Tag: dessert

Rhubarb and Rosé Syllabub

I was doing some reading the other day and, no, not an Agatha Christie, even though I am about half way through Hercule Poirot’s Christmas for the next Dining with The Dame.  I was reading some poetry (because in my head I am the cool intellectual girl who reads untranslated  French poetry whilst drinking black coffee at a cool café in the hippest arrondissement in Paris).

In reality I was likely lying on my couch in dirty  sweatpants, shoving salt and vinegar chips into my face.  Regardless of the setting though, whilst I was reading came I across a poem by Edith Sitwell called “When Sir Beelzebub”  The opening lines of which are

When
Sir
Beelzebub called for his syllabub
in the hotel in Hell
Where Proserpine first fell,
Blue as the gendarmerie were the
waves of the sea,

Which got me thinking…why aren’t there more poems about dessert? And why have I never made a syllabub? I’m still waiting for an answer on the first question. But as for the second?

No trip to hell required!

What is Syllabub?

Syllabub is a gorgeous British dessert which originated in the 16th century.  It is a whipped cream dessert, originally flavoured with sweet wine or cider.  My version uses rosé as the wine and pairs the rosé flavoured cream with a rhubarb and rosewater  compote.

Syllabub 2

I really like the word syllabub.  It sounds so slinky and smooth.  But with a  hint of bite with that last b.  Which pretty much describes the syllabub.  The silky smooth cream has a little kick of rosé and the rhubarb compote is tangy with hints of orange and rose.  Layer it into your prettiest vintage glasses so you can see the contrast of the cream against deep crimson rhubarb.

It also looks very pretty when you put your spoon in and the layers get all mixed up and marbled.  Maybe I have been reading too many Agatha Christie’s but my first thought was a rather macabre “like blood in the snow”!  😂  I could totally imagine Miss Marple eatiing syllabub too!

Rhubarb and Rose Syllabub3

Print

Rhubarb and Rosé Syllabub

A delightful English dessert of poached rhubarb with a rosé flavoured cream.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Rhubarb Compote:

  • 500g of rhubarb, cut into bit sized pieces
  • 100g caster sugar
  • Juice and Zest of 1 orange
  • 1/21 tsp rosewater

For The Cream:

  • 175g rosé wine
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 200ml whipping cream

Garmish:

  • Strawberries (optional)
  • Flaked Almonds (optional)

 

Instructions

For the Compote:

  • Place rhubarb, sugar, orange juice and zest into a saucepan.
  • Add rosewater to taste (please see note below).
  • Cook over medium heat until the rhubarb is soft but is keeping it’s shape.  If the mixture starts to stick you can add a tablespoon or so of water but you don’t want the rhubarb mixture to be too wet.
  • Allow to cool

For the Cream

  • Add the rosé and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to the boil, over a high heat stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat and allow the mix to reduce by a third.
  • Allow to cool.
  • Whip the cream to stiff peaks.
  • Fold in the rose mixture.
  • Layer the rhubarb and cream mixtures into a glass.
  • Top with a strawberry and some flaked almonds for crunch!

 

 

Notes

Rosewater can be overpowering.  Start with half a teaspoon before cooking the rhubarb and add more after cooking if you want to boost the flavour.

 

Rhubarb and Rose Syllabub5

A Very Brief Side Note on Edith Sitwell

Edith Sitwell, the writer of “When Sir Beelzebub” was a fascinating woman.  Six foot tall, she had a distinctive dress style – turbans and the most amazing jewellery.  She was also an innovative poet.  One of her poems, Gold Coast Customs was written in jazz rhythms and she wrote a wrote poems to music in a show called Facade which was performed behind a curtain pained with a face.  The words were read through a megaphone via a hole in the mouth.  (This to me sounds very Mighty Booshy…I wonder if they might have been inspired by her.  

She was also not one to mince words and had some scathing things to say about people including the critic F.R Leavis (For those fans of Bridget Jones out there Yes, “the F.R. Leavis who died in 1978.”) whom she called a “a tiresome, whining, pettyfogging little pipsqueak”.  She also called D.H. Lawrence a “a plaster gnome on a stone toadstool in some suburban garden”.   So in 1953, some bright spark had the idea for Dame Sitwell to interview Marilyn Monroe, assuming, oif course that they would hate each other and the Sitwell’s scathing critique of Monroe would create a commotion and of course increase circulation!

I’m sure, much to the chagrin of a features editor, the two liked each other!

via The Guardian

 

The meeting between the two occurred in the Sunset Tower in Hollywood which is certainly not a hotel in hell!  I wonder if they might have eaten some syllabub!

Have a great week!

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The One with The Flan

For most people of my age the word flan conjures up the episode of Friends where Monica makes a birthday flan.

Monica Geller : We’re not having cake. We’re having flan.

Chandler Bing : Excuse me?

Monica Geller : It’s a festive custard Mexican dessert.

Well, today we having Flan de Café which is a coffee flavoured Mexican custard dessert direct from the South American chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery.  Now, I know Mexico is not in South America, and I know you know that Mexico is not in South America.  Good Housekeeping?  Maybe not so much!  Flan De Cafe

To amp up the coffee-ness of my flan, I baked them some vintage tea cups.

Flan De Cafe 2

What did not need to amped up was the coffee flavour. I used the lower level of coffee suggested by the recipe which was 6 tablespoons and thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest for about an hour after eating it!  I was WIRED!  Talk about a major flan high!

I would probably halve the amount of coffee for future makes.  Outside of a power punch of caffeine, the flavour was lovely, the light touch of orange added a refreshing note and the custard was silky and smooth.  The Brazil nuts added a nice crunch as well as some garnish.  I   added some extra orange zest to the top of the flans to brighten them up.  I chose not to use the recipe’s serving suggestion because I have a bit of a yecchh factor with raw eggs and I could not find guava jelly anywhere.

Flan De Café – The Recipe

Flan De Cafe

 

Festive Flan Fun

As I was making the flans, I remembered something I heard wayback one of those science shows for kids.  They said that there was enough oil in a brazil nut to act as a candle.  For some weird reason, that  piece of trivia has stuck in my head!  Well, I had Brazil nuts and I had a flan which, after all is a festive dessert!

I really didn’t expect this to work particularly as the nuts kept breaking when I tried to chop them into anything resembling a taper.  However….

Flan de Cafe3

Success!!!!  Now that’s a really festive custard dessert!

Have a great week!

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Lemon Soufflé – The Incredible Theft

Hello crime readers and food lovers!  Today we are reading (and eating) our way through another short story from the Murder in The Mews collection.  On the menu is a lovely and light lemon soufflé.  Also, an apology for the long break between posts – we had a lovely week away but pretty soon after we got home, I fell ill.  I had an old-school non-covid flu that lasted nearly two weeks and left me with infections in both ears!  A lingering cough from that same flu also lead me to putting my back out!   All up, September has been a month of me either being ill or in pain, neither of which has left me with much energy for cooking or writing.  However, I read this Poirot short story when away and in the small gap of time between my return home and getting ill, I cooked the soufflés.

Lemon Soufflé1

The Incredible Theft- The Plot

.Air Marshal Sir George Carrington calls Poirot to come to the country house of Sir Charles Mayhew where some plans for a new bomber have been stolen.  The bomber will give Britain unparalleled power in the air should war eventuate.  The theft of the plans is a great blow to Britain’s military power.  Attending a house party on the night of the theft was Mrs Vanderlyn, a much-married vamp who is described as being “a very useful person to….a European power – and perhaps to more than one European power”.  Given her marriages have been to an Italian, a German and a Russian, we are not only given the start of a joke where three men walk into a bar but the possible European powers to which Mrs Vanderlyn might be useful!

Pefect Poolside Reading
Perfect Poolside Reading!

Apart from the seductive Mrs Vanderlyn we have

  • A mysterious figure in the shadows
  • A screaming maid
  • A woman with gambling debts
  • A spoiled son in need of some cash
  • Britain’s likely next Prime Minister with something to hide from the populace

Good thing we have Poirot to sort it all out.  Only…do we?   This story is somewhat of an anomaly because only after the denouement do we realise that Poirot actually does very little – all the work is done by….ah…that would be telling!  🙊

The Incredible Theft- The Covers

I could only find two covers for The Incredible Theft – neither of which are very exciting:

Incredible Theft coversInstead, I thought we could all crush on  the divine country manor that features in the Poirot version of The Incredible Theft

And, whilst we are in full drool mode, how about we take a look at Mrs Vanderlyn (and also some more house porn)

That same dress also does not disappoint from the back!

Here is another very glam outfit!

No wonder half of Europe seems to be gaga for Mrs V!

Lady Carrington also knows how to rock a sparkle and lace combo!

 

As much as I could dote on the fashions and locations of Poirot all day, we need to move on to another gorgeous little number, my lemon soufflé!

The Recipe – Lemon Soufflé

Lemon Soufflé3

 

Print

Lemon Soufflé – The Incredible Theft

A lovely light dessert, given a retro twist by serving it in the lemons.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 medium-sized lemons
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 Tbsp icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

  • Line an oven tray with baking paper.
  • Trim the base of the lemon so they sit flat.  Cut off the top third of each lemon and, using a teaspoon, remove the pulp from the lemons  (this takes a while) over a bowl lined with a sieve.
  • Squeeze the juice from the pulp and reserve.  Discard the pulp.
  • Place the lemon shells on the prepared tray.
  • Preheat your oven to 180C
  • Combine the yolks, half the sugar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and the flour in a heatproof bowl.  Beat until thick and pale.
  • Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and beat for another 8-10 minutes until the mixture is the thickness of a thick custard.  Remove from the heat but continue to beat until the mixture is cool – about another 2-3 minutes.
  • Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, add the remaining salt and the remaining sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy.
  • Whisk one-third of the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture.  Fold the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture with a large metal spoon.  Be as gentle as you can here.  You want to preserve as much of the lightness and air from the whipped whites as possible.
  • Spoon the mixture into the lemon shells, filling to the rims.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes until the soufflés have risen 2-3 centimetres above the rim of the lemons and are golden.
  • Transfer to serving plates, dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Notes

  • Leftover lemon juice can be frozen into ice cube trays to use as you need.
  • Or seeing as life has given you lemons, make lemonade!
  • If you accidentally poke your spoon through the bottom of the lemon as you are removing the pulp, never mind.  Wrap the base of the lemon tightly in aluminium foil for cooking and remove it for serving.  This will prevent any souffle mixture oozing out the bottom!

 

As the butler handed round the souffle, Lord Mayfield leaned confidentially towards his neighbour on the right, Lady Julia Carrington.  Known as the perfect host, Lord Mayfield took trouble to live up to his reputation.  Although unmarried, he was always charming to women.”

– Agatha Christie, The Incredible Theft

Links to The Christieverse

Nothing that I could find.

Lemon Souffle 4

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The Incredible Theft

  • Dessert
  • Port
  • Breakfast

 

October’s read will be another short story from Murder in the Mews. Get out your sunblock and get ready for some fun and murder in the sun with Triangle at Rhodes.

Happy reading and cooking!

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Saratoga Torte

You may be thinking that the recipe for  Saratoga Totre comes from the American chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery.  It does not.  I found this recipe in the October 1986 issue of the Vogue Entertaining Guide I had never heard of Saratoga Torte and assumed it was an American dish.  I was very surprised to learn that it is actually an Australian recipe.  There is a small town called Saratoga on the Central Coast of New South Wales so it may have originated there.

Saratoga Torte 1

Madelaine’s Saratoga Torte

Technically this recipe is called Madelaine’s Saratoga Torte however, as there is no mention of who Madelaine is or how her Saratoga Torte differs from anyone else’s, I am taking the liberty of dropping her name.  The recipe comes from an article entitled “Anyone for Tennis?” focussing on mother and daughter entertainers Maria and Helena Law.

Saratoga Torte article

This is also the same edition of Vogue Entertaining that gave us this recipe for crumbed lamb cutlets.

Sao Biscuits

Sao (Say-O) biscuits are key to making Saratoga Torte.  These are a savoury cracker biscuit that have been made by Arnott’s biscuits since 1906.  Sao is possibly an acronym for Salvation Army Officer as one of the Arnott’s Brothers was indeed an officer in the Salvation Army.

Via Arnotts.com

If you are not in Australia and you want to make a Saratoga torte I would suggest substituting water crackers.  However Sao’s are quite large so I would use double the number of water crackers.

Also, if you happen to be researching Sao biscuits stay away from any mentions of the soggy Sao.  This is a  practice apparently indulged in by groups of teenage boys.  As with most things done by groups of teenage boys it is highly unsavoury.

You have been warned. Proceed down that path and anything that comes at you is on you.  Which is potentially a very bad choice of words.

Let’s swiftly move on!

Saratoga Torte 2

What is Saratoga Torte?

Imagine if you made a meringue mixture and you added crushed-up crackers and crumbled walnuts to the mixture.  Then you baked that and topped it with whipped cream and flaked chocolate.

That, in essence is Saratoga Torte.

And it is delicious!!!

The nutty meringue with a little hit of salt every now and again from the crackers is so good!  And the cream and little hints of chocolate are the perfect foil.  A little hit of Amaretto or Frangelico in the cream would also not be entirely out of keeping.

This was a bit sweet, the next time I make this I will drop the sugar down to 3/4 of a cup and not a whole cup.  The key to a lovely thick and glossy meringue is to add the sugar quite slowly and to make sure that each spoonful melts before you add the next one.

Saratoga Torte 3

The Recipe – Saratoga Torte

Saratoga Torte recipe

Saratoga Torte is utterly delicious, very easy to make and also a little bit out of the ordinary.  Why not make it as part of your New Year’s festivities?

Also, if anyone knows the origin of Saratoga torte or who Madelaine might be, please drop me a note in the comments!

Saratoga Torte 4

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

 

Saratoga Torte 5

I’m on holiday from work so hope to have another post for you before the new year.  Whatever you are up to, I hope you have a wonderful week!

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Coeur A La Creme – Murder on The Orient Express

Hello crime readers and food lovers!  Welcome to part two of my Murder on The Orient Express Trilogy!  We started last week with the fun collab with Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers.  Today is a regular Dining with The Dame and next week we will have an added bonus.  For now though, let’s focus on my recipe of choice for Dining with the Dame which is a classic French dessert – a Coeur A La Creme, the recipe for which comes from my old favourite, The A-Z of Cooking!

Coeur a la Creme1

And just to be clear, this dessert is French, not Belgian!

Murder on The Orient Express – The Plot

We touched on this last week but here is a quick recap.  Hercule Poirot boards the Orient Express in Istanbul, the train is unexpectedly crowded for the time of year.  On the first night, Poirot is approached by an American, Samuel Ratchett who offers Poirot money to protect him as he has been receiving death threats.  Poirot does not like him and refuses.  Later that evening, after a course of events that either awake him or keep him awake, Poirot learns that the train is stuck in a snowdrift in the middle of Yugoslavia.

The next morning, Poirot wakes to find that his neighbour, the odious Mr Ratchett has been stabbed 12 times and is now resoundingly dead!  With no one able to get on or off the train, due to the snowdrift, the murderer has to still be on board.  As the police can also not reach the train, Poirot takes on the job of hunting down the killer.

We have:

  • A mysterious red kimono
  • A burned letter with the words “member Daisy Armstrong” still legible
  • A handkerchief bearing the letter H
  • A pipe cleaner and a box of matches different to those used by Rachett
  • And twelve passengers who may not be entirely who they seem!

This book is so amazingly plotted,  so well written that it brings my obsessive little heart joy to think about it.  Every little detail in this is plotted to the nth degree, and yet when you are reading it, it feels effortless.

Coeur A La Creme 2

Murder on The Orient Express- The Covers

The American version of Murder was called Murder on the Calais Coach.  Not quite as catchy is it? I love the pulp fiction cover with the woman in the red kimono and am completely baffled by the one on its right.  What are those things?  They look like some weird brass band instruments!


The Recipe – Coeur  A La Creme

Coeur a la Creme recipe3

Murder on the Orient Express has a surprising lack of food.  I was hoping we would have some Turkish food from the Istanbul scenes and then some very posh French food while onboard.  No such luck!  My choice of a Couer a la Creme came from this passage:

 ‘Poirot sat down and soon found himself in the favoured position of the table which was served first and with the choicest of morsels.  The food too, was unusually good.

It was not until they were eating a delicate cream cheese that  M.Bouc allowed his attention to wander to matters other than nourishment.  He was at the stafge of the meal when one becomes philosophic”

Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

Coeur A La Creme is my take on that delicate cream cheese.  And I am so glad I chose it.  It is absolutely delicious!!!  Next to that Ingrid Bergman Trout that I made last week, it is one of the most gorgeous,  delicate,  delicious things I have ever eaten.  Think the lightest most delicious cheesecake you have ever eaten and you are nearly there!   And it comes from something as gross as cottage cheese!

Coeur a la Creme is traitionally  associated with romantic occasions such as Valentine’s Day.  But as we are talking Murder on The Orient Express and we are in spooky season, I hope all those romantics out there will forgive me for making it a bit stabby!

Coeur a la Creme4

Other Food Mentioned in Murder on the Orient Express

Perrier

Coffee (Multiple times)

Eggs – Eggs always make an appearance in these books!  I wonder if writing about Poirot’s egg-shaped head so often made Dame Agatha hungry for them!

Orange juice

Mineral Water

Chicken no sauce

Boiled fish

Tea and biscuits

Cognac

Stay tuned next week for the third and final instalment of the Murder on the Orient Express Extravaganza!!!  If you are reading along, next up is Three Act Tragedy so get reading!

Breaking news!

Dining with the Dame now has its own instagram page so if you are reading along or cooking along or just want to share Agatha Christie related recipes or book posts you can now hit me up there too!

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