Jubilee Tarts

I was thinking how lovely little individual tarts would be. The sort you could just you just pop into your mouth in one go. I wanted to give a variety of flavours as well as texture so these were the three I came up with.

For the Pastry (You could use all butter sweet crust shop bought)
450g plain flour
1 pkt unsalted Lurpak butter
pinch of salt
20g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp cream
50g blitzed macadamia nuts

In a food processor whiz together the butter, nuts, flour, sugar and salt. Then add the egg yolks and cream if needed, this will be a really soft dough, wrap and well chill. You will need to roll between 2 sheets of greaseproof and I suggest dividing into 2 and keep the second lot in the fridge until needed, cut out 24 circles and pop 16 into fairy cake tins. 

Blind bake them at 200 for about 12-14 minutes or until well baked. Leave in the tins to firm. For the other 8 disc's pop into mini muffin tins and fill with the frangipane below

Frangipani
100g self raising flour
100g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
50g blitzed macadamia nuts

Mix all of the above together in a food processor and spoon into pastry cases being careful not to overfill. Then pop 3-4 blueberries into each one and bake in a preheated oven 180 for about 15 minutes or until well risen. Leave to cool slightly and firm up in the tins, then brush the sponge with warmed apricot jam and sprinkle with desiccated coconut, for the white.

Orange creme patisserie
20g plain flour
20g corn flour
60g caster sugar
300ml whole milk
2 egg yolks
orange zest
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Mix the sugar, corn flour, flour and egg yolks and a third of the milk. Heat the rest of the milk to just below boiling point, then pour into the egg yolk mix, pour into a saucepan and gently heat stirring continually until thickened, then spoon into a bowl, cover and chill.

To assemble the Red raspberry tarts whip 500ml of double cream with 3 tbsp icing sugar, then spoon half into a piping bag, pipe with an open star nozzle into 8 of the tarts and top with raspberries and a small mint leaf and chill.

For the Blueberry and Orange Tarts fold the remaining cream into the creme patisserie and spoon into a piping bag, snip off the end of the bag and pipe a blob into each, tip about 50 blueberries into the warmed apricot jam (From the frangipane's) and gently coat in the jam, then place onto the tartlets and chill.

Tear & Share Cheesy Herby Loaf

We sometimes go to a restaurant called Gaucho Grill it has the most amazing steak, (I love steak, I know it's not good, but red meat is my fav) anyhow they also do these amazing little cheesy rolls, that they bring up to begin with. That is where my inspiration for these came from.

450g strong bread flour
100g wholemeal bread flour
7g sachet yeast
7g salt
12g caster sugar
200 ml whole milk
120 ml boiled water
1 egg
50g unsalted butter blended with
1 stem of rosemary
1 stem of thyme both de stalked
2 peeled cloves of garlic

250g grated cheddar for the centres and topping

In a free standing machine add flours, salt, sugar and yeast mix together and make a well in the centre. In a food processor, combine the butter herbs and garlic into a paste, add to the flour mix, in a jug mix the boiled water with the milk and egg. Turn on the freestanding machine fitted with a bread hook, slowly add the liquid, then knead with the bread hook for 6-8 minutes, oil the bowl and cover, leave to prove for at least an hour.

Turn out and knock back, knead for a minute and divide into 14-18 pieces, roll into balls, then roll out gently into little circles add a small mound of a cheese of your choice (I use Cheddar) pull the sides around it making little dough balls, pop onto 2 trays starting in the centre, building around the middle bread rolls, leave to prove covered with oiled cling for about an hour, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with grated cheese, bake in a preheated oven at 200˚c for about 18-22 minutes or until well bake and golden.

Jubilee Domed Cupcake

I was secretly pleased when my Facebook Poll voted for the cupcakes. I had this idea back in February and I emailed a lady who does the edible cupcake toppers. She made these memorial stamp toppers for me within days.

I quite fancied making the sponge Red, White and Blue as well as the toppers and icing so I made a moist ground almond sponge but if you'd prefer you can just replace the almonds with more S/R flour. I then  popped in 2 blueberries per cake, sprinkled with freeze dried raspberries pieces (not only do the freeze dried raspberries give the desired red, and a lovely flavour, you also get a great crunch under the soft cream).

There are lots of elements to these little cakes but you can easily simplify. Use all buttercream instead of cream under the dome (Buttercream is firmer and easier to work with but I love fresh cream). Also you could use one coloured cases, and if you can't get the stamps a stencil would work equally as well. And the 3 coloured buttercream could work with a single or double colour also.

For The Cake                                                            
250g Softened unsalted butter                                  
250g caster sugar                                                    
200g S/R flour                                                      
50g ground almonds                                                
3 eggs
Other things you'll need
 18 Edible toppers 
 * Buttercream coloured with
Red and Royal blue food gels
6 Red, 6Blue and 6 white cupcake cases
  
                                                             

Mix all of the above together in a food processor, then spoon into 18 cupcake cases, I used 6 red, 6 white and 6 blue. Then I popped 2 blueberries into each and sprinkled some freeze dried raspberry pieces onto the top. Bake @ 170 for about 22 mins or until well risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool completely.

Whip up 200ml of double cream and pipe a swirl onto each cooled cake and pop into the fridge to firm. Roll out 6 red fondant circles, 6 blue ones and 6 white, using a cutter which is the same circumference as the cupcake. With a tiny paint brush, sparingly brush some water onto the fondant discs, and use to glue the Edible toppers onto the fondants. Then gently place the fondant disc's over the cream and ease down.

*Buttercream
200g softened butter
450g icing sugar
red food colour
blue food colour

Make the buttercream by whipping the butter and icing sugar together in a free standing machine, when soft and light add 1 tbsp boiling water and whip, divide into 3 bowls colour one blue, one red and leave one white, spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1m nozzle, squeeze the buttercream out until you have all 3 colours coming through. Then pipe rosettes around the fondant discs.

Hazelnut and Coconut Shortbread

Shortbread for me is the queen of biscuits. If Mary Berry were to be a biscuit this is the one I'd think she'd be, adaptable, versatile, rich yet as light as a feather.

Recently since starting to write my book, I've had this whole new thing happen to me, I can be driving or sleeping in the bath or even in mid conversation when all of a sudden a recipe idea pops into my head and I just have to try it out, this shortbread was one of those last friday evening.

Shortbread for me always has those 2, 1, 2, 1 measurements.

The shortbread
200g Plain flour
100g caster sugar
200g salted very soft butter
(for the next 100g) 30g semolina, 20g desiccated coconut, 50g food processor blitzed hazelnuts

For the topping
50g very roughly chopped hazelnuts
20g desiccated coconut

In a large bowl bring all of the shortbread ingredients together until you have a soft clay like dough.

Turn into a lined 12x8 baking tin/tray push into an even layer with clean fingers, top with the topping hazelnuts and desiccated coconut, pop into the freezer or fridge for 15-30 minutes.

Bake for 22-25 mins @ 170. Leave to firm in the tin but mark pieces with either a pizza wheel or a knife whilst still warm, eat once cold.