Recipe Book Review: The Messy Baker by Charmian Christie

The Messy Baker by Charmian Christie

The Messy Baker is a recipe book that focuses not on the aesthetically pleasing, but on what should be the primary focus for baking: flavour. It promises to carry recipes from and for a 'real' kitchen.

I don't know what sort of oversize house Christie lives in, but her list of 'Can't Do Without Items' would fill my kitchen to overflowing. I'd have no space for food or anything to eat it with. But that aside, her introduction serves as an encyclopaedia of all things baking, and I learned a lot about utensils and ingredients by reading through it. The style is unthreatening, accessible, perfect for a complete amateur like me.

The recipes are grouped by different taste sensations: flaky, crumbly, sloppy, smudgy etc. Which does make the book a little tricky to navigate, but each section has a mix of savoury and sweets that can be mixed and matched across the sections for the perfect culinary experience.

Full of good advice and good recipes, I might have to add this to my physical collection - if there's ever a British version. Because despite the loveliness of the presentation and the food, I couldn't get used to converting cups and Fahrenheit. It would be too much of a hassle to be constantly looking up the conversions. When you make mistakes as easily and as often as I do, any distraction is dangerous!

Mushroom, Leek and Gruyere Tart

Dish: Mushroom, Leek and Gruyere Tart

Difficulty: Easy, but more cheating on pastry

Utensils Used: Knife, sieve

Cock Ups: One

Recipe Book: The Messy Baker by Charmian Christie

Cooking: Felt in a bad mood the other day, so I invited Carole Heidi over for baking. Perfect opportunity to try out my new cookbook.

So, I cheated on the pastry and brought a pre-rolled pack (ultimately lazy) to spread out on my baking tray. I was supposed to score about an inch from the edge, but I've always folded the edges over, so I did that. Slightly less tidy, but it does the same job.

The recipe asked for a large skillet. I don't know what a skillet is, so I used a wok. It's the largest pan I have, and we had a lot of mushrooms to cook. So, I obviously very carefully measured out 3 tablespoons of butter, didn't just cut off a hunk and throw it in, and melted it, then added some garlic.

I got my mushrooms out of the fridge, only to discover they'd been frozen solid, which made chopping them a bit tricky...

The recipe asked very specifically for cremini or portobello mushrooms, so I used.... what I had in the  fridge.

The recipe then asked for two cups of leek. I don't do 'cups' measurement, so I just used two leeks, cutting them in lengthways then slicing them into little half-moon pieces. Aaand forgot to take a photo.

This was then fried together with the butter and garlic until the mushrooms were soft but not weeping.

I placed the mix onto the pastry and cook at 425F, which roughly translates to 220C and baked for 15 mins. The tart is then removed from the oven, 3oz of gruyere cheese grated over it, baked for a further five minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese melted.

Washing Up Required: Quite a lot, but some of that is cake detritus from the pudding we also made.

Result: This smelled divine, and looked pretty good too. I'd like to make it again and brave trying the pastry from scratch.

Taste Test: Both Carole and I thoroughly enjoyed this. The Boyfriend... Not so much. When he had a slice for lunch the next day, I asked him if he enjoyed it, his response was... less than enthusiastic. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Overall Result: I'd make this again if I could persuade the Boyfriend to give it a second chance!

Mushroom, Leek and Gruyere Tart