Neven Maguire: It’s time to hit that sweet spot

Christmas is upon us and, yes dear readers, I practised what I preached in last week’s article – I am well organised for the Christmas dinner and everybody knows what their jobs are. Nothing can go wrong!

Between family and friends, we will be hosting 25 people here for Christmas and I am so looking forward to it. Amelda’s Uncle Paki always says it is the highlight of his year. Most of our family are based here in Ireland, but my brother Carlos lives in Australia, so he is always missed.

We will pick a good time to FaceTime with him so we can marvel at the sunshine he always gets to enjoy for his Australian Christmas. Technology has been such a game changer for so many Irish families who have members living abroad; it is a fantastic way to be able to keep in touch.

Like many people, I will be cooking a few extra dinners over Christmas for some neighbours who need a hand. After all, that is what it is all about – it provides an opportunity to think about others in our communities and reach out with a warm greeting and perhaps a few tasty treats.

At home, we enjoy a fairly traditional Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we all head over to my sister Suzanne’s home for some mulled wine and plenty of festive nibbles. On the day itself, we always go to Mass and we also visit some family graves in the local cemetery.

At around 1pm, the festivities truly begin when friends and family begin to arrive at the house. The day finishes on the couch watching Only Fools and Horses – to me, it doesn’t get any better than that.

I am certain I will make this tiramisu at some stage over the Christmas period as it is a favourite dessert of mine. It tastes light and airy but it still feels indulgent and elegant – it is the perfect dessert to have on hand over the festive season.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I first tasted tiramisu when visiting my sister in Covent Garden. I was a teenager but I still remember it like it was yesterday. And yes – I did have a second helping and regret absolutely nothing!

The key to a great tiramisu is to make sure you are using very strong coffee. Coffee is an essential ingredient, but feel free to leave out the liqueur if you want to keep the dessert alcohol-free.

Mascarpone is another key ingredient to the perfect tiramisu – it is a lovely, creamy and mild-flavoured soft cheese. You can get sponge fingers at any supermarket and honestly, using shop bought is much less hassle than attempting to make them yourself – I personally never make them from scratch, especially during a busy time of year like now.

The key is to make sure the sponge fingers get a good dip in the coffee – but not for long as they could get difficult to handle. Make it a day before you want to serve as it gets better with time – the flavours need to chill, mingle and do their thing.

Christmas show

The second recipe – this beautiful pavlova wreath – was made for my Christmas show on RTÉ this year. Making the pavlova into a wreath shape adds such a festive feel to an already delicious dessert. When you’re making meringue for a pavlova, you don’t want the oven to be too hot. The ideal texture, once baked, is crisp on the outside and soft and marshmallow-y on the inside.

When it comes to the fruit, feel free to experiment with your own favourite combinations. Pineapple and passion fruit work very well together, or keep it simple with some fresh raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. Finishing off with some white or dark chocolate shavings is also a nice touch, sometimes.

To make it even more Christmassy, sometimes I add some grated lemon or orange zest to the cream.

Ingredients: Serves 8-10

4 large eggs

100g caster sugar

250g mascarpone cheese

250ml cream

250ml freshly brewed strong espresso coffee (left to cool completely)

150ml Tia Maria or Kahlúa liqueur

40 sponge fingers

50g dark chocolate

2 tsp cocoa powder

Method

1 Separate the eggs, putting the yolks in one bowl with 80g of the sugar, and the egg whites in another. Using an electric beater, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy, then mix in the mascarpone cheese until well combined.

2 Whip the cream in a separate bowl until soft peaks form, then fold into the egg yolk and mascarpone mixture.

3 Using spotlessly clean beaters, whisk the egg whites with 20g of sugar until soft peaks form, then fold this into the mascarpone cream. Spoon a third of this mixture into a suitable dish (we use a rectangular casserole dish or deep baking dish here).

4 Pour the coffee into another dish and stir in the Tia Maria or Kahlúa. Dip in enough of the sponge fingers to make an even layer on top of the mascarpone mixture. Only dip the sponge fingers in as you go along, so they don’t soak for too long and become difficult to handle.

5 Cover the layer of soaked sponge fingers with another third of the mascarpone mixture, then grate most of the chocolate bar on top using the coarse side of a grater. Add another layer with the rest of the soaked sponge fingers, then spoon over the remaining mascarpone mixture and spread evenly with a back of a spoon. Cover with cling film and chill overnight to allow the flavours to develop and the dessert to settle.

6 To serve, give the tiramisu a good dusting of cocoa powder, then grate over the rest of the chocolate. Place in the middle of the table so that everyone can help themselves.

Ingredients: Serves 10-12

For the meringue

5 egg whites

250g caster sugar

50g icing sugar

2 tsp cornflour

For the raspberry sauce

200g raspberries

2 tbsp icing sugar

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp cornflour or arrowroot

For the crème Chantilly

200ml cream (well chilled)

1 tsp vanilla extract

40g icing sugar

To decorate

200g raspberries

400g tin lychees, well drained and cut in half

2 passion fruit, halved/seeds scooped out

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 130°C.

2 Put the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn on to a medium speed and whisk until they begin to go frothy and hold their shape a little.

3 Mix the caster and icing sugar together, then add about one third to the eggs in a steady stream, whisking all the time on medium to high function. The mixture will now begin to thicken. Make sure that all the sugar has dissolved before you add more. Add the next third and repeat the process, whisking it all up well. Then add the final third of the sugar.

4 Whisk on high since the egg mixture will be much more stable. Keep whisking until you reach the stiff-peak stage. Fold in the cornflour with a spoon.

5 Draw a 25cm circle on a piece of parchment paper and use it to line a large baking sheet, then draw a 10cm circle in the middle. This is your stencil. Put dollops of the meringue mixture on to the wreath stencil, keeping it within the edges.

6 Bake for 55-60 minutes until the meringue has just a little colour. Remove it from the oven and leave to cool.

7 Meanwhile, make the raspberry sauce. Blitz the raspberries in a food processor with the icing sugar and lime juice, then pass through a sieve into a small pan using a plastic spatula. Mix the cornflour or arrowroot with 1 tbsp of water until smooth, then add this to the raspberries. Bring to the boil over medium to high heat, simmer gently for a few minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.

8 For the crème Chantilly, whisk up the cream, vanilla and sugar in a bowl until it is just beginning to hold soft peaks. Cover with cling film and chill until needed. Slide your pavlova wreath on to a large, flat serving plate. Place dollops of the crème Chantilly around the top of the wreath, then drizzle over some of the raspberry sauce; keep the rest in a jug for extra.

9 Decorate the wreath with the raspberries, lychees and passion fruit pulp.

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