Fat Friday #17 Autumn Strudel

Welcome to that time of the week! It's Fat Friday! This weeks recipe is a great recipe to do with a friend, as you'll need some help with the strudel pastry. Its tons of fun to stretch and play with!

Recipe: Makes 4 large or 8 small strudels

Strudel Pastry:
·       250g Plain flour, sieved
·       1 egg
·       30ml vegetable oil
·       25g melted butter, plus a little extra
·       113ml water
·       100g poppy seeds

Spiced Apples:

·       3 apples cored, peeled and cut into chunks
·       20g raisins
·       20g apricots cut into pieces
·       100g granulated sugar
·       30g water
·       A pinch of cinnamon

Equipment:
·       Chopping Board
·       Saucepan
·       Wooden Spoon
·       Measuring Jug
·       Teaspoon
·       Tablespoon
·       Timer
·       Baking sheet lined with silicone paper
·       Pastry Brush
·       Fork
·       Loaf tin lined with silicone paper
·       Knife

Apple Filling

1.Place all of the filling ingredients in a saucepan and cook until apples are cooked through and the mixture is slightly mushy.
2.Put aside in bowl to cool and place into the strudel pastry.

Strudel pastry

1.Sieve the flour into a bowl.
2.Add the egg, oil, water and butter and mix with your hands to form a dough.
3.Knead for 5 minutes until elastic.
4.Rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
5.Once rested, roll the pastry out on a floured surface until ½ inch thick.
6.Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3/ 170c/325f
7.Stretch the dough by hand until it is as thin as paper.
8.Brush the pastry with a little melted butter

9.Cut the pastry into long oblongs. Spoon in the apple filling across a little of the pastry and roll into a cracker shape.
10.Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
11.Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes

What other flavours do you like in strudel?

Baking Basics 101: Blind Baking Pastry

Its Baking Basics 101! Sorry its been a little while since I've done a baking basics, I've been waiting for the appropriate moment in pastry class to sharpen my skills. This week its blind baking. This method is used to pre-cook pastry cases and avoid the dreaded soggy bottom!

Ingredients list:
Use the following recipes:
Pate Brisee (sweet pastry ideal for tarts)
Short Crust Pastry (for a quiche)
Pate Sucre (Crisper sweet pastry)

Equipment:

·Baking beans
·Baking sheet lined with silicon paper
·Cling film
·Fork
·Appropriate sized baking ring

Method
1.Make the dough according to the recipe.
2Preheat oven to the appropriate temperature.
3.Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, until about 2 mm thick.
4.Line the metal cases with the dough and roughly chop any remaining edges. Prick the dough base lightly with a fork this allows the steam to escape.
5.Place a little clingfilm into the dough cases and fill with baking beans.
6.Blind bake for 18 minutes or until completely cooked through.
7.Take the baking beans out of the tart, check the base to see if a little soggy. If it is bake a little longer to dry the cases out.
8. Fill the case with your chosen filling and bake according to recipe.

So that's it pastry fans, do you have a different method for baking blind?

Fat Friday #16 White Treacle Tart

*In cockney accent* "Alright treacle? Its Fat Friday. Fancy a bit of treacle for my treacle?" ... Ok lets just get on with it. Happy Fat Friday and happy baking! (Again sorry about the lack of pictures, its pastry class moment again...)

 

Ingredients:

For the pate sucre

·260g plain flour, plus a little extra
·100g icing sugar, plus a little extra
·30g ground almonds
·125g unsalted butter
·3 eggs, 1 egg yolk to wash the bottom of the tart
·1 tsp milk

For the white treacle filling:

·60g unsalted butter
·1 egg
·1 egg yolk
·3 tbsp double cream
·6g salt
·450g golden syrup
·120g white bread crumbs

Equipment:
·Saucepan
·Whisk
·Mixing bowl
·Fork
·Wooden spoon
·Sieve
·Rolling pin
·Knife
·9 inch baking ring
·Baking sheet
·Baking beans
·Cling film

For the pate sucre:

1.Place the flour, icing sugar, almonds and butter in a mixing bowl, rub the mixture together.
2.Add the 2 eggs and mix well. Cover and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3.Preheat oven to 180c/350f/ Gas Mark 4.
4.Dust the work surface with icing sugar. Roll out the pastry to about 2mm thick.
5.Line the tart ring with the pastry, letting it hand over the sides. Cover with cling film and fill the tart base with baking beans.
6.Bake blind for 20 minutes or until the case is cooked through and lightly golden. Remove the baking beans and cling film.
7.Brush the bottom of the tart with a little egg yolk to crisp up the bottom.
8.Place the tart back in the oven for 5 minutes to crispy up the base.

For the filling:

1.Melt the butter, cream and golden syrup in a saucepan until liquid.
2.Once melted put in a separate bowl to cool. Whisk in the eggs a little at a time.
3.Mix in the breadcrumbs into the liquid ingredients.

To Finish:

1.Pour the treacle mixture into the tart case and bake for 20 minutes on Gas Mark 4/180c/350f.

 

Penny's Top Ten Tips #8 Surviving the Gym

Welcome to Penny's Top Ten Tips, its the 8th one! Sorry there has been a bit of a delay with the T.T.T, but lets not hesitate with this one. Lets begin... 

1. Wear something comfortable-
While exercising its best to wear some comfortable shoes, comfort top and trousers, etc. Oh, and a good sports bra really is helpful. No one wants to see your jubblies bouncing around while on the treadmill.

2. Avoid wearing make-up-
Your going to be sweating... do you really want to have a melty make-up face? No. Avoid the slap and go au natural...make-up wise... 

3. Stay hydrated-
Its common sense really. Stay hydrated between exercise.

4. In your gym bag...-
Water, towel, deodorant, a small towel and a mp3, if your a podcast/music lover.

5. Don't be intimidated-
People aren't looking at you or judging you. Get that in your mind. Everyone is at the gym for the same reason-to exercise and improve their health. The best thing to do is to do the step below...

6. Focus on your exercise-
Ignore the other people around you and focus on what your doing. Not what you look like or what your listening to your mp3 player, just on your exercise.

7. Speak to the trainers-
Some gym trainers can be really intimidating. I've been to a gym that has been really supportive, helped me with the machines and gave me some general advice about fitness and so made going to the gym less of a chore. I had to transfer to another gym because I moved, I was given a 5 minute tour and sent on my way... I did not receive another interaction and was given a guest pass to use because I my pass... "was delayed/at the printers/are you sure you've signed up to THIS gym?" I swiftly ended my membership. If you don't feel comfortable chatting to the trainers at the gym or are treated badly? Leave. Its not worth the money.

8. Push yourself (to an extent)-
You'll hear people pushing themselves to get the best out of their exercise and I do agree, to some extent. I do believe in pushing yourself, but if you have a medical problem or back problems then the only one who will suffer is you at the end of the workout.

9. Make a little goal -
Rather than focusing on the end goal, focus on the little goals like beating the number of miles you do while on the bike. If you train yourself to focus on little goals, it will make the gym less tedious and draw attention away from the clock.  

10. Reward yourself-
After you've been to the gym, you will have a mixture of feelings: tired, elated, relieved and proud and maybe some others. My point is, if the gym session was very tiring reward yourself with something a relaxing bath or shower, a face mask or reading a good book. Try and avoid something food related because that can reverse the work you've done at the gym!


Do you gym it? Is it a chore or a pleasure going to the gym?

Fat Friday #15 Apple Crumble Tartlets

Welcome to Friday and on Cupcakes, Cake and Passion its Fat Friday. The day were food rules the day. This week its an autumnal dinner party dessert which can be made a little in advance. The pastry is called pate brisee, which is a short crust French sweet pastry. You can put any fruit in the tartlets, use any fruit you would use in a crumble. I have to apologise for the lack of pictures. When I'm in the middle of pastry class, I do forget to take pictures. I'm going to try to remember, so my bad!

 

Recipe: Makes 4 (Recipe provided by my pastry tutor)

Pate Brisee:

·250g soft flour

·205g very cold butter

·5g salt

·55g ice cold water

Apple Mixture:
    ·3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

·125g blackberries

·2 tablespoons cinnamon

·50g sugar

Caramel:
    · 200g sugar
    ·25ml water
    ·100g double cream
    ·100g butter

Crumble mixture:

    ·300g flour
    ·200g butter
    ·100g sugar

Equipment:

· Bowl
· Saucepan
·Jug
·Wooden spoon
·Rolling pin
·Knife
· Chopping board
·4 small round tins
·Baking beans
·Baking sheet lined with silicon paper
·Cling film
·Fork

For the Pastry

1.Rub the flour, salt and butter together until just combined. If you over work the mix, the butter will mix too much.  
2.Add the iced water and bring the dough together.
3.Once the dough has been brought together wrap in a neat parcel and chill in the fridge while you make the other parts of the dish.
4.Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/180c/350f
5.Cut the chilled dough into 4 pieces. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, until about 2 mm thick.
6.Line the metal cases with the dough and roughly chop any remaining edges. Prick the dough base lightly with a fork.
7. Place a little clingfilm into the dough cases and fill with baking beans.
8.Blind bake for 18 minutes or until completely cooked through.
9.Take the baking beans out of the tart and bake a little longer to dry the cases out.

Apple filling:

1.Peel, core and cut the apple into the chunks.
2.In a saucepan add the water, apple, sugar, blackberries and cinnamon and cook on a medium until the apples soften to a very soft consistency.
3.Put aside to cool.

Caramel:

1.Put the water and sugar in a pan, allow to boil until the colour changes from clear to a golden brown. Don’t be tempted to stir.
2. Once the colour has changed add the double cream and butter. Mix in.

Crumble topping:
1.Pre heat oven to Gas Mark 4/180c/350f .
2.Rub the flour, sugar and butter together.
3.Spread onto a lined baking sheet and bake for a 12 minutes.

To serve:

1.Place the baked tartlet on a plate.
2.Spoon a little of the caramel in the tartlet.
3.Then add the cooked apples and sprinkle a little of cooked crumble on top. Eat let there's no tomorrow.

Insta-Salmon! (Easy Salmon Dinner with green beans, spinach and white wine)

This meal is very easy to make and its suitable for freezing. Just ensure that you get the meal out from the freezer, in the morning and leave in the fridge to defrost for the day. You can serve with cooked new potatoes or fries, if you want to be really naughty.

Recipe: Serves 1 hungry student (Student Cookbook by Sam Stern)

• 1 fillet of salmon weighing 225g
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 6 black olives
• 4 cherry tomatoes
• (Optional: 2 tablespoons white wine) 
• Pinch a of salt and pepper
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• Olive oil
• 50g Spinach
• 50g Green beans

Equipment:

• Foil
• Oven
• Tablespoon
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Baking Sheet

1. Chop the garlic and cherry tomatoes.  
2. Cut one piece of foil per fish meal. It needs to be large enough to take all the food items plus a little extra.
3. Lay the foil out on a baking tray.

4.Scrunch the edges up slightly and place the fish in the middle.Season.

5.Cover with the garlic, lemon juice and oil.

6.Arrange the potatoes, spinach, green beans, olives and tomatoes around the fish.
7. Drizzle over a little wine if using or more lemon juice and olive oil.
8.Pull the foil up and over the meal. Pinch the edges firmly to close.

9. Put in fridge for later or bake in the oven at 200c/ 400f/Gas Mark 6 10-15 minutes.