Paris Brest

The Paris Brest is a relatively simple French pastry treat made using a ring of choux pastry filled with a praline flavoured cream. Following the success of our Tarte Tatin, we have continued our education of pastry making by focusing on choux. In some ways this is a more simple kind of pastry because you don't need a delicate touch or certain technique when handling it. But because it is cooked twice, once in a pan and then in the oven, it is a slightly tricky process which relies on a certain level of concentration! Our effort was far from perfect but we think we know where we went wrong, so hopefully next time will be better. For now though, this was very tasty and did look the part.

Plum, Pistachio and Cardamom Cake

Today at work we had a "cake bake" to raise money for a local charity. Staff brought in their best efforts and we all bought those sweet treats which tickled our fancies! I was a little daunted by this, mainly because Liz was not here to help me. I am not much of a baker, and it is usually Liz who rules the roost when it comes to cakes. I decided to give it a go though. I decided to stick to a simple cake recipe but spruce it up with an interesting flavour combination. I hoped that the flavour would then cover up any flaws in my baking technique! I started with the idea of using cardamom. This is mainly due to the amazing flavour it gave in Liz's blueberry tart. I then wanted to use a seasonal fruit and I chose plums for their combination of sweet and sour. To add a richness to the cake I then opted to add pistachio. So here it is, my "Plum, Pistachio and Cardamom Cake". (Just to let you know, this was the first cake to completely sell out at work.)

Lemon Curd Roulade

Lemon Roulade

 

This recipe is a flourless Lemon Roll taken from the previously showcased cookbook accompanying the Great British Bake Off series; ''How to Bake''. This light lemon sponge is best eaten within 24 hours to avoid the cream seeping into the sponge and creating a soggy bottom.

The key to this recipe is to ensure the cake is served chilled as this allows the curd and cream to solidify and act as a cement.

Lancaster's Bakery, Harrogate

Throughout this blog we hope to show you the food we are cooking and eating at home, but we also hope that we can share more than that. We want to share all our foodie experiences, whether that be our own cooking, eating out at restaurants, coming across interesting food articles and anything and everything else food related. With that in mind, I want to tell you about a lovely family run business called Lancaster's Bakery in Harrogate.

Liz and I only moved to Harrogate a few months ago and so we are still exploring the eating options on offer, in what is a very food-conscious town. I was advised to go to Lancaster's by a work colleague who assured me that they serve the ''best sausage rolls in the world''. Upon entering the bakery, it appeared to just be quite a standard bakery, nothing too much different to any other bakery you can go to. We chose a wide selection of baked goods, including the sausage rolls, pepper steak slices and a chicken pie. Although the appearance was all very familiar and probably quite ordinary, the taste and flavours really were exceptional. The sausage rolls were indeed very good but it was the pepper steak slices which unanimously took all the greatest compliments.

I will certainly be a regular customer to Lancaster's and look forward to trying everything from their extensive range. Don't be put off by the average appearance of the place - they really are producing baked goods of an unparalled standard.