GBBO Bake Along - Week 6

This week's bake along was a bit different. I had help!

It was sweet dough week on GBBO and the females in my family have always had a certain weakness for sweet dough. So, it was only natural then that I up camp, pack up my baking stuff and roll up at my parents house for this week's bake.

The technical bake this week just looked so delicious that I knew I had to give it a go. Everyone in the competition seemed to do well, so surely it would be easy? (How naive I was...!)
Now, the original plan was not to bake at my parent's house, but to get up at the crack of dawn, prep the dough and let it prove (going back to sleep in the meantime), then shape and bake. I would then turn up at my parents, beautiful Couronne in tow.
That didn't happen.
My first batch of dough was so wet and sticky even after the first prove I was forced to abandon it.
I have to admit that the second batch was handed over to my sister to deal with (in-between updating her own blog).

But between the two of us (and my mum's advice and opinions) we managed to produce our own Apricot Couronne. It looks a little messy (though nothing that flaked almonds can't hide) but it tastes amazing!

We used Paul Hollywood's recipe for this, below, and perhaps wisely stuck to it word for word with absolutely no deviations!

Apricot Couronne

For the dough
250g strong white bread flour
50g butter, softened
150ml milk
10g fast action yeast
1 large egg, beaten

For the filling
120g dried apricot
150ml orange juice
90g butter
70g light muscovado sugar
35g plain flour
60g raisins
65g choppedd walnuts
grated zest 1 orange

To finish
50g apricot jam
flaked almonds

To start with, put the chopped apricots in a jug with the orange juice and set aside. 
To make the dough put the flour, butter, milk, yeast, egg and 1 tsp of salt in a bowl and mix to form a dough. Then turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 6 minutes.
Put the dough in a mixing bowl, cover with cling film and put in a warm place to rise for a least an hour (until it has doubled in size - because of the butter in the dough this will take longer than you think!)

Meanwhile mix together the filling. Cream the butter and muscovado sugar in a bowl. Then add the drained apricots, flour, raisins, walnuts and orange zest and mix well.

Turn out the risen dough and roll out to a rectangle about 25 x 30 cm. Evenly spread the filling over the dough then roll up tightly (like you would if you were making Chelsea buns or a Swiss roll). 
Lay out the dough in front out you and cut it length ways. Twist the 2 lengths together, then shape into a ring on a lined baking sheet. 
Loosely cover with cling film and leave to rise again for about an hour. 

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C/392F for 30 minutes (or longer if necessary), until it is risen and golden. 
Towards the end of the baking time warm the jam in a saucepan. 
When the Couronne has been removed from the oven brush with the apricot jam and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. 
Then try and resist it while it cools! 

I have to say, 'day old Couronne' is actually nicer than 'freshly baked Couronne'. I had a piece for my elevenses 2 day's running and it keeps beautifully. Both my Mum and Sister have said the same!

Enjoy!

Katie 

x

P.s. I'm considering making my own puff pastry this week.........wish me luck!  

A Classic Challenge!

I think I literally jumped in at the deep end with this one. Until last Christmas I had never even tried marzipan, and I had never eaten a Battenburg, talk about make one. After a little bit of research (Wikipedia...) I was disappointed to learn that the origin of Battenburg cake is unknown. So sadly, there's no interesting fact about it, other than it's a teatime classic.

Half of the challenge of this cake is the construction, and trying to keep it neat. But it can be done and have no fear, this post will be picture heavy! This recipe makes two cakes, which when you make this for the first time is a blessing. It means you can work out how to do it on the first cake without worrying too much about keeping it tidy. My second cake was a dream!

I used Edd Kimber's recipe for this as a guide.

Battenburg Cake

Ingredients
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
275g caster sugar
185g unsalted butter
235g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
red and yellow gel food colouring
500g marzipan
170g raspberry jam

Stick the oven on and pre-heat to 180C/160F and line a 23 x 33cm brownie pan with baking parchment, creating a divide down the centre. 
Put the eggs, vanilla & almond extract and 70g sugar in a large bowl. Whisk using a machine or by hand until the eggs are thick and fall from the whisk slowly in a ribbon, adding the remaining sugar as you go.
In another bowl mix the softened butter, flour and baking powder. Add a quarter of the egg mixture, and combine, then add a little more, and combine. Continue until all the egg and flour mixture are combined. 
Then divide the mixture equally between two bowls and add a small amount of food colouring to each (gel food colouring is potent, so be careful not to overdo it!) Pour the yellow mixture into one half of the prepared tin and the pink batter into the other. 
Bake for 18 - 22 minutes, or until a cocktail stick comes out from the centre of the cake clean. 
Allow to cool completely before the construction!

Once cool, trim the edges of the cakes (including the top if it forms a skin), then cut the cakes length-ways into four equal sized pieces. You should then have 8 pieces in total, 4 yellow and 4 pink. 

Now divide your marzipan into 2 and roll out each piece (dusting the surface with icing sugar), ensuring each piece is long enough for the length and width of the cake. 
Brush the marzipan with the jam and stack the cakes, coating each side with a layer of jam. (Don't forget to alternate the colours).
Finally, roll the remaining marzipan around the cake and trim the excess length (as close to the cake as you can). Cut a slice off each end to create a neat finish (and eat the scraps). 
Repeat with the second cake. 

The result will be two Battenburg Cake's, a slice of which go perfectly with a cup of tea!

Good Luck!

Katie 

x

Afternoon Tea Treats

Now lets be honest, having visitors is just an excuse to bake.

Afternoon tea is one of my favourite meals and I jumped at the opportunity to create my own (and use my brand new glass cake stand) when my Grandparents visited last weekend. 

As per tradition my tea included a variety of sandwiches, scones and sweet treats, all washed down with tea and pink lemonade. 

Both these recipes are easy and yet they look great sitting in the centre of the table. Not to mention they are so tasty that you will have to restrain yourself from going back for seconds!

Here's how I made them...

Bakewell Cheesecake 

Ingredients
160g almond biscuits (Amaretti)
60g butter
160g ricotta
160g cream cheese
2 large eggs
132g soured cream
1 tbsp cornflour

Flaked almonds
Raspberry jam

Break up the biscuits into fine crumbs, mix with the melted butter and press firmly into a 20 x 30cm tin, that has been lined with baking parchment (makes it a LOT easier to get it out of the tin once cooked). 
Add butter, ricotta, cream cheese, eggs, soured cream and cornflour to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour the cheese mixture onto the biscuit base and spread evenly. 
Dollop spoonfuls of the raspberry jam into the tin, then using a cocktail stick mix the jam into the cheese mixture gently to create a ripple. 
Bake for 40mins at 160C/320F until it is lightly set all over. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge overnight. 
For serving, slice and sprinkle with flaked almonds. 

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tarts

Ingredients
Salted caramel sauce (you can slave away making this, or like me, by it from m&s)
Pecans
110ml double cream
1/2 tsp caster sugar
40g unsalted butter
150g dark chocolate
40ml cold milk
Mini pastry cases (call me lazy, but small pastry tarts are a nightmare to make)
Cocoa power for dusting

Coat the inside of each pastry case with a liberal layer of salted caramel and then put to one side.
Pour the double cream into a large sauce pan with the sugar and bring to the boil, then turn off the heat. Add the butter and chocolate, stirring until both have melted into the cream. Then add the cold milk and stir until the mixture is smooth, thick and shiny. 
Pour into each case, allow to cool and then chill until set in the fridge. 
Before serving decorate with whole pecans and dust with cocoa powder. 

Enjoy!

Katie 

x