A Taste of France

Well, it has been over three weeks now since I've been back home and despite England feeling a little more like home again, I am still of course pining for my beloved France! So what better way to pretend that I am in fact still living the French life, than by recreating one of their wonderful desserts? At the weekend I had a go at making a crème caramel after stumbling across a very easy recipe by Delia Smith. With it being custard-based, I have to say it is probably one of my favourites and it is actually quite a light way of finishing a meal (as long as we don't think about the amount of sugar/cream it contains!). The French certainly know how to do a good dessert and this was no exception. I was very pleasantly surprised at how straight forward it was to make too, albeit a method I have never used before. The custard mixture cooks in a ramekin that stands in a tin with water in it, so essentially it is steamed. To be honest, the science of how it all works sounds a bit complicated to me. All I know is that it worked beautifully and the end result was divine. I thought I was back in France for a second...and then I looked outside and saw the grey skies and imminent rain. No, I'm definitely in England.

 

Crème Caramel    makes 6 individual desserts

Ingredients
110g Caster Sugar
150ml Milk
275ml Single Cream
4 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
40g Soft Brown Sugar
1tbsp Water (from the hot tap)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
2. Start by making the caramel. Put the sugar in a pan on a medium heat.
3. When the sugar starts to melt and bubble, stir and continue to cook until it is a regular dark brown colour. (2 shades darker than golden syrup, according to Delia!).
4. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the water.
5. Stir until smooth and then quickly pour it evenly into each ramekin, tipping it so it covers the sides a bit. Don't worry if it starts to set at this point as it won't matter once it's cooked.
6. Now pour the milk and cream into a separate pan and leave it to heat gently. 
7. Whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl.
8. Once the milk is steaming hot, pour it onto the egg mixture, whisking until it is blended. 
9. Pour the liquid into the ramekins and place them in a large roasting tin.
10. Transfer the tin to the oven and pour cold water in it to surround the dish so it is two thirds full.
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
12. Cool and chill until it is ready to serve.
13. Remove from the ramekin by running a knife around the edge and then turn it upside down on a plate.
14. And voilà...enjoy!

 

Berry Lemon Cake

I can't remember the last time I woke up to blue skies. Yesterday I had to walk through what seemed like a lake on the way to the hairdresser's. England, where is the summer please?  Now this little cake I made will not magically make the sun appear unfortunately, but it will hopefully give you a taste of summer! My Dad has decided to grow redcurrants this year so after hunting around for something to do with them I came across this recipe, which was quite wonderful. I've not really had anything with redcurrants in before I don't think, but I may be on the look-out for more. Who could resist having a bite of something which was brimming with these vibrant red jewels? Certainly not me anyway.

 

 

If you couldn't get your hand on any red currants though, you could definitely get away with using another berry instead - either raspberries or cranberries would be best. But I guess you could subistitute any other fruit you wanted really. In fact, if you used a fruit that was a bit sweeter, you could probably reduce the amount of sugar you put in, because I dread to think what the the sugar content of these little beauties is! Good job they're only small squares! Anyway, these are possibly one of the moistest cakes I've tasted, which I imagine is largely because of the dash (or two) of cream that you put in and the lemon syrup that is drizzled over just as it comes out of the oven. Surprisingly, they're fairly light too, so when the rain continues to pour over the next few days I'll be able to stuff myself with my Berry Lemon Cake and not feel as if I'm about to burst. Because let's be honest, it's unlikely that the sun will return any time soon. And I don't know about you, but I'll need something to cheer me up... 

Berry Lemon Cake     

Ingredients

175g Plain Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch Salt

150g Unsalted Butter

150g Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

3tbsp Cream

150g Redcurrants (washed and stalks removed)

Juice of 2 Large Lemons (about 100ml)

100g Demerara Sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease and line a baking tin with greaseproof paper.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

In a separate bowl cream the butter and caster sugar togther so it is light and fluffy. 

Beat in the eggs one at a time, folding in a spoonful of flour after each egg.

Fold in the remaining flour and gently stir in the redcurrants and cream.

Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, combine the lemon juice and demerara sugar. When the cake comes out of the oven, pour this mixture onto the cake.

Allow to cool for about half an hour, then cut into slices and put onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy (with a nice cup of hot tea in this weather!).