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    Salted chocolate, hazelnut & Rye cookies

    There’s something about these, the toasted hazelnut and dark chocolate is just…. yum. The rye flour is a lovely flavour, and texture becomes almost fudgey… but it could be made more so, I’m sure.  A little white flour in place of some rye, perhaps, a touch more butter even, which may even help them to relax into a less golf ball shape. I’m rather taken with them… Ugly though they are. However, I’ve thrown this batch out and didn’t think twice about it.  The salt is just too much. It needs halving, at least.  Tempted to try again tomorrow… From…

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    Kanelbulle

    This is a good recipe, a better one than the Scandilicious, results in softer buns which I’ve often regretted about the scandelicious buns. I did a combination cinnamon and cardamom bun, as Stockholm last week had me convinced that they work well together. The cardamom syrup brushed on at the end is lovely, resulting in a glossy, sticky finish. The technique for forming the bun is very good, a further note would be to wrap the last bit of the dough strip over the top before tucking it under. This produces that lovely band that is so distinctive rather than…

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    Roast miso vegetables and sea bass

    Mix white miso with sesame oil and olive oil, baste the aubergine slices with the mixture on both sides and place in a hot 220c fan oven, flipping over after 10-15 minutes, and continuing the other side for 10 more minutes.

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    Slow cooked beans with sausage

    Ended up making this without sausages, and it doesn’t even need them. Like the nicest baked beans, in a Mediterranean style, imaginable.  Would love to try with sausage, or pork belly, and certainly with non-canned beans (I used cannellini on this occasion), but honestly this was excellent on its own, and could be an accompaniment  but to almost anything. From Taverna pg. 176

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    Sweet, tender butter cake

    Wonderful, soft, flavoursome cake. Reduced sugar to 100g and I think that’s correct. Used fresh blueberries on top, which worked, but is not attractive and you could go on other directions. When warm this is almost pudding like. Really great, worth more attendion. Pg. 9, Baking Bible

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    Baked Vegetables with eggs

    Allow me to summarise… 190c. Chunky wet things in from the start, season and oil. Thin, less chunky things in after 30 minutes for 8 more, then crack over some eggs and put it back in for a final 8 minutes. Very good. The eggs bring this together. From From the Oven to the Table, pg. 140

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    Fairy Cakes

    Love this recipe from Peyton & Byrne, it results in cloud soft, moist, flavoursome cakes. However as written in my oven it gives them a bit of an exterior crisp that just won’t do. In an effort to remove this I’ve resolved to identify the cause and refine the instructions. There are three variables that could affect this. 1. Amount of sugar 2. Temperature of oven 3. Position of cupcakes in the oven On this occasion I used the following… 165c 160g sugar Second from bottom shelf position In the size of muffin tin I have this makes 8 cakes,…

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    Prawn Bouillabaisse

    Simple and reliable. Using celery rather than fennel, fennel would be magic. Feel that you could stew a touch longer to get a deeper flavour, and you can afford to be generous with the saffron here, the prawns and tomatoes working beautifully with the saffron’s fragrance. From 3 2 1, pg. 204