great british bake off

Cooking With Christie: Gingerbread

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Inspiration: Once again, wandering down the aisles of one of my favorite independent grocery stores, I spied an endcap displaying this book, along with the ingredients for gingerbread. Encouraged by my husband, as I loved the gingerbread pub on the cover and love cookbooks that list the weight of the ingredients in grams, I set it in our cart.

Only when I got home and really started reading it did I figure out the book was penned by one of my all-time favorite bakers on Great British Bake Off — Helena Garcia!

BTW: If you love spice forward bakes like gingerbread, I would highly picking up this cook book! Not only are the recipes excellent, Helena Garcia’s does a great job incorporating a Halloween vibe into winter holiday bakes!

Happy, I started whipping up her Basic Gingerbread Dough. (Though because I was making these cookies for people who do not appreciate Halloween with the same intensity that either Helena Garcia or I do, I stuck with basic holiday shapes.)

And they turned out great! Paired with the caramels and brigadeiros (which I will talk about next week), we got a nice set of sweet treats to hand out to neighbors and coworkers during the holidays!

Christie: Obviously, I can see any of Christie’s intrepid investigators enjoying a bit of gingerbread over the winter holidays!

Cooking With Christie: My Nemesis 

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This Week’s Recipe: Orange & Earl Grey Madeleines

Inspiration: Do you have a bake you’ve tried and tried — but it never turns out as it should? Well, if you haven’t, you’re one lucky duck! 

In my case, my nemesis is madeleines. 

No matter how many times I tried, I just could never make them turn out. Sometimes, they didn’t rise correctly; other times, they turned out tough as old boots, and on more than one occasion, I singed them….Yet, I persevered. 

Why? Because I love those tiny little cakes!

Then I found this recipe by Think Fruitful and the Great British Bake Off set them as a challenge….and between these two sources and finding a pan that worked for me, I FINALLY made a successful batch after several years of trying! 

Were they perfect? No. Were they good enough? Yes.

Over the last several years, I’ve gotten better at baking these tricky little treats, but I’ve still, on occasion, failed. So, let me tell you about the DREAD that filled my heart when one of my husband’s coworkers humbly requested Earl Grey Madeleines for her birthday…..Not only because these tasty tidbits and I share a complicated history — but also because I’ve never really managed to get a tea to infuse its full flavor into a bake. 

Despite all this, I decided to give them a go.

Eschewing all other recipes for the singular one that works for me, I adapted the Birthday Cake Madeleine recipe. First, I swapped out the vanilla and almond extracts for Earl Grey tea and the zest of one medium sized orange. The orange zest, plays well with the bergamot in the tea and adds an extra layer of flavor. (Plus, I still was not confident I could get a strong tea flavor into the cakes.) 

Second, I cut open six tea bags and steeped the leaves directly in the butter for one minute whilst the butter was over the heat, then another five after I took it off the stove. Next, I strained the tea leaves through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. Finally, I remeasured the butter and added a few grams back in — as not all of the butter made it through the transfer. 

And….drumroll, please…..they turned out magnificent!

To make them extra special, I dipped them in 64% dark chocolate chocolate and sprinkled some pearlescent nonpareils onto the chocolate while it was still melty. The nonpareils added a bit of texture, whilst the 64% dark Madagascar chocolate, which the producers blended to have some citrusy notes, added a bit more texture and added yet another layer of flavor to the cake!

Christie: I finally made something I think Poirot would eat! Not only did these Madeleines taste great, they actually looked pretty as well!

Huzza!

Cooking With Christie!

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This Week’s Recipe: Rye Sandwich Bread

So in a quest to master my new mixer, I tried my hand at rye bread, with mixed results.

Flavor-wise it was great, but the texture…was a tad disappointing. As I forgot, rye’s a much stickier dough, so I ended up adding too much flour.

This is the book where I found the recipe!

Now for once, other than over-adding by a smidge, I followed the recipe to the letter (shocking, I know). So, to keep my reputation of fiddling up to snuff, the next time I make this bread, I’m going to use bread flour in place of the all-purpose flour the recipe calls for and blackstrap molasses instead of the ordinary stuff….and perhaps add an extra dash of caraway seeds…

Christie: I think Hercule Poirot would enjoy rye sandwich bread. Especially if supporting a pretty and tasty open-faced sandwich called Smorrebrod – I learned about thanks to The Great British Bake Off series nine! (Here’s the link to what I’m talking about.)

Cooking With Christie: Duivekater

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Cooking With Christie!

This Week’s Recipe: Duivekater

So I was flipping thru my baking books and ran across this gem. I mean who wouldn’t want to bake a loaf of bread that’s supposed to resemble a shin bone (in lieu of real of sacrificing an animal) to protect against the devil during the holidays!

This is my very first attempt at baking this loaf, and it turned out ok. (I need a better pastry brush to paint it with egg so the shine is even.) In any case, it’s a tasty loaf that lends itself to french toast due to the spices flavoring it.

DO NOT put it in the toaster.

Ask me how I know.

Due to the amount of sugar (and I suspect the egg wash due to the char marks) even on the lowest toaster setting – the slice turns into a charcoal briquette…quickly.

Here’s the book that supplied me with the recipe:

Christie: I can see Poirot enjoying a slice of this bread. (If created by a defter hand than my own.) The hint of lemon, spices and slightly macabre I think would appeal to the Belgian.