Berry Charlotte Cake

TIER 2

Berry Charlotte Cake

In Tier 2 we take the precision of the ladyfingers to another level, using them to decorate the outside of this berry charlotte cake. When piping them, we want to get them as neat and as even as possible so making the Tier 1 tiramisu is a great place to build your confidence. The charlotte cake has a light berry mousse, with two layers of the lady fingers covered in raspberry jam, and it’s finished with a smooth mascarpone cream. This is frozen overnight and takes a little while to defrost, so keep those timings in mind!

8-10
SERVINGS

Ingredients

Savoiardi Biscuits
115g Egg Yolks
25g Whole Eggs
40g Caster/White Sugar (A)
100g Plain/All-Purpose Flour (A)
260g Egg Whites
100g Caster/White Sugar (B)
1.5g Fine Salt
35g Plain/All-Purpose Flour (B)
Caster/White Sugar To Coat

Berry Bavarois Mousse
6g Gelatin Powder (220-250 Bloom) + 36g Cold Water (or 2 Sheets of Gelatin, soaked)
75g Egg Yolks
30g Caster/White Sugar
50g Whole Milk
300g Double/Heavy Cream (A)
250g Fruit Puree (Raspberry or Strawberry)
400g Double/Heavy Cream (B)

Mascarpone Cream
3g Powdered Gelatin + 18g Cold Water (or 1 Gelatin Sheet, Soaked)
250g Double/Heavy Cream (A)
100g Mascarpone
15g Icing/Powdered Sugar
50g Double/Heavy Cream (B), Cold

To Assemble
Crushed Pistachios
Raspberry/Strawberry Jam
Fresh Strawberries/Raspberries, Sliced

Special equipment

10mm round tip nozzle
Piping bag
Stand mixer
Digital thermometer
Hand blender
7” ring mold
1M star tip nozzle

Savoiardi Biscuits

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C/320F non-fan assisted. 

2. Take 2 large sheets of baking paper and draw two sets of train track lines on the baking paper, each 90mm/3.5” tall. Flip these upside down (so the ink doesn’t touch the pastry) and place them on a baking sheet. 

3. Take another baking sheet and draw two 7” circles on baking paper. Flip this upside down.

4. Take a small round tip nozzle (10mm) and put it into a piping bag. The piping nozzle needs to be smaller than you think, as the batter will spread slightly as it is piped. 

5. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks, whole eggs, and sugar (A). Whisk this to combine, then add the flour (B) and whisk to form a thick paste. Set this to one side.

6. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites (room temperature) along with the salt. 

7. With the whisk attachment, whisk on a medium-low speed until it becomes frothy, with small bubbles on top (this will take a few minutes).

8. Slowly add in the sugar (B), about a tablespoon at a time. Once you have added all the sugar, whisk until you have a stiff peak. 

9. Take about β…• of the meringue mixture and whisk it through the egg yolk mixture. This will be quite stiff, so it needs to be whisked firmly to smooth it out. 

10. Add the remaining meringue in 2-3 parts, gently folding it through to ensure you don’t beat out too much air.

11. Once smooth, sift over the remaining flour (B) and fold through until there are no more lumps. 

12. Add the mixture into your piping bag and let it rest for a few minutes; this will just make it slightly easier to pipe. 

13. Using the guides on your baking tray, pipe two large 7” circles and then individual lines for the lady fingers. You will need 25-30 lady fingers, depending on the size of the ring mold you are using for the mousse. The more you can make, the better! But remember, they need to be baked immediately or the meringue will begin to collapse. 

14. Once piped, sprinkle a thin coating of caster/white sugar over the top. 

15. Place them directly into the oven and bake until a deep golden brown colour.

Note – as we are baking multiple trays of ladyfingers and sponge discs for the charlotte cake, the placement in the oven affects browning. The top tray will turn golden first because it’s directly exposed to the heat from the top of the oven, while the lower trays are shielded, preventing them from browning properly. We don’t care about the 7” disc brownings, but we need both sets of lady fingers to be golden, so rotate the trays halfway through baking, bringing the lower trays to the top and vice versa. Just do it very very quickly, so we don’t deflate the lady fingers. 

16. Bake everything for around 30 minutes, being sure not to underbake the lady fingers especially. They need to be firm to the touch. What I like to do is pop the 7” circles back in the oven just to get them slightly more golden. 

17. Remove them from the oven and then allow them to cool at room temperature. Leave the 7” discs out at room temperature but freeze the remaining lady fingers in a sealed tupperware as we won’t need these until the next day. 

18. If you want to make these ahead of time, you can place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 2 months. 

Berry Bavarois Mousse

1. Add the powdered gelatin into a small bowl and pour the cold water over the top. Let it bloom for 5-10 minutes. If using a gelatin sheet, soak this in ice-cold water. 

2. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar and whisk briefly to combine.

3. Meanwhile, add the cream and milk to a medium saucepan and heat just until it is steaming.

4. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg yolk mixture and whisk to combine.

5. Pour it back into the pan and whisk constantly, cooking until it reaches 82C/180F on a digital thermometer, then immediately remove it from the heat. You need to do this quickly or it will begin to scramble. 

6. Pour it straight through a sieve into a tall measuring jug.

7. Scoop in the bloomed gelatin powder (or squeeze the water out of the gelatin sheet), and then use a hand blender to blend until smooth. 

8. Pour in the fruit puree and blend to combine. 

9. Pour this mixture into a tray and cover the surface with cling film. We need this to cool to around 30C/86F on a digital thermometer, so refrigerating it can be the quickest way to chill it. 

10. Once at temperature, add the remaining cream to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed until you have a medium stiff peak. 

11. Pour the chilled fruit mixture into a bowl, and then whisk in the whipped cream in 3 parts until you have a smooth mousse. 

Assembly Part 1

1. Take the cooled 7” savaordi biscuit discs and, using your 7” ring mold, trim them down to size. 

2. Line the inside of the 7” cake ring mold with acetate and place this onto a tray lined with a baking mat.

3. Take a few tablespoons of jam and spread this evenly across each disc, then place one into the base of the ring mold.

4. Take the berry bavarois mousse and fill the ring mold up halfway.

5. Add the second savoiardi disc.

6. Pour the remaining mousse in, filling it to the top of the rind mold. It should settle evenly, but if it needs it, flatten it with a palette knife.

7. Place this into the freezer, ideally overnight, but a minimum of 6 hours. 

Mascarpone Cream

1. Add the powdered gelatin into a small bowl and pour the cold water over the top. Let it bloom for 5-10 minutes. If using a gelatin sheet, soak this in ice cold water. 

2. Into a medium saucepan, add the cream and heat until it is steaming.

3. Remove it from the heat, and add the bloomed gelatin into a tall measuring jug and pour over the hot cream.

4. Blend to combine, then add the sugar and mascarpone and blend again. 

5. Finally, add the remaining cold cream and blend one more time.

6. Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Note – there is no vanilla in this, but you can absolutely add it, if you want that flavour! Add it to the cream when you are heating it.

Assembly Part 2

1. Remove the frozen berry bavarois from the freezer, and lift it onto your serving dish. Peel off the acetate.

2. Leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes – 1 hour to soften, this will make it easier to stick the lady fingers on. Alternatively, you can use a heat gun/blow torch to warm the sides and press the lady fingers on.

3. Once the edges have softened slightly, remove the lady fingers from the freezer, and then trim them down slightly so they are all of identical height. You can also use a microplane to lightly shave the edges to get them nice and straight. 

4. Press them into the side of the cake – just note that the longer you leave them on the cake, the softer they will become. So if you want them to be a bit more crunchy, then it is best to place them on the cake just as you are serving. But note the cake needs quite some time to defrost! 

5. Remove the mascarpone cream from the fridge and add it to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

6. Whisk on a medium speed until it holds a medium peak, being careful not to over whip it.

7. Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1M star tip nozzle.

8. Pipe a spiral border around the edge of the cake. 

9. Finish the cake by decorating it with some crushed pistachios and freshly sliced fruit. 

10. The cake needs around 3-4 hours in total once removed from the freezer to defrost so just take those timings into consideration before serving. 

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Chocolate Orange Tiramisu

TIER 1

Chocolate Orange Tiramisu

I couldn’t make ladyfingers and not use them in a tiramisu! In Tier 1 we keep the technique of a tiramisu very classic – no cream! But I’ve mixed things up with a chocolate orange flavour. You soak your homemade ladyfingers biscuits in espresso, and layer them between orange mascarpone cream and chocolate shavings. This is a great dessert you can make ahead of time.

8-10
SERVINGS

Ingredients

Savoiardi Biscuits
115g Egg Yolks
25g Whole Eggs
40g Caster/White Sugar (A)
100g Plain/All-Purpose Flour (A)
260g Egg Whites
100g Caster/White Sugar (B)
1.5g Fine Salt
35g Plain/All-Purpose Flour (B)
Icing Sugar To Finish

Orange Mascarpone Cream
600g Mascarpone
65g Egg Yolks
50g Caster/White Sugar (A)
Zest 2 Oranges
145g Egg Whites
50g Caster/White Sugar (B)

Coffee Soaking Syrup
150g Freshly Brewed Coffee
15g Kahlua

Dark Chocolate, Grated

Special equipment

10mm round tip nozzle
Piping bag
Stand mixer

Savoiardi Biscuits 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C/320F non-fan assisted. 

2. Take 2 large sheets of baking paper and draw two sets of train track lines on the baking sheets, 90mm/3.5” tall. Flip these upside down (so the ink doesn’t touch the pastry) and place them on a baking sheet. 

3. Take a small round tip nozzle (10mm) and add it into a piping bag. The piping nozzle needs to be smaller than you think, as the batter will spread slightly as it is piped. 

4. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks, whole eggs, and sugar (A). Whisk this to combine, then add the flour (B) and whisk to form a thick paste. Set this to one side.

5. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites (room temperature) along with the salt. 

6. With the whisk attachment, whisk on a medium-low speed until it becomes frothy, with small bubbles on top (this will take a few minutes).

7. Slowly add in the sugar (B), about a tablespoon at a time. Once you have added all the sugar, whisk until you have a stiff peak. 

8. Take about β…• of the meringue mixture and whisk it through the egg yolk mixture. This will be quite stiff, so it needs to be whisked firmly to smooth it out. 

9. Add the remaining meringue in 2-3 parts, gently folding it through to ensure you don’t beat out too much air.

10. Once smooth, sift over the remaining flour (B) and fold through until there are no more lumps. 

11. Add the mixture into your piping bag and let it rest for a few minutes; this will just make it slightly easier to pipe. 

12. Using the guides on your baking tray, pipe individual lines, ensuring they’re not too close together, as they will spread slightly.

13. Once piped, add a good dusting of icing sugar over the top, wait 1-2 minutes, and then repeat.

14. Place them directly into the oven and bake until a deep golden brown colour – be sure not to underbake them. It should take around 30 minutes, but it can depend on how big you’ve piped them and your oven. 

15. Remove them from the oven and then allow them to cool at room temperature. If you want to make these ahead of time, you can place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 2 months. 

Orange Mascarpone Cream

1. Into a medium bowl, add the sugar (A) and zest of 1 orange, then massage this zest into the sugar. 

2. Add the egg yolks and whisk by hand for a minute until thickened slightly. 

3. Add the mascarpone and remaining orange zest, and whisk again until completely smooth. Set this to one side.

4. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and whisk on a medium-low speed until frothy.

5. Slowly add the sugar about a tablespoon at a time. Once you’ve added all the sugar keep whisking until it reaches a stiff peak. 

6. Take the meringue, and fold it through the egg yolk mixture in three parts until smooth and evenly combined. 

Coffee Soaking Syrup

1. Combine the two ingredients in a shallow dish.

Assembly

1. Take the cooled lady fingers and check to see how they fit into your chosen dish. If you need to cut them down to size, use a knife or a microplane to shave them down so that they fit snugly in the dish. 

2. Take the lady fingers and soak them one by one, then, lay them into the base of your tiramisu dish.

3. Once the bottom of the dish is covered, take a few large spoonfuls of the mascarpone cream mixture and spread this evenly across the lady fingers with an offset spatula. 

4. Using a microplane, grate a fine layer of dark chocolate over the cream (or cocoa powder)

5. Repeat this two more times, finishing with a layer of the mascarpone cream. Use an offset spatula to completely smooth the top so that it is flush with the rim of the dish.

6. Place the tiramisu into the fridge to chill – ideally 4-6 hours, but overnight is absolutely fine too. 

7. When ready to serve, remove it from the fridge and grate over one final layer of dark chocolate (or cocoa powder) and serve. 

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Raspberry Sachertorte

TIER 2

Raspberry Sacher Torte

This is a new and improved version of my original Sachertorte. It has 2 layers of chocolate financier (which is delicious baked on its own too!), with a layer of raspberry compote in the centre. We then sandwich that in a chocolate mousse which uses a pΓ’te Γ  bombe base. The whole thing is frozen and finished with a shiny chocolate ganache glaze. I’d recommend a good quality hand blender for this glaze, to avoid adding too many air bubbles.

7"
CAKE

Ingredients

Chocolate Financier
210g Dark Chocolate (70% Cocoa Solids)
75g Unsalted Butter
75g Icing Sugar
60g Ground Almonds
60g Plain Flour
6g Baking Powder
1g Fine Sea Salt
150g Egg Whites (Room Temperature)
195g Double/Heavy Cream

Raspberry Compote
180g Raspberry Puree
40g Caster/White Sugar
3g Pectin Nh
15g Lemon Juice

Chocolate Mousse
90g Egg Yolks
45g Whole Eggs
70g Caster/White Sugar
200g Dark Chocolate (70% Cocoa Solids)
(a) 150g Cream (35-48% Fat)
(b) 275g Cream (35-48% Fat)

Chocolate Glaze
200g Dark Chocolate (55% Cocoa Solids), Chopped
240g Cream (35-40% Fat) – Ideally we want a cream that is lower in fat here as it will make the glaze more fluid. I used 39% fat.
40g Soft, Unsalted Butter
20g Raspberry Liqueur (Optional) 

Special equipment

9×13” baking tray
6.3”x1.7” (16×4.5cm) ring mold
Stand mixer
Digital thermometer
Hand blender
7″ ring mold

Chocolate Financier

1. Take a 9×13” baking tray, and lightly grease the bottom, lining it with a sheet of parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 175C/345F Non-fan assisted. 

2. Into a small bowl, add the chocolate and butter and place this over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir until it has completely melted and then set it to one side to cool slightly.

3. Into a medium bowl, add the icing sugar, ground almonds, salt, flour, and baking powder. Whisk these together until they are combined.

4. Pour in the egg whites and whisk again until smooth.

5. Pour in the cream and whisk until smooth.

6. Finally, slowly pour in the chocolate mixture while whisking, until you have a thick chocolate batter. 

7. Pour the batter into the lined tray and use an offset spatula to spread it out evenly.

8. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven and then remove and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, before refrigerating for 2-3 hours – chilling it will make it easier to cut without falling apart! 

Raspberry Compote

1. If you don’t have raspberry puree, you can simply blend 180g of fresh raspberries and use that.

2. Pour the raspberry puree into a medium saucepan and place it on a medium low heat.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the sugar and pectin. 

4. Once the puree is steaming, whisk in the pectin sugar mixture and keep cooking until it reaches a boil. 

5. Remove it from the heat, and whisk in the lemon juice.

6. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover the surface directly with clingfilm. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. 

Assembly Part 1

1. Once the financier has chilled, use a 6.3”x1.7” (16×4.5cm) ring mold to cut two discs. If you don’t have enough space to cut two full discs, you can cut a second disc, and then cut some scraps and press the cake together slightly. Don’t worry too much if you don’t have a ring mold this exact size, you just want something smaller than the β€˜main’ 7” ring mold that we are using later. This is the insert layer that gets sandwiched in between the chocolate mousse.

Note – we will need the spare financier scraps later to decorate the cake so set them to one side. When you have a moment, very briefly blend them to a crumb, then get them onto a tray and into the freezer to use later. 

2. Lift one of the discs into the bottom of the 6.3” ring mold, which is on a tray lined with a silicon baking mat. 

3, Remove the raspberry puree from the fridge and stir it to loosen it.

4. Pour this into the ring mold and spread it to the edges so that you have an even layer.

5. Place the second chocolate sponge on top and gently sandwich it together. 

6. Place the ring into the freezer for 2-3 hours or until frozen.

Chocolate Mousse

1. The key to this mousse is ensuring that the temperatures are correct otherwise, it could split or go grainy. 

2. Into a medium bowl, add the chocolate and place this over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir this until melted, then turn off the heat, but keep it on the water so it stays warm & fluid.

3. Then, add the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. 

4. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and whisk by hand until it reaches around 60C/140F on a digital thermometer. 

5. Immediately remove the bowl from the heat, place it onto a stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed.

6. Meanwhile, add the cream (a) into a small saucepan and place it over a medium heat, stirring until it is steaming. 

7. Remove the cream from the heat and pour it over your melted chocolate, then use a hand blender to emulsify them together. 

8. At this point we need to check the temperatures of both ingredients. The chocolate/cream needs to be between 40-50C (104-122F) and the egg yolk mixture needs to be between 20-25C (68-77F) when we combine them. This will ensure they combine properly.

9. If you find one is colder than the other, just gently stir it over a pan of very gently simmering water.

10. Once both components are at temperature, gently fold the egg yolk mixture (which will have thickened) into the chocolate in three parts until smooth. Set this bowl to one side.

11. Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the remaining cream (b). Whisk this until it forms medium soft peaks, do not overwhip it.

12. Take the soft cream and fold it into the chocolate base in three parts until you have a smooth mousse.

13. Take a 7” ring mold and tightly wrap the bottom with clingfilm (you can line it with acetate if you want – this will just make it slightly easier to demold). Place it onto a tray lined with a baking mat.

14. Scoop a small portion of the chocolate mousse into the ring mold, then remove the raspberry/chocolate insert from the freezer. Pop it out of the ring mold and press it into the chocolate mousse.

15. Top up the rest of the ring mold with the chocolate mousse, using a palette knife to completely smooth the top. You may have a little extra chocolate mousse – get this into some ramekins and chill it to have a nice dessert later!

16. Place the entire dessert into the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours, until frozen solid.

Chocolate Glaze

1. Once the glaze is ready we are going to pour it immediately over the cake so be prepared with the frozen cake nearby and a rack ready to pour it on. It can help to demold the mousse from the ring mold, then place it back in the freezer so when you are ready to glaze you don’t need to faff around getting it out of the mold. 

2. Into a tall jug, add the chopped chocolate.

3. Add the cream into a small saucepan, and gently stir it until it is steaming. 

4. Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate.

5. Let it sit for a minute, then use a hand blender to blend it until smooth. Really try to avoid adding any air bubbles here.

6. Add in the soft butter and raspberry liqueur (optional) and blend again until smooth.

7. Remove the frozen mousse from the freezer and place it onto a glass, with a tray and wire rack underneath.

8. Pour the glaze evenly over the entire cake.

9. The glaze will set quickly, so once it has stopped dripping, use a knife to just trim away the drips.

10. Remove the blended-up crumbs from the freezer and press these into the bottom of the cake.

11. Then carefully lift it onto your serving plate. You might damage it slightly lifting it up/moving it, so just patch up any bits with more blended crumb!

12. Let it defrost for 2 hours at room temperature, then serve, 

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Boston Cream Pie

TIER 1

Boston Cream Pie

A childhood favourite of mine, a Boston cream pie often comes as a donut, but it’s also fantastic in cake form. It starts with two layers of vanilla sponge, which are filled with a thick layer of smooth vanilla crΓ¨me pΓ’tissiΓ¨re. The cake is then finished with a thin chocolate glaze.The beauty in the cake lies in how it is layered in the tin, and using acetate really helps to get a smooth, clean finish.

7"
CAKE

Ingredients

Vanilla Sponge
245g Caster Sugar
245g All Purpose/Plain or Cake Flour
15g Baking Powder
2g Fine Sea Salt
245g Whole Eggs
100g Vegetable Oil
85g Whole Milk
145g Unsalted Butter
1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Crème PÒtissiére
500g Whole Milk
1 Fresh Vanilla Pod
75g Caster/White Sugar
120g Egg Yolks
40g Cornstarch
1g Fine Sea Salt
45g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed

Chocolate Glaze
100g Chocolate (55% Cocoa Solids)
50g Unsalted Butter
80g Double/Heavy Cream, Slightly Warm

Special equipment

2 x 7″ springform/removable base cake tins
Acetate
Hand blender (optional)
Stand mixer (optional)

Vanilla Sponge 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C/355F non-fan assisted.

2. Lightly grease the bottom of two 7” cake tins, and place a circle of parchment on the base. Lightly grease the sides and coat them with flour, tipping out any excess.

3. Place the butter & vanilla into a saucepan and melt it over a low heat. Once it has just melted, set it to one side to cool slightly.

4. In a large bowl, sieve together the dry ingredients – sugar, flour, salt & baking powder. Whisk until they are evenly combined.

5. In a separate jug, whisk together the eggs, oil & milk. 

6. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl, whisking to combine until you have a smooth batter with no more streaks of flour.

7. Finally, pour in the melted butter and mix the batter slowly until everything is evenly combined and you have a smooth batter. 

8. Pour 500g of batter into each cake tin.

9. Place the cakes in the oven and bake for around 30-35 minutes, at which time the cake should be golden and a skewer should come out clean. 

10. Once baked, remove them from the oven and run a knife around the outer edge of the cake tin to ensure it releases. Then carefully flip it onto a wire rack.

11. Let the sponges cool for a few minutes, then flip them onto a sheet of cling film and wrap them, before refrigerating. 3-4 hours will be enough but overnight works great too! 

CrΓ¨me PΓ’tissiΓ©re 

1. In a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, add the milk and the scraped vanilla pod just until it is steaming. 

2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt until smooth and thickened.

3. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture over the sugar and eggs mixture, whisking constantly.

4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until it begins to bubble, then cook for 1 minute.

5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pass the mixture through a sieve placed over a large bowl.

6. Blend (or whisk) in the butter until the mixture is smooth. Cover the surface with cling film and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Assembly

1. Once the cakes have chilled, use a serrated knife (or cake leveller) just to trim the top of the cakes off – don’t cut off too much!

2. Take a 7” cake tin with a removable bottom/springform tin/cake ring and line the inside with acetate. Place this onto a tray. 

3. Take one of the sponges, and lift it into the tin/ring mold. Ensure the acetate is tight around the cake – if you need to, adjust the acetate and re-tape it so that there are no gaps between the acetate and the cake.

4. Remove the crΓ©me pΓ’tissiΓ©re from the fridge and add it into a stand mixer (or whisk by hand) and whisk for around 2 minutes until the mixture becomes much smoother in  texture. It might initially look slightly lumpy/gelatinous but as you whisk it will smooth itself out.

5. Scoop the crΓ©me pΓ’tissiΓ©re on top of the sponge and use a spoon to spread it to the edges, creating an even layer.  

6. Next, take the second layer of cake and flip it upside down so that the side you cut is now facing down. Lift this on top of the crΓ©me pΓ’tissiΓ©re and carefully press it in with your hands.

7. To make the chocolate ganache, add the chocolate and butter to a bowl and place this over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir it until it has completely melted.

8. Take some slightly warm cream and pour this in, and then stir with a spatula until smooth. 

9. Working quickly, immediately pour the ganache on top of the sponge, and then tilt the tin/ring mold so that it spreads evenly to the edges. 

10. Place the entire cake in the fridge for 2-3 hours to set (or overnight) then remove it from the fridge. 

11. Lift it out of the tin/ring mold and peel off the acetate. If any of the crΓ©me pΓ’tissiΓ©re has stuck, simply smooth the edge of the cake with an offset spatula so that it is neat. 

12. It is best served, left at room temperature for 30m-1 hours so that the chocolate can soften slightly. 

13. To give it a nice finish as you serve it, gently blow torch the chocolate to give it a quick shine! 

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Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

TIER 1

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

Unlike a traditional dense cheesecake, this one has a light, mousse-like texture (Triple Chocolate… Choussecake?!). The process is simple as we start by making a ganache with cream cheese, then fold in whipped cream to create that incredible texture. Each layer is easy to replicate since the measurements are nearly identical, with just a few small tweaks. The only tricky part is waiting for each layer to set! But once it’s ready to serve, you’re left with a beautiful ombrΓ© effect.

1
8" CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

Chocolate Cookie Base
120g Oreos
20g-40g Unsalted Butter

Milk Mixture
275g Whole Milk
30g Honey

White Chocolate Layer
75g Milk Mixture (Above)
60g White Chocolate, Chopped
75g Double/Heavy cream
90g Cream Cheese, Full Fat
60g Double/Heavy cream

Milk Chocolate Layer
75g Milk Mixture (Above)
60g Milk Chocolate, Chopped
6g Cocoa Powder
75g Double/Heavy cream
90g Cream Cheese, Full Fat
60g Double/Heavy cream

Dark Chocolate Layer
75g Milk Mixture (Above)
65g Dark Chocolate (70% Cocoa Solids), Chopped
75g Double/Heavy cream
90g Cream Cheese, Full Fat
60g Double/Heavy cream

Special equipment

Food processor
8×2.75” ring mold
Acetate (optional)
Hand blender
Stand mixer

Chocolate Cookie Base

1. Add the Oreos into a food processor and blend to a fine crumb. If you want, you can remove the white filling and just use 120g of Oreo biscuits. 

2. Pour these into a medium bowl and set it to one side.

3. Add the butter into a small saucepan and place it on a low heat until melted.

4. Slowly pour about half of the butter mixture into the Oreos and stir to combine. Keep adding butter until the mixture resembles slightly wet sand. Oreos don’t require as much butter to pull together unlike a traditional biscuit base so add it slowly to avoid a very wet biscuit mixture. 

5. Take an 8×2.75” ring mold and place a piece of acetate along the inside. Acetate isn’t completely necessary as we are freezing the mousse. If you don’t have acetate you can simply heat the outside of the ring mold with a hair dryer/heat gun when you need to demold it. Acetate just makes this process much easier and you end up with a slightly cleaner finish. Place the ring onto a baking tray.

6. Pour the Oreo mixture into the base of the ring and use the back of a measuring cup or something flat, to smooth the base out so that it is even. Place the tray into the freezer. 

Milk Mixture

1. Add the milk and honey into a small saucepan, and place it over a medium-low heat until it is steaming – stirring occasionally. We are going to split this mixture between all three cheesecake bases. 

The process for making the layers is identical, so it is easiest to set up three measuring jugs at once, each with the chopped chocolate in, then pour in the weighed milk mixture. 

White Chocolate Layer

1. Into a tall jug, add the chopped chocolate, and pour over 75g of the hot milk mixture. The mixture needs to be hot so that the chocolate melts. Let it sit for 2 minutes before blending until smooth.

2. Add in the cream cheese, and the 75g of double/heavy cream. Blend again until smooth and there are no lumps of cream cheese. Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate for 3 hours (or longer if needed).

Milk Chocolate Layer

1. Into a tall jug, add the chopped chocolate, and cocoa powder, and pour over 75g of the hot milk mixture. The mixture needs to be hot so that the chocolate melts. Let it sit for 2 minutes before blending until smooth.

2. Add in the cream cheese, and the 75g of double/heavy cream. Blend again until smooth and there are no lumps of cream cheese. Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate for 3 hours (or longer if needed).

Dark Chocolate Layer

1. Into a tall jug, add the chopped chocolate, and pour over 75g of the hot milk mixture. The mixture needs to be hot so that the chocolate melts. Let it sit for 2 minutes before blending until smooth.

2. Add in the cream cheese, and the 75g of double/heavy cream. Blend again until smooth and there are no lumps of cream cheese. Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate for 3 hours (or longer if needed).

Assembly

The assembly process is slightly tedious, as you have to wait for each layer to set before you can add the next one!

1. Remove the white chocolate layer from the fridge and place it into a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on a medium speed, until the mixture thickens and holds a medium peak. Set this to one side.

2. Into a bowl, add the remaining 60g of double/heavy cream and whisk until it holds a medium peak. Note – 60g can actually be quite tough to whisk if you are using an electric stand mixer so it is worth mixing 100g so that the whisk attachment can actually catch it, then just weigh the required 60g of cream.

3. Take the 60g of whipped cream, and fold this through the white chocolate layer, until smooth and combined. The final texture of the mixture should be thick, but still soft and slightly runny. We want a texture where we can pour the mousse into the tin and it will almost settle itself without too much assistance!

4. Remove the chilled chocolate base from the freezer and pour the white chocolate layer in. It should spread to the edges and settle, but if not just use a palette knife or a spoon to gently spread it, so that it is even. You can even give the tray a bit of a tap on the work surface to help it settle. Place the tray into the freezer for 30-60 minutes, or until the white chocolate layer feels firm enough to the touch to support another layer of mousse.

5. Repeat this exact same process with the milk chocolate and dark chocolate layers, freezing the mousse in between the milk and dark chocolate each layer. Note that because these layers have more cocoa solids, they will become thicker more quickly as you whisk them, so be careful not to over-whisk them and let them become too thick. 

6. Once you have added the dark chocolate layer, place the entire cheesecake into the freezer. If you need to serve this quickly, 2-3 hours in the freezer will be absolutely fine, but you can also freeze it overnight too.

7. When you are ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the freezer, and lift it onto your serving dish. Carefully pull off the ring mold and then peel away the acetate, to reveal a smooth cheesecake. The cheesecake now needs 2 hours to defrost before you can eat it (maybe slightly less if you only freeze it for 2-3 hours). Or, you can defrost it for 2 hours then get it straight into the fridge.

8. Just a note that the longer you leave it at room temperature, you will begin to see the base β€˜weep’. This is just because the sugar draws moisture from the cheesecake mixture. Nothing has gone wrong, it’s just a natural scientific occurrence of the ingredients of the hygroscopic properties of sugar! 

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Espresso Burnt Basque Cheesecake

TIER 2

Espresso Burnt Basque Cheesecake

We don’t use coffee often in Bake It Better, but it’s a flavour I absolutely love! A classic burnt Basque cheesecake is usually made without a biscuit base, but here, we’re taking it up a notch with our own homemade chocolate biscuit base. I’ve also included some great techniques to give the cheesecake a more refined finishβ€”less rustic than most recipes! If coffee isn’t your thing, feel free to skip the espresso and coffee beans and swap in fresh vanilla instead!

1
9" CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

Chocolate Cookie Base
70g Unsalted Butter, Cubed & Cold
55g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
12g Cocoa Powder
45g Ground Almonds
35g Caster/White Sugar
1g Baking Powder
Pinch of Sea Salt Flakes

Coffee Cheesecake
450g Double/Heavy Cream + extra
45g Coffee Beans, Whole
880g Cream Cheese
265g Caster Sugar
38g Plain Flour
290g Whole Eggs, Whisked Together
25g Freshly Brewed Espresso

Special equipment

9” springform/loose bottom cake tin
Stand mixer
Hand blender
Food processor

Chocolate Cookie Base

1. Take a 9” springform/loose bottom cake tin, and lightly grease the base and sides. Place a circle of parchment along the bottom and a strip around the side.

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can do this with your hands), add all of the ingredients. 

3. With the paddle attachment, mix on a low speed until it resembles a crumble-like texture and the butter has broken down. If doing this by hand, just rub the mixture between your fingers.

4. Remove the mixture from the bowl and tip it into the base of the cake tin. Use your hands to press it flat into the tin – it will be quite dry/dusty initially, but pressing it down will help form it into a dough. Then use the back of a flat glass to press it firmly down.

5. Place the tin into the freezer, while you pre-heat the oven to 175C/345F Non-fan assisted. 

6. Put the tin into the oven and bake the base for 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. 

7. Once it has cooled, lay a few large sheets of foil underneath the pan – we will need these later!

Coffee Cheesecake

1. Into a medium saucepan, add the cream and whole coffee beans. Place the lid on the pan and place it on a medium heat. Once it comes to a simmer, turn the heat off and allow it to steep for 30 minutes.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 210C/410F fan-assisted. 

3. Remove the lid and pour the mixture into a tall jug, then use a hand blender to blend for about 30 seconds.

4. Pour the mixture through a sieve and into a bowl on a scale. You will have lost some weight due to evaporation, so you need to top up the mixture with more fresh double/heavy cream, until it weighs 365g. 

5. Into a food processor or blender, add the cream cheese, flour, and sugar. Blend on a low speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth. We’re trying to avoid adding in too much air so it is important to do this on a low speed. Scrape down the mixture a few times to ensure it incorporates properly.

6. Pour in the eggs and blend until combined on a low speed. Scrape down the food processor when/if needed.

7. Finally, pour in the coffee cream and freshly brewed coffee and blend on low until combined. Scrape down the food processor and blend again. 

8. Give the bowl a very firm tap on the work surface to get rid of any excess bubbles, then pour the mixture, through a sieve, straight over the biscuit base. 

9. Take two tea towels, and soak them in water. Fold them into a neat rectangle shape and then wrap them around the outside of the tin. Then, take the foil that you laid down, and wrap this up and around the tea towels (to stop them from burning!)

10. Place the tray into the centre of the oven and bake for around 35-40 minutes. The cheesecake should be dark on top, with a very significant wobble when you gently shake the tray. About ΒΎ of the cheesecake should wobble. If you think the cheesecake is done, but maybe you want it a little darker on top, you can put it under a hot grill just for a minute or two to add some colour. For me, I found 36 minutes was perfect.

11. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool at room temperature for 1 hour, before refrigerating overnight. It’s important to let it chill overnight to really set the cheesecake. 

12. The next day, remove it from the tin, and then use a hot knife to cut slices.

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Salted Caramel Cookies

TIER 2

Salted Caramel Cookies

In Tier 2 we step things up by adding a brown sugar streusel and salted caramel to the basic cookie dough recipe. The roasted hazelnuts in the dough add an amazing flavour, and the texture combination of this with the streusel and salted caramel is next level! The salted caramel centre can be swapped out for other fillings too – ganache, lemon cremeux, hazelnut praline etc!

8
COOKIES

Ingredients

Hazelnut SablΓ©
350g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
190g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed
120g Icing/Powdered Sugar
45g Ground Hazelnuts (or Almonds)
1g Fine Sea Salt
65g Whole Eggs

Streusel
60g Cold Unsalted Butter, Cubed
60g Light Brown Sugar
75g Ground Almonds/Hazelnuts
60g Plain/All Purpose Flour
Pinch of Sea Salt
Zest ΒΌ Lemon

Salted Caramel
175g Double/Heavy Cream
45g Whole Milk
135g Liquid Glucose Syrup, Divided
80g Caster/White Sugar
2g Flakey Sea Salt
60g Unsalted Butter

Special equipment

78mm Tart Ting
50mm Cookie Cutter
Stand mixer
Rolling pin
Silcon mats (optional)
Piping bags (optional)

Salted Caramel

1. In a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, combine the milk, heavy cream, and 45 grams of corn/glucose syrup. Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking the mixture to ensure the syrup has fully dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat but ensure the mixture stays warm.

2. In a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, combine the superfine/caster sugar and the remaining 45 grams of glucose sugar. Cook until the mixture turns a deep caramel colour, whisking slowly to help disperse the sugar.

3. Once golden, immediately pour in the hot cream mixture, being very careful as it will bubble up violently. Whisk the mixture and cook for 1 minute.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the mixture through a sieve and into a large bowl. Let the mixture cool for 2 minutes. Add the sea salt flakes and butter. Blend or whisk until smooth. 

5. Pour the mixture into a container and leave at room temperature.

Streusel

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add all of the ingredients. 

2. Mix on a low speed until the butter has broken down and the mixture is sandy in texture. This will take a few

3. Transfer this to a baking tray and place it into the freezer while you make the sablΓ©. 

Hazelnut SablΓ©

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add all of the ingredients except the egg. 

2. Pour in the whole egg and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then stop the mixer and use your hands to squeeze the dough together to form a dough.

3. Place the dough in between two silicon mats or pieces of parchment paper, and using a rolling pin, roll it to around 7mm/0.25” thick. 

4. Place this in the freezer for 20 minutes.

5. Once chilled, work quickly and use the 78mm tart ring to cut out discs, then cut the middle of the dough out with a 50mm cookie cutter to leave you with donut shape. Place these onto a tray lined with parchment paper, ensuring you keep the tart rings around the outside of the dough. Place these back into the freezer for 15 minutes, meanwhile preheat your oven to 160C/320F Non-fan assisted. 

6. Place the dough into the oven and bake for 12 minutes – it should turn a very light golden colour. 

7. Once baked, let them cool for a few minutes before pressing the sables out of the tart ring and letting them cool completely.

8. Use the same tart ring and place it back onto the baking tray. Add a few tablespoons of the chilled streusel and press it down with the back of a spoon so you have an even layer.

9. Take the chilled hazelnut sablΓ© and press this on top of the streusel, it should fit snugly into the tart ring. You need to make sure the sablΓ© is touching the streusel. (If you find it won’t touch – when it is baking, it will soften, so after a few minutes you can press it down while it is in the oven).

10. Place the cookies into the oven and bake for around 20 minutes, or until they are a golden colour. 

11. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before pressing them out of the tart rings.

12. Ensure the caramel is a soft, almost runny honey-like texture, and pipe this into the centre of the biscuits. The caramel will be soft and runny if served immediately but will thicken the longer they sit at room temperature.

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Chocolate Orange Swirl Cookies

TIER 1

Chocolate Orange Swirl Cookies

These stunning cookies use the same base dough, one flavoured with orange and the other flavoured with cocoa powder. The doughs are laid on top of each other and carefully rolled into a tight log to create the spiral effect. You can get creative and colour one of the doughs, or even make a quick ganache and sandwich the cookies together!

18-20
COOKIES

Ingredients

Chocolate Dough
170g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
2g Fine Sea Salt
30g Cocoa Powder
80g Icing/Powdered Sugar
30g Ground Almonds
110g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed
40g Whole Eggs

Orange Dough
200g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
2g Fine Sea Salt
80g Icing/Powdered Sugar
30g Ground Almonds
110g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed
Zest 1 Medium Orange
40g Whole Eggs

Egg Wash
1 whole egg, whisked

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Silicon mats (optional)
Rolling pin

Chocolate Cookie Dough

1. Add all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the cubed butter. 

2. Mix on a medium low speed for 2-4 minutes, until the butter has broken down, and the mixture has a breadcrumb/sandy-like texture. 

3. Pour in the egg mixture and mix for about 20 seconds, the dough will not pull together however, so remove the bowl from the mixer and squeeze the dough with your hands, until it forms a dough. 

4. Place the dough in between two silicon mats or pieces of parchment paper and roll it to about 3-5mm thick – the thinner the better really. You want to roll it as best as possible into a neat rectangle shape as that will reduce the wastage later on. 

5. Place the dough into the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. 

Orange Cookie Dough 

1. Add all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the cubed butter. 

2. Mix on a medium low speed for 2-4 minutes, until the butter has broken down, and the mixture has a breadcrumb/sandy-like texture. 

3. Pour in the egg mixture and mix for about 20 seconds, the dough will not pull together however, so remove the bowl from the mixer and squeeze the dough with your hands, until it forms a dough. 

4. Place the dough in between two silicon mats or pieces of parchment paper and roll it to about 3-5mm thick – the thinner the better really. You want to roll it as best as possible into a neat rectangle shape as that will reduce the wastage later on. 

5. Place the dough into the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. 

Assembly

1. Once the doughs have chilled remove them from the fridge, and apply a light egg wash to the chocolate dough. Then, lift the orange dough on top, gluing it in place.  

2. Leave them at room temperature to soften for just a few minutes – this will make them easier to roll.

3. Once softer, with the chocolate dough on the bottom, carefully roll the dough, lengthways (with the short side of the rectangle of dough facing you),  into a tight log. Wrap this in clingfilm and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour

4. Before they are done chilling, preheat the oven to 150C/300F, non-fan assisted.

5. Once chilled, use a very sharp knife to cut the log into discs of equal thickness – about 5mm, then lift the biscuits onto a tray lined with a silicon baking mat.

6. Immediately place the tray into the oven and bake until lightly golden around the edges – about 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool then serve. 

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Pandoro

TIER 2

Pandoro

In Tier 2 we are really stepping things up with a Pandoro – the iconic 8 pointed star Italian bread. This is a challenging dough that requires a high protein flour to handle the high levels of fat and sugar in the dough. Similarly to the Kugelhopf , this dough is flavoured with lemon and orange zest, with a beautiful enriched yellow crumb once baked. There is a lot of fermentation and proofing in this recipe, so really set aside some time to tackle this!

2
750G LOAVES

Ingredients

1st Dough
615g Manitoba Flour (or Pannetone Flour)
0.8g Fresh Yeast/0.4g Instant Dry Yeast
340g Whole Eggs
125g Unsalted Butter, Cubed & Slightly Soft

Butter Mixture
150g Unsalted Butter, Soft
105g Caster Sugar
10g Honey
Zest Β½ Lemon
Zest 1 Orange
Beans from 1 Vanilla Pod

2nd Dough
170g Manitoba Flour (or Pannetone Flour)
125g Caster/White Sugar
45g Whole Milk
8.5g Fine Sea Salt
85g Egg Yolks
19g Fresh Yeast/9.5g Instant Dry Yeast
Butter Mixture (Above)

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Dough scraper
Pandoro tins
Digital thermometer

1st Dough

Note – this dough needs a long proof so it is best to do it at night so that it can proof overnight, then you’ll be ready to make the 2nd dough the next day.

1. Into a stand mixer, add the eggs and yeast, and whisk to combine. 

2. Add in the flour and attach the dough hook. Mix on a medium low speed, until the flour has completely absorbed the wet ingredients. Once it has absorbed them, continue to knead for a minute on a low speed. 

3. While mixing on a medium low speed, add the cubed butter a few pieces at a time. Allow the butter to incorporate before adding the next few pieces.

4. As soon as the butter has all been incorporated, continue to knead for 1 minute. We are not looking to develop the dough too much so remove it from the mixer and gently work it on your work surface, shaping it into a rough ball.

5. Lift the dough into a large container or bowl, ideally with measurements on the side so that you can see how much the dough has risen.

6. Cover the bowl tightly and proof at room temperature for 12 hours or until the dough has tripled in volume. 

Butter Mixture

1. The next day, add all the ingredients for the butter mixture into a stand mixer, and attach the paddle attachment. Beat on a medium speed until it is smooth and homogenous. Set this to one side at room temperature.

2nd Dough

1. Now that the 1st dough has tripled in size, it is ready to use. 

2. Into a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour. Add the milk into a small jug too. 

3. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add half of the 1st dough, along with the yeast.

4. Add ΒΌ of the sugar/flour mixture and mix on a low speed. Drizzle in ΒΌ of the milk. Knead on a low speed until all the dry ingredients are completely absorbed.

5. Repeat this process, adding the sugar/flour mixture in increments along with the milk. Ensure that all the dry ingredients are incorporated each time.

6. Once you have a homogenous dough, add the remaining half of the first dough and knead on a low speed for a minute.

7. Add in the salt and knead for a minute. 

8. With the mixer still on low, alternate adding the egg yolks and butter mixture (above) in about 4 additions per ingredient. You need to ensure that the egg yolks are completely incorporated before adding the butter, and the butter is incorporated before adding the next part of egg yolks. Be patient here, waiting about 45 seconds in between each addition.

9. Once these have been incorporated and there are no streaks of egg yolks or butter, increase the speed to medium, and knead for around 10 minutes or until the dough is completely smooth and passes the windowpane test (where you stretch a small piece of dough between your fingers and it creates a windowpane without tearing).

10. Lift the dough out of the mixer, shape it into a tight ball, and lift it into a lightly oiled bowl. Allow it to proof at room temperature for 30 minutes.

11. After 30 minutes, using a dough scraper, split the dough into two equal 750g portions (you might have a little extra dough).

12. Use a dough scrape to shape each piece of dough into a tight ball.

13. Ensure your 750g Pandoro tins are lightly buttered and floured, and carefully lift the dough balls into the tins, smooth side down (so the smooth, top side of the dough should be against the bottom of the tin).

14. Loosely cover the top of the tins with clingfilm, and proof them for 4-6 hours at room temperature or until the dough has risen to just below the lip of the tin.

15. Before they are ready, pre-heat the oven to 170C/340F Non-Fan Assisted. 

16. When the dough has proofed, place the tins into the oven, and bake for 50-60 minutes. The dough needs to register a temperature of at least 95C/203F on a digital thermometer. After about 25 minutes of baking, cover the top with a sheet of foil to stop it from darkening too much. 

17. Once at temperature, remove the tins from the oven and allow the Pandoro to cool for 30 minutes in the tin, before flipping them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

18. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

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Kugelhopf

TIER 1

Kugelhopf

This bread has ties to Germany, Austria and France and is a popular bread served around the holidays. Think of it like giant hot cross bun in a bundt tin! The dough is a soft, buttery brioche flavoured with soaked raisins that have been steeped in orange, lemon and vanilla. When the cake is finished it is soaked in melted butter and then coated in sugar. I have to say, this is one of the most delicious recipes I’ve made ALL year! I’ve used a Kugelhopf tin, but the dough can also be made in a classic bundt tin.

2
400G LOAVES

Ingredients

Soaked Raisins
100g Sultanas
20g Sugar
150g Water
Peels of 1/2 Lemon
Peels of 1 Medium Orange

Brioche Dough
425g Strong White Bread Flour (13-14% Protein)
10g Salt
50g Sugar
17g Fresh Yeast or 8.5g Instant Dry Yeast
190g Eggs
65g Whole Milk
Zest of 1 Lemon
Zest of 1 Orange
210g Unsalted Butter, Slightly Cold & Cubed

To Finish
Melted Butter
Caster/White Sugar

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Dough scraper
Kugelhopf tin/Bundt tin
Digital thermometer

Soaked Raisins

1. Into a small saucepan, add all the ingredients for the soaked raisins. Bring it to a boil and then pour the mixture into a tupperware. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours, ideally overnight.

Brioche Dough

1. For the brioche dough, add all the ingredients, except the butter, to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.

2. Mix for 10 minutes on a medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

3. After 10 minutes, add the butter slowly, a few cubes at a time. It helps to squeeze the cold butter in between your fingers gently just before you add it into the mixer. 

4. Once all the butter has been added, continue to mix the dough until it is pulling away from the sides of the mixer and the dough passes the windowpane test. 

5. Right at the end, drain the soaked raisins and briefly mix these in. We don’t want to knead them for too long or it will discolour the dough.

6. Scoop the dough out of the bowl, and shape it into a round ball using a dough scraper before lifting it into a lightly oiled bowl.

7. Allow the dough to proof for 2 hours at room temperature. It should double in size. 

8. While it is proofing, lightly butter your Kugelhopf tin and coat the inside with flour, before tipping out the excess.

9. Once the dough has proofed, remove it from the bowl, knocking out the air.

10. Cut it into two equal 400g pieces of dough. 

11. Carefully shape each piece into a ball, then with one of the dough balls, use your fingers to press a hole in the middle, creating a donut shape. 

12. Confidently lift it into the greased tin and cover the tin with cling film. 

13. With the other piece of dough, simply shape it into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover the surface of the dough and the bowl with cling film. Place both the tin and the bowl in the fridge overnight. 

14. The next day, leave the tin at room temperature and proof for 2-3 hours, while leaving the other dough in the fridge. 

15. Before baking, preheat the oven to 170C/355F Non-Fan Assisted.

16. Once proofed, the dough should have doubled, to just below the top edge of the tin. Bake the dough for around 35 minutes, it should be a golden colour and register 95C/203F when a digital thermometer is inserted in the middle.

17. Allow it to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then flip it out and use a pastry brush to cover the entire dough in melted butter, before rolling in sugar. 

18. Allow to cool before serving. 

19. You can now remove the second dough from the fridge, and re-use the tin. Shape it into a donut again by piercing a hole in the centre and lift it into a the lightly greased tin.

20. Cover the tin with a tea towel and allow it to rise again until doubled – about 2-3 hours at room temperature. Bake as per step 16/17. 

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GΓ’teaux Basque

TIER 2

GΓ’teaux Basque

Using the same idea of working with a high fat, high butter dough, in Tier 2 we work with a pastry that is very similar to a SablΓ© Breton. The dough is rolled, almost like a deep dish cookie pie, and filled with cherry jam and pastry cream. It’s traditionally finished by decorating it with the stripes of a fork and baked until golden. Most recipes say to cool it completely, but I really prefer it slightly warm as I think it has a much better texture!

1

TART (SERVES 8-10)

Ingredients

For the Pastry
125g Egg Yolks
250g Caster/White Sugar
1g Salt
375g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
2.5g Baking Powder
20g Ground Almonds/Almond Flour
2g Lemon Zest
250g Unsalted Butter, Very Soft & Cubed

Egg Wash
1 Egg Yolk

For the Pastry Cream
500g Whole Milk
1 Fresh Vanilla Pod
70g Caster/White Sugar
120g Egg Yolks
40g Cornstarch/Cornflour
Pinch of Fine Sea Salt
45g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed

Black Cherry Jam To Fill (or your favourite jam)

Special equipment

20 x 3.2 cm Tart Ring
Stand Mixer
Silicon Baking Mat
Rolling Pin

Pastry

1. Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set this to one side.

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Whisk on a medium speed for 2 minutes until the mixture is thick and light in colour.

3. Add in the sifted dry ingredients, along with the soft butter (in small cubes). Mix with a paddle attachment just until it pulls together into a smooth dough. This won’t take long.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it briefly until smooth, then shape it into 2 equal discs and wrap it in clingfilm. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. 

Vanilla Pastry Cream

1. In a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, add the milk and the scraped vanilla pod just until it is steaming. 

2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt until smooth and thickened.

3. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture over the sugar and eggs mixture, whisking constantly.

4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until it begins to bubble, then cook for 1 minute.

5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pass the mixture through a sieve placed over a large bowl.

6. Whisk in the butter until the mixture is smooth.  Pour the mixture onto a baking tray, spread it out and cover the surface directly with clingfilm. Spreading it thin will help it to chill faster. 

Assembly

1. Line a baking tray with a silicon mat, and lightly butter the inside of your tart ring. Place this into the centre. 

2. Once the pastry discs have chilled, remove one from the fridge. Briefly massage the dough in your hand to soften it slightly. Place it onto a lightly floured work surface. 

3. Roll the dough out into a rough circle, until it is around 5mm/0.19” thick. Cut a disc around 23cm/9” and quickly but carefully lift the disc into your tart ring.

4. Lightly flour your fingers and gently press the dough into all edges of the tart ring. There should be a slight overhang of dough over the edge of the tart ring. Use a sharp knife to trim off the excess so that the dough is now flush with the edge of the ring. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

5. Once the dough is chilled, remove it from the fridge and spread 3-4 tbsp of your desired jam over the bottom of the pastry so that you have a thin, even layer.

6. Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and add it into a bowl. Whisk it by hand until it is smooth and homogenous

7. Pour the pastry cream directly into the tart shell and use the back of a spoon to spread this out evenly across the tart. Place this back in the fridge briefly.

8. Remove the second disc of pastry from the fridge and again use your hands to lightly massage it so that it softens slightly.

9. Place this onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rough disc, until it is around 5mm/0.19” thick.

10. Remove the tart ring from the fridge and lift the circle of dough directly on top. Then use a rolling pin to roll over the top of the pastry, pressing it against the edges of the tin, to very neatly trim off the excess pastry. Refrigerate it for 1-2 hours.

11. Just before it is chilled. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F fan assisted, or 175C/345F non-fan assisted.

12. Whisk an egg yolk, then brush this evenly over the top of the pastry using a pastry brush.

13. Using a fork, trace 4 sets of parallel lines with a fork, then turn the mould 1/4 turn and trace 4 more sets of parallel lines perpendicular to the first sets of lines. This will result in a diamond-shaped crosshatch pattern. Prick a few small holes in the pastry too, to help any steam escape as it bakes.

14. Place the tart directly into the oven, and bake for 40 minutes, then lower the heat to 150C/300F Fan assisted (165/330F Non-fan assisted) and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until a deep golden colour.

15. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. I prefer to eat it slightly warm, so I allow it to cool for around 75-90 minutes but it can also be eaten once it has completely cooled to room temperature too.

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SablΓ© Viennois

TIER 1

SablΓ© Viennois

In Tier 1 we tackle a simple SablΓ© biscuit, and learn the foundations of a SablΓ© dough. A spin on the recipe I share in my book, the biscuits are elevated by piping the dough into a zigzag pattern! Although the piping can be a little bit tricky, it’s worth the effort as it holds its shape really well, resulting in a stunning biscuit. To finish, I’ve dipped mine in a little dark chocolate, but you can get creative here with the toppings.

12-14

COOKIES

Ingredients

140g Unsalted Butter, Soft
80g Icing/Powdered Sugar
2g Fine Sea Salt
20g Egg White
120g Plain Flour
40g White Bread Flour
20g Cornflour (Cornstarch)

Chocolate Variation:
140g Unsalted Butter, Soft
80g Icing/Powdered Sugar
2g Fine Sea Salt
20g Egg White
115g Plain Flour
30g Bread Flour
20g Cornflour (Cornstarch)
15g Cocoa Powder

To decorate:
200g Dark Chocolate (50-60% Cocoa Solids), Melted

Special equipment

Basket Weave Piping Nozzle
Stand Mixer
Piping Bags
Silicon Baking Mat

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl), add the soft butter, sugar and salt.

2. Beat this on a medium-low speed for 2 minutes until lighter and fluffier in consistency. If doing this by hand, simply use a rubber spatula to beat the ingredients together. 

3. Add in the egg white and beat again to combine. The egg white, won’t fully incorporate so don’t worry if the butter is slightly lumpy/separated. 

4. Finally, sift in the flours & cornflour. Mix this until the dough is soft and slightly sticky. We need the dough to be quite soft otherwise it will be very difficult to pipe. Add this mixture into a piping bag fitted with a basket weave piping nozzle (or any other nozzle you prefer!). Massage the dough in the bag to soften it further. 

Note: If you want to make chocolate cookies, simply follow the same steps, but add the cocoa powder in with the flours. 

5. If you want to be accurate, draw a stencil on some parchment paper, with pairs of lines, about an inch apart, and place this under your silicone mat. 

6. With firm pressure, pipe tight zig zags, roughly 3-4” long. Then, use a bench scraper or sharp knife, neaten the top and bottoms of the biscuits by trimming off the shaggy ends.

7. Place the tray of cookies into the freezer, while you preheat your oven to 175C/350F Non-Fan Assisted. 

8. After the cookies have chilled for 20 minutes, place the tray into the middle shelf of the oven and bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. 

9. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the tray for 5 minutes. 

10. To decorate, melt some dark chocolate, and dip the edges of the biscuits before placing them carefully on a silicon mat. Let the chocolate set before serving.

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Raspberry Jam Frangipane Tart

TIER 2

Raspberry Jam Frangipane Tart

In this recipe we take our homemade raspberry jam from tier 1 and spread it on a PΓ‘te BrisΓ©e pastry case. Then we fill it with an almond frangipane and delicately decorate it with a pattern of flaked almonds. I usually fill my desserts with almond cream instead of frangipane, but the addition of pastry cream really improves the texture and adds even more flavour to the dessert.

 

1
9-INCH TART

Ingredients

PΓ’te BrisΓ©e
200g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
100g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed
50g Cold Water
3g Sea Salt

Pastry Cream
250g Whole Milk
Β½ Fresh Vanilla Bean Pod
35g Caster/White sugar
60g Egg Yolks
20g Cornstarch/Cornflour
2g Fine Sea Salt
20g Cold Unsalted Butter

Frangipane
165g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
165g Caster/White Sugar
Zest Β½ Lemon
130g Whole Egg, Lightly Whisked Together
165g Ground Almonds/Almond Flour
2g Sea Salt
85g Pastry Cream, Cooled

To Fill & Finish
Raspberry Jam (Tier 1)
Flaked Almonds
Fresh Raspberries
Icing/Powdered Sugar

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Silicon mats
9-inch fluted tart ring
Baking beans
Piping bag

PΓ’te BrisΓ©e

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, flour and salt. Mix on a low speed until the butter has completely broken down into fine crumbs and there are no large chunks of butter. 

2. Slowly drizzle in the cold water and mix for a few seconds until it pulls together into a dough. 

3. Gently knead the dough into a disc on your work surface and wrap it in clingfilm, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. After 30 minutes, place it in between two silicon mats (or two sheets of parchment paper), and roll the dough into a rough disc that is around 3-5mm thick. 

5. Refrigerate the pastry again for 1 hour and preheat the oven to 180C/355F Non-fan Assisted. This is a good point to prepare your pastry cream. 

6. Peel the silicon mats/parchment paper off the pastry and ensure the dough is cold but flexible. If it is too cold it will break so just leave it for a few minutes to soften slightly if needed.

7. Lift the pastry into a 22.5cm fluted tart ring and use your hands to gently press it into the edges. Work quickly, being careful not to tear the pastry. 

8. Use a knife to trim the excess pastry off and place the tart shell back into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. 

9. Scrunch up a piece of baking paper and press this into the chilled tart shell. Fill the tart shell with baking beans or rice and then place it on a tray and straight into the oven to bake.

10. Bake the tart for 30 minutes, then remove the baking beans, and continue to bake for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the pastry is an even golden brown colour. 

11. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 30 minutes. 

Pastry Cream

1. In a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, add the milk and the scraped vanilla pod just until it is steaming. 

2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt until smooth and thickened.

3. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture over the sugar and eggs mixture, whisking constantly.

4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until it begins to bubble, then cook for 1 minute.

5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pass the mixture through a sieve placed over a large bowl.

6. Whisk in the butter until the mixture is smooth. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate it for an hour. 

Frangipane

1. Into a stand mixer, add the soft butter, salt, lemon zest and sugar. Beat for 2-3 minutes on a medium-low speed until slightly thicker and paler in texture.

2. Slowly drizzle in the eggs and beat for a further minute.

3. Finally, add in the ground almonds/almond flour and scoop in the required amount of cooled pastry cream. Beat until smooth. 

4. Add the mixture into a piping bag.

Assembly & Baking

1. Lower the oven temperature to 175C/345F Non-Fan Assisted.

2. Take the raspberry jam and spread a few tablespoons across the bottom of the cooled pastry. Make sure it is nice and even.

3. Next, pipe the frangipane evenly into the tart shell. Use a palette knife if needed to smooth it out.

4. Slice your fresh raspberries in half and press them gently into the frangipane.

5. Next, take your time, and evenly place the flaked almonds around the entire tart in a nice circular pattern. This is optional, you can simply sprinkle them on!

6. Place it into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until it is an even golden colour all over.

7. Remove it from the oven, and at this point this filling will still be slightly soft, so let it cool for an hour at room temperature before serving. 

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Raspberry & Strawberry Jam

TIER 1

Raspberry & Strawberry Jam

In these recipes we learn the basics of making jams. I walk you through the recipe for raspberry and strawberry jam. The techniques are very similar but I’ll take you through each step, and discuss crucially, the jam setting point, which is a really important temperature to hit to make sure your jam sets! I’ve also included a bonus recipe in the PDF – my dad’s homemade marmalade (thanks Dad!). This was something I grew up eating, so I hope you guys love it as much as me!

4
JAM JARS

Ingredients

Raspberry Jam
500g Fresh Raspberries
50g Honey
300g Caster/White Sugar
3g Pectin NH + 50g Caster/White Sugar
5g Lemon Juice

Strawberry Jam
750g Fresh Strawberries
450g Caster/White Sugar
225g Water
4.5g Pectin NH + 70g Caster/White Sugar
8g Lemon Juice

BONUS RECIPE

Seville Orange Marmalade (makes 8 jars)

1kg Seville Oranges
Juices of 2 Lemons
2500g Water
2000g Caster/White Sugar

Special equipment

4 x 100g jam jars, sterilised
Digital thermometer
Pectin

Before starting your jam-making, you want to make sure you have cleaned, dried and sterilised your jam jars. Simply wash them in soapy water, dry them, then place them into the oven for 10 minutes at 140C. 

Raspberry Jam

1. Into a small bowl, add the pectin and sugar (50g) mixture. Stir the mixture together and set this to one side.

2. Add the fresh raspberries, honey, and remaining sugar into a medium saucepan. Place the pan onto a medium heat and stir it together.

3. Keep cooking the mixture until it reaches 80C on a digital thermometer, and stir in the sugar/pectin mixture.

4. Continue to cook the mixture until it reaches 104C – this can take a little while, between 5-10 minutes so keep a close eye on the thermometer, stirring it pretty continuously. 

5. 104C is an important temperature as this is the setting temperature for jams. The closer it gets to this temperature, the thicker and darker the jam will become, and the bubbles will become heavier.

6. As you are cooking it, use a spoon to skim off any foam/impurities that rise to the top.

7. Remove it from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and then distribute it between your jam jars. You should get 2 jars.

8. Leave them to cool to room temperature before refrigerating.  

Strawberry Jam

1. Into a small bowl, add the pectin and sugar (70g) mixture. Stir the mixture together and set this to one side.

2. Hull the fresh strawberries and slice them in half. If the strawberries are smaller, then you can leave them whole. 

3. Add the sugar and water into a saucepan, and cook it until it reaches 120C. 

4. Once at temperature, immediately tip in the strawberries, stir them through the sugar mixture, then add the pectin sugar mixture. 

5. Continue to cook the mixture until it reaches 104C – this can take a little while, between 5-10 minutes so keep a close eye on the thermometer, stirring it pretty continuously. 104C is an important temperature as this is the setting temperature for jams. The closer it gets to this temperature, the thicker and darker the jam will become, and the bubbles will become heavier.

5. As you are cooking it, use a spoon to skim off any foam/impurities that rise to the top.

6. Remove it from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and then distribute it between your jam jars. You should get 2 jars (or maybe slightly more) 

7. Allow them to cool to room temperature before refrigerating/storing.

Seville Orange Marmalade (My Dad’s Recipe)

1. Wash the Seville oranges if they are dirty.

2. Cut the oranges in half and juice them. Pour the juice into a medium saucepan.

3. Scoop out the flesh from the inside of the oranges and place these into a muslin cloth.

4. Take the remaining peels of the oranges, and cut them into thin strips (or thicker strips if you prefer slightly chunkier strips in your marmelade). Add these to the pan. 

5. Add the juice of the lemons into the pan, and place the juiced lemons into the muslin cloth too. Tie thie up so the orange flesh and lemons are secured. 

6. Place the muslin into the saucepan, along with the water.

7. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower it to a simmer, and continue to cook the mixture until the orange peels are very soft. Anywhere from 1-2 hours!  

8. Remove the muslin and squeeze out the juices from it, into the pan.

9. Add in the sugar and boil the mixture, cooking it until it reaches the jam-setting point of 104C.

10. Once it has reached the setting point, remove it from the heat for 15 minutes, and during this time a lot of froth/impurities will rise. Skim these off. The resting time will also help to distribute the orange peels.

11. Scoop the marmalade into your sterilised jam jars (it will make 7-8 jars!). Allow them to cool to room temperature and then place the lids on and refrigerate/store. 

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Chausson Aux Pommes

TIER 1

Chausson Aux Pommes

Ok these are essentially apple turnovers, but I felt the name didn’t do them justice and it sounds much more fancy in French! In this recipe IΒ take you throughΒ how to make rough puff pastry in detail, so make sure you watch the video to master those folds!Β Then we cut it into a classic turnover shapeΒ and fill it with a sweet apple compote. It’s the perfectΒ buttery, fruity, flakey dessert!

4-6
TURNOVERS

Ingredients

Rough Puff Pastry
500g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
10g Fine Sea Salt
240g Ice Cold Water
10g White Vinegar
400g Unsalted Butter, Very Cold & Cubed

Apple Compote
500g Apples (Braeburn/Pink Lady/Golden Delicious – about 5-6 large apples)
60g Dark Brown Sugar
25g Unsalted Butter
1 Vanilla Bean/1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
Pinch of Sea Salt Flakes
Bowl of ice water with the juice of 1 lemon

Egg Wash
25g Egg Whites
60g Egg Yolks
15g Double/Heavy Cream

Glaze
60g Water
60g Caster/White Sugar

Or
65g Water
125g Sugar
30g Liquid Glucose

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Rolling pin
Hand blender
Digital calipers (optional)
Oval template (see PDF)
Fluted pastry wheel

Rough Puff Pastry

1. Pour the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer along with the salt.Β 

2. Pour in the cold water and vinegar.Β 

3. Tip the cubed butter into the centre, then with the paddle attachment, mix on a low speed, just until the dry bits of flour have been absorbed. This should only take 15-20 seconds. The lumps of butter will still be there!Β 

4. Scoop the mixture out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a long rectangle. You need to work quickly here especially if it is a warm day as the butter will start to soften too much.

5. Once you’ve rolled it out, you might need to use a lightly floured bench scraper to loosen it from the work surface.Β 

6. Perform a single turn, by folding one-third of the dough up on itself, and then folding the remaining third of dough over the top as seen in the PDF.Β 

7. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill it. If it is a warm day, I prefer to do 10 minutes in the freezer then 15 minutes in the fridge. But on a β€˜normal day’, 20 minutes in the fridge will be enough.

8. Unwrap the dough and with the open seam facing you, turn the dough 90 degrees so it is now adjacent to you. Roll the dough slightly to give it a little bit of width, then rotate it 90 degrees again so the open seam is facing you again. Roll the dough into a long rectangle again, flouring as needed to ensure it doesn’t stick.

9. Use a bench scraper to get underneath the dough if it feels like it is sticking, then perform a double turn, by folding ΒΌ of the dough up on itself, then the remaining ΒΎ of the dough to meet. Fold the dough in half, then wrap in cling film to chill again.

10. Repeat steps 9&10, 2 more times (performing two more double turns) and chill the dough.

11. Unwrap the dough again, and roll it out, performing one final single turn (as seen in step 7). In total you will have done 1x single turn, 3x double turn, 1 x single turn. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours (or overnight).Β 

Apple Compote

1. Peel and core the apples, then dice them into small cubes (β€˜brunoise’ as they would say in French!). As you are chopping them, add them to the bowl of cold water with the lemon juice to prevent them from oxidising.Β 

2. Once chopped, drain them and add them into a medium saucepan. Cook them over a medium heat until the juices start to come out of the apples – about 3 minutes. Strain them to remove the excess liquid, then add in the light brown sugar, butter and vanilla.

3. Continue to cook them, stirring frequently, until you have a golden caramelised mixture, this should take about 6-10 minutes. Once cooked, stir through the sea salt flakes.Β 

4. Add the mixture into a jug and blend until you have a thick compote texture.

5. Add this mixture into a bowl and set it to one side in the fridge to cool completely.Β 

Assembly

1. To create the classic chausson aux pommes shape, we need a fluted oval shape which is then folded in half. You can buy special cutters for this but they are expensive, so I created a little hack so that we can do it at home!Β 

2. At the bottom of the PDF there is an oval template you can print off (ideally on some thick card). This will give you an oval that is 6.7”x4.8”.Β 

3. Print this off and then to get the fluted edge, we use a fluted pastry wheel and cut around the template while it is on top of the puff pastry. If you do not have a fluted cutter don’t worry you can just cut around it with a knife. But this template will give you the perfect size!

4. Remove the chilled puff pastry from the fridge and place it onto a floured work surface. Note – it can be easier to work with the pastry in two batches so that it doesn’t get too warm, in this case, just cut the chilled dough in half, and reserve one in the fridge while you roll the other. For the following steps I will assume you are working with a half batch and you just need to repeat the steps to make the remaining pastries.Β 

5. With the open seam facing you, turn the dough 90 degrees so it is now adjacent to you. Roll the dough slightly to give it a bit of width –Β  it needs to be around around 7.5” tall so that it is taller than the oval template.Β 

6. Rotate it 90 degrees again so the open seam is facing you again. Roll the dough into a long rectangle, flouring as needed to ensure it doesn’t stick.

7. Don’t worry about the length of the rectangle, we are more concerned about the thickness – it needs to be around 0.2”/5mm thick. If it is too thick, when it bakes, it will puff up too much! If the dough feels too soft at this point, get it straight into the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up a little. It is much easier to work with when it is cold.Β 

8. Assuming you are working with a half batch of the dough, use the oval template to cut out 2-3 ovals (the number you get will depend on how efficiently you were rolling it and how thick it is!)

9. Lift the fluted ovals onto a tray lined with a silicon mat, and place them in the fridge for 15 minutes.

10. At any point during the process, if you find the dough is getting too warm, place it back into the freezer for 5/10 minutes to chill it down then carry on.Β 

11. Prepare the egg wash by whisking together all the ingredients until you have a homogenous mixture.

12. To ensure you get the same amount of filling, I like to decant my chilled compote into little dishes, each weighing 50g. Then I can just scoop it straight into the pastry knowing I’ve got the correct amount.Β 

13. Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and, working quickly, scoop 50g of compote into the centre. Refer to the drawing below, we want to make sure we keep the compote away from the edges so it doesn’t leak out later so use your fingers to keep it nice and centred.Β 

14. Brush an egg wash around the edge of the pastry surrounding the compote and fold the bottom half of the pastry over. Use your fingers to seal the dough together, being careful not to warm the dough too much with your hands and β€˜smoosh’ it.

15. Use a knife to poke 4 holes in the back of the pastry and then flip it over so this side is now touching the baking tray lined with a silicon mat. Brush the top of the pastry with an egg wash then refrigerate it for 20 minutes. At this point, preheat your oven to 175C/345F non-fan assisted.Β 

16. Remove the pastry from the fridge and apply a second egg wash, then using a sharp knife, lightly score a decorative pattern into the pastry, I just do a series of vertical lines!Β 

17. Place the pastries straight into the oven on the middle shelf and bake for around 45-50 minutes. The apple compote is already cooked so all we are looking for is a nice golden puff pastry.Β 

18. About 10 minutes before you can prepare the glaze so that it is still slightly warm. Add the sugar and water into a saucepan, and simply bring it to a boil. Continue to cook it until it has thickened slightly but is still runny. Slightly looser than the consistency of honey.Β 

19. I’ve given you two options for the glaze, the second one is just slightly shinier from the addition of glucose but is prepared with the exact same method! Just boil the ingredients together.Β 

20. Once the pastries are baked, lift them onto a wire rack and brush them lightly with the glaze. They can be eaten warm or served once cooled, but they are best eaten the same day so that the pastry is as fresh as possible.Β 

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Latticed Pistachio Mille-Feuille

TIER 2

Latticed Pistachio Mille-Feuille

You guys know I love a Mille Feuille, and this filling combination has to be my favourite yet. It’s the same rough puff pastry recipe as Tier 1 (I don’t cover this again in the video for Tier 2), but we walk through how to bake it into the perfect Mille Feuille shape. Then we make aΒ raspberry cremeux and a pistachio cremeuxΒ to fill it with, alongside a tangy raspberry coulis. The lattice top is optional, but creates a real show stopping design!

1
LARGE MILLE FEUILLE

Ingredients

Rough Puff Pastry
250g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
5g Fine Sea Salt
120g Ice Cold Water
5g White Vinegar
200g Unsalted Butter, Very Cold & Cubed

Basic Cremeux
400g Double Cream
115g Egg Yolks
60g Caster Sugar
5g Powdered Gelatin (200-250 Bloom) + 30g Cold Water

Pistachio Cremeux
240g Basic Cremeux
40g Pistachio Paste

Raspberry Cremeux
240g Basic Cremeux
100g Raspberry Puree

Raspberry Coulis

2g Powdered Gelatin (200-250 Bloom)
12g Cold Water
105g Raspberry Puree
105g Frozen Raspberries
5g Pectin NH
20g Caster Sugar

Icing Sugar To Decorate

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Rolling pin
Digital thermometer
Hand blender
Digital calipers (optional)
Lattice pie cutter
Silicon mats
Baking trays
Piping bags

Rough Puff Pastry

1. Pour the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer along with the salt.Β 

2. Pour in the cold water and vinegar.Β 

3. Tip the cubed butter into the centre, then with the paddle attachment, mix on a low speed, just until the dry bits of flour have been absorbed. This should only take 15-20 seconds. The lumps of butter will still be there!Β 

4. Scoop the mixture out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a long rectangle. You need to work quickly here especially if it is a warm day as the butter will start to soften too much.

5. Once you’ve rolled it out, you might need to use a lightly floured bench scraper to loosen it from the work surface.Β 

6. Perform a single turn, by folding one-third of the dough up on itself, and then folding the remaining third of dough over the top as seen in the PDF.Β 

7. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill it. If it is a warm day, I prefer to do 10 minutes in the freezer then 15 minutes in the fridge. But on a β€˜normal day’, 20 minutes in the fridge will be enough.

8. Unwrap the dough and with the open seam facing you, turn the dough 90 degrees so it is now adjacent to you. Roll the dough slightly to give it a little bit of width, then rotate it 90 degrees again so the open seam is facing you again. Roll the dough into a long rectangle again, flouring as needed to ensure it doesn’t stick.

9. Use a bench scraper to get underneath the dough if it feels like it is sticking, then perform a double turn, by folding ΒΌ of the dough up on itself, then the remaining ΒΎ of the dough to meet. Fold the dough in half, then wrap in cling film to chill again.

10. Repeat steps 9&10, 2 more times (performing two more double turns) and chill the dough.

11. Unwrap the dough again, and roll it out, performing one final single turn (as seen in step 7). In total you will have done 1x single turn, 3x double turn, 1 x single turn. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours (or overnight).

Basic Cremeux/Pistachio Cremeux/Raspberry Cremeux

1. Add the pistachio paste and raspberry puree into two separate bowls and set these to one side.

Β *Note –Β  Pistachio Paste is quite expensive so you can make it yourself. Just toast shelled pistachios in the oven for about 15 minutes at 170C/340F and then process them in Π° food processor. You will need to do this with about 300g of Pistachios or it won’t be enough for the blades of your food processor to pick up. It will take some time to blend them and you need a high powered food processor!Β 

2. Add the powdered gelatin into a small dish and pour over the cold water. Allow this to bloom for 10 minutes. Once bloomed, scoop this into a large bowl with a sieve placed over the top.Β 

3. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk briefly to combine.

4. Add a splash of the cream just to prevent any lumps and whisk to combine.

5. Pour the entire mixture into a medium saucepan along with the cream. Place the pan on a medium heat and whisk constantly, The mixture needs to reach 80-82C. As you continue to cook it, you will see it thicken in the pan, just be really careful not to scramble the eggs.

6. Once at temperature, immediately remove it from the heat and pour it through the sieve over the gelatin. Some of the egg might have caught on the bottom of the pan but don’t panic!

7. Use a hand blender to blend the mixture to ensure the gelatin has completely incorporated.Β 

8. The mixture should weigh around 480-500g so we’re going to split this equally between the two bowls.Β 

9. Pour around 240g of the mixture over the pistachio paste and blend it with a hand blender to completely emulsify it. Cover the surface with cling film and refrigerate overnight (minimum of 6 hours)

10. For the raspberry, let the basic cremeux cool to around 40C/104F before pouring it over the puree. Blend with a hand blender to completely emulsify it. Cover the surface with cling film and refrigerate overnight (minimum of 6 hours)

Raspberry Coulis

1. Add the powdered gelatin into a small dish and pour over the cold water. Allow this to bloom for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar and pectin and set this to one side.

3. Add the frozen raspberries (they can be fresh too) and raspberry puree to a small saucepan.Β 

4. Cook them down until they reach around 40C/104F on a digital thermometer, then add in the sugar/pectin mixture. Continue to cook the mixture until it reaches a boil.Β 

5. Remove the pan from the heat, scoop in the bloomed gelatin and stir it to dissolve it into the raspberry mixture.

6. Pour this into a bowl and cover the surface with clingfilm. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1-2 hours.Β 

Assembly

1. Remove the chilled puff pastry from the fridge and place it onto a floured work surface.Β 

2. With the open seam facing you, turn the dough 90 degrees so it is now adjacent to you. Roll the dough slightly to give it a little bit of width, then rotate it 90 degrees again so the open seam is facing you again. Roll the dough into a rectangle, flouring as needed to ensure it doesn’t stick.

3. We are going to bake this on a baking tray, so we just need to ensure the rectangle we roll isn’t bigger than the tray. We are more concerned about the thickness. It needs to be around 7.5” tall and 0.2”/5mm thick.Β 

4. Once you are at that thickness, you can use a pastry wheel or a knife, to trim the rectangle of pastry down so it fits perfectly on your tray.

5. Lift the dough onto a silicon mat and refrigerate it for 20 minutes.Β 

6. Once chilled, cutting vertically, cut off β…“ of the rectangle, leaving the remaining β…” intact.

Β 7. Work quickly here so the dough stays cold (if not, chill it again. This part will be a disaster if the dough is too warm!), use a lattice pastry wheel cutter or a lattice cutter and cut the β…“ of dough to create the lattice design.Β 

8. Get both the latticed strip of dough, and the other strip of dough into the fridge for another 20 minutes while you pre-heat the oven to 175C/345F non-fan assisted.

9. Once it has chilled. Remove it from the fridge and place a second silicon mat on top, along with another tray and some extra weight! We need to weigh the top tray down as much as possible to stop the pastry from puffing up. I like to use more baking trays!

10. Place the tray of pastry into the oven on the middle shelf and bake it for 60 minutes.

11. After 60 minutes remove all the trays on top, and the pastry should be a light golden colour (if not place the trays back on and bake it for a little longer)

12. Place it back into the oven, uncovered, and bake until it is golden brown.

13. Remove it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 220C/430F.

14. Dust the puff pastry liberally with icing/powdered sugar and then place it back in the oven, closer to the top shelf this time.

15. Keep a very close eye on it and bake it until the sugar has caramelised and the pastry is a deep, shiny golden colour. Be really careful not to burn it. It can take anywhere from 2-5 minutes.Β 

16. You will find the lattice probably caramelises quicker than the other piece of pastry so you can remove this early.

17. Get both onto a wire cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes.

18. Using a serrated knife trim down the latticed piece of pastry into a neat rectangle. Then cut the other piece of pastry into two, and then trim each of those pieces down so they match the exact size of the lattice pastry.

Final AssemblyΒ 

1. Add the chilled raspberry coulis into a tall jug, and with a hand blender, blend it to a smooth mixture. Add this into a piping bag and set it to one side.

2. Whisk both the raspberry and pistachio cremeux using a stand mixer until they are thick and hold a stiff peak. The pistachio cremeux will whisk up thicker than the raspberry cremeux, so don’t worry if the raspberry is slightly softer.

3. Add these into separate piping bags fitted with large round tip piping nozzles.Β 

4. Pipe three lines of the pistachio cremeux onto the base of the plain, non latticed pieces of puff pastry. There should be one line on each outer edge and one in the centre. It’s important the pistachio is on the outside to provide support, as the raspberry cremeux would be too soft to support the weight of the layers.

5. Pipe the raspberry cremeux into the gaps and then pipe 2 lines of raspberry coulis on top.

6. Dust icing sugar diagonally across the top of the latticed pastry, using a flat object to cover one side of the pastry.Β 

7. Carefully stack and assemble the mille-feuille, finishing the latticed piece on top. It is now ready to serve. If you need to serve it later, ensure you keep it refrigerated so the cremeux doesn’t soften too much at room temperature.Β 

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Raspberry SoufflΓ© Tartlets

TIER 2

Raspberry SoufflΓ© Tartlets

In Tier 2 we make a Bake It Better first – raspberry pastry! I tested this a few times and am really happy with the result. We fill this with a raspberryΒ soufflΓ© and garnish with fresh raspberries. It’s actually the pastry element of this recipe that makes this the Tier 2 recipe – the beauty of addingΒ soufflΓ© to a tart is there’s no pressure on the rise! So once you’ve mastered the pastry, it’s plain sailing!

4
INDIVIDUAL TARTS

Ingredients

Raspberry Pastry
75g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed (small cubes)
50g Icing Sugar
4g Powdered Raspberry Powder
38g Egg Yolks
150g Plain/AP Flour
Red Food Colouring Powder/Gel

Egg Wash
20g Egg Yolk
5g Double/Heavy Cream
Red Food Colouring Powder/Gel

Raspberry SoufflΓ©

Β – Raspberry Base
120g Raspberry Puree
10g Cornstarch
Pinch of Sugar

Β – Meringue Base
75g Raspberry Base
80g Egg Whites
50g Caster Sugar

Fresh Raspberries To Fill + Garnish

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Silicone mats
4x 7.5cm x 2cm perforated tart rings
Multi-wheel pastry cutter OR a ruler
Digital thermometer
Piping bags

Raspberry Pastry

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cold cubed butter and then sift over the raspberry powder, icing sugar and red food powder. With the paddle attachment, beat on a medium low speed for 2 minutes or until the butter is smooth. As the butter is cold you will need to scrape down the bowl a few times to ensure it is completely incorporated.Β 

2. Add in the egg yolks and beat again for around 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl again to ensure it’s all incorporated.

3. Finally, sift in the flour, scrape the bottom of the bowl just to loosen the butter stuck on the bottom, and then mix again on a low speed until it pulls together to form a dough, about 20-30 seconds.

4. Scoop the dough out and place it onto a large silicone mat and place a second silicone mat on top. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it is around 3-5mm thick, don’t worry too much about the shape.

5. Place the entire sheet of pastry into the freezer for 30 minutes.

6. While the dough is chilling, take the perforated tart ring and very lightly grease the inside with soft butter. This helps to prevent the dough from sticking to the ring.

7. Remove the chilled dough from the freezer and, working quickly, peel the top silicone mat off of the dough. Press the 4 tart rings firmly into the dough, lift them up, and transfer them to a perforated tray lined with a perforated baking mat. The dough should be cold enough that it attaches to the ring as you lift it up. Place the tray in the fridge while you cut the walls.

8. With the remaining dough, use a ruler and a sharp knife to cut 4 strips of dough each measuring 9.6 x 0.9 inches (24.4 x 2.3cm). These measurements seem quite precise, but this will ensure the dough fits perfectly into the tart rings with no excess overlapping. If they feel too warm to lift up, place them back in the freezer for 5 minutes just so they can cool back down slightly.Β 

9. Remove the baking tray with the tart bases from the fridge and remove one strip of dough for the walls.

10. Working quickly, take the strip of dough and place it inside the tart ring. Use your fingers to gently press together this strip of dough, against the base of the tart. The idea is to slightly push down the wall of dough so that it meets the dough on the base of the tart shell and there are no gaps. If at any point you feel the dough is too warm or is tearing, place everything back in the freezer for 10 minutes then carry on.

11. Repeat this with the remaining tarts, again, chilling the dough if needed. At this point, squeeze together the remaining scraps of dough, and repeat the process, rolling the dough and chilling it, so that you can create the final 2 tart shells.Β 

12. Once you have lined all the tart shells, avoid trying to move them in case the dough tears. Chill the entire tray in the freezer for 15 minutes and pre-heat your oven to 175C/350F.

13. Remove the shells from the freezer and holding a knife perpendicular to the tart shell, trim off the excess pastry hanging over the tart ring so that the pastry is flush.Β 

14. Place the tart shells in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. While they bake, add the egg wash ingredients to a small ramekin and blend it to combine – I prefer to use a hand blender as it fully emulsifies the colouring into the egg mixture.Β 

15. Remove the tarts from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. At this point, the pastry should have retracted slightly from the ring mould, and you should be able to lift it off easily.Β 

16. Lift the shells up and using a pastry brush, apply an even egg wash all over the tart. Lower the oven temperature to 140C/285F and place them back on the tray and into the oven for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool.Β 

Raspberry SoufflΓ©

Β – Raspberry Base

1. Into a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.

2. Add the puree into a medium saucepan and heat it until it reaches around 40C. Once hot, sift in the cornstarch mixture and whisk together. Continue to cook until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Once bubbling, cook for a further minute.

3. Immediately pass the mixture through a sieve into a bowl and cover the surface with cling film. Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Β – Meringue Base

1. Fill a pan with a shallow amount of water and place it over a medium heat. Meanwhile, add the egg whites and sugar into a medium bowl and place this over the water once it is simmering.

2. Whisk constantly until it reaches 60-65C (140-150F) on a digital thermometer.

3. Immediately remove it from the heat and place it on a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

4. Whisk on a medium speedΒ  for 6-7 minutes until you have a stiff meringue.

5. While it is whisking, remove the raspberry base from the fridge, whisk it, then weigh 75g and add this into a medium bowl.

6. When the meringue is done, fold it in thirds into the raspberry base until you have a homogenous mixture.Β 

Assembly

1. Add the raspberry soufflΓ© mixture into a piping bag and snip the end off.

2. Take the cooled tart shells, and place a few torn up raspberries into the base.

3. Pipe the soufflΓ© mixture into the tart shells, filling them right to the top, and then use a palette knife to level them so they are completely flush with the top of the tart.

4. Place the tarts back onto your baking tray, and place the perforated tart rings around the pastry again. This will just help to provide a little structure and prevent the pastry from cracking as the soufflΓ© expands.

5. Place the tarts into the oven and bake them for 7 minutes. They should rise just slightly.

6. Once they are baked, these can be served warm or alternatively served chilled (place the tarts into the fridge for 1 hour)

7. To garnish, add some freshly sliced raspberries.

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Chocolate and Raspberry SoufflΓ©

TIER 1

Chocolate and Raspberry SoufflΓ©

I’ve cheated a bit in Tier 1 and used the chocolate soufflΓ© recipe from my book, because you honestly can’t beat it! But I tried adding a frozen raspberry insert in the middle, which oozes out once baked, and it really takes the dessert to the next level from both a flavour and a wow factor perspective. Make sure you use good quality chocolate with 50-60% cocoa solids to ensure the right consistency.

4-5
SOUFFLÉS

Ingredients

Raspberry Insert
50g Raspberry Jam
50g Fresh Raspberries
Splash of Water

Chocolate SoufflΓ©

Β – Beurre Manie
50g Unsalted Butter, Softened
50g Plain Flour
Pinch of sea salt

Β – Chocolate Base
270g Whole Milk
50g Granulated/Caster Sugar
200g Chopped Dark Chocolate, 50-60% Cocoa Solids
110g Egg Yolks

French Meringue
180g Egg Whites
70g Granulated/Caster Sugar

Special equipment

3.8cm x 1.9cm silicone half-sphere mould (15 hole) OR a small silicone ice cube tray
Stand mixer
Piping bags
Ramekins

Raspberry Insert

1. Into a medium saucepan, add the fresh raspberries, raspberry jam and just a little splash of water (3 tsp roughly).

2. Place it over a medium low heat, and stir it together until the raspberries have broken down, and it is bubbling and has thickened just slightly.Β 

3. Into a silicone half sphere mould, or a silicone ice cube tray, pour the raspberry mixture in, spread it out so it is even, and then freeze for 3 hours or until it is solid.

Chocolate SoufflΓ©

Β – Beurre Manie

1. Into a small bowl, add the butter, flour and salt and use a spatula to form it into a paste. Sometimes it is actually easier just to use your hands and mix it together as the quantities are so small.Β 

2. Set this bowl to one side.

Β – Chocolate Base

1. Into a medium saucepan, add the milk and sugar. Place it over a medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is steaming.

2. Remove it from the heat and add in the beurre manie from above. Whisk this through until it has dissolved, then place the pan back on the heat and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened and holds a slightly more elastic consistency.

3. Remove it from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until the chocolate has completely dissolved. Don’t worry if it looks slightly greasy or split here. Scoop this mixture into a medium bowl.

4. Add the egg yolks on top and immediately whisk this (to make sure the eggs don’t cook from the heat), until you have a smooth, glossy mixture.

5. Cover the surface with cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes.Β 

French Meringue & Assembly

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F Fan Assisted.Β 

2. Lightly grease the ramekins with soft butter, using an upwards stroking motion.

3. Tip in a few tablespoons of sugar and swirl this around, tipping out the excess. Place these on a tray and set to one side.

4. Meanwhile, add the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk on a medium low speed until the mixture is frothy and thick bubbles have formed.

5. With the speed on medium, slowly add in the sugar a tablespoon at a time, waiting about 15 seconds in between each addition.

6. Once you’ve added all the sugar, keep whisking until you have a stiff meringue.

7. Fold the meringue in thirds, into the chocolate base, until you have a homogenous mixture with no streaks of meringue.Β 

8. Remove your frozen raspberry inserts from the freezer.

9. Add the soufflΓ© mixture into a piping bag, and pipe the mixture into the ramekins, filling them about 3⁄4 of the way. Then press your raspberry into the middle and cover it up, filling the ramekin to the top with the remaining soufflΓ© mixture.

10. Use a palette knife to smooth the top and create a flush edge, then quickly run your thumb around the outside of the soufflΓ© to create a rim.

11. Place them into the oven immediately and bake for 18 minutes.

12. Remove them from the oven and serve immediately. They should be well risen!

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Lemon Meringue 'Longboys'

TIER 2

Lemon Meringue ‘Longboys’

In TIer 2 we make the same dough as Tier 1, we just add a touch of lemon zest to give them a bit of extra flavour. Then, inspired by Longboys Doughnuts in the UK, we use an oblong mould to create a different shape, coat them in lemon sugar, then top them with a lemon crΓ¨me pΓ’tissiΓ¨re, Italian meringue and candied lemon peel. Don’t fancy lemon? Try the chocolate crΓ¨me pΓ’tissiΓ¨re and crumble from my eclair recipe!

8
'LONGBOYS'

Ingredients

Donut Dough
550g Strong White Bread Flour
125g Whole Milk
7g Instant Yeast
200g Whole Eggs
12g Fine Sea Salt
125g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Small Cubes
75g Caster/Granulated Sugar
20g Powdered Milk (Full Fat)
10g Vanilla Extract
Zest 1 Lemon

Lemon Crème PÒtissière
300g Double/Heavy Cream
200g Whole Milk
1 Fresh Vanilla Pod
85g Caster sugar
100g Egg Yolks
40g Cornstarch/Cornflour
Zest of 2 Lemons

Candied Lemon Peel
Zest of 1 Unwaxed Lemon
50g Caster Sugar
50g Water

Lemon Sugar
150g Caster/Granulated Sugar
Zest 1 Lemon

Italian Meringue
110g Egg Whites
70g Water
300g Caster Sugar

3 Litres of Vegetable Oil For Frying

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Oil spray (optional)
Oblong cookie cutter (I used a 14.5cm x 3.5cm cutter)
Deep fat fryer
Digital thermometer
Piping bags
St Honore nozzle

Donut Dough

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the wet ingredients, followed by the dry. Attach the dough hook and mix it on a medium speed for 10 minutes, scraping down the bowl every 3-4 minutes.

2. After 10 minutes, turn the mixer off and let the dough rest for 5 minutes. This will relax the gluten and make the next part of the mixing easier!

3. Turn the mixer back on, and knead for a further 10-12 minutes. The dough should start to come away from the sides of the bowl but there will still be a few bits stuck to the side.Β 

4. Remove it from the mixer and lift the dough onto your work surface. Give it a quick knead and shape it into a nice tight ball. The dough should feel smooth and pass the windowpane test when you stretch a small piece of the dough.

5. Lift it into a lightly oiled bowl, then lightly spray the top of the dough with an oil spray and cover the surface directly with cling film. Cover the bowl with a sheet of cling film too and refrigerate the dough overnight (12-18 hours). This will make it much easier to work with.

6. Before you are ready to work with the dough, prep a baking tray by cutting 8 rectangles of parchment paper and lightly oiling them before placing them on the tray. This will make it easier to transfer the donuts to the fryer.Β 

7. The next day remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Very lightly flour your work surface and lift the dough on. Lightly flour the top of the dough and a rolling pin, and roll the dough out, the shape doesn’t matter, but you want it to be around 12-15mm thick (0.5”). Ensure there is a little flour underneath the dough once you’ve finished rolling otherwise when you go to remove the cut donuts they will stick to the table.Β 

8. Take the oblong cookie cutter and dip it in a bowl of flour to make sure it doesn’t stick to the dough. Press the cookie cutter into the dough to cut the shapes, and lift them onto the sheets of parchment you cut earlier.

9. Very lightly oil the top of the donuts with an oil spray, and then cover the entire tray with a sheet of cling film and allow the donuts to rise for 2-3 hours at room temperature. In warmer weather, 2 hours should be fine, but when it is colder it will be closer to 3 hours. The donuts should look puffier and will have increased in volume when they are done.Β 

Lemon Crème PÒtissière

1. It is best to make this ahead of rolling out your donuts so that it has enough time to chill.Β 

2. Add the sugar into a bowl along with the lemon zest and briefly rub them together to release some of those citrus oils.

3. Add the egg yolks and cornflour and whisk the mixture together until it is thick, then set it to one side.

4. In the meantime, scrape the beans from the fresh vanilla pod and add these into a medium saucepan along with the milk & cream.

5. Place the pan over a medium heat and stir occasionally until the mixture is steaming.

6. Once hot, slowly pour the mixture over the egg yolks, and whisk until they are combined. It is important to do this slowly to avoid scrambling the eggs.

7. Add the entire mixture back into the pan and place it on a medium heat.Β 

8. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Once it bubbles, cook for a further minute, then remove it from the heat and pass it through a sieve into another bowl. At this point it’s likely your mixture will have split a little, so just add a splash of water (2 tsp) and blend with a hand blender and it will pull it back together.

9. Place a sheet of cling film directly on the surface and refrigerate until ready to use (3-4 hours).

Candied Lemon Peel

1. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the lemon into strips.

2. With a sharp knife, cut the peel lengthways to create thin strips.Β 

3. Into a small saucepan, add the lemon strips, sugar and water. Place it over a medium low heat and gently simmer for around 10 minutes. The strips of lemon should appear slightly translucent and the liquid should thicken.Β 

4. Use some tongs to remove them from the pan and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and allow to dry completely. About half an hour.

Lemon Sugar

1. Add the sugar into a bowl along with the lemon zest and briefly rub them together to release some of those citrus oils.

2. Set the bowl to one side.

Frying

1. When the donuts are close to being proofed, add the oil to your deep fat fryer (or a large pan) and heat it to 170C/340F. A deep-fat fryer is ideal here as it is able to regulate the temperature at a much more consistent level vs frying in a pan.

2. When the donuts are ready, drop 1 into the oil, and slowly peel off the sheet of parchment paper.

3. Fry for 90 seconds, flip, fry for 60 seconds, flip, fry for 15 seconds, flip, fry for 15 seconds. Nb. Due to the shape of these donuts they’re likely to flip over by themselves in the oil, so I’d recommend holding them in place lightly with some tongs so you can ensure an even bake on each side. I’ve also increased the fry time just slightly from the video as I found slightly longer was better!Β 

4. Remove your donut and place it on a wire rack, allowing any excess oil to drip off. After a minute, and while the donuts are still warm, toss the donut in the bowl of lemon sugar then place back on your wire rack.

5. Repeat with the remaining donuts.Β 

Italian Meringue

1. Into a small saucepan, add the water, then pour the sugar on top. Place it over a medium heat

2. Meanwhile, add the egg whites into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk it on a medium low speed.

3. Once the water and sugar mixture has started to boil, cook it until it reaches a temperature of 118C/244F on a digital thermometer. By this point, the egg whites should be bubbly and frothy.

4. Immediately remove the sugar syrup from the heat, increase the stand mixer speed to medium high, and slowly drizzle the sugar syrup in, aiming to pour it in between the whisk and the bowl. Just make sure not to pour it on the whisk or it will splatter everywhere.

5. Continue to whisk for 6-7 minutes, or until the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff peaks form on the meringue.

6. Add the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a St. Honore nozzle.

Assembly

1. Remove your lemon crème pÒtissière from the fridge and whisk it for 15-20 seconds to loosen it a little. Add it to a piping bag.

2. Take a donut and cut it lengthways down the middle. Pipe in some lemon creme patissiere until it reaches the top of the donut, then smooth it with a palette knife. Repeat with the rest of the donuts.

3. Next, take your meringue and in a zig zag motion, pipe it down the middle of your donut. Then, using a blow torch, lightly torch the top of your meringue until it’s slightly brown. Repeat with the rest of the donuts.Β 

4. Garnish with your candied lemon peel.

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Vanilla Glazed Donuts

TIER 1

Vanilla Glazed Donuts

In Tier 1 we start with a classic glazed donut. I walk you through my (new) favouriteΒ donut dough, how to create the iconicΒ donut shape, and how to fry your donuts to perfection. Then we smother them in an insane vanilla glaze for that classic Krispy Kreme finish. The end result is the lightest, fluffiest donuts – it’s a struggle just to eat one!

6-7
DONUTS

Ingredients

Donut Dough
550g Strong White Bread Flour
125g Whole Milk
7g Instant Dry Yeast
200g Whole Eggs
12g Fine Sea Salt
125g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Small Cubes
75g Caster/Granulated Sugar
20g Powdered Milk (Full Fat)
10g Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Glaze
500g Icing/Powdered Sugar
20g Glucose (or Golden Syrup)
80g Whole Milk
25g Water
15g Double/Heavy Cream
1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or 1 Fresh Vanilla Pods
Zest ΒΌ Lemon
Pinch of Fine Sea Salt

3 Litres of Vegetable Oil For Frying

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Oil spray (optional)
80mm cookie cutter
30mm cookie cutter
Piping bag
Deep fat fryer (optional but recommended)

Donut Dough

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the wet ingredients, followed by the dry. Attach the dough hook and mix it on a medium speed for 10 minutes, scraping down the bowl every 3-4 minutes.

2. After 10 minutes, turn the mixer off and let the dough rest for 5 minutes. This will relax the gluten and make the next part of the mixing easier!

3. Turn the mixer back on, and knead for a further 10-12 minutes. The dough should start to come away from the sides of the bowl, but there will still be a little bit stuck to the edges.Β 

4. Remove it from the mixer and lift the dough onto your work surface. Give it a quick knead and shape it into a nice tight ball. The dough should feel smooth and pass the windowpane test when you stretch a small piece of the dough.

5. Lift it into a lightly oiled bowl, then lightly spray the top of the dough with an oil spray and cover the surface directly with cling film. Cover the bowl with a sheet of cling film too and refrigerate the dough overnight (12-18 hours). This will make it much easier to work with.

6. Before you are ready to work with the dough, prep a baking tray by cutting 6-7 squares of parchment paper and lightly oiling them before placing them on the tray. This will make it easier to transfer the donuts to the fryer.Β 

7. The next day remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Very lightly flour your work surface and lift the dough on. Lightly flour the top of the dough and a rolling pin, and roll the dough out, the shape doesn’t matter, but you want it to be around 12-15mm thick (0.5”).

8. Take an 80mm cookie cutter and dip it in a bowl of flour to make sure it doesn’t stick to the dough. Press the cookie cutter into the dough. Then take your 30mm cookie cutter, dip it into the bowl of flour and press this into the centre of your donut to create a hole. Lift your donut onto a sheet of parchment paper, then repeat with the remaining dough.

9. Very lightly oil the top of the donuts with an oil spray, and then cover the entire tray with a sheet of cling film and allow the donuts to rise for 2-3 hours at room temperature. In warmer weather, 2 hours should be fine, but when it is colder it will be closer to 3 hours. The donuts should look puffier and will have increased in volume when they are done.Β 

Vanilla Glaze

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, sift in the icing sugar then add the remaining ingredients, starting with 80g of milk.

2. Beat the ingredients together with the paddle attachment. You want the consistency to resemble a runny glue, so add more milk if needed. Once you have the desired consistency, beat for a further 30 seconds on a medium-low speed, ensuring all the ingredients are combined.Β 

3. Pour this into a piping bag, tie the end (so that the glaze doesn’t dry out) and set this to one side while you fry the donuts.Β 

Frying

1. When the donuts are close to being proofed, add the oil to your deep fat fryer (or a large pan) and heat it to 170C/340F. A deep-fat fryer is ideal here as it is able to regulate the temperature at a much more consistent level vs frying in a pan.

2. When the donuts are ready, drop 1 at a time into the oil, and slowly peel off the sheet of parchment paper.

3. Fry for 90 seconds, flip, fry for 60 seconds, flip, fry for 15 seconds, flip, fry for 15 seconds.

4. Remove your donut and place it on a wire rack, allowing any excess oil to drip off. After a minute, coat the donut in your vanilla glaze. Repeat with the remaining donuts.Β 

5. Best served the same day (I can’t not eat mine immediately!)Β 

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Advanced Raspberry Sorbet

TIER 2

Advanced Raspberry Sorbet

In Tier 2 we get our maths head on! WeΒ walkΒ through the formula I learnt to make anyΒ fruitΒ sorbet, and we put it into practice in this stunning raspberry sorbet. It’s the perfect balance of flavours (thanks to the formula!), and the addition of the stabiliser makes it super smooth.Β I’ve includedΒ a detailed Google Sheets document for youΒ to use to create any fruit sorbet in future, so be sure to check itΒ out.

1
TUB (APPROX. 300G)

Ingredients

202g Caster Sugar
36g Dextrose
3g Stabiliser
299g Water
10g Fresh Lemon Juice
450g Fresh Raspberries

Special equipment

Digital thermometer
Hand blender
Ice-cream machine

For the β€˜science’ behind this recipe and the option to create your own flavoured sorbet, follow the guidelines in this document.

1. Pour the cold water into a saucepan and heat over a medium heat to 40C. In a bowl, stir together the sugar, dextrose and stabiliser and then pour into the water once it’s reached temperature. Whisk together until the mixture reaches 85C, then take off the heat and leave to cool to approximately 40C.

2. Once cooled, add the mixture to a bowl and pour in the lemon juice and raspberries. Blend briefly with a hand blender to combine (don’t blend for too long as you will start to blend the raspberry seeds, which will dull the colour of your sorbet). Pass the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, then cover the surface with cling film and put it in the fridge for 12 hours/overnight.

3. The next day, pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn for 20-30 minutes until it’s a thick, sorbet-like consistency.Β 

4. Transfer the sorbet into a container and freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.

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Basic Lemon Sorbet

TIER 1

Basic Lemon Sorbet

In Tier 1 we walkΒ through the fundamentals of a sorbet, andΒ make a basic sorbet without getting too technical! This is the perfect palate cleanser – quite a tart lemon flavour that’s so refreshing. As we don’t add any stabiliser in this recipe, this sorbet isΒ best servedΒ within 24 hours to prevent the sugar from recrystallising. It’s a simple and delicious recipeΒ to get you warmed up for Tier 2!

1
TUB (APPROX. 300G)

Ingredients

145g Caster Sugar
55g Dextrose
435g Water
345g Fresh Lemon Juice

Special equipment

Hand blender
Ice-cream machine

1. Pour the cold water into a saucepan and add the sugar and dextrose. Place over a medium heat and bring it to the boil whilst whisking. Boil for a minute then take the sugar syrup off the heat and leave to cool for approximately 15 minutes (until cool to the touch).

2. Add the mixture to a bowl and pour in the lemon juice (it’s a good idea to sieve this to avoid adding any pips/pulp). Blend with a hand blender to combine. Cover the surface with cling film then put the mixture in the fridge for 4 hours. You can leave this in the fridge for longer, but 4 hours is the ideal maturation time.

3. After 4 hours, pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn for 20-30 minutes until it’s a thick, sorbet-like consistency (yours may take longer depending on your machine).

4. Transfer the sorbet into a container and freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.

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Chocolate Mousse Cake

TIER 1

Chocolate Mousse Cake

There areΒ only two elements to this cake – the sponge and the mousse. I show you how to master each one, then it’s just a case of building your cake! I recommend using a ring mould for the most professional finish, and running a warm palette knife over the top of your mousse to create a smooth top. This is such a simple recipe but it looks amazing, the texture is divine,Β and it’sΒ so full of flavour.

1
6-INCH CAKE

Ingredients

Chocolate Sponge
80g Egg Yolks
20g Caster Sugar (A)
60g Caster Sugar (B)
150g Egg Whites
40g Plain Flour
28g Cocoa Powder
50g Vegetable Oil
30g Whole Milk

Chocolate Mousse
170g Whole Milk
120g Chocolate (70% Cocoa Solids), Finely Chopped
120g Chocolate (30% Cocoa Solids), Finely Chopped
300g Double/Heavy Cream
Pinch Sea Salt Flakes

Special equipment

39cm x 27cm baking tray
Electric hand whisk (or stand mixer)
Hand blender
16cm ring mould (4.5cm high)

Chocolate Sponge

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/356F Non-Fan Assisted (160C Fan Assisted) and then lightly grease a medium-sized baking tray (this recipe uses a 39cm x 27cm tray). Cut a rectangle of parchment paper so that it fits neatly inside the tray, and press it in firmly with your hands.Β 

2. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar (A). Whisk the mixture with an electric hand mixer (or in a stand mixer) until it is thicker in volume and pale in colour. About 1-2 minutes. Set this to one side.Β 

3. Into a medium bowl, add the egg whites and using an electric hand whisk (or a stand mixer) whisk on a medium-low speed. Once the mixture is frothy, increase the speed to medium and slowly add the sugar (B), about 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisk until you have a medium-stiff peak to the meringue.

4. Pour the egg yolk mixture on top of the meringue and gently fold it through using a spatula until well combined.

5. Next, sift in the plain flour & cocoa powder, and fold it in carefully until it is fully incorporated.Β 

6. Finally, pour in the vegetable oil and whole milk. Use a spatula to fold this in, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.

7. Pour the batter onto the lined tray, and then using a spatula, spread the batter out evenly. Try to ensure the batter is relatively even.

8. Bake the sponge for 12 minutes then allow it to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature.Β 

Chocolate Mousse

1. Add the milk to a small saucepan and place it onto a medium low heat, stirring occasionally.Β 

2. Meanwhile, add the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl.Β 

3. Once the milk is simmering, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes with a plate on top.

4. Then, remove the plate and use a hand blender to blend the milk and chocolate until smooth and set it to one side.

5. Into a medium bowl, add the cream and use an electric hand whisk to whisk it to a soft-medium peak.

6. Then, whisk the cream through the chocolate mixture in three parts until smooth. It’s important to whisk it through, as if you try to fold it, the cream will not incorporate properly and remain lumpy.

7. Lastly, fold in the salt.

Assembly

1. Take your cooled sponge and tip it out onto a silicon mat/piece of parchment paper.

2. Use your cake ring to cut 2 circles out of the chocolate sponge.

You will have enough remaining sponge to make the Tier 2 recipe, so make sure to save this if you’re moving straight onto Tier 2!

3. Take one of the sponges and place it on a tray lined with a silicon mat/piece of parchment paper. Place your cake ring over the top and gently push the sponge to the sides of the cake ring to make sure it’s even and there are no gaps.

4. Pour your chocolate mousse over the sponge until it reaches halfway up the cake ring. Then add your second layer of chocolate sponge and pour the remaining chocolate mousse over the top until it reaches the top of the cake ring.

You may have a little mousse left over but you can pour this into ramekins to have little pots of delicious chocolate mousse!

5. If you have a slightly uneven top to your mousse cake, heat the edge of a palette knife or scraper and run it evenly over the top of the cake to smooth out the top.

6. Place the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours until set and ready to serve.

7. To remove the ring, simply gently heat the sides with a blowtorch and it should lift off smoothly. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt just before serving.

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Chocolate Praline Mousse Cakes

TIER 2

Chocolate Praline Mousse Cakes

In Tier 2 we add two extra elements to really level up the cake – a hazelnut praline filling and a cocoa gavotte decoration. I’ve turned these into individual plated desserts by using smaller ring moulds, but you can make one large mousse cake if you’d prefer. I’ve adjusted the mousse recipe slightly here and only used 70% cocoa solids, but if you prefer a sweeter flavour then follow the same 50/50 split as Tier 1.

5
7CM MOUSSE CAKES

Ingredients

Hazelnut Praline

165g Caster Sugar
50g Water
250g Whole Roasted Hazelnuts, Without Skins
Pinch of Flaked Sea Salt

Chocolate Sponge

40g Egg Yolks
10g Caster Sugar (A)
30g Caster Sugar (B)
75g Egg Whites
20g Plain Flour
12g Cocoa Powder
25g Vegetable Oil
15g Whole Milk

Chocolate Mousse

130g Whole Milk
10g Honey
175g Chocolate (70% Cocoa Solids), Finely Chopped
220g Double/Heavy Cream
Pinch Sea Salt Flakes

Cocoa Gavotte

150g Water
15g Unsalted Butter
1g Salt
11g Plain Flour
30g Icing/Powdered Sugar
3g Cornstarch/Cornflour
35g Egg Whites
4g Cocoa Powder

Special equipment

Digital thermometer
Hand blender
Silicon mat
Food processor
Electric whisk
Small baking tray (16cm x 26cm)
5 7cm mousse rings (3.5cm high)
Heat gun/Blow torch

Hazelnut Praline

1. Into a medium saucepan, add the sugar & water. Place it on a medium heat, and cook the mixture until it reaches 110C/230F on a digital thermometer.Β 

2. Once at 110C/230F, pour in the hazelnuts. Stir constantly with a spatula. The mixture will initially look quite clumpy, then the sugar will crystallise, but eventually, as you keep stirring, the sugars will caramelise and you should have a deep golden caramel surrounding the nuts. It will take 3-5 minutes.Β 

3. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and tip the caramelised nuts onto a baking tray lined with a silicon mat. Sprinkle some sea salt flakes on top and let it set completely at room temperature for 30 minutes.Β 

4. The praline should then be completely cool and solid to the touch. Break it into pieces and add it into a high-powered food processor. Blend for 3-4 minutes, scraping it down every so often, until you have a smooth, nutty paste. Store in an airtight container.Β 

Chocolate Sponge

1. Preheat the oven to 180C Non-Fan Assisted (160C Fan Assisted) and then lightly grease a small baking tray (this recipe uses a cm x cm baking tray). Cut a rectangle of parchment paper so that it fits neatly inside the tray, and press it in firmly with your hands.Β 

2. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks, and sugar (A). Whisk the mixture with an electric hand mixer until it is thicker in volume and pale in colour. About 1-2 minutes. Set this to one side.Β 

3. Into a medium bowl, add the egg whites and using an electric hand whisk, whisk on a medium-low speed. Once the mixture is frothy, increase the speed to medium and slowly add the sugar (B), about 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisk until you have a medium-stiff peak to the meringue.

4. Pour the egg yolk mixture on top of the meringue and gently fold it through using a spatula until well combined.

5. Next, sift in the plain flour & cocoa powder, and fold it in carefully until it is fully incorporated.Β 

6. Finally, pour in the vegetable oil and whole milk. Use a spatula to fold this in, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.

7. Pour the batter onto the lined tray, and then using a spatula, spread the batter out evenly. Try to ensure the batter is relatively even.

8. Bake the sponge for 10-12 minutes, until dry to the touch, then allow it to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Chocolate Mousse

1. Into a small saucepan, add the milk and honey and place it onto a medium low heat, stirring occasionally.Β 

2. Meanwhile, add the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl.Β 

3. Once the milk is simmering and the honey has dissolved, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes.

4. Then, use a hand blender to blend until smooth and set it to one side.

5. Into a medium bowl, add the cream and use an electric hand whisk to whisk it to a medium-soft peak.

6. Then, whisk the cream through the chocolate mixture in three parts until smooth. It’s important to whisk it through, as if you try to fold it, the cream will not incorporate properly and remain lumpy.

7. Lastly, fold in the salt.

Assembly

1. Take your cooled sponge and tip it out onto a silicon mat/piece of parchment paper.

2. Use one of your mousse rings to cut 5 circles out of the chocolate sponge and place them inside of your mousse rings. Gently push the sponge to the sides of the mousse rings to make sure there are no gaps.

3. Next, add a dollop of hazelnut praline to the centre of each sponge (I like to use a piping bag). You want it to cover about β…” of the sponge, not go all the way to the sides.Β 

4. Then, add the chocolate mousse until it reaches the top of the mousse ring (again, I like to use a piping bag).

5. If your mousse is slightly thicker then use a palette knife to press the mousse to the edges and ensure there are no gaps. Then, heat your palette knife in some hot water, dry it with a tea towel and smooth the top of your mousse rings to ensure a nice even finish.

6. Place the cakes in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours until set and ready to serve.Β 

Cocoa Gavotte

1. Into a medium saucepan, add the water, salt & butter. Place it over a medium heat.

2. Meanwhile, into a medium bowl, add all of the remaining ingredients and whisk them together till smooth.

3. Once the water is boiling, slowly pour it over the bowl of ingredients, whisking constantly to ensure that the mixture is tempered.

4. Once you’ve added all the water, pour the mixture back into the pan, and whisk constantly over a medium heat until it thickens to a custard-like consistency.

5. Place a sheet of cling film over a small baking tray and pour your gavotte mixture on top. Place another sheet of cling film over the top and refrigerate it for 30 minutes – 1 hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 175C/345F.

7. Onto a tray lined with a silicon mat, take a dollop of the gavotte mixture and create a line of it at the top of your tray. Do the same about half way down your tray. Then, using a palette knife, spread it nice and thin. It needs to be thin (almost opaque) otherwise the texture won’t be correct.

8. Place it into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until crispy (the top might be slightly cracked).

9. Repeat this with a second tray of mixture.Β 

10. Once baked, allow them to cool for 5 minutes, then snap them into shards ready to decorate. It is best to make these fresh as they will soften the longer they are left. If you make them ahead of time, you can place them back into the oven for 2-3 minutes, to crisp up again.Β 

11. When ready to serve, remove your mousse cakes from the fridge and use a heat gun/blow torch to gently warm the sides of your mousses and lift off the cake rings.

12. Place your chocolate gavotte shards on top/around the sides of your mousses in whatever design you would like!

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Tropical Pavlova

TIER 2

Tropical Pavlova

In Tier 2 we really elevate the design of the pavlova and use a funky mold to create this more professional looking plated dessert. We use the same meringue recipe and chantilly cream as Tier 1, and pair it with a frozen passion fruit cremeux, a mango and passion fruit salsa. If you don’t fancy giving the design a go, it would taste equally as good all mashed together as an Eton Mess!

8
INDIVIDUAL PAVLOVAS

Ingredients

French-Swiss Meringue

100g Egg Whites
100g Caster Sugar
75g Icing Sugar
Desiccated coconut for decoration (optional)

Passionfruit Cremeux

50g Egg Yolks
35g Whole Eggs
25g Sugar
75g Passion Fruit PurΓ©e
60g Unsalted Butter, Soft
1g Powdered Gelatin (200 Bloom) + 6g Water

Whipped Vanilla Chantilly Cream

600g Double/Heavy Cream
125g White Chocolate
5.5g Powdered Gelatin (200 Bloom) + 33g Water
1.5 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste / 1 Vanilla Pod

Tropical Fruit Salad

Whole Mango, chopped into small cubes
Seeds of 4 Passion Fruits
ΒΌ Lime, Zested
3 Tsp Passion Fruit PurΓ©e

Assembly

100g White Chocolate, Melted
Lime, Zested

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Hand blender
Digital thermometer
3.8cm x 1.9cm half-sphere mould (15 hole)
Piping bags
Large round tip nozzle OR small cookie cutter

Passion fruit CrΓ©meux

1. In a small bowl, add the water to the powdered gelatin and let it sit for 5 minutes

2. In a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, add the sugar, eggs, egg yolks and passion fruit purΓ©e. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and reaches 83C.

3. Once the mixture reaches temperature, pass it through a sieve into a bowl. Then, add the bloomed gelatin and butter on top and blend with a hand blender until smooth.

4. Add the passion fruit crΓ©meux to your half sphere mould and use a palette knife to smooth the top of the mould to make sure they’re even. Freeze overnight/6 hours.

Whipped Vanilla Chantilly Cream

1. In a small bowl, add the water to the powdered gelatin and let it sit for 5 minutes

2. Add the white chocolate to a tall jug and add the bloomed gelatin on top

3. To a saucepan over a medium heat add 185g of the cream and the vanilla bean paste/vanilla beans and heat until it’s steaming.Β 

4. Once steaming, pour it over your chocolate and gelatin mixture and leave for 2 minutes. You want to make sure the cream covers the top of the chocolate. After two minutes, blend the mixture together with a hand blender.Β 

5. Once blended, add the remaining cream (415g) and blend again.

6. Pour the cream mixture into a bowl and cover the surface with cling film. Leave to chill in the fridge overnight/12 hours.

French-Swiss Meringue

1. Preheat the oven to 80C/175F Non-Fan Assisted

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and sugar.

3. Place this over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk constantly until it reaches a temperature of 55C/130F on a digital thermometer.

4. Once at temperature, remove it from the heat and place it onto a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk for 6-7 minutes on a medium speed, until the bowl feels cool to the touch and the meringue is thick.Β 

5. Remove it from the stand mixer and place a sieve over the top. Sieve in the icing/powdered sugar, and use a whisk to gently fold this in. We use a whisk because we want the icing sugar to incorporate easily, but we also want to knock some of the stiffness out of the meringue, just slightly, so that we get a softer texture for the design of the pavlova.

6. Add your meringue mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle. Flatten the mixture gently to remove any air bubbles.

7. Lightly grease the back of a half sphere mould (the same one you used for the passion fruit cremeux). I like to use an oil spray, but you can lightly brush a neutral oil over the mould.

8. Holding the piping bag vertically over one of the moulds, push down until the meringue covers the half sphere, then quickly do a β€˜whip’ motion at the top to release the piping bag. Repeat with the other half spheres, spacing them out so the meringues don’t touch (they will expand slightly as they bake).

9. Lastly, sprinkly desiccated coconut over the meringue, making sure to hit the sides of the meringue. Then put the meringue in the oven for 3 hours.Β 

Tropical Fruit Salad

1. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and stir together

Assembly

1. Once the meringues are baked, leave them to cool for an hour then gently release them from the mould.Β 

2. Once cooled, gently grate the bottom of the meringues to create a flat surface for them to sit.

3. Melt the white chocolate over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, add a spoonful of white chocolate into a meringue cup. Tip the meringue to the sides to coat the inside of the cup, then tip out the excess chocolate. Put them in the fridge for 5 minutes until the chocolate has set.

4. Fill the meringue cups with tropical fruit salad so that it’s flush with the top of the cup. Then remove the frozen passion fruit cremeux half spheres from the freezer and add them on top.

5. Add the chilled whipped vanilla chantilly to a stand mixer and whisk until it forms a medium peak – about 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to over whisk it. Add it to a piping bag fitted with a round tip nozzle. Then, holding it vertically over the top one of your meringues, push down so the cream covers all of the sphere.

6. Zest a light dusting of lime over the top of the meringues. Serve roughly 30 minutes after removing the passion fruit cremeux from the freezer (to allow it time to defrost, but not to melt).

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Rhubarb Pavlova

TIER 1

Rhubarb Pavlova

We start by mastering the meringue. This is a French-Swiss meringue, which involves whisking egg whites and sugar over a bain-marie (the Swiss element), then folding through icing sugar once cooled (the French element). This makes a gorgeous soft meringue that doesn’t start to weep. We fill it with tart poached rhubarb and a sweet vanilla chantilly cream – I love this flavour combination!

4
INDIVIDUAL PAVLOVAS

Ingredients

French-Swiss Meringue

200g Egg Whites
200g Caster Sugar
150g Icing Sugar / Powdered Sugar

Poached Rhubarb

2 Rhubarb Stalks, Washed + Woody Stalks Removed
Peel & Juice of Β½ Orange
Β½ Vanilla Bean, Cut in half and scraped
135g Water
15g Grenadine
135g Sugar

Vanilla Chantilly Cream

300g Double/Heavy Cream
5g Icing/Powdered Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

To Decorate
Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar
Raspberry Powder (optional)

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Digital thermometer
Flexible dough scraper/large metal serving spoon
Silicon mat

French-Swiss Meringue

1. Preheat the oven to 80C/175F Non-Fan Assisted

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and sugar. Place this over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk constantly until it reaches a temperature of 55C/130F on a digital thermometer.

3. Once at temperature, remove it from the heat and place it onto a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk for 6-7 minutes on a medium speed, until the bowl feels cool to the touch and the meringue is thick.Β 

4. Remove it from the stand mixer and place a sieve over the top. Sieve in the icing/powdered sugar, and use a whisk to gently fold this in. We use a whisk because we want the icing sugar to incorporate easily, but we also want to knock some of the stiffness out of the meringue, just slightly, so that we get a softer texture for the design of the pavlova.

5. Using a flexible dough scraper or a large metal serving spoon, scoop up the meringue, then wipe it on the edge of the bowl. Scoop that bit of meringue up again, and wipe it on the edge of the bowl one more time, before scooping it up for a final time. This scooping/scraping action will help to smooth the meringue.

6. Wipe off any excess meringue on the dough scraper/spoon with your finger and then swiftly but gently, dollop the meringue onto a baking tray lined with a silicon mat/parchment paper. As you are pulling up, and dolloping the final bit of meringue, do it slowly to create a slight β€˜flick’ to the pavlova. This is all best seen in the video!Β 

7. Repeat this to create 4 pavlovas in total.

8. Place these in the centre of the oven and bake them for 3 hours without opening the door. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. These can then be used straight away, or stored in an airtight container to use the next day.Β 

Poached Rhubarb

1. Remove the woody ends from the rhubarb, then chop it into small pieces, really whatever size you prefer. Place these into a shallow dish.

2. Into a saucepan, add all the remaining ingredients. Bring it to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Remove it from the heat to let it sit for a minute before pouring it over the rhubarb.

3. Place a lid on top of the dish or a large tray and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender but still has a slight bite. Drain the rhubarb from the liquid and set it to one side.

4. You can keep the sugar syrup to drizzle over the top of your finished pavlovas. If you want a slightly thicker syrup, place it back on the heat and boil until it has reduced and thickened. Then leave to one side.

Vanilla Chantilly Cream

1. Place the ingredients into a medium bowl and using a hand whisk/electric whisk/stand mixer, whisk it to a medium peak.

Assembly

1. Take a meringue and tip it upside down in your hands so the bottom is facing upwards. Holding it very gently to prevent it cracking, use a knife to carefully score a hole in the bottom of the meringue. You want quite a large hole, the same shape as the meringue, but don’t go too close to the edges. Keep going over the score lines until the meringue breaks free, then carve out the centre of the meringue with a spoon. If you want, you can keep the bottom of the meringue to add back once you have filled the meringue.

2. Scoop a little bit of chantilly cream into the shell, then add a few pieces of the poached rhubarb then top it up with more cream so that it is filled just to the top of the hole you created.Β 

3. Lift it up, place a plate on the meringue, and quickly and carefully flip it over so the meringue is now on the plate. Repeat with all four meringues.

4. Dust the meringues with icing sugar & raspberry powder (and add some of the rhubarb liquid drizzled over the top if desired).

5. This needs to be served immediately once filled.

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Bagels

TIER 1

Bagels

This dough starts with a poolish, which is a type of pre-ferment – a little like a sourdough starter –Β thatΒ adds a real depth to the flavour of the bread. The dough is then shaped and poached to get that iconic bagel texture. You can go to town on the toppings here, my favourite is Everything Bagel seasoning, which you can either buy online or make yourself!

8
BAGELS

Ingredients

Poolish

290g Water
3.5g Instant Dry Yeast/7g Fresh Yeast
185g Strong White Bread Flour

Dough

315g Strong White Bread Flour
10g Fine Sea Salt
20g Diastatic Malt Powder (Optional)

Poaching Liquid

3 Litres Water
1 Β½ Tbsp Barley Malt Extract
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt

Bagel Seasoning To Finish

Special equipment

Stand mixer

Poolish

1. Into a small bowl, add the yeast and water. Stir it together to dissolve, then add in the flour. Whisk this through with a hand whisk to create a wet batter with no lumps of flour.

2. Cover the bowl with a sheet of cling film and leave it at room temperature for 3 hours. After 3 hours you should see lots of bubbles on the surface and the mixture will have puffed up.

Dough

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the poolish that has bubbled up, and the remaining ingredients. It is ideal to use diastatic malt powder here to help with the flavour and the colouring of the bagels. You can leave it out, or add a little bit of barley malt syrup instead (2 tsp) as a replacement.

2. Attach the dough hook and mix on a medium speed for 10-12 minutes, until the dough is smooth and when you take a small piece of dough and stretch it between your fingers, it passes the window pane test.

3. Shape the dough into a ball, and then place it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge.

4. Once chilled, cut the dough into 100g pieces, and roll them into tight balls.

5. Place them onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and lightly spray the top with cooking oil. If you don’t have cooking spray you can very lightly brush them with any type of neutral oil.

6. Cover the surface with cling film and refrigerate again for 30 minutes.

7. Take the chilled dough, and use your finger to press a hold in the centre. Then place both index fingers in the hole and spin them around, to create a large hole in the centre of the bagel. The hole needs to be bigger than you think as it will shrink as it proofs and bakes.

8. Place the donuts back onto a tray, lightly oil and cover them with cling film again.Β  Proof for 30 minutes at room temperature, before placing them in the fridge overnight or for 12 hours.

9. The next day, prepare a large baking tray with your chosen bagel toppings. Preheat the oven to 220C/430F Non-Fan assisted.

10. Take a large pot and add the water, malt extract, baking soda and salt. Bring this to a gentle simmer.

11. Working in batches, poach the bagels in the liquid, for 60 seconds on each side (I do two batches of 3 bagels, then a final batch of 2 bagels).

12. Immediately remove them from the liquid using a slotted spoon, and lift them directly onto a wire rack to drain briefly.

13. Next, working quickly, lift them into your bagel seasoning. Flip the bagels to ensure they are evenly coated in the seasoning. Lift the coated bagels onto a baking tray lined with a sheet of parchment paper.

14. Bake the bagels for 20-22 minutes, or until they are a deep golden brown colour. Note – you’ll probably only be able to fit 6 bagels on your baking tray at a time, so I bake 6 bagels first, leaving the remaining 2 bagels in the fridge, before poaching and baking them. Alternatively, you can bake all 8 at once on two separate trays, ensuring you swap the trays over halfway through the bake.

15. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool or serve slightly warm. These are best stored in an airtight container and eaten within 48 hours but may need to be heated up slightly if left for over a day.

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Vienna Bread

TIER 2

Vienna Bread

This is more of an enriched dough, which makes the bread really soft. It’s like a hybrid between a Japanese milk bread and a French brioche. The shaping technique is what makes this recipe a little more tricky, so make sure to watch the video so you can follow my step-by-step instructions. Slashing the dough gives these loaves their classic Viennese style, and I’d recommend adding some sesame seeds to the top to finish them off.

8
MINI LOAVES

Ingredients

500g Strong White Bread Flour
10g Fine Sea Salt
40g Caster Sugar
20g Fresh Yeast or 10g Instant Dry Yeast
75g Whole Eggs
225g Whole Milk, Cold
125g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed

Toppings of choice to finish (optional)

Special equipment

Stand mixer
Razor blades
Perforated baguette mould (optional)

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add all of the ingredients, except the butter.

2. Knead the dough on a medium-low speed for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking to the edges.

3. After 5 minutes, add the cold cubed butter a few pieces at a time, waiting about 10 seconds in between each addition.Β 

4. Once you have added all the butter, knead for 5 minutes and then turn your stand mixer off for 5 minutes. This will help with the development of the gluten and make it easier to knead. After 5 minutes, knead for a further 7 minutes, or until the dough appears smooth, and a small piece of dough passes the windowpane test. This is where you take a small piece of dough and stretch it out between your fingers. The dough shouldn’t tear, and you should be able to see through the dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Scoop the dough onto your work surface and give it a brief knead and smooth it into a round ball.

6. Very lightly oil a large bowl and lift the dough into it. Cover the bowl with a sheet of cling film and refrigerate the dough overnight/12 hours.

7. Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into 80g pieces. This will give you β€˜demi baguette’ size loaves. If you want large loaves, almost like a large baguette, you can do 160g pieces.

8. Shape the dough into rough balls, and cover them with a tea towel and allow to rest for 5 minutes on the work surface.

9. Once rested, flip the dough over so the seam is facing up, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rough oval shape. You will need a little bit of flour to stop it sticking as you roll but avoid using too much otherwise it will be difficult to seal them.

10. Take the oval and with the long edge in line with your body, fold one third of the dough towards the centre, and firmly seal it to the dough with the heel of your hand.

11. Rotate the dough 180 degrees, and fold the top β…“ of the dough into the centre and seal it with the heel of your hand.Β 

12. Then fold the top edge of the dough all the way over to meet the bottom edge. Seal it again firmly with the heel of your hand.

13. Then just lightly roll the sealed dough back and forth under both hands.

14. The buns can be left plain or covered in seeds. If you want to cover them in a topping, simply brush some water over the bun, then coat it liberally with your topping.

15. The vienna bread has an iconic slashed design, so using a very sharp razor blade, make slashes at a slight angle across the entire loaf. Slash deeper than you may think.

16. These are traditionally baked in perforated baguette moulds – they create a perfect shape for the vienna bread and allow for even air flow. Alternatively you can simply place them on a tray lined with a baking sheet.

17. Lift them onto the tray, evenly spaced and proof at room temperature, covered with a tea towel, for 2 hours. They should have doubled in size.

18. Just before they have proofed, pre-heat the oven to 200C/390F Non-Fan Assisted.

19. Once proofed, splash a small amount of water into the bottom of the oven, and then place them into the centre, baking for around 18-20 minutes or until golden in colour.

20. Remove them from the oven, and allow to cool slightly before serving. These are best stored in an airtight container and eaten within 48 hours.

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Tiramisu Cake

TIER 1

Tiramisu Cake

This is a subtle coffee flavoured cake, filled and decorated with vanilla and chocolate mascarpone swiss meringue buttercream, and topped with a chocolate ganache. I’ve used a scalloped edged scraper to create a funky texture as the design to this cake – relatively simple but so effective! Just make sure not to keep going over the cake. Have confidence in yourself! And remember, no one can see the back πŸ˜‰

LARGE 7-INCH
CAKE

Ingredients

Coffee Cake

455g Caster Sugar
495g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
405g Whole Eggs
21g Baking Powder
485g Cake Flour (or Plain/All-Purpose Flour)
2g Salt
5g Instant Coffee
45g Boiling WaterΒ 

Coffee Sugar Syrup

100g Sugar
100g Water
2g Instant Coffee

Mascarpone Swiss Meringue Buttercream

400g Egg Whites
700g Caster Sugar
7g Fine Sea Salt
1kg Unsalted Butter, cubed
2 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
200g Mascarpone

Chocolate Mascarpone Swiss Meringue Buttercream

300g Mascarpone Swiss Meringue Buttercream
100g Dark Chocolate, 70% Cocoa Solids

Chocolate Ganache

50g Dark Chocolate, Finely Chopped
140g Double/Heavy Cream

Cocoa Powder To Decorate

Special equipment

4 7-inch cake tins
Stand mixer
Digital thermometer
Rotating cake stand
Flat edged scraper
Scalloped edged scraper
Heat gun (or a hair dryer)
St Honore piping nozzle
Hand blender

Coffee Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/355F Non-Fan Assisted. Lightly grease 4×7” tins with soft butter, and place a circle of parchment in the bottom. Tip in a tablespoon of flour and shake this around to coat the tin and then tip out any excess.

2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt & baking powder, then whisk to combine. Set this to one side.

3. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar. Beat it with the paddle attachment for 3-4 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

4. Scrape the bowl, then back on a medium low speed, slowly add the eggs in about 6 additions, leaving about 10-15 seconds between each addition. Don’t worry if the batter looks slightly curdled at this stage.

5. Tip in the flour mixture and mix on a low speed until there are no more dry ingredients visible. Scrape down the bowl, really ensuring to scrape the bottom so that there are streaks of butter.

6. Finally, stir together the boiling water and the instant coffee powder. Pour this coffee mixture into the cake batter and mix on a low speed until combined. If you feel your batter is still a little too thick, just add a little more boiling water to loosen it.

7. Weigh 440g of batter into each tin. The batter will be quite thick so use the back of a hot spoon to spread it out roughly to the edges of the tin.

8. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the cakes have an even golden colour.

9. While still warm, gently loosen the edges of the cake from the cake tin with a palette knife, and then flip them out onto a wire rack. Let them cool for a few minutes before wrapping them tightly in clingfilm and refrigerating. Ideally you would chill them overnight but 4 hours is enough time too.

Mascarpone Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. In a stand mixer bowl over a pan of simmering water, whisk together the egg whites, caster sugar and sea salt until the mixture reaches 65C on a digital thermometer.

2. Once the mixture comes to temperature, immediately add the bowl to your stand mixer and mix on a medium speed for 10-15 minutes, until the bottom of the bowl is tepid to touch.

3. Next, with your stand mixer on a medium speed, add the butter a little at a time, leaving 5-10 seconds between each addition. Once it’s all been added, continue mixing for another 5 minutes.Β 

4. Finally, add the mascarpone and vanilla and, using the paddle attachment, mix on a low speed for 5 more minutes.

5. To make the chocolate mascarpone swiss meringue buttercream, melt the chocolate over a bain marie, let it cool for 3 minutes then whisk through 300g of the plain mascarpone swiss meringue buttercream. If the buttercream seems too soft when you’ve whisked throught the chocolate, just pop it in the fridge for a few minutes so it can thicken slightly.

6. When you’re ready to start decorating your cakes, add the buttercreams to piping bags.

Coffee Sugar Syrup

1. In a saucepan over a medium heat, mix the sugar, water and coffee together until the sugar has dissolved. Leave to one side to cool.

Crumb Coat

1. Using a serrated knife, evenly cut the top off your cake layers to make them level.Β 

2. Put a cake board on top of a rotating cake stand. Secure the cake board down with some wet kitchen paper.

3. Add a small dollop of buttercream to your cake board and place your first layer on top, cut side up. Using a spoon, add some sugar syrup to the top of the cake layer.

4. Next, pipe a dollop of chocolate buttercream in the centre of the cake layer. Then, add a circle of the vanilla buttercream around the chocolate buttercream. Follow this with a circle of chocolate, and finish it with a circle of vanilla. Make sure you end with the vanilla buttercream round the outside.

5. Repeat this with the second and third cake layers, so you have three layers of buttercream in total. Place your final layer on top, making sure the cut side is facing down.

6. Next it’s time to crumb coat the cake. Add more vanilla buttercream to the outside of the cake – you can be messy here! Then, using a palette knife, spread the buttercream out over the entire outside of the cake, making sure all the gaps between the layers are filled.

7. Next, hold a flat edge scraper against the outside of the cake at about a 30 degree angle. In one swift motion, spin the cake whilst keeping a straight hold of the scraper. Repeat this a few times, filling in any gaps with extra buttercream. You should be left with an even crumb coat around the cake. Then, take your palette knife and smooth the top of the cake.

8. Chill the cake until the buttercream feels firm to touch. About 20 minutes in the freezer or 30-40 minutes in the fridge.

Decoration

1. Once your buttercream has chilled, take a palette knife and spread a thick layer of your vanilla buttercream over the outside of the cake (don’t worry about the top). You want to make sure this buttercream is quite soft with few air bubbles, so I like to add it back into the stand mixer and use a heat gun or hair dryer to just loosen it a little before using. Melting it slightly will give you a soft, bubble free buttercream,Β 

2. Then, using a scalloped edged cake scraper, use the same technique as the crumb coat. Heat the edge of the scraper with a heat gun or hair dryer, then hold it at a 30 degree angle against the side of the cake, and in one swift motion spin your cake, holding the scraper steady.

3. You’ll likely be left with a few gaps/air pockets. Fill these in with some buttercream and repeat the process, making sure you heat your scraper slightly before attempting the scrape. I wouldn’t recommend doing this more than 3 times or you will scrape off too much buttercream.

4. Once you’re happy with the design of the cake, use a palette knife to scrape off any excess buttercream from the top of the cake.

5. Next, add your remaining vanilla buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a St. Honore nozzle. Holding the piping bag firmly, at the edge of the top of the cake pipe in a zigzag motion whilst spinning your cake stand. Try and do this in one spin until you have covered the entire edge of the cake.

6. Finally, make your chocolate ganache. In a saucepan, heat the double cream over a medium heat until it’s simmering. Add the chopped chocolate to a narrow tall jug, then pour over the heated cream. Use a hand blender to blend the mixture until smooth. Try to avoid vigorously moving the blender to ensure you don’t add too many air bubbles to the ganache. Let it sit for 2 minutes.

7. Add a dusting of cocoa powder over the piped edges of your cake. Then slowly pour the ganache over the top of the cake until you’ve covered about β…” of the cake top. Gently tilt the cake to fill the entire top.

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Red Velvet Cake

TIER 2

Red Velvet Cake

This is such a light and fluffy red velvet cake recipe, a new favourite for me. Filled with cream cheese swiss meringue buttercream, and decorated with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, tempered white chocolate ‘leaves’ and a velvet spray. We get technical here, but stay with me! Tempering chocolate is such a great skill to have in your baking toolkit, and if you’re already a pro at tempering, I think you’ll love the technique to this design.

1 LARGE
7-INCH CAKE

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake

160g Unsalted Butter
8g Red Fat Soluble Powder (or a good squeeze of Red Gel Colour)
300g Whole Eggs
170g Egg Yolks
170g Egg Whites
390g Caster Sugar, Divided
8g Baking Powder
8g Baking Soda
40g Cornflour/Cornstarch
40g Cocoa Powder
200g Cake Flour (or Plain/All-Purpose Flour)
2g Salt
140g Plain Greek Yoghurt
8g Vanilla Paste
8g White Vinegar

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

400g Egg Whites
700g Caster Sugar
7g Fine Sea Salt
1kg Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature, Cubed
2 Tsp Vanilla Bean PasteΒ 

Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream

400g Swiss Meringue Buttercream
120g Cream Cheese, Full Fat, Room Temperature

White Chocolate Decoration

600g White Chocolate (to make 2x batches of 300g tempered white chocolate)

Velvet spray

150g White Chocolate
150g Cocoa Butter
10g White Cocoa Butter (more if needed to create a white colour)

Special equipment

4 7-inch cake tins
Stand mixer
Digital thermometer
2 7.3-inch acrylic cake discs (3mm thick)
Revolving cake stand
Straight edged scraper
Heat gun/hair dryer
Adjustable raplette (optional)
2 A3 sheets of acetate
Rolling pin
Spray gun OR canned velvet spray

Red Velvet Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F Non-Fan Assisted. Lightly grease 4×7” tins with soft butter, and place a circle of parchment in the bottom. Tip in a tablespoon of flour and shake this around to coat the tin and then tip out any excess.

2. In a bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients and leave to one side.

3. In a saucepan over a medium heat, mix together the butter and red colouring until melted. Leave to one side.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar (250g), whole eggs and egg yolks and whisk on a medium speed for 6-7 minutes until the mixture holds a slight ribbon.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and whisk on a medium speed until they’re frothy with small bubbles (about 2-3 minutes), then increase the speed to medium-high and slowly add the sugar (140g) one tablespoon at a time, leaving 10-15 seconds between each addition. Once you’ve added all the sugar, keep whisking until you have a stiff meringue (2-3 more minutes).

6. Next, add the meringue to the egg mixture in three parts and whisk each part by hand until you have a smooth batter.

7. In a separate bowl, stir the vinegar, yoghurt and vanilla paste together. Then whisk this mixture into the cake batter.

8. Next, sift your dry ingredients into the cake batter and gently whisk them through by hand until combined.

9. Finally, add your melted butter to the batter and gently whisk it through until combined.

10. Weigh 380g of batter into each tin.Β 

11. Bake the cakes for 28 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

12. While still warm, gently loosen the edges of the cake from the cake tin with a palette knife, and then flip them out onto a wire rack. Let them cool for a few minutes before wrapping them tightly in clingfilm and refrigerating. Ideally you would chill them overnight but 4 hours is enough time too.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. In a stand mixer bowl over a pan of simmering water, whisk together the egg whites, caster sugar and sea salt until the mixture reaches 65C on a digital thermometer.

2. Once the mixture comes to temperature, immediately add the bowl to your stand mixer and mix on a medium speed for 10-15 minutes, until the bottom of the bowl is tepid to touch.

3. Next, with your stand mixer on a medium speed, add the butter a little at a time, leaving 5-10 seconds between each addition. Once it’s all been added, continue mixing for another 5 minutes.Β 

4. Finally add the vanilla and, using the paddle attachment, mix on a low speed for 5 more minutes.

Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Note – After finishing the filming I decided to adjust the recipe slightly as I wanted to improve the texture of the buttercream for the final coat. So I have adjusted the recipe here, where the cream cheese swiss meringue buttercream is just used as the filling, and then the swiss meringue buttercream is used for the final coat. This will give the cake a better finish.

1. Take the cream cheese, and beat it in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes on a medium speed.

2. Next, weigh 400g of the Swiss Meringue Buttercream and add this in thirds to the cream cheese, while beating with the paddle attachment.

3. This buttercream can be slightly unstable so if you find it has split slightly, switch to the whisk attachment and whisk on a medium high speed for 5-10 minutes, until it begins to smooth. It can take some time so be patient. It should be much smoother but slightly more aerated in texture, with a few more streaks of air bubbles compared to the regular swiss meringue buttercream. That’s ok as we are only going to use it for the filling.Β 

Crumb Coat

1. Using a serrated knife, evenly cut the top off your cake layers to make them level.Β 

2. Put a cake disc on top of a rotating cake stand (this is not necessary but makes cake decorating so much easier!). Secure the cake disc down with some wet kitchen paper.

3. Add a dollop of cream cheese buttercream to your cake board and place your first layer on top, cut side up.

4. Next, add a dollop of cream cheese buttercream in the centre of the cake layer. Use a palette knife to spread the buttercream out until you have an even layer.

5. Repeat this with the second and third cake layers, so you have three layers of cream cheese buttercream in total. Place your final layer on top, making sure the cut side is facing down, and cover this in buttercream too.

6. Next it’s time to crumb coat the cake. Add your vanilla buttercream to the outside of the cake, and use a palette knife to spread the buttercream out over the entire outside of the cake, making sure all the gaps between the layers are filled.

7. Next, hold a flat edge scraper against the outside of the cake at about a 30 degree angle. In one swift motion, spin the cake whilst keeping a straight hold of the scraper. Repeat this a few times, filling in any gaps with extra buttercream. You should be left with an even crumb coat around the cake. Then, take your palette knife and smooth the top of the cake.

8. Chill the cake until the buttercream feels firm to touch. About 20 minutes in the freezer or 30-40 minutes in the fridge.

9. Whilst the buttercream is chilling, grease one side of a cake disc with butter and add a circle of parchment paper, the same size as the cake disc. Use a palette knife to smooth the parchment paper – almost like you are β€˜squeegeeing’ out any excess buttercream. Place this disc in the freezer.

10. Once chilled, add a thick layer of the vanilla swiss meringue buttercream onto the top of the cake. Use a palette knife to spread the buttercream to the edge of the cake. Place your second cake disc on top of the buttercream, with the parchment paper facing down. Press down firmly, and use your cake scraper to line up the top cake disc with the bottom cake disc.

11. Add more vanilla swiss meringue buttercream to the outside of the cake using a palette knife, and, following the same technique as the crumb coating, use the cake scraper to evenly spread the buttercream over the whole cake. Repeat the process 4-5 times, filling in any gaps with buttercream after each spin, until you have a nice smooth layer of buttercream. Make sure you clean and heat your scraper in between each spn, and start scraping from the same place each time.

12. Once happy with the cake, chill once more until the buttercream feels firm to touch. About 20 minutes in the freezer or 30-40 minutes in the fridge.

13. Once chilled, carefully run a knife in between the parchment paper and the cake disc to gently dislodge it. You should be able to lift the disc off, then peel the parchment paper off.Β 

14. Use a palette knife and a little more buttercream to the top and gently smooth the top of the cake as best as possible. Don’t worry too much, as we are going to spray it so it doesn’t need to be perfect.Β 

White Chocolate Decoration

For this decoration we need to use tempered White Chocolate. There is a thorough guide and video to this here. I recommended splitting this into two batches, as it is a quick process so 800g is too much chocolate to work with at once.

I use a raplette to level my chocolate and create a more professional finish. You can do this using a palette knife but it will be uneven. These instructions assume you are using a raplette.

1. Once you have tempered your first batch of chocolate, take an A3 sheet of acetate and press it down onto a very lightly oiled work surface (to ensure it sticks). Alongside this, lay down a few sheets of clingfilm, longer than the length of the acetate, also on an oiled surface.

2. Set the raplette to a height of 2-3mm and a width of roughly 25cm/10 inches. Pour the tempered chocolate into the well of the raplette and, working quickly, drag this along your acetate to create an even rectangle of chocolate.

3. Let the chocolate set until it is just touch dry (you don’t want it to solidify too much). This should only take 2-3 minutes.

4. Using a sharp knife and a metal ruler, cut even, diagonal lines across the chocolate, roughly 3cm/1.25” wide. Repeat this in the other direction to create squares.

5. Place another sheet of acetate on top and lift the chocolate onto the clingfilm. Place a large rolling pin at one end and wrap the clingfilm and chocolate around the rolling pin. You need to ensure you’re working quickly here to ensure the chocolate doesn’t snap as you’re rolling it. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.Β 

6. Once set, carefully remove the rolling pin and clingfilm to release the squares of chocolate. Put them to one side and repeat the process with the second batch of tempered chocolate.

Assembly

1. There are no real rules here! Just start to add your chocolate squares onto your cake, layer by layer. I like to overlap mine to create a bit more texture. If your cake is too cold, the chocolate won’t stick, so it can be helpful to heat it up a little with a heat gun/hair dryer before you palace on each square. You want your top layer of chocolate to end slightly above the top of the cake. Once you’ve added all the chocolate, place the cake in the fridge or freezer so it is cold before we spray. It only needs around 15m in the freezer or 30m in the fridge.Β 

2. Next move on to your velvet spray. You can buy a premade spray in a can, or you can make your own velvet spray and use a fence spray gun (!) to spray your cake. To do this, add your ingredients to a bowl and stir over a pan of gently simmering water until melted. Then remove from the heat and cool until it reaches 45C.

3. Add the mixture to the spray gun and spray evenly over your cake. This is really messy so make sure anything behind your cake is well protected!

4. Ensure the cake comes to room temperature before serving.

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Tarte TropΓ©zienne

TIER 2

Tarte TropΓ©zienne

This recipe uses the same style of enriched dough as Tier 1, but we add a few more elements to level it up. We make a crème diplomate for the centre of the cake, and top it with a streusel. Traditional Tarte Tropézienne also has pearl sugar on top which gives it a lovely crunch! If you want to level this up even more, try adding some of the raspberry gel from the Maritozzi Marchigiani!

2
TARTE TROPÉZIENNE

Ingredients

For the dough

150g Whole Milk
90g Double/Heavy Cream
180g Whole Eggs
120g Caster Sugar
12g Salt
120g Plain Flour
495g French Strong Patisserie Flour (you are looking for white patisserie flour with a protein content of around 11-12%. Alternatively you could use white bread flour)
12g Instant Dry Yeast
Zest 1 Medium Orange
120g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Cubed

For the crème pÒtissière

500g Whole Milk
1 fresh vanilla bean pod/1.5 tsp vanilla bean paste
75g Caster Sugar
120g Egg Yolks
40g Cornstarch
Pinch of Sea Salt Flakes

For the crème diplomat

Crème pÒtissière (Above)
Weight of crème pÒtissière in Double/Heavy Cream

For the egg wash

60g Whole Egg
5g Double/Heavy Cream

For the streusel

25g Demerara Sugar (or light brown sugar)
25g Unsalted Butter, Cold
25g Plain/All Purpose Flour
25g Ground Almonds

For the sugar syrup

50g Water
50g Sugar

To bake

Pearl sugar

Special equipment

Stand mixer
7″ cake tin/7″ ring mould

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the orange zest followed by the milk, eggs and cream. On top of this, add the sugar, salt, flours and yeast. Knead the dough on a medium speed for around 15 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl throughout to ensure all the mixture is combined.

2. Next, slowly add the cubed butter a few pieces at a time, leaving about 20-30 seconds between each addition. Continue kneading for 12-15 minutes, until the dough comes away cleanly from the side of the bowl.

3. Once kneaded, take your dough out of the bowl and shape into a ball. Put it in a lightly greased bowl and lightly grease the top of the dough. Cover the top of the dough directly with cling film, and then cover the bowl with cling film. Proof in the fridge overnight (minimum 12 hours)

4. The next day, once your dough has proofed, take it out of the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and your rolling pin, and roll it out into an oval shape to approximately half an inch thick.

5. Cut two circles out of your dough, the same circumference as the bottom of your cake tin or ring mould. (If you’re using a ring mould, you can use the ring mould to cut the dough. If you’re using a cake tin, you can use a pizza wheel to cut around the bottom of the tin.)

6. Place the dough into your greased and lined cake tins/ring moulds. Cover with a tea towel and leave to proof for 2-2.5 hours. Whilst proofing, make your crème pÒtissière.

7. Start the crème pÒtissière by heating milk and vanilla in a saucepan over a medium heat. Whilst this is heating up, in a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolk, sugar, cornstarch and salt. 

8. Once the milk has come to a gentle simmer, slowly pour it over the top of the egg mixture, whisking constantly.

9. Pour the combined mixture back into the saucepan and continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken. It will take about two minutes to come to a boil. Once it reaches this point, heat and whisk for a further minute to cook out all the cornstarch. You should be left with a thick, pudding-like consistency.

10. Pass the mixture through a sieve onto a baking tray lined with cling film. Cover the surface of the mixture directly with cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Meanwhile, make the streusel.

11. In a bowl, add all your ingredients and combine them together with your hands until the butter has broken down and it’s a sand-like consistency. Then squeeze the streusel into a ball, cover it in cling film and chill it in the fridge for at least an hour.

12. Just before the dough has finished proofing, preheat your oven to 160C/320F Non- Fan Assisted.Β 

13. Make the egg wash by whisking together the eggs and cream in a bowl. Lightly brush the top of your cakes with the egg wash, then grate the streusel over the top (you’ll have some leftover). Lastly, add a good amount of pearl sugar. Bake the cakes for 35 minutes, until the inside of the cakes are above 90C. Whilst your cakes are baking, make the sugar syrup.

14. In a saucepan, add the sugar and water and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved, then leave to one side to cool.

15. Once baked, take your cakes out of their tins and leave to cool on a wire rack (approximately 45 minutes)

16. Once cooled, cut the cakes in half and brush your sugar syrup over the bottom half of the cakes. Next, make your crème diplomate.

17. Take your crΓ¨me pΓ’tissiΓ¨re out of the fridge and weigh it in a bowl (you should have approximately 525g). Weigh the same weight in double cream and whisk in a bowl until you have a medium stiff peak. It’s important that the cream is not under whipped as if it is too soft, it will result in a soft crΓ¨me diplomate that won’t be able to support the weight of the brioche and it will β€˜smoosh’ out when you place the lid on top.Β 

18. Going back to your crΓ¨me pΓ’tissiΓ¨re, whisk it lightly until smooth, then fold in your whipped cream a third at a time, until it’s just combined. This is your crΓ¨me diplomate. Add the mixture to a piping bag with a 15mm round tip nozzle.

19. Pipe the cream in large droplets all over the base of the cakes, then gently put the tops of the cakes back on top. Dust with icing sugar, then your cakes are ready to serve!

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Chocolate Babka

TIER 1

Chocolate Babka

I love the design of this Babka! It’s such a showstopper and so unbelievably tasty. This recipe teaches you theΒ foundations of enriched dough, which we fill with a super easyΒ chocolate filling. It’s just the braiding that requires a bit more brain power, but watch the video and I’ll walk you through it step by step – I promise it’s easier than it looks!

2
BABKAS

Ingredients

For the dough

750g White Bread Flour
150g Caster Sugar
15g Instant Dry Yeast
225g Whole Milk
165g Whole Eggs
9g Salt
1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
150g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Cubed

For the chocolate filling

240g Unsalted Butter
160g Caster Sugar
80g Cocoa Powder
Pinch of sea salt flakes

For the egg wash

2 Egg Yolks (35g)
Splash of Water

For the sugar syrup

100g Caster Sugar
100g Water

Special equipment

Stand mixer
2 x 2lb loaf tins

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk and eggs followed by the strong white bread flour, the sugar, salt and yeast. Lastly, add the vanilla bean paste. Knead together on a medium-low speed (speed 3 on a KitchenAid) for 8 minutes.

2. Next, slowly add the butter a few pieces at a time (waiting 20-30 seconds between each addition), and keep kneading until smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated.Β  This will take about 10-12 minutes.Β 

3. Once your dough is ready, lift it out of the bowl and shape it into a tight ball. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and lightly grease the top of the dough (I use an oil spray but alternatively, you can put some oil on your hands and gently rub the dough). Cover the surface of the dough directly with cling film, and the top of the bowl. Chill in the fridge overnight (minimum 12 hours).

4. Just before you’re ready to roll your dough, make the chocolate filling.Β 

5. In a saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat

6. In a separate bowl, add the sugar, cocoa powder and salt

7. Once your butter has melted, pour it over the dry ingredients and whisk until combined

8. Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes, stirring with a spatula occasionally until it becomes the consistency of soft butter. It may take longer if your room temperature is a little warmer. To speed it up, just pop it in the fridge and stir every few minutes.Β 

9. Once your Babka dough has chilled, lightly flour your surface and place the dough on top. Flour the dough and roll it out to roughly 18”x24” (roughly the width of your two loaf tins placed side by side). The dough should be nice and thin.

10. Next, spread your chocolate filling all over the top of the dough, right to the edges.

11. Using your hands, starting with the edge closest to you, roll the dough into a tight log, then place it in the freezer for 10 minutes (you can bend it slightly to make sure it fits!).

12. Once your dough has chilled, cut off any rough ends and then cut the dough lengthways directly down the centre. Next, place one half of the log over the top of the other half in a cross shape. Starting with one side of the cross, braid the dough into a tight plait, then repeat with the other side.

13. Line the bottom of your loaf tins with a piece of parchment paper. Place one of your tins next to the dough, cut the dough to the same length as the tin, then place it in your tin. Repeat with the other tin. You’ll likely have a little dough remaining.

14. Cover the tins with a tea towel and leave to proof for 2 hours. If you’re in a particularly cold kitchen, you can put your tins in the oven and add a small cup of boiling water to the bottom of the oven. Replace this every 30 minutes or so to speed up the proofing process slightly.

15. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F Non- Fan Assisted just before the time is up.Β 

16. Once your Babkas have proofed, mix together the egg wash ingredients and paint it over the Babkas.

17. Just before adding your Babkas to the oven, add some boiling water to a tray and place this on the bottom shelf of your oven. Add the Babkas to the middle shelf and bake for 60-70 minutes. To check they are cooked in the middle, probe the centre of the Babkas with a digital thermometer – they should be over 90C/195F.

18. Whilst the Babkas are baking, make your sugar syrup. Add the water and sugar to a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until it’s gently simmering and all the sugar has dissolved.

19. Once baked, remove the Babkas from the oven and lightly run a knife around the outside of the tins to loosen them. Tip them onto a wire rack and use a pastry brush to soak them in the sugar syrup. Wrap the Babkas in cling film and leave to cool for 1 hour. It’s important to leave them for an hour to allow the middle of the Babkas to completely set.

20. Once cooled, your Babka’s are ready to serve! They’re best eaten straight away (or within a few hours) as they have the tendency to dry out a little, but if you want to serve them later I’d pop them in the oven for 5-7 minutes before serving.

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Lemon β€˜Babka’ Bundt Cakes

TIER 1

Lemon β€˜Babka’ Bundt Cakes

This recipe is my take on a non-yeasted Polish Babka Bundt. It’s a simple lemon cake recipe that’s super soft, covered in a lemon syrup and finished with a lemon sugar. I’ve gone for these beautiful miniature bundts, but if you don’t have a similar tin you can use a muffin tin!

6
INDIVIDUAL BUNDT CAKES

Ingredients

For the lemon sugar

Peel of 4 Large Lemons (60g)
200g Caster/Granulated Sugar

*This will make more than you need but it can be stored in an airtight container – this will ensure the lemon peel doesn’t go bad.Β 

For the lemon cake

Zest 1 Lemon (2g)
125g Caster/Granulated Sugar
100g Plain/All-Purpose Flour
5g Baking Powder
2g Salt
100g Ground Almonds
200g Whole Eggs
50g Vegetable Oil
30g Lemon Juice
Soft Unsalted Butter + Flour To Coat

For the lemon syrup

100g Sugar
50g Lemon Juice
50g Water

Special equipment

Stand Mixer
Blender
4 Cup – 6 Cavity Mini Bundt Tin

Lemon Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 80C/175F Non- Fan Assisted.Β 

2. Peel the lemons using a vegetable peeler – you should get roughly 60g of lemon peel.

3. Place the lemon peels onto a baking tray lined with a silicon mat.

4. Place the lemon peel in the oven to dry them out, it will take 1-1.5 hours. They should look shrivelled once done.Β 

5. Once completely dry to the touch, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 30 minutes.

6. Into a blender, add the sugar and dried lemon peels. Blend on high speed for 15-20 seconds, or until you have a fine, fragrant powder with no large lumps of lemon skin.Β 

7. Add the mixture into an airtight container and set it to one side.Β 

Lemon Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/355F Non-Fan Assisted. Take soft butter (not melted), and use a pastry brush to brush the inside of the bundt tin cavities to ensure an even coating. Over the top of the tins, sieve over a few tablespoons of plain/all-purpose flour in each cavity, and shake it around the tin to coat. Tap out the excess and set the tin to one side.Β 

2. In a medium bowl, add the sugar and the lemon zest. Massage the zest with your fingertips into the sugar to release the citrus oils.Β 

3. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk it together to combine, then whisk in the ground almonds. Set this mixture aside.Β 

4. In a large bowl, add the eggs and lemon sugar. Using an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer), whisk on a medium speed for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is thick, pale and fluffy.

5. Pour in the oil, along with the lemon juice and whisk by hand to incorporate it, ensuring to catch any ingredients that may be at the bottom of the bowl.

6. Tip in the sifted dry ingredients and use a hand whisk again to combine until there are no more dry bits.

7. Scoop the batter into the cavities of the bundt tin, filling them up about β…˜ (75g per cavity if you’re using the same sized Bundt tin as me).

8. Bake the cakes for 18-20 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Whilst baking, make the Lemon Syrup.

9. In a medium saucepan over a medium heat, mix together the sugar, water and lemon juice and bring to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, take off the heat and leave to cool whilst the cakes continue to bake.

10. Once the cakes have baked and a skewer comes out clean, let them cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then place a wire rack on top before carefully flipping them over to release the cakes. Pour over the lemon syrup.

11. The cakes can be eaten warm or allowed to cool. Before serving, take the lemon sugar you made earlier and place it into a fine mesh sieve, and gently dust it over the top of the cake. The extra sweetness elevates the flavour of the cake!Β 

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Salted Caramel Bundt Cake

TIER 2

Salted Caramel Bundt Cake

This recipe we advance the ‘flavoured sugar’ technique from Tier 1 and make a powdered salted caramel to add to the cake batter. This was a bit of a fluke whilst recipe testing but wow, the flavour of this cake is unreal! I’ve topped it with a decorative salted caramel sauce that’s quite chewy in texture. If you want something softer, switch it out for the salted caramel recipe in Tier 2 of the Chocolate Tart classes!

1

12 CUP BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients

For the caramel sugar

320g Caster/Granulated Sugar
4g Fine Sea Salt

For the caramel cake

245g Caramel Sugar (Recipe Above)
95g Caster/Granulated Sugar
95g Light Brown Sugar
465g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
385g Whole Eggs, Room Temperature
1 Tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
465g Self Raising Flour
35g Boiling Water
Soft unsalted butter + flour to coat the bundt tin

For the caramel sauce
125g Caster/Granulated Sugar
65g Water
75g Double Cream
30g Unsalted Butter
Pinch Sea Salt Flakes

Special equipment

Blender
Stand Mixer
12 Cup Bundt Tin

Caramel Sugar

1. Into a medium frying pan, add about β…• of the sugar, spreading it evenly across the pan.

2. Place the pan onto a medium heat, and gently shake the pan to agitate the caramel, until it has melted.

3. Add another β…• of the sugar on top and agitate the pan again to dissolve the sugar, until it has melted.Β 

4. Continue adding the sugar in increments, ensuring it is fully melted before adding the next addition. At this point, you can begin to use a rubber spatula to stir it through.

5. Once you have added all of the sugar, add in the salt and continue to stir it with a rubber spatula until it reaches a deep amber colour.

6. Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it evenly onto a baking tray lined with a silicon mat.

7. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, until it has set completely firm.

8. Once set, break the caramel into shards and place it into a high powered blender and blender for 5-10 seconds, into a fine powder*

* Once you have blended the sugar, it is important to use it immediately for the cake, otherwise it will begin to absorb moisture and go very sticky.Β Β 

Caramel Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/355F Non-Fan Assisted. Take soft butter (not melted), and use a pastry brush to brush the inside of the bundt tin to ensure an even coating. Sieve over a few tablespoons of plain/all-purpose flour and shake it around the tin to coat. Tap out the excess and set the tin to one side.Β 

2. Take the caramel sugar and weigh 245g.

3. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the soft butter and all the sugars. With the paddle attachment, beat it on a medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is thicker and paler in consistency, scraping down the bowl as needed.Β 

4. Add the eggs in four parts, beating for a few seconds between each addition (still at a medium speed). Then add the vanilla bean paste. At this point, the batter will look split but don’t panic.Β 

5. Sift in the self-raising flour, and mix on a low speed just until the flour has been absorbed.Β 

6. Finally, tip in the boiling water and mix to combine. This will help to loosen the cake batter slightly.Β 

7. Use a spatula to evenly scoop the cake batter into the lined bundt tin, then using the back of a slightly warm spoon, spread the top of the batter out just to smooth it slightly.Β 

8. Place the cake into the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.Β 

9. Allow it to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before placing a wire rack on top, and then flip the cake out to release it. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before adding the Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce

Note: if you want a softer, runny caramel sauce I would recommend using the Tier 2 salted caramel recipe from the October’s chocolate tart recipe.

1. Into a medium saucepan add the water, then the sugar. Place it on a medium heat.

2. Cook the caramel, until it reaches a deep golden brown colour, being careful not to burn it.

3. Pour in the cream and add the butter. Be careful as this will bubble quite violently. Use a hand whisk to mix it through and continue to cook for about 30 seconds on a medium low heat until you have a smooth glossy caramel. Stir in a good pinch of sea salt flakes and whisk them through.

4. The caramel can be served immediately as a warm sauce, or poured over the top of the cake in a decorative drip. The caramel will set as it cools, and turn into a more stringy, chewy texture, like a candy bar! It holds its shape very well, so is perfect to leave at room temperature on the cake for when you are ready to serve.

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Raspberry Maritozzi Marchigiani

TIER 2

Raspberry Maritozzi Marchigiani

For this recipe, we use the same dough as Tier 1 but we turn it into a more advanced shape. We make a raspberry reduction and a raspberry gel which really takes it to the next level. I’ve not added crΓ¨me pΓ’tissiΓ¨re to this one, but you easily can to add that extra bit of decadence. I’ve topped it with raspberry powder and edible flowers to give it that extra wow factor.

6
LONG BUNS

Ingredients

For the raspberry gel + raspberry reduction
400g Frozen Raspberries
40g Caster/Granulated Sugar
Agar Agar Powder

For the dough
315g White Bread Flour
25g Caster/Granulated Sugar
6g Instant Dry Yeast
5.5g Sea Salt
55g Whole Eggs
160g Whole Milk
Zest Β½ Lemon
2g Vanilla Bean Paste (1 Tsp)
55g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Cubed

For the egg wash
50g Whole Egg
5g Whole Milk

For the vanilla cream
300g Double/Heavy Cream
5g Icing/Powdered Sugar

To Decorate
Raspberry Powder
Edible Flowers (Micro Amaranth, Wood Sorrel)

Special equipment

Stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachments
Hand blender
Piping bag
Palette knife

For the Raspberry Gel and Reduction

1. Into a medium heat-proof bowl, add the frozen raspberries and pour the sugar over the top. Toss them gently to combine. Tightly wrap the surface of the bowl with cling film so that it is completely sealed.

2. Place a medium saucepan on the hob, filling it β…“ with water. Bring this to a gentle simmer.

3. Immediately lower the heat to its lowest setting and place the bowl of raspberries on top. Let this sit on the pan for 2 hours.

4. After 2 hours, place a sieve lined with kitchen paper over a large bowl and pour the cooked raspberries into the sieve.Β 

5. Place the bowl into the fridge for 2 hours (or ideally overnight), allowing the raspberry syrup to drip into the bowl underneath.

6. Scoop the raspberry reduction out of the sieve and scoop this into a bowl. Cover it and refrigerate until ready to use.Β 

7. Take the raspberry liquid from the bowl, and pour it into a jug sitting on a digital scale. For every 100g of raspberry syrup, we are going to add 1g of agar agar powder. (So for example, if the liquid weighs 120g, add 1.2g of agar agar powder)

8. Add the raspberry syrup and the agar agar powder into a saucepan and bring it to a boil, whisking to combine. Once at a boil, cook for 1 minute.

9. Remove it from the heat and pour it onto a shallow baking tray and set it in the fridge to cool until firm to the touch (this should take about 30 minutes).Β 

10. Once firm, break the gel into pieces and blend until smooth. Set this gel aside, covered in the fridge, until ready to use.

 

For the Dough

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add milk, eggs and yeast. On top of that, pour the flour, sugar & finally the salt. Add in the lemon zest & vanilla.

2. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a medium low speed, scraping down the sides half way through to make sure everything is incorporated.

3. After 10 minutes, add in the cubed cold butter a little at a time, and increase the speed to medium. Once all the butter has incorporated, knead for a further 3 minutes by which point the dough should be nice and smooth.

4. Lift the dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface. Gently shape it into a smooth round ball and lift it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and proof the dough for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.

5. Once proofed, remove the dough from the bowl and cut it into 100g pieces. You should get 6 pieces of dough in total.

6. Take each piece of dough and roughly shape it into a tight ball. Then, using your hand, flatten the dough into a rough oval shape, flip it over, so the smooth side is now facing down, and the short edge of the dough is facing towards you.

7. If the dough has started to contract, just press it out again with your fingers.

8. Use your fingers to gently blend the bottom edge of the dough into the work surface. Then, starting at the top, tightly roll the dough on itself, into a log shape. You might need a tiny bit of flour on your hands as you do this, but avoid using too much or it will prevent the dough from sticking together.Β 

9. Once you’ve got the log shape, gently roll it back and forth on the surface, and then use your fingers to apply some pressure at the ends of the dough, pressing down and rocking the dough back and forth, to form small β€˜tails’ on the end of the dough (almost like a baguette)

10. Carefully lift the dough, seams side down, onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and repeat with the remaining dough.Β 

11. Cover the dough loosely with a tea towel and allow it to proof again for another 1-1.5 hours until the dough has increased in size about 1.5x.

12. Just before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 180C/355F (non-fan assisted).

13. Prepare the egg wash by whisking together the egg and milk.

14. Use a pastry brush to paint an even coating over the dough and then place the dough into the oven and bake for around 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

15. Remove from the oven and lift them onto a wire cooling rack, to cool completely.

 

For the cream

1. In a stand mixer, whisk together the double cream and icing sugar until you have a medium peak.

 

Assembly

1. Cut your bun down the centre (like a hot dog!) and add a small amount of the raspberry pulp across the bottom of the bun. I wouldn’t recommend overloading your bun with this! If you want to take this to the next level, you can also add some crΓ¨me pΓ’tissiΓ¨re from Tier 1 too!Β 

2. Fill the rest of the bun with the whipped cream. Then, using a warm palette knife, scrape across the edge of the bun to smooth the cream and create a nice clean finish. You’ll be left with a little cream around the edges, so I tend to use my (clean!) finger to remove this.

3. Next, add your raspberry gel to a piping bag and cut a small hole at the end. Pipe the gel onto your bun as you wish. I went full-on hot dog and piped mine like ketchup in a zigzag pattern over the cream.

4. Finally, dust your optional raspberry powder over the top of the bun, and add the optional edible flowers. Repeat for all buns.Β 

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Maritozzi

TIER 1

Maritozzi

Here we learn the fundamentals of Maritozzi dough, and how to shape it into the traditional Maritozzi style. I show you how to make the dough by hand, but you can stick it in a stand mixer if you have one. After a lot of messages on Instagram I found out a traditional Maritozzi has a little bit of crΓ¨me pΓ’tissiΓ¨re hidden inside – this adds an extra bit of sweetness which is divine! Filled with whipped cream, they’re a mouthful to eat but absolutely delicious.

7
MARITOZZI

Ingredients

For the dough
315g White Bread Flour
25g Caster/Granulated Sugar
6g Instant Dry Yeast
5.5g Sea Salt
55g Whole Eggs
160g Whole Milk
Zest Β½ Lemon
2g Vanilla Bean Paste (1 Tsp)
55g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Cubed

For the egg wash
50g Whole Egg
5g Whole Milk

For the crème pÒtissière
250ml Whole Milk
38g Caster/Granulated Sugar
20g Cornflour/Cornstarch
Pinch of Salt
60g Egg Yolk
2g Vanilla Bean Paste (1 Tsp)
20g Unsalted Butter, Cold + Cubed

For the whipped cream
450g Double/Heavy Cream
10g Icing/Powdered Sugar

Special equipment

Stand mixer with whisk attachment
Dough scraper
Piping bag
Palette knife

For the Dough

1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, eggs and yeast.

2. On top of that, pour the flour, sugar & finally the salt. Add in the lemon zest & vanilla.Β 

3. Using a dough scraper, combine all the ingredients until there is no liquid left over. You’ll be left with a rough dough.

4. On a clean surface, knead the dough together. To do this, hold the edge of the dough with your non-dominant hand, then with the heel of your dominant hand push the dough away from you, and then pull it over back towards you. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat for 10 minutes. (Alternatively knead in a stand mixer for 10 minutes on a medium low speed, scraping down the sides halfway through to make sure everything is incorporated). You should be left with a smoother dough, but not very elastic.

5. Add the cubed cold butter into the centre of your dough and continue to knead. If kneading by hand, you’ll want to move a little faster and can push with the heel of your hand a few times before rotating. If using a stand mixer, increase the speed to medium. Once all the butter has been incorporated, knead for a further 3 minutes by which point the dough should be nice and smooth.

6. Lift the dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface. Gently shape it into a smooth round ball and lift it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and proof the dough for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size. *You can make the Crème PÒtissière during this time. 

7. Once proofed, remove the dough from the bowl and cut it into 85g pieces. You should get 7 pieces of dough in total.

8. Take a piece of dough rough side up and pinch around the edges, bringing the dough into the centre (this creates tension to help create a more smooth ball). Then turn the dough smooth side up and, with your hand in a C shape, circle your hand repeatedly around the dough to make a nice even ball.Β 

9. Carefully lift the dough ball onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and repeat with the remaining dough.Β 

10. Cover the dough loosely with a tea towel and allow it to proof again for another 1-1.5 hours until the dough has increased in size about 1.5x.

11. Just before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 180C/355F (non-fan assisted).

12. Prepare the egg wash by whisking together the egg and milk.

13. Use a pastry brush to paint an even coating over the dough and then place the dough into the oven and bake for around 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

14. Remove from the oven and lift them onto a wire cooling rack, to cool completely.

 

For the Crème PÒtissière

1. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolk, sugar, salt and cornflour for 30 seconds until thick.

2. To a saucepan over a medium heat, add the whole milk and vanilla bean paste. Gently whisk until the milk is steaming (but not boiling).

3. Once steaming, slowly pour the hot milk over the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the combined mixture back into the pan and cook on a medium heat. Keep whisking and then once it starts to bubble, cook for a further minute.

4. Next, pass the mixture through a sieve over a bowl with the cold butter in. Whisk to combine.

5. Cover the surface of the mixture directly with cling film, then chill until you’re ready to assemble your buns.

 

For the cream

1. In a stand mixer (or by hand if you wish!), whisk together the double cream and icing sugar until you have a medium peak.

 

Assembly

1. Whisk the crème pÒtissière for about 30 seconds by hand, to loosen it, then add it to a piping bag.

2. Once your buns are cooled, starting slightly off-centre, cut through the bun with a knife at 45 degree angle. Don’t cut all the way through the bun (watch the video!).

3. Pipe some crème pÒtissière into the corner of the bun, filling it about ⅕ full.

4. Fill the rest of the bun with the whipped cream. Then, using a warm palette knife, scrape across the edge of the bun to smooth the cream and create a nice clean finish. You’ll be left with a little cream across the edges, so I tend to use my (clean!) finger to remove this.

5. Repeat with all the buns, then dust with icing sugar to finish.

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Decadent Baked Chocolate Tart

TIER 1

Decadent Baked Chocolate Tart

This recipe teachesΒ youΒ how to master the perfect chocolate pastry, and create the smoothest chocolate filling. Decadent really is the only way to describe it! It’s light but rich, and is best served with a nice dollop of Vanilla Chantilly.

1
TART

Ingredients

For the chocolate pastry

70g powdered/icing sugar
100g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
20g cocoa powder
50g egg yolks
180g all purpose/plain flour, plus a pinch of sea salt

For the cocoa egg wash

40g egg yolks, plus 5g cocoa powder
10g heavy/double cream

For the filling

155g whole eggs
85g granulated/caster sugar
pinch of sea salt
180g heavy/double cream
325g whole milk
130g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, melted

Special equipment

Stand mixer with paddle attachment
9-inch (22.8cm) fluted tart tin

Chocolate pastry and egg wash
  1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift in the sugar. Add the butter and the cocoa powder.
  2. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture forms a smooth paste, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed.
  3. Add in the egg yolks, scrape down the sides and beat for 30 seconds, or until incorporated.
  4. Scrape down the bowl once again to ensure no butter is stuck to the sides. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed for about 20 to 30 seconds, or until the mixture pulls together into a dough.
  5. Remove the dough from the bowl and gently work it into a disc shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap/cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  6. Take the dough out of the fridge and gently squeeze it, using your hands to test the firmness. You want the dough to be slightly pliable but still cold. If the dough is too soft it will get sticky as you roll, but if it is too cold it will crack. It might need a minute or two at room temperature to get it to the right consistency.
  7. Lightly flour the dough and your rolling pin, and working quickly, roll the dough into a rough circle until the pastry is relatively thin, about 0.15 to 0.20-inch (4mm to 5mm) thick. Lift the dough up occasionally and lightly flour underneath to prevent it from sticking. If the dough is tearing or feels too warm, place it on a baking tray and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes, then try again.
  8. Place your rolling pin at the top of the circle and fold the top edge of the dough over the rolling pin. Pull the rolling pin back towards you, which will wrap the dough around the rolling pin.
  9. Starting at the bottom edge of your fluted tart tin, carefully unroll the dough from the rolling pin, to cover the entire tin.
  10. Use your fingers to gently press the dough into the edges of the fluted indents. If the dough is tearing, simply take any excess pastry and patch the holes.
  11. Take the rolling pin, and pressing firmly against the top of the tin, roll it over the entire tin to trim away the excess dough. Place the tin on a tray and pop it into the freezer for 30 minutes. Pre-heat your oven to 350Β°F/175Β°C.
  12. Cut a large circle of parchment/baking paper, and scrunch this up a few times so that it is flexible. Remove the tray from the freezer and use a fork to poke holes evenly across the base of the pastry.Β 
  13. Place the parchment/baking paper on the inside of the pastry and press it into the edges. Pour your baking beans or rice into the base and spread them out. Place the tray with the tin on in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
  14. After 25 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and carefully lift out the parchment paper with the baking beans on. Return the tray to the oven and continue to bake until the pastry is an even golden colorβ€”about 5-10 minutes.
  15. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the pastry to cool for 10 minutes.
  16. Very carefully remove the pastry from the tin, keeping the removable base on the bottom. Really thoroughly mix together the ingredients for the egg wash to make sure the cocoa powder is incorporated.
  17. Using a pastry brush, lightly egg wash the inside and outside of the tart shell. Place it onto the tray and back into the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the egg wash has completely set
  18. Remove the tart from the oven, allowing it to cool slightly. It is now ready to add your filling.
Filling
  1. Lower the oven temperature to 285Β°F/140Β°C.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, and salt for 1 minute.
  3. In a small saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, combine the cream and milk. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, then slowly pour it over the egg mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
  4. Place the melted chocolate in a medium bowl and slowly pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate, using a spatula to stir in small circles in the center of the bowl (ensure the melted chocolate is warm for this step). Use a spoon to scoop off any foam from the top.
Assembly
  1. Place the baked tart case, still in the pan, on a baking tray in the center of the oven. Carefully pour the chocolate filling into the tart shell, filling it just below the lip of the tart shell. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until there’s a wobble about 3” (7.5cm) big in the center of the tart.Β 
  2. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the tart to cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge for 2 hours.Β 
  3. Remove the tart from the fridge and pop it out of the pan and onto your serving plate. oven. Decorate the tart with a dusting of cocoa powder around the edges.Β 

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Chocolate and Caramel Tartlets

TIER 2

Chocolate and Caramel Tartlets

For this recipe, we use the same pastry and filling from Tier 1, butΒ we advance itΒ by using individual perforated tart rings, and by creating a Chocolate Namelaka and a Salted Caramel. I’ve used a #127 piping nozzle to create a funky design around the edge, but you can do whatever you fancy!

6
TARTLETS

Ingredients

For the chocolate pastry

70g powdered/icing sugar
100g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
20g cocoa powder
50g egg yolks
180g all purpose/plain flour, plus a pinch of sea salt

For the cocoa egg wash

40g egg yolks, plus 5g cocoa powder
10g heavy/double cream

For the Namelaka

3g powdered gelatin
18g cold water
160g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
120g whole milk
12g glucose
240g heavy/double cream, cold

For the salted caramel

88g heavy/double cream
23g whole milk
68g glucose syrup, divided
40g superfine/caster sugar
1g flaky sea salt
30g unsalted butter

For the filling

100g eggs
50g granulated/caster sugar
pinch of sea salt
110g heavy/double cream
200g whole milk
80g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids

Special equipment

Stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachments
6x 3 x 0.78 inch (7.6×1.98cm) perforated tart rings
2x piping bags, plus a #127 tip piping nozzle
Hand blender

Chocolate pastry and egg wash
  1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift in the sugar. Add the butter and the cocoa powder.
  2. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture forms a smooth paste, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed.
  3. Add in the egg yolks, scrape down the sides and beat for 30 seconds, or until incorporated.
  4. Scrape down the bowl once again to ensure no butter is stuck to the sides. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed for about 20 to 30 seconds, or until the mixture pulls together into a dough.
  5. Squeeze the mixture in your hand to form a rough ball. Place the ball of dough onto a silicone mat. Place a second silicone mat on top and roll the mixture into a rough rectangle, getting it around 0.15 to 0.2 inch (4mm to 5mm) thick. If you don’t have silicone mats you can roll the dough between parchment paper, but it will be more difficult as it has less grip. Place it in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  6. While the dough is chilling, take the perforated tart ring and very lightly grease the inside with soft butter. This helps to prevent the dough from sticking to the ring.
  7. Remove the chilled dough from the freezer and, working quickly, peel the top silicone mat off of the dough. Press the 4 tart rings firmly into the dough, lift them up, and transfer them to a perforated tray lined with a perforated baking mat. The dough should be cold enough that it attaches to the ring as you lift it up. Place the tray in the fridge while you cut the walls.
  8. With the remaining dough, use a ruler and a sharp knife to cut 4 strips of dough each measuring 9.6 x 0.9 inches (24.4 x 2.3cm). These measurements seem quite precise, but this will ensure the dough fits perfectly into the tart rings with no excess overlapping. If they feel too warm to lift up, place them back in the freezer for 5 minutes just so they can cool back down slightly.Β 
  9. Remove the baking tray with the tart bases from the fridge and remove one strip of dough for the walls.
  10. Working quickly, take the strip of dough and place it inside the tart ring. Use your fingers to gently press together this strip of dough, against the base of the tart. The idea is to slightly push down the wall of dough so that it meets the dough on the base of the tart shell and there are no gaps. If at any point you feel the dough is too warm or is tearing, place everything back in the freezer for 10 minutes then carry on.
  11. Repeat this with the remaining tarts, again, chilling the dough if needed. At this point, squeeze together the remaining scraps of dough, and repeat the process, rolling the dough and chilling it, so that you can create the final 2 tart shells.Β 
  12. Once you have lined all the tart shells, avoid trying to move them in case the dough tears. Chill the entire tray for 15 minutes and pre-heat your oven to 350Β°F/175Β°C.
  13. Remove the shells from the freezer and holding a knife perpendicular to the tart shell, trim off the excess pastry hanging over the tart ring so that the pastry is flush.
  14. Place the tart shells in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. While they bake, thoroughly whisk together the ingredients for the egg wash.Β 
  15. Remove the tarts from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. At this point, the pastry should have retracted slightly from the ring mold, and you should be able to lift it off easily.
  16. Lift the shells up and using a pastry brush, apply an even egg wash all over the tart. Place them back on the tray and into the oven for a further 5-8 minutes. The pastry is blind baked now ready to add your filling.Β 
Namelaka
  1. In a small bowl, combine the powdered gelatin and cold water. Mix well and allow to bloom for 5 minutes.
  2. To a medium bowl, add the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water without allowing the bowl to touch the water. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.
  3. To a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and glucose. Stir the mixture until steaming. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin until it completely dissolves.Β 
  4. Slowly pour this mixture over the melted chocolate, stirring in small circles in the center of the chocolate as you pour. Initially, the mixture will look quite split and oily, but as you add the remaining milk, everything will pull together.
  5. Add the cold cream and use a hand blender or a hand whisk to mix until combined. Cover the surface with plastic wrap/cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 5 hours or ideally overnight.
Salted Caramel
  1. In a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, combine the milk, heavy cream, and 23 grams of corn/glucose syrup. Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking the mixture to ensure the syrup has fully dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat but ensure the mixture stays warm.
  2. In a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, combine the superfine/caster sugar and the remaining 45 grams of glucose sugar. Cook until the mixture turns a deep caramel color, whisking slowly to help disperse the sugar.
  3. Once golden, immediately pour in the hot cream mixture, being very careful as it will bubble up violently. Whisk the mixture and cook for 1 minute.
  4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the mixture through a sieve and into a large bowl. Let the mixture cool for 2 minutes. Add the sea salt flakes and butter. Blend or whisk until smooth.Β 
  5. Pour the mixture into a container and chill for at least 3 hours
Filling
  1. Lower the oven temperature to 285Β°F/140Β°C.
  2. To a medium bowl, add the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt for 1 minute.Β 
  4. In a small saucepan over a medium heat, combine the milk and cream. Heat until the mixture is steaming.Β 
  5. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the eggs, whisking to combine as you pour.
  6. Slowly pour this mixture over the melted chocolate, using a spatula to stir the mixture in small circles in the center as you pour. Once everything has been combined, use a spoon to scoop off any foamy bubbles on the top.
Assembly
  1. Place the tray with the tarts on, in the middle of the oven and carefully pour in the chocolate fillingβ€”just to the top of the tart shell. Bake for about 25 or 30 minutes or until they have a very small wobble in the center.Β 
  2. Remove the tarts from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature before refrigerating for 3 hours.Β 
  3. Remove the namelaka from the fridge and add it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until you get a medium–stiff peak.Β 
  4. Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a small St. Honore nozzle. Holding the piping bag just slightly below vertical, pipe the namelaka around the outside edge of the tart in a zigzag motion, leaving a small gap in the center. If you have a cake turntable, this can make it a little easier to spin the tart as you pipe.
  5. Add the salted caramel to a piping bag and snip a small hole off the end. Pipe this into the center of the tart.
  6. Allow the tarts to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.Β 

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