Category Archives: Pastry

Apple and Hazelnut Filo Roll-ups

applesNow I could call these strudel but you know they aren’t really strudel –  what they are is me making use of the last of the wizening garden apples that have been sitting wrapped in paper in a box in the garage and a packet of Theos filo pastry that I bought for something else only I forgot what –  and I thought that I should use both of them up.

I rang my sister who used to make lots of this and who I think of as a strudel expert and had a chat about breadcrumbs and soft middles which was fun. She thinks the breadcrumbs are what makes the difference to the texture, with them the middle all comes together into a soft filling, without crumbs it stays separate and more chunky.

rollups

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Lemon Meringue Pie and Dark Brooding about Meal Planning

I used to work with a lovely Cypriot called Christina who gave me her mother-in-law’s recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie about 10 years ago. I found it the week before Easter as I was forlornly thinking what to bake for a dessert for an upcoming family meal. I also wanted to use this gorgeous red clafoutis/pie dish that Celia sent me for an Easter gift made by Emile Henri. I couldn’t take a decent photo of it for some reason so I have attempted to draw it with the Paper 53 app on the iPad. I’ve ordered a stylus as my finger isn’t the easiest thing to draw with – or that’s my excuse!

I confess, though you may find this hard to believe, that I absolutely loathe planning meals to the point of hysteria and phobia. Some people like nothing more than pouring poring over their cook books and rifling through their recipes and I just get swamped with choice and possibility and want to hide under the duvet. I am not really a foodie you see, I like eating it and I quite like making bread in particular, but that’s not usually tied in to meal planning –  but the rest of the hoo-hah surrounding food – it’s just not me. I try to play along but you won’t find me on Come Dine with Me ever. Continue reading

Christmas Sausage Rolls

chilli pastry sausage rolls and brussel sprouts

It must be Christmas as here I am making sausage rolls; normally only ever made in this house by the Pastry King and only ever in the week before Christmas. The Pastry King loves Brussel Sprouts and Brown Sauce and simply adores sausage rolls, and mince pies, in fact he adores anything with pastry on it, round it or under it.  Continue reading