Category: Sweet treats

The GG classic Lemon, orange and thyme polenta cake paired with a citrus tipple.

The pastry

Sweet Paste ingredients:

• 1 pinch of golden caster sugar
• 8 oz. of diced cold butter
• 16 oz. of plain sieved flour
• 3 tbsp. of cold milk to bind 
• 2 tablespoons of freshly ground coffee, brewed from the Moka.

1. To begin this paste, in a large bowl sieve your flour and add your golden caster.
2. Next add 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. At this point add in your freshly ground coffee, I like to use the coffee from the morning which I have just had in my Moka, exploring different coffee textures and flavours ranging in flavours profiles and roast blends, such as Light and medium roasted. 
4. Once blended add a touch of milk to bind.
5. Once ready and the bowl is clean wrap your sweet paste in some cling film to relax, by allowing the dough to relax you are allowing the gluten in the flour to relax which you work when making a Tarte case. 
6. Lay out your pop bottom tarte cases and line with butter, as this helps to form a non-stick surface. 
7. Allow your dough to room a little, 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!)
8. Roll your dough out to the thickness of a one-pound coin, for me I prefer to have a thin crisp base to my espresso and dark chocolate tarte.
9. Using a blunt knife cut your pastry and push into the tarte 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 tarte case. 
10. Blind bake with some greaseproof paper and baking beans, as this helps to ensure for an even bake. By blind baking a tarte case you help to ensure that the case is waterproof and will be able to hold the filling. 
11. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden 
12. Then allow to cool completely in the tarte case before pushing them out.  
13. Make sure your tarte cases are completely cool before you pour in your chocolate ganache mixture. 

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

• 8 ounces of dark chocolate
• 8 ounces of double cream
• 150 grams of unsalted butter
• Pinch of natural pink sea salt

1. To begin your Dark Chocolate Ganache, in a large mixing bowl whisk your cream to soft peaks.
2. Next place a pan of water onto a high heat, once the water has began to boil, place a large Pyrex glass bowl above the top ensure that the bowl and the water DON’T TOUCH or otherwise this will cause the chocolate to crystallise and split. 
3. Smash your chocolate bar into large shards and place into the bowl along with your butter.
4. Once the chocolate and butter has begun to melt add a generous pinch of ground pink natural rock sea salt to your chocolate mixture. 
5. Remove your bowl from the heat and begin to ripple the chocolate through your double cream, whisking to incorporate, ensure you add this in a steady stream or otherwise your chocolate and cream mixture will just split. 
6. Taste and adjust if needs be.
7. For immediate use at this point, add your ganache to your cooled tarte pastry cases. Or if you plan  to assemble later, just decant into a glass jar and keep in your fridge, it also doubles up as the most indulge chocolate mousse or even better roll it into beautifully rustic truffles!

To assemble pop your tarte cases, decant the chocolate ganache mixture into the tarte cases and reserve in the fridge until required later on. 

Flaked almond Brittle Shards:

• 8 oz. of toasted flaked almonds
• 8 oz. of caster sugar 
• Enough water to cover 

1. To begin place a large frying onto a medium to high heat, add in your flaked almonds in one layer to ensure that they all colour at the same time
2. By gently warming the flaked almonds you are releasing their natural oils and fragrance.
3. Whilst toasting your nuts, place your pan of caster and water onto a high heat to reduce and evaporate. Ensure that your sugar doesn’t catch or crystallise during this process.
4. Once your sugar begins to turn a nut brown keep an eye on the sugar, the key to making brittle is you have to be prepared, so get your baking tray lined and ready before hand.
5. Add your flaked almonds and stir to incorporate together ensuring that the almonds are all covered in the hot sugary mixture. 
6. Allow to set rock hard in a cool dry place.
7. Once ready you can either snap or use a knife to shard your brittle into pieces. 

To plate go free style !!!

The perfect (relatively) healthy summer dessert – white wine and Bay leaf soaked pear, whisky infused Chantilly cream and blackberries straight from the garden

Lemon thyme and lemon curd:

• The zest and juice of 4 unwaxed lemons
• 100 grams of unsalted butter
• 150 grams of golden caster sugar
• 2 free range egg yolks
• 2 whole free range eggs
• Freshly picked lemon thyme

1. In a medium saucepan add your lemon zest, juice, butter, golden caster sugar, egg yolks and eggs. Place over a gentle heat and whisk consistantly until the butter has begun to melt and emulsify.
2. Next once the butter is melted, build the heat gradually and whisk constantly for 5-6 minutes until the mixture thickens, ensure you whisk all of the time or you will just have scrambled eggs.
3. Once the curd has thickened place a teaspoon into the mixture, to check the mixture holds, this will tell whether it is thick enough.
4. Once the curd is ready, sterilise your jars using boiling hot water.
5. If the curd is not for immediate use, pour into your jars and seal immediately.
6. Once heat-sealed they will last up to 1 month in the fridge as they contain high risk food types such as dairy and eggs.
7. For immediate use place into the fridge and allow to cool, to stop a skin from forming place a disc of greaseproof paper over the top.

Lemon Butter cream:

• 9 0z of unsalted butter
• 9 0z of icing sugar
• 10 ml of lemon juice

1. To begin this quick citrus butter cream, in a large mixing bowl place your softened butter along with your icing sugar and a touch of lemon juice.
2. Stir to incorporate and once you have a soft lump-free butter cream reserve in the fridge until required later.
3. When applying your buttercream ensure that your cake is cool, so that the butter cream doesn’t just melt.

Victoria Sandwich Cake:

• 12 oz unsoftened butter
• 12 oz golden caster sugar
• 6 large free range eggs
• 12 oz self raising flour
• a handful of poppy seeds

1. To begin butter two 18 Cm sandwich tins and line each with greaseproof paper.
2. Beat the softened butter along with the caster sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Once at this stage add one egg at time, beating well after each addition.
3. Next add in half the flour and your poppy seeds, as this helps to stabilise the sponge mixture. Using a metal spoon, fold the rest in a figure of eight.
4. Once all of the flour has been incorporated into the mixture place half of the mixture into each of the tins evenly. Bake in the oven at 190 degrees, (gas mark 5) for about 20 minutes.
5. Bake until they are well risen, firm to touch and have begun to shrink from the edges of the tins.
6. Once warm and cooked through allow to cool on a wire rack.
7. One great method of checking your cake is cooked is to use a round edged knife or cake skewer.

Assemble your two sponges, sandwiched with buttercream and lemon curd and ENJOY in the bank holiday sunshine!

Since my sister is dairy free, I’m trying out alternatives – for this recipe, instead of using butter, I used cold pressed olive oil.

Also if you would like to make this cake gluten free, you could just use gluten free baking powder.

Ingredients:

• 150 ml of cold pressed olive oil
• 200 grams of golden caster sugar
• 200 grams of ground almond
• 100 grams of flaked almond
• 100 grams of fine polenta
• Zest of two large unwaxed lemons
• Zest of two large unwaxed oranges
• 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
• Picked lemon thyme
• 3 free range large eggs

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees 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 oil in a large mixing bowl until it has gone light and fluffy, you can do this by hand or by electric mixer.
4. Next mix together your dry ingredients ground almonds, fine polenta, zest of both the lemons and oranges in a large bowl.
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. At this point add your picked lemon thyme and mix to incorporate.
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.

Syrup:

• 2 juiced lemons
• 125 grams of icing sugar
• 2 bruised bay leaves
• Lemon thyme stalks

1. To begin your syrup, juice lemon and oranges, once juiced place into a small saucepan.
2. Then add your bruised bay leaves and lemon thyme, bring to the boil and to infuse allow it to cool.
3. In a small bowl add your icing sugar along with the zest of an orange.
4. Once the juice has cooled pass through a fine chinois.
5. Mix together to form a syrup, this will then be poured over the cake once it has cooled on a wire rack. Allow some time for it to sit and soak up the syrup.