Fig Tart with Almonds

There has been a glut of fruit this year and I could'nt resist buying a whole load of figs from the supermarket. Then I was left with the dilemma of what to do with them. I found this recipe in an old Italian cookery book ( the Italians are so good at making pastries and desserts) so made this delicious tart.
Also my gorgeous girlfriends were coming round for coffee - so what better to have with a freshly brewed espresso!

If you like you can make your own pastry using the recipe below or you can buy some ready made sweet shortcrust pastry which makes this a really quick tart to put together. If you are going to use shop bought pastry you can skip the next bit of the recipe.
You can also use this same recipe but instead of figs you can use plums, apricots, greengages or any other stone fruit.

To make the Pastry case

This recipe will make enough for 2 x 9 inch tarts but you can always freeze half for later.

250g/9oz butter -slightly softened
250g/9oz caster sugar
500g/1llb 2oz flour
a pinch of salt
2 whole eggs and 1 yolk

Put the butter into a bowl with the sugar and mix to incorporate using a wooden spoon. Mix in the flour and salt with your fingers but don't knead it just work it gently through your fingers. Add the eggs and mix gently with your hands until the mixture just comes together and you can form it into a ball. Add a little flour if the dough seems too wet or a bit of cold water if it is too dry.
Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten them slightly. Wrap in greaseproof paper and place in the fridge for about half an hour to an hour. The pastry will keep in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze for later if you are not using it all.

To line the tart tin.

 
You will need a 9" tart tin.

Remove the disc of dough from the fridge once it has had its resting time.
Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour. Place the disc on the surface and lightly roll out to 3mm about an eighth of an inch slightly larger in diameter than your tin. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll up the pastry around the pin. Lower the pastry into the tin and unroll it from the pin as you do so.
Press the pasty down into the base of the tin. Roll you rolling pin over the top of the tin to trim off any overhanging pastry.

Now you need to bake the case "blind" which means you bake it without any filling.

Line the case with baking parchment and fill with some baking weight or you can just use some dried beans which you can keep for baking next time.
 Place in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes until you can see the edges of the pastry turning a pale gold.
Remove the beans and the paper and prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork. This stops the bottom of the pastry case from puffing up and not leaving any room for your filling. Put the pastry case back in the oven until the case in lightly brown and dry so that you dont end up with a soggy base for your tart.


For the Tart

10 ripe figs
4 tablespoons jam - you can use plum, apricot or fig
150g/6oz skinned almonds, halved
3 tablespoons demerara sugar


To assemble the tart.
Trim the figs and cut in half.
Spoon the jam over the bottom of the cooked pastry spreading it with the back of your spoon. Lay the figs cut side up over the jam. Scatter with the almonds and sprinkle with the sugar
Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until the figs are golden and softened.

Gooseberry Pie

My next door neighbours have just bought me the biggest bag of gooseberries freshly picked from a bush in their garden so I have just made two gooseberry pies out of them. Although gooseberries are quite tart they are delicious in a pie served warm with custard.

I had about 3lbs of gooseberries so I made two  pies and gave one to my neighbours. To make one pie halve the recipe which should serve about 6 people.


1.4 kg/ 3lb gooseberries washed and topped and tailed.
220g/ 8oz demerara sugar ( you can add more to taste if the berries are too tart)
4 dessert spoons of cornflour
4 tablespoons elderflower cordial
Beaten egg for brushing the top

Shortcrust pastry
For pastry use half the amount of fat to flour. I use plain flour and butter.
For my two pies I used 450g/1 lb flour and 220g/8oz of butter.

Sift the flour and into a bowl and add the butter cut into small cubes. Quickly rub the fat into the flour using the tips of your fingers. Add 3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water and work it into the crumbs until you have a soft dough.  Roll the dough into a ball and wrap in cling film. and chill in the fridge for about half an hour.

 To make the pie.

Put the gooseberries in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, cornflour and elderflower cordial. Stir together and allow to stand to allow the fruit to sit for about 10 minutes. Pour the fruit into your pie dish. Dot with a little butter.
Preheat the oven to Gas 6/200 degrees centigrade. Brush the rim of the pie dish with water and stick a strip of pastry all the way around the edge of the dish.  Brush the strip of dough with water so that your pastry lid will stick to it.Roll out your dough and cover the fruit with your pastry lid. Brush your pie with beaten egg.
Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes then turn the heat down to Gas 5/180 degrees centigrade and cook for about 30 minutes until the fruit is cooked through and bubbling.

Apple Compote with a Cinammon Custard

I made this for dessert at the weekend when we had some friends for dinner. I wanted something light and fresh as too often puddings are too heavy and stodgy. I made this in individual glasses as often presentation is a problem when making this sort of dessert and it is so much nicer to serve them individually.

Sponge Layer

Some ready made trifle sponges or madeira cake
3 tablespoons of Marsala or sherry

Apple Compote

4 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced ( place the apples into cold water with some lemon juice after you have peeled them to stop them turning brown.)
3 tablespoons caster sugar

Cinnamon Custard

400ml double cream
1 cinnamon stick
8 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
80g caster sugar

Ground cinnamon

6 glasses or pretty trifle dishes to serve

 

Place a layer of sponge in the bottom of each glass and  sprinkle with the alcohol.

For the apple compote place the peeled and sliced apples and the sugar with a tablespoon of water into a pan and cook over a low heat until the apples are soft. When cool divide amongst the glasses.

For the custard put the cream into a pan and add the cinnamon stick. Heat until the cream begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for half an hour.

In a bowl stir the egg yolks and sugar together.

Remove the cinnamon from the cream and return the cream to the heat. When the cream is warm add the eggs and sugar and stir continuously until the custard thickens. Pour over the apple layer in the glasses. Sprinkle the top with some ground cinnamon. Cool and refrigerate.

This is delicious served with some crisp biscuits.

Banoffee Brownies

This recipe was created so that I could use up that one banana that was lying around in the fruit bowl!
I am expecting a crowd of people over the weekend so thought these would be good to have with cups of tea or even as a dessert with ice cream. That is if they last that long.......

Ingredients

1lb/400g granulated sugar
8oz/200g butter -softened
1 medium banana- mashed
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
4 eggs
10oz/250g self raising flour
2oz/50g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4oz/100g fudge chunks
4oz/100g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/gas mark 6
lightly greased 13" x 9" pan

Method

Using an electric mixer or hand held electric whisk combine the sugar and butter and beat on a medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the mashed banana and vanilla extract. Beat until well blended.
Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and beat on a low speed until blended.
Stir int the fudge chunks and chocolate chips.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan.


When completely cold spread with ready made dulche de leche. This is a ready made caramel spread which is available in supermarket. Cut into even sized squared to serve. This should make about 32 brownies.

Chocolate and Amaretto cake with Raspberries

I made this cake at the weekend for my daughter's 17th Birthday. We were having the family over for Sunday lunch so I wanted something that would double up as a dessert too.

There was 9 of us for lunch so I made a starter of Halloumi cheese wrapped with parma ham and vine leaves and baked in the oven which we had with some warm pitta bread and hoummous.

For main course I made a leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic which I basted with white wine and honey so by the time it had finished cooking it had made its own gravy.

I served this with some crisp roasted garlic and rosemary roast potatoes and a medley of green vegetables including asparagus, green beans and baby lettuce which I cooked in a little white wine and stock until the vegetables were tender.

We then had the cake for dessert with some pouring cream.

 

I doubled this recipe but it was a huge cake and I do still have half left!

 

Ingredients

Serves 8

 

9oz/225g unsalted butter - this needs to be really soft as you will cream all the ingredients together in one bowl.

9oz/225g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
9oz/225g caster sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2oz/ 50g cocoa powder

For the filling

10oz/250g mascarpone cheese

10floz/300ml double cream - lightly whipped

2oz/50g caster sugar

1teaspoon vanilla extract

2fl0z/60ml amaretto liquer
8oz plain chocolate -melted over hot water and allowed to cool slightl

raspberries and chocolate nibs to decorate.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/ 350 degrees farenheit/gas mark 4. Butter two, 20 cm/8" round sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment.

 

To mix the cake you can use a bowl with an electric whisk or an electric mixer. Sift the flour cocoa powder and baking powder into the bowl, then add the softened butter,sugar and eggs. Mix together until well blended but do not over mix as then your cake will not be light. Divide the batter between the tins and level the top of the mixture. Bake for about 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean with no uncooked batter.

Loosen the cakes by running a knife around the edge of the tins and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

 

To make the filling place the mascarpone into a bowl and beat it to soften it slightly. Fold in the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and the cooled melted chocolate.

To assemble the cake cut the two cakes in half horizontally to make four layers. Place one cake on a plate and sprinkle with the amaretto. Take about a quarter of your mascarpone cream mixture and spread it over the base cake. Place the second tier on top. Repeat the process with the other cake layers. Spread the top of the cake with your mascarpone cream and decorate with raspberries and chocolate nibs. Chill for about an hour before you are ready to serve.

Chloe and Lauren's Pancakes

It just has to be done - pancakes on pancake day. The girls had seen pancake mix in the shop and came home saying they wanted to make pancakes but why buy a pancake mix?

Recipe
Makes 6-8 pancakes depending on size.

125g/4oz plain flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
300ml/10floz milk
25g/1oz butter melted

Place the flour,salt,eggs, milk and melted butter in a bowl and beat well until you have a smooth batter.

Heat your pan until hot and put in a little knob of butter. When the butter is foaming, pour in just enough batter to thinly coat the base of the pan, tilting the pan around so that it is evenly coated with the batter.
Cook over a fairly high heat until the pancake looks set and the edges of the pancake begin to slightly curl. Turn the pancake over and cook the other side until the pancakes are flecked with brown.
Transfer to a warm plate and repeat again to cook your next pancake. Interleave your pancakes with greaseproof paper to prevent the pancakes sticking together.

We served our pancakes with berries and ice cream, nutella and ice cream but you can have them with whatever you like e.g. just with sugar and lemon.

Orange, Cinnamon and Rhubarb Crumble

Orange,Cinnamon and Rhubarb Crumble

Serves 6

2lbs /800g rhubarb -washed and cut into 2" pieces
2oz /50g caster sugar
juice and rind of 1 orange
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
8oz /200g plain flour
4oz/ 100g butter
2oz/50g caster sugar
2oz/50g porridge oats

Method

Place the prepared rhubarb into a deep ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with the caster sugar, the orange rind and juice and the teaspoon of cinnamon.

To make the crumble place the flour in a bowl and add the butter cut into small cubes. Rub the butter into the flour until you have a breadcrumb texture. Stir in the caster sugar and the porridge oats and sprinkle over the rhubarb.

Place in a hot oven gas 7/250 degrees centigrade for about 40 minutes until the topping is brown and crunchy and the rhubarb is tender.

Serve with custard, fresh cream or ice cream.

Valentines Day Menu

I have designed this menu for Valentines day which you can cook yourself at home. It is simple to prepare and most of the menu can be made in advance allowing you to be relaxed and enjoy your Valentines Day meal without feeling flustered and running in and out of the kitchen. The recipes given here serve 2 but you can always increase the quantity if you are serving more people. 

Starter

 

Asparagus wrapped in Parma Ham

12 asparagus spears

12 slices parma ham

olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan shavings to serve.

Prepare the asparagus by washing it and snapping off the woody ends. You can do this by just bending the asparagus stalks at their base and they should just snap off where the stalk is woody.

Blanch the asparagus stalks by plunging them into a pan of boiling, salted water for 2 minutes. Drain the asparagus in a colander and allow them to drain and cool.

When the asparagus has cooled wrap each spear in a slice of parma ham. Place on a baking tray.

You can prepare this stage in advance and put aside until you are ready to cook.

When you are ready to cook the asparagus preheat the oven to Gas 6, 200 degrees centigrade. Drizzle the asparagus with some olive oil and season  with pepper. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes until the ham is crisp and the asparagus is tender.

To serve sprinkle the asparagus with a little more olive oil, some balsamic vinegar and parmesan shavings.

Main Course

Greek Style Spiced Beef served with tagliatelle

This is a Greek inspired dish. It is really easy to make and if you make it the day before the flavours improve and all you have to do is make some pasta.

400g lean beef braising steak- cut into 2" cubes
2tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic- thinly sliced
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 wine glass red wine ( about 4-6 floz)
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf

Heat the oil in a casserole pan and fry the garlic cloves over a gentle heat until theyare fragrant and soft but not brown.

Add the beef and quickly brown it all over.

Add the red wine and allow to come to the boil. Add the tinned tomatoes, bay leaf and spices and season with salt and pepper.

Allow to come back to the boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer and allow to cook slowly for about 2 hours until the beef is really tender.

If you are making this in advance allow the beef to cool and place in the fridge.
The next day remove from the fridge about an hour before you wish to eat and reheat for about 20 minutes until it is hot all the way through.

Serve with some pasta -  I have mentioned tagliatelle but any pasta is good.
Serve sprinkled with grated parmesan and a lightly dressed rocket salad.

Dessert

Spiced Chocolate Pots

These little chocolate mousses are quite rich so only a small serving is required. I serve them in little coffee cups and saucers. These are best made the day before to allow them to set properly overnight.
I have used a good quality ready flavoured chocolate with orange and ginger but you can use any chocolate you like flavoured or just plain as long as it is about 70% cocoa solids.

100g good quality chocolate ( flavoured or plain)
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 eggs separated

Place the chocolate, broken into small pieces into a bowl over a pan of simmering but not boiling water. Add the tablespoon of water and the golden syrup and allow to melt.

Meanwhile whisk the egg whites until stiff.
When the chocolate mix has melted remove from the heat.
Allow to cool slightly and then beat in the egg yolks.
Fold the egg white into the chocolate mixture until it is thoroughly incorporated.

Place the mousse into small ramekins, coffee cups or other small dishes of your choice and place in the fridge to set overnight.
Serve with some crisp sweet biscuits on the side.





Semolina and Almond Syrup Cake

Semolina and Almond Syrup Cake

This is a very traditional Greek cake and different variations of this cake can be found across the Middle East. The use of syrups in these cakes was used to preserve the cake when refrigeration was not available.

 When you mix the cake it will appear quite dense but will rise in the oven. The use of semolina gives a sandy texture and allows the cake to absorb the syrup.

The use of oil means that you can make this cake if you are dairy intolerant. Just leave out the milk and add some orange juice instead.

This cake keeps beautifully and can be served as a dessert with some mascarpone and berries.

 It is a really easy cake to make with no complex method so a good recipe for someone new to cake making.

 6oz/150g caster sugar

7floz/175ml corn oil

4 large eggs lightly beaten

1tsp vanilla essence

100ml/4 floz milk

grated rind of an orange

3 level tsp baking powder

400g/1lb ground semolina

50g/2oz ground almonds

50g/2oz blanched whole almonds

For the Syrup

300g/12oz caster sugar

450ml/ 3/4 pint water

2tsp orange flower water

4 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

A shallow rectangular baking tin 13 x 9x2 " lightly greased

Oven gas 6/200 degrees centigrade

In a large basin mix together the sugar and the oil. Next gradually beat in the eggs. The mixture will thicken. Add the vanilla essence, milk, orange rind and baking powder and mix again. Finally mix in the semolina and ground almonds.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top with a knife. Decorate the top of the cake with the whole almonds.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until it has risen and is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Whilst the cake is cooking make the syrup. Heat all the syrup ingredients together for about 5 minutes and allow to cool. Discard the spices.

When you remove the cake from the oven spoon over the cooled syrup. It will seem like you have a lot of syrup but the cake will absorb it. Allow the cake to cool in the tin before cutting it into portions. Squares work best or sometimes the cake is cut on the diagonal to form diamond shapes.





My Mums Orange Cake

My Mums Orange Cake

This is a gorgeous cake which my mum always made us on the weekend. It is made using corn oil which creates a dense crumb and the cake keeps well as it is so moist.

To ring the changes you can also make what my mum used to call a geography cake. Half the mixture is removed after it has all been mixed together and mixed with some cocoa powder then swirled together with the plain mixture to create a marbled effect.

Ingredients
7 floz of corn oil or sunflower oil
6oz caster sugar
4 large eggs separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brandy
7floz fresh orange juice(approx
2 large oranges)
12oz self-raising flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest



Beat the oil and sugar together until well blended.   You will see the mixture thicken as the eggs and oil become amalgamated. Add the egg yolks one at a time mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract, brandy and orange juice.
Add the flour and baking powder and mix well until combined. Fold in the zests. Whisk the egg whites to form soft peaks and fold into the mixture.

Pour the mixture into a ringed tin 10" wide or an 8" round cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven Gas 6/200 c for 45 minutes or until golden brown and when a skewer inseted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Cypriot Style Charlotta Trifle

Charlotta

Cypriot Style Trifle

This is a dessert which my mum always used to make if we were having guests for dinner. It is basically a trifle in style flavoured with rosewater,brandy and using preserved fruits in a heavy syrup which are traditionally made in Cyprus using fruits like Bergamot, almonds, baby aubergine, fresh walnuts. The syrups are also flavoured with cinnamon and cloves in some cases and this gives a very distinctive taste to this dessert. The preserved fruits are available to buy from good Greek delicatessens.

Ingredients

1  packet of trifle sponges ( you can make the sponge yourself if you really want to but I don't think it makes much difference to this dessert as there are so many other flavours)

2 litres of milk
2 egg yolks from large eggs-beaten
70g caster sugar
110 g cornflour
3 tablespoons rosewater
3 tablespoons brandy
100g preserved fruit
100 g flaked toasted almonds

As you can see I made this trifle in individual dishes of about 8 floz capacity. My mum always made it in a large oval glass dish which she then spooned the trifle out of. I feel this is a neater way of presenting this dish and allows you to appreciate the beauty of the jewel like fruits sitting in the custard.

Cut each trifle sponge in half and place two halves in the bottom of each glass dish. Mix together 2 tablespoons of milk from the 2 litres, the brandy and the rosewater. Use this mixture to drizzle over the trifle sponges.You will not use all this mixture but it will be used to flavour your custard later.
Cut the preserved fruit into small pieces and arrange over the sponges.

To make the cream mix the cornflour and sugar with a little of the milk to make a smooth paste. Place the rest of the milk into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. When it is almost boiling take some of the hot milk with a ladle and gradually whisk into your cornflour mixture ensuring that it is smooth. Whisk in another ladleful of milk and then return the cornflour milk mixture back to the pan. Put the pan back onto a gentle heat and continue to stir the custard mixture until it begins to thicken. Keep stirring all the time to ensure that the mixture doesn't stick. My mum used to say that the custard was done when the bubbles broke the surface with a "blup blup" sound.

When the custard is thickened and smooth remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the two egg yolks. This will enrich the custard and give it a lovely colour. Add  the remaining brandy, milk, rosewater mixture to flavour the cream. The cream will be pale and not to thick but it will thicken up as it sets in the fridge.
Spoon your custard over the prepared sponges and arrange some more chopped fruit over the top.
Allow to cool then place in the fridge to set for a couple of hours or overnight.  Serve sprinkled with the toasted almonds.