Lactose free but no less flavour
Lactofree®, the UK’s only lactose free dairy range, is launching a series of lactose-free cooking classes in partnership with cookery school L’atelier Des Chefs which will run from until the 9th November. The courses are set to give those who are lactose intolerant, or those cooking for friends and family who are avoiding lactose, some inspiration to make delicious food, just without the lactose.
Here are some to try at home...
Serves: 6 Persons
Prep time: 25 min
Cooking time: 15 min
Rest time: 15 min
Ingredients
For the macaroon:
For the filling:
For the macaroons:
Preheat the oven to 155'C.
Toast the chopped peanuts until golden brown. Set aside to cool down.
Sift the ground almonds and the icing sugar together. Whisk the egg whites until white and fluffy and then add the caster sugar to the the egg whites and continue whisking until you have stiff, glossy peaks.
Fold the ground almonds and icing sugar into the meringue mixture. Cut and fold the mixture with a spatula until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth, shiny and has reached the ribbon stage.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag. Pipe 2cm circles in straight lines across a baking sheet lined with a silicon paper. Leave a 1 cm gap between each macaroon shell. Drop the tray of macaroons onto the work surface from about 30 cm to remove any large air bubbles.
Sprinkle the cooled, chopped peanuts on top each macaroon, and allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes or until the macaroon shells are no longer sticky to touch.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. If you are baking lots of macaroons you may need to keep the oven door slightly ajar (with a spoon or paper) to prevent steam building up in the oven. After 15 minutes, check the macaroons are cooked by gently lifting a macaroon at the edge of a tray. If the test macaroon does not stick, allow the tray of macaroons to finish cooking on the tray as it cools.
Allow the macaroons to cool completely before filling.
For the filling:
In a dry, heavy-bottomed pan, melt the sugar until you have a medium-coloured caramel.
Add 10g of Lactofree spreadable to the caramel and stir in gently until completely absorbed by the caramel.
Next, add the Lactofree double cream and stir until incorporated. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the crunchy peanut butter.
Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Once the caramel is cool, whisk in the rest of the Lactofree spreadable by the spoonful until the mixture is glossy and smooth. Pour into a tray and refrigerate the caramel until set.
Spoon the caramel into a piping bag and then pipe on to the centre of half of the macaroon shells.
Top with a second macaroon shell and twist gently to spread the mixture to the edges.
Chefs Tip:
It is very important that the mixture is cool before you pipe it onto the macaroons. If the mixture is hot then the macaroons will become soggy.
Serves: 6 Persons
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Rest time: None
Ingredients
Peel the squash and cut into a 1 inch dice. Peel and dice the onion, garlic and chop the chilli. Peel and grate the ginger. Chop the coriander. Wash the lentils well.
Toast the coconut in a dry frying pan on a high heat with no oil till it browns. Heat a large saucepan and add the oil, when the oil is warming add the seeds and cook for a minute then add the spices
and cook for another minute. Add the onion, ginger, chilli and cook for another minute. Next add the squash, lentils, coconut milk and the lactofree milk. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes or until your squash is soft.
Drain the liquid and reserve. Purée the vegetables in a food processor and add the reserved liquid a little at a time till you get a thick soup. Serve with the toasted coconut and chopped coriander on top.
Chefs Tip:
For an authentic touch to finish this dish make a tempered oil by frying mustard, cumin and coriander seeds with dried chilli, saffron and curry leaves in a little oil and pouring this over the finished dish.
Serves: 6 Persons
Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 35 min
Rest time: none
Ingredients
For the cream:
For the fruit:
For the fruit
Preheat the oven to 180'C.
Cut the plums in half and remove the stone. Place in a bowl along with sugar, cinnamon stick, zest from the orange and the seeds from the vanilla. Toss together and transfer to an oven dish and cook for 5-10 minutes. You want the fruit to be soft but still hold their shape.
The timings in the oven will depend on the ripeness of your fruit.
For the batter
Place the ground almonds, flour and the sugar into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Break the eggs and egg yolks into the well and gradually mix into the dry ingredients. Whisk thoroughly to ensure that you have a smooth mixture. Add the lactofree cream to the mixture and mix well.
Place the roasted plums into the bottom of the dish, keep the roasting juices. Pour the clafoutis batter over the fruit and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
For the Chantilly
Whisk together the plum roasting juices, lactofree cream and icing sugar until thick.
Serve the clafoutis with a dusting of icing sugar and a generous quenelle of the Chantilly cream.
Chefs Tip:
This dessert can be adapted to use any seasonal soft fruit. Try it with peaches, cherries or raspberries.
Here are some to try at home...
Macaroons with peanut butter caramel crunch
Pictured above
Serves: 6 Persons
Prep time: 25 min
Cooking time: 15 min
Rest time: 15 min
Ingredients
For the macaroon:
- Icing sugar: 350 grams
- Ground almonds: 250 grams
- Egg whites: 215 grams
- Caster sugar: 150 grams
- Chopped peanuts: 40 grams
For the filling:
- Chopped peanuts: 40 grams
- Caster sugar: 125 grams
- Lactofree spreadable: 10 grams
- Lactofree cream: 100 ml
- Crunchy peanut butter: 85 grams
- Lactofree spreadable: 55 grams
For the macaroons:
Preheat the oven to 155'C.
Toast the chopped peanuts until golden brown. Set aside to cool down.
Sift the ground almonds and the icing sugar together. Whisk the egg whites until white and fluffy and then add the caster sugar to the the egg whites and continue whisking until you have stiff, glossy peaks.
Fold the ground almonds and icing sugar into the meringue mixture. Cut and fold the mixture with a spatula until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth, shiny and has reached the ribbon stage.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag. Pipe 2cm circles in straight lines across a baking sheet lined with a silicon paper. Leave a 1 cm gap between each macaroon shell. Drop the tray of macaroons onto the work surface from about 30 cm to remove any large air bubbles.
Sprinkle the cooled, chopped peanuts on top each macaroon, and allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes or until the macaroon shells are no longer sticky to touch.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. If you are baking lots of macaroons you may need to keep the oven door slightly ajar (with a spoon or paper) to prevent steam building up in the oven. After 15 minutes, check the macaroons are cooked by gently lifting a macaroon at the edge of a tray. If the test macaroon does not stick, allow the tray of macaroons to finish cooking on the tray as it cools.
Allow the macaroons to cool completely before filling.
For the filling:
In a dry, heavy-bottomed pan, melt the sugar until you have a medium-coloured caramel.
Add 10g of Lactofree spreadable to the caramel and stir in gently until completely absorbed by the caramel.
Next, add the Lactofree double cream and stir until incorporated. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the crunchy peanut butter.
Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Once the caramel is cool, whisk in the rest of the Lactofree spreadable by the spoonful until the mixture is glossy and smooth. Pour into a tray and refrigerate the caramel until set.
Spoon the caramel into a piping bag and then pipe on to the centre of half of the macaroon shells.
Top with a second macaroon shell and twist gently to spread the mixture to the edges.
Chefs Tip:
It is very important that the mixture is cool before you pipe it onto the macaroons. If the mixture is hot then the macaroons will become soggy.
Curried butternut, coconut and lentil soup
Serves: 6 Persons
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Rest time: None
Ingredients
- Butternut squash: 1 Whole
- Onions: 1 Whole
- Garlic cloves: 2 Whole
- Fresh ginger: 30 grams
- Red chillis: 1 Whole
- Ground coriander: 2 Teaspoons
- Ground cumin: 2 Teaspoons
- Garam masala: 2 tablespoons
- Red lentils: 100 grams
- Fennel seeds: 2 Teaspoons
- Dark mustard seeds: 2 Teaspoons
- Ground turmeric: 1 Teaspoons
- Unsweetened coconut milk: 400 ml
- Dessicated coconut: 50 grams
- Lactofree milk: 30 ml
- Sunflower oil: 50 ml
- Maldon salt: 3 pinches
- Fine ground white pepper: 2 pinches
- Fresh coriander: 0.25 bunches
Peel the squash and cut into a 1 inch dice. Peel and dice the onion, garlic and chop the chilli. Peel and grate the ginger. Chop the coriander. Wash the lentils well.
Toast the coconut in a dry frying pan on a high heat with no oil till it browns. Heat a large saucepan and add the oil, when the oil is warming add the seeds and cook for a minute then add the spices
and cook for another minute. Add the onion, ginger, chilli and cook for another minute. Next add the squash, lentils, coconut milk and the lactofree milk. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes or until your squash is soft.
Drain the liquid and reserve. Purée the vegetables in a food processor and add the reserved liquid a little at a time till you get a thick soup. Serve with the toasted coconut and chopped coriander on top.
Chefs Tip:
For an authentic touch to finish this dish make a tempered oil by frying mustard, cumin and coriander seeds with dried chilli, saffron and curry leaves in a little oil and pouring this over the finished dish.
Roasted plum clafoutis with Chantilly cream
Serves: 6 Persons
Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 35 min
Rest time: none
Ingredients
- Plain flour: 30 grams
- Ground almonds: 70 grams
- Caster sugar: 100 grams
- Whole eggs: 2 Whole
- Egg yolks: 2 Whole
- Lactofree cream: 250 ml
- Lactofree spreadable: 10 grams
- Icing sugar: 40 grams
For the cream:
- Lactofree cream: 150 ml
- Oranges: 1 Whole
- Vanilla pods: 1 Whole
- Cinnamon sticks: 1 Whole
For the fruit:
- Plums: 400 grams
- Caster sugar: 150 grams
For the fruit
Preheat the oven to 180'C.
Cut the plums in half and remove the stone. Place in a bowl along with sugar, cinnamon stick, zest from the orange and the seeds from the vanilla. Toss together and transfer to an oven dish and cook for 5-10 minutes. You want the fruit to be soft but still hold their shape.
The timings in the oven will depend on the ripeness of your fruit.
For the batter
Place the ground almonds, flour and the sugar into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Break the eggs and egg yolks into the well and gradually mix into the dry ingredients. Whisk thoroughly to ensure that you have a smooth mixture. Add the lactofree cream to the mixture and mix well.
Place the roasted plums into the bottom of the dish, keep the roasting juices. Pour the clafoutis batter over the fruit and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
For the Chantilly
Whisk together the plum roasting juices, lactofree cream and icing sugar until thick.
Serve the clafoutis with a dusting of icing sugar and a generous quenelle of the Chantilly cream.
Chefs Tip:
This dessert can be adapted to use any seasonal soft fruit. Try it with peaches, cherries or raspberries.