Pies/Tarts

Banoffee Pie

I have to try something a little different his week, due to the unseasonably high temperatures we are currently experiencing. I love baking as much as the next person but honestly, when its too hot – I’d rather not be baking. That’s why I’m sharing this no-bake recipe, which is perfect – trust me.

I feel that this is much more of a summery feeling desert but we are in the dying days of summer at this point, so may as well take advantage of the warmer weather and enjoy a simple treat.

If you haven’t heard of this dessert before, you’re missing out – seriously. It starts with a simple yet tasty buttery biscuit case, lusciously filled with caramel/dulce de leche, topped with freshly whipped cream and finished with a coating of dark chocolate – don’t tell me it doesn’t sound good!

It’s light, sweet and will hit the spot – plus its a crowd pleaser, this won’t last long around your friends and family!

For this recipe, I used the vanilla extract and dark chocolate from the team over at OliveNation – don’t forget to check them out!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Base:

225g digestive biscuits.

150g butter.

Filling:

400g tin caramel/dulce de leche.

3 banana’s, sliced.

Topping:

300ml double cream.

25g icing sugar.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Finishing:

Dark chocolate, grated.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Weigh up all of your ingredients, grab your 9 inch/ 23cm pie dish and get any equipment you may need, such as a food processor or rolling pin.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to make the case. So start by crushing your biscuits up into a fine crumb – you can do this but using a food processor or a food bag and rolling pin, either method will work well.

Once you have the biscuit crumbs, you can then add in the butter, which has been melted. Mix everything together until the biscuit crumbs look more like wet sand.

Transfer the biscuit mixture into your pie tin and spread the mixture about, then start to apply some pressure, this is to compact the mixture down. You need to ensure it is compact as can be.

Chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes or until slightly firmer to the touch.

Remove the case from the fridge and fill generously with the caramel/dulce de leche. Spread and level it out as best you possibly can, ideally using a small offset spatula.

Top the caramel with the banana slices, ensuring there are as many as possible in there. I follow a simple pattern, just going around the case, ensuring there is banana all over.

Now take a mixing bowl and place in the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together over a medium- high speed, until the mixture thickens enough to hold its shape but not too thick its over whisked.

Take the cream and spread it all over the top of the pie – you could also pipe it on but this is up to you.

To finish the pie off, you simple need to grate over a generous amount of dark chocolate.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

Raspberry Bakewell Tart

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

A Bakewell tart is a classic, so this raspberry version is the perfect addition to any summer party.

Life is going back to ‘normal’ (whatever that may be now), so why not make this and share it with those you like the most – it’s a fairly quick and easy dessert to make.

It’s the combination of butter rich flaky pastry, filled with homemade raspberry jam and delicate almond sponge, studded with raspberries and finished with a generous dashing of flaked almonds – what’s not to like? Like seriously…

This is a classic, well in my eyes it is. I have been making these ever since I was in college back in the mid 2010s – I have been there when it comes to messing up any part of this recipe, especially the frangipane… Embarrassingly, my frangipane rose so much while baking and wasn’t stable and just spilled all over the oven… It wasn’t pretty scene (nor the smell).

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

For the pastry case, don’t forget to check out my perfect shortcrust pastry.

Frangipane:

150g butter.

150g granulated sugar.

150g ground almonds.

20g plain flour.

2 eggs.

1-2 tsp almond extract (this is optional).

Filling & toppings:

60-80g raspberry jam.

75-100g fresh raspberries.

Flaked almonds (generously scattered on top of the frangipane and raspberries).

Method:

Before you get started on any element of the recipe, you’re best to so some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, preheating the oven to 180˚c/350˚f and getting any equipment you may need, such as a mixing bowl and spatula.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to make the pastry. As mentioned above I have a blog post showing you how to make the perfect shortcrust pastry. Follow the recipe all the way through and then proceed with his recipe.

Once your pastry has had around an hour to chill in the fridge, you can gently flour your work surface and place the dough on to it. Then roll the pastry out until it achieved around 5mm in thickness (give or take, this is the perfect thickness for me to work with).

Drape the pastry over your rolling pin and then place over the top of your pie dish and press it down into all of the crevices, then you can trim away the excess using a small knife.

Transport the pie into the fridge to firm up, while you make the frangipane.

Making the frangipane is super straight forward. Take a food processor (or mixing bowl) and place in the butter, granulated sugar, ground almonds, plain flour, egg and almond extract. Mix everything together until all of the ingredients have been fully combined – you may find mixture to be a little ‘off’ smooth, this is normal (the ground almonds prevent the mixture from being completely smooth).

Give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Take the chilled pastry case from the fridge and line with a piece of parchment paper and fill with baking beans or rice and then place into your preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the paper and baking beans/rice and bake for a further 10 minutes.

The final assembly of this tart is really easy to do. Simply take your blind baked pastry case and add in the jam, spreading it out, ensuring a even and level layer of jam is across the base of the case.

Top this with the frangipane, spreading it out, ensuring its well spread and level. You can then go ahead and scatter (or place) over your raspberries, trying your best to get an even coverage across. Then finally, generously scatter over the flaked almonds – this is where you can control how much or little almonds you have for the topping.

Place into your preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is well risen as well as being a beautiful golden brown colour.

Once baked, allow to cool down fully before you try and slice it up. For a tart this size, I went with 8 generous portions but you can slice yours up however you like – the choice is really yours.

Lemon Meringue Pie

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This week I’m keeping things real simple with my take on a classic lemon meringue pie – a real classic but all-round crowd pleaser. Whats not to like?

If for some reason you’re not sure what a lemon meringue is, I’ll tell you. You start with a sweet pastry case, which is filled with a luscious zesty lemon filling and topped with toasted meringue – sounds good right?

This is the perfect dessert to enjoy on a warm day as it’s not heavy or stodgy, it light and airy, which makes this perfect to enjoy any time of day! If you’re a fan of lemon, this pie may just be the one for you as the lemon filling certain packs a lemony punch.

To achieve the toasted marshmallow, I used a chefs blowtorch but if you don’t have one, don’t worry – you can just place it back into the oven until its golden brown (just don’t leave it in there for too long, otherwise it’ll ruin the pie).

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Lemon filling –

100g granulated sugar.

2 tbsp cornflour.

Zest of 3 large lemons.

125ml lemon Juice

100-150ml water.

85g butter.

3 egg yolks.

1 whole egg.

Meringue topping –

4 egg whites.

200g granulated sugar.

2 tsp cornflour.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Method:

Before you get started on this recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by making your pastry, I already have a recipe for shortcrust pastry, weighing up all of your ingredients and get any other bits of equipment such as a saucepan and a whisk. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

Start by rolling out the pastry and draping it over your pie dish, pressing into place, then you can trim away the excess, not forgetting to dock the base of the pastry case, so it doesn’t rise while baking.

Place a sheet of parchment paper into the case and fill with rice or baking beans.

Now you can place this into your preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes before removing from the oven and removing the rice/baking bean and then place back into the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes – by the end the case should be golden brown.

Allow the pastry case to chill completely and then make a start on your lemon filling.

Take a saucepan and place in the lemon zest, cornflour and sugar, mixing them together until they are combined. You can then add in the lemon juice and whisk until fully incorporated ad repeat the same process when you add in the water.

Place this onto the hob over a medium heat and whisk until everything is combined and the mixture is hot – the mixture may have thickened ever so slightly. Once you reach this stage, remove from the heat and add in your butter, whisking until its fully incorporated.

You will notice the mixture thickens up and becomes glossy – this is normal and what you’re looking for.

Once you achieve this consistency, you can go ahead and remove it from the heat and add in the egg yolks and egg and whisk profusely until they are fully incorporated. Place back on the heat and mix together until the mixture thickens a little more and the eggs are cooked out.

Now take the baked pastry case and pour the lemon filling. Then allow this to cool, cool enough to place into the fridge and allow to set.

Whenever that is ready, you can make the meringue (which is super easy). Take a sparkling clean mixing bowl and add in the egg whites, whisk them on a medium-high speed until they reach a frothy consistency.

Gradually add your sugar, roughly a tablespoon at a time, whisking well in-between each addition. Once all of the sugar has been added, feel the meringue mixture and if you feel any granules of sugar, continue to whisk until its smooth.

Add in the cornflour and whisk until its fully incorporated, then repeat the process with the vanilla extract.

Top your lemon pastry case with the meringue and create a rounded dome with some peaks. You can then use a blowtorch and lightly scorch the meringue and if you don’t have one, simply place it back into the oven until the meringue has coloured all over.

Leave for a short while, then slice up and enjoy. There is my take on a simple lemon meringues which always hits the sweet spot – so if you’re a fan of lemon, this is the treat for you!

Frangipane Mince Pies

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s bakemas 2020!

If it’s your first bakemas here, welcome. It is my annual mini-series in which I show you how to make a various Christmas themed baked goods – perfect if you want to impress your family and/or friends or if you’re hosting a festive get together.

Keeping things super simple today with a batch of frangipane mince pies – if you mince pies, you’ll love these, they are the perfect Christmas treat.

If you’re a fan of mince pies, I have a few recipes for you to check out. Don’t forget to try homemade mince pies, homemade sweet mincemeat and a batch of chocolate orange mince pies.

If you’ve never heard or tried frangipane – you’re missing out! Frangipane is an almond based confection, often used in sweet tarts such as Bakewell tart. It’s may sound complex to make but its quite the opposite – it’s quick and easy.

A classic pastry case, filled with classic mincemeat and finished with a layer of frangipane… Tell me they don’t sound good?

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Of course you’ll need a pastry (duh), I already have a blog post on how to make the perfect shortcrust pastry. Don’t forget to check out the recipe if you’re interested in making my version of the pastry.

Frangipane:

75g butter.

75g granulated sugar.

75g ground almonds.

10g plain flour.

1 egg.

Filling:

A small jar of mincemeat (shop bought or homemade).

Method:

I only used half the pastry as I only wanted to make a half batch, if you’re looking to make a full batch (12) – use the entire amount of pastry and double the frangipane and mincemeat filling.

Take the rolled out dough and use a large 3 inch circle cookie cutter and using either the straight or ruffled edge, cut out 6 circles – this should be easy to do if you have rolled your dough out correctly – you can always re-roll the pastry, if needed (but only once).

Lay hand of the pastry cut outs and one by one, gently press them into a muffin pan (it doesn’t need to be lined or greased). While you’re pressing the pastry into the tin, be gentle. The pastry is only thin and is prone to breaking – if this occurs, patch it up with some of the excess pastry. Repeat the process for the remaining pastry cut outs.

Transport the muffin tin into the fridge to firm up, while you make the frangipane.

Making the frangipane is super straight forward. Take a mixing bowl and place in the butter, granulated sugar, ground almonds, plain flour and egg. Mix everything together until all of the ingredients have been fully combined – you may find mixture to be a little ‘off’ smooth, this is normal (the ground almonds prevent the mixture from being completely smooth).

Give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Snatch the chilled pastry cases from the fridge, the mincemeat and frangipane, ready to assemble and finish the pies off.

Into each pastry case, add around a heaped tablespoon of the mincemeat and fill the remaining space with the frangipane (fill them right up to the top). Then transfer the pies into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

You’ll know when they’re ready, the aroma of spices and almond will fill your kitchen. A tester when in inserted should come out clean.

Allow them to cool (almost) fully and finish with a dusting of icing sugar and enjoy. These are perfect enjoyed on their own or with a warm beverage – however you enjoy them – give these a try!

Chocolate Orange Mince Pies

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s bakemas 2020!

The recipe I’m about to share with you, may change your festive favourite forever (seriously, I’m not kidding). How do you feel about chocolate orange mince pies? A little different but honestly, it’s a good different.

I’ve taken the classic mince pie and twisted it to make it better. Don’t get me wrong, theres nothing wrong with a mince pie but they can get a little boring, so why not add a little more flavour?

The main difference is in the pastry. Instead of plain pastry, I’ve made it a chocolate orange. The filling is almost identical, the mincemeat hasn’t changed but under the mincemeat filling I have added a button of 100% very dark chocolate – it helps balance the sweetness of the mincemeat filling and compliments the orange in the pastry perfectly.

To make this recipe even better, you’ll want to use good quality ingredients. That’s why I’ve used Cocoa Runners new baking range, including cocoa powder and unsweetened dark chocolate but they also offer milk chocolate, dark chocolate and cocoa nibs. I have also used them in my best ever brownies recipe, don’t forget to check them out if you’re interested!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pastry:

1 Egg.

90g Granulated sugar.

225g Butter, chilled.

350g Plain flour.

25g Cocoa powder.

A generous pinch of salt.

Zest of 1 orange

Filling:

Cocoa Runners 100% cocoa chocolate.

A large jar of sweet mincemeat (homemade or shop bought works well in this recipe).

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up your ingredients, grab any equipment you may need such as a food processor, muffin tin, whisk and spatula. You will also need clingfilm (to wrap the dough in) and for when the time comes, you will need to preheat the oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the mince pies, you’ll need to make the pastry. Into a small/medium bowl, place the egg and sugar into a bowl and whisk them together until they are well combined. Set aside until its needed later on.

Take a food processor and place in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then pulse them together until they are combined.

Then add in all of your butter and pulse until it’s incorporated. At this stage it won’t come together as a dough, this is normal.

Now you can go ahead and add in the egg/sugar mixture, then pulse the mixture until it starts coming together but don’t let it fully combine. If you fully combine it in the food processor, it may overwork the gluten and make the pastry tough in texture.

Flour your work surface with flour and place the dough onto it and give it all a brief knead until everything is fully incorporated, bring the dough into a smooth round and then wrap in clingfilm. Place in the fridge and chill in the fridge for around and hour (or you can make this the day before to save time).

Once the dough has chilled for a least an hour in the fridge, you can work with it. Flour your work surface and place the dough on top of the flour, then roll it out until the pastry is around 5mm.

Using a 3 1/2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles. Gently push these into your muffin tin, to create the main body of the pastry case. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect, you can fix this with the lid plus these don’t need to look perfect, nobody will bat an eyelid at them, especially once they try them!

You can then go ahead a generously fill the unbaked pastry cases with mincemeat. When it comes to the mincemeat, feel free to make your own or use shop bought, which ever you have to hand.

Take the excess pastry and roll it out, this will be the second roll – I don’t recommend rolling it out more than twice as it can make the pastry quite tough and not very nice to eat.

Roll the pastry out to 5mm in thickness and use a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter to cut the lids for the mince pies. Make sure you cut out the exact same amount you have for the pastry cases – for me this was 12. There should be a little bit of roll out pastry left, feel free to use a small festive themed cutter and make some decorations for the tops of the mince pies.

To assemble the mince pies ready to be baked off, place the lids on top of the mince pies and secure the lid to the pastry case by pressing down a fork into two. Repeat this for all of your mince pies.

Egg wash the tops of the pies, then place on the decoration, for me it was a snowflake shape. You will also want to egg wash the decoration, once you have done this, you can place the mince pies into your preheated oven and bake off for 20-25 minutes or until they turned a toasty brown colour.

When they are done baking, remove from the oven and allow to cool I the tray until you can remove them, then allow to completely fo cold on a cooling rack.

I will be honest, I have one that was still warm and its probably the best way to enjoy a mince pie, so enjoy slightly warm if you can.

As an optional finish, once they are cooled down, you can dust them lightly with some icing sugar.

Apple Pie

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This weeks recipe is for a simple apple pie – nothing fancy about the recipe, just a standard but tasty recipe for you try during the autumn period or any time of year.

I know that apple pie isn’t the most autumnal pie but when else can you enjoy pies? September-November is honestly pie season for me (even more so than pumpkin spice, fight me…).

For this recipe, I’ll be using my basic shortcrust pastry recipe. It’s a sturdy and reliable recipe that has never failed me – nor should it fail you (trust me on that, it’s one of recipe must haves). Inside of the pastry, you’ll have the apple filling (duh), which is simply apple, sugar and spices – the key to a good apple pie is keeping it simple! This way the apple won’t be completely mushy, they’ll be perfectly cooked, with a slight crunch!

I won’t lie, this recipe was made back in August of 2020 while I was having a baking session where I also made a red velvet cake, banana bundt cake and salted caramel gingerbread traybake amongst other bits – check out the recipes, you might find something you like!

The key for this weeks recipes, keeping it simple. Sometimes making things super complex doesn’t do anything but muddy the water…

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pastry –

Don’t forget to check out my shortcrust pastry recipe.

Apple filling:

750g Apples.

125g Light or dark brown sugar (whichever you prefer).

1 tsp Ground cinnamon.

1-2 tbsp Water (optional, only if needed).

Additional bits :

1 Egg, for egg wash.

Brown sugar, to sprinkle on top the pastry

Method:

Before you get started on any part of this recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend starting with making the pastry (this can be done 1-2 days in advanced), weighing up all of your ingredients and grabbing any equipment you need, such as a mixing bowl and a sharp paring knife.

As mentioned above, you will want to make the pastry, which can be made in advanced, saving you precious time and effort on the day you want to make the apple pie. I won’t be sharing how to make the pastry as I have recipe which has more detail on there, which I’ll link here.

Once the pastry has been made and chilled, you can go ahead and work with it. Onto your work surface, sprinkle a small amount of flour, then you can go ahead and place the dough onto it. You’ll then want to roll the dough out to be around the same thickness as a pound coin, which is perfect for this recipe as you’ll need to roll the pastry out to be bigger than the tin and if you use a 10 inch pie tin like me, it all falls into place perfectly.

You can then drape the pastry over the pie tin, I find rolling the pastry onto a rolling pin the easiest and safest way to work with the dough but you do it however you need to.

Press the pastry into the grooves of the pie tin, be gentle as the pastry may be delicate to work with (but don’t worry if you tear the pastry, you can patch it up easily). Then using the sharp paring knife, you can then go ahead and trim away the excess from around the edge of the tin – make sure you bring it back into a ball shape, wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge – we’ll use this up later.

Don’t forget to dock the bottom of the pastry case and place into the fridge to chill while you make the apple filling (which only take a few minutes, so chill the pastry case for 30 minutes, then work on the filling).

To make the apple filling, its super straightforward. Grab a large bowl and place in the brown sugar and cinnamon (you can also add other spices, if you’d like to) and give the two a good mix until well incorporated.

You can then go ahead and add in the apple slices, ensuring that they all get fairly coated in the brown sugar mixture then you can add them all in to the chilled pastry case – it may look a lot and bulge up, don’t worry, they’ll shrink as they cook.

Place it back in the fridge for short while, just while you make the top.

For the top of the apple pie, you can do it however you like, leave it plain, a lattice or just a plain top, like I’m doing. Roll the pastry out to be the same thickness as the pastry case and then drape it on top, crimping the edge, so the lid is secured to the case – just use a fork. Don’t forget to slice 2 slits in the middle of the pie, to release any steam that will occur while baking.

To use up the last of the pastry, feel free to give the edge and centre a more decorative finish. I went with some oak leaves to go around the edge of the pie, as well as a few in the centre but this is completely optional.

Give the whole pie a good egg wash, ensuring a good coating is applied – then you can go ahead and sprinkle on some sugar, I like to use brown sugar but use whatever you want to.

Bake in your preheated oven for 45-50 minutes – It should be well coloured and smell great, once ready.

Once the apple pie has baked, I recommenced leaving the pie to cool fully. It can be reheated later on and served with cream or custard.

Salted Caramel Brownie Tart

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

http://bakingwithelliott.com/wp-admin/edit.phpIt’s officially Bakemas 2019! 🎉

Let’s be honest, chocolate and salted caramel is always going to be a winning combination and it’s no exception in this tart.

Starting with a chocolate shortcrust pastry crust, with a generous layer of salted caramel sauce which is topped with a brownie layer and finished with a drizzle of salted caramel – tell me this tart isn’t good!

If salted caramel isn’t you sort of thing, feel free to use plain caramel (but the salted caramel works so darn well!) and if you don’t like caramel at all, this recipe isn’t for you at all. If you’re looking for more traditional brownies I have recipes for Terry’s chocolate orange brownies – perfect for Christmas.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pastry:

1 egg.

90g Sugar

225g Butter.

325g Plain flour.

50g Cocoa powder

Filling:

Salted caramel sauce.

Brownie Layer

140g Butter, melted.

225g Granulated white sugar.

2 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

45g Cocoa powder.

75g Milk chocolate chips.

100g Plain flour

100g Milk chocolate chips

Methods:

Before you get into making the tart, I recommend doing some prep work i advance. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and prepare any equipment you may need.

Pastry:

To start on the pastry, place your egg and granulated sugar into a bowl and beat them together until they are well combined, you should notice that the mixture will lighten in colour when fully combined. Set it aside until it’s needed a little later on.

Take a food processor and in the bowl, place the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Pulse on a low-medium speed just to combine the ingredients.

Then you can add the butter in little chunks and pulse on a low-medium speed until a sandy consistency forms, then add in the egg/sugar mixture and pulse until a dough has formed. Try your best not over mix the dough at this stage.

Flour a surface with some plain flour and place the pastry onto it, kneading until the smooth. You can then take it and wrap it in some clingfilm/plastic wrap and set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (you can make it in advance at this stage and use within 5 days).

I generous flour my worktop again, then take my dough from the fridge and unwrap it and place onto the floured surface. I then start to roll out my dough using a rolling pin until its 5mm thick.

I roll the pastry up back onto the rolling pin and then place it on-top of the pie dish and press the dough into place. Once it’s all in place, you can then trim away the excess (ball the dough back up and use it on another tart or wrap in clingfilm and freeze it).

Place the pastry case in the fridge to chill while you make the brownie layer.

Brownie:

Into a medium mixing bowl, place the melted butter and cocoa powder and whisk the two together until they are well combined. The mixture will be thick and glossy when combined.

Add in all of the granulated sugar and whisk until it’s been fully worked into the mixture. You’ll notice a change in the consistency of the batter and that it’s more granular. This is normal and will become smoother as the other ingredients are incorporated.

Then you can go ahead and add your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. As you add the eggs, you’ll notice that the consistency will become less granular and more liquid.

Chuck the plain flour and milk chocolate chips into the mix and fold them in until they are incorporated. The less you can mix them together the better it is for the brownies, they will be dense rather than cakey.

Assembly & Finishing:

Take the pastry cake you prepared earlier on out of the fridge and into the bottom pour the salted caramel sauce and spread it out using the back of a spoon – on-top of the caramel, pour the brownie batter over and level if needed.

Place in the oven and bake for around 35 minutes (or until a tester inserted into the centres comes out with only a few smudges on) but this time will vary depending on each oven.

Once it’s out of the oven, allow it to cool (this is soooo nice when slightly warm but you can always place it in the microwave if you’re eating it once its completely cooled down), then slice it up and drizzle over some more salted caramel and enjoy.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my Instagram and Twitter. The YouTube video will be linked down below.

Pumpkin Spice Meringue Pie

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s now officially Autumn, so it’s officially time to have all things pumpkin spice. Starting with this pumpkin spice meringue pie, let’s get started, shall we?

Now that Autumn is in full swing, it’s acceptable to enjoy all things seasonal. Starting with autumnal food and drinks (including pumpkin spice latte), if you like pumpkin spice latte, this recipe is perfect for you.

Starting with a shortcrust pastry case, filled with a pumpkin spice pastry cream and topped with a meringue which is toasted. A perfectly seasonal recipe, believe me. The flavour combinations may not sound like they’ll work, but they do.

Let’s get start on the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pastry:

Here is how to make the pastry.

Pastry cream:

500ml Whole milk.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

2 tsp Coffee granules.

2 tsp Pumpkin spice.

100g Pumpkin puree (homemade pumpkin puree recipe also available)

120g Egg yolks.

100g Granulated sugar.

60g Plain flour.

Meringue:

160g Egg whites.

320g Granulated sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Methods:

Before you get into making any element of the pumpkin meringue pie, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all your ingredients, preheating the oven (before its needed) and getting any equipment you may need ready, so it’s at hand.

Pastry:

Start by following my recipe on how to make the pastry.

You can then bake the 8-inch pie case off at 180˚c/350˚f for around 20 minutes, then remove the baking beans and egg wash, then bake for a further 10-15 minute until golden brown.

Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully, before you intend on using it.

Pastry Cream:

To start on the pastry cream, get yourself a medium or large saucepan and place in the whole milk and vanilla then whisk to combine. Then you can add the coffee granules, pumpkin spice and pumpkin puree, whisking well in-between each addition.

Place the saucepan onto the hob, over a medium-high heat, allow it to come to a boil. Then into a separate medium sized bowl, place the egg yolks and sugar and whisk together until they are well combined (the mixture should be smooth, not granular and paler in colour), then you can add in the plain flour and whisk to combine.

Once a boil has reached, remove from the heat and pour around a third of the hot milk mixture over the egg mixture and whisk the two together until they are fully combined. You can then steadily pour the remaining milk over egg mixture until the two separate mixtures are fully combined.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place back on the hob over a medium-high heat, stirring continuously until the mixture has thickened (you’ll know when it’s ready when the whisk trails remain there after you’ve moved the whisk). You can take the mixture off the heat and pour onto a shallow sided baking tray and cover with cling film/plastic wrap making sure it touches the surface, preventing a skin from forming. You can then place this somewhere to cool down fully, before you either use it or place it in the fridge (never place anything hot/warm in the fridge).

Meringue:

To make the meringue topping, you’ll want to place the egg whites into your bowl and whisk them together until they are foamy/frothy.

At this stage, you can start adding your granulated sugar, roughly 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisking well in-between each addition, ensuring the previous amount of sugar has been fully incorporated. Repeat until all the sugar has been incorporated, it should be a smooth and glossy mixture.

Add in the vanilla extract and whisk until it’s been fully incorporated. Use immediately, only make the meringue before you intend on serving.

Assembly:

Take your pastry cream and scrape it from the shallow sided tray and place into a small-medium bowl and whisk it just until it’s a spreadable consistency. Add into the baked pastry case and smooth it out as best you can, using an offset/cranked palette knife, set in the fridge until it’s needed, later.

Make the meringue topping. Then you can place it on top of your chilled pie or feel free to do it the way I did mine, by placing the meringue mixture into piping bags and pipe different shapes on top.

Torch the meringue topping using a culinary blowtorch or place under the grill for a few minutes until toasted.

Serve and enjoy – best eaten on the day it’s made.

That’s all for this week guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back next week with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my Instagram and Twitter. The YouTube video will be linked down below!

Blueberry Pie Recipe

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Summer may be coming to end, don’t fret, I have recipe which is perfect for the end of the season. Today I’ll be sharing with you how to make a blueberry pie!

This recipe can be made all year around, seeing as most supermarkets stock frozen blueberries in the frozen foods section but if blueberries are in season, use fresh or frozen either works well (the ones I used were bought fresh then frozen).

Earlier in the week I uploaded a video to YouTube and a blog post showing you how to make my pastry recipe, honestly, it’s the best one, it doesn’t require any strange ingredients or special equipment if you don’t have it. I’ll link it here. I recommend that you use my recipe but you can use your own if you want, I don’t control you.

When it comes to pies, personally, I like to have more pastry on top, I know that some people like it whereas others don’t. Instead of putting a pastry lid on this pie I decided to place some cut out stars on top of pie, so you have the element of pastry there but not fully, if that makes sense.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Pastry:

Here is how to make the pastry.

Blueberry Filling:

750g Blueberries (fresh or frozen, dust with plain flour).

100ml Water.

30g Plain flour.

A pinch of salt.

¼ tsp Ground cinnamon.

100g Granulated white sugar.

Method:

Before you get into the baking/pie making, you’ll want to do some prep. Start by making your pastry, weighing up the ingredients, preheating the oven to 180˚c/350˚f and preparing any equipment you may need to use.

To start on the blueberry pie filing, get yourself a medium sized saucepan and into it, place the water, flour, salt, ground cinnamon and sugar, then give it all a good mix until its well incorporated.

You can then add in the blueberries and mix them in the mixture until they are well coated, then transfer the saucepan onto the hob over a medium heat and cook the mixture until it’s a clear filling, you don’t want to see a trace of any ingredient, the mixture will have thickened (this is normal and what you’re looking for).

Allow that to cool while you sort the pastry out.

Take your pastry and roll it out until it’s just slightly bigger than the pie dish you are using (mine was 8 inch). Drape it over your tin, pressing the dough into the tin, just to fit the shape, trim away any excess from the edge.

Don’t forget to dock the bottom of your pastry, this is just to prevent the base rising while baking.

You can then fill the pastry case with the blueberry filling you made and allow to cool for a little while. It should be thicker as it cools, so you may or may not need to level it out with your wooden spoon or spatula. Set aside in the fridge for a bit while you make the topping.

For the cut outs of dough, take the remaining dough and roll it out to the same thickness as your pie crust and cut out as many as possible. Once you have them cut out, you can then start to place them on top of the pie filling. I started on the outside and worked my way in but feel free to start in the centre and work your way out, whichever way works best for you.

Egg wash the edge of the pastry and the cut outs in the middle of the pie, sprinkle some light brown sugar over the cut outs, just to add colour and texture.

Place in your preheated oven and bake for around 40 minutes but I recommended checking it at 35 minutes and checking every 5 minutes as it may need extra time. One thing to remember is that all ovens are different, so use the time as a rough guide.

Once it’s out of the oven, allow it to cool down fully before you try cutting it, otherwise it could get messy. Enjoy with a scoop of ice cream or with some whipped cream.

How To Make Shortcrust Pastry

by bakingwithelliott 3 Comments

Today, I’ll be showing you how to make a recipe staple – shortcrust pastry. If you want to make a sweet pie or tart, this is the recipe for you.

This is my recipe for shortcrust pastry, its’s quick and easy, what’s not to like?

If you have ever made a pie and followed a recipe, just for it to go wrong and it can really put you off making pastry again – believe me, I’ve been there. This is the must use recipe for all bakers to have in their recipe collection.

The key with pastry is to keep it cool, you really don’t it to warm up too much, this is where issues can start to occur. If like me you have warm hands, I recommend that you use a food processor, this will ensure that you don’t warm up the butter too much. Oh and one final tip is to ensure that once the pastry is made, wrap in cling film/plastic wrap.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

1 Egg (large is possible, medium will work)

90g Granulated white sugar.

225g Butter, cold.

375g Plain flour.

A pinch of salt.

Method:

Before you get into making the pastry, you’ll want to do some prep. Start by weighing up all your ingredients and getting any equipment you may intend on using.

To start on the pastry, get yourself a small bowl and place in the egg and sugar. Give them a very good mix, mostly until they are fully incorporated. You will know once you’ve achieved this as the mixture won’t be granular in any way, this may take a few minutes to achieve. Set aside once done.

Into your food processor place the plain flour, salt and butter, then pulse until all the ingredients have combined. You will know once the butter has been incorporated as the mixture will have a slightly yellow-ish tint to it.

Next, you can add the sugar/egg mixture that you made earlier. Once it’s all been added, you can then pulse it again until the sugar/egg micture is fully incorporated and a dough has started to form, you can them stop and continue kneading the dough on a floured surface.

The pastry should be smooth once done, you can then wrap it in cling film and place it in the fridge to chill for about an hour or overnight.

There’s not much else to say about this recipe, it’s really that simple. You only need a handful of ingredients and a little time then you have a pastry recipe that has never failed me before.

Pies/Tarts

Footer