2011

I can’t believe 2011 is over already! It seems to have raced past, particularly towards the end in the run up to Christmas. It seems really not that long ago that I was writing up my 2010 round up. With 2012 just around the corner, I wanted to look back at my favourite bake from each month. I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and I’m really looking forward to the coming year, I hope to really stretch my baking and this blog so keep reading! Happy New Year!

January – Celebratory Chocolate
This Chocolate & Salted Caramel Tart is one of my favourite things I’ve ever baked, not just in 2011. It wasn’t 100% perfect but it was such a decadent treat and the combination of textures and flavours were absolutely delicious.

February – Benedict Bars
These were a simple bake but really moreish – nutty, jammy, sticky goodness. And the best bit? The recipe makes a very large tray full. March – Mini Orange Drizzle Cakes
These zingy little cakes really cheer up a kitchen on a gloomy day – I think they’d be perfect when its been raining for several days, when you’re at a loss for inspiration or as a gift for somebody who is ill because they wake you up and make you smile. April – Passion Fruit Curd Tart
From one sunny recipe to the next, this tart was a perfect way to look forward to the not too far off summer. It was a lot of effort and not stress-free but the results were so very worth it.

May – Sticky Rhubarb and Ginger Cake
I always love baking with rhubarb – it’s such an intriguing and pretty fruit. This cake was what I made during rhubarb season this year and was a recipe I’d love to repeat.

June – Apple, Vanilla and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing (from July…)
In June I was in the midst of twenty three (23!!) important exams and so my blog was sadly empty. However, I can’t choose a favourite July recipe so here’s the apple cake – a treat of a layer cake, with rich cream cheese icing and a moist, apple studded sponge.

  July – White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookies
I don’t know why, but whenever I make a white chocolate cookie on this blog it immediately becomes one of my top hits. This was no exception and for good reason – rich, moreish, soft but with perfect crunchy edges, tart raspberries – what’s not to like?

August – Mini Pork Pies
The first savoury appearance in this list and its well deserved. This post involved a recipe for a delicious and adorable pie that involved lots of techniques new to me but was so much fun to make with my friend E., combined with a rant about pork pie jelly.

September – Plum Frangipane Tart
I love making tarts -  hence this being the 3rd in this list – but this one was different due to not having to blind bake the pastry before adding the frangipane. It turned out perfectly and was a delicious Autumnal treat.

October – Parmesan Biscuits
These biscuits come from Simon Hopkinson and were such a hit. I say things are moreish a lot, but these really were – I had to photograph them very quickly before they were all eaten. And with the dough taking two minutes to make, I think I’ll need to repeat this recipe very soon…

  November – Love Bakery Book Review
I was lucky enough to be sent a book to review and it made the most delicious Chocolate Orange Cupcakes – moist, rich and full of flavour. The book didn’t fail on the classic recipes either, the Lemon Cupcakes were packed with citrus zing and I regretted only making half a batch! December – Cherry Chocolate Snow Cookies
Ok, so there’s not the largest choice here, but these cookies would always deserve a mention. They were full of Christmas flavours, easy to whip up and made a cute festive gift.

Cherry Chocolate Snow Cookies

I’m back! And just in time for Christmas – only two days to go! Cookies come in to their own at Christmas, I think, as part of cookie exchanges, gifts for party hostesses, decorations for the Christmas tree or simply as a last minute and simple festive bake. There are a never ending amount of recipe variations and cookies are a great way to incorporate many Christmassy flavours into one mouthful – such as in these cookies. With chocolate, sweet dried fruit, a snowy icing sugar covering and a little bit of virtue from oats, these make the perfect holiday treat. If you’ve left a present last minute, or have a unexpected visitor now coming for Christmas lunch, these cookies will make the perfect gift – everybody else will be jealous! The dough is really quick to make because you add the egg, butter and sugar all at once, saving you time in the busiest period of the year. The recipe comes from Dan Lepard who originally uses dried cranberries – obviously a very appropriate flavour for Christmas. However we didn’t have any so I used dried sour cherries instead which have the same chew and sour taste and so were just as delicious. The cherries worked nicely with the dark chocolate – all coming together to make a perfect Christmassy bite. Enjoy!

Apple Pie

Now that it’s autumn and winter weather, it’s time to start making proper puddings. Biscuits and cupcakes are fabulous, but on a dark winter evening a hot pudding is just the thing. Warming dishes like steamed sponges, crumbles, self-saucing puddings, chocolate fondants and anything that can be served with custard really come in to their own. It’s the season of comfort food! For me pies are a perfect winter dish because, whilst they are tasty made with summer fruits, I think the classic Autumn double crust apple pie is very hard to beat.This bake was perfect to help me get through the apple overload, using 10 (they’re are quite small). I made this after having some baking block and not really knowing what to make – in times like this it’s always best to return to simple favourites. Also with a classic dish I wanted to use a reliable recipe so I turned to the ever trustworthy Mary Berry. The recipe comes from her book How to Cook which we’ve had for a while but I've shamefully only used once before for tomato soup! The recipe had complete step-by-step pictures and I only altered the recipe slightly by adding a tablespoon of cinnamon to the apples (because apples and cinnamon is always a winning flavour combination) and using butter instead of margarine for the pastry.I was a little wary as the pastry doesn’t have any sugar in, but when the pie is served you don’t notice – the apple filling and obligatory serving accompaniment of custard makes it sweet enough. The pastry was crisp, the apples were soft with just enough cinnamon spice and overall the pie was very welcomed on a cold and drizzly evening. You can find the recipe here – enjoy!

Love Bakery Book Review

I was recently lucky enough to be sent another book by Ivy Press – this one was Love Bakery by Samantha Blears. Love Bakery is an actual bakery on the Kings Road, London so the book gives recipes for a few of their favourite top sellers and lots of other inventive ideas. It’s a beautifully laid out book – full page photos for each recipe, lots of colour, detail and a little background writing accompanying each recipe.  I made the ‘It’s Not Terry’s But My Chocolate’ cupcakes and the lemon cupcakes and both recipes worked well. The chocolate orange ones were a huge hit and I’d definitely make them again – they were rich, dark and a great indulgence. I halved the lemon recipe as I was interested to try it because it’s a classic but wasn’t convinced my small family needed 12 cupcakes! Again the recipe worked well (although I only got five cupcakes) and the cakes were tender and full of lemony flavour – although I always get paranoid with lemon things that they’re going to lack the necessary zing so I added some extra zest and juice. I really liked the variety of ideas in the book – the Cuptails chapter of alcoholic cupcakes is original and there are recipes for a large donut cake and whoopie pies. I also liked the Cakes for Breakfast chapter which included recipes such as Mocha Cupcakes and Greek Yoghurt & Honey Cupcakes. The recipes are really detailed and easy to follow and when I baked the cakes the timings were spot on. There is lots of detail about decorating ideas and inspiration which doesn’t interest me so much but know might please other people. My issues with this book are probably quite minor but I still noticed them each time I read this book. Like I said in my last post, I have an issue with ingredients in the title of a dish not actually being in it. For example, the Oreo cake in the book is just a chocolate cake with Oreo icing and a few other cakes were vanilla with a jam filling or flavoured icing and I found that disappointing. Overall, I don’t this book would be right if you’re a confident baker and really want to experiment or get lots of ideas for new flavoured cupcakes. However, I think this book would make a really nice present (less than two months until Christmas now!) especially if you know someone who often visits the bakery, because its very pretty and has some original ideas.

Sticky Apple, Ginger and Maple Syrup Cake

Come Autumn, I think I could easily bake apple cake every single weekend. We have three apple trees, all producing continuous fruit for several weeks. One counter in our kitchen is currently just a pile of apples in various bowls, baskets and bags – it’s like living in a farmers market. We have several types of apples – from small, sweet red ones to big green cooking apples. And this excess apple supply means getting a touch inventive with our fruit! Grated apple and yoghurt is my new favourite food. Sausage rolls with apple and onion make a perfect packed lunch. Baked apples stuffed with mincemeat or sultanas served with cream are best eaten slowly in front of Downton Abbey on a Sunday evening. But, sometimes, a good old hearty apple cake is just the thing.I’ve made apple cakes before but there seem to be so many variations out there I know this won’t be my last. This cake is different because of the two flavours that share the stage with the apple – the maple syrup and fresh ginger. The maple syrup adds a caramel flavour and richness to the cake, whilst the ginger adds spice and warmth.The recipe originally stated that the maple syrup should just be poured on top of the baked cake, but I have an issue with ingredients in the title of a dish not actually being in it. Also, the cake batter was really dry – practically a dough – so I wanted to loosen it, so I added around 2tbsp of maple syrup to the cake. This cake is versatile as it keeps well and is good warm out the oven with crème fraiche but also sturdy enough to be eaten cold in your hand the next day. Overall, I liked this cake as a sweet treat but would not say it was the best apple cake ever. Which means that I still need to bake more apple cakes to find that winner! Well, those apples won’t cook themselves…

Brandy Snaps

One of my major weaknesses as a baker is baking times. As my Mum will happily tell you, I burn things. A fair bit. Mainly cookies. I like to blame it on my oven, but I’m not too sure what the reason really is. Generally I start by putting whatever it is in the oven for 5-10 minutes less than suggested, but then I just spend the last ten minutes putting the timer on for two minutes more, then two minutes more, then two minutes more etc etc. So I knew when I attempted brandy snaps it would be a good challenge for me because they rely so much on perfect timing. And yes, I did burn the first mini batch – but who’d want to break a tradition?Before last weekend, I’d seen but never eaten a brandy snap, let alone made them, so it was definitely a learning experience all round! I was inspired to make them after seeing them on the Great British Bake Off and then thoroughly explained on a follow up programme, the Masterclass. The idea of crisp, caramelly biscuit filled with softly whipped cream definitely appealed so it wasn’t long before I started baking.I was nervous about making them but once you’ve started the process is fairly simple and repetitive so you can get a little system on the go. My mixture went very strange and not at all like what it was meant to be like – you’re meant to drop it off a teaspooon in to the baking tray whereas mine was pretty solid and had to be rolled into balls. However, I don’t think this affected the final product and was probably down to inaccurate liquid measuring because I think digital scales are really important in this recipe and I don’t have any – yet! Overall, despite the mishaps, I was pleased with how these turned out for my first time. I flavoured my whipped cream with Cointreau which worked really well with the crisp biscuit. Definitely a bit of a fancy biscuit – perhaps for a treat with coffee after a dinner party – but the taste is well worth it! You can watch the masterclass and get the recipe here – enjoy :)