Saturday 16 April 2022

Recipe Post 2022 - Easter Sunday Special

 Happy Easter everyone!


Hope you have had a brilliant holiday so far, and enjoyed the lovely weather here in England at the moment. It gladdens me to see the sun shining and the breeze warming up ever so slightly. The sound of neighbours mowing their lawns, the birds chirping harmoniously throughout, little children starting to laugh and rejoice as they play football under the sun. All of the above puts me right into the Easter spirit of appreciating, enjoying and reflecting on all the happiness that has been brought into our lives. 


Today's recipe comes as almost a challenge for myself to make the classic, mouth-watering easter bakes - yes you guessed it, hot cross buns! I have researched a recipe from the all-time loved Paul Hollywood and have added my own kick to the recipe here today.

To start, you'll need:

300ml of full-fat milk

50g of butter

500g of strong bread flour

1 tsp salt

50g of caster sugar

A sachet of fast-action yeast

1 egg

75g of sultanas (I included cranberries in my mix)

50g of mixed peel (I make this optional, I added other dried berries etc instead)

a zest of 1 orange

1 apple

mixed spice (my special ingredient I would like to add)

To make the standard cross design, you'll need 75g of plain flour (please note)

For the glaze over our scrumptious treats, you'll require a jam (I will be using raspberry, however Paul used apricot).


Without further ado, let's jump into the recipe!

First, bring the milk to the boil within a medium-sized pot before removing from the heat and adding the butter. Leave this mixture to cool until it reaches hand-touching temperature. 

Next, within a seperate bowl, add the flour, salt, caster sugar and yeast into a bowl, and creating a well in the centre. Now pour the warm milk mix and add in 1 egg which should be already beaten. Bring everything together well, using a wooden spoon, until you end up with a sticky dough.

Lightly flour the work surface and transfer dough onto surface, kneading consistently for around 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film before leaving to rise for an hour in a fairly warm place.

By now, the dough should have doubled in size and is time to add in the dried fruits, along with the mixed spice until everything is well distributed.

Divide the dough into 15 pieces, rolling each into a tidy smooth ball. Arrange on a baking tray, cover with more oiled cling film and set aside once more for an hour. 

Prior to creating the 'cross' part of the hot cross bun, now is the perfect time to heat the oven to 220℃/200℃ fan/ Gas Mark 7. Mix 75g of flour with 5 tbsp of water in order to make a paste.

Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle, before piping crosses in each bun. 

Finally, pop these beauties into the oven on the middle shelf for 20 minutes, until golden brown. 

The last step for this treat is creating the glaze which requires heating the jam to melt, then sieving to get rid of chunks of fruit. Brush this over the warm buns and allow to cool and volia!

Photos to come...


Before you go:

Song of the month: Camilla Cabello - Bam Bam ft Ed Sheeran

Such a catchy song, seems to be in my head!



YouTuber of the month: Breeny Lee

Such an inspirational queen, always love watching her content, go check out her channel if you haven't :) 


Gordon Ramsay has released a new TV show called "Future Food Stars", I have been watching the past few episodes and it's quite good in my opinion, the culinary version of The Apprentice :)



That's all from me, have a lovely Easter!


#sweetreats xx



Sunday 10 April 2022

Recipe Post 2022 - Easter Treat - Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes

Bueños días, todo el mundo!

This week's sweet treat is inspired by the cherry Bakewell tarts from Mr Kipling,with a twist.  This is a simple recipe so is fireproof and does not require a load of unknown ingredients. For this recipe you'll need: 

  • 150g/5½oz margarine
  • 150g/5½oz caster sugar
  • 100g/3½oz self-raising flour
  • 3 free-range eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 60g/2¼oz ground almonds
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 90g/3¼oz raspberry jam
  • For the icing
  • 250g/9oz icing sugar
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 12 un-dyed glacé cherrie
  • 90g/3¼oz raspberry jam

 

To complete this nice and simple Easter treat:
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

  2. For the cupcakes, cream the margarine in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients, except the raspberry jam, and mix until well combined.

  3. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

  4. For the icing, mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl until smooth.

  5. Using an apple corer, carefully remove the middle of the cupcakes. Fill the holes with the raspberry jam.

  6. Carefully spoon the icing onto the top of each cake until the icing reaches the sides of the cake case and top with a cherry.

Photos of step-by-step method: 

























Before you go...











Youtuber of the month: Vicky Justiz

Loving the new Bridgerton season at the moment !!


Happy Easter ! I hope to see you guys again soon!

#sweetreats






Monday 14 February 2022

Recipe Post - Valentine's Day Special 2022

 Firstly, happy valentine's day to all!

Or as Spanish people say, Feliz Dia de San Valentin!

Today, I bring you back-to-back recipe this weekend. Valentine's Day wouldn't be Valentine's Day here on BakingBoutique without a sweet treat being involved.

For this year, I have decided to make homemade meringues for the first time. 

In order to concoct this original Switzerland treat, you'll need:

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

115g of caster sugar

115g of icing sugar

Method:

Firstly, preheat the oven to 110/100/ Gas Mark ¼.

Line baking trays with 2 sheets of non stick greaseproof paper.

Next tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat the whites at a medium speed with an electric hand whisk, until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stand sup in stiff peaks (as shown below).

Slightly increase the speed of the mixer and begin to add the caster sugar, a spoonful at a time. 

Continue to beat a little by little during intervals. It is necessary to add sugar gradually as it prevents the meringue from "weeping later".

It's also very important not to overbeat. If you would like me to write a separate blog post on secrets behind mastering whisking techniques.

After all the sugar has been added, the mixture should look thick and glossy(I have left images so you can reference your own).

Sift around a third of icing sugar into mixture and very gently fold in using a big metal spoon. Continue to do this until all icing sugar is used. 

Avoid overbeating in this step and the mixture should look smooth and bouncy.

Scoop up a teaspoon of mixture, and using another teaspoon to ease mix onto baking sheet.

I chose to do this method, however, taking the time and effort to use a piping bag makes the meringues look more sweet and appealing, so I would recommend you to use.

Bake the meringues in the oven for 1 ½ or 1 ¾ hours until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath.

The meringues should be a pale coffee colour. Leave to cool on a cooling rack and eso es todo! There are multiple variations for decorating meringues. For the theme of Valentine's, I have decided to use strawberries. However, I'll leave photos of other ways to decorate meringues below. 

ahí está! Your easy to make meringues, for your loves one or a little treat to yourself this valentine!

Photos:

Successfully separating all egg whites(minus the slight spill next to cup)


Fluffy cloud
 
Smooth and bouncy

Folding in
 

My last thoughts:

Let me know if you'd like me to write an updated blog post on whisking techniques, tricks to avoid overbeating etc.

Source:Giphy

Book of the month: Love In Colour by Bolu Babalola



Although I have recently started the book, the first story, Osun, really resonated with me and I enjoyed reading very much :) 







Quote of the month: Romans 12:12:

For those who are religious, this bible verse taught me/ highlighted the importance of prayer and when in doubt to persevere. If you are non-religious, the overall message of the quote is to keep hope and stay optimistic, which is what my goal has been since the new year!



Song of the month: Dave In The Fire Brit Award 2022

Dave gave an fantastic performance last Tuesday, which has been trending on YouTube since.


That's all from me, see you later!


#sweetreats




Sunday 13 February 2022

Recipe Post 2022 - Pictures of Vegan Sausage Rolls

 Hi everyone,

How you doing?

This is just a quick post, to upload the photos for the last post I made about vegan sausage rolls( these tasted a real treat btw I'd definitely try out the recipe again)!

Let me know what you think, if you've tried it or would like to!


1)) 
2)   3)


5) 


7) 8)
6) 


9) 10)



   12) 1314)


See you in the next one !

#sweetreats