Tag: Desserts

Bruleed Apricots with Ginger and Almonds

Bruleed Apricots with Ginger and Almonds

It’s been a while since I made a pretty dessert and making this one reminded me just how much I love doing them! This one was inspired by apricots and custard so it’s made up of bruleed (caramelised) amaretto soaked apricots, crème patisserie (aka custard), and chocolate ganache and then decorated with stem ginger, almonds, amaretti biscuits and mint! Because the three main elements (the apricots, custard and ganache) are relatively easy to make this dessert is surprisingly easy and quick to throw together (unlike some of my other pretty dessert plates!). You can also display it however you like – I enjoy getting out the blowtorch and tweezers to make a little crescent shape but it works just as well all thrown into a bowl for pudding!

(Note: I’ve made meringues for this to use up the egg white leftover from making the custard, but it’s a completely optional element to the dessert!)

Recipe

Serves about 4

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the apricots

  • 1 tin of apricot halves in fruit juice
  • 2 tbsp amaretto liqueur
  • 2 tbsp stem ginger syrup

For the crème patisserie

  • 80ml whole milk
  • 1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
  • 20g caster sugar, plus 2-3 tsp for the brulee
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 5g plain flour
  • 5g cornflour

For the meringue (optional)

  • 1 egg white
  • 40g caster sugar (ideally the same weight as the egg white, you might need to use less or more sugar accordingly)

To decorate

  • 100g dark chocolate
  • 100ml double cream
  • 4 tbsp flaked almonds
  • A few pieces of stem ginger
  • 2-3 amaretti biscuits, crushed
  • A few sprigs of fresh mint

Method

  1. Put the apricots and their juice into a bowl. Add the amaretto and stem ginger syrup and leave to soak for at least 1 hour (you could do this the night before if you want!).
  2. Meanwhile make the crème patisserie. Put the milk and vanilla into a saucepan, stir once and bring to the boil.
  3. Separate the egg by rocking the yolk between the two halves of the shell and letting the egg white drip into a bowl below. Put the egg yolk into a separate bowl.
  4. Add the sugar and two flours to the egg yolk and whisk together until fully combined.
  5. Once the milk is heated, remove the pan from the heat and mix around 1/3 of the milk into the egg mixture.
  6. Whisk the mixture quickly and then pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the milk.
  7. Put the pan back over a medium-low heat and whisk until the mixture thickens.
  8. Pour the mixture into a pipping bag and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, until cool.
  9. Meanwhile prepare the decorations. If you’re making the meringue put the egg white into a spotlessly clean bowl and whisk with an electric which until soft peaks form.
  10. Add the caster sugar to the egg whites, 1tbsp at a time, whilst whisking until all the sugar is added. Keep whisking until the mixture hits firm peaks.
  11. Tip the meringue out onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Smooth out with a palette knife until it’s an even sheet about the thickness of a 1p coin.
  12. Pre-heat the oven to 120C and bake the meringue in the oven until crisp (about 20 minutes). Turn the oven off and leave to cool completely in the oven (this will prevent them from cracking).
  13. Now make the ganache. Roughly chop the chocolate for the decoration and put it into a glass or metal bowl.
  14. Put the cream into a small pan and bring up to just below the boil. Then pour it on the chocolate and stir until smooth.
  15. Pour the ganache into a pipping bag and leave in the fridge for about 20 minutes, until just set enough to pipe and hold it’s shape. (If the ganache becomes too set you can warm it up in the microwave with 10 second bursts).
  16. When all the components are ready start plating up. Take the apricots out of the soaking liquid and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to soak up the excess juices.
  17. Take 3 of the apricots and place them on a plate so that the hole where the stone was is facing up. Sprinkle a little caster sugar into this hole and then use a blowtorch to caramelise it (you could use a grill if you don’t have a blow torch).
  18. Pipe 3-4 blobs on the crème patisserie onto a plate, making the blobs smaller further away from the apricots to start building up the crescent shape. Then take the ganache and then pipe small blobs in the gaps. Break the meringue into shards and prop them up around the plate by leaning them into the ganache and crème patisserie.
  19. Finish the plate with some flaked almonds, crushed amaretti biscuits, slices of stem ginger and some fresh mint. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Strawberry and Elderflower Mousses

Strawberry and Elderflower Mousses

Recipe

Makes around 6 (depending on the size of your moulds)

Time: 1 hour, plus chilling time

Ingredients

For the elderflower mousse

  • 88ml milk
  • 1 leaf of gelatine
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 15g sugar
  • 8g cornflour
  • 1 ½ tbsp elderflower cordial
  • 200ml double cream

For the strawberry mousse

  • 250g frozen strawberries
  • 25g caster sugar
  • 140g marshmallows
  • 200ml double cream

To decorate

  • Fresh double cream
  • A sprig of mint
  • Fresh strawberries

Method

  1. Begin by making the elderflower mousse. Put the milk into a pan and place over a gentle heat to warm through to just below the boil.
  2. Fill a small bowl with cold water and add the gelatine leaf. Leave to soften.
  3. Put the egg yolk, sugar, cornflour and elderflower cordial into a bowl and whisk until smooth.
  4. Pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly until combined.
  5. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, whisking all the time, until the mixture thickens.
  6. Squeeze the gelatine to remove the excess water and then add it to the warm custard. Whisk in to dissolve and then pour the custard into a bowl. Cover with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming and then leave to cool to room temperature.
  7. Whisk the double cream to soft peaks and then fold it into the cooled custard until smooth.
  8. Pipe/spoon this mousse into the moulds and leave in the fridge to set.
  9. Now make the strawberry mousse. Put the frozen strawberries into a pan with 100ml water and the sugar. Gently heat until the strawberries have defrosted and are soft.
  10. Puree the strawberry mixture with a hand blender until it’s a smooth puree.
  11. Add the marshmallows to the hot strawberry puree and stir until they dissolve. Leave to cool completely.
  12. Whisk the cream to soft peaks. Fold the cream into the cooled strawberry mix and then spoon into a pipping bag.
  13. Pipe the strawberry mousse over the set elderflower mousse, use the back of a teaspoon to level it out if needed, and then leave in the fridge to set completely.
  14. To decorate whisk the fresh cream to soft peaks. Pipe in a swirl on the top of the mousses and finish with a sprig of mint and a wedge of fresh strawberry!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Summer Pudding

Summer Pudding

It might not technically be summer yet, but all this gorgeous weather has put me in the mood for some summer pudding! This classic British dessert is essentially a mountain of summer berries encased in juice-soaked bread. Perfect for any and every meal, BBQ or party April-August.

Recipes

Serves 8

Time: 20 minutes, plus chilling time

Ingredients

  • 1kg Frozen mixed berries (I use a mixture of frozen strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
  • 160g Caster sugar
  • 1 small loaf of white bread (about 9 slices)

To serve (optional)

  • Freshly whipped cream
  • A few mint sprigs
  • Fresh berries

Method

  1. Take a 1L pudding basin or a medium-sized bowl and line it with clingfilm, making sure there’s a few cm over-hang around the top.
  2. Put the fruit and sugar into a pan and gently simmer for about 10 minutes to defrost.
  3. When the juices are bubbling out of the fruit, turn off the heat and sieve the fruit with a bowl underneath to catch the juices.
  4. Whilst the fruit is draining put the bread onto a chopping board. Cut off the crusts (these can be whizzed up in a food processor and used as bread crumbs) and keep the bread centres.
  5. Dip one of the bread slices into the fruit juices, turning it over so the whole slice is covered in juices. Place this slice in the bottom of the lined bowl. Repeat with enough slices of bread to cover the inside of the bowl, with the slices slightly overlapping.
  6. Pour the fruit into the bread-lined bowl. Soak a few more bread slices in the juices and place these on top to completely seal in the fruit.
  7. Pour the remaining juice over the top of the pudding. Bring the excess clingfilm up over the top of the pudding to enclose it.
  8. Put the pudding into the fridge to chill for 6 hours, or overnight.
  9. When read to serve peel the top layer of clingfilm off the pudding. Turn the bowl out onto a serving plate and then take off the rest of the clingfilm. Serve with fresh cream, berries and mint!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Chocolate and Mango Dome Entremets

Chocolate and Mango Dome Entremets

Dome tartlets are very much the ‘in’ thing in home-made patisserie at the moment, and after this I can see why! They’re relatively easy to put together, are open to creativity and look stunning. For these ones I’ve gone with my favourite flavour combo – chocolate and mango. I found that you can buy mango puree in tin cans which means gone are the days of getting all slippery and messy peeling, stoning and pureeing mangos! However, you could also easily make this dessert with any kind of fruit puree you like. Raspberry, strawberry or even orange would I think work well.

Recipe

Makes 6

Time: 3 hours, plus chilling time overnight

Ingredients

For the chocolate pastry

  • 90g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 40g icing sugar
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 80g butter
  • 1 medium egg yolk

For the brownie

  • 150g butter
  • 210g dark chocolate
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 210g caster sugar
  • 40g plain flour

For the mango bavarois

  • 200g mango puree
  • 80ml whole milk
  • 60g egg yolks (about 3 eggs – see my post on what to do with the leftover egg whites!)
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 3 sheets of gelatine
  • 100ml double cream

For the mango crème patisserie

  • 150ml whole milk
  • 100ml mango puree
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 35g caster sugar
  • 20g cornflour
  • 40g unsalted butter

For the mirror glaze

  • 150ml double cream
  • 135g caster sugar
  • 60g cocoa powder
  • 3 sheets of gelatine

Method

  1. Begin by making the pastry. Sift the flour, icing sugar, and cocoa into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  2. Add the egg yolk and mix it in with a round bladed knife until the mixture forms a soft paste. Make the dough into a ball with your hands, then wrap it in cling film and put it into the fridge for at least 1 hour to chill.
  3. Pre-heat the oven to 160˚C.Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of cling film to the thickness of a 50p piece.
  4. Take the top layer of cling film off the pastry and cut out 9.5cm circles. Carefully transfer each pastry disk onto a lined baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until baked through and starting to look crisp. Leave to cool to one side until needed.
  5. Meanwhile make the brownie. Raise the oven temperature to 180˚C and then grease and line a 23x30cm tin (or a tin that you can cut 6, 9.5cm circles out of) with butter and baking paper.
  6. Put the butter and chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt.
  7. Take another bowl and whisk the eggs until pale and fluffy with an electric whisk. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until it leaves a trail when the whisk is taken out.
  8. Fold the chocolate into the eggs, sieve in the flour and then fold everything again until combined.
  9. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and smooth over to make it an even layer. Bake the brownie for 15-20 minutes until a crust has formed on top and it feel slightly firm. Set aside to cool.
  10. Now make the mango bavarois. Put the mango puree, milk, egg yolks and sugar into a pan and bring up to just below boiling point. Meanwhile put the gelatine sheets into a bowl of cold water and leave for 5 minutes to soften.
  11. Squeeze the gelatine to remove excess water and then add it to the warm mango mixture. Stir to dissolve and then pour the mixture into a bowl and allow to cool.
  12. Whisk the cream into soft peaks and then, when the mango mixture is room temperature, fold in the cream until the mixture is of an even consistency with no lumps.
  13. Pour the bavarois into some hemisphere silicon moulds and leave to set in the fridge. Once set solid, transfer the bavarois filled mould into the freezer to freeze overnight.
  14. The next day make the mango patisserie. Put the milk and mango puree into a pan and bring to just below boiling point.
  15. Meanwhile put the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour into a bowl and whisk together until pale and smooth. Slowly pour a little of the hot milk over the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Gradually add the rest of the milk into the egg mixture, still whisking.
  16. Pour the crème patisserie mixture back into the pan and whisk over a medium heat until the mixture thickens smoothly. You’ll want this creme patisserie to be thicker than you’d normally expect a custard to be as you’ll be pipping it later.
  17. Take the mixture off the heat, add the butter and whisk in until smooth. Spoon the crème patisserie into a bowl cover with clingfilm and leave to cool.
  18. Now make the mirror glaze. Put the cream, sugar, cocoa and 150ml water into a pan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to the boil and then leave for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
  19. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes, until flexible. Squeeze out the excess water and then add the gelatine to the glaze and stir to dissolve.
  20. Cool the glaze down to 38˚C and then it’s ready to use. This can take a while so I’ve found that transferring it into another bowl and whisking it every so often will help! Sieve the glaze to make it super smooth.
  21. Take your mango hemispheres out of the freezer and carefully turn them out onto a wire rack with a large roasting tin underneath.
  22. Pour the glaze evenly over the hemispheres so it covers each one in an even layer of glaze. Leave the hemisphere for 30 minutes so the glaze can set.
  23. Meanwhile assemble the rest of the entremet. Cut out 9.5cm circles of the brownie, using the same cutter as you did the pastry bases. Then gently place each brownie circle on top of the biscuits.
  24. Take the set mango hemispheres and place them carefully in the centres of each of the brownies (a palette knife can help with this). Then take the crème pat and pipe blobs around the dome. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 

Chocolate Orange Tiramisu

Chocolate Orange Tiramisu

Hello! I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Christmas, or if you don’t celebrate Christmas I hope you enjoyed the general festive spirit floating around the place. With one celebration passed we’re now looking towards New Years Eve and the (hopefully) roaring 20s we’re about to enter into. I’m currently about to head off to the snowy Dolomites of Italy (I’ll post lots of pictures of the food on my Insta stories so stay tuned for that!), but as a result I won’t be throwing a NYE party this year sadly. Nevertheless I thought I’d concoct a little dessert for those of you who might be looking for an easy,  yet stylish dish for any New Year dinner parties going on out there.

This tiramisu you could serve in a big dish or little glasses like the classic tiramisu if you’d like, however I find that it looks so much better plated up like this! For some reason by deconstructing a dessert you can make it look really elegant without too much effort. It also allows you to get all the different elements in the perfect proportions for when eating, with a little left over for anyone who wants a top up!

Recipe

Serves 4-6

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 Oranges
  • 100ml Marsala
  • 75g Dark chocolate
  • 250g Mascarpone
  • 250g Custard (you can use ready made or check out my creme patisserie recipe if you’d like to make your own!)
  • 50ml Coffee
  • 12-18 Sponge fingers
  • 1 tbsp Cocoa powder, for sprinkling
  • A few springs of fresh mint to garnish

Method

  1. Grate the zest from the oranges and leave it on one side for now. Then cut away the peel and pith from oranges and discard it.
  2. Slice the oranges into discs and them pop them in a bowl with the marsala. Leave to soak on one side.
  3. Put the chocolate into a glass or metal bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Leave to melt for about 5 minutes and then set aside to cool a little.
  4. Put the mascarpone into a bowl and whisk to soften it. Add the custard and whisk again until smooth.
  5. Pour half the custard mixture into the bowl of cooled chocolate and mix in 2 tbsp of the coffee until the mixture is smooth.
  6. Add half the orange zest to the remaining custard mix and whisk to combine. Pour the chocolate mascarpone into a pipping bag with a star shaped nozzle and orange mascarpone into a pipping bag with a round nozzle. Leave both bags in the fridge until needed.
  7. When everything’s ready start to plate up begin by taking the orange slices out of the marsala and leaving them to dry a little on some kitchen roll. Pour the remaining marsala into the leftover coffee and mix to combine.
  8. Dip one of the sponge fingers into the coffee mixture and place it on your first plate. Repeat with two more sponge fingers, laying the on the plate to form a zig zag.
  9. Take the orange mascarpone pipping bag and pipe 3 big  blobs next to the ends/corners of the fingers.
  10. Slice the orange discs into quarters and place them around the plate (I find a mixture of slices laid flat and ones propped upright works well).
  11. Take your chocolate mascarpone pipping bag and pipe 6-7 blobs in the free space, between the orange mascarpone and slices.
  12. To finish off take your orange marscapone again and pipe clusters of smaller blobs in the remaining gaps (groups of 3 work well!). Then take a little extra orange zest and place it on top of the big orange marscapone blobs. Finish with some fresh mint placed here and there and a sprinkle of cocoa powder!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x