I just love Easter. It’s usually the first time after Christmas we get a chance to spend a few days together with family and, unlike Christmas, there’s none of the prolonged build-up that makes everyone so frazzled. It’s the perfect opportunity to spend some time making goodies to enjoy over the weekend and to give to friends and neighbours. And it’s not all about Chocolate.
After the lean months of winter and the fast weeks of Lent we can look forward to springtime foraging for wild garlic, nettle tops and elderflowers. Lamb of course is associated with spring in many cultures, being the roast of choice to serve on Easter Sunday. Juicy spring lamb with spring greens and baby new potatoes or flageolet beans (yes, do try them), ladles of clear gravy with a hint of redcurrant jelly. Sophie Grigson partners her spring lamb with early forced rhubarb, now in the shops. This adds a hit of acidity and quite brave for us non-Mediterranean types. Personally I prefer to reserve it for ‘afters’ with a shortbread crumble topping served with lashings of creamy custard. Mmmh. As a child I remember my mother making a dish called Paskha, (or Pashka as it is sometimes spelt) which is the traditional Russian Easter cheesecake, eaten with Kulich, a cake flavoured with saffron and vodka. She didn’t stretch to the Kulich, for which I am thankful. I considered sharing this recipe with you this month, until I looked again at the list of ingredients. It is a very rich, albeit a delicious dessert, made with curd cheese, egg yolks; heaps of butter and sugar, double cream, candied peel and blanched almonds. Set in a tall mould to drain, (in Russia they use a specially made wooden mould whereas my mother used a Tall Tom flower pot.) The cheesecake was decorated with fabulous gold almonds; angelica, cherries and peel. Can’t think why it’s called a cake, but its splendid as a spectacular centre-piece on Easter day. There are a number of different recipes on the internet, and to my surprise you can also order a plastic red Paskha mould from Poland! I have no wish to further clog the lengthy arteries of my Donhead neighbours, so I have gone for a sticky, moreish cake, with a really good zesty lemon kick. It still has its fair share of calories but a great reward after a bracing afternoon walk with a cup of tea, any time of the year. This cake can be made up to 3 days ahead, (I suggest without the icing) and stored in an airtight container. Don’t forget to hide the cake until you need it, or there may be nothing left for your special tea. I’ve also had a peep in the back room of Ludwell Stores and they have some wonderful chocolate eggs, rabbits and chicks, perfect for decorating this cake at Easter, or for those who need an excuse to buy some Easter chocolate for themselves. Happy Easter to you all. aif Easter Lemon Cake …any time of the year this is good Serves 12 Around £5.40, when all ingredients purchased at Ludwell Stores. (Excludes chocolate decorations.) 225g soft butter 350g plain flour 350g caster sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder 2 lemons, zest of… (but buy 4!) 120ml Milk 4 Large eggs For the syrup 4 lemons – juice of.. 6 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted for the icing decoration 6 tablespoons icing sugar Handful mini-chocolate eggs; rabbits or chicks 20cm round, deep, loose-bottomed cake tin, lined with baking parchment Preheat over to 180° C, fan 160° C, gas 4 - AGA (2 door) top oven, btm shelf with cold shelf above and watch it carefully 1. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl (with an electric hand whisk) until pale and fluffy. 2. Sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. 3. Stir in lemon zest and then the milk 4. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined 5. Tip mix into the tin and bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until firm to the touch 6. Leave to cool, in the tin for about an hour To make the syrup 7. Blend the juice of the four lemons and icing sugar together in a small bowl 8. Prick the top of the cake all over with a skewer (going deep into the cake) and slowly spoon the syrup evenly over the top so that it sinks into the cake, (and not just dribble down the sides!) 9. Leave to cool completely and remove from the tin. To make the icing 10. In another bowl, mix the icing sugar with a little water to make a thick but runny icing. 11. Pipe or drizzle the icing over the cake creating a ‘nest ‘ and scatter with mini eggs 12. Finish with a pretty yellow ribbon A truly, truly scrumptious, fabulously sticky and moreish teatime treat.
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With fresh, seasonal ingredients being at the core of all good cooking, I am hoping this and any future jottings and recipes will encourage you to enjoy with me, the pleasure to be had from local food. To be at ease with a mix of common readily available and seasonal ingredients, is all we need.
As the first regular recipe column (I believe) in the Donhead Digest, it’s going to be many years before we can build up a good variety and choice of recipes. Nonetheless I will try to keep a good balance of ideas, budget and skill levels. Primarily, ingredients will be sourced from our local Ludwell Stores, Buttlings butchers and the Greenacre Farm Shop or possibly have you scurrying to the vegetable bed, fruit cage or hedgerow. Food has been a magnificent obsession of mine since my early twenties, and no doubt contributed to my ballooning waist line (the foodie’s occupations hazard.) This passion was not borne out of childhood memories of watching grandma bake bread or my mother’s jugged hare, although she did serve a spectacular ‘scrag-end’ stew, but rather from hunger and need for work. This all changed and the passion grew. I’ve had twenty odd years working in the Hospitality industry and despite some grim early experiences (stories of which would make your hair curl…another issue maybe)… it’s been fantastic if hard on the feet. More than anything, I now appreciate entertaining at home, experimenting on friends who so far, seem happy to humour me when I have the odd disaster. It’s probably the doggie bags of successes they come for, as I still make enough for a restaurant full! It’s these ideas and recipes, together with some stories of the catering business, I hope to engage you with in future issues of the Donhead Digest. My first recipe, of what I hope will be many, according to Nigella, is a pudding eaten in Britain since the late 1700’s, and when you’ve tried it, you’ll see why. Simple puddings are compelling, and this one offers a velvety apple puree with a hint of cinnamon. The sugary, crunchy but light casing just melts in the mouth. The soaked sultana’s and complimentary fruit, are both optional. This wonderful pudding can be made in advance (on the day) and warmed through before serving, or even eaten cold. Perfect for Sunday Lunch as not too heavy and makes a great elevensees treat – especially when finishing up ‘leftovers’ alone with a cup of coffee the following day! Aif Apple Charlotte (serves 6 - 8) Around 38p per portion when all ingredients purchased in the Donhead's. (Using windfalls; hedgerow fruits; store cupboard ingredients = about 15p pp) 1.35kg Apples (mix of eaters or cookers, not too tart)* 1 Brioche loaf or rolls (you will only use half) 200g Unsalted butter 3 Egg yolks (keep a little of the white) 75g Caster sugar 2-3 tbls Demerara sugar 1 Cinnamon stick (you can use ½ tsp grnd cinnamon if necessary) Optional….but worth it. 75g Golden sultana’s soaked in 3 tbls of hot Calvados and left until plump * Replace one third of the apple with any mix of hedgerow berries or currants. Blackberries work brilliantly at this time of year. Oven 180°C / Gas Mark 4 / AGA – grid shelf on floor with cold shelf above 1. Peel, core and chop apples and add to pan with 30g butter, 600ml water, cinnamon stick and caster sugar. 2. Cook over medium high heat with lid on for about 10 minutes until soft, then beat until smooth and transfer to bowl to cool, removing the cinnamon stick. 3. Melt remaining butter and paint the bottom and sides of a 21/23 cm loose-based cake tin. 4. Line the bottom and sides with thin slices of the brioche, painting with butter as you go. Build up a jigsaw with no gaps whatsoever, and then paint the joins with a little egg white to seal. 5. Beat the egg yolks and soaked sultana’s if using, into the cooled apple mix and then fill the bread-lined cake tin. 6. Layer the top with buttered brioche slices, again forming a neat jigsaw. Paint generously with the remaining butter. 7. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar. 8. Cook on (preferably) a pre-heated baking sheet for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. (The baking sheet helps contain any dribbles). 9. Remove from the tin when cooled a little, to avoid subsidence! 10. Slice and serve with cream or ice-cream - see below. Wonderful served with a scoop of Amaretto iced cream. Literally Iced cream. Whip whipping cream to soft peaks, fold in a little sieved icing sugar to taste, crushed Amaretti biscuits and a slug of Amaretto (or any liqueur – not essential) and freeze. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before scooping out to serve. |
AuthorThese musings and recipes are gleaned from The Donhead Digest with the permission of AIF, their author. Categories
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