Chocolate and Orange Portuguese Custard Tarts

I absolutely adore Edd Kimber's first book, The Boy Who Bakes, not only because it contains so many fantastic recipes but because it's visually beautiful - it looks equally at home nestled on a shelf with fellow baking books as it does on a coffee table. While flicking through last week I came across this recipe for Chocolate and Orange Portuguese Custard Tarts and instantly knew I'd have to give them a go. They're not too difficult to make and taste amazing: they'd be the perfect addition to a traditional afternoon tea or served outside after dinner on a warm summer's evening.

Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Cookies

I’ve been searching for the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe for ages, as the ones I’ve tried in the past just haven’t turned out how I’d hoped. I thought I’d give this one a try as it seemed a little different: the ingredients called for not just peanut butter, but actual peanuts, milk chocolate and pretzels too. Surely it was worth a go?

Speculaas

Anyone who knows me knows that since the middle of November I’ve been rushed off my feet with numerous essays, presentations and a couple of incredible weekends at the Barbican Framed Film Festival. As a result, I haven’t had time to breathe let alone blog, despite having several folders full of photographs of baking and pages of notes on films all ready for me to collate together and eventually post. It’s Boxing Day, I’m sat in front of the TV watching Happy Feet and still unable to move thanks to yesterday, so felt it was the perfect time to start blogging all the remaining recipes/films/exhibitions that I still haven’t got round to doing!

These are Speculaas, courtesy of Edd Kimber. A spicy biscuit that I made in the summer, they smell like Christmas so would be ideal to make at some point over the holidays (even though it’s perfectly acceptable to make them all year round!). A pack of these would make a lovely gift too: maybe accompanied with a thank you note for Christmas presents? It’s be a little different and surely greatly appreciated…

Cranberry and Macadamia Shortbread

I normally stick to a basic shortbread when I make it, using Mrs Beeton’s classic recipe (which I will make and blog about soon, I promise!): it’s fool-proof and works perfectly every time. This time, however, I thought I’d try something a little bit different with Edd Kimber’s Cranberry and Macadamia Shortbread. I’d never used macadamia nuts before, and love cranberries so thought it’d be worth a shot. As with every recipe of Edd’s that I’ve recently tried, it worked like a treat!

Dulce de Leche Banana Bread Pudding

Last week I got my bread maker out for the first time, and wanting to do another Edd Kimber recipe I attempted to make brioche so that I could have a go at his Dulce de Leche Banana Bread Pudding. The brioche was a minor a disaster (ie it didn’t rise as much as it should have done) but apart from that it was useable, and therefore I went ahead and made the pudding. It’s pretty similar to the chocolate pudding I made a few days before, but better if you’re not a chocolate fan! The caramel and banana worked really well, it was light and the flavour combinations are a classic success. This pudding would be fab in the winter: serve warm with ice cream, but was also good as a cold summer pudding, served straight out of the fridge. It’s versatile, yummy and super simple to make.

Chocolate and Banana Brioche Pudding

Following a mini nervous break-down yesterday I realised – amongst other things – that my summer thus far hasn’t contained half as much baking as I’d hoped, and that it would be a good idea for me to rectify that as soon as possible. This morning I sat down with my collection of cookbooks and set about narrowing down the recipes with regard to what ingredients I already had; finally settling on Edd Kimber’s Chocolate and Banana Brioche Bread Pudding, from his first cookbook, The Boy Who Bakes. The more I read the more I had my heart set on this recipe, so conceded to a quick shopping trip for brioche and dark chocolate (I’m not making the mistake of substituting dark for milk chocolate again as I’ve seen how terribly that turns out!). The extra journey was worth it: this pudding was the perfect Saturday evening dessert.