Posts Tagged ‘cooking’
Thursday, June 13th, 2013


We love asparagus. It’s only around for a few weeks in late spring – the tinned stuff is awful – hence the relatively high price of the fresh spears. I saw a recipe on the Chez Foti blog for an asparagus & gruyère tart and thought it looked so delicious that I’d have to give it a try.

I think it turned out really well. We had it hot, straight out of the oven with some baby Jersey Royals and again the day after cold, with a bit of salad on the side. Here’s the recipe…
Cakes & Bakes: Asparagus & Gruyère Tart
Ingredients
- For the pastry
- 130g plain flour, plus a little extra for rolling
- 65g butter, straight from the fridge, cut into small blocks, plus a little extra for greasing
- pinch salt & pepper
- 1 egg yolk & a little cold water
- For the tart filling
- 450g bunch asparagus, washed
- 3 free range eggs
- 200ml half fat crème fraîche
- 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard _(I used wholegrain mustard and it tasted fantastic!)_
- 100g of Gruyère, grated
- salt & pepper
- 1tbs finely grated fresh Parmesan
Instructions
- Start by making your pastry. It's easiest & quickest in a food processor, but can be made by hand too. If using a processor blitz the flour, salt, pepper and butter together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and blitz again. With the processor still on, add a little very cold water and continue to add until the mixture starts to come together in one piece. Remove from the processor, shape together, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using
- Alternatively, if you’re making by hand place the flour, salt, pepper and butter in a large bowl. Rub the fat into the flour with your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the egg yolk and a little very cold water with your hands. Continue to add water until the mixture comes together in one piece. Shape together, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes
- Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6
- Whilst the pastry’s resting, make your filling. Snap off the tougher ends of the asparagus and discard, slice the remaining ends into 1-2cm slices, retaining spheres approximately half the width of your tart or quiche case. Steam over boiling water for 3-5 minutes until almost tender. Immerse in cold water, drain and set aside
- Lightly beat the eggs then stir in the crème fraîche, Dijon mustard, grated Gruyère, and pinches of salt black pepper. Set aside
- Lightly grease your chosen flan case with butter
- The pastry should now be rested. Roll out on a floured surface into a round slightly bigger than your case. Transfer to the case. Hang any excess of pastry over the sides. Prick the base all over with a fork. Place a piece of greaseproof paper over and fill with baking beans to weight down the pastry. Bake for 20 minutes in the hot oven, remove the beans and bake for a further 5 minutes While still hot, trim the pastry around the top of the tart case to make a neat edge
- Place the small slices of asparagus in the bottom of the tart case. Pile on the crème fraîche filling Carefully arrange the asparagus spheres in a pretty ‘sunshine’ design on the top. Sprinkle over the Parmesan
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until firm to touch and golden brown on top
Notes
2.2
http://hisforhomeblog.com/cakes-bakes/cakes-bakes-asparagus-gruyere-tart/

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Tags: asparagus, cooking, gruyère, recipe, seasonal food, tart
Posted in cakes & bakes | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 6th, 2013


This week I attempted a cake (or more rightly, a bake) that I’d not done before – lemon & polenta berry squares.

It’s taken from 1001 Cupcakes, Cookies & Other Tempting Treats. It turned out really well, the berries kept it lovely and moist and the polenta gave it a bit of a crunch.

Here’s the recipe:
Lemon & polenta berry squares
Ingredients
- 175g/6oz butter, plus extra for greasing
- 175g/6oz caster sugar
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 100g/3½oz ground almonds
- 150g/5½oz polenta
- 2 tsp baking powder
- finely grated rind of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 300g/10½oz frozen small berry fruits such as cranberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackcurrents and redcurrents (I used a mixture of bluberries and strawberries sliced in half)
- icing sugar, to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 23cm/9inch shallow square cake tin and line base with baking paper
- Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light & fluffy, then gradually beat the eggs into the mixture until smooth
- Add the ground almonds, polenta, baking powder, lemon rind and juice and stir together until well mixed. Stir in the fruit of your choice
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and spread out evenly

- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch

- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
- Sift icing sugar lightly over to decorate and cut into squares
2.2
http://hisforhomeblog.com/cakes-bakes/cakes-bakes-lemon-polenta-berry-squares/

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Tags: 1001 Cupcakes, bakes, baking, berries, berry, cakemaking, cakes, Cookies & Other Tempting Treats, cooking, lemon, lemon and polenta, polenta, recipe
Posted in cakes & bakes | 2 Comments »
Thursday, May 23rd, 2013


We’re really taken with this fabulous new baking hamper from Fortnum & Mason. As well as the classic F&M wicker basket you get:
A perfect gift for a Great British Bake Off fan – or even better – treat yourself!

Tags: baking, cookery, cooking, cooking ingredients, F&M, Fortnm & Mason, Fortnum and Mason, hamper, ingredients, kitchen equipment, kitchen implements, kitchen utensils, kitchne
Posted in cakes & bakes | No Comments »
Thursday, May 16th, 2013


We’re big fans of the Great British Bake Off, so we tuned into the recent inaugural series of Paul Hollywood’s Bread (and put his accompanying book onto our Amazon wishlist) with great interest.

One of the recipes he did which I’ve never attempted is malt loaf. Whenever I’ve had shop bought (and there seems to be just the one brand available in supermarkets!) I’ve always found it a dry, chewy and not very tasty. I thought I’d give it a try – surely I could do better!

Cakes & Bakes: Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp malt extract
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 25g/1oz butter, plus extra for greasing
- 350g/12oz strong white bread flour, plus extra for flouring
- 100g/3½oz strong wholemeal flour
- pinch salt
- 14g/½oz fast action yeast
- 225g/8oz sultanas
- 250ml/9fl oz warm water
- 1 tbsp warm honey, to glaze
Instructions
- Place the sugar, malt extract, treacle and butter in a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool.
- Mix the flours, salt, yeast and sultanas in a mixing bowl.
- Pour in the cooled malt syrup mixture and the warm water. Mix thoroughly; the mixture will be soft and sticky.
- Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and knead gently for a few minutes to bring the mixture together.
- Grease two 450g/1lb loaf tins and divide the mixture among them. Smooth the mixture with the back of a spoon so that the top is smooth and level. Cover each tin with a plastic bag so that it is loose and not touching the top of the tin. Leave for a couple of hours, or until the dough has risen to the top of the tins.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Remove the plastic bags and bake for 30-40 minutes. If the top of the loaf starts to brown too quickly, cover with a sheet of foil and continue baking.
- Remove from the oven and brush the top with warm honey to glaze. Cool on a wire rack.
- Slice and eat with butter.
2.2
http://hisforhomeblog.com/cakes-bakes/cakes-bakes-paul-hollywoods-malt-loaf/



Tags: baking, bread, cookery, cooking, malt loaf, Paul Hollywood, recipe
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Wednesday, May 15th, 2013


Perfobake baguette tray: £9.99, Lakeland
If you’ve been following our Cakes & Bakes posts recently you’ll know that I made a batch of baguettes a fortnight or so ago. I proved them in an accordion-pleated tea towel but a baguette tray would be so much better – much less fiddly.
We visit the Lake District a few times per year and a highlight of my car journey there is stopping off at Booths Supermarket in Windermere (Pathetic? Moi?). They stock lots of things from local producers and sell other items that aren’t available at our local Morrisons in Todmorden. A stones throw from Booths is Lakeland‘s flagship store which is the highlight of my return journey home. This baguette tray is already on my shopping list!
Tags: baguette, baguette proving, baguette tray, baguettes, bakery, baking, Booths, bread, cookery, cooking, Lakeland, Windermere
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