Cheese and Tomato Quiche

With Christmas coming just around the corner, many people are getting their baking sheets ready for Yuletide baking and forgetting the savoury treats for those that don't have a sweet tooth. 

Recently I was 'told off' for not making savoury dishes. So, luckily in my pastry class we ended up making short pastry which can be used in both sweet and savoury tarts.

This recipe is super easy and is so tasty. The custard filling can be made with onions, peppers, or whatever vegetable you like! Also if you like a little heat, try some cajun seasoning or chopping up a little chilli and mixing it into the custard (but don't go nuts with the chilli!). 

Cheese and Tomato Quiche

Recipe: Short Pastry

•        200g Soft Flour (plus extra for greasing tray)
•        50g Marg/Butter (plus extra for greasing tray)
•        50g Lard
•        50 ml water
•        Pinch of salt

Equipment:

•        Sieve
•        Wooden Spoon
•        Bowl
•        Measuring Jug
•        7 inch ring
•        Baking sheet
•        Rolling pin
•        Pastry brush
•        Ruler
•        Knife
• Baking beans
• Silicone paper

1.    Rub the fat into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs

2.    Make a well and pour in water.

3.    Mix ingredients to a smooth paste.

4.    Rest in fridge for 10-15 minutes.

5.    Warm the dough a little by rolling out the dough to 3-4 mm thick.

6.    Butter and flour the ring and tray. Don't use the silicone paper at this stage. Got that? NO PAPER!

7.    With finger push around the edges of the ring. Use a piece of dough to push it in even further.

8.    Trim the dough so that there is a little edge around the tart and let it rest in fridge for 10 minutes. You dont want to trim the tart so you have a neat edge yet. This type of pastry has a reputation of shrinking whilst cooking.  

9.    After resting put in oven at 160c/ 325f/ Gas Mark 3 for 15 mins with silicone paper and baking beans in. If the pastry is still soft it's underdone, so take the paper and beans out and let it cook for a further 5 mins in oven. It shouls be pale but dry. The dryer the better.
10. Trim the tart of any excess pastry, so that it has a nice neat edge. Do this as soon as the tart comes out of the oven because its easier to cut and cut with a serrated knife as it makes the job tons easier. 
11. Make the custard filling (see below) and fill the tart until it's almost full. Cook for 15 mins or until the top is slightly golden. When the tart comes out of the oven it should wobble a little but not liquidy or super stiff. It will set as it comes to room temperature. Thats it! Enjoy hot or cold. :D

Recipe: Savoury Custard

•        225g Milk
•        11/2 Eggs
•        100g Cheese
•        Half of a tomato
•        Pinch of salt
•        Pinch of pepper
•        Pinch of paprika

Equipment:

•        Measuring Jug
•        Fork
•        Grater
• Knife
• Chopping board

1.    Whisk the egg and milk together.
2.    Add the seasonings and mix again.
3.Chop the vegetables and grate the cheese
4.    Put the cheese and tomato into the short paste case
5.    Pour on the milk mix when near the oven to avoid spillage.

Bake On!
Penny 

The Basic Equipment List or "Where do I even start?!"

Very often people are put off baking because:'I have no idea what I need, where do I start!?'
So here's my list of basic's to get you started:

• Scales- This is the single most important piece of equipment that will ever use. Don't attempt to bake without a set of scales. Digital scales can weight out ingredients in Metric, Imperial and liquids. Personally I own a set of digital scales because its accurate and very easy to use.
• Measuring Spoons- A set of spoons including a 1/2 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon, teaspoon, tablespoon and a dessert spoons. They come in great quirky designs but make sure they have all the correct measurements. 
• Transparent Measuring Jug- Make sure that it is heatproof, pyrex is good. It's helpful if the jug shows both metric and imperial measures. 
• Mixing Bowls- In a range of different sizes for mixing ingredients and for storing ingredients before use.
• Mixing Utensils- I'm talking about the classic wooden spoon, however I was told my Nana, (My baking knowledge hub) to use a metal spoon when folding egg whites into a mixture as it doesn't flatten them as much as a wooden spoon. Also having a rubber spatula is a brilliant as  it scraps the cake batter away from the sides of bowls. Other mixing utensils include a whisk or an electric hand whisk which I often use to help speed up the batter. 
• Rolling Pin- Very often I've been making biscuits/cookies and I need to roll out my dough and there's nothing more frustrating then having to squish your dough with your hands.
• Sieve- Many recipes will call for 'sieving the flour into a bowl'. Without a sieve your batter will be lumpy and gross. 
• Free Standing Mixer- This piece of equipment is such a time saver and it can be used to beat, whisk, whip and knead allsorts of mixtures.
• Baking Trays and Tins- Cheap tins don't the job, you run the risk of warping and buying all new tins again. Invest in high quality tins and baking trays which will last. Remember to read a recipe to make sure you've the right sized tray/tin. 

With this list you can't really go wrong. These are the real basic's that you'll need to start baking. Without them baking is going to be struggle.

Bake On!

Penny

The Hidden Heart Cake

Right first real post to do with baking! Woo!
I do my fair share of reading baking and cooking blogs, but I saw this oh so cool Hidden Heart tutorial from i am baker.

It was a case of what occasion I need to make such a cool cake? Then I get invited to a friends birthday dinner. Perfect!
I made her a birthday cake that I know that she would love!
It was the first ever time that I made this cake and I've NEVER made a layer cake like this. So, first time effort plus never made a cake like this, I'd like to think deserve a little pat on the back.
Here is the batter photo's. I used a victoria sandwich sponge recipe which turned out really light and delicious. (This is at the bottom of the post.)

I made 4 cakes (the recipe below makes 2 cakes if you split them into 2 tins. I used 7 inch tins.)

After all the cakes were cooled I popped them in the freezer to firm up and make it easier to level. Below, are the pictures of leveled cakes. Of course I had a cake lever to give me a hand.

Next you need I put a thick layer of buttercream between two of the sponges. This is one of the most important lessons ever: double check you've got the right ingredients. I say this because I ran out of ingredients to make my own buttercream, so I had to use buttercream from a can, homemade tastes nicer. So what's that rule again? double check you've got all the right ingredients.

Once the cakes were firmly 'glued' together with the buttercream, by being in the freezer for a couple of hours, I tied erm... dental floss to two toothpicks to create a guideline around both cakes. (I couldn't find string, dental floss did the trick.)

Next was the super hardest bit, the carving out. One cake needed to have a 'V' in the middle and the other needed to have a volcano and canal (see below. However, I can see that now it was too domed shaped rather then volcano shaped.) I find the best thing to do is carve with a knife and then  spoon out any extra bits.

Next I crumbed up the red velvet cake, and then filled it into the carved gaps with the white cake.

Next both cakes went into the freezer overnight with a thin layer of buttercream also called a crumb coat. Then the fun part, the decorating. Essentially I covered the whole cake in vanilla buttercream and used some basic piping skills to do the edges. Then dyed the sugarpaste red and stamped out letters and butterflies. Then I added some the leftover red velvet crumbs around edges.

You know, it looks like a pretty birthday cake.

The point is, that the birthday girl loved the cake.

Personally, I thought it looked more like a smile then a heart. But not bad for a first try. But the top layer, the 'volcano and canal' carved cake needs to reassemble a volcano rather then a dome shape. Remember to try this for yourself check out i am baker's tutorial.

Recipe time:

Victoria sandwich from "Saved by Cake" by Marian Keyes 

•        200g unsalted butter
•        200g caster sugar
•        4 eggs
•        1 tea spoon vanilla extract
•        200g self raising flour

1.    Butter two 7cm tins and line the bases with baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 190c/375f/Gas Mark 5.
2.    Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, beating between each addition. The mix may curdle a little but add a tablespoon of flour if this happens.
3.    Stir in the vanilla extract and sieve in the flour and fold through.
4.    Divide the mix between tins and bake for about 20 minutes.

 Red velvet cake from "Cakes Galore" by Valerie Barrett

•        75g unsalted butter, soften
•        300g caster sugar
•        2 eggs, beaten
•        1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•        225g plain flour
•        3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
•        1 ½ teaspoon red food colour paste
•        125ml buttermilk
•       1 tablespoon white vinegar
•        a pinch of salt 
• 
  

1.     Preheat the oven to 180c/350c/ gas mark 4. Grease and flour two 23cm round sandwich cake tins.
2.     For the cake, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, then beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. 
3.     Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a separate bowl. Stir in the food colour paste into buttermilk.
4.     Alternately add the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the creamed mixture. Stir in the vinegar, mixing well. 
5.     Pour the mixture into the prepared tins, dividing it evenly. Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins or until firm to touch. 
6.     Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

I hope you give this try!

Bake on!

Penny