Nougat

Daring Bakers' Challenge March 2014

Another month gone, another Daring Bakers' Challenge completed! The March challenge was hosted by Rebecca of BakeNQuilt . She challenged us to learn to make classic nougat and to make it with our own choice of flavours and add-ins.

Since the recipes she provided were very generous, I didn't want to take a chance by trying to half the measurements and probably mess it up, I used the recipe that has been on stand-by for some time now. This version of nougat is slightly soft and chewy.

Chocolate and Walnuts Nougat

 150g toasted and chopped walnuts
180 g chocolate
30 g butter
1 tbsp cocoa
20 g cocoa butter (optional)
1 large egg white
1tsp vanilla bean paste (or seeds 1/2 vanilla pod)
pinch of salt
100 g honey
130 liquid glucose
320 g sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

You will also need: grease proof baking paper (or edible wafer- rise paper), icing sugar for dusting, 18 x 18 cm tin and sugar thermometer

Cover the base of the tin with either rise paper , or oiled baking paper.

Melt the chocolate over simmering water, remove from the heat,add the butter, cocoa and cocoa butter if using; keep warm.

Place the egg white, 1 tbsp of sugar, vanilla and salt in the bawl of a free-standing mixer - do not start whisking.

Place the remaining sugar, cream of tartar, honey and liquid glucose with 4 tbsp water in a pan over medium heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring it to boil and after couple of minutes, put the sugar thermometer into the pan and cook until it reaches 140 C/284 F. When the thermometer shows 135, start whisking the egg white until stiff peaks forms. Now turn the whisk to slow/medium speed and slowly pour the hot sugar syrup on to the egg white. Continue to whisk for few more minutes (3 to 4) until it's thick and glossy.

Add the warm chocolate mixture and then fold in the toasted nuts. Scoop into the prepared tin, spread even, you can press an oiled baking paper to even it out. Remove the paper and liberality dust with icing sugar. Leave overnight before cutting into bars or squares. Store in a cool place in an airtight container for one week.

Recipe adapted from "Sweet things" by Annie Rigg

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Cottage cheese and peas quiche

I can never have enough of quiche and savoury tartlets recipes. Although they seem to be very similar, the small variation in the butter- flour- egg dough ratio makes a huge difference. So far this recipe is wining by far - light and flaky, but no soggy bottoms.

Cottage cheese and peas quiche

Makes 8 small (10 cm) quiches)

150 g butter

250 g flour

3 eggs

pinch of salt

250 g peas

1 small courgette 

2 stalks of mint (or parsley

100 g cottage ( or quark) cheese

50 g double cream

pepper

Cut butter into cubes and rub with flour (or mix in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse sand), add salt, egg and 1-2 tablespoons of cold water, wrap into a cling-film and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Cook peas in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain well and set aside. Slice thinly a small courgette, cut mint (parsley)and mix the eggs, cheese and double cream, season with salt and pepper.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll them to cover the bottoms and sides of the mini tartlette tins. Distribute the peas and sliced courgettes evenly onto pastry layered tins and top with cheese mixture. Bake for  30 minutes in on 200 C( 180 C fan oven ) /gas mark 3. Let them cool for 15 minutes before serving .

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Pistachio and cherry cake

Happy birthday 

and welcome to Spring

Two days ago I promised a colourful and wonderful dessert. Here it is, to celebrate my husband's birthday and of course to mark the beginning of Spring; he likes the fact that he was born on the first day of Spring and I wouldn't dare to forget to make that remark.. He is in San Diego, enjoying the Californian Sun (and doing a little bit of work), so he will be eating with his eyes only.. With our son being at the other side of the World , it's left to our daughter and I to take care of the real thing (see what happens when you leave us behind and go on business trips like this)!! Happy Birthday Big Boy !!

I was looking for some inspiration and fresh cake ideas when I stumbled upon the Paris Pastry Club book by Fanny Zanotti and  immediately fell in love with it. This cake was an obvious first choice, but I've marked few more pages, and it's for certain that more from this book is to come.

Pistachio and Cherry Cake

For the white chocolate mousse:

2 gelatine leaves

150 g milk

1/8 tsp cinnamon

2 medium egg yolks

1 tbsp sugar

250 g white chocolate, melted

200 g double cream, whipped

For the pistachio dacquois:

6 egg whites

200 g sugar

240 g ground almonds

190 g icing sugar

4 tbsp plain flour

90 roasted pistachios

Topping:

4oo g  pitted cherries, fresh or from compote

40 g chopped pistachios

1.Soak gelatine leaves in cold water.

2. Boil the milk and cinnamon together over medium heat. Add mixed egg yolks and sugar, to make custard, which is ready when it coats the back of a metal spoon.

3. Squeeze gelatine leaves and add to the custard, then pour into the melted white chocolate and whisk together. Leave to cool, then combine with whipped cream. Transfer to a piping bag and refrigirate for couple of hours.

4. To make dacquois, preheat the oven to 180 C, and oil and line a 24 cm metal ring with a strip of baking paper and place on a lined baking sheet.

5. Whisk the egg whites to soft peak, then add the sugar, a third at the time, until the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is stiff. Add the almonds, icing sugar and flour and fold gently to combine.

6. Put the mixture into a piping bag and pipe the dacquois into the metal ring  from the centre,spiralling out  to the edges. On the top of it now pipe a circle of small balls around the edge of the dacquois. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and bake for about 30 minutes.

7. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar, pipe the chocolate mousse over it, then arrange the cherries on the top and scatter with pistachios. Serve cold.

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Scotch Pies

While it's still officially Winter

Winter and Spring have finally met, and I am slowly shaking off my winter blues. Just a day in the garden planting some flowers has made a huge difference in my energy levels. I yearn for fresh greens, reds, yellows and blues on my table and have already made one wonderfully colourful dessert, that is coming shortly; but not before I say a proper goodbye to Winter.

I decided to do it with Scotch pies, which originate, as you've guessed, from Scotland, where they are still popular as ever. To put it into perspective how huge they are, (for the readers that are not familiar with the pie) let's say that the winner of the 15th World Scotch Pie Championship, which is organised by The Scotch Pie Club,  is The Kandy-Bar Bakery. The organisers certainly deserve credit for keeping the tradition of the artisan bakery products alive, but let's not underestimate the importance and influence of the tradition of eating Scotch pies at half - time during football matches, where they are the ultimate fast food - and because of that earned themselves a nick name - the "football pie".  It's probably safe to assume that the football fans would disagree with my view of them being seen as a winter food. I am sure that plenty of these "chimney pies" (another nick name that refers to it's look) will be sold and enjoyed by football  match goers before the season ends. For me though, they will remain cosy little winter warmers, eaten on chilly nights, hot from the oven. 

The pastry is made with hot water, which when cold, is strong enough to hold the filling. And now, if you didn't call me heretic for advocating goodbye to them for now,  I am about to give you another reason and make it easier for you to do so. I made one batch of these with PORK mince meat!! Sorry, lamb mince meat isn't on my list of favourites, so enjoy Scotch pies - my way, or just make them the traditional way - with lamb or mutton ! I will give you the original recipe, and you know where your preferences lay. 

Scotch Pies

Hot- water crust:

450 g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 egg
200 ml water
80 g butter
80 g lard

Mix the dry ingredients, put the beaten egg in the middle and mix. Bring the water, lard and butter to boil and pour it over flour, mixing constantly. Knead until all the egg streaks have gone  and you have a very smooth pastry.

 Take 8 jam jars. around 8 cm in diameter, turn them up side down and oil the bottoms  (which are now the tops) and sides half way down the jars. Divide the pastry , roughly 2 thirds for the cases and 1 third for the lids.Place the smaller part in a fridge.

Divide the rest of the pastry into 8 pieces and roll out to an even thickness of 5 mm, big enough to fit the upturned jar bottoms and to come about 6 cm  down the sides of the jars.. set aside to cool. Cut strips of baking paper, long enough to wrap around the pies and secure with string.. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4

For the filling:
450 g lean minced lamb
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 tbsp lamb or other stock
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients and season well. Take the pastry out and slide the cases off the jars and place them on  a baking sheet. divide the meat mixture between the the pastry cases. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut the lids out, make a small holes in the middle, dampen the edges with some water and press firmly together to seal. Brush with beaten egg to glaze and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Retro peanuts and chocolate squares

Inspired by "Bajadera"

Many moons ago Bajadera, one of Croatia's best and probably oldest brands was widely available and  -although it was somewhat luxurious - a pretty affordable treat and I still like to go down that edible memory lane every time I get a chance, which is not very often. Maybe that is why I got excited when I, while going through my mum's old newspaper cut outs, found a recipe that resembles that elegant and very special dessert. The original recipe contains hazelnuts and a different type of  biscuits. You can make it your own, but I think that many of you who decide to give it a go, will be a bit impressed, if nothing, for the fact that something so easy and quick to make with few ingredients and without any baking involved tastes so good. 

Retro Peanuts and Chocolate Squares

400 g sugar
250 g butter
320 g ground biscuits (Petit beurre)
100 g corn flour
100 g ground roast peanuts
100 g chocolate

Mix ground biscuits, corn flour and ground peanuts and set aside.
Make a sugar syrup with 20 tbsp of water and sugar, let it boil for five minutes, then take off the heat, add butter and stir to dissolve. When well combined, put the mixed dry ingredients and divide into halves. Add melted chocolate to one and mix well.
Line a mould with cling film and spread half of the chocolate mixture evenly, then put a light coloured layer, spread evenly and top it with the rest of the chocolate layer. You can wait for the middle part to set if you wish to achieve even and straight layers, otherwise let the chocolate on the top sink into the middle part and create "waves".
Cover with cling film and refrigerate.
Finish with a chocolate glaze if you wish. I preferred this retro, rough look with some chopped peanuts on the top..

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Sunshine Corn Bread

Homage to friendship 

It's been awhile since my last post; I have been busy travelling back to Serbia and enjoying myself by spending time with people dear to me, my parents and my friends, old and new. I recently made a friendship, first on-line, then in person, with a fellow blogger and she agreed to be a guest on these pages soon, so you will be able to meet this beautifully humble, creative person through her work.

 Yeah, you worked it out - today's post is about friendship, and it's dedicated to a very special person in my life.

My best friend and I met in the sixth grade. Years saw us being inseparable through secondary school, doing the same course at the university, sharing a flat for 4 years, graduating together, working for the same company for awhile, having children within a space of couple of months of each other... Although we could not be more different in so many ways, half the town wasn't able to tell us apart.

Years have also seen us living in different countries... for the last 15 years, but whenever I go back to visit and we take a walk down the high street, semi-familiar faces smile at us as they are saying "Oh, I remember you two"

X years ago after we'd had a few glasses of wine

Two, little black ships that were swimming against the stream, refusing to bow down to the traditional rules of a small sleepy town, had big dreams and great ambitious and even greater expectations. Some came through, many didn't. All I know is that cooking was not in the proximity; we used to think that we were made to change the world (and we have a degree in Politics and Journalism to prove it), not to wash dirty dishes.We both, still hate dishes, although the dishwasher is doing the main part of the job nowadays and she is still not keen on cooking either (admittedly, she does it for the sake of her son and I am not sure whether Jamie Oliver's 30 minutes meals I brought her as a present would make cooking a bit more appealing to her, but I am certain that her son will appreciate it); science and education remained her biggest love and she is in a final stage of completing her Phd studies.
My life took a few turns since our student days and I am happy that my baking gene, which was so unpopular and so not desirable in the 'modern' world back then, was slowly released from its hidden corner of my being and found a way out to the surface to see the World.

Alongside with my daughter, she is the biggest supporter of my baking adventure and in addition to a Serbian written book that I get as a go away present every time we see each other, she now buys me a spatula, a rolling pin, a baking mould .. like this sunshine shaped one. Ideal for baking Serbian Corn bread alias "Proja".

So here is to us, who did not change the World the way we hoped, but if nothing else, made it slightly better place by being heartily devoted to our friendship and foolishly enthusiastic even in our fifties (and just for the record  it's the early, very early fifties).    

Sunshine Corn Bread

Alias "Proja"

I never measure ingredients for this bread, just use a coffee cup that takes about 100 gr of flour (3/4 of a cup).

3 coffee cups flour

3 coffee cups corn meal (palenta)

3 large eggs

2 coffee cups milk

2 coffee cups oil

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

100g crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix all dry ingredients, then combine with the liquids and beaten eggs, add the crumbled cheese at the end, and bake as a tray bake, in a mould of your choice or in muffin tray (enough for 12 small muffins).

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave it to cool for few minutes, then serve hot or at a room temperature. 

Wrap any leftovers into a cling foil.

Suggestions: you can replace cheese, or add to it some sesame seeds, spinach, panceta.. ..

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