Paul Hollywoood’s, the recipe is in the latest GF mag, the contestants of Great British Bake Off were making them a couple of weeks ago.

For the sweet pastry I used 165 g plain flour, 25 g of ground almonds, 120 g unsalted butter, 55 g of sugar and 1 medium egg, made into a dough and chilled it for 30 mins, while preparing the muffin tray and the custard.

Paul’s recipe said the dough would have made 12 pies, I made 10, but lesson’s learned, the dough didn’t shrink as much as I thought it would. The custard however, made of 7 egg yolks and 700 ml of fat milk and  90 g of sugar was too much, by half, at least, for my muffin tray. I made 4 spontaneous creme brulees with the remaining custard, while the pies baked in 180 degrees for 15 mins, then I lowered the temperature to 160 degrees and baked them for a further 10-12 minutes. Oh, the final touch was a sprinkle of nutmeg on top.

I took them out when still slightly wobbled and were a bit domed . As a result we have beautifully set custard in yummy, crumbly sweet pastry. Very much enjoyed.

Made as per certain request on my kitchen black board, that read “Jeden ciasto czekoladowe prosze”.  It’s been there for a good few weeks and then an arrow was added, pointing at the word “Prosze”.  After the applicant’s  recent OUTSTANDING performance at work I had to get baking.

The recipe comes from my little Chocolate Cakes booklet. For the sponge I melted 150 g of dark chocolate with a splash of water and a touch of butter, while beating up 150 g of butter with 110 g of caster sugar. Slowly added 3 egg yolks to the butter, then 150 g of plain flour and to finish, the remaining 3 egg whites whipped with 2 tbsp of sugar, nicely folded in. It baked for 30 minutes in about 180 degrees.

When cooled, I sliced the beauty in half and generously spread some apricot jam. The icing’s made of equal amount (125 g) of dark chocolate and butter with my own addition of a good splash of Frangelico. The icing nicely thickens when left alone for a couple of hours.

What’s really nice about this cake is that it’s chocolatey and scrummy, but not not too rich and sickly. Pat, pat. 🙂

As I’m eating it and writing, I can’t stop thinking about my Mom’s apple pies. It can’t be just apples, Mom’s pastry is just so much better than mine. I must give her a call tomorrow and find out the details. For my pastry today I used 250 g of flour, 125 g of butter, 2 egg yolks and 50 ml of cold water. According to GF, it is supposed to be a universal recipe, for sweet and savoury dishes. Bollocks. It needs sugar. And I’m going to add it next time. My apples, Bramleys, I flavoured with brown sugar and lots of cinnamon, threw a couple of strawberries for the colour, not – I must say- amazing addition. I pre- baked the base a little to avoid the soggy bottom, that worked nicely. A little bit of egg white spread on top before baking made it lovely and golden.  It is nice, but it’s not sensational. To be improved.

The recipe comes from “Crumbs”, a free cool magazine delivered to the Lion once a month. I made it yesterday and took half to work, mainly for Matt, who said it was his favourite. And it was a good thing to do, as it sweetened the day at work a little, after another fit of a certain arse of a  manager.

Now, the recipe recommended baking 3 flat cakes, I made one and sliced it in half, worked just fine. I used 140 g of soft unsalted butter, 100 g of caster sugar, 40 g of brown sugar all into the silver bowl of the kitchen aid. 3 small eggs lightly beaten, which I added slowly into the mix, then about 40 ml of strong espresso coffee, spiked with a dash of kahlua, 140 g of self raising flour, 0,5 tsp of baking powder and finally 50 g of toasted, chopped walnuts. This baked nicely in 180 degrees for about 30 mins.

When done and cooled, I sliced it in half and drizzled over a mixture of more espresso coffee, sugar and water. Finally I made the butter cream. 100 g of unsalted butter, about 100 g of icing sugar, less than recommended and still I thought it was too much. I added yet more coffee and then some more, tasting all the time. I didn’t want to end up with a sickly cake.

Tops, the chopped, toasted walnuts.

Inspired by a recipe from GF, but I baked it to take something to work tomorrow, the only Sunday this year that we have to work, some sugar will be welcome is Dinings, I think.

For 2 small cakes I used 225 g of good dark chocolate, 175 g unsalted butter melted together with a single espresso. I whipped 5 whole eggs with 140 g of sugar, until nice, thick and foamy, added 100 g of ground almonds to it, 3 heaped spoons of self raising flour and baked it all for 25 minutes in 160 degrees. The original recipe said the cake should bake for 15 minutes and be slightly underbaked. I didn’t want it to be a chocolate fudge, I wanted it not too heavy and easy to slice. When cooled, I sliced it and layered with raspberry jam. The topping is made of white chocolate and 100 ml of double cream, topped with fresh raspberries.  Rich, but not too heavy. Mission accomplished.

Paul Hollywood’s recipe. The only one from the most recent edition of Good Food, the Christmas edition, that I felt like doing right away. Hollywood dude seems like he knows what he’s doing on The Great British Bake Off, so I gave this one a try. What I like about it is the lovely smooth texture, it seems light and yummy, I will be much more generous next time with the ground ginger, cinnamon, orange zest and nutmeg. I will in fact double it, I think!

For the cake I used 75 g of pitted dates, which I soaked in 250 ml of hot, strong black coffee, then one egg, 75 g of melted butter, 140 g of caster sugar and a zest of 1 orange I’ve beaten together, poured in the coffee minus the dates, then added 175 g of plain flour, the said cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, 2 tsp of baking powder, mixed it all in and poured onto the baking tray. The soaked dates went on top. It baked for 40 minutes in 160 degrees and the whole house smelled fantastic.

Towards the end I made the topping, which I think can be improved as well, Paul says 50 g of butter melted with 100 g of muscovado sugar, stirred on the low heat, with a tbsp of water to make it shiny, then a good handfull of pecan nuts.

It will be made again, but it will be Olutafied. 🙂

A typical result of me waking up and thinking- mmmmmm, I will do some baking today. I had some bloody expensive plums, not even massively ripe or anything, but nearly £4.50 per kilo. Stoned and cut into quarters  I cooked them quickly with lots of cinnamon and brown sugar.

150 g of butter and 125 g of sugar went into the cake mix, 2 whole eggs, then 75 g of flour and ground almonds, plus a handful of dark chocolate chopped into chips. All this went into the tin lined with baking parchment, plums arranged on top, a handful of chopped hazelnuts for extra crunch and into the oven for about 40-45 minutes, 170 degrees. I would have liked it risen a bit more, maybe self raising flour next time, but with wet plums in large amount it’s understandable it hasn’t risen much. Very tasty though.

On a day off, like today, I wake up and start thinking about what I want to make/bake. I said to Florek- I’d like to bake something nice. “Ciasto czekoladowe”, said my naturalized Pole. 🙂 How could I not?

The recipe comes form GF, naturally. I made half a portion, so that it was not wasted, but enjoyed while fresh.

70 g of pitted prunes I heated up with 2 tbsps of whisky( the recipe called for Marsala, I don’t even know what it tastes like exactly). I whizzed it then, pulsed rather, didn’t want a slush. 70 g of dark chocolate melted with 50 g of butter, prune mixture in. 2 whole eggs I whipped with 75 g of sugar, half and half caster and muscovado, one white left aside to be whipped separately. 50 g of ground almonds, a tbsp of plain flour a splash of vanilla essence. All mixed together went to a tin dusted with cocoa and into the oven for 25 minutes in 160 degrees. When out, dusted with more cocoa.

Pleasant, but not orgasmic.