Layers of crisp brown sugar and almond meringue nestle between clouds of whipped honey cream, fresh dates and soft dried figs, as warm honey cascades down the sides of this beastly yet elegant mountain of texture, colour and soulful flavour. And it’s easy. I’m all for easy recipes lately. Life is flying by way too fast, but I’m still determined to bake wherever I can. So that means I’m turning to recipes that can be planned ahead, prepared in sections and offer a low flop-risk. So voila!
Here’s another decadent I-scream-you-scream-we all scream for ice-cream recipe! More of the good stuff that I can’t and won’t ever get enough of. Just like my Strawberry and White Chocolate Semifreddo, this Fig, Honey and Roasted Almond Semifreddo doesn’t require a fancy machine or any advanced technical kitchen skills. All you need is a sunny day, 45 minutes, and a love of the glorious goodness that is ice cream.
This traditional French pudding is delicate and exotic and full of class, but it is entirely simple to whip up! It would work beautifully with any sort of stone fruit, but I opted for fresh plums and cherries to create an vibrant and festive dessert. Clafoutis is essentially the delightful marriage of sponge cake and baked custard. Soft, juicy fruits lay nestled in almond meal, eggs and cream, which bake to form a soft, velvety and surprisingly light pudding that is wonderfully offset by crispy flaked almonds and plenty of icing sugar.
By popular demand, I present to you another healthy recipe! These little cookies have big personality; packed with almonds, sunflower seeds, coconut, oats, wholemeal flour, dates and a little honey for sweetness, each bite crumbles in your mouth and is irresistibly moreish. Because they lack any refined sugar, the texture of the cookies is on the slightly cakey side, but they still have a lovely crunch. Perfect for a morning snack, kids’ lunchboxes, or an after dinner treat.
Public service announcement; I have made a dessert that is purely, honestly, authentically healthy! I had my first ‘bliss ball’ last week after my last exam, and it was an awe-inspiring, eye-opening, life-altering experience. Ok perhaps that’s a slight overstatement, but it was pretty darn delicious! And as much as I love baking with butter and sugar and cream etc., in reality we can’t all stuff ourselves with cake everyday of the week (tragic, I know). But, the beautiful thing about these little treats is that although they are vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free and 100 % natural, they are entirely decadent and addictive. Packed with almonds, dates, coconut, seeds, cacao and some protein powder, just a single ball of bliss is satisfying and delicious enough to boost you through a slow afternoon, or accompany a cup of tea before bed.
Mother’s Day has just passed, and my dear Ma’s birthday was a few days later, so I created a celebratory dessert that was composed of a few of her favourite things. Remember those extra figs I froze when I made my Honey Roasted Fig, Dark Chocolate and Mascarpone Tart? I couldn’t ignore them anymore, so out they came and the result was this creamy, fragrant, frankly irresistible cheesecake. If you truly love me, you’ll make me a cheesecake. That’s really my only ask. I’m very easy to please and I’ll think you’re the bee’s knees forever and ever. This one is a particularly special cheesecake; a slightly salty almond and pistachio base sets the stage, goats curd offsets the rich cream cheese and gives the filling a soft, crumbly texture, and a baklava-inspired honey, lemon and rosewater syrup drizzled over roasted figs, pistachios and rose petals leaves you sobbing with confusion when you realise you ate your slice before you could truly appreciate what was happening.
Behold one of the most versatile tart recipes ever. Using Dorie Greenspan’s basic recipes for ‘Sweet Tart Dough’ and ‘Almond Cream’, as found in her legendary book ‘Around my French Table’ (highly recommended), you can create so many variations of this beautifully fruity, rich, silky tart. I used her chocolate variation of the tart shell, and the result is a crumbly, rich, slightly bitter base that is the perfect carrier for this creamy almond frangipane filling, and the juicy plums nestled within. I have soaked the tart in warm honey to finish, which gives an already beautiful dessert an irresistible glow. The tart is rich but very thin, so I found it be the perfect amount of indulgence! Continue reading
Welcome to the recipe for one of my favourite desserts, ever. I pinky promise that it legitimately is super easy to make, and whilst you need to prepare it the day before serving (often a blessing in my opinion), the actual method is simple and quick. Your main weapon of choice must be a strong electric whisker, preferably one in a mix master, and armed with that you’re on your way to chewy, crispy, creamy, nutty goodness…with the added benefit of antioxidant-packed dark chocolate and blueberries? Any excuse to help yourself to a second slice, or a sixth. Actually, this torte is quite rich, so you should be feeling jovial and satisfied after one hefty helping!
Light, creamy, and delightfully lemony, this lovely cake is perfect for a lazy summer afternoon tea. With only a handful of ingredients, it is straightforward to whip up and perfect for days when you need an indulgence that’s not ridiculously unhealthy. Because almond meal acts as a flour substitute, the cake is crumbly, moreish and completely gluten free! The stiffly beaten egg whites give the cake its height, and the ricotta ensures each bite is incredibly moist and smooth.
After mastering the creation of a meringue kiss that tasted just like a Ferrero Rocher (see here), my next challenge was to devise a recipe for the Ferrero Rocher’s devilishly dainty little sister, the Raffaello. Fine almond meal is folded through these crisp, light meringues, before they are dipped in silky white chocolate and delicious dessicated coconut. As you bit into the kiss, the chocolate cracks away to reveal the airy, crunchy merinuge nestled inside. The whole blissful bite quickly dissolves on your tongue, leaving the texture of the coconut and almond to be discovered.
one perfect mess 