Ever since Easter, I’ve been waiting for a suitable day to post this recipe. One that’s not too cold, but not scorchingly hot either. Not rainy, but not so bright as to make you squint. A mild spring day, with soft white clouds and sunny spells. As it happened, no such day occurred since Amy and I ventured into the kitchen to make puddingbroodjes over the Easter break. Today, however, appears perfect for introducing this bread recipe with a custard filling.
Posted by Kristel on 5 June, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/puddingbroodjes/
Despite the dubious name, whoopie pies are supposed to be the new rival to the cupcake. I remain unconvinced by this, mainly because they don’t look anywhere near as attractive, nor do they have the decorating potential that you get with a cupcake. But I decided to suspend my judgement and give them a go anyway. The concept is two discs of something that is mid-way between a cake and a cookie, sandwiched together with a cream cheese filling. I found a basic recipe online, and fiddled about with it to include a match made in heaven: banana and peanut butter. Having only had this combination in a sandwich before (try it), I thought it would be fitting for my first foray into the world of whoopie pies.
Posted by Katie on 5 June, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/banana-and-peanut-butter-whoopie-pies/
Recently, I have got slightly obsessed with finding a successful recipe for shortcrust pastry. When I use the traditional method of rubbing butter into flour, it tends to come out chewy and dense, rather than light and crumbly. So, whilst trawling the internet for a solution, I came across a website called ‘The Joy of Baking’. The method suggested by this American website was to make the pastry (I’m not sure whether it would technically still count as shortcrust) by first creaming the butter and sugar together, then mixing in the egg and flour to form a stiff paste. This seems to work really well, as it gives the pastry the required crumbly, biscuit-like texture. So I adapted the recipe from this website to make chocolate pastry, for this lime and chocolate tart.
This tart has quite a few stages, and when I was making up the recipe in my head, I didn’t factor in quite how long it would take. There is the pastry base to make, which needs chilling and cooking time, then the chocolate ganache filling, and the lime curd filling to go on top of the chocolate. But I think it’s all worth it in the end. See whether you agree…
Posted by Katie on 9 March, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/lime-and-chocolate-tart/
My friend Hannah made a version of these cookies last year when I went to her house for a revision session. My abiding memory of the day was not of the eighteenth-century literature we were supposed to be revising, but of the cookies. They are cookie nirvana. Crunchy on the outside and gooey within, they are best eaten straight from the oven. I added to hazelnuts to the cookies because I got some in my Christmas stocking (at which point I realised I was probably a bit too much of a foodie), and I wanted to use them, as it is now March.
Posted by Katie on 5 March, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/chocolate-chip-and-hazelnut-cookies/
Yes I know, blueberries on a student food blog. But they weren’t massively expensive – I bought them from the local greengrocers for £1.58. I always stare at them longingly when I’m in there buying a banana or something else boring. So I treated myself (plus I had the excuse that Ed’s Mum was coming to visit). This was my first attempt at making crème patissière. Even with its intimidating French name, meaning ‘pastry cream’, this sweet creamy custard is actually laughably easy to make.
Posted by Katie on 27 February, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/blueberry-and-cream-tart/
I suddenly remembered it’s Pancake Day today. This realisation always hits me with mild panic, as I mentally search through the kitchen cupboards to check I have the required flour, milk etc. And then there is the matter of where/when to buy a lemon. This recipe is made with things which were already in the store cupboard. The cinnamon butter has a nostalgic element for me, as my mum used to make it for me on toast, but it works equally well on pancakes. These pancakes are the small, thick variety, rather than the wafer thin crepe-like ones. The addition of self-raising flour makes them fluffy and squidgy at the same time. They are traditionally cooked on a flat griddle, but a bog-standard frying pan works just fine. You’ll end up with ones that are idiosyncratically shaped (like the one at the bottom of the stack above), but I almost prefer these to the perfectly round ones, as they look authentically homemade.
Posted by Katie on 21 February, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/scotch-pancakes-with-cinnamon-butter/
I bought some cupcake cases with hearts on them, and some heart shaped sprinkles, on a recent trip to York. So there was only one day that could possibly take so much heart-related paraphernalia. And it so happens to be today. These cupcakes consist of a dark chocolate cupcake with white chocolate icing. Too much chocolate? Well, the chocolate budget (!) had to be stretched, but it was worth it. As it’s Valentine’s Day, I had the boyfriend to help me make (and eat) them. The recipes for both the icing and cakes come from one of my favourite cookbooks at the moment, the Primrose Bakery Book. I have made chocolate cupcakes before for the blog, but I have to say that these are much better (sorry Nigella). The eggs are separated, and the whites whisked in at the end, which cause them to be very light. Scoff them with someone else or all by yourself.
Posted by Katie on 14 February, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/valentines-day-cupcakes/
I realise I have already declared my love for stewed apple before. Yet I can’t stop myself from unblinkingly serenading it once more. The uses of apple purée are truly endless, but nothing beats its application as pancake glue. You can use it to assemble a large pancake cake out of which you can cut slices. I’ve taken a different approach here, making portion sized cakes out of mini pancakes.
Posted by Kristel on 3 February, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/breakfast-special-5-pancake-cakes/
According to the seasonal wall chart we have in our kitchen, the forced rhubarb season is from January until March. The chart tells us that rhubarb goes well with pork, mackerel, rosewater, strawberries and ginger. Heck. But for now, I’m just going to introduce two of those ingredients to the rhubarb I bought the other day. I love the combination of rhubarb and strawberries anyway, and the addition of ground ginger to the crumble topping makes this recipe a seasonal wall chart hat trick.
Posted by Katie on 31 January, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/rhubarb-strawberry-and-ginger-crumble/
Henderson’s Relish is a proud Sheffield version of Worcestershire Sauce (i.e Lea & Perrins). It says on the bottle that it has been made in Sheffield for 100 years. The factory the makes it (which seems impossibly tiny, considering the amount of relish the place chucks out) is right next to the university. Walking to an early morning lecture, the smell hits you full force, and if you happened to be pretty hungover, it’s a bit overwhelming to say the least. Henderson’s Relish goes very well in gravy, but I though I would make it the headliner of a meaty, warming pie. The suet in the pastry makes it crumbly and moist at the same time but not too heavy, which works really well with the rich filling.
Posted by Katie on 24 January, 2012
https://chocolatebudget.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/lamb-and-hendersons-relish-pie/
The Chocolate Budget 