This Months *Bake-Off*

Chocolate, Pear & Almond Tart Vs. Damson Tart 

Having spent the majority of this year sweating it out in the mayhem and marvel of a professional kitchen, I managed to learn a few tricks from the pastry section.  From tuilles and spikes to purees and compotes. I even created wonderfully light soufflé laced with fruity, sweet-sour raspberries under the pressure of a Saturday night service.  The key to the feared souffle was the consistency of the base mixture, a lightness of hand and  perfect timing.  Taken out of the oven to early and you are faced with a dessert more akin to  a warm Ski yogurt.   A fraction to long and you are left with a deflated pillow crawling back into its ramekin in shame.  Just right and your raspberry tower stands royally upon its plate, dressed in a vale of icing sugar, crowned with ripe perfumed fruits and rushed to the diner to be devoured in smooth, airy and delightful mouthfuls.

However, for some reason I never got my hands on making pastry.  Do you really need hands of ice, a chilled slab of marble and a delicate touch?  Armed with  the Michel Roux book ‘Pastry’ I gave it a try at home this week to find out.

I attempted the Pate Sucree, a sweet but versatile pastry that holds better than the more biscuity, buttery and melt in the mouth Pate Sable.

250g Plain flour

100g Butter (cubed and slightly softened)

100g Icing sugar (sifted)

Pinch of salt

2 Eggs (at room temp)

It’s so satisfying rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck in and following the simple step-by-step guide it was surprisingly simple.  I had overworked the ingredients at the ‘crumbing’ stage, putting a little too much warmth into the butter which made the pastry a little tight but I was still pleased with the results.

Pastry made, it was time for this months bake off.

Chocolate, Pear & Almond Tart

The pears were poached until soft in a sugar syrup flavoured with fragrant vanilla and a touch of warm cinnamon to help bring out their sweetness.  The fruit was then layered in the baked tart case and topped with a crunch of toasted almonds.  For the ganache I patiently whisked the butter one piece at a time into the melted chocolate, cream and glucose watching closely as the the consistency became more beautiful, velvety and glossy with every cube (recipe in ‘Pastry’).  I poured in the silky ribbons of chocolate, filling the tart case to the brim and left it to chill in the refrigerator while sticky fingers fought over the remaining chocolate in the bowl.  The tart was finished with poached mini-pears, caramelised with a little extra icing sugar and a blowtorch.

Pros: Almonds helped bring the flavours of chocolate and pear together and the ganache was rich and velvety.

Cons: William pears would have worked a lot better than conference and the pastry was rolled a touch thin

Damson Tart

The winning ingredient here was an amazing homemade damson jam (courtesy of the mother-in-law).  The small, oval, midnight blue damson fruit has a tartness that makes it perfect for jams and jellies.  This particular jam had a heady almost alcoholic flavour with hints of star anise and was reminisent of one to many damson gins over the festive period.  I layered the jam generously over the part baked tart case, topped with a vanilla sponge mixture and almonds before baking.

Pros: It was all about the jam (delicious) and a simple combination of flavour.

Cons: If i’m honest the sponge was a bit heavy.

Verdict

Undercover Commis – Damson Tart

Girlfriend – Chocolate, Pear and Almond

Neighbour 1 – Chocolate, Pear and Almond

Neighbour 2 – Damson Tart

Which one of this month’s *Bake-Off* do you think deserves  top spot on the podium?

Eteaket Tea Boutique & Cafe - Edinburgh

I dusted off my wellington boots and headed for the city on a snowy November afternoon, excited at the prospect of sipping tea from mismatching china cups and devouring home made cakes at Eteaket Tea Boutique and Cafe.

Welcomed by the slogan ‘KEEP CALM AND HAVE A CUP OF TEA’ I suddenly felt a little unnerved. Heading to the table I was surprised somewhat by the interior which was brightly lit, clinical and disguised with luminous faux antique chairs. It just didn’t seem to fit with the kitsch boutique that Eteaket markets itself as.

With a neat selection of sandwiches and cakes alongside over 40 loose leaf teas ‘expertly sourced from around the world’, it took us a little while to make our choice. Decided, we gave our order to the rather disinterested staff and waited for our tea. ‘Life’s a Peach’ was a light, aromatic and peachy Ceylon blended tea, which got an approving ‘mmm... life really is peachy’ noise from my companion after every sip. Delicious. Wanting to try something adventurous but feeling that one of their hand sewn teas might be a step too far, we went for a rare blend green tea ‘Gyokuro’. Eager to try I went for a quick whiff before my official tea timer had run its course. I was met by the aroma of seaweed. Intrigued, I waited the final thirty seconds and tasted what can only be described as ‘Oysterish’ tea. There was no clue to this on the well written menu.

The food arrived in all its tiered glory as we had opted to try the afternoon tea. The sandwiches of smoked salmon and cream cheese and tuna and sweetcorn were generously filled in chunky slices of fresh olive bloomer. Enjoyable, substantial but underwhelming and sadly from here it went downhill.

 I know it is chilly outside but all the more reason not to serve our scone stone cold. Soft and dry, it really was the type of scone that you could find at any motorway service station in the land. With sloppily served sweet jam and clotted cream that had been hanging around for too long, we were disappointed. The mini-cupcakes seemed to have been created at the hands of an eight year old and tasted so too, with sickly sweet icing atop a dense and lifeless sponge. As for the Viennese, it had unbelievably managed to take on the flavour of white spirit. I actually have no idea how this was achieved.

My companion still managed to enjoy the experience but readily admits she would have enjoyed almost anything served on such lovely vintage china. Amazing how a tea stand can fool the taste buds.

It is important to support small independent businesses and Eteaket really do have an amazing array of teas to sample. They should be commended for their enthusiasm and commitment to fine teas but seem so busy promoting the brand, website, online store, gifts and events that they’ve forgotten the importance of baking simple, fantastic patisseries and serving them with a smile.

3/10