Mary Berry's Fish Pie

Ever since watching the Mary Berry story on the BBC, I have been desperate to try out this fish pie recipe. It looked simply sumptuous when Queen Bezza (as I like to call her) was showing how to make it in her own kitchen. For extra flavour I also added some prawns to the pie, which aren't included in the recipe.

Ingredients

75g/3oz butter, plus extra for greasing

1 large onion, roughly chopped

50g/2oz plain flour

570ml/1 pint milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp lemon juice

350g/12oz fresh haddock, cut into 1cm/½in pieces

350g /12oz smoked undyed haddock, cut into 1cm/½in pieces

4 hard-boiled free-range eggs, roughly chopped

900g/2lb potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized pieces

8 tbsp hot milk

50g/2oz butter

Preparation method

1.) Preheat the oven 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease a shallow 2.5 litre/4½pint dish with butter.

2.) Melt the butter in a pan on a high heat and fry onion for few minutes. Lower the heat, cover and leave to soften for 15 minutes.

3.) Remove the lid and increase the heat to remove any moisture. Sprinkle in the flour and then add the milk gradually, stirring well and allowing the sauce to thicken until all the milk has been added.

4.) Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add lemon juice and the raw fish and cook for couple of minutes, stirring continuously until the fish has just cooked. Stir in the smoked haddock. Pour the mixture into the buttered dish and leave to cool. Top with the hard-boiled eggs.

5.) For the topping, boil the potatoes in a pan of salted water until tender. Drain, tip the potatoes back into the pan, add milk and butter and mash until lump-free. Use a ricer to get smooth mash. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

6.) Spread the mash over the top of the sauce and fish in the dish and score with a fork.

7.) Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the potato is crisp and golden-brown.

And there you have it the perfect fish pie recipe, I love the fact this fish pie contains egg as well, it just adds the extra bit of flavour, and it works superbly with the fish. I can see why this is a firm favourite in the Berry household. 

Queen Bezza I salute you!

Cheese and Chive Scones

I've been hooked on watching The Great Comic Relief Bake Off, and when I saw Kirsty Wark making some cheese & chive scones I just had to give them a go. My Grandmother was the best at making cheese scones so I dedicate these to her.

Ingredients

510g/1lb 2oz plain flour, plus extra for flouring

                                                 Generous pinch salt

2¼ tsp baking powder

1 tsp English mustard powder

65g/2½oz unsalted butter, plus extra for serving

380g/13oz strong cheddar

4½ tbsp fresh snipped chives

300ml/10fl oz milk

1 free-range egg, beaten with a little milk for glazing

4 russet apples

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly flour a baking tray.

2. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and mustard into a bowl.

3. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

4. Grate half of the cheese very finely, and roughly chop the other half. Stir into the flour mixture with the chopped chives.

5. Gradually add milk to make a soft but not sticky dough (you may not need all the milk).

6. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly, then roll the dough out into a thickness of just less than 2.5cm/1in. Use a 6cm/2½in cutter to cut the scones, re-rolling the off-cuts as necessary. Handle the dough as little as possible to keep it light.

7. Put the scones onto the floured baking tray, allowing at least 2.5cm/1in between them and glaze with the egg and milk mixture.

8. Bake for 10 minutes or until risen and golden brown.

9. To serve, finely slice the russet apples and fan half a dozen slices on the plate with the cheese scone and a small pat of butter.

And there you have it, so who is your favourite contestant on the The Great Comic Relief Bake Off? For me it's definitely Warwick Davies!

Chloe xo

Recent bakes.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, this last month just seems to have flown by! My most recent bakes are very festive, chocolate and cinnamon cookies plus cinnamon buns. (Can you tell I like cinnamon?) I hope to get back on track with regular posts soon, again sorry for the absence but I shall be back a.s.a.p!

Chloe xo

Chocolate Crunchie

Ingredients:

200g digestive biscuits, broken into uneven crumbs

100g butter, plus extra for greasing

3 tablespoons golden syrup

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

50g raisins

100g dark chocolate

Method:

1. Butter a 18cm / 7in sandwich tin.

2. Melt the butter and syrup in a pan.

3. Stir in the cocoa and raisins, then thoroughly stir in the biscuit crumbs.

4. Spoon into the tin and press down firmly.

5. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and spread over the biscuit base.

6. Chill for about half an hour.

 This is such an easy go to recipe, I totally recommend it!

Chloe xo

My Favourite Cookies

Today I decided to make one of my all time favourite recipes, m&m cookies! They are really delicious, easy to make and always go down a treat!

Ingredients: 

250g/9oz softened butter

50g/2oz caster sugar

100g/3.5oz light muscovado sugar

300g/10oz self raising flour
2 tbsp milk

1 bag of m&ms

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/Gas mark 4. 

2. Line 3 baking sheets with non stick baking paper (or bake in batches). 

3. In a bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. 

4. Stir on the flour and milk, mix well, then stir in the M&Ms.

5. Divide the mixture into 18 equal portions. 

6. Roughly shape each portion into a ball. Put on the baking sheets well apart to allow for spreading. Lightly flatten each biscuit with your fingertips, keeping the mixture quite rough-looking.

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cookies are pale golden around the edge, but still feel soft in the centre. 

8. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool a little more before eating.

 And there you have it, like I say these are so easy and simple to make I really recommend! What's your favourite cookie recipe?

Chloe xo

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Ingredients

For Cupcake:

300g self raising flour

250g unsalted butter

4 eggs

4 tablespoons of cocoa powder

250g caster sugar

Grated rind of half a large orange

4 tablespoons of orange juice

For Icing & Decoration:

220g unsalted butter

450g icing sugar

Grated rind of half a large orange

2 tablespoons of orange juice

Milk Terry's Chocolate Orange

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Put the chocolate into  a bowl to melt over a saucepan of boiling water.

Put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, eggs and butter into a large mixing bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined. 

Next add the grated rind and squeeze out 4 tablespoons of the juice of the orange and mix together.

Spoon mixture into the cases and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Once ready, remove from the tray and leave to cool.

Put the butter into a mixing bowl . Beat until it has a smoother texture, adding a spoonful of icing sugar at a time. Once mixed completely, add in the orange rind and the orange juice. 

Using a piping bag and nozzle, swirl the icing on the top, and decorate with a segment of Terry's chocolate orange.

 These are really simple to make and taste lovely (if I do say so myself!) Hopefully will have another baking post up tomorrow.

Chloe xo

Halloween Graveyard Cake

Now I know Halloween was on Wednesday but I saw this recipe the other day and I couldn't resist making it! The brilliant thing about this cake is that the messier the presentation the better, it takes a little bit of the pressure off this time round.

Ingredients

The Cake:

250g/9oz butter

250g/9oz caster sugar

4 free-range eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g/7oz self-raising flour

50g/2oz cocoa powder

Ginger Biscuit Tombstones:

350g plain flour

½ tsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g/3½oz butter

175g/6oz light soft brown sugar

4 tbsp golden syrup

1 free-range egg

For the decoration:

White icing (such as royal icing.)

125g/4½oz butter, softened

250g/9oz icing sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp milk

½ pack Oreo cookies or bourbon biscuits

1 pack chocolate sticks (such as Matchmakers or Fingers)

 Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Grease and line a 20x30cm/8x12in rectangular cake tin with baking parchment.

3. Beat together the butter and sugar with a hand-held mixer until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between each addition, adding the vanilla extract with the last of the egg.

4. Sift together the flour and the cocoa powder into a bowl. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.

5. Spoon the cake batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.

6. Bake for 30 minutes until firm to the touch (a wooden skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean).

7. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

8. For the ginger biscuit tombstones, place the flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

9. Add the sugar, syrup and egg and mix together until it forms a soft dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

10. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out your shapes – you will only need a few for the cake so cut out some other Halloween shapes for extra biscuits.

11. Place the shapes on to greased baking sheets and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the sheets with a palette knife and place onto a wire rack to cool completely before decorating with white icing.

12. For the buttercream, beat the butter in a large bowl with a hand held mixer until creamy then add the icing sugar a spoonful at a time beating well between each addition. Add the cocoa powder and milk and beat again for a further five minutes until light and fluffy.

13. Blend the Oreo or bourbon biscuits to fine crumbs in a food processor.

14. Spread the buttercream over the cooled cake, covering the top and sides don’t worry if it’s not smooth, a few lumps and bumps will make it more mud-like.

15. Break the chocolate sticks in half unevenly, then stick around the sides of the cake to form the fence.

16. Sprinkle the biscuit soil over the surface before sticking in the tombstones.

I really enjoyed making this cake and I think it would be the perfect thing to make with children. I hope you don't mind two Halloween related posts. If you would like me to bake anything specifically please leave me a comment below. 

Chloe xo