February Tips...

As often as I come by baking tips, I will post them here, so keep checking :)

• Always use baking ingredients that are at room temperature (unless a recipe calls for a chilled ingredient)
• Use the best quality ingredients you can; you will notice the difference if you try to skimp!
• When making meringue, the bowl must be totally spotlessly clean, and free of any grease and fat.  To make sure it is, clean the inside with fresh lemon juice, wiped around with kitchen towel.  Any trace of fat in the bowl will render the meringue a bit of failure
• Disposable icing bags...worth their weight in gold! (Lakeland have a good selection but I prefer the 'good grip ones' as you really do need a good grip! 
• For large swirly 'ice-cream machine' effect icing, use a Wilton 1m nozzle
• Just in case you missed Mary Berry's tip on the Mary Berry Story on TV, to get the maximum juice out of lemons, and with very little effort, cut the lemon in half and place in a dish.  Put in microwave for 30 seconds, some juice will already have left the fruit, but to get the rest, a gentle squeeze and turn on a juicer, and the lemon yields far more juice than it would otherwise. I must try this with my LMP!
• Eggs! How do you separate yours?  When making meringue or ice-cream (see recipes) it is crucial to have yolk-free whites to whisk up the perfect light fluffyness.  I usually tap the eggs on the worktop, and break open into a bowl, swapping the yolk from one half of the egg shell to the other half.  Not entirely foolproof, and one little mishap and I have to discard the whole lot and start again!  I'm going to give this method a try next time : Use the Three-Bowl Method - When separating several eggs, like for  meringue, set up three bowls at your work station. Crack the whole egg into the first bowl and use your fingers to gently lift the yolk free of the whites. The naked yolk goes into the second bowl and the left-behind egg white is poured into the third. The next egg is then cracked in the (now empty) first bowl and the process repeated.
  This might sound tedious and like a lot of dirty dishes, but it's all worth it the one time a yolk breaks as you're cracking it. Instead of ruining the whole batch of egg whites, you've only lost one egg. If you prefer to separate your eggs by passing the yolk between the two egg shells, just do it over that first bowl and then transfer the white to its own bowl when you're done.

Not a cake, but technically is a 'bake'...Yorkshire Puddings!

I am almost, but not quite, ashamed to admit that for the best part of 30 years I have struggled with Yorkshire puddings.  Getting them to rise has been the main difficulty for me, seldom did they have the obligatory hollow (for gravy), and generally just a bit of a flop!  Then, a miracle happened at Christmas 2011 !  My husband bought me a little book; in fact is is called the Little Book of Yorkshire Pudding Recipes.  The mystery of beautiful YP's was to be unlocked forever!  I hadn't realised (foolishly) that it's all to do with science (isn't all cooking and baking!).

Scientists pondered over this great enigma and came up with a foolproof recipe for successful YP's every time, and now I share it with you below.  It seems there are as many YP recipes as there are makers of them, and I have tried most of them. I've tried Delia's recipe, Nigella's recipe, James Martin's recipe, and tons of others in my frantic YP quest. None worked for me, but I do believe they work for others, so it is all a bit hit and miss.  Recipes handed down from mother to daughter through the generations also seem to work for others. However, my own mum's recipe for YP's, which always worked for her; and each Sunday roast was accompanied with perfect YP's, alas did not work for me.

The secret of the following recipe is all about having the same quantities (volume) of ingredients, from the eggs to the milk, to the flour.  There is also another ingredient which i consider is key to the overall success of this recipe...

To make 6 large Yorkshire Puddings (slightly smaller than a saucer) you will need:

• 2 medium eggs in a measuring jug, take note of where on the measuring scale the volume is, then pour the eggs into a mixing bowl/larger jug
• Wherever the volume eggs was on the measuring scale of same jug, you will need the same volume of milk (I use semi-skimmed) - pour the milk into the larger jug/mixing bowl with the eggs
• Rinse and dry the jug, and pour in the same volume of plain flour (as with the eggs and milk), set aside for now 

Method:
1. Heat oven to 210 C (Fan) please use a reliable conversion chart for Gas
2. Beat with a hand whisk, the eggs and milk, until light and airy, and has a lot of froth on top, then set aside until froth disappears
3. In a 6 hole large YP tin, put a half teaspoon of vegetable oil into each hole
4. As soon as froth has disappeared, put tin in oven (needs to be in oven approx 10 mins to be fully hot, the hotter the better though)
5.  Pour flour into egg and milk mixture.  You could also add salt and black pepper at this stage
6. Beat in the flour until the mixture is smooth and creamy
7. As soon as the tin is ready to come out of the oven (oil hot enough to sizzle when batter is poured in) add about 2 tablespoons of cold, *sparkling mineral water (the sparkle must be very sparkly, so flat, or getting on for flat is not good enough), stir this into the batter quickly
8. Remove tin from oven, and quickly pour the batter into the tin, about 1/3 to a 1/2 full, and quickly return to the oven.  Leave in until well risen and golden to dark golden brown (approx 20 mins).  Don't be tempted to open oven door before 20 mins.

*the crucial secret ingredient (apparently)!

p.s. if your YP recipe works for you then don't change it :)

YP's turned over and waiting for their bottoms to have a bit more  baking!

No Fancy Machines Necessary Ice-Cream...

Firstly, apologies, I have no photo of the ice-cream (yet), will put one up as soon as I make another batch of this gorgeousness :)  This is adapted from Mary Berry's No Churn Ice-Cream, is largely foolproof, and delicious with the Brownies or Chocolate Muffins as a dessert. Or you could make it in a few flavours and just have assorted ice-cream.  It makes slightly more than 1 litre so your container will need to be 1.5 l to hold it all, or make it in two smaller containers.  The secret of a good authentic consistency is to stir it up every 30 mins or so, until it is set (frozen).  If you forget and leave it set without stirring, it's not a total disaster, but I feel the consistency is lacking any authenticity.  Mary's recipe (whilst I do bow to her greatness) suggests no churning is necessary, but I feel it does help it along if you can stir it.

Vanilla Ice-Cream

4 medium eggs - separated
100g caster sugar (white or golden, but I use golden)
300 mls double cream - you can use the lower fat variety by Elmlea (Delight) for a healthier version ;)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for real authenticity use the seeds from a vanilla pod - it looks much nicer too)

1.  Whisk egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form when whisk is removed (remember to first clean your bowl with fresh lemon juice to remove any traces of fat/grease)
2.  Slowly whisk in the caster sugar, then continue to whisk until egg whites are stiff and glossy
3.  Whisk cream and vanilla pod seeds (if using) in a separate bowl until soft peaks form when whisk is removed (it is crucial to overall consistency that the cream is not overbeaten, stop before the cream is too firm)
4.  Fold the cream, egg yolks and flavouring* (vanilla in this recipe, but you can use other flavourings at this point too such as raspberry puree, coffee essence, chocolate, choc and mint, and many others) into meringue mixture until well combined (fold using a figure of 8 movement)
5.  Pour into a plastic container, put lid on container, and freeze.  It will take at least 2 hours to fully set, but remember to stir it up, scraping in the frozen edges into the softer centre every 30 mins or so.

*I have made this ice-cream with the addition of crumbled Flake mixed in at this stage, and you can use crushed Maltesers, crushed Smarties, or crushed nuts of your choice, just use your imagination and the variety is endless.  

WARNING:  you may not buy factory-made ice-cream again after making this!!

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The most scrumptious Chocolate Brownies ever!

Without any shadow of doubt, these are quite literally truly scrumptious!  They are incredibly rich though, so try not to have more than 1 piece a day!  They are lovely on their own, but makes a fantastic dessert served with a quenelle of ice-cream.  They keep very well for up to a week in an airtight container, but I doubt they will last that long :)  *use only the best chocolate though, cooking chocolate will not cut the mustard with these Brownies!

185g unsalted butter - cut into small pieces
185g best dark chocolate
85g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
50g white chocolate*
50g milk chocolate*
3 medium eggs
275g golden caster sugar

1.  Break dark chocolate into pieces and put into a medium glass bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl.  Put the butter into the bowl, and gently and occasionally stir, until all melted and smooth.  Remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly.
2.  Position shelf in oven to the middle and heat to 160 C Fan (Gas 4).  Grease and line the bottom of a loose bottomed 20cm shallow square tin
3.  Mix flour and cocoa together by sieving into a small bowl, set aside as this is the last ingredient to be added prior to baking
4.  Chop the white and milk chocolate into small chunks using a sharp knife.
5.  Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl and add the caster sugar.  Using an electric mixer, whisk until eggs and sugar are thick and creamy.  When the mixture runs off the whisks and leaves a ribbon like trail on surface of mixture it is done
6.  Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggs and sugar mixture. Fold gently together with a spatula, in figure of 8 movements, continue until the mixture is combined, but being careful not to knock out the air.
7.  Holding the sieve over the bowl add the flour/cocoa, shaking the sieve from side to side to cover the top of the mixture.  Very gently folding this into the mixture using the same figure of 8 movements as before.  be patient at this stage, it will eventually blend in, but you need to stop just before you feel it is fully blended.  Add the chocolate chunks and gently stir these in.
8.  Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and shake gently the tin from side to side to even the mixture into the tin.
9. Put into oven (maybe best to sit the tin onto a baking sheet) for 25 minutes.  If the Brownie wobbles in the middle it's not yet done, so put back in oven for a further 5 mins.  The top should be shiny with a papery crust.  Take out of oven.
10.  The Brownie must be totally cooled before removing from tin.  Cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into 4 squares, and finally into triangles.
11. To serve warm as a dessert with ice-cream, microwave a triangle for no more than 15 seconds.  They are fudgy and gooey in the middle, with a papery top, they are quite simply gorgeous! Enjoy!

Scrumptious LMP...

I've made Lemon Meringue Pie from a variety of recipes over the years, but this one has gained the most positive comments from my pie eaters (I think the secret of success is in the filling) !  It is a little time consuming, and from start to finish takes around 2 hours; but it's so worth it :)

To reduce the time you can quite easily, and without guilt use ready-made pastry, but if you want to claim the whole LMP as 'your own' then the ingredients are as follows:

Pastry:

175g plain flour
100g cold butter (unsalted) cut up small
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 egg yolk

Filling:

2 level tablespoons cornflour
100g golden caster sugar
finely grated zest of 2 large lemons (unwaxed)
125mls fresh lemon juice (approx 2-3 lemons)
85g butter (unsalted) cut up small
3 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg

Meringue:

4 egg whites (room temperature)
200g golden caster sugar
2 level teaspoon cornflour

1.  Heat oven to 180 C fan (gas 6)
2.  Bake the pastry case blind in a loose bottom fluted flan tin (greased) for 15 minutes
3.  Remove beans and greaseproof paper and bake for a further 5-8 mins
4.  Mix cornflour, sugar and lemon zest in a saucepan.  Strain and stir in the lemon juice gradually.  Add 200 mls of water.  Cook over a medium heat, stirring continuously, until thick and smooth
5.  Once mixture bubbles, remove from heat and beat in butter, piece by piece, until melted.  This part can take a while, but be patient, it will happen
6.  Beat egg yolks and whole egg together, then stir into the pan and return to a medium heat.  Keep stirring vigorously until mixture thickens and plops from spoon (this can take a while, so gain, please be patient).  Remove from heat, and set aside.
7.  Put egg whites in a large clean bowl (no fat to be present or meringue will not be fluffy - a tip: clean the inside with lemon juice to remove any trace of fat).  Whisk to soft peaks, add half of the sugar a spoonful at a time.  Whisking between each addition without overbeating.  Whisk in cornflour, then add rest of sugar as before until smooth and thick.
8.  Quickly reheat filling and pour into the pastry case.  Put meringue on top of filling (the heat from the reheated filling will cook the underside of the meringue), sealing the edges to the pastry.  Swirl into peaks with a knife. (see photo)
9.  Put in oven for 18-20 mins until meringue is browned slightly and crisp.
10.  Let pie sit in dish for 30 mins before removing carefully.
11.  This will not keep well beyond the 24 hours after baking.  It gives a generous 8 portions.  To prevent the filling from slipping out (not fully set until very cold) wait a couple of hours before cutting a slice out of the pie!  It is worth the wait :)

Recipes to come...

• The most scrumptious Chocolate Brownies ever!  Done
• The best ever LMP   done :)
• Home-made (no churn, or special ice cream making machine necessary vanilla ice-cream