S'mores Pie

Recipe from Sprinkle Bakes

S'mores Pie

Ingredients:
For the base
200g digestives
60g unsalted butter, melted
pinch of salt
1tbsp caster sugar
For the filling
480ml double cream
500g dark chocolate, broken up
4tbsp brandy (optional)
For the marshmallow meringue
3 egg whites
½ tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
50g caster sugar
200g marshmallow fluff
100g mini marshmallows


Method:
1. For the base, crush the biscuits with a rolling pin or in a food processor and mix in the butter, salt and sugar. Once well combined, press into the bottom and a little up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan and refrigerate.

2. For the filling, heat the cream in a medium-large saucepan until simmering. Remove from the heat and mix in the chocolate. Stir or whisk until all the chocolate has melted, then mix in the brandy. Pour the ganache into the base and refrigerate for a few hours until set (this can be frozen to reduce setting time).

3. For the meringue, beat the egg whites and vanilla extract until foamy. Beat in the salt and sugar until the meringue holds firm peaks. Beat in the marshmallow fluff and fold in the mini marshmallows. Top the pie with the marshmallow meringue and brown with a blow torch or place under a hot grill.

Christmas Pavlova

Recipe from What Katie Ate

Christmas Pavlova

Ingredients:For the meringue
¼ lemon
4 egg whites
200g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
2½ tsp cornflourFor the filling420ml double cream
60ml crème de cacao blanc
1tsp vanilla bean extract
red berries

Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 140°C/ 275F/Gas 1. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Rub the inside of a large mixing bowl with the lemon.

3. Whisk the egg whites in the bowl until completely frothy, then gradually pour in the sugar, whilst continuing to whisk, until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla extract and sift over the cornflour and whisk until well combined and firm peaks form.

4. Transfer the mixture onto the prepared baking tray and gently spread around into a fluffy disk with slightly raised edges, being careful not to deflate the meringue. Bake for an hour, turning the tray around after the first hour. Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova inside to dry out for a further hour.

5. For the filling, whisk the cream with the liquor and vanilla to a soft-peaking consistency. Spoon or pipe into the centre of the pavlova and top with the berries.

Ginger Key Lime Pie

Recipe from BBC

Ginger Key Lime Pie

12 inch pie/ 2 x 9 inch pies

Ingredients:
For the ginger shortcrust pastry
400g plain flour
80g icing sugar
4tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
250g cold unsalted butter, cut into little cubes
3 eggs
50ml cold water
 For the filling
2 x 400g condensed milk
240ml lime juice (about 7 limes)
4tsp lime zest, grated
4 egg yolks
3 lumps stem ginger, finely chopped
For the decoration
4 egg whites
225g caster sugar
1 lime, finely sliced
mint sprigs
extra lime zest, grated

Method:
1. For the pastry, sift the flour, icing sugar, ginger and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks and water. Rub the butter into the flour mixture, and once the consistency is like fine breadcrumbs, mix in the egg yolks and water. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 coin (about 3mm). Drape the dough over a loose-based tart tin and gently press into the corners. Let the pastry hang over the edges and trim off excess. Cover in cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/mark 6.

3. Take the pastry out of the fridge and remove the cling film. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork and cover with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans/raw rice. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the beans and greaseproof paper and bake for a further 5-10 minutes. Leave to cool and reduce the oven to 170C/325F/mark 3.

4. For the filling, whisk together the condensed milk and lime juice. Whisk in the zest, egg yolks and stem ginger and, if necessary, icing sugar. Pour the mixture into the pastry and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the filling has set but retains a slight wibble in the centre. Leave to cool for about 30 minutes, then chill for a minimum of 2 hours.

5. For the meringue decoration, make a sugar syrup by heating the sugar with 6tbsp (90ml) water in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat.  Bring the sugar up to the boil and remove from the heat when it reaches 120C/248F (firm ball stage).

6. Whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Whilst continuing to whisk, slowly pour in the sugar syrup and keep whisking until the meringue hold stiff, shiny peaks.

7. Fill a piping bag with the meringue and pipe around the top of the pie. Garnish the pie with the lime zest and slices and mint sprigs.

Pistachio Trio: Macarons, Ice Cream and Brittle

I have been thinking about pistachios quite a lot recently, wondering whether to make some cupcakes, blondies or cookies with said nuts. For a long time now, I have wanted to make some pistachio macarons, though I have been a little nervous about using less almonds in macarons. Because of our ice cream machine (which my mother optimistically bought a few years back with the intention of churning out ice cream on a regular basis) which we sadly never use, since the Sun showed itself last month, I have been itching to make some ice cream.

The egg yolks (and surplus pistachios) left after making these macarons presented the perfect opportunity for some pistachio- ice cream- making. However, it seemed like a bit of a shame to do only two pistachio treats, so I went ahead and whipped up some brittle, too.

For the macarons, I didn't want to make a pistachio buttercream, and thought a toffee- type warmth would compliment the pistachios. I made a caramel and added it to a plain buttercream- you could substitute the caramel for honey, or do a plain buttercream with half brown sugar, half icing sugar.

Pistachio Macarons

Makes about 50

Ingredients:

5g dehydrated egg white powder

28g granulated sugar

225g icing sugar

65g ground almonds

60g pistachios, shelled and ground in a food processor

100g egg whites

about 5 pistachios, lightly crushed, for decoration

Method:

1. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.

2. Measure out the dehydrated egg white powder and granulated sugar into a little bowl and stir to combine, then set aside.

3. Grind the icing sugar, pistachios and ground almonds together in a food processor and sift into a small-medium bowl.

4. In a large, clean, dry bowl of a freestanding mixer, whisk the egg whites until foamy and then sprinkle in the sugar and egg white powder while continuing to beat. Increase the speed of the mixer and keep whisking until a firm, glossy (but not stiff) meringue forms.

5. Using a soft spatula, fold in the nut-sugar mixture to the meringue in thirds, until fully amalgamated. Be cautious not to over mix, as you want the batter to flow off the spatula in a thick ribbon.

6. Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a plain nozzle (approximately 1cm diameter) and pipe round blobs (approximately 1-1½ inch diameter) onto the prepared baking trays. Firmly rap the trays against a counter top until the any air bubbles come to the surface- pop, with a cocktail stick, any which don’t burst. Sprinkle a little bit of the lightly crushed pistachios on top of half the piped rounds. Leave the piped macarons for 30-60 minutes before placing into the lower half of a preheated oven (300F/150^◦C/mark 2) for approximately 15 minutes.

7. Allow the macarons to cool on a wire rack before removing from the trays and sandwiches pairs of shells together with your choice of filling. Refrigerate and allow to mature for at least 24 hours.

Caramel Buttercream

Makes about 50

Ingredients:

230g unsalted butter

460g icing sugar, sifted

1-3 tbsp milk or cream

5tbsp caster or soft brown sugar
2tbsp golden syrup
3tbsp butter

Method:

1. Heat the caster/brown sugar, golden syrup and butter in a pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat up a little and continue to cook until the mixture has thickened and become of a syrup- like consistency. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

2. Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and beat until homogeneous. Add some of the milk/cream to achieve a fluffier, smooth texture. mix in the cooled caramel and add more milk/cream if necessary.

Pistachio Ice Cream

Makes 12

Ingredients:

120g (1 cup) shelled pistachios

150g (¾ cup) caster sugar

480ml (2 cups) whole milk

½tsp almond extract

4 egg yolks

240ml (1 cup) double cream

90g (¾ cup) shelled pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped

Method:

1. Grind the shelled pistachios and one quarter of the sugar in a food processor

2. Heat the milk and pistachio-sugar mixture in a large saucepan, bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Stir in the almond extract.

3. Whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a large bowl and whisk in the mixture from the saucepan. Pour everything back into the saucepan and heat gently, to thicken, for about 10 minutes.

4. Strain the custard into the large bowl and leave to cool to room temperature before refrigerating for about 2 hours.

5. Once chilled, pour the mixture into an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to the freezer and place in the fridge 20-30 minutes before serving.

Pistachio Brittle

Ingredients:

60g (½ cup) pistachios, roughly chopped

100g (1 cup) caster sugar

60ml (¼ cup) water

Method:

1. Grease a 13 x 9 inch rimmed baking tray with cooking oil.

2. Heat the sugar and water in a pan over a medium-high heat, while stirring, for about 9 minutes or until the mixture turns dark brown in colour.

3. Pour the sugar over the baking tray and sprinkle the pistachios on top. Leave to cool and harden for about 15 minutes before breaking into pieces.

The macaron recipe is adapted from Not So Humble Pie
The ice cream recipe is from Epicurious
The brittle recipe is from Martha Stewart

Macarons with White Chocolate Ganache

Yep, it's macarons! My first attempt at these fastidious little creatures was made last Summer, and, after searching through a larger number of sites, recipes, tips and videos than I care to disclose, I managed to make a few pretty good batches- some cocoa macarons and a couple of plain batches. 

I returned to macaron-ing a little while ago, and then again a couple of weekends ago, trying out some new recipes. I had the most success from a french meringue recipe from Not So Humble Pie's blog.

This recipe calls for egg white powder, which you can find in most supermarkets- I used some from Dr. Oetker. This ingredient is important as it helps to stabilise the egg whites and reduce the probability of your macarons falling down any of the many pitfalls that await them.

A few important points:

Don't skip the sifting of the ground almonds and icing sugar! It may seem a little tedious, but the tant pour tant must be very fine- the food processing isn't entirely necessary, but makes the sifting easier.
Weigh everything as accurately as possible.
Don't over mix- if you can't tell what "lava" in a bowl is meant to look like (who would?), fold until just incorporated- it's far better to under than over mix.
Don't over beat the meringue- keep it shiny and firm, not dry.

Hit the trays (very) firmly on a work surface.

Use gel, paste of powder colourings rather than liquid.

It really is best to make the macarons at least 24 hours in advance of serving to allow them to moisten and take on the flavour of the filling. The macarons should last for about a week in the fridge.

If you're adding colouring, add it just after your meringue forms soft peaks, then beat as you would (to firm, shiny peaks- the colouring should be incorporated by this stage).

Macarons

Makes about 50

Ingredients:

5g dehydrated egg white powder

28g granulated sugar

225g icing sugar

125g ground almonds

100g egg whites

Method:

1. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.

2. Measure out the dehydrated egg white powder and granulated sugar into a little bowl and stir to combine, then set aside.

3. Grind the icing sugar and ground almonds together in a food processor and sift into a small-medium bowl.

4. In a large, clean, dry bowl of a freestanding mixer, whisk the egg whites until foamy and then sprinkle in the sugar and egg white powder while continuing to beat. Increase the speed of the mixer and keep whisking until a firm, glossy (but not stiff) meringue forms.

5. Using a soft spatula, fold in the almond-sugar mixture to the meringue in thirds, until fully amalgamated. Be cautious not to over mix, as you want the batter to flow off the spatula in a thick ribbon.

6. Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a plain nozzle (approximately 1cm diameter) and pipe round blobs (approximately 1-1½ inch diameter) onto the prepared baking trays. Firmly rap the trays against a counter top until the any air bubbles come to the surface- pop, with a cocktail stick, any which don’t burst. Leave the piped macarons for 30-60 minutes before placing into the lower half of a preheated oven (300F/150^◦C/mark 2) for approximately 15 minutes.

7. Allow the macarons to cool on a wire rack before removing from the trays and sandwiches pairs of shells together with your choice of filling. Refrigerate and allow to mature for at least 24 hours.

White Chocolate Ganache

Makes about 50

Ingredients:

250g white chocolate

110g double cream

Method:

1. Heat the cream in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Chop the chocolate and transfer to a heat proof bowl.

2. Remove from the cream from the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Shake the bowl and set aside for about a minute before stirring to combine.

2. Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature before use. For sandwiching the macarons, pipe or spoon about a teaspoon onto the flat side of half the shells and gently press another shell on top, flat side facing in.