from The Guardian

Carraway is the Marmite of seeds, and if you like them you’ll pounce on these very rich buttery savoury biscuits. Otherwise use poppy or black onion seeds for a more subtle effect.

175g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
a few good twists of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
125g unsalted butter, softened
150g red Leicester, grated
lightly beaten egg white
Caraway, poppy or black onion seeds

Place the flour, salt, black and cayenne peppers in a bowl and rub in the butter. Add the cheese and work everything into a smooth dough. Roll the dough into a cylinder about 30cm long, wrap in non-stick baking paper and freeze for 30 minutes. The remove from the freezer and the wrapper, stand the stick on dough on it’s end and brush the outside with egg white, then roll the dough in a scant layer of seeds so they stick firmly to the outside. Wrap and chill the dough until needed. To use heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4, slice into 3/4 cm rounds, lay on a tray lined with non-stick paper and bake for about 20 minutes until golden.

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from The Guardian

Cooked plain chestnuts, unlike the über-rich marron glacé, have a dusty flavour that is helped in something sweet like this by marinating it is a simple mixture of brown sugar, vanilla and rum. As the chestnuts are chopped first this helps the syrup soak in and, when baked in a brownie, helps them to taste almost candied in the crumb.

240g tin of cooked chestnuts
200g brown sugar
25ml dark rum
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium eggs, separated
200g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate, broken into small chunks
100g plain flour

Line a 20cm deep square tin with non-stick baking paper. Chop the chestnuts and stir well with 100g sugar, rum and vanilla. In a clean bowl beat the eggs whites until they form soft white peaks then slowly beat in 100g sugar until you have a soft meringue, then beat in the yolks. Melt the butter and the chocolate then remove from the heat and beat this with the chestnuts and flour. Mix this with the meringue then spoon into the tin. Bake at 170°C/150°C fan/335°F/gas 3 for about 20 – 25 minutes until barely set in the middle, then leave in the tin until cold before cutting.

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from The Guardian

Serve cold with a dollop of whipped cream and berries.

125g plain flour
50g icing sugar
100g unsalted butter
2 medium eggs
25g chopped hazelnuts
50g each rolled oats and dried cranberries
50g brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
125ml milk
2 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp cornflour
50g caster sugar

Rub the flour, icing sugar and 75g butter until it resembles breadcrumbs, then mix with an egg yolk (save the white) and 2 tsp water until smooth then chill the dough. Melt 25g butter then mix with the hazelnuts, oats, cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread this on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. Roll the dough out to line an 18-20cm round deep tart tin, chill the tart case to firm it, then line with non-stick paper and baking beans. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4 and bake the tart and the granola for 20 minutes. Remove the granola, spread it with a fork and cool; give the tart an extra 10 minutes baking without the lining. Whisk milk, cream and cornflour, bring to the boil, remove and beat in the whole egg, extra white and sugar. Pour into the tart case, bake 15 minutes (same temp) then sprinkle on the granola and bake another 5 minutes.

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from The Guardian

Hazelnut and milk chocolate fragments are buried in a layer of chocolate shortcrust, under a stratum of soft dates and a crumble crust. Holy Triassic, Batman!

the finely grated zest of one or two oranges
100ml orange juice
375g stoned and chopped dates
250g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa
125g light soft brown sugar
125g unsalted butter, softened
75g roasted, skinned and chopped hazelnuts
100g milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Pour the orange zest and juice into a saucepan with the dates and 100ml water, bring to the boil, simmer and give it a good stir until the mixture thickens then leave to cool. Spoon the flour, baking powder, cocoa and sugar into a bowl and work in the butter with your fingers until it just starts to form a rough crumble. Stir in the hazelnuts and chocolate. Press two-thirds of the mixture into the base of a buttered 18cm square tin then spread the date mixture over this. Slightly dampen the remaining crumble with a few teaspoons of water so that you get bigger and moister crumble pieces then spread this over the top. Bake at 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4 for about 40 minutes.

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from The Guardian

For those days when all you want is a high-risen loaf with a beautifully soft tender crumb and a crisp golden crust. Toasts like a dream. If you don’t have one of those British made, sharp-cornered 2lb loaf tins get one from bakerybits.co.uk.

125g cold sour cream
2 tsp salt
2 tsp caster sugar
1 sachet fast action yeast
550g strong white flour
oil for kneading
extra flour for shaping

Mix the cream with 150ml cold water and 100ml boiling water, salt sugar and yeast in a bowl then mix in the flour until it forms a rough ball. Cover and leave it sit for 10 minutes then lightly oil a patch of the worktop and knead the dough gently on it for 10 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, leave it for 10 minutes then repeat the quick knead twice more at 10 minute intervals then leave the dough for an hour. Butter the base and sides of a large deep 19cm long loaf tin or similar and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Pat the dough out to about 2cm thick, roll it up tightly like a scroll and squish it seam edge down into the tin. Leave to rise for 60-90 minutes, dust the top with flour and bake at 200°C/180°C fan/390°F/gas 6 for about 45 minutes.

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