Chocolate and Raspberry Fondants Recipe

Fondants are every Masterchef contestant’s worst nightmare. I think I’ve seen only one successful attempt in all the years they’ve been tried! If only they’d all had a look at this recipe… the key here is to make sure that they are chilled completely hard before you put them in the oven.

In this video, I used a dariole mould but these are just as lovely baked in anything- I’ve used teacups and ramekins in the past and just haven’t turned them out. They’re still just as lovely with a dollop of ice cream on top.

When English raspberries are in season, there really is nothing better. However when the season’s over, it might be nice to use something different. Pistachios always work well- whole ones in the centre and chopped ones sprinkled over the top to serve. A crème fraiche would work better to accompany that to give an element of sourness that the raspberries usually give.

This recipe serves 2 but it’s easy to multiply!

Ingredients:

50g dark chocolate

50g butter

50g sugar

1 egg

50g self-raising flour

cocoa

vanilla ice cream – to serve

Recipe:

1.   Stick the chocolate, butter and 50g sugar in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Stir throughout.

2.   Leave to stand for 2 minutes and then add the egg. Beat well. Add the flour and mix until smooth.

3.   Butter your dishes and coat the insides with cocoa. Tap out the excess.

4.   Half fill moulds and add a couple of raspberries into the centre. Top up with mix until ¾ full.

5.   Chill in fridge for 30-45 mins until hard. Preheat oven to 200c.

6.   Bake for 14 mins EXACTLY.

7.   Upturn using a plate and serve with ice cream.

Fruit Rolls Ups Recipe

Anyone British kid that grew up between 1995 and 2005 will absolutely be able to remember Fruit Winders, and the utter travesty that occurred when for no good reason they decided to slice them in half lengthways and give you two super thin ones somewhere around the Millennium… Before that, my favourite break-time pastime was to take my strip of dubious flavour and roll it into one massive ball, which I would nibble on for the full 30 minutes.  

These dudes however were probably full of all sorts of rubbish and when I realised how easy it would be to make ones at home I had to give it a go! If you can be bothered to strain the raspberry puree, I would highly recommend it; it makes for a much nicer end product. Mango worked the best, probably due to its smooth texture making it easy to find out when it was ready. Play around with fruits and the levels of sweetness as it can change during the baking process. 

Ingredients:

Any fruit

Lemon juice

Sugar/honey/maple syrup

Method:

1.   Heat oven to 80c.

2.   Puree fruit to pulp and add honey/lemon juice to taste.

3.   Pop in saucepan and simmer over medium heat and then low, stirring more towards the end until mix is very thick and most of the water has evaporated.

4.   Spread on to cling film/greaseproof and bake for 3 or 4 hours or until dry and not tacky.

5.   Flip on to greaseproof paper, cut into strips and roll up!

Raspberry, Rose and Pistachio Cake Recipe

These three flavours work so wonderfully together; you can see exactly why they inspire so many Middle Eastern desserts. Rose has got a bad rep here in England however with the stale ‘old-lady perfume’ being its most famous associated image. This is here to change that! By using only the slightest hint, you get just the very top notes of sweet florals and this mixed with the sharpness of raspberries and creamy crunch of pistachios makes for a delicious cake. The double cream ‘icing’ marries well with the sponge as the lemon and wine create the perfect balance. As it is fresh cream, this is best eaten straight after making and must be stored in the fridge if not- although the need for storing it is yet to be needed in our house!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

225g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

3 large eggs

225g self-raising flour

90g pistachios

2 tbsp rose syrup

pink food colour (optional)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of ½ lemon

punnet of raspberries

double cream, 600ml

dry white wine

lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp caster sugar

rose petals, to decorate

Method:

1.   Whip butter and sugar together until really fluffy. Slowly add the eggs one at a time.

2.   Add the lemon zest, juice, rose syrup and colouring if using. Fold through the flour and then the chopped pistachios.

3.   Bake for 25 minutes at 180c.

4.   Dissolve the caster sugar and lemon zest into the wine and lemon juice. Add the cream and whip to soft peaks.

5.   Squidge the raspberries a little bit and add to half of the cream. Use this to sandwich the cakes together when they’re cool.

6.   Spread the rest of the cream over the top of the cake. Decorate the top with the rose petals and raspberries.