Leftover Bread and Jam Pudding

Got some leftover bread? Why not make some bread pudding!

Making bread pudding is very simple: all you need is stale bread, eggs, milk, and sugar. However, you can add other things to jazz it up with some butter, or even some jam.

To make this pudding, which served four, I used 4 slices of white bread (actually, I used up the last of my pink bread), enough strawberry jam to make sandwiches, 2 medium eggs, 3 fluid ounces (85 millilitres) each of milk and whipping cream, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. To top it off before cooking, I also used about 1 tablespoon of butter.

Make 2 sandwiches with the bread and jam and cut each into quarters (I broke up two of the quarters to line the dish because it wasn't long enough for all the sandwiches), and then arrange in the dish, which should be well buttered. In a jug, mix together the eggs, cream, milk, and sugar very well. Strain over the sandwiches and allow the whole confection to soak for at least 2 hours, or better, overnight in the fridge.

When you want to cook it, dot the top with butter and sprinkle with coarse Demerara sugar. Bake in a preheated 180C oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until nicely puffed and well browned. I served this with a little whipping cream that I mixed with some raspberry jam for flavour.

This is a delicious and simple weeknight dessert, and one of my all time favourite desserts. It tastes like a lovely squishy croissant served with cream!

Cake for Aimée: Madeira Loaf with Strawberry "Eyes" (Warning: Long Post)

On this wonderful day before World Goth Day, I present to you a cake that's been weeks in the making: Madeira Loaf Cake... with Spooky Eyes!

A few weeks ago, I began to make videos again for my YouTube channel. Normally when I do a video (although life has been a bit hectic recently so I've not done one for a while; I'd better correct that) I finish with an invitation for suggestions or questions. After I released a cake review video, I got a message from a friend of mine, named Aimée, who is currently travelling Southeast Asia. Our conversation went a little something like this:

"My Nannie used to buy this cake when we were younger but I thinks it’s been discontinued for a good while now, and I thought who’d be there most likely person to know about it: you my cake guru friend"

I was flattered to be referred to as a "cake guru", so I continued reading:

"It was a rectangle log, with shiny green-black wrapper, the inside was Madeira and the outside had a light layer of chocolate covering the whole thing. And through the middle were two strips of limey jelly so when you cut into it the line bit almost looked like eyes.

It was utterly delish but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called and I've been trying for weeks to remember!"

After posting this question into a few baking groups on social media, and doing a bit of scratching around on Google, I came to a possible answer. After Aimée and I conversed back and forth, we came to the conclusion that the cake her Nan used to buy must have been this:

From my research I discovered that these kinds of cakes are very common on the continent, and used to be found here in Ireland in the Polish goods aisle of most large supermarkets: Aimée told me her Nan used to get hers in Supervalu. However, she was right in her assumption that this cake is now discontinued: I could not for the life of me find a cake like this in the Irish supermarkets, or the Eastern European supermarkets here in Limerick.

Because I couldn't get a hold of the actual cake itself, I had to do all of my investigation from photographs of the outer packaging, promotional photos of the cake itself on the company website, and from other people's blogs where they reviewed the cake.

I must have made about six versions of this cake (nearly all of which ended up in the food processor to be reincarnated as cake pops), and I tried loads of methods to get the two channels of jelly into the cake: I tried baking the cake with the jam in it with raw jam and cake, I tried freezing the jam into logs first and then baking it into the cake - some dusted with flour, some not - I tried baking half of the cake then adding the jam and the remaining cake mixture on the top to prevent to jam sinking. None of these worked, as each time the jam sank to the bottom, or there was a seam where the two cake halves met.

Then, on closer inspection of the photographs, the answer became clearer: the cakes were injected with jam filling. In the factory, the cakes must be stabbed with a double injection nozzle. Of course! It's so simple; and here was I making it unnecessarily complicated.

Here, you can see the difference between baking the jam in (left), and injecting is afterwards (right):

Of course, no-one has an industrial injection nozzle in their home, so the way I found to mimic it is to poke a channel, or two, all the way through the cake with a chopstick, widen it with the handle of a wooden spoon, and then squeeze the jam in with a piping bag. Make sure to make the opening of the piping bag quite narrow, and if needs be you can coax the jam all the way in using the chopstick.

I used raspberry jam which I had thickened with a little cornflour, as directed in my Bakewell Gateau recipe, and am still working on how to make a kiwi version as I've never, ever seen kiwi jam. I may just have to make it myself. I tried making a version using kiwi jelly crystals, but it was a miserable failure as the cake soaked up all the liquid jelly; you need to use something with a thicker consistency to prevent soakage, and you need a cake with a fairly dense texture, like a Madeira cake or a pound cake.

So, let me explain how I did it:

INGREDIMENTS

1 loaf-shaped Madeira or pound cake, made in a two-pound (1 kilogram) loaf tin, or shopbought

Roughly 4 ounces (115 grammes) filling of your choice: strawberry or any other jam, lemon curd, Nutella, custard, etc.

About 4 or 6 ounces (115 to 170 grammes) glaze of your choice: glacé icing, melted chocolate, etc.

METHOD

• Take your completely cooled homemade or shopbought cake and chill it for about 20 minutes to make it easier to work with.
• Because this cake will be served upside down, cut the dome off the cake so it will sit flat. If the two short ends are sloped, cut a narrow slice of each end to make them completely flat.
• Turn the cake up on its narrow end and using a chopstick, poke channels gently through the middle of the cake to resemble two eyes. Widen the channels by going through them again with the handle of a wooden spoon.
• Fit a piping bag with a narrow round nozzle - or better, an injection nozzle (don't worry, this isn't an affiliate link: it's just a link for visual reference) - and pipe the filling into the channels. To get the most filling in, you might have to fill from both ends and coax it down with the end of the chopstick.
• Pop into the fridge again for about 30 minutes to help set the filling.
• To decorate, glaze with some simple glacé icing, or with melted chocolate. I used a simple glaze of dark chocolate and sunflower oil.

STORAGE

This cake is best stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week, but is best served at room temperature. For that reason, I recommend taking the cake out of the fridge an hour before serving.

THIS TIME IN 2016: Mocha Cupcakes: Chocolate and Coffee Join Forces (Gluten Free; Dairy Free Option)

THIS TIME IN 2013: Bake Sale Madness: Raising Funds for Christian Aid

There were no blogs on this day in 2017, 2015, nor 2014.

Ice-Cream Month: Arctic Roll, a Retro Classic? (Wheat Free, with Dairy-Free Option)

For my final Ice-Cream Month offering, I present to you my finest frozen achievement: Arctic Roll!

I will admit I've been dying to share this one with you, because it was a big challenge. I've been waiting for the moment the calendar turned up the July 26th so I could make this for my companion's birthday and show it off on my blog.

My companion says he remembers eating this as a boy and how much he enjoyed it, so I said I'd make him one for his birthday at his request. This birthday was full of DIY projects: I made him a die earring (which he's wearing), some cherry schnapps (which I'll probably make again at some point, and then blog about it), and this cake.

Happy birthday, my lovely!

I decided I'd research this one quite heavily: I watched a lot of videos, and read a lot of recipes online. I decided to turn to a trusted resource: I watched a Jamie Oliver video on YouTube, and the woman who is demonstrating makes it look fussy as Hell. In the video, she spreads the ice-cream directly onto the cake like you would do with whipped cream and makes a valiant attempt to wrap it up. It's a mess, and I thought I could do that better!

Spoiler alert: I couldn't. My advice: do a  Rich Harris and ROLL THE ICE-CREAM INTO A LOG FIRST (but ignore the rest of the video: he makes it look far more difficult than it actually is). Don't be a hero and try and roll it up like you would do with whipped cream in a rolled cake; it's possible but it's messy.

So the roll you see pictured here has had a few issues: it froze as an oval from the ice-cream being too soft, the jam mixed into the ice-cream a bit, and to add insult to injury I froze it upside down so the seam was on top.

However, the family enjoyed it, and my companion loved it: they didn't seem to think there was a single thing wrong with it. Maybe I'm just my own harshest critic! But, even though mine turned out very nicely despite the faffing around, I've written the below recipe instructions to include the proper and less messy way to do it.

 So, here's what you'll need to make it.

INGREDIMENTS
For one cake that serves about 10 people

• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) whole milk, or milk alternative
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour, or gluten free flour mix
• 3 to 4 tablespoons (45 to 60 millilitres) seedless raspberry jam
• 2 pints (1·140 litres) good quality vanilla ice-cream, preferably one with visible vanilla seeds, or dairy-free ice-cream
• Icing sugar, for dusting

METHOD

• Take the ice-cream and let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. You'll need to shape the ice-cream into a log before you wrap it. Don't make the same mistake I did and try and roll the swiss roll with soft ice-cream in it: it won't work.
• Take a big piece of non-stick paper and mark out the short width of the cake tin you'll be using for the swiss roll cake: this will be the length of your ice-cream log. I used a  9x13 inch (22x33 centimetre) rectangular tin, which would have made my ice-cream log about 9 inches (22 centimetres) long. Turn it upside down so the pen is on the outside.
• Place the ice cream in a pile at one end, then roll it up in the paper, leaving a little for holding onto while shaping. Use the paper to squish the ice-cream into a log shape as wide as your guidlines, making sure it's the same thickness all the way through the log. If the ice-cream is getting too soft, just pop it into the freezer for 10 minutes, then continue working on it.
• Roll the ice-cream log up completely in the paper, then twist the ends. Wrap in cling film, and place in the freezer to freeze solid, about an hour.
• Line the bottom of the cake tin you're using with non-stick baking paper. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4), with the rack in the centre.
• Prepare the cake to these instructions, using the ingredients listed above. Bake for 17 or 18 minutes, until golden on the surface and springy to the touch. Any longer, and the cake will be too dry to roll; any less, and it will squish when you roll it.
• Using another piece of non-stick paper. Trim and roll up in the paper as directed and allow to cool completely. Carefully unwrap and spread the surface with the jam.
• Take the ice-cream log out of the freezer and let it sit for about 5 minutes to soften ever so slighyly. Place the ice-cream log at one end of the cake, and roll up. Twist the ends of the paper like a sweet wrapper; discard the paper used to roll the log.
• Freeze for a full hour at least before serving (make sure you freeze it seam side down, like I didn't), then allow to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving. The cake insulates the ice-cream, so it won't melt as quickly.

THIS DAY IN 2015: Danish Pastries: Dinosaur Paws (Wheat Free with Dairy Free Option)

THIS DAY IN 2014: Mini Chocolate "Melkterts" (Wheat Free)

There were no blogs on this day in 2013 nor 2016.

Simple Danish Pastries (Wheat- and Yeast Free)

Kan du lide at wienerbrød? Continuing with my Central European vibe this week, I present the Danish Pastry!

These crispy treats are known as wienerbrød in their native land. It literally means 'Vienna bread', because all of the yeast risen laminated pastries we know and love, such as croissants and Danish pastries, were originally developed in Austria.

I, however, don't use a yeast risen puff pastry, I just use normal puff pastry. I tend to make my own, which is time consuming, but it means my mother can eat them when they're made from scratch with spelt. If you want the pastry to taste yeasty, however, you can bind the dough with beer instead of water. It's a neat trick.

Danish pastries look a little different in the United States, using fresh berries and sweetened cream cheese fillings. British style Danish pastries, which I'm used to, use more traditional fillings like jam, apple, apricot, and baker's custard, called crème pâtissière.

My pastries didn't rise as much as I'd have liked, because the pastry was warm before cooking, so PLEASE make sure the pastries are nice and cold before baking.

And don't be intimidated by the ingredient list, not by the seemingly complex construction: they're very, very simple, especially if you use shop bought ingredients.

This will be my last entry for this month, because my thesis proposal is due this week. Wish me luck!

INGREDIMENTS
For about 12 pastries, depending on size

• Double quantity of puff pastry, alternatively you can buy a pound (455 grammes) of premade puff pastry
• 1 egg, mixed with a tablespoon of milk
• Flaked almonds, to decorate
• Demerara sugar, to decorate

For the gluten free crème pâtissière,

• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) whole milk
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) cornflour
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon (15 grammes) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• About a teaspoon (5 grammes) butter
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

For the apple filling,

• 1 eating apple, something firm and tart like a Granny Smith, or Pink Lady, or you could use 4 ounces (115 grammes) of any other firm fruit, or berry
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) cornflour
• 2 tablespoons (30 grammes) brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon (1 millilitre) salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon (1 millilitre) ground cloves

Other fillings,

• Brown sugar and cinnamon
• Nutella
• Jam
• Tinned apricots or plums
• Dried mixed fruit

HOW-TO

To make crème pâtissière,

• In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar, cornflour, egg yolk, salt, and two tablespoons (30 millilitres) of the measured milk to make a smooth paste.
• Add the rest of the milk, stir well, and place over medium heat. Bring to the boil, mixing all the time, and boil for about 2 minutes to fully activate the starch.
• Remove from the heat and pour immediately into a bowl. Cover with clingfilm, touching the surface directly, and cool to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools.

To make the apple filling

• Peel, core, and chop the apple into half inch (1 centimetre) pieces. Place in a bowl or jug, and add the other ingredients.
• Mix very well until the mixture becomes wet and saucy: the starch will draw the water out of the apple and mix it with the other ingredients.

To make the pastries,

• Prepare the pastry, which will take about two or three hours.
• Roll the pastry out to a rectangle measuring 12 by 16 inches (30.5 by 40.5 centimetres), cut into twelve 4 inch (10 centimetre) squares.
• Use each square to make a pastry following the instructions: braids, windmills, turnovers, or crowns. You can use the fillings as instructed above, or you can use shop bought fillings.
• To make the spirals, you need a 4 by 8 inch (10 by 20 centimetre) rectangle, so just keep two squares stuck together for the spirals. Follow the illustration below to make the spirals.
• Lie the pastries on the baking sheets, about two inches (5 centimetres) apart, brush the tops with eggwash, and decorate with flaked almonds or Demerara sugar if you like.
• Place the pastries into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes before cooking. While they're chilling, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, Gas Mk.7), and flour two large flat trays.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then transfer gently to a wire rack to cool completely before serving. The apple ones are nice warm, though.

HOW TO MAKE THE SHAPES

Spiral

Take the 4 by 8 inch (10 by 20 centimetre) piece of pastry, and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar, brushing it around with your hand to get it all to stick. Sprinkle generously also with ground cinnamon, Rolling from the short end, roll it up like a Swiss roll. Wrap up in cling film, and then chill for 30 minutes before cutting into half inch (1 centimetre) slices. Brush each slice with egg wash if you like.

Apple Turnover

Take a square, and place about a rounded teaspoon of apple filling in the centre. Imagine the square cut in half diagonally, and brush the edges of one diagonal side with eggwash to help stick. Fold over diagonally, and press the edges together firmly with a fork. Brush the top with eggwash and sprinkle with Demerara sugar.

Braid

Take a square, and visualise it divide into three. Cut the outer two thirds with slightly angled lines, and fill the centre third with whichever filling you like. Working top to bottom, alternately fold the pastry strips over the filling in the middle. Slightly pinch the open ends to close them up.

Windmills (Pinwheels)

Take a square, and cut diagonally into quarters, making sure not to cut all the way though the middle. Fill the centre part that isn't cut, and then take a corner of one pastry flap and fold it up into the middle, over the filling. Work around the pastry until all flaps have the same corner folded into the middle.

Crown

This is the easiest one. Take a square, and fold each corner down into the middle, but not all the way. Place the filling on in the centre, on top of the folded corners.

These are best enjoyed on the day they're made, but if you have any left overs keep in an airtight container for 3 days. These can freeze for up to a month, too.

Nothing on this day in 2016
THIS TIME IN 2015: Tiramisù Mini Cheesecakes (Wheat Free)
Nothing on this day in 2014
THIS TIME IN 2013: Dinosaur Kimberleys (Wheat Free)

Shrove Tuesday: Semlor, Scandinavian Cream Buns (Wheat Free)

In keeping with the theme of Shrove Tuesday, here is another delicious offering, this time from the Subarctic realms of Scandinavia: semlor!

Originally, semlor (singular: semla) were eaten on Shrove Tuesday before the start of Lent, but once the Scandinavian countries had the Protestant Reformation, Lent was no longer as important. Nowadays, these cream buns are eaten throughout the year as a sweet treat. Traditionally, semlor are eaten in bowls of warm milk, like a pudding, but I'm not sure how often they are eaten like that anymore.

In Sweden, semlor are filled with whipped cream and almond paste made into a creamy filling by mixing with milk. In Finland, they are called laskiaispulla, and are made with raspberry or strawberry jam instead of almond paste filling. However, both are sold all over Scandinavia, and are differentiated by their appearance: almond semlor have almonds on top, and jam semlor are simply dusted with some icing sugar.

The bread dough is also subtly perfumed with some ground cardamom, which is a spice which I don't think is used anywhere near enough. However, if you don't like cardamom, you could use cinnamon, or just leave it un-spiced entirely.

I made both, but I preferred the jammy ones: I found the almond paste ones too heavy and cloying. But, make both and

INGREDIMENTS
Makes 16 or 20 buns, depending on size

• One batch of sweet bread dough, seen here, with 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom added
• 1 medium egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) of milk, or water
• 17½ fluid ounces (500 millilitres) whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) icing sugar
• Optional: 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

For Finnish style buns

• 5 or 6 ounces (140 or 170 grammes) raspberry or strawberry jam
• Icing sugar, for dusting

For Swedish style buns

• 5 ounces (140 grammes) marzipan*
• Milk, for mixing*
• Flaked almonds, for decorating
• Optional: warm milk, for serving

HOW-TO

• Prepare the dough according to this recipe, adding the cardamom, and once it has risen the first time, divide into 16 or 20 balls, roughly 2 ounces or 1½ ounces (55 or 45 grammes) each. Make sure the tops are nice and smooth and taught.
• Lightly dust two large flat baking tray, and place the dough balls--8 or 10 on each tray--in a 3-2-3(-2) pattern, about two inches (5 centimetres) apart to allow them to double in size without touching each other.
• Allow to rise in a warm place, loosely covered with some oiled cling film or a slightly damp clean tea towel, for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• In the meantime, preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4). Arrange the oven so two shelves are close to the centre of the oven.
• Once the buns have risen, brush each bun gently with the egg beaten with milk or water. If you want some Swedish style buns, sprinkle the top of each one with some flaked almonds for decoration.
• Place the trays in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and risen nicely.
• When they are baked, remove from the oven and transfer each bun to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
• To fill the buns, whatever style you choose, whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla, if using, to firm peaks.

To complete Swedish style buns,

• Mix the marzipan with milk, a tablespoon (15 millilitres) at a time until a smooth paste is achieved. Be gradual with the milk as a little goes a long way and you don't want it too thin: it should be creamy. A fork is the best tool for this job.*
• Cut the top off each bun, about an inch (2½ centimetres) from the top. Fill the bun with some almond paste, about a rounded teaspoon (7 millilitres), and a dollop of cream. You could put the cream in a piping bag fitted with a star shaped nozzle, if you prefer.
• Place the top back on the bun, and serve either on a plate with a cup of tea or coffee, or for an authentic experience, serve in a shallow bowl of warm milk.

To complete Finnish style buns,

• Cut the tops off the buns as before, but fill each bun with a rounded teaspoon (7 millilitres) or so of jam, and then some cream, replacing the top as before.
• Serve individually on plates, dusted with icing sugar. Enjoy with tea or coffee.

These are best consumed immediately after preparing, or on the day they're made. The next day, they are alright, but by day three are best used for bird food.

* UPDATE (27/02/17): Instead of using pre-made marzipan, you can make your own almond paste filling. In a mixing bowl, mix together 3 ounces (85 grammes) ground almonds with 3 ounces (85 grammes) icing sugar and a pinch of salt, and add a few drops of almond essence. Add milk or water gradually, about a tablespoon (15 millilitres) at a time until it becomes creamy, as shown above.

Confirmation Day! (I'm Getting Good at Jam and Cream Gâteaux)

Yesterday was confirnation day for my church youth group, and about 200 people were crammed into the church. Extra chairs had to be brought down from upstairs and everything! It was quite an amazing day. There was a big hooley afterwards with all different kinds of African food, and of course, all different kinds of cakes.

I contributed by making a lovely big cream and jam gateau, as is my usual go to for big gatherings. I seem to be getting better at them.

I also tend to fortify the whipped cream icing with cream cheese, for extra stability. I had some black icing leftover from making that Goth cake last weekend, so I used that to do the lettering.

This is only a short little blogeen, just to keep y'all updated! Life is a little hectic at the moment with work, looking for somewhere to live in Galway, and all that jazz, so my baking projects are few and far between.

Strawberry Crumble Bars (Wheat Free)

Recently I've been kerbing my sweetie intake, and limiting myself to one 100 calorie helping of sweeties a day, whether that's from a few different things or in one sitting. I've been feeling wonderful since I started making myself eat at certain times of day, and eat an entire 400-500 calorie meal in one go. I feel so full, and full of energy!

But, I am still getting my baking fix through baking for other people and events: I was in charge of the Tuesday Treat this week in work, so I made these to bring in tomorrow: Strawberry Crumble Bars!

I wanted to knock up something simple that had limited post-baking-bowl-licking potential (I'm a terror for eating leftover chocolate cake mixture from bowls, and raw shortbread dough isn't as nomable because of the hit of raw flour), and I had half a jar of strawberry jam in the cupboard that needed rid of.

These are actually based off a recipe in one of my grandma's old cookery books, but the recipe in her book used blackcurrant jam. These are a very basic Scots shortbread mixture (1 part sugar, 2 parts butter, 3 parts flour) with jam and a few oats sprinkled on top; not really recipe worthy stuff to be honest. But I'll include the recipe anyway!

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Eggs

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Dairy
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS:

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) icing sugar
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) butter, room temperature
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) cornflour
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) rolled oats
• About 6 tablespoons (90 millilitres) strawberry jam, or jam of your choice
• Caster sugar for sprinkling

METHOD

• Preheat your oven to 170°C (325°F, Gas Mk.3, or moderate). Lightly dust a wide loaf tin with flour.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the icing sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Work in the flour with a wooden spoon, or by hand if it's too stiff for the spoon. It will be very crumbly, but that's what you want.
• Divide the crumbly mixture in three (roughly 4 ounces (115 grammes) each), and press two thirds of the mixture into the tin. Stir the oats into the remaining third.
• Spread the jam on top of the shortbread base evenly. Sprinkle the oaty crumble over the top.
• Place the tin in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crumble is a pale golden colour.
• Remove from the oven and place the tin on a wire rack. Sprinkle a little caster sugar over the top while still warm, and score into 12 pieces in the tin while still warm. Allow to cool completely in the tin.
• Once cold, remove carefully from tin, and then cut along the scored lines with a sharp knife.

These were a lovely sticky sweet treat; I had a nibble off one my brother was eating (he now shares an office space with me). You can use any jam you want, I just happened to have strawberry in the cupboard, but I can imagine these would be lovely with raspberry jam.

Mini Black Forest Cheesecakes (Wheat Free)

As I mentioned in my last post, Sunday just passed was my 482nd birthday, give or take, and I celebrated it in true Sweetie Pie style: with lots of different kinds of cake. I already wrote about my birthday strawberry cream gateau, so today I'm writing about my latest cheesecake experiment: the black forest cheesecake.

The idea for this just sprung into my mind when I was trying to devise some nice Valentine desserts, and also I just like merging dessert ideas. This one is fairly simple: chocolate biscuit base, vanilla filling with cherry jam, topped off with chocolate glaze and a fresh cherry.

 I was originally thinking I'd put glacé cherries and cream swirls on top, to make it extra retro kitschy, but fresh berries were on offer in Dunnes stores so I bought a pack of strawberries and cherries for a fiver. Next time I make these, I'll use glacé cherries; and I will also not take them out of the oven five minutes early (whoops....)

Yes, these sunk a little bit in the middle, unfortunately. I removed the tray from the oven a few minutes too early and it shocked the mixture. But I fixed it with chocolate glaze and a cherry, in the true spirit of my mother's teaching, who told me as a child to fix sunken cakes by "covering them in custard".

The chocolate glaze was also a little firm, in retrospect. I should have used butter in addition to sunflower oil; I have included the altered glaze recipe. All in all, there are many ways I could have made these even more awesome than they already are.

INGREDIMENTS
For 12 muffin case sized cheesecakes

For the base:

• 1 ounce (30 grammes) icing sugar
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter, at room temperature
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) cocoa powder

For the cheesecake mixture:

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 medium eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) whipping cream, or plain yogurt
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence, or the seeds of 1 vanilla pod
• Pinch of salt
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) cherry jam, or mixed fruit jam

For decoration:

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) dark chocolate
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) sunflower oil
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) butter
• 12 fresh or glacé (candied) cherries

METHOD

• Preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F, Gas Mk.2, or very moderate). Line a 12 indent muffin tin with large cake cases (muffin cases).
• Make the base by mixing the butter and icing sugar together with a wooden spoon, then work in the flour and cocoa until it becomes crumbly. Divide the crumble between the 12 cases and press down gently with the back of a teaspoon.
• Prepare the cheesecake filling using this recipe, omitting the coconut milk, replacing the lime zest and juice with the whipping cream (or yogurt), and adding the vanilla with the cheese mixture before mixing with the egg whites.
• Put a tablespoon of cherry jam in the centre of each cake atop the biscuit base, and then divide the mixture between the cases, making sure to cover the cherry jam.
• Bake the cakes in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the centre. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.
• Once cooled, make the topping by melting the chocolate, butter and oil in a bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave for 1 minutes intervals on the "Defrost" setting. Once melted, pour about 2 teaspoons of the topping onto each cake. Swirl the cake around the coat the entire surface.
• Put a cherry on the top of each cake, sitting it into the chocolate. Put in the fridge to cool and set for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

This is actually a recipe I hope to make a how-to video of sometime soon, so keep your eyes peeled! I like the daintiness of the cherry on top, but overall the dessert is quite tasty.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR: Raspberry Ice-Cream (Egg- and Wheat Free)

Jammie Dodgers (or Linzer Biscuits) (Wheat Free)

Today and yesterday have been baking madness for me! Tomorrow, I have a bake sale for which I'm concocting delicious things. But, I've found time to post about something I made earlier in the week: wheat-free Jammie Dodgers!

Jammie Dodgers are the quintessential biscuit barrel favourite, bested only by Custard Creams and Bourbon Creams: two vanilla biscuits sammidged together with tooth fusingly chewy ‘fruit-flavour’ jam. They are the business, so how awesome is it that they can be made very easily at home?

This is a nice, simple recipe to have up your sleeve, the only downside is that they are quite time consuming; there’s a lot of waiting involved, but it’s the same with any kind of sandwich biscuit (make the dough, chill the dough, cut the biscuits, bake them, cool them, make filling and then sandwich, there's a lot involved; but it's all worth it). You can use any good biscuit recipe, as long as the recipe yields dough that doesn’t change its shape much in the oven: for example, shortbread would work well, or any plain cut-out biscuit recipe would be fine, too.

The key to this recipe is the jam you use. Whether it’s blackcurrant, raspberry, strawberry, or whatever, make sure it has a nice high fruit content. I use jam that is about 60 percent fruit, as this makes the jam full of flavour without being sickly sweet, as you need to add a little sugar later to make it the appropriate stickiness. More on the jam later!

For the biscuits, I used this almond shortbread recipe:

INGREDIMENTS

For the biscuits

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) butter
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) spelt flour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) ground almonds
• Pinch of salt

For the jam

• 4 to 5 ounces (115 to 140 grammes) good quality jam
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 millilitres) cornflour
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) cold water

HOW-TO

First, make the biscuits

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F, Gas Mark 2½, very moderate).
• Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla essence.
• Mix in the dry ingredients and form into a soft dough.
• Unlike the usual kinds of shortbread biscuits, this dough has to rolled and cut-out before chilling in the fridge. This mixture is too delicate to be chilled beforehand, as it just crumbles because of the ground almonds.
• Roll to ⅛ inch thick (3 or 4 millimetres) and cut out with a 2 inch (5 centimetre) round, fluted cutter. Using an icing nozzle or small circle cutter ½ inch wide (1 centimetre), punch small holes out of the centres of half the biscuits. Re roll the trimmings and continue making until you have an equal quantity of full and ring-shaped biscuits.
• Lie them on a flat surface, such as a baking tray, and chill uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Take the biscuits out of the fridge and arrange 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) apart on baking trays lined with non-stick paper. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make jam filling

• Press the jam through a sieve to remove any pips or tough skins. Put the jam in a small saucepan.
• In a glass, mix the sugar, water, and cornflour into a paste. Add this to the jam.
• Cook the jam gently until it begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly, then sandwich the biscuits together – one full, one ring – with a teaspoon of jam filling.

This whole recipe yields 16 to 18 sandwiches (32 to 36 little biscuits in total). If you want to make them look more like the shop-bought ones, you can sprinkle the little jammie windows with granulated sugar and tip off the excess. These are nice and crunchy the day they're made, but the day after they soften up a little as the biscuit absorbs the moisture from the jam, and this is perfectly normal.