Category: Festive

• Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced). Line the bottom of the tin with grease proof paper and brush sides with butter.
• Mix flour with baking powder and sift. Set aside.
• Prepare batter: Mix sugar with lemon zest and cardamom. Using palms of your hands rub zest into sugar to release flavour. Beat soft butter for 1 minute until fluffy. Add 90g of zesty sugar to butter (in 3 lots) and beat until fluffy - about 2-3 minutes. Start adding egg yolks - one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then start adding Ricotta - 2 Tablespoons at a time - mix well after each addition (paddle attachment, low-medium speed, or handheld mixer - low speed). Add flour - in 2 turns and mix gently (lowest speed) only until combined and no flour pockets remain. Set the mixture aside. In a separate bowl beat egg whites until fluffy (1 minute) then add remaining part of sugar (90g) and beat until firm (2-3 minutes), at the end add coarse salt and beat for few seconds. Fold beaten egg whites into the Ricotta mixture. Pour the batter into the tin, gently place fruit on top (make sure there are some spaces in-between so that the cake has a chance to puff up).
• Bake at 180C (160C fan forced) for 50 minutes. When baked, open oven door and let the cake cool in the oven for 10 minutes then take out and give the tin a little bang. The cake is going to deflate around 1 - 2cm when cooling. Run thin knife around the edges to loosen, let it cool for 15-20 minutes, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve. It tastes great when still warm or chilled in the fridge for few hours.

Honey Comb

• Line a small baking tin with baking paper (we used 20 x 20 but the exact size doesn’t matter)
• In a medium heavy based pan, heat the sugar and golden syrup over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, measure the baking soda into a small container, ready to use quickly, and have the baking tin nearby.
• Increase the heat and bring the sugar to the boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn. you’ll see it turn a slightly darker caramel colour.
• Add the baking soda and quickly stir to fully combine - the honeycomb will froth up and lighten.
• Quickly pour into prepared tin. Don’t worry about spreading it out evenly.
• Leave to set until cold and then break into pieces. If it has been a very humid day, you might find that it gets a bit sticky - just keep it in the freezer until you need it and it will much easier to snap and crumble
• You will probably have extra left over after using it for the pavlova - dip leftovers in melted chocolate to make them even better!

Slab Pavlova Base

• Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using a 20x 30cm tin or a ruler, trace out a roughly 20 x 30cm rectangle on your baking paper with a pencil - this gives you a guide for shaping the pavlova.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (not fan bake).
• Wipe out your stand mixing bowl with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar to remove any bits of grease from last time you used it - you want your bowl and beater attachment to be super clean and dry.
• Add the egg whites and salt to the bowl and beat using the whisk attachment on high speed until frothy.
• Still on high speed, start adding the caster sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is all absorbed and the egg whites are stiff and glossy. This should take about 10 minutes, and when you rub a bit of meringue between your fingers you shouldn’t be able to feel any sugar granules.
• Whisk in the vinegar. Sift the corn flour over the meringue and gently fold through with a spatula.
• Use a big spoon to drop dollops of meringue onto your traced rectangle. Use an offset spatular similar to spread it gently into a rectangle, creating a few swirls and peaks as you go.
• Place it in the oven. Immediately turn the heat down to 130°C and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven and leave it in the oven without opening the door until completely cool, ideally overnight.

Honey Roast Peaches

• Preheat the oven to 180°C
• Halve and stone the peaches and place cut side up in a single layer in a rectangular roasting tray or baking tin with sides. In a small bowl, combine the honey, brown sugar, water and vanilla. Pour over the peaches.
• Roast for 30-40 minutes, basting the peaches with the honey syrup occasionally, until the peaches are tender and starting to caramelise around the edges.
• Set aside in a bowl to cool, including the honey syrup. Use at room temperature - if they are still hot they will start making the mascarpone cream runny.

Mascarpone Cream

• Whip the cream to soft peaks.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the mascarpone, creme fraiche, icing sugar and vanilla. Fold in the softly whipped cream.

To assemble

• Spoon the mascarpone cream over the cooled pavlova base.
• Top with the cooled caramelised peaches and shards of hokey pokey.
• Serve immediately

• Heat oven grill to high. Place chiles on a baking sheet; grill, turning as needed, until charred and tender, 4-5 minutes.
• Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let sit 5 minutes.
• Discard stems, skin, and seeds from chiles; finely chop and transfer to a bowl.
• Add cherries, coriander, walnuts, oil, molasses, juice, salt, and pepper; toss to combine.
• Serve chilled or at room temperature.

• Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl.
• Cut the chicken into thin strips, put in a clean bowl and toss with 3/4 marinade. Place in the fridge.
• Cut the nectarines into small pieces and toss with the rest of the marinade.
• Heat the coconut oil in a small saucepan, sauté the garlic and the ginger over low heat. Add the chili pepper and stir, pour coconut milk and bring to a boil. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and cook over low heat until the peanut butter has melted and the sauce is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook the sugar snaps in salted water. Cut the tomatoes and the cucumber into small pieces.
• Preheat your grill pan to high heat. Rinse the asparagus under cool water and remove the woody stems. Drizzle with oil and grill for 10 minutes until soft.
• Grill the nectarines for 2-3 minutes or until light char marks appear, flip and grill another 2-3 minutes.
• Thread your chicken onto the skewers. Grill until the chicken is cooked through and light grill marks appear, turn from time to time so the meat doesn’t burn.
• Arrange the watercress on the plates, add cucumber, tomatoes and sugar snaps. Add the grilled asparagus and nectarines and top with the chicken. Drizzle generously with peanut sauce, add the chopped peanuts, chili pepper and fresh corinader. Enjoy!