Deep Dish Pumpkin Pie with Dulce de Leche Walnut Streusel

Because I am so late posting this delicious recipe, it is with great shame that I announce that there is a picture of my Christmas dinner to follow. No. Your eyes do not deceive you. I am posting a recipe from the 25th of December on the 10th of April. To be fair though, it's pretty much the same weather here in London now in April as it was at Christmas. Oh. Except that it didn't snow at Christmas.

Here is a picture of the wonderful Christmas spread cooked by my sister and brother in law - we call them Gavity for convenience sake; Gavin and Kitty ... geddit?

As usual they cooked an amazing spread and probably out of pity and a desire to help me feel included, asked me to bring dessert. I just want to say I BROUGHT dessert though ;p I made this amazing pumpkin pie on crack as I like to call it, for my Thanksgiving get together and thought I would make it again and take some pictures this time and blog it. Unfortunately the lighting wasn't great so please forgive my sub-par photos and trust me when I say they are no reflection on how yummilicious this dessert is. It is a bit like a cheesecake on pie crust. My friend Susan reckons it's her favourite dessert ever! And despite the many elements to it, it is a reasonably easy dessert to make.

Recipe only slightly adapted from Sprinkle Bakes
Yield: One 9-inch pie

Walnut Streusel
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
85g cold unsalted butter
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Crust
240g unsalted butter
170g cream cheese, softened
2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
2. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead together until smooth. Roll dough with a floured rolling pin to 1/4 inch thickness. Gently lay dough inside spring-form pan and press up the sides. Allow a little of the crust to overhang the edges of the pan. Place dough-lined pan in the freezer and freeze until dough is stiff.
3. Preheat oven to 200C / Gas Mark 6 / 400F.

Pumpkin Pie Filling
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (substitute mixed spice if you're in the UK)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
822g canned pumpkin puree
340g evaporated milk
1/2 cup double cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice (or mixed spice). Whisk in eggs, then pumpkin puree; beat until smooth. Slowly whisk in milk, cream, and vanilla. Pour filling into frozen pie crust. Cover edges of pie crust with aluminium foil.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 180C / Gas Mark 4 / 350F. Bake pie for 1 hour, then top with walnut streusel. Bake for 25 minutes more, then tent a piece of foil over the pie so that the streusel does not over-brown. Bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the pie is set but still slightly wobbly in the centre. Cut away the overhang crust if desired. Allow pie to completely cool then thoroughly chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Serve
397g Carnations Caramel

1. Just before serving, warm dulce de leche / caramel in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove top until loosened. Drizzle about 1/2 cup over the top of the pie and transfer the rest to a gravy boat and serve alongside pie.

Double Decker Oreo Fudge ... and Exciting News

I always start off my blog posts after a long absence  by saying "I apologise it's been so long since I last blogged but in my defence ..."

Well, why break the habit of a lifetime - or y'know... a couple of years? So here goes... I'm so sorry it's been a while since I last posted on this blog but in my defence, I've been busy starting a business over the last couple of months. Yup, me, a business ... I know right?

I've wanted a cake shop since I got into the whole baking thing, but it was this shadowy idea that probably wouldn't come true unless I could be bothered to write a business plan and borrow lots of money. Don't get too excited, I don't have a cake shop ... yet, but I have a sort of starter cake shop otherwise known as a market stall.

This Saturday just gone ... yup, the one that was below zero. The one so cold that at one point my hands were shaking so violently that a cup of coffee I was holding threatened to spill all over my lovely stall ... good times.  Yup, I spent that Saturday selling cake at my very own stall. It's at Archway market and only every other Saturday but it's a start, and one I'm really excited about :) Check out a couple of pictures from Saturday below.

Umm yeah, don't go to my website yet because it's not up quite yet. It will be soon though! But if you're in London, get in touch and please come and visit my stall!

So I've always wanted to make fudge! And finally, this Christmas (yes I'm that far behind on updating my blog), I finally ... finally ... gave my sister some fudge recipe suggestions, licked the bowl while she made fudge and ate the fudge when it was ready. Yup, I still haven't made fudge. So thank you to my sister Christiana for making this incredible fudge to round off a delicious five-course Christmas lunch that she and my brother in law made us.

This is simple - I know I say that about most of the recipes I post but it really is. So no excuses, go make some fudge!

Recipe from the incredible Bakers Royale

Ingredients
1 can of sweetened condensed milk, divided into two
10 Oreos, chopped
170g white chocolate
170g dark chocolate
28g butter

1. Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with foil.
2. Split condensed milk in half and set aside. Chop Oreos and set aside
3. Place white chocolate, one half of the condensed milk and the butter in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Stir and mix until melted and combined. Fold in Oreos and stir to combine. Pour mixture into pan.
4. Place dark chocolate and the remaining half of the condensed milk in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Stir and mix until melted and combined. Pour mixture on top of Oreo layer and refrigerate for 1 hour to set.
5. Remove from fridge and peel away foil once set. For ease of cutting, make sure to clean knife between cuts to prevent sticking.

Coca-Cola Cupcakes with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Yes, I know nothing says Christmas less than chocolate and peanut butter, but in my defence, these were meant to go up weeks ago! Umm, yeah, I realise that's not a great defence but also ..., also..., nothing says Christmas like forgiveness and a bit of tolerance, so if you all would just exercise your Christmas spirit and pretend these are Christmassy cupcakes then we all win :)

Whatever you're doing this festive season, however you celebrate, or not, I hope you're surrounded by people you love and you have a wonderful wonderful wonderful few days. Rest like I've been doing a lot of since yesterday at my parents house. Oh. And bake. Because also, nothing says Christmas like the smell of home baking wafting through a house :)

See you in the new year!

Slightly adapted from Sprinkles Bakes

Yield: 12 - 14 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes
1 cup Coca-Cola (Not diet!)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
57g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp plus1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

Frosting
3 cups icing sugar
227g butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp double cream
Sea salt for sprinkling
Ground salted peanuts

1. Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas mark 4 / 350F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the Coca-Cola, cocoa powder and butter over a medium heat until butter is melted. Add sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together.
4. In a small bowl, whisk egg until just beaten, then whisk it into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently stir flour mixture into cocoa mixture.
5. Use a 1/4 cup measure to pour batter into the cupcake wrappers. Bake cupcakes for 25 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed in the middle.
6. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
7. Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or with the whisk beaters on a hand mixer), combine icing sugar, butter, peanut butter and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined, then switch to high speed.
8. Add double cream one tablespoon at a time and beat until mixture is lightened and smooth. Transfer to a piping bag or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
9. Garnish with ground peanuts and a sprinkling of sea salt.

Soft Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am going to ask you a question. And I would urge you to think very carefully about your answer. Because while I might make out like it's all fun and games, there is a wrong answer and I will not-so-secretly secretly judge you if you get it wrong. Okay. Here goes.

*Deep breath*
...
Are you ready?
...
How do you like your cookie?

I watched the movie "Think like a man" last night which is why I feel the need to clarify that I am talking about baked goods here ;p

There are two answers to that question. (Only one of them is correct). You either like your cookie crispy/crunchy or you like your cookie the best other way; soft and slightly chewy.

If you answered crispy/crunchy, then I think it's safe to say that this; me and you,  isn't going to work out. We're just too different. It's not you, it's ... hang on, it's definitely you! You're weird!

If you like your cookie the normal way, you're in luck! Because I have some amazing chocolate chip cookies for you. These are soft and chewy and choc-full of chocolate chips; just like every good cookie should be! The secret ingredient to making them all tender-y and soft is cornflour. Cornflour in cookies are taking the cookie world by storm right now, and while mine look nothing like the the ones in Sweet Pea's blog (hers are so cute and puffy!), I'm certain they taste just as good! But don't take my word for it - give them a go :)

Recipe adapted (only very slightly changed) from this one from Sweet Pea's Kitchen.

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
170g butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4 / 350F. Line two baking sheets with grease proof paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornflour, baking soda and salt; set aside
3. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
5. Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Roll about a tablespoon's worth of dough into balls and place onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until barely golden brown around the edges.
7. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart and Stylist Magazine

Stylist Magazine - yeah ... it's one of the highlights of my week. For those that don't live in the UK or those lucky people who do live in the UK but don't have to take public transport to work, it's a free women's magazine that is distributed in train and tube stations on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday morning. They don't distribute it at any of my tube stations on my way to or from work so a lovely friend at work delivers it to my desk on Wednesday morning whoop whoop!

It is pretty amazing for a free magazine, or just for a magazine generally; full of fashion (it's actually a bit too high-fashion and pricey for me but that's okay, I can gloss over those pages), beauty, a great column and so on. My favourite bits are where they get someone with a (mostly) really cool job such as the MD of a Literary Agency or the organiser of the MOBO awards to talk about their typical day and how they got to do what they do, and the recipes! I have ripped many a recipe page out of the magazine only to pass it on to my sister (an unfortunate Stylist-deprived person) half torn and tattered. She reads it anyway!

This Cappuccino Pavlova is from the magazine as is this incredible Spinach and Coconut Milk Soup and these AH-MAZING Champagne and Raspberry Cupcakes. And I have in my pile of Stylist cut outs, still to make, a pistachio cake with white chocolate frosting, a lemon pudding of sorts, a wild rice salad and lots of other luscious-sounding recipes!
Each week, I read and savour the magazine knowing that I have yet to come across the best bit - the recipe at the end (save the best till last and all)! Even better is that there are also recipes at Stylist Magazine Online ; which is where today's recipe is from.

So Stylist Magazine, don't say I never gave you anything. You just had an entire blog post dedicated to you!

Recipe from Stylist Magazine Online. They published it from The Newlywed Cookbook by Sarah Copeland.

Ingredients
1/2 cup / 115g unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of fine sea salt
1 cup / 115g all-purpose/plain flour
1/2 cup / 120ml double cream
1/2 cup / 120ml whole milk
2 tbsp sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
7oz / 200g high-quality bittersweet (dark) chocolate, chopped (1 heaping cup)
1 large egg, beaten
smoked sea salt (I used normal sea salt flakes)
Creme fraiche (optional)

1 - Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C / gas mark 4.

2 - To make the crust: Whisk together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the flour and stir until it feels like damp sand. Press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch/20-cm square or 9-inch/23-cm round tart pan/flan tin with a removable bottom (which makes it easier to remove the tart in one piece. If you don't have a tart pan/flan tin, you can make this tart in a springform pan; press the dough evenly across the bottom and only about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches or 3 to 4 cm up the side of the pan). Use wax/greaseproof paper or buttered fingers to even out and press the dough tightly into the corners.

3 - Prick the crust all over with a fork and chill in the fridge until ready to bake, about 30 minutes. Set the pan on a baking sheet/tray and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. (Mine took 20 minutes so check at 20 minutes).

4 - While the crust bakes, bring the cream, milk, sugar and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Let it sit for about 2 minutes, without stirring. Starting in the middle of the pan, whisk together until the chocolate is evenly melted and the mixture is smooth and a shiny dark brown.

5 - Whisk the beaten egg into the chocolate filling and pour the filling directly into the hot crust. Decrease the oven to 300F/150C/gas mark 2 and return the tart to the oven.

6 - Bake until the filling is set, but still a little wiggly in the centre, about 15 minutes (temperatures vary from oven to oven, so the visual clue is more important than time). Set your timer for 13 minutes.

7 - If it looks mostly set at that point, test it by opening the oven door a crack and carefully jiggle the tart pan/flan tin with the edge of your oven mitt. Only the centre third should wobble.

8 - Remove the tart and cool completely on a rack at room temperature. Just before the tart cools and sets completely, sprinkle a few large flakes of smoked salt on the surface, or leave plain.

9 - Remove the tart from the pan sides and carefully transfer to a platter before serving. Let it cool just until it slices easily, and serve slightly warm, with a dollop of creme fraiche. Or cool completely, and serve by itself.

Serves 12

Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake

I'm on a bit of a Nigella Lawson roll innit?

I don't know about you but when I was growing up, every cake apart from birthday cake was a loaf cake. Or a bundt cake - which is the same but in a fancier tin.
More specifically in my home, it was a chocolate and vanilla marble cake with a faint hint of lemon as my mum and yaya always put lemon zest in every cake. I bet my mum will be surprised that I remember her cakes so well :) I remember not being able to understand, no matter how many times she explained, why she put the zest of lemon in cakes. Finally, I totally get it!

So yeah, loaf cakes have  all sorts of great associations for me - treats, home, comfort, guests, mummy-time ... when I grow up and have kids, I want to always have home-made cake in my kitchen.  Try and recreate these great memories for my kids. In a large raised cake stand with a glass lid, there will always be some home-made goodness. Yup, I know, hello obesity! We'll balance it out somehow :)

I think the main thing with loaf cakes is that despite being very un-fancy, they're usually really good cake! They don't have any fancy frosting or ganaches to hide behind - at most a drizzle of a glaze - so the cake has to be great. And it usually is. This one by Nigella Lawson is pretty incredible. I made it for church and because I'd sliced it up and didn't get a chance to tell anyone what it was, every one thought they were brownies. It is a dense cake but not too much so, chocolatey but not overwhelming, perfectly citrussy and I think the addition of chocolate chips makes it the perfect loaf cake; understated but so incredibly satisfying.

With the weather getting very cold, I am getting the overwhelming urge to bake lots of loaf cakes so while I get on with that, how about you give this one a go? And make sure you feed back okay? I love hearing how your baking goes; especially when it's a recipe from my blog.

Have a wonderful week!

Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's Kitchen

Ingredients

150g soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing
dab flavourless vegetable oil, for greasing syrup spoon
2 x 15ml tablespoons golden syrup
175g dark muscovado sugar
150g plain flour, plus about 1 tablespoon for tossing chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
25g best-quality cocoa powder, sifted
2 eggs
zest 2 regular oranges and juice of 1
100g dark chocolate chips

1 x 900g (2Ibs) loaf tin

• Preheat the oven to 170C / Gas mark 3 and line your loaf tin with baking parchment or a paper loaf-tin liner.
• Beat the already soft butter with the syrup - if you dab a little oil on your tablespoon measure with a sheet of kitchen roll, the syrup shouldn't stick to the spoon  - and the sugar until you have a fairly smooth caffe Americano cream, though the sugar will always have a bit of grit about it.
• Mix the flour, bicarb and cocoa powder together, and beat into the syrup mixture 1 tablespoon of these dry ingredients before beating in 1 egg. Then add another couple of spoonfuls of the dry ingredients before beating in the second egg.
• Carry on beating in the remaining dry ingredients and then add, still beating, the orange zest and finally, gradually, the juice. At this stage, the batter may suddenly look dimpled as if slightly curdled. No need to panic!
• Put the chocolate chips in a bowl, sprinkle over a tablespoon of flour and toss until they are completely coated in flour. (This is to stop them sinking to the bottom of the cake batter while the cake is baking). Now fold them into your batter.
• Pour and scrape into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, though check 5 minutes before and be prepared to keep it in the oven 5 minutes longer if need be. A cake tester won't come out entirely clean, as the point of this cake, light though it may be, is to have just a hint of inner gunge. Leave it to cool a little in its tin on a wire rack, then turn out with care and leave on the rack to cool.

Notes:

1 - The cake can be baked up to 3 days ahead. Wrap tightly in clingfilm and store in airtight container. Will keep for 5 days total.

2 - The cake can be frozen, tightly wrapped up in a double layer of clingfilm and a layer of foil, for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight at room temperature.

Nigella's Victoria Sponge

I don't have much to say about this cake other than doesn't it just have the prettiest name? I'm speaking totally objectively here - Victoria is THE best name in the world. Innit?

If I'm being honest, I never buy Victoria Sponge cakes or order them in coffee shops but every once in a while, I'll have a good one that reminds me why this is such a classic cake. The flavours are simple but when done well, are the perfect accompaniment to most hot drinks, perfect for tea time or y'know, breakfast.
And who better than Nigella Lawson to turn to for the best recipes? This is from her book "How to be a domestic goddess.

Ingredients

For the cake
225g unsalted butter, very soft
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
200g self-raising flour
25g cornflour (note you can use 225g self-raising flour instead - Nigella believes the addition of corn-flour makes for a "lighter, more tender sponge".
1 teaspoon baking powder (if using processor method)
3-4 tablespoons milk

For the filling
2-4 tablespoons raspberry or other jam, depending on the berries
1 punnet raspberries or berries of choice
125ml (or simply a 142ml tub) double cream

For the topping
1-2 tablespoons caster sugar (I prefer to use icing sugar)

2 x 21cm sandwich tins (about 5cm deep), buttered

• Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4. If the tins are loose-bottomed, you don't need to line them, otherwise do. 
• To make this basic sponge cake in the food processor: put all the ingredients except the milk in the food processor and process till you've got a smooth batter. Then pulse, pouring the milk gradually through the funnel till your cake mixture's a soft, drooping consistency. 
• To make it the traditional way (which is what I did): Cream the butter and sugar, add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour between each. Fold in the rest of the flour and the cornflour, adding no baking powder, and when all incorporated, add a little milk as you need.
• Pour and scrape the batter into the tins and bake for about 25 minutes, until the cakes are beginning to come away at the edges, are springy to the touch on top and a cake tester comes out clean. Leave the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out and leaving to cool completely. 
• When you're ready to eat the cake, put one layer on a plate, right-way up, spread with jam and scatter fruit on top. Whip the cream till it's thickened but still soft and spread over the jammy fruit. Sit the other cake on top, and sprinkle over a tablespoon or so of caster sugar. Or sieve over a tablespoon or so of icing sugar which is my personal preference.

Note: I used a bigger cake tin which is why I have a larger, thinner cake. I also didn't use any fresh fruit in mine.