Recipe: Churros

Regular readers will know that I am a huge fan of the Great British Bake Off, a programme where amateur bakers compete to be crowned the Bake Off Champion.

 

The competition takes place over a number of weeks, each of which has a different theme. Topics covered include cakes, biscuits, bread, tarts and this year for the first time ever there was a ‘batter week’ during which the contestants had to make Yorkshire puddings, lacy pancakes and churros.

 

Churros are made from a dough – similar to choux pastry – which is piped into long fingers or into spirals before being deep-fried  and then tossed in cinnamon sugar whilst still hot. They are popular in Spain, Portugal and Latin America where they are often eaten for breakfast with a strong cup of coffee. I love to eat them with a chocolate dipping sauce, but they are also fabulous on their own.

 

This churro dough is incredibly easy to make but as it is quite stiff, some strength is needed when piping the individual churros. Some recipes advocate piping them straight into the hot oil but I find it easier to pipe then out onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper first. Also, although I love the convenience of plastic disposable piping bags, I find that fabric piping bags work best when making churros as they are stronger. Use a scissors to snip each churro once it is the required length.

INGREDIENTS:

250g plain flour, sifted

50g butter

200ml water

1tsp of vanilla extract

 

Chocolate Dipping Sauce:

125g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces

250ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

To finish:

100g caster sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

350ml vegetable oil

 

METHOD:

 

To make the churros:

1. Place the flour into a mixing bowl. Separately, place the butter, water and vanilla extract into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Immediately remove from the heat and pour into the flour, mixing well with a wooden spoon so that there are no pockets of flour remaining.
2. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes and then place in a fabric piping bag fitted a large star shaped nozzle. Pipe 15cms lengths of the mixture onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper until all the mixture has been piped. Place the tray in the fridge for 30 minutes as the churros will hold their shape better when they are deep-fried.

 

Chocolate dipping sauce:

1. Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and heat together over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly to create a smooth sauce. Serve warm alongside the finished churros in a small bowl.

 

To fry the churros:

1. Mix the caster sugar and cinnamon together and place on a large flat bowl.
2. Heat the vegetable oil to approximately 160C in a large heavy-based saucepan and then fry the churros in batches, 3 or 4 at a time until golden brown all over (about 4-5 minutes). Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper before tossing in the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Serve warm with the chocolate sauce.

 

Makes 15-16 churros.
 

Almond Bostock with Roasted Greengages

Well folks, life is certainly rather busy these days… and guess what…? I LOVE IT. I am getting the opportunity to do the thing that I love most doing which is writing about food, food producers, Irish restaurants and all things food related.

 

Now, whilst all of this seems like great fun – and there is no denying that it is – I find that I seem to spend my life dashing from one place to the other or else holed up in front of my laptop trying to catch up on all the writing that I have to do! However, I have learnt one very important thing… when you are doing what you love, it never seems like hard work.

 

The great thing about eating in so many great restaurants and meeting people who are so passionate about producing good food is that I find it really inspiring in terms of the food that I want to cook at home in my own kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I am necessarily trying to replicate the dishes that I eat when I’m out and about eating in restaurants and chatting to food producers; it’s more that I borrow flavour/ingredient combinations and ideas that I am exposed to and try them out at home.

 

Quite often the lesson to be learnt is that ‘less is definitely more’ and that you don’t need to over-complicate matters. I think that key to this is buying the best and freshest ingredients that you can afford and use them in a way that celebrates the particular characteristics of that ingredient.

 

There’s no doubting that August is a bountiful month; there are so many fruits and vegetables in season and loads of different things for the enthusiastic and adventurous cook to use.

 

Greengages are in season at the moment and whilst they can be a little difficult to source, I would urge you to snap them up if you come across them. A variety of plum, they possess a honey like sweetness which is heavenly and which I find, is intensified by being treated simply. Here I have simple roasted them and served them as an accompaniment to the Almond Bostock.

 

Anyone who regularly reads my musings here will know that I have a little bit of a sweet tooth but that I also love dishes that are quick and easy to prepare. The following recipe is one that satisfies both those criteria and produces a dish that I promise you will find yourself returning to time after time.

 

Almond Bostock is essentially syrup soaked stale bread topped with frangipane which is then baked. I have carried out loads of research but have been unable to find and information on why it so-called but really it doesn’t matter because it tastes amazing and for anyone who loves anything containing almonds it is a sure-fire winner.

 

This would make a lovely brunch dish especially when you want something sweet to eat with a cup of strong coffee but really it’s a treat that could be enjoyed at any time of the day. The frangipane and syrup can be made the day before and stored in the fridge overnight and the dish can be quickly assembled and baked the following day. Absolutely DELICIOUS!
 

Ingredients:

Roasted greengages:
9 greengages halved and stoned

1tblsp of caster sugar

Almond Bostock:

6 slices of slightly stale brioche

50g flaked almonds

Syrup:

50g caster sugar

50ml water

1tsp orange flower water

Frangipane:

90g butter, softened

90g caster sugar

90g ground almonds

1 medium egg

To finish:

A little icing sugar for dusting
 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Lay the brioche slices out on a large baking tray lined with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.

Roasted greengages:

2. Place the halved greengages cut-side up in a roasting tray, placing them so that they sit side-by-side in one layer. Sprinkle the caster sugar over the greengages and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until slightly softened and beginning to caramelise at the edges. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Syrup:

3. Place the caster sugar and water in a small saucepan over a moderate heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and bring up to simmering point. Allow to bubble away for 3 minutes and the remove from the heat. Sir in the orange flower water. Set aside to cool a little while you make the frangipane.

Frangipane:

4. Place the butter and caster sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer beat together until light and fluffy. Add the ground almonds and mix again until they are fully incorporated. Finally mix in the egg to create a soft paste.

To finish:

5. Brush the top of each slice of brioche with some of the syrup (you can be quite generous with the amount you brush but don’t drench the bread totally).

6. Spread some of the frangipane over each slice of syrup soaked brioche so that it covers the entire top surface of the bread. Scatter the flaked almonds over the frangipane and bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes until the frangipane is golden brown and has set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving lightly dusted with icing sugar and accompanied by 2 or 3 of the roasted greengages. Some lightly whipped cream would not go astray.
 

Serves 6.

Oat & Apple Muffins

I love baking and really enjoy the techniques and processes involved but sometimes I just want to make something that is easy to prepare and ready to eat in the least amount of time possible. This has to be one of the easiest and quickest recipes and is one that I use on a regular basis as it produces lovely light but moist muffins.

 

Muffins are lovely served for breakfast and these ones are particularly nice as they don’t contain an excessive amount of sugar. In fact, much of their sweetness comes from the diced apple which is included. You can, of course, use other fruits in season. Pears work particularly well and when I use them I also like to add a few chopped walnuts or pecans in addition to the oats. Chopped fresh strawberries are also delicious and make a wonderful summertime muffin.

 

The key thing when making these is not to over-mix the batter as the resulting muffins will be dense and heavy. Combine everything just enough to ensure that you don’t have any large pockets of dry flour and remember that the batter is meant to look a little lumpy.

 

Although the baked muffins are delicious when eaten cold, I recommend eating them whilst they are still warm as they are absolutely sensational.

 

Ingredients:

150g self-raising flour, sifted
35g porridge oats
60g light brown muscovado sugar

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced into 1cm cubes

180ml natural Greek style yoghurt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

50g butter, melted

To finish:

25g porridge oats 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Place paper cases in 9 holes of a cupcake tin and set aside.
2. Place the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the porridge oats and sugar. Mix together so that everything is well distributed. Add the cubed apples and mix again. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add yoghurt , egg and melted butter. Do not over-mix.

3. Divide the mixture evenly between the 9 paper cases and sprinkle some oats on the top of each muffin.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and a thin skewer inserted into the centre of one comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving warm.
 

Makes 9.
 

Almond Croissants

I have always had a real soft spot for anything that is almond flavoured or contains almonds; I particularly love frangipane and bakewell tarts, both of which include almonds. I also love cakes containing/covered with marzipan such as Battenberg Cake, traditional Christmas Cake, Simnel Cake and the like. In fact, where a cake is covered in or includes a layer of marzipan, I love dislodging it from the rest of the cake and savouring it on its own.

 

As a child, I was fascinated with the boxes or marzipan fruits that tended only to be available to buy around Christmas time. These were little sweets made out of marzipan and fashioned to look like miniature fruit – I absolutely adored them and regularly pestered my mother and grandmother to buy them for me.
 

I discovered almond croissants at a relatively late stage when I was in my twenties, but when I did I was hooked. My friends and family know that I am like a woman obsessed at the moment, trying to make my own homemade croissants. I have been folding butter and dough by the kilo and have yet to produce a croissant that I am perfectly happy with; one that is flaky and airy with a buttery flavour. My attempts have been more than passable but the croissants have not been quite at the standard that I wish. However, I will not be thwarted! I am determined to master them.

 

The great thing about these almond croissants is that you do not have to bake your own croissants in order to make them but can instead use store-bought ones. Do try to get all-butter croissants as the finished results will be far superior and will have that lovely flavour and texture that you can only get from butter. The key thing when making the almond croissants is to use stale croissants, that normally would be too dry and a little on the hard side… I promise you that the finished product will be worth it! If you use croissants that are too fresh, everything just collapses into an almond flavoured mush, albeit a very tasty almond flavoured mush!

 

If, like me, you are a fan of almonds, you will love the taste of these croissants. They are incredibly easy to make and the perfect sweet treat to have for an indulgent breakfast or lazy brunch!

 

There are a number of recipes on the old interweb thingy for similar almond croissants, but after a few trials, this is the version that I came up with. You will note that I have soaked the stale croissants in a syrup made from Amaretto prior to then filling them with the almond cream/frangipane, which believe me, makes these croissants really special, bursting with a lovely almond flavour.
 

Ingredients:

Amaretto syrup:
200ml water

25ml Amaretto

25g caster sugar

Almond cream:

115g butter, softened

115g caster sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

115g ground almonds

To finish:

6 x 3-day-old plain croissants

150g flaked almonds

Icing sugar for dusting
 

Method:

Amaretto syrup:

1. Put all the ingredients into a small saucepan and place over a moderate heat. Heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and then increase the heat and allow to bubble for 1 minute before removing from the heat. Allow to cool completely.

Almond cream:

2. Place the butter and caster sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer, cream together until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the eggs until they are fully incorporated and finally add the ground almonds, making sure that they are thoroughly mixed in. Set aside.

To make the almond croissants:

3. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.

4. Pour the cooled Amaretto syrup into a shallow dish and soak each of the croissants for 4-5 minutes, before removing and slicing horizontally through the middle.

5. Divide half of the almond cream equally between the bases of the 6 croissants and replace their tops. Spread the remaining almond cream over the tops of the 6 croissants, dividing it equally and sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes until the almond cream on top of the croissants has turned a light golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving dusted with a small amount of icing sugar.

Makes 6.