Panna Cotta with baked orange blossom rhubarb

I'm not ashamed to admit I am hooked on Masterchef Australia's current season showing here in New Zealand. It does appear to be a bit "kinder" than most of these types of shows. Granted it's still a competition, but the focus is less on "who did/said what to who" and more on the food.

Well there's been a few panna cottas whipped up in the Masterchef  kitchen which has got me in the mood to revisit, even though I've made a similar one a few years back. It's such a simple, prepare-ahead dessert perfect for a balmy, summer evening  - something else which we've been having a few of recently.

This latest is topped with some exquisitely fragrant orange blossom rhubarb (recipe from Sweet Treats from Little & Friday cookbook). I cut back heavily on the sugar stated in the book (1 to 2 cups - either that's a typo or someone has a very sweet tooth!) as a 1/2 cup was plenty.

Bake the rhubarb in advance and leave it to cool in the fridge. It will keep for a few days in a sealed container in the fridge and you can use the rest in your breakfast cereal.

A small biscuit such as shortbread (whole or crumbed) or tuile is a nice touch and adds some extra texture.

For a superior vanilla flavour, I urge you to use either the seeds scraped from a vanilla pod or vanilla extract or even vanilla essence in preference to imitation vanilla which has an artificial flavour and will really do nothing for the taste.

I like that you can see the vanilla seeds in the final result but if you don't want the seeds showing in your panna cotta, strain the final mix through a very fine sieve or muslin cloth.

Lastly, I admit to being a bit of a coward. I didn't go the whole Masterchef way and upend the panna cotta onto a plate from a mould fearing a disaster! One day I must give it a try...


For the Baked Orange Blossom Rhubarb

5 stalks rhubarb, washed & trimmed*
juice and zest of 3-5 oranges
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/8 to 1/4 cup orange blossom water

*I had more stalks but there was a mix of thick and thin so I cut the thick stalks horizontally to ensure they were all of a similar thickness to cook evenly.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Cut rhubarb into 4cm-5cm slices and place in a large bowl. Add the orange juice and zest, sugar and orange blossom water and toss to coat evenly.  Transfer to a baking tray and cook in oven for approximately 20 minutes or until rhubarb is tender.

Cool and store in the fridge in a sealed container.



For the Panna Cotta (makes approximately 6-8 serves)

3 level tsp gelatine powder
2 tbsp cold water
2 cups single cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 tsp vanilla paste concentrate (or substitute with scraped seeds from vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence)
1/3 cup caster sugar

Have 6-8 ramekins or glasses ready.

Whisk the gelatine powder into the cold water until it is fully mixed and set aside while you make panna cotta.

In a heavy based saucepan, slowly bring the cream, milk, vanilla and sugar to the boil and just as it bubbles, remove from heat.

Give the gelatine mix a final whisk, then whisk it into the panna cotta mix in the saucepan until it has all dissolved.  Leave to cool slightly.

Pour the mixture evenly amongst the ramekins or glasses.  Transfer to the fridge to chill until set.

To serve: Top panna cottas with about 3 pieces of baked rhubarb (choose the pink ones!) or other fruit of your choice and shortbread or tuiles if desired.

Panna cottas will keep in the fridge for about 2 days.

Summer Berry Tiramisu

I’ve had this recipe for a very long time. It came from the now-defunct Hotel du Vin (south of Auckland) with no chef name attributed to it. I’ve looked at it on occasion but thought it may be too time consuming or difficult. It isn’t really. In fact it’s a very simple process that just needs some time for the layers to chill or set.

I picked it for Christmas dessert. It looked sensational and showcased summer's lovely fresh berries.  It gives a nod to trifle but with more elegance.  I liked the individual portions - just the right size and no temptation to over-indulge.

I started making it on Christmas Eve then wondered if the sponge base would be soggy the next day. Thankfully it was fine and even tasted good the following day when we shared the last one.

Bill kindly made the individual moulds for me (personal mould-maker) and they worked a treat.

I could have added some embellishments such as a swipe of lemon curd or fresh raspberries dotted on the plate but it was just perfect as it was.

As another year draws to a close I am pleased to still be writing on this blog, perhaps not as often as I would like but that too is fine as I want to continue to enjoy baking, cooking and writing about it without every having to see it as a chore. 

Thank you for reading and for all your comments. Have a very good new year x

Summer Berry Tiramisu

Serves 6

You will need 6 ring moulds (without a base) 4cm high and 6cm in diameter (mine were 7cm in diameter)

1 store-bought plain sponge

1 cup mascarpone

1 cup icing sugar, sifted

¼ cup Limoncello (the original recipe used Kahlua but I preferred the more summery taste of lemons)

¼ cup cream (whipped lightly)

1 punnet blueberries

1 punnet strawberries, hulled & quartered

1 cup raspberry puree*

1 tsp gelatine

*For the raspberry puree I used defrosted frozen raspberries (with a few fresh ones thrown in) blended or mashed and then put through a sieve to remove the seeds. This makes a clear raspberry puree.  Sadly I can’t remember how many raspberries I used to make a full cup of puree as I just kept doing more until I got the right amount.

Using one of the ring moulds, cut three circles from the sponge then carefully cut them in half horizontally so you have six circles of sponge in total.

Grease the inside of the ring moulds lightly. Place on a small tray that can hold the six moulds.

Place the six sponge bases in the base of each ring mould. Using half of the Limoncello (1/8 cup), drizzle evenly over the sponge bases. Place in fridge whilst you make the next layer.

In a bowl, lightly mix the mascarpone, icing sugar, cream and remainder of Limoncello.  Spread evenly over the sponge bases and level the tops with a palette knife. Ensure there is enough space (about 1cm) at the top of each mould for the last layer of fruit and jelly. Return to the fridge for at least 3 hours until set.

Place the berries decoratively on top of the custard. Return to fridge.

Dissolve the gelatine in water as per instructions on pack using enough gelatine powder or sheets to set 250ml of raspberry puree. I used powdered gelatine as I did not have sheets.  This is my method: Pour 85ml of hot water into a small bowl and whisk in 2 teaspoons of gelatine powder until fully dissolved and no dry bits left. Gently warm the raspberry puree in a saucepan over low heat. Add gelatine/water and mix until completely dissolved.  Set aside to cool.

Cover the tops of the tiramisu moulds evenly with raspberry puree jelly. Refrigerate for an hour or until set.

Remove from fridge about half an hour before serving.  The desserts should slip fairly easily from the moulds onto individual plates.

Sweet New Zealand

This month, it's my turn to host Sweet New Zealand. So, I am on the lookout for sweet recipes from our NZ food blogging community. You can be a New Zealander living here or overseas. You can be from overseas and living in New Zealand. Just give me something sweet, please. Take it away - I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Rules

Sweet New Zealand is open to all food bloggers living in New Zealand (even if you are not a New Zealander), as well as all Kiwi food bloggers who live overseas.

You can enter with anything sweet - cakes, cookies, desserts, or even drinks. 

You can submit as many entries as you like and they don't have to be new blog posts. 

Your entry must contain the phrase Sweet New Zealand and have the Sweet New Zealand badge (you can copy and save the one on this page).

Your entry must link to the host (me!) and to this post. If you're submitting an old post remember to update it with the phrase, badge and links.

Enter now

Email your entries to me at flatwhite233(at)xtra(dot)co(dot)nz by 30 October, with the following:

Your name

Your blog name

A link to your blog

A link to the blog post you're entering

A photo from the post

The name of the recipe and a brief description

Sweet New Zealand - September

Here's a link to last month's Sweet New Zealand round up at Mummy Do It

Creme Caramel - slow baked

I have had a severe multi-dose of procrastination, indecisiveness and writer's block - all of which I am going to use as my excuse for the long gap from the last post. It's not all hopeless. I got over the indecisiveness when I ticked the voting paper today for the NZ general election.  I also knew whether I would have voted aye or nae for Scottish independence but sadly expat Scots, who really still care about their beloved country's future, were not given the vote.

Back home when I was a child I would not have given the vote to creme caramels.  I hated them with a passion and don't remember why.  I think it was just the taste, which is everything really.

Late last year in Ortolana restaurant, I ordered a salted caramel flan and got it into my head that I was ordering a pastry tart filled with custard and strawberries (I know, I'm a little mixed up at times). I had to be convinced I had ordered it when it arrived and glumly tried it.  It was nice in the way that it was better than I'd expected but wasn't quite what I'd had in mind.

So it still seems a little strange that I'd want to make these creme caramels, but I had half a tin of sweetened condensed milk I wanted to use and, bingo, saw this recipe and thought "why not?". (Be assured I don't vote for political parties in the same flippant manner.)

The result is that the caramel sauce worked (I thought I'd burnt it at first), the custard set, they were easy to bake and looked pretty good (but would look much prettier with some added decoration e.g. fresh or marinated strawberries which I didn't have). 

Once baked, they just had to languish overnight in the fridge. Ideal for do-ahead desserts. Oh, and I did like them and can't imagine why I didn't before?

Creme Caramels

Makes 4

1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 a 400g tin of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Turn your slow cooker onto the HIGH setting.  Pour in 2 cups of hot tap water.  

Lightly spray or grease 4 ramekins, cups or small bowls (which can hold 3/4 cup of water). Check beforehand that they fit in the slow cooker (I used two upturned tiny soy sauce bowls to allow two of the ramekins to be at a different level so they would all fit in).

For the caramel: Heat the sugar over moderate heat in a medium saucepan, preferably with a pouring spout.  DO NOT STIR.  Tilt the pan carefully to ensure all the sugar melts evenly and turns golden brown. As soon as it reaches that stage and still without stirring, pour equal amounts into the bottoms of the ramekins.

Place the eggs, milk, condensed milk and vanilla into a mixing jug or bowl and beat until combined but not frothy. Pour this mixture through a fine sieve into the ramekins.

Carefully place the filled ramekins into the slow cooker.  Put the lid back on the slow cooker and turn the setting to LOW. Cook for 4 hours or until custards set.

Once set, turn off the slow cooker and carefully lift out the bowls.  Cover with plastic film and leave overnight in the fridge.  Remove from the fridge half an hour before serving.

To turn out the custards, run a small palette knife or similar, around the top.  I turned them out onto a flat, stainless steel pastry scraper so I could easily transfer them to a serving plate. Otherwise you can scoop them out onto your hand (I did not trust myself with this!).

And there you have it, a caramel topped custard with a pool of caramel sauce.

Recipe from Slow Cookers & Crockpots by Simon & Alison Holst




This is my entry for September's Sweet New Zealand hosted by Karen at Mummy Do It (I remember those words!).

Simply Summer Strawberry Ice Cream

I was in the garden this morning clad in one layer, shorts included (I’ve spared you the photo).  Two hours later, I’m wrapped in three layers including old, but comfy, woolly cardi and long track pants.  Such is the contrary weather we are experiencing at the moment. It could be worse, I could be in the South Island where there have been snowfalls. Hello summer!

On a recent hot and summer-like day, I spied some strawberries locally and knew it was time for ice cream. It was summer in my heart just thinking about it.  I have been a fan of ice cream for a long time thanks to my dad. Each Sunday he would cycle (yes, cycle) several miles to the famous Luca’s (Edinburgh and Scotland have a lot to be thankful for with their wealth of Italian ice cream stores) and bring home a tub of ice cream, strapped to the back of his bike.  When it was finished, the cats (sorry, Lucy) got to lick the empty carton and lid.  Gourmet ice cream lickin’ cats – how spoilt they were.

Whilst this ice cream can’t match the rich creaminess of Luca’s it does have a glorious colour and three simple ingredients - strawberries, cream and sugar – the taste of summer.

Just remember to freeze the strawberries in advance, otherwise you’ll have to wait a few hours before satisfying your craving.

Strawberry ice cream

Serves 4

If you’re serving this with something, have everything ready and work quickly as the ice cream melts fast.

2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered

½ cup icing sugar

½ cup pouring cream

Place the strawberries in a plastic container and freeze.

Empty frozen strawberries into a food processor (you may need to break them apart if they’re stuck together but do this quickly to keep fruit frozen) and process until finely chopped.  Add the icing sugar and process until well combined.  Keep the motor running and add the cream until you have a smooth ice cream (wipe the sides of the bowl down with a spatula once or twice to blend).  Serve immediately.

You might also want to try this 

Semifreddo with Strawberries and Italian Nougat

Mocha Mousse & Caramelized Oranges

When I was younger I’d take the cut half of an orange and dip it straight into the sugar bowl. I assume mum wasn’t watching at the time although, given my sweet tooth, it may have been something she encouraged.

I was tempted to do a similar thing with our latest crop of oranges just to sweeten them up a little.  They are just a tiny bit tart to eat au naturel.   

A quick flick through an old cookbook and I came up with these retro caramelized oranges – a little sticky syrup to sugarcoat the citrus.

From there it wasn’t too hard to think of a chocolate match – or in this case chocolate and coffee – for a winning combination.  Oh, and did I mention there’s also lemon liqueur, for a little extra citrus kick?  This mousse really has a lot going for it. 

The caramel sauce turned out less sticky than it was originally.  I am going to suggest that this was the result of it mingling overnight with the juice from the oranges and not another unsuccessful attempt at a toffee sauce by me.  It didn't matter, the rich, dark mocha mousse was heaven.

This will be my entry to Sweet New Zealand hosted this month by the talented Nicola who has a wonderful blog at Homegrown Kitchen.

Mocha mousse & caramelized oranges

Makes about 6-8 serves

175g (6oz) dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa

2 tbsp strong black coffee

4 eggs, separated

1 tbsp Limoncello or Cointreau liqueur

Mocha Mousse

Break chocolate into pieces and place the chocolate and coffee in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Do not let the water touch the base of the bowl.  Heat gently until the chocolate melts, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.

Beat the egg yolks and gradually stir into the chocolate mixture.  Add the liqueur and stir to combine.

In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff with an electric mixer. Now, using a metal spoon, fold a tablespoon of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it.  Gently fold in the rest of the chocolate mix into the egg whites until thoroughly combined. Be patient, it needs gentle folding and cutting movements to retain all the air, which makes the mousse light.

Spoon into individual ramekins or glasses and chill in the fridge for several hours, preferably overnight.

Serve with the sticky oranges on the side or on top and some whipped cream.

Caramelized oranges

4 oranges

115g sugar

150ml water

Using a sharp knife, peel and remove the pith of the orange, keeping the shape intact.  Slice into rounds, remove the pips and set aside.

Place the sugar and half the water in a saucepan and dissolve the sugar slowly over a gentle heat.  Once dissolved, increase the heat and boil until it turns a rich, caramel colour.

Remove the pan from the heat and immediately pour in the remaining water being careful not to splash any of the hot caramel. 

Return the pan to a gentle heat and dissolve the caramel.  Remove from the heat and leave to cool before pouring over the oranges.

Chill in the fridge before serving.

If you don’t want to serve the mousse with the oranges, a chocolate coated coffee bean or two on top finishes it off nicely.

Sweet New Zealand

There is a lot of sweetness to celebrate this month in New Zealand, not least a long, hot summer now stretching into autumn (with apologies to farmers).  And this weekend is Easter with its proliferation of eggs, bunnies and chickens, mostly of the chocolate variety. But what could be nicer than food bloggers dropping their delectable concoctions in my mailbox?  Come let me share with you the roundup for the month of March.

A peek into the world of raw food starts us off with this exquisite looking entry from Nicola of Homegrown Kitchen. Nicola made this for Purple Cake Day and the poignant and inspiring story behind this can be found on her post. I am so pleased she chose to enter with this, much admired by me,  Raw Blueberry 'Cashew' Cheesecake.    I am in awe at the wonderful colour and can only imagine what it would be like to bite into the creamy berry filling and chewy chocolate base. Nicola says it is so delicious and so good for you and I am certainly not going to argue with that.  I just long for a slice.  Sigh.

Sweet New Zealand creator Alessandra Zecchini dishes up her Apple Slice Cake made with Oratia Beauty apples.  Don’t you just love their name?  Apparently it’s an incredibly simple and quick recipe that makes an amazing apple cake. 

Alessandra has several blogs (I don't know how she does it, I have difficulty with one) and this second entry comes from her Only Recipes site.  Delectable Bergamot Orange Cupcakes topped with candied Bergamot Orange peels. Sounds exotic – and I have to say I am in love with that chair.

Mairi’s curiosity was piqued by a recent raw food class she attended and this dish, Fruit Salad with Honey Nut Crumble, stood out for her.   I’m not surprised as it really took my fancy too.   It looks so tasty with fresh summer fruits and a date & orange syrup.  Do check it out as Mairi has written about the rest of the raw food dishes too.

For those moments when only chocolate will do, Julie at Domestic Executive heads to the kitchen to make this, descriptively named, Anti Chocolate Nemesis Brownie.  In her words – it packs the same, if not better, chocolatey punch as a sugar and wheat version.  Or so my friend told me.  I believe a reliable brownie recipe should always be in one’s repertoire and I willingly add this one. 

In the unlikely event that it has escaped you, this is Easter weekend and Lydia of Lydia Bakes has played Easter Bunny by giving us her take on the famous Cadbury Crème Eggs – Creme Egg Cupcakes.  Love it!  Lydia is a real creative talent in the kitchen so you know these are going to be good.  Vanilla fondant filling, topped with chocolate buttercream and a mini crème egg on top.  Come on, you know you want to and Easter is a great excuse for a chocolate gorge.

Nutella + crostata. Those two words would be enough to warrant a look at GreedyBread Michelle’s entry but if you really require persuasion let me tell you her bad boy Nutella and Crostata tart (or the mini version) is very easy, very delish and very quick and you can slip in a cup of coffee while you’re waiting for the pastry to rest. Now, who can say No to that? 

I love the bunny that pops up everywhere on Genie’s Bunny Eats Design blog; he (she?) is so cute. This time topiary Bunny is guarding these Banana Hakanoa Mini Cakes (so much prettier than banana muffins). If, like me, you didn’t know what Hakanoa is, well it’s a ginger syrup. Bunny, or no bunny, these cakes look very appealing and that thick cream cheese frosting does it for me.

Fragrant cardamom is one of my favourite spices and I am always keen to see how it is used in both sweet and savoury dishes.  Inspired by a plum and cardamom jam, Sue from Couscous & Cousciousness has used it here to give autumn warmth to her Plum  & Cardamom Cake.  I love that she has frozen single serves ready for breakfast on the run or a quickfire dessert.

Jess, a Californian now living in New Zealand, makes people laugh with her stand-up comedy routine as well as promoting fitness and healthy eating on her blog Jessness Required.  So don’t be fooled by the names Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs (top) or No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Balls (bottom), these are her healthy versions.  Go on, take a look and experiment a little.

Last but not least will be me and my Peach Pie with Lemon Pastry.  Well it’s not actually mine it belongs to Nigel Slater but I am so glad I baked it.  It is everything a summer pie should be: fragrant golden peaches, light, lemony pastry and crispy crust.  It leaves you wanting more.

And if you want more, don't forget Sweet New Zealand will be hosted in April by Monica from Delissimon. 

I’ve had fun hosting Sweet New Zealand for March and bringing these recipes and blogs to you.  Have a Happy Easter.