Delia Smith Macaroon Food

COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• Whisk together the egg whites and caster sugar in a large bowl for 2-3 mins until light and frothy, and the sugar has dissolved. Add the coconut, a pinch of salt and the vanilla, then stir until combined. Leave to stand for 10 mins.
• Heat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3½. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Scoop teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into compact balls, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 mins until golden.
• Leave on the baking sheet to cool completely. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water, or in short 20-second bursts in the microwave. Tip the melted chocolate into a small bowl, then dip the bottom of each cooled macaroon into the chocolate and wipe off any excess. Arrange on a sheet of baking parchment, chocolate-side up, then put in the fridge for 20 mins, or until set. You can use any remaining melted chocolate to pipe in zigzags over the top, if you like, then leave to set.

COCONUT TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place a shallow 23cm flan tin on a baking tray. Tip the spices, coconut and sugar into a pan with 150ml water and cook over a low heat for about 5 mins, stirring frequently to ensure the mixture doesn't catch. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line the flan tin. Trim off the excess pastry, fill the pastry case with baking parchment and baking beans and cook for 15 mins. Remove the beans and cook for 5 mins more so the pastry on the base of the tin is just cooked, but not brown.
• Beat the egg and melted butter into the cooled coconut mixture, then spoon into the pastry case and smooth the top. Bake for 25 mins until the pastry is golden and the coconut pale golden. Serve with cream or real vanilla ice cream and some Cape gooseberries, then follow with cups of black Rooibos tea.

CHEWY ALMOND MACAROON BISCUITS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Put the ground almonds and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix to combine.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, then add to the almond and sugar mixture. Stir well - it will form a slightly sticky mixture but should hold its shape.
• Wet your hands lightly and roll a heaped teaspoon of the mixture into a ball between your palms - it should be about 4cm in diameter. Put on the tray and flatten slightly with wet fingers to a thick disc, leaving at least 3cm between each biscuit. Press a blanched almond into each one, if you like.
• Bake for 18-20 mins until just starting to turn golden around the edges, then remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. You want them to have a chewy, soft centre and the darker they get the harder the middle will be.
• To make cinnamon balls, add the cinnamon to the almonds and sugar before you add the egg white. When shaping, leave them as balls. Bake for 18-20 mins - you want them to stay soft in the centre. While they are still warm, put them gently in a bowl of icing sugar and turn to coat. Leave until completely cooled.

BLUEBERRY AND PECAN MUFFINS (DELIA SMITH)

Steps:

• MUFFIN MIXTURE: Start off by sifting the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl mix together the egg, sugar, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract.
• Return the dry ingredients to the sieve and sift them straight on to the egg mixture. According to Delia Smith, this double sifting is essential because there won't be much mixing going on.
• Take a large spoon and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones - quickly, in about 15 seconds. Don't overmix.
• Fold in the blueberries and half of the chopped pecan nuts (50g), again with a minimum of stirring.
• Grease your muffin tins or use paper cups.
• Spoon in just enough mixture to fill each muffin cup.
• TOPPING: Mix the remaining pecan nuts (50g) with the crushed sugar and top your muffins.
• Bake on a high shelf of the oven for 20 minutes for mini's or 30 minutes for regular ones. Oven temperature: 400°F / 200°C.
• Remove the muffins from the oven and cool in the tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. If they are in paper cases remove them from the tins straight away.