Tag: desserts

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Lemongrass Coconut Cake by Rachel Allen @Ballymaloe


By Rachel Allen Celebrity Chef
More from
Rachel Allen’s Cake Diaries


A quirky combination. The end result? A scrumptious cake for all to enjoy.
Ingredients
4 stalks of lemongrass, base and tops trimmed, outer leaves removed but reserved for the syrup (see below)
250 g (9oz) caster sugar
4 eggs
200 g (7oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
125 g (41/2 oz) desiccated coconut
125 g (41/2 oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
greek yoghurt or creme fraiche, to serve
for the syrup
reserved trimmings and outer leaves of the lemongrass (see above)
75 g (3oz) caster sugar
23cm (9in) diameter cake tin with 6cm
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F/Gas 3). Butter the sides of the cake tin and dust with flour, then line the base with a disc of baking parchment.
Slice the lemongrass stalks quite thinly into rounds about 3mm (1?8in) thick, then place in a food processor with the caster sugar and whiz for 1–2 minutes or until the lemongrass is finely puréed and very aromatic.
Add the eggs, butter and coconut and whiz again until combined, then sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the machine, whizzing very briefly just until the ingredients come together.
Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40–45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. While the cake is cooking, make the syrup.
Roughly chop the lemongrass trimmings, place in a saucepan with the sugar and 75ml (3fl oz) of water and set over a high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes before removing from the heat and leaving to infuse.
When the cake has finished baking, take it out of the oven and let it sit in the tin for 10 minutes. Loosen around the edges using a small, sharp knife and carefully remove the cake from the tin before transferring to a serving plate.
Reheat the syrup, then pierce holes all over the cake with a skewer and pour the hot syrup through a sieve onto the cake, moving the pan and sieve around as you pour so that the syrup covers the top of the cake. Allow the cake to cool down completely.
Serve with a dollop of natural Greek yoghurt or crème fraiche.
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Catherine’s Citrus Apple Crumble – Odlums porridge oats

What you need:

  • 175g/6oz Odlums Porridge Oats
  • 125g/4oz Odlums Cream Plain Flour
  • 125g/4oz Shamrock Demerara Sugar
  • 125g/4oz Butter or Margarine
  • Pinch of Cinnamon (optional)
  • 450g/1lb Cooking Apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
  • 2-3 tablespoons Sugar, to sweeten
  • Rind & Juice 1 Lemon
  • Rind & Juice 1 Orange

How to:

  1. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.
  2. Put the oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon if used, into a bowl.
  3. Rub in the butter or margarine with the tips of your fingers to form a dough.
  4. Place the apples in an oven proof dish. Sprinkle over the sugar to taste.
  5. Pour over the lemon and orange juice and rinds. Sprinkle the crumble on top.
  6. Bake for approx 30 minutes. Serve hot with ice cream, cream or crème fraîche.

Citrus Apple Crumble

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.@Anahaugh Vegan Chocolate Mousse

This quick and easy chocolate mousse is a brilliant vegan dessert. Made with silken tofu, it’s even high in protein!

Equipment: you will need a confectionery thermometer.

Each serving provides 620 kcal, 8.5g protein, 86g carbohydrate (of which 74g sugars), 27g fat (of which 7.5g saturates), 2g fibre and 0.4g salt.

Ingredients

For the chocolate mousse

For the honeycomb

For the apricots

How-to-videos

Method

  1. Put the tofu, ground star anise, vanilla seeds, treacle and agave syrup into a large bowl and blend with a hand blender until silky smooth.
  2. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl sat over a saucepan of simmering water, being careful not to let the bowl touch the water. Fold into the tofu. Spoon the mixture between 4 glasses and refrigerate until set.
  3. To make the honeycomb, line a baking tray with baking paper. Put the sugar, glucose and golden syrup into a deep saucepan and heat until it reaches 145C. (This should take about 5 minutes). Quickly whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. Be careful as the mixture will bubble up very suddenly. Quickly pour onto the lined baking tray. Set aside to cool and harden.
  4. To make the apricots, heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the apricots and star anise and cook until the apricots start to caramelise. Sprinkle over a pinch of sugar and leave to cool.
  5. To serve, sprinkle the toasted almonds on top of the mousse and serve with the apricots and peices of honeycomb.
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Apple and Hazelnut Streusel Cake @kerrygoldusa

apple___hazelnut_streusel_cake_cropped

This cake can be served warm as a dessert or cold as a teatime treat. It’s delicious with custard, but it would also be good with crème fraîche, clotted cream, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream – the list is endless! If you don’t fancy the apple, try using rhubarb or blackberries, depending on the time of year.

Serves:4

Ingredients:

For the streusel:

4 tbsp plain flour

1oz (2 tbsp) Kerrygold butter, diced, extra to grease

2 tbsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp toasted skinned hazelnuts, finely chopped

For the cake:

5oz (10 tbsp) Kerrygold butter, at room temperature

5oz (2/3 cup) caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

8oz (11/3 cups) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1 dessert apple, peeled, cored and diced (about 175g (6oz) (1 cup))

4oz (¾ cup) toasted skinned hazelnuts, finely chopped

4 tbsp milk

warm custard, to serve

Directions:

Preheat  the oven to 350°F. Butter a 23cm (9in) loose-bottomed cake tin and then  line with a circle of buttered parchment paper.  To make the streusel,  place the flour in a small bowl and rub in the butter, then  stir in the brown  sugar and hazelnuts.

To make the cake, beat  the butter  and caster sugar together with a hand  held electric mixer in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs,  a little at a time, adding  one tablespoon of the flour when  you have added about  half of the beaten eggs.  This will stop it from curdling. Sift over the rest of the flour and the baking powder  and cinnamon,  then  mix lightly. Add the apple,  hazelnuts  and milk and fold in until thoroughly combined.

Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread  level. Scatter the streusel in an even layer on top of the cake mixture and bake for 50 minutes  to 1 hour until the sides of the cake have shrunk slightly away from the tin and the streusel topping  is golden  brown.  To test if the cake is done,  insert a fine metal skewer into the middle. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes set on a wire rack.

To serve, cut the apple and hazelnut  streusel cake into slices and arrange  on plates with the warm custard.

Apple & Hazelnut Streusel Cake