Bake expectations
Former Bake Off finalist Ruby Bhogal’s first cookbook, One Bake, Two Ways, features 50 like-for-like recipes, with a plant-based and non-plant-based version for each bake. She reveals two recipes.
Cherry and almond pie
“This is one of my favourite pies to make,” says Ruby Bhogal. “Not just because it’s stupidly delicious hot or cold, but because it is also pretty simple. There’s plenty of steps in this recipe where you can make bits ahead and keep chilled until the big bake day. I have doubled the quantities for the dough because, a) it’s so simple, and b) it freezes well.”
“If cherries aren’t your thing, you can swap them out for another firm stone fruit. Plums would be delicious, or even unripe nectarines. Peaches would work a dream in this.”
(Serves 6). Ingredients: For the almond sweet shortcrust pastry: 250g unsalted butter, room temperature; 1tsp vanilla bean paste; 1tsp almond extract; 100g caster sugar; 2 medium eggs; 200g ‘00’ or plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting; 200g ground almonds; 1 egg, beaten, for brushing. For the cherry filling: 1kg fresh cherries, stoned (you can also use tinned or frozen); 150g caster sugar; 30ml freshly squeezed lemon juice; ½tsp almond extract; 120ml water; 35g cornflour, sifted; 23-cm/9-in tart tin, buttered.
Let’s start with the pastry. In a stand mixer or large bowl, add the butter, vanilla bean paste, almond extract and sugar. Mix well until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until fully incorporated. This may take a minute or two to emulsify completely. Next, in goes the flour and ground almonds. Mix until just combined.
Flatten out the dough with your hands on a piece of clingfilm to about one centimetre thickness. Lightly sprinkle with flour and then wrap it tightly and place the covered dough onto a baking tray.
Pop the tray into the fridge to chill for about one hour – this will make it miles easier for you to roll out and handle once the butter has firmed up a notch.
Sprinkle a little flour onto the worktop and use a rolling pin to roll the chilled dough to three millimetres thick.
Carefully line the base of the prepared tin, gently pressing in the pastry at the base edges before cutting off the excess dough. Keep the surplus dough to one side to use for your top decoration.
Use a fork to gently prick the base of the lined tart tin and place it into the freezer for at least 45 minutes to freeze through completely.
While the tart is in the freezer, make your decorations to top your tart. Whether you choose to lattice, use a stencil, or use cutters, set the decorations aside and place in the freezer to set firm.
Preheat the oven to 170°C fan/190°C/gas mark 5. Now that everything is chilling, let’s move on to make the cherry filling.
In a saucepan, add the cherries, sugar, lemon juice and almond extract. In a bowl, add the water and cornflour and mix to make a slurry. Pour into the saucepan. Place the saucepan over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook the cherries low and slow, stirring often, for about 20 minutes until thickened.
Once the liquid has reduced and coats the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and leave to cool. I pour this into a large, shallow baking tray for a speedier cool down.
When the pastry shell is frozen through, scrumple up some greaseproof paper, unfold it and place on top of the base. Pour in some baking beans or dried rice to blind bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and take out the baking beans and greaseproof paper. Use a pastry brush to brush beaten egg liberally over the bottom and sides to seal the pastry and ensure zero soggy bottom. Place back in the oven for a further five minutes to cook the egg wash.
Now spoon the cooled cherry filling into the pie case. Once filled, place your frozen pastry decoration on top and brush with egg wash. Place back into the oven for a further 20 minutes to bake.
Once the pie is out of the oven, allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then carefully remove from the tin before slicing and serving warm. This is also killer when cold and sets nicely for a clean, sharp slice.
Plant-based chai custard creams
“This version of the famous biscuit is a prime candidate for tea dunking,” declares Ruby. “The myriad spices, the complexity and depth of the chai, the subtle warmth from the heady combination teamed with a classic custard filling, is the only way you should be eating custard creams from here on. These biscuits taste better the plant-based way. The texture, the finish and the snap are incomparable, so this recipe for me would always be my go-to, out of the two.”
(Makes 24). Ingredients:275g plant-based unsalted butter, room temperature; 115g icing sugar; 1tsp vanilla bean paste; 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting; 100g custard powder; ¾tbsp chai spice mix. For the custard buttercream: 75g plant-based unsalted butter, room temperature; 110g icing sugar, sifted; 40g custard powder; 1tsp vanilla bean paste; 1tbsp soy milk; 2 baking trays, lined.
For the biscuit dough, add the butter and sugar to a bowl and cream together for five minutes until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, custard powder and chai spice mix using a balloon whisk. Add the spiced flour to the butter and mix until just combined.
Lightly flour your worktop and turn out the dough. Use your hands to work the dough and bring it all together once it is soft and smooth. Roughly mould the dough into a disc and press down gently to flatten before wrapping tightly in clingfilm. Pop it in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured silicone mat or sheet of greaseproof paper to about four millimetres thick. Using a cutter, stamp out the biscuits, and add to the prepared baking trays. Any surplus dough is good to be re-rolled twice, but after this, the dough will begin to toughen, so be savvy with your dough cutting!
Place the trays in the freezer to set for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 165°C fan/185°C/gas mark 5.
While you are waiting for the biscuits to set, make the custard buttercream. Add all the ingredients, except the soy milk, to a bowl. Use an electric hand whisk or a balloon whisk to combine until smooth. Add the splash of milk at the end to loosen the buttercream, then transfer it to a piping bag.
Once the biscuits have set, pop one tray into the oven and bake for 13 minutes until lightly golden. Repeat with the second tray. Baking them separately just ensures an even bake across both batches.
Leave the biscuits to set and harden on the trays for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
When they are completely cool, pipe the custard buttercream onto one biscuit, leaving a slight border around the sides, before sandwiching with another biscuit. Gently press together so the filling comes to the edges. Repeat for all remaining biscuits and filling.
I like these once they have firmed up a little, so I pop my finished biscuits in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Keep these stored with no lid on, to keep that biscuit snap.