3 x 410g tins of guava halves 100ml brown sugar 5ml ground cinnamon 125ml cream
Crumble: 250ml flour 125ml brown sugar 120g butter, cut into small cubes 125ml chopped nuts 80ml oats
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and lightly spray a 28cm x 24cm oven dish with cooking spray. Drain the guava halves and arrange them in a single layer in the oven dish. Drizzle the cream over. Add the brown sugar and ground cinnamon to a small bowl and mix together. Sprinkle over the guavas and set aside. Add the flour, brown sugar, butter, chopped nuts and oats to a mixing bowl. Rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until you have a lumpy mixture with the consistency of wet sand. Scatter the crumble over the guavas and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. Serve the guava crumble with custard.
Line a small 1 litre capacity loaf tin (or a Tupperware container) with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang on the sides. Set aside. Add the cornstarch, sugar and cold water to a small saucepan and mix together. Pour in the boiling water and stir the mixture over a medium-low heat until thick and smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the lemon zest and juice and stir to combine. Set aside. Add the egg whites to a mixing bowl and whisk to stiff peaks. Spoon the whipped whites into the cornstarch mixture and fold through with a spatula. Pour the mixture into the prepared container and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until completely set.
For the coulis: Add the berries, lemon juice and sugar to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and blitz with an immersion blender until thick and smooth. Set aside to cool completely.
Take the blanc mange from the refrigerator and invert onto a serving plate. Carefully peel off the plastic wrap. Pour some of the berry coulis over to serve or serve as is with the sauce on the side.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with cooking spray. Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder to a mixing bowl and stir together with a whisk. Add the egg, melted butter, milk and vanilla to a jug and whisk together. Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients. Add the chopped chocolate and nuts and stir to mix. Spoon the batter in to the prepared baking tin. Add the 80ml granulated and brown sugar and the cocoa powder, to a bowl and mix. Sprinkle the mixture over the cake batter. Pour the coffee over and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Serve the chocolate pudding cake with cream or ice cream.
This tiramisu is made with thin layers of chocolate cake and the traditional mascarpone-cream filling and sprinkled with grated chocolate!! Serves 6.
Cake batter: 190ml flour 190ml sugar 2,5ml salt 120g butter 80ml cocoa powder, sifted 120ml hot water 2 egg yolks 50ml buttermilk 2,5ml baking powder 2,5ml vanilla
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 27cm x 37cm baking tray with baking paper. Select 6 glasses or straight-sided bowls in which you are going to assemble and serve the tiramisu. Set aside. Add the flour, sugar and salt to a mixing bowl. Set aside. Add the butter, cocoa powder and hot water to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture until the butter melts. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat and pour over the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Add the egg yolks, buttermilk, baking powder and vanilla and mix together. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely. Remove the cake and cut 12 rounds using one of the serving glasses as a guide. Set aside until needed.
Add the mascarpone and cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the espresso powder, vanilla and sugar and beat on medium-high speed until very thick – be mindful not to over whip!
Assembly: 80g coffee flavoured, dark chocolate, grated
Layer a spoonful of mascarpone-mixture, grated chocolate, a cake disc and repeat until you have used 2 cake discs and have three layers of mascarpone. Sprinkle with grated chocolate to finish off the tiramisu. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Either sprinkle with more chocolate or sift over some cocoa powder before serving.
Preheat your oven to 170℃. Add the eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together with electric beaters until pale. Set aside. Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan and place it over a high heat. Bring the mixture just to the boil. Pour the cream and milk onto the egg and sugar in a very thin stream, while constantly whisking. Add the vanilla to the mixture and stir through. Set aside to cool slightly. Slice the buns in half and spread each with butter. Dip each half into the milk mixture, allowing 2-3 seconds for the buns to absorb the liquid. Arrange the halved buns so that they overlap slightly in a 18 – 23cm ovenproof dish. Now pour the rest of the mixture through a sieve and drizzle it onto the buns. Scatter the pistachio nuts and orange zest over and set aside for 20 minutes so that the buns can soak up the custard mixture. Place the pudding in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve with custard.
Easy to make and even easier to eat, apple crumble is a dessert classic for good reason!
1kg apples (5-6 large apples) 25g brown sugar 5ml ground cinnamon
For the crumble: 110g pistachio nuts (you may replace it with pecan if you like) 75g butter, diced 175g self-raising flour 10ml ground cinnamon 110g brown sugar
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Peel and core the apples and then cut them into 3cm chunks. Add the apple chunks, brown sugar and cinnamon to a mixing bowl and toss everything together with your hands. Scoop the apple mixture into a 18cm X 28cm ceramic dish and set aside.
For the crumble: Chop the pistachios into smaller pieces. Set aside. Add the butter and self-raising flour to a mixing bowl and rub it together with your fingertips until it resembles crumbs. Stir in the cinnamon, brown sugar and chopped pistachio nuts. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the apples, spreading it right up to the edges of the dish. Press the crumble down with the palm of your hand. (If the mixture is tightly packed it will be really crispy) Now run the tines of a fork over the surface. Place the crumble in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Serve the apple crumble with big scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Not all things need to be pretty and with this recipe the proof IS in the pudding! Easy to make, not too sweet, fit for all seasons and a real crowd pleaser … give it a try, you will thank me!
125ml granulated sugar 45ml cocoa powder 500ml boiling water
Preheat your oven to 160℃. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the caster sugar. Stir the ingredients to combine and put aside. Add the melted butter, milk, vanilla and egg to a separate bowl and whisk together. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined into a batter. Spoon the batter into a 25cm X 15cm ceramic dish and level the top with the spatula. Sprinkle the granulated sugar onto the batter in an even layer. Sift the 45ml cocoa powder onto the sugar layer and then gently pour the boiling water onto the batter. Bake the pudding for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and stand for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm.
My Whisk and I 