Recipe XLV - Mascarpone Chocolate Trifle, or Mach-3

Sorry I missed last weekend. I needed a week off to recover from the buzz I got from the mascarpone. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I had another tub of it in the fridge, so I decided to make another recipe with it this week. This is a totally made-up recipe again, one I made for February, the month of love, which I am calling Mascarpone Trifle, or Mach-3 (Mascarpone + Chocolate on 3 layers) because it'll create a sonic boom in your mouth. I know the reason's a little over the top, but it's the best I could do...



Ingredients:
250g mascarpone
2 to 4 eggs
2 bananas
2 x 200g cooking chocolate (one from milk, dark or white - I used dark and white)
180g to 200g biscuit (powdered)

Instructions:
Take the biscuit and put it in the blender, pulverising it until it is no more than powder. Put it to one side.
In a bowl, spoon the mascarpone. Separate the eggs, putting the yolk in the mascarpone and the white in a separate bowl. Fold the yolk into the mascarpone. Whisk the egg white until it is frothy and removing the mixer makes little mounds out of it. I know the photo below lakes the mascarpone look like egg mayonnaise, but it was truly mixed in.



In a saucepan, heat up the dark chocolate until it has fully melted. Take about a third of the mascarpone and put it tinto a third bowl. Pour the chocolate into it and stir until it is totally brown. Put it in the bottom of your presentation bowl.



Take the biscuit crumbs and make a layer on top, flattening it nicely. Then put a layer of sliced banana on top of that. I had a photo but it deleted itself, strangely enough...



Repeat the same thing with the white chocolate and finally the top layer with simple mascarpone, like below. No bananas this time, just a layer of biscuit as above.



Put it in the fridge to set and to give yourself time to realise that this evening you're probably going to have several out-of-body experiences!

Recipe VII - Rhubarb Crumble and Custard

A few people have written saying they'd like a good old-fashioned dessert recipe. I went for crumble because I made one yesterday - it takes about an hour, and makes a perfect outdoor afternoon accompaniment to your coffee during these gorgeous spring days.

Ingredients for the lower layer:
5 stalks of rhubarb, washed, beheaded, cut into centimetre-wide pieces
Brown sugar, maximum 150g, depending on taste
A handful of raisins
Half a glass of red wine
A large spoonful of cinnamon
4-6 cloves
A glass of warm water

Ingredients for the crumble topping:
180g flour
160g butter
80g sugar
A teaspoonful of cinnamon

Instructions for the lower layer:
Put all the ingredients except the water into a half-covered saucepan and put on a low heat for half an hour.
Once heated up, add the water depending on how runny you would like it.
You can do this part on the day, or if you have a lot to do, you can even do this a few days before, provided you keep it stored well.

Instructions for the rest:
Put the butter, sugar, cinnamon and flour into a bowl and mix until the consistency is crumbly.
Take a correctly-proportioned, round or square 10cm-deep baking dish and pour in the lower layer.
Spread it evenly over the bottom of the dish.
Take your crumble mix and carefully spread it evenly over the top of the rhubarb until it covers all the surface area.
Place the baking dish in the oven at 200°C for 35 to 45 minutes. If, after 20 minutes it is browning on top, turn the heat down to 175°C for the remainder of the time.

Ingredients for the custard:
300ml milk
A tablespoon of vanilla essence or a vanilla pod, split along its length
1 large spoonful of thinly ground (caster) sugar
2 egg yolks

Instructions for the custard (do this while your crumble is in the oven):

Heat the milk and vanilla slowly and allow it to just reach boiling point. Turn down the heat after boiling.
While the milk is heating, put the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and whisk them together.
Pour your boiling milk and vanilla over the eggs and sugar, continuing to whisk until the consistency is completely homogeneous.
Return them to the pan and then back onto the cooker at the lower heat I mentioned earlier.
In about five to seven minutes the mixture should start to thicken.

Endnote:
I love my crumble topping to be really thick, so I increase the ingredients proportionally.
Spring greetings!


My rhubarb crumble