XISCA’S MALLORCAN SPONGE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE Grandma’s friend Nikki goes often to Mallorca, where the treat of choice is a sponge cake, cut in squares to dip in hot milk chocolate sauce in the manner of cheese fondue. Serves 6-8 Butter for the pan 7 eggs, separated 340 g/2¾ cups sugar 200 g/1 2/3
SUMMER PUDDING Without her mother, Grandma would never have made this pudding, which depends on really ripe berries and, strangely, dry white bread. The riper the berries – raspberrries, strawberries, blackberries, currants — the better. After searching her mother’s personal cookbook dating from the 1930s, Grandma finally found the recipe and it is a winner.
RICE PUDDING WITH CARAMEL Creamy rice pudding is called terrinée, a Normandy specialty that is baked long and slowly, sometimes overnight, in an earthenware dish so it develops a deep brownish crust. In a recent trend, farmers earn a bit extra by making dishes like this at home for the many visitors who tour the
ROASTED PINEAPPLE SPUTNIK Frédéric’s roasted pineapple extravaganza, speared with vanilla beans so it looks like a sputnik, must be tasted to be believed. Serves 4 A whole medium pineapple 4 or 5 vanilla beans For the syrup: ½ cup/100 g sugar 1 cup/250 ml water 1 lemon, zest and juice 1 orange, juice 1 tablespoon
CRISPY ALMOND TORTE For Grandma, teatime is a key event for visitors, centered around the Victorian silver teapot and sugar bowl marked with the initials AC for Grandma Ada Clark, the same as her own Anne (Willan) Cherniavsky. She has cousins who live nearby, Caroline and her husband Jeremy, who avoid both gluten, and chocolate,
VICTORIA SPONGE Towards the end of the nineteenth century, ‘tea’ in England had strayed from being a minor liquid refreshment before bedtime to becoming the impressive spread of savory sandwiches, cookies and cakes, backed by the silver teapots and bone china cups that we equate with Victorian England. Victoria Sponge is its centerpiece, a sponge
LUCY’S CHOCOLATE CRISPIES Crispies appeal to all ages, so much so that Grandma encountered them at the local three starred restaurant when she lived in France. Crispies are made with cereal stuck together with melted chocolate and then drizzled with more white and dark chocolate (the first time Lucy made them, she was drizzled with
ALI’S LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE Lemon Drizzle Cake comes from Grandma’s assistant Ali and her mother who were one day bored on a rainy day (just how long ago they prefer to forget) and decided to put together a cake of whatever was in the kitchen. It was a lucky bet and the successful recipe for
TREACLE TART This recipe comes from Grandma’s grandmother and brightened what always seemed to Grandma long, chilly visits when the grownups spent too much time talking among themselves. The great treat was treacle tart filled with lemon-flavored golden syrup and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a rarity in those far off days
BANANA AND ORANGE CAKE Ripe, slightly squishy bananas are best for this splendid golden cake which needs no decoration. We were introduced to it by our friend Aurora from Bolivia. Makes a 10-inch/25-cm cake to serve 8 ½ cup/125 g melted butter, more for the pan 3 cups/375 g flour, more for the pan 1