Sourdough

I am not a bread maker – and really shouldn’t eat it due to the calorie content - but sourdough has always held a fascination for me. Of late, it seems to have become ‘rediscovered’ and ‘fashionable’ despite its origins dating right back to ancient Egyptian times. The dough is produced by using natural ‘wild’ yeasts. These organisms transform components in the flour into a simpler form that is more easily digested and produces carbonic gas causing the dough to rise. The resulting bread should have a crusty coating, with a soft and holey texture inside, and has a wholesome and rich aroma and flavour.

So, not to be outdone by several friends regularly making sourdough bread, I begged a little ‘starter’ from them - several methods to make this culture or ‘starter’ can be found on the internet - and set to this weekend to make my own.
I used 300g of starter, 500g white bread flour, 200ml warm water and a pinch of salt and mixed and kneaded the whole lot together using a dough hook in my stand- mixer. After about 5 minutes, the resulting dough was smooth, stretchy and slightly sticky. I left it in the bowl to rise for a couple of hours.

At this point I realised that I would have to improvise the vessel used for raising or ‘proving’ the dough as I don’t possess the traditional ‘banneton’ mould. After scouring the internet for possible alternatives I came up with the idea to use a kitchen colander, lined with a clean linen tea towel and dusted liberally with semolina. It was worth a trial. I shaped my half-risen dough, placed it in the colander, covered it, crossed my fingers, and then left it overnight to rise.  

To my delight, by morning, the dough had risen to the top of the colander and I carefully turned it out onto a hot baking tray and baked my bread at 220C (fan oven) for ½ an hour.

Et voila!  My very first delicious golden sourdough loaf had been produced. It wasn’t the perfect shape nor has it a hugely holey crumb but I am happy that it’s certainly acceptable and this novice bread maker – after feeding and nurturing my ‘starter’ from Monday to Friday – will certainly have another practice session next weekend.

Easter 2013

As I sit writing this on Good Friday my thoughts have turned to my childhood. On this day, my mother would send me off to my grandparents’ house with a bag of warm hot cross buns which were only available at this time of the year and not, like today, when they can be bought all year round.  I was instructed to ring the bell and place the paper bag on the doorstep and run back home – it was, after all, the Easter bunny that left them, wasn’t it!? It was all part of our family’s Easter tradition. My sister and I were also so fortunate to receive a number of chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday including sometimes a giant shop display egg to share – my mother knew a confectioner’s rep I believe! We would nibble them in secret and see who could keep their eggs intact the longest. I remember that my big sister always seemed to win and it wasn’t for some years that I realised she would eat some of her egg and then rewrap it in the foil paper in such a way that it still looked whole. Such fond memories.

During my own daughter’s childhood at Easter we would make an egg hunt for her. My husband and I would spend a happy hour writing clues for the locations of the eggs which we had been hidden all over the house or garden and I’m sure she still remembers the challenge and the fun of this annual event. I wonder, in the future, whether she will continue with her own family’s Easter traditions?

I haven’t, this week, baked a large Simnel cake for us but have made an individual version for each patient at Cynthia Spencer Hospice. 100 grams of the cake mixture sat perfectly in the little loaf cases and cooked superbly in an hour. I decorated them with a little fondant icing and couldn’t resist placing a miniature chocolate egg on top. My clever designer daughter, Laura, made tags for me and they looked really pretty in their cellophane packages tied with ribbon. It’s a nice thought that the Clandestine Cake Club might make an Easter memory for someone outside the family this year.

Clandestine Cake Club Northampton - Viva Italia

Instead of ‘Viva Las Vegas’ our local CCC club celebrated March with the theme of ‘Viva Italia’. Our cakes included Italian ingredients and highlighted the many regions of this warm Mediterranean country.

I brought along an Italian style chocolate cake with ricotta frosting.

Carmela made an Orange polenta cake.

Hanna baked a Lemon polenta cake.

Sue presented us with an Orange polenta cake with chocolate mascarpone cream.

Tina made a Torta de corta.

Laura chose to bake the Finnish Mother’s day lemon cake with mascarpone frosting from the CCC cookbook.

Helen baked a Limoncello and balsamic cake.

Sue brought along a Ricotta and polenta cake.

Debbie made her Tiramisu cake.

Marian presented us with a Soft as silk Italian cream cake.

Lorraine baked a Panattone with Limoncello cream.

Tess made a Coffee cake decorated with the Italian flag.

And, finally, Lisa made a Limoncello & poppy seed cake.

Despite receiving several cancellations on the day and 2 ‘no shows’ the remaining 17 of us had a happy and delicious evening in the attractive and well-situated Leopold’s Chocolate and Coffee shop in Abington Street, Northampton. Mark, the co-owner and CCC member, kept us topped up with teas and coffees and we must say a big thank you to him for inviting us back again and opening up especially for us.

Our very own Carmela Hayes – aren’t we lucky to have such a warm-hearted and talented cook in our midst - gave us a little talk about Italian baking and passed around some of the ingredients that she uses in her own kitchen like the golden herbal liqueur Straga and sachets of Pan deli Angeli (bread of the angels) which is a raising agent mixed with vanilla. She also gave us a top tip to buy Amaretti biscuits, whizz them up in a processor to make crumbs, and store them in a jar ready to include in a cake or frosting mixture to add flavour and texture. Thank you, Carmela, for a small insight into your Italian baking roots.

So - looking ahead - our next event ‘Showstoppers’ has now been published on the CCC website and details can be found here http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/ccc-events/northampton-district-showstoppers as well as further photos taken at 'Viva Italia'. Also, please email me if you would like to receive a copy of our local March CCC newsletter.

Happy baking!

Gillian x 

Mothering Sunday

Last December I visited Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Northampton, along with other members of the Clandestine Cake Club. On that occasion I took along some individual Christmas Cakes and the fund-raisers at the hospice asked whether I would make more of these little delights for them on other occasions through the year. And so, coming up to Mothering Sunday, I made a special batch but this time used a lighter simnel cake recipe and incorporated a layer of marzipan within the mixture. 

My sister Lynda, my Mum, my Grandmother, me and daughter Laura

My own mother was a patient in the hospice many years ago and I know I will think back to those days when I deliver the cakes tomorrow. Along with happy and sad memories of the generations of family mums that have gone before me, I can recall each of them, in their own kitchens, cooking and baking for the family, offering bowls and spoons to lick, and sometimes allowing grubby little hands to turn the pastry grey! 

The cakes I baked today, finished, with labels and ribbons, do look so pretty and I hope they will please someone else’s Special Mum this coming weekend.

...

We traded sleep for dark circles

Salon haircuts for ponytails

Long baths for quick showers

Late nights for early mornings

Designer bags for school bags

And we wouldn’t change a thing!

We call ourselves Mums and we don’t care about what we gave up

And instead LOVE is what we get in return.

That’s what being a Mum is all about!

.

Lemon, Parsnip & Hazelnut cake

Sometime last year two friends and I visited an emporium in Northampton called ‘A most marvelous place to shop’. It’s a shop that is almost too difficult to describe but is full of vintage and antique items, nearly new and lovingly made-by-hand bits and bobs which just cannot be found anywhere else. It is also the home of a super little café and, of course, we just had to stop and linger over cappuccinos and cake. To my credit I resisted the temptation of having a slice all to myself but happily tried just a small forkful of a rather good-looking dark and mysterious chocolate cake. It was really scrumptious with an intense flavour and really moist. My friends and I pondered over the possible ingredients and, finally, I summoned up the courage to ask the coffee shop owner whether she had the recipe. She did actually mutter something like “If all my customers made their cakes at home, I wouldn’t have anyone coming in here” but she did turn on her heels and reached up to a shelf and handed me the cookbook. It turned out to be ‘Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache’ by Harry Eastwood and the cake itself ‘Heartache Chocolate Cake’ contained a very special secret ingredient – aubergines!

About the same time of year, Lynn Hill – founder of the Clandestine Cake Club – asked members to submit original recipes for possible inclusion in a cookbook she was planning and it got me thinking about using other types of vegetables which could be included in cakes to replace the unhealthy fat content.  So, after a bit of trial and error, I devised two cakes – Lemon, Parsnip & Hazelnut and Sweet Potato & Pecan – both of which I thought were worthy of submission. Time passed but, much to my amazement, many weeks later, I learned that both of my recipes had been chosen to be included. To say I was ‘pleased’ is a real understatement!

So, now several months later, on Valentine’s Day, the cookbook was published and I lovingly made both cakes for one of the many book launches being held at various Waterstone’s branches throughout the UK. The event in Abington Street, Northampton, was a huge success – at one time we had about 80 people gathered around us eating slices of cake with happy chatter playing alongside the ringing of the shop tills. Fellow members Carmela Hayes and Vanessa Kimbell were also recipe contributors and they joined me for the many obligatory photographs. 

Other members also kindly baked for the event and, as usual a variety of cake containers, boxes and plates were hidden under the display table. (Oh yes, before I forget to mention it, daughter Laura has advised me that Tesco has on offer at the moment a cake carrier – see photo - at a bargain price of £3.90!) We also had many friends and family who came along to support us. What a day!

(Further photos of the event can be seen shortly at www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk)

Lemon, Parsnip & Hazelnut - recipe

350g parsnips, peeled and grated (squeeze out any moisture)

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons

250ml rapeseed oil

3 large eggs

85g roasted hazelnuts chopped plus 25g chopped to decorate

125g stem ginger chopped

250g self-raising flour

175g soft light brown sugar

Frosting:

125g butter (at room temperature)

250g full-fat cream cheese

2 tbsp lemon juice

125g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 190C fan 170C or gas mark 5. Grease and base line two 20cm round sandwich tins.

In a large bowl, combine the parsnips, lemon zest, oil, eggs, hazelnuts and stem ginger, then add flour and sugar. Mix well.

Spoon the mixture into the tins, spreading it evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, beat the butter until smooth, then add the cream cheese and lemon juice and mix until combined. Finally, sift in the icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

To assemble the cake, place one of the cooled sponges on a serving plate and spread a third of the frosting over the top. Place the other sponge on top, then use the remaining frosting to cover the top of the whole cake. Decorate with the extra chopped hazelnuts.

Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook

This week I have had a busy baking weekend and the resulting three cakes are in the freezer ready for icing in a couple of day’s time. One cake, a Lime and Coconut Drizzle Loaf, will be taken into BBC Radio Northampton when I go for an interview on Wednesday – is this, I wonder, called a ‘sweetener’?! All of the recipes used are taken from the new Clandestine Cake Club cookbook which is due to be launched next Thursday – 14^th February.

Various Waterstone’s stores throughout the UK have kindly offered to host a book event for the Club and the other two cakes I have baked, using my own recipes in the book, will be taken to the branch in Abington Street, Northampton. Of course, it’s so exciting to see my recipes and name in print but above all it’s just great that the Club has proved to be so successful – what a wonderful testament to the founder Lynn Hill.

All our members have a variety of reasons for wanting to bake, meet and chat about all things cake related but, in my case, it has proved to be a spark of an interest that has grown into something special and I have been blessed to encounter some wonderful people along the way. The Club has introduced me to new ingredients, new styles of baking, new flavours and new friendships. All of this, and more, is bound up in the new Clandestine Club Cookbook.

Weight Watchers quiche

I have tried this weekend to be a 'good' girl and have kept my baking to something savoury - in this instance a healthier quiche using filo pastry.

The result was quite nice - hubby had a second and third slice so it couldn't have been too bad!

8 sheets of raw filo pastry
calorie controlled cooking spray
1 small onion, trimmed and finely chopped
2 whole medium eggs
150ml skimmed milk
75g diced lean ham
40g cheese, grated
handful chopped parsley
pinch salt and pepper

Preheat oven to gas 4 or electric 180C/350F
Unroll filo. Mist each one with cooking spray and layer them in an 8 inch round flan tin or dish.

Mist a non-stick pan with cooking spray and saute onion until soft - about 4/5 mins.

Beat together eggs and milk. Stir in ham, chese, parsley, onion and seasoning. Pour into prepared pastry case.

Bake for approx. 30 minutes or until set. Cool slightly before serving.