Tag Archives: Desserts

Food Monday ~ Cherry Clafoutis

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Cherry Clafoutis

Preheat the oven to 180°C

450g Cherries, stoned.
2eggs size 3, plus two egg whites
150g plain/all purpose flour
268ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
75g caster sugar
¼ teaspoon mixed spice

Arrange the cherries in the bottom of a greased 1.2litre/2pint ovenproof baking dish.
I use a food processor to combine the remaining ingredients, whisking for about one minute.
Leave to rest for about 30 minutes.
Pour the batter over the fruit and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden.

Variations: Any fruit in season can be used eg: apricots, peaches, pears or plums.

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My first recipe was for Broccoli & Almond Soup way back in January 2008. Little did I think then, that I would still be sharing my recipes four and a half years later. As I said on that first day, I am a ‘mammy cook’ – prepare, cook/bake and serve – no time for pictures since I like my food hot and in Ireland the food cools quickly. Like radio, you get to make your own pictures! All recipes can be found through the tag cloud, just click on Recipes and enjoy.

 

Food Monday ~ Rhubarb & Almond Crumble

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Rhubarb & Almond Crumble
Preheat the oven to 180°C

2 lbs rhubarb, washed and cut into small chunks
6 oz brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon orange zest

Crumble topping:
4 ozs wholemeal flour
2 ozs brown sugar
2 ozs rolled oats
3 ozs butter
1½ ozs almonds, chopped

Put the rhubarb in a pan with the sugar, spices, orange juice and zest. Cover the pan and simmer gently until the fruit is just tender. Add a little more orange juice or water if required. Check for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary. Turn into a greased pie dish.

Put the flour, oats, and sugar into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the nuts and sprinkle the crumble over the rhubarb.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the topping is crisp and golden.

Food Monday ~ Squidgy Chocolate Roulade

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With Easter coming up I thought I would share a little treat to grace the Easter table.

Squidgy  Chocolate Roulade
Preheat the oven to 180°C

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
4 ozs good quality plain chocolate
4 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
4 ozs caster sugar

Filling:
½ pint of double cream
4 ozs chocolate – I use dark, but you can use milk or white if you wish.
Icing sugar to garnish and fresh fruit to decorate.

Grease and line a 28cm x33cm swiss roll tin with non-stick baking paper.
Mix the coffee granules to a smooth paste with 1 tablespoon of hot water.
Break the chocolate in small pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl over hot water and melt gently.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until the mixture is thick and pale, then fold in the cooled coffee and melted chocolate.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold 2 tablespoons into the chocolate mixture to loosen the mixture. Then fold in the remaining egg whites, keeping the mixture as light as possible.
Pour into prepared tin and smooth gently.
Bake for 15 minutes, the top will be crusty but the underneath soft.
Put the tin onto a wire rack to cool and cover with a clean damp tea towel and leave overnight. This will soften the crust.

Sprinkle a large sheet of greaseproof paper with icing sugar. Remove the tea towel from the roulade and turn it out on the sugared paper. Peel off the lining paper then trim away all four crusty edges.
Whip the cream until stiff, fold in the grated chocolate and spread over the roulade.
Roll up, using the paper to help lift it.  The roulade may crack, but this is quite usual.
Place on a serving plate and dredge with icing sugar. Decorate with fresh fruit and serve.

Food Monday ~ Tiddly Fruit Crumble

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Tiddly Fruit Crumble
Preheat the oven to 200°C
Serves 4

500g Bramley Apples peeled and chopped
2 fluid ounces of whisky *
Grated lemon and orange rind to taste
4 tablespoons Demerara sugar
1 teaspoon of mixed spices

For the Topping:
200g All-purpose flour
20g Ground almond (optional)
100g Light brown sugar  1/2 Tsp Sea salt
100g Unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

Grease four ramekin dishes or a 2-pint pie dish.
Place the prepared fruit into the ramekins or dish.
Mix the lemon and orange rind, mixed spice and Demerara sugar and spread evenly over the fruit.  Then sprinkle the whiskey over the fruit.
Leave to soak in while making the crumble.

For the Topping:
In a medium bowl, mix all the dry topping ingredients together and rub in the butter until it resembles bread crumbs.
Spread it evenly over the fruits in each dish.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the fruits are cooked and the top is golden brown.
Serve with whipped fresh cream or ice cream.

* Orange Juice can be used in place of the alcohol.

Food Monday ~ Chestnut Meringue Cake

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Last week Nancy asked for a sugar rush, so here goes….

Chestnut Meringue Cake
Preheat oven to 180ºC

8 egg whites
1lb caster sugar

For the filling
14oz unsweetened chestnut puree
3ozs dark chocolate, melted in 1 tsp water
3ozs dark brown sugar
½ pint cream whipped
Icing sugar to sprinkle

Cover two baking sheets with parchment and mark into 12in rounds – I often use an oval shape.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff and then add the caster sugar one spoon at a time.  Continue whisking after each addition.  Spoon the mixture onto the prepared trays to fill the circle or oval shapes.
Bake for 20 minutes or until light brown.  Cool.

Beat the chestnut purée, melted chocolate and brown sugar in a bowl and, when smooth, fold in the whipped cream.  Remove the meringue from the paper and place one layer on a serving plate.  Spread with the chestnut filling, then put the other on top.  Sprinkle on icing sugar and serve chilled.
Serves 8-10

Food Monday ~ Hazelnut Brûleé

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Hazelnut Brûleé

Serves 4
½ pint Hazelnut Yoghurt
¼ pint Double Cream
4 tblsps Demerara sugar

Whip the cream to same consistency as the yoghurt.  Fold cream into the yoghurt and divide into four ramekin dishes.  Chill well.

Preheat the grill on highest setting.  Sprinkle 1 tblsp of sugar over each dish. Flash under grill until sugar melts.

Food Monday ~ Banana & Toffee Brûlée

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Banana & Toffee Brûlée
Serves 4

Letting a packet of biscuits fall is one way to develop a new recipe!!

75g Caramalised Biscuits, crushed
150ml toffee yogurt
2 bananas, sliced
2 tablespoons Demerara sugar

Preheat the grill to hot.
Divide the biscuit crumb between 4 x 150ml ramekins and press down.  Spoon over half the yogurt, then layer with bananas and cover with the remainder of the yogurt.
Smooth over the top and sprinkle with sugar.  Place on a baking tray and out under grill for 1 or 2 minutes till sugar caramelises – don’t leave any longer or the yogurt will overheat.  Leave to cool, then refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Food Monday ~ Grated Apple and Almond Tart

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Grated Apple and Almond Tart
Preheat the oven to 180°C

I normally do not give pastry recipes but today I make an exception.

Pastry Base:

8 ozs all purpose flour
4 ozs butter
2 ozs castor sugar
pinch salt
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons water

Mix in a food processor until it forms a ball.  Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.  Use to line 11or 12 inch pie dish.

Filling:

2 ozs toasted flaked almonds
3 or 4 eating apples, grated
juice of 1 lemon
4 ozs castor sugar
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

sprinkle 1 oz flaked almonds in pie dish.  Mix the grated apples, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and press into the pastry lined pie dish.  Sprinkle the remaining almonds on top.  Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.  Reduce the heat if necessary.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Food Monday ~ Fruit Charlotte a la Grannymar

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Fruit Charlotte a la Grannymar

Stewed apple is the more common fruit in a Charlotte.
Why not ring the changes with any one of the following:-
Apricots, damsons, gooseberries, pears, plums, rhubarb or raspberries.

For the Topping:
2ozs butter *
6ozs wholegrain brown breadcrumbs
2ozs Demerara sugar
3ozs honey
2ozs roasted mixed nuts, chopped **

Simmer the chosen fruit in lemonade or water until soft, set aside and keep warm.

Prepare the topping by melting the butter and stirring in the remaining ingredients.  Spoon the warm fruit into a shallow heatproof dish and sprinkle over the topping.
Place the dish on a low shelf under the grill and toast for 5-10 minutes until the topping is golden brown.
Serve immediately with custard or cream.

* Without the melted butter it makes a crisper topping.
** Don’t forget pistachios or pecan nuts for a change.

Food Monday ~ Eve’s Pudding

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Cooking apples (tart not sweet) were a constant in our larder when I was growing up.  They appeared in apple cake, tarts, sauce, stuffing, and even in cored rings grilled with bacon, sausage and tomato.

If mammy needed a dessert in a hurry, I was asked to make an egg sponge mixture and it was poured over sliced or stewed apple in a pie dish.  We called it:

Eve’s Pudding
Preheat the oven to 180°C

675g cooking apples, peeled, cored
50g sugar

For the sponge:
3 medium eggs
75gcaster sugar
75g self raising flour

Grease an ovenproof dish. thinly slice the apples and layer in the base of the dish and sprinkle with the sugar.

Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk lightly, add the sugar and whisk well until thick, creamy and almost white in colour.  Lightly fold in the flour using a metal spoon and a figure eight movement.  Pour over the apples, tilting the dish gently to spread the sponge.  Bake for about 30 minutes.
Serve warm with Whipped cream or ice cream.