Doughnuts for Days
1 dough done 3 different ways. We’ve got Cardamom, Custard & Blackberry filled doughnuts, Orange & Cinnamon w a Condensed Milk & Salted Chocolate glaze plus a delicious way to serve up the offcuts.
Hey Friends!
I hope you are all well and have had a lovely week so far?
Great news my side – I have made it 2 weeks without coming down with a new virus, cold or sickness bug. Dare I say this b*tch is back?? Whilst I am still fighting the daily 3 pm urge to have a nap, I have been back in the kitchen, back on a photoshoot and back to drowning in cakes and carbs on the daily.
With that in mind, I am going to give you some prewarning that this is a lengthy old newsletter so strap in, get that cup of coffee locked and loaded and get comfy.
I am in the midst of planning an end of summer BBQ at Primrose Cottage (this still make me lol slightly as I thought I was going to be a London girly for life) before we head into the time of year I look forward to the most. I know James is probably reading this somewhere so for his benefit – it is going to be a low key, chilled affair.
But between you and I, the menu is already looking extensive, lawn games have gone from a few cornhole boards to a full volleyball net, I am sourcing a pizza oven, a slushy machine (frozen aperols, anyone??), a soft serve machine (not going to lie, this is a thought I have *just* had), fire pit and anything else outrageous that I really don’t need but I convince myself is going to be a necessity.
We keep it mostly sweet over here on the Last Bite but do let me know if you would like to see more savoury recipes? Maybe some easy, speedy mid-week eats and a mix of weekend eats which take a little longer? I was planning on sharing the BBQ menu with you here, with the likes of Chilli Paneer, Tandoori Roasted Whole Chicken, Salad Bowls, Garlic Naan, Flat Breads and Grazing Platters to name but a few so if that’s something that will tickle your pickle, I’d be more than happy to mix it up (lord knows my sugar levels and cholesterol would be thankful for a break).
Friends and family who are reading this slightly bemused that they haven’t been invited – relaaaaax. Invites are yet to be sent and a date is still tbc. In true Rubes fashion, I’ll probs decide on it a few days in advance and panic my way through but why break a habit of a lifetime am I right?!
And talking of lifetime, let’s move on to what you’re all really here for.
I hope you have your stretchy pants to hand because this week we have carbs on carbs on carbs. There’s a little something for everyone and for every occasion. Whether you are after an afternoon pick me up, a sweet treat for a weekend brunch situ, a speedy dessert to whip up to round off a dinner party or a fruity showstopper ready to steal everyone’s thunder, I have got you covered.
First up, we have the latest ‘Around the World’ cake. I don’t want to alarm you guys, but we have FINALLY made it to the top 20. How it has taken me 2 years to get to this point I will never know. What will I do with my life once the list is over? Again, no clue but I will accept suggestions on a post card. But before we get all dramatic about it, in at number 19 is a Chocolate Lava Cake. Think easy, think quick, think versatile and, most importantly, think filthy.
Next up we have my Roasted Strawberry Baked Cheesecake. One of the things I love most about baking is getting to remake things from my childhood. Recreating bakes which are not only insanely scrumptious but deliver a delicious dose of nostalgia whilst we are at it is a great way of exercising my free will. Whilst this is certainly a touch bougier than the frozen strawberry cheesecakes my mum would treat us to on special occasions when we were young, it feels homely, it tastes comforting, it looks like summer on a plate and it serves up yum on every level. A great to dish out at the end of a BBQ or in lieu of a birthday cake, my baked cheesecake base is FLAWLESS. The perfect make ahead bake.
And moving onto the main bakes of the day, we have a double dose of DOUGHNUTS. Both sorts fyi, in case you are just as indecisive as I am. Originally, we were just going to be going with custard filled doughnuts because you can’t beat that feeling of biting into a filled doughnut, the filling exploding out the other side and covering the sides of your mouth, forehead and chin with sugar but then I had an intense craving for a simple glazed so here we are. Best of both worlds, drowning in doughnuts. Whether it’s a Cardamom, Custard & Blackberry filled doughnut or an Orange, Cinnamon & Chocolate glazed dougnnut, you decide because I couldn’t. Wildly different, but both so wildly good.
Starting off the menu this week is our latest ‘Around the World’ cake. There’s much debate over the origins on this number, with two chefs in particular making claims they did it first. One French, the other American, two different stories as to how it came about and with two different methods to boot.
And you know me, I will forever choose the option of working smarter and not harder so whilst the French may have done it first, the American way is the method I’ll always opt for when it comes to making it. In at number 19 on the never-ending cake list is a Chocolate Lava Cake. Or Chocolate Fondant. Or Molten Chocolate Cake. However and whatever you wanna call it, you can bet your bottom dollar on this gracing the menu of many restaurants as what I like to call the cop out dessert. When everything else sounds a little too unpredictable, you know what you are getting with a chocolate fondant. Very old school and extremely classic – I am not their biggest fan for no other reason than having consumed far too many sub-standard versions across the years.
All the ones I have had have either been too bitter, too sickly, overcooked, grainy or uninspiring but folks, an obscene amount of fondant trials later, I have what I believe is a winner. Something that doesn’t rely too heavily on being jazzed up with foams, whipped creams, coulis’s or compotes. Something you can eat on its own or topped simply with a drizzle of double cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it still taste sensational. We haven’t gone wild with any additions, we’ve left out citrus zests (even though I’d have loved to have added a whallop of orange zest for some added oomph), shunned any desire to add a good glug of olive oil and kept it simple…ish.
My version sees a brown butter based teamed with a 50/50 milk and dark chocolate mix for that heavenly bitter yet sweet blend and a hefty sprinkling of sea salt.
See. Simple..ish.
Whilst the below makes 8 servings and works on the premise of them being made immediately, the pre-baked fondants keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days, the recipe can be halved for a smaller batch OR they can be popped in the freezer and baked at a later date (time to restock that emergency sweet treat freezer stash am I right?!).
An easy to make, quick to bake plate of family friendly filth can be done from start to finish in 30 minutes flat. Need I convince you anymore?
Recipe Makes: 8 x 200-ml fondant moulds
Recipe Serves: 8
Y O U – W I L L – N E E D –
100 g Dark Chocolate
100 g Milk Chocolate
200 g Unsalted Butter, diced
4 Large Eggs
4 Large Eggs, yolks only
200 g Caster Sugar
½ tsp Sea Salt
100 g Plain Flour
Cocoa Powder, to dust
M E T H O D –
To start, grease and dust 8 x 200-ml fondant moulds. Make sure the interior surface is completely covered before placing in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/390°F/gas mark 6.
Make the brown butter by adding to a heavy bottomed pan and placing over a medium heat. Gently cook until the butter has melted, and the milk solids begin to brown (i.e. the sediment on the bottom of the pan).
Remove from the heat before adding the dark and milk chocolate. Leave to sit for 1 minute before mixing well until smooth.
In a large bowl, add the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt and use a balloon whisk to mix until smooth.
Pour in the chocolate butter and fold through until combined.
Sift the plain flour into the bowl and use a rubber spatula to fold through gently.
Place the chilled moulds onto a large tray and carefully divide the batter evenly between them, filling each until they are two-thirds full.
Place the tray in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 9 minutes – not a minute less, not a minute longer.
Cover each mould with a plate and gently turn over, inverting the cake onto the plate. Carefully remove the mould.
NOTE: You can chill these in the fridge overnight and bake the next day. Just remove from the fridge and leave to sit at room temp for 1 hour before baking.
Moving onto the sweet treat that I ate for breakfast the day after I made it because I couldn’t stop thinking about it all night. I originally made this a while back right when I first started the Last Bite – the OG version can be found lurking in the archives but this version? I fear this version is far superior. In between that time of now and then, I’ve landed on a recipe which I think absolutely nails a baked cheesecake base. In the many iterations since, I’ve never had a cracked top, never had a soggy bottom, nor has it ever left anyone disappointed.
Just creamy, velvety, vanilla spiked indulgence which just gets better over time. Here we are taking the classic baked New York Cheesecake and giving it a little glow up. Does it need it? Probably not. But have we done it anyway? Absolutely. This my friends, is my Roasted Strawberry Baked Cheesecake.
Here we have a ginger biscuit base, topped with a heavily spiked vanilla filling and finished with a hefty serving of roasted strawberry compote and a sprinkling of extra biscuit crumb for a touch of added yum (plus I am someone who is a staunch crust and crumble advocate so the more the merrier in my eyes).
This recipe is hugely versatile – use whatever biscuit you fancy for the base (oreos, digestive, graham crackers, rich tea, shortbread), add any additional flavourings to the filling (zest of citrus fruit, drop of booze, pistachio cream, melted but cooled chocolate) and top it however you wish (keep it untouched, add a smothering of whipped cream like I opted for, change the strawbs for mixed berries, roasted peaches or cherries) but one thing I will demand is making sure you let that cheesecake mature in the fridge for at least 1 day before you serve. 2 ideally.
And as someone who has zero willpower, I know that sounds a touch daft but I promise you, it takes the filling from nice to sublime. Just promise me, when you make it, you’ll save me a slice or two
One lasting note before we get into the recipe – make sure you wrap your springform tin unbelievably well with foil. Wrap that baby up so ain’t nothing penetrating those walls (reading back this reads weird – is it??). The first few times I was left with a gooey, watery bottom because I was too chill with my foil wrapping. I have a real aversion to springform tins and despite claiming to be water tight, newsflash folks, THEY ARE NOT. Wrap the tin well and then wrap it some more. Nothing hurts more than baking your cheesecake, dreaming about it for 2 day straight as it matures in the fridge and then unwrapping it to see water leaking out the base. Don’t ruin your day. I am very much talking from experience here.
Recipe Makes: 23 cm / 9 inch springform tin
Recipe Serves: 9
Y O U – W I L L – N E E D –
Strawberries
650 g Frozen Strawberries
20 g Caster Sugar
½ tbsp Cornflour
Crust
350 g Ginger Biscuits
115 g All Things Butter Cinnamon Bun* (sub for Unsalted plus ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon)
20 g Caster Sugar
¼ tsp Salt
Cheesecake
325 g Caster Sugar
900 g Full Fat Cream Cheese, room temp
40 g Cornflour, sifted
5 Large Eggs
250 ml Double Cream, room temp
2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
¼ tsp Salt
*for transparency I am an Equity & Brand Partner for ATB but will always provide subs where used
M E T H O D –
For the roasted strawberries, preheat your oven to 200°C/390°F/Gas Mark 6.
Add the frozen strawbs to an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the caster sugar and cornflour and give it all a good mix. Pop the dish into the oven for 15 minutes, give them a quick stir and pop back in for a further 15.
Remove from the oven and use the back of a fork to gently mash some of the large strawberries. Leaving some whole so you are left with a chunky compote. Leave to one side to cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 150C (no fan)/305F/Gas Mark 2.
For the cheesecake crust, add the biscuits to a large bowl and use a rolling pin or base of a flat bottomed glass to crush to a crumb. Alternatively add to a food processor and blitz until you are left with a fine crumb. Add the caster sugar and salt and blitz again to mix.
Gently melt the butter, before adding to biscuit crumb. Mix well/pulse until the crumb begins to clump together.
Grease and line the base and sides of a 23 cm / 9 inch springform tin.
Add the buttery crumb and press into the base and sides. Use the base of a flat bottomed glass to help evenly press in, building the crumb up the sides. Place the tin into the freezer to set for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, make your cheesecake filling by adding the caster sugar, cream cheese and cornflour to a stand mixer bowl. Mix until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and base of the bowl to ensure there is no sugar stuck to the base.
Whilst on the lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is mixed in well before the next addition.
Pour in the double cream, vanilla bean paste and salt and use a balloon whisk to fold through.
Get your tin from the fridge before tightly wrapping the base and sides with foil to ensure no water will seep in from the water bath. If you think it’s well wrapped, wrap again because let me tell you, water WILL find a way in so be safe than sorry.
Grab a roasting tin that your springform fits in and add your foil lined tin to the middle.
Pour the cheesecake mix on top of your set biscuit base. Gently but firmly tap the base of the pan to remove any air pockets.
Fill the large roasting tin with boiling water till it comes up to 1 inch of the side of the tin.
Place the tray onto the lowest shelf in the oven and bake for 1.40 hours, until the top is lightly golden and set.
Once baked, allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door slightly ajar.
Once cool, remove the tin from the roasting tray and transfer your baked cheesecake to the fridge to set overnight.
Before serving, top with whipped cream (optional) before piling on top your chunky roasted strawberry compote. Break up a few ginger biscuits before scattering over.
Use a hot knife to slice and serve.
Alright folks, now the starters are out of the way, it’s time to get stuck into the main bake of the day. Except, it bakes plural. And you can make them all from the same dough. Whilst the sun is roasty toasty, one thing about me is that if we are baking when it is hotter than hell outside, we are going to work smarter and not harder.
I have professed this all to you many a time and I will say it again for the haters at the back – I am NOT a summer girly. Nope. Not one bit. Do I enjoy a summer soiree? Absolutely - and by soiree I should say that I class anything a soiree if it happens to be me plus anyone. Could just be one person. Could be multiple. We could just be on the sofa, enjoying a sofa soiree. We could just be having a coffee in my kitchen. If we are gathering. We are soiree’ing. Anyway, I digress. But am I counting down the day till it’s cosy o clock? You bet your ass I am. Am I already flirting with ideas, themes and possible artchitectural feats for my next gingerbread house for Christmas? I can neither confirm nor deny.
Which is why when it comes to baking in the summer, when my kitchen is hotter than a furnace, we are going to work with the heat and use the kitchen as one big proving room. Whether it’s baking fresh focaccia and leaving it to prove perched on your window sill, or soaking up that morning sunlight for some crusty dinner rolls to devour later that day - it’s dough time baby.
And this week, it’s all about doughnuts. I tend to make them only once a year as freshly baked doughnuts feel like a real naughty treat (plus I can never resist more than 3 in one go and I am consciously attempting to watch my insane sugar consumption) so welcome good friends, to my annual doughnut making day. Cause it only happens once a year, we are going all out. One dough, used up in 3 different ways: one filled, one glazed and one kept simple with a dusting of sugar.
On the menu we have:
Cardamom, Custard & Blackberry Filled Doughnuts (square and not round cause we’re bougie)
Cinnamon & Orange Ring Doughnuts with a Condensed Milk & Salted Chocolate Glaze
Doughnut Holes (a mix of both flavoured doughs) coated in a Cinnamon & Cocoa Sugar
Whichever way you want to doughnut, dough nut skip these recipes (bad pun??). All 3 are disgustingly delicious, sickeningly sumptuous and oh so moreish.
Here we utilise an overnight first prove in the fridge to save time on bake day and to also allow the flavours time to develop and concentrate so all you have to do on the day you wish to consume your body weight in them is roll out, wait and make.
Recipe Makes: 10 Ring Doughnuts & Approx. 16 filled (depending on the size of square cutter you opt for)
Recipe Serves: A lot. Sharing is caring, after all.
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