Ricotta and Amaretti Cake - Suma Bloggers Network

Christmas is just around the corner, so I wanted to create a new, festive recipe for the Suma Bloggers Network.  I decided on a dessert dish, which had to and taste special enough for the festive celebrations, without being too rich or heavy. As I had some amaretti biscuits from Suma, I wanted to use them in something other than a tiramisu and felt that they would add both texture and flavour to a cake.

My Italian-inspired Ricotta and Amaretti Cake is a cross between a cheese cake and a sponge pudding and has quite a  dense texture. It provides a seasonal alternative to the traditional Christmas pudding, which my daughters are not keen on it.

Serves 10

• 50g/2oz softened butter
• 1x250g/10oz tub ricotta
• 150g/6oz soft brown sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 150g/6oz self-raising flour
• 100g/4oz ground almonds
• 200g/8oz amaretti biscuits, roughly broken (from Suma)
• 100g/4oz good quality chocolate (I used Montezumas Dark Chocolate, Bean Machine, from Suma), chopped into chunks
• 2 tbsp very strong, cold coffee (2 tsp coffee granules to 2 tbsp. boiling water)

Preheat the oven to 150C/140C Fan/Gas 2/300F.
Grease and line a loose-bottomed 20cm round cake tin.

Put the butter, ricotta, sugar and eggs into a large bowl. Whisk for 5 minutes until thick, smooth and creamy. Then gently stir the coffee, flour and ground almonds.

Fold in most of the chocolate and biscuit pieces, but retain and handful of each.
Pour the cake mixture into the lined tin. Scatter with the remaining biscuits and chocolate and press lightly into the cake mixture.

Bake for around 45 minutes or until golden brown, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before turning out.
Dust with cocoa powder or icing sugar before serving.

Serve warm with cream, ice cream or custard.

Top tips: Swap the coffee for 2 tbsp of  Tia Maria or Amaretto liqueur. For a more traditional Christmas flavour, omit the chocolate and add the equivalent weight of dried fruit, pre-soaked in the liqueur.
Gluten free option: Check that your amaretti biscuits are GF. Swap the flour for GF flour and add some GF baking powder if needed.

Integrity Statement As a member of the Suma Blogger's Network, I will receive a selection of complimentary products from Suma every two months, to use in recipe development, and will blog an original recipe for the Network.   

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Toffee Apple Waffles

After trying out my new Sage No-Mess Waffle Maker for a few weeks, I think I've perfected my basic, sweet waffle recipe... 
I've used cup measurements to make these as quick and easy as possible to make. Many waffle recipes I've looked at involve separating the eggs and whisking the egg whites. Not something I have the time to inclination to do when making breakfast waffles! I reckon the addition of a touch of bicarb does the job to make these waffles light and fluffy.

Makes 4 large, sweet waffles

• 1 cup SR flour
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup melted butter, cooled
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the topping

• 4 dessert apples, peeled, cored and sliced thickly
• 1 tsp butter
• 8 tbsp dulce de leche or caramel sauce
• ground cinnamon and cream to serve.

To make the waffles
Heat the waffle maker to a medium setting; I used setting 4.

Put the dry ingredients into a bowl.
Mix the liquid ingredients together in a jug.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl and mix to combine.
Pour the batter back into the jug.

When the waffle maker is hot, pour around ¼ of the mixture into the centre. 
Gently close the lid and cook until the machine bleeps (or until the waffles are golden brown).
Remove and keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining waffles.

For the topping
Heat a large frying pan on a medium heat and grease with the butter. Gently cook the apple slices for about 4-5 minutes minutes on each side - until starting to soften but not breaking up. 
Add the dulche de leche and stir gently to coat the apples and warm through - add a splash of water or cream, for a thinner sauce.
Top the warm waffles with the toffee apple mixture and serve with a dollop of cream and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon

Top tip: If you don't have a waffle maker (why not?!) then you could cook these in a heavy based, non-stick frying pan or griddle.

Topping ideas: Fruit compote and Greek yogurt; Nutella and chopped banana/strawberries; peach Melba (peach, raspberries and vanilla ice cream), fresh fruit salad and maple syrup... 

I'd love to know your favourite waffle toppings, so please feel free to tweet me or leave me a comment below.

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Dutch Apple Tart (Appeltaart)

I first tried appeltaart in Holland earlier this year and loved it. It's not traditionally served at Christmas, but I think it makes a good alternative to either Christmas pudding or mince pies.

Although I'm not very good at making pastry, this sweet pastry is quite forgiving, as you can just smooth over any holes or bumps, and you don't need to bake it blind. I've tried out two different versions; one with the traditional butter and egg enriched pastry and one with a vegan pastry. Both turned out well, so use which ever recipe you prefer.

Serves 8

Enriched pastry

• 200g/8oz sr flour
• 100g/4oz chilled block butter
• 100g/4oz sugar
• 1 medium egg
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Vegan pastry

• 200g/8oz SR flour
• 100g/4oz chilled vegan/dairy-free spread/butter
• 100g/4oz sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Filling

• 1 kg/2 lbs cooking apples (unpeeled weight)
• 50g/2oz soft brown sugar
• 75g/3oz raisins/sultanas/mixed dried fruits
• ½ tsp each cinnamon and mixed spice
• 2 tbsp custard powder

Make the pastry by rubbing the dairy-free spread or butter into the flour. Add the sugar and cinnamon and either an egg or a splash of dairy-free milk or water to bind. This should make a soft, but not sticky dough, so add a touch more flour if the mixture is sticky.

Chill pastry for 30-60 minutes.

Grease a loose-bottomed round 7"/18cm cake tin.
On a well-floured board, roll out the pastry to around ½ cm thick.
Cut out a circle of pastry to fit the base (use the base of the tin as a template).
Put the circle of pastry into the bottom of the tin.

Re-roll the pastry and cut 3"/7.5 cm wide strips to fit around the sides of the tin; I did this in 2 sections. Join the pastry sides to the base, by gently smoothing them together with your hands, so that no gaps can be seen. Save any scraps for later.

Peel, quarter and slice the apples, fairly thinly.
Mix the apples, dried fruit, sugar, spices and custard powder together in a large bowl.
Tip as much of the fruit as possible into the (raw) pastry case - you should have a slight dome of fruit in the centre as it will sink a little after cooking. Press down lightly.

With any scraps of pastry, roll thin strips and criss-cross these across the top of the tart. 

Bake at 190C/180C Fan/Gas 5/375 f for 50 mins-1 hour, until the apples are browning and the pastry looks quite a dark golden-brown.
Sprinkle with an extra 1 tsp sugar when it comes out of the oven.
Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before removing. Serve warm or cold. 

Suitable for freezing.

Christmas/luxury version: 
Soak the dried fruits (or a mixture of luxury dried fruits and flaked almonds) in 2 tbsp brandy for at least 2 hours. Add 4 tbsp of custard powder to the apple mixture, to soak up the extra juices. 

Cut out holly leaves from the pastry scraps and lay these on top of the apple. 
Bake as above.

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Valentine's Ice-Cream Cookie Sandwich

Here's a simple Valentine's dessert which can be made in advance and assembled on the day. Although I used dairy ice-cream in this recipe, the cookies and accompaniments are vegan and can easily be served with a dairy-free ice-cream alternative (I can recommend Booja Booja).

Left over cookies can be sandwiched with softened ice-cream, wrapped in foil and frozen until needed.

For the shortbread cookies

• 4oz/100g dairy-free spread, softened
• 4oz/100g caster sugar
• 8oz/200g plain flour
• 1oz/25g unsweetened cocoa powder, sieved
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream the spread and sugar. 

Mix in the remaining ingredients, to make a firm dough.
Add a little drop of cold water or some extra flour if needed.

Chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the chilled dough between 2 sheets of grease-proof paper, until it is about ½ cm thick.

Using a heart cookie cutter, cut out as many shapes as you can from the dough.

Either leave whole, or slice vertically with a sharp knife to make half hearts.

Carefully remove the dough cut-outs from the paper and place on a greased baking sheet (leaving a small gap between each cookie).

Reserve the scraps and re-roll. 
Repeat until all the dough has been used up.
Prick each cookie with a fork.

Bake at 180C/170C Fan/Gas 4/350F for 8-12 minutes (depending on the size of the cookie, and whether you prefer a soft or crunchy cookie).

Cool for a few minutes on the tray before removing and cooling on a wire rack.

Once cooled, sandwich with softened ice-cream/vegan ice-cream. 

Suitable for freezing.

Eat straight away or serve as follows...

To serve 2 people

For the chocolate strawberries

• 1oz/25g dairy-free chocolate, melted
• 2 strawberries

Melt the chocolate and dip the strawberries in. Place on grease-proof paper to set.

For the strawberry sauce

• 2 tsp sugar
• 2-4 strawberries, diced
• 2 tsp Cointreau or other fruit liqueur (or orange juice)

Mix the sugar and chopped strawberries together in a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 30-60 seconds, until the strawberries have softened.
Add the Cointreau and stir well.

Sandwich 2 cookies with a generous scoop of ice-cream. Top with a chocolate-coated strawberry and serve with a spoonful of strawberry sauce.

Alternatives: For a dinner party dessert, cut out circular cookies and serve as above.

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No-Bake Mini Desserts

If you're hosting a bbq, party or buffet and catering for a large number of people, make up a batch of these really simple mini-puddings in advance and refrigerate until needed.

You can buy packs of mini plastic shot 'glasses' from pound stores and supermarkets.

Serves 10 (1 of each dessert per person) - double or treble the recipe to feed more!

For the basic mix

• 250g/10 oz lighter/reduced fat mascarpone 
• 200ml/8fl oz double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar

Lightly whip the cream.

Add the remaining ingredients and lightly whisk together.
Divide between two bowls...

Tiramisu

• 50g/2 oz amaretti or chocolate chip biscuits/cookies, roughly crushed
• 1 tsp coffee granules dissolved in 2 tbsp boiling water, allowed to cool and mixed with 1 tbsp Amaretto or Tia Maria
• 1 tbsp Bailey's liqueur
• Crushed chocolate flake/chocolate chips/drinking chocolate powder to top

Evenly divide the crushed biscuits between 10 small shot glasses.
Drizzle around 1 tsp of the cold coffee/liqueur mixture over the biscuits in each glass.
Mix the Bailey's into one half of the cream cheese mixture.
Using a teaspoon, carefully spoon the mixture into each glass.
Top with crushed chocolate flake/chocolate chips or drinking chocolate powder.
Chill until needed.

Alternative:  For an alcohol-free version, swap the liqueurs for cold strong coffee.

Deconstructed Strawberry Shortcake

• 50g/2 oz shortbread biscuits, roughly crushed
• 100g/4oz ripe strawberries, half diced finely, half sliced
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Mix the vanilla extract into the remaining half of the cream cheese mixture.
Lightly fold in the diced strawberries and crushed biscuits.
Using a teaspoon, carefully spoon the mixture into 10 small shot glasses.
Top with the sliced strawberries.
Chill until needed.

Alternative: Swap the shortbread biscuits for crushed meringue to make Eton Mess.

Not suitable for freezing. Eat within 24 hours of making.

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Vegetarian and vegan camping dessert recipes

Unfortunately, as the weather was so terrible last summer, our usual camping trips were curtailed, so let's hope we have better weather this year! We don't always have a dessert when camping, but if we do, I tend to prepare something simple, sweet and tasty using seasonal fruits and convenience products. 

Hot

• Camp fire dampers - make up a sweet scone packet mix, reserving a small amount of the dry mix, for rolling. Add just enough water/milk to make a slightly sticky dough. Divide into golf ball sized pieces and roll each ball out into a long thin sausage using your hands and a little of the dry mix. Cover the end of some sticks in foil. Coil the scone mix around the foil covered stick, over-lapping the dough slightly so there are no gaps. Bake over the camp fire or bbq embers for around 10 minutes, turning regularly, until golden brown. Remove from the stick and fill with jam, cream, lemon curd, chocolate spread etc. (see photo). 
  n.b. The thicker the stick, the more filling you'll be able to add - They need to be around 50cm+ long, so that you don't cook your hands! 
• Cookie pancakes - make up a cookie packet mix or buy a tub of cookie dough. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into a greased frying pan. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes, flip and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve warm.
• Barbecued bananas - cut a slit lengthwise down each fruit (while the skin is still on). Insert chocolate buttons/dairy-free chocolate along the slit. Wrap in foil and barbecue for around 10 minutes.
• Fruit crumble - add some chopped cooking apples (and sugar to taste) into a pan with a drop of water. Simmer until the fruit is soft. Top with one packet of crumble mix. Cover pan and simmer on a low heat, until heated through.
• Sweet wraps - Warm a tortilla wrap in a frying pan. Put a spoonful or two of jam, peanut butter or chocolate spread in the centre. Top with sliced banana or strawberries. Fold the wrap like a burrito and flip over to warm through.
• Pancakes - re-heat ready-made pancakes in a frying pan, top with jam, chocolate spread, toffee sauce or lemon juice & sugar etc.
• Fruit skewers with a chocolate dipping sauce - Melt some chocolate/dairy-free chocolate in a pan and stir in some cream, evaporated milk or vegan cream to make chocolate sauce. Make some fresh fruit skewers (which you can cook on the bbq if you like) and dip these into the sauce.  
• Mini doughnuts with a chocolate dipping sauce - prepare the sauce as above.
• Shop-bought cake and ready-made custard 
• Barbecued fresh pineapple slices - cook on the bbq.

Cold

• Fresh fruit
• Strawberries and cream/vegan cream.
• Eton mess - simply mix cream (use canned squirty cream, mascarpone or crème fraiche) with crushed shop-bought meringues and fresh strawberries or raspberries.
• Deconstructed strawberry shortcake - make as above but using crushed shortbread biscuits (for a vegan version use dairy-free shortbread and vegan squirty cream).

Do let me know your favourite camping puddings and I'll add them to the list!

Find more camping recipes here.

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