Yesterday was Lancashire Day, a fact I wouldn’t have known had it not been for Suzie of Suzie Speaks / SundayBlogShare fame announcing it on Twitter and the subsequent lighthearted disagreement over whether it was a chip barm or chip butty and who was on the wrong side of the Pennines!
So what better way to rebel and pledge allegiance to the correct side of them there ‘ills and my Yorkshire roots than to bake a traditional Yorkshire Curd Tart for Monday Munchies?
Okay, so I should be making Bakewell Tart to continue my Bake-Off challenges, but I have to say that since I fell so far behind and the world now knows that lipstick is a showstopper, I’ve lost a bit of interest. But I will get around to it, promise!
This week though, Sam sent me a text asking if we could bake this weekend. We? Okay, there’s an ‘I’ in baking but generally no ‘we’, so I was intrigued as to his motives!
Turns out his Beer Box had arrived (he collects consumes craft beers) and there was one contained that had a recipe for a very moreish treat!
Caramel or ‘Millionaire’s’ Shortbread is delish and is one of those snacks I shouldn’t be left alone with. But I’ve never made every element from scratch. With beer. So no time like the present – time for some Monday Munchies Millionaires!
Bread scares me. Not the finished article, I don’t have an irrational fear of a crusty baguette. But the making of it fills me with bread dread. Kneading is not my forte and the time required to prove this, prove that, prove you’re a good enough baker…Â *Sigh*.
Which explains to some extent why I’ve fallen very behind in my Bake Off Challenge bake-along. I’ve been dodging week 3: Bread Week.Â
So I thought I’d double up and do two week’s worth in one go for Monday Munchies.Â
And don’t you just love the title? I do. Except it’s a lie as I didn’t make brioche. And yes I know it’s ‘Binoche’ but the former worked better. It does have chocolate in it though!
And the battered part? Well, that covers week 4 – a first for Bake Off with Batter Week. I am definitely earning my bread and batter… (sorry).
Hi all!
So, week 2 of the Great British Bake Off was BISCUIT WEEK (remember I said I’m attempting to bake along with them?). The basic challenge called for 24 identical biscuits of your choice. Well, seeing as I’d made cookies not that long ago on here, I decided to skip this one (I have the right to pick and choose!)
The technical task however, called for something I’d never made and wasn’t even sure I liked: Viennese Whirls. When I think of them, I’m reminded of biscuit boxes you get at Christmas – not the good ones with a nice, solid chocolate digestive inside. No, Viennese Whirls to me are prissy biscuits, that come sitting in their own little doilies, coated in far too much sugar. I’m not even sure these fussy creations were VWs but the image has stuck.
But… I’ve committed myself to this ridiculousness and so bake them I did. Kind of…
Hello everyone! Well, here I am back with a Monday Munchies post (albeit late – work was a ‘mare!) and as I said yesterday, I’ve decided to attempt the challenges set this year in the Great British Bake Off. Why? It’s the closest I can get to being in the tent…
If you’re not familiar with the show that is (now) a British institution (even if that other institution, the BBC, has now lost the rights to it), 10-12 amateur bakers are put through their paces each week, with three challenges set around a theme. Under the watchful eyes of professionals Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, contestants show off their baking prowess, whist trying to get to the final to win…erm… a golden whisk? (I actually don’t know what they win!)
Paul is hard to please (I can’t decide if he’s quite dishy…nice eyes, beard a little too perfect for my liking), but once you’ve impressed him, he seems to stay on your side. Mary…well, just infuse your creations with any alcohol and you’re in with a chance!
Oh and don’t forget the minefield of innuendos, thrown about by the presenters, Mel and Sue. I’m sure, back when it first aired, the mention of ‘soggy bottoms’ and ‘teasing it until it stiffens’ were quite innocent remarks but it seems this is now part of the game and if you’ve not uttered at least one during the hour, you should hang your apron up in shame.
Aloada Bobbins 