Rhubarb and Custard Tarts

Today was a lesson in how to not transport cakes.  After lovingly baking a batch of tarts, I stupidly put the tin into a carrier bag and forgot to check that the tin was flat when I picked the bag up.  Consequently, when I realised my mistake, the tin was already full of sloppy rhubarb curd.

Let me take you back a few steps.  One of my colleagues is a massive fan of my rhubarb and custard cupcakes.  I came up with the recipe long before the Hummingbird Bakery published the recipe in 'Cake Days'.  I'm sure it features in many other books as it's such a classic combination.  I fill mine with a spiced rhubarb centre and then top with custard buttercream.  P is intrigued as to how I achieve the hidden middle.  He's quite intelligent but he really can't work out how I do it.  At first I thought he was joking when he asked, but he's asked so many times now that I know he's truly curious.

P is also a huge fan of custard tarts.  Whenever he brings in cakes to work, he'll always ensure that 50% of the batch are custard tarts.  I had never eaten one until recently as I really didn't think I would like the cold custard thing but I was pleasently surprised.

So when I happened across this recipe, I knew I had to make them for him.  I made the curd last week when another friend gave me a batch of rhubarb.  If I'm honest, I was a little disappointed as the curd took away a lot of the sharp tang of the rhubarb which I love.  It was also a bit 'eggier' than some of the citrus curds I've made in the past - this may have been my mistake in cooking it.  If (or when) I do this again, I'd probably make a rhubarb jam instead.


The rest of the pie is based on a Dan Lepard recipe.  I used up the rest of the beautiful pastry I made for the Botswanan Chicken Pie I made for the Olympic Food Challenge and the custard is also a Dan recipe.  I loved the idea of putting a cupcake case into the pastry cases to hold the beans for blind baking.  And I was happy that the pastry came out of the tin far easier than when I made Thomasina Miers' mince pies at Christmas.  I have to experiment now as I'm not sure if it was the blind baking that made them come out more easily or if the pastry I made at Christmas was a bit rubbish.

Oops!

Anyhow, when it came to baking the custard part, the blogger (Ms North) recommended filling them half full with custard to leave room for the topping.  I found that on baking the custard had decreased in volume somewhat - whether it was because it settled or dried out a little I'm not sure.  I'd definitely recommend going for two-thirds custard to one third rhubarb.  Plus it means you won't have so much spare custard to force yourself to eat!

The overall flavour was good with the orange complimenting the rhubarb nicely, but as I said it was just a tad too sweet for me with the custard and the curd.  But that's just personal preference.  The pastry was lovely and crisp on the one that I'd saved to test and photograph - it was also the worst looking pie before the disaster.

I would also recommend making them and serving them straight away.  After being in a tin all day, the pastry had gone soggy - I'm guessing from the dampness from the curd.

You can find the original recipe here.

Olympic Food Challenge: Botswanan Chicken Pie - Botswana

With four competitors in two disciplines at the main London 2012 Olympics, Botswana managed to gain a silver medal in the Men's 800m.  Unfortunately, Botswana had to pull its team from the 2012 Paralympics due to financial irregularities in their Olympic Committee.

Moving swiftly on to the food (sorry for the short post), Botswana has its own unique cuisine, but is also influenced by its neighbouring countries.  Having already made Pap and Chakkalakka (just because I liked the name) when I did Lesotho, and lacking a three-legged iron pot (commonly used for cooking), I plumped for Botswanan Chicken Pie as chicken cooked for a guest shows special hospitality.

Mmmmm....pie....

Sadly I had no guests and I was just cooking for myself.  The appeal in this recipe was that it was for individual pasty-style pies so I could make just one.  I must confess I cheated a little as I was trying to hone my pastry making skills which leave a lot to be desired (see the Apple and Rhubarb Pie and Quiche Lorraine trials) and so I'd a piece of Dan Lepard's Shortcrust Pastry lurking in my fridge instead of the pastry recommended by the recipe.

Whenever I make pastry, it's too short and consequently crumbles everywhere.  As a last resort, I put my faith into Dan.  This is the best pastry ever.  He recommends using half butter and half lard.  I didn't have any lard so went with the 'you can use all butter' caveat and it turned out to be the tastiest, butteriest pastry I have ever had the pleasure to eat.  I expected nothing less and yet again, Short and Sweet delivered.  Miss A even now refers to Short and Sweet as 'Mummy's favourite recipe book' even though I have never uttered these words in her presence.  I'm pleased her two-year-old mind is capable of forming such opinions already.

As for the pie filling - it's a mix of chicken, apple, onion, tomato and currants.  If it wasn't for the OFC, I never would've tried the sweet and savoury thing.  But I was amazed at how much I enjoyed it.  It just worked.  The recipe mentions the filling as being a little dry so I roasted a chicken breast at 190c fan for 17 minutes so it was barely cooked.  I immediately chopped this and popped it into the pan to fry, thus finishing the cooking and stopping it from being too dry in the finished product.

Do try these. My picture is a bit rubbish as I wanted you to see the filling of the pasty and the crisp pastry meant it shattered perfectly, but wasn't very photogenic!

You can find the recipe for the pie here and watch Dan making one of his shortcrust pastry recipes here although I used his basic eggless pastry from Short and Sweet.

Lorraine Pascale's Quiche Lorraine

This wonderful hot weather just screams out for summer food.  I'm struggling to get my head round the fact that it's too warm to still be wearing opaque tights and that my feet are in desperate need of a pedicure so I can wear flip-flops.  I planned my recipes last week without much consideration for the weather forecast and so have been faffing around trying to switch to recipes more suited to the heat.

Egg Cracker in Chief, whisking the filling.

At about 10am this morning, I suddenly started craving quiche.  Most specifically, my grandma's quiche Lorraine.  She'd always make it for dinner in this weather with a nice crunchy salad.  Except I never learned her recipe from her and it's another thing that makes me more than a little bit sad that I didn't pay more attention when I was younger.

I remember the look - deep filled with chunks of rose-pink ham or bacon and mottled with golden brown toasted cheese on the top; the taste - salty with the sweet taste of soft onions; the texture - firm with the right amount of wobble and melt in the mouth pastry.  But I wouldn't know how to recreate it if my life depended on it.

The only time I've tried to make a quiche before, I proudly stepped back from the oven, baking tray in hand; tripped over one of the dogs and before I knew it, my beautiful leek and feta quiche had been inhaled by my spaniel.  I swear he put the dachshund up to it!

As Lorraine Pascale was sat on my desk (not literally - I was working from home and I'd been leafing through Baking Made Easy at my computer last night), I decided to give her quiche Lorraine a go.  She uses creme fraiche rather than milk and cream for the filling so this gave me the opportunity to eliminate a few calories by going for the half fat version.  She also doesn't use cheese, which is interesting.  A little research revealed that despite all of the BBC Good Food recipes using cheese, the original quiche Lorraine didn't have cheese in it.

Badly patched pastry. I need more practice.

I made my own pastry using Lorraine's recipe.  I've still not cracked pastry making as it was too crumbly. My mum tells me that I make really good shortcrust pastry and it's always nice and short; but I never manage to get that beautiful perfect edge to it as it always breaks off round the edges when I try to put it in the tin.  Maybe I just needed a smidgen of water?

Pascale also uses two egg yolks in the pastry.  And if I'm honest, I didn't like the eggy taste to the pastry when it was cooked on its own in isolation (I rescued a couple of broken edge pieces from the oven).  But it tasted good once assembled.  Likewise, the egg mixture tasted really bland on its own but it worked with the salt-sweet bacon and onion filling.  Because I didn't have quite enough creme fraiche (the recipe uses 430g, I had 300g) I used some Greek yogurt which seemed to make no difference. This had the added benefit of further reducing the calories. Something I cancelled out when I wimped out and added 50g of cheese - half parmesan, half double Gloucester - to the mix.  My flan tin is probably only 2cm deep so I didn't end up using all the egg mixture to fill the case.

I was a little worried that I'd end up with an eggy mess because not only did my pastry start cracking once it was baked blind, I'd also pricked the bottom of the case.  My mum has always instilled the need to do this in me to stop the pastry from puffing up.  I didn't think until after I'd merrily pricked a pretty pattern into the base of the case that the egg might run out everywhere.  Thankfully, with the creme fraiche and yogurt, it was a pretty thick mixture so it stayed put.  And my bottom wasn't soggy.

Rustic looking quiche - is quiche peasant food?

The final result was a really pale looking pie and if I'm honest it looked really unappealing.  After then going out for a run, it looked even less appetising when I came home.  Which is a shame as the flavours are beautiful.  It would look great on a plate with a vibrant coloured salad, but just as a quiche on its own, it's really pale and sad looking.  Of course, that's the traditional look, but if I was really going for my grandmother's style, I'd sprinkle cheese over the top next time.

Definitely one that will evolve to become my own recipe over time.  I just need to remember to be a bit more vigilant checking for bits of shell when my helper is doing egg cracking :)

You can find the original recipe here.  This is my adaptation of it.

Serves 8–10

For the pastry

• 250g plain flour
• 125g cold butter, cubed
• 2 egg yolks
• pinch of salt

1. Rub the butter into the flour in a large bowl until it resembles bread crumbs.  Add the salt.
2. Add the two egg yolks and bring the mixture together to form a firm dough.  Add a tiny splash of chilled water if it seems too dry.
3. Pat to a flat circle about 2cm thick and place in the fridge for thirty minutes.
4. Remove from the fridge for five minutes and use for the recipe below.

For the Quiche

• 1 quantity of pastry using the above recipe or 500g of shop bought short crust pastry
• 1–2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion peeled and finely diced
• 4 rashers of thick cut smoked back bacon diced
• 300ml half fat crème fraîche
• 150ml Greek yogurt (I used full fat in mine as it was all I had but I'd try with low fat next time)
• 25g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 25g Double Gloucester cheese, grated
• 4 eggs lightly beaten
• Freshly ground black pepper

23cm fluted flan dish or tin about 3.5cm deep

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170C fan gas 5.
2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to just under the thickness of a £1 coin. Lower the pastry into the tin or dish and ease down into the sides and corners.
3. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or until firm. (oops, I forgot this bit!)
4. Once the pastry is firm, remove it from the fridge and trim the edges: using a sharp knife, cut off the excess pastry around the top of the tin then run a small sharp knife around the edge between the pastry and the tin to loosen slightly.
5. Take a piece of baking paper slightly larger than the tart and scrunch it up, then unscrunch it and line the tart with it, taking it right up the sides. Fill it with baking beans or dried beans and ‘blind bake’ in the oven for 20 minutes, until the edges are light brown and the base is dry to the touch. Remove the baking beans and paper from the pastry case, then return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Turn the oven down to 150°C /130C fan/gas mark 2.
6. The filling can be prepared while the pastry is baking. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a low heat, add the onion and fry until soft and translucent with no colour. This can take a good 15 minutes. If the onion looks as if it is drying out, just add a splash of water water.
7. Add the bacon to the pan, turn up the heat slightly and cook for 5–6 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to the base of the flan dish.  Sprinkle the cheese over.
8. Place the flan dish on a flat baking tray. Whisk the crème fraîche and the eggs together gently in a large bowl, then season with pepper. You will not need any salt as the bacon and chese is already very salty.  Pour the mixture into a jug.
9. Slide the baking tray into the oven, pull the oven shelf the tray is on out slightly and pour the egg mixture into the case.  This stops you spilling it trying to get a full flan case into the oven.
10. Bake in the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the filling no longer wobbles.
11. Good to eat hot but best eaten cold, giving the mixture a chance to settle. Kept in the fridge it tastes even better the next day (apparently - I'll find out at tomorrow teatime).

Dan Lepard's Spelt Rough Puff Pastry

When does someone else's recipe become yours?  I often ponder this question when I make 'my' chicken pie.  Because I learned the recipe from my ex.  And he got really miffed one day when I referred to it as my chicken pie.  That was ten years ago.  I'm not sure I've made any significant changes to the recipe until today but is it now my chicken pie.  Or is it his?  Or is it half Dan Lepard's because I made his rough puff to top it with whereas I'd normally use shop-bought.  Just some random pondering.

Lots of butter and a touch of flour

Anyway, today, I decided to tackle the black art of pastry making.  Shop-bought pastry is pretty good and consistent so why go to the trouble of making your own?  Now I've mastered shortcrust, I wouldn't buy shop bought again, but is it worth the time faff that goes into making puff and filo?  Well I don't think I would ever have the time and the patience to make my own filo like the amazing Lauren of Around the World In Eighty Bakes.  But having tried so many successful recipes from Short and Sweet, I felt confident that I could have a good go at it.

It's beginning to look a lot like pastry

And it's pretty simple, all told.  Except for the rolling bit.  You need big muscles for that when you do the first roll after each chilling.  But other than it taking a bit of time, it was a really enjoyable activity.  Even with a nearly two-year-old wreaking mayhem in the kitchen with orange playdough, pastry cutters and my ceramic baking beans (they need to be moved to a higher shelf!) 

It's also important to pay attention to the tip about ensuring the board is evenly and completely floured.  I probably used as much flour to prevent the pastry from sticking as I actually put into the pastry.

The recipe uses a small amount of spelt or wholemeal flour (I went with wholemeal) which gives the pastry a lovely nutty taste and makes you feel like you're eating something vaguely healthy (despite the copious amounts of butter in it).  

Fresh from the oven

I used about a third of the pastry - some to top a pie and the spare went into making a giant apple turnover for my pie-hating husband (he'll only eat steak and kidney pies from the chippie).  I will say that the puff on the turnover was better than it was on my pie but the pastry still tasted great.  I'd definitely go to the effort of making my own again if I'm making pie as I only make it when we have guests.  The rest got frozen - I cut it into two small blocks so I can try using some for one of Dan's savoury tart recipes on another occasion.  

Wish I had better lighting in my house...flash, bang, wallop!

Can definitely recommend the recipe.  And I'm sure the All Butter Puff would be fab too - will make some once I've used up the rest of the spelt pastry.  Seriously, anyone whole loves to bake should own a copy of Short and Sweet.  And if you're on Twitter, follow the lovely @Dan_Lepard because he's ace.

If you fancy trying the chicken pie filling, this is the original recipe which I got in lieu of half of my old house

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500g chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 leeks, washed, trimmed and finely shredded
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250g baby button mushrooms, halved
• 200ml double cream
• 2 tsp Knorr Touch of Taste stock (or in the old days, a Knorr stock cube crumbled)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

1. 500g puff pastry, rolled to fit your pie dish
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken until it is white, but not browned.
3. Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pan and continue to fry for 3-4 minutes until the chicken and mushrooms are browned.
4. Stir the cream and stock into the pan and reduce slightly.  Season to taste.
5. Place in a pie dish and leave to cool slightly before topping with the pastry.

'Green Parcel Pie'

Most parents know the delights of a craftily snatched cuppa whilst the children watch five minutes of CBeebies.  As much as I dislike my daughter watching telly, I know that I can brush her hair during Mr Tumble or Justin's house and grab a cuppa during I Can Cook With You (ICCWY).

As it's National Pie Week, I decided to try to succumb to Abigail's demand to cook when I got in from work, give in to her adoration of Katy from ICCWY and let her make her own tea this evening.  We've seen the 'Green Parcel Pie' episode more times than I care to remember (thanks Sky+) and she always says 'Yummy for Abi' when the finished product is revealed so I figured this would be a good time to give it a go.

 I'd bought a courgette for this a few days ago and whilst I was hunting for something in the fridge, little fingers lifted it off of the counter, snapped it in half (thanks for teaching her this Katy!) and put one half in a mixing bowl, inside her new pram and walked it round the house for half an hour.  I also had to battle with her trying to 'pop a pepper' with my bag of capsicums whilst we did the shopping last Friday.

Her mixing and egg cracking skills are second to none for a 23-month-old.  I'm sure there are many adults who can't do this as well as she does.  Who says telly can't be educational?

Get ready for an egg-splosion

No shell in the bowl :)

Mix, mix, mix

Filling the pie

The only sore point was when it needed to go in the oven and she wanted to put it in her pram and take it for a walk again.  The tantrum was only held off by giving her the remaining piece of courgette to baby.  I love her little foibles.

Overall, it's obviously a simple recipe because it's aimed at 4-7 year olds, but it's actually really quite tasty - although I'd probably add salt or use some feta cheese to give it a bit more flavour if I was making it for adults.  The instruction to use three sheets of filo was a little off in my book - maybe it depends on the brand, but three sheets of Jus-Rol were too big in my opinion.  Next time, I'd cut them in half as there was far more pastry than there was filling.  

Finished pie.  Requires less pastry and more filling IMHO

I'd also double or possible treble the amount of filling to make it a more generous dish.  For that, I figure you'd need to cook longer at a slightly lower temperature to ensure the filling cooked without the pastry topping burning.

It would work well as a simple summer dish with a nice green salad and a glass of crisp white wine.  Not that I like wine, but that's what chef-y types say - I'd probably go for a chilled cider myself.

As for Abigail's opinion?  Well she poked it with her fork, ate a couple of mouthfuls and then left the rest, but oddly wouldn't let Mummy try any (I had to sneak into the kitchen for my taste test).  I'm sure we'll get there one day when the fussy toddler phase passes.  Not that I'm wishing her life away, but I'm seriously looking forward to her learning to love food.

Next task is to go through my M&S kids cookery book and see if she can find something in there she likes besides the gingerbread men and give one of those a whirl with her.

You can find the original I Can Cook With You recipe here

Beef and Red Wine Pie Filling

I was going to make a croquembouche for dessert today.  I did my research, found my recipe, tweeted the lovely @Wotchers (Mary-Ann from the Great British Bake Off) for advice.  I then got given the GBBO book for Christmas and decided I'd use the recipe in there to create my masterpiece.

Dinner tonight was going to be a proper dinner party.  But I'd deluded myself that because we have guests, my husband might actually attempt to eat what was in front of him without being all whiney like a spoilt toddler.  School-girl error.  I picked something that was relatively low cost, not poultry based and not creamy as I wanted to do the choux buns for pudding.

Ingredients

I've mentioned before that he will generally only eat chicken and sausages.  Every so often, he'll eat a beefburger or if he's feeling radical, a lamb kebab (the mush-on-a-stick ones that you get from the supermarket in barbecue season).  Why on earth I thought I might be able to change this, I don't know.  And now having thrown my toys out of the pram and flounced upstairs to spill my woes on my blog, I'm feeling rather silly.  We've been together nearly eight years so I should know by now that he will do as he pleases.

We're trying to economise as he is running his own business and we've gone from being a two salary, no child household to a one salary household with child and astronomical business expenses to boot.  He recently (on my birthday!) visited a friend of his who lives in a smug, self-satisfied world of thrift.  They got to discussing how much each household spends on their weekly shop.  The friend - £60 for two adults and one child, allegedly including beer for three nights of the week.  Us - around £120.

I know a lot of people who would throw their hands up in horror at my weekly spend.  We get through a lot of fruit.  I include nappies in that figure and all the other household cleaning stuff (why do I spend so much on that and still live in a dump of a house??).  The child eats an awful lot of expensive fruit - I can't believe how expensive grapes are these days.  But a lot of it is squandered on me planning the food for the week and then when the husband says a couple of hours before dinner 'I don't want that', dashing off to Tesco Express to buy something else for him.  My freezer is positively groaning with stuff I've had to freeze that he decided he didn't want to eat that day.  And I rarely dare defrost anything just in case 'he doesn't feel like that today'  and it ends up in the bin.

That's not burnt (bottom right) it's the red wine reduction

Conversely, Mr Smug knows 40 days in advance what is for dinner on any given day because they have a planner.  How organised.  The husband tried to tell me I should do this to save money.  I pointed out that much as it would make my life so much easier as a full-time working mother, it wouldn't work because of him.  He thought about that one for a while.   And agreed.  So the cycle has not been and will never be broken.  Just my cooking spirit.

So just why did he buy me Lorraine Pascale's Home Cooking Made Easy for Christmas?  Because there's nothing in there he will eat (well other than cake) so I doubt I'll ever use it as we never have dinner guests.  He said the other day that he was really proud of me keeping up this blog for so long and he actually read it and thought it to be not bad.  But I've shifted away from my original goal which was to try to get him to eat new food.  On that front, I've completely failed, although really I was doomed from the start.

Finished pie filling

When we've been out to restaurants, he'll eat stuff I wouldn't dare offer him at home.  He took me to the Ritz for our first wedding anniversary and he actually ate and enjoyed ballotine of duck.  He once at someone else's lamb curry (it was a friend of ours!) at a Thai restaurant.  But in his own castle, he is king.  And if he doesn't want to eat something, it's harder than trying to feed a toddler with pursed lips.

I thought he might at least eat the profiteroles (after everyone failing to keep the child out of the kitchen while I was cooking yesterday I figured that hot caramel for a croquembouche was a bad idea) but no, he doesn't even want those today.  He's just going to eat the leftovers from Christmas.  How eco-friendly of him so I can't denounce him for not trying something new, can I?

Anyway, the pie filling is made and I want to blog now while I still have some spare time and sanity - the child is out at the zoo with the grandparents.

In the end, I ditched the BBC Good Food recipe I was going to use in favour of one from the GBBO book.  This is a really lovely book with loads of recipes from the series plus practical guides on how to do things.  Not sure who cooked this on the Bake Off but it's a really nice recipe.  This from someone (me) who doesn't like beef much and especially not beef pie, but is willing to make a sacrifice at Christmas for other people who will (hopefully) enjoy it more (my family - if they've not stuffed themselves silly pre-dinner like they did yesterday).

Fills a 23cm pie dish

• 750g lean stewing steak, cut into 2.5cm dice
• 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped (I used whole shallots)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 350ml red wine
• 250ml beef stock
• large sprig of fresh thyme
• 125g small button mushrooms
• salt and black pepper

1. Toss the beef in the flour, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, to coat thoroughly.  Heat the oil in a large, lidded frying pan.  Add the pieces of meat, a few at a time and fry for about 2 mins on each side or until nicely browned.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.
2. When all the meat has been browned, turn the heat right down and add the onions and garlic to the pot, stirring well to dislodge any bits stuck to the base.  Cover the pot and cook very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 12 minutes or until the onions are very soft and lightly golden.
3. Meanwhile, simmer the red wine in a small pan until reduced by about one-third.  Pour into a measuring jug and make up to 500ml with beef stock.   Uncover the onions and stir in the wine and stock mixture followed by the beef (plus any juices on the plate) and the leaves from the sprig of thyme.   Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover the pot and cook gently for 1 hour, stirring from time to time.
4. Add the mushrooms and stir well.  Simmer, uncovered for another hour or until the meat is tender and the gravy is very thick and coats the meat.  Taste and add mofe salt and pepper as needed.  Leave to cool then cover and chill until you are ready to fill the pie.

As served (pic taken after blog was posted originally)

I'm planning to serve this with puff pastry lids, new potatoes and fresh asparagus (I know it's not in season here!).  Pudding will now be leftover mince pies, birthday cake or Christmas pudding (in the spirit of thrift) and I may just put my toys back in the pram and not give up on this blog - I'll just give up on the idea of my husband ever trying something new.  Although if the husband reads this and doesn't forgive me, there may be no blog tomorrow as I may be homeless.  Watch this space...

Apple and Rhubarb Pie

Staying with the Mothership this weekend, I figured it was the ideal opportunity for a masterclass in how to make pastry.  Many moons ago - before I was born - she was a pastry chef at the biggest hotel in Southampton so I thought I couldn't go wrong.

The finished pie (it leaked a bit)

I normally buy ready made pastry because it's easier and quicker and always tastes good.  Despite this, I still have shrinkage problems when I'm making mice pies and other small pies.  So I decided it was time to go back to basics and learn how to make my own.



And then she handed me her copy of 'Practical Cookery' by Ceserani and Kinton (1967 edition) and left me to get on with it!  Thanks mum.  I duly chose method two which she'd highlighted as the best option when she was a student in another lifetime.

It's a real chef's book because it's well thumbed, covered in prehistoric food splashes and annotated as she learned her craft and improved the basic recipes with her own twists.  In contrast, like me, she has a pile of pristine, glossy, celebrity chef scribed books that have barely had the spines cracked and have never even been near the kitchen - just salivated over with thoughts of a grand dinner party that never happens.

And yet, despite using a real chef's book, rather than a celebrity chef's book, I still had trouble.

First I made the mistake of asking why people say you should mix pastry with a round ended knife.  If there's one mantra I remember my mother chanting to me as a child (aside from 'don't get pregnant before you're married) was 'fingers were made before forks'.  This obviously applies to knives because she insisted that I use my hands like a real chef.  Even my comment that I remember always watching my beloved grandma using a knife to make her pastry as she lovingly crafted an apple pie (whilst I stole bits of apple when her back was turned) fell on deaf ears.  So if someone can tell me why I should use a knife, please email or tweet me.

Pastry made to a sixties recipes - looks like it was made then too!

The pastry didn't come together very well.  After a heated discussion, I was offered a second egg.  And yet the pastry still cracked every time I tried to roll it.  Apparently this is because sweet shortcrust pastry is similar to shortbread and more biscuit-like than regular shortcrust.  I'd really like the proper scientific explanation such as how it's something to do with the temperature of the butter or the gluten in the flour but Heston wasn't around when my mum was in chef school so the best answer I got was 'Because...'

Anyhow, the finished result wasn't all that bad.  The base pastry was a bit too thick as I struggled to roll that layer out without it breaking - but it cooked well and meant that the juice from the fruit didn't seep through.  No soggy bottom.  Result!

Ready for baking

The filling was from my mum's garden - half windfalls and half late rhubarb with a scatter of sugar and a water sugar glaze on the top.

The only thing I'd've changed was to use a bit more fruit but we were at the mercy of the garden supplies. Other than that, not bad for a first attempt.  Now to try a slightly different pastry recipe for my mince pies.

I now need to try and liberate the book and its brother - 'Patisserie' by L. I. Hanneman from her bookshelves - both are fantastic books with all the basic recipes that you then add your own twist to.  I could learn so much from these books - such a shame they're not still in print - everyone should own a copy.

Pate a Sucre (Sweet Pastry) Recipe

• 500g flour
• 150g chilled butter or margarine
• 60g caster sugar
• 1 egg (I used two in the end)
• pinch of salt

1. Rub the butter and flour together to make fine breadcrumbs.
2. Make a well in the centre, pour in the sugar and egg and combine until the sugar dissolves.  Gradually incorporate the flour and butter mixture.
3. Keep mixing until a smooth paste is achieved.
4. Leave to rest for 20 minutes before using.