Fat Friday #41 Homemade Pizza Dough

Nothing is better then a takeaway pizza. However have you noticed that its got more and more expensive to grab a pizza? Its much more economical to make your own. Its surprisingly easy to do, better for you and saves money. Not to mention the fact that you can customise it to whatever you fancy! 

Dough recipe Makes enough for 2 pizzas(adapted from Student Cookbook by Sam Stern)

• 450g strong white flour, plus a little extra
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 x 7g fast action dried yeast
• 300ml water
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Toppings:

•    Tomato purée
•    Edamame cheese, grated
•    Blue cheese, crumbled
•    Green, red and orange peppers, chopped 
•    Button mushrooms, chopped
•    Jalapeños   (you can use whatever you like however!)

Equipment:

•        Large bowl x 2
•        Cling film
•        Baking sheet lined with a little olive oil
•        Optional: Desk top whisk with the dough hooks attached
•        Sieve
•        Grater
•        Knife
•        Chopping board
•        Rolling pin

 1.    Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the sugar, yeast, water and oil. Work together using your hands. (Add a little extra flour if the dough is sticky.)

2.    Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes or place in a tabletop whisk with the dough hooks attached for 8 minutes.

3.    Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove for 1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size.

4.    Once proved knead for a further 2 minutes.

5.    Put the oven to 230c/400f/ gas mark 6.

6.    Cut the dough into 4 (freeze 2 of the doughs so you have some for another day) and roll out into a thin base on the lightly oiled baking sheet.

7.    Leave the dough in a warm place to rise for 10 minutes. Cover with cling film.

8.    Spread a little of the tomato puree onto the base of the pizza and spread your desired toppings.

9.    Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the base is crispy and the cheese is melted. Serve hot or eat cold.  

Enjoy your pizza and have a good weekend!

Fat Friday #10 Pumpkin and Cheese Muffins

October=Pumpkin Season. That's one of the facts of life. It happens every year. Its just all over the place. Pumpkin all over the place... Its not one to argue with a fun tradition. For this weeks Fat Friday, we're going savoury. These muffins are an acquired taste and are best served from the oven while there still warm :)  Don't forget I'm at the Cake and Bake show tomorrow, I'll tweet as I go!

(Penny Note:You'll have some pumpkin puree leftover, so why not make some Spiced Pumpkin Syrup for your coffee?)

Recipe: Makes 12 Pumpkin and Goats Cheese Muffins (Recipe Adapted from Muffins Galore by Catherine Atkinson)

• 300g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• 100g goats cheese, diced
• 4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• 225g pumpkin puree (I used about half a can of Libby's)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 150ml natural yoghurt

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Jug
• Cupcake Tin filled with 12 muffin cases
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Wooden spoon

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/Gas Mark 6. Line the cupcake tin with muffin cases. 
 2. Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl.

3. Stir in the goats cheese. 

4.Chop 2 tablespoons of the pumpkins seeds, and add to the flour mixture. Put the other 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds aside.

5. In a jug, whisk together the pumpkin puree, yoghurt, eggs and oil.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

7. Spoon the batter into the muffins cases, dividing it easily. Sprinkle the tops with the pumpkin seeds.

8. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and risen.
9. Cool in the tine for 10 minutes and then put on a wire rack. Serve warm with a side salad if you moonching this for lunch.

Caramelised Onion Tart (Pissaladiere)

Traditional, a pissaladiere is pizza-like based caramelised onion tart, topped with anchovies and olives, which is often served in Italy and France. The tart itself makes an excellent packed lunch or dinner (served with a salad). All I'm saying is give it a try, I know caramelised onions sounds like it will take ages to cook, and yes it does when you're starving, and the end result is worth the effort.

Serves 2 (or one greedy person-like me) (Recipe Adapted from Little Book of Lunch)

• 1/3 sheet puff pastry, you can used pre-made or make your own (if using pre-made puff pastry, remove from the freezer a day before)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• knob of butter (about a 1 tbsp)
• 1 large tbsp. dark brown sugar
• 2 spring thyme
• 6 anchovies
• 6 black olives
• A little milk for brushing
• a glass of water
• salt and pepper

Equipment Needed:

• Baking sheet lined with baking paper
• Frying Pan
• Wooden Spoon
• Pastry Brush
• Small bowl
• Glass
• Rolling Pin
• Fork
• Chopping board
• Knife

1.Turn the oven to 400f/200c/Gas Mark 6 and remove the pastry from the fridge. Grease and line your baking sheet.

2.Add the oil to the frying pan, place on medium heat and add the onions. Stir occasionally.
3.Add the butter, sugar, salt and pepper to the onions. Add the water to create a saucy consistency and to prevent burning.
4.Add the thyme and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep topping up the water occasionally and adding it to the pan.

Once the butter, sugar, salt and pepper has been added, the colour should start changing:

 

After 6 minutes

After 15 minutes

After 20 minutes

Ta-Duh! Done! Brown colour and soft onions that have reduced in size.

5.Meanwhile, roll out the puff pastry to fit your baking sheet. Trim or cut to fit. Place on the baking sheet and fold over the sides about 1cm to create an edge. Prick (or if you want to be all expert and pastry about 'dock') the base with a fork to let the steam out and prevent rising.
6.When the onion are soft and a dark brown colour (as seen in the last onion picture), take off the heat and spoon the mixture onto the pastry base taking care no to go over the 1cm edges. Smooth this with a knife.

7.Place the anchovies on top with a criss-cross pattern and add the olives in the middle of the pattern.

8.Brush the edges (with a pastry brush, not an old paintbrush. Don't worry its my version of a pastry brush so its clean.) with milk for a nice colour and bake for 12 minutes, until the pastry is crispy and golden.

Variation:

Ok if you're not a fan of anchovy or olives then that's fine. You can make a nice alternative by skipping out the thyme during cooking and crumbling over 50g feta cheese and THEN adding the thyme by sprinkling it on top.

Candied Bacon Cupcakes (The first sweet and savory cupcake on this blog)

I'm a firm believer in sweet cupcakes, the clue is in the name. CUPCAKE. It's a cake. Cakes are sweet!

So this is why I felt at one point, that savoury cupcakes just don't work. But there is a growing trend in savoury cupcakes, with strange and wonderful ingredients. 
Often there, were times when I have to stand up and shout: "NO! I do traditional sweet cakes! Not crazy sushi tuna with wasbi buttercream! No! What ever happened to a good quality chocolate cupcake?! NO! DON'T RUIN CUPCAKES OK?"
....
As the years have gone by my opinion is slowly beginning to change. I do believe in experimenting. Thinking about it from a chef-y point of view, it can lead to some amazing discoveries. Like peanut butter and jelly (jam to us in the UK), who would have thought to combine the two? I mean maybe a sushi cupcake is a little over the top (if you find a sushi cupcake or happen to make one please post the link underneath and it will be something to laugh about later on). In any case, here's my take on the sweet and savory cupcake, cant beat bacon and chocolate so together there a match made in food goodness.  

Candied Bacon (recipe adapted from The Three Kitcheneers  )

·       450g thick cut bacon (about 12 slices)

·       150g dark brown sugar

·       1 tsp cinnamon

·       A  pinch of cayenne pepper 

For the Cupcakes (recipe adapted from Cupcake Heaven Magazine):

·       150g unsalted butter, room temperature

·       150g caster sugar

·       ½ tsp vanilla extract

·       3 large eggs

·       150g self raising flour

·       ½ of the candied bacon, chopped

Dark Chocolate frosting (recipe adapted from Cupcake Heaven Magazine):

·       150g unsalted butter, room temperature

·       285g icing sugar, sieved

·       25g cocoa powder, sieved

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, sieved

Equipment:

·       Wire rack x 2

·       A sheet of spare baking sheet

·       Baking sheet or baking tray covered with foil

·       Electric hand whisk

·       Chopping board

·       Sharp knife

·       Bowl 1x small, 1x big

·       Sieve

·       12 holed muffin tray lined with 10 cupcake papers

·       Measuring jug

·       Fork

·       Metal spoon

·       Piping bag or palette knife

1.    Preheat oven to Gas Mark4/ 180c/350f . Line a 12 holed muffin tray with cupcake papers. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2.    Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and cayenne in a small bowl.

3.    Place bacon on a wire rack over an aluminium covered baking sheet and sprinkle the sugar mix on top of the bacon. Patting down as you go.

4.     Place the bacon in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. (Bake longer if needed, as not all bacon is the same thickness) Once caramelised, let cool on another wire rack for about 30 minutes. (Don’t be tempted to start eating the bacon goodness, there’s a serious burn risk with hot sugar )

5.     Chop the bacon up as thinly as you can.

 

6.    To start the cupcakes, place the butter, sugar and vanilla extract into a bowl and beat the mixture with an electric hand whisk until it becomes light and fluffy.

7.    Lightly, beat the eggs in a jug then slowly add to the mixture whilst on medium speed, beating well after each addition.

8.    Sift the flour into the cake mix and add ½ of the chopped bacon, and fold in using a metal spoon until just combined.

9.    Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, until 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 mins.

10. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack until completely cool.

11.For the buttercream: Place the butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper and vanilla into a bowl and using a hand-held whisk beat slowly. Once the ingredients are beginning to combine, turn up the speed of the electric whisk and beat the frosting until light and fluffy.

12.  Pipe or spread the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream and garnish with ½ of the chopped candied bacon.

So that's my first attempt at sweet and savory cupcake. 
Have an excellent weekend

Happy New Year and Pizza Chunk Biscuits

Happy 2014 baking lovers! I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas, a happy new year and a hazy hangover recovery on the 1st of January. 

This is a very delayed post, it has been a crazy busy Christmas and New year. I just got back from Dorset after spending the New Year with my boyfriend and his family. 

Which was a earthing experience, spending the new year with a guy that you've been with for almost 3 years. Yeah we've been able to stand each other for that long! The fact is our endless love of food and stuffing our faces has kept our love strong. 

I'm joking darling. But we are obsessed with food. 

Then I caught a horrid cold just after New Year, so I've been snuggled up with a hot chocolate set that I got for Christmas trying to recover before going back to uni, and so all the posts are all delayed. 

My Bad...

So back to the recipe below, this a competition entry for Slow Food on Campus Portsmouth. The object of the competition was to use grana padano cheese in a recipe. Of course it had to be something to do with baking. Bring in the Pizza Chunk Biscuits! A whole pizza flavour in a single biscuit. Anyone in the UK can enter, if you would like to enter please email:

Your name, your age, your email address and phone number (and twitter username if you'd like to be featured on twitter) to sfoc@upsu.net  

This recipe is also featured on the Slow Food on Campus Portsmouth blog 

Recipe: Makes around 24-30 (Adapted from Cookies Galore by Jacqueline Bellefontaine)

·       150g unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       180g Plain flour, sifted

·       25g grated grana padano cheese

·       20g grated mature cheddar cheese

·       1 tablespoon tomato paste

·       25g sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

·       1-2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs

·       1 egg yolk

·       1 tablespoon water

Equipment:

·       Food processor

·       Bowl

·       Sieve

·       Teaspoon

·       Tablespoon

·       Baking paper

·       Baking sheet

·       Rolling pin

·       Fork/pastry

·       Wire rack

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas Mark 4.

Step 2. Put all the ingredients together in a food processor and blitz!

2.    Put all the ingredients into a food processor and process, using the pulse button until the mixture just come together.

Step 3. Roll out dough in between bits of baking paper

3.    Roll out the dough between sheets of baking paper to a large rectangle shape.

Step 4. Place on a baking sheet

4.    Remove the top piece of baking paper and lift the dough, using the bottom paper, on to a baking sheet. Leave the bottom paper in place. Using fork to pastry wheel, mark lightly into squares or bars.

5.    Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.

6.    Cool on a wire rack on the baking paper and then break into pieces along the perforations.

Have a great weekend!

Mad Hatter Tea At Sanderson Hotel

As mentioned  in a previous blog post, I took my mum for a 50th birthday to a Mad Hatter Tea at the Sanderson Hotel in Goodge Street London. 
I have been lucky enough to go to a Mad Hatter Tea with my friend Naomi for her 21st Birthday, which I knew my mum would enjoy.
When walking to the hotel, it looks like it's hidden, almost in disguise as on the outside it looks like a office building. It adds to the mystic and the intrigue.
Entering the hotel, the door was swiftly opened for us both.
Along the marble corridor was the reception and to the right was the modern, slick, very cosmopolitan bar. 

The Cake Stand on the outside terrace.

We were led to the outside terrace, which was busy but not overcrowded or closed in. It was open, airy and yet well covered. 
We were shown to our seats and this was the moment when the head waiter revealed that we were going to have. He pointed to the book perched on top of a jewellery box. The book contained the menu, which described the delights of the afternoon.
I was struck by the designs of the mis en place, the cutlery, plates, cups and saucers. Quirky, fun and whimsical are the words that came into my head when I examined the china designed by Luna and Curious.

Plates Designed by Luna and Curious

The staff were polite and welcoming and took the time to explain about the 3 bottles on our table labelled Apple Pie, Rubarb and Custard and Mint Choc Chip. 

Mum reading the menu. The loose tea leaves in the glass bottles.

These were loose tea leaves which were served in traditional tea pot and strainer. We had unlimited refills and managed to try them all, each really tasted like desserts. However, I would say that the Mint Choc Chip tea was my personal favourite.

Me pouring tea

Once the cake stand had arrived and we were presented with a selection of goodies, we started from the bottom to the top. We couldn't wait to get stuck in!

The Cake Stand.

The Bottom Tier. From left to right- Various sandwiches, savoury scones, drink me bottle, sweet scones.

The Savoury bits-Quiche in top left and savoury scones.

We started with the savoury bits. The sandwiches were had main components baked into the bread and were rolled into circles rather then cut into squares or triangles. Our sandwich selection included: ham on mustard and sun dried tomato bread, smoked salmon with lemon butter and dark rye bread, egg mayo and watercress served on sea-salt bread and cucumber and chive cream cheese on bread. Some of the flavours were subtle such as the lemon butter and some were even lost such as the salt bread but all were beautifully presented and were mouth-wateringly tasty. We moved onto the quiche which I believe was a mushroom quiche. It was light, not overpowering and adorable! Look how tiny it is!! Next we had the savoury scone that was laced with mozzarella cheese and spinach, which was served with creamy herb butter. 

The Savoury Tier

Next we had the sweet cranberry scones slattered with clotted cream and strawberry jam. The scones had a crumbly pleasant texture, this contrasted with the smooth clotted cream and jam. 

The Top Tier with the carrot meringue and strawberry and cream marshmallows

I must say I didn't get the strawberry and cream flavour in the mushroom marshmallows, I just tasted marshmallow, which I guess is vanilla. The meringue carrots were well made and disappeared like magic on the tongue, I could have eaten a plateful!

The Melting Mango Cheesecake and Raspberry Victoria Sponge

I have never been a huge fan of cheesecake, I mean I haven't really found one that I truly like. I loved mango it really burst on the tongue  but I wasn't a fan of this cheesecake. I want to make it clear there was nothing wrong with the cheesecake. I have issues with all cheesecakes . 

The Three layered drink me bottle.

The 'Drink Me' bottle with layers with 3 fruity layers including pancotta, tropical fruits and I think hints of coconut. It was such a laugh trying to tell the difference between the flavours and drinking through the straw.

The Middle Tier.

The Clock Cake was simple yet divine. It was a traditional Victorian sponge layered with sharp raspberries and freshly whipped cream. The cake was moist and a sweet pleasure. 

The Macha Green tea chocolate cup.

The Macha Green tea chocolate cup which was the hero of the day for me.

My hero of the whole day was the macha green tea with a chocolate mousse served in a chocolate tea cup. The green tea mousse was just the end of perfect afternoon tea. The dark chocolate was crisp but didn't provide a bitter after-taste as the green tea mousse provided just enough sweetness to counter it. 

Mum's Birthday Platter.

The whole afternoon was perfectly rounded and was made exceptional by the staff who even made the effort to wish my mum a happy birthday by providing a mini raspberry cake that had white chocolate script:
Happy 50th Birthday Mum

Mum said it herself: I have had a perfect birthday. It's been special.

A very happy mum!

Wondering if it's for you?
What to Expect: A happy friendly welcome, high quality food with a twist and personalised service if requested.
Occasion: Needs to be special birthday or a good catch up with a good friend. Maybe even a surprise romantic gesture.  
Tips: If it's a birthday or an anniversary when booking mention it, they can provide a special dessert plate. 
Price: £35 (not including 10% Service Charge)

Go with: Mum, sister, good friend and group of friends or a date

But try not to look as scared as I was when drinking tea!
Bake On!