Recipes — The Boy Who Bakes (2024)

There is something magical about the bounty of fruit that is available over the summer, I obsess about cherries and get over excited about strawberries, my eyes are just so much greedier than my stomach. I would enjoy nothing more than simply lazing away the summer, baking and eating my way around the greengrocers, making a mixed berry sorbet for this week's dinner party, a cherry pie for the BBQ or maybe a peach and vanilla jam to see me through the colder months. The reality is, at least this year, a little different. The lot of a food writer is to develop recipes in advance, Valentine's Day dishes in December and Christmas recipes in the middle of July, so whilst you are in the park enjoying a picnic I’m in the kitchen pretending it’s snowing, Christmas songs playing in the background to keep me company. Because of this I crave everything seasonal. I bought a bunch of flat peaches with the idea of making some fresh summery dessert, but instead they sat on the kitchen counter, patiently waiting, but ended upas the topping for my breakfast granola.Rainier cherries were dealt the same fate, I just didn’t have time. Sometimes though an idea pops into my head that itches away so much that it begs to be made. This tart sprung to mind after seeing an Instagram picture from Tartine Bakery of blackberry and blueberry tarts, they were so beautiful, so pretty that I had to try them.

In my new flat I've decided to have a little windowsill garden, well attempt one at least, my track record with living things is sketchy at best, I can kill even the hardiest of herbs. So far the garden is on the small side, home to just a few herbs, amongst them my current favourite, lemon verbena. The flavour is almost like a lemon sherbet, not sharp like the citrus itself, but herbal and punchy in flavour, delicious infused into ice cream, or made into a syrup for co*cktails (some might describe it as artificial or soapy but if used correctly and not compared with lemon itself I think it is absolutely beautiful). For this recipe I decided to infuse the flavour into a lightened pastry cream, a nice pairing for the sweet and sharp fruits that decorate the tart.

(Note: Turns out Tartine makes the same suggestion for using lemon verbena in the custard, they have a recipe in their first book for a blackberry and rose geranium tart and in the introduction they make a suggestion for a blueberry and lemon verbena tart, very similar to the ones I saw in the picture and effectively for what appears here.)

Blueberry and Blackberry Tarts with Lemon Verbena

Makes 8

Sweet Pastry
200g plain flour
20g ground almonds
40g icing sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
125g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1 large egg yolk
approx. 2 tsp ice cold water

Filling
500ml whole milk
10 lemon verbena leaves
200g caster sugar
2 large eggs
4 egg yolks
50g cornflour
300g blueberries
150g blackberries
Borage flowers (optional)
200ml double cream

To make the sweet pastry place the flour, almonds and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scrape the beans from the vanilla pod and add to the food processor along with the butter (if using vanilla paste add this instead). Process until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs then add the egg yolk and two tsp of ice cold water, pulse briefly until the mixture just starts to come together as a dough. Tip the mixture out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring together into a uniform dough, avoid overworking the dough and this will make the pastry tough and lead to it shrinking when it bakes. Form the dough into thick short sausage and wrap in clingfilm, refrigerating for a few hours before baking.

To make the pastry cream place the milk, verbena leaves and half of the sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to infuse for about 20 minutes. Place the pan back on the heat and bring back to the boil. Meanwhile place the eggs, yolks, cornflour and the remaining sugar into a large bowl and whisk together until smooth. When the milk is at a boil pour through a fine sieve onto the egg mixture and whisk together to combine. Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium high heat, whisking constantly until the mixture is very thick. Immediately scrape the custard into a clean bowl and cover with a piece of clingfilm, pressing onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming, placing the bowl into the fridge until fully chilled.

Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and cut into 6 slices. Roll each slice on a slightly floured work surface until about 3mm thick. Use the discs of pastry to line six 8cm wide tart tins (I use Matfer tart rings for a more professional look), trimming off the excess. Use the trimmings to repeat, using the pastry to line two further tart tins. Place the tarts shells onto a parchment lined baking tray and refrigerate for at least an hour or until firm.

When ready to bake and assemble preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line each tart shell with a crumpled sheet of parchment paper, filling with baking beans or rice. Bake the tarts in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes before removing the parchment and beans and baking for a further 5-8 or so minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool before filling. To finish remove the chilled pastry cream from the fridge and beat to loosen. Very lightly whisk the cream until it is thickened but not yet holding soft peaks and in three additions, fold into the pastry cream. To assemble fill each tart shell with the lightened pastry cream (also known as crème légère or crème diplomat ) and top with a mix of blackberries and blueberries, decorating with the borage flowers if using.

These tarts are best served within a few hours of serving as the pastry will begin to soften, if you need them to last a little longer brush the inside of the tarts with beaten egg yolk as they come out of the oven and place back into the oven for a minute or so to dry, this helps create a seal that will keep the pastry crisp for longer.

Baking, forme, has always been therapeutic, it was probably the main reason I started to take it seriously in the first place. In a story I have recounted more times than I can count, baking became an escape from a job I thoroughly disliked (suing people for a living definitely didn't make me happy) and baking was my reaction, it was what I thought about as I was sending out summons, whilst I was being sworn at over the phone, it was what made me happy. After The Great British Bake Off, the story of which im sure you dont want to hear again, I decided that I would try and make baking my living: and remember this was after the first series, it wasn't clear to me if being on the show would be a kickstart to any form of career, it definitely felt like moving to London and quitting my job was a big risk.

Many of my friends who worked in the food industry and baking in particular told me that baking for a hobby and a career were two very different things and I have definitely come to learn that. Baking isn't my escape anymore, it's my constant and I amforever grateful that is the case, but I so very rarely bake for just myself anymore,because the mood strikes. Baking is now myjob, when the oven is on the cake or cookies that come out of it are for a magazine article or a book or maybe even a TV show,so when I get a rare opportunity to slow down and bake for pure pleasure, I relish in it.

I have recently moved into a new flat and after the slightly stressful (read scarily expensive, London rents are so ridiculous) move, things are slowly finding their new homes and I am falling back into my work rhythm. After finishing a project a day earlier than expected I decided the new flat needed christening with something delicious, work baking doesn't count, and I wanted something easy but comforting and notmuch else can fit the bill so well as banana bread, okay maybe apart from a warm chocolate chip cookie, which I think is the answer to most problems. Instead of the classic banana bread that I make regularly, I ended up making a loaf spiked with coffee and cocoa nibs and it's definitely worth a try, whilst it might not seem the most obvious combination it works so well. This is the sort of cake that I want toasted, spread with a little salted butter and served with my morning coffee, it is sweet but not cloying, and the coffee and the cocoa nibs just work so well together!

Sometimes an idea pops into my head and it sits there for a few days, scratching away, begging to be tried, and this recipe started out exactly like that. I had finished a week of testing fruit recipes for a project and was left with a bunch of bananas slowly starting to head towards banana bread territory and, after unpacking another box from my move, I found my tonka beans and cocoa nibs,the idea of adding these to my recipe popped into my head and wouldn't go away.

I, of course, tweeted about the idea because, have we met, I have a slight social media addiction! My friend Chloe suggested that I should try the bread with coffee instead and that initial idea was, very temporarily,shelvedand I settled on trying an espresso and cocoa nib banana bread and I'm rather pleased with it, the coffee isnt super strong and the mix of the nibs, coffee and banana is delicious!

Espresso andCocoa Nib Banana Bread

225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp ground coffee
25g cocoa nibs
250g ripe bananas (weighed without skins)
100ml sour cream
185g light brown muscavado sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g unsalted butter, melted

1. To make the banana bread, grease a loaf tin with a little butter and line with a strip of parchment paper, so that the ends hang over the long sides of the pan (this makes removal of the cake a lot easier) and preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) 350F.

2. Place the flour, baking powder, salt, coffee and about 2/3 of the cocoa nibs into a bowl and whisk together to combine. (see tips for adjusting strength of the coffee in the cake)

3. Place the banana into a large bowl and use a fork to mash, until just a few small lumps remain. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until smooth and uniformly combined.

4. Pour the flour mixture over the banana mixture and gently fold together, mixing until the flour is just combined, but being very careful not to over mix, as this will make the bread chewy and tough. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and top with the remaining banana, simply sliced through the middle and placed on top, cut side showing. Sprinkle the remaining cocoa nibs on top of the cake, avoiding the banana.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out just about clean.

6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before carefully inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Kept wrapped in clingfilm in a sealed container this cake will keep for up to three days but can also be frozen for up to a month (I like to freeze it in individual slices and thenI can have a piece whenever I fancy).

Tips: If you want the coffee flavour to really punch you in the face then I would suggestadding two tablespoons of hot water to the coffee and stirring together before adding to thewet ingredients, this way the flavour will soak into the bread a lot more.

If you want to try this recipe and cant find cocoa nibs I get mine from Sous Chef

I love American baking, two of my three cookbooks are littered with US inspired recipes and it's a style I return to time and again. With a pie shell made, I asked on Instagram what I should fill it with. The answers were varied but I went with those that asked for Coconut Cream and Banana Cream Pie, actually I decided to combine the two and, with the addition of passion fruit,give these classic southern recipes a slightly tropical feel. Instead of using a vanilla custard with sliced banana I decided to flavour the custard using coconut milk, roasted banana and passion fruit puree, which makes for one rather special pie, if I do say so myself!

Banana Cream Pie with Coconut and Passion Fruit
Serves 8-10

Topping
450ml double cream, lightly whipped to soft peaks
1 passion fruit
40g toasted desiccated coconut

To make the custard place the bananas onto the preparedbaking tray and roastuntil blackened, about 20-30 minutes. Whilst the bananas are cooking place the coconut milk into a medium sized saucepan and over medium/high heat bring to the boil. Meanwhile place the eggs, yolk, sugar and cornflour into bowl and whisk together until smooth and combined. Once the milk is at temperaturepour over the egg mixture whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Pour this custard back into the pan and cook, whilst whisking constantly, until thick. Scrape the custard into the bowl of a food processor and add the roasted bananas. Process the custard until smooth and lump free. Scrape the custard into a clean bowl and add the passion fruit juice, stirring to combine. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and chill thoroughly at least three hours.

Once the pastry is chilled roll out on a lightly floured worksurface until about 10-11 inches then carefully drape into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the overhang to about 1inch and roll under itself to form the edge (this cylinder of dough should sit on the edge of the pie plate). Crimp the dough and then refrigerate for an hour until firm. At this point the pie shell can also be frozen for up to a month. To bake line the pie shell with a piece of parchment paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes before removing the parchment and beans and baking for a further 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool fully before filling.

To assemble the pie pour in the custard and top with the whipped cream, finishing by decorating with the remaining passion fruit and sprinkling over the coconut.

For a long time I’ve had a fascination with foreign baking traditions, the recipes that centre on religious or national holidays. Every country has their own and whilst there can be similarities across countries more often than not there is something new to discover. The fascination led me to write my last book Patisserie Made Simple but more than that it appears in all my work, I love the stories, the emotion behind them and the character it gives to the country they're from and I happily latch on these recipes and make the traditions my own.

Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as Pancake Day, a Christian holiday to mark the start of lent. Around the world Tuesdayis also known by different names: in Spanish and Italian speaking countries it is called Carnival, in Iceland it is known as Bursting Day but my absolute favourite is the Swedish name of Fat Tuesday. The best bit about Fat Tuesday, other than the name obviously, is the recipe that goes along with it, Semlor, a cardamon flavoured bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream. It sounds incredibly simple but the sum is so much more than its parts, I have a big soft spot for this recipe.

One of the reasons that I look forward to them every year is that they are a rare seasonal bake, there is absolutely no reason you cant bake them year round but despite that they only appear in bakeries for a few weeks or months around the holiday and as the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Living in London we are lucky to have a few Swedish bakeries that sell them but generally I make them myself and they are no more difficult than making a simple bread recipe.

Semlor

250g plain flour
250g strong white bread flour
1 tsp ground cardamon
50g caster sugar
1 tsp salt
50g unsalted butter, room temperature
300ml milk, lukewarm
7g dried yeast
1 large egg (plus 1 extra for glazing)

Filling
200g marzipan
175ml milk
600ml double cream

To make the semlor preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.

To make the dough place the flours, cardamon, sugar and salt into a large bowl and mix together to combine. Add the butter and rub into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the milk and the yeast to a jug and stir to combine. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the milk and egg, mix to form a shaggy dough then remove from the bowl and knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round, place into a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Set aside at room temperature for about an hour or until doubled in size. Remove the dough from the bowl and gently knock out the air. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form into rounds. Place the rounds of dough onto the prepared baking trays and cover lightly with clingfilm. Set aside for about 45-60 minutes or until the buns have almost doubled in size.

When ready to bake brush each bun with the remaining egg and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool fully before filling.

To make the filling slice the tops from the buns and scoop out the filling. Rip the bread into breadcrumbs and place into a bowl. Grate the marzipan into the bowl and add the milk, mixing together to form a paste. Divide the filling between the buns and set aside.

Place the cream into a large bowl and whisk until the cream holds soft peaks. Add the cream to a large piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip and pipe on top of each bun, finishing by placing the lids of the buns on top of the cream, dusting with a little icing sugar.

(ps. Semla - Singular, Semlor - Plural)