MEMORIES ARE MADE OF......MALAKOFF
In the late 70s and early 80s my parents did a lot of entertaining at home and my mum produced wonderful dinner party food inspired by cooks like Fanny Cradock, Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson and John Tovey. Her well-used cookery books were full of mouth-watering pictures of elaborate starters and main courses, but it was the desserts which always caught my imagination - and taste buds. I remember being particularly fascinated by a picture of and recipe for meringue swans (a Fanny Cradock confection as I recall).
I learnt to cook standing beside my mum and watching her prepare and create food and meals. I would watch the progress of a dinner party through the bannisters on the landing - people arriving, pre-dinner aperitifs being drunk, lively conservations, assembling around the dining table and the exclamations of delight as my mum served the food. Her puddings were always very popular - usually she made two - and I often enjoyed the leftovers the day after. One of my favourite puddings was Charlotte Malakoff, with a rich, moussey centre made from ground almonds, butter and whipped cream enclosed in a ring of Boudoir biscuits (or "Ladyfinger" biscuits, as my mum called them) and topped with fresh raspberries. Not only does it taste delicious, it also makes a wonderfully impressive centrepiece dessert.
With friends staying over New Year, I decided to make not only my usual puddings of Lemon Polenta Cake and Flourless Chocolate Brownies (both Nigella Lawson recipes), but to try and recreate that famous Charlotte Malakoff. I have very strong memories of the look and "mouthfeel" of this dessert - the lightness of the filling offset by the sugary crunch of the Boudoir biscuits - and its lovely almondy flavour with a hint of liquor (Kirsch or Amaretto). I used Julia Child's recipe, translating the US measurements to English, which was not entirely successful (I would use more cream next time), though the flavour was almost exactly as I remember - it must be nearly 40 years since I last ate Charlotte Malakoff.
While not as perfect as my mum's Charlotte Malakoff, I was pleased with my first attempt and our friends were very impressed with it. Being naughtily rich, a little goes a long way, and over half the Malakoff remained for our next set of friends who arrived on Sunday. The final sliver of Malakoff was finished off last night, a chaser to the banana and amaretti parfait, with fresh bananas and salted caramel sauce.
I learnt to cook standing beside my mum and watching her prepare and create food and meals. I would watch the progress of a dinner party through the bannisters on the landing - people arriving, pre-dinner aperitifs being drunk, lively conservations, assembling around the dining table and the exclamations of delight as my mum served the food. Her puddings were always very popular - usually she made two - and I often enjoyed the leftovers the day after. One of my favourite puddings was Charlotte Malakoff, with a rich, moussey centre made from ground almonds, butter and whipped cream enclosed in a ring of Boudoir biscuits (or "Ladyfinger" biscuits, as my mum called them) and topped with fresh raspberries. Not only does it taste delicious, it also makes a wonderfully impressive centrepiece dessert.
With friends staying over New Year, I decided to make not only my usual puddings of Lemon Polenta Cake and Flourless Chocolate Brownies (both Nigella Lawson recipes), but to try and recreate that famous Charlotte Malakoff. I have very strong memories of the look and "mouthfeel" of this dessert - the lightness of the filling offset by the sugary crunch of the Boudoir biscuits - and its lovely almondy flavour with a hint of liquor (Kirsch or Amaretto). I used Julia Child's recipe, translating the US measurements to English, which was not entirely successful (I would use more cream next time), though the flavour was almost exactly as I remember - it must be nearly 40 years since I last ate Charlotte Malakoff.
While not as perfect as my mum's Charlotte Malakoff, I was pleased with my first attempt and our friends were very impressed with it. Being naughtily rich, a little goes a long way, and over half the Malakoff remained for our next set of friends who arrived on Sunday. The final sliver of Malakoff was finished off last night, a chaser to the banana and amaretti parfait, with fresh bananas and salted caramel sauce.
Comments
Post a Comment