Friday, 29 July 2011

Brioche # 2

It is my Dad's birthday this weekend so we are off up to the Norfolk coast to spend the weekend eating cake with family. 

In the morning we are taking a boat trip to Blakeney Point which means a very early start so I have baked brioche for breakfast. I sensibly started last night this time and they have just come out of the oven.


And carrot cupcakes for our picnic lunch.


Fingers crossed for lots of sunshine!

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

Too Pretty to Compost!

I've just been weeding the garden but some things are just too pretty to throw in the compost even if they are appearing in all the wrong places!


Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Courgette and Broad Bean Fritters


Suddenly we have an abundance of courgettes and broad beans in the garden. We can pick the courgettes practically every day and we need to if we want to catch them before they become marrows! I can already see the small flowers of new fruit sprouting on the plant.

We have been eating and freezing lots of ratatouille but I also like to make these courgette fritters which are ideal to take on Summer picnics as they are delicious warm or cold.

This recipe makes 10-12 fritters.






Ingredients

2 large courgettes or 4 small ones, around 350grms
half a cup of shelled broad beans
3 spring onions
100grms feta
1 tbsp fresh mint (more if you like!)
1 tsp lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
salt & pepper to season
olive oil for shallow frying

Method

1)Take the broad beans from their pods and boil for 2-3 minutes (or you can use frozen broad beans or even peas if you prefer!). Cool immediately by running under cold water then shell the beans. They are a fabulous bright green colour inside!
2)Grate the courgette on the larger holes and squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can.
3)Chop the spring onions, feta and fresh mint and mix together with the lemon zest.
4)Break the eggs and whisk together, add the grated courgette and onion mix, combine and then stir in the flour.
5)Season with salt and pepper. The batter will be lumpy and should not be too wet.
6)Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and drop spoonfuls of the batter in, flattening with the back of your spoon to form the fritters.
7)Fry gently for approx. 2 minutes each side, they will be golden and the egg should be completely set.

Eat warm straight away with plenty of fresh salad leaves or cool and refrigerate to take on your picnic.


Friday, 1 July 2011

Brioche

Today I decided to try my hand at making brioche. My husband is usually the bread maker in the house but there was some yeast leftover from the weekend and I love the idea of these lovely soft French rolls for breakfast on Saturday morning. 



All was going well, I am using Richard Bertinet's recipe from his great bread book Crust. It makes a really nice smooth and shiny dough and I put it to one side to rest for 2 hours. Then... I read the next stage of the recipe, turn out, fold then leave to rest for a further 12-14 hours. Should be ready to shape into my rolls at about 2am then... Oops!

I suppose this is the life of a baker, my husband will often spend a whole weekend working on his loaves. It is also a good reminder to me to read the recipe all the way through before enthusiastically diving in. 

I'm sure it will be worth it at breakfast in the morning!

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

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

Saturday, 25 June 2011

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.

Thursday, 23 June 2011

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!