Two Potato Gratin

I love October . . .  it is in October that my taste palate turns to the colour orange and I just want to eat my fill of winter squash and pumpkins, carrots and sweet potatoes.  I don't crave these things in July and August,  or even September  . . . but once the calendar page flips over to October, I can't seem to get enough of them and I start incorporating them into whatever I can.



I know that Americans mostly like their sweet potatoes mashed and coated with marshmallows, brown sugar and nuts . . .  and they are rather good that way . . .  but I am more in love with the savoury approach when it comes to sweet potatoes.

 

Sweet potatoes lend themselves beautifully to savoury dishes.  I often bake them and just mash them with some garlic and parmesan cheese. They are gorgeous done that way.   Sometimes I do sweet potato wedges . . .  just like regular potato wedges, except with sweet potatoes  I toss them with some olive oil, herbs, garlic and seasoning and roast them in a hot oven until they are nicely crisped and caramelized.  So good.



They really shine in dishes like this lovely two potato gratin which I have prepared here today . . . layers of tender white potato, chopped onion,  sweet potatoes and several kinds of cheese.  There is no butter  . . .  you don't need butter with the cheese.  

 

There is no cream . . .  once again the cheese adds a richness that cream often adds . . .  it is thickened merely with a bit of flour between the layers . . .  it's only seasoning is a bit of salt and pepper . . .  and the moisture comes from ordinary milk.



Altogether everything melds into a beautiful dish that is simple and easy to make . . .  and goes so very well with most flavours.  We had it with some pork chops . . .  but it would be equally at home with chicken, or fish . . .  lamb, or even on it's own.  In all truth I could sit down to just a plate of this quite, quite happily.

 

*Two Potato Gratin*
Serves 4 to 6

Printable Recipe  

A delicious side dish made by layering both sweet and white potatoes in a caserold with along with some onion, cheese, seasoning, flour and milk.

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

3 TBS flour

salt and black pepper to taste

45g of finely grated Parmesan Cheese (1/4 cup)

90g of grated strong cheddar cheese (3/4 cup)

120ml of milk (1/2 cup)

 

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Butter a gratin dish.

Layer half of the white potatoes in the gratin dish.  Sprinkle with 1 TBS of flour, half of the onion and one third of the cheese. Season lightly.   Top with all of the sweet potatoes.  Top with 1 TBS of the flour, the remaining onions, and one third of the cheese.  Season lightly.  Top with the remaining white potatoes, the remainder of the flour and some seasoning.  Pour the milk over.  Cover tightly with foil and bake in the heated oven for 50 minutes.  Uncover and top with the remaining cheese.   Continue to bake, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes until the top is golden brown.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

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Blackberry and Clotted Cream Shortcakes

One of our favourite things to eat here in the UK at this time of year are blackberries and they are pretty much free for the asking, as they grow  wild in the hedgerows all across the country.  They are quite prolific and need little or no care really, which is probably why they can be found in such abundance.  They can be somewhat of a nuisance to home gardeners whose aim is to have a very manicured garden, as they do have a habit of popping up in the most diverse of places, their canes travelling beneath the ground.  I, for one, don't really mind.  We love blackberries and cannot get enough of them when they are at their best, eating them fresh as often as possible . . .  and I  try to freeze as many as I can as well, for winter time treats.   We grown our own in our garden . . .  well, I say that.  We actually planted tayberries, but they've become blackberries for the most part.  The blackberries which grow in the hedgerow bordering our property have taken over somewhat and intermingled with them, so what we have now is a happy mixture of them both.




When I lived on the banks of the Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada, in the small farming community of Meaford the hillsides leading down to the bay on the Westward side were filled with wild blackberry canes.  I have lovely memories of afternoon's spent picking these lovely berries with my sister.   They are ferocious berries to pick in many ways, as they come adorned with thorny branches, but when you arm yourself with gloves and long sleeves you are always more than rewarded with lovely beautiful delicious berries.

 

It won't be long now before they are finished and so I took advantage of the last of our fresh ones to make us some delicious Blackberry and Clotted Cream Shortcakes.  This lovely dessert makes the most of some of our favourite things here in the UK  . . .  lovely short and buttery scones . . .  beautiful sweet and tart berries . . .  and rich and delicious clotted cream.



Clotted cream is a product which is found here in the UK and can be very difficult and in fact impossible to replicate anywhere else in North America because of the laws in North America which forbid the use of unpasturized milk in their dairy products . . .  but you can use full fat creme fraiche or mascarpone cheese and these will be almost as delicious . . .

 

*Blackberry and Clotted Cream Shortcakes*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe


Imagine a crumbly, buttery shortcake biscuit stogged full of lovely rich clotted cream and sweet blackberries . . . this is a little bit of heaven on a sunny autumn day.


300g self rising flour (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
140g cold butter, cut into bits (10 TBS)
100g sugar (1/2 cup)
75ml buttermilk (5 TBS)
1 large free range egg, beaten


For the filling:
500g fresh blackberries (a generous pound)
3 TBS sugar
275 pot of clotted cream (about a cup, can use softly whipped double cream if you cannot get clotted cream.)
Icing Sugar for dusting over the tops


Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*Fgas mark 5. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper, or lightly grease it and dust with flour. Set aside.


Measure the flour into a bowl along with the baking powder and a pinch of salt. Whisk it all together and then tip in the cold butter. Working with the tips of your fingers, quickly rub the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar.


Beat the egg and buttermilk together. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and tip in the wet. Gently work it all together with a fork until it forms a soft, sticky dough.


Tip it out onto a floured surface and knead the mixture a couple of times. (it will be quite sticky) Pat out, about an inch thick and then using a sharp cutter (3 inch round) dipped in flour cut out 8 rounds and place each one on the prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. (Alternately you can just shape the dough into one large round about 8 inches in diameter and place it onto the prepared baking sheet.)


Place into the heated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until nicely risen and golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack until needed.


To make the filling, lightly mash the blackberries together with the sugar. Split the shortcakes in two through the middle. Place the bottom halves onto dessert plates and spread with some clotted cream. Spoon some of the mashed berries over each and then top with the tops of the shortcakes. Dust with icing sugar and serve. (if you are using one large cake, do the same except with the whole cake on a larger serving plate. Cut into slices to serve.)

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Amaretti Stuffed Peaches

 

This is something I have wanted to make for a long time, but I never got around to it, because . . .  I either had the peaches and no amaretti, or the amaretti but no peaches.   This week my stars must have been aligned because I finally had everything in place to do them . . .  but then I couldn't find the recipe I wanted to use.   Grrr . . .  I hate it when that happens, and it happens all too often to me!  I need to create a folder that I save all the recipes in that I want to cook one day, instead of just mentally filing them in my head.  My head is a notoriously bad filing cabinet, and with each year that's passes it's not getting any better!




So anyways I kind of just made this up in my head, based upon what I thought we would like and what I thought would work.   I used beautiful white fleshed peaches that were just the perfect balance of sweet and tart . . . they were not overly ripe.  If you are going to be baking fresh fruit to be served in this way, it is probably best that they still be quite firm.

 

I crumbled the amaretti biscuits into a bowl and added some ground almonds to them, along with a bit of sugar, some Disaronno (which is what I had, but you could also use Amarreto, or any almond flavoured liqueur), some of the peach flesh which I had scooped out from the centre of the peaches and an egg yolk to bind it all together.



I stuffed this into the hollows of the peaches and sprinkled them with a bit more sugar, and I cut a thin slice of butter and laid it on top of each.   Sprinkled them with a bit of apple juice (or white wine if you happen to have it) or even just water . . .  and then I banged them into the oven to bake.



These were Heavenly served warm with some cream for pouring.   Do you hear me?  HEAVENLY!  Absolutely flipping gorgeous!  I can't find enough words to describe how delicious they were and let me tell you I have eaten some pretty delicious desserts in my time. Hands down this was my all time favourite.  No kidding.  I hope you'll try them.  If you do I think you will agree.  BLISS ♥♥♥  You may want to double the recipe.

 *Amaretti Stuffed Peaches*

Serves 6

Printable Recipe

This just may be the most delicious dessert you will ever taste.  I used white peaches for this, but you can use any colour you want, or even nectarines or ripe apricots.  It's very adaptable. 

6 ripe peaches

60g of crisp amaretti biscuits, crushed (about 12)

1 large free range egg yolk, beaten

2 TBS caster sugar (superfine sugar) plus extra for sprinkling

3 TBS ground almonds

1 TBS Disaronno liqueur, or Amaretto

3 TBS white wine

unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter a 12 by 10 inch baking dish.  Set aside. 

Cut each peach in half and remove the stones.  (I follow the "cheeks" of the peach)  Scrape out a bit of the centre of each peach with a small spoon into a bowl, leaving a slight hollow.   Mix in the crushed amaretti, ground almonds, sugar, egg yolk and liqueur.  Place the peach halves into the baking dish, cut side up.   Fill the hollows with the amaretti mixture, dividing it equally amongst the peaches.   Lay a thin slice of butter on top of each.   Sprinkle with a bit more sugar and the wine.


Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden.   Serve warm with or without lashings of cream or even ice cream, or clotted cream.  It depends on how decadent you want to be.  ☺



Know what???  If I had to choose between this and chocolate, I'd choose this in a heartbeat.  That says a lot.

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Apple and Bramble Hat

Apple and Bramble (blackberries) have to be the quintessential flavour combination for September here in the UK.   That's when the apples are ripe and the hedgerows are bursting with fresh blackberries, free for the picking.  When we lived down in Kent, we were surrounded by orchards and we were welcome to go scrumping each autum, which is the word they use to describe picking up the windfalls.  



I do so love the names that they give to their puddings over here in the UK.   (Pudding itself is another word for dessert!)  You are going to absolutely love this Apple and Bramble Hat that I am showing you here today.  It's a steamed pudding, with a suet crust . . .  coming out almost like a steamed pie really.  Just look at that flakey pastry crust there . . .  you can see the juices  from the fruit on the bottom of the plate.



I suppose they call it a "hat" because this pudding slightly resembles a Turkish Fez hat.   Pie, pudding, hat . . .  it doesn't really matter what it is called.  Just know that it is absolutely delicious, and a lot easier to make than you would suppose.  If you click here, you will see a photo tutorial I did on how to do the crust, in a previous post.  It's the same method for this.



This pudding is filled with lots of lovely tart cooking apple and sweet purple blackberries, with some warm baking spices, butter and a bit of lemon juice . . .  all steamed until beautifully blended together for a really delicious and hearty early autumn pudding.

 

You tear the "hat" open a bit while it's still hot and prior to serving and drop in a nice dollop of clotted cream if you wish. It's not essential, but comes highly recommended.    Otherwise you can just spoon it into bowls, warm . . .  and serve it with some vanilla ice cream, pouring cream or custard (creme anglaise.)  That of course is up to you and how decadent and naughty you feel like being.  ☺

*Apple and Bramble Hat*
Serves 6  

Printable Recipe  

A delciously simple steamed pudding filled with lightly spiced and sugared apples and blackberries, and butter . . .  You are supposed to tear open the top and pop in a tablespoon of clotted cream prior to eating, but this is optional.  

225g of self raising flour (1 1/2 cup plus 2 TBS)

pinch salt

110g of shredded suet (1/2 cup)

(can use an equivalent of grated frozen butter if you wish, but the pudding
will be richer)

6 to 8 TBS cold water

1 1/2 pounds cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

a small punnet of fresh blackberries (about 1 cup)

75g of soft light brown sugar (6 TBS packed)

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

the finely grated zest of 1 lemon and the juice of 1/2 lemon

50g unsalted butter (1/4 cup)

clotted cream (optional)  

Butter a 2 pint pudding basin (4 cup) really well.   Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.  Drop in the suet and give it a swirl.   Stir in enough cold water to make a soft, light dough.   Knead lightly and roll out on a lightly floured board to a large circle 1/4 inch thick.   Cut off one quarter of it and set aside.  Use the remaning 2/3 of the dough to line the pudding basin, sealing the cut edges well together.   You should have somewhat of an over hang.  Mix together the sugar, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and lemon zest.  Layer the apples and blackberries in the pudding basin, sprinkling a bit of the sugar mixture in between the layers.  Gather up the remaining dough and refoll it into a circle large enough to cover the top of the fruit.  Dot the butter over top of the fruit, and then cover with the dough circle, tucking it down around the edges.   Trim the edge of the bottom pastry and then fold it over the lid, dampening it to secure it and pressing it together firmly.   Cover with a piece of well-buttered pleated greaseproof paper, allowing room for the pudding to rise.   Secure with some string around the edge of the bowl.  Place in the top of a steamer and steam for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, topping the steamer off with boiling water as necessary.   Turn out onto a warmed serving plate and tear the top of the pudding open.  Drop in the clotted cream.   Serve warm. 

Note - If you don't have brambles try using some sultana raisins instead.   Then it would taste somewhat like a dutch apple pie!

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Cauliflower Cheese Pie

 

I think Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables, and cauliflower cheese is one of my favourite things to do with it . . .  with a dish like that you don't really need any meat . . . rich and indulgent and very, very tasty.



Today I decided to kick it up a notch or two and added a puff pastry crust.  Talk about good . . .
 I love pies of any kind.  If it's got a crust on top . . . I'm well ready to get stuck in!





I cheated a little bit today and used a few cheat ingredients to make the sauce instead of making one from scratch . . .

 

It's ok to do that sometimes . . . especially if you are feeling rather lazy as I was today . . .



A tin of condensed mushroom soup, some chicken stock, and a tub of Herb and Garlic Boursin, plus a bit of grated cheddar worked a charm.



Just make sure you drain your cauliflower really well . . . so that the sauce stays nice and thick.



I like to brush the top of the crust with a beaten egg yolk and then sprinkle it with some sea salt flakes and a bit of crushed black pepper to give it added flavor and texture . . . not to mention, it makes it all look even tastier, don't you think???

 

This went down a real treat and stretched one cauliflower a really long way.  Oh my . . . I can't wait for the leftovers tomorrow . . . in fact . . . I may even sneak a tasty little bit right after I finish here . . . tasty tasty!

Easy . . . simple . . . and delicious.  It's what works for me.



*Cauliflower Cheese Pie*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

Cauliflower cheese just got better!

1/2 of a 250g tub of Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese (1/2 cup)
1 tin of Campbells condensed cream of mushroom soup (10 ounce)
125ml of hot chicken stock (1/2 cup)
1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed and broken into florets
salt and pepper to taste
120g of strong cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)
1 sheet of all butter ready rolled puff pastry
1 small free range egg yolk beaten with a touch of water
flaked sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Cook the cauliflower in a pot of lightly salted boiling water for about 5 minutes until crispy tender.  Drain well. Return to the saucepan.  Stir together the stock, soup and cheese.  Pour over the cauliflower and gently stir to combine.  Pour this mixture into a shallow rectangular or oval dish.  Cover with the puff pastry pressing the edges against the edge of the dish to seal.  Brush the surface of the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.  Cut a few slits in the top with a sharp knife to vent.  Bake for 30 minutes, until heated through and the pastry is puffed and golden brown.

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Blackberry Pie Bars . . .

Today is the Toddster's Birthday.   He requested a fruitcake for his birthday.   That is his favourite of all cakes.  He's just an old fashioned guy with old fashioned tastes.   No chocolate  fudge cakes for him . . . no Victoria sponges  . . .  no raspberry celebration cakes.  Just a plain old fruit cake and he's a happy camper.



This is the second dessert I made the other day when I had the Sister Missionaries over and let me tell you . . .  I got plenty of oohs and ahhs over these too.   Blackberry Pie Squares.  Scrumdiddlyumptious!



Picture this . . .   a buttery shortbread cookie type of base . . .  topped with fresh blackberries . . .  topped with a rich sour cream filling . . .  and a final topping of the shortbread mixture, crumbled this time . . .



baked until the whole thing melds together in a fabulously moreish bake . . .  crisp on the bottom, rich and fruity in the centre, short and crumbly on top . . .

 

I'll just have a smidgen you tell yourself . . .  just a tiny little square . . .  and then . . .



You cut yourself another little square  . . .  and then just a tiny sliver . . .  and then you sneak down the stairs at two in the morning and you cut yourself a tiny bit more . . .  because . . .

YOU JUST CAN'T LEAVE IT ALONE!  It's that good.  Yessum!  And you are asking yourself . . .  who ate all that cake?

 

*Blackberry Pie Bars*

Makes 16  (2-inch square) bars

Printable Recipe 

Delicious bars with a buttery crumb base and topping, stogged full of beautiful black berries and a sour cream filling.  The topping is lightly spiced with cardamom and cinnamon. 

For the base and crumb topping:

210g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)

165g of sugar (3/4 cup)

1/8 tsp salt

6 ounces of unsalted butter, very cold, cut into cubes (3/4 cup)

you will also need 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 

For the filling:

2 large free range eggs

225g of sugar (1 cup)

60g of dairy sour cream (1/2 cup)

35g plus 2 TBS plain flour (1/4 cup plus 2 TBS)
pinch salt

1 (150g) punnets of blackberries (16 ounces or 1 pound) 

 

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark .   Line an 8 inch square baking pan with some baking paper, leaving an overhang.  Spray the baking paper with non-stick spray.


Put the flour, sugar,  and salt for the base into a food processor.  Blitz for about 30 seconds to combine ingredients.   Add the cubed butter an pulse until you have a crumbly mixture with bits the size of small peas.   Remove 115g (3/4 cup) of it and set it aside for later.   Pour the rest into the prepared baking dish and press into the pan firmly.   Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges just begin to turn brown.   Cool completely.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, sour cream, flour and salt for the filling until well blended.  Stir the cardamom and cinnamon into the reserved crumb mixture.   Spread the berries into a single layer over the cooled crust.   Spoon the sour cream mixture evenly over top.  Sprinkle over the reserved spiced crumb mixture to cover evenly.   Bake in the heated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the filling is just beginning to turn golden and is set.   Cool completely on a wire rack and then chill prior to serving.

Serve with or without lashings of cream or clotted cream!

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Cinderella's Pumpkin Cake

We have two sets of missionaries serving here in the Chester area, a set of young women and a set of young men.   We love to feed them and endeavor to feed each set at least once a month if we can.   Earlier this week we were blessed to feed the Sisters.  I usually try to cook them a meal which  will remind them a little bit of home.  This week it was Chicken Divan Casserole (a great way to get some broccoli into your loved ones) a tossed salad and peas and chantenay carrots.   For dessert I baked two things.   I will show you the first one today and the second one tomorrow.   (I know I do spoil them I do.  ☺)




This is Sister Jones from Utah on the left and Sister Wagner from Idaho on the right.   (I am always telling Sister Wagner that she looks a lot like Susan Branch.  Don't you think she does too?)  Anyways this tasty cake got two thumbs up from the girls.   You should have seen their eyes light up when they saw the Candy Corn on the top!



Candy Corn is not something which is readily available here in the UK, but I did manage to get my hands on some not so long ago and I used some of it for this cake because I knew the girls would love it.   This is a cake that really speaks to me of autumn . . .  Cinderella's Pumpkin Cake, called so because one of the main ingredients is cooked pumpkin and as we all know . . .  Cinderella rode to the ball in a pumpkin coach!

 

And the magic doesn't stop there  . . . it's moist from the pumpkin and dense and delicious . . .  just what a proper autumn cake should be.   Nicely spiced with warm baking  spices . . . ground cinnamon, ground ginger, freshly grated nutmeg and some ground cardamom . . .  but the spiced goodness doesn't stop there . . .



It's frosted with a lightly spiced frosting made from cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and both cinnamon and vanilla extracts.  If you can't get the cinnamon extract, just beat in half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.  Mine is from Star Kay White.

 

The frosting just adds that extra special touch to the gilding of this pumpkin . . . just like a fairy Godmother waved her magic wand over it, turning this pumpkin cake into something extraordinary!  It smells gorgeous when it is baking and it's a great keeper.  Stored in an airtight container it will keep for several days . . .  if you have it that long that is!  It comes Missionary approved!

*Cinderella's Pumpkin Cake*

Makes 16 servings  

Printable Recipe  

This is a wonderfully moist and delicious pumpkin cake.  Nicely spiced and iced!  

For the cake:

380g of sugar (2 cups)

4 large free range eggs

225ml of sunflower oil (1 cup)

280g of plain flour (2 cups)

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

400g of pumpkin puree (1 15-oz tin)

1 tsp vanilla  

For the icing:

115g of cream cheese (4 ounces)

115g of butter, softened (1/2 cup)

225g of icing sugar, sifted (2 cups)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon extract

fudge bits to decorate   

  

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.   Butter and lightly dust a 9 inch bundt pan with flour, shaking out any excess.  Set aside. 

Beat the sugar and eggs together until light.   Beat in the oil.  Sift together the dry ingredients.   Add to the egg mixture, combining it well.  Stir in the pumpkin, combining it in well.  Turn into the prepared baking tin, smoothing over the top. 

Bake for 55 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.   Allow to set in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Once it is completely cool, froze with the icing and decorate with the fudge bits.

To make the icing blend together all of the ingredients until smooth and creamy.   You may need to add more sugar.  I often do.   Frost the cake and sprinkle on the fudge bits before the icing sets.

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