Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Lamb and Apple Pie

April 2012 was Easter themed for Cake'n'Bake Club, and I wanted to have a bash at something savoury.  I've always been a bit rubbish at pastry, so thought I'd take the opportunity to get in some practise with a yummy pie. The recipe is based on The Hairy Bikers' Gloucester Squab Pie

Ingredients:

For the filling:

450g diced lamb
2tbsp plain flour
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion
650ml hot lamb stock
1/2 tsp mixed spice
salt and pepper to taste
2 sprigs of fresh mint
2 bramley apples

For the pastry:

300g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
pinch of salt
75g vegetable shortening, cut into cubes
75g butter, cut into cubes
1 medium sized egg
1 tbsp cold water

Prep Time: 45-60 minutes
Cook time: 120-150 minutes
Makes 8-10 slices

1. The filling is cooked for at least an hour and a half before the pastry lid is added, so best to start with that. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5. 
2. Coat the diced lamb with the plain flour. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and stir fry the lamb until just golden, then place the lamb to one side in a casserole dish.
3. Peel and chop the onion, then return the pan to the heat and fry the onions until they start to turn translucent. Add the onions, lamb stock, mixed spice, salt and pepper to the lamb in the casserole dish, then roughly tear the mint leaves and add these. Stir well, cover, then place in the oven for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally,  until the meat has cooked and the sauce has thickened. (Don't add the apples at this stage - we will come back to them!)
4. Whilst the casserole is cooking, prepare your pastry. Tip the flour and salt into a large bowl, then rub in the shortening and butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre.
5. Lightly whisk the egg and water, then pour most of this into the well made in the flour and fat mixture - you'll want to reserve a little bit of this to use as a glaze. Stir the mixture until it comes together to form a dough, then knead the dough for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a round, wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge until ready to use (make sure this is at least 30 minutes so the pastry is nicely chilled!)
6. Once the casserole is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool whilst you peel, core and slice the apples. Carefully pour half of the casserole into a large pie dish, then layer the slice apples on top of this. Pour the remaining casserole on top of the apple layer and set to one side whilst you roll out you pastry. Increase the heat of the oven to gas mark 6.
7. Unwrap the pastry and roll out to around 3 inches large than the dish you are using. Cut a 1 inch circle from the edge of this, and place the around the rim of your pie dish to use as a support. Cover this in egg wash, then place the pastry over the whole dish. Trim and flute the edges, then glaze the top of the pie with the remaining egg mixture. Cut a small cross in the middle of the pastry to allow the steam to escape, then bake in the centre of the oven for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown all over.

Happy Thoughts
x

Mini-Egg Cookie Bars

So, today is Good Friday, and whilst I'm not a religious person, I could not pass up the opportunity to take advantage of all of the seasonal chocolate goodies currently available, so I decided to bake up something Eastery. This is a very quick and easy recipe, and I imagine that if you had children, they'd like to play along.

Cookie bars are what happens when you start making a cookie dough at 6:30am, before realising that you'll be late for work if you baked the dough in batches,so you improvise. It's a really tasty, gooey, chewy wonderful improvisation.

I also learnt in baking these cookie bars that Cadbury Mini Eggs are virtually indestructible. I tried bashing them with a rolling pin - it barely dented them. I then put the into the blender -I ended up with a few chipped eggs and a bit of sugar shell. Finally,I crushed each egg with the flat of a knife,which seemed to do the trick!

Ingredients:
150g butter
300g golden caster sugar
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg, plus 1 yolk
300g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
100g Cadbury Mini Eggs
50g dark chocolate chunks
50g white chocolate chunks

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Makes 24 bars

1. Preheat the oven to 170.gas mark 3, and line two square baking tins with greaseproof paper.
2. Put the butter into a large microwavable bowl, and melt in the microwave.Stir in the sugar and vanilla,and set to one side to cool slightly. Beat in the egg and egg yolk.
3. Sift half of the flour and all of the baking soda into the bowl and beat in.
4. Crush your mini eggs into smaller pieces by any means possible, then tip the mini eggs and the chocolate chunks into your cookie dough and mix untill evenly distributed. 
5. Sift in the remaining flour and stir until the mixture all comes together.
6. Put half of the mixture in each baking tin, and flatten with the back of a spoon, being sure to push the dough into the corners. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown all over. If you press the cookie lightly with your finger, it should feel firm on top.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, before transferring to a chopping board. Cut each square cookie into 12, then leave to cool on a wire rack.
8. Eat at least one whilst it's still warm. You can thank me later :-)

Happy Thoughts
x