BAKED CAMEMBERT with a TWIST

 I've been playing with the camera again and made another quick and easy recipe for you to have a go at. It's really simple and straight forward. Everything was bought easily from a supermarket and the only cooking involved was popping it in the oven for 15 minutes.

You will need:

2 sheets of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry

2 Tbsp Pesto

4 Slices Parma Ham

1 x 250g Camembert

1 Garlic Clove, sliced

1 Rosemary Sprig

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 Egg

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Lay out your first pastry sheet and give it a little extra roll to make it slightly wider. Use a dinner plate to cut around and make a circle. I cut it a little bigger than my plate to get as much pastry as possible. Do this with the second sheet and leave to one side.

Mark the centre of your pastry using the cheese box then spread the pesto to cover the outer ring. Top the pesto with the Parma Ham then layer the second sheet of pastry on top.

Use a sharp knife the sun rays in to your pastry. I find it easier to cut it into four sections then divide each section. Once you have made all your cuts, twist each ray three time and lay it back down. 

Now place the cheese in the centre, cut slashes into the top and poke your rosemary and garlic into the slashes and drizzle with olive oil. To finish, brush the pastry with egg wash and season the whole thing with black pepper.

Bake for 15 minutes at 180C

Mind you don't burn your tongue on that hot cheese xXx

Baked Camembert with a Twist

FRUITDROP

I was recently sent a Fruitdrop box containing a beautiful selection of fruit which inspired me to bake something delicious.  I have to be honest I was a little pessimistic when I was offered the box.  In the past my experience of fruit and veg deliveries has been a little disappointing.  Items that I don't really want and in not very good condition but the Fruitdrop Box was superb and every item was so fresh, I had to stop my children from diving in and eating the lot.



What's different about Fruitdrop is that they deliver to your office.  Fruitdrop Office Fruit Boxes can be bought in quantities suitable for your office size and delivered as regularly as you want them.

My box came with a large hand of bananas, satsumas, 2 types of apples, the most gorgeous pears, grapes and plums.  There was more than enough fruit for my family to last over a week and that's even after I had used some to cook with.

PLUM & ALMOND TART

150g Short Crust pastry
50g Butter
50g Granulated Sugar
15g Self Raising Flour
50g Ground Almonds
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Almond Essence
5 Plums
30g Flakes Almonds

Line a 8" loose bottom tart tin with the pastry and chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Cream together the butter and sugar then add the flour, ground almonds, egg and essence.  Mix everything till it is completely combined.

Pour the mixture into the pastry case and spread it out evenly.  Cut the plums into 1/4's and place them cut side up onto the almond mixture then sprinkle on the flaked almonds.

Bake in the oven at 180C for 25-35 minutes.

BANANA TATIN

125g Puff Pastry
6 Large Bananas
50g Butter
100g Soft Brown Sugar
125g Puff Pastry

Melt the butter in a frying pan and cut each banana into 4.  Add them to the pan and cook till lightly brown and starting to soften.  Now add the sugar and cook till melted.  Now coat the bananas with the melted sugar and butter and turn off the heat.

Transfer the cooked bananas to four individual tart tins standing them upright and pour over the remaining butter and sugar.

Roll out the puff pastry and cut out 4 discs large enough to cover the bananas and tuck into the tins.  Ensure the bananas are completely sealed with the pastry and bake at 200C for 20 minutes.

Once the pastry becomes brown and puffed up, remove from the oven and carefully turn out each tart.  Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

ONION TART TATIN

I'm really enjoying the new series of The Great British Bake Off, it makes a big difference being able to relax and watch someone else get stressed about their soggy bottom.

This week is all about tarts and it's inspired me to bake some of my own.  I'm starting with a savoury Tart Tatin.  Traditionally it is sweet and made with apples but if there is something that the Bake Off has taught me - you don't have to stick to tradition.

I'm using shallots for my Tatin and it's great hot or cold, not complicated and to make it even easier I've used bought puff pastry (Ssh).

500g Shallots, peeled
25g Butter
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp  Light Brown Sugar
Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
Salt & Pepper

250g Puff Pastry

Cook the onions in boiling water for 10 minutes then drain well while you heat the butter and oil in a heavy based frying pan.

Once the butter starts to sizzle add the shallots and fry gently for 10 minutes, turning the onions to colour all over.

Season with salt and pepper and add the fresh thyme then sprinkle over the sugar.  Cook for a further 5 minutes so the shallots are well coloured.

Roll out the pastry to form a round a little bigger than the pan then pop it on top to form a lid and tuck the edges of the pastry down the side of the pan.





Bake for 20-25 minutes at 200C.  Once the pastry is golden and cooked remove it from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes before inverting it onto a plate to serve.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed eating this and so pleased to have tried something a little different.  We had it with a very simple salad of spinach, goats cheese and the most delicious Sweetfire Baby Beetroot with a drizzle of garlic infused olive oil

NATAS - PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS

I was asked recently to make some Portuguese Custard Tarts - Natas  and jumped at the chance.  There are lots of recipes out there but I find these work every time guaranteed.  You make the custard first so when it’s baked you have a lovely caramelised top.

Portuguese food has the warmth of it’s mediterranean neighbours with an added kick of north african spices.  Cinnamon and vanilla are very popular and this recipe calls for both.  The pastry has a lovely swirl of cinnamon running through it which means it looks great and tastes very special indeed.

I have used a cinnamon paste from the supermarket but if you can’t find it just sprinkle the pastry with sugar and ground cinnamon to cover it.

PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS

500g Puff Pastry

1 tbsp Cinnamon Paste

80g Sugar

80ml Water

500ml Milk

2 tbsp Corn Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

2 egg yolks

CUSTARD

Over a low heat warm the water and sugar till the sugar has dissolved then simmer for a further 2 minutes.

Mix the corn flour in a bowl with a little of the milk to form a paste then add the remaining milk.  Add the milk to the water along with the egg yolks and vanilla.  Whisk over a low heat till it thickens.

Remove the pan from the heat and cover with clingfilm to stop a skin forming.  Leave to cool.

PASTRY

Roll out your pastry on a floured surface to form a square roughly  35cm x 35cm.  Evenly spread the cinnamon paste over the pastry, not too thick, think of it as marmite.  Then roll it up tightly to form a long sausage.  

Cut the roll into 12 even pieces then roll out each piece flat on a floured surface to about 10cm/4” diameter.  

Lightly grease a muffin tin then line each hole with pastry.  Fill the shells with the cooled custard and bake for 15-20 minutes at 200C

HOLLY'S STILTON, POTATO & CARAMELISED ONION PIE

It's not always easy to come up with a good meat free dinner that all the family will enjoy, especially when you have three children with varying views on vegetables.

I remember on pie week of GBBO Holly made a vegetarian pie which she said always went down well with her meat loving husband.  So I decided on her version of a cheese and potato pie.

It uses 3 different cheeses and is topped with puff pastry - which I have to admit I bought from the supermarket.  I still maintain life is too short to make puff pastry when you can get perfectly good stuff ready made. (It's important to know when to cheat!)

It was a dream to put together, just adding layers of the various ingredients it was assembled in a jiffy then in the oven for 30 minutes.  It went very well with baked beans and no-one missed the meat.  Cheers Holly.

The recipe calls for weights of ingredients that would leave me with oddments of stuff left over so I just made a little extra to use everything up and made a small one for another day.  I didn't have any of the onion left for this one though so used Branston Pickle as a substitute making it a sort of Ploughmans Pie.

You can find the full recipe in the pie section of The Great British Bake Off  How to Bake Book.