This fish pie is perfect for a family celebration as, once all the preparation is complete, you have literally nothing to do but pop it into the oven. I like this recipe with smoked haddock also. Lots of the supermarkets are now selling packets of mixed seafood, which you can use in pies or for chowder. I have used spinach leaves in this recipe, but you may prefer frozen peas or mixed veg. It is also a great way to make sure children eat some vegetables. For the topping, Simply Better mature cheddar is very delicious.
Follow it up with this super-indulgent chocolate cake. My mum always said if you are going to treat yourself, do it properly. It is perfect for a family treat, but it is very rich, so a little goes a long way. Ideally you should use vanilla pods, but the price has gone through the roof because of massive storms in Madagascar, where three quarters of the world’s vanilla is grown. This also happened in 2007 and then prices came back down, so let’s hope that happens again. You might like to use vanilla extract instead, as it is much more affordable for the time being. It is important to use the best-quality cocoa. Dunnes unsweetened cocoa powder is very good, as is Green and Blacks.
Fish pie with prawns
Serves four to six
For the filling:
Three eggs
Two large shallots
Two celery sticks
Two bay leaves
Few black peppercorns
40g (1½oz) butter
300ml (½ pint) milk
250g (9oz) salmon fillet, skin on and pin bones removed
250g (9oz) firm white fish fillets, skin-on and pin bones removed (such as cod, haddock or hake)
3tbsp plain flour
200g baby spinach leaves
4tbsp cream
2tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
200g (7oz) raw king prawns, peeled
For the potato topping:
675g (1½lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
25g (1oz) butter
75g 3oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Buttered peas, to serve
1 To make the topping, cook the potatoes in a large pan of salted water for about 20 minutes, until tender. Drain and return to the pan to dry out a little. Mash until smooth and then beat in the butter and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.2 Place the eggs in a pan with enough cold water to cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until hard-boiled. Drain under cold running water, then crack against the sink to break the shells. Remove the shells and roughly chop the eggs.3 Roughly chop one of the shallots and celery sticks and place in a wide pan with the milk, bay leaves and peppercorns. Lower in the fish fillets, then bring to a simmer and cook for three minutes, or until the fish is just tender. Transfer to a plate, then roughly flake, discarding the skin and bones. Strain the milk into a jug.4 Heat a knob of butter in a pan. Add fistfuls of the spinach, adding another as one wilts down. Cook for one minute, then tip into a colander to drain. Add the rest of the butter to the pan. 5 Finely chop the remaining shallot and celery and add, stirring to coat. Sauté for three to four minutes, then add the flour and stir over a low heat for one minute. Gradually add the reserved milk, beating until smooth. Simmer for two to three minutes, until nicely thickened. Season to taste and stir in the cream with the parsley.6 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4). Layer up the flaked fish and hard-boiled eggs in an ovenproof dish with small mounds of the spinach, the prawns and spoonfuls of the sauce. Spread the mashed potatoes on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Serve the fish pie straight to the table with a separate bowl of peas on the side.Death by chocolate cake
Serves eight
For the sponge:
200g (7oz) butter, softened
350g (12oz) soft light-brown sugar
Seeds of ½ a vanilla pod and ½ tsp vanilla extract
Six eggs (at room temperature)
300g (11oz) self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
50g (2oz) cocoa powder (good-quality)
200g (7oz) crème fraiche (at room temperature)
For the chocolate frosting:
100g (4oz) plain chocolate, broken into squares
175g (6oz) butter, softened
350g (12oz) icing sugar, sifted
2tbsp cream
For the chocolate ganache:
200ml (7floz) cream
200g (7oz) plain chocolate, broken into squares
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, (350°F/gas mark 4). Line three 20cm (8in) non-stick cake tins with parchment paper. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon (or using a freestanding electric mixer), until light and fluffy. 2 Add the vanilla seeds or extract and two of the eggs, then beat like mad again. Add another two eggs and continue to beat. The mixture may look less than perfect at this stage, but keep going and it will come good.
Add the last two eggs and beat well again. 3 Sieve together the flour, baking
powder and cocoa powder. Using a large metal spoon, fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture in alternate batches with the crème fraiche. Mix well between each addition, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula.4 Using the rubber spatula, divide the mixture equally among the prepared tins, smoothing down the tops. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cakes are springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle of each one of them comes out clean. Cool for five minutes in the tins, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.5 When the cakes have cooled down completely, make the chocolate frosting. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Leave to cool a little and then mix with the rest of the chocolate frosting ingredients. I put them all in my freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat it for a good five minutes, until it is light and spreadable, but this can also be done by hand. 6 Place one of the cakes on a plate or cake stand with a blob of frosting underneath, so the cake does not move, and spread the top with a little more frosting. Cover with another cake and more frosting. Top with the remaining cake, flipping it over so that the flat side of the cake is now at the top, giving a good, flat base for the frosting. 7 Lightly press all the cake layers together, then use a palette knife to spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake, so that the sides are nice and straight and the top is flat. I like to do a thin layer first, which I call the crumb layer. Then place the cake in to the freezer for 10 minutes for the layer to firm up.8 Then take the cake from the freezer and do another thicker layer and have a good play around with the knife, so that the frosting is really smooth. Sometimes it helps to run the palette knife under the warm tap and then carry on smoothing the frosting. Leave to set a little while you make the ganache drizzle.9 Heat the cream in a pan, but don’t boil it. You want it to be just steaming. Then take the pan off the heat and add the chocolate, leaving it to melt for a few minutes. Stir the chocolate gently and let it cool down a little. 10 Pour the chocolate ganache all over the cake, so that it drizzles in a nice smooth layer all over the top and then comes nicely down the sides of the cake. Leave to set at room temperature for at least one hour, or overnight is fine. Serve with a flourish!
This fish pie is perfect for a family celebration as, once all the preparation is complete, you have literally nothing to do but pop it into the oven. I like this recipe with smoked haddock also. Lots of the supermarkets are now selling packets of mixed seafood, which you can use in pies or for chowder. I have used spinach leaves in this recipe, but you may prefer frozen peas or mixed veg. It is also a great way to make sure children eat some vegetables. For the topping, Simply Better mature cheddar is very delicious.
Follow it up with this super-indulgent chocolate cake. My mum always said if you are going to treat yourself, do it properly. It is perfect for a family treat, but it is very rich, so a little goes a long way. Ideally you should use vanilla pods, but the price has gone through the roof because of massive storms in Madagascar, where three quarters of the world’s vanilla is grown. This also happened in 2007 and then prices came back down, so let’s hope that happens again. You might like to use vanilla extract instead, as it is much more affordable for the time being. It is important to use the best-quality cocoa. Dunnes unsweetened cocoa powder is very good, as is Green and Blacks.
Fish pie with prawns
Serves four to six
For the filling:
Three eggs
Two large shallots
Two celery sticks
Two bay leaves
Few black peppercorns
40g (1½oz) butter
300ml (½ pint) milk
250g (9oz) salmon fillet, skin on and pin bones removed
250g (9oz) firm white fish fillets, skin-on and pin bones removed (such as cod, haddock or hake)
3tbsp plain flour
200g baby spinach leaves
4tbsp cream
2tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
200g (7oz) raw king prawns, peeled
For the potato topping:
675g (1½lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
25g (1oz) butter
75g 3oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Buttered peas, to serve
1 To make the topping, cook the potatoes in a large pan of salted water for about 20 minutes, until tender. Drain and return to the pan to dry out a little. Mash until smooth and then beat in the butter and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.2 Place the eggs in a pan with enough cold water to cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until hard-boiled. Drain under cold running water, then crack against the sink to break the shells. Remove the shells and roughly chop the eggs.3 Roughly chop one of the shallots and celery sticks and place in a wide pan with the milk, bay leaves and peppercorns. Lower in the fish fillets, then bring to a simmer and cook for three minutes, or until the fish is just tender. Transfer to a plate, then roughly flake, discarding the skin and bones. Strain the milk into a jug.4 Heat a knob of butter in a pan. Add fistfuls of the spinach, adding another as one wilts down. Cook for one minute, then tip into a colander to drain. Add the rest of the butter to the pan. 5 Finely chop the remaining shallot and celery and add, stirring to coat. Sauté for three to four minutes, then add the flour and stir over a low heat for one minute. Gradually add the reserved milk, beating until smooth. Simmer for two to three minutes, until nicely thickened. Season to taste and stir in the cream with the parsley.6 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4). Layer up the flaked fish and hard-boiled eggs in an ovenproof dish with small mounds of the spinach, the prawns and spoonfuls of the sauce. Spread the mashed potatoes on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Serve the fish pie straight to the table with a separate bowl of peas on the side.Death by chocolate cake
Serves eight
For the sponge:
200g (7oz) butter, softened
350g (12oz) soft light-brown sugar
Seeds of ½ a vanilla pod and ½ tsp vanilla extract
Six eggs (at room temperature)
300g (11oz) self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
50g (2oz) cocoa powder (good-quality)
200g (7oz) crème fraiche (at room temperature)
For the chocolate frosting:
100g (4oz) plain chocolate, broken into squares
175g (6oz) butter, softened
350g (12oz) icing sugar, sifted
2tbsp cream
For the chocolate ganache:
200ml (7floz) cream
200g (7oz) plain chocolate, broken into squares
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, (350°F/gas mark 4). Line three 20cm (8in) non-stick cake tins with parchment paper. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon (or using a freestanding electric mixer), until light and fluffy. 2 Add the vanilla seeds or extract and two of the eggs, then beat like mad again. Add another two eggs and continue to beat. The mixture may look less than perfect at this stage, but keep going and it will come good.
Add the last two eggs and beat well again. 3 Sieve together the flour, baking
powder and cocoa powder. Using a large metal spoon, fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture in alternate batches with the crème fraiche. Mix well between each addition, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula.4 Using the rubber spatula, divide the mixture equally among the prepared tins, smoothing down the tops. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cakes are springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle of each one of them comes out clean. Cool for five minutes in the tins, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.5 When the cakes have cooled down completely, make the chocolate frosting. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Leave to cool a little and then mix with the rest of the chocolate frosting ingredients. I put them all in my freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat it for a good five minutes, until it is light and spreadable, but this can also be done by hand. 6 Place one of the cakes on a plate or cake stand with a blob of frosting underneath, so the cake does not move, and spread the top with a little more frosting. Cover with another cake and more frosting. Top with the remaining cake, flipping it over so that the flat side of the cake is now at the top, giving a good, flat base for the frosting. 7 Lightly press all the cake layers together, then use a palette knife to spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake, so that the sides are nice and straight and the top is flat. I like to do a thin layer first, which I call the crumb layer. Then place the cake in to the freezer for 10 minutes for the layer to firm up.8 Then take the cake from the freezer and do another thicker layer and have a good play around with the knife, so that the frosting is really smooth. Sometimes it helps to run the palette knife under the warm tap and then carry on smoothing the frosting. Leave to set a little while you make the ganache drizzle.9 Heat the cream in a pan, but don’t boil it. You want it to be just steaming. Then take the pan off the heat and add the chocolate, leaving it to melt for a few minutes. Stir the chocolate gently and let it cool down a little. 10 Pour the chocolate ganache all over the cake, so that it drizzles in a nice smooth layer all over the top and then comes nicely down the sides of the cake. Leave to set at room temperature for at least one hour, or overnight is fine. Serve with a flourish! 
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