British confectioners Miss Hope and Mr Greenwood are interviewed on page 46 of December's The Simple Things. Here they share some extra recipes from their book, Sweets Made Simple by Miss Hope and Mr Greenwood, published by BBC Books, £16.99. Photography by Cristian Barnett.
CANDIED PEELS
makes 25 strips of sugared pleasure
Candied peel is everything good; it is sparkling with a frost of sugar crystals, full of citrus feel-good aromas and tastes jolly fine into the bargain. Oh, how green with envy will Brenda be when you pop round with a cake enriched with your very own home-made candied peel.
Take about 50 minutes to make; about 4 hours in total to cool and set.
2 unwaxed oranges
75g (3oz) granulated sugar
1 vanilla pod
175ml (6fl oz) water
caster sugar, for dusting
100g (4oz) milk chocolate,
for tempering
1 tsp groundnut oil
Let’s start with Orange Peel
· Peel the oranges carefully, leaving as much bitter white pith attached to the orange as you can. Cut the peel lengthways into strips about 5mm(.in) thick.
· Put the peel into a small, deep pan and add enough cold water to just cover the peel. Bring the water to the boil, drain and refill with the same amount of cold water again. Bring to the boil and repeat twice (so three times in total). This takes about 30 minutes. Lean an elbow on your worktop and while away several minutes watching it boil.
· After the final draining, add the sugar and vanilla to the pan of peel with the water. Over a gentle heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved and then bring to the boil until the peel is soft and yielding, about 10 minutes. It smells fantastic. Remove the peel from the heat and leave to cool.
· Drain off any syrup (there may not be much depending on how much has evaporated), then lay the strips out on a wire rack for 24–48 hours, until completely dry. Dip each strip of peel into a bowl of caster sugar, coating it evenly all over. Place on a wire rack to become crisp and sugar crusted.
· Temper the chocolate.
· Half-dip each piece of peel in the chocolate and place on a sheet of baking parchment to set.
Luscious Lemon Peel
2 unwaxed lemons
100g (4oz) granulated sugar
125ml (4-fl oz) water
caster sugar, for dusting
100g (4oz) dark chocolate,
broken into small pieces
1 tsp groundnut oil
· Peel the lemons carefully, leaving as much bitter white pith attached to the lemon as you can. Cut the peel lengthways into strips about 5mm(.in) thick.
· Put the peel into a small, deep saucepan; add enough cold water to just cover the peel. Bring the water to the boil, drain and refill with the same amount of cold water again. Bring to the boil and repeat twice (so three times in total). This takes about 30 minutes.
· After the final draining, add the sugar to the pan of peel with the water. Over a gentle heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved and then bring to the boil until the peel is soft and yielding, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
· Drain off any syrup (there may not be much depending on how much has evaporated), then lay the strips out on a wire rack for 24–48 hours, until completely dry. Dip each strip of peel into a bowl of caster sugar, coating it evenly all over. Place on a wire rack to become crisp and sugar crusted.
· Temper the chocolate.
· Half-dip each piece of peel in the chocolate and place on a sheet of baking parchment to set.
... Or Zesty Grapefruit
1 unwaxed grapefruit
75g (3oz) granulated sugar
175ml (6fl oz) water
caster sugar, for dusting
100g (4oz) white chocolate,
broken into small pieces
· Peel the grapefruit carefully, leaving as much bitter white pith attached to the grapefruit as you can. Cut the peel lengthways into strips about 5mm(.in) thick.
· Put the peel into a small, deep pan; add enough cold water to just cover the peel. Bring the water to the boil, drain and refill with the same amount of cold water again. Bring to the boil and repeat twice (so three times in total). This takes about 30 minutes.
· After the final draining, add the sugar to the pan of peel with the water. Over a gentle heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved and then bring to the boil until the peel is soft and yielding, about 10 minutes. Remove the peel from the heat and leave to cool.
· Drain off any syrup (there may not be much depending on how much has evaporated), then lay the strips out on a wire rack for 24–48 hours, until completely dry. Dip each strip of peel into a bowl of caster sugar, coating it evenly all over. Place on a wire rack to become crisp and sugar crusted.
· Temper the chocolate.
· Half-dip each piece of peel in the chocolate and place on a sheet of baking parchment to set.
PEAR & CHESTNUT TRUFFLES
This autumnal truffle is made with an amazing pear vodka and chestnut ganache wrapped in a scarf of green marzipan, and once enrobed with dark chocolate it looks precisely like a chocolate conker nestling in its prickly case. The autumn wind is whipping through the trees, the sun is low and cool, so take a walk in the park, kick up some leaves, fly a kite, feed the ducks and catch a cold.
Take 1 hour to make, plus chilling and overnight setting.
2 dried pears, finely chopped
75ml (3fl oz) pear vodka
4 cooked chestnuts, from a packet
100g (4oz) milk chocolate
25g (1oz) unsalted butter
milk chocolate, for tempering
200g (7oz) marzipan
green food colouring
icing sugar, for dusting
dark chocolate, for tempering
· Whap the chopped pears in a pan with the pear vodka and bring to the boil. Drink a bit of vodka. Simmer for 2–3 minutes until the fruit is soft and yielding. Slap the fruity vodka into a mini food processor with the chestnuts and whizz to make a sticky purée.
· Heat 5cm (2in) water in a pan until simmering. Plop a heatproof bowl on top of the pan, making sure the ample bottom of the bowl is not dipping into the water. Place the100g (4oz) milk chocolate in the bowl and warm to melt – please don’t stir it otherwise it may turn into a great big, thick mess.
· Now then, when the chocolate has melted beauticiously, drop in the butter with the chestnut and pear purée and stir as gently as a kitten. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and chill until firm. If only this method worked on thighs.
· Use a teaspoon to scoop out some mixture and shape into small balls the size of marbles. Size is everything. Freeze on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
· After that time, temper the milk chocolate. Line a board with baking parchment, dip each pear and chestnut ball into the chocolate using a chocolate dipping fork or table fork or somefink, then lift out and plant on the parchment. Whack them in a safe place to set and firm up like Caster Semenya’s calves.
· Knead the marzipan lightly on a board, then drip on a couple of dots of green food colouring (rubber gloves may be worn, if you needed an excuse). Work the food colouring into the marzipan until thoroughly mixed through.
· Dust the work surface with icing sugar then roll out half the marzipan to make a rough square. Cut into four, then wrap each square around one of the pear and chestnut balls. Cut out a horizontal leaf-shaped oval in each marzipan ball, using a sharp knife, to reveal a little of the chocolate underneath. Trim each with a knife round the base and press to shape around the chocolate. Repeat with the remaining chocolates and marzipan, then leave to set at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight.
· Temper the dark chocolate, as before. Take a chocolate in one hand and a spoon in the other. Spoon the chocolate all over the marzipan, leaving about a 2mm edge around the green marzipan window. Allow the chocolate to go tacky, then take a fork and press and lift it all over to create a spiky finish. Crack on with covering and spiking up the rest. Once ‘punked’, allow the chocolate to set.
GINGERBREAD LATTE FUDGE
makes 49 splendid squares
Every winter I look forward to the comfort and spice of a gingerbread latte so what better than to take the whole exquisite experience and fold some old school sticky ginger cake, cream and coffee into a smooth, yielding fudge with a frothy latte topping? Every winter I also look forward to hot water bottles, winceyette nighties and bed socks.
Poor Mr Greenwood.
Takes about 40 minutes to make, plus chilling.
50g (2oz) salted butter,
plus extra for greasing
75g (2-oz) sticky ginger
cake, thinly sliced
500g (1lb 2oz) caster sugar
150ml (5fl oz) double cream
135ml (4-fl oz) full-fat milk
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground espresso coffee
· Boldly butter a 17cm (6:in) square tin and line with baking parchment. Preheat your grill to medium.
· Now lay the ginger cake slices on a baking sheet. Grill until toasted on both sides. Allow to cool and then chop it up roughly. Taste to make sure it’s lovely.
· Now put the sugar, cream, milk, butter and 3 tablespoons of water in a large deep pan (I use a 24cm (9-in) diameter pan) and heat gently over a very low heat for about 15 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved.
· Wedge a sugar thermometer into the pan and turn the heat up a notch until the mixture starts to bubble. Hold it at this point, adjusting the heat accordingly, and cook until the mixture reaches 116°C (240°F). If you don’t have a thermometer, cook at this steady pace for about 15 minutes. Give the mixture a stir every now and then.
· As soon as the temperature has been reached, pour about a quarter of the ooze into a metal bowl and set aside. Add the ginger and coffee to the pan and beat it with vigour for a minute. Stir in the chopped cake, which dissolves into the mixture, and continue to beat well for 5–8 minutes until the mixture has cooled a little and starts to thicken round the edge. It’ll be coming away from the edges of the pan.
· Pour into the prepared tin. Give the plain fudge mixture a quick beat and spoon dollops over the top. Use a skewer to marble the layers – it should look fluffy like a latte. Allow to cool then chill for a couple of hours. Cut into squares and eat.