Cooling Dessert Recipes to Enjoy this Summer

It doesn’t look like this weather is going anywhere fast, so to keep you feeling cool and to make the most of dining alfresco with friends and family, the Easy Peasy Baking Campaign has three summertime dessert recipes to share with loved ones this summer!

Gin & Tonic Drizzle Loaf

 Made with only 8 ingredients and boasting the citrus tang of grapefruit and oranges or lemons and limes, we add a hint of gin for a taste of summer. 

Makes 1 x 2lb loaf

Ingredients

1. 1 Grapefruit/orange or 2 x lemons/limes
2. 175g Self-raising flour
3. 175g Caster sugar + 75g for soaking syrup
4. 175g Unsalted butter, softened
5. 3 Eggs
6. 120ml Gin split into 50ml and 70ml
7. 75ml Tonic water
8. 150g Icing sugar

Equipment

1. Knife
2. Fine grater/zester
3. Large mixing bowl
4. Electric hand whisk
5. Fork
6. 2lb Loaf tin lined with baking paper/ loaf tin liner
7. Saucepan
8. Spoon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 165°c (fan).
2. Take whichever citrus you are using and cut half into slices for decorating (½ grapefruit/orange or 1 whole lemon/lime). Zest and juice the other half using the fine grater/zester to zest and the fork to get the juice from the fruit.
3. In the large mixing bowl, combine the self-raising flour, citrus zest and 175g of caster sugar. Add the butter, eggs, 50ml of gin, 2 tbsp of citrus juice and mix with the electric hand whisk until smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake for 35 minutes until golden and springy to touch. Remove from the oven but leave in the tin.
5. While the loaf is cooling slightly, pour the remaining citrus juice, tonic and 75g sugar into the saucepan and heat on a medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved. Allow to cool slightly before stirring in the remaining gin (70ml). Set aside 3 tbsp of the syrup for the glaze.
6. Poke the loaf all over with the fork and drizzle with the syrup from the saucepan. You can do this while the loaf is still warm.
7. When the loaf is completely cool, remove from the tin. Wipe clean your mixing bowl and then use it to combine the 3 tbsp of reserved syrup with the icing sugar to make a glaze and pour over the top of your loaf, slightly pushing it down the sides with the end of a spoon to create a drip effect. Decorate with citrus slices and serve.

Strawberries & Cream Baked Alaska

A nostalgic but deliciously refreshing dessert made with just 5 ingredients in 6 steps. This bake sees a vanilla sponge base, topped with luxurious clotted cream ice cream mixed with fresh strawberries, all covered in a super easy meringue outer layer. 

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

1. 1 Litre Clotted cream ice cream
2. 150g Strawberries, roughly chopped
3. 90g Self-raising flour
4. 3 Egg whites
5. 250g Caster sugar

Equipment

1. 6” Bowl lined with cling film
2. 6” Cake tin – lined with baking paper
3. Large mixing bowl (heatproof – metal advised)
4. Whisk or electric hand whisk
5. Saucepan
6. Heatproof serving plate
7. Spoon
8. Knife

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 165°c (fan). Set 120g of ice cream to one side for the sponge base.
2. Place the remaining ice cream in the large mixing bowl and mix it with the spoon to soften it up. Stir in the chopped strawberries before spooning the whole mixture into the cling film lined bowl. Place the whole thing (in the bowl) in the freezer while you make the sponge base.
3. To make the sponge base, pour the 120g of reserved ice cream (this should be melted by this stage) into the large mixing bowl and combine with the self-raising flour and 50g of the caster sugar until a smooth batter is formed. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin and bake for 20 minutes until springy to touch. Allow to cool completely.
4. When the sponge is cool, you’re ready to make the meringue. At this stage you should also heat your oven to the maximum temperature it will reach. Pour the egg whites and remaining 200g of caster sugar into the (clean) large mixing bowl and place the whole thing over a saucepan of simmering water.
5. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together either by hand or with an electric whisk. You want to see the steam against the outside of the bowl dissolve the sugar into the egg whites. This will take around 5 minutes, and you can tell when this is done when you can no longer feel grains of sugar when you rub the mixture between two fingers. (It will get warm, so be careful). Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and whisk up the meringue (again, by hand or electric hand mixer) until thick and glossy and stiff peaks are formed when you lift the whisk from the mixture.
6. To assemble, place the sponge layer on your heatproof serving plate, remove the ice cream dome from the bowl and place on top. Spread the meringue all over, creating peaks and swirls and then bake in the oven for 3-4 minutes, until the meringue just starts to brown. Let it cool for a few minutes, then slice with a hot knife to serve.

Summer Berry Chocolate Traybake

A rich chocolate sponge, topped with lashings of whipped cream and your favourite summer berries including cherries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. 

Serves 12

Ingredients

1. 175g self-raising flour
2. 150g light brown sugar
3. 50g cocoa powder
4. 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
5. 2 eggs
6. 150ml milk
7. 150ml oil (vegetable or sunflower)
8. 450ml double cream
9. Berries – we recommend strawberries, blueberries, raspberries & cherries

Equipment

1. Mixing bowl
2. Whisk
3. 30cm x 20cm traybake tin
4. Baking parchment
5. Knife for cutting fruit

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan) and line the traybake tin with baking parchment.
2. In the mixing bowl, fully combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate with the whisk before adding the milk, eggs and oil.
3. Mix everything together to form a smooth batter, then pour into the lined traybake tin. Place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 25-30 minutes until springy in the centre.
4. Allow the sponge to cool before removing from the tin.
5. Whip the cream to soft peaks, swirl on top of the cooled sponge and top with your preferred berries just before serving.

Recipes from the Easy Peasy Baking campaign, launched by UK Flour Millers, making baking simple. You can find more Easy Peasy Baking recipes and information on the campaign over on the Fab Flour website: https://fabflour.co.uk/easy-peasy-baking/ or on social: @fab_flour on Instagram or @fabflour on Facebook and Twitter.