Panettone

Christmas time, mistletoe and wine as Sir Cliff once said. He failed to mention Panettone. Silly Cliff.
I made some for the first time and its rather nice but I did manage to deactivate the yeast, so there wasn't much rising going on but you win some and lose some.

Ingredients:

1x 7g sachet fast action yeast
400g strong white flour
75g caster sugar
2 large eggs and 2 extra yolks
3 tablespoons lukewarm water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one orange
zest of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
175g unsalted softened butter
75g sultanas
50 candied peel
50g dark chocolate finely chopped
40g unsalted butter to finish

Equipment:

1x 15cm deep cake tin lined with greaseproof paper.
(I didn't have the correct size tin so I did it in two batches in a small loaf tin)


Firstly, mix the yeast with 125g of the flour and sugar then make a well in the centre. Beat the whole eggs with the water and pour into the well.

Using your hand give it a mix until you have a smooth batter, and then leave for an hour in a warm area until the batter is bubbly. It is potentially here where I didnt leave it for long enough for the yeast to work properly.

Next, stir the egg yolks, vanilla and zests into the batter. Gradually stir 175g of the flour and the salt so you end up with a sticky dough. Salt can deactivate the yeast as well so again this is where my issue may have occurred as well. Add the softened butter and work it in by squeezing the dough through your fingers. Do this till there are no streaks.

Once fully combined you need to turn the dough out onto a floured worktop and kneed for 10 minutes so you have a soft stretchy but not sticky dough. Add the remaining flour while kneading and you may find you need a little less or a little more. Feel free to pop on a bit of music to wile away the time.

After 10 minutes pop the dough in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave it to rise for 2-2.5 hours in a warm place but not in direct sunlight. After this time uncover and punch the dough down and leave again for another 1-1.5 hours to rise again.
While the dough is rising combine the sultanas, candied peel and choc in a bowl with a little bit of flour so they do not stick together. I split the batch into two so one batch had just the fruit and the other fruit and chocolate.
Next line your cake tin/loaf tin/ so it is ready. Make sure the greaseproof paper is about 5cm or so higher than the tin.

Once this time is up you punch the dough down again and then roll it onto a floured worktop. Gently place the fruit/chocolate mix so it is evenly distributed. Turn it into a ball (cake tin) or a roll in my case and put it in the loaf tin. Make a cross on top of the dough then cover and leave for an hour to rise.

Preheat the oven to gas 6 and melt 25g of butter. Then just before putting the Panettone in, brush the top with the melted butter, put a 15g knob of it in the middle (15g for cake tin or two 7.5g knobs on each of the loaves).
Put it in the oven and after 10 minutes brush it again with the melted butter and reduce to gas 4. Leave it in the oven for about 40 minutes (or about 30 minutes for each loaf). When a skewer comes out clean it is done.

When done pop on a rack to cool and take it out of the tin after 10 minutes. Make sure it is completely cool before slicing.

Then eat! Give it a toast and spread with butter. Nom nom nom.

Recipe taken from the Great British Bake Off How to Bake Book.

Mulled Cider

Just a quick post here courtesy of that Jamie Oliver fella. We fancied a bit of mulled cider and his recipe is quick and tastes yums. Really easy to do so here we go.

The ingredients:

2 litres good cider
6 cloves
2 star anise
¼ nutmeg, finely grated into the pan
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla pod, halved
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 2 clementines
Juice and seeds from 1 pomegranate
3 tablespoons of caster sugar, to taste

It gives about 8-10 servings depending on the size of your glass.

I forgot to add the cinnamon to the photo so do forgive me.

All you have to do is pour your cider into a large pan and let it heat through. Then pop all your ingredients in, let it get to the boil, and then turn to simmer for another 15 minutes or so. I found leaving it longer helped it to infuse the flavours more.

Once done serve warm. Sieve it or leave the bits in, its up to you!

Mince Pies

In case you hadn't noticed its getting ever closer to Christmas. Now for some reason I can't help but enjoy being a bit of a grinch this time of the year but that doesnt stop me from enjoying a nosh on a mince pie or ten. So, my first baking post shall be dedicated to the traditional mince pie.

The ingredients you will need:

Mincemeat

450 g Bramley apples chopped small
225 g shredded suet (feel free to use the vegetarian one if you prefer)
350 g raisins
225 g sultanas
225 g currants
225 g chopped candied peel
350 g soft dark brown sugar
grated zest and juice 2 oranges
grated zest and juice 2 lemons
4 level teaspoons mixed ground spice
½ level teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 tablespoons brandy
Some ingredients call for putting chopped almonds in but I personally do not like nuts in my food.

This recipe make 3lbs so you have plenty to store away.

Short crust pastry

3½ oz (95 g) lard
3 oz (75 g) butter
12 oz (350 g) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
a little milk
a pinch salt
Sugar to sprinkle

Equipment needed:

Pastry cutters
Muffin/fairy cake tin
Maybe a glass of vino to help things a long.

Makes about 18 depending on how thin your pastry is rolled.


Starting with the mincemeat you will need to begin a day or so earlier.

Simply put all the ingredients a part from the brandy into a bowl and mix well. Then you will need to cover it and leave it overnight or for 12 hours.
After this time, it needs to go in the oven on a very low light, gas one/140 degrees for 3 hours.
Take it out of the oven and leave to cool remembering to mix it from time to time to help mix the fat as it hardens. Once completely cooled you can add the brandy. Feel free to add more of less depending on your love of the stuff.

Finally, put it into sterilised jars. (To sterilise the jars, just wash them, then place them in boiling water for 5 minutes and allow to drip dry) The mixture should be kept in a cool dark cupboard and can last a couple of years.

For the pastry, sift the four and salt and then put it into a food processor with the lard and butter. Switch it on and stop when it becomes a crumbly mixture. If you do not have a food processor use your fingers to crumble the mixture so it looks like this:

Then add 3 tablespoons of water to help it combine. You may need a little extra if you find it is not forming a ball. Once you have done this put it in a bowl, cover and place it in the fridge for about half an hour.

Take the pastry out of the fridge and start to roll it out thinly (put a bit of flour on your board or rolling pin to help if it sticks). Using your pastry cutters do your mince pie bases, place them into your tin. Fill with the mincemeat and then add your pie tops. You can add a round top or if you wish, cut out a shape to place on top. I have used a star cutter.
Finally, brush the tops with milk and I like to then sprinkle a bit of sugar on top. If you use a round top do be sure to poke a hole in it to allow air to escape.

Pop it in the oven for 20 minutes on gas mark 6/220 degrees.

Once cooked leave them to cool before taking them out of the tin as they are quite crumbly and the heat will make them fall a part.

It is at this point you take a mince pie and a glass (large) of port and relax......

Inspiration taken from Delia Smith with some aspects of the recipe changed.