Summer 2016 Blondies

I think I have probably made these ten times this summer.  They are perfect as they are really easy, very forgiving, and they always seem to come out great.  I can get these in the oven in about 10 mins.

The original recipe came from a lovely blog, The Little Loaf.

Dark Chocolate Tahini Blondies

• 125g butter
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 85g light brown muscovado sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 150g tahini (peanut butter is a good substitute here)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 185g plain white flour
• pinch salt
• 150g dark chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/160 C fan. Grease a 20cm square baking tin with butter 
2. Melt the butter then continue cooking until golden and nutty, Remove from the heat and allow to cool (if you have time!).
3. Whisk together the sugar and eggs until pale and smooth.
4. Whisk in the cooled brown butter along with the tahini and vanilla until smooth and combined.
5. Fold the flour and salt into the mixture, followed by the chocolate chunks, then scrape into your prepared tin. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until a thin crust forms but the blondie is still gooey in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing into squares.

Best eaten slightly warm with the chocolate oozing out!

Spinakota

I was looking for a quicker method for a large quantity of filo parcels. I layered filo sheets with melted butter, a mixture of spinach and feta seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg and bound with beaten egg, and then more sheets of filo. Cut into squares before cooking in a hot oven.

ELIZABETH’S FRUIT CAKE
This was needed for a cricket expedition - but then came in very useful for a fishing picnic as well! First served by Louise for tea after a Women of Winchester (WoW) walk,  named after her friend who gave her the recipe. It is very easy and melting the butter and sugar gives it a lovely caramelly taste and squidgy texture. I have adapted it from Aga settings. Photos show half quantity in one tin.

1 lb butter

1 ¼ lbs self raising flour

1 lb demerara sugar

2lbs sultanas

4-6 eggs (depending on size)

4oz ground almonds

Melt butter and sugar in saucepan. 

 

Take off heat.  Add sultanas, eggs, flour and almonds

Divide between two lined loaf tins (I use the butter paper).

Cook for 1 hour at 150, then turn down to 100 for a further hour.

Pear and frangipane tart

Honour demanded that I made a fabulous dessert last week; I had pears (not Conference, maybe Comice?) and so I found this on the web.  It was sensational.  I made TC's standard pastry (100g butter, 200g flour), though I can see that made with egg it would be even richer and more scrumptious. I also forgot the flour in the frangipane, so no idea whether it was important!

INGREDIENTS

For the pastry

• 225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 110g butter
• 110g caster sugar
• 3 medium egg yolks, lightly beaten

For the frangipane

• 125g butter, softened
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 125g ground almonds
• 1 tbsp plain flour

For the poached pears

• 250g caster sugar, plus 2 tsp extra
• 4 good-sized pears
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 3 cloves
• 1/2 lemon
• 2-3 strips thickly pared orange zest
• 1/2 vanilla pod

METHOD

1. Make the pastry. Tip the flour onto a work surface. Cut the butter into cubes and dot over the flour. Sprinkle with the caster sugar. Using your fingertips, rub the butter, flour and sugar together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre, add the egg yolks and, using your fingers, gradually draw in the flour. Knead lightly, until it comes together in a smooth ball – you might need to add 1 teaspoon cold water if the dough is very crumbly. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes. (Angela Hartnett’s tip: I make the pastry on a floured work surface in the traditional Italian way, but feel free to do it in a bowl if you prefer.)
2. Make the frangipane filling. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time, then fold in the ground almonds and flour. Mix well and chill until needed.
3. Make the poached pears. Put the sugar in a saucepan, pour in 500ml water and place over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Peel the pears and add to the pan, along with the cinnamon and cloves. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan and add the squeezed lemon and orange zest. Split the vanilla pod in half, scrape out the seeds and add to the pan with the pod. Add some more water to just cover the pears.
4. Cut out a circle of baking paper large enough to fit inside the pan, and lay on top of the pears. Weigh down with a saucer or small saucepan lid so that the pears stay submerged in the poaching liquor. Simmer for 20 minutes, then remove the pears to a plate with a slotted spoon and discard the liquor and solids. Set aside for 15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. (Angel Hartnett’s tip: Don’t overcook the pears – a knife should just pierce them easily. Remember – they will continue to cook in the oven.)
5. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a circle large enough to line the tart tin. Don’t worry if it breaks up, as this is a very short, crumbly pastry – you can just patch it together in the tin and mould it up the sides, making sure it is even all over. Trim off any excess pastry and spread the frangipane evenly on top.
6. Cut the pears in half lengthways and, using a teaspoon, scoop out and discard the core from the centre. Cut each pear half in slices, widthways, then lift onto your knife and push down on the pears slightly to fan them out. Lift into the pastry case and arrange in a circle. Fill in the gaps between each pear half with a few more slices and arrange some in the centre. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is golden and the filling is set. Sprinkle with the extra 2 teaspoons caster sugar and bake in the oven for a further 15 minutes to finish off the browning. Cool in the tin slightly, then remove and transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of crème fraîche.

Filo hors d'ouvre cups

I have been wrapping salmon (with a topping of grated ginger, grated lime zest, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper) in filo for a picnic supper tonight. I had a bit of filo left so made some of these for future use.

You need filo and fiddly fingers.
Jus Rol filo is the right size. Cut into strips, then into squares about 60 mm. Take two squares, and put one in front of you straight and put the other over it at an angle. Carefully push them into a non stick mini-muffin pan that takes 24. When you have filled the tin, put them in the oven for 7 minutes, maybe 8. DO NOT BURN! Keep the rest of the squares covered while they await their turn.
Put the finished cups in a tin (they keep for ever), and the next time you have to take a plate of canapes (which happens to me quite a lot) fill them with a fish (or meat) pate, egg mayo, or anything else that you can think of that will fit but is not too wet. 

Roger's Famous Flatbreads

Of course these are really Paul Hollywood's flatbreads, as brought to you by Nigel Slater, but they were introduced to us by Roge.

Recipe on the Guardian website

TC's list of things to cook

Chicken and aubergine curry

Oreos

Strawberry and rose cake

Choux pastry