#55 Another week of Tasty morsels

Thoughts from another week:

• Please. please. PLEASE can we stop talking about Christmas… yup, bit of a Scrooge over here, sorry!

• I really LOVE Ted Lasso - I’m watching it again (for the third time)… I know it’s on Apple TV which isn’t accessible to everyone, but it’s the most life-affirming series to watch!

• The blue moon was spectacular... and mesmerising and for a moment I became a teeny bit caught up in the magic of life.

• I’m really stupid - I sacrificed my left index finger to wipe a spatula that had recently been submerged in a molten lava pool of butter & marshmallow… it is still shiny, sore, and lacking its papillary ridges (I Googled the technical name for this by the way, I mean my fingerprint lines)

• As you can probably guess I’m bloomin’ loving this spell of sunshine!

• I tried some pretty cool and v.tasty, dried fruit snacks from ‘Soul Fruit’ - if you come across these, give them a try, they’re like fruit crisps and a wicked sweet snack!

And finally… this week has yielded another batch of quite lovely bakes. I started off with some soft, wholemeal flatbreads, then returned to my youth for a batch of Cornflake Krispy treats, and pretended I was in Italy as I dipped my toe into the world of Gelato making! Over on TCC+ I’ve shared my… “heading into Autumn” Apple and Blackberry Eve’s pudding which is sure to provide all the comfort you need as we head into the cooler, darker months, Happy Baking!

Wholemeal flatbread – inspired by Egyptian ‘Aish Baladi’

I always feel a bit of a fraud talking about or sharing recipes for things I haven’t tried before which is why I’m not claiming that these flatbreads are remotely like those on which they are based. However, I love to learn about foods from around the world, particularly when they carry so much meaning… which these flatbreads do in spades.

Aish Baladi is an ancient Egyptian flatbread, typically made with 100% whole wheat flour, specifically the ancient grain: Emmer flour. As I understand, these flatbreads look and feel very similar to pita bread, but the taste is earthy and nutty owing to the wholewheat flour. ‘Aish Baladi’ translates as “bread of life”, highlighting the significance of bread in Egyptian culture. Across various articles, bread is quoted as being at the centre of the Egyptian diet, it is said to be a sign of friendship, love, loyalty and long-lasting relations, prosperity, satiety, and happiness. Apart from the fact that I wholeheartedly agree; bread IS life, I also find it so refreshing to hear a that a food, often demonised these days, has such a special place in peoples’ hearts.

I’m under no illusion that my cowboy version of these flatbreads probably isn’t a PATCH on the real deal Aish Baladi, but the process of making them and subsequently eating them, provided all the joy I needed on Monday morning – even more so having understood their symbolic value.

I had these stuffed with falafel, left over roasted veggies and a bit of raita, they’re also great dipped in quality oil (no brainer) or hummus… you get the drill!

Ingredients

110g Wholemeal bread flour (Shipton Mill)  plus extra for dusting
100g Strong white bread flour (Shipton Mill)  
150ml tepid water
1 tsp sugar
5g Salt
4g Fast action dried yeast
1.5 tsp Extra virgin olive oil

Method

Combine the flours in a bowl. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add the water, then the oil and use a spatula to mix into a shaggy dough. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to autolyse for 30 minutes. Once autolysed knead for 8-10 minutes or until smooth and super elastic – I recommend using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment as the dough is quite sticky. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to prove for 60-90 minutes or until doubled.

Once proofed, degas the dough, and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface (use some extra wholemeal flour to dust the work surface), portion into 5 chunks and shape into rough balls. Leave to rest, covered with a tea towel, for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile place a baking stone or heavy baking tray in the oven and preheat to 240C//220C fan.

Once rested, working with one ball of dough at a time, lightly flour the work surface and the top of the ball of dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a disc approximately 14-15cm in diameter. Leave to rest covered for 20-30 minutes.

Once rested, bake the flatbread (you may need to work in batches or even one at a time depending on the size of your baking stone) for 3-4 minutes then carefully flip the flatbread for a further minute. Repeat with the remaining flatbreads. Once baked, transfer to a wire rack and cover with a clean dry tea towel. Enjoy warm or allow to cool and rejuvenate with a brief zap in the toaster.

PB Cornflake Krispies treats.

Something in the air changes at this time of year; obviously it changes, we’re moving into a new season, but I swear that in September the air smells different, the world around me changes colour, the days are a little shorter, and there are different sounds, as kids return to school, and parents to work; leaves crunch underfoot, and the birds play different music.

It reminds me of that ‘Back to school’ feeling so much; freshly sharpened Crayola pencils at the ready, dressed in my yellow pinstripe summer dress and lace trimmed socks, the feeling of dread as I anticipated all the changes that would have occurred since last school year, and my bursting lunchbox.

Whilst I have many foodie memories from my childhood, one of the ones that sticks most is the cereal bar. As a 90’s kid, I feel like I am a connoisseur of cereal bars, from the ‘healthy’, Nutri-grain Elevenses, to the sickly sweet Frosties bars with a ‘milky layer’, I had tried them all. Arguably the greatest though were Rice Krispy Squares (or ‘treats’ when homemade), a winning combo of crunchy toasted rice and sticky, sweet, marshmallow glue.

This week I got an urge to make my own, obviously things didn’t go quite to plan. The fundamental issue? I had no Rice Krispies. Instead of buying some specially, I decided to freestyle with Cornflakes, I also added some peanut butter to temper the sweetness, browned the butter for an extra layer of nuttiness and reduced the proportion of marshmallow slightly for a wonderfully chewy texture. They had strayed PRETTY far from the original; a kind of sophisticated adaptation, but they still transported me back to my youth and quite honestly are one of the most addictive snacks I have ever made. Don’t blame me if you eat a full tray in one go.

Makes 16 squares

Ingredients

Cornflake Base

75g Unsalted Butter
75g Smooth deep roast peanut butter unsweetened (any smooth will do) 
1 tsp vanilla extract
190g White mini marshmallows.

150g Cornflakes (Rice Krispies will work too) 
65g Roasted peanuts roughly chopped
1/2 tsp flaky salt

Topping

150g Milk or Dark Chocolate chopped up into small pieces.
2 tsp coconut oil or neutral oil

Method

Line the base and sides of an 8x8 inch baking tin with parchment.

First measure the cornflakes, salt, and peanuts into a large bowl, set aside.

Next prepare the brown butter. Melt the butter over a medium heat stirring frequently; it will melt then start to foam, when the foam subsides, it will begin to turn a shade of golden before smelling nutty – it is at this nutty stage that you want to reduce the heat to low, and add the peanut butter and vanilla, stir just to combine. Then remove from the heat and chuck in the marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted, around 1 minute.

Working quickly, pour the butter/pb/marshmallow mix over the cornflake mixture and stir until all the dry ingredients are coated in the sticky mixture. Immediately transfer to the prepared tin and press down flat using the back of a spatula – use a second piece of parchment placed over the surface of the mixture to press it down into a flat layer. Allow to cool for around 30 minutes in the fridge or until set.

Once set, combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water, stir until melted and glossy. Pour over the cornflake base and level with a palette knife – sprinkle with flaky salt and refrigerate until just set – 10-15 minutes should do it.

Portion into squares, I cut mine into 16 portions but it’s up to you how big you make them – TUCK INNNN!

NOTES

• I made this twice this week, and used different tins each time, the bigger the tin, the thinner the layer you will create, if you like them super thick and chunky, use a 7-inch square tin, otherwise stick to the 8 inch.

• As pointed out above, Rice Krispies will still work here if they are your preference!

• I like to store mine in the fridge as they have a slightly tendency to soften when left at room temperature… but the likelihood of them lasting longer than a day is probably slim!

Coffee Mascarpone Gelato

Aside from the ‘no churn’ varieties, I’ve never really dabbled in the ice cream world, but this week, Lakeland VERY kindly sent me an Ice cream maker to try (yes, I still feel overwhelmingly guilty and privileged if people send me free stuff), and so I tentatively gave it a whirl.

I started with a gelato recipe from one of my foodie idols, Letitia Clark. In her book, “La Vita É Dolce”, she shares a mascarpone gelato which forms the basis of my recipe below, I halved the recipe just to see how it turned out, and added coffee for a vaguely ‘Tiramisu’ vibe and honestly it was magical.

I have a LOT to learn about Gelato/ice cream making - mine looked a little grainy and I don’t know why, and I’m not quite sure of the reasoning behind Letitia making a sugar syrup to add to the Mascarpone cream base (why doesn’t she just add the pure sugar to the creamy base?), I also need to learn more about churning times, and how they influence the end result, BUT if I briefly put aside my perfectionist mentality, this gelato is really quite fabulous, it also doesn’t come with all the nasty additives you find in shop bought ice creams, and it has undoubtedly sparked a new iced-dessert-making obsession in me - I may be opening a gelato parlour from my house as of next week… ironic that we are heading out of ice cream season, but you know me, I love to stray from convention!

Yields approx. 500ml

Ingredients

200g Mascarpone cream (The best stuff you can get and full fat!!)
125g Whole milk
50g Greek Yoghurt
110g Caster sugar
50ml water
pinch salt
1 tsp espresso powder

Method

Combine the mascarpone, milk, and yoghurt in a bowl, whisk until smooth. Add the salt and coffee and whisk to combine. Next add the sugar and water to a saucepan and place over a medium heat, once the sugar has dissolved, bring to a simmer, cook for 3 minutes or until the syrup is shiny and slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a minute.

Slowly stream the sugar syrup into the mascarpone base, whisking continuously - if the sugar syrup seizes (it did for me), place over a pan of gently simmering water just until smooth - i.e. the sugar melts, don’t let the mixture get to warm. Transfer to a large jug and refrigerate until cold. Once cold, pour into your ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions - I did 35 minutes in my machine. Once churned, transfer to a tub and freeze. Scoop and serve.

NOTES

• Gelato differs from Ice cream in that it contains a higher proportion of milk to cream and is churned at slower speeds for a denser, smoother texture. It tastes more indulgent despite being less rich than ice cream.

• Given the lack of air incorporated into Gelato, you’d think it would resemble a solid brick. Instead, it’s velvety, soft and silky… why? Well apparently, this is down to the freezing, storage and serving temperature which should be around 10 degrees warmer than that of ice cream. Unfortunate I can’t moderate my freezer temperature purely for the sake of my gelato, so I found that removing it from the freezer 10 minutes or so before serving gave it the perfect creamy, soft texture.

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Okie dokie, that’s your lot from me.

Hope you’re managing to enjoy this warmer, brighter, weather and have had good week.

As ever sending loads of love and hugs,

Steph x x x