Paul Hollywood's Sourdough bread

This weekend has been all too short but equally lovely. My boyfriend, who works in Ghana, has been home for a few days which has been great. Sadly he is off again this afternoon to London and then on Tuesday he goes to visit his family in Spain. So I decided to bake some delicious home made bread for him (in an attempt to keep him in Devon...it didn't work). I have made a sourdough bread before but practise makes perfect! My starter was originally made by a chef - Phil - at Asburton Cookery School last January and I have been lovingly feeding it every week or two since September. My sourdough starter is relatively young compared to some. Many of you will not like the idea of keeping something brewing for years and years. The term festering comes to mind, but really the older the starter, the more flavour your bread will have. Some starters are said to be over 150 years old and have been shared around the world. It is quite a trend to share your starter out to friends and family and see where it goes. I have yet to share mine, for some reason most people are not keen to accept a container full of fermenting flour and water.

This recipe is by Paul Hollywood, the bread guru. The starter, as I said is from Ashburton, so I am not completely sure how they first made it. There are a few ways, all involve flour and water and then mixing in grapes, yoghurt or anything else to get it going. You feed and take a way a little at a time, then it is ready to use. You keep it in the fridge or a very cold larder, feeding it with equal parts of strong white bread flour and water every 7-10 days. When you are ready to use it, take it out at least 24 hours before you want it. It should bubble up nicely after beeing whisked a few times.

For the bread you will need:
375g of strong white bread flour
250g starter mixture
7.5g salt
130-175ml of tepid water
olive oil
cling film
large mixing bowl

Combine all the flour, salt and starter with your hands in the bowl. Pour in the water bit by bit as you may not need to use it all. It depends on how wet your starter is to begin with.
It should now be a soft dough and ready to start working. Lightly oil a smooth work surface and begin kneading for about 10-15 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and springy.

Place in a well oiled bowl and cover. Leave to prove for 4-5 hours, depending on how warm your house is. You want it to at least double in size.

Knock back the dough - literally give it a good bang and knead for a few minutes. Bring into a ball, cover with flour and place upside down in a bowl or a proving basket if you have one. Cover and leave again for 4-8 hours. I left mine over night by a radiator.
Turn your oven on to 220 degrees C and place a roasting dish in the bottom, filled with water. The steam helps to give a nice crust. Gently turn your dough out onto a lined backing tray.

Bake at this temperature for about 30 minutes, then turn it down to 200 and bake for a further 15-20. When ready it should sound hollow on the bottom if you tap it. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy with lashings of butter!

Death by chocolate cake

Happy Easter! If you haven't noticed, it is Easter weekend. The clocks go forward tonight and the easter bunny will skip merrily through our gardens/window boxes/plant pots/house tomorrow. It is this time of year where I usually wish I were a child again and had an elaborate egg hunt ahead of me in the morning. However, this year I wish I was planning the egg hunt for children. It seems my body clock is also going forward. To cope with this I made the biggest and most wicked cake I could muster. Here is Mary Berry's death by chocolate cake. It is delicious but not for the faint hearted. The texture is incredibly moist and surprisongly light. The next time I make it, I'll alternate the layers of dark chocolate ganache with white chocolate or add in some sliced strawberries in the layers.

 

For the cake you will need:

2 8 inch/20cm round loose bottomed cake tins. Grease and line them.

275g plain flour

2 tsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

215g caster sugar

3 tbsp golden syrup

3 large eggs, beaten

225ml sunflower oil

225ml milk

For the icing you will need:

450g chocolate (up to you what you use but in this case I used 70 per cent choc which makes the filling set as firm as the outside)

200g butter
If you want a squidgy filling instead use a buttercream or ganache made with double cream instead. 

To decorate:

Shavings of different chocolate, raspberries, malteasers, etc! 

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees C for fan assisted or 160 if no fan. Grease and line your tins.

In a large bowl sieve in your flour, cocoa, bicarb and baking powder. Mix together. Add the sugar and mix again. Make a well in the middle and add your oil, milk, beaten eggs and golden syrup. Beat the mixture really well with a wooden spoon until it is very smooth. 

Pour into the tins and place on the middle shelf. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes until well risen and springy to the touch.  

Leave to cool for a few minutes then turn out and leave to get completely cold. When cold, cut each cake in half horizontally. I find a bread knife is easiest for this.                                                               

To make the icing, break the chocolate up into small pieces and place in a heat proof bowl over a gently simmering pan of water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl. Stir occassionally and melt the chocolate gently. Be careful not to do this too quickly or the chocolate will split. Take the melted chocolate off the heat and add in the cubed butter. Leave to melt, then stir in. 

Place the wire rack on a baking tray to catch any drips. Start to sandwich the layers together with the ganache. Pour the remaining over the top of the cake and smooth over the whole cake with a pallette knife or any smooth edged knife. Leave to set completely, then add any decoration if you want to.

 Serve as it is or (as suggested by my uncle in California) with clotted cream for extra naughtiness. Enjoy! x

 

Drizzle your heart out

Yesterday was Mothering Sunday. I hope you remembered to pamper your mothers/grandmothers/care givers. My own Mama came over for tea and cake, flowers and chocolates. Little did she know that a little more than my love went into the making of the cake...more on that later. 

It was absolutley freezing, was it not? Even in Devon it was awfully chilly and the wind was biting at fingers, toes and noses. Having just got my old, trusty steed back form her visit 'up north', it was on this horrid afternoon that I dragged Mummy round the yard, before the fortitude of tea and cake. I have never been so quick at bringing in a couple of horses, changing rugs etc in my life! Brr...spring, where have you gone?

It was great haste that we rushed home to hot tea and rather large slices of a heavenly (if I say so myself) lemon drizzle cake. As I mentioned before, rather a little too much of me went into the cake and it was not made without some stress and hair pulling. I grated a chunk of flesh off when grating the lemon zest which caused quite a lot of blood to gush everywhere (and may have gone into the cake mixture..). The electric handwhisk blew up just as I was trying to make the frosting - cue expletives and a sore shoulder today. And finally the cake itself took far longer to cook than I had anticipated, which made for a lot of 'Bake Off' poses staring at the oven to see if it was done. 

It turned out well in the end but I was concerned that Mothering Sunday was going to turn into a horrific comedy sketch.

This cake is made with a lot of ground almonds which gives it a delicious taste and a moist texture. I add raspberries but you could leave them out or substitute with other berries. The drizzle and frosting are both from Peggy Porschen's Boutique Baking book. 

Best served in large slices.

For the cake you will need:

Line and grease an 8 inch sandwich tin

Oven at 180 degress C but check cake after 25/30 minutes. If it is browning too much, cover loosely with foil.

200g softened butter

200g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs

50g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

125g ground almonds

finely grated zest of 2 lemons (minus a chunk of your thumb/fingers)

1 punnet of raspberries

For the syrup:

150ml of fresh lemon juice

150g caster sugar

For the frosting:

zest of 2 lemons

500g icing sugar

200g cream cheese

200g softened butter

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with an electric hand whisk. Slowly add the eggs, beating well after each one. Fold in the flour, baking powder and almonds, then the lemon zest.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin. Poke in some raspberries, about 10, then bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Test with a skewer or chopstick to see if it is done. It will be quite moist but make sure no crumbs come onto the skewer.

Whilst the cake is baking you can make the syrup. Simply place the lemon juice and sugar into a pan and gently bring to a simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Put aside unil ready. When you have baked the cake, poke it all over with holes and brush the syrup over it. Do this whilst the cake is still warm as it will absorb the syrup better this way. Leave to cool in the tin over a wire rack.

To make the frosting, cream the butter and sugar together. In a different bowl, whisk the cream cheese util it is fluffy, then gradually add this to the butter and sugar. Whisk until well combined and add the zest. Cover the cake in frosting, smoothing it out with a knife. You may have some left over, you can keep it covered in the fridge for a few days. To decorate, scatter more raspberries on top and sprinkle with icing sugar. Enjoy!

Mini pecan and chocolate pies

I must confess that I used to be quite snobby about pecan pie. It was only when I was requested to make one a couple of years ago that I even tasted one. And fell in love. These mini pies are originally from a recipe from a magzine cutting which is now covered in splaters and rather sticky. I have adapted the original recipe from Hannah Miles slightly and they are great favourites with everyone. They are nice little gifts to take to dinner parties or a night in with the girls and some bubbles. If you don't like pecans, macadamia nuts work well, or indeed any other nut. These tarts dissappear surprisingly quickly.

You'll need:
two 12 hole muffin tin, well greased with butter
a 6 cm cutter

For the pastry:
110g plain flour, plus a little for dusting
60g butter
2 and a half tbsp soft brown sugar
1 egg yolk

For the filling:
100g pecans
24 pecan halves to top the tarts
75g golden caster sugar
75g soft dark brown sugar
a small bag of plain chocolate chips
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
40g butter3 tbsp golden syrup
1 egg and 1 egg yolk, beaten together

Start by making the pastry. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers. Add the brown sugar and egg yolk and mix together to form a soft dough. Add a little cold water if it is too dry. Wrap the dough in cling film and pop it in the fridge for an hour. Preheat the oven to 180 degress c for fan assisted ovens.

To make the filling, finiley chop or blitz your pecans in a food processor. Gently heat both sugars, cinnamon, vanilla, butter and syrup until the sugar has dissolved. Let this cool for 10 minutes then beat in the egg and egg yolk. Put this to one side.

Get your dough out of the fridge and lightly flour a clean surface. Roll out your pastry to about 3mm thick. Cut out 24 rounds and press one into each hole of the muffin tins.

Fill each case with 3 or 4 chocolate chips and some chopped pecans. Pour some syrup over the top of each tart making sure to keep about a third back for glazing at the end. Top each pie with a pecan half.

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the filling is set. Take the pies out of the tin whilst still warm. Be careful here as the pastry will be very fragile. Put them onto a wire rack, heat the reserved syrup and brush over the pies. Serve them warm or cold on their own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Just heaven.

Easy peasy pasta

My boyfriend and I love pasta and get through quite a lot in the winter months. The following recipe is a staple, with a few variations. Instead of the creme fraiche I sometimes use mascapone or philidelphia. In this case add a splash of stock to loosen the sauce. You can also add shreds of chicken, perfect if you have leftovers. You can make some pesto or buy a jar and add this to the sauce, just adapt the seasoning and quantities of creme fraiche.

You'll need the following for 2 people
75g-100g of pasta per person
1 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
10 button mushrooms, sliced
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
a handful of pine nuts, toasted (be careful not to burn them)
a pack of pancetta, cooked until crispy or 6 slices of streaky bacon (if using bacon, cook it until crispy them break up and add to the sauce).
parmesan
fresh basil
olive oil
pepper
salt (I don't usually add any as the pancetta and cheese are enough).

Boil the water and cook according to instructions.
Meanwhile, in a pan fry off the onions and garlic in some olive oil. When lightly brown, add the mushrooms and lightly brown them. Add the tomatoes and creme fraiche/mascapone (and pesto if using). Turn the heat down. Season with pepper and add the toasted pinenuts and crispy pancetta.
Drain your pasta when cooked, but don't get rid of all the juices, and add straight to your sauce. Tear in the fresh basil. Serve immediately with plenty of grated parmesan.

Mary Berry's brownies

These are to die for. Gooey and chocolate heaven. Don't over bake. Cardinal sin. Makes about 20, enough for 1 person and a tub of ice cream.

You will need:
100g of chocolate chips. I used 50g of white choc and 50g of plain choc
75g cocoa powder
100g self-raising flour
375g golden caster sugar
275g butter, softened
4 large eggs

Grease and line and tray bake or roasting tin and preheat the oven to 160 degress C.

Put all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix together. Don't over mix as this will affect the texture of the brownies.

Spread evenly into the tin and bake for 35-45 minutes. Check them after 30 minutes by putting a sharp knife or skewer into the middle. If it comes out almost clean, they are ready. You can cook them slightly longer but I prefer a gooey centre. Cover loosely with foil if browning too much. Leave to cool completely in the tin. Cut into squares or rectangles and store in a tin. Best served warm with vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of icing sugar.

Vegetarian stew that gets the carnivores salivating

Last weekend I had a dear friend to stay and her new boyfriend. Before they came I checked if  Boyfriend had any food likes or dislikes. Turned out he was a vegetarian. Ok. I like a challenge. Having almost all meat eating friends and family I don't normally cater for veggies. At least not knowingly. 

So, cue recipe books being flung open and tossed aside. After some searching I decided a big bowl of stew would be nice...hmmm venison..yum. Oops. Focus.

I then thought a chickpea tagine would be a good call as it includes lots of delicious warm spices and flavours - harissa, paprika, mint - and so I went with that.This is a recipe I found on BBC, slightly adapted for my own tastes. You can add any other spices (or take away), such as ginger, if you like. It also called for apricots instead of the prunes which I used instead.

To serve 4 hungry people. We had ours with bread but you can make up some couscous if you prefer.

1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped into 2-3cm chunks

2 courgettes, top and tailed, cut into bite sized chunks

1 white onion, sliced

2 or 3 garlic cloves,crushed

1 red pepper, de-seeded, chopped into chunks

12 prunes

500ml passata

400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tsp of harissa paste (make up your own or buy a jar, recipe below)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp honey

a good glug of olive oil

fresh mint

greek yoghurt to serve

For the harissa paste (makes enough for another time. Keep in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks).

One juice of a lime

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

2 tsp of ground cumin

1 1/2  tsp of tomato paste

Olive oil

Mix together and taste. Season to taste

Oven to 160 degrees centigrade for fan assisted, about 180 for non-fan.

You will need:

A chopping board

Sharp knife

Large oven proof dish with a lid.

Pre-heat your oven. Cut up all the butternut squash, courgettes, onion, pepper and put into to dish with the chickpeas and prunes.

 In a pan over a medium heat the oil and gently fry off the garlic before adding the harissa, cumin and paprika. Gently heat until the aromas warm through. Be careful not to burn the spices or this will give your food a nasty bitter taste. Add the honey and passatta and bring to the boil. 

Pour over the vegetables. Put the lid on and put in the oven for two to three hours. Stir a couple of times during cooking to make sure the flavours get into every corner! Season with plenty of pepper and salt.

To serve, roughly chop some mint and stir into the yoghurt. Spoon out generous portions of the tagine with the minty yoghurt on the side. Drizzle with a little more oil and honey.