The Thermomix is new in my kitchen and an early Christmas present from hubby. I love kitchen gadgets and whilst I don't believe for one moment they make you a better cook, for me they're fun.
I'm not going to say it will replace all my other stuff or that it's going to save me money (I wish), how can I make sweeping statements when I've only used it for a few weeks.
I went for this brand because they have a history of making a well engineered product, are the best on the market and I didn't want to have buyers regret. There are no sharp edges on the jug, the blades are fearsome, there is an integrated digital scale, it whizzes at unbelievable speeds, it will even steam and every piece can be washed either by hand or will go into the dishwasher but not the main part obviously, and the product is totally awesome (if I'm allowed to say that).
This new model is digital and has a recipe chip on the side with ingredients and method and it's extremely user friendly.
There's lots of online help with forums where people are passionate, freely give their time and expertise to answer questions and importantly the Thermie community are friendly too.
When the machine arrived I hoped and longed that we would bond and I'm pleased to say that it's a little helper and I'm in awe of this magnificent piece of kitchen equipment, little wonder it's used in professional kitchens.
Sadly the cost is eye watering........
I went a little off piste and didn't use the Thermomix recipe on the recipe chip and used a favourite pastry recipe for the mince pies. To make the pies all you have to do is weigh in the ingredients, yes it's got built in digital scales which I think is very cool.
The dough takes 25 seconds at Speed 4........
Nothing wrong with this pastry, although it does take a while to understand how you can throw everything in and hey presto pastry!
I was really happy with my block of pastry and all I had to do was wrap it in cling wrap and pop it into the fridge for half an hour.
The pastry rolled out a dream.....
Now for the frangipane......
Weigh in all the ingredients, butter, egg, ground almonds, flour and caster sugar. 1 minute/Speed 3
A few seconds later frangipane!
Pastry, mincemeat and a dollop of frangipane topped with a few flaked almonds.
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| The baked mince pies |
Makes: approx 18
Pastry
175g plain flour
75g butter, cut into cubes
25g icing sugar
1 large egg, beaten
Frangipane
100g butter, softened
100g caster sugar
2 large eggs
100g ground almonds
1 level tbsp plain flour
1⁄2 tsp almond extract, or to taste
Filling and Topping
Jar mincemeat, homemade is best!
a few flaked almonds
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Add the flour, butter and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor, whiz until the mixture is the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add the beaten egg and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Knead lightly, Wrap in clingwrap and chill for approximately 30 minutes.
3. Now make the frangipane, place the butter and sugar into the food processor and blend until soft. Add the eggs and whiz again. Add the ground almonds, flour and almond extract and mix briefly.
4. Roll the pastry out thinly preferably on a silicone mat and cut out 18 x 6.5cm circles. Now line the tins with the pastry rounds. Place a teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry circle and top with the frangipane mixture. Sprinkle over a few flaked.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tins from the oven and cool for a while on a wire rack.
Note: This is a private purchase and there isn't any brand involvement.
