Some Picnic Fare

A friend of mine works at the Opera Holland Park in London and I was fortunate enough to go along recently to see Fidelio (incredible in case you were wondering).
The evening starts off with a picnic in the park. As it's supper time you want something that is substantial but also easy enough to transport. Something that tastes delicious cold would also come in handy.

Therefore I turned my hand to the age-old picnic staples: quiche and potato salad. For the greater part of my adolescence I hated this tart. Something about the savory custard base never appealed to me. Over the past few years I have increasingly found that this tart is in fact delicious. This was enjoyed at the picnic and hopefully it will appeal to you:

For the pastry:

85 g (3 oz) cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes

175 g(6 oz) plain flour

1 egg

1 egg white (save the yolk for the custard recipe)

splash or two of cold water

• Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter with your finger tips to create fine bread crumbs.


• Sprinkle in the salt and add the egg with a splash or two of water - bring the dough together with your fingers (if it's looking dry add a little more water).


• Knead lightly to form a ball of dough, then wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.


• I don't have a quiche tin so used a pie dish - it worked perfectly well. Preheat an oven to 200 C/400 F. Lightly grease a loose-bottomed flan tin or pie dish and sprinkle with flour - tip out any excess.


• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until a few millimeters thick. Lay the pastry in the tin and trim off any excess. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill to cover with baking weights (this can be anything from actual weights to rice to lentils).


• Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes then remove the baking weights and paper. Brush the pastry case with the egg white as this will help seal the pastry. Return the pastry to the oven for a further five minutes or until pale golden.


• Remove and leave to cool before you add your filling.

For the filling:

There is a quiche filling for every season of the year but I decided to stick with something simple - leek and Parmesan. Two strong flavours so you don't need to faff around with lardons and herbs etc.

3 eggs + the egg yolk left over from the pastry

250 ml/1 cup whole (full fat) milk - most recipes call for creme fraiche or cream so consider this a virtuous version

1 tbsp of unsalted butter

4 leeks - washed, trimmed and sliced

50g/half a cup of finely grated Parmesan

sea salt and freshly ground pepper - you wont need too much salt as the cheese should take care of that for you, but the leeks will need seasoning and a little for the eggs as well.

• Preheat the oven to 170 C/330 F


• Melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the leeks and let them sweat down until soft


• Whisk the eggs together and add the milk, parmesan and seasoning


• Once the leeks are cooked and cooled slightly add to the egg mixture and pour into the prepared pastry case


• Bake in the middle of the oven for 35-40 minutes - if it starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking

Leave to cool in it's tin and if you are taking it along to a picnic I would recommend transporting it in the dish you cooked it in - just remember a knife!

Potato Salad

Easiest thing to make yet cold potatoes are so delicious. I've opted for a non-creamy one as there could be a little too much dairy if you have it with quiche.

750g/26 oz of jersey royal potatoes cut into roughly 1 inch bits

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp whole grain mustard

2 tbsp good olive oil

2 tsp cider vinegar

1 tsp of sugar

3 tbsp cornichons, chopped (this is about 8 cornichons)

1 tbsp capers

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

pinch of salt and fresh black pepper

• Put the bay leaves in a large pan of water and bring to the boil. Season with plenty of salt and add the potatoes


• Whilst the potatoes are cooking, add the rest of the ingredients to a jam jar and give it an extremely vicious shake


• Drain the potatoes once cooked (they should be on the softer side of done as no one wants a hard cold potato)


• Pour over the olive oil mixture immediately so that the potatoes get a chance to absorb the flavours. Leave uncovered so that the potatoes can continue to release their steam


• Let it cool to room temperature before covering and placing in the fridge

That amount should serve six, but with other sides and salad. I would strongly recommend some homemade coleslaw or remoulade as well as savoury muffins. Some sausage rolls wouldn't go amiss either and you can a recipe for those on this here blog too.

Hope you are making the most of your summer!

Yes, it's a Smart Car cake...

Rather than a recipe I just wanted to show what two people were capable of with an afternoon filled with food dye and royal icing...


That's right. It even has license plates. Front AND back.

My friend Kaori had the inspirational idea to build a Smart Car cake for her boyfriend's birthday. Naturally, I asked if I could help. What I learned along the way was that measuring a cake with a ruler is really hard and that if you try most of the afternoon you will be very pleased with the results. It may be a little rough around the edges but when it comes to culinary experiments this is definitely the most awesome product I have ever had a hand in.

So get creative with loaf trays and make various other box shaped cakes! Who knew rectangles could be this much fun?

You may not be fortunate enough as me to have someone like Kaori who knows how to put stuff together. In fact, she is also an amazing seamstress, check out some of her creations:
www.kaori.co.uk

Magnolia Bakery vs. Hummingbird Bakery

Here we have it. Once again England and America are going head to head to see who reigns supreme, although this time it's over vanilla cupcakes.

Having contributed a great many pennies to the cupcake shops that seem to be flourishing over my fair nation's capital, I thought it best to see if we really knew what we were talking about. After all, the Hummingbird Bakery that started on Portobello Rd in Notting Hill was inspired by a visit to USA and sampling North American examples. Since stumbling across a recipe for

Magnolia Bakery cupcakes - a bakery heralded for it's sweet morsels equally as it's transatlantic counterpart - I thought it best to bake a batch of each and see who really made the best vanilla cupcakes.

So I recruited the best expert in cupcakes I know. My sister. This beautiful little baker has been making cupcakes ever since she could reach a counter top. Here are the two recipes that were tested as well as our conclusions... let me know your own findings.

Magnolia bakery recipe for 24 cupcakes:

175 g unsalted butter (1 cup or 2 sticks)

350 g caster sugar (2 cups)

4 large eggs

200g self-raising flour, sifted (1 and 1/2 cups)

150g plain flour (1 and 1/4 cups)

250 ml full-fat milk (1 cup)

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Icing:

400g unsalted butter, softened

250g icing sugar 

food colouring

Preheat oven to 180 C, prepare two cupcake tins by filling each hole with paper cups.

Beat the butter until smooth, gradually adding the sugar until if becomes pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well to ensure each is combined. Sift the flours together and in a separate jug combine the milk and vanilla. With a metal spoon, fold a quarter of the flour into the mixture alternating with the milk and vanilla, repeating until everything is mixed. Be careful at this point not to over-beat and release the air.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases to just over halfway. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top. Remove them from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing, beat together the butter and icing sugar. When adding the food colouring, use a tooth pick to add small streaks of colouring to ensure it stays pale. When the cupcakes have cooled top with the icing.

And now for the English contender, Hummingbird Bakery (recipe taken from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook):

For the vanilla cupcakes:

Makes 12

120g plain flour

140g caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter at room temp

120ml whole milk

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 quantity vanilla frosting

decorations

a 12 hole cupcake tray lined with paper cases

Preheat the oven to 170c/350f/Gas 3

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt an butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on a slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporate (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not over mix.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins, or until light and golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the frosting on top and decorate.

Vanilla Frosting:

250g icing sugar, sifted

80g unsalted butter at room temp

25ml whole milk

a couple drops of vanilla extract

makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes (double the recipe for 20-cm cakes)

Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld whisk) on a medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 mins. The longer the frosting beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.

The overall winner for this was the Hummingbird cupcake.

I will say that the cake mixture from Magnolia Bakery is wonderful on it's own and would do very well accompanied by some vanilla whipped cream and fresh red berries. It's icing, however, is mind boggling. I would always do a greater ratio for sugar to butter for butter icing.

Banana and Walnut Muffins

350 g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp cinnamon

160 g caster sugar

370 ml whole milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

75g unsalted butter, melted

4 medium-large very ripe bananas, mashed

2 handfuls of walnut halves, toasted and chopped

for topping:

2 tablespoons of caster sugar 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

• preheat oven to 170 C
• heat a frying pan on medium heat - add walnuts to a dry pan for roughly 5 minutes, tossing often to ensure they do not burn, then remove from the heat and chop roughly
• mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl
• in a separate bowl or jug combine the milk, egg and vanilla and mix well
• slowly pour wet mixture into the flour mixture whilst using a wooden spoon to beat together until combined
• once combined, stir in the melted butter, mashed banana and chopped walnuts and mix well
• spoon into lined or well greased muffin tray about 2/3 full
• combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the cupcakes 
• bake on the middle shelf for 20-30 minutes (if making mini-cupcakes check on them after 10 minutes)
• to check if the cakes are done insert a skewer into the centre - it should come out clean
• leave to cool in the tray briefly before turning out onto a wire rack to cool fully

This is a great alternative to banana bread - not too heavy, greasy or sweet, it is perfect with coffee in the afternoon or even as a breakfast on the run.

I am a big fan of nuts and feel they are essential with most fruit-based baking, however, if you are not a fan of walnuts they can be substituted with pecans, hazelnuts, or you can even add a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter. If you do not like nuts or are allergic, then simply remove - the end result will not be any less delicious!