Nutella Brioche and Butter Pudding

I first made this dessert by mistake, at the humble age of 11 or so. Back in the first few years of senior school I was lucky enough to have Food Technology lessons; we shared kitchens in pairs and got to eat everything we made. Obviously I didn’t realise how great they were at the time, but in hind sight, and in the knowledge of how difficult it is to find evening cookery courses (that aren’t either too academic, extortionately priced, or about cupcakes) I really wish I had made the most of them. Each week we were given an ingredients list for the following lessons recipe, and each week I would lose it in the bottom of my satchel until around about 5 pm the night before said lesson. On one such occasion the only kind of bread available in the grocery shop down the road was brioche… and so the Brioche and Butter Pudding was born. 

I remember Mrs Grist, the scary FT teacher, being infinitely impressed with my (read my mums) cleverness at substituting brioche for bread, and this happy accident became a firm favourite in my household.

The sweetness that the brioche brings to the pudding is complimented by a generous amount of Nutella, which melts all over the bread. Delicious. So quick and simple to make, I serve mine with double cream, custard or ice cream.

Serves 4 to 6

Loaf of Brioche, sliced and cut into triangles

Lots of Nutella

1 egg

half a pint of milk

1 tbsp caster sugar

handful of raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Spread the Nutella on each slice of brioche and arrange in a greased tin or pyrex dish, sprinkling over raisins on each layer. 
2. Mix the milk and sugar, then add the egg and beat until all mixed together. Pour mixture over the brioche, ensuring that the bread is soaked with the liquid. Cook in the oven for half an hour, until the pudding is nicely browned on top.

Summer Pavlova

A couple of Sunday’s ago Ben’s parents hosted a Garden Party to mark the 60^th Wedding Anniversary of Ben’s Grandparents Clive and Freda. It was a fantastic day, made even better by a little sunshine, practically the only sunny day we had in the whole of July. Ben’s mum, as always, went all out and produced a huge spread with a barbecue, poached salmon, salads, cheesecake, trifle, apple pie and cake amongst other things. I really wanted to contribute to the day in some way and made some Marinated Lamb Kebabs and a Summer Pavlova.

The marinade for the lamb skewers are from a previously tested Alice Hart recipe, and I added peppers, red onion and cherry tomato to pad them out and add some colour. 

Marinated overnight, prepared in the morning and then cooked on the BBQ, the meat was tender and flavoursome and complimented the myriad of burgers, chicken and sausages.

My main contribution to the meal was a dessert, in the form of a Pavlova. I’d made smaller meringues before, and this follows the same method, and is surprisingly simple to make, it just takes ages in the oven. I went a bit mad in Waitrose choosing fruit, picking out strawberries, cherries, blueberries, kiwi’s and pomegranate seeds as well as wild white strawberries (from my very own courtyard garden I’ll have you know!). 

My one criticism of the pavlova’s that I have had in the past is too much cream swamping everything else, so I decided to cut out the top of the meringue and stuff it with fruit, before adding a layer of whipped double cream and then more fruit to decorate. To hide the cracks that inevitably appear in the sides of the meringue I stuffed sprigs of mint leaves into the cream, and scattered about more of the fruit. I was really pleased with the overall result, and it was all eaten, so I think it must have tasted pretty good too!!

Meringue recipe from ‘Cook, Eat, Smile’

Serves 8 to 10

-For the Meringue-

3 large egg whites

175g caster sugar

2 tsp cornflour

1 level tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

-For the Topping-

Approx 400ml double cream

Mixed fruit and berries (I used strawberries, slices of kiwi, pomegranate seeds, blueberries and cherries)

1. Preheat the oven to 140C. In a large clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar, whisking as you go until you have marshmallowy-like and shiny peaks. Fold in the cornflour, vanilla extract and vinegar.
2. Cover a large baking tray with baking parchment and spoon the meringue onto the paper. Create whatever shape you like, mine was circular, you may want to build up the sides to create a bowl shape if you do not wish to cut the top off and stuff the meringue with fruit.
3. Bake for 1 ½ hours, then turn off the heat and leave the meringue to cool in the oven until it is completely cool.
4. Peel the baking parchment away and place the meringue on a serving plate. At this point I cut the top off my meringue carefully and stuffed the inside with fruit before spooning on a layer of whipped double cream and then adding more fruit to decorate, the more fruit the better!! 

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream

So this post was supposed to have been shared with you a week ago, just before I went to Corfu with my Mum. As I'm pretty inept when it comes to blog related stuff I somehow managed not to publish it but just saved it - but here it is now long overdue! As if by magic, the weather in England has suddenly transformed into glorious sunshine, finally, so there really is no excuse not to make this refreshing ice cream now.

Made with my very own homemade lemon curd, this zesty ice cream is simple to make and does not require an ice cream maker (a very rare thing, or so all the recipe books I own would have you believe). This recipe is one of the first that I remember being taught to make when I was little, and it’s all thanks to my lovely Godmother Nickie. You could go the whole hog and make the meringue at home too, but I just stuck with the home made lemon curd. If you were going to sacrifice one, I suggest you go for shop bought meringue over shop bought curd, the meringue dissolves away in the cream anyway so its main function is the input of sugar to balance the acidity of all the lemon, but home made lemon curd is really worth the time and effort.

I’m afraid I forgot the exact quantities of my Godmother’s recipe, but found that Nigella’s gives the same results. I’ve linked the Not Quite Nigella blog version of the original Nigella recipe as it includes a microwave Lemon Curd for those blessed with a microwave and who are feeling a bit lazy.

Lemon Curd

I seem to be a little bit obsessed with the flavour of lemon and meringue at the moment. First a lemon meringue fool, and now lemon curd for lemon meringue ice cream. What can I say, it’s a really delicious flavour, and makes me feel a little bit more summery when the weather is so miserable outside. This humble jar of lemon curd marks my first steps into the wonderful world of jarred goods. Just wait till winter when I plan to start a mini production line of chutneys and jams to give as Christmas presents.

http://www.bills-website.co.uk/

This is the first recipe I have tried from my latest book investment, ‘Cook, Eat, Smile’, by Bill Collison. I hope that anyone who has ever visited Brighton has had the pleasure of eating at Bills Produce Store. In a town with plenty of great restaurants and café’s Bill’s excels itself at providing the most spectacular and, most importantly, delicious breakfast, brunches, lunches, snacks and suppers, including the best brownie I’ve ever bought. High praise indeed. As well as that, the large, almost warehouse like, dining space, is covered in floor to ceiling shelves filled with lots of lovely jams and crisps and beers and other products labeled with fabulous vintage style labels which make the perfect gifts.

The recipe book follows a similar theme, and really captures the essence of what Bills Produce Store is all about. Separated into seasons, and championing the best in British seasonal produce, the book showcases some of the favourites that are found in the restaurant as well as many other original dishes.

The lemon curd recipe was easy to follow, and very easy to put together, you just need a bit of patience waiting for it to thicken whilst you constantly stir. A funnel would be a useful tool for decanting the curd into sterilized jars, something I learnt the hard way!! The result is a gorgeous golden yellow, thick and zesty lemon curd which tastes nothing like what you would buy at the supermarket and goes great simply spread on toast, or in the lemon meringue ice cream which I should be sharing with you in a couple of days.

From Cook, Eat, Smile

Makes 1 medium Jar

60g unsalted butter

2 lemons, zested and juices

2 eggs, lightly beaten

175g caster sugar

a medium sterilized jar (to sterilize run through a hot wash in the dishwasher)

1. Place a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and melt the butter in the bowl. Add all the other ingredients and stir to combine with a wooden spoon.
2. Keep the heat low as you continue to stir the mixture until it thickens and coats the back of spoon. Bill says it should take around 15 minutes but I would say it took me about 25 minutes to reach this point.
3. Strain the curd into warm sterilized jars and seal. Keep in the fridge for up to three weeks.

Really Easy White Chocolate Sauce

Another post made up ahead. Yes, I’m still on holiday. Fingers crossed I’m beautifully bronzed by now, and haven’t got too fat on all the lovely Turkish bread and beer that I will have no doubt feasted on.

My Mum took Ben and I to the new Cote Restaurant that has just opened in Bath before we went on holiday, a delicious meal was had by all and I can thoroughly recommend the duck. Mum opted for the Iced Summer Berries with a Warm White Chocolate Sauce for pudding, and we all agreed that it was the perfect simple, relatively good for you summer dessert. I decided to recreate the pud at home by using slightly defrosted raspberries and making the sauce from scratch, which is just so easy, and takes under five minutes. Perfect with fruit, I’m entirely sure the sauce would go nicely with cakes, crumbles and ice creams too.

Serves 4

100g white chocolate (I used Green and Blacks)

1 tsp vanilla extract

250ml double cream

1. Put all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and melt over a low heat.
2. Whisk together until the mixture has thickened and gone glossy.
3. Serve immediately.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £2

Kitchen Requirements: SMALL SAUCEPAN, WHISK.

Find more delicious desserts over at Sweet As Sugar Cookies, where this recipe is linked along with heaps of others!

Lemon Meringue Fool

The lengthy absence from my blogging is entirely honorable. I have both finished the second year of university and moved out of my flat, no mean feat considering its two flights up and included the transportation of a sizeable amount of kitchen goods and implements. Couple that with me going on holiday to Turkey on Monday and trying desperately not to eat carbohydrates and you haven’t exactly got the recipe for a perfect food blog post.

However, I decided to throw caution to the wind this weekend and venture back in to Nigella Kitchen that, as I’m sure you know, can be trusted to provide the most fattening recipes on the planet. I’m glad to say this Lemon Meringue Fool did not disappoint on calorie content. I’ve made this sumptuous desert once before, as part of an anniversary three course dinner I made for my parents in January. Back then in the New Year I was a complete novice in the kitchen and this recipe suited perfectly, being very simple to assemble ahead and leave in the fridge whilst you get on with the rest of the meal.

From Nigella Kitchen

Serves 2 - 4

150g lemon curd

2 tsp lemon juice (or Limoncello)

250ml double cream

lemon zest, to serve

1 meringue nest

1. Put the lemon curd and the lemon juice into a small bowl and stir. Add a little more juice if the mixture seems too thick, you want it to be able to fold it into whipped cream.
2. Whisk the double cream in another bowl until it just starts to thicken. Pour half the lemon mixture into the cream and fold using a rubber spatula, and then do the same with the other half.
3. Crumble the meringue into the cream and lemon mixture and fold.
4. Spoon the mixture into 4 smaller glasses or 2 larger glasses, depending on how greedy you are, and serve with a drizzle of the lemon mixture scraped from the bottom of the bowl and a few spirals of lemon zest.
5. You can serve immediately, or cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for up to 3 hours.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: £2

Kitchen Requirements: WHISK, TWO BOWLS, GOBLETS/GLASSES, RUBBER SPATULA.

Cardamom and Rosewater Infused Crème Brûlée

If there’s a crème brulee on the menu, chances are I’m going to order it. That or melt in the middle chocolate puddings… or zabaglione… or… now I’m just thinking about pudding. Back to the pud in question. Velvety creaminess under an ice rink of melted and cooled sugar, the simplicity of crème brulee is perhaps what makes them so popular on the menus of restaurants around the world. This variation however, from Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic, is anything but run of the mill. Delicately infused with cardamom and rose water, this dessert is different without being too out there, and was the perfect excuse to crack out the rose water that’s been lurking at the back of my cupboard since Christmas.

Slightly Adapted From ‘Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic’

Serves 4 (or 8 if you use old GU ramekins like me)

570ml double cream

6 egg yolks

5 cardamom pods

7 tbsp golden caster sugar

2 tbsp rosewater

1tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat the cream and the cardamom really slowly in a small pan until little bubbles begin to appear round the edge. Meanwhile, mix with the egg yolks with 3 tbsp on the sugar in a bowl. Remove the pods from the cream and then quickly whisk the cream into the egg mixture. Add the vanilla extract and rosewater and leave for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 140C and divide the custard between the ramekins. Lay a piece of kitchen paper in the bottom of a roasting tray/tin (that has high sides). Boil the kettle and add enough of the water to fill the tray to half way up the sides of the ramekins. Place on the lowest shelf in the oven and bake for around 30 minutes, checking about 5 minutes before the end of cooking, they should be a wobbly loose jelly. Don’t worry, they will set in the fridge.
3. Remove from the oven, and remove the ramekins from the tray, and leave to cool for half an hour, before putting in the fridge for at least two hours.
4. When you come to serve the crème brulees, sprinkle the remaining 4 tbsp of sugar over the top of each, and then, using a blow torch or very hot grill, heat the sugar until it turns golden brown. Keep a close eye as they can burn very quickly. Allow the sugar to set (on my second attempt I actually put my crème brulees back in the fridge for an hour or so to set again, as I like the creamy part to be cold, but you’re more then welcome to serve immediately).

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £4

Kitchen Requirements: 4 RAMEKINS, DEEP ROASTING TIN, COOLING RACK, PAPER TOWELL, SMALL SAUCEPAN, BOWL.

My Grandmothers Red Currant and Raspberry Mousse

Whenever I visit my grandmother I always hope that she will serve this deliciously sweet mousse dessert. On this occasion I not only got it for pudding but I got the recipe too. Out came the most wonderful collection of newspaper cuttings, with recipes ranging from the 1950’s onwards. An absolute culinary treasure-trove as I’m sure you will agree. This dessert is wonderfully simple to make, consisting of three ingredients, and can be served hot in tall glasses with cream and a biscuit for the ultimate wow factor. My pink glasses don’t quite show you the wonderfully pink colour from the red berry and raspberry juices, but I can assure you it is the stuff of Barbie’s dreams.

Serves 4

250g each red currants and raspberries

110g sugar

2 egg whites

1. Heat the fruit in a small saucepan and stir to release all of the juice. Sieve the juice into a larger saucepan. Meanwhile, whip the egg whites with an electric whisk, or hand whisk if you are feeling energetic until they are stiff and add this, along with the sugar, to the saucepan with the fruit juice.
2. On a low heat, continuously whisk the mixture for three minutes. You should be left with a mousse like consistency and a richly pink colour.
3. Spoon in to tall glasses and serve immediately with cream.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £2

Kitchen Requirements: SIEVE, ELECTRIC OR HAND WHISK, SMALL SAUCEPAN, LARGE SAUCEPAN, TALL GLASSES. 

Meringues

So I was a little bit apprehensive about making these meringues. I used to help my mum make them when I was little and they would turn out great, but I was a little worried about all the whisking and folding. Luckily my first solo meringue making experience turned out really well, an almost fluffy interior encased in an ivory shell. Obviously, the moment they had cooled I smashed half of them up and mixed them with some whipped double cream and raspberries to make Eton Mess, the quintessential English pudding.

The recipe can be found here, I followed it to the letter.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £2

Kitchen Requirements: BAKING TRAY, BAKING PARCHMENT, LARGE MIXING BOWL, ELECTRIC WHISK.

Pear Tarte Tatin

As promised, the second post related to my trip to Paris last week, this time orientated around all things sweet. I love macaroons so as you can imagine was in my element in their homeland. I visited Laduree three days in a row, and enjoyed a monster pistachio flavoured one filled with raspberries and cream. 

Monster Macaroon!!

I’ve had apple tarte tatin before but was excited to try it with pear, being very fond of the fruit. Using ready made puff pastry made the whole thing very quick and easy, and the only mistake I made was to not peel the pears (as you can see in the picture they caught a little in the pan). But all in all, a really simple dessert, which looks impressive and tastes great, especially with the addition of double cream or ice cream.

From Lorraine Pascale’s ‘Baking Made Easy’

Serves 8 to 10

500g shop bought puff pastry

100g butter

5/6 pears, peeled, cored and halved

100g caster sugar

finely grated zest of ½ lemon

plain flour, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Melt the sugar in an wide ovenproof frying pan over a low heat. When the butter has melted and sugar dissolved turn up the heat and bring the mixture to the boil. It will look very oily, but this is supposed to happen. Keep swirling the mixture on a high heat until it goes a honeycomb colour.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and lower the pears into the mixture, cut side up. Do this very carefully so as not to splash the boiling hot sugar on yourself. Return the pan to the heat and spoon the mixture over the pears, so that the pears are caramalised and go a golden brown colour.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and arrange the fruit into a wheel shape with the pointed ends facing inwards.
4. Cut a circle out of the ready rolled pastry, large enough to cover the pan with a little extra. Cover the pan with the pastry and tuck the pastry in around the fruit.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before tipping off any excess liquid. Then standing over the sink, invert the tarte on to a plate.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £4

Kitchen Requirements: WIDE OVENPROOF FRYING PAN.

I couldn't resist, more pictures of Parisian patisserie...

Apple and Blackberry Crumble

This is the second recipe that I’ve tried from Sophie Dahl’s book, and it turned out as equally good as the last. A real English classic, I’ve actually made this twice in two days, the first being yesterday over at my friend’s house, with the help of expert apple chopper Jess. The tartness of the blackberries was balanced with the delicate flavour of the apples, and the overall consistency wasn’t stodgy or mushy, as has been the case with crumbles I’ve tried in the past. It’s also brilliantly easy to make.

From Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights

Serves 6

115g plain white flour

50g porridge oats

100g butter (+1tbsp for the fruit)

50g soft brown sugar (+2tbsp for the fruit)

225g blackberries

225g apples, cored and chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Mix the flour, butter and oats in a mixing bowl with your fingers, until you get the consistency of breadcrumbs. Then mix in the sugar.
2. Put the fruit into the dish and dot the extra butter, and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Cover the fruit with the crumble mixture.
3. Bake in the oven for half an hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £5

Kitchen Requirements: MIXING BOWL, PIE/PYREX DISH

Chocolate Pots

Those of you with a sweet tooth will love these, those without, steer well clear. Packed with chocolate and sugar, they make a really rich and indulgent pud, which probably shouldn’t become an everyday fixture, but is nice as a treat every now and again (Valentines day being the perfect opportunity). You will, I’m afraid, need a food processor to make them though.

From Leon: Naturally Fast Food

Makes 4 to 6 pots (mixture filled four old GU ramekins)

240ml double cream

70g caster sugar

200g chocolate

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 egg yolks

1. Heat the cream and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Chop the chocolate into small chunks and put into a food processor with the vanilla essence and egg yolks.
3. When the cream is simmering, start the processor and pour it in (do this VERY carefully, and on a low speed, or you will end up with a chocolate explosion like I did). When smooth, pour the mixture into ramekins and refrigerate for over 2 hours.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £5

Kitchen Requirements: FOOD PROCESSOR, RAMEKINS, SMALL PAN, SMALL MIXING BOWL.