CANDIED KUMQUAT & CACAO NIB COOKIES
13 October 2019
Rye, vanilla and dark chocolate cookies
12 February 2017
I wanted to start with the most heartfelt thank you to all of you sweet readers who took the time to write to me after my last post. Your messages left me a weepy mess (nothing new there!) This community is just so incredibly special, and I am so incredibly lucky to be a part of it. I don't say it often enough - thank you so so much.
Crazy as it may sound, I am prone to forget that anyone other than me is really reading this. Well, apart from you Dad, my own personal proof-reader (and thank goodness you do, my spelling and grammar being as sloppy as they are these days). Blogging can feel a bit of a one-sided conversation sometimes, and it is still amazing to me that you guys are reading and listening.
It seems like a fitting continuation of our last conversation to bring you those very cookies that I kept thinking about but was unable to find the time to test out. Reader, I made them. And now I have a tin full of the softest, most luxurious cookies to dive into whenever life threatens to get a bit much. Am I alone in drawing immeasurable comfort from the knowledge that there are sweet treats readily available? I hope not.
I am conscious that I owe you all a proper explanation of the cookery course that has been keeping me so busy, and I promise to share more details soon. For now, I'll leave you with this recipe. Please make these, they are so quick and totally delicious too.
What will you be baking this weekend?
THE INGREDIENTS
125g dark chocolate
140ml double cream
230g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
200g soft light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
Zest of 2 blood oranges (or other varieties will work equally well)
440g wholemeal rye flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp boiling water
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
THE RECIPE
Begin by making your homemade chocolate chips. Line a small baking tray that fits in your freezer with cling film. Beak the chocolate up in a bowl, and set aside. In a small pan, heat the cream until it is just bubbling, then pour over the chocolate. Leave the cream and chocolate to sit for 10 minutes, without stirring. When the time is up, gently stir it to bring the mixture together, until you have a glossy, thick and smooth ganache. Pour into the prepared tin, then set in the freezer and leave to freeze solid for 3 hours. Once the chips are frozen, remove from the freezer and cut into chunks. Store in the freezer until you're ready to use them. For the cookies, preheat the oven to 190C. Line two/three baking trays with parchment and set aside. Next, cream together the softened butter and both sugars. Add the eggs, and once beaten in add the vanilla and orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, then fold into the wet ingredients. In a small bowl, mix the coffee granules with the boiling water, and add to the dough, mixing well.
Finally, add the chocolate chips and fold by hand to combine and distribute among the dough. Use two teaspoons to spoon the cookies onto the trays. As the cookies will spread while baking, space them out well. You should get 4-5 cookies on each tray. Sprinkle the cookies with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt.
Bake in the oven for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies have spread, risen and sunk again, and are just golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for 10 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to firm up fully. Repeat this process until all the dough has been used up (you can reuse the baking parchment). This recipe makes around 30 cookies.
White Chocolate and Sour Cherry Cookies + a competition with Dr Oetker!
30 November 2016
Last week, Dr Oetker invited me to a decorating masterclass with the wonderful Juliet Sear to help launch WeBake.co.uk. I had so much fun learning from Juliet, who shared some of her favourite decorating techniques with us and was totally lovely too.
For those of you who might not know, We Bake is a brand new online platform built specifically for home bakers. It's a little like Instagram, but is also packed with recipes, tips and advice from both Dr Oetker and the community of bakers. I've found so much inspiration from all the creative ideas that everyone is sharing. You can sign up for yourself here.
Dr Oetker, synonymous with sprinkles, essences and writing icing, sent us home weighed down with a whole plethora of goodies from their new product line to try at home. I have had a lovely few days closeted up in my kitchen and experimenting with glitter sprays, designer icings and Dr Oetker's chocolate range.
And I'm excited to say that one of you lucky lot will be able to try the new product range out for yourself too! Dr Oetker have kindly given me a gorgeous hamper to giveaway on Pudding Lane. All you need to do is hop on over to We Bake, sign up and post a recipe or entry to one of the community competitions (why not Bake a Bauble or have a stab at winning the Cupcake Championship?). Just share a link to your post in the comments section below, and I'll enter you into the draw to win the hamper. What are you waiting for guys?
I tested this recipe using Dr Oetker's white chocolate chips, which are specifically developed so that they chunks don't melt, but maintain their shape when baking. The sweetness of the chocolate is the perfect match to zingy sour cherries.
THE INGREDIENTS
75g unsalted butter
40g light brown sugar
60g caster sugar
1 egg
110g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
100g Dr Oetker white chocolate chips
75g sour cherries
THE RECIPE
Line two baking trays with parchment, and ensure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin.
Cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Once smooth, mix in the egg.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and sea salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until just combined. Stir through the white chocolate chips. Dry and dice the cherries, then add these to the cookie dough too.
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop 8-10 cookies onto the trays, then refrigerate for an hour.
Heat the oven to 170°C / 150°C fan. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden and just cooked in the centre. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking trays, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.