Here at The Sally, our homemade desserts are popular no matter what the season. We’ve been prodding our Head Chef, Stuart, to see what sugary secrets he’s in the mood to share.
What are your favourite desserts and why?
Oh, that’s a tough one. It’s very difficult to choose just one as they all have unique and special aspects…
What’s the longest time you’ve ever taken to make a desserts?
I once spent an entire day crafting the perfect opera cake with all its delicate layers
What’s the best part about creating desserts?
You get to be incredibly creative & you can mix all sorts of different flavours.
Have you had any dessert disasters?
Hasn’t everyone? I once dropped 6 litres of creme brulee mix onto the floor and covered the whole kitchen. Messy.
Do you watch any of the cooking and baking shows on the TV?
What do you think of them? I wouldn’t go on one personally, but I like watching Masterchef, Great British Menu and Bake Off – The Professionals. They are more realistic and give you an insight into the industry. They don’t ‘sugar coat’ it and can be inspiring, pushing people’s ideas and minds.
In your opinion, which celebrity chef / bakers makes the best desserts?
None of them! I’m the best – just come to The Sally and see for yourself! In all seriousness, there are lots of great dessert chefs around. The best ones put their own spin on old classics.
Which nation makes the best desserts?
France, by far! No question
What’s the most unusual desserts you’ve created?
A mac and cheese dessert (macaroons and cheesecake)
Should the perfect dessert be cool and light? Or warm and comforting?
Either, or! It’s all about personal taste and what you want to get from the dessert. Desserts should have levels though – something crisp; something sweet; something soft or fluffy and a touch of citrus. A person’s mood also comes into play. It all comes down to whatever takes your fancy…
Here are some fab recipes from The Sally menu for you to try out.
Bon Appetit!
The Recipes:
White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake Serves 12 to 16
You need:
For the biscuit base:
150g plain flour
5g baking powder
150g soft unsalted butter
90g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
For the cheesecake:
500g soft cream cheese
150g caster sugar
200ml double cream or whipping cream
200g white chocolate
For the raspberry jelly:
250g raspberries fresh or frozen
150g caster sugar
200ml water
5 sheets gelatine
To make the biscuit base:
Mix together butter and sugar until creamy
Add flour and baking powder
Mix until all combined
Add eggs and mix well
Transfer to cake tin. Evenly cover the bottom
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 175°c or until golden
Then cool
To make the cheesecake:
Whisk together soft cream cheese & caster sugar
Melt white chocolate. Then add to cream cheese mix while still whisking
Finally whisk in cream till stiff
Place into cake tin on top of biscuit base and smooth the top. Place in the fridge to set overnight.
To make the raspberry jelly:
Place raspberries, sugar and water into a pan and start to boil
Soak gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes
Once raspberries are boiled blend and sieve
Take gelatine out of water & squeeze off excess water then add to hot raspberry liquid
Set aside to cool for 1 hour then pour over cheesecake & return to fridge.
Chocolate Delice
Serves 15
You need:
5 whole eggs
300g sugar
250g dark chocolate
250g butter
To make:
Whisk eggs and sugar till it starts to form ribbons. While waiting for the eggs to whisk, oil and line your tray.
Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of water (keep the chocolate moving so it doesn’t burn)
Once chocolate mix has melted, mix with the eggs slowly and then mix on full power for a minute (don’t whisk for too long as you will remove all the air)
Finish by folding with soft paddle
Pour mix into tray
Cook straight away at 160°c for 40-45 minutes (until mixture doesn’t stick to the back of a knife)
To make the topping:
15g beurne noisette
200g double cream
250g dark chocolate
1/2 cup of honey or golden syrup
Melt the butter in a pan until it starts to change colour
Melt rest of ingredients together to form the topping. Once melted (no lumps) pour over the warm base and move tray to evenly spread the topping over the top
Allow 2 hours to set.
The prefect accompaniment to our desserts a scoop of… Vanilla Ice cream
Makes 1 – 1.5 litres of ice cream
You need:
500 ml milk
330ml cream
275g sugar
1 vanilla pod split and seeded
6 egg yolks
Boil milk, cream and vanilla. While boiling, mix egg yolks with sugar.
Once milk cream has come to the boil, whisk into egg mixture and return to the heat. Keep mixing until it starts to thicken (like custard) then cool and place into ice-cream machine.
If no ice cream machine is available place into the freeze and whisk every ½ hour until set and smooth.