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British summer sponge and meringue stack with Pimm's syrup

Georgina Hayden

Stirring Slowly by Georgina Hayden.
Stirring Slowly by Georgina Hayden.Supplied

Londoner Georgina Hayden, a stylist and recipe developer for Jamie Oliver, shares two recipes from her debut cookbook, Stirring Slowly.

British summertime stack

I thought of a million names for this cake and none of them do it justice. If I could bottle up England in the summertime and bake it? This would be it. Think jugs of Pimm's in the sunshine, deckchairs, Wimbledon and bowls of Eton mess, all rolled into one. A sunny, crowd-pleasing number.

Roast harissa butter chicken - great in a sandwich the next day.
Roast harissa butter chicken - great in a sandwich the next day.Supplied
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Serves 10–12

150g butter (plus extra for greasing)

490g castor sugar

5 large eggs

1 orange

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1 lemon

150g self-raising flour

½ tsp baking powder

2–3 tbsp milk

700g strawberries

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125ml Pimm's (plus extra for brushing)

200ml double cream

1 vanilla pod

200g fat-free Greek yoghurt

icing sugar, to serve

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fresh mint leaves or flowers, for decorating (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease two 20cm round cake tins and line with greaseproof paper.

Cream the butter and 150g of sugar in a free-standing mixer until pale.

Separate the eggs, and add the yolks to the mixer (keeping the whites to one side for later). Finely grate in the zest of the orange and lemon and beat. Fold in the flour and baking powder, followed by enough milk to give you a smooth, creamy batter.

Evenly divide the batter between the tins and spread out. Don't worry if it doesn't look enough – it will be, I promise.

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Pop the tins into the oven and bake the cakes for 25 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack and leave to cool completely.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150C/gas 2. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then slowly pour in 250g of castor sugar.

Keep whisking for around 6 minutes, until the whites are glossy and stiff.

Cut two pieces of greaseproof paper, big enough to line two baking sheets, and draw around the cake tins with a pen. Turn the sheets over and lay them on the baking sheets, sticking them down in the corners with a little meringue.

Divide the meringue between the two circles (you should be able to see the outline faintly through the paper) and spread it out so it is just within the circles – the meringue will spread a little as it cooks.

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Smooth the top of one of the meringue discs and peak the other with the back of a spoon to give you a pointy texture – this will be the top. Bake for around 70 minutes, until cooked through but not too dry. Leave to cool on the baking sheets.

While the meringues are cooling, make the fruit filling. Hull and chop 500g of the strawberries and place in a small pan with the Pimm's and the remaining 90g of sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat a little and leave to bubble away for 8–10 minutes until you have a sticky strawberry Pimm's compote. Leave to cool. Hull, quarter and slice the remaining 200g strawberries.

When you are ready to layer your cakes, whisk the cream until soft peaks form, scrape in the vanilla seeds, and fold in the yoghurt. Place one of the sponges on a board or cake stand and brush with a spoonful of Pimm's. Drizzle over half the strawberry compote and top

with the un-peaked meringue. Spoon over most of the vanilla cream and most of the sliced strawberries. Top with the second sponge, brush with another spoonful of Pimm's and most of the remaining compote, and add the final peaked meringue layer.

Top with a few dollops of the cream mixture, a drizzle of strawberry compote and the remaining sliced strawberries. Sieve over a little icing sugar and decorate with mint leaves and edible flowers, if you like.

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Roast harissa butter chicken and cracked wheat

This is a perfect Sunday dinner if you want something a little different but still really special. Once you've cooked your chicken this way I guarantee you'll be converted, and any leftover buttery chicken is epic in a sandwich the next day.

Serves 4

4 garlic cloves

1 preserved lemon

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1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tbsp harissa

a bunch of coriander

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a bunch of parsley

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

80g butter, at room temperature

olive oil

1 x 1.6kg chicken

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1 lemon

425ml fresh chicken stock

1 onion

2 tomatoes

350g bulgur wheat

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Greek yoghurt, to serve

Preheat your oven to 190C/gas 5. Peel the garlic. Halve the preserved lemon and remove the seeds. In a dry frying pan toast the cumin and coriander seeds until lightly toasted. Place in a food processor along with the paprika, preserved lemon, harissa, half the coriander and parsley (stalks and all) and the garlic. Season well and blitz to a paste. Add the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse until smooth.

Use your hands to carefully prise the chicken skin away from each breast, to create a pocket. Slash the skin on the thighs and rub the butter all over – under the skin mainly and all over the top. Halve the lemon and pop it into the chicken cavity, then place in a small snug-fitting roasting tray. Put it into the oven and roast for around 1¼ hours, or until golden and crisp but cooked through – check that the juices run clear around the thigh area.

Baste the chicken a couple of times during cooking with the buttery juices in the tray.

When the chicken has about 20 minutes left to cook, start the bulgur wheat. Heat your chicken stock in a medium pan. Meanwhile peel and finely chop the onion, and deseed and finely chop the tomatoes. Pour a glug of olive oil into a saucepan and put on a medium-low heat. Add the onion and sauté for 10 minutes, until soft. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes, then add the bulgur wheat. Stir for a minute, then add the hot chicken stock and season lightly.

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Bring to the boil, pop on the lid, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 8 minutes, until the wheat is cooked through and fluffy, then remove from the heat. Cover the pan with a tea towel and put a lid on top to keep it warm. Chop the rest of the coriander and parsley leaves and stir through the bulgur wheat.

When the chicken is ready, leave to rest for 10 minutes, then squeeze over the lemon from the cavity and carve it up – you can carve traditionally or shred the meat into the buttery juices to keep the meat insanely moist.

Serve with the bulgur wheat and tangy thick Greek yoghurt.

Recipes extracted from Stirring Slowly by Georgina Hayden, published by Square Peg, $59.99

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