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By Anna, 26 July, 2010 3:39 pm

This most elegant dessert was lovely to make and even more lovely to eat. The original recipe is from ‘Delicious’ magazine, but instead of the original boozy jelly layer with berries suspended within, I opted for a non-alcoholic but more full-flavoured raspberry jelly over the pannacotta layer.

There is a thrilling element of danger about a layered dessert that relies on the power of gelatine and your own patience, but your tense, nervous headache is rewarded handsomely when it turns out to reveal its Summer beauty. Having said ‘summer’,it’s worth remembering for the Winter months because it is a great use for frozen berries.

Continue reading 'Raspberry Jelly and White Chocolate Pannacotta Terrine'»

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By Anna, 9 July, 2010 2:15 pm

Cheesecake! With raspberries from our garden no less! I was hoping this one I slightly fiddled with from Olive magazine would be a very dense cheesecake, but it wasn’t quite dense enough for my liking. Everyone else said it was perfectly dense thankyouverymuch and that the problem laid not with the cheesecake but with my insistence that it should be denser. It was very, very nice though. I inhaled more than one slice and even had a little weep when Alex ate the last sliver. I was so sure that he wouldn’t want it. If you can smell burning, that’s my martyrdom ablaze. No darling, really… you enjoy it.

I will tell you this though. I have a new favourite ever in the whole world alcoholic beverage. My heart truly belongs to Muscat de Beaumes de Venice, but there is a contender for the crown. A serious contender. Chambord. Black raspberry liqueur.
I can’t rave about this enough. It is the most intensely flavoured liqueur; it’s heady with fragrance and every single person I have forced to sniff the bottle has said ‘mmmmmmmmmmmm!’. I rarely let them taste it because it is so expensive, but a fingerdip usually has them reeling. I defy you not to run out and buy an orb-shaped, golden belted bottle should you be offered a sniff.
Anyway, I added a mere 1 tablespoon of Chambord to the cheesecake and it seriously propped up and enhanced the raspberry flavour; next time I might even add two. Scandalous.

No, what really is scandalous is that when I added the tablespoon to the cheesecake and flung the spoon to one side to be washed up, there was a microscopic film of it covering the spoon so I licked it clean. Better than necking it straight from the bottle, but barely.

Buy a bottle and rave about it with me would you? Please?

Continue reading 'Raspberry Baked Cheesecake'»

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By Anna, 24 November, 2009 6:16 pm

Quickity quick, sweet, smooth, lemony cheesecake with not the merest hint of an oven to preheat.  I made the cheesecake with Splenda (one of our Sunday luncheon guests has diabetes) and made the sauce with maple syrup (for the rest of us sugar eaters). I’m all about personal responsibility, me.

Puddings are a challenge when one has to limit the sugar in them. You have no idea how tempted I was to just slap an apple on each placemat. Turns out that apples aren’t that great either – it’s all about the berries, you know? Just not the berries with maple syrup on them.

I made another berried dessert that he could eat, but that will have to wait for the next blog entry…

Continue reading 'Unbaked Lemon Cheesecake with Maple Blueberry Sauce'»

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By Anna, 18 September, 2009 3:19 pm

Intensely lemony, satin creamy pots with sweet, buttery shortbread. This recipe, adapted from one of Nigella Lawson’s (How to Eat) is pure joy; rich enough to satisfy but with enough zing that you don’t feel overloaded.
Once you had made the mixture it needs to sit in the fridge to steep. 2 – 3 days is the recommendation and I would definitely concur.

Before we start, let me say that when we eat these, we like the lemons to punch you in the face and call you names; hence I have increased the recipe to 4 lemons from the original 3. It is an intense recipe there’s no doubt, but if you wish to be cautious, start with 3 lemons and once you’ve added the cream, taste the mix. If you can take some more lemon, go ahead and add the zest and juice of the 4th one. Are you man enough?
Here we go.
Continue reading 'Lemon Creams with Shortbread'»