What's happening

Tuesday 21st of February 2012


* Important *

Between Tuesday 28th of February & 
Wednesday 7th of March,
The bakery will be "Half Open" 
Just for that week ... 

   My parents are coming over to visit during that time, and I can't see myself letting them free in the Irish countryside ;-) They would never come back ... hahaha

   To make it as less inconvenient as possible I will still be taking orders; and will be in the bakery at the time that suits so you can pick up your order during those eight days. I'll be happy to assist as always, just give me a call on the mobile ;)

   On to the 2nd big news of the day ....


It's Pancake Tuesday !!!

   I have made some in the shop, just the smell of them cooking brings me straight back to childhood! You can pick one up for €1 in my kitchen, with brown sugar or blackcurrant jam. 
   Crepes/Pancakes are much better to do at home for some family fun though ... so here is the recipe I use (My Mum's recipe I grew up with ...) and a few tips:

For about 16 medium size crepes:

- 250g White plain flour
- 500ml Milk
- 50g Sugar
- 160g Unsalted Butter ( + some for cooking)
- 4 Large Eggs
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Few drops of Rhum
- few drops of Vanilla extract

Making the batter:

* Melt butter over low heat
* Combine flour, salt, nutmeg in a large bowl; and form a well in the centre
* In the well, put in sugar, eggs and melted butter
* Whisk from the inside out until smooth paste
* Add the milk in 3 times, until smooth batter
* Add Vanilla extract & Rhum
* Let the batter rest at room temperature for half an hour

    Half an hour later, your batter might have thickened a little bit. Just check the constancy and add some more milk if too thick. Start cooking!

Cooking tips:

- Cooking crepes correctly is all about the temperature of the pan: hot enough but not too much! When pouring the batter in the pan, you must hear sizzling, and the butter must not turn brown. If it's not sizzling then your pan is not hot enough... 

- Chose your pan wisely: non stick is always best, medium size (the bigger the pan, the longer it will take to cook the crepes...), and not too heavy in weight, so that your wrist doesn't get tired ;)

- Flipping/tossing: It always looks great to see someone flipping a crepe, but in reality it's tricky to get it right each time. So unless you enjoy cleaning, just flip your pancakes with a stainless steel spatula .. 

- When to turn over the pancake: Once pouring the batter in the pan (enough to cover a thin layer), you'll see it drying out. When the edges of the crepe go light brown, flip it! Cook it for another couple of minutes, done!

- 1st crepe is the tester: 95% of the time the 1st crepe never works out... But it will give you an idea if you've put enough/too much butter in the pan; or enough/too much batter. Don't serve it just eat it ... 

A few More tips:

- You can replace the rhum/vanilla extract for something else. Grand Marnier, Beer or  Amaretto work very well too for example!
- when piling the cooked crepes, cover them with a sheet of tin foil, it will keet them warm longer and save them from drying out.
- Prepare the batter the night before and keep in the fridge overnight. Allow it half an hour at room temperature the next day before cooking them.
- Move quickly in between 2 crepes being cooked so you don't lose any heat in the pan.
- Leave out the sugar for savoury crepes.
_ For savoury crepes/galettes like in Brittany, don't use the sugar and replace the white flour with buckwheat flour.

Any questions just ask ;-)



Have Buttery Week!!! 



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