Shortbread- that crumbles and melts in your mouth

Hello again!

So, I thought it was time I posted about shortbread!

To me, it is like the unbeatable biscuit that you'll always come back to. Sure you might go through periods of stuffing your face with those chocolate tempters. Those custard manipulators. Even those seasonal biscuits that only appear in the festive time of year. But it is the shortbread, the biscuit that always stands by you and is there for you, that is the very biscuit you will always be happy to see and go back to.

What with its sugar dusted outer, its crumbly texture and its soft and melt in the mouth inner. From every stage, it is a pleasure to make and eat!

I've made shortbread many times before, but this is a new recipe that I'm trying out. It sounds and looks pretty promising, ingredients and texture wise so far. But we'll see...

The ingredients that you will be needing are;

This is a YouTube recipe.

- 250g Butter, that is soft
- 65g Caster Sugar

Put this into a mixer and whisk until creamed together, softened and a much lighter colour and smooth texture.

- 355g Plain Flour
- 16g Corn Flour

Mix this in a bowl until combined together

Once the butter and sugar are combined and a light and fluffy colour and texture, add the flour mix. Mix this in the mixer with the paddle attachment until it just becomes crumbly and starts to clump.

At this stage, take it over to a clean counter and tip the mixture out. Bring the crumbs together and work it to form it into one, smooth ball.

Knead this dough until it become smooth, isn't sticky anymore.

Flatten this out into either a circular shape, or rectangular shape with a rolling pin to ensure it stays even. Roll it out until it is as thick as two little fingers on top of each other in height. 3cm maybe.

Plop this onto a sheet of baking paper on a tray and squish together any cracks that have formed.

If it is rectangular, cut this into rectangles and if it is circular little triangles. Do this by taking a sharp knife and whilst not cutting all the way down, imprint the dough so it knows where it will be cut when baked. You are pre-cutting it if you will.

Then prick each piece with a fork all the way down the slice.

Time to chill. Pop this into the fridge to allow the butter to harden. This will make sure it doesn't melt when baking. It would melt if you put it in the oven right away as the butter would be too soft.

After 30 minutes or however long you needed to do something else. I needed an hour as I made the Pavlova beforehand and it needed to sit in the residual heat of the oven and cool down with it for an hour. So, what can you do?

Once chilled, sprinkle sugar over the shortbread before baking and then pop into a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes until light golden brown and paler on the inside.

It'll look raw coming out and you'll say to yourself  ' Hey man! This is way too short a cooking time, the bread of the short is still super soft and squishy? Bhaaa!'

It'll harden and set as it cools so don't be worrying! (:

Re-cut the shortbread in the tin, where you pre-cut it and leave to cool in the tin.

And that is it!

Hope you enjoyed this!?

Thanks

Forest Fruit Pavlova

First things first, no I didn't go to the forest and forage around for the forest fruits. Instead I went to a supermarket and foraged there as it was super busy and for some bazaar reason, everyone wanted all the fruit.

So this is a Delia Smith recipe, but I would know it more as my mother's recipe as I have all these memories from when I was growing up and my mum would always make these amazing pavlovas! I mean, I'm not doing them justice, they were the bomb!

So now in every way life  intended, the Caterpillar became the butterfly and now I make the Pavlova. There is something rather depressing and morbid about that. If i'm the butterfly, what is mama going to morph into... a moth!?

Now, I can't carry on writing this until I say, my mama will always be the butterfly of the Pavlova and no caterpillars attempt will ever be as good as the Butterflies. Why do I keep reverting to past tense? She is still here and very much chucking along. Lol!

My point being, in a rather long winded and slightly weird metaphoric manner, that mama is now teaching me how to make it. I am continuously going into the room and asking 'Is this right?' and that is because I know she makes them so good, that one day I can only hope to make them as good as she. (Who's she, the cat's mother?) (Sorry thinking out-loud there- where is my mind filter when I need it?)

The ingredients that you'll need are:

- 3 Egg whites, cracked into a clean, dry and with absolutely no dirt or anything bowl

- 6 oz Sugar, I use my oz spoon and put in 6 heaped spoonfuls- just how mama taught me

Method:

Whisk the egg whites until thick. I mean really thick. When I did this the first time, I had to do it a second time as the egg whites weren't thick enough and it was all loose and fluid.

Once thick enough, and by thick enough, I mean take it out of the mixer and stick the bowl upside down over your head kinda thick, add in the sugar

Do this one spoonful at a time and leave around 10 seconds between each spoonful.

Then once all the sugar is in, whisk very fast for 5 seconds and plop onto a baking sheet and tray.

Spike it up a little but patting it with the spatula and this will create little spikes. Nice!

Put into an oven preheated to 150C in a fan assisted oven and once the Pavlova is in, immediately turn down to 140 and cook for 1 hour.

After an hour and the thing is cooked, leave in the oven to cool. Obviously turn off the oven and let them cool down together.

Then take it out once cooled and spread on the whipped cream and the forest fruits. I'm using blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. My twist to make this recipe more me, is grating a little lemon zest over the fruit and Pavlova to give it a little zing!

And that is it! All that is left to do is eat!

Thanks

Cointreau Sundays!

Good evening friends!

Today, I met up with some very good friends and we went on those Belfast Bike things. I must say they are very good and now can't think of a good reason as to why this was the first time I had used them.

They are great value, good quality of bike and easy to use. I was riding in 3rd gear the whole time, not because I don't know how to use them, but because I do. This turned out to be a great workout for my legs- they were having to ride against a greater level of resistance or tension given by the higher gear, meant for a faster speed. So if you haven't used them as of yet, I would highly recommend it!

Then I came home, made a Forest Fruit Pavlova, some Shortbread and now Cosmos! What a better way to spend a Sunday, than to spend it with friends in the morning and then come home, cook and relax with the fam! And the gorgeous weather is just an added bonus!

The post is for the Cosmopolitans of course! It will be a short one, but not to worry, i'll be back for the shortbread and pavlova posts soon!

The ingredients you will need are: Serving 8 people or more depending on how stingy you are with the alcohol. I was generous with it.

- 250ml Vodka
- 125ml Cointreau
- 1/2 - 3/4 the container of Cranberry Juice

See this drink is really very good for you. Look at all that goodness and I don't just mean the alcohol! ;)

Cranberry juice, in case you need any convincing is proven to help with your bowels and ailments in that area. Enough Said.

'Phytonutrients, which are naturally derived plant compounds, are present in cranberries. And have been found to help prevent health problems.'

(https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/health-benefits-of-cranberry-juice.html)

As if that wasn't enough, they are also full of antioxidants, vitamin C and salicylic acid. What is Salicylic Acid you ask, it is 'a bitter compound present in certain plants. It is used as a fungicide and in the manufacture of aspirin and dyestuffs.'

(https://www.google.co.uk/#q=what+is+salicylic+acid) 

Method for making this wonderful drink:

- Get a jug

- Measure out the Vodka, Cointreau and Cranberry Juice into the jug

- Mix and chill

- Serve with Ice and a sprig of mint

Enjoy and get merry!

Apple and Cinnamon Turnovers

So, yesterday I made these apple and cinnamon turnovers. They are my own recipe and I think they were pretty yummy. Now that i'm thinking about it, a little vanilla and some nutmeg would also go really well in these. I think they would be a great dessert for Christmas, especially with a festive dusting of icing sugar.

I mean, can you honestly think of anything more festive and Christmas Loving than icing sugar and pastry stuffed to the max with cinnamon and nutmeg?

These are easy to make and are a great and quick dessert for a weekend or week day. They give the house a warm and comforting smell.

I've realised that after a few of these posts I've written, I mention the smell a lot when it comes to food. That is probably because the smell is a big factor for me. The smell is the first thing you notice. It is what you are immediately attracted towards. If you aren't actually cooking the food, you are sure going to smell it.

The ingredients that you will need are; this is for 2 turnovers

- 2 Apples, peeled and chopped in half and then into threes
- 1 pack of Puff pastry, cut into 2 triangles
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 Egg, whisked
- 20 ml Milk
- 1 knob of Butter
- 1 Lemon, zest only
- 3 tbsp of Caster Sugar
- 100 ml Water

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 200C in a fan-assisted oven and place a tray on the top of the hob, for the pastry to sit on

- Peel both apples and then chop them. Put them into the pot that you are planning on stewing them in (this is where you cook the apples, to take away the bite and soften them, but not fry or cook them so much to the point of becoming mushy) 

- Grate the lemon zest and sprinkle over the apples with a little of the butter and water. This will stop the apples from browning and will allow them to have the chance to marinate in the lemony juices. Making them fragrant and delicious!

- Put these on a high heat and allow the apples to simmer away and become softened for around 20 minutes. Add 2 tbsp of the sugar to the pot and this will make them caramelised and sticky. Binding the lemon to the apples. Sooooo good!

- Once the apples have been stewing for 15 of the 20 minutes, add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Let that infuse! 

- Crack an egg into a mug and add the milk and whisk together. I don't know why I add milk to the egg, but apparently it is the thing to do in the culinary world. Who am I to judge?

- Cut the pastry into two triangles and brush the rim of both with the egg wash (this being the egg and milk mix) with a pastry brush.

- Put an even portion of the apples into each pastry triangle and crimp the edges together. 

- You can do this in 1 of 2 ways or both, mix it up a little;

Way 1) Take two fingers, the index and middle finger and place them a nail width apart on the pastry.              Place your other index finger in between your other two fingers. Then in one swift motion,                  while squeezing your two fingers on the outside towards each other, squish the middle                    one down into the pastry. This will both make an interesting design and will seal the pastry.

Way 2) Take a fork and flour it with a little plain flour. Press it down into the folded pastry and seal                that way. This will create another interesting design and is a lot quicker in my opinion.

- Once the pastry is crimped, spread on the egg wash to give the pastry a nice glaze. This will, when       it is baking, give it a golden and glassy shine. Then with a sharp, floured knife, slice the pastry                on the top to allow the steam to get out. This also adds to the aesthetics of the dessert.

- Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of caster sugar over the egg washed pastry and pop into the oven,     that by now has been preheating for at least half an hour. By putting the turnovers onto a cool tray,        you are making sure that the pastry doesn't melt immediately before even getting to the oven.

- Bake this for 20 to 30 minutes, until the puff pastry is risen and golden brown on the top.

- Once cooked and risen, take out of the oven, leave to cool if you aren't eating them immediately, or if you are, serve with ice cream or cream and a fresh grating of nutmeg or cinnamon.

- I served mine with some fresh raspberries and cream as I didn't have enough cinnamon. But next time...

- And that's it! I hope you make these or order them as they are pretty special!

Thanks and talk soon!

You know you want to order something, go on, treat yourself. :)

Sunday Morning French Toast

Good afternoon! This is going to be a brief post, but a good one I think.

It's Sunday morning, which means food. And not just food... good food. The kind of food that you wouldn't normally have for an everyday breakfast. I made French Toast with Bacon and Maple Syrup! It was delicious!

This was a lovely breakfast. Along with some tea and my family! Outside mightn't have been so nice, but inside was lovely. With good food, good company and happiness, what more could I have wanted?

The ingredients that you'll need are;

- 4 pieces of White, slightly stale bread
- 3 Eggs
- 20ml Milk
- 10g Butter
- 2 slices of Bacon

Method:

- Heat a pan on a high heat with a knob of butter

- Crack 3 eggs into a bowl and whisk together with the milk until well combined.

- Pop two slices of the soaked bread into the pre-heated pan with a little butter at a time and cook until browned on one side.

- Once they are, flip them and cook on the other side.

- Pop these two cooked slices onto a non-stick baking tray in a warm oven to keep them warm when you are cooking the other two.


- Put a little oil in another, separate pan and cook the bacon medallions until cooked through and smelling gorgeous.

- Once they are all cooked, plate up and eat with some fruit. Had I had fruit, I would have added this. Maybe some melon, or strawberries or blueberries? Yum! I find that fruit always cuts through the sweetness of the maple syrup. What a wonderful combination!

And that's it! What a lovely way to start off the day!

I hope you will try this either for the first time or again as it is always a crowd winner in my eyes!

Talk again soon

Clapper Board Cake

Good evening all!

Clapper Board Cake

Second post of the day! Wow- I'm cuckoo for cooking!

So a friend texted me this morning, well actually last night, but not too out of the ordinary, I was asleep again at 10pm. Cooking is tiring guys!

This was a really fun cake to make! I loved being super creative with this one and I think it shows. I was also able to use a lot of the utensils and equipment that I invested in for my business. I used my icing smoother, my icing pen, my letter cutters, my silicone mat, my plastic rolling pin and various other things. Really excited!

The equipment that you'll need:

- Rolling pin          - Silicone mat             - Cloth for spills                           - Large baking dish

- Cake spreader     - Palette knife              - Pastry brush                               - Baking paper

- Icing pen             - Cutters                      - Plastic ruler                                - Cake skewer

- Mixer                  - Spatula                      - Mini pizza cutter for icing         - Cooling rack

This is an extensive list I know, you should have seen how cluttered my counter had become in the kitchen. If you don't have all the equipment then that's grand, just use what you have! :)

The ingredients you'll need are:


Cake:

- 440g Self Raising Flour

- 440g Butter

- 440g Caster Sugar

- 8 Eggs

Icing cover:

- 2 packs of Ready Rolled Fondant Icing- White

- 2 packs of Ready Rolled Fondant Icing- Black

Buttercream:

- 200g Butter

- 400g Icing Sugar

- 50ml Water

- The oven will need to be set to 170C in a fan-assisted oven. Line a deep baking tray with butter and baking parchment. You might need a little kitchen foil; enough to cover the cake in case it browns too quickly.

- Now for the baking!

- First thing's first, make the cake batter.

- Measure out the 440g butter into a glass bowl and pop into the microwave for 2 minutes until softened. Pop this into a bowl along with 440g of caster sugar and mix on a low speed until combined and then on a high speed. This will whisk the eggs until they are a light, fluffy and pale in colour.

- Now you want to add in the eggs. Crack 8 eggs into a bowl and whisk them with a fork until fully combined.

- With the mixer on a low speed, gradually whisk the egg into the butter/sugar mix on a low speed until partially combined. Then on a high speed and whip it together.

- Chuck in the flour and mix until just combined. You don't want to over whisk. :)

- Using a spatula, pour the batter into the baking dish, do this until all of it is in the dish. Then even out with a palette knife and pop into the oven for around an hour or so until it has risen, is cooked through and bounces back to the touch!

- Making the black fondant decorations/ additions:

- While the cake is baking, you now want to make the icing decorations. To do this you want to dust a counter top with icing sugar and knead the black fondant. This kneading process will loosen it and enable you work with it easier as it will become more pliable. When you have it rolled out to the thickness of a 50p piece, you want to start cutting.

- Cut out each letter that you require, using your letter cutters. You do this by dusting the cutter in a bit of icing sugar and pressing it down into the fondant. Then using a chopstick to pop each letter on a spatula to transfer the over to some baking paper to allow them o dry out and set.

- Once the cake is baked, take it out of the oven and pop onto a cooling tray, bottom up. This will allow the top to flatten and even out as well.

-To make the buttercream:

- Put the softened butter into a bowl and whisk until beaten. Gradually add the icing sugar until it is all combined and the buttercream doesn't have that buttery aftertaste.

- Once the cake is cooled, even the top out more by trimming the top of the cake. Trim the cake at either side if required, to get it the right shape and size. That is what I did at least.

- Now you want to put on the crumb coat. This is when you put on a layer of buttercream over the entire cake. This will allow the crumbs to stay within the cake (be sealed) and will also enable to fondant to stick to the cake as well.

- You want to use your buttercream to crumb coat your cake before as this will help the fondant stick and stay secure. Spread a layer of this onto the cake and then manipulate the fondant onto the cake, slightly stretching where necessary around the edges to get any creases out. Then use the cake smoother to smooth it all out and the pizza cutter to cut the loose ends off and give you a neat and tidy finish to your cake.

Putting on the Icing Layer:

- Roll out the icing, using a rolling pin, the icing sugar to stop it from sticking and the silicone mat. Roll out until the thickness of £1. This will be thick enough, so that it keeps the cake inside safe and moist, but not so thick, that it is like a fondant dessert, featuring cake.

-I love using fondant as it is quite therapeutic, what with all the kneading, rolling back and forth and the use of your hands. It gets tension out and is a great way if you have anything annoying you, creating a lot of tension, as it lends itself to that purpose in a manner of speaking. It allows, through the kneading and working the dough to make it pliable as fondant dries out in the air, so you knead it to loosen it again, you to get ride of that tension.

- Waffle moment:

- Although when on the subject, when it comes to tension, I had and have none whatsoever. And it feels so lovely! I love what i'm doing and what's more, is that i'm really enjoying myself. I love fondant because it is a 'muck in and get stuck into it' kind of technique. It is hands on and allows you to become one with what you are creating, to get all philosophical about it.

It takes away the literal coldness of the baking from using machines and utensils and gizmos and forces and invites you to use your most basic tool- your hands and touch. You get a feel for the texture and what it is supposed to feel like. Making you much more in sync with what you are creating and adding to the personal touch I think.

- Also, for me, when I was younger and even sometimes today, at the ripe age of 19 going on 20, I still am referred to as the 'Mucker or Squirt'... This was because I loved baking or being involved in things that involved using your hands and being messy. Mug pies- I'm there! Water fights- you bet! My new thing, well not new as in a recent occurrence, is bread. I love bread and not just to eat. The feel of it. From making it from a few simple ingredients to eating it and tasting those wonderful textures. Crunchy on the outside and soft and comforting on the inside.

- Covering the cake with the fondant layer:

- Anyway, your cake is baked, the lettering is done and dusted (quite literally) and you are about to drape the cake with the white fondant. I cut my cake to the size of 10.5 inches so that it had a similar shape to a clapper board. I then measured my icing so that it would not only cover the surface of the cake, but the edges too. This came to about a length of 15 inches, but this will vary depending on your cake.

- I then popped this into the fridge as fondant needs to set or it will be difficult to work with. This gives you time to have a rest. :)

- Finishing touches:

- Now you want to cut out strips of black fondant for the lines on the board. To do this, line your ruler on the fondant and run your pizza cutter along the edge of the ruler, giving you a straight line each time.

- Line the strips with a little water on the back and stick them onto the cake/ white fondant. To give me a guide as to where I was going to stick things, before cutting the pieces out I used my cake ruler and with a knife scored where I was going to stick fondant on. This helped me with my proportions and also gave me the chance to get it correct, measurement wise and whether it looked right or not.

- Detail and organisation is key to me.

- Use a print out to help you with putting sections in specific places on the cake. I found this on Google Images. This helped me a bundle as I wasn't so familiar with clapper boards as some would be, so needed a reference point to copy off so I didn't make a balls of it.

- I loved and love this cake! I really enjoyed it and it has made me really happy. It's the little things in life.

- When you are finished sticking the rest of the fondant onto the fondant on the cake and have all the words on it and everything looks good, give it a dusting off with the pastry brush and then stick it in the fridge for 10 minutes to set and firm up and then you are done!

I hope you have loved this cake as much as I have!

Again, if any of you are looking orders, I would love to help you out! I think my blog proves that this is what I love to do and it would be a pleasure to cater for your event, big or small, sweet or savoury!

Thanks and have a lovely evening all!

Post again soon!


Did I mention how happy I am? How much I love this cake? And how happy I am? Thank you all so very much for all the support! :)