Category Archives: pastry

pain au raisin

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pain au raisin

I’d had a big lunch and didn’t fancy dinner. I know, I’ll make pain au raisin.

Not that I had much of an idea where to start; digging through some old magazines I found a great article on making your own danish pastries. Turns out it’s a lot like making croissants: tons of butter rolled into puff pastry. Roll, fold, rest, roll, fold, rest… lots of interim rolling stages.

But was it worth it? Sure they were tasty (anything with that much butter and sugar has to) but given the relative cost of buying them from a baker’s versus the time and effort you put in, they were significantly better than what you can buy. An interesting experiment, but not one I think I’ll be repeating.

Pain au raisin (makes about 16):

For the dough:

7g sachet yeast

3 teaspoons caster sugar

110ml milk at room temperature

1 egg

125g flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

110g butter

For the filling:

75g butter

75g caster sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

60g raisins

1 egg, beaten

  1. Whisk the yeast, sugar, egg and milk together and cover loosely. After ten minutes it should be quite heady.
  2. Sift the flour, sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt together and stir in the milky yeast. Combine to a soft dough and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Chill and rest in the fridge for 30 mins.
  3. Roll into a rectangle and dot the top two-thirds with butter. Fold both ends into the middle and roll into a rectangle again. Cover and chill for another 30 minutes. Repeat that process 3 more times, before leaving the pastry to rest overnight.
  4. Preheat the oven to 200C. Beat the butter, sugar and cinnamon together. Roll out the pastry to a rectangle again and spread the mixture all over it. Scatter with raisins and roll up into a sausage. Use a sharp knife to cut into 1cm thick slices and move to a baking tray. Brush with egg and bake for 20 mins until golden brown and puffy. As you get it out of the oven to cool sprinkle with sugar.
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cheese and onion tart

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raymond blanc's onion tart

Raymond Blanc has recently trotted around France cooking for locals. In A Very Hungry Frenchman Raymond acted as part guide, part tourist in a manner similar to Two Greedy Italians. I couldn’t quite figure out whether Raymond was well known in his home country or not – sure he has a spot in Paul Bocuse’s Les Halles de Lyon but little clues other than that. The program was very entertaining if a little long, with Raymond giggling his way through the food and showing his affable passion. Each programme showcased a different region.

In his Alsace episode this recipe for an onion tart stopped me dead. I thought it looked the business so I had to give it a go. Not content to leave it alone, I added cheese to the pastry to add another layer to the flavours. I was recently sent some Old Amsterdam cheese, not a brand I’d previously heard of. Trying it raw out of the packet I was knocked out by it’s punchy flavour, like a soft, tangy parmesan with a cheddar-like texture. I’ll definitely be picking some more of this up.

The tart itself is quiche-like, set with eggs and packed with sweet onion flavour. I didn’t have the deluxe variety Raymond was celebrating so used a mixture of regular brown and red onions. It’s a dense and tasty tart, and I was very pleased to have the cheesy pastry as an accompaniment; cheese and onion is a classic combination for good reason and the saltiness crumbled beautifully next to the onions.

It’s a lovely recipe for a Sunday lunch or cold as a part of a picnic. I served mine with salad and a lemony avocado dressing (the dressing from this one).

Based on this recipe by Raymond Blanc

Cheese and onion tart (serves 4 – 6):

For the pastry:

200g plain flour

70g Old Amsterdam cheddar, grated (a strong cheddar would also work)

30g unsalted butter, diced

1 egg

For the filling:

100g bacon lardons

450g mix of red and brown onions, peeled and finely sliced

50g butter

Nutmeg

1 tablespoon flour

100ml milk

100ml creme fraiche

3 eggs, beaten

  1. First prepare the pastry. Pulse the flour, cheese and butter with a pinch of salt in a food processor until you get breadcrumbs. Add the egg and maybe a splash of milk to bring it all together. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least half an hour before using.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and gently fry the onions for 15 minutes until soft and golden.
  3. Roll out the pastry (Raymond recommends rolling it between two sheets of cling film, great tip!) and lay into a baking dish. Prick all over with a fork and blind-bake for 15 minutes until golden. Brush with a little of the beaten egg to glaze and bake for a further 2 minutes.
  4. Add the lardons to the onions and fry for a couple more minutes. Tip in the flour and stir well for 2 more minutes. Add the milk and stir vigorously to make a thick oniony paste. Add the creme fraiche and stir a little longer, then remove from the heat. Add the eggs to incorporate, season well then pour into the pastry case. Bake for 30 minutes until golden, then allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving in thick wedges.

ecclefechan tart

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ecclefechan tart with ginger cream

With this and empire chicken, Jamie’s Great Britain is finally earning it’s keep in my house! This recipe is so right for December, as the filling feels very Christmassy with citrus bursts and mincemeat-style fruit. It’s like an Eccles cake in tart form. The cream marbled with treacle is to die for.

Jamie puts loads of whisky with his – I don’t really have it knocking about the house so I grabbed the nearest warming spirit I could find, which was Southern Comfort. Not quite the same but more or less did the job. The house filled with a sweet boozy aroma when cooking! Added nothing to the taste though. Think I’d use pre-made pastry next time.

Ecclefechan tart (serves 8 – 12):

For the pastry:

250g plain flour

125g unsalted butter

Vanilla salt

50ml whisky

For the filling:

150g unsalted butter

150g light brown sugar

3 eggs

150ml double cream

1 tablespoon black treacle

300g mixed dried fruit

1 teaspoon finely chopped stem ginger

1 lemon

1 orange

To serve:

150ml double cream

1 tablespoon stem ginger syrup

1 teaspoon black treacle

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Rub the flour, butter and pinch of salt together and add enough spirit to combine to a fudgy pastry. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.
  3. Roll out the pastry to 5mm and line a 25cm tin with it. Prick all over, line with baking beans and blind bake for 10 minutes, then remove the beans and cook for 5 more minutes until golden.
  4. Meanwhile cream the butter and sugar together and then incorporate the eggs. Mix in the cream.
  5. Drizzle a tablespoon of treacle all over the base, top with the fruit then grate over the orange and lemon zest. Top with the cream mixture and bake for 30 minutes until set.
  6. Whisk the remaining cream until it holds its shape and then combine the syrup. With one flourish of the whisk introduce the treacle to get a lovely marbling effect.
  7. The tart is best after it’s had half an hour out of the oven. Serve with the cream.

beef and mushroom pie

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beef brisket and mushroom pie with suet pastry

This recipe is something of a tribute; a dedication to a fine pub near where I work that serves the best pies. So good in fact that a colleague’s daughters plead to go to the “pie pub please”. The Royal Oak Grill in Woodham Mortimer serves up a fine menu of traditional pub fare. As a workplace we’ve celebrated many a birthday, leaving do or just a Friday lunch out that way.

Once I enjoyed a very good pie, quite dry inside but packed with rich beef and served with a tasty gravy. This is my go at that.

Beef and mushroom pie (serves 6):

1kg beef brisket

2 red onions, sliced

500g mushrooms, halved

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled

½ pint boiling beef stock

3 tablespoons mushroom ketchup

For the pastry:

300g plain flour

100g suet

100g butter

1 egg, beaten

  1. Get your slow cooker on to warm up, and a frying pan over a high heat.
  2. Season the brisket well all over and add to the pan. Sear on all sides then transfer to the slow cooker.
  3. Add the onions, rosemary and garlic to the pan with a splash of oil and as they start to colour add to the slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients. Leave to tick away for 7 hours, or until the beef falls apart. Leave to cool for half an hour in the pot to relax.
  4. For the pastry, combine the flour, suet and butter with a pinch of salt and rub together to form breadcrumbs. Add 125ml cold water to bring together, wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge until needed.
  5. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove the meat and strain the liquor off into a saucepan. Shred the meat with two forks, discarding any fatty bits, and pop into a pie dish along with cooked onions and mushrooms. Roll out the pastry to 5mm thick and layer over the pie filling. Brush with the egg and bake for 30 minutes or until browned and luvverly.
  6. While the pie cooks, put the strained sauce over a high heat and get bubbling. Check for seasoning. If it looks like it’s not going to be as thick as you would like, whisk in a beurre meunière (a tablespoon each of butter and flour mixed together). Carve up the pie, ladle over gravy and serve with mash, carrots and broccoli.

heston blumenthal’s perfect treacle tart revisited

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heston blumenthal's perfect treacle tart

“Haven’t I read this before?” Why, yes you have. But for one thing, the picture is beyond ghastly. Secondly I followed even more of the rules than before. And finally I previously linked to The Times, and can’t stand the idea of the recipe disappearing behind the Murdoch paywall.

So how was it this time? I made the pastry myself. It was alright. I am no pastry ninja, possessing of skillet-like furnaces for hands that sees any dough crumble to bits in my grasp. I need a walk-in fridge to help with this. I’d be happy enough with shop-bought pastry for this. And I aged the treacle by baking it in a low oven for 24 hours. I’d like to think it made a difference, but the flavour maturation is subtle but interesting. Worth it if you have the time, don’t weep if you don’t.

If you haven’t tried this yet, really, really do. If you think Heston Blumenthal recipes are too complicated, they’re really, really not. It’s a stunner, and will make you incredibly popular if you take it round someone’s house for tea. Do it.

Heston Blumenthal’s perfect treacle tart (an easy 10 slices):

For the vanilla salt:

Seeds from 2 plump vanilla pods

50g sea salt

  1. Work the seeds into the salt with your fingers and leave to infuse until you’re ready to serve.

For the pastry:

400g plain flour

1 heaped teaspoon table salt

400g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

100g icing sugar

Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

2 large egg yolks (about 40g)

2 large eggs (about 120g)

  1. Tip the flour and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Given the amount of butter, you may need to add and rub it in in batches.
  2. Quickly stir in the icing sugar, lemon zest and vanilla seeds. Add the egg yolks and the whole eggs, and mix until combined. Tip onto a sheet of clingfilm, wrap it up and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
  3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150°C.
  4. Dust a piece of greaseproof paper with flour. Take the pastry out of the fridge and remove the clingfilm. Place the pastry on the greaseproof paper. Cut off about one third of the dough and reserve in case it is needed to patch holes in the pastry base. (If unused, it can be frozen or baked as biscuits.) Shake over more flour, then top with a second piece of greaseproof paper. Begin to roll the pastry flat, moving the pin from the centre outwards. Turn the pastry 90 degrees every few rolls. Aim for a thickness of 3mm–5mm, and a diameter of 45cm–50cm. Once the pastry is rolled out to the correct thickness, peel off the top layer of greaseproof paper, trim off any excess, then wind the pastry onto the rolling pin, removing the other layer of paper as you go. Unwind the pastry over the flan tin and gently push it into the base and sides. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  5. Once the pastry has firmed up, remove it from the fridge. Prick the base with a fork to stop it puffing up. Take a fresh piece of greaseproof paper, scrunch it up and smooth it out several times (this makes it easier to put in position), then place it over the pastry base. Put baking beans or, even better, coins on top. Return the lined pastry case to the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Remove the case from the fridge and put it in the oven to bake for 25–30 minutes, until the pastry is a light, golden brown. If, after removing the beans or coins, the base is slightly tacky, return the case to the oven for 10–15 minutes.

For the filling:

400g loaf of brown bread, whizzed to crumbs

200g unsalted butter

3 large eggs

75ml double cream

2 teaspoons table salt

900g tin of golden syrup (age this by placing in the lowest your oven will go for at least 24 hours)

Zest of 3 lemons

Juice of 2 lemons

  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
  2. Make a beurre noisette by putting the butter in a pan over a medium heat. When the butter stops sizzling (a sign that the water has all evaporated, after which it will soon burn) and develops a nutty aroma, remove it from the heat. Strain it into a jug and leave to cool. Discard the blackened solids left in the sieve.
  3. Put the eggs, cream and salt in a bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
  4. Pour the golden syrup into a pan and heat gently until liquid. Pour the beurre noisette into the warmed syrup, and stir. (Try to avoid tipping in any sediment that may have collected at the bottom of the jug.)
  5. Pour the buttery syrup into the egg and cream mixture. Stir in the breadcrumbs and the lemon zest and juice.
  6. Transfer the mixture to a large jug. Pour two-thirds of it into the pastry case. Slide the tart into the oven and pour in the remainder of the filling. Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until the tart is a deep brown colour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before taking out of the tin.
  7. Serve the treacle tart with a few grains of vanilla salt sprinkled on top, and with a good dollop of clotted cream.