Food Sorcery’s Favourite Desserts
Here’s a collection of Food Sorcery’s favourite desserts. We hope you enjoy recreating them at home. If you have any questions for Chef, get in touch lovetocook@foodsorcery.co.uk
Lemon or Lemongrass Posset
Ingredients – Serves 3-4:
- 300ml of double cream
- 60g caster sugar
- 1 juicy lemon or lemongrass to add an Asian twist
Method:
- Chop the lemon in half or bruise the lemongrass
- Bring the cream and sugar to the boil (careful it should just boil but not boil over). Once you see it boil – stay there and boil for exactly 3 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lemon or lemongrass.
- Strain this into a jug and cool for 20 minutes.
- If you wish to put a crumbled biscuit in the bottom of the receptacle – this is the time to do it. If not gently pour the cream into the glasses.
- Refrigerate for 6 hours minimum.
- Serve with fruit and edible flower
Food Sorcery Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients: Serves 9
For the sponge
- 200g/7oz soft dried pitted dates, roughly chopped
- 200ml/7fl oz water from a freshly boiled kettle
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 75g/2½oz unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 50g/1¾oz dark muscovado sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
- 150g/5½oz plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
For the sauce
- 150g/5½oz unsalted butter, softened
- 300g/10½oz dark muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp black treacle
- 200ml/7fl oz double cream, plus more to serve
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and lightly grease your dish.
- Put the chopped dates, boiling water and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, stir and then leave for 10 minutes.
- Cream the butter and black treacle together in a stand mixer until well mixed, then add the sugar and mix again, beating out any lumps. Beat in an egg and keep beating – scraping down as necessary – until completely incorporated, then do the same with the other egg. Beating more gently, add the flour and baking powder until you have a smooth, thick batter.
- Using a fork, stir the soaked dates, squishing them a bit, then pour the dates and their liquid into the batter and beat gently to mix in.
- Pour and scrape into your prepared dish or cake tin and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, to make the sauce, melt the butter, muscovado sugar and treacle over a very low heat in a heavy-based saucepan. Once the butter’s melted, stir gently until everything else is melted too. Now stir in the cream, then turn up the heat and when it’s bubbling and hot, take it off the heat.
- As soon as it’s out of the oven, prick the cooked sponge pudding all over with a cocktail stick and pour about a quarter of the warm sauce over, easing it to the edges with a spatula so that the sponge is entirely topped with a thick sticky glaze. Put a lid on the remaining sauce in the pan to keep it warm.
- Leave the pudding to stand for 20–30 minutes, then take to the table, with the rest of the sauce in a jug, and cream to serve.
Food Sorcery Sticky Toffee Pudding – Vegan and Gluten Free
Ingredients – Makes: 12 servings
- 1 cup dates pitted
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour gluten free, if needed
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Grease a baking tray or 12 ramekins.
- Add the dates, milk, and water into a saucepan and simmer, until the dates are softened. Remove from heat and add the baking soda. Mix into the mixture and let cool.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the date mixture and mix well. Gently add the flour until fully combined. Transfer the pudding mixture amongst the greased ramekins.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until just cooked and a skewer comes out clean.
- Prepare the sauce by adding the syrup, sugar, and butter in a saucepan and heating up and letting simmer, around 5 minutes.
- Poke holes in the top and pour the sauce over each portion. Serve with ice cream
Food Sorcery Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients – Makes: 24 brownies
- ¾ cup (180g) unsalted butter
- 8oz (250g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 1 cup (150g) plain flour
- 8 oz (250g) milk chocolate, coarsely chopped.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C gas 4 )
- Butter and flour a 9x 13 inch (33 x 22 cm) baking pan.
- Line with foil leaving pieces to foil overhanging the sides.
- Place the butter and dark chocolate in a double boiler and stir over barely simmering water until melted, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Beat the eggs and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy, then with the mixer on low speed, beat in the salt and chocolate mixture, followed by the vanilla.
- Gradually beat in the flour, stir in the milk chocolate and then spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until the brownies are set in the middle, 25-30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the centre will come out slightly gooey.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Then use the overhanging foil to lift the brownies out of the pan.
- Remove the foil and place on a cutting board. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 mins before cutting.
Food Sorcery Chocolate Fondant
Who can resist the scrumptious taste of chocolate, chef showed us how to make the perfect melt in the middle pudding.
Ingredients – Makes 4:
- 100g butter, plus extra for greasing
- 100g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped or broken into small chunks
- 100g plain flour
- 100g caster sugar
- 25g cocoa powder
- 25g melted butter
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 medium egg yolks
- Vanilla ice cream, crème fraiche, mint & berries
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 190˚C/170˚C fan/Gas 5
- Grease 4 ramekins with butter.
- Dust inside of ramekins with cocoa powder
- Put the butter and chocolate into a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water underneath) and leave until melted, stirring occasionally
- Remove from the heat, sift over the flour and then whisk it in
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until combined, then whisk this into the chocolate mixture, until smooth and well combined
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the ramekins.
- Leave to set in fridge for minimum 20minutes but can be overnight
- Bake for 12 minutes – the fondants are ready when you shake each one gently and only the middle moves a little
- Remove from the oven, and gently loosen the edge.
- Carefully invert each fondant onto a plate. Serve with crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream, mint and berries.
Vegan Chocolate Fondant (GF)
Ingredients – Serves 2:
- 5 tablespoons (39 grams) all purpose flour or gluten-free all purpose flour (see recipe notes for oat/oat flour option)
- 6 tablespoons (32 grams) cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons (37 grams) white or cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch fine salt
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150 mls or 5 fl oz) plant-based milk
Optional:
- 2 small dollops peanut butter , or seed butter
- 4 squares chocolate , or a small handful of chocolate chips
Method:
- Preheat oven to 390 °F (198 °C) and have 2 small ovenproof dishes such as ramekins or mini cocottes that will hold about 175mls (6 oz or ¾ cup) ready on a small baking tray.
- If using the optional peanut butter or chocolate (or both!) add them to the middle of both dishes.
- Then to a medium bowl add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix them together well.
- Pour in the milk and whisk really well to combine. It’s easier with a whisk than a spoon as there is a lot of milk and the cocoa tends to want to float on the top. It’s normal for the batter to be very thin.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 2 ovenproof dishes, over the top of the optional peanut butter/chocolate.
- Bake for about 13 to 14 mins or until they have puffed up and look set but if you wobble them or poke the centre really gently you can feel they are still liquidy. They will continue to cook a little once removed them from the oven. If you leave them in too long the centre will set.
- Serve immediately.
Vanilla Panna Cotta with Strawberries and Grappa
Ingredients: 6 portions
• 3 vanilla pods
• 150ml of milk
• 600ml of double cream
• 2 gelatine leaves, soaked in cold water
• 60g of caster sugar
• 35ml of grappa
• 1 punnet of strawberries, washed, hulled and cut into quarters
• 6 handfuls of mint leaves
Method
- Start by splitting the vanilla pods and scraping out the seeds. Add the pods and seeds to the saucepan with the milk and cream and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until the mixture thickens to the consistency of thin natural yoghurt, this will take about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 5 minutes before adding the drained, soaked gelatine and sugar.
- Whisk to dissolve and allow to cool. Strain the cool mixture through a fine chinois and add a dash of grappa to taste.
- Chill the mix until almost starting to set before pouring into 6 ramekins. Transfer to the refrigerator and leave until fully set.
- To serve, quickly dip the outside of the moulds in hot water and turn out the panna cottas onto plates. Garnish with the strawberries, mint leaves and a little drizzle of grappa
We hope you enjoyed the class!
We really hope you enjoyed your class at Food Sorcery. If you have any questions for chef get in touch lovetocook@foodsorcery.co.uk
Spread the word about us! on TripAdvisor or google. If you have any feedback about the class please do let us know.
Take a Look at our cookery classes. Gift vouchers are available and never expire.
