Food

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so dig into these showstoppers from Sunday’s resident chef Sam Mannering.

CREMESCHNITTE OR, CUSTARD SQUARE

I secretly loved a custard square growing up. I say secretly because in the 90s, to admit to such a thing was almost taboo, since your standard custard square was a gelatinous, solid lump, a doorstopper in technicolour yellow, bookended with pale, limp pastry. Denheaths were the outstanding exception. I went to school in South Canterbury, not far from Pleasant Point where they were made. I remember every exquisite detail. A luscious, slightly lemony crème pâtissière; crisp, sugary, flaky pastry. Revelatory, and nothing like the building block of opaque yellow jelly you’d see otherwise.

I came across cremeschnitte in Germany. Same deal really. They’re often made on a vast scale, cut to order, rather like cake. I like this approach. So what I’m proposing, essentially, is a gigantic custard square. Dream. It’s also damn easy, and pretty cheap. Prep the crème pâtissière in advance and let it chill, so that all you need to do is bake the pastry and put it together. Like anything involving puff pastry, the fresher the better, but it will last overnight at a pinch. Double or triple the recipe as needed – I’ve done long lengths of it down the

table for people to hack into and it makes quite the statement.

PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES COOK TIME: 25 MINUTES SERVES: 6-8

5 eggs

2 squares of puff pastry 2 tbsp caster sugar 2 tbsp flaked almonds 300g caster sugar Zest and juice of 2 lemons 1 tsp vanilla essence or paste 100g cornstarch, sifted

1 litre full cream milk 150g butter, cubed

½ cup cream

2 punnets of raspberries

Preheat the oven to 200°C on fan bake. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

1. Separate the eggs. Use a smidgen of the yolks to brush the pastry, prick a few times with a fork, and then sprinkle over the sugar and flaked almonds. Pop them into the oven in two batches, for about 10 minutes until golden brown and puffed up. Remove and allow to deflate. Cool completely.

2. Make the crème pâtissière. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Using an electric beater will make your life infinitely easier. Once the whites are at soft peaks, add the sugar, gradually, while whisking, until you have stiff, glossy peaks.

3. Whisk in the egg yolks, gradually, followed by the lemon zest and juice, vanilla, and finally the sifted cornstarch, until you have a smooth mixture.

4. Heat the milk to hot but not boiling. Take off the heat, transfer to a jug, and then gradually add to the egg mix whilst whisking.

5. Transfer this mixture to a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Allow it to gently heat up, whisking all the while. After about five minutes it will start to thicken; continue to heat until thick and almost holding its shape. Take care not to let it burn or stick on the bottom of the pan.

6. Remove from the heat and gradually add the butter while whisking, letting it meld in before adding more. Taste to see if it needs any more lemon or vanilla essence. Try not to eat it all at this point. Transfer to a bowl, cover and chill in the fridge to let it cool right down.

7. To assemble, place one of the cooled squares of puff pastry down on a platter. Smother with the cooled crème pâtissière, reserving two tablespoons. It should be thick enough to stand up somewhat on its own.

If this is not the case, then add about half a cup of cream and give it a whisk until lovely and thick. Place the second square of cooked pastry on top.

8. Combine the reserved two tablespoons of crème pâtissière with the half cup of cream, and whisk to soft peaks. Use this to spread over the top of the pastry, then top this with raspberries. Pop into the fridge to firm up and chill before serving.

NOTE • About cutting – use a serrated knife, and apply very little pressure downward, so that the contents don’t squeeze out everywhere.

Festive cakes are fun, but naming them can be tricky. Yule log sounds a bit silly. Let’s stick to bûche de Noël. It sounds fancy and is easily pronounced by just speaking out a sneeze (can’t wait for the Gallic outrage on that one). Yule logs are a Christmas tradition (not down here in the middle of summer though, of course) that predate Christianity, but the edible equivalent didn’t come about until the 19th Century in France. By all means decorate the outside with melted chocolate, fashioning it to look like a log (the Pinterest posts on this are in superabundance) – I prefer a simpler approach.

A lot of Swiss roll lore will tell you to roll the cake while it’s still hot, after only a minute or so of cooling. This is to ensure it doesn’t crack, which is more of a risk when it’s cool. I’ve found that while both work, you might run the risk of cracking it more by rolling and then unrolling it – either way, just make sure you don’t overcook the cake. Even if it does crack, laugh and carry on. A Swiss roll can very easily morph into a trifle, and I see no issue with that.

PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES SERVES: 6-8

• 6 eggs, separated

• ¾ cup brown sugar

• 100g dark chocolate, melted and cooled a little

• ⅓ cup ground almonds

• 2 tbsp self-raising flour

• 1 punnet of strawberries

• 1 tbsp Marsala, sherry or any similar sweet wine

• 500g mascarpone

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• Zest and juice of 1 lemon

• 2 tsp cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a shallow baking tin (mine was 33cm x 23cm).

1. Place the egg yolks in a bowl with the brown sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the melted chocolate until incorporated. Fold in the almonds and flour.

2. Whisk the egg whites to stiff, glossy peaks. Add a third of the whites to the chocolate mixture and fold in gently, then repeat twice with the remainder. Be very gentle with mixing; take care not to knock the air out.

3. Transfer the mix to the lined tin, smoothing off the surface. Give it a gentle knock on the bench to settle it slightly, then pop into the preheated oven to bake for about 10-15 minutes max, until it’s risen and only just set. Take care not to overcook it; it will run the risk of drying out and cracking.

4. Remove from the oven and cool a little, then roll it up lengthways, if you want (see note about this), and leave to cool completely.

5. Chop the strawberries and combine in a bowl with the Marsala. Set aside a moment.

6. Beat the mascarpone, brown sugar, lemon zest and juice together; taste and add a little more sugar or lemon if necessary.

7. Carefully unfurl the Swiss roll (if you have rolled it up). Spread the mascarpone over the top in an even layer, and top with half of the strawberry mix. Roll everything up firmly into a log, but not so tight that you end up squeezing out all of the filling. If the cake splits, don’t worry too much.

8. Transfer to a serving plate, dust with cocoa and scatter over the remaining strawberry mix – useful to disguise any cracks if there are any. Chill for an hour or so before serving.