Death By Chocolate Trifle, Ditch the Jelly and Sherry!

I absolutely, completely hate trifle: the jelly (which I hate in general) soaked into the sponge fingers has the most revolting texture, the canned fruit cocktail is abysmal, and cold custard.... oh, cold custard. My brother and my Dad love it (sans the sherry, because neither of them drinks), but I find it disgusting.

However! There are alternatives to traditional trifle for those who, like me, despise its very existence. At the end of the day, a trifle is simply a layered dessert which includes cream, cake soaked in a flavoured syrup, and some sort of other filling like custard and/or jelly and/or mousse. Once you know the basic formula, the ideas generate themselves.

In this trifle, I chopped two chocolate brownies into little cubes and sprinkled them with a simple syrup flavoured with peppermint vodka (which I made myself). I prepared some chocolate custard following this recipe.

I made a rich chocolate mousse by separating one medium (US large) egg, placing the white in a bowl for whipping, and setting the yolk aside. In a heatproof bowl over a pan of warm water I melted 1 ounce (30 grammes) of plain chocolate and 1 ounce (30 grammes) of unsalted butter. I then quickly beat in the egg yolk and heated it while stirring for a minute.

I whipped the egg white with 1 ounce (30 grammes) of caster sugar to form a stiff peaking meringue. I folded a third of the meringue into the chocolate, then poured the now-lightened chocolate mixture into the rest of the meringue and folded through completely.

In two 10 ounce (280 millilitre) high-ball glasses, I divided the mousse and allowed it to set in the fridge for about half an hour before adding in the brownie pieces, the custard, and then finally some whipped cream with I had lightly sweetened with caster sugar and swirled with a little red food colouring for a festive feel.

One of these trifles is enough to share between two people, so you can divide the mixture among four tumblers or dessert glasses if you prefer!

If chocolate isn't your thing, you can:

• Make individual tiramisu desserts, soaking lady fingers in coffee- and rum flavoured simple syrup, a traditional light marscapone mousse, and some whipped cream.
• Layer slices of jammy Swiss roll with strawberry mousse (like Angel Delight) and cream.
• Gently sprinkle some gingerbread slices with rum and layer with some thick caramel and whipped cream.

However you make your trifle, be sure to keep it in the fridge for no more than 3 days.

Fröhliche Weihnachten! Individual Sacher Tortes (Wheat Free)

Glücklicher Internationaler Sachertorte-Tag!

Our festive tour continues throughout central Europe, stopping off in Austria for a slice of their famous chocolate and apricot jam sponge: Sachertorte!

December the 5th is international Sachertorte day, coincidentally, so what better way to celebrate than sharing my own version of this iconic dessert. Invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 in Vienna, this cake has been an Austrian speciality ever since. Traditionally, it is made with two light and soft cocoa sponge layers, sandwiching sweet sour apricot jam, with two outer layers: one of apricot jam, and one of chocolate icing, made with sugar syrup and dark chocolate.

There is a lot of dispute over which is the definitive Sachertorte, and some recipes even include a double layer of apricot jam under the chocolate icing--which is iced on, rather than glazed on as is typical nowadays--and other versions use melted chocolate in the sponge itself, resulting in a denser, moister cake more like a brownie. But, I personally prefer a simple chocolate creamed sponge with a ganache coating made with chocolate and butter, rather than chocolate and syrup.

As you can see in the pictures, I'm not 100% amazing at glazing cakes: using pourable icing is not my forte. If I were to do this again, I'd wait until the icing is spreadable and ice it onto the cakes over the apricot layer. I also used a wax seal stamp to make individual chocolate decorations, inspired by this Honey Fondant Cakes with Chocolate Wax Seals blog by Heather Baird at Sprinkle Bakes. She explains the entire process of making chocolate wax seals, and I dusted mine with gold fondant dust.

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DIFFICULTY

Each step is simple, but there are a lot of steps

TIME

About 2 or 3 hours

RECIPE RATING

Intermediate

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INGREDIMENTS

Makes roughly 8 small cakes

2 medium (US Large) eggs

4 ounces (115 grammes) butter, or baking margarine

6 ounces (170 grammes) caster sugar

5 ounces (140 grammes) flour

1 ounce (30 grammes) cocoa

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) baking powder

4 fluid ounces (115 millilitres) milk, or milk alternative
 1/8 teaspoon (1 millilitre) salt

To decorate

Roughly 4 to 6 fluid ounces (115 to 170 millilitres) apricot jam

6 ounces (170 grammes) plain chocolate, or dairy free chocolate

3 ounces (85 grammes) unsalted butter, or baking margarine

4 tablespoons (60 millilitres) whole milk, or milk alternative

8 chocolate coins, or stamped chocolates (shown below)

Gold fondant dust

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FREE FROM

Wheat, yeast, nuts

CONTAINS

Eggs, spelt, dairy (dairy free option in italics), refined sugar

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METHOD

Before you begin the cakes, make the chocolate decorations

• Prepare the wax seal chocolates as instructed in Sprinkle Bakes' article, and set in the fridge. Use a soft brush to dust the chocolates with dry gold fondant dust. If you don't have the means to make chocolate seals, simply unwrap some chocolate coins and dust with gold.

Then, make the cake

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF/Gas Mk.4) and grease and flour a 4½ by 8 inch (11 by 20 centimetre) loaf tin, or you can use a silicone one which doesn't need greasing or flouring. Try to use one with fairly straight sides.
• In a mixing bowl, or food processor, cream the soft butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure to beat well between each egg, and continue beating (or running the blade) until the mix is well incorporated.
• Sieve in half of the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder, fold through until mostly mixed, then add in the milk. Again, fold through until mostly mixed before adding the rest of the dry ingredients and folding through completely.
• Pour the mixture into the tin and bake on the centre shelf for 25 to 30 minutes, until the surface is springy to the touch and a cocktail stick comes out clean when stuck in the centre of the cake.
• Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before turning out and cooling completely on a wire rack.
• When cold, level the cake by cutting off the dome, then cut in half into two layers. Spread a layer of apricot jam, roughly 4 tablespoons (60 millilitres), onto the bottom layer, then sandwich on the top layer. Turn the entire cake upside down, so the flat bottom of the cake is now the top. Chill for about 30 minutes.
• Once the cake is chilled, trim the crusts off and cut into 8 small cakes. Spread a layer of apricot jam over the tops and sides of each cake. Return to the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

Now, make the ganache glaze to finish the masterpieces!

• Break the chocolate up into small pieces, or cut up with a sharp serrated knife. Heat the butter and milk together in a jug in the microwave until the milk is hot and the butter is melted.
• Add the chocolate to the jug and allow to sit for 3 minutes before mixing with a small whisk or fork. Beat vigorously until it becomes a thick ganache. If needed, heat in the microwave for about 20 seconds to help the chocolate melt.
• Put the cakes on a wire rack and set the rack over a baking tray or large square cake tin. Pour the ganache over each cake, paying particular attention to the square corners.
• While the ganache is still wet, decorate each cake with a gold chocolate seal, or coin. Allow to set completely in the fridge before serving.

STORAGE

Keep these cakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months.

Buon Natale! Orange Amaretti: Italian Almond Macaroons (Gluten- and Dairy Free)

And thus, our Advent-ure (get it?) around Central Europe will begin with a trip to Italy! Here is my take on a simple Italian seasonal treat: amaretti, with a hint of orange!

Essentially, an amaretto is an almond macaroon and a lot of Central European countries have a version of nut macaroons and coconut macaroons. In Germany, there are kokosmakronen (coconut), mandelmakronen (almond), and haselnussmakronen (hazelnut); in France, you have the iconic macarons, which are much more delicate and technical than its cousins in other countries; and in Hungary, there are kókuszcsók (coconut). Here in Ireland, coconut macaroons are definitely more popular than the almond variety.

Making amaretti doesn't really need a recipe, as it's just a combination of egg whites, sugar, and almonds. To make them, simply make a stiff meringue with 3 ounces (85 grammes) of caster sugar for each medium (US large) egg white. Add in orange zest and almond essence to taste, and enough orange food colouring gel to get a nice pastel shade, and then fold in 3 ounces (85 grammes) of ground almonds for each egg white.

Fit a disposable piping bag with a half-inch (1 centimetre) round nozzle, and fill the bag with the mixture. Pipe the biscuits onto non-stick paper lined baking sheets, making each biscuit into a mound about an inch or so tall and wide.

Bake in an oven preheated to 150°C (300°F, Gas Mk.2) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the biscuits are crisp and dry to the touch. Allow to cool slightly on the trays before gently peeling off and tranferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with a little icing sugar to serve.

These keep very well in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

メリークリスマス! Japanese Christmas Strawberry Shortcake

So, on my Facebook page, I recently announced that this December would be one without traditional dried fruit recipes: no mince pies, no fruit cake, no pudding, et cetera! This led me to do an awful lot of research into the Christmas food traditions of various nations from all over Eurasia, particularly Central Europe, and I was considerably educated!

However, before we delve into the Christmas traditional vitals of the central Europeans, here is an offering from the far East: Japanese Strawberry Shortcake!

From my superficial research, I was surprised to discover that mainstream Christmas celebrations weren't common in Japan until the American occupation after World War II, as such Japan doesn't have much of a Christmas food culture. Christmas is a primarily commercial affair to the mostly-Buddhist Japanese, and there aren't many particular foods that are associated with the event.

In all of my Pinterest surfing and Google searching had one cake in common, however: strawberry shortcake, called いちごのショートケーキ (ichigo no shōtokēki). This confection comprises of two light fluffy sponges (sometimes tinted pink) brushed with liqueur-scented syrup, sandwiching a sweetened whipped cream and fresh strawberry filling, iced with more cream and fresh strawberries.


While soaking cake in alcohol is very much a Christmas thing, the rest of it is something I'd associate more with a summer time dessert. And even the name is not fully correct, as the word "shortcake" refers to a cake which has a high butter or fat content, which this cake certainly does not as a (mostly) fatless sponge. Most articles say that this cake is a common generic celebration cake in Japan, and as such is eaten at Christmas as a celebratory food. I suppose this is a case of East is East, West is West, and ne'er the twain shall meet.

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DIFFICULTY

Each step is simple, but there are a lot of steps

TIME

About 2 or 3 hours

RECIPE RATING

Intermediate

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INGREDIMENTS

For one 7x11 inch (18x28 centimetre) rectangular cake

3 medium (US large) eggs

3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar

3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) sunflower oil

3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) milk, cream, or Baileys Irish Cream, or milk alternative

3 ounces (85 grammes) plain spelt flour

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

A few drops almond essence

Pink or red food colouring

Simple syrup

2 tablespoons (30 grammes) caster sugar

2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) water

Optional: 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) liqueur of choice: Kirsch, rum, brandy, amaretto, Baileys Irish Cream

The liqueur can be replaced with a few drops of almond essence

Whipped cream and strawberry filling

3 ounces (85 grammes) strawberries, stems removed and cut into quarters

1 teaspoon (5 grammes) caster sugar

9 fluid ounces (250 millilitres) whipping cream

2 tablespoons (15 grammes) icing sugar

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence

A few drops of almond essence

6 whole strawberries, stems removed and cut in half

Optional: 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) Baileys Irish Cream

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FREE FROM

Wheat, yeast, nuts

CONTAINS

Eggs, spelt, dairy (dairy free option in italics), refined sugar

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METHOD

First, make the cake

• Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4). Lightly grease a 7x11 inch (18x28 centimetre) rectangular tin, and line with non-stick baking paper.
• Prepare the cake according to this recipe, adding the essences and enough food colouring to make a delicately pink mixture. Once baked, remove the paper and allow to cool completely.

Prepare the syrup

• Mix the sugar and water together in a jug or mug, and heat in the microwave for 1 minute on high, until the sugar has dissolved completely in the water.
• Mix in the liqueur, and allow to cool slightly until just warm. If you don't want to use alcohol, add in a few drops of vanilla and almond essences.

Prepare the strawberries and cream

• In a bowl, toss the quartered strawberries with the caster sugar and allow to sit for 10 minutes. The sugar will transform into a delicious syrup and the strawberries will become juicy.
• Whip the cream with the icing sugar, vanilla, and almond essences to soft peaks in a cold mixing bowl. Take about 3 ounces (85 grammes) of the cream and fold into the juicy strawberries.
• Keep the remaining cream and the strawberry cream in the fridge while you prepare the cake for assembly.

Now, assemble the masterpiece!

• Cut the cake in half to make two 7x5½ inch (18x14 centimetre) cakes. Brush liberally with the simple syrup to soak the surface. 
• On a serving plate, sandwich the two cakes together with the strawberry cream, spreading the filling to the edges. Press together gently, and chill for an hour.
• Take out of the fridge and trim the crusts; your cake will be reduced in size to roughly 6x5 inches (15x13 centimetre). Enjoy the cut offs!
• Ice with the remaining cream, smoothing to your liking, and then decorate with the halved strawberries.
• Chill for about 2 hours before serving. This cake can be cut into 12 little squares, or 6 fingers.

STORAGE

This cake will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days.