Easy Sticky Buns.....with rasins and pecans

So the Great British Bake Off had their buns out this week, but once again doing it the hard way.  Never let it be said Ralph doesn't try to make your life easier, so here's a foolproof, quick to make and extra tasty bun you can put in your oven.....OK I don't see why Mel and Sue should be the only ones to turn baking into a double entendre fest!

They're absolutely delicious filled with brown sugar, toasted pecans and rasins but the secret is they're made with ready-made puff pastry.  So get them baked and settle down with a nice cup of coffee!



Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 170 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 60 g light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 110 g pecans , chopped in very large pieces
• 1x450g packet puff pastry

     For the filling
     

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 120 g light brown sugar
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 200 g raisins

• Method

  
  
  
  
  
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Place a 12-cup muffin tin on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  
  2. Combine the butter and brown sugar either by hand or in a mixer. 
• Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. 
• Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the 12 muffin cups.
  
  3. For the filling: lightly flour a wooden board or worksurface. 
• Unfold one sheet of puff pastry into a rectangle with the long side nearest to you. 
• Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. 
• Leaving a 2cm border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with half the brown sugar, half the cinnamon and half the raisins.
  
  4. Starting with the end nearest to you, roll the pastry up snugly like a Swiss roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. 
• Trim the ends of the roll about 1 cm and discard. Slice the roll into 6 equal pieces, each about 3.5cm wide. 
• Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.
  
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, 
• invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and allow to cool completely. 

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Spiced Plum and Blackberry Crumble

Well summer's definitely gone so it's time for some tummy warming pudding recipes and where better to start than with a crumble.  This ones a Spiced Plum and Blackberry crumble with an Oat topping, delicious with some home made custard or even better for a contrast some home made ice cream.

It only takes about 20 minutes to prepare and the lightly spiced fruit is an absolute delight.....perfect for an autumn Sunday dinner table.....and I've included an easy to do, no equipment necessary ice cream recipe for you to try.....don't say I'm not good to you!




Ingredients.....topping

• 140g plain flour
• 140g butter, cut into small dice
• 85g soft brown sugar
• 50g porridge oats
• custard, cream or ice cream to serve

Ingredients.....fruit

• 
  
• 1 kg ripe plums (about 14), halved and stoned
• 1 tbsp soft   brown sugar
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 2 star anise
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• juice of ½ a lemon
• 300g blackberries

Method

First, make the crumble topping. Put the flour and butter in a food processor and pulse to the texture of wet sand. Tip into a bowl and add the sugar and oats. 

Sprinkle the mixture with 2 tbsp cold water, then use a fork to mix everything together, creating a crumbly texture with a few large clumps. Chill until needed.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip all the fruit ingredients, except the blackberries, into a large ovenproof dish. Add 50ml water, cover with foil and bake for 1 hr. 

Remove the foil and discard star anise. Add the blackberries to the dish, sprinkle over the crumble mixture and return to the oven for a further 25-30 mins until the top is golden. Serve hot with custard.

Home made ice cream 

Ingredients.....

• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 140g caster sugar
• 300ml pot double cream

Method.....

Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks and and vanilla extract with an electric whisk until light and foamy. 

Clean the whisk, then in another bowl whisk the egg whites, gradually adding the caster sugar until it is thick and glossy, a bit like making meringues.


Lightly whip the double cream until it softly holds its shape. Mix with the yolks and egg white mixture until everything is combined. 

Turn into a container, cover and freeze until solid. 

Take out of the fridge about 10 mins before serving.




Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2011

Indian Potato Pie

So I was watching The Great British Bake Off and thinking to myself.....that's a lot of work and hassle to make a pie, so as is Ralph's way here's a vegetarian pie recipe that's easy, relatively quick to make and is delicious hot, warm or cold so it can be made well in advance too.....


Ingredients:

• 
  
• 700g potatoes , sliced
• 400g sweet potatoes , sliced
• 1 onion , chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
• 
  
• 
• 1 red chilli , finely chopped
• 1 thumb-size piece ginger , grated
• 1 tsp each ground cumin, coriander and garam masala
• pinch dried chilli flakes
• 200g frozen peas
• juice 1 lemon , plus extra wedges to serve
• 
• small bunch coriander , chopped
• 25g butter , melted
• 275g pack filo pastry
• ½ tsp poppy seeds

Method:

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan of cold, salted water, then bring to the boil. Turn down and simmer for 5 mins, add the sweet potatoes and continue to cook for 8 mins until just tender. Drain really well.



Fry the onion in the oil until soft, add the cumin seeds for 1 min, then stir in the garlic, chilli and ginger with the remaining spices. Cook for a further 2-3 mins, then turn off the heat and stir into the potatoes with the peas, lemon juice and coriander.




Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Halve the filo sheets, and use two-thirds of them, overlapping, to line a 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin with a little overhang. As you lay in each sheet, brush with melted butter and keep the rest covered with a clean tea towel. Spoon in filling and press down lightly. Cover with remaining filo, then fold up overhanging sides and scrunch up pastry near the edges.



Poke several slits in the top of the pastry and brush with more butter. Sprinkle with the poppy seeds. Bake for 40-45 mins until golden brown. Serve either hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges.




Recipe from Good Food magazine  January 2011

White Chocolate Torte.....with shiny chocolate sauce.

Here's an easy recipe that punches well above its weight when it comes to look and taste!  It's a White Chocolate Torte with a shiny chocolate sauce.  

Now if you'd been watching The Great British Bake Off you'll know that tortes are very in and this one will grace the best of tables but with the minimum of effort.

No 2 hours 45 minutes to make it here....it's ready to chill in 30 minutes (plus the freezing time for the base) and serves 8.








Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the biscuits and mix well. Butter an 18cm loose-based round tin and press the biscuits into the base using the back of a spoon or your hands. Freeze until cold.






Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water or in short blasts in the microwave - be careful, white chocolate burns very easily. Once the chocolate has melted, leave to cool.







Whisk the cream until you can leave a ribbon-like trail for a couple of seconds. If your cream is very cold, leave it to warm up a little so it doesn't make the chocolate seize. The thicker you whisk the cream the more solid the torte will be. 

Add 2 tbsp of the whipped cream to the white chocolate and stir it in. Pour the rest of the chocolate into the cream and mix well. Pour into the tin and chill until firm.





Make the sauce by putting all the ingredients in a saucepan with 250ml water and bring to a simmer, stirring. Simmer until the mixture thickens enough to draw a line through it on the back of a wooden spoon and then cool. Use some to decorate the top of the torte and re-warm the rest when ready to serve.

Banana Tarte Tatin.....the easy way!

Always fancied making a Tarte Tatin but couldn't face the trials and tribulations that ensue?  Well here's a recipe for a Banana Tarte Tatin that even a Jack Russell could follow. It's a quick, painless (relatively) and delicious alternative to the traditional Tarte Tatin!   Made with bananas and toffee sauce, an alternative to a traditional tarte Tatin will be sure to go down well with all the family.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time:      20 - 25 minutes

Total time:           30 - 35 minutes    


Ingredients:

• 375g pack fresh Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
• 4 ripe bananas
• ½ x 300g pouch Waitrose (or any other) Toffee Sauce

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. 

Lightly grease a 24cm round cake, or tarte Tatin, tin. 

Unroll the pastry and cut out a 24cm diameter circle to fit the tin.

Peel and cut the bananas into slices then lay them inside the base of the tin. Pour over the toffee sauce, covering the banana evenly.

Place the circle of pastry over the bananas, tucking the edges loosely round the edges of the tin so that steam can escape. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to stand for a few minutes to cool slightly. Using an oven glove to protect your hands, place a serving dish on top of the tin and, holding them firmly together, turn the tarte upside down. Carefully remove the tin. Scrape any remaining sauce in the tin over the tarte Tatin. Serve immediately with chilled  organic Single cream or a generous scoop of good quality Vanilla Ice Cream.

Now if you're feeling really adventurous, why not have a go at making your own vanilla ice cream as this easy, creamy recipe for vanilla ice cream doesn't require an ice cream maker and only takes 10 minutes to cook!

Ingredients:

• 2 vanilla pods
• 500ml/16fl oz double cream (see tip)
• 70g/3oz sugar
• 3 fresh local organic egg yolks
  
  
  
  
  Preparation:
  
  
  
  
  Halve the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add the pods to the cream and bring to the boil, then add the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
  
  
• Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl then slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture.
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• Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into another bowl and whisk in the vanilla seeds. Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container and freeze for 2-3 hours, or until set.

• Top Tip:
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• Due to the absence of milk in this recipe, the ice cream does not crystallise in the freezer bowl. So there's no need to stir it. Ideal for anyone without an ice cream maker.

Feel free to share this recipe with your friends and.....if you made it and enjoyed it.....let Ralph know, he'd love to hear from you!