Creme Caramel

This has to be one of my favourite puddings, I must admit I have always brought them instead of making my own, but after seeing how they were made on The great British Bake off I just had to give them ago. So I looked at loads of recipes and did a bit of mix and match with them and this is what I came up with. I must admit I did slightly over cook my caramel so the minute it turns a nice golden colour you will need to remove it from heat, even if some one comes to the door ( I know I should ignore it but I just cant, wish I had as it was a door to door salesman that wouldn't take no for an answer so I was very rude and shut the door in his face)
Also when you are doing your caramel it is a good idea to have a bowl of cold water with a pastry brush so you can wash down the sides of the sauce pan to prevent sugar crystals forming.

What you need:
Caramel
3 oz caster sugar
3 tbsp cold water

Custard
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
450ml milk


What you do:
Preheat oven to 160 o'C put ramkins in the oven so they are warm when putting the caramel in.
Caramel
Put the sugar and water in a heavy based pan on low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Then boil without stirring until the mix turns a nice golden, if it goes dark then it is burnt, transfer to ramkins.
Make sure this coats the bottom.
Put to one side to cool and set.

Custard
Heat the milk so that it is warm.

Beat eggs, yolk and sugar together, do not over beat if it goes frothy it is over beaten.

Pour the egg mix into the milk and whisk together.
place the ramekins inside a roasting tin and fill the roasting tin with cold water so that the water is halfway up the ramkins.
Pour in your custard mix into the ramkins.

Carefully place the roasting tin in the oven then place the ramkins in the roasting tin.

Cook until firm to touch.  To test insert a skewer diagonally, make sure you do not touch the caramel, the skewer should come out clear. This takes 20 to 45 minutes, check them after 20 minutes then judge it from there.

Remove from the oven and leave until cold. They can sit in the fridge over night.
To turn them out gently use a  knife and go around the sides to help loosen the pudding. Then place in some boiling water for a few minutes and carefully turn out onto a plate.

Happy Baking
Shelly.
xxxx

Home made Horseradish sauce

Ok so this post is not really about baking it is more of a foraging post and what me and my partner found and made, we have only just really started foraging so these posts might be a bit and far between but I have set up a page for titled Foraging, which has some need to know things and links to other recipes I have done.
If you read my blog you would already know that me and my partner pick blackberries when they are in season so I am hoping to have more for you all in the future.

Horseradish sauce is something my partner loves to have with our Roast Dinners, now normally over here in UK we would have them on a Sunday but my family likes them as and when we have them.

Horseradish leaves look a lot like dock leaves just these stand up and grow very tall, they can be found near waste lands, roadsides and near field edges. You will need a spade or a fork to unearth these as they tend to branch out.

Once you have it make sure you clean it thoroughly and peel it when needed.

What you need:
5 oz grated or chopped horseradish
180 ml white wine vinegar
2 tsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp ground sea salt

What you do:
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until creamy. Store in clean containers.

Now this is quite strong so have a taste and if it is too strong add a tsp of heavy cream, when you use it otherwise it wont keep longer than 24 hrs, until you get a heat that suits you.

Store in the fridge. Ours is in little pots as we are giving some to our friends.

Happy Baking
Shelly
XXXX

Nutmeg Pastry

This pastry is a nice twist to some tarts or pies like apple or treacle.  You must make sure not to over work this one as it will flaky and dry once cooked.

What you need:
6 oz plain flour
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 oz butter diced
2 oz lard/white vegetable fat diced
3 tbsp chilled water
1 egg, beaten (this is for a glaze)


What you do:

In a large bowl add your flour and nutmeg,

Add your butter and lard then rub together until you have fine bread crumbs.

 Add the water 1 tbsp at a time and mix using a knife until you have a smooth dough. Gently knead for seconds in the bowl and then wrap in cling film and chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 190 o'C and place a baking tray on the shelf. (help prevent soggy bottom)
Remove the dough from the fridge after the required time. On a lightly floured work top roll out your dough and line your tin. Remove any excess dough. Lightly egg wash your dough cover with cling film and place in the fridge until required.

Lemon Curd

I love Lemon Curd espically when it is home made. This is fantastic on toast or in cakes its even better in a tart, by that I mean a chocolate pastry filled with chocolate filling then this on top decorated with roasted nuts. MMMM think I will be making this soon.
My kids love this. This will make enough for 1 small clip top kilner jar and will keep for up to 6 weeks, not that mine has ever lasted that long.
Even though I have said you need the zest from the lemon I used my grater that is just larger than a zester.

To make sure I had no bit in my juice I squeezed my lemons over a sieve so it went straight into a jug, I got about 200 ml of lemon juice. 

What you need:
4 oz butter room temp
7 oz caster sugar
2 Large Lemons juice and zest
2 eggs beaten

What you do:
Sterilize jars by putting them in a cold oven and turning it on to 150 o'c then once it has reached temp turn off. Leave jars in there until cool or they will break or crack.
In a bowl put the sugar, lemon zest and half the juice.

 Place this on top of a pan of boiling water.

Stir until butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

Add the rest of the lemon juice and the eggs.

 Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the lemon curd has thickened, This will take about 60 minutes. It should cover the back of the spoon when done.

Pour into jam jars

 cover with a bit of grease proof  or wax paper

and then place a clean towel over them until cool.

Put on lid and store in your fridge.

Happy Baking
Shelly.
XXX

Blackberry Tea Bread with a cinnamon Crumble topping

Yesterday it was so nice so we decided we would take the kids to the country park and feed the duck and check to see if the blackberries are ready,

 I kind of figured with all the rain and heat we have been having they might be ready a couple of weeks early and luckley they where so we picked a load.

I decided that I would do  tea bread with a crumble topping. 

If you dont like blackberries you could use blueberries instead.
Now because I am supposed to be taking it easy I had to do all my prep work at our dining room table needles to say I had some helpers.

What you need:

Tea bread

2 oz butter

7 oz caster sugar

1 egg

4 fl oz milk

9 oz plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

10 oz blackberries

Topping:

5 oz caster sugar

2 oz plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 oz butter diced.

What you do:

Tea bread:

Preheat your oven to 190 o'C and grease a baking dish with butter. I used our large baking dish I am not sure what size it is but the smallest size I recommend for this is about 9 in.

In a large bowl beat your sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.

Beat in your egg.

 Beat in your milk.

Fold in your flour and baking powder until just combined.

Fold in your blackberries. Don't worry if some of your blackberries get squished it wont hurt the mix.

Gentley pour into your prepared dish and level out.

Topping:

In a bowl put your sugar, flour and cinnamon and mix to combine.

 Add your butter and using your hands rub together until you have bread crumbs. Do not worry about having large lumps.

Sprinkle ontop of your tea bread mix

and place in the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the dish. then slice and serve. I sliced any that was left over and put in a tub, not that it will last long in this house.

Happy Baking

Shelly 

XXX

Treacle tart with nutmeg pastry and with a lattice top.

I tend to only use one lemon when making this as I find it gives it enough of a taste but if you want you can add another one or just half, it is up to you. I would suggest you do just the one then take it from there.
If you not a fan of nutmeg just do a basic short crust pastry but I find this just gives it that little something extra.

What you need:
pastry
6 oz plain flour
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 oz butter diced
2 oz lard/white vegetable fat diced
3 tbsp chilled water
1 egg, beaten (this is for a glaze)
Filling:
8 oz golden syrup
1 oz butter
1 lemon zest and juice
3 oz bread crumbs

What you do:

Pastry:
In a large bowl add your flour and nutmeg,

Add your butter and lard then rub together until you have fine bread crumbs.

 Add the water 1 tbsp at a time and mix using a knife until you have a smooth dough. Gently knead for seconds in the bowl and then wrap in cling film and chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 190 o'C and place a baking tray on the shelf. (help prevent soggy bottom)
Remove the dough from the fridge after the required time. On a lightly floured work top roll out your dough and line your tin. Remove any excess dough. Lightly egg wash your dough cover with cling film and place in the fridge until required.

Place some cling film on your work top and roll out the rest of your dough, you need this to be really thin and larger than your tart tin. Brush with egg was cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Once the required time is up remove from the oven and cut into strips they need to be approxametly 1cm wide.

 Make your woven lattice pattern. Cover again with cling film and place in the fridge, this will help firm up the pastry.
Filling:
In a saucepan heat up the syrup and the butter. Do not let this boil. Once the butter has melted add the juice and lemon stir to make sure it is fully combined.

Remove your pastry from the fridge sprinkle the bread crumbs all over the base. Make sure that it is level.

Carefully poor the syrup mixture onto the bread crumbs.

Lightly brush the edge of the pastry with your egg wash. Remove the lattice top from the fridge and place on top of your filling, make sure the egg wash side is on the top. Once in place use your fingers to cut off any excess by pressing down with your fingers.

Place in the oven on the baking tray and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is firm to touch.

Leave in the tin for a few minutes then carefully remove.

Eat either warm or cold. I served mine cold with vanilla ice cream.

Happy Baking
Shelly.
XXX