Further Fun with the Food Dehydrator

I enjoyed the outcome of my first experiments with my new food dehydrator a few weeks ago and decided to experiment some more. The first time around I kept things safe and simply tried dehydrating some slices of apple and pear. This worked well but I learnt that you have to keep your slices fairly thick and chunky if you want to achieve soft and squishy dried fruit. The first time I cut my apple and pear slices quite thin which resulted in dried fruit that was halfway to being a fruit crisp as it dehydrated to practically nothing. Tasty yes, but not what I was after.

This time around I cut my fruit chunkier and also experimented with some different fruits. Apple, nectarine, blueberries, plum and ….carrot! (A rogue vegetable)

I get strangely excited by new gadgets and experimenting with food. There is always the eager anticipation as to what will be produced. I layered up the fruit, set a time for 5 hours and left it to do its thing.

On the base layer I put apple and nectarine quarters. The apple slices turned brown during the dehydration process as I didn’t dip them in anything acidic or chemical, I rather liked their appearance. They looked almost like they had been caramelised or dipped in cinnamon. Being chunkier, they also retained some of their moisture this time. Juicy and slightly firm, yet not crisp. The apple flavour was really pronounced too. Very good.

The nectarine slices kept their colour, if fact they turned positively golden! They took on a slightly withered appearance but this turned them deliciously chewy and sticky. A very successful dried fruit replica and their flavour and sweetness intensified due to the drying. My favourite of the lot.

I was unsure what would happen to the blueberries. I had read it was advised to place them on baking paper so they didn’t fall through the gaps in the grating as they dried. I was unsure how successfully they would dehydrate, being as they are sort of enclosed in their own skin. I had wondered if I should prick them with a knife to help some of the moisture escape, but in the end I just left them as they were. Below is a before and after shot. You may notice they don’t look particularly dried out and they weren’t, but the drying still altered their flavour and texture. They were soft yet with a firmer texture than before, not so fleshy or juicy. Their flavour had also intensified, making them actually taste like a really good blueberry, rather than a water mush with a hint of berry flavour. A good standby for improving their flavour of winter, but I think it may be more worthwhile just waiting to buy them in the summer when they are in season. I don’t think you can get quite the same dried blueberry result as ones sold in shops. Those are probably dried for days and coated in sugar. An interesting experiment nonetheless.

For the plums I simply cut off the cheeks either side of the stone. These dried in such a way that they ended up looking like poppy heads. Darker centres surrounded by a crinkled red skin. Rather attractive really. In terms of eating, I couldn’t decide whether I liked them or not. They stayed strangely crisp and get more chewy than juicy. Their flavour had intensified but it also brought out a slightly bitter note. They were nice dipped in peanut butter, but I’m not sure I’d make them again. Maybe I was just unlucky and used a bland tasting plum to begin with.

Now the mystery addition to the range – carrot coins! You don’t see many dried vegetables amongst the dried fruit snacking options and it turns out there is a good reason for this – they don’t taste very nice! The carrot probably dehydrated the most successfully, becoming shrivelled and crinkled on drying, probably due to its lower moisture content to begin with. I was quite excited when I saw them, but unfortunately they were not pleasant to eat. Have you ever found a really old carrot in the back of your fridge? One that’s turned shrivelled and bendy and yet somehow still breaks in half with a snap? Well, this was what happened to the carrot coins. Soft around the edge but oddly crisp and a little bendy. They did taste strongly of carrot, but I ended up feeling like I was eating a really old carrot, rather than a nicely dried one. I intend to try making carrot crisps using paper thin slices of carrot, but I don’t recommend carrot coins – leave those to the instant noodle snack people!

The only drawback I discovered to having the fruit juicer and free from any preservatives or nasties is that they went mouldy after 4 days. So I’d recommend either eating them quickly or else refrigerating or freezing them.

I’m having so much fun experimenting – anyone got any suggestions or good recommendations as to what I should try next?

Celebrating 6 Years of Apple & Spice with Apple, Caramel & Almond Tart with Peanut Praline

Wow I can’t believe this is my blogs 6^th anniversary. I never thought I would keep it up when I started all those years ago. There has been some distinctive changes in my life throughout the span of this blog, but my love of food and baking has remained steadfast.

A few weeks ago, I almost considered finishing the blog. I was finding I had less time to bake and blog and when I did get round to baking at the weekend, I felt I should be making the recipes for either the Daring Bakers group or The Cake Slice group that I am a member of. It felt there was always a recipe I should be baking and my own ‘to bake’ list kept growing larger and larger without me ever getting the chance to bake any of them. I have come to the decision to give up the baking groups and instead focus on the recipes I want to bake and eat. After all, surely that’s what my blog should be about, the kind of food I like to bake and eat.

I’d like to say a big Thank You to Paloma of The Coffee Shop who has taken over the management of The Cake Slice group, that I set up and have run for the past 5 years. Thanks Paloma, you are doing a fabulous job.

Anyway, back to Apple & Spice and all things deliciously apple-y! Every blog anniversary I have always made an apple inspired recipe to celebrate.
1st year – Spiced Apple Cake

2nd year – Individual Apple & Oat Crumbles

3rd year – Overnight Spiced Apple Stack

4th year – Fruity Tea Loaf

5^th year - Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

This year I made Apple, Caramel and Almond Tart with Peanut Praline. A sweet pastry tart with a layer of dulce de leche caramel, topped with almond frangipane and decorated with slices of fresh tart apple and finished with peanut praline. Yum!

I really wanted to make an apple tart this year and love the flavour of apple and almond together and so decided to make an almond frangipane to go underneath my apple slices. This got me thinking that it would be even better if there was a hidden layer of something underneath the frangipane, which let me to dulce de leche caramel. Apple, caramel and almond – what’s not to love?!

You may notice that the apple slices have been arranged horizontally, rather than the usual vertical fan formation. This allows you to build up layers to create an effect that almost resembles a rose or flower.

Once baked the tart looked and smelt lovely, but I still felt it needed something extra and my eyes settled on a bar of peanut brittle. A quick attack with a rolling pin and I had some peanut praline crumbs to sprinkle over the top of the finished tart.

The tart was delicious, even if I do say so myself. All the flavours worked together so well and the peanut praline crumbs really made it. Adding a little nuttiness and crunch against the sweet and fruity tart.  I love how you can see all the layers in each slice.

I fed it to a couple of work colleagues, one of whom told me in advance not to be offended if she didn’t like it as she wasn’t a dessert person. She ended up asking me for the recipe, and I don’t think (I hope) that she was just being polite. It’s got a few components but is quite easy to put together and tastes like you have been slaving away for hours. Do give it a go, it’s sure to impress.

Apple, Caramel & Almond Tart with Peanut Praline

Gluten Free Sweet Pastry

200g gluten free plain flour blend

90g butter

1 egg

40g icing sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1-2 tbsp water

Apples

3 Granny Smith apples

Juice of ½ lemon

Almond Frangipane

55g ground almonds

55g caster sugar

55g butter

10g plain flour

1 large egg

½ tsp almond extract

Caramel Filling

1 small tin dulce de leche

To Finish

1 tbsp caster sugar

10g butter

Apricot jam to glaze

30g peanut brittle/praline

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Have a 7-8inch fluted tart tin to hand. Preheat your  oven to 200C.

Mix the flours and xanthan gum together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, add your butter, (it should be soft, if not blast it in the microwave for a few seconds) along with half the flour mixture, the egg, sugar and 1 tablespoon of the water. Beat with a spoon or spatula to form a paste. (Yes I know this goes against all traditional pastry making!) Add the rest of the flour and bring the mixture together to form a dough, switching to your hands at the end. Add a little more water if it seems dry. Knead the dough gently for 1 minute to ensure everything is well combined.
Roll out the pastry between two large sheets of clingfilm to the size and shape of your tart tin, plus an extra 1-2 inches for the sides.
Peel off the top sheet of clingfilm, and use the base sheet to help you flip the pastry into the tin and press it down gently. Trim off the excess and patch up any cracks with the off-cuts of pastry.

Prick the pastry lightly with a fork and place on a baking tray.

Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes until just starting to brown.

Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce your oven to 180C.

For the Apples

Fill a large bowl with water and add the juice of half a lemon

Peel and core the apples. Slice into 3mm thick slices and add to the lemon water while you cut the rest. (This stops them browning)

For the Frangipane

Soften the butter and then cream it together with the caster sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and almond extract and beat again. Add the flour and ground almonds and beat again to incorporate.

Assembly

Spread some of the dulce de leche caramel into the base of your tart. Add blobs of the almond mixture on top and smooth over to create an even layer.

Drain the water from the apples and pat them dry.

Arrange the apple slices in a fan formation on top. Start at the edge and work you way into the middle, overlapping each slice. Arrange them curve side out towards the edge, rather than the usual fan formation. This ends up creating more of a rose/flower effect to the apple slices.

Melt the 10g butter and brush over the apple slices. Sprinkle over the tablespoon of sugar.

Bake in the oven at 180C for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Glaze with a little warmed apricot jam. Crush the peanut brittle into crumbs and scatter over the top of the tart before serving.

Makes 1 x 7-8inch tart

Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Beetroot Glaze

I’m sorry I have not posted in a while. I had a cake in mind and a blog post all ready to go only to be hit with a nasty stomach bug, meaning food has been the last thing on my mind. I’m pleased to say I’m now well on the road to recovery, my taste buds have rejoined me and I have rediscovered my appetite! So without further ado, here is a rather belated chocolate beetroot cake.

Chocolate and beetroot has now become another ‘classic’ flavour combination, but aside from a chocolate beetroot brownie a few years ago, I have not explored the pairing much myself. I love fresh beetroot, its moody, dark, blood red colour and mysterious earthy flavour always draws me to it. A few weeks ago I picked up a huge pack and enjoyed a happy few days eating it roasted or shredded into salads and sandwiches. However, it got to a stage where every time I opened the fridge I seemed to discover yet another beetroot still waiting to be used. There is only so much beetroot I can take before my mind starts imagining how to include it in a baked treat.

Beetroot and chocolate seemed the place to start and I decided on a simple cake. I wanted the beetroot to be the star of the show and so shunned anything covered in mountains of cream or frosting in flavour of a simple snack cake. I then hit upon the idea of jazzing it up with a glaze, made a fabulous vibrant pinky/purple using the juice of the cooked beetroot. This added both a burst of vibrant colour and little sweetness, while being completely natural, no food dye required!

The cake itself is on first glance just a chocolate cake, but if you look more closely you can see a definite rustic burgundy hue to the sponge. It also smelt different to regular chocolate cake, slightly earthy, mysterious and yet still very chocolaty. The flavour too was chocolaty, only more complex with an undertone of there being something a little bit extra special included, without it actually screaming beetroot. I would liken it to when you add just a touch of coffee to chocolate cakes, you don’t necessary taste the coffee, but it adds a depth and richness to the chocolate. This seemed to work in the same principle.

On the first day the cake was light and tender but over the next two days it became softer and stickier as the beetroot released its moisture into the cake. I think the cake was at its optimum about 2 days after baking, when I couldn’t stop eating it. The arty drizzle of beetroot glaze worked really well against the flavour of the cake and added little bites of sweetness against the rather intense chocolate flavour of the cake.

This was a delicious cake and I loved its simplicity yet complex flavour. I’ll be experimenting with other beetroot baked treats again, it’s worth the ruby stained hands, although you could always buy the precooked stuff – just not the kind in vinegar please!

Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Beetroot Glaze

Cake

180ml vegetable or sunflower oil

180g gluten free self raising flour

55g cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g caster sugar

250g cooked beetroot (or 350g raw)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beetroot Glaze

80g royal icing sugar (*see note)

Juice from the cooked beetroot

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease and line a deep 8inch springform tin.

If you are using a packet of cooked beetroot then continue onto the next step. If using raw beetroot, trim the ends and peel the skin from the beetroot. Cut each beetroot into quarters and place into a small glass bowl. Add 1 tbsp water and cover the top with clingfilm. Microwave on high for 8 minutes until the beetroot are just softened. Set aside to cool, but do not throw away any of the beetroot juice created.

Place your cooked beetroot (reserve any juice for later) into a food processor and blitz until you have fine shreds. Add the eggs and blitz again. Add the oil and vanilla and mix again until well combined.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and add the sugar. Pour your beetroot mixture on top and fold everything together using a large spoon of spatula.

Pour the cake mix into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until slightly springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before running a knife around the edge of the tin and releasing the cake from the tin. Leave to cool completely.

Once cooled, place the royal icing sugar into a small bowl and slowly add the reserved beetroot juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you achieve a thick, yet drizzle-worthy glaze. It will be a gorgeous bright purple colour.

Transfer the cooled cake to a serving plate and artfully drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.

Leave to set for 20 minutes before serving.

Makes 1 x 8inch cake

The cake tastes even better as it ages, as the beetroot slowly releases its moisture into the cake making it turn softer and moister. I found 2 days in it was at its best.

* Note: Royal icing sugar sets hard and won’t be so easily absorbed into the cake, making for a better finish. You can use regular icing sugar in place of the royal icing sugar, but it will remain wet and soak into the cake and disappear over time

Creamy & Comforting Macaroni Blue Cheese

Ugh! I am so sick and fed up with all the snow! In Sheffield, I live on the top of a hill which I have discovered means you are very open and exposed to the elements, especially snow. Come Monday, I will have been surrounded by snow permanently for 2 whole weeks. Snow lasting that long is not fun and means my dead-end-road estate where I live has turned into an ice rink. Yesterday was the first time in 9 days that I have been able to get my car out of its parking spot. Not only is it a long way down a dead end road (meaning no gritters have been along it and no through traffic) but it’s also on a steep slope. Every time I’ve attempted to move my car it just skidded and wheel spun. It’s not been a matter of driving slowly, I couldn’t actually get up the incline. I was so overjoyed at being able to drive it free yesterday, and not have to use public transport to get to work. My joy didn’t last as I came out of work yesterday evening to find more snow falling – more?!? This morning I woke to find we’d had another 4 inches overnight – ARGH! Thankfully it’s a lot warmer today, a tropical 2C, meaning the snow is beginning to melt – hurrah!

Anyway…all this cold and snowy weather has meant I have been in the mood for comfort food this week. Macaroni cheese is one dish that definitely makes the grade. However, it can sometimes take rather a long time to make, not ideal when you get in cold, tired and soggy. This macaroni cheese takes only minutes to put together, as bypassed making a proper cheesy béchamel sauce and instead used a quick dust with flour, add milk and stir in lots of gooey cheese method.

I discovered an unopened wedge of blue stilton in the fridge and decided to make a blue cheese sauce for my macaroni cheese. Stilton always makes me think of Christmas so I decided to pair it with a few sprouts I had (bought recently, not leftover from Christmas!) and a few other veg. These were simply sautéed in a pan rather than boiling them, which I think gives them a lovely flavour and helps retain some of their freshness and crunch.

From start to finish it was only 15 minutes before I was happily tucking in. I ended up making rather a mountain of it with intentions to save a bit back for later, but I devouring the lot. The tang and saltiness from the stilton went so well with the sweet shallots and sautéed sprouts, with everything being coated in the creamy thick tangy sauce. Delicious and just what’s needed on a cold snowy day. I’ve given only a vague recipe below, as it’s more a case of following a general method rather than weighing out ingredients.

Anyone else have any comforting meals they always crave on cold snowy days?

Creamy & Comforting Macaroni Blue Cheese

Ingredients

Gluten free macaroni pasta*

5 sprouts per person

1 tbsp frozen peas or broad beans per person

1 shallot per person (use an onion for more than 3)

2 large florets cauliflower per person

½ tbsp sunflower oil

½ tsp French mustard

2 tsp gluten free flour (cornflour, gf mix, anything goes)

Freshly ground pepper

20g stilton cheese per person

100ml milk per person

Method

Heat a large pan of water and add the macaroni pasta. Stir and cook according to packet instructions (I always give mine a couple of minutes less than stated, especially for gluten free pasta)

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan with the oil.

Roughly dice and shallot and add to the pan to soften.

Remove the outer leaves from the sprouts, if necessary, and then slice into quarters. Cut down through the stalk each time, so that the pieces remain intact.

Add the sprouts to the pan with the shallot.

Chop the cauliflower into small bites size pieces and add to the pan.

Cook until everything is softened and starting to take on a little colour.

Add the peas or broad beans when there is only one minute left on the pasta.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, leaving a small amount of the cooking water behind.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables in the pan and stir to evenly coat. Add the milk and mustard and stir quickly so the flour combines with the milk to produce a sauce.

Crumble in the blue cheese and stir gently to combine. Allow to simmer for 1 minute until the sauce is thickened.

Season with pepper, you won’t need salt as the cheese is very salty.

Add your cooked pasta to the pan, along with 1 tbsp of the reserved cooking water.

Stir to coat everything evenly and allow to bubble until thickened or add a little extra milk if too thick.

Serve straight away with a little more blue cheese crumbled on top.

Eat and enjoy.

Recipe easily scaled up to feed more people

Note: * I’ve never found gluten free macaroni pasta in the shops, but you can but it online. Otherwise you can use penne or any other shape you like.

The Cake Slice January 2013: Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream

I was intrigued when this cake was voted as this months bake. Banana and walnut cake is a classic and so is coffee and walnut, but banana, coffee and walnut was not something I had come across before.

The cake was a plain banana cake, with the coffee and walnut coming in via a smooth meringue based frosting to which you add a nutty coffee spiked puree. I love meringue based buttercreams like this as they are silky smooth and creamy without the usual grittiness you can sometimes get from the more traditional butter and icing sugar buttercreams.

The recipe made a triple layer cake which was far too much for me, so I halved the recipe and baked them as cupcakes instead. You can see from the photos that the walnuts on top of my cupcakes look suspiciously like pecans, which is because they are! Having just bought a bag of pecans I decided to use those instead of walnuts in the buttercream, the flavour combinations still worked together well.

Things got off to a bad start when my digital scales ran out of batteries half way through weighing gout the cake ingredients. It needed a big rectangle battery which I didn’t have. I improvised with a coffee mug and tried to work out American measurements which seemed to work ok. I then didn’t have a sugar thermometer for measuring the temperature of the meringue for the buttercream, and to top it all when I added my nutty coffee concoction to the fluffy mounds of frosting the buttercream split and went very runny. Argh!

I put the buttercream in the fridge for several hours and thankfully it seemed to come together but not quite as light and fluffy as it should do. It tasted divine though, so silky, it just melted in the mouth. I really liked the boozy coffee nutty flavour too (yes there is booze in the buttercream too!)

The cake part however I found slightly disappointing. The cakes were quite dense and closely textured and only had the faintest flavour of banana. I made sure to use ripe bananas too. The super soft and creamy frosting made up for the slightly bland cake though. The cakes were quite moist, but by the following day I found them to be a little dry.

I’m pleased I tried the recipe but I wouldn’t make them again. I love the idea of the boozy nutty coffee cream though, so will try and use these flavours together another time. Click here to see the other Cake Slice Bakers banana cakes

Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream

(Recipe from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson)

Banana Cake
375g gluten free plain flour

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

3 ripe mashed bananas (around 270g peeled weight)

170ml buttermilk

240g butter

420g caster sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

Coffee Walnut Buttercream
120g toasted walnuts (I used pecans)

50ml corn syrup (I used golden syrup)

50ml Bourbon (I used amaretto)

2 tbsp instant espresso powder

6 egg whites

260g caster sugar

¼ tsp cream of tartar

440g butter, cut into small cubes

2 tsp vanilla extract

Banana Cake
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line 3 x 8inch round cake tins.

Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and set on one side. In a small bowl mix together the mashed banana, vanilla and buttermilk and set to one side.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.

Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with half the banana buttermilk mixture in-between each flour addition.

Divide the batter evenly between the three cake tin and smooth out the surface.

Bake for 28-30 minutes until the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Coffee Walnut Buttercream
Start by making a nut paste. Puree the toasted walnuts in a food processor until they begin to form a paste. Add the corn syrup, bourbon and espresso and puree until combined. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Now make the buttercream. Lightly whisk the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar together in a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and continue to whisk until the mixture becomes white, thick and sticky. It should read 55C/130F on a sugar thermometer.

Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk using an electric mixer, until the mixture has tripled in volume, become glossy and holds a stiff peak. Reduce the whisking speed and continue to beat until the mixture is cool to the touch.

Once cool, keep whisking while slowly dropping in small cubes of the butter. Keep beating until it is all combined.

Add the vanilla and your pre-prepared nut espresso mixture and beat thoroughly to combine.

It can now be used to decorate your cake or covered with clingfilm and left in the fridge for up to two days. If refrigerated, bring the mixture back to room temperature before lightly whisking and using.

Assembly
To assemble the cake, lay one of the cakes, top side up on a serving plate. Spread over around one-fifth of your buttercream and top with another cake layer. Spread this with another fifth of your buttercream and top with the final cake layer.

Use the rest of the frosting to cover the top and sides of your cake.

For a neater finish, allow only a thin crumb coat of buttercream to the outside of the cake before placing in the fridge of firm up for 30 minutes. Then cover the cake with a thicker layer of buttercream.

Store in the fridge. Makes 1 x triple layer 8inch cake.

Notes:
I halved the cake recipe above and ended up with 10 cupcakes. The cake mix doesn’t rise much, so you can fill the paper cases almost to the rim.

I then used only a third of the buttercream recipe to decorate my cupcakes. I also substituted pecans in place of the walnuts.

My buttercream split when I added the nut espresso mixture, but I placed it in the fridge for two hours and then gave it a quick mix before using. It wasn’t perfect, but it did hold together

Smokey Bean Pasties

Brrr it’s suddenly got very cold this weekend and snow is predicted tonight and tomorrow. I hope it’s not too icy, I don’t want my driveway turning into an ice rink again!

I was out in town yesterday, wrapped up against the cold wind and walked past a pasty shop that was wafting out the most delicious and mouthwatering aromas. Warm, buttery and savoury. I couldn’t help but stop and gaze longing in the window. No, I’m not talking about the popular high street chain beginning with G! This is a proper pasty shop, where you can see them baking off the pasties throughout the day. They do about 10 different varieties, including three veggie ones and my favourite always used to be the three bean pasty in a crisp wholemeal pastry crust. During my student days I used to like treating myself to one every so often, sadly they are now off the menu as I have to eat GF.

I walked away feel a bit dejected, but then remembered the smokey bean chili I made a few weeks ago, of which I had a few pots stashed away in the freezer. I decided to try recreating my favourite pasty at home. I can make my own GF pastry, so why should I miss out on a pasty!?

Once home I defrosted a portion of the bean chili and set to work making my pastry. I added a little white teff flour to the mix which gives a lovely savoury nutty flavour. I was a little nervous about filling my pasties, but I used a sheet of clingfilm to help me lift, shape and press my pastry rounds into pasties, which worked well.

I was worried they would crack and ooze their filling while in the oven, but they behaved perfectly and I ended up with 3 very large pasties. Hurrah! They were so tasty with the smokey bean filling, especially with a dollop of tomato chilli chutney on the side. It was smiles all round for tea!

I’ve since been thinking that you could use all sorts of fillings or leftovers in a pasty format – leftover Indian veg curry with a few crushed Bombay potatoes sounds particularly appealing! You can always make a pie if the idea of individual pasties sounds a bit too fiddly. Haha once again missing gluten doesn’t mean missing out!

Smokey Bean Pasties

Ingredients
Smokey Bean chili or filling of your choice

85g butter

150g gluten free plain flour

50g white teff flour

1 egg

½ tsp xanthan gum

2 tbsp water

Method
Mix the flours and xanthan gum together in a bowl to combine.

In a separate bowl, add your butter, (it should be soft, if not blast it in the microwave for a few seconds) along with half the flour mixture, the egg and 1 tablespoon of the water. Beat with a spoon or spatula to form a paste. (Yes I know this goes against all traditional pastry making!) Add the rest of the flour and bring the mixture together to form a dough, switching to your hands at the end. Add a little more water if it seems dry. Knead the dough gently for 1 minute to ensure everything is well combined.
Cut the dough into 3 or 4 pieces depending on if you want to make 5inch or 6inch long pasties.

Roll out each piece of pastry between two large sheets of clingfilm to form a rough circle shape. It should be around 4mm thick.  Peel off the top layer of clingfilm and cut out a round circle, using a small plate or bowl as a template.

Set the pastry circle, still on the base layer of clingfilm aside and gather up any off cuts of pastry. Add the pastry off cuts to the next pasty segment and repeat the rolling and circle cutting until you have your 3 0r 4 pastry discs.

Take a general spoonful of your chosen filling and place it on one side of your pastry circle, about 2cm in from the edge.

Flip the plain pastry half over the top of your filling, using the clingfilm to help you maneuver it. Press down firmly around the edge to crimp and seal the filling inside. Carefully transfer the pasty to a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, removing the base layer of clingfilm. Repeat until you have 3 or 4 pasties.

Brush the top of the pasties with milk and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until nicely golden brown.

Allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before serving, or transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Freeze or eat on day of baking

Makes 3 – 4 pasties

Note: You can use any filling you like as long as it is quite a thick mixture and will cook in the 35-30 minute oven bake. You could also just make one large pie if you don’t want to worry about making individual pasties. Other flavours could include:
Potato, onion and cheese
Garlic Mushrooms (cooked) with paprika in a thick béchamel sauce
Roasted squash, feta, chili and mint
Leftover Indian curry with a few crushed Bombay potatoes!

Homemade Dehydrated Fruit Crisps

For Christmas my Grandmother gave me a food dehydrator. Some people may consider this a strange present or think that she was trying to prepare me for some global event that meant I had to preserve my own food, but to me this was a fabulous present. My grandmother shares my love of fruit and knows I enjoy dried fruit too, both to snack on and bake with. She also knows how I love kitchen gadgets and experimenting in the kitchen. This way I get to experiment making my own dried fruit!

The machine works by layering up tiers of fruit slices on slatted racks which allows the air to circulate. You can then set the machine to a chosen temperature and leave it to heat up and circulate the hot air around the fruit slices. The water in the fruit is evaporated off, leaving you with your very own homemade dried fruit. No preservatives or extra sugar required meaning they are super healthy.

I decided to start things off simply, by dehydrating some slices of apple and pear. The machine comes with a little booklet advising on drying times and temperatures but didn’t state how thick or thin and slices needed to be. I decided on fairly thin slices and then left the machine to do its thing.

A few hours later they were done. I may have cut my slices a little too thinly as they were a little thin and crisp, rather than soft and chewy. However, they were packed full of flavour, as the fruits natural sugars and juices intensified as they dried. On eating, they become wonderfully chewy. I had some on my cereal this morning and it made a lovely addition to the nuts and raisin already in the mix. I’ve put the rest in a container on my kitchen table and keep snacking on them every time I walk past. They’re addictive, like fruit crisps. My favourite is the pear, the flavour is just so intense.

Next time I’m going to try large chunks and slices to see if I can get some squashier fruit chunks. I’m also longing to try some dehydrated veg chips - carrots, beetroot etc. I tried kale chips at a food show once; they were horrendously experience, now I can make my own – ohhh the possibilities!! Thanks Grandma, you know me so well!

Smokey Bean Chili

The weather has turned even colder, windier and wetter. Christmas is over and the leftovers have been eaten or turned into hashes or pies. As the New Year beckons, rather than stay huddled indoors, we have to venture out, returning home soggy and windswept. With weather like this I find myself craving warm, wholesome food and this smoky bean chili really hits the spot.

I always make it in a big batch and stash some away in the freezer for future meals. It’s a great freezer standby meal as it can be eaten on its own, spooned onto nachos and sour cream, served with rice or on top of a crisp fluffy baked potato.

Adding cocoa powder may sound like an odd ingredient, but it adds a slightly darker colour and enriches the earthy smoky flavour of the chili that’s delicious. It doesn’t taste of chocolate!

It’s warm, thick and comforting, healthy while still having substance. The beans add a nice creamy bite while the chili adds gentle warmth that lingers at the back of the throat. It would be great to have tonight, for anyone thinking of venturing outside to watch fireworks to see in the New Year.

Smokey Bean Chili

Ingredients

1 onion

2 carrots

1 parsnip

1 x 400g tin red kidney beans

1 x 400g black eye beans

1 x 400g chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 red chili

4 tbsp sweetcorn

½ red or yellow pepper
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chipotle chili powder (or regular hot chili powder)
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cocoa powder

½ can water

Method

Peel and dice the onion, carrot and parsnip. Finely chop the garlic and chili.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, carrot and parsnip. Stir, place the lid on the pan and cook for 5 minutes until they are starting to soften, but not brown.
Meanwhile finely dice the pepper. Drain the beans into a large sieve and wash under the cold tap to remove any brine.

Add the garlic, chili, pepper and extra herbs and spices to the pan and allow to cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

Add the extra herbs, spices, cocoa powder and tomato puree. Stir to combine before adding all the remaining ingredients, including the half can of water.
Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 25-30minutes, stirring every 10minutes to prevent sticking.
Taste a carrot for doneness and add more ground chili or seasoning to preference.
Serve in big bowls with sour cream, nachos or cornbread if desired. Also great with rice or served on a crisp baked potato.
Serves 5 – 6

Daring Bakers December 2012 Challenge: Panettone! (Gluten free attempt)

The December 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by the talented Marcellina of Marcellina in Cucina. Marcellina challenged us to create our own custom Panettone, a traditional Italian holiday bread! I used to adore Panettone, all soft, sweet, buttery, light, flakey and fruity. I’ve not been able to taste one since being coeliac, and as they are rather an art form to bake, I’ve never even considered attempting my own. That was until this challenge presented itself.

When I read Panettone was this months challenge a felt a mixture of dread and excitement. Making a gluten free Panettone, a sweet bread that replies so heavily on its gluten structure for its unique flaky, buttery goodness seemed like an impossible task, but I decided to give it a go anyway.

The recipe involves many stages. A yeast sponge starter, a first dough, second dough, filling and prove. However, I have learnt from my many gluten free experiments that gluten free bread does not like being touched after its first prove. There is no gluten to hold the bread structure together and so purposely knocking out any air you have managed to create in the dough during a prove, is a bad idea. However, this did mean that I could condense the steps required, make one dough and then leave it to prove, meaning the process itself was quite quick. I didn’t have a Panettone mould so I used the base of my giant cupcake tin!

So how did my gluten free Panettone turn out?....well…..it was ok. It was more like a giant scone than a Panettone. It tasted nice, it reminded my strongly of Stollen rather than Panettone. It was quite dense, cakey and closely textured, and on day of baking it was soft and moist. However, by the following morning it had turned a little dry and very crumbly, making it seem even more scone-like.

I’m going to say it was a semi success. It had a good flavour, but apart from that it was nothing like a traditional Panettone. I may try it again in the future, but I think I would look for a gluten free Panettone recipe as my dough wasn’t right. I did add more water, but I think it needed more as the structure inside was not right.

I had fun attempting the challenge and as the saying goes, it’s the taking part that counts! Click here to see my fellow Daring Bakers delicious looking Panettone.  

Gluten Free Panettone

(Recipe loosely based on The Italian Baker by Carol Field)

Sponge

4g active dry yeast
60ml warm water
35g gluten free plain flour

Dough

4g active dry yeast
30ml warm water
2 eggs

1 egg yolk
290g gluten free plain flour
100g caster sugar
150g butter, melted

1½ tbsp honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder (my addition)

1½ tsp xanthan gum

Fruit Filling

100g golden raisins or sultanas
50g dried apricots, chopped
50g dried cranberries

Zest of ½ orange, coarsely grated
Zest of ½ lemon, coarsely grated

Sponge

Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl and allow to stand until creamy, around 10 minutes.

Mix in the flour, cover with clingfilm and allow to double in size for about 20 minutes.

Dough

Grease a Panettone mould or large round, deep baking tin. About 5inches wide.

Mix the yeast and water in a large bowl and allow to stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Mix in the sponge and beat well with a wooden spoon.

Stir in the eggs, sugar, honey, melted butter, extracts and salt. Beat well to combine.

Sift over the flour, baking powder and xanthan gum.

Mix together and beat well for several minutes, until a smooth and sticky dough is formed. Add more water if it seems too stiff.

Add the fruits and grated zests and mix into the dough thoroughly.

Scrape the dough into the prepared tin and cover the top with lightly oiled clingfilm.

Place in a warm spot and leave to prove for 3 hours.

Baking

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place your panettone in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and bake for another 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat again to 160°C and bake for 30 minutes until the tops are well browned and a skewer inserted into the panettone comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a rack and leaving to cool completely.

(I’ve found this gluten free panettone/giant scone is ok on day of baking, although like scones, it doesn’t keep well and so is best eaten on day of baking.)