Mulled Cranberry & Apple Tartlets

These little beauties were designed soley for using up some sweet pastry which was left over from the dutch apple tart. That said i managed to squeeze some 24 of these little beggars out of it. It was also a good means to use the apples that were lurking The recipe is very festive, extremely simple and goes very well with elevenses, after dinner or with afternoon tea. They'll have a shortlived home on the cakestand I think.

Ingredients

Sweet pastry (about 250g)
2 apples (braeburn)
handful of cranberries
glass of mulled wine
80g sugar

For the apple & cranberry mix

Peel and chop the apple into 1/2 cm cubes.

Place the mulled wine, sugar and cranberries in a pan and bring to the boil. reduce to a simmer and allow liquid to reduce until syrup consistency. Stir in the apple and allow to cool.

Roll out the pastry to 1/8 in thick and use a small pastry cutter to cut out your bases. add them t a small greased muffin tin and press. Add a teaspoon of apple / cranberry mix and bake in oven at 180C until done.

Devour

Amaretti

Image courtesy of wikipedia

Amaretti are probably one of my favourite of the festive biscuits, just because I adore amaretto, and all things almond flavoured. They are remarkably easy to make and if made just before the festive period you can give them away as gifts which will be gratefully recieved. With this in mind you may have to make a double or triple batch, as they may soon vanish after the tasting begins...

Theyre ideal as an after dinner coffee token, or with elevenses or afternoon tea. Or whenever you feel the craving...

Ingredients

340g/12oz ground almonds
340g/12oz caster sugar
4 eggs, whites only
30ml/1fl oz amaretto liquor
butter, for greasing

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
In a large bowl beat the egg whites until firm.I reccomend using a light whisk for this as youll gain more speed and also more activity and air for the whites.

Mix in the almonds and sugar gently one spoonful at a time, with about 30 seconds gentle beating in between.

Add the amaretto in a steady stream, still gently beating.

Place some greaseproof paper on a baking sheet lightly brushed with butter.

You can use a teaspoon to deploy the mixture in small amounts onto the tray, but i reccomend using a small nozled piping bag- youll get a more consistent finish.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool and devour.

Brandy Snaps

Image courtesy of kinbaskitchen.com

This recipe for brandy snaps is a simple one. I've seen some complex ones in my time and often wonder why so much effort and complexity is applied to something so simple - they always taste the same. Granted some have a netter depth of flavour, but in the long run i dont think it matters an awful lot to the home cook. Even professionally, little things like brandy snaps are a "job on the side".

Surprisingly theres no brandy. Theres no means to say you cant add a tabslepoon or two to the mix, just be mindful of the wetness of it when using it. If you want the curled professional "tuile" appearance of these brandy snaps, by all means use a stencil for the paste. If you prefer the more rustic approach, by all means folow the directions below.

Be sure to treat yourself to a brandy whilst making these. It is after all a festive treat.

Ingredients (makes a very generous batch)

250g of Soft butter
250g of Golden syrup or Glucose
250g of Flour
250g of Sugar
Pinch of ground ginger

Melt together the butter, golden syrup and sugar
Blend in the flour bit by bit and ginger

Place a tablespoon full on a silicone mat and bake at 190 C for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown. While still warm allow to cool further curled on a rolling pin for a tuile finish. Otherwise just leave flat. Its up to you. If youw ant to go the whole hog, while almost cool but still malleable, by all means roll and mould around a wooden spoon. For top notch presentation on service pipe cinnamon & honey creme fraiche or chantillly cream into them. Oh, and have a glass of brandy also. It would be rude not to.

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Biscotti

Image courtesy of castbakery.com

Biscotti are wonderful little nibbles that provide a wonderful accompaniment to a variety of occasions, from elevenses, the casual beverage or afternoon tea. They also provide a good medium for many other dessert accompaniment such as lemon posset and similar "dippy" style desserts like ice cream, and chocolate mousse.

Theyre perfect this time of year, because they fit the profile along with many other sweet and naughty but nice treats that we all indulge in during the festive period.

You will need:

250g of flour
65g of coco powder
1 Teaspoon of baking powder
100g of chocolate buttons
150g of pistachio nuts

Blend the above into a mix

Then take...

100g of softened butter
225g of soft brown sugar
2 eggs beaten

Cream the butter and sugar

Add eggs slowly

Fold in the first mix to form dough

Rest for 20 minutes

Cook in a lined tin for 30 minutes at 180 degrees or until knife comes out clean

Allow to cool then slice into fingers when cold.

Most importantly enjoy!

Galia Melon Pearls in Pink Champagne Jelly

This dessert is often also used as a starter as it crosses those borders as many fruit dishes tend to do. That said it is a bit of a crowd pleaser and service wise it means preparing beforehand and then simply pulling out of the fridge. The recipe isn't set in stone, you can easily add other fruits that complement melon quite well, and you don't have to use galia melons either. You can use cantelope or honeydew if you wish, or a combination of them, for a variety of colours and textures.

More often than not this appeared on our xmas menus, basicaly because its one of those things that can be done in advance, and during service it was a case of getting it out of the chiller, and dressing up (which could be left to service & waiting on staff, whilst we tackled bigger fish that we had to fry - sometimes literally).


Makes about 6/7 so divide by two for family sized servings

Ingredients

700ml of warm stock syrup (heated water & sugar - would reccomend about 200g sugar)
150ml of 14% abv Pink Cava (or similar)
24 Gelatine leaves soaked
Mixed Melon balls ½ Cantaloupe and Galia if winter time use Rock melons. You can buy these frozen to cheat / save time. Bear in mind though that fresh melon tastes alot better.

Optional Garnish Ideas
Sprig of lavender per flute for garnish. You can use rosemary for an alternative or mix the two.
Orange / lemon / lime zest
Strawberries
Black / Maraschino cherries
Cranberries
Pomegranites
Raspberries
Blueberries
Hibiscus flowers

Lavender flowers can be used atop the flutes, as can twists of orange, lemon or lime. The fragrance sets the tone for the dish quite well also, in combination with strawberry roses or other garnishes it is quite a sensory treat.

Equipment:

Champagne flutes
Melon baller
Saucepan

Melt soaked gelatine into the syrup

Use melon baller to pearl melon flesh after de-seeding. Any left over melon flesh put to one side for fruit salads or fruit soups.

Place melon pearls into flutes along with the lavender sprig and any other garnishes you want set into the Jelly.

Add Cava to the gelatine mixture

Pour over the melons and leave to set for about 3 or 4 hours.

Serve.

Everlasting syllabub

3 Lemons zested and juiced

100g of caster sugar

300ml of medium dry sherry

Two sprig of rosemary

600ml of double cream

The day before the syllabub is needed: In a bowl put in sherry, juice of the lemons the lemon rind, caster sugar and rosemary Cover and leave overnight to let the flavours develop

Next day strain the liquor On a machine start to beat the cream and gradually add the sherry/lemon liquor until the cream holds its own shape Do not over beat or it will curdle.

Serve into glasses with almond biscuits or on a Pavlova base with lemon curd.