United Cakedom: vanilla bean

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Blackberry Crumble Custard Tarts

If you have read my previous post you will already know this, but if you have come here from another source then you should know that these tarts were inspired by a fictional King Edward VI from a booked titled Lady Jane: the not entirely true story. If you'd like to know a bit more about the story and my thoughts on the book click on the title above.

This post is to talk about these Blackberry Crumble Custard Tarts...... which were super amazing! In the book the King loves his blackberries especially as pie. The thing is I am not a huge fan of fruit pie because cooked mushy fruit just doesn't appeal to me.

Brainstorming, isn't something you just learn at school, an idea other then pie was fairly simple. It went like this: use fresh blackberries, fresh berries taste great in tarts, tarts are similar to pie, custard goes well in tarts and done.

So, no these aren't exactly blackberry pie, but as the real fictional king loved blackberries in or out of pie I am positive he would have approved of these.

Blackberry Crumble Custard Tarts

Shortcrust Pastry with orange zest

250g plain flour
100g icing sugar
pinch of salt
150g unsalted butter, cold grated or cubed
2 egg yolks
1 egg
zest of 1 orange

Sift the flour and icing sugar together in a large mixing bowl, add the pinch of salt and the cold grated butter. Rub gently between your finger tips until it resembles bread crumbs - try to handle it as little as possible. *I sometimes run my hands under cold water and pat dry before this last step as my hands are generally warm.
Gently whisk the egg yolks and yolk together, make a well in the bread crumbs and add the eggs as well as the orange zest. Using a spatula bring the dough together. It will be a bit crumbly, pour onto a sheet of clingfilm and gently pat down into a square and wrap in the clingfilm. Keep it in the fridge for a minimum of an hour, but is best if kept overnight.

Quick(ish) Custard

30g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
3 egg yolks
260ml double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Using a glass or metal bowl whisk the sugar, cornflour, and egg yolks until lighter in color and you have incorporated a bit of air into them. Leave aside and heat the cream and vanilla together until it starts to produce little bubbles aka simmering. Gradually pour the now vanilla infused cream over the egg yolk mixture, whisking all the while.
Make a double boiler by placing your heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir the custard until thick and creamy. Can take about 7-10 minutes. To test it use a spatula or spoon by dipping it into the custard and when you pull it out it shouldn't drip off the spoon, run your finger through the middle and if the trail your finger makes stays it's done.
Take off the heat and continue whisking for a few minutes before leaving in the fridge to cool for a minimum of 4 hours.

To Assemble:

225g blackberries
Oat Crumble (optional) recipe found here.
Egg wash: 1 small egg, lightly beaten

Pastry: Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, to about 3mm or .3cm and cut into rounds to fit your muffin tin make sure to leave a little over the top for shrinkage. Press carefully into the muffin cavities, no need to grease. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Take them out of the fridge and line with grease proof baking paper and line with baking beads or your choice of weight some people use rice. Blind bake for 10-15 minutes or until it starts to brown. Remove the baking beads and brush a very light layer of the egg wash over each pastry case and bake for an extra 2 minutes or so. Leave to cool completely before adding a blackberry or two depending how big they are to each case. Cover with the custard and oat crumble if using. Enjoy!

I shared these with my work colleagues and they had a deep discussion about how one of them didn't like blackberries, but were loving them with the custard and oat topping. Then I was asked what it was that was giving it that extra something and I said it was probably the orange zest in the pastry. With that revaluation it was readily agreed upon that that was what was giving it that something special. They are funny, I do love working with fellow foodies!

*recipe adapted from Sweet Tooth by Lily Vanilli

The Perfect Ending {Wine & Dessert}

It’s only been a year since I started drinking wine and from the first day I immediately wished I was a wine expert!

Not only because I want to pair my food and desserts with wine, but so I can help others do it too!

I mean it's all about helping each other right. I mean I wish someone told me how easy it was to make crème brulee!

I should rephrase that, because I am sure someone has told me. I wish I had remembered that someone told me it was easy!

It’s so totally simple you just make custard, bake it, chill it and sprinkle sugar on top and blowtorch it. The blowtorch is my favorite bit.

It used to be that whenever I went out for dinner I’d get crème brulee thinking it was all fancy and stuff, now I know better!

I am far from being a wine expert, but I am picking up some tips from Roberson Wine who sent me a bottle of Cyprès DdClimens 2006, Château Climens to pair with my crème brulee! Here is a quote from one of their wine experts:

"For a wine to work well with a dessert it needs to be about as sweet - otherwise one will overpower the other. But, more importantly, it needs to have enough acidity to make it feel refreshing and to cleanse the palate, otherwise the combination just becomes cloying. The best dessert wines, like those made in Sauternes (Bordeaux) by great producers such as Château Climens, have enough of everything - sweetness, richness, acidity and flavour to work perfectly with crème brûlée." ~ Anna Von Bertele, New World & French wines expert at Roberson Wine

I found the pairing to be spot on, the crème brulee was creamy and smooth and the wine was refreshing with subtle hints of apricot and almonds.

I used a classic crème brulee recipe. I was very please with my first attempt at this dessert that I used to think of as being a fancy treat. It’s still tastes amazing even though I don’t think of it as being fancy anymore.

Crème Brulee

150ml double cream

250ml milk

1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped

3 egg yolks

40g golden caster sugar

Demerara sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 150C/gas2, Place the cream, milk, vanilla pod, and seeds in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer over a low heat. Beat together the egg yolks and sugar. Remove the vanilla pod from the simmering milk, then slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the milk mixture until combined. Then pour the custard into 6 x 100ml ramekins or 3 x 200ml ramekin. Place in a deep roasting tray and fill the tray with warm water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35-45 minutes for 100ml ramekins and 50-60 minutes if you use the 200ml ramekins. Leave to cool at room temperature before chilling in the fridge before serving. When ready to serve sprinkle the Demerara sugar and torch with a kitchen blowtorch or you could caramelize the sugar under a hot grill. Leave the sugar to harden before cracking it open with your spoon! The second best part after the blowtorch!

notes: Thank you to Roberson Wine for the wine, it was lovely. All opinions are my own. There are many ways to use used vanilla pods and many ways to use up egg whites, so don’t throw them away!! Also when I go out I tend to gravitate towards Sticky Toffee Pudding… I bet that’s super easy to make too. If you have a recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding that you love please send it my way! Crème Brulee is the perfect excuse to buy yourself a kitchen blowtorch! This recipe was taken from Jamie Oliver magazine 2013 calendar

Homemade Very Vanilla Ice Cream!!

The scent of vanilla is intoxicating. Whenever I make anything with vanilla you will find me wafting the scent towards me or continuously trying the batter/custard/frosting and so on.

I decided to make ice cream this weekend. I have had an ice cream maker for over a year now and not once used it. Sometimes I do wonder if there is something wrong with me?

The big debate was where to start? Vanilla, Chocolate, or Strawberry… maybe Coffee, Cinnamon, or Raspberry Ripple? The choices were endless…. So, to make my life easier and the fact that I absolutely adore vanilla I chose to start with vanilla.

Very Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk

½ cup double cream or heavy cream

6 large egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 vanilla bean split

½ cup sour cream

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Ice cream maker

Ice for the ice bath

Have an ice bath at the ready before… Combine milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a blender until smooth and aerated. Pour into a saucepan and add the vanilla bean and cook on a medium heat, stirring often. I used a rubber spatula so I could scrap the bottom and sides of the pan. Once the mixture has thickened it should coat the spatula/spoon and you should be able to run your finger through it and the trail should remain. Remove the vanilla bean and scrape the rest of the caviar into the pan.

Pour the custard through a sieve into a large bowl nested in the ice bath you should have already prepared. Stir until the custard until it is cool to the touch. In a clean blender pour the cooled custard in to it and add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Blend for about a minute before pouring back into your bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 6 hrs or overnight.

Once it’s chilled in the fridge pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

notes: When I chose vanilla I went straight to the vanilla bible Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever, check my book review. Do not throw out the vanilla bean pod, if rinsed and dried add it to a bag of sugar to make vanilla sugar or get a copy of Shauna’s book for other vanilla bean pod uses! Also do not discard the egg whites, make an omelet or make meringues like I did… post will be up soon!! It's the first time I have ever made meringues as well....

It was a dark and stormy night....

It's better late then never right? As I write this there is crazy rain outside. Some of the rain we got caught in as we left to go trick-or-treating! However, it slowed down enough for us to get a pretty good hoard of candy!

Before we went out we had party food and cakes at a friends. I of course provided the cakes!

I made the Ultimate Vanilla Cupcakes from Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever that I reviewed a few days ago! And died the frosting a green-yellow so we could make monsters! Here are the results:

What do you think? I think the kids did a great job. As the girls get older I would love to do more scary stuff for Halloween! Like a haunted house or scary movie marathon. But until then I hope next year it won't be so wet! Hope everyone had a fun and safe night!!

Pure Vanilla: Irresistible Recipes and Essential Techniques by Shauna Sever {book review}

Ever since I was little I have always preferred vanilla to chocolate (especially when it comes to ice cream!) After reading this book it truly felt as though it was written just for me!

I think most people who bake (and cook) take vanilla for granted and see it as boring. Anyone read Fifty Shades of Grey? Christian describes regular sex as 'vanilla'. That's such an insult to vanilla. As it's so much more then regular!

Yes, vanilla is expensive, but a little goes a long way. They're many ways to get full use out of vanilla bean pods that I wasn't aware of until this book!

The 6 chapters are broken down into breakfasts, cakes & pies, cookies & bars, candies & confections, custards & creams, and last but not least drinks!

On my 'must try' list from this book:
Light, Crisp Vanilla Waffles (picture)
Ultimate Vanilla Cupcakes (on cover)
Vanilla Cloud Cake
Triple Vanilla Pound Cake
Twinkie Bundt Cake (picture)
Vanilla Snaps
Lemon-Vanilla Dream Bars
Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer
Coconut and Vanilla Bean Ice Pops (picture)

I have a real love for baking books so it's rare for me to find fault with them by just reading them. The real truth comes from baking recipes from the book! So, watch this space as I bake my way through my bookshelf! ;0)

Golden Snitch Bomb Cake {Happy Birthday Harry!}

Today is the big day! It's Harry's Birthday! It's also JK Rowling's birthday!

Happy Birthday Jo!!!

For Harry's big day I made him a snitch cake, like Mrs Weasley does in book 7. I played around with different ideas. But finally decided I wanted to use sugar paste as I concluded it would give me the look I wanted. Then I used a gold spray to make it golden! Candy melts for the wings and an edible black marker to outline. For the inside I choose a bomb cake recipe from Peggy's Boutique Baking. Make any full or half circle cake you want and decorate!

I'm not sharing the recipe for this bomb cake is because I followed every ingredient and step to a T and it comes from Peggy’s Boutique Baking. It’s very in-depth and has step-by-step photos on how to assemble this cake. However, this isn't how she suggested to decorate it....

I used pre-made aka store bought marzipan and yellow fondant to cover it. I first rolled out the marzipan (I didn't take photos of that) before covering with the fondant as seen below. I made sure I had enough of the fondant to create the lines of the Snitch. To finish off I sprayed it with edible gold spay paint to give it the shimmer and gold feel. I also used a black edible pen to line some of the lines to try and give it some depth.

The wings were the hardest part to make. I first traced the size and shape of the wings on a piece of baking paper. I melted down yellow candy melts and using a butter knife filled in my drawings... I used a bit of the melted candy melts to attach the wings on.

assembling

The actual cake is a light sponge cake baked in a shallow cake pan and then shoved or layered inside a bowl then filled with butter-cream patisserie cream and alternated with fresh raspberries. It was delicious!! Anything for Harry! ;0) It's one of my first ever attempts at using fondant and making a bomb cake. It's probably not up to professional standards, but I am happy with the outcome. The first time I tried doing the wings it hadn't worked out so well. They were the toughest part of the whole cake. My daughter ate them off shortly afterwards. It was whole lot of fuss and worry, on my part, for nothing!

I hope you have enjoyed this weekend of yummy treats based on the world of Harry Potter! I know I had a lot of fun making and eating them!

If you have made Harry inspired anything (food, crafts, and so on) I’d love to see it!

Leave a comment with a link.

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Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread!!

Dough

2 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Filling

1 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
4 Tbsp. butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside.
In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and milk. Once the butter is completely melted take off the burner and add the water and vanilla. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.
Pour the milk mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Whisk together the eggs and add to the batter. Keep mixing. Add 3/4 cup of flour and mix well. The mixture will be very sticky which means it's perfect. Place the dough in a medium greased bowl. Cover with wrap and let it sit in a warm place to rise for about 30-45 minutes. Once the dough has doubled its size, knead in 2 tablespoons of flour. Cover the dough again for 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, start on the filling. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside.
Once the dough is ready, roll it out on a floured surface. Brush the melted butter on the dough and add the sugar mixture. Make sure everything is covered. Using a shape knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into equal sized strips (about 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide). Then cut the strips into equal sized squares. Stack the squares on top of each other to make 3 to 4 piles and place them in a bread pan. Take any sugar that fell off squares and sprinkle over the top and around the sides of dough. Cover the dough for another 10-15 minutes to rise.
While dough is rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place a cookie sheet under bread pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until outside of bread is golden brown.

This recipe I found on Food Snots! These were super yummy and a lot easier then cinnamon rolls, but with the same cinnamon-y taste! I added a glaze here's how I made my glaze: