Leamington and Warwick Living Mar - Apr 2020

seeds and return to the oven for a final 5
minutes.
To make the mayonnaise, strip the leaves
from the remaining tarragon sprigs and
finely chop.
Stir into the mayonnaise with a squeeze
of lemon juice from the remaining lemon
half and the chopped olives.
Season with black pepper only. Serve the
baked salmon with the roast squash, soft
garlic and tarragon-olive mayonnaise.
HOT CROSS BUN
PUDDING
A great alternative to bread and butter
pudding - and a way to use up any
leftover hot cross buns and Easter eggs!
Prep: 40 mins | Cook: 40 mins
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
8 mini hot cross buns, or four large
1 pear, peeled, cored and cubed
4 tbsp hazelnut chocolate spread
25g dark chocolate, chopped
150ml double cream
25ml whole milk
25g caster sugar
METHOD
Cut each bun in half, then sandwich
together with the chocolate spread.
Arrange in an ovenproof dish and scatter
over the pear cubes and chocolate.
Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk and
sugar. Pour the mixture over the buns
and leave for at least 30 minutes to allow
it to soak in.
Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4
(160°C for fan ovens) and bake for 35-40
minutes until golden and just set. Stand
for 5 minutes before serving.
RHUBARB AND
MASCARPONE
meringue cake
Another seasonal favourite - rhubarb.
Meringues can be made ahead, but eat
on the day you assemble with cream.
Prep: 1 hour 25 mins | Cook: 2 hours
Serves: 8
INGREDIENTS
For the purée:
400g rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, deseeded
4 tbsp orange juice
For the meringue:
225g caster sugar
4 egg whites
For the filling and topping:
50g icing sugar
350g mascarpone
30g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
METHOD
Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
Toss together the rhubarb, sugar, vanilla
pod pieces and orange juice. Spread
out the mixture in a small baking dish
and roast for 15 minutes, or until tender.
Remove from the oven and set aside
to cool.
Turn the oven down to 110°C/90°C fan/
gas ¼. Reserve 10 pieces of rhubarb
for decoration, and purée the rest in a
blender. Only add the juices from the
baking dish if the purée seems too thick.
Set aside.
Trace 4 x 18cm circles on baking paper
as a guide for the meringue discs. Put
the sugar and 90ml water into a heavybased
saucepan. Carefully swirl the water
around to ensure the sugar is covered.
(Do not stir after swirling as this will
encourage sugar crystals to form on the
sides of the pan.) Put the pan over a high
heat until the mixture bubbles.
Reduce the heat to medium and allow
the mixture to bubble away for about
10 minutes. If using a thermometer the
syrup is ready when it reaches 116°C.
Otherwise, test the mixture by dropping
a small amount into a cup of cold water,
lift it out and if it can be rolled into a soft
ball, it’s ready. If it’s still slippery and loose,
bubble a little longer.
Meanwhile, in a clean bowl, whisk the
egg whites to stiff peaks using an electric
whisk. When the syrup is ready, add it
to the whisked egg whites, whisking
continuously until the mixture is glossy
and the syrup is fully incorporated.
Pipe or spread the mixture onto the
prepared baking sheets, filling in the
circles. Bake for 2 hours, then keep the
oven door ajar with a wooden spoon and
bake for another hour to crisp up the
surface. Turn the oven off and leave the
meringues to cool in the oven for a further
hour.
To make the filling, beat the icing sugar
into the mascarpone, adding more if you
prefer a sweeter flavour. Then gently fold
about two-thirds of the rhubarb purée
into the mascarpone.
To assemble the cake, spread a meringue
disc with a third of the mascarpone and
top with some of the reserved purée,
gently rippling it with a table knife. Repeat
these steps with the other discs and
decorate the top with the reserved pieces
of rhubarb and the chopped pistachios.
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