Every Monday Joe drops in with tasty bites to kick off your week.
Joes Vanilla and Lemon Hot Cross Pudding
knob of butter, for the dish
4 hot cross buns
200g lemon curd
2 large eggs
200ml Connacht Gold Cream
200ml Connacht Gold Milk
Seeds of Vanilla Pod
4 tbsp caster sugar
little lemon zest
Butter a 1-litre baking dish that will fit the buns. Cut each bun into 3 slices, and sandwich back together with a generous spreading of lemon curd. Arrange buns in the dish.
Whisk egg, cream, milk and remaining curd, then sieve into a jug with the vanilla seeds and 3 tbsp of the sugar. Pour over the buns and stand at room temperature for 30 mins for the custard to soak in.
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Scatter the remaining sugar and lemon zest over the pudding. Bake for 30-40 mins until the top is golden and the custard gently set. Stand for 5 mins, then serve with cream or vanilla ice cream, or a nice custard
Joe Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
500g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
75g caster sugar
2 tsp mixed spice powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 lemon, finely grated zest only
Pinch of salt
10g fast-action dried yeast
40g connacht gold half the fat butter
300ml connacht gold milk
1 egg, beaten
200g sultanas
50g chopped mixed peel
oil, for greasing
For the topping
75g/2¾oz plain flour
2 tbsp golden syrup, for glazing
Method
- Put the flour, sugar, spices and lemon zest into a large bowl and mix together. Then add the salt and yeast, placing them on opposite sides of the bowl.
- Melt the butter in a pan and warm the connacht gold milk in a separate pan. Add the connacht gold half the fat butter and half the tepid milk to the dry ingredients. Add the egg and use your hands to bring the mixture together, incorporating the flour from the edges of the bowl as you go. Gradually add the remaining milk, to form a soft pliable dough (you may not need all of the milk).
- Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand incorporating the sultanas and mixed peel into the dough. Lightly knead for 10 minutes until silky and elastic and forming a smooth ball.
- Oil a bowl and place the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for about 1½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and divide into 12 balls. Line 1-2 baking trays with paper and place the balls on the tray, placing them fairly close together and flattening them slightly.
- Leave for 40-60 minutes until the buns have doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
- For the topping, add the flour to a bowl with 100ml water. Mix together to make a paste and spoon into the icing bag.
- When the buns have risen , pipe a cross on each bun. Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale golden-brown, turning the baking trays round halfway through if necessary.
- Melt the golden syrup in a pan and while the buns are still warm, brush the buns with a little syrup to give a nice shine, before setting aside to cool on a wire rack.
Garlic Ginger Roast Leg of Lamb
1x8lb leg of Lamb bone in but H bone removed
2tsp Chopped Fresh Mint
1 Tbls Olive Oil
Salt / Pepper
2 cloves of Garlic and a piece of Ginger minced in a pestle and mortar
2 tbls of flour
4 fl oz of Beef Stock
2tbls of Red Wine
2 Tsp of Lemon Juice
Pre Heat oven to 180c (450f), Place a wire rack into a roasting tray and then place lamb onto the rack
Mix oil, mint garlic, ginger salt and pepper in a small bowl, Add flour and stir until blended, now spread over the top of the lamb
Cook for 30 mins and reduce heat to 325f and cook for another 45 -60 mins pending how well you want it cooked (Rare 15 mins a lb and 20 over well done 20 mins a lb and 30 over)
Take from oven and lift onto a tray cover with tin foil and let it rest for 15 mins (this will help redistribute the juices and the temperature will rise)
Take the roasting tray and drain off any excess fat leaving as much of the sediment as possible, place onto a high heat, add beef stock and wine and scrape any of the sediment stuck to the tray, add some lemon juice, let it boil for 2 mins so it can reduce
Strain into a sauce boat
Carve the lamb serve with some beautiful mint sauce, Glazed Asparagus and Carrots with Pecans, roast potato,
8oz of Butter (softened)
2tsp of Salt
4tsp Vanilla Essence
1 can condensed milk
5lb of Icing Sugar
1tsp of yellow food coloring
55g of chocolate
Beat together the Butter, salt and Vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add milk and then the sugar and blend until stiff. Dust with brown sugar and knead until smooth. Set aside 2/3 of the mixture. Blend in the yellow food coloring into the remaining 1/3 of the mixture. You now have a yellow mixture and a white mixture which you are going to divide into 24 pieces. Shape yellow mixture into small balls and then wrap the white mixture around the yellow balls and shape into egg shapes. Dry out for 24 hours at room temperature on paper towel. Next Day melt the chocolate in a double ban marie. Dip the eggs into the chocolate and place on a wire rack sitting on a baking sheet. Let cool in the fridge