Yes, there has been a bit of a gap between posts. I may have spent a bit of time in the pub……..
The best place to start any blog post is of course, ‘Awooga, Awooga! New Hobby Alert!’ – This time: Yoga (completed the DVD then lay on the rug for quite a while afterwards – I am not made to bend that way).
New Recipe Book – Win!
Whats’s the best way to get me to bake something you want, I hear you ask. Easy, just buy me a recipe book and then you get to choose from it. Who doesn’t love a new recipe book (apart from The Husband)? That’s how come my baking included Chocolate Bourbons.
So firstly the new book, bought for me by a lovely friend who wanted biscuits. Bake It Better – Biscuits bills itself as a ‘pocket masterclass in baking’. There are four titles in total, Biscuits, Bread, Classic Cakes and Pies & Tarts (Birthday present hint)
The book is split into three sections:
- Easy Does It
- Needs a Little Skill
- Up for a Challenge (not for Grace)
My first recipe is from ‘Needs a Little Skill’. Is that brave or stupid?
So what is a chocolate bourbon? Just in case you don’t know, it’s two usually rectangular chocolate biscuits sandwiched together with a tasty chocolate buttercream centre. Mine are not usual, they are round – my cookie cutter collection is weak.
I haven’t baked many biscuits before, they tend to require an even bake, uniformity and a bit of patience. I struggle with an even bake, uniformity and patience when baking one cake, how will I cope when baking all the biscuits?
First up make the dough, pretty standard, mix everything together and then chill for an hour. This is just the right amount of time to watch telly for a bit and, just to keep in The Husband’s good books, a small bit of tidying the chaos.
Once my programme finished it was time for the bit I was slightly dreading, rolling out the dough. There is always the worry of rubbish rolling, dough sticking to the work top, the rolling pin or just ending up of the floor. I probably used too much flour, the worktop is only supposed to be lightly dusted, it was a bit more of a heavy coating but it did the job.
One thing I didn’t think of at the time, apart from the lack of the correct cookie cutter, was the lack of baking trays and space in the oven. This meant the cutting of the biscuit shapes was done in stages, my lack of patience and that I get bored easily may have added to the already rustic looking biscuits I was creating. After what felt like most of the weekend all 61 biscuits were baked. Turns out I can’t count.
The buttercream, was a buttercream and once made the real fun (and messy) part could begin. Matching the similar size biscuits together. Turns out the size of the biscuits varied quite a lot, this did add to the rustic look I was obviously going for. Once I paired up and filled 30 and a half biscuits it was time to sit back, relax and say that I am not making anything like these again… or a long time anyway!
So, the reviews are in:
- Dad enjoyed them – they are his favourite.
- Went down a treat at work
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