Recipes — The Boy Who Bakes (2024)

Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan).

To make the pastry place all the dry goods into a large bowl and mix together to combine. Add the butter and toss in the flour to coat. Using a flat edged knife or a pastry blender cut in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Drizzle in the water a bit at a time, using the knife to stir it into the flour mixture. Once all of the water has been added the mixture should be starting to form clumps. At this stage tip out the dough onto the worksurface and use your hands to bring together into a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap in clingfilm, refrigerate for about an hour before using.

When ready to bake make the filling by simply tossing together the strawberries, caster sugar and cornflour, setting aside until needed. On a lightly floured worksurface roll out the pastry into a large circle, about 3mm thick. Sprinkle over the ground almonds leaving a thick border around the outside clean. Spread the strawberries over the almonds and fold the excess pastry over the strawberry filling. Brush the pastry with a little beaten egg and sprinkle with demerara sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Allow the tart to cool before serving.

Let me start with a caveat, when I developed this recipe we were in the middle of a heatwave, the allusive 30C was hit and Londoners abandoned trousers in favour of shorts in droves, you'd think we’d never experienced heat before! But as seems to be the case every year, we got our two weeks of sun so naturally its now back to rain and weather that seemingly changes by the hour. But the good thing is that I can happily eat ice cream whatever the weather, sometimes there is nothing better than a cosy night inside whilst it pours down outside, crashed on the sofa with a bowl of ice cream.

Now this recipe, the simplest ice cream you’ll ever make, came as a result of a challenge from Typhoo Tea. They wanted to challenge me to find out which Typhoo Tea is my favourite and how I could incorporate it into a recipe. Now if you know me you know I absolutely love tea, its the first thing I have in the morning and often the last thing at night too. I occasionally flirt with fancier blends of tea like earl grey but I always come back to the good ol’ british cuppa, strong black tea with milk; its warm and comforting and there is nothing better after a long day. But getting tea into baking? How do we do that? Infusion seems the obvious way to go as it gives lots of flavour but doesn't leave behind grainy pieces of tea. Strong black tea infused said one thing to me and thats a glorious mug of chai and as it’s the height of summer a chai ice cream was begging to be made

Now a quick note about the YouTube video that accompanies this recipe. I am well aware that for no apparent reason I keep referring to this recipe as chai tea ice cream which literally means tea tea ice cream. Now I love tea but tea tea ice cream! Stupidly this is actually one of my linguistical bugbears, its redundant and really I should have been calling this recipe Masala Chai Ice Cream which indicates it is spiced tea, not just tea on its own. Regardless of my butchering of the wording, this ice cream is still blooming delicious!

Because I wanted the tea flavour to stand up to the spices and not be overwhelmed I didn't want a light tea but something a little more robust so the classic Typhoo works beautifully, but you could also be using Typhoo extra strong if you really want to give the tea flavour extra oomph. The recipe below uses my favourite blend of spices for masala chai but everyones preference varies and there is no definitive recipe so use whatever spice blend you prefer.

No Churn Masala Chai Ice Cream
600ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1 cinnamon stick
5 cardamom pods
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
3 cloves
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp pink peppercorns
4 Typhoo tea bags
1x395g tin of condensed milk

To make the ice cream you need first to infuse the spices and tea into the cream. Pour the cream into a medium sized saucepan and add the vanilla, ginger and cinnamon, breaking the cinnamon in half to help it infuse properly. Place the remaining spices into a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and briefly pulse/bash until broken up but not yet a fine powder. Add the spices to the cream along with the tea bags and over medium/high heat bring the cream to a boil. Turn off the heat, place a lid on the pan and set aside for about an hour. Pour into a heat proof container and chill until cold (I tend to do this in the evening and allow it fully cool overnight).

When ready to make the ice cream pour the condensed milk into a large bowl and set aside for the moment. Pour the cream mixture into a large bowl through a fine sieve to remove the spices and tea bags. The important part here is to press firmly on the tea bags as they hold a lot of cream and therefore a lot of flavour. Using a balloon whisk, whisk the cream until it holds soft peaks (if you whisk to stiff peaks it wont combine with the condensed milk very easily and you will lose a lot of volume). Working in thirds fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk until no white streaks remain. Pour the ice cream into a freezer safe container, cover and freeze for a few hours before serving. Because this is a cheat ice cream it doesn't keep very long, a week at the most.

This post is sponsored by Typhoo Tea but opinions are mine

It is co*cktail time! After last week’s recipe showing you how to use a jam in a bake, I thought I would show you something a little more grown up, a peach pie co*cktail using homemade peach jam.

It is such a simple but slightly unusual way of using jam but it actually is playing two roles. Firstly, the jam acts as a sweetener so you need less sugar syrup and then the more important part, it adds flavour. It is a great way of using those last little bits of jam you have at the back of the fridge and there would be so many different co*cktails you could using jam in, use blackberry in a bramble, or maybe strawberry jam in a daiquiri?

The jam itself in this recipe is super simple, just like the others I have shown you over the last few weeks. What I hope you've learnt is that jam making is a lot easier than you thought and that you will all give it a go, especially now when so much wonderful fruit is in season.

Don’t forget that the Tate and Lyle Great British Jam Awards are still open until the 6th July so there is still plenty of time to enter and try your hands at winning! As a quick reminder, there are three categories you can enter ‘traditional jam with a twist’ ‘jam bake’ and ‘jam on the rocks’. You can find the full details for the competition and of course the important prize details at facebook.com/welovebaking

Peach Jam
Makes 2x380g jars

500g peaches, stoned and diced (skin on or off)
500g Tate & Lyle Jam Sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 vanilla bean

First things first it is time for a basic but incredibly important step, sterilising the jars. Wash the jars and lids with hot soapy water then place onto a roasting tray and place into an oven heated to 180C for about 15 mins. This is a boring step, I know, but it just means the jams you are lovingly making will last 6 months without needing to refrigerate the unopened jars. Just before you start making the jam pop a couple plates into the freezer.

Place the pan with all of the ingredients onto the hob, set over medium/low heat and cook, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium/high and bring the jam to a rolling boil and cook for about 10 minutes.

To test if the jam is fully cooked there are a few simple ways you can check. The first is the flake test. Lift the wooden spoon above the pan and allow the jam to drip back into the pan, if some drips, cling to the spoon rather than running off back into the pan you're good. My preferred way of testing the jam is to take one of the plates out of the freezer and spoon on a little of the jam. Pop the plate aside for a minute or so before pushing the jam with your finger and if it wrinkles it will set, if it is still liquid, cook it for a little longer.

Once the jam has finished cooking turn off the heat and leave for a minute or so then transfer carefully to a jug, to ease pouring it into jars. If there is any foam on top carefully skim that off and discard (there is nothing wrong with the foam, you could happily stir it back into the jam if you are feeling lazy, but technically the foam is full of air and can make the jam spoil a little quicker, also it just looks ugly so skim away). Remove the jars from the oven and carefully divide the jam between the jars, sealing tightly. Kept in a cool place they should keep for up to 6 months.

Peach Pie co*cktail
Makes 1

1 tbsp peach jam
1/2 tsp cinnamon
50ml vodka
1 tsp sugar syrup
juice 1/2 lemon

To make the co*cktail place all of the ingredients into a co*cktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.

Pour the co*cktail into a glass filled with ice and garnish with a couple slices of peach. Serve immediately.

Post sponsored by Tate & Lyle but recipe content/words/opinions are my own.

It's jam time again, and this week I have two recipes for you! Firstly, the simplest, easiest jam recipe going and secondly a fabulous brunch bake to use that in

When I was little the one jam we had in the house at all times was raspberry jam, mainly because my family absolutely love a classic sherry trifle and there was no way we were making it with jelly! I watched my mum make that jam so many times that it's basically imprinted onto my mind. Apart from being one of the UK’s most popular jams (after strawberry I would imagine) it also happens to be the best jam to start with. Why? Because raspberries are high in pectin so it sets very easily, and using Tate & Lyle Jam Sugar it is basically foolproof.

Once you have made the raspberry jam you could happily just eat it on your morning toast, but why not make these bakewell brioche buns for brunch this weekend, it’s a much more fun use of the jam. Make the dough on Saturday night and in the morning, you only have a little bit of work before serving your family or friends these ridiculously good buns!

Whilst I have given you a basic raspberry jam recipe below, I also wanted to share my favourite way to give this recipe a simple twist, turning a basic bake into something a little more interesting and sophisticated.

Near the end of the process add a little rose extract and, if you fancy, some dried rose petals (food grade only, no flowers from the florist please). It is up to you how strong you go but for me, rose and raspberry is a phenomenal combination. I don't really do subtle, but if you just want a hint of rose you can happily adjust as you prefer.

If you haven’t done so already, make sure you check out The Tate & Lyle Great British Jam Awards here (hyperlink to WLB Facebook) – I’m looking forward to seeing your entries!

Easy Raspberry Jam
Makes 2x380g Jars

500g Raspberries
500g Tate & Lyle Jam Sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

The first step as always is sterilising the jars. Wash the jars and lids with hot soapy water then place onto a roasting tray and place into an oven heated to 180C for about 15 mins. Just before you start making the jam pop a plate into the freezer.

Place all of the ingredients into a large saucepan and set onto the hob set over medium/low heat and cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium/high and bring the jam to a rolling boil and cook for about 10 minutes.

To test if the jam is fully cooked there are a few simple ways you can check. The first is the flake test. Lift the wooden spoon above the pan and allow the jam to drip back into the pan, if some drips cling to the spoon rather than running off back into the pan you're good. My preferred way of testing the jam though is to take the plate out of the freezer and spoon on a little of the jam. Pop the plate aside for a minute or so before pushing the jam with your finger, if it wrinkles it will set, if it is still liquid cook it for a little longer.

Once the jam has finished cooking turn off the heat and leave for a minute or so to let it settle. If there is any foam on top carefully skim that off and discard (there is nothing wrong with the foam, you could happily stir it back into the jam if you are feeling lazy, but technically the foam is full of air and can make the jam spoil a little quicker, also it just looks ugly so skim away). Remove the jars from the oven and carefully divide the jam between the jars sealing immediately.

Frangipane
60g unsalted butter, room temperature
60g Tate & Lyle Golden Caster Sugar
60g ground almonds
1 tbsp plain flour
1 large egg
raspberry jam (see above)
8 tinned pear halves (you can poach your own but for simplicity I am using tinned this time
50g flaked almonds

For the brioche, place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a large bowl and mix together. Add the eggs and milk and mix to form a rough shaggy dough. Using an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook knead this mixture on medium/low speed for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. With the mixer still running add in the butter a little at a time.

Once all of the butter has been incorporated, knead for a further 10-15 minutes or until the dough is elastic and no longer sticking to the side of the bowl. Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm, then pop the bowl in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, pull the dough from the fridge and divide into 8 equal pieces and form into balls. Roll into flat discs, about 10-12cm wide and place onto parchment lined baking trays and lightly cover with clingfilm, setting aside for about 45 minutes or until risen and puffy. Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan).

Whilst the dough is rising make the frangipane by beating together the butter, sugar and almonds until light and smooth. Add the egg and flour and stir to combine.

When ready to assemble the buns, use your fingers to gently form a depression in the middle of each round of dough, leaving a rough 2cm border. Fill the depression with a couple teaspoons of your delicious jam and top with the frangipane, carefully spreading to the edge.

Slice each pear half into thin slices and place gently on top of the frangipane, pressing in just a little bit. Brush the brioche border with a beaten egg and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Bake the buns in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and serve whilst still a little warm. These are best on the day they are made but can be gently rewarmed in the oven the day after baking if you don't eat them all in the first sitting.

This post is sponsored by Tate and Lyle but the content, words and opinions are mine.