Baking

January 15, 2015 Baking

Marmalade

A very useful book, Elizabeth provides a very interesting combination of historical facts, recipe origins, and useful tips. As well as recipes for the preserves, there are also recipes for complete dishes. The book is broken into the following chapters:

Before you start: tips, equipment, techniques

Traditional flavours: membrillo; how marmalade got its name; quince-raspberry marmalade; aromatic orange-apple-ginger marmalade

Citrus marmalades: whole-fruit Seville orange; cut-rind Seville orange; marmalade as an aphrodisiac; dark bitter orange; sweet orange; blood orange; “in the pink” grapefruit; three-fruit; shredded lemon; Meyer lemon, ginger and mint; kumquat and Earl Grey tea; tangerine and vanilla; the rise of the British breakfast

Other fruit: rhubarb; double-ginger pear; peach and orange; orange-pomegranate; cherry

Exotic: passion fruit; bitter orange, rose water and almond; coconut; yes; banana; marmalade mixology

Savory (sic): summer tomato; red onion; the perfect slice of toast; tomatillo-chile; marmalade in literature

Savoury: orange-barbequeud pork belly; duck à l’orange marmalade; Mexican steak with frilled vegetables and tomatillo-chile marmalade; curried chicken salad; marmalade-braised lamb shanks; carnitas with pico de gallo; meatloaf with red onion marmalade glaze; glazed country ham; Chinese vegetable dumplings with marmalade dipping sauce

Sweet marmalade dishes: marmalade tart; steamed marmalade pudding with orange-blossom cream; marmalade ice-cream marmalade meringue with foamy sauce; sorta de grin de notte; upside-down gingerbread; fresh berries with marmalade cream; schnecken; rugelach with cherry marmalade and chocolate drive; marmalade drops

Breads: baked boxy; brown soda bread; buttermilk biscuits; oatmeal scones; crumpets; marmalade sandwiches popovers; focaccia

I found this to be a wide-reaching and interesting guide to marmalade making.

You can get your copy here >

October 29, 2014 Baking

Dominique Ansel, The Secret Recipes…

Dominique Ansel’s Cronut™ – the much imitated and reinterpreted cross between a doughnut and croissant. I’ve seen Dominique interviewed many times, and he’s always at great pains to point out that his bakery makes much more than the now infamous (and trade marked) Cronut™. And yet – the queues form every morning, for the very limited number available.

In the Secret Recipes, Dominique knows we’re going to turn straight to this one, and indeed I did! I was slightly peeved to find that the recipe here is a version “adapted” for home cooks… To be fair, it’s still a pretty labour-intense two-day process, and will still be a labour of love for some. I don’t know about you though, but I’m perfectly capable of turning out a croissant, so do feel a little cross to be given a watered-down version.. Hardly the secret recipe at all then….

A toast before baking

Beginner recipes:
Hot chocolate*
Chocolate pecan cookies*
Mini Madeleines
Mini me’s*
Popcorn chouquettes
Marshmallow chicks*
Vanilla ice-cream*
Apple tart tatin
The purple tart

Intermediate recipes
Cannelé de Bourdeaux
Vanilla religiuese
Cotton soft cheesecake
Paris-New York
Perfect little egg sandwich
Black and blue Pavlova*
Pink champagne macarons*
Apple marshmallow (amazing!)*
Sunflower tart
Christmas morning cereal*
“Lime me Up” tart
Frozen s’mores
Arlette

Advanced recipes:
Chocolate caviar tart
The angry egg*
Dominique’s Kouign Amanns (DKA)
Magic soufflé
The At-Home Cronut(tm) pastry
Ibérico and Mahón croissant
Sweet potato Mont Blanc
Gingerbread pinecone (also amazing!)
Baked Alaska

Additional techniques:
Cooking custard
Pâte â chop
Piping
Tempering chocolate
Lamination

*Gluten-Free Recipes

On average the recipes take two to three pages, are well documented, and with good photographs of the finished product. The book is actually pretty luscious, and does include a number of recipes you don’t often see, so it’s well worth adding to your patisserie section. But if you’re buying it only for the Cronut™ recipe, you have been warned.

Get your copy here:

October 27, 2014 Baking

Great British Bake Off: Christmas… by Lizzie Kamenetzky

Don’t let the front cover mislead you, this book contains as many savoury baking recipes as sweet… As well as Lizzie, Mary and Paul, there are recipes from the following GBBO contestants:

Robert Billington (2011) Cathryn Dresser (2012) Miranda Gore Browne (2010) Beca Lyn-Pirkis (2013)
James Morton (2012) Kimberley Wilson (2013) Ed Kimber (2010) John Whaite (2012)
Holly Bell (2011) Ruth Clemens (2010) Frances Quinn (2013) Jo Wheatley (2011)

Recipe Index:

The Countdown Begins: Advent calendar biscuits; cinnamon and raspberry whirl wreath; gingerbread nativity; Mary’s classic christmas cake; panforte; beetroot, watercress and goats’ cheese tart; mustardy mac’n;cheese; creamy pork, apple and leek open pie; Rob’s garlic mushroom rolls; hot-smoked salmon and dill rice filo parcels; parma ham, ricotta and mushroom pizzas; Cathryn’s snowy white coconut tray bake; Miranda’s cranberry and pistachio chocolate cake; Mary’s white chocolate and ginger cheesecake; Paul’s mince pies

Gifts and Decorations: Florentines; lebkuchen stars; stained glass tea biscuits; Mary’s gingerbread house; seedy flatbreads for cheese; homemade pretzels; Beca’s stilton and fig sablés; almod and chocolate biscotti; mini walnut and fruit loaves; James’ miniature pandori; Paul’s Saint Lucia buns; Kimberley’s babà al limoncello; chocolate and vanilla button biscuits; Paul’s panettone

Come on Over: best-ever shepherd’s pie; deep cheese and bacon tart with wholemeal pastry; beef an beer pie; chicken, sage and chestnut gratin; salmon Wellington; rich pumpkin, chilli, chard and feta parcels; caramelised onion and stilton tart; Paul’s stollen; Jamaican gingerbread loaf; Mary’s Genoa cake; frangipane mince pies; Paul’s mincemeat and marzipan couronne; mini-spiced apple doughnuts; Christmas fruit bread; Mary’s mincemeat streusel; apple and pear crumble slices; Edd’s spiced chocolate bundt cake

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: Christmas Eve venison pie; John’s peanut butter, popcorn and chocolate fudge torte; Rudolph’s carrot cake; brioche snowman; smoked salmon soufflé omelette; potato blinis with smoked salmon; baked christmas ham; ultimate potato gratin; watercress and Gruyère soufflés; beef Wellington; Mary’s Christmas pudding; Mary’s yule log; salted caramel and chocolate cream profiteroles; Mary’s Tunis cake; Paul’s Kransekake

The Days in Between: creamy Turkey and tarragon cobbler; Paul’s hand-raised Boding Day pie; turkey chilequiles; ham and stilton pot pies; ham and parsley sauce pie with bubble and squeak mash; Paul’s turkey, stuffing and cranberry Chelsea buns; ham and chestnut pasta bake; turkey and ham pie; smoked salmon, fennel and horseradish tart with caraway pastry; apple and safe stuffing sausage rolls with crackling pastry; blue cheese, pear and walnut tart with watercress pesto; Holly’s ham and chutney leftover turnovers; St Stephen’s day muffins; Sussex pond pudding; sticky toffee pudding; panettone bread and butter pudding ; Linzertote; Mary’s galette; sticky clementine and star anise drizzle load; Ruth’s Christmas Bakewell tar

New Year’s Eve: mushroom, spinach and feta parcels; stilton and bacon muffins; Parma ham and Gruyère palters; really cheesy gougères, haggis Scotch eggs; red onion, pancetta and sage puff tart tartiflette; pumpkin and coconut tarlets; indulgent fish pie; chocolate, coffee and rum torte; Paul’s black bun; passion fruit and pomegranate pavlova layer cake; eggnog custard tart; Frangelico and roasted hazelnut baked cheesecake; macarons; trifle with homemade Madeira cake; almond, hazelnut and white chocolate layer cake; Frances’ sugar and spice stellar cupcakes; Jo’s chocolate fruit and nut bubble wrap cake

It’s not my favourite book in the series, but there’s enough interesting things here for it to survive in my library.

You can buy a copy here>

October 27, 2014 Baking

Primrose Bakery Christmas… by Martha Swift

It’s not an entirely Christmas book, but is that necessarily a bad thing? There’s a broad range of recipes, with lots of combinations I think would be popular throughout the year. However, I think with baking books particularly, it’s useful to see exactly what’s in the book, to avoid duplication elsewhere. It breaks down as follows:

Cupcakes: tea and digestives cupcakes; Crunchie cupcakes; Malteser cupcakes; Toblerone cupcakes; pink lemonade cupcakes; Liquorice Allsorts cupcakes; rum and raisin cupcakes; apple crumble and custard cupcakes; blueberry cupcakes (shown in the photograph); cinnamon cupcakes; Irish coffee cupcakes; eggnog cupcakes; s’mores cupcakes; Maraschino cherry cupcakes; red bean cupcakes; bread and butter cupcakes

Large Cakes: rainbow cake; salted caramel cheesecake; apple and butterscotch yule log; chocolate and coconut layer cake; Christmas Pavlova wreath; pineapple and coconut cake; pain d’epices bundt cake; Christmas pudding cake with mulled wine icing; Jaffa Cake cake; clementine cake with Greek yoghurt icing; chocolate and white chocolate roulade; marjolaine cake; walnut streusel cake

Cookies: chocolate caramel cookies; triple chocolate cookies; mince pie cookies; Oreo chocolate chip cookies; Smarties cookies; spice Christmas or Linzer cookies; Fresh mint shortbread biscuits; brandy snaps; Earl Grey almond and white chocolate biscotti; ginger sparkle cookies; raspberry and pistachio thumbprint cookies; Speculoos biscuit tree decoration; Speculoos cookie butter; gingerbread sausage dogs

Loaves and Slices: sticky toffee loaf; natural red velvet load; spiced fruit loaf; rocky road slice; salted caramel brownies; cheesecake brownie; Florentine blondie; orange marmalade slice; cherry ripe slice; pumpkin slice; pistachio and raspberry loaf

Pies and Tarts: Christmas trifle with caramelised peaches; banoffee pie; chocolate peanut butter pie; chocolate marshmallow pie; mint and white chocolate pie; dark chocolate and fresh mint truffle tart; Boston cream pie

Free From: GF vanilla cupcakes; GF quinoa cupcakes; chocolate vegan layer cake; GF honey and almond cake; GF spiced honey loaf

Edible Gifts: caramelised nuts; savoury nut mix; sweet and salty popcorn; mint coconut ice; salted caramel truffles; Christmas pudding rum balls; peanut butter and banana dog cupcakes (yes, for dogs!!); dog Christmas cake (again, for dogs!!); meringues; tutti frutti nougat; popcorn baubles; gingerbread house; caramel apples

You can buy a copy here >

October 25, 2014 Baking

British Baking… by Paul Hollywood

This book is a look at regional baking around the United Kingdom. Paul has taken recipes from all over the Isles, and broken them down into the following categories:

Southwest; South and Southeast; Midlands; North; Wales; Ireland; and Scotland

More useful for me though is the breakdown by recipe type:

Savoury pies, pastries and puddings: baked Somerset Brie; Cornish pasties; Denby dale cake; Dingle lamb pie; fidget pie; hame and goat’s leek couronne; homity pie; leek and Caerphilly tart; Norfolk plough pudding; priddy oggies; Sussex churls; Welsh onion cake; Whitby fish pie

Scones, griddle scones and pancakes: boxty pancakes; cheese and chive scones; oatmeal drop scones; pikelets; Staffordshire oatcakes; sultana scone ring; Welsh cakes

Breads: Boxty bread; crusty Swansea; Kentish huff kings; Norfolk knobs; oat bread; Sally Lunn; soda bread; stilton, pear and walnut bread; stottie cakes; wholemeal seeded load

Sweet yeasted breads: barm brace; Devonshire splits; Dorset wiggs, Isle of Wight doughnuts; Lincolnshire plum bread; mothering buns; saffron cake; Selkirk bannock; Whitby lemon buns

Sweet pies and puddings: Bkaewell pudding; Eton messl halloween pudding; Hereford apple dumplings; Leicestershire hunting pudding; marmalade cheesecake with whisky oranges; Monmouth pudding with plums; Odlbury gooseberry pies; Osborn pudding; poor knights of Windsor; rhubarb plate pie; St Fillan’s pudding; Sussex pond pudding; treacle sponge pudding

Sweet tarts and pastries: Bakewell tart; Chorley cakes; Ecclefechan butter tarts; Eccles cakes; maid of honour; Manchester tart; Northamptonshire cheesecakes; strawberry and pistachio shortcakes

Cakes and tea breads: bars brith, black burn; cider cake; Cumbrian sand cake; Dorset apple cake; farmhouse walnut cake; Guinness and black mini muffins; honey buns; Kentish cherry cake, Hevva cake; Irish coffee cake, marmalade cake, Melton Hunt cake; porter cake; raspberry crumble cake; Ripon spice cake; seed cake; white chocolate and cherry plate cake

Biscuits and tray bakes: chocolate chip petticoats tails; chocolate heavies; coconut flapjacks; Cornish fairings; Goosnargh cakes; jumbles; oat biscuits; oatcakes; parlies; Shewsbury biscuits; Tantallon cakes, Welsh gingerbread; Yorkshire parkin

I’m not sure I’d ordinarily rave about Paul’s books, and I do have several… However the process of indexing my hundreds of cookbooks has really made me focus on content – where increasingly recipes overlap, Paul has managed to capture a number of old-fashioned recipes that aren’t listed very often these days. It’s worth having for that alone. I love making bara brith, so it was very useful to have some other variations – I’ll definitely try the Ripon spice cake.

You can buy your copy here >

October 18, 2014 Baking

Sweets Made Simple… by Miss Hope and Mr Greenwood

I have all of the Hope and Greenwood books, their kitsch and charming approach to confectionary always make for a good read. However, be under no illusion that this is all style over substance, there are a substantial number of techniques in the books, and this particular one includes more grown-up recipes.

There are individual pages on each of the following, providing useful tips about confectionary-making:

Hello The Rules! How and why to temper chocolate Storage

Then the following sections, with recipes listed…

Fudge, Caramel and Toffee:
Black Forest fudge
Peanut butter fudge
Honey & almond white chocolate
Cheats
Gingerbread latte
Pulled butter toffee
Salted liquorice caramels
Penuche
Chocolate orange caramels
Cinder toffee
Seashell caramels
Chipotle
Almond & sea salt toffee

Chocolatey:
Peppermint crackers
Cherry chapel hat pegs
Very bad smores
Coffee creams
Rose and violet creams
Syrup sponge nuggets
Matcha and white chocolate truffles
Mango truffles
Malted nougat
Gin and lime truffles
Chilli and lime kisses
Nougat clusters
Tequila chillies
Limoncello creams
Sherry trifle cups
Garden mint ‘peas’
Rose hip iced gems
Devon strawberry truffles
Chilli and lime shards

Fruity:
Twinkly blackcurrant flowers
Fig and cassis truffles
Toffee apples
Candied peels
Peach and apricot pastilles
Maple walnut pears
Raspberry marshmallows
Passion fruit hearts
Sour lemon travel sweets
Pavlova islands
Blackberry cups
Strawberry and cream lollies
Pear and ginger coins
Will berry jellies
Sherbet lemon marshmallows
Sherbet dipper
Rock sugar stirrers
Cherry Bakewell shards

Nutty:
Proper peanut brittle
Marzipan sandwiches
Pear and chestnut truffles
Maple syrup, pecan and bacon lolly
Coconut ice
Coffee walnut whips
Squirrel nibbles
Mr Greenwood’s buttered brazils
Jewelled Florentines
Chocolate and pistachio palters
Peanut butter and jelly truffles
Pistachio katli
Peanut butterflies
Sisin

Chewy:
Unicorn mallow pops
Rose and pistachio turkish delight
Lemon and blueberry nougat
Cherry and almond nougat
Salted caramel mallow teacakes
Sweet sushi
Salty dogs
Blueberry aniseed diamonds
Apricot leather belts
Popcorn espresso macchiato balls
Ice-cream oysters
Candied peel and white chocolate nougat

Yes there are a few duplications from the earlier books, but they are probably the most popular recipes, so deserve to be included here too.

You can buy your copy here >

October 9, 2014 Baking

The GBBO: Big Book of Baking…

People buy the GGBO books for a variety of reasons. There are profiles of the bakers featured in the 2014 competition, some of their specialist bakes, and usually the technical challenges. I noticed that a couple of the technical challenges weren’t included, so to make doubly sure you get what you want, I’ve listed them all here.

The technical challenges for each week of the 2014 GGBO are:

Cake: cherry cake
Biscuits: Florentines
Bread: ciabatta
Desserts: tiramisu cake
Pies and tarts: mini pear pies (not included)
European cakes: dobbos torte
Pastry: Breton kouign amann
Advanced dough: Croation povatica
Patisserie: German schichttorte (not included)
Final: perfect sponge, caramel, choux pastry as petit four

…

September 28, 2014 Baking

The New Pâtissiers… by Olivier Dupon

A high end pâtisserie book, this is aimed at bakers who are both proficient and confident in the kitchen. It features biographies of world-renowned pastry chefs, and two or three of their recipes. Most recipes are broken down into several components, requiring many techniques, though most are achievable.

The book is broken down as follows:

New Classics:
Andrea Reiss Armaud Deimontel Bernard Herberie Christophe Roussel Gontran Cherrier Luca Ori Martin Isaksson Nadège Nourian Nathaneil Reid Pasquale Marigliano Ronny Latua Sébastien Ordioni Sébastian Gaudard Shigeru Nojima Siang Yee

Art on a Plate:
Anna Polyuiou Antonio Bachour Carmelo Sciampagna Douce Steiner John Talley
Julie Sharp Luca Lacalamita Marike van Beurden Michelle Gillot

Experimental Exotica:
Alvarro Garrido Fernando Rivarola Florencia Randón Strozzi Janice Wong Leonar de Sousa Bastos
Pamela Yung Pierre François Reolofs Rosia Sanches Sarah Jordan Will Goldfarb

Wonderland Confections:
Bobbette & Belle Bonnae Gokson Emily Miranda

September 8, 2014 Baking

TrEATS: Delicious food gifts to make at home…

This is a very pretty book, with lots of ideas for food stylists and photographers. The presentation of each TrEAT is different, and as a book aimed at foods you can give as gifts, this is perhaps more important than it sounds. The recipes themselves are straight forward, quick, and easy to follow – again important in a book focussing on treats to give away.

The book contains the following recipes:

Cakes:
Cherry and cinnamon bundt cakes; brownies with salted caramel; almond and Earl Grey teacup cakes; rose and leaf-topped cake pops; spiced pear and chocolate cakes; raspberry, rose and chocolate cup cakes; chocolate easter-egg cakes; coconut madeleines

Bakes:
Glazed mini ring doughnuts; mini mince pies; plum crumble in a jar & apple pie in a jar; currant scones

Biscuits and Cookies:
Blackcurrant and vanilla Linzer cookies; black and white cookies; spiced pumpkin cakes; gingerbread bats; chocolate chip cookies; tiny lemon meringue pie cookies; Liberty-print inspired chocolate hears; mini gingerbread houses; Neopolitan sandwich cookies; s’mores; white-chocolate-dipped pistachio & apricot cookies

Savoury treats:
Savoury fig & goat’s cheese cakes; oatcakes with pink peppercorns; cheese straws with caraway seeds; smoke paprika almonds; pretzels; infused oils; flavoured salts

Violet and peppermint creams; candied cashews; candied orange dipped in dark chocolate; chocolate salami; white chocolate and fresh berry bites; salted caramel sauce; dipped and decorate marshmallows; chocolate and chestnut meringues; cinnamon hot chocolate spoons; bacon and pecan nut chocolate shards; white chocolate and pistachio popcorn; chocolate rose truffles; salted caramel truffles; apple and cinnamon compote; rhubarb and vanilla compote; lemon and blackberry jelly; pomegranate and vanilla vodka

A great little book for homemade treats. Useful, pretty, well laid out, speedy enough recipes – a great addition in the run-up to Christmas.

September 3, 2014 Baking

Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding… by Justin Gellatly

Justin’s doughnuts may be renowned, but this book is about so much more than those tasty treats. The book is broken down into the following categories, with a few examples:

Breakfast (pikelets; granola clusters; William’s spud fry; the Full Monty soufflé; breakfast bun scrolls…)
Baking with bread (pumpkin seed bread; classic brioche; lardy cake; corn bread; sour dough; rye and malt sourdough…)
Savoury baking (truffle, cheese and potato pie; anchovy twists and cheese straws; sweet onion and fine herb tart…)
Cakes and teatime treats (Early Grey and honey loaf, croquembouche; bomber command buns; Devonshire splits…)
Biscuits (chocolate and oat snaps; the perfect dunking biscuit; the mega milky malt; coconut and cardamom biscuits…)
Doughnuts (the dough recipe; caramel custard and salted honeycomb sprinkle; Seville orange with ginger snap sprinkle…)
Warm to hot puddings (peach and Amaretto cobbler; prune armagnac and almond pudding; sticky banana pudding…)
Cold puddings (chocolate terrine; chocolate caramel brandy creams; chocolate pots; custard tart, chocolate brownie…)
Ice-cream (vanilla; blackberry and crème fraiche; orange and cardamom; brown sugars and hazelnut…)
The store cupboard (bread and butter pickles; pickled beetroot; tomato and chilli chutney; pumpkin seed oil…)

…