GLAMOUR chats with master patissier Eric Lanlard to get the lastest scoop on the tastiest treats, London launches and his new show Baking Mad. And if that hasn’t got your tastebuds tingling, we’ve let you in on a few recipes down below!
In your own words, what can fans expect from your new TV series, Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard?
Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard is giving viewers an insight into the UK phenomenon of the BAKING CLUB. I invited real Baking Club members to my house to show off their baking talent. Also there is a quick bake recipe for people who lead busy lives or who have very little baking experience. Finally there is a ‘fly on the wall’ element which gives viewers a taste of my professional life and some of the fabulous commissions that my team and I get to make in my kitchen.
Amongst the decadent delights you demonstrate in the series, you also offer health conscious treats such as the egg, dairy and nut-free chocolate cake. Which of your healthier or allergen-free recipes from this series is your favourite?
I came up with a gluten and lactose free chocolate cake for one of the baking club mother’s and her young son who, up until then, has never been able to eat cake. When the mother tasted the cake she started to cry as it made her so happy to be able to create something special for her son – his birthday was taking place the following week and it was his first ever birthday cake.
You recently launched the Eric Lanlard Afternoon Tea at Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in London. Are there any plans to launch something similar elsewhere, perhaps in South Africa?
I would love to do more work in South Africa as I have been a fan of the country for over 15 years. With my series showing in South Africa – you ever know! We’ve got several projects in the pipeline so watch this space…!
Your Twitter bio currently reads that you are a ‘future Virgin Galactic Astronaut’. What can you tell us about this?
I was one of the first people to sign up to Richard Branson’s ambitious project. As we are getting closer to take off it is getting even more exciting. I love the way that Richard is involving his ‘would-be astronauts’ in every stage of the project – usually with a party. We’ll be part of history – the first tourists in space…Not a bad title to have picked up along the way – Master Patissier and Astronaut!
Lastly, which of your recipes from this series would you say best suits a GLAMOUR girl?
It would have to be the commission for the re-opening of the shoe salon in Harrods, London. We had to produce 700 cupcakes with sugar replicas as decorations on the cup cakes of top designer shoes including Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo. In the episode that features this very fabulous event you will see the whole process from the first drawing to the final party in Harrods’ Shoe Salon with all of the designers talking about their ‘sugar shoes’. It was pure glamour!
Baking Mad premieres on BBC Lifestyle (channel 180 on DStv) on the 18th June at 20:30
If you have a seriously sweet tooth and want to cook just like Eric Lanlard, check out some of his recipes below!
Chocolate mousse with hazelnut praline base and raspberries
Creative bake club, episode 5
Makes 5 mousse
Hazelnut praline base
75g milk chocolate, melted
40g praline paste
100g pailletine or crushed ice cream wafers
Acetate bands/strips
Method
1. Line the base of a baking tray with silicone paper. Take your mousse moulds and line with acetate bands/strips.
2. Mix the melted chocolate and praline paste, gently fold in the pailletine/wafers to incorporate.Spoon this mixture into the base of your four moulds so it is 0.5cm deep. Place in the fridge and leave to set while you prepare the mousse.
Chocolate mousse
65g caster sugar
20ml water
125g egg yolk
100g dark chocolate, melted
100g whipped cream
2 punnets raspberries
Method
1. Prepare a sugar syrup by placing water and sugar in a pan and gently bring to the boil.
2. Pour egg yolks into free-standing mixer and whisk. As whisking, pour the sugar syrup mixture into the beaten eggs this will cook the eggs, continue whisking the mixture and the mixture will double in volume.
3. Pour melted chocolate into this mixture and beat until incorporated. Finally add the cream and using a spatula, fold until incorporated.
4. Pour 0.5cm layer of the mousse mixture over the set praline bases and then cover with a later of raspberries. Finish by covering the raspberries, up to the top of the mould, with the remaining mousse mixture. Chill for 3-4 hours.
To decorate
Silicone moulds in varied designs of your choice
Petal paste (available for cake decorating specialists)
Cornflour, for dusting
Assorted food colouring pastes
Edible gold glitter
Method
1. Dust the silicone moulds with cornflour. Take a small amount of petal paste and press into the mould. If you have too much petal paste once mould filled, use a sharp knife to cut excess away and leave a nice neat edge. The shapes will set immediately, so gently remove from mould and place on silicone paper, brush again with little amount of cornflour and paint with food colouring paste and finish with a dusting of glitter.
To serve
150g Melted dark chocolate
Assorted milk and white chocolate fans
Decorated acetate bands (available from cake suppliers)
Method
1. Remove mousses from the moulds, brush the acetate bands with melted chocolate and place around the edge of the chilled mousses.
2. Decorate the top of each mousse with a milk and a white chocolate fan, and one of your petal paste decorations. Finally, sprinkle with gold glitter and serve
Genoise sponge with Summer berries:
Ingredients:
250gr of golden caster sugar
8 eggs
250gr plain flour
50gr melted butter
For the filling:
500ml cream
2 tsp vanilla sugar
750g assorted fresh seasonal berries; strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and redcurrants
Icing sugar to dust
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180c and grease and line the base of two 22cm cake tins.
2. Put the sugar and eggs in a heat proof bowl and place on a bain marie, beat continuously until the mixture starts to thicken.
3. Now remove the mixture from the bain marie and whisk the mixture with a hand electric whisk or in a freestanding mixer at full speed for about 10 minutes or until the mixture has doubled in volume and pale and fluffy.
4. Melt the butter until it reaches buerre noisette stage – when it becomes golden brown and takes on a beautiful nutty flavour. With the electric whisk still running, pour the melted butter into the egg and sugar mixture. Sift in the flour and fold it gently into the mixture with a large metal spoon, be careful not to overmix at this stage as this will prevent the cake rising well
5. Divide the mixture between your prepared tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.
To assemble:
1. Beat the cream with the vanilla sugar until it is nice and fluffy.
2. Take your cooled sponges and remove the top golden layer from each cake (don’t throw these away – they can be enjoyed as a teatime treat with homemade jam and cream!) cut the sponges horizontally so you have four thin layers of sponge to build your cake.
3. Place the first sponge layer and place on cake stand or serving plate. Spread with a layer of whipped cream and then arrange a layer of berries on top. Larger berries may need to be sliced. Add another thin layer of cream and then place second sponge on top. Top this sponge just with cream. Place a third layer of sponge on top and add cream and berries, top with final sponge and spread layer of cream on top and a layer of berries. I like to keep the green stalks on the strawberries for this layer as it creates an attractive, fresh look. Finish with a final dusting of icing sugar and serve!
Granola breakfast muffins
Makes 6
Episode 9 – Thai Boxers
Ingredients
225g wholemeal flour
100g granola, plus 75g for topping (I prefer the varieties which contain dried fruits)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tbsp poppy seeds
One cup/50g protein powder (available from Health Food Shops)
150g chopped dried apricots
50g sultanas
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
175ml milk
100ml clear honey
Icing sugar for dusting
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a large 6 piece American muffin tray with cases.
2. In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and poppy seeds, then add 100g granola and the protein powder, apricots and sultanas.
3. In a separate bowl mix the milk, honey, eggs and vegetable oil. Add these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold gently to incorporate, but be careful not to overmix.
4. Fill each case with the mixture and top with the remaining 75g granola. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack and dust lightly with icing sugar to serve.
Lemon amaretti cheesecakes
Episode 10 – Cheescake
Makes 4 individual cheesecakes
For the base
100g amaretti biscuits, crushed
50g unsalted butter
For the filling
450g mascarpone cheese
250ml double cream
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
100g golden caster sugar
100g lemon curd
To decorate
4 tbsp apricot glaze
1 tbsp water
Fine strips of unwaxed lemon zest
50g white chocolate, melted
Method
1. Stand 4 x 9cm mould rings on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper.
2. Prepare the biscuit crumbs by placing in a freezer bag and crushing with a rolling pin. I like to leave a few larger chunks among them so the base has a nice crunchy texture. Place the crushed biscuits in a bowl, add the melted butter and stir until well combined. Divide the biscuit mixture between the moulds and press into the base. Place in the fridge to set while you make the filling.
3. Put the mascarpone in a bowl, add the double cream and beat until soft and smooth. Add the lemon zest, juice and the sugar and mix well.
4. Fill each mould to two-thirds full then spread 2-3 teaspoons of lemon curd over the top. Finish by filling each mould to the top with the remaining mascarpone mixture and level off so the top is even and smooth. Put the cheesecakes in the fridge to chill for a few hours to set. Alternatively they can be placed in the freezer.
5. Make a glaze by warming and slightly reducing the apricot glaze and water in a saucepan. Top each cheesecake with some strips of lemon zest and brush gently with the apricot glaze. Finally pipe the melted white chocolate over the top using a paper cornet, or alternatively just drizzle over lightly. When you are ready to serve, use a blow torch or the warmth from your hands to gently warm the moulds and release the cheesecakes.
LEMON MERINGUE CUPCAKES:
Ingredients
Lemon curd
175g unrefinedcaster sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
2 eggs
110g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1. First prepare your bain marie.
2. Place sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, then add the eggs and butter, don’t allow the mixture to sit around; start whisking immediately as the sugar and acidity of lemons will start to cook the eggs.
3. Place bowl on bain marie, but be careful that the bowl doesn’t touch water. Cook over gentle heat, whisking all the time until butter melted and mixture has thickened. The mixture will continue to thicken on cooling. Place curd in sterilised jar and place to one side while prepare sponge.
For the cupcake sponge
100g butter, softened
100g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out using a sharp knife
2 eggs
100g self-raising flour
1 lemon, zest only
3tbsp candied lemon zest, optional – specialist delis and cake shops sell this
75g ready-made or homemade lemon curd
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a cupcake tray with paper cases.
2. For the cupcakes, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla seeds together in a large mixing bowl until pale, fluffy and well combined.
3. Crack in the eggs, one at a time, and beat until both are fully incorporated into the mixture.
4. Fold in the flour, candied lemon zest if using and lemon zest until well combined.
5. Place a couple teaspoons of batter in the bottom of the cases and add a teaspoonful of lemon curd to the middle of each cupcake and then cover with a little more mixture.
6. Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they are pale golden-brown and spring back when pressed lightly in the centre.
For the Italian meringue
2 egg whites
50ml water
100g caster sugar
To decorate
Strips of zest from one lemon
Icing sugar to dust
1. Make a sugar syrup by dissolving sugar in water over a gentle heat.
2. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks and doubled in volume. Gradually add the sugar syrup while you continue to whisk, being careful that the syrup doesn’t touch the whicks/beaters. Keep whisking continuously, until the meringue mixture is thick and glossy and has cooled down – check by feeling side of mixing bowl.
3. Spoon the meringue in a piping bag and pipe some meringue on the top of each cake, using a blow torch, lightly brown the top of each cake to toast the meringue. Finish with lemon zest and sprinkling icing sugar.
