Pizookie!

Hey Guys,

So, I'm back to puddings and this one is no exception to being highly calorific and delicious!
Pizookie... Ever heard of it before? It's basically a pizza-cookie, a cookie the size of a pizza! The inside is molten, (though it can be cooked for 5 minutes longer, so it's slightly more set), and this version should be served with vanilla ice cream straight out the oven.

The recipe I've provided is plain and simple chocolate and vanilla, but you can try it with other flavours as well. For example, salted caramel pizookie is amazing and one of my friends has made pizookie with marshmallows and chocolate before! Making it is really easy and only takes 45 minutes to make and bake. The recipe says to use an oven-proof frying pan, but a shallow cake tin is fine. It also says to eat it straight out the pan with ice cream! Pizookie is an amazing centerpiece on a table and it tastes great too!

Pizookie - From "Waitrose Magazine, Issue 66, Semptember 2015 Edition"

Serves 10-12

Making Time - 15 minutes
Baking Time - 30 minutes

Ingredients -

• 125g Salted Butter, at room temperature
• 150g Light Soft Sugar
• 100g Golden Caster Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
• 200g Plain Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 250g Plain Chocolate, broken chunks

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/gas mark 4. Put the butter and sugars in a bowl and using an electric beaters, beat for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Tip into the butter mixture, beat until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chunks. Tip into a 20cm ovenproof frying pan (or shallow baking tin) and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden (25 minutes yields a molten centre, 30 minutes will be slightly more set).

3. Cool for 5 minutes, then top with vanilla ice cream before serving, if liked.

Please enjoy!!

Mushroom and Butternut Dhal

Hey Guys,

So after many recipes of sweets puddings and snacks, it was about time to write something savory, that can be made as an actual meal on this blog!
This is actually really nice and relatively simple to make, as long as you don't mind cutting up masses of onions, mushrooms and butternuts squash, but don't be put off! It serves four and is actually extremely healthy, as it's vegetarian and two of your five a day.

To make it particularly special and different to other dhal, this one has a poached egg on top of it per person, though with this removed it can make a delicious vegan dinner as well. If you want, instead of using butternut squash it's also possible to use a tasty substitute of pumpkin of sweet potato.
The spices from the curry paste tasted amazing with the red lentils and tomatoes, and for anyone who prefers their meal a little spicier or a bit less hot, it can be adjusted to taste by changing the amount of Keralan Curry Paste. It may take a while for the sauce to thicken, but have patience... It will all come together at the end wonderfully!

Serve this with some bread; like a naan maybe! Once again, I'm not entirely sure where this came from, as it's one of my clippings, though I'm sure it's from a Waitrose magazine!

Mushroom and Butternut Dhal With Poached Eggs - From a Waitrose Magazine

Prepare Time - 10 minutes
Cook Time - 25 Minutes

Ingredients -

• 1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
• 1 Large Onion, thinly sliced
• 300g Chestnut Mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 Small Butternut Squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
• 3-4 Tsp Karalan Curry Paste
• 6 Vine Tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 125g Red Split Lentils, washed
• 4 Medium Egg
• 28g Pack Fresh Coriander, leaves chopped

1. Heat the oil in a wide, shallow saucepan or sauté pan. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes until nicely browned.

2. Add squash, curry paste, tomatoes, lentils and 300ml water. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and the sauce has thickened.

3. Crack each egg onto the surface of the curry, replace the lid and cook over a low heat for 3-5 minutes until just set. Scatter with chopped coriander to serve.

Please enjoy!!!

Bagels

Hey Guys,

So, Bagels this week... And wow, it's surprisingly hard to make bagels as well; to get the glossy crust and chewy dough that is so typical of it, the bagel has to be boiled briefly before baking above a water bath.
On top of the bagels are poppy seeds, though a variety of other toppings can be used, such as sesame, pumpkin, caraway or fennel seeds amongst others. Bagels can have a huge range of flavourings as well, incorporated into the dough like onion, garlic and salt or sweeter flavours such as blueberry and chocolate. The variety of fillings is also massive; though the most popular is the bagel being done "New York Style", cream cheese and salmon, with a little red onion, lemon and black pepper.

Though typically the bagel is linked to New York, it is actually thought that the bagel is originally from Poland in the 17th Century, before it was bought to America by Jewish immigrants in the 1880's where they sold them in bakeries on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The word bagel even comes from the Yiddish word "Begyl".
The center hole in the bagel, which distinguishes them from other buns, was to allow them to be strung up and therefore, more easily transported.

These twice cooked breads are slow risen so if you do intend to make these, start early in the day. Also, once you are at the boiling stage, be very careful with adding each ingredient to the poaching liquid. The bicarbonate of soda and salt will react in the water by frothing up. The first time I made these, the poaching liquid actually frothed over and out of the saucepan, and onto the hob.
This recipe is from the same magazine that my previous blog update recipe was from.

Bagels - From A Waitrose Magazine

Makes 8

Making Time - 35mins, plus resting, proving and cooling time
Cooking Time - 25mins

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Malt Extract (Or Honey)
• 500g Strong White Bread Flour
• 1 Tsp Easy Bake Yeast
• 2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Egg, lightly beaten
• Vegetable Oil, for greasing
• 1 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

Poaching Liquid

• 1 Tbsp Malt Extract (Or Honey)
• 1 Tbsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1 Tsp Salt

1. Stir the malt extract (or honey) into 250ml hot (but not boiling) water. Mix the flour, yest and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the malt water and 1/2 of the egg. Mix to a firm (but not dry) dough, rest for 5 minutes, then knead by hand for 10 minutes (or 5 minutes in a free-standing mixer). Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours.

2. Line a large baking sheet with lightly oiled baking parchment. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (roughly 100g each). Roll each into a smooth ball, turning in your hands and tucking the edges under. Press your thumb directly through the centre to make a hole, then roll between your fingers (or against the work surface) to create a ring with a 2-3cm hole in the middle. Place on the tray, smoother-side up and repeat with the remaining dough. Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise for 30-40 minutes, until slightly puffed up.

3. Preheat the oven to 240 degrees centigrade/gas mark 8; set a wire rack on the middle shelf and put on a large roasting tin on the base of the oven. For the poaching liquid, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, lower to a simmer and, one at a time, stir in the malt extract (or honey), bicarbonate of soda and salt (be careful as it will foam up).

4. Two or three at a time (depending on the size of your pan), gently lower the bagels into the simmering poaching liquid. Poach for 3 minutes, turning halfway through, then remove using a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack. Brush the tops lightly with the remaining egg and sprinkle with the seeds, then transfer back to the lined baking sheet.

5. Once all the bagels have been poached, put the tray on the middle shelf of the oven and fill the bottom roasting tin with just-boiled water to create steam. Immediately lower the heat to 190 degrees centigrade/gas mark 5, and bake for 15 minutes. (You may find it easier to poach and bake the bagels in two batches of four.) Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before serving.

Please Enjoy!!!

CINNAMON DOUGHNUTS!!!

Hey Guys,

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I have been busy making CINNAMON DOUGHNUTS!!! And doing other things as well...
Anyway, I though it was about time that you should find out what my favourite food is, which, of course, is the namesake of this blog! Out of all the doughnuts that I've ever made (and eaten!), this recipe has always given the best results. Though they are quite difficult the end product is definitely worth the time that was put into it!

It was unsurprising how quickly they were all finished off! I suppose you could say that these doughnuts are a little more special than the average doughnut; the dough is flavoured with cinnamon and it has two fillings instead of one, a vanilla custard and a maple apple compote. All the flavours compliment each other really well to make it very moreish.
Whilst making the doughnuts, though some people use a deep fat fryer to fry theirs, like me, it is possible to use a heavy based saucepan instead, though its more dangerous as the hot oil can spit out and also less precise as you'd have to use a thermometer to judge the temperature of the oil, so its hot enough to cook the doughnuts perfectly.

If you do decide to make them, I really hope that you enjoy them as much as me and my family did and if you don't maybe recommend them to someone else who you think would enjoy them.
This recipe is stuck in my recipe binder, so I'm not sure which magazine I got this from, though I'm sure it's from a Waitrose magazine.

Maple Apple and Cinnamon Doughnuts - From a Waitrose Magazine

Makes - 12-14

Making Time - 50mins (plus rising, proving and chilling)
Baking Time - 1hr

Dough

• 300ml Whole Milk
• 75g Unsalted Butter
• 500g Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 Tsp Easy Bake Yeast
• 250g Caster Sugar
• 1Tsp Salt
• 1Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Whole Egg and 1 Egg Yolk, lightly beaten
• About 1 Litre Vegetable Oil, for frying, plus extra for greasing

Custard Filling

• 1 Tsp Cornflour
• 200ml Vanilla Cornflour

Maple Apple Filling

• 15g Unsalted Butter
• 1 Bramley Apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
• 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1. Put the milk and butter in a saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted; cool for 5 minutes. Mix the flour, yeast, 100g sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs and warm milk mixture and mix together to form a soft dough. Knead in a freestanding mixer with a dough hook attachment for 5 minutes (or on a lightly floured surface with floured hands for 10 minutes). Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave for 1 hour to rise.

2. Meanwhile, thicken the custard. Mix the cornflour with 1 Tbsp water, then tip into a small saucepan with the custard. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Transfer to a bowl; cover the surface, cover with clingfilm. Cool, then chill.

3. For the apple filling, heat the butter in a pan until foaming. Add the apple and 1 Tbsp maple syrup and simmer gently, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes, or until completely soft. Mash and set aside to cool.

4. Knock back the dough on a slightly floured surface and roll out to about 2cm thick. Using a 7cm cookie cutter, stamp out as many circles as possible and place on a parchment-lined baking tray. Re-roll any scraps to stamp out more. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 45 minutes.

5, Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based saucepan or a deep-fat fryer to 180 degrees centigrade. One or 2 at a time (depending on a pan's size) fry the doughnuts for 5-6 minutes, turning regularly, until puffed and deep golden (they may look quite dark). Lift out with a slotted spoon; drain on kitchen paper. Once cool enough to handle, toss them in the remaining 150g caster sugar; cool on a wire rack.

6. Stir the remaining 1 Tbsp maple syrup into the apple, then spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle. Put the custard into another piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Use a small, sharp knife to make a cut through the side of 1 doughnut. Insert the handle of a teaspoon into the cut and move it around to create as much space as possible. Fill with a good squeeze of apple, then one of custard. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.

Please enjoy!!!