Time to Eat

by Nadiya Hussain

  APPLE PALM PIES

  SAFFRON ROSE SHRIKAND

  SERVES: 6 TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

  Shrikand is a traditional Gujarati dessert made with a base of strained yoghurt that’s flavoured, so sometimes when I want a lighter dessert this is great – and I have a way of making two desserts into one with this. Yoghurt has the ability to take on flavour, so you could go wild and do all sorts. I love the aroma of traditional flavours and scents. With this recipe you’ll make a batch of ice cream for later too – but if you’d prefer to just make the dessert for today, simply halve all ingredients.

  For the shrikand

  1kg Greek yoghurt

  1 tablespoon whole milk

  10 strands of saffron

  600ml double cream

  6 tablespoons icing sugar

  1 teaspoon cornflour

  5 drops of rose extract/essence

  To serve

  Shortbread or brandy snaps

  pistachios and rose petals

  Start by straining the yoghurt through some strong kitchen paper. Line a sieve with the paper, then spoon in all the yoghurt and set aside over a bowl.

  Heat the milk in the microwave, then add the strands of saffron and allow the colour to bleed. The warmer the milk the stronger the colour, so get it as warm as you can, which should only take a few seconds.

  Put the cream into a bowl with the icing sugar and cornflour and whisk until you have soft peaks. This is not traditional, but I like to add the cream to make it a tiny bit richer, and the cornflour helps to stabilize the cream. Be sure not to clear away the beaters, as you will need them again in a few minutes.

  Add the strained yoghurt to the whipped cream and fold through with the saffron-infused milk. Once it is all one even golden colour, stir in the rose extract.

  Serve in small dishes with shortbread, or in brandy snaps, which is my personal favourite, and sprinkle over the pistachios and rose petals. Do the same with the ice cream when you serve it.

  SHRIKAND ICE CREAM

  If you made the full batch, take half of the mixture and put it into another bowl, with 4 tablespoons of golden syrup. This is an excuse to make shrikand ice cream: simply whisk the golden syrup in and transfer to a freezer-safe Tupperware container. Pop the ice cream tub inside a ziplock bag and put it into the freezer. Shrikand for now, ice cream for later.

  SAUCY CITRUS PUDDING

  SERVES: 6 ACTIVE TIME: 15 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR

  This is one of those cakes that looks suspiciously boring, plain even, but the three citrus fruits really pack it with a zing. It’s simple and easy to make, and as it bakes it creates a delicious curd-like sauce that sits at the bottom, so there’s no slicing – it’s spoons in and serve. I like it with a little pouring cream, because there is always room for more sauce.

  cooking oil spray

  3 eggs, yolks and whites separated

  50g butter, melted

  200g caster sugar

  1 lemon, 1 lime, 1 small orange: zest of all 3, plus enough juice from all 3 to make up 100ml (if you don’t have enough, just use lemon or lime juice out of a bottle to top it up)

  50g plain flour

  250ml whole milk

  icing sugar, for dusting

  pouring cream, to serve (optional)

  Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C and lightly spray the inside of a medium casserole dish with oil.

  Put the egg whites into a bowl big enough to whisk them in. Put the butter, sugar, zest and juice, egg yolks, flour and milk into a second bowl.

  Using a hand-held mixer, whisk the egg whites until they are firm, meaning that the peaks will hold but the tips will fold back on themselves.

  Take the same mixer and whisk the ingredients in the other bowl until you have a smooth, shiny cake batter.

  Now add the whisked whites to the batter and fold it through until there are no foamy white bits left. Pour into the dish and bake for 45 minutes. Before serving, you can dust the top with icing sugar if you like. Eat while it’s still piping hot.

  CHOC LIME ROULADE

  SERVES: 6–8 TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES

  When you see a swirl in a dessert it looks like so much effort has been made, when in reality it’s actually quite easy, especially in this case because the sponge itself takes less time to bake than I do to get into bed. It’s such a simple recipe – chocolate cake, creamy chocolate filling, all with a hint of lime. Chocolate limes used to be my fave sweets and I still can’t resist them when I see them. You can use any jam you have left over at home, but I like lime marmalade – just for recipes like this, though, I’m not such a fan of it on my toast. I’ve given quantities for the ganache that will give you some extra chocolatey treats, but just halve the ingredients in green if you only want to make the roulade today.

  For the sponge

  3 eggs

  100g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting

  75g plain flour

  25g cocoa powder

  For the ganache filling

  300g dark chocolate, chips or roughly chopped

  100ml boiling water

  300g cream cheese

  4 tablespoons lime marmalade

  1 lime, zest only (save the rest of them)

  Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C, and grease and line a medium baking tray with sides or a Swiss roll tin 35cm x 23cm.

  Put the eggs and sugar into a bowl and whisk until the mixture has tripled in size and, when the beaters are lifted, leaves ribbons of batter on the surface. This will take up to 5 minutes.

  Sift in the flour and cocoa and use a metal spoon to gently bring the mixture together. Keep mixing gently until there is no flour left in the bottom of the bowl.

  Pour the mixture into the tin and gently tilt it to encourage the mixture to get into the corners. When it has run as much as possible, carefully, without squashing the air bubbles out of the mixture, use a small spatula to guide the rest so that it covers the tin evenly.

  Bake for 8–10 minutes.

  Meanwhile take a large sheet of baking paper the same size as the sponge and sprinkle it generously with sugar. As soon as the sponge is baked, tip it upside down straight on to the waiting sugared paper and peel off the lining paper that it was baked on.

  Now, with the long edge closest to you, roll up the whole thing, making sure to wrap it with the sugared paper encased in the roll. Leave to cool in the paper on a cooling rack.

  To make the ganache, put the chocolate into a bowl and microwave in bursts of 10 seconds until you have just a few unmelted pieces of chocolate. Now stir the chocolate – the heat of the bowl will help melt it until smooth. Pour the boiling water a little bit at a time into the chocolate. Don’t be alarmed – at first the chocolate will thicken as you stir. Just add a little more water and stir again. Repeat until you have a loose and glossy ganache.

  Divide the ganache mixture in half. Put one half aside and add the cream cheese to the other half, whisking well until you have a creamy mixture.

  Once the cake has almost cooled, unroll it and remove the baking paper. Spread it with a thin layer of lime marmalade, then sprinkle over the zest. (Keep the limes, hollow them out and fill the cavity with baking powder. If you leave it in the back of your fridge, they will keep everything smelling fresh.)

  Now spread a thin layer of the chocolate cream over the sponge. Then, as you did before, roll the sponge as it was until you get to the end. Make sure to have the roll seam-side down.

  Drizzle with some of the remaining ganache, if you like, or see below for suggestions on how to use it.

  TRUFFLES

  Put the leftover ganache into the fridge for at least an hour, until it’s firm. When set, take teaspoons of the stuff, roll them into balls, then roll them in cocoa powder. Leave them in the fridge so you can get a chocolatey treat every time you open the fridge door.

  The ganache can be saved and turned into delicious truffles. These chocolatey treats are great to make with children on rainy days, and free
ze brilliantly.

  CHOC LIME ROULADE

  STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE FUNNEL CAKE

  MAKES: ABOUT 20 TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

  These are like doughnut, meets cake, meets fritter, meets pakora. They are as fun to eat as they are to make. Crisp and sweet, and easy to demolish the lot. Apart from eating them, there is so much fun in squeezing the batter into the oil and being quick enough to create something that resembles a holey doughnut. To save yourself time you could make the batter the night before and just do the frying when it’s time to eat.

  oil, for frying

  300g self-raising flour

  2 tablespoons icing sugar

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  275ml whole milk

  2 eggs

  100g strawberry milkshake powder

  Start by heating some oil gently in a small pan, just big enough to fry one cake at a time. The oil should come halfway up the sides. I do these in a small pan so that I don’t use up too much oil every time I fry.

  Put the flour, icing sugar, baking powder, milk and eggs into a bowl and whisk until you have a smooth batter.

  Now there are a few ways of making these: you can place all the mixture in a ziplock bag and snip about 5mm off the end. Or you can use a squeezy bottle, although you don’t want to squirt anything quickly into oil. I prefer to use a ziplock bag, and when I need to put it down I just use a bag clip to stop the flow.

  In one smooth motion, squeeze out the mixture in rounds, making sure that the batter connects to itself so it has something to hold on to. It should look like a spindly doughnut. Fry for roughly 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown. Have a tray lined with kitchen paper at the ready, to drain the funnel cakes. As soon as they come out of the hot oil, sprinkle them generously with the strawberry milkshake powder and get frying the next one.

  HANDY TIP

  These freeze really well, so if you have any left over, pop them into a freezer bag.

  STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE FUNNEL CAKE

  GINGERBREAD MELT-IN-THE-MIDDLES

  MAKES: 6 ACTIVE TIME: 40 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 3 HOURS

  These are like chocolate fondants, the ones everyone says are notoriously difficult to make. They have a gingerbread biscuit outer casing with a melty ganache in the centre. They’re fun to make and even more fun to eat. This recipe will give you 6 fondants to bake now, and another 6 to keep in the freezer for another time.

  For the biscuits

  450g plain flour

  1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

  3 tablespoons ground ginger

  125g butter

  175g soft brown sugar

  4 tablespoons golden syrup

  1 medium egg, beaten

  For the filling

  200g dark chocolate (or milk chocolate if you don’t like dark, or white chocolate if you prefer it sweeter), chopped

  200ml boiling water

  a pinch of salt

  1 round of stem ginger, grated

  Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger in a bowl.

  In a small pan melt the butter and sugar with the golden syrup. As soon as the sugar has melted, take off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir the beaten egg into the butter mixture and then add to the dry mix.

  Bring the mix together until you have a smooth dough. Take away one third of the dough, wrap it in clingfilm, and chill in the fridge. Form the bigger piece of dough into a sausage shape, then divide it into 12 equal balls.

  Lightly grease the inside of a 12-hole cupcake tray. Drop a ball of dough into each cavity and mould the dough so it is level on the base and sides and comes right to the top. Place in the fridge to chill.

  To make the ganache, put the chopped chocolate into a bowl, pour in the boiling water and stir until you have a smooth mixture. Sprinkle in the salt and the grated stem ginger, and leave to cool. As soon as it is cool, add some to each biscuit cavity, leaving a 1cm gap at the top.

  Place in the fridge to chill. Meanwhile, take out the remaining piece of dough and unwrap it. Roll it out, then cut out circles big enough to cover the top of the fondants. Pop a circle on each one, and be sure to pinch the edges to seal in that centre. Freeze for 1 hour.

  Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C. Take the fondants out of the freezer, then pop 6 of them into a bag and return them to the freezer for later. Bake the remaining 6 for 25–27 minutes. Serve hot.

  Bake the rest of the fondants from frozen at 180°C/fan 160°C for 30–35 minutes. Be sure to bake them in the same muffin tin, as this will help to retain their shape.

  LONDON CHEESECAKE

  SERVES: 6 ACTIVE TIME: 30 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

  I have this guy who knows everything there is to know about London – born and bred there, he could give Danny Dyer a run for his money, but for the most part I haven’t a clue what he says. Between words I understand and the cockney rhyming slang, I tend to nod, unsure, and he laughs at me. This isn’t really a cheesecake, but it tastes pretty good – more like lamington meets pasty. Once you feast your mince pies on these, you won’t stop stuffing them into your north and south.

  2 sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry

  6 tablespoons strawberry jam, no lumps

  1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

  250g icing sugar

  a few teaspoons of whole milk

  50g shredded or desiccated coconut

  Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

  Unroll the two sheets of pastry and cut each one into 6 equal squares. Pop 6 of the squares on to the tray. Add a tablespoon of jam to the centre of each one, avoiding the edges.

  Brush lightly around the edge of each square with the egg yolk, then place another square of pastry on top and gently press the edges. No crimping required. Every one of these that I have bought and eaten has tall sides and no crimping.

  Pop them into the fridge for 10 minutes, then bake for 20–25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and puffy.

  Leave to cool on a baking rack. As soon as they are totally cool, mix the icing sugar with a teaspoon of milk at a time, until you have a thick icing. Spread the icing all over the top and sprinkle over the coconut immediately, while the icing is still wet.

  These look bigger than your belly can eat, but they are light enough to finish. However, if you do have any left over that you haven’t iced, you can freeze them.

  GRAPEFRUIT TIRAMISU

  SERVES: 6 ACTIVE TIME: 40 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 4 HOURS 30 MINUTES

  Tiramisu is coffee, this is not! I don’t know what else is left to say. So many will disagree, but go on, give it a little go. This is a great dessert to make ahead, and it will happily rest in the fridge overnight until you’re ready to serve it.

  3 medium eggs, yolks and whites separated

  50g caster sugar

  250g mascarpone

  1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

  2 grapefruits, zest and 150ml of juice

  25–30 sponge fingers

  1 tablespoon cocoa powder, for dusting

  Have a 1 litre dish at the ready.

  Put the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and whisk until light and mousse-like. It should be pale and fluffy.

  Put the mascarpone and vanilla into another bowl and beat until it’s just a bit smoother. Add the egg yolk mixture and whisk until smooth.

  Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Then add them to the bowl a little at a time, folding gently with each addition.

  Mix the grapefruit juice and zest in a bowl. Using 12 of the sponge fingers, dip each one quickly into the juice and arrange in the base of your dish. Pour half of the mascarpone over the top.

  Do the same with the next 12 sponge fingers, layering them over the mascarpone. You may need to use a few more, depending on the size of your dish. If there is any extra juice and zest, pour it on top of the sponge fingers. Top with the rest of the mascarpone and level off.

  Dust over the cocoa and leave in the fridge for at
least 4 hours before serving, but ideally overnight.

  GRAPEFRUIT TIRAMISU

  SWEET RISOTTO

  SERVES: 6+ TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR

  I never really ate rice as a child, apart from boiled white rice, with curry, or pilau with curry. It was our thing, our staple, as people call it. So eating rice any other way never came to mind. But it turns out I can eat rice any which way, for which I am very grateful. Risotto, delicious – but sweet risotto, double delicious. If my rice farmer granddad was still alive, he would be proud. This recipe gives you a dessert today, with some leftover baked arancini balls for another day. If you’d rather not make those this time, simply halve all ingredients.

  1.5 litres whole milk

  600ml double cream

  1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, or a whole vanilla bean, split

  100g unsalted butter

  1 bay leaf

  1 stick of cinnamon

  600g risotto rice

  1 teaspoon salt

  150g caster sugar

  pulp from 8 passion fruit

  Put the milk and cream into a pan, just bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and leave on a very low heat. If you are using a vanilla pod, pop it into the milk and cream while they are warming.

  Heat the butter in a separate large non-stick pan, and as soon as it has melted, add the bay leaf and cinnamon stick and let them sizzle for a minute. Add all the rice and give it a good stir on a medium heat, making sure to move it around all the time. This should take about 5 minutes – you will see the rice starting to change in appearance, the grains looking whiter.