Heston's Pear Tarte Tatin Challenge

I was challenged by Salter to create a pear tarte tatin to Heston Blumenthal's exacting standards.  Having never made a tarte tatin before, I was a little apprehensive.  Salter sent me all of the equipment I would need to very precisely follow Heston's own recipe; a precision kitchen scale, an adjustable rolling pin, adjustable measuring spoons, spatulas and a professional kitchen whisk, all part of the Heston Blumenthal Precision range.

For a change, I cooked this recipe alone.  Hot caramel and delicate slicing don't mix well with preschoolers, and I'm not sure the word "precision" is one I'd use when I'm cooking with my girls!  And this was certainly an exercise in precision.

There were lots of individual ingredients to weigh out from tiny quantities right through to an enormous mound of sugar. I found the dual-plate precision scale invaluable.  Not only does the large plate measure upto 10kg, the smaller plate can measure in 0.1g increments for when you really must get things right.

I used the clever adjustable rolling pin to roll out my (ready made... shock!) puff pastry into exactly the right thickness for the base of the tarte.  I think the rolling pin will be awesome for when I am rolling icing for the girl's birthday cakes (although it does have measurements printed on it which might scupper my chances of a smooth finish).

My favourite item from the Heston Precision range was this large professional whisk which is about three times as big as my old whisk - perfect for blending an almond and butter frangipane.

The pears were poached gently in a liquer made from caramel, honey, vanilla, star anise, peppercorns, lemon and cinnamon.  The most intricate part of the tarte tatin was slicing the poached pears finely to place at the bottom of the tins.  On the top I piped the frangipane and then tucked in my circles of puff pastry before putting in the oven.

And this is the finished article.  I'm rather proud of it.  A traditional tarte tatin is one of my most favourite desserts in the entire world but this, this really is something special.  Very fitting for a wedding anniversary treat, I think!

    

Halloween Baking : Recipe and Competition

This weekend Lara and I filled the house with the warm, autumny smell of homemade biscuits. We created some halloween treats using the Bat Cookie kit from Dr. Oetker in practice for our planned halloween extravaganza (I'm determined that we are going to make all of our halloween treats this year rather than buy in packets of fun-size).



The kit was really easy to use. We added just 85g of butter to the ready-mixed flour/sugar combo and stirred it into a soft dough.



Then we rolled it out until it was thin enough for us to make about 6 biscuits.

Then Lara set about cutting the cookies using the bat-shaped cookie cutter supplied with the mix. We also cut a few of our own using a pumpkin-shaped cutter and a ghost-shaped cutter.



The cookies baked for just 10 minutes before cooling enough for us to ice.



Lara squeezed the supplied black writing icing to make faces and squiggles. I mixed up some icing sugar with water and then turned half of it orange using food colouring. These made some great biscuits and I think we are now well prepared for halloween.



You could win a hamper of Dr. Oetker baking goodies to make your own Halloween treats. All you need to do is fill in your details in the form below by the 23rd October. If you are looking for more competitions to enter then check out the Dr. Oetker baking facebook page where there are frequent promotions. Currently they are running a competition to win tickets to the 'Cake International' show at the NEC.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSES AND WAS WON BY Laura Wharam FROM STAMFORD.

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1. The competition is open to UK residents only.



2. Only one entry per person. Multiple, automated or bulk entries will result in immediate disqualification



3. Entries will only be deemed valid if a valid email address and postal address is provided when entering



4. The winner will be selected at random from all valid submissions received by 18.59pm on 23rd October



5. The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into



6. Winners will be emailed on the evening of the 18th and the prize will be dispatched to the address used to enter.



7. The winner's name will be published on this site

Lara Bakes Carrot Cake

Inspired by my interview last week with Mum et Moi founder, Emilie Mauran, this weekend Lara and Daddy did some baking together. Mr. B. had seen a recipe for a carrot cake that he fancied in this month's Waitrose Kitchen magazine and who was I to stop him from rolling up his sleeves and experiencing the joys of cooking with children?

For Christmas, Lara'a Grandma bought her a really cute set of cookery utensils from Miniamo. A bowl, spatulas, spoon, cupcake cases and rolling pin. Interestingly, Lara refused to get involved in the cooking until Daddy offered her the chance to use the grown-up bowl and spoon! Typical.



Lara joined in with the measuring and the mixing. Especially the mixing!

She watched as Daddy put the cake into the oven and then later when he checked to make sure it was cooked through. She waited patiently while Daddy made the cream-cheese and orange icing.



But, quite disappointingly, she refused point-blank to eat it. Ever since Lara was about 8 or 9 months old, she has refused any food that is made from cheese-related or milk-related products. Cheese she is fine with. Milk, she adores. But yoghurt, custard, ice-cream and in this instance, cream cheese, make her very upset and she can sometimes start crying when you bring these foods into the room! The problem has become so bad that the nursery have asked us whether they can put her on a dairy-free diet because of the upset it causes when a pudding is offered which contains dairy products. I'm keen to keep on offering her these foods because one day, just as suddenly as the dislike appeared, she'll change her mind and start eating them again.

Mummy's First Birthday Cake

At the weekend we held Lara's very first birthday party! Lara, as always, consumed huuuuuge quantities of food.

The true Mummy inside me knew I had to at least attempt a birthday cake, despite very little experience in the whole baking domain. There were tears, I admit; but the end product turned out pretty well in the end. Can you guess who it is?