Sticky Toffee Pudding With a BOOZY Kick

Sticky Toffee Pudding

 

The winter is officially here and everyone is craving something scrumptious and delicious. I know I’ve been hammering on these sweet treats these past couple of weeks and I promise some savoury delights shortly. Sugar is my main food group so beyond that, my skills wither and die just like everything else this winter.  Today I’m sharing my new and improved recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding, an English staple. I gave it a bit of a tweak, with a boozy kick. This is truly such an easy recipe to follow and obviously the booze is optional so if you’re not up for the tipple in the toffee sauce just leave it out. See easy as pie or should I say pudding?  

Sticky Toffee Pudding

·         200g Dates – pitted & diced

·         200g Soft Brown Sugar

·         100g Unsalted Butter – softened

·         10ml Vanilla Essence – can be replaced with Vanilla paste

·         3 x Eggs

·         3Tbs of Golden Syrup

·         2Tsp Bicarb of Soda

·         1 x Shot of Brandy

·         200g Flour

For the extra lush a boozy sauce

·          2 x Shots of Brandy

·         100g Unsalted Butter

·         200g Soft Brown Sugar

·         3Tbsp of Golden Syrup

·         200ml Fresh Cream

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 ͦC. Start off by mixing your chopped dates, Bicarb, vanilla, brandy and enough boiling water to cover the chopped dates, leave to soften one side. Start by creaming the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, adding one egg at a time till all 3 are added. Now slowly add the flour about 50g at a time to the mixer alternating with a quarter of the softened date mixture. Once everything is combine whisk on high for 2 minutes. Grease a large ovenproof dish about 20 -20cm and pour the mixture into the dish. Bake for 45 minutes till just cooked and a skewer comes out clean. Ten minutes before its time to take out the pudding start with the sauce. Place the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a medium sized pot over medium heat and bring the sugar mixture to a rapid boil. This will take a few minutes. Once all everything is boiling viciously, be careful and stand back as your pour in the fresh cream. This will splutter so be careful, once all the cream is added remove from the pot from the heat and stir a few times. Return it to the heat and bring to a boil. Once it boils, take the sauce off of the heat and only then add the 2 shots of brandy.  Remove the pudding from the oven and pour over the hot toffee sauce. Take a sharp knife and lift the sides of the pudding away so the sauce can soak into every corner of the pudding. Pop it back into the oven for 10 -15 minutes till the sauce is all but soaked up and slightly frothy look on the pudding.

Serve with lashings of cream, custard or even some ice cream.

Lemon Tart

Lemon Tart

This I truly something to die for, I love the smooth and creamy tang of this dessert. Tastes like heaven on a plate, perfect for tea time or just as an amazing light dessert after a heavy meal.

·         1 x Quantity Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

·         5 X Whole Eggs

·         125ml Fresh cream

·         225g Castor Sugar

·         Zest & Juice of 4 Lemons

·         Icing Sugar for Dusting afterwards

Method:

Bake blind you’re sweet Shortcrust in a large loose bottomed baking tin about 20cm in diameter. Pre-heat the oven to 170 ͦC. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, zest and juice of the lemons, whisk till all the sugar has dissolved. Now gently pour the filling into the cooled pastry shell (I find if you let the pastry shell stand for 2 hours, it just stays extra crisp) and bake for 30 -35 minutes. You want a smooth surface, if your oven is too high there will be bubbles on the surface. Remove the tart from the oven and let cool overnight before unmoulding the tart. Dust liberally with icing sugar just before serving.

TIP: For that extra look, caramelise very thin slices of lemon dusted in castor sugar on a silicone sheet in the oven and decorate each slice of tart with the caramelised lemon slices.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse

White Chocolate & Raspberry Mousse

This is the perfect dinner party dessert. It’s light, fruity, creamy and utterly delicious. Served in glasses they look stunning.

White Chocolate Mousse

·         300g Good Quality White Chocolate – finely chopped

·         15ml Vanilla Paste

·         200ml Fresh Cream

·         3 x Large Egg Whites

·         5ml Lemon Juice

·         Pinch of Salt

Raspberry Mousse

·         1 x Punnet of Raspberries – 500g fresh raspberries, washed

·         250ml Fresh Cream – chilled well

·         15ml Vanilla Paste – if using vanilla essence 5ml will suffice 

·         60g Icing Sugar

·         15ml Lemon Juice

·         2 x Large Egg Whites

·         Pinch of Salt

TIP: To make perfect chocolate chards, take a vegetable peeler and run it down the sides of a slab of chocolate.

Method:

Start with the chocolate mousse; bring the cream to simmering point in a small pot over medium heat. Place the finely chopped chocolate and vanilla paste in a mixing bowl. Pour over the hot cream and leave it to stand for a minute or two before stirring till the chocolate has melted and becomes glossy. Set aside to cool slightly while you whip up the egg whites. Place the egg whites, lemon juice and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to stiff peak stage. Fold through one third of the whites, to loosen the ganache. Then with a rubber spatula gently fold through the rest of the whipped whites. Place all the glasses in a large mixing bowl so they will lean at an angle. Pipe the chocolate mousse into the glasses before leaving them to set at an angle for about 2 hours. Meanwhile make the raspberry mousse, place the raspberries, icing and lemon juice in a blender and puree. Pour through a sieve or chinois to remove any traces of seeds. Place in the refrigerator to cool as much as possible. Gently whip the chilled cream and vanilla to soft peak stage and gently fold it through the puree. Whisk the egg whites and pinch of salt to stiff peak stage and fold through one third just to loosen the mixture, and then gently fold in the rest of the whites with a rubber spatula. Spoon into a piping bag and refrigerate till the white chocolate mousse is firmly set at an angle. Once the white chocolate has set at the perfect angle you can remove the glasses from the mixing bowl and stand them up straight. Now pipe in a nice even amount of the raspberry mousse, almost to the rim of the glass then cover the glasses with cling wrap and leave to set in the refrigerator for 2 – 4 hours before serving. To serve decorate the top with chards of white chocolate, some fresh raspberries and a sprig of mint.          

Blueberry Slice

Blueberry Slice

I make these in square tins, so they cut better. I like to make a mini blueberry jam/compote along with a layer of fresh blueberries. Serve this on its own or with some sweetened cream.

·         2 x Punnets Fresh Blueberries – almost a kilo, washed and ready to use

·         1 x Vanilla Bean – just the seeds, 10ml vanilla paste will work too

·         4Tbsp of Water or Cassis

·         150g White Sugar

·         Icing Sugar – for dusting

·         Zest of 1 Orange

Biscuit Base

·         2½C Plain Flour

·         250g Unsalted Butter – chilled and cut into cubes

·         2 – 3Tbsp of Milk

·         200g Castor Sugar

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 170 ͦC. Start with the biscuit base, place the flour, butter, sugar and 2Tbsp of the milk into a food processor and blitz till it comes together. If you find it is a tad to dry add the extra tablespoon of milk. Press the mixture as evenly as possible into a square loosed bottomed fluted tart tin, sprayed well with non-stick spray. Take your time when doing this as you want the base as flat as possible. The base should be about 2 – 2.5cm thick. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes till just slightly golden brown. While the base is in the oven make the blueberry compote. Place half of the washed blueberries in a medium sized pot on the stove over a low heat. Add the vanilla seeds, sugar, and orange zest along with the water or cassis. Bring the mixture to a simmering boil only stirring every now and then to ensure all the sugar has dissolved. You can even mash some of the berries up with a fork. Cook this for about 10 -15 minutes. Remove from the heat and place the bottom of the pot in a make shift ice bath just to bring the temperature down as quickly as possible. Then set aside to cool further. Once the base is done and slightly cooled evenly spread the blueberry compote over the base and level it with a palate knife. Now take the rest of the blueberries and place them on top. Try and fit them one-by-one, this will take time but well worth it for the presentation. Return the tart to the oven for 10 minutes, and then let it cool at room temperature in the tin before slicing and serving. Dust well with icing sugar.  

Baked Bar-One Cheesecake

This week I just had to share this recipe with you. I am overall not a fan of a baked cheesecake but this recipe is just so divine; I would happily sell my grandmother for a slice. It’s based on the original plain old Ney York Cheesecake with this gorgeous addition of loads of bar one’s and then a melted bar one ganache topping. Heaven I tell you! Try this and if you don’t like it, email me so I can book you for a therapy session with great psychiatrist. All the ingredients do cost a penny but I guarantee you it’s worth breaking the bank for this one.

Baked Bar-One Cheesecake

You’ll Need:

Crust

2 x Packets of Chocolate Romany Creams

250g Unsalted Butter – melted

20g Cacao

2Tbsp of Icing Sugar

Filling

4 Tubs of Cream Cheese – 250g tubs

200ml Sour Cream

200g White Sugar

15ml Vanilla Paste – essence will work just fine

4 x Whole Eggs

1 x Large Egg Yolk

2Tbsp of Corn Starch – mazina

6 x Bar one’s – cut into thin slices

Topping

4 x Large Bar one’s

150ml Fresh Cream

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 ͦC. Place the Romany creams in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs, add the sugar and cacao and pulse 3 times. Pour everything into a mixing bowl and pour over the melted butter. If it feels to dry add a touch more butter. Take a large spring form cake tin and spray well with non-stick spray. Start by pressing the fine crust mixture into the tin and all the way up the sides about 5mm thick. Bake for 10min, remove it and set aside to cool.  Now turn the oven to 200 ͦC. For the filling, with an electric mixer whisk the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream till smooth, sieve in the corn starch and mix till incorporated. Now add the vanilla and eggs and whisk on high for 4 -5 minutes till smooth and velvety. With a spatula fold in the chopped bar one’s gently, then spread the filling evenly into the cooled base. Bake for 10 min @ 200 ͦC before turning the oven down to 110 ͦC and bake for a further 25 -30 min. Turn the oven off and leave the oven door ajar till the cheesecake is cooled about an hour. Take out the cheese cake and let it cool to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator. For the topping, finely chop the bar one’s and place it in a mixing bowl. Heat the cream to simmering point and pour the cream over the finely chopped chocolate. Stir till smooth and glossy (if you find all the chocolate isn’t melted pop the bowl into the microwave and nuke it for a few seconds till everything is melted and smooth). Cool slightly, as it cools it will thicken then spread it out over the top of the cheesecake. Pop it back into the refrigerator for no less than 6 – 8 hours before unmoulding the tin and slicing it.

NOTE: Additional pieces of fudge can be added or replace the bar one with nougat if you like and give it a marshmallow finish on top.