Edd Kimber
Recipes
Edd Kimber August 12, 2015
Is there such thing as a micro-trend, something happening in just a few places but which feels like the start of something? I don't know,but it definitely feels like ice cream sandwiches are having a moment, three new street food traders have popped up recentlyhere in London, all selling variations of that frozen piece of deliciousness and I'm definitely taken with the idea, actually I'm smitten. Blu-Top Ice Cream is by far the best of the bunch, trading with Kerb, and on Saturdays at my favourite new market, Druid St. Richard, the ice cream peddler behind Blu-Top, creates a choose your own ice cream adventure, letting you choose the ice cream, the cookies and the topping, meaning an endless array of flavours and that's part of the fun, creating the perfect sandwich for you. He is also currently collaborating with Bread Street Kitchen on a special ice cream sandwich dessert menu, available until the end of August, so check that out!
Having a freezer lying empty and crying out for some ice cream I whipped up a batch of oatmeal cookies and some rum raisin ice cream and turned them into sandwiches, and theyactually make brilliant prepare ahead desserts, simply whack them in the freezer and they are there waiting for hungry mouthswhenever the mood strikes. Make sure that you don't keep themin the freezerfor too long as homemade ice cream, made without stabilisers, starts to lose quality after a couple of weeks.
Rum and Raisin Ice Cream Sandwiches
Makes 15
Oatmeal Cookies
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
150g rolled oats
Rum Raisin Ice Cream
500ml double cream
250ml whole milk
5 large egg yolks
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
125g raisins
60g dark rum
To make the ice cream place the cream and milk into a large saucepan and place over medium heat and bring to theboil. Meanwhile place the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla bean paste into a large bowl and whisk together until combined. Pour the cream mixture over the yolks and whisk to combine. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (if you have a thermometer it should reach between 75-80C). Pour the custard into a clean bowl, pressing a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard, refrigerating overnight until thoroughly chilled.
Place the raisins and the rum into a small bowl and cover with clingfilm, setting aside at room temperature until ready to churn the ice cream.
Churn in your ice cream machine according to the manufactures instructions. As the ice cream is almost finished churning tip in the raisins and the remaining rum (should be no more than 2 tbsp remaining) Once the ice cream is finished place into a container and freeze for a couple hours before serving.
To make the cookies place the butter and the sugars into a large bowl and using an electric mixer beat together until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Mix together the remaining ingredients and add to the bowl with the butter and gently mix together to form a soft cookie dough. Press a piece of clingfilm onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate until firm, at least four hours.
To bake, preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line two baking trays with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 30 portions and roll into small balls. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking trays leaving a couple inches between each ball (you may need to bake in batches depending on the size of your trays). Dip a glass into flour and use to press each ball of dough flat (about 1cm thick). Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To assemble place a scoop of ice cream onto half of the cookies and sandwich together with a second, pressing together to squish the ice cream towards the edges. If you want to dip the sandwiches in chocolate melt 300g of dark chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir in 3 tbsp sunflower oil, setting aside to cool for a few minutes before dipping halfway into chocolate, setting onto parchment to set (the oil helps keep the chocolate fluid when dipping but also helps it set).
Edd Kimber August 6, 2015
There is something magical about the bounty of fruit that is available over the summer, I obsess about cherries and get over excited about strawberries, my eyes are just so much greedier than my stomach. I would enjoy nothing more than simply lazing away the summer, baking and eating my way around the greengrocers, making a mixed berry sorbet for this week's dinner party, a cherry pie for the BBQ or maybe a peach and vanilla jam to see me through the colder months. The reality is, at least this year, a little different. The lot of a food writer is to develop recipes in advance, Valentine's Day dishes in December and Christmas recipes in the middle of July, so whilst you are in the park enjoying a picnic I’m in the kitchen pretending it’s snowing, Christmas songs playing in the background to keep me company. Because of this I crave everything seasonal. I bought a bunch of flat peaches with the idea of making some fresh summery dessert, but instead they sat on the kitchen counter, patiently waiting, but ended upas the topping for my breakfast granola.Rainier cherries were dealt the same fate, I just didn’t have time. Sometimes though an idea pops into my head that itches away so much that it begs to be made. This tart sprung to mind after seeing an Instagram picture from Tartine Bakery of blackberry and blueberry tarts, they were so beautiful, so pretty that I had to try them.
In my new flat I've decided to have a little windowsill garden, well attempt one at least, my track record with living things is sketchy at best, I can kill even the hardiest of herbs. So far the garden is on the small side, home to just a few herbs, amongst them my current favourite, lemon verbena. The flavour is almost like a lemon sherbet, not sharp like the citrus itself, but herbal and punchy in flavour, delicious infused into ice cream, or made into a syrup for co*cktails (some might describe it as artificial or soapy but if used correctly and not compared with lemon itself I think it is absolutely beautiful). For this recipe I decided to infuse the flavour into a lightened pastry cream, a nice pairing for the sweet and sharp fruits that decorate the tart.
(Note: Turns out Tartine makes the same suggestion for using lemon verbena in the custard, they have a recipe in their first book for a blackberry and rose geranium tart and in the introduction they make a suggestion for a blueberry and lemon verbena tart, very similar to the ones I saw in the picture and effectively for what appears here.)
Blueberry and Blackberry Tarts with Lemon Verbena
Makes 8
Sweet Pastry
200g plain flour
20g ground almonds
40g icing sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
125g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1 large egg yolk
approx. 2 tsp ice cold water
Filling
500ml whole milk
10 lemon verbena leaves
200g caster sugar
2 large eggs
4 egg yolks
50g cornflour
300g blueberries
150g blackberries
Borage flowers (optional)
200ml double cream
To make the sweet pastry place the flour, almonds and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scrape the beans from the vanilla pod and add to the food processor along with the butter (if using vanilla paste add this instead). Process until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs then add the egg yolk and two tsp of ice cold water, pulse briefly until the mixture just starts to come together as a dough. Tip the mixture out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring together into a uniform dough, avoid overworking the dough and this will make the pastry tough and lead to it shrinking when it bakes. Form the dough into thick short sausage and wrap in clingfilm, refrigerating for a few hours before baking.
To make the pastry cream place the milk, verbena leaves and half of the sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to infuse for about 20 minutes. Place the pan back on the heat and bring back to the boil. Meanwhile place the eggs, yolks, cornflour and the remaining sugar into a large bowl and whisk together until smooth. When the milk is at a boil pour through a fine sieve onto the egg mixture and whisk together to combine. Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium high heat, whisking constantly until the mixture is very thick. Immediately scrape the custard into a clean bowl and cover with a piece of clingfilm, pressing onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming, placing the bowl into the fridge until fully chilled.
Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and cut into 6 slices. Roll each slice on a slightly floured work surface until about 3mm thick. Use the discs of pastry to line six 8cm wide tart tins (I use Matfer tart rings for a more professional look), trimming off the excess. Use the trimmings to repeat, using the pastry to line two further tart tins. Place the tarts shells onto a parchment lined baking tray and refrigerate for at least an hour or until firm.
When ready to bake and assemble preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line each tart shell with a crumpled sheet of parchment paper, filling with baking beans or rice. Bake the tarts in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes before removing the parchment and beans and baking for a further 5-8 or so minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool before filling. To finish remove the chilled pastry cream from the fridge and beat to loosen. Very lightly whisk the cream until it is thickened but not yet holding soft peaks and in three additions, fold into the pastry cream. To assemble fill each tart shell with the lightened pastry cream (also known as crème légère or crème diplomat ) and top with a mix of blackberries and blueberries, decorating with the borage flowers if using.
These tarts are best served within a few hours of serving as the pastry will begin to soften, if you need them to last a little longer brush the inside of the tarts with beaten egg yolk as they come out of the oven and place back into the oven for a minute or so to dry, this helps create a seal that will keep the pastry crisp for longer.
Edd Kimber July 16, 2015
Baking, forme, has always been therapeutic, it was probably the main reason I started to take it seriously in the first place. In a story I have recounted more times than I can count, baking became an escape from a job I thoroughly disliked (suing people for a living definitely didn't make me happy) and baking was my reaction, it was what I thought about as I was sending out summons, whilst I was being sworn at over the phone, it was what made me happy. After The Great British Bake Off, the story of which im sure you dont want to hear again, I decided that I would try and make baking my living: and remember this was after the first series, it wasn't clear to me if being on the show would be a kickstart to any form of career, it definitely felt like moving to London and quitting my job was a big risk.
Many of my friends who worked in the food industry and baking in particular told me that baking for a hobby and a career were two very different things and I have definitely come to learn that. Baking isn't my escape anymore, it's my constant and I amforever grateful that is the case, but I so very rarely bake for just myself anymore,because the mood strikes. Baking is now myjob, when the oven is on the cake or cookies that come out of it are for a magazine article or a book or maybe even a TV show,so when I get a rare opportunity to slow down and bake for pure pleasure, I relish in it.
I have recently moved into a new flat and after the slightly stressful (read scarily expensive, London rents are so ridiculous) move, things are slowly finding their new homes and I am falling back into my work rhythm. After finishing a project a day earlier than expected I decided the new flat needed christening with something delicious, work baking doesn't count, and I wanted something easy but comforting and notmuch else can fit the bill so well as banana bread, okay maybe apart from a warm chocolate chip cookie, which I think is the answer to most problems. Instead of the classic banana bread that I make regularly, I ended up making a loaf spiked with coffee and cocoa nibs and it's definitely worth a try, whilst it might not seem the most obvious combination it works so well. This is the sort of cake that I want toasted, spread with a little salted butter and served with my morning coffee, it is sweet but not cloying, and the coffee and the cocoa nibs just work so well together!
Sometimes an idea pops into my head and it sits there for a few days, scratching away, begging to be tried, and this recipe started out exactly like that. I had finished a week of testing fruit recipes for a project and was left with a bunch of bananas slowly starting to head towards banana bread territory and, after unpacking another box from my move, I found my tonka beans and cocoa nibs,the idea of adding these to my recipe popped into my head and wouldn't go away.
I, of course, tweeted about the idea because, have we met, I have a slight social media addiction! My friend Chloe suggested that I should try the bread with coffee instead and that initial idea was, very temporarily,shelvedand I settled on trying an espresso and cocoa nib banana bread and I'm rather pleased with it, the coffee isnt super strong and the mix of the nibs, coffee and banana is delicious!
Espresso andCocoa Nib Banana Bread
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp ground coffee
25g cocoa nibs
250g ripe bananas (weighed without skins)
100ml sour cream
185g light brown muscavado sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g unsalted butter, melted
1. To make the banana bread, grease a loaf tin with a little butter and line with a strip of parchment paper, so that the ends hang over the long sides of the pan (this makes removal of the cake a lot easier) and preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) 350F.
2. Place the flour, baking powder, salt, coffee and about 2/3 of the cocoa nibs into a bowl and whisk together to combine. (see tips for adjusting strength of the coffee in the cake)
3. Place the banana into a large bowl and use a fork to mash, until just a few small lumps remain. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until smooth and uniformly combined.
4. Pour the flour mixture over the banana mixture and gently fold together, mixing until the flour is just combined, but being very careful not to over mix, as this will make the bread chewy and tough. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and top with the remaining banana, simply sliced through the middle and placed on top, cut side showing. Sprinkle the remaining cocoa nibs on top of the cake, avoiding the banana.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out just about clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before carefully inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Kept wrapped in clingfilm in a sealed container this cake will keep for up to three days but can also be frozen for up to a month (I like to freeze it in individual slices and thenI can have a piece whenever I fancy).
Tips: If you want the coffee flavour to really punch you in the face then I would suggestadding two tablespoons of hot water to the coffee and stirring together before adding to thewet ingredients, this way the flavour will soak into the bread a lot more.
If you want to try this recipe and cant find cocoa nibs I get mine from Sous Chef
Edd Kimber April 22, 2015
I love American baking, two of my three cookbooks are littered with US inspired recipes and it's a style I return to time and again. With a pie shell made, I asked on Instagram what I should fill it with. The answers were varied but I went with those that asked for Coconut Cream and Banana Cream Pie, actually I decided to combine the two and, with the addition of passion fruit,give these classic southern recipes a slightly tropical feel. Instead of using a vanilla custard with sliced banana I decided to flavour the custard using coconut milk, roasted banana and passion fruit puree, which makes for one rather special pie, if I do say so myself!
Banana Cream Pie with Coconut and Passion Fruit
Serves 8-10
Shortcrust Pastry/Pie Dough
225g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
120g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
2-4 tbsp ice-cold water
Banana, Coconut and Passion Fruit Custard
2 medium ripebananas
400ml coconut milk
2 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
200g caster sugar
50g cornflour
Juice from3 passion fruits
Topping
450ml double cream, lightly whipped to soft peaks
1 passion fruit
40g toasted desiccated coconut
Preheat the oven to 180C(160C fan) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
To make the pastry place the flour,salt and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse very briefly, just once or twice. Drizzle in half of the water and pulse until the dough starts to form clumps. If the dough is still dry add the remaining water. Once the dough is just starting to come together tip out onto the worksurface and use your hands to bring together into a ball. Press into a disc and wrap in clingfilm and refrigerating at least an hour before using.
To make the custard place the bananas onto the preparedbaking tray and roastuntil blackened, about 20-30 minutes. Whilst the bananas are cooking place the coconut milk into a medium sized saucepan and over medium/high heat bring to the boil. Meanwhile place the eggs, yolk, sugar and cornflour into bowl and whisk together until smooth and combined. Once the milk is at temperaturepour over the egg mixture whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Pour this custard back into the pan and cook, whilst whisking constantly, until thick. Scrape the custard into the bowl of a food processor and add the roasted bananas. Process the custard until smooth and lump free. Scrape the custard into a clean bowl and add the passion fruit juice, stirring to combine. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and chill thoroughly at least three hours.
Once the pastry is chilled roll out on a lightly floured worksurface until about 10-11 inches then carefully drape into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the overhang to about 1inch and roll under itself to form the edge (this cylinder of dough should sit on the edge of the pie plate). Crimp the dough and then refrigerate for an hour until firm. At this point the pie shell can also be frozen for up to a month. To bake line the pie shell with a piece of parchment paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes before removing the parchment and beans and baking for a further 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool fully before filling.
To assemble the pie pour in the custard and top with the whipped cream, finishing by decorating with the remaining passion fruit and sprinkling over the coconut.
