulting jelly has a distinctive floral taste, unlike anything I was expecting and goes very well with cheese.

The blush gooseberries had been hibernating in our freezer ever since we picked them at a PYO back in June. They are slightly sweeter than green gooseberries...still won't make me like them. However Hubby did manage to transform them, along with some elderflower cordial, into a beautiful jam.

Both recipes are inspired by Preserves - River Cottage Handbook.

Quince Jelly
makes 5-6 225g jars

1.5kg quinces
Granulated sugar
100ml cider vinegar

1) Roughly chop the quinces, discarding any bad parts. Don't peel or core them. Put in a deep saucepan, just about cover with water then bring to the boil. Simmer gently, covered for 45 min. Tip the contents of the pan into a jelly bag or piece of muslin (in our case a clean tea towel!) suspended over the bowl and leave to drip for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

2) Measure the strained juice. For every 600ml, weigh out 450g sugar. Return the juice to the cleaned out pan with the vinegar. Heat to boiling point then add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Increase the heat and boil rapidly for 10-12 min or until setting point is reached. Remove from heat and skim off any scum.

3) Pour into sterilised jars.

Gooseberry & Elderflower jam
makes 5-6 340g jars

1 kg gooseberries
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
1kg granulated sugar

1) Top and tail gooseberries and place in pan with 500ml of water and the cordial. Cook gently until the berries are soft, but hold their shape.

2) Add the sugar. Stir carefully so not to break down the berries until the sugar has dissolved then bring to a full rolling boil for 9-10 until jam reaches setting point. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 10 min then pot and seal.

Wishlist - 2009

2009-11-08T21:44:00.010+00:00

It's that time of year when people start to ask me what I would like for Christmas. To be honest I don't need anything, hey our cottage is no Tardis and the secret hidey holes are becoming increasingly crammed, however here is a selection of a few things I would love to be treated to. I suppose they do show my love of vintage, slightly eccentric things.

I first saw designs by Hanne Rysgaard on Not On The High Street and fell in love her dotty milk jug. It equals my hankering for the Made in England rolling pin last year. I have it on good authority that she also sells other ceramic items including cake stands.

I'm not sure if I would use these vintage Hovis tins for baking as I rarely bake bread in tins now, but I still love them. Like the picture suggests they would be great as a planter.

I'm on the look out for the perfect white china butter dish and cake/cheese dome...I'm still searching.

Ever since the School of Artisan Cookery opened earlier this year I've been interested in vising. I love the sound of their patisserie, artisan chocolate and preserves courses.

Vintage cookbooks, I just love them. I find it fascinating looking at ingredients and how you can witness social history changing by just looking at cookery books through the ages. I'm after a very old edition of Mrs Beeton, but given the prices they go for I could be saving for some time.

Lastly I'm after a vintage glass butterchurn as seen on River Cottage Winter on Thursday. No room for it in the house, but I would love one!

Fresh from the oven - Beer Bread Bowls.

2009-10-28T00:31:00.006+00:00

October's Fresh from the oven challenge was hosted by Corry. She recommended a fantastic recipe inspired by from Richard Bertinet’s fabulous book Dough – Simple Contemporary Bread

I tried this particular recipe last year, but keen to adapt recipe and in keeping with my sudden preoccupation of baking with beer, I wanted to try this recipe to make beer bread bowls, specifically to be served with scouse.

I use quite a bit of Sam Smiths beers in baking as their fruit beers give great taste to the likes of ice cream & brownies and their other beers have a strong defined taste that is perfect for stews and bread. The oatmeal stout I decided to use has a definite oaty aroma and I thought it would be perfect for bread.

This time the dough seemed to work better than my first attempt last year and they worked well. I now have ideas to make these bowls as a fruit bread then filling them with custard..mmmm..

Beer Bread Bowls
makes 6 16cm bowls

500g strong bread flour
20g course semolina
15g fresh yeast (or 5g fast action yeast)
10g salt
50g olive oil
320g beer
chilli or spice (optional for added flavour)

1) Preheat the oven to 250˚C (500˚F). Mix together the flour and semolina and rub in the yeast as if you were making a crumble (Richard Bertinet’s method – see below for video link). If using a mixer, switch it on to the slowest speed, add salt, olive oil and beer and mix for 2 minutes, then turn the speed up to the next lowest speed and mix for 6 to 7 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

2) If you are kneading by hand, knead for approximately 10 to 12 minutes or until you have a nice smooth elastic ball of dough. Richard Bertinet has a unique kneading technique referred to as the French fold that can take approximately 5 to 10 minutes depending on practice. You can view his method in a online video at the Gourmet Webpage. In this video, he is actually doing sweet dough but the same technique can be used for most bread dough.

3) Place the dough into a bowl that has been floured, cover with a tea towel and leave in a draught free place for approximately 1 hour or until doubled in volume.

4) Lightly oil or spray with non-stick spray, the outside of 6 ovenproof bows (I used pyrex bowls). Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 6 to 8 pieces (depending on the size of your baking bowls). Taking one piece of dough at a time and using a rolling pin, roll each piece into a circle (similar to making pizza). Shake off excess flour and shape each piece over an upturned bowl, patting into shape and pressing gently to remove air bubbles from between the dough and the bowl. Rest the dough for 10 minutes. Place the upturned bowls, two at a time, on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, then into the preheated oven. Turn the oven down to 200˚C (400˚F) and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes. Using a fine-bladed knife, gently loosen the bread from the bowls and ease off. Cool on a wire rack.

It is probably safer to serve the bowls on a plate, as they do become soggy after a while and the soup may leak through.

Possibly the worst pies in London...

2009-10-25T19:06:00.011+00:00

...or maybe should that be Derbyshire. Pen is going to be so proud of me for fitting a musical connection into my blog post! For those who don't follow me on Twitter you may not realise that Hubby & I are going to a Halloween Party as Sweeney Todd & Mrs Lovett. Going as Mrs Lovett seemed a natural choice for me - I know exactly how I can make the outfit with a few things I own and I make great pies...although I'm not scheming and as twisted as Mrs Lovett. For those who don't know the story Mrs Lovett makes pies from Sweeney Todd's victims. In the musical she sings a song called The Worst Pies in London and this has been my inspiration. To accompany my Victorian Gothic costume I need just one essential prop - a really quite grusome pie. I would like to point out that although I can produce quite gross (albeit fake) pies, my kitchen is nothing like Mrs Lovett's. My goodness Environmental Health would have a field day!

To make my pie I decided to use a material I hadn't used since I was a child - salt dough. I had forgotten how easy it is to make and was like working with pastry. To help with making the shape I used a small foil pie dish. This helped to support the dough as it was drying. The idea for the fingers was inspired by a Halloween shortbread recipe I had seen where the shortbread was rolled into fingers and flaked almonds were used as fingernails. I have to say they are almost too realistic for my liking.

Please note, this pie is not edible. Well the dough wouldn't do any major harm if accidentally eaten, but it won't taste nice due to the massive salt content. If you wanted to make a similar gruesome top for a proper edible pie use shortcrust pastry.

The Worst Pie in London
makes 1 small unedible pie

1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup of water
flaked almonds
1 egg, beaten

1) Mix together flour, salt and water until you have a smooth dough. Cover in clingfilm and leave for 30 min.

2) Roll out the dough until no more than 5mm thick. Line a small pie dish as if you were making an edible pie. Trim off the excess pastry and roll this back into a ball.

3) Use a small amount of dough to make 2 finger sized sausages. Using a eating knife carefully make 3 impressions in each finger to show the knuckles. At one end of the sausage make a small impression then using a small amount of water push a flaked almond in the dough. This is the fingernail.

4) In the pie place a few balls of dough. These are only for making sure the lid of the pie doesn't collapse.

5) Roll out the pastry again to around 5mm thickness and cut to the size of a lid. Make a few slits in the lid where the fingers can pop out. Place the lid on the top of the pie and arrange fingers and any other decoration you wish. Use a small amount of water to stick dough to dough. Pinch around the edges of a pie to make it look authentic.

6) Brush the pie, but not the fingers, with beaten egg. Bake at 100oc for 4-5 hours or until the pie sounds hollow on the bottom.

A flutter of Butterfly Cakes

2009-10-21T13:06:00.012+01:00

If you hadn't spotted I'm going through a bit of a retro/kitch baking phase at the moment. Recipes that were beginning to gather dust amongst the more radical baking recipes but have the ability stand the test of time are coming back. I don't know if this is because time is precious right now and retro baking is almost instant gratification. In my books baking is therapy; taking me back to an innocent time when the biggest worry in my life was what to choose from the Woolworths pick'n'mix counter.

Just like jam tarts these Butterfly Cakes are probably what introduced people to baking when they were a child. Be it eating them at the school fete or baking them with mum. Given it is poorly timed National Baking Week these cakes were perfect to bake. I say poorly timed because some schools are on half term at the moment and the National Baking Week website is bigging up all of their teaching packs. I would have loved to have linked some of my teaching in with this week.

The WI wouldn't approve of these Butterfly Cake and they wouldn't win any prizes in a village fete, why? Because hidden under the fluffy buttercream is a pool of raspberry jam. An ingredient that is banned by Butterfly Cake aficionados. Goodness I'm such a rebel!

Butterfly Cakes
Makes 12

140g unsalted butter, softened
140g vanilla sugar (you can use normal caster)
3 eggs
100g self-raising flour
25g custard powder (or cornflour)
jam

for the buttercream
100g butter, softened
200g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp water
hundreds and thousands (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 190oc. Arrange cake cases in fairy cake tin. Beat together butter and vanilla sugar then one by one beat in the eggs. If the eggs begin to curdle stir in a small amount of the flour.

2) Into the bowl sift flour and custard then fold into the batter until ingredients are well combined. Half fill each cake case with the batter.

3) Bake for 15 min until risen and golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

4) To make the icing beat together the butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of water until icing with light and fluffy.

5) Using a knife carefully cut the top off the cake then cut this small piece in half. In the hole you have created spoon in 1/2 tsp of jam then cover with the buttercream. Place to 2 cake halves on top of the buttercream and arrange like butterfly wings. Decorate with hundreds & thousands.

Chilli Cheese Scones

2009-10-20T19:36:00.005+01:00

Since finding my holy grail of scone recipes in Grandma's cookbook last year I have been playing around with the dough and flavours. My Cookery Kids have very successfully made scones with this recipe and Grandma even professed my scones to be far superior than any you can buy from the local bakeries.

It's been an age since I've made savory scones, but recently I was on a course and for elevenses they served chilli cheese scones. They were so delicious I wanted to have a go at making them at home. Whenever I bake scones it always brings up the age old argument between Hubby & I as to how you pronounce it. I sc-on-e, Hubby says sc-own-e. Of course I think I'm right!

Now, the trick with scones is to not roll them out too thin. The thicker the dough, the more they will rise. I can highly recommend eating these warm from the oven with a generous slather of butter. Yum, yum.

Chilli Cheese Scones
Makes 9 medium scones

225g plain flour
40g butter
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
handful of mature cheese, grated
2 generous pinches of chilli powder
milk
1 egg, beaten
If you wish you can replace the bicarb and cream of tartar with 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder.

1) Sieve the flour, bicarb and cream of tartar into a basin. Rub in the butter, add the chilli and cheese. Gradually stir in milk 1 tbsp at a time until you have a smooth dough.

2) Turn out onto a floured surface and roll until about 2cm thick. Cut into rounds and place on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. Brush the top of each scone with beaten egg. Bake at 200oc until golden and firm. Cool on a wire rack.

Derbyshire Fidgety Pie

2009-10-02T21:23:00.000+01:00

This pie has been in the planning for a while. To celebrate British Food Fortnight I knew I wanted to bake a traditional Derbyshire dish, ideally savory and with pasty. Inspiration came from the most random of places - the latest East Midlands National Trust newsletter. In the newsletter it mentioned the traditional Derbyshire Fidgety Pie. Not a pie I had heard of before, but gave me more of a challenge to try it. Another reason for wanting to use pastry was so I could use my Made in England rolling pin. I don't use it as much as my wooden or marble rolling pin as it is quite delicate, but I love it!

Hubby's family originate from South Derbyshire where this pie has its roots. There are various variations of this pie throughout the Midlands, where they are usually called Fidget Pie. Some with cider, some with ham, some with gammon along with some additional ingredients.

This pie is a traditional dish served to people working in the field through harvest. Essentially it is the Midland's version of the Cornish Pasty as it is a portable, filling meal. It is thought to have got its name from the fact it traditionally was fitched (5-sided) in shape. The key vegetables in a fidgety pie is apples and onions which are plentiful during the harvest and of course these vegetables go well with pork. This version should have raisins in it, but I left them out as I don't like them in savory dishes. Given this ingredient not being used it still made a surprisingly hearty & flavoursome dish.

Rather than baking a pie with both pastry on the top and bottom (trying to make it slightly kinder to the hips!) I baked it in aMason Cash pie dish (made in Derbyshire). In keeping with the South Derbyshire theme I also used smoked bacon from the best butchers around - Chantry Farm Shop in Kings Newton near Melbourne. If your ever near I beg you to pop in. Their meat is second to none and well worth the trip. Hubby & I really enjoyed the pie and I was surprised as to how tasty it was. Perfect for these Autumnal evenings.

Now, you can truly say that this pie has been Made in England.

Derbyshire Fidgety Pie
Makes 2 individual pies

225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
110g butter
cold water
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small/medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 apple, cored and finely sliced
4 rashers of bacon
400ml beef stock
thyme
seasoning
1 egg

1) First get started on the pastry. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

2) Add the chilled water a small amount at a time and mix with a knife until you have a good dough. Roll into a ball, cover in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 min.

3) Preheat oven to 190oc. Fry off the bacon. At the bottom of each individual pie dish line with a layer of half of the sliced potatoes, then all the onions and apple. Sprinkle with black pepper and thyme then layer with the bacon and the rest of the potato. Pour over the beef stock (200ml per pie dish).

4) Roll out the pastry until around 5mm thick. Top the pie with pastry and trim to fit. Make 2 slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape then brush with egg.

5) Bake for 20min until pastry is golden and filling is cooked. Traditionally it is served on its own, but would go well with a side of vegetables.

Christmas Marzipan Cake

2009-09-29T01:00:00.003+01:00

Ok, ok I know it's September and usually I wouldn't be thinking of Christmas let alone beginning to bake for it for a while but I have some excuses. 1) October, when I usually bake Christmas Cake is booking up fast, 2) I want to feed and feed the cake, 3) the generous Wm Morrisons contacted me and ask if I would like to submit a Christmas Cake recipe for their customers to try and as a thank you they would send me a big box of ingredients.

I played around with a few ideas including Guinness and fruit beer (for any regular readers of my blog this won't surprise them one bit!) and settled on the idea of a marzipan laden cake...minus icing. This is based on the fact I'm not a big icing fan as I find the majority far too sweet. At Christmas time will gladly pick off all the icing on a Christmas Cake to be just left with the delicious marzipan and fruit cake. Now I understand that marzipan is a bit of a marmite ingredient; People either love it or hate it. I love it. The reason for soaking the fruit in orange juice rather than the traditional alcohol is that this really does enhance the taste of the fruit of the cake. The alcohol will come later!

I decided to essentially combine the succulent fruits of my Simnel Cake with the marzipan filling of a stollen and together they made a delicious cake that looks a bit like a Dundee Cake, but smells of sweet, sweet marzipan. The aroma in the kitchen as I was baking this cake was amazing. Due to the amount of ingredients crammed into such a small cake along with the juicy fruit it did take longer than a usual fruit cake to bake. For a change we are planning to start eating this in early December and not leave it until Christmas Day when by then you begin to become thoroughly sick of anything too heavy & fruit laden.

Ideally a Christmas cake should be made no later than 1 week before it is needed. The longer the cake is left the more it matures and the flavours develop. If stored correctly Rich fruit cakes can last for up to a year.

Maybe I should start a trend - Christmas Cakes aren't just for Christmas...

Christmas Marzipan Cake
Makes a 18cm round / 15cm square cake

100ml orange juice
150g sultanas
100g raisins
100g currants
50g dried cranberries
50g dried apricots, quartered
50g dates, stoned & quartered
50g glace cherries, halved
50g mixed peel
110g butter, softened
90g muscovado sugar (or soft dark brown sugar)
2 eggs
250g plain flour
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp mixed spice
50g flaked almonds
1 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp marmalade
1 tbsp black treacle (this gives the cake both taste & colour)
200g marzipan cubed & frozen (you can find my recipe for it here)
whole almonds for decoration
Rum, brandy or whisky for glazing

1) Before making a start on the cake soak all of the fruit in the orange juice overnight and make sure the cubed marzipan is in the freezer.

2) Line grease and line your tin with both baking parchment and greaseproof paper. For good instructions on how to do this pop over to dear Delia. Preheat oven to 150oc.

3) Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time to stop the mixture curdling. If it does begin to curdle stir in a handful of the flour. Once eggs have been added stir in the almond extract, marmalade & treacle.

4) Next, stir in the remaining ingredients alternating between the marzipan, fruit and flour. Mix until well combined. If the mixture becomes too stiff to mix add a splash of milk to loosen the mixture.

5) Pour into the lined tin, level the top of the cake then decorate with the almonds. Bake for 3 - 3 1/2 hours or until a skewer comes out clean of cake mix.

6) Remove from the oven brush the cake with your chosen article then allow to cool completely in the tin. Remove from the tin and wrap in fresh greaseproof paper. Store in a preferably airtight tin or container until ready to eat.

7) Every 3-4 week make holes in the top of the cake using a skewer and feed with your chosen alcohol. I use around 50ml of alcohol per feed. Try not to over feed the cake as this can make the cake soggy, dense and a texture more akin to a Christmas Pudding.

Fresh from the oven - Stuffed Buns

2009-09-28T00:01:00.006+01:00

This months Fresh from the oven challenge has been hosted by Ria where she proposed Stuffed Buns. I've never made stuffed buns before let alone eaten them, but I'm always up for a challenge!

The dough turned out very different to the type of dough I'm used to working with. The best way I can describe it would be of the texture (and weirdly the smell) of playdoh. I had to add more flour to get it to a kneading consistency. This extra flour may be down to me converting the recipe into grams incorrectly. I also mucked up the oil. Thinking Sunflower oil would the best as it is the lightest flavoured oil I had in the house, I had completely forgotten until I poured the oil in that I had used this oil for frying fish a while back and filtered the unused oil back into the bottle giving the dough a slight eau d'fish-and-chip-shop. Thankfully once the buns were cooked you couldn't smell or taste the oil. I chose to make the buns with a curried paneer filling which was very tasty.

Given all the stumbling blocks I had with this dough the buns worked well. Hubby and his workmates raved about them. They have requested some more soon.

Stuffed Buns
makes 12 buns

For the dough:

3g fast action yeast
125ml milk
Salt to taste
125ml oil
250g plain flour
60g sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 egg white, for egg wash
Nigella seeds (Kalonji) for sprinkling
Method

1) Boil the milk and allow to cool down till it is warm to touch. Add sugar, oil and salt. Mix well with a wooden spoon till the sugar dissolves and add 1 cup flour and mix to a smooth paste.

2) Add the beaten egg, yeast and mix. Add the remaining flour and mix well till it forms a smooth dough. Knead well for 10 mins. Let it rest till it doubles in volume.

3) Punch down the dough lightly using your palm and divide them equally. Flatten them into small discs and fill them with 1 tbsp of the filling. Re-shape them into a ball. Sprinkle the top with Nigella seeds. Let it prove for another 20 mins.

4) Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 10 mins. When it starts to brown, give them an egg wash using 1 slightly beaten egg white.

Spicy paneer filling

200g paneer
4 Onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
3 tbsp oil

1) Heat oil, add the garlic paste and saute till it gives out a nice aroma. Add the onions. Saute them till soft and transparent. Reduce the heat and add the groud spices and mix well for 2 mins.

2) Add the paneer and mix well. Take it off the heat and allow to cool before filling the buns.

Queen of Tarts

2009-09-21T07:45:00.001+01:00

There is something simple, comforting and nostalgic about the humble Jam Tart. For many people it was probably the first thing they cooked with their Mum or Grandma. Making Jam Tarts always reminds me of Home Ec in Secondary School and many of those said tarts didn't make it home as I would have scoffed them before home time. Back then though I was frankly rubbish at pastry, it would just crumble and fall apart. It put me off pastry for long time and it's only recently have I got over my Fear of Pastry. I've just put Fear of Pastry into good old google and it sent me to a World of Warcraft page?!?...ok I digressed.

The reason behind these tarts is that I'm planning to cook them with my pupils during British Food Fortnight as you can't get more British Afternoon Teaish than a dainty Jam Tart, plus I have have a set of fantastic 10 year old budding pastry making boys in my class. The kids are aware that they are making Jam Tarts in a few weeks and bless them, they are already excited and talking about it. After baking a Bakewell Tart last year I'll be baking another traditional Derbyshire dish with pastry for British Food Fortnight this year. If I pull it off I'll blog about it during the fortnight.

I did experiment with using marmalade in a few of the tarts, but they just don't work as well and have an amazing ability, akin to superglue, to weld themselves to the bun tin. Given the fact I've now mastered pastry I can't for the life of me make a Jam Tart look refined, I think the best way to describe them would be "rustic". Anyway since when has a humble Jam Tart been anything but charmingly simple?

Jam Tarts
Makes 12 small tarts

225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
110g butter
cold water
around 12 tsp jam

1) First get started on the pastry. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

2) Add the chilled water a small amount at a time and mix with a knife until you have a good dough. Roll into a ball, cover in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 min.

3) Roll out the pastry until around 5mm thick. Using a 3 inch cutter, cut rounds and press gently into a bun tin. Place a generous teaspoonful of jam in the center of each round.

4) Bake at 200oc for 10 min, or until well risen and golden. Allow to cool for 5 min before transferring to a wire rack.

Black Sheep Bread

2009-09-19T14:47:00.015+01:00

This bread is in honour of the Yorkshire 3-Peaks Challenge Hubby & I completed last weekend. Thanks to everyone who sponsored us. We stayed at Pinecroft and it was somewhere I would highly recommend. We're thinking of returning with friends later on in the year.

It was a great experience and provided great memories from the bog jumping, being knee deep in mud, weird tasting watermelon jelly sweets, a sneaky pub stop and sunset at the top of Ingleborough. During the walk I gained the nicknames of Speedy Gonzales. Once I got going, there was no stopping me. This may have been due to a heady mix of ibuprofen, Lucozade, Jelly Babies & adrenaline. I'm really proud of myself & Hubby for completing it minus any injury, blister ache or pain (ooh get me!) and the training I did over the summer really paid off. Although it took us far longer than expected to complete due to an incident involving the Mountain Rescue Team 1 mile from the end (let's just say thank goodness for the training I did as part of my DofE Gold Expedition), some of us are planning to return next year to do it in around 10 hours. Others however have been put up hill walking for life! In a slightly crazy way I got a serious kick from the challenge and found it easier than I was expecting. Even after 25miles I could have continued, as someone has pointed out there is room for a female Eddie Izzard!

The reason for this bread being a tribute to our walk is that one member of the team (not me I hasten to add)sneaked in a cheeky half-pint at the Old Hill Inn - a fab pub between Whernside & Ingleborough belonging to the famous Black Sheep Brewery. Apparently this cheeky half-pint was one of the best drinks he has ever had and it provided some comedy moments for the rest of the team as it went straight to his head, he started to talk about how pretty all the trees were and I swear at one point he began to skip up Ingleborough. I've never baked bread with beer in it before, but have declared this bread to be a resounding success. It produces a beautiful fluffy bread with a slightly golden crumb. You can certainly taste a hint of ale in the bread. It's given me some ideas for some other bread that I've going to keep under wraps for now. This is also the first time I've used my new brotform and grignette and am really pleased how well they have worked.

Now, the after effect of endurance exercise is that it does 2 things to your appetite. Either you can't eat enough or your appetite is zapped. Now you would think when burning 9000 calories in 16 hours we would both have raging hunger...nope. Our appetite was completely killed and a week on it's only just getting back on track, hence why it has been so long since I've blogged. Normal service will now resume on my blog with both Hubby & I having lots of great foodie projects up our sleeves. So here's to carbs, the great outdoors and friends. Cheers!

Black Sheep Bread
Makes 1 large loaf

500g strong white bread flour
10g salt
5g fast action yeast.
300ml Black Sheep Riggwelter Ale (yes I know it's sacrilegious, but it needs to be warm)

1) Mix together all the ingredients until you have a rough dough. Knead either by hand or with a mixer for 10 min until you have a beautiful, silky dough. Shape into a round and leave to rise in a covered bowl for 1-2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

2) Knock back the dough, shape into chosen shape and place in/on tin or brotform and leave again covered in a plastic bag until it has doubled in size. If cooking on a baking sheet cover in polenta/course semolina before placing the bread on as this stops the bread sticking to the sheet.

3) Preheat the oven as hot as it will go. At the bottom of the oven place a baking tin of boiling water (this helps to develop the crust). If using a brotform turn bread out onto tray. If not using a brotform place the dough in/on chosen tin. Slash the top of the loaf (optional) then bake for 10 min.

4) Turn down the oven to 200oc and bake for a further 20-30 minutes. When the bread is ready the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Climb every mountain...

2009-09-05T16:34:00.007+01:00

This post is a slight departure from my usual food blogging. Things have been a bit mad here with me returning to work to begin a new term plus Hubby & I have been been in training for the Yorkshire 3 Peak Challenge which we will attempt in a week time. We're walking it with a bunch of friends to raise money for a school close to my heart along with the NSPCC. It's essentially a marathon distance walk with three big, steep hills (Pen-y-ghent, Whernside & Ingleborough) in the way, plus some scrambling thrown in for good measure.

We've spent most of the summer preparing for the walk and last weekend completed an 18 mile (29km) walk in just under 7 hours. I did mildly Hit the Wall around the 16 mile walk but with a 5 min break and a cereal bar I was ready to get going again. I know on the day I've got to keep my energy levels high as I don't want to have a crash between Whernside & Ingleborough. The night before we will be carb-loading (something I excel in!) then starting the day with the biggest bowl of porridge we can muster then feasting on lots of malt loaf, Jelly Babies & other energy laden foods en route.

I've always wanted to do a marathon, and although I'm walking this and not running it's still a marathon in my mind! If you would like to help my friends & I to raise money for the NSPCC & the school I work for please drop me an email at julesatdit AT googlemail DOT com

Lemon Drizzle Fairy Cakes

2009-08-27T14:09:00.008+01:00

To counteract the unsummery weather we've had recently I wanted to inject some sun into the kitchen. Lemon is one of my favourite ingredients in both sweet and savory cooking and decided to play around with my fête fairy cakes recipe. This time I swapped the custard powder for cornflour as I didn't want the vanilla to dominate, but still wanted to have the light fluffyness that both custard powder and cornflour give to a cake.

For baking these I used individual silicone cake cups and they are slightly bigger than traditional fairy cake cases, but not as big as cupcakes. To be honest these cases and a spatula are the only piece of silicone bakeware I would recommend. In my experience the other type of silicone bakeware just don't work, are a pain to transfer to the oven, nearly always still stick, don't keep their heat well, which inturn doesn't bake the food as well. For every other type of baking I stick to traditional metal pans.

I wanted to use the mini jelly lemon/orange slices I had seen for sale somewhere recently, but could I find them when I wanted them? nope. I remember when we used to get these fruit slices in our stocking at Christmas I deemed them as the height of sophisticaion. My perception of sophistication has changed somewhat since then. Instead of decorating them with the elusive lemon slices decided to decorate them with some of the lemon zest.

One of the first things given to me from my Mum for my kitchen was a citrus zester. At first I thought "what on earth would I do with a zester", but I can honestly say it is one of the best gadgets I own. Rather than the fine zest a grater produces it produces long ribbons of zest which is ideal for decorating. Plus I have less chance of adding part of my finger to the dish than I would with a Microplane. For a loaf version of this cake try Tara's Lemon Drizzle.

Lemon Drizzle Fairy Cakes
Makes 12

140g unsalted butter, softened
140g caster sugar
3 eggs
100g self-raising flour
25g cornflour
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
100g icing sugar, sifted

1) Preheat oven to 190oc. Arrange cake cases in fairy cake tin. Beat together butter and vanilla sugar then one by one beat in the eggs.

2) Into the bowl sift flour and cornflour then fold into the batter until ingredients are well combined. Stir in lemon zest. Half fill each cake case with the batter.

3) Bake for 15 min until risen and golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

4) Beat together icing sugar, lemon juice and boiling water until you have a smooth icing. Using a teaspoon drizzle the icing over the cakes then leave to set.

Hogget & Mint Pasties

2009-08-18T17:09:00.009+01:00

I first tasted hogget back in February at River Cottage when it was served as part of the Valentines Feast. It's such a delicious meat, stronger tasting than lamb, but not as gristly as mutton. To explain: lamb is a sheep from birth to 1 year, hogget is from 1-2 years and Mutton is from 2 years or older.

I've been trying to get hold of hogget ever since and a smallholding friend came to the rescue. So with half a hogget in the freezer we've begun to work our way slowly through it.

One of the best way we've found for cooking lamb/hogget is to slow roast it so the meat is full of taste and falls apart. By doing this you don't have to worry about the fattiness you sometimes get with lamb as it just renders off. Dinner Diary's Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb recipe is divine, so easy and also works perfectly with hogget.

With leftovers from Sunday's slow roasted shoulder of hogget I decided to have a go at making Hogget & Mint Pasties. Now this is why I love roast dinners as it makes the next few days of meals easy. I made 4 pasties with this recipe. I could have frozen 2 of the pasties in their uncooked state, but Hubby requested if we could have them for Lunch today. They worked far better than I expected and will certainly be making them again even if they are a tad rustic looking. I think they would also work really well as mini pasties. Hubby helped quite a bit with the prep for these (spot the perfectly diced veg that could not have been done by me!) as I managed to slice my finger quite spectacularly a few days ago while making my lunch. Who knew a bread knife could hurt so much and cause the amount of blood it did. I've been banned from going near the Microplane, I'm too much of a risk.

This recipe is partially inspired by a recipe I had cut out of the newspaper and I imagine would work with a multitude of different meats and Sunday leftovers. The surprising ingredient in the pasties is a small amount of ketchup. This helps to thicken and sweeten the gravy. There is also a bit of a debate as to what type of pastry a pastie should be made with. I prefer puff pastry so have made it with that.

Hogget & Mint Pasties
Makes 4 large pasties

250g potato, 1cm cubes
1 carrot, 1cm cubes
6 shallots, finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
leftover roasted hogget, shredded (I used about 200g)
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
250ml lamb stock
seasoning
500g block of ready made puff pasty
1 egg, beaten

1) In a saute pan gently fry the potato, carrot and shallots in the olive oil until softened.

2) Stir in the mint, hogget, ketchup and stock then simmer until the sauce has thickened and you are left with only a small amount of liquid. If the sauce is too thin it'll make the pasties soggy. Put the filling to one side while you sort out the pastry.

3) Preheat the oven to 200oc. Roll out the pastry until it is 3mm - 5mm thick square. You can either cut around something like a plate or do what I did: Cut the pastry into quarters and freehand a kind of circle (or a rounded squircle if you want to be technical) in each quarter, by doing this I waste less pastry.

4) Brush the edges of the pastry circle with beaten egg then place 1/4 of the filling in the middle of the pastry. Bring up the edges and pinch them to make a pastie shape. Place on a lined baking tray and brush with beaten egg. Put 2 small cuts on each side of the pastry to help stop it going soggy. Bake for 20 min until the pastry is crisp and golden. Best served hot.

Baileys Cheesecake Brownies

2009-08-16T13:22:00.005+01:00

Ok, I've fallen off my "get healthy for the 3-peak-challenge" diet in quite spectacular style. Up until yesterday I had been quite restrained but seeing a picture of cheesecake brownies on Tastespotting tipped me over the edge. Plus Summer Holiday Boredom is hitting big style and I sometimes I just NEED to bake to kill time. Anything to avoid watching the horrors of Jeremy Kyle & Loose Women.

Given that one of my most requested cakes from co-workers is my Baileys Cheesecake (I have refined my presentation of this dessert since that photo was taken!) I felt obliged to have a go at making Baileys Cheesecake Brownies. Well, I do have a penchant for sneaking in the odd glug or two of Baileys into various baked items. Right up there on the unhealthiness stakes, but goodness do they taste good.

The brownie part isn't exactly what I would call a brownie, but it is still a luscious, moist, rich and dense chocolate cake. The one minor criticism Hubby had to make about these was that I had used Baileys with a hint of coffee rather than plain Baileys as it's all I had in the house. Um...he hates coffee. I'm not complaining though as it means more for me! Saying that he isn't saying no when I offer him one with a cup of tea. Tonight we're having them for pudding with a generous spoonful of Cherry Beer Ice Cream.

Baileys Cheesecake Brownies
Makes 16 small but undeniably rich brownies

Brownie mixture
110 g dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa)
110 g butter
120 g vanilla sugar (or caster sugar)
60 g plain flour
2 eggs
glug of Baileys

Cheesecake mixture
225 g cream cheese
40 g caster sugar
1 egg
another generous glug of Baileys

1) Preheat the oven to 150oc then Line a 23 cm/8 inch square cake tin with baking parchment. Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bain marie. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and stir then leave to cool slightly (if you don't do this you may end up with scrambled egg brownies).

2) Beat the eggs one at a time into the brownie mixture, beating until it is glossy. Stir in the Baileys until well combined then gradually fold in the flour then pour into the cake tin .

3) For the cheesecake mixture beat the cream cheese and sugar together. Add the egg and mix then stir in the Baileys until all is well combined. Top the levelled brownie mixture with the cheesecake mixture and using a knife, gently swirl it into the chocolate mixture.

4) Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Leave to cool in the tin for 15-20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Chicken, Pea & Barley Risotto

2009-08-11T08:48:00.007+01:00

Now for something different, I blog about something that isn't sweet! I haven't blogged about main meals for a while as 1) I haven't cooked anything particularly exciting 2) by the time we eat in the evening we just want to eat, presentation and faffing with cameras is low down on our priorities.

I've been wanting to make a risotto sans rice since I ate a delicious spelt risotto at River Cottage. I managed to pick up some spelt grain risotto when I visited River Cottage Canteen, but since returning I've found it nigh on impossible to find spelt grain for sale. I've scoured health food stores and even a vegan wholefood shop (which is usually great for this type of thing). When I enquired about it I was told "they don't sell it as their customers have no call for it" making me think I had committed a huge vegan faux pas. Given that spelt grain seems to be as rare as hen's teeth I had to settle for a similar grain - barley.

Barley is being peddled as the new "Superfood" due to it's low GI, high fibre qualities and because of this has the ability to lower cholesterol along with being a good source of niacin. The main reason for us eating it is that it is filling and I like the taste of it. It does make a great replacement for the traditional rice in risotto. I also like barley in soups.

To make this I also used something called Souper Mix. It's a veg stock recipe from River Cottage Preserves Handbook in which you preserve finely diced stock vegetables & herbs in salt then rehydrate them in boiling water to make a stock. It's a fantastic way of using up lots of vegetables and makes a really flavoursome stock. I can't find the recipe anywhere online so plan to blog about it in the near future. The photo another prime example of my inability to finely dice vegetables, check out the onions - absolutely shocking. I really should just whack them in the food processor.

This risotto is based my traditional risotto recipe, the only difference really being is that it takes longer for the barley to soak up the stock. By using the some of the leftovers from Sunday's Roast Chicken you can truly call this Economy Gastronomy.

Chicken, Pea & Barley Risotto
Serves 2-3

1 large onion, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
150g barley
150ml white wine
500ml vegetable stock (chicken stock will also do)
leftover Roast Chicken
Handful of peas
thyme
seasoning
knob of butter

1) Gently fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a deep saucepan for 3 min. Add the barley and stir for a further 2-3 until the barley begins to brown.

2) Pour in the wine and turn up the heat until the wine is absorbed. Gradually add stock 1 ladle at a time, each time waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. After the 2nd ladle add the chicken. When you have one ladle of stock left, add the peas, thyme and seasoning.

3) The risotto is ready once all the stock has been absorbed and the barley has a very slight bite. If you need it add more stock. Stir in the butter. Leave for 2-3 min before serving.

Welsh Cheesecakes

2009-08-05T14:52:00.014+01:00

As I've mentioned before I have a bit of a thing for kitchenalia. Trust me, if I had a big farmhouse kitchen nailed to all the beams would be random pans and Victorian jelly moulds. At moment my collection is very much orientated around vintage cookbooks. I love looking at the recipes and ingredients. The one thing great about a lot of old cookbooks is that they are plain and simple. They don't beat around the bush and unsurprisingly the recipes often work really well. They are also the kind of book that tells you how to be a good wife and look after your servants. I think Hubby is still wishing I would follow some of the advice in the books.

Stuffed in the back of one of the books given to me by Grandma was a catalogue from one of the local grocers. Unfortunately the grocer is no longer but some googling shows it was an important and well known place within the local community. Within the catalogue is adverts for long-gone products, apart from the Rowentrees Cocoa. The Rowentree advert means I can date the catalogue to around 1910, so Grandma must have been given this cookbook by her mother. I love looking at the claims the various products make. I don't think you would get away with it now! By clicking on the pics you can see the adverts in more detail.

Yesterday I had the craving to make Jam Tarts and while flicking through a copy of a Good Housekeeping book called The Home Book, from around 1920's-1930's, I stumbled across a recipe for Welsh Cheesecakes. One thing about old cookbooks, they often don't have pictures, however they sometimes tell you how to present the dish. Even with the basic presentation instructions I still wasn't 100% what they were meant to look like, let alone taste like. To be honest I'm not sure why these are called a cheesecake as there is no cheese in them. Some research suggests that the term "cheesecake" in olde English may mean just a tart, but I'm not sure.

A few years ago I did have a bit of a pastry phobia and have tried many shortcrust recipes over the year, but always come back to this recipe as it always works perfectly. These cakes are essentially jam tarts with a basic sponge topping. The pastry worked out at the perfect short texture and the buttery sponge helped offset the sweet jam. It's very difficult to just eat just 1 of these little dainty cakes with my morning cup of tea. Tonight we may have a few warm with some Cherry Beer Ice Cream. mmmmm... As this is a 80 or so year old recipe I've kept it in old style ounces rather than grams.

Welsh Cheesecakes
Makes 12 individual cakes

Shortcrust pastry
8 oz plain flour
4 oz unsalted butter, cold from the fridge and cubed
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
cold water (you'll need no more than 1/4 pint)

Filling
Raspberry jam
2 oz plain flour
2 oz unsalted butter
2 oz caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder

1) First get started on the pastry. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

2) Add the chilled water a small amount at a time and mix with a knife until you have a good dough. Roll into a ball, cover in cling film and chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

3) Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the egg. Fold in the sieved flour and baking powder until you have a smooth cake batter.

4) Roll out the pastry until around 5mm thick. Using a 3 inch cutter, cut rounds and press gently into a bun tin. Place a small amount of jam on top of the pastry then top with 1 tsp of the cake batter. Using the scraps place a cross of pastry on top of the batter.

5) Bake at 200oc for 10 min, or until well risen and golden.

Eating Berlin.

2009-08-03T22:18:00.010+01:00

Last week I returned to somewhere that I left 17 years ago and holds strong memories for me - Berlin. And quelle surprise most of the memories relate to the food there! As a child I lived there for 3 years and saw the wall fall down. I also own piece of the wall I chiselled off with my own fair hands. I admit I was nervous about returning and worried it wasn’t going to be anything like I remembered. Although, yes, Berlin had changed, it didn’t disappoint. Prewarning - not the best of photos as we didn’t take our DSLR out with us.

Monday

After a bumpy landing at Schönefeld Airport we headed to our Meliá hotel on Friedrichstraße by the Spree. I had read good reports of it on Trip Advisor, hence why I booked it and our rooms were fantastic with lovely views of the Spree. We soon headed to some of the side streets by the hotel and settled on eating at Machiavelli as the menu was extensive and had many interesting dishes, which in turn challenged my knowledge of the German language. Who knew there could be so many words for mushroom. I went for a feta & broccoli pizza, odd sounding (hence why I tried it!) but surprisingly nice. I’ve only ever seen broccoli on pizza in Germany. I also tasted my first Malzbier a non-alcoholic beer that me tastes like cola & Guinness. After dinner we went on a short sunset walk to Brandenburg Gate and the Jewish Memorial which was very peaceful in the last light of the day.

Tuesday

Now, I had heard about the buffet breakfasts at the Meliá hotel, but nothing could prepare me for the extensive choice on offer. Churros, pancakes, various bread, fruit, yogurt, cereals, cheese, cold meats, pastries, eggs to order, fried potatoes, sausages, grilled tomatoes with pesto, rollmops, big selection of teas & coffee, champagne… you name it and it was probably there. Obligingly we all ate as much as possible for breakfast to ward off lunchtime hunger pangs. We spent the day walking around the Zoo then walking on to Charlottenberg to look for the Egyptian Museum which it turns out is no longer there and is in the process of being moved to Museum Island. All in all we ended up walking 15 miles that day, and most of that was looking for a museum that no longer exists. Lunch was grabbed on the move and for me was in the form of a delicious pretzel. During our mammoth walking trip we also took in Siegessäule and Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskitche.

For dinner that night we chose a place called Kartoffel Keller (English translation being Potato Cellar) - random but hearty. Certainly helped to fill a gap. One thing I learnt in Berlin is that they love sausages, potato & bread. If you don’t like these your stuffed. Thankfully I like all three, however I did find the odd true veggie option on their menu and decided to sidestep the meat for a change. Most restaurants don’t serve veggie meals or the “veggie” alternative was a fish dish. I chose a large kartoffelpuffer (aka latkes or potato pancake). Although they are traditionally served with applesauce I decided to top mine with vegetables, cheese and a herb butter. Surprisingly nice. Hubby ate pan potatoes with shrimps and leek.

Wednesday

The main aim for Wednesday was to visit KaDeWe. A famous department store in Berlin, much like London’s Harrods. As a child we used to go on school trips just to look at what’s called the Gourmet Floor. I can still remember walking around the floor in awe of all the counters stacked with the most amazing food and tanks full of lobsters and other sea creatures. Even with 17 years on I was still in awe of all the counters and shocked to say we couldn’t decide on anything to buy. Everything we fancied like some of the cheeses wouldn’t have travelled back to the UK well. This was a sneaky shot of one of the cake counters. Sneaky as little bro got told off for taking photos in there. After leaving KaDeWe we headed back to Gedächtniskitche where I promised Hubby he could taste the famous German street food that is Currywurst. I wouldn’t dream of eating anything like this in the UK, but for some reason here in Berlin it felt right and tasted good! We walked back to the hotel via Tiergarten in which Hubby got quite a shock considering I forgot to mention Germanys liberal attitude toward naturism.

For Dinner we headed down Schiffbauerdamm and liked the look of an Austrian restaurant called Brechts . Now rule 1 of looking for a restaurant to eat, look at the menu & prices before sitting down. Poor Dad got a bit of a shock when we sat down and the charming waiter handed out the menus. With 6 of us sitting down for dinner this wasn’t going to be cheap, However I have to say it was one of the best and most memorable meals we had in Berlin. Between us we had Wiener Schnitzel with cranberries and sautéed potatoes; pink lamb with risotto, ratatouille and asparagus and the final dish being ox cheeks with dumplings. I was thinking of dipping out of pudding, but I’m so glad I didn’t as the Crème Bruleè taster platter I had was amazing. Well worth the 10 EUR.

Top row (L-R) - rich chocolate Crème Bruleè, summer fruits in chocolate sauce, Plum sorbet
Middle row - apple compote, vanilla Crème Bruleè, blackberry sherbet (texture of cooked beetroot, but sizzled in the mouth.
Bottom row - vanilla ice cream, morello cherries, strong coffee Crème Bruleè

Thursday

The final full day in Berlin was probably the hottest day. While the men headed out of town us women headed towards Alexanderplatz. The initial intention was to go to Museum Island, but the queues were too long so continued towards Alexanderplatz tower, however not before stopping off at the Radisson Blu hotel for Kaffee & Kuchen and at 5.50 EUR it was a bargain considering I was getting used to seeing a basic cup of tea selling for as much as 4 EUR in some places. They serve coffee & cake in their Atrium Bar. It was an impressive space with a stunning aquarium leading up the middle. Never before have I been served such fancy tea with a little tea timer to ensure the tea leaves steeped for exactly the right amount of time. We must have spent over an hour there taking advantage of their air-con and posh loos you don’t have to pay for (a novelty). After making a brief visit to Alexanderplatz for old times sake started to head back to the hotel when I saw a place advertising iced bubble tea. I’d seen bubble tea many a times on Tastespotting and decided to give it a try. Well all I can say is that it is not my taste in the slightest and the tapioca pearls…euch.

While in Berlin I also managed to introduce Hubby to some food I used eat as a child there including Bifi Rolls, Erdnuss flips (think peanut butter flavoured Wotsits) & Kinder milk slice. Junk food maybe, but the German junk food of my childhood!

I was pleased as to how quickly all the German I learnt as a child came flooding back. As I learnt it in Germany I speak German with an authentic German accent, however this did cause problems when speaking to some people as they didn’t believe that I didn’t always understand them! I admit I’m far better at reading and listening to it than speaking it. Thanks to the lack of English channels on the hotel TV (there is only so many times you can watch BBC News 24) I soon got learning the lyrics to some woeful Europop and realised we are not the only country to have the I-know-it’s-dire-TV-but-I-like-it Snog, Marry, Avoid?

All in all it was a fantastic trip and I would recommend Berlin to everyone. I don’t understand why it isn’t more popular. I was warned before I went that German food isn’t exactly renowned, but if you know where to look there is some real gems…as long as you avoid the bubble tea.

Fresh from the oven - Tomato & Garlic Focaccia

2009-07-28T06:19:00.010+01:00

This months challenge from Fresh from the oven is to make a Focaccia using which ever recipe we wanted to. Focaccia is becoming a staple in this house. I probably make some version of focaccia more than any other type of bread. It's perfect for barbecues or when we have people over to dinner because it is easy to share.

I made this variant for my Birthday BBQ and it went down very well. The tomatoes give it a nice change in texture and sweetness. The only slight alteration I would make next time would be to add the garlic to the dough as it caught a bit on top when added to the oil.

Tomato & Garlic Focaccia
Makes 1 large foccacia
Based on a recipe from River Cottage - Bread

500g strong white bread flour
5g fast action yeast
10g fine salt
325ml warm water (mix 100ml boiling water with 225ml of cold water)
1 tbsp olive oil (for the dough)
2 tbsp olive oil mixed with 2 minced garlic cloves (for the topping)
rosemary
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
flaky sea salt

1) Mix together the flour, yeast, salt and water. Once the ingredients are combined add the olive oil. Knead for around 10 min until the dough is smooth and silky. At the stage, if using a mixer, the bowl should be clean of dough.

2) Shape the dough into a round and leave to rise in a covered and greased bowl until it has nearly doubled in size.

3) Tip the dough out and work in a rough rectangle shape then place in an oiled baking tray. Cover and allow to rise for 20 min.

4) Preheat the oven to 250oc (or as high as it will go). When the bread has had its half hour rise prod it with your fingers to get the cratered texture then push the tomato halves into the dough. Drizzle with the garlicky olive oil then sprinkle with salt & rosemary.

5) Bake for 10 min then bake for a further 10min at 200oc. Leave to cool on a wire rack for around 10 min before serving.

Strawberry Ice Cream Cupcakes

2009-07-19T14:18:00.008+01:00

It's that time of year again when I break up for the summer holiday and celebrate my birthday. As Hubby & I have known each other for 9 years he knows exactly what I like. With the KitchenAid for my birthday last year and the trip to River Cottage for Christmas he outdid himself yet again this year with an iPhone for me. I've been talking about buying myself one for ages, but have been saving up. For my birthday I also got some beautiful flowers, lovely set of new saucepans (after the handles fell off my old ones), microplane grater, Lothian raspberry vodka from Demijohn and some other lovely foodie gifts. What you can't see in the photo above was that 3rd Birthday was the birthday I got a Fisher Price kitchen set for my birthday, a sign of things to come?

To celebrate my birthday we had a BBQ, something of which has come a bit of a tradition. Thankfully the rain held off and in amongst the various vegetables and raised beds we had a barbecued shoulder of hogget (sourced from a smallholding friend) along with some tomato focaccia, roasted new potatoes, beetroot hummus and salad.

For after the BBQ I made a peach melba jelly and also wanted a nostalgic cake. When I saw the Ice Cream Cupcakes on Mums Who Bake a few weeks back I knew they would be perfect. As a child I can remember how much I loved the marshmallow filled ice cream cones that were a treat and any trip to the seaside was incomplete without a Mr Whippy. As strawberries often featured in my childhood birthday cakes I wanted to add the pulp from the last few strawberries from the garden into the icing.

One thing about traditional cupcakes is that I'm not a big fan of buttercream as I find it too sweet, so decided to try a cream cheese frosting. Well, I have to say I'm converted to cream cheese icing. Although it doesn't last as long as buttercream and it isn't as stiff, it's not as sweet as buttercream and absolutely delicious. I could quite happily just eat the icing! I really enjoyed my making these cakes and I'm going to try and do more swirly icing on cakes now I've found an icing I like. Still need a bit more practice with the icing bag and I'm going to try and see if I can find bigger icing nozzles as the shops here have quite a limited selection.

One thing I did learn from this is don't overfill the ice cream cone or it will dramatically burst and dribble cake mix down the cone.

Strawberry Ice Cream Cupcakes
Makes 8-10

For the cakes
125g plain flour
125g vanilla sugar (or caster sugar)
125g softened butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 tsp baking powder
8 flat bottomed ice cream cones

For the icing
240g cream cheese, cold from the fridge (it has to be the full fat version or it won't work)
80g softened butter
150g - 190g icing sugar (to taste)
the pulp of a few mashed strawberries
3 full sized flakes cut into 1/4

1) Preheat the oven to 180oc. Beat together the sugar, butter and eggs, then mix in the rest of the ingredients.

2) Line up the cones on a baking sheet. It does make it slightly easier if you put the cones in the cups of a bun pan.

3) Fill up the cones about 2/3 with cake mix. Don't overfill or they go everywhere! Bake in the oven for 15 min, or until they are golden and pass the skewer test. Allow to cool on a wire rack before icing.

4) Once the cakes have cooled beat together the butter and cream cheese then mix in the sieved icing sugar to taste. Fold in the strawberries then pipe onto the the cakes. Decorate with a flake.

5) If you want the icing to be a bit firmer, chill in the fridge for a few hours.

Cherry Beer Ice Cream

2009-07-14T19:48:00.008+01:00

I first came across Mark @ Pencil & Spoon's recipe for beer ice cream a few months back and after making a winning raspberry beer ice cream I knew I had to try some other beers to test how they worked. This batch is for my Birthday BBQ this weekend.

I admit I'm not a huge ice cream eater. I don't like Hagen Daz et al far too sweet and sickly for me. The best ice cream, in my opinion, is the delicious selection from Needwood Dairy...and of course this beer ice cream. I have another ice cream idea in the pipeline based on one of my favourite English cakes, but you'll have to wait for that because I'm still developing the recipe.

To make the ice cream was also an excuse to use my newest KitchenAid Gadget - an Ice cream bowl and beater
This is not the first time I've made ice cream in the KitchenAid. The Damson Gin sorbet didn't work (I had gone a bit mad with the gin!), blackberry & apple sorbet waiting to be tasted and the raspberry beer ice cream, well lets just say it didn't last long as it was so delicious! The only think Mark says about making this is be careful with your choice of beer. Ideally you do not want a too hoppy beer as it can make the ice cream too bitter.

The beer in it gives it more of an adult flavour. Rich and fruity with a hint of bitterness to stop to being too sweet. The cherry juice in the beer gives the ice cream a beautiful cerise hue. This ice cream would be a perfect accompaniment to a rich dark chocolate brownie. I should also point out this is possibly one of the easiest ice cream recipes known to man. 3 ingredients, no egg, no faffing.

UPDATE: We ate this at my birthday BBQ and it was unanimously decided it tastes just like a Bakewell Tart. You can certainly taste almonds in it. Now this breakthrough means my grand plan to create an ice cream based on my favourite cake (a Bakewell Tart!) has now been shelved as I seem to have achieved it without trying.

Fruit Beer Ice Cream

1 can of condensed milk
300ml double cream
250ml-300ml fruit beer (I use Samuel Smith's fruit beer range)

Gently whisk together all of the ingredients then pour into the ice cream maker. Done!

Omega Seed Brittle

2009-07-06T19:30:00.006+01:00

With the 3-Peak Challenge looming both Hubby & I are trying to find ways to help us get through the 11am and 3pm sugar slump without reaching for the biscuit tin. To help keep on top of my snacking at work I usually pack a bento box. This helps me control portion size as well as encouraging me to have a balanced diet. Hubby is talking of taking a bento snack box to work to keep him away from the temptation of the corner shop. Hubby in particular has a very sweet tooth so these bars are perfect for him, because not only does he get a good sugar hit it has the added benefits of slow release energy and all the good stuff that is in seeds. A Mars bar can't promise to do that!

I always have a packet of mixed seeds in the cupboard. Not only are they great for making granola with, but also for sprinkling on cereal and adding to flapjacks. I also carry a small tupperware box of seeds and dry fruit in my handbag for low energy wobbles. This particular seed mix contains pumpkin, sunflower, sesame seeds and linseed which means it is packed with omega-3. Great for body and mind. Omega-3 is something that the body can't produce and must be introduced through diet. I know there is some debate as to the benefits of omega oils, but I notice a significant difference in my skin and moods when I have a regular intake of it. However I don't buy into all the products out there at the moment with "added omega-3". I prefer to get it straight from the source. These products are just playing on public anxiety and food fads making out that Omega is a new amazing supplement, when in reality it has been something all of our bodies have needed from year dot.

The main source of Omega-3 is oily fish, but as I'm not a big fish eater I try to find other ways to getting it and this is perfect.I buy my omega seed mix from a Vegan Wholefood shop, but I have seen similar mixes in the supermarket.

When your making this, what ever you do make sure you wash the pan soon after making it or you'll have a job getting the encrusted honey off the pan.

Omega Seed Brittle

85g (approx 6 tbsp) omega seed mix or similar
3 tbsp honey

1) Place both the honey and seeds in a frying pan and slowly heat until the honey has begun to caramelise and the nuts begin to toast.

2) Pour out onto a piece of baking parchment and allow to set in the fridge.