Baked & Delicious - Choux Pastry & A Prize

There is a new magazine in town. It's name is Baked & Delicious and the recipes inside certainly are.

The magazine comes out twice a month on a Thursday. The first issue is available at the special price of 99p and comes with silicone cupcake cases, but as the series goes on you can collect a brush & spatula, a loaf pan, a quiche case. heart shaped moulds, mini muffin cases and petit four cases. The second issue comes in at £2.99 all the issues after that are £4.99.

I was really impressed with the recipes in the first issue and all the lovely photos. I especially love the step-by-step guides. There is a step-by-step for a Gâteau St. Honoré, which is basically a layer of shortcrust pastry, a ring of cream filled, caramel glazed choux buns topped with caramel shards. Oh boy, oh boy, it looks good! *drool*

There is also recipes for Iced Vanilla Cupcakes, Rosemary & Thyme Focaccia, Macaroons, Mediterranean Tartlets, Lebkuchen, Dundee Cake, Bitter Chocolate Puddings and a recipe for Choux Buns.

I decided to start easy and try the choux buns. I have always been a bit scared of making choux pastry, so I have avoided it like the plague. Then I saw Raymond Blanc making some choux pastry on tv and he made it look easy, so when I saw the recipe in Baked & Delicious I decided to give it a go. And, amazingly, they were easy to make. I made small choux buns, using a teaspoon to dollop them onto the tray, instead of piping them, but when they came out the oven they were monsters.

I am going to fill them with cream and dip them in chocolate to turn them into profiteroles, but I have lost my light for taking any decent photos. So, I will leave you with a few photos of my choux buns in preparation and post the recipe and more photos another day.

If you would like to try some of the recipes from Baked & Delicious, then why not enter my giveaway. I have 1 set of Baked & Delicious, issues 2 to 5 to give away, along with the free silicone bakeware that come with them, which is a spatula, pastry brush, loaf pan, quiche pan and two pretty heart shaped moulds.

To win the set of magazines just leave me a comment.

For extra entries:

1. Follow my blog and leave a comment to say you have done so.
2. Follow me on twitter (@tinnedtoms)and leave a comment to say you have done so.
3. Tweet the competition by clicking the twitter button at the end of this post and leave a comment to say you have done so.
4. Like the Baked & Delicious Facebook Page

This giveaway will be open until Friday 8 April 2011 and is open to UK residents only.


I had also planned to post the winners of my Slow Cooking Challenge today, but I feel I need a bit more thought before I decide. I will update you on the winners in a couple of days. I think I am going to try a couple of the recipes that I cannot decide between first.

And to continue my theme of not getting anything finished. I would like to send my apologies to my good friend Lisa for not getting a recipe done and posted for this month's No Croutons Required. You will be able to catch up with the more productive bloggers, who actually submitted a recipe tomorrow, over at Lisa's Kitchen. Remember to vote for your favourite.