Fig Roll Danish

This is part five of our Great British Bake Off Bakealong, and I must say that these bakes are getting more and more difficult. This weeks challenge was danish pastries, and whilst I adore a flaky danish, they aren't easy to make. These danish pastries are based on the flavours of a fig roll, and they are really rather good, and more than a little moreish.

Start by making your dough, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the water, mixing with a fork to a smooth dough. Knead thoroughly and leave to rise until doubled in size.

When the dough has risen knock it back and roll it out to a 20cmX60cm rectangle. Roll out your butter between two sheets of greaseproof paper, place the butter in the centre of the dough and fold each side of the dough over the butter. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out again to a 20X60 rectangle, fold the edges into the middle again and return to the fridge, repeat this step three timed resting in the fridge between steps and finally leave to rest and rise in the fridge for 8 hours.

To make your filling process 8 soft and squidgy figs in a food processor with a splash of water and a teaspoon of soft brown sugar. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and process again until smooth.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out to a 5mm thickness, cut it into rectangles, cut each edge of the rectangle into strips as in the picture below.

Spoon a little of the fig mixture into the middle of the pastry and cross the strips over the top, alternating until all of the mixture is covered. Repeat until all the pastry is used up. Brush liberally with beaten egg and bake in a medium hot oven for around 20 minutes until golden and flaky.

ingredients
for the dough
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting 
10g salt, plus a pinch for the egg wash 80g caster sugar 10g instant yeast 300ml cool water 300g chilled unsalted butter1 medium egg to glaze

for the filling
8 dried figs
1tbsp brown muscovado sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
water

Greek Salad Plait

For the third part of my Bake Off Bakealong I cheated slightly, though I intended to do the signature bake every week, no questions asked, I found myself thoroughly uninspired by the signature bake, and decided instead to do a filled plaited loaf, like the showstopper, and to use a savoury filling instead of a sweet one, given that my vices are usually savoury.

This loaf is inspired by the flavours and ingredients of a greek salad, salty black olives, crumbly feta cheese and squidgy sun-dried tomatoes, with a lick of olive oil to top it all off.

Start by making your bread dough, add the water and olive oil to a bowl and sift the flour over the top, add the sugar and salt and make a well in the top of the flour, add the dried yeast and mix with a fork until you have a smooth dough, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for at least five minutes, return to the bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising pit and chop the olives and place them into a bowl, do the same with the sun dried tomatoes, and finally, crumble the feta into another bowl.

When risen knock back the dough onto a floured surface and split into three even pieces. Take the first and stretch it out so that it looks like a small pizza, add the olives and knead until the olive is distributed evenly throughout the dough. Do the same for the other two pieces of dough with each of the other fillings, and then stretch out each piece of dough until it resembles a long fat salami.

Finally press the three pieces of dough together at one end and plait, when done plaiting press the ends together and tuck them under the loaf, transfer to a lined baking sheet and cover with a tea towel, leave to rise for a half hour and then place in a hot oven for 30 minutes until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped, brush with olive oil and serve with a good olive oil for dipping, and a glass of red wine, obviously.

Ingredients

for the dough
210ml water
375g flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsps olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast

for the fillings
small handful black olives
small handful sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1/3 block of feta
olive oil

Orange Ginger Biscuits

This is part two of my Bake Off Bakealong, and this week was biscuit week, I will admit that biscuits aren't my strong suit, but these were inspired by an orange and ginger tea I used to drink years ago when I was still in school.

cream the unsalted butter and caster sugar together until light and smooth. Crack in the egg and vanilla extract and beat. Add the zest of an orange and mix until combined. Add the flour, salt and ground ginger and fold until it is all mixed in and a dough has formed. Wrap in cling film and chill for an hour until firm.

Remove from the fridge and roll out thinly, cut into rounds with a cookie cutter and bake on high for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

Juice the orange and measure 8 tablespoons of icing sugar into a bowl, add the orange food colouring and a tablespoon of juice and mix until smooth, you may need to add more juice if it is too dry, though the icing should be smooth and viscous, Using a spoon cover the tops of the biscuits with orange icing and leave in the fridge for the icing to harden completely before serving.

ingredients

for the biscuits
90g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2tsp vanilla extract
200g self-raising flour
pinch salt
zest of 1 orange
1tbsp ground ginger

for the icing
8tbsp icing sugar
juice of 1 orange
1/2tsp orange food colouring

Mojito Drizzle Cake

This is part of a new series I've started here on Philips Journal. Based on the greatest show on television, The Great British Bake Off which just returned to our screens after a too long break. This week the bakers made drizzle cake, and seeing as baking isn't my greatest passion, I decided to challenge myself every week to make my own version of the signature bakes. This week was drizzle cakes, so here is my version.

This is based on the flavours of a mojito, I've added peppermint extract and lime zest to the sponge, and used lime juice for the drizzle.

Start by making your sponge, cream the softened butter and caster sugar together until smooth, add the eggs one at a time and stir gently. Add a teaspoon of peppermint extract and the zest of a lime and mix. Sift in the flour a little at a time and fold until smooth, spoon into a greased loaf tin and bake at 220C for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is cooking squeeze the juice of 2 limes into a saucepan, add 3 tablespoons of sugar and swirl the pan to make a syrup, a few minutes before the cake is ready heat gently until the mixture is hot, but not boiling. Remove the cake from the oven and prick all over with a skewer. Drizzle over all the syrup and leave in the tin to cool.

ingredients

225g unsalted butter
225g self raising flour
300g caster sugar
4 eggs
2 limes
1 tsp peppermint extract