The Great Bloggers Bake Off - Week 10 - Pumpkin & Chestnut Picnic Pies

Well that's it, Great British Bake Off is over for another year (apart from Mary & Paul's Masterclasses) and the winner has been announced.

It was anybody's game really as it was all quite even up until the final wedding cake round. I did really like the look & sound of Ruby's vegetarian pie but she never managed to pull off the wedding cake. To be honest I don't think any of them were particular show stoppers, but they do have limited time, which must be really hard to deal with.

Anyway, it was a bit of a shocker that Frances won, I really thought it was going to be Kimberly or Ruby.

Back to reality and the baking hasn't stopped for us quite yet...

The challenges this week are :

Signature : Picnic Pie

Technical : Pretzels

Showstopper : Wedding Cake

I decided to go with picnic pies, nothing big or creative, but tasty all the same...with distinct layers (sorry no rainbows though)! The pastry is light and flaky and they are lovely served warm or cold, with a spoonful of chilli jam. I love chestnuts and the chestnut and mushroom filling in these pies is similar to that used to stuff mini yorkshire puddings last Christmas.

Pumpkin & Chestnut Picnic Pies - makes 8

for the pastry

175g plain flour

175g cold butter, diced

pinch of salt

1 tbsp chopped fresh Thyme

1-2tbsp cold water

for the filling

tbsp Olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

75g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped

75g prepared chestnuts, finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh Thyme

salt & pepper

knob of butter

100g steamed pumpkin, cut into 1cm pieces

100g Goats cheese, crumbled

1 egg, beaten

Make the pastry

• Add the flour, salt, butter & thyme to a food processor or mixer & pulse/mix until it resembles breadcrumbs
• Add the water in small amounts & mix until the dough comes together
• Roll into a ball, flatten and wrap in clingfilm & place in the fridge whilst you make the filling

Make the filling

• Preheat the oven to 180C & grease 8 holes of a muffin pan
• Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat
• Add the onion & fry for 3 minutes until softened
• Add the garlic, mushrooms, chestnuts, thyme & the butter
• Fry gently for approx 8 minutes until the mushrooms have cooked through
• Set filling aside whilst you roll the pastry
• Roll the pastry until approx the thickness of a £1 coin
• Cut out 8 circles large enough to cover the base & halfway up the sides of a muffin pan 
• Cut out 8 smaller circles for the pie lids
• Spoon some of the mushroom/chestnut mixture into the base of each pie
• Add the pumpkin on top and then the cheese
• Brush around the edge of the pies with beaten egg
• Place the lids on & crimp the edges (I used the end of a teaspoon)
• Brush the pies with beaten egg
• Bake in the oven for approx 30 minutes, until golden brown

What will you bake this week?

This is your last chance to gain an entry into the Great Bloggers Bake Off giveaway, which you can read more about here.

Please also take the time to read the rules & grab the badge here.