170ml condensed milk 30ml matcha powder 360g white chocolate, chopped 2,5ml salt 2,5ml vanilla
Prepare a 20cm x 20cm baking tin by lining it with baking paper. Pour the condensed milk into a small saucepan and sift the matcha powder over it. Place the saucepan on a low heat and stir until the mixture is hot. Add the white chocolate, salt and vanilla. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and stir continuously until the chocolate has melted completely. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and leave to cool completely. Refrigerate the fudge for 3 hours or longer. Slice the fudge and sift over some matcha powder.
This is a cheat’s shortcut to cinnamon buns but in this case, made with puff pastry.
1 packet puff pastry 125ml cinnamon sugar egg-wash: 1 egg yolk + 30ml water whisked together 250ml icing sugar
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Lay the puff pastry flat on a working surface and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over. Cut the pastry into strips that are more or less 1,5cm X 12cm. Roll each strip in its length and place each roll on the prepared baking sheet with the cut side up. (showing the spiral) Brush the rolls with the egg wash and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the rolls and cool completely. Mix the glaze by sifting the icing sugar and adding a few drops of hot water at a time. Be careful not to add too much water at a time as you are looking for a very thick consistency. Now drizzle the glaze over the cooled pastries and set aside for about 30 minutes. Keep the pastries in a sealed container.
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.
For the pancakes: Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Pour the milk, water, oil and eggs into a large jug and whisk together. Turn the mixer on a low speed and add the liquid slowly and in a very thin stream. Whisk on high speed for 2 minutes once all the liquid has been added. Cover the mixing bowl with a tea towel and stand the mixture for one hour.
For the filling: Add the cornflour to a mixing bowl. Pour in a small amount of milk and stir to dissolve the cornflour. Add the egg yolks and 100g of sugar and whisk together by hand. Set aside. Pour the rest of the milk and the other 100g of sugar into a small saucepan and warm but do not allow it to boil. Take the saucepan from the heat and drizzle the hot mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking vigorously. Remember: pour slowly, whisk quickly!! Keep going until all the milk has been added. Pour the mixture back in the saucepan, place on a medium heat and stir until thick and glossy. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Scrape the mixture into a clean bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Allow to cool completely.
Bake the pancakes in a 20cm diameter pan and set aside to cool.
Assembly: Place one pancake on a serving platter. Spoon a generous dollop of the custard onto the pancake and spread evenly. Sift an even layer of ground cinnamon over the custard and repeat the layers until you have build a beautiful stacked cake. End with a layer of filling and cinnamon.
50g butter, melted 140g chocolate, chopped 30ml sour cream 10ml vanilla 4 eggs, separated 2 egg whites a pinch of cream of tartar a pinch of salt 45ml sugar
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Place 6 ramekins on a baking sheet, brush the insides evenly with the melted butter and dust with some sugar, making sure you cover the bottom and sides of each ramekin. Set aside. Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt. Take the bowl from the heat, add the sour cream and stir through. Add the vanilla and stir through. Now add the egg yolks, one at a time and stir to combine. Set aside. Add the 4 + 2 egg whites to a clean mixing bowl, sprinkle the cream of tartar and salt over and whisk until soft peaks form. Add the sugar a teaspoonful at a time while whisking continuously. Fold a third of the egg white mixture into the chocolate with a metal spoon. Now add the rest and gently for into the chocolate mixture. Do not over mix but do get rid of white streaks in the mixture. Fill each ramekin. Gently run your thumb around the inside of the ramekin to create a small well. Bake the soufflés for 12 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.
180g butter, melted 170g sugar 3 weet-bix bars, crushed or about 150g of crumbs/broken pieces 150g self-raising flour 85g desiccated coconut 2 x 395g cans condensed milk 310ml lemon juice (strained if using fresh) about 150g raspberries and blueberries
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line a 20cm x 30cm oven tray with baking paper, allowing an overhang so that you can easily remove the fruit slices when set. Add the butter, sugar, weet-bix, flour and coconut to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray and smooth it out. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Add the condensed milk and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Scatter the raspberries and blueberries over the cooled base. Gently pour the condensed milk mixture over the fruit and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before slicing into squares to serve. Keep refrigerated.
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.
190ml smooth peanut butter 125ml honey 1,2ml salt 4 x 250ml puffed rice/Rice Crispies 80g chocolate, chopped a handful of peanuts, finely chopped
Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cups. Add the peanut butter, honey and salt to a small saucepan set over a very low heat. Stir continuously until melted and amalgamated. Measure the puffed rice into a large mixing bowl and pour the peanut butter mixture over. Mix thoroughly with a spatula, making sure that all of the puffed rice is covered in the sticky goodness. Scoop spoonfuls into the lined muffin tin, dividing the mixture equally. Press down onto each cluster with the back of a spoon to ensure that it is compact and sticks together. Set aside to cool completely – at least 30 minutes. Add the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt completely. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the clusters and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts before the chocolate sets. Store the peanut cluster in an airtight container for up to a week.
Add the chocolate and 100ml of the cream to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with barely simmering water. Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring every now and then until the mixture has amalgamated. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Stir the mixture every now and then to help the cooling along. Add the 300ml cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the cream until it forms soft peaks when you lift the whisk. Continue whisking on medium speed while adding a spoonful of the chocolate mixture at a time. Keep going until you have added all of the chocolate and the mixture forms stiff peaks. Spoon the mousse into serving bowls/glasses and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Caramel Pop Corn: 60ml vegetable oil 83ml popping corn
Add the vegetable oil to a heavy-base saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the corn, cover the saucepan with a lid and wait for the corn to pop. Turn the pop corn out into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
For the caramel: 100g butter 220g brown sugar 170g liquid glucose (or corn syrup or honey) 2,5ml salt 5ml vanilla 2,5ml baking powder
Preheat your oven to 110℃. Add the butter to a saucepan over medium heat and allow it to melt. Now add the sugar, glucose and salt and stir together. Stop stirring as soon as the mixture starts to bubble and allow it to simmer for 4 minutes – WITHOUT STIRRING! Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the vanilla and baking powder while whisking. Pour the caramel over the pop corn and mix through – be careful, it is extremely hot!!! Spread the mixture on 2 oven trays and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, tossing the pop corn every 10 minutes with a wooden spoon. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Gently break the pop corn into pieces.
Place a small handful of the caramel pop corn on the chocolate mousse and serve immediately.
The pop corn can be stored for a week in an airtight container.
Filling: 100g butter 200g brown sugar 2 x 385g tins of condensed milk 7,5ml salt
Topping: 83ml cream 160g dark bitter chocolate, chopped
For the base: Preheat your oven to 160℃ and spray a 23cm loose base tart tin with cooking spray. Add the biscuits to the bowl of a food processor and process to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and mix/blitz until the mixture looks like wet sand. Spoon the crumb mixture into the tart tin and press it firmly into the base and sides of the tin. Bake the tart base for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
For the filling: Add the butter to a saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Keep stirring the mixture with the whisk until the sugar has melted completely. Add the condensed milk and keep whisking to incorporate. Cook the caramel for about 5 minutes, taking that it doesn’t overheat and burn, and then add the salt. Pour the mixture into the tart case and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take the tart from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
For the topping: Add the cream and chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Stir the mixture every now and then until smooth and completely melted. Take the bowl from the heat and allow to stand for about 10 minutes. Give it a stir every now and then so that it cools down. Spoon the chocolate onto the caramel layer and spread it evenly with a spatula. Refrigerate the tart for 2 hours to set. Allow the tart to come to room temperature before serving.
My Whisk and I 