Fresh Fruit Pavlova

I love pavlova and they are so easy to make. I make them all year round and top with seasonal fruit. I also freeze fruit throughout the year so that I always have something on hand to top a pavlova with. I use Delia's recipe and instructions for pavlova which is:

3 egg white
175g sugar

Whisk the egg whites until they are peaky and the bowl can be turned upside down without the mixture falling out. I then add the sugar in tablespoon by tablespoon and whisk until all the sugar is added and the mixture is very peaky and has a slightly glossy sheen to it. I like to make individual sized pavlovas or as in the above recipe I made one whopping big pavlova by spooning the mixture onto a sheet of baking paper and taking a skewer you give it some swirls and peaks. You then pop it into a preheated oven at 150 degrees Centigrade. As soon as it goes in you turn the heat down to 140 degrees and leave it in there for one hour. When the hour is up you turn the oven off and leave it to cool. Delia says preferably overnight and I do agree with her on this and so I usually make a pavlova in the evening and put a note on the oven so that it doesn't get accidentally turned on that night or in the morning. You can make pavlova and storing it properly they will last for a several weeks in an airtight tin. I did manage to take all the whizzz out of a hand-held blender this summer making pavlovas. Since then I have discovered that I believe my pavlovas taste better when whisked and beaten by hand than by blender...any thoughts on this?

For dressing my pavlova I take a tablespoon of Smy Chutney strawberry and pineapple jam and a handful of different frozen berries and blend them...for this I do use an electric blender! For the above I used frozen blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. I spread the pasted thinly over the base of the pavlova. Then I sliced fresh mango and strawberries and added them to the pavlova. I then whipped some cream, or regular cream will do, and added this. Lastly I topped with a few strawberries, dusted with icing sugar, sliced and served.

This year for Christmas I took individual sized pavs and topped with a mixture of cranberries, blackberries, red currants, brandied cherries and their accompanying brandy:

I put them together and heated gently with a bit of brown sugar, sugar and orange juice. I let the mixture cool overnight (with the pavs!) and the next day I topped the pavlovas with the fruit mix some fresh blackberries and a bit of cream. They were a big hit, so big that I forgot to take a photo, but I will definitely be recreating these.

and remember...
it's not your chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.

Ellie's Christmas Cheeseboard

I love seeing where Smy Chutney ends up and in this case it was Ellie's Christmas cheeseboard that she shared with her family.  Thanks Ellie, it looks delicious!!!

 

and remember...

it's not your chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.


please follow Smy Chutney on facebook and twitter...

Walking in a Winter Wonderland - Broadway Market 18 Dec 2010

It was the last Saturday before Christmas and after checking about six different weather forecasts about six times a day and making an informal pact with the fellow traders from the Broadway Market School Expansion (BMSE) I decided to trade. This was largely because I had promised some regulars, a lovely elderly couple, that I would bring them some lemon curd and I did not want to have Christmas guilt by failing to provide them a lemon curd fix.

It wasn't snowing when I woke up early on Saturday so I decided I would indeed go. I stuck to the main roads but managed to hit a patch of black ice on Goldsmith's Row and came off my bike. Lot's of lovely people came to help after me, my bicycle and trailer came to a sliding halt. Luckily I was fine and suffered no bruises, probably due to the fact that I had on four layers of clothing in order to survive a cold day at the market. I pushed my bike over the canal and made it to the market and just as I crossed the threshold into the schoolyard I saw the first snow flake of what would be many that day. I quickly set up and within an hour the snow was starting to settle. There was a steel band playing Christmas carols and lots of people were out and it felt like the week before Christmas. A few hours later and the snow was blizzarding sideways and I had lots of friends and regulars picking up chutney for gifts and themselves. My lovely couple came and bought three jars of lemon curd and after that I felt that I should pack up and go home as the snow had covered everything on my table.

I had been planning on sticking to the main roads and trying to cycle home but it soon became evident that this would not be possible or safe. I decided to get home as the crow flies and push my bicycle/trailer over the crunchy snow through the back roads. My first hurdle was getting back over the canal. I tried to build up momentum to get over but the weight of my snow laden cargo proved heavier than I thought and I didn't get too far and could feel myself about to slide back down. I tried to lower my center of gravity and was starting to panic when a lovely passerby saw my predicament and helped by pushing my trailer so that we could get it over the canal. Many thanks to you kind sir!!!


I felt like a hobbit on Hoth in a disaster film pushing my wares through Whiston Road in Hackney.

My hands were so cold and wet from packing up my stall that about a third of the way into my epic journey I needed to have a chat with myself to just stay calm and be grateful that I didn't have very far to go and that a nice warm flat was waiting for me at the end.

About half of the way into my epic journey I started to revel in the beauty of the day and I had started to warm myself up.


Two-thirds of the way into my epic journey I spotted three young boys on a balcony at Pitfield and Mintern Street and I instinctively knew that a snowball attack was eminent. I stared them down in an attempt to avoid the attack. This worked until I was fully on Mintern street and my status as a slow moving target was too much to be ignored and the snowballs came my way. Despite wearing a massive tartan cloak I only was hit by one snowball. I did have some choice words for the culprits but not as many as the woman who was travelling down Mintern Street about five minutes behind me. I know that snowballs are an obvious outcome of snowfalls but the woman was right to call them 'COWARDS' about twenty times because they did have crates of snowballs and were really going for their targets. I met and chatted to lots of lovely people really enjoying themselves and the snow. I also encountered lots of lovely snowmen....

The maker of this asked me to come back later as he wasn't quite finished...he was also puzzled as to why I was lugging my trailer through the snow and thought I had picked a horrible day to move house.

Finally I made it home and was welcomed by the last snowman I met that day who had popped up directly outside my door. He had such a lovely smile and so did I after making it home.

and remember...
it's not your chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.

Whitecross Street Market - 16 December 2010

Here we are on our second day at Whitecross Street Market. I say we as you can see my trusty Bobbin Bicycle to the left, she goes by the name of the Bicycle formerly known as Purple Princess. Hidden under the table is her partner in crime my Y-Frame cycle trailer. I am working on a blog piece on just how amazing these two key pieces of Smy Chutney kit are.

It was one of the coldest days ever spent at any market. This was largely due to the rain and icy wind. I think that I showed my true amateur stall-holder colours as most of the other traders didn't even have gloves on and at one stage I tried to put my mittens on top of my gloves. Whitecross St is a brilliant market and it is great to be in a different spot interacting with people passing by as well as the traders who have all been so lovely, friendly and helpful. I have even had customers recognise me from Broadway Market Schoolyard Expansion and other events I have done, which was a great feeling. Here's just a few more photos from yesterday. I will be at Whitecross on Thursdays and Fridays....I am not there today as I have large orders to deliver this afternoon, one of them headed to Spain!

I love this photo as it has captures Whitecross Street's present and past. You may recognise the lovely stall holders selling delicious pastries and veggie burgers as they are both at Broadway Market on Saturdays. They are in front of the recently boarded up storefronts which have been vacant for ages. They have always seemed vaguely sad to me and a reminder of what the Street once was but there are now some amazingly diverse shops up and down Whitecross St and it'd be great to see buildings alive and in use rather than deserted and dusty.

Whitecross St Market is my local market and looking to the left of my stall if you have exceptional eyesight you will see two of my other favourite haunts, the Barbican and Waitrose. I just love where I live and am really looking forward to getting to know Whitecross St and the market that much better. Again, apologies for not being down there today but do come down and visit me next week!

and remember...
it's not you chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.

Can you believe this is a cake?!?!

Please behold the beautiful sponge cake made for Smy Chutney by cake-ologist Ellie Spatchet. I did toy with the idea of saving it forever by shellacking and/or varnishing it but thought this might be bad luck and/or a waste of cake and/or disrespectful to said Spatchet. So I ate half and froze half and thought this would make everyone happy. I have made chutney-ology my life's work and this cake is a celebration of that. I will now dedicate part of my life's work to get Ellie to make cake-ology part of her life's work as this is just one of the amazing cakes made by Ellie in the past two months alone! If she won't make cake-ology her life's work....I believe motorsport has already staked a claim in this area (exhibit A: her cool blog - In the Kitty Litter - check it out!)...I implore her to at least make a blog for her amazing cakes and if she won't do that then in the new year I will do a post on this blog on her cakes.

Seriously...thank you SO much Ellie, it was delicious and thoughtful and I'm so grateful. You are brilliant...as are all people from East Anglia!

and remember...
it's not your chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.

Christmas Catalogue

Hello!
I hope that everyone is faring better with their Christmas preparations than me. Luckily for fans of Smy Chutney, I am working furiously to prepare orders and fill gift boxes so that everyone can make their Christmas and holidays that much more tasty by giving, sharing and tasting Smy Chutney with their friends and family. Smy Chutney is on sale for a limited time for the holidays so be sure to order now. There are just a few days left to order your homemade luxury chutney, jelly and jam. You can email me at smychutney@gmail.com with any orders, questions or comments or alternatively to get a higher resolution pdf version of the catalogue.

If you would like to come and sample before you buy you can find Smy Chutney at:

Whitecross Street Market on Thursday and Friday
Broadway Market Schoolyard Expansion on Saturdays.

I can usually deliver orders over £20 within London, just drop me an email.

and remember...
it's not your chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.