Gingerly Confident Biscuit Baking

Considering that I have gotten just over a third of the way to completing my challenge I think I have done remarkably well in terms of not just baking some form of treat regularly but also in ensuring that my blog is updated as frequently as possible. Of course, I haven't written a post absolutely every day but then I think it would be outrageous to never give myself even one day off in a hundred days yet I've still managed to put up around thirty posts talking about this that and the other and - obviously - the baking. Yet today for the first time I've really struggled to think of a topic to open my blog with... I have it, the dreaded curse of writer's block.

I assumed that it would happen, you can't write on a topic every day without sometimes struggling to formulate an idea and of course witty stories can only be written about when you actually have a witty or interesting story to tell! So here I am, writing about my lack of ideas for the start of a post in the start of said post... How very abstract of me.

Anyway, the baking, as you may have noticed I never wrote a blog yesterday either. Perhaps it is unforgivable but personally I'm just glad I managed to squeeze in making chocolate brownies, because by god were they worth the effort it took to de-shell one hundred grams of pistachio nuts (i'd recommend buying yours de-shelled if you are to attempt a pistachio recipe!). Although I must admit that I was a little bit disappointed by the end result - the tray size meant that they came out more like small cakes than brownies - there was really very little to complain about. The inclusion of pistachio nuts is really quite ingenious because although you don't get a nutty taste from them it really adds to the texture to make them far interesting to eat. And because they don't get in the way of the gorgeous chocolatey flavour there's really no reason to not include them.

Today's recipe was Gingersnap biscuits (I know them as gingernuts but I'm going by the recipe's title!) and I am so glad that they worked so well. So far my attempts at biscuit making have ranged from hilariously disastrous (see "I Pecan't Make Biscuits") to dodgy looking but tasty (See "Bargain Hunting and Biscuit Making"). Today though, I am proud to say that not only have I successfully made biscuits which taste perfect but they also look incredible. And I mean properly professional looking, in fact so much so that it is very hard to tell whether or not they are actually shop bought or not. If it wasn't for the assortment of sizes I think I might doubt my own memory and believe that I simply imagined the whole baking escapade but alas I have finally made something I am actually very very proud of. They look great and taste great, perhaps a third of the way through this challenge I am finally getting my head round this whole baking malarkey... Well, we'll see if that lasts very long!

The Results: 

Mmm Browney..

Mmmm gingery

I've got a lovely burnt Coconut...

Whilst sewing a button onto an old pair of shorts - which had seen better days considering I was bought them as a young teen - and patching on some velcro whilst listening to some beautiful Jazz (Sample it for yourself here) I realised that I am by no stretch of the mark a "normal teenager." To most people who have met me in person I would say they might not think this remotely true, yes I am quite a quirky and happy-go-lucky kind of person when you meet me, but only once you get to know me do you realise that I have some really very unusual hobbies and ways of spending my time.

Obviously I'm not alone in being a baking fan (you, my humble reader, must have at least a passing interest in the cooking art) but it isn't my only "quirky" habit. It has been noted by people that teenagers who grow their own herbs and other plants aren't quite normal. Someone who knows how to sew a button back onto their jeans is disappointingly rare. Anyone who can repair basic household things or even have a vague understanding of technical ideas is becoming even less so. I have grown up with my father being able to fix almost anything which broke in our house (unfortunately not anything hi-tech of course) and unfortunately I never really paid attention to how he did these things. But as I've grown up I've realised that being able to do the odd job here and there is not only handy (and far easier than you'd imagine most of the time) but also saves time and money.

Really, that's where my hobbies come from, a desire to do something myself which I know is far cheaper, quicker and can sometimes yield far better results (especially when baking or growing herbs). Call me a tight-wad or a cheap scrounger all you want. But saving a few pennies here and there means I don't have to spend money buying a new towel rail for the bathroom (something I recently fixed at Uni) and can instead spend it on something I really want. That's why I don't mind being called weird or "quirky" or "odd" because to me it is far more odd to not know the basic mechanical knowledge that goes into making everything that surrounds us.

Today's recipe was by far the most easy I've had to do, mainly because it cheats and uses a ready made flan case. Part of me thought this wasn't really in the mood of the challenge which to me has a bit of a "discovering new things" and DIY vibe to it but I must say that it was a relief to not really have to put any effort in at all!

However... that doesn't necessarily mean everything went completely to plan! I think the main problem with today's challenge was actually the store-bought, ready-made flan case, why? Well naturally it isn't the shop's fault - nor the company who made said case - but mine and mine alone. Because when I went shopping for this flan case I wrote down on my list "flan case" and I came back with a "sponge flan case."  Naturally sponge isn't as heat resistant as pastry...

The Result:

Mmmm burney

So as you can see, it is a tad (a lot) blackened around the edges. Though I'll be first to admit that this is certainly not the worst disaster I've encountered on the blog it is certainly one which is very disappointing, I really looked forward to my coconut tart. Yet, when I bit into that first mouthful of coconutty tart I discovered that the overcooking had actually made... a MASSIVE difference, as much as I wish I could say that it was lovely and tasty despite the slight excessive use of oven it is clear that if only I had noticed in advance that that the flan case was the wrong kind perhaps it would have been perfect. The end result was a lovely filling and a burnt crust. Disappointing to say the least.

Apricot-astrophic Squares

Today was the most surprising baking day I've had in a long time. Why? Well everything went tits up of course! Perhaps I'd become cocky, over-confident or just a little too slap dash but somehow somewhere along the line something went terribly wrong. The challenge in question - Apricot and White Chocolate Squares - is hardly the most difficult I've ever encountered, it certainly isn't anywhere near as complicated as some of the things I'll have to be attempting in the not too distant future. Yet, the attempt landed quite severely on its face. 

Essentially all these creations are is a simple cake made with white chocolate, butter, flour and sugar all mixed together to then be cut into small bite sized morsels. I think that my main problem was deciding to halve the recipe - using four eggs just didn't seem justified for one day's worth of baking! - and therefore limiting myself to having to use a smaller (and incorrect) tin. 

Up until the cooking stage everything was going well... I say "well" in the loosest of terms because the first task I had to do was melt chocolate and butter in a pyrex bowl over a pan of simmering water. I chose my smallest pyrex bowl and my smallest pan and assumed that the bowl would be bigger... The bowl fell into this pan of simmering water, sloshing it EVERYWHERE, clearly I had misjudged my calculations in water displacement, not so much Eureka as oops-leaker, but it can't be too big of a deal right?

Then I noticed a puddle of water sitting inside my bowl of butter and chocolate! Noooooo! Well no matter, I poured what I could of the water out and carried on mixing. The mixture melted perfectly and I assumed that everything was back on track.

I had settled on using a bread tin as my desired cooking container - perhaps my downfall - mainly because it had a square bottom at about half the size the recipe asked for; perfect for my reduced quantities. Though clearly it didn't work out...

The Result:

Mmmm Salvaged...

The picture is not doing this catastrophe any justice at all I can assure you, though you may be able to see the slightly blackened edges of some of the squares... This is because of the attempts to rescue what was clearly a doomed attempt at baking. The main issue (which is really not obvious once the end result has been cut into servings) was that the cake had sunk in the middle during cooking, as if some tiny, fat, dastardly borrowers had decided to tan themselves on the middle of my slowly cooking cake. Despite being left in for the desired time at the desired heat something just didn't go right for some reason. The end result had a small cylinder of soft, gooey, yet tasty mixture in the middle of the cake. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't how it was meant to be so I tried desperately to rescue it. I cooled it down (as the recipe suggested it might have a soft centre until cooled) in the fridge to no avail. I reheated it gentyl in the cooling oven to no avail. I even put it in the oven at full temperature for an extra 15 minutes; lengthy considering the actual cooking time was only 25-30 minutes in the first place! yet still I was left with a sticky consistency. Finally I cut the middle out and was left with a fair amount fewer, slightly burnt on the edge, but at least solid squares. Though at least it's the dog who is going to be gaining the weight after him gaining on gooey goodies! 

Paying Peanuts

The recipe I decided to bake for myself - when I say myself I obviously don't intend to eat this enormous treat all by myself! -  today was Peanut Butter Squares (think flapjack style). Today has been a big test for me because it is the first time I'm going to use Asda's smart price plain flour (60p per 1.5kg), something I've really tried to avoid at all costs because I work at a Windmill which stone-grinds its own organic white flour made entirely from British wheat.

As an employee I have seen countless customers come in and buy our flour and insist it is "the best" flour around, I'm not here to promote The Maud Foster Windmill but this idea does intrigue me. Part of me believes that the customers are simply tricking themselves into thinking that "Strong Plain Untreated Organic Stoneground Flour" is simply better because it has far more adjectives at the front of it but I wanted to test this idea for myself. Is there any real difference between a bag of 60p flour and a bag for £2?

The answer is, to my surprise, Yes. Obviously I can't be 100% sure because this wasn't exactly a scientific experiment but it certainly seems that way. I'm rather adept at telling the difference between flours after working at a windmill for half a decade (A long time, I know) and the smart price stuff just didn't seem... right.

Obviously most of my experience is of the same flour so anything different would probably feel that way but in my head I knew straight away that this wasn't as good at all. There was an aspect of it which felt cheap and nasty. And the end result was nowhere near as good as anything I've made so far. Not because of some hilarious kitchen accident but because the flour didn't turn into breadcrumbs very well at all and the end result has become far more powdery and less solid than originally intended. I guess that you can cut corners all you want to try and make the product economically viable but for flour I will certainly not try anything quite this cheap again. Saisnbury's home brand plain flour (about 80p if i remember correctly) was pretty good so maybe that is a better alternative.


The Result: 

Mmm Powdery...

On the one hand, they taste very good, despite feeling very very unhealthy - I can almost feel my heart struggling to pump all the condensed milk, butter (peanut and ordinary),chocolate and nuts into my bloodstream - but the fact that they are really very very powdery really ruins them. They aren't something I think I'd be excited to eat again but I can't decide whether it is the dodgy flour or just another duff recipe... I have plenty of ASDA's finest left so we shall see!

There's no brioche, we have plenty of time!

Yesterday I realised that I was quite behind on baking. As regulars may have noticed, there have been the odd absentee days scattered throughout the last few weeks. And understandably so I'd say, fitting baking around uni, work, farewell events, birthdays, greeting old friends and every other daily surprise is fairly difficult.

But that is, of course, no excuse for being late or unable to finish the challenge. So I'm making sure that from now on I remain on top of my challenge, I certainly don't want to leave a dozen recipes to do on the final day! Having said that, doing the same to catch up now would be equally ridiculous and back breaking (not mentioning wallet breaking and coma inducing).

I have to admit the main issue with the challenge now is the small matter of eating it all. I can't eat it all fast enough!

Anyway, the actual challenges today were Brioche and Chocolate Chip Cookies. And both went extraordinarily well, by now you will know that I am certainly my own best critic so this is by no means me simply tooting my own horn! I couldn't have asked for better if I'd tried. My only quibble was that I literally have no idea what to do with a brioche.

Call me uncultured if you wish but I simply had no idea what to do with it! Do I butter it? Put jam on it? Make sandwiches or dip it in soup? I literally haven't the foggiest! In the end I ate a couple of slices plain out of the oven which were lovely but I do wonder whether I should treat it as cake or bread... A mystery! I resolved to decide another day and popped it in the freezer!

The Result:

Both treats ended up being perfect. The cookies in particular are absolutely perfect, better than store bought cookies because they have that rustic homemade taste to them but importantly they still have the doughy texture you get from the shop bought treats. Perfect. And the brioche... Well it tastes good and looks brilliant, though I'm still flummoxed as to what I should be comparing to!

The Rocky Horror Brownie Show

My neighbours are on holiday for a week - my parents have backed this information up so I'm fairly sure it's accurate - not usually a topic of interest but it became an interesting fact following my first seriously spooky encounter in my life so far...

Yesterday's summer heat came rolling through the open window, I'd been out in it all day cycling and generally making sure my English pallor of skin retained some sort of "healthy" appearance in the small window of opportunity our British summers allow. As darkness settled over the sleepy and peaceful cul-de-sac my parents live on the heat hardly changed. Windows were thrown open down the street yet there was barely a sound other than infrequent screeching owl. Come midnight - the time I finally began to settle in my bed - there was a deadly silence.

Then I heard it.

A faint but definite sound drifting along on the faint breeze. Notes being played on a piano, four or five notes, in a row played over and over. They weren't easy to hear at first, but once you heard it it was impossible to ignore. A haunting collection of notes drifting through the dark night's air.

It was obvious which side it was coming from, it was definitely my immediate neighbour, they are the only people in the area with a piano plus, their house is certainly the only one I could hear from my bedroom window. But my obvious question was, "Who is playing that piano?"

At this time of night it would be inconsiderate of anyone to be playing any sort of musical instrument on a Sunday night, let alone on a quiet summer's evening when windows are sure to be open. Also, the neighbours with the piano happen to have two young children, why would they wake said children up with the piano? They sound demonic when they're screaming at playtime, who knows what they'd be like if suddenly woken up at just after the witching hour.

Of course, I didn't know that the neighbours were away. Had I known I might never have gotten to sleep, but for half an hour - at the very least - I strained my ears to hear this basic tune. It wasn't any kind of tune I recognised, though it sounded as if it could easily have been the music to a long forgotten nursery rhyme, and it was played over and over. The notes weren't clear or sharp in any way which surprised me considering the neighbour is a piano teacher. In fact I'd say they were catching other keys as well as the intended one, as if it was played by someone - or something - with large hulking fingers...

Of course I have no idea what to make of any of this, it doesn't make any sense at all whichever way I look at it. And to top things off, just before lunchtime today, my wonderful girlfriend and lovely mother looked into the garden after hearing a strange humming noise. There was a dark black cloud of Wasps buzzing over the neighbour in question's garden, making a sound so vicious it could be heard ten metres away. The swarm covered their garden and yet there was no one there to disturb it in anyway, not even a solitary cat. Spooky...

Anyway, enough of my odd goings-ons, this baking blog won't write itself! Today's challenge was to bake Rocky Road Brownies, including nuts, cherries and tiny marshmallows for the top. Really it was very simple, other than a little of chopping this that and the other there's nothing very complicated to see here or even to recommend in terms of tips. Though I have one minor quibble, having divided the recipe in half again to save on ingredients I realised I should have made sure I had a tin which could comfortably bake a half size brownie mixture... but at the same thickness. I had to settle with a cake tin in the end but I wasn't happy with it still. Also halving the recipe is a bit of a danger because of cooking time. It certainly doesn't halve the cooking time and so you're left with the dubious mission of checking it frequently and ensuring it is fully done, really I'd always recommend going for the full recipe unless you're very familiar with how the end result should be, it's a bit of a risk ending up with a half-done or overcooked treat.

The Result:

Mmmm, Marshmallow-ey

In the end, the brownies were always going to come out good, they just have an excellent mix of ingredients. Glace cherries work perfectly with chocolate and marshmallows add such a lovely texture to the top. Though unfortunately the consistency of the brownie was closer to that of a chocolate cake (so didn't have the lovely crunchy top and then gooey middle) it's hardly a big issue when the end product is so tasty! I think having the  full recipe is important for brownies; though it is easy to to split, I think the thickness of the end product is so essential to making them good brownies so that quantity is very important!

 

I'll have polenty more of that...

Today's task of baking a polenta and almond cake began with a debate. My dad kept insisting resolutely that polenta is some form of dish he has had in a foreign country, he claims it is cheese based. HE IS WRONG!
But you know what dads are like, he kept asking my mum: "What was that thing we had in Croatia called?" No answer.
"Wait, was it Croatia? Or was it in Prague?" At this point his entire argument collapsed, not only was he unsure of how right he was but he also had zero grounding for his argument. It may come across as a son being typically teenager-esque by trying to prove a point but in all honesty no matter how intelligent my dad may be, he has an awful memory for anything which has happened in the past 5 years - he's getting old bless him...
Also, I just happen to be a relatively knowledgeable person when it comes to flour and baking ingredients (well most of them!); I have worked in a windmill for five years so I believe I have an upperhand on many people! Polenta is just another name for cornmeal/maize meal/ground corn. Though they often vary in "grade" ( how finely ground they are) they are all from maize (corn on the cob plants for the urbanites amongst you!).
Anyway, the task was underway, polenta thoroughly defined and weighed up I got started with the recipe.
Although the recipe asked for a small orange, I honestly have no idea how big a "small" orange is! For me, I settled on ignoring the Orange and went for a satsuma. Although harder to grate the rind it was juicier and whizzing the peel in the whizzer did an excellent job anyway!
I must say that I'm growing rather fond of ground almonds, they really do add to the texture of a cake, it makes it feel far more substantial and of course adds a lovely taste; handy! The end result was wonderful, ideally served warm and with ice cream almond and polenta cake has become one of the best recipes I've done yet!

The Result: