Easter Biscuits
Makes 20-25

Ingredients
110g (4oz) caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
110g (4oz) butter, softened at room temperature
1 egg, separated
good hefty pinch of ground mixed spice
​225g (8oz) plain flour, sieved
50g (1.5oz) currants or seedless raisins
15g (.5oz) candied orange and lemon peel
2 tablespoons of milk
​
Method
Heat oven to 160C (325F, gas 3). Line baking trays with greaseproof paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together, with a wooden spoon or electric mixer, in a medium to large sized bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk until well combined.
Fold the flour and spice into the mixture and stir in the fruit and peel.
Add a small amount of milk and bring the mixture together with your hands, adding extra milk if necessary until you have a stiff dough.
Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut out the biscuits with fluted cutter (6.5cm 2.¾in) to about 3 or 4mm. Place them onto the baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove the biscuits from the oven and brush them with the reserved egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Return to the oven for around 10 minutes or until a pale, golden brown colour.
Put the biscuits on a wire rack to cool.

Ingredients
​125g cold unsalted butter, diced
205g self-raising flour
75g caster sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
quarter tsp ground allspice
100g sultanas
1 large egg, beaten
7.5cm crinkled round cutter
smooth griddle or frying pan

​Method
Rub the butter into the flour as if for pastry, then stir in sugar, spice and dried fruit. Add egg to make a soft but not sticky dough. If sticky add a tbsp of flour until it is of the correct consistency. Make into a disc, cover with clingfilm and leave in fridge for 20 mins.

Roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of about 0.75cm and cut out cakes.
Preheat an unoiled pan and cook cakes for about 3 mins each side until golden brown.

Remove to a cold plate and sprinkle with caster sugar
Makes about 20

I decided to make this dessert after discovering the sensational St Clement's cream in Simon Hopkinson's glorious book Week In, Week Out.
​It's a simple, set cheesecake using cream, cream cheese and sugar, but adapting Simon's fabulous recipe to make a really delightful dessert with the wow factor.
​This can also be adapted using different fruits. I made one using the juice of fresh blackberries for the jelly topping and a swirl of my own bramble jelly running through a vanilla cream cheese. Very nice, but the orange and lemon is always my favourite.

For the cream and base
300g of cream cheese (Philadelphia or Quark)
50g of caster sugar
Juice of 2 medium sized oranges and fine zest of half an orange
100ml double cream
200g biscuits (50/50 digestive and plain Hob Nobs)
100g butter.

For the jelly
200ml of freshly squeezed orange juice
Juice of half a lemon
Two sheets of gelatine (vegetarian if you can get it – then everyone's happy)

Method

Finely grate zest of half an orange and put aside.
Squeeze the juice of two oranges into a small saucepan or milk pan and gently heat until the juice is reduced to a medium thick syrup of about 40ml. It will take about 45 minutes or so. Then leave to cool off the heat.

While this is reducing, crumb biscuits with a rolling pin (in a freezer bag is good or by using a food processor, but don't allow the crumbs to get too fine)
Melt butter in a pan but do not allow to brown then mix with biscuit crumbs in a bowl until absorbed by all of the biscuit.
Put biscuit in an 8in sponge tin with removable bottom or better into a springform cake tin, with the bottom lined with cling film. Press mixture and level firmly with the back of a spoon. Put into fridge for at least 30 minutes.
 
Whisk cream and sugar until it just begins to thicken.
Whisk cheese/quark in a separate bowl then whisk together until creamy.
When cooled gradually add the orange syrup into the mixture, taking care not to make the mixture too sloppy. (If it goes sloppy just whisk more cream until thick and add).
Finally add the orange zest gently with a fork.
 
Before spooning onto the chilled biscuit base, take it from the tin and remove the cling film before returning it to the tin. Spoon the mixture evenly, making sure it goes right up to the edge of the tin. Level off neatly and return to fridge until set.

For the jelly
Put the orange and lemon juice into a small pan and heat gently (do not boil) and put the sheets of gelatin into a dish and cover with cold water while the juice is heating.
The juice needs to be heated just before boiling, just as tiny bubbles appear over the surface.
Remove from the heat and immediately pass through muslin (or clean fine kitchen cloth, like a J-Cloth) in a sieve and drain into a clean pan. Squeeze all the juice from the muslin with a spoon with care, making sure none of the contents mixes with the juice.
While the juice is still hot, lift the two softened gelatine leaves from the water, squeeze and add to the liquid and leave to cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, pour gently over the surface of your chilled cheesecake and return to fridge for around an hour. 
​

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