Cherry Filled Turnovers

Although these are cherry filled, you can use apple or other fruit fillings.

For flaky pastry:
8oz SR Flour
pinch salt
8oz Hard Block Butter

Grate the butter straight from the fridge on large setting.
Put half the butter in bowl with the flour and salt, and rub in gently, ( you still want to see small pieces of butter).
Add a little cold water at a time until dough comes together.
Knead gently on floured surface until smooth, then wrap in cling film and place in fridge for at least an hour, put surplice butter in fridge as well.

Remove from fridge and roll out pastry into large rectangle, sprinkle some of the butter onto top  2/3rds of the pastry, fold bottom 3rd over middle, then top 3rd over middle.
Turn pastry 90 deg, and repeat.
Wrap in cling film and place in fridge again, for at least another hour, or overnight.

For Cherry Filling:
8oz Frozen Sweetened Cherries (defrosted)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp Cornflour

Place cherries, sugar and water into saucepan, bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
Mix cornflour with a little water until it becomes runny.
Add a little at a time, of the cornflour mix into simmering cherry mix, stirring constantly, until thickens.
Allow to cool.

Take pastry out of fridge and roll out about a 1/4 onto floured surface, trying to keep it square or rectangle shaped.
Use pizza cutter to cut into roughly 4inch squares.
Place onto greased baking tray, add a small amount of cherry filling into middle of each square.
Dampen edges and fold over into triangles, seal gently, and brush with beaten egg.
Repeat as necessary with rest of pastry, you can use trimmings once more.
Bake in hot oven until risen and golden brown.

Dust with icing sugar, when cold, you can split the join slightly and pipe whipped cream in.

Enjoy!

Ham and Tomato Quiche

This is a family sized version of the mini quiches I made previously, for the recipe, follow the link below:

Ham and Tomato Quiche

Shortcrust Pastry

For the filling use:

6 Eggs

300ml Single Cream

Grated Cheese

Chopped Ham

Sliced Tomato

Blueberry Pies

This is an easy way to make pie fillings with any fruit you want to use up.

Make pastry from this page shortcrust pastry

I greased and lined 4 x 3" pie tins with shortcrust pastry.

Make filling by adding blueberries into saucepan with 2 tbsp of water, and simmer for couple of minutes to release juices.
Add 1 cup of sugar, bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix a little cornflour with cold water, and add a little at a time to the blueberry mix until it gets to the required thickness.

Share pie filling between pastry cases, and add pastry topping of your choice. 
Brush with beaten egg, and bake in oven until golden brown.
Remove and sprinkle with a little castor sugar, then after 10 minutes, remove from tins, and allow to cool on wire rack.

Best served warm with ice-cream or fresh cream.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Mushroom Pies

Bit of a change today, something savoury, I do have a sweet tooth though, as you can tell lol.

Make pastry from this link: shortcrust pastry 

Grease and line 4 pie dishes with pastry.

To make filling:

Saute some halved button mushrooms, then add cooked diced chicken, stir in a little chicken stock, and simmer for a couple minutes.

Add 1 dessert spoon of plain flour, stir in till cooked through.
Then add a little milk at a time, stirring continuously until thickens to a sauce, cook for one minute, if it gets too thick, stir in a little more of the chicken stock.

Divide mixture between the 4 pastry cases, then roll out pastry and cut tops for pies, seal edges and brush with beaten egg.

Bake in oven Gas 6, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Coconut Tartlets

This is another of Mums recipes that brings back memories.
I had some pastry left from the almond tarts, so made these.

Grease and line a 12 cupcake tray with the pastry using a round cutter.

For Filling:

4oz Margarine
4oz Castor Sugar
2 Eggs (beaten)
4oz Desiccated Coconut
Strawberry Jam

Beat together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Bet in eggs and coconut.

Add 1/2 tsp jam in bottom of pastry tarts, then add 1 dessert spoon of cake mix in each, spreading and sealing the edges.

Bake Gas 6, until risen and golden brown.

Enjoy!

Almond Tarts

Thought I would go back to basics for my pastry and make some almond tarts at the same time, the pastry uses half butter, half lard.
Lard wasn't used so much these days as thought to be unhealthy, but watching a recent foodie program, it actually has less mono saturates than butter, it makes a lovely buttery crispy pastry.

Pastry:

8oz SR Flour
2oz Butter
2oz Lard
cold water

For Filling:

4oz Castor Sugar
4oz Margarine
3oz SR Flour
2oz Ground Almonds
2 Eggs (beaten)
1 tsp Almond Essence
Flaked Almonds
Strawberry Jam

Make pastry by rubbing in butter and lard into flour, until resembles breadcrumbs.
Add a little cold water at a time until pastry comes together, do not over mix.
Wrap in cling film and put in fridge for 30 minutes ( or can make day before).

Roll out pastry and line tartlet tins, add 1tsp of jam in bottom.

Make filling by creaming margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs ( and almond essence) a little at a time, adding a little of the flour at same time to prevent curdling.
Fold in rest of flour and ground almonds.
Fill each tart with cake mix, then sprinkle some flaked almonds on top.
Bake Gas 5, until risen and golden brown. 
Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Custard Tarts

Beautiful and light, can be made as individual tarts or 1 large one.
To save time you can use ready made pastry cases, or use my recipe  for shortcrust pastry ( to find it, search in the above box.

The amount below made 8 x 3" tarts.

Line tartlets tins (do not bake blind).

3 large egg yolks
3/4 pint milk
2 oz Sugar
nutmeg

Warm milk in a pan.

Beat egg yolks and sugar in separate bowl, then stir in milk until bubbles are created. Mix in a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Put mix in large jug.

Put tartlets on baking tray, and while on oven shelf, pour in custard mixture (this prevents spills while putting in oven).
Sprinkle a pinch of nutmeg on tops, and bake Gas 4, until edges are set, but middle is still wobbly.

Remove, and allow to cool while still in tins.

Enjoy!

Deep Corned Beef Pie

Ideal size for a growing family, served with chips and peas. This is also a firm favourite for buffets.

Make pastry as :

8oz SR  Flour
4oz Margarine ( straight from the fridge)
1/2 tsp salt
cold water

Put flour and salt into large bowl, then add margarine, and cut into smaller lumps.
Rub together until resembles breadcrumbs.
Add cold water a little at a time until pastry combines (do not knead)

Wrap in cling film and place in fridge for later use, can be kept for several days.

For Filling:

Boil and mash 2 large potatoes ( or use frozen, defrosted).
Mix in 1 tin of corned beef and 1 diced onion.

Grease deep pie dish, and line with pastry.
Place filling in pie and spread evenly.
Brush edges with beaten egg, and cover with pastry,

Seal and edge the pie, and decorate with left over pastry.
Brush pie with beaten egg, and bake in oven, Gas 5, until golden brown,

Enjoy!


Coming up tomorrow is Chocolate Pecan & Strawberry Fudge!

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Tips and Tricks

Seeing how I haven't got round to doing any baking today, thought I'd share a few tips! 

I might seem like I'm preaching to the converted, but if there's one person out there that these have helped, then I am happy (it doesn't take much lol ).

When to use margarine/butter straight from the fridge or not?:

Straight from fridge

Pastry  

Scones  
Leave out of fridge for at least an hour:
Cakes
Butter Icing/Frosting
Biscuits/Cookies

-Use COLD water for pastry.

-Do not use milk in quiches ( it can make quiche watery) use single cream instead.

To egg wash pastry scones etc, use beaten egg with a little salt, ( it breaks up the white better), if you don't add milk, you get a better shine/colouring.

When making cakes or frosting in electric mixer, ALWAYS scrape down bowl a couple of times, to get even mix.

If anything else comes to mind I will add it on this page, but for now, I'm going to put my feet up with a glass of wine and watch a movie.
Its 7pm here in UK and 2 ͦc, hope you are warm wherever you are.

Goodnight x

Cheese and Onion Pasties

Another use for any large cookie cutter, and even my VERY fussy 6yr old grandson loved these!

Pastry:

8oz SR Flour
4oz Margarine
1/2 tsp salt
cold water

Filling:
2 medium potatoes
2tbsp chopped onions
4oz grated cheese

Boil and mash potatoes (with a little butter and milk)
Mix in cheese and onions.

Mix pastry by rubbing together flour, salt and margarine until like breadcrumbs. Add a little cold water at a time until pastry combined. ( pastry is best made day before, wrapped in cling film, and placed in fridge)

Roll out pastry on floured surface and I used large heart cutter, (2 for each pasty).

Place bottoms on greased tray, damp round edges and put a dessert spoon of cheese mixture in centre,
Place other heart on top and seal edges. Make a couple of little cuts on top, for steam to escape.

Place in oven Gas 5, and bake until golden brown.
Remove, then place on wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Lemon Meringue Pie

This recipe makes two 6" pies or one 10", if you use ready made pastry cases then that saves time.

If not, then line 2 loose bottom 6" flan tines with shortcrust pastry and blind bake.

For filling:
200g castor sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp cornflour
1/4 tsp salt
350 ml water
2 lemons, juiced and zested
30g butter
4 egg yolks

For meringue:

4 egg whites
75g castor sugar

In pan, mix together 200g sugar, cornflour, p.flour and salt, stir in water slowly, then lemon juice and zest.
Cook gently till mixture comes to boil.
Remove from heat and stir in butter, then add a little of the mixture to egg yolks in small bowl.
Add egg mix back to pan with rest of lemon mix, put back in medium heat and whisk slowly until comes back to boil and thickens.

Divide lemon mixture between pastry cases.

Whisk eggs whites until forms peaks, then add rest of sugar a little at a time, and whisk till thick again.
Spread meringue on pies making sure edges are sealed.
Bake in centre of oven Gas 5, till tops are coloured slightly.

Any meringue mix left over can be piped and used to make meringue shells.

Enjoy!

Individual Cheese and Ham Quiche's

Another use for these fantastic tartlet tins, ( 4") I got mine on sale from Sainsbury's.



Shortcrust Pastry ( as in previous post)

2 Eggs
2 slices cooked ham
100ml of single cream
1 tomato
Grated Cheese

Grease 4 tartlet tins and line with shortcrust pastry ( do not bake blind)
Place the tartlets onto baking tray.

Sprinkle a little cheese on base of tartlets.
Chop ham into squares and share out between 4.
Slice tomatoes and cut each slice into 4, place these on top, then add some more grated cheese.

Mix eggs with cream in jug, add salt and pepper to taste, and gently pour a little at a time in each of the quiches, covering all ingredients as near to the top as possible.

Put quiches into centre of oven and cook for aprox 30 mins, Gas 5/6, until risen and golden brown.

Enjoy!

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Shortcrust Pastry

This is a lovely light pastry that I use for all my pies and flans etc, I know some people like use plain flour, but I personally think it makes it a quite hard pastry, so here goes..

8oz SR  Flour
4oz Margarine ( straight from the fridge)
1/2 tsp salt
cold water

Put flour and salt into large bowl, then add margarine, and cut into smaller lumps.
Rub together until resembles breadcrumbs.
Add cold water a little at a time until pastry combines (do not knead)

Wrap in cling film and place in fridge for later use, can be kept for several days.

Let me know if you try this version of pastry.

Thanks :)

Mini Bakewell Tartlets

Shortcrust pastry ( as done in previous post)

1tbsp jam

2oz margarine
2oz castor sugar
1oz SR Flour
1oz Ground Almonds
1 egg
1tsp Almond Essence

2tbsp icing sugar
Pink food colouring

Grease 4 tartlet cases lightly (mine were 4")
Line cases with shortcrust pastry and bake blind, without colouring.

Make cake mix by creaming together sugar and margarine till fluffy.
Beat in egg and almond essence,
Fold in flour and ground almonds.

Spread 1tsp jam in bottom of each pastry case, then divide cake mix between tartlets and smooth out.

Bake in centre of oven, Gas 6, till golden brown, (aprox 20 mins).

Allow to cool on wire rack.

Mix icing sugar in bowl with a little water, but not too runny, put a little mix in another small bowl and mix in a tiny bit of pink food colouring.

When tarts are cool, spread white icing on top, put pink icing in small icing bag, with small plain nozzle and pipe parallel lines across, then with toothpick, drag gently across line to create feather effect.

Enjoy!

Mini Corned Beef Pasties

Pastry

8oz SR Flour
4oz Margarine
cold water

Filling

8oz mashed potato
1 finely chopped onion
1 tin corned beef

1 egg beaten, for brushing tops

Rub margarine into flour until resembles breadcrumbs.
Add a little water at a time until pastry combined, wrap in clingfilm, and place in fridge while making filling.

Mash together warm mash potato, onion and corned beef till combined, add a little butter and seasoning.
Roll out pastry on floured surface and use small saucer or similar size tin lid to cut out rounds.

Place a small amount of filling in centre of rounds (do not over fill), damp around edges with water and fold over.
Seal all way round and crimp.

Place on greased baking tray, cut 2 small holes in tops to allow steam to escape, then brush all over with beaten egg.

Bake middle/top of oven gas 6, until golden brown, then place on wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!