Bake Off with the Bake Off - Week 6 - Pastry Week

There are some pastries that I love, I love to make, I love to eat. There are others that do not fall into this category, simply the process of making certain kinds of pastry makes them less enjoyable, not to mention how messy they are. 

So here we have it, pastry week and 3 more challenges. 

Week 6 - Pastry Week!
The Challenge - 1 set of savoury vol-au-vents and 1 set of sweet vol-au-vents.
My challenge this week - vol-au-vents! They had to have 2 different flavours - 1 savoury and 1 sweet. 

I hate making puff pastry. This was going to be a nightmare.

The Ingredients:
For the Pastry
500g Strong Flour
300ml Water
450g Cold Butter
50g Cocoa Powder
1 Egg
For the Filling
Savoury - Chicken Tikka Masala 
2 Chicken Breasts
1 Onion (Finely chopped)
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 tbsp Tikka Masala Paste
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Jar of Passata
1 tbsp Mango Chutney
70 ml Double Cream
70 ml Natural Yogurt
Chopped Corriander
Sweet - Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake
250g Cream Cheese
40g Icing Sugar
150ml Double Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
110g Hazelnut Chocolate (Chopped)
1/4 Jar Nutella

Puff Pastry requires the most effort, alongside the ingredients listed above, you also need a lot of patience. 

I did mine in two batches as 1 batch was savoury and 1 batch was sweet. I placed half the flour into my mixer and slowly added 150ml water whilst the mixer was on a slow setting. Once the dough had come together, it went into the fridge for 20 minutes. I rolled out the dough on a floured surface. Then between two pieces of cling film, I rolled out the butter to about half the size of the dough, folded it over, rolled it and then created a book fold.

To create a book fold the dough it flat, the right side is brought to the middle.

Then the left side meets the right in the middle

Then it's folded like a book, then chilled for 20 minutes. The folding, rolling and chilling process is repeated 2 more times.

The same process for the second batch was also followed, except the flour and the cocoa are added to the mixture with the water when mixing the dough. Then it's all about the rolling...

The folding, more folding...

and the chilling. Rinse and repeat twice more as before.

Whilst in the process of waiting for the chilling. You can be doing useful things, like preparing the fillings. I started on my Tikka Massala. I placed the vegetable oil, onion, red peppers and chicken into the pan. I then added the Chicken Tikka Masala Paste and stirred through and cook for 2 minutes. Once the chicken had browned, I added the passata, along with 50mls water. When I was happy that the chicken was cooked through, I mixed in the chutney, double cream and natural yogurt and set aside to cool.

When my pastry was ready, I cut out bottom circles, brushed it with a beaten egg and added a ring on top

I then added another layer to get the height that I needed.

I then baked at 180C for 8-10 minutes.

Some looked really good

 Others looked a little drunk

I added my filling and topped with a little coriander 

To make the chocolate hazelnut cheesecake filling, I beat together the cream cheese with the icing sugar. I then whisked together the cream and vanilla essence until soft peaks form, I then gently mixed into the cream cheese and icing sugar. I then stirred through the chopped hazelnut chocolate and set to one side. Over a very low heat I warmed the Nutella until melted, I spooned small amounts into the bottom of my chocolate vol-au-vents and added the cheesecake mix on top. 

The savoury ones were pretty good, but the chocolate hazelnut cheesecake ones were just heavenly. I scored another 4 out of 5 for this challenge - thanks to the semi drunk looking ones. Note to self - if you ever decide to make vol-au-vents again - 1) Don't do it, remember you hate making puff pastry 2) Don't forget to chill before you put the shaped ones in the oven.

Bake Off with the Bake Off - Week 5 - Alternative Week!

I know, I'm horrendously behind again, I have 3 challenges to write up and 2 bakes to complete! Best crack on.

There were a few options to choose from but Gav set me the challenge of Sugar Free Cake.

Alternative was a little difficult for me as usual alternative sweeteners that are used in cake, neither Gav or myself are a big fan off - Tricky.

Week 5 - Alternative Week!
The Challenge - Sugar Free Cake
The Idea - Blueberry, Lemon and Poppyseed Cake

The Ingredients:
For the Cake
400g Plain Flour
3 tbsp Poppy seeds
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
120ml Rapeseed Oil
130ml Honey
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Large Eggs
250g Blueberries
For the Icing
250g Cream Cheese
2 tbsp Honey
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
100g Blueberries

I preheated the oven to 180C to start with. Then combined all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a pan on a low heat, I melted the honey and rapeseed oil, then added the lemon juice.

I then added the honey, rapeseed oil and lemon juice to the dry ingredients and added the three eggs, then stirred until combined.

Happy that it was sufficiently mixed, I then added the blueberries to the cake batter and roughly incorporated.

 

I then poured the mixture into the cake tin and placed in the oven for 40 minutes. The cake was golden brown and spongy to the touch.

Whilst the cake was cooling, I made the topping. I beat together the cream cheese and honey and added the vanilla essence. I spread the topping over the cake and added the remaining blueberries to the top.

I surprised even myself with this bake, it was incredibly delicious and will be something that I would like to try again. I earned 4 our of 5 for this bake, due to the presentation - need to work on that.

Bake Off with the Bake Off 2015 - Week 4 - Dessert!

I'm very aware that I am behind a couple of weeks and I apologise for that. I've had a lot of baking to do and not a lot of time in which to do it. 

Week 4 was dessert week - one of my favourite weeks when it comes to The Bake Off - I love dessert. I usually choose my dessert before I have chosen my main to ensure that I choose appropriately - after all I would not want to be too full for a dessert. Also if a restaurant offers a shoddy list of desserts - you can be sure that I will not be going back. This is how important desserts are to me. 

The three challenges this week were Creme Brulee's, a Spanische Windtorte and a 3 Tiered Baked Cheesecake.

Gav could not possibly allow the opportunity of having 3 baked cheesecakes, so this was my challenge. 

Week 4 - Dessert Week!
The Challenge
Three Tier Baked Cheesecake - different fillings, different sizes.

I've made baked cheesecakes before, I wanted to add a little flair to this challenge and try something a little different. 

The Idea
Bottom Tier - Blueberry Cheesecake
Middle Tier - Mint Swirl Cheesecake
Top Tier - Malteaser Cheesecake

The Ingredients
For the Bases:
12oz Butter
24oz Plain Flour
2 tablespoons Cocoa
For the Fillings:
9 x 300g Cream Cheese
750g Caster Sugar
9 tablespoons Plain Flour
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
4 1/2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
9 Eggs plus 3 Yolks
600ml Soured Cream
1 shareable pack of Malteasers
1 1/2 teaspoons Pepermint Extract
300g Blueberries
3 drops of Green Food Colouring Paste

I started off by making the pastry for the bases of the three cheesecakes. I decided for pastry as I thought they would have a better structure on the bottom to be able to stack them than a biscuit base. I rubbed together the butter and flour and added small amounts of water to bring it together. I separated off a third of the pastry and added the Cocoa. I then rolled it all out and blind baked each base.

The Chocolate base looked like this

Whilst the bases were baking and then cooling, I started on the fillings. I placed all of the cream cheese in my mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whisked on low and added the sugar gradually. I then threw in the flour and continued mixing on low. Next to go in was the soured cream, which is added until blended, but should not be over whisked.

I separated the mixture out into 3 bowls, adding a little more for the bottom tier cheesecake and a little less for the top tier cheesecake. 

In the largest mix, I added the blueberries, then poured the mixture into the tin lined with the blind baked base.

In the smallest mix, I added the Malteasers, then poured the mixture into the tin lined with the blind baked base. 

For the middle cheesecake, I divided the cheesecake mixture in two, placed the vanilla to one side and added the peppermint flavouring and the green colour paste to the other mixture. I then spooned a mixture of each alternately into the tin with the blind baked base to create the swirly effect. 

I baked all three cheesecakes at 200C, The Blueberry went in first, to bake for 20 minutes, then I added the Mint cheesecake 5 minutes later to bake for 15 minutes, then the Malteaser cheesecake 5 minutes after that to bake for 10 minutes. I turned the oven down and continued to bake all three cheesecakes at 100C. I took the Malteaser Cheesecake out at 20 minutes, the Mint out at 25 minutes and the Blueberry out at 35 minutes.

All cheesecakes had a gentle wobble when they are ready and should ideally be left in the oven for a few hours to cool. However I could not leave my smaller tiers in whilst the bigger tier was still baking. Which is possibly the reason for the cracks in the Malteaser one

The Mint cheesecake came out pretty much the same as it went in, I was delighted with the results and could not wait to cut into it.

 All together they looked pretty cool, a little rustic, but they were good cheesecakes. We were unsure with the Mint cheesecake, but the other two worked perfectly. 

4 out of 5 for this hefty challenge. I was tired after this challenge, I have no idea how the contestants bake 3 times over one weekend.

Bake Off with the Bake Off 2015 - Week 3 - Bread!

The much anticipated Bread Week! I had a lot to live up to this time around after last year's Red Pesto Tear and Share bread with baked Camembert. Was I up to the challenge?

Week 3 - Bread Week!
The Challenge
Show Stopper! 3 different types of bread to make a 3D bread sculpture.

I think I can go on record here to say that I was terrified of this challenge, excited, don't get me wrong, but also terrified. I had less than a week to plan and then bake this mammoth of a task. I had to choose something to base this sculpture on and I needed to explain my choice. This was going to be a difficult week.

Here goes:

The Idea
A Ferris Wheel

I needed to ensure that I selected 3 types of bread that not only could be manipulated into the shapes that I wanted, but also they had to be strong enough to hold it all up. I chose to make a Rosemary and Thyme White Braided Bread for the Wheel. Baguettes for the Structure and a take on Chelsea Buns for the Carriages.

The Ingredients
Rosemary and Thyme White Braided Bread
750g Strong White Flour
1 and 1/2 tsp Fast Active Dried Yeast
3 tsp Salt
15oz Water
1 and 1/2 tsp Rosemary
1 and 1/2 tsp Thyme

My Take on Chelsea Buns
500g Strong White Flour
1 tsp Salt
7g  Fast Active Dried Yeast
300ml Milk
40g Unsalted Butter
1 Egg
Vegetable Oil
For the Filling
25g Unsalted Butter
3oz Soft Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
150g Chopped Chocolate
For the Glaze
2 tbsp Milk
2 tbsp Caster Sugar

Baguettes
750g Strong White Bread Flour
15g Salt
15g Fast Action Dried Yeast
6 tbsp Olive Oil
540ml Cool Water

I had a lot to do and only a Saturday in which to do it! I will write up each bread at a time, but for a challenge like this, I was kneading whist another bread was proving, I was baking whilst another bread was cooling, I was mixing whilst another bread was on it's second prove. This challenge was all about time management!

I started off with the Braided Wheel. I weighed out the flour in a big bowl and added the salt to one side and yeast to the other. I then added the Rosemary and Thyme and poured in the water a bit at a time and kept mixing

Once it was incorporated, I turned out the dough onto a floured surface and kneaded for 5 minutes

I then left it to prove for an hour in the bowl with cling film over the top

I knocked it back and separated a small amount of dough that I needed for the middle spokes, I then split the remaining dough into 4 and rolled them out into long strands ready to braid

I had to be careful not to tangle the ends during the braiding process, so I took it at a slow and steady pace, I really wanted to keep a nice neat pattern all the way around to mirror the metal framework of a Ferris Wheel

Finally I was finished braiding! I snipped off the ends placed the edges together to form the ring

I then added the spokes and the middle circle for structure and to illustrate the wheel. I then left it to prove for a further 45 minutes

I then baked it 180C for 30 minutes

Part 1 of 3 thankfully complete, on with the next

I decided to do the Baguettes next, reading through the recipe they would take the longest to prove, so I planned to be doing things in between the gaps

Due to this mixture being fairly wet, I used my food mixer with the dough hook for this one. I added the Flour, Salt, Yeast (keeping them far away from each other) and Olive Oil into the mixer, along with part of the water. I then kept adding the water gradually whilst mixing on a slow speed. I turned up the speed to medium and let it knead for 10 minutes until the dough was a little elastic. I then placed the dough into a plastic container and left to prove for 2 hours

Once the 2 hours were up, I knocked the dough back and began working on the shaping

The dough still seemed a little wet at this stage, but I had come to far now, so I carried on. I shaped two triangles and left them to prove for another hour. I then cut slits into each side and dusted with flour

I preheated the oven to just over 200C, along with a baking tray. I placed the two triangles into the oven, along with some water for the hot baking tray to create a steam to allow the bread to crisp nicely and provide the strength needed for the base of the wheel. They baked for 30 minutes, then the temperature was reduced to 180C for the last 10 minutes.

Relieved that another bread was down and I had just 1 more to go, I was starting to feel the tiredness creeping in at this point. I had a challenge to do and I would finish it, Part 2 of 3 done, so on with the next!

Finally I made My Take on Chelsea Buns. I have to point out here that I could have made Chelsea Buns in the usual way, but neither Gav or myself like dried fruit in bread (or cakes or scones for that matter, we just feel that they have no place there), so I substituted the dried fruit for Chocolate.

In a large bowl, I sifted the flour and salt and added the yeast to one side. I warmed the milk and the butter, until it had melted and slowly added it, along with the egg, to the dried ingredients. This formed a soft dough. I then kneaded the dough on a well floured work surface until the dough lost it's stickiness and became smooth.

I placed it back into the bowl and covered for an hour to prove. Once it had doubled in size, I knocked it back and rolled out into a long rectangle. Here I actually split the dough in two in order to create smaller buns. 

I melted the butter and brushed it over the dough, I then sprinkled the brown flour over the top and added the cinnamon. The chocolate was chopped up into small chunks and scattered over the top. I then rolled up the dough lengthways, keeping it nice and tight.

I cut off the ends and cut the long roll into small buns. I then covered them with a tea towel and left them to prove for another 30 minutes.

They were then baked at 190C for 20 minutes. Shortly before they were ready, I prepared the glaze by heating the milk and the caster sugar in a saucepan, brought it to the boil and simmered for 2 minutes. When the buns were ready, I immediately brushed them with the glaze and left them to cool.

Once everything was cooled, I then pinned together my Ferris Wheel using cocktail sticks

Some of you will be able to guess my inspiration behind the Ferris Wheel, for those of you who cannot, it was based on the London Eye, where Gav proposed at the very top, just last year. Ferris Wheels will always be very close to our hearts.

Although I was happy with the results, it did not quite stand up by itself, it just was not strong enough in the middle to hold it. The baguettes kind of turned out a little like Ciabatta instead, but they were still sturdy enough, the weakness was the centre of the wheel - which in hindsight perhaps should have been a solid circle with braiding on the top, but then perhaps it would have lost a little something in the way it looked doing it that way. The breads were tasty, the Chelsea Buns went down a storm in particular! I managed to bag myself 4 out of 5 for this monstrosity of a challenge. 

Bake Off with the Bake Off 2015 - Week 2 - Biscuits!

After my performance with the Brandy Snaps last year, watching the show last week, I was dreading my challenge for Biscuits. I was concerned that I was going to be given the biscuits in a box made out of biscuits, thankfully Gav did not bestow that little challenge on me this week!

Week 2 - Biscuits!
The Challenge
Arlettes

It's fairly safe to say that before last week's show I had never heard of Arlettes but being a big fan of Cinnamon, I absolutely wanted to eat some! Luckily for me, so did Gav, hence this challenge!

Ingredients:
170g Strong White Bread Flour
170g Plain Flour
2tsp Salt
330g Butter
100ml Cold Water
50g Granulated Sugar
2tsp Ground Cinnamon
Icing Sugar

I started off by incorporating 120g of both the bread flour and the plain flour, along with 80g of butter (melted) and all of the water. 

Once nicely mixed in, it looked like this

 I then kneaded the dough for roughly 5 minutes, until it was lovely and smooth

With my hands, I shaped the dough into a square, covered it in cling film and started what will be a very long process of chilling and folding. This first chill, I placed it in the freezer for 25 minutes.

Whilst my dough was chilling sufficiently, I took the rest of the flours and creamed in the rest of the butter. This formed the butter layer.

I spread the butter and flour mix onto a sheet of cling film, covered the top with another sheet of cling film and rolled it out into a rectangle, twice as long as my dough square, then chilled in the fridge for 25 minutes.

After my dough was nice and cold, I removed it from the freezer and placed my now chilled butter rectangle underneath it and wrapped my dough square up in the butter layer. I then rolled it out into a rectangle.

I then folded both ends of the rectangle into the middle to form the first part of the book fold

I then folded that in the middle, to finish the book fold off. I wrapped it back up in the cling film and chilled for another 25 minutes.

Again, after chilling time, I removed it, rolled it a little, and made another book turn. I then wrapped it up and chilled it again for another 25 minutes. 

Towards the end of this chill time, I mixed the granulated sugar and the cinnamon together for the filling. Once the dough was chilled enough, I rolled it out and added the filling.

Then another book turn was made to ensure that the filling was incorporated. I then rolled out the dough to a rectangle, ensuring that it was 1cm thick.

From the short end, I rolled up the dough to form a swiss roll, wrapped it in cling film and chilled it for yet another 25 minutes. Finally after this last chill, I cut the swiss roll into 16 slices, trimming the ends to make sure that the slices were nice and straight and around 1cm thick.

Covering the work surface in icing sugar, I took each slice and rolled them out thinly

I then placed them into the oven at 200C for 4 minutes, turned them over and baked for another 5 minutes, removed from the oven and I was finally finished!

I was fairly happy with how they turned out, they were delicious, crispy all the way through and I had defined rings. My only 2 downfalls were that they were not overly neat and they were not all constant (looks wise) throughout the batch, I earned 3 out of 5 for this one. I'm still pleased. I would say that I will try them again, but more time needs to pass before I feel like subjecting myself to all those turns and chills again!

Also, a random side note, I made the self saucing chocolate puddings again at the weekend and I just wanted to share with you that I totally nailed it, they were perfect. That is all.