Cassata

Cassata

6 egg whites
62ml + 62ml caster sugar
500ml cream
250ml chopped mixed nuts
125g mixed dried fruit
125g red and green glacé cherries

Line a baking tin with a 1 litre capacity (or a Tupperware container) with plastic wrap or baking paper.
Add the egg whites to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until it forms soft peaks.
Add a teaspoonful of the 62ml caster sugar while whisking. Wait for the sugar to be incorporated (about 30 seconds) before adding the next teaspoonful. Keep going until all of the sugar has been incorporated. Set aside.
Pour the cream into another mixing bowl and add the other 62ml caster sugar all at once.
Beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Spoon about a third of the cream mixture into the egg white mixture and fold through with a large metal spoon.
Add the rest of the cream and fold it in until incorporated.
Sprinkle the chopped nuts, dried fruit and half of the cherries over and fold it in to the mixture.
Arrange the other half of the cherries on the bottom of your prepared container.
Spoon the mixture into the container and lightly level it out.
Place the cassata in the freezer until frozen.
Serve in slices with or without a sauce.

To store leftover, cover the cassata with plastic wrap and place back in the freezer as you would with ice cream.

Traditional Clafoutis

Traditional Clafoutis

125ml sugar
125ml flour
3 eggs
5ml vanilla
30ml butter, melted
250ml milk
enough pitted cherries to cover the bottom of a pie/flan dish

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease a ceramic pie/flan dish.
Add the sugar and flour to a mixing bowl.
Whisk the eggs, vanilla, melted butter and milk together in a wide-mouth jug.
Slowly pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients while whisking.
Fill the bottom of the pie dish with an even layer of cherries and pour the batter over the cherries.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
The clafoutis will puff up in the oven and fall back on itself as it cools.
Dust with icing sugar once cooled.