Caramelised Banana Tarte Tatin With Sea Salt

Another day in lockdown, another day digging through the archives of my first blog, which I  briefly wrote during my last year at university and first few months living in London.

Like flicking through old photo albums or hearing your voice played back to you, it's been an equally toe-curlingly cringeworthy and fondly nostalgic occupation. Turns of phrase and baking trends that have not aged well stand in for the bad haircuts and questionable clothing choices - I like to think I won't read this post back in seven years time with such disdain, but who knows. And before I move on - remember mug cakes?! Wow but also, ew.

Anyway, a ruby in the rubble was this forgotten recipe for caramelised banana tarte tatin. I remember baking this for my family and being very pleased with the results. I had been inspired by an early episode of Bake Off - back when all four judges/presenters had the same haircut and the contestants didn't have Instagram - where one of the bakers had created something similar.

At the risk of stating the painfully obvious, I think I had also recently discovered the saturation setting on Lightroom, so please forgive the lurid photos. Strangely, my early food photography and styling (or rather, severe lack of) makes me smile rather than grimace.

I hope you're all doing as ok as can be. If the perpetually empty baking section of my local Sainsbury's is anything to go by, you are all experimenting in the kitchen, which makes me so happy.

THE INGREDIENTS
Pastry
if you don't want to make your own pastry, skip this part and use shop bought puff pastry
225g plain flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
190g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
125g cold water
caramel
100g caster sugar
60g butter
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3 firm bananas
Flakey sea salt, to finish

To make the rough-puff pastry, place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, stirring and chopping it a little using a round-ended knife. Once the butter is well coated in flour, add the lemon juice along with 125ml of cold water. Continue mixing and chopping with the knife, until the mixture has formed a rough, soft dough.

Tip this onto a well floured surface, and shape roughly into a square. Roll into a rectangle which is roughly 35x20 cm, then fold into thirds. Roll the pastry out again into another rectangle, and repeat the process. Repeat this 4-5 times. Wrap up your pastry in clingfilm, and leave to cool down in the fridge for a few hours, or preferably overnight.

To make the caramel, heat the sugar in a pan. Avoiding stirring, let it cook until the sugar has melted and taken on a deep golden colour (10 minutes ish). Add the butter and salt, and shake the pan or if needed, quickly whisk together. Immediately, pour into the base of a round oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Cut the bananas into rounds and layer over the caramel.

Roll out the chilled pastry, and cut a circle just bigger than the banana dish. Place on top and tuck around the bananas, then bake at 180C for 40-45 minutes. The tart is cooked when the pastry is golden and firm to the touch. Flip it onto a plate (carefully, as the hot caramel could spill out when you do this) as soon as you take it out of the oven.

Continue reading

BANOFFEE BLONDIES

When I was at school, the lunch menu was a slow rotation of all the school dinner stalwarts: stodgy crumbles, sponge cakes and fruit pies, all served with a lot of vivid yellow custard. This was all well and good (I love all of these things - even the Birds custard), but very occasionally we'd see two words on the lunch menu - tacked to a burgundy pin board and monitored scrupulously - that would cause pandemonium. Banoffee. Pie.

The pie itself was - on reflection - not worthy of such excitement, but back then a slightly dry biscuit base, tinned caramel, sliced banana, shavings of cooking chocolate and a mountain of whipped cream was enough to send us wild. All these years later, I think back to that teenage euphoria every time I see it on a menu.

I wanted to translate those nostalgic flavours into a bar, and so it was that my banoffee blondies were born. I've added pecans to replicate the crunch of the pie crust, and swapped out the dark chocolate for white - although you could use whichever chocolate you prefer.

 THE INGREDIENTS 

250g unsalted butter

175g white chocolate

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)

75g dark brown sugar

75g light brown sugar

130g plain flour

1 tsp fine sea salt

75g pecans, toasted

2 small ripe bananas

100g salted caramel sauce

Pinch flakey sea salt

THE RECIPE

Heat the oven to 170°C and line a 20x30cm tin with baking paper. 

Place the butter in a saucepan with 75g of the white chocolate, and place over a low heat to melt. Once the butter has melted, remove from the heat - the residual heat will melt any unmelted white chocolate pieces. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the eggs, vanilla bean paste and sugars for 2-3 minutes until pale, foamy and doubled in volume. Add the melted butter and chocolate and mix to combine, then add the flour and salt and fold together. 

Roughly chop the remaining 100g of the white chocolate and the pecans, then fold through the blondie batter. Pour into the lined tin, and level the surface with a palette knife. 

Slice the bananas lengthways, then gently place on the surface of the blondie batter. Don't press them in - they will naturally sink when baking. Drizzle the salted caramel over the top, and sprinkle with a little flaky salt. 

Bake in the heated oven for 25-35 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and the mixture has lost any wobble when lightly shaken. Allow to cool full before slicing.

Continue reading

POACHED PEARS WITH POACHING SYRUP CARAMEL

Time continues to fascinate, distress and perplex me. Its habit of passing slowly and quickly simultaneously is widely acknowledged - as is the innate futility in any attempt to shape or control its passing. Just like mathematics, time as we tend to consider it is ultimately anthropomorphic. By that I mean that units of time - seconds, minutes, years - are a conceptual way of quantifying an infinite reality. A way to break down and manage an ageless and inevitable entity.

And yet, even as I grow older and feel more confident in my understanding of this world, the feeling that the hours, days and weeks are slipping through my fingers seems increasingly inescapable. More than ever, I find myself anxiously analysing my time and how I find myself filling it. Am I getting enough sleep? Do I have time to make my yoga class today? When will I feel successful? 

Irritating as it may be to hear from a 'time-rich' twenty-something single, the start of a new year can feel like a reminder that time waits for no man (or woman). For me, those first moments of 2016 were filled with doubt and apprehension. For the first time in my life, I don't see a clear map of how this year will pan out. It's something I'm trying to feel excited about - after all, what better time to resolve to conquer my instinct to control and worry? 

One thing I do feel sure of is that time spent in my kitchen has never felt like time wasted. Even hours of experimentation that end in disaster feel like hours of learning and practice. The serenity these precious pockets of time bring me is invaluable, and serve as a reminder to be patient. The best things - as they say - come to those who wait. 

And so, it felt only right for my first recipe of 2016 to be one nourished by the gentle care of time and patience. Winter pears, delicate and soft, poached in a simple spiced syrup. Once the pears are cooked, the syrup is slowly simmered for a couple of hours until the sweet liquor has formed a silky, sticky and spicy caramel. For me, the circularity of this pudding only adds to the aforementioned serenity. 

THE INGREDIENTS

4 just ripe pears

1 litre water

500g caster sugar

1 clementine

1 cinnamon stick

1 vanilla pod

1 star anise

THE RECIPE

In a large stock pot, measure out the water and sugar. Use a vegetable peeler to cut strips of clementine peel, and add this to the pot. Add the cinnamon, vanilla and star anise. Bring the pot to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes to allow the spices to infuse.

Peel the pears, leaving the stalks for structure, then cut in half and neatly remove the core. Add the pears to the simmering syrup, cover, and allow to cook for 30 minutes. Once the pears are soft, carefully remove them from the syrup using a serrated spoon, and set on sheets of kitchen roll to dry.

For the caramel, remove the lid from the pot and turn up the heat to medium high. The syrup should be on a soft rolling-boil. Leave it to reduce - this will take anywhere up to 2 hours depending on the temperature of your flame and size of your pot. The caramel is ready when the mixture has reduced to a thick, dark golden colour. Pour into a small bowl, and serve drizzled over the pears.

Continue reading

PEACH MELBA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

  

This weekend, my boyfriend and I were lucky enough to have lunch at The Hand & Flowers in Marlow. The brainchild of the scandalously talented Tom Kerridge, the food was delicious and clever in equal measure.

I forgot my modesty as soon as I saw the pudding menu. Forgive me for whoring out my pud on social media, but the white peach souffle with tea sorbet and rosemary custard was - with no word of a lie - the best pudding I have ever eaten. That alone would have been worth the one year waiting list.

I can't get enough of ripe rosy peaches, and yesterday's pudding inspired me to buy a huge bag-full of soft flat white peaches from the local market this morning. Sweet, juicy and full of summer, white peaches are the perfect match for the tangy punch of British raspberries.

Upside down cakes are a great way to cook with seasonal fruits, and are really simple to make too. A quick caramel, sliced fruit and almond sponge can be thrown together in no time, and make a perfect pudding for a dappled al fresco supper, or a drizzly indoor one if today's weather is anything to go by.
 
I've been particularly drawn to quick bakes recently. More than ever I feel like I don't have the time in my life to be rising billowing piles of bread dough, or folding and resting and folding pastry all day long. There are so many other things that need to get done, and it can be hard to justify hours on end in the kitchen.

While my Kitchenaid and I remain happily married and just as in love as ever, I recently invested in a Tesco Basic TBHM14 hand mixer for those times that I just can't face washing up an extra set of bowls and mixers. It was just a couple of pounds, and comes with five speed settings so that you can adapt the speed to your recipe. A hand mixer is perfect for quickly beating together a sponge mixture such as this one.

 THE INGREDIENTS

caramel

200g caster sugar

1 tsp salt

4 flat white peaches

100g raspberries

cake

200g butter

200g caster sugar

3 large eggs

75g ground almonds

125g flour

3 tsp baking powder

THE RECIPE

Preheat your oven to 180C and line the base of an 8 inch springform tin with baking parchment. 

For the caramel, add the sugar and salt to a large heavy-based pan with a few tablespoons of water. Cook, without stirring, until the sugar has melted and turned a deep amber colour. Carefully pour this into the base of the lined tin and set aside. Half lengthways and destone the peaches, then arrange cut side down on top of the caramel. Surround with the raspberries.

For the sponge, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and ground almonds, beat, then finish with the flour and baking powder. Once the mixture is smooth, pour over the fruit and caramel. Level, then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until risen, golden, and a knife comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a plate. Beware of hot caramel.

Continue reading

SALTED CHOCOLATE CRÈME BRULEE

I was outraged this week to hear crème brulee described as 'a little eighties.' I resort to verbatim because, as any aspiring Elle Woods's will know, your case needs evidence to stand up in a court of law.

My distress here is twofold: firstly, tarnishing anything with the glittery, permed brush of 'eighties' will do it no favours. And secondly, what's so bad about the eighties anyway? Photographic evidence suggests that my dad wore some oversized specs that would go down very well in East London these days, and I know few people of good taste who would turn down Tiramisu or a Black Forest Gateaux. Case closed.

If you're wary of brulee, please don't be. It's so delicious and you don't need to buy a blowtorch either which, unless you've got a spot of welding that needs doing, is a big tick in my book.

The chocolate was inspired by a version at my favourite splurge-spot, Bob Bob Ricard. An unoriginal choice I know but what can I say, I'm a sucker for novelty buttons and a good namesake (Bob has twice the shares, in case you were wondering).

My recipe is adapted from this version by delicious. magazine. You'll need to use a heavyweight dark chocolate for this one, and I found that Green&Blacks 80% cocoa was just the ticket.

 THE INGREDIENTS

100g Green&Blacks 80% dark chocolate

400ml double cream

4 egg yolks

1 tsp fine sea salt

25g caster sugar

 caster sugar & sea salt to finish

THE RECIPE

Begin by chopping your chocolate into small pieces, and setting aside in a large bowl. Put the cream in a saucepan, and gently bring to the boil. Allow it to bubble for a few seconds, then remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir the ganache until the mixture is smooth, and all the chocolate has melted.

Separately, whisk the yolks, sugar and salt until pale and slightly foamy. Add to the chocolate mixture, then return to a clean pan and heat through for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into small pots, teacups or ramekins and leave to cook in the fridge.

When you're ready to serve them, make a caramel with 100g caster sugar and a generous pinch of sea salt. Gently heat until the sugat has melted and the caramel is golden brown. Gently and carefully pour a layer of caramel over each brulee, and allow to harden before serving. 

Continue reading

BANOFFEE FLORENTINES

It's funny how evocative food can be. One bite can instantly transport you are back to a time or place that hasn't crossed your mind in years and yet, unknowingly, is still right there with you.

For me, banoffee pie takes me straight back to boarding school house lunches. I'm lucky enough to still call my group of school friends my best friends, but even so it's strange how wrapped up banana and toffee can be with in-jokes, nuances, dramas and teenage angst.

Florentines, meanwhile, will always make me think of a quintessential little bakery called Baines in my home town of Uppingham. Crisp, yet gooey, sweet and smothered in bitter dark chocolate, their florentines are not easily forgotten. If you ever find yourself in the area - Baines is well worth a visit.

I digress, but it's true that these biscuits are steeped in nostalgia for me. Luckily for you, they're downright delicious, with or without the sentimentalities. I've replaced the traditional dark chocolate with Green & Blacks Salted Milk Chocolate, which brings the perfect balance of richness and edge to the sweetness of the caramel.

You'll also need to find soft pieces of dried banana, as opposed to banana chips. I found mine in the childrens' snacks section of Sainsburys (not an aisle I frequent regularly and, while we're at it, who knew children's food was so pricey!?)

I'd love to hear what baking means to you, and the memories you associate with your favourite recipes. As always, you can reach me via the comments below, and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via the widgets to the right.

 THE INGREDIENTS 

50g caster sugar

50g golden syrup

50g butter
50g flour

50g dried banana pieces

75g flaked almonds

100g Green&Blacks Milk Chocolate with Sea Salt

THE RECIPE
Begin by preheating your oven to 180C, and lining two baking trays with non-stick parchment.

Weigh the butter, sugar and golden syrup directly into a saucepan, then set over a gentle heat, stirring until the butter has meted. Take the pan off the heat, then add the flour and mix quickly to form a paste. Add in the banana pieces and the almonds, and mix through.

Spoon teaspoon sized balls onto your trays, spacing them well apart as the florentines will spread in the oven. You may wish to do this in two batches. Shape into round mounds, then bake for 8-12 minutes. The florentines are done when they have browned ever so slightly, and lacy round the edges.

Allow them to cool on the trays for a few minutes, then carefully lift onto a cooling rack using. Allow them to cool completely.

Melt the chocolate, then spread over the flat site of each florentine. Leave the chocolate to harden for 5-10 minutes, then use a fork to create the characteristic zig-zag pattern.

Continue reading

SALTED CARAMEL PRALINE BROWNIES

If you've been reading PL for a while, you'll be no stranger to my passion for salted caramel. I'm very conscious of the cliché - salted caramel is up there with blood oranges, chia seeds, and 'slutty' bakes as overused favourites of food bloggers worldwide.

Falling prey to the clichés is easily done as a blogger. Aside from the fact that all of the above look seriously irresistible when scrolling through Instagram, there's definitely a pressure to keep up with the Jones's of the blogging world. There are so many talented, creative and smart writers out there, and it's easy to feel inferior and just a little fraudulent.

As time goes by, I'm trying to make a conscious effort not to sweat about whether my blog is as good as all the others that I love reading. Aside from the fact that it's a total waste of time, it also makes for a lot of unoriginal and clichéd writing - which is the last thing you want from a blog.

That said, there's no smoke without fire and, ultimately, trends don't tend to grow without foundation. The salted caramel revolution is a little 2013, but Pudding Lane still has a lot of time for the stuff. Throw in some toasted hazelnuts to make a praline then sandwich with layers of gooey chocolate brownie batter, and you've certainly got something trendworthy.

Of course you can save yourself a little time and buy the caramel, but it's so easy to make your own. I tend to make a big batch a keep it in the fridge for, you know, those moments when a sugar low hits.

 THE INGREDIENTS

caramel

150g caster sugar

125 ml double cream

25 g butter

1 tsp salt

75g toasted hazelnuts

brownies

150g unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

50g soft brown sugar

70g cocoa powder

2 eggs

70g flour

THE RECIPE

For the caramel, melt the caster sugar and salt in a heavy based saucepan. When it's golden brown and the sugar has just dissolved, remove it from the heat and pour in the cream. Being careful (it will bubble), beat the mixture to combine. If any lumps of sugar solidify, return the pan to a gentle heat and stir to melt through. Add the butter, stir to melt, and pour into a sterilized jar. Leave to cool. 

For the brownies, preheat the oven to 160C, and line an 8" (20cm) square tin with baking parchment. Weigh the butter, sugars and cocoa into a small pan, and melt over a gentle heat until the butter is melted and you have a combined mixture. Don't panic if it's still a little grainy.

Remove from the heat, and crack in the eggs. Beat quickly to combine - the mixture should become smooth and glossy. Sieve in the flour, and mix until  just combined. Next, pour half of the brownie mixture into your lined tin. Add a layer of caramel, ensuring you leave a few centimetres of margin around the edge. Try not to smooth it at all, as you'll end up mixing it with the brownie batter.

Scatter with the nuts, and then spoon over another thin layer of caramel. Top with the remaining brownie batter, and gently smooth into an even surface. Bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. You will be able to tell it's done when the brownie has only the slightest wobble in the middle when shaken.

Cool in the tin until just warm, then carefully lift the paper out and leave on a rake to cool completely. Slice up and share. 

Continue reading

TOFFEE APPLE BUNS

The blogisphere is bursting at the seams with Valentines recipes this week. Every other post on my Instagram feed is raspberries, rose, hearts and oozing chocolate centres. My fellow bloggers have excelled themselves this year, and there will be some very lucky loved ones enjoying their creations tomorrow.

Try as I might, I struggle to really give myself over toValentines Day. Is it because I'm cold hearted, or bitter that the bouquet of fifty (fifty!) red roses landed on someone else's desk at work today? I'm certainly guilty of both these vices at times, but it's the pressure and expectation of the day that I find it hard.

While I would never want to discourage declarations and demonstrations of love, I'd like to think that we can do better that 'organised romance'. A quick trip to Paperchase today unveiled a scene of utter carnage, strewn with tissue paper, pun-filled cards and what felt like the entire male population of London Victoria.

For this writer at least, the tiny, spontaneous gestures mean so much more than the obligatory bouquet on 14th February. To any anxious readers that are not prepared for the big day, fear not. Valentines should be, I think, nothing more than a lovely excuse to remind people how much you love them. And nothing says I love you like fresh home-made toffee filled buns.

Get your dough started tonight, and you can surprise your Valentine with breakfast in bed. You see, I can share off my cynicism for special occasions.

 

THE INGREDIENTS

250g strong white bread flour

10g fast-action yeast

5g salt

20g caster sugar

75ml warm milk

75ml water

25g butter

1 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

3 cox apples, peeled, cored and cubed

75g walnuts, chopped

100g caster sugar

THE RECIPE 

Weigh the flour into a large mixing bowl, then add the yeast to one side of the bowl, and the salt and the sugar to the other. Seperately heat the milk until it is warm through, then add the butter to the milk, stirring to melt. Tip the milk into the flour mix, and crack in the egg. Using your hand, turn the contents to mix, and continue mixing until the mixture is smooth and all the flour has been picked up. 

Tip onto an oiled surface, and knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is soft, stretchy and has stopped being sticky. Lightly oil a clean bowl, add the dough and leave to rise (covered with a clean tea towel) for 1-2 hours, or overnight in the fridge if you are making these for breakfast. 

While the dough is rising, heat the caster sugar in a pan until it was formed a dark amber caramel. Remove from the heat and add the apples and walnuts, then return from the heat and cook until the apples are soft. Pass through a sieve, keeping the caramel liquid, and set aside.

Once the dough has doubled in size, sprinkle the cinnamon and a little flour onto a work surface, and tip the dough on top. Press inwardly to knock out all of the air, then roll out into a large rectangle. Spoon the drained apple mixture and spread evenly over the dough. 

Roll the dough using the long side as your starting point into a tight swiss roll. Chop into 6-8 even pieces, set on a baking tray, and place in a clean bag and allow to rise for 1 hour. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 200C. Once the buns are ready, bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and if they are colouring too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of the bake. 

When your buns are hot out of the oven, use a pastry brush to glaze them with the apple caramel.

Continue reading

SALTED CARAMEL BANANA TARTE TATIN

 I've made no secret on this blog of my firm belief that baking is all about association. Call me crazy, but I really do think that it's as deeply rooted in my genetic heritage as my height and eye colour. While I'm sure the scientifically-inclined among you would disagree, a love of baking seems to have trickled down my ancestry as strongly as any dominant strand. 

Just as baking comes from my Mum, my criminally sweet tooth is all Dad. The two together make for a very dangerous cocktail, and I suppose this blog is the product. This tart is delicious twist on the French classic, and is the perfect treat for all our hard working dads. Sadly mine has given up sugar which, as Pudding Lane's biggest fan, is really rather impressive. 

THE INGREDIENTS
pastry
225g plain flour
pinch of salt
190g unsalted butter
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
caramel
100g caster sugar
60g butter
1 tsp salt
3 firm bananas

THE RECIPE
To make the rough-puff pastry, combine the flour and salt in a large, clean basin. Cube up the cold butter, then add to the bowl, stirring and chopping it a little using a round-ended knife. Once the butter is well coated in flour, add the lemon juice along with 125ml of cool water. Continue mixing and vaguely chopping with the knife, until the mixture has formed a rough, soft dough.

Tip this onto a well floured surface, and shape roughly into a square. Roll into a rectangle which is roughly 35x20 cm, then fold into thirds. Roll the pastry out again into another rectangle, and repeat the process. Repeat this 4-5 times. Wrap up your pastry in clingfilm, and leave to cool down in the fridge for a few hours, or preferably overnight.

To make the caramel, heat the sugar in a pan with a few tablespoons of water. Be patient with it and don't stir it, it will end in tears and wasted sugar. Hold your nerve and let it bubble for 5-10 minutes, until it goes a golden colour and is starting to become liquid. Add the butter and salt, and shake the pan (no stirring) to combine. Pour into the base of a round oven-proof dish, then cut the bananas into rounds and layer over the caramel.

Roll out your chilled pastry, and cut a circle just bigger than the banana dish. Place on top and tuck around the bananas, then bake at 180C for 40-45 minutes. Your tart is cooked when the pastry is golden and firm to the touch. Flip it onto a plate (beware of hot rogue caramel) as soon as you take it out of the oven.

Continue reading