Individual Black Forest Gateau

Great British Chefs is a really good website that we often use for inspiration when trying to think of new ideas. Often you can use websites like this to find new flavour combinations and techniques and use them in your own way. However when we came across this recipe for individual Black Forest Gateau which looked so complex and time consuming, we didn't think it needed tampering with at all. There are lots of techniques and components that we have never heard of before so it was a bit of a challenge. It was very time consuming, but the end product was really rich, chocolatey and very tasty.

Stollen Roulade

This is our first post for a while, after a very busy Christmas! This post is probably a little late now as Stollen is usually something eaten at Christmas. But this recipe is good enough that you should give it a try anytime, not just at Christmas. It is a spicy, fruity, bready and sweet treat which is well worth the effort required to make it. The Germans were definitely on to a winner when they came up with this one!

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.

Pear and Vanilla Tarte Tatin

 

"Tarte Tatin" has now become an absolute French classic. It is traditionally made using apples, but I guess due to its huge popularity these days, people are looking for variations on the recipe. Our variety is to use pears in place of the apples. A tarte tatin is a layer of fruit coated in caramel with a layer of pastry placed over the top, with the whole thing being turned over after baking in the oven. We wanted to add another flavour, vanilla, into the finished product. There is no better smell than that of a vanilla pod. It is rich and creamy and works really well with pears. Some recipes suggest to just cook the pears for 10 or 15 minutes in the caramel first before baking in the oven, but we have again adapted this and used a poaching liquid to par-cook the pears and to infuse the vanilla flavour. When we turned over the pan and revealed the tart, we saw a beautifully crisp pastry with soft, sweet and sticky pears. Served with custard, it was delicious.

Apple and Pumpkin Cake - A Halloween Treat

Apple and Pumpkin Cake

This recipe is perfect for Halloween festivities as it uses two of the traditional robust Autumn flavours. I took it from a wonderful book bought for us by my dad and it is really great for finding comfort food inspiration. Tom Norrington's - Just Like Mother Used to Make.

Rhubarb "Crumble"

Rhubarb and Greek Yogurt Crumble in a glass

Rhubarb pulling is usually between May and August but in early September the rampaging patch in my mum's garden was in dire need of a picking. We twisted off a few stem, discarded the leaves and poached the even 1cm cut stems in a honey and water syrup. I put about 3 tablespoons of honey and the same of water in a saucepan and simmered for about 20 minutes until a soft pulp emerged.

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.

Lemon and White Chocolate Souffle

For Liz's birthday meal, I of course had to come up with a tasty dessert. We have a surplus of lemon curd in the fridge following Liz's exploits last week - I wanted to create a dessert that could use this in a refined and spectacular way. Whenever the word souffle is mentioned on TV, magazines or cookbooks, it is met with trepidation. However, after my unorthdox aubergine souffle last week, I thought a more conventional chocolate version must be relatively simple.