With all the festive food that’s been around, are you finding you have biscuits in a tin still left to be eaten? To prevent them going soft, put a sugar lump or two in the biscuit tin.
Raspberry Trifle
Frozen raspberries are used in this light, creamy trifle. Raspberry filled sponges are soaked in sherry and then topped with raspberries and covered in a creamy custard before decorating with dollops of whipped cream and crushed biscuits.
Raspberry Trifle
Prepares: 8 servings
- Preparation time: 35 minutes
- Standing time: 30 minutes
- Refrigeration time: At least 30 minutes
- Ingredients
- 4 eggs, large (U.K.)/extra large (N.A.), yolks only
- 115g (4 oz) caster/superfine sugar (½ cup)
- 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 300ml (10 fl oz) milk (1¼ cups)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 trifle sponges or 1 packet lady fingers
- 4 tbsp raspberry conserve or jam
- 50ml (2 fl oz) sherry or framboise (¼ cup)
- 340g (12 oz) frozen raspberries (1½ cups), thawed
- 360ml (12 fl oz) double/whipping or heavy cream (1½ cups)
- 3 ratafias or amaretti biscuits
- You will also need a large flat bottomed glass dish or 8 individual glass dessert dishes.
- Method
- First pour the milk into a pan.
- Now put the egg yolks, sugar, and cornflour/cornstarch in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of milk taken from the milk in the pan. Whisk until blended and pale in colour, 2–3 minutes. Set aside.
- Stir the vanilla into the milk and bring to the boil. Then slowly pour onto the egg mixture, stirring constantly. When smooth, pour the mixture back into a clean pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring until it starts to thicken, about 3 minutes.
- Pour into a bowl and cover the surface of the custard with cling film to prevent it forming a skin. Leave for 30 minutes to cool.
- Meanwhile, slice the trifle sponges or lady fingers in half and spread one half with the raspberry conserve. Now sandwich back together and arrange them in a single layer over the bottom of the glass dish or individual dishes.
- Drizzle the sherry or framboise over the sponges.
- Now spoon the raspberries on top of the sponges (you may not need all the juice that has come from thawing the raspberries).
- Whisk 150ml (5 fl oz) (⅔ cup) of the cream until thick. Using a balloon whisk, whisk the custard to loosen it a little and then whisk in the cream until combined. Pour over the raspberries.
- Whisk the remaining cream until soft peaks form.
- Now to decorate the top. Put dollops of cream around the edge of the trifle in the large glass dish or spoon one dollop on top of the trifles in the individual glass dishes. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, crush the biscuits into small pieces and, just before serving, sprinkle over the cream.
- Note
- If a smaller number or servings are needed, just reduce the quantity of ingredients appropriately and use individual glass dishes.
Updated: December 30, 2018
Beef Stir Fry with Vegetables
Sirloin steak cut into strips and stir fried with red pepper, broccoli and carrots, served with a sauce over a bed of rice.
Beef Stir Fry with Vegetables
Prepares: 4 servings
- Preparation time: 25 minutes
- Cooking time: 15 minutes
- Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 150ml (5 fl oz) water (⅔ cup)
- 284ml (10 oz) can condensed beef broth (Campbells)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 red pepper
- 1 small head of broccoli
- 2 carrots
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 450g (1 lb) sirloin steak, cut into strips
- To serve
- rice
- You will also need a 22.5cm (10 inch) deep frying pan/skillet.
- Method
- First, blend together the cornflour/cornstarch and water in a bowl. Stir in the beef broth and soy sauce and then set aside.
- Before preparing the vegetables put a large plate in the oven to warm up.
- Deseed the pepper and cut into small chunks. Break the broccoli into small florets, discarding the stem. Peel and thinly slice the carrots.
- Place the pan over a medium–high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. When hot, add the vegetables and garlic, and stir to coat. Stir-fry until tender, about 5–8 minutes. Transfer to the warm plate and cover.
- Now add the other tablespoons of oil to the pan and when hot add the beef. Stir-fry for 2–4 minutes according to how well-done you like your steak. Turn frequently to brown on all sides. Transfer to the plate with the vegetable, cover, and keep warm.
- Then add the reserved broth to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and stir until it thickens. Return the vegetables and meat to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce. Reheat for 1–2 minutes until everything is hot.
- Serve over a bed of rice.
Updated: December 9, 2018
Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream for Grown-ups
Crème de cassis lifts this ice cream dessert from being just ordinary. A raspberry and cassis purée is used to ripple the ice cream and warmed to pour over as a sauce.
Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream for Grown-ups
Prepares: 4 servings
- Preparation time: About 15 minutes
- Refrigeration time: 2 hours
- Ingredients
- 12 large scoops soft-scoop vanilla ice cream
- For the sauce
- 300g (10 oz) frozen raspberries, thawed (1¼ cups)
- 28g (1 oz) caster sugar/superfine sugar (2 tbsp)
- zest of 1 lemon
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp crème de cassis
- You will also need a freezer-proof container that will take the ice cream and 4 glass dishes.
- Method
- First remove the ice cream from the freezer to soften up a little.
- Now to prepare the sauce, purée the raspberries, caster sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and crème de cassis. Then sieve the purée to remove the raspberry seeds. Put half the sauce to one side for later.
- Then spoon 6 generous scoops of ice cream over the base of a freezer container and drizzle over half the remaining sauce. Now spoon 6 further scoops and make a second layer. Drizzle over the rest of the sauce.
- Make a few strokes through the ice cream with a knife. This will allow the sauce to run through and make a marbled effect. Cover and freeze for 2 hours.
- To serve
- Warm the reserved sauce.
- Scoop the ice cream into the glass dishes and pour over the warm sauce. Serve immediately.
Updated: December 9, 2018