Cheese and Bacon Oval Loaves

Bread is one of my favourite types of baking, in fact any yeast based bake is. Slightly inspired by the Great British Bake Off's bread week I turned to Paul Hollywood's 'How to Bake' book. With the weather being slightly grim a good comforting loaf was in order and there aren't many things more comforting than warm cheesey, bacon bread. Definitely best eaten when warm.

Ingredients:

• 400g strong white bread flour
• 100g rye bread (the original calls for strong wholemeal flour)
• 10g salt
• 10g instant yeast
• 30g unsalted butter
• 330ml water
• 8 rashers of bacon, cooked and chopped
• 150g cheddar cheese

1. Put the flour, salt, yeast and butter in a bowl. Make sure the salt and yeast are at opposite sides of the bowl. Mix the butter in with your fingers.
   
2. Put the bowl on the stand mixer and begin to add the water, keep adding until a rough dough is formed. Knead for another 5-10 minutes.
   
3. When the ball forms a smooth skin pop it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to raise for around an hour until it doubles.
   
4. Once the dough has risen begin to knead in the cheddar and bacon. Don't knead for too long.
   
   
   
5. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form oval loaves and place onto two baking sheets. Cover with more cling film and leave to rise again. Pre heat the oven to 200c.
   
6. Once risen and the oven is up to temperature sprinkle the loaves with olive oil and bake for around 20 minutes. Tap on the bottom to ensure a hollow a sound.
   
   

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Ooey Gooey Chocolate Fondant

I was lucky enough to be bought some Paul A Young chocolate by my Dad last week. It's rated as some of the best chocolate in the country so I wanted to do something pretty special with it. Really there was only one thing that I wanted; an ooey gooey chocolate fondant.

Ingredients:
50g chocolate (dark is best but I used milk here to make it almost like a sticky toffee pudding sauce)
50g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
50g plain flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
60g caster sugar
2tbsp cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4, 160c. Butter two ramekins and then dust lightly with cocoa powder.
   
   
   
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over the top of a saucepan, make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Put aside the bowl to cool. 
   
3. In a stand mixer whisk together the egg, egg yolk and sugar.
   
   
   
4. Mix in the cooled chocolate mixture and then sift the flour on top. Slowly fold in using a figure of 8 motion.
   
5. Pour the mixture into the two ramekins and bake for around 15-17 minutes. You want there to be some cracks on top but not overcooked. 
   

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British Pancakes

The title of this post may be a little misleading, I'm not making Union Jack pancakes or anything of the red, blue and white theme. Instead I am making what most of us class as pancakes, unlike the American Pancakes our are unleavened and look more like a crepe.

What's pretty clever about this recipe is that it can make either pancakes or Yorkshire puddings, all that matter is the method of cooking! I've been using the same recipe by the legendary Delia Smith for years and it comes out perfect every time so have no need to change it.

Ingredients:

• 110g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 200ml milk + 75ml water
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter

Method:

1. Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl.
2. Crack the eggs into the bowl and using a fork slowly mix into the flour.
   
3. Slowly add the milk and use an electric mixer to beat the lumps out.
4. Scrape down the bowl and add the melted butter and mix. Pour into a measuring jug to make it easier to pour into the pancake pan.
   
5. Heat your pancake pan up on a high heat before reducing to a medium heat. Pour the mixture into the pan, make sure you don't do it too thick, and tilt the pan around to cover the whole area - you'll need to work quick!
   
6. After about 30-45 seconds it'll be ready to flip. You can use a spatula or if you're feeling brave toss it up in the air and catch it again. Give it another 30 seconds before sliding onto a plate and serving!
   

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Beetroot Brownies

Now, I'm not a huge fan of beetroot so why I decided to grow it in the garden I'm not quite sure. However, here we are at harvest time and I've got more beetroot than I need and I want my land back to begin planting new crops. Instead of pickling it all I decided to go on a bit of a hunt for something else to do with it all...I ended up finding this Beetroot Brownie recipe on BBC Good Food.

Given that it had mixed reviews I decided to half the mixture - I didn't want to use my entire patch of beetroot in one go! I have to say although they are slightly different I find them pretty tasty, especially considering they contain much less fat than your average brownie.

Ingredients:

• 200g of uncooked beetroot (after being peeled)
• 50g unsalted butter, cubed
• 100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 small eggs
• 50g flour
• 15g cocoa powder

Method:

1. If required, peel your beetroot. Preheat your oven to 180c.

   

   Fresh from the garden!
2. Chop the beetroot into smallish chunks and place into a microwaveable bowl. Add a small amount of water, about a teaspoon, cover it in cling film and zap it in the microwave for about 10 minutes. It should be tender, drain it in a sieve.
   
3. Add the chocolate and butter to the bowl of a food processor. Add the beetroot to the ingredients and whizz away. The heat from the beetroot should melt the butter and chocolate. Keep on whizzing until it's as smooth as possible.

   

   Looks yummy (?!)

4. In another bowl use an electric whisk to combine the sugar and eggs, you want it nice and foamy so do it for a few minutes. 
5. Add the beetroot mix to the egg mixture and gently fold it in using a figure of eight motion.
   
6. Finally sieve in the flour and cocoa powder and fold in before pouring into your greased tin.
   
7. Cook for around 20 minutes, check on it after 15, until it has a thin crust but still has a hint of a wobble in it.
   
8. Leave to cool in the tray before cutting and serving.

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Murgh Makhani/Butter Chicken

At the end of May this year we went in India, we spent a few days in Mumbai before heading south, by train, to Ratnigiri for a couple of days and then finally headed further south to Goa. It was a great experience filled with even greater food, in particular some seriously good butter chicken.

Even made the naan myself too!

On returning home, armed with a butter chicken blend of spices from Mumbai and Rick Stein's India cookbook I had to give this a go. The recipe is taken from his book. Where he has put spices I used the spice blend I picked up in Mumbai then tweaked it at the end by adding a little bit of the spices I thought it needed.

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts, chopped into large chunks

First Marinade

• Juice of 2 limes
• 1tsp Chilli powder (as hot or as mild as you like)
• 1 tsp Salt

Second Marinade

• 50g natural yogurt
• 50g double cream
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 5cm ginger, roughly chopped
• 1tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin

The sauce

• 50g ghee (I used butter)
• 5 crushed garlic cloves
• 5cm ginger, grated
• 400g carton of passata
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp desiccated coconut
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 200ml water
• 25g cashew nuts
• 25g pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp boiling water
• 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
• 45ml double cream

Method:

1. Put the lime juice, chili powder and salt into a bowl. Add the chicken and toss until coated. Cover with cling film and leave to marinade for an hour in the fridge.
   
2. Add all the ingredients for the second marinade into a food processor and whizz up until it is smooth. Add this to the chicken and ensure every piece is thoroughly coated. Cover with cling film again and leave to marinade for another 4 hours.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 240c (this is hotter than some ovens allow, in that case just crank it up as high as it will go). Get a wire rack, I used a cooling rack, and suspend it over a baking sheet. Lay your chicken pieces on top of this and cook in the over for 15 - 20 minutes. You want the chicken to be lightly charred but not completely cooked as it's still got to be cooked in the sauce.
   
4. Melt the ghee/butter in a large, heavy-based, saucepan and fry the garlic and ginger for a minute, add the passata and simmer for 5 minutes.
   
5. Add the spices, coconut, salt and 100ml of water and simmer for another 10 minutes. After this your chicken should be ready to remove from the oven.
6. Whilst the sauce is cooking blend the cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds and 2 tablespoons of boiling water in a food processor until it's as smooth as you can get it - place to one side as you'll need it in a moment!
7. Add the chicken, 100ml of water and your cashew and pumpkin paste and simmer for a final 10 minutes. Finish with the fenugreek leaves, sugar and cream.
   
8. Serve with a handful of coriander leave and some shredded ginger, if you fancy it.

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Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Us Brits aren't so good at cookies, we're just not used to them. Biscuits are more of our thing, which I guess are just harder, crunchier cookies. Cookies are quite new to us, they are chewy, soft and tend to need to be purchased from Millie's, Subway or more recently supermarket bakery sections to get a decent one. Not anymore though...

After several experiments, most ending in near-biscuits rather than chewy cookies, I'm happy that I've finally mastered the art of cooking proper cookies. The experiments have revealed several learning points:

1. Use a mix of brown sugar and white sugar to get the right chewy:crispy ratio
2. Don't overcook them - it's tempting too, especially when you prod them and they are super soft, just leave them to cool on the baking tray for a little while before transferring to a wire rack
3. Try and use the same measurement to dollop the mix onto the baking tray to ensure evenly sized, round, cookies.

Ingredients (makes 12):

• 100g Dark Brown Sugar
• 50g Caster Sugar
• 85g Melted Butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 125g Plain Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 150g chopped chocolate (50g each of milk, dark, white)

1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line two baking sheets
2. In a large bowl mix together the sugars and melted butter until well combined.
   
3. Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix well.
   
4. Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl and stir in, once combined pour in the chopped chocolate and stir until coated.
   
5. Using a tablespoon and a teaspoon scoop the mixture onto the baking trays, six to a sheet.
   
6. Pop into the oven for 10-15 minutes, checking regularly, you want them just to be slightly crisp on the edges.
   
7. Leave to cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray and then transfer onto a wire rack to cool/gobble up!
   
   
   
   
   

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Delicious Danish Pastries!

Danish pastries have always been a favourite of mine when browsing the bakery aisle in the local supermarkets - always a dangerous location if you've not had breakfast! Finally, last weekend, I decided to give it my own go. If you want to do the same make sure you give yourself plenty of time, this isn't a quick bake!

I used Paul Hollywood's recipe which you can find here.

Ingredients:

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 80g caster sugar 
• 10g salt 
• 10g instant yeast 
• 2 medium eggs 
• 90ml cool water 
• 125ml lukewarm (not hot) full-fat milk 
• 250g chilled unsalted butter (use a high quality butter)

1. In your mixer bowl add the flour, sugar, salt and yeast - ensuring that the yeast and salt don't touch. Then add in the eggs, water and milk and begin to mix on a medium speed until combined (about 2 minutes) then increase to high speed for 6-7 minutes.
   
2. Shape into a ball, dust very lightly with flour and either pop into a clean plastic bag or wrap loosely in cling film to allow it to raise. Pop it into the fridge for an hour.

   

   High quality french butter is what you need!

3. Roll out the dough to a rectangle 50cm x 20cm. Bash the butter between two pieces of cling film until it is 33cm x 19cm. Then place the butter on top of your rolled out dough. Fold the dough with no butter on over the top of the butter. This should leave some butter exposed. Cut off this exposed butter and place it on top of the dough that you've just folded across. Then fold the remaining bit of dough (that used to have the butter on) on top of the butter. Seal around the butter and place in the fridge for an hour.
   
4. Remove from the fridge and roll out to 50cm by 20cm again. Again, fold over a third of the dough and fold the remaining third back over the dough. Put back into the fridge for an hour. Repeat this twice more.
   
5. Once this is finished leave it in the fridge for 8 hours/overnight. It is then ready to use and can be used in a range of different danish pastries. You can see my dough raised a little more than hoped but you can see lots of layers!
   
6. Preheat your oven to 200c.
7. I rolled out half my dough to 45cm x 15cm and cut into 7.5 squares and formed them into pinwheels - this is video is the simplest to show the technique. I then popped a dollop of creme patisserie on top and a raspberry before coating it in an egg wash.
   
8. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until a beautiful golden brown colour. I used the remainder of the dough to make lemon and lime pastries, chocolate pinwheels and pain au chocolats.
   

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