Peanut Butter & Jam Pinwheel Biscuits

May19

Not too long ago the Mr treated me to the new Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. I hadn’t planned on baking anything this weekend but suddenly got an urge to, surprise surprise! So I had a goosey gander through the book and came across these little beauties. Peanut butter & jam pinwheel biscuits. So without further ado, here is what you will need to make about 15 biscuits. (Recipe adapted slightly to what I had in the cupboards! See notes)

60g Smooth Strawberry Jam (See Notes)
1 tsp Cornflour
100g Unsalted Butter, softened
100g Crunchy Peanut Butter (See Notes)
180g Golden Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg
2 tbsp Whole Milk
340g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

NOTES: The original recipe said to use raspberry jam & smooth peanut butter. I only had strawberry jam & crunchy peanut butter in the cupboards so I used them instead. They turned out delicious anyway! Plus I like the extra crunch of the nuts from the crunchy peanut butter.

Firstly, cut two sheets of baking paper to 38 x 25cm. (15 x 10″) and set to one side.

Then, mix the jam & the cornflour in a small bowl and stir until the flour has dissolved. Leave to one side until needed.

In a stand mixer (or a large bowl with an electric whisk if doing by hand) mix together the butter, peanut butter & the sugar until light & fluffy.

Then add in the egg and the milk and mix until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda & the salt. Then, a spoonful at a time, add the flour to the peanut butter mixture until it forms a dough.

Now get the 2 baking paper sheets you cut out earlier. Place the dough mix onto one of them and press down into a rough rectangle. Then place the second sheet on the top and roll it out so the dough reaches the edge of the baking paper. If it gets a bit uneven, you can always tear bits off and move them, then re-roll.

Now we’re ready for the jam! Spread the jam/cornflour mix you prepared earlier over the biscuit dough. Try and be as even as you can and leave a 2cm border around the edge.

Now for the tricky bit. Carefully roll up the dough using the baking paper as a tool to help you. Roll it as tight as you can, you don’t want any gaps between layers. Take your time with this, you don’t have to rush it. When you’ve reached the end, make sure you seal the seam on the bottom then wrap it up in cling film.

Leave this in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, or better yet, overnight. It makes it far easier to cut into slices & it will bake better too. (When the dough is cold it won’t spread too much so the biscuits will keep their shape.)

Once the dough is completely chilled, Preheat your oven to 170°C/Fan 150°. Cut the log into 2cm thick slices and place onto a baking tray. You may need to cook them in batches so as not to overcrowd the tray OR use multiple trays.

Place into the oven and bake on the middle shelf for about 12-13 minutes until they’re a light golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before consuming. (Although I’m sure there will be a couple of casualties!)

And there you have it! Peanut butter & jam pinwheel biscuits. These were a big hit with the Mr, I’m starting to wonder if the book was actually a gift for me or for him haha! I must admit though, I’m quite proud of how pretty they look. It is a little more effort to make a pinwheel but I definitely think it’s worth it.

In other news, I would like to give a big shout out & a massive congratulations to my good friend Emma and her new husband, Patrick who got married this Saturday. Much like myself, Emma is a keen baker and even made her own wedding cake! (Which was absolutely stunning by the way.) So here’s to you guys, may you have many happy years together and plenty of cake!

Hope you all enjoyed the post my lovelies.

Miss KitchenMason

Mars Bar Oat Bars – Revisited!

May5

This was one of my first ever posts as an online food blogger & one that the Mr said was one of his fave sweet treats. So I thought I would revisit it and give it a bit of a face lift. To be honest, it deserves it!

Here is what you will need to make about x12 small bars.

3 Standard sized Mars Bars
60ml Double Cream
90g Rolled Oats
125g Plain Flour
5 tbsp Soft Light Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Bicarbonated Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
140g Butter
100g Chocolate, chopped (Or Chocolate Chips)

Line a 20cm (8″) square baking tin with parchment/baking paper. Do so by measuring out a large square that is equal to the length, width & sides of the tin – all the way around. Then cut one slit in each corner so you can fold them into the tin. (as per the pics below.)

Break up 2 of the 3 mars bars and put into a saucepan along with the cream. Over a low heat, stir until its all melted and smooth. Leave to one side to cool whilst you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C

Meanwhile, chop up the last Mars Bar & the 100g bar of chocolate into largish chunks and put in the freezer whilst you make the flapjack. This will make sure that you end up with chunks of Mars Bar & chocolate in the centre rather than just melted goo. (which, to be fair, sounds delicious but it’s worth it – trust me!)

To paint a picture, imagine little pockets of chunky chocolate accompanied by gooey segments of melted caramel & nougat …. yeah, you get the imagery … : )

Mars Bar Chunks! Sift the flour into a large bowl. Then add in the oats, light brown sugar & salt & give it a mix. Cube up the butter and rub into the flour mix with the tips of your fingers until it forms a crumbly dough.

Now press half the mixture into the prepared baking tin and pop into the oven for about 15-20 minutes until it’s a beautiful golden brown.

Leave too cool for about 10-15 minutes, then remove the chopped Mars Bar/chopped chocolate from the freezer and randomly scatter along the cooked flapjack base.

Pour over the mars bar mixture – if it is too thick after cooling, simply add a little more cream to loosen up the mixture.

Next step, press the remaining oat dough onto the top of the mixture. It’s potentially a little bit messy, but if everything is as cool as it should be (cucumber style…) it shouldn’t be toooo messy!

Pop this bad boy into the oven for about 20-25 minutes until lovely and golden on top. (Rotate half way to ensure an even bake.) Allow to cool in the tin for at least 15-20 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing into bars.

And there you have it sports fans – the Mars Bar Oat Bar! It’s quite beautiful isn’t it? It’s nowhere near as sickly as I imagined it to be. In fact, it’s actually quite moreish. I can kinda’ see why the Mr requested me to make it again. NOM!

Hope you enjoyed the post my lovelies!

Misd KitchenMason

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Apr7

I have seen these biscuits many times whilst perusing various food blogs and sites across the internet. I’ve always wanted to have a go at them and today was the day I did! The recipe comes courtesy of the brilliant Brown Eyed Baker blog.

Here is what you will need to make about 22-24 biscuits.

For the Biscuit Dough

115g Unsalted Butter
65g Icing Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
160g Plain Flour

For the Filling

60g Plain/Dark Chocolate
30g Unsalted Butter
1/4 tsp Golden Syrup

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, icing sugar, salt & vanilla extract. Mix on low speed at first, working up to medium until nice and smooth. Alternatively, if you don’t have a stand mixer, simply mix the ingredients in a large bowl by hand until you achieve the same thing.

Gradually add in the flour and then mix on medium speed until it comes together as a dough. (Or just mix by hand again.)

Using a teaspoon to guide the portion size, roll out balls of the dough and place them on a large baking tray about 1″ apart from each other.

Bake for 10 minutes then remove from the oven and make dents in the middle of each biscuit whilst they are still warm. (Be fairly quick about this as they will start to break as they cool down.) I used the silicone handle of a whisk to dent mine.

Then pop back into the oven and bake for a further 7-10 minutes until just starting to brown on the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate filling.

Place the chocolate, butter & golden syrup in a glass bowl over barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and glossy, leave to one side to cool along with the cookies.

When all the components are cooled (it should only take about 20-30 mins at the most) all that remains to do is fill those cookies! I found it easiest to load the chocolate filling into a piping bag and cut a small hole from the end then pipe it into the biscuits.

Leave on the kitchen side until the filling has set.

I love these little cookies. The dough is so deliciously crumbly and just melts in your mouth and the rich chocolate filling works well to counteract the sweetness of the biscuit.

AND they are super easy to make! Only problem is that they are slightly moreish…

Hope you enjoyed this weeks post lads and ladies.

Miss KitchenMason

Chocolate Teacakes!

Feb24

I saw this recipe on the lovely Tartelette blog the other week and knew that I was going to have to give it a try at some point. I mean, the idea of making home made marshmallow did excite me just a little bit!

The original recipe makes a truck load of these things – far more than mine and the Mr’s stomachs anticipated! So I would only make half the recipe next time – as I have given you lovely lot below. So here is what you will need to make about 25-30 Teacakes.

Biscuit Base

190g Plain Flour
60g Caster Sugar
Salt, pinch
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Bicarbonated Soda
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
85g Unsalted Butter, Cubed
2 Eggs, beaten

Marshmallow

30ml Golden Syrup
30ml Water
85g Granulated Sugar
1/2 tbsp Gelatin Powder
2 tbsp Cold Water
1 Egg White
1 Vanilla Pod

Chocolate Coating

300g Milk Chocolate
40g Unsalted Butter

First up you need to make the biscuit bases. In a stand mixer with the beater attachment (or a large bowl with a spatula if doing by hand or a food processor) mix together the plain flour, caster sugar, salt, baking powder, bicarbonated soda & cinnamon. Then add in the butter and mix on high until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. (Mix between your forefingers and thumbs if doing by hand or pulse on high in a processor.)

Beat the eggs in a glass or jug then gradually add them into the mixture until a dough forms. NOTE: you will probably not need all the egg so make sure to add it gradually and not all at once or you will end up with a very wet dough which won’t work properly.

Wrap the dough in some clingfilm, flattened into a disc and pop into the fridge to chill for at least an hour.

Preheat your oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C.

Roll out the dough to about 3mm thick. (Bear in mind these will rise due to the bicarb & baking powder.) Then cut out circles using a 6cm cutter (approx) and place them on a lightly greased baking tray.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes until cooked through and lightly golden on the sides and top.

Leave to cool completely whilst you make the marshmallow.

Put the golden syrup, water and granulated sugar into a saucepan and cook on a high heat for 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes golden & starts to thicken. (The soft ball stage)

In a small bowl/glass – put in the 2tbsp of cold water and sprinkle over the powdered gelatin. Stir a little to dissolve then add it to the syrup. (Careful – it will probably froth up quite a bit but it will settle.) Mix well and keep to one side.

In a stand mixer with the balloon whisk attachment (or in a a bowl with an electric hand mixer) whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Then very slowly trickle the hot syrup into the egg whites whilst the mixer is still going. Keep whisking until all the syrup mixture is used up and the eggs have become shiny and quite thick – but can withstand it’s own weight. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Add them to the marshmallow and mix until evenly distributed.

Load the marshmallow into a piping bag with a circular nozzle. Then pipe little “kisses” of marshmallow onto each biscuit and leave to set at room temperature for about 2 hours.

When they are completely set – gently melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir through the butter then prepare to get messy!!

There are several ways to “attack” this procedure – you could do what I did and simply, using your fingers, dip them head first into the bath of chocolate then shake them to drip off the excess. Or, you could put them on baking paper and drizzle chocolate over the top or you could drop the whole thing into the chocolate and then pick it out with a fork. Any way is fine, whatever works best for you!

Allow to set at room temperature.

Ok ok – so it’s a labour of love I know. But the Mr told me that I should measure how good something is by how quickly it disappears – and these didn’t last very long at all! Definitely worth all the time and effort to make them. Also, home made marshmallow is one of those bowls that, as a home baker, you need to lick clean at some point in your lifetime. Honestly – it’s unbelievably good!

I think the next time that I make them though, I will add a little something sweet to them. Like a layer of jam just above the biscuit.

And on that note my little lovelies – I hope you enjoyed the post and I will hopefully see you all next week!

Miss KitchenMason

Valentines Heart Biscuits

Feb10

I can’t believe it’s that time of the year already! I swear it seems like Christmas was only yesterday. But then they do say that time flies when you’re having fun! Well, as much fun as you can have in January – the longest and most miserable month of the year haha!

Anyway! Onto the matter at hand. Everyone is looking for something new, unique and thoughtful to give to their loved one on Valentines Day and I think I’ve found a special little something for you all to have a go at.

Inspiration for this recipe was found over at the lovely Cake Time blog and here is what you will need to make upwards of 20 biscuits for that special someone in your life.

125g Icing Sugar
1 Vanilla Pod
250g Plain Flour
125g Butter, Cubed
1 Egg
Red Food Colouring Gel (Or normal liquid food colouring)

Special Equipment

Food Processor (Can be done by hand but just takes a little longer)
8cm Circle Cutter (Crinkled or Plain)
A Heart cutter than fits in the middle (approx 4.5-5cm)

Put the icing sugar into a small bowl then split the vanilla pod, remove the seeds and mix them into the icing sugar. Leave to one side. (I also left the pod in the icing sugar too until needed as I think it imparts more flavour – just remember to take them out before you add it to the food processor!!)

You could of course use 1 tsp of good quality vanilla extract instead – but add this in at the same time as the egg.

In a food processor, add the flour and cubed butter. Pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. (If doing by hand, place the mixture in a bowl, get your hands in and rub the mixture between your forefingers and thumbs.)

Next, remove the vanilla pods and put the icing sugar into the food processor. Pulse to mix evenly. (Or continue to rub between forefingers and thumbs.)

Beat the egg in a glass or jug then add it into the food processor. Pulse briefly until the dough starts to come together. (Or add to the bowl and mix by hand until the dough comes together.)

Tip the dough out onto a work surface and split into two halves. Add red food colouring gel to one of the two doughs and knead until evenly distributed. Add more gel until you get the colour you want. If you are using normal liquid food colouring it will probably alter the consistency of the dough and you will therefore need to add a little more flour to make it more firm again. If this is the case, use the other dough half’s consistency as a guide.

Place the two doughs into separate pieces of cling film and flatten into discs. Place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. This will make it dramatically easier to work with later. (Remember, the larger the surface area the quicker it will chill so don’t put them into the fridge in balls!)

When the dough is chilled – roll out the doughs to a thickness of about 5mm on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar.

Then get an 8cm circle cutter and a heart cutter that fits in the middle (leaving at least a 1cm gap all the way round the inside.)

Cut out equal amounts of circles using both doughs. Then cut out hearts from the middle of each one and swap them to the alternate coloured circles (as above.) Press lightly around the heart to bind the edges together.

Note – you will need to move quite quickly as when the dough starts to warm up it becomes much more fiddly to work with. You could pop it back into the fridge for a bit if it becomes too difficult.

Then place them on baking sheets/plates and pop back into the fridge again for about an hour until the biscuits are completely chilled again. (This will stop it from spreading too much in the oven so they will hold their shape better.)

If you have any spare dough – just cut out little hearts to use it up. Waste not want not!

When the dough is nearly ready – preheat your oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C.

You may need to cook these in batches as the mix makes quite a few biscuits. I transferred mine to a larger baking sheet for cooking as they do spread slightly. This way, you can spread them out and give each biscuit more room.

Bake in the centre of the oven for about 10-12 minutes until they are lightly golden around the edges. Every oven varies slightly though so do keep an eye on them. The beauty of baking biscuits as opposed to cakes is that you can open the oven to check on them and it won’t effect the bake.

Leave on the tray to firm up for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

And there you have it! Super cute, home made, thoughtful gifts for that special someone this Valentines Day. I must admit though – they are dangerously addictive! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I hope you all have a beautifully romantic day with the one you love.

Je t’aime mon amis!

Miss KitchenMason

Nutella Cookie Cups!

Feb3

This is a recipe I dabbled with a long time ago, but it came up in conversation recently so I thought I would give it a revival!

What you will need to make approx 8 cookie cups.

HALF the recipe from the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie post, Chilled

Ready made dough from the supermarket, Chilled

For the Filling

150g Milk Chocolate
30 ml Double Cream
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
125g Nutella

Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C Fan.

Grab a cupcake tin and place heaped ice cream scoops of the dough into each cup.

Place in the middle of the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes – turning halfway to ensure an even bake.

When they are nice and golden & risen – take out the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.

Then get a shot glass or you could just use the back of a spoon – and gently press the middles in and the sides out to create little cookie cups.

Leave to cool for a further 10 minutes then carefully prise out with a teaspoon. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely so they harden up.

Meanwhile – Prepare the filling.

Break the chocolate into a glass bowl set over simmering water. (Or melt in the microwave.)

Once all the chocolate is melted and smooth, leave to cool for 5-10 minutes. (Don’t be impatient with this, if you add the other ingredients whilst it is still warm – the mixture is more likely to split, giving it a horrible grainy texture.)

Once the chocolate has cooled, add in the butter and the cream. Stir until smooth. Then stir in the vanilla extract.

Then, slowly stir in the Nutella – try not to over mix as this can also make the mixture split. (Speaking from experience!)

If however, it does still split – simply stir in small amounts of double cream until the texture is smooth again. It will firm up once in the cups anyway.

Load up a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and precede to fill each cookie cup with the Nutella buttercream filling. (Don’t over fill though as the buttercream will set and become very rich!)

Serve with scoops of your favourite ice cream.

These are a lot simpler to make than they first seem – even easier if you buy ready made cookie dough!

They are sure to achieve that wow factor at any dinner party or buffet table though. And once again – these come with the Mr’s approval!

Hope you all liked the post & I’ll catch you next time!

Miss KitchenMason

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Jan27

I have been perfecting this recipe for a long time but I believe I’ve finally cracked it! May I present to you – the best EVER chocolate chip cookie recipe. Crunchy on the outside – chewy in the middle. Sheer chunky cookie perfection!

This is what you will need to make approx 18 large cookies.

170g Unsalted Butter, melted
250g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
220g Soft Light Brown Sugar
110g Castor Sugar
1tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
2 x 100g Bars of Milk Chocolate
1 x 100g Bag of Milk Chocolate Chips

Put the butter in a small saucepan and heat until melted. (Or melt in the microwave.) Leave to one side.

Sift together the flour & bicarbonate of soda then add the salt and give it a mix.

Chop the milk chocolate into chunks & set to one side with the chocolate chips. (I know it sounds a lot but it all adds to the overall flavour & texture – trust me!)

Either in a stand mixer or a large bowl – mix the brown sugar, castor sugar & the melted butter until combined well.

Then add in the whole egg, the egg yolk & the vanilla extract – mix well.

Next, gradually add in the flour mix a spoonful at a time until there are only a few spoonfuls left.

Then toss the chocolate chips/chunks through the remaining flour until they are all coated.

Add the chocolate into the dough and mix until thoroughly combined.

This next step is very important – cover the bowl with cling film and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour – 2 if you have time. This stops the dough from spreading too much during baking, giving you a beautiful chunky cookie as opposed to a flat greasy cookie.

Once the dough is completely chilled – preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C.

Then, using an ice cream scoop, (mine measures approx 5cm diameter x 2.5cm deep) place scoopfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet. Leave room in between for spreading. Don’t be tempted to flatten them though – leave them as they are.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes – turning halfway to ensure an even bake.

Leave on the tray for a few minutes to harden slightly then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

And there you have it. The most beautiful chocolate chip cookies that there ever was. A satisfyingly crunchy edge with a chunky chewy middle. Absolutely jam packed full of chunky chocolate goodness. I am head over heels in love with these cookies and I am pretty sure I will never get sick of eating them! They also come complete with the Mr’s approval – so they’ve got to be good!

I sincerely hope you give these a try – I promise you won’t regret it!

Miss KitchenMason

Chocolate Stuffed Crust Pizza!

Jan20

Oh hell yeah you heard me right!! A down right dirty chocolate pizza with a chocolate ganache stuffed crust. You know you want to…

This is thanks to yet another cook book that the Mr got me for Christmas (I’m such a lucky lady!) – the Gü Chocolate Cookbook. I’ll be honest, I don’t think this will be the only recipe I will be sharing with you from this book – it has LOADS of super awesome ideas that I literally cannot wait to try. But… the first one had to be this.

This is what you will need to make a 29cm (approx) pizza.

For the Ganache (Stuffing for Crust)

40g Dark Chocolate
15g Milk Chocolate
75ml Whipping Cream

For the Dough

2tsp Active Dried Yeast
250g Plain Flour
2tbsp Cocoa Powder
1tsp Salt
3tbsp Olive Oil
1tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted

For the Topping

4-6 tbsp Double Cream
50g Milk Chocolate, chopped
50g White Chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp Hazelnuts, chopped
1 tsp Brown Sugar

First up – make the ganache by breaking the chocolate into a bowl. Then heat the cream in a saucepan and pour over the chocolate. Stir until smooth then pop in the fridge to set.

Now onto the dough. Pour 150ml of warm water into a jug and stir in the yeast. Wait for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble. This means the yeast has been activated.

Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl and add the salt. Mix together then pop into a food processor.

Switch the machine on low and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Then add in the yeast mixture – continue to mix just until a dough forms.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for about a minute. Pour a small amount of oil in a large bowl and drop in the dough – turn to coat evenly. Cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour to double in size.Whilst the dough is proving – preheat your oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C and place a baking sheet in to warm up.

Once the dough is ready, knock back and roll out to approx 33cm circle on a lightly floured surface. Take the ganache from the fridge and load it into a piping bag. Snip off the end and pipe out a circle about 1 inch or so in from the edge.

Brush some water onto the dough inside the ring of ganache then carefully fold over the edge. Make sure you really seal it well as mine actually burst it’s banks whilst cooking!

Remove the hot tray from the oven and slide on the dough. Brush with the melted butter and prick the base gently with a fork. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the dough is starting to go crispy.

Whilst the dough is cooking – prepare your toppings. Chop up both chocolates and the hazelnuts and get the cream out of the fridge.

When the base is ready – take out the oven and drizzle over the cream. Then scatter over the white chocolate, milk chocolate & hazelnuts. Finally, sprinkle over the brown sugar.

Pop back into the oven for a couple of minutes to get all warm, gooey and melty.

Just look at it! It’s beautiful isn’t it? All that oozy melted chocolate cascading down the side of the sweet chocolate dough, filled with bursts of milk & white chocolate and the crunch of the hazelnuts…

Erm, sorry… got a bit carried away there. But it’s so damn good!!! It’s a labour of love but I implore you all to give it a go, it’s totally worth the effort!

I honestly think it would make the perfect shock inducing pud at a dinner party or on a buffet table. I mean come on, it’s combining two of most peoples loves – chocolate & pizza!

I really hope you all enjoyed the post this week.

In the words of Porky Pig, “Th th th th That’s All Folks!”

Miss KitchenMason

Mine & Dad’s “Posh Nosh” Dinner!

Dec30

Every now and then, me and my Dad get together and plan a fancy 3 course dinner for us, the Mr & my Mum. (Our first ever attempt at this can be found on the My Food Story page.)

This time around we decided on the following menu.

Starter

Lettuce Soup with Home Made Bread

Main

Chicken with Wild Mushroom Risotto on a bed of Greens

Dessert

Vanilla & Dark Rum Panna Cotta with Mangoes & Lychees

To be completely honest, it would take you hours to read if I shared all the recipes with you! So below are the recipes for the starter and dessert. If you would like the recipe for the main course – treat yourself to the fabulous John Campbell’s book – Formulas for Flavour: How to Cook Restaurant Dishes at Home. Having attained Michelin Stars left right & centre throughout his career – believe me he knows what he is talking about! I can honestly say that I have never cooked anything in my kitchen more tasty than the recipes I have tried from his book. And I’m sure my Dad will agree!

STARTER

Anyway! Enough of my babbling – here is what you will need to make enough Lettuce Soup for 4 people. (Recipe is from Michel Roux Jr’s Cooking with The Master Chef.)

100g Dark Outer Lettuce Leaves (I used little gem)
1tbsp Butter
300g Potatoes Peeled & Diced
200g Ripe Tomatoes Quartered
1.4 Litres of Boiling Water
Salt & Pepper

To Decorate:

8 x thin strips of Lettuce leaves (2 per serving)
1 x Ripe Tomato Seeds Removed & Diced
Crème Fraîche

My word of advice with this is don’t skip on the decoration! The crème fraîche really adds to the flavour, the lettuce adds a surprisingly lovely crunch and the tomatoes add a delicious sweetness. I think it would be a little bland without them.

First up, slice the very bottoms of the lettuce leaves off (the parts that tend to be a little brown near the root) and tear the rest into smallish pieces. Melt the butter in a large pan and sweat the leaves for a few minutes.

Add the diced potatoes & the quartered tomatoes and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add in the boiling water, bring to the boil then gently simmer for about 20 minutes. Or until the potatoes are cooked.

Season to taste with salt & pepper then blend until smooth in a food processor or with a hand blender.

Pass through a fine sieve if you like. (I did as it gets rid of the tomato seeds)

Serve hot or cold and decorate each serving with 2 slices of little gem, a good dollop of crème fraîche and some diced tomatoes.

As simple and boring as “Lettuce Soup” sounds, it’s actually quite delicious! It’s a very easy starter to make and very light too – so great if you have quite a heavy/rich main course like we did.

MAIN COURSE

A little bit about the main course before we move onto the dessert. There are so many components to this dish but each one adds a beautiful delicate flavour that just couldn’t be replaced! It is chicken with spinach/lemon butter smeared under the skin then stuffed with garlic, lemon & thyme. Teamed up with a risotto comprising of wine, mixed wild mushrooms, parmesan and chives. All this is laid on a bed of asparagus spears, cabbage & confit onions and topped with a leek cream & a truffle dressing.

Granted – me and my Dad are a bit pants at restaurant presentation but to be honest, it tasted so good that neither of us really cared haha! If you ever want a go at cooking restaurant style dishes at home then I strongly recommend getting the book mentioned above. I have never been disappointed with a recipe I’ve made from it and with what you learn from each process/component – I find myself applying to lots of other things I make in my kitchen!

DESSERT

This is a dessert I have been wanting to try for quite some time. Panna Cotta is a dessert that is reasonably small, light and lovely after a rich main course. I spied this recipe on the Michel Roux Jr iPhone App and thought with the fresh fruits it sounded delightfully refreshing! So here is what you will need to serve 4 people.

1.5 Leaves of Gelatine
300ml Double Cream
1 Vanilla Pod
50g Castor Sugar
1 tbsp Dark Rum
1 Ripe Mango
12 Lychees (Preferably fresh)
2 tbsp Cane Syrup
1 Lime (Zest of half/Juice of 1)
6 Basil Leaves
6 Mint Leaves

Equipment

4 x Ramekins/Moulds or Glasses approx 5cm diameter x 4cm tall

Soften the gelatine leaves in iced cold water then gently squeeze out the excess water.

Quickly bring the cream, vanilla pod (split with the seeds scraped) and castor sugar to the boil – make sure to stir so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.

Immediately remove from the heat and stir in both the gelatine and the rum.

Leave to one side to cool – stir occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. When cold (but not set) pour equal portions into each glass then place in the fridge to set for about 6 hours.

For the fruit – peel and stone the mango and lychees then cut into cubes. Place them in a bowl along with the cane syrup, zest of half a lime & the juice of 1 lime.

When you are ready to serve – put the moulds in hot water for bout 5 seconds then carefully run a knife around to release them.

Thinly slice the basil & mint.

Lastly, Surround the panna cotta in the fruits and scatter with the basil and mint. If you like, drizzle some of the fruit juices over the top.

I’ll be honest there were several things that worried me about this recipe. Firstly- the rum. I’m not a fan of boozy puds but actually – it was a very subtle undertone that worked really well with the zesty fruits! Pleasantly surprised. Secondly, whether the panna cotta would actually set. I have seen it happen on numerous cooking competition programmes where it has not set properly and just looks like a blob of mess on the plate! The proportions of liquid to gelatine seemed to work just right with this recipe though so I was chuffed about that! And Thirdly – the idea of putting basil on a pudding. This terrified me more than anything else to be honest. My mind just couldn’t grasp the idea of using what is usually a savoury herb with a sweet dessert. Biggest surprise on the whole thing!! You could actually smell that it was going to be good when you were slicing the basil together with the mint. I don’t know why or how it works but it just… does! All in all I was incredibly surprised how much I enjoyed this dessert – as did my Dad and guests. Win!

I always throughly enjoy cooking with my Dad so a big shout out to him! Couldn’t have done it without you : )

BUT – I do need to say a HUGE thank you to my Mum and the Mr who nominated themselves to wash all the pots and clear the mess that me and my Dad created! (And I don’t mind telling you that it was bad… I mean really bad!)

Anyway my lovelies, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and I wish you all the very best for the New Year!

Miss KitchenMason

Mince Pies!

Dec24

This year I didn’t want to go too overboard on baked presents for family & friends (as I have a severe a tendency to!) So I asked my Mum if there was anything that she would like and she said, “mince pies please!” I adapted this recipe from one I found on the BBC Good Food site. Here is what you will need to make approx 16-18 pies.

225g Unsalted Butter, cold & cubed
350g Plain Flour, sieved
100g Golden Caster Sugar
Pinch of Salt
410g Jar of Mincemeat*
1 Eating Apple, pealed, cored & diced
1 Egg
Icing Sugar for dusting

* I used Waitrose traditional mincemeat with apricot purée and orange oil. I don’t even like mince pies but that orange oil made them smell so tempting and delicious!!

Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C.

First – make the filling. Mix together the diced apple & mincemeat in a bowl and set aside. To make the pastry, rub the butter and the flour together either by hand or pulse in a food processor until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. I find a food processor to be much quicker & easier! But be careful not to overwork the pastry. Add in the golden caster sugar & the salt and mix lightly/pulse a few times. Beat the egg and add a third of it into the mixture. Pulse/mix briefly until a dough forms. Reserve the egg for brushing later. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it all comes together. You can use the dough straight away but if you wrap it in cling film, flatten into a disc and refrigerate for 30 minutes it will be far easier to work with.

When the dough has chilled and is slightly firmer – roll out to a thickness of about half a centimetre and cut larger circles out for the base of the pies. (The size will differ according to the muffin tin you are using.) Then cut out slightly smaller circles for the lids.

Lightly grease the holes in the muffin tin and wrap a small ball of the dough in a double layer of cling film.

Carefully place a larger circle into one of the tin holes then, using the ball of cling filmed dough, gently press the pastry in and very carefully push the sides up to the top of the mould. Repeat until all the holes are filled.

Place the prepared filling into each pastry mould – but don’t overfill them, you don’t want it bubbling it’s way out!

Top the pies with the slightly smaller circles of pastry and press down the edges. You don’t need to egg wash them – they will stick anyway.

Using the reserved beaten egg, lightly brush the tops of the pies. Place into the middle of the preheated oven for 20 minutes turning halfway to ensure an even bake.

Leave the pies in the tin for 5 minutes then carefully remove them and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

When the pies are cooled, cut a shape out of cardboard – I made a heart. Place the shape in the centre of a pie and dust icing sugar over the top. Remove the cardboard shape and now you have a pretty design on your pie! Repeat for all the remaining pies.

So that’s my version of a mince pie. Quick and easy to make but also a lovely gift for someone you love.

Merry Christmas my lovely KitchenMasonites!

Love

Miss KitchenMason

KitchenMason

Category Archives: Desserts

Mars Bar Oat Bars – Revisited!

Chocolate Teacakes!

Valentines Heart Biscuits

Chocolate Stuffed Crust Pizza!

Mine & Dad’s “Posh Nosh” Dinner!

Mince Pies!

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