Summer savarin

This is a delightful - she says modestly - summer savarin recipe, using seasonal ingredients.  OK, so that means you won't be able to make it all year round, but that is part of its appeal and you can use the basic mix to create new variations as other ingredients come into season.

I have used foraged elderflowers, picked en route from the workshops to home and fragrant rose petals from the garden.

Savarin
4½oz plain flour
3 teaspoons caster sugar
½ teaspoon dried yeast
5 fl oz sour cream
2 eggs
2 oz melted and cooled butter
Finely grated rind of a pink grapefruit

Syrup
4oz caster sugar
2 oz water
Juice of 1 pink grapefruit
5 heads of elderflowers
A handful of fragrant rose petals (optional)
5 fl oz sparkling white wine

400g strawberries
Juice of 1 lemon
Sugar to taste

Place all of the savarin ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat thoroughly for 2 minutes.
Cover the bowl with cling film or a clean, damp tea towel and leave in a warm, draught free place until doubled in size.

Quarter the strawberries and place in a shallow dish. Pour over the lemon juice and add sugar to taste.  Leave to steep and allow the juices to run.

Prepare the syrup. Put the sugar and water into a pan - a 7" saucepan is ideal and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Place the elderflowers and rose petals in a large jug. Add the grapefruit juice to the sugar syrup, bring back to the boil and then pour over the flowers.
Leave to infuse.

Back to the savarin mix...... lightly grease a 9½" savarin tin   and pour in the savarin batter.
Cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200ºC

Put the savarin ring into the pre-heated oven and cook for approx 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and pour over about half of the syrup.  (You can use the rest to make cocktails with the remainder of the bottle of Prosecco).
Leave to cool and absorb the syrup.

Turn out onto a serving plate and pile the strawberries in the centre.

Dust with icing sugar and scatter rose petals over the top - if you happen to have some!

© Netherton Foundry 2017

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Tomato and onion bread

We wanted some tasty rolls for our Bank Holiday weekend picnic, to accompany a rather fine piece of Martin Moyden's Caer Caradoc and this was a great excuse to get out the savarin tin and make an attractive bread ring, to add visual interest, as well as taste, to my new bread recipe.
Of course, you could also bake these on a griddle plate, but this gave them a lovely crust.

10 sun dried tomatoes, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes

1 onion, finely chopped

1 Tblsp rapeseed oil - as usual I used Bennett and Dunn

1 Tblsp chopped fresh marjoram, I picked mine straight from the garden, but if you haven't got any use 1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 tsp salt - don't overdo it, dried tomatoes are often salted.

1lb white bread flour

While the tomatoes are soaking, gently fry onions in oil until golden. An 8" frying pan is ideal. Set aside.

Remove the tomatoes from the water and chop them into small pieces

Make the tomato soaking water up to 10 fl oz

Place all ingredients into a food processor, fitted with a dough blade and mix for 30 seconds.

Alternatively mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, turn out and knead for 5 minutes.

Make sure the dough is covered and leave to prove until doubled in size. Either cover the top of the processor with the pusher or a piece of clingfilm. Use cling film or a damp tea towel to cover your mixing bowl.
  

Divide the risen dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls.

Lightly oil a large savarin tin and arrange the dough balls in a circle., cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave in a draught free place until doubled in size again.

Meanwhile heat the oven to 220ºC

Bake for approximately 20 minutes.  Serve with butter and cheese.

© Netherton Foundry 2017

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Boozy bread pudding

This is not the height of sophistication, it's just a grown up version of one of our all time favourites - bread pudding...... and an excuse to play with our new savarin tins.

You can either eat it warm with custard or cream or leave it to go completely cold and eat it on its own.

100g raisins
50ml rum, I used my own spiced blackberry rum
120ml cider
1 tsp dried yeast
30g sugar
60g yogurt
2 eggs
130g plain flour

Soak the raisins in the rum for at least an hour.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and cider and leave until the yeast starts to froth.
Add the eggs and yogurt and beat well.
Stir in the flour and beat thoroughly.

Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or cling film and leave to prove for an hour in a draught free spot.
Pour the mixture into a 9½" savarin tin or a 10" Prospector pan , cover and leave to prove for a further hour.

During the second prove, pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Cook for approx 30 minutes.
Allow to cool a little in the tin and then turn out.

If you serving this as a dessert, you could fill the centre with a mixture of whipped cream and apple pureé.
If you prefer something a little sweeter, drizzle the finished pudding with maple syrup whilst still warm.

© Netherton Foundry 2017

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk