Cookery Elisabeth Luard

BAKING THE BISCUIT

Anyone can dream – which at the time of writing is pretty much all that’s available to those of us who usually leave the baked goods to others. Me, for one – though I’ve been known, if the need arises, to turn out an acceptable round of shortbread petticoat tails and a pretty good fatless sponge.

Help is at hand. Maîtresse pâtissière Ravneet Gill’s The Pastry Chef’s Guide: The Secret to Successful Baking Every Time delivers the professional lowdown through numbered steps in lively, non-technical language. She has a psychology degree, trained at Leith’s, did seven years as a jobbing chef and earned praise from Fergus Henderson for culinary cheekiness, as expressed through her cherry-and-custard pie. Recipes for the dessert trolley include hazelnut roulade, Victoria sponge, spotted dick and rhubarb crumble, along with five varieties of crème pâtissière and detailed instructions for tempering chocolate. What else does anyone need? Ravneet describes herself as a bona

fide bad ass. So get your effing fist out of the cookie jar, chef – there’s work to be done.

Ravneet’s perfect chocolate-chip cookies The classic American cookie made easy. I’ve shortened the recipe a little for reasons of space – apologies to the author. Makes 14-15 cookies

140g unsalted butter, softened 140g soft dark brown sugar 110g caster sugar 1 egg ¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda ¾ teaspoon flaky salt 250g plain flour 180g roughly chunked dark chocolate

Beat the butter in a bowl or mixer with the two sugars until pale but not fluffy. Add the egg and beat in quickly till evenly combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients – bicarb, salt, flour – and fold into the butter mixture.

Add the chunked chocolate and fold in until evenly distributed. Immediately scoop out 60g portions of the dough, roll into balls and place, evenly spaced to allow spreading, on two baking sheets lined with baking parchment. Chill overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 160°C (fan)/180°c/gas4. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes or 14 if straight from the fridge – no longer, as you want the middle to be slightly under-set. Allow to cool on the paper.

Sablé biscuits Perfect with strawberries and cream, these crisp little French mouthfuls are, says Ravneet, the type of biscuit that would please your nan. Just the thing for dipping into a strong British cuppa. Makes about 3 dozen

90g icing sugar pinch of salt 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 175g cold unsalted butter, diced small 2 egg yolks (about 40g)

Stir the sugar, salt and flour together in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips to the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks, then mix to bring together as a dough (you may need a little cold water). Roll into a cylinder, diameter about 7cm, on a lightly floured board, wrap tightly in clingfilm and set in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan)/180°c/ Gas4. Slice the cylinder into thin discs – about 3-4mm – and place on two baking sheets lined with baking parchment.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool, then remove to a baking rack. These keep in an airtight tin for up to two weeks. If you’d rather bake in batches, store the unbaked dough cylinder in the freezer and slice off what you need with a sharp knife dipped in hot water.