Heavenly Roll

  Light and soft genoise cake filled with chantilly cream, passion fruit and banana curd and fresh raspberries. All that topped with banana marshmallow and passion fruit leather. Impress your guests with this heavenly roll at the garden party.

GENOISE

4 eggs

120g cater sugar

100g plain flour

40g ground almonds

30g melted butter

yellow colouring (optional)

In a mixer mix eggs with sugar on high speed for about 10 min until pale and fluffy. Now you can add colouring but it is not necessary. Sift flour and almonds together and gently fold it in the mixture. When mixing in the butter, blend a bit of the mixture to the butter first and then the whole thing carefully mix together. Spread the batter onto 30x40cm baking sheet and bake in the oven in 180C for 10-15min. 

PASSION FRUIT AND BANANA CURD

40g eggs

36g sugar

24g passion fruit puree

12g banana

60g butter

You can prepare that in advance. Mix egg and sugar together. Bring purees to the boil and add egg mixture, keep it on the heat until it reaches 82C. After that take it off the heat, cool down to 50C, add butter and blend. 

CHANTILLY CREAM

300g whipping cream

30g sugar

Whip the cream with sugar until spreadable.

BANANA MARSHMALLOW (for the decoration)

(bit of a disappointment - tasted very nice however the consistency was not right, unless i did something wrong)

40g water

25g banana puree

25g trimoline

4g gelatine

15g sugar

Put all ingredients in a pan and boil, after that add soaked gelatine. Pour it in the mixer and whip until fluffy. Pipe little meringues for decoration

MANGO & PASSION FRUIT  LEATHER (for the decoration)

20g mango puree

20g passion fruit puree

20g 30B syrup

1g pectine NH

Mix purees and syrup together in the pan. Heat it up and add pectin then bring it to boil. Stir when it becomes bubbly. Now spread the mixture on the baking pan. Put it in the oven in 80-90C for few hours or until dry. After that it should have the consistency of fruit leather, you can tear it and decorate your roll as you wish. 

ASSEMBLY

Spread chantilly cream evenly  on the sponge leaving 1cm without any topping. On one of the ends pipe banana and passion fruit curd. Sprinkle some fresh raspberries and gently start rolling the cake. 

I put mine in the freezer for 10min before trimming the edges, it just makes it so much easier. 

Pipe marshmallows and curd on the top, tear few pieces of fruit leather and sprinkle some fresh raspberries or decorate it as you like :) Enjoy!

Long Beach

Chef Carl Marletti created 'Long Beach' inspired by the beaches and flavors of Mauritius. It is stunning! Although my version doesn't look as gorgeous but the flavors are still mind blowing. Especially coconut mousse.


RICE CRISPIES BASE
60g puffed rice
50g milk chocolate
100g praline
48g desiccated coconut

Melt the chocolate, add praline and all other ingredients. Mix well. Press it or roll it to the thickness of 1cm and leave it in the fridge. You will cut the shape of the base later.

COCONUT MOUSSE
135g coconut milk
55g milk
53g sugar
33g grated fresh coconut
7g gelatine
10g white rum
235g whipping cream

Coconut milk, milk, sugar bring slightly to boil. Add grated coconut and then gelatine. Cool it down to 25C and add rum. Fold whipped cream. Pour it into the molds and freeze for few hours.

MANGO - PASSION FRUIT CREMEUX
38g passion fruit flesh
38g passion fruit puree
75g mango puree
83g egg yolks
94g eggs
88g sugar
8g butter
5g gelatine
58g chopped mango

Heat purees, passion fruit flesh with half the sugar. With the rest of sugar mix the egg yolks and eggs together. Add it to the purees and boil for 10min, stirring occasionally. Take it of the heat, add gelatine, then butter and after it cools down add chopped mango.  Pour it over the coconut layer and put it back in the freezer.

RUM - LIME JELLY
69g lime puree ( I used just lime juice)
18g sugar
4g potato starch
1.5g gelatine
4g white rum
green colouring

Boil lime puree and sugar, then add potato starch (mix it with tiny bit of water), let it boil a little. Take it of the heat and add gelatine, after that a rum and green colouring ( I used kiwi ). Keep it in the fridge in the plastic squeeze bottle, it comes handy when you need it.

Take coconut mousse from the molds and put them on the crispies base. Decorate it with lime jelly. Enjoy!

Hazelnut Slice

It's hazelnut, it's caramel, it's chocolate, it's delicious!

SPONGE
250g brown sugar
3 eggs
5 egg whites
50g icing sugar
225g ground hazelnuts
100g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
210g melted butter

Mix together brown sugar, icing sugar and 3 eggs. Add hazelnuts. Sift flour and baking powder and gently fold in to the mixture. Whip egg whites to the soft peaks and fold them as well carefully. At the end add melted but not warm butter. Bake for about 15min in 160C.

CARAMEL for filling
160g sugar
160g caramel
1 vanilla pod
125g butter

Heat cream with vanilla pod. Make caramel and add cream to it. Add butter at the end and put aside until cooled down.

ICING
350g milk chocolate
110g hazelnut oil
45g whole hazelnuts
45g whole almonds
90g sugar

Make praline using this recipe. Melt chocolate with oil and add praline.
Assembly is really easy. Sponge, caramel, sponge, caramel, sponge, caramel, icing :) Enjoy!

Tropical Domes

  This is a leftover creation :) I had dacquoise, fruit insert and a glaze from Tropical Entremet already. The only thing I changed was a mousse. I wanted to replace it with something more subtle, not to overpowering. And it turned out great.

Dacquoise, confit and a glaze recipe you will find here

MASCARPONE MOUSSE

3 egg yolks 

200g whole milk

100g caster sugar

7g gelatine

250g mascarpone

250g whipped cream

Bring milk to boil, whisk the egg yolks with sugar and pour it over, mix until thickens. Take if off the heat and add gelatine. After it cools down to 25C incorporate mascarpone first and then whipped cream. Fill the moulds. I had enough to make 12 domes.

It is absolutely gorgeous! 

Tropical Entremet

 Mango, passion fruit and banana - what a combination! When you add coconut to it... yes, tropical flavour lands in my top 5 flavors ever.  Surely mind picture of palm trees, white sand and crystal clear turquoise water has got something to do with it right? 

Coconut dacquoise, vanilla mousse and heavenly fruit insert make this desert super attractive.

 DACQUOISE  ( it is plenty to spread across 2 baking sheets)

233g egg whites

60g caster sugar

49g pastry flour

69g ground almonds

60g grated coconut

130g icing sugar

Whisk together egg whites and caster sugar to the stiff peaks. Combine all dry ingredients and combine gently with whisked whites, being extremely careful not to over mix it. Bake for about 8-10min in 200C or till slightly brown. 

MANGO - BANANA - PASSION FRUIT CONFIT

100g mango puree

40g banana puree

40g passion fruit puree

10g caster sugar

4g pectin

5g gelatine

Bloom gelatine. Heat all the purees and sugar to 50C and then add pectin. Boil slightly and take it off the heat. Add gelatine. Pour it in the mould(s) and put it in the freezer.

VANILLA MOUSSE

250g cream

250g whole milk

100 egg yolks

50g caster sugar

2 vanilla pods ( or 2tsp vanilla paste)

350g whipped cream

7g gelatine

Put milk and cream together in a pan and bring to boil. If you will use vanilla pods - split them in half, take the seeds out and put everything in a pan with milk, you will fish the pods out later. Whip egg yolks and sugar slightly and pour it over boiling milk. keep in on the heat until thickens slightly. That is your cream anglaise. Take it off the heat and add gelatine. Cool it down to 25C and add whipped cream gently. 

To assemble: pour half of the vanilla mousse into the mould first, put the fruity insert on the top and cover it with remaining mousse. Close it with dacquoise on the top and put it in the freezer for at least 3h or until ready to unmould. 

GLAZE

350g mango puree

125g passion fruit juice

250g water

100g caster sugar

15g pectin

7g gelatine

Boil first 4 ingredients together. Add pectin, it will thicken slightly. Take it off the heat and add gelatine. Let it cool and use it at 35C.  I had plenty leftover for the next dessert. Enjoy!

Catching up and Happy Valentine's Day!

   2 months since Christmas rush, I can't believe it. Where is the time going?
 It has been a big learning curve for me. I delivered my first big wedding cake ( Yay!)

and perfected a glaze for my mousse cakes which feels like a milestone to me !

Changing job and shifting my swimming pattern was very upsetting as I hate changes!
The good side of it is that I have more time to open my home baking business. There is a lot trial and error going on at the moment but I wouldn't have it any other way. Hopefully everything will go back to normal-ish very soon and I will share with you some of my new recipes.

Happy Valentine's Day and keep warm!

Chocolate Christmas Trees

  It is a sure thing that I will end up watching 'Home Alone' this year again. I am also sure that I will get really annoyed with hearing Christmas songs (now matter where I go) over and over again (is there nobody out there to write something new?) But can you imagine Christmas without it? 
  I am still not sure though what I will bake. Every year I am trying something different, something I haven't had before. 18 sleeps to go and I am still undecided!
This isn't really a recipe but just an idea of how to transfer ordinary white chocolate into something extraordinary?

All you need is 3-4 white chocolates (100g each) and some hazelnuts. I roasted them on a frying pan for 5 min. and then peeled the skin off. But you can buy blanched hazelnuts which will make everything so much quicker. Melt the chocolate over bain marie and add hazelnuts.  Now you have to try and make something resembling the star shape with your chocolate covered hazelnuts. Drawing a 3 different sizes of star shape on parchment paper will be very helpful. Wait until it is set and arrange as you wish. 
P.S. Kids love them!

Viennese Shortbread

Fancy a break from Christmas rush and all those complicated recipes? In 30 min you will end up with super delicious biscuits and if you are lucky, your children can do most of work for you ;)

190g unsalted butter
1 pinch salt
75g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg white
225g cake flour, sifted

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Soften butter and a pinch of salt until creamy.





Add icing sugar, vanilla extract and egg white. Mix well after each addition.

 Add flour to the mixture, stirring with wooden spoon until it comes together

Transfer batter to the piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the ribbons in a letter Z on a prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 min or until golden.

Dust with icing sugar. Make yourself a coffee, put your feet up and enjoy your biscuits.

Recipe comes from Laduree baking book :)

Apple Tart To Survive Autumn

  When the temperatures outside drop rapidly, so is my spirit. I understand that people love Autumn. I really do.  It can be beautiful indeed. Thousands of dancing  leaves, thin and crisp air, long walks with the dog in a morning mist and of course the colours right?  What about snuggling up in front of the fire?

 The way I see it though is not pretty. I am faced with constant rain and wind (that's 6 months of feeling freezing for me), the colours are only in shades of grey, it gets dark after 4pm and mentioning  size of spiders crawling into my house is not necessary.

There is one thing which helps me survive these awful times though.
  It's food of course!
Sweet potatoes, winter squashes, apples, pears, cranberries, pumpkins, hot chocolate etc. One-pot stew and apple tart is a must to survive what is coming!

APPLE TART CRUST

150g plain flour
50g ground almonds
30g icing sugar
100g unsalted butter
1 egg
pinch of salt

Put all the ingredients into food processor and create the dough. Do not overwork it. Wrap in a cling film and put it in the fridge for at least 1h. Prepare the tin and put it again in the fridge for another 1h (with the dough). Blind bake it in 180C for about 15min.Take it out of the oven and line with the filling.

CREME PATISSERIE

250ml milk
1tsp vanilla extract
50g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
10g plain flour
10g corn flour

Bring the milk with vanilla to boil In a meanwhile mix egg yolks, sugar and both flours together. Now pour 1/3 of milk into egg mix, whisk vigorously. Then pour the whole think back to the pan with milk and continue whisking over a medium heat until pastry cream thickens for at least 2 min. Cool it down.

APPLES 3-4 it will depend on size. Any apples you have got on hand will do.

Spread pastry cream on tart shell, top it up with apple thins and sprinkle with sugar and some cinnamon. It needs to go back to the oven for another 20 min or until the pastry will be golden brown and apples will get some colour as well. I used a mandolin for slicing the apples which made everything so much quicker.
Big dollop of whipped cream on the top of it makes the horrible weather so much more manageable :)

 

White Chocolate and Coconut Mousse with Caramel - dessert in a glass

  Do you know what inspired me to make that dessert? My glassware :) They are not used to their full potential. Ever! Besides, dessert looking like this is an instant winner with your guests.
 Bit of a white chocolate and coconut mousse topped with a caramel and scoop of vanilla ice cream.

MOUSSE
125ml coconut milk
100ml milk
30g caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
15g corn flour
2g gelatine leaf
125g white chocolate
225ml whipping cream
Bloom gelatine in a little water. Coconut milk, milk and half the sugar warm gradually. In a separate bowl whisk eggs, corn flour and sugar until a little pale. Add that mixture to milk and boil  for a little while. You should have a medium thick custard at this point. Take it off the heat, add gelatine. Mix until dissolves. Now it is time for chocolate. Brake it into smaller pieces, it will melt quicker. Combine it with custard and mix until smooth. Cool down and at the end add whipped cream gradually.  Pipe it in glasses and refrigerate for few hours.

 When ready, top it up with some caramel ( shop bought in my case) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (also shop bought :) )
I also attempted spun sugar to decorate but ended up with something looking like pile of caramel needles instead. I don't have to mention that everybody thought of it as intended garnish!

Chocolate and Sour Cherry Slice

 If only sour cherries were more popular in UK ...

Sacher torte, heavenly chocolate mousse, sour cherries with punch!, cherry jelly and chocolate ganache are all it takes to make it :)

SACHER CAKE 37x25cm

100g dark chocolate, melted

65g butter, melted

4 egg yolks

5 egg whites

pinch of salt

70g icing sugar

65g plane flour, sifted

Beat the eggs until pale. Add melted butter, after that add melted chocolate (both not too warm). In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with salt. Now add 1/3 of egg whites and flour, mix together. Add remaining egg whites and combine gently , be careful not to deflate the mixture.

You can buy cherry puree or prepare it yourself way in advance and keep it in the freezer.

For each 100g fruits you will need 10g sugar. Boil together and blend using hand blender.

I also soaked some remaining cherries in kirsch punch - 2tbsp Kirsch + 2tbsp vodka + 2tbsp sugar + some water to taste :)

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE 18x18 and 14.5x14.5
210g caster sugar
6 eggs
750ml whipping cream
550g dark chocolate
12g gelatine

Boil sugar with little water to 121C. Bloom the gelatine.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs and start adding sugar syrup. Now on higher speed cool down the mixture a little. Add gelatine. Add melted chocolate as well. Mix everything together. Combine 1/3 whipped cream first, you can do it with a whisk. Now gently fold the remaining cream.

When you are ready to assemble , put a Sacher Torte in a pastry ring first. Spread some soaked cherries on the top. You can also use some punch to spray the cake. Now the chocolate mousse. Put as much as you like but leave some room for cherry jelly and a bit of ganache at the top. Into the fridge until firm.

CHERRY JELLY
150g cherry puree (or more if you want more jelly on the top)
50g sugar syrup
3 gelatine leaves
Bloom gelatine. Combine puree and sugar syrup together and boil it. Take it of the heat and add bloomed gelatine. When it cooled down pour it over chocolate mousse and put it back in the fridge.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE
1.5 : 1 chocolate to whipping cream. For example 100g chocolate and 67g whipping cream.
Heat the cream, add the chocolate. Wait a little until it melts. Combine together and pour it over your jelly.

Bit of work again but so rewarding ! Enjoy!

Super easy White Chocolate and Raspberry Tart

 

 This must be the easiest recipe to try EVER! You will need a tart case, whipping cream, white chocolate and raspberries. Simple as that! And trust me, it is beyond delicious.

SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY

120g butter

70g icing sugar

25g ground almonds

pinch of salt

1 egg

200g plain flour

Homogenize butter in a mixer and start adding following ingredients one by one making sure to incorporate each into the mixture before adding the next one: sifted sugar, ground almonds, salt, egg and flour. Combine them just until it all comes together. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for 2h. 

Prepare your tart tin and blind bake for 15 min or until lightly coloured. If the pastry is still pale take the beans out and return to the oven for few more minutes. 

 CREAM FILLING

300ml whipping cream 

200g white chocolate

Pour cream into the pan and place it on the hob. It needs to be warm enough to melt the chocolate. Don't let it boil. Take it of the heat , let it cool a little and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours (ideally over night). When you are ready to fill your tart just whip it, like you normally  whip the cream.

Pipe the filling onto the case, top up with raspberries and enjoy!

  

Cinnamon cheesecake with apple mousse

 Summer is over! This year we had ... hmmm let me think ... about 2 weeks really warm and sunny days. That's 14 out of 365 days! My best friend and I developed slight fixation over the weather checking in order to find Summer this year and if not for my baking that would progress into deep state of depression. But hey, there is always next year :)
If any of you feels similar urge of consuming something sweet to boost your mood, this is a fantastic recipe to try.

BASE (20cm - 8")
200g digestive biscuits
100g butter, melted
pinch salt
1tsp cinnamon
Blend everything together and spread at the bottom of baking pan. Bake for about 10min in 180C.

CINNAMON CHEESECAKE
250g curd cheese
150ml whipping cream
50g mascarpone cheese
100g sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
25g cornflour
3 eggs 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 grated apple
Put all the ingredients apart from grated apple into a mixing bowl. I used a hand blender to mix and smooth everything together. You can use any type of mixer, you are aiming for the smooth, runny composition. Add apple and pour it over the base. Bake in bain marie for about 1h. If the top is getting brown too fast, just cover it with the tin foil for the remaining time in the oven. Cool it down.

APPLE MOUSSE
250g green apple puree
50g caster sugar
14g gelatine bloomed
250g whipped cream
Heat apple puree and sugar until dissolves. Take it of the heat Add gelatine. Cool down and  mix in whipped cream. You can do this in 3, 1/3 at a time. Pour it over cheesecake and refrigerate for at least few hours. I also topped it with fried apples with cinnamon. Hopefully it will lift your mood ;)

Baked cheesecake with peaches

 Baked cheesecake was always fundamental in all my childhood celebrations. Christmas, Easter, birthdays you name it.  Always there. The only difference was that I knew only one type of cheesecake made by my grandmother, mother, auntie etc. - baked curd cheese base and chocolate glaze on the top (how boring!, I know).
Years later and enormous amount of recipes tried behind me  I miss what? Good old, boring baked cheesecake! I must be getting old. Today's cheesecake however is topped with peaches and jelly as opposed to chocolate glaze. I hope you will like it.

BASE (24cm - 10")
200g digestives biscuits
100g butter
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Blend everything together. Line your baking pan with paper and spread the mixture at the bottom. Bake in 180C for 10-15 min.

CHEESECAKE FILLING
500g curd cheese
300ml whipping cream
100g mascarpone cheese
1 lemon zest
150g sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
50g cornflour
5 eggs
Place curd cheese, mascarpone, cream, zest, sugar, vanilla, cornflour and eggs in a mixing bowl and beat them together. Pour over the base and bake in bain marie for about 1h or just till slightly firm ( the middle part should still be springy). Cool down.

TOPPING
peaches (fresh or tinned)
peach jelly

I soaked peaches in Amaretto liquor with a bit of sugar beforehand as almond and peaches go very nicely together but they turned out very bitter. Next time I will skip this part. Enjoy!

Cappuccino mousse cake

 

 I am 100% sure that mousse cakes will ruin my waist line one day. I just can't stop making/eating them. At the moment they are my absolute favourite. 

This little treat consist of four different layers - almond joconde, chocolate cremeux, mascarpone mousse and coffee mousse. 

ALMOND JOCONDE 40x30cm

3 egg whites

15g sugar

100g ground almonds

100g icing sugar

3 eggs

30g plain flour

45g clarified butter 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Whisk the egg whites gradually adding sugar. Set aside. In a separate bowl mix ground almond, icing sugar and eggs until increase in volume (about 3 minutes). Fold in flour. Combine almond flour mixture with egg whites and then fold in melted butter. Spread it on lined witch parchment paper or Silpat sheet pan and bake it for 8min or until set. 

CHOCOLATE CREMEUX

1 leaf gelatine, bloomed

200g whole milk

200g whipping cream

4 egg yolks

65g caster sugar

110g dark chocolate, chopped

50g milk chocolate, chopped

Boil milk and cream together. Beat egg yolks and sugar. Gradually pour the milk over the yolks. Put it back in a pan and cook till 85C. Stir in gelatine. Pour over the chocolate in 3 batches. Refrigerate for about 2h. 

MASCARPONE MOUSSE

3 leaves gelatine, bloomed

103g sugar

35g water

250g whipping cream

5 egg yolks

250g mascarpone

Combine water and sugar in a pan and boil until it reaches 121C. Meanwhile beat the egg yolks and when the syrup is ready pour it over the yolks and continue beating at full speed. It will take about 10min to get the frothy sabayon.

Soften the mascarpone a little, melt gelatine in a microwave. Mix gelatine with sabayon and the gently fold into mascarpone.

Whip the cream and incorporate into rest of the mixture.

It will all depend on the mould you will be using to assemble the cake. I used a 20cm square mould plus 4 little round rings. First 3 layers will have the same size, slightly smaller than finished product (18cm). Lining with acetate will help with removing mould. Put joconde sponge in first, then pipe some chocolate cremeux and then mascarpone mousse. Reserve some for decoration. Leave it in the fridge. Now off to the last step.

COFFEE MOUSSE

4 gelatine leaves bloomed

170g whipping cream

10g coffee beans

180g milk chocolate

180g white chocolate

12g coffee extract

420g whipping cream

Boil 170g cream. Crush coffee beans and put them in boiling cream. Turn off the heat, cover and leave for 1h. Drain. Boil it again, ad gelatine and pour it over chocolate. Stir. Then add coffee extract. Now whip the cream until soft peaks and gently fold it into the rest. 

  

ASSEMBLY

Take the mould out of the fridge and carefully remove it. Place the bigger mould around it and line it with acetate. Now pipe the coffee mousse up to the top. Even it with spatula. 

Leave the whole thing in the freezer to set.    

Decorate it with your leftovers and you are ready to treat yourself!                                                                       

All the flavours of Jaffa Cake

 

I always hated Jaffa Cakes. And without a good reason! Actually when you think about it, what is there not to like? Sponge - good, jelly - good, chocolate - oh so good! 

However, I've decided to give it a slight twist. It's got all the flavours of Jaffa Cake but looks completely different .

SPONGE (22cm round pan but you can use any shape you like)

5eggs

115g plain flour, sifted

150g caster sugar

40g cornflour, sifted

Separate the eggs. In a mixer bowl put egg whites and whisk until they hold shape. Start adding sugar, little bit at a time. Add egg yolks one by one continuously mixing. Gently fold the flours using spatula. Pour it over prepared baking pan and bake in 175C-180C for 35-45min. It will depend on the oven.

 ORANGE JELLY
2 oranges, juiced
sugar syrup (boil same amount of sugar and water until sugar dissolves)
gelatin, bloomed

I combined orange juice with sugar syrup (this step relays on your taste buds). The mixture was still quite hot so I added gelatine to dissolve (1 leaf for about 180ml). I poured it to the biggest baking pan (lined with cling film) I had to achieve very thin layer of jelly. Refrigerate.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
90g granulated sugar
45g water60g egg yolks
225g bittersweet chocolate
400ml whipping cream
7g gelatin
25g orange liquor
In a saucepan cook sugar and water to 115C. In a meanwhile, begin whipping egg yolks on a medium speed. When the sugar reach 115C add it to the egg yolks and whip on high speed until cool. You just made pate a bombe. Now melt the chocolate and whip the cream to soft peaks. Over low heat melt the gelatine with orange liquor. Do not boil. Fold a quarter of whipped cream into the pate a bombe. Fold in melted chocolate. Fold in gelatine mixture and at the end remaining cream.

ASSEMBLY
All you need to do is layer all the components in order : sponge, mousse, jelly, mousse, sponge.
I topped the whole thing with a milk chocolate ganache  just to make the whole experience even more sinful :) Enjoy!

Anna Polyviou's inspired Carrot Cake - well, sort of

 Can you fall in love with the dessert? I definitely can! When I saw Anna Polyviou 'commiting' this beauty on Australian Master Chef I thought "my God, this is dessert to die for, it must be". It is very complex (13components!) but as she says you must give it a go at least once. So I did.

This is original recipe. Mine is not as complicated. I dropped a few things on the way but it turned out fantastic anyway. My mum said that it is the best thing she ever tasted! (WOW)

 CARROT CAKE

50g plain flour

40g light brown sugar

2g bicarbonate soda

1.5g baking powder

pinch of salt

2g cinnamon

1 egg

30g vegetable oil

40g grated carrot

20g grated green apple

12g chopped walnut

25g sultanas

 Mix first six ingredients together in a bowl. Gradually add an egg and oil. Beat until smooth. Add remaining components and mix until they come together. Pour it onto prepared baking pan. I used a 37x25cm and spread it very thinly. You can use a smaller pan, when baked it will have to be sliced to about 5mm thick. Bake in 160C for about 15 min. 

APRICOT INSERT

70ml apricot puree

40ml carrot juice

10g caster sugar

5g gelatine

Bloom the gelatine. Put the puree and sugar in the pan and heat until sugar dissolves. Add gelatine and carrot juice. Pass through the sieve and pour it into a mould, not too thick. It will be the same size as carrot cake. Put in the freezer. 

RICE CRISPIES DISC (or square)

20g dark chocolate 72%

100g hazelnut paste

5g rice crispies

16g feuilletine

Melt chocolate and stir in the hazelnut paste. Mix until smooth. Fold in the rice crispies and feulletine. Roll the mixture gently between two sheets of baking paper. Try not too brake rice crispies. Roll it till about 3mm thick and place in the freezer.

First 3 components can be prepared in advance and kept in the freezer. When you are ready to assemble, start with Praline Cremeux.

PRALINE CREMEUX 

100ml whole milk

150g hazelnut praline paste

270ml whipping cream

60g sugar

1/3 vanilla bean

60g egg yolks

15g cornflour

4.5 g gelatine

Bring to boil milk, 90ml cream and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar with egg yolks until creamy. Add the cornflour. When milk is ready pour it a little into eggs, mix together and pour it back into pan and continue to whisk. Cook for 4 min. Take off the heat and whisk in hazelnut paste and gelatine. Cool it to 40C. Whip the remaining cream to soft peaks and then fold it in the hazelnut mixture. Put it in the piping bag.

CARAMEL GLAZE

150ml cream

1/4 vanilla bean

190g caster sugar

160ml water

15g cornflour

35g white chocolate, melted

12.5g gelatine

Bloom gelatine. Bring cream and vanilla to boil. Meanwhile, place 175g sugar 140ml water and set over a medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Heat it until golden caramel in colour. When whisking, pour boiled cream over caramel. Make a paste out of remaining sugar and water and add it to the caramel. Bring it back to boil. Take off the heat, add chocolate and mix until smooth. Stir in gelatine.Strain into a jug and cover with cling film. 

ASSEMBLY

To assemble the cake, line the inside of your mould with acetate strip. Place on the baking sheet lined with the baking paper. Pipe a layer of praline cremeux until just half way up the mould. I used 18x18m square one plus 6cm round one.

Apricot insert, rice crispies layer and carrot cake need to be the same size so I cut out 16x16cm squares. Place apricot insert into the middle of the praline and push it gently. Place rice crispies square on top of the insert, followed by the carrot cake, pressing down gently between each layer.

Put it in the freezer until completely firm.

when caramel glaze is at about 40C, unmould your cake onto a wire rack.  Pour over the glaze to cover completely. 

To decorate it, you can follow Anna Polyviou's recipe and add some more components. I used leftovers from carrot cake. Baked them until crispy, whizz in the blender. Also leftover apricots, sauteed. And a dollop of cream cheese and mascarpone mousse.     

It was an adventure. Not everything was performed perfectly (never is in my case :)) but when it came down to taste....I have no words!

Blueberry Tart with a Hint of Lemon

It is one of those desserts that will amaze your guests but you will not need a half a day to prepare it. Nice and quick, yet unbelievably delicious. Even quicker, if you have shortcrust pastry leftovers in your freezer.

You will need a pastry shell ( you can use this recipe) of your chosen size. It will depend on how many people you invited :).

For the filling: (20cm tart)

200g mascarpone cheese
150g whipping cream
120g melted white chocolate
2tbs lemon liqueur
zest from 1 lemon (more if needed)
Whip mascarpone cheese and cream together in a bowl. Add a liqueur and keep mixing gently, do not overwork it. At the end add melted chocolate. It must be room temperature, otherwise it will not incorporate correctly. This is it, assembly time! Spread the filling onto a tart shell, top it up with fresh blueberries. Into the fridge for at least 2h. When serving you can dust it with a little bit of icing sugar.