carmelised red onion

is that not possibly the best blog title? because carmelised red onion has to be one of the best things ever. sweet and sticky with an onion tang - excuse me while i wipe up some drool...

so the other weekend when i was looking for baking inspiration, the john whaite recipe for rosemary and carmelised onion fougasse jumped straight out at me. after all it combined those beautiful onions with that other pleasure: bread. the recipe is actually available on his website if you fancy recreating this one yourselves.

in my version i substituted the rosemary for lemon thyme, as i was using this for another recipe so that probably changed the dynamic a bit but nothing major.

so on to those onions...

 

 

 it's times like this i really wish photos could convey smell!

so soft, a beautiful colour and flavoured with balsamic vinegar

it's been a long time since i've made bread, so it was very satisfying to get my hands on some dough and give it a good knead. i forget how therapeutic it can be (especially when envisaged as the person/task that is grating on you...)

 

 

shaping these rolls (although feel that term is a little underwhelming for what they are) was slightly fiddly - i can see that a dough scraper would have come in use here (hello christmas list...). but i persevered with my knife (probably making a load of scratches on my mum's worktop, whoopsie) to get the beautiful leaf shape.

 

the recipe states to spray water in the oven when you place the bread in to bake. having no spray bottle around, besides those containing antibacterial spray, i skipped out this step. which was quite possibly a mistake as the bread was a tad on the dry side - so next time i will do as i am told! i think maybe also they could use a little wash, maybe just a bit of milk? i feel mine just look dull compared to john's!

mine (above) and john's (below - just in case clarification was needed!) - something to work towards!

 

 all concerns over the appearance of the bread were soon forgotten as i tore off chunks and spread butter on them.

the flavour is really great from those slow cooked onions. it's such a great feeling making your own bread and it made monday's packed lunch far more interesting.

let me know if you try and make these yoursevles - i'd love to hear how you get on!

as always, keep up to date with other news and pictures via facebook and twitter.
bread baking red onion fougasse homemade blog
love,
nen
x

workplace treats - rhubard and white chocolate tray bake

working in an office all day, answering the same queries can be a bit draining. therefore baked goods are a perfect way to keep morale up. last week i presented the chocolate and lime tart; this week the chocolate and fruit theme continues with a rhubarb and white chocolate tray bake. once again a john whaite recipe!

tray bakes are just fantastic, so simple to make and put together, great for transport and guaranteed to feed many.

the reaction in the office has been very appreciative - they said the sponge is light and moist (just how i like it). they've all promised they'll be queuing at the door when i open my bakery!

here are photos from the making of the cake:

chopping up the rhubarb

 

 creaming together the butter, sugar and thyme

 mixing up the batter - i did find that when i added the eggs to the butter/sugar mix, it did split a bit, however all was fine once the dry ingredients were added

adding the rhubard and chocolate chips (with a few accidentally falling in my mouth...)

 a lovely gooey, chunky batter ready for the oven

 

 fresh from the oven

this is a really moreish cake - it's so hard not to gobble three slices in one go! i love cake with fruit in, it adds a lovely contrast to the sponge and a fantastic burst of flavour. i'm not convinced of the impact of the thyme, we certainly couldn't pick it out in the office - but i'm sure it's one of those instances where you would notice a difference if it wasn't there! so overall a very successful bake, and definitely one i'll be making again.

coming up next time: another john whaite recipe (i'll branch out soon, promise... maybe...) - this time bread!

love,

nen

x

autumn comforts - apple and blackberry pie

after a lovely drawn out late summer, autumn is firmly upon us. i love this season; i have been far too excited to whip out all my berry and jewel shade dresses, don my boots and prepare for knitwear making a return. crisp walks around the park are great for clearing the head and lungs. and, more pertinently for this blog, baking becomes super comforting.

autumn is all about using the fruits of the season, filling sponges, hearty pies and warming spices. this is comfort food at its best and works wonders to chase away any approaching winter blues.

so when my mum informed me that she had some blackberries that needed using, i did not have to be asked twice to whip up a homely apple and blackberry pie.

ingredients ready to go

with this being a lazy sunday bake, i opted to buy premade pastry because i am impatient and wanted pie!

i used a jamie oliver recipe as a rough guideline - but instead of using stem ginger i used ground ginger and cinnamon (copiously!)

 first job - peeling and chopping all the apples!

melting butter and sugar together, sinfully good

 

 

 the apples are slowly stewed down, with the blackberries being added near the end

 

a lovely pink colour develops as your stir the blackberries through

 

 

 gcse art skills coming in to play...

 and after a while in the oven...

sweet, sweet pie!

this recipe is really easy to follow and do, which is perfect for those times where you just want something tasty as quickly as possible! serve with cream, ice cream or custard (or perhaps an indulgent combo?!) and enjoy after a sunday roast, in front of the fire... perfect!

love,

nen

x

back in business (chocolate lime pie)

having made it through the madness that is final year and secured myself employment, it is with a tentative excitement that i return to my much missed outlet of blogging. now i can only hope that you haven't all completely given up on me!

the unfortunately minimal baking that has been occurring recently has led to a back log of baking books that i have purchased but never used! (other than to drool over of course) so i thought this would be a good place to start - and where better than with my beloved john whaite? his second offering is John Whaite Bakes At Home and follows a similar style to the first book, very matte and minimal.

i was lucky enough to meet john when he came to a book signing at exeter. my poor friend april was somewhat embarrassed to be in the shop with me as i promptly freaked out! but i managed to pull myself together and we had a lovely little chat about the perils of final year and the bad luck to have a birthday around exam time. (i was celebrating my fake birthday that day due to my actual birthday falling in the easter holidays, aka dissertation/exam lock down time)

i one day aspire to have such beautiful writing!

so, fan girling aside, i settled on the chocolate and lime pie as a simple recipe which looked perfect to ease myself back in. so many recipes now take up two pages or more, and i mostly far too lazy to deal with that! 

the recipe begins with a buttery biscuit base...

sorry, it just has to be done

 

the recipe says to use a food processor, but bashing biscuits with a rolling pin is infinitely more satifying! 

 

 

 

once the base has chilled, it's on to making the filling which is also super simple - just how i like it!

 

i find mini graters (i think i got mine from a hot chocolate gift set) ideal for grating citrus fruits, especially smaller limes, as you have more control and i feel there is less wastage 

perhaps not the most visually appealing mix? 

for baking the pie, i found the instructions were not quite right for my oven. the recipe suggests 20-25 minutes at 180° until the pie trembles, however i found that mine was quite rapidly bubbling away! so i turned the oven right down and left it in for a further ten minutes. at this point it seemed much more solid.

a great test of patience then occurs as the pie has to completely cool and then set in the fridge (never something you want to read in a recipe!)

 

 so it turns out getting this pie out of the tin is not the easiest thing ever! the biscuit base is very crumbly and delicate, hence the crumb explosion all over the work top

 low marks for presentation - the delicate nature of the base meant getting the bottom of the tin from under the pie was not going to happen

definitely not a thing of beauty but rustic chic is very in...

taste wise i'm a bit on the fence with this bake - the lime taste is very strong and overpowers the chocolate (especially as this is almost 'diluted' coming through a biscuit) so maybe i would include one less lime? the crust was definitely the best part, because of the better balance between filling and base. but definitely not a write off and an interesting experiment with different ingredients! the filling is very similar in texture to a cheesecake, which - as with a cheesecake - works well contrasted against the biscuit base.

well there we go, i'm back in business and hoping to get a weekly bake going to distract from the tedium of 9-5!

love,

nen

x