Be My Valentine Brownies (Raspberry and Almond)

I wanted to create a special recipe to celebrate Valentine's Day. It simply had to involve chocolate and something red (to signify the heart). Strawberries wouldn't have worked in this bake, but raspberries, they are a perfect match with dark chocolate. Then it needed something else to give it that extra edge - a nut perhaps. I was going to side with walnuts - they are after all - good for the heart. But it didn't seem quite right. Then I settled on flaked almonds. Raspberry and almond are perfect bed fellows in a bake and so too are chocolate and almond, you find them in tarts and cakes the world over. So here they all happily join together in a Raspberry and Almond Brownie recipe for Valentine's Day.

Ingredients

125g Butter
200g Dark Chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)
175g Caster Sugar
125g Raspberries
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (or Vanilla Extract)
2 Eggs (lightly beaten)
150 g Plain Flour
50 g Flaked Almonds

Method

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (170 fan). Grease a 20cm x 30cm brownie tin. Line the base and sides with baking paper. Roughly chop the chocolate and butter and combined in a large saucepan and melt over a very low heat on the stove (stirring occasionally). Once melted - remove from the heat. Stir in the caster sugar, eggs and vanilla bean extract. Then stir in the the sifted flour and add the raspberries and almonds mixing carefully until combined. Spread the mixture evenly over the base of the baking tin.

Bake for 17-20 minutes. Check it at about 17 minutes - you don't want to overcook it. It should be just firm to touch in the middle. Remove and allow to cool in the tin.

Cut into squares and share with your loved one on Valentine's Day.

The Great Brixton Bake Off

Brixton's on the up! Everywhere you turn, you'll read that Brixton is fast becoming the food destination of choice for South Londoners. At the heart of this revolution is Brixton Village - the new hub of it all with Federation Coffee, the fabulous Breads Etc and Thai favourite Kaosarn, just some of the fantastic food options that everyone is raving about. To celebrate this, Saturday April 28th sees the launch of the Great Brixton Bake Off which promises home baked cakes, bread, biscuits and fruit pies. Stalls by local bakers will be selling their wares and stall holders are all entered into the Bake Off competition.  I have read that there will be special celebrity guest judges (as yet unannounced) who will select the best bakes and present the prizes (sponsored by local department store Morleys). Sadly, I read about this too late and was not able to get myself together to take a stall. Shame!

Head to Station Road in Brixton -  the venue for the weekly market
Saturday, 28th April 2012 from 10am-5pm
Judging takes place at 1pm 
Nearest tube: Brixton

Read more about the Great Brixton Bake Off here

The winning recipe from Baking Mad

 









Rhubarb Pie with almond pastry 
topped with a lattice crust

Ingredients:

250g Plain Flour

50 g Icing sugar

150 g Unsalted butter

2 large eggs yolks

A pinch of salt

1 tablespoon cold water

1 tsp vanilla extract

50 g Ground almonds

Plus 2 tablespoons of ground almonds (for pastry base)

800 g rhubarb

2 tablespoons of cornflour

100 g caster sugar

Juice of half a lemon

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon icing sugar

Crème Fraiche to serve.

1 x 20cm fluted pie tin with loose base.

Method

Turn oven to 150C.

Sift the flour, icing sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut the butter into pieces and rub this in. Stir in the ground almonds. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and some of the water, bringing the dough together. Break off about 1/4 and form into a small round disc, wrap in cling film. With the remaining dough, form into a round disc, and wrap this in cling film. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge or for speed for 15-20 minutes in the freezer.

Chop the rhubarb into 2cm pieces, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of caster sugar (from the 100g) and the juice of half a lemon and bake in a shallow dish covered with foil in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 160C. It’s done when just starting to soften. Do not overcook at this stage. Remove from oven and place to one side.

Turn oven to 180C

Grease the pie tin with a little butter (both the loose base and around the sides). Remove the large disc of dough from the freezer. Roll out on a floured surface until a little larger than the 20 cm loose bottomed tin. Lift the pastry using your rolling pin and carefully lay across the tin, pressing it into the base and sides. Remove the excess pastry by trimming with a knife or rolling pin. Prick the base of the pie with a fork in 3 or 4 places.

Lay baking paper to cover the pastry and fill with baking beans and blind bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, remove baking beans and coat the base with a little egg wash and bake for another 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of ground almond.

Mix the cornflour and 75 g caster sugar into the Rhubarb.  Place rhubarb into the pie case (as per picture).

Remove small disc of pastry and roll out flat, cut into 2 cm strips for lattice crust. Layer the lattice strips in a crisscross effect. 






Carefully egg wash the top and bake in the oven at 180 C for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove and present on a serving plate. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve with crème fraiche or ice cream.

The day I filmed Baking Mad on Channel 4

You may have heard via Twitter or Facebook that I was a contestant on Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard on Channel 4. The link to watch the show is at the bottom of this post. I hope you enjoy it. Here's the story behind the scenes.

Talking to camera before the bake

The bakers

The day I filmed Baking Mad was the culmination of much excitement, anticipation and lots of practice baking. To be honest I was a bit sick of rhubarb pie by the time I came to create my winning masterpiece. I applied to be on the show, hearing that they were looking for more men to bake. After a written application, I had a phone interview and then had to bake a cake and have a one-to-one interview with the production team. I got the call that very afternoon. So when I was given my category - sweet pies. I promptly conducted a straw poll of what pie to bake (amongst family and friends).  In my heart I was thinking it should be rhubarb or apple. I settled on rhubarb and am glad I did. It's quintessentially English and baked properly, balances sweet and tart in a pie - which I thought would appeal to Eric.

Filling the pie with rhubarb

Eric's watchful eye

So after a week's worth of practicing, I came down with flu. And before you say it - this wasn't man-flu - I had the shivers, fever, blocked nose, cough and was off my food. The morning of the show I felt rubbish, so dosed up on cold and flu remedies, I gathered my ingredients and tins and made my way to Cake Boy in Battersea. The film crew were great fun, the other contestants were really nice - nervous too. After a quick coffee - we got under way. There was lots of talking to camera and a few set up shots. The we got baking. We had just two hours, which is quite tough as you don't normally cook to a strict time limit when baking at home. Not everything went according to plan, the ovens didn't heat properly and the pastry didn't like the warmth from the additional lighting of the camera crew. I made a couple of fluff ups - my first roll out of pastry fell apart - thankfully, that was captured on camera. In a flash it was almost over. 10 minutes was called and my pie wasn't browning. I turned the oven up to 240 degrees - MAX. It browned-up and it came out with seconds to spare.

Creating the lattice crust

Rhubarb pie with almond pastry and lattice crust

There was no more to do than wait for Eric to judge. Presenting the pie to Eric was odd as he gave no feedback to you in person - he did speak to camera in private, which you see and he was complementary of my pie. Then he came out and delivered his verdict. I thought I had done well, but then I heard it. The winner is - Mark. Woo hoo. Pie triumph.

Waiting for the verdict

The winner takes it all

I stayed on to do the Masterclass with Eric himself, a Southern Chocolate Pie. I have had so many requests to bake this from friends. It's was a fabulous day and a great experience. I love it and hope you do too.

Tasting the mix

Southern Chocolate Pie

Watch Mark on Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard - 29th March 2012

In Australia and New Zealand?  Watch by clicking here !

 Or in the UK Click here to watch Baking Mad via You Tube

Caramel Cake Recipe

There are not enough recipes for Caramel Cake, most are from the States and I didn't find the ingredients or method satisfactory. I researched, experimented and came up with this. A take on a classic sponge with brown sugar to help create the caramel sponge and then to top it all off, made caramel and stirred in icing sugar for the buttercream icing. Delicious with a cup of tea and worked perfectly as a birthday cake.

Ingredients

·        225g/8oz butter (really soft)

·        225g/8oz light brown sugar

·        4 medium eggs

·        2 tsp vanilla extract

·        225g/8oz self raising flour

·        milk, to loosen

Method

1.     Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2.     Grease and line 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper.

3.     Cream the butter and the sugar together with an electric beater until light and fluffy.

4.     Slowly beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract.

5.     Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little extra milk if necessary, to create a batter with a soft dropping consistency.

6.     Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently smooth out with a spatula.

7.     Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8.     Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place onto a wire rack to cool.

9.     Sandwich the cakes together with the Caramel Buttercream.

Caramel Buttercream Icing

• 45g unsalted butter
• 70ml semi-skimmed milk
• 165g light, soft brown sugar
• 180g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp good-quality vanilla extract

1. Combine the butter, milk and brown sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and put on the hob over a high heat. Stirring continuously, bring the mixture to a boil. Allow it to boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and stir in half of the icing sugar.
2. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then add the rest of the icing sugar and the vanilla extract and stir until it thickens to the desired consistency. It will have a slightly runny consistency, which works well with this cake. If you leave it and it starts to set, place it for a few seconds in the microwave before beating again and, if necessary, add a little double cream.
3. I dusted this with gold edible glitter for a surprise birthday cake. Mmm. 

Hello new friend...Chocolate Extract

When I was recently filming for Baking Mad on Channel 4 (watch out for more on this in the next week or so) I was introduced to a new friend. That friend (and this isn't a sponsored post) is Chocolate Extract. Think about how divine vanilla extract is and essential for so many baking recipes - well this one's a chocolate version. There's two on the market, one by Nielsen Massey and the other by Star Kay White - both produce a whole range of great extracts and pastes for baking. I have Eric Lanlard to thank for this new discovery, he mentioned this whilst baking so I grabbed a bottle and added it to a chocolate brownie recipe and you could really notice the difference. It boosted the chocolate taste and added real depth to it - it tasted more grown up.

It's a pure chocolate extract that's rich and smooth but isn't sweetened. So far I have only added it to cakes and brownies, but it would sit equally well in cookies, icing, custards and puddings. The possibilities are endless. Nielsen Massey has been in the business of making extracts (vanilla was first) since 1907 and it's been a family business since then. If you haven't tried their vanilla extract - treat yourself today. Star Kay White is also a privately run family business and has been around since 1890.  I found the Star Kay White version in Waitrose, but could only source the Nielsen Massey version online. A kitchen cupboard essential.

National Marmalade Week

I normally yawn when I hear of yet another "National Week" usually dreamt up by someone like me who works in PR, but this one is different. It celebrates the most delicious of toast toppings - marmalade. Anyone who has read my blog will know that there's a special place in my heart for the sweet and tangy stuff. Call me Paddington Bear if you like, I just love it. So to celebrate this most auspicious week, I baked a cake - a Marmalade Cake. Originally a recipe from Nigel Slater in the Kitchen Diaries. I used my very own homemade marmalade and the grated citrus of a blood orange.Well the proof is in the pudding as the saying goes and here's the pictorial proof - now to eat!

To check out more about Marmalade Week and the World's Original Marmalade Awards (that were held last weekend), follow this link:

http://www.marmaladeawards.com/festival/2012/01/664/national-marmalade-week/

Herman Friendship Cake

I've read about it, thought about it and wished for it, then one day I got it - a Herman Friendship Cake. Well at least the basis of it. A Herman Friendship Cake begins life as a pot of yeasty sourdough mix that is fed, grown and shared around (a little bit like a chain letter). It's a yeast based mix that you stir, keep warm and feed after 5 days, then again in another five, when you split the mixture into 4. Retain one for yourself (to bake with) and then pass on the other three to your friends who repeat the process so that Herman's love is spread around the community. The resulting cake is really rather fab. It's a cake/sourdough bread (but more cake than bread) mixed with fruit and spices. My recipe (that came with him) included sugar, raisins, chopped apple and cinnamon. I have read lots of variants and you can alter according to your taste with chocolate or nuts for example.

Herman is a "he" and don't ask why - I don't know. During your care he will bubble up, you will be required to care for his basic needs (food, warmth and a good stir) and its all really rather fun. It's the closest that K and I will come ever to having children.

It traces some of its history to the Amish. The name Herman is most definitely taken from the Amish sweet cinnamon sourdough bread, whilst the process of sharing the yeasty mix is traced back to earlier colonial times. It's become quite a thing in modern Britain and is a constant source of delight on Mumsnet. Recipes for the Herman starter can be found online, but I was much happier when he came to me. The bake is fabulous warm with ice-cream (as is almost everything) and great cold. It makes a mighty beast of a cake and it was shared with love at work. We have kept an extra quarter of Herman - we rather like him, so in another 10 days of nurturing and love - we bake again.

So look out there could be a Herman living next door to you and he may very well come into your care sooner than you think.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

From a recipe, originally taken from the Australian Women's Weekly. Served hot with ice cream and not over cooked - gooey in the middle and just firm on the top.  Sadly the recipe is not on the AWW website, but you will find it in AWW Chocolate! 3 types of chocolate, eggs, butter, sugar and SR flour.

The secret to a great brownie (that I learnt from a Jamie Oliver book) is not to overcook them. Infact, even undercook them. Check and when they are just firm to touch they will remain gooey inside. For a hot dessert, remove from the oven, cool slightly and serve. Delicious.