QUICK LEMON CHEESCAKE

This is a light and refreshing dessert that’s simplicity itself.  Don’t feel that you have to stick to these flavours though.  You could swap the digestives for Bourbons, Hob Nobs or Oreos and use limes or oranges instead of lemons.  For a more adult version slip in 1-2 tbsp of fruit liqueur like Quantro.

200g Digestive Biscuits, crushed

50g Butter

500g Mascarpone Cheese

80g Icing Sugar

Zest & Juice of 2 Lemons

Mini Chocolate Eggs to decorate

Start by making the biscuit base. In a pan melt the butter then add the crushed biscuits and mix well.  Press the mixture into the base of 7” loose bottomed cake tin.  Put this is the fridge to chill whilst you make the filling.

In a bowl beat together the mascarpone, icing sugar, zest and lemon juice.  spread this on top of your biscuit base and return to the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

Once set, remove the cheesecake from the tin and decorate.

SHORTBREAD

So this is the last installment of my scottish inspired menu.  I'm finishing with two sweet treats to go with coffee or for your guests to take home, shortbread and tablet.

Short bread I think is quintessentially scottish with it's buttery crispness. I've added some different flavours to these more because I can't stop myself rather than it needs it.

BASIC SHORT BREAD

170g Plain Flour
30g Semolina
50g Sugar
125g Butter

Caster Sugar for dusting

Combine the flour, semolina and sugar.  The semolina helps make you shortbread short.  Next rub in your butter.  Due to the quantity of butter it get very sticky so it will be easier to do this in a freestanding mixer.

It should now be coming together so remove it from the bowl and form it into a dough by hand.

Roll the dough out to the thickness you want your biscuits, they will not change during the bake, and cut out your shapes.  Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and sprinkle with caster sugar.  Prick the tops with a fork and bake for 20-25 minutes at 170C

When they are baked to a light golden colour remove them from the oven and immediately sprinkle with caster sugar again.

Womersley Foods are producers of the most delicious vinegars, jellies and dressings made from home grown fruit and herbs inYorkshire since 1979.  I am totally in love with their products and actively seek out recipes I can add them to.

My round shortbread has 1 tbsp of Orange & Mace Dressing from Womersley along with 30g of Dark Chocolate Chips added to it.

The shortbread fingers have 1 tsp of Lavender Extract and 1 tbsp of Lavender Honey added to them.

You can add any of your favourite flavours, 1 tsp of Caraway seeds and Chocolate also work well or     1 tsp Almond Essence with a few chopped Glace Cherries always goes down well.

Tablet is a scottish version of fudge, crumblier than fudge but just as sugary and sweet.  My mother always made it for bonfire night and called it Helensburgh Candy.

2lbs Sugar
1/4lb Butter
1 Cup Milk
400g Tin Condensed Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Melt the sugar, butter and milk slowly in a heavy based pan.  If you melt it too quickly you will have a grainy texture. When it begins to boil add the condensed milk.  slowly bring it back to the boil stirring all the time.  Continue stirring while it boils till it starts to colour and the temperature reaches 240F.  It you don't have a sugar thermometer it takes about 15-20 minutes and you can test it by dropping a small amount into iced water.  If it sets immediately it's ready.

Remove the pan from the heat add the vanilla and beat till it cools.  You can do this in a freestanding mixer to save your arms.  Once it becomes thick and your mixer starts to struggle pour it into a 23cm x 17cm baking tray lined with parchment.  Be careful not to over beat as this will make it too crumbly.

Leave it to cool completely then cut into bite sized cubes. I know it sounds like a bit of a faff but it's not really and so worth it.

PUMPKIN BREAD

I'm loving Halloween and Autumn and crunchy leaves and orange and gold and soup and snuggling in my dressing gown.  Autumn was always my mothers favourite time of year and I never really got it, but it was the colours she loved and the low sun you get now makes them look spectacular.

Soon we shall have the aroma of bonfires, I love that smell, like incense filling the air but first we have halloween and all the excitement that comes with it.  

We all enjoy carving pumpkins in our house so with 5 of us we end up with a lot of pumpkin to eat.  There is the usual pie and soup, then we have it fried with shrimps and spices and now we have bread.  

I have to admit that the flavour wasn't particularly strong but it does give it a warm yellow ochre colour.

Pumpkin has a very high water content so you need to avoid adding anymore to it.  I steam mine to cook

it before I puree it in the blender.

Wash the seeds, dry them and use them on your bread or stick them on a baking tray sprinkled with a little peri peri seasoning and roast at 180 C for 20 minutes.  Once they are cool they will be crisp and a good snack.

BREAD

600g Strong Bread Flour

30g Butter

10g Salt

15g Yeast

200g Pumpkin Puree

100g Water

100g Milk

Add the Butter to the flour and rub it in as you would with pastry, once it has disappeared into the flour stir in the salt and yeast.

Next add the wet ingredients.  You can do this by hand or in a mixer.  I tend to start it off in the mixer and once it's all combined I knead it by hand.  You should have a fairly wet but manageable dough.  To help it stop sticking when kneading, drizzle a little oil onto the surface.  Try not to add flour as this will give you a tougher dough.  The softer your dough, the softer your bread will be.

Dust your hands with flour and knead, stretching the dough, for a good ten minutes.  You will feel it become more elastic as you work.

Leave your dough to prove in a large bowl covered with a  t-towel for 1-1 1/2 hours somewhere warm and draft free.  It will double in size, I always get so excited when I go back to it and it has grown to fill the bowl.

Now knock the dough back by punching the air out or kneading it back to it's original size.  Form the dough into the shape you want your loaf on a baking sheet or stone.  I made a small loaf with half and 10 rolls in a brioche tin.  Leave it to rise again for another hour.  Use a sharp knife to score a pattern on your loaf then bake at 200 C for 30-40 minutes.

To check if it's cooked, you can tap the underneath of your bread, if it sounds hollow it is done.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN X

PUMPKIN PINATA

This baking malarky has taken over my life somewhat of late so with HALLOWEEEEEN just around the corner it's been nice to get back to being a bit crafty.

Here is my Pumpkin Pinata made using an extra large balloon and good old papier mache.  I've stuck on 5 layers of news paper using a flour and water paste.  The paste should be the consistency of thick double cream (can't get away from food here). Leave the knot of the balloon poking out and once the pumpkin has dried - over night, and is hard, pop the balloon and remove it from the middle.

Fill your pumpkin with lots of goodies then seal the hole with more papier mache.  Add fringed strips of tissue paper on the outside.  Finish it off with a classic pumpkin face and Jack's your uncle!

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF - WEEK TWO

Tarts were on the menu this week and it was all about not having a soggy bottom, sloppy middle or a burnt top.  My quiche came very close to all three due to having my oven set for me at the wrong function.  It was on bottom heat only which meant that when I put my filling in all that liquid was sitting on my pastry for a good 30 minutes not cooking and possible making it wetter and wetter.

Quelle horreur!  All was not lost though.  Once I realised, I adjusted the setting and whacked up the temperature then hoped for the best.  It worked! hoorah! and they liked it, not a soggy bottom in sight but due to the lack of time it was slightly unset in the very centre.  Still, it past muster and was gobbled up by the crew.

I have to say I do like quiche.  I think they have a bit of a bad reputation and can be seen as a little retro but not in a good way.  However, depending on your filling it can be bang on.  I recently made quiches with samphire & bacon and halloumi & sweet potato (see older posts).

For the show I didn't want to go too off the chart so chose a classic with a slight twist, Smoked Haddock & Watercress with a Pecorino pastry.  I used dyed haddock because the yellow and green together are so beautiful and make me think of sitting outside on a sunny day.  It's a good idea to use watercress sprigs and pick off the larger stalky bits so you're not chewing through woody bits.

You could use Parmesan instead of Pecorino if you like.  Pecorino is made from ewes milk instead of cows milk and has a milder but more salty taste.  Because of this and the haddock being quite salty I have not added any more salt but lots of white pepper.

The pastry has half marg and half white vegetable fat, this gives it a more short and crisp bake.  I have no qualms about using machinery to help with making pastry and use my beloved launderette yellow freestanding mixer for this, I have very hot hands which are not good for pastry so it helps not having to handle it too much, I know Paul is disapproving of this but I'm still making my own pastry and if he wants to challenge me to a 'Pastry Off' I'm sure our school fair could accommodate him.

SMOKED HADDOCK & WATERCRESS QUICHE


Pastry
200g Plain Flour
40g Sunflower Margarine
40g Cookeen
20g Pecorino

Filling
1 Onion chopped
1 Stick of Celery finely chopped
1 tbsp Olive Oil
375g Dyed Skinless Boneless Smoked Haddock Fillet
2 Bay Leaves
3/4 Pint Full Fat Milk
75g Watercress
3 Eggs
White Pepper
Pecorino to finish

Preheat the oven to 160c fan. (Not Bottom Cook)

Make your pastry.  Rub all the ingredients together till they resemble fine bread crumbs.  Grating the white fat helps as it can be quite hard.  Add a little cold water to form it into a soft dough.  Knead it slightly on a lightly floured surface till it becomes smooth.

Roll out the pastry and line a deep flan tin.  I use a 24cm / 9.5" tin.  Line it with parchment and baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes.  Remove the parchment and beans then bake for a further 8-10 minutes to finish off.

While the pastry is cooking, poach the fish in the milk and bay leaves till it's just starting to come apart, about 10 minutes.  Break the bay leaves in half to help it release the flavour.  Once the haddock is poached, discard the bay leaves, separate the fish and milk and allow them to cool.

Use the olive oil to fry the onion and celery then line your cooked pastry shell with them.  Add 2/3 of the watercress then gently flake the fish in.  Top with the remaining watercress.

Mix the eggs and white pepper into the milk and pour over the filling.  Finish with grated Pecorino. Cook for 30-35 minutes turning half way to get an even browning.

The 'Show Stopper Challenge' was 2 different miniature tarts, 12 of each.  I was very pleased with the results of mine but unfortunately they did not get the television debut they so rightly deserved.  Paul thought they were absolutely delicious and the pastry was the thinnest there! So, here is what you missed.

CHOCOLATE & ORANGE 

WITH

 CINNAMON & ORANGE PASTRY

BLUEBERRY & HAZELNUT
WITH
HAZELNUT PASTRY

It's a bit like a Bakewell tart but not.

For the programme I made a blueberry compote by covering bluberries with sugar in a pan then heating till you get a thick syrupy mush but St Dalfour and Bonne Maman both do lovely blueberry jams if you can't be doing with that.

Ground hazelnuts are not readily available in the supermarket so I get whole ones and grind them myself in my mini chopper.  The pastry is enough for 24 but you could freeze half if you like or, as I did for these photos, make a large pastry shell and freeze that ready for another bake.

The tart tin I used is from , Lakeland.  I love it and Mary was very taken with it too saying it was very different and clever.  It's non stick and each square has a loose bottom so the tarts just slide out.  I use a round cutter and miraculously they fit in the square hole, is it magic? I don't know but it works.  That's my top tip done!

Pastry
125g Sunflower Margarine
100g Plain Flour
100g Ground Hazelnuts
25g Icing Sugar
1 Egg

Filling
65g Sunflower Margarine
65g Sugar
1 Egg
75g Ground Hazelnuts
15g Plain Flour
2 tbsp of Blueberry Jam
1 Punnet of Blueberries
Icing Sugar to dust

 

Pre-heat the oven to 160c

Make the pastry, Rub all the ingredients together then add the egg to form the dough.  Knead a little on a lightly floured surface.  You may have to add a little more flour, the oil from the nuts makes it very soft and difficult to use.  Fill each tart case and put them in the freezer for 15 minutes.  This helps to prevent shrinkage when it's baking.

Now mix together the Marg, sugar, egg, hazelnuts and flour.  Give it a good beating till it's all combined.

You now need 1/2 tsp of the blueberry jam in each case.  If you put too much in it will bubble out at the sides.  Top the jam with a good tsp of the hazelnut mixture then pop 3 blueberries on top.

Bake for 20 minutes then leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin.  Once they have cooled dust with icing sugar.

Next week it's bread and the most stressful technical challenge!