Nice Buns
...is an understatement. This week we are serving up my Blueberry & Frangipane Brioche Buns, Sunken Chocolate, Pistachio and Cherry Cake & my Nectarine and Blackberry Pavlova. Let's feast!
Hey Friends!
I hope you are all having a lovely week so far? Apologies for dropping into your inboxes a little later than expected but ya girl just became an Aunt to the most beautiful, full head of hair, squishy, joyous, happy and healthy 3kg little baby so whilst I had planned to be in the kitchen for most of the week, instead I am writing this week’s newsy from the glamourous, ubiquitously named (union coffee shop?? Why is it always a union? Who is in said union? What is being united?), coffee shop which is currently the second home to me, many people in robes and my friend Jeanette (we became besties when I bought her a tea 30 minutes ago after she forgot her card).
When my cousin (yes the cousin whose wedding cake I made) told me (it’s been a lifelong assumption so would have been miffed if she had actually asked) I was going to be one of her birthing partners months back, it finally hit me. What is this weird destination I find myself at? How did I end up here? Ya know…that place where you finally become an…*gulp* adult? Now listen, I know I am in my mid 30’s but do I feel mid 30? No. Am I mentally and occasionally emotionally still stuck in my early 20’s? Sure. Could I do a 5 day stint in Vegas followed by a week in Miami like I did back then? Absolutely not. I am not entirely delulu – I know my limits and I know that the mere scent of alcohol will inflict the mother of all hangovers upon me. But would I be tempted to give it a good go? OF COURSE I BLOODY WOULD.
When you’re Indian, everyone is your family. I was an Aunt probably before I was even born. I have more cousins than I can even remember. And a lot of those cousins have now had babies. And some of those babies are now at the point where they NOW HAVE A BABY. So, following the Indian logic (are you keeping up??), I am technically a Granny to those babies babies. The random Asian lady who moved in recently down the street from my Mum and Dad is now my Aunty. I call the guy who owns the local cornershop Uncle. None of it is logical but every part of it makes sense.
I went through that cultural evolution, like so many children of immigrant parents do, when growing up. All I wanted to do when I was at school was fit in. Yes, I’m brown. Yes, I am Sikh but conciously (and subconciously) ignoring my identity – declaring at one point I was an atheist, stopped going to the Gurdwara, wore foundation that was ten shades lighter than I actually was (fyi - this is also commonly known as ‘atta face’ which translates to ‘flour face’) and showed little interest in my culture, my faith or my heritage. At school, I was acutely aware of the layers of difference, often willingly shrinking integral parts of who I was to be a part of the crowd, not feel out of place, or make other people feel uncomfortable in any sort of way.
It was only until I moved away from family, to a predominantly white area (I was asked on multiple occasions which tanning salon I would go to because my ‘colour’ was so even) to university where I began to embrace all parts that make me, me. The parts about my culture I had previously been embarrassed about, were suddenly all the things I was craving.
It was a real journey of fully accepting who I was in a society where you don’t often see yourself represented in a positive light. Do I wish I was brave enough to be more authentically me from a younger age? Absolutely. The curiosity for my heritage, the history of my family, understanding and appreciating the sacrifices my parents made, leaving behind a home and all they knew in hope for a better life, all hit me late. But that folks is the joy and journey of life. When I would have once shied away from my roots, here I am, sat in the hospital canteen, fondly thinking about the latest little addition to our ever-growing family and how lucky they are to be a part of a culture so rich in history and love.
How did we end up just delving into my childhood regrets?? No idea. But thanks for unknowingly attending this weeks therapy session.
A short and sweet menu this week but we’ve still got a whole lotta yum to fill those tums.
First up, we have my Sunken Chocolate, Pistachio and Cherry Cake. Sunken may be code word for accidentally underbaked but I am not mad at it? The intention behind this recipe was always to have that fondant-esque, melty middle but went a little shorter on the bake time than I had initially planned and what a happy mistake that was. Deliciously, sumptuous, barely baked chocolate sponge, topped with a pistachio cream and finished with some wild cherries on top. It is so easy to make and a great one to have on your baking roster.
One thing about me, is that I BLOODY LOVE bread. Not just can consume a few rolls at dinner, slathered in butter sort of love. I mean a, could eat a whole freshly baked loaf of bread, slathered in butter (preferably of the marmite variety) and eat that just for dinner. No sides, no mains, no dips necessary. Whilst I was toying with the idea of a cheesy, garlicky, gochujang-y sort of number – I’ve reverted back to what I am truly craving: buttery, tender, lightly spiced brioche, frangipane, custard, blueberries and a tiny bit of crumble.
These take custard buns to a whole new level. When (no ifs, cause we are manifesting over here), open a bakery, these Blueberry Brioche Custard Buns will be one of the first on the menu. A great seasonal bake that you can make throughout the year, switching up the fruit as the seasons change.
And lastly, because I feel bad that we are low on the recipes this front thanks to the simultaneous duo of being eyeballs deep in other recipe development and being a birthing partner (an odd combo, I must admit) keeping me out of the kitchen this week, I am also sharing with you one of my favourite recipes from my book One Bake Two Ways, my Nectarine & Blackberry Pavlova with a Basil Crème Diplomat. It’s a wallop of flavour done in a classy way. This would make for the perfect bake for anyone looking for inspiration for Mother’s Day next weekend.
AND TALKING OF ONE BAKE, word on the street is that it has been added to Amazon’s Spring Deal Days, which means throughout March, you are able to purchase it at a heavily discounted price – right now, it is available at 42% off for UK customers and 31% off for US customers. Perfect in time for a little bit of spring baking!
As tempted as I was to go weave, plait, poach and lose my mind over some more rhubarb this week, I thought I’d mix it up and drop something a touch naughtier into your feeds instead. Spring may have sprung folks, but I’ll forever be wanting some filthy, chocolatey yum.
This is my Sunken Malt Chocolate, Pistachio & Cherry Cake. Whilst the intention was for a gooey, fondant-esque middle, I underbaked it a touch more than I had originally planned…and lowkey think it is way better than what I was initially going for?? I’ll always champion a medium rare chocolate cake, as opposed to well done and this is just that.
It’s made up of a deliciously moist and moreish chocolate cake, which is smothered in a wild cherry syrup, topped with a velvety smooth, silky soft, lightly whipped pistachio cream and finished with a light drizzling of more syrup and studded with a few soaked cherries.
Incredibly easy to make and best of all, you really can’t mess up the bake? I mean, I kinda did and it came out greater than I expected. Love it when a loss turns into a win.
Recipe Makes: 1 x 20cm / 8 inch tin with a removable base
Recipe Serves: 10
Y O U – W I L L – N E E D -
Sponge
200 g Plain Flour, sifted
2 tsp Baking Powder, sifted
1/8 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda, sifted
120 g Cocoa Powder
120 g Ground Almonds (can sub for flour)
100 g Malt Powder (such as horlicks)
375 g Light Brown Sugar
¼ tsp Salt
2 Large Eggs
280 g Soured Cream, room temp
100 ml Vegetable Oil
100 g All Things Butter Chocolate, melted (sub for unsalted plus 1/4 tsp salt)
100 ml Boiling Water
Pistachio Cream
425 ml Double Cream
25 g Icing Sugar
1.5 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
175 g Pistachio Cream
To Finish
Amarena Cherries (any would work, just not glace)
Cherry Jam or Syrup
M E T H O D –
Preheat oven to 150C Fan/170C/338F and grease and line 1 x 20cm / 8 inch tin with a removable base (or use a springform).
Into a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients. Use a balloon whisk to mix to combine
Into another bowl, add all the wet ingredients. Use a balloon whisk to mix until smooth.
Pour the wet mix into the dry and start to mix using a balloon whisk. Switch out to a rubber spatula, cleaning down the sides and base of the bowl to ensure there are no flour pockets lurking.
Once there are little to no flour streaks remaining, transfer the batter to your lined tin and bake for 65 to 75 minutes (I went for just shy of 65 for a more gooey middle).
Once baked, leave the cake to sit in the tin for 5 minutes. Cover the top with clingfilm/plastic wrap and leave to completely cool overnight.
The next day, remove the cake from the tin and transfer to your serving plate. Use a pastry brush to liberally brush the sides and top with the cherry syrup (I used the syrup from the amarena jar).
Make the pistachio cream by adding all the ingredients to a large mixer bowl. Use the whisk attachment to whisk until it reaches medium peak.
Pile the cream onto the cake, filling in the sunken top and decorating as you wish. I used the cream to also crumb coat and final coat the sides of the cake so you are able to pop the cake into the fridge without the sponge from drying out.
Add the cherries on top to finish, drizzling over some cherry syrup.
Pop the cake into the fridge to set and remove at least an hour as this cake is best eaten at room temp
Slice using a hot knife (run under boiling water or use a blow torch), serve, finishing with another drizzle of cherry syrup.
NOTE : you can get amarena cherries on amazon. If you want a similar flavour but without the price, you can make a cherry compote from fresh or tinned cherries, 20g caster sugar, 1 tsp almond extract and cooked until the cherries begin to lightly soften.
Moving onto the main bake of the day, my Blueberry Brioche Custard Buns.
Now before we go any further, please don’t be apprehensive about baking bread. The brioche we are using this week is sorta what I like to call beginner brioche. The sort that is enriched, buttery and moreish but without being unmanageable, difficult to handle and tricky to work with. We’ll get that to kinda brioche in a couple of newsy’s but for now, we’re taking a step back and showing you how you can get those delicious results without being up to your eyeballs in butter. Here we still get that lovely deep golden brown crust on the outside with that pillowy soft dough in the middle. I’ve detailed what you should be looking for and share plenty of videos on how I plait and shape the dough for that elevated finish.
The only bit I can’t help you with is how many of them you will consume. The below recipe makes 12 buns so *should* feed 12 but honestly I ate 2 fresh of these fresh out the oven, washed down with a vat of freshly brewed coffee and instantly eyed up a third so let the serving size serve more as a suggestion instead.
I am currently obsessed with tonka bean (I know I already used it in the last newsy shh) but those rich vanilla notes teamed with the mild almondy undertone and the warmth of nutmeg means you get a bucketload of flavour from not a lot of product. If you have never tried tonka bean before, I would urge you to and then go back and make my Tonka Bean Princess Cake because that number is one of the best things I have ever baked.
We’re using that to lightly spice the dough – and in all honesty, you could happily stop there. Baking up a batch of brioche rolls spiced with tonka bean and nothing else would be an insanely good bake at its very minimum but extra is the mood for 2025 so we are topping each bun with a frangipane cream (think almond croissant filling combined with custard), some sweetened blueberries and a teeny tiny sprinkling of crumble on top to finish. They look delightful, taste incredible and make for the perfect weekend bake.
If you are intrigued with brioche and want to make it without all the fuss – use the below as your base, remove the tonka bean, reduce the sugar by 20% and you’ll be left with a dough that you could make brioche Nanterre or singular bread rolls, ready for you to slather with butter, dip into soup, toast for your burgers or just nibble on as a treat.
Give me 5 of ‘em and gimme ‘em now.
Recipe Makes: 12 Buns
Recipe Serves: 12…apparently
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