One minute Meringue Cake

Eton Mess stacks

From the hallowed halls of Eton (a prestigious private school in England) comes Eton Mess - a scrumy dessert but this one is ready in a jiffy.

Ingredients:
For the Meringue

• 1 Egg white
• 12oz Icing Sugar
• 1 tsp crushed cardamon seeds

For the toppings

• 142ml Double cream
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 10oz Raspberries

Directions:
Whisk the egg white and add the sugar and seeds. You should have a firm icing. Roll the icing into 8 golf ball size balls. Place two balls on a piece of greased baking paper at opposite ends of your microwave. Cook on full power for 30-40 seconds until quadrupled in size. Lift off the paper and allow to cool.

Whip the cream with the lemon juice. Crush half the raspberries and fold through the whipped cream.

To serve, place a little cream in the centre of the plate and settle one meringue on top (the cream on the plate stops the stack from sliding around too much). Add more raspberry cream on top and then another meringue. Finish with more cream and some whole raspberries. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Note: Traditional Eton Mess has the above just all bunged together in a "mess".

Sweetcorn & Seafood Chowder

A real winter warmer!

One thinks of Chowder as a winter food, welcoming and warm on a cold day, a respite from the harsh elements. True, but you can eat (yes, you eat soup) this at any time.


The seafood you add is up to you; best to use what's readily available or failing that something from the freezer but not battered or breadcrumbed.

Ingredients:

• Knob of butter
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 12oz Potatoes,cubed
• 18 fl oz Milk
• 5oz Sweetcorn
For the fish I use:-
• 10oz Smoked Haddock
• 5oz Prawns

Directions:
Heat the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion and cook until soft. Pour over the milk and add the cubed potatoes. Bring to the boil but drop the temperature immediately to the mixture just simmers - you do not want the milk boiling vigorously. Simmer for about 10 minutes - the potatoes should not be cooked fully but should be getting there.

Add the fish and the sweetcorn and simmer for another 5 minutes. Scatter with parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Optional:

• You can add a few slices of bacon (chopped) with the onions - not suitable for vegetarians.
• Try adding some frozen peas for colour, texture and taste; similarly some chopped sun-dried tomatoes!

Lemon Semi-Fredo

Not ice cream nor sorbet... it's Semi-Fredo

Ideally served in slices so you'll need a loaf tin for this one... ice cream from a baking tin!



Ingredients:
6 Egg yolks
150g Castor sugar
150ml Lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
375ml Cream, lightly whipped

Directions:
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest in a glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Keep whisking and as the mixture heats up it swell in volume. Keep going until it is approximately double in size and light and fluffy. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool giving the odd whisk every now and again.

When the mixture is fully cold, fold in the whipped cream.

Line the loaf tin with cling film (saran wrap for you Americans out there) so that you can lift the semi-fredo out when set. Freeze until solid, a few hours or so should do it.

Slice and serve.

PS. I use the "spare" egg whites from this recipe to make meringues... they go great together.