Author: Emma Hawkins
Apple and Cherry Midnight Pie

Apple and Cherry Midnight Pie

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Recipe

Serves 12

Time: 1 hour, plus chilling and baking time

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 470g plain flour
  • 225g unsalted butter
  • 1 ½ tbsp caster sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • 4 ½ tbsp water

For the filling

  • 4 Large cooking apples (I used 1kg of Bramley)
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar (around 90g)
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 300g frozen cherries
  • 200g frozen blueberries

Method

  1. Begin by making the pastry. Put the flour and butter into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  2. Stir the sugar and the salt into the flour with a round bladed knife and then keep mixing as you add the water until a smooth dough forms. Bring the dough together with your hands to make a ball and then wrap the dough in cling film and leave in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
  3. Meanwhile prepare the filling. Peel, core and dice the apple. Put the apple chunks into a large pan with the sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Place over a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally until the fruit is starting to soften and let out its juices. Add the flour to the pan, stir to combine and then set aside to cool.
  4. Take the frozen blueberries and cherries and tip them onto a baking tray lined with kitchen roll. Leave to defrost, changing the kitchen roll if it becomes too wet.
  5. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. When the pastry is ready take it out of the fridge, cut it in two and put one of the halves back into the fridge.
  6. Shape the pastry half you’re working with into a circle and then roll it out on a lightly floured worktop into a circle about 33cm wide (or about 3cm wider all around than your tin. You can use your tin as a guide for rolling by placing it over your pastry every now and then to check the size!)
  7. Transfer the pastry disc into the pie tin, making sure it fits into any flutes or creases. Allow any excess pastry to hang over the edge for now.
  8. Take a square of baking paper around the same dimensions as the pastry disc you just rolled out. Scrunch it up into a ball in your hands and then unfold it back out into a crumpled square. Use this to line the inside of the tart, then weigh down the pastry with baking beans or rice.
  9. Bake the pastry like this for 10 minutes, until the pastry looks like it’s starting to cook through. Take out the weight (beans or rice) and the baking paper and return the base to the oven for about 10 minutes until just starting to brown. Leave to one side to cool completely.
  10. Meanwhile prepare/shape the pastry for the topping. Take the second half of pastry, shape it into a circle and then roll it out into a disc, roughly the same size as before, between two sheets of clingfilm. (I find at this point it’s useful to have a guide on baking paper to transfer your design onto, but you could also work freehand. If you want to do a pattern you can follow my instructions on how to make your own below this recipe.)
  11. Cut the pastry in half, down the centre of the circle you’ve rolled out. Place one semi circle to one side for later.
  12. Take a 5cm round cookie cutter and cut two semi-circles out of the pastry , equal distance from the centre point and place the hemispheres you’ve cut out to one side.
  13. Next cut 3 full circles out of the centre of the pastry in an arc, moving around from the top semi-circle to the bottom semi-circle. Keep all the circles you cut out.
  14. Take the first circle and, using the same 5cm cutter, cut out a moon shape by slightly off-setting where you cut into the circle. Do this again with another one of the circles, this time cutting a moon from the other half of the circle.
  15. Take the final full circle and a 4cm cookie cutter and cut a smaller circle out of the main circle. Finally, take one of the hemispheres and, using the 4cm cutter, cut a smaller hemisphere out of the large one.
  16. Place all of the pieces you’ve cut out onto clingfilm and leave in the fridge until the pastry base and apples have cooled completely.
  17. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
  18. When ready to start assembling the pie begin by spreading an even layer of the apple filling over the pastry base. Then scatter over the de-frosted cherries and blueberries, starting with the cherries and then filling in the gaps with the blueberries.
  19. Take the egg for the topping and whisk it in a small bowl with a fork until runny. Brush this on half of the exposed pastry crust.
  20. Take the semi-circle of pastry out of the fridge and place it on top of the filling, where you brushed the egg, so the centre line cuts across the middle half of the pie. Take a fork and press gently around the top edge of the crust to help it bind with the baked pastry. Then cut off the excess pastry round the edge by cutting it away with a sharp knife, held vertically and then stroked along the edge of the pie dish.
  21. Take the shapes of pastry that you cut out earlier and arrange them on the top of the pie to look like the above photo.
  22. Take the leftover rolled-out pastry and cut out stars. Brush the pastry on the top of the pie with the rest of the beaten egg and then place the pastry stars around the edge of the pie. Brush the stars with more beaten egg.
  23. Bake the pie in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Leave to cool a little and then serve with ice cream or custard!

How to make a pattern/guide for the top!

  1. Cut a sheet of baking paper about 33cm long (by however wide the roll is).
  2. Take something circular measuring 27.5cm in diameter (or equivalent to whatever diameter your pie tin is) and trace a circle onto your sheet of baking paper.
  3. Take a rule and draw a line down the centre of the circle to dissect it into two. Draw another line perpendicular to the first to transect the circle into quarters. Do this twice more so you have 8 segments.
  4. Take your ruler again and mark 5.5cm along each line from the centre point.
  5. Take a 5cm round cookie cutter and place the bottom edge on one of the 5cm marks you just made. Trace the circle onto this position and then repeat this on the other 5.5cm marks you made. You should now have 8 circles in a perfect ring.
  6. From this point you can choose how much more you do. I like to draw on the shapes you’ll be cutting out of the pastry, then to shade in where the filling will be visible.
  7. Keep the circle whole for now, however later when using it as a guide it might be useful to cut out the half of the circle that will be made up mainly of pastry so you can use it as a template on the pastry itself.
  8. If you choose to do step 7, a good tip is to take a pin or cocktail stick and make a little hole at the top and bottom of each circle (where the circle intersects with the line). This means that when you place the template on the pastry you can prick again with a cocktail stick through these holes and then you can use these marks to line up your cookie cutter so you cut out perfectly in-line circles.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Classic Cinnamon Buns

Classic Cinnamon Buns

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Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

  • 75g soya margarine
  • 250ml soya milk
  • 14g fast action dried yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 45g caster sugar
  • 450g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

For the filling

  • 100g soya margarine
  •  50g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 small egg
  • 1 tbsp soya milk

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the milk and warm through until body temperature (about 38C if you have a thermometer).
  2. Add the yeast to the milk, stir to mix through and then leave for 10 minutes to activate.
  3. Put the salt, sugar and flour into a bowl. Pour over the milk and stir to make a sticky dough.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a worktop and knead for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is stretchy, smooth and not quite as sticky.
  5. Lightly oil a bowl (I find pouring a little oil onto a piece of kitchen roll and rubbing that inside a bowl works well). Then tip the dough into the bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 1 hour to rise.
  6. When the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured worktop and knead it for 5 seconds to knock out the extra air.
  7. Shape the dough into a rectangle and roll it out so it’s roughly 60x40cm.
  8. Use a palette knife of spatula to spread the soft margarine (for the filling) over the dough in an even layer.
  9. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and then sprinkle it over the butter in another even layer.
  10. Roll the dough sheet up, long edge to long edge to get a long sausage. Use a ruler and a sharp knife to mark every 1.5 inches along the roll and then cut at these points.
  11. Line a deep roasting tin with butter and baking paper. Transfer each bun to the tin, in 4 rows of 3. (You might need to gently nudge the buns into more of a circle shape if they got squashed during cutting).
  12. Cover the tin with clingfilm and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
  13. Beat the egg in a small bowl until runny and smooth. Add the milk and whisk again to combine. Brush this mixture over the buns to glaze.
  14. Bake the buns in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and risen.
  15. Leave to cool for 30 minutes and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Banoffee Opera Cake

Banoffee Opera Cake

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Recipe

Serves 8-10

Time: 2-3 hours

Ingredients

For the banana cakes

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 65g light brown sugar
  • 100ml vegetable oil
  • 75g pecan nuts, roughly chopped
  • 180g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

For the banana caramel

  • 100g banana chips
  • 150g unsalted butter
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 50g golden syrup
  • 397g condensed milk
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 tbsp sea salt

For the chocolate ganache

  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 200ml double cream

To assemble

  • 300ml double cream
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
  • 50g white chocolate
  • A few banana chips to decorate

Method

  1. Begin by making the cakes. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 24x30cm swiss roll tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Peel the bananas, put them into a small bowl and blitz with a hand blender (or mash with a fork) to make a smooth puree. Set aside until needed.
  3. Separate the eggs and put the egg yolks into a bowl with the sugar. Whisk with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.
  4. Add the oil, chopped pecans and banana puree to the egg yolk mixture and then sift in the flour and baking powder. Fold everything together until a smooth batter is made.
  5. In a spotlessly clean bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add these to the cake mixture and fold until uniform in colour.
  6. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and tilt the tray to get the cake mixture to evenly cover the tray. Bake the cake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until risen and golden brown.
  7. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then turn the cake out onto a chopping board lined with baking paper and slice the cake into thirds horizontally so you have three slices of cake about 10x24cm in size. Leave to cool completely.
  8. Now make the banana caramel. Put the banana chips into a food processor and grind into a coarse powder. Set aside until needed.
  9. Put the butter, sugar, syrup, and condensed milk into a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the butter has melted.
  10. Bring the mixture up to the boil and keep it there for about 10 minutes, stirring the whole time, until thick and golden brown (look at the photos above to see what the caramel should look like before and after being cooked).
  11. Mash the banana with a fork in a small bowl. Add this mashed banana and the salt to the caramel just before it’s taken off the heat and stir to mix it in.
  12. Take the caramel off the heat and leave to cool for 2 minutes. Then stir in the banana powder.
  13. Re-line the tin you used to make the cake layer with butter and baking paper.  Then pour the caramel into the tin, smooth over to make an even layer and leave to cool in the fridge until set.
  14. Once the caramel layer has set make the ganache. Roughly chop the chocolate and put it into a metal or glass bowl.
  15. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and heat up to just below boiling.
  16. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a piping bag and leave in the fridge until needed (but not too long or it’ll set too much).
  17. Finally put the cream and vanilla for the topping into a bowl and whisk to make soft peaks. Spoon this into a piping bag and leave in the fridge until needed.
  18. When ready to start assembling the opera begin by turning the caramel out onto a chopping board and cutting it into 3 like you did the cake.
  19. Take one of the banana sponges and place it on a board or plate. Pipe a layer of the whipped cream over the sponge and then smooth it out with a palette knife.
  20. Carefully lay one of the pieces of caramel on top of the cream and then pipe a thin layer of ganache over that, smoothing it again with a palette knife.
  21. Repeat the layering until you’ve pipped the final layer of ganache on the top (making sure it’s super smooth!). Put the cake in the fridge for about an hour (ideally longer) to set all the layers.
  22. Melt the white chocolate in a glass or metal bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag. Cut a little bit off the end of the piping bag and practise piping ‘opera’ several times on a piece of greaseproof paper. You want the chocolate to be cool enough that it’s not pouring out of the pipping bag in a wiggly line, but still melted enough to pipe smoothly.
  23. When ready pipe ‘opera’ onto the top of the cake. Take a sharp knife and trim the edges of the cake to make it look clean. Then top the cake with a couple of banana chips and serve!

 

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Summer Pudding

Summer Pudding

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It might not technically be summer yet, but all this gorgeous weather has put me in the mood for some summer pudding! This classic British dessert is essentially a mountain of summer berries encased in juice-soaked bread. Perfect for any and every meal, BBQ or party April-August.

Recipes

Serves 8

Time: 20 minutes, plus chilling time

Ingredients

  • 1kg Frozen mixed berries (I use a mixture of frozen strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
  • 160g Caster sugar
  • 1 small loaf of white bread (about 9 slices)

To serve (optional)

  • Freshly whipped cream
  • A few mint sprigs
  • Fresh berries

Method

  1. Take a 1L pudding basin or a medium-sized bowl and line it with clingfilm, making sure there’s a few cm over-hang around the top.
  2. Put the fruit and sugar into a pan and gently simmer for about 10 minutes to defrost.
  3. When the juices are bubbling out of the fruit, turn off the heat and sieve the fruit with a bowl underneath to catch the juices.
  4. Whilst the fruit is draining put the bread onto a chopping board. Cut off the crusts (these can be whizzed up in a food processor and used as bread crumbs) and keep the bread centres.
  5. Dip one of the bread slices into the fruit juices, turning it over so the whole slice is covered in juices. Place this slice in the bottom of the lined bowl. Repeat with enough slices of bread to cover the inside of the bowl, with the slices slightly overlapping.
  6. Pour the fruit into the bread-lined bowl. Soak a few more bread slices in the juices and place these on top to completely seal in the fruit.
  7. Pour the remaining juice over the top of the pudding. Bring the excess clingfilm up over the top of the pudding to enclose it.
  8. Put the pudding into the fridge to chill for 6 hours, or overnight.
  9. When read to serve peel the top layer of clingfilm off the pudding. Turn the bowl out onto a serving plate and then take off the rest of the clingfilm. Serve with fresh cream, berries and mint!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Brioche Hot Cross Buns

Brioche Hot Cross Buns

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Happy Easter! Enjoy these delicious brioche hot cross buns fresh out of the oven, or toasted with a little butter for a tasty tea-time treat!

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 1 hour, plus rising and baking time

Ingredients

  • 550g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp ground mixed spice
  • 10g fast-acting dried yeast
  • 7g salt
  • 140ml milk
  • 5 medium eggs
  • 200g raisins
  • 150g butter

For the decoration

  • 50g plain flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tbsp milk

Method

  1. Put the flour, sugar, mixed spice, yeast, salt, milk and eggs into a big bowl and mix together to get a soft dough.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a work top and knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy.
  3. Add the raisins and butter to the dough and knead for another 5-10 minutes to combine.
  4. Put the dough into a slightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge overnight to rise.
  5. Turn the risen dough out onto a work top and split into 12 evenly sized blobs. Shape each dough blob into a smooth ball by pulling the dough tightly underneath itself and then rolling it in the palm of your hand against a work surface.
  6. Place each ball of dough into a deep roasting tin to get 3 rows of 4 buns. Cover with cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for another hour (or until doubled in size).
  7. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Put the flour for the decoration into a bowl and add around 6 tbsp of water, one tbsp at a time, until you get a thick but pipable paste. Spoon this into a disposable piping bag and snip a small, round hole in the end to pipe out of.
  8. Pipe a cross on the top of each bun with the flour mixture (doing a whole row at a time can make this easier).
  9. Put the beaten egg and the milk into a bowl and beat with a fork until runny and smooth. Brush this over the top of the risen buns to glaze and then bake the brioche in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
  10. Leave to cool and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x