Easy Dessert - Lemon Meringue Roulade

If you're looking for a light dessert that's big on flavour,  then look no further.  It's dead easy and looks mighty impressive.  Perfect to serve at Christmas or as a summery pudding.

This recipe taken from the British Lion Eggs website is now a firm family tradition at both Christmas and Easter.

·                           4 large egg whites

·                           225g/8oz caster sugar

·                           1 tsp almond essence

·                           1 tsp raspberry or white wine vinegar

·                           50g/2oz ground almonds

·                           1-2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

·                           6 tbsp lemon curd

·                           300ml/1/2pt crème fraiche

·                           1 tbsp toasted flaked almonds

·                           A few fresh raspberries to decorate

·                           Raspberry or mango coulis to serve

1.       Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3, 10 minutes before baking. Line a Swiss roll tin with a single sheet of greaseproof or baking paper and reserve.

2.       Whisk the egg whites until stiff and standing in peaks then gradually whisk in the sugar 1 spoonful at a time. When all the sugar has been added, carefully stir in the almond essence, vinegar and then the ground almonds. Mix lightly together.

3.       Turn into the lined Swiss roll tin smooth the top and tap the tin lightly on the work surface to remove any air bubbles. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the top is pale golden and feels firm and set. Remove from the oven and leave until cold.

4.       When ready to serve, whip the crème fraiche until thick, reserve. Invert the cooled roulade onto a large sheet of greaseproof or baking paper, sprinkle with the icing sugar and carefully strip off the lining paper. Spread with the lemon curd and then the crème fraiche. Leave for a few minutes to allow the roulade to soften then carefully roll up. (You will find that the roulade cracks slightly on rolling.)

5.       Place on a serving platter, sprinkle with the toasted almonds and decorate with the raspberries and serve.

Cooks note:  don't worry if the meringue cracks when you roll it up - it just adds to the "yule log" effect.  Plus a bit of icing sugar sprinkled over through a sieve covers up a multitude of sins.

Venetian Carrot Cake with Tipsy Marscapone

The carrot cake has a long and distinguished history, hailing from the Arab speaking world in the 10th century, on to  the Middle Ages and then finally gaining popularity again during the 2nd World War when rationing meant no sugar to bake with.

According to Nigella this recipe hails from the Jewish Quarter in Venice and thanks to the inclusion of olive oil, pine nuts  and marscapone has a distinctly Italian feel to it.

I first saw Nigella make this recipe on her series Kitchen.  I've made it many times and it's never let me down.  The complexity of flavour never fails to impress.  Plus it's a healthy option because it uses olive oil, only half a cup of sugar and lots of vege.  An all round winner.

Thanks to only using ground almonds in this recipe this carrot cake is incredibly moist and gluten-free.  The rum soaked raisins and the booze-spiked marscapone,  make this cake feel more like a sophisticated, adult dessert than simply a tea time favourite. If you're not too keen on carrot cake then please try this one as it's quite a departure from normal carrot cake.

Here is Nigella's recipe:

Ingredients

For the carrot cake

• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• carrots - 200-250g/7-9oz
• 75g/3oz golden sultanas
• 60ml/2¼fl oz rum
• 150g/5oz caster sugar
• 125ml/4½fl oz regular olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 free-range eggs
• 250g/9oz ground almonds
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg, or to taste
• ½ lemon, finely grated zest and juice

For the mascarpone cream (optional)

• 250g/9oz mascarpone
• 2 tsp icing sugar
• 2 tbsp rum

Preparation method

1. For the carrot cake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line the base of a 23cm/9in round springform cake tin with re-usable non-stick silicone liner or baking parchment and grease the sides with olive oil.
2. Toast the pine nuts by browning in a dry frying pan; the oven alone is not enough to scorch out the paleness. Set aside.
3. Grate the carrots in a processor (for ease) or with a coarse grater, then sit them on a double layer of kitchen paper and wrap them, to soak up excess liquid. Set aside.
4. Put the golden sultanas in a small saucepan with the rum, bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Whisk the sugar and oil until creamily and airily mixed.
6. Whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs and, when well whisked, fold in the ground almonds, nutmeg, grated carrots, golden sultanas (with any rum that clings to them) and, finally, the lemon zest and juice.
7. Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. The batter will be very shallow in the tin.
8. Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the cake and put it into the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the top is risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out sticky but more or less clean.
9. Remove from the oven and let the cake sit in its tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unspring and leave it on the rack to cool.
10. For the mascarpone cream, mix the mascarpone with the icing sugar and rum.
11. To serve, transfer the cake to a plate. Put the mascarpone cream in a bowl to spoon alongside the cake, for those who want.
    
    Cooks note:
    
    I use Grand Marnier instead of rum in both the raisin liquor and the marscapone, as GM has an orange flavour and therefore adds another dimension to the flavour.
    
    I make sure I use 250g of grated carrot as it makes the cake that little bit bigger and moister
    
    I don't bother to toast the pine nuts first, I just sprinkle them on top and they go golden brown all on their own
    
    
    

Mississippi Mud Pie

The first time I tasted Mississippi Mud Pie I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I was 22 years old and on a trip to Kauai, Hawaii with the American family that I was au-pairing for. We went to this wonderful hotel one evening just to have dessert. If my memory serves me correctly I think I may have become so effusive over the beauty of the concoction that my lovely boss ordered me another slice.

I remember ordering it whenever I saw it on the menu during the duration of my U.S sojourn but it never quite lived up that “the first time”. I was recently looking for dessert inspiration online and happened upon a recipe for MMP – it brought the memories flooding back for me and I was gripped by the urge to make one.

Well I did and it was delicious. Who says retro-80’s food can’t make a comeback? It turns out that Pixie always used to order it back in the day and was delighted at the prospect of trying a homemade version.

The recipe I used below is from the BBC food site.   I adapted it to be gluten-free by using gluten-free Borboun Biscuits for the base. Easy as!

Ingredients

For the base

• 300g/10½oz bourbon biscuits, crushed

• 75g/2½oz butter, melted

For the filling

• 85g/3oz dark chocolate, minimum 70 per cent cocoa solids

• 85g/3oz butter

• 2 free-range eggs

• 85g/3oz muscovado sugar

• 100ml/3½oz double cream

For the fudge sauce

• 150g/5½oz dark chocolate, minimum 70 per cent cocoa solids

• 150ml/5½fl oz double cream, plus extra to serve

• 3 tbsp golden syrup

• 175g/6oz icing sugar, sieved

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/365F/Gas 4.

2. Mix the biscuits and melted butter together in a bowl. Press the mixture into the base and sides of a 23cm/9in springfrom tin. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.

3. For the filling, melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water).

4. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl for 5-6 minutes, or until thick and creamy. Fold in the cream and melted chocolate mixture. Pour into the chilled springform tin and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until just set. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.

5. Meanwhile, for the fudge sauce, heat all of the fudge sauce ingredients in a saucepan, stirring regularly, over a medium heat until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

6. Spread the sauce over the cooled pie and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Serve with double cream.

Cooks tips and observations:

• The fudge topping didn't set very quickly - so I'd say it needs to be in the fridge for at least couple of hours - I left it to chill overnight
• I used a large fork to make the swirly pattern
• I covered the pie with foil for the entire baking period to prevent it from getting too brown on top
• I took it out of the oven after 35 mins - as my oven is quick and it also continues to cook once it comes out
• As you can see, I didn't push the biscuit mixture up the sides of the tin as I find it never comes out even

Make this and be prepared for chocolate heaven!

Calling all lovers of cheesecake .......

From the mouth of the main ingredient -  check out these fabulous recipes:

PHILADELPHIA - Cheesecake Recipes - Delicious Desserts - Kraft PHILADELPHIA

I particularly like the sound of the Jaffe Extravaganza.

This weekend I'm making my famous No Bake Lemon Cheesecake with Passionfruit Glaze

Photo courtesy of:  Flickr - CCL - toobaglu

Lemon Cheesecake with Passionfruit Glaze

I offered to make dessert to take over to my "mother-in-law" for Mother's Day.  I wasn't sure what to make but inspired by the beginning of spring and the fact that Asda had 3 passionfruit for £1, I decided to hark back to an old faithful of mine - Lemon Cheesecake with a passionfruit glaze.  This is light, hits all the right tastebuds and looks great.

In case you're not sure what a passionfruit is click here

Lemon Cheesecake with Passionfruit Glaze [Serves 8-10]

15 digestive biscuits

6 tbsp butter , melted

400g cream cheese  [I use Philadelphia Light to make it less artery clogging]

grated zest of 2 lemons

200g mascarpone cheese

100g caster sugar

184ml pot double cream
 
Crush biscuits into fine crumbs - either by putting them in a blender, food processor, or by putting them in a self-seal bag and bashing them with a rolling pin or other heavy object.

Put the biscuits into a bowl and mix in the melted butter. Put the mixture into a 20cm springform tin and, using your fingers or the back of a spoon to spread it evenly, press it down in the tin to form the base. Put the tin into the fridge to set the base while you prepare the filling.

Put the cream cheese, lemon zest, mascarpone, sugar into a bowl and mix well until smooth. (I use a hand beater, or you could use a wooden spoon or a whisk and lots of wrist action)

Put the cream into a clean bowl and whisk until it is the consistency of thick custard - it musn't be standing in peaks.   Add to the lemon mixture and fold in gently using a metal spoon, or you can use a electric beater if yours has a slow setting.  The idea being that you don't want to overmix at this stage, as it can make the filling too stiff.

Remove the tin from the fridge. Pour the filling over the biscuit base and spread evenly.  Return to the fridge to set (at least 4 hours or overnight).
 
For the passionfruit glaze:
 
6 passion fruit at the very least - or 8 is they are small
 
3 tablespoons of water
 
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
 
2 sheets of gelatine

- Soak gelatine leaves in water according to manufacturers instructions  
- Cut passionfruit in half
- Scoop flesh out of passionfruit, using teaspoon, into a sieve
- Push and squish passionfruit pulp with a large spoon until all the juice is extracted [reserve seeds]
- Put passionfruit juice, water and sugar in a small saucepan over a very low heat
- Stir to dissolve sugar
- Add soaked gelatine leaves and stir gently to dissolve
- Remove from heat and cool [about 10 minutes]
- If you like to see black flecks  in the yellow glaze add enough seeds at this stage
- Very gently pour glaze over cheesecake, cover with clingfilm and return to the fridge until glaze has set

Tip:  making this the day before and allowing the passionfruit flavour to infuse into the cheesecake makes it even yummier.

Gluten-Free Middle East Adventures

This Saturday I had a friend up from London for lunch.  In true mad-me style, I decided to serve three dishes which I've never done before.  She's a very old friend, so if everything went pear-shaped we could have popped in the car and retreated post haste to the nearest gastro-pub.

I made Moroccan Lamb Tagine from an Anthony Worrall-Thompson recipe [although being tagine free I used my trust LeCreuset casserole dish] - as usual I made some tweaks:

• I didn't have any of the argan oil he used, so I just used more olive oil
•  I didn't have lamb stock, so used Knorr vegetable stock granules instead
• Waitrose didn't have shoulder of lamb, so I used diced leg of lamb
• both Anthony and my friend are allergic to gluten, so I served the dish on brown rice instead of cous cous

I'm pleased to say it turned out great!  Rich, deep flavours, with melt in the mouth lamb and as an added bonus leftovers tasted even better the next day.

On Saturday morning I decided that just having the stew and rice would be a bit too "brown" and also a bit too "soft" on the palate - so I decided at the last minute to make tabbouleh as an accompaniement.    Aaaah, but bulgar wheat is well ..... wheat, so another no, no.  So I used quinoa instead.  This "gold of the incas" worked really well. 

Having recently ordered tabbouleh in my favourite Lebanese restaurant Noura, in central London, I realised that the salad is a lot better with very little bulgar wheat involved.  To the point where it makes up about 5% of the dish and the salad has white flecks and is mainly a luscious green.    So I only used half a cup of quinoa.

For dessert I served Cinammon and Wine Poached Pears.  I missed out the caramelisation stage, because I tried twice and the butter and sugar wouldn't caramelise, it split. [No idea why].   However, having just the pears, syrup and marscapone worked beautifully.  I couldn't find the wine they recommended on the shelf at Wiatrose, so used this one.  This dessert was light, had a wonderful depth of flavour and is going to become a favourite.

Having friends over makes me push the boat out and thank goodness I have three more "fall back" recipes for entertaining in future.

Photos courtesy of:  Flickr.com - creative commons - sundaydriver & dumin

Houdini Bars - now you see them, now you don't

It's that half past four feeling - that dead zone at work when you just can't be assed anymore and you need to still look busy.  What's a girl to do?  Well, I always start to look at food sites.

I happened upon this GENIUS recipe for something called Houdini Bars from a wonderful blog called CakeSpy.com. 

I'm not so into the idea of using a cake mix as the base, plus I'll need make it gluten-free otherwise my partner won't be able to eat any.  I think I'll just use a sponge cake batter.  I'm also thinking not to have mixture up the sides but just as a base?  Will report back when I've made these.  I'm aware that I'm probably doing things a bit ass about face because I should only blog about food once I've made it but I can't help myself.

Cake Spy says these taste bars are like birthday cake, cheesecake and coconut cream pie all at once.  Mmmmmmmmm!!

Photo courtesy of CakeSpy.com

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Today I made my "famous" Chocolate Mousse Cake.  It could also be called a torte or tart, or a more sophisticated version of Mississippi Mud Pie.  This is my "go to" recipe when I want to impress.   Even though I readily admit that it's dead easy, it never seems to dampen the compliments flying my way.  It's a grown up dessert because it isn't too sweet thanks to the splash of booze and dark chocolate.

This ultra-simple dessert  requires no baking and can easily be dickied up with a few swirls and twirls to make it look super impressive.  Plus it's even better made the night before which makes it even more stress free.

My adaptations and observations:

In the recipe the mousse filling calls for 4 tbsps of booze but I generally leave it out or just add 1 tbsp, because personally I'm not a fan of strong boozy flavours.  Simply leaving it out makes very little difference to the texture of the mousse.

I use a springform tin but don't press the biscuit base up the sides.   I still use the same quantities for the base, it just makes a slightly thicker crust which I think improves upon the texture contrast per mouthful.

I don't use sugar in the biscuit base,  as I think it's unnecessary.

Some tweaks:

• substitute a handful of Maltesers into the biscuit base mix for a malty flavour
• use 300g crushed bourbon biscuits mixed with 75g of melted butter for the base
• substitute coconut biscuits or ginger snaps for half to two thirds of the required digestive biscuits
• either make or buy a good quality berry coulis [such as Tesco Finest] to dribble over the top
• serve with a good quality vanilla ice-cream or a dollop of double cream or creme fraiche
• decorate with grated chocolate
• deorate with sliced strawberries / whole raspberries
• this can easily become gluten-free by using gluten-free digestive biscuits

This recipe is adapted from Delicious Magazine - Chocolate Mousse Torte

Ingredients:

1 tsp instant coffee granules

150g plain chocolate, with at least 60% cocoa solids, broken up

3 large eggs, separated, plus 1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp spirit of your choice, such as brandy, dark rum, Cointreau or Amaretto

3 tbsp Golden Caster Sugar

For the biscuit case:

50g plain chocolate, with at least 60% cocoa solids, broken up

2 tbsp cocoa powder

50g butter

175g digestive biscuits

2 tbsp Golden Caster Sugar

Method:

1. Remove the base from a 20cm springform tin. Lightly butter inside the ring and place it upside-down, directly onto a flat serving plate. Secure it in place on each side with a small piece of Blu-Tack. Line the sides with a strip of non-stick baking paper.   (I tend to adopt an easier approach by just lining the bottom with greaseproof paper, as I don't push the biscuit mixture up the sides)

2. Make the biscuit case. Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and add the cocoa powder and butter. Rest the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and leave until melted, then stir until smooth. Put the digestive biscuits and sugar into a food processor and whizz, using the pulse button, to fine crumbs. (I prefer not to make them too fine as having a bit of crunch and texture in the base makes it more interesting on the chew).  Stir into the melted chocolate mixture, then tip into the lined tin and, using the back of a dessertspoon, press the crumbs firmly in an even layer over the base and at least 4cm up the sides to form a casing. (As stated I don't bother putting the mixture up the sides as it's difficult to get it looking nice and even in a high sided springform tin).  Chill while you make the filling.

3. Dissolve the coffee in 4 tablespoons boiling water. Put the coffee and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl, rest it over the pan of hot water until melted and then stir until smooth. Mix the egg yolks and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Stir into the chocolate and coffee mixture until smooth and then stir in your chosen spirit.

4. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until just beginning to stiffen, then gradually whisk in the sugar to form a soft meringue. The tips of the peaks should fall over, not stand upright. Gently fold the whites into the chocolate mixture and then pour into the biscuit crumb case. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight until firm before removing the springform tin.


Thanks to juanelos on Flickr.com - creative commons