Everyone’s favourite twinkly-eyed baker Paul Hollywood is bringing his own particular charms to Wales tomorrow as part of a nationwide tour.
The baker, who shot to fame as Mary Berry’s co-judge on the BBC’s Great British Bake Off, is appearing onstage at St David’s Hall on Saturday with his British Baking Live show.
Paul will take to the stage to demonstrate recipes and talk about some of his favourite regional baking, as well as revealing some of the secrets of being a TV chef, and four lucky audience members will be invited to take part in one baking challenge live on stage.
If you want to be ready, try to perfect your techniques with three of his own recipes from
Recipes from Paul Hollywood’s British Baking, published by Bloomsbury, priced £11. British Baking Live – Favourite recipes, from Cornish pasties to Bakewell is at St David’s Hall on Saturday, November 8 at 2.30pm and 8pm
Welsh Gingerbread
“Strangely enough, many old recipes for Welsh gingerbread don’t include any ginger. It seems to have been a general name for cakes sold at festivals and fairs. I’ve added ginger here, but you could leave it out if you like. It’s kidology – the black treacle adds lots of flavour and tricks you into thinking the cake contains ginger.
“It’s worth buying the large pieces of candied peel that you cut yourself for this. They have much more flavour than ready-chopped candied peel and it really makes a difference to the end result.”
Makes 12 squares
350g self-raising flour
3 tsp ground ginger (optional)
100g unsalted butter, diced
150g demerara sugar
50g mixed candied peel, chopped
50g black treacle
80g honey
150ml milk
EQUIPMENT
A 27 x 20cm baking tin (or tin with similar dimensions)
Heat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Grease and line a 27 x 20cm baking tin (or tin with similar dimensions).
Sift the flour into a large bowl with the ginger, if using. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and candied peel.
Put the treacle, honey and milk in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the treacle and honey have melted into the milk. Pour onto the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for 30–40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool completely, then cut into squares. Store in an airtight tin. The gingerbread will mature and become stickier with keeping.
Whitby Fish Pie
“A traditional working port, Whitby has some outstanding fish and chip shops overlooking the harbour, so you can watch the fish being unloaded while you eat. This is a pretty luxurious pie. In the past it would have been made with whatever was landed on the day. Making the pastry lattice top is fun but, if it’s all too much, you could just cover the pie with a pastry lid in the usual way.”
Serves 6
Pastry
275g plain flour
A pinch of salt
135g cold unsalted butter, diced
1 medium egg, plus 1 egg, lightly beaten, to glaze
1 tbsp ice-cold water
Filling
700ml full-fat milk
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled and halved
4 cloves
60g unsalted butter
60g plain flour
75g spinach, roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
400g haddock fillet, skinned
400g smoked haddock fillet, skinned
175g cooked peeled prawns
Salt and pepper
EQUIPMENT
A 1.2 litre pie dish
To make the pastry, put the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix the egg with the water and stir into the mixture with a round-bladed knife until it forms a dough, adding a little more water if necessary. Knead briefly until smooth, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Put the milk in a pan with the bay leaf and onion studded with the cloves. Bring slowly to the boil, turn off the heat and leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes. Strain the milk into a jug.
Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook gently for a few minutes, then gradually stir in the infused milk. Increase the heat a little, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the spinach, parsley and some salt and pepper.
Check the fish for pin bones, then cut into bite-sized pieces and put into a 1.2 litre pie dish with the prawns. Pour on the sauce, gently mix with the fish and check the seasoning. Leave to cool.
Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 3mm thickness, and a little larger than the top of the pie dish. Use to form the lattice (as shown overleaf).
Dampen the rim of the pie dish with water, cut a strip of pastry to fit round it and gently press it on. Brush with a little water, then invert the lattice from the parchment onto the dish. Press the ends of the strips onto the pastry rim and trim the edges.
Brush the top of the lattice with beaten egg to glaze and bake the pie for 25–30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.
Cider Cake
“This is a light, plain cake, with a hint of apple flavour. Cider cakes are teatime favourites in cider-producing areas and many recipes use bicarbonate of soda as the raising agent. To activate it, you needan acidic ingredient and dry English cider does the job perfectly.”
Makes an 18cm cake
100g unsalted butter
100g light soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
225g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
150ml dry cider
Icing sugar, for dusting
EQUIPMENT
A deep 18cm round cake tin
Heat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease a deep 18cm round cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
Beat the butter and sugar together with a handheld electric whisk until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon together.
Fold about a third of the flour mix into the whisked mixture, then fold in half of the cider, with a large metal spoon or spatula. Fold in another third of the flour, then the rest of the cider. Finally fold in the remaining flour until evenly combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin and gently level the surface. Bake for 30–40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
