Sod the diet: Chocolate and Amaretto Pudding

 

 

With the dearth of cookery programmes one can choose from to watch, it's nice when something a bit interesting comes along, presented by chefs with charisma. I barely watch some of the stuff that gets dished up on TV these days, in terms of cookery, because, frankly, it's dull. So, whoever came up with the idea of putting two Italian chefs in a little car and sending them on a visit to sample the changing lifestyle and culinary delights of their homeland was, frankly, inspired.

 

So, I bought the first of the two cookery books from the series 'Two Greedy Italians' and was spoilt for choice for what to make, to be quite honest. And as I am thinking of going to Italy this summer for a little bit of a holiday (via France, as usual!!) I am very interested in getting an Italian cooking repertoire together before I go.

 

Now, I could have started with pasta. But when you have a dessert that involves a) chocolate and b) booze, pasta wasn't going to win at any point. Plus, as Phill's birthday was looming large, it seemed decadent, yet easy enough for his birthday meal.

 

This is, and was, not for Lola and Finn. It does have a nicely bitter hit of amaretto which when you're 38 and 39 is heavenly, but when you are 5 and 6, it is disgusting. The other thing I would say is this is really quite easy to make, you can make it in advance and wouldn't shame an extravagant dinner party. Or even a non extravagant one. There's something about a shot glass of chocolate and several amaretti biscuits to dunk in that is at once sophisticated and homely and just completely and utterly right.

 

Chocolate and Amaretto Pudding, taken from the cookbook 'Two Greedy Italians' by Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo

 

Serves 6, (though I halved the following ingredients so that is fed Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad)

 

Ingredients:

 

500ml/18fl oz milk

 

1 tbsp plain flour

 

2 tbsp caster sugar

 

1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways, seeds removed (I used a tsp of good vanilla extract)

 

80ml/2½fl oz Amaretto (or other almond liqueur)

 

100g/3½oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

 

50g/2oz unsalted butter

 

30g/1oz amaretti biscuits, crushed

 

 

Method:

 

 

 

Warm the milk in a saucepan over a low heat.

 

 

Mix the flour, sugar and vanilla seeds in a separate saucepan until smooth, then whisk in the warm milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Place the pan onto the heat and cook over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.

 

 

Whisk in the Amaretto liqueur and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens.

 

 

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate and butter.

 

 

Spoon the mixture into serving glasses.

 

 

 

You can serve this warm, sprinkling over the crushed amaretti biscuits, or you can do what I did, which was put them in the fridge for about 2 to 3 hours to cook and solidify a little, removing them just before serving and sprinkling over the crushed amaretti biscuits.

So good you may find yourself licking the bowl - Amaretto Syllabub from Nigella Express

 

 

 

Actually, I believe licking the bowl or getting your index finger into the little twists and turns of the beaters after they've been whipping cream is one of life's simpler pleasures. I grew up with Dream Topping (OMG, remember that? Do they still do it? I may have to investigate...) and one of my memories is getting the beaters after my mum had made it up to hungrily remove any trace of whip that might be hiding here or there. I enjoyed it then, and I enjoy it now. And so does Phill.

 

I am not comparing this recipe to Dream Topping by the way, but I did stand there and enjoy a fingertip or two of this wonderful cream laced with the bite of alcohol when it had just been whipped and it was delightful. Having a dessert dish full of it was real decadence and not great for a diet I don't suppose but Saturday evening Phill and I were on our own as Lola and Finn were at a (very early) Hallowe'en party and I wanted to make something which wasn't kid friendly. This is it. And it's takes about as much time to make as it does to find a couple of decent sized wine glasses, locate the corkscrew, open some wine and pour two glasses, which is the job Phill was doing whilst I did this.

 

Easy, quick, typical Nigella (in my mind) and certainly express. The quickest pud in my repertoire!

 

Amaretto Syllabub, taken from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson

 

Serves 4 (so I halved the quantities below to make it serve 2)

 

80ml amaretto liqueur

25g caster sugar

15ml lemon juice

225ml double cream

1 (225g) packet amaretti morbidi (soft almond macaroons) (You might not need all of these depending on how much 'crumble' you want)

 

 

 

 

Pour the amaretto liqueur into a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice and stir to combine.

 

 

 

Whisk in the double cream until it has thickened but is still soft and billowy.

 

 

 

Crumble some amaretti biscuits into each of the 4 glasses (or 2 if you're halving it like me, obviously!)

 

 

 

Divide the syllabub between the glasses on top of the crumbled biscuits, then crumble more biscuits, and sprinkle this golden rubble over the top of all the glasses to give a fine sprinkle of crumbs on each. Serve the remaining amaretti alongside the syllabub

Because I got confused. Easy Peach and Amaretto Flan

 

 

 

...and confusion happens often. I appear to be hurtling towards some sort of befuddledom, though to be fair the fact that I don't seem to be able to tell the difference between tinned apricots and peaches may have had something to do with the fact that when shopping I was being hassled at the time by two children, well known to this blog, who were putting stuff in the trolley that I didn't want, in between partaking in playfights in the middle of the supermarket aisle so much so that little old ladies were having to manoeuvre their trolleys around them to get to the custard (or whatever it was they were buying). What's that? Yes, you're right. I am an appalling mother.

 

Anyway, when I got home and set upon the original Gino D'Acampo recipe I realised my mistake in that I had peaches for his easy apricot and kirsch flan which is in his 'Italian Home Baking' cookbook but sourced here from a column in the Daily Fail Mail. I uttered several words not in keeping of the spirit of this blog as I had got everything else out, ready to prepare the damn thing...so, a few tweaks and judicious ingredient changes and what we have now is an easy peach and amaretto tart which though inspired by the original recipe, I will now attempt to claim as my own.

 

I like pastry - I'll have it in, or on, anything, but because I am extraordinarily good as putting fat down I have convinced myself that using filo pastry as the pastry case is almost healthy. I subbed the kirsch for amaretto, the hazelnuts for almonds and a little almond extract and obviously the apricots are now peaches, so you will not need as many of them. I needed a large tin only.

 

My filo was quite thick as it is the last of the French stuff that I bought back home from that huge supermarket shop I did in Calais in the Summer. Make sure that you put your finished tart on a preheated baking tray when you put it in the oven to ensure that the bottom of the tart cooks all the way through, as the filling is a little bit wet. Mine cooked, just. I think if I had used the thinner filo pastry (or maybe used less of the one I was using in the first place) it might have been easier for the bottom to cook through quicker.

 

So here we are. This is the recipe that I created from confusion. If you want the original recipe, click on the link above, or buy the cookbook.

 

 

Peach and Amaretto Tart, loosely based on a Gino D'Acampo recipe for something similar.

 

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad, twice, so 8 people.

 

Ingredients:

 

For the pastry case:

120g filo pastry

20g salted butter melted

For the filling:

 

120g salted butter plus extra for greasing

115g caster sugar

2 medium eggs beaten

100g finely ground almonds

1/2 tsp almond extract

2 tbsp amaretto liqueur

1 large can peach halves drained (though this might be two normal size tins with a few halves left over)

2 tbsp apricot jam

icing sugar for dusting

Method:

 

 

 

Grease a 25cm loose-based flan tin with butter and preheat the oven to 220C fan/gas 7 (add 10C-20C for non-fan ovens).

 

 

 

Cut the filo pastry into 20cm squares and lightly brush each one with the melted butter. Line the base and sides of the

flan tin with the filo squares, ensuring that each one overlaps the next. Fold in any uneven edges, or trim off, as I did.

 

 

 

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the eggs. Add the almonds, almond extract, flour and amaretto and gently fold everything together. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pastry case.

 

 

 

Arrange the peach halves on top of the mixture, placing the fruit rounded side up (you may have some left over).

 

Put the flan tin on a baking tray and bake in the middle of the oven for 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to 190C fan/gas 5 (add 10C-20C for non-fan ovens) and continue to bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the filling is golden brown and firm to the touch.

 

Meanwhile, heat the apricot jam over a low heat in a small saucepan. Remove the flan from the oven and brush the jam over the top.

 

Leave the flan to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing the outer ring and place on a wire rack to cool.

 

 

 

Dust with a little icing sugar and serve warm, or leave to cool to room temperature.

 

 

 

We had this with a little cream and it was really good! Thumbs up!