St Patrick's Day cooking with Miele

Last Tuesday a lucky group of food bloggers was treated to a day in Miele's Experience Centre, to cook some St Patrick's Day fare and test out the technology. I travelled down to Oxfordshire along with Joanna of Joanna's Food, Joy of Almanzo's Belly, Sam of Antics of a Cycling Cook, and my namesake Alex from Just Cook It.

The theme of the day was, of course, Irish recipes. After some coffee and pastries, we split into four teams and got cracking on the cooking, with the chance to play with some of Miele's toys at the same time.



I tried out the integrated steam oven and the Tepan-Yaki hotplate. Steaming rhubarb to make a Roscommon Pudding meant that the fruit really kept its colour and shape. We also made a really simple leek and watercress soup and I was surprised to find that it didn't need any seasoning. Steaming the vegetables kept the flavours fresh and vibrant. It's a very healthy way of cooking too.



The Tepan hotplate was lots of fun. If you haven't seen one before, it's a flat, smooth hob that lets you cook directly on the surface, Japanese style. It took a while to heat up, but once it was searing we grilled some prawns on it with the minimum of oil. You could just as easily use it for a full English (or should that be Irish?) breakfast.



After a few hours of toil in the kitchen we had the chance to taste our just desserts. It was quite a spread, with soda bread, beef in Guinness and Roscommon rhubarb pudding amongst the dishes on the table.

We were then shown around the centre to learn more about Miele. The technology was innovative to say the least. I was particularly keen on the dishwasher that opens its own door when it has finished (no more nasty water marks on my glasses!), the fridge that keeps a cabbage fresh for 6 whole months, and the wireless meat probe that lets you cook your meat to medium-rare perfection.

The Miele Experience Centre isn't just for food bloggers either; Miele run regular Let's Do Lunch events to help prospective purchasers test out the products. So if you're thinking of decking your kitchen out with some top end gadgetry (can I come and live with you?), why not try it out first?

My favourite dish of the day was this Bailey's chocolate cheesecake. It's too good to eat just one day a year, and although it takes a little bit of effort it can easily be made ahead and is very impressive.



Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

For the base:
150g digestive biscuits
110g butter
3 tbsps cocoa powder
2 tbsps caster sugar

For the filling:
300g cream cheese
120ml double cream
1 egg
75g icing sugar
120g plain chocolate chips
4tbsps Baileys liqueur (plus extra if you like a tipple whilst you're baking)

For the topping:
75g plain chocolate
2 tbsps golden syrup
30g butter

1) Preheat the oven to 150c

2) First make the base. Crush the digestive biscuits. Melt the butter in a saucepan or the microwave. Mix the melted butter into the crushed biscuits, cocoa and sugar. Press the mixture into the base of a 22cm springform tin.

2) Bake the base for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. Leave the oven on as you'll be using it again later.

3) Now for the filling. Beat together the cream cheese, cream, egg and icing sugar until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and slug of Baileys.

4) Pour the mixture over the base and return the tin to the oven for 35 minutes or until the filling is just set. We used the Miele oven's Moisture Plus setting, which injects an automatic burst of steam to keep the cheesecake moist and lovely. If you're not lucky enough to have one of these then just bake it at 150c. If you're feeling brave then you could try using a bain marie, but my Leith's Bible doesn't seem to think it's necessary so I didn't bother.

5) Cool the cheesecake in the tin and then pop it in the fridge overnight.

6) Finally, you need to make the chocolate topping. Break the chocolate into small pieces and put it into a small saucepan with the golden syrup and butter. Gently melt the ingredients together. Give it a stir and then pour the topping over the cheesecake. Chill again to set the topping.

Enjoy!
The Princess