Showing posts with label raspberry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raspberry. Show all posts

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Let's Get Technical Great British Bake Off 2016 - Biscuit week



Week two in the tent saw our lone baker being called to the dance floor for a Viennese whirl.

 While there was the risk of some dodgy piping this bake appeared to go off without a hitch and is something I'd happily make again.






















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Saturday, January 11, 2014

My Bake Off Birthday

I was going to title this "My Last Birthday Cake Ever" but I thought that may cause a flood of distressed messages.

What I mean to say is that upon my 39th birthday I discovered the cake that will feature at every one of my remaining birthdays.

It is no surprise to anyone that has stopped by before that I am "slightly" obsessed with the Bake Off in all it's guises.
  • The Great British Off,
  • The Great Irish Bake Off,
  • The Great Australian Bake Off,
  • The Pretty Good American Bake Off 
  • The Disappointing Italian Bake Off

So this birthday I wanted the chocolate cake with the raspberries from the opening titles. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_British_Bake_Off
 Source: Wikipedia
 
Surprisingly I couldn't find the recipe online but thought in reality to film the titles it was probably just polystyrene anyway.

I had lots of recipes for light airy chocolate cakes but I wanted this to be dense and rich so it would stick to your boots!!

This cake was developed after studying various recipes and the contents of my pantry.

The original version was great but this has been polished by making 5 in the past 2 weeks......yeah January diets! (and with Sunday bake club tomorrow make that 6)

You have to include the missing raspberry!


The Only Chocolate Birthday Cake
Ingredients
  • 180ml strong espresso (or brewed NOT instant ever)
  • 400g caster sugar
  • 300g cooking chocolate (see note)
  • 250g salted butter
  • 60g hazelnut spread
  • 140g crème fraîche
  • 4 eggs (our girls produce eggs in the mid 50g range)
  • 250g self raising flour
  • 150g almond meal
For Ganache
  • 200ml cream
  • 250g dark chocolate
  • Tiny knob of butter
3-4 punnets of fresh raspberries to decorate (depending how many are eaten before they hit the cake)

Method
  • Add coffee, caster sugar, chocolate and butter to a medium saucepan
  • Stir over low heat till the sugar dissolves and the rest is melted and combined (it will be deliciously glossy)
  • Remove from heat and let cool to just above room temperature
  • In a mixing bowl combine the hazelnut spread, crème fraîche and eggs
  • Sift flour and almond meal into the mixing bowl and combine
  • Add chocolate mixture and stir through till well combined
  • Pour into 22cm round spring form cake tin lined with a high collar and base
  • Bake at 150°C for 80-90 minutes till a skewer comes out clean and you can't hear anything from the cake
  • Allow to cool completely




 
I could always get a job making those videos that don't always have the highest production values, e.g. haven't turned the phone the right way!!
Ganache
  • Add cream, chocolate and butter to a saucepan
  • Stir over very low heat till all melted and glossy
  • Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes prior to pouring over cake
  • Place cake on wire rack over a lipped tray and pour ganache to cover cake
  • This recipe makes enough ganache to cover the cake by pouring rather than spreading, this will also have a self levelling affect with the assistance of gravity
  • The extra ganache will pool in the tray and is a bonus treat, just in case there wasn't enough chocolate.
  • Let the ganache cool and set
  • Decorate the top with raspberries

Add some gold leaf just to ensure the lily is sufficiently gilded
This isn't a cheap cake but hey it's a birthday!

Note about Chocolate:

Chocolate, like who you love is very much a matter for the heart.
You just like what you like, it's just that simple.
No amount of "but this brand or type is better" will have an affect on what you like.

So use the chocolate, the brand and strength of dark or milk you like best or combination of.

But not white, that's not chocolate! (can, worms, opened)

I mix the 300g with 200g Lindt 70% and 100g of Cadbury 45% dark chocolate. (not sponsored comment but happy to be sent to Switzerland again hint hint)

I'm also planning to make one using 85% dark just to see how far towards the dark side it can go.
 
Now with coffee it's a different story altogether, this has to be good espresso. If you don't have a machine at home grab some take away from a café.

I pride my home on never containing these 2 items, tracksuit pants and instant coffee, you just gotta have your standards.

Unfortunately I get too preoccupied with eating to take a good sliced shots
 

This was a new years day version, it hadn't quite cooled before I needed to serve it but still just as good.
 
Oh if only!
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Saturday, June 29, 2013

No really it was nothing - Raspberry & Rosewater Labneh

A lot of people freak out when they see a recipe that takes a couple of hours, overnight or even days, but it's important to remember that you're not actively involved for that amount of time.

Patience is a virtue that allegedly based on gender I will never posses but as the hashtag states sexism stops with me so I'm ok with slow food.

 48 hours is a good time frame for this dessert with about 4 minutes of participation required, how can anyone not love something pretty that takes zero effort?

 Labneh is a thick strained yogurt cheese that can have an almost cheesecake like texture, sounds perfect so far. Natural yogurt is the key as the whey will separate where as some "thickened" yogurts don't separate to the same extent.

I have been experimenting using cheese moulds to shape the labneh but find the results to be not as attractive as I hoped. The raspberries may have something to do with it but I'll keep working on it as I have a vision of plating moulded labneh with crushed baklava and pistachios. Pomegranate seeds are another option and while deliciously tart I preferred the texture of the raspberry.


Raspberry Labneh
Ingredients
This recipe will serve 4-6
  • 1kg natural yogurt
  • 200g smashed raspberries (frozen)
  • 150g icing sugar
  • 1-2 tsp. rosewater (more or less depending on the strength of your rose water)
  • 80g pistachios toasted and chopped to garnish
Method
  • Place a fine sieve over a large bowl
  • Add the yogurt and cover with plastic wrap
  • Let sit in the fridge for 24-48 hours (the longer the thicker and it will lose about 200g in whey)
  • Place yogurt into a mixing bowl
  • Add raspberries, icing sugar, rosewater and mix
  • Serve garnished with extra raspberries and pistachios
  • Photographed is about 24 hours straining, I could happily go thicker
  • I also haven't add the ingredients and then strained as I think that would be draining away flavour as well as whey.
  • It would also make a great cake filling



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