Obsession

Despite eating everything (bar sourdough), I seem to require vegan, egg-free or gluten-free cakes quite regularly, usually because of other people's allergies and if you want of get rid of (almost) everything, vegan is a good option which everyone can eat. I did it for my wedding dessert table. Actually the best thing I did was jelly and lots of it. Guaranteed not to have kids reaching for their epipens. Well, highly, highly unlikely I should say. Previously though, I've always either used the "with vinegar" option and these cakes tend to be chocolate or apple based. This year I've been asked to make a vanilla cake for my friend's son who is allergic to eggs. Thankfully he is now a little older than the first time I baked for him (so dairy products are now IN!) The following was adapted from the following site , I actually made it in its coffee form as a part of a hospital drop off and it turned out well hence I adapted it to vanilla. Moreover though, as i...

I spent years using the french macaron method and accepted a certain element of crackage. It was just the expectation that the basic meringue is the simpler option, but then I bit the bullet and tried Italian meringue and never looked back. Yes it requires more washing up. But the "hit" rate as such is much higher. The cracks are not all blameable on hot spots. Sometimes it's just the mix. This recipe is from Pierre Herme as per the Telegraph. I do not use liquefied egg whites because it's never made a difference to me, and I'm definitely not buying mineral water, the remaining adjustments are just shortcuts to avoid over complication. The ones made here I decided to decorate (first time) by mixing up a little food colouring with vodka and just paint it on. MAKES around 72 macarons (or about 144 shells) Ingredients Part A: 300g ground almonds 300g icing sugar 110g egg whites Food colouring (gel or paste) Part B: 300g caster sugar 75g cold wate...

We've been watching Zoom cooking sessions with Michelin starred A Wong during lock down and absolutely loving it. Possibly we've been giving him a bit of grief on the side, but all in good humour! My friends and I are big fans of Chinese food but it's a fine balance between great Chinese food, and doing what it takes to be Michelin - his needs to have the bells and whistles on it, but at the same time charging £8? for a Bor Lor Bau (pineapple bun) which goes for a standard of around £2 in Chinatown bakeries is shocking. In line with normal restaurant dessert prices scarily, but it better be the best bor lor bau ever. In line with that, he served his egg tart on the show with a scoop of clotted cream on top. *shields eyes*. Giving it a good shot here (see the picture) but just as an FYI, usually butter does not feature in chinese egg tarts, and usually the water pastry is...flour, egg and cold water. Having made them I only conclude that I prefer the recipe I had before. W...

I attempted to start a lock-down bakeoff online and for the first challenge I set swiss roll or babka. It may die a prompt death if no one joins me but at least I tried. There's something addictive about designing challenges and I have a shedload. Geeky bake idea queen - and out there I'm guessing some frustrated producer of Bakeoff is dreaming of filming a football documentary or something. Here was my swiss roll anyway. I have previously made the Tokyo Banana recipe from here and whilst it makes the best sponge, the custard flowed straight out. It tasted really nice though and I need to work on that, but for this I wanted an actual banana custard and therefore I turned to this site for a creme patisserie recipe which I adapted to my ingredients. Decopaste: 1 egg white 30g caster sugar 40g plain flour 20g butter Food colouring. Method: Mix everything together in the order above. Divide into bowls and colour with food colouring or in my case, some cocoa ...

Once upon a time we went to San Sebastian and there was a restaurant which sold pretty much only cheesecakes. They sold other things, but San Sebastian is a town where each restaurant has one or two items for which they are known for, and when the walls are covered in cheesecakes, it's fairly obvious what this place sells. Now it seems basque burnt cheesecakes have reached a new kind of cult status so naturally I had to try.  The recipe I used was from Bon Appetit , which for a 10 inch cake pan was far too big for me to contemplate. Instead, I reduced it by half and used a 7 inch pan. Also because I made it on the same week as a guiness cake we discovered the two are very palatable eaten together. Ingredients: 480g cream cheese (room temperature) 150g caster sugar 3 eggs 240ml double cream 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla paste for some nice flecks) 20g plain flour Method: 1. Blend the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and cream in order. (...

One of my favourite lock down watches is Breadahead. You have to ignore a few things to get through it - the people who don't get what recipe is being made, the people who don't know the ingredients are online already, and  the people who inevitably ask if they can use sourdough instead of yeast. Repeatedly. Daily. You'd think they'd learn. Cheese and Olive sticks are my go to treats when I visit Breadahead. I've eaten a few things from them now, which given I'm allergic to sourdough is no mean feat, but these and the doughnuts are the must buy items for me. Failure to seal properly also means a lot of nice cheese crisps. Ingredients: 700g strong white bread flour 14g fine sea salt 3g instant yeast (or 6g fresh) 475g water 200g cheese (cheddar and red leicester suggested, cut into 1 or 2cm cubes) 220g pitted green olives (or use what you have) 100g polenta (semolina is an alternative, however flour at a push) Optional 100g diced onions/chopped c...

Apple cheesecake In a short on ingredients world everything for this cheesecake has remained readily available. It serves two generously, four if you’re being restrained, and one if you’re just having that kind of a day. This recipe is hugely adaptable to what you have in the house, any fruit, any biscuit, any sweetener or fats (the texture might be a bit different but it’s all delicious). If you have some yogurt, sour cream or an extra lemon, the extra tartness would be good but not essential. Whipped cheesecakes are the mother of all inventions. Add anything you fancy. If it tastes good on it’s own, it is rarely going to taste bad combined with all the other lovely ingredients. If you want to save yourself the washing up, make it directly in your serving bowls as a deconstructed kind of dessert (call it a parfait!). Officially you would chill the cheesecake to help it firm up and hold its shape which is essential if you’re using a tin, however I’m just fine eating it when the c...

Pao de Queijo is a chewy brazilian classic which we like adding chilli to. Think of it as the love child of cheese and chewing gum. Or stretchier version of a gougere. Or a cheesy profiterole. Wow it really seems like I don't want you eating these! I swear, try it. Eat immediately as they don't keep. Original recipe from All recipes These are best eaten immediately and make a great bar snack.  Serves 2 (makes around 8) Ingredients: 40ml Milk 60ml Sunflower/vegetable oil 40ml Water 125g Tapioca flour 1/2 tsp Salt 1 egg 25g grated Parmesan (or alternate similar hard cheese) 1 tsp of chilli flakes Method: Preheat the oven at 180℃. Boil Milk, Oil, Water and salt. Take off the heat and add the tapioca flour, beating in until combined.  Allow to cool and then add the egg, parmesan and chilli beating vigorously. NOTE: The mixture may resemble badly scrambled egg with white sections in, therefore I prefer to beat hard enough until these are...

I swear I end up opening so many redundant blogs I never fill because I can never figure out how to crack into this one. Where was I? Oh yes, five years on, we got married (boo), bought a place (yay), have someone else to feed all my cakes to (YAY!!). I'm determined it seems to make him a very chubby boy indeed, even if he fights it. Where were we on the bakes? Corona hit, therefore we have all the time in the world and the sheer psychology of I CAN'T GET FLOUR because the world also decided to take up baking goddamnit. One 5am moment (we woke up a lot at the start of this) and we managed to get 25kg of cake flour and 16kg of bread flour. Thank you Shipton Mill. Did you know you can buy baguette flour too? It is so soft... like kitten soft. Makes lovely baguettes. No idea why I'm writing this, I never read blogs, it's straight to the recipe and figuring out whether I have what I need. Hello the echo chamber :D