Living North Christmas Fair 14-16 November

We are busy setting up for the Living North Christmas Fair at York Racecourse.

Please call by and say hello if you are visiting the show over the weekend!

We will be selling a full range of Christmas goodies for the AGA from cookware to textiles and kitchen accessories. 

Happy shopping!

Love AGA

Introducing a new Love AGA to fall for this season. The traditional heart motif is inspired by simple shaker style cross stitch and appears on an apron, chef's pad and fine bone china mug.

Please pop into the shop to see the collection or call us for postal orders 01653 694699.

Autumn Entertaining

Last week we held our Autumn Entertaining Cookery Demonstration, joined by a full house of 23 lovely ladies for the event.

The ladies sipped fresh coffee and tea whilst browsing around the showroom (including the brand new Cookware textile collection from Sophie Allport) before the demonstration started. For those that had missed breakfast, or just couldn't resist temptation, there was AGA baked courgette cake and pecan and white chocolate cookies to munch on.

Alison made quinoa and sweet potato hot cakes with chorizo. These little patties were cooked on the simmering plate rather like a scotch pancake and served with chorizo and creme fraiche. They make a substantial canape or a neat starter.

The next dish was smoked trout with apple and hazelnuts and apple jelly. This dish was light and fresh, the use of granny smith apples served as a contrast to the flavour of the smoked trout. The addition of the apple jelly really set off the whole dish and made an impressive starter that was relatively easy to make and could be done in advance.

Claire's main course was next. This was a delicious winter casserole type dish. Economical to make using chicken thighs which generously take up the warming flavours of paprika, chilli, thyme, cumin and garlic. The addition of black beans make this a really wholesome one pot dish. Serve with crusty bread and a warm salad of green beans and rocket for a tasty and filling informal party meal.

Next was Alison's cinnamon spiced beef with prunes and almonds. Again, following a theme of cooking for the colder weather this was an interesting way to combine the strong flavour of well cooked steak with the softer, slightly sweeter taste that cinnamon and muscovado sugar bring. Served with couscous for a more modern version of beef casserole with rice!

The puddings were exceptional. Alison created another amazing combination of unusual flavours. A creamy raspberry mousse was served over crushed raspberries and topped with a delicate basil syrup to which just a hint of Pernod had been added.

Whilst Claire made a delicious orange and almond cake (that can also be adapted to gluten-free) and accompanied it with a creamy whole orange ice cream. Finally a delicious thick caramel sauce was forthcoming to finish the dish off. 

Served with Prosecco and or elderflower juice this was a super demonstration. Judging by all the empty plates, our ladies agreed!

Halloween Pumpkin Pie

We recommended this devilishly good pie for halloween made with pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg!

Ingredients: (serves 6)

• 1x 20cm flan dish
• 1 x frozen ready rolled shortcrust pastry circle, thawed 
• 450g pumpkin flesh 
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 -1/2 grated fresh nutmeg
• 115g caster sugar 
• 3 eggs
• 200ml carton creme fraiche
• Melted plain chocolate to decorate 

Method
Line the flan dish with the pastry circle and place in the refrigerator to rest while the filling is made.

Place the pieces of pumpkin, with the skin on but the seeds removed, into half size AGA poasting tin with 2 tablespoons of water and cover with foil.

2, 3 and 4 oven AGA slide the tin onto the third set of runners down in the roasting oven and steam for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender.

Scrape the pumpkin flesh into a bowl, discard the skin and mash to a pulp. Add the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, mix well. Whisk together the sugar and eggs then whisk in the creme fraiche. Stir in the spiked pumpkin pulp in two lots. Pour into the pastry case.

Cook on the floor of the roasting oven for about 35-40 minutes until set.

Allow the flan to go cold. Using the melted chocolate, pipe a spider's web on the top.

Served cold with whipped cream.

For conventional cooking cover the raw pastry case with foil and tip in baking beans, bake 'blind' for 15 minutes at 200C, fan over 180C, gas mark 6. Remove the foil and beans then pour in the filling.
Reduce the oven to 180C / fan 160C, gas mark 4 and cook for a further 25 minutes until set.

Tip, if you are making your own pastry add half a spoon of cinnamon to the mixture.

AGA Baking Tips

Baking in an AGA is a unique cooking experience. Like a traditional baker's brick oven, the AGA cooker's ovens provide all-around, consistent radiant heat, meaning your cakes will be light and fluffy and your bread will rise perfectly.

AGA did some research to collate the best tips and tricks to ensure your AGA baked goodies look perfect and taste delicious.

Here are a few:

1. Don't be afraid to open the door of your AGA to check on food, the heat comes from the sides as well as the base so you won't lose any when opening the door
2. For crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside meringues, start the meringues in the roasting oven. Leave for two minutes before transferring to the warming oven to dry out
3. If your cake or biscuits need a little extra taste, try using Dutch Spice Mix ot Speculaaskruiden, it tastes great and adds extra class
4. Always use eggs at room temperature, as they are easier to whisk into your mix
5. If you're short on time but want to make quick, fresh bread, try using spelt folou which has a faster rising time. 

For more great tips visit the AGA website. 

National Cake Week

It's National Cake Week so we are celebrating with this gorgeous classic Victoria Sandwich.

Best enjoyed by the AGA on a rainy day with a cup of Yorkshire tea! 

There's never been a better time to bake!

As the weather turns colder and the nights get darker we feel our happiest in the kitchen baking!

You can now make delicious cakes, quiches and roasts with 25% off selected bakeware available in our showroom.

From spring form tins to round cake tins, muffin tins, roasting tins and baking trays we have everything you need!

We don't know about you but The Great British Bake Off has really got our taste buds going and we have recreated a few of the show's specials!

Take at look at our special offers page for details.