trying to be croquembouche

For my birthday a few days ago, to cheer myself up, I attempted to make a croquembouche for the first time.  I have made profiteroles dozens of times, so I knew I could do that part easily enough.  If it was just the matter of constructing a tower with the profiteroles, how hard could it be?

It was just going to be just for me, my hubby and our little girl, so I knew that it would be unwise to make a huge one.  Not because we wouldn't be able to eat  the whole thing, but because we probably would eat the whole thing.  

I baked 28 smallish choux buns.  Actually I baked more, but some disappeared.

I used a frozen puff pastry for the base.  

I filled profiteroles with custard and used caramel as glue to build a tower.

A circle of seven at the base, then six, then five, etc etc.

The final touch was to spin caramel around it.

I had a lot of fun pulling and stretching caramel.  That really was the best bit, except for eating the individual profiteroles.   

I had this notion that I dislike profiteroles with too much caramel around them.
I seem to recall hurting my mouth with shards of caramel and that is why I only used caramel as glue to hold the tower together.  And of course as decorative spun sugar around the tower.

Now I think that as long as I'm making croquembouche for enough people to be eaten in one sitting, ie.,  may be 3 profiteroles each, more caramel might be desirable.

I certainly had fun making it and enjoyed eating it even more.  Thank goodness I didn't make a huge one.  My jeans would have 'shrunk'.

Walnut and Dates Crusty Loaf

This rustic crusty bread is what I bake for myself once a week.
It is a beautiful bread with 25% wholemeal flour.  I throw in a handful of walnuts and a few dates before I roll up the dough for the final proofing.

The funny thing is, this bread stays moist and bouncy inside even when it is a few days old.  I think the secret is in the overnight proofing.  I knead the dough at night and leave it over night.  In the morning, I punch it down and let it proof for the second time.  Because it is so cold even in the kitchen at the moment, it takes a good two hours before the dough is ready for the oven.

Flour (strong 75% & wholemeal plain 25%) 500g
Salt 10g
Brown sugar 1 teaspoon
water 390ml
dry yeast 1 teaspoon


This bread is lovely on its own, with butter, and with cheese.

Potato Chocolate Cake

I found a new baking book and I'm in love with it.

I find that most cake books have similar recipes and I'm lucky if I can find one or two things I want to bake out of each book.

This one, however, is different.

I found so many recipes that I'm intrigued by, I have post it notes sticking out of all over the book.

Now I'm beginning to think that I would actually have to purchase this book as I can not bear the thought of returning it to the library.

The books is, Belinda Jeffery's Mix and Bake.

So many of her recipes are different to the standard cakes and slices.

This chocolate cake I baked today was inspired from this book.

 I am incapable of following a recipe, I did change it here and there.  For example, I used brown sugar rather than castor sugar.  I used more cocoa because I love really chocolaty chocolate cake.  I blitzed chocolate in the food processor instead of grating it.  The smallest potato I found in my pantry was heavier than specified in the recipe, but I wasn't going to waste 30g of potato.  

The result is a luscious chocolate cake.  

My daughter who said that she was not prepared to eat a cake that has a potato in it quickly changed her mind when I presented it to her and her friend who is spending a day with us today.  

Yes, we are blessed with a perpetual shrieking happy bubbly chatter in the background ALL DAY.  

easiest coffee cake

One day last week, I was expecting some people to come over and I wanted to bake a cake for them.  Usually, I have no trouble at all motivating myself to bake.  However, on this day, I was being extremely indecisive.  I kept putting it off all day till it came to the point that I had to start baking something immediately or it was going to be too late.

So I ended up baking this cake which is probably the easiest cake to make out of my collection.

It does not involve separating eggs or whipping.  You don't even have to melt butter, because you don't need butter for this recipe.  You just mix and pop it into the oven.  That's it.


Mix two eggs with 180ml of vegetable oil (I used light olive oil), 80ml of sour cream and 200ml of brown sugar.
Then add a shot of strong espresso or two teaspoons of instant coffee dissolved in 80ml of hot water.
Mix in 220g of self raising flour, pour it into a prepared cake tin (20cm) and baked in the medium hot oven for approximately 30 minutes.

It just needs some whipped cream and a drizzle of coffee essence to serve.

Less guilt, more joy croissants

I love croissants.  Who doesn't?
But if you knew precisely how much better goes into it (if you are buying an authentic one that is), and  unless you are trying to fatten yourself up before you embark on a stint in Antarctica, you couldn't really enjoy it.
That is why I don't buy croissants anymore.  What I do is to make my version at home whenever I feel the urge.

The base dough is a plain one with just flour, yeast, water, a little sugar and salt.
I roll out the dough as thinly as possible, I line the middle part with sliced cold butter, fold the dough till all the butter is hidden and seal well.  Roll out the dough, fold, roll out the dough fold, repeat this a few times.  Then cut the dough into triangles.  Roll from the wide end towards the pointy end.

Let it proof for 40~60 minutes depending on the temperature.

Bake till golden brown.



I don't weigh the butter when I make them.  I just put as much as I feel my family can safely consume without causing them to have a cardiac arrest.  Generally , I probably use about one third of the butter in the standard recipe.  


It still tastes pretty good.

Easy Tart Tatin

Usually, I am guilty of using bought frozen pie sheets for tart tatin, but for some reason I felt virtuous a few days ago and decided to make quasi real pie dough.

I just blitzed 125g of cold butter (reduced salt) with 125g of plain flour and added 60ml of cold water.  That's all, but I have got to say that the flavour of the real butter made this pastry such a joy to eat.

From now on, I think I will almost always make my own pastry.

Pear and Yogurt cake

It has been a stressful week and when I'm stressed, I bake even more than usual as I find it therapeutic.  The act of measuring, mixing, baking, transforming something into a delicious treat for friends and family.  The extra warmth the oven releases into the kitchen is also welcome.

This cake doesn't have alarming amount of butter or sugar.
It's a light and moist everyday kind of cake.


Butter 120g
Brown sugar 100g
Eggs 2
Yogurt 200ml
Self Raising Flour 210g
Cinnamon and or cardamon powder 2 tsp

Pear
Raw sugar 2 tbs
Icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Beat butter and brown sugar till fluffy and beat in the eggs and yogurt.
Add flour and spice last and mix till well combined.

Bake in a lined 20cm cake tin with sliced pear on top with a sprinkle of raw sugar to finish.
It depends on the oven, but it takes 30~45 minutes.

Powder some icing sugar on top when cool.