Tag: Desserts
French Toast with Maple Syrup and Summer Berry Compote

French Toast with Maple Syrup and Summer Berry Compote

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With term over now I’m getting into full holiday mode, and a big part of that requires making breakfast at midday in m’ PJs, dancing crazily round the kitchen to Panic at the Disco. Pancakes would probably be my go-to brunch dish, but I’ve made a lot of them recently so I thought I’d branch out. There’s a tonne of different names for this, but whether you call it egg bread, gypsy toast or French toast, it all tastes insane. For those of you who’re as unfamiliar with French toast as I was about a week ago I’ll explain what it is. Basically you take some bread, or brioche in my case because the concept of dieting has flown from my mind, then you soak it in a gently spiced egg/milk mixture, before frying it in a pan with some butter to get a beautifully crispy, spongy piece of bread. You can then serve it with a good drizzle of maple syrup and some stewed red fruits to make an irresistible, comforting brunch dish.

The egg/milk mixture you soak the bread in isn’t sweetened, so you could easily make this into a savoury breakfast if that’s more your thing. To do this use some thick white bread instead of the brioche and don’t add the spices to the milk mix. Then top it all off with bacon and maple syrup, cheese and tomatoes, or scrambled egg!

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Large eggs
  • 120ml Milk
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp Ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Ground ginger
  • 4 Thick slices of brioche
  • 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • 2 tbsp Maple syrup
  • Fresh berries to serve

For the compote

  • 100g Mixed frozen berries (e.g strawberries, blackberries and raspberries)
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp Caster sugar

Method

  1. Whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger.
  2. Cut the brioche slices in half to make triangles, then lay them out in a single layer in a shallow dish. Then pour the milk mixture over them and leave to soak for 5 minutes, turning the slices over half way through.
  3. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil and butter in a non-stick frying pan until melted and bubbling.
  4. Carefully pick up two of the bread slices and fry in the pan for 3 minutes on each side till golden and crisp. Repeat with the rest of the bread.
  5. Serve with the berry compote, a drizzle of maple syrup and some fresh berries!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Neapolitan Brownie Cheesecake

Neapolitan Brownie Cheesecake

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My parent’s are aiming to walk the South West Coastal Path over the next few years and so last week we were all on holiday to kick-start the journey. As we were walking loads, we were in Devon, and it was insanely hot, it goes without saying that we ate a tonne of ice cream. So in homage to all of that I decided to do an ice-cream themed bake for Father’s day.

In truth, I’m more of a mint choc chip girl than Neapolitan, but I thought that the classic vanilla, chocolate, strawberry layer thing was too good to not use for this. I also finished my Art Foundation course the other day (silent whoop!) and so after that I treated myself to a brownie cheesecake thing from Tescos. I’ve seen brownies being used in cheesecakes for years but that was the first time I tried it myself, and boy was it good. So rather than having a biscuit base for this one I made a fudgy brownie, and dare I say it I think it’s better than a biscuit base. It’s chewy, rich, and is way easier to transport/slice into as you don’t have crumbs flying everywhere!

This one has a few elements to it, but it’s all very easy to put together when broken down. For the swirls on the top I used strawberry jam which worked way better than I thought it would! If you’d prefer something sharper for the topping you could use marmalade, raspberry jam or boil up equal parts fruit and sugar to make a thick puree.

Recipe

Serves 12

Time: 1 hour, plus chilling

Ingredients

For the Brownie

  • 230g Caster sugar
  • 100ml Vegetable oil
  • 2 Medium Eggs
  • ½ tsp Vanilla extract
  • 55g Cocoa powder
  • 90g Plain flour

For the Cheesecake

  • 1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
  • 550g Cream cheese
  • 50g Icing sugar
  • 250ml Double cream

For the Topping

  • 2 tbsp Strawberry jam
  • 200ml Double cream
  • 4 Small fresh strawberries, plus extra for serving
  • 2 tbsp Chocolate sprinkles

Method

  1. Begin by making the brownie. Pre-heat the oven to 160˚C. Grease and line a 9-inch cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Put the sugar and oil into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk these in to make a smooth mix. Add the cocoa and whisk it in carefully, it will explode out of the bowl a lot! Finally, add the flour and whisk it in to make a smooth batter.
  3. Pour the mixture into the lined cake tin and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes so that a crust has formed and the middle is goey but baked through. Leave to cool in the tin.
  4. Now make the cheesecake layer. Put the vanilla and cream cheese into a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Add the icing sugar and double cream and then whisk again until the mixture is lump-free and beginning to thicken.
  5. Once the brownie is completely cooled pour the cheesecake mix on top and smooth it over with a spatula.
  6. Spoon the strawberry jam into a small bowl and beat it with a small spoon to break it up and make it slightly runny. Spoon blobs of the jam onto the cheesecake and then mix it around with a knife a little to get a swirl effect.
  7. Put the whole cheesecake into the freezer for 1 hour, and then leave in the fridge for another 3 hours, or better still over night to set.
  8. When ready start prepping the topping. Pour the double cream into a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped nozzle. Pipe rosettes of the cream around the edge of the cheesecake.
  9. Quarter the strawberries and then push them into the gaps between the cream rosettes. Finish with some of the sprinkles and serve chilled!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Soufflé Pancakes with Almonds and Apricots

Soufflé Pancakes with Almonds and Apricots

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Is there anything better than a good pancake I hear you ask? Well yes there is. These are pancakes made with whipped egg whites and baked in the oven so they puff up and go all fluffy like a soufflé. They will sink pretty quickly after coming out of the oven so it’s best to eat them as soon as they come out, but unlike normal soufflés they’ll stay light as clouds even after they’ve sunk, so even if you wait a bit before eating them they’ll taste insane!

I don’t use apricots that much in my cooking as they’re a bit too sharp when eaten raw, and a bit too sweet when dried. This one works with a combo of fresh apricots and apricot jam to give a perfect balance of sweet and sharp to go with the fluffy pancakes, almost like lemon juice and sugar on classic crepes. If apricots aren’t in season you can always work with plums, peaches, strawberries or raspberries instead.

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 30g Unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 3 Large eggs
  • 50ml Whole milk
  • 60g Caster sugar
  • 200ml Double cream
  • A few drops of Almond essence
  • 35g Plain flour
  • 200g Apricot jam
  • 2 Fresh apricots
  • A sprinkle of Flaked almonds to garnish
  • Vanilla ice cream to serve

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C.
  2. Grease 4 bilini moulds with butter and leave them in the oven to warm up.
  3. Now make the batter. Take a pan and melt 20g of the butter over a medium heat.
  4. Separate two of the eggs. Put the two egg yolks in a bowl with the other whole egg. Add the melted butter, milk, half the sugar, cream, almond essence, and the flour. Then whisk until smooth.
  5. In another bowl whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Then add the rest of the sugar and continue to whisk until the mixture become stiff enough to hold it’s shape.
  6. Fold the egg whites into the batter and mix until fully combined.
  7. Pour the mixture into the bilini moulds and put them back in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and risen.
  8. Meanwhile prep the toppings. Put the rest of the butter (30g) into a small pan and leave to melt. In another pan gently warm the apricot jam until it begins to loosen and becomes runny. Then de-stone the apricots and cut them into thin slices.
  9. When the pancakes are ready work quickly. Using a palette knife take them out of the moulds. Brush the pancakes with butter and pour a little of the apricot jam over them. Repeat with the rest of the pancakes, stacking them up or sharing them out as you do. Top with the apricot slices and serve with vanilla ice cream!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Mixed Berry Clafoutis

Mixed Berry Clafoutis

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When I was in Canada over the summer we were lucky enough to spend a day with a couple of my Mum’s friends at their lake-side house in depths of British Columbia. It was a stunning place – really hot, gorgeously sunny and beautifully peaceful.

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For dinner that evening we had a really good blueberry clafoutis for dessert. The end result was a really interesting texture, kinda unlike anything I’ve eaten before. It’s a cross between a set custard and a light sponge cake, so it’s creamy, sweet and fluffy all at the same time – but it somehow really works! I’d heard of clafoutis as a thing but I’d never eaten one, which is really odd as they’re so easy and quick to make! As the ingredients are very basic and are also really easy to substitute for, even in the depths of Canada, a boat ride away from the nearest town, something as tasty as this could be rustled up.

Here I’ve used fresh summer fruit as it’s that time of year when it tastes really good and is readily available, but you can use pretty much any fruit for this. It’s an especially good thing to whip up if you have any soft fruit that needs eating up (e.g plums, peaches, berries and so on). Just bung them in the dish, pour over the all-in-one batter mix and voila!

Recipe

Serves 6

Time: 10 minutes prep, 25-30 minutes cooking

Ingredients

  • 80g Plain flour
  • ½ tsp Baking powder
  • 100g Golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 2 Large eggs
  • 2 Large egg yolks
  • 260ml Double cream
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
  • Butter for greasing
  • A handful each of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries (or any other soft fruit you like)

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C.
  2. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, cream and vanilla into a bowl and whisk until fully combined.
  3. Take a medium sized oven-proof dish and grease it with a little butter. Then sprinkle over some sugar to line the dish.
  4. Hull and quarter the strawberries. Then scatter these strawberries, along with the blueberries and raspberries into the greased dish.
  5. Pour over the batter mix and then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and slightly puffed up.
  6. Serve slightly warm with icecream!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Sticky Toffee Puddings

Sticky Toffee Puddings

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Generally speaking I love complicated, fancy food. I love how weird and wacky it can sound on paper, or look on the plate, and yet how incredibly tasty it can be. But I have to admit that nothing beats the classics – I mean they’re classics for a reason. In this case I don’t think I’ve ever had a sticky toffee pudding I haven’t liked. Whatever the texture, whatever the ingredients, as long as it’s true to the name and is sweet and sticky you’re on to a winner!

These ones are particularly light a fluffy as they’re made with a classic sponge mix and are then steamed, but the date puree in the mix also makes them really squidgy and sweet. The toffee sauce put on the top then adds even more sticky moistness, with a bit of a bitter flavour to really complement the sponge! They’re also really good with ball of fresh vanilla ice cream and  this will cut through the sweetness and also provides a great temperature balance to the warm sponge!

Recipe

Serves 8

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 130g Chopped dried dates
  • 130ml Water
  • 130g Unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 125g Caster sugar
  • 3 Large eggs
  • 180g Self raising flour
  • 1 tsp Baking powder

For the toffee sauce

  • 300ml Double cream
  • 125g Light brown sugar
  • 50g Unsalted butter

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Then grease 8 small pudding basins with butter.
  2. Put the dates and water into a small saucepan and leave to gently simmer over a medium heat until soft (about 5 minutes). Blend the mix to a puree and set to one side.
  3. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and whisk together. Then add the flour, baking powder, and date puree until smooth.
  4. Distribute the mixture between the basins and put them into a deep roasting tin. Fill the tin with boiling water so it comes half way up the side of the basins. Cover the tin with foil and then put in the oven to bake/steam for 40 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile make the toffee sauce. Put half the cream, the sugar and the butter into a small saucepan and bring to the boil whilst stirring. Once the sugar is dissolved and the butter has melted, leave the mixture to boil gently until it becomes a deep amber colour.
  6. Then take the caramel off the heat and add the rest of the cream. Stir together and then keep warm until needed.
  7. When the puddings are ready (a skewer will come out clean when inserted into the middle), turn them out of their moulds onto plates. Serve with the toffee sauce and ice cream!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x