CHICKEN AND LEEK PIE,
Before
After
To make this chicken and leek pie I followed this recipe...
Ingredients
- ½ onion
- 1 bay leaf
- milk (enough to cover chicken pieces)
- 6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, cut into postage stamp-size pieces
- 30g/1oz butter
- 2 leeks, sliced into ½ inch discs
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 3 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 x 375g/13oz packs of puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
- parmesan, grated, for topping
Preparation method
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
- In a saucepan add the chicken, peppercorns, onion and bay leaf. Cover with milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
- Meanwhile, fry the bacon in the butter. Add the sliced leeks and allow to soften.
- When the chicken is cooked remove from the milk and flake the chicken meat into the pan with the leaks, discarding the bones.
- Add the flour and cook through for two minutes before adding the milk through a sieve to remove peppercorns and bay leaf. Add the Dijon mustard. Stir constantly to make a thick sauce.
- Roll out the sheets of puff pastry to a rectangular shape at a pound coin thickness. Lay the filling on one sheet and then cover with the second sheet and crimp the edges.
- Brush the pie with a beaten egg and sprinkle the grated Parmesan over the top. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes
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LEMON AND WHITE CHOC CAKES,
Edible wafer daisies
In they went...
Before
After
If your interested I followed this recipe but I made lemon Icing and did bits of white choc within the cake but you could try the other way depending on your preference. This recipe has done the opposite to what I did.
For the cupcakes:
- 120g butter, softened
- 150g caster sugar
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (we used Ella Valentine eggs)
- 200g self-raising flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 125ml milk
For the white chocolate buttercream:
- 120g butter, softened
- 200g icing sugar, sifted
- 50g white chocolate, melted
You'll also need:
- 12-hole muffin tin
- 12 cupcake cases
- For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with cases.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together in a large, clean bowl and set aside.
- In a separate large, clean bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add in the lemon zest.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add half the flour, then half the milk and fold in. Repeat with adding the remaining flour and milk, then fold in again.
- Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases filling ¾ of the way and bake for 18 mins or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and place on wire racks to cool completely.
- For the white chocolate buttercream: In a large, clean bowl cream the butter, then gradually add and stir in the sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cooled, melted chocolate and continue creaming until fully combined.
- Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes using a piping bag and then, garnish with lemon zest and grated white chocolate.
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- STRAWBERRY CHEESE CAKE,
RECIPE TO COME!....
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JEWEL SALAD,
CHOUX PASTRY,
This is how to make them,
How to make choux pastry
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1. Choux pastry is the lightest, crispiest, airiest pastry, which can be used to make profiteroles, éclairs or savoury gougères. It puffs up in the oven until it is eventually set by the heat. The airiness, in fact, is caused because choux has a high water content, which is turned into steam during baking and this forces the pastry shell outwards and gives it volume. What is really good about choux is that it doesn't call for any particular pastry skills, like lightness of hand or careful rolling. I never pipe choux because I am convinced that a freshly baked golden profiterole looks so much crustier if it is spooned, rather than piped, on to a baking sheet.
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2. To make about 30 choux buns you will need 2½ oz (60 g) of strong plain flour, which, with its higher gluten content, gives crisper results than ordinary soft, plain flour. As you are going to need to 'shoot' it quickly into the water and melted butter, fold a sheet of silicon paper (baking parchment) to make a crease and then open it up again. Sift the flour straight on to the square of paper and add a teaspoon of caster sugar if you are making sweet choux, otherwise use a seasoning of salt and pepper.
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3. Next, put 5 fl oz (150 ml) of cold water in a medium-sized saucepan together with 2 oz (50 g) of butter, cut into small pieces, then place the saucepan over a moderate heat and stir with a wooden spoon. As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture comes up to the boil, turn off the heat immediately, as too much boiling will evaporate some of the water.
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4. Then tip the flour in – all in one go – with one hand, while you beat the mixture vigorously with the other. You can do this with a wooden spoon, though an electric hand whisk will save you lots of energy.
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5. Beat until you have a smooth
 ball of paste that has left the sides of the saucepan clean – this will probably take less than a minute. |
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6. Next beat 2 large eggs well, then beat them into the mixture – a little at a time, mixing each addition in thoroughly before adding the next.
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7. Beat until you have a smooth glossy paste. At this stage, lightly grease a baking sheet then hold it under cold running water for a few seconds, and tap it sharply to get rid of excess moisture. This will help create a steamier atmosphere, which, in turn, helps the pastry to rise.
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8. To make the choux buns, place teaspoons of the mixture on the baking sheet, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) between them, then bake on a high shelf in a pre-heated oven – gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C) – for 10 minutes. After that, increase the heat to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C), and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the buns are crisp, light and a rich golden colour.
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9. Pierce the side of each one to let out the steam, then cool them on a wire rack.
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