Chocolate Orange Pavlova

Okay shoot me, the photo isn't the best in the world but it is all I have because the pavlova is long gone.  I made this one because I was off to visit my friend and between us we were making a lunch for us and the children.

I used the Nigella Lawson recipe as inspiration for this, its pretty much tried and tested in our house so I can say hand on heart it works.

for the base
8 egg whites
500g caster sugar
4 teas spoons cornflour
2 tea spoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

topping
2 tubs of cream for whipping
tin of mandarin segments
some chocolate to grate

method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and draw a 25cm circle on it.

Whisk the egg whites till they have peaks.
whisk in the sugar a spoonful at a time,
the meringue should be soft and shiny.

Sprinkle the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla over the egg white mix and gently fold in with a spoon.
spread the mix onto your parchment to the edge of your circle, smooth over the surface.

Put the meringue in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 120 degrees.
Cook for an hour then switch the oven off.  Do not be tempted to open the oven and look as you will spoil it. 


When the meringue is cooled, whip the cream and pile it on top.  Decorate with the orange segments and some grated chocolate.

French Fancies Recipe

Today we had a practice run at making French Fancies.

Story goes that a friend of ours has fond memories of her mother making french fancies when she was a child.  Her mum sadly is no longer with her but her memories remain.  Seeing as I am always one for a challenge thought I would have a trial run at making these little square cakes. 

I have no photos yet as my icing didn't turn out that good.  I really need to tweak the recipe yet as I found them a little too sweet.

Here is how we started

For the cake bit which actually turned out perfect.

250ml milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
30g margarine
140g caster sugar
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla flavour
200g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 180C and grease (or line) a square or rectangular baking tin.

Combine the cider vinegar and milk and set aside to curdle a little. Mix together the margarine and sugar rill fluffy(ish) then add the oil and vanilla and beat well. Add all the dry ingredients and the milk alternately into the margarine mixture, stirring well after each addition but be careful not to over mix. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 18 - 20 minutes or until golden all over and feels firm to touch. Let cool in pan then carefully turn out.

Cut the cake slab in half, spread raspberry or strawberry jam over one side then place the other half on top. Cut this into squares, however many or size you want.

For the soft blobby bit on the top

4 tablespoons of margarine
3/4 of a cup of icing sugar
1/2 tea spoon vanilla flavour

mix will and add a blob of this cream frosting to the top of each square.

The runny fondant icing - this is the bit that was too sweet for me

3 cups of icing sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon of golden syrup (I think I added too much)
you will need a flavour/colour - I added a few drops of yellow colour and lemon juice

Gently heat the fondant icing ingredients in a pan till runny and simply pour over the squares you have cut.  You may need to practice a little to get them looking perfect.



Verdict - Good, all got eaten yet personally I thought they were a bit sweet but I am definitely going to try these again and next time will photograph them too.