Granulated Sugar (depending on sweetness of apples)
How to:
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish about 28cms x 18cms (11″ x 7″).
Cream together the butter or margarine and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the lemon rind.
Sieve flour and baking powder. Add the flour to the batter, alternately with the milk.
Spread half the mixture into prepared dish, layer half the apples over this and top with remaining mixture. Arrange the apple slices on top. Sprinkle with sugar if wished and finally sprinkle over the flaked almonds.
Bake for about 40 minutes until well risen and firm to the touch.
100g dried apricots, chopped in the food processor
3 Quality Assured large eggs, beaten
Oranges in caramel
4 large oranges, peeled and sliced
4 tablesp. sugar
125ml water
To Cook
Set oven 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4.
Line a shallow 23cm cake tin with baking parchment.
Beat the butter and sugar together, until light and fluffy, add the lemon juice and ground almonds. Fold in the flour, apricots and eggs. Transfer the mixture to the lined cake tin, smooth the top and bake for approx. 35 mins., until firm to the touch.
Oranges in Caramel
Place the oranges in a flat dish, heat the sugar in a heavy pan, allow the sugar to brown add the water and boil until you have a caramel sauce. Pour it over the oranges. Serve with the cake.
Home-made vanilla ice cream in ice bowl decorated with our Irish Native Bluebells… make time for a walk on our woodland paths if you are visiting @Ballymaloe this weekend! Photo @JRRyall
For the base 1 & 2/3 cups of Flahavan’s Rolled Oats 1 cup of toasted hazelnuts 1/2 cup of butter, plus extra for greasing the tin 1/3 cup of soft brown sugar 1 tbsp honey
For the cheesecake topping 1 & 1/3 cups of good quality white chocolate, broken into pieces 1 & 1/4 cups of sour cream 1 cup of cream cheese 1 tbsp lemon juice
To decorate 2 tbsp Flahavan’s Rolled Oats 2 tbsp hazelnuts, roughly halved 3 tbsp soft brown sugar ½ tsp lemon juice 3/4 cup of berries of your choice – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, redcurrants or blackberries 1 ripe fig A few thinly sliced grapes
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 320°F. Grease a 9-inch, round, straight sided tart tin with removable base and line the base with a circle of baking parchment. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, honey and sugar for the cheesecake base over a low heat stirring until combined. Leave to cool a little.
Meanwhile, place the hazelnuts in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Mix the Flahavan’s Oats with the hazelnuts and stir in the melted butter mixture until fully combined. Press the mixture into the prepared tin using the back of a spoon and push evenly up the sides to form the crust.
Place the cheesecake base in the oven for 15 mins. Once baked, remove from the oven and smooth over the mixture again with the back of a spoon pushing the mixture up the sides again if it has slipped down. Place the tin in the fridge to cool completely (this should take around 30 minutes).
When the base is cool, make the cheesecake filling by melting the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of hot water (making sure the base of the pan does not sit in the water). Once melted, leave to cool for 10 minutes – the chocolate should be liquid but not too hot.
In a mixing bowl whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and cream cheese until fully combined. Next, add in the melted chocolate and whisk.
Pour the filling over the cooled base and, using a small spatula, spread it into a smooth, even layer. Place the cheesecake in the fridge for around 6 hours, until completely set.
To decorate, start by toasting the remaining Flahavan’s Oats and hazelnuts in a small frying pan over a medium heat, moving them around the pan for approximately 3 minutes, until completely toasted and golden brown. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice, and cook for around 1 minute until fully melted and combined. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool. Remove the tart from the tin by gently heating the edges to release it – you can do this with a cloth soaked in a little hot water – and slide the tart onto a serving plate. Gather together the berries, figs and toasted Oats and arrange as you please. Slice into wedges to serve, and enjoy
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.
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.
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.
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.
To serve, sprinkle the toasted almonds on top of the mousse and serve with the apricots and peices of honeycomb.
You will have just as much fun making and dusting this cake as you will eating it. This deliciously simple recipe comes from Rachel Allen.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
100g (3½oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
350g (12oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
225g (8oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) cocoa powder
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
225ml (8fl oz) buttermilk or sour milk
For the Meringue:
3 egg whites
150g (5oz) caster sugar
275ml (9½fl oz) double or regular cream
Icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Preheat the oven to 165°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Line the bases of the cake tins with rounds of baking parchment, brush the sides with melted or soft butter and dust with flour.
To make the cake, place the butter in a mixing bowl and beat until very soft. Add the sugar and one of the eggs and beat again, then add the other egg and mix. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a separate bowl and set aside. Measure the buttermilk and set aside also.
Now, start the meringue. Place the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until frothy using an electric food mixer or hand-held electric beater. Add in half of the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Turn off the whisk and fold in the remaining sugar.
Next, go straight back to the cake. Fold in the sifted dry ingredients and the buttermilk, then divide the mixture between the two cake tins, making sure they are level. Divide the meringue between the two cakes and spread out evenly over the cakes.
Cook in the oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Take out of the oven and allow to sit in the tin for 15-20 minutes before loosening around the sides with a small, sharp knife, removing the cakes from the tins and allowing to cool completely meringue side up.
When ready to assemble, whip the cream until it just holds stiff peaks, then place one of the cakes (save the best cake for the top) on a cake stand. Spread the whipped cream over the top, then sit the second cake on top of the cream. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
If you really want to show off to your guests, a gas gun or small propane torch can be used, with care, to glaze the top. If you don’t fancy using apricot jam as a glaze try marmalade or lemon curd instead. To make it even more delicious try making it with day-old croissants or brioche.
Ingredients:
6 tbsp(3oz) Kerrygold Salted Butter, softened, extra for greasing
4 eggs
1 cup (8fl oz) milk
1 cup (8fl oz) cream
finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
6 tbsp caster sugar
9oz sliced white bread (about 9 slices)
½ cup (3oz) ready-to-eat dried prunes, finely chopped
½ cup (3oz) sultanas or raisins
good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 tbsp apricot jam
pouring cream, to serve
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), Gas mark 4 and lightly butter an ovenproof dish. Beat the eggs, milk and cream together in a large jug. Mix together the lemon rind and juice, vanilla seeds and sugar in a small bowl and then add to the egg mixture, beating lightly to combine.
Spread the slices of bread with the softened butter and cut off the crusts, then cut into triangles. Scatter half of the prunes and sultanas or raisins into the bottom of the buttered dish and arrange a layer of the bread triangles on top. Pour over half of the egg mixture, pressing it down gently, then repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients and sprinkle the nutmeg on top.
Place the dish into a large roasting tin and fill with warm water so that it comes three-quarters of the way up the dish. Carefully place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until just set.
Remove the bread and butter pudding from the water bath to a wire rack. Heat the apricot jam in a small pan and then brush the top of the pudding.
To serve, cut the bread and butter pudding into slices and arrange on plates with the pouring cream.
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