Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course (32 page)

LEMON POLENTA CAKE

SERVES 16

This is a classic cake that works well at teatime but even better as a pudding served with a spoonful of mascarpone or crème fraîche spiked with vanilla seeds. The almonds give the cake a moistness you just don’t get with flour, and the polenta contributes a slight crunch as well as a rich yellow colour.

1
. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Butter a 23cm round cake tin and line with greaseproof paper.

2
. Mix the polenta, baking powder and ground almonds in a bowl and set aside.

3
. Using an electric whisk or wooden spoon, beat together the butter and 250g of the sugar for 5–10 minutes until light and fluffy. Lightly beat the eggs, then beat them into the butter mixture a spoonful at a time, ensuring it is well incorporated before adding the next spoonful. (If the mixture looks like it’s splitting, beat in a spoonful of the polenta mixture before continuing with the eggs.)

4
. When the eggs have been combined, beat in the polenta mixture. Finally, add the lemon zest and the juice of one lemon.

5
. Bake in the preheated oven for 40–60 minutes until golden brown and just firm to touch. To test if the cake is cooked, insert a knife or metal skewer into the middle: it should come out clean and the edge of the cake should come away easily from the side of the tin. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

6
. Make a syrup by heating the remaining lemon juice and sugar with the vanilla pod in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Prick the top of the cake with a fork and pour the syrup over it. Leave to cool completely before turning out of the tin.

LEMON THYME SHORTBREAD

MAKES ABOUT 20 FINGERS

You can add all sorts of flavourings to shortbread, from vanilla and cocoa powder to hazelnuts and almonds. Herbs are good too: rosemary and lavender both work well, as does lemon thyme, which gives the biscuits a lovely delicate perfume.

1
. Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt and set aside. Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

2
. Turn the mixer to its lowest setting and, with the motor running, add the lemon thyme, then the flour, a little at a time. Stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together. Shape into a flattened ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 20 minutes.

3
. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

4
. For shortbread fingers, gently pack the dough into a lightly buttered Swiss roll tin (roughly 30 × 20cm). Score the surface to mark out the fingers and prick all over with a fork. If you want to make circular biscuits, roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to 5–7mm thick, then stamp out the rounds using a 6cm cutter. Transfer to 2 lightly buttered baking sheets, leaving a little space between each biscuit, then prick them with a fork.

5
. Bake for 15–20 minutes until pale golden, checking often as ovens vary and the shortbread can easily burn. Cool in the tin or on the sheet until firm, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

6
. Sprinkle with caster sugar, if you like, and store in an airtight container.

INDULGENT MINI
CHOCOLATE TARTS
WITH PEANUT BRITTLE

MAKES 10

These small chocolate tarts are fantastic at teatime, the perfect combination of rich, crumbly pastry, smooth ganache and crunchy peanut topping. It’s so easy to make your own sweet shortcrust pastry in a processor, but shop-bought pastry made with all butter will work as well.

1
. First make the pastry. Whiz the butter and sugar in a food processor until just combined. Add the egg and whiz for 30 seconds. Add the flour and process for a few seconds until the dough just comes together (add 1 tablespoon of cold water if it seems too dry). Knead lightly on a floured surface, then shape into a flat disc. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

2
. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Lightly grease ten 8cm fluted loose-bottomed mini tart tins. Roll out the pastry as thinly as possible on a floured work surface and cut out 10 small discs using an 11cm fluted cutter. Line the tins with the pastry, allowing it to overhang the edges, then prick the base with a fork and rest for 20 minutes in the fridge. (They should be really firm and cold so that you can avoid having to blind bake them.)

3
. Bake the rested tart cases in the preheated oven for 12 minutes until golden. Use a sharp knife to trim off the excess pastry, then cool the cases in their tins on a wire rack.

4
. While the tarts are cooking, make the peanut brittle. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or a lightly oiled sheet of foil. Put the sugar into a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat for 3–4 minutes and allow it to caramelise without stirring. Once the caramel begins to form, swirl it around the pan to ensure it colours evenly. After 2–3 minutes, when it’s beginning to turn light brown, add the peanuts and swirl to coat. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, tilting it so that the peanut mixture spreads out thinly and evenly. It should harden almost immediately. Set aside for about 10 minutes to cool.

5
. Meanwhile, make the chocolate ganache. Put the chocolate, cream, butter and sugar into a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of gently boiling water for 7–8 minutes, stirring to combine once melted. (Taste and add a little sugar if you prefer a sweeter ganache.)

6
. Spoon the ganache mix into the cooled tart cases and top with broken shards of peanut brittle. Chill for 20 minutes, then serve.

MALT CHOCOLATE
DOUGHNUTS

MAKES 12

I know deep-fried doughnuts don’t strictly count as baking, but I’ve included them here because they start with a dough, and they taste too good to leave out, especially made with a chocolate ganache filling instead of the usual jam. You’ll need fresh yeast for this recipe, which you can buy from the bread section of most supermarkets.

1
. Heat the sugar and milk in a pan for about 5 minutes until the milk is warm and the sugar has dissolved. Crumble the yeast into a bowl, pour in half the warm milk, then mix and leave to one side. Place the remaining milk back on the heat and add the butter. Heat gently for about 3 minutes (be careful not to let the milk boil).

2
. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the egg yolks, yeasted milk and the hot milk. Mix together, drawing in the surrounding flour to make a dough.

3
. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead with floured hands for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Dust with a little extra plain flour if the mix is too sticky. Place in a clean bowl dusted with flour. Cover with cling film to stop the dough forming a skin on top and leave to rise in a warm place for 1–1½ hours until doubled in size.

4
. Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the cream in a pan and mix in the honey to taste. Put the chocolate and butter into a bowl. When the cream is almost boiling, pour it over the chocolate mixture and stir until well mixed, smooth and glossy.

5
. When the dough has risen, knock it back by giving it a thump and knead lightly on a floured work surface. Roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin to a thickness of about 2cm and shape it into a rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 rectangular pillows, then place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and leave to rise again for 30–40 minutes until doubled in size. (This will make the doughnuts light and fluffy once cooked.)

6
. Combine the remaining sugar with the malt powder in a bowl and set aside. Put the oil in a deep-fat fryer and heat in a bowl to 170°C, or fill a large saucepan one third full with the vegetable oil and heat until a cube of bread dropped in it sizzles and turns golden brown in 30 seconds. Fry the doughnuts, in batches, for 3–4 minutes until evenly golden brown and cooked through. (You will need to moderate the heat between batches according to whether the doughnuts brown too quickly or too slowly.) Using a slotted spoon, remove the doughnuts from the hot oil and roll in the malt sugar to coat.

7
. To fill the doughnuts, spoon the warm chocolate filling into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle. Make sure you pipe the chocolate filling while it’s still warm. If it cools down too much, it will set and be difficult to work with. Insert the nozzle into the doughnut and gently squeeze in the filling. Serve straight away.