Baking With Aimee.

A new post?! What is this?!

I do apologise. 7 months out isn't my finest hour!! But its been a rather eventful year so far, and this blog has taken a definite back seat.

I've also suffered with a lot of writers block, which has mainly stemmed from my indecision on where this blog is going.

After months of consideration I've decided to start afresh and focus solely on my one true passion (aside from writing!); baking!

And thus, Baking With Aimee was born.

This will be my new home from now, and while you may see a few recipes cropping up from my days spent blogging in this space I'm also brimming with new bakes to share!

I do hope you'll pop along and follow my adventures at Baking With Aimee. Its still a work in progress at the moment, but one that I'm putting my all into making a great read.

Thanks for following since 2012!

Aimée
Xxxx

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Sunday Bake | Pear and Frangipane Tart

Anyone who knows me well knows that I HATE cooked fruit...so for me eating a poached pear was a big step! Not just eating too, I actually enjoyed it!! Theres no way I'm gonna go on a hot-fruit eating frenzy but if someone offers me a poached pear - I say as if this happens every week - I won't turn my nose up against it!

I'm not one to brag, but this tart is probably one of the best tarts I've ever made. I'm so proud of it, and it tasted delicious too which is always a plus ;). Frangipane is one of my all time favourite fillings and I just love how moist (apologies!) it is.

I made this for desssert after a Sunday roast, and despite the silly amounts of food already consumed the tart was wholfed down! A success in my book! The recipe is from the amazing Patisserie Made Simple by Edd Kimber (as was last Sunday's bake!). I LOVE this book, I have so many recipes flagged to try and the photography is beautiful.

So, on with the recipe!

Ingredients:

For the frangipane:
100g unsalted butter at room temp
100g caster sugar
2 large eggs
100g ground almonds

For the poached pears:
150g caster sugar
1 lemon
2 Conference or Bosc pears

For the pastry:
225g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
120g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
2 tbsp ice-cold water

For the decoration:
2 tbsp flaked almonds
2 tbsp clear apricot jam

Method:

To make the pastry, put the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles small pea-sized pieces. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition. The dough needs just enough water so that it starts coming together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly knead until it forms a uniform dough. Press into a flat round and wrap in clingfilm. Put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using.

To make the frangipane, put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together for 5 minutes using an electric whisk or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until fully combine before adding the next. Add the ground almonds and mix to combine. Set aside until needed.

To poach the pears, put 500ml water and the caster sugar in a medium pan. Using a sharp knife, cut off 3 strips of lemon zest and add to the pan. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a bowl and set aside. Peel, halve and core the pears, putting them into the bowl of lemon juice as you work to prevent the fruit from browning. Add the pears and lemon juice to the syrup and poach for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside while you prepare the tart.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface into a rectangle about 2-3mm thick. Use to line a 35x11cm loose-based tart tin, then transfer the tart shell to the fridge for 30minutes or until firm. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan oven/gas 4.

Line the pastry with a sheet of baking parchment and fill it with baking beans. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the parchment and baking beans and bake for a further 5 minutes or until the base is a pale golden colour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

To assemble the tart, fill with the frangipane, spreading it into an even layer. Press the pears into the frangipane, cut-side down, and sprinkle the tart with the flaked almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the frangipane is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. While cooling put the apricot jam in a small pan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and, while still hot, brush over the tart.

The tart is best served on the day it is made - not too hard an instruction I imagine...;)!

I hope you like this tart as much as I do, and please do let me know if you try it!

Aimée
Xxxx

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adapted from Patisserie Made Simple by Edd Kimber

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Sunday Bake | Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Praline Buche de Noel

I'm aware a Buche de Noel is a very Christmassy dessert, but while Winter is still in full force I thought it still deserved a feature! I made this first for my Flat Christmas with the guys, and then again for actual Christmas Day as it really is that good!!

The recipe is from Edd Kimber's Patisserie Made Simple which is SUCH a good book for amazing bakes. I highly recommend it! This recipe in particular is quite lengthy, but the steps are all actually quite simple. Everyone loved this dessert, as although it looks quite decadent it tastes so light! Perfect for Christmas Day when you're already stuffed with food....or any food-filled occasion really!

On with the recipe!

Ingredients:

For the chocolate sponge:
butter, for greasing

70g plain flour 

4 large eggs

100g caster sugar

30g cocoa powder

For the decoration:

125g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

For the praline buttercream:

50g milk chocolate 

125g caster sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature diced

4 tablespoons hazelnut praline paste 

For the hazelnut syrup:

40g caster sugar

2 tablespoons Frangelico (I just used Brandy though!)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan oven/gas 4) and grease a 33x23cm rimmed baking tray and line with a sheet of baking parchment. Grease the parchment and then dust with a little flour, tipping out any excess. 

To make the sponge, put the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and, using an electric whisk, beat until pale and thick, so that when the beaters are lifted from the bowl the batter leaves a trail. Put the flour and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix together. In three additions, sift this mixture over the egg mixture, gently folding together with a spatula until fully combined. Pour this batter into the prepared baking tray and gently level out. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cake springs back to the touch. 

Meanwhile, put a tea towel on a work surface and cover with a piece of baking parchment. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately turn it out onto the parchment. Peel off the parchment from the base of the cake, and then carefully roll the cake tightly, with the parchment and tea towel inside. Leave to cool, wrapped inside the tea towel, for 20 minutes. This will help the cake to unroll and re-roll later without cracking.

Put the hazelnuts for decoration on a baking tray and toast them in the oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

To make the buttercream, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Leave to cool slightly. 

Meanwhile, put the sugar and 75ml water in a small pan over a medium high heat and bring to the boil. When the sugar has dissolved, cook until the syrup reaches 120C on an instant-read thermometer. When the syrup is around 115C, put the egg and yolks in a bowl and using an electric whisk, whisk until pale and thickened. Once the syrup reaches 120C, and with the whisk still running, carefully pour the syrup into the egg mixture. Continue whisking until the egg mixture has cooled to room temperature. 

Add the butter, a few pieces at a time, beating until you have a silky smooth buttercream. Once all the butter has been added, add the praline paste and the melted milk chocolate, mixing to combine. 

To make the syrup, put the sugar and 40ml water in a small pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, then cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the Frangelico...or brandy! 

To assemble, unroll the sponge and remove the baking parchment, then brush liberally with the syrup. Spread three-quarters of the buttercream evenly across the sponge, then carefully roll it up tightly. Carefully lift the roll onto a serving plate and spread the remaining buttercream in a thin layer over the outside of the cake. To make the decoration, press the nuts into the buttercream, coating the cake. 

And voila! 

Let me know if you give it a try! Whats your favourite Christmassy dessert?

Aimée

Xxxx

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Recipe adapted from Patisserie Made Simple, by Edd Kimber

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Sunday Cook | Lasagne

Lasagne is my ultimate comfort food. It was the meal I would always ask for on my birthday growing up and the meal that my mum would always make to welcome me home from Uni. Now, we all know that your own mother's cooking is the best. But! After a few years of trying to perfect my own lasagne recipe, I have to say I'm pretty proud of my version. (If you're reading I still love yours the most Mum, never fear!!)

I hold my hands up to the fact that lasagne is hardly a difficult dish to make, and I don't really have a "recipe" per say. But to be weirdly soppy about food, lasagne signifies home and its comforts to me. My housemate Joe has always said its my signature dish and he encouraged me to blog about it; so here we go!

Ingredients:

- 1 pack of 500g beef mince
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 pack of chestnut mushrooms
- 2 cartons of chopped tomatoes
- tomato puree
- handful dried mixed herbs
- bunch of fresh basil
- bunch of fresh baby spinach
- lasagne sheets
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- plain flour
- milk
- mature cheddar cheese (as much as you like - go crazy!!)

Method:

Firstly, finely chop the onion and two cloves of garlic. Heat some oil in a large frying pan, and add the onion and garlic leaving to soften. Then add the pack of beef mince, separating in the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until the mince has browned.

Meanwhile, quarter the chestnut mushrooms and add them to the frying pan. Then stir in the cartons of chopped tomatoes, handful of dried herbs and roughly two tablespoons of tomato puree. Cover the pan and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Pre-heat the oven to 220C.

In a saucepan, melt the butter on a medium heat. Add a few tablespoonfuls of plain flour and cook until combined, stirring quickly so it doesn't burn. Add a few good glugs of milk, and whisk continuously. Continue to add flour and milk, whisking continuously until you have the desired quantity and thickness of sauce. This is pretty much up to you, it depends how gloopy you like your white sauce and how much of it you want!

You then need to recruit a sous chef (your boyfriend/girlfriend, sister, brother, mother, father, friend, pet..okay maybe not pet!) to grate a shit-load of cheese. Or just a little bit...it depends how cheesy you like it. In this house-hold however? We lovee the cheese. Then add this to your pan and whisk until combined.

You're now ready to assemble! Wahoo! Grab a large roasting dish and pour a third of the meat sauce in. Spread it out and then cover in a layer of lasgane sheets. Spread over a third of the cheese sauce and add a layer of baby spinach. Repeat this three times (or as many as you can!) adding more grated cheese to the top.

Pop your masterpiece into the oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbling, golden and delicious! ENJOY. Just not straight away as you may burn your mouth, and I will take no responsibility! You have been warned!! :)

So, I hope you like my rough recipe! Let me know if you try my version :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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The Breakfast Club | London Bridge

An American Breakfast is one of life's many pleasures. The pancakes, the bacon, the maple syrup...ahh gaaad its good. Its currently 10:43pm and I'm SO full from the lasagne I made for tea and I could still stuff my face with a plate of pancakes! I think that says its all.

But backtracking, myself and my sister Katie took a trip to the recently opened branch of The Breakfast Club in London Bridge for brunch a few weeks back! The decor of every Breakfast Club is always really cute and quirky, but this branch really made me feel like I was back in an American Diner. Crazy fried egg lampshade to boot!

We went for a pitcher of Iced Tea, and huge breakfast's; it had to be done! I opted for the classic All-American, while Katie went for the veggie version. I won't lie, I don't know how anyone can resist the bacon in the Breakfast club; vegetarian or not! haha

Aside from the wondrous bacon and pancakes, the sausage is genuinely one of the best I've ever eaten and the potatoes are SO DAMN GOOD. I also never realised how well potatoes and maple syrup went together! After my very first trip to The Breakfast Club a few years back I became an absolute maple syrup convert.

This has essentially turned into a page of gushing over breakfast foods....and I'm quite okay with that! Breakfast Club if you're reading, I'm more than willing to be employed as an official taste tester!! ;)

Let me know if you're also a pancake lover! :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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Sunday Bake | Raspberry and Almond Friands

Ohhhh yes. These were always going to be a hit with me. A Bakewell Tart flavoured muffin? Yes please! These are a Mary Berry creation (obviously! Who else?), though I do have to give myself some credit as the original recipe called for blackberries. The possibility of adding raspberries to the almond sponge was too much to resist though!

I'd never eaten a Friand before making these, and I fear I may have now begun a slight obsession. The combination of icing sugar and egg whites makes for a melt in the mouth sponge and the combination of flavours could be endless! I'm thinking some sort of pistachio Friand next!

The recipe is adapted from Mary Berry Cooks:

Ingredients:
200g unsalted butter
225g icing sugar
75g plain flour
150 ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
6 egg whites
150g fresh raspberries
25g flaked almonds

Method:

1. Firstly, grease a non-stick muffin tray and cut little strips of baking paper to make a handle. This makes your life SO much easier when you're trying to remove them from tray once baked. No body wants to lose a muffin to the tray!! Next, pre-heat the oven to 200C/180Fan/Gas 6.

2. Melt the butter in a small pan, and then remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.

3. Sift the icing sugar and flour into a bowl, and then stir in the ground almonds and extract. Or, just pour it all in if you're feeling lazy - and I mean does anyone really sift icing sugar Mary??

4. Whisk the egg whites until they are foamy, but do not hold soft peaks. It should look slightly like a bubble bath! Add the egg whites and melted butter to the dry ingredients and using a metal spoon (or silicone spatula if you don't have one like me!) fold the mixture together until just combined. Don't overmix, you'll only end up with a chewy texture!

5. Divide the mixture between the muffin holes - the mixture should come up to about 3/4 of the way up each hole. Add two or three raspberries to each one, and then sprinkle (liberally!) with flaked almonds. Bake for 15-20 minutes until firm in the centre.

6. Finally dust with icing sugar to serve and ENJOY!

How easy was that?! Best recipe ever!!

Mary states that you can make 20 Friands from this mixture, but I've only ever managed about 14. I think that may be down to me simply over-filling each hole though so perhaps be abit more stingy if you want to make all 20!

Let me know if you attempt these :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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Sunday Bake | Cherry Pie

Ohhhh my, American Pie. Theres nothing that makes me feel more like a Southern housewife than whipping up something in my pie plate. This was my first attempt at a fruit pie though, as generally speaking I don't like cooked fruit. I wish I did though, and I thought cooked cherries might be a good way to try and change my taste buds!

I used Edd Kimber's recipe from Say it With Cake, which I've mentioned on here before - such a good book! It was a really good recipe too; really easy to follow and wasn't a faff at all. My biggest worry in making this was the pastry, I'm usually the worlds worst at pastry. If I were to ever go on Bake Off, pastry week would absolutely be my downfall. But for once, I actually succeeded!! SO happy!

So for those who want to imagine themselves in the mid-west popping round to the neighbours with a pie, here is the recipe:

Ingredients
- 200g caster sugar
- 800g pitted or frozen cherries (I used frozen - they're cheaper!)
- Zest and jucie of 1 lemon
- 45g cornflour
- 400g plain flour
- 1tsp salt
- 2tbsp caster sugar
- 200g unsalted butter (diced and chilled)
- 100-125ml ice-cold water
- 1 medium egg, beaten with 1tbsp water

Recipe
1. Put the sugar, 600g of the cherries and the lemon zest into a large pan over medium heat. Put the cornflour and lemon juice into a small bowl and mix to form a smooth paste. As the cherries begin to release their juice, add this paste to the pan and cook the cherries gently, stirring, until the juice comes to the boil. Cook, stirring, for a few more minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the reserved cherries. Set aside to cool while you make the pastry.

2. Put the flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the chilled butter and pulse until it forms small chunks, just under the size of a pea. Slowly add the water while pulsing the food processor until the pastry holds together when squeezed. Tip the dough onto the work surface and gently knead together. Divide into two balls, one a little larger than the other. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

3. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll out the larger piece of pastry, until it is large enough to line a 23cm pie plate. Gently roll the pastry around your rolling pin, and then drape it over the pie plate. Press the dough into the plate and then trim the excess leaving a 2.5cm overhang. Take the second piece of pastry and roll out as before. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the pastry into strips 2.5cm thick. Put the pie plate and the strips of pastry into the fridge for 15 minutes to let the pastry rest.

4. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 6. Remove the pie plate and strips of pastry from the fridge and tip the filling into the prepared base. Brush the edge of the pie and the overhang with a little egg and water wash, and then lay half the pastry strips over the pie. I then laid the remaining half at a 90-degree angle from the first half, weaving them in and out. You can just lay them on top if you want a simpler look however. Then brush all strips with the egg and water wash.

5. To finish the pie, fold the pastry overhang so that it sits on the rim of the plate and covers the edges of the pastry strips. To crimp the pie, pinch together the thumb and forefinger of one hand against the edge of the pie crust and, using the index finger of the other, press the pastry together along the top edge to form a simple scallop. Scatter sugar over the lattice to create a caramelised golden finish. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling.
(recipe adapted from Say it with Cake by Edd Kimber)

Let me know if you try the recipe out! :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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Sunday Bake: Raspberry Macaron's with Chocolate Ganache

STOP PRESS. I made Macaron's and they actually turned out okay!! I won't lie, I am super proud of these! Possibly my best bake of 2014 I think. I was so worried about making them, so for them to turn out so well has made me a very happy bunny indeed!

I decided to make Macaron's for my sister Katie as it was her birthday this week. I researched a load about them trying to decipher the correct 'macaronnage', the perfect egg whipping time and how long to rest them. I even did a practice run a few weekends back. That time I made simple chocolate macaron's and though they turned out okay for a first attempt the feet (the little ruffles at the bottom) weren't fully formed and they were literally all hollow.

The secret to good macaron's seems to lie in the correct macaronnage and how long you leave them to rest.

So where did I find all this knowledge you may ask? THIS amazing blog post by Eat Live Travel Write literally helped me through every step. The post is actually about fixing hollow macaron's but right at the bottom is her recipe. Follow it to the letter!! Do not stray and I promise you will have amazing macaron's that taste divine! THESE video clips are also a huge help with technique.

I need to work on my filling to shell ratio as I was a little too stingy when filling them, and I want to try and perfect the shape of the shells. But aside from that I am one super happy baker. I can definitely feel a macaron obsession beginning and want to try ALL of the flavours now! First on the list? Pistachio <3 p="">
Let me know if you have any macaron tips! Or if you try out this recipe :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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Date Night: Ping Pong

After stating that Craig and myself were going to establish a weekly date night, we have royally failed. I won't lie to you. We seem to have been ridiculously busy for the past month or so and have only managed to have date number two this week! Oops!

This time around it wasn't a fancy pop-up, but a favourite haunt. Ping Pong is known for its amazing dim sum, cocktails and chinese tea. They have quite a few locations around London, but last week we visited the St. Paul's spot!

As you may be able to tell by the quantity of food in the pictures, we totally gorged ourselves! I have to say though, in defence - dim sum is quite small...!

I might also add that dim sum definitely doesn't photograph well, so even if you're thinking 'that literally all looks disgusting' please do try it! It definitely tastes 100xtimes better than it looks.

Myself and Craig both loveee seafood, so we chose literally everything with prawns, scallop and crab in, but they do have a pretty varied menu. My favourite had to be the brilliantly named "crispy prawn ball". Also, how cool was my flaming passion fruit cocktail?! I won't lie though, it was ratherrrr alcoholic!

We finished off the evening with a glass of wine overlooking the Thames. All in all, it was a delightful evening! Hopefully our next date night won't be too far apart this time!

Aimée
Xxxx

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Date Night at The Pearl

Myself and Craig have noticed in recent months that all too often we were spending our evenings sat in watching TV. Which don't get me wrong, I do enjoy! But, we started to feel like we weren't doing anything exciting as a couple anymore. Step forward 'Date Night Thursday'! We've decided from now on every Thursday we're going to do something interesting together whether its going for a meal, to an exhibition or seeing a show! Just something new and together.

So, with that in mind last night we went along to the (semi-permanent?!) pop-up restaurant The Pearl in The Dolls House overlooking Hoxton Square. The idea behind the restaurant is British cuisine 'tapas' style and they recommend you have art least 2-3 dishes each. Naturally, we took their advice ;)

The food was literally so so good! First up we had 'breads and butters' which consisted of one slice of soda bread and one slice of black pudding bread with truffle butter and marmite butter. I won't lie, I don't like black pudding, but oh my was that bread amazing! We're now both trying to find a recipe! We also started with gin infused pickled onions - oh yes!

Next up we had some veggie dishes - asparagus with hollandaise sauce and a beetroot, walnut and westcombe cheese salad. Both were literally delicious! It was so nice having the small dishes too, made the experience of dinner so much more interesting.

We actually didn't choose any meat dishes as there wasn't anything we particularly wanted, but the fish dish we chose was my favourite! Scallops and crayfish in an amazing butternut squash puree. Oh my. I could have eaten that dish double the size!

Originally we hadn't actually ordered a pudding, but it is me and I do love a good dessert so we tried 'eggs and soldiers' from the menu. This came out as two shortbread fingers, with what looked like actual eggs! In reality it was a mango caramel yummyness - I'm using the term yummyness because I genuinely don't know what it was aside from tasting so so good! It was really smooth and creamy and not sickly at all which was quite surprising!

It was a delightful date night, made all the better by the brilliant service and really cool atmosphere throughout the Dolls House. If you're around Hoxton its definitely worth a visit, if not purely for the fact that the man on the door is always dressed as a cowboy. I'll say no more.

Aimée
Xxxx

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