Cranberry & Almond Granola

Cranberry & Almond Granola

225g jumbo porridge oats
60g sunflower seeds
60g sesame seeds
60g flaxseeds (linseeds)
60g pumpkin seeds
100g whole almonds (blanched or natural)
150g dried cranberries (or 100g dried cranberries plus 50g dried cherries)
40g dessicated coconut (optional)
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of ground nutmeg or allspice (optional)
1 tsp salt
Zest and juice of a large orange
2 tbsps sunflower oil (or rapeseed - any bland oil will do)
2 tbsps runny honey
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Mix all the dry ingredients (expect almonds, cranberries and coconut) in a large bowl. Add the orange zest.
In a jug, mix the orange juice, vanilla, oil and honey and mix well. Add to the dry ingredients and stir well with a large spoon until all combined.

Spread the mix onto a large baking sheet with deep sides (or two smaller baking trays/dishes)

Bake at about 150 for 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes, turn the mix over with a spoon so that it browns evenly and nothing burns. If your oven (like mine) is really hot, try this at 130 instead. After 20 minutes (i.e. on the second "stir") add the almonds and coconut).

Once the mix is dry and feels crunchy, remove from oven and cool completely. Mix through the cranberries (and cherries if using) and store in an airtight container.

Lovely for breakfast on top of with natural yoghurt - add an extra drizzle of honey if you like it sweeter. If you have any fruit compote then add this as a layer at the bottom of the yogurt. On the photo, I've served mine with the Plum compote from Nigella Kitchen (but I used vanilla instead of cinnamon as my flavouring).

The curse of the bain marie strikes again.

Remember the year when the shops ran out of cranberries because Delia used them in a recipe on her Christmas programme? Well I don't know if Nigella had quite the same effect, but I was one of the idiots who decided that my life would be complete if only I had a bottle of Pedro Ximenez sherry to use in Nigella Christmas recipes. I think it was Christmas 2008 but I can't be certain.

So, delighted to find said sherry in Sainsburys, I bought a bottle home and, as suggested by Nigella, soaked my fruit in it for the Christmas cake. I tasted a small glass and hated it - it was way too syrupy for sherry, almost cough mixture like. So I shoved it into the back of the cupboard and thought what a waste of money that had been.

This Easter, we were travelling through Andalusia, on our way to Murcia. We'd stopped at this lovely b&b for the night, to break up a long drive.
http://www.elciruelo.net

Because it's away from any villages, we decided to eat in that evening as Gillian was offering a set menu, three courses for 18 euro. Her food was superb - smoked salmon parcels to start, stuffed pork fillet with dauphinnoise for main and a delicious Pedro Ximenez cheesecake to finish - served with a shot of PX on the side. It was so good then we I got home I googled for a recipe and found this one.

Pedro Ximenez Cheesecake:
170 g (6 ounces) digestive biscuit crumbs
40 g (1 1/2 ounces) skinned, roasted and crushed hazelnuts
40 g (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
grated zest of 1/2 lemon

For the filling
1.5 kg (3 1/2 pounds) cream cheese
225 g (8 ounces) icing (confectioners') sugar, sieved
3 medium eggs
2 vanilla pods, cut in half and the seeds scraped out
10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract (not vanilla essence)
100 ml (3 1/2 fluid ounces) Pedro Ximénez sherry
finely grated zest of 2 lemons

To serve
Shelled and skinned whole hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
To make the base, combine all the ingredients. Press the mixture into a 22.5 x 6.25 cm (9 x 2 1/2 inch) springform tin that has been lined with greased parchment paper. Chill. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 335°F / gas mark 3 1/2.
To make the filling, put the cream cheese in a blender and blend until smooth. Add all the other ingredients except the lemon zest and blend well. Then add the lemon zest — do not be tempted to add it earlier or the mixture will split. Pour the filling on to the chilled base and bake for 45 minutes. Only the outside 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the cake will appear to be cooked; the middle should be wobbly. Cool completely and then chill for 2 hours, or until set. Serve at room temperature. Place a slice on a plate and scatter on the toasted hazelnuts. Serve with large glasses of chilled Pedro Ximénez sherry.

I decided to try making it today. I substitued almonds for the hazelnuts as I had some in, and also have some nice toasted almond flakes to decorate. I halved the quantity of ingredients shown above and still have a large cheesecake that would easily feed 6 for dessert. I've been fairly unsuccessful at making baked cheesecakes before. I tried Nigella's chocolate lime one a while ago and despite wrapping the springform tin in plenty of foil, as instructed, water seemed to get in from the bain marie and made the base soggy. I also have a tendency to overcook them, panicking if the middle looks uncooked.

This time, I thought I'd found the solution. Whilst the recipe didn't call for a water bath to be used, I decided to do it anyway because I thought it would protect the cheesecake from over cooking or burning. I also decided to use a silicon baking tin rather than springform. That'll stop water leaking in, I thought. I've just had a peek now and the base of the cheesecake still looks soggy! Don't know how? Unless there is a tiny nick in the base of the silicon that's let water in? I haven't plated it yet as I'm waiting for it to finish cooling, and then we'll see......

From my sample tasting it seems good though. Not sure it needs the lemon zest..........

Lemon Tiramisu

Been wanting to try this for a while............. and seeing that it's now summer, I thought I would! It was fabulous and everybody who tried it thought so too! Got the recipe online but added a few of my own embellishments (the lemon curd, white chocolate, almonds and the cream).

Lemon Tiramisu.

Ingredients
3 large lemons (unwaxed)
Half a cup of caster sugar (or 75g if you're a weigher)
1 cup (250ml) of Limoncello
4 large eggs
2 tubs (250g each) of marscapone
3 tablespoons of good lemon curd (I recommend Sainsbury Taste the Difference)
About 40 lady finger biscuits
100g bar of good quality white chocolate (put half of it in the freezer, leave half out)
Small packet of toasted almond flakes.
600ml tub of double cream (optional)
Bottle of Limoncello or Crema de Limoncello to serve with.

Zest and juice the lemons and set zest aside. Add the limoncello to the lemon juice. Set aside.

Separate the eggs, keeping one egg white only. You don't need the rest but can freeze them to make meringue some other time!

Using a hand whisk, whisk egg yolk and sugar until they become pale and thick. Add the marscapone, mix well and then briefly whisk.

Melt half of the white chocolate in a small bowl over boiling water and leave to cool slightly. when cooled, add the chocolate and the lemon curd to the marscapone mix.

In a new bowl, whisk the egg white until it is quite firm. Fold gently into the marscapone mix, along with the lemon zest.

Next, take the lady fingers and dip each one briefy (dip both sides but don't soak them!) in the limoncello/lemon juice mix and make a layer of them in a large dish about 2 - 3 inches deep. Once the bottom layer is complete, spoon and smooth a layer of marscapone mix on top. Add a second later of biscuits. If you have any liquid left, drizzle it onto the top layer of lady fingers but don't add too much. Smooth over another layer of marscapone mix.

If you feel it is needed, whip the double cream and smooth it over the top. I used this because I only had a very thin layer of marscapone cream on the top - I think I used a dish that was too large and I ran out of mix. The end result was good, though, I think the cream finished things off very nicely!

Cover loosely with foil and leave in the fridge to set for about 4 hours. Grate the rest of the white choc (or blitz it in a mini-processer) and sprinkle over the top. Also sprinkle over a handful of toasted almonds.

Serve, with shot of Limoncello or Cream of Limoncello on the side. Serves between 10 - 16 people depending on how greedy they are.