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Monday 22 October 2012

Rainy day baking

Hello my lovelies,

How is everyone? It's been a dark, damp and drizzly day today... and it's been my day off.

All the better to have an uninterrupted day of baking in the kitchen since Mr P is working.

I've been mulling over the Pithivier Technical Challenge from the final episode of the Great British Bake off last week. It reminded me of a round pasty to be honest! Well, that's how I described it to a friend of mine in Cornwall when she asked, "what the 'ell is a Pithhhhivvvvierrrrr!?!?!".

After a little bit of a lie in (it is my day off after all), I jumped out of bed (well, not so much jumped than slid) and settled into the kitchen grove... still in my PJ's.... mmm I appear to spend a lot of time baking in my PJ's. I am sure I am not the only one!?

There were three things on my baking list today: the Pithivier; a Pengelly style Chelsea bun and some gluten free orange and pistachio brownies (for my colleague at work).

First of all, I took to work making the dough for the buns. I used the same dough recipe that I used for Edd Kimber's buns last week. I wanted to do my own twist on them and was drawn to an almond frangipane, poppy and lemon bun.

Flour, sugar, salt, yeast, melted butter and milk...

Bring together and then knead for 10minutes on a floured surface...

...until nice and smooth. Leave to double in size.

Whilst the dough was resting in the lounge (watching a spot of morning TV), I made some almond frangipane (thank you Mr Hollywood) and set it aside for later.

Next task was to make the rough puff pastry for the Pithivier. Simples.

Whilst the rough puff was resting in the fridge (I stupidly forgot to take photos of the pastry), I made the filling:
- heat olive oil and butter in a frying map and gently fried off 1 large white onion, finely sliced and 3 leeks, trimmed and sliced.
- Peel and chop several potatoes and bring them to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. You don't want them totally soft. They need to hold their shape a little, so I cook them until a knife just about goes through into the middle. Drain the potatoes and leave them to cool.
- Once the onions and leeks have softened, take them off the heat and leave them to cool.

Once both of the main ingredients had cooled down, I broke the potatoes down, by hand into a large bowl and then added the leeks and onions followed by a large bunch of finely chopped fresh leaf parsley, a zest of one lemon, and seasoning. I then added 3 tbsps on double cream and a splash of milk to bind the mixture together. You don't want it very wet or else you will get a soggy bottom!



Roll out the pastry to 1/8" thick. You want two disks, one larger than the other. I used a dinner plate and a serving platter to cut around. Place the mixture in the centre of the smaller disk, leaving a 2-3cm edge for sealing. Using a little bit of beaten egg, brush the edges and place the larger pastry disk on top and seal.

Don't worry about using all the filing if you think you have too much... I made two smaller pithiviers with left overs!

Crimp the edge to make a good seal and create a little steam hole on top then pop in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Place the Pithivier in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220C. When ready to cook, I scored the top of the pastry lightly with a sharp knife and gave it a light egg wash. Pop in the oven for 10mins at 220C and then reduce the temperature to 200C for 15-20minutes. I reduced my oven temperature slightly as I use a fan oven.

Leave to cool slightly. Serve warm or cold. Yum yum. I had enough pastry to make to small pithiviers! I hate waste!



Very pleased with the result!

Lovely and warm filling and flaky pastry

Not a soggy bottom in sight!

So, that's the Pithivier done and dusted. Next stop was the Pengelly Belly Buns....

After the dough had doubled in size, I rolled it out to 50cm by 40cm and spread a thin layer of frangipane followed by a handfull of flaked almonds, the zest of two lemons and a scattering of poppy seeds before rolling it up tightly and dividing it into 16 slices. I lined my tin again as per the Cinnamon Bun post as I find it makes it easier to take out of the tin.

Scattered filling



Ensure a nice tight roll... and don't forget to trim the edges!

Trim the edges and divide into 16 individual buns

Remember that when you place them in your tray, to leave a little room for them to expand. I placed my tin in the airing cupboard for the second proving. It took just over an hour as the house was quite cold.

Brush with melted butter and pop them in the oven for 25minutes at 180C. Cover with tin foil towards the end if they are browning too quickly.

Evenly spaced with room to expand

Ready to go in the oven...
Oooohhh lovely!

Perfect

I made a lemon icing to drizzle on top and scattered a few more poppy seeds on top... et voila! Any they were lovely! I was really pleased with how the frangipane worked well with the lemon and the poppy seeds. This one is a keeper!

And before dinner this evening, the final bake... gluten free orange and pistachio chocolate brownies for my colleague at work.... they are still in the oven so I will have to add a photo later! They were made with rice flour and sugar substitute so they are a little healthier. They are an adapted version of the brownie recipe from this book, The Guilt Free Gourmet, which I got last week... yes, yet another cook book! I brought mine from the Book People.

Phew, what a day! Thank goodness for dishwashers!

I think the guys are work will be pleased to see me tomorrow!

Cheers for now,

Nic xoxoxo


Friday 19 October 2012

Cinnamon Buns

Mmmm you can't beat the smell of cinnamon in the kitchen...

I stumbled across a copy of the Waitrose Kitchen Magazine last week (October edition).

I fell in love with a recipe by Edd Kimber of Great British Bake Off fame. Cinnamon Buns. The recipe is also from his latest book, "Say it with cake".

They were surprisingly easy to make and I loved watching them prove in the cake tin. The house was filled with a sweet, cinnamon aroma and was heavenly. Mr P was moaning at me as he doesn't like cinnamon.... could have fooled me when they came out of the oven! They were off the cooling rack faster than hot potatoes!

Proving nicely in their little tin


Ready to be torn apart... quick, Mr P is coming! HIDE!

Ingredients:
250ml whole milk
50g unsalted butter
500g strong white flour
30g caster sugar
1tsp salt
7g sachet fast acting yeast
1 large egg, beaten
Veg oil for greasing
Additional melted butter for brushing over the buns

Filling:
150g light brown sugar
3tbsp cinnamon, ground
60g soft unsalted butter
75g currants

Put the milk in a pan and add the butter, melt over a low heat and allow to stand until lukewarm.

In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, yeast, salt).

Add the milk and butter mixture and the egg and mix into a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Leave to prove in a lightly oiled bowl, out of the draft, for one hour or until doubled in size.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out until it measures 40x50cm. Grease a 23x33cm high baking tray. I lined my tray with greaseproof.

Make the filling: mix the sugar and cinnamon. Spread the very soft butter over the dough and then sprinkle over the sugar/cinnamon mix and the currants.

Starting from the long edge, role into a tight log. Trim the ends and then cut into 16 equal portions and place in the greased tin. Don't worry, they will expand to fill the tray!

Cover with cling film and leave to rise for 45minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C / 160Fan / GM4. Brush the buns with melted butter and pop the babies into the oven for 30minutes or until golden.

I made a simple lemon and icing sugar drizzle instead of the soft cheese drizzle that Edd recommended. Drizzle over the buns when cooled slightly.

Eat whilst warm, with sticky fingers and a cup of tea! I'm planning on variations.... watch this space.

Nom nom nom!

xoxoxox






Banoffee Cupcakes

Bananas.

There is always a glut of bananas in our house. We eat a lot of them. I like them under ripe, Mr P likes them over ripe (yuk).

And you can always bet that there are bananas that are "on the cusp" in the fruit bowl just calling to be mashed and turned into baked goods.

I'm partial to a banana loaf. Bill Grangers Crumble Topped Banana Loaf is one of my favourites. I'm also partial to Bill Grangers Sticky Banana Pudding... there is a theme emerging here, Australians and bananas?

Mary Berry does a good banana loaf, and then there is my old favourite, the Pengelly Belly Banana and Granola Muffins....

But I have discovered something even better to do with a mashed banana, with much thanks to my mate Eddo over at "I done a bake". Eddo is a fantastic baker and I love reading his blog. It makes me laugh. And his recipes are fabulous.

This is his recipe for Banoffee Cupcakes and they are AWESOME! They are also very easy to do and you can have lots of fun making a mess when you come to decorate them. I've made two batches so far for work and they have gone down a storm. This recipe makes the best ever banana sponge; it's light and airy and oh so delicious!

All lined up and ready to go

Caramel sauce, flaked chocolate and fudge pieces

mmmmmmmm

Eat me!


To be able to transport my baked goodies to work, I've been looking for a carrier and I looked on Amazon, Lakeland and so forth and found a few that were £30+ which I thought was a bit steep.... then I stumbled across theses beauties in Asda, and at £6.00 a pop, I wasn't going to argue. They come with a removal tray as well and are really stable. Winner!

ASDA Cupcake Carrier

I demand you to go and check out your fruit bowls and rescue those over ripe bananas! Banoffee Cupcakes are calling!

Enjoy

xoxoxox

Where did September go?

Well hello folks!

Sorry for not being around for September. It was a very busy month with hen weekends and weddings! Mr dear friend Rebecca, of Wed Magazine, got married so we headed back home to Cornwall for a wonderful wedding. It was truly the most amazing weekend ever and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful friend. Welcome to married life Mrs Sleeman!

Mr P and I have been busy settling into our new house and turning it into a home so we have been out and about exploring local towns for unique decorative items for the house.... and of course, additions to my (our*) beloved kitchen.

We did have some time off in September/October, but unfortunately we were both struck down with the lurgy, so we didn't venture far at all... however, we did venture out on one rainy day for a bit of a drive and some air and stumbled across a fantastic kitchen shop (mmm) in Devizes called Ma Cuisine located in the Market Square and ended up bringing home one of these...



Now I'm on a mission for a Barista course for both of us. She's a little beauty and makes a lovely cup of coffee!

I am also delighted to report that the artwork for the kitchen that I started at the beginning of this year is now printed and up on the wall! It's only taken me 5 months! No need to rush now! Mr P was delighted to be let loose with his "man tools" and taken on the technical challenge of hanging them on the wall, all perfectly measured...




I also feel that I have spent a lot of time in front of the TV this year, what with the Tour de France, the Olympics, Paralympics and then The Great British Bake Off! Well, what a Bake Off!

A great series again so big congratulations to Love Productions and BBC2. I did have my money on James to won, but when it came to the last episode and James said that he hadn't really practised his final show stopper my heart sank.... who goes into the final without having practised their final showstopper!? At the end of the day, the best cake won, so well done John. I did admire Brendan's technical ability and knowledge, but I didn't think he would end up being the winner.

Application for series 4 anyone!?

I have been busy baking and some baking related posts will follow soon! With the evenings pulling in and the bad weather we have been having, I am more inclined to lock myself away in the kitchen and bake my socks off!

Bake on!

Nic xoxoxo