The Panettone.

It's that time of year again! The only time of year that I buy a panettone. I know the supermarkets already do a pretty good job of these Italian fruit bread things, but this year I thought I'd give it a go for myself. It is quite involved, but worth it! The dough needs to chill over night, as well as prove for 2-3 hours the next day. The recipe also asks for 5 eggs! I found the dough didn't quite rise enough, so it may seem a little stunted. 

The panettone also has a nice little story behind it. This particular fruit bread was created by a Milanese baker, trying to tempt and win the heart of a woman who often walked past his bakery. So there you have it! That is how the panettone, or pan de toni (or less romantically, Tony's bread), came into being.

It's probably best eaten within the first couple of days - unless you have a panettone-sized storage tin lurking in your cupboard to make it last a bit longer.  And of course it's a Paul Hollywood recipe - thought it would be a good one, seeing as he is a bit of bread expert. 

Merry Christmas one and all. Have a slice of Tony's bread on me :D

Christmas Special: Speculaas Engelen.

Oh hello! Let me introduce myself, I'm Anisah and I like to bake. The reason I say this is because I haven't done a blog post in a million years! I apologise! But don't worry, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth (not that you've missed me...teehee). So after all this time, I've decided to bake something Christmas-sy for you. Enjoy :D

I've made Christmas cake, I've made mince pies (these may feature on the blog at a later date), but I wanted to make something a little bit different today. Speculaas! Speculaas is a spiced biscuit from the Netherlands, often given as a gift at this time of year. When I was young, we always had a mini celebration of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas Day) on the 5th and 6th December. My Mum is Dutch, so it was just something we did (and probably a good way of keeping us quiet in those weeks before Christmas). Any excuse for more food and presents I suppose!

I used the recipe from the BBC food website. I also bought a lovely copper angel biscuit cutter recently- so I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to use it (hence the speculaas engelen).

Please note...I don't normally post photos of myself, but I just wanted to show off my Christmas jumper and all that. Anyway, hopefully a couple more posts may appear in the next couple of weeks. Merry Christmas :D x

Sweethearts.

Hello hello! Still here! Wishing you all a happy and healthy (!!!) 2014.

I was meaning to post over Christmas and New Year with an idea for some Christmas tree decorations, but time ran away with me! So instead, in the spirit of Valentine's day, I decided to make something a little bit different. Using the Paul Hollywood shortbread recipe , a heart-shaped biscuit cutter and a few boiled sweets, this is what you can do...

N.B. Bake for 10 minutes, add the boiled sweets, then bake for a further 10-15 minutes.

 

Made with love (and a hammer)

 :) xxo