When You Want to Show Off Mary Berry Everyday

I'm Mary Berry, and in this series,

I'll be celebrating the very best of my everyday cooking.

Day-to-day cooking needn't be mundane.

Even the simplest recipes can be a joy.

I want to show you easy ways

to transform dishes into something really special,

from my favourite treats to indulge with...

It's sheer heaven on a plate.

..to recipes that stir sweet memories...

-Welcome home, Mary.

-I'm here to stay.

..and some old and new ways to excite the family.

Granny's lost her goat!

In this programme,

my extravagant idea is to give the everyday a special sparkle.

I have finally succumbed to a blowtorch.

It's not every day you get to show off, but now and then,

I want to push the boat out and make something extra fancy

for friends and family.

This year is a very special anniversary.

It's 50 years since Paul and I tied the knot.

To mark our golden year, we've all sorts of celebrations planned.

It's a wonderful opportunity to add real flair

to some of my everyday favourites.

A glamorous way to jazz up some plain little cupcakes.

And to make your meal more elegant, a very sleek idea for salmon.

A mouthwatering way to serve an ordinary rack of lamb...

..and a truly dazzling finale.

But first, a stunning idea for a dish that will really impress.

For me, showing off is all about dishes that look spectacular,

and you couldn't get more glamorous

than these king prawns,

and they certainly are the best.

King prawns add a touch of class to my spiced rice.

It's all about how you present them.

I like to take the shell off the back and the tail.

Leaving the head on, I think, makes them far more glamorous.

First of all, you take the legs off,

and then the back shell will come off almost in one piece,

if you're lucky.

And then you just gently ease off the tail.

And you're left with a complete prawn with its head on.

What they need now is an easy marinade of just garlic...

That's one big, fat clove going in.

..and a tablespoon of spicy harissa paste.

Now, that is very simple marinade and it just adds flavour.

You only need to do it for about 30 minutes.

So, I'll tip those into the bowl

and then just turn them until they're coated.

Do that carefully because

we don't want to lose the heads of the prawns.

While they soak up the heat, I can prepare my spicy rice.

Into fluffy basmati rice go char-grilled artichokes...

You can get them from the deli counter or in a jar.

So all those go in.

..and sweet roasted peppers.

Then I'm going to add eight ready-to-eat apricots.

Dried apricots bring a lovely fruitiness.

And finally, a big bunch of fresh parsley and pepper and salt.

Give it a good stir. So mix that in.

Now we are ready to stir-fry, and be sure to get the pan searing hot.

Prawns are one of the easiest things to stir-fry.

The main thing is to keep them turning in the pan.

Be gentle because those heads will drop off.

Don't they look glorious?

They do look a touch of glamour, something really special.

The secret to prawns is never to overcook them.

Then, keeping the pan piping hot, tip in the rice.

The great thing about this is,

if you decided you wanted to cook those prawns on the barbecue,

you could have this as a salad and not heat it through,

and it would go very well.

Finish it off with a fragrant dressing flavoured with harissa,

coriander and cumin.

So we've got a beautifully flavoured rice,

and I'm just going to top it with those amazing prawns.

And there you have it, a simple dish given a touch of magic.

I think that looks positively exotic,

and I'd be chuffed to bits to serve that to my pals.

ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS

Paul and I met when I was working on magazines.

We married in 1966 in Charlcombe Church,

just down the road from my parents.

How about a cup of tea?

Oh, lovely. Thank you.

These are lovely, aren't they?

We haven't seen them for a wee while.

I'd forgotten they were here.

You were very slim and elegant in those days.

Cheeky! Oh, gosh.

And my dress, you know, was bought in a sale, £5 it was.

Good value, wasn't it?

Very nice, very nice.

You look very smart.

Bit more hair in those days.

So, do you remember when I first proposed?

I do remember the first proposal, and I think you were drunk.

Well, I might have...

I mean, it's a big step.

You don't go into something like that

without a bit of fortification, you know.

Well, I think you had too much,

and I can remember telling you that you were drunk and thinking,

"I'm not having anything to do with this man."

But you did come back.

I did, yes.

And then, the second time, you said something similar.

And then, the third time, I think, I said, from memory,

"I can't go on like this," I said,

"I'm getting on in age.

"Either it's yes or no."

I can remember that, too.

I did say yes, didn't I?

Yes, you did.

I know it bucketed with rain after the reception...

..which was a blessing in disguise because

nobody came out to doctor the car.

I think there was a potato up the exhaust pipe, but that's about all.

It all seemed to be quite a palaver to you.

Would you do it again?

I think I would, yes, yes,

knowing now what I possibly didn't know then,

because you are taking a risk, aren't you?

Well, you thought you were, obviously.

As you said, you weren't too sure.

No, I wouldn't go back.

I'm very happy. And it was for better, for worse.

-Absolutely.

-For richer, for poorer, and we've had some wonderful times.

Yes, we look after each other in our old age.

Well, we are lucky to have each other.

But you've got to look after the older folk...

You've certainly become very interested in the older folk!

..as I keep telling the children.

I baked our wedding cake myself.

I've always loved baking for special occasions.

My next recipe is a divine idea to transform a simple cupcake.

These are lemony cupcakes

which I've added some freeze-dried strawberries to.

So it's all a bit of a surprise when you get inside.

This is a nice, easy, all-in-one sponge.

So two eggs...

..100g of baking spread...

You could use butter if you prefer, but it's got to be soft.

150g of caster sugar

and the same of self-raising flour.

Then I'm going to grate some lemon in there,

just the zest of an unwaxed lemon.

And finally, three tablespoons of milk.

And the ingredient that takes these out the everyday,

freeze-dried strawberries,

and you get a wonderful flavour of the strawberry,

and it's lovely to come across.

And then whisk together until pale and creamy.

I've got a couple of tricks to make the perfect cupcake.

If you stand them in a muffin tin or a bun tin,

that means they'll keep a perfect shape.

And I use an ice cream scoop.

It's quite useful to do it this way when you are doing quite a lot,

and it's a way of getting them all even.

So there is the last one.

So those go into the oven, 160 fan, for about 18 or 20 minutes.

And now for the topping.

It's an unconventional topping,

it's a meringue.

Whisk two egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl

until they look like clouds

then slowly add 100g of caster sugar, still on full speed.

That is perfect.

Once the cupcakes are done,

I need them completely cold before I get to the fun bit.

This is the exciting part

because it's different from all the other cupcakes.

I'm giving each cake a luscious lemon curd surprise.

I'm making quite a big hole

because I want to get quite a bit of lemon curd in there.

Then take the lemon curd and put it in the middle.

You can imagine these are going to be really good.

To top it off, my touch of flamboyance.

It's as light as a feather.

A bit like a lemon meringue pie.

Now we come to the swirling.

So, to spread those quite carefully to the edge

and then you want the most wonderful sort of swirly top.

And for the finishing touch,

I have finally succumbed to a blowtorch.

I've always had a grill up until now,

but I have to admit that it's rather efficient.

They look really spectacular.

I reckon these are a real show-off.

Perfect for that special tea.

Do you know, that's wickedly delicious.

When it comes to getting showy,

one of my oldest friends, Shirley, and I had great fun

working as home economists back in the '60s.

-Sorry about the dog.

-Oh, Shirley, how lovely to see you.

So for my golden anniversary dinner tonight,

we're going to bring a '60s theme to some canapes.

Right, Shirley, let's get down to it.

I thought it would be a good idea to do some canapes as we used to do.

I did things like asparagus rolls and got out the old piping bag.

I did a grapefruit

with toothpicks sticking out with a little cube of cheese

and a little pickled onion and stick it in a grapefruit.

Asparagus rolls were absolutely the most up-to-date things to do,

and you'd use something like a can of asparagus.

Do you know, I'd forgotten about those!

-Like, the mere smell of it.

-I know.

Believe it or not, 50 years ago we thought tinned asparagus wrapped in

brown bread and butter was quite the thing.

And sometimes, for really posh parties,

you'd put another piece in like that

and the butter made it stick.

I thought it was sheer luxury at the time, didn't you?

Absolutely.

We also used to do those little discs

of fried bread and then pipe on top of them.

Fairly simple topping.

I used to take bread and then take a cutter.

I think in the '60s we often had people coming round for drinks.

I used to do these little canapes because not everybody was doing it

and they loved all the different ideas.

I used cream cheese with butter,

tomato puree and paprika

to make a dashing pink piping mixture,

and Shirley had her own winning formula.

We used to drain a can of sardines,

put the sardines in with their skins and bones and everything and some

cream cheese and lemon juice and whiz it and we'd have it on toast.

-Well, that was very avant-garde.

-Oh, very.

Very new.

This isn't the first time Shirley has helped me

to get ready for a big day.

This really takes me back,

Mary, you and I working together like this.

I always think of you and I on the wedding morning,

decorated the cake,

-do you remember that?

-We did. I do.

And I can remember I had picked up some of the greenery from the garden

-and I put it all the way around the cake's layers.

-Absolutely.

Because weddings in those days

-were so different from weddings now, wasn't it?

-Oh, tell me about it.

I think we had about 100 people in what was a bit like an army tent,

and we had sandwiches and things like that for tea.

At five o'clock, we were off on honeymoon to Shipton-under-Wychwood,

three days in the rain and my husband wanted to learn fishing.

-Ha-ha!

-Don't you think that's quite romantic?

We've had some smashing holidays since, but that wasn't memorable.

JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

That's good.

So, Shirley, have our tastes changed over the years?

Come on, have a try.

Hmm.

All I can say is my tastes have definitely changed.

-So have mine, Mary.

-It's like overcooked vegetables, isn't it?

Oh, very overcooked.

I think I'll give that a miss.

Mine is going to join yours.

I'm not sure my '60s-themed canapes

will make the grade for tonight's party.

But for a grand celebration supper,

I'm giving two of my old favourites a brand-new feel.

Rack of lamb,

and first - my gorgeous smoked salmon starter.

This is a brand-new idea.

You won't have seen it before

and already it has become one of my favourites.

This is a simple pate, served with a difference.

Take a seven-inch square tin and line it with clingfilm

and it helps to wet the tin first.

And press it right into the corners like that.

And because the tin is wet, it sticks.

Now, I like this trick very much.

Wait till you see the way I'm going to serve it.

I want the people to go "ooh" and "ah" when I bring this in.

I've got 300g of smoked salmon slices,

and to begin with I'm putting a neat layer right across the base.

And you can patch it up, put little pieces like that.

Now, once you've done that, just gently press it down.

Make sure you've covered the whole base.

Now to the pate itself.

You use all the salmon that is left.

I'm going to put that into a processor.

Into that goes 75g of butter.

180g of cream cheese.

Now, this is essential that it's full-fat,

otherwise it won't set enough to cut.

100g of creme fraiche.

Again, it's got to be full-fat.

Now for a flavour that really sets it off.

Hot horseradish, and a lot.

That's what makes it.

Horseradish and smoked salmon really do go well together.

Lastly, the juice of a small lemon,

some black pepper and it's ready to whiz.

Now, I'm really going to keep an eye on that.

I do not want it to be a smooth pink pate.

I want to see little bits of that salmon in it.

That, I think, is perfect.

Can you see there are flecks of the salmon?

It's not a puree,

it's not a mousse, it's a pate.

Now, I'm just going to taste that because it might need a little salt,

but usually the actual salmon itself is fairly salty.

It's a winner, you know.

All I've got to do now is to put the pate into the tin that's ready.

Now, to really show off,

I'm going to put a layer of bright green chopped herbs

on top of that salmon pate.

Dill and parsley are perfect partners with all fish.

Press it down lightly into the pate.

The pate needs to chill in the fridge,

and to be sure it cuts beautifully,

put in the freezer for 45 minutes before serving,

and you'll get the perfect finish.

So I'm just going to turn that out, one, two, three, like that,

remove the tin,

that's it.

Remove the clingfilm.

That's just how I wanted it to be.

Important that you give it that freezing

because it's firm to cut,

and then I'm going to cut it into triangles.

Straight down like that.

And again, across here.

That's it.

Now, the clever thing is to reverse it.

If that's not a bit of showing-off, I don't know what is!

After a delicate starter,

what better to follow than my marinated rack of lamb

with salsa verde?

Lamb is one of my favourite meats.

It's great for a special occasion.

This is one of the luxury cuts,

and I'll show you how to cook it to perfection every time.

First, if your butcher hasn't already done so, remove the skin.

It means that I can render that fat down, fry it off

so it's not too fatty.

And then I like to score the fat to make sure it's really crisp.

Now for the marinade.

I'm using garlic, honey and some lovely fresh lemon zest.

And that can go straight in there.

A couple of tablespoonfuls of oil.

Then I'm just going to mix all that together.

That's it. And I'm going to put that in like that.

Give that a good 30 minutes to do its work.

And then, as it's only in the oven for a short time,

the secret is to seal the meat first.

Now, this is going to brown very quickly because of the honey,

and then in it goes.

Press them down.

I'm just going to look and see how that's doing.

That is perfect.

I'm looking for a really beautiful golden brown and I've got it.

Then put the meat towards the outside

and the bones towards the middle.

If you put the bones up in the oven they'll just all burn,

so tuck them underneath like that.

I always season the meat before I cook it.

And then into the oven, 200 fan,

20 minutes for pink or 30 if you like it well done.

As we're showing off,

I'm going to serve this with something a bit unusual.

This salsa verde really does bring the lamb to life.

Start with the juice of a lemon and then in goes a fat clove of garlic,

followed by a perfect partner for lamb.

Anchovies, they're the sort that comes in a tin,

and I've got about eight here,

and I'm going to cut those very, very small.

They're salty and rich.

In goes the sweet pickled cucumber with dill.

They come in a jar like this, and I've used about three.

A good salsa needs fresh herbs - parsley and basil.

Do you know, people sometimes say to me,

"What is the secret of a long and happy marriage?"

I think it's respect,

and I think, you know, sometimes we really want to say our piece of mind

when something hasn't gone quite well.

I always think, "I'll sleep on it

"and it will be all over by the morning,"

and my father wasn't a great one for advice, but he did say to Paul,

he said, "Never let the day go by with a quarrel."

Good thought.

Bring the salsa together with seasoning.

A good teaspoon of runny honey to balance the sharpness

and 150ml of olive oil.

Look at the bright green.

I love it.

You want to make it on the day

that you're going to serve it with the lamb.

That's a salsa verde, and time is up.

Wow, how about that?

Absolutely perfect.

It's so tempting.

That gorgeous golden brown colour.

You want to let it rest so the meat gets beautifully tender,

and I'm going to give this about 15 minutes.

And then we come to the carving.

It's so easy because you just cut in between each bone

and just look at that colour.

Perfect.

Now, that really is something to show off.

Something for a celebration meal.

Woo!

Cheers, Charlotte.

Who's going to be brave enough to try one of these?

And they're exactly as I made in the 1960s.

The asparagus is so pale, straight out of a can.

We wouldn't do that nowadays, would we? Well done!

-Mary and Paul.

-And never a cross word, you can be assured of that.

Our friends are gathering to share our golden wedding celebrations,

and I've got the perfect idea to finish things off with a bang.

This is an amazing chocolate cake.

I've called it Reflection Cake

because it has a shiny icing that you can almost see your face in.

So to the cake itself, it's wonderfully chocolaty.

I find that using cocoa gives the finest flavour.

Start off with 50g of cocoa.

Then I'm going to add boiling water to it, and that cooks the cocoa and

gives a better flavour to the cake.

So, about six tablespoons of boiling water

in with the cocoa till it's a paste

and we want a nice thick paste.

It's an all-in-one sponge with three eggs,

250g of caster sugar,

and 175 of self-raising flour,

and a teaspoon of baking powder,

and 100g of baking spread.

And you put it in all in one go.

All whisked together until light and creamy.

And that's all done.

Pop into two well-greased 20cm tins,

then into the oven at 160 fan for about 25 minutes.

Once perfectly cooked, set aside and let them cool.

So now to the icing.

It's a beautiful shiny icing.

First, into a pan goes caster sugar and cocoa.

I'm just going to give those two a stir to start with.

Then add double cream,

some water and stir over the heat until smooth.

I love the smell of chocolate.

So that's all dissolved.

Off with the heat.

I'm using dark chocolate, and once that's melted,

I can add seven sheets of softened gelatine.

Keep stirring until it's dissolved.

If I didn't add gelatine,

you wouldn't get that beautiful shine, and that's what we want.

The secret to my smooth mirror icing

is to pour the mixture through a sieve

and let it cool and thicken a little before you use it.

What a shine that's got.

And then just any little lumps that are there, just squash them through.

It does take time, but it's really worth it.

You know, when you're wanting to show off a bit.

Now to bring it all together.

I'm going to create a layered cake with a rich cream filling.

That's it.

Doesn't that look amazing?

You can imagine how wonderful it's going to be to eat.

The cake becomes extra moist from the cream and, when you cut it,

you get one, two, three layers, and it's pretty good.

You don't get better than that.

Smooth round the edges and brush with apricot jam

to help to achieve that mirror finish.

So just brush that over lightly.

Now I'm going to chill that before I put the icing over the top.

I chill it because it firms it up and when the icing goes on,

it likes to go on a cold surface.

And now for the grand finale, we're on the homeward stretch.

So I'm going to pour that over.

Here goes.

It's perfect, isn't it?

Then just encourage it to go down the sides here.

Drop it round.

Now I'm going to take my palette knife

because I'm just going to see

if I can get that absolutely smooth across the top.

Now that's just got to set for a little while.

A wing and a prayer, just lift it up like that, put it on.

As centre as you can get.

You've only got one chance.

How about that, then?

My chocolate Reflection Cake.

I must say, I'm really proud of that.

It took an awful lot of effort,

but I think it's sheer perfection for that special occasion.

-Wow!

-Oh, wow!

-It feels like firework day.

How about that, then?

Well done.

This should be the best chocolate cake you've ever tasted.

Shall we just see?

I would just like to drink to Mary and many

more years of happy life.

-Paul.

-Cheers.

Paul and Mary.