01x07 - Biscuits and Bites

[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.

Oh!

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 gonna 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 a sweet shop" moment.

I love that.

So let's bake, eat, and be happy.

[upbeat soul music playing]

[Nadiya] This week, my favorite biscuits
and bites to enjoy at any time of the day.

A Lebanese tray bake
that's pure sunshine in cake form.

On a dark, damp day, hot cup of tea,
that's sure to cheer you up, right?

My take on the classic Florentine.

When I put them in the oven,

they were little dollops
of nutty, caramely goodness.

Now look at them.

Plus my very own chicken donuts.

Yes, you did hear that right.

These are, like, the most confusing,
most delicious thing you will ever eat.

And my goodness, it is good!

But first, you can't beat
a homemade biscuit,

and this is one of my favorites,

both fancy-looking and a doddle to make.

I'm always looking
for brilliant snack-sized bakes

to have with a cup of tea.

I love a biscuit,
and this recipe just makes life sweet.

[peppy soul music playing]

Soft, almondy, and with a fresh raspberry
hidden inside,

my Amaretti biscuits
are a revamped version

of these iconic Italian treats.

Amaretti, you've probably seen them,
like, especially around Christmas.

They have them kind of
in little bits of really fancy wrapping

twiddled around the edges
like little sweeties.

You think,
"Gosh, this must be really complicated."

It really isn't. It's really simple.

And it all starts off
with four egg whites.

And we're using those
to make a meringuey mixture,

so it's vital to avoid
getting any yolk in the bowl.

[groovy music playing]

Now, let's whip up our egg whites
till you've got stiff peaks.

Stiff peaks. See? Not long.

I can make this faster than it takes
for me to get to the shops

and buy a packet of biscuits,
then come home, put the tea on,

and open the packet.
That's how quick these are.

To my egg whites,
I'm adding 340 grams of caster sugar.

Gently fold that sugar in.

You don't want to use
a rubber spoon or a spatula

because it's blunt around the edges,

whereas with a metal spoon,
you've got that kind of very sharp edge.

You kind of cut through the egg whites
rather than blunt the egg whites.

This will keep the mixture
light and fluffy.

Mostly, when I bake,
I'm baking for other people.

I'm baking for my kids or my family
or my parents

or someone or for some occasion.

But biscuits need no occasion.

You can just bake biscuits for you.
There's nothing wrong with that.

Next, mix in 340 grams of ground almonds.

So ground almonds are, like,
the base of a good Amaretti biscuit.

Like, if I was gonna make
a traditional Amaretti biscuit,

I'd be done.

But am I done? I'm never done.
I'm always adding new things.

I want to pack
these moreish little biscuits

with as much flavor as I can,

so I'm adding a teaspoon of almond extract

and 18 grams
of crushed freeze-dried raspberries.

You wouldn't want
to put fresh raspberries in this

because it would make the dough
really wet.

This is just gonna take it
somewhere else entirely.

Add that straight in.

And I like pink food.

If I can make it pink, I'll do it.

Now to shape my dough into biscuits.

First, I'm gonna just wet my hands

because the mixture
is a little bit sticky,

and I don't want it all
to kind of stick to my hands.

Grab a teaspoon of the mixture,

and flatten it out.

I'm gonna take a fresh raspberry,
pop it into the middle.

We're just encasing
that lovely, fresh raspberry,

and we're gonna roll it into a ball.

And then we're gonna drop it
straight into icing sugar.

And then just coating them generously.

And then we're gonna just drop that
straight on there.

Then do the same for the others.

You should be able to make
20 yummy biscuits from this mix.

[smooth soulful music playing]

In Italy,
normally you'd have an Amaretti biscuit

with a strong black coffee,

but, you know,
I have it with a cup of tea.

Husband has it with a cup of coffee.
I have had it with ice cream.

I'm just saying,
it can be whatever you want it to be.

These beauties are not only versatile,
they're baked in under 15 minutes.

Just enough time to put the kettle on.

[driving soul music plays]

Oh!

Look at them.

Are they not just the prettiest biscuits?

I know you want to take a look inside.
Have a look.

Oh my goodness.

And that delicious, fresh raspberry
in the middle.

[upbeat soul music plays]

Crunchy on the outside,

soft and gooey on the inside,

these Amaretti may be small,
but they're packed full of yumminess.

Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Sweet, soft,

chewy,

with that burst of fresh raspberry flavor.

Oh my goodness.

Absolutely scrummy.

[funky music playing]

[birds chirping]

I'm a sucker for an unconventional recipe.

And next up is my take on an iconic bake.

[bird chirping]

We are going to make donuts,

and I promise you,
these are no ordinary donuts.

These are my brilliantly wicked,
outrageously tasty chicken donuts.

Wait. Hear me out.

These light and fluffy parcels

filled with barbecue chicken
and sprinkled with savory dust

are so much fun to make
and even more fun to eat.

[funky electronic music plays]

Us Bangladeshis, we like a good snack,

and this chicken donut goes
between that realm of,

"I'm really hungry but I don't quite
wanna eat but I really want a snack."

Chicken donut.

The secret to a good donut
is an enriched dough,

so I've got 550 grams
of strong bread flour,

to which I'm adding 14 grams
of fast-action yeast.

[soulful music playing]

The dough is enriched
by adding 60 grams of caster sugar

and 175 grams of unsalted butter.

And then just using your fingertips,

just rub that butter into the flour.

So now, we're gonna add
our wet ingredients.

So that's four eggs
and 100 mils of cold water.

[funk music playing]

Bring together to form a rough dough.

Then knead in the mixer for six minutes.

[mixer accelerates]

What I love about this dough is,
because it's got loads of butter...

Can you see? It's lovely and shiny.

And this is the start of the best donut
you're ever, ever gonna eat.

Pop that into a bowl,

and we're gonna leave that to prove
till it's doubled in size.

So now for our chicken filling.

No, we are not making a sandwich. Yes,
we are still making chicken donuts.

And, for that,
we need some delicious chicken.

And I'm flavoring
my 280 grams of cooked chicken

with a handful of fresh chives.

[peppy soul music plays]

We want to add some flavor to this,

but we don't want to add so much
that it becomes waterlogged.

And this just adds the onion flavor
without any of the extra liquid.

Add seven tablespoons of barbecue sauce,

three tablespoons of mayonnaise,

and, to spice it up,
a teaspoon of chili flakes.

And then I'm gonna give that
a really good mix.

Back to my dough,
which has had its first proof.

Knock out that air.

Come on.

And then let's tip that
straight out onto our... Look!

Ooh, aye, look at that stretch!

Gorgeous dough.

To ensure they take the same time to cook,
I want each ball to weigh 90 grams.

[mellow funky music playing]

Roll out to about 12 centimeters.

And here's where we throw away
the donut rule book.

So you grab a tablespoon,
and whack that straight in the middle.

Then we're going to grab all our ends
and bring it together.

Get all of the air out.

And just when you get to the last bit,
a really good pinch in the middle.

Seam side up, and just pop them down.

And then do the same to the others.

[groovy music plays]

You don't wanna overstuff it
because, when you go to fry it,

it could burst.

And you don't want to underfill it
because it's a bit underwhelming.

So it's somewhere in between.

If you didn't wanna put chicken in these,
which you will, which you will,

this is the perfect dough
for you to fry your donuts

and then stuff them
with jam or crème patissière,

some custard. Whatever you want.

These need to prove for a second time.
An hour should do it.

Because we've got chicken in here,
I'm gonna let it prove in the fridge.

To take the flavor up a notch, I'm making
a cheeky little savory dust to go on top.

Mix one teaspoon each
of caster sugar, salt,

dried coriander leaves,

ground cumin,

and garlic granules.

And there you go, savory dust.

And now, it's time to fry our donuts.

I don't know if I mentioned,
they're massive.

They're not mini donuts.

No, nobody does mini donuts.
Who are they for anyway?

And for the ultimate crunch,

there's only one way
to cook these bad boys.

Donuts need to be deep fried, guys.

So if anyone asks me,
"Please, can I bake these?" Yes, you can.

But deep frying gives you texture
and flavor that baking cannot.

I think lots of people
are afraid of deep frying.

It comes naturally to me
because I grew up doing it.

Respect it, and it respects you.

My golden rule is
to half-fill your pan with vegetable oil

and deep fry on a low-to-medium heat.

And let's start with this one.
Pick them up gently.

And then gently drop it in away from you.

Just away, so in case... just in case
there's some oil that spills,

it doesn't spill on you.

Okay, so drop it in...

away from you.

[sweeping soul music playing]

And then we'll just kinda push it down
a little bit, just encourage it to brown.

We're gonna turn... Can you see?
Look! Donut! Look!

[sing-song] That's a donut.

These literally take
maybe five, six minutes at most.

[sing-song] Oh yeah!

[soulful music plays]

I'm gonna pop those straight down.

Time for my savory dust.

To make sure it sticks,
sprinkle it over while they're still hot.

Now, repeat the whole process
with the rest of the donuts.

Away... from you.

Turn them round.

I love this smell.
It reminds me of my mum's house.

Last one.

Very few things leave me lost for words.

This has to be one of them.

I mean, chicken donuts! Come on!

Ah, ah! Okay. Okay.

[crackles]

Oh, listen to that.

[sing song] Listen to that!

Look at it.

Hello!

Look at that delicious, sweet fried dough

stuffed with barbecue shredded chicken

all topped off
with my delicious savory dust.

Chicken and donuts together at last.

Who says donuts have to be sweet?

Goodness me, just get in my mouth.

Mm-hmm!

These are, like, the most confusing,
most delicious thing you will ever eat.

And my goodness, it is good!

[cheerful music plays]

Donuts, however they come,
are a huge love of mine.

And right now,
they're enjoying a culinary revival.

And from her stall
in an East London market,

exciting new baking talent Lungi Mhlanga
is helping to lead the way.

Donuts definitely make people happy
and bring them joy.

I think everyone has a memory
of that smell of donuts cooking.

For me, it's being on Brighton Pier
and smelling the donuts cooking

as I go past.

[Nadiya] Since launching,
first as a pop-up in 2018,

Lungi can name Calvin Klein
and Netflix among her clients.

Today, I'm gonna be making for you
a hazelnut-chocolate ring donut

with some chocolate biscuit.

This dough has proved for 18 hours.

It proves in the fridge.
I leave it to rest outside the fridge.

That's to make sure
the dough's easy to work with.

Otherwise, it's difficult to roll.

[mellow hip hop playing]

Treats Club is a hot donut
and ice cream bar.

So we literally make the donut
on the spot for the customer,

so you can see everything
from your donut being fried

all the way to it being decorated.

There is nothing better
than the freshest donut you can find.

And it doesn't get much fresher
than having it cooked in front of you.

The donut process, from beginning to end,
takes roughly 26 hours.

So it is very much a labor of love.

I like to use a pastry cutter

so that we can get
nice, perfect ring shapes.

It means that I can control
what size donuts I'm doing.

My earliest baking memory
would definitely be in the kitchen

with my mum or even with my dad.

I used to eat a lot of dessert,
growing up with my dad.

We used to love eating jam roly-poly.
That was our favorite thing.

Jam roly-poly and custard
used to be the secret dessert

that me and my dad would go
to the supermarket and get

and eat the entire thing,
just the two of us,

before anyone else got home from work.

These have proved for an hour and a half.

They're double in size, light and fluffy,
and ready to go into the fryer.

[sensuous soul music playing]

I'm looking for it to be
a really nice golden brown,

that's when you know it's done.

But two minutes is normally
the right amount of time.

For me, this is the best part, the smell.
It smells absolutely incredible.

Anywhere you are in the world, that smell,
you know it's donuts straightaway.

[Nadiya] Once cooled a bit, the donuts
are ready for their makeover.

First, they're dipped
in a chocolate-and-hazelnut glaze.

I get my inspiration a lot from Zimbabwe,
which is where my family are from.

They have some incredible desserts.

I'm always thinking of new ideas

and trying to create something
that will inspire me.

[upbeat soul music plays]

[Nadiya] These tasty treats
are then topped off with biscuit crumb...

toasted marshmallow fluff...

Oh my gosh.
Wow, smells just like a campfire.

[Nadiya] ...and crowned
with a chocolate biscuit.

Absolutely delicious.

[driving soul music plays]

[Nadiya] Lungi's creations
are living proof

that donuts needn't be plain.

In this case, more is definitely more,
and I love them for that.

[mellow instrumental hip hop plays]

When the weather turns,

there's nothing better
than a comforting cakey bite.

And this bake
will not only lift your spirits,

it's vegan-friendly too.

I'm always trying to find
delicious vegan bakes,

and this recipe is a success.

We all need a tray bake,
and this one is bright and beautiful.

My warm, aromatic
turmeric and ginger diamonds are perfect

for when you fancy a sweet treat
with a difference.

[groovy electronic music plays]

So this is like
a traditional Lebanese dessert,

and these are absolutely delicious
and slightly unusual.

And that's what I love about baking this
because there's that hit

of turmeric and ginger,
and I absolutely love it.

I'm starting by lining my baking tray,

but instead of oil or butter,

I'm going for a more unusual ingredient.

Tahini is a sesame paste,

and tahini is absolutely delicious
in baking.

Think peanut butter.

Tahini is just slightly more liquid.

But it adds the most delicious
nutty flavor that's so subtle.

Now for the cake batter.

[soulful music plays]

I'm using 375 grams of plain flour...

300 grams of caster sugar,

and half a teaspoon of baking powder.

Then I'm gonna add two teaspoons
of ground ginger.

Growing up, we had our set spices
that we used for our curries,

and that's the way my mum taught me,
and my granny and my dad taught me.

So when I first started to bake
and added turmeric to sweet bakes,

that, to me, was like,
"Is this a step too far?"

No, it really isn't.

I'm gonna add two teaspoons.

Turmeric works really well in bakes
and when you put it with ginger.

I can literally feel my mum shouting,

"You what?
What are you putting that in cake for?"

So my next ingredient, stem ginger.

I like to keep the syrup
because we're gonna use that later.

Don't ever, ever get rid of it.
I even put it in my tea.

Two large chunks will add a sweet heat.

[groovy soul music playing]

Now for the bit
that makes this bake vegan.

Add 350 mils of boiling water

and 120 mils of olive oil.

We've got no butter. We've got no eggs.

We've replaced it with oil.

And by adding that hot water,

we're gonna get a moist,
just unctuous cake.

Get in there,
and really give it a good mix.

Look at that color.

Isn't that just the most glorious thing?

Just bright yellow and beautiful,
and it smells absolutely incredible.

So let's get this straight into our tray,
into the center.

This is what I love about a tray bake.

Simple, easy,

delicious.

[mellow soulful music playing]

As Lebanese tradition dictates,

I'm scattering over
a handful of pine nuts,

plus a tablespoon of sesame seeds.

Then it's into the oven.

[gasps] The smell! Oh, the smell!

You can really smell the turmeric
and the tahini and the ginger.

Most tray bakes are cut into squares,

but this special cake calls
for something a bit different.

[smooth jazzy music playing]

I like to cut them
into the little diamond shapes

because they remind me
of the Indian sweets we buy when it's Eid

or there's some sort of celebration.

For my final flourish, I'm glazing the top
with the syrup from the stem ginger.

On a dark, damp day like today,

hot cup of tea,
turmeric and ginger diamond,

that's sure to cheer you up, right?

[peppy electronic music playing]

Check those out.

My vegan-friendly
turmeric and ginger diamonds.

Simple to make but full of flavor.

Look at that color. Glorious turmeric.

Who said turmeric was just for curries?

Let's have a go.

Mmm! You get
that nuttiness from the tahini

and then that spicy kick from the ginger
and then that gentle aroma of the turmeric

and then that sweet, sweet ginger glaze.

Yum! Like tiny little bits of sunshine.

[soulful rock music playing]

When you want a bite
that's a bit more indulgent,

my next bake will definitely hit the spot.

We all need a go-to recipe
for when we want something special.

My Florentines look really fancy,

and they are surprisingly easy
for something so beautiful.

[upbeat soul music playing]

My twist on the classic Florentine
is a decadent mix

of almonds, ginger,
and white and dark chocolate,

all wrapped up in a bite-size treat.

More often than not,
when I go make a cup of tea,

and I need a biscuit,
it's because I need a sweet fix.

And that's what I love about Florentines

because it's like a cross
between a biscuit and a brandy snap,

but kind of together
and really delicious and very sweet.

And they start by melting
50 grams of unsalted butter

with 50 grams of soft brown sugar.

Just as the sugar starts to melt,

I'm going to add
some more caramely-flavored goodness.

I'm gonna add 50 grams of golden syrup.

[exclaims] I love this stuff.

This doesn't just add sweetness.
It improves the texture too.

Golden syrup acts like glucose,

so when you heat it up with the sugar,

it stops the sugar from crystallizing.

When this bakes in the oven,

we're gonna get
that smooth, yummy caramel.

The classic Florentine uses candied fruit,

but I'm swapping that out for 75 grams
of chopped crystallized ginger,

the kind you find in a bar of chocolate.

In it goes, along with 50 grams each
of flaked almonds,

plain flour,

plus the zest of an orange.

Now, we're gonna give this all
a really good stir

till you've got
what looks like a nutty paste.

You're looking at this, thinking,
"How will we get 12 biscuits from that?"

These are, like, magical.

And they really, really spread.

And the nuts in there
will just all kind of fan out,

and they're just...

They're really cool.

So let's pop that last one on.

Wait for the magic.

Watch what they do. Watch.

[upbeat soul music plays]

Just look at them.

So beautiful.

Traditional Florentines have
a chocolaty base,

but I have a nifty technique
that takes those good looks

to a whole new level.

So I've got some dark chocolate,
some white chocolate.

I'm gonna just drop...

some white chocolate
into the dark chocolate.

Then take a skewer.
I've got a cake tester.

Just swirl it

as if you were marbling,

and run it through the white chocolate.

And you'll just get these beautiful swirls
and little heart shapes.

Then I'm gonna take my Florentine,

and I'm going to just dip it in...

and straight out.

And then you get these lines
that go across your chocolate.

And it's absolutely beautiful.

And then just where you can see
the white, just dip it in,

and dip it out.

Look at that.

[mellow soul music plays]

You know, you end up with something
that looks as pretty as that.

Every single one is completely different.

Almonds and ginger dipped
in marbled dark and white chocolate.

These delicate little bites surely win
the prize for the classiest snack ever.

You see that?

Crisp on the outside, chewy in the middle.

-[crunches]
-Mmm.

Mmm!

You've got the caramel, ginger,
orange, and crunch of the nuts.

They're delicious.

-[crunches]
-Mmm!

You guys getting involved?

-[man] Yeah.
-Yeah.

Come on.
I'll put the kettle on. I'll make tea.

-[Pops] Nadiya, can I dunk?
-Ooh! I don't know.

I've never dunked a Florentine before.
You're a maverick!

-[slurps]
-And cut!

[groovy music playing]