This menu is for late morning entertaining (like busy mothers meting friends in between school runs), but you can use the same menu for an afternoon coffee or tea. It looks pretty, it is easy to make and it is light. It combines a teacake with small salmon filo cups and chicken sandwiches. The cake is moist, not too sweet and can be made the night before. You can be creative with the cake’s design. I was eager to use a new ceramic mold I bought the last week in the flea market. It seems I can find endless cake mold designs here in Switzerland. In one occasion I used small tins as molds and served them individually.

The little sandwiches are made of white sandwich bread which is first flattened with a rolling-pin and then rolled around 2cm thick cylinder molds (like the ones used to make cannoli). The internet is also a great supplier of creative kitchen utensils.

Little cups are made of my favorite kitchen pastry, filo. Filo is a paper-thin pastry and because it has a tendency to dry you have to work quickly. These cups are light and crisp.

 

 

Cake with  cream and raisins

serves 6

• 250g flour / 1/3 cup
• 100g caster sugar
• 120g butter/room temperature plus extra for lining a tin
• 2 eggs/ room temperature
• 180ml cream, about 25% fat (in Switzerland use 25% Rahm)
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 70g raisins
• 3 tablespoons Rum
• powder/icing sugar for decoration

Soak the raisins in the Rum preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F. Place the shelf in the middle of the oven.

Prepare cake tin (about 6 1/2 inch tube pan). Cover inside with a thin layer of butter then dust with thin layer of flour.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, and set aside.

In a bowl or standard mixer mix the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.

Add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Add raisins with its soaking liquid.

Fold in some of dry ingredients, alternating with cream. Make sure you add dry ingredients last.

Pour dough into prepared tin: it will fill 3/4 of tin. Bake for about an hour, or until golden brown in color.

Let it cool for 10min, and then turn to wire rack, take out of the mold to cool completely.

Sprinkle with the powder sugar.

 

 

Chicken and avocado sandwiches

10 sandwiches

• 5 thin slices of white bread
• 50g of butter/melted
• about 5 thin slices of chicken or turkey breast
• handful of salad of your choice
• one avocado
•  one tablespoon of creme fresh
•  one teaspoon of lemon juice
• pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Place the shelf in the middle of the oven.

Cut the avocado in half and take the pit out. Scoop out the flesh and blend with a bit of creme fresh. Add a little bit of lemon juice and salt until desired consistency and taste.

Put into refrigerator.

Trim the crusts from the bread.

Flatten each slice of bread with a rolling-pin, and then slice each slice in half.

With a pastry brush, brush one side of bread with thin layer of melted butter.

Wrap buttered side around a mold and tie with a piece of kitchen string.

Put the prepared moulds on the baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes to toast lightly. Take them out. Carefully slide the sandwich rolls out of the mold. Cool and carefully take the strings out.

Take the prepared avocado cream out of the refrigerator. Fill the piping bag with the cream.

Roll pieces of salad with small pieces of meat and stuff them into toasted bread tubes.

Pipe in a little bit of avocado cream.

 

 

Smoked salmon cups

makes 12

• 3 sheets of the filo pastry, thawed if frozen
• 30g butter / 2 tablespoons, melted
• 100g creme fresh or sour cream
• one cucumber
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 50g of smoked salmon

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Place the shelf in the middle of the oven.

Use a little bit of melted butter to grease mini muffin pan.

Lay one sheet of pastry onto your work surface. Cover the rest with a kitchen towel to prevent drying.

Brush the filo sheet with thin layer of butter.

Cut large enough squares to line the muffin tin holes with, and have some overhanging. Repeat the process with another sheet.

Line the holes with 3 filo pastry squares, pushing them down and on the sides.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Let them cool in the tray. Carefully take them out of tray.

Cut the smoked salmon onto strips.

Make the filling. In a small bowl mix the creme fresh and lemon zest. Peel the cucumber, then using a canella knife (also known as citrus zester) make thin strings.

Fill each cup with teaspoon of cream and pieces of smocked salmon. Decorate with strings of cucumber and a little bit of lemon zest.