Bunny Biscuits

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Children will enjoy making these buttery biscuits with currants and spice for family and friends. They are also perfect to wrap gifts.

Makes

20 – 25

Ingredients

  • 125g softened butter
  • 75g caster sugar, plus 1-2 tbsp extra for sprinkling
  • 1 egg, separated
  • 200g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
  • grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 75g currants
  • 2 tbsp milk

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT).
  2. Beat the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk then gently stir in the flour, cinnamon, mixed spice, lemon zest and currants. Gradually stir in the milk until the dough starts to come together… you may need slightly less or more of the milk.
  3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll out until about 5mm thick then stamp out the biscuits using a round 7.5cm cutter or shape of your choice.
  4. Place on 2-3 greased baking trays and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Whisk the egg white just a little to break up, brush lightly over the biscuits and sprinkle with the caster sugar. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until just golden. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
  5. Store in an airtight tin for 2-3 days.

Get ahead!

The biscuits can be made ahead and stored in an airtight tin for 2-3 days. Freshen by placing them in a warm oven for 3-4 minutes.

Recipe created by Carol Bowen Ball the UK’s first bariatric cook.

My ESSE Loaf

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Cooking bread in the Esse is an absolute joy. I love it. I don’t bother with loaf tins I just shape the bread, give it a final prove and get it straight on the floor of the hot oven. Cooking it this way gives the most fantastic crust with a deeper, well developed flavour.

You’ll need to crank the oven up high bread; the higher part of ‘very hot’ is good.

This is my standard loaf that I make at home.

Serves

N/A

Ingredients

  • 750g white strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 250g whole meal flour
  • 10g powdered dried yeast
  • 20g fine salt
  • 600ml warm water
  • A little sunflower oil

Method

Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and, with one hand, mix to a rough dough. Adjust the consistency if you need to, with a little more flour or water, to make a soft, easily kneadable, sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and clean your hands.

Knead until the dough is smooth, stretchy and no longer sticky – about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a tight round. Oil the surface of the dough, put it in the wiped-out mixing bowl, cover the bowl with cling film and leave to ferment and rise until doubled in size, which should take about an hour.

Pre-heat the oven get the dial up to very hot. Deflate the dough by tipping it onto the work surface and pressing all over with your hands.

Divide the dough into 2 or 3 equal pieces. Shape into nice even rounds, coat with whole meal flour and Leave to prove for a further 30 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size.

Use a bread knife the gently score the loaves across their tops, this will help them to rise in the oven. Make sure your oven floor is clean and free of racks. Carefully lift each loaf and place on the floor of the oven, being careful not to burn yourself as you go.

Cook for 40 to 50 minutes, until well coloured. Remove the loaves and cool on a wire rack.

Lemon sponge puddings

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You will also need 6 individual ramekins

Serves

Serves 6 people

Ingredients

  • Juice and grated zest of 2 lemons
  • Up to 75g of golden syrup
  • 100g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g self-raising flour, sifted
  • pinch of salt

To Serve

  • Double cream, chilled

Method

Stir together 2/3rds of the lemon juice and the golden syrup.

Heat the mixture gently over a medium heat. Tip it into the pudding basin. Cream together the butter, lemon zest and caster sugar until it’s really light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, adding a spoonful of flour with each, then fold in the remaining flour. Finally stir in the last of the lemon juice.

Spoon this mixture into the ramekins, the lemon juice and Syrup mixture will rise up the sides of the basin – don’t worry about this, and don’t attempt to stir it in with the batter.
Half fill a roasting tin with hot water; it needs to be big enough to fit the ramekins’ in.

Place the puddings in the roasting tin, the water should be coming half way up the sides of the puddings, close the door. The top oven should be reading ‘Hot’ on the dial.

Bake gently 45 minutes or until the puddings are cooked and well risen.

The ESSE is perfect for this type of cooking as it keeps in moisture which is perfect for delicate baking.

Pear and almond cake

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This soft, moist, dense almondy cake can be served warm for pudding, with lashings of cream, or cold, with a cup of tea or coffee. Firm conference pears should work a treat here.

Serves

Six people

Ingredients

  • 350g unsalted butter, softened
  • 250g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp
  • 4 eggs
  • 150g whole blanched almonds or ground almonds
  • 150g self-raising flour
  • 5-6 pears, firm but not too hard, peeled, cored and quartered
  • Cake tin about 20cm in diameter and 5cm deep (a springform one is best)
  • Baking parchment

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Your esse dial wants to read hot but not the far side of hot. Grease a 20cm diameter, springform cake tin with a little of the butter and line the base with baking parchment.

Put a saucepan over a medium heat and add 25g of the butter. When it’s sizzling, add 1 tbsp sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add the pear quarters and fry in the buttery caramel for a couple of minutes, until they start to brown. Put the pan to one side to cool a little.

Put the remaining butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Beat in the two eggs, one at a time.

Whiz the whole blanched almonds in the food processor for about a minute to grind them. Tip them into the cake batter (or add the ready-ground almonds), then sift in the self-raising flour and fold in gently. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin. Arrange the pieces of pear on top of the cake. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a knife pushed into the centre comes out clean.

Place the tin on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cold.

Meringue Pudding prepared in the bottom oven

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Enjoy the best of British food with ESSE range recipes with the help of River Cottage head chef, Gill Meller.

Here, Gill Meller takes us through a step-by-step demonstration recipe. Learn how to make a delicious Rhubarb Meringue Pudding using the ESSE range cooker with companion.

Chocolate and Strawberry Brownies

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These are very moreish rich brownies made with fresh strawberries.

For this reason they need to be kept in the refrigerator after making and will only keep for 2-3 days (not that they will last that long!).
If you want them to keep longer then don’t add the strawberries to the mixture but serve with them instead.

Serves

Makes 16 squares.

Ingredients

  • 350 g dark plain chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 250 g unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 250 g dark brown muscovado sugar
  • 100 g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 250 g strawberries, halved

Method

  1. Line the base of a 24-cm square cake tin with non-stick parchment and oil the sides if not non-stick. Preheat the oven if necessary to 170 C/Fan 150C/Esse Dial Guide MODERATE. (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of MODERATE).
  2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over hot water and stir until smooth.
  3. Whisk the eggs and the sugar together in a bowl for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Fold into the chocolate mixture.
  4. Sift the flour and the baking powder together and fold into the chocolate mixture.
  5. Spoon about one-third of the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Top with the halved strawberries. Top with the remaining chocolate mixture to cover the strawberries and level the surface.
  6. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the surface is set or when the top just starts to crack. Allow to cool in the tin, cut into squares to serve.

Recipe by Carol Bowen Ball.

Almond Cake | Sea Bass & Herb Crumb – Frances Atkins

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ESSE has been a proud manufacturer of heating and cooking appliances since 1854. We work to embrace innovation and technology in all of our appliances.

Michelin-starred Chef Frances Atkins demonstrates how to bake a gluten free, fat free almond cake on her ESSE range cooker.
She also takes you step-by-step through a delicious Sea Bass & Herb Crumb recipe.

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