Desserts Archives - Pagina 3 van 4

Chocolate Mousse

There are certain recipes one needs to have in their repertoire and a good chocolate mousse is one of them. Here is our recipe that we have been making for years.

Serves 4

Ingredients
175 g dark chocolate (minimum 50% cocoa solids), chopped
60 ml strong black coffee
4 eggs, separated
15 g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 15 ml liqueur of your choice
45 g castor sugar

Method
Heat the chocolate in the coffee over a low heat, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Simmer until slightly thickened but still falling easily from the spoon. Remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks, one by one, in to the hot mixture so that they thicken slightly. Beat in the butter and vanilla or liqueur. Let the mixture cool until just warm.

Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Add the sugar and continue whisking for 30 seconds to make a light meringue. Fold into the warm chocolate mixture. Pour into pots or glasses and chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. Serve lightly dusted with cocoa powder of with whipped cream.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours

by Mischa de Winter

Crepes Suzette

Today, February the 17th is International pancake day. While we love the traditional pancakes with a little cinnamon-sugar and lemon and American pancakes, we felt that we wanted to make it a little more indulgent. So here is an absolute classis which everyone should have in their repertoire.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
100g flour
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
about 300 ml milk
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon oil
butter for frying

Suzette Sauce
75 g butter
150g sugar
2 lemons
2 oranges
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or orange liqueur, or to taste

Method
Mix the egg and egg yolk with the flour, oil and a pinch of salt and add part of the milk. Whisk until you have a thick mixture and add as much of the remaining milk as needed. (This can also be done in the food processor.) The batter should be the consistency of cream.

Allow the batter to rest for ± 30 minutes. Cook the crepes in a crepe pan or frying pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Grate the zest of the 1 lemon and 1 orange and squeeze the juice from all. Place the sugar in a pan and caramelise over a medium heat until an amber colour. Carefully add the citrus juices and cook over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the butter, grated zests and Grand Marnier or orange liqueur. If you dare, flambé the liqueur before adding, but please be very careful!

To serve, fold the crepes into quarters and reheat briefly in the sauce. Serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

by Mischa de Winter

Chocolate Guinness Cake

Nigella Lawson is famously known as The Domestic Goddess. Her cakes and dispelling baking myths have made her a household name. Recently someone told us we had to make her Chocolate Guinness cake. So we did. The combination of chocolate and Guinness makes a deep, dark cake, which is moist and delicious. And now we're sharing the recipe with you.

Ingredients
250 ml Guinness
250 g unsalted butter
75 g cocoa powder
400 g castor sugar
142 ml sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
275 g plain flour
2 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
for the topping
300 g cream cheese
150 g icing sugar
125 ml cream

Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 180°C and butter and line a 24cm springform tin with baking paper.

Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter and heat until the butter has melted. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the buttery Guinness pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.

Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

When the cake's cold, place it on a flat platter or cake stand and start with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. This can also be done in a processor, putting the unsieved icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency.

Ice the top of the cake and serve.

by Mischa de Winter

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients
75 g butter, plus extra for greasing
175 g soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 eggs
2 tablespoons black treacle
200g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
200g pitted dates
300 ml water
1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Sauce
300 g sugar
300 ml cream
50 g butter
generous pinch of salt

Method
Preheat an oven to 180 C. Grease a 30 cm x 20 20 cm square cake tin with butter and line with baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, treacle, vanilla extract and eggs, a little at a time, and blend until smooth. Mix the flour and baking powder together. Add the flour and blend, at a low speed, until well combined.

Meanwhile, place the dates in a pan with the water and bring to a boil. Blend the dates and water in a Magimix (food processor) to a smooth purée. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla.

Pour the date mixture into the batter and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is springy and golden-brown.

To make the caramel sauce, place the sugar in a pan and het gently until it dissolves and is caramelised to a mahogany colour. Carefully add the cream, stand back as it will spit and splatter. Keep on the heat, stirring now and again until the caramel dissolves. Turn off the heat, stir through the butter and salt.

To serve, cut the pudding into 12 generous squares and place serving plates. Pour over the caramel sauce and serve. Delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

by Bernadette Evers

Meringues

Ingredients
200 g egg white, at room temperature
400 g caster sugar
a little lemon juice

Method
Start by weighing your egg whites. Weighing your egg whites gives you more accuracy to achieve the half egg white ratio and will ensure that your meringues are perfect every time.

Preheat the oven to fan 110° C and line 2 or 3 oven trays with baking paper. Rub the bowl of a heavy-duty mix with half a lemon. The lemon juice ensures that the bowl is fat free and the little touch of acid helps the egg whites beat up better.

With the whisk attachment fitted, start the machine on low speed. This helps to break the 'bonds' in the egg white so that it will beat up to a larger volume. Once the egg white turns foamy, increase the speed to high and beat until it turns white and starts to the thicken.

Now it's time to start adding the sugar, about a large tablespoon at a time. Keep the machine running and take care that it has beaten in well after each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, you should have a thick, glossy meringue. Spoon or pipe mounds on to the oven trays. You can leave them plain, or top them with a dusting of cocoa powder, chopped nuts or a bit of food coloring, for an interesting effect.

Place the meringues in the oven and bake. After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to 100° C and allow to bake for a further 2 hours. After that time, turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool oven. Serve, stacked up with whipped cream and seasonal fruit.

Meringues keep well for weeks if stored properly in an airtight container.

You can also play around with the flavours of the meringues. Try adding a touch of instant espresso powder for coffee meringues, or some rose water or orange blossom water for an exotic twist.

by Mischa de Winter

Babas au Rhum

Makes about 16

Ingredients
100g raisins
1¼ cups rum
100g butter, softened to room temperature
25g fresh yeast or 10g dried yeast
250g flour, sifted
25g sugar
generous pinch of salt
4 eggs
50g melted butter, for greasing

Syrup
1 liter water
500g sugar

Method
Soak the raisins in the rum.

Mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons warm water. Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the sugar and salt, 2 eggs and the yeast mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough is elastic, then add the other egg. Work this in and then add the final egg and work it in. Finally add the softened butter and the drained raisins.

Brush 16 dariole moulds with the melted butter. Divide the dough into 16 small pieces and put a piece into each mould. Leave in a warm place until the dough has risen to fill the moulds. Preheat the oven to 200°C and then bake them for 15-20 minutes. Turn the babas out immediately onto a rack and allow to cool completely.

Prepare the syrup by boiling together the water and sugar. Add the remaining rum. Dip each baba into the boiling syrup and leave submerged until no more air bubbles are released. Drain and place on a cake rack resting over a dish. As the rum syrup collects in this dish, repeatedly spoon it over the babas to keep them very moist.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours

by Bernadette Evers

Greek yoghurt with Dried Figs in Port

This is the one of the easiest and most delicious desserts around. You can rustle it up in no time at all. Serve it in a large bowl in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves.

Ingredients
large tub Greek yoghurt
dried figs
port
honey
toasted walnuts, chopped (optional)

Method
If you have 10 minutes free, take a bunch of dried figs, remove the hard stalks and and place them in a jar. Cover them in port (you don't need to use the most expensive). You can add some spices to flavour if your wish, fennel seeds, star anise or cinnamon sticks. Close the lid and leave to stand. In fact the longer you keep them, the better they become.

Place the figs with the port in a saucepan, bring to a boil and allow to reduce gently until the figs have softened and the port has become syrupy and sticky and is coating the figs. Allow to cool.*

Pour the yoghurt into a serving bowl. Drizzle with honey, top with the sticky port figs and if you wish, scatter with chopped walnuts.

* The figs are perfect to use this way in salads or served with a beautiful blue cheese.

by Bernadette Evers

Walnut Cake with Spiced Caramel Sauce

Ingredients
Cake
220 g butter, at room temperature
240 g caster sugar
4 eggs
160 g fine semolina
2 teaspoons baking powder
300 g walnuts

Caramel
300g caster sugar
300 ml cream
1 star anise
½ cinnamon stick
25g butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the walnuts on a baking tray and toast them lightly in the oven, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C. Grease a 24 cm round springform tin or small fluted tins, of your choice.

Place the butter and sugar in a bowl of a mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in, one at a time, until well combined.

Place the walnuts in a food processor and blend until finely ground.

Stir the baking powder through the semolina and fold through the egg and butter mixture, followed by the ground walnuts.

Spoon the batter into the greased cake tins and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes (large cake) or about 20 minutes (for the small cakes). Remove from the oven, cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before turing out onto a wire rack to cool completely before covering with the caramel.

For the spiced caramel sauce, heat the sugar in a pan until it turns golden-brown. Pour the cream in carefully and bring to the boil, stirring well. Add the star anise, cinnamon and butter. Cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened and smooth.

Strain through a fine sieve, cool completely and pour over the cake before serving.

by Mischa de Winter

Pineapple with Minted Sugar

Serves 3-4

This is the simplest recipe ever. In fact, there is no recipe to it. It's more of an assembly job and relies on your own taste. It's inspired by a recipe Jamie Oliver did many years ago.

Ingredients
1 pineapple
about 50 g sugar
small bunch mint
1 lime (optional)

Method
Peel the pineapple, cut into quarters and remove the hard centre core. Slice each quarter lengthways into thin slices. Place on a serving platter.

Place the sugar and mint in a small food processor and blend until the mint has broken up and the sugar has turned green. This can also be done in a pestle and mortar.

Scatter the minted sugar over the pineapple and serve. If you wish, you can add a squeeze of lime juice over the pineapple.

by Bernadette Evers

Baked apples

Ingredients
4 apples
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon mixed spice
50 g demarara sugar
30 g dried apricots and 30 g dried cranberries
50 g butter
250ml creme fraiche
splash of marsala
icing sugar, to taste

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Mix the sugar with the spices. Mix half the sugar-spice mix with 80 ml water and 80 ml Marsala in a roasting tray. Remove the cores from the apples using an apple corer.

Chop the apricots into small cubes and mix with the dried cranberries. Mix together with the remaining sugar and spice mix in a small bowl.

Fill the apples with the apricot-cranberry mixture. Place a cube of butter on each, lay them in the roasting tray and bake them for 30-40 minutes, basting with the juices now and again.

Whisk the creme fraiche with a splash of Marsala and icing sugar to sweeten until slightly thickened. Serve the apples warm with the Marsala creme fraiche.

by Bernadette Evers