Sweet baking – Dealing with Dough

Coffee & walnut cake

March 3, 2015March 4, 2015 Hugo Harrison2 Comments

This heavenly coffee and walnut cake recipe is a delicious teatime treat. The method couldn’t be simpler and there is very little equipment required. If you haven’t baked a cake before, this is a great introductory recipe, but always remember two things: don’t open the oven door while the cake is baking, and be gentle when folding in the walnuts, so as to retain as much air as possible in the cake mixture.

Serves 8-10

500g self-raising flour

400g caster sugar

220g softened butter, plus extra for greasing

3 medium eggs

1 x double shot of espresso

120g walnuts, roughly chopped

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

a pinch of salt

250g whole milk

For the buttercream

60g butter, softened

150g icing sugar

1 x single shot of espresso

Pre-heat your oven to 180c/160 fan/gas mark 4. Line and grease a medium-sized cake tin.
Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl of a large food processor. Add all of the other ingredients and blend until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Keep and eye on the cake mixture as it is blending and turn the food processor off as soon as it comes together.
Gently fold in 100g of the walnuts into the mixture and tip into the lined cake tin. Bake for 1 hour. Once baked, set aside on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before removing the tin.
To make the buttercream, add the softened butter and sugar to a medium bowl and beat together using an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the espresso and mix again until combined.
Once the cake has cooled completely, remove from the tin and, with a palette knife or silicone spatula, evenly spread the buttercream on top. Scatter over the remaining walnuts.

Clementine curd

December 2, 2014 Hugo HarrisonLeave a comment

As December approaches, we enter the height of clementine season. The smell of this amber fruit immediately sends me back to countless Christmas mornings, rummaging amongst chocolate coins and christmas parcels to the bottom of my stocking where I could find a clementine or two.

Here I use clementines to make a delicious curd, which is both sharp and sweet in equal measure. It is hugely versatile and can be used in place of any recipe that calls for lemon curd, for a festive alternative. I pipe the curd into doughnuts, until they are fit to burst (around 40g of curd per large doughnut).

Ingredients (makes 900g):

7 large clementines

2 lemons

350g caster sugar

4 eggs, beaten

3 egg yolks, beaten

100g unsalted butter, diced

Method: Set up an bain marie by heating a large pan of water to a gentle boil. Add a heat-proof bowl over the pan but ensure the water is not in contact with the bottom of the bowl.

Zest and juice all of the fruit and add it to bowl, along with the yolks, eggs and sugar and mix to combine.

Add the butter and stir constantly, so as not to scramble the eggs. Cook until the curd is thick, and coats the back of a spoon at least.

Either add to sterilised jars as a beautiful Christmas gift or keep, refrigerated, until needed. The curd will keep for up to two weeks.

This recipe is an adaptation of George Socratous’ for Jamie Magazine.

Cinnamon curls

October 7, 2014October 28, 2014 Hugo Harrison5 Comments

For me, there is no scent or taste as nostalgia-inducing as cinnamon. It is the spice that sparked my love for baking. It’s smell can take me back to dozens of Christmases and Easters in an instant, and the flavour never fails to bring a smile to my face. I have wanted, for a long time now, to create a sweet recipe that can do this delicious ingredient justice, and I finally think I have. Scrolling through my Instagram feed on Saturday morning gave me the push I needed, as photograph after photograph appeared littered with scrumptious cinnamon. Of course, it was Cinnamon Roll Day (Kanelbullens Dag).

Cinnamon curls. Source: Dealing with Dough.

This recipe differs a little from other cinnamon rolls as it uses laminated (croissant) dough. Consequently the method is a little longer and takes a bit of practice, but the sweet, buttery pastry you are left with makes it worthwhile.

I roll these cinnamon curls in sugar whilst they are still hot from the oven, but if allowed to cool first, a vanilla icing would work just as well.

Ingredients: (Makes 12)

1 quantity croissant dough (my own recipe available shortly)

100g light brown soft sugar

50g demerara sugar

1 heaped tbsp freshly ground cinnamon

70g butter, melted

200g caster sugar, for topping

1 medium egg, for egg wash

Method: Tip your chilled croissant dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll your dough out to a rectangle of roughly 20″ by 12″, at a thickness of no more than 4mm. Clean the flat top of the dough, now facing you, of all flour using a pastry brush.

Mix your light brown soft and demerara sugar with your cinnamon in a large bowl, using your thumb and fingers to rub out any larger chunks of sugar. This is your cinnamon sugar for the filling.

With a palette knife, spread the melted butter evenly over the dough, making sure to reach all corners and edges. Equally scatter over your cinnamon sugar, again making sure to cover all areas of the buttered dough.

Starting from the long edge closest to you, roll the dough up tightly until you are left with a long, thick shape similar to a swiss roll.

Using a chef’s knife, divide the roll into 12 equal parts, trimming the ends off first if you’re after a less-rustic result. Once cut, you can shape them: simply grab the end of each curl, pull on it a little, and tuck it underneath the rest of the curl as a base.

Place each shaped curl onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place the trays into a black bin bag on a flat surface in a warm area (22-26c), and tie it closed. (The bin bag creates a perfect environment for the dough to rise, as it will remain the same humidity and absorb heat from the surrounding area.)

Leave the curls to rise for between 60 and 90 minutes, until they have increased in size by at least half. Once the curls have risen, give each a generous egg wash, (1 egg beaten with a small splash of water), and bake at 190Cfan/375f/gas mark 5 for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Whilst each curl is still warm, toss in a shallow tray of caster sugar so that they are covered all over and allow to cool on a wire rack.