Tea Soaked Figs

Ingredients

125g sugar

½ a lemon
2 whole cloves
½ a cinnamon stick
2 vanilla pods, split and scraped
10 figs cut in half
500ml water
3 sachets of earl grey tea
150ml strega liquor (Italian digestive liquor)

Method

Mix the sugar, lemon, cloves, cinnamon and vanilla into the water and bring to the boil.  Remove from the heat and infuse the tea for 30 minutes.  Pour the strega liquor onto the figs, remove the tea bags from the syrup and pour onto the figs. Soak the figs for 3 days in the liquid, and store them in the fridge. These can be served with either a sweet or savoury dish, but I personally recommend serving these delights with something sweet. Maybe even something as simple as clotted cream, or a vanilla bean ice cream.

For those who have never come across strega liquor before, here are some interesting facts about it. The recipe is a mix of 70 herbs and spices which include Samnite mint, Ceylon cinnamon, Florentine iris, Italian Apennine juniper, fennel, and saffron. The saffron is the key to Strega's signature yellow color and the mint and juniper are two of the most pronounced flavors within the herbal mixture. It is aged in ash barrels which allow the flavors and aromas to develop.

Bon Appétit

Apple and frangipane Tart

Ingredients

8 large apples, cored, peeled and halved
250g unsalted butter
400g sugar
400-500g puff pastry
Flour for dusting
Frangipane

375g soft butter

375g icing sugar
370g ground almonds
37.5g flour

7 eggs

Method

Cut the puff pastry into discs that are the size you desire, I usually use a coffee cup as an indicator for the disc size. Line a flat baking tray with grease proof paper, and pace the disc onto the tray. Place the tray into the fridge to let the puff pastry rest until you need it again.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c full fan (gas mark 6). 

Meanwhile melt the butter and sugar in a pan and cook on a low heat until they turn an amber colour and caramelise (if the heat is too high the butter will spilt out of the sugar). Add the apples to the pan, continue to simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes until the apples are lightly coloured.

Remove the apples and caramel from the heat, and with a slotted spoon arrange the apples onto the puff pastry discs, but try not to get too much liquid onto the puff pastry disc while doing this. You want to try and create a ‘fan’ effect with the apples.

Prepare the frangipane but creaming together the butter and sugar, and then adding all the other ingredients until it is combine. Press a layer of frangipane on top of the apples

Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through and the frangipane starts turning a nice golden brown colour.

Serve this with vanilla bean ice cream, maple syrup and come apple puree.

Bon Appétit

Chocolate Fondant Recipe

 

 

This is one of my favourite desserts to prepare, and I serve in a variety of ways. The vanilla bean ice cream is on a bed of honeycomb dust, and the fresh raspberries were soaked in a sugar syrup that was also used when I served the dessert.

Ingredients

Melted butter, for greasing
cocoa powder, for dusting
275g (9.5oz) dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
225g (8oz) unsalted butter
400g (14oz) caster sugar
0.5tsp vanilla extract
5 large free-range eggs, beaten
200g (7oz) plain flour, sifted
you will need
8 metal pudding bowls or ramekins

Preparation

Heat the oven to 180 C, 160 C fan, 350 F, gas 4. Brush the pudding moulds sparingly with melted butter, dust with cocoa powder and shake out the excess. Set aside. Melt the chocolate and butter gently in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Leave to cool slightly.

Whisk the eggs into the mixture a little at a time, then fold in the sifted flour and a little salt until you have a smooth mixture.

Divide between the moulds – each one two thirds full. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 12 minutes exactly. Remove from the oven, run a knife round the edges, invert and tip out on to serving plates. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and fresh seasonal berries.

Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

250ml strawberry puree

100g sugar
60g yolks
100ml double cream
100ml milk

Method

Bring the strawberry puree up to the boil, and then remove it from the heat. In a separate bowl mix the caster sugar and eggs yolks together. 

Bring the milk and cream up to the boil and then remove it from the heat and slowly temper in the milk and cream mixture into the eggs and sugar. Then add the strawberry puree mix.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream churner, and churn the ice cream until it has frozen, then place it in the freezer in an air tight container

Bon Appétit

'Lemon Meringue Pie' recipe

Ingredients

Meringue

60ml water
30g glucose
300gcaster sugar
160g egg white

Pastry

200g vanilla short crust pastry sheet

Sorbet Yoghurt

2 vanilla beans
250gcaster sugar
80gglucose
250ml water
400g yoghurt
100ml thickened cream

Lemon Curd

175ml lime, juice
120gwhole eggs
105g egg yolk
110g caster sugar
60gthickened cream
20gcorn flour
110g unsalted butter

Method

Place water, glucose and sugar in a small saucepan and over a medium to high heat, bring to the boil. Boil the sugar mixture up to 118°C, test this using a sugar thermometer.

Using an electric mixer, with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. While continuously beating, slowly pour in the hot sugar mixture, down the side of the bowl, in a steady stream. Whip until cold and set aside until needed.

For the pastry, preheat the oven to 160°C. Place pastry sheet onto a 30cmx40cm paper lined baking tray and bake at 160°for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and slide pastry onto a wire rack to cool. Once cool, break pastry into large pieces, place in a food processor to and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

For the sorbet, split the vanilla beans in half length ways, scraping out the seeds with a small sharp knife. Add this to a medium saucepan, along with the sugar, glucose and water. Bring mixture to the boil, remove from heat and allow to cool, strain through a sieve. Add the yogurt and cream to the sugar mixture, stirring to combine. Allow to cool completely, pour into an ice cream machine and churn, according to the manufacturer’s instructions until smooth and set. Freeze until required.

In a large clean dry bowl combine lime juice, eggs, yolks, sugar, cream and corn flour. Transfer into a medium saucepan over a medium heat and cook out, mixing constantly, until mixture thickens and just begins to boil. Remove saucepan from the heat and add butter in small batches, whisking thoroughly until curd is smooth and shiny.
Transfer the curd into a clean bowl to cool in the fridge. Once cooled, spoon lemon curd into a piping bag with a 2cm plain round nozzle, ready for plating.

To assemble, in the centre of each plate, smear a heaped tablespoon of meringue. Either preheat the oven on grill or use a small brulee torch, to give the meringue a golden crust, be careful, as this will happen quickly. Add a small pile of pastry crumbs to one side of the meringue, topping it with a scoop of sorbet. On the other side, take the piping bag and pipe 2 tablespoons of curd. Serve immediately.

Bon Appétit

 

Tiramisu Recipe

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

500g Mascarpone Cheese
5 eggs separated
½ cup castor sugar
pinch Salt
Sponge biscuits, to line dishes
¼ cup strong espresso coffee
4 Tbsp Brandy or Rum
Cocoa Powder

Method:

Beat the mascarpone cheese until it soft. In a Separate bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar (reserving 1 tablespoon) until the mixture is pale, yellow and fluffy. Gradually beat in the softened Mascarpone cheese.

Beat the egg whites with the salt until they reach soft peak. Fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture. Line a dish, or even individual glasses with sponge biscuits. Add the reserved sugar to the coffee and stir in brandy

Sprinkle the coffee over biscuits, just to moisten them, you want to avoid making the biscuit to soggy.

Cover with half of the egg mixture, then another layer of biscuits with coffee sprinkled onto them, and then the rest of egg mixture.

Sprinkle with cocoa powder. Put the dessert into the fridge for one hour to set before serving.

If you want to add more flavour and colour to this dessert, you can do a layer of raspberries or even mixed berries between the cheese mixture and the biscuit mix. It looks great when you serve it in individual glasses.

To garnish you can use some more fresh colourful berries, as well as chocolate shavings. Again this served and garnished in individual glasses looks amazing

Bon Appétit