Author Archives: kimsideas

Week Fifty Three – Mary Berry’s Macaroons & Coconut Pyramids

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Week fifty three and I am back on form after last weekend and thought I would try two recipes again this week. The first, Mary Berry‘s coconut pyramids was a very simple recipe from her children’s part of her Baking Bible. The recipe was the usual throw everything together mix which Mary is famous for and add some pink food colouring. Mary asks you to spoon the mixture into a dariole mould, press down gently, and then turn out onto a lined baking tray, repeat until the mixture is used up. The colour was quite eye catching!

Mary Berry's Coconut Pyramids

I put the coconut pyramids into the oven and set the timer. When it pinged, I had these umm interesting bright pink coconut towers! I must say though that they taste better than they look!

Kim's Coconut Pyramids

The second recipe was Mary Berry’s macaroons. I had managed to source some sheets of rice paper as I remember eating coconut macaroons on rice paper as a child . Even more amazingly, I couldn’t find these sheets anywhere, not in any of the supermarkets or even my favourite shop Lakeland. I had to resort to good old Ebay for this item.

Mary Berry's Macaroons

I mixed the ingredients together as Mary suggests but I did add some coconut to this recipe instead of so much almond as I am not a great almond fan. I cut out rice paper circles and put a spoon of the mixture in the middle of each circle and flattened them slightly. Into the oven they went.

After the allotted time, I checked the macaroons but I didn’t think they were ready and I ended up giving them an extra ten minutes. I allowed them to cool mainly on the baking tray and transferred them to the rack. Mary suggests you put an almond on each macaroon as a decoration (bleugh!) so I decided to “enhance” the coconut in the macaroons, that some chocolate decoration would look and taste nicer!

Kim's Macaroons

I am sitting writing this after watching this week’s episode of The Great British Bake Off and thoroughly enjoyed it as usual. I am pleased to see that Frances is still in there and her baking has found it’s flavour without losing too much of her artistic flair and I am also pleased to see Beca coming into her own too, I would be happy to see either of these two girls win!

Week Fifty Two – Mary Berry’s St Clements Muffins

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Week fifty two….eventually. You may have stopped by to check on what last week’s bake was and noticed that nothing had appeared! Well that’s because it was an absolute s*** of a weekend, I won’t bore you with the details but between a hole in a water pipe and me damaging hubby’s car, let’s just say I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to bake!

Mary Berry's St Clements Muffins

I chose Mary Berry‘s St Clements muffins, they sounded lovely but given the weekend events, maybe I was aiming too high? The recipe was straight forward enough, and I was careful not to overmix the muffin mixture. I divided the mix between the cases and popped them into the oven to cook. After the pinger went, I checked them and took them out of the oven. They looked a nice colour, and were springy in the middle. I left them in the tin for a while and then put them on the rack….and watched them deflate alarmingly!!! what a disaster- it about capped my weekend off.

Kim's disastrous St Clements Muffins

I set about making a second batch, I was not going to be defeated , I followed the recipe really carefully, divided the mix again into the cases and baked them. I allowed a little extra time for cooking and when the pinger sounded, I left the muffins in the tin to cool slower and then put them on the rack. I still wasn’t overly impressed with them. They were not my idea of a muffin, light and airy with the distinctive muffin top and they really stuck to the cases.

Mary Berry's St Clements Muffins

I don’t think muffins are my thing, I have since googled “foolproof muffins” and found that like me, there are loads of people out there whose muffins do not rise as they should. I will aim to defeat my muffin nemesis …..but not this weekend!

Week Fifty One – Mary Berry’s English Madeleines & French Madeleines

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I was on a roll this week and full of enthusiasm and ready to bake. I had found a few bargains for these bakes and surprise surprise, they weren’t from Lakeland this week but from T K Maxx of all places! The tins were a fraction of the price they should be and the silicone dariole mould was from Ebay.

Kim's madeleine tin and dariole mould

Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible lists both types of madeleines and I made the French madeleines first. The batter was easy enough to mix and I used a spoon to put some in each shell space and put the tray in the oven- oh I did oil and flour the mould first to try and ensure no sticking. The first batch came out soon enough and they came out of the tray fairly easily. The second batch went in soon after. The mould provides a shell shape with some ridges. I wasn’t overly keen on these, I thought they were quite plain and needed something to liven then up, perhaps dipped partly in icing of some flavour? I didn’t fancy dipping them in my tea as Mary suggests!

Mary Berry's French Madeleins recipeKim's French Madeleines

The second recipe, English madeleines looked lovely but I was a bit more daunted by these. I oiled and floured the silicone mould, made the batter and filled each dariole mould half way. I put the mould on a baking tray and into the oven it went. When this batch was done, I left the cakes to cool slightly and then had the fun of trying to get the cakes out of a floppy mould….it is a technique! I refilled the mould and put that in. Mary’s recipe asks you to cut the bottom of the cake so that it sits upright. Then push some jam through a sieve, heat it, put the cake on the end of a fork, roll it in the jam and then into a bowl of dessicated coconut. Finally top them with a cherry half and I found instead of normal cherries for cooking, I have found morello cherries- they are very tasty but are quite a lot darker as you can see in the picture.

Mary Berry's English Madeleines recipeKim's English Madeleines

The Great British Bake Off is getting more exciting by the week, I loved the traybakes this week and I though Christine deserved the Star Baker award this week, she was on top form. The tuiles were a challenge and a half…and there is a recipe for almond tuiles in Mary’s book that I have yet to do….gulp!

Week Fifty – Mary Berry’s French Apple Tart & Devonshire Apple Cake

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Week fifty -woo hoo I have nearly completed one year of this challenge and I have decided where I can to double up on Mary Berry‘s recipes from her Baking Bible otherwise it would take me two and a half years just to finish her book!
Mary Berry's French Apple Tart

As you may have noticed from last week, I have an apple tree in my garden and due to the exceptional weather this year, I have an abundance of apples and despite giving loads away, I still have loads. The first recipe was Mary’s French apple tart which I started on the Friday when I made the pastry and the apple puree for the sauce and put together on Saturday.

I got to use my little ceramic blind baking beads for the first time in the challenge to bake the base of the tart before the filling went in. Next went in the apple puree that had taken ages to make because you have to cook the apples and then push it all through a sieve..zzzzz. such an exciting time! Finally I peeled, cored and sliced the top apple and arranged it like Mary’s tart and in it went for it’s final bake. I was pleased with the results.

Kim's French Apple Tart

the second recipe was Mary’s Devonshire apple cake which used up some more of my apples! Mary asks you to make a sponge mix and cut your apples into small pieces. I used a traybake tray from Lakeland ( my favourite shop) and poured half the sponge mix in, then added the apples and topped it with the rest of the sponge mix. Mary says that this cake doesn’t look particularly attractive but tastes nice warm with cream.

Mary Berry's Devonshire Apple Cake

I topped it with some sprinkled almonds as per the recipe and set the timer. This was a long bake and I set to  a little more baking ( not Mary’s recipes) while I waited. I set the bread machine off with a white crusty loaf, made some mini apple pies and some honeycomb.

The final result of the Devonshire cake was better than I expected. I thought it looked nice. I cut it in half, put half on the freezer and sent some slices of this and a slice of the tart to hubby’s parents who are also chief tasters!

Kim's Devonshire Apple Cake

I can’t wait for the Great British Bake Off this week, I am so enjoying this series and still support Frances in her creativity, although I think Ruby is shining through now too.

Week Forty Nine – Mary Berry’s Focaccia Bread with Onion & Balsamic Topping

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Week forty nine and I think this has been the most technical of my bakes to date and the one that has taken most of the day as it’s bread and needed rising time. Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible has the nicest photo of hers and all through my bake, I just hoped that it turned out at least resembling hers!

Mary Berry's Focaccia Bread with Onion & Balsamic Topping

The beginning of the recipe asks you to add every ingredient for the dough into a bowl and mix either by hand or with a mixer with dough hooks. I had never used my dough hooks before and looked forward to playing with them. They made short work of the ingredients and no sooner had I started, than I had a dough bowl ready to start working on. I tipped it out onto my floured surface and set to work, it’s very therapeutic to work dough! Although my method is probably more old school as I was taught in my Home Economics lessons rather than the Paul Hollywood swing the dough around and whack it down method! Once kneaded, I put it in a clean oiled bowl and covered it with clingfilm. I left it for an hour and while it was “proving” I set about making the onion and balsamic topping. Mary asks you to add a teaspoon of olive oil to a pan, cut 2 onions and fry them for several minutes, then add thr lid and turn down the heat and leave for 20 minutes. The next step was to add some balsamic vinegar and sugar and thyme , fry again briskly and then season and allow to cool. Mary asks you to return to your dough and “knock it back” for about five minutes, roll it out and pop it on a baking sheet with the topping on it, place it in a bag and allow to proof again for half an hour…zzzzzz. Finally I could put it in the oven for about 25 minutes.

The final result, no soggy bottom! But the onion is lightly singed around the edges, but on the whole I am happy with it. The only problem is that it is HUGE!! Hubby and I can’t eat it all so we are going to cut it in half and take some to the parents!

Kim's Focaccia Bread with Onion & Balsamic Topping

I loved watching the Great British Bake Off this week with breads and maybe that’s what inspired me to do the Focaccia Bread. I must say, I was impressed with Frances’ matchbox and her bread sticks.

Week Forty Eight – Mary Berry’s Cherry Loaf Cake

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Here at last is week forty eight’s posting, we came back from holiday mid week and suddenly I had a pile of washing and ironing the size of Ben Nevis and all thoughts of updating my blog went out of the window! The apple and cinnamon cake from last week had just been polished off and we were feeling a bit “caked out” so I chose Mary Berry’s cherry loaf cake because I love cherries– hubby is not so keen, and I could freeze it to enjoy later.

Mary Berry's Cherry Loaf Cake

Mary’s recipe was straight forward, add all the ingredients in a bowl, except for the cherries and mix well. Fold in the cherries which I had to wash, dry and then quarter. Mary asks you to line a loaf tin, but on one of my shopping trips, the 99p store has loaf tin liners which I purchased and I used one of these. In to the oven it went for what seemed like forever- but was actually about an hour and a quarter. When taken out, it smelled lovely and was a golden brown colour. I let it cool and then popped it in the freezer for later enjoyment.

Kim's Cherry Laof Cake

I am loving Tuesday nights when The Great British Bake Off is on. As I said before, my skills are not up to the show’s expected levels but I love watching what they create or tackle the new challenges. I am particularly loving the artistic and creative talent of Frances, but it is early days yet!

 

Week Forty Seven – Mary Berry’s Apple & Cinnamon Cake

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Week Forty Seven and I chose Mary Berry‘s Apple & Cinnamon cake as the apples on my apple tree in the garden were ready and this is a perfect recipe for them.

Mary’s recipe asks you to add all the ingredients except the apple into a bowl and mix well for two minutes. Then add half the mixture into a cake tin, this is where my spring form cake tin came in handy, then spread the grated apple over the mixture, sprinkle with cinnamon and top with the other half of the cake mix. Decorate with some walnuts and sprinkle with some brown sugar. Into the oven it went for about an hour and a quarter.Mary Berry's Apple & Cinnamon Cake

 

The smell of apple and cinnamon was mouth watering and the cake smelt lovely when it came out but doesn’t look overly attractive. Hubby has had a slice already and says it’s lovely which is high praise from him!

Kim's Apple & Cinnamon Cake

I tuned into some of The Great British Bake Off tonight, managed to watch some of it and from what I saw, I know what I will be doing every Tuesday at 8pm for a while!

Week Forty Six – Mary Berry’s Coffee & Walnut Tray Bake

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Week forty six and I seem to have found my “oomph” again and enjoyed sitting with a coffee and looking through Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible and ticking off what I had done already and realised there are so many more yet to do! I chose the coffee and walnut tray bake and made sure I had everything in this week so there were no mad dashes to find an ingredient late on a Sunday afternoon!

Mary Berry's Coffee & Walnut Tray Bake

As usual , Mary’s recipe encourages you to put every thing in a bowl and mix it together well. No fussing or various stages to this recipe! Then I put it in a foil tray for tray bakes from Lakeland ( one of my favourite shops!) and into the oven for the allotted time.

Forty minutes later, the timer pinged and I returned to find a lovely raised, browned sponge tray bake with a lovely coffee aroma. I set it to one side and left it to cool for a while.

Kim's Coffee & Walnut Sponge

The second step of this bake was to mix some coffee flavoured buttercream, spread it over the sponge and then put some walnuts on the top. In Mary’s photo she put the walnuts on “haphazardly”. I decided on a more methodical approach so when I cut the sponge, hopefully every slice has a walnut on it!

Kim's Coffee & Walnut Tray Bake

I have seen the adverts and now I am really excited to see that The Great British Bake Off is back on TV next week, I am so looking forward to it!  People ask if the show is something I would apply for. Definitely not! I am strictly an amateur baker, who can follow a recipe but take away the recipe instructions and I am lost! I enjoy baking and the art of putting it together and hopefully making it look pretty and edible…..

Week Forty Five – Mary Berry’s Yorkshire Gingernuts

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After the gluttony of the last few weeks, I needed a bake recipe that didn’t involve sponge cake or chocolate. Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible never fails to offer an answer and Mary’s Yorkshire Gingernuts fitted the bill nicely.

I had been considering missing a week this week, I think I had hit my “wall” as you hear runners say when they reach a certain distance. I had been feeling a little despondent and had even considered giving up the challenge but after giving myself a swift kick and talking to, the challenge goes on!

Mary Berry's Yorkshire Gingernuts recipes

Mary’s recipe asks you to melt the butter and the golden syrup in a pan and then add this to all the dry ingredients. I must admit I had checked my store cupboard for all the ingredients ahead of my bake but thought I had more ginger than I actually had. Mary’s recipe asked for a tablespoon of ginger…and when I opened my pot, I had at the most a teaspoon’s worth. I found myself, at 4:45pm on a Sunday afternoon wondering where I could get some ginger. Luckily for me, I found my local Co-Op was still open and had just what I needed! The bake was still on! I added the wet mix to the dry and brought it together into a dough. Mary says to roll little balls about the size of a walnut and that the mix will make about 50 biscuits…well my version of a walnut must be different to Mary’s but I still must have made about 35 biscuits or so.

Into the oven they went and I set the timer and sat and waited. Once the time was up, I had a look and they smelt lovely and gingery. They were a lovely golden colour too. I took them out of the oven and put them on a cooling rack and put the next batch in.

Kim's Yorkshire Gingernuts

Once they were cool enough, hubby and I shared one between us and put the rest in a tin. I have taken some to work and hubby will give some to his parents soon. I must say that after a day, they had that lovely “snap” on the outside when you bite into them and a softer middle. For a “filler” recipe, I must admit that I would happily make these again!

Week Forty Four – Mary Berry’s Drop Scones

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Week forty four and it was also my birthday this week. I was going to make one of Mary Berry‘s cakes from her Baking Bible but there was “secret squirrel” stuff going on and I had the most amazing surprise of a birthday cake appearing at the restaurant on my birthday courtesy of my hubby and my other mum and dad.

Kim's Birthday Cake

So, with a massive birthday cake to eat , what could I choose to make this week that meant I kept  to my challenge? Drop Scones were the answer and that’s what we had for this evening’s tea as neither of us were overly hungry.

Mary Berry's Drop Scones

The mix was very straight forward, all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until the consistency was like cream. I didn’t have a griddle but I had my trusty frying pan and set to work. The pancakes were very tasty , an easy challenge week and a scrummy supper.

Kim's Drop Scones