MERINGUE GELATO CAKE

MERINGUE GELATO CAKE

I found this recipe for one of the world's easiest but most delicious desserts in a rather fabulous book, by chef and "culinary philosopher" Gioacchino Scognamiglio, called Il Chichibio: ovvero poesia della cucina, which translates as "The Gallant: or the Poetry of Cooking" (and Chichibio, I should also tell you, was a rakish Venetian cook in Boccaccio's Decameron). At Scognamiglio's instigation, I went to great lengths to acquire a bottle of Elisir San Marzano - sadly no longer available - which has a peculiarly Italian, chocolate-coffee-herbal hit. Feel free to use coffee liqueur or rum or, better still, a mixture of the two in its place.
This is a no-churn affair. You mix everything together, wodge it into a loaf tin, freeze and you're done.
I like this with a few raspberries to tumble around and a chocolate sauce to Jackson Pollock over it.

Ingredients

For the for the meringue gelato cake:

300 ml double cream
30 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
1 tablespoon(s) coffee liqueur (and/or rum)
1 packet(s) meringue nests (approx. 100g in total)
250 grams raspberries (to serve, optional)
1 450g/1lb loaf tin (18 x 12 x 8.5cm or similar capacity)

For the for the chocolate sauce:

250 ml double cream
125 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
2 tablespoon(s) coffee liqueur (and/or rum)Method

For the Meringue Gelato Cake:

Line your loaf tin with clingfilm, making sure you have enough overhang to cover the top later.
Whip the cream until thick but still soft.
Chop the chocolate very finely so that you have a pile of dark splinters, and fold them into the cream, along with the liqueur.
Now, using brute force, crumble the meringue nests and fold these in, too.
Pack this mixture into the prepared loaf tin, pressing it down with a spatula as you go, and bring the clingfilm up and over to seal the top, then get out more clingfilm to wrap around the whole tin. Freeze until solid, which should take around 8 hours, or overnight.
To serve, unwrap the outer layer of plastic wrap, then unpeel the top and use these bits of long overhanging wrap to lift out the ice-cream brick. Unwrap and unmould it onto a board and cut the frozen meringue cake into slabs to serve.
I like to zig-zag a little chocolate sauce over each slice, and sprinkle a few raspberries alongside on each plate.

For the Chocolate Sauce:

Pour the cream into a saucepan and add the tiny bits of chocolate.
Put over a gentle heat and whisk as the chocolate melts, taking the pan off the heat once the chocolate is almost all melted.
If the mixture gets too hot, the chocolate will seize, whereas it will happily continue melting in the warm cream off the heat.
Add the liqueur, still off the heat, and whisk again to amalgamate the sauce completely. Pour into a jug, whisking every now and again until it cools to just subtly warm.

CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE

CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE

Although I first came up with this recipe because I had someone coming for supper who - genuinely - couldn't eat wheat or dairy, it is so meltingly good, I now make it all the time for those whose life and diet are not so unfairly constrained, myself included.
It is slightly heavier with the almonds - though not in a bad way - so if you want a lighter crumb, rather than a squidgy interior, and are not making the cake for the gluten-intolerant, then replace the 150g ground almonds with 125g plain flour. This has the built-in bonus of making it perhaps more suitable for an everyday cake.
Made with the almonds, it has more of supper-party pudding feel about it and I love it still a bit warm, with some raspberries or some such on the side, as well as a dollop of mascarpone or ice cream.

Ingredients

150 ml regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
50 grams cocoa powder (good quality, sifted)
125 ml boiling water
2 teaspoon(s) best vanilla extract
150 grams ground almonds (or 125g plain flour)
½ teaspoon(s) bicarbonate of soda
200 grams caster sugar
3 eggs
1 22 or 23cm springform cake tin

Method

Preheat your oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Grease your springform tin with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment.

Measure and sift the cocoa powder into a bowl or jug and whisk in the boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
In another smallish bowl, combine the ground almonds (or flour) with the bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt.
Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment (or other bowl and whisk arrangement of your choice) and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream.
Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the ground almond (or flour) mixture.
Scrape down, and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream, as a pudding.

NUTELLA CHEESECAKE

NUTELLA CHEESECAKE

I don’t know if I should apologise for this or boast about it. Either way, I feel you will thank me for it. The thing is, it’s embarrassingly easy to make and is just the sort of count-no-calories indulgence that the season demands.
Don’t be tempted to let the cheesecake come to room temperature before serving. It slices and tastes better with a bit of fridge-chill on it.

Ingredients

250 grams digestive biscuits
75 grams unsalted butter soft
400 grams nutella at room temperature
100 grams hazelnuts toasted and chopped
500 grams cream cheese at room temperature
60 grams icing sugar

Method

Break the digestives into the bowl of a processor, add the butter and a 15ml tablespoon of Nutella, and blitz until it starts to clump.
Add 25g of the hazelnuts and continue to pulse until you have a damp, sandy mixture.
Tip into a 23cm round springform and press into the base either using your hands or the back of a spoon.
Place in the fridge to chill.
Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and then add the remaining Nutella to the cream cheese mixture, and continue beating until combined.
Take the springform out of the fridge and carefully smooth the Nutella mixture over the base.
Scatter the remaining 75g of chopped hazelnuts on top to cover and place the tin in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.
Serve straight from the fridge for best results.

SODA FARLS

SODA FARLS

To make the soda farls mix the following ingredients in a bowl:

• 8 oz Plain white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Enough buttermilk to make the dough into a thick, knead-able constistency.

Start with just large splash of buttermilk and when the dough is of a thick, workable consistency it is ready to be cooked. It should be like very thick bread dough, not at all runny like pancake mix.

Meanwhile warm your griddle in preparation. (If you don't have a griddle, a wide flat fyring pan will do). Dust the griddle with a little dry flour to stop the farl mix from sticking to the pan.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board, knead lightly to form a round shape - then flatten it lightly with a rolling pin. 

Cut the circle into four or eight wedges and bake them on the griddle, a few wedges at a time. It should take around 5 -10 mins each side, depending on how hot your griddle is

When the underside has formed a firm skin, turn the wedge over using a slice and turn down the heat if necessary as the bread cooks on its second side. After a few minutes cooking on the second side, use a skewer to check if the farl is cooked through. Keep cooking until the skewer comes out clean. You don't want soft uncooked dough in the centre of your farl!

Let the farls cool slightly on a wire wrack. For best results serve warm with butter and jam.

NOTE: If you cannot find buttermilk in your local supermarket, you can substitute with normal milk mixed with a generous squeeze of lemon juice. It's the acid in the buttermilk that makes the soda rise and gives this bread its great flavour.

A WORD OF CAUTION: Soda farls are the easiest bread in the world - once you've seen an expert make them a couple of times! If you are trying this recipe for the first time, allow that it might take a little practice before you get it completely right.

The best tips I can give you are:

 1) make sure the dough is of a thick consistency, 

2) get your griddle at a good temperature - if it is smoking it is too hot, if the bread is barely cooking then it is too low and

 3) use a skewer to check each farl is cooked through until you get good at judging when the farls are ready.

SODA FARLS

Soda farls are one of Northern Ireland’s unique griddle breads, made fresh every morning to be eaten straightaway, or cooked until golden in an Ulster Fry. Unfortunately these breads do not travel well, which is why you must visit Northern Ireland or make your own to experience the real thing. 

Ingredients

450 g Plain flour
 1 level teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
2 level teaspoons Cream of tartar

284 g Buttermilk, preferably organic

A hot plate/griddle or a heavy based pan.

Makes 8 farls

Method:

1. Sieve all the dry ingredients 3-4 times into a bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle, add the buttermilk gradually, and bring the dough together. This recipe makes a soft dough, but the more buttermilk you incorporate, the better the bread tastes.
3. Turn out the dough onto a well floured wooden surface and give it a short, gentle kneading until you have a nice round shape.
4. Divide into two and knead both to form round balls again.
5. Roll these out until you have a fairly thick dough about 10” (25cm) in diameter and cut into quarters.
6. Preheat the griddle. To check the temperature, dust with flour. Once it starts to colour, brush off and turn the heat down. Your griddle is now ready.
7. Place the farls onto the griddle and once you have a good colour on one side (2-3 mins), flip over and cook for 5-10 minutes. The farls will rise into triangular pillows.
8. Test by pressing the middle, if they are still squidgy, you must flip over and bake out the ‘bone’ of raw dough.
9. Cool on racks covered with a damp tea towel to keep soft, or uncovered if you prefer a dryer crust