HEAVENLY HOT CROSS BUNS

For me, nothing hoots easter like a batch of heavenly hot cross buns. Fresh out the oven, toasted, slathered in butter and with a hot cup of tea there really is nothing like it. As an easter gift from my kitchen to yours i’m sharing with you my very straightforward heavenly hot cross bun recipe.

  • 1 tbsp dried active yeast
  • 110g caster sugar
  • 375g milk
  • 635g plain flour
  • 2 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 50g butter, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 240g sultanas
  • 55g mixed peel
  • zest of one orange
  • 75g plain flour
  • water
  • 2-3 tbsp apricot jam
  1. Gently warm the milk and sugar until tepid
  2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the yeast
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer place the flour, spices, butter, egg and zest
  4. Pour in the milk and yeast mixture and mix with the dough hook for 8 minutes on medium speed until smooth and elastic
  5. Add in the sultanas and mixed peel and mix for a further minute
  6. Place in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover loosely with cling film. Leave at warm room temperature for an hour and a half until doubled in size
  7. Line a 12″ x 9″ baking tray with greaseproof paper
  8. Once proved divide the dough into 12 balls weighing roughly 110g each and roll into neat rounds.
  9. Place in the tray evenly spaced apart and leave to prove for a further 45 mins
  10. Preheat the oven to 200’c
  11. Gradually add water to the 75g of flour until it forms a pourable consistency and pipe crossed over the buns
  12. Bake for 15 mins or until deep golden brown
  13. Gently warm the apricot jam and liberally brush the buns to glaze

CHERRY BUNDT CAKE RECIPE

Is it just me or is the best thing to do on a boring lock down after noon, bake?! If, like me you can’t stop creating crowd pleasing goodies to while away the hours in isolation then this cherry bundt cake recipe is especially for you. Decedant, buttery and studded with gorgeous cherries – this recipe is sure to become a family favourite.

I have baked this in a beautiful bundt tin but if you haven’t got one a large loaf tine will work just fine.

The two tips for success with this recipe are a. to ensure that all ingredients are at room temperature and b. to really coat the tin well in melted butter and flour to ensure the cake turn out beautifully

Ingredients

  • 6 oz unsalted butter
  • 8 oz caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 10 oz self raising flour
  • 2 oz buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 150g cherries cut in half and de-stoned
  • 150g icing sugar
  • 3 tbsp cherry/cranberry juice
  1. Preheat the oven to 150’c and prepare the bundt tin by brushing with melted butter and a shaking flour around to cover well
  2. Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla on a in a stand mixer on high speed for at least 5 minutes until light, pale and fluffy
  3. Lower the mixer to medium and add the eggs one at a time mixing well between each addition
  4. Turn off the mixer and tip in half of the flour, mix on low speed until just combined.
  5. Add the buttermilk and mix again
  6. Take the bowl off the stand and fold in the remaining flour along with the cherries
  7. Pour into the tin and bake for 40-50 mins covering with foil if it starts to brown too much
  8. Once the cake comes out the oven leave for 10 mins to cool slightly before inverting onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely
  9. Make the drizzle by gradually adding the cherry or cranberry juice to the icing sugar one tbsp at a time until the consistency is pourable but thickly coats the back of a spoon
  10. Pour over the cake

That’s it, as simple to make as it is to eat. I’d love to know how you get on if you attempt this so be sure to tag me @harriebootoagoose

 

RHUBARB & WHITE CHOCOLATE BLONDIES

So i’m guessing you have an oven..do you have a saucepan? A hob? Fab!! The you can make these absolutely irresistible rhubarb & white chocolate blondies.

The contrast of the tart blushing rhubarb with the creamy white chocolate encased in a crisp edged, fudgy centred slice really is a thing of sheer perfection.

Get your whisk out and get your bake on – you won’t regret it.

INGREDIENTS

  • 240g butter
  • 450g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs + 1 yolk
  • 240g plain flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 sticks of forced rhubarb
  • 100 g white chocolate

METHOD

  1. Preheat your oven to 180’c and line a 9″ square tin with greaseproof baking paper
  2. Chop the rhubarb into smallish pieces and breakup white chocolate into similar size chunks
  3. Melt the butter gently in a pan over medium heat
  4. Off the heat add in the caster sugar and vanilla and whisk together until smooth
  5. Add in the eggs and yolk and whisk again until combined
  6. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir in gently until just combined- don’t over mix
  7. Stir in the white chocolate and rhubarb until evenly spread throughout the mix
  8. Spoon the thick mixture into your lined tin and make as level as possible
  9. Bake for 30 mins until puffed up, golden but still wobbly underneath
  10. Leave to set for at least 4-5 hours (or overnight) somewhere cool before slicing. Will keep for up to a week in an airtight container

NOTES

  • This is a very versatile recipe and the rhubarb and indeed white chocolate can be swapped out for all sorts of other yummy things; Milk chocolate chunks, dark chocolate, raspberries, a swirl of nutella or peanut butter on top, nuts, dried fruit..you get the idea just use 200g in total of whatever you feel like throwing in.
  • DO NOT OVERBAKE> They will be dry and disappointing and not at all how a blondie should be. Trust me that after 30 mins they are done and leave to set with all the patience you can muster. It’ll be worth it.
  • These will work just perfectly gluten free! Simply use a good GF flour blend in place of the plain flour.

BEEF SHIN CHILLI

Is it me or does it seem like the perfect weather for hunkering down with a hot bowl of warming beef chilli? This dish is satisfying, simple to make and wholesome. Serve with steamed rice, avocado salsa and some cooling sour cream for a family feast that everyone will enjoy.

Ingredients

500g beef shin
2 large onions – finely sliced
2 carrots – grated
3 garlic cloves crushed
3 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp hot chilli power
2 tsp dried oregano
2 whole chillies – cut in half
150 ml beef stock
100 ml dark ale
Worcester sauce
2 can tomatoes
1 can kidney beans

Method

  1. In a hot pan brown the beef in batches – spooning out and setting aside in a colander after each batch.
  2. Once all the meat is brown add the onions, carrots, garlic, cumin, paprika, chilli powder, oregano, chilli and sweat until soft and fragrant
  3. Add the beef back into the pan along with all the other ingredients
  4. Cook in an oven at 160’c uncovered for 3-4 hours until the meat is falling apart

HOT CROSS BUN X CINNAMON SWIRL RECIPE

I wanted to make some hot cross buns for Easter but I felt they could do with an update – hence the hot cross bun x cinnamon swirl recipe was born.

They are easier than they look to make and nothing smells as good as these throughout the entire baking process .

Throughout the recipe there are some simple swaps you can do to make them your own which I shall put in brackets alongside applicable ingredients.

Eat fresh out the oven or when eating the next day split, grill and spread with butter and marmalade or apricot jam – heaven!

Hot Cross Bun X Cinnamon Swirl Recipe – Makes 12

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 TABLESPOON ACTIVE DRY YEAST
  • 110G CASTER SUGAR 
  • 375ML LUKEWARM MILK 
  • 635G PLAIN FLOUR 
  • 2 TEASPOONS MIXED SPICE (ground ginger/nutmeg/orange zest)
  • 2 TEASPOONS GROUND CINNAMON 
  • 50G UNSALTED BUTTER, MELTED 
  • 1 EGG 
  • 240G SULTANAS (dark chocolate chips)
  • 55G CANDIED MIXED PEEL, OPTIONAL 
  • 75G PLAIN FLOUR, EXTRA 
  • 80ML WATER 

GLAZE

  • Apricot Jam (honey/maple syrup/marmalade)

FILLING

  • 50G BUTTER MELTED
  • 2TSP GROUND CINNAMON
  • 50G CASTER SUGAR
  1. Line a 9×12 Inch brownie pan with greaseproof paper.
  2. Place the yeast, 2 teaspoons of the sugar and the milk in the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl if making by hand. After a few minutes the mixture will start to foam, indicating that the yeast is active. Add the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, butter, egg, sultanas, mixed peel and remaining sugar to the yeast mixture and mix until a sticky dough forms. Knead the dough with the dough hook/by hand for 4/8 minutes or until elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean, damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled in size. While the dough is rising combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Once risen, roll the dough on a floured surface into a large rectangle approx 5ml thick and brush with the filling. Roll the dough long-side-in to make a long sausage. Cut into 12 pieces and sit spiral side up in rows of 3 in your lined tin leaving plenty of room between each one. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes until risen. Meanwhile preheat oven to 200°C.
  3. Place the extra flour and the water in a bowl and stir to combine. Place in a piping bag or a plastic bag with one corner snipped off, and pipe crosses on the buns. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and springy to touch. 
  4. Once out of the oven brush with warmed apricot jam to create a glossy finish.

And there you have it – divine fluffy rolls that will not only please the traditionalists but get people talking and excited to try.

Give it a go – I promise it’ll become your new favourite recipe.

Christmas cake Recipe for Stir-up Sunday

It may seem a little early to talk about Christmas cake but it’s stir-up Sunday this weekend and the best time to make your gorgeous Christmas cake so that it has time to mature and develop before the big day. I’m going to share with you my ultimate Christmas cake recipe for you to knock up this Stir-up Sunday and impress your family and friends this year.

Harrie Kivell – private chef

The key to a great Christmas cake is getting ahead – soak your fruits in festive booze for at least 24 hours (3 days is best) before you want to make your cake. I tend to do this in a big kilner jar so I can keep shaking the fruits to ensure they are all beautifully coated but a large bowl will work too.

Don’t be afraid to get creative and personalise your cake. Where I use hazelnuts and Cherries ; you could use cranberries and walnuts or you could up the orange zest and add some dark chocolate chips making a fabulous chocolate orange variation of a classic! On the recipe I shall put a star next to any ingredient that can be swapped along with some suggested alternatives. As long as you use the same weight it will be delicious!

Christmas cake ingredients

Usually when I make a cake I use an electric mixer but it seems prudent that such a traditional cake be made the old fashioned way – with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease! Get the whole family involved, taking turns to stir the cake and you shall have a wonderful cake in no time that everyone can feel proud of. Things really do taste better if you make them at home.

Harrie’s ultimate Christmas Cake

1kg mixed dried fruit
100g Glace cherries *
100g Mixed peel
350g Dark brown sugar
350g Butter
6 Eggs – I love Clarence Court
350g Plain flour
1tsp Mixed spice
1tsp Ground cinnamon
1tsp Ground ginger
Half cup Brandy/whisky/cherry brandy/cointreau/port
Juice and zest of 2 large oranges
50g Hazlenuts * (Almonds, walnuts, macadamia, pecans)
35g Ground almonds
2 Tbsp Black treacle

-At least 24 hours before making your cake put your dried fruit, cherries, mixed peel, orange juice and zest, spices and booze in a large jar/bowl and leave to mature.
-Preheat oven to 140’c and line a deep 8” cake tin with baking parchment
-Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy or until your arm aches!
-Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mix well between each addition.
– Sift in the flour along with all the fruit mix, the ground nuts, whole nuts and treacle and stir together until evenly combined.

-Spoon into your tin, press a disk of greaseproof on top of the cake and bake for 4.5 hours.
-Once out of the oven brush with some more booze and wrap well in cling film.
-Brush with booze once a week until christmas!

Christmas cake ready for its tin

All images created by Cook & Capture

Cook & Capture

My latest venture; the why, the where, the who and the what…

I’ve had a lot of people asking me recently about Cook & Capture, my latest venture so I thought i’d jump on and write a quick blog post about what we do at Cook & Capture, explain how it works and answer the common questions I get about our new bussines.

So…what is this new business, what do we do? Cook & Capture provides styled images of food, ingredients and even drinks, showcasing a clients food product at their absolute yummiest for them to use in their marketing, social media etc. So basically, lets say you produce amazing cheeses, we create gorgeous recipes using your cheese and photograph it to show how wonderful the cheese in question is. It maybe something simple like a burger showing the oozy goodness dripping down over the delicious beef pattie. Or it could be a delicious baby carrot and goats cheese risotto to showcase just how versatile your product is.

OK so now i’ve explained a little more about my new venture; i’m going to answer some questions I get asked a lot about C&C.

You say ‘we’ when you talk about your new business…who are you working with? I started C&C with my wonderful friend and colleague, photographer Clare Buckingham. We both realised, whilst Clare was photographing a new menu of mine, just how much we love styling and shooting food. Clare is an amazing photographer with a real eye for detail and styling. I cook and recipe develop, Clare photographs, and together we style and curate the scene…it works fantastically and we have such a giggle in the process.

You seem very busy with BTAG, where do you find the time? Yikes this is a tricky one and the honest answer is, i’m not sure. It does however work really well. Whilst i’m fully booked all year around with BTAG, most of my work is for the weekends which leaves me with start of the week to work on C&C. The emails, paperwork, social media and all the other things that go with running a business just happen in amongst everything…I make it work and I love it!

Chicken tacos

Where do you take the photos? It entirely depends on what the clients want. Sometimes we go to the client, perhaps they have a cafe or restaurant and want some awesome shots of their menu. Other times our clients send us their products so we create the dishes and photograph them in our amazing kitchen studio- surrounded by all our gorgeous props – its the ultimate setup.

Is it scary starting another new business? YES!! I was extremely lucky with BTAG that one thing led to another and suddenly I had a business, almost without realising it. Starting a business from practically nothing, totally from scratch has been totally different, very daunting but extremely rewarding and a huge learning curb.

Victoria sponge for Stokes Sauces

Where did the idea for this business come from? We realised there was a big gap in the market for such a service. On the whole food brands that are in need of good images would have to find; a photographer, a chef, a stylist, some prop hire and probably a studio as well. They’d then have to coordinate these things, find a time that suited all, pay everyone individually and suddenly it becomes hugely complex and often stressful, if not unachievable. We realised that we could provide this complete, all in service by pooling our talents and making the process seamless and straightforward. In many cases we simply get sent the product and we send back an album of beautiful images – it doesn’t get much easier that that!

So there you have it… Hopefully you’ve enjoyed hearing all about the new venture and if you want to check it out further head over to our website .

    Chocolate and peanut butter brownies

    Ready in under an hour and honestly the best brownie you will ever make!!

    OH MY LORDY. Stop whatever you are doing and look at these chocolate and peanut butter brownies. They are OUT OF THIS WORLD. No seriously. They have it all; a wafer thin crust yielding to fudgy dense chocolatey brownie filled and a crunchy layer of peanut butter and milk chocolate chunks – what could be better!!

    Chocolate and peanut butter brownie

    The best thing about these brownies is that you can totally make them your own! Perhaps you want to use almond butter and change out the milk choc chunks for whole almonds and add some orange zest in the batter to make delicious almond and orange brownies. (I mean – why wouldn’t you!!) Whatever you do with this recipe i implore you to give it a go – you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

    Ok on the technical front I often get asked how I get them so fudgy and gooey. The secret is to take them out of the oven when they are still wobbly….now i don’t mean – fat arse in thin leggings wobbly- but I mean just ever so slightly underset when you gently tap the tray. Follow the timings and temp I give to the letter, or number rather, and you wont go wrong!

    • 500g Crunchy peanut butter (I use this one)
    • 150g Milk chocolate
    • 225g Unsalted butter
    • 400g Dark chocolate
    • 4 Eggs
    • 225g Caster sugar
    • 175g Light brown soft sugar
    • 1tsp Vanilla extract
    • 150g Plain flour
    • Line a 20cm x 30cm brownie tin with baking parchment and pre heat the oven to 180’c.
    • Melt together the dark chocolate and butter in a large saucepan very gently over a low heat until smooth and glossy
    • Remove from heat and stir in both sugars, the eggs and the vanilla, beating quickly until well combined
    • Sift in the plain flour and stir well.
    • Pour half of the mixture into the tin and spread evenly to cover the base of the tin – place in the freezer for 10 mins to firm up
    • Whilst the brownie base is in the freezer, warm the peanut butter in a small pan over a gentle heat until pourable.
    • Chop up the milk chocolate generous chunks
    • Grab brownies from the freezer and spread the soft peanut butter over the top, levelling and pushing right to the edge with a palette knife or back of a spoon. Top with chocolate chunks.
    • Pour remaining brownie mix over peanut butter and choc chunks and spread evenly to create a smooth top with no peanut butter showing.
    • Bake in a preheated oven for EXACTLY 30 MINUTES> I PROMISE THEY ARE DONE AT THIS POINT.
    • Leave to cool for 10 mins before putting in the fridge to completely set for at least 2 hours. Remove from the fridge and cut into pieces, place in your favourite cake tin or stand and keep at room temperature to serve and enjoy.

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    Tavistock
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