Solihull Living Nov - Dec 2020

CHRISTMAS
Who knows what form Christmas will take this year? With that
in mind, we’ve left the main event ideas in your court and are
serving up some delicious accompaniments that can be scaled
to any party size...
Sparkle
CHRISTMAS SMOKED
SALMON & CRÈME
FRAÎ CHE BLINIS
​Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking
time: 10 minutes
Makes: 20
INGREDIENTS
125g self-raising wholemeal flour
Pinch salt
1 medium egg, separated
150ml semi-skimmed milk
200ml pot full fat crème fraîche
1-2 tsp vegetable oil, for frying
1 ruby grapefruit
1 tsp hot horseradish sauce
½ x 20g pack fresh dill, chopped
1 pack Waitrose & Partners Christmas
Citrus Smoked Scottish Salmon, cut into
20 strips
METHOD
Put the flour and a good pinch of salt in a
large bowl. Make a well, then drop in the
egg yolk. Follow with the milk and 1 tbsp
of the crème fraîche, then whisk to a thick
batter. Using a clean whisk, whip the egg
white to medium peaks, then fold carefully
into the batter using a metal spoon.
Put ½ tsp oil in a non-stick frying pan over a
medium heat. Drop 1 tbsp of the batter into
the pan, giving it room to spread to about
5cm across. Repeat until the pan is full.
Cook for 1 minute, then fl ip with a fish slice
and cook for 1 minute more, until puffed up
and golden on both sides. Lift onto a plate
lined with kitchen paper. Repeat to make
20 blinis.
Segment the grapefruit, allowing the juice
to drop into a separate bowl, and roughly
chop the flesh. Stir the horseradish and
most of the dill into the remaining crème
fraîche, season, then fold in the grapefruit.
Serve on top of the cooled blinis, with a
twist of salmon, a sprinkle more dill and a
grinding of black pepper.
ROSE GIMLET
A fruity and floral cocktail, with gin, lime and
the delicate flavour of rose cordial. Add the
final flourish with a sprinkle of rose petals
Makes: 1
INGREDIENTS
50ml pink gin (or regular gin)
30ml lime juice
30ml Frobisher’s Pomegranate and Rose
Cordial
Rose petals for garnish
METHOD
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add the gin,
cordial and lime juice then shake vigorously
for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled glass
and garnish with rose petals.
FESTIVE SPICED
LATTE CAKE
​Preparation time: 25 minutes | Cooking
time: 50 minutes
Serves: 10-12
INGREDIENTS
250g unsalted butter, melted
300g self-raising white flour
1 tsp baking powder
250g Billington’s Light Brown Soft Sugar
½ tsp ground nutmeg, plus a pinch more
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp instant coffee powder, plus 1 tsp
75ml whole milk
275g low-fat fresh vanilla custard
3 medium eggs, beaten
4 tbsp Billington’s Golden Caster Sugar
2 tbsp dark rum
200ml whipping cream
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180˚C, gas mark 4.
Use a little of the butter to grease a 23cm
springform tin, then line the base. Sift the
flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
Add the light brown soft sugar, a pinch of
nutmeg and the salt. Mix well with your
hands to smooth any lumps in the sugar,
then make a well in the middle.
In a cup, mix 1 tbsp coffee with 1 tbsp hot
water. Stir into the melted butter with the
milk, 175g custard and the eggs; whisk
into the dry ingredients until smooth. Pour
into the tin and bake for 50 minutes, until
risen, golden and a skewer inserted into
the centre comes out clean. While the cake
bakes, mix 1 tsp coffee with 2 tbsp caster
sugar, 1 tbsp water and 1 tbsp rum to make
a syrup; set aside.
Place the cake, in its tin, on a wire rack to
cool. After 30 minutes, poke lots of holes
into the top using a cocktail stick and
brush with the coffee syrup. Once cooled
completely, remove from the tin and put on
a plate.
Make the topping by whipping the cream
with the remaining 2 tbsp caster sugar and
1 tbsp rum until very thick, then fold into
the remaining 100g custard. Spoon and
spread the topping onto the cake, then use
a fine sieve to dust with the remaining ½
tsp nutmeg.
www.solihullliving.co.uk | 17