I’ll put my hand up right now, I’m not a huge fan of trifle. My husband however is something of a jelly monster as well as a custard monster and could eat a whole trifle if given the chance. Indeed, I’ve turned my back one afternoon to find an entire trifle completely demolished. So it is for him that I made this Raspberry and Lemongrass trifle. The recipe doesn’t actually call for the requisite jelly so I made some raspberry jelly and added it in. Trying it completely changed my mind about trifle. The sweet ever so slightly tart raspberries are gorgeous against the thick vanilla custard, cushioney sponge and velvety whipped cream. I couldn’t really taste the lemongrass in this recipe so overpowering were the luscious raspberries. And I couldn’t do a trifle without spreading a thin layer of raspberry jam. Overkill? Perhaps a little but a trifle is an exercise in just that.

Nigella’s Raspberry and Lemongrass Trifle

Trifle is the perfect thing to cook when you’ve got protracted time to busy yourself quietly in the kitchen. No one stage stakes long, but the whole needs to be lingered over. And if it sounds odd to suggest steeping the sponges in a syrup flavoured with lemongrass, I should say that I first had the idea when making a syrup with lemon balm for some jelly. If you’ve got a garden, this is easy to come by, but if you haven’t there is no way you can buy it. I tried, then, substituting lemongrass, weight for weight, and it worked beautifully. By the same token, if you have got verbena in the garden then do use that here. But since there isn’t a supermarket around that doesn’t major in lemongrass- and indeed its far more familiar to us that the indigenous lemon balm-this recipe, which first found shape in an Observer article on cooking traditional British foods with new “fusion” ingredients, is actually a good reminder that you can plunder the past without scorning the present.

• 600ml water
• 400g caster sugar
• 50g lemongrass, 3-4 sticks cut in half lengthwise
• 300g fresh raspberries
• 16 store bought ladyfingers/sponge fingers (I used a vanilla sponge cake)
• 3-4 tablespoons vodka
• 600ml single cream
• 8 egg yolks
• medium glass bowl or individual clear glasses

1. Make a syrup with the water and 325g of the sugar by bringing them to the boil in a saucepan and boiling for 5 minutes. Take the pan off of the heat. Add the lemongrass and let it infuse for about half an hour.

2. Strain the syrup into a measuring cup, keeping the saucepan with the lemongrass to one side. Take out about 150-200ml of the syrup and put it into a pan with the raspberries. Bring this to a boil and let it thicken slightly. Mash the fruit to create a jam like consistency. Let it cool a little and then dunk the ladyfingers in the raspberry mixture and arrange them in the bottom of your bowl. Add the vodka and about 100ml of the lemongrass syrup, depending on how much your ladyfingers absorb, and reserve the remainder.

3. Meanwhile, to make the custard, heat the cream in the syrup pan with the lemongrass until it is nearly boiling. Take it off of the heat and let it infuse for about 15 minutes, or so. Whisk the yolks and the rest of the sugar together and pour the cream into the same bowl. Then whisk again and put the custard back onto the heat in the cleaned-out pan. Stir until the custard thickens and then pour it over the trifle sponges. Let it cool.

4. Whip the heavy cream until thick but not too stiff. Cover the custard layer with this. Use about 1 cup of the remaining sugar syrup to make caramel by heating it in a saucepan until it turns a golden brown color. Drizzle the caramelised syrup over the layer of cream to decorate.

From Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson

I decided to make these as a gift for someone who bestowed upon me the kindest gift of all, the tickets to the Iron Chef dinner. I racked my brains for ages trying to come up with the perfect combination which of course had to include macadamias and in a minute of inspiration I decided to make use of these gorgeous Patons White Chocolate coated macadamias which I had tried many moons ago. They have a gorgeous toffee coating between the nut and the chocolate and are addictively moreish.

If you think I’ve made a typo by suggesting that you use salted macadamia nuts for the praline, fear not, I haven’t. I first tried a caramel and salt combination at Laduree in Paris in one of their famed macarons and adored it, it wasn’t too salty at all, in fact the salt flavour was quite subtle but it boosted the flavour incredibly. The excess salt needs to be removed from the salted macadamias prior to using them (just rubbing with your hands will do) to ensure that it doesn’t verge into the too-salty territory. And whilst I am a big eater of praline, this is my first successful time making it. Toffee was until now, my enemy as standing there waiting for toffee to boil was like the cooking equivalent watching paint dry and I’d inevitably wander off to do something and I’d end up with a horrible burnt mess, clouds of smoke and smoke alarms blaring. This time I stayed put and as soon as the caramel started to brown, I took it of the heat immediately and poured it over the nuts and voila! It worked. My nemesis no more!

I won’t say that this recipe is simple, its fiddly due to the many parts but you could easily omit the praline if you’re pressed for time or effort.

White Chocolate and Macadamia Praline cupcakes

White chocolate caramel cake

• 60g white chocolate chopped roughly
• 90g butter
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup (100g) SR flour
• 2 Tbs plain flour
• 1/4 cup hot water

White chocolate ganache (see recipe below)
Praline (see recipe below)
White chocolate coated macadamias
Fondant

1. Preheat oven to moderate 180degrees/160 fan forced.
2. Melt chocolate in bowl over small saucepan of simmering water
3. Beat butter, sugar and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy
4. Fold in sifted flours and melted chocolate and hot water. Spoon into cases (do not overfill)

5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Cool in tin.
6. Cut a 2 cm deep hole in the centre of each cake, fill with praline, then chocolate ganache, cut off pointy ends of the cut out tops leaving a flat disc and replace tops with these discs and smooth surface carefully.

7. Roll fondant in discs, cut round or fluted outline with cutter and stamp with desired patterns using embossing plates. Top with flower and secure flower with thickish mixture of icing sugar and water.

White chocolate ganache

• 100g white chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup cream

Combine chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon until smooth. Remove bowl from heat.

Set aside at room temperature to cool, stirring occasionally, until ganache is thick and spreadable.

Macadamia praline

• 1/3 cup salted macadamias (excess salt removed by rubbing)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water

1. Lay out macadamias on a baking tray covered in baking paper.
2. In a small saucepan on low heat dissolve sugar in water. Once sugar is fully dissolved, turn up heat and leave boiling without stirring for 5 minutes (set timer if necessary) watching like a hawk and resisting all natural instincts to wander off. As soon as it starts to turn a caramel colour, remove from heat and carefully pour over macadamias (it will be very hot so kitchen theatrics are not encouraged at this stage).
3. Wait to harden and then process in food processor until resembles crunchy breadcrumbs.

I’m not normally a huge fan of chicken nuggets being that I’m over 10 years of age. I’m sure that had they been around when I was younger I would’ve loved these as my taste was most certainly on the bland side until I was a teenager. Of course I had heard the stories that the chicken nuggets were made out of the grossest fattiest bits of chicken and that special obese chickens were bred to make into nuggets and whilst I listened to these stories with a degree of cynicism, a part of me wonders if its really true and stops me from ordering them. But it doesn’t stop me in trying these “healthier” version. I used broccoli puree as 1) I love broccoli 2) Its good for you and 3) Jessica said on Oprah that broccoli puree turns out the crispiest for some reason. Crispy is good when it comes to nuggets.

I didn’t use onion or garlic powder instead I used the actual items finely diced. I also didn’t turn the flax/linseed into meal leaving it in sesame seed sized bits which gave it a bit more texture although I’m sure children would prefer it ground up a bit more. I also found that it was difficult to add a substantial amount of broccoli to the chicken without it getting heavy and soggy. I love broccoli so I made sure to add quite a bit and as a result mine were quite heavy and the breading tended to fall off in broccoli puree lumps.

However they were tasty and quite addictive, especially with a squeeze of lime and served with fat golden potato wedges. Broccoli haters will be happy to know that the pureed broccoli becomes quite bland and you can barely taste it. Healthy and low fat eaters may not like the fact that the Panko breadcrumbs soak up quite a bit of oil, much more than the 1 tablespoon in the recipe if you want it to look and taste appetising.

I’m also not quite sure how much nutrition kids would get from the small amount of broccoli puree that sticks to the chicken pieces although I’m sure to some parents, even a small floret would be better than nothing!

Jessica Seinfeld’s Chicken Nuggets (with Broccoli or Spinach or Sweet Potato or Beet)

I don’t know any kid who doesn’t like chicken nuggets. Just don’t tell them what’s hidden inside!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup whole-wheat, white or panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup flaxseed meal (linseed)
• 1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup broccoli or spinach or sweet potato or beet puree
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders, rinsed, dried and cut into small chunks
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, Parmesan, paprika, garlic and onion powder on the paper or foil and mix well with your fingers.

In a shallow bowl, mix the vegetable puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.

Sprinkle the chicken chunks with the salt. Dip the chunks into the egg mixture and then toss them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan, and cook until crisp and golden on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn and cook until the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over, 4 to 5 minutes longer. (Cut through a piece to check that it’s cooked through.) Serve warm.

How to puree broccoli

PREP
Cut into florets.
COOK
Steam for 6 to 7 minutes. Florets should be tender but still bright green (if they turn an olive green color, they’re overcooked).
PUREE
In a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes. Add a few teaspoons of water if needed for a smooth, creamy texture.

By Jessica Seinfeld from Deceptively Delicious