New Website - LIVE!

On Friday the new bake and crafthouse website went live! Take a look and let me know what you think. It will be updated soon with the Autumn term class timetable.

 www.bakeandcrafthouse.com

Cherry Clafoutis

I have experimented with a few different recipes for clafoutis but this one definitely gives the best results. 

It is a combination of a few recipes, many don't use cream but without the cream I think it tastes too much like yorkshire pudding! 

 

Ingredients.

450g cherries

1 tablespoon kirsch (optional) 

185 ml double cream

1 vanilla pod
125ml milk
3 eggs
55g caster sugar
85g plain flour

Method.

I always leave the stones in the cherries but you can stone them if you like, warn your guests if you leave them in! About an hour before baking I soak the cherries in the kirsch, it is not essential but I think it adds to the almondy flavour.

1) Preheat the oven to 180 C. 

2) Warm the cream in a small saucepan. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds before adding to the cream. Heat gently for a couple of minutes, then remove from the heat, add the milk and cool. Strain to remove the vanilla pod.

3) Whisk the eggs with the sugar and flour, then mix into the cream. 

4) Put the cherries in the base of your baking dish and pour the batter over the top. 

5) Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden on top. 

It is delicious served warm (with ice cream) or fine served cold if you want to prepare it in advance.

Hastings Farmer's Market

There was a brief break in the rain showers this morning, just enough time to walk to Hastings Farmer's Market and pick up some lovely local seasonal fruit.

 
At this time of year cherries are everywhere in Kent and Sussex and they are one of my favourite fruits. I am planning to make a Clafoutis aux Cerises this afternoon and if there are any cherries leftover I would love to try out this Quick Candied Cherry recipe from David Lebovitz's Living the Sweet Life in Paris blog.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2005/05/badabing-quick-1/

I'll share the photos and Clafoutis recipe tomorrow and let you know what I decide to do with these delicious gooseberries!

Where is Summer?

The longest day of the year has now come and gone but what has happened to the sunshine? After a fabulous Spring, June has been a bit of a washout. In spite of all the clouds and rain there are still small signs of Summer in the garden and we are starting to enjoy the fruits of our labours earlier in the year...   

 

Our first sweet pea flowers.

 

Rows of rocket shooting through.

 

The first courgettes.

A handful of homegrown raspberries.

Recipe For Preserving Children

I had to resist buying cockerels and chickens at the Wealden Midsummer Fair but I couldn't leave this lovely old recipe tin behind. It needs a bit of a clean up but I love the message hiding under the lid.

Wealden Times Midsummer Fair

Last week I spent a lovely afternoon at the Wealden Times Midsummer Fair. There were plenty of food delights from local producers and lots of craft and antiques stalls to browse as well as more lively offerings such as this beautiful cockerel!

bake and crafthouse biscuits

While I wait for all the lease details to be sorted on the new premises and planning permission to be granted there is no better way to spend time than trying out new recipes for the classes.

On holiday in Japan I picked up this great letter stamp which I know will be great for celebration biscuits on birthdays and Valentine's day. I tested it out today with some bake and crafthouse spiced biscuits, delicious!

introducing bake and crafthouse

Welcome to the bake and crafthouse blog.
bake and crafthouse is a new project offering cooking and craft classes to kids in the windmill town of Cranbrook in Kent.

We will be opening in September but until then keep up to date with our progress and upcoming events and classes here and on the website www.bakeandcrafthouse.com