Seville Mess

This recipe is my local version of Eaton Mess. It was inspired by a chocolate meringue recipe by Donna Hay.

I have a beautiful orange tree at my front door on the street and it is full of oranges. Those of you who have visited Seville at this time of the year might have been impressed by all the orange trees full of fruit. These oranges are picked every year by the city hall and sold to make the famous Seville Orange Marmalade.

It's beatiful to look at in winter and in spring when the orange blossom "azahar" is in blooming it is just incredible the scent in all the town. It's undescribable you just have to come and experience it.

Ok so as I see the oranges every day decided I would make a dessert with oranges, chocolate meringue and cream.

Recipe

Ingredients for the chocolate meringue

3 egg whites
150 gr. of sugar
100 gr. of 70% cocoa solid chocolate

Ingredients for the chocolate sponge
2 eggs
120 gr. of sugar
20 gr. of cocoan powder
100 gr. of self raising flower
120 gr. of butter

250 ml of double cream
1 large orange cut into segments

Method for the meringues

1.- Preheat oven to 100º centigrade
2.- Beat the egg whites until soft peaks begin to form
3.- add the sugar gradually a bit at a time beating after each addition
4.- with a metal spoon add the cooled melted chocolate. dont over work it ass we want to see chocolate ribbons.
5.- spoon even quantities of the meringue mixture on to a baking tray linned with baking parchment
6.- placce in the middle shelf of the oven for 2 hours.

Method for the sponge

Preheat oven at 180 º centigrade
1.- Put all the ingredients into a food processor and beat for 2 minutes.
2.- Pour into a swissroll tray and bake for 15 minutes.

Assemlying the Seville mess:
I made two different verssions one in a glass for this version I put some sponge on the base; I squezed some orange juice over it, put some orange segments, some cream on top of it and some broken meringues.

The second verssion vas made the same way but without the glass, so I used a metal ring mould to assemble the differnt layers.

The 3c`s Carrot Cake Cupcakes

This one is a favourite among friends it is a recipe that I got from one of my aunts at my Grandfather`s funeral. That is something very Irish and not very Spanish.

In Spain we don`t understand that for the Irish funerals are all about celebrating the live of the person that passes away, so for me and my father who were the only foreigners there it was an incredible experience.

I adored my grandfather, I had the priviledge of living two years with him while I was at university and he taught me many things.

And even from his funeral , where people came from all over Ireland and England to remember him with us I have a sweet memory.

One of the many cakes that were brought into the house that night was this carrot cake. I usually make is as a cake but yesterday I decided to make it into cupcakes. It makes about 30.

Ingredients

For the cake

240 gr of self raising flour

1 1/4 ts of cinamon

1/2 ts of baking soda

1/2 ts of salt
180 gr of sugar

60 gr of raisins

60 gr of walnuts

210 gr of grated carrots

6fl oz of olive oil

For the icing

200 gr of cream cheese

100 gr of soft butter

300 gr of icing sugar
1 tsp of vanilla essence

Method for the cake

1.- Preheat oven at 210º C

2.- line two 20 cm sandwich tins

3.- Beat the eggs and sugar together until it becomes pale in colour add the oil little by little

4.- Sieve all the dry ingredientes together into a bow

5.- Begin folding in the dry ingredients and the grated carrots

6.- Mix in the walnuts and raisinspour into the two lined tins and bake por 30 minutes

Method for the icing

Mix together all the ingredientes, the icing sugar should be sieved before incorporating it.When the cakes are cold sandwich the two cakes with the icing and cover the top with the icing you have left. You can decorate it with walnuts or orange peel.