Not what I hoped for

[wiseheart]

The British baking experiments were, as the Germans would say, der reinste Reinfall. I've made Paul Hollywood's egg custard tartlets (with the fake custard), and it proved to be fairly bland. Not even the shortcut pastry had any taste whatsoever. The custard might have profited from more sugar, but I didn't want to make it too sweet... well, too sweet might have been an improvement. :(

As for the coronation quiche... I think if I had cut cardboard into the right form and served that for lunch, it would have been more tasty - and considerably cheaper, not to mention all the hard work. The shortcut pastry literally fell to pieces during the blind baking, and my efforts to patch up the tears only led to the custard leaking out and soiling everything within ten light years. The spinach couldn't be felt in it, even though I added some garlic on my own (the recipe didn't ask for it), and frankly, all that Cheddar was practically undetectable. I should have used the shortcut pastry recipe I always use when making quiche, but I wanted to be authentic. A fat lot of good did it for me. :(

Of curse, they asked half butter and half lard for the pastry, and there hasn't been any lard in our house since Grandma's death (back in 1996), so I used margarine, which might have been part of the problem. My usual recipe goes with margarine and works like a charm, but this was a royal recipe; margarine was probably beneath its dignity or whatnot.

At least Grandma's sponge cake did its duty as always: it is light, fluffy and delicious as always. I cut it twice horizontally and added strawberry jam and quark creme (instead of whipped cream that would collapse until tomorrow), so it actually looks like a Victoria sandwich, even if it isn't one.

All this disappointing baking ate most of my day, so there was only a bit of time left for crossword puzzles and taking Mum out for a walk. I'm a bit pissed off about the whole issue, but we'll eat the food tomorrow anyway, so it wasn't entirely wasted. Still, I'd have loved to serve a really delicious high tea coffee. Ah, well, I can still make yummy canapés yet.

Comments

[artemis10002000]

Ah damn, what a shame. And so much work went into it, too! I'm sorry. That's a real bummer.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

It really is. :(

[noadvertising.livejournal.com]

Honestly- I read the recipe and thought WtF...

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

shortening might work better than margarine

[meathiel]

The British love to yse lard for baking ... why ever.
I hope MY scones will work out tomorrow.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

In theory, it could have worked. I've made spinach quiche before, and it was great, even though I don't personally like spinach that much. But this version...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Sorry, no idea what shortening is. We just have butter and margarine.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure they will. As long as you've got a sensible recipe.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortening#:~:text=Shortening%20is%20any%20fat%20that,pastry%20and%20other%20food%20products. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortening#:~:text=Shortening%20is%20any%20fat%20that,pastry%20and%20other%20food%20products.)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see! Thank you! I think the closest thing we have to that is vegan margarine from Rama, but that's so expensive I only buy it when it's on offer.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

That's too bad.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

most mainstream grocery stores will have it, like Safeway around here, I have no idea where you live so I don't know which store that would be for you.

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

I hate bland food, and you can never have too much cheese, in my opinion. I always add a large handful to frozen pizza etc because there's never enough on them.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I live under a rock in the middle of Europe: Hungary, to be accurate.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

That is true; only a few alibi shards.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Some days are like that. :(

[noadvertising.livejournal.com]

The only coronation quiche recipe I´d do is Jamie Oliver´s one. In this recipe they even halved the amount of lard butter in recipes in German!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I was taught to use lard when making short crust, both by my mother who was a cook by trade, and by the Domestic Science teacher at school; half as much lard by weight as plain flour, a pinch of salt and very cold water. And it really did work every time.

I find margarine makes it a bit tough and we would never have used butter for everyday stuff even as a farming family. These days I tend to use Trex as it rubs in a bit quicker.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I looked at the recipe and though 'No, I won't bother...' You make me very glad about my decision now.

We went 'Modern multi-cultural Britain' — we had beer and garlic basted chicken kebabs, tabbouleh, and a green salad — but I did make a proper English pudding; Eton Mess :) Oh — and I baked fruit scones and gingerbread for us to have mid-afternoon.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Which might be the reason why the shortcut had the consistency of flaked cardboard.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I never used lard for baking. It isn't a usual thing over here, except for some very special recipes.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Strangely enough, the quiche tasted much better after having spent a night in the fridge and then being re-heated. At least according to Mum. The problem with food that doesn't turn out well is that there's only the two of us, and then we'll have to eat the leftover crap for days. *sigh*

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

When I was young it was the cheapest fat available so we used it for baking and frying.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it improved with keeping. Yes, there are usually only the two of us as well — we end up with some unusual things as I re-use things that weren't quite right :)

[mirasaui.livejournal.com]

How disappointing, all the work you put into the baking. At least you made the attempt, much braver than I would ever be.