Great British Bake Off: Love Heart Biscuits

I thought I would coincide a bake for my boyfriend for Valentine’s day with February’s recipe from my Great British Bake Off calendar. This is a very simple, fuss-free recipe for cute heart-shaped biscuits. I wanted to post this on Valentine’s Day but had to go with today because I was working so much last week and didn’t have time.

Love Heart Biscuits

For the biscuit dough

• 100g unblanched almonds
• 200g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 80g icing sugar
• 125g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 3 large egg yolks

For the filling

• 200g raspberries
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• icing sugar for dusting

Heart-shaped cutter plus a smaller one, 2 baking sheets, lined with baking paper

Put the almonds, flour and salt into the bowl of a food-processor until the almonds are finely ground. Add the icing sugar and ‘pulse’ the machine a few times until combined. Add the pieces of butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add the egg yolks and process until the mixture comes together in a ball of firm dough. Slightly flatten the dough, then wrap in clingfilm and chill for 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured worktop to the thickness of a pound coin. Cut out heart shapes using the floured 8cm cutter, then use the smaller cutter to stamp out the middle from half the shapes. gather up the trimmings, re-roll and cut more heart shapes. Arrange them well apart on the lined baking sheets and chill for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the biscuits for about 12 minutes until lightly coloured; if necessary, rotate the sheets halfway through baking so the biscuits cook evenly. Leave the biscuits to cool and firm up on the sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, put the raspberries, cornflour and caster sugar into a medium-sized pan. Set over a medium heat and stir gently until the juices start to run and the fruit softens. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring, until thick. Pour into a heatproof bowl and leave to cool.

To assemble, spread the cold raspberry filling over the uncut biscuits, then top each with a cut-out shape. Dust with icing sugar. Once filled, eat the biscuits the same day. The unfilled biscuits can be stored in an airtight tin for up to 4 days, and the filling can be kept covered in the fridge for 4 days.

Courgette, Pecan and Chocolate Chip Muffins

I saw this recipe on The Cake Blog a couple of weeks ago and decided to give it a go. I’ve only baked with vegetables once before in a more traditional carrot cake but I’ve been really enjoying eating courgettes recently so thought this would be a different take on my normal griddled courgette. I thought I would make some up to have for breakfast or a snack at work instead of my usual doughnut…I know the recipe isn’t strictly healthy but it has to be healthier than a deep fried doughnut surely?!

You can find the here. I am made some alterations; I used pecans instead of walnuts, golden syrup instead of vanilla extract and used half pecans/half dark chocolate chips. The result was very good and a result with my family who HATE courgette!

My Everest: Welcome Banner

Just like Joey and his thanksgiving turkey this piece of cross stitch is my everest. I have been working on, and off, on this welcome banner for about a year. Although I know I have made progress I am still only halfway done and really want it finished. As such, one of my goals of 2014 is to finish this banner and really take it seriously.

Checkered Sewing Bag

After seeing this post on Wild Olive I knew I had to make this super simple sewing bag. Normally when I see projects like this one I favoruite it, bookmark it and think to myself “one day I will make this bag/purse/pillow” and I actually did it for once, about two days after seeing the original post, I must have been inspired. I also was keen to make this sewing bag as I am going away to a friend’s house for a couple of days of watching Harry Potter and not a lot else so I thought I would bring my cross stitch along.

My bag is obviously no where near as good as Mollie’s from Wild Olive but its a good attempt and will suit a purpose. The instructions were so easy to follow although it did take me two goes as the first time around the material I used was too thick and none of my needles for my sewing machine would go through it, woops!

 

 

Great British Bake Off: Olive Loaf

A new year meant a new Great British Bake Off calendar! I didn’t actually end up baking the last recipe of my 2013 calendar as I didn’t have time but I was really excited to start baking from this one. The first recipe is for an olive loaf. I love to try my hand at making my own bread and the house smelling of delicious home made bread. The recipe calls for pimento-stuffed green olives but my preferred are Greek kalamata so I went with those instead, I also chopped up my olives so that they would be more evenly distributed throughout the loaf.

Dollie pattern didn’t really work! Bit too heavy-handed with the flour

Olive Loaf Bread

• 400g strong white bread flour, plus extra for optional pattern
• 100g wholemeal bread flour
• 2 tsp sea salt flakes
• 7g fast-action dried yeast
• 350ml lukewatm water
• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for kneading
• 115g pimento-stuffed green olives
• 50g Manchego cheese, diced

Baking paper, a baking sheet, a roasting tin, a doily to decorate

Mix both flours with the salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the dried yeast. Add the water and the oil to the flour and work in with your hand, mixing just enough to make a shaggy-looking soft, damp dough. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly oiled worktop. Lightly oil your hands, then knead the dough for 4 minutes only. Cover the dough with a sheet of clingfilm and leave to rest for 20 minutes, then knead for another 4 minutes.

Combine the olives and cheese, then gently work them into the dough. it should still be soft but not stick to your hands or the worktop. Transfer the dough to a sheet of baking paper cut to fit your baking sheet and pat out to an oval 1.5cm thick and about 20cm x 30cm. Cover the loaf loosely with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes until doubled in size.

Towards the end of the rising time preheat the oven to 230C. Put the baking sheet in tp heat up and place the empty roasting tin in the bottom of the oven.

Uncover the risen loaf. If you’re going to make a pattern lay the doily gently on top. Sift strong white bread flour liberally over the doily, then carefully lift it off the bread, without smudging the shape. Pull the hot baking sheet out of the oven, on its shelf, and carefully slide the loaf, on the baking paper, onto the sheet. Slide it back into the oven. Pour cold water into the hot roasting tin to create a burst of steam and quickly close the oven door. Bake the loaf for about 20 minutes until a good golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and eat warm the same day.

Finished Project: Floral Heart Keyring

Just a quick post on this floral keyring which came free with Issue 275 of Cross Stitcher. I really enjoyed stitching on a wooden canvas so was keen to stitch this up. I probably won’t use it as a keyring but as a decoration for the house.

Crunchy Bacon Soda Bread

My boyfriend and I love to cook so whilst at his house recently we made a delicious sausage casserole and this Crunchy Bacon Soda Bread from The Great British Bake Off: Everyday recipe book by Linda Collister. The bread went really well with the casserole so I thought I would share the recipe on here.

Crunchy Bacon Soda Bread

• 4 rashers (85g) smoked back bacon, chopped into 5mm strips
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• handful of parsley sprigs (I think rosemary would also work very well)
• 450g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 25g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• about 350ml buttermilk

One baking sheet lined with baking parchment

Put the bacon into a cold non-stick frying pan, set over a fairly low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat starts to melt. Turn up the heat to medium and cook until the bacon starts to colour. Add the shallot and parsley and cook, stirring constantly, until shallot turn golden. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Heat your oven to 220C. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the pieces of butter and toss in flour. Then rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Stir in the cooled bacon mixture using a round-bladed knife. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Mix everything together to make a soft slightly sticky rough-looking dough. If the dough feels dry and won’t come together, work in more buttermilk, a tbsp at a time.

Lightly dust your hands and the worktop with flour, then turn out the dough and shape it into a bal, using no more than 3 or 4 kneading movements – the dough shouldn’t look smooth. Set the ball of dough on the baking sheet and gently flatten with your fingers so the dough is 3-4cm tall. Using a table knife, cut a deep cross in the top of the dough and dust with flour.

Place in the heated oven and bake for about 35 minutes until the bread is a good golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Best eaten the same day or toasted the next.

Finished Project: Pretty Little Paris

I started this project well before Christmas but due to lack of time I only finished it last week. I chose not to stitch the balloon in the pattern as I didn’t really think it added anything (plus I was being a bit lazy). I framed it in a hoop but only attached with pins so that I can have it properly framed in the future.

 

Christmas Hamper Edibles

Spiced Cranberry Cookies

This is a recipe from my ‘Christmas Hamper Idea’ book (a book where I keep magazine clippings, recipes, notes on bits and pieces I might want to make for Christmas) and one I hadn’t tried out until this year.

• 100g light muscavado sugar
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour
• 255g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp allspice
• 175g dried cranberries
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp of grated orange zest

Heat your oven to 170C. Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the beaten egg and mix together. Sift in the flour and allspice and mix into the wet ingredients. Finally stir in the cranberries and orange zest. Place balls of cookie dough the size of a large conker on baking sheets, leaving space between each. Flatten slightly. Bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly firm and golden.

Chocolate Fudge

This recipe is from a free recipe booklet from ASDA about 2 or 3 years ago. It is the best recipe I have ever found for fudge.

• 25g butter
• 275g caster sugar
• 150ml evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 75g mini marshmallows
• 200g milk chocolate chips

Line the base and sides of a shallow 20cm square cake tin with baking parchment. Put the butter, caster sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt in a pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and simmer steadily for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the marshmallows and chocolate straight away. Stir until melted. Pour into the cake tin, level the top and leave to cool. Put in the fridge to set.

Mauritian Curry Powder

This recipe is from Shelina Permalloo’s Sunshine on a Plate, recommended to me by my boyfriend (he actually suggested I put this particular gift of a curry powder in my hampers). I then coupled the curry powder with two recipes which use curry powder.

• 40g coriander seeds
• 40g cumin seeds
• 20g fennel seeds
• 10g fenugreek seeds
• 10-15 dried curry leaves
• 3 dried red chillies
• 20g ground tumeric
• 1/2 small cinnamon stick

Toast the coriander, cumin, fennel and fenugreek seeds in a smoking hot frying pan without oil for a few minutes until the coriander seeds start to pop and the spices start to release their aromas. Allow to cool and then place the toasted spices in a spice grinder, along with the cinnamon stick, curry leaves, red chillies and tumeric. Grind until you have a fine powder, Place in an airtight container, away from direct sunlight and use as soon as possible.

Christmas Hampers

I did a post on my Christmas hamper edibles but I thought I would do a separate one of the hampers themselves. Though mainly food-based I did make a Christmas bauble for each and added some sparkle with fake flowers and leaves (I think this is an idea I would like to develop for next year; the entire basket covered in flowers and leaves kind of like a wreath.