Why won't anyone believe me?!

Bacon cookies really work. Neither my mum nor my brother believed me, so I had to bake them a batch. It's the same recipe as last time, except without walnuts and I used dark brown sugar instead of caster sugar.

Here are the cookies ready for the oven.
And ready to eat!
Both my mum and my brother were sceptical at first. They tried the cookies and said they didn't like them. But they continued eating the cookie and finished it. And then went for another. And another. And eventually conceded that it really genuinely works. What we learned from this time around though is that the walnuts actually do add something, even if I didn't realise it at first; you really notice the absence.

Verdict: Spiced honey, sultana and nut roll

Honestly? A bit of a disappointment, really. It's tremendously pretty, but the taste just doesn't quite live up to the looks. I thought it somewhat bland - actually, I thought it needed more of everything: more honey, more sultanas, more nuts and definitely more spice! But being a bit more specific, I think it really needed a bit more sweetness, so honey would be the first thing I'd increase. Or rather, I'd add some brown sugar on top of the honey. The sultanas worked really well and I think having a bit more would definitely be an improvement - the same goes for the nuts, but they were closer to the right amount. And the spices were barely present - I needed to add a heck of a lot more. Overall, it was a disappointment, but it shows a lot of promise. A few minor tweaks to the recipe, and this could be excellent. Maybe some mixed peel and possibly a little ground ginger or cloves too would benefit matters, but really it's just the overall balance of flavours that needs tuning.
This rather arty photo is courtesy of Kenny.
And if you'd like to know why Kenny's photos always look so much better than the ones I take, this gives you an idea of the lengths he goes to when he takes photos. This time around, it was a relatively simple shot; usually he also goes to the hassle of getting a couple of table lamps positioned to improve the lighting!

Roll over Beethoven? No, there are no berries here...

It's been a while since the last entry, but I've been busy. I felt like baking today though, which seemed like a good reason to bake! I got the idea for this from a recipe for Beigli from The Baker, but it bears only a fairly small resemblence really. This is just a sweetened bread turned into a sultana, nut, honey and spice roll. It's not a massively adventurous recipe, but I think it ought to work nicely.

Spiced honey, sultana and nut roll

Ingredients

• 1/2 sachet Fast-action yeast
• 310g Strong flour
• 110g Unsalted butter
• 65g Caster sugar
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 90ml Milk
• 45g Walnuts*
• 40g Hazelnuts*
• 50g Almonds*
• 185g Sultanas
• 3tsp Cinnamon
• 1 1/2tsp Nutmeg
• 110g Honey

Method

1. Mix the yeast with the flour and rub in the butter until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Mix in the sugar, then stir in the milk and egg and combine to form a dough.
3. Knead for 10 minutes, then allow to rise, covered, until doubled in size.
4. Knock the dough back and knead for 5 minutes. Flatten into a rectangle a little bit larger than A4 size.
5. Sprinkle the sultanas, chopped nuts and spices over the dough, then drizzle the honey over the top.
6. Roll the dough up widthways and place on a greased baking tray.
7. Cover with a damp teatowel and leave to prove until doubled in size.
8. Prick the top with a fork in several places and bake at 200C for 35-40 minutes.
9. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

*These quantities might possibly just have been what I had left in my cupboard...

Here it is at the end of step 5.After rolling (end of step 6).After proving (end of step 7). It's not risen very much!But out of the oven, it's looking rather a lot better. Some of the honey leaked a bit though.