Cointreau spanish cream

A simple dessert which you may recognise from many a Kiwi cookbook. We’ve adapted it slightly for GrownUps adding in Cointreau which gives it a bit of a kick.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp water
• 1½ tsp gelatine
• 1 cup full-cream milk
• ½ cup cream
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 Tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp liqueur of choice (Cointreau works well as does brandy or rum)

Method:

Make sure the eggs are at room temperature and put the water into a small bowl, sprinkle on the gelatine and leave for 5 minutes to swell.

In a pot add the milk and cream and heat gently until hot but not boiling. Tiny bubbles will appear around the edge. Remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks with the caster sugar until pale and fluffy. This will take about 2 minutes with a whisk or hand beater. Pour some of the hot milk onto the egg yolks, still whisking hard, then pour it all back into the saucepan.

Add the gelatine, set the saucepan over a low heat and cook for 3–4 minutes until the mixture thickens very slightly. be careful to not let it come to the boil.

Put the bowl into the sink filled with about 5cm of cold water. Stir every few minutes until the custard is warm, not hot. Stir in the vanilla and liqueur.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff and very gently fold them through the warm custard using a metal spoon.

Pour the Spanish Cream into 4–6 individual glasses or 1 pretty glass bowl. Put in the fridge to set for about 1 hour.

Serve with a spoonful of cream and chcolate shavings on top if you like.

Note: If you want the Spanish Cream to be fluffy all through and not separated into two layers, let the custard cool completely before mixing it with the beaten egg white.