baking | Bake Rattle 'n Roll

Posts Tagged ‘baking’

Brownies Not Girl Guides

November 12, 2014 by sarah

Truthfully I cannot call this recipe ‘best ever brownies’ or ‘perfect brownies’ because they are not. Despite trying several recipes over the years, I have yet to find one which is not just a little cakey especially around the edges. And that is not what a brownie is about; it must be soft, gooey and almost fudgey in the centre but with a pleasing crispy top. And I like mine to taste of CHOCOLATE! Nuts good, chocolate chunks brilliant, fruit no. I am posting this recipe because it is the closest I have got to home baked brownie perfection and it gives me something to work on next time. I don’t make them very often because they are expensive to make (all that good quality chocolate) and very bad for you (lots of butter and sugar). But what are holidays for if not for spoiling yourself. We ate the whole tray, myself and my husband, during the week we had away.

Next time I think I will try less flour, perhaps 100g, and half flour half coco powder. And perhaps try using some soft brown sugar.

Almost Perfect Brownies

125g butter, unsalted

160g plain choclate (good quality, coco solids greater than 60%)

200g caster sugar (golden if you have it)

1 tablespoon honey or golden syrup

4 medium eggs

150g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground coffee or instant coffee

150g mixed nuts – walnuts, almonds, pecans work well

Grease and line a baking tin about 20cm by 20cm (9″ x 9″) with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 160º C fan.

In glass bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally until smooth and silky.

In a separate larger bowl, mix the dry ingredients except the nuts. Do not bother to sift the flour as you don’t want to add extra air.

Once the butter and chocolate is melted, take off the heat and stand until it is finger temperature (less than 30º C) otherwise you will scramble the eggs. Add the honey or golden syrup and then beat in the eggs one at a time. When well beaten, add this wet mixture to the dry and beat until mixed and then mix in nuts until evenly distributed.

Pour the brownie mix into the prepared tin and pop in the oven on a middle shelf.

Start checking after 20-25 minutes. You want to take the brownies out when any wobble is gone from the middle of the tin but not any more – it is better they are slightly under done than over. A skewer will never come out clean so you cannot use this test. Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into squares.

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking,brownies,chocolate | No Comments
Cider Apple Cake

October 17, 2014 by sarah

This recipe makes wonderful use of the windfall apples that are plentiful at this time of year. These are apples that are ugly with blemishes, or slightly bruised from falling off or being picked, and not suitable for storage. I made this recipe with apples I picked from a hedgerow tree which is on my drive to work. The apples are crisp, juicy and sweet and very similar to a Golden Delicious but not at all fluffy in texture like the worst of the ones in the supermarket. Unfortunately we didn’t gather enough this year for it to be worth making cider so I used some of last years very fine cider to add to this cake. Everywhere was telling me that this was a bumper year for apples; it wasn’t for me. We have 5 bottles of last year’s cider left so when they are drunk (and always savoured), I will have to resort to buying some. Oh well, hopefully I can find a local supply of Mill Whites Rum Cask cider – lovely!

This recipe is taken from ‘The Great British Book of Baking’ by Linda Collister. This cake doesn’t keep very well because it is very moist so eat up! It is absolutely delicious warm, served with cream/custard/ice cream or all three if you are of that persuasion. The lovely appley chunks are counter balanced by the tang of the cider in the background – you are going to love it!

Cider Apple Cake

175g soft unsalted butter

175g light brown sugar

3 medium eggs, at room temperature

250g self-raising flour

100ml cider

about 500g tart eating apples, peeled, cored and diced

2 tablespoons of demerara sugar or flaked almonds, for sprinkling

Grease a 23cm springform tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC/ fan 160 ºC.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs and add gradually to this. If it looks like it is curdling then add a spoonful of the flour.

Sift over the rest of the flour and fold in gently.

Add the cider and apples and mix well until thoroughly combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, level the top and sprinkle over the demerara sugar or flaked almonds.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour – it is ready when a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes then completely cool on a wire rack or eat while warm.

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: apple,apples,baking,cider | No Comments
Luscious Lemon Drizzle Cake

October 12, 2014 by sarah

I always have lemons in my fruit bowl. Their zest and/or juice flavours and complements a huge range of dishes from around the world, sweet or savoury. You can probably tell from the number of lemon recipes on this blog that I am a lemon fan. Added to a simple sponge mixture, the zest lifts the cake to heavenly levels and a lemon juice and sugar drizzle ensures the cake is always moist to the last slice with a scrumptious crunchy sugar crust. Plus I enjoy looking at their sunny brightness in the fruit bowl.

I can’t remember where this recipe came from; it is hand written in my recipe collection book in amongst other recipes written when I was a student. I am sure it is the kind of recipe found on the side of a bag of flour or tub of baking powder. And it is so simple, it can be put together while cooking ‘proper’ dinner, not that I against having cake for dinner!

Luscious Lemon Drizzle Cake

125g soft margarine

175g caster sugar

175g self-raising flour

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 tablespoons milk

3 medium eggs

grated rind of 1 lemon

Syrup – 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

– 3 rounded tablespoon icing sugar

Set the oven to 180 ºC/fan 160 ºC. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.

Cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Crack the eggs over the top and sift over the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the lemon rind and milk. On low speed with a hand mixer, mix until well mixed but do the last bit by hand to ensure it is not over mixed.

Pour in the prepared tin, smooth the top and bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until firm and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Mix the syrup ingredients together and pour over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven and is still warm.

Leave to cool totally in the tin.

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking,lemon,lemons | No Comments
Cherry Clafouti

October 9, 2014 by sarah

This is a recipe that I made way back when it was still summer but some how got shunted down the list of blog articles, lost in time. Until now.

Have I ever mentioned that cherries are my favourite fruit? Well you know now; they are. I don’t mind how they come and even artificial cherry flavourings and sweeties are fine by me. Tart sour dried cherries have got to be my absolute favourite but since finding them in Seattle, I have not found any in this country that are quite as sour and tangy. Anyone found any? I am willing to be a taster for them!

Recipe adapted from Raymond Blanc ‘Foolproof French Cookery’. You can substitute other fruit for the cherries – I made a very tasty fig clafouti last weekend (substitute almond essence for the vanilla extract).

Cherry Clafouti

500g fresh cherries, stoned

2 tablespoon caster sugar

2 tablespoon kirsch

100g plain flour

a pinch a salt

3 whole eggs plus extra yolk

6 tablespoon caster sugar (about 75g)

1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

400ml milk/cream mixture (whatever you have in the fridge)

75g unsalted butter

Mix the cherries with the sugar and kirsch and set aside for a couple of hours for the flavours to intensify.

Prepare the baking dish (china or cast iron, about 20cm diameter, 5cm deep) by rubbing generously with butter and then sprinkling in some caster sugar to form a lovely crush on the clafouti.

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC/fan 160 ºC.

Make the batter by putting the flour and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add the eggs, sugar and vanilla. With a whisk, slowly incorporate the flour into the egg mixture until smooth. Pour in the milk/cream. Alternatively use a hand blender to mix.

Melt the butter (microwave is easiest) and then beat into the batter.

Mix the cherries and any juices into the batter and pour the whole lot into the baking dish.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until just set. Serve warm or cool but not hot or ice cold from the fridge.

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking,cherries,cherry clafouti,clafouti | No Comments
Maderia cake – a celebration cake for decorating

September 21, 2014 by sarah
A madeira cake is ideal for celebration cakes as it is firm and moist and makes a good base for carving, icing and decorating. Glycerine can be added to the recipe to improve moistness on keeping but I haven’t tried this and would not recommend keeping this cake for more than a week even when iced. You want the cake to taste good as well as look good!

This is the recipe I used for my poppies cake for the 2014 Wigginton Show. Although the judges didn’t cut it or taste, I can verify that the cake was still moist and tasty 5 days after I made it and 4 days after it was iced.

I really enjoyed making the sugar paste poppies; I enjoy taking on a new challenge, researching the project and seeing how it turned out. My initial thought was for a bunch of roses with some other flowers and leaves but quickly realised that this was over ambitious in the time I had. When I was thinking about a single type of simple flower that looks good on its own, there was a flurry of news reports about World War One so this was an easy decision – a simple flower and a topical subject! I unfortunately don’t have photos of how I made the flowers to show you but I used two online tutorials – this one and this one. I didn’t have a veiner so I gently impressed the back of a knife into the petals when they were on the foam mat.

‘Lest We Forget’ cake with Lady Hadden Challenge Cup (most points in home classes) and George Hill Memorial Trophy (best wine)

8″ (20cm) round Madeira Cake

Ingredients
- 375g plain flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 315g caster sugar
- 315g unsalted butter
- good pinch of fine salt
- 5 medium eggs, cracked and beaten individually
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or zest of 2 lemons
- 3 tablespoons of milk
Method

The eggs and butter need to be at room temperature before you start. Line the 8″/20cm loose bottom or springform tin with baking parchment. Around the outside of the tin wrap and secure a good thickness of newspaper – this helps the cake bake more evenly and helps avoid a domed top.

Cream together the sugar and butter until very light and pale. Add the beaten eggs one at a time with a spoonful of flour between each one to prevent curdling. Then mix in the vanilla. Sift over the flour, baking powder and salt and fold in with a metal spoon. Add enough milk to make a soft dropping consistency; you may not need it all. Alternatively, after creaming the butter and sugar, dump in the eggs, milk and sift over the dry ingredients and use an electric mixer and beat for 1 minute only. Add any flavourings if wished and for the final mix use a rubber spatula to make sure all ingredients on the bottom and sides are incorporated.

Place the mixture into your prepared greased and lined tin. Smooth the top with a spatula, make a shallow depression in the centre and give the tin a sharp tap to remove any air pockets.

Place the cake tin in the centre of a pre-heated oven 160°C (fan 140 ºC) for 1½ to 1¾ hours. I always add a tray of water in the bottom of the oven whilst baking to add more moisture to the cake. The cake may take up to 2 hours to bake but if it looks like it is browning on top before the middle is done then make a foil hat with a small hole in the middle for the steam to escape. Allow to cool completely in the tin.

You can flavour the cakes with a lemon mixture which is poured over the baked cake whilst still warm and still in the tin, but first make small holes in the cake using a long wooden skewer to allow the mixture to pour through.

Buttercream Icing

Enough to fill and cover an 8″/20cm cake – if doing as a cake crumb layer then final icing I think you need a bit more than this but this amount is adequate if covering with fondant after.

Ingredients
- 150g unsalted butter
- 250g icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 tablespoon milk
Make sure the butter is very soft but not melted; beat for a minute so smooth and soft.

Gradually beat in the icing sugar, sifting it over the butter. Add the vanilla essence and milk at the end to form a smooth icing.

A close up of the poppies

The poppies in more detail.

It was so humid this weekend that the poppies flopped and all the petals fall off!
Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking,poppies,sugar paste | No Comments
Chocolate raspberry cake

September 14, 2014 by sarah

I have been lusting after a truly chocolatey cake for a few weeks after tasting some rather disappointing imitations (or ‘brown cake’ as I call it). And this cake hit the spot. Unfortunately I made it for friends at work so I couldn’t cut into it to show you what it looked like inside but believe me, it is a gorgeous pink creamy pillow. This cake eats like a dream – powerful chocolate flavour, not too sweet with a creamy centre and the tartness of the raspberries cutting through the richness.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

FOR THE CAKE

150ml milk

1 tablespoon of butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

200g caster sugar

175g plain flour

3 tablespoon good quality cocoa

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

FOR THE FILLING

150ml double cream

150g raspberries

FOR THE GANACHE ICING

120ml double cream

120g good quality dark chocolate, chopped finely

1 tablespoon golden syrup

15g butter

125g raspberries

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC/fan 160 ºC.

Grease and line a 23cm springform tin.

Pour the milk into a small saucepan with the butter and heat until warm and melted. Add the vanilla.

Whisk the eggs and sugar until very light and thick (ribbon trails). Pour in the milk mixture, whisking all the time. Sift over the dry ingredients and carefully fold in until no trace of flour lumps remain.

Pour into the tin and cook for 20-25 minutes until light and springing in the centre. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes then finish cooling on a wire wrack with a tea towel over so it doesn’t dry out.

The cake must be completely cool before filling and icing. It can be made 24 hours in advance but no longer than that as it will dry out. Make sure it is well wrapped in baking parchment then a carrier bag.

Split the cake in half.

Whip the cream until thick but not stiff. Add in the raspberries, crushing them against the side of the bowl to release the juices so you get a wonderfully mottled pink mixture.

Sandwich the two halves of cake with the raspberry cream.

To make the icing, place the cream, chocolate, syrup and butter in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water ( a bain marie) and heat until it looks like the chocolate is half melted. Take off the heat and with a spoon beat until smooth. Leave to cool long enough so it thickens (it took mine about 30 minutes at UK summer temperatures).

Pour and spread the ganache over the filled cake. Decorate with the raspberries.

Do not refrigerate this cake and eat within a few hours.

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking,chocolate | No Comments
Bakewell Tart

September 6, 2014 by sarah

‘A bakewell tart (maximum tin 8″)’ is one competition section in this years local show, so I though I’d give it a go and enter. We went to Bakewell, the town itself, a couple of years ago on a weekend trip and tried the Bakewell Tart there but it was most definitely a pudding rather what I would class a tart so that wouldn’t do for the show, though it was very nice. In fact, delving into the history reveals that today’s frangipan and jam filled tart bears no resemblance to puddings of olde that had custard and candied fruit as the filling of a puff pastry case. I used the Queen of baking’s (i.e. Mary Berry) recipe as a guide and tried to steer clear of any Kiplings cakes resemblance.

I am please with how my initial Bakewell tart turned out so I decided to go with this recipe for the show. I will have to make it 48 hours in advance so finger crossed it doesn’t go soggy! The pastry was lovely and thin and crisp, plenty of jam so you could tell what flavour it was and the frangipan was a dense sponge with a lovely almond flavour without being too heavy. Hope the judges agree! I will find out in just a few hours so will post an update then!

9/9/14 – update – it got first in the show so the recipe can’t be too bad!

Bakewell Tart

Makes one 8″/20cm tart plus a couple of individual ones

350g shortcrust pastry, either bought or for a show must be made

(175g plain flour, 75g chilled butter, pinch salt, cold water – rub the butter into the flour and salt, when it resembles breadcrumbs add enough cold water to bring it together to form a soft dough, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least an hour)

jar of good quality raspberry jam

115g unsalted butter, softened/room temperature

115g caster sugar

2 eggs plus an extra yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 teaspoon almond essence

115g ground almonds

20g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking p0wder

flaked almonds for the top

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use to line an 8″/20cm loose bottom flan/tart tin. Use the left over pastry to line a couple of deep individual tins. Make sure the pastry is right up to the corners and trim the edge carefully and prick the base all over with a fork. Put in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200 ºC/180 ºC fan.

Line the pastry cases with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Blind bake for 15 minutes (probably 10 minutes for the individual tarts) then remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for another 5 minutes until the base is cooked through but the edges are not coloured too much.

Take the tarts out of the oven and allow to cool. Turn the oven down to 180 ºC/fan 160 ºC.

Make the filling by whisking the butter and sugar until creamed then add the flavourings to the eggs and add all the remaining filling ingredients except the jam and flaked almonds. Fold together until well mixed.

Spread jam generously over the base of the pastry tarts – I used about half a jar on the big tart.

Top the jam with the frangipan and spread until smooth and the frangipan is right up to the pastry edge and level with it. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

Place on a baking tray in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, turning a couple of times so it colours evenly. If it is colouring too much then loosely cover with foil.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes then finish cooling on a cooling wrack.

Decorate with white icing if wished (icing sugar with enough water or lemon juice to make a pouring consistency).

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking | No Comments
Baklava

September 3, 2014 by sarah

There really is a hole in my body that can only be filled by a gooey, sticky pastry and the baklava hits the spot. Whether it is for mid morning coffee, a post lunch pick me up, an easy desert or post dinner coffee petit four. Considering how expensive it is to buy ready made, it is ridiculously easy to make but everyone will think you spent hours in the kitchen. And you can customise it to your own tastes – less syrup, more spice, different nuts etc. Give it a whirl.

Baklava

150-200g unsalted or slightly salted butter, melted in small amounts (in microwave is the easiest way)

1 pack of fine filo sheets (16 sheets or 200g)

Filling

350-400g roughly chopped nuts with some ground finer

(mainly walnuts plus almonds, hazelnuts etc but no peanuts)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground mixed spice

60g caster sugar

Syrup

300ml water

360g caster sugar

100ml sweet sherry

3-5 whole cloves

1 stick cinnamon broken up

zest of an orange

2 tablespoon clear honey

3 tsp lemon juice

options – orange blossom water

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC/fan 160 ºC.

Brush the sides and base of a baking tin about 18 x 25 x 5cm in size with melted butter.

Make the filling by combining the filling ingredients in a large bowl and then dividing into 3 equal lots.

Spread the filo pastry on a board or tray and cover with a slightly dampened clean tea towel to stop it drying out.

Butter sheets of the pastry and fold into the base of the baking tin to use about 4 sheets.

Sprinkle over a one third portion of filling and level off so even coverage over the pastry.

Put in the next set of folded buttered filo pastry and filling and repeat this process, finishing with pastry on the top, well buttered.

Cut into slices while in the tray before cooking with a sharp knife – square or diamond shapes.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-45 minutes until a dismantled slice is cooked all the way through.

While the baklava is cooking, make the syrup by combining all the syrup ingredients in a pan, stir until the sugar is dissolved then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat under the pan so it simmers and simmer for 15 minutes. Leave to cool.

When the pastry comes out of the oven, strain over the syrup until you can just see the syrup coming up to near the top of the pastry. Leave to cool entirely in the tin.

Store in an airtight container and it will last up to a week – if you can resist that long!

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking | No Comments
Yorkshire Curd Tart

August 5, 2014 by sarah

When we were in the Yorkshire Dales a few weeks ago, we sampled the local foodie delights including something called a curd tart. Nothing to do with lemon curd but it was still a delight; soft buttery pastry with creamy but slightly tart filling with currants and spice. So once we were home I decided to make my own version to remind us of the trip. We had lots of lovely food that weekend, from the punnet of fresh sun ripened strawberries to the Wensleydale cheeses (they do more then just Wensleydale, try the Kit Calvert), the best sausage roll I have ever tasted to pie and pint in the pub!

Yorkshire Curd Tart

(recipe from The Hairy Bikers here )

For the Filling:

1.2 litres/2 pints of milk (semi-skimmed or full fat)

4 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 lemon, zest only

65g unsalted butter, softened

65g caster sugar

1 free-range egg, beaten

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

60g currants

20-22cm diameter deep loose-bottomed flan tin or pie tin – lined with blind baked pastry (bought or home made with 175g flour/100g butter/2 tsp caster sugar/1 egg)

To make the curds for the filling, firstly zest the lemon and store the zest in an airtight container in the fridge – you will need it tomorrow to make the filling – and then juice the lemon. Heat the milk in a large non-stick saucepan over a low heat and bring to a very gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and pour in the lemon juice, stir a few times and then leave to curdle for a couple of hours.

Line a sieve with muslin and place over a large bowl. Pour in the curdled milk and allow to drain in the fridge for a minimum of six hours, ideally overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC/fan 160 ºC.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the egg then stir in the curd cheese, lemon zest, nutmeg and currents.

Spoon the curd into the pastry case and spread to evenly cover and bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set and lightly coloured. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes before removing and eating. Serve at room temperature.

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking | No Comments
Biscotti vs Cantucci/cantuccini

June 20, 2014 by sarah

Biscotti really just means ‘twice baked biscuit’ in Italian, and are otherwise known as cantuccini, or ‘coffee bread’. Biscotti is now taken to loosely mean just any biscuit in Italian so really these should be called cantuccini (if small in size) or cantucci (if larger) though I am sure everyone knows them as biscotti. Originally from Prato in Italy, there are versions from other regions of Italy and even from Spain where they are called carquinyoli. Since they are very dry, they are usually served with a drink; vin santo in Italy and coffee elsewhere in the world. But don’t let that stop you enjoying them at other times. I am very partial to them dipped in ice cream or a creamy dessert like rhubarb fool.

I cannot believe that in some chain coffee shops they charge £1 or more for some small slice of at most 3 mouthfuls. I can make a tin full for same amount. I supose that must be by thrifty Scottish side coming through. They are also rediculously easy to make and last for ever (well, as long as you can resist eating them) as they are completely dried out.

Recipe from Nigella Lawson ‘Feast’. Easily doubled and they last for ages so you can never have too much.

Shape the loaf shape (this is after the first bake)

Slice into 1cm slices

Spread out slice and bake

This is the slices after their first bake.

Cantuccini

1 large egg

100g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract

few drops of almond essence (optional)

125g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

75-100g nuts – natural almonds in skins, pistachios, hazelnuts, even chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180 °C/fan 160 °C. Line a tray with baking parchment.

Whisk the egg and sugar until pale and moussily thick so leaves ribbon trails from the whisk. Beat in the vanilla and almond flavourings. Fold in the flour, salt and baking powder and when all combined mix in the nuts/chocolate. The dough will be a soft, slightly wet but soft mixture.

Using floured hands, bring the dough to a ball and then shape into a rough loaf like shape on the lined baking tray, so roughly 25 x 5cm.

Cook in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes or so. Using a serrated bread knife, cut the log into diagonal slanting slices of about 1cm thickness to give the characteristic finger-like pieces.

Lay the slices on the tray and cook again for another 10 minutes, turn them over and cook for another few minutes. Let them cool entirely on a rack before storing in an airtight container.

Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking | No Comments