Pork Pies

Tags

GBBO, Great British Bake Off, hot water pastry, Pork pie, Seasoning pork pies, Tea Time Treats

I am sure I am not the only fan of the Great British Bake Off that sits there thinking “I could do that!”, sometimes accompanied by incredulous shouting at the television. I’m equally sure I’m not the only one to daydream about appearing on the show. Well, that may never happen, but I can certainly set myself some of the challenges that the competitors have faced or may face in the future. So it was that I decided to try my hand at Pork Pies.

There are two main challenges here, apart from the stamina and dedication required to complete the many stages of the recipe!

Portuguese Custard Tarts

Tags

custard tarts, natas, Pastel de nata, Tea Time Treats

These Portuguese Custard Tarts, or Pasteis de Nata, are often referred to simply as Natas. There is no denying that they are quite time consuming and fiddly to make, but the end result is delicious. The way the pastry is worked and rolled makes it especially flaky, and some of the cases end up with attractive spirals in them. The custard is not too rich, and is delicately flavoured with cinnamon, lemon and vanilla.

Three Kinds of Saffron Bread (Pane allo Zafferano)

Tags

cornish, cornovaglia, cornwall, Fresh from the oven, Lussekatter, pane, panini, saffron buns, saffron loaf, scandinavian, zafferano

Nota per lettori italiani/e: troverete una versione italiana della ricetta alla fine del post.

Saffron buns are a speciality of one of my favourite places in the whole world, namely Cornwall, so when I saw that they were the subject of this month’s challenge for Fresh from the Oven, I just had to have a go at making them. As is my way, I interpreted the brief a little loosely, and made a loaf as well as the buns. What’s more, as you will discover, I got a bit carried away and made a rather exotic variation on the theme as well.