Cranberry and Camembert Quiche

We had a work Christmas lunch last week and everyone was asked to bring something. Initially I planned to bake a cake or a sweet treat but I thought I'd surprise everyone with a savoury treat. Plus I had quite a lot of leftover ingredients from my recent Christmas party so I decided on a cranberry and camembert quiche. I made 2 quiches - 1 vegetarian (cranberry, camembert and rosemary) and a non-vegetarian (cranberry, camembery, bacon and thyme). Most people preferred the vegetarian quiche including self confessed carnivores. I have to admit that my general motto is that everything tastes better with bacon but not on this occasion! Personally I preferred the vegetarian option as well although the cranberries were a little tart for me. Nevertheless everyone enjoyed the quiches and they didn't last long! They are really quick and easy to make and would for a stunning plate at the Christmas table. 

I'm sending this to the Fresh Cranberry Recipe Link Up 2014 hosted by Jen from Blue Kitchen Bakes. 

It's also perfect for the No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary as I made use of leftover ingredients.  I had initially planned to bake a Christmas wreath bread with baked camembert in the centre for my party but didn't get round to it. The cranberries were for a sauce and garnish and I had cream leftover from myo other recipes.

 vegetarian version

 place fresh cranberries on pastry that has been blind baked. Scatter the chopped camembert cheese 

 add the cream mixture and some fresh herbs

 fresh from the oven

 I love the colour of the fresh cranberries 

 the non-vegeratian version with bacon and thyme

 add chopped cooked bacon to the quiche 

 You can clearly see the bacon pieces

For the pastry - makes 1 quiche
280g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
140g cold butter, cut into pieces
8 tablespoons cold water

For the vegetarian filling

150g fresh cranberries

1/2 box of camembert cheese,cut into cubes

2 eggs

300mls cream

fresh rosemary 

salt and pepper

For the non vegetarian filling 

150g fresh cranberries 

1/2 box of camembert cheese, cut into cubes

2 eggs

300mls cream

7 strips of streaky bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces

fresh thyme

ground pepper 

• To make the pastry using a food processor - place the flour and butter and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly add the water one tablespoon at a time until a dough forms. 
• Alternatively, rub the butter and flour together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly add water one tablespoon at a time until a dough forms. 
• Roll into a ball, wrap with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking. 
• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line your tart tin. 
• Use a small ball of pastry scrap to press the pastry into the corners of the tin. 
• Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200C.
• Line the tart case with kitchen foil or baking paper and fill with baking beans. 
• Blind bake for 20 minutes, then remove the beans and foil/paper and continue baking for 5 - 10 minutes until the pastry is light brown.
• For the vegetarian filling, place the cranberries and cheese on top of the pastry.
• Whisk 2 eggs into 300mls of cream and add a little seasoning.
• Pour this mixture over the pastry and add some sprigs of fresh rosemary.
• Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and the quiche is set.
• For the non-vegetarian filling, cook the bacon under the grill or in an oven. Cut into small pieces.
• Place the cranberry and cheese on top of the pastry followed by the cooked bacon and fresh thyme.
• Whisk 2 eggs and 300mls of cream and add some pepper (I didn't add any salt as the bacon is quite salty).
• Pour this mixture on top of the quiche and bake for approximately 45- 50 minutes or until golden brown and the quiche is set. 

 

Banana, Apple and Cranberry Muffins

It's muffin time again! I went through a phase of constantly baking muffins and then not baking them for a while. They are really good for using up leftovers and the recipe is so versatile and forgiving you really can't go wrong. I created this recipe to use up leftover fruit and a bag of chocolate coated cranberries that I found in my cupboard. I also added some spice as it enhances the flavour and smells really good when baking. The muffins turned out beautifully - really soft and moist and I love the chocolate coated cranberries. It's a really tasty breakfast and perfect for lunch boxes too. 

I'm sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.

As it's a frugal recipe, it's also perfect for Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla from Fab Food 4 All.

 dry ingredients andmwet ingredients 

 adding in apples and chocolate coated cranberries 

An original recipe by bakingaddict
Makes 12 muffins

200g plain flour
150g soft light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 ripe bananas
1 large apple - peeled, cored and diced
150g dark chocolate coated cranberries
2 eggs
125mls vegetable oil
60 mls milk

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
• In a separate bowl, roughly mash the bananas with the fork.
• Add in the vegetable oil, milk and eggs and mix.
• Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in the middle.
• Mix until just combined,
• Add in the chopped apples and chocolate coated cranberries.
• Divide into 12 muffin cases and bake for approximately 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

Cheddar, Cranberry and Honey Beer Bread

Recently I was invited to the BBC Good Food Show by Barber's Cheesemakers. I had the opportunity to meet with Charlie Barber where he told us about the history of Barber's cheese, how to judge a cheese award and anything you want to know about cheese but were too afraid to ask! 

The Barber family have been farming and making cheese at Maryland Farm in Ditcheat, Somerset since 1833. AJ & RG Barber is run by cousins Anthony, Chris, Charlie and Giles Barber, the sixth generation of the Barber family, and many other family members are still involved. Today the Barber farms comprise 2500 acres of prime Somerset dairy land and are home to some 2,000 dairy cows.

Charlie told us how they created their own specialist laboratory with their own microbiologist to grow their own natural starter cultures. These cultures are the friendly bacteria added to the milk to start the cheesemaking process and are the most important ingredient in creating the flavour and character of the finished cheese. Most cheesemakers nowadays use freeze dried starters and they are the only cheesemakers that currently make their own natural starters. They also supply the starters to artisan cheesemakers. They believe that it's the natural cultures that give their cheese a unique complexity of flavours and it's honourable that they are keeping this tradition alive.

We got to taste their signature cheddar cheese, cave aged cheddar, smoked cheese and goat's cheese. We were also introduced to his cousin who gave us a sample of Black Cow Vodka - vodka made from milk of their cows. It has a clean taste at the front and a subtle dairy taste at the end.

cheese awards 

 supergolden cheese awards table - one of their cheeses made it to this table! 

Before I tell you about my recipe, I'd also like to mention a honey beer that I tasted at the BBC Good Food Show. It's made by Hiver who source raw honey from independent British Beekeepers. I'm not a huge fan of beer but this is aboslutely delicious! Don't just take my word for it, try it for yourself and tell me what you think. At present, it's only available through Ocado.

Barber's gave me a block of their vintage cheddar to sample and to create a recipe with. I had a few ideas to start with and after tasting the honey beer, I decided to make a Cheddar and Honey Beer Bread. As it's approaching Christmas, I decided to throw in some cranberries for a festive touch. I based it on an old recipe that has been passed on from a friend who got it from another friend and so on. I've not used this recipe in many years and had to hunt for it! It's a very simple mix all in one recipe. No need for a yeasted dough, kneading or fancy equipment. I added in dried cranberries and chunks of cheddar cheese. 

This bread is best eaten fresh on the day it's baked. The crust was my favourite part and I could have eaten the whole crust in one go! You can definitely taste the beer in the bread but the honey notes were subtle. You can clearly taste the cheese as it has a rich and strong flavour which is not masked by the honey or bread. It also adds a lovely saltiness to the bread and the cranberries add a burst of sweetness and texture. You also get bits of crusty melted cheese on the outside. We couldn't finish the whole loaf between us in one sitting so I toasted a few slices 2 days later and it was still very good. In fact, I think I prefer the toasted version as you get lots of crispy bits. Make sure you turn your toaster on a low setting as you don't want to burn the cheese!  

 Barber's Vintage reserve Cheddar

 Pour beer into the batter in one go 

 add dried cranberries and chunks of cheddar 

add melted butter before baking 

 fresh from the oven 

 serve warm with butter 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

470g plain flour

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey (you can add another tablespoon if you want a sweeter bake) 

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 bottle Honey Beer, unopened and at room temperature

60g melted butter

60g dried cranberries (could add a bit more)

180g Barber's Vintage cheddar cheese, roughly cut into chunks

• Preheat the oven to 190C.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. 
• Add in the honey.
• Open the beer and all it all at once to the batter - it will foam up.
• Stir briskly until just combined - be careful not to overmix.
• Add in the dried cranberries and cheddar chunks and stir a few more times to incorpate it.
• Pour into a loaf tin and drizzle with the melted butter.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to rest in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
• Best served warm with butter. 

Disclaimer: I was invited to the Cheese Awards by Barber's Cheese at BBC Good Food Show. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

SRC: Cranberry Cornbread

It's the fourth Monday of the month which means that it's Secret Recipe Club Group D Reveal day! I love the Secret Recipe Club and look forward to reveal day every month. The concept is simple each blog is assigned another blog in secret and the idea is that you choose a recipe to make from your secret blog and reveal it on the same day. 

My assignment this month is Fried Ice and Donut Holes written by Melissa who is a teacher by profession. She loves to cook and bake and started her blog back in 2009. The story behind the name of her blog comes from her grandpa telling them to behave or they would have fried ice and donut holes aka nothing for dinner! 

She has a lovely blog full of wonderful recipes so do head on over to say hi and to check them out. I shortlisted a few recipes to make including Citrus Kissed Honey Buttons, Peanut Butter Bars, Salted Caramel Cashew Bark and Irish Coffee Cupcakes. In the end I decided on this Cranberry Cornbread as it sounded really interesting and look really tasty. 

It's a really simple recipe and the results were amazing. I love the coarse texture of the polenta and the sweetness of the cranberries. I usually think of cornbread as savoury so it was good to try a sweet version. Everyone at work really enjoyed it as it was different to normal cake and it felt quite healthy to eat! 

 buttermilk, sugar, flour, polenta, dried cranberries, eggs, butter 

 wet ingredients and dry ingredients 

 stir in dried cranberries

 ready to bake 

 love the golden colour 

Recipe from Fried Ice and Donut Holes

70g butter, melted
250mls (1 cup) buttermilk
225g polenta or cornmeal
85g flour
110g sugar
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
170g dried cranberries

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Whisk the butter, eggs and buttermilk in a bowl. 
• Mix the polenta, flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in another bowl.
• Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
• Stir in the dried cranberries. 
• Pour into a cake tin (I used a 23cm round cake tin but you can also use a square tin) and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Mixed Fruit Muesli Slice

This month Random Recipes hosted by the dashing Dom from Belleau Kitchen is 40. So he's asked us to choose our 40th book and turn to page 40. I dutifully counted along my bookshelf and No 40 is....

The Australian Women's Weekly Little Squares & Slices. I've not actually made anything from this book yet so I was really pleased that I finally had a chance. With a little trepidation as you just never know what you'll get with random recipes, I turned to page 40 and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Tropical Muesli Slice. I did not have any dried tropical fruit so I used mixed dried fruit, dried cranberries and a handful of dried pineapple slices that I had leftover from something else. It's a really simple recipe but I still managed to burn mine as I left it in the oven for too long! Fortunately, it still tasted good and was devoured heartily at work this morning. Everyone actually quite liked the burnt bits and it was extremely more-ish. It's highly addictive and the recipe is so versatile as you can use any dried fruit/nut or chocolate. 

 oats, self raising flour, dried cranberries, dried pineapple slices, mixed dried fruit, brown sugar, honey, butter 

 slightly burnt but still delicious! 

125g butter
75g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
135g rolled oats
75g self raising flour
250g mixed dried fruit including dried cranberries (alternatively you can use a tropical mix as suggested in the original recipe - 225g sliced, dried tropical fruit and 25g dessicated coconut)

• Preheat the oven to 160C.
• Melt butter, sugar and honey in a medium sized saucepan. 
• Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. 
• Press firmly into a square baking tray and bake for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
• Allow to cool completely before slicing

Cinnamon, Fruit & Nut Mix Cookies

These cookies are inspired by a pack of fruit and nut mix with cinnamon dusted milk chocolate almonds that I found in the shops. I decided to add in more cinnamon, some chopped chocolate as I had a bit leftover and leftover berry mix (raisins, sultanas and dried cranberries). I also used wholemeal flour and oats to make it seem healthier! They were absolutely delicious. I love the cinnamon which was strong but not overpowering and it was the perfect balance of fruit, nut and chocolate. 

I'm sending this to the Biscuit Barrel Challenge hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... who has chosen the theme "Spices" The recipe contains quite a bit of cinnamon which is perfect for this time of the year. 

I'm also sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. I used up my leftover chocolate and berry mix. 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

225g butter
220g dark brown sugar
180g wholemeal flour
250g oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
2.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 eggs
150g fruit & nut mix with cinnamon dusted milk chocolate almonds
70g chocolate, chopped
100g berry mix (raisins, sultanas, dried cranberries)

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line 2 baking trays.
• Cream the butter and sugar for a few minutes.
• Add in egss one at at time a mix well.
• Mix in flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon and oats.
• Finally stir in the fruit, nuts, chocolate and berry mix. 
• Using a small ice cream scoop, place round balls of dough spaced apart on a baking tray.
• Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• The cookies will harden as they cool.