Sweet and Soft Chelsea Buns

This weekend Mr. Colehill bought me 'Julie and Julia' and I watched it for the first time. I know, I know, I should have watched it months ago but somehow it slipped through my fingers, until two days ago that is. It was such a lovely film, and it reminded me what I love about food and cooking, as well as why I write this blog. I love the escape that cooking provides for me. No matter how crappy your day is, or however heavy your shoulders feel with the weight of all the pressures of life, cooking is a haven. You can hide from the world and hole up in the kitchen for hours, and produce delicious creations. Something that has started off as a few humble ingredients becomes completely different and amazing because of you, and what you have done to them. I don't think I take pride in anything else as much as I do when something I have cooked comes out beautifully, there's nothing quite like the feeling. And as for writing about these moments of pride and satisfaction, well, I don't know how many people read these words that I send out into the blogosphere, but I love the idea that there is a community of people out there who are reading each others' blogs. We share recipes, successes, failures, and support each other and learn from other bloggers' words and pictures.

Anyway, I digress!!

Even better, the DVD came with a recipe book!! How great is that? How many DVDs have you bought that came with a book, let alone a selection of recipes from Julia Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking? Hands down the best DVD I have ever received!! And I adored the film. Not only was it a lovely story, but it had plenty of beautiful food to salivate over and scenes of Paris that made me long for a life in France; all set with plenty of butter, baguettes, multiple types of cheese and, of course, pastries!! Which brings me to my choice of baked good here: Chelsea Buns.

Fulham is Colehill Kitchen's home, which is right next door to Chelsea, so these seemed an apt choice of pastry! I've never tried them before, so I was quite nervous and excited for the outcome. The nerves turned out to be deserved since the first batch of dough didn't rise. I had something akin to one Julie's meltdowns in the film, which Mr. Colehill took great pleasure in mocking me for, however everything came good in the end when the second batch worked nicely and produced buns of delight!!!

The recipe is from the River Cottage Handbook No. 3 Bread. As I'm sure you know, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a firm favourite with me and this book by Daniel Stevens, Hugh's bread man, taught me so much about bread making. This little gem of a book not only includes invaluable information about baking loaves of bread, it also has recipes for other bread based treats, like cornbread, tortillas, summer pudding and so on. My next two trials from this particular book are crumpets and croissants. I'll be sure to let you know when I rise to the challenge!!

As for the Chelsea Buns, here is the recipe:

Chelsea Buns

For the dough:

550g strong white bread flour

50g caster sugar

5g powdered dried yeast

10g salt

150ml warm milk

225g melted butter

1 medium egg

For the Filling:

25g melted butter

100g caster sugar

200g currants

For the Glaze:

50ml milk

50g caster sugar

Mix together the flour, sugar, yeast and salt, then add the milk, butter and egg.

Knead until smooth and silky, then leave to rise for about an hour until doubled in size.

Brush the base and sides of a deep 30cm square (mine was rectangular and a little larger, but hey, not the ned of the world!) with a little of the melted butter and dust with a little of the sugar for the filling, shaking out the excess.

Roll out the dough to about 60cm x 40cm, brush with the butter, dust with the sugar and sprinkle over the currants, leaving a margin at the top. Roll the dough up to the margin, and moisten at the top with water to seal it.

Cut into 3cm slices, then flatten slightly on to the tray. Sprinkle a little of the sugar for the glaze on top and leave to prove for about half an hour, then bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Warm the milk and remaining sugar in a pan, and brush the buns with it when you bring them out of the oven while they are still warm.

These. Are. Divine.

Whatever you do, eat one fresh out of the oven. They are completely indulgent, completely naughty and completely moreish!! I had to resort to freezing a load so that I didn't eat them

all in one weekend. Completely delightful and well worth making.

Oat, Seed and Fruit Booster Bars, HF-W Style!!

Following the banana heavy theme from my Banana Bread post, to finish using up my nine blackened bananas I made what I think may be the most tasty thing ever to have come from my kitchen, and it’s all thanks to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I’ve said before how I pretty much idolise him and everything he stands for, and his book River Cottage Everyday has to be one of my favourite cook books, hands down. This time I made his Booster Bars to continue using up the bananas and generally because they look so absolutely scrumptious, and in typical fashion, Hugh delivers another delicious recipe.

These are also wonderfully simple to make, and so so so satisfying when they’re done!! The recipe is as follows:

Booster Bars
125g unsalted butter
150g soft brown sugar
75g runny honey
1 orange zest
1 lemon zest
200g porridge oats (not jumbo)
150g mixed dried fruit
150g mixed seeds
1 mashed banana

Melt the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan on a low heat. I substituted half the honey for golden syrup merely because I ran out of honey, but I think it gave the bars an even more indulgent texture and taste, and would thoroughly recommend it if you have any syrup in the house!

In a separate bowl combine the oats, orange and lemon zest, dried fruit and seeds. I used raisins, chopped dried apricots and chopped dates, along with pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Pour the melted mixture over the oats and fruit and combine thoroughly, mixing in the mashed banana at the end.

Flatten the mix into a lined baking tray and drizzle with a little more honey or syrup if you're feeling indulgent!! Then bake at 180 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until the top begins to go golden.

The next step tested every shred of willpower and self discipline I had, and I almost broke a couple of times: leave in the tray until it has completely cooled!!! It is almost impossible to get the whole thing out of the baking tray when it’s warm (trust me, I tried) so hold back and leave it until it has had time to harden slightly, before tipping out onto a board.

Then comes the fun part, slice into whatever size bars you want, and be sure to devour any crumbs or edges that may not make the final cut!! This recipe is more delicious when freshly baked than a few hours or days later so make the most of it and scarf down whatever falls off the board before anyone else catches on! The ever so slight warmth when they’re fresh allows the orange and lemon zest to really come alive, and the bars have an ever so subtle festive taste to them that reminds me of Christmas…this is definitely a recipe I’ll be digging out in December!

The oats are soft and yielding when you take a bite, contrasted with the crunch of the seeds and the gooey dried fruit chunks. A truly spectacular recipe that is so easy it defies belief, I urge you to throw together a batch – they are perfect for a breakfast on the go, a snack for a boost of energy you need during that mid-afternoon slump (hence the name!!) or just as a treat that thanks to all the fruit and seeds isn’t completely guilt-heavy!!

Eggs Benedict - The Ultimate Breakfast

I think breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. It's worth taking time over and enjoying, however I'm definitely guilty of inhaling whatever I can lay my hands on when I'm in a rush, barely having time to blink let alone savour and what I'm eating, and enjoy the most important meal of the day. It's a strange meal, because it's the only one that we think nothing of having the same thing every day, we hardly prioritise, and that we demolish in seconds before rushing out of the house. On top of this, unlike an evening meal, I certainly don't spend time wondering what to have, reading recipe books, looking forward to... but sometimes it's necessary to give priority to the first food that we gobble up in the morning, and really revel in the luxury of a lazy breakfast with the papers and a calmness on the weekend which we are rarely afforded during the week. Eggs are a given really when it comes to breakfast, and there's no dish more indulgent than Eggs Benedict in my opinion. Soft toasted muffin, topped with crispy bacon, poached egg and creamy hollandaise sauce - and some wilted spinach in there too if you fancy it. The last time I had this delight was at the Wolseley last August, which I wrote about here, so I was slightly daunted at the prospect of trying it myself - let's be honest, it was never going to be as good as it was there!

It didn't quite measure up to The Wolseley's standards, but I don't think I did too shoddy a job. It's pretty easy really, it's just about timing and being able to do a good poached egg. I made the hollandaise sauce first, using Rachel Allen's recipe. Her books are beautiful and I've used a couple of her recipes before, including butternut squash gratin, which is included here. First place a bowl over a pan of simmering water and put two egg yolks and a tablespoon of water into the bowl. whisk for a few minutes, then gradually add cold diced butter (110g), one cube at a time, whisking until it has all melted and emulsified. Then add seasoning and a little lemon juice. I found it a little thick, so loosened it up with a little more water. Leave to one side, covered with cling film, over the pan of water (no longer over heat) to keep warm until you need it. Then toast the muffin, grill the bacon and poach the egg. Try to get the freshest eggs you can, as the whites will hold together better the fresher they are. A tip I have found really helpful when poaching eggs is to crack the egg into a mug or shallow tumbler first, then when your water is nearly simmering, swirl it a little so that it creates a whirlpool, and drop the egg in, pouring it out of the tumbler as low and close to the water as you can without burning your fingers! Poach for about 3 minutes, and remove with a slotted spoon. I poached my eggs a little to early, so took them out about 30 seconds before they were done, then replaced them into the simmering water just before I was ready to serve so that they were warm and right on time! Build your tower of deliciousness - muffin first, then bacon, then egg, and pour over lashings of your creamy hollandaise sauce and dig in!

Not a breakfast for everyday obviously, or I'd end up rolling out of the house rather than rushing! But it is worth taking the time once in a while and indulging...what are weekends for after all?!