Saturday, 23 March 2013

Spiced Apple and Custard Tarts

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These I made back in January just on a whim- I don’t remember the last time that I had made pastry before then so I decided to give them a go!

There was actually 4 different parts to these tarts- The pastry, the spiced apple pieces, the custard and the oaty crumble that you can sprinkle on top to give it a bit of a crunch!

I got this recipe from Lily Vanilli’s Sweet Tooth recipe book which I got as a Christmas gift and before then I had never actually heard of her. Her recipes seem quite modern and interesting and if I am ever in London again then I would perhaps go to her bakery for a wee taste =)

So, anyway, I really liked this recipe and I wouldn’t mind practising it again so I could get it perfect. For a winter’s treat it is very nice with the spiced apples but I am sure that you can substitute this for berries if you wanted something more summery! 

This apple mixture was spiced with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg although it was recommended to use star anise as well but I didn’t have any in the house.  

I was a little bit concerned about the custard; I think that I had made it once before but I had forgotten how it had turned out but I was really impressed with her recipe and it managed to turn out consistent, smooth and yummy!

All in all I liked these- a bit stressful getting all the components ready all at once and I need some more practise making pastry so hopefully there will be some pastry posts coming up in the future!

Labels: 101 things in 1001 days, baking | 0 comments

Thursday, 21 March 2013

Homemade Bread!

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There really isn't much that is tastier and satisfying than a home cooked loaf of bread! With the crusty layer on the outside that you have to bite through to reveal the soft tasty bread on the inside I believe that it is one of the finest eating pleasures! It really makes me wonder why anyone would want to go carbs free...
But alas, for the first time I decided to try and make some of this yummy food and here is the result.....

I ended up using the recipe in the Great British Bake Off cookery book from last year and it is the bread that they had to make in the technical challenge- the plaited loaf! I thought my first bread should be a nice easy one =P I actually chose this one because I thought it would impress on my application form for the Great British Bake Off but it however did not...but still very interesting to make =D




So first thing is making the dough-

500g strong white bread flour in a bowl with 10g salt on one side of the bowl and 2x7g sachets of yeast on the other side. You don't want these to touch or the salt can kill the yeast. Add 20ml olive oil and mix until everything is combined. If using you hand it can get prettttttty messy!


So, you will need 40 ml of water at room temp but for now add 3/4 and bring the mis together and then work in the rest of the water.

I found it pretty hard to knead it after this so if there are any tips of kneading bread at this stage I would love to hear them! At this point you want the dough to be "slightly soft but not sticky, nor dry and tough"

Lightly oil another bowl that will be able to handle the dough to rise to double the size, tip the dough in there and cover with cling film. It should only take an hour to double in size. I actually went shopping during this time so was more like a couple of hours for me!


This is actually the super fun part! Knocking back the dough by giving it one punch in the middle of the bowl and then it totally gets gets all the air out. Check it out!

Check out that super awesome punch! =D

Tip it out into a lightly floured worktop and separate the dough into 8 equal bits. Once measured roll out the bits into long sausage shapes measuring about 40cm. At one end group all of the strands together so it looks like a bit of an octopus like this>>>>>


The sequence for the plait is as follows:
1- 8 under 7 and over 1
2- 8 over 5
3- 2 under 3 and over 8
4- 1 over 4
5- 7 under 6 and over 1

Repeat steps 2-5 until it is all braided!
 I think I managed to do a wrong step because my braids were very uneven by the end! But once its all braided tuck in the ends so that it is all neat.

Leave it to proof again for about an hour and then brush it all over with a beaten egg. Bake for 20-25 mins in a preheated oven in 200C. Let me know if you guys have any experience making bread then let me know what you made and how you find making bread! =D

Labels: 101 things in 1001 days, baking, bread | 0 comments

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Hello!

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So its been a ridiculously long time since I have blogged, very sad indeed! With a mix of being super busy and my laptop being away for the last month to get repaired I have not gotten many chances to sit down and blog. But I have made a lot of things since my last post so I will be updating you all on my baking adventures =D

 I have actually completed one of my 101 in 1001 to dos! No 81 Apply for the Great British Bake Off

I totally did put in an application! But I don't think that I got in because I got no response- very sad! My goal of getting Paul Hollywood to fall in love with me and bake me bread everyday has fallen through so I might have to rethink my life plan!

I have also just realized that I have also managed to complete number 27- Get more than £2000 in my savings account! This actually took me a lot longer than I had expected just because once I came back from the states I had to take out from my savings money for a deposit and rent for a flat. But finally this has been completed!

Not much else has been going on with me however but my next couple of posts should be coming up soon =D

In other news I have been 22 for the past month and a half and so far I have not felt all that much grown up! However for me and my best friend Jasmine's birthday we did have a lovely spa afternoon so I can tick off having a spa day at number 51!

We ended up going to the Zen Spa in Aberdeen. Now since I have never been to a spa before in my life I have nothing to compare it with but I had a nice time actually! We ended up getting one of the new year promotions that was going on and perhaps I wouldn't have paid the full price for it but we ended up getting a full body exfoliation, a body wrap, a miniature facial and a quick manicure! I don't have any pictures from it mainly because it really wasn't a time to say cheese and I was super relaxed that I didn't really want to move at all! My body was actually sooooo smooth and relaxed afterwards!

If anyone has any spa recommendations in Aberdeen then that would be fabulous or even their favourite treatment- I definitely think that I would like to go for a spa day again and would love to hear people's recommendations =D 

Labels: 101 things in 1001 days | 0 comments

Saturday, 5 January 2013

Christmas cake!

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This was of course made before Christmas but as usual my posts are late! i wanted to go for a 'Santa stuck in the Chimney' theme but I managed to leave Santa's legs til the end of the time I had and ended up running out of time so the legs and feet are not so pretty =P

The bottom layer was carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting and covered in marshmallow fondant and the top layer was a chocolate cake filled and covered with chocolate ganache- a chocolate heaven!

The wee snowmen and Christmas trees I made a couple of days before and they were made out of marshmallow fondant. I didn't actually have any cutters that would have helped so instead I just used a fondant embellisher for an outline and then cut them out with a small sharp knife. The little stars were made with a plunger cut out for stars which is a very handy tool =) And I used liquid gels to paint on the wee details and let them dry overnight.

 I was really happy with how smooth the ganache went on to the cake and what a professional look it gave to the cake. I am pretty sure that i might have tried to use ganache before but wasn't as convinced but now I honestly want to use ganache for everything! If only you could make it in a fat free way! I decided to make a brick effect since it was to be a chimney which obviously means you cant see how smooth it is but next time =P




I do wish that the carrot cake had the height of the chocolate cake but I forgot how dense carrot cake is! then the proportions of the cake would have been better for the idea of the cake I think. But I guess too much chocolate cake can never be a bad thing!

Labels: cake, Christmas | 0 comments

Thursday, 3 January 2013

Teeny tiny carrot cake cookies!

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I made these for Jasmine's boyfriend for his Christmas as he is vegan and I wanted to try a vegan cake type thing. They were from a blog that I have mentioned before because for vegan foods, this blog has so many different ideas:
http://ohsheglows.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6001702

I believe that I used plain flour instead of the whole wheat flour and I don't have any coconut oil so i used vegetable oil instead and it seemed to work.

This recipe is really easy as well- just one bowl to mix the dry ingredients and then add in the mixed wet ingredients.

 

Then put into wee even sized balls, pop on a greaseproof paper on a baking tray and bake and once they come out of the oven, pop them on a cooling rack and then devour! i actually really like these as a wee snack...or just a big snack by eating a whole plate of them =D 

Labels: 101 things in 1001 days, baking | 1 comments

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Hello 2013!

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I don't actually have any resolutions for this year! If I have a better year filled with happiness then I sure wouldn't complain! To be honest if I can get most of my 101 in 1001 list done then I will be very happy! So I thought I would do a wee update on the last things I managed to check off in 2012:



-18: Finally get my prescription for my glasses

I actually got my prescription for my glasses last year but I put off actually buy them for several reasons- denial that my eyes aren't perfect, choosing the perfect pair of glasses and the money that I was saving was going towards my America trip. But after a lot of squinting and blurriness I finally chose 2 pairs of glasses and can now see!


-37: Go to the theatre or pantomine

I went to see the Shakespear Improvised show when I couch surfed this summer in New York and it was super fabulous! I would recommend that anyone who gets a chance to go should grab the opportunity! Each show is completely different so I would definitely go again! I did hear that they have come over to the Edinburgh fringe festival  in previous years so hopefully UK people will get a chance to see them.
What they do is get someone in the audience to shout out a theme or a title that they will use and they take about 20 seconds to think about the title. After one of the guys makes up a monologue about the title then they do an hour long play in the style of Shakespeare! Here is a wee clip of them:

-72: Learn Spanish

This is something that I have wanted to do for quite some time and it is always on and off but the last couple of months I have been slowly learning in my spare time during work! I actually bought the Spanish version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Spaish like 4 years ago so have cracked that open to learn a little of it! I recently went on a trip to Valencia for 3 days and this totally helped a lot, just to be around lots of Spanish speaking people! Just need to make a lot more trips out to Spain I think :D

Labels: 101 things in 1001 days | 0 comments

Tuesday, 1 January 2013

Macaroons!

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I have finally manned up and had an attempt at making macaroons! They were made for part of my best friend, Jasmine's, Chritsmas present and didn't turn out so badly. I did look at a couple of articles on making macaroons before I started making them which helped an awful lot!
I used the French method to make them which seemed to work for me. Maybe one day I will also try the other method to compare which is easier and has better results though. The French method takes a little less technical work but you do have to let the macaroons rest for between half an hour to an hour before popping them in the oven.

I did read that it is better to have one or two day old eggs so you can do this by separating the egg whites and storing them in the coldest part of the kitchen (usually this is the back of the fridge). When I made them I didn't have time to 'age' the eggs so in order to imitate this effect a good tip is to separate the eggs and microwave them on medium/high for 10-20 seconds.

Here is the basic recipe for the standard macaroon:
3 egg white (or 100g weighed)
50g granulated sugar
200g powdered sugar
110g ground almonds

Whisk the egg whites and granulated sugar together until you get stiff peaks. If you the eggs slide around the bowl when you try and turn the bowl upside down then you should keep whisking. Once the eggs start defying gravity then stop whisking! Now sift the icing sugar and almonds together. I used already ground almonds but if you want to be fresher then feel free to measure out 110g of almonds and put them in a processor with the powdered sugar and grind it all up to a powder and then sift it in a bowl. Next is a crucial stage; mixing the egg whites into the almonds and sugar. Once you over mix this mixture it can be a disaster! At first you should incorporate the mixture with fast strokes because you do need to break down the mix but after about 20-30 strokes start to slow down so that you can get a feel of how the mix feels. You should be aiming for a smooth mix and if you put a small amount on a plate the top should flatten itself. If there is still a peak then keep mixing but go slower because it is better to under than over mix.

If you are wanting to add colour or flavours to the mix you should add them right after you start to incorporate and break up the mixture as this means it gets fully incorporated without needing to over mix. Powdered flavours and colours work best as adding extra liquids might make the mix weird! I added liquid lemon flavour but I only added a little bit so I don't think it affected the mixture too much.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe circles on greaseproof paper on a baking tray, making them about 1.5in in diameter. A good idea is to draw out the circles before hand so you can get them the right size although keep in mind that this mixtures spreads, something that I obviously did not think about! 

Once the macaroons are piped you need to let them rest for about an hour in order to rest and this helps create the 'feet' you see in macaroons. You know when they are done resting when you are able to touch the top of the macaroon and it is not sticky because it has created a 'skin'. Once you achieve this pop them in a preheated oven at 300 Farenheit or 148 celsius. They will be cooked in about 10-12 minutes, depending on the size you make them. Once they are cooked leave them to cool before filling them.

The filling that I made for these was a buttercream, with some lemon flavouring, as Jasmine wanted something lemony! You can be quite creative with the fillings with buttercreams, ganaches, jams and spreads!

Since I haven't actually eaten a proper macaroon I don't know how mines compared to the French proper ones but I would for sure recommend making them because they are very yummy! =D

Labels: 101 things in 1001 days, macaroons | 0 comments