Autumn and Camus

I know, I know, I'm a terrible blogger. I haven't written for ages and, well, the blog's just a bit empty. There is a perfectly acceptable reason to my lack of posts; it's autumn! Autumn, you may cry, is one of those seasons where it doesn't quite know what it wants to do. Not quite winter, but definitely not summer- a bit like spring. Well, it definitely does know what it wants to do. It wants the leaves to become so crisp they crackle as you walk, it wants the wind to be brisk enough that you can wear gloves but not need a scarf. It wants you to start looking forward to the snow*.

Anyway, think of all the lovely produce in season...monkfish, pumpkins, game, apples, beetroots, wild mushrooms, celeriac, chestnuts. This season I will upload a tasty recipe using each one of these ingredients. Don't worry, it won't be all soups and crumbles- though you can't go wrong with either.

On other matters, this Camus' quote perfectly sums up my fridge at the moment.
'There was nothing but cheese'- Albert Camus



*If you're a Londoner, then it's the snow that comes in April.

Maple syrup and parsnip cake

This cake could not be classified as healthy, even though if you eat enough of it you will have several of your five-a-day. Unfortunately, the benefits of the apple, parsnip, lime and orange are cancelled out by the devilish amounts of butter, sugar and syrup- but everyone needs to spoil themselves occasionally (regularly in my case). Thoroughly indulgent, this moist treat could tempt even the most stringent of carbophobes!

Maple syrup and parsnip cake

CAKE170g butter
240g soft brown sugar
90ml maple syrup
3 eggs
230g self-raising flour
half a teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)
half a teaspoon of nutmeg/ground ginger (optional)
one and a half teaspoons of baking powder (to give an extra lift)
one apple, grated
3 parsnips, grated (about 250g when prepared)
2 shots of whisky
zest of a large orange

TOPPINGmarscapone
ricotta
maple syrup
zest and juice of 2 limes (or to taste... you want the acidic lime to cut through the blandness of the cheeses)

Preheat the oven to 200C and grease two 23cm baking tins.
Over a low-to-medium heat, melt the sugar, butter, whisky and maple syrup together. Once thoroughly melted and combined, set aside to cool down slightly.
Beat the eggs and slowly add into the cooled mixture.
Whisk the dry ingredients into the mixture, then the rest if the ingredients.
Pour into the cases and put into the oven.
After 10 minutes in the oven, turn the heat down to 180C.
The cakes should be cooked after around 35 minutes, but check the cakes with a fork after 25 minutes.
When the cakes have cooked, leave them in their tins for 5 minutes (to keep their shape), and then turn out onto wire racks to cool down.

Maple syrup and parsnip cake

Beat the marscapone until the volume begins to increase.
Then beat in the maple syrup.
Add the ricotta and the lime juice, and whisk until you get a smooth, creamy and sweet mixture.
Once the cakes have cooled down, top them with the icing.

..Try to put your mixture in the oven as soon as you can once you've added the baking power, as it immediately reacts with the wet ingredients.

..You could decorate the cake with walnuts or pecans.

Maple syrup and parsnip cake

Adapted from Catherine Berwick's Parsnip and Maple Syrup Cake

Rosemary Apple Charlotte and Milk ice-cream

4 small apples (washed and peeled -with the skins set aside for later- and diced)
dark brown sugar, or muscavado sugar (for a toffee, nutty taste)
100ml double cream
400ml milk (goat's milk or hazlenut milk would also work really well)
3 egg yolks (you could use the egg whites for a meringue or accompanying apple souflées
a few sprigs of rosemary
2 well-toasted (BURNT) pieces of toast.
a few speculos (speculos are french biscuits which you'd normally have with your coffee- they have a toffee-like sweetness yet the texture of a biscotti meets digestive)

Preheat the oven to 160C.
In a saucepan, add the diced apples, the rosemary, and a splash of water (or calvados if you want alcohol). Keep on a low heat and leave to soften.
In another pan, heat the milk until it begins to boil, then turn the heat down and add the sugar (stirring continuously). Then whisk in the egg yolks, constantly so you don't get scrambled egg. When it is all combined, add the cream and thoroughly stir. Pour the custard into the ice-cream maker (or into a covered tub and put in the freezer).
The apple should be softened by now, so take the rosemary out and add the speculos. Mush it a bit to get a thick consitency, but not too much as it's nice to have the odd lump. Pour the apple mixture into the ice-cream maker, or generously drizzle into your tub to achieve a ripple effect.
On a lightly oiled baking tray, put on the apple skin and leave in the oven until the moisture has started to evaporate. Then, turn the grill on to maximum, and keeping an eye on them (like I should have done better) wait for them to harden and crisp up a bit. It should take a minute at maximum. When they are perfectly coiffed, gently pat them dry with a piece of kitchen towel to get rid of excess grease.
In the toaster put in two slices of toast, and when they are reasonably charred, take them out and generously slice them so you get reasonable diamonds/slithers/any other pretty shape .
The custard should have solidified quite a bit by now, so add the toast to it, and then leave it in the freezer to set.

Serve with the apple crisps and perhaps a dark-chocolate sauce.