Bread and butter pudding

Before this I had never tried a bread and butter pudding so I felt an urge to make one myself. 

I was pleasantly surprised with this creamy and golden brown classic and will be having more in the future. In a restaurant I once had one with white chocolate wrapped around it which was extremely yummy but I think melting some chocolate and drizzling it over the top will give the same result. 

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4.

1. Grease a 1 litre/2 pint pie dish with butter.
2. Cut the crusts off the bread. Spread each slice with on one side with butter, then cut into triangles.
3. Arrange a layer of bread, buttered-side up, in the bottom of the dish, then add a layer of sultanas. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon, then repeat the layers of bread and sultanas, sprinkling with cinnamon, until you have used up all of the bread. Finish with a layer of bread, then set aside.
4. Gently warm the milk and cream in a pan over a low heat to scalding point. Don't let it boil.
5. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add three quarters of the sugar and lightly whisk until pale.
6. Add the warm milk and cream mixture and stir well, then strain the custard into a bowl.
7. Pour the custard over the prepared bread layers and sprinkle with nutmeg and the remaining sugar and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
8. Place the dish into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the custard has set and the top is golden-brown.
   
   
   Day old bread works best in this recipe and a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside will go down a treat!
   
   
   

   

   
   

Designer cakes!

Recently I was asked to bake sweets for a customer event at Margaret Howell http://www.margarethowell.co.uk/, an upmarket clothing shop in London. For the event I made banana bread, chocolate Guinness cake and hot ginger nut cookies.


The banana bread is my great grans recipe and it is foolproof;
125g butter
1 cup caster sugar (200g)
3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs,beaten
2 cups flour(125g)
1tsp baking power
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch salt


Preheat the oven to 180 C/350F/Gas mark 4. Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the mashed bananas and eggs, then fold in the rest. Bake in the oven for 3/4 to 1 hour.

Im not a huge fan of ginger but even I loved these biscuits. I recommend the cayenne pepper as i think it taste really nice but if you think its a bit hot for you, don't add it.The recipe is from the breakfast lunch and tea book by the rose bakery.


Makes about 24 biscuits
200g unsalted buter, softened
440g self raising flour
150g caster sugar
3 tablespoons ground ginger
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda
240g golden syrup, warmed
40g treacle, warmed


Preheat the oven to 160 C/325 F/gas mark 3.


Butter a baking tray or line it with parchment paper. 


If you are using a food processor, process the flour with the sugar, ground ginger, cayenne if using, bicarbonate of soda and butter until they are well mixed. Otherwise, cut the butter into small pieces, mix the dry ingredients together and rub the butter into them with your fingers, and bring together to make a dough.
Add the golden syrup and treacle.


Break of pieces and shape them into 3cm balls.


Place well apart on the prepared tray and bake for about 10 minutes. The biscuits will rise and then fall a little. They must be crisp on the outside and a little chewy on the inside.

Next is the Guinness and chocolate cake. You can't actually taste the Guinness and i'm not sure what it does but the cake is delicious. Its a Humming bird recipe so its going to be good!

For the sponge

250ml (9fl oz) Guinness

250g (9oz) unsalted butter

80g (3oz) cocoa powder

400g (14oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

140ml (5fl oz) buttermilk

280g (10oz) plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp baking powder

For the frosting

50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter, softened

300g (10½oz) icing sugar

125g (4½oz) full-fat cream cheese (such as Philadelphia)

Cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)

one 23cm (9in) diameter spring-form cake tin

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F)/gas mark 3, then line the base of the tin with baking parchment.

2. Pour the Guinness into a saucepan, add the butter and gently heat until it has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the cocoa powder and sugar into the warm liquid. Mix together the eggs, vanilla essence and buttermilk by hand in a jug or bowl, and then add this to the mixture in the pan.

3. Sift together the remaining sponge ingredients into a large bowl or into the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer. Using the mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, set on a low speed, pour in the contents of the pan. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are incorporated.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Set aside to cool, and then remove from the tin on to a wire rack, making sure the cake is cold to the touch before you frost it.

5. Using the electric whisk or the freestanding mixer with paddle attachment, mix the butter and icing sugar together until there are no large lumps of butter and it is fully combined with the sugar in a sandy mixture. Add the cream cheese and mix in a low speed, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

6. Place the cooled cake on to a plate or cake card and top generously with the cream cheese frosting. The cake can be decorated with a light dusting of cocoa powder. 

Pickled walnuts-final step

Sweet Pickling syrup
1 litre malt vinegar
500g brown sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger


Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and Bring the syrup mix to the boil, then add the walnuts and simmer for 15 minutes.

Cool and spoon the walnuts into large jars, then cover with syrup. They will last for years. These pickled walnuts are great with cheese or cold meats.

Pickled walnuts-step 2

The next step is to lay the walnuts out on trays in a dry, airy place. In a couple of days they will turn jet black. Now the walnuts are ready to be pickled..

I'll publish a new post when I've done the next step.

Pickled walnuts

My grandpa pointed out a walnut tree in our garden and suggested I pickle the walnuts. So as it's late June/early July, the perfect time for pickling them, I've just started the long process.

First you need to pick a good amount of walnuts. Right now is the right time, leave them any later and the nut inside will harden. Check by piercieng a skewer through one and if it goes all the way through with ease then they're ready.

Once you've gathered your walnuts, prick each one with a fork a few times but wear gloves as they let out a juice that stains brown and I ended up with brown specks over my chin because one sprayed on to me!

Next you need to leave the walnuts in brine for a week, it's a 2kg walnut to 225g salt ratio. Cover the walnuts in water and add the salt. Leave it for a week, drain and replace with fresh brine for another week.

I'll publish a new post when I've done the next step. 

My dad's cooking skills are quite limited

My dad's cooking skills are quite limited, although he has three specialities which he has mastered very well. Tea, toast and bubble and squeak! I'm hoping most of you can make tea and toast, but the bubble and squeak might be a new comforting meal to remember.


To make:
Peel, chop into large chunks and boil a large amount of varied vegetables. My dad specifically suggests carrots, parsnips, potato, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. Heat a large, sturdy frying pan with a little oil in the bottom. Not too much oil or it will go soggy. Then place the vegetables with a roughly chopped onion in the hot frying pan. Squash it all down, chopped it up lots and season well so it all squishes together. Shake the pan from time to time to prevent it from sticking. It will be ready when the bottom is nice and golden brown and it's extra yummy with a dollop of HP sauce.


Enjoy! 

A stunner of a cheesecake!

As you can tell this cheesecake is a stunner! The blueberry swirl adds a nice twist but it still has the lovely richness of a traditional cheesecake. It's great for a dinner party as it can be made in advance and looks very pretty, however I was quite wary while cooking it as it was still quite wobbly after the 50-60 min baking time, so I kept it in for a little while longer and in the end I just had to hope for the best! The cheesecake didn't brown on the edges but it was fine after leaving it in the fridge. So if you think yours might be going wrong, just carry on, it will be fine in the end!

This is a Donna Hay recipe,  from the book Modern Classics (book 2)   

Ingredients: 


Base
2.5 oz shortbread cookies
1/2 cup almond meal
1.5 oz melted butter


Blueberry syrup
7.5 oz fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
Filling
20 oz cream cheese, at room temp
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract 
Syrup
1. Process the blueberries in a food processor and press through a sieve (you should end up with 1/2 cup of puree). 
2. Place the puree and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Rapidly simmer for 8 or so min, until it thickens. 
3. Set aside to cool. 

Method;Base
1. Process the cookies in a food processor until crushed. 
2. Add the almond meal, and butter and process until combined. 
3. Grease a 9 inch springform pan, and line the base with parchment paper. 
4. Press the crumb mixture over the base and place in the fridge. 

Filling
1. Preheat the oven to 280F. 
2. Process the cream cheese either with a paddle attachment or in a food processor until very smooth, make sure there are no lumps, and make sure that you use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and the bottom. 
3. Add the sour cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla, and process till smooth. 
Assembling;
1. Pour the filling over the base. 
2. Drizzle the blueberry mixture over the top and swirl lightly with a butter knife. 
3. Bake for 1 hour (or until set - slightly wiggly but not still liquidy.) 
4. Refrigerate and serve cold.