These little delights certainly tested my skills and also resulted in a huge thumbs up from my harshest critic, the beloved-whose-palate-must-be-pleased-and-thrilled. They are a delicious confection from Adriano Zumbo (more on him later) consisting of 10 elements based around blackcurrants which certainly tested my skills and used ingredients I have not come across before. The…
Month: August 2018
Fruity Meringues – a zingy revelation
These little marvels were discovered by me in Adriano Zumbo’s recipe book “The Zumbo Files”. What makes them a total revelation is the freeze dried fruit powder. This is folded into the meringue mixture, and not only does it give the meringues their colour, it also gives them an intense fruit flavour. These one’s are…
Nut Praline
Nut Praline is a patisserie basic that is used to provide crunch and flavour to chocolates and cakes. It was, as with so many other things in the world of patisserie, invented in France by a french chef called Clement Lassagne. It is made by coating roasted nuts in caramel, which is then broken up…
Inverted Sugar Syrup
I have recently done a recipe that called for inverted sugar, an ingredient that I have not come across before. It is used by Patissieres because it crystallises less easily than normal sugar, and baked items made from it tend to retain moisture more easily so have a longer shelf life. It can bought commercially…
Raspberry and Vanilla Buche – leftovers can be fun
The beloved and I have a constant battle over the freezer (actually make that freezers). Our wartime-born mothers taught us that waste is a sin, so all left overs go in the freezer. The problem is they have a tendency never to re-emerge from them. A recent audit revealed some most suspect unlabelled objects that…
Spicy Redcurrant and Rosemary Chutney
In a tiny interlude from baking, I am diverting to the world of preserving, something I haven’t done for a while. I have one redcurrant bush in the garden and providing it is protected from the predations of the local birds, it normally gives a decent crop. This year I forgot to net the bush…
The Cottage Loaf 