No Need To Be Salty
It's smushy food central with my Salted Caramel, Maraschino Cherry & Chocolate Tiramisu and a *bonus* Tear & Share Cinna-bun with Salted Caramel Glaze - the perfect cosy bakes to make this weekend.
GREAT NEWS FOLKS - the recipes in this newsletter are all incredibly delicious but most importantly, super achievable. There isn’t anything in this Bite which requires having a brain like Einstein so no sweat and worry not. I remember when I first started baking back in my unemployment slump, all I was after was a win, ya know? Just something that made me feel good about myself. Something that gave me a little taste of happiness.
I know that sounds all doom and gloom and woe for Rubes, but I cannot even stress to you how demoralizing it felt sending over 437 job applications (yes, I kept count) in that 10-month period and consequentially receiving 435 rejections. That’s a whole lotta no for one person to take. Which funnily enough, I think prepped me fairly well for my Bake Off stint. My biscuits are dry you say Paul? Try being unemployed with little to zero money in your account, living at your parents, single AF with zero idea as to what the future holds or what you even want from it. Gimme dry all day long, am I right?
My baking style since then has been very casual and very achievable. I want to make sure that people feel the same joy that I get when I bake – that same pang of pride when it goes right and that feeling of smug happiness when someone compliments something you have made. Is it all just about reassurance at the end of the day? Possibly but baking has been therapy for me, my brain, my heart and my soul since I have started, and I hope that never stops. Yeah, sure cooking is great but baking? Baking is something truly special.
I can’t ever decide on what I want to eat so if there’s an option where I can shove a load of things together to make one great bake, sign me up. Am I a true to form Libra? Hell yeah but a whole load of stuff, instead of just one sort of stuff? That’s where I wanna be. Of course, I like cake, but I love cake when it’s also topped with something else and sitting on something different.
Desserts are like a treat. The thing you look forward to at the end of the meal. They gotta be a little special to convince you that you do indeed have space left in your tummy, despite you protesting all the way through dinner that you are stuffed to the brim and couldn’t eat a morsel more.
They are the lasting moment, the dish that most people remember and talk about after. They are the thing you think of when you get into bed and wish you had a tiny bit more of. They are like the bad boys of the baking world. They’re only about for a short time, the less you have, the more you want, you can never get enough, and they are gone before you know it.
Ghosted forever…or at least until the next time.
The one thing I can promise you is that these bad boys will at least leave you satisfied. And that’s a guarantee – no refunds, exchanges or swiping required.
Before we get into the good stuff, let’s have a little recap over some of the recipes I’ve shared with you over the last 8 weeks for a little bit of baking inspo for the weekend. Whether you are after something delicious, baking for company or for yourself (huge advocate of the self baking fyi), I have got you covered. How about:
My Chocolate Fudge Sponge with Dulce de Leche Whipped Mascarpone. Filth. This is UTTER FILTH and you must, must, MUST try it at some point in your life to say you have truly lived.
Cardamom, Pistachio & White Chocolate Knots with Raspberry Glaze. It’s soft, pillowy bread smothered in a pistachio and white chocolate butter. Need I say more?
Roasted Tomato, Garlic & Parmesan Tart Tatin. This was previously a recipe shared only to my Paid Subs a few weeks back but this went out to the wider Substack community as part of the recommended reads so removed the paywall for everyone to benefit so make sure you make the most of that whilst it is still available. A super delicious easy dinner option – I inhaled half of the tart the first time I made it, it is SO good.
Chocolate Mousse Cake. Three times the choccy, three times the yum.
Upside Down Blueberry Loaf. Another recipe available to everyone and one you don’t need a huge skillset for. Just a huge appetite to eat.
If you caught one of my latest reels over on Instagram this week, you’d have seen that I teased a little discount code for a brand I truly love. Disclaimer: yes I work with them but I in no way benefit from sharing this code (eg paid affiliate link or monetary kickback). I BEGGED them for a discount code to share with you all because kitchen kit is important when you like to cook and bake and when you want the good stuff, they also come with a good price tag so if you’ve ever fancied getting your hands on some Hexclad pans or are looking to upgrade your kit or gift some goodies for Christmas, you can use the code RUBY10 for 10% across the site. If they are good enough for Gordon Ramsey, they are good enough for me.
Please note that I won’t ever push, promote or give you discount codes for anything I wouldn’t spend my own money on. I trust and value you all so please do know, I’m not your modern day Del Boy peddling tat. That being said, I could very easily see myself and Milo cruising around London in a yellow three-wheeler.
It’s that time of year when all I want to do is consume as many carbs as possible – particularly when they are as delicious as my Mini Pull Apart Glazed Cinna-Buns with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting. These pillowy, soft mini sharing buns are made up of an orange spiked dough, filled with buttery, cinnamonny goodness and then generously slathered with a salted caramel cream cheese glaze. Only question left to ask is: to share or not to share??
Recipe Makes: 1 x 12 inch pan PACKED FULL of cinnamonny goodness
Y O U - W I L L - N E E D -
Tangzhong
50 g Strong Bread Flour, sifted
170 ml Full Fat Milk
Dough
170 ml Full Fat Milk, lukewarm (38°C to 40°C / 100°F to 107°F)
10 g Dried Active Yeast
420 g Strong Bread Flour, sifted
55 g Light Brown Sugar
9 g Salt
1 Large Egg + 1 Egg Yolk
Zest of 2 Large Oranges
1.5 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
80 g Unsalted Butter, room temp
Filling
100 g Light Brown Sugar
75 g Dark Brown Sugar
110 g Unsalted Butter, room temp
2.25 tbsp Cinnamon Powder, sifted
1.5 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
Salted Caramel Glaze
180 g Icing Sugar, sifted
150 g Cream Cheese, fridge temp
100 g Salted Caramel Sauce
60 g Unsalted Butter, room temp
½ tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
M E T H O D -
For the tangzhong, add flour to a pan. Slowly add milk, using a balloon whisk to mix to ensure no lumps.
Place the pan over a medium heat and whisk until thickened. Leave to cool at room temp, covering the tangzhong with some clingfilm or baking paper to avoid crusting over.
Once cooled, move onto the dough. Add milk to a saucepan and heat to temperature. Pour in the yeast and a pinch of sugar. Leave to one side for 10 to 15 minutes.
When the milk is bubbly and frothy, scoop the cooled tangzhong into a stand mixer bowl. Add in the flour, sugar, salt, egg plus yolk, orange zest and vanilla before pouring in the yeasty milk. Mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment for 6-8 mins until soft and stretchy.
Add in softened butter and mix on a medium to high speed for 5 mins until it is fully incorporated.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl before covering with clingfilm. Leave to prove for 1 hour in an unheated oven with a tray of freshly boiled water at the bottom to create a steamy environment or outside if it is warm.
Whilst proving, make the filling mix. Into a stand mixer bowl, add all the ingredients. Use the paddle attachment to mix until super smooth and well combined. Keep this at room temp.
Remove the proved dough from the bowl and place onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knock back the dough before rolling out to a large rectangle approx. 0.75 cm thick.
Spread over the spiced butter (saving 1 tbsp to one side) onto the dough evenly using a palette knife or back of a spoon - go all the way to the edges.
Trim the edges of your rolled out dough to a nice, neat rectangle. Divide this dough up evenly into ¼ before using a knife to cut 1-inch strips, before rolling each one individually.
Use the reserved tbsp of butter to spread over the base of the pan. Place the rolls on top, leaving a bit of space between them if possible. Use any dough scraps to make dough balls and squish into any gaps. Cover with clingfilm again to prove for 45 mins.
Preheat oven to 160°C Fan/180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
Bake for approx. 28 to 30 minutes, placing a sheet of foil on top after 25 mins to prevent further browning.
Use a thermometer probe to check if the dough temp has reached at least 92°C/197°F once baked. Leave to cool.
To finish, make the glaze by adding icing sugar, cream cheese and vanilla to a bowl. Whisk until smooth before adding the salted caramel and butter. Mix until smooth again.
Slather over cooled rolls, really spreading the icing into the nooks and crannies.
Now onto the main Bite of the week. A tiramisu has to be one of my favourite things to make – I know I say this about pretty much every single thing I make but this is so easy to make, so quick to put together, incredible versatile flavour wise and suitable for pretty much every single occasion.
As someone who isn’t mad keen on the classic sort with the coffee (it’s just so…so…meh?), I have mixed up the flavours over the years to suit it to what I love. A selfish move, sure, but it always results in something plate lickingly delicious. I’ve done a Limoncello, Lemon Curd & Basil years back (way before it got cool on insta can I say #trendsetter), a Malt & Milk Chocolate number (it has had rave reviews from anyone who makes it and everyone who eats it) and now we have my Salted Caramel, Maraschino Cherry & Chocolate Tiramisu.
Yup, she’s every bit as deliciously good as it sounds and every bit as filthy as it looks.
It's velvety smooth, it’s sweet, it’s slightly tart, it’s indulgent, luxurious, sumptuous, and light all in one. It’s all the things which make the back of your cheeks squeal in delight and you, your soul, and your belly, very, very, very happy. Is it a traditional tiramisu? No. But who cares when it tastes so damn good. Food is all about fun, experimenting and importantly, exploring. You gotta tickle those tastebuds people!
Recipe Makes: 1 x 20 cm by 30 cm / 8 inch by 12 inch tray
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