Posts tagged amaretto

Amaretto Pannacotta, Rose Rhubarb, Pistachio Shortbread

Comments Off on Amaretto Pannacotta, Rose Rhubarb, Pistachio Shortbread read Sweet Treats
Amaretto Pannacotta, Rose Rhubarb, Pistachio Shortbread
image

A beautiful, delicious, creamy, soothing, sweet and flavoursome dessert to top off a wonderful Mother’s Day supper. My mother personified in a pleasing dessert. Elegant, beautiful and who doesn’t love a creamy vanilla speckled pannacotta? Obviously with a splash of booze as it was only fitting and with the simplest quirky touch of rose for added originality. And as one of my mums favourite puddings it was always on the menu. With shortbread of course. I think I’d have been hung and gutted if I hadn’t made any if I’m honest. Even if we were having pancakes! You can totally adapt this recipe too adding different liquors and roasting different fruits. Adding different nuts and flavours to your biscuits too. Try frangelico pannacotta, hazelnut shortbread and cinnamon honey roasted figs.

image
image

Serves 6

Amaretto Pannacotta

  • 500ml double cream
  • 125ml milk
  • 40g caster sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 2 tbsp amaretto liqueur (or another if preferred, e.g. Frangelico?)
  • 3 leaves/sheets gelatine
  1. Find yourself either 6 pannacotta moulds (This is if you want to turn these out onto a plate to eat. It is up to you. I prefer the less hassle and neater presentation approach to serving these in glasses) or 6 glasses of choice to serve you pannacotta in and place on tray.
  2. Heat the double cream, milk, sugar and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over a medium heat to dissolve the sugar and infuse the cinnamon.
  3. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod and whisk into the heating cream. Add the pod too and bring to just under a simmer.
  4. Remove from the what and leave to infuse for 20 minutes or so.
  5. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water meanwhile.
  6. Sieve or pick out the cinnamon stick and the vanilla pod and discard. Bring the pan back onto the heat and warm through.
  7. Squeeze out the gelatine leaves and then whisk into the warm cream.
  8. Transfer the mixture to a good reliable pouring jug and divide the mixture between the glasses. (TIP: Measure the mixture first and then divide this by 6 so that you end up with 6 even glasses. It is also worth whisking the mixture between pouring so you don’t end up with all the tasty black and precious vanilla seeds at the bottom of the jug!)
  9. Carefully place the tray in the fridge and leave to set. Ideally make these in the morning for use for dinner.
  10. Bring to room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving. Turn out any that are in pannacotta moulds. Serve with the warm rhubarb compote on top.

Rose Roasted Rhubarb

  • 500g pink forced Spring Rhubarb
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • ¾ tsp rosewater
  • 1 tbsp rose petals
  • Handful pistachio nuts, crushed
  1. Preheat the oven to about 160°C.
  2. Cut your rhubarb into 2inch chunks on the diagonal.
  3. Place in a baking dish and drizzle with the honey. Add the rosewater and mix.
  4. Cover with foil and roast for about 30 minutes until its soft. remove the foil and return to the oven for about 10 more minutes or so.
  5. Serve warm on top of the chilled pannacotta, scattered with a few rose petals and some crushed pistachio nuts.
image

Pistachio Shortbread

  • 125g cold, cubed butter
  • 175g plain flour
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 40g pistachios
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 and line a baking tray with parchment
  2. In a food processor, combine the butter, flour and 50g of sugar and blend until it begins to clump and form a dough
  3. Next in a pestle and mortar pound the nuts coarsely until you form small pieces.
  4. Add half to the dough and pulse again briefly in the processor to diffuse.
  5. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and use your hands to bring to a ball of dough.
  6. Halve the dough to make it easier to work with as you can now deal with it in two batches. Roll to the thickness of a pound coin and then use a cutter of choice to make your shortbread before placing on the baking tray.
  7. Combine the remaining pounded nuts with the 10g of sugar and scatter liberally over the biscuits.
  8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just beginning to turn a light golden brown.
  9. Leave to cool before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To serve: Serve the pannacotta slightly chilled (remove from the fridge for about 5 minute before serving) topped with the warm rhubarb and a side order of buttery shortbread

image

Rhubarb and Amaretto ‘Cake’

Comments Off on Rhubarb and Amaretto ‘Cake’ read Sweet Treats
Rhubarb and Amaretto ‘Cake’

 

image

The 1st August was ‘forage in the pantry’s’ 1st Birthday, hurrah! Some spritely rhubarb was nestled patiently outside in the garden so I stole it for this sweet celebration cake. However, cake, torte or tart- I don’t know? It has an impressively gooey and unthinkably moreish texture with a layer of juicy rhubarb and a sinful almond paste spooned slutily on top. But, regardless, its one of those recipes that surprises me with its flavour every time I make it (and equally makes me angry as I merrily start and  get everything ready only to get to the step that says ‘leave to dry overnight’ which I always seem to forget). It has a  very moist texture and, like I say, the recipe suggests leaving the rhubarb to drain overnight once cooked. I was too impatient and left it a hour or so which was effective but it was very gooey but still delicious. I thought however, that this recipe was finally worth sharing as it was first kindly shared with me a while ago.

  • 1kg rhubarb, chopped
  • 300g caster sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 300g amaretti biscuits
  • 175g butter
  • 90ml Amaretto liqueur
  • 3 eggs
  • 40g plain flour
  • Icing sugar to serve
  • Mascarpone and ground cinnamon to serve
  1. Place the chopped rhubarb, 250g caster sugar, the cinnamon stick and a splash of water in a pan and simmer until tender but chunky. Drain the rhubarb in a sieve to dry out the mixture and set aside covered overnight. (Or for at least 1-2 hours if you can’t resist or want a moisture texture). You want a fairly dry soft rhubarb compote that won’t add to much moisture into the cake.
  2. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a 23cm spring form tin.
  3. Place the amaretti biscuits in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs. Add the diced butter, amaretto, eggs, the remaining sugar, and the flour. Blitz to combine to a blended paste and chill.image
  4. Spoon half the mixture into the lined tin, top with the rhubarb and then top with the remaining almond paste and smooth and level off.
  5. Bake for 30-50 minutes until golden and firm to touch. Depending on how wet the rhubarb was it may vary on the timing.
  6. Leave to cool before dusting with icing sugar. Serve with a generous spoonful of sweetened and cinnamon speckled mascarpone. (Keep in the fridge as it is very moist and will go off quickly- especially in this weather!)

Amaretto Cake with Roasted Figs

Comments Off on Amaretto Cake with Roasted Figs read Sweet Treats
Amaretto Cake with Roasted Figs

 

image

This should really be called ‘booze cake with roasted fruits’ as really it is open to any of your favourite tipples and topped with any complementing fruit. In my recent craving to make a polenta cake and my mum’s imminent birthday, I ended up combining these two irresistible forces and making this amaretto soaked ‘pudding cake’. Courtesy of ‘Vogue Entertaining and Travel’ who’s magazines offer not only fantastic food porn photography but some great original recipes, I replaced masarala for amaretto and it was a huge success! There was also added relief as if you notice, it is in fact egg-less……but yes it sets and eats like a dream! Who’d have thought!?

Makes one large cake (Adapted from ‘Vogue Entertaining and Travel’)

  • 300g self raising flour
  • 110g polenta
  • 60g ground almonds
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 125g butter, chopped
  • 220g caster sugar
  • 300g soured cream
  • 250ml amaretto (or masala or another booze)
  • 4 large figs
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a 26cm spring form cake tin.
  2. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the polenta, bicarb and almonds with a pinch of salt.
  3. Beat butter and caster sugar until fluffy and then stir in the soured cream by hand until just combined.
  4. Sift in the dry ingredients alteratively with the amaretto into the butter until just combined but don’t over-mix- it will be quick thick.
  5. Spoon into the tin, level and bake for about 50 minutes until cooked and then leave to cool. (Note: you may feel an urge to put your entire face into the cake and eat it-avoid)
  6. Once cool, top with sliced raw or roasted fresh fig halves, scatter with toasted almonds and dust with icing sugar.

Side Effects: Can cause over-consumption especially when eaten with homemade blackcurrant sorbet (see here)

image

Peach and Amaretto Mini Meringue Pie

Comments Off on Peach and Amaretto Mini Meringue Pie read Sweet Treats
Peach and Amaretto Mini Meringue Pie

A simple beautiful dessert!  This I actually made the other day with some leftovers- a mini tart case, a lonely peach and an abandoned egg white…….I stewed the peach with some sugar and amaretto and popped it in the tart case before suffocating it in a glossy, sweet and airy meringue mix. Quick blast in the oven and it was ready to devour!