Baking | Things we make

Browsing All Posts filed under »Baking«

Let’s Make Christmas (Pudding)

November 14, 2011

I am heading down (or is it up?) to London on Friday for the ‘Let’s Make Christmas’ Blogger Gift Swap at Fortnum and Mason arranged by Vanessa Kimbell. Each year my Mum used to take me Christmas shopping in London on the train. We finished the day at the theatre watching something like West Side […]

Bun Round Up

October 29, 2011

Over the last month members of ‘Fresh From The Oven‘ have been baking my Cinnamon Bun recipe. The FFTO site now shows all the entrants here but I wanted to show you my pick of the bunch. I am delighted that so many people put their own slant on the recipe. After all that’s how recipes are developed […]

Apple Pie

September 28, 2011

My Grandma’s apple pie was always my favourite. The crust was almost like shortbread. Soft, but not soggy. The pastry was sprinkled with sugar, yet not too sweet. In the last 20 odd years I have tried to find something to compare, but the pastry has always been too heavy, the apples too hard or […]

Random Bake of Kindness

September 7, 2011

Vanessa Kimbell’s post suggesting we take part in random acts (bakes) of kindness was compelling. She suggested we think about who deserved a spontaneous thank you, a kind word or some recognition…and that we bake an extra batch of something just for them. I love a bit of random kindness. My mum always taught me […]

Plum Frangipane Tart

September 1, 2011

Today I made a tart. OK, so I can’t deny it looks like a tomato quiche. George picked the plums from Louise Housley’s tree. The pastry was a packet of ready made all-butter puff. The frangipane was made out of ground almonds leftover from the failed macarons. I rolled out the puff pastry, lined a […]

Macarons: Fail

August 23, 2011

Cooking fashions come and go, but french macarons seem to be in for the long haul. I avoided them for a long while, but the regular MacTweets from Twitter friends like Sarah at Maison Cupcake led me to have a go early last year. I prepared by reading lots of blogposts, recipes and online tutorials and filled […]

Friendship Cake

August 21, 2011

Way back in my teenage years a neighbour passed me a strange bubbling bowl of goo. I was to stir it daily and 'don't forget to feed it.'

Lime Syrup Drizzle Cakes

June 18, 2011

I am still learning the importance of a sense of order. I don’t mean having everything in its place, although that really helps. It’s about making sure that I do things in the right sequence. Every time I cook something I work out a better way…or rather I realise I have done something ‘arse about […]

Spiral Loaf

May 27, 2011

This months Fresh From The Oven challenge was to share our favourite savoury bread recipe. ‘Something for picnics, summer sandwiches or barbecues.’ I must admit, the focaccia I often make for those sort of affairs starts as a packet of ciabatta mix. It gets punched and pounded and doused with herby olive oil and sundried […]

Not-so-mini Pavlovas

May 19, 2011

I have always, always loved pavlova. I think it stems from my delight at the frozen ones bought from the Cash & Carry back in the 70’s. A raspberry pavlova was the height of chic in those days, even though my Mum used to forget to get it out of the freezer so we ended up […]

Peach and Almond Cake

May 7, 2011

We have built a small raised deck at the end of the garden where a wooden gazebo once stood. I wanted it to be a quiet little place where you could go and sit, away from the house. Somewhere to ponder. So we have planted bamboo around it and an almond blossom tree to give […]

Hot Crosses and Big Buns

April 24, 2011

"24 BUNS! What am I going to do with 24 buns?" I asked myself. I didn't know the answer so I decided to make 8 chunky buns and a huge loaf sized one.

Crazy Frosting

April 3, 2011

I’m a bit of a sucker for trying something that sounds like it can’t possibly work. This ‘frosting’ fell into that category as it starts with a cup of milk and 5 tablespoons of flour…being cooked up in a pan. Now, I’ll grant you, that doesn’t feel like the start of one of the dreamiest toppings. […]

Layer Bread

March 28, 2011

I baked these layered rolls, based on a recipe from Richard Bertinet’s ‘Dough’ this morning. We had them for lunch, fresh from the oven, with mozzarella, avocado, tomatoes, pesto and rocket. They are very easy to make as there is no shaping, just some random cutting and stacking. I made two batches of dough to […]

My Polenta Bread

March 5, 2011

This loaf gives you a light, even textured, superbly flavoured bread with a 'not too crusty' crust that's good for toast or sandwiches and lasts for several days.

Ed’s Birthday Cake

February 17, 2011

If I ever ask Ed what cake he wants for his birthday, the answer is a victoria sponge, with buttercream in the middle and icing, sprinkles and a cherry on top. Quite specific really. This year though I had an ulterior motive as I wanted to enter a cake into the #nigellaforever challenge. With a […]

“Improve me”

February 3, 2011

This is something that has been on my ‘to blog’ list for a while: Ice Cream Muffins. When I read that you can make muffins by just using Flour and Ice Cream I was intrigued. When you think about it, a good quality dairy ice cream has eggs, sugar and vanilla in it, as well as cream. Add […]

Khrushchev Dough

January 28, 2011

January’s Fresh From The Oven Challenge is Khrushchev Dough. Apparently this butter rich dough was the favourite bread recipe of the Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev. It was left up to us to decide how to shape and fill the bread. I rolled and stuffed some like Serbian Kiflice, tiny stuffed cheese rolls. I made one third with […]

Ed’s Sausage Rolls

January 23, 2011

A food post? By me? Surely some mistake? It’s all true, I did indeed make the sausage rolls in the pictures. They were the product of a happy accident that grew out of the usual christmas fridge surplus, coupled with me having time on my hands. Add to that my closet weakness for savoury […]