Episode 15 Paul Hollywood's Pies & Puds

I'm celebrating the best of Britain's comfort food

and rediscovering the hearty recipes that generations have thrived on.

Welcome to Pies And Puds.

There's something about a home-baked pie,

or a steamed pudding, that makes the world seem a better place.

It's delicious food, that's simple to make

and it works for me every time.

Here's what's on my menu today.

'Joining me today is Irish chef extraordinaire

'and all-round good egg Rachel Allen.

'She's going to show me a homely raspberry and coconut sponge.'

I love that raspberry and coconut combination,

it's just quite nostalgic to me.

Oh, yeah, I love coconut inside a bake.

'And in return, I'll be rustling up a little something for Rachel,

'inspired by my son's favourite flavours, a brie brioche pie.'

This is something my lad would love, I think.

-Parma ham with the brioche, I think, it will be a winner.

-Amazing.

'I'm not kidding when I say my tasty goat herd pie will change

'the way you think about using one of our most

'undervalued meats forever.'

-It's actually goat.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-Delicious, yeah.

More satisfied customers.

'I'm having a Highland fling with a traditional Scottish dessert.'

-Do you say Cranachan?

-Cranachan. You've got to roll it out.

Crrr... Cranachan.

THEY LAUGH

'As I make my very own Cranachan cheesecake.

'If you'd like to try my recipes,

'head over to the BBC website for more details.'

'My first recipe's an unconventional take

'on a traditional shepherd's pie.

'It includes olives, butternut squash,

'plus one of our most undervalued meats, goat.

'It's called Goats Herd Pie, of course.'

I lived in Cyprus for six years

and I like to use Mediterranean flavours when I'm baking,

but there was one particular meat in Cyprus that everybody loved

and in Britain is largely ignored.

'I'm going to see if I can convince the locals here in Preston

'to try this Mediterranean meat without telling them what it is.'

Tuck in.

What do you think?

-It tastes like beef.

-It tastes like beef to you?

-Yeah.

-It's like beef, yeah.

-It's actually goat.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-It's quite nice.

-I like it.

Beef.

-It's goat.

-Goat?

-Do you like it?

-Yeah, it's nice.

-What do you think?

-It's really good. Really nice.

-Do you like it?

-Mmm.

It's goat.

It's not bad.

More satisfied customers.

-Very nice. What does it taste like?

-Lamb.

-It does taste like lamb. Do you know what it is?

-No.

-Goat.

-Mm-hm.

-It's exactly... It's very similar, isn't it?

-Delicious, yeah.

'So it seems the people of Preston are warming to the taste of goat.

'But I want to find out more about this meat.

'Thanks to the rising popularity of goat's cheese and milk,

'there are now quite a few dairy goat herds around the UK.

'In Lancaster, Sharon Peacock raises a very special type of goat,

'bred specifically for meat. It's the Boer goat.'

Do you enjoy this lifestyle?

Yeah, I've been doing it 13 years now and got busier and busier.

We started with four goats in 2000

and we had 420 at height last summer.

'Sharon's goats are free to graze the fields,

'but today, some of the herd are

'having one of their regular health checks.'

-They know where they're going, don't they?

-We do this every day.

We have to do some sort of health check every day.

-They are used to it, it's part of their routine.

-Yeah.

It doesn't mean they'll comply every day, but they do know what they are supposed to do.

It's brilliant. They're good-looking animal.

I think they are different to sheep.

They seem to have more character than sheep.

'To keep the goats in tip-top condition,

'they're regularly given a mineral drink.'

So hold him around the chest and shoulder.

I put my hand under the chin and you almost push down with that hand.

I see.

'The goats are used to this

'and seem to take it all in their stride.'

That's it.

It's cheating just doing the gate, you know.

'Next it's my turn and I'm a tad apprehensive to say the least.'

Er, it looks fairly straightforward but they do it every day.

-We make this look easy.

-Yeah, you do make it look very easy.

-We'll get some more and we'll have a go.

-Can I try it on this one here?

Yeah, you can try that one.

'Just kidding! Get it?

'It's only for the adults today so Sharon finds me

'one a little bit more my size.'

I do know them all, individually.

I know which ones like what.

What characters they have.

That's it.

It's sweaty work, though. It's like being back in the bakery.

'Job done! It's time to let the does and their kids back into the field.

It's been a great experience seeing how happy these animals are,

'and how well they're looked after,

'and I can't wait to try some of their meat in my pie.'

-I'm joined now by our goat farmer, Sharon. Hello, Sharon.

-Hiya.

-Are you well?

-How are the little fellas getting on?

-Not so bad.

No, it's good, they look well.

I still have nightmares about lifting the goat horns

in between my legs. I had terrible nightmares about that!

I've got minced goat here. I'm going to make a goat herders' pie.

The first thing I've got to do is put some heat on.

A little bit of oil in the pan.

I mean, how much goat do you actually eat a week, yourselves?

-Probably five or six nights a week we have goat of some description.

-Really?

Because we're producing it ourselves, why go buying stuff

when we can produce our own?

What I'm going to do here, I've got some celery

and I've got some onion which are going to go straight in the pan.

'I need to sweat down the onion and celery

'before adding diced butternut squash to soften.

'Then it's onto the seasoning.'

I've got some garlic,

I've got some anchovy,

a little bit of salt,

get my pestle and mortar,

grind down the garlic, salt and anchovy

until they make a thick paste, and add to the veg.

Cook gently until the anchovies melt

and then set the contents of the pan aside.

It's time for the meat to go in the pan.

'This pie's designed with goat mince in mind, but don't worry,

'if you can't get hold of any, you can always substitute lamb,

'beef or even veggie mince instead.'

The whole thing about the goat and what really surprised me...

I'll be honest, I tried a little bit of goat when I was in Cyprus...

Yeah.

When I was over there at the time I thought it was all right, you know.

To be honest, probably because I didn't know what I was eating.

No, the goat's not available enough in this country. It's harder to farm.

The farmers farm easy animals, the sheep, cows and things

and that's become our staple.

Erm, but now goat is a little bit available.

Do you think it's because people just can't get hold of it in supermarkets?

That's the main reason.

'Next, in go the olives.'

The olives are that Mediterranean style of things.

This is the reason, most people use goat in the Mediterranean.

I add a pinch of cinnamon to season and a little flour.

-The flour's thickening it, presumably?

-Yeah.

Well, I found that this meat actually wasn't as lean

as I thought it was going to be. It's still got some fat in there.

It's got enough in it to sweeten it and tenderise it.

The Boer goat, the breed we use, does have a little bit more fat in it

than some of the more traditional goat meat.

Is that why it's been picked as a meat goat?

It's bred as a meat goat and it has got that higher fat content

because that's what tenderises the meat, sweetens it, which is

some of the other issues we get with goat meat

because people think it'll be tough.

-They've heard goat meat's tough.

-Yes.

But this Boer goat meat is not tough because of that fat content.

The smell is gorgeous. It is akin to lamb.

You wouldn't know what you were doing, really.

'Add some stock and a splash of good quality red wine

'and reduce down.'

Oh, that heady mix of wine, the stock, the goat, the olives.

It does smell fantastic.

'Now add the cut butternut squash mixture back to the pan

'and cook out for ten to 20 minutes so the flavours infuse.'

You're going to add some fresh...

..rosemary to this, as well.

I love rosemary. Rosemary with lamb, rosemary with goat.

Yeah, rosemary, mint, all the same sort of things as you put on lamb.

Pop your goat mince filling into a dish

and top with your favourite mashed potato mixture.

I've added goat's cheese to mine for richness,

and to complement the meat.

Look at that! Rough and ready.

A bit of Parmesan.

OK, this goes into the oven at 190, for 35 minutes.

Straight in it's going to go.

-Look at that.

-It's looking good.

That is a beautiful goat herd pie.

'Studded with juicy olives and packed with meaty flavour,

'my goat's herd pie is the perfect, hearty, winter warmer.

'Next, it's time for a classic pud

'with a touch of Irish charm.'

My next guest has been credited with putting Irish food on the map.

I'm sure she's no stranger to pies and puds.

-Welcome, Rachel.

-Thanks, Paul.

-Do you want a drink? I haven't seen you for ages.

-What do you have?

-I've got some white wine.

-Absolutely!

What are you going to be cooking for us?

I'm going to be cooking... This is, it's almost embarrassingly easy

and simple, it's a raspberry and coconut pudding.

It's something... My mum used to make something similar to this.

It's not too like it but I was basically trying to replicate

-something that Mum used to make when we were little.

-Yeah.

She says she can't remember it, my sister can remember it.

She says, "Oh, yeah, it's like a coconuty, spongy thing

"with raspberry jam"

and so this is what I came up with. It's just a flavour.

I loved that raspberry and coconut combination.

It's quite nostalgic.

-Would you like to take over my kitchen...?

-Can't I sit here?

No, I'm going to sit there. I'm going to relax.

It's my turn to relax. Go on. That's great, I love having you here.

First of all for this, actually, I'll put some butter on to melt.

So it's just, this is one of these really simple pudding recipes

where you mix the wet ingredients in one bowl,

dry ingredients in another bowl.

Then mix them together in the oven. That's it.

-Have I got time to drink this, then? Probably not.

-You'll need to knock it back.

'Rachel makes her blend of flour by adding baking powder,

'sugar and desiccated coconut.'

Next, in a separate bowl, Rachel whisks together the wet ingredients.

Do you cook this at home for your family?

This is, actually, Luca, our second son,

this is, I think, his favourite. His favourite thing.

I know when he sees this he'll say, "Why didn't you make it for me?"

-How old is he?

-He's 11.

-Oh, he's 11.

-He's the second, yeah.

Not far off my son, actually. I'll have a look at this and taste it

and if I think it's any good I'll have to take it back to Josh.

Yeah, you'll have to take it back to your Josh.

We've got a Josh. You're not still allowed to call him Joshie?

Josh...no. I call him stinky sometimes. He doesn't like that, either.

THEY CHUCKLE

OK, in here I've got the... What have I got?

Milk, eggs, vanilla extract.

You just make a well in the centre of the flour and baking powder

and coconut and sugar.

'Rachel then adds the wet ingredients

'to the coconut flour blend and mixes until fully combined.

'She then pours the batter onto a layer of raspberry jam

'in a baking tray.'

Rachel bakes her sponge at 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes

until the top is golden brown.

Then this one is already cooked.

-That's it.

-Oh, wow!

That is just...

-I like the look of that.

-You see, it's really...

I'll just move my wine, sorry.

Oh, yeah, I love coconut, you know.

-I love coconut inside a bake.

-Raspberry jam...

'To finish, Rachel dusts the sponge with icing sugar.'

That looks absolutely grand. We'll have to wait a little bit longer

to try that one, though.

-You could keep it warm, anyway.

-Yeah, absolutely.

Later, I'm going to bake for Rachel,

but first, I'm making something from Scotland.

Many pies and puds have become part of our regional heritage.

My next recipe is a traditional Scottish dessert that is

barely known outside Scotland.

So I decided to investigate.

I'm crossing the border up north

to track down a traditional Scottish dessert

and no, it's not a Dundee cake, or a deep-fried Mars bar!

You'd be forgiven for mistaking this mysterious mixture

for an Eton Mess, or an everyday trifle.

It's actually a regional speciality that the Scots

have been knocking up for centuries.

It's called cranachan

and it's considered one of Scotland's best-kept secrets.

So secret, in fact, when we spoke to the locals in Aberdeen,

some of them had never heard of it.

Cranachan?

Sorry, don't know it.

Oh, I've made it many times.

Cranachan? It sounds like a place in Scotland.

No, I've never heard of it.

Yes, I like Cranachan.

It's a traditional Scottish dessert.

I'm determined to crack the code of cranachan,

and get to the bottom of this creamy Scottish conundrum,

so I'm starting with one of the key ingredients, the oats.

The Mitchell family have been making Scottish oatcakes since the 1920s.

Now in its fourth generation,

daughter Judy continues to run the business.

Here's a photograph of our shop and tearoom and marketplace

in Inverurie. This was taken before my great-grandparents

bought the business in 1928.

So, the tearoom side of the business was started by my great-grandmother.

She opened her front room, this room here, as a tearoom

and baked scones, pancakes, oatcakes, to old family recipes.

And my great-grandfather and the sons delivered them on the horse and cart

with the milk, as well as them being sold in the shop.

Oatmeal has been the staple grain of Scotland for centuries,

since it's more suited to the Scottish climate than wheat.

Judy's oatcakes are all baked here on site

and are still made using her grandmother's original recipe.

Well, we start with oatmeal, which is locally grown,

and a small amount, just a pinch, of bicarbonate of soda,

pinch of salt, and then, there's a fat or an oil used

to bind that together, and then we put a little drop of Mitchell's milk

into that, just to bind everything together.

That all gets mixed up in a mixer.

And then it's hand-rolled, hand cut, oatcakes,

the shapes are cut out and then put onto an open griddle

and that was just how my great-grandmother made them.

It's exactly the same process.

Oatcakes are essential to lots of Judy's recipes

and their cranachan is no exception.

My cranachan is made with lightly whipped cream.

I then fold in some crushed oatcakes.

Raspberries and some local honey.

This just sweetens everything up. It also helps the cream thicken.

This is a really straightforward cranachan recipe and it's great

for us to be able to make something using a product that we make.

Another name for cranachan is crowdie cream,

which comes from a simple, traditional cheese called crowdie

that, for centuries, was made in every farmhouse in the land.

Crowdie is low in fat, mild and very soft

and features in many historical interpretations of cranachan.

So I'm going to use this soft cheese together with the Scottish oatcakes

to give cranachan the Hollywood treatment.

-Joining me in the kitchen is our cranachan expert, Judy.

-Hi, Paul.

-Hi, do you say cranACHan?

-I say CRANachan.

-CRANachan! OK.

I mean, what is it? What in your eyes is it?

It's really just whipped cream with some raspberries,

toasted oatmeal and either some honey or whisky or both.

What I'm actually going to make is a cranACHan, is that how you say it?

CRANachan, you need to be Scottish. You need to roll your Rs.

Crrranachan! OK. Cheesecake.

I'm going to make a cheesecake using those base ingredients,

-and while I do it, you're going to make a cranachan.

-Yes.

-OK.

So, you're going to make a traditional one.

-I'll try and crack on with this, and we'll see what happens at the end.

-OK.

Cranachan combines oats, honey and raspberries.

Today, I'm cranking it up a gear

by turning it into a creamy cranachan cheesecake.

To start, crumble up Scottish oatcakes in a large bowl,

which will go on to form the base.

These are great. I mean, whenever I make cheesecake,

I'll use all sorts of different bases.

I'll use the sort of digestive biscuit, I'll use ginger,

but this is going to be very special, with the oats in it.

Next, pour some melted butter onto crumbled oatcakes

and mix in with a spatula until the crumbs are fully coated.

You've got a lot done already. What have you got in there?

I've just got some whipped cream and I've folded in some raspberries

and some toasted oatmeal and I'm now just adding some honey.

Can I just, er...?

-Is this Scottish honey?

-Yes, it is.

-Like that?

-Yeah! That's, that's beautiful, that.

I love cranachan anyway because I love the oats in there.

To finish the base, pour the oatcake mixture into a round tin,

and press down firmly into the bottom.

Get your hands in there!

My dad always said, "Son, you've got hands, use them."

To make the filling, break down the crowdie

and mix with a regular cream cheese.

Then, beat in some caster sugar.

I'm like a machine, anyway, the speed I can go on this!

Then when it's fully mixed, add the eggs one at a time,

and continue to beat.

You could do this in a mixer if you like,

I just like making work for myself.

When everything is combined,

pop in your toasted oatmeal

and don't forget to keep quality testing your ingredients!

-These are great biscuits.

-Thank you.

Now...

Crumbs.

The mixture is ready, you have your base,

now use your Scottish raspberries.

If you can't get Scottish ones, use English ones, they're just as good.

Pop them into the bottom of the cheesecake.

Spread them out all over the place.

Finally, pour the cheesecake mixture over the fresh raspberries

and give the tin a little shake to ensure it is evenly covered.

OK. I bake my cranachan cheesecake at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes,

until the topping is set.

Now here's one that has been baked and cooled.

You can see here it's split, that is not a problem.

So I am going to release it from its mould.

To finish the cheesecake, cover with a glossy layer of raspberry sauce,

and top with fresh raspberries.

Delicious!

-Now that is a cranachan...

-Well done.

-CRANachan?

-CRANachan. You've got it.

It's a cranACHan cheesecake.

Earlier, Rachel Allen showed me a scrummy sponge,

just like the one she remembers from her childhood.

So my next recipe is inspired by my family.

What I was going to do is...

The component parts - all of which my son loves.

So I'm going to use brie, brioche, Parma ham,

a little bit of cranberry sauce...

I'm going to come up with a brie brioche pie.

Oh, it's not at all rich, then(!)

-Not at all rich.

-No. Fabulous.

Sounds brilliant!

My brie brioche pie is an oozy and indulgent treat,

spiked with sweet cranberry sauce and a salty Parma ham.

The first job is to make the brioche dough.

In here I have my strong white flour,

to which I'm going to add some sugar,

some instant yeast - it's the powdered stuff -

some salt, to the other side,

and then I've got three eggs to add to this, as well.

It's basically an enriched dough.

That's all a brioche is, really.

It's the way that you mix it makes it a little bit different.

Three eggs straight in.

And now you drop down the machine.

MIXER WHIRS

Turn it on.

The next thing to add is the milk.

You add the milk until it becomes more like a normal dough.

Don't be afraid of it.

Put a little bit in to start with -

it depends on the size of the eggs, I'm using the medium.

Turn it up...

..and eventually that will form a nice, smooth dough.

Now, do you make brioche? Have you made it before?

Every time I teach it at the cookery school

I say, "I must make this more at home." Because I just love it.

And I love the fact that you can start it one day,

then finish it the next for breakfast. Coffee, brioche...

It's down to fermentation, isn't it? That's what it's all down to.

It's perfect.

Now, put the rest of the milk in.

Then watch it begin to form the dough.

And you can see in there now...

What's happening now is, as it mixes,

the gluten is beginning to tighten

and that's what gives you the stretch in the dough.

And another thing that will happen after about five to seven minutes,

the dough will begin to draw up and cling to the hook.

That's when you know it's ready.

And, at that stage, you actually add your softened butter -

when you've got a fully developed dough.

And then you mix it again, for at least another seven minutes.

So what you start off with is a normal dough,

which you could make bread with, but then you add the butter to it.

That will then slacken it down, and it'll become like a liquid.

Now, obviously, you can't use it then.

So, the key thing is with a brioche, once you've got the butter in and it's lovely, shiny

and you can almost open it up and read a newspaper through it,

you pop it into a plastic tub or a glass jar

and then put it in the fridge to chill down.

The chilling of the butter makes the dough more pliable,

so you can shape it and do what you want with it.

Now in the fridge, I have got one which has been resting overnight.

You can see it has actually grown in the fridge, as well.

Can you smell that?

-Oh, I love that.

-It's slightly...

-Ever so slightly fermented.

-Yeah.

And that's what a good brioche is.

It's soft, but you can still shape it.

When the dough is ready, tip it onto a well floured board.

Roughly shape into a round,

and then roll it into a large disc.

I love this! This is something my lad would love, I think.

I've never tried it on him yet. I've made him brioche,

and I've seen him eat tons and tons of Parma ham,

but actually the idea of Parma ham with brioche

-I think will be a winner.

-Amazing.

And is it served while it's still a bit warm?

Or, does the cheese kind of... run out of it?

-You want that thing, as you cut it...

-Oh!

-..to ooze.

-That's the point of it, you know?

-Yep.

-A little bit more flour.

It's getting a bit sticky there where the butter's melting.

So you end up with a rough disc of brioche,

about five, eight mil thick.

I know it sounds pretty accurate, but it really doesn't matter.

Next, lay some sheets of Parma ham onto the brioche dough.

I remember once - I think it was a Saturday -

and I said to Josh, "What do you want to do today?"

"Do you want to go go-karting, do you want to go shopping?

"What you want to do? Go and kick a ball around?

And he goes, "Dad, can I bake with you?"

Aw! Oh!

Spread a layer of cranberry sauce on to the Parma ham.

Now I'm going to pop the brie on top of that.

Oh, my goodness.

Cover with a further layer of Parma ham,

and then fold your brioche dough over the top.

Flip your pie over and put it onto a baking tray.

That, basically, is your dish.

Now, this has got yeast in it.

And one of the key things you can do, is leave it to rise.

Now, when you're resting this the first thing to do -

I've just got a beaten egg here - is brush it all over with an egg.

Leave that to rest for about an hour while it's still proving.

Brush it again.

And then with a palette knife, or the back end of a knife

just draw a diamond pattern all over the top.

You're not cutting it, you're just marking it.

Leave your brie brioche pie to prove for a final time,

which should take around two hours,

then bake at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes.

I've got one I want to show you.

And I hope it's at the point where it oozes. Let's see.

Where the cheese is just warm and...

-Oh, yes!

-Mmm!

The smell of the brioche...

And you can actually smell the cranberries underneath, as well.

-Really?

-This is very special.

You cut straight down... in a big wedge.

So you've got your beautiful brioche, you've got your Parma ham,

you've got a layer of cranberry in there,

and now you've got this lava of brie just pouring out.

And that's just for... That'll serve two.

-That'll serve both of us just about.

-Just about!

My molten brie brioche pie,

packed with cranberry sauce and Parma ham,

is the perfect dinner time centrepiece.

And I can't wait to see what my guests think of it.

It's now my favourite part of the day, it's time to eat.

And what a glorious spread!

From my warming goat's head pie

to Rachel's homely raspberry and coconut sponge.

A cheesecake version of a Scottish classic,

and a gorgeous brie brioche pie.

Well, that's just about it for today,

but I think we need to tuck into this.

-Thank you, Paul.

-Pleasure!

-Cheers!

-Cheers, guys!

My goat's head pie made with meat from Sharon's very own herd,

is a great alternative to shepherd's pie.

And I challenge you to give goat's meat a chance,

you'll be pleasantly surprised.

-That goat really works well in that pie.

-It's delicious, isn't it?!

I've never tried goat before, but I will try it again, that's for sure.

-It's really good.

-I think it's a bit sweeter than lamb myself.

-It's just got more intensity to it.

-Mm.

Have I served it OK? Are you happy with that?

Yeah, it'll do.

And my brie brioche pie is a proper show stopper.

I guarantee you'll enjoy each gooey moment.

-Nice!

-Amazing, look at that!

It's incredible, isn't it?

Actually, the cranberry sauce isn't too overpowering, at all.

-It's just balancing it all out nicely.

-It adds a nice twist.

It adds another element to it.

There's lots of different flavours going on in there.

And as far as puds go,

you can't get any better than my cranachan cheesecake -

creamy cheese, zingy fresh raspberries,

and Judy's home-baked oatcakes.

The cranachan cheesecake is lovely, Paul. It really is.

Very, very tasty. Isn't it good?

The base is crunchy,

and you can get the texture,

-and you can really taste the raspberries in it.

-Lovely!

-Mm.

I love your, erm...

coconut pudding.

Oh, good. It's just really...simple.

Comforting, isn't it?

We've had a great time today.

I hope you can join me next time

when I'll have more pies and puds on the menu.

See you then.

-Cheers, ladies!

-ALL: Cheers!

Thank you very much...