Sunday, July 29, 2012 0 comments

Lemon Meringue Pie


Lemon meringue pie is awesome, so I made some. I used two recipes, the filling from Mary Berry and the pastry and Italian meringue from Michel Roux.
I decided I wanted to use an Italian meringue for two reasons. One, Mr P hates the texture of the traditional meringue and two, it seemed like more of a challenge. I also got to use my new stand alone mixer for the first time, which was nice.

Ingredients:

20cm pastry case

Filling:

397g can of condensed milk
3 large egg yolks 
Zest and juice of 3 lemons

Italian meringue:

3 medium egg whites
40ml water 
180g caster sugar

makes 300g meringue

Equipment:

Stand alone mixer ideally or electric whisk
Thermometer
Piping bag with which ever piping attachment you prefer.
Blowtorch

So, first you need a pastry case and here is how I made mine, Pate Sucree. Once you have you pastry case cooled, make your filling.
Preheat your oven to gas 4/180°C for 10-15 minutes and then put all the ingredients into a bowl and give it a mix.



Pour the filling into the case and pop it in the oven for 12-15 minutes. The filing should appear firm.



Next job while that is cooling is the Italian meringue. First prepare everything because once you start, it all needs to come together fairly quickly.
Pour the water and sugar into a pan, and put your egg whites into the mixer bowl. Start your mixer on slow and let your egg whites whisk till they are stiff peaks.


While that is going put the sugar and water on a high heat. Give it a mix and then put your thermometer in. When it gets to 110 °C turn the heat down to low and wait for the temperature of the syrup to reach 121°C. When it does, take it off the heat and allow the bubbles to stop bubbling for 20 seconds. I found the sugar syrup process was quite quick so you may want to wait a couple of minutes for your egg whites to get a head start. You do not want to be waiting for the egg white to stiffen while your syrup is finished and cooling.



Now, carefully start pouring the syrup into the mixer while it is still on slow. The syrup cooks the egg white and it is important to pour the syrup slowly and steadily so you have a constant stream. Once you have finished pouring the syrup, which may take about 5 minutes, let the mixer carry on for another 15 minutes on slow. This will cool down the egg white and it should end up looking nice and glossy.


Next you need to put the meringue into a piping bag and start making the top of the pie look amazing, I decided to go with little blobs. When you have finished, get your blowtorch and give the tops of the meringue a toasted glaze. I rather enjoyed this bit.



The tart in itself was a great balance of sweet and zesty lemon. I thought the condensed milk plus meringue would be too sweet but, it really was not. Mr P actually liked my meringue which I am very pleased about as it now means I can use meringue in my cooking, without him pulling a face.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 0 comments

Pate Sucree


Want to make a tart? Well then, lets make some Pate Sucree pastry! It is used to make fruit tart cases and is easier to work with than Pate Sablee. You can make the dough in advance and can be keep in the fridge for several days or frozen for up to 3 weeks. I got this recipe from Michel Roux's book Pastry and it really is a great book. It has really helped me with my pastry skills.

Ingredients:

250g Plain flour
100g unsalted butter
100g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
Pinch of salt

Equipment:

Rolling pin
20cm pastry ring
Baking tray

Makes 520g-You should need 280g for this particular recipe, I kept the leftover for another case.

First thing to do is place your flour on the work surface, make a well and put the butter, icing sugar and salt in it. Start to work the butter and sugar between your finger tips.


When it is a sort of crumby consistency add the egg yolks. Pull in the flour around the edges gradually till everything comes together.



When it seems to get dough like make it into a ball and kneed it 4-5 times with the palm of your hand. Only do it so it is looking smooth.


Get it back into a ball, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for about 2 hours.

When your ready to take it out, dust your baking tray with a little flour, roll it out to about 3mm thick, and line your pastry case. I use a tip that I got from Mary Berry's book, turn the outsides of the pastry in, and then place your flan ring on top, and pull it back out.



Once you have carefully peeled the pastry back to fit the ring, put it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to chill. About 15 minutes before taking out preheat your oven to gas mark 4/180°C


When you are ready to use it, prick the bottom with a fork a few times and then lay some grease proof paper on it. Add your baking beans and put in the oven for 15 minutes.
After this time, remove the baking beans and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes to brown off.
When done take out of the oven and leave to cool for 5 or so minutes. Then trim the edges. When cooled for a few more minutes so it is only slightly warm, remove it from the ring and then leave to fully cool.

And now it is ready to use for your tarts! I am still trying to improve my pastry but I think I am getting there.

Monday, July 02, 2012 1 comments

Oat and Sultana Cookies


Mr P asked me to make some oat biscuits so I delved into my biscuit books and once again have taken a recipe from Miranda Gore Browne's book. Really easy to make and they are gorgeous to eat. They have comfort food written all over them. I especially like adding the Horlicks to the mix as it gives such a lovely malt flavour.

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter room temp
100g soft light brown sugar
50g caster sugar
100g horlicks
175g plain flour
25g porridge oats
1/4 tsp bicaronate of soda
150g sultanas
3 tbsp milk

Equipment:

Baking tray
Baking powder
Electric whisk

Makes about 20ish

First preheat your oven to gas mark 4 and then prepare you baking trays with baking paper.

Next, put both sugars and the butter into a bowl and cream for about a minute. Then add all the ingredients except the sultanas into the bowl. Mix till well combined and then put in the sultanas.



Gradually add the milk one table spoon at a time and mix it in till a dough forms.


Now roll the dough into balls about the size of a golf ball. I used an ice cream scoop to try and get a consistent lot of balls. Then keeping them well spread out, place on your baking sheet and flatten a bit.


Pop in the oven for 12-14 minutes. When done they will still be soft so leave them to harden for a few minutes on the tray. Then move them to your cooling rack when they have firmed up.


We found it hard to wait for them to cool before munching on them as they taste amazing still warm with a glass of milk. Make sure to store them in an air tight container and are best to eat of day of baking. Definitely my favourite biscuits so have baked so far.



 
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