My Cherry Ring

Easter has come and gone with plenty of the usual treats, hot cross buns and Easter eggs. In addition I made what I thought was going to be a small fruit ring as a desert for Sunday lunch, it turned out the size of a dinner plate. The original recipe I followed was for a Swedish fruit ring but the dough was far too wet and I had to rescue it by adding another 100g of flour and another teaspoon of yeast, the result was a batch of dough that made rather a large cake. This turned out not to be such a bad thing as the cake was demolished almost in one sitting. The filling was a a mixture of pecans and hazelnuts with raisins and glace cherries, to the sugar I added a teaspoon of nutmeg and cinnamon, once baked I mixed up some lemon icing and then studded it with more cherries.

My Cherry Ring

A link to the original recipe I used:

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/2353/swedish-cinnamon-pecan-tea-ring.aspx

New Toy

Well it's been awhile since I wrote anything for this blog so I thought it was about time I did an update. I've not really had any time of late to do any baking apart from the odd loaf here and there but I had a bit of luck last week, I managed to buy myself a Brod & Taylor Folding Proofer and it has kick started my interest in baking bread again. I have already tried it out on my standard bread recipe and it worked a treat. It's supposed to be folded up and put away when not in use but I can see it being out most of the time.

This is the bad boy out and being used, dough rising nicely

On another note the lovely Tasha (a work colleague) was leaving to have a baby, she asked me to bake a cake, I have to say I'm not a good cake baker but I had a go.

The Art of Presentation

A few weeks ago it was my mum's birthday and we always go out for a meal, this year was no exception. I had planned to take her to Ask in Watford but the weather on the day put paid to that. So an alternative place came to mind, a pub called The Black Horse in Sudbury, it's part of a chain of pub/restaurants that seem so common these days. The service was good, fast and efficient, the meal was okay, mine being slightly overcooked but not inedible, desert however was a different matter, my mother and I both went for the same thing, chocolate mouse with a hot donut. It looked good on paper however the reality of it left a lot to be desired.

Suffice to say I will not be taking any tips from the restaurant on presentation!

Iced Ring

I have always fancied making one of those fruit rings that you used to get in the local baker's when I was a kid and when I was given the Two Hairy Bikers baking book for Christmas I came across their recipe for a Scandinavian Iced Ring. I took the ring to a New Year's eve party and it was gone in minutes, guess I'm not the only one who likes iced cakes.

It came out pretty well, maybe a bit too much cardamon for my taste, next time I'll tone it down a bit.

Inspiration

One of last years holidays was a trip to central Spain taking in Segovia, Salamanca, Toledo and Madrid, a whirlwind tour, it seemed like a month rather than a week. While wondering around these various towns I came across several bakeries and cake shops and not being one to pass up an opportunity to see what  was on offer I couldn't resist having a look. Okay, I know that they are professional bakers and they have all the right equipment, oven, etc. but I can't help but be jealous of what was on offer, a huge array of breads; sourdough,white, black, seeded and in so many different shapes and sizes it was hard to know where to look.

 

Rather than be jealous of all the fine bread and cakes on offer I will take it as inspiration of what can be produced. I have decided to make a speciality bread each weekend starting with Dan Lepard's Black Bread.

Christmas Baking

In the run up to the Christmas break from work I have a tendency to go in to a baking frenzy, by baking I mean making cakes, sweets and all manner of things. This year is no exception with Chocolate Fudge with Pistachios, Fruit and Nut Chocolate an Coconut Ice being a few of the items on the list. As always it seems to be a mad rush to get everything made in time but despite all the office parties and late nights I managed it.

Chocolate Pistachio Fudge

Triple Chocolate Fruit & Nut

 

Biscuit Tree with Lemon Icing

No Lead in these pencils

As the title of this blog suggests my pencils are lead free. One Sunday a few months ago I was invited to a very delightful lunch in Richmond. Having arrived a little bit early I had the opportunity to browse some shops, on passing a charity shop I noticed in the window a book about biscuits and as I am known to have one or two cookery books I thought one more wouldn't hurt. The book was all about baking and decorating biscuits, surprisingly easy and so many different ideas, I picked one of the least difficult ones and gave it a go. The resulting biscuits came out rather well, they didn't stay on the plate long anyway!

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