SUMMER DESSERTS

A selection of lighter, more refreshing desserts suitable for warmer weather

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SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Although this recipe is not baked, it complements many baked desserts. You can whip this up in a couple of minutes at home and it requires no churning.

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TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM

  1. In a large glass bowl, whip the cream to the stiff peak stage. In another bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, egg yolks and salted caramel. Fold this into the whipped cream.
  2. Whisk the egg whites to the stiff peak stage and fold into the ice cream mixture. Pour into a large airtight container and freeze for 5 hours.

AUTHOR’S TIP: Scoop balls of ice cream into large sugar cones and top with salted caramel.

Makes 1.5–2 litres

LEMON CURD MOUSSE

Not for the health conscious, but this rich dessert is surprisingly light. With a silky smooth texture and refreshing taste, it has become a favourite fuss-free dessert of mine.

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TO MAKE THE MOUSSE

  1. Gently whisk together the cream and sugar. Fold in the lemon zest and juice. Half-fill four ramekins with the lemon mousse and add a teaspoon of lemon curd to each. Pour the remaining lemon mousse over, filling the ramekins to the top. Refrigerate for approximately 2 hours to set.

AUTHOR’S TIP: This recipe is great as a quick-fix brulée. Sprinkle with castor sugar, brown with a blowtorch or under the grill and there you have it!

Makes 4 small puddings

POACHED PEACHES IN ROSÉ

A light refreshing treat for summer – it can be served as a dessert or enjoyed for breakfast.

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POACHING THE PEACHES

  1. Place the peaches, rosé wine, castor sugar and vanilla pod in a large saucepan and cover the liquid with baking paper. Bring the poaching liquid to a gentle simmer, and poach the peaches for 15–20 minutes or until they are soft and poached through (they are poached through when they are easily pierced with a knife).
  2. Remove from the stove and set aside to cool. When completely cooled, remove the peaches from the poaching liquid and carefully remove the skins. Place the peaches into a large bowl and cover with the poaching liquid and rose petals. For the best taste and colour, refrigerate, covered, overnight.

AUTHOR’S TIP: Spread 500 ml double-thick cream over the base of a wide-rimmed bowl, top with a poached peach and drizzle with poaching liquid. To serve scatter over fresh rose petals and toasted almonds.

Serves 8

STRAWBERRY AND CASSIS VALENTINE CREAMS

My annual Valentine’s day recipe.

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PREPARATION

  1. Lightly oil 12 small silicone moulds.

TO MAKE THE CREAMS

  1. Place the water, strawberries, cassis and lemon juice in a blender and blend to a fine purée. Place the gelatine leaves in cold water and allow to soften. Pour the milk into a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a glass bowl. When the milk starts to boil, slowly add to the egg mixture, whisking continuously.
  2. Place the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water, and stir until the mixture is hot. Squeeze the excess water out of the gelatine and stir into the milk mixture until dissolved. Remove from the heat and strain.
  3. Stir the strawberry purée into the milk mixture until fully combined. Pour the mixture into a large glass bowl and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to cool. Just before you remove the mixture from the fridge, whip the cream to the stiff peak stage, then fold it into the mixture. Spoon into twelve small moulds and refrigerate for about 2 hours or until set. Place each mould in a little hot water to loosen the creams. Turn out onto a plate, decorate (see author’s tip below) and serve immediately.

AUTHOR’S TIP: I like to make this dessert in a silicone mould, as it is then easy to unmould. If you don’t have silicone moulds, pour the cream into martini glasses and refrigerate until set. Decorate with a cherry or strawberries just before serving.

Makes 12

COCONUT AND LIME SORBET

As with all sorbets, this recipe does require churning. As the acidity of the sorbet balances well with rich desserts, I like to use it to accompany chocolate fondants.

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TO MAKE THE SORBET

  1. Mix together the coconut milk, condensed milk, sugar syrup, glucose, lime juice and egg white. Place the mixture into an ice-cream machine and churn until it is thick and fluffy, but not completely frozen. Remove from the churner and place in an airtight container. Freeze overnight.

AUTHOR’S TIP: Adding an egg white to the mixture helps to aerate it and gives the sorbet a stark white and fluffier appearance. If you prefer not to use raw egg white you can simply omit it and follow the recipe as above.

Makes 2 litres

BOOZY TIRAMISU

My twin brother, Alex, would probably only want a copy of my book if it had our ‘boozy’ tiramisu dessert in it. This all-time favourite recipe is perfect for those pressed for time. My number 1 summer dessert.

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PREPARATION

  1. Wipe a terrine mould or standard loaf pan with a damp cloth and line the sides and base with clingfilm.

TO MAKE THE MASCARPONE CREAM

  1. In a medium bowl, beat together the egg yolks and castor sugar until pale and fluffy. Fold the mascarpone and dark chocolate bits into the egg yolk mixture.

ASSEMBLING THE TIRAMISU

  1. Mix together the Kahlúa liqueur and hot coffee in a bowl and set aside. Spread a 1 cm thick layer of mascarpone over the base of the mould or pan. Dip the biscuits into the Kahlúa mixture and arrange in a single layer over the mascarpone layer. Ensure the entire mascarpone layer is covered with biscuits. Repeat the process until the mould is filled to the top, ending with a layer of biscuits. Press down ever so slightly on the top layer and cover with clingfilm.
  2. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Remove from the fridge and gently pull one side of the clingfilm, it should come out of the mould with ease. Turn it out onto a decorative board. Dust with cocoa powder and top with fresh cherries. Slice at the table when ready to serve.

AUTHOR’S TIP: An attractive alternative is to serve the tiramisu in glasses (as pictured).

Serves 8

BERRY PAVLOVA

People ask me all the time what my favourite dessert is and now that it’s in black and white I best not change my mind … This berry pavlova definitely comes in at a close second though, after the chocolate semifreddo (see page 106).

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PREPARATION

  1. Preheat the oven to 110 °C. Line a baking tray with foil.

TO MAKE THE MERINGUE

  1. Whisk the egg white and vanilla seeds to the stiff peak stage and slowly add the castor sugar a little at a time, until all the castor sugar has been incorporated and you have a thick and glossy meringue. Carefully fold the nuts and cocoa powder into the meringue. Spread the meringue mixture in a circular motion onto a foil-lined baking tray, peaking the meringue around the rim. Bake for 11⁄2–2 hours. The meringue must be cooked but gooey inside and should peel off the foil easily when done. Turn off the oven and leave the meringue to cool in the oven.

ASSEMBLING THE PAVLOVA

  1. Whip the cream to the stiff peak stage and spread it evenly over the cooled meringue nest. Decorate with cherries or figs, strawberries and raspberries and dust with icing sugar.

AUTHOR’S TIP: To create the most effective chocolate swirl, after folding in the nuts, fold the cocoa powder into the meringue mixture when the mixture is on the baking tray. Shape the meringue as you fold in the cocoa powder. Ensure you only fold it 2–3 times.

Serves 8

ORANGE CURD AND VANILLA PANNA COTTA

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ORANGE CURD LAYER

VANILLA PANNA COTTA LAYER

PREPARATION

  1. Lightly oil 6 × 7 cm dariole moulds.

TO MAKE THE ORANGE CURD LAYER

  1. Heat the orange curd in a saucepan over low heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 2 minutes, then remove from the water and squeeze out the excess water before adding the leaves to the simmering curd. Mix well, strain through a sieve and pour the mixture into the moulds, filling to about 1 cm from the top. Scatter orange segments over the mixture and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to set partially.

TO MAKE THE VANILLA PANNA COTTA LAYER

  1. Place the cream, sugar, vanilla pod and seeds into a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water to soften. Squeeze out the excess water, add the leaves to the hot cream mixture and stir to combine. Strain the mixture through a sieve and refrigerate for 30 minutes to cool, stirring every 10 minutes. Pour the mixture over the orange curd and refrigerate for 2 hours to set. Remove from the fridge and carefully unmould onto a platter just before serving.

AUTHOR’S TIP: Don’t let the orange curd layer set completely as it will slide off the vanilla layer when you unmould the panna cottas. Decorate with halved figs and peeled orange segments.

Serves 6

This tart is basically a pastry shell filled with lemon curd mousse. My friends like to refer to this as my fabulous lemon tart but I simply call it a …

CITRUS TART

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PREPARATION

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

LINING THE TART AND BLIND BAKING

  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry and line a 25 cm quiche pan with it. Cover the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Blind bake for 10 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove the paper and beans and set aside to cool.

TO MAKE THE FILLING

  1. Beat together the cream, lemon and orange juice and zest and sugar. Refrigerate for 30–40 minutes until slightly thickened. Pour the citrus filling into the tart case and refrigerate for 11⁄2 hours.

AUTHOR’S TIP: To measure the lemon and orange juice and zest, first grate the zest of each into two separate measuring cups. Fill the measuring cups with the relevant to measure 40 ml. You can also make individual tartlets (as pictured). This recipe makes 10 × 6 cm round tarts. Serve berry coulis with the tarts, and decorate with gooseberries and orange slices.

Serves 10

NECTARINE LATTICE TART

Nectarines are such bright, attractive fruits. The lattice pastry in this tart showcases this exquisite colour.

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PREPARATION

  1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Grease a 22 cm rectangular ovenproof dish with butter.

TO MAKE THE TART

  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out two-thirds of the shortcrust pastry and line the base and sides of the prepared dish. Gently prick the pastry all over with a fork. Place the nectarines, split vanilla pod, sultanas and white chocolate on top of the pastry and drizzle over the maple syrup. Scatter the lemon zest over the filling.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the remaining pastry into a square, and cut 1 cm strips using a pizza cutter. Weave the pastry over the nectarines, leaving a 1 cm gap between each pastry strip.

BAKING AND SERVING

  1. Brush the egg over the top of the pastry, place in the oven, then reduce the heat to 160 °C and bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp. It is important that the pastry base is cooked through, to prevent it from being soggy when served. Check that the pastry is cooked through by piercing it with a sharp knife, it should have a slight crunch to it.
  2. Remove from the oven and dust with icing sugar just before serving. This tart is best served immediately.

AUTHOR’S TIP: As this tart is so attractive, it is best to serve it whole at the table and slice and serve in front of the guests. I like to serve it with salted caramel ice cream (see page 92)

Serves 8

CHOCOLATE SEMIFREDDO

A combination of ice cream and chocolate mousse that comes together to create something simply sublime. My number 1 summer dessert.

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PREPARATION

  1. Have 8 glass moulds or ramekins of your choice ready to pour the dessert into when done.

TO MAKE THE SEMIFREDDO

  1. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Do not stir the chocolate until it is completely melted as this could cause it to seize. Set aside. Place the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk continuously until the mixture is thick, pale and fluffy. Remove from the heat and whisk with a handheld beater, until completely cooled.
  2. Fold the melted chocolate and set aside. Whisk the cream to the soft peak stage and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the glass moulds and freeze for 5 hours or until completely set. Decorate with fresh raspberries and pistachio nuts and serve immediately.

AUTHOR’S TIP: Add some more colour by decorating the desserts with gooseberries as well. Place a wooden spoon into each dessert and serve on a saucer. This is a brilliant dessert to serve at a canapé function.

Serves 8

SPARKLING BERRY TERRINE

This is a great summer dessert when berries are in season, and also delicious as a breakfast fruit terrine.

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PREPARATION

  1. Oil the base of 1 large or 2 small jelly mould(s).

TO MAKE THE TERRINE

  1. Place the sparkling wine and castor sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water, once softened squeeze out the excess water and add the leaves to the sparkling wine mixture. Whisk until all the gelatine has dissolved. Remove from the heat, strain and set aside to cool.
  2. Place the strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, pomegranate rubies and mint leaves into the prepared terrine mould, making sure they are evenly dispersed.

ASSEMBLING THE TERRINE

  1. Pour the gelatine mixture into the prepared mould, until one-third full. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes, until the jelly is slightly firm. Pour in another third of the gelatine mixture and refrigerate for a further 30 minutes. Finally fill the mould to the top with the gelatine mixture, ensuring all the berries are covered. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight. Carefully turn out the terrine on a platter.

AUTHOR’S TIP: Only putting one-third of the mixture into the mould at a time allows the berries to be evenly dispersed throughout the jelly. Serve on a raised cake stand, and slice at the table. Decorate with halved strawberries and other berries of your choice and top each serving with a spoon of double thick yoghurt.

Serves 12