There are
times when I think Gordon Ramsay has taken over television, maybe with a little
help from Anthony Bourdain (who now appears to be CNN's new international political
commentator). Gordon (may I call you Gordon? I feel that I know you well enough)
currently appears in, at last count, Kitchen
Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen, MasterChef, The F Word, Hotel Hell, and a few
others, and, yes, I watch all of them. It's
not just to listen to the bleeps (if you don't know it, he swears a lot). I admire
the way Gordon cooks: good fresh food
prepared simply and presently attractively. I also keep watching because I'm
still waiting for him to run out of energy, but he hasn't yet.
One show of
his that I didn't know about until one dire evening when there was no network
show I wanted to watch, and I didn't feel like committing to an entire
movie—i.e., staying awake that long—is Gordon
Behind Bars, a short series of four episodes made last year in Brixton
Prison in London, and available on BBC America.
Gordon goes into the Victorian prison to try to teach a small group of
inmates not only to cook but to make something marketable on the outside (and,
since he's Gordon Ramsay, he succeeds).
Together they created Bad Boys' Bakery, and their signature product is
the Lemon Treacle Slice, available commercially through at least one café chain.
British
(and Irish) cooking is always challenging because many of the ingredients are
unfamiliar and/or unavailable in the US, and units are given in grams or
milliliters. I solved Problem #1 by
locating online suppliers for such things as golden syrup and treacle (yes,
there is a difference), and Problem #2 by buying an adorable kitchen scale with
any number of units of measurement. I am
ready! (Except I'm definitely going to buy European measuring cups when I'm in
Dublin in June!)
So I was
curious to see what this treacle slice was all about and what it tastes like.
[Note: this recipe is widely available
on different Internet sites.] Warning:
whatever you call it, treacle is sticky! It's far thicker than our
molasses or honey, but it has its own flavor.
LEMON TREACLE SLICE
US measurements in red
Base
300g
digestive biscuits an 8-oz
package is about right
150g butter 1 1/2 sticks
150g butter 1 1/2 sticks
Okay, right up front
we've got an issue: what the heck is a
digestive biscuit? No, it's not a graham
cracker, but close: a whole-grain cracker,
but with no sugar. McVitie's seems to be
the major producer, not available in my market but I found a decent substitute.
Place
the biscuits in a food processor and blend until they are reduced to fine
crumbs.
Melt
the butter, then stir into the biscuits. Press the biscuit mixture firmly into
the base of a 20cm 9-inch square tin which has
been lined with baking parchment.
Chill
for at least a half an hour (you'll see why below).
Topping
1 Tblsp
lemon curd (you may have to hunt for this at the store)
675g golden syrup 2 tins
675g golden syrup 2 tins
90g
butter 3 ounces
100ml double cream 1/2 cup heavy cream
225g white breadcrumbs this came out to 4 cups loosely packed when I weighed it, but they could have been squished down to less
5 egg yolks
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
100ml double cream 1/2 cup heavy cream
225g white breadcrumbs this came out to 4 cups loosely packed when I weighed it, but they could have been squished down to less
5 egg yolks
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Pre
heat the oven to 160c. This came
out to about 325 degrees F, but not much cooking was going on at that
temperature, so I bumped it up to 350
Place
the golden syrup into a saucepan along with the butter and allow to melt
GENTLY. You do not want this to boil.
Once the butter has melted take the pan off the heat and stir in the cream,
breadcrumbs, egg yolks, lemon zest and juice. Stir well.
Once
the base has chilled, spread the lemon curd onto the base (with a spatula or a
brush—this is why you've chilled the base). Pour the breadcrumb filling over
the biscuit base and then place into the oven to cook for 25-30 minutes or
until firm to the touch (not browned). Remove from the oven and allow to cool
completely before cutting.
Glaze
A little icing sugar confectioner's/powdered
sugar
A little lemon juice
A little lemon juice
Mix together the sugar and lemon juice until you have a thick
paste. Place it into a piping bag and pipe over the top of your slices. Or just
drizzle the stuff with a spoon.
Gordon,
if you'd like a guest slot on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen, we'd love to have you.
Fun post. Gordon is indeed a pleasure to watch. Yes, his energy level is a tad scary. For me, he's at his best when he's cooking alone in the kitchen, just Gordon and the camera - "Done!" (I hope he takes you up on your offer!)
ReplyDeleteAn interesting recipe. I thought McVities digestives were slightly sweet--not like a cookie, but not like a saltine, say. (English Tea shop web site, McVities Digestive biscuits: "Ingredients: Wheat flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, sugar, wholemeal, cultured skim milk, partially inverted sugar syrup, raising agent, glucose syrup, salt"
ReplyDeleteI would think that the mixture is sweet enough without having the crust have any sweetening in it. But I see on the Wegmans store site that Bretons are not without sweetening.)
The Breton crackers (wonder why they are not "biscuits"?) are-
"Ingredients: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil Shortening (Canola and Coconut Oil), Wheat Germ, Whole Wheat Flour, Sugar, Salt, Whey (a Milk Ingredient), Leavening (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Baking Soda), Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Natural Flavor, Enzymes."
Anyway, enough of my obsessing.
This looks like it would be very refreshing with tea.
You are a brave girl for translating those ingredients. I spent a year in England being baffled by the food. This slice looks delish.
ReplyDeleteForget Gordon - with three series, you've got energy!
I know, Libby--there's sugar in everything, especially in this country. And I'll admit that in both my local market chains, the crackers and the cookies are mixed indiscriminately on the shelves. What can you do?
ReplyDeleteThing is, most graham cracker crust recipes I've seen start with the (sweet) cracker and then add sugar, which is not necessary here.
MJ, I'm still boggled by the measurements (is that a dry ounce? a liquid ounce?). The scale helps, and it's cute, but I'm not there yet. And I can't even read the tables I find on line, because I forget which way I'm translating.
But this tastes good! My husband and I ate the whole thing (over the course of a week).
Sheila, Gordon is such a bad boy, but he's so good, I agree! What a wonderful project to go behind the scenes and try to educate in a productive way.
ReplyDeleteGreat share, Sheila!
Daryl / Avery
Sheila, it sounds fabulous. How could it go wrong with lemon curd? Yum, yum, yum! I'll have to look for the prison show!
ReplyDelete~Krista
I'm making this as we speak. It looks divine. Thank you for doing the conversions. It is much appreciated. I do have to note that before I found that you had done the work for me, I did them myself and the 225 grams of breadcrumbs is actually 7.9 ounces, or 1 cup.
ReplyDelete