Nor'West News: December 14, 2023
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8<br />
Thursday <strong>December</strong> <strong>14</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
Showstopping Christmas treats<br />
Roasted hazelnut and<br />
espresso tiramisu cream<br />
pavlova<br />
Serves 8-10<br />
Pavlova<br />
6 large egg whites<br />
1½ cups caster sugar<br />
1 Tbsp cornflour<br />
2 tsp lemon juice<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
½ cup roughly chopped roasted<br />
hazelnuts<br />
Tiramisu cream<br />
1 Tbsp instant espresso coffee<br />
granules<br />
2 Tbsp boiling water<br />
250g mascarpone<br />
½ cup cream<br />
4 Tbsp demerara sugar<br />
1/3 cup finely grated dark chocolate<br />
To assemble<br />
300ml cream, softly whipped<br />
Fudgy chocolate sauce (see end)<br />
Hazelnut praline (see end)<br />
Method<br />
Pavlova: Trace a 20cm-diameter<br />
circle on two sheets of baking<br />
paper. Turn the paper over and<br />
place each one on a flat baking<br />
tray.<br />
• Preheat the oven to 120°C<br />
regular bake.<br />
• Whisk the egg whites to soft<br />
peaks, then gradually add the<br />
sugar, one tablespoon at a time.<br />
Whisk until thick and glossy<br />
and the sugar is dissolved. The<br />
mixture should be smooth when<br />
rubbed between your fingertips.<br />
Any undissolved sugar will cause<br />
the meringue to weep.<br />
• Sift over the cornflour and<br />
add the lemon juice, vanilla and<br />
hazelnuts. Using a large metal<br />
spoon, fold into the meringue.<br />
• Spoon half the meringue<br />
into the centre of each circle on<br />
your baking paper, then, using<br />
the back of a large spoon,<br />
carefully spread it to the edge of<br />
the circles, building up the sides<br />
and swirling the top, keeping the<br />
meringue as high as possible.<br />
• Bake for 1 hour, alternating<br />
the trays after 30 minutes.<br />
Turn off the oven and, with the<br />
door closed, leave the meringues<br />
YUM: Two layers<br />
of crisp and<br />
chewy hazelnut<br />
meringue,<br />
whipped espresso<br />
cream, fudgy<br />
chocolate sauce<br />
and praline shards.<br />
RECIPE AND<br />
PHOTO: Summer<br />
Favourites by<br />
Vanya Insull<br />
inside to cool completely.<br />
Tiramisu cream: Dissolve the<br />
coffee in the boiling water, then<br />
cool. Place all the remaining<br />
ingredients in a bowl, add the<br />
cooled coffee and very gently<br />
whisk until smooth. Don’t over<br />
mix or it will split and curdle.<br />
Cover and refrigerate for at least<br />
1 hour and up to 24 hours.<br />
To assemble: Gently whisk<br />
the Tiramisu cream and softly<br />
whipped cream together to firmish<br />
peaks. Place one meringue on<br />
a serving plate and spread over<br />
half the cream. Top with the second<br />
meringue and dollop on the<br />
remaining cream. Drizzle with<br />
some fudgy chocolate sauce and<br />
scatter with pieces of hazelnut<br />
praline.<br />
Fudgy chocolate sauce (gf)<br />
Makes 1½ cups<br />
1 cup cream<br />
150g dark chocolate, roughly<br />
chopped (72% cocoa)<br />
2 Tbsp golden syrup<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
Method<br />
• Put the cream in a small<br />
saucepan and heat until just<br />
below boiling.<br />
• Take off the heat and add the<br />
chocolate.<br />
• Leave for 1 minute, then stir<br />
until smooth.<br />
• Stir in the golden syrup and<br />
vanilla and set aside to cool.<br />
Hazelnut praline (gf)<br />
Makes 1½ cups<br />
1 cup whole roasted hazelnuts<br />
1 cup caster sugar<br />
¼ cup water<br />
Method<br />
• Line a greased baking tray<br />
with baking paper and place the<br />
nuts close together on the tray.<br />
• Put the sugar and water in a<br />
clean saucepan over a medium<br />
heat.<br />
• Whisk to combine, then stop<br />
stirring and wait for the sugar to<br />
become golden in colour, swirling<br />
the pan for even colouring.<br />
• Immediately drizzle it all over<br />
the nuts, then leave to harden.<br />
Break into pieces to serve.<br />
Spiced Christmas schnaps<br />
Weihnachtsschnaps<br />
Ingredients<br />
5 cardamom pods, bruised<br />
Peel of 1 orange, sliced and without<br />
pith<br />
250ml (1 cup) high-quality 37% to<br />
40% spirit, such as korn or gin<br />
1 to 2 heaped tsp runny raw honey<br />
½ vanilla bean, split and seeds<br />
scraped out<br />
1 cinnamon quill<br />
1 cassia stick<br />
8 star anise<br />
2 cloves<br />
Method<br />
• Place spices and orange peel<br />
into a glass bottle that will hold<br />
at least 300ml. Add the spirit and<br />
shake. Close the lid and leave to<br />
infuse for 2–4 days.<br />
• Taste daily to see when you are<br />
happy with the infusion. The longer<br />
you leave the infusion, the more the<br />
anise flavour will develop from the<br />
star anise.<br />
• Strain off the liquid, put the<br />
whole ingredients in the compost<br />
and return the infused spirit to the<br />
bottle.<br />
• Add the honey to taste and<br />
shake vigorously to dissolve it,<br />
about 2 minutes.<br />
• Add the vanilla bean and seeds<br />
and swill the bottle to disperse the<br />
seeds. Let this infuse for at least<br />
another week before serving.<br />
• You can then either remove the<br />
vanilla bean or leave it to continue<br />
infusing.<br />
• Store indefinitely in your drinks<br />
cabinet.<br />
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