01x05 - Bakes to Share

[bunniefuu]

We all know life can be tough,
but when I bake, somehow it makes me

feel that little bit better.

A soothing slice of cake...

Double-layered deliciousness.

..the smell of freshly made bread...

Ohh!

..the comforting crunch of a biscuit

straight out of the oven.

Sometimes, when you want
something really sweet,

you want it to hit the spot.

For me, baking really is my
happy place.

And I want
it to be yours too,

which is why I'm returning
to my first true love.

It's the little details
that make it look beautiful.

You're going to love it!

From easy everyday treats...

Oh, gosh, that's good!

..to indulgent desserts to share.

Sometimes you've got to just throw
all the chocolate at it.

There will be bakes for every
occasion...

Oh, my goodness!

..plus, I'll be showcasing some
of the bakers and pastry chefs

I most admire from across the UK.

Once I've finished a cake, it's that
kid-in-the-sweet-shop moment.

I love that.

So let's bake, eat and be happy.

Today, my favourite bakes to enjoy
with others...

That is the ultimate tear'n'share!

..from my mini pecan pastries,
perfect for piling on a plate...

Help yourself - that's the kind of
dessert I like.

..to superb sweets
you can rustle up in a flash.

This is the fastest pudding you're
ever, ever going to make.

And, finally, my crowd-pleasing
mango and cornflake cranachan.

Everybody gets their own little
pot of deliciousness.

# Could you be loved

# And be loved? #

First, I've got a scrummy
savoury treat to show you.

Baking is all about sharing,
and nothing is more delightful

than my Camembert
and brioche wreath.

This garland of gorgeous sweet buns,
laced with cranberries

and chilli, circling a
marmalade-topped melted cheese

is a perfect bake to share
with friends and family.

This is the kind of bake
that I would make,

whether it's my sisters coming
around for gossip at 10 o'clock

at night, or whether it's a party.

This is the ultimate sharing recipe.

I'm starting by making
an enriched dough.

And this isn't just any old dough -

this is a brioche dough.

You've got fat from the egg yolks
and then butter,

so it's soft, it's light,
it's fluffy

and, most importantly,
it is buttery.

You want 350g of bread flour,

7g of yeast

and 30g of caster sugar.

Give it all a quick mix,
so it's really well combined.

I want to add loads of flavour,
so I'm going to add two teaspoons

of chilli flakes.

Remember, this dough is sweet,
so just be bold -

go for two teaspoons,
see what happens.

And to balance the chilli,

I've got 200g of chopped-up
dried cranberries.

We're going to get that sweetness,
but also get some texture.

It's that combination of sweet
and chilli,

like chocolate and chilli,
or cranberry and chilli.

Now make a well in the middle
for the wet ingredients -

four eggs and 20ml of whole milk.

Stir it up and get the dough hook
going.

Look at the cranberries.
How cool does that look?

I've got 200g of softened butter

that I'm dropping in a cube
at a time.

Once it disappears,
add some more.

A recipe like this is
great for a family get-together,

which was what my childhood
was all about.

My dad is the kind of guy
that would ring the landline

back in the days when we used to
have landlines,

Dad would ring and say,
"Open the door, I'm coming!"

That's because he had a whole
sheep on his back.

And then he would whack on a fire
and he would cook.

He'd ring all of our relatives
and that's, together,

maybe 50, 60 people in one
teeny-tiny little terraced house.

We grew up sharing,

and that has rubbed off on
all of us, really.

Can you see how that's come
together?

Oh, it's like silky buttery!

Ohh! This is the best dough
in the whole wide world.

Just look at it, speckled with the
cranberries and the chillies.

The brioche needs eight to 12 hours
to prove in the fridge

to help the gluten relax and let
the dough's rich flavours develop.

OK, so that's my dough chilled,

but this is my delicious Camembert!

And this is going to sit right
in the middle

of my brioche doughball wreath.

This is super special.

So, you're going to roll this out
into a kind of sausage.

My maths isn't great,
but I need 25 doughballs,

so I want five chunks,

which I'm then going to divide
into five - 5, 10, 15, 20, 25.

Yes! My kids will be proud!

When you've divided your dough
into 25 pieces,

shape by pinching each one
in the centre

and mould into ba*ls
with your hands.

Just pop them around

the little Camembert basket

and just keep going.

You can see the wreath happening -

this is what I love about bread
dough - it transforms.

All you need is a tiny-weeny
bit of imagination to think,

"What could I do with this?"

And then something new is born.

This bake would be a brilliant way
to kick off a special occasion.

I get asked all the time
who would be my perfect

dinner party guest.

And you know what?
It'd be my grandad.

He died when I was quite young

and he didn't even know me
as a teenager.

I'd bake him a loaf of bread
and I would give him lots of butter

and I would tell him, "This the only
time in the world

"you don't have to share.
You can have it all for yourself."

When your garland is complete,
cover with clingfilm

and leave to prove again.

Look at our wreath.

It's had just enough time
for the little doughballs

to just kind of stick together.

Brush all the buns with beaten
egg for a glorious glaze

once it's baked.

It's worth taking your time to make
this look absolutely beautiful.

And for a final flourish, sea salt
flakes on top,

before placing
the basket of cheese in the middle.

And while that bakes,

our Camembert is going to melt!

And in next to no time,

the oven's worked its magic,

and my brioche
is done to perfection.

Imagine this as a centrepiece right
in the middle of the table.

I am just going to take
this top off.

Just look at...

..that!

It's like a ready-made
cheesy fondue,

but we are going to add even
more flavour.

You're like, "Hey, Nadiya,

"how can you even add
any more flavour to that?"

We've got some chunky marmalade

and I'm going to add dollops.

You're all shouting, "She's gone
mad - cheese and marmalade?"

Well, there are no rules in cooking.

That's when cooking becomes awesome.

Here it is,
my boundary-pushing bake.

It's sweet, it's spicy, it's fruity.

It's got cheese AND marmalade.

And the best thing about it -
it's tailor made for tucking into

with the ones you love.

Grab your little doughball,

pull it apart...
Oh, yes! Look at that!

We've got that deliciously light,
buttery brioche

that's been flavoured with the
sweet cranberries

and the spicy hit
of the chilli flakes.

And there's only
one thing left to do.

Straight into the cheese!

That is the ultimate tear'n'share!

Tray bakes are a great way
to feed family and friends,

but there's a time and a place
for individual portions, too.

I love taking classic desserts
and turning them into desserts

that suit our family.
I mean, just think about it,

why would you want one dessert
when you could have a stack?

My mini pecan pies, with their
nutty, creamy filling,

are a terrific occasional treat

when you're catering for a crowd.

These are so exciting.

Think pecan pie,

but individual little pecan
half-moons.

For the pastry,
you need a teaspoon of salt,

550g of plain flour,

plus 230g of unsalted butter.

And this is like a shortcrust
pastry,

so it's crisp, it's crumbly.

This is even more special,
because I'm going to deep-fry it.

Rub the butter into the flour
until it feels like breadcrumbs.

This is the kind of dessert
that satisfies a crowd.

If you're having lots of
people over,

we call it a cutlery-free dessert.

So if you don't want to muck
around with plates and forks

and knives and spoons,
help yourself,

that's the kind of dessert I like
because then no-one's counting.

Add an egg, plus an extra yolk

to 140ml of water.

Pour into the bowl and bring
the dough together with a knife,

before using your hands.

The trick with pastry is just
working quickly,

especially with shortcrust pastry.

I don't want it to become tough
and stretchy.

You don't want to develop the
gluten. OK.

So just kind of squeeze
that dough together,

until you've got something that's
smooth and even.

And then we're just going
to flatten it out

and we'll pop that into the
fridge.

The pastry will need an hour
in the fridge to firm up.

Now for the filling.

I've got 150g of unsalted butter

and 50g of soft brown sugar.

To that, I'm going to add
two eggs. Straight in.

No mucking around here, we're making
the filling.

Plus a teaspoon of
vanilla extract,

three tablespoons of flour
and a tablespoon of milk.

And this is a classic
traditional pecan pie filling.

Add 200g of chopped pecans
and mix it up.

I really like pecan pie,

but I like the idea that
you can have little bites.

You know, you don't have
to have, like, a massive wedge.

It's quite nice to be able
to have something very sweet,

luxurious and rich,
and all in one bite.

And that's the filling done.
It's so simple.

Then I need to roll out
my fridge-cold pastry.

Now you know that my dough
is very well chilled.

Normally, at home...

..Abdul usually helps me and,
remember, I'm only 5' 1".

I have a stool!

My dad used the wood from my
grandad's village to make us

all a little stepping school.

So, I've rolled it out

and we want it to be about 3mm thin,
so not too thick,

because we want them to fry quite
quickly and warm up the filling.

Use a 10cm cutter to stamp out
the pastry circles.

This is one of the first few things
that my mum taught us how to do.

Samosa parcels. Doing
this stuff just makes me feel

completely at ease.

We've got our pastry round.

And then I'm going to add my
pecan pie filling.

The temptation is to, like, cram it,

but did you see?
I just put a tiny teaspoon in.

Not a lot.

And you learn through time
and error

when you put too much in
and things burst.

And then, as if I was going
to just stop at pecan pie filling,

I'm literally going to take
a teaspoon

of this delicious
clotted cream, add it

and that filling is going to cook,
that cream is going to melt

and we're going to have an oozy,
creamy centre.

Then brush a tiny amount of beaten
egg on one half of your pastry,

lift it up and close together,
before pressing all the way

around the half-moon with the back
of a spoon to seal.

Easy peasy!

I've just got six million to go.

And as these are a bit of a special
sweet, they're getting special

treatment when it comes to cooking.

I'm not baking them.
I am going to fry them.

And this is going to give it a
lovely crispy outside,

and then, while it fries,
the inside is going to get gooey

and soft, and the cream
is going to melt.

Frying gives you a texture
that nothing else really does.

These take a few minutes.
Not long at all.

And you can see they're going
lovely and golden!

Soon as each pastry is gorgeously
crisp, sprinkle with salt.

Remember, we've got that sweet pecan
on the inside, got the cream,

we want to give it little hit
of seasoning.

I'm a sentimental old fool,
I am.

I quite like the idea of me
and my sisters doing something

that only we really do together.

So, whenever there's a celebration,
or there's a get-together,

one person doesn't just do all of
the cooking -

it just never happens -

and as we make it,
usually there's the kids running

around and they'll come
and say, "Oh, can I have that?"

And they'll say, "Oh, don't eat that
one, that's too hot.

"Take that one,
it's a little bit cooler."

And those are going
to be their memories.

Look at all of those.

See, this is what I mean about
a stack of desserts!

How can that not make you happy?

There is no pretty way
of doing this,

you just whack them straight on.

And they smell absolutely
incredible.

My pile of pastries are great
for a gathering,

with their gleaming golden crust
and warm pecan and cream inside,

but each little half-moon
is strictly for one.

It's going everywhere.

But it's going to go
in my mouth first!

Oh! Flaky...

..crisp pastry,

filled with hot, sweet pecan pie

and melted clotted cream!

If you come to my house,
this is what you get.

You'll have some to eat now,
you'll have some to take home

and I'll put some in a bag
for you to stick in your freezer.

That's how we do it in my house.

I enjoy taking on a baking
challenge, but I do know my limits.

So, I'm a big fan of pastry
specialist and food writer

Ravneet Gill and I love
her perfect patisserie.

I think my joy of baking and pastry
and cooking and feeding

is all about that joy
that you see from your friends

who are enjoying it.

Ravneet's mastered home-made
puff pastry,

which I rarely have time to make,

and her favourite bake for friends
and family is her

impressive millefeuille.

Millefeuille is great to share,
because it's so rich.

It's really decadent, you couldn't
eat the whole thing on your own.

Making this old-school French pastry
is a skilled affair -

two doughs - one mainly butter -
need to be chilled,

and folded many times to get
the flaky layers

millefeuille is famous for.

So now I'm going to make
the dough part.

I definitely don't come
from a baking family, but I come

from a family of people
who love sweet things.

You've got to bring it together
with your hands,

so knead it really gently.

I think when I first used to see
these things,

I used to always wonder
how they were made

and I didn't start doing it until
I made a biscuit recipe,

realised I could do it,
made a cupcake recipe,

realised I could do it,

and it was really small steps
sort of into pastry.

It wasn't like a full dive
straight in.

So this is the messiest part.
Place the dough into our butter.

You have to be as quick as possible

and this is the quickest way to do
it. I just fold it over.

The first time you make puff pastry
is definitely challenging

and it can be a bit scary,
but the difference is massive.

It's so much more buttery
and so much more tasty.

So there we go.

I wasn't meant to be a pastry chef.

I went to university,
did a psychology degree,

and then I was cooking the whole
time for other people

and then I realised that
I should be doing is cooking

and not doing psychology.

Now I have layers of butter
and dough and butter and dough.

I folded it a total of six times,
which means that when you bake it,

there'll be loads of layers.

I'm now going to fork it
a little bit.

Then we're going to put a heavy tray
on top

and that's
how it's going to bake in the oven.

So I finished my degree
and then I went straight

into training to be a pastry chef
and then working my

way through kitchens ever since.
It's been about eight years.

So there we go.
It's cooked really evenly.

Now I need to divide it into three.

Being a pastry chef
is all about precision.

I'm not naturally very precise,
so I have to work hard.

I'm just putting on a few
tablespoons of sugar.

Now I'm going to blowtorch
and caramelise the pastry.

This adds sweetness and another
dimension of flavour.

It also just makes it look fancy.

One of the best things about
being a pastry chef is getting

creative and taking one idea
and putting your own twist on it.

I'm just piping alternate lines of
white chocolate and vanilla ganache

and chocolate cremeux onto
two pieces

and then sandwich them together.

Then you cut it.

I think that you can see the layers
of the pastry and then the stripes

of the cream, and then the different
types of filling.

Beautiful!

This millefeuille is time consuming.

It's a labour of love, but it's
worth it, especially when you see

your friends eating it.
It feels joyous.

It's ideal for sharing, and everyone
wants to get stuck in, right?

Ravneet's millefeuille is one
of those epic bakes

perfected by years of training,

and it looks stunning.

I don't have time to bake
like that every day, so I need

a quick sweet up my sleeve to feed
the hungry mouths at home.

Baking for the kids
always makes me happy,

and this pudding is one
of our family favourites.

My chocolate-drizzled lime-flavoured
croissant ice cream pudding

is a super easy hack on a classic
dessert, which delivers

all the flavour in half the time.

It's basically a bread and butter
pudding,

but faster and, dare I say it,
a little bit more delicious.

I'm starting with four croissants,
split open and spread with butter.

If you want to start baking
with your kids or your family,

this is a really good recipe
to get them interested.

I've got 170g of lime marmalade.

I love this stuff. It's straight
out of a jar and I'm going

to cover each croissant.

You could use orange marmalade.
You could use jam.

You could use a lemon curd.

You could put whatever you wanted
on here.

My husband and I are two
very different people when it comes

to jams and marmalade.

He likes just like thin a layer -

he doesn't need to cover
his entire mouth with jam -

whereas I'm the complete opposite.

So do it like I do it.
Get loads of that marmalade on.

This is going to bake in the oven
and it's going to be soft

and oozy and melt.

Overlap the sticky sweet
croissants into

a lightly greased ovenproof dish.

Our pudding is happening!

It's so quick we're almost done.

And now for my mind-blowing
short cut,

involving 350g of slightly
melted vanilla ice cream.

When you make a bread and butter
pudding, essentially

all you're making is a custard,
which is sugar and egg yolks

and milk or cream.

Well, that's exactly what
an ice cream is.

It's a custard that's frozen.

So why not just use ice cream?

Now you see how my brain works.

Nothing wrong with a hack.

So you just lay your ice cream
into the middle

and just let it, encourage it,
come on, get down there

and melt and get into the
croissants.

The longer you kind of just leave
it, it becomes this

beautiful kind of mousse-y custard.

But I'm not done yet.

I've got 60g of dark chocolate
chips.

I think chocolate and lime
are just such a good combination.

Sprinkle those all over.
Be generous.

They're going to melt

and we're going to have that
delicious limey, zesty hit

with a hit
of delicious chocolate.

That's it.

We've got our croissants,
butter, marmalade,

ice cream, chocolate chips.

So simple.

I'm so smug right now!

My short cut to a sumptuous sweet
only takes 12 minutes to bake.

This is the fastest pudding
you are ever, ever, ever, ever

going to make.

Just look at that,

where the ice cream has melted
into the croissants,

and then you've got that lovely
custard around the edge.

I love baking where I use
six million ingredients

and two weeks, but I also like
baking when it's easy.

Baking only has to bring you joy,

and if joy is two weeks
and 600 ingredients,

then that's yours to have.

But if it's just a few ingredients,
what you've got

knocking around the house,
then that's joy, too.

As a final flourish, a dusting
of icing sugar.

Doesn't that look absolutely
scrummy?

That crispy croissant on top,

gooey ice-cream-soaked croissant
underneath.

If you like bread and butter
pudding

and you want to eat it faster,
then make this.

My chocolate-topped
creamy croissant pudding

is hands down one of my favourite
ways to spoil my family.

Absolutely delicious -

buttery croissant, lime, chocolate.

No-one would know that this is such
a simple, simple pudding.

Mm!

This is the perfect pudding
for sharing.

If I'm having people over,
I want to make a dessert

that's as delicious to look at
as it is to eat.

When the sun is shining,
I love cooking outside,

and I've got
the perfect treat to share

on a warm, lazy day.

When the weather's warm,
a no-bake bake is ideal,

such as my take on cranachan,
a scrumptious Scottish dessert.

Soft cream rippled with golden mango

and crispy black peppercorn flakes
on top.

So, traditionally,
cranachan is usually made with oats.

I'm not using oats,
I am using cornflakes!

I just kind of thought,
"Well, oats are breakfast,

"so I could just use cornflakes,
right?"

That's my thinking process.

So take 85g of unsalted butter

and when it's melted, add 100g
of cornflakes to the pan.

And they're going to get really
toasty and crisp and crunchy.

These only literally take
a few minutes.

You can see that they become darker
in colour,

but you can also kind
of almost hear them.

You can hear that they're
really crunchy.

CORNFLAKES CRUNCH

Mm!

Then finish off the cornflakes
with a teaspoon

of cracked black pepper.

I don't know what it is about
the sweetness from the corn

and the black pepper that works
really well together.

And it's not like a spicy heat,
it's fragrant.

And I know that might seem
like a radical idea, it's like,

"Why black pepper?" But why not?

Spices shouldn't be limited
to savoury dishes.

Instead of the raspberries you
normally have in cranachan,

I'm going for mango.

Just a small one,
peeled and chopped.

I love mangoes because they remind
me of home.

It's that sweetness of a mango
that just reminds me of my grandad

and his village and the trees.

He was the one who taught me
how to climb a tree

just using my feet.

Back then I was fearless, I don't
know if I could do it now.

And I could go and pick a mango
and I'd come down and we'd cut

it together and we'd eat it
together.

As well as fresh mango,

I'm using 450g of mango puree too.

This stuff is like mango
sunshine in a can.

Just so good.

So let's give
this a really good mix.

For the luscious middle layer, add
three tablespoons of caster sugar

to 600ml of double cream
and whip it up.

This is the perfect thing
that you can make ahead,

put in the fridge, and then just
kind of finish off before you serve.

And when I do that, I always
like to make one extra

and pop it in the fridge
for when everyone's gone.

So the cream is there.
Can you see that?

It's lovely and thick.

Plus, a bit of chunky mango
for freshness and texture.

Then add some of those crispy
cornflakes.

And that's going to soak
up in the cream and get

really lovely and soft.

Remember, we've got that lovely
black pepper in there,

but leave one third for the
top to decorate.

RUSTLING

Oh, just listen to that.

Oh, yeah, that sounds so good.

But look at that - I've mixed it
and you've got

the texture of the cornflakes
and then the rippled mango.

You can't help but love a dessert
this effortless.

All that's left is to assemble my
individual glasses of gorgeousness.

We've got our beautiful mango puree,

pop a little bit of it into the base
of each glass.

I want it to be lovely and neat
and I want so see those clean lines.

Just look at the vibrant
yellow colour.

Anything that you can put
into little individual cups -

perfect for sharing, and this works
really well for that.

Everybody gets their own little pot
of deliciousness.

Dollop on my yummy
mango cornflake cream.

Get that all on top.

Top it off with that last
little bit of fruit.

Then sprinkle over the rest
of the peppery cornflakes.

They are gorgeous.

This is my kind of dessert.

All it needs is a final dusting
of icing sugar.

Ooh!

And that's my mango
and black pepper cranachan.

Isn't she a beauty?

The only thing left to do
is to taste it.

My no-bake mango and pepper
cranachan -

the perfect marriage of soft cream
and crunchy cornflakes,

sweet fruit, tempered by spicy
pepper.

I'm going to go all the way in,

get some of that mango,

get some of that cornflake.

Oh, my goodness!

Sweet, chunky mango,

deliciously flavoured light cream,
to top it off -

that crisp cornflake with a hint
of black pepper.

Oh, gosh, that's good!

It's time to share.
Come on, Pops!

Time to get involved. Get in. Mm!

Ooh! Oh, that's outrageous!

I could eat about four of these.

Put the paperwork away, come on.
Thank you. Get in, Leah.

Next time,
my delicious bakes on a budget...

Mm!

..rhubarb and custard flavoured
kisses...

When you think about budgeting,
you don't necessarily imagine this.

..a simple-to-make pretzel...

Oh, my goodness. Look at those.
Look at those!

..and a luxurious chocolate
fondant.

Delicious and cheap!