THEGAYUK

Author: Dermot O’Sullivan

  • RECIPE | Dermie’s Walnut Coffee Cake

    The ultimate Afternoon Tea classic of a luxurious Walnut Coffee Cake is always good to have in your repertoire and is one of my all-time favourite cakes.

    In this recipe, I use Irel Coffee (or Camp Coffee) essence which can be found in all good supermarkets and works better than real coffee. I like to use mascarpone cream instead of butter-cream, especially in the summer as it leaves a lighter, fresher and more modern twist on a age-old classic.

    Shopping List:

    – 225g Soft unsalted butter
    – 225g Caster Sugar
    – 4 Free Range Eggs (at room temperature)
    – 100g Walnuts (roughly chopped)
    – 225g Plain white flour (sieved)
    – 1 Tsp Baking Powder
    – 3 Tbsp Irel (or Camp) coffee essence

    Coffee Icing & Filling

    – 450g Mascarpone Cream
    – 50g Caster Sugar
    – 6 Tsp Irel or Camp coffee essence

    To Decorate:

    – 8 Whole walnut halves

    Method:

    1. Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4. Line the base of two 8 inch sandwich tins with greaseproof paper and lightly dust the edges with flour.

    2. Cream the butter well with a wooden spoon, add the sugar in stages until pale and light in texture. Add in an egg one-by-one to the mixture, adding a tablespoon of flour to each addition to prevent the mixture from curdling and gently fold in the coffee extract.

    3. Add the chopped walnuts, flour and baking powder and fold into the cake mixture. The mixture should be a light dropping consistency, add 1-2 tbsp of buttermilk to loosen the mixture if needed. Weigh the mixture and divide it in two into the cake tins. Bake for 30 minutes.

    4. The cake is cooked when a skewar is inserted in the centre and comes out clean. Leave to rest in the tins for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Leave the cakes to cool on the wire rack completely before adding the filling.

    5. To make the filling and icing; whisk the mascapone cream and sugar well before adding in the coffee essence.

    6. Divide the coffee cream mixture evenly and using a palette knife sandwich the two layers together evenly and coat the top with the remaining mixture. Decorate with 8 whole walnuts.

  • RECIPE | Sparkling Lavender Lemonade

    Homemade lemonade is so simple to make and when you use real lemons, it is bursting with vitamin C. Now that summer is here, it is a great time to have stock syrup in your larder.

    Below, I have included the recipe I use for a basic stock syrup which may be infused with many alternatives including; Elderflower, Rosemary, Star Anise, Mint – the list is endless but my favourite is lavendar which turns the lemonade a light shade of pink. Stock syrup will keep for many weeks in an air-tight kilner jar in your larder but lemonade is best consumed on the day it is made.

    Makes 1 Litre

    Ingredients.

    Stock Syrup:

    – 250g Caster Sugar
    – 250g Still Water
    – 2-3 Tbsp Dried Lavender

    Lemonade:

    – Juice of 3 Lemons
    – 750ml S. Pellegrino Sparkling Water

    Method.

    1. Place the sugar and still water in a saucepan over a gentle heat and bring to the boil. Place off the heat, add in the lavender and allow to infuse for a number of hours or preferably over-night in a small kilner jar.

    2. Strain the syrup, mix the lemon juice with the stock syrup in a large jug and gently pure over the sparkling water. Serve poured over ice-cubes.

     

  • RECIPE | Traditional Irish Brown Soda Bread

    RECIPE | Traditional Irish Brown Soda Bread

    A Traditional Irish Soda Bread recipe is steeped in Irish heritage.

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  • RECIPE | Double Chocolate Sea Salt Brownies

    RECIPE | Double Chocolate Sea Salt Brownies

    The very best brownies I have tasted surprisingly have no flour. I have tried out so many brownie recipes over the years and I always find that flourless brownies are often times much nicer. You may wish to add some chocolate sauce, ice-cream or both but I like to keep it plain and simple.

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  • RECIPE | Dermie’s Jerusalem Artichoke And Crispy Chorizo Soup

    RECIPE | Dermie’s Jerusalem Artichoke And Crispy Chorizo Soup

    The one winter vegetable which I absolutely adore is Jerusalem artichokes, which one could mistake as being a root of Ginger; small, bumpy, rough, Jerusalem artichokes are difficult to find in food stores generally confined to food markets or Farmers’ Markets but you can grow your own in early Spring if you so wish.

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  • RECIPE | Dermie’s Orange Mince Pies

    RECIPE | Dermie’s Orange Mince Pies

    This recipe makes eighteen light zesty mince pies topped with a warm cinnamon crumble. When baking they leave a festive aroma which will linger throughout your home leaving an extra special welcoming for your guests. Serve with some softly whipped cream or a generous dollop of Armagnac butter, accompanied with a glass of mulled wine….

    ORANGE MINCE PIES
    CREDIT: Jakub Walutek Photography

    Shopping List

    Pastry:

    – 200g Cream Flour (sieved).

    – 150g Unsalted Butter (chilled & cubed).

    – 50g Caster Sugar.

    – 2 Orange Zest.

    – 1 Organic Egg (beaten).

     

    Filling:

    – 350g Homemade or Wexford Mincemeat.

     

    Cinnamon Crumble Topping:

    – 150g Cream Flour.

    – 125g Unsalted Butter.

    – 75g Caster Sugar.

    – 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon.

     

    Armagnac Butter:

    – 150g Unsalted Country Butter (at room temperature).

    – 100g Icing Sugar (Sieved).

    – 3 Tbsp Armagnac.

    – 1 Tbsp Boiling Water.

    ORANGE MINCE PIES
    CREDIT: Jakub Walutek Photography

     

    Method

    1. To make the pastry, finely grate the orange zest evenly into the flour, rub the flour, butter and sugar to form a fine breadcrumb mixture in a mixing bowl. Pour in the beaten egg slowly to bring the mixture together (you will only need ½ of the whole egg to bring it together).

    2. Tip the mixture out onto a chilled floured marble surface, bring the mixture together gently with your hands and form into a rectangular shape. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour.

    3. Lightly butter and flour a 12-hole muffin tray. Thinly roll out your pastry dough in between two layers of cling film. Cut out 12 circles with your pastry cutter large enough to fill the base of your tin. Press the pastry circles into each hole and place a tablespoon of mincemeat in each pastry circle. Chill for a further 15 minutes.

    4. Preheat your oven to 200C/Gas 6. Make your crumble by rubbing the flour, butter and caster sugar together to form a bread crumb mixture. Sieve in the cinnamon evenly into the mixture, cover the tops of each pie with just enough crumble to cover the mincemeat.

    5. Bake for 20 minutes until he tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the mince pies cool completely before removing from the tin. Place on a cake stand and cover with a dusting of icing sugar. Cover any remaining pastry with cling film and chill in the fridge to be used later in the week.

     

    For The Armagnac Butter:

    1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together until smooth. Mix in the water then add in the Armagnac.

    2. Store in the fridge over night.

  • RECIPE | Dermie’s Pedro Ximenez Chocolate Tart

    RECIPE | Dermie’s Pedro Ximenez Chocolate Tart

    Pedro Ximénez is a classic, luscious, sweet Spanish dessert sherry made using sun dried Pedro Ximénez grapes. It is dark mahogany in colour, reminiscent of raisins on the nose with a rich, sweet and velvety notes on the mouth leaving a very long finish.

    Pedro Ximénez Chocolate Tart

    Pedro Ximénez sherry is intensely sweet and has a real affinity with milk chocolate and is widely available in all good licensed premises. This recipe uses a generous helping of Pedro Ximénez to transform an ordinary chocolate tart recipe into something sensational.

    If you wish to add extra depth to the chocolate tart then replace milk chocolate with dark chocolate in this recipe. Enjoy.

    Shopping List:

    Pastry:

    – 190g Cream flour.

    – 100g Unsalted butter (diced).

    – 75g Caster sugar.

    – Pinch of salt.

    – 1 Organic egg (lightly beaten).

    – Egg wash.

    – 10″ tart tin (26cm).

     

    Chocolate Filling:

    – 400ml of double cream.

    – 200g Valrhona / Lilly O’ Brien’s / Lindt milk chocolate.

    – A generous pinch of sea salt.

    – 25g Caster sugar.

    – 2 Organic eggs.

    – 100ml Pedro Ximénez (double serving).

    – 1 Tsp vanilla essence.

    Pedro Ximénez Chocolate Tart

     

    Method

    1. Place the flour, sugar, salt and butter into a food processor. Using the pulse setting, pulse the mixture a number of times slowly until the mixture resembles curse breadcrumbs. Add in the egg until the mixture comes together. Do not over work the dough as it will make the pastry tough.

    2. Flatten out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangular shape 2cm thick. Then wrap in cling flim and place in the fridge for 30mins. Alternatively place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

    3. Grease your loose bottom pastry tin lightly with butter and remove the pastry from the fridge. Roll out the pastry on a cold floured marble surface to a width of half an inch. Ensure you are rolling a circular shape enough to cover the sides and ends of your tin using the round loose base as your guide.

    4. Using a pallet knife gently lift the pastry over your tart tin. With some of the left-over pastry, roll a small 1 inch ball of pastry dough and use this to smooth out the edges of your tart tin. Using a folk, prick the base, cover with cling film and place the lined tin in the fridge for 30 minutes.

    5. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees or gas mark 4. Take the pastry tin out of the fridge and line with baking parchment coming up over the sides of the tin. Fill the tin with baking beans and ‘bake blind’ for 20 minutes until the pastry is dry.

    6. Take the beans out of the pastry tray, brush the pastry with egg wash and place it back in the oven for a further 3-5 minutes until the pastry is pale and golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool while you make the chocolate filling.

    7. Heat the cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan over a gentle heat until it reaches the ‘shivery stage’. Remove from the heat, add chocolate and stir until melted. Then mix in the sea salt, Pedro Ximénez and vanilla.

    8. Whisk the eggs yolks and the sugar until they form a thick, white, froth and gently fold into the chocolate mixture so as to not knock out any of the air.

    9. Bake for 20 minutes until just set with a very slight wobble in the centre. Do not over cook the chocolate mixture as you will dry out the tart.

    10. Cool completely before serving. It is perfectly fine to make this tart the evening before your dinner party. Serve with a glass of Pedro Ximénez, a dessert wine or a strong black coffee.

     

    Cinnamon Cream

    – 150ml Cream.

    – 3 Tbp Icing Sugar.

    – 1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon.

     

    Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to soft peaks.