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.       

Nectarine Clafoutis

 

 

Nectarine Clafoutis

·         500g Nectarines – washed, peeled, de-stoned and cut into quarters

·         130ml Fresh Cream

·         4 x Whole Eggs

·         4Tbsp Caster Sugar

·         80g Plain Flour

·         30ml Vanilla Paste – I know this might seem a lot but it just works so well

·         Icing Sugar for dusting once done

·         Vanilla Ice Cream for serving – homemade is the best

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 200 ͨc. Spray a 1.5Lt oven dish with non-stick spray, or you can just lightly butter the dish. Place the nectarines inside the oven dish skin side down (looks great for presentations). Place the cream, eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla paste in a food processor and blitz till a smooth batter has formed. Now bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 – 30 min till the Clafoutis is puffed up and golden. Allow to cool slightly before dusting with some icing sugar. Serve slightly warm with a big scoop of Vanilla Ice cream.

Orange Bavarian Cream

This week’s treat is a little sneak peak of what’s to come in my new cook book coming out later this year. Death by Desserts! Here is one of my favourites, hope you enjoy it just as much as I do.  These are astounding little desserts that are just pure joy, with a light, silky and smooth finish. A crème anglaise that is moulded and thickened with gelatine, whipped egg whites softly whipped cream and additional flavourings served cold. They do require some skill and a little patience but nothing to outlandish.

Orange Bavarian Cream

I got this recipe from non-other than the Queen of French desserts, Julia Child. Obviously I have made some changes to the recipe to bring it into the new age.

NOTE: This custard requires 7 egg yolks, because of the orange juice. When making other flavours, keep in mind whatever you add that might act as a natural thickening agent for the custard you will reduce the yolks to 5 like in any crème anglaise.

·         Zest & Juice of 2 Large Oranges

·         1½Tbsp of Powdered Gelatine

·         5ml Orange Essence – orange blossom water can be used too

·         7 x Large Eggs – separated (you need 5 egg whites for whipping)

·         350ml Full Cream Milk

·         180g White Sugar

·         2Tbsp Corn Starch - mazina

·         Pinch of Salt

·         1Tbsp of Castor Sugar

·         125ml  Chilled Whipping Cream

·         2Tbsp of Orange Liqueur – optional, can be replaced with 1Tbsp of orange essence

Method:

After zesting the oranges, add the zest to the milk in a medium sized sauce pot over a low heat and bring to a bare simmer. Pour the gelatine over the orange juice and leave to soften. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg yolks, corn starch, orange essence and 180g of sugar till thick and to slight ribbon stage. Once the milk has reached the slight simmer, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture in a very slow and steady stream whisking continuously. Once all the milk is incorporated, return the mixture to the pot over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon in the shape of and eight till the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon. Do the finger test just to double check, if you are able to run a line through the back of the spoon, and if the line stays clear the custard is cooked.  Immediately remove the custard from the heat and add the orange juice with the softened gelatine and whisk with a wire risk till all the gelatine has dissolved, set aside to cool slightly while you whip the egg whites. Place 5 egg whites in a large bowl and whisk lightly before adding the pinch of salt and then whisking it to soft peak stage. Add the tablespoon of castor sugar slowly and whisk to firm peak stage. Now take a rubber spatula and roughly fold ⅓ of the whites into the custard, before gently folding in the rest of the egg whites. Rinse out the mixing bowl and softly whip the chilled cream, fold through the orange liqueur or essence and then fold the entire mixture through the custard mixture. This is enough for 8 -10 individual servings or 1 large dessert. Use metallic moulds as they are easier to unmould than rubber ones. Pour the custard mixture into the moulds and leave to set in the refrigerator nothing less than 6 hours, overnight is best. To unmould, quickly dip the bottom of the mould into Luke warm water for a few seconds, dry it off and flip it out onto the chilled serving plate. Serve with a caramelised orange slice and an iced shot of orange liqueur. 

TIP: To caramelise orange slices take a very sharp serrated knife and slice waver thin slices, dust them with castor sugar and bake in a hot oven on a silicone sheet for 5 -10 minutes. Keep your eye on them as they may burn quite quickly.

Berry Jell-O

Seeing that this will be my last summer recipe, I thought I’ll share something very special with you. This recipe will be featured in my book that I’m planning on releasing later this year.  Truly a stunner not only on the eye but on the taste buds too. This is really easy and decadent. Use metal ramekins for this recipe as you want to turn the jellies out onto a plate with no fuss.

You’ll Need: 

·         Peel of 2 Lemons, Juice of 1

·         Zest of 1 Orange

·         2 x Sprigs of Fresh Mint – bruised

·         250g Strawberries – washed, hulled & halved

·         250g Cherries – washed, stoned & halved

·         100g Blueberries – washed

·         100g Blackberries – washed

·         1Lt of Water

·         8 x Sheets of Gelatine Sheets – soaked in cold water

·         400g White Sugar

Method:

Place the water, mint sprigs, orange zest, sugar, lemon peel and juice in a pot and bring to a boil. Meanwhile soak the gelatine. Stir the stock so all the sugar is dissolved; now turn the heat down and let the syrup infuse with all the flavourings. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatine and add it to the stock, stir till dissolved and take the pot off of the heat and leave to cool slightly. Meanwhile prep the fruits and place everything into a large mixing bowl. Spoon the mixed berries into the chilled ramekins or loaf tin and fill them almost to the rim then place them in the refrigerator to cool completely. Strain the stock through a sieve and leave to cool to room temperature. Take the ramekins from the refrigerator and start filling them slowly with the stock. Shake the ramekins making sure no air bubbles are caught anywhere in the fruit mixture. Best is to fill it, shake it and leave it a few minutes before shaking it again just to ensure no bubbles are caught anywhere between the fruits. Refrigerate till set 4 – 6 hours but overnight is best. Serve as is or with a dollop of crème fraich and a dusting of icing sugar.

TIP: To make this a dinner part treat, reduce the water in the recipe by 120ml and once boiled and ready to cool, add 120ml Vodka or Tequila.