Vegan "Sausage" Rolls

Last Friday at work we had a charity bake sale in aid of Hand in Hand for Syria and the British Red Cross Typhoon Haiyan Appeal. I sit on the charity committee and am starting to get a bit of a name for myself with my baking. I just missed our on the Star Baker award at our Christmas do last year, but have got it in my sights this year. At any rate, it had been requested that there are more vegan and gluten free offerings made at bake sales, so I did my best to comply.

All credit for this recipe goes to my friend Joy, who bought these "sausage" rolls to Cake'n'Bake a few months back. They are super simple, and I wouldn't have guessed that the ingredients were vegan friendly, but they are! I'm not sure if all brands would be equally vegan friendly, so just check the labels to be sure.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 18-20 minutes
Makes 24 sausage rolls

Ingredients
200g sage and onion stuffing mix
Boiling water (as needed)
1 packet of ready-to-roll puff pastry
1 tbsp soy milk, to glaze

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160, and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
2. Tip the stuffing mix into a bowl and stir in boiling water. Check the packet of stuffing mix to get the quantity of water, as I believe this varies brand to brand. I used around 350mls. Pop the stuffing to one side to cool.
3. Unroll the packet of pastry and cut into 24 evenly sized rectangles.
4. When the stuffing is cool enough to handle, roll into 24 balls. Pop each ball onto the centre of each rectangle of pastry, and warp the pastry around the stuffing, making sure to tuck in the edges of the pastry as you go.
5. Brush the sausage rolls with a little soy milk to glaze, the pop in the oven for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Can be enjoyed hot or cold!

Until next time,

Happy thoughts x

Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Mummified Mini-Pizza

Here's the second recipe I baked for Cake'n'Bake Club's October 2012 meeting - Mummified Mini-Pizzas. I ended up making quite a lot for the Halloween themed meeting, simply because I love Halloween bakes! I'd recommend eating these warm straight from the oven, as they are then REALLY tasty.

Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook time: 25 - 30 minutes
Makes 16 mini pizzas

Ingredients:

For the pizza base:
3g (1/2 packet) dried yeast
1tbsp sugar (any kind)
2 tbsp olive oil
150ml warm water

175g white bread flour
75g wholemeal bread flour
Pinch of salt

For the topping:
50g tomato puree
One red pepper
Half a bag of grated mozzarella (can also use cheese strings, but I find that grated mozzarella tastes nicer!)

1. Start by making your pizza dough. tip the yeast, sugar and olive oil into a jug with the warm water and stir well. Put this to one side for a few minutes to allow the yeast to start working.
2. Tip both kinds of flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl, and mix together with your hands. Make a well in the centre of the bowl of flour and pour in your liquid mixture. Stir the flour from the sides of the bowl into the wet mixture with a fork until a rough dough forms. Tip this out onto a lightly floured surface a knead for a good 10 minutes before returning to the mixing bowl and covering with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place for an hour to prove.
3. After an hour the bread should have double in size. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. 
4. Tip the bread dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly for a minute or so to knock out the air. Roll the dough out to around 0.5cm, then cut circles out of it with a cookie cutter. Place these circular pizza bases onto the baking tray and bake for 10 minutes before removing from the oven to cool slightly before adding the toppings.
5. Meanwhile, cut small "eyes" out of the red pepper. Was the pizza bases are cool enough to handle, spread a little tomato puree on each one. Give each pizza two red pepper eyes, and then arrange the grated cheese around the eyes, leaving gaps in between to look like bandages.
6. Bake for a further 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and started to brown, and the underside of the pizza is completely cooked. Serve immediately - we don't want those Mummies to escape!

Happy Thoughts
x

Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Ploughman's Picnic Rolls

This was my "main" bake for Cake'n'Bake Club's Perfect Picnic themed month back in August 2012. These picnic rolls are great for outdoor eating as the filling is baked inside them. The recipe below is for my ploughman's picnic rolls, but you could do almost any filling, sweet or savoury! There also really good for packed-lunches. Just bake a batch at the weekend, leave them to cool, wrap them well and store them in the freezer. When ready to use, remove from the freezer and place in the oven at gas mark 4 for around 10 minutes to re-fresh - delish!

Prep-time: 1hour 45 minutes
Cook time: 25 - 30 minutes
Makes 8 picnic rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough:
300ml warm water
1tbsp brown sugar
2tbsp olive oil
7g sachet of dried yeast
500g strong white bread flour
Pinch of salt

For the filling:
2-3tbsp Branston Pickle (I used the small chunk variety)
4 slices of good quality ham
150g mature cheddar

1 small egg, beaten, to glaze
A little extra grated cheese, to decorate (optional)

1. Place the water, sugar, olive oil and yeast into a jug a stir well. Leave this to one side for a few minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and create a well in the centre. Tip the yeast mixture into the centre of the well, then work the flour into it using a fork.
2. Once the ingredients have combined to form a rough dough, tip the contents of the bowl onto a clean dry work surface. Knead by hand for 5-7 minutes, until all of the flour is incorporated and you have a soft, springy dough. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for one hour, until doubled in size.
3. Whilst the dough is proving, prepare your filling. Slice the ham into strips and grate the cheese. Leave these to one side until ready to use.
4. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knock back, then split into 8 equally sized balls. 
5. Making one at a time, roll each ball out until around 5mm thick then spread a thin layer of pickle over the top, making sure to leave a space around the edges. Sprinkle on your other filling ingredients, then begin to roll the dough up Swiss roll style. Tuck the ends of the roll underneath to create and oval bun shape. Please the rolls on a floured baking tray and leave to prove for a further 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
6. Once doubled in size, glaze the rolls with a little beaten egg, and sprinkle a little grated cheese on top of each one. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown all over, then remove and leave to cool.

Happy Thoughts
x

Chicken, Bacon and Leek Pie

Just after I moved house and finished unpacking I had a real hankering for pie, so whipped up this tasty treat. I don't usually post savoury recipes to the blog, but this IS a bake so I thought it would be good to share.

This pie is fairly quick and very simple, and have I mentioned yet that it's really tasty? It's really tasty. The photos really don't do this justice! I cheated and used ready-to-roll pastry, but you guys already know that pastry is my baking weakness, right!? One day I will have a go at making my own puff pastry, and you'll be the first to know when I do, but for now, ready-to-roll works perfectly.

Ingredients: 
1 large chicken breast
2 rashers of bacon
half a leek
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tsps cornflour
150ml chicken stock
Pinch of black pepper
1/2 packet of ready to roll puff pastry

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 (approx 190 degrees) and take your pastry out of the fridge.
2. Chop the chicken and bacon into chunks, and finely slice the leek.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and stir fry the chicken until slightly golden, add the bacon and leek to the frying pan, stirring until the bacon is cooked and the leek has softened. Add the cornflour to the pan and stir well to coat all of the pieces. Slowly stir in the chicken stock, then allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minute until it reduces and thickens. Season with the pepper then pour this into a pie dish.
4. Roll out the pastry to around 6mm thick, then lay this over the top of the pie filling, tucking in the edges to seal. Cut two slits in the top to allow the steam to escape, then brush with a little milk.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown and crispy on top. All the pie to cool for a few minutes before serving (I had mine with mash, roast carrots and parsnips, and minted green beans. It was gooood!)

Happy Thoughts
x

Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Flowerpot Bread

Cake'n'Bake Club had a theme of "Baking in Bloom" in March 2012, the rule of these theme was that whatever you baked had to have something to do with flowers! Around this time I had been thinking about the types of things I baked, and one of the main reasons I had started the Cake'n'Bake Club was to branch out and try new things. I had never really tried baking bread before, so I wanted to take the opportunity to do so in March, and that's how I ended up baking bread in clay flowerpots.

It was great fun - although if it's the first time you're using the clay pots they need to be "seasoned" - and that can take a fair amount of time! I did mine whilst my dough was proving, but in hindsight I'd probably do them the day before. For that reason, I'm going to start by telling you how to season your clay pots.

You will need:
5 11cm clay flowerpots
a pastry brush
a LOT of vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to gas mark 3. Brush each clay pot with oil, inside and out, (and paying special care not to miss the rim!) then place your pot in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the oil has baked dry. Carefully remove the pots from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle, then repeat the process 5 or 6 times to create a smooth, non-stick surface.
Once you've used the pots, if they are rinsed with warm water (rather than washed with soapy water) they will retain the "non-stick" layer and can be re-used without seasoning again.

As I was quite new to bread-baking, I turned to Mary Berry's Baking Bible for assistance. The recipe below is based on The White Cottage Loaf recipe on page 285 - I chose this one because it seemed nice and simple, and Mary Berry said it was good.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Proving time: 2-3 hours
Bake time: 20-25 minutes
Makes 5 flowerpot loaves

Ingredients:

650g strong white bread flour
10g yeast
1.5 tsp salt
60g melted butter or margarine
450ml warm water
1 large egg (to glaze)
50g poppy seeds
Vegetable oil (to grease the bakeware)

1. Measure all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and beat until combined to a sticky-ish dough.
2. Tip the dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead for 10-12 minutes until the dough is soft, pliable and still a little sticky. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and cover tightly with cling film. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Tip the dough back out onto a well floured surface, and knock it back by hand. Once the dough is smooth split it into 5 equal portions. Tuck the ends of the dough underneath itself and drop each piece into a greased flowerpot.
4. Place each flower pot inside a large plastic food bag and seal the end. Put the flowerpots in their bags back into the warm place to rise for around 45 minutes, again until it has doubled in size.
5. Preheat the oven to gas mark 7. Beat the egg, and brush a little of this over the top of each loaf, then sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and baked through.
6. Serve with lots of cheese and red onion marmalade! 

Happy Thoughts
x

Christmas Leftover Loaf

Happy Boxing Day! I hope you've all had a wonderful few days, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.

I know it's not Friday, nor is this a Cake'n'Bake Wednesday recipe, but I couldn't let the day slip by without sharing my Christmas leftover loaf with you all. You see, Boxing Day means many things to many people - for some it's about relaxing after zooming around on Christmas day visiting all their loved ones, for others it's about crowding around the telly to watch the football, but for us, it's about leftover turkey sandwiches.

So this is my take on a left-over turkey sandwich - the perfect Boxing Day recipe. This is also my last Christmas recipe of the year!  (Sad face)

Ingredients:
For the dough:
300ml warm water
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
7g sachet of dried yeast
500g strong white bread flour
Pinch of salt
A little beaten egg, to glaze

For the filling:
Any Christmas leftovers you need to use up! I used turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, but you could also use chopped up bits of leftover veg, pigs in blankets, whatever you fancy!

Prep time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook time: 35-40 minutes
Makes 1 loaf

1. Place the water, sugar, olive oil and yeast into a jug and stir well. Leave this to one side for a few minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and create a well in the centre. Tip the yeast mixture into the centre of the well, then work the flour into the liquid mixture using a fork.
3. Once the ingredients have combined to form a rough dough, tip the contents of the bowl out onto a clean, dry work surface. Knead by hand for 7-10 minutes, until all of the flour is incorporated and you have a soft, springy dough.
4. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for one hour, until doubled in size.
5. Whilst the dough is proving, prepare your filling. Chop the turkey into small chunks, and soften the stuffing with a little warm water if desired.
6. Tip the dough out onto a lightly flour surface and knock back. Knead lightly for 3-5 minutes, then roll out to around 1 inch thick. Spread or sprinkle your filling ingredients over the dough (like a pizza) then roll the bread up like a swiss roll. Tuck the ends underneath the loaf and pop it into a well-greased loaf tin. Leave to rise, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes. The dough should double in size again.
7. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, then brush the top of the loaf with a little beaten egg. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown all over. Slip the bread out of tin and tap on the bottom - if it sounds hollow then it's done, if not pop it back in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes to finish off.
8. Leave the loaf to cool, then cut into thick slices and enjoy!

Happy Thoughts
x

There is No Way that I am Kissing a Frog and Eating a Bug on the Same Day!

Disney Classic # 49 - The Princess and the Frog

Originally I had planned to make a nice tiered cake for The Princess and the Frog, both because I saw this gorgeous snow-globe cake which inspired me, and because I thought it would be a good idea to practice my stacking and icing technique. However, around March time I was reading Cake Wrecks and came across this post, which introduced my to the spectacle that is King Cake. I thought King Cake sounded fantastic, thought I could make much less of a wreck of it than this bakery (although mine did end up sort of resembling a giant croissant!?) and being a Mardi Gras dish it fit in nicely with the movie. So that's what I went with.

I used the recipe I found here - simply because it had the nicest looking photo I could find!

Prep time: around 2 hours 30 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Makes 12-14 slices

Ingredients:

For the cake:
15g active dry yeast (about 2 sachets)
100g granulated sugar
235ml milk
115g butter
5 egg yolks
500g bread flour
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon

For the filling:
250g cream cheese
100g icing sugar

For the topping:
250g icing sugar
30ml lemon juice
15ml milk
90g granulated sugar
Purple, yellow and green food colouring.

1. Warm up the milk in a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and sugar until dissolved. Leave to stand for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile melt the butter over a gentle heat. Once the milk and yeast mixture is creamy, stir in the egg yolks and the melted butter.
2. Sift the flour, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon into a separate bowl to combine. Beat the milk/egg mixture into the flour mixture a little at a time until the dough pulls together.
3. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and supple. Place the dough into a large bowl and drizzle a little oil over it. Turn the dough over in the bowl to coat in the oil, then cover the bowl with a damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise for 2 hours.
4. When the 2 hours is almost up, prepare the filling by whipping the cream cheese and icing sugar together until smooth and creamy. Grease and line a baking sheet and a clean, empty tin can.
5. After 2 hours resting the dough should be almost doubled in size. Tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle. Spread the filling over the centre of the dough then fold it so that the two long edges meet. Seal all of the edges then shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on the baking sheet seam side down (if you're going to include an inedible plastic baby, now's the time to push it into your dough!) Place the tin can in the centre of the sheet and form the dough into a ring around it. Cover the cake with the damp cloth and leave to rest in a warm place for a further 30 mins.
6. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4. After 30 minutes the dough should have doubled in size again. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before remove the can from the centre of the cake. Leave to cool completely.
7. Whilst cooling, prepare the topping; mix together the icing sugar, milk and lemon juice in a small bowl until well combined, and put to one side until ready to use. Put 30 grams of granulated sugar into each of three food bags, and add a drop of food colouring to each. Seal the bags and then, one at a time, rub the food colouring into the sugar until an even tone is reached.
8. Once the cake has cooled completely spread the topping over it and allow it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle the coloured sugars onto the cake in alternating stripes. Cut into slices and serve with a cuppa! (And remember, whoever gets the baby has to make the next King Cake!)

Next time it's the 50th and final (so far) Disney Classic, Tangled, and I'll by making and baking two goodies to mark the occasion!

Happy Thoughts
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