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Honeycomb Dessert

March 18, 2017August 24, 2017 thefoodygrail.com

Rich and sweet – as a dessert should be. A great looking pud’ that can be made several days in advance, saving you time and effort.

Honeycomb / cinder toffee dessert. — A crisp brandy snap basket filled with honeycomb ice cream. Served with mini chocolate sponge squares, chocolate sauce and raspberries topped with lemon sugar.

Enjoyed this today after dinner – just having a lie down.

Honeycomb / cinder toffee:
100g caster sugar.
2 full tbls golden syrup.
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda.
Oil for greasing

Ice Cream:
Recipe will make approx’ 2.4 liters of ice cream – when combined with honeycomb.
900ml of double cream.
150g sugar.
3 tbls cold water.
5 large egg yolks.
1 tsp vanilla extract/flavouring.
Juice of half a lemon.

Chocolate Genoise Sponge Squares:
4 eggs.
115g caster sugar.
90g plain flour.
25g cocoa powder.
55g melted butter.
1tsp vanilla extract/flavouring.

2 tbls apricot jam/marmalade.
1 tbls water.
50g grated dark chocolate.
raspberry liqueur or brandy.

Brandy Sanps:
50g brown sugar.
50g butter.
1 dessert spoon/50g golden sryup.
50g plain flour.
1/2 tsp ground ginger.
1tsp lemon juice.
1tsp brandy (optional).
Vegetable oil for greasing baking tray.

Chocolate Sauce:
100g dark chocolate – 70% cocoa.
160ml milk.
50ml double cream.
1 tsp sugar.

Raspberries and Lemon Icing:
Small punnet of Raspberries.
3 level tablespoons sugar.
Juice of half a lemon.

Cook/Method:

Plan ahead when making this dessert as the ice cream will need twelve hours in a freezer before it’s… well, ice cream. The great thing about this ice cream is that you don’t need an ice cream maker. Just follow the method and pop it in the freezer. In the words of Gordon Ramsey, “Ice cream, done.” Best not mention some of his other colloquialisms.

The chocolate sponge, brandy snaps and honeycomb can all be made several days in advance. Store in air tight containers, put your feet up and have a coffee.

The chocolate sauce can be made the day before and kept in a refrigerator. Go to the pub for an hour. Just heat up the sauce and serve when needed.

The Raspberries with lemon icing, just make on the day you plan to serve.

One – Honeycomb:
Grease and line a 25cm x 20cm non-stick baking tin with good quality grease-proof paper. Extend the greaseproof paper beyond the edges of the tin by 2.5cm or 1 inch.
Have ready a balloon whisk.
Have ready a heaped teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
Put the sugar and syrup in to a thick bottomed pan. Place on a low heat and stir. Slowly melt the sugar and syrup until the grains of sugar have melted.
Turn up the heat slightly and cook the sugar mixture to a light caramel.
Remove from the heat and immediately add your bicarbonate of soda and quickly whisk.
Pour mixture into your greased and lined baking tin.
Leave to cool for 1 hour and 30 mins’.
When cold remove from tin, peel off greaseproof paper and store in an airtight container. Set aside to add to the ice cream later.
Note: I usually double the ingredients and save half of the cooked honeycomb as a treat – when I have been good.

Two – Ice Cream:
Note: Jam/sugar thermometer not essential for making the ice cream but handy if you happen to own one.
Whip the double cream until it turns thick and creamy – don’t over whip – set aside in refrigerator.
Put sugar and cold water into a thick bottomed pan. Place on hob on a low heat. Do not stir, let the sugar slowly melt to a syrup. While the sugar melts go to next step.
Add the five egg yolks, lemon juice and vanilla extract to a heat proof mixing bowl.
Place mixing bowl with egg yolks and lemon and vanilla over a pan of simmering hot water and whisk for 5 minutes with a electric whisk. Take care not to scramble the eggs. The mixture should turn a pale cream colour and thicken to ribbon stage. Remove from the heat and whisk for two more minutes – set aside.
Check your sugar. If you have a sugar/jam thermometer place in the pan with melted sugar and bring heat up to 230°f/110°c. If you don’t have a sugar thermometer turn up the heat to medium and cook the sugar syrup for 2 minutes – don’t let the sugar syrup colour. The syrup should be clear and starting to produce surface bubbles as it simmers.
When sugar syrup is ready let it cool for two minutes then whisk sugar syrup into your egg yolk mixture. Whisk for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens.
Add your whipped double cream to the egg yolk and syrup mixture, and using a balloon whisk, thoroughly fold the mixture together.
Take your previously made honeycomb and crush into small peices. Fold crushed honeycomb into the cream mixture.
Pop the mixture into an airtight container and freeze for 12 hours.
Pat yourself on the back and have a cup of tea.

Three – Chocolate Genoise Sponge:
Grease and line a 20cm x 25cm baking tin with greaseproof paper.
Set oven to gas mark 6 or 400°f/200°c
Sieve the flour and cocoa powder together into a bowl – set aside.
In a small dish mix together the melted butter and vanilla – set aside.
Crack the eggs into a heat proof bowl, add the sugar, and whisk over a pan of simmering hot water, with a electric whisk, for 5 minutes.
When the egg and sugar mixture has thickened and increased in volume, to ribbon stage, remove from the heat.
Using a balloon whisk, gently fold half of your sieved flour and cocoa powder, and half of your melted butter mix into the egg mixture.
Fold the remaining flour, cocoa and melted butter into the egg mixture.
Pour sponge mix into prepared cake tin.
Bake at gas mark 6 or 400°f/200°c for 20-30 minutes on middle shelf.
When the sponge has cooled wrap in cling film and store in the fridge.

To make the sponge squares:
Cut as many squares of sponge that you will need – approximately three to five 2cm squares per person will be enough. Freeze any sponge that you don’t use.
Place your sponge squares on greaseproof paper and pour a teaspoon of raspberry liqueur/brandy over each one. Set aside.
Gently heat your apricot jam/marmalade and water until jam is melted.
Brush your sponge squares, on all sides, with the melted jam.
Roll your sponge squares in grated chocolate. Set aside in refrigerator until ready to use.

Four – Brandy Snaps:
Preheat oven to gas mark 4 or 350°f/175°c
Lightly grease, with oil, two upturned ramekin dishes.
Add Butter, sugar and syrup to a pan. Place on a low heat and stir until sugar grains have melted. Remove from the heat.
Add the brandy and lemon juice to the sugar mixture and stir.
Add the sieved flour and ground ginger.
Heat your greased baking tray in the oven for 3 minutes.
Once tray is heated, remove from the oven, and place two, separate, heaped dessert spoons of the brandy snap mixture on the tray. The mixture spreads as it cooks so place each spoonful far enough apart so that they don’t run into each other.
Place tray in oven to cook the brandy snaps – approx 15 mins’.
When the mixture has spread and turned to a golden brown, remove from the oven.
Leave the brandy snaps to cool for 30 seconds before attempting to lift them from the tray.
Using a palette knife, or wide metal scraper, carefully slide under the brandy snap. Lift brandy snap off the tray and drape over an upturned ramekin dish – mold the brandy snap over the ramekin to create the basket shape.
Once cooled and set remove the brandy from ramekin and store in an airtight container.

Tip: Loosen around the edges of the brandy snap first before sliding palette knife all the way under.
Tip: If the brandy snap becomes crisp before you have had the chance to mold it over the ramekin – place brandy snap back on the tray and put back in the oven for a minute to soften.
Tip: Use two trays and cook four brandy snaps at a time.

Five – Chocolate Sauce:
Break the chocolate into small pieces and place all the ingredients into a small pan.
Heat over a gentle heat until all the chocolate has melted into the milk and cream.
Simmer and lightly hand whisk until smooth. ( Don’t boil.)
Serve hot or cold.
When left to cool the chocolate sauce can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered receptacle.

Six – Raspberries and Lemon Icing:
Place 3-5 raspberries per person on greaseproof paper.
Place sugar and lemon juice into a pan.
Heat on a low heat while stirring.
The sugar will go opaque and start to crystalise. Add a touch of water if sugar hardens.
Spoon a small blobs of the sugar mixture on each of the raspberries. The sugar icing should be thick enough not to run off the raspberry and will set to a hard crust on the outside.

Serve:

With all your prep done it’s time to plate up, serve and enjoy.

rose veal liver

Rose Veal Liver

March 11, 2017August 31, 2017 thefoodygrail.com

I do like a traditional Sunday lunch, but it can become a little samey, roast chicken, roast pork, roast beef…you get the idea. So today, with great trepidation, I have thrown tradition out of the window. This strategy is high risk and I could quite literally be following tradition through the window, followed by liver, red wine sauce and a variety of vegetables. Traditionalists, and teenagers, can be an uncompromising bunch.

Several hours later. Phew! I don’t know what all the fuss was about. The dish went down a storm. “It’s about time we had something different…we are fed up with roasts!”
If you haven’t tried Rose Veal liver then I would highly recommend it. The liver is melt in the mouth and has a sweeter less ‘livery’ flavour than liver from other animals. You may even get a compliment.

Recipe: (for 2 persons)

Veal liver:
350-400g Rose Veal Liver.
2 tbls olive oil.
25g butter.
Salt and pepper to season.

Rosti potatoes:
2 small potatoes. 170g for each potato.
3 tbls olive oil.
Salt and pepper to season
You will need two 9cm cooking rings.

Garnish:
10 Shallots.
1 small turnip/swede.
4 tbls olive oil.
30g butter.
2 tsp sugar.
300g broccoli.
Salt and pepper to season.

Red Wine Sauce:
300ml red wine.
2 tbls red wine vinegar.
1/2 of a red onion – chopped
3 mushrooms – button or chestnut – sliced.
250ml chicken stock.
25g unsalted butter.

Cook/method:

One:
Trim veal liver removing any sinew or collagen.
Set aside in the fridge for later.

Two:
Set oven to gas mark 6 or 200c/400f.
Put two small pans of water on to boil – one for turnip and one for broccoli.

Three – Roasted shallots:
Peel shallots – leave whole – and place in a oven proof dish.
Spoon over the olive oil add the butter in small pieces.
Sprinkle with the sugar and season with salt and pepper.
Place in the oven on the middle shelf.
They will take approx’ 40 minutes to soften and brown – baste the onions, every 10 minutes, as they cook.

Four – Broccoli and turnip:
While the shallots cook prepare broccoli and turnip.
Peel and slice turnip into 1/4 inch or 1/2 cm slices.
Blanch the slices of turnip for 3 minutes in boiling water.
Refresh turnip slices in cold water, drain and set aside for later.
Trim broccoli and separate the florets. Cook in boiling water for 4 minutes.
Refresh in cold water, drain and set aside for later.

Five – Rosti potato:
Peel two small potatoes and grate into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Place grated potato into the center of a cloth or tea towel. Wrap up the cloth and twist over a bowl to squeeze out the moisture from the grated potato.
Discard any liquid squeezed out from the potato.
Put a large non-stick frying pan on a hob over a medium heat – add the olive oil.
Place your two 9cm cooking rings into the frying pan.
In each ring add a thin layer of grated potato and carefully brown on one side.
When one side of the potato is browned remove the cooking rings and turn each potato rosti over to cook and brown the other side. Once cooked set aside on kitchen paper.
Cook more rosti potatoes until you have used up all the grated potato. Set all your rostis aside for later.

Note: If you have a large enough frying pan and 4 cooking rings then cook four rostis at the same time.
The rostis should be thin enough that they only have one thin layer of potato – They will crisp up once cooked.

Tip: If your frying pan becomes a bit dry, add a drizzle of olive oil to each rosti as they cook.

Six:
Check your shallots. They should be turning golden brown and going soft. If they are cooked remove them from the oven and set aside.

Seven – Glazing the turnip:
Place your cooked slices of turnip onto a non-stick tray.
Brush with butter, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with sugar.
Place under a medium grill and cook until golden brown.
Once cooked set aside for later.

Note: If you have a kitchen blow torch then use that to glaze your turnips.

Eight – Red Wine Sauce:
Melt 7g, or a heaped teaspoon, of the butter in a frying/saute pan.
Add the chopped red onion and sliced mushroom. Lightly fry until golden brown.
Add the red wine vinegar and reduce until vinegar has been absorbed.
Add the red wine and flame to burn off alcohol. Reduce by half.
Add the chicken stock and reduce by half.
Take off the heat and strain into a clean pan. Set aside for later.

Nine – Cooking the veal liver and serving:
Your shallots should be cooked so turn your oven down to gas 3 or 160c/325f
Place your rosti potatoes and turnip in the oven to warm through.

Cook the veal liver in a frying pan with the olive oil and butter.
Seal liver on both sides and fry until cooked.
When cooked, place liver in the oven to keep warm.

Heat your cooked broccoli in a pan of boiling water or microwave.

Put your red sauce on the hob on a medium heat until simmering.
Add 20g of chilled butter and stir until melted. This will slightly thicken and add a sheen to the sauce.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

For the final dish I stacked slices of veal liver with rosti potatoes and topped with the slices of glazed turnip – see image.
Around the plate I arranged the cooked broccoli and roasted shallots then drizzled with red wine sauce.

Hope you try this dish as Rose Veal Liver is melt in the mouth gorgeous. Enjoy.