EGG FOAMS PRACTICAL
Chocolate magic cake
4 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup caster sugar
125g butter, melted, cooled
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup milk
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 cup thickened cream, whipped, to serve
Preheat oven to 150C fan-forced. Grease a 3.5cm-deep, 18cm x 28cm (base) slice pan.
Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks, vanilla and sugar together for 5 minutes or until thick and creamy. Gradually add melted butter, beating until well combined. Add flour and cocoa, in 2 batches, beating until combined. Gradually beat in milk (mixture will be quite runny).
Using an electric mixer and a clean bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/2 the egg white mixture into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining egg white mixture.
Gently pour mixture into prepared pan (mixture will sit level with the top of pan). Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until edges are just firm, but mixture is slightly wobbly in centre. Cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until cold. Serve cake with whipped cream.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
3 eggs
300g milk chocolate melts
¼ cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
300 ml thickened cream
1.Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water) or melt in microwave (30 seconds at a time, stirring in between cycles). Stir until melted. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
2.Place eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes, or until mixture is pale, thick and doubled in volume. Fold in cocoa powder and cooled chocolate until combined.
3.In a separate bowl, whip cream until thickened (be careful not to over-beat). Use a large metal spoon to carefully fold the cream into the chocolate mixture, trying to keep the mixture as light as possible. Spoon into 6 serving glasses and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour. Remove from fridge 15 minutes before serving.
RICOTTA HOTCAKES with Honeycomb Butter
11/3 cups ricotta
¾ cup (6 fl oz) milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
50 g (1½ oz) butter
To serve
banana
honeycomb butter, sliced (see below)
icing sugar for dusting
1. Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.
3. Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.
4. Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of the butter and drop 2 tablespoons of batter per hotcake into the pan (don’t cook more than 3 per batch). Cook over low to medium heat for 2 minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and quickly assemble with other ingredients.
5. Slice one banana lengthways onto a plate, stack 3 hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar.
HONEYCOMB BUTTER
250 g (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
100 g (31/3 oz) sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin
2 tablespoons honey
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Shape into a log on plastic wrap, roll, seal and chill in a refrigerator for 2 hours. Store leftover honeycomb butter in the freezer – it’s great on toast.
MINI BERRY MERINGUES
3 egg whites
¾ cup (165 g) caster sugar
300 ml thickened cream
150 g raspberries
250 g strawberries, quartered
150 g blueberries
1. Preheat oven to very slow. Line oven tray with baking paper.
2. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until sugar dissolves between each addition; fold in sifted cocoa.
3. Spread four 13 cm-diameter circles of meringue mixture on prepared tray. Bake in very slow oven about 45 minutes or until meringues are firm; cool meringues in oven with door ajar.
4. Beat cream in small bowl with electric mixer until lightly whipped; top meringues with cream and berries.
Spiced Honey Roll
3 large eggs
1/3 cup castor sugar
½ cup cornflour
1 tablespoon flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon warmed honey
1/3 cup coconut
300 ml thickened cream
1 teaspoon cherry brandy
Beat eggs and sugar until thick and creamy (approximately 7 minutes at top speed). Fold in sifted dry ingredients and honey. Pour mixture into greased and lined Swiss roll tin. Bake at 190oC for 10-15 minutes. Turn onto a damp linen tea towel sprinkled with coconut and roll up. Remove tea towel and allow to cool. Spread with cream whipped with cherry brandy and re-roll.
Tiramisu
250ml strong espresso coffee
80ml marsala
16 sponge finger biscuits
2 eggs, separated
¼ C caster sugar
250g mascarpone
Shaved dark chocolate to serve
Combine coffee and liqueur in bowl. Dip biscuits in one at a time, and use to line the sides of 4 x 375ml serving glasses. Drizzle with remaining mixture.
Use and electric beater to beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy. Add mascarpone and beat until combined.
Use clean beaters and bowl and whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Use metal spoon to fold in half the egg white into mascarpone mixture. Fold in remaining egg white until combined. Spoon mascarpone mixture into serving glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm. Sprinkle with chocolate to serve.
Pecan Meringue Pie
22 Jatz biscuits
1 C roughly chopped pecans
3 egg whites (made up from egg white powder)
1 C caster sugar
1 t vanilla
300ml thickened cream ,whipped to serve
extra pecans to serve
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Lightly grease a 23cm flan dish.
Place Jatz in food processor and process to rough crumbs. Transfer to bowl and stir in pecans.
Using electric beaters, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Add sugar gradually until thick and glossy. Fold in vanilla and biscuit mixture.
Spoon mixture into pie dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp. Cool. Top with cream and extra pecans.
Gruyere soufflé
3 tbs butter, softened, plus extra to grease
2 tbs grated parmesan
250ml milk
2 fresh bay leaves
1 small onion, quartered
4 tbs plain flour
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/2 cups grated gruyere cheese
5 egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 170°C.
Grease a 1.5-litre (6-cup) capacity soufflé dish with melted butter. Evenly sprinkle the parmesan around the base and side, then refrigerate for 5 minutes to chill.
Place the milk, bay leaves and onion in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn off heat and leave for 15 minutes to infuse.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the butter over low heat and add the flour. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes to make a roux. Strain the milk mixture into the roux and cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Add the nutmeg and cayenne pepper and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks, then add the cheese and beat until well combined. Place mixture in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl until stiff. Beat 4 tablespoons of the egg whites into the cheese mixture to loosen. Carefully fold through remaining egg whites (trying not to lose too much volume). Transfer to the chilled dish and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 150°C and cook in the oven for a further 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Sweet potato & leek roulade
Roulade
20ml (1 tbs) olive oil
1 leek, finely chopped
60g butter
1/3 cup plain flour
300ml milk
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Stuffing
30g unsalted butter
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbs chopped fresh sage
1 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley
Filling
500g sweet potato, peeled, chopped
15g unsalted butter
100ml thin cream
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 39 x 26cm Swiss roll pan.
To make the roulade, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the leek and cook gently for five minutes until soft. Remove leek from pan. Wipe pan, then add the butter. When it has melted, add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Start adding the milk, a little at a time, whisking until all the milk is combined and the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat, beat in egg yolks, one at a time and season.
In a separate, clean bowl, beat the eggwhites until stiff. Add a quarter of the eggwhites to the roux, then gently fold in the remaining eggwhites. Fold in leeks and cheddar until just combined, then pour into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and puffed.
Meanwhile, to make stuffing, melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for five minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and breadcrumbs and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Stir in herbs and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
For the filling, steam or boil the sweet potato until tender. Drain and mash with the butter, cream and nutmeg. Season well and set aside.
When the roulade is cooked, place a clean tea towel on your workbench and sprinkle with the parmesan. Turn the roulade out onto the tea towel and peel off the baking paper. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes, then spread the sweet potato over the roulade.
Sprinkle the stuffing over the sweet potato. Using the edge of the tea towel, carefully roll up the roulade from the longest side finishing with the seam-side down. Slice and serve warm with rocket salad and glazed eschallots (shallots).
White chocolate macarons
300g icing sugar mixture
200g ground almonds
5 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
180g white chocolate, melted
250g cream cheese, softened
Preheat oven to 130°C. Line 2 baking trays.
In a food processer process icing sugar and almonds until fine. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1 tbsp of caster sugar at a time, until stiff peaks are formed. Fold in almond mixture.
Place macaron mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm round nozzle, pipe 60 x 3 cm rounds onto prepared trays, using a wet finger, smooth top. Set aside for 10 minutes to rest.
Bake 15 minutes or until firm to touch, remove from oven and cool on trays.
In a medium bowl, whisk chocolate and softened cream cheese until smooth. Sandwich macaroons with mixture.
Chocolate Soufflé
200g dark chocolate, chopped
100g butter, chopped
2/3 C dark brown sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 T plain flour
2 T cocoa powder
¼ C caster sugar
Thickened cream and icing sugar to serve
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease 20cm square ovenproof dish (8 C capacity).
Combine chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on medium-high 70 % power for 2 minutes, stirring every minute until almost melted. Stair until smooth, add sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.
Beat egg yolks with fork and add to chocolate mix. Sift flour and cocoa together over chocolate mix. Stir. Using electric beaters, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Add caster sugar gradually and beat until thick and glossy.
Add 1 T of egg white mix to chocolate mix and stir to combine. Fold in remaining egg white with metal spoon until just combined. Spoon mix into prepared dish. Bake for 35 minutes or until just firm to touch. Dust with icing sugar. Serve warm, with cream.
