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HAIRY BAKERS

Big-hearted and much-loved chefs The Hairy Bikers – aka Dave Myers and Si King – have turned their talents to baking for their latest book, Brilliant Bakes. Here, they share three delicious recipes…

GOUGERES

Makes 48 Takes 45-50 minutes, plus cooking time for the second batch

“These melting mouthfuls of savoury choux pastry are totally epic. You may think 48 is a lot to make but believe us, they will disappear as soon as you get them out of the oven and people will ask for more. You can use any hard cheese and this is good way of finishing up any odds and ends in the fridge. These are great just as they are, but you can also fill your gougères with cream cheese or pâté.”

INGREDIENTS

• 85g/3½oz unsalted butter

• 1 tsp Marmite or a pinch of salt

• 150g/5oz plain flour, well sieved

• 1 tsp mustard powder

• ½ tsp dried thyme

• 4 eggs

• 75g/3oz hard cheese, such as Comté, cheddar or Gruyère, very finely grated

• 25g/1oz Parmesan, very finely grated

To finish

• 2 tsp very finely grated Gruyère

• 2 tsp very finely grated Parmesan

1. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Fix a 1cm/½in round nozzle on a piping bag.

2. Put the butter, the Marmite or salt and 250ml/9fl oz of water into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and stir until the butter has melted.

3. Sift the flour on to a piece of baking parchment with the mustard and add the thyme. Pull up the sides of the parchment and slide the flour all at once into the melted butter mixture. Whisk until the batter is smooth – it will start to steam but continue to cook for another couple of minutes, until the mixture comes away from the sides and base of the pan. It will also leave a very fine layer on the base of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C, Fan 180°C, Gas 6.