Daring Baker's - Marquise on Meringue

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.



I'd never heard of marquise before, but it's kind of like a chocolate mousse pudding type thing that you mold and then freeze. As you can see, my marquise froze rock solid, it was still a little soft in the centre but I figure that in addition to my nuclear oven I also seem to have a subzero freezer - it was probably a good thing because I used a tiny strawberry shaped silicone icecube mold and I'm not sure how my OCD would ahve coped trying to scoop out an oozey melty chocolate mess.

The other parts of the challenge were a toasted meringue and tequilla caramel. First, let me say, I realise my meringue looks like a macaron, that would be because I don't have an electric mixer and even after 15+ minutes of hand whipping my egg whites were still mega liquidy. I am going to pretend it was on purpose. I missed the toasted bit because I also don't have a blowtorch (you know that vital piece of kitchen equipment?!)

I planned to do a strawberry caramel sauce, but decided against it after tasting the marquise and went for a plain caramel instead. Doesn't it look all lovely and golden?

I am really enjoying these challenges, but haven't been too keen on any of the finished dishes so far. Hoping next month they are going to pick something delicious and cakey... (please, you can make it extra daring if you like??)

The next challenge is announced on the 1st and since my last couple of entries have been kinda safe I am going all out daring... bring it bakers!



Daring Baker's Challenge - Maple Mousse in and Edible Container

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz.. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at The Daring Kitchen!

Mandatory Items: There are 2 mandatory components to this challenge. You must make one of the 2 maple mousse recipes and you must make an edible container in which to place your mousse for presentation.

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So I'm a little late with this (last) month's Daring Baker's Challenge because of the twilight zone between moving house and when the broadband guys can connect you (i.e. equal parts of cheeky flirting and threatening to take my valued custom elsewhere). But here is my first challenge entry... Maple Mousse in an Edible Container:

I made chocolate bowls, because as you guys know an evening spent melting chocolate is an evening well spent. Plus I am a sucker for anything heart shaped so I used the silicone heart shaped muffin cups from my Valentine Brunch. I would say they were meant to come out all ragged edged and rustic, but I don't think I can excuse away the fact that my chocolate went out of temper and therefore looks a little tie-dyed.

The inspiration behind the challenge was the cabane à sucre tradition in Canada (hence the maple syrup) and there were some amazing multi-coloured, many e-numbered, sugar loaded entries. I was going to go wild with a shaker of multicoloured sprinkles, but when I saw the elegant buff mousse in their dark chocolate shells I couldn't spoil it with synthetic colours, so I went for some candied almonds a la David Lebovitz.

I'll be honest, I didn't really like the mousse, too much sugar and gelatine I think. But I love how you can spend hours hunting down somewhat obscure ingredients and someone like my other half will still compare it to Angel Delight!

raspberry jam for summer-filled jars

You guys, have you looked out the window?? Summer has arrived, and I have to say London looks freaking amazing in the sunshine. Give me a cold corona with a slice of lime and a patch of grass large enough for me to wiggle my bare toes in and I'm happy. Oh and icecream. And sunglasses. And maybe an afternoon or two picking fruit.

Oh yeah, the fruit. See Winter is all about extra layers and thick comforting blankets of chunky veg, while Summer is all about mozarella salad and fruit. Seriously, I live off berries and salad leaves for three months of a year (don't worry, I make up for it at Christmas).

So in need of a vehicle for all this fresh fruit... and extra points for being in a jar - I had a go at jam making.



Let me tell you, jam making is ridiculously over complicated. Like special funnel/ upturned stool/ muslin seive complicated. So when I see a recipe promising to be 'hands free' I am all over it, and this recipe from Nigella's 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' was easier than promised and ruby red lovely tasting*

Jam is bascially equal parts of fruit and sugar and not one bit of scientific fidgegadgetry in between. Raspberries are low in pectin, which is the stuff that makes jam set - you can buy special jar sugar with extra pectin, or you could use a pectin rich fruit like apples. If not, you get a gentle set jam - but I most def prefer it this way!

1. Preheat oven to 180

2. Place 250g raspberries and 250g sugar in two bowls - place bowls in center of oven for 20-25 minutes

3. Take out both bowls, add sugar to fruit and stir

4. Pour into a warm sterilised jar (some more about sterilising in this post) and allow to cool before enjoying on crusty bread/ freshbaked scones/ spooned straight from the jar with a dose of slobbery

p.s. these amounts will fill one 250g jar - and trust me, if you are making this for a gift, make two because you will struggle to give it away*

*here's some gratuitous baby action to evidence the above claims:

 



a homemade pesto gift

So I mentioned in my last post that I was going to do a little series on gifts on the cheap. Of course, I'm not going to tell anyone these gifts cost less than a fiver each, and neither should you. It's the thought that counts. And the effort you put in, of course.

So the next couple of posts are probably my most favouritest to have worked on recently: gifts in jars. I know mason jars have trended all over every design/ party/ diy blog recently and are probably passe by now. I'll be honest with you, I'm not quite sure of the difference between a mason jar and a plain old jam jar.

One Christmas I nearly bankrupt myself financially and effort-wise buying new jars with gingham print lids and hand writing each individual label. You can do that too of course, and it does add a nice uniform touch to your gifts if you are batch cooking. But since this is all about the free and thrifty I would suggest you start recycling instead. Bonne Maman jam comes in jars with those pretty checked lids, baby food jars are great for little treats and my favourite are Douwe Egberts coffee jars because they have glass lids and look adorable with just a spot of ribbon and a tag (plus I get through at leat two a month). For this post I reused those little glass ramekins you get with Gu Souffles:

Whether you're repurposing your jars or not, they will all need to be sterilised. There are a couple of ways to do this; first in a medium dishwasher cycle, handwashed and dried out for 10 mins in a low oven or using your baby sterilising equipment. Once sterilised not even a finger can touch the inside of your jar, once sealed your contents are safe. If you're filling jars with hot content (such as jam) the jars need to be warm (i.e straight from the dishwasher) or they will crack.

Pesto has got to be one of the most overused ingredients in my kitchen, and for years I would buy jars of the slimey greeny grey overpriced stuff week after week. Then I came to my senses, started making it fresh and never looked back.

Traditional pesto is made with basil, lemon juice, parmesan, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and pine nuts. I will tell you now, pine nuts are ludicrously expensive and not at all in keeping with the thrifty theme. I opt to leave them out mostly, but I had a pinch left over and they look nice scattered over the top of whatever dish you are adding your pesto to.

I don't know whether to give quantities here, I never measure, just chuck it all in a blender, add oil until it's the right consistency and keep tasting. One garlic clove is usually enough, two shop bought packets of basil, or the majority of leaves from a fresh plant. You also get that feeling of smug satisfaction if you grow your own!

And of course, you don't have to use basil. In fact the pesto photographed here is spinach pesto (an entire bag's worth), rocket is good too and I've even seen dandelion pesto. Anything leafy will work, and you can mix a bit of whatever you have.

 To make this gift extra special I added some artisan spinach pesto that I repackaged in a paper bag and tied with a page from a vintage Italian cookery book. You could also use these supercute free printables from Giverslog.

from the kitchen - a nice cuppa tea

When we were little my brother and I would ask our mum what she wanted for Mother's Day. And every year she would reply with the same thing "a handmade card and a nice cuppa tea". And when we were little we would come home from school on a Friday afternoon clutching our handmade cards, and on Sunday morning we would dutifully head into the kitchen to make her a nice cuppa tea.

Fast-forward a couple of years and my brother and are are (relatively) grown-up, we both have jobs. Our littlest brother hands my mum the card he made at school and a bunch of flowers bought with his pocket money. I hand my mum a box of hand-rolled truffles. My brother slopes in after an hour or two, still in last nights clothes, hand shoved in pockets and after sheepishly apologising for his tardiness and his empty handedness mumbles "can I make you a mother's day cup of tea?"

I don't know where I got the idea for these tea-bag cookies from. I'll be honest, I scrawled a doodle onto a post-it a couple of weeks ago, having seen something somewhat similar somewhere. So I take no credit for the idea.

The recipe is Nigella's cut-out cookies - such a lovely soft dough that promises not to spread when cooking. Just to be on the safe side I followed these steps on rolling and chilling perfect sugar cookies from Sweetapolita. I cut the shapes freehand, thinking about it now, I should have probably made a paper template or at least used a ruler for perfect edges - but I didn't, so all my tea-bags are slightly different shapes. And while I followed all the steps and the recipe exactly, they did spread slightly, but a sharp knife to the edges straight from the oven tidied them up.

Dipped in melted dark chocolate and finished with little tags - just add homemade card action et voila!

And yes, I know I did those handprint flowers once before, but I thought they were so darn adorable the first time!



Blue Skies (and Happy day for Mamas!)

Charlotte xo

from the kitchen - sicilian lemon cake

Wow, I just noticed I have done nothing but bake for the last week. I guess while I've been working on my Frosting for the Cause post, my mind has been pretty cake crazy. There were the chocolate dipped biscotti,  guinness cupcakes,  breakfast beignets (with more chocolate) and now Sicilian Lemon Cake.

I think it is due to the impending Spring, who keeps popping up then disappearing again, that I have been craving the sunshiney yellow of a real Sicilian lemon.

And like I mentioned before, while I was planning my Frosting for the Cause bake-off, I couldn't settle on one recipe, so I decided to make all of them to be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support. And since Macmillan are famed for their fundraising coffee mornings, I decided to go with a caffeine friendly theme.

So while you're sipping your espresso, wishing you were sat outside a street cafe in Roma, enjoy a slice of Sicily in this sunshiney drizzle cake.

Sicilian Lemon Cake:

- Pre-heat oven to 180c

- Beat together the 225g soft butter and 225g caster sugar until pale and creamy

- Add the 4 eggs, one at a time

- Sift in 225g plain flour, then add the zest of two lemons (save the juice for later)

- Mix well until combined - this is quite a thick and gloopy batter

- Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper or do what I did and butter up some mini loaf tins to make individual cakes - pour in your batter and level the top with the back of a spoon

- Bake for 45-50 mins for the large tin, 25-30 for the smaller tins - until a skewer inserted comes out clean

- Meanwhile mix up 85g caster sugar and the juice of 1-2 lemons (I used 2)

- Once your cooking time is up, remove the cake from the oven and prick all over with a skewer

- Pour over the syrupy glaze and leave to cool completeley, still in the tin

I know this isn't a flashy cake, there is no beautiful fondant work or bright colours but let me tell you, a slice with a black coffee, for breakfast, preferably eaten outside, is to die for. I made the big cake and four mini ones and they were gone before the day was over

from the kitchen - guinness glasses

I'm a little annoyed with myself that I wrote this post, then forgot to publish in time for St Patrick's Day. But to be honest, I threw together these little sweetie 'Guinness' glasses as an afterthought, so I am posting them as an afterthought too. I think they'd be quite cute as Father's Day gifts, perhaps teamed with a batch of Guinness Cupcakes?

I used liquorice sticks for the bottom and mini-marshmallows as froth - it might not be the most obvious paring, but really what does go well with liquorice? As I said, they were an afterthought, which is why they're not in proper Guinness glasses (I seriously considered nicking one from the pub though) and I really wish I'd cut the green ribbon into shamrock shapes (though judging my terrible attempt with these swizzle sticks probably best I didn't).

Anyway, apologies for the afterthought, pop back tomorrow when I'll be sharing some lemon soaked goodness to brighten up your Monday.



Blue Skies,

Charlotte xo

Beignets for the Cause

So earlier this week I mentioned that I'll be guest-posting over at Frosting for the Cause next week, if you don't know what it's all about check out the details here.

When I first thought about what to bake for my post, one cake recipe popped into mind straight away. It was the first cake of my semi obsessive baking hobby and is always my favourite. But I rejected it at first, in favour of something fancy, unexpected flavour combinations and lots of sprinkles. But I knew that my first choice was the right one. And as I was thinking about it, some other ideas popped in my head that would be perfect accompaniments. So of course, I made them all. Hence the biscotti of previous post-fame and these lovely little beignets.

I have been thinking on and off about beignets for a couple of weeks now, and fantasising. Majorly. I just couldn't think of anything better sounding than pillowy batter deep fried and rolled in powdered sugar.

I'm not sure it's entirely kosher to dip them in warm Nutella, but since my pancake brunch I have been enjoying a love affair with chocolate spread.

I used this recipe from the frenchfood pages of about.com and while some of my beignets were the size of tennis balls and hours later my house still smells like grease, I have to say my first beignet experience; warm chocolate, strong coffee, liberally sugared - was perfection.

I have a couple more posts before the big day (March 30th, make sure you join me) In the meantime, check out Frosting for the Cause, follow the project on Twitter and if you want to make a donation to Cancer Resarch UK you can do that HERE.

Blue Skies,

Charlotte xo

from the kitchen - shamrock shake

Happy St Patricks Day!

I'll admit that while I'm sure there is some Irish in my heritage somewhere (doesn't everyone have an Irish 'quarter'?) I have spent all day wondering what it is St Patrick did until about half an hour ago, when CBeebies did a re-enactment with five year olds.

So I celebration of my one eighth Irish ancestry and my newly aquired knowledge, I bring you Shamrock Shake - why do McDonald's UK not sell this stuff?

p.s. those are marshmallows in the glass, al la Sweet Paul

p.p.s please ignore my terrible and deformed shamrock swizzler - I hope no genuine Irish people are offended with my attempt!

Blue Skies (and frothy green milkshakes)

Charlotte xo

Bicotti for the Cause

I am super excited because on March 30th I will be guest-posting over at Frosting for the Cause a great project where bakers are coming together to 'bake a difference'. Raising awareness and raising money for cancer charities (all the guest-posters have agreed to make a $25 donation to a cancer charity). Plus all the baked goodies are donated to hostels and hospitals, hopefully bringing a smile to a patient, their loved ones or the people caring for them.

There have been some amazing creations featured already like these meyer lemon beignets, these cinnabon cupcakes (from my new favourite foodie blogger), these pink camo cookies,  these strawberry cupcakes and my favourite hot chocolate cupcakes! There are so many talented bakers and so many touching stories of lives affected by this terrible disease. As you can tell, I'm pretty hooked, which is good because there are at least four months worth of bakers lined up to post, you can sign up HERE.

I had a couple of ideas for my guest-post and me being well... me, I decided to make them all (more lovely things to donate to my chosen hospice right?).  They're all based around the same theme as my final project, like these chocolate dipped almond biscotti (get the recipe here) but you'll have to wait until March 30th when my finished post goes live to see what exactly I've been whipping up in my little kitchen.

In the meantime, check out Frosting for the Cause, follow the project on Twitter, consider taking part and if you want to make a donation to Cancer Research UK you can do that HERE

Guinness Cupcakes for a St Patrick's Day Celebration

I first made these Guinness Cupcakes for father's day last year - under the impression that only dads like Guinness right? And it would appear so, because D has asked for them again and again on a monthly basis. And with it being St Patricks Day this week, I figured I might as well give in to peer pressure.

I first spotted the recipe in Nigella's 'Feast' and was a little giddy at the promise of deep and dark damp and chocolatey. Then I saw them as cupcakes on Patent and the Pantry and they were everything promised and more. I love the way the frosting cuts through the intense cakey richness and (of course) the iconic colouring.

And I loved the fact that I had half a bottle of Guinness leftover, to play around with in some kitchen experiments I'll share later in the week!

Blue Skies (and frothy white heads)
Charlotte xo

from the kitchen - instant pancake mix

You might have noticed, when it comes to gifting, I am a big fan of 'stuff in jars' - in fact I have a whole week's worth of jar-filled gifting (or should that be filled-jar?) coming soon. Y'see jars are just so damn handy, they look great lined up in the kitchen and don't need much to look special - a handmade tag, a fabric top or a strip of ribbon.

Plus there is that old-timey housewifey thing of filling jars, stocking the storecupboards and being generous with the love from your kitchen. Am I too young to join the WI? Do they let you do the Jam and Jerusalem thing when you wear piercings and mini-skirts?

Anyway, this might seem like an odd thing for a gift, and trust me it was hard to photograph a jar of mainly flour and make it look good too. But let me explain. See, by some Biblical mis-timing, Pancake Day (or Shrove Tuesday I believe it is officially called) falls during the week. And as a child I remember learning all about lent and Jesus and stuff at school, then running home to my mom begging for pancakes. And of course we wouldn't have any eggs, or the right kind of flour or something. Plus my mum had been at work all day, then expected to whip up batch after batch of pancakes for two hungry children... And judging by the popularity of readymade pancake mixes in the supermarket at the weekend, there are plenty of people facing this same predicament.

So I found a recipe for a homemade instant pancake mix and filled up a couple of jars. This is the basic recipe, I added some chocolate chips to one jar, chopped walnuts to another, but didn't take photos before they were gifted away (duh).

600g plain flour
3 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarb
1 tsp salt
40g caster sugar

- Mix in a bowl and decant into jars

Instructions (put these on your label):

For every 150g mixture (or an American cupful- to save weighing) mix with 1 egg, 250ml milk, 1 tbsp melted butter until you have a smooth batter
Heat a griddle or large frying pan over a medium heat
Drop in spoonfuls of batter, when bubbles appear on the surface flip over for another couple of minutes
Enjoy

(if you make a lot and want to avoid the batch cooking while everyone elese is eating scenario keep them warm in a low oven)

Everyone likes their pancakes different, but I think a jar of jam or a punnet of fresh fruit would go well with this, perfect your busy mums, or a hostess gift (esp if that hostess is serving you breakfast in the morning).

Blue Skies and Fluffy Pancakes,

Charlotte xo

a pancake day brunch

It's funny, since I became a mama, I do things I never bothered about before. Like advent calendars and celebrating holidays that never really entered my consciousness. Pancake Day for example. A couple of weeks ago I was on the verge of sulky that the little man and I would be alone on Pancake Day and was it really worth making pancakes for just the two of us? Now let me tell you, the pre-mama me was wondering what the hell happened to that crazy shaven head girl with the home tattoos and army boots at that point. But seriously, I have never even thought about making pancakes before, let alone celebrating Pancake Day. But like all food groups, if you call it brunch it is imminently appealing, so we had a Pancake Day brunch (albeit a couple of days early).

I didn't know what went well with pancakes, except sugar, so I Tweeted for toppings and these are the most popular: homemade blueberry syrup, Nutella, strawberry jam, powdered sugar, chopped nuts, lemon juice, cottage cheese (a suggestion from my Hungarian friend, an odd but tasty combination).

Sunday morning brunches are the new it-thing in this household (see our Valentine Brunch here) and now pancakes are definitely on the menu for the foreseeable future. Check back tomorrow for my instant pancake recipe and leave me a note with your favourite topping suggestions!

Blue Skies,

Charlotte xo

what are little boys made of?

slugs & snails...

and puppy dog tails...

that's what little boys are made of!

a cupcake for a boy

so with all the boy-themed stuff going on round here, I decided it was time for some boy-baking... not literally, please understand... but with the masses of pink sparkles, pastel sprinkles and sugar sweet flavours, a boy themed cupcake is easier said than done

I decided a boy cake doesn't need perfect frosting and piped swirls, so I just sort of dumped the icing on some chocolate muffins and rouched it up a bit. Then I stood staring and squinting at it a while trying to get a vision of what it could become. And I spied these army men I got from the flea market that I have planned for a project later in the week. And this little guys just said 'excuse my violent undertones, gender specificness and the gun that is proportionately as large as my body and let me sit atop something sweet and joyful

Then he went all Dirty Harry on me... so I ate it

from the kitchen - adventures in bread-making

I always try to remember that old adage to never show up empty handed, and whenever my friends and I get together I usually bring along something homebaked and sugary. But with every foodie magazine predict the demise of the cupcake, today I decided to go with a savoury option. Of course, food en miniature is always de rigeur in this house so I made a batch of mini-loaves.

I read a quote somewhere recently that bread is just a vessel for good butter, but I cannot disagree more. Good bread is the perfect food. Thick sliced, still warm, buttery, jam spread. I honestly don't think you can beat it. Baking bread is the most fun and while many people choose to hand over their baking to the impersonal breadmachine, handbaked is always going to win favour.

I've picked up a few little tricks throughout my bread adventures, so I thought I would share my technique:

There are not many ingredients to make a good loaf, so ensure you get the best. I have tried baking with plain flour, self raising, wholemeal, extra strong, stoneground and so on and so on. I find I always come back to Hovis Premium Bread Flour, if you can't find the brand you need something with a lot of gluten so look for an extra strong flour. I have never had any success with wholemeal baking, not even in cakes, but if you want to try I would suggest using a half wholemeal, half white bread flour mix

Yeast: many experts will extoll the virtues of fresh yeast, but I find the thought of it quite scary. I buy little sachets of dried yeast, usually about 7g each (but don't use all the sachet or you will taste it)

Sugar & salt - about a tablespoon of each. Sea salt, of course, and don't be tempted to skimp. Sugar might seem like an odd choice, but when I tell you it is the sugar that gives you a nice crust, you won't doubt it. I use caster sugar because I always have some in the kitchen, but golden caster sugar gives a nicer colour

1. Pre-heat the oven to the lowest setting, usually about 110. Sift your flour into an ovenproof bowl and allow to warm for about 10 minutes in the oven. Trust me, you don't want to skip this step.

2. Seive your flour again, with the sugar and yeast -holding the seive up high encorporates plenty of air and gives a lovely light texture. Use your fingers to lift the flour and allow to fall back in the bowl, this is easier to do than type about. Add the salt last - this is because salt can kill the yeast, which will stop your bread rising

3. Make a well in the centre of your bowl and begin pouring in 425ml hand hot water - by hand hot I mean warm enough to comfortably hold your hand in. Not too warm or you'll kill your yeast. Go slow with your pouring, you don't want a wet dough

4. Stir together with a wooden spoon, I usually use my hands here, but the high gluten content in the flour makes it very sticky. Keep mixing until it is all together, then tip out onto a flat surface (you won't necessarily need to flour the surface, adding too much flour will toughen your dough)

5. Knead for 5-8 minutes. Kneading is an odd process, you can watch videos online if you need to. Bascially you use the heel of your hand to push the dough from the centre out, then fold that bit over on itself and bring it back into the centre. Turn your dough slightly and repeat all the way around. It helps to think of the kneading process at this stage as stretching and developing the gluten

6. When your dough is springy and elastic-y it should blister as you stretch it it is ready for proving. Place into your now clean mixing bowl and cover with lightly oiled cling film (the oil is to stop your dough sticking), I usually drape a tea towel over the top too, to keep it warm - place in a warmish place for 2 hours or prove overnight in the fridge. Proving, by the way, is to prove your yeast is still alive, or so I am told.  

7. By now your dough should have doubled in size and be full of air. Tip out onto a surface, and 'knock back' - literally punch the air out of it. Knead for another two minutes, this time focussing on getting air into your dough. Place your slightly deflated dough into your well buttered tins or pat into a boule shape, don't worry about perfectly meeting the edges, if you mess around too much you will lose all that lovely air you just worked so hard to incorporate. Place in an oiled polythene bag and allow to sit at room temperature for around an hour

8. Your dough should have risen again, at least as high as the top of your tins. Slash the top with a sharp knife (this is purely decorative as far as I am concerned) and sprinkle with flour. Place in the centre of a pre-heated 230 oven and bake for around 30 mins for a 1lb tin, 30-45 mins for a 2lb tin and 28 mins for those mini tins. If you like a very crusty loaf mist the inside of your oven with water, I use a plant sprayer to do this, skip this step if you prefer a chewy crust. Near the end of the cooking time take your loaves out of their tins, and cook upside down to brown the base and crusts

9. Your bread is done when it sounds hollow when the base is tapped. Allow to cool on a wire rack - resist the temptation to tuck in straight away, your bread needs to calm down slightly - but don't worry, it will stay warm and delicious for quite a while