Iced Choux Buns

There is nothing I love more than Choux, its my favourite of all pastries to work with and last week I made some iced choux buns for a going away party in work. I think everyone in work liked them aswell as the girls in Joanne's office so whilst I am looking after what I eat, I think I am finally able to make desserts for others now without tasting what I have just made. Trust me it takes alot of my will power and determination not to eat them.

Iced Choux with white chocolate ganache filling

Ingredients

Choux Pastry

¼ litre water

Pinch of salt & sugar

100g butter

125g strong flour (Orange label Odlums)

4 eggs

White choc Filling

400g of crème fraiche

360g of white chocolate

Chocolate Glaze

200g white fondant 

1–2 tsp water

Method

Choux Pastry

1) Bring the water, sugar and butter to the boil in a saucepan. Remove the heat.

2) Add the sieved flour and mix with a wooden spoon.

3) Return to the heat and stir continuously until the mixture comes away from the side of the pan.

4) Remove from the heat allow to cool for about 4-5mins. Pre heat the oven to 220c/200c Fan.

5) Gradually at the beaten eggs, mixing well. The mixture should be a dropping consistency.

6) Pipe into small rounds on a greased baking tray. If there is a peak on the choux buns, lightly dab with cold water, tapping down the peak.

7) Bake for 30 mins. Remove and allow to cool.

White Choc Ganache

1. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water.

2. Once melted remove from the heat , add the crème fraiche and bring together into a ganache.

3. Allow to set for at least 2 hours.

Poke a small hole in the botton of each choux bun and pipe in the ganache.

Glaze

In a wide saucepan over a low heat, gently warm the fondant to make it easier to work with. Stir in water until evenly combined. One at a time, dip the top of each choux into the mixture to glaze. Place on a board or rack and allow to set in the fridge before serving.

My baking classes are coming to you! *Updated with Robyn's Nest Classes*

A question I get asked alot is since the bake off ended is "what am I doing with myself?" well let me tell you here so you can keep up to date with my whereabouts :) Back in November I had a lovely Sunday afternoon chat with Ann Mc Namee of Kitchen Complements on South Anne Street, Dublin 2. Ann asked me would I happen to be interested in teaching some classes in her lovely shop, naturally I said yes because Kitchen Complements is my favourite shop to go in Dublin, and needless to say I was extremely honored to be asked. A few days later Ann asked would I like to take the reigns for some classes she had available. Naturally I jumped at the chance, I ended up teaching two very cool classes, the first one being choux pastry and meringue, the second being gingerbread houses. Both were a great opportunity for me to wet my feet in the baking teaching world. Along came another chat with Ann and Margaret, they wanted me to come up with a 4 week bread course, god I felt this is fantastic stuff so I set about devising a course that will run in February 2014. Here is the structure of what I came up with :

Bread course outline :

Week 1 - Easy Breads - Soda & Dried Yeast - 1st Feb

Basil & Black Olive Soda Bread

Irish Cheese Soda Bread

No Knead Yeast Bread

Zeeuwse Bolus - A Dutch breakfast bun

Week 2 - Fresh Yeast - 8th Feb

Dinner Rolls

Plaits - Challah

Braids

Knots

Week 3 - Sweet Breads - 15th Feb

"Koffiebroodjes" - Dutch coffee rolls

Salted Caramel Doughnuts

Pretzels

Week 4- Sourdough - 22nd Feb

Starting and maintaining your own sourdough starter.

Sourdough Vermont loaf

Sourdough cinnamon swirls with walnut filling and orange icing.

Learn how to knead, prove and bake breads from soda to sourdough. Begin the course with the Easy breads using soda and dried yeast, then fresh yeast, sweet  and sourdough breads on the following weeks  All the essentials here!  On completion of the course, we hope you'll never want to buy or eat sliced bread again, or be tempted to spend money on other people's specialty bread either! So get online or head in store to book it will be great fun.

You can find the course here : http://www.kitchencomplements.ie/kc/Main/Product.asp?iProductID=3789

Ok up next this one is for the lovely people of Munster. Just before Christmas a new girl joined us in work who happened to be working in Limerick for the past few years. She said one of her best Christmas parties was a trip to a cookery school out in Annacotty Limerick by the name of Recipe4Success. I checked out their site and gave them a call asking would they be interested in me popping out over Christmas to discuss doing some classes with them. Well on Christmas Eve I got to meet Shane & Nicola, two of the nicest people. Their setup is absolutely fantastic, such a great space and excellent variety of classes. So having spoke about what I could teach we agreed I would run two classes on the 8th of March the first being Macaron, Madeleines and Gateau Paris Brest. The second class would be bread in the afternoon. Both classes are hands on so I demonstrate and then you replicate, I could be some sort of poet or rapper with those lines. 

You can check out the course here:

http://www.recipe4success.ie/courses/upcoming-courses.129.html

Finally I am teaching in Robyn's Nest Cookery School on the 26th of February, where I show you how to make Macarons easy. I cant wait to work with the team at Robyn's Nest, they have a fantastic kitchen. So if you are interested just click the link below :

http://www.cookerycourses.ie/classes/?c_year=2014&c_month=2

That's the current plan I also have a demonstration coming up in Cavan in a secondary school which will be great craic, I will be teaching bread and eclairs. 

So there you have it, that's what I am doing with myself right now in the baking world which is still my hobby as I still work in my day job as a Data Manager, oh there is a wedding in Clonabreany to be organised aswell with my best friend and Fiancee Joanne. If you have any questions on any of my courses just leave a comment below or tweet me I always tweet back.

Thank you for reading as always,

Will

Week 2 - I survived week 1 & tomato soup recipe.

Inspiration for the coming week, The Clonabreany courtyard

Ok so week 1 of the dreaded Weight Watchers is done. I always find the first week the hardest because I really miss the junk I eat be it sweets or snacking on peanuts before dinner, and I am also quite cranky when I first start dieting which I was on a few occasions last week I will admit. For the first time though I am feeling quite upbeat about the whole diet thing maybe its because I have a goal in May of getting married. I am doing the Weight Watchers at home plan as I cannot afford to go to meetings, personally I think this works for me as I am very good with keeping myself in check when I am on a diet. I am weighing in officially every Monday and having weighed in this morning I have started well losing 10.4 pounds over the past week. Firstly as you can imagine I am chuffed with this start but bear in mind I know this figure is unrealistic for a number of reasons. The reason being is during the first week or so of Weight Watchers I tend to lose quite a bit of weight which I sometimes refer to as "fake weight". I call it such due to the fact such dramatic weight loss can be down to a number of factors, water weight loss, a shock to the system of being on a diet and or my glycogen levels going down. In fact weightwatchers.co.uk explains the following here:

Weight tends to be lost quickly at the start of a weight loss plan

During the first few weeks of losing weight, a quick drop in pounds is normal. When calories from food are reduced, the body gets the energy necessary by releasing its stores of glycogen (a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver). Glycogen naturally holds onto water, so when your glycogen stores are burned for energy, water is also released — about 4g of water for every 1g of glycogen — often resulting in substantial body weight loss that's mostly water.

Either way I am quite happy with the start it gives you a boost immediately when you begin setting yourself up for a long road ahead. I have exactly 28 pounds to lose before the 1st of May, a goal I am confident of reaching. Just to give you an indication of what my diet (below) is like and a typical day on Weight Watchers for me. First off due to my height and current weight I get quite a large Pro Points allowance getting a 57 points a day which equates to 2280 calories a day ( 1 point roughly equals 40 calories ). You also get an allowance of 49 points extra to eat throughout the week, I tend personally to steer clear of this allowance as I don't make use of it, and I also do not use activity points.

The below daily record is exactly what I am having today:

Before I start its worth stating you must drink I think 8 glasses of water a day but I drink water from the minute I wake up till I go to bed, it keeps you full for longer and aids digestion.

Breakfast

100g muesli

100ml of milk - low fat

250ml of orange juice

Mug of coffee  - 1 sugar and dash of milk

Mid Morning

1 normal sized yogurt - Aldi's Dunneen range

1 Apple ( I am currently eating Cornelius Traas amazing Elstars, check him out here)

Lunch

500ml of my own tomato soup which is detailed below for the recipe

1 tortilla filled with 100g of lean ham, lettuce, onions and peppers. 

Mid Afternoon

100g of my own soda bread with 10ml of flora ( basically those small packets you get in cafes)

Small coffee - 1 sugar and dash of slimline milk (its what they have in work)

1 orange - I am currently eating the gorgeous Ripoll oranges check them out here.

Dinner

Large serving of Joanne's stew which contains no fat or oil using very lean beef.

200g of potatoes

250ml of orange juice

Post dinner treat

Mug of tea - 1 sugar and dash of milk

2 pink and white wafers - these are great when on a diet as they are only 40 calories / 1 point per wafer.

All of the above equates to my daily allowance of 57 points. When I get to my desired weight that will go down a bit but right now I am not hungry one bit. 

Now for my tomato soup recipe its quite simple yet tasty and contains very little calories.

Ingredients:

4 celery stalks , cleaned and peeled of stringy outside.

6 plum tomatoes

2 small onions 

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 dessertspoon of tomato puree

2 large carrots, washed and peeled.

200ml of water

1 vegetable stock cube

1/2 tsp of oregano 

Salt and pepper

Couple sprays of low calorie oil spray

Method:

1) Roughly chop all the vegetable and fry for 3 minutes on a medium heat.

2) Add a crumbled stock cube, tomato puree, oregano and can of tomatoes, giving a mix.

3) Add 200ml of water and season bringing to the boil. Once at the boil reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes.

4) Blend and season, serve.

If you are doing Weight Watchers let me know I would love to hear about it. Finally before I go here is an excellent site by Skinny Doll, it details her weight loss journey and is a fantastic resource for Weight Watchers as she pointed so much.

http://theskinnydollsjourney.blogspot.ie/

Thanks for reading my ramblings as always.

Will

The countdown begins today to May 2014

After month's of excess especially in the festive month of December it is time to get back to some sort of fitness and lose those extra pounds I have accumulated since the Bake Off in May of last year.  Thankfully I have a goal to aim for because in May of this year I am getting married to Joanne exactly 1 year on from last year's final in Clonabreany House and we both cannot wait for the big day. In preparation however and to make sure I fit in to my suit I need to drop some weight. I have 5 months to get in shape and I am turning to my favoured method of weight loss, good ol Weight Watchers. I have tried all means of losing weight in the past but I find I always come back to Weight Watchers. My original diet in 2009 when I lost nearly 12st is not sustainable whilst working as I went to the gym 7 days a week and sometimes twice a day but I was not employed at the time following my redundancy from Dell. Now though I find Weight Watchers gives me the right balance whilst working and not going to the gym as I simply cannot afford to go . Yes it means counting points on a daily basis but I like the rigidity of having to stick to a certain number. Plus you can eat what you like as long as you point it, so that allows me to eat all my favourites be it cakes, chocolate and breads but in proportion. It is onwards and upwards after today until May, so what I hope to do is like before bring you some Weight Watcher treats for you to enjoy, my previous ones can be found here:

http://www.thecooksbelly.com/p/weight-watcher-recipes.html

As you can see there are only 3 posts, as I started my last weight loss campaign in August and it did not last very long as a result of the Great Irish Bake Off launch party in the Merrion hotel in September, which sounded the death knell of weight loss until now some 5 months later. I have 2.5 stone to shift so stay tuned to my blog to see how I get on. I am generally fairly good with weight loss, just about as good as putting it on though. Between my original weight loss in 2009 and subsequent weight loss in 2012 during my last get fit campaign I have in total lost 14.5st or in baking terms thats 92 kilos of sugar or 202 blocks of Kerrygold butter. I will post up my weight loss each week to keep me on the straight and narrow primarily because I do Weight Watchers from home, I don't have the balls to attend classes. Its funny in a way, I can go on TV but cannot weigh myself in public. 

Also whilst you are here reading my ramblings check out KitchenComplements for my bread course in February you can find all the details here:

http://www.thecooksbelly.com/2013/12/bread-making-course.html

So are you on a health kick this new year? do you have any good recipes for Weight Watchers let me know I would love to hear about them by leaving a comment below:

Thanks for reading today, 

Will

Bourbon Egg Nog

Oh my word this is the first time I have made eggnog and its all kinds of yum. This drink is like nectar of the god for a custard fanatic, its very much like a spicy boozed up custard drink.. GLORIOUS. Before I give you the recipe Homer Simpson summed up how good egg nog really is, enjoy my friends!

Marge: Homer, didn't you get any milk? All I see is egg nog.

Homer: 'Tis the season, Marge! We only get thirty sweet noggy days.

Then the government takes it away again. [pours some on his

cereal]

Lisa: [chokes on her cereal] I think I'm having chest pains.

Egg Nog ( courtesy of Alton Brown )

4 egg yolks

43g sugar, plus 1 tablespoon

500ml whole milk

230ml heavy cream

85ml ounces bourbon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 egg whites

Method

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 43g sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and gradually add the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 75c degrees. 
3. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Will

Rye & Raisin Cookies - Courtesy of Dan Lepard

These cookies are my new favourite and they come courtesy of Mr Dan Lepard the judge of the Great Australian Bake Off and resident food writer for the Guardian. Dan's food and baking recipes are my favourite to read and I especially love his book "Short & Sweet", its one of the best books I have got this year. Also if you have not seen the Great Australian Bake Off then you need to check it out on Youtube, its my personal favourite of all the bake off incarnations. I know you are gonna love these cookies, they are truly scrumptious.

*Picture courtesy of Foodie Bugle

Ingredients Makes about 15.

125g butter

125g soft brown sugar

125g caster sugar

2 tbsp cocoa

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg white

150g rye flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250g raisins

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. 
2. Using an electric mixer, whisk the butter, sugars, cocoa and vanilla with the egg white until smooth and fluffy, then switch to a wooden spoon and beat in the flour and bicarbonate of soda until thoroughly mixed in.
3. Stir in the raisins, then roll the mixture into lumps slightly smaller than a golf ball, weighing around 50g each.
4. Sit the cookie balls about 8cm-10cm apart on a lightly buttered baking sheet - you may have to do this in batches - and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the raisins puff and pop through the sugary crust of each cookie.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for around five minutes, then gently twist off each cookie and place on a cooling rack while you bake the remaining batch.

BREAD MAKING COURSE

BREAD MAKING COURSE (4 Hands On Classes) with Will de Korte SATURDAYS 1st February - 22nd February | 11am - 1pm Join Will de Korte for this hands on 4 class Bread Making Course. Whether you are new to bread making,  or even if you have been working from the books for some time, there is plenty to learn from Will's techniques.  Lots of individual attention but all of it good fun! Maximum 12 places. This bread making skills course is not to be missed! Learn how to knead, prove and bake breads from soda to sourdough. Begin the course with the Easy breads using soda and dried yeast, then fresh yeast, sweet  and sourdough breads on the following weeks  All the essentials here!  On completion of the course, we hope you'll never want to buy or eat sliced bread again, or be tempted to spend money on other people's specialty bread either! Week 1 (1st February) - Easy Breads - Soda & Dried Yeast Basil & Black Olive Soda Bread, Irish Cheese Soda Bread, No Knead Yeast Bread, Zeeuwse Bolus - A Dutch breakfast bun Week 2 (8th February) - Fresh Yeast Dinner Rolls,  Plaits - Challah, Braids, Knots  Week 3 (15th February) - Sweet Breads"Koffiebroodjes" - Dutch coffee rolls, Salted Caramel Doughnuts, Pretzels Week 4 (22nd February Sourdough Starting and maintaining your own sourdough starter, Sourdough Vermont loaf, Sourdough cinnamon swirls with walnut filling and orange icing. Will de Korte was a finalist in TV3's The Great Irish Bake Off.  His passion for baking shows from other classes he conducted at Kitchen Complements.  He says baking is in his blood, stemming from his Dutch father who is a confectioner and grandfather who was a Baker.  However, his mother was his baking mentor! His favourite thing to bake is bread and believes kneading dough is the ultimate stress release. Bread is one of the oldest eaten foods and Will believes anyone can do it. Book  Here

Farmgate Cafe - English Market - Cork City

That picture above fills me with great joy because for me that's one of the nicest shepherds pies I have eaten in this country. This weekend myself and Joanne were staying in Kinsale at the Blue Haven which I will be reviewing over the coming days. However when you mention Cork to Joanne or me we both know within an instant where we will be eating lunch that day. Farmgate is one of those places we always return to and it just so happens that it is in the English Market, which is excellent in itself. There is so much good food on sale there, I would go as far to say its my most favourite thing about Cork,  even the Queen of England loves it!

I love Farmgate though, its always packed with diners and has such a lovely buzz about the place. In fact knowing its always packed we made sure to book a table this time round which turned out to be a very wise stroke on our behalf. I also inquired was the shepherds pie on the menu as we had been down in Cork in the summer and it wasn't on the menu at the time, to say I was sulky after that would be an understatement. Now for the pie itself, fluffy mash and delish mince, its heavenly eating. Looking around at other diners their meals also looked fantastic, and part of me wishes I was in Cork more often as I would try all of their other dishes. I cannot stress how much you should go here, their food is incredible.

Check them out here:

https://www.facebook.com/FarmgateCafeCork?fref=ts

http://www.farmgate.ie/corkhome.htm

https://twitter.com/farmgatecafe

Thank you reading,

Will

My Chocolate Fondants

I am in love with chocolate fondants, they always look and taste incredible but up until last week I had never even attempted making them. Guess what they are absolutely easy to make especially with the recipe below.

Ingredients (adapted from Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman)

114g butter, more for greasing
114g 70% chocolate
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
50g sugar
2 teaspoons flour

Method

1. Grease and lightly flour 4x120ml dariole moulds and tap out the flour.
2. In a bowl set over simmering water, heat the butter and chocolate together until completely melted. 
3. Beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar with a whisk or electric beater until it leaves a trail in the mixture.
4. Whisk together the melted chocolate and butter, it will be quite warm. 
5. Pour in the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour, until combined.
6. Divide the batter into the molds. Refrigerate for 20 mins.
7. Preheat the oven to 230c/210c Fan/450°F and bake the molds on a tray for 8 minutes. The centre will be quite soft, but the sides will be set.
8. To remove the cakes, put a dessert plate on top of each ramekin and then flip the plate over, inverting the ramekin onto the plate. Let sit for about 10 seconds to loosen, the cake will fall out onto the plate.
9. Serve with some ice cream or whipped cream.

Thanks for reading,

Will

My Deep Filled Almond Crumble Mince Pies

Yesterday evening I decided to make some mince pies in practice for a class I am teaching in a few weeks. This recipe is an amalgamation of something I saw over on the BBC Goodfood site. I would love to say they taste lovely but I am on a diet and couldn't taste them, which for me was like torture as I love mince pies, they are my favourite. Least the smell last night in our apartment was amazing :)

Makes 12 

Ingredients

Pastry

200g very cold butter, cubed

400g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

100g ground almonds

100g golden caster sugar

zest 2 oranges

2-3tbsp of milk

Filling 

400g of good mincemeat

For the crumble topping

25g ground almonds

25g flaked almonds

pinch ground cinnamon

25g unsalted butter, melted

25g soft light brown sugar

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4
2. Mix the butter, flour and ground almonds in a food processor until the butter has disappeared. 
3. Add in the sugar and the orange zest. Add the milk a tbsp at a time and keep blitzing until a rough dough comes together. 
4. Turn out on to a surface, press together and shape into a disc, kneading to bring together. 
5. Chill for 30 mins.
6. Roll out the dough to about 5mm thick between two sheets of greaseproof. Using an 8cm cutter, stamp out 12 circles and use to line the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin.
7. For the topping, combine the crumble ingredients in a small bowl, then sprinkle a little over the top of each mince pie. 
8. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 25 mins until the pastry is cooked and golden brown. 
9. Cool in the tins for 5 mins, then serve with brandy butter or crème fraîche.

Thanks for reading,

Will