Fat Friday #18 Rice Pudding Terrine served with a Salted Liqorice Parfait and Bitter Chocolate Sorbet

Welcome to Novembers last Fat Friday. This quite an usual dessert, it sounds like something that would grace the table of a nice little kitch restaurant. Well for now it will grace this blogs Fat Friday #18. I was not convinced to start with, but tasting the finished dessert was sweet, salty and creamy all in one. Its a great dinner party dessert and will impress dinner guests. Tuille is a type of very thin biscuit that can be shaped as soon as it comes out of the oven. However, in this recipe they are kept straight for height. Also for future reference, a parfait is a type of mousse and as Donkey says: "Everybody like parfait!"

Recipe: Makes 1 terrine, which will serve 6-8 people (recipe kindly  provided by my pastry tutor).

Rice Pudding:

·       50g sugar

·       75g risotto rice

·       350ml milk

·       100ml double cream, plus 100ml extra lightly whipped cream

·       1 ½ leaves gelatine

·       1 vanilla pod split lengthways

Pastry Cream:

·       100ml milk

·       75ml double cream

·       40g sugar

·       1 egg yolk

·       5g cornflour

Rice Tuilles

·       35g egg whites

·       40g icing sugar

·       100g reserved rice pudding

Salted Liquorice parfait

·       200ml double cream

·       100ml water

·       150g sugar

·       6 egg yolks

·       40ml liquorice essence

·       Fine sea salt

Bitter Chocolate Sorbet

·       750ml water

·       250ml milk

·       50g sugar

·       75ml glucose

·       100g cocoa powder

·       240g bitter chocolate

Equipment:

·       Saucepan

·       Rubber spatula

·       Bowl x 3

·       Blender

·       Pastry brush

·       Baking sheet

·       Whisk

·       Measuring jug

·       A square container that is suitable for freezing x 2

·  Ice cream machine

·  Fine sieve

 

For the rice pudding

1.    In a saucepan, simmer the pods, milk, cream, rice and sugar for 20 minutes until thick and creamy. 

2.    Remove from the heat and reserve 100g of the rice pudding for tuilles.  

3.    Place the gelatine in cold water until it is soft and add to the remaining rice pudding. Place both the rice puddings in the fridge to cool.

For the pastry cream:

1.    Bring the cream and milk to the boil.

2.    Whisk the egg yolk, sugar and flour.

3.    Combine the two mixtures and return to the pan until thickened. Leave to cool

For the rice tuille:

1.    Place the egg whites, sugar and rice pudding into a blender and puree to a smooth-ish texture.

2.    Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

3.    Brush onto a sill matt using a pastry brush into a thin strips and bake on gas mark 3/170c/ 325f for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

For the parfait:

1.    Whisk the cream to ribbon stage. So almost whipped but not quite there.

2.    Place the sugar and water into a pan and cook to a deep caramel.

3.    Whisk the egg yolks until pale.

4.    Once the caramel is ready, slowly add the eggs whilst whisking.

5.    Fold in the cream and essence and place into a square shaped container and freeze.

Bitter Chocolate sorbet:

1.    Place the water, milk, sugar and glucose in a pan and bring to the boil.

2.    Whisk the cocoa powder into the milk mixture and pour the hot liquid over the chocolate to melt it. Whisking as you go.

3.    Strain through a fine sieve and freeze in an ice cream machine.

To Serve:

1. Cut the rice pudding into a rectangle on a plate.
2. Cut the parfait into a rectangle shape and place directly place on top of the pudding. Make sure its not too thick.
3. Scoop a little of the ice cream and place on top of the parfait.
4. Quickly place a tuille biscuit on top. Nom.

So would you order this dish? What do you think of the combination?

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 #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.

Fat Friday #5 Mini American Style Pancakes

I'm working from a 10 year old laptop so forgive me if the font on the pictures are a little odd and I can't fix it, but I didn't want you readers to miss out on this weeks Fat Friday! I'm soon moving to Portsmouth, but had to leave tons of my stuff in London, including my laptop so editing is taking ages. But I'm not going to hold out on you guys so lets get straight to it. 

This weeks Fat Friday involves American style pancakes but there super mini pancakes!!! I was going to name these super kawaii mini pancakes because there so cute and teeny. If I did call them that I think the title picture would have looked like this:

Woah... I think this is how unicorns see the world. This picture is a little too sugar coated, even for me. I'll stick to the original image... 

These are so yummy and can be customised to suit your taste. You like whipped cream? Whip it on them. Chocolate sauce? Just slap it on. For me, its caramel brought back from France (Thanks Rob sugar ;) ). Wow that makes me sound so middle class...

These pancakes are pretty easy and quick to make. Since there mini ones they can be served as a breakfast or a dessert. As an extra added bonus they can be frozen for about a week in an air tight container with baking paper in between them. Defrost them in the fridge overnight for at least 6 hours. They won't be as good as fresh but can be heated gently in the microwave for a minute, depending on your microwave. 

Recipe: Serves 4 greedy people so watch your fingers (Recipe Adapted from the Student Cookbook by Sam Stern)

• 110g plain flour
• 50g melted butter, plus a little extra
• 2 large eggs, separated 
• 150ml milk
• 10g caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Your choice of topping: cream, raspberry sauce, whatever you like. 

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Jug
• Hand whisk/(Electric hand-whisk-if your too lazy to whisk egg whites by hand)
• Frying pan
• Sift
• Fork

1. Separate the eggs into two different bowls. 

2.Beat the yolks, milk and butter with a fork.  

3. Sift the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a separate bowl.

4. Add the wet mix slowly into the dry mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth.
5.Whisk the egg whites until fluffy and stiff. Fold into the pancake batter.

6.Brush a heated frying pan with melted butter and drop tablespoons of batter into the pan.

7. Leave room in between each one and cook until the bottoms are brown and it begins to bubble. Turn and cook until puffy and golden.

Have an epic weekend, enjoy the weather (even if its rainy) and Happy Baking!

Fat Friday Week 3: Easy French Toast

Its that's time of week again... Its Fat Fridays on Cupcakes, Cake and Passion. Check me out with being so consistent! I'm thinking of making this a regular thing now since, its been 1 and 2 weeks now. I'm getting a more organised and more consistent with posting, now that uni is finished *phew*. I've had so many ideas for the blog that I've adopted a little notebook to jot the ideas down before my sieve-y mind forgets. Right, back to this weeks Fat Friday recipe.

 

I'm packing up my stuff to move from London down to Portsmouth to move in with my boyfriend. How do pack an entire wardrobe in one case, hmm. I'll have to work that somehow. But this is why I'm going for an easy quick recipe that can be prepped, cooked and served in a matter of minutes.

 

Classic French Toast is something I thought I had never made before, that is, until I saw the recipe! Its eggy bread (a savoury stale bread dish), which is something my Grandad eats! So I'm guessing this isn't a modern idea. Anyways, French Toast (also known as Pan Perdu *I think that's how its spelt* *Checks Google* Yes that's the one) is made using stale bread. Using stale bread allows more of the batter to be absorbed and its a good way to avoid wastage. I believe its meant to be a breakfast dish, but it can be used as a dessert dish as well.

So if you've got a craving for something sweet and impressive and need to use the bread before it starts to get a little gross-French Toast is here to save the day!

Recipe: Serves 2 or 1 greedy person (Adapted really loosely from BBC Food Website)

• 2 free-range eggs
• 100ml Almond Milk
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 slices white bread
• 2 tablespoons butter, for frying
• Your favourite fruit  or topping (strawberries, raspberries or blueberries are nice)
• Honey, Maple syrup or Chantilly cream with a sprig of mint, is nice on top as well.

Equipment:

• Frying Pan
• Whisk
• Bowl
• Spatula
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Plate

1.Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the milk, icing sugar and cinnamon until well combined.

2.Soak the bread slices in the mixture

3.Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the soaked bread for 2-3 minutes on both sides or until crispy and golden. Be cautious, the batter may spit at you while frying. (Its because this batter has no manners. Don't take offense that's what its like.)

4.Remove the fried bread from the pan and drain on kitchen paper and set aside to cool a little.

 5.Chop up the fruit, if desired

 6. Arrange the warm toast, nicely, on the plate. Top with your favourite topping and stuff face.

 

Talk about indulgent breakfast! You'll be getting extra brownie points if you serve breakfast in bed.

 

Have a great weekend and Happy Baking!

Traditional Doughnuts

Hello and a great big welcome to Friday! Its not just Friday however, its Fat Friday! Where stuffing your face with food is encouraged. This week we're looking at doughnuts.

These are traditional jam filled doughnuts. Which are fluffy on the inside and have a little bite on the outside, thanks to the cinnamon sugar. I've chosen raspberry but feel free to add strawberry jam, custard or pastry cream. Doughnuts are easy-ish to make, the most difficult part is the cooking process. Doughnuts have a tendency to cook quickly and will float around all over the place. Also, hot oil is dangerous so this recipe isn't recommended for children. If you feel uncomfortable with hot oil, have someone who is more confident at cooking with it.
So with the health and safety out of the way, lets bake... I mean fry!

Ingredients: Will make 10 giant sized doughnuts, or 20 medium doughnuts (Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food Website)

• 500g strong white flour, plus a little extra
• 50g caster sugar
• 40g unsalted butter, melted
• 2 free-range eggs
• 2 x 7g sachets instant yeast
• 10g/¼oz salt
• 150ml/5fl oz warm milk
• 130ml/4½fl oz water
• 1 large jar smooth raspberry jam
• 300g sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• Loads of oil for frying (sunflower/vegetable)

Equipment:

• Deep fat fryer/Saucepan filled with oil
• Sieve
• Bowl
• Baking sheet x 2, one lined with flour and the other lined with sugar and cinnamon
• Disposable piping bag
• (Mixer with a dough hook attachment-Optional)
• Damp Tea-towel
• Spoon
• Slotted Spoon
• Small knife

 

1.Place all ingredients into a large bowl, holding back a 1/4 of the water and stir with your hands until a dough is formed. This will get messy, so please make sure your hands are clean.

2.Add the remaining water and knead the dough in the bowl for about 4 minutes. (Or you could mix with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook which is what I did).

3.Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. (Again, I used a dough hook on a stand mixer and mix for 10 minutes.)

4.Place the dough into a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for an hour. Make yourself a cup of tea, wash up or maybe watch a bit of TV.

5.The dough will have doubled in size. Tip the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface, and knead it a few times to knock the air out of it.

6.Divide the dough into 10/20 portions and shape each portion into a ball.

7.Place all balls onto a floured baking tray and allow to rise for an hour.

8.Preheat sunflower oil in a saucepan. Meanwhile get a baking sheet and mix the cinnamon and 300g sugar together on the tray.

9.Pop the doughnuts into the fat, cooking each side for about five minutes or until golden brown. Put around 3/4 in at a time to avoid them sticking

10. Remove the doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon and immediately roll into the sugared baking sheet.

11.Set aside and leave to cool.

12.When completely cold, cut into the side of the doughnut, reaching to the centre, this will be where the jam will go.

13.Spoon some smooth strawberry jam into a piping bag and pipe until full but not bursting.

What is your favourite jam filling? Want to share your Fat Friday food moment? Use the hashtag #fatfridays on Instagram and twitter.
Have a good weekend and happy baking (or frying..)!