Latest news with #bakers
Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Easy cakes and bakes for summer, including an elevated fondant fancy
My head is full of flowers and fruit. Every year they come in much the same order: blood oranges, rhubarb, blueberries, gooseberries and strawberries. The stone fruit arrives later, but I can wait (that's part of the pleasure, though I've seen the first apricots from France and Italy and I'm itching to put them in a tart – the edges of the slices becoming caramelised – or in an upside-down cake, the fruit softening to glowing circles that you can glaze with honey). Flowers have an order too. There are primroses – they were out a long time ago in my street – then daffodils, tulips, bluebells and freesias (that scent). It might be because we had a proper spring this year, one with mostly warm weather, that I'm using flowers in baking and desserts much more than usual, and I'm obsessed with colour. Using flowers in baking is not new to me – I've been cooking with rose and orange flower waters and lavender for years – and I don't see it as cloying or 'cute'; it's just a way of making dishes taste and look even more beautiful than they might. My walks right now take me past smells I love even though I rarely know what the plants are (except for the obvious ones). My garden is full of dandelions – it goes a bit meadow-like at this time of year – and tulips. I don't grow anything neatly. It's haphazard and I like it that way. The flower and fruit obsession means I have to restrict my time on Instagram or I can spend hours looking at what bakers and gardeners are creating. There are those who make tarts and cakes of almost mathematical precision – look at what is happening at Lannan Bakery in Edinburgh, with its rhubarb and custard tart of pure clean lines (the poached rhubarb is set in rhubarb jelly). Then look at From Lucie in the East Village in NYC. Lucie Franc de Ferriere, the baker and owner, has a totally different approach. There are few straight lines here; there is abundance, cascades. Discovering her work made me want to go wild. She doesn't, of course, throw flowers at her cakes, but it feels that way. She doesn't care whether the flowers used are edible or not, but I'm not sure, as long as you tell eaters, that this matters. I like delicate things too. The single viola on mauve icing. Every so often I buy fondant fancies. They're beautiful to look at but disappoint when you eat them. You think they'll feel and taste like velvet, but they just taste like sugar. There's no scent and no contrast. The floral iced squares here were my attempt to make fondant fancies, but better. These are lemon-scented and taste like a child's birthday cake, with a smooth buttercream between the sponge layers. Have a look too at the cakes made by Blushing Cook in London, decorated with pressed edible flowers. Going down an internet rabbit hole, I stumbled across a photographer who lives in Maine. Her name is Cig Harvey and she loves cake, flowers and colour. A documentary was made of her work – you can watch it online – called Eat Flowers. One of Harvey's closest friends had leukaemia and was required to isolate. Harvey created a series of photographs for her, using flowers and focusing on colour. Life looked saturated. It was, she said, about finding beauty in unexpected places. She then started photographing cakes and fruit too. There's a dark chocolate cake studded with blackberries, a cherry cake half hidden in a pewter tin, a whole table of fruit and cake, partly demolished and staining the white cloth on which they're spread. This could appear messy but in fact makes you yearn to have arrived in time for the party. She wants us to spend more time looking. Cakes, tarts and desserts aren't necessary. We don't have to eat them. At their best they make you look again, and taste again. They're about beauty and joy.
CNET
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers for May 31, #720
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Where are my fellow bakers? The blue category in today's Connections puzzle is calling our names. Read on for clues and today's Connections answers. The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak. Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time Hints for today's Connections groups Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group. Yellow group hint: Like a hole. Green group hint: Way to go! Blue group hint: Knead is another one. Purple group hint: You do this to put out birthday candles. Answers for today's Connections groups Yellow group: Alcove. Green group: Ways to recognize achievement. Blue group: Verbs in breadmaking. Purple group: Things you can blow. Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words What are today's Connections answers? The completed Connections puzzle for May 31, 2025, #720. NYT/Screenshot by CNET The yellow words in today's Connections The theme is alcove The four answers are cavity, hollow, nook and recess. The green words in today's Connections The theme is ways to recognize achievement. The four answers are certificate, medal, plaque and trophy. The blue words in today's Connections The theme is verbs in breadmaking. The four answers are ferment, proof, rest and rise. The purple words in today's Connections The theme is things you can blow. The four answers are bubble, fuse, kiss and raspberry.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Chiffon cake with lemon and blueberries
Chiffon cake is American, a relation of angel food cake. Both are light but chiffon is slightly richer because it contains egg yolks. It's usually made in a tube pan so there's a column in the middle. You can either fill the central space with fruit that spills out over the top of the cake, or decorate the top with blueberries and blackberries or purple edible flowers. Requires cooling time. Overview Prep time 40 mins Cook time 1 hr Serves 12 Ingredients For the cake 8 large eggs, separated 160g caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla bean paste 120ml full-fat milk 80ml vegetable oil 135g plain flour ½ tsp cream of tartar For the cream 400ml double cream 125g caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon To decorate blueberries, blackberries, pared lemon zest, and/or edible flowers Method Step Preheat the oven to 170C/160C fan/gas mark 3 ½. Step Put 8 egg yolks, 70g caster sugar and a pinch of salt into the bowl of a free-standing mixer (or into a large bowl if using an electric hand whisk). Beat on a high speed for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is pale and thick. Step Add 1 tsp vanilla bean paste. Start whisking again, this time on a low speed while you pour in 120ml full-fat milk and 80ml vegetable oil. Sift in 135g plain flour in 4 batches, folding it in using a large metal spoon. Carefully transfer this to a large bowl. Step Clean the mixer bowl and whisk. They must be clean, or the egg whites won't whip up properly. Add 8 egg whites and ½ tsp cream of tartar to the clean bowl. Whisk on a medium/high speed until the mixture looks like airy foam – about 5 minutes. Step With the mixer still running, slowly pour in 90g caster sugar, a little at a time. Once all the sugar has been added, continue whisking until the meringue holds medium peaks and is glossy but not dry. If it's too dry, you'll have problems incorporating it into the yolk mixture without losing lots of volume. Step Mix the meringue into the egg yolk batter in 4 batches, using a balloon whisk to incorporate it. Step Once all the meringue has been added and there are no streaks in the mixture, pour the batter into a 10in, 2-piece tube pan. It's important that the pan is made of 2 parts – it should have a removable base. Don't use any fat or paper to line the tin – the sponge needs to grip on to the walls of the tin as it's climbing. Give the pan a few sharp taps on the counter to knock out any large air pockets. Step Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove the tin from the oven and invert it. Don't worry, the cake won't fall out. Most tube pans have little feet around the edge to elevate them when the cake is cooling. If yours doesn't have feet, put the pan on to a wine bottle (the bottle should go into the tube). Step After an hour the cake should be completely cool. Run a thin, flat knife around the outside of the cake to separate the sponge from the pan. Push the base, with the cake attached to it, out of the pan. Use the knife to carefully remove the base from the cake. Put the cake on to a serving platter. Step If you are going to serve it that day – it's best eaten within 2 days – make the cream. Beat 400ml double cream with 125g caster sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract, then add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon. Add lemon juice gradually (I usually end up using the juice of ½ lemon). It makes the cream thicken, so judge how much you need by both the flavour and the thickness. Step Using a palette knife, spread the cream all over the cake. You shouldn't see any of the sponge but don't spread it too thickly. You will have cream left over (it's delicious with berries). Step There are many ways you can decorate this. Fill the funnel with berries and let them tumble out over the surface of the cake, or arrange berries, zest and, if you like, flowers on top. Blueberries and blackberries work well colour-wise (even though the latter aren't in season).
News.com.au
20-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
How to freeze scones
Did you know you can freeze scones? Learn how to store your baked goods for when guests drop by.
