Finding a replacement for Christmas Pudding that is light on the stomach after such a heavy meal, and can be prepared in advance and has a little touch of luxury and celebration is never easy. Over time we have done roulades, light steamed puddings, a crocquant-bouche, even just ice cream albeit made from Vin Santo…
Tag: Baking
The Pangs and Pains of Panettone
Panetonne, that wonderful delicious light fluffy and fragrant Italian Christmas Bread that melts in your mouth ………and is an absolute nightmare to make in the traditional way. I have now tried 3 times and every single occasion has failed and failed badly. So what does “make it the traditional way” mean? Well first you use…
Raised Christmas Dinner Pie
There are many recipes on the internet with what to do with all those Christmas leftovers but this is my favourite as it has the potential to use up nearly everything from Christmas dinner – the meat, stuffing, parsnips, cranberry sauce and anything else that takes your fancy that would otherwise sit in the fridge…
Stollen – A Christmas Delight from Dresden
So many of our Christmas traditions are in fact imports from Germany. The most notable import is the Christmas Tree which Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s husband for those whose history is a little rusty) introduced in the mid 19th Century. The Stollen is another more recent addition. I have been asking around and I think…
Lebkuchen 2 Ways – The Joy of German Gingerbread
Nothing more quintessentially tastes of a German Christmas than Lebkuchen – gorgeous chewy spicy biscuits covered in water icing or chocolate. The rise of Aldi and Lidl in the UK has made them popular here, but I have loved them since I lived in Germany as a child. Normally I buy a bag or 2,…
100% Rye Sourdough – Delicious and Easy
Bread has been somewhat neglected on the blog because it is such an everyday thing for us, but I seem to be making up for lost time. Most weekends my sourdough starter is brought out from the fridge to be brought back to life and a loaf of something is run up. I long stopped…
Sourdough Bagels for Brunch
I love Salmon and Cream Cheese on a bagel and for years I merrily bought Bagels from the supermarket and at the time thoroughly enjoyed them, especially when toasted. It is only when you make your own bagels that you realise what a travesty the commercial ones are. Bread rolls with a hole in them…
German Buttercream
German Buttercream (in Germany this is just Buttercream) is a variant of Creme Mousselline, but with a much higher butter content (about 50% more). It is an ideal cake filling and for me far preferable to Standard Buttercream which I find too cloying and sweet. As with creme Mouselline you make a basic Creme Pat…
Vive Les Cremes Patissieres – in all their forms
When I started this blog I had never made Creme Patissiere (often shortened to “Creme Pat” by us Brits, and called “Pastry Cream” by our American cousins). Quite how I managed this I am not sure. There was one failed attempt many years ago and I think I never tried again afterwards. 10 months after starting…
Creme Anglaise – or Custard to you and me
Custard! What Englishman doesn’t love custard? Not that horror that we had at school with a nasty thick skin on it, but the gorgeous yellow vanilla rich sauce that has to accompany a Crumble or Sticky Toffee Pudding . It is so English that the French even acknowledge the fact by naming it after us – a…
Creme Diplomate and Creme Madame
Creme Diplomate and Creme Madame are both Patisserie Creme based on the basic Creme Pat but with whipped cream added to create a light and fluffy mixture. They are basically the same thing but with one time difference: Creme Diplomate has gelatine added to it to give it extra stability and firmness. Creme Madame has no gelatine added…
Creme Mousseline
Creme Mousseline is one of the prime Creme’s in Patisserie. It has a firmer set than Creme Patissiere, because it has butter added to it, but it is not quite as firm as German Butter Cream which has a higher butter content. It forms the basis of the Gateau Fraisier, Paris-Brest and a Mille Feuille….
The Cottage Loaf 