1 x container ready-made vanilla custard 1 x packet of your favourite biscuits 2 x packets of instant jelly, prepared according to the packet instructions
Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and smash it with a rolling pin. Do not make it too fine as little chunks of biscuit add a good texture. Cut the prepared jelly into small cubes. Assemble the trifle by layering the biscuit crumb, custard and jelly. End with a layer of custard, add some fresh fruit and serve with a smile.
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.
There are shops in Greece devoted entirely to serving Bougatsa, called Bougatsazidika. They open from 4 a.m. until lunchtime and you will often see people queueing outside in the very early hours, to get their slice of happiness…
Preheat your oven to 240℃. Add the egg yolks and 150g sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the semolina and cornflour and whisk until smooth. Add the vanilla, lemon and orange zest and whisk again. Set aside. Pour the milk and 150g sugar into a saucepan and place it over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Drizzle the milk onto the egg mixture in a very thin stream while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk the mixture until it is thick and starts to bubble. Take the saucepan from the heat and set aside. Brush a 27cm x 37cm x 5cm roasting tray with the melted butter. Lay a sheet of phyllo pastry in the tray and brush the top of the pastry with butter. Lay down two more sheets, brushing each with butter. Pour in the custard mixture and spread it out evenly. Cover the filling with another three phyllo sheets, again brushing each with melted butter. Fold in the overhanging pastry around the edges of the roasting tin and make it look like a sealed parcel. Brush the top with melted butter and bake for 12 minutes, until golden. Remove the bougatsa from the oven and cut into portions. Dust with plenty of icing sugar and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Add the rice to a saucepan and pour in 300ml water. Set the saucepan over a low heat and cook the rice for 10 minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed. Add the cornflour to a small bowl and pour about 45ml of milk into it. Stir to dissolve and set aside. Pour the rest of the milk into the saucepan with the rice, add the lemon zest and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often. Add the cornflour-slurry and the sugar and simmer for 3 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool for about 10 minutes. Add the egg yolks and mix through. Serve the rice pudding slightly warm.
250g butter, room temperature and cubed 115g cornflour 340g flour 115g icing sugar, sifted 1 x batch Lemon Curd from this blog
Add the butter, cornflour, flour and icing sugar to the bowl of a food processor and process until the ingredients almost come together in a ball. The mixture is very dry and needs to be scraped down every now and then between processing. Keep going until you can squeeze clumps together between your fingers. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a miniature muffin tin with cooking spray. Break pieces of the dough off and press it very tightly into the muffin holes so that it fills it almost to the top. Bake the shortbread for 15 minutes. Remove the baking tin from the oven and immediately make indents on the surface of each shortbread by pushing down firmly on it with the back of a 15ml measuring spoon. Return the tin to the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove and cool the shortbread in the muffin tins. Spoon a teaspoonful of lemon curd into each hollow to serve.
Preheat your oven to 220℃ and lightly spray a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin with cooking spray. Place the cake tin on a baking sheet. Place one sheet of phyllo in the cake tin and very lightly press it onto the bottom and sides of the pan, leaving the extra pastry as an overhang at this stage. Brush the pastry with the melted butter. Do the same with the 11 other phyllo sheets, brushing each and rotating the sheets slightly so that the corners are staggered. Set aside. Add 250ml chopped pistachio, sugar, ground cinnamon and allspice to a mixing bowl and stir to mix. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the phyllo in the cake tin. Place in the oven and bake for about 7 minutes or until the edges of the pastry are golden. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Turn your oven temperature down to 170℃. Add the cream cheese and mascarpone to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on to a low speed and mix until the mixture is smooth. Add the honey, milk and flour with the machine running. Finally add the eggs and, still on low speed, beat until just blended. Pour the batter into the phyllo crust and bake for 1 hour or until the centre of the cheesecake is barely set. Cool the cake on a wire rack for at least an hour and then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the cake overnight. Take the cake from the baking tin and sprinkle with the 250ml chopped pistachio to serve.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Lay the bacon strips on the paper and cook in the oven until done. Set aside. Spread the 4 slices of bread with peanut butter and drizzle with syrup. Lay the cooked bacon on 2 slices of bread and top with the sliced banana. Fold the sandwiches over. Add the eggs, milk and 1,2ml salt to a shallow bowl and whisk together. Lay one sandwich in the egg mixture for 20 seconds, press it down and then flip it over to soak the other side. Set a frying pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Place the egg-soaked sandwich in the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes before flipping it over to fry for another 2-3 minutes. Serve the sandwich immediately with background music by Elvis.
Line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with paper so that you have an overhang. Add the oats, coconut, chia seeds and salt to a mixing bowl. Add the chocolate, coconut oil and syrup to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water and stir to melt. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix through. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin and press it down into the pan with the back of a spoon. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Lift the bars out of the tin and cut into bars. Store the chocolate seed bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
250ml flour 5ml baking powder 1,2ml salt 45ml butter, cubed 2 eggs 15ml sugar 2,5ml salt 2,5ml ground cinnamon 125ml butter, melted ground cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle over
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips. Add the eggs and 15ml sugar to another bowl and whisk together. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix together. Fill a large saucepan at least 7-8cm deep with hot, simmering water. Add 2,5ml salt and 2,5ml cinnamon to the water. Spoon a teaspoonful of batter into the water. Add another 4 dumplings – do not crowd the saucepan- and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a heatproof dish. Drizzle with the melted butter and some cinnamon-sugar. Keep the dumplings warm while you cook the rest. Serve warm with extra cinnamon-sugar.