Double Raspberry Pavlova

Perfectly pink meringue, sweet raspberry curd, fresh raspberries and tart creme fraiche are a wonderful marriage of texture and flavour in these little pavlovas. I have opted to make 6 mini pavlovas, however one large pavlova would work just and well and be equally delicious.

Serves 6

For the raspberry curd

6 oz raspberries (one carton)

2 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)

4 oz butter (1 stick)

6 oz Sugar

pinch of salt

In a pan over medium heat, whisk the egg yolks a little and quickly add all the other ingredients. Keep whisking until the butter and sugar is melted, keep this mixture moving or the eggs will scramble. Cook for another 8 minutes, stirring intermittently until the curd has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

Pass the curd through a sieve to rid it of the raspberry seeds, and store in a little jar. The curd can be kept in an air tight container in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

For the meringues

2 egg whites

2 oz sugar

2 oz  sieved icing / confectioners sugar

Red or pink food colour

Heat the oven to 180℉.

Whisk the egg whites and a teeny tiny amount of the food colouring until the whites are stiff enough that they won’t fall if the bowl is turned upside down. Gently fold in the sugars.

Line a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or a double layer of parchment paper brushed with a little oil.

The meringue can either be spooned out with an ice cream scoop or piped. You want to create a little indent in the centre either way.

For 6 mini pavlovas, I baked them for 1 hour, turned the heat off and left them in the oven for an additional 15- 20 minutes. A larger meringue will obviously take longer, set the timer for 1 hour 30 minutes and then check. If the tops are dry and crisp but the underneath still wet, carefully flip the meringues over, turn the oven off and leave, check every 10 -15 minutes. I like my meringues to have a little give in the centre.

Remove and let cool. These can be stored in an air tight container for 2-3 days.

Cream Topping

150ml/ 1/2 cup Heavy cream

75 ml / scant 1/3 cup Creme fraiche

Lightly whip the heavy cream and then stir in the creme fraiche. Set aside.

Assembling the pavlova

6oz fresh raspberries

1 oz dark chocolate

I like to crack the top of my meringues before filling them. It creates a lovely little nest to house the mounds of filling.

Spoon 2 tsp of the raspberry curd into the meringue nest, layer on a generous 2 tbsp of the cream, top with some fresh berries and grate on a little chocolate to garnish.

Enjoy, F.

Double raspberry pavlova pdf

Strawberry Shortbread

I think shortbread has to be my favourite biscuit, they are buttery and crumbly, a perfect combination. The strawberries provide a little extra sweetness and bite to these moorish morsels. Makes 12 fingers

Ingredients:

1lb fresh strawberries

6 oz room temperature butter

3 oz sugar

6 oz all purpose flour

3 oz semolina/ pasta flour

Parchment paper

Baking sheet

9 inch square loose bottom pan, or equivalent

Pre heat oven to 170℉

Place the parchment on the baking sheet.

Wash and hull the strawberries.

Slice the strawberries 1/4 inch thick and lay them onto the parchment paper.

Bake for 1 hr 15 minutes.  Turn the strawberries over and bake for an additional 1hr 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, the smaller slices will be ready now, the larger slices may require an additional 30 minutes. The slices should not be completely dehydrated, they should still be a little tacky to the touch and soft. They will continue to cook in the shortbread dough.

Heat oven to 300℉

Dice the strawberries and set aside, there should be roughly 4 oz of strawberries now.

Combine the butter and sugar until creamed together, add in the flours, and beat until just incorporated.

 

Add in the strawberries and beat a little more. Work the dough with your hands until smooth.

Press the dough into pan, push it all the way to the edges, and make sure it’s an even thickness, about 1/2 inch, you can use a smaller rolling pin or smooth glass to do this.

Prick the dough all over with a fork and pop it on the centre of the lower oven rack, bake for 55 minutes.

Remove from the oven and slice into 12 even fingers and sprinkle with extra sugar.

When it’s cool remove from the pan and devour.

Here’s the printable recipe – Strawberry Shortbread

Video: Make Bread by Hand

Come make bread with us!

Here’s something fun to try this weekend- maybe as a test run for some fresh bread for thanksgiving? Let us know what you make- #florriemarie on instagram.

preheat oven to 450F

makes two boules (round loaves) or four batards (small torpedo loaves)

You can also halve the recipe.

1/2 – ounce salt
1/4 – ounce dry active yeast
1 pound 8ounces – bread flour
1 pint – tepid water

Mix well and knead on clean surface until dough is soft and pliable.
Let rise in a lightly oiled bowl until doubled in size.
Shape loaves and let rise again.
Score loaves and bake for 30-40 minutes.
10 minutes into baking- quickly toss a 1/4 cup of cold water into the bottom of the oven to create steam.
Wait 15-20 minutes after baking before cutting.

 

Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf with Orange Drizzle

Makes one large loaf:

2 oranges

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 15 oz can of pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup chopped pecans, (optional)

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour your loaf pan.

Zest and juice one of the oranges, set aside the zest for a little later. Add the cranberries to the juice so they plump up. Sometimes I heat them in the microwave for a scant 30 seconds or so.

Cream together the sugar and shortening.

In a separate  bowl beat the eggs one at a time with the pumpkin until you have a smooth consistency. Add to this the vanilla and orange zest. Mix this into the creamed sugar and shortening.

Stir in the cranberries and the orange juice.

Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture. Do not over mix.

Finally, fold in the pecans.

Pour into a loaf pan. Bake for one hour.

When the loaf is cool make the icing.

Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, juice and zest the remaining orange, reserve the zest and add the juice slowly to the powdered sugar. Stir constantly, you may have to add a little more sugar or a splash of water to get a nice thick, but pour-able consistency.

Turn out the loaf and poke a few holes into the top of the loaf with a skewer, drizzle over the icing, sprinkle a little of the zest on top and let set.

Enjoy F.

Fig, Hazelnut and Orange Shortbread

4 oz Unsalted butter

2 oz Sugar

2 oz All purpose flour

2 oz rice flour or corn flour for a grainier crumb

2 oz Hazelnut meal

¼ tsp salt

2 oz dried figs

Zest of 1 orange

1 Tbsp orange juice

1 oz Raw sugar

Pre heat the oven to 300℉

Cut the butter into small cubes and put in a mixing bowl or food processor. Add to this the sugar, flours, hazelnut meal and salt.  Using your fingers combine these ingredients until little pea size balls form,or blitz until combined. Dice the figs, add that and the orange zest to the crumb mix. Pour in the orange juice and stir with a knife and gently squeeze the mix to bring it together. You may need to add a tiny amount of cold water. Be careful not to drown the mix, it is meant to be crumbly.

Bring the mixture together into a log shape and wrap in plastic warp. Shape the log so that it is approximately 2×2 inches square and 6 inches long. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to help obtain the shape. Gently flatten each side of the log on the counter to make a rectangle.

Chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

Unwrap the log, roll in the raw sugar pressing lightly. Slice the log  into 1/4 thick slices and put onto a parchment lined baking sheet,

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Enjoy F.

Naan Pizza

A couple of weeks ago Florrie came down to the big city for a visit and we put together this scrumptious pizza for our dinner. We wandered around the market looking for delectable things to turn into a pizza, and we came up with this-

Per 1 individual pizza:

1 piece of Naan Bread

3 tbsp marinara sauce (I prefer Francesco Rinaldi)

1/4 cup Yellow Pepper – sliced

5 or 6 thin slices Red Onion

2 tbsp Tomato & Basil Chevre  (goat’s cheese) – cubed

1/2 Thin & Trim Chicken Sausage Spicy Italian flavor – sliced

Handful of Arugula

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the bread on a baking sheet.

Spoon sauce on top and spread evenly.

Sprinkle pepper, cheese, and sausage on top. Reserve arugula till after pizza is baked.

Bake the pizza until the Naan has started to brown on the edges a bit, and everything is warmed through. Approx. 15 minutes.  But keep an eye on it, at such a high temperature it could burn quickly. Thin & Trim brand sausage is fully cooked so you don’t need to worry about it cooking through.

Remove pizza from oven, sprinkle with a healthy handful of arugula, cut the pie and eat!

-Marie