This is my favourite kind of baking. Throw everything in baking. This tray of blondies seriously disappeared in less than 24 hours. I didn’t even have a full tray to photograph because it was too dark when it came out of the oven and there was no way we weren’t going to eat them until the next morning. Sorry, I have no self control when it comes to eating cake.
I’ve hit peak seasonal eating. All of my colleagues and friends have been bored to tears with it, me gesticulating wildly as I talk with way too much enthusiasm about brassicas and their buddies, but last week I did a very exciting grocery shop and have a lot of new flavours and ideas to play with. I’ve just finished up using every last scrap of a bunch of beetroot: burgers with the root; pesto with the leaves; and extra bulk for this week’s lunches provided by blitzed stems. It’s good to get back in the kitchen after a busy few weeks.
Those late crops we’ve had, delayed thanks to our bizarre climate, have hit the shops now, and this month we’re casting the spotlight on raspberries and broad beans. Time to check out some cracking recipes.
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Summer fruit pudding season has been the longest time coming. The cravings came mid-winter, just before I wrote a post half about out-of-season berries, and stuck around until my twice-weekly supermarket check for those red and blue and purple gems bore, er, fruit.
There’s satisfaction in the fact that the recipe saves a little food waste – I don’t keep bread in the house so I bought a loaf from the reduced section in the supermarket, but for the average person it means using up those past-best slices, and the crusts can be whizzed up into breadcrumbs for meatballs or a savoury crumble. Between that and all the vitamins you’ll be getting, it’s pretty much a virtuous pudding. Continue reading
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couple of weeks back, on one of those many days when people were questioning if somebody had twisted the planet to place us back in February, with the threat of rain hanging over us, I went to a talk at Borough Market with Stephanie. It was based around what makes good food writing – the styles of recipe writing, how best to introduce a dish, how many ingredients is too many. The best bit of the night was probably the food after the panel, but as I tucked a blanket up around my neck and listened to how food writing should carry emotion and take a reader to another place, I couldn’t help thinking What if it’s just a recipe you like? What if it’s no more complicated than that?
So. Here’s something that I like. It doesn’t need a personal essay or a link back to childhood. The recipe is all about a sweet, pillowy dough that makes a light floof sound when you turn it out and the joy of painting with jam and studding it with chocolate. Continue reading
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aaaaaand we’re into the most food-abundant period of the year. For this little round up, we’ve got raspberries, plums, blueberries and the seasonal favourite, cherries, with recipes from a whole bunch of new-to-me blogs that are sure to knock your socks off. Continue reading
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ou know what’s a great idea in 30C summer heat? Laying around in the sun with a good supply of drinks. You know what’s not such a great idea? Making pastry.
So naturally, on Saturday afternoon/evening, the scene was me standing in my kitchen, swearing at an uncooperatively melty pastry case while I desperately tried to cool myself and it with a standing fan positioned next to us. Continue reading
Today I’m posting over at The Cake Hunter, giving the internet a fix of the sweet stuff while Sophie’s taking care of her sweet newborn babe. These apple & raspberry crumble bars, a cross between crumble, shortbread, and flapjack, deliver a perfect packet of butter and sugar, with plenty of fruit to balance out the guilt.
Head to The Cake Hunter for the recipe!
“I’ve got a load of blackberries in the freezer, shall I make a crumble or a pie?” says mother.
“Crumble!”s and “Pie!”s are emitted from various corners of the house. We cannot decide. When the house is at its busiest, there are eight of us all pointing out the merits of pastry or sweet crumble topping. I’m pretty sure this scene plays out in every household on a regular basis – because how can you choose between a crumble and a pie?
And even if you manage it…it doesn’t necessarily stop there. Pastry on top or just the bottom, making it a tart? What goes into the crumble? A standard sugar, butter, and flour concoction is fine but I prefer my crumble topping to be like the lightly spiced lovechild of shortbread and flapjack.
In short, fruit-based puddings cause chaos. The easiest way to settle it is the crumble tart.
Much of the internet is alight with strawberry and rhubarb at the moment, to the point that I’ve had enough of that pairing despite having not yet eaten it. As much as I try to eat according to the seasons, I also like to cook with produce that’s available all year round – and often, it’s cheaper. With that in mind, this recipe uses frozen raspberries and tinned peaches, giving you a fruit hit without the extortionate prices. Served up with cream or Greek yoghurt and honey, it’s a fancy looking dessert without too much fuss. Perfect. Continue reading