Une Baguette Française

For those of you that know me well or are regulars on my blog, you'll know (and are perhaps sick of hearing!) how much I love France. After spending my year abroad there last year, I became even more besotted with it and August can't come quick enough so I can spend another month there, basking in the warm sunshine of southern France (in between looking after a 4 year old French boy, which may be somewhat less relaxing!). I am desperate to spend a Saturday morning in the bustling market square of a Provençal town, taking in the sights and smells of all the wonderfully local produce, and I can almost taste the refreshing demi pêche waiting for me in a bar that will forever bring back happy memories of my year abroad. But most importantly, I cannot wait to have that first bite of baguette, fresh from the local boulangerie! That's when I'll know I'm back in France. Roll on the next few weeks...!

So, to get me in the French mood, the other day I decided to have a go at making the famous baguette to see if I create one anywhere near as good as the French ones...! I'd been meaning to make some bread for quite a while, but just not got round to it. It's not that it's difficult or anything, it just takes ages to make what with all the proving, resting, etc. But being the jobless, penniless citizen that I have recently become, I have a lot of free time on my hands at the moment, so there was no excuse to give it a go! It wasn't identical to the proper French baguette, but it was close and I was quite impressed. It tasted far more like the real thing than any I've tasted from supermarkets, which always look very similar, but just end up being a bit disappointing. (Gosh, I sound obsessed with baguettes haha - I'm not really, but I like to consider myself a bit of an expert on them after living so close to a boulangerie last year and eating one virtually every day last year!). (Not a whole baguette every day, I'd like to point out!!). Anyway, I found a recipe from Paul Hollywood (more of a  bread expert than me, perhaps?) and I think it's pretty authentic. I may have made mine a bit too small, which meant they weren't quite as doughy in the middle as I'd have liked them to be, but the crust was perfect and I thought I was back in France for a second! Of course, it didn't quite live up to the French version, but as I don't have the proper French oven or the French flour, maybe I can be forgiven. I'd definitely make them again though, because they were really easy to make and it has satisfied my French food craving until August!

Baguette (makes 2)    From Paul Hollywood

Ingredients:
250g strong white bread flour
5g salt
5g instant yeast
185ml cool water
Olive oil for kneading

Method:

1. Lightly oil a Tupperware.
2. Put the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl (don't put the salt directly on top of the yeast).
3. Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon.
4. As the dough starts to come together add the remaining water and bring it together with your hands.
5. Tip onto a lightly oiled surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it is glossy and elastic (it may be quite wet, but can still be kneaded).
6. Tip the dough into the prepared Tupperware and cover with a tea towel.
7. Leave until it's doubled in size at least, which should take about an hour.
8. Line a tray with greaseproof paper.
9. Coat the surface with a little olive oil, then tip the dough onto it.
10. Handle it gently to retain the airiness and divide into 2.
11. Shape each piece into an oblong by flattening the dough and folding the sides into the middle.
12. Roll each into a sausage shape so the join runs along the length of the base.
13. Beginning in the middle, gently roll out each sausage with your hands so they are the length of the oven tray. 
14. Place the baguettes on the tray.
15. Cover and leave to cool for about an hour, until they have doubled in size.
16. Preheat your oven to 220 degrees and put a roasting tray in the bottom to heat up.
17. When the baguettes are risen and light, dust them lightly with flour.
18. Slash each one three times along its length on the diagonal, using a sharp knife.
19. Fill the roasting tray with hot water and put the bread in the oven.
20. Bake for 25 minutes until the baguettes are golden brown and have a light sheen.
21. Cool on a wire rack, then enjoy!

Lemon and Raspberry Cake

So it was my Dad's birthday last week and, of course, I couldn't let it go by without baking him a cake. I mean, it would have been quite rude, right?! Anyway, whether he wanted it or not, I always prefer to bake with a specific purpose in mind and I think a birthday screams cake more than any other occasion! It was also the perfect excuse to try out another recipe from my Hummingbird Bakery cookbook and, as usual, it did not disappoint! After baking (and eating) their cake recipes, I don't think I could ever try an alternative now. The sponge is just so moist and light with the addition of buttermilk, that I would feel as if I was betraying the cake gods if I made a cake any other way now! The basic marg, sugar, flour, eggs recipe that I used to stick to when I was growing up does not live up to my cake expectations these days. Basically, I've been spoilt by Hummingbird and now there's no turning back...!

The only difficult part of baking this cake was deciding which recipe to choose! To be honest, I don't think there'd be any cake I wouldn't like from the Hummingbird cookbook, but I thought lemon and raspberries seemed most suitable for summer. I rarely say no to chocolate, but last week's surprisingly warm and sunny weather didn't make me feel like it for once. The tartness of the lemons and raspberries was just what I fancied (regardless of what the birthday boy wanted!), so this recipe jumped out at me. And with raspberries being possibly one of my favourite fruits, this cake was the perfect choice. I have to say though, I think it's the icing that makes this cake! Don't be put off when you start making it and it just looks like breadcrumbs that look as if they'll never come together to make a fluffy icing, because I promise you, it does work and it does taste wonderful. When you add the cream cheese, be careful not to over-stir, as I have had bad experience on this front where the icing has just ended up as one big sloppy mess (remember this recipe?), which does not work too well when trying to cover a cake with it! Anyway, other than that, it's very easy to make and tastes especially beautiful sat outside in glorious sunshine with a large cup of tea. Let's just hope that some more sunny days are heading our way...! 

Lemon and Raspberry Cake 

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

55g unsalted butter, softened

190g caster sugar

160g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

160ml buttermilk

Zest of a lemon

2 medium eggs

40g raspberry jam

For the frosting:

450g icing sugar

Zest of 3/4 lemon

75g unsalted butter, softened

190g full-fat cream cheese

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

A few raspberries

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and line the cake tins with greaseproof paper.
2. With a hand-held electric whisk, mix the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder together until it forms a sand-like consistency.
3. In a large jug, mix together the buttermilk, lemon zest and eggs.
4. With the whisk on medium speed, gradually pour half the liquid into the crumb mixture.
5. Mix thoroughly until the batter is thick and smooth. Once the lumps have gone, add the rest of the liquid.
6. Mix until combined.
7. Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
8. Meanwhile, make the frosting by gradually mixing the icing sugar, lemon zest and butter together on a low speed with the electric whisk until combined and there are no large lumps of butter.
9. Add a little cream cheese to loosen up the mixture and beat until smooth.
10. Add the rest of the cream cheese and beat the frosting until it is light and fluffy.
11. Once the sponges are cool, assemble the cake by placing one layer on a large plate.
12. Spread with a layer of raspberry jam and top with 3-4tbsp of frosting, smoothing out with a palette knife.
13. Sandwich the second layer on top and frost the sides and top of the cake so no sponge is showing.
14. Decorate with a few raspberries, some lemon zest and a sprinkling of icing sugar. 
15. Cut a large slice and enjoy!

Macarons: Take 3

Hello...it's been a while! Yes, I am still alive. Sorry for my lack of blogging recently, but now I have finished uni FOREVER it means I have all the time in the world to blog away to my heart's content. It still hasn't quite sunk in that it's actually over for good this time and I won't be going back. There's secretly still a part of me that thinks after summer I'll be returning to my beloved Bham and I think I'll refuse to accept it until I've actually graduated. So now there's a huge void of emptiness ahead of me, which I'm not quite sure exactly what I'll be filling it with as of yet, but in the meantime I will bake! And of course, one way I celebrated finishing my exams was by baking. I gave macarons a go for the third time last week and ended up with these pretty pink almondy lovelies. 

And I have to say, I was very proud of them. I think it's been my most successful attempt so far and some of them even had the infamous 'foot' that macarons should have, which is basically just a technical name for the  ruffly edge at the bottom. The texture inside most of them had that light signature fluffiness and I could have eaten the whole lot myself (but I'd promised to make them for a friend, so I restrained!). Sneaking a bit of my housemate's red food colouring was definitely a good idea, because the vivid colours of macarons is part of their attraction in my eyes. Of course, they were not the perfect macarons and there is still a lot of room for improvement though - they stuck horrendously to the greaseproof paper and I had to literally peel them off and they were a bit wider and flatter than I'd intended them to be. I did manage to resurrect my piping bag and disinfect it from the slug trails though (one thing I will not miss about living in a student house!), which made it a lot easier to make them all a similar size. And making the sugar syrup was a better method, because the paste was far smoother. Finally, the chocolate ganache that sandwiched between the two layers was the perfect choice for finishing them off. I mean, put a chocolate ganache in (virtually) anything and it'll instantly make it taste a thousand times better!

So, yes, give them a go! Because practice makes perfect. And one day I will make macarons that look just like all those ones I saw last year in the windows of French patisseries!

Macarons with a chocolate ganache    (makes 20 if piped to the correct size!)

Ingredients:

Macarons: (adapted from Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook)

100g icing sugar, sifted

100g ground almonds

100g caster sugar

2tbsp cold water

2 large eggs

red food colouring

Ganache: (from The Hummingbird Bakery Home Sweet Home)

125ml double cream

110g dark chocolate, grated

Method:

1. Begin by making the macarons and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine the icing sugar and almonds in a bowl and set aside.
3. Put the caster sugar and water into a stainless steel pan.
4. Heat gently over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. 
5. Bring to the boil and boil for a few minutes without stirring, until the it becomes a clear, shiny syrup.
6. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
7. Put 1 egg white into a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until stiff but not dry.
8. Slowly pour in the sugar syrup, beating constantly until you have a shiny meringue.
9. Add the other egg white to the icing sugar and almonds, mixing to a thick paste with a wooden spoon.
10. Stir in a small amount of red colouring (depending on how pink you want your macarons!).
11. Add a tablespoon of the meringue to the paste and beat well.
12. Carefully fold in the remaining meringue mixture so it is an even pink colour, but be careful not to overmix.
13. Fill the piping bag with the mixture and pipe rounds of about 3.5cm diameters onto each baking tray.
14. Set aside to dry for about an hour until a skin forms on top.
15. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 150 degrees for about 25 minutes until firm and glossy on top.
16. Turn the oven off, but leave the macarons in to cool for about an hour.
17. Transfer to a cooling rack with a damp palette knife.
18. Now make the ganache by heating the cream in a pan until just boiling. 
19. Pour over the grated chocolate and stir until it has melted completely.
20. Set aside to thicken.
21. Once the macarons and ganache have cooled, spread about a teaspoon of the ganache onto a macaron and sandwich together.
22. Repeat with all of them and enjoy!