You wouldn’t believe that I actually find making cookies, and getting that signature crisp outside and soft and chewy interior, quite daunting as all the recipes I’ve tried in the past have failed miserably with cookies that are too soft or just don’t deliver what they promise. All this changed on a trip to South…
Tag: food
Cheesy Sausage Rolls
Inspired by my travels to Hong Kong in the summer, I found a recipe to make these Sausage Buns, which are incredibly popular over there and can be found in most of the bakeries on the street and in the shopping centres. The dough itself is enriched with egg, milk and butter as well as…
My Thoughts on GBBO Final 2015
Nadiya Hussein is your Bake Off champion for 2015! She might have come last in the first technical and first in the last technical but you cannot doubt the huge amount of talent Nadiya had amongst the many facial contortions that have been gif’d to hell and back. I am very happy, not only did…
Ultimate Lemon Drizzle Traybake
I have a lot of favourite cakes but my Ultimate Lemon Drizzle Cake has to be up in the top 5. A sweet and sticky lemon sponge with a crunchy sugary topping, it is an absolute classic! This recipe is slightly revamped and has been tested 4 times and it’s come out perfect every single…
My Thoughts on Chocolate Week
The semi-finals saw the tension rise like the soufflés in the Technical Challenge and a collapsed showstopper as well as the wrong baker eliminated for me! But we have our three finalists, Nadiya, Tamal and Ian! The Signature was a Chocolate Tart. Sounds simple enough except the pressure was on and none of the bakers…
Behind the Scenes at ‘An Extra Slice’
I was lucky enough to attend the filming of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice with some members of the Sunday Baking Club for Week 8, Patisserie Week. You can find my review of that week by clicking here. The date is Friday 11th September and the theme for Week 8 has been…
My Thoughts on Patisserie Week
What do you get if you have a drunken nun with coffee and cream horns? No not The Vicar of Dibley, it’s Patisserie Week of Bake Off and the week that saw Paul leave the tent. Not the judge (although we do wish that was the case sometimes) but Paul the baker. The Signature was…
My Thoughts on Victorian Week
This week the tent went back in time to the Victorian era and was the week that my favourite, Mat, had to leave the tent (my support has now shifted to Nadiya!) and the week that Tamal was finally crowned Star Baker; I wonder if he managed to wear Ian’s ladyfinger crown? The Signature was…
Pizza Scrolls
There’s a debate when it comes to pizza; which is the ultimate pizza, thin crust or thick crust? If you love pizza so much that you can’t decide which is better, I think you should definitely try my Pizza Scrolls. Instead of using a yeasted dough for these Pizza Scrolls, I switched it up and…
GBBO Alternative Ingredient Week Challenge 5: Refined Sugar-Free Coconut Flapjacks
Week 5 and The Great British Bake Off has gone all Alternative Ingredient, that is to say free-from baking. I’m not the biggest fan of free-from baking because it often means sourcing strange flours from a store that is 12 miles away. So when I read the 3 challenges this week, I wasn’t sure which…
GBBO Dessert Week Challenge 4: Vanilla Cheesecake
I love cheesecake. There’s something about the combination of a buttery biscuit base and a sweet creamy filling that works every single time. This recipe is a recipe which I’ve used ever since I first made it and I’d like to feel that I’ve perfected it. Now the challenge on Bake Off is making a…
Banana and Dark Chocolate Chunk Loaf Cake
Take those blackened overripe bananas and make this delicious Banana and Chocolate Chunk Loaf. Banana cakes are so simple to make and everyone seems to love them. They make use of those bananas you didn’t think could be eaten and are a great way to get your children in the kitchen. Whilst I’ve used chocolate…
My Thoughts on Bread Week
Bread Week was the best in Bake Off history; better than 8-strand plait in Series Three and even better than Paul the Psychic Octopus tribute loaf in Series Four. This week had one of the best Signatures by the cast and the single most impressive showstopper EVER. Let’s start with the (for me) controversial Signature…
GBBO Bread Week Challenge 3: Quick Chocolate Dough-Knots
The quick bread challenge is a fun one and I should expect it may encourage many at home to try their hand at bread making. The first thing I thought about was soda bread but I wanted to try something different, a sweet bread. I wracked my brain and came up with these Quick Chocolate…
My Thoughts on Biscuit Week
Biscuit Week was full of ups, downs, Mary and Paul’s teeth scattered across the tent with the crunchy biscotti, collapsed biscuit boxes and the remaining pastry crumbs from the arlettes. Yep that’s a pastry in Biscuit Week. But more controversy later… The signature challenge this week is Biscotti, a twice baked Italian biscuit. The bakers…
Andrew in the Kitchen 