The Great Trifle-Off

You know all those long-running family feuds? I'm thinking epic scale, Montagues & Capulets kind of deal? Forget them. The great trifle debate has been going on in my family for as long as I can remember. Nor is the debate restricted to family members. Last week, I was drawn into a discussion at work about how trifle "should" be made which became quite heated. In the end we agreed to all make our version of a proper trifle and the one English person in our office would judge the best one... he seemed quite happy about this.

The debate centers over where exactly the jelly goes in your recipe.  Members of "the other side" foolishly suggest that it should be poured over the sponge on the bottom and then set. People on "the correct side" agree that jelly in sponge is disgusting and the sponge should be soaked in sherry and/or peach juice and the jelly should be carefully set over the top of the custard. Some strange people suggest that there shouldn't be any jelly at all... that just doesn't even make sense!

So, here's the way to do trifle properly. I've added cream to the custard because it makes it yummy but it can also make the layering tricky if it doesn't set hard enough. If you're worried, you may want to leave the cream out of the custard.
If you want to get fancy, you can also put berries on the top of the custard before it sets. Then you can see them through the jelly.

Trifle the Right Way
1 sponge cake
1 large tin of sliced peaches
1/4 - 1/3 cup medium sherry
2 heaped tbsp custard powder
2 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 cups of milk
1 egg
1/2 cup cream
1 packet of red jelly
2 cups boiling water

Cut the sponge into chunks and layer on the bottom of a glass bowl. Pour over the sherry and/or enough juice from the peaches to soak the sponge.

To make the custard: In a small bowl, combine the custard powder, sugar, egg and 1/2 a cup of milk to form a smooth paste. Heat the remaining 2 cups of milk in the microwave until boiling. Whisk in the custard powder mixture. Microwave in 1 minute intervals, stirring in between until custard boils & thickens. Allow to cool.

Once cooled, mix the cream into the custard and beat with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Spread the custard over the sponge and refrigerate to set completely (at least 2 hours but the longer the better).

Make up the jelly according to the instructions on the packet (you may want to add a little more gelatine if you want firm jelly). Refrigerate until it reaches egg white consistency. Pour over the custard and hope like the dickens it stays on top. Refrigerate until completely set.

Memories & Meringue

The last couple of weeks I've been on a bit of a baking hiatus because I've had the plague. Well, my doctor assures me it's far more likely to be a chest infection gone feral but I don't feel that communicates an appropriate level of discomfort... I was somewhere between an 8 and a 9 on Allie's pain scale. Anyway, thanks to a vast arsenal of drugs I'm feeling much better and tonight went to a party to which it was requested that I bring "something lemony". I'd also promised a couple of people that I'd share my lemon meringue pie recipe here, even though it doesn't fit into the brownie brief at all (I've tried, those briefs just get sticky).

I first made this pie for a dinner with some friends from Bakers Delight so now every time I make it I think of our awesome parties. I miss you guys! I've also discovered that having people watch you make this is a really good way to pick up, I've had more than one friend say they found it strangely sexy... I think it's the meringue.

A note on pastry though. Making gluten free pastry is hard and I don't keep wheat flour in the house so I usually just buy the pastry shell. I seriously doubt I could make pastry better than the pros do anyway.

And last but not least, sorry about the photo... I only just managed to get one before it all disappeared.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Pastry
2 cups plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tbsp icing sugar
185g butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp water

Filling
4 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cup water
90g butter
4 egg yolks

Meringue
4 egg whites
2 tbsp water
pinch of salt
3/4 cup caster sugar

20 cm pie dish                                                                    Oven @ 180c

Rub the butter into the flour, salt and icing sugar. Add the lemon juice & enough water to form a firm dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins.
Lightly knead dough then roll out to fit a 20 cm pie dish.
Prick the base all over with a fork and bake for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool.

For the filling: Combine the flours, lemon rind, juice and sugar in a medium saucepan. Slowly blend in water so there are no lumps.
Stir over low heat until mixture boils & thickens. Reduce heat & simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter and egg yolks.
Once cool, spread filling into pastry shell.

For the meringue: Combine egg whites, water, and salt and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat until completely dissolved and mixture is shiny.
Spoon meringue onto the filling and seal the edges. Bake for 5-10 minutes until just starting to brown.
Cool then refrigerate.

The guilty shame cycle

This evening I was nursing a tin of peaches (for a trifle I'm making) on the train home when I was struck by the sudden urge to have takeaway lemon chicken. Usually, I would ask my flatmate if she wanted in but I knew she was busy helping to stage-manage a birth (yay! congratulations to all involved!).

This is where the guilty shame cycle began.

I had to call the restaurant in a crowded train, and who wants to be that person overheard ordering takeaway all for themselves... even if you are? The solution to me seemed obvious. I ordered twice as much as I could reasonably eat, therefore making it appear that I was not going home to stuff my face alone... even though I was.

At home, after working my way through about half of the takeaway, I was overcome by shame and decided I should at least be productive and set about making my trifle. Only once it was fully assembled did I remember that the reason I made it in the first place was to use up sub-standard cake and therefore, would be too embarrassed to share it with work people.

It seemed only right to make something I could share with work people so more baking ensued. This did, at least result in tonight's recipe which originally comes from the BBC and contains more sugar than I would usually consider acceptable but that's why they're supposedly chewy.

Of course, after I'd produced a ridiculous amount of food, I immediately remembered the reason I was coming home for a quiet night was to send out a choir newsletter... It's going to be a late night.

Not So Chewy Raspberry Brownies
300g dark chocolate
200g butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
110g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
170g frozen raspberries

Oven @ 170c                                                    20cm square pan lined with baking paper

Melt the chocolate and butter together then allow to cool slightly. Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs.

Fold in the flour and baking powder.

Spread half of the mixture into the pan, then sprinkle over the raspberries. Top with remaining mixture (this stops the batter from freezing).

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the surface is set. Cool in pan for at least half an hour before turning out.

Like Soufflé? Brownies? Raspberries? Me too!

Last week, I met someone else who made brownies and fed them to strangers. This was a glorious thing and made me feel much more normal. She made raspberry brownies that were beautifully chewy and I thought I'd have a go at replicating it. 

Sorry about the picture, had to use my phone

This did not work. 

I did, however, manage to create a wonderful brownie-soufflé hybrid. I can recommend this brownie both hot and cold and I imagine it would be delicious with cream, ice cream, chocolate sauce or any other condiment that typically goes with a dessert. I'll have another go at the chewy brownie next week.

Make sure your eggs aren't too cold for this one or the chocolate will reset. Also, be prepared for the finished brownies to be very soft immediately out of the oven and to fall when cooling.

Raspberry Soufflé Brownies
200g butter
250g  dark chocolate  

1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup caster sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup plain flour
175g frozen raspberries

Oven @ 160c                           20cm - 23cm square cake pan lined with baking paper

Melt butter and chocolate together then stir in sugar. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Stir in the eggs and then the milk. Whisk until the mixture forms a silky texture.

Fold in the flour, then the frozen raspberries. Spread in pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. Brownies will be soft when removed from oven. Allow to cool before turning out unless serving as a dessert.

The brownie to get you through a meeting

Today I spent the entire day in a meeting. What's worse is that I had to do the minutes... no gazing off into the middle distance for me. So I decided that some sort of maximum-impact brownie was needed. I was initially going to make one of Jamie Oliver's but then I had a closer look and developed diabetes on the spot (300g of sugar... really?). My next port of call was Nigella and while the woman may be as annoying as all get out, she knows how to make a good brownie. I especially liked that this one had coffee in it which would hopefully keep me awake just that little bit longer.

This is your classic, crunchy on top, gooey in the middle dose of awesomeness. The way I've done it, it turns out fairly bitter which I quite like. However, if you want it a bit sweeter, add another 25 - 50g of sugar.

Rich Chocolate Mocha Brownies 
200g dark chocolate
100g butter
2 tbsp coffee
75g caster sugar (about 1/2 cup I think)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
50g plain flour (about 2/3 cup I think)
75g dark chocolate chopped, extra
100g walnuts, chopped

Oven @ 160c                                           20cm square pan, lined with baking paper

Melt the dark chocolate, butter and coffee until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla, mix well and allow to cool slightly.

Stir in the eggs, flour, extra chocolate and nuts and spread into baking pan.
Bake for 40 minutes and cool completely before turning out.

Why white chocolate is actually the dark side

As I've mentioned before, white chocolate is bad. Happily, I can now add further evidence for this: it does terrible things to your self confidence.
This evening I decided to bake sour cherry blondies as a contrast for my regular ones and to use up the rest of the white chocolate in my pantry. Everything was going along ok until my mixture split and developed a consistency startlingly similar to baby sick. Fortunately I'm far more stubborn than I am lacking in confidence and lived to reassure others that if this happens to you, fear not!

Therefore, here is tonight's recipe which actually turned out quite nicely. 

Originally this recipe comes from Taste but I've done some tweaking.

Sour Cherry Blondies
100g butter
180g white chocolate
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1 cup pitted sour cherries

Oven @160c                                               20cm square pan lined with baking paper

Melt butter and chocolate together then allow to cool slightly (Be prepared for baby spew).

Add sugar, eggs and flours and stir to combine. Spread into prepared pan. Press cherries into the top. Bake for 30 minutes and cool for 35 minutes before turning out.

Rummin my Raisin

So last week I decided that a gluten-free fruit cake would be an awesome idea. I still maintain that the idea is awesome, just the execution was slightly less than breathtaking. It turns out that gluten-free fruit cake is really hard to make for reasons I haven't quite figured out yet. I managed to make one which was both stodgy and dry which I think is quite an achievement.

Anyway, to satisfy my craving for moist, alcoholic, fruitiness, I decided to give a rum and raisin brownie a try. Unfortunately, the recipes I found didn't really feel quite right. I wanted a heavy & dense brownie with plenty of drunk fruit so I made one up... here it is.

Rum n Raisin Brownies

120g raisins

3tbsp rum

200g dark cooking chocolate

75g butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup plain flour

20 cm square pan lined with baking paper                       Oven @ 160c

Soak the raisins in the rum for three hours (or microwave them a little so they absorb the rum).

Melt the chocolate and butter together then allow to cool slightly. Mix in the rum and raisin mixture, then the vanilla, sugar, eggs and sour cream and stir until well combined.

Fold in the cocoa powder and the flour. 

Bake for 35 mins. Stand in pan for 10 mins before turning out.