Bacon and Leek Quiche

Well, with the recent drastic change in temperatures, I thought I would make the most of it and bake what I would call a 'classic summer supper'. If it had been a particularly humid day, mum had been at work, dad had taken us to feed the ducks, you could guarantee that for dinner we would have a nice fresh salad (we weren't children who were scared of veg!) with a gorgeous home made quiche. Also, every single birthday party we had you could assume there would be a range of quiches on the table! So, here is my version of a classic bacon and leek quiche....give it a go! 

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Ingredients

(This quiche will fit any tin between 8-10inches)

Filling                                                                                        Pastry

6 bacon rashers                                                                         175g plain flour

1 average leek                                                                            115g butter (room temp)

3 large mushrooms                                                                    2 egg yolks

300ml milk (or double cream if you are feeling indulgent)    Pinch of salt

3 eggs AND 2 extra yolks

Black pepper

Grated cheese (enough to cover the top)

1. Start by making the pastry - sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and mix. Add the butter and using your finger tips rub the ingredients until they form breadcrumbs. Add one egg yolk to the mix and combine using your hands until you can roll the pastry into a ball. Leave the pastry to rest for 20mins in the mixing bowl and cover with a cloth. Pre heat the oven to 200degreesC.

2. On a floured work surface roll the pastry out until even in thickness and round to fit your size tart dish. Using your rolling pin, lift the pastry on top of the tin and lightly press the pastry so that it fits the dish. Cut off any excess and use to bulk up thinner areas of the pastry case. Using a fork, lightly press the base several times. Cover the case with baking paper and fill with baking beans/rice and blind bake for 20mins. 

3. Remove the baking paper and beans/rice from the tin. Using the additional egg yolk, lightly brush the pastry case with the egg. This will firm up the pastry case to avoid the dreaded 'soggy bottom' syndrome. DO NOT use the egg wash on the top part of the pastry - only the insides. Place back in the oven and cook for another 3-4 mins when the pastry will begin to crisp and look golden. 

4. Cut the bacon strips into small pieces and lightly fry (or if you have a separate oven and grill, grill it) until the fat turns clear. Prepare and chop the leek and mushrooms. In another mixing bowl whisk the milk (or cream) with the 3 eggs and 2 extra yolks until combined. Season with black pepper. 

5. Remove the pastry case from the oven and layer the bacon pieces on the bottom of the tin. Arrange the leeks and mushroom to your aesthetic taste and then pour the milk and egg mixture over the ingredients. DO NOT be tempted to press the leeks/mushrooms down as they will be soggy when you tuck into your quiche. Also, DO NOT be tempted to over fill your quiche - this will result in the liquid pouring out of the case, making the case soggy and burning in certain areas. Cover the quiche with cheese and cook for 15mins.

6. After 15mins reduce the oven temperature to 180degreesC and bake for a further 20mins. Your quiche will look golden, smell divine, and be very hot!!

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I love my quiche cold, with pickles, salads and fresh beetroot. This is the perfect summer recipe as it is very light with a perfect filling:pastry ratio and can easily be adapted to personal tastes. Great to share with friends and family whilst enjoying the sun - perfect if you fancy a spot of 'high tea'. These photos honestly don't do it justice, trust me, it's gorrrrrgeous....well, try it yourself!

Bon Appetit!!

Roast Potatoes

Following on from the previous post on my blog, I would like to share with you a scrummy recipe for roast potatoes. There is always someone that you know that can cook fab roast potatoes - crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle and really flavoursome! The person I learnt from was my mum's second husband. They were so light and delicious, the only thing was they weren't that flavoursome, so I always felt I needed to put loads of salt on them. So, I adapted his recipe, as you will see...

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Ingredients

Potatoes (whatever kind you want, I normally use baking and however many you like)

Sunflower oil

Mixed Herbs

Salt

1. Pour sunflower oil into a roasting tin until the oil is about 1cm deep throughout the pan. Add the mixed herbs to the oil and allow to infuse for about 10mins. Put the roasting tin into a pre heated oven at 180degreesC.

2. Peel and cut your potatoes into reasonable sized roasties. Put them into a pan of boiling, salted water and allow the potatoes to cook for about 10-15mins or until you can fluff them with a fork. Drain the potatoes and shake vividly in the colander until they look all scratched and rough. 

3. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and place one potato in the oil. It should sizzle VERY loudly - that is how you know the oil is hot enough. Place all of the potatoes in the scorching oil very carefully and making sure that every side of the potato has been touched by the herby oil. Allow to cook for 1hour and 15mins. Shake half way through and make sure every side is even in colour.

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There we go, perfect home made roasties that are a much healthier alternative to many recipes you will find, due to the sunflower oil instead of lard or goose fat, and mixed herbs for flavouring instead of salt. If I had to choose between having a joint of meat on my Sunday roast, or home made herby roasties, the potatoes would win hands down...every time!

Bon Appetit!!

Yorkshire Pudding

Every Sunday when we were children you could guarantee that we would have a proper Sunday roast with all the trimmings. It was a tradition that started as soon as we woke our parents up on a Sunday morning. Mum and Dad would both be in the kitchen preparing the veg (normally roast parsnips, mashed carrot and suede, broccoli, cauliflower, THE LOT!) whilst we were still in our jammies!! Dad's job was ALWAYS to take care of the meat and Mum's job was ALWAYS the home made yorkshire puddings and the big question was....would they rise??

Here is my fool proof recipe to make THE BEST home made yorkshire pudding you will ever taste...the perfect accompaniment to a roast, Christmas dinner or toad in the hole AND...mine always rise ;-)

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Ingredients

(This recipe will feed 3 people)

3 eggs

5oz milk

5oz flour

3tbsp sunflower oil

1. Now, I use one 8inch square tin to make my yorkshire pudding, as I don't have a muffin tray, but personally, I would recommend making little individual ones in a muffin tray if, lucky you, you have one. Put your oil in the tin/each section of the muffin tray and place in the oven to heat at 180degreesC.

2. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl and add the milk. Whisk until fully combined. Leave to stand at room temperature for 5mins.

3. Slowly sift in the flour, bit by bit. At this point I normally leave the batter until I reckon the rest of the dinner has about 40mins left.

4. Pour/spoon the batter into the tray/each section of the muffin tin (it should make a little sizzle in the hot oil). Cook in the oven for about 40-50mins or until golden brown. Now, this is the important bit...DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR...letting all of the hot air out of the oven will cause the yorkshire puddings to deflate (like a souffle) so try to resist the temptation!!

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Easy as that!! I still to this day do not understand why my Mum always had such a problem making the perfect yorkshire pudding. Quite impressive looking, I think you will agree!! Plus, it makes the house smell GORGEOUS!

Bon Appetit!!

Vanilla Biscuits

So, my flatmates are coming back home after the long, long, summer and I thought I would welcome them back with a selection of pretty biscuits! This is a very simple recipe, quick to make, fun to decorate! Also, would recommend this as a great second recipe to try out with young children (first being crispy cakes, of course!) and the biscuits are great at school fetes/coffee mornings etc when you are trying to raise a bit of cash!

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Ingredients

(This recipe will make 25ish biscuits)

Biscuits

200g butter

200g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

400g plain flour (plus extra for work surface)

Decoration

This bit is really up to you. For my biscuits I usually use a mixture of chocolate chips, chocolate sprinkles, melted chocolate and different coloured royal icing.

1. Soften the butter in a large mixing bowl for 5 mins. Add the sugar and mix until smooth. Drop in the vanilla extract and mix again.

2. Beat the egg and add slowly to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix after every time you add a little more egg.

3. Sift in the flour (half of the total quantity at a time) and slowly combine all of the ingredients. Use your hands towards the end to combine the ingredients into a ball. Half the ball and wrap each portion in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30mins.

4. On a lightly floured work surface roll out one portion of the biscuit dough at a time and using your own choice of cutters, cut out random biscuit shapes. Put the biscuits on baking paper on baking trays and transfer to the fridge for a further 15mins.

5. Pre heat the oven to 180degreesC and bake the biscuits for approx 10mins or until firm to the touch and golden around the edges. Allow biscuits to cool for at least 45mins before decorating.

6. At this point I would normally melt some chocolate (to use as a glue when sticking the chocolate drops on) or make up a bowl of royal icing (125g icing sugar, 1 teaspoon water, 2 drops of food colouring)...but you can choose your own decoration if you wish.

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I hope you like this simple recipe as much as I do. They aren't posh biscuits, but you can guarantee that people will be back for many more! Be prepared to get messy when decorating and be as creative as you wish!!

Bon Appetit!!

Review: Stellar Flan Tin

As a 'newbie' to all of this baking malarky, I find it really useful to read over people's reviews of certain products, so I thought I would share with you a review of my latest baking purchase, a Stellar 10inch/26cm Fluted Round Flan Tin with Loose Base.

I bought the product so that I could try out my partner's favourite pudding - banoffee pie, as well as to conquer my fear of pastry!! I knew that I specifically wanted a loose base tin as they seemed easier to clean, and gave a more professional look to whatever you were making. (Plus, I have learnt from experience that if something I am going to bake is going to stick to the dish, then it will stick good and proper!!) 

I searched all over the high street to find exactly what I wanted as I'm not over keen on buying online, as I like to thoroughly examine the product before I put my money where my mouth is and I was recommended to try TKMaxx. They had a range of tins, but only one loose based one - which another woman was looking to purchase!! So I went for a browse in hope she would put it back, luckily she did! It was a reasonable £7.99 and perfect size for what I wanted.

I had never heard of the company Stellar before, but I am really impressed with this tin. It's easy to use, quick to clean, has a great non stick coating and is very durable. Well worth the money and I am looking forward to trying out more bakes with it. Highly recommended to novice and pro bakers alike.

Rating: 5/5

Custard Creams

So, since I have 'got into' baking I have created a wish list of many items that I would like to purchase to aid my cooking ability ( #1 at the moment is a rolling pin, in case you are wondering!) and a very lovely friend of mine posted me a set of cookie cutters that I had been pining for, for quite a while!! They are actually meant for 4 year olds, but me being a trainee teacher and all, I thought I could get away with it! Seriously though, how cool are these?!?

So, what was to be the first biscuit on my baking agenda? The very humble, very dunkable, custard cream!

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Ingredients

Biscuit                                                                      Filling

225g plain flour                                                         50g butter (must be room temp!)

50g custard powder                                                  200g icing sugar

30g icing sugar                                                          2tbsp custard powder

175g butter                                                               1-2tsp cold water

1 tsp vanilla essence (1/2 tsp if you have extract)

1. Sift the flour, custard powder and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly till the mixture is all the same colour. Add the butter and vanilla and using the palms of your hands begin to combine the mixture (it will take a while to combine, but be patient). Roll into a ball and wrap in cling film. Put in the fridge to chill for 30mins.

2. On a floured work surface roll out the biscuit dough and cut out your required shapes. Place these onto baking trays covered with baking paper and chill in the fridge for a further 15mins. At this point, pre heat the oven to 160degreesC. 

3. Put the biscuits into the oven and cook for 15mins. The biscuits will still feel soft in the middle, but will harden as they cool. They should look slightly yellow, but will remain pale. Allow to cool completely.

4. The filling I tend to find is rather hitty/missy so don't be disheartened if you don't get it right first time. Using a wooden spoon soften the butter in a bowl until creamy. Add the custard powder/icing sugar mixture slowly to the butter, stirring constantly. To begin with it will seem that it takes a while for anything to 'happen', but the suddenly your mixture may turn to breadcrumbs. Don't worry - simply add a tiny amount of water at a time until it has got to a pipeable consistency.

5. Pipe the cream onto the biscuits and sandwich together. Allow for the cream to harden for a true custard cream experience.

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A childhood favourite biscuit in a truly childish form! LOVE IT! Have fun with this recipe, but don't go over board with the cream. 

Bon Appetit!!

Bread and Jam Pudding

One of my sister's favourite puddings as a child with a very stodgy "Bread and Butter Pudding". I never really liked it as our mum would add raisins and they would burn and go all sour and horrible. Since leaving home, I adapted the recipe to something far sweeter and "Steffie friendly". A very good 'shuv what you have in the cupboard together' recipe.

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Ingredients

2 eggs

2 tbsp sugar

4 slices of bread (I prefer white in my puddings)

400ml milk

Your choice of jam!

1. Spread generous amounts of jam on each slice of bread and cut each slice into 4 triangles (I tried squares, but triangles are better mathematically, for over lapping purposes!) Use an oven proof dish (preferably glass) and line the dish with the triangles (jam facing upwards). Keep putting the triangles one on top of another with the peak at the centre.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture no longer feels 'grainy'. Slowly add the milk in, bit by bit (like when making a roux).

3. Pour the liquid mixture on top of the bread, using your whisk to push the bread down so it sinks and absorbs all the liquid. (You will think you too much mixture, but bear with it as the bread needs time to drink up all the liquid). Make sure when you put the pudding in the oven that there is no jam on the surface. Jam has a high sugar content and sugar burns quickly - make sure the bread is firmly sunk!!

4. Cook at 190degreesC for about 1hour30mins. If you have used a glass dish - lift it above your head and if you can still see 'sogggy' looking bread, it will need another 20mins. Serve hot with ice cream - the hot and cold create a great combo!

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A very plain recipe with not much too it. It's a great winter warmer, or a late evening supper. Also, children love to help out with this recipe - it's very sticky and leads to alot of licking of the fingers!

As you can see....I didn't bury all of my 'jammed up' bread...whoops!! Still...tasted yummy!

Bon Appetit!!

Mississippi Mud Pie

You know when you just have one of those days where the weather is awful, you have no money and you are sooo bored you could literally, drive yourself around the bend, well, this recipe is for those kind of days! When the only thing that will cure you is sheer gluttony, bring on the Mississippi Mud Pie!!!!

(This is a double bonus recipe, as if you just make the "pastry" (more of a biscuit) case then you have some very scrummy bourbon biscuits).

Also, just to prewarn you, this recipe made a 10inch tart, plus two little individual tarts, so either get the family round, or be prepared to eat Mississippi Mud Pie for 3/4 days running!!

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Ingredients

Pastry                                                 Filling

250g plain flour                                   175g butter

2 tbsp cocoa powder                          250g light brown sugar

140g butter                                         4 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp caster sugar                             150g chocolate (I prefer milk, but dark will make a nice and rich filing)

2 tbsp cold water                               300ml single cream

For Decoration: You can either use 425ml double cream, whipped and spread over the top of the tart OR for a slightly "healthier" alternative use single cream and pour over individual servings. It is too rich to have without the cream. I also grated chocolate on top to make it look pretty.

1. Make the pastry first. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture begins to resemble breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and a little bit of the water, gradually adding more until the consistency becomes solid, but not too sticky. Wrap in cling film and chill for 15mins.

2. Roll out the pastry on a LIGHTLY floured surface (too much flour will cause the pastry to dry out and crack). Do not over work the pastry and don't stress that your hands become oily. Once you have rolled out the pastry line your 10inch tart tin. Do not roll your pastry too thin because it will burn easily due to high sugar content. Cover the tart with baking paper and 'blind bake' using baking beans (if you are posh) or if you are like me, you have a secret stash of risotto rice that you always say you will use (but never do) that will do the trick perfectly! Cook in a preheated oven at 190degreesC for 15mins. Remove the beans/rice and cook for a further 10mins. At this stage the pastry should all look the same 'shade' of colour and be cooked to the same degree.

3. Filling time! Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl and gradually add the beaten eggs with the cocoa. Melt the chocolate in a glass/pyrex dish above a pan of hot water. Once there are no lumps, remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. (Adding hot chocolate to the eggs will cause the eggs to scramble - not what you want!) Whisk in the single cream.

4. Reduce the oven temp by 30degreesC. Pour the mixture into the pastry case. Do not be afraid to fill the case quite generously as when the tart cools, the filling will sink. Bake for a further 45mins - 1hour. You can tell when the tart is cooked as the filling will be light and soft to the touch. If you press firmly and an oily residue is released - it needs about 10mins longer and the middle is still liquidy. Do not be afraid to keep prodding as you can cover it with cream later! Allow to cool COMPLETELY.

5. Decorate your tart however you wish and transfer to the fridge if you want a more "fudgey" texture to the tart.

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So, that's it! Quite a simple recipe and a great one to start with if you are anxious about using pastry. It is a gorgeous looking pudding - great if you are trying to impress the inlaws, but also great if you want to over indulge with your feet up watching episodes of 'Friends' on repeat!

Bon Appetit!

Welcome to Steffie Jay's Bakes!

Just a quick note to say 'Welcome' and thank you for viewing my blog. If you are viewing this expecting culinary finesse, then I advise you to leave now! 

The main reason I am starting up a blog is simply because...I love food!! On top of this, what I love even more is looking at a selection of ingredients and making them...well, into something (whether it be a catastrophe or not!) so, please bare with me as many of these recipes may be a case of trial and error!

Just like a lot of young people, I regret not spending enough time with my Grandparents and asking them questions about how they used to make ends meet when times were hard and how they made the perfect pastry/biscuit/tart. I wish I had spent more time with them, learning how to cook, especially my paternal Grandmother as there was always something yummy for dinner (that normally involved the grandchildren sitting on the kitchen side, drying the dishes). So, my aim for this blog is to keep an ongoing collection of recipes, that maybe one day my children or grandchildren would like to use and experiment with!

Bon Appetit!!