Although it was her fish course that got her through to the 2014 D-Day banquet, chef, Emily Watkins produced some stunning dishes throughout The Great British Menu.
Before becoming chef/proprietor of The Kingham Plough in Chipping Norton, Emily worked in various restaurants both in the UK and Europe, including several years at The Fat Duck. Perhaps it was Heston’s influence that inspired her Victory Trifle which involves guests ‘finishing’ the dessert with a customised, individual whipper filled with syllabub rather than cream.
Victory Trifle
(approximately 12 portions)
Blackberry Juice
- 5kg frozen blackberries
- 500gr caster sugar
- Place the blackberries and sugar in a vac bag and seal tightly.
- Place in a water bath at 85°C for 30 minutes.
- Pass through muslin.
Blackberry Jelly
- Measure out the blackberry juice allowing 220ml per portion.
- Allow 7 leaves gelatine* per litre, soaked in cold water to bloom.
- Squeeze out the bloomed gelatine and place in the hot blackberry juice.
- Pour into the moulds to set.
* Can be replaced with Special Ingredients’ Carrageenan Kappa allowing 1.5g per 100ml of juice.
Blackberry Sherry
- 1kg blackberries
- 1.2ltr sweet sherry
- Freeze the blackberries.
- Pour the frozen blackberries into a vacuum bag and pour in the sherry.
- Seal tightly.
- Place in a water bath heated to 85°C for 30 minutes.
- Pass through muslin.
- Chill.
Old English Sponge
- 3 whole eggs
- 180gr caster sugar
- 50ml hot water
- 120gr self-raising flour
- Place the eggs and the sugar in a bowl and whisk until tripled in volume, adding the water slowly.
- Fold in the sifted flour.
- Dust baking parchment with caster sugar.
- Bake at 200°C for 10 minutes.
Baked Custard
- 8 egg yolks
- 60gr caster sugar
- 80ml milk
- 1ltr double cream
- 2 vanilla pods
- Place the yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk together.
- Bring the cream, milk and vanilla pods to the boil.
- Pass through a chinois (fine conical sieve).
- Skim off any bubbles.
- Pour into 8 x lined moulds and bake at 90°C for 30 minutes.
- Leave to set for 24 hours in the fridge.
Syllabub
- 450ml blackberry infused sherry
- 220gr caster sugar
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1.7kg whipping cream
- Place the sherry in a pan with the sugar and the lemon juice.
- Bring to the boil and simmer to a syrup – 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour the sherry mix into the cream and whisk to incorporate.
- Pour into Cream Supplies’ quarter litre whippers (one per person) and charge each one with a single N2O cartridge.
Honeycomb
- 165gr caster sugar
- 25gr honey
- 60gr glucose
- 30ml water
- 7gr bicarbonate of soda
- Bring all the ingredients to the boil, except for the bicarbonate, and cook to 160°C.
- Take off the heat and whisk in the bicarbonate.
- Pour onto a prepared, lined tray.
Sprinkles
- Honeycomb
- Bee pollen
- Poppy seeds
- Dehydrated blackberries
- Finely chop the bee pollen.
- Break the honeycomb using a rolling pin.
- Break up the dehydrated blackberries.
- Mix together.
To serve:
- Cut out the centre of the jelly with a cutter.
- Place a sponge disk in the centre.
- Soak in the blackberry sherry.
- Place a portion of the baked custard on the sponge.
- Serve with the whipper, sprinkles and a glass of blackberry sherry.
Flavorwhip quarter litre whipper is £10.99 (inc VAT). (Emily customised hers with a label reading ‘Original Squirty Cream Blackberry Sherry Syllabub’). Special Ingredients’ Carrageenan Kappa is £5.95 (inc VAT) for a 100gr tub. Both are available for next day delivery from www.creamsupplies.co.uk