Pastry

Apple and Custard Tart

October 13, 2012
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I dreamt up this combination of a tart with a layer of apple puree topped with creamy custard last month, I imagined it in my mind tasting quite wonderful and it does.  This has become the dessert I want to eat before I die, only I would like the whole tart.  It’s apple and custard […]

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Baked Stuffed Apples in Pastry Dumplings

October 10, 2012
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This is an old fashion way of baking apples.  I have vague memory of seeing apples treated this way in old cookery books but it was Catherine commenting on my site recently who reminded me of this method.  I was talking to Anne about it when she told she bakes cooking apples this way all […]

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Ewe’s Cheesecake Tart – Queijada de Évora

August 24, 2012
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I realise I’m asking to use something here which may not be easy to come by, and what a shame it isn’t more commonly used in my opinion.  We can now get hold of goat’s milk products anywhere, why not sheep?  I can buy Spanish hard ewe’s cheese in the supermarkets but that’s about it […]

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Easy Peach Tart (Peach Galette) with Vanilla Pastry

August 19, 2012
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I’ve been thinking about making a tart like this for the last two weeks while we’re surrounded by lovely peaches.  These are the white variety but any will do including swapping them for nectarines so long as they’re ripe.  When I made these yesterday I ate two of the small tarts and quite a bit […]

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How to make: Shortcrust Pastry by Hand

August 18, 2012
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Making shortcrust pastry by hand is easy, just follow a couple of simple tips I’ve listed below and you’ll see how gratifying it is to make.  I have a very detailed post already on how to make shortcrust pastry with the food processor.  The post details how to roll it, chill it, blind bake, under-baking, […]

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Banana Tarte Tartin, Passion Fruit & Banana Sorbet

December 23, 2011
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This is Gregoire’s Banana dessert from his Never Skip Dessert  book, which is unfortunately out of print!  Easy tart to make and made from ingredients usually in the house; butter, flour, sugar and bananas. The first time I made it was last weekend for Emily  and husband Andrew, it was a hit.  I baked it […]

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Frangipane Tart – A Delicious Classic

August 7, 2011
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Classic recipes stand the test of time and this one deserves to be made often with changing fruits of the season.  I prefer to use a fruit which has a little sharpness in order to contrast beautifully with the sweet almond filling such as these blackberries which were too sour to eat without sugar.  I’ve […]

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Gregoire’s Light Scones

June 17, 2011
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I’m grateful for bumping into Gregoire through twitter because not only do I have great banter with him, he’s an incredibly generous person with his advice and to top it all he has wonderful recipes like this one, beautifully light scones.  It’s not too sweet, the perfect receptor for cream and jam or the luxurious […]

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Gregoire’s Cheese Scones

June 17, 2011
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While making Gregoire’s four batches of sweet light scones I made these savoury morsels.  Use strongly flavoured cheese, I used vintage cheddar.  I have written an extensive post on scones in the sweet version here, explaining how you should rest the dough before stamping the scones out. These are delicious served warm with butter melting […]

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Orange Choux with Rhubarb and Vanilla Custard

April 14, 2011
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Rhubarb & Custard is a British classic but rather than doing them separately I wanted a custard that tasted of rhubarb and this one does.  At first bite you taste the creaminess of the custard and vanilla but then the lingering flavour is of the rhubarb.  The custard is sandwiched between thin crisp shells of […]

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Choux with Strawberries and Cream

April 14, 2011
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My own favourite birthday cake is always Genoise sponge, strawberries and cream but this year it’s going to be this, orange flavoured choux with strawberries and cream…lots of them.

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How to Make Choux Pastry

April 14, 2011
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I had no intent of making a post on how to make choux pastry but after making 4 or was it 5 batches of choux that’s what I’ve ended up with.  I’ve made probably more savoury choux than I have sweet ones over the years.  I went to the book I always refer to for […]

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Quince Tarte Tartin (can be dairy-free and vegan)

January 9, 2011
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I poached the quinces yesterday in a light syrup roughly following the measurements in Gloria’s post at Laundry etc.  They stayed in the syrup until today and with a bought pack of puff pastry this was one of the easiest most delicious tart I’ve ever made.  I had to slap my own hand to stop […]

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Why Does My Pastry Shrink? Step-by-step Guide to Shortcrust Pastry

November 26, 2010
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Your pastry shrinks because it contains liquid which will evaporate during cooking. There’s a lot of advice out there to tackle the problem with shrinking pastry.  Advise given is usually along the lines that your pastry is being overworked, let your pastry rest, make sure you blind bake, don’t over roll it, working fast, keeping […]

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The Lemon Tart

March 7, 2010
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There is a limited range of adjectives you can use to describe food; exquisite, delicious, divine, delectable, mouthwatering, scrumptious, flavoursome, yummy, tasty and then you get into other description of,  mmmmm….so good…OMG…kinda of vocabulary.  After a few postings, having raided the thesaurus I can’t find a different way to describe something delicious and perfectly formed….I […]

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