Dreamy Goat's Cheese, Thyme & Caramelised Onion Quiche

                    Goat's Cheese, Thyme &  Carmelised Onion Quiche

I adore cheese and these Goat's Cheese Tartlettes are so delicious. Now if your not too keen on Goat's cheese these will work equally as well with some lovely strong cheddar or a mixture of cheddar & gruyere. You could use basil or oregano in place of the thyme.

The pastry is the one I make for virtually everything. It's a lovely rich & crumbly shortcrust. Be really kind to it. Don't overmix or overhandle it, be kind & gentle to it,  keep it  cool until baking and it will be just fabulous.

This recipe will make 12 x3" tartlettes or 24x 1.5" or even 1 large 8/9" tart.


To make around 12 tartlettes

If you prefer to measure your ingredients then here's the link to an Easy Conversion Chart

Pastry:-
2oz butter
2oz vegetable shortening or lard
8oz plain flour
1oz grated cheddar
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
1 beaten egg to bind. perhaps a little water may be needed as well

Filling:-
2  large onions finely sliced
1 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar
2 tsps brown sugar
1 oz butter
300 gms of  goats cheese log.
50 gms Boursin
2 large eggs
1/4pt double cream
few sprigs of thyme chopped
seasoning
grated nutmeg

Make the pastry by rubbing the fat with the flour until the breadcrumb stage, add the cheese & beaten egg & cayenne pepper, bring together & add a little water if necessary. Leave to rest for around 30 mins in the fridge before rolling out quite thinly.

Line the well greased tart tin (I quite often use a muffin tray if making individual tartlettes) with the pastry. Pop back in the fridge for about 20 minutes to firm up.

Heat the oven to 180c/360f

If you're making a large tart... then line the pastry with baking parchment and cover with baking beans or similar.  Pre-bake for around 15 minutes, remove the beans and parchment and pop back in the oven until the pastry base is almost cooked. You won't have to pre-bake the pastry for the tartlettes...just fill as below.

Meanwhile fry the onions in the butter with a good pinch of salt  gently until soft, add the vinegar & sugar and continue to cook until caramelised.

Beat the eggs, add the Boursin cheese and cream mix through. Add the thyme a few grinds of pepper & salt.  Either mix the cooled onions in with the cream & eggs etc or place them on the pastry base, which ever you prefer.

Add to the pastry case. Don't be tempted to overfill if you've too much mixture. Thinly slice the goat's cheese log and arrange on the top. Sprinkle over a little grated nutmeg. Place the tart on a hot preheated oven tray & bake 180c/360f  for around 15 mins, turn down to 160c for another 10 mins or so until the pastry is golden brown. Just test to make sure the filling is set and the pastry at the bottom is cooked through. Leave to cool to room temperature before removing from the tin.

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Nectarine/Peach & Raspberry Dessert Cake

                                  Nectarine/Peach  & Raspberry Dessert Cake

This is recipe created out of necessity... I had a punnet of  ripe Nectarines that needed to be used up and a recent glut of raspberries from my plot.  Not only that but I had a few visitors arriving for afternoon tea...this was an very easy no-brainer.  I skinned and sliced the nectarines... pureed half of the raspberries and then set to make an all in one quick sponge cake... If you'd like to try it here's what you have to do.

If you prefer to measure rather than weigh here is a handy conversion chart Conversion Chart

Grease & line a 7"/18cm  wide  x 3½"x 8cm deep cake tin with baking parchment   

set your oven to 160C/ 325F/gas 3

Ingredients:-

6oz/175g softened butter at room temp
6oz/175g caster /super fine sugar
6oz/175g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon
3 large eggs beaten

10oz/300gms fresh raspberries
4 medium sized nectarines
a little icing sugar 
a squeeze of lemon juice

fresh cream optional


Halve the raspberries leaving half of them whole for the top of the cake (set these aside)
Blitz the first half until the seeds can't be seen ....now half this puree, half is for the batter the rest to serve later

Place all the first 6 ingredients into a large bowl and beat them together with a hand whisk (or by hand) until combined (don't over do this as it'll make a tough cake)
Gently fold in half of the puree
Turn into your prepared baking tin and place in the centre of the pre-heated oven
Bake for around 45 mins.... may take a little less or more, if there's no wobble in the centre of the cake...insert a skewer... it should come out clean... if not continue to bake until it does.... just keep your eye on it.
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for around 15 minutes before turning it out.
I always leave mine to cool down completely whilst still in the baking parchment

While it's cooling slice the nectarines into neat slices.
Add a little lemon juice and icing sugar to taste to the rest of the raspberry puree.

When the cake is cooled & ready to serve..simply decorate it with slices of nectarines around the outside and pile the rest of the raspberries into the middle.
Sprinkle over with icing sugar as it's about to be served

Place the rest of your puree into a jug and pour a little over each slice....serve with fresh cream if desired .

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Apple Sauce, Hazelnut & Raisin Cake

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I had a real bumper crop of Bramley Apples last year,  to me they are the perfect cooking apple making just the best pies and are great for apple sauce.

I sometimes peel & slice them, lay them on a parchment lined tray, sprinkle over some caster sugar a freeze.  When they're frozen bag them up ready to use as you will.  I also like to make chutneys and as I have used here ...just stewed unsweetened and frozen to use in so many different recipes.

This isn't the traditional Apple Sauce cake with no butter or eggs.....tried it a few times....so dry and bland.  If you're going to bake a cake why not make it worth your while and eat something delicious...not just make do with saving a few calories.  It's not for everyday....but once and a while a piece of cake is a real treat.  

Line a loose bottomed 9" tin with parchment

Ingredients:-

1 cup of unsweetened apple sauce from tart cooking apples (Bramleys)

8oz/ 250g butter

6oz/175g dark brown sugar

4oz/125g SR wholemeal flour

4oz/125g SR white flour

1tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of  salt 

2 tbsp oatbran or Flaxseed flakes

4oz/125g Raisins or Sultanas

4oz /125gskinned hazelnuts,  chop half of them and leave the remainder whole for decorating the top of the cake

2 eggs beaten

2 small eating apples, peeled, cored  and thinly sliced to top the cake

Demerara sugar to sprinkle over

you will need a piece of foil, doubled over to fit loosely over the top of the cake tin.

Set the oven to 160c 325f gas 3

Method,

This is made with the rubbing in method so

Place the sieved flours into a large mixing bowl with the salt, oatbran and the cinnamon.

Add the butter and rub in together

Add the raisins/sultanas, dark brown sugar, the chopped hazelnuts mix together

Add the beaten eggs and the apple sauce & lightly combine everything together

Pour into your prepared tin

Arrange the apple slices and remaining hazelnuts on the top of the cake

Sprinkle over around 1 tbsp demerara sugar.

Loosely place the foil over the cake tin and bake for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.

Remove the foil turn the oven down to 140c/275f/gas 1 and bake for another 15 minutes.

Check that there's no middle wobble going on.....if not insert a metal skewer ...it should come out cleanish....this is a moist cake... remember

My cake took a total of 1 hour 35 minutes but as all ovens very it could vary 15 minutes each way.  Just keep your eye on it 

Leave in the tin but place on a cooling tray.

I left mine for several hours before removing this moist cake from it's tin and I removed the parchment just before serving.

Store in the bottom of the fridge in a polythene box....it should keep for several days,  it will also freeze perfectly well until required.

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