Sunday, 16 January 2011

James Martin's Lemon Strawberry Wafer Stacks

James says: 'Sugar work's become my trademark on Ready Steady Cook'

Ingredients
Serves 2

FOR THE STACK:
75g/3oz caster sugar
4tbsp mascarpone cheese
100ml/3floz double cream
1tsp sifted icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
1tbsp lemon curd
6 round, thin shortbread biscuits (each about 5-7½cm/2-3in in diameter)
12 evenly sized small strawberries (about 150g/5oz in weight)

FOR THE RASPBERRY COULIS:
100g/4oz raspberries
Juice of 1 lime
2tsp sifted icing sugar

Method

1 To start making the spun sugar, you need to make caramel. Place the sugar in a very clean, heavy-based pan and heat gently until it has dissolved. Then bring to the boil and boil fast for a few minutes until the resulting syrup begins to turn pale brown, gently swirling the pan to ensure even cooking.

2 Meanwhile, place the mascarpone in a bowl with the cream, icing sugar and lemon curd. Mix until well combined. Place one shortbread biscuit on each plate and divide half of the mascarpone mixture between them.

3 Remove the stalks from the strawberries and cut them in half. Stand up six of the strawberry halves in the mascarpone mixture on each shortbread, cut-side facing out. Cover with another shortbread biscuit and repeat the mascarpone and strawberry layer. Finish each stack with the two remaining biscuits and dust with icing sugar.

4 Heat a flat metal skewer on an open flame and carefully mark the tops of the stacks with a cross-hatched pattern, reheating the skewer as necessary.

5 To make the raspberry coulis, place the raspberries, lime juice and icing sugar in a mini food processor and blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve into a bowl and then pour into a jug. Drizzle around each strawberry stack.

6 When the caramel is a rich golden-brown colour, dip the base of the pan into a sink of cold water to prevent further cooking. To make the spun sugar, take a clean, small metal spoon and a knife-sharpening steel, and dip the spoon into the caramel. Move the spoon up and down the steel, pulling the sugar with your fingers until a candy-floss texture is achieved. Pile some of the spun sugar on top of each stack and serve at once.

Taken from Ready Steady Cook: Ten Minute Cookbook. Nowmagazine.com readers can buy Ready Steady Cook: Ten Minute Cookbook (RRP £14.99) for the special price of £12.99 plus free UK p&p. To order please call 01206 255800 and quote the reference 'Now'.