Boozy Mincemeat and Marzipan Puff

So I have relented on the word 'Puff' following my recent strudel post. I’ve decided it doesn't have to mean that I have indeed baked dragons (or worse!) and as this was a folded filo parcel kinda pudding puff it shall remain, as it really wasn't strudel like. Well sort of but not really. Maybe I need to invent a new word, something catchy like Strupuff or Puffdel perhaps? Yeah, me neither.

Anyway I digress, this was one of those emergency puddings after realising I had half a packet of Filo pastry leftover from baking the strudel, which kinda needed eating 24 hours earlier but a quick sniff and visual check I deemed it was fine, fortunately I had wrapped it in damp paper towel which had kept it moist enough too, as filo is rather evil and dries out so fast! Whilst I had already made a cake for the impending family visit that evening, they are all good eaters and I thought they wouldn’t mind an extra pudding or two! I did joke it was my gigantic size cheffy man size trio of desserts!! I think with my boyfriend being away at the time I was missing cooking for two and it was lovely to have my dad and brother over to feed! 

The pudding was purely made up as I went along throwing nice things together quickly– the marzipan was leftover in the fridge from when I made the GBBO Swedish Princess tortlettes, the beloved Polish cocoa is always in the store-cupboard and the mincemeat was from a half opened jar at some point earlier this year... I do like a recipe that uses up odds n sods! Oh and the brandy was ‘borrowed’ from my dearest’s special imported bottle from South Africa…shh!

Serves 4:

Ingredients:

210g mincemeat
70g marzipan, roughly chopped into ½ cm chunks
10g cocoa powder
2 tbsp brandy
50g butter, melted
4 sheets filo pastry
2 tbsp icing sugar

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 210o.

On a larger sheet of foil or parchment paper, lay out a sheet of filo at  a landscape angle and brush with melted butter, repeat with the remaining 3 sheets, to form a thick rectangle.

Combine the mincemeat, cocoa, marzipan and brandy until nicely mixed. Spoon the filling down the middle of the pastry, leaving an inch from the ends. 

Fold up the left and right sides inwards, brush the top half of the filo with butter, fold up the bottom half and gently tease over the top sheet to overlap. 

Brush liberally with butter and sprinkle over half the icing sugar. Place on a lined baking tray and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden and crispy, dust with remaining icing sugar and serve sliced up with lashings of hot custard.

Overall the pudding was very highly received - the slightly boozy, fruity nutty and chocolately filling inside crisp buttery sweet pastry was heavenly and its a definite 'keeper' of a recipe!

It’s also really quite acceptable the next day too cold if you have a spare piece!

As this lush puff used up all sorts of odds n ends I am sending it over to the December No Waste Food Challenge at Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. Over the year I have really enjoyed taking part and hosting challenges and gained some amazing recipes along the way! Bring on 2015!!

My Christmas Fridge - Random Recipes #46

This December, Belleau Kitchen's Random Recipes challenge has taken its usual twist, last year I bared my Larder to the world...and this year its the Christmas fridge!! We actually have two fridges, this is our main one in the photo and we have a slightly antiquated on the blink drinks fridge which is upstairs.. its a split level flat if that helps it make more sense... Anyway the Kitchen fridge is quite big and it was rather difficult to take a photo, due to space issues where I was taking the image! The other tenant pulled up outside the window and almost caught me taking the photo, wedged up against his fridge, I am not sure how I would quite explain it to him!!

Now whilst the food was definitely all for December dining, we don't actually have a 'Christmas fridge as such, as we are catering only part of the big meals (yes plural, there is Christmas day with Dad and boxing day with Mum!) and so I have taken a picture after last weeks big food re-stock everything shop, as the rest of its time due to occasional bursts of strict meal planning its quite baren looking, B actually remarked how full it was for one! I do feel slightly ashamed how many jars there are but I am a pickle addict and there is plenty of them!

Despite it being last weeks photo, its not hugely dis-similar tonight - there are chestnut mushrooms awaiting their Spicy Mushroom and Bean Sausage rolls fate, creme fraiche awaiting its contribution to the Boxing day chicken liver pate and lovely free range eggs to make a South African Milktart, in honour of my South African boyfriend. We also have some rather lush smoked salmon I ordered direct from a smokery up north awaiting its devouring on Christmas Eve!

Whatever you make, do and decide this Christmas try to relax, enjoy the time spent with loved ones and I wish you all succulent Turkeys - or nut roasts and I hope Santa treats you well!

Have you bared your fridge soul yet? Don't be shy!

My Christmas Food and Drink Guide

Over the past couple of months I have been sent a variety of items, as well as purchasing a fair few items myself and I have put together a mini food and drink guide to help you navigate through the Festive season! There is so much choice it can be hard to choose sometimes and please every guest but hopefully my ideas can give you some last minute inspiration!

Christmas day for us has to involve cheese - normally a nice ripe creamy Brie, some punchy Stilton and a good bodied cheddar and just as important as the cheese are the crackers! This year we have these lovely Peter's Yard Artisan Crispbreads - they are as the name suggests, crispy and wholesome. Also they come in their own little card trays, perfect to place straight on the table!

Every Christmas, my dad without fail brings me a box of Chocolate Florentines from Aldi and they normally last about an hour after being opened! We have been enjoying these florentines for many years now - perfect bite sized nutty clusters with milk, dark and white chocolate coatings! I remember shortly before properly dating my boyfriend giving him a box of these for Christmas - must of worked some magic as we started dating not long after and two years on we are still going strong!

Now the next food you will have to dust off your apron and make - but this Christmas we shall be enjoying as a nibble some of my Spicy Mushroom and Bean Sausage rolls - they are relatively easy to knock up and reheat beautifully, perfect to make ahead and keep on standby!

Next up was an item that was also in a recent giveaway on my blog - a gorgeous golden Ferrero Rocher Pyramid - I have been so good not eating a single one from my kit - its easy to build even if you are technically challenged like moi and even easier to pick a lovely little cluster off its shelves to happily nibble on! I can't wait to put this on the table at Christmas - though I do wonder how long 60 Ferrero Rocher will actually last us......

Now after all those lovely nibbles you will probably be thirsty and I have a couple of drinks and cocktail ideas for you to enjoy!

For all those drivers and non-drinkers, there is a lovely, refreshing Cloudy Lemonade made by Cracker Drinks Co - its zingy and has no added sugar, welcome after all the chocolate treats! Its made with concentrated fruit juices, water and pressed lemon juice and is found within the ambient drinks aisle, rrp at £1.50. Also if fridge space is at breaking point due to its secure packaging and reseable cap its ideal to store on the windowsill/ doorstep/ patio etc!

Next up if you are fancying something naughty but trying to be healthy is my Blissful Blueberry Cocktail -  I used Blueberry Active concentrate to make them, it appears quite pricey at first glance but a little goes a long way, plus its choc full of goodness. I have been on a bit of a health kick over the past few months, trying to cram in extra vitamins after a rough few months both physically and mentally due to the ongoing diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and I feel a lot better for it. Though it is Christmas so a little tipple is most allowed too!

 

Makes two Cocktails  leave the vodka out for a non-alcoholic option

½ tbsp Blueberry Active concentrate

2 tbsp blueberry vodka

350ml lemonade

Fresh Blueberries to garnish

Lots of ice

Place the Blueberry Active concentrate in a large beaker or measuring jug, swirl together with the vodka using a long spoon, top up with lemonade. Fill glasses with ice and pour over the mixture, garnishing with a few extra berries and a straw.

Last but not by any means least, it would not be a celebration time without some wine! With white wine I am quite fussy particular - I can't bear sweet wine, am not overly fond of the pinot grapes and I really do like Chardonnay, especially the Australian ones. 

I like a nice body, slightly dry and not to overpowering and recently I tried out Hardys 2013 Chardonnay and I think its one of my favourite white wines I've had this year! Its slightly oaky body and delicate vanilla notes complemented the particular risotto I made that evening (a recipe to follow!) and its definitely on the list for wine to buy for Boxing day and our potential three bird roast as I think it will suit perfectly! 

Wishing you all a very Merry (but drink responsibly) Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Disclaimer: I received no payment for items included in my guide and all opinions are my own.

A Healthy Start to December with a Juicy giveaway! 01/12/2014 **NOW CLOSED**

I am so excited this is my first blog post, on the 1st of December and it’s the start of a mega giveaway on Anne’s Kitchen! To kick it all off the lovely people from Bella Housewares have given me a fantastic juicer to help get you healthy after all the festivities have passed and you know its fruit o clock and not chocolate o clock!

For me juicing is a complete new experience – I will be honest in that I am not the biggest fruit juice consumer and always water mine down – when ever people offer me soft drinks I normally reply ‘just to colour the water only’! However juicing has intrigued me, especially as my health the past few years has been a little up and down and whether a bit more fresh fruit might help things... plus having freshly juiced drinks surely has to be healthy and will boost my 5 a day intake! Despite my no juice declaration I do admittedly quite like some of the freshly squeezed on the market by certain brands but they are a treat item as they can be quite expensive to buy! Hopefully by making at home it will hopefully turn an indulgence into a more regular treat!

When my box containing my Bella Whole Fruit Juicer arrived it was a little daunting but once unpacked I thought yeah we can do this…once of course I figure out which bit goes where of course! I was a little saddened that you can’t juice bananas, they are one of my favourites but there is still lots of other fruit you can use. I just need to decide what to make, and I must admit the cocktail recipes in the pamphlet sound rather tempting....

So do you fancy making your own fresh juices? Simply enter my easy rafflecopter competition below to win this amazing Bella Whole Fruit Juicer and let me know what your favourite juice is!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**T&C’s – Competition open to UK mainland addresses only. Your prize is non exchangeable and will be sent directly from the company stated above. I will contact the winner within 24 hours, if no response within 5 days the competition will be re-drawn and a new winner will be chosen.**

Turkey, Pecan and Cranberry Strudel

Trying to come up with this dishes name was initially easy in my planning process but after actually making it did Strudel still fit the bill I wondered? Strudels tend to be more of the sweet variety but in a restaurant for lunch the other week I had a roasted vegetable and goats cheese one so I think I can happily borrow the name for this occasion! I did momentarily consider the word puff that makes me just think of dragon's which is obviously just plainly wrong! Plus it might be rather tricky catching one....

When it comes to leftovers, I really do enjoy making them into something new and always relish the challenge! With Christmas approaching faster than Santa's sleigh it is most probable you might just have quite a few leftovers from the big meal to play with - and Sainsbury's asked me to create something using leftover Turkey. Now Turkey leftovers and Christmas makes me think of turkey curry and boxing day, something a bit of a joke nowadays - yes it does make a rather nice curry but there is so much more you can do with it too! Its usually a very lean meat, and whilst most people go for the white breast meat I am much more fond of the slightly gamier tasting brown meat, usually the thighs or legs and chances are you might have that in particular leftover, though this dish would work well with either so don't worry too much if its only a small joint like a crown you have leftovers from.

Whilst I may fold the pastry a little differently next time, overall it was a great success and I really enjoyed having our pre-Christmas dinner last Sunday complete with fairy lights! My strudel was a great use of leftovers - the cranberry sauce left from who know's when and a handful of pecan nuts added a tasty crunch to the mixture too! You could probably use walnuts equally well if that's what you have leftover instead. The sweet, slightly tangy cranberry with the lovely pecan crunch and sweet turkey meat was really tasty, definitely a keeper of a recipe!

Turkey, Pecan and Cranberry Strudel

Serves 3-4 adults, fairly easy

Ingredients

200g cooked brown Turkey meat, shredded

50g butter

100g cranberry sauce

50g pecan nuts

6 sheets of filo pastry, by Sainsbury's

30g plain flour

30g unsalted butter

200ml milk

1 tbsp poppyseeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 190o.

Place the pecans on a heavy baking sheet, cook for about 5 minutes until lightly toasted - do not forget - they burn super fast (as I found out the hard way!) remove from the oven and lightly break up into smaller chunks.

In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk together thoroughly, slowly add the milk bit by bit to form a thick roux, until all combined and simmer for about 5 minutes or until it coats the back of the spoon well. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper and stir through the turkey.

In a small pan melt the butter and keep warm.

Unroll the filo sheets gently, place one on a flexible baking sheet or parchment paper in a rectangular shape, brush with butter thinly all over, repeat with a further three sheets. You need to work fast as filo dries out fast - if needed dampen some kitchen paper and place on top of the open sheets.

With the prepared pastry, spoon over the prepared turkey mixture down the middle, allowing an inch gap on the sides. Spoon over the cranberry sauce, butter the exposed pastry and place a new filo sheet over the top, pressing out any air gently. Repeat with a further sheet over the top.

Fold up the opposite ends, inwards, brushing again with butter to seal. Using sharp scissors, make horizontal slashes about an inch apart but not through to the filling, and brush again with butter. Fold up the slashed pieces of filo in an alternate pattern. Cover liberally with remaining butter and sprinkle over the poppyseeds.

Lifting the sheet onto a heavy based baking tray, bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. My oven is questionable as to its temperature but you want a fairly hot oven!

Slice into portions and serve with roasted baby potatoes and a green vegetable medley, I sauteed leeks with courgettes and it went very well together! Oh and lots of gravy!

With thanks to Sainsbury's who provided vouchers to cover my time and ingredients.

As I used up some neglected cranberry sauce, leftover Turkey meat and the last few pecans I am sending my festive recipe over to Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary's No Waste Food Challenge which is being held by Slice Off Me this November!

Chocolate and Mincemeat Pudding Cake

Dear Readers. I have a secret. Well not anymore really ..maybe I shouldn’t post this at all as next year I might miss out.. hmm.. well I am sure there is enough to go round…. I digress… so you know everyone buys mincemeat for Christmas? ....

...Well after all the tinsel is packed away, the stray confetti occasionally showing its shiny face and you kinda know deep down that you should be looking at healthy recipes but secretly still eating the last of the endless tin of chocolates, there is normally a lot of mincemeat leftover… and if you are eagle eyed like me then you might just pick up a bargain – I managed to get 4 jars of mincemeat for a paltry 10p a jar! 

I love the stuff and could eat it all year round happily but mince pies in January feels a little bit wrong, however there is so much more you can do with it! And this gorgeous cake is no exception. B gave it 8/10 and had a wedge and seconds of it, I agree and if I had to change anything I might add a cheeky jot of rum or something like amaretto to finish it off! Saying that we both just thought a little stem ginger wouldn’t go amiss – I can see the next version being concocted soon! Custard is an excellent accompaniment!

Bananas may be a bit of a surprise ingredient but I bake with them a lot and it helps add moisture and keep the cake that way for a few days – we are having family over later in the week and wanted to get ahead! (despite B’s best efforts to demolish it!) Also the bananas were about to march their own way out of the fruit bowl so was high time they got disposed of well!

Ingredients

I tsp vanilla extract

150g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

120g golden caster sugar

2 medium eggs (approx 120g)

120g soft margarine/ butter

2 tbsp flaked almonds

2 heaped tbsp + 100g mincemeat

2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder

2 small very ripe bananas, mashed

Beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, beat in the eggs, banana and vanilla, stir through the 2 tbsp of mincemeat. Fold in the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix until fully combined and you have a light batter

Place the 100g of mincemeat in a microwaveable bowl and warm to melt the goo. Scatter the almonds over the bottom of a lined sandwich pan, and sprinkle over the melted mincemeat evenly. 

Top with the batter and bake for 45-50 minutes at 180o or until cooked through and a skewer comes away clean. 

Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tine, then carefully turn onto your serving plate:

And after a gentle press all over, peel away very carefully the liner – use a fork to push back any rogue almonds!

And voila! The picture doesn't really do it justice but it was beautifully glossy on top!

Enjoy!

Christmas Cardamom and Ginger Biscuits

Well here we are on the 18th December and despite uploading pictures on facebook weeks back I realise I forgot to blog them! So here we go with my Christmas Cardamom and Ginger Biscuits, and just in the (saint) nick of time! They don't take too long to make and will keep a good few days in an airtight tin!

Its not often I make biscuits, in fact probably I can count on one hand the amount of times since school that I've baked proper biscuits requiring cutters but my dad had bought over a set of cutters and thought it was about time...the trouble is I am an inpatient baker and I also share my kitchen with a stranger ..so leaving dusty work tops has to be planned around when I know they are out!

Back in October time I had snagged a biscuit recipe from a Tesco instore magazine for Bat cookies which topped with chocolate for Halloween but I decided to tweak very slightly and add a little cardamom to give it a slightly spicy, Christmas feel. For some reason whenever I write down the word Cardamom it just doesn't feel right. I even spell checked it to make sure! I feel like it needs a 'n' in there somewhere! Anyone else feel this way too? 

The first batch of these biscuits were made to take over to one of my lovely Auntie and Uncle's house in a long overdue visit - I do hope they like them! As it was, I hadn't used all the dough as ran out of baking sheets (I have one) so kept the remaining dough for a few days chilled - and it worked perfectly still then!

As you can see my icing skills are limited but I quite like my crazy reindeers!

Ingredients:

100g (31⁄2oz) butter, softened
100g (31⁄2oz) soft brown sugar
100g (31⁄2oz) golden syrup
1 large egg
350g (12oz) plain flour
1tsp ground ginger root
1 level tsp ground cardamom

Icing:

1/4 box Icing sugar

water

sprinkles

edible glitter

Method:

Beat the butter and sugar together, (I used a hand mixer) until creamy and fluffy, then beat in the egg and syrup.

Separately sieve together the flour, spices and fold into the butter mixture. Wrap in cling film and chill for an hour.

Roll out onto a lightly floured surface, to the depth of a pound coin and cut with desired cutters. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until just turning golden brown - they should be very slightly soft to touch. Cool on tray for about ten minutes then transfer to a wire sheet.

When you are ready to decorate, sieve the icing sugar and slowly add a teaspoon at a time of water until you have a smooth mixture, either spoon into a icing bag or use a small spoon to decorate. Then go nuts with the sprinkles as you desire!

With a little practice my tree's came out quite pretty - plus a sprinkle of edible glitter never goes amiss at Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Anne

xx

On the first day of Christmas...Santa brought to me..a Patchwork Hamper!

Pate and crackers. It’s just one of those combinations that works. Dinner time? Not particularly hungry but needing something tasty? Pate and crackers it is! Fancy a snack? Its just the thing. I even had pate and crackers as a late breakfast the other morning… when you work shifts your whole concept of set meal times gets somewhat muddled!

I love hampers I will not lie, there is something quite special about receiving a parcel full of tasty treats from The Patchwork Traditional Food Company and I was very lucky that despite TNT’s best efforts to lose my parcel, I recently received a gorgeous little wooden crate with some lovely treats in –

Chicken Liver Pate with Apple and welsh cider

Chicken liver, apple and walnut pate

Apricot and orange chutney with Wychcraft ale

Apple chutney with Hobgoblin Ale

Organic Spelt Pat fingers with black pepper

Patchwork Pates are hand made lovingly in Wales, without any nasties in from a talented workforce to the founder Margaret’s original recipes. They sound like a nice bunch. Fancy a new recruit? Though Surrey to Wales is a long commute…

This Christmas we are sharing the big day with close friends and family and whilst most of us are having a classic but loved prawn cocktail for our starter, some non-prawn fans are having pate – and I think they will just love the pate with cider in!

There is still plenty of time to order your gifts, for loved ones or even yourself! I think they are very reasonably priced – my ‘hamper’ was sent to me for review purposes but retails at £20 (though is currently on sale at £18.50- even better value!)     

We particularly liked the black pepper oat fingers, just the right size for dunking! And we loved the Apple and Hobgoblin chutney. Mixed opinions on the Chicken Liver and walnut pate, was a little smooth for us but it comes down to personal taste - we rather like the more rough around the edges variety. Me and dad preferred the Chicken liver and Cider one, something which surprised me as not fond of cider but we liked the rosemary flavour that came through.

Many thanks to The Patchwork Traditional Food Company and Clare at Redhead PR.

Disclaimer - I received the hamper free of charge for review and all opinions 

are my own. And my dad's!

His and Her's Advent Calenders from M&S

Sorry if you are not quite ready for the 'C' word just yet but in bloggerville we start early - I started getting Christmassy themed emails and attended press shows back in July has been very surreal... however along with lots of other emails, I get the odd email from M&S and recently spotted their upcoming Advent Calenders – and they had a Hello Kitty one! I don’t care if I am a fully grown adult of ahem, 31, but I love Hello Kitty. And Chocolate. And I am rather partial to Christmas… so…. Of course I had to have one! And fortunately M&S were very obliging so roll on the 1^st of December! Oh actually the 2nd as of course I had to 'test' it for you.. Its been years since both of us had an advent calender its like reverting to our childhoods!

I had spotted cheaper versions of the Hello Kitty one in discount stores but consider the cheaper advent calenders chocolate cheap and a bit nasty so this is a nice, grown up treat! This is my Advent Calender:

And on the inside - a little snowman..I as kinda hoping for a cat but I guess a snowman is more festive! The chocolate is fairly standard milky one, I do prefer something a bit darker but think milk chocolate is more popular! Will be a nice treat between the 2nd and 25th of December anyway! I love the design of my calender, its gorgeously festive red and has pride of place on top of the fridge.

Of course, there are two of us here, and B would not be as impressed with Hello Kitty so very kindly he has also from M&S a really quite awesome 'Where’s Wally' one! I have found Wally! But B hasn’t yet…

Its behind you!! :-D

Behind each window is not only chocolate but something to find to! Slight calendar envy now writing this but I do adore my one. Its so much fun just trying to find the ‘1’ we were both searching for ages! Inside was same as mine - a chocolate snowman, though B is much more a milk fan than me so its perfect for him!

Both calenders retail at £2.50 and are available in stores now.

Thanks to M&S and Julie at Grayling. This post was not sponsored and I was provided with both calenders free of charge for my review which is unbiased. All opinions and photography remain the property of Anne's Kitchen.

Chai Fruity Tear and Share Bread

Oh oh oh..

Is it a cake? Is it a bread? Pudding. Breakfast. Snack? Who knows apart from its super bloomin good!

I have polished off my ‘feeder’ crown. I think on behalf of other food bloggers I can quietly and confidently confirm there is a little feeder within us all. This bread got shared with two close friends who live within walking distance (mainly as I didn’t trust myself alone with it) and it didn’t last very long! One of the texts did involve the quote ‘sharing the fat’!

Come into my lair said the fruit to the belly!

Whoever said baking is an exact science obviously didn’t get out much. A little knowledge can be dangerous, but only to the hip to waist ratio. I think once you master the basics, the cookery world is your oyster, to explore and enjoy! I rarely stick to a recipe and this one was plucked from various inspirations, partially previous experience with other breads; seeing another blog and her sumptuous Swedish buns, plus above all having a curious mind and discovery of a love for chai tea thanks to the lovely Jenny. Oh and for some reason of late (hmm maybe Christmas...) I have recently seen lots of use for ground cardamom (have since purchased), one of my favourite spices and it must have tattooed its fragrant imprint upon my brain cells it appears!

The day of baking I hadn’t planned to make this recipe at all, but having my lovely beef stew simmering away on the hob, the smells were so good and triggered thoughts of lovely bread….

On went the kettle, out came the dried fruit mix, enroute spotted the box of chai teabags and voila! I pretty much made it up as a I went along and to be honest I don’t think I would change a thing. It barely made it 24 hours from birth to death. And that was with some restraint.

A sweet slice of heaven:

It’s the first time I’ve properly experimented with a sweet yeasted dough, and a lot of cross fingers went on but I couldn’t ask for more. Its slightly sweet, soft, light and full of plump fruit scented with cloves and hints of sweet spice. Oh and it looks rather pretty too! The mix smelt rather festive too, a gentle reminder of the approaching festive season…

Requires love and a 23cm springform tin

450g strong white flour
50g caster sugar
200ml milk – I used soya
25g butter/ margarine
½ tsp vanilla extract
Sachet fast action yeast
300ml boiling water
100g dried fruit
25g glace cherries roughly chopped
2 tbsp unrefined sugar
1 chai teabag
Egg wash – I swear by the spray one from Lakelands! If not just use a little beaten egg

1) Cover the fruit and cherries with 300ml boiling water and add the teabag. Allow to sit for a good hour or more before doing the next bits

Gleaming like jewels:

2) Meanwhile gently warm the milk with the butter till just melted, allow to cool to just above room temperature

3) Sieve together the flour and caster sugar. Add the yeast to the milk along with a heaped spoonful of the flour mix, mix well then rest for five or so minutes

4) Stir the milky liquid gently into the flour, along with a couple of spoons of the soaking liquor to get a sticky dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes – try not to add any further flour as you want a dampish dough, just enough so it doesn’t stick entirely to the counter top! It should all be lovely, smooth and elastic. Place in a floured bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm until doubled in size.

5) Knock back the dough, smooth out into a long baguette shape and cut into around 14 or so chunks. I love my metal dough slicer! Use your fist to flatten each chunk – trust me it’s the best way and quite stress relieving – and fill roughly with a spoon of the drained fruit mix, pinch over stretching into sort of ball shaped – don’t be too precise, you want a few bits sneaking out and place in the centre of the tin and repeat until all the dough is used up in one layer – sprinkle over and press in any remaining fruit mix. Glaze with egg and sprinkle over the unrefined sugar. Allow to rest for a further 10 minutes or so whilst the oven preheats to 200o/ Gas 6.

6) Place the tin in the middle of the oven, throw half a cup of water into the bottom, close the door quickly and bake for thirty minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap the sides – don’t try to turn it upside down like you would with a loaf – it will be very hot and it’s not the kind of bread!

7) Once your beautiful beast is out of the oven, allow to stand for a couple of minutes then undo the tin clip, carefully loosen and slide onto an airing rack, cool for a good thirty minutes before brandishing your bread knife and losing your dignity as you make strange noises in earshot of your flatmate mumbling ‘oh its so good’ and realise instincts are the best thing in baking. And life.

Nb: I hold no responsibility for weight gain.

Thanks to Paul for helping me with the final name for this!

Don't forget I am also on facebook and its comments like these 'P.s. Best bread ever' makes my heart go all squishy happy so fire away with your thoughts! I love hearing from you!

Amaretto Butterfly cakes and Goodbye 2011!

I spent a long time deliberating over my final post for 2011. Its been a rollercoaster of a year to say the least, what with illness casting a shadow on most of the year, moving house, a relationship break up, and more; I am honestly quite glad to see the back of it! I also learnt never to cook mushrooms, and then stir in polenta. Cement springs to mind both in texture and colour!

Whilst there were a lot of low points, there were also highs and new beginnings. I made beautiful macarons for the first time. Did battle with cake pops. I learned to love wholemeal pasta. My dearest friends celebrated the birth of their lovely little son. Plus I finally went back to college, something that had been on the back burner for a long time! And my recent visit to the oncologist was all good! What a year!!

So a big hello to 2012, may you be more joyful!

And so for my final post of 2011, something sweet was in order, and what could be more fitting than if I do say so myself, these rather gorgeous butterfly cakes! Move over cupcakes - butterfly cakes rock! These cakes also had two special purposes - firstly as mentionned above, to celebrate the birth of my friends little boy, and secondly I was taking them to meet a very dear friend, who I shall name as M on here, whom I first got talking to many years back via a food forum, and finally that day we were meeting face to face! Needless to say we talked about food mostly and put the world to rights. She is a special lady, and I hope 2012 is amazing for both her and her lovely husband!

When I was growing up my mum was a child-minder, and she ran a playgroup at the local church hall. To raise funds (I presume slightly here!) there was frequent bake sales and I have fond memories of the kitchen being filled with all sorts of cakes but my favourite were the butterfly cakes! How pretty they were to eat and most importantly, how good they tasted! Nothing beats a home made cake, and whilst my icing skills are erm rustic, to put it politely I think that’s half the charm of them!

Whilst the ones my mum made were definitely aimed at children, these ones are all grown-up with a naughty spike of Disaronno liqueur, and a heavenly mascarpone frosting on top! I also got to play with some new delicious 100% fruity jam’s sent very kindly to me by Nell from Superjam, who I got into correspondence with recently over a fantastic scheme they are running to host tea-parties for the elderly. You can find out more on their website! Their jam is delicious by the way, a nice balance of fruit and nothing dodgy inside!

At the time of making these for some unknown reason I really wanted to add some ground almonds but couldn’t find any in the cupboard, I think I must of used them all when making my Christmas swirls the other week… However these cakes were rather glorious and whilst I am still curious to how they would alter the taste, as these stand they are pretty darn perfect!

The mascarpone frosting is amazing, if I do say so myself. If you find yourself eating it with a spoon I shall not be held responsible. Its easy to work with, deliciously creamy and very slightly boozy and well, need I say more really?

Makes 12

Pre-heat oven to 160o fan/ 180o regular oven

125g soft butter/ stork margarine
125g self-raising flour
125g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 heaped tbsp good quality cocoa powder (Mix the cocoa powder with 2-3 tbsp of water to make a thickish paste)
2 eggs
40g broken up milk chocolate or chocolate chips
1 tbsp disaronno / amaretto liqueur

Start by beating together the sugar and butter, until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the first egg, then half the flour, repeat with second egg and flour, plus the baking powder.

Fold in the cocoa mix and liqueur. Stir in the chocolate bits. A hand mixer is advisable but do by hand if you like manual labour! I love my new allure mixer toy in particular! My Kenwood Chef is in storage, due to its size so this little hand whisk is an excellent substitute.

Fill the bun cases and bake for 20 minutes, or until risen and cooked through, allow to cool thoroughly before icing them. I used some pretty Christmassy cases from Sainsburys’.

Mascarpone frosting:

Fills 12 butterfly cakes, plus a little leftover for chefs’ perk.

250g mascarpone
125g icing sugar
1 tbsp disaronno / amaretto liqueur

Beat all the ingredients together, fill a piping bag with a large star nozzle.

Jam:

I used Superjam’s strawberry spread. This or a similar good quality jam would be ideal.

To assemble:
Once the buns are cool, take a small paring knife and carefully cut the top off, if they are not very risen just aim the knife slightly inwards, cut the removed piece in half to form two ‘wings’ and trim lightly if necessary. Repeat with the remaining buns.

Pipe a circle on the cut bun, leaving a slight indent in the middle, fill this gap with a good teaspoon of jam,

Gently place the wings carefully on and voila! You have pretty butterfly cakes!

Stilton and Port Pastries..

This post is another relating back to the giant hamper Knorr sent me! And there's still a little more to come!

Within the depths of my hamper, was a gorgeous chunk of Colston Bassett Stilton from Forman and Fields. Ten years ago this would of filled me with dread, infact I remember trying a piece of Stilton as a child and immediately spat it out and wondered why anyone on earth would want to eat something so mouldy but nowadays I can't get enough of the stuff! My conversion to blue cheese was thanks to an Italian restaurant surprisingly - I was told the soup of the day was Broccoli and Sweetcorn, though it actually turned out to be Broccoli and Stilton! I was hooked at first slurp!

Blue cheese is really the way forward I think, and this Colston Bassett Stilton was a real treat! It was gorgeously creamy, yet sufficiently 'stinky' and vanished at an alarming speed! It was definitely the highlight of the whole hamper for me!

Gaze at its beauty:

Whilst on its own, its perfect in every way and I ate *a lot* of cheese and crackers that week; I still did have quite a lot to get through I decided to play around in the kitchen a little, just for a change! Amongst these little savouries, I also made a delicious mushroom and Stilton pasta dish - a match made in heaven!

The pastries were not quite perfect in the looks department, a little tweaking is needed but ohhhh boy did they taste good! As a result I'm reluctant to give any real recipes for now but to give you a taster, I roughly mixed a few chunks with some sultanas that I had soaked in port, plus a handful of chopped pecans. This then got lightly mashed to a rather hmmm looking purple/grey concoction but at the same time was an amazing tasting mixture! I stuffed the mix into both little pasties and on to mini pastry squares and baked them until golden. 

Whilst delicious the slight downside was my poor pastry sealing and over generous topping as it leaked EVERYWHERE. Rather unashamedly I admittedly ate the scrapings. Waste not, want not!

Best of British Sausage and Apple Tart and Stuffing Meatballs

Following on to some of my earlier posts, I am now excited to bring you a couple of Christmas inspired recipes made using some lovely festive ingredients sent to me by Forman and Field’s, on behalf of knorr.   

Sometime back in November I was very lucky to receive a whole hamper full of goodies including everything to make a big Christmas dinner, including a giant Kelly Bronze Turkey, carrots, parsnips, chestnuts and more! With the various goodies I made a variety of dishes including this winter warming Turkey and Barley stew (which was so good I am making it again tomorrow for dinner!) 

One of the ingredients in my hamper was a container of 'Cranberry, walnut & smoked bacon stuffing'. Therein came my first challenge!

Hmm what to do with stuffing, other than well basically putting it up mr turkeys bottom? Whilst the  stuffing was good, it was also very different to others I've had. In fact it was a more like a very coarsely minced meat mixture, compared to the rather smooth sausagemeat I normally buy from the butchers. It was also nothing like the paxo type. Before playing with it, I decided to quickly cook a weeny bit of it to test the flavouring. However I then also burnt my tongue in the process which once again taught me the hard way to have some patience and let things cool first! It needed a little more seasoning but provided a good base, with lots of texture.

I decided some kind of tart was in order and decided to play around with the pastry and came with this rather cute looking gb flag:

As I had best of british ingredients, so I thought a Union Jack flag was quite fitting! However I am so used to cooking previously for two, the results were rather large but it did result in me having a lunch that had admirers the next day at work! I am very lucky working with people from all over the world; we have some very interesting food chats and smells in our staffroom! 

Best of British Sausage and Apple Tart

Makes two large tarts - serves 4

Easy

300g good quality sausagemeat stuffing

300g fresh puff pastry (roughly 2/3 of a block)

1 cox apple, thinly sliced

1 tsp English mustard powder, made up with 1 tsp water

Beaten egg to glaze (or egg spray)

Pre-heat oven to 180 fan/ 200 regular

Roll out the puff pastry until its the thickness of a pound coin, cut into half lengthways. Then cut a 4cm strip off each rectangle. Cut this bit into four thin strips lenghthways

Score a line about 1cm from the edge of each big rectangle, then fill this gap with the stuffing, to form a thin layer. Covered with the apple slices, and glaze with mustard mixture. 

Now take two of the reserved strips and carefully stretch them and place over the two longest areas of your flag, lightly egg glaze the overlapping parts to stick. Use the two shorter strips to complete the flag. Glaze all over with the beaten and, place on a lined baking tray. Repeat for the other block of pastry to give you two tarts, then bake for 40 minutes or until its cooked through. 

When cooked through, cut into half and serve with seasonal vegetables - I went with my favourite Brussels sprouts:

Whilst the recipe was very successful, I think next time will make four smaller flags as you lose some of the flag effect by cutting in half.

Enjoy!

Stuffing Meatballs:

Whilst with the remaining stuffing, I made a tray of little meatballs. These would be ideal as a canapé as part of a festive buffet, however I must point out that they also do very well as an emergency breakfast when you’ve slept through your alarm and grabbed the first thing that looks edible from the fridge!

I made them by mixing 200g of the stuffing, with a couple of tbsp of apple sauce (shh from a jar!), rolled it into small walnut sized balls, rolled them in fairly coarse dried breadcrumbs and then baked them for around 25 minutes.

 They had both a good meaty flavour and texture, a dish I will definitely make again.

Christmas made easy with Knorr and Marco Pierre White

Christmas can be one of many things, from a relaxed affair with perhaps a glass or two of your favourite bubbly, to a frenzied mad rush! Following on from my recent post about cooking with Knorr, here are some exclusive tips I've hand picked for you from Marco Pierre White on how to make your Christmas cooking more enjoyable this year, along with my notes!

Shopping list
Organisation is the key to a stress-free Christmas. If you want to enjoy a bird or a large joint, make sure you order it in advance; don’t, whatever you do, leave it until the last minute. (been there, done that, have the turkey crown to feed an army t-shirt!)

Make a list of what you need to buy and be sure you get the shopping done in plenty of time. This is the time of year when supermarkets will run out of ingredients like brussel sprouts, fresh cranberries, chestnuts and double cream, so thinking ahead will really pay off. (I started my planning in early November and have already made my stuffing, Christmas pastries and par-boiled my sprouts!)

Kitchen kit
Being organised also pays off when it comes to the kitchen. Check you have a roasting tin large enough for your turkey or goose; this is the same for serving dishes and the cheese board. Don’t forget to stock up with plenty of kitchen foil and cling film. (This year I am cooking in my brother’s kitchen I.e. a small cupboard. I have invested in disposable foil dishes for ease!)

Christmas canapés
Get the meal off to a great start by serving a glass of fizz with a pre-dinner nibble. Smoked Salmon Pate and Stilton Pate are perfect this time of year and can be made in advance; serve them on crackers, mini oatcakes or home-made crostini. (I have been experimenting with Stilton – check out my next post for the results!)

Bread sauce
Home-made bread sauce really is the best; try Marco’s recipe and see for yourself. The trick to making bread sauce is the 3:1 ratio; three times the amount of milk to breadcrumbs. Simple to remember and you can make as much as you like.(I am going to try this one out this year, Christmas wouldn’t be the same without bread sauce!)

Above all, try to relax! Christmas should be enjoyable for everyone – delegate tasks to ease the burden and don’t try to over complicate your meal.

This year see's a big change for me as I have previously spent Christmases with my ex-partners family, being cooked for, but this year me and my brother are sharing the cooking - its going to prove interesting! My brother is very laid back, whereas I prefer military precision in planning...! 

We are also going for a slightly alternative Christmas dinner too, on the big day we are actually having a full mixed grill, however on Boxing day is going to be the full kit-n-kaboodle with the turkey and all the trimmings! I love turkey but didn't wanted to do two days exactly the same, also fitting things around work shifts means in theory this should all work perfectly...! What is everyone else planning this year?

With my Forman and Field/ Knorr goodies I have been working on some great Christmas recipes, which will coming up on the blog soon!