Things I'm up to around the kitchen and garden. Crafting food and drink and embarking on the keeping of hens. Possibly the odd comment about hotel and restaurant food.
A family food tradition at Christmas from my wife's side of the family, I was smitten with the first spoonful and was keen to keep this tradition going. Far simpler than a standard Christmas pud and less heavy.
Ingredients
11 oz can mandarin oranges
2 oz sultanas
2 oz raisins
2 Tbsp sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream)
3 oz glacécherries
4 oz butter
4 oz icing sugar
2 oz ground almonds
8 trifle sponges
2 Tbsp milk
5 fl oz double cream
Method
Lightly butter a 1 pint pudding basin.
Drain mandarins.
Place sultanas and raisins in a small bowl and add the sherry.
Cut the cherries into quarters and chop the mandarins.
Cream the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
Fold in ground almonds and cherries.
Crumble in the sponges and fold in the mandarins, sultanas, raisins and sherry.
Place this mixture into the buttered pudding bowl, pressing down firmly and levelling the top with the back of a spoon.
Cover with foil and chill in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Remove from the fridge and uncover.
Run a knife round the top and dip in warm water for 30 seconds before upending onto a serving plate.
Whip the cream and cover the pudding to look like a snowball.
Serve as is or decorate as you like.
I was so taken with this tart when I bought one from a patisserie in the north of France, that I quizzed the baker on how to make it. The leavened pastry (pate levee) takes a little time to make, with all the resting stages, but I think it is well worth the wait. Best served once cooled to room temperature.
and add to the flour in a bowl, then start mixing.
Add the egg
Then the sugar and salt.
Continue to mix with a dough hook or kneed to a dough.
Leave to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Add the soft butter and kneed in as best you can. The dough may seem like it's disintegrating and not likely to recover, but keep kneeding away. Eventually the dough will come together and come away from the work surface quite nicely.
Cover and leave to prove at room temperature for an hour.
Transfer to the fridge for half an hour to firm up the dough.
Mould the dough in your hands to an even shaped disc then roll out on a floured surface to about 3mm thick.
Place the cake tin on the pastry and cut a disc around 3cm wider than the tin edge.
Line the tin with the pastry allowing the excess to form the sides of the tart.
Fill with a pint of Creme Patissiere and spread evenly over the base.
Use the off-cuts of pastry to form a lattice work and push halves of partially rehydrated prunes into the creme patissiere between the latticework.
Leave to prove for an hour.
Brush the pastry with beaten egg.
Bake at 180 C for 10 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 150 C for 20 minutes.
Leave to cool and serve at room temperature.
If you wish to see a video of me making the pastry, this time for a plain tarte a la creme, there is a YouTube video, below.
and to make the creme patissiere, here's another video:
Mix the oil, maple syrup, honey and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix..
Tip this mixture onto two baking sheets and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 mins at 140C.
Leave to cool then transfer to a kilner jar or other airtight container, it should break-up into "clusters" as you transfer it.
This is also a great way of using the crushed up bits of purchased cereal left in the bottom of packs, just add to the mix reducing the amount of oats by the weight off added cerials:
