Jan Bilton: Cream for every occasion (recipes)

Cream Scones

It's luscious, it does contain some good nutrients, it is essential in many recipes but it is high in fat. It's cream.

We're spoiled for choice these days - and that can lead to some confusion.

Cream: Plain cream is what we've known since we were children. It is pasteurised, great for adding to soups, sauces and for whipping. By law it must contain no less than 35g of milk fat in 100g of cream. It's pure with no additives.

Single Cream: Lewis Road Creamery offers an organic pasteurised pure single cream containing 36g of fat in every 100g It has great flavour and can be used in all those delicious dishes to which you add traditional cream.

In overseas recipes you might see reference to heavy and double cream. Heavy cream, also called heavy whipping cream, has a fat content of 36 to 40 per cent. This cream will double in volume when whipped. Heavy cream is not the same as double cream.

Double cream: This new product from Lewis Road Creamery is organic, pasteurised, and has 48g of fat in 100g.

It's pure cream with no gelatine or other thickeners. Ideal for cooking, it can stand being boiled without separating and whips to a light and fluffy consistency - excellent for desserts, sauces, home-made icecream and soup garnishes.

Lite cream: Meadow Fresh produces a cream that is not suitable for whipping but has 6 per cent less fat than their traditional cream (12g). It's best for pouring over desserts or for use in sauces and has a yummy, creamy taste without the calories. It contains milk, cream, soymilk solids and a gluten-free thickener (407).

Thickened cream: Anchor's Thickened Cream is a ready-whipped cream with 40g of fat. Great dolloped on desserts - especially barbecued bananas - or scones and pancakes. As well as cream, it contains gluten-free thickeners (1422 and 407a), skim milk and gelatine.

Cream for cooking: Produced by the cream cheese manufacturer Philadelphia, are two creams for cooking - Original and Lite - with 60 per cent and 30 per cent less fat than regular cream.

They do contain thickeners, including maize and vegetable gums, gelatine and emulsifiers, but are convenient as they have a relatively long refrigerator life.

They produce creamy, glossy sauces that don't need thickening or reducing before serving.

RECIPES

CREAM SCONES

Light and airy, the size of these scones makes them more suited to afternoon tea than a hunger-busting morning coffee accompaniment.

2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp caster sugar
250-300ml cream

Preheat the oven to 220C. Lightly dust an oven tray with flour. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the sugar. Stir in 250ml of cream with a fork. If too dry, continue adding more cream.

Turn on to a floured bench. Knead 3 or 4 times. Roll to about 1cm thickness. Cut into 5cm rounds using a biscuit cutter. Cut straight down through dough - do not twist the cutter otherwise the scones will rise unevenly. Offcuts can be kneaded, rolled and cut into rounds. Place on tray and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Serve with strawberry jam and cream. Makes about 14.

OYSTER SOUP

3 cups good fish stock
1 bunch fresh herbs
Juice 1/2 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
75g butter
1/2 cup plain flour
1 cup each: milk, single cream
24 oysters

Place the fish stock, herbs, lemon juice and black pepper in a saucepan over low heat for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Cool, then strain. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes.

Gradually stir in the milk and stock, cooking until thick. Add the cream and the oysters. Warm though gently. Serves 6.

CREAMY GARLIC PRAWNS

1 small onion, diced
2 rashers bacon, diced
2 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup diced fennel bulb
3 cloves garlic, crushed
250g shelled raw prawns
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
4-6 tbsp light cream for cooking

Saute the onion and bacon until cooked. Place aside. Wipe the pan clean.
Add the oil and heat gently. Saute the diced fennel, until softened. Stir in the garlic and heat for 1 minute. Add the prawns.

Cover and cook on low until they have turned pink. Add the onion and bacon then the chilli sauce and cream. Stir until heated through. Serves 2.

TAMARILLO SOUFFLE

This recipe is a cross between a mousse and a souffle.
6 tamarillos, peeled
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp port
1 tbsp powdered gelatine
4 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup double cream

First prepare an 18cm souffle dish. Cut a piece of foil or waxed paper to fit around the dish, allowing a 3cm overlap.

Fold in half lengthwise. Wrap around the outside of the dish, allowing it to extend above the rim to form a collar. Tie to secure.

Place the tamarillos in a blender or food processor with the first 1/2 cup of sugar. Process until smooth then sieve the mixture.

Stir in the port. Soften the gelatine in a little water then dissolve over hot water. Add to the tamarillo mixture.

Refrigerate, until beginning to set.

Whip the egg whites, until fluffy.

Gradually beat in the caster sugar until thick and shiny.
Gradually fold into the puree.

Whip the cream and fold into the mixture.

Pour into the prepared dish and refrigerate, until set.
Serves 6.