Mushroom and Garlic Stuffed Picnic Loaf

I found it very difficult to get a jar of wild mushrooms in oil, in Gravesend, so I asked Mum and Dad if they could look in Sevenoaks. I thought it was more of a wild mushroom in a jar kind of place!! It turns out that it is! They very kindly bought me a jar in a delicatessen. The only problem was that one jar cost £7.95!!!!!
Yesterday, my brother and his family came over, so I decided to make this loaf for them.
I would say that I had high hopes for it, but when you are using a jar of mushrooms that costs £7.95 to start with, the pressure is on!!
Thankfully the loaf was fairly straight forward, and turned out ok. It really would have been a disaster, had it gone wrong.
It was very tasty, but I don't think it was £7.95 kind of tasty! I would expect a loaf that costs that much to be amazing, and this was just good. I am sure that it would be possible to use cheaper alternatives, so maybe another time...
Forgetting the price of this loaf, we gave it a score of 8.0
I have now done all my pre Christmas baking (only three more recipes to go), and am looking forward to sitting down with the family to watch The Polar Express. A Christmas Eve tradition of ours.
Happy Christmas Everyone!

Buche de Noel

I have always tried to stick closely to Mary's recipes, after all, that was what the challenge was about. However, for this recipe I had to make quite a big change. I do feel slightly guilty about this. I used Mary's swiss roll recipe,but the icing was out of Nigella's Christmas book! I guess that is called a Marella recipe!
The reason for this detour was because I couldn't get hold of any unsweetened chestnut puree for the filling. I wasn't actually that disappointed about this as I didn't think the kids would really like it. Also the buche de noel recipe had a topping of whipped cream, and I really wanted to serve this as a cake rather than a pudding. I made it on Sunday afternoon, before our guests came round.
It didn't last long, in fact the whole thing went in the evening!  It was delicious and  scored it 8.5

Rich Cheesy Biscuits

On Sunday evening, we had an open house for the neighbours, and did some carol singing around the piano. Of course there was food on offer, so a great opportunity to tick off a couple more bakes!
These rich cheesy biscuits were easy to make, and I decided that star shapes would be more festive than circles.
I thought I had some sesame seeds for the top, but it turned out that it was a bag of linseed, and I didn't think that would be any good. On some of the biscuits I put a little bit of grated cheese, which worked well. 
Although there were 30 biscuits, they did not last long, and the kids especially seemed to enjoy them. We scored them 8.0

Gingerbread House

Last week, I watched the Christmas Bake off, and saw Mary and Paul make this gingerbread house. Although the recipe is not in the book, it was in last weeks Radio Times and I felt that it just had to be attempted. The kids were also very keen, so how could I refuse, having made so many other things?
I made the gingerbread on Friday night - with the help of Tom, who provided moral support! It was a huge amount of gingerbread, and very difficult to knead, but eventually I managed to roll it out and cut it into the correct shapes (thanks to the template download).
The windows were made by crushing boiled sweets. Unfortunately I do not own a pestle and mortar, so Ad used my rolling pin to crush them. Sadly my rolling pin (which is wooden) is no longer smooth, but has some large dents in! I ended up borrowing a neighbour's rolling pin, which did the job beautifully! Let's hope Santa brings me a new one for Christmas!!!
We put the whole thing together on Saturday, listening to Michael Buble and generally feeling very festive. Ellie and Ben did a brilliant job of cementing the chocolate buttons onto the roof with royal icing.
We were all really pleased with the finished house, and thoroughly enjoyed making it. It lasted a couple of days, and was admired by several visitors before we gave in, and tucked into it. It was delicious!! We decided that it scored 10!!!!!! Finally a recipe that was a lot of effort, but worth every bit of it. Just a shame its not acutally in the Baking Bible!

Baked Alaska

I remember having Baked Alaska as a child. I do not remember having it since, so it is probably considered a 70s or 80s type of pudding.
The family considered that it was probably best left in the past!
Although there is not much to dislike about this pudding - sponge, strawberries, ice cream and meringue, somehow when it is altogether it doesn't quite go. Well that was what we thought. We only gave it 6.5.

Ginger Cream Roll

Mary says that although this is a no cook pudding, she included it because it was so easy and impressive looking.
I think Ben summed it up when he saw me making it, by saying "that's not baking, it's constructing"!
All it involved was dipping ginger biscuits in brandy and sandwiching with cream and leaving overnight in the fridge before covering with even more cream!
It's true that it was easy, and the stripes looked quite good, but that was where it ended. This pudding was an epic fail, and we only scored it 4.0! Far to creamy and sickly - sorry Mary!

Fast Mincemeat Cake

I decided to make this cake as our official Christmas cake - yes, we will have to cut into him on Christmas Day! Ahhh
I read that this cake does not have to be made in advance, or fed with brandy, so I left it until this week to make. What I didn't read was the bit where it says cover the cake with almond paste about a week before icing. Oh well, with time running out, I left mine only two days before icing. Also, it is supposed to be covered with royal icing, but I fancied doing something a bit more fun.
The recipe itself was great, and not lots of messing about. It uses a jar of luxury mincemeat, therefore there is not lots of fruit to be chopped etc. Everything was mixed together and poured into the tin. It baked for just under two hours. I am really hoping it tastes nice, because it was easy to make. I will let you know after Christmas.
I now only have 8 recipes left to do, so it looks like I am going to make it before the new year! Wow!

Tiny Fruit Cakes & Classic Rich Christmas Cake

I made the tiny fruit cakes over a month ago, and last night, after the pear disaster, I decided to ice them, along with our proper Christmas cake - see next post. You will not be seeing a picture of the Classic Rich Christmas Cake, not because I forgot to take a photo of it, but because I have decided not to make it. This is partly a time thing, but also because the ingredients are almost identical to the tiny fruit cakes. I think I can guarantee that Mary's classic rich Christmas cake would be delicious. Perhaps I will make it next year! I know this seems a bit like cheating, but as I make up the rules....!
Anyway, back to the tiny fruit cakes. They were made in small baked bean tins, and were great fun to make. I was really pleased with them. There were 3 in total, but for the sake of the challenge, one of them has been tested by Ad and I! The flavour was delicious, but it was a little bit dry - maybe because they are small. I have two cakes to give away as presents (they are nice, honestly!), and I have decided that the recipients will be my two official blog followers - I know there are more than two people reading my blog, but Elaine and Wendy are my only official ones, so guess what guys, a mini fruit cake is coming your way. Thanks for sticking with me!

Baked Apple Lemon Sponge

I made this pudding yesterday, and you will laugh when you hear what I did. Let's just say it wasn't so much baked apple lemon sponge, but baked pear lemon sponge!!
On Wednesday I had taken a bag of, what I thought were frozen cooking apples out of the freezer to defrost, with the aim of making this.
I must have been in rather a rush, as I did not notice that they were pears, even when they had defrosted.
The resulting pudding was rather wetter than it should have been, I guess due to the high water content of the pears.
It was only as we were eating, (and not really enjoying), that we realised the mistake that I had made. Needless to say, pears and lemon are not as good a combination as apples and lemon. I really don't feel able to rate this pudding. I think it has the potential to be nice, but I do not intend to make it again this year to find out!!!

Creme Brulee

...This was today's pudding. Not much to look at, but it tasted delicious, and the kids gave it 8.5, which was an improvement on the souffle! Could it be to do with the fact that it contains a pint of cream!!!! Yes, this dessert is calories on a spoon.
I made it yesterday afternoon as it had to chill overnight. The process was fairly straight forward, and involved heating the cream and then adding egg yolks, and baking in a bain marie - a roasting tray half filled with water, to you and me!
I got to use my blowtorch this morning, which was fun. The top was not as crunchy as I would have liked, but that was partly because Mary said to chill the creme brulee for another couple of hours before serving. This made it go a bit softer.
As I said, this was a hit in our house, although we did all agree that it was best with some fruit, to balance out the creaminess! Not one for someone on a diet. My diet definitely starts in January!! Only 11 recipes to go now!

Hot Chocolate Souffle

 I think my children are starting to go off puddings and cakes! You could call it overkill!
I made this hot chocolate souffle for tea last night. To be honest it was quite a lot of messing about for nothing particularly spectacular. The kids were not very impressed despite my best efforts, and although they managed to polish it off, it only received  7.5.
As you can see from the top picture (taken as soon as it was out of the oven), I managed to get a good rise on it, and yes, it was a little burnt! I had put it in the top oven, which is quite small, and rose to the top!
Be warned, if you are not serving it straight away, and I mean straight away, it sinks! Mine was only waiting for 5 minutes, and it and this is what it looked like! Why anyone would choose to bake this for a dinner party is beyond me. I think it is asking for trouble. There are a lot of nicer options. Like todays pudding......

Angel Sponge Cheescake

As we had visitors for Sunday lunch, it was another great excuse to tick off another cheesecake! Only one more to go (thank goodness says Ad!).
This cheesecake is different from the average cheesecake as it has a sponge base and top. Mary says that you can make the sponge in advance and freeze it, so that is exactly what I did last week. I then defrosted it last Saturday and finished off the filling, leaving it to set overnight.
The filling is made up of cream, soft cheese etc, and is flavoured with the rind and juice of two oranges.
This turned out to be one of our favourite cheesecakes - even Ad liked it! The flavour was very delicate and it was a nice change to have sponge, rather than a biscuit base. The only problem with it was that the next day, the left overs were rather soggy! We gave it 8.75

Doboz Torte

This is the last remaining tricky cake in the book, so I had been saving it for a special occasion. Last Saturday a very good friend of mine from Southport (where we used to live) came to visit, and I made this in her honour!
It has 6 layers of sponge. These are made by marking 6 8inch circles on baking parchment. The sponge mix is then spooned onto the parchment and spread out to make a circle. They are only baked for 6 minutes in the oven. I made these sponges last Friday as I knew I wouldn't have enough time on the Saturday. This seemed to work fine.
The butter cream uses egg whites, icing sugar, butter and chocolate. It was not as difficult as the creme au beurre that I have made previously, and thankfully it did not involve heating any sugar this time!
It is difficult to see from the photo, but the pieces on the top of the cake are actually sponge covered in caramel. I was less fearful of making the caramel this time, and remembered not to stir it. I then poured half of it over one layer of sponge. The rest of it was poured onto some baking parchment and left to cool. The tricky part was cutting the sponge covered in caramel into 16 pieces. Mary said to used an oiled knife. This proved to be tricky, and then I had a brainwave. Why not use scissors?! Brilliant! It worked really well, and cut neatly.
The cake was then assembled, sandwiching the sponge with the chocolate cream. To finish it off, the remaining caramel was crushed and pressed into the cream around the sides. This was quite messy work, but it looked good in the end.
Of all the cakes I have made, this one is probably the most impressive looking, and it didn't actually take too long to make. It tasted very nice, although probably not quite as nice as it looked. We scored it 8.0.
I am not sure that I would make the exact same cake again. The caramel is a bit of a pain, and I don't think necessarily adds that much. If I were to make it again, I would cover the sides with grated chocolate, and probably not bother with the caramel at all.
My friend loved it, which was the main thing!

Old Fashioned Seed Cake

I wasn't really looking forward to making this cake, and then the other Sunday when I was chatting to someone at church, I discovered that they loved seed cake - result!
I made this last Saturday, and then gave it away on Sunday - minus a small slice for a taste!
It was easy to make, and tasted rather like a madeira cake. The difference being that this cake has carroway seeds in which give it an unusual flavour. It was not to my taste at all, but I trust that it went down well with my friend! I will find out tomorrow. I give it 7.0

Singing Hinny

After school this afternoon Nathan took his Grade 1 piano exam. Adam very kindly took him along, and I stayed at home to do tea. I confess to feeling quite nervous for him, so I decided to do some baking to take my mind off it.                                           
I really am limited for choice now, in fact I am down to the last 17! It’s official, I have done over 200 recipes! I decided on “singing hinny” as it looked quick and easy, and it turned out to be straight forward. The only problem was that it was cooked in the frying pan – something I don’t particularly enjoy as I find it hard to get it the right temperature. I ended up cooking it for longer than the recipe suggested, and even then it did not seem fully baked. As my oven was on for tea, I ended up giving it another 5 mins in there. Apparently it is called singing hinny because it sings whilst it cooks, but I didn’t hear anything!                           
The general consensus was that it needed sugar. It tastes rather like a sugarless fruit scone. The boys say that they are going to try it with jam when they have some later tonight!    We gave it 6.5  You will be pleased to know that Nathan was happy with how the exam went. We look forward to hearing the results.                                                                                    

Brandy Snaps

On Tuesday evening we had some friends round to play board games, so I thought it would be nice to have some refreshments!
I was a little concerned about making these after my tuiles were not very successful. However this time I was careful not to bake too many biscuits at one time.
Mary suggested four on one baking sheet, so I did as I was told. She also suggested using greased wooden spoon handles to wrap the biscuits around. As I only own one wooden spoon, I thought I would find an alternative. In the end I used four marker pens and rolled them in baking parchment. I then rolled each biscuit around them. They worked perfectly, in fact, it made me think that had I used a wooden spoon handle, the brandy snaps would have been very thin and not have much room for cream! They didn't take long to go hard, and I was able to use the pens for each batch that I made. I didn't need to replace the baking parchment each time. There was plenty of grease coming from the biscuits. Mary says that the recipe makes 24, but I only made 17. I think her ones would really be quite small. I don't wish to boast, but mine looked like shop bought ones, and they tasted delicious. We gave them 9.0! They went down well with our guests.

Apricot and Orange Cheesecake

I cannot believe that I forgot to take a picture of this cheesecake. It actually looked quite impressive. It was a pale orange colour and on the top it had a thin layer of apricot jam, which looked really quite professional (I can say this as there is no evidence to the contrary!). Around the edges were piped rosettes of cream and on the top of each one was a rataffia biscuit.
Whenever I make the cheesecake recipes I always think that there is not enough base mixture to cover the bottom of the tin. It is true that the base is very thin, but this time it worked out fine, and I was able to get it off the tin, which was the most important thing. The apricot and orange flavour was obtained by simmering dried apricots in orange juice, and then blending together with the other ingredients.
For the topping, apricot jam was warmed and then sieved to create a jelly layer. The recipe said to use 1 tblsp, but it definitely needed more than that. I used at least two.
The cheesecake went down very well at church, and again, several very kind people gave it 10. I have to say that I would give it 8.5. I felt that the honey overpowered the apricot and orange flavour. If I were making it again, I would only put one spoonful in.
I do have a photo on my phone of the empty plate - to show its popularity- however it might be a while before this appears. Just use your imagination!

Petit Fours aux Amandes

I had not planned to make these yesterday, but as I had two egg whites left over from the sweet pastry and they did not look difficult, I thought I would knock them up quickly. Unfortunately they did not turn out as they should. The mixture was supposed to be thick enough to pipe into rosettes. Mine was not - maybe I didn't whisk the egg whites long enough. Rather than start again, I thought I would put the mixture into the mini muffin cases. I put a piece of cherry on top, but as you can see, they all sank in the mixture.
They turned out rather like mini macaroons. They were ok, but i know Mary's ones would have looked and tasted much better! We gave them 7.0

Frangipane Tartlets

We had a lunch at church today, so that was a good excuse to do some baking yesterday. I had planned to make two things, but ended up with three!
I made these tartlets, and was very pleased with the results. The sweet pastry behaved itself, and I didn't have any trouble with getting it into the tray. The recipe said to bake them them for 15 minutes, but I gave them a few more as I thought the bottom of them was still a bit soft.
While they were cooling, apricot jam was brushed on top and then ground almonds were sprinkled around the edge. They were very tasty and scored 8.5

Foccaccia Bread with Onion and Balsamic Topping

I have been looking forward to making this, as the picture in the book makes it look delicious. We were not disappointed!
I made it for our lunch with friends, and we had it with soup.
There is not much to say about the recipe. It is fairly straight forward, but involves several stages, so its not for when you are in a rush. I would definitely make it again. We gave it 8.5

French Madeleines

I did succumb to buying a special baking tray for these madeleines. I had been trying to avoid it, but couldn't really see a way around it. So if any of my friends and neighbours ever want to borrow it, then please feel free!
The sponge mixture is made by mixing the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is thick. I always forget how long it takes to do this. It was probably about 10 mins in the mixer. The flour and melted butter is then added and folded in.
The recipe says to fill the moulds until the mixture is level with the top. I managed to overfill a couple of mine, but it didn't matter too much. One interesting thing was that while the first batch was cooking, the mixture seemed to thicken up a bit. While the first lot of cakes turned out well, the second batch had rather a funny bump on the top of some of the cakes where the mixture had risen too much. They tasted nice - the hint of lemon came through - but they were not outstanding. Apparently the french dip them in their tea. We  did try this, but it made them very soggy. We scored them 7.5. I think I might look around for other recipes to try using this tin, now that I have it. The shell shape is rather attractive.

Potato Scones

I made these earlier in the week as we were having friends round for lunch, and they like things quite plain. Although the scones have a small amount of mashed potato in them, you cannot really tell.
To be honest I was quite disappointed with them, and cannot really see the point of making them over the ordinary scones, apart from the fact that they don't contain egg.
I didn't end up serving them to our friends, but the kids managed to polish them off with cream and jam on top. I would only score these 6.5