Culinary Adventures

Gina's Recipes

Archive for March 2009

Almond Paste

March 22nd, 2009 by

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Almond (Ground)
10 ozs Caster Sugar
6 ozs Icing Sugar
2 (or 1 whole egg) Egg Yolks
1/2 Lemon – Juice
1/4 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/4 tsp Almond Essence
1 tsp Orange Flower Water

Directions:
Place almonds, caster sugar and sifted icing sugar in a bowl and mix together; whisk the eggs with the lemon juice, and all the flavourings and add this to the mixture of almonds and sugar, pounding lightly to release a little of the almond oil. Knead with the hand until smooth.

6 in cake requires approx 1lb marzipan
8-81/2 in cake requires approx 2lbs marzipan
12 in cake requires 5 to 6 lbs marzipan

To cover a cake, brush the top with hot apricot glaze. Roll out about half of the marzipan to a round the size of the cake using caster sugar to prevent it sticking to the slab or pastry board. Lift the cake, place it upside down on the paste and then, keeping your left hand firmly on the cake and rotating it gently, cut and mould the marzipan flush to the edge. Lft the cake over and brush away any crumbs. Take the remaining marsipan, knead it into a smooth long roll and press witht he rolling pin to the depth of the cake. Trim the edges and brush the paste with the hot glaze. Roll this strip round the cake making a neat join and finish it by rolling it firmly with a straight ended rolling pin or jam jar.

Almond paste should be put onto the cake about one week before the icing and decoration. This gives time for the paste to set and consequently the oil from the ground almonds is less likely to seep through the icing.

Almond Apple Cake

March 22nd, 2009 by

Ingredients:
5 oz Butter
2 Large Egg(s)
8 oz Caster Sugar
1 tsp Almond Essence
1 tsp Baking Powder
8 oz Self Raising Flour
12 oz Cooking Apples
1 oz Flaked Almonds
1 Sprinkling of Demerara Sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 160 C. Grease an 8 inch loose bottomed tin and line with grease-proof paper.

Place all the ingredients except the apples, flaked almonds and demerara in a large bowl and mix to combine.

Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin and level by tilting the tin. Arrange the layer of apples over this and dot the remaining mixture on top. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and demerara.

Bake for 1.5 hours until the cake has risen and is firm to the touch at the centre. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto wire rack.

Delicious eaten hot or cold.

Italian Penoche

March 22nd, 2009 by

4ozs butter
8ozs brown sugar
3tbs milk
12-16 ozs icing sugar
3tbs of chopped walnuts

Melt butter in a heavy, medium saucepan on a fairly low heat.
Add the brown sugar, stir in the milk and go on stirring until the liquid boils.
Take it off the heat.
Keep stirring and gradually add the icing sugar and finally the nuts.
Spread into a tin about 3/4inch deep which has been lightly greased with butter.
Leave to cool.

Cut into squares.

Gateau Ganache

March 22nd, 2009 by

Meringue
4 Egg whites
4 1/2 ozs browned ground hazelnuts
9 ozs caster sugar
Vanilla essence
1/2 tsp vinegar

Prepare two 8 inch sandwich tins by rubbing sides with oil, dusting with flour and lining the bottom with a disc of Bakewell paper. Set oven at 375F /190C. Whisk egg whites until stiff, then gradually beat in caster sugar. Beat until very stiff, adding vanilla and vinegar. Lastly fold in prepared nuts. Fill into prepared tins and bake for 30 – 40 minutes.

Ganache Cream and Sauce
1/4 pt cream
6ozs bitter chocolate
4ozs granulated sugar
1/2 pt water

Break up the chocolate and put in pan with a little of the water. Melt slowly before tipping on the rest of the water and adding sugar. Dissolve sugar and allow sauce to simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Pour off and allow to cool.
Whip the cream and fold in 2 – 3 tbs of chocolate sauce. Spread one round of meringue; cover with the other . Put a light weight on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Before serving, decorate with rosettes of whipped cream.
Serve with chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Fridge Cake

March 22nd, 2009 by

8ozs milk chocolate
8ozs butter
2 eggs
1ozs caster sugar
8ozs Nice biscuits

500ml Whipping Cream

Melt the chocolate and butter, together with the caster sugar.
Beat the eggs and mix into the hot mixture.
Break up the biscuits and mix in.

Allow to cool, then pack into 2 large baked bean tins lined with clingfilm.
Leave overnight, cover in whipped cream and serve.

Belgian Biscuit Cake

March 22nd, 2009 by

1 1/2 packets of boudoir biscuits
2 eggs
6ozs bitter chocolate
3ozs butter
3ozs caster sugar
Sherry (or your choice of alternative)
Cream
Toasted flaked almonds.
Optional: Peppermint essence

Melt chocolate slowly in 1 tbs of milk.
Cream butter and sugar.
Add egg yolk and beat in.
Add chocolate and any flavouring.
Whisk egg whites until stiff and fold in.
Dip the biscuits in the Sherry and lay on the bottom of a serving dish
Cover with the chocolate mixture.
Build up layers and top with cream.
Garnish with toasted flaked almonds.

Venison Steaks with Cream, Redcurrant and Juniper Berries

March 22nd, 2009 by

4 Venison steaks
5tbs butter
Crushed juniper berries
Grated onion
125ml beef stock or consommé
125ml red wine
125ml sour cream
Redcurrant jelly

Melt butter in thick frying pan.
Sprinkle steaks with salt, pepper and crushed juniper berries and brown in butter until done (about 3 minutes each side).
Remove and keep warm.
Turn down heat and add some grated onion.
Mix well with all the bits left in the pan and add stock and wine.
Cook gently until stock has thickened.
Add sour cream and a little redcurrant jelly.
Simmer and strain over steaks.
(A few sautéed mushrooms sprinkled over the top make a good garnish)

Easy Hollandaise Sauce

March 22nd, 2009 by

Ingredients

 

4 egg yolks

½ tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 squirt Tabasco

4oz butter

Pinch Salt

 

 

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, and keep warm. Into the blender place the yolks, salt, mustard, lemon juice, and Tabasco. Blend for three seconds. Heat melted butter until it just starts to sputter, but not burn. Then turn the blender back on, and while the blender is going, slowly pour in the hot butter. The temperature of the butter is the secret: It must be very hot, and the hollandaise will thicken immediately.

Devil’s Food

March 21st, 2009 by

 

6ozs Plain Flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

2 ozs cocoa powder

8ozs cold water

4ozs butter

10ozs caster sugar

2 eggs

 

Pre[pare two 8 inch sandwich tins.

Set oven at 350F / 170C.

Sift flour with baking powder, bicarbonate of soda & salt.

Blend cocoa with water and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar, blending thoroughly.

Whisk the eggs until frothy and add to the mixture a little at a time, beating well.

Stir in the sifted flour alternately with the cocoa and water.

Divide the mixture between tins & bake for 30-35 minutes.

 

I tend these days to use a chocolate butter cream filling and a dark chocolate and cream topping (see below).  However my childhood memory is of fudge icing (also shown below).

 

 

 

Chocolate Fudge Icing

1lb granulated sugar

1/4 pint water

1tbs golden syrup

2ozs butter

2ozs cocoa

 

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and dissolve the sugar over a gentle heat.

Bring to the boil and coo without stirring to 234F.

Remove from heat

Leave until cool, then beat with a wooden spoon until thick enough to hold its shape.

The trick is then to get it onto the cake before it hardens!