Chocolate Soft Centers

These are yummy, rich, chocolaty cookies that comprise of a light soft dough encasing a morsel of chocolate. When still warm from the oven, the chocolate in the centre is molten, gooey and gorgeous. After cooling, the chocolate turns truffly rather than returning to its solid state, meaning you have a wonderfully indulgent cookie whatever state they are eaten.

I decided to make these for the Monday Munchers at work as it had been a while since I had given them anything chocolaty. They were very much enjoyed, especially when they discovered that the chocolate returned to molten gooeyness when heated gently in the microwave for a few seconds.

You can make them with either white, milk or dark chocolate, although I personally think that dark or milk chocolate works best. I have also used a small blob of marzipan in the centers before, which give a fantastic chocolate almond flavour. However, although the centers were soft, they were not quite as indulgent as chocolate.

Chocolate Soft Centers
Ingredients
200g butter
200g light soft brown sugar
1 egg
350g plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
100g block milk or dark chocolate, between 35% - 60% depending on your taste.

Method
Preheat the oven to 190C and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and set to one side.
Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and beat well until incorporated.
Sift over the flour and cocoa powder and mix together using a spatula until the mixture begins to form a dough. Then use your hands to form a ball.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 20-30minutes to firm up.
Divide the dough roughly in half, making one half slightly bigger than the other.
Dust a work surface with flour and roll out the smaller half of the dough until 4mm thick and cut out 4cm rounds.
Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheets.
Cut the dark chocolate into small pieces and place a piece of chocolate onto the top of each dough circle.
Roll out the larger half of the dough and cut out 5cm rounds. Place the bigger dough circles on top of the chocolate bottoms and press the edges together to form a mould encasing the chocolate.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until slightly crackled and firm.
Allow to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool.
Eat whilst still warm for a rich melting gooey chocolate center or allow to cool for a more truffly center.
Makes around 30 cookies

Autumnal Lentil Soup

It’s been really cold and frosty here this week and I really wanted some comforting veg soup. I used some of my favourite autumn veg and it produced a lovely thick, creamy and flavoursome soup that really hit the spot.

I usually like to add beans to my soup to help thicken it, but this time I decided instead, to add lentils after pureeing it in order to add a bit more texture and interest. This worked really well and I liked how it added more body and substance to the soup without the need for bread. When adding the diced veg to the pot, I felt it still needed something more. I had a quick rummage around and decided to add an apple into the mix. This turned out to be a fantastic addition and gave the soup a wonderful sweetness (not dissimilar to butternut squash) which worked well with the thyme and complemented all the root veg so so well. I will definitely be adding more apples to my soup in future.

Autumnal Lentil Soup
Ingredients
1 large onion
1 small swede
1 large potato
3 large carrots
3 pints vegetable stock
1 large eating apple (I used Jonangold)
400g tin Puy lentils
Fresh thyme
Knob of butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Method
Put the butter and oil into a very large pan and heat gently so that the butter melts and begins to bubble.
Quickly peel and slice the onion and carrots and add to the pan along with lots of fresh thyme. Give it a quick stir and then cover the pan with a lid so that the onion sweat in the steam.
While they sweat, peel and dice the potato and onion, followed by the apple, but leave the skin on.
Add to the pan, stir to coat everything in the buttery juices and replace the lid and simmer for a further 10minutes.
Add the vegetable stock to the pan and stir well to ensure no veg is stuck to the base of the pan. Replace the lid and simmer for 30 minutes until the veg is soft.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before blending until smooth.
Drain the lentils from their can and add to the pureed soup. Return the soup to the heat and stir until the lentils are fully heated through.
Divide into bowls and enjoy.
Serves 6-8

Update: I have had people ask what a Swede is. A Swede is a large Brassica, a tubular root vegetable that is a bit like a turnip, but sweeter. Its other names include “Yellow Turnip” and “Rutabaga.”

Homemade Fruity Christmas Mincemeat

Whenever someone mentions the word ‘mincemeat’ to you I expect your first thought is of a spicy fruity concoction, closely followed by mince pies. Although this is correct, I expect few people imagine (or even know) that mincemeat used to contain real minced up meat – hence its name.

The recipe originated in England some 500 years ago as an alternative method of preserving meat rather than salting or smoking it. Mince pies made with real meat are less sweet and denser than the more modern fruit only version and were traditionally eaten as part of a main course with more meat than fruit being included into the recipe. In the 17th century as fruits and spices began to be more widely available, they began to be included more than the meat. As the dish got sweeter accordingly, the meat was lost altogether from the pies and they were transformed into the sweet treats we now recognise and love today. You can still buy traditional meat mincemeat, but more from specialist shops and delis than from supermarkets as there is not a high demand for it.

I chose to make the sweeter meat free alternative, so I suppose really I should rename them fruitmince pies. Hehe I quite like that. The recipe I used was from Delia Smith, although I made a few adjustments by replacing the mixed peel in the recipe with dried cranberries and apricots as I thought this would give a better more festive appearance and flavour. The recipe is also a little unique in its own right, as most recipes tell you to just mix the fruits and then pack them raw, into jars. However, this one instructs you to mix all the fruits together and leave over night to blend and develop before baking the mixture in a very low oven for a few hours to allow the suet to melt and everything to mix and mingle together. You then douse it in alcohol and seal into jars. Although this might sound a little odd, when you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. Think of when you make a rich fruit cake, you leave the fruit to soak overnight in alcohol, and it develops and smells good, but just think how wonderful it smells after being slowly baked for a few hours. The smells and flavour then develop to a whole new level, especially when left to mature for a few weeks before eating. I tasted a little of mine before jarring it and it tasted amazing, much better than shop bought with can often be overly sharp or bitter. This was bursting with fruity flavours, full of warming spices, sweet plump fruits, a great zestiness form the fresh lemons and oranges with a slight nutty flavour. The ruby red cranberries, apple and apricots were a lovely contrast to the darker more traditional fruits. I can’t wait to see what it tastes like in a few weeks time.

Homemade Christmas Fruitmince
Ingredients
450g Bramley apples
225g shredded suet (I used vegetable suet)
350g raisins
225g sultanas
225g currants
115g dried cranberries
115g dried apricots
350g light soft brown sugar
Zest and juice from 2 oranges
Zest and juice from 2 lemons
30g slivered almonds
30g hazelnuts
4 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
6 tbsp Brandy

You will also need 5-6 jam jars.

Method
Peel, core and finely dice the apples. Add to a very large bowl with the rest of the fruits, chopping the apricots into small pieces using a pair of scissors.
Zest the lemons and oranges into the bowl and then cut in half and add all the juice too.
Sprinkle over the sugar, spices, almonds and suet. Chop the hazelnuts into coarse pieces and add to the bowl.
Give everything a good stir together, ensuring the juice and sugar are evenly distributed over the fruits.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to sit for 12-24 hours in a cool place.
The next day, preheat the oven to 120C and set your oven shelves to the lowest part fo the oven.
Transfer all fruit mix into a large ovenproof/casserole dish, cover with a lid and place into the oven for three hours.
Remove from the oven, and place your jam jars in the oven to sterilise.
Stir the fruitmince for a few minutes to cool slightly and to ensure the melted suet and sugar evenly coat all the fruit.
Add the Brandy and stir well.
Remove the jars from the oven, immediately fill them with the fruitmince and screw on the lids.
Allow to cool before storing in a cool dark place for several weeks before using.

Makes around 2.75kg or 6lb of fruitmince

Overload of Blueberries = Cake

This cake is absolutely delicious and is literally bursting with blueberries. The blueberries along with the addition of yoghurt in the batter produce an incredibly moist and tender cake. The cake also contains two types of nut, some in the form of almond marzipan, used in the batter, and the other as crush hazelnuts which are sprinkled over the surface of the cake to give a nutty crunchy topping. What more could you want from a cake?

Last weekend, as ever, the urge to bake got the better of me and as I had a whole tub of blueberries from work, I went in search of a recipe to accommodate them. I found (and used) a great sounding recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini which required plenty of blueberries. However, I also tweaked it a bit by adding marzipan and hazelnuts into the equation and reduced the sugar slightly to compensate for the added marzipan. The result is fantastic, moist cake, juicy blueberries, little pockets of marzipan and a nutty topping. It was perfect to share with the rest of my family for afternoon tea, as I had gone home for the weekend. It’s definitely one I will make over and over again.

Blueberry Overload Cake
Ingredient
200g plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
115g butter
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
240ml plain natural yoghurt
400g blueberries
65g natural marzipan

For the topping
1½ tbsp light soft brown sugar
2½ tbsp finely chopped hazelnuts

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a 22cm 9inch spring form tin.
Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs on at a time, beating well between each one. Chop the marzipan into small squares and fold into the batter along with the vanilla and yoghurt.
Sift over the flour, bicarb and baking powder and fold in well, turning the bowl as you go until just combined.
Place half of the batter into the cake tin and then cover the surface with half of the blueberries.
Spread the remaining half of batter evenly over the blueberries and top with the leftover berries.
Scatter over the chopped hazelnuts and sprinkle on the brown sugar.
Bake between 1hr – 1hr 15minutes until springy and a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean. (It will be wet if you hit a blueberry).
Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing from the in and allowing to cool before serving.
Tastes great eaten on its own, with crème fraiche or slightly warm with ice cream.

Starry Firework Cupcakes

It was Bonfire night here in the UK on Monday and as this is also the day that I take treats into work for the Monday Munchers I wanted it to be a themed treat. I remembered reading about a cake that had sugar sprinkles/strands folded into the cake batter just before baking to result in multi coloured streaks throughout the cake. This sounded ideal and I decided to give it a shot.

You must be very quick with the folding in of the coloured strands otherwise the colour starts to leech off them and gets lost into the surrounding batter. I know this as my last few spoonfuls of batter was dotted with little pools of red and green dye. I chose to bake cupcakes rather than a big cake as these are more portable and easy to share around. I was pleased with the results as the sugar dissolved into the cake but streaks of colour remained, speckling the sponge. I iced each one with a little glace icing (it was rather thin as I ran out of icing sugar) and decorated the tops of each one with tiny sugar stars.

From the outside they look just like ordinary cupcakes but biting into them reveals their speckled interior. I liked how the stars represent a starry night and then when you bite into them they reveal an explosion of coloured streaks to resemble fireworks. I bit of a long shot I know, but I had fun with it.


Starry Firework Cupcakes
Ingredients
110g self raising flour
110g butter or margarine
110g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tbsp sugar strands
Icing sugar and sugar stars to decorate

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a tin with 12 fairy cake cases.
Place all of the cake ingredients (expect the sugar strands) into a bowl and beat together with an electric mixer until pale, smooth and fluffy.
Quickly stir in the sugar strands using a spatula and divide the mixture between the paper cases.
Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes until risen, springy and golden brown.
Remove the cakes from the tin and allow to cool on a wire wrack.
Make some glace icing by dissolving some icing sugar in a very small amount of water.
Spread the icing over the top of the cooled cake and scatter over a array of multi coloured sugar stars.
Makes 12 cupcakes

Spooky Halloween Gingerbread

Woooooooo! It’s Halloween.

Despite not ever really celebrating Halloween I do enjoy the chance it gives me to get creative and make some spooky themed treats. Last year I decorated some gingerbread men to look like skeletons for my family and I had such fun drawing on their bones with royal icing that I decided to do the same this year for the Monday Munchers at work.

After cutting out a few gingerbread men I began wondering what else I could do to fit in with the Halloween theme. They only other cutters I had were round but I cut out some circles and decided I could always draw/pipe spooky characters on top of them once baked. This worked well and I ended up with:
Skeletons











Zombies

Pumpkins, ghosts and spiders

The biscuits have a lovely autumnal warming smell and taste, as not only do they contain ginger but also cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper to add a lingering warmth. They are crisp and a little brittle once baked but after a few hours they soften to a give a firm and slightly chewy biscuit. They were a huge success at work. At first people thought they were ordinary gingerbread men but they got very excited when they realised they were skeletons and pumpkins.

This poor zombie looks rather startled to have lost his leg.

Another treat I had intended to make but never got round to was dead mans finger cookies. These involve making the same vanilla dough hat is used to make vanilla crescent cookies, only this time you shape them into individual finger shapes and insert a slivered almond into the tip to look like a fingernail. You can also add knuckle detail using a fine skewer or cocktail and once baked you have pale, soft finger cookies. Imagine being offered one of those with your coffee, creepy.

However you choose to celebrate Halloween I hope you have a good time.

Spooky Halloween Gingerbread
Ingredients
400g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2½ tsp ground ginger
1tsp cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper
160g butter
130g caster sugar
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 egg

Method
Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a large bowl. Chop the butter into cubes and add to the flour along with the caster sugar.
Rub everything together using the tips of your fingers, as if you were making crumbles, until no large clumps of butter are left and everything is well mixed.
Mix in the egg and the golden syrup with a butter knife and then work it into a ball using your hands.
Warp in cling film and place ion the fridge to firm up for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Cut the dough in half (just because it’s easier to work with) and roll out until around 5mm thick.
Cut out your shapes of choice, place on the baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire wrack to cool and continue cutting and baking more biscuits with the rest of the dough.
Once cool, decorate in your style of choice using either royal icing or melted chocolate. Allow the icing to set before storing in an airtight container.
I made 24 spooky biscuits.


Just for fun I played around with one of my photos and managed to make the background go black. This made the icing on the biscuits really stand out and made the skeletons look REALLY spooky.

P.S. I emailed my pics to work and came in early - thankfully they uploaded - Yay!

Oh No!

I'm really fustrated. I have a spooky Halloween post all ready to go and blogger is refusing to load any of my photos to go with it. Grrrr. I will try to upload it again tonight after work but I'm so annoyed. I even tried resizing all my photos in case they had got corrupt but its still not working.

I may have a late Halloween post now :(

Daring Bakers October Challenge – Bostini Cream Pies

It’s that special time of the month again, time to post about this months Daring Bakers Challenge. This month’s recipe was chosen by Mary from Alpineberry and when I first saw the recipe that was exactly what I though – challenge!

Bostini Cream Pies were Mary’s recipe of choice and these are miniature versions of a traditional Boston Cream Pie with a few subtle differences. I Boston Pie is a Chiffon Cake split in half and filled with a thick fresh custard and topped with a chocolate glaze. A Bostini Cream Pie is miniature Chiffon Cakes on top of set fresh custard and drizzled with chocolate sauce.
I have never tasted or even seen a real Boston Cream Pie and so I was instantly feeling a little nervous about how it should look and taste – challenge no.1. As I read through the recipe I discovered that it involved making a Chiffon Cake (a cake made with mainly whisked egg whites) and although I have made one of these before, it didn’t turn out well – challenge no.2. Then I read that a rich fresh egg custard was also required – challenge no.3 as the last time I attempted one it spilt into a horrible mess. By the time I had read through the recipe a few times I was feeling quite nervous about attempting to make this creation. I did a bit of internet browsing and found out what the pie was supposed to look and taste like and I gradually started to feel more at ease and decided to go ahead and give the little pies by best shot.

The recipe calls to bake the cakes in ‘custard cups’ which I took to mean ramekins. However I don’t own enough of these for the recipe but I did have a silicone muffin tin that was shaped into individual hearts and so I used this instead.

Preparing the cake itself was not as daunting as I had thought. Separating the eggs and whisking the egg whites was the thing which took the most time but it was quite enjoyable. After making the batter I poured it into my little heart moulds and baked them until puffy and lightly golden. Thanks to the joys of silicone they came out of the moulds easily.

Next I prepared the custard. I weighed all the ingredients, mixed them together and put them on the heat before realizing that the recipe suggested heating the milk and cream first before adding the egg yolks – opps! There was no way I was going to throw away my custard mixture containing 9 egg yolks and over half a pint of cream and so I decided to go with it, heat it gently and just hope for the best. I stirred it constantly for about 5 minutes and when I dipped my finger into the liquid it was barely warm and so I (stupidly) thought “I’ll just fill the sink with water to soak the utensils in, the custard will be fine for a moment.” When I returned to my custard barely a minute later, the surface looked like it had developed a slight skin and I picked up my spoon it give it a stir only to find the beginnings of a thick stodge, resembling instant potatoes. ARRGGG how did that happen so fast?! I whipped it off the heat and stirred like a maniac and thankfully it hadn’t split and was still smooth. A small word of advice, never leave your custard. I spooned some of the custard into the same heat shaped moulds I had used to bake the cakes and left it to cool down on the side before covering and placing in the fridge overnight.

The next day I prepared the chocolate glaze which was very quick and easy to do. I then nervously un-moulded by set custards from the heart moulds and amazingly 5 out of 6 of them came out perfectly. I topped each custard base with a little cake and drizzled over the shiny chocolate glaze. They looked so cute and elegant that I almost didn’t want to eat it but my curiosity got the better of me. The verdict? Rich, smooth, creamy, satisfying, sweet, chocolaty, indulgent and utterly moorish. The cake is slightly dense in texture and yet springy and light to taste and works perfectly with the very rich and creamy custard. The dark chocolate glaze adds a bitter sweet note that brings everything together perfectly.

A work of warning though these are very very rich from all the eggs and cream. They may look small but I don’t think I would want them any bigger. I had lots of cake batter and custard left over the first day and so I baked a deep 6inch cake, cut it in half and then froze it along with a container of custard ready for when I next need a cake or dessert at short notice.

I was very happy with how the Bostini Cream Pies turned out and now thanks to Mary I have got over my fear of Chiffon Cakes, although maybe my custard making skills still need a little practice.

I converted the recipe below into grams, but if you would prefer it in cups then head over to Mary at Alpineberry for the original.

Bostini Cream Pies
For the custard
135ml whole milk
2¾ tbsp cornflour
1 whole egg
9 egg yolks
550ml whipping cream
Seeds from ½ vanilla bean
95g caster sugar

For the Chiffon Cake
210g plain flour
115g caster sugar
11/3 baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
55ml sunflower oil
3 egg yolks
140ml fresh orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 egg whites
1 tsp cream if tartar

For the chocolate glaze
225g dark chocolate
225g unsalted butter

To prepare the custard:
Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl; blend until smooth. Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk this back into the cream mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups. Refrigerate to chill.

To prepare the chiffon cakes:

Preheat the oven to 325°. Spray 8 molds with nonstick cooking spray. You may use 7-ounce custard cups, ovenproof wide mugs or even large foil cups. Whatever you use should be the same size as the custard cups.Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat.Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the sprayed molds nearly to the top with the batter.Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove the cakes from the molds. Cover the cakes to keep them moist.

To prepare the glaze:

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat until it is just about to bubble. Remove from the heat; add the chocolate and stir to melt. Pour through a strainer and keep warm.

To assemble:

Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake flat-side down on top of each custard. Cover the tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.

(I made 6 mini Bostini Cream Pies and 1 deep 6inch cake)

Spiced Pumpkin Cake

It’s that time of year again, when the leaves start turning a red golden brown and falling off the trees and squashes and pumpkins appear in the shops. I adore the warm, smooth and comforting taste and texture of squashes and love to eat them simply roasted, in risottos, with pasta, on pizza or in soups. However, I had never eaten or tired a pumpkin pie or cake before. After reading many posts from fellow bloggers about these sweet delights I decided it was high time I too sampled these autumnal treats.

I chose to make a pumpkin cake from an old copy of Good Housekeeping Magazine. The recipe called for roasting and then pureeing your own pumpkin rather than using a can, which was just what I was looking for as I have never seen tinned pumpkin puree here in the UK. When preparing the cake batter it reminded me strongly of carrot cake, as it used oil instead of butter and soft brown sugar instead of caster.

Roasting and then pureeing the pumpkin turned it a wonderful shade of orange and added a great colour to the batter once combined. A lovely array of warming spices were stirred in and I could tell the cake would be good from tasting the batter even before it was cooked.

I chose to decorate the cake with a simple chocolate icing as I wanted something to offset the sweetness of the cake whilst still allowing the pumpkin flavour to shine through. (I turned up cake upside down to ice it, as this always gives you a flat surface to work with).

The cake was incredibly moist and all the pumpkin flavour was really enhanced by the spices and added a silky richness to the cake. I took it into work for the Monday Munchers where it was greatly enjoyed. I was pleased to find that not many people had tasted pumpkin cake before either so it was the subject of much discussion.

If I made the cake again I would like to try adding some raisins, or maybe cranberries into the batter along with some chopped pecans as I think these would be a great addition. Either way I’m glad I’ve finally tried a pumpkin cake and more importantly, that I liked it!

Spiced Pumpkin Cake
For the cake
550g raw pumpkin
250ml sunflower oil
200g light soft brown sugar
3 eggs
225g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1tsp cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

For the chocolate icing
100g dark chocolate
45g butter
2 tbsp milk or cream
75g icing sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Chop the pumpkin into small chunks, place on a baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes until softened and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Reduce the oven temperature to 170C.
Grease an 8inch loose bottomed tin and set to one side.
Put the oil and sugar into a large bowl and whisk together until the sugar crystals have dissolved. Then add the egg one at a time, beating well between each one.
Add the flour, bicarb and spices and fold in using a spatula.
Puree the roasted pumpkin using a hand blender or processor until smooth. Fold into the batter.
Pour the cake mix into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Allow to stand until warm before un-moulding.

To make the icing, break the chocolate into pieces and add to a pan along with the butter and milk/cream.
Heat gently until all melted, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before sifting in the icing sugar and beating with a spatula until smooth and thickened.
If of a good spreadable consistency then ice the cake, if not then allow to cool for a little longer until firmer.

Makes 1 8inch/20cm cake.

Tomato & Broccoli Quiche

Do you ever have days where you wake up and instantly know exactly what you want to eat that day? I had one of those cravings last weekend and my craving was for quiche. I attempted to ignore it but it wouldn’t be pushed away and after a quick rummage in the fridge I found I had all the ingredients I needed, it must have been fate.

I decided to make a broccoli and tomato quiche. One, because I had lots of broccoli to use up (it was on offer and I brought rather a lot) and two, I had some lovely tomatoes growing outside my door that were just begging to be used. I decided to sue one tomato that was still green as well as I think the vibrant green colour is wonderful; it also adds a different flavour.

The quiche was very easy to prepare and after a short mornings work I was able to satisfy my craving and enjoy a slice for lunch. I had some cold the following day (I’m quite partial to cold quiche) and found the flavours had developed more. The recipe for the filling is a big vague as I just used what I had to hand, but that it one of the beauties of a quiche, you can fill them with a whole assortment of things.

Tomato & Broccoli Quiche
For the pastry
200g plain flour
120g butter
1-2 tbsp cold water

For the filling
½ tbsp olive oil
1 head of broccoli
1 medium onion
3 tomatoes
2 tsp fresh thyme
3 eggs
250ml milk or double cream
Salt and pepper

Method
To start, make the pastry. Sift the flour into a large bowl, cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour using your fingertips until the butter is well dispersed in the flour and little clumps are forming.
Sprinkle over half of the water and bring together using a round bladed butter knife, adding more water when needed.
When larger clumps are forming use your hands to form the dough into a smooth ball.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until 5mm thick. Use the pastry to line a 9inch tart tin, being sure not to stretch the pastry or else it will shrink on baking.
Cut the excess pastry away and place the lined tin in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Finely dice the onion and lightly fry with most of the fresh thyme in the olive oil until softened, then set to one side.
After chilling, prink the pastry with a fork and blind bake for 12-15 minutes until just firm and lightly golden. While it’s baking prepare the filling.
Cut the broccoli into small pieces and slice the tomatoes. Beat the eggs, milk/cream, salt, pepper and any leftover thyme together in a bowl or jug.
Remove the pastry from the oven and spread the softened onion over the base.
Arrange the broccoli and tomato slices over the top and carefully pour over the egg mixture.
Return to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until set and golden brown on top.
Allow to cool slightly before un-moulding and serving.
Make 1 9inch quiche.

P.S. I had quite a bit of left over pastry and so I did what I used to love doing as a child, and made some jam tarts. I used some unusual flavoured jams to make them a bit more interesting – lemon & ginger, and blueberry & lavender. I took the tarts into work the following day, and although jam tarts are best eaten the day they are made, I received no complaints.