Jo’s Kitchen: A Slice of Family Life, a Dash of Frangipane, and a Whole Lot of Baking Joy
Hello!
Jo here.
If you don’t know, I’m the one who usually greets you at The Swine and I’m excited to share a bit of my story and my love for baking with you.
I never imagined I’d be running a restaurant, let alone writing a blog post! But here we are, thanks to a dream Stu and I had to spend more time together as a family. Before we opened The Greedy Pig (which later became The Swine That Dines, but that’s a story for another time!), I worked in social services, and Stu was a chef. Our schedules were always clashing, making it hard to have quality time as a family.
Opening our own place changed everything. We could finally work side-by-side, raise our little one together, and share our passion for good food. It’s been quite a journey, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Recently, I had the chance to chat with the wonderful Kat Cowan on BBC Radio’s “Yorkshire Kitchen.” We baked up a storm, whipping up my favourite Raspberry Frangipane Tart. I would link you to it, but it’s no longer available so you can’t listen to my dulcet tones in a ‘cook along with Jo’ kind of way. Maybe that’s something for me to do on YouTube one time… or maybe not… but never say never.
Baking has always been a source of joy. It’s a way to relax, get creative, and share something special with others. And it doesn’t have to be complicated! Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way:
- Pastry, No Worries: If making pastry from scratch seems daunting, there’s no shame in using a good ready-to-bake one from the supermarket. But if you do want to give it a go, don’t stress about it. Keep your ingredients cool, use a food mixer if you have one, and most importantly handle as little as possible and keep it in the fridge. It’s cool ingredients, not cool hands that are required: a hot flush won’t ruin a tart.
- Frangipane, but not quite a Bakewell: to make this closer to a Bakewell Tart, leave out the sliced almonds and top instead with icing and maybe a glacé cherry or two. Also, since listening back to my time on the BBC (did I mention I was on the Radio…?) I’ve had the time to Google check my thoughts on the subject (not that is really matters) and it looks like it is always Frangipane although it is named after the Marquis Frangipani.
- Relax and Enjoy: Like our restaurant, keep things chilled and relaxed, just like your pastry. Don’t be afraid of failure: it’ll turn out fine. It may have a slightly ‘darker’ patch and a lighter bit. It’ll still taste great. I’ve lost track of the number of bakes that either didn’t bake or baked too much but were still thoroughly enjoyable.
- Swearing: you never really realise how much you swear until you’re making a conscious effort not to on radio. A few words under your breath can really help to relieve the stress of a moment and remind you that you’re baking to relax or learn something not to burden additional stress on you
- Vanilla Magic: A splash of vanilla can really elevate the flavour of your bakes, no matter what kind you use – extract, paste, essence, it all works! It won’t become a vanilla sponge but it will add a little something: you’ll know if it’s not there. Buy what you can afford: you’ll get no shame from me.
- Simple Pleasures: There’s something special about a simple sponge cake, like a Victoria Sponge. Just go easy on the icing sugar; let the cake’s natural flavours shine through.
- Butter: that is all.
I hope these tips inspire you to get in the kitchen and start baking! And remember, whether it’s a fancy tart or a humble sponge, the most important ingredient is always love.
Here’s to sunnier food!
Jo (The Swine That Dines Family)
Jo’s Fragnipane Recipe
Ingredients:
Sweet pastry, ready rolled or your preferred recipe.
