Drunken Honeyed Figs with Lemon Mascarpone Whipped Cream

September 8, 2020September 7, 2022 Belinda

Recipe from FOOD 52
When I think about desserts, some that come to mind celebrate the luscious simplicity of fruit, ripe from the tree. And for a Thanksgiving dinner that celebrates the bounty of autumn, this one is a lighter dessert that can balance the heavier meal quite well.
Best of all, in the chaos of coordinating a lot of dishes, this dessert is super easy to make and the figs can be made ahead, leaving you with only the Mascarpone Whipped Cream to quickly make.
I used dried figs as they hold their shape so much better. You could use fresh figs but be sure to adjust your cooking time. The dried figs are macerated in brandy overnight to soften them and infuse them with a contrasting flavor. They are then simmered on the stovetop in a mixture of honey, anise seed and orange juice until the liquid reduces to a syrupy glaze.
Paired with the mascarpone whipped cream, you get a combination that feels luxurious and decadent without the heaviness. You can serve this by spooning or piping the whipped cream beside some arranged honeyed figs or you can arrange the figs in small tartlet shell and pipe the whipped cream in the middle.

**The most important thing to remember in this lovely recipe is to marinate the figs overnight

SERVES 8

16 dried figs
1 cup brandy, or enough to cover and macerate the figs
1/4 cup water
5 oz plus 2 Tablespoons honey (I used orange blossom honey)
1/4 tsp anise seed
4 strips of orange peel (removed with a potato peeler)
7 ounces orange juice
juice from 1/4 of small Meyer lemon
pinch salt
8 bought or made tart shells (optional)

Lemon Mascarpone Whipped Cream
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
6 tbsp mascarpone cheese
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
lemon zest from 1 large lemon
2 squeezes of lemon juice
pinch salt

Macerate the dried figs in the brandy, water and 2 Tablespoons of honey overnight. There should be enough liquid to cover the figs.

In a medium pot over medium-low heat, combine the rest of the honey with the orange juice, peel, anise seed, lemon juice and salt. Slice the figs in half and add to the honey mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the mixture reduces to a glaze-like mixture. The figs should be very soft, but still holding their shape. Turn the figs carefully with a large metal spoon during the simmering process to completely cover them with the honey-orange juice. Let cool slightly in the pot.

Either arrange several figs on a plate, for example in the shape of a flower or place them in a tart shell, and drizzle a little of the honey-orange syrup over them. (I show pictures of both.) Either spoon or pipe the mascarpone whipped cream beside them on the plate or in the tart. Drizzle a little of the honey-orange syrup on top.

To make the mascarpone whipped cream, whip the whipping cream to a medium peak using a hand or standing mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients for the mascarpone whipped cream and continue to beat for about 20 – 30 seconds until it is the consistency of whipped cream and can be piped.

Accompaniments · Baking · Breakfast · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Apple, cheddar and sage scones

September 8, 2020September 7, 2022 Belinda

Enjoy these cheesy scones for breakfast, with a warm bowl of soup, or in a Thanksgiving bread basket!
Recipe from blog, “The View from Great Island”

Makes 8 scones

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp light brown sugar (optional, this isn’t enough to make the scones taste noticeably sweet, but helps balance out the flavors. You can omit it if you’d like.)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
1/2 cup milk, buttermilk, or half and half
1 cup finely chopped apple
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh sage leaves, plus a few small leaves for laminating the tops of the biscuits, if desired.
2 Tbsp milk or cream for brushing, optional

Preheat oven to 375F and line or butter a baking sheet.

Place the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
Add the butter to the food processor, and continue to pulse until no large chunks of the butter remain and the mixture is coarse and crumbly.
Slowly add in the milk and pulse until the dough comes together into a ball.
Remove the dough from the food processor and place it into a mixing bowl with the chopped apple, shredded cheese, and sage. By hand, mix it all together until everything is well dispersed, but try not to over-mix it.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat or gently roll it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2 inch scone cutter, cut about 8-9 scones and place them on your prepared baking sheet.
Brush the tops of the scones with milk or cream, and place a small sage leaf or two on top of each scone, brushing it with more milk so that they stay put.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Asian flavors · Dessert · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Rice

Coconut, rum and raisin rice pudding

September 6, 2020September 7, 2022 Belinda

This is a fabulous dessert from Barney Desmazery in the BBC Good Food Magazine.
When posting non-American recipes I am now keeping the metric system as it’s far more accurate.
It’s worth investing in kitchen scales that have metric as well.Most of the measuring cups are both these days, so they are easy to find

50g butter
150g short-grain (pudding) rice
150g golden caster sugar (Bakers or superfine sugar for the USA)
2 x 400ml cans coconut milk
300ml double cream , plus a little extra
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the rum & raisin syrup
150ml spiced rum
100g muscovado sugar (It’s a dark molasses-y sugar available on Amazon)
100g raisins

For the rum & raisin syrup, tip all the ingredients into a large saucepan and heat gently over a low heat for 5 mins, or until the sugar has dissolved and created a syrup and the raisins have plumped up. Tip into a bowl, cover and set aside.

In the same saucepan (there’s no need to clean it) melt the butter over a medium heat until sizzling, then scatter over the rice and toast in the hot butter until the butter is just starting to brown. Stir in the sugar, then pour over the coconut milk, cream and vanilla. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook gently for 40-45 mins until the rice is tender, adding a splash more cream if it becomes too thick.

To serve hot, stir a third of the rum & raisin syrup through the pudding and spoon the rest over the top. To serve cold, leave the pudding to cool, then chill in the fridge to firm up so that you can serve it in scoops with the rum & raisin syrup spooned over.

Baking · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Bacon & Cheddar Scones

April 6, 2020September 7, 2022 Belinda

Recipe from the D’Artagnan website

This easy-to-make scone recipe is packed with flavor from with Applewood Smoked Bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, and fresh chives.
Enjoy fresh from the oven, or split and fill with scrambled eggs for brunch.

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Makes 8 scones
1 package Applewood Smoked Bacon or another smoked good-quality bacon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
4 tbsp cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup (about 4 ounces) grated sharp cheddar cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
3/4 cup heavy cream, plus more as needed

With the rack in the center position, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper toweling. Coarsely chop bacon and set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and garlic powder.
Add cold butter and pulse until incorporated, keeping some larger, pea-sized chunks of butter in the mix. Add cheese, reserved bacon, and chives. Pulse quickly, just to evenly distribute.
Empty mixture into a large bowl. Add the cream and stir to combine.
The dough should be shaggy but not too wet. It should stick together when squeezed. Add more cream, a tablespoon at a time, if needed.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat and shape the dough into an 8” round. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment or a silicon mat. Cut the dough into 8 wedges. Spread them out on the pan, as they will rise when cooked. Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream.
Bake until golden brown, about 22-24 minutes.
Remove them from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Chocolate · Dessert · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Tiramisu crepe cake

April 2, 2020September 7, 2022 Belinda

Current times need comfort food!
Tiramisu meets crêpe in this decadent, yet surprisingly easy, layer cake.

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For the crêpes (or buy them ready-made!)
12 large free-range eggs
500ml (17 fl oz) whole milk
250m (l8.5 fl oz) single cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
250g (9oz) plain flour
½ tsp fine sea salt
Unsalted butter for frying

For the filling
1kg (2.2lbs) mascarpone
140g (5oz) icing sugar
3 tsp espresso powder dissolved in 75ml hot water, cooled
5 tbsp brandy
200ml (7 fl oz) double cream
Cocoa powder for dusting
20g (1oz) amaretti biscuits, crumbed

You’ll also need (if making the crêpes)…
18cm (7 inch) crêpe pan or shallow frying pan

If you’re making your own crêpes, whizz the crêpe ingredients (except the butter) in a food processor until combined, then put in a jug. Heat a small knob of butter in the pan over a medium-high heat. When lightly bubbling, pour in enough batter to coat the pan, tilt until even, then cook for about 1 minute. The crêpe is ready to flip when bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula and cook for a further minute. Transfer to a plate and cover with a damp tea towel. Repeat to use up the rest of the batter – it will make about 18 crêpes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the mascarpone, icing sugar, coffee and brandy with an electric mixer until lighter and slightly thickened. Add the double cream, then whisk until combined and just holding its shape.

Place a crêpe on a serving board or plate and spread over a little of the cream with a palette knife. Repeat, layering crêpes and cream, until the crêpes have been used up, finishing with the remaining cream. Dust the top generously with cocoa powder and sprinkle with the crumbled amaretti.
delicious.

Tips
If time is short, use 18 shop-bought readymade sweet pancakes, about 18cm in diameter (3 x 375g packs of 6, widely available in supermarket).

Make up to 12 hours in advance without the cocoa powder and amaretti biscuits. Chill in the fridge, then bring back to room temperature before decorating and serving.

Baking · Chocolate · Holiday Food

Easy brown butter ginger chocolate chip skillet cookie

February 29, 2020 Belinda

This is the quickest recipe you will ever find, it’s literally a dump everything in and stir, which is always a good thing on my book.
If you’ve never tried something with ginger and chocolate before, then you are missing out—the flavors go together like a dream and this case is no exception. The result is a cookie that is crispy and yet chewy in the middle, with a gingery background that is addictive. Plus, it’s a one pot wonder and who doesn’t like that?

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SERVES 8

1 cup or 2 sticks (200 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (215 g) packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (90 g) granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
5 oz (150 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat your oven to 375° F and grease very well an 8-inch cake pan, or just use a similarly-sized cast iron skillet.
Melt your butter in a pan that is large enough to hold the rest of the ingredients, on a very low heat, until it becomes brown and fragrant (it’ll be a very nutty aroma), stirring it occasionally, should take about 7 minutes or so.

Into that same pan, add both sugars, salt, and ground ginger and mix well with a wooden spoon. Remove the mixture from the flame and allow to cool to room temperature (otherwise your egg will cook once added!).

Add the egg and egg yolk, mixing until combined. Then add your flour, bicarbonate of soda and mix until just incorporated, then add the chopped chocolate and fold it in.

Dump the cookie dough into your prepared pan or skillet, flattening it with the spoon or your hands until even.
Bake it for around 18 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
Cut it while it’s still hot, and let it cool for a few minutes before serving.

Chocolate · Dessert · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Italian Christmas Pudding Cake

December 20, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

The best of all the Italian desserts rolled into a gorgeous, moist and boozy cake.
This recipe is Nigella Lawson’s own but at the same time a conflation of a couple of Italian Christmas must-haves: the glorious, fruit-studded panettone and crema di mascarpone, which is best described as tiramisu without the Savoiardi biscuit layer, and sometimes with pieces of chocolate stirred through the mascarpone mixture.
She has brought in a cassata element, which means she adds, along with the chocolate, some crumbled marrons glaces (though any candied or dried fruits could do) and chopped pistachios.
The pomegranate seeds she tumbles over the top at the end are there for their beauty as well as to add a further seasonal touch.

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Makes: 12-14 slices

1½ pounds Panettone (or pandoro)
⅓ cup tuaca liqueur (or a liqueur of your choice)
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
⅓ cup superfine sugar
2 cups mascarpone cheese (at room temperature)
1 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)
½ cup Marsala
⅓ cup marrons glacés (pieces)
⅔ cup mini chocolate chips (or regular chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate)
⅔ cup shelled pistachios (chopped)
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Using a serrated knife, cut the panettone roughly into ½ inch slices, then use about a third of these to line the bottom of a 9 inch springform cake tin.
Tear off pieces to fit so that there are no gaps; panettone is fabulously soft and moldable, so this isn’t a hard job.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the Tuaca (or other liqueur of choice) over it so that the panettone lining is dampened. It looks like a beautiful golden patchwork made out of cake.

Now get on with the luscious filling.
Whisk – using a freestanding electric mixer for ease – the eggs and sugar until very frothy and increased in volume and lightness.
More slowly, whisk in the mascarpone and heavy cream, then gradually whisk in the Marsala and carry on whisking until the mixture is thick and spreadable. Remove a good cupful to a bowl or other container, cover and put in the fridge; this is for the top layer, which is not added until you serve the cake.

Crumble the marrons glacés into the big bowl of mascarpone cream mixture, followed by ¾ of the chocolate chips and ¾ of the chopped pistachios, and fold in. Use half of this creamy filling to top the panettone layer that is lining the cake tin.

Use another third (approx.) of the panettone slices to cover the cream filling, again leaving no holes for the cream to escape through. Dampen with another 2 tablespoons of liqueur.
Spoon on the other half of the cream mixture and spread it evenly. Then top with a third and final layer of panettone, covering the cream as before, and drizzle over it the last 2 tablespoons of liqueur.

Cover tightly with clingfilm, pressing down on the top a little, and put in the fridge overnight or for up to 2 days.

When you are ready to serve, take the cake out of the fridge, unmold and sit it on a flat plate or cake stand, then spread with the reserved mascarpone mixture. Don’t try to lift the cake off the base, as the panettone slices at the bottom are too delectably damp.

Scatter the top – and all around the cake, if wished – with the remaining chocolate chips and chopped pistachios and your pomegranate “jewels”.
These sprinklings also provide beauteous camouflage for any less than aesthetically uplifting edges of the springform base which may be visible.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Holiday Food

Easy warm beet and goat cheese cups

December 20, 2019 Belinda

These great-tasting, no-cook canapés are quick to assemble at the last minute, suitable for veggies and they look gorgeous.
The perfect party food from Delicious Magazine

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Makes 24

4 cooked beets
1 garlic clove
2oz (50g) Greek yogurt
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1.5oz (40g) fresh breadcrumbs
1.5oz (40g) chopped toasted hazelnuts
5.5oz (150g) very soft, fresh rindless goat’s cheese
24 mini croustade cups
Fresh cilantro leaves, to garnish

In a food processor, whizz the beets with the garlic clove, Greek yogurt, pomegranate molasses, fresh breadcrumbs, hazelnuts and seasoning to form a coarse paste.
Put the goat’s cheese in a piping bag, then half-fill the croustade cups.
Top with spoonfuls of the beetroot paste, then garnish each with a fresh cilantro leaf.
Serve straightaway, or keep the beetroot paste in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days, then assemble at the last minute.

Dairy-free · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Rice · Vegan

Christmas Pilaff

December 13, 2019 Belinda

If you don’t want roast potatoes on Christmas Day (ha!) try this easy and very Christmassy pilaff from Delicious Magazine.
It has pomegranates, pistachios and spices and makes a colorful and tasty vegetarian rice dish.

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4oz (100g) shelled pistachios
2 pomegranates. ( If you can’t get pomegranates substitute for 6oz (175g) dried cranberries)
8oz (200g) basmati rice
14 fl oz (400ml) water or stock, hot
4 garlic cloves, peeled but whole
1/2″ (1cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and halved
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 red onions, finely sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Lightly toast the pistachios in a dry frying pan, until toasted. Set aside.

Halve the pomegranates along their equators and, holding the cut side over a bowl, beat the seeds out of them by bashing the skin with the end of a rolling pin. Set the seeds aside. They might let go of a lot of juice while they sit, which you should drain and drink – a cook’s treat and, incidentally, very good for your throat.

Pop the rice and water or stock into a pan and bring just to a simmer. Add the garlic and ginger, cover and cook the rice over a very low heat, stirring halfway, for about 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked and fluffy.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When the butter is fizzing, add the coriander seeds. As soon as they start to pop, add the onions and lemon juice. Stir-fry for about 10 minutes, until the onions color and start to look sticky. Set aside.

Once the rice is cooked, remove and discard the garlic and ginger.
Mix in the parsley, onions, pistachios and pomegranate seeds (or dried cranberries).
Check the seasoning and serve.