Cold desserts

A modern adaption of the original Banoffi pie created by The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex, in the early 1970’s. Still a classic today.

base
250g plain (superwine) or digestive biscuits, crushed
125g butter, melted

filling
1 x 395 g tin of Caramel (or make your own with 1 tin sweetened condensed milk, in a saucepan, covered in water, boiled for 3 hours, topping up each hour with boiling water)
4 bananas, sliced in half vertically, then sliced horizontally
300ml cream
1 tbsp sugar
grated chocolate

base
Put the biscuits into a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin, or process in a food processor. Add the melted butter. Mix well.
Press into the base of a 20 or 23cm baking paper lined spring form or loose bottomed tin, using a flat bottomed glass, sides first before doing the bum. Chill one hour before making the filling.

filling
Beat the caramel in a bowl to make it a thinner consistency.
Pour and spread over the biscuit base.
Place over the sliced bananas.
Press the bananas into the caramel, this enriches the flavour.
Beat the cream and sugar to a soft consistency.
Smooth the cream over the top of the dessert before adding the chocolate.
Chill for 3 – 4 hours before serving with your favourite vanilla ice cream.

1 c plain flour, sifted
1 egg, beaten
200ml milk
Pinch salt
Butter for cooking

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and then tip in the eggs. Using an electric whisk, or by hand, mix the eggs with the flour. Then pour in the milk gradually, as you mix, until you have a smooth batter.
Leave the batter to rest for up to an hour in the fridge, this makes the gluten (protein) relax and creates a lighter crêpe.
Turn the heat setting of your Breville® Crêpe Maker to 4 and wait until the plate is up to temperature.
Pour some of the mixture onto the Crêpe Maker and use the t-stick to spread across the plate. Cook for approximately 60 to 90 seconds until you can insert a spatula under the crêpe. The underneath should have started to turn golden. Carefully flip the crepe over and cook the other side for about 60 seconds.
Lift off the crêpe and put on a warm plate. Top with your favourite ingredients!

2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cream
2 bananas, halved lengthways
4 scoops Ice Cream
3 tbsp dark chocolate, melted
1/2 c cream, whipped
2 tbsp walnuts, roughly chopped

Combine brown sugar butter and cream in a saucepan over a moderate heat. Bring to the boil, stirring, then rapid boil for 2 mins to produce a thick caramel sauce.
Arrange banana halves on a serving plate. Top with 2 scoops of ice cream.
Pour caramel sauce onto one scoop and melted chocolate onto the other. Top with whipped cream and walnuts.

This recipe (ricetta tiramisu) is a true authentic Italian version. This classic dessert is quick to prepare and is appreciated by all. The addition of liquors is something that different individuals from different regions of Italy have added, ie. Marsala wine, or Lemocello. If sponge fingers are not available an unfilled sponge can be used instead. This can also be made in individual serving dishes.

500g mascarpone
4 eggs, extra fresh
400g Savoiardi (ladyfingers)
120g sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder to powder
6 cups of Italian espresso (sweetened)

First, prepare the coffee, at least 6 cups. Pour into a bowl, then let cool.

Whip the egg yolks with half of the sugar until the mixture is light, puffy and creamy.
Stir in the mascarpone and then amalgamating with a whisk until it is creamy with no lumps, smooth and homogeneous.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and add the remaining half of sugar.
With a wooden spoon, mix gently and gradually add to the mixture of mascarpone and egg yolks, stirring all from the bottom up. You get the cream of the tiramisu.

Put the biscuits in a container and began to bathe them with coffee. They should be well soaked but not completely soaked.
Lay the fingers in a dish.
Cover the ladyfingers with a layer of mascarpone cream layer with a spatula and sprinkle the surface with cocoa powder.
Lay another layer of sponge fingers, then mascarpone cream layer.
Sprinkle final layer with cocoa, or shaved chocolate if wished.

The origins of tiramisu are very uncertain because each region would have “invented” this delicacy: for this reason has led to a sort of contest between Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto.
It is said that the cake was created in the late eighteenth century by the chef of a famous restaurant Treviso considered a tiramisu an aphrodisiac, and was served to the customers and and served precisely to “pull up”.

Trifle sponge (large) or 2x 280 gram sponge rolls
4 tbsps raspberry jam (omit if using a jam roll)
300mll raspberry fizzy drink (or 1/4 cup sweet sherry & lemonade, or orange juice)
1 x 400g can of fruit salad, sliced peaches or apricot halves, well drained; or 2 c fresh fruit
1 litre vanilla custard (as below)
300ml of cream (whipped)

Spread sponge with the jam.
Break the sponge up roughly and put it into a large bowl.
Pour the raspberry fizzy drink over the sponge until it is nearly all wet.
Sprinkle the wet sponge with fruit and mix very gently (with hands).
Put aside in the refrigerator while making the custard.
Pour the vanilla custard over the wet sponge. Place cling wrap over the custard, ensuring it has contact to stop a skin forming. Allow to set.
Spread the whipped cream over the top of the custard and refrigerate one hour before serving.

Vanilla Custard
3 c milk (full cream)
2 tsp vanilla essence
5 tbsp cornflour
3 egg yolks
1/4 c sugar

Prepare the custard. Heat 3/4 of the milk in a medium sized saucepan. In a small bowl, combine the remaing milk, vanilla, cornflour, egg yolks and caster sugar, beat together lightly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk over the mixture and stir well to combine. Return the mixture to the saucepan.
Heat the custard gently, do not boil and stir continuously until the custard thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Whether you call it raspberry fluff, jelly fluff, jelly whip, swiss cream, or flummery; nothing beats this simple dessert. This was often served along with jelly and ice cream for a birthday treat.

85g packet jelly crystals (raspberry or strawberry)
1 c water
375ml can of carnation evaporated milk, chilled

Dissolve jelly crystals in boiling water and cool.
Beat evaporated milk until thick (in a 2 litre bowl).
Add jelly mixture.
Continue beating until thick and well combined.
Pour into serving dish and chill until firm.

The art of a perfect pav, it is not that hard. I will share my wisdom so you too can create a perfect pav, full of marshmallow and light crust. Heaven as it touches your taste buds.

Beat your pav in the smallest mixer bowl, or a narrow tallish bowl so that the beaters are covered in the mixture, beating the life out of it on the highest speed. After beating for 10 minutes, before adding the cornflour mix, if there are no sugar grains when you do a taste test then you have it licked (yummily).

4 egg whites (straight out of the fridge)
1 1/4 c caster sugar
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp cornflour

Topping:
Sweetened whipped cream
Fresh fruit: Strawberries, raspberries, kiwifruit, mandarins, or bananas.

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Beat egg whites till stiff.
Gradually add caster sugar while beating. Beat on high speed for ten minutes.
Then while beating add the vanilla essence, vinegar, then cornflour.
Beat on high speed for four minutes.
Line an oven tray with baking paper and draw a 20cm-diameter circle on the paper (or use a side plate).
Place mixture on, spreading mixture to a 18 centimetre circle.
Turn oven down to 100°C. Pace tray in oven.
Bake for one hour. Turn oven off and leave pavlova in oven to cool, or leave in overnight. Cover with whipped cream and fruit.

Pavlova tips
– The pavlova mixture is ready when the merangue is thick and looks glossy.
– If your oven runs hot, reduce recommended cooking temperature by 10 degrees Celsius.
– Pavlova does not freeze. They can be stored in an airtight container but are best served on the day of making, particularly in humid areas.

For fillings – place lemon curd between the pav and cream, ultra yum which also makes use of the egg yolks; and custard also is good.

The history of the pavlova is one of New Zealand’s intriguing, but a Meringue Cake appeared in the 1926 edition cookbook ‘Futter’s Home Cookery for New Zealand’, and in that same year the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova visited New Zealand. A chef made this dessert using this merigue cake in honour of Anna Pavlova (as a tribute to the light and graceful dancer), it is said due to this the Pavlova in New Zealand was born. (Strangely, yet perhaps typically, the Australians claim they created the Pavlova in 1935).

base
250g plain or digestive biscuits, crushed
125g butter, melted

filling
250g cream cheese
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/2 c cream, whipped (or 1 cup)
4 tsp gelatine and 3 tbsp cold water
2 1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

base
Put the biscuits into a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin, or process in a food processor. Add the melted butter. Mix well.
Press into the base of a 23cm spring form tin and chill while making the filling.

filling
Beat cheese and sugar, add egg yolks, beat in the whipped cream with vanilla.
Mix together the gelatine and water, heat in a bowl over a pot of hot water, till runny.
Pour gelatine into the cream cheese mixture, fold in until well incorporated.
Beat egg whites till stiff, fold in.
Tip into prepared base.
Refrigerate for 5 hours to set.

Variations

Berry Fruit, fresh or frozen –
250g fruit (fresh or frozen, thawed)
1 1/2 tbsp cold water
1 1/2 tsp gelatine powder
sugar if desired

Mix the gelatine with water, let it soak for few minutes then heat it up. Place the fruit in a bowl, add the gelatine mixture.. Chill, then pour on top of set filling.

Berry Fruit, canned – drain juice of 1 can of berry fruit, put this aside, then force the fruit through a sieve to eliminate seeds. Add 2 tsp gelatine to tinned fruit pulp and juice, heat to dissolve gelatine. Chill, then pour on top of set filling.

Apricot – to filling add chopped and drained 410g can apricots in juice.

Citrus – to filling add orange peel of 1/2 an orange and juice of one orange.

Pineapple & ginger – to plain biscuits base add finely chopped crystallised ginger, to filling add drained tinned pineapple.

Banana – mash 3 bananas, then mix into cheesecake filling. Slice a layer of bananas on top before serving.

Coffee – 1 tbsp instant coffee to filling

Hint: A covered cheesecake can be frozen, it will keep for 3 weeks.