Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

What do you do with leftover fresh ricotta? Turn it into ricotta cake, of course!

I spent ages trying to perfect this recipe – here’s the original post from 2009 and our gluten free version, plus a ricotta slice I messed about with. I’m not sure why I found it all so hard – these days I just wing it and it seems to work every time.

Here’s a brief rundown on my most recent bake (quantities are loose)…

Mix one large well-drained 500ml tub of fresh ricotta with a big spoonful of Greek yoghurt (we used homemade) or sour cream, 150g sifted icing sugar and the grated rind of a small lemon.

Stir in two egg yolks. Beat two whites until firm, then fold into the batter.

Pour into a tin or pie dish lined with sweet shortcrust pastry (our recipe is here, but it’s quite sticky and fiddly – you have been warned!). Bake in a preheated 150C fan oven for about 50 minutes, rotating once (carefully). Leave to cool in the oven with the door ajar. Chill, then serve…

With the little piece of excess pastry, I made a baby berry pie for Small Man. He loved it…

. . . . .

And remember our roast lamb shoulders?

The following day, I turned the leftovers into that Aussie staple, shepherd’s pie…

I blitzed the meat in the food processor, then mixed it with cooked onion (chopped and fried until translucent), grated carrot, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, half a cup of tomato passata, salt, pepper and a couple of tablespoons of water. This was then spooned into a greased pie dish.

Three large potatoes were peeled and mashed with butter, salt and pepper (no liquid), then spread out over the meat and roughed with a fork. A little melted butter was brushed on top and the pie was baked for about 50 mins in a preheated 175C fan oven. From memory, I turned the heat up a bit at the end to brown the topping.

It was delicious with chipotle barbeque sauce!

Every year, my lovely octogenarian neighbour June gives me a bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label.

As I’m not a huge whisky drinker, every year, I turn it into three litres of homemade Irish Cream. Just before Christmas, I snuck jam jars’ full of “Festive Mother’s Helper” into my girlfriends’ fridges.

I was wondering what to do with the litre left in my own fridge when I came across this recipe by Nigella Lawson. I tweaked the ingredients just a little bit…

• 3 shots of Nespresso coffee, with water added to bring it up to 350ml
• 250ml (1 cup) of homemade Irish Cream
• 400g savoiardi biscuits
• 2 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
• 60g caster sugar
• 500 grams mascarpone cheese
• dutch cocoa powder

Tiramisu is very easy to make, but can sometimes end up a little soggy. My chef friend Dotti gave me a few tips to ensure a perfect result.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together, then fold in the mascarpone and ¼ cup Irish Cream. Whisk the whites until soft peaks form and carefully fold them into the mascarpone mixture. Be sure to use the freshest eggs you can find, as they won’t be cooked (ours were laid that morning).

In a large bowl, mix together the diluted coffee and remaining Irish Cream.

Now, here’s Dot’s first trick of the trade. Don’t soak the savoiardi biscuits. Holding them sideways (like this ⊂⊃), dip the bottom half into the liquid and pull it straight back out. Flip over and repeat with the top half. The biscuits might look a little dry, but fear not, they’ll absorb more liquid after the tiramisu is assembled and create a perfect sponge layer in the finished dessert.

Her second tip is to stand the bottom layer of biscuits on their side rather than laying them flat. This creates a slightly thicker base which is less likely to end up soggy.

Cover the base with a row of (barely) soaked soldiers, then top with half the mascarpone mixture. Then add another row of (barely) soaked biscuits – I laid them flat for the second layer – and top with more mascarpone. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight. Dust with cocoa just before serving.

I didn’t remember to take a photo before serving, but hey, it was Christmas. See how the thicker base has formed a perfect, non-soggy sponge layer?

Dotti’s final tip…and this one is genius…is that the assembled tiramisu freezes brilliantly. I had sufficient quantities to make one dish for our dinner plus two takeaway containers’ worth. Defrost overnight in the fridge (ideally), then smooth out the top, dust with cocoa and serve. It’s an easy dessert to keep on hand for last minute dinner parties…

So…that leaves me with just half a litre of my home brew in the fridge. Any suggestions?