A GREAT British bake off finalist has teamed up with one of the UK’s much loved ice cream brands for a series of classic summer recipes.
Bake off contestant Flora Shedden, 23, has created some Simple Pleasure recipes for Mackie’s of Scotland ice cream and chocolate.
The collaboration came as part of Mackie’s Summer of Simple Pleasures campaign with each recipe designed to make simple delicious, an ethos the family run business has championed throughout the Summer.
Flora competed in series six of Britain’s most popular baking show, The Great British Bake Off and was the season’s youngest contestant at 19-years-old.
The talented baker went on to publish her own cookbook, ‘Gatherings: Recipes for Feasts Great and Small’ in 2017 and currently runs her own bakery in her hometown of Dunkeld, Perthshire using only fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
Flora said: “Given the simple pleasure theme, I wanted to find something quite easy to make, with simple ingredients but hopefully create something I find deeply rewarding to eat!
“For me there is a happy nostalgia associated with ice cream – I think that definitely fits nicely with the sentiment too.
“The ice cream slice has a lovely retro vibe to it.”
Flora’s feature recipes are an ice cream sandwich with oat and chocolate chip cookie with Mackie’s traditional ice cream, and a Neapolitan style ice cream slice layered with chocolate and sponge cake using mint, traditional and chocolate ice cream.
“The talented baker also recommends a flourless chocolate torte and a classic tiramisu, using an assortment of Mackie’s chocolate (see recipes attached in appendix).
Flora, added: “I hope that people will enjoy trying these recipes – they’re really quite easy to make (two of them don’t even require turning the oven on!) And the results are some deliciously simple summertime treats.
“It has been lovely to work with such a brilliant Scottish brand like Mackie’s, and of course it is even better when working involves ice cream!”
A recent survey by Mackie’s confirmed that over 90% of us are enjoying simple pleasures more since lockdown and that over 90% intend to retain that focus when the restrictions are lifted.
Mackie’s “A Summer of Simple Pleasures” campaign saw the brand give away weekly prizes, all carefully chosen to represent some of the simple things in life which can bring the most joy.
Karin Mackie, Marketing Director and one of three sibling owners, said: “It has been great to work with Flora and get her expert tips and tricks to create recipes that people can enjoy from the comfort of their home.
“In our recent survey we found that cooking, baking and eating is one of the most popular categories of simple pleasures so we hope these recipes will resonate with our customers and help them find pleasure in the little things.
“We are looking forward to seeing our customers, hopefully, recreate the delicious treats and join us in celebrating the simple things.”
To find out more about Mackie’s, please visit: https://www.mackies.co.uk/
RECIPES
TIRAMISU
Makes enough to feed 6-8
500g mascarpone
4 eggs, separated
100g caster sugar
150ml espresso, cooled
50ml Kaluha
150g sponge fingers
120g bar of Mackie’s Dark 70%
In a clean bowl beat the mascarpone to loosen it slightly. Set aside.
In the bowl of a freestanding mixer whisk the egg whites together with 50g of the caster
sugar. Once you have stiff peaks, spoon into another bowl and set aside. Repeat the
whisking process with the egg yolks and the remaining 50g caster sugar – you are looking for them to be thick, very pale and fluffy. Set aside.
Mix together the cooled espresso with the alcohol. To assemble layer half of the sponge
fingers in the bottom of a deep serving dish (I use one 15cmx22cm but you can use 20cmx20cm square tin also, or any serving dish that is similar size wise, just note the depth of your pudding will vary). Spoon over half of the coffee mixture as evenly as possible and allow the fingers to absorb the liquid. Next add half of the whipped egg whites and half of the yolks to the mascarpone.
Gently fold together to incorporate and make sure you get rid of all lumps. Add the
remaining halves and fold gently once more. Spoon over half of this mixture on top of the
sponge fingers. Repeat the process with the sponge fingers and rest of the mascarpone
mixture. Spoon swirls on top of the final layer of mascarpone. Finely slice the chocolate bar
horizontally to create shards of chocolate then decorate the top generously.
Place your pudding loosely covered in the fridge for minimum 6 hours though ideally
overnight. Use a fish slice or large serving spoon to plate up – it won’t last long!
OAT AND CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES
Makes 6 large ice cream sandwiches
For the cookies:
175g butter, softened
100g light brown sugar
175g caster sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
125g plain flour
200g oats
1 egg
120g bar of Mackie’s milk or dark chocolate – whichever you prefer, chopped into rough
chunks
To assemble:
1 tub of Mackie’s Traditional ice cream
In the bowl of a freestanding mixer beat the butter and sugars together until well combined
but not light and fluffy. Weigh the remaining cookie ingredients into the bowl and beat once
more until just combined. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon weigh the dough into
80g portions. Roll into balls and place in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 30mins. Or up to two days.
In the meantime allow your tub of ice cream to soften at room temp for 10-15 mins roughly or until soft enough to spoon easily. Line a deep 23cm square pan (or something similar) with greaseproof paper. Spoon the ice cream into the dish and level roughly with a spoon.
Place in the freezer until ready to assemble.
When ready to bake the cookies preheat the oven to 170C FAN. Arrange the cookie balls
onto a tray allow room to spread. Flatten gently with your hand then bake for 12-15
minutes until golden but still soft in the middle. Set aside to cool.
When ready to assemble use an 8cm cookie cutter to neaten up the edges of the cookie
(you can leave them with a rough edge if you prefer). Remove the ice cream from the
freezer and cut 6 8cm discs with the same cutter also. Any excess ice cream can be put in a tub and placed back in the freezer for snacking on! Build the sandwiches by layering a disc of ice cream between two cookies.
Serve immediately or wrap in little greaseproof parcels and store in an airtight tub in the
freezer until ready to serve. They will last for up to 1 month.
CHOCOLATE TORTE
225g butter
240g Mackie’s Dark 70% chocolate
250g caster sugar
6 eggs
2 tbsp rum (optional)
Preheat the oven to 170C FAN. Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm loose bottomed cake
tin.
In a bain-marie melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth. In the bowl of a
freestanding mixer beat the sugar and eggs together until very light and fluffy (roughly 3
mins).
Gently fold the chocolate mixture with the egg mixture and rum, if using, until uniform in
texture and colour. Gently pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until set
around the edges but still with a slight wobble in the middle. Run a sharp thin knife around
the tin when it comes out of the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin.
Once cool cover the tin to seal and place in the fridge for 6 hours or ideally overnight.
When ready to serve remove the cake from the tin and slice using a hot knife (boiling water or a gas flame are best for this) to achieve a clean cut.
Serve with Mackie’s Traditional, Chocolate or Madagascan Vanilla ice cream or a big dollop
of crème fraiche. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
ICE CREAM CAKE
90g biscuits (I used amaretti, but rich tea, digestive and ginger nuts will all work well)
45g butter
120g Mackie’s Dark or Milk chocolate
Choose any of your favourite flavours – I used
½ tub Mackie’s Traditional ice cream
½ tub of Mackie’s Chocolate ice cream
1 full tub Mackie’s Chocolate Mint ice cream
90g cookies (again your preference)
Grease and line a 32cmx13cm straight edged loaf tin (or similar). Blitz the biscuits and the
butter together until smooth. Tip into the loaf tin and press down flat. Freeze for 5-10
minutes.
During this time remove the traditional ice cream from the freezer to soften slightly. Once
the biscuit layer has set spoon the softened ice cream on top and level with the back of a
spoon. Freeze for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
Finely chop the chocolate during this time and allow the chocolate ice cream 5-10 minutes
at room temp to soften a little. Sprinkle half of the chocolate over the traditional layer then
spoon over the chocolate ice cream and level with a spoon again. Sprinkle over the rest of
the chocolate and return to the freezer for a further 30 minutes.
During this time roughly chop the cookies or your choice and allow 5-10 mins for the mint
choc chip ice cream to soften a little. When the chocolate layer has set spoon over the mint
ice cream and then top with the cookies. Freeze for a minimum of one hour.
Slice and serve once set of slice and wrap in greaseproof. Store in the freezer in an airtight
container for up to three months.
