Desserts | The Mindfulness Kitchen

Billionaires Freakshake Cheesecake

By Emma Hawkins | February 25, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

The other day I was milling around on Pinterest, as you do, and I stumbled across something that’s becoming a bit of a new food trend – the freakshake. For those who don’t know it’s basically a milkshake in a funky jar, topped with tonnes of tasty treats such as brownies, waffles, popcorn, cream etc. I almost got diabetes just looking at it, and so naturally I decided to do a spin off of my own.

For some reason I’ve never made a cheesecake before, so I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to go for it. Hence the billionaires freakshake cheesecake was born- a stunning vanilla cheesecake topped with every indulgent treat out there, with a general theme of the flavours of billionaires shortbread thrown in. This is insanely good for a night in/movie night/house party, but as those don’t come around every day it’s understandable that this might look a bit over-the-top for the every day household. Therefore I’ve included a list of alternative ways of topping the basic cheesecake at the bottom of the post, as the simple vanilla base is a delicious canvas for any flavour of cheesecake.

This takes very little effort or skill to make, but it does need time to set, so I’d recommend making this the day before you need it and leaving it to chill overnight. That way you can be sure that it’ll be set for when you want to serve it, and you won’t end up with cheesecake flopping all over your kitchen worktop.

Recipe

Serves 12

Time: 45 minutes plus chilling

Ingredients

For the Base:

100g Butter
300g Digestive biscuits

For the Filling:

1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
550g Soft cheese
75g Icing sugar
250ml Double crem

For the Topping:

100ml Double cream
100g Milk chocolate
1 Box mini millionaire shortbreads
1 Box of mini brownies
100g Raspberries
100g Strawberries
3 Crunchies
1 Bag of twirl bites
A handful of Caramel popcorn

Method

Begin by making the base. Put the butter into a pan and melt over a medium heat.
Then take the biscuits, put them into a large bowl and break them up into crumbs with the back of a rolling pin. Pour the butter into the bowl and then mix it all together until the biscuits begin to clump together.
Take a 21cm cake tin and line it with butter and cling film. Tip in the crushed biscuit mix and smooth it over with the back of a spoon to make a compact layer of even thickness. Put this into the fridge whilst you make the next layer.
Put the vanilla and cream cheese into a bowl and whisk together until the cream cheese begins to soften. Add the icing sugar and double cream and mix again until smooth and the mixture starts to thicken.
Pour the creamy mixture onto the biscuit base. Smooth it over with a spoon or palette knife to make an even layer and then put back into the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours (better overnight).
When the basic cheesecake is ready begin prepping the toppings. Put the cream into a bowl and whisk it until it forms soft peaks. Put this into a piping bag with a star shaped nozzle and leave in the fridge until needed.
Then put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and leave to melt. Then transfer it to another piping bag with a small round nozzle and get ready to start decorating!
Begin by stacking up the larger elements of your decoration, such as the millionaires shortbread and brownies, in the centre of the cheesecake. Then place the fruit, popcorn and chocolates in and around these to build up the stack. Cut some of the shortbread bites and chocolates into quarters and sprinkle them over the cheesecake to top it off. Finish the decorating by piping the cream into any gaps and then drizzle over the chocolate.
Serve and enjoy!

Alternatives:

For all of the following make the cheesecake as written in steps 1-5. Then take 300ml of double cream and whisk to soft peaks. Tip this onto the cheesecake and smooth out with a palette knife to make an even layer and then top with the following –

Berry Bonanza Cheesecake – Scatter over a handful each of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries and garnish with fresh mint!

Banoffee Cheesecake – Slice two bananas into discs about the thickness of a pound coin. Drizzle a little lemon juice over the banana slices so they don’t brown over time. Arrange these slices on top of the cheesecake. Put a little salted caramel sauce into a piping bag with a small round nozzle and drizzle the cheesecake with it. Serve!

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake – Take a lemon and cut into into very thin discs. Put 100ml of water into a pan and add the lemon slices. Boil for 2 minutes and then drain the lemon and set them to one side. Put 100g of sugar and water into a pan and bring to the boil, whilst stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Then stop stirring and add the lemon slices. Leave to simmer, but not boil, for about 1 hour. Take out of the pan using tongs and leave to set on a lined baking tray. Take some small meringues and either arrange them around the edge of the cheesecake or crush and sprinkle them over the cheesecake, depending on the size of them. Decorated with your candid lemon and finish with a drizzle of lemon curd.

Amaretto Cheesecake – Crush some amaretto biscuits and sprinkle them over the cheesecake. Sprinkle over some toasted flaked almonds and finish with a dusting of icing sugar.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Spiced Plum Creme Brulee

By Emma Hawkins | February 21, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

It’s the middle of the week and so here’s a little comfort food recipe to brighten the day. Call me pretentious, but whatever the weather I can never say no to a well made crème brulee. For me a sweet set custard with a crunchy caramel top is heaven in a ramekin. So, as always when making my own recipe, I’ve decided to take the classic and customise it a bit.

Since I was little fresh fruit and custard has been a staple comfort food dessert. Chop up some bananas/peaches/plums, whop a bit of custard on them and I’m happy. So it makes sense that when some spiced plums are popped into the bottom of a ramekin and then toped with custard and baked, it creates a stunningly tasty pot of goodness that brings back memories of sitting on the sofa with the flu, wrapped in a blanket and watching Disney.

(Note: If you don’t have a blowtorch you can caramelise the sugar under the grill. Be careful with this though as it can burn very easily (as I’ve done a bit in these ones))

Recipe

Serves 5

Time: 30 minutes prep time, 40 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

4 Plums
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ginger
350ml Double cream
1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
70g Caster sugar
4 Egg yolks

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 150˚C.
Begin by preparing the plums. Cut the plums in half and remove the stones. Then cut them into eighths. Pat the segments down with kitchen roll to remove any excess moisture, (this is important as too much moisture from the plums will cause the custard to split).
Then put the segments into a bowl and sprinkle over the cinnamon and ginger. Stir around in the bowl to coat in the spices and then leave to one side for now.
Put the cream and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Then reduce the heat and simmer for a couple more minutes.
Take a heatproof bowl and put the sugar and egg yolks into it. The whisk them until pale and fluffy (I use a hand whisk, but an electric whisk can also be used here).
Pour the cream slowly over the egg mixture, whisking continuously as you do so until it’s all incorporated.
Put a sieve over a jug and strain the mixture through it.
Share the plums out between 5 ramekins, making a little layer of them in the bottom of each ramekin.
Pour the crème brulee mix over the top so that it comes 2/3 up the sides of the ramekins.
Take a large roasting tin and put the crème brulees into it. Rest this on the middle oven shelf and then pour hot water into the tin so it comes ½ way up the sides of the ramekins.
Push the tin fully into the oven, cover with a baking tray, leaving a gap at one side of the tin to allow steam to escape, and bake for 40-45 minutes. You want them to be mostly set with a little wobble in the middle.
Take the tin out of the oven and remove the ramekins from the water to chill.
You can keep these cooled, set custards in the fridge for up to 3 days, until needed.
When ready to serve sprinkle 1tsp of caster sugar over the each crème brulee. Then take a blowtorch (or put under the grill) and heat lightly to caramelise.
Leave the caramel to set slightly before serving!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

Blackforest Daquoise Gateau

By Emma Hawkins | February 14, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

One of the most stunning retro desserts out there is the black forest gateau – and it has three of my favourite things: chocolate, cherries and a woodland association. Over the years I’ve become a bit addicted to taking these delicious flavours and have put them into almost anything and everything – but nothing beats a classic cake based gateau.

That said I have adapted this slightly by adding a daquoise, aka a nutty meringue, which adds a bit of texture and brings some sweetness to contrast the rich chocolate cake and creamy filling. Whilst I think this is as good as it gets, if you’re short on time or want to go for a more traditional gateau you could leave out the meringue layers and you’d still end up with something delicious. On the other hand, you could leave out the cake and then you’d end up with a derlish layered, hazelnut and cherry pavalova!

(Note: before starting make sure you have 2 cakes tins 21cm in diameter, and an electric or stand-free mixer!)

Recipe

Serves 12

Time: 2 1/2 hours

Ingredients

For the Daquoise

170g Chopped hazelnuts
200g Caster sugar
18g Cornflour
4 Large egg whites
Pinch salt

For the Chocolate cake

Butter for greasing
200g Golden caster sugar
7 Large eggs, separated
3tbsp Cocoa powder
2 tbsp Morello cherries (with juice)
200g Dark chocolate

For the Filling

600ml Double cream
1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
4 tbsp Kirsch
200g Morello cherries

To Decorate

200g Dark chocolate
2 tsp Dried raspberries
A handful of fresh Cherries

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C.
Begin by making the daquoise. Put the hazelnuts into a small roasting tin and roast in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until just starting to colour. (This is an important step as it’ll massively increase the flavour of the nuts).
Leave to cool and then mix with 75g of the sugar and the cornflour. Set to one side for later.
Lower the oven temperature to 150˚C for the meringues. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Take a 21cm diameter tin and draw round it onto the sheets of baking paper to act as a guide for pipping later. Turn these sheets over so that the pencil line is on the other side of the paper to that which you’ll pipe on.
Take a super clean metal or glass bowl and put the egg whites into it.
Add the salt and then whisk with an electric hand whisk (or a stand-free mixer) until it forms soft peaks (can just hold it’s shape).
Continue whisking and add the other 125g caster sugar, one 1 tbsp at a time until it’s all incorporated.
Keep whisking until the mixture becomes glossy and forms a stiff peak.
Then take a large, stiff spatula and gently fold the hazelnuts into the meringue. From here you’ll need to work quickly as the oils in the nuts will start to deflate the meringue.
Take a pipping bag with a round nozzle and fill it with the meringue. Then pipe onto the lined baking trays in a spiral, starting from the edge of the circles you drew to the centre.
Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, until crisp to the touch. Then turn the oven off and leave the meringues to cool in the ovens.
When completely cool take out of the oven and set to one side for later.
Now move onto the chocolate sponge. Increase the oven temperature to 180˚C. Line two cake tins, the same ones you used to draw round rings for meringue, with butter and baking paper.
Put the sugar and egg yolks into a bowl and whisk until pale, fluffy and thick. You can test if it’s ready by taking the whisk out of the mixture, and if the trail it leaves is visible for 3 seconds or more it’s thick enough. Add the cocoa powder and cherries and then whisk to combine.
Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Leave to melt and then fold into the sugar mixture.
In metal or glass bowl whisk the egg whites to soft peaks.
Add 1/3 of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and mix in. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites with a large spatual until the batter is uniform in colour, with no flecks.
Pour the batter into the two tins, making sure each has the same amount of mix. Spread the mixture around the tins so it’s an even thickness and then bake for 12-14 minutes, until risen, and just firm to the touch.
Take out of the tins and leave on wire racks to cool completely.
Whilst waiting for the cakes to cool move onto the fillings and decorations. Pour the cream into a bowl and add the vanilla. Then whisk it up until soft peaks start to form – be careful not to over whisk or it won’t pipe smoothly. Transfer this cream to a piping bag with a round nozzle and leave in the fridge until needed.
Then take the chocolate and melt it in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Take a piping bag with a small round nozzle and pour the melted chocolate into it.
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Take a pencil and draw some trees about 10cm maximum in height. Turn the paper over and then pipe over your designs with the chocolate. It’s worth piping more than you think you’ll need in case some break. Leave these to set at room temperature. When completely set, transfer them to the freezer to make them easier to work with when it comes to decorating the gateau.
When all the elements are ready you can start assembling the gateau. Put one of the meringue layers on the plate or board you want to display it on. Top with one of the chocolate sponges, and brush the sponge with ½ of the kirsch. Scatter the cherries over the sponge and then pipe blobs of the cream over the cherries. Then put the second meringue layer onto the cream and repeat the layering of the cake, cherries and cream, although this time only pipe two rings of cream on the top of the cake.
Take a sharp knife and make small incisions in the top of the gateau where you want to position your chocolate trees. Gently peel the trees off the baking paper (a palette knife is useful for this) and stick them into the top of the gateau in the gaps you just made. Decorate with the fresh cherries and freeze-dried raspberries, and then finish with a dusting of cocoa powder!

Thanks for reading! Any comments, requests or queries don’t hesitate to ask…

Emma x

Chocolate, Orange and Thyme Pancakes

By Emma Hawkins | February 11, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

As the title of this blog is Cocoa and Thyme I thought it was about time I make a recipe to show these two ingredients at their best. Whilst it’s not yet an every-day flavour pairing, chocolate and thyme is a contemporary flavour combo that’s becoming very popular in fine dinning restaurants. Since pancake day is on Tuesday I’ve decided to incorporate it into a delicious pancake dish!

It’s a bit of an acquired flavour combo so I understand that it probably won’t be for everyone, but if you like being a bit adventurous it’s a worthwhile experiment. However, these pancakes are also insanely fluffy and delicious, so even if you’re not up for wacky flavours I’d recommend making them and topping them with whatever topping you tend to go for. In my case that’s lemon juice and sugar, but nutella, banana, golden syrup, bacon, strawberries, or anything else that takes your fancy will also go really well with these.

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the Orange syrup

190g Sugar
110ml Water
190ml Orange juice
1 tbsp Cornflour
2 tbsp Butter

For the Chocolate sauce

50g Dark chocolate
25g Butter
125ml Double cream
1 tbsp Caster sugar
Thyme leaves, chopped

For the Pancakes

300g Self-raising flour
1 ½ tbsp Baking powder
60g Caster sugar
2 Large eggs
200ml Milk
Vegetable oil for greasing

Method

Begin by making the orange syrup. Whisk together the sugar and water in a pan over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil.
Then, in another bowl whisk the orange juice and cornflour. Pour this mixture into the sugar and water pan and simmer whilst whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens. Stir in the butter until melted and then leave covered, to keep warm, until needed.
Then make the chocolate thyme sauce. Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt. In another pan put the butter, sugar and cream and heat gently until melted together.
Pour the chocolate into the cream mix and add the chopped thyme leaves. Stir until smooth. Pour into a jug and set aside until later.
Now make the pancakes. Put the flour, baking powder and caster sugar into a bowl. Mix to combine and then make a well in the centre. Add the egg and milk in the well and then whisk until combined and smooth.
Put a large frying pan with 1 tbsp of vegetable over a medium heat. Using a ladle pour a neat circle of batter into the middle of the pan. Leave to cook for 1-2 minutes, until bubbles start to form on top, and then turn over and cook on the other side.
Once cooked on both sides, (when brown spots start to form on the surface you know they’re done) transfer them onto a large plate.
Repeat with the rest of the batter, creating a stack of pancakes. In between each pancake pour a little of the orange syrup to keep the pancakes moist. Once all the batter is used pour the chocolate sauce over the stack. Serve with fresh orange segments, thyme leaves and the rest of the orange syrup and chocolate sauce.

Thanks for reading, and happy pancake day!

Emma x

Salted Caramel, Raspberry + Chocolate Brownie Pudding

By Emma Hawkins | February 1, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

When I was younger my favourite dessert was chocolate sponge with custard, and this is a bit of a deluxe adaption on that warming comfort food classic. As usual I’ve gone a bit over the top on the indulgence, but it’s totally worth it. Fudgy chocolate brownie, with a salted caramel sauce underneath, and topped with fruity bursts of raspberries is the ultimate comforting pudding.

For the keen beans out there you’ll also notice that the brownie mix is pretty similar, ney identical to that in my Mississippi mud pie recipe. The is because I’m a) short on time this week and b) it works so well in this that it made sense to rework it into this recipe. So if by chance you made and enjoyed my Mississippi mud pie you’ll probably like this to!

(Note: It’s pretty rich, so a smallish tray will feed more people than you think!)

Recipe

Serves 10

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

160g Butter
220g Dark chocolate
3 Medium eggs
210g Caster sugar
40g Plain flour
100g White chocolate, roughly chopped
6 tsp Salted caramel (Homemade or shop bought)
100g Raspberries
Cream to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a glass, 30x20cm oven-proof dish with butter and set aside for later.
Now make the brownie mix. Put the butter and chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt.
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.
Fold the chocolate into the eggs, sieve in the flour and add the chopped white chocolate. Fold everything again until combined.
Take the caramel sauce and pour it over the base of your greased dish. Pour the brownie mix over the top and spread over evenly. Finally sprinkle over the raspberries and push them into the batter slightly.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the brownie is just cooked. Don’t leave it in the oven for too long, you want it to be gooey and soft in the middle.
Serve with fresh rapberries and cream!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x