Italian Lemon Trifle

So it has been FREEZING here in Dublin since time began.  Well maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it feels like that at this stage following the freezing temperatures of winter that seem to be dragging on into spring.  Over the last week, while the temperatures have remained more than chilly, the sky has turned the most beautiful shade of blue and a strange light has flooded the earth.  That light my dear friends is the sun.  I know, I had almost forgotten what it looked like too.  But it's back, and it is more than welcome.  I hope it is settling in for a bright and warm year ahead and doesn't plan on hiding behind the clouds too much. 

With sunny skies warming my skin I had a longing for some fresh tastes.  The cold and grey winter days called for heavy, warming, comforting foods but this change in the weather has brought a longing for lighter flavours to refresh both palate and mind.  Mr. Boo and myself had some guests for dinner on Saturday night and so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to test out a recipe idea I had thought of last year.  It was very well received around the table so I think it will be a regular fixture for summer desserts in this house.

The recipe is a mixture of a couple I have already posted on the blog here with some additions and tweaks.  I decided to use Lemon Drizzle Cake as a base for an alternative trifle.  I doused it with Limoncello, then layered this with mascarpone mixed with some icing sugar to sweeten it a little and some tangy Lemon Posset.  I'm not sure the Italians eat trifle or have a fondness for a lemon one but I decided the use of Limoncello and mascarpone warranted the Italian description in the title.  Enjoy!

Italian Lemon Trifle

1 x 1lb loaf of Lemon Drizzle Cake
6floz Limoncello
500g Mascarpone
75g Icing Sugar
1 quantity of Lemon Posset

I made the lemon drizzle cake in a 1lb loaf tin so that it could easily be cut into even slices for layering.  Alternatively you could use a shop bought Madeira cake.  I made 6 individual trifles in tumbler glasses but you could make it in one large bowl if you prefer.

1,  Make the lemon drizzle cake and lemon posset as per the instructions here.
2.  Slice the lemon drizzle cake into 1cm slices.  Lay in one layer on a plate or baking sheet and pour over the Limoncello.  Leave for a few minutes to allow to soak in.
3.  Place the mascarpone in a bowl and add in the icing sugar.  Stir through until incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

4.  Place a layer of cake in the bottom of the bowl/glass.  Top with a layer of the mascarpone mixture and then a layer of lemon posset.  Continue to layer until you have used all of the ingredients.  (If you are using individual glasses you might have to break the cake slices to make them fit.  This is fine, just press them down into an even layer.)

Cinnamon Bread

A few weeks ago Donal Skehan posted a picture of some scrummy looking baked eggs on twitter.  I'm not a big egg fan and only eat them scrambled but knew my husband would like them.  I resolved to make him a special breakfast of them the following Sunday.  It didn't happen that weekend, or the one after that or the one after that.  I finally got round to making them for him this weekend.  We've had a pretty hectic few weeks so I decided on a lazy weekend with lots of time to bake and cook and eat. 

On Saturday I came over all domestic goddess and after scrubbing the house donned my apron.  I started the process for a sourdough bread starter (more to follow on this).  I then toddled off with my pretty floral shopping bag and filled it with all manner of yumminess so that I could cook a special dinner followed by a delicious breakfast the next morning.  Another recipe I had been meaning to make for Mr. Boo is The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Bread.  He is a fan of all things cinnamon and he enjoyed a similar bread in Ruby's Diner in Huntington Beach, L.A., so much that he hasn't stopped talking about it since.  He had that bread six years ago!

The following morning my sister text to say she had some cakes from Roly's Bistro for me so I told her to join us for our late breakfast.  Donal's eggs went down very well with all at the table and his Spanish potato and chorizo hash (without the fried eggs) that I made to accompany them was positively hoovered up by my sister and the recipe requested.  After breakfast we managed to squeeze in some cinnamon bread and even a little cake or two.  A perfect Sunday morning.

These are the Roly's cakes that we didn't quite manage to finish off

for breakfast so Mr. Boo & I had a nice dessert.

While the end result for this bread was totally scrummy toasted and smothered in butter I did find it required a bit of effort to make.  The dough requires mixing with a dough hook for 10-15 minutes, not an issue if you have a freestanding electric mixer, but I was using a hand held so it took a little arm power.  I also felt that the dough was very moist and sticky, so much so that it was impossible to handle without it sticking to hands and generally making life very messy.  There is a note on the original recipe to add 30g of extra flour if this is the case.  I had to do that 3 times to get it to a manageable consistency.  It was most definitely worth it though and I think next time I make it I will have a better understanding so can add extra flour as I am kneading with the dough hooks to avoid extra kneading time afterwards.   Don't be put off by this though, it is a delicious bread, almost cake like, so definitely worth it for a weekend breakfast treat.  I found it similar to a brioche with a delicious swirl of moist, sweet cinnamon running through it.  Enjoy!

I have linked to the original recipe above but have converted it to g/oz measurements below. 

The Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Bread
(makes 1 x 1lb loaf)

240ml Milk
90g/3oz Unsalted Butter, plus extra for greasing
7g Sachet Yeast
2 Large Eggs
75g/2.65oz Caster Sugar
420g/14.82oz Plain Flour
1tsp Salt
1 Egg and some milk to glaze

For the filling
2tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
75g/2.65oz Sugar
2tbsp Cinnamon

1.  Melt the butter and milk until very warm but do not allow them to boil.  Allow them to cool until still warm to the touch, but not too hot.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
2.  Mix the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a free standing electric mixer until combined.  Add the milk mixture and mix until combined.  Sieve in half of the flour and salt and mix until combined, repeat with the remaining flour.  Alternatively you can do this in a large bowl using a hand held electric mixer.

3.  Switch to dough hook attachments and knead on a medium speed for 10 minutes.  If the dough is overly sticky at the end of this time add an additional 30g(a little over an oz) of flour and knead for a further 5 minutes.  Repeat this if necessary until you have a consistency that you can work with (I had to add 90g of additional flour in 3 stages as I found the dough very wet).
4.  Spray a bowl with a little oil.  Transfer the dough to the bowl and toss in the oil.  Cover the bowl with clingfilm and place in a warm, draught free place( I use my hot press) for 2 hours.

5.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Melt 2tbsp of butter.  Grease a 1lb loaf tin.
6.  Generously flour your work surface and turn the dough out onto it.  Flour your hands generously, then flatten with your hands and shape into a rectangle.  Measure the width against your loaf tin to ensure it will fit in.  When you are happy with the shape smear with the melted butter and sprinkle the sugar on top in an even layer.

7.  Roll from one end of the dough to the other keeping it as tight as possible.,, pinch the seam to seal.  Place into the prepared loaf tin, seam side down,  and flatten slightly to fill any gaps.  Cover with clingfilm and return to a warm, draught free place to rise again.

8.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Mix 1 egg with a little milk in a small bowl.  Glaze the top of the loaf with the egg/milk mix and place into the preheated oven, below the centre, for 40 minutes.  Remove for the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Flourless Brownies(GF) & Gluten Free Baking

During my blogging year(and a bit) I have become much more aware of the food I eat.  Whilst I always appreciated a good meal and loved to cook up a storm in the kitchen I didn't always think about the food I was eating and it's journey to my table.  Now I am more adventurous in my choices, willing to try flavours and textures I would have refused before.  I also choose my ingredients with a lot more care and with more curiosity as to where it has come from.  I ask my butcher lots of questions about cuts of meat and am happy to try those cuts that for a long time have been out of favour.  I'm not sure why they became unfashionable as they are so delicious.  I also check labels when buying fresh fruit and veg to see if items are locally grown and where Irish grown produce is available it beats imported items into my shopping basket.

Not only am I more aware of the food choices I make but also those of others.  I read so many inspiring Irish and also international food blogs, bursting full of fabulous ideas and each with it's own unique style.  Some embrace food in all it's guises but others focus on food governed by lifestyle choices or dietary restrictions.  Through my blog I have become more aware of coeliac disease, and am quite surprised that the number of people affected is much higher than I had previously thought.  As it is something that I am not faced with in my day to day baking for family and friends I never really gave it much thought, but having encountered queries and comments relating to the blog I decided to educate myself a little so that I could attempt to offer some gluten free recipes on the blog.

Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease which affects the gut and other parts of the body.  It causes the body to attack itself when gluten is eaten.  Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley & rye, is what gives elasticity to bread and spring to cakes.  Some people can also be affected by oats.  To treat coeliac disease people diagnosed must stick to a gluten free diet and avoid foods such as breads, cereals, flours, pastas, pizza bases, biscuits, cakes and pastry as these are the most obvious sources of gluten.  It is also advisable to avoid oats as they can become cross contaminated with other grains. 

As most baked goods require flour in some shape or form those with coeliac disease can find the choice of baked goods very limiting.  On the side bar of the blog I have added a new 'Gluten Free Treats' button, if you click on it it will link to a page that contains all of the gluten free recipes from the blog so far.  I have only started to explore the world of gluten free baking but will make an effort to post some more gluten free options and also some specifically gluten free recipes throughout the year.  I hope this is of interest to some of you and I would love your feedback on this in the comments. 

For more information please check out Coeliac Society of Ireland.  Also, if you would like to try some gluten free baking I have found Seriously Good! Gluten Free-Baking by Phil Vickery to be a really fantastic book.  It is full of information and has a great range of recipes to keep you very busy in the kitchen. 

IMPORTANT
It is very important for you to check that the brand of certain products eg. baking powder that you use is gluten free as products can become cross contaminated during production.  If you are a member of the Coeliac Society of Ireland you will receive an annual Food List with details of gluten free products and brands.  Also you can check all ingredient lists on food packaging and avoid anything that clearly states it contains wheat.  Some products also provide allergy information on their packaging which would state if the item is gluten free. 

Flourless Brownies

I was going to start off with something boring like a bread or scones but as I haven't made it to my local health food shop yet to stock up on specialist flours yet I decided to see what I could rustle up with the contents of my baking press.  Luckily for you and me I settled on brownies as I knew that as they are a flat tray bake substituting ground almonds for flour shouldn't cause too many problems.  I was pretty impressed with the results and when I asked Mr. Boo's opinion and he said they were the best brownie's he had ever tasted I knew I was onto a winner.  He is my harshest critic, especially when it comes to chocolate treats so his was high praise indeed.  He enjoyed his taster bite so much he polished off 2 whole brownies with his cup of tea.  I hope you enjoy them just as much.  Be warned though, they are extremely gooey and delicious.

(makes 12-15 depending on the size you cut the squares)

200g/7oz Unsalted butter, diced
250g/9oz Good Quality Dark Chocolate
200g/7oz Caster Sugar
3 Large Eggs
125g/4.5oz Ground Almonds
50g/1.75oz Cocoa Powder

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/F/Gas Mark .  Line a brownie tray with foil.
2.  Place the butter into a pan and set over a medium heat until melted.  Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted.

3.  In a separate bowl whisk the caster sugar and eggs using a hand held whisk until creamy.

4.  Add the chocolate mixture to the egg and sugar mixture and mix gently until well combined.

5.  Sieve in the ground almonds and the cocoa powder(you may need to give the last of the almonds a helping hand through the sieve) and again gently mix through to combine.

6.  Pour into the prepared tray and smooth out.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes.

  There should be a thin crisp layer on the top and the brownie should still have some wobble. 

7.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before removing from the tray and cutting into yummy scrummy gooey squares of heaven.  Enjoy.

Snowflake Cookies

My third offering for the Irish Foodies December Christmas themed cookalong(Jaysus, that's a bit of a mouth full) are these yummy Snowflake Cookies.  These cookies are deliciously buttery and sweet with a beautiful texture.  Don't just save them for Christmas time though, cut them into different shapes and enjoy them year round.

Snowflake Cookies
(makes 12+ depending on the shapes you cut)

225g/8oz Unsalted butter, softened
225g/8oz Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
1tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
450g/1lb Plain Flour

1.  Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.
2.  Add the egg, vanilla and a pinch of salt and mix again.
3.  Gradually sift in the flour and continue to mix until incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
4.  Form the dough into a round, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for a couple of hours until firm.
5.  Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
6.  Roll the dough out onto a floured work surface to a thickness of 5mm.  Dip cookie cutters into some flour and cut shapes out of the dough and place onto the lined baking sheets.
7.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden and firm to the touch.
8.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
9.  Decorate with some white icing(175g/6oz icing sugar sifted into a bowl, add 1.5teaspoons of warm water and mix to a smooth paste.  Adjust the consistency with additional icing sugar or water if needed by adding a little at a time.  Spoon into an icing bag with a fine nozzle attached.) or leave plain if you wish.  

Irish Foodies October Cookalong: Autumn Fruit - Blackberry Jam & Apple & Blackberry Tart

The latest Irish Foodies cookalong theme was Autumn fruit.  It didn't take me long to decide that I wanted to use blackberries as my main ingredient, so all that I needed to do was to find some nice juicy specimens ripe for the picking.  I was on blackberry watch every day as I power walked around the village but they refused to turn form red to black.  I think they knew I was waching.  If I'm not mistaken I saw them painting eachother up with a scarlet lipstick one morning in an effort to dupe me. 

Fear not, last Sunday my hushand and I drove to Newbridge House & Demesne and went in search of some viable candidates.  We were a little disappointed to find the same story here.  Lots of red berries and only a handful of ripe beauties.  The hubs got stuck in and was determined to harvest enough for the pot of blackberry jam I had promised him.  He fearlessly climbed in among the brambles and other than the odd swear word when the thorny branches got the better of him he plucked away until he had filled his little bag.

The next day I sailed into unchartered waters and set about making my very 1st jam.  I was under the impression it was a long and complicated process.  I was very, very wrong.  It took just a few minutes and the help of my trusty sugar thermometer, and then Bob's your uncle I had a lovely jar of jam.  Simlpes!  Having researched some recipes online I decided to live life on the wild side and just chuck a few things into the pot and hope for the best.  The result was a really delicious jam.  I will definitely be making my own in future and snubbing supermarket offerings.

Here is my recipe, I hope you enjoy it.

Blackberry Jam

2 cups (measuring cup size) of Blackberries, washed
2 cups (measuring cup size) of Sugar
2tbsp Lemon Juice
2 small Apples, washed, peeled and diced.

1.  Place the blackberries in a large bowl and crush roughly or blitz in a food processor.

2.  Transfer the blackberries to a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. 
3.  Set over a medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. 

4.  Allow to simmer until the temperature on the sugar thermometer reaches 'jam'.
5.  While still hot pour into the hot sterilised jar, place a wax circle on top and seal the jar. 
6.  Store in a cool, dark place and refrigerate once opened.

The apples in the recipe provide natural pectin to help set the jam.

I had a few blackberrys left over so thought the hubs would appreciate a nice apple and blackberry tart.  I decided to try out a new recipe and had a Catherine Leyden one to hand so gave that a bash.  I was very glad I did.  It was such a simple recipe and I had the pastry whipped up in minutes.  It uses a technique I have seen before but had quite forgotten but makes such complete sense.  Grate the cold butter!  I can't believe I banished this from my memory.  This is genius.  Grating the butter leaves long strands of cold 'fat' that can be easily distributed throughout the flour, and because they butter is so fine there is no need to over work the mixture to incorporate it.  I will most definitely be doing this again to take the stress out of pastry making.  The tart was a huge success, and the pastry just perfect, exactly the texture my mams used to be.  Enjoy!

Apple & Blackberry Tart

225g/8oz Plain Flour
125g/4oz Butter, make sure it is cold and not room temperature
150ml/ 0.25 Pint Cold Water (approximately)
4 Large Cooking Apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
100g/3.5oz Blackberries
Sugar to sweeten apples

1.   Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
2.   Sieve the flour into a bowl.
3.   Grate the cold butter into the flour. (You may need a little flour on your fingers to do this)

4.   Using a knife, mix the grated butter into the flour.
5.   Slowly add the water and mix to a soft dough with the knife.

6.   Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly.  (If you feel your pastry has become warm from kneading place it into the freezer, wrapped in cling film, for 10 minutes)

7.   Roll out half of the pastry to the size of an oven proof plate.

9.   Arrange the apples on the pastry, leaving a 1cm edge.  Sprinkle each layer with sugar.

10. Scatter the blackberries on top of the apple.

11. Roll the remaining pastry out to a size sufficient to cover the apples. 
12. Dampen the edge of teh base pastry with cold water to seal.
13. Press the top pastry over the apples to make the tart.  Seal the edges by using the back of a knife to form a crust.  Press around the edge with the tines of a fork.

14. Pierce the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.

Mint Crisp Pie

This was one dessert offering from our recent dinner party.  There were plenty of "mmmmmm"'s and "ooooooh"'s as people dived in and any slices that were not finished were requested to be wrapped up to be finished the next day.  I am a very accommodating host so I obliged of course and they were either demolished following breakfast the next day or with a cup of tea when our guests were nestled on their sofa at home recovering from the previous nights over indulgence. 

I have just entered this pie into English Mum's Big Bake Off competition, wish me luck.  I need the Green & Blacks hamper to complete my life. Honest!

Before I move onto the recipe for this pie I wanted to just talk a little about the base.  The base for this pie, as with most pies, called for crushed digestive biscuits.  Now, I'm not the biggest fan of digestive biscuit bases.  I find the butter soaks in too much and leaves a soggy base that really is not what I want to find at the bottom of a beautiful mousse or cheesecake topping.  For this reason I am on a mission to create a base more suited to my tastes. 

In this recipe I decided to use Bourbon cream biscuits which I have used successfully in the past.  While I was in the supermarket though my attention was drawn to a packet of Oreos with a chocolate cream filling and I knew instantly they would be perfect.  When I set about making the pie originally I crushed 1 x 154g packet of Oreo Chocolate Creme's and mixed them with the melted butter, but the quantity fell short of the pie dish I was filling.  I tipped the mixture back into the pan and ran to my local shop but was unable to find Oreo's in any shape or form.  I grabbed a packet of Fox's Chocolate Fudge Crunch Creams in a "they'll just have to do" manner.  Just have to do!  They turned out to be the perfect addition to the dense Oreo crust.  Not only did they pepper the dark muddy colour of the Oreo crust with flashes of a beautiful fudgey brown, they also gave the added bonus of little chewy fudge pieces dotted all around the crust.   A very happy marriage indeed and one I will use for many other pies to come.

Also, this is a really easy pie to make.  It is more of an assembly project than a baking one but the results are really impressive.  Make it in the morning as you will need time to boil and cool the condensed milk (you could also boil this the night before and allow to cool overnight), and simply add the whipped cream and crushed mint crisp bars just before serving.  Don't take my word for it though, try it out for yourself.  Enjoy!

Mint Crisp Pie
(Makes 1 x 8" pie, serves 6-8)

1 x 154g Packet of Oreo Chocolate Creme Biscuits
5 x Fox's Chocolate Fudge Crunch Cream Biscuits
3oz/90g Unsalted Butter (melted)
397g (1 tin) Condensed Milk
12floz/350ml Whipped Cream

3.5oz/100g Mint Crisp Bar

1.  Place the tin of condensed milk in a large pot.  Cover completely with water and simmer with the lid on for 3 hours.  Check occasionally to ensure the tin is still submerged in the water, top up if necessary.  Allow the tin to cool in the water before removing and opening.

2.  Place the biscuits into a resealable bag, expel all of the air before sealing and then crush the biscuits with a rolling pin.

3.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Remove from the heat and add the crushed biscuits and stir to ensure evenly coated with the butter.

4.  Transfer the biscuits to an 8" pie dish and press firmly onto the base and up the sides.  Place in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.

5.  Once the base has set carefully spread the caramel on top of it (take care not to disturb and lift the biscuits).  Cover with clingfilm and return to the fridge until read to serve.

6.  Break up the mint crisp bars ( I used a Lindt bar originally but when I was making the pie again today it would seem the chocolate fairies had been in and munched it so I had to make do with Cadbury's but both were equally good) and place in a resealable bag, expel all of the air before sealing and then crush the bars with a rolling bin.  Set aside until ready to serve.
7.  If you have bought single cream whip until it holds it's shape and leave in the fridge until ready to serve.  If you have bought cream already whipped make yourself a cup of tea and relax for a few minutes.  Go on, I said so.

8.  Before serving remove the pie from the fridge, spread the whipped cream over the caramel layer and then sprinkle the crushed mint crisp bars on top of the cream.