New Recipes
Raspberry Macaroons
Ingredients 200g egg whites (room temperature) 50g caster sugar Wiltons red food colour 450g pure icing sugar 250g blanched almond meal Filling 3 egg yolks 150g sugar 40ml water 200g butter softened Vanilla essence or raspberry jam MethodProcess icing sugar & almond meal in a food processor & sieve. Whip egg whites with half the sugar to firm peak, add remaining sugar and food colour to the desired colour. Fold in the almond meal and pure icing sugar. Fold together until smooth and shiny. Place into a piping bag & pipe small rounds onto a lined baking tray. Sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. Bake at 160°C for 12-15 minutes. For the filling, whip egg yolks in a KitchenAid mixer until pale & fluffy. Heat sugar and water in a pan until it reaches 121°C on a sugar thermometer. Slowly pour over the egg yolks & keep whisking until the mixture is cool. Slowly add butter and flavour. Pipe or spoon onto the centre of the macaroons and sandwich together.
Learn more
Chocolate Whoopie Cakes
Ingredients 115g butter softened 200g soft dark brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 large egg 280g white plain flour 50g cocoa powder 1¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda Pinch salt 225ml buttermilk Filling Ingredients 70g icing sugar 1 large egg white 225g light corn or golden syrup Pinch of salt MethodPreheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan) 375°F Gas Mark 5. Line 3-4 large baking sheets with baking paper or grease the wells of a whoopie pan. Put the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in an electric mixer bowl, or use a large mixing bowl and a hand-held electric mixer, and whisk together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the bowl and stir together. Add the buttermilk and stir until combined. Using a level 5cm/2-inch ice cream scoop or heaped tablespoon, put the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets in 5cm/2 inch diameter rounds about 3cm/1¼ inches high and leaving at least 7.5 cm/3 inches between each round to allow room for spreading, or in the prepared pan. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool. When the whoopies are cold, match each whoopie half with its closest partner in size. Spreading with a palette knife or using a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle, cover the flat side of one whoopie half of each pair generously with the filling. Top each with its matching half, flat-side down, and press gently together. Filling MethodSift the icing sugar into a bowl. Put the egg white, syrup and salt in an electric mixer bowl, or use a large mixing bowl and a hand held electric mixer, and whisk on high speed for 5 minutes until thick and doubled in volume. On a low speed, gradually add the icing sugar in spoonfuls. Whisk until combined. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. The filling is suitable for spreading instead of piping into whoopies.
Learn more
Easter Shortbread
Ingredients For the Humpty Dumptys/Chicks 110g caster sugar 1 packet ready made fondant 300g plain flour Wilton food colours 45g rice flour 250g butter, chilled & diced Sugar Syrup 200g sugar 200ml water For the Stain Glass Eggs 110g caster sugar 300g plain flour 45g rice flour 250g butter, chilled & diced Lollipops, finely crushed MethodFor the Humpty Dumptys/ChicksFor the sugar syrup; In a saucepan dissolve the sugar in the water over low heat, once dissolved boil for 2 minutes & allow to cool. Store in a air tight container in the refrigerator. Sift the flours together in a mixing bowl, add the sugar. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Bring together with your hands until it forms a ball, kneading slightly but only to combine. Do not over work the pastry as it will shrink in baking and be less delicate to eat. Wrap in cling film & chill for about ½ hour. Preheat your oven to 160°C. Sprinkle your work surface with a light dust of flour and roll out the shortbread to about 4mm thick. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters and carefully place onto lined baking sheets. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until very lightly golden in colour. Allow to cool on a wire rack before decorating. For the fondant, use a little food colour and mix well until you have the desired colour. We recommend Wilton colours, so that you achieve a good colour without the addition of liquid which will make the fondant too soft. Dust your work surface with a little icing sugar and roll out until very thin, approximately 2mm thick. Cut and shape as desired. Brush the back of the fondant with sugar syrup & stick onto cookies. Use coloured icing or melted chocolate to pipe final touches (face, eyes, bow ties etc).For the Stain Glass EggsSift the flours together in a mixing bowl, add the sugar. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Bring together with your hands until it forms a ball, kneading slightly but only to combine. Do not over work the pastry as it will shrink in baking and be less delicate to eat. Wrap in cling film & chill for about ½ hour. Preheat your oven to 160°C. Sprinkle your work surface with a light dust of flour and roll out the shortbread to about 4mm thick. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. For the glass window effect, make cut outs with a small knife on half of the biscuits and carefully place onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Gently sprinkle crushed lollipops into the holes and place in the oven for a few minutes to melt. This will create a stained glass look. Allow to cool. Sandwich together with a plain shortbread biscuit for the back with a little icing. (icing sugar and water)
Learn more
Apple Soufflé
Ingredients 4 apples 3 tbspn butter 200g caster sugar 1 lemon zest 6 egg whites Icing sugar Extra sugar for ramekins MethodBrush 6 small ramekins with melted butter & sprinkle with enough sugar to coat evenly, shake out the excess sugar. Place on a baking tray & set aside. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel, core & roughly chop the apples. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan & add the apples, add half of the sugar & the lemon zest. Cook on medium heat until soft or until all the liquid has evaporated. Purée in a food processor or a hand held stab blender. Place in a large bowl & set aside to cool & firm. Place the egg whites in a bowl & whip until stiff peaks form, add in the remaining sugar & whisk for one minute until glossy. Carefully fold the egg whites into the apple mixture, 1/3 at a time. Do not over mix. Spoon equal amounts of the mixture into the prepared ramekins 2cm above the rim. Bake for about 5 minutes. Turn the oven down to 180°C & bake for a further 7-10 minutes. The soufflés will have risen and be golden on the top. Carefully take them out of the oven, & dust with icing sugar. Serve immediately…
Learn more
Almond Praline Parfait
Ingredients 100ml pouring cream 100ml thick/heavy cream 180g sugar 4 egg whites 80g almonds lightly roasted 40ml water MethodDissolve 100g sugar in the water and cook until a deep golden caramel. Add almonds and quickly pour onto a lined baking tray and allow to cool. Once cool, chop into small pieces, and set aside. Beat together the 2 creams until soft peak. Add the chopped almond praline. Whip the egg whites until soft peak, and slowly add the remaining sugar and whip until firm and glossy. Gently fold into the cream and place in a container and freeze overnight. Enjoy on its own or with a hot apple pie…
Learn more
Apple Crisps
Ingredients 150g sugar 150ml water 2 granny smith apples MethodDissolve the sugar in water and then bring to the boil. Allow to cool. Slice the apples very finely with a mandoline slicer and dip in the sugar syrup. Place on a lined baking tray and place in a very low oven until crisp. This will take a few hours, being careful not to gain too much colour. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.
Learn more
Tart Tatin
Ingredients 100g butter 100g sugar 1 vanilla bean Sprinkle ground cinnamon 1 pkt butter puff pastry, preferably careme 5-6 pears MethodPreheat oven to 190°C. In a 20-22cm small fry pan or tart tatin pan add butter and sugar and vanilla bean cut in half lengthways. Peel, core and cut the pears in half then arrange in the pan on top of the sugar and butter, tightly packed. Cut the pastry in a circle to fit the pan, cover the pears tucking in around the sides and score the pastry. Place on the stove top and cook for about 10-15minutes on medium heat until you can see a caramel forming. Place in the oven and bake 20-25minutes until the pasty is golden. Carefully take out of the oven and invert on a dish. Be very careful as this is very hot and the caramel may spill out. Enjoy hot or cold with cream or ice-cream…
Learn more
Apple & Rhubarb Crumble
Ingredients 1 bunch rhubarb 4 granny smith or golden delicious apples 1 orange, juice and zest 2 sticks cinnamon 1 vanilla bean 100g brown sugar 30g butter Crumble Topping 100g unsalted butter 100g brown sugar 100g flour ½ tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground cinnamon Handful of flaked almonds MethodRub together the butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon and ginger powder. Add the flaked almonds and set aside. Preheat oven to 180°C. Peel, core and chop apples. Wash rhubarb and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place rhubarb and apples in a frying pan with orange zest, cinnamon sticks, orange juice, vanilla bean and butter. Cook slowly for a few minutes until tender. Heap into individual ramekins or 1 large baking dish and cover with crumble mix. Place in oven and bake until golden. Enjoy hot or cold, on its own, or with cream or ice-cream. ** add coconut, oats chopped hazelnuts to add variety to your crumble topping ** For the filling, try adding apple juice concentrate (from health food shops) and omitting the sugar
Learn more
Christmas Meringue with Berries
Ingredients 200g room temperature egg white 440g caster sugar, powdered in a blender 2 x 70g Wheel&Barrow silver cachous to finish 500g room temperature strawberries, hulled and cut in half 200g fresh or frozen raspberries 50g dark palm sugar, finely grated 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 250g thick pure cream Method Pre-heat oven to 125°C, and cover three baking sheets with baking paper. Fill the mixing bowl with hot water and let it stand for 2-3 minutes, tip out the water and dry the bowl. Whisk the egg whites at high speed until they are very stiff and coming away from the edge of the bowl in clumps, and only then, start adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Continue whipping until the meringue is very stiff and has the appearance of satin fabric. Fill the piping bag and pipe onto the baking tray a 7cm ring, and a 5cm cone, then pipe 8 x 18cm, 6 x 16cm, 5 x 12cm and 5 x 8cm sticks and divide any remaining meringue into more sticks. Gently shake the cachous onto the sticks, rolling the trays from side to side to catch any run-away cachous. Cook for 10 minutes at 125°C, then, without opening the oven door, turn the oven down to 100°C and set a timer for 3 hours. Again without opening the oven door turn the heat off and allow to cool in the oven. The sticks can be made several days in advance and stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place.To FinishPut everything except the cream into a bowl and gently mix together. Put a bit of cream onto the plate to secure the first meringue to the cake stand and continue to assemble the tree shape alternating between fruit and meringue sticks that have been spread with a little cream to secure them. Finish the top with the ring and cone. Any left over sticks can be served as petit fours with coffee.Extra TipsThe two reasons that cooks have trouble with meringue is they take the egg white straight from the fridge and secondly they don’t beat their egg whites long enough before they start adding the sugar. Cooking is chemistry and if you try and dissolve sugar in a glass of ice water it is easy to understand why the egg white needs to be warm and the sugar works better if its powdered. Stale egg white, egg white that has been left at room temperature for three to four days also whips better – scientific fact! Why grams and not a number of eggs? With the eggs available on the market pace egg white size varies as much as 15g from small to jumbo eggs. Also the weight of egg white taken from eggs straight from the fridge is less than from room temperature eggs, so a weight makes very good sense.
Learn more
Apple Pie
Ingredients Pastry 300g plain flour Pinch of salt 60g vegetable shortening (copha) grated 2 tbsp sugar 180g cold butter grated Iced water Filling 8-10 granny smith apples ½ cup brown sugar 3 tbsp flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon Caster sugar for sprinkling 1 egg beaten MethodIn a bowl mix together the flour, sugar, salt, grated butter and vegetable shortening. With your fingers, rub together until it looks like coarse bread crumbs. Add a little iced water to form a ball. Divide into 2 and wrap in cling film and chill for about ½ an hour. Peel, core and slice the apples very roughly into a bowl. Toss with brown sugar, flour and cinnamon and allow to sit for ½ an hour. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out the pastry to a circle of about 4mm thick and line a 25cm pie dish. Spoon in the apples and then roll out remaining pastry for the top of the pie. Brush the edges of the base with the beaten egg and then carefully place the pastry over the top of the pie. Crimp the edges together. Make a few cuts in the top or insert a pie funnel to allow the steam to escape during cooking. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 45mins – 1 hour until golden brown. Serve on its own or with cream and ice cream.
Learn more
Summer Berry Trifle
Ingredients For the Trifle 2 pkts mini jam rolls 2 punnets fresh strawberries 2 punnets fresh raspberries 1 punnet blueberries 1 pkt frozen mixed berries 1 jar good quality red currant jam 6 sheets leaf gelatine (12g) 600ml cosmopolitan cocktail mix White chocolate cream 500ml milk 45g cornflour 50g sugar 4 egg yolks 1 vanilla bean (optional) 100g good quality white chocolate, chopped 600ml cream, whipped to soft peak MethodFor the jelly, soak gelatine sheets in cold or iced water. Once soft squeeze out excess water. Heat 200ml cosmopolitan cocktail mix and add the gelatine to dissolve. Add the remaining 400ml of cocktail mix with 150ml water. Allow to cool. Line the inside edge of the base of the trifle dish with sliced strawberries. Gently pour in the jelly mix and add chopped strawberries to the jelly mix. Allow to firm in the fridge. Combine 1 punnet raspberries, a handful of blueberries and a packet of frozen mixed berries and add ¾ of the jar of the red currant jam. Mix together and set aside. For the white chocolate cream bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla bean. In a bowl combine the egg yolks, sugar, and cornflour. Gently pour over the hot milk and whisk. Remove the vanilla bean. Pour back into the saucepan and cook over low heat until the mixture thickens. Add the white chocolate and whisk until it has melted. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or freezer film directly onto the surface so that a skin does not form. Allow to cool. When cool whisk lightly & gently fold in 1/3 of the softly whipped cream to combine then add the remaining cream. Cover and set aside in the fridge. Cut the jam rolls into 8mm-1cm rounds and place a layer laying flat on the jelly. Gently spoon over about an inch of cream mix. Place a layer of jam roll slices standing up along the inside edge of the bowl resting on the pastry cream. Line the centre with jam rolls laying flat. You will have created a shallow hole. Spoon in the mixed berries, to the top of the layer of jam rolls. Place a fresh raspberry on the jam rolls on the inside of the trifle bowl and then fill with white chocolate cream. Chill and allow to firm up in the fridge before decorating with fresh berries and white chocolate curls.
Learn more
Cherry Bombe Alaska
Ingredients 1 jar cherries drained 1 pckt sour cherry pistachio nougat, chopped 1L good quality vanilla icecream 500g cherry sorbet 500g coconut icecream 180g egg whites Pinch of cream of tartar 200g caster sugar 1 round chocolate cake to fit base of pudding mould ~1.5cm thick (use your favourite recipe) Cherry Sorbet 1.5kg fresh cherries 600g sugar 250ml water 1 lemon juice 1 vanilla bean 1 cinnamon stick Coconut Icecream 600ml cream 500ml milk 100g toasted shredded coconut 200g coconut palm sugar (or caster sugar) 12 egg yolks MethodCherry SorbetPit the cherries, purée and set aside. Boil the water and sugar, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick together for 5 mins. Allow to cool. Add the cherries and lemon juice. Strain and churn in an icecream machine or use a KitchenAid Mixer with icecream attachment.Coconut IcecreamBring the milk and cream to the boil with the toasted coconut and sugar. Steep to allow the flavours to develop for about ½ an hour. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the hot milk and cream and whisk together. Over a double boiler cook the icecream base until it coats the back of the spoon. Strain and cool over a tub of ice. Once cool churn in an icecream machine or use a KitchenAid Mixer with icecream attachment.To AssembleLine the inside of a 2L pudding mould with cling film. Add the churned cherry sorbet mix to cover the bottom third of the mould. Layer with a row of cherries. Allow to firm in the freezer. Once firm add the coconut layer. Freeze. Combine softened vanilla icecream & chopped nougat together then place on top of the coconut icecream layer. Place a disc of chocolate cake to fit the top of the last layer. Freeze. When you are ready to serve, turn out onto a lined oven tray. Whisk the egg whites and the cream of tartar in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and whisk together. Coat the icecream with meringue and place in a hot oven for a few minutes until browned. Serve immediately.
Learn more