Jamie Oliver's Christmas Cookbook
Page 16
FILLING
2 tablespoons liquid honey
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
8 oz ricotta cheese
3½ oz quality dark chocolate (70%)
1¾ oz unsweetened dried cranberries
1¾ oz mixed peel
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. To make the brandy snaps, dice the butter and place in a small pan on a low heat with the soft light brown sugar, golden syrup, and a good pinch of sea salt to gently melt, until you have a lovely golden caramel. Meanwhile, sift the flour and ground ginger into a large mixing bowl. Finely grate in the orange zest, then make a well in the middle. Pour in the buttery caramel, add the brandy, and beat everything together until smooth.
Using a teaspoon, dollop 4 heaping spoonfuls of the brandy snap mixture onto the lined baking sheet, as far away from each other as possible—they spread out a lot as they cook. Bake for around 7 minutes, or until golden brown—keep an eye on them. Leave to cool for exactly 1 minute on the pan, then carefully pry the brandy snaps off the baking sheet and gently bend each one around the handle of a wooden spoon to create a tube. Leave to cool on the spoons—you should get two on each one. Keep going with the mixture, patiently cooking the brandy snaps in batches, until all the mixture is used up.
To make the filling, beat the honey, vanilla bean paste, and ricotta cheese in a food processor until silky smooth, then very finely chop the chocolate, cranberries, and peel, and stir into the mixture. Spoon the filling into a piping bag, or a sandwich bag (then snip the corner off), and carefully pipe into the brandy snaps from both ends. You will get a little bit creeping through the holes but that all adds to the charm! Finish by sifting a little confectioner’s sugar over the top, then serve.
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GET AHEAD
Store the cooled brandy snaps in an airtight container and keep the filling in the piping bag in the fridge, then simply assemble when you’re ready to serve.
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BILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD
GUINNESS CARAMEL, DARK CHOCOLATE, & SEA SALT
This one is hard to beat. Whether enjoyed as a gift, for afternoon tea, or even lightly warmed and served with ice cream for dessert—it’s all good, and a wonderful twist on a simple classic. Shortbread, caramel, chocolate—what’s not to love?
MAKES 40 PIECES
1 HOUR
PLUS CHILLING & SETTING
SHORTBREAD
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), plus extra for greasing
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup superfine sugar
CARAMEL
1½ cups soft light brown sugar
1 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 tablespoons Guinness
1¼ cups crème fraîche
CHOCOLATE
10 oz quality dark chocolate (70%)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12- × 8-inch baking pan with butter. For the shortbread, mix the flour and superfine sugar together in a mixing bowl, then rub in the butter with your thumb and forefingers until you have fine crumbs. Add a little water to bring the mixture together into a dough, then push it into your prepared pan in an even layer. Prick all over with a fork and bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly golden. Leave to cool in the pan.
To make the caramel, place the soft light brown sugar, butter, Guinness, and 2⁄3 cup of water in a pan on a medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce by half, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the crème fraîche, then reduce the heat to low and leave to gently bubble for 20 minutes, whisking often. When it’s thick and fudgy, pour over the shortbread—don’t try it, it’ll be super-hot! Tilt the pan to help the caramel find its natural level, then chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Snap your chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, add the butter, then leave to melt, stirring occasionally. Let it cool for a few minutes, then pour over the caramel—you don’t want the caramel to melt. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and leave aside until set, then transfer to a board and slice smoothly into bite-sized chunks using a warm knife (dip it in a cup of hot water, for ease). They’re good for a few days in an airtight container.
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JAZZ UP YOUR SLICE
Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle over chopped dried fruit and nuts, go mad with a scattering of toffee popcorn (I love how dramatic this looks), swirl through milk or white chocolate, add a pinch of dried red chili flakes, a scattering of seeds, smashed-up pretzels, or any Christmas chocolates. Use your imagination and have fun—this isn’t for every day, so seize the opportunity to go all out!
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BADASS BROWNIES
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE, MAPLE SYRUP, MACADAMIAS, & SOUR CHERRIES
Having a good, solid brownie recipe up your sleeve is no joke—every house deserves one. Here’s mine, and it’s pimped with festive flavors. These oozy, gooey, delicious, naughty treats are guaranteed to get you massive brownie points.
MAKES 20
40 MINUTES
PLUS COOLING
11⁄3 cups unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
3½ oz quality white chocolate
7 oz quality dark chocolate (70%)
¾ cup + 5 teaspoons maple syrup
4 large eggs
2⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quality unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
3½ oz macadamia nuts
3½ oz dried sour/tart cherries
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line the base with parchment paper. Chop up the white chocolate, place in the pan, and pop into the freezer while you make the brownie mix—freezing helps prevent the white chocolate from melting too much as the brownies bake.
In a large heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, melt the butter and dark chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the maple syrup, then, one-by-one, beat in the eggs, whisking constantly. Sift in the flour, cocoa, and baking powder, then roughly chop the nuts and fold in with the cherries until just combined. Remove the pan from the freezer, quickly fold the frozen white chocolate through the brownie mix, then spoon it into the pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle from a height with a pinch of sea salt, then bake for 17 minutes 30 seconds—you don’t want to overcook it, and remember, butter and chocolate solidify as they cool, so have faith that after 1 hour of cooling the brownies will have a whole spectrum of amazing textures that will send you wild!
When the cooling time’s up, transfer the brownies to a chopping board and slice, then pile up and dust with a little extra cocoa powder before serving. Keep them in an airtight container for up to 1 week (you’ll be lucky if they last that long!).
CUPCAKES
WITH CHOCOLATE, CARDAMOM, & CRUSHED PISTACHIO TOPPING
There’s nothing better than the smell of freshly baked chocolate cupcakes, and these are drizzled with top-quality glossy chocolate, then dunked in crushed pistachios, too. Perfect with a cup of tea or, even better, a little sweet tipple.
MAKES 12
35 MINUTES
PLUS COOLING
6 cardamom pods
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 cup soft light brown sugar
2 large eggs
11⁄3 cups self-rising flour
1 level teaspoon baking powder
2½ tablespoons quality unsweetened cocoa powder
7 oz quality dark chocolate (70%)
5 oz shelled unsalted pistachios
6 tablespoons reduced-fat (2%) milk
heaping 1⁄3 cup confectioner’s sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Crack the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and pick just the inner seeds into the mortar, discarding the husks. Finely grind the seeds into a fine cardamom dust.
In a food processor, beat 11 tabl
espoons of butter and the soft light brown sugar together until light and fluffy. One-by-one, beat in the eggs until smooth and combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and cocoa, snap in half the chocolate, add half the pistachios and all of the cardamom dust, then pulse until just combined, adding enough of the milk to give you a nice spoonable consistency. Stop halfway and use a spatula to scrape down the sides and help it along.
Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, then use two teaspoons to evenly divide the mixture between them. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through and an inserted skewer comes out clean of cake mixture (don’t worry if you hit some melted chocolate!). Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.
To make the topping, put the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and 3½ oz of chocolate into a heatproof bowl, sift in the confectioner’s sugar, then place over a pan of gently simmering water and stir until melted, combined, and all the sugar has dissolved, adding a tiny splash of water to loosen, if needed. Smash up the remaining pistachios until superfine in a pestle and mortar. Now, upside-down, dunk each cupcake in the chocolate topping, then dip into the pistachios for a nice even topping. Be careful not to drop one of them completely in the chocolate, but if you do—chef’s treat! Store in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
AMALFI CAKE
ALMOND SPONGE LAYERS, LIMONCELLO LEMON CURD, & RASPBERRY SAUCE
Here we have four layers of the most delicious almond and lemon curd cake, inspired by my mentor, Gennaro Contaldo, who lives and breathes lemons in all that he does. Great as a tea cake, birthday treat, or beautiful dessert—enjoy!
SERVES 16–20
1 HOUR
PLUS COOLING
SPONGE
1½ cups unsalted butter (at room temperature), plus extra for greasing
1½ cups superfine sugar
6 large eggs
3 lemons
2 cups self-rising flour
5 oz ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
FILLING & TOPPING
5 oz frozen raspberries
1 teaspoon liquid honey
½ a lemon
1 cup + 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
reduced-fat (2%) milk
limoncello, for drizzling
7 oz Lemon curd (see here)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch springform cake pans and line the bases with parchment paper circles. For the sponge, by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until super-light and fluffy. One-by-one, beat in the eggs, then finely grate in the lemon zest and fold in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and a good pinch of sea salt. Divide between the prepared pans and spread out evenly. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden, risen, and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool a little in the pans, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Mix the raspberries with the honey and lemon juice and leave to macerate for 30 minutes, mashing occasionally, then push through a sieve to make a smooth sauce. For the buttercream, beat the butter by hand or with an electric mixer until pale. Sift in half the confectioner’s sugar and beat for 1 minute, then sift in the rest. Add a splash of milk and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until pale and creamy.
To assemble the cake, start by very carefully cutting each sponge in half so you end up with four rounds. Place one sponge on a cake stand, add a few drips of limoncello to the sponge, top with a thin, even layer of buttercream, then one of Lemon curd, and repeat until you’ve got all four sponges stacked on top of each other. Spread the rest of the buttercream all over the top and sides of the cake, smoothing it out nice and evenly. Rotate the stand as you go to help you, but try not to overwork the buttercream. Gently spoon the remaining lemon curd on top, letting it drizzle artfully down the sides. Serve the raspberry sauce in a little pitcher on the side, ready to drizzle over each slice at the table.
GINGERBREAD
VERY SPECIAL GIANT CRUMBLY PERSON (MAN OR WOMAN)
As the title suggests, this is a very special gingerbread recipe that I spent months and months trying to perfect, based on one of the most famous secret recipes in the UK. This is as close as I can get to the real deal, and it’s incredibly good.
SERVES 8
35 MINUTES
14 oz quality shortbread
1 cup demerara sugar
3 level teaspoons ground ginger
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 pinch of baking powder
1½ oz mixed peel
1½ oz crystallized ginger
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 tablespoons black treacle or golden syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a shallow baking pan (14 × 8 inches) with parchment paper. Roughly crumble the shortbread into a food processor, then add the sugar and 2 teaspoons of the ground ginger and blitz into crumbs. Remove 3½ oz of the mixture and put aside, then add the remaining teaspoon of ginger, the flour, and baking powder to the processor. Chop the peel and crystallized ginger, add that to the processor, too, and blitz until well mixed.
Melt the golden syrup, treacle, and butter together in a large pan, then stir in the mixture from the processor until everything is thoroughly mixed. Tip into the pan and spread out evenly, compacting the mixture well with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until nicely golden, then remove from the oven and scatter over the reserved crumb mixture, pressing that in well with the back of a spoon. Carefully cut into the shape of a gingerbread man or woman with a sharp knife. Cut the surrounding gingerbread into bite-sized chunks, using little cutters to stamp in shapes where you’ve got more room. Leave to cool completely in the pan, then, to get your person out in one piece, carefully ease out all the little pieces around the edge first, allowing you a bit of space to carefully and proudly lift out your gingerbread person. Decorate as you wish, then serve in the middle of the tea table and let everyone snap off the bit they want most!
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LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS
This is always best eaten on the day you make it, but any leftovers are good crumbled over vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso—gingerbread affogato, here we go.
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Cute
EDIBLE GIFTS
FUDGE
SPIKED WITH WHISKY & CLEMENTINE
Fudge is one of those simple pleasures in life, and learning how to make your own really is a joy. It allows you to accent the flavors however you like, and create the most unbelievable, chewy yet silky texture. Delicious!
MAKES 54 PIECES
30 MINUTES
PLUS SETTING
2 × 14-oz cans of condensed milk
1½ cups soft light brown sugar
11 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup whisky
2 clementines
Line a shallow pan (12 × 8 inches) with parchment paper. Put a large heavy-based non-stick pan on a medium heat. Pour in the condensed milk, and add the sugar, butter, and a pinch of sea salt. Stir until everything comes together and the sugar starts to dissolve, then add the whisky and finely grate in the zest of 1 clementine. Stir constantly to prevent the mixture from catching on the bottom of the pan. You need to use a candy thermometer here—heat the mixture to 240°F. Whatever you do, do NOT touch or taste the fudge, as it will burn you. It’s best to keep kids and pets out of the room while you’re making this.
When it reaches the right temperature, use a rubber spatula to help you carefully tip and pour the mixture into the lined pan. Gently tilt the pan a little from side to side to spread the mixture out into a fairly even layer, again being careful not to come into contact with the hot fudge. Finely grate over the zest of the remaining clementine, leave to set at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer the fudge to the fridge for at least 1 hour.
To portion up, use the paper to help you lift the fudge out of the pan and onto a chop
ping board, then slice into portions. You can eat the fudge straight away, or, if you prefer a more crumbly texture, store in an airtight container, where it’ll keep happily for a couple of weeks, packaging up at the last minute for gifting.
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MIX IT UP
Swap out the whisky and clementines for 3½ oz of raisins soaked overnight in 6 tablespoons of Vin Santo until plump and juicy. Mix half the raisins into your base fudge mixture with 2 tablespoons of the Vin Santo, and sprinkle the rest of the raisins over the top before it sets.
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MIX IT UP — TAKE 2
Another option is to mash and add 7 oz of roasted, peeled pumpkin and whisk in ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to your base fudge on the heat, then, once it’s in the pan, scatter over 1¾ oz of chopped toasted pecan nuts before it sets.
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TRUFFLES
SPICED RUM, CRUSHED NUTS, & COCOA
Give tins of the truffle mix and nuts to lucky friends or family, or serve up the separate parts at a party so your guests can scoop up their own silky, shiny truffles, rolling them in whichever coating they prefer. Fun and super-cute.
MAKES 30
20 MINUTES
PLUS SETTING
3 tablespoons dark spiced rum
1¼ cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 drips of orange blossom water
10 oz quality dark chocolate (70%)
1¾ oz mixed blanched almonds and hazelnuts
quality unsweetened cocoa powder
Pour the rum into a pan and heat gently on a medium heat, then set fire to it with a match (stand back!). As the flames begin to subside, add the cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and orange blossom water. Once the butter has melted, add a pinch of sea salt, then snap the chocolate and stir it in so it melts nice and slowly. If the mixture splits slightly, don’t worry, you can bring it right by adding a splash of boiling kettle water.