Speculoos charlotte with cranberry coulis

Here we are, my very first post! I will start by introducing my blog, which is about food but more precisely about ingredients and recipes that I really enjoyed as a child. The aim, here, is to each week, pick an ingredient and create three recipes around it. Being French, some of the products used might not be easily found here in the UK but I will always try to suggest an equivalent product. Most of the recipes are very easy to make and use organic ingredients whenever possible.

For the first three posts, I've decided to focus on speculoos, a spiced biscuit particularly popular around Christmas time. The thought of it just makes me want to snuggle up under a blanket to eat those cinnamony treats while drinking hot chocolate. 

The other day, I was in the jam and honey aisle at the supermarket and hit upon a speculoos spread. Intrigued, I bought it and tried to find ways to use it. Here's my first idea: a Speculoos charlotte. The charlotte is one of my all-time favourite French desserts. So easy to make and so rewarding from a presentation point of view.

To make four little charlottes, you need:

• 4 tbps of speculoos spread (or crushed spiced biscuits)
• 20 cl of whipping cream
• 12 ladyfingers
• A few tbps of milk

For the coulis, you need:

• 100 g of cranberries (plus 8, optional for presentation)
• 2 tbps of icing sugar
• Mint leaves (optional for presentation)

1. Whip the cream until firm. While whipping, add in the speculoos spread. Leave the mixture to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2. In the meantime, line four ramekins with cling film. Cut the ladyfingers in two and dip them for a few seconds in a bit of milk. Then, line the sides of the ramekins with the biscuits.

3. Put the whipped speculoos cream in the ramekins and leave to set in the fridge for at least another 30 minutes, or up until 24 hours.

4. For the coulis, put the cranberries together with the icing sugar and bit of water in a pan to simmer on a low-medium heat for about 30 minutes, making sure they don't burn. Once the cranberries are soft, crush them further with a fork before passing the coulis through a sieve. Because cranberries are quite sharp, add more sugar if the coulis is too tangy. Leave to cool in the fridge

5. Before serving, de-mould the charlotte onto a plate and place the coulis all around.

You can add a couple of cranberries and two mint leaves on top of the charlotte so it looks a bit like a Christmas pudding. Ok, it might be a bit late for Christmas but never too late for that charlotte. Enjoy!