Recipes: Cornflake Tart

When people talk about the 80's I still think it was only about 10 years ago, and don't even get me started on the 90's.  It seems like only yesterday I was whizzing around on a little skateboard, pretending to be Marty McFly. Where does the time go?  One of the memories I hold dearest was going to school, I went to primary school in Sunderland and boy was it a beautiful building. A huge red brick Victorian number which still had the segregated boys and girls entrances, though we didn't use them.  I'm not that old.  Sadly it was pulled down to make way for a new modern school, a travesty if you ask me.  

One of my favourite things about school was the school dinners, well the desserts more than the dinners. You can't really look back on liver and onions with much fondness.  The anticipation as we entered the dining hall was always high. Would there be any strawberry milk left, what sweet treats awaited our eager selves or would we be stuck with a crappy portion of spotted dick?  There was one pudding that we always crossed our fingers for, the magestic cornflake tart. Always served in squares cut from a huge silver tray and drenched in thick creamy custard, it was the king of the school dinner. 

I completely forgot about this childhood treat until a few weeks ago my bestie brought up the subject of school dinners at work. We started discussing our favourite meals with childish nostalgia, and the ones that left a bad taste in our mouth. There was one thing we both agreed on, cornflake tart was the best.  Somehow she convinced me to whip one up and bring it into work for us to enjoy over a cup of tea, I mean it didn't really take much persuarion if I'm honest. I went home and made it that very night. What a great friend I am!

If, like me, you look back on this tart with fondness, or if you've never had it. Maybe you were a packed lunch kid? I can highly recommend reliving a little bit of your childhood and spending an afternoon in the kitchen recreating a little bit of your school days. 

Cornflake Tart

Ingredients:

• For the pastry :
• 125g plain flour
• 50g ground almonds
• 100g butter, cold from the fridge and cut into cubes
• 25g caster sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 small lemon, zested


• For the tart :
• 75g butter
• 150g golden syrup
• 50g caster sugar
• pinch salt
• 150g cornflakes
• 25g desicated coconut
• 100g good quality raspberry jam

Cooking Directions:

1. To make the pastry, put the flour, ground almonds and salt into the bowl of a food processor, sprinkle in the butter and pulse until you get a breadbrumb like consistency. Add in the sugar, lemon and the egg yolk and pulse again until the pastry comes together in a ball. If it isn't quite coming together add a tsp of cold water until you realy the right consistency.
2. Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured workbench and bring it together into a flat disc. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1hr minimum or up to 12hrs.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured work surface to about 3mm thick. Line a 23cm tart tin with the pastry, trim any excess, prick the base with a fork and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Line your chilled pastry base with greasproof paper and fill with baking beans. Blind bake the case for 20 minutes, remove the paper and beans and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool.
5. For the filling combine the butter, syrup, sugar and salt in a saucepan set over a lowheat and melt, stirring slowly. Remove from the heat, then tip in the cornflakes and coconut and mix in gently ensuring to give everything a good coating of syrup.
6. Spread the raspberry jam over the bottom of the cooked pastry case and top with the cornflake mixture. Pop back into the oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving warm with lashings of vanilla custard.

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Lemon Meringue Pie - Revisited

Recently, on Facebook, I was asked to share the very first post I wrote for my blog. It was for a blogging group I'm part of and it was such fun to see how much everyone has changed over the years, especially me. Dark images taken at night on my little point and click digital camera, I truely had no clue. I bet you're desperate to see it, well here you go, Lemon Meringue Pie. My favorite dessert in the whole world and the very first recipe posted on this here blog.

When I looked back on this sad excuse for food blogging a thought hit me, I haven't made a lemon meringue pie since that day back in 2008! That is something I had to rectify immediatly.  One thing hasn't changed, I still prefer a buttery biscuit base, but this time I went for gingersnaps rather than digestives. The ginger crust is just the perfect acompanyment to the zingy lemon custard.

This recipe is addapted from Gorgeous Cakes, which is one of the very first baking books I ever bought and one I still refer back to today.

Lemon Meringue Pie with a Gingersnap Crust

Ingredients

• For the crust:
• 250g gingersnap biscuits
• 110g unsalted butter, melted


• For the topping:
• Zest and juce of 4 lemons
• 1 tin of condensed milk
• 4 large, free range eggs seperated
• 110g caster sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Whizz the biscuits in a food processor untill finely chopped. Put the crumbs in a bowl, add melted butter and mix until the crumbs are evenly coated with the butter. Press the mixture into a 20cm tart tin with a removable base. Start with the sides then move onto the base, using your fingers to press the mixture down.
2. Preheat the oven to 170C. Before juicing the lemons roll them on the counter to release as much juice as possible. Combine the zest and juice with the condensed milk in a bowl, whisking till you have a smooth cream. Now, whisk in the egg yolks and pour onto the biscuit base.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk the egg whites until they rise to a froth. Sprinkle over the sugar 1tbsp at a time, whisking well with each addition until you have a stiff and glossy meringue.
4. Mound the meringue mixture on top of the lemon cream, taking it to the edge of the tin. bake for around 30 minutes or until the surface of the meringue is lightly golden and crusty, and the custard set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before removing it from the tin.
5. The pie is best eaten on the day it is baked. 

Of course, if you decide to give this a go please do tag me in your instagram posts, I'd love to see. I'm over at Katie_Petlamb.

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Salty Honey Pie

When I visited New York earlier this year I made a big, no huge, list of places I wanted to eat.  You know, important things first.  One of the spots on my extensive foodie inventory was Four and Twenty Blackbirds pie shop in Brooklyn.  I've always wanted to visit a pie shop after falling in love with the Pie Hole in Pushing Daisies, so I was beyond thrilled to find this little beauty.  Doubly so when I discovered it was across the road from The Morbid Anatomy Museum, one of the big stops of our trip.

While indulging in copious amounts of pie I also managed to pick up a copy of the Four and Twenty cookbook, you know, so I could continue to indulge my greedy little face back home.  I decided to take it for a spin recently and just had to make their crowning glory, the salty honey pie.

This pie, ahh man, it's a sweet tooth's dream come true.  Deliciously sweet custard topped with a sprinkle of crunchy salt, it's just perfect.  Irresistible almost!

I've made this pie twice now, the first time I was feeling a little lazy and used shop bought pastry. Boo hiss.  It was a total failure, if you do decide to make this pie I implore you to make your own crust.  You won't be sorry!

Salty Honey Pie

Recipe by Four & Twenty Blackbirds Cookbook

Ingredients

For the crust :
• 120g unsalted butter, cubed
• 360g plain flour
• 2tsp caster sugar
• 80ml buttermilk
• 1/2tsp salt
For the filling :
• 120g unsalted butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 1tbsp polenta
• 2tsp vanilla extract
• 250g honey
• 3 large, free range eggs
• 120ml double cream
• 2tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 - 2tsp flaked salt

Cooking Directions

1. First of all make the crust. Put the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl blend together with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk and stir until the mixture forms a ball. (If the mixture is too crumbly, add cold water as needed to bring it together.) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
2. Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s around 11" round, big enough to overlap your pie dish. Transfer the dough to a 9" pie dish, fold any overlap under itself and crimp the edges*. Cover with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
3. Heat the oven to 175°C. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Combine the melted butter, sugar, polenta and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Whisk in the honey, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the cream and vinegar and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the filling into the chilled pie crust and bake until the top and edge of the pie are golden brown and the center of the pie is jiggly but no longer liquid, 45 to 55 minutes. Allow to set for a few hours and serve at room temperature sprinkled with flaked salt. 

 *How to crimp a pie crust

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Salted Caramel Chocolate Tort

This is not a desert for the faint hearted, this is a tort for the major leagues!  This is an 'I just got dumped, where's the chocolate' tort, an 'I deserved that promotion more than her' kinda pie or, maybe even a 'I can't believe you made that!' ending to a dinner party.  This will inspire a chorus of oooohs and ahhs and will result in your friends begging you for the recipe. But you'll never tell, for then they'll see how unbelievably simple this tort is.  This one is between you and me, and nobody else!

When my lovely sister in law requested a cheesecake for her birthday celebrations I knew what she really had in mind. Something decedent, something rich and luxurious. A simple cheesecake just wasn't going to cut the mustard, enter salted caramel, the daddy of luxury deserts.

Now this is one rich s.o.b so cut it in slivers and don't say I didn't warn you.  And don't worry, I'll take the calorie content to the grave, brownies honor!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Tort

(adapted from BBC Good Food)

Ingredients:

200g digestive biscuits

100g melted salted butter

1 jar dulce de leche

1 tsp sea salt , plus extra to serve

300g quality plain chocolate (70% solids), broken into chunks

600ml tub double cream

25g icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

chocolate truffles to decorate

Method: 

Line the base and sides of a deep, round 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment. 

Crush the biscuits in a food processor or bowl with the end of a rolling pin. Stir into the melted butter, then evenly press into the bottom of the tin. Chill for 10 mins. 

Reserve 2 tbsp of the dulce de leche in a small bowl and add 2tbsp of the double cream, cover and place in the fridge until ready to decorate . Stir the sea salt into the remainder of the dulce de leche and spoon into the centre of the biscuit base. Gently spread so the base is evenly covered but a visible 1-2cm border of biscuit remains around the edge. Chill for 20 mins while you make the chocolate layer. 

Gently melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.  Once the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat but leave the bowl where it is, and gradually stir in the remaining cream until you have a smooth, shiny, thick chocolate sauce. Sift in the icing sugar and stir in with the vanilla extract. Lift off the heat and let the mixture cool for 10 mins. 

Ladle or pour the chocolate mixture around the edge of the torte first, so it fills the biscuit border, sealing the caramel in the centre. Then ladle or pour in the rest and gently shake to smooth the surface. Chill for at least 5 hrs or up to 24 hours until firm. 

Remove the torte from the tin, then carefully peel off the strip of paper and transfer to a serving plate. Dot the chocolates on top. Spoon the reserved dulce de leche mixture into a piping bag with a thin nozzel or freezer bag. Snip off the tiniest tip of the corner to make a very small opening, then squiggle lines of caramel over the top. Chill until ready to serve. Scatter with a pinch or two of sea salt before serving, then thinly slice.

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Baking Mad - Key Lime Pie

I'm sure you all ready know I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I have to admit I have a real weakness for super sweet fruity pies! If you were to ask me my top three favorite desserts I'd have to reply, with no hesitation, banoffee pie, lemon meringue pie and key lime pie.  I see any of these babies on a menu and I just have to have it, maybe even all three if I'm feeling saucy!  A few years ago, a few friends and I were planning a trip to Florida.  In the interest of fairness we created a list allowing each person to choose two things they really want to do while there.  As you can imagine there was a lot of "go to Harry Potter World", "ghost hunting in St Augustine Lighthouse" and "feed the gators", my choice was to eat a key lime pie in an awesome diner as close to the Florida Keys as we could possibly get.  I got my wish, and Miami, you gave me the best key lime pie of my life. Until now...

I was recently asked by the lovely team behind the sauciest baker in the land Eric Lanlards Baking Mad to try out one of the recipes from the show.  When I saw my beloved key lime pie on the list I knew I just had to accept.  A few days later a big box of ingredients arrived at my door, I kindly relieved my friendly postman of the heavy sugar laden package and headed to the kitchen, zester and juicer in sight.  Man alive is this a good key lime pie!  The crust is so delicate without being overly crumbly while the filling was so light it could have floated away in a light breeze.  I was in heaven!

Wanna try this superb pie out for yourself? Well set your Sky + box to stun and get recording the wonderful Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard every weekday from March 5th at 12.05pm.

Please excuse the dark images, the light had gone by the time the pie had finished chilling and the thought of leaving it alone in the fridge, overnight, simply did not register.
*rubs tummy*

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A Recipe For Love

With Valentines Day fast approaching I've found myself in a bit of a tizzy.  So much to do with so little time to do it, running two businesses while trying to maintain a blog and a social life can be quite the task sometimes.  When I was contacted by the lovely Ben from Blend about creating a recipe to celebrate the upcoming release of Katie Fforde's new book A Recipe for Love my first reaction was Eeeeek!!  Valentines is in three days and I've got to find time to bake up something sumptuous!  Then I got to thinking, so many of us run such hectic lives; wouldn't it be great to be able to bake something delicious in no time at all?  So I did, and it was fabulous!  Not only does it look like something you could pick up in your local French Patisserie but it's so super simple to make, anyone could do it.

I already had a batch of sweet pastry chilling in the fridge from a past endeavour but if you don't feel like making your own you can always use store bought, just makes things that much quicker.

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Ingredients:

375g ready rolled desert pastry

250g raspberries

1tbsp caster sugar

200g good quality dark chocolate
250ml double cream

50g butter

30g liquid glucose

Method:

Pre heat your oven to 170C and find a fluted 20cm tart tin.


Unroll your pastry and use to line your tin and trim any ragged edges.  Place a circle of baking paper over your pastry and fill with baking beans.  Any old dried beans will do if you don't have baking beans.  Place tart in the oven for 20 minutes then remove the paper and beans and allow to bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool completely.  


Pick out a few of the best looking raspberries and set aside, you'll use these for decoration.  Mash the remaining raspberries with the sugar and spread over the base of your cooled tart.  Set aside.

In a small saucepan bring the double cream to the boil.  Remove the pan from the heat and add your chocolate.  Stir to melt slightly then add the butter, piece at a time stirring constantly till melted and smooth.  Squirt in the liquid glucose and mix till combined.  Pour your ganache over the raspberries making sure you don't over fill the tart.  Any left over chocolate can be chilled and used to make chocolate truffles!


Allow the tart to cool and set in the fridge.  Serve at room temperature piled high with raspberries and dusted with cocoa!

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The cutest pies you ever will see

Last weekend I decided to bite the bullet and start the arduous task of clearing out my kitchen cupboards; if you know me and my love of kitsch kitchenalia, you can imagine the task I was facing.  As I was routing around, deep within one particular cupboard, I unearthed these adorable pocket pie moulds I bought while in America last year.  Rather than place them neatly back in their dark coffin, I decided to dust them off and utilise the blackberries and apples currently residing in my fridge and make me some pocket pies.

Now, I know apple and blackberry are an autumnal match made in heaven but judging by the weather we've been seeing in Newcastle lately it looks like September has graced us with her presence early this year.

Aren't they just the sweetest? I can't believe I went for so long without using these adorable little things.  Now, if you excuse me, I think I have some peaches and cherries begging for a new pastry based home...

Blackberry & Apple Pocket Pies

(Adapted from BBC Good Food Magazine)

Ingredients:

425g pack ready-rolled shortcrust pastry (I made my own)

2 Bramley apples , peeled, cored and chopped

2 tbsp light brown sugar plus extra for sprinkling

150g punnet blackberries 

thick cream, to serve 

  

Method:

Heat oven to 200C or fan 180C.  Dust a work surface with icing sugar, then unroll the pastry and using your pie moulds cut out four pie cases.  If you don't have pie moulds you can cut out four circles using a small side plate as a template.

Combine the apples, sugar and blackberries and put a small pile on each pie or pastry circle. Dampen the edge of the pastry, then fold over to encase the fruit. If not using a mould pinch and fold the pastry over along one edge to make a pasty shape. Slash each pasty 3 times, lift onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 mins or until puffed and golden. Serve with cream. 

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And we're off

Oh Sweet Melissa, how I've missed your presence in my kitchen during these cold and snowy weeks. It feels like forever since we last danced, don't ever leave me again. Deal? Deal!

Our first recipe of 2010 is an exciting one, a creative opportunity even. Donna of L'Amour de Tarte chose the chocolate pie crust but the filling was to be left up to us. Decisions decisions. Dozens of combination's flooded my mind, peanut butter, lemon curd, toffee, even a chocolate version of the English classic bakewell tart. The possibilities were endless. Eventually I settled upon one filling, something that marries perfectly with chocolate and one of my very favorite combination's, chocolate, cherry and cream tart.


Like most other Melissa bakers I found the crust quite a disappointment. It was difficult to work with, cracking at every given opportunity and had quite a bland taste despite me subbing the shortening for an all butter version. Oh well, the search for a delicious chocolate crust continues and for now I'll stick to crushed oreos :)

Check out the other SMS girls to see how they decided to fill their pies.

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