#FestiveEdition: Recipes From LOpéra

In our next edition of festive recipes, we reached out to Amit Kumar, Culinary Head, LOpéra. With all things sweet up his sleeve, his shares some gems with us:

Christmas Pudding

Ingredients:

Boiling water 150g

Rum 170g

Black currants 240g

Black raisins 185g

Sultanas 185g

Prunes 150g

Figs 200g

Brown sugar 50g

Red cherries 150g

Butter 250g

Brown sugar 300g

Chocolate 72% 100g

Vanilla extract 10g

Chopped dates 150g

Flour 320g

Cocoa powder 20g

Eggs 180g

Baking powder 2g

Cinnamon powder 2.5g

Garam masala 2.5g

Cardamom powder 3g

Method:

Combine the black currants, black raisins, sultanas, prunes, figs, brown sugar and rum in a mixing bowl. Stir well to mix, cover and leave for 24 hours to soak.

After 24 hours, mix the flour, dates, cocoa powder, baking powder, butter, spices and eggs along with the soaked fruit mixture in a large mixing bowl.

Grease pudding mould with butter. Pour the pudding mixture into the moulds.

Bake in a double boiler at 140°C for 60 minutes.

Once the pudding is cooked, remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

Cover with cling wrap to keep it soft.

Gingerbread Men Biscuits
Recipe for 500 biscuits

Ingredients: 

Flour 2100gm

Baking powder 60gm

Brown sugar 1020gm

Garam masala 9gm

Ginger powder 5gm

Egg 300gm

Honey 600gm

Butter 600gm

Method:

Take a bowl and mix well butter and brown sugar.

Add eggs and honey little by little.

Add flour, baking powder, garam masala and ginger powder and mix all the ingredients for 1 minute.

Put it for rest at a temperature of 4°C for 10 hours.

Pre heat the oven at a temperature of 160°C.

Cut the biscuits into a shape.

Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes.

Leave the biscuits to cool down for 30 minutes.

Finish by decorating with royal icing.

Panettone

Recipe for 2 Panettone of 1kg each

Starter 1

Ingredients:

Flour 100gm

Yeast 10gm

Sugar 10gm

Milk 60gm

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together and put them in a dough mixer.

Knead the dough for 5 minutes and keep it at a temperature of 4 for approximately 7 hours.

Starter 2

Ingredients:

Flour 200gm

Keggs 3

Sugar 100gm

Butter 30gm

Improver 5gm

Milk 50gm

Yeast 10gm

Method:

Mix the flour, Keggs, sugar, improver yeast and starter together in a dough mixer.

Knead the dough at a fast speed for 5 minutes.

Add butter and knead the dough in second speed for 12 minutes.

Transfer the dough in a bowl and keep it at a temperature of 4 for approximately 5 hours.

Starter 3

Ingredients:

Flour 200gm

Keggs 2

Salt 7gm

Butter 130gm

Sugar 40gm

Black raisin 160gm

Lemon zest 1Nos

Lemon candied 70gm

Orange candied 100gm

Baking powder 10gm

Vanilla sticks 1Nos

Milk 50gm

Method:

Weigh all the ingredients in advance.

Make the dough mixing: flour, egg yolk, salt, raisin, vanilla stick and milk.

Mix the second starter and run the machine for approximately 10 minutes. Then add butter.

Once butter is mixed in the dough, start second speed for approximately 12 minutes until the dough is light and doesn’t stick.

Add lemon and orange candied and mix for another 2 minutes and transfer to a big bowl.

Transfer the dough in a bowl and give it a rest for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, transfer the dough on the table and cut the dough dividing it into 1 kg portions.

Give shape and put in a mould.

After moulding, put in a prover chamber with 50% humidity, at a temperature of 20 for 10-12 hours (full night).

Bring out the Panettone on the table and make a plus (+) sign with the help of a knife.

Add 5 gm butter in the middle of the cut part and transfer to preheated oven at a temperature of 60 for 40-45 minutes.

After baking, insert one stick in the middle of the bread and flip on the other side.

Plum Cake
Recipe for 2 cakes of 1kg each

Ingredients:

Flour 500gm

Butter 300gm

Eggs 6gm

Brown sugar 300gm

Garam masala 20gm

Soaked fruits 520gm

Milk 120gm

Baking powder 12gm

Method:

Preheat the oven at a temperature of 145.

Scale the flour, baking powder and spices and mix together.

Start by mixing the butter and sugar together in the mixer until it looks pale and fluffy.

Gradually add the eggs and the milk.

Add in the dry ingredients and soaked fruits and mix well.

Line the bottom of the cake ring with aluminium foil. Put 800 gm of the plum cake mix and bake at 145 for 35 minutes.

Red Velvet Bûche
Strawberry Cinnamon Jelly

Ingredients:

Strawberry Puree 250g

Sugar 50g

Cinnamon 1g

Corn flour 15g

Gelatin 3 g

Water 8g

Method:

Heat the strawberry puree in a pan. Add cinnamon, and bring to a simmer.

Soak gelatine in cold water.

Add corn flour to the puree and whisk until thickened. Mix soaked gelatine into the hot puree.

Transfer the puree to a tray which is greased with butter.

Keep the puree in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours until it is set.

Cream Cheese Mousse

Ingredients:

Cream cheese 300g

Sugar 150g

Yogurt 225g

Gelatin 20g

Whipped cream 300g

Water 100g

Method:

Soak the gelatine in cold water.

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese using an electric mixer.

Fold in the sugar and yogurt, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth and homogeneous.

Add the whipped cream, folding it gently into the mixture, using a spatula.

Add the gelatine to the mixture and whisk it till integrated.

Refrigerate the mixture until assembling.

Red Glaze

Ingredients;

Water 75gm

Sugar 150g

Glucose 150g

Condensed milk 70g

Milk 30g

Gelatin 12g

Water 72g

Milk chocolate 150g

Red colour 5g

Method:

Boil the water, sugar, and condensed milk in a pot for 1 minute, then remove from heat.

Soak the gelatine in cold water.

Boil 75g water, sugar, condensed milk and milk together.

Then pour the hot liquid over the chocolate, letting it sit for 2-3 minutes to allow the chocolate to soften.

Using an immersion blender, carefully blend the chocolate and the liquid, making sure that you are not blending in air bubbles by lifting up the blender too high.

Colour the glaze with the red colour. Blend the colouring with the glaze until the colour is distributed evenly, then cover the container with cling film, pressing the film into the glaze to ensure that there is no skin when you are ready to use the glaze.

When you are ready to use the glaze, make sure it is around 90-96°F.

Red Streusel

Ingredients:

Flour 375g

Sugar 250g

Butter 250g

Cinnamon 8g

Tomato red colour 4g

Raspberry red colour 4g

Method:

Preheat oven to 160°C.

In a large bowl, whisk together the both colour flour, sugars, salt and cinnamon.

In another bowl whisk together the melted butter. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the wet bowl.

Bake the streusel for 20-25 minutes in 160°C.

Once the streusel in cooled down, in a medium bowl, using your fingers, crumble the mixture together until most of the butter has broken down into small pieces.

Sprinkle topping over the batter.

Sponge

Ingredients:

Oil 170g

Castor Sugar 134g

Eggs 429g

Cocoa powder 5g

Red food colour 5g

Vanilla extract 4g

Milk 112g

Flour 135g

Baking soda 2g

Method:

Add eggs and sugar in a bowl and mix it well.

Then add all the dry ingredients and mix it.

Then gradually add milk and whisk. Then add oil.

Spread the batter in the cader and bake it for 14 – 16 minutes in 160°C

Assembling the Bûche:

1. Make a layer in a bûche mould by adding mousse then jelly, then mousse again.

2. Then cover it with red velvet sponge.

3. Then freeze the mould for 3 to 4 hours in minus 20°C.

4. Then glaze the bûche. Cut the bûche into the size you want and sprinkle the streusel.