Swan Lake - Choux Swans from the GBBO

I've had my eye on making Choux Pastry Swans for a little while. I first saw them in Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie Foundations Classic Recipes and they seemed quite daunting, however I recently bought the Great British Bake Off - How to turn eveyday bakes into Showstoppers book which also features Choux Swans so I thought I would give them a go as I'm determined to master choux!

I have to say the GBBO didn't let me down, it was a really clear recipe to follow and the choux turned out successfully! The idea for the almond beaks came from the Le Cordon Bleu recipe book and I think they're a great addition to make the swans look even more realistic!

To make the swans I followed the Choux recipe below. In order to make my swans a uniform size I marked out the specifications on the back of the greaseproof paper and used it as a guide. If you wish to make choux swans, then to make the necks you need to pipe out 10 'S' shaped necks about 9cm long. To do this use a round piping nozzle about 6-7mm wide (or a Wilton 2A). You can either gently push in the almond beak just before cooking or alternatively when baked, cut a little notch and slide in the flaked almond. Gently glaze with beaten egg before baking.

For the body I marked out ten 8 x 4cm shape on the paper. Use two spoons to make an oval of choux this size. It should be roughly 2.5cm high. I didn't spoon the choux pastry terribly neatly which means any lumps and bumps are exacerbated during baking. Try and get a smooth oval, maybe by trying more of a quinelle action with the spoons to create the oval. Finally, brush with beaten egg before baking.

To construct the swans you will need to make a raspberry coulis (instructions available on the internet), this is just raspberries, icing sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice blitzed in a food processor and then passed through a sieve to remove the seeds. Also make up some Chantilly cream which is whipping cream and icing sugar. You will also need 1-2 strawberries per swan thinly sliced.

So once you have all the components in place spoon some of the raspberry coulis onto your serving plates to form a lake. Then cut your choux bun body in half horizontally, the top half can then be cut in half lengthways to create the wings.

The recipe suggests arranging the strawberries in the base of each swan but mine seemed to disappear down the sides. So I piped a bed of chantilly cream first and then arranged the strawberries before adding another layer of cream. The cream should be piped with a star nozzle. Next insert the neck before placing on the wings, these should be angled so they tilt upwards, allowing you to see the cream and strawberries. Et voila...serve immediately and enjoy!

I am entering these into Bookmarked Recipes as they've been on my 'to bake' list for about 6 months since seeing them in the Le Cordon Bleu recipe book. When I finally got round to making them, I used the GBBO book and Le Cordon Bleu for reference. Bookmarked recipes is hosted by Jac from Tinned Tomatoes and was originally founded by Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments.

Lottie from Lottie's World of Cakes and Bakes is hosting a GBBO blog challenge for the duration of the current series. If you have been inspired by the series and make any of the things you have seen or bake something related to the GBBO you can enter it into this challenge. It would seem appropriate to enter these swans as they are featured in the book accompanying the latest series.

Finally, I'm also entering my swans into Blue Kitchen Bakes 'Classic French Challenge' with the challenge this month being choux pastry.

 

Choux Pastry Recipe

100g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
75g unsalted butter, diced
3 large free-range eggs beaten

It may depend on what you're making as to what oven temp you require but for this recipe it was 200c/180c fan/gas 6.

When making choux you need to be ready so start by sifting the flour onto a piece of greaseproof paper, this makes it quick and easy to tip into the saucepan. Put the butter and salt in a saucepan along with the butter. Melt the butter gently but do not allowed to boil. Once completely melted, turn up the heat to a boil and then immediately tip in the flour. Remove the pan from the heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon, this should give you a smooth dough. You should then return the pan to a low heat and continue beating a bit more gently. This cooks out the flour a little and you should end up with a smooth, shiny ball of dough which has come away from the sides of the pan completely.

At this stage, place the dough into a bowl and leave to cool, it will be ready to use when it is only slightly warm (this took a little while surprisingly). In the meantime break the eggs and beat them together. When the dough has cooled use an electric mixer and add the eggs a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. This should make the dough into a shiny paste which should fall off the spoon with a shake. You may not need all eggs, it doesn't want to be wet. Save the remainder of the egg as a glaze. If you do make the dough too wet it will not puff in the oven. It should be a pipeable consistencey.

You can pipe your choux pastry into swans, profiteroles, eclairs and many more. Follow the baking instructions from your recipe but for the this recipe the necks took 15 minutes and the bodies baked seperately took 30 minutes, then open and close the door quickly and reduce the oven temp to 180c/160c fan/gas 4 and leave fcr another 5 minutes. Finally, remove the bodies from the oven, make a small hole at the end of each one to let the steam escape and bake for a final 5 minutes, they should be crisp and dry.

* Adapted from The Great British Bake Off - How to Turn EveryDay Bakes into Showstoppers.

Cake Tour of Scandinavia

On my recent holiday to Scandinavia I thought I would delve into the world of Nordic baking to see what it has to offer...well it would have been rude not too! However, it was only when I sat down to write this post that I realised quite how much cake I've consumed over the last three weeks...it's A LOT... but don't judge me...if anyone asks it was all in the name of "research". So settle in and take a look at these Scandinavian delights!

First up is a Raspberry & Passionfruit Mousse cake...it's not traditional but I couldn't resist as you may recognise the little chocolate picture on the top. It's a recreation of the 'Scream' by  Edvard Munch, I tried this one at the Munch Museum in Oslo and at £5 it wasn't cheap but then again Scandinavia wasn't cheap!

The next bun is called a Skoleboller which you can find everywhere in Norway. It's a bun flavoured with cardamom filled with custard and topped with icing and coconut. Very tasty...I may have sampled more than one! :-@

I'm not sure of the name of the next one but it was one of my favourites from W.B.Samson in central Oslo. It's layers of pastry filled with an almond paste, topped with icing and sprinkled nuts. Almond is a very popular ingredient in Scandinavian baking.

Moving on to Lillehammer from Oslo, this is a tea bun with a raspberry filling which was so tasty we had to go back again the next day. The cafe was lovely too...it really had a Scandinavian feel to it!

Enjoying an apple tart after a cruise in the Fjords...some of the other tourists were giving me rather strange looks as I photographed my cake.

I have to say the bread in this part of the world is amazing. It's baked freshly in the bakeries and there are so many different varieties. If you're a fan of the Atkins Diet, can I suggest you don't move here!!

Next stop Bergen with colourful painted houses which you often see on promotional advertising for Norway.

I'm not sure if Rhubarb is a traditional baking ingredient in Scandinavia but it certainly appeared in a lot of the cakes and bakes on offer. It was particularly prevalent in Rhubarb tarts, most of which had a crumbly meringue topping. In order to redeem myself slightly I'd like to point out that I didn't actually eat this tart...although I did have a bite! :-)

Apparently no trip to Bergen is complete without trying a Skillingsbolle or cinnamon bun to you and me. The place to try them is Baker Brun. It hit the spot with a cup of tea after a morning of sightseeing.

Finally, we can't leave Norway without making mention of the Rosinboller...a raisin bun with a hint of cinnamon...particularly good when you want something little and a little less cakey!

Ok so we're onto Sweden where there were a number of different traditional bakes available. The Lonely Planet guide for Stockholm even suggests going on a Konditoi or bakery tour so of course I duly obliged. Apparently, coffee and cake is so popular in Sweden the concept even has it's own name...Fika.

One of the major flavours in Scandinavian baking is Cardamom. So I had to resist the temptation to order a delicious looking raspberry tart when I arrived in Stockholm and instead I went for the Cardamom cake. And what did I discover from this experience...that I don't particularly like Cardamom...it's a bit of an acquired taste! :-@

Even the breakfast in the hotel was laden with lovely breads and rolls....

One of the recommended places to visit in Stockholm is Ostermalms Saluhall where you can scoff down Swedish delicacies. Whether it's meat, cheese, bread, cake or a three course meal you want, you can find it here.

I found one of my favourite cakes at Ostermalms Saluhall having been trying to track it down. It's a Princess Cake. It is fairly common to find it as a slice but I wanted the authentic experience...a dome cake made up of layers of sponge, fresh cream, vanilla custard and jam, covered in a delicate shade of green marzipan! It tasted really good and the marzipan was not overpowering. However, again it was not cheap at £5.

Princess Cake is believed to have been created for three Swedish princesses at the beginning of the 20th century. However, I particularly like the story that when Princess Estelle was born into the royal family this February 2012, apparently all bakeries immediately sold out of Princess cake and it was in high demand for many days.

The picture above shows Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden with her husband Daniel who she met when he was her personal trainer!

One of the bakeries that the Lonely Planet suggests you visit on your Konditori tour is Thelins Bakery. It was fairly standard inside but the array of cakes was quite mouthwatering. All of the treats above came from Thelins. On the left are two marzipan tarts which are popular in Scandinavia, one with jam which was my favourite and one with an almond-caramel crunch topping. On the right is a Vaniljbullar (vanilla bun) and an almond roll.

Finally, it's off to Finland

First stop here was Cafe Fazer which is an amazing bakery. It's highly recommended but at first I thought it might be an over-hyped tourist attraction with over-priced food...however it really was good. There were Finnish people queuing to get a seat which must be a good sign. Again there was a staggering array of bread, along with cakes and chocolates.

You can't see in the photo above but there were also the most fabulous window displays - high fashion meets cake! If you happen to be in Helsinki I'd also recommend the brunch buffet...at 18 euros it's a little dear but you could pay nearly that in a hotel. The buffet has everything under the sun and it's all you can eat.

From the vast selection of cakes on offer at Cafe Fazer I chose a strawberry mousse tart which had a layer of rhubarb in the base and a meringue topping. It looks quite nice but wouldn't blow you away but when I tasted it I think it ended up somewhere near the top of my holiday cake list.

Okay we're nearly there...the penultimate bake was a Lingonberry tart, lingonberries are like a mountain cranberry and they seem to be very popular in Scandinavia. I popped into this cafe to escape the rain but I'm glad I did.

Last but not least is this Mazariini which tasted a little bit like a Bakewell tart. Pink icing seems to be popular in Scandinavia as there also seemed to be a lot of pink iced doughnuts available. If you visit Helsinki you should definitely visit Suomenlinna which is an 18th century fortress which you can reach by boat from the harbour. There's also a cute tea shop there which was serving these tartlets!

 

Finally, the top 5 Scandinavian flavours that seemed prevalent in these tasty treats were as follows:

1. Cardamom
2. Almond/marzipan
3. Cinnamon
4. Vanilla
5. Rhubarb (not sure if this is a popular Scandinavian ingredient but it seemed to be in a lot of things!)

Phew! Well I hope after that little lot you're not feeling too caked out!! I really enjoyed my cake tour of Scandinavia and I wouldn't be surprised if I've gained half a stone in three weeks...perhaps I ought to try the 5:2 diet that seems to be popular at the moment. I was however surprised that cakes and breads are so popular in the Nordic region as I've never actually come across many of the bakes I've described here...perhaps Scandinavian baking needs more recognition.

Calendar Cakes September

Thanks for all your August entries, there were many amazingly tasty treats and you can check out the round up over at Dolly Bakes.

This September it's National Cupcake Week from the 17th to the 23rd so therefore the theme for this month's Calendar Cakes could only be:

CUPCAKES

I realise this will have some people whooping with joy whilst others may be quietly despairing at the cupcake invasion. However, there really is something for everyone...if you're already a cupcake convert, go mad or if you've spent the last few years steadfastly ignoring the cupcake, why not take this opportunity to give them a go?

Over the past few years whoopies, macarons and cake pops have all made gallant attempts at unseating the cupcake as the cake du jour but to no avail. Apparently a staggering 11.03 million cupcakes were sold between June 2011 and June 2012 amounting to £23.5 million. There are hundreds...nay thousands cupcake recipes out there and we'd love for you to join us for this month's Calendar Cakes Challenge. Here are some ideas and you can find details of how to enter at the end of the post.

1. According to the Daily Mail the latest craze in cupcakes is 'Caketails', adding your favourite tipple to your cupcake. Why not try a Caketail?
2. A savoury cupcake
3. A perennial favourite
4. A crazy cupcake that's been lurking on your 'to bake list' for an age but has always seemed a bit wacky.
5. Create your own unique flavour combination
6. Pretty cupcakes with decorations for a special occasion or just because!
7. A savoury cupcake...is there such a thing....or does that make it a muffin?
8. We may even accept a good old fairy cake masquerading as a cupcake.

Entry Guidelines:

• Post your entry on your blog and include the ‘Calendar Cakes’ logo
• Add 'Calendar Cakes' as a label on your post.
• Follow Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes blogs using the Google Join this Site button.
• Add links on your site to your hosts Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes.
• If you don’t have a blog you can still join in, just email us a picture and a bit of information about your bake.
• If you're on Twitter, tweet us a link to your post @dollybakes and @lauralovesbakes - otherwise we won't see it! Use the handle #CalendarCakes.
• Email us at ‘calendarcakeschallenge@gmail.com’ including the recipe title, a link to your blog post and attach a photo that you would like to appear in the round up.

Calendar Cakes Challenge Rules:

1. You can enter as many times as you like. Bake to your little heart's content.
2. It can be your own recipe or one you found elsewhere (please just state where you found it).
3. You can use old posts as long as you update them with the 'Calendar Cakes' logo and link back (see above).
4. If you want to enter your bake into other challenges too then please feel free.
5. You must submit by the 28th of each month.

So…happy baking, we can’t wait to see what you come up and we’d be delighted for you to join us in our challenge!

Jammy Almond Melts

These biscuits certainly lived up to their billing...they literally melt in the mouth and due to the copious amounts of butter they tasted divine...a little bit like really soft shortbread!

The dough for these biscuits was easy to make but it was extremely soft as there's a whole block of butter in them, so when it came to rolling out, it was really difficult. My advice would be to roll out as quickly as possible. Due to the excessive softness, some of my biscuits spread during baking...in order to avoid this it is advised to put the baking tray back into the fridge once the biscuits have been cut out. This allows them to firm up again before going straight into the oven.

Kids will love these biscuits, and they'd make a lovely little treat for anyone with a sweet tooth! :-)





225g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

200g plain flour

100g gound almonds

Pinch of salt

55g jam - either strawberry or raspberry

Preheat the oven to 150c/130c fan/gas 2. Prepare 2 baking sheets, grease and line. I used a reusable silicone baking mat. Using your electric whisk, beat together the butter and sugar until it becomes pale in colour and nice and fluffy. Then sift in the flour and add the ground almonds and salt, you should then be able to bring it together in a dough with your hands.

The ball of dough can then be wrapped in cling film and fridge for two hours. After chilling, the dough can be rolled out to about half a centimetre thick.  Take a heart shaped cutter and cut out as many biscuits you can out of the dough. Then cut smaller heart shapes in the centre of half the biscuits...these will make the tops.

The biscuits should bake for about 25-30 minutes until golden. They should then be left to cool on a wire rack before spreading jam on the bottom biscuits without the small heart cut out. Finally, place the cut out heart on top and sandwich together. To present your biscuits, dust the tops with icing sugar. However, to prevent the jam from being covered with icing sugar, cover it over with a small bit of baking paper.



* Adapted from Love Baking Magazine