Category: Sweet treats

Roasted Figs with Greek yogurt, local runny honey and walnut brittle

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My autumn fig dish for Neptune served on their beautiful Corinium platter.
Roasted on my Kadai, served with Greek yogurt, local runny honey and finished with smashed walnut brittle

Walnut Brittle:

  1. To begin toast your 8 oz of unpeeled walnuts lightly to release their natural oils in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees. 
  2. To begin your caramel put 8 oz of caster sugar into a medium saucepan and cover with just enough water.
  3. Place onto a high heat, you need to be careful that the sugar doesn’t burn keep an eye on your caramel until it turns a beautiful rich golden colour, the further you take the caramel the more bitter it becomes.
  4.  Add your warm walnuts to the caramel remove from the heat, and stir into your walnuts. 
  5. Line an oven tray with a piece of baking parchment, then tip onto the lined tray and allow to cool, until rock hard. 

Grilled Figs:

  1. For this dish I cooked my figs over an open fire as this imparts a wonderful smokiness to the figs. But you can use a griddle pan on the stove on a medium heat, you don’t need to add anything, just allow them to cook low and slow in their own natural juices until they are jammy and warm. 
  2. Allow to cool a little, then slice each fig in half to reveal the beautiful soft flesh. 

Serve on your favourite Neptune plate, add yoghurt in three swipes, then place a fig at the end of each swipe, drizzle your honey over the dish and lastly add your shards of walnut brittle. 

This dish is great for sharing in the garden with friends and family as we welcome fig season. 

Blowtorched apple, almond and grated nutmeg polenta cake

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3040126a-05a0-46b2-89e2-013070207804d6bea6ef-60cf-4f6d-a4dc-0cc60d915f43009bc0f8-205d-4cfe-99fa-78a507f43b14b5dcb070-45fc-4e50-aa5b-e9d5eab25c338bd0c584-ab6b-4f47-90ea-d8ee5f31a7bf4c78fe6a-4c4c-4e55-ad70-2a0d6be568fbc2dc841b-f1f0-4406-88ea-7982f0be4eb389337c77-d39b-4eef-9f98-d47420adc191c531748f-7776-4fe7-ad7a-98ec926f85ddIngredients:

  • 150 ml of cold pressed olive oil
  • 200 grams of golden caster sugar
  • 200 grams of ground almond
  • 100 grams of flaked almonds
  • 100 grams of fine polenta
  • the zest of two large untaxed lemons
  • 2 large apples grated on a box grated
  • 1 ½ teaspoons of Baking Powder
  • 8 grams of Picked lemon thyme
  • 3 free range large eggs

N.B. – To make this cake gluten free use gluten free baking powder and to make this
cake dairy free like the recipe which I have used in place of the butter use 150
grams of cold pressed olive oil.

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degree or gas mark 4.
2. Then grease and line a baking tin with dairy free butter and baking parchment.
3. To begin, beat together the sugar and olive in a large mixing bowl until it has gone light and fluffy (you can do this by hand or by electric mixer), then add in half a micro paned nutmeg
4. Now mix your dry ingredients together; ground almonds, fine polenta, zest of a lemon and your two large grated apples.
5. Add this to your olive oil and sugar mix, in a steady stream then add one of your eggs at time to form a batter.
6. Then at this point add the other half of your grated nutmeg and mix to incorporate throughout your cake batter.
7. Place your baking tin onto a level tray and fill the baking tin with the mixture, ensure that the mixture is evenly spread out.
8. Place into the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is risen and golden all over

N.B – As polenta cakes are quite moist, but especially with the addition of the grated apples, you may need to cover with tin foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes till you can pierce the cake with a knife and the knife comes out clean.

Garnishes:

1. Core one large apple and slice the apple in half, then using a sharp knife slice your apple lengthways.
2. Once your apple is sliced place onto a baking sheet, dust heavily with caster sugar and blowtorch till you have a golden crisp covering all over your apples, as this gives them a beautiful crunch.
3. Once your sugar has set hard, using a long spatula, place your torched apples on top of your cake, to finish grate over a little more nutmeg to remind your guests of the present spices.

Blowtorched Apple and Nutmeg Frangipane Torte

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IMG_9153IMG_2764IMG_5080IMG_6204IMG_5528For the sweet Pastry you will need:

• a pinch of golden caster sugar
• 8 oz. of diced cold butter
• 16 oz. of plain sieved flour
• 3 tbsp. of cold milk to bind
1. In a large bowl, sieve your flour and add your golden caster.
2. Now add in your diced butter to the flour and rub together to combine, this is a key step to making short pastry as you want the flour and butter to be blended evenly.
3. Once blended add your touch of milk to bind.
4. Once ready turn out of the bowl and clean wrap your sweet pastry in some cling film, allow it to relax. By allowing the dough to relax, the gluten in the flour relaxes which allows you to work them into your torte cases.
5. Lay out your pop bottom torte cases and line with butter as this helps to form a non-stick surface.
6. Allow your dough to room (come to room temperature), portion into four and roll on either a floured surface or between two sheets of non-stick greaseproof paper (if you don’t want to make a mess)
7. Roll your dough out to the thickness of a one-pound coin, for me I prefer to have a thin crisp base to my apple tortes.
8. Using a blunt knife cut your pastry and push into the torte cases, for even pushing use a little of the dough from the trim to ensure that you have all of the dough pushed into the edges of the torte case.
9. Blind bake with some grease proof paper and baking beans, as this helps to ensure for an even bake and makes your tortes watertight and able to hold the filling.
11. Blind bake from 15-20 minutes until lightly golden, allow to cool completely in the torte case before pushing out.


For the Frangipane you will need:

• 8 oz butter
• 1 vanilla pod
• 8 oz sugar
• 3 free range eggs
• 225 grams of ground almonds

1. To begin weigh out the ingredients as stated above. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, add your vanilla paste (or pod seeds), then add one egg at a time, followed by your ground almonds.
2. If this is not for immediate use, you can leave this frangipane mixture in the fridge for at least 3 days.
3. To cook, place into your pre-cooked torte cases, cook until slightly risen and golden brown.
4. To finish add your fruit slices and for the GG signature you can blowtorch each of the fruit segments (see below)


Blow torched apples:

1. To begin core your apple and slice your apples to 4cm thickness using a sharp knife and lay out onto a baking sheet, then dust with caster sugar and blow torch till golden and bubbling.
2. Be careful as both the sugar and blow torch will be incredibly hot.

Finally…
To assemble lay your cooled blowtorched apples onto the top of your frangipane tarts and to finish using a micro pane grate over a little whole nutmeg.

Courgette, pistachio, almond and lemon cake topped with thick lemon and bay icing

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IMG_3414IMG_8331IMG_6717IMG_4243IMG_3588IMG_1019IMG_3976IMG_5782IMG_1784IMG_1015Thick set lemon and bay icing:

• 500 grams of sieved icing sugar
• 3 lemon juice passed through a sieve
• 3 lemon zests
• 2 bruised bay leaves which have been lightly washed
• Touch of cold water

1. To begin in a large Mason and cash sieve your icing sugar, then add your lemon juice and long with your bruised bay leaves as this gives the icing a beautiful earthy note which helps to cut through the sweetness of the icing sugar.
2. Using a whisk bring your icing together don’t worry about the bay leaves as you can remove these once the icing is made and infused.
3. Once your icing has began to come together add in your lemon zest along with a touch of cold water if it is required, then place a teaspoon into the icing, you want your icing to have the dropping consistency.

 

The Gourmet Gent Courgette, pistachio, almond and lemon cake:

• 2 large washed courgettes (coarsely grated)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste
• 150 ml of cold pressed olive oil
• 250 grams of self rising flour
• 50 grams of roughly chopped pistachio nuts
• 50 grams of flaked almonds
• 3 large free range eggs
• 150 grams of golden caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon of Bicarb
1. To begin pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4 or 180 degrees, then grease and line two loaf baking tins, to make the baking parchment stick use a little olive oil or dairy free butter as this cake is diary free.
2. Next grate your large courgettes on the course side of your box grater, to begin the cake in a large mason and cash mixing bowl add your olive oil, sugar and whisk till light and fluffy as this helps to impart air to the cake batter.
3. Once the sugar has melted away into the olive oil add one large egg at a time and whisk the eggs in, then add your vanilla paste.
4. Then using a fine sieve in your self raising flour and bicarb by sieving your bicarb in with your flour this ensures that the bicarb is equally mixed through the flour and cake mix.
5. Using a spatula fold in your flour as this is where the air is incorporated into the cake,
6. To finish add your flaked almonds, pistachio nuts and lastly your grated courgettes do this in three stages as this helps to ensure that your courgette is properly mixed through the cake mixture.
7. Decant your cake mix into the lined moulds and then place in the oven and bake for one hour till the cake is golden brown and baked through to check that the cake is perfectly cooked through use either a sharp paring knife or cake spike to check that the cake is baked equally thoroughly if you find the cake baking uneven or taking to much colour.
8. Cover with tin foil half way through.