Tag: Desserts

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Desserts Recipes

Golden Crème Brûlée

I love making Crème Brûlée – it gives me an excuse to fire up my chef’s mini blowtorch, which is always good fun! That’s it in action in my photo above.

It helps that it is also a magnificent dessert – silky vanilla custard nestled beneath a solid layer of brittle caramel shell, that splinters into shards when cracked with the side of a spoon. The soft underside, together with the crunchy topping, is simply sensational.

No blowtorch? No problem – just place the desserts under a hot grill to caramelise, keeping an eye on them so they don’t burn! You will need 4 individual ramekin dishes and a high-sided roasting dish to act as a bain-marie. Got that? OK, here we go…

Servings

This will make 4 individual desserts.

Timings

20 mins to prepare. 35 mins to bake. 5 – 10 mins for that all-important blowtorching before serving.

You Will Need:

  • some butter for greasing
  • 400 ml double cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 80g caster sugar (plus 4 tsp extra for the caramel topping)
  • the yolks of 4 large eggs

Method

  1. Preheat a fan oven to 140C.
  2. Prepare your bain-marie. That may sound posh, but really it is just a large roasting dish with deep sides, into which you will place 4 individual ramekin dishes. Grease the insides of each ramekin dish with butter.
  3. Tip the double cream into a saucepan and add the vanilla. Gradually bring it to a boil, stirring gently, then turn it down to a simmer for about 5 mins.
  4. Set out 2 bowls and crack the eggs carefully, catching the whites in one bowl and the yolks in the other. Set the whites aside to be used another time – we are working with just the yolks for making Crème Brûlée.
  5. Sprinkle the sugar into the bowl with the yolks, and whisk together till gold and creamy.
  6. Bring the double cream back to the boil stirring once again. When it just reaches the boil, pour it over the egg and sugar mixture, and whisk again to combine.
  7. Place a sieve over a jug, and pour the mixture through. This will take out any lumps that may have formed while heating the cream.
  8. Fill a kettle with water and boil.
  9. Take the jug of strained mixture and pour it equally between the 4 ramekins. Then pour boiling water into the bain-marie (roasting dish), so that it comes about halfway up the outside of the ramekin dishes.
  10. Cover the bain-marie with tin foil and place in the oven.
  11. Check after about 30 – 35 mins. The desserts are cooked when the custard has set. Note that the surfaces will not yet be golden caramel – that stage is yet to come!
  12. Using oven gloves, lift the ramekins from the bain-marie and set aside on a tray to cool. Carefully tip the hot water away.
  13. Once the ramekins have reached room temperature, place in the fridge to chill until you are ready to serve.
  14. Now the fun begins. Scatter a teaspoon full of caster sugar over the top of each ramekin. Fire up that blowtorch and heat so that they are caramelised and golden. Alternatively, place under a hot grill.
  15. Place each back in the fridge for a few minutes. The caramelised topping will set to a crisp.

Customise It!

I made a coffee version of this at New Year, dissolving 4 teaspoons of instant coffee granules in the double cream as it warms. It’s a really good variation, giving a good coffee taste and colour (see below). You can check out the reel of it (Café Crème Brûlée) on my Instagram site if you wish @differentkitch.

We’re sticking with the dance theme for the ADK Playlist this January. It’s a brand new year and, hey, I just know that something good is going to happen. Cue Utah Saints with the Kate Bush-inspired Something Good.

Categories
Desserts Recipes

Choc, Lime & Avocado Mousse

Avocados in a chocolate mousse? Surely not, I hear you say!

This week I have been researching egg-free dishes, as there is currently a shortage of eggs in our local shops here in the UK. Higher costs for farmers, and a cull of animals due to an outbreak of avian flu, are being given as the reasons for this. I understand this is also the case in some other parts of the world at the moment.

I’m seeing it as an opportunity to explore some recipes that don’t require eggs, so expect a little more of this over the next few posts. Here is the first – a rich, chocolatey mousse based on ripe avocado.

Servings

This will make 4 desserts.

Timings

10 mins to make, and then an hour chilling in the fridge before serving.

You Will Need

  • 2 large, ripe avocados
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 3 – 5 tbsp runny honey
  • 2 – 3 slices kiwi fruit, chopped into pieces
  • 0 eggs!

Method

  1. Chop the avocados in half and remove the stones. Scoop out the flesh into a food processor with blade fitted. Add in the cocoa, lime juice and honey and blitz to a smooth consistency.
  2. With a spatula, scrape the mousse into four pots for serving. I’ve used sherry glasses in the photo, but you could use ramekins or other small glasses if you wish. Top with the pieces of kiwi and place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
  3. Er, that’s it.

Customise It!

Cutting out the eggs is half way to making a vegan dessert, so why not go the whole way by replacing the honey with maple or agave syrup. You could also replace the kiwi with raspberries or cherries. Slices of banana, or chopped nuts, would be great also.

Turning to the ADK Playlist, I have still been buzzing this week after seeing Inspiral Carpets last weekend in London. It really was a great concert. Here is another of their tracks, this one reminding me of that memorable encore at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire – Commercial Reign.

https://open.spotify.com/track/2ERdxKQ5IJo41PqpQA7VNP?si=3389712cf1034a9e
Categories
Desserts Recipes

Cherry, Mascarpone & Biscotti Dessert

Here’s a Valentine’s Day dessert that you will love. Layers of bittersweet cherries, creamy mascarpone cheese and crumbled almond biscotti combine in a bowl of deliciousness that is both smooth and crunchy.

In fact, don’t just keep it for Valentine’s Day – this is so good it will wow your dinner guests any day of the year.

Servings

This will make 4 individual desserts like the one shown above.

Timings

20 mins to prepare the 3 component layers in advance, then a further 5 mins to combine.

You Will Need

  • 180g cherries, chopped into quarters with stones removed
  • 2 tsp icing sugar
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 150g mascarpone cheese
  • 150g greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100g almond biscotti
  • glass tumblers to serve

Method

  1. Put the cherries in a bowl with 1 tsp icing sugar and the lemon juice. Give it a good stir so that all the cherries are coated in sugary juice. Set aside for 10 mins to soak, while you prepare the rest.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix together the mascarpone, yoghurt, the other tsp icing sugar and vanilla. I used an electric mixer to make sure the thick mascarpone was integrated with the thinner yoghurt.
  3. Put the biscotti in a bag and crush it to rough crumbs with a rolling pin. This is fun, so give it a good bash and take out all your frustrations!
  4. Steps 1 – 3 can be done well in advance of serving. My photo above shows the three component parts, ready to be layered.
  5. The next steps should be taken no more than 2 hours before serving. This is so that the crushed biscotti retains its crunch and does not go soggy. Noone wants soggy biscotti.
  6. Put half the crushed biscotti in a layer across the bottom of each of the glasses. Top with a layer of half of the mascarpone mix, then half the cherries.
  7. Follow this with one further layer of the remaining biscotti, the mascarpone, and finally the cherries on top.
  8. Serve. The layering means that as you dig down into the glass with your spoon, you mix it up and get a taste of all the parts together.

Customise It!

I am a fan of the classic taste combination of cherry and almond, hence this recipe. However, you can experiment with other types of biscuits – amaretti or biscoff would work well. Equally, you could substitute other fruit for the cherries – maybe raspberries and blueberries, or a mix of both.

Time for a Valentine’s themed track on our ADK Spotify Playlist. Here is some early Simple Minds with Love Song.