Lemon Puff Biscuits

 

One of my favourite things to eat has always been the Lemon Puff Biscuits/Cookies that you can get in the shops.  I love lemon anything anyways, but  . . .  

 

there is just something totally irresistable and moreish about these treats . . . with their flaky cookie/cracker-like pastry . . .  and that yummy lemon filling.  I could eat a whole pack of them myself.  Trust me, I don't, but I could!  I just find them that yummy!

 

I found myself craving them today.  You know how that goes.  Sometimes you just crave something that you haven't had for a while.  I haven't seen any in the shops the last while to be honest.

 

I did have a packet of ready rolled all butter Puff Pastry in the freezer though, and I got to thinking to myself today, why couldn't I just use that?  Why indeed!

  

I cut it into 1 by 3 inch rectangles . . . I can't tell you how many I got exactly because I didn't count them and some have um . . .  disappeared in the interim between my baking and filling them, and my sitting down to write this. 

 

Both Todd and myself have been picking at them. So much for him saying he doesn't like lemon.  Pah!  Methinks he likes it well enough!

 

The ones you buy in the shops are glazed with something and so I glazed mine with a mix of egg white, caster (fine) sugar and lemon juice, prior to sprinkling them with a touch of demerara sugar for crunch, and then baking them in a hot oven.  This worked beautifully.  

 

They came out lovely and light and perfectly golden brown with a lovely crunchy sheen/topping.

  

It was very easy to split them in half and fill them with a lush lemon flavoured buttercream.  Do wait for them to cool completely before you do this.  You don't want the butter cream to melt.

 

I wanted to be a bit generous with the filling. You almost can't see it here because it is quite a pale buttery colour, but believe me when I say that it is there . . . .

 

Oh boy  . . .  that combination of crisp  sweetly crunchy puff pastry and that rich lemon buttercream are a beautiful combination.  Simply beautiful  . . .

 

Such a beautiful thing to enjoy on a day such as this when you just want to put all that is happening in the world out of your mind  . . .  you just want to sit back with a hot cuppa and a breath of something slightly indulgent and sweet . . .

 

And these do fit the bill perfectly!  Just look at all of those flakey layers  . . . .

 

And that wonderfully rich and indulgent buttercream filling . . .  it just melts in your mouth.

 

They went perfectly with my cup of herbal tea . . .  today it was mint . . . a lovely pick-me-up.

  

Of course days like this call for even more of an indulgence so I enjoyed my tea in my Susan Branch Bluebird Mug.  I hardly ever use the mug.  Its so beautiful and I am afraid of  breaking it, but then again what is the point of having something beautiful and never using it.  Why indeed!

Lemon Puff Biscuits

Yield: Makes quite a few

Author: Marie Rayner

I was craving my old favourite Lemon Puffs, and decided to make my own. If anything I think these are even better.

Ingredients:

For the pastry

• 1 sheet of ready roll all butter puff pastry
• 1 large free range egg white
• 2 tsp caster sugar (fine granulated)
• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• demerara sugar for sprinkling (turbinado)

For the filling:

• 100g butter, softened (8 TBS)
• 200g icing sugar, sifted (1 1/2 cups)
• the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
• the juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

How to cook Lemon Puff Biscuits

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line several baking sheets with baking paper.  Set aside.
2. Unroll your puff pastry. Cut it into rectangles roughly 1 inch by 3 inches in size. Place them onto the baking sheets, leaving some space in between each.
3. Lightly whisk together the egg white,  sugar and lemon juice. You don't want it to turn foamy.  Using a pastry brush, brush some of this on top of each piece of pastry.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Don't let it burn, so keep an eye on it.
5. Scoop off onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the filling, beat together all of the ingredients until smooth.  Take care not to add too much lemon juice, you want a thick spreadable mixture.
7. Split the baked pastries in half through the middle.  Spread a portion of the filling onto the bottoms of each one and top with the top pastry bit, sugared side up.
8. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

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Hot Mint Tea, Bluebirds, Susan Branch and Lemon Puffs . . .  it truly doesn't get much better than this!

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Small Batch Honey, Tahini & Sesame Muffins

 

The other day I baked us a batch of Bran Muffins from a new recipe that, whilst they tasted alright, were very much of a disappointment to me.  They were flat, overly sweet and just not a recipe I would recommend to anyone.  I wanted to be able to share something delicious with you that you wouldn't be embarassed to serve to anyone.

 

I hasten to add that I didn't change anything in the recipe, but prepared it exactly as presented.  I don't know why these things happen. One man's meat is another man's poison I guess!  Anyways, I have this great muffin recipe book that I got maybe 11 years ago.  

 

Entitled Mad about Muffins and written by Diana Bonaparte, it is a muffin cookbook that I cannot recommend highly enough.  Every single recipe that I have baked from it has been a great recipe!

 

I was intrigued by the recipe for Honey, Tahini & Sesame Muffins.  I love all of those things, and it also uses lemon zest.  I had ear-marked it for use quite some time ago and this morning I finally got around to making them.

 

I did adapt the recipe by cutting everything in half.  The full recipe makes 11 muffins, but I got six nice sized medium muffins halving it.

 

They are not uber sweet, despite the use of honey.  I don't like my muffins to be extremely sweet. Thy are not supposed to be like cake.  They are supposed to be more like a bread.

 

The flavour of these was exceptional . . .  you can taste the tahini, but more of a "hmmm . . .  I taste something that tastes a bit nutty."  It doesn't whack you.  Of course the subtle taste of lemon is there as well.

 

As you can see they rose beautifully.  I did get a bit of cracking on top, but thats not at all unusual in a good muffin.  I think the touch of demerara sugar and sesam seeds on top is also a very nice touch and quite attractive. It also provides a tiny bit of crunch.

 

As you can see, they have a beautiful texture. My honey did fall to the bottom of the muffin. Not sure how to get around that. Unless perhaps you used creamed honey instead of liquid for the centres?  What do you think?

 

All in all I would call these an excellent muffin.  We both really enjoyed them.  They smelled lovely when they were baking as well. 

  

In all truth I don't know why I waited so long to make them!  Tahini is something I always keep in my store cupboard and this was a great opportunity to use some of it, however small!  I highly recommend!  If you don't have tahini you could use peanut butter, but in that case I would leave out the lemon zest and the sesame seeds.

 

Small Batch Honey, Tahini & Sesame Muffins

Yield: 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: Cook time: Total time:

The triple combination of honey, lemon and tahini paste make for a very delicious muffin indeed.  Sized for the smaller family but easily doubled to feed more.

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

• 165g plain flour (1  1/4 cup)
• 65g caster sugar (1/3 cup superfine sugar)
• 1 tsp  baking powder
• pinch salt
• the finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• milk (see instructions)
• 50g oil (4 TBS)
• 25g clear honey (3 1/2 tsp)
• 15g tahini paste (1 1/2 TBS)
• 1 large free range egg
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

To fill:

• clear honey

To top:

• 1 TBS demerara sugar (turbinado)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions:

How to cook Small Batch Honey, Tahini & Sesame Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line a six cup muffin tin with paper liners.  Set aside.
2. Rub the sugar together with the lemon zest until fragrant.  Sift in the flour and baking powder and a pinch of salt.  Combine well together.
3. Heat the honey for the muffin together with the tahini and then whisk together to combine.
4. Add the lemon juice to a beaker and then add milk to give you the equivalent of 85g/3 fluid ounces.  Beat in the egg and  oil with a fork. Then beat in the honey, tahini mixture.  Add all at once to the dry ingrdients just to combine.
5. Fill your muffin cups half full.  Drop a tsp of honey onto each muffin and then cover with the remaining muffin batter.   Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle some over top of each muffin.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. The tops should spring back when lightly pressed.  Transfer from the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool.

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Not sure why but my recipes generator it not working today. Its an app that I actually pay for the use of so I hope that it isn't like this for long. When it comes back up again, I will replace this old format with the recipe card.  I can see it, but it is not giving me the option to copy and paste it into my blog post.  Between that and my facebook, I am batting zero this week!  Its a good thing I am a positive person!  Back to sort it out and its fixed!  Yay!

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Roast Potatoes and Brownies with Maldon Sea Salt Milk Jam

 

I have tried to make it a habit on my blog to only share things with you that I use myself or that I think are worthy of sharing with you.  I have been a user of Maldon Sea Salt for probably 16 or 17 years now, in its flaked form.  I first heard of it watching a cooking program on the telly and tried it, fell in love and have been carrying on a love affair with it ever since. 

They have recently rolled out their Perfectly Crushed Sea Salt Flake Mills in Morrisons nationwide.  I was very excited to see these myself! 

Perfect for your dining table, or for quick use during cooking, these refillable and adjustable sea salt flake mills from Master Salt Makers - Maldon have now been introduced to Morrisons stores nationwide. With the same exceptional quality and taste that Maldon’s Finest Sea Salt Flakes are famously known for, but conveniently packaged in a premium grinder mill.

Maldon's uses unique traditional methods, harvesting the flakes to ensure they are perfect in taste and texture. The grinders ensure each salt flake is perfectly crushed with a simple twist, either on a coarse or fine setting, adjusted to preference. You can add Maldon to savoury and sweet dishes, and even to your favourite cocktails, to elevate their flavours to the maximum.


Loved by chefs the world over and By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen as Purveyors of Sea Salt since 2012, Maldon Salt is approved by the Organic Food Federation. Maldon truly is a quality sea salt.   I love, LOVE that these new salt mills are refillable!

Here are a few tasty recipes that you can cook using this fabulous product.

Roast Potatoes with Maldon Sea Salt

Yield: 4

Author: Chef David Charland

prep time: cook time: total time:

A delicious crispy potato recipe from Chef David Charland, the Seafood Restaurant.

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 kg of potatoes (3 1/3 pounds)
• 8 twists of Maldon Sea Salt
• 250g goose fat ( a generous cup)
• a sprig each thyme and rosemary
• garlic cloves to taste

instructions:

How to cook Roast Potatoes with Maldon Sea Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3 or 4 pieces. Rinse and then place into a pan of water to cover along with the sea salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are almost cooked.
2. Drain well in a colander and gently rough them up a bit without breaking them.
3. Heat the goosefat in a roasting tin in the oven. Tip in the potatoes, turning to coat them with the hot fat. Add the sprigs of herbs and garlic cloves.
4. Roast in the preheated oven for 40 minutes until golden brown.

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I love Brownies and these Brownies with Milk Jam from Paul Gaylor sound the bomb!

 

Chocolate Brownies with Maldon Sea Salt Milk Jam

Yield: 32  pieces

Author: Paul Gaylor

Fudgy chocolate brownies served with a salted milk jam topping made from caramelised milk and honey. What's not to like! Note, you do need to make the jam the day before.

ingredients:

For the brownies:

• 275g dar chocolate, ideally 70% cocoa solids (10 ounces)
• 275g unsalted butter (1 cup plus 3 TBS)
• 3 free range eggs
• 225g sugar (1 cup plus 2 TBS)
• 75g plain flour (1/2 cup plus 2 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 30g cocoa powder (4 1/2 TBS)
• 100g chopped toasted hazelnuts or pecans (scant cup)

For the jam:

• 600ml full fat milk (2 1/2 cups)
• 1 TBS runny honey
• half a twist of maldon sea salt
• 300g sugar (1 1/2 cups)

instructions:

How to cook Chocolate Brownies with Maldon Sea Salt Milk Jam

1. Make the milk jam first.  Bring the milk, honey, salt and sugar to the boil in a heavy based pan, stirring all the time.  Reduce to a low heat and cook it for one hour, stirring it often.  Be careful that it doesn't boil over or stick. The mixture souold be very thick and reduced while having a lovely caramel colour Put it into a bowl, leave it to go cold and then cover and refrigerate until the next day.
2. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Break up the chocolate into chunks. Put them into a bowl with the butter and place over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.  Stir until the mixture is melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.
3. In another bowl, whip the sugar and eggs until fluffy, then carefully pour in the melted chocolate.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.  Fold into the chocolate mixture.  Stir in the nuts.  Mix well together until smooth and silky.
4. Line two 9-inch square pans with greaseproof paper, allowing for an overhang on two sides.  Pour in th brownie mixture, spreading it out evenly.  Place in the oven for 25 minutes.  Do not overcook.  Brownies stiffen after cooking and the centres should be gooey, the outer edges slightly crisper and springy when you take them out of the oven.
5. Put the tins on a cooling rack and allow the brownies to cool thoroughly in the tins.  Once cold, remove from tins using th overhang.  Cut into squares and serve each square with a smear of the prepared jam on top.

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For a complete PDF of these and other delicious recipes that you can download,  click here.  

The Maldon Sea Salt Grindersvailable from Morrisons stores nationwide as well as Tesco, Ocado and other quality food retailers. RRP from £3.50 / 55g.

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Blueberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

 

Every time I go to Costco I pick up a large punnet of Blueberries.  I adore fresh blueberries and often have them on my cereal in the morning.  I also enjoy them baked into muffins, cakes and desserts.  They really shine in baked desserts.

  

Theyare so good for you.  They are what is known as a super-food, and small wonder as they are little power-houses of nutrition. Packed with antioxidants and phytoflavinoids, these berries are also high in potassium and vitamin C, making them the top choice of doctors and nutritionists. Not only can they lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, they are also anti-inflammatory.  You can't lose! 

  

Today I decided to bake some of them into a cake I adapted from a recipe that I found in the book Simple by Ottolenghi.

 

This was the first recipe I have cooked from the book, although I have quite a few ear-marked.  I love the food of Ottolenghi.  When I worked at the Manor, the oldest daughter would often come down from London for the weekend and she would often bring with her things she had bought in his London shop and restaurant.  His salads are phenomenal.

 

I have been gathering middle Eastern ingredients together so that when my children are here we can do some middle Eastern cooking together.  Create a few taste memories with each other.

 

I found this cake is a bit denser than most cakes are, perhaps from the combination of the use of ground almonds and flour combined.  In fact there is more ground almond in the cake than there is flour.

 

There are a full two cups of blueberries in the cake.  Some are stirred into the cake batter before baking and some are scattered over the top of the cake partially through the bake time.

 

For the most part my berries sunk to the bottom  . . .  which didn't really affect the taste of the cake, just the looks.  In the book the photo of the cake had plenty of berries sitting on top, bleeding into th icing.

  

The texture is very much like a frangipane bake . . .  dense, buttery and lovely . . .  just sweet enough  . . . the perfect combination with the sweet/tart berries . . .

 

It may not be the prettiest cake around, but it I think it is one of the tastiest   . . . .

 

The batter is flavoured with plenty of freshly grated lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and vanilla.  Blueberries and lemon are the perfect partners  . . .

 

The finished cake is drizzled with a lovely lemon drizzle icing once the cake has cooled completely.

 

This is the perfect cake to sit down and enjoy with a hot drink . . . . .

 

I can also see it being enjoyed on a warm summer's day with an ice cold glass of lemonade.

  

In short, this is a cake that you can enjoy any hour of the day, any day of the week, any week of the year . . .  full stop.

Bluberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

Yield: 8

Author: Marie Rayner

A very moist and delicious loaf cake adapted from a recipe in Ottolengi 's book Simple.

ingredients:

• 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature (2/3 cup)
• 190g caster sugar (1 cup fine granulated sugar)
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
• 90g self raising flour (1 cup, less 3 TBS) sifted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 110g ground almonds (1 1/4 cup)
• 200g fresh or frozen berries (if using frozen, thaw and pat dry) (2 cups)
• 70g icing sugar (generous 1/2 cup)

instructions:

How to cook Bluberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas  mark 4.  Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with paper, leaving an overhang to lift the cake out with when done.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together with the, vanilla, lemon zest and 1 TBS of the lemon juice with an electric mixer on high speed for about 3 to 4 minutes.  Lower the speed to medium and then slowly add the beaten eggs, a bit at a time and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Whisk together the flour, salt and almonds.  Add in three additions, stirring it well together.  Fold in 3/4 of the blueberries by hand.  Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and scatter the remaining blueberries over top. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes.  It should be turning golden brown at this point, but still be semi-raw.  Cover lightly with a sheet of foil and bake for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and cooked (Mine took a further 45 minutes.) A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean.  Leave in the pan to cool, on a wire rack for 10 minutes before lifting out to finish cooling completely.
4. Once the cake is completely cold, whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth.  Drizzle this mixture decoratively over the cake.  Leave to set and cut into thick slices to serve.

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I am still trying to sort out my facebook page.  Someone keeps reporting my recipe posts as Spam and then Facebook removes them as being in contradiction to their community guidelines for Spam.  My recipe posts on there are no different than anyone elses.  I can't think of any reason anyone would want to be so malicious with me, but you know people.  It takes all kinds.  I have asked for FB to review the posts, but you know how long it takes for FB to do anything.  In the meantime I would suggest you follow me on Instagram or even Pinterest.  Many Thanks! 

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