Jen, Author at Little Whisk

Blueberry, Limoncello and Basil Meringues

These meringues are classic French meringues with a generous dollop of limoncello and fresh basil cream all topped off with a blueberry syrup. This recipe would be perfect for an afternoon tea or party as all the components could be made the day before, then you can just put it all together on the day.

For the meringues,

3 egg whites
180g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 100°C. Line a couple of baking trays with baking paper. I wanted my meringues to be all the same size, so I drew circles with a diameter of about 6cm on the back of the paper to use as a guideline.

Whisk the egg whites in the cleanest bowl you can find (just the smallest amount of grease in a bowl can stop egg whites from whipping up correctly). Once the egg whites are foamy, start adding the sugar.

Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, and allow each portion of sugar to be whisked in to the egg white fully before adding the next spoonful. When all the sugar has been incorporated, the egg whites should form stiff peaks. The best test is to turn the bowl upside down. If anything falls out of the bowl – it’s not ready!

Dot a small amount of meringue in the four corners of your trays to hold down the baking paper. Fill a piping bag with the meringue and pipe a spiral of meringue in each circle, then pipe an extra ring on top. Use a palette knife to rough up the edges so they looked like mini pavlovas. Make sure there is a dip in the middle of each meringue for the cream.

Bake in the oven for an hour. After an hour, turn the oven off but leave the meringues inside to cool down with the oven (taking the meringues out of the oven straight away can lead to large cracks in the meringues).

For the blueberry syrup,

100g blueberries
25g granulated sugar
25g water

Pop the blueberries in a small saucepan with the sugar and the water. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally. The blueberries will start to shrink down and the liquid will become a thicker purple syrup. Take the blueberries off the heat and leave to cool.

For the limoncello and basil cream,

300ml double cream
50g icing sugar
4 tbsp limoncello
7-8 large basil leaves, finely chopped

Whisk up the double cream until it is thick. Sift the icing sugar in to the cream and fold in. Take a small amount of the cream in to a bowl and add the limoncello and mix together. Pour this back in to the bigger bowl of cream and fold together. (This is an easier way of incorporating a liquid in to whipped up cream). Finally add the basil and fold in.

These can all be made the day before you want to serve the meringues, but keep them separate until you want to serve.

To put it all together, dollop a generous spoonful of cream in to the centre of each meringue. Then use a teaspoon to drop 2 or 3 blueberries on top of the cream and drizzle the syrup down the sides of each meringue. Finally add a tiny basil leaf on top of each meringue and serve.

Barbecued Bananas with Rum Syrup

These bananas are stuffed with a paste made of butter, sugar and most importantly rum. When baked on the barbecue, the paste soaks in to the banana and creates a pool of rum syrup. A quick and delicious after barbecue treat!

You will need,

2 bananas
25g unsalted butter
35g dark muscovado sugar
2 tsps of dark rum

(serves 2)

In a small bowl, beat the butter with a wooden spoon until it is soft. Add the sugar and beat together. Finally add the rum and beat the mixture until smooth.

Use a sharp knife to cut in to each banana lengthways. Try and make the cut quite deep but don’t cut through the peel on the other side. Fill the bananas with the sugar and butter paste. Sprinkle a little extra dark muscovado sugar on top and then wrap the bananas individually in foil.

The bananas need about 15-20 minutes on a hot barbecue (turn them over after 10 minutes).

When cooked, the bananas should be soft and melt in the mouth. There will be hot syrup around the base so be careful not to spill. Dig in with a spoon and enjoy!

P.s. When you are finished, lift the foil off the plate and there will be a pool of extra syrup. It was a ridiculously sweet spoonful of rum with an after taste of banana – you’re welcome!

Pimm’s Cake

What time is it? It’s got to be Pimm’s O’clock! Two layers of lemon cake soaked with a Pimm’s syrup, then coated with a Pimm’s buttercream. It’s topped with strawberries, orange segments, cucumber and the odd sprig of mint. This cake is perfect for summer parties or picnics, we just need the sun to come back out…

For the cake,

175g caster sugar
175g margarine
200g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
zest and juice of 2 lemons

Before you make the cake, preheat the oven to 160°C and grease and flour two sandwich tins (8 inch diameter).

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until smooth. Split the batter evenly between the two tins. Use a palette knife to level the batter in the tin. Then bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until risen and golden. Check the cakes are done by inserting a skewer or cake tester into the centre. If the skewer comes out clean, the cakes are done. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the Pimm’s syrup,

50g caster sugar
60ml water
50ml Pimm’s

Whilst the cakes are cooling, make the Pimm’s syrup. Heat the water and sugar gently in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved (stirring from time to time). Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to a boil, then take off the heat. Add the Pimm’s to the saucepan and stir. Leave to one side until you are ready to assemble the cake.

For the Pimm’s buttercream,

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
350-400g icing sugar
3 – 4 tbsp Pimm’s

Cube the butter then beat in a mixer or by hand until smooth. Sieve the icing sugar, then add to the butter in 3 batches. Beat vigorously for a few minutes. Once the buttercream is smooth and silky, add the Pimm’s and beat in. If the buttercream seems a little too soft, add a little more icing sugar or cover in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for a few minutes.

Once all the components are ready, assemble the cake. Take one of the cakes and secure on a cake board or stand with a small amount of buttercream. Use a pastry brush to cover the whole cake with half of the Pimm’s syrup. Then cover the top and sides with buttercream. Put the second cake on top and brush with the remaining syrup. Cover the whole cake with the rest of the buttercream. Use a palette knife to smooth out the buttercream. Pop in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. Top with fruit you would usually find in a Pimm’s and Lemonade, such as strawberries, cucumber, orange and mint leaves.

This is a great cake to make the day before you need it, as the syrup will have longer to soak in. If making in advance, add the fruits on the day of serving so they stay fresh and delicious.

Raspberry, Rose and Pistachio Tartlets

These sweet pastry tartlets have a raspberry and rose cream filling and are topped with raspberries and crushed pistachios.

For the Pastry (makes 6 tartlets with a 3 inch diameter)

100g plain flour
50g unsalted butter (cubed) plus extra for greasing the moulds
25g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
1 egg

To make the pastry, pop the flour, sugar, salt and the butter into a food processor and blitz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. This won’t take long so be careful not to overwork the flour, just a few pulses will do. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg slightly with a fork. Pour about half of the egg into the food processor and blitz together. If the mixture doesn’t come together add a little bit more egg and blitz again. Stop adding egg once the pastry comes together into a ball. Sprinkle some flour on the pastry, and wrap in cling film. Pop in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush the moulds all over with softened butter. Once the pastry has chilled, sprinkle your workspace with flour and roll out the pastry. For small tartlets, a thinner pastry is best so try to roll it out until it’s about 2-3mm thick. Cut out the pastry with a circular cutter that’s a little larger than your moulds. Ease the pastry into the moulds and press firmly against the base and the sides. Put the pastry back in the fridge to chill again for another 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Prick the base of the chilled tartlets two or three times with a fork. Trim the edges with a sharp knife. Line each tartet with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Place on a tray and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and paper, then bake for a further 3-5 minutes until golden and dry to the touch . Once baked, leave in the moulds to cool down.

For the filling

100ml double cream
50g mascarpone cheese
2tbsp icing sugar
1/4 tsp rose water
a punnet of raspberries
25g pistachios

Whisk the cream, mascarpone and icing sugar together until all combined and forms soft peaks. Add the rose water and mix in. Rose water is very strong so you can add more if you like, but best to taste as you go to stop your cream tasting too soapy. In a separate bowl, roughly crush up some raspberries with a fork. For 6 tartlets, I used 12 raspberries. Add the raspberries to the cream and fold in.

Spoon or pipe the cream into the pastry shells and smooth over with a palette knife. Top with a couple of raspberries. Finally, crush up some pistachios in a pestle and mortar and sprinkle over the top. Keep these tartlets chilled (because of the cream) and enjoy!

Lavender, Honey and Orange Mini Cupcakes

These little bite-size cakes have a light orange and honey sponge, topped with an orange and honey flavoured mascarpone icing (which is very quick and easy to make). Dried lavender buds are scattered on top to finish. You could always mix in some lavender into the batter as well for a more intense flavour, but personally I find that it ends up tasting a little too soapy!

I’ve used wildflower honey from The Cornish Bee Farm but any light, runny honey can be used in this recipe.

For the orange and honey cupcakes

50g runny honey
100g caster sugar
150g margarine
175g self raising flour
3 eggs
zest of 1 orange
2 tsp orange juice
1 tsp baking powder

Pre heat the oven to 150°C. Line a mini muffin tin with paper cases (my tin had space for 24 cases, so I ended up baking 3 batches).

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together until smooth. Transfer the batter into a piping bag, snip off the end and pipe into the paper cases. The cases need to be just under half full.

Bake in the over for 10-12 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the icing

200g mascarpone cheese
50g runny honey
1 tbsp orange juice
dried lavender buds (to top the cakes)

Measure the cheese, honey and orange juice into a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Then top the cakes with the icing. I found it easier to transfer the icing into a piping bag. I then piped a blob on top of each cake and smoothed it down with a palette knife.

Sprinkle some lavender over the top of the cupcakes. Just before serving, drizzle a little extra honey over the top.