Hello and welcome to my new website; I hope you enjoy it! To kick things off on my new site it was only right that I baked something; I had to have something to keep me motivated during the changeover! These orange and poppy seed biscuits are a recipe from Cathryn Dresser (former Great British Bake Off contestant) author of Let’s Bake and she has teamed up with Pyrex to create a series of baking recipes for National Baking Week from 13th to 19th October. See below for details of the giveaway to win lots of Pyrex baking goodies in time for October 13th.
White Chocolate and Blackcurrant Blondies
Ingredients
You will need (to make nine blondies):- 200g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 200g butter, melted
- 150g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 200g white chocolate buttons or chips
- 100g blackcurrants, tops and tails removed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
Preheat an oven to 180C. Grease a 20cm square baking tin then line it with baking paper.
Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy then beat in the melted butter. Add the butter a little at a time.
Sieve the flour and baking powder together then tip this into the egg mixture and fold it in lighlty.
Gently fold in the chocolate buttons and blackcurrants and bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown but still gooey in the middle.
As it has been so warm recently it did feel a bit odd baking and eating these in the sunshine but they were so good. The soft, squidgy, cakey blondie mix I was really pleased with. The added white chocolate chips, some of which got caramelised in the oven, gave some texture and were a real treat. I loved using the blackcurrants in this as they gave such a distinctive flavour and wonderful colour and turned almost jam like. Next time you get your cake craving I very much recommend you try these.
Dark Chocolate, Orange and Hazelnut Brownies
Ingredients
You will need (for nine brownies):
- 100g salted butter
- 180g golden caster sugar
- 70g light muscovado sugar
- 120g dark chocolate with orange (the stuff I used had caramelised orange peel in)
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 2 eggs
- Splash vanilla extract
- 100g plain flour
- 2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 50g roughly chopped hazelnuts (mine were blanched)
Method
Line a (roughly) 20cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. You could grease the tin but anything for a life of easier washing up. Melt the butter, sugars, chocolate and golden syrup together in a pan over a low heat until melted and well combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Beat the eggs and vanilla extract together then whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together then fold this into the chocolate mix. Gently mix in the hazelnuts. Pour the brownie mix into the tin then bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 25-30 minutes. Mark into pieces while still hot.I think everyone likes their brownies differently; some prefer them cakier, some want them still gooey and others will have them like fudge. The thing I like about this recipe is the corner pieces are cakier than the edge pieces which are fudgier and the (best) centre brownie which is still slightly liquid. The middle piece is my favourite and I try to take it out when it’s fresh from the oven to enjoy hot. This of course is somewhat awkward as you need all manner of kitchen implements to try and extract it; it’s like culinary Operation but well worth the effort. The chocolate is just intense enough, the orange is more of a whisper and the hazelnuts add a welcome texture. Exactly what I wanted.
Dried Blueberry and Almond Cereal Bars
Ingredients
You will need (for 12 cereal bars):
- 225g oats
- 100ml maple syrup
- 150g butter
- 75g dried blueberries
- 50g flaked almonds
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
Method
Preheat an oven to 180C and lightly grease a baking tray. The one I used was about 20cm x 20cm.
Melt the maple syrup and butter together in a saucepan on a low heat until melted and well combined.
Mix the oats, dried blueberries, almonds and poppy seeds together then pour in the syrup and butter and stir together until well mixed.
Press the mixture into the prepared baking tray and then place into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Mark into pieces while still hot then remove from the tray when cooled.
Review: Maple Pecan Cupcake Recipe from Baking Mad
Ingredients
You will need (original recipe here, mine is slightly different):
- 2 eggs (I used half a goose egg)
- 125g butter
- 125g caster sugar
- 225g self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
For the icing: - 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 65g butter
- 125g icing sugar (I used the Silver Spoon Chocolate icing sugar I was sent)
- Chocolate chips to decorate (I used the Silver Spoon ones I was sent)
Method
Preheat an oven to 180C and line a cupcake tin with 12 cases. I don’t have a cupcake tin so I use silicone cupcake cases.
Place the eggs, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla and maple syrup in a bowl and mix together until smooth. I used an electric hand whisk for this.
Divide the batter between the cases then place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until baked.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave to cool.
Make the icing by beating together the butter and icing sugar then add the maple syrup and beat until light and fluffy.
Victoria Sponge with Rhubarb and Vanilla Compote
It’s always nice to see some bright pink rhubarb poking its head out at the market but as it’s the first of the season it can be quite pricey. So when you have only £1.80, what can you do with two rhubarb sticks? Make a lovely, vibrant rhubarb compote/jam to sandwich in the middle of two fat slices of cake of course. Other things that you can do with two sticks of rhubarb include: jousting, a spot of relay running or making a parasol (if you have the leaves left on) but none of those would be anywhere near as good as this cake.
Review: Norwegian Skrei Cod in a simple Butter and Parsley Sauce
Skrei is a much loved Norwegian delicacy. Skrei must be caught fully grown and meet the strict quality standards to be labelled as such. This source of cod is a sustainable one and most of the Skrei are line caught. You can read more about Hugh’s Fish Fight here.
I didn’t want to mess around and over complicate this delicate fish so I cooked it very simply. I fried a piece in a little olive oil and butter only flipping it once to prevent it breaking up.
When the cod was almost ready I added a little extra butter, some salt and pepper and a small handful of parsley to make a quick sauce.
Malted Chocolate Biscuits
ingredients
This recipe is on page 122 of the book.
You will need (I made 8 slices):
- 100g butter
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 2 tbsp malted chocolate drink (I used just malted i.e. Horlicks)
- 225g malted milk biscuits
- 75g milk chocolate (you can also use dark)
- 25g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
Method
Grease and line a cake tin; mine was an 18cm loose bottomed one.
Put the butter, golden syrup and malted drink into a saucepan and heat gently until the mixture is well combined. I find when the butter melts at first it looks a bit separated but keep stirring and it will come together and be thick and glossy.
Bash up the malted milk biscuits until you have crumbs then mix these into the butter mixture.
Press the mixture down well in the cake tin.
Review: Barber’s 1833 Cheddar and Twice Baked Cheddar Soufflés
Barber’s kindly invited me to the BBC Good Food Show last year in Birmingham and I really enjoyed it. I had a good old chat to Barber’s about their cheese; they use their own starter cultures to make their cheese and I was amazed at the difference each culture can make to the end flavour of the cheese. Some will give it an earthy, Marmite flavour and others will give a slight sweetness. In order to enjoy their cheese Barber’s gave me all the ingredients and a recipe to make a delicious twice baked cheese soufflé.
ingredients
You will need (for 6 soufflés):- 225ml milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 6 black peppercorns
- 40g butter, plus extra for greasing
- 40g plain flour
- 125g Barber’s 1833 Vintage Cheddar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1 tbsp. chopped chives
- Salt and pepper
- 150ml double cream
method
Preheat an oven to 180C and butter six individual ramekins.
Put the milk, shallot, bay leaf and peppercorns in a saucepan and bring to the boil then strain into a jug. I always enjoy doing this as it smells so good.
Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk then simmer for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cheese before adding the egg yolks, chives and a little salt and pepper.
Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks then fold these into the cheese mixture. Divide between the buttered ramekins.
Baked Blackberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
You will need:
- 180g digestive biscuits
- 75g butter
- 600g cream cheese
- 220g caster sugar
- 150g sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbsp. plain flour
- Large handful blackberries
Method
Line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin. Spring form is your friend for this.
Preheat an oven to 130C.
Crush the digestive biscuits in a bowl; I like to use the end of my rolling pin as it’s immensely satisfying. Melt the butter and mix this into the biscuits.
When the biscuits and butter are well combined press the mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and then chill in the fridge.
Whisk together the cream cheese and sugar then mix in the sour cream.
Add the eggs one at a time then add the flour.
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