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The journey of a tart (or basil, cherry tomato, potato & corn quiche)
Category: Popular Posts
How to fold a cutlery holding napkin, Mount Nelson Style – demonstrated by Thobela
There’s a cockroach in the kitchen! (A poem by Lana)
THAT COCKROACH!
By Lana D.
…
The first time I saw it
it was wriggling from side to side
like a fish moth,
quite out of character,
snuggling under my glass bread board
going about its business
oblivious
of me
watching over it,
my soft bare feet growing wings
as white as the tiles
on the kitchen floor.
..
In the following mornings
I felt that cockroach’s
beady black eyes
watching me
from the shadows
of my toaster,
its new shiny chrome home –
there’d be no more
marmalade on toast
for breakfast
with tea
for me.
.
Imagine my surprise
to find that cockroach
investigating what I was making for dinner tonight,
come to visit,
my favourite pet,
sauntering along the edge of the stove
as if it was
my honoured guest.
Brave, yet oblivious
of that age-old law:
To be a curious cockroach
is a fatal flaw
: |
Vegetarian Cherry Tomato Quiche (or Tart)
Quiches are so convenient for brunches or lunches. You can prepare them ahead of time and most people seem to enjoy them. Here is the recipe for a cherry tomato quiche I baked a few weeks ago, since I’ve been ordered to whip one up for our family get-together tomorrow (‘You HAVE to make that tomato quiche again!’ said my sister Gablicious). It’s in the oven as I write (oh, the smells coming from the kitchen at this late hour!).
What’s great about quiches is that once you know how to make a pastry base and savoury custard, you can play with different fillings, experiment.
For a large tart:
- Prepare a batch of short pastry – see https://whippingitup.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/how-to-make-short-pastry-for-quiches-etc/
- Prepare your savoury custard (add salt to taste & remember to use less if you’re going to be adding other salty ingredients like feta or smoked salmon) – double the recipe at https://whippingitup.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/creme-royal-for-quiches/
- Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees celsius
- Chop 3 onions, 2 cloves of garlic (or more), some chilli (enough to give it some zip, depending on your taste), 1 red pepper (if available), grate a block of cheddar cheese & break up a chunk of feta cheese
- Grease your tart tin & roll out your pastry (this is the hardest part – sprinkle your work surface with flour as you go to prevent the pastry from sticking & be sure to work in a cool environment)
- Line your tart tin (allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes)
- Fill your tart
- Bake at 180 degrees celsius until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is cooked (the filling should be cooked by the time the pastry is golden but check by touching the top of the mix with your fingers or inserting a knife – bake for a little longer if there is still liquid in the mix)
- Spray or dab the top with olive oil for shine
Serve with a crisp green salad and enjoy!
A REALLY good baked cheesecake recipe
I have used this baked cheesecake recipe for several functions, including my own birthday party.
It ALWAYS goes down well with everybody! You can use your imagination for the toppings – I love using whole fresh strawberries on top (dusted with icing sugar). You could also serve it plain, why not?!
Ingredients:
- 200 grams of sweet pastry – see https://whippingitup.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/how-to-make-sweet-pastry-for-tarts-etc/ for the recipe (you DON’T BLIND BAKE the sweet pastry in this case)
- 500 grams cream cheese
- 1 tin condensed milk
- 50 ml pouring cream
- 85 grams castor sugar
- 1 tablespoon custard powder
- 2 1/2 eggs
- lime juice
Method
- Mix the cream cheese, condensed milk & cream together (until smooth)
- Mix in all the other ingredients
- Grease a tart tin and then line it with your sweet pastry
- Pour the mix into the pastry tin
- Bake at 110 degrees celsius until the pastry is golden brown and the cheesecake has set (test for readiness by prodding gently with your finger – it should have a firm consistency)
- Apologies but I don’t have a baking time for you – we were not taught to work with TIMES. Chef Tim taught us to be in touch with what we were baking – the golden rule was this: ‘It’s ready when it’s ready!’ It was frustrating for us patisserie-chefs-in-training in the beginning but it has proved to be a wonderful way of working.
Allow your cheesecake to cool before serving.
Chef Tim decorates a cake with chocolate porcupine quills…
How to make chocolate porcupine quills – as demonstrated by Tim Woodford
How to make baguettes – using an easy white dough recipe
Ohhhhhh, baguettes… a reminder of the simple life… with the best French wine and cheese, of course! If you’re new to baking bread, please do refer to my comprehensive explanation (step by step with photos) here.
INGREDIENTS:
- 500 g white bread four
- 10 g yeast (use 25% less for dried yeast)
- 10 g salt
- 350 g warm water
HOW TO PREPARE THE BAGUETTE DOUGH – STEP BY STEP:
- First measure out your ingredients else you’ll have dough all over the show
- Sift flour and mix in yeast (if live then break the yeast into small pieces and rub into the flour with your fingertips)
- Add the warm water and mix (I always use my hands – VERY scrumptious but VERY messy, so use a spoon if you prefer)
- Add the salt (once the flour, yeast and water have combined)
- Knead the dough (by pulling it away and up towards you and then SLAPPING it down again onto the surface …until such time as it becomes less sticky and gains a silky texture)… be patient… carry on working it… it WILL change from sticky to smooth!
- HOT TIP: Trap as much air as you can as you fold the dough over and back into itself
- Once the dough is smooth, pat the dough into a ball-shape and place it in a bowl in a warm place (cover with a cloth or plastic but be sure to allow space for the rising of the dough) until it doubles in size
HOW TO SHAPE THE BAGUETTE DOUGH – STEP BY STEP
- Once the dough has doubled in size, it’s ready to be shaped!
- Help the dough drop out of the bowl by scraping from its underside (be gentle)
- Roll the dough into itself (feed the outside into the inside) to make it TIGHTER and stronger
- Roll it into a tight sausage roll shape
- Slice the roll into two pieces (or whatever size you wish but if dividing then weigh out same-size pieces – so as to allow for even baking) and roll each piece into a tight sausage roll shape
- Work & roll the ends of each ‘sausage roll’ under your palms so that they become thinner – leave the centre section so that it remains wider
FINALLY
- Slash the top of the bread with a blade or a knife & dust with flour (the slashes allow the bread to release tension as it bakes)
- Place in the oven to prove (rise again) on 50 degrees celsius with a bowl of water at the bottom of the oven OR simply cover the bread and place in a warm, sheltered place… until it has expanded in size (30 to 45 minutes)
- Preheat the oven to 180-200 degrees celsius (I prefer to go HOT so that I get a good crust) and spray with water before adding the baguettes… keep an eye on them… they will be ready as soon as they are brown… test for readiness by tapping on the underside.. . if there is a hollow sound, they are ready
PS. This bread is also great with nothing more than butter and honey. In which case forget the wine and have a cup of tea!
Chef Snowman Christmas Cake
I thought I’d make a friendly dinasaur cake for my showpiece (part of the requirements for the Patisserie exam) but my grandmother suggested I work on a Christmas theme instead (we’d just made a Christmas cake together). The idea of a snowman cake popped into my head, based on the fact that plastic icing is as ‘white as snow’ as it is.
Having no particular detail in mind and no references at hand, it sure turned out to be a bit of an adventure! I started with a couple of blobs of plastic icing and one thing led to another so that the snowman evolved into snowmen with snow cake & snow candle on snow blanket on snow cake (ENOUGH!!) …
If you’d like to make a similar cake, start with a Christmas https://whippingitup.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/my-grandmothers-traditional-christmas-cake/(or other) cake base and cover it with marzipan https://whippingitup.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/how-to-make-marzipan/:
Merry Christmas!
Stollen Bread
Stollen is a most satisfying Christmas bread made of sweet dough, marzipan and mixed fruit and nuts. It makes a fabulous Christmas gift.
The bread will last for a good few months if wrapped in a sealed plastic bag (not cling-wrap) so you can make it ahead of time. Adding rum or whiskey will give extra flavour as well as extend the shelf life.
The dough is rolled into a rectangular shape. The marzipan is rolled out and placed on top of the dough (cut to the same size). It is then sprinkled with mixed fruit and nuts etc. The bread is then rolled into the traditional Stollen shape and left to prove before it is baked and sprinkled with a generous amount of icing sugar.
PREPARE SWEET DOUGH
Ingredients:
- 250 grams warm milk
- 15 grams live yeast
- 500 grams sifted bread flour
- 60 grams butter at room temperature
- 40 grams castor sugar
- 10 grams salt
- 2 eggs
Method:
- Work the yeast into the flour with your fingertips
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre
- Add the butter into the well and work into the dry ingredients
- Add the eggs and milk into the centre of the well and work into the mix
- Knead and bang away until the dough becomes silky smooth
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size
PREPARE MARZIPAN
Search ‘how to make marzipan’ on my blog
PREPARE FRUIT AND NUT MIX
Combine the following ingredients in a bowl:
- 2 tablespoons ground almonds
- 2 tablespoons flaked almonds (feel free to include other nuts like cashews if you wish to)
- 4 tablespoons orange peel (or according to taste)
- 4 tablespoons currents
- 1 teaspoon of ground cardamon (don’t over grind as the flavour will be too strong)
- 1 teaspoon of fine orange and lemon rind
- A drop of vanilla paste/extract
PREPARE STOLLEN
- Pre-heat oven to 50 degrees Celsius (to prove your bread once you have prepared the stollen)
- Prep the bread dough and roll into a rectangular shape (once it has doubled in size)
- Roll the marzipan into a thin sheet and cut to same size as bread dough
- Place the marzipan on top of the bread dough
- Cover the marzipan with the fruit and nut mix
- Roll the ends of the dough towards the centre of the dough, allowing for a gap (the same size as the roll on each side of it) in the centre or two thirds of the way across
- Extend the one roll over the gap and place it directly on top of the other roll (use the rolling pin to create an indentation on the underlying roll first)
- Press down on the outside edges of the dough (about 5 to 10 mm from the outer edge)
- Place in the oven until the dough has expanded in size (around double in size – look out for a ‘puffiness’)
- Remove carefully, place in a warm place and set oven to 180 degrees Celsius
- When the oven is ready, spray the Stollen with water as well as the base of the oven
- Place on a baking sheet on a baking tray in the centre of the oven
- Bake until golden brown
- Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter
- Sprinkle liberally with icing sugar over the melted butter
- Repeat – give the bread another coating of butter and sprinkle with more icing sugar
Wrap in transparent plastic (once cool) and seal with sticky tape before placing in another transparent bag (or whatever packaging you prefer)… finish with ribbons and a home-made card for a personal Christmas gift that looks, smells and tastes a treat!
