When someone mentions mousse it always sounds fancy, but they’re not all that tricky to make, and plenty of fun to eat.
This recipe is a request for the Facebook page, feel free to message with any recipe requests.
To the recipe!
Ingredients (makes enough for 4, or maybe 1..)
300ml double cream
30-50g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
200g white or dark chocolate
Either vanilla flavouring, essence, extract or a fresh pod
Equipment
Saucepan
Whisk
Mixing bowl
Measuring jug
Ramekins, or something to put the mousse in
Prep and cooking (10-20 minutes)
Put 60ml of cream in a saucepan with the vanilla and warm on a medium heat until it starts to bubble around the edges, don’t let it boil.
Whisk the egg yolk and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy, add a tablespoon of the hot cream to the eggs while mixing, do this a few times and then add it back to the saucepan. This is so the egg yolks don’t scramble.
Turn the heat down low and whisk until it thickens a little, enough to coat the back of a spoon. (Don’t let it boil)
Remove from the heat, smash the chocolate up and stir it into the cream mixture until it’s all dissolved and is nice and smooth, you shouldn’t need to return it to the heat for all the chocolate to melt but it will take a few minutes and you need to keep stirring it.
Put this mix to the side to cool and in another bowl whisk the remaining 240ml of cream until whipped to soft peaks.
When the chocolate mix is cool enough simply fold in the whipped cream, refrigerate and enjoy!
At a mousse end
A lot easier than you may have thought!
This can be combined with other deserts to make some great combinations, or just enjoyed on its own or with some berries do a garnish, or something.
Either vanilla flavouring, essence, extract or 1 fresh pod (scrape out the inside)
Some flour and icing sugar for dusting
Some butter for greasing
Equipment
Rolling pin
Tart case, about 10 inches
Baking beans/rice
Tin foil or baking paper
Desert spoon
Mixing bowl
Whisk
Saucepan
Bowl or container that fits in fridge.
Prep and cooking (60-120 minutes)
3. Use the rolling pin to pick up the pastry
First heat the oven to about 160°c fan (gas 4).
While it warms up roll the pastry out, use flour on the work surface to stop it sticking, roll it into a disc about 1-2 inches bigger than the case. Use the rolling pin to pick it up and place it in the case.
Blind bake for 15-20 minutes until it’s a pale golden colour. Then remove the baking beans/paper and put in the oven for another 5-10 minutes until cooked
While the pastry is baking make the custard by heating the milk and vanilla in a pan, make sure it doesn’t boil over but you need to get it heated to just before boiling point.
Whilst the milk is warming, whisk the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar until thick and creamy.
Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture a little at a time while whisking, then return it all to the pan on a low heat until you’re left with a nice thick custard.
Put it in a clean bowl/container and dust the top with icing sugar (this stops it getting a skin on the top of it). Chill for 30 minutes or until cold all the way through.
When the tart case is ready (don’t forget it’s in the oven) already the jam to cover the bottom of the pastry case and put to one side.
Whisk the double cream until whipped and then mix into the custard with the coconut with a whisk/wooden spoon.
Cover the layer of jam on the pastry case with fresh raspberries.
Fill the case with the devilish cream custard and top with more fresh raspberries.
A funny name which translates to something like almond paste.
This stuff is delicious, it’s like a pastry creme version marzipan, the recipe uses almonds which is what gives it that marzipany taste.
Here’s the recipe;
Ingredients (makes about 1kg)
1 block of butter (250g)
Either vanilla flavour, essence, extract or a fresh pod
200g caster sugar
6 medium eggs, or 5 large
250g ground almonds
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Whisk, an electric one will make your life a lot easier, you can get one for a fiver in most supermarkets
Microwave if you need to soften butter
Spatula
Prep (5-10 minutes)
The whole things a lot quicker and easier if you get the butter nice and soft (warm) first. A microwave is ideal for this but don’t turn it into liquid, it should still hold its shape but if you put your finger in it it’ll go right through. If you don’t have a microwave just put it somewhere warm (airing cupboard) for 39 minutes first.
Now you need to cream (mix) the butter, sugar and vanilla so put it all in a mixing bowl and whisk away until its light, smooth and sugary vanilla heaven.
Crack one of the eggs into the bowl and whisk for another minute or so until the egg is fully incorporated to the mix.
Repeat step 3 until you have no eggs left. Now put the whisk away.
Sprinkle enough ground almonds to fully cover the top of the mixture in the bowl and fold it in with a spatula. When it’s mixed do the same until the ground almonds are all gone.
That’s it!
What happens if you eat lots of almonds?
You will run out of almonds.
Frangipane, or frangipani, is like an almond (marzipan flavoured) pastry cream that you can use to pipe in or on to things or just as a pie/tart filling, you can pretty much turn it into a cake by adding some flour.
Enjoy! I’ll be following this up with a recipe you can use frangipani in.
The cake that’s not a sponge, but more of a big cheesy biscuit.
I’ve got a ton of cheesecake recipes which I will eventually get round to writing up, but for now I thought it best to start with a classic,
Vanilla cheesecake!
To the recipe,
Ingredients (makes 1 cheesecake)
For the base
250-300g digestive biscuits
100-200g butter
For the filling
600g cream cheese
100g icing sugar
300ml double cream
Either; vanilla flavouring, essence, extract or a vanilla pod, a pod tastes best
Equipment
Cake tin (23-26cm)
Either a food processor, or a ziplock bag, tea towel and rolling pin.
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Palette knife
Whisk or electric whisk
Microwave or saucepan
Cling film
Prep (25-30 minutes)
Start by greasing the cake tin with butter.
Either blitz the biscuits in a food processor, or put them in a ziplock bag, wrap it with a tea towel and smash it with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs, if doing the second method be careful as it can get quite messy.
Melt the butter in a saucepan/microwave and add it to the biscuit. Mix with a wooden spoon, the more butter you use the better the base will set but don’t overdo it or it will go soggy. On the other hand don’t use too little or it won’t bind together.
Pour the biscuit mix into the cake tin and pat down into a base with a wooden spoon or your hands.
Cover with cling film and put on the fridge for 15-20 minutes to set.
Now onto the filling, put the cream cheese in a bowl with the icing sugar and whisk together until smooth.
Add the flavour, (scrape out the inside if using a pod) add to the bowl and mix well.
There’s 2 ways to add the cream, you can either add it straight to the mix and whisk until fully mixed, or you can whip it the fold it into the mix with a spatula. The second give a lighter cheesecake.
Take the base out of the fridge, remove the clingfilm and spoon in the filling, level and smooth with a pallet knife.
Recover with cling film and return to the fridge for 30+ minutes.
Try not to eat it all at once.
Just Brie mine
Not really the right kind of cheese but it might appeal to some.
For all you cheesecake lovers, I’ll be adding more cheesecake recipes over time so keep your peepers peeled.
I’ll also be adding s recipe soon for London cheesecake, which isn’t a cheesecake (or cake) at all, it’s a pastry.
Lemon tart (should) go down well pretty much anywhere, anytime.
This is a request from @michaelsmeatham on the Facebook page, so on to the recipe.
Ingredients (makes 1 large tart, 16 portions, or 8 large)
500g shortcrust pastry
8-10 eggs
5-8 lemons (8 is pretty intense)
250-350g caster sugar depending on your sweet tooth
200-300ml double cream
Flour to roll pastry
Equipmemt
Rolling pin
A quiche/tart dish, around 23-28cm
Tin foil
Baking beans, or rice etc. (Dry and weighty)
Mixing bowl
Whisk
Prep and cooking (45-90 minutes)
If you haven’t already, masker some shortcrust pastry.
Heat oven to about 160°c fan (gas 4)
Roll it out to about 1-1.3cm thickness, put in pastry case and blind bake for 15-20 minutes, I’ll upload a guide on blind baking on my next day off.
While the case is in the oven get the filling ready by putting the eggs, sugar and cream in a mixing bowl and mix well, you can add a few extra egg yolks if you want it to make it a bit richer.
Now zest the lemons into the mix, how many is up to you, when zesting try not to get the piff (white part under the skin and before the fruit) as it makes it more bitter, we want sweetness.
Juice the desired amount of lemon juice, add and mix well. Lemon juice really adds sharpness, so you want enough to counteract the sugar but not incapacitate your mouth. At the end of it it’s all down to personal taste.
When the case is ready turn the oven down to 140-150°c fan (gas 3). Pour the mixture in and bake for about 49 minutes, I set a timer every 10 minutes to check to adjust heat/turn it round if needed.
Voila! Ideally you want to chill it before eating, but some things can’t be helped.
You saucy tart
Maybe not so saucy, or at least until you cook it, but a joy to eat nonetheless.
You can cut the recipe in half for a smaller tart, or you could use a cupcake/muffin tray to make mini tarts.
Having a look at the supermarkets, the price seems to range from about £2.50-£4, that’s for a regular (8 slice) tart, about 400-450g which is close enough to half the size of the above recipe.
Costing the recipe (I used tesco online for prices) the above recipe will set you back about £4.25 or about 26p a serving, giving you twice as much for the same (similar) price, and its homemade(!)
Call it what you want, apple crumble always reminds me of Sunday’s when I was a kid, for me it’s with a big dollop of ice cream but custards always good.
Quick and easy (and delicious). This can be knocked up in about 30-40 minutes.
I will post a recipe with fresh apples soon, but I’ll be honest it tastes just as good with tinned apples.
Ingredients (serves 6-8)
2 tins of sliced apples (about 600g, drained)
500g self raising flour
250g butter
250g sugar (I usually use half caster, half demerara
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Knife
Oven dish big enough to hold everything.
Prep and cooking (30-40 minutes)
Heat the oven to about 170°c (fan)
Make the crumble, put the sugar and flour it a bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and add to the bowl, rub it all together with your fingertips until it looks like crumble, it should take 3-5 minutes.
Empty the apples into the dish.
Lightly cover with all the crumble (don’t push it down as it will all push together and cook as a big lump instead of crumble.
Cook for 30-40 minutesnuntil golden brown
Enjoy!
Tooty frooty; an apple that plays the trumpet.
Fiendishly simple, and just as tasty.
Apple crumble has been a classic since around world war 2, where rations meant it more economical than pies, to cut costs even more sometimes half the flour would be replaced with oats, which can add a nice texture.
Although it’s common to be sweet, crumble can also be savoury, such as a fish or vegetable crumble.
Basic; in terms of your bog standard, no thrills brownie, but no stranger to extreme richness and rotting teeth.
Chocolate brownies!
Everyone still seems somewhat undecided if it sounds racist 🤔 but we don’t care about that!
Chocolate, and, butter! With loads of sugar! What’s not to like.
Ingredients (makes 15 brownies)
400g butter
400g caster sugar
250-300g milk chocolate
50-100g milk chocolate chips
4 eggs
200g plain flour
1-2 tsp baking powder
Oil or butter to grease dish
Equipment
2 mixing bowls
A hand whisk, electric is much easier
A sieve
A spatula
Microwave, or a saucepan and metal bowl to make a bain marie
I usually use a large Pyrex dish, which measures about 15cm x 30cm
Prep and cooking (40-60 minutes)
Start but putting the chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl, if using a microwave use a plastic bowl and heat on full for 20-30 seconds, remove and stir and keep doing this until everything has melted, you want to try and heat it as little as possible and dissolve as much as possible by stirring. If using a saucepan and metal bowl then half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and put the bowl on top so the steam melts the chocolate and butter.
Put the chocolatey butter liquid into the fridge.
Turn the oven on to 160°c (fan).
Crack the eggs into a clean mixing bowl and add the sugar. Whisk well on full speed for a minute or two until thick and foamy, it should be a pale golden colour. If using a manual whisk this should take 3-5 minutes.
Take the chocolate mix out of the fridge and pour into the egg mix, use a spatula to empty the bowl.
Mix well with a whisk.
Sieve the flour and baking powder into the mix and fold in with the spatula. Folding in means gently mixing without knocking any air out.
Grease the baking dish and fill with brownie mix.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on the top and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes, it’ll be ready when you can put a skewer in the centre and it comes out clean.
Eat lots of brownies.
Earn some brownie points
Originating in America, the little bites are true devils food. Butter. Sugar. Chocolate. Nice 😈
Once cool these can be cut into squares and individually wrapped in clingfilm to go the freezer.
When you fancy one just pop it in a bowl and cover it with the clingfilm and microwave on full for 1-2 minutes.
Not to be confused with creme anglaise, which is just pouring custard, Creme patissiere (or as we call it pastry cream) is a wonderful thick, set custard.
If you know how to make custard then you won’t have much trouble here, but it’s not that hard so on to the recipe.
Ingredients (serves 3-4)
3 egg yolks (about 50-60g)
45-50g caster sugar
250ml of whole milk or cream (why not double cream 🙄)
15g plain flour
20-25g cornflour
Flavouring (optional) vanilla is a must in my opinion, even better if you can get some fresh pods.
Butter, at room temperature(optional, if you want it even creamier)
100ml whipping/double cream (if you want it even lighter)
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Whisk and/or electric whisk
Saucepan
Measuring jug
Sieve (optional)
cling flim
(plastic) Container big enough to hold it and fit in the fridge (measuring jug?)
Prep and cooking (5-10+ minutes)
First put the milk/cream in a saucepan on a medium heat with the flavouring (if using). Keep an eye on it, the most common mistake here is letting the milk boil over so don’t put the heat too high. If you have to set a timer for every minute or two to remind yourself then why not.
Put the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar and whisk well for a minute or two, the should be a pale golden colour, slightly thick and nice and foamy.
Sift in the flour and cornflour if using a sieve and mix well with the egg mix.
Now the milk should be nearing boiling, if not either wait or turn the heat up, just before it comes to the boil take it off the heat and pour it in a measuring jug.
Now pour the hot milk on to the egg mix while whisking, I would advise using a hand whisk here as an electric one can get custard bloody everywhere if you’re not careful.
Pour it all back into the saucepan and return to a medium heat while constantly whisking, it should go nice and thick after a few minutes.
Pour into a container and cover with clingfilm immediately, this stops it drying out, creating a skin.
When it’s cooled down put in the fridge.
Optional steps
If using butter then monte in a few cubes, 50-100g depending on your taste. To monte means whisking the butter in while still warm/hot so it melts in whilst whisking, this creates a wonderful creaminess.
If using double/whipping cream the whip it, or make a chantilly cream (just remember the extra sugar will add to the sweetness) and fold in to the pastry cream when it’s cold. Folding in is easier with a spatula (I find) and is gently mixing the two together, keeping all the air that’s been whisked into the cream rather than bashing it out.
Eat 2 litres of the stuff.. yeah that didn’t happen
It should be put into custardy
Only because it so delicious, this stuff originated in France, as you’d probably expect, some time around the 16th century I believe.
It’s most commonly used as a filling for cakes, pastries, pies or tarts and is like the crack cocaine of custard.
Maybe? I bloody love then stuff it goes well with nearly anything sweet, pancakes for example, it’s even nice on toast 😂
Looking at price, if you only use the basic milk, egg and sugar (which is still delicious!) it can be a low as about 13p a serving, or about 50p for the above amount.
If you go the whole hog with cream, butter and fresh vanilla pods, whilst you’ll be floating in creamy buttery sugar heaven for a while its going to come at more of a cost, £1.39 a serving or £5.56 for the above recipe!
That said the main cost here is the vanilla pod (about £3) so subbing this for some extract or even flavouring can cut the cost of a deluxe pastry cream to about 50p a serving, so still not too bad for a bit of luxury.
Something that you hear paired with fancy French desert names and alike, chantilly cream can be whipped up in a grand total of about 3 minutes!
This recipe is a another request from the Facebook page, I’ll also be doing one for a silky creme patisserie soon after 👌🏻
To the recipe!
Ingredients
Whipping cream or double cream, I prefer double
Caster sugar
Flavouring (optional) vanilla is the most commonly used
Equipment
Measuring jug
Mixing bowl
Hand whisk or electric whisk, or food processor with cream whipping attachment
Cookingand prep (3-10 minutes)
Measure out the desired amount of cream, it will generally double in size when whipped. Pout on mixing bowl/food processor, I usually leave it in the measuring jug and whisk with an electric hand whisk.
Add sugar, I usually use about 10-15% of the amount of cream (or 1 tbsp per 100ml of cream) the more you use the sweeter the cream will be but also it will make it heavier rather than nice and light, as chantilly cream should be.
Add the desired amount of flavouring, try not to overdo it.
Whisk until the cream just holds its shape in peaks and is smooth, silky and glossy. If you over-whip it it will got claggy and if you overdo it a bit more it will split. As it gets thicker slow down the whisking or stop every so often to check.
Voila! Pipe it, spread it, spoon it into your mouth, whatever!
How does Reese eat her cream?
Witherspoon.
So it’s literally whipped cream, with a bit of sugar and a fancy name.
Costing this recipe the price is mainly in the cream which I believe is about £4 a litre.
Though it should double in size the weight will pretty much be the same apart from the addition of the sugar and flavour as the only thing you’re adding is air (by whisking) and last I checked it doesn’t weight much.
Any problems with the execution don’t hesitate to get in touch.
A classic from way back in the 19th century; the treacle tart. Bought back to light through none other than Harry Potter, starring as his favourite treat at Hogwarts in the series of books.
Originating in England, this sweet treat was created by a lady called Mary Jewry, and contrary to common misconception despite being called a treacle tart it doesn’t actually contain any treacle at all, it’s golden syrup.
So enough chat, let’s get on with this treacle tart recipe!
Ingredients (makes 1 treacle tart)
400-500g breadcrumbs
800g golden syrup
500g shortcrust pastry
1 lemon (optional)
2 tsp ginger powder (optional)
1 egg yolk (optional)
Equipment
1 tart dish/quiche dish
Mixing bowl
Rolling pin
Food processor
A microwave comes in handy but not essential, as is a pallet knife
Baking beans or rice
Baking paper
Prep (20-25 minutes)
1.Roll a disc of pastry
This recipe requires blind baking the pastry first, so start by heating the oven to about 160°c (fan), then roll out the shortcrust pastry into a big disc, about 2 inches bigger than your tart/quiche dish.
Grease the dish with either butter or oil and be sure to spread it around the whole dish. Using oil is more cost effective, but butter will give the pastry a (slightly) richer taste.
Pick the pastry up with the rolling pin and place in the dish. Straighten around the edges on the inside of the dish with your fingertips to tidy it up, there should still be a fair bit of overhand coming over the edges.
3.Pick the pastry up with the rolling pin
Trim the overhanging edges with scissors, be sure to still leave a bit, as shortcrust shrinks when it cooks, but not so much that it touches the worktop .
Gently prick the base of the pastry with a fork, it doesn’t need to go all the way through the pastry just thin enough for steam to pass through.
Cover with baking paper then fill with the baking beans/rice and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the overhang starts to colour.
Cover with baking paper, then fill with rice(left) or baking beans (right)
Remove the baking paper and rice/baking beans and you have your blind baked pastry case, ready to fill!(and eat)
If you want to ensure a crisp bottom, put a baking tray in the oven for 10 minutes, then put the dish on the baking tray.
Cooking (40-60 minutes)
Now we have our case we can get a move on, put the golden syrup in a large mixing bowl and warm in the microwave until runny (if you have a microwave, you could make a Bain Marie with a saucepan if not or you could just wrestle with cold syrup)
Juice the lemon into the syrup with the ginger powder and mix.
Add the breadcrumbs and mix well until smooth.
If using, add the egg yolk and mix well.
Fill the pastry case with the bready syrupy goodness and smooth the top with a pallet knife. If you have any leftover pastry you could use it to decorate the top with a lattice or something but it’s only aesthetics.
Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, check every ten minutes.
Engulfed yourself in the sweet delight that is Harry Potters favourite desert.
Not this tarts first time on the big screen
So it appears it’s been in films before Harry Potter, the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang used it to lure the kids, treacle tart loves the spotlight, slag.
I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to waste this luring kids(!)(I would just like to make it clear I have no intention to lure kids, I already have 1 and another on the way)
This is definitely a desert for those of you (like myself) with a sweeter tooth.
This delightful slice of heaven is best served warm or hot, with some kind of cream or custard (I recommend clotted cream or ice cream).
Traditionally the recipe contains no egg so it’s completely optional, if you made a vegan pastry then this could quite easily be made into a vegan desert.
More modern recipes also include the addition of cream, or using almonds instead of breadcrumbs, but why mess with the classic treacle tart!
Recipes and Stuff 