September 2014 – Phil's Home Kitchen

Tips for making & decorating cakes

I’m a firm believer that cake should be enjoyed without any hint of guilt whatsover.

This post gives key tips for making several types of cake successfully, along with recipes for cakes and icings, troubleshooting and general ideas for decorating. I have also given the quantities needed to make a Victoria Sandwich cake for different sized tins. Continue reading “Tips for making & decorating cakes”

Gluten-free choux pastry: mini BLT éclairs

These are great gluten-free mini bakes that highlight the fact that gluten-free food need not have the texture and flavour of cardboard or be at all boring! And these were quick to make, with a batch ready to be eaten within 1 hour. Continue reading “Gluten-free choux pastry: mini BLT éclairs”

The quickest & easiest croissants: 20-minute lamination!

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Quicker croissants: 20-minute lamination!

A batch of traditionally made croissants can take the best part of a weekend with all the resting and chilling in between the turns and at other stages.

Don’t get me wrong, making croissants this way is one of the top baking pleasures for me, but there are certainly times when effective shortcuts are called for. And this shortcut is certainly effective in that it gives excellent results and is easier to achieve than traditional croissants. Continue reading “The quickest & easiest croissants: 20-minute lamination!”

Kouign-amann pastries

This is my version of this buttery, caramelised pastry, Kouign-amann: roughly pronounced “queen ah-marn”. Oh, and these really are truly buttery and flaky, with a nice salty kick and terrific caramelisation all over. Continue reading “Kouign-amann pastries”

Coffee, pecan & salted caramel truffle torte

This incredibly indulgent treat is my take on a marvellous cake I ate at a patisserie on holiday ages ago and as soon as I got home I set out to try to recreate its flavours and textures. Continue reading “Coffee, pecan & salted caramel truffle torte”