Sarah's wedding cheesecake

My wonderful friends Henry and Sarah got married at the weekend and asked a few of their friends to bring a couple of cheesecakes for dessert!

It was a fantastic whimsical, glorious English country garden style occasion, they were married stood in the centre of a circle of haybales which everyone sat on so we all got a view of the ceremony. The local Thai  restaurant did the amazing food, served to us in a wonderfully colourful bunting clad marquee. The wine came from a vineyard in the Loire Valley close to where their parents live, and we drank, ate and danced the night away in style! 

I cannot take praise for this recipe because it's the bride Sarah's own design, however it is so delicious I had to share. I can however take praise for the candied rose petals which I used as a garnish. 

Henry and Sarah, I love you loads and it was amazing to be part of your special day! (And thank you for this amazing recipe!!)

The recipe -Sarah's cheesecake! 

You will need a 20cm springform cake tin with removable bottom.

 

Take 1 pack of 350g gingernut biscuits and crush finely (eg in a magimix, or put in a bag and whack with a rolling pin)

 

Mix with 115 grams melted salted butter

Press into cake tin to form biscuity base. Then chill in refrigerator for an hour.

 

For the topping:

• 300 grams full fat soft cheese 
• 250 ml double cream
• Lightly whip the cream and then mix in the cream cheese and 60 grams of icing sugar  
• Then mix in the zest and juice of 2  3 limes (to personal preference) 
• Spoon onto the biscuit base and spread evenly over the surface.
• Leave in fridge for 24 hours to set

Candied rose petals

To decorate I took the petals off a yellow rose, gently painted one side using a pastry brush with a little beaten egg white, and sprinkled with caster sugar. Leave on grease proof paper to set and repeat with the other side. A little fiddly but really pretty! You can use this to decorate loads of desserts, and they are delicious! 

 

Pincho’s in Spain

I adore Spain, the food is incredible and the people are friendly. I’ve done most of the usual tourist spots in Spain over the years and have been to Sitges once before for a wedding, but never really got to know the town. This time I visited with 11 ladies for a hen party,  we stayed in an incredible town house that was seconds form the beach, slept 14 guests and had 2 private terraces; it was so beautifully decorated I could not believe the low cost price! https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/447492?s=N7FC  I would highly recommend it and the amazing owner ‘Angel’ who booked us restaurants and helped with food deliveries and maps of the town, nothing was too much of a problem.

Sitges itself has become a bit of a mecca for gay and lesbians and is chock full of colourful clubs and bars, however I would be back in a second for a romantic weekend with my husband as it also has a beautiful port area with some excellent restaurants, and over 10 local soft sand beaches including a nudist beach and child friendly options….something for everyone!

Angel ordered us Pincho’s from a local tavern for dinner one evening which were amazing! Pincho means spike or thorn, and are thus names because various toppings are spiked on to slices of bread with cocktail sticks, they are usually served on the bar to nibble on whist sipping Rioja or a cold beer. These were incredible, my highlight had to be a soft black chorizo sausage (similar to the English Black pudding but more intense) served with tiny fried quails eggs, it was salty and creamy and delicious! I also adored the salty intense Jamon Iberico topped with padron peppers. I can see a bit of a tapas style evening happening at my house soon, so will keep you posted on what I decide to cook!

Spiced Chicken and broth

I love combining different cuisines to give exciting twists to old favourite recipes. This dish is an amalgamation between the French countryside chicken I've had in so many bistros in France, and the subtly spicy flavours used in so many of the Moroccan dishes I had in Marrakech.

Ingredients (2 people)

Chicken: whole chicken (mine wasn't a very large chicken), 1/2 lemon, 4 cloves garlic, 2tsp ground coriander, 1tsp sea salt, 1tbsp olive oil. 

Broth: 2 leeks, 1 courgette, 2 handfuls baby spinach, 1tbsp unsalted butter, 1tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1tsp ground coriander, 3 cloves garlic finely chopped, 1 cup chicken stock.

Chicken: pre heat the oven to 180 Celsius. Bash the garlic cloves with the heel of your hand to split them slightly (skins on) and put in to the cavity of the chicken along with the lemon half. Rub olive oil over the outside of the chicken, sprinkle with salt and ground coriander and place in a roasting tin in the oven for 60 minutes, spooning some of it's juices over the chicken half way through. 

To check if it's cooked after the hour, insert a knife between the leg and breast, if the juices run clear it's cooked, if not pop back in the oven for a further 10 minutes and check again. 

Lift the cooked chicken on to a resting dish, cover with tinfoil and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Reserve any pan juices from the chicken for the broth (see below)

Once rested use a knife to gently ease away the breasts and legs from the chicken so they are in separate portions. 

Broth: clean the leeks by splitting in half and washing thoroughly to remove any grit, then thinly slice. Half the courgette, discarding the ends and cut into 5mm slices. 

Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the leeks on a gentle heat until they start to soften. Next add the courgettes and garlic and cover, stirring often, for 6 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and coriander and cook for 2 minutes more. 

Tip any of the juice which has come out of the resting chicken back in to the chickens roasting tin juices, tilt the tin and use a spoon to remove and surface fat (which will be clear), you only want to reserve the brown juices underneath. Add these pan juices to the leek mix, along with the additional cup of chicken stock. Take the lemon out of the chickens cavity and squeeze any juices in to the leek mixture. Bring to a simmer, add the spinach and cover until the spinach has wilted down. Stir through to combine. 

To serve spoon the broth in to shallow bowls and place the chicken pieces on top. 

 

Treacle tart

Treacle tart is a quintessentially English dessert which has been knocking around since the late 1800's in various forms and is one of my childhood favourites. It is unbelievably sweet and hideous for ones waistline, however a little indulgence once in a while never hurt anyone!

Ingredients

Case: 10oz plain flour, 5oz cold unsalted butter, splash cold water. 

Filling: 450g golden syrup, 100g fresh breadcrumbs (white or brown), 1 finely grated lemon zest, juice half a lemon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp sea salt.

Pastry: using your fingertips quickly rub the butter in to the flour until it forms a crumb like texture. Use just enough cold water to bind it together to form a dough, knead briefly, however, do not overwork or it may become tough once baked.  Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 180 celcius.  Butter a 9 inch pie dish, gently roll the pastry until it is large enough to cover the dish. Ease the pastry in to the dish ensuring you do not stretch it (as it shrinks back when cooking). Prick the base with a fork, trim the excess, and blind bake (just the case on its own) for 10 minutes. 

Filling: mix all filling ingredients together in a bowl stirring well to combine. 

Once the pastry case has been baking for 10 minutes, pour in the filling mixture and bake for a further 30 minutes. 

Leave to cool to room temperature and serve with ice cream or cream.