Great Autumnal Recipes

If your looking for recipes to try during this season of change, or if you want to try something fun when the nights are drawing in, try these fun cakes and bakes.

Apple Juice Cupcakes

Pizza Chunk Biscuits

Banoffee Cupcakes

Pissaladiere

 Apple Cake

Soda Bread

Dutch Apple Tart

Chocolate Orange Tart

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

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!

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!