Martha Collison - Crave - Brilliantly Indulgent Recipes

My earliest memory of a craving (embarrassing as this is for a baker who valiantly aims to champion homemade cooking) is butterscotch Angel Delight. I was transfixed by the kitchen magic that occurred; how whisking a beige powder with cold milk would transform it into a thick, cloudy mass with an unnatural, gelatinous texture. My sister and I adored it, and the artificial buttery flavour evokes a certain nostalgia that I’ve struggled to replicate. We crave the things we love; the foods that make us happy. That’s how the idea for this book was born.

Crave is a book focused on my love affair with food; on glorifying ingredients in their purest form as well as showing how to combine flavours to create sensational bakes. Living in an age crammed full of dieting and healthy-eating cookbooks, I was desperate for a change, and I hope Crave offers just that. This is a book that should speak to that inner voice we all have which asks ‘What do I really feel like eating?’ It is aimed squarely at loving, appreciating and celebrating food for what it is, without an ounce of guilt for indulging the body and mind in what they desire. By no means am I suggesting that you throw healthy eating out of the window and base your diet on these recipes; I am fully supportive of eating a balanced, nutritious diet. However, I am also a firm believer in the importance of treating yourself every now and again. Food, especially baking, should be fun! This book is full of recipes that will satisfy your cravings on those self-indulgent days.

Cravings are a curious phenomenon. What starts as an insignificant little niggle at the back of your mind, gently hinting at the kind of food needed to hit the spot, can quickly grow into a compulsion that demands to be satisfied. The kind that drives you out of bed in the middle of the night to raid the fridge for a morsel of cheese, or causes you to sneak away from your desk in a desperate hunt for a square of chocolate to go with your coffee. This book is organised into chapters focused on eight of the most common cravings: Citrus, Fruit, Nut, Spice, Chocolate, Caramel, Cheese and Alcohol. Starting with recipes for refreshing citrus breakfasts to start the day with vigour, through ambrosial caramel delights to satisfy even the sweetest tooth, and ending with dark and devious ways to imbue delectable bakes with alcoholic tipples, there is something here to sate every appetite.

In the words of Virginia Woolf:

‘ One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well .’

Crave is everything I love about baking. I bake to please, to nurture, to comfort, to entertain and, most importantly, to enjoy, and I hope that radiates through these pages.

How to use this book

I bake with immediate consumption in mind. I’m an impatient baker, and I want to be rewarded for my toils as quickly as possible – whether that is with a super-quick bake or by sneaking a spoonful of hot gooey brownies fresh from the oven before they have had the chance to cool. The three categories of recipes represent the different amounts of time needed to create bakes to satisfy your cravings. You’ll notice the headers at the top of each recipe page.

These recipes take less than 20 minutes. They are go-to quick treats that can be rustled up in next to no time when you need something to hit the spot. You’ll find clever tips and shortcuts to help speed up your favourite bakes.

Taking less than an hour to create from start to finish, these include everything from amazingly quick cakes to biscuits and savoury snacks. These are the recipes that you can always sneak a bite from while they cool, if you can’t wait any longer.

These recipes take over an hour, allowing plenty of time for more lengthy baking processes, such as proving and rising, and for flavours to steep right into bakes. These are recipes that truly reward the patience you expend and will not disappoint you.

The key to fitting these recipes into the allotted time is preparation. Set out and measure all your ingredients before you begin so you don’t waste time scouring the kitchen for a missing item or get halfway through and realise you’ve run out of something vital. Do the same with your equipment, so that once you are in the swing of things, everything is within easy reach. Remember to preheat the oven before you start, too. I have timed and tested these recipes vigilantly to make sure they are achievable in the time specified. Some might take a little practice at first, but your go-to recipes will soon become second nature.

Some flavours are perfect partners and it’s a regular occurrence for me to find myself craving not one but two (or even more!) flavours and ingredients – dark chocolate and orange, warming spices and caramel, or savoury cheese with sweet fruit. I’ve flagged these classic combos with small icons on the recipe pages.

Equipment

My kitchen is bursting at the seams with equipment, some that I use every single day and couldn’t bear to be without, and some that sits gathering dust for most of the year. This is a list of my essential kit, the things I use on a regular basis that aid my baking.

Electric mixers

Electric hand-held whisks and stand mixers are a godsend. They make cake making so much quicker, and are essential for tasks like whipping egg whites and making light buttercreams. Electric hand-held whisks are more affordable than stand mixers, but if you bake a lot, a stand mixer such as a KitchenAid or Kenwood kMix is a worthwhile investment: it will revolutionise the way you bake.

Wire cooling racks

Often overlooked, wire racks are really important in making sure whatever you’ve put time and effort into baking yields the very best results. Elevating a hot bake allows air to circulate and prevents condensation from forming, avoiding sogginess and helping the bake cool evenly and quickly.

Baking tins

Perhaps the most essential kit. They come in all shapes and sizes, so it can be daunting choosing which ones to invest in. The tins I regularly use and recommend purchasing are round 18cm and 20cm deep loose-bottomed tins, ideally three of each so you don’t have to bake in batches for a multilayered cake. A 20 × 20cm square tin, 450g loaf tin, 12-hole muffin tin, 24-hole mini muffin tin, pie dish and a 20 × 35cm traybake tin are also useful.

Baking trays and baking sheets

Although they are very similar, baking trays and sheets serve different purposes so I have both in my kitchen. Baking trays have a lip around the edge to prevent whatever you’re baking rolling off the edge (ideal for roasting nuts). Baking sheets are completely flat, so there is more surface area to bake cookies or biscuits.

Jars, bags and boxes

I always have an array of glass jars, presentation bags and cake boxes on hand so that anything I bake can be easily packaged as a gift. Jars need sterilising before you fill them. To do this, simply wash them thoroughly in hot soapy water, rinse with clean water then dry them completely in an oven preheated to 110°C/90°C fan/gas 1/ 4(this will take 5–10 minutes) before filling.