My lovey-dovey Welsh Cakes

Something's up.

I use expressions that are not mine, all the time.
I've discovered South London on Saturday mornings (like...before 2.00pm).
My mess has spread outside the borders of my own house.
I find shirts in my laundry basket.
I wear make up on Sundays (sometimes).
I make my lunch boxes two by two.
My diary doesn't revolve only around my own priorities anymore.
There's a book that's not mine on my bedside table.
Sometimes my colleages find me staring into space with a huge and silly smile for no reason.
My dad has this new touched sparkle in his eyes when he looks at me.
I'm becoming cheesy...and even...ninny.


I think I'm in love.

Welsh cakes

Stop buying Welsh cakes now! They are so easy to make and so absolutely delicious that it would be a shame not to make them yourself. Seriously.
I love currants, so I doubled up the quantities of currants that usually call the traditional recipe. That makes them all the more gorgious!


Ingredients (for approx 15 Welsh Cakes)
225g self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
100 g unsalted butter
75g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
40g currants
1 egg yolk, mixed with 3 tbsp of milk

Make the Welsh cakes: 

1/ In a large bowl, sift the flour and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture ressembles fine crumbs

2/ Stir in the sugar and currents. Add the egg yolk and milk and stir together with a round bladed knife until the dough comes together (add milk one tbsp at a time if the dough is too dry) into a soft (but not sticky) ball 

3/ Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to a thickness of 1 cm and cut into 6cm diameter rounds with a cookie cutter. Gather the dough unused, roll it again and stamp rounds again until all used. 

4/ Heat a heavy-based pan (ideally a griddle pan) with a very little vegetable oil and cook the cakes in batches 1 or 2 min on each side until puffed up, brown and just firm to the touch. (The cakes should be cooked but not fried, so put as little oil as possible)

5/ Transfer to a cooling rack and sprinkle with caster sugar. Eat straight warm or cold.

This recipe is dedicated to you, my Love.

Death by chocolate cake & Happy Blogday!

Here we are, it's been one year since I've launched Pauline a la crème anglaise, and it's been a fantastic year!

How has it changed my life?

• For many people, A la crème anglaise has become my surname
• I've improved my pastry skills a lot, and now only make totally disastrous cakes once in a while
• I'm expected to bring cakes everywhere I go (Pauline = cake, it's as simple as that)
• Props, books about British baking and ingredients have invaded my room and my kitchen
• My week-end plans now revolve around the ultimate priority "when can I bake and blog?"
• I discovered a passion for food photography, got a DSLR camera and my bedtime readings are now about food photography  (and god, there is so much to learn!)
• I've extended my general shopping addiction to include looking for props for my blog
• Some people I don't know comment positively on my blog and every single positive comment makes me feel like I just won an award
• When people ask me what I do, I tend to start talking about my blog before my work!
• People are still very surprised when I tell them that I got passionnate about British baking (the French think I'm crazy, and the British are suprised that someone french could look up to their food, rather down at it)

It's been an incredible adventure so far, and I hope that's just the beginning!
So without further a do, let's celebrate with a blogday cake!

 

Death by chocolate 

Birthday cake

As my growing experience doesn't make up for my lack of concentration, I forgot to include the butter in my cake altogether!
And, Big Surprise, the cake was still really nice!
So, depending on if you wish to make the normal recipe or my "skinny by mistake" version of it, feel free to include the butter, or not! 

Ingredients for the sponge
300g good quality cooking chocolate
150g unsalter butter, diced (optional)
5 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g caster sugar 

Ingredients for the topping: 
200g good quality chocolate
100ml double cream 

Make the chocolate cake: 

1/ preheat the oven at 180deg C. 

2/ In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter (check every minute and mix), until smooth. Leave to cool.

3/ In a large bowl (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer), mix the eggs and vanilla for few seconds. Add the sugar, and mix with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy and volume approx. multiplied by  5 (it will take 5 minutes or so). When lifted with the whisk, the mix should fall back in a very thick ribbon -like trail

4/ Spoon the chocolate mixture into the egg mousse and fold in very gently with a metal spoon until well mixed (the dough should stay moussy)

5/ Pour into a cake tin (approx 22cm diametre) lined with greaseproof paper and butter and bake for approx 35-45 minutes until just firm to the touch (the centre should still be a little moist under the crust, as the cake will slightly continue cooking when out of the oven)

6/ Leave to cool before transfering to a cooling rack.

Prepare the topping: 

1/ In a bowl in the microwave, warm the cream and chocolate until the chocolate is half-melted. Whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted. 

2/ Cover the cake with the topping and leave to set in the fridge for at least two hours (ideally overnight)

3/ Serve the cake cold with a dollop of double cream

Thanks to Lisou and Berthe my Nestlé chocolate providers! This recipe wouldn't have been possible without you ;-)

It's always the right time for a Pavlova

When I was a kid, I was so tiny that at home I used to be called "half-portion". 
My nicknames ranged from "Flea" to "Fly's leg"

In museums, ski resorts and theme parks, I enjoyed the special fare for "Under 7" until I was at least 13 which was great. 
What was less great was trying to get into a night club at 17 (legal age is 18 in France), knowing that I looked 14.

When I turned 20, I thought that I had probably caught up with it and looked like my age. 

At 27, when I got introduced to an important business partner, I was confident. Wearing a suit, smiling (but not too much to keep a serious face), I approached him to shake his hand, and he said "Oh god... she is so young!"

Well, only few year later, I'm finally convinced that it's probably a good thing that I look a bit younger than I am ;-)

A French wintery twist on a Pavlova

Well, even if summer never comes, that won't prevent us from enjoying summer desserts, will it?
I took a great British classic (which actually comes from Australia, inspired by a Russian ballerina...that's what we call an international pudding!) and gave it a wintery French twist. 
The result is delicious, and makes for the quickest dessert ever. 
Perfect for a dinner party when you don't have more than 5 mins to spend on pulling together a dessert!

The star ingredient is one of my all time favourites: chestnut spread. With its smooth texture and its disctinctive taste, this French speciality brings a nice touch to this British traditional dessert!

You can find the very good Clement Faugier brand in most big supermarkets (in the "international food aisle"), or if you want something extra special : find the Comtés de Provence spread. It has small pieces of chestnut in it and the spread is lighter ; a real treat (available from Borough Market in London)

Ingredients, for 4 mini pavlovas: 

Mini meringue nests (I bought them from M&S)
4 big tbsp of chestnut spread
Greek style yoghurt (I use my favourite: Fage Total 0%)
Few hazelnuts
1 Marron glacé (glacé chestnut)

Make the Pavlovas: 

1/ In a baking tray, toast the whole hazelnuts until golden (it will take approx 5 min) at 180deg C. Roughly crush them, and leave to cool.

2/ Top each mini meringue with a good dollop of chestnut spread, then a good dollop of greek yoghurt, and decorate with hazelnuts pieces and marron glacé pieces.

How to use your leftover chestnus spread?
In France, we love it on pancakes, or chocolate cakes, on warm toasted bread, with plain yoghurt...or directly from the pot with a big spoon!

Yummy scrummy Chelsea Buns

From a British perspective, French people probably have a "very" latin character.
Politics, work, food, love, every topic is a potential reason to have heated debates, push each others' buttons, getting angry from time to time. The thrill of conflict, the passion of reconciliation make us feel alive. (Lunatics? us? Noooo)

On the other hand, British people are known for avoiding conflict, being diplomatic, phlegmatic, calm, rational and polite. 
When we punch, we scream, we strike (ok, maybe we are lunatics), they listen, they nod and they apologise whilst disagreeing.

Although I'm delighted to live in a country where it's unlikely my boss will start screaming at me when I make a huuuge mistake, and although I immensely enjoy my peaceful life with understanding and non-screaming people, I'm afraid some days that's not good enough.
Sometimes it itches me to get angry, and I wish I could find someone who would accept to fight back a little.

I wish I could get angry and have an argument with my landlord when he tells me that a 80 litre flood in my kitchen is not an emergency.
Or with the supplier who talks to me like I'm a 5 year old.
Or even with my boyfriend, who doesn't even get the concept (and the benefits?) of getting upset from time to time.

Well, maybe there is a support group for conflict-frustrated Frenchies somewhere... ;-)

Chelsea Buns

I was light handed on the topping on these buns, when they could easily have much more topping in the swirls and a stickier top. 
So, don't heistate to follow your instinct and your taste, or even improvise with the topping ingredients!


Ingredients for the dough: 
450g strong white flour , plus extra for dusting

2 x 7g sachets easy-blend yeast

50g caster sugar

150ml warm milk

1 egg , beaten

50g unsalted butter , melted, plus extra for greasing

oil , for greasing

Ingredients for the topping: 

25g melted butter, plus extra for greasing

85g coarsely crunched almonds, plus a few extra to decorate

25g light muscovado sugar

2 tbsp apricot jam mixed with a lump of honey

option: sultanas, ground cinnamon, ground ginger

Make the buns: 

1/ Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. 

2/ Mix everything together to form a dough - start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it's too wet, add more flour.

3/ Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy. 

4/ Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size - this will take about 1 hr depending on how warm the room is.

5/ Heat oven to 200deg C and grease a deep 23cm cake tin. Tip the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few secs.

6/ Roll out the dough to a rough 20 x 30cm rectangle.

7/ In a small bowl, mix the butter with sugar, spices (if used) and spread evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with almonds and sultanas (if using).

8/ Roll up firmly like a Swiss roll from one of the long sides - dampening the open edge to help it stick if you need to.

9/ Cut into 8 even slices with a sharp knife, shape into 8 round pinwheels, then arrange in the tin, cut-side up. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel and prove in a warm place for about 20 mins until roughly doubled in size.

10/ Bake the buns for 10 mins, then lower oven to 180deg C. Cook for 10 mins more until golden brown. Melt the jam with 1 tbsp water, brush all over the buns, then sprinkle with a few more crushed almonds.

 

(That's the most upset I've seen him so far ;-) )

The modern woman is a Mrs Ingalls wannabe (Almond Butter recipe)

Until very recently, I'd never quite understood these women who would try and make homemade yogurt, sparkling water, ice-creams when these are most likely to taste better from the big brands we all know.
Let's be honest, there might be a reason why Mr Coca-Cola became a billionaire. Maybe his product simply tastes the best, the same for Mr Nutella's.

So why? Why would you go to all the trouble of spending time, money and effort trying to make a runny yogurt when Mr Danone does it for you so well?

Are we all housewives wannabes, taking pride in looking after our family needs, using only raw ingredients, like Caroline Ingalls in her Little House in the Prairie? (who hasn't dreamt of tasting Mrs Ingalls's homemade ice-cream?)
Is it just the pleasure of using fancy yogurt, ice cream or bread machines?
Is it the wish to find a healthier, yet still tasty, alternative to our industrial (and suspicious) food favourites?

Now that I'm gradually becoming a baking geek, I think it might be a bit of both. 
That, and of course feeling proud of holding a peanut butter pot saying "I made it! And it's almost as good as Skippy's!"

Almond butter

(100% natural!)

It takes only 20min in total to make this delicious almond butter, which contains only almonds and honey. No added hydrogenated fat, no sugar, yum! 

I haven't tried yet, but I'd guess you can follow the same recipe with any kind of nuts you like. Depending on how fat the chosen nuts are (walnuts are quite oily for example), the consistency might just be smoother or croaser.

Ingredients (for a 500g capacity jar): 

300g skin on almonds
a good lump of honey (2tbsp)

Make the almond butter: 

1/ Preheat the oven at 190deg C for 10min

2/ Roast the almonds on a baking tray (with no oil, no foil) for 10min, take out of the oven, leave to cool completely

3/ In a food processor, process the almonds for 10min until smooth (yes, it works!), stopping the processor from time to time to scrap the sides of the bowl)

4/ Add the honey and process for 15 more seconds. Done!

NB: The almond butter will keep up to 3 weeks in a jar in the fridge

This post is for you Mélie, for all the times I teased you about your homemade yogurts, your homemade soaps, and your 60 different kitchen robots! Love you!

Banana and blueberry skinny muffins

A wind of panick has blown over my kitchen.

I've realised that if this bitterly cold winter ever comes to an end, the sun will come back, and I'll have to wear skirts without my super 350deniers tights that hide my cellulite.
Like a baby penguin trying to get through the winter without freezing to death on the ice field, my body has been covered by a thick layer of fat for the past few months.
The Man yet has solemnly announced "If you even think of going on a diet, I'll stop speaking to you"

There's only one solution left : CHEATING.

ie....making super skinny puddings disguised in indulgent cakes. 

Can I get away with it? 
Challenge accepted!

 

Banana and blueberry super skinny muffins 

(vegan)

This recipe is super skinny and super easy to make. 

I used real cow milk because that's what I had in my kitchen, but the original recipe is completely vegan and calls for rice milk, what don't you give it a try?

Ingredients: 

1 banana, very ripe

3/4 of a cup of fresh blueberries
90 gr flour
50 gr porridge oats

2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
45 gr nuts (whichever you like. I used walnuts, croasely chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
50 ml milk
1 tbsp shredded coconut
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Make the muffins:

Preheat the oven at 185deg C.

1/ In a big bowl, mash the banana, add the flour, oats, sugar, nuts and mix with a wooden spoon

2/ Add the oil and the milk, mix well

3/ Add the coconut, blueberries, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and mix until just combine (try not to overmix)

4/ Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto a silicone mat (or baking tray lined with  baking parchment) and bake for appox 10min until risen and golden

5/ Transfer to a cooling rack and heat warm with vanilla ice-cream or custard

Recipe adapted from the lovely vegetarian blog 1 2 3  cerises

The Man'sVerdict: these muffins are very light and fruity. They make up for a nice week night dessert or heathly snack...but some of us will probably want to deep them in melted chocolate or a swimming pool of custard, cause in all honesty, they might be lacking of the oompfh factor we could expect from a real treat.

My lovely & easy Walnut Pie

Last week, during my lunch break at work. I'm sitting in the kitchen, eating my sandwich and reading Shortlist. I'm captivated, reading celebrity baker and TV judge of The Great British Bake Off Paul Hollywood's interview giving his view on the rise in home-baking in the UK: "Baking is a nostalgic, emotive thing. Baking reminds you of your childhood, loved ones, trips away. They transport you back, whether it’s to a holiday or your gran’s house"

I raise my eyebrows and think "Ohh, really Paul? you're a bit stating the obvious here, aren't you?", but already I'm gone, half smiling and suddenly taken back to my grandma's kitchen, where she would bake in minutes the most delicious apple cakes without ever measuring the ingredients. Two seconds later and I am thinking of my grandpa, flipping crepes in an old pan with a coin in his hand for good luck as told by old Pancake day traditions.

And you, if I talk to you about cakes and baking, where does that take you back to?

My walnut pie

This pie was supposed to be a pecan pie, but when my supermarket turned out to be out of maple syrup, I improvised!
I used golden syrup instead of maple syrup, and walnuts instead of pecans, to make this cheap and delicious alternative to our usual pecan pie!

This pie is surprisingly light and not dry at all. It shows off the flavours of the walnuts, coated in the lovely caramel-like filling. It's divine, and perfect for a winter tea break or dessert!

Ingredients for the pastry
185g plain flour
95g softened butter
95 caster sugar
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
up to 30ml of water

Make the pastry
1/ In a food processor, place the flour, sugar, egg, and salt in the bowl with the dough hook. Process for 30sec until mixed

2/ Add the butter in cubes, while running, add the water via the feeder tube until the dough form and ball. (you might not need to use all of the water. just stop adding water when the pastry forms a ball)

3/ Take out of the processor, knead briefly and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for 30mins.

Ingredients for the filling
450g walnuts
4 eggs
225g soft brown sugar
170g golden syrup
1/2 tsp salt
55g butter, melted
1tsp vanilla extract/ essence
2tbsp plain flour, sifted

Make the tart
1/ Pre heat the oven at 200deg C

2/ Line a metal pie dish with the pastry, prick all over with a fourch, cover with foil and baking beans (or rice) and bake blind for 15min. Remove the paper and the beans and bake for 5 more minutes (the pastry should be cooked but not golden)

3/ Chop 3/4 of the walnuts and put the best looking aside.

4/ In a big bowl, whisk the eggs. Stir in the sugar, golden syrup, vanilla essence, melted butter, salt

5/ Sift in the flour, making sure there are no lumps in the mixture, and stir in the chopped walnuts. Spread over the pastry case and arrange the remaining walnuts in top of the pie

6/ Bake for approx 25-30 min or until well golden. Serve warm or cold

Pastry recipe adapted from Magimix cook book
Filling recipe adapted from Leith Cookery Bible

I dedicate this blog post to my grandpa Maurice and my grandma Gisèle, with all my love.