Recipes By Nicola Lamb
7 recipes found
Mango Basque Cheesecake
Intensely creamy with a shiny burnished top, the rustic Basque cheesecake is the perfect format for aromatic mango. This recipe works best with small, intensely flavored ripe mangoes like Alphonso or kesar. Since their season is short, and top quality mangoes can be hard to find, tinned mango pulp, available online and at international supermarkets, works brilliantly here. The convenient, highly flavored pulp also means this can be a centerpiece any time of the year. The top may color unevenly — embrace this, as they do at La Viña in San Sebastian (the homeplace of this now global dessert) where every cheesecake is slightly different and all are glorious to behold.
Cherry Karpatka
Karpatka, also known as Polish Mountain cake, gets its name from the Carpathian Mountains, a 1,500-kilometer range that stretches from the Czech Republic to Romania. Visually dramatic, this dessert is a staple in Polish bakeries, its layers of airy choux pastry giving way to a creamy custard filling. Here, the custard is finished with cream instead of the usual butter and the untraditional addition of a juicy cherry compote delivers a bright hit of fruit flavor amidst the richness, making this a total showstopper.
Chocolate Easter Egg Nests
Loved by adults and children alike, Easter nest “cakes” are the perfect no-fuss baking activity for the whole family. These couldn’t be simpler: Just stir, portion, chill and fill with as many candy eggs as you can. If you can find golden syrup (a wondrous sweetener from Britain and a product you’ll never regret having in your pantry), you’ll get a more complex sweetness and chew, though corn syrup will work, too.
Princess Cake
Princess Cake, or Prinsesstårta, makes a spectacular centerpiece for any celebration, but despite its regal appearance, this simplified version is far easier to make than it looks. The original recipe from Sweden called for three layers of soft spongecake and custard, coated with stiffly whipped cream and covered with a thin layer of green-dyed mandelmassa (almond paste), finished with a single pink rose. While the essence and color scheme have endured, almond paste has been replaced with sweeter, smoother marzipan and the pleasing domed shape — thought to allude to a crown — is a modern addition. Purists may argue that jam, which did not appear in the original recipe but is a fixture of contemporary versions, does not belong, though the tart tang is most welcome among the sweet muddle of soft, creamy layers. Here, the usual three cake layers are reduced to two, and using good-quality shop-bought jam saves time. The entire cake is built in a bowl, allowing you to take your time with each layer. Once turned out, it reveals a beautifully smooth dome, fit for any princess.
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Mixed Berry Trifle
The trifle, a British classic, is a decadent combination of wobbly fruit jelly, genoise sponge cake, crème légère, and whipped cream built in a sharing-size glass bowl.
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Genoise Sponge
The best way to make a lighter-than-air genoise sponge cake, no double boiler needed.
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Brioche
This classic brioche is airy and tender, with a deeply rich and buttery flavor thanks to a hands-off cold fermentation.