Tag Archives: baking

Snippets

Almond Rye Shortbread

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Decided to do a bit of baking today. Made some breads (Almonds & Laphroaig, Walnut) and some partially improvised shortbread. The recipe for Almond Rye Shortbread I noticed on the back of a Doves Farm Rye Flour bag (but it’s also available online). As you might notice from the picture I didn’t follow it strictly (partly out of necessity, as I didn’t have any ground almonds, only chopped almonds). Anyway, this is how my end result looks:

Picture of three pieces of Almond Rye Shortbread
Almond Rye Shortbread

Here are the ingredients I used:

  • 125g butter
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 125g Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Rye Flour
  • 125g chopped almonds (the original recipe is for ground almonds)

And this is how I made it:

  • Preheat oven to 150°C (fan assisted)
  • MIx butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy
  • Mix in flour and chopped almonds
  • Gather it all together into a firm ball of dough
  • Roll dough into a cylinder shape and chill (I actually put mine into the freezer for 30-45 minutes or so)
  • Slice into round biscuit shapes
  • Place on baking rack lined with non-stick baking paper
  • Bake at 150°C (fan assisted) for about 40 minutes

Turned out very nice, taste very nice. The chopped almonds make them quite crunchy. I’ll also make them with ground almonds once I’ve been shopping and bought some ground almonds. I expect they will be a bit smoother then. Either way, I think both ways will be great, I’m happy I tried out the recipe and am sure I will make them again.

Pictures, Snippets, Thoughts

Blueberry & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins

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As promised yesterday, today I made the third batch/version of muffins. After the Cherries & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins and the Dark Chocolate & Almond Muffins it was time for Blueberries and Dark Chocolate Chips today.

Picture of Blueberry & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins (before baking)
Blueberry & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins (before)

The ingredients were essentially the same as for the Cherries & Dark Chocolate ones, replacing the cherries with blueberries:

  • 250g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 150g fresh blueberries, washed
  • 200g dark (70%) chocolate chips
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 150ml pot natural yoghurt
  • 100g butter, melted

Making them was also very similar:

  • Preheat oven to fan assisted 180°C, (200°C, gas 6)
  • paper cases in 12 hole muffin tin
  • sift flour and bicarbonate of soda into large bowl, stir in chocolate and sugar
  • beat eggs, add yoghurt, then molten butter. Add this mixture to the flour etc
  • add in the washed blueberries
  • stir to combine, but do not “overmix” (it’s fine if it’s a bit lumpy. Apparently if you “overmix” the muffins will turn out tough)
  • fill the mixture into the papercases and then bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown

Same as before the whole process took just over an hour. Again some will go into the freezer, some will be eaten over the next few days. And one I’ve eaten just now while writing this. Tasted very nice.

Picture of Blueberry & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins (after baking)
Blueberry & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins (after)

I’ll take a break from them now, I’ve got enough in the freezer for a while. But I’m sure I’ll be making some again. For now I’ve got two breads in the oven, baking away.

Pictures, Snippets, Thoughts

Dark Chocolate and Almond Muffins

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Following on from the Cherry and Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins from last weekend I decided to bake some more. This time I decided to improvise a bit to make some Dark Chocolate and Almond Muffins. I actually made them on Thursday, but only get round to write it up today.

Picture of Dark Chocolate and Almond Muffins in a muffin tray
Dark Chocolate and Almond Muffins (1)

Still based on the other recipe I replaced several of the ingredients, here’s what I used:

  • 250g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 150g chopped almonds
  • 150g dark (70%) chocolate chips
  • 50g fine dark cocoa powder (100% cocoa solids)
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • approx 17ml Moroccan Almond Extract
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 150ml pot natural yoghurt
  • 100g butter, melted

And making them followed pretty much the same process again:

  • Preheat oven to fan assisted 180°C, (200°C, gas 6)
  • paper cases in 12 hole muffin tin
  • sift flour and bicarbonate of soda into large bowl, stir in almonds, chocolate chips, cocoa powder and sugar
  • beat eggs, add yoghurt, then molten butter and almond extract. Add this mixture to the flour etc
  • stir to combine, but do not “overmix” (it’s fine if it’s a bit lumpy. Apparently if you “overmix” the muffins will turn out tough)
  • fill the mixture into the papercases and then bake for 20-25 minutes until risen

Same as before, took just over half an hour to make. I think they turned out very nice, although I have to say they are quite heavy. The chocolate and almonds are a nice combination I think, really like it.

Picture of Dark Chocolate and Almond Muffins on a rack
Dark Chocolate and Almond Muffins (2)

Some I put into the freezer for later, some I took into the office for Friday afternoon refreshments, some I’m eating this weekend. And if everything goes to plan I’ll make some Blueberry and Dark Chocolate Chips muffins on Sunday.

Pictures, Snippets, Thoughts

Cherry & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Not sure why, but I decided I needed to do something different again (although I have made muffins before, but for some reason haven’t made any for quite some time). And for some reason I felt like Cherry & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins. So I made some yesterday.

Picture of Cherry & Chocolate Chip Muffins still a in baking tray
Cherry & Chocolate Chip Muffins in tray

Here’s what I used:

  • 250g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 150g dried cherries (the original recipe had 140g, but they came in 75g packs, so I decided to just use them all)
  • 200g dark (70%) chocolate chips (the original recipe had 100g each of dark and white chocolate, but I don’t like white chocolate)
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 150ml pot natural yoghurt
  • 100g butter, melted

Here’s how I made them:

  • Preheat oven to fan assisted 180°C, (200°C, gas 6)
  • paper cases in 12 hole muffin tin
  • sift flour and bicarbonate of soda into large bowl, stir in cherries, chocolate and sugar
  • beat eggs, add yoghurt, then molten butter. Add this mixture to the flour etc
  • stir to combine, but do not “overmix” (it’s fine if it’s a bit lumpy. Apparently if you “overmix” the muffins will turn out tough)
  • fill the mixture into the papercases and then bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown

That’s all. In total took just over half an hour. Put some in a freezer bag for deep freezing, according to the interwebs they should be good for 1-2 months.

Picture of Cherry & Chocolate Chip Muffins on a kitchen worktop
Cherry & Chocolate Chip Muffins on kitchen worktop

I think they taste nice, the cherries and the chocolate go well together. I think next I’ll try the same recipe with blueberries.

Snippets, Thoughts

Hemp, Cashews and Almond bread

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Another weekend, another baking experiment. Having made a few walnut breads in recent months I wanted to make something different. I came across a bag of cashew nuts which I had originally bought for snacking, but now decided to try them in a bread. I also had a bag of whole almonds (again originally bought for snacking) which I decided to use instead of the chopped almonds I usually use. And I remembered some Khorasan flour I had bought when the Spelt flour I usually use was sold out, so I decided to add that into the mix.

  • (1) dough for Hemp Cashews Almond bread
    (1) dough for Hemp Cashews Almond bread
  • (2) Hemp Cashews Almond bread fresh out of the oven
    (2) Hemp Cashews Almond bread fresh out of the oven
  • (3) Fresh Hemp Cashews Almond bread
    (3) Fresh Hemp Cashews Almond bread
  • (4) Cut Hemp Cashews Almond bread
    (4) Cut Hemp Cashews Almond bread

The ingredients I used:

  • 150g strong stoneground wholemeal bread flour
  • 150g strong white bread flour
  • 150g Khorasan flour
  • 100g hemp seed hearts
  • 100g cashew nuts (whole)
  • 100g almonds (whole)
  • ~10g fast action bread yeast
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • just over 1/2 pint warm water

Mix, knead, let rise as appropriate, then bake at 220ºC (fan assisted oven) for just over 35 minutes.

Turned out very nice, soft but firm dough with a nice crust. The whole Cashews and Almonds make it crunchy. Mild nutty taste from the Hemp and the nuts. Will be on my list to make again.