GBBO inspired Ginger and Pecan Florentines

Like many people, I'm sure, I was inspired by 'biscuit week' to make some Florentines but having never made them before, I wasn't quite sure where to start.  Then on Twitter, up popped this recipe

http://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/recipe_directory/g/ginger_pecan_florentines.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=florentines&stop_mobi=yes

from Waitrose.  Now, ginger is one of my favourite flavours and I also love pecans so thought I'd give it a crack!  Also, I have tried really hard this time to think more about and improve my photos, see what you think!  It is quite a time consuming recipe but the end product is definitely worth it (I am eating one as I type!)

So I followed the recipe on the Waitrose website with just one addition which was a couple of drops of my new ginger extract to boost the flavour...

I started by making sure the pecans and ginger were chopped ready to go and the raisins measured out too.  This was so as not to get in a muddle later on! (It paid off!)

  

I used my pampered chef crinkle cutter which worked really well, much easier to control and monitor the size of pieces!

 

So with everything ready to go I melted the butter and sugar together - always a bit dubious with this sort of thing as I have a tendency to burn things like this!  All went smoothly, though I did put a timer on for the 1 minute bubbling to make sure!

 

Having everything ready to go in was very helpful and I put in my ginger extract followed by the nuts, raisins and ginger.  After a good mix I dolloped onto the baking tray.  As they were quite small dollops I thought I had left plenty of room for spreading but as you can see...this wasn't the case!  Don't panic if this happens though...I just reshaped as soon as they came out of the oven before they set!  I cooked half on a normal baking tray and half on my baking stone - these ones took about 5-8 minutes longer so you just need to keep checking on them!

 

After about 5 minutes they are set enough to transfer to a cooling rack but again you might have to judge this!  Here is where you need some patience!  Leave them to cool completely before melting your chocolate.  I think this is definitely a recipe where it is worth spending a little more on top quality chocolate.  When chocolate has melted, wait again for it to cool a little before spreading onto the bottom of the Florentines.  Then wait again a couple of minutes before using  a fork to create a wavy pattern.  Then wait again for the whole thing to finish setting before turning over, packaging for gifts, or eating!

 

  

Bingo-wing-busting Gluten-free Strawberry shortbread sandwich!

After accidentally double-buying strawberries I was looking for a non-jam related way of using them up and came across this recipe for shortbread (which I love) with an intriguing technique - that's the bingo-wing-busting bit!

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Hungarian-Shortbread

For the gluten-free bit I just substituted gluten-free self raising flour which seemed to work fine!  As this calls for cup measurements, I used my pampered chef dry measure which works brilliantly in these situations!

After creaming the butter for AGES I added the sugar and egg yolks and beat well again.  

I then slowly added in the gluten-free flour and blended.  I then packaged the dough up in two batches and put in the freezer.

Now comes the bingo-wing-busting bit....you have to grate the first half into the tin and press down then top with the filling - here is where I used the sliced strawberries rather than the jam filling in the original recipe.  Make sure to leave about 2cm boarder with now filling so it doesn't burn.

Then grate the second batch of dough over the top (maybe after a little rest for the burning arm!) and bake.

As I'm a little out of practice at the whole blogging thing I totally forgot to take a photo of the shortbread sliced but it was really delicious! Definitely one for a plate and fork though, quite crumbly texture due to the grating and the gluten free flour - would make a great pudding I think!

Easter Biscuits

Inspired by the increasing number of hot cross buns and Easter eggs around I decided to make some Easter biscuits as part of my Easter preparations!

I used this recipe http://www.bakinginspiration.com/recipe/53/easter-biscuits and made no changes (unlike me!) Oh no, I did use golden caster sugar! Oh and sultanas instead of currents.....hmmm not so good at following rules!!

The first job was to soak a pinch of saffron in 2 tablespoons of warm milk.  I've never used saffron before so this was a first!

I then creamed together 100g butter and 75g caster sugar, added an egg yolk and beat again.  Keep the egg white for later on!!

 

Next I sieved in 200g plain flour, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp mixed spice.  Then I added 50g sultanas and the milk and saffron infusion.



Once everything was combined I rolled out the dough, cut out my biscuits and laid them out on a lined baking tray.  After baking for 10 minutes at 180C I took out the biscuits, brushed with egg whites and sprinkled with caster sugar.  The recipe said to return to the oven for a further 5 minutes but actually I had to give them another 10 on top.  This is really unlike my oven which is usually a bit fierce so I would really keep an eye on them!  I may have rolled them out too thickly or added too much egg white??  They turned out absolutely fine with the extra cooking...

Once cooled on a cooling rack they are ready to bag up as pressies........or just enjoy with a cuppa!

Happy Easter!

Apple and Cinnamon Crumble Cake

I found this recipe written out by hand tucked inside an old recipe book so I'm afraid I don't know where it originates from, I have changed it slightly anyway but if I find out more I shall add a note later!

 



This makes a HUGE cake (it rises loads too) so make only if hungry or expecting visitors!!  This time I haven't gone gluten free (as I've run out of g-f flour!) but if you did I would suggest adding crème fraiche or yogurt to add moisture rather than milk.  I may try this later and let you know how it went!

In my version I substituted the original desiccated coconut (which I don't really like) for ground almonds in the crumble topping.  If I make this again I will probably put more crumble in the middle of the cake and slightly less on top as it is a little dry.....or just serve with ice cream (recommended combination!)

Ingredients:

3 large cooking apples (I just used eating apples left over from my veg box from www.ableandcole.co.uk )
1/2 tsp cinnamon
250g butter (I used stork)
250g caster sugar (I used golden)
4 eggs
450g self-raising flour

Crumble topping-
175g Demerara sugar
125g plain flour
1 tsp cinnamon
65g ground almonds (or desiccated coconut as per original)
115g butter

Preheat oven to 180 c and line a 25cm springform tin then make the crumble topping by mixing all the ingredients in a mixer until resembles crumble!  If doing by hand, mix dry ingredients then rub in the butter with finger tips.  Set this aside.

 

 Grate the apples into a bowl, sprinkle on the cinnamon and set this aside also.

 

For the cake mix, I used the all in one method and my mixer but I only added half the flour in the first instance, mixed until light and fluffy then added in the rest of the flour.  This does make quite a thick mix and I suspect it would be hard work by hand.  If you do this though, cream the butter and sugar first then beat in each egg separately with some of the flour each time to spread it out!

 

To build the cake you put in half the cake mix, I would use just under half as it is easier to spread out here than it is on the top layer!  Then spoon on the apple and sprinkle over half the crumble mix. 



 Carefully spread over the remaining cake mix - this is time consuming and needs to be done carefully so that the crumble does not just mix in!

 

Now bake for 1hr 10 mins - 1 hr 20 mins checking after about an hour - at this point, cover the cake with foil if it is starting to burn on top.

 

Carefully turn out onto a cooling rack after 5 minutes cooling in the tin.  I was definitely glad to have used a springform tin at this point!  Use a tea towel over the top of the cake while you do this to keep the crumble topping in place.

 

Being such a heavy mix I was pleasantly surprised by the rising that took place!  This cake is lovely just warm served with ice cream or with cream as a pudding or on it's own with a cuppa but you may need a fork!

 

 



Now I just need some visitors to help me eat it all.........!

Hot Milk Cake!

This recipe popped up on my twitter feed a week or two ago and as I was looking for some recipes to up my calcium intake, it caught my eye.  Also I am always tempted by stranger sounding recipes and this is definitely a strange one!  As it doesn't contain much butter I think it must count as a healthy option.....right?
Original recipe: http://grandmotherskitchen.org/recipes/index.php?page=focusv2&id=1158
I have made a couple of adjustments to make it gluten free and also I have converted the measurements from cups to grams I will give both though in case I haven't been accurate enough......although the cake turned out fine!

 

Ingredients:

 

1 tablespoon butter (I used 15g salted butter)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used 235g gluten free self raising flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I used gluten free)

1 1/2 teaspoon salt (I omitted as I used salted butter)

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I weighed this as 305g)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk (this is 180ml, I used 220 ml as gluten free flour needs more moisture)

For chocolate glaze:

Equal weights of chocolate chips/pieces and evaporated milk - I used 200g of each measured straight into the saucepan

Preheat oven to 320 F, which is 160 C but I used 150 C as my fan oven is a bit fierce!

 

First job is to weigh out the flour, baking powder and salt (if using) and put to one side.  Then beat together the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy (I whisked) and then add the vanilla essence.  Meanwhile bring the milk and butter to a simmer, stirring and keeping  an eye to be sure it doesn't burn.

 

Then add the egg mix to the milk mix, whilst beating.  The original recipe says not to allow it to get too hot so I took it off the heat at this point.  Then fold in the flour until JUST combined, take care not to overmix......it was a little lumpy but I followed the advice and all was fine!

Pour batter into a 20cm square tin and bake for 55-60 minutes until golden.  I actually took min out at 47 minutes despite the lower temperature but that might just be my oven so keep an eye on it!

 

Turn out straight away onto a cooling rack and make the glaze.

Put the chocolate and evaporated milk into a saucepan, bring slowly to the boil and stir until thickened (a couple of minutes) Then let it cool, stirring occasionally and when cool and thickened, use to top the cake. 

 

Serve immediately! Its best a little warm I think!

 

 

 

Bring on the calcium.....strong bones here I come!