'Something new' bakes
To celebrate the start of a new year our bakers tried something new! This could have been a complete new recipe, new technique or even new equipment there were some amazing bakes!
Becky - Chocolate Orange Shortbread
Ingredients:
- 225g plain flour
-100g semolina
- 225g butter
-100g caster sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
-25g demerara sugar for dusting
-20g melted chocolate
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160C, line and grease a 23cm traybake tin.
2. Mix together the flour and semolina. Add the butter, sugar and most if the orange zest, rub together with fingertips until the mixture begins to bind together
3. Kneed the mixture until it forms a smooth dough and then press into the prepared tin. Ensure it it=s level and prick all over with a fork.
4.Chill until firm then remove from the fridge and bake for 35 minutes or until golden.
5.While the shortbread is still hot sprinkle over the demerara sugar and cut into slices.
6. Allow to cool and then drizzle over the melted chocolate and remaining zest.
Madeline - Aquafaba Brownies
Ingredients:
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter (like Earth Balance buttery sticks or Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter)
- 1 oz. dark chocolate (or about 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup aquafaba (chickpea water)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
- optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, divided
- optional: 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease an 8″ square pan and line with parchment paper cut to fit bottom and come up two opposite sides with overhang.
Melt vegan butter and dark chocolate together in a small saucepan over med-low heat or in the microwave.
Add melted butter and dark chocolate, sugar, aquafaba and vanilla to a mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute with a hand-held mixer or in a stand-mixer.
Sift in cocoa powder to get rid of any lumps. Then add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat with mixer until combined, about 1 minute. Batter will be thick and sticky.
At this point if adding walnuts or chocolate chips, fold them into batter now. Add only half of nuts and reserve the other half to sprinkle on top.
Spread batter into prepared pan with rubber spatula. Top with remaining 1/2 of walnuts if adding them.
Bake at 350˚F for about 25 minutes until top is crackly and brownies start to come away from sides of pan. If you want a fudgier brownie, check them at 20 minutes.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes then run a knife along sides of pan and lift brownies out of pan with help of parchment paper and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Maebh - Soda Bread
Ingredients:
- 250g wholemeal flour
- 200g plain white flour
- 1 tsp. bread soda, sieved
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 egg
- 350ml buttermilk, approx.
- 1 tsp. Honey
Optional Topping:
- 1 tbsp. sesame seeds or pinhead porridge oats
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C (400°F).
2. Mix the flour, bread soda and salt together in a bowl.
3. Combine the egg with the buttermilk and honey then mix into the flour. Add a little more buttermilk if the mixture is dry – it should be a soft dough.
4. Pour the dough into a lightly oiled loaf tin. Sprinkle the sesame seeds or porridge oats over the top of the loaf if using.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes. To know when it is cooked simply tap the bottom of the loaf – it will sound hollow when it is fully cooked.
6. Remove from the tin and wrap in a clean tea towel while cooling. This will keep the crust soft.
Kaspar - Cremeschnitten
Ingredients:
Pastry:
- 250g strong flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 225g cold butter
Filling:
- 2.5 dl milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 60g sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 vanilla pod, sliced lengthways
- 3 sheets of gelatine, soaked in cold water
- 2 dl full cream, stiffly beaten
Glaze:
- 1 or 2 tbsp quince jelly
- 100g powdered sugar
- 1 or 2 tbsp hot water
- a few drops of lemon juice
Method:
Pastry:
1. Put the flour and a pinch of salt in the food processor. Turn it on and steadily pour in 150ml of water. When the dough comes together, cover it in cling film and chill for 20 minutes.
2. Lightly flour your surface and roll the dough into a 25cm circle. Put the butter in between two pieces of baking parchment and soften it by tapping it with a rolling pin. Cut the butter in half and repeat the process until the butter is pliable but still cold. Reshape to the size roughly of a postcard.
3. Put the butter in the centre of the pastry and fold over the right and left sides of the circle, overlapping in the middle. Press the dough with your rolling pin to make it longer and then lightly mark into thirds. Fold the bottom third up to cover the middle third and the top third down. Seal the dough gently by pressing down on the edges with your rolling pin. Give the dough a quarter turn.
4. Roll the dough out to a long rectangle (roughly 18 x 38cm), keeping the edges square and the sides straight. Mark the dough into thirds again, fold the bottom third up and the top third down. Seal the edges and give the dough a quarter turn. Repeat one more time, cover and chill for 20 mins.
5. Repeat step four twice more, chilling each time. Chill for one hour before using.
Cremeschnitten:
1. Place puff pastry on the baking sheet covered with baking paper. Place another baking paper on the dough and place the second tin on top, so the dough remains nicely flat during baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the middle of the oven preheated to 200°C, let it cool.
2. Filling: Stir the milk, egg yolks, sugar, corn starch and vanilla stalks vigorously in a pan. Bring to the boil while constantly stirring until the filling has a creamy consistency. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly, remove vanilla pod. Dissolve the gelatine in the cream and stir. Leave to firm slightly in the fridge. Carefully whisk in the cream. Cool for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. cut 6he pastry into 12 rectangles of approx. 6x14 cm.
4. Put the cream filling into a piping bag. Pipe evenly on 8 rectangles. Place two rectangles on top of each other. Allow to cool.
Glaze:
Heat jelly, carefully brush on the flat side of the remaining 4 rectangles. Mix the icing sugar, water and lemon juice. Consistency should be slightly flowing. If necessary, add water. Pour the glaze onto the rectangles, cover with the spatula. Drain the remaining glaze, let it dry. Put the lid on the cream cuts.
Mathilde - Banana Bread Two Ways
Ingredients:
Basic Mix:
- 50g butter
- 80g fine caster sugar (muscovado works as well).
- 2 eggs
- 2 mashed bananas
- 130g of self-raising flour
- pinch of salt
Lemon and Blueberry:
- 100g blueberries
- zest of 1 lemon
Chocolate Marble:
- 2 tbsp of cocoa powder
- 2 tsp of water/ milk
Method:
Basic banana bread:
1. Cream the butter with the sugar.
2. Add the eggs with a spoon and mix in the mashed bananas.
3. Add some salt and the self-raising flour.
Lemon and blueberry:
Add the blueberries and lemon zest.
Chocolate marble:
1. Separate the basic mixed into two and add 2 heaped tablespoons of cocoa powder to one mixture.
2. Add two teaspoons of water/ milk as well to that mixture because the cocoa will dry it out.
3. Now put both the cocoa and plain mixture in the loaf tin and slightly mix it to create the marble effect
Bake for around 60 minutes on 150 degrees.
Elisa - Christmas cake
Ingredients:
- 1kg mixed dried fruit (use a mix of raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries, cranberries, prunes or figs)
- zest and juice 1 orange
- zest and juice 1 lemon
- 150ml brandy, Sherry, whisky or rum, plus extra for feeding
- 250g pack butter, softened
- 200g light soft brown sugar
- 175g plain flour
- 100g ground almond
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 100g flaked almonds
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
1. Put 1kg mixed dried fruit, the zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon, 150ml brandy or other alcohol, 250g softened butter and 200g light, soft brown sugar in a large pan set over a medium heat.
2. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 min
3.Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside – tie with string to secure.
4. Add 175g plain flour, 100g ground almonds, ½ tsp baking powder, 2 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, 100g flaked almonds, 4 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the fruit mixture and stir well, making sure there are no pockets of flour.
5. Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hrs.
6. Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp of your chosen alcohol. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
7. To store, peel off the baking parchment, then wrap well in cling film. Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight, until you ice it.
8. Don’t feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before icing.
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