Coffee toffee meringues

This recipe is from Nigella's new book 'Kitchen' that just came out this month.  I made the meringues to use up the egg whites I had left over from making custard base for strawberry ice cream.  I didn't have the hazelnuts (which are optional) and left out the Frangelico (which I do have but wanted to keep it non-alcoholic for myself and my 2.5 yr old son) - though I think both additions would be yummy).  I don't think you need anywhere near 600ml of cream!  I got 8 meringues out of the recipe, and I only had about 150ml of cream, which was enough to top 4 meringues, so 300ml would probably be enough, depending on how much cream you put on each one.  My oven is fan-forced - I didn't reduce the temperature to compensate, and the meringues were done after 35 minutes.  Nigella says just to put the 'merest dribble' of sauce on, which I would agree with, so even though it doesn't make much, you'll probably end up with leftovers.

Coffee toffee meringues

Makes 8-10

For the meringues:
200g caster sugar
50g light brown sugar
2 tsp of instant espresso powder (mine was a bit granular, so I crushed it to a powder first)
pinch cream of tartar
4 egg whites
100g toasted chopped hazelnuts, for topping (optional)

For the toffee sauce:
15g butter
75g golden syrup
25g soft light brown sugar
60ml double cream
2 tsp Frangelico hazelnut liqueur (optional)

For the filling:
600ml double cream

To make the meringues:
Preheat oven to 140C / gas mark 1 and combine caster sugar, brown sugar, coffee powder and cream of tartar in a bowl, and set aside. 
Whisk the egg whites in a dry grease-free bowl until soft peaks start to form.  Begin to sprinkle  in the sugar mix 1 tbs at a time while still whisking, until you have a glossy thick meringue.  This process is much easier with an electric beater, or better still, a freestanding mixer.  You need to allow adequate time between each addition for the sugar to dissolve.  Undissolved sugar in meringue is what causes 'bleeding' - where you end up with syrup running out of the meringue.  You can test whether the sugar is dissolved by rubbing a little of the meringue between your fingers - there should be no graininess.
Line a baking sheet.  Spoon out dollops of meringue (about 2 big dessert spoonfuls) to give roughly 8-10 6cm circles.  Spike or fluff the tops to give texture.  I used 2 spoons to transfer blobs of mixture to the tray (one to scoop up some meringue, one to ease it off the spoon onto the tray), then used my clean finger tip to shape them.  Sprinkle the top of each meringue with 1/2 tsp of chopped hazelnuts, saving the rest for serving.
Put in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, by which time the meringues should be dry on the outside, but still gooey in the middle, and a little fragile to touch.  Take them out of the oven, but do not remove them from the baking sheet.

To make the toffee sauce:
Melt the butter, golden syrup and light brown sugar in a pan over low heat, swirling gently (but not stirring) occasionally, then bring to a boil and let it bubble for 2 minutes.  Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the 60ml of cream and liqueur.  Pour into a small heatproof jug and leave to cool.

To serve:
Whip the cream until firm but not stiff.
Crush a dent into the top of each meringue (the shells will splinter a bit), then split it a little and fill from above with a dollop of cream.  Drizzle on some of the sauce and sprinkle with some of the reserved chopped hazelnuts.

Meringues can be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container.  Sauce can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge covered with Glad Wrap.  Remove from the fridge 1-2 hours before needed to allow it to come to room temperature.

meringues prior to baking

after baking

butter, golden syrup and brown sugar mixture bubbling

toffee sauce after the addition of the cream

Chocolate-pistachio cake

I made this recently for dessert for a dinner with friends of ours, to have as well as the pomegranate ice cream. I actually have not made this cake for 5 years, when I made it for the same friend's 30th birthday. I have not avoided making it since then because I didn't like the recipe, but just because I found shelling the nuts a chore. Shelled pistachios are now more readily available, so I am going to have to make this cake part of my regular repertoire, because it is seriously delicious! The recipe is from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.

For the cake:

• 150g dark chocolate
• 150g caster sugar
  
• 150g pistachios
• 150g soft unsalted butter
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 lemon
• pinch salt

1. Grease and line a 23cm springform tin. Preheat the oven to 190C.
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on medium. Leave aside to cool slightly.
   
3. Process 50g of the sugar with the nuts until they are like dust. Add the butter along with another 50g of the sugar; process until smooth. Add the yolks one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Then, with the motor running, slowly pour in the chocolate.
4. Wipe the inside of a bowl with the lemon half (I didn't bother with this step, but the bowl must be scrupulously clean and free of any fat to allow maximum aeration of the egg whites). Whisk the egg whites with the salt until peaks are starting to form. Then slowly add the remaining 50g of sugar while still beating until the egg whites form firm peaks.
5. Add a large dollop of the egg whites to the cake batter and pulse to lighten the mixture. Then add the cake batter to the whites, one third at a time, and fold in gently but firmly.
6. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 180C and bake for a further 20-25 minutes, or until cooked. The cake will be starting to come away from the sides of the tin when it is ready.
   
7. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes on a wire rack before removing from the tin. Wait until the cake is completely cooled before icing it.

The icing:

• 150g dark chocolate
• 150ml cream
• drop of orange-flower water (optional)
• 2-4 tbs coarsely chopped or slivered pistachios

Add chocolate, broken into pieces, and cream into a saucepan, along with the orange-flower water. Stir over a low heat until the chocolate is melted. Keep stirring off the heat until the ganache is thick enough to coat, then pour over the cake. Sprinkle over the pistachios.

Serve with either plain creme fraiche, or with a little orange-flower water whisked in. (When I made this for my friend's 30th, I made Turkish Delight Syllabub to serve as alongside the cake - recipe from Nigella Bites - you can view the recipe here).

pistachios and sugar; pistachio meal


adding butter and sugar


adding yolks


adding chocolate; cake batter


left: the cake once cooked - note the cake is pulling away from the sides; right: once cooled, flourless cakes like this tend to sink in the middle and are then deliciously fudgy in the centre

Chocolate, marmalade and hazelnut cake

For fans of jaffa cakes or those needing a gluten-free cake... This is another recipe from 'Bake' (Rachel Allen). I myself don't need to avoid gluten, but I love cakes that have ground nuts instead of flour. The texture and flavour is always amazing. Because this cake has no flour, and no raising agent apart from beaten egg whites, it rises while baking, then sinks on cooling. This is quite normal for a flourless cake, so don't be concerned by its deflated appearance.

The recipe

Preheat oven to 190ºC. Grease and line a 22cm loose-bottomed pan (I used a springform tin and lined the sides as well).
Melt together 175g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa) and 175g of butter - I do this in the microwave.
Grind 150g of hazelnuts, with skins on, in a food processor. Separate 5 eggs. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with 175g of caster sugar until mousse-like in texture. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Add 200g finely-cut marmalade, grated zest of one orange and the ground nuts to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Add the beaten egg whites, one third at a time, folding gently through.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 170ºC. Bake for a further 35-40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre of the cake (the skewer test wasn't helpful for me - see further down). Cool for 20 mins before removing the cake from the tin and leaving to cool completely on a rack.

When completely cool, make the topping. Melt together 75g of dark chocolate (70% cocoa), 75ml cream and grated zest of one orange. Spread over the cake with a spatula and leave to set for 30 mins - 1hr (note from my photo that I didn't let it set - too eager to tuck in!).

Serves 12

I loved the 5 egg yolks making a flower in the bottom of my KitchenAid mixer bowl :)

I used the KitchenAid for the yolks and sugar, so I decided to crack out the Dualit to beat the egg whites. This is her maiden voyage. Looooove my Dualit! She doesn't just look purty, she does a fantastic job too. And as much as I love my KitchenAid mixer, sometimes I can end up feeling a bit detached from the process. I turn the mixer on and let her do her stuff. The Dualit lets me be a bit more involved in the process.

I am always fascinated by the transformation that takes place when you beat egg whites. Going from this...

to this...

Before, during, after...


Adding the ground nuts, marmalade and zest to the melted chocolate and butter.


ready to bake

On the left, the cake after baking; on the right, the cake after cooling - you can see it sank a bit in the middle, which is normal for flourless cakes. Although the recipe states to cook until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake, I baked the cake for about 15 mins longer, at which point it felt firm in the centre, but there were still moist crumbs on the skewer. I pulled it out to cool at this point as it was firm enough and was starting to get quite dark around the outside.

You can see here how incredibly moist this cake is (and why the skewer test wasn't a helpful guide). It is very very rich - I couldn't manage a second helping, which is unusual!