http://lucullian.blogspot.com/2006/02/almond-and-ricotta-cake-gluten-free.html

2 duck eggs (or 3 chooken eggs)
2/3 cup sugar
100 g almonds put through the blender until fine
75 g salted butter, melted
125 g oz ricotta
zest and rind of 1 lemon (try zest of 2 next time)

-Whisk eggs and sugar until smooth, add the ground almonds then butter.
- Break up ricotta and add, beat. When the batter is smooth, beat in the flour.
- Pour it into a round 20cm springform cake tin and bake it in a pre-heated oven (180° C) 30 minutes.

I think I baked mine a little too long (as I added an extra 10 mins, but this is probably also because I can’t justify to myself heating up the whole oven for one little cake so I just do it on the oven setting on our microwave.  Next time I will probably make a little syrup with grated rind of a lemon maybe 50g sugar, 20mL water, then add the lemon juice when it has boiled, prick the warm cake all over & pour over the syrup before taking it out of the tin.

Preheat oven to 160 deg. Combine first section of ingredients, then mix in the wet ingredients. Place in teaspoonfuls on a greased baking tray. Bake for 15mins or until golden brown.

Name & Shame
1) the absolutely worst coffee in London is Sketch - maybe I got them on a bad day, but my ‘cappuccino’ tasted like watery instant and the white froth on top tasted like water too….
2) Box - I think they left their milk out too long….

1 side of salmon (1-1.5kg), skin on
125g sugar
180g soft brown sugar
175g salt
60mL limoncello / grand marnier / cointreau / other triple sec / extra orange juice
Zest of 2 lemons & 2 oranges
A squeeze of juice from lemon and orange
a pan just big enough to fit the fish

Mix sugars, salt & zests, spread half of the paste on the bottom of the pan
place salmon fillet in pan and sprinkle with liqueur, cover with remaining sugar/salt paste
cover with plastic wrap and weight down with another pan / loaf tin with 2-4kg tins in it
refrigerate for 48h, basting with cure half way through
the salmon should now feel firm to the touch
if not cure for another 24h
when cured rinse well and dry
wrap in butchers paper or greaseproof paper and store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks
this is lovely in sandwiches with creme fraiche & lettuce, on its own as a starter, in salads or with eggs for breakfast

we finished the 1+kg in a week (2 people)

Take one massive earthenware pot with lid. As berries come into season, spread them in the pot, removing ones that are bruised or damaged.  Cover each new layer with a layer of sugar and then enough high percentage rum to cover.  Leave for at least year, then eat on ice-cream and use the juices in drinks or desserts.

use lots of passata and put the bottles through the dishwasher to get them really clean, you need these to store your liqueur in & speaking as someone who has tried shoving damsons (small plums) through the neck of a gin bottle, the wide opening is really necessary;

start with decent quality spirits (gin, vodka, brandy all work well as they are dry - I’ve tried rum and it’s natural flavour is a bit too sweet);
prick the fruit a few times (for cumquats, sloes, damsons, apricots etc, not necessary for thin skinned fruit like berries);
put fruit in the bottle up to the half way mark;
depending on the sweetness of the fruit itself add sugar to the 1/4 - 1/3 mark of the bottle;
top up with your chosen spirit (the bottle will then take a little over half it’s volume in spirit (i.e. a 700mL bottle will take about 400mL of spirits);
gently mix every couple of days until all the sugar is dissolved (by gently turning the bottle, don’t shake hard!);
drink any time more than 3 months later - the longer you leave it the better it will taste!

Aviator

• 60mL gin
• 15mL (1 tbs) lemon juice
• 10mL (2 tsp) maraschino liqueur (gotta buy it as currently the Bombay Sapphire is balancing out the pretty rough cooking kirsch I’m using)
• 5mL (1 tsp) cr�me de violette (I’m using Monin violet syrup)
• 2-3 drops of Orange bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

50g (1 ½ oz) butter
1 cup castor sugar
finely grated rind of 2 lemons
4 eggs, separated
1/3 cup self-raising flour, sifted
juice of 3 lemons
1 ½ cups milk
Method:

Preheat oven to 140-160°C and boil as much water as you can.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, then beat in 1/2 the sugar until the mixture is glossy.
Cream the butter with the remaining sugar and the lemon rind. Beat in the egg yolks and then the flour, lemon juice and milk.
Gently mix the lemon preparation into the egg whites and pour into an ovenproof dish.
Stand dish in a water-bath coming half way up the sides. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes until set and lightly browned.

Serve straight away with cream or ice-cream.

I have to admit using tinned beans is much quicker & easier…

To make the enough confit duck legs for 2 cassoulets (takes 2 days): 4 large duck legs
50g rock salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4-6 thyme sprigs
5 broken bay leaves
10 crushed garlic cloves
750g extra rendered goose or duck fat (in a tin, I don’t bother though)
48h before you cook mix the above except for fat, rub into the skin & meat of legs of duck & put on a tray in the fridge for 24h, then remassage. After 48h scrape off the seasonings & put to one side.
Heat a frypan to moderate, put the legs in skin down & brown, then turn & brown. I then return the seasonings, turn them back on their skin (to render out the fat) & shallow fry in their own fat at a low heat with a lid on for about 2h, turning occasionally.
Alternatively after browning, put the legs in a preheated oven (150 deg C) with the extra fat & seasonings & cook for about 2h. To preserve them place in a large jar with lid, & pour over enough warm liquid fat to cover completely. Let fat go hard & cover with lid, keeps for months in the fridge. If you don’t have enough fat, smear them in fat & wrap in clingfilm

The cassoulet itselt:

2 confit duck legs
500g - 700g shoulder of lamb (or leg if you prefer), deboned & diced to about 3cm pieces
3 Toulouse sausages (or other coarse garlicky sausages
if you like 500g fresh pork belly in 3cm cubes (I don’t usually use it)
1 large onion chopped
6 garlich cloves, chopped
5 large tomatoes, chopped
150g breadcrumbs

The Beans:
600g dried beans soaked overnight (I use a mix with lima, haricot, borlotti, haricot is traditional)
1 large onion, peeled & stuck with 4 cloves
2 peeled garlic cloves
1 bouwuet garni (bay, thyme, parsley stalks)

Drain the beans, cover them with fresh cold water about 3cm higher than bean lever, add the other bean ingredients, bring to the boil & simmer until beans are tender but retain their shape (1.5-2.5h). Add a little extra water if they start looking dry, but allow the liquid to thicken & become saucy at the end of the cooking. Season, remove & discard the onion & bouquet garini.

Whilst the beans are cooking melt 2tbs of duck fat & brown all the meats one after the other, sausages last & set them aside separate to the other meats. Cut the duck legs into chunks & the sausages into 4 chunks. Then add the onion & garlic to the pan & cook on low until softened. Add the tomatos & a little water & simmer ~ 20min until you have a rich & pulpy sauce.

The cassoulet will be cooked in an around 3L crockpot (we’ve got an IKEA Le Creuset imitation), so if you think your beans & other ingredients won’t all fit in your pot, reserve some of the beans (you can freeze them for next time). When the beans are cooked stir in the tomato sauce & check the seasoning (don’t forget the meats are salty, esp. the duck), stir in the meats (except for the sausage). Sprinkle over a layer of breadcrumbs (no more than 1/3 of them) & then drizzle some melted duck fat over them & place uncovered in a preheated 140-150 deg oven for 2-2.5h. Check occasionally & break teh crust & add more crumbs. If the mixture becomes too dry, make a hole in the crust & pour in some water. Before the final layer of breadcrumbs (1/2h before it is finished, press the sausage chunks into the beans surface so they become crusty too, then add the last layer of crumbs. The beans should be melting & creamy & the meats tender, the crust deep, crisp & golden. Serve with a rustic red wine - something strong & tannic e.g. a nice ‘black wine’ from Cahors or Madiran would be appropriate.

I like to make servings slightly smaller & have heaps of broccoli on the side.