Chocolate and Raspberry Choux Buns

After my experimental period over Christmas - I've decided that choux pastry is my new favourite. I've got very fond memories of Choux Buns. It's something my mum and I would buy as a treat at our weekly food shop - the caramel ones to be precise. They are the epitome of decadence, naughtiness and never fail to send me into a delectable sugar coma. Having make Profiteroles and a Gateux St Honore, I decided it was time to try my hand at Choux Buns.

Chocolate and Raspberry Choux Buns

You're going to need a batch of choux pastry to start with. I haven't had a chance to write up my personal method yet, but I would recommend you follow this recipe from Delia:

http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/baking/how-to-make-choux-pastry.html

For the filling....

Take one box of raspberries (saving a few for decoration) and place into a saucepan with half a cup of sugar and a dash of water. Heat this slowly until the sugar caramelises and the raspberries break down to make a coulis. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. 

Sieve the coulis into a bowl or jug and put to one side to cool. 

Next it's time for the Chantilly cream. In a mixing bowl, pour 300ml double cream, 1 tsp vanilla paste, 100g icing sugar. Whisk until the cream is nice and think. Put in the fridge to chill. 

Melt 1 large bar of dark or milk chocolate (up to your preference) in the microwave, or over a pan of simmering water. Dip the top of each choux bun into the chocolate for a nice coating and put aside to set. 

Once the chocolate has set, spoon a good amount of cream into the bottom case of the choux bun, add the raspberry coulis and sandwich the chocolate covered top onto your mountain of goodness.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Rainbow Cake

We've all seen variations of the rainbow cake. Layers of gorgeous, jeweled colours smothered with fluffy frosting. They're almost too spectacular to eat. Almost. 

This is my variation on the rainbow craze, a birthday cake for my colourful, crazy friend. The sponge is raspberry flavoured and the buttercream is laced with white chocolate. Instead of several different coloured layers, I've gone for the lazy and slightly psychedelic pools within the sponge layours.  

White Chocolate and Raspberry Rainbow Cake

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, very soft

225g caster sugar
4 large eggs
200g self-raising flour
25g cornflour 
3-4 tablespoons milk

Raspberry Extract

A variety of food colourings.

150g soft unsalted butter

1tsp vanilla extract

375g icing sugar

150g white chocolate (melted)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4 and line two sandwich tins. 

Cream the butter and sugar together then add the raspberry extract. 

Add the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour between each. Fold in the rest of the flour and the cornflour.

Add a little milk to loosen the mixture slightly.

Separate the mixture into as many different bowls as you have colours. Add colours! 

Spoon each colour into the sandwich tins. Feel free to create crazy patterns. I opted for one colour inside another until they formed rings.

Bake for 25 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Turn them out and leave on a wire rack to cool.

Whisk the melted chocolate, vanilla extract and butter together. 

Sieve in your icing sugar gradually and whisk until you have a light and fluffy buttercream. 

Ice your cake! 

Raspberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

It seems that I have gone a little crazy for raspberries this month. They're not even in season. But if you bake them into treats then who's to know! It's also been a bit of a stressful month so far - a month of change and hard work. Naturally, I fall to baking to act as stress relief. After a particularly harrowing day yesterday, I not only prepped and cooked chicken livers for dinner (59 pence! How could I say no?) but crafted a batch of these raspberry strewn lovelies. As far as baking goes, these are very straight forward. Using only 40 minutes in total (25 of these are spent in the oven), it will be no time before you bite into a warm, gooey treat for the most depressing month of the year.  For those afraid of cream cheese, give these a try. You'll be surprised by how much you enjoy it.

Raspberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

NB: Raspberries can be replaced with any other berry of choice.

Ingredients

100g Soft Cheese

250g Caster Sugar

175g Raspberries

200g Plain Flour

2tsp Baking Powder

2 Eggs

75ml Oil 

1tsp Vanilla Extract

A pinch of Salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C or 170C (fan oven) and line your muffin/cupcake tin with cases. You could also use a flat baking tray.

Beat the soft cheese with 25g of sugar and pop in the fridge for later.

In a small saucepan, heat the raspberries with another 25g of sugar and bash together until they form a coulis like consistency. Try to be uneven in your smooshing as a few bigger bits of berry are lovely. Put to one side to cool.

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt. 

Add the eggs, oil, vanilla and stir together thoroughly or use a beater on a very slow speed. Stir through the raspberry mixture. Don't worry if your mixture looks a bit odd and lumpy.

Fill each case to about 2/3 and plop a teaspoon of the soft cheese mixture into the middle of each. Use your finger to push down gently. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until risen and golden brown.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Who says vegan baking can't be awesome? This is a great chocolate cupcake recipe with no dairy products and a little fruit surprise in the middle. This recipe is converted from a US version so apologies for the strangely accurate measurements. You can also use the recipe for a normal vegan chocolate cake rather than cupcakes. Just use sandwich tins or a spring-form cake tin.

Cake Ingredients

384g Plain Flour

6 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (I recommend Green and Blacks)

2 tsp Baking Powder

400g Caster Sugar

1 tsp Salt

10 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

2 Tbsp White Vinegar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

473ml Water

1 Fresh Raspberry for each cake you bake

Chocolate Frosting

6 Tbsp Pure Vegan Spread

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

100g Icing Sugar

Preheat your oven to 170C. 

Take a bix mixing bowl and add all of your dry ingredients. Mix them all together.

Make a well and add the liquid ingredients.

Whizz together with an electric whisk.

Pour the mixture into your cupcake cases and into the middle of each cake, place your fresh raspberry.

Bake for 25 minutes. 

To test if they are done, skewer the middle and it should come out clean.

Leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack.

Take another mixing bowl and add the vegan spread. Whisk until light and fluffy.

Add the cocoa and icing sugar (adding more if not thick enough) and whisk until combined.

Once the cakes have cooled, pipe or spread the buttercream on top and enjoy!

Wilcox Wedding Cakes

On a side note: Puddings and Pies is now on Facebook! Please take a moment to like this page here.

Last month I undertook my first ever wedding order. 60 cupcakes, half of which were to be vegan, alongside appropriate decoration and cake toppers.

We opted for Stem Ginger cakes with Lemon and Honey Buttercream and Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream and a Fresh Raspberry Center.

I will be posting the recipes for these later on, but for now let me just leave you with some pictures of the display.

I'm available for any function or party, just send me an email at georgie.wishart@gmail.com

Rhubarb and Raspberry Pie

Guess what?! I bought a pie dish. A gorgeous, kitschy pie dish. I bought it from Waitrose and it was ten pounds and I don't even care one tiny bit. Look at my excited face. LOOK AT IT!

Watch out Great British Bake Off, I'm coming for you next. If the show was for bakers who give it a good go but normally end up with flour in their hair and manage to mistake salt for sugar... Oh wait, that has happened this year. Perhaps I might be in with a chance.

The pie dish was christened with a classic fruit pie - rhubarb and raspberry. Rhubarb is such an undervalued fruit. It's quintessentially British, the tartness is to die for and it's also great in savory dishes (Rhubarb noodles anyone?). The combination of this with sweet, delicate raspberries and a classic sweet shortcrust pastry was going to be a winner. Shortcrust pastry might be the one area of baking that I can actually make a half-arsed go at. No soggy bottoms here please.

Rhubarb and Raspberry Pie

This is a nice simple recipe, no blind baking or making any sort of fruit compote for the middle. If you wanted to buy shop bought shortcrust pastry and forgo the lattice top, then it may be the easiest pie ever.

Ingredients

Pastry:

500g plain flour

100g icing sugar

250g butter - chilled to the point where you can grate it

2 eggs

A dash of double cream

Filling:

43g Plain Flour
2 sticks of Rhubarb, diced
2 punnets of raspberries
250g Golden Caster Sugar
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 tablespoon cold unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces
1 large Egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons Double Cream
Sugar for sprinkling

I'm not sure Paul and Mary would approve of the slapdash lattice top.

Directions

Start with your pastry. Sieve together your flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Having chilled your butter to the point of extreme solidness, you can grate this into the bowl also. This will need to be done with speed as the butter warms quickly and will become unmanageable.

There are two keys to a good shortcrust pastry. The first is to try and keep the dough as cool as possible, so when you're not working it, get it straight in the fridge. The second is to work it as little as possible. Doughs that are kneeded or mixed a lot become stretchy and smooth in quailty - doing this will make your shortcrust rubbery in texture. To get a nice crumbly, buttery crust, try your very hardest not to over mix it.

Once you have grated the butter into the flour and icing sugar, make the mixture into breadcrumbs by using your fingertips to rub the flour and butter together. Keep going until all of the butter and flour have been combined into a breadcrumb like consistency.

In a small jug, whisk the eggs and cream together. Add this to your breadcrumb mixture. Use a wooden spoon to bring the mixture together. Once it has started to form a dough, use your fingers to finish the dough. Don't overwork it!

Put your dough in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

In another bowl, add your rhubarb, raspberries, sugar, flour and lemon juice. Delicately mix these ingredients together as you don't want to smush your raspberries. A little bit of smushing is okay, don't beat yourself up about it. Put the mixture to one side.

Grease your pie dish and preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4.

Once your dough has chilled, take 2/3 of it (put the other 1/3 straight back into the fridge) and roll it out into a round shape that's big enough to cover your pie dish. Use flour on the work surface and rolling pin to stop the dough from sticking. The best way to transfer your dough from the counter to the pie dish is by using the rolling pin to gently roll the dough up. You can then unroll it over the dish and press down to fill the corners. Use a sharp knife to trim the edges.

Fill the pie with the raspberry/rhubarb mixture and put into the fridge.

Rescue your remaining dough and use this to make your topping. I went for a lattice top because I like to show off and then instantly regret it because I can't do it like a pro. If you want to do that then I suggest giving this Bon Appetit video a quick gander: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTHTt49e58w.

Either way, roll your remaining dough out and then either use the lattice method to top your pie or place the lid on top of your pie in the same way we transferred the base. If you have gone for a solid lid then make two little holes in the centre of the pie - this will let the steam escape and ensure that your lid doesn't puff up.

Use the beaten egg and cream mixture to glaze the top of your pie and sprinkle liberally with sugar.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Keep an eye on the top to ensure the pastry doesn't catch (blacken). If your lid is getting a bit browner than you'd like, make it a little foil hat and place it on top to protect the pastry.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool before serving. Serve with lots of yummy cream!