Best Of The A to Z of TV Cooking

We've got some of the greatest dishes from your favourite TV chefs and we

are serving them up alphabetically, here on the A to Z of TV Cooking.

Today we have picked out some of the best of our A-to-Zs.

Here is just some of what is on the menu.

A culinary history lesson from Rachel Khoo.

A dish that was created in the 1980s by the Reblochon cheesemakers.

-A speedy razor clam dish from the Hairy Bikers.

-Look, there's one.

Look at them!

And creative masterclass with Raymond Blanc's cafe creme.

So let's start where every good alphabet starts, A is for Apple.

And here is Nigel Slater with a savoury take

on a good old-fashioned apple crumble.

I am not the sort of cook who travels the world trying to find weird

things to eat. But I do like to ring the changes.

And much more fun, to my mind, is to make something I know very well.

Something familiar. And give it a new lease of life. Give it a surprise.

So I am taking an unusual approach to one of my favourites. Apple crumble.

I want to play with the flavours and make a savoury version.

Something to try with a Sunday roast, or even alongside some sausages.

Half a dozen apples should be enough.

There are two ways to approach the filling for a crumble.

You either cook the food from raw with the crumble topping on it,

or you just give the fruit a few minutes in a pan with a little

bit of butter, to start with.

So often cooking is about getting something on the table

at the end of the day. It is about feeding the hungry hordes.

But I think it can also be about having a little bit of fun.

A rainy afternoon, a few ingredients, and just...playing a bit.

These apples just need a few minutes to stew.

Plenty of time to make my crumble topping. It starts in the usual way.

Butter, flour.

I'm just going to rub the butter into the flour,

which you can do in a food processor, and takes seconds.

But I like the feel of food in my hands, particularly baking.

I just end up with a good, rich, basic crumble.

Check the apples, see how they are coming on.

Now, they are looking good. Nice and soft.

I'm going to put in a little bit of Madeira. Could have used Marsala.

Just something to give it a grown-up flavour. So far, so traditional.

But I want my crumble to be a bit different.

Time for the savoury twist. Apples and cheese.

One of life's perfect marriages.

So, I'm going to grate into that a little bit of Parmesan cheese.

A good strong Parmesan will add real flavour to this.

Probably need three or four tablespoons.

Breadcrumbs will add to the savoury edge and crisp up beautifully.

Just thinking of something that will work with the apples.

Maybe a little bit of thyme. Lemon thyme.

It just adds that extra little bit of freshness.

Lemon thyme works well in stuffing. And will add a delicate freshness.

So, the apple is really quite soft.

And it has soaked up a little bit of that alcohol.

And then, gets its crumble topping.

Final shower of Parmesan, into the oven it goes.

I am grateful for the rain today.

It is a wonderful excuse to stay inside, pour myself a drink,

and just enjoy the scent of baking.

It is deeply savoury from the cheese and thyme.

But there is definitely the sweetness of apple in there too.

Looks like a crumble.

Something very familiar and friendly about that.

I am expecting pudding but I am actually getting something

that reminds me of an old-fashioned Ploughman's lunch.

With a big lump of cheese and an apple.

It would be a really nice thing to have on the side

with some cold roast meat.

Quite unusual, but it is a success.

The cheese has made a classic apple crumble into something

intriguing, for very little effort.

I would happily eat this for supper any day of the week.

And especially with sausages.

And we are off to the Caribbean for our next best of letter. Which is J.

And it stands for a style of cooking. Jerk cooking in fact.

It originated in Jamaica which is where we are meeting Levi Roots.

For centuries these Caribbean islands have

been at the crossroads of global trade.

And their cuisine combines flavours from all over the world.

But if all this looks a bit exotic, don't worry.

The good news is you don't have to travel around the world to

get your ingredients.

Everything I'm going to cook in this series you can get

hold of in your local shops.

And to make it really easy you could put together a little treasure

chest with the ingredients we will use again and again.

Let's call it a sunshine kit.

If you have got these essentials in your kitchen,

Caribbean cooking will be a breeze.

I have put in ginger, which adds heat as well as flavour. How much?

-Five dollars.

-That is Jamaican dollars, by the way. Allspice,

or pimento. Scotch Bonnet pepper, my favourite.

These are one of the world's hottest chilli peppers.

You have any nutmeg there, lady?

Lord have mercy! Fantastic. Fresh nutmeg.

Next, some sweet-scented thyme.

I have got to say, this is really fresh stuff.

And finally, a bit of bay leaf.

Now, in there I should have everything

I need to bring a bit of sunshine to your kitchen.

Lots of these flavours go into the most popular fast-food in Jamaica.

The legendary jerk chicken.

You see these oil drum barbecues, called jerk pans,

everywhere across the Caribbean.

Jerk has been described as Jamaica's culinary gift to the world.

And it has a rich history.

Jerk is a spicy seasoning rubbed in with chicken, pork, fish,

or pretty much anything!

The cooking method is said to have been used by Jamaica's

original inhabitants, the Arawak Indians.

They laid their meat on pimento wood strips in a fire pit.

Perhaps the world's first barbecue.

Do you know, jerk is just not about how you cook it?

It is the spices you use and what you put in it.

So today I'm going to make my sticky jerk wings with sugared oranges.

This is first-rate finger food.

A modern twist on traditional jerk flavours.

I have kept the spice but added a delicious sweetness with honey.

A fantastic accompaniment are these sugared orange slices,

which are caramelised on the barbecue.

First I'm going to need four spring onions. Get rid of the ugly bits.

Chop them roughly.

Because I am going to put them in a pestle and mortar.

Next, I'm going to plunder that fabulous Caribbean sunshine kit.

Two tablespoons of thyme leaves.

I am not going to chop these, I'm just going to flake off the leaves.

One Scotch Bonnet pepper. And I'm going to choose a red one.

You know, Scotch Bonnet pepper is always optional.

Jerk is not about the heat, it is

about the flavours of the spices that you put together.

A knob of ginger. Chop that up finely.

I'm going to put all this lot into a pestle and mortar.

There are two kinds of seasoning for jerk.

The first one is what you call dry seasoning.

Then you have the wet rub, which is what I'm going to make.

I am going to add 100 mls of cider vinegar.

One teaspoonful of cinnamon.

Three tablespoons of honey. Next, pimento, or allspice.

Two tablespoons of olive oil.

Add a bit of salt and pepper, mash it up,

and then transfer it to a bowl.

The sweetness and the spices are a lip-smacking combination. Wow!

Some really fresh chicken wings here. Just pop them in.

Just going to leave this for about four hours, to marinade.

But better still, overnight. But, you know what?

I have got some already prepared.

I have made myself a little barbecue here.

Just as I would as a little boy. Nothing fancy. Have a look.

Once you have put them on the barbecue,

turn them every couple of minutes or so.

This stunning spot happens to be a sugar plantation.

Sugar has long been a core crop in Jamaica.

I am serving my sticky jerk chicken wings with sugared orange slices.

Quarter your oranges and coat them generously in the sugar.

I know, it is exciting! I think you can see where I'm going with this.

Add the oranges, sugared side down.

Once they get brown, just turned them over.

These are so easy, but so delicious. Have a go on your barbecue.

And now, to round the day off, a little local spectacle.

Burning the cane.

In preparation for the harvesters, the cane field is set on fire to

clear away all the leftover brushwood.

Leaving just the cane stalks.

There is nothing like dinner by the fire!

Now, time for desert. And we have got one here, with two L ingredients.

It is a lemon and lime cream tart.

-And your chef this time, Jamie Oliver.

-Woo hoo!

-What do you want me to do, Jamie?

-Can you wash those limes?

-We are only going to get the zest of those.

-What are you making, Jamie?

Lemon and lime cream tart. Dead simple.

I have got a pastry shell in the freezer.

And I think, short pastry, sweet, short pastry,

is best out of the freezer, straight in the oven.

And it doesn't seem to shrink or anything like that.

If you put your pastry in and the filling in,

the pastry will be soggy at the bottom.

So...

For the filling, basically what I need, get a bowl, eight eggs,

just break them in there, the whole lot. Right.

I need some sugar in here. I need 340g.

So, I have just chucked the sugar in here with the eggs.

Just whisk it until it is kind of pale. And all dissolved.

Lee is a big desert freak. Aren't you, mate?

-I always save a little bit of space for desert.

-A little bit of space!

He likes extra large portions, yes! Uncle Lee doing a fine job.

A slow job.

Yeah, but some of the best things in life are slow, aren't they, mate?

-Have I got enough?

-Beautiful. Lee has done a fine job.

Look at that green.

That is dead cool. That looks good and it will taste right good.

Immediate flavour.

-Right, let's get about six lemons.

-You want me to cut these in half?

Yes, if you can cut these in half,

and I will start juicing along with you. I need 300 millilitres.

Generally I do a little bit more lime than lemon,

because it is not quite as strong in flavour.

At least not when it is cooked anyway.

-Why do you not use one of those lemon squeezers? Is it easier?

-Yeah.

It is easier. But I haven't got one!

Of all the toys in my kitchen, I haven't got a lemon squeezer.

There is something about squeezing that I like.

-You have got a very good squeezing action.

-Yes, proud of it!

Do you cook together a lot, you two?

Yeah, Lee has cooked a couple of delights for me. Do you remember?

-What was that?

-It was about four years ago.

-That long ago?

-Fisherman's surprise.

-No, captain's delight.

-What?

-Captain's delight.

-Captain's delight.

-Yeah, it was so good I couldn't remember the name!

It was, Lee went on a bit of a mission, he made a ship,

-constructed a ship out of toast.

-And baked beans.

And he made this sea of baked beans.

And by the time I'd finished it I had got to the bottom of the sea

and there was a chest of treasure which happened to be a big chunk

of rather mature old plastic cheese at the bottom.

It's what you call an interactive meal, isn't it, eh?

-Interact?

-You are searching for something.

-Shut up!

Right, let's just have a look. Cool. Basically I just get a sieve now.

Because there's quite a few pips in it.

So we are done. That is basically it. Sweet as.

Just got to add some cream. 350 millilitres of double cream.

Very, very simple. The tart shell is ready.

I'm kind of wondering why I put it in such a big bowl now.

Because I have got to pick it up!

You can take the tart shell out and put the filling in,

but actually, I find that a pain.

So I just pour it, just pull the tray out, pour it in.

Much easier this way, because you don't spill any.

-How long does that take to cook then?

-Erm... About 20 minutes.

But you never know, really. It depends on the oven.

Basically you want to cook it

until the centre is just a little bit wobbly.

Right? Then you know that around that it is pretty much set.

By the time you've taken it out and let it rest for an hour,

it will cut really smooth.

Be lovely.

And it's good, because all the work's done now. Do you know what I mean?

One tart, lots of girls.

Now, whilst cooking this recipe,

Rachel Khoo keeps on saying to us that it is not that easy on the nose.

In fact, it is a bit whiffy. But they look fantastic.

N is for nests, or as they say in France, "nids".

Tartiflette is a dish that was created in the 1980s

by the Reblochon cheesemakers.

Reblochon is a smelly French cheese.

Yes, it is pretty smelly, but super yummy.

You need about half a kilo of waxy potatoes. I'm going to Julienne

my potatoes, make them into little matchsticks on my mandolin.

If you don't have a mandolin you could slice it by hand.

You can see it looks a bit like a twig.

I find that potatoes sliced on a mandolin make the best shaped nest.

Finely chop an onion. Whack them in the pan. Garlic.

Smelly work this.

Smelly onions, smelly cheese, smelly garlic,

but it makes for an extra tasty dish. Put this on the hob.

I'm going to throw in a bay leaf too.

While that starts cooking I'll cut up my lardon.

While that is sizzling away I will to cut up my stinky Reblochon cheese.

Look at that. All squashy in the middle. Yum.

You'll need 250 grams of Reblochon, which comes from the Alps.

If you don't like Reblochon, You could use a brie, Camembert.

OK, that is the cheese done.

I'm going to throw in 100 millilitres of dry white wine.

And you just want to cook that

until there is about a tablespoon of liquid left.

My wine has reduced down and I will add my potatoes.

I'm going to pour this into the bowl.

And I have got to fish out the bay leaf.

Now, this is what you should do before you add the potatoes. Ah, yes.

Found you. OK. Throw in the cheese. Look at all that cheese.

You only live once, that's what they say! Give it a stir, grab your tin.

The tins are already buttered, so just load up each section.

Overfill it, because it kind of shrinks a little bit.

Might not be the prettiest of dishes, but when it tastes this good,

who cares? Into the oven they go.

And I'm going to clean up.

After about 15 minutes they will be cooked.

It smells certainly quite cheesy now. Let's have a look.

Oh, it is bubbling away. They look amazing.

Yummy. Good stuff.

All right, I'm going to scoop one out. Scoop it all out.

It is like heaven on a plate.

The Reblochon cheese is melted, smoky bacon flavour,

bit of crunch from the potato on the top,

but then it is all kind of soft and cooked in the middle.

It is delicious.

What these little tartiflettes lack in looks

they make up for in taste.

A delicious springtime lunch.

So we're now going to look at a recipe using pheasant.

Which is a bird, which as you will see, Clarissa from the Two Fat Ladies

absolutely loathes in the wild, but loves on a plate.

I am making pheasant and pickled walnut terrine.

You may think that game is for the rich, the idle, and the aristocrats.

But you would be wrong.

Game is lean, fat-free if you must, delicious, more importantly.

And you can even buy it in supermarkets these days.

And what I'm doing at the moment

is I am lining this terrine with streaky bacon.

It is actually, as you can see, not so much a terrine as a loaf tin.

But that is fine. And what I am doing is I am just flattening out the bacon

a little bit. So that it will go better around the tin.

I love pheasant. I had a lot of access to pheasant in my life.

You did. You farmed them, didn't you? Actually looked after them.

Yes, I managed a pheasant farm. And cooked at the same time.

-We had 25,000 pheasants.

-Heavens.

And don't let the fluffy bunny brigade ever tell you

that they are dear, sweet creatures.

They are one of God's nastiest animals.

They come out of the egg trying to peck each other's eyes out.

They are a very nasty bird indeed.

But they do have the advantage of tasting delicious. They must be hung.

You can't, as you can with grouse or partridge,

take it straight off the moor and cook it.

A pheasant that isn't hung has no flavour whatsoever.

None, and rather dry.

And like Jennifer's rabbit, pheasant has no real fat in it.

So you have to add some fat.

And that is why the bacon for this terrine

because it will lubricate it and make it moist.

Apart from the fact that if you use good bacon, it will taste delicious.

So I have now lined this tin. And then you put in the pheasant.

This is the meat from a whole pheasant. Cut it into strips.

Both the white meat and the dark meat.

I have had it marinating overnight in red vermouth.

Pack it in well. An amazing amount of meat on a pheasant.

People are constantly surprised.

Now that I have half-filled this terrine I'm going to

put in a layer of pickled walnuts.

I hope they are not the disgusting,

heavily vinegared ones you get in pubs.

I don't like that taste.

God forbid, Jennifer. No! Look. Lovely little things.

My own green walnuts picked in the garden this morning,

which I shall pickle in due course.

-I have brought them along just to show you.

-Very proud making.

Very proud making, yes.

Anyway, here are some I did earlier. Like, last year, you know.

-They look wonderful.

-And you just slice them. Not too thin though.

You don't need to be painstaking.

You can buy them in any good delicatessen

and they are lovely things.

You can add them to anything, add them to beef stew very easily.

They give a good colour to it. And a nice flavour.

You are flouring your rabbit that way.

-That is a very good way of doing it.

-It is the only way.

It is terrible, putting it out on a basin

and dib-dabbing on and everything gets sort of soggy.

And you spend half an hour scrubbing it off the kitchen table afterwards.

There we are.

And now I am going to put the other half of this pheasant on

and fill it up to the top.

So now I have filled up the terrine. I'm just going to cover it

with some more pieces of bacon. You see how really simple this is.

Everybody thinks terrines are so complicated. This is terribly easy.

So, there we are.

I'm just going to put it in a bain-marie and put it in the oven.

A bain-marie. "Mary's bath".

Everybody thinks it is something terribly mystical and wonderful,

but it is actually just any old pan with some water in the bottom of it.

And it is just so that the bottom of what you are cooking does not burn.

-It steams a little as well, which helps the process.

-Whoops.

There we are.

Splendid for lunch with a salad, or as a starter.

Now, our next chefs are known for their beards.

So you wouldn't have them down as fans of a razor.

But one that they actually rave over is the razor clam.

And here with the best of R dish, are the Hairy Bikers.

We're going to make chilli and garlic razor clams

served with parsley crumbs and a harissa and saffron mayonnaise.

Ancient foraged food meets the flavours of contemporary cooking.

First up, we cook the clams in boiling water.

And you don't need to do that for long.

Literally, it is for seconds,

because they will open pretty quickly.

As soon as they are open, they are cooked.

There is one. Look at them! Say hello to daddy. Look at those.

They are cooked.

And if you like eating mussels, if you like cockles,

the sweetest shellfish, these are better.

But we can't tell you enough, the key is, you saw it took seconds,

the key with razor clams is not to overcook them.

-Because if you do they will go chewy and rubbery.

-Squashed balls.

Drain them off.

And while they are cooling, we will get on with the other components.

I am going to chop one chilli and eight cloves of garlic to make

an infusion which we will pour over the clams.

While Si is doing that, I'm going to fry up 50 grams of bread crumbs

which I will mix with a handful of rough chopped parsley.

It is just so nice to sprinkle over the razor clams

when they have been dressed with a garlic and olive oil.

All the razor clams, they are wonderful.

This is British produce and it does not come much better.

For the oil it is really important not to burn the garlic

when you cook it.

Do you know how we keep going,

"Oh, listen, start with something in your pan"? Not this time.

What we are going to do is we are going to put the chilli in,

and we're going to put the garlic, again, into a cold pan.

We're going to cover it with olive oil, and quite a lot of olive oil.

Now, look at the heat here. It is really quite low.

So we're just going to very slowly bring that up to temperature.

Very slowly.

We're going to season it up with lots of black pepper.

And salt. And then just to stir it in.

We're going to leave the breadcrumbs to cool

before we add in the parsley.

In the meantime, we can get on with the last bit of the recipe.

The harissa and saffron mayonnaise.

-I love saffron.

-The smell is lovely.

-Absolutely.

-You love it, you really do, don't you?

-More expensive than gold.

Just put a good handful in there.

Keith Floyd always used to say, "When people say to me,

"how much saffron do I use? I say, how much can you afford?"

A splash of boiling water on that.

Look at the colour that comes out of that instantly.

It is going to make the most fantastic,

colourful tasting mayonnaise.

Leave that to cool.

Saffron is interesting.

It is thought that the Phoenicians, when trading for tin

with the Cornish, swapped saffron for tin.

And this could explain the Cornish love of making saffron cakes.

But we do know that in the 16th century

saffron was grown in Britain.

Particularly in Essex. Saffron Walden. Look at that.

A tan like an Essex girl.

Now, for the other main ingredient.

This is harissa.

It is a chilli paste that goes really well

with Middle Eastern food.

A lot of people think it is Moroccan but originally it is Tunisian.

And it is fantastic. So put a teaspoon of that in the bowl.

What is great about cooking in Britain is that we get

to spice up our lives with fantastic international ingredients.

The one that we are using is rose harissa, not as hot and fiery,

because you can get some that blow your socks off.

But these are all really robust flavours.

And honestly, the razor clams can take it.

Add in a couple of large tablespoons of mayonnaise, and mix it in.

-That looks gorgeous, man.

-And now mix the saffron in.

We don't waste any of this. Look at that!

Somewhat tasty and somewhat psychedelic.

That is what you call a seafood sauce. Spoon is clean.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It is earthy as well, it is lovely.

By now my chilli and garlic infused oil should be ready.

This is when it is ready. Look. Little bubbles in the oil.

So, and that point, take it off the heat. And leave it. That is it.

It is done.

Put the parsley in the crumbs, and we're nearly there.

We have got the clams. Got the dressing.

Got the accompaniments.

-Got the oil.

-Got its juice.

-Lovely.

-Start building now, can't we?

-We can.

Let's show you how to dress a razor clam. Really, really simple.

-Save the shells.

-They come out the shells easy, don't they?

-Yes.

This bit here, you don't want.

And then, you want to make a cut,

across there like that.

Look at that. Beautiful piece of meat. We want all that.

Just nip that off like that. So we have two lovely pieces of meat.

This bit you chuck.

Take the shells and snap the hinge,

so they lie flat on a baking tray.

Then replace the prepared clams.

There we are. Lovely.

Dress them with the infused garlic and chilli oil.

Coastal foraging is interesting,

because it is far from being like survivalist food.

It is quite haute cuisine.

You could eat this in a very fancy restaurant and be happy.

There we are. Beautiful.

Last of all, the clams need to go under a blisteringly hot grill

for two to three minutes.

Move the shelf up as close as you can get it to the grill,

and under a preheated grill, which is key, stick your razor clams in.

-They are starting to go.

-Yeah.

-Perfect.

-Nicely sizzling away.

Lovely.

Now, just dress that with the crumbs and parsley.

And on the side, a nice big dipping dollop

-of the saffron and harissa mayo.

-That looks fantastic.

Hey, mate, I think that is what I would call a Michelin star forage.

-I am with you.

-Top scrounge, that one.

-Should we?

-I think we should.

-Forks or forage?

-Forage.

Mayo, garlic, crumbs...

The chilli and the razor clam, it is so sweet, and then,

you have that lovely savoury hit with the garlic and the oil. Fabulous.

And you dip the mayo in and you get that earthy thing with

the saffron. Honestly, it is amazing.

If you like squid, you would like these.

If you like mussels, you will like these.

If you love scallops, you will go bonkers for these.

And if you like food for nothing, give this one a go.

They're here, on our beaches and on our shorelines,

and they are fantastic.

All you need, a bit of courage, a good sense of the tides,

and a bag of salt.

Cooking foraged food and eating the oldest grub around, it is

a great way to connect with our very earliest foodie ancestors.

But it is great to combine those primal flavours with the best taste

that modern cooking has to offer, fusing the really old and the new.

We have got a triple whammy of S's in this dish.

This is the marvellous Mary Berry, and she has come up trumps,

cooking her beautiful salmon with a sorrel and spinach sauce.

This is sort of a hollandaise sauce.

But there is no difficulty in making it.

It will not separate, it is everlasting, and it is easy.

Not quite as rich as hollandaise either. What more could you want?

It starts with a tub of low fat creme fraiche,

straight into the processor, with one egg yolk.

Then I'm going to add the juice of half a lemon.

So it is a nice lemony sauce.

And two level teaspoons of flour to thicken it.

Just like that. One...two.

And then I have got some melted butter here.

Half the amount you would use in a traditional hollandaise.

And some salt and pepper.

And I know that purists will always use white pepper in a white sauce

but I like to see the flecks of black. On goes the lid.

Whizz it together until it is all emulsified.

And that doesn't take a moment.

Then cook out the flour in a bowl over simmering water.

Now, this is a really good sauce to make ahead.

And hollandaise you've got to make at the last minute.

Often a recipe will say gently reheat it.

Well, half the time if you try to gently reheat hollandaise,

it separates. So this is very un-temperamental.

So, we have in the bowl everything

except for the spinach and the sorrel.

The reason for not adding it now is, if you cook sorrel and spinach,

and keep it hot for a long time, it goes grey.

So we will add it at the very last minute.

And while that thickens we can get our fresh herbs ready for the pot.

So, I have already got the sorrel here.

And it is nice young sorrel.

And it has a sharp, lemony flavour.

I'm going to take some of those stalks off. Like that.

And then chop it up.

Sorrel was a very popular in Tudor times.

But nowadays not many people use it. It is so easy to grow.

But the one thing you have to do is keep cutting it.

Because the leaves get very tough if you don't.

But it is a perennial and once you have planted it,

you have got it for ever, which is a good thing.

I have chopped up the sorrel, now the spinach,

and there is no stalk on the spinach, it is fairly young.

You don't have to be really fussy about it doing small, it is

only a matter of sort of wilting it into the sauce at the last minute.

And that is looking good. Nice and frothy, fairly thick.

So we can add the sorrel and spinach,

a handful of each, and give it a stir.

Now, I'm just going to taste that, although I tasted it before.

It might need a dash of sugar. Because sorrel is very, very sharp.

And when you are happy with the seasoning, it is ready to serve.

Now, this is a beautiful piece of salmon,

it could be salmon trout, a little halibut perhaps, or sea bass.

I have cooked it in the oven with a touch of lemon juice

and it goes really well with the sorrel and spinach sauce.

And, what could I serve that with?

I would like that with small, new potatoes, would be good.

A generous amount of sauce.

But you see, I am married to a gravy man, I always make a lot of sauce.

And what does it taste like?

Truly lemony, sharp, and, of course, very inviting,

because it is this lovely, bright, creamy colour.

That is a bit of all right. And I'm going back for another one.

Thanks, Mary.

And if you have still got room for it,

we are finishing with a masterclass from Raymond Blanc.

Maybe not one you will try at home, but, anyway,

sit back and enjoy this incredible cafe creme.

A cup, sculpted completely from chocolate.

Filled with iced espresso parfait,

topped with cherry liqueur with sugar-coated truffles.

I am going to put a very special dessert. It is one of my oldest.

It took me about six months solid work on this dessert to realise it.

And you will understand exactly why. OK?

You have to love someone so very much to make this dessert.

And that is certainly proof of love, there is no doubt about it.

But it is possible.

We have 500g of chocolate which is melted at about 55 degrees. OK?

Which I have... SPEAKS FRENCH

Sorry, I just... OK. It is getting too hot.

It was off. OK. Oh, can you just...?

Why don't they just do a bloody thing which would stick to it?

They give you a thermometer and you put it on the side.

And the first thing it does is slide in the chocolate. Great.

Instead of putting a little catch, maybe here, on that side.

Again, choose your equipment well.

A good thermometer is useful,

as the chocolate needs to reach the right consistency to sculpt.

First, heat the chocolate to 55 degrees centigrade.

Add chopped chocolate to reduce the temperature,

then reheat to 32 degrees.

-Voila.

-This is known as tempering.

It refines the chocolate by melting unstable fat crystals,

making it smoother, easier to shape, and shiny.

So, now, I'm going to start building up my chocolate cup.

To create the cup, use a flat rectangular plastic sheet,

which you can buy from cookery shops.

A ladle, here.

I'm going to pick up... SPEAKS FRENCH

Tres bien. Voila. Merci.

-Voila.

-Place the chocolate coated plastic into a circular mould.

Perfect. I'm pressing it on the lid here.

Then afterwards I am opening it up completely,

so it is the perfect circle.

I'm going to do the joint. Take a little bit of chocolate here.

Voila. Tres bien. I'm going to do my saucers now.

That sort of surface, glass, china. They are all stuck.

Because they are porous. OK?

So, I saw a piece of clingfilm, I say, of course!

First thing you need to do is to oil your saucer

so the clingfilm actually can slip on it.

You just...

..squeeze, then I'm going to dip it.

Voila. Then smooth away the excess.

I'm good to create a lip in order to release later, much of that saucer.

-So, now, we do the handles.

-Make a cone using grease-proof paper.

Pour in melted chocolate, cut a hole in the end, and shape your handles.

Voila. Tres bien. You never put them in the fridge to set.

It gets a little bit... Room temperature is perfect, OK?

All the chocolate moulds will need at least five hours to set.

Now I'm going to do the sugar cubes.

And the great thing about sugar cubes is a ganache.

A ganache is the same as chocolate truffle filling

and is a great way to make home-made chocolates.

First the skin will boil over.

To make, boil double cream, add 70% dark chocolate, and stir.

It gets that lovely quality, simple quality, it is so beautiful.

Clingfilm. Put it in here.

-Voila.

-The ganache is now ready to put in the fridge to set for six hours.

So, the ganache has cooled down, nicely,

and all that I need is a hot blade.

Cuts like butter. OK?

Lovely sugar cubes here. Now, we're ready to build the cafe creme.

Just unfold, very carefully. That's it. And you got your perfect saucer.

Raymond is using his solid top cooker

to weld all the pieces together.

But a hot pan will do the job just as well.

That cup becomes coffee proof. Gently, gently press on it.

So, now, the little handle.

Line the base with a biscuit soaked in espresso.

-In the bottom here.

-Now, for the filling.

This is an iced espresso parfait.

Just an egg yolk, frothed up with espresso coffee, and whipped cream,

which you freeze.

Frenchman can't help it, a little bit of alcohol.

Add a dash of cherry liqueur to the foam to make the espresso topping.

Voila!

OK, so, Tom, a young man who has worked with us

for two months now is going to taste the cafe creme.

So, no pressure, Tom.

-OK, so what do you think?

-Very nice.

-Out of... What, out of ten? Tell us.

-Eight.

-Eight? You are a tough guy. You are a tough guy!

Just work with me two months and giving me eight! I don't pay well?!

That's the end of the best of the A to Z of TV Cooking.

Thanks to all our chefs, and see you soon.