Plum Frangipane Tart with Crushed Amaretti

I bought these plums on a whim from the supermarket, they're what I call the dreaded 'ripen at home' which often translates to 'never will ripen at home'. Why do I do it? This time they were kind to me and ripened at home in a good 10 days after purchase without going mouldy which is a first.

Fortunately the plums were delicious, which is a blessing, especially after I had taken a fair amount of time making this fabulous tart which is topped with crushed Amaretti biscuits and flaked almonds.

I mainly buy Amaretti biscuits before Christmas and these together with flaked almonds make the most glorious crunchy topping for the ever popular frangipane bake.

Thermomix Instructions in Italics

You will need: Oblong tin deep fluted tart tin with loose base.35cmx10cmx3cm 

For the pastry:
175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
75g cold butter, cubed
25g caster sugar
1 medium egg, beaten with a splash of water
For the filling:
75g butter, softened
75g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
75g ground almonds
2 tsp plain flour
½ tsp almond extract
6 plums halved and stoned
For the topping:
Crushed Amaretti biscuits
Flaked Almonds

1. Place the flour and butter in a food processor and whiz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix in briefly, then add 3 tablespoons of the egg and water mixture. Whiz until the dough just comes together.
Place the flour, butter, sugar and 3 tablespoons of the egg and water mixture into the TM jug 20 Secs/Speed 4.
2. Chill the pastry for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface and line the tin,
3. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/ Gas 5 and place a heavy baking sheet inside on the oven rack to heat up.
4. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, now chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. Line the pastry case with crumpled baking paper and spread over a layer of baking beans. Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and remove the baking paper and beans. Return the part baked pastry case to the oven for 10 minutes until light golden brown.  Leave the pastry case in the tin to cool on a rack.
6. Now make the frangipane filling by placing the butter and caster sugar into the food processor, whiz briefly.  Add the ground almonds, flour, eggs and almond extract. Whiz again until smooth.
Add the butter, caster sugar, flour, ground almonds, almond extract and eggs to the TM jug 1 min/speed 3.
7. Reduce the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4.  Pour the frangipane into the tin,  Arrange the plum halves cut down side on top of the filling. Scatter over crushed Amaretti biscuits and flaked almonds.
Bake for 45 minutes until the tart is golden brown. Cool on a rack.

Christmas Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake

Christmas is coming! Wrapping presents, writing cards, shopping all to be done but there's always time to bake an easy marble loaf cake. This cake is a childhood favourite and one I never tire of. It's an easy bake simply topped with a delicious chocolate icing and a few sprinkles, what's not to like.

The cake will be a winner with children.........

50g butter, softened
75g soft tub margarine
125g caster sugar
125g self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
2 tsp orange juice
2 level tbsp cocoa powder

For the icing
50g unsalted butter
30g cocoa powder, sifted
2 tbsp milk
200g icing sugar, sifted
Decoration
25g white chocolate, melted
white chocolate stars

You will need: Greased 450g loaf tin lined.

Thermomix Method in Italics

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line the tin with a wide strip of non-stick baking parchment to go up the wide sides and over the base.
2. Place the butter,  Stork SB, sugar, flour, baking powder,  pinch of salt, eggs and orange juice into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for two minutes. Spoon half the cake batter into another bowl.
Add the butter, soft tub margarine, sugar, flour, baking powder, pinch of salt, eggs and orange juice to the TM jug 20 Secs/Speed 5. Scrape down 5 Secs/Speed 5. Spoon half the cake mixture into a bowl.
3. Sift the cocoa powder into one half of the mixture and mix until evenly blended.
Sprinkle the cocoa powder over the cake batter in the TM jug - 10 Secs/Speed 5.
4. Spoon the plain and chocolate cake mixtures alternately into the loaf tin. Level the surface, swirl the cake batter gently with a skewer. Bake for approximately 40 minutes until well risen, and starting to shrink away from the sides of the tin.
5. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack, peel off the lining paper and leave to cool.
6. To make the icing, melt the butter in a small pan, add the cocoa powder, stir to blend and cook over a low heat for one minute. Stir in the milk and icing sugar, remove from the heat and mix thoroughly. Spread the cold cake with the icing, blob the melted white chocolate over the top and swirl with a skewer. Decorate with chocolate stars and leave to set.

Leek, Mushroom and Cheese Quiche

Quiche isn't just for the summer, it's fabulous with salad vegetables, home made coleslaw and chunky slices of crusty bread.

I used a mixture of Cheddar and Leicester cheese, I used to live in Leicestershire and so it follows that a piece of Leicester cheese can often be found in my fridge.

The blueprint for the filling is using 2 whole eggs and 300ml of dairy which should be double cream or creme fraiche.  Add to this the extras of your choice and voila you have a delicious quiche.

The pastry recipe is one I came across ages ago from chef Tom Kerridge, it's so easy to make and roll out that once you make this you'll use this as your turn to recipe.

225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
140g cold butter, diced
1 tsp icing sugar
1 egg yolk
3tbsp cold water
For the filling:
1 leek, washed, sliced and chopped
100g mushrooms,sliced
75g Cheddar cheese, grated
75g Leicester Cheese, grated
2 eggs
300ml double cream
freshly ground pepper

You will need: 23cm loose base fluted tin 2.5cm deep

1. Whiz the flour, icing sugar, a pinch of salt and the butter in a food processor. and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 3 tbsp cold water, whiz to form a firm dough. Wrap in cling film and rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
If you have a Thermomix: add everything to the jug and set to 20 secs/speed 5. Check everything is combined.
2. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Roll out the pastry and line the tart tin. Cover with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans. Brush the pastry base with beaten egg and cook for 5-10 minutes more until the tart case is pale.
3. Turn the oven down to 160ºC.
4. Add a knob of butter to a frying pan, add the washed leeks and gently cook until tender. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.
5. Into a clean pan add a knob of butter, add the sliced mushrooms and cook until softened and tender. Remove from the pan.
6. Place a layer of leeks on the pastry base, followed by the grated cheese and sliced mushrooms. Season.
7. Mix the eggs with the double cream and pour over the filling.
8. Place the quiche into the oven and cook for 40 minutes until just set.
9. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

You may also like:
Cheese, Onion and Potato Quiche
Cheese and Onion Quiche
Leek and Gruyere Quiche

Pressure Cooker Cottage Pie

New in the kitchen is an electric pressure cooker!  If you like me bought a stove top pressure cooker years ago and still have nightmares about all that soggy cabbage and worst of all beetroot juices coming from the weights and redecorating the kitchen then to revisit the pressure cooker can be a challenge.

I've made a few recipes now and using a new kitchen gadget can be a little daunting especially when you have memories of old regarding cooking foods under pressure.

An easy recipe of cottage pie is welcoming now the weather has changed and the beef layer took only 12 minutes to cook. I didn't get on too well though cooking the potatoes. I tried cooking them in a bowl but they resisted my attempts, I hadn't got one of those folding stainless steamer trivets so they didn't really stand a chance.  In a last ditch attempt I cooked the potatoes under pressure for 4 minutes but unfortunately if the potatoes are floury they will break up in the water.

A little update: I've just bought a small folding steamer which you sit onto the trivet supplied and the potatoes cooked in 8 minutes, I let the pressure come down naturally.  Perfectly cooked potatoes and ready to mash.  I should have mentioned that the mince beef and vegetables were cooked to perfection.

You can see from the photo that I broke the rules and put warm potato on top of a too runny mince beef layer which hadn't set and when I cooked the pie the potatoes melted into the beef - not great.

Anyway here is the recipe and when made correctly will taste and look amazing!

Note: Never thicken any recipe prior to cooking when using a pressure cooker otherwise it may run out of liquid and burn - always thicken afterwards!

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
750g lean mince beef
300ml beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
seasoning

For the potato topping:
750g potatoes
30g butter
seasoning

1. Finely chop the onion, celery and carrot. Set the pressure cooker to a low or normal saute and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cook the vegetables until the onion becomes translucent and the vegetables begin to soften about 5 minutes.. Add the mince beef breaking it up and cook for 5 minutes to brown, add the tomato puree and cook stirring for a couple more minutes.
2. Add the stock, Worcestershire Sauce, salt and pepper. Place the lid on and cook for 12 minutes. If there is too much liquid thicken with a thickening granules or beef gravy. Pour into a large casserole dish, cool slightly and place in the fridge to set.
3. In a clean pot add 250ml of water. Place the trivet in the pot and top with a stainless steel fold up steamer. Cut the potatoes up into small pieces and pressure cook for 8 minutes and let the steam release naturally. Remove the potatoes from the steamer and place in a large bowl, add the butter and mash until smooth. Season and cool.
4. Place dollops of the cooled potato onto the cooled and set mince mixture and spread out to the edges.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C and cook for 30 minutes until bubbling and brown.

You may also like:
Cottage Pie with Vine Tomatoes
Mince Beef and Stilton Pies
Spicy Mince Beef Bake

Thermomix Light Brown Bread

There's nothing more satisfying than a loaf of home made bread.  On this occasion I used the Thermomix but the dough can easily be made in a bread machine or food mixer.

A flour I recently discovered at the supermarket is Cotswold Crunch which is a blend of strong white flour, malted wheat flakes and malt flour -  I mixed this with white strong flour to ensure the loaf of bread is lovely and light.

The bread bakes and cuts well and is the perfect accompaniment to cheese.

Conventional Method in Italics 

You will need:
350g white strong flour
150g Cotswold Crunch Flour
1 x sachet instant dried yeast
20g soft butter
10g salt
300ml tepid water

1. Tip the flour, instant dried yeast, butter, salt and water into the TM jug.
Place the flour, instant dried yeast, melted butter, salt and water into the bowl of the mixer.
2. Knead 6 minutes until the dough is elastic.
Place the dough hook on and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
3. Leave the dough in the TM jug and let rise for 1 hour until double in size.
Oil a large bowl, add the dough, cover with cling film. Leave for approximately one hour until double in size.
4. Remove the dough from the jug and knock back. Shape into an oval.
5. Place the dough onto a floured tray, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave until double in size.
6. Preheat the Oven to 200°C.
7. Slash the bread three times with a very sharp knife.
8. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

How to Make Thermomix Blueberry Scones

It was about this time last year my thoughts turned to owning a Thermomix TM5. It's a huge eye-watering purchase but one I'm glad I made.  Ten months on I have no regrets, my only thoughts are it's always best to learn basic cooking before investing in a costly machine. I had high expectations when I bought mine and in return that it would exceed my expectations and thankfully I'm now well and truly hooked. I still like to use my other kitchen gadgets and hopefully a new exciting kitchen gadget is on the horizon so watch this space!

Anyway getting back to the scones, and especially blueberry scones which are one of my favourites, there are detailed Thermomix and conventional instructions below.

I rolled out the dough and scattered over the fresh blueberries........

After trying to fold the dough into three with fresh blueberries I think it would be far easier to use frozen fruit and simply poke them into the finished dough!

Now roll out the dough gently and fold again but this time with the fold the opposite way. Cut the dough out into rounds and brush with the remaining egg and buttermilk mixture.

Conventional instructions in Italics

Makes: 8

You will need: A large floured baking tray and 5cm pastry cutter

200g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of cream of tartar
50g salted butter, cubed
15g golden caster sugar
1 large egg
60g buttermilk
100g fresh or frozen blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C.
2. Mix the egg and buttermilk. Reserve a little for glazing the scones.
3. Add all the ingredients except the blueberries and egg/buttermilk mix to the TM jug.
Add the Self Raising Flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, pinch of salt and cubed butter to a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs.
4. TM20 Secs/Knead setting - pour the egg/buttermilk mix into the jug in a steady stream whilst checking to see if the dough has come together.
Stir in the caster sugar.and sultanas. Add most of the egg and buttermilk mix gradually to make a soft sticky dough.
5. Scrape down the TM jug.
6. If the dough hasn't come together now add a little more buttermilk to the jug TM10 Secs/Knead.
7. Remove the dough onto a lightly floured board and shape into a rectangle, don't worry if it's a little sticky the flour should take care of that. Scatter over the fresh blueberries.
8. Fold into three and gently roll out.
9. Now fold into three in the opposite direction.
10.Roll out to 1cm and using a floured 5cm plain round cutter. place onto the prepared tray. Brush the tops with the reserved egg and buttermilk mix.
11. Bake for approximately 12 minutes until well risen and golden.
12. Place the baked scones onto a cooling rack and cover with a clean tea towel.
13. Eat now spread with butter or freeze for later.

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How to make the perfect Thermomix fruit scones