Pistachio and Ginger Biscotti

I am not a huge fan of Biscotti, I don't like that they are so hard, my sister says that is the fun in eating a biscotti you can dipp them in your tea/coffee.....but I disagree, why should you eat something so hard that you have to dipp them in your coffee to make them eatable.

Have seen lots of blogggers making them, and I tell to myself I should make them once. But the thought that it is hard puts me oof.
Untill I saw the Biscotti recipe in the New book Ottolenghi I bought.
I have been hearing almost for Six months so much good about this book from Deeba and Meeta I had to buy it.
And I have to tell you I curse my self for not buyin them early. It is filled with so much good recipes, that If there were people to eat all the food I make I would have made atleast 10 recipes in one go. But alas I can't do that as we ar ejust with three.

In the book it is written, it is not a traditional tooth-breaking Italian biscuit but a softer, frindlier version. Still it counts as biscotti because it is baked twice: once as a log and then sliced into thin biscuits.
And it just reading the above I thought why not make them and must say they taste realy good and you indeed don't break your tooth while you eat them.

While I was mixing the dough my kitchen was smelling like it was christmas time baking, with the ginger and orange etc..........

Makes 25.
80 gm unsalted butter
110 gm caster sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tsp brandy ( I added double)
grated zest of 11/2 oranges
150 gm plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp ground giner
1/4 tso salt
80 gm of shelled pistachio nuts
60 gm stem ginger in syrup, drained and roughly chopped.

1. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Using a electric mixer ( or good spatula and both your hands) cream the butter and sugar, together untill they lighten in colour and texture. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition, stir in the brandy and orange zesrt, followed by the flour, groud giner and salt.
Lastly fold in the pistachios and ginger.
3. Lightly dust the lined baking tray with flour and spoon the mixture on to the tray. Leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes so it firms up a little.
Preheat the oven to 10°c/Gas mark 3.
4. Take the dough out of the fridge and using your hands and a bitr of extra flour, form a log shape about 25 cm long.
It does not need to be perfec, as the mix will spread during baking.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.
At this point the log will be partially baked and still quiet soft. Adjust the oven temperature to 130° c/ Gas Mark 1/2.
5. Once the log has cooled down, use a serated knife to cut it across into slices 1 cm thick.
Lay them flat on the baking tray and return to the oven for about 40 minutes, untill srisp,
Rempve and leave to cook.
Store in a sealed container.

Treacle Sponge Pudding Daring Bakers Challenge April 2010

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen.

She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

When I read the challenge for this months DB , I was a bit reluctant as one of the ingridients they use for pudding are suet and that is something I really don't want to use.
But I din't had to worry at all as on the end og the post she had told if you don't want to use don't use suet, the main thing is it has to be a steamed pudding.

She gave us a really free hand, we could make what ever recipe we wanted and she gave us few links to delicious pudding club etc.....
I choosed to do a pudding from one of my favourite Brittish pastey chef James Martin, i have his book called Desserts and I love that book.
The chocolate sauce I made was from this book too.

I don't think I can call this Treacle pudding as I forgot to add treacle, while we were having the dessert, i was saying in the book the pic was looking really chocolate brown and mine is so light and then suddenly I realized I forgot to add treacle.

I halfed the recipe which is given here as we are only three at home and this amount of ingridients you can serve for 6 to 8 ppl.
I served the pudding with a butterscotch sauce with ginger.

3 tbsp golden syrup, plus 3-4 tbsp extra to serve. ( i used more syrup
175 gm self raising flour
1 rounded tsp of baking powder
175 gm very soft butter
3 large eggs
175 gm of light brown sugar
1 tbsp black treacle ( ofcourse I forgot to add them)


Butter 4 individual small puding pan. Cut for each double thickness of kitchen foil.
Add 1 tbsp if golden syrup into each pan.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and add the soft butter, eggs sugar and black treacle.
Using an electric hand whisk ( or a large fort and a lot of elbow grease) beat the mixture for about 2 minutes or untill it has throughly blended.Spoon the mixture into the pudding pans and use the back of the spoon to leverl the top. ( fill only 3/4 of the pans)

Cover the pans with the foil, making a pleat in the center. Pull the foil down the outside of the basin and tie in place around the rim with string, taking the string over the top and tying it on the other side to make a handle for easy lifting. Trim of the excess foil all the way round.

Place the pudding in a steamer fitted over a saucpan of boiling water ans steam the pudding for 40 to 45 minutes. checking the water level half way through.
To serve, loosen the pudding all around using a palate knife, invert it into a warmed plate and pour the extra syrup over the top and enjoy.
I didn't use the syrup, i made a light butterscotch saice with ginger to serve.
You can also serve this with custard, icecream or just cream.

Vedict: First time I am making a steamed pudding and we all loved it. Even hubby who like more savoury food said that this was indeed a very delcious dessert.