In honour of the royal engagement: Eton Mess

Today I decided to make Eton Mess in honour of His Royal Highness Prince William's engagement to Catherine Middleton. Finally. Plus I just really wanted to eat whipped cream.

Prince William + Princess Diana's ring + Kate Middleton = wedding.

Meringue + strawberries + whipped cream = Eton Mess.

I know which one I'd rather eat.

Prince William studied at Eton, a very prestigious British independent school which has been described as the most famous public school in the world. It must be, because it comes up a lot in crosswords, as if one is just meant to know these things. Hell, any school that in this day and age that still makes their students wear a black tailcoat, waistcoat and pinstripe trousers deserves that kind of recognition. 

Anyhoo.

Eton is where this sinful creation of crispy, chewy meringue and sweet cream comes from. And I for one am grateful.

Now if you're in a hurry, you buy some meringue nests, whipped cream and strawberries and away you go. But if you want a five-star, upper-upper-class royal British taste sensation, then you make your own meringue. Trust me, it's not hard.

This is why you want to make your own meringue: 

Ooh marvel at the gooey marshmallowy goodness inside! 

You just don't get that out of a shelf-stable box of meringues. No siree Bob, gosh, crumbs, pip pip cheerio and and all that.

Home-made meringue is crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, and has just the right amount of chewiness. When you bite into it, nothing cracks and then shatters into tasteless chalk dust in your mouth. No siree, etc. etc.

So. Onward. Upward. Tally-ho. Forward to the meringue-making.

Ingredients: 

6 egg whites

1 1/2 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch

1 teaspoon white vinegar (or lemon juice)

Method: 

Preheat your oven to 125C. Yes, very low.

1. If you haven't already separated your eggs, be careful when doing so. The tiniest bit of yolk may ruin your chances of the whites properly whipping. They say have your beaters and bowl chilled before starting, but I've been making this since I was 12 years old and I've never had a problem.

2. Whip the eggs to soft peak stage, thus: 

3. Beat in the sugar, a little at a time, ensuring the first batch is properly distributed and hopefully dissolved before adding the next.

4. When all whipped, semi-firm and glossy, add the cornflour and vinegar. Whip to combine. 

5. Spread out fairly thickly on a tray covered in baking paper. As you'll be wanting some crispness, make a few peaks.

6. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until lightly brown. Turn the oven off and leave the door ajar while the meringue cools.

7. What you should have would look a little something like this:

8. Break it up into a large bowl. If you can resist eating bits as you do, you're a better man than I. Mix with 1 cup cream whipped with 1 teaspoon sugar and a dash of vanilla, add strawberries, and get eton eatin'.

Looking for a way to use up all those leftover egg yolks? Try my custard tart.

Smoky Barbecue Kebabs

Ever since I bought liquid smoke from here , I have been obsessed with making thick, rich barbecue sauce. The kind you can eat with a spoon.

I got one from the Deen brothers, offspring of one of my ultimate cooking heroes, Paula Deen, and oh my Ford, it is unbelievably good!

So for my friend Miss Yesmin's barbecue, where she's hosting some super-cool veggie heads like me, I present to you the dish that will make non-tofu eaters LOVE it. Even if it's just for one night. I should know, I'm one of them.

OHHHHHHH..... good, right?

The tofu HAS to be Pureland... everything else tastes... um... not as good. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons orange juice, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 block of Pureland firm tofu
• 1 cup ketchup, or tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke 
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method

1. Chop your tofu in half widthways, so you have two even-sized squares. then chop these into five long strips, which you then cube. Don't make them too big, or they won't soak up the marinade properly. For even better soaking qualities, place the tofu on a plate, and put a second plate on top with something heavy on it to squeeze all the water out. Leave for about an hour, and drain.

2. Put the tofu in a shallow dish with the onion, orange juice and garlic. Cover and marinate for at least an hour.

3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

4. Thread your marinated tofu onto skewers, and place in one layer on a plate. Pour half the barbecue sauce over, and turn to cover thoroughly.

5. Cook on preheated barbecue, turning every now and then until the sauce caramelises on the outside. Keep basting with the marinade every time you turn them. Don't be shy, now!

6. When the kebabs are done, pour the rest of the sauce over and get busy eating!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

The ultimate brownie indulgence!

I always bake a little treat for Veggie Husband’s lunchbox every week, so this is the latest effort.
It is impossibly rich.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
60g cooking chocolate
Cream cheese filling… a little further down
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I omitted these)

Method
1. Heat your oven to 180C. You can grease the bottom and sides of a rectangular 13x9 inch pan or you can be lazy like me and line it with a huge sheet of baking paper!

2. Melt butter and chocolate. I did this in the microwave, in a glass bowl. cook in 20-second bursts and stir after every time. Cool 5 minutes If, like me, you use chocolate chips which aren’t designed to melt… it will take forever. I recommend cooking chocolate!

3. Make cream cheese filling, set aside.

4. Beat chocolate mixture, sugar, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. It looked a little anaemic here so I added a tablespoon of cocoa. Beat in flour and salt.

5. Spread 3/4 batter in pan. Spread filling over batter, and you can either drop random pieces of the reserved batter, or drizzle it like I did.

6. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

7. Try to stop yourself from eating the whole thing in one go.

Cream Cheese Filling

1 packet cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Method
1. Beat until smooth. easy, huh?

Recipe from Betty Crocker.