Soft centred chocolate tortini with Ferrero Rocher crumble

If you are thinking “oh no, I possibly couldn’t” or “summer is here” please stop. Walk around the block, mutter a few stern words and give yourself a wee tap on the reality knuckles. This is a TREAT; a use it to woo a lover, eat during an intimate bout of self-loathing, make your skinny friends a little less skinny kind of treat. Comprende? And all that aside, it tastes delicious so why on earth wouldn’t you?  It takes all of 10 minutes to prepare and you can make the batter, refrigerate it in the moulds if time is against you, and whip it out at a moment’s notice like the genius that you are.  I’ll cut to the chase, it’s a winner. And you should cook it now. Then jump on the bat phone and invite me over to eat it. We could be bff’s forever.

Seriously…..

Serves 6

Ingredients

160g dark chocolate (70%), chopped

160g butter, coarsely chopped

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

75g caster sugar

50g plain flour

Vanilla ice cream to serve

Ferrero Rocher crumble

2 tsp good quality cocoa powder

8  ferre roche, refrigerated

Method

Preheat oven to 170C.

Grease and line 6 x 10cm loose-bottom pie tins.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stir to combine and set aside to cool. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, yolks and sugar for 6-8 minutes or until think and creamy. Gradually sift over the flour and whisk to combine, then add the chocolate mixture and whisk for another few minutes. Divide the mixture between the pie tins and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. It is important the mixture is completely cooled to achieve the soft centre when cooking.

Bake the tortini for 10 minutes or until they are firm but their centres are soft. Don’t be alarmed, these are not the sort of desserts meant to rise to lofty heights, you will have thick, dense disks of pudding – more than enough for each person. While the tortini are cooking, make the crumble by gently crushing the Ferrero Rocher in a bowl. Sprinkle over the cocoa powder and toss gently to combine.To serve, gently remove the tortini from the pie tins and place on plates, top with a scoop of ice cream and spoon over the crumble. Serve immediately, then lie down very flat on the couch after you have finished.

Coconut Poached Chicken, Mango and Wild Rice Salad

At the moment work is hectic. So the recipes that are most useful to me right now are not those that I can knock up in a few minutes, but those that involve cooking one day for the next. Coming home after a full on day (often in someone else’s kitchen) in the start of summer’s heat to “something I prepared earlier” is a lifesaver. Poached chicken is quite possible life’s answer to being busy. The early part of the week sees you poaching a chicken, letting it cool, then feasting on it for the rest of the week. Here is what I also like about poached chicken. Put chicken in pot and cover with liquid. Add heat. When liquid boils, reduce to a mere simmer and skim off the froth. Add other bits and bobs if using. Do not let the water boil again or chicken may get upset. When drained, said chicken is ready for (A) serving hot or (B) cooling for a later love tryst with the good old mayo and bread, or taste sensations like this colourful Asian flavoured salad (this weeks column on Daily Life). 

This dish also serves well for impromptu Saturday lunch gatherings – it’s so damn pretty to look at with all its colours, a cinch to make, and even better to eat. I have a feeling this is going to be on high rotation this summer.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 double chicken breasts

400ml light coconut milk

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp palm sugar

Salad

200 g wild rice

2 small mangoes, cubed

1 large red chilli, deseeded, finely sliced

Juice and zest of 1 lime

½ cup each coriander, Vietnamese mint, Thai Basil, leaves pulled

Method

Place the coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool the chicken in the poaching liquid. Rinse the wild rice under running water then cook in a saucepan of boiling water according to packet instructions. Allow to cool before combining in a large bowl with the remaining salad ingredients. Shred the chicken and add to the salad, spooning over a few tablespoons of the poaching liquid. Serve immediately.

And at long last Kitchen Coquette is finally available on Amazon UK and US sites for purchase. Hip hip hoorrrahhh.

Cooking the Books

One of the common questions I am asked is "can you recommend a great cookbook for...." While I want to scream Kitchen Coquette I am a big enough girl to concede there are some great, no scrap that, amazing cookbooks on the shelves worthy of your cooking time and hard earned cash (aside from my own). So I have decided to include a regular cooking the books column on the blog. Here I am going to include books that I believe in. Ones where the recipes work, they offer something new to the mix, and for the all important reason any of us buy cookbooks - because I like them - the look, the feel, the potential flavours they will bring to my mouth. 

So, first cab off the rank is  After Toast by Kate Gibbs. She's a beauty, the author and her book.

This is the kind of book I wish I had to bridge the gap between learning mum's bolognese and trying my hand at recipes that seemed interesting but were too challenging for my cooking skills when I first started sniffing around the kitchen. When I opened the book I had one of those "arggghhh" moments. Where was Kate when I tried my hand at my first prawn dish - toddling off to the fishmonger to buy prawns with my hard earned cash not knowing the difference between green and cooked, only to re-cook cooked prawns and nearly break everyones teeth in the process. This is where Kate's book fits and why it is so perfectly titled After Toast. It is the ideal book for those who want a little hand holding and learning as they enter the fantastic world of cooking. While the book is firmly aimed at budding cooks, I'd take it one step further to say the great recipes are worthy of anyones time in the kitchen, no matter your skill set.

Kate is a food journalist, author of a few cookbooks and generally when you read her name, two lines down it will mention that her grandmother is Margaret Fulton. To be honest, I couldn't give a shit who her grandmother is. I certainly don't mean that to be rude, I love (and I mean LOVE) Margaret in the way anyone who loves to cook does, it's just that I think Kate is an extremely competent and skilled cook in her own right. The fact that Margaret is her grandmother just means cooking is in her waters. She cooks as naturally as she breathes and this comes across in After Toast in the way she talks about food and delivers the recipes. 

I hate to pick favourite recipes in any book, it feels as though you aren't doing justice to the others, however there is generally, in every book, that one recipe that you go back to again and again, long enough to stain the page and just before you've committed it to memory. So the recipe worth the stains on the page from After Toast, in my lofty opinion is the messy prawn tacos (p87) - they just scream summery goodness. I'm probably a sucker for these right now because the weather is heating up and everyone has that spring in their step. I think I'll love them just as much come winter when I'll need a taste to remind me of sun and surf and heat. 

After Toast goes beyond recipes. The book is full of useful tips n tricks from using leftovers, cupboard staples, selecting fish and how to dress a table. But instead of being overwhelming, the tips are spread through the book and are relevant to the recipes. My reasons for why this should be gifted are also a little selfish - I think it would significantly increase your chances of a dinner invite. When you work in the world of food people don't tend to invite you over for dinner, not realising you'd do anything for just about anyone willing to cook you something so for once you weren't cooking it yourself.

After Toast retails for $29.99 and you can find it at all good bookstores of course. It is also available online here

Sticky berry meringues with brown sugar creme fraiche and fruit compote

Chewy and delectably sweet, meringues are loved by almost everyone. The best are those that have a crumbly, fragile exterior and a meltingly tender mallowy texture within. I’d like to take this sentiment one step further and add the best are really rippled with fruit. Sure they may not rise to the lofty heights of your plain meringue but they taste that much better for it. 

Meringues are not difficult to make, although they are somewhat high maintenance – they are overly sensitive to moisture, fat and sudden changes of temperature. Before you start, ensure the bowl and whisk are dry and super clean. It is important to whisk the egg whites thoroughly - to incorporate as much air as possible - until they form stiff peaks. If you’re not sure. Stop whisking and turn the bowl upside down – stiff peak egg whites aren’t going anywhere -  although it’s a little sad to waste the eggs if you get overexcited and flip the bowl to soon. Continue to whisk thoroughly as you gradually add the sugar - don't be tempted to shower it in too quickly, otherwise the meringue will lose volume. The finished meringue should be smooth, glossy and hold firm peaks on the whisk as you lift it out of the mixture. Only add the fruit compote mixture for this recipe at the very end and be careful the meringues don’t brown – low temperature and time means everything. You can also find this recipe over on Daily Life

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Serves 4

Ingredients

200g blackberries

25g icing sugar

2 large eggwhites

100g caster sugar

Crème fraiche

150g crème fraiche

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

50g brown sugar

250g fresh raspberries

Method

Place the blackberries in a saucepan with 25ml water and the icing sugar. Place over low heat and bring to a simmer, cooking until a syrup texture is achieved – about 10 minutes. You want the syrup to taste slightly tart as the meringues are sweet. Allow to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 120C.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and spray lightly with vegetable spray – this is important as the fruit meringues are a little sticky.

Beat the egg-whites until thick and holding firm peaks – you should be able to punch your finger through a bit of meringue mountain peak and it holds its shape. Keep beating, gradually adding the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time. Stop when all the sugar is incorporated and you have a very thick, glossy meringue that holds firm peaks. Add three tablespoons of the fruit puree to the mix and gently swirl it through to marble, keeping it nice and streaky. Spoon the meringue on to the tray in eight equal blobs, trying to keep them round in shape and roughly the same size. Bake for an hour and a half, then remove and leave to cool completely.

Combine the crème fraiche, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

To serve, carefully lift the meringues from the baking tray. Plate the meringues, dollop over a heaped spoon of the crème fraiche. Scatter over raspberries and serve with more puree trickled around.