Cannelle et Vanille

Fig, Berry and Sheep's Milk Cream Tart

2008-07-24T01:10:00.005-04:00

A few days ago, browsing through the specialty cheese section at Whole Foods, I found a new kind of spreadable sheep's milk cheese that I have never seen before. It is from Spain, but I didn't recognize it. That doesn't really surprise me given the tremendous amount of different cheeses that are produced in different regions of Spain. It is called MitiCrema and it is hard to describe. Because the cheese came in a small jar similar to the devonshire cream jars, I was expecting a semi-liquid, slightly sweet and mild cheese. Far from it. It is strong, salty, a bit crumbly... far from what I expected.

I also spotted the first organic figs from California and gooseberries. I have been waiting anxiously for figs and currants. Figs are here, but no currants in sight yet. But I will keep waiting.

I am a huge fig fan. When I was little, my grandparents had an enormous fig tree right by their front door and every September, we picked the super sweet figs right by their door step. I can still smell it... I was surprised when I moved to the US and I found figs in the supermarket in June. I always thought figs could only be picked in September. It was funny how my grandparents' fig tree was... September 1st came and it was full of fruit, but when the month came to a close, it was like the tree said... "Oh no, no more figs, all done". Very European.

I made these tarts for brunch. I had some chocolate short dough leftover so I used that as the tart base, but any dough can be used really. Line the tart shells with the dough and refrigerate overnight. Bake them at 350F the next day. If the dough has been chilled overnight, there is no need to use beans or pie weights, I promise. If the dough has rested enough and it has not been overmix to begin with, the dough will not shrink in the oven.

Sheep's Milk Cream

75 grams organic heavy cream
30 grams sheep's milk spreadable cheese or goat cheese
2 tsp honey

Whip all ingredients with an electric mixer until semi-stiff peaks are formed. Fill the pre-baked tart shells with the cream and top with figs, berries, mint or any other fruit or herb you like.

This summer has turned out to be a busy one and finding time to spend in the kitchen is harder and harder. There are many exciting things going on in my life, most of them not food or blog related, so blogging has taken a bit of a break. I do not want to abandon this venue completely since I love it so much, but forgive me if I have not been posting as frequently or if I have not been visiting my favorite blogs as regularly. I think I will be back with full force soon. I hope you are enjoying your summer too!

Meringue... the Difference that Folding Makes

2008-07-21T01:54:00.003-04:00

I am always intrigued by technique and how the simple action of folding ingredients together can completely change the texture and consistency of a product. Such is the case with meringue. The infamous macarons are usually nothing but egg whites with sugar and ground up nuts. But how do they get their tiny feet and the crunchy exterior with the moist interior? I was showing a friend of mine the macaron folding technique or "macaroner", when it occurred to me that I should also show her how a similar meringue can yield a different kind of cookie.

We made a batch of pistachio macarons with pistachio buttercream and a batch of hazelnut success with salted caramel ganache.

I decided to make some hazelnut success, which are nothing more than baked meringue with sugar and hazelnut meal gently folded in. Success is barely folded compared to the way macarons must be almost turned into a paste. The macaron batter is "worked" into a shiny mass, however, success must be folded with a light hand and gentle touch.

I understand that macaron recipes contain more dry ingredients that the rest of meringues, which also contributes to the completely different texture, but I would say, that is mostly in the hand. When macarons are under-mixed and much of the air is left in the mass, they turn into light crispy meringues and not the chewy interior we all desire.

I think at the end of the day, the reason why all this intrigues me is because it means that a recipe or a list of ingredients don't really mean all that much unless there is care and touch behind it.

Pistachio Macarons

100 grams almond meal
80 grams raw pistachio meal
243 grams powdered sugar
138 grams egg whites
3 grams egg white powder
81 grams sugar
few drops of all-natural green food coloring

In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour, pistachio meal and powdered sugar. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the egg white and the egg white powder. Whip in medium speed until egg whites start to increase in volume. When the egg whites are almost fully whipped and very fluffy, slowly start adding the sugar, sprinkle it in. After all the sugar is incorporated, continue to whip the meringue in high speed now until semi stiff peaks have formed. Add food coloring.

Add the meringue to the almond flour and pistachio meal mixture and with a spatula, fold the meringue into the dry ingredients. This is called “macaroner” and is also a tricky part. It is better to fold slowly and test a couple of macaroons because it is possible to over fold this mixture. We are looking for a shiny mass. For this amount of ingredients, I would say that it will only take about 10 to 15 strokes. But again, it is better to check for consistency. We are looking for a mass that spreads a little but not too much otherwise our macaroons will be flat.

Pipe the mass onto half sheet pans lined with silpats. Sprinkle the wet macaroons with pistachio crumble or chopped pistachios.

Let them sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes so they dry. We want the tops to not stick to our finger when we touch them. This will ensure a crack-free macaroon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees. Bake one sheetpan at a time and rotate half way after about 10 minutes. They will take about 16 minutes total but depends on your oven.

Pistachio Buttercream

50 grams egg whites
100 grams sugar
150 grams butter, softened
50 grams pistachio paste

Mix the egg whites and the sugar and place them over a double boiler while you whisk them together. The sugar will start to dissolve and the egg whites will start to turn white and fluffy. Continue whisking until the egg whites feel hot to the touch.

Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer and whip in high speed until light and fluffy and the bottom of the bowl doesn't feel hot anymore. About 3-5 minutes.

Start adding the softened butter by the tablespoon. Keep adding more butter as it is incorporated into the meringue. It might look like it is curdling but don't worry, keep mixing. When is well mixed, add the pistachio paste.

Hazelnut Success

50 grams egg whites
40 grams sugar
40 grams powdered sugar
25 grams hazelnut meal

Whip the egg whites fully and slowly add the sugar. Whip to stiff peaks.

Separately, sift the powdered sugar and hazelnut meal together. Sprinkle this mixture over the meringue and fold by hand, slowly. Be careful not to deflate the meringue too much.

Place the mix in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe long lines of the meringue on a sheetpan lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes or until they dry completely. When they cool you should be able to pick them up from the parchment no problem.

Salted Caramel Ganache

60 grams sugar
110 grams heavy cream
100 grams bittersweet chocolate (64%)
65 grams milk chocolate (38%)
15 grams salted butter
pinch fleur de sel

Make a dry caramel with the sugar. In the meantime, heat the cream and when the caramel is starting to turn fairly dark, deglaze it with the cream.

Have the dark and milk chocolates chopped in a separate bowl. Strain the caramel mixture over the chocolate. Let it sit untouched for a minute. The caramel will start to slowly melt the chocolate. Whisk gently until all the chocolate is dissolved and the ganache has formed an emulsion. When it has coioled a bit, which will happen quickly since it's a small batch, add the soft butter and mix keeping the emulsion. Add the fleur de sel.

Let the ganache sit at room temperature until it hardens enough to be pipeable. Place in a pastry bag and pipe in between hazelnut success.

Passion Fruit, Apricot and Vanilla Bean Cream Tart

2008-07-17T01:24:00.002-04:00

I am a custard person. I love cakes, fruit pies, cookies and so on, but creamy custard, in any way shape or form, is my dessert of choice. And if the custard in question contains lots of mini specs of vanilla bean, then I'm in heaven.

After making the apricot pate de fruit a few days ago, I still had some apricot puree left in the freezer and a bit of passion fruit puree as well. I decided to use it all up by making a thin jam. The process is very similar to pate de fruit but the mixture is not cooked as long and not as much pectin is used resulting in a viscose jam.

As you might have noticed, sable breton is my favorite tart base and I use it many, many times, just as I did this time. This is a very simple tart with the sable breton, the passion fruit and apricot jam and the vanilla bean mousseline. I decorated it with a little bit of the apricot pate de fruit I had left over and it made a great stormy afternoon treat.

If you look closely at the photos, you can tell it is very humid here. Look at the pate de fruit how it sweats... amazing. Also, because I do not use any artificial lighting or flashes, my photos take a blue-grey hue when the sky is cloudy. I didn't like that at first but I think it looks romantic now. Subtle.

Sable Breton

160 grams sugar
160 grams salted butter
4 egg yolks
zest of half an orange
1/2 vanilla bean
225 grams unbleached all purpose flour
15 grams baking powder

In an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg yolks, vanilla bean and the orange zest. Add the flour and baking powder combined until it comes together. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Roll out to about 1/2" thickness and cut 3" circles with a round cutter. Place the circles in molds and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Passion Fruit and Apricot Jam

100 grams passion fruit puree
100 grams apricot puree
1/2 vanilla bean
75 grams sugar
30 grams glucose
20 grams sugar
4 grams pectin
15 grams lemon juice

Place the fruit purees in a small saucepan. Mix the 20 grams of sugar with the 4 grams of pectin. When the puree is about 100 degrees F, add the sugar and pectin mixture. Bring it to a boil and add the rest of the sugar and glucose. Bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice.

Transfer the jam into a clean bowl and lt it cool slightly before refrigerating it.

Vanilla Mousseline

250 grams whole milk
1/4 vanilla bean
50 grams egg yolk
75 grams sugar
25 grams cornstarch
125 grams butter, cut into medium pieces

Place the milk, half of the sugar and vanilla bean in a small saucepan. Separately, whisk together in a bowl the egg yolks, cornstarch and the other half of the sugar. Bring the milk to a boil and temper into the egg yolks. Return the custard to the saucepan and cook until it thickens.

Immediately, transfer the cream to a clean bowl and add the pieces of butter. Whisk until they melt into the custard. Place plastic wrap over the bowl touching the cream and refrigerate until cool.

Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a round pastry tip and pipe the cream on top of the baked and cooled sable breton. Pipe some passion fruit and apricot jam in the middle and top with more mousseline cream.

Chocolate Souffle and Rediscovering a Cookbook

2008-07-14T01:12:00.004-04:00

A few night ago, I was flipping through some of my pastry books and I decided to pick up "Chocolate Obsession" by Michael Recchiuti and Fran Gage. I have had this book for years but I don't remember ever baking any recipes from it.

I have to admit I have a cookbook addiction, but after I get them, I tend to leave them on the shelf and never really bake from them. I do enjoy photographs and they do bring much inspiration, but I don't usually copy a recipe from a book. However, this time, I was drawn to a chocolate souffle photo. It was beautiful, full of texture, dark, rich. I said, "I have to try this".

I flipped to the recipe page and started reading through it to see what method the authors used. I am very particular about souffle and its consistency. I despise meringue based souffles and most chocolate souffle recipes I see are meringue based. I feel cheated with these... I want a souffle that has a thick, creamy interior and that is why I like my roux or pastry cream base recipes.

I went back to the chocolate souffle photo and saw that this souffle had an incredible texture inside. I had to give it a shot. Marvellous, indeed. The amount of chocolate in the recipe makes it almost like a molten cake but without egg yolks. Of course, no need to say that you must use the best available chocolate because that is what makes this souffle. If the chocolate is poor, then the souffle will be poor.

Just a little note about the book though. The recipe in the book fails to mention one of the steps. It lists the grated chocolate in the ingredient list, but then, it does not mention when or how this chocolate is supposed to be added. No big deal. It was pretty easy to figure out, but I did find that error. I haven't tried any other recipes from it, but I think it is well worth it just for the photography and the food styling.

Chocolate Souffle

130 grams cocoa powder
350 ml water
1 vanilla bean, split
40 grams 70% chocolate, grated
70 grams egg whites
pinch of salt
75 grams sugar

10 grams sugar
20 grams 70% chocolate, grated
softened butter

Brush softened butter over all sides of the ramekins you are going to use. Make sure you brush applying vertical strokes. This will allow the souffle to rise straight up nicely. Mix the grated chocolate and sugar and pour into one ramekin. Turn so all sides are coated with this mixture and dump the excess into the next ramekin. Once they are all coated, refrigerate them until ready to use.

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and the vanilla to a boil. Turn heat off and let it steep for 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve it for another use. Return the pan to the heat and bring to another boil. Add half of the cocoa powder into the boiling water and whisk constantly until all the cocoa has been absorbed. Add the rest and whisk constantly for about 3 minutes or until it thickens. Remove from heat and transfer the cocoa paste into a large bowl.

In the meantime, whip the egg whites with the pinch of salt. When they are almost fully whipped, add the sugar slowly, in batches. Let the meringue whip to semi stiff peaks.

Add the meringue into the warm cocoa paste and fold gently until no more white streaks are showing. Fold in the grated chocolate.

Spoon the souffle batter into the ramekins. Fill to the top. Bake in a preheated 350F degree oven until they rise. The time will depend on the size of your ramekins. Serve immediately.

Lemon Verbena and White Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches

2008-07-10T01:11:00.002-04:00

My lemon verbena plant is growing out of control and I have been using it every chance I get. I have been infusing it in simple syrups for drinks, crème anglaise, in fruit papillote... I even made a sugar body scrub with it. The aroma that it exudes when rubbed between the fingers is amazing.

I wanted to make an ice cream with it and I thought of combining it with white chocolate. I think lemon and white chocolate really compliment each other so I thought why not use the verbena I have. The result is subtle but bright.

Ice cream sandwiches are so fun in the summer. It brings back memories of summers at the beach for me when ice cream sandwiches were always the afternoon treat. This time I made a very crumbly and delicate chocolate and almond shortbread that has a bit of crunch but it's still soft enough to eat with the ice cream. The bit of sea salt really enhances the chocolate.

Lemon Verbena and White Chocolate Ice Cream

250 grams whole milk
500 grams heavy cream
125 grams sugar
100 grams egg yolks
10 grams lemon verbena leaves, washed and dried
225 grams white chocolate, chopped

In a medium saucepan, place the whole milk, heavy cream, half of the sugar and the lemon verbena leaves. Slowly bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, turn the heat off and let the leaves steep in the milk for about 15 minutes. Turn the heat back on and bring it back to a boil.

In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks with the other half of the sugar. Temper the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks and whisk. Return this base back to the saucepan and cook until nappe or until it reaches 84C.

Have the white chocolate chopped in a large bowl. Strain the custard over the white chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted.

Place the bowl with the ice cream base over an ice bath to cool down quickly. Refrigerate overnight. Churn in your ice cream machine overnight.

Chocolate and Almond Short Dough

125 grams butter
75 grams sugar
2 grams salt
1/2 vanilla bean
1 egg yolk
25 grams almond meal
200 grams flour
5 grams cocoa powder

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla bean seeds together. Add the egg yolk and scrape. Sift together all the dry ingredients and add them to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.

Make a ball with the dough and wrap it in plastic wrap. Gently flatten it with your hands forming a disk. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.

Roll the dough to 1/4" thick and cut with cookie cutter. This is a very crumbly dough that tends to crack so you might have to warm up the dough a bit with your hands to soften it.

Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely before sandwich them with the white chocolate verbena ice cream.

The Petit Suisse Experiment and an Accomplice

2008-07-07T01:06:00.012-04:00

I have thoroughly chronicled my quest to find the perfect petit suisse recipe. Some think it's insane that I would spend so much time trying to replicate something that back home, is just baby food. But you must understand, I live far, far away from home and sometimes one needs closeness and needs to feed the soul with childhood memories and flavors.

I believe this is my third attempt at it and as we say in Spanish, "a la tercera, la vencida". And so it was. This time, it worked. Wonderful, thick, creamy, sweet and tangy petit suisse.

But there is something I must tell you. Something wonderful happened during this whole process of finding the perfect recipe. Another "insane" blogger decided to join me on this quest. She had brilliant ideas and we both put our minds and our palates to the test. So this would have never happened without her help, the wonderful, inspiring and "Baker Zen Master" herself, Tartelette.

Helen emailed me a couple of months ago saying she was in. She also wanted to "break the petit suisse" code. Of course, I was jumping up and down with joy. Time passed and we both got busy with life until I recently emailed her to tell her about how my creme fraiche blancmange tasted just like petit suisse. Surprisingly, she had just made some creme fraiche from scratch herself and was about to email me the same thought.

So soon after that, we scheduled a first experiment. We agreed to try to culture a mixture of some heavy cream and whole milk with creme fraiche and a bit of buttermilk. We decided to go against using a starter because both creme fraiche and buttermilk are cultured products so there would be enough bacteria in them to incubate the base. I let mine incubate overnight in my yogurt maker and in the morning, I was greeted by something similar to creme bulgare, which I have blogged about, with a good layer of cream on top. Surprisingly, not all the little jars had set the same way and for some reason, some of them ended up with a layer of cream but a liquid center. So good tasting but not what I was looking for.

I still wanted to go the fromage frais route which I had read about originally. So for our second experiment, we decided to use whole milk and rennet. We let the milk inoculate overnight and in the morning, when the milk curd had formed, we decided to add heavy cream to it. This was the key. I laddled the curd into a strainer lined with cheesecloth and I added 20% of heavy cream. Gently mixed it and let it drain the excess whey for about 4 hours. The result was unbelievable. Just like the petit suisse I grew up eating.

I made some strawberry compote to go with it and since it is so hot and humid, I thought my little boy would really enjoy some petit suisse popsicles so I folded some petit suisse and lightly whipped cream together, piped it into my shot glasses and froze it. He could not keep his hands off them!

So here is the recipe that worked wonders.

Petit Suisse

2 liters organic whole milk
30 ml organic cultured buttermilk
1/8 tablet of rennet
30 ml water
200 grams heavy cream (40% butterfat)

Sterilize a large pot by covering and boiling a small amount of water in it for 5 minutes prior to use.

Pour in the fresh milk, then the buttermilk. Warm up stirring to a final temperature of 65°F. Since my pot was warm from sterilizing it, I didn't even have to turn the heat on. Meanwhile, dissolve the rennet in 30 ml of cool water. Stir dissolved rennet into warm milk. Stir well to blend thoroughly. Cover and let it sit undisturbed overnight at room temperature.

The next morning, a soft curd should have formed; if not, let it sit until it does form which could take up to an additional 12 hours (mine was done overnight). When the curd is adequately formed, cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. Ladle cut curds into clean sterile cheesecloth suspended in a large strainer or stainless steel colander. Pour remaining whey through the cloth.

At this point, weigh the curd and add about 20% of its weight in heavy cream. Mine was 1 kg so I added 200 grams of cream. Stir gently. Place the curd and cream back on the strainer with the cheesecloth and refrigerate for 4 hours until most of the whey has drained off. Spoon the petit suisse into your jars.

I really want to thank Helen for helping me on this project. It was so much more fun to be able to share the steps and results with someone else. Like she said on Sunday morning... "who else out there is getting excited over curd like we are?". Yes, that's us! Merci Helen!

Apricot and Vanilla Bean Pate de Fruit

2008-07-03T01:31:00.003-04:00

The abundance of stone fruits is making me go crazy. My head spins thinking about new recipes, how to visually display them, the vibrant colors, flavor combinations. My last three recipes have featured stone fruits, so this time I just had to take it slow and make something rather simple. Something like pate de fruit which I think is a perfect way to utilize stone fruits and yes, get an enormous sugar high!

This recipe makes a lot of pate de fruit so be ready to give some away. It will keep really well for days (the amount of sugar and the tartaric acid solution helps with that) but still... I don't think a family can handle so much sugar. Not even mine! So get out your pretty food packaging boxes or bags and make a list of friends and family to share these with!

Apricot and Vanilla Bean Pate de Fruit

Makes half a sheetpan

750 grams apricot puree
2 vanilla beans
18 grams yellow pectin
75 grams sugar
150 grams glucose
750 grams sugar
6 grams tartaric acid solution (equal parts water and tartaric acid)
12 grams peach liquer

Place the apricot puree and the vanilla bean seeds into a large pot with tall sides. Heat to about 45 degrees celsius (about 113 F).

In the meantime, mix the yellow pectin and the 75 grams of sugar in a bowl. Make sure they are thoroughly combined. If there are clusters of yellow pectin left unmixed with the sugar, this will leave undissolved gummy pieces of pectin in the finished product. So once the puree is warm, add the yellow pectin and sugar to it and whisk very well.

Bring the mixture to a boil and add the rest of the sugar and the glucose. Whisk well and let it boil and cook to 106 degrees Celsius (223F). Make sure to whisk often.

Turn the heat off and add the liquer and the tartaric acid solution. Whisk.

Pour into a half sheetpan lined with parchment paper or silicon mat. Let it set for about 2 hours or until it is completely cool and it has hardened.

Cut squares or different shapes and roll in sugar. Serve immediately. The uncut pate de fruit will keep for a few days lightly covered with plastic wrap. If you are in a humid climate like me, you might notice that it turns very sticky. That's from the humidity in the air melting the sugar.

Happy July 4th weekend to all of you and I will see you next week!

Creme Fraiche Blancmange and Plum Mousse Cake... and Petit Suisse Part Trois

2008-07-01T01:15:00.002-04:00

Let me start by saying that I have made blancmange many times before, but this time, when I decided to add creme fraiche to it, I realized that I found a really good substitute for the petit suisse I have been craving for so long.

For those of you who have never had blancmange, it is similar to panna cotta in the sense that it is sweetened heavy cream that is stabilized with the addition of gelatin. This recipe however, does not warm the heavy cream, it is whipped instead, resulting in a very light, mousse-like layer. The addition of creme fraiche adds that richness and bit of tang similar to petit suisse.

I have always liked a dollop of creme fraiche with roasted fruits so I decided to use it in the blancmange. After I spread some on my mousse cake, I had some leftover that I piped into shot glasses. That was going to be my mid-afternoon snack. When I tried it, I realized it tasted just like petit suisse and then the lightbulb turned on in my head... "That's right! It makes complete sense!".

After my first attempt to make petit suisse, which resulted in a nice fromage frais, I started reading more about the petit suisse making process. It's very similar to the fromage frais but then at one point, after the milk has curdled, extra heavy cream is added. I wasn't clear on how to proceed with those instructions so I left it at that, but this blancmange tastes just like petit suisse and now I know why. It is a cross between a fresh, soft cheese and sweet cream.

I built this cake with an almond and roasted plum sponge as the base. Then the roasted plum mousse is thinly spread over it, the vanilla bean creme fraiche blancmange and it is all topped with burnt swiss meringue. I also made some bubble sugar as decoration. I know it might seem very intimidating to work with sugar at home, and it can be, but this decoration is really easy to make and I think it's a nice touch.

Plum and Almond Sponge
makes half a sheetpan

175 grams egg whites
90 grams sugar
150 grams almond flour
55 grams powdered sugar
30 grams flour
40 grams plum puree

In a bowl, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and flour. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites to almost a full meringue. Slowly add the sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle a third of the sifted dry ingredients and fold. Add another third, fold and add the rest. Fold gently. Add the plum puree and fold.

Spread the sponge batter on a half sheetpan with an offset spatula. Spread evenly.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the top starts to turn color but not brown.

Plum Mousse

200 grams plum puree
20 grams sugar
2 gelatin sheets
200 grams heavy cream, soft peak

Warm the plum puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soften the gelatin in an ice bath. When the gelatin has softened, add it to the plum puree. When the plum puree is slightly cool, add the whipped cream into the base and fold gently until all ingredients are incoporated.

Spread the mousse evenly over the plum sponge and freeze right away.

Creme Fraiche Blancmange

350 grams heavy cream
2 vanilla beans
75 grams sugar
3 gelatin leaves
250 grams creme fraiche

Whip the heavy cream, vanilla and sugar to soft peaks. In the meantime, soften the gelatin leaves in ice water for about 5 minutes. Add about 3 Tbs of the whipped cream to the gelatin and melt it over a double boiler. Do not over heat it though. Stir so all the gelatin is dissolved.

Add about a cup of the whipped cream to the gelatin mixture and whip. We are tempering the gelatin. If we were to add the melted, warm gelatin to the entire batch of cold whipped cream, the gelatin would set right away and we would be left with chunks of gelatin in the cream. So temper a little bit of the cream into the gelatin and whisk. Then fold in the rest.

Finally, fold the creme fraiche into the cream base. Evenly spread the blancmange over the plum mousse with an offset spatula. Let it set in the refrigerator or freezer.

Swiss Meringue

75 grams egg whites
150 grams sugar

Mix egg whites and sugar in a bowl and place over a double boiler. Whisk them together until sugar starts to melt. It will be hot to the touch and the color will change to white.

Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whip to a stiff meringue. Place the meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe some meringue on top of the blancmange. Burn the meringue with a blowtorch.

Bubble sugar

180 grams sugar
90 grams water
30 grams glucose

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook to 317F degrees. In the meantime, take a piece of parchment paper and make it into a ball with your hands. Open it up and flatten it but we want to keep the texture. Rub a little bit of alcohol on the parchment paper and when the sugar reaches 317 degrees, pour a little bit of sugar on one edge of the paper. Lift it and let the sugar run down. The alcohol will make the sugar bubble up creating the bubble effect.

This is very hot so be careful when you handle it. Once the sugar has hardened, peel the paper off carefully. Store the bubble sugar in an airtight container.

This is obviously not how petit suisse is made, so there will be more coming on this subject. Stay tuned... I have an accomplice on this!

Daring Bakers: Danish Braid and the Patience for Laminated Doughs

2008-06-29T01:03:00.009-04:00

When I learned that this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was Danish dough, the first thought that went through my mind was, "how in the world am I going to be able to keep my son home for at least 4 hours straight so I can roll the dough?". And then my second thought was, "I better lower the air conditioning right now!". So yes, in that sense this was a true challenge.

It has been a while since I have made laminated doughs. As a matter of fact, I believe this is the first time that I have ever made laminated dough at home. Laminated doughs require a cold environment, cold surfaces and a long, long time. I had to reserve this task for a weekend so I could have some help with my little boy. He will not stay home all morning or afternoon so I can bake, so having an extra set of hands was crucial for me to finish this challenge.

Since timing is everything I decided to start about mid-afternoon so I could let the dough rest overnight and shape, proof and bake the following morning. It has been hot, hot, hot here lately so I had to make sure the air conditioning was turned down and that no cooking needed to be done while I was rolling the dough. I worked as quickly as I could and given that this was a small batch, it was not too terrible to handle. I remember the large batches of croissant dough that I had to make in past lives and that's when I really had to work fast so the dough never got warm. But I also had a sheeter back then.

This dough is soft and very, very aromatic with all that orange zest, vanilla bean and of course, cardammon. I struggled during the rolling process trying to keep the lock-in butter cold. It was getting sticky at times. Streching the dough so it relaxed was difficult because my hands were melting the butter a bit, but I finally made it.

I divided the dough in half and decided to make a large braid and some individual pastries. I filled the large braid with hazelnut frangipane and some black cherry preserves that I have from back home. With the other half of the dough, I made some mini cinnamon sugar snails that I topped with pistachio crumble and some frangipane diamonds that I topped with fresh strawberries.

Thank you very much to Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’? for hosting this month's challenge. Please visit their blogs for the recipe. For other Daring Bakers' creations, please visit the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Cherry, Almond and Chocolate Mini Cakes

2008-06-26T01:26:00.001-04:00

I have been eating cherries like crazy the last few weeks. Sometimes I don't even like to bake with them because they are so fantastic on their own, fresh, plump and juicy. I love to watch my son eat them even though that means he will stain his shirts and that will be the end of them. All so very worth it.

So these are chocolate almond cakes with pieces of cherry inside that I baked in mini ramekins. I love how moist yet dense they are. A little goes a long way with this cake.

Cherry, Almond and Chocolate Cake

175 grams almond paste
3 eggs
50 grams butter
90 grams bittersweet chocolate
30 grams flour
2 grams baking powder
cherries, pitted and cut into medium dice

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the almond paste with one egg with the paddle attachment. When this becomes a smooth mixture, add the rest of the eggs and switch to the whip attachment. Whip this for about 5 minutes until light and fluffly.

In the meantime, melt the butter and the chocolate over a double boiler. When the eggs have become thick and make a ribbon, turn the machine to low and add the melted chocolate and butter. Mix until combined. Add the flour and baking powder and mix. Fold in the pieces of cherry.

Refrigerate the batter for a couple of hours. Pipe into molds (half way up) and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. When the cake has almost set completely, place a whole cherry with its stem on top, let the cake finish baking for another 3 minutes or so.

I know this is a short post. Short but sweet. Have a wonderful weekend!

Lemon Verbena and Chamomile Creme Brulee for the Soul

2008-06-24T02:14:00.002-04:00

When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a lot of natural remedies for different ailments. I was hardly ever given any cough syrup or pills. Herbal teas were mostly used and amongst those, I really remember chamomile. I strongly disliked it at the time and someone always had to hold my nose shut while I drank the tea but today, I really appreciate it. I enjoy the apple-like aroma and mild taste. As a matter of fact, I drink it almost everyday.

In the Basque Country, herbs are abundant. Surprisingly though, they are traditionally not used much in cooking. They have had a medicinal role and now they are being re-introduced in the culinary world by all the new young chefs. One of the greatest Basque chefs at the moment is Andoni Luis Aduriz, who is chef owner of Mugaritz. He has published several outstanding books that I highly recommend. Some of them have been translated into different languages as well. My favorite one is definitely Clorofilia, in which he lists all the available herbs in our area with amazing recipes and beautiful short stories. There is a very mystical aura to him.

I was reading through his book a few nights ago and memories of my grandmother and chamomile came over me. I closed the book, shut my eyes, leaned back and tried to think about her. Then, I got online and ordered some lemon verbena and chamomile plants and knew exactly what I was going to be making with them.

These days, a few of my friends and some family seem to be going through a rough patch. Even I have found myself very introspective lately. Thinking about life, the world, where we are headed. So this is dedicated to all who seem to be going through hard times. Hang in there, things come and go, and usually, if we face our fears face to face, the outcome will only be bright. So have some chamomile tea and I will be here to listen.

Lemon Verbena and Chamomile Creme Brulee

500 ml organic heavy cream
5 organic egg yolks
100 grams sugar
3 grams (about 3 sprigs) lemon verbena leaves
1 grams chamomille leaves (my plant does not have any flowers yet but the leaves are also fragrant)

In a small saucepan, place the cream and the herbs and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off and let the herbs steep in the cream for a few minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Temper the warm cream into the yolks and whisk. Strain the custard through a fine sieve.

Place ramekins on a sheetpan. Pour custard into ramekins and bring the pan into a 300 degree oven. Once the sheetpan is on the oven rack, pour some boiling water on the pan to create a water bath. Bake the creme brulee in the 300 degree oven in a water bath for about 20 minutes (it depends on the size of the ramekin or how much custard is in each one). When lightly shaken, the center should jiggle slightly but not appear liquid.

Refrigerate the baked custards for at least 4 hours. Sprinkle some demerara sugar on top and burn with a torch or under a hot broiler.

Chamomile Shortbread

110 grams butter
80 grams sugar
1 organic egg
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 Tbs chamomile leaves
175 grams flour
pinch of salt

Cream the butter and the sugar. Add the egg and mix. Scrape the bowl. Add the flour, salt, lemon zest and chamomile leaves. Mix until combined.

Place dough on parchment paper and roll into a log that is about 1 inch thick. Wrap it in the parchment paper and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Slice the log, place the cookies on a sheetpan lined with parchment or silicon mat and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until slightly golden.

Caramelized Pineapple and Olive Oil Cake... and a Short Camping Trip

2008-06-22T01:29:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned on my last post, we were going to spend the weekend camping near Lake Okeechobee. The weather had been terrible all week with the usual summer afternoon thunderstorms. I wasn't completely sure that camping was going to be a good idea but we decided to be adventurous and see what was going to happen.

We left on Friday after work. The skies were blue and scattered thunderstorms were forecasted for the weekend. We started driving west when I spotted some nasty looking clouds ahead of us. We could see lighting strike not too far from us and I started to really worry. Surely, a mile later, we were driving through the worst storm I have ever been through. Lighting, thunder, torrential rain, baby screaming in the back and we are towing a travel trailer. I was ready to turn around right then. This scenario lasted for about half an hour.

When we arrived at the campground, it was not what we had expected. We were hoping for some thick, Florida wilderness, but this seemed like a mobile home park right next to the highway. I couldn't believe my eyes. The place looked abandoned. Not a soul. We tried to just forget about everything and headed for the pool. Rain started again. Ran for shelter and that's where we spent the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning we had about an hour of pool fun but by mid morning the sky started to turn black again and I just couldn't spend another afternoon and evening inside a trailer in a concrete campground. So we left and never got to enjoy the cake I had made for this trip but I did manage to take a couple of photos of my little boy and his beloved trucks.

This was a long story to tell you about this cake we never really got to enjoy while camping. It was an almond and olive oil sponge that I wanted to serve with grilled pineapple and a bit of cream. I love grilled fruit.

I took these photos before we left since I knew I wouldn't be able to take decent photographs while camping. But not only that, we never ate it. When I made it at home, I caramelized the pineapple with a bit of demerara sugar. I was really looking forward to some grilled pineapple...

Olive Oil Sponge
Makes quarter sheetpan

3 eggs
110 grams sugar
1 Tbs lemon zest
100 grams olive oil (I used Arbequina)
90 grams whole milk
110 grams cake flour
10 grams baking powder
50 grams almond flour

Pineapple rectangles
Demerara sugar

Whip the eggs, lemon zest and sugar to thick, ribbon stage. Slowly stream in the olive oil and the milk. Add the sifted flour, baking powder and almond flour and mix only until combined.

Batter will be relatively thin. Pour the batter in sheetpan or individual molds and bake immediately in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes until slightly golden brown.

Once the cake has cooled, cut rectangles. Cut pineapple rectangles that are the same size as the cake. Place the pineapple on top of the cake, sprinkle demerara sugar on top and burn it with a blow torch.

Milk Chocolate and Coffee Macarons

2008-06-19T01:35:00.001-04:00

I haven't made macarons in a few weeks and I wasn't planning on making them until a friend of mine requested them as a present for someone else. They are a classic flavor combination of a coffee macaron shell and a milk chocolate ganache filling. Simple, easy yet always make an impression. She was happy and that's all that matters.

What else can I say about this recipe that I haven't said before... It's the same recipe I always use but this time I added a bit of coffee extract to the meringue.

The milk chocolate ganache was made without a scale. I took two parts of milk chocolate and one part heavy cream. I like to work with ratios because it makes my life really simple. It is true that ganaches are delicate and must be perfectly balanced but sometimes, I just use quick ratios, like one part dark chocolate one part heavy cream, two parts white chocolate and one part heavy cream. Easy and quick.

So I leave you without a recipe today. Just follow the guidelines for my previous macarons recipes and the quick ganache that I mentioned above.

And why the short post you might ask? Well, we are going camping this weekend! I will see you next week and I hope you have a wonderful weekend too!

Roasted Plums with Tarragon Ice Cream

2008-06-17T01:02:00.010-04:00

I have been in a fresh herb kick lately. I think I have neglected them for a very long time and I don't know why. I love them just as much as I love fresh flowers. I respect them for their medicinal benefits and for what they add to food. I feel I have been redeeming myself and all I can think about are fresh herbs.

The first time I ever tried this ice cream was at a class I took with Sebastien Cannone from the French Pastry School and I will never forget it. Yes, it is delicious and perfectly balanced, but that is not the reason why. You see, I was assisting him in his class and I was asked to just get the mise en place ready for him. I had just started culinary school and I was very intimidated around all these professional chefs.

When I set myself out to scale the tarragon ice cream recipe, I think I forgot to zero out the scale at one point and I completely mis-scaled the entire recipe. Can you imagine how embarassed I was when he was cooking it and noticed the proportions were off? I thought that was the end of my professional career as a pastry chef. I thought, "what a disgrace, I can't even scale a simple recipe!" Well, he was a complete gentleman and didn't even say anything, just asked me to rescale it in a very polite matter. So I did. It worked and it was as perfect as I imagined it to be.

For those of you who have never tasted tarragon, I would say it is the licorice of the herb family. It reminds me a lot of licorice root or fennel. Very sweet and mild. I roasted the plums with a little bit of sugar (not much because they were very sweet naturally), vanilla bean, pink peppercorns and star anise which is also very licorice-y.

Sebastien's recipe has very specific guidelines on when to add ingredients, at what temperature, how to mix them... I didn't follow them as precisely but it turned out well, although not as smooth as when churned in a commercial ice cream machine. So the recipe below is not as accurate as his but it worked for me. Also, if you do not have access to some of these ingredients, you can make similar ice cream if you follow the recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago for mint chocolate chip. Just use tarragon instead.

Tarragon Ice Cream
adapted from Sebastien Cannone's recipe

490 grams whole milk
30 grams non fat dry milk powder
115 grams sugar
40 grams glucose powder
4 grams ice cream stabilizer
80 grams butter
5 grams fresh tarragon
60 grams egg yolks

Place the whole milk, tarragon, butter and milk powder in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil. In the meantime, whisk the sugar, glucose powder and ice cream stabilizer in a bowl. When the milk comes to a boil, add the sugar mixture and whisk. Return to a boil.

Temper the milk mixture into the egg yolks. Return this custard to the pan and cook while constantly stirring to 84C. Strain into a clean bowl through a fine sieve and cool completely over an ice bath.

Refrigerate for at least 12 hours so the ice cream matures properly. Churn in ice cream machine and freeze.

This recipe will be my entry for Mike's Table's "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Frozen Desserts". Remember you have until July 7th!

Chocolate Pot de Creme, Banana Caramel, Gianduja Cream and Six Questions

2008-06-15T01:04:00.006-04:00

That is a long post title just to tell you that this is a post about a fun tag and a dessert full of rich goodness.

You see, I was tagged by Esti last week and I wanted to create something super rich and sweet to entertain you while you read my response to her tag. I am terrible about keeping track of tags, memes, awards... I apologize ahead of time if any of you have tagged me before and I have not responded to it. I am just terrible at this.

As I said, this tag came from Esti, another one of my girl-crushes. I have many. Esti is from my hometown of Bilbao and when I found her blog, Pintame El Dia, I immediately fell in love with her drawings, poetry and references to music. She and I have never met, but it turns out we were in a lot of the same places at the same time right about 10 years ago. The tag involves answering some random questions about oneself, pretty silly ones but all in good fun. So here I go...

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Finishing my economics degree at the University of Deusto, going to a lot of concerts, trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do with myself after college and getting ready to pack my bags to move to the US. It all seems like a blur now.

What are the five things on your to do list today?

Make gluten free waffles for breakfast,
Return the movie "Control" which I absolutely loved,
Take my little boy to the pool,
Search for plane tickets to fly home this summer, and of course...
Call my mom on the phone.

Three snack you enjoy?

Berries, nuts (lots of them) and petit suisse (help me find the recipe please!).

Four places you have lived?

Amorebieta, Colorado Springs, Denver, Palm Beach County.

Five things you would do if you were a billionaire?

This is a question for my husband who plays the lottery every week... I'd rather not think about being a billionaire but it would probably involve getting to see my friends and family more often.

Six people you want to know more about?

Only six??? So here is my suggestion... if you are up for it, why don't you try to answer these questions in the comment section. I would love to learn more about you. You can answer just one question or all of them, if you'd like.

And if you haven't tuned me out just yet, let me tell you about these shot glasses. It starts with a layer of chocolate pot de creme that I baked in a very low oven in a water bath. Most people will be shocked that you can bake in glass, as long as it's in a low oven and in a water bath. Of course, there are many glass dishes that are made specifically to go in the oven and obviously in that case, you don't have to worry about anything. But if you are not sure, just bake in a water bath and in low heat, just like a did here.

I made a banana caramel to go on top of the chocolate pot de creme and finished it with a layer of whipped cream flavored with gianduja. I thought the combination of chocolate, banana and gianduja would help you read through this post. I hope you enjoyed it!

Chocolate Pot de Creme

500 ml heavy cream
50 grams sugar
5 egg yolks
125 grams 70% chocolate, chopped

In a saucepan, bring the cream and the sugar to a boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate and whisk until the chocolate melts completely. Temper into the egg yolks. Strain the custard through a fine sieve.

Pour the pot de creme custard in your shot glasses or ramekins. Place these on a sheetpan and bake in a water bath at 300 degrees until set. Because I used tall shot glasses, I baked them on a tall cake pan so I could add enough water to slowly bake the custard.

Banana Caramel

110 grams sugar
40 grams glucose or corn syrup
55 grams butter
225 grams ripe bananas, pureed

Puree the bananas. Place the glucose or corn syrup in a small saucepan. When it starts to melt and bubble up, sprinkle a third of the sugar on top. As soon as that starts to melt and caramelize, add some more sugar. Let that caramelize and add the rest of the sugar. It's ok to stir with a wooden spoon. If some crystalizes, it's ok, let it melt. Add the softened butter, stir and add the banana puree. At this point, turn the heat off but let any chunks of harden caramel melt on the stove.

Pour in a bowl and let it cool. Once cold, pipe on top of the chocolate layer.

Gianduja Cream

1 cup heavy cream
25 grams sugar
25 grams gianduja paste or Nutella

Whip all three ingredients together until stiff peaks form. Pipe this cream on top of the banana caramel.

And since I started talking about what I was doing 10 years ago, let me leave you with the music that was buzzing around in my head around that time...

Teenage Fanclub's "Sparky's Dream"
Surfin' Bichos' "Mi Hermano Carnal"
Red House Painter' "Brockwell Park"

Pistachio, Cashew and Cherry Nougat Glace with Warm Chocolate Sauce

2008-06-12T01:07:00.002-04:00

I dreamt I was in a room full of people. I stood up and said "Hi, my name is Aran and I am a nut addict". I looked over and there was my dad, my brothers, my friend Amaia... All nut addicts. And then I woke up.

I grew up in a household where there was always a basket of raw, unshelled nuts on the kitchen table. Walnuts all year round, hazelnuts mostly in the winter, pistachios... you name it. The nutcracker was always accesible next to the everyday flatware and kitchen knives.

During Christmas time, we always had a cupboard full of turron in our house. There were different varieties, some soft, some chocolate with rice puffs, some made exclusively out of yolks and sugar, but my favorite was always the teeth-breaking "turron duro" which is similar to nougat. Egg whites, honey and cooked sugar made into a stiff marshmallow with whole almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and many other combinations.

I was craving turron but it didn't seem very season appropriate so I remembered the frozen nougat parfait or nougat glace recipe we used to make at my previous job. I adapted it to my own taste but the technique is the same. It is basically, nuts that are cooked in a caramel and added to a meringue and whipped cream mousse. Very, very fresh, light and it has a perfect mouthfeel. Much "fluffier" than ice cream. I molded it into ring molds and also a terrine since I had extra that didn't fit into the rings. For the terrine, I used a small rectangular cake pan but you can use a round cake pan, pyramids, half spheres, anything.

To serve along side with it, I made chocolate sauce and pourred it over the nougat glace while still warm. It instantly dissolves the parfait. Just how I like it.

Pistachio, Cashew and Cherry Nougat Glace

100 grams sugar
30 grams raw pistachios
25 grams raw cashews
25 grams dried cherries, soaked in kirsch, drained and chopped
75 grams egg whites
75 grams honey (I used Acacia)
250 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

In a medium saucepan, sprinkle some of the sugar and turn the heat to medium high. When that sugar starts to melt and slightly caramelize, add some more and let that melt too. Proceed like this until all the sugar has been added and it starts to caramelize. You can stir with a wooden spatula to achieve an even caramelization. When the caramel is amber, add the room temperature nuts and stir until they are roasted. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes.

Spread the nougat over a silpat and let it cool completely. Be careful because this is very hot!

Once it has cooled, chop into small pieces. You can even chop it in the food processor but be careful not to completely pulverize it. Reserve.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and reserve in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the mousse.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites. In the meantime, place the honey in a small saucepan and bring it to a full boil. When the egg whites are whipped, turn the speed of the mixer to low and slowly add the boiled honey on the side of the bowl in a steady stream. When all the honey is in, turn the mixer back to full speed and whip the egg whites until fully whipped and the bowl cools down.

Add the meringue to the whipped cream. Fold gently. Add the chopped nougat and the drained and chopped dried cherries. Place the mousse in a pastry bag and pipe into your molds.

Chocolate Sauce

50 grams heavy cream
50 grams whole milk
15 grams sugar
2 tsp corn syrup
115 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped

In a small saucapan, bring the first four ingredients to a boil. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and when the milk comes to a boil, pour over the chocolate and stir until completely melted.

Serve or store in the refrigerator.

On a different note, I just wanted to tell you about a little interview I had for the Basque Public Radio yesterday. The interview is in Basque therefore not many of you will understand it, but for my Basque readers (and I believe I have a few), you might want to just visit the EITB web and listen to Euskadi Irratia at 11:15am Continental European time (5:15am EST) today.

Eskerrik asko Arka!

Summer Berry Charlotte

2008-06-10T02:50:00.018-04:00

I made this charlotte for no reason other than it's almost summer and we feel it in the air. Friday was the last day of school and that afternoon our pool was full of overjoyeous kids. That always puts a smile on my face. I haven't been spending much time in the kitchen lately but this is so refreshing, so colorful, that I had to make it. My mood needed it. My mood needed something bright, girly, fresh and fruity.

The charlotte is filled with blackberry and raspberry mousse. I added a little bit of raspberry puree to the ladyfingers but it was not enough to make a difference so I didn't include it in the recipe that follows.

I also experimented using my financier flexipan to make the ladyfingers. I usually pipe them free-hand but the mold worked really well because it is the same heigth as the ring mold in which I built the charlotte. There is something about repeated piping that is very therapeutic for me. One of my favorite things to do. Pipe, steady hand, focused mind. My old executive pastry chef, Sebastien, would always try to compete with us to see who could pipe macarons the fastest. We are talking four, five, six full sheetpans in less than 3 minutes. Those were good times.

Ladyfingers
Makes 4 dozen small ladyfingers and 12 small sponge disks

3 organic egg yolks
75 grams sugar
3 organic egg whites
50 grams powdered sugar, sifted
75 grams unbleached all purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg yolks and the granulated sugar until they become very thick and pale (ribbon stage). I only have one bowl for my Kitchen Aid so I have to transfer this mixture to another bowl. Wash the Kitchen Aid bowl.

Whip the egg whites fully and slowly add the sifted powdered sugar. Keep whipping until you have a pretty stiff meringue. Fold the yolks into the meringue and finally fold the flour in.

Pipe the ladyfingers and the disks onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I usually draw lines on the parchment so I can guide myself and pipe equal size ladyfingers. Sift powdered sugar on top and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let them cool.

Blackberry Mousse

100 grams blackberry puree, strained (about 175 grams blackberries)
10 grams sugar
1 sheet of gelatin
100 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Heat the blackberry puree with the sugar. When it comes to a slight boil, remove from heat. In the meantime, soften the gelatin in ice water for about 3 minutes. Add the bloomed gelatin to the puree. Let it cool until it is about body temperature. If we add the hot puree to the cream, it will deflate.

While the puree cools, whip the cream. When the puree has cooled slightly, add it to the cream and fold gently until you can no longer see any streaks of unmixed cream.

Place the mousse in a pastry bag and pipe about half way up the ring mold with the ladyfingers assembled on the edges. Freeze the charlottes.

Raspberry Mousse

100 grams raspberry puree, strained (about 175 grams raspberries)
10 grams sugar
1 sheet of gelatin
100 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Proceed as above. Pipe the mousse on top of the frozen blackberry mousse. Place the charlottes in the refrigerator for the mousse to set.

Decorate with fresh berries on top.

Matcha Diamants and Unexpected Gift Giving

2008-06-08T02:46:00.004-04:00

This past week, I woke up and decided it was time to thank some friends. No apparent reason, just the sheer pleasure of baking something unexpectedly and with full gratitude. These friends have brought me so much joy these last few weeks that it was payback time. Most of the time, I don't need a big production or expensive gift to make me feel this way. A simple smile or some kind words are enough. Besides, there is nothing better than sharing with those that you know will be so grateful and appreciative.

Some of these friends live out of state so I had to take that into consideration when deciding what to ship to them. I thought about making macarons since all my friends seem to love them, but they are too fragile and I decided to go for cookies that would hold well for a couple of days. I made a batch of raspberry financiers, triple chocolate fudge cookies and matcha diamants.

Diamants are very buttery and crumbly cookies that are usually rolled out in a log shape, rolled in sugar, sliced and baked. The green tea is mild and subtle so it's not too overpowering for those who do not like a strong matcha flavor. These cookies really hold well for a couple of days and if you ask me, they get better as they sit for a day.

One of the recipients was kind enough to blog about her little gift... thank you Nadia!

Matcha Diamants

200 grams organic unsalted butter
80 grams powdered sugar
1 organic egg yolk
220 grams unbleached all purpose flour
10 grams matcha powder
pinch of salt
egg yolk to brush the outside
sugar to roll the sable in

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg yolk. Mix and scrape the bowl. Add the flour, salt and green tea. Mix until combined.

Roll the dough into a log that is about 2 inches wide. Wrap in plastic or parchment and refrigerate overnight.

Brush the outside of the log with egg yolk and roll it in the sanding sugar. Cut 1/2-inch circles and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 12 minutes.

I also saw that Fanny made some beautiful ones. She is so amazing... Check them out!

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cookie and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches

2008-06-05T02:39:00.011-04:00

I have a soft spot for mint and chocolate. My love affair started when I was 12 years old and travelled to England for the first time and I discovered After Eights.

My parents started sending my brothers and I abroad for summer exchange programs in hopes to makes us fluent English speakers. Now that I look back, it was the best gift our parents could have given us because we were exposed to different cultures and lifestyles from a very young age. Travelling helped me overcome many of my fears and discover new foods.

The first time I ever participated in one of these summer programs, I went to Dublin with my brothers, where I stayed for an entire month with a wonderful family, the O'Sullivans. I used to get on a bus by myself every morning to go to class. My brothers would often times wait at the bus stop with me and tell me "when you see bus number 33, lift up your arm, get on it and you know where to get off", and they would go off to play golf. Can you believe it? I was 11 years old! But looking back, that's what I needed since I had always been a very fearful child.

So the following year, we spent the summer in London where I was exposed to way too much candy. I think when I went back home after that month, my mother was mortified after seeing how much weight I had gained. Our candy selection back home was a decimal part of what I found at the little convenience store around the corner from the London house I was staying in. Salt and vinegar crisps, chocolate maltballs, Milky Ways and After Eights became part of my everyday bus ride snacks.

The following summer, I spent the entire month of July in Michigan where I was introduced to Baskin Robbins and mint chocolate chip ice cream. That was it for me. That was the beginning of my path of ice cream addiction. A couple of years later, I spent my junior year of high school in Colorado Springs where my host sister and best friend Jill and I would go to Baskin Robbins for mint chocolate chip ice cream any chance we had. It even became a joke amongst our friends. I don't know if she remembers those years as fondly as I do, but that experience truly marked me for the rest of my life.

So this was a long story just to tell you how much I love ice cream sandwiches. I made these last weekend with some mint a neighbor had given me. I like a very minty ice cream so I infused the cream with lots of fresh mint and even added some mint oil. C, however, does not enjoy such a strong mint flavor and claims it tastes a bit like grass. Well, well, well... I didn't add any food coloring thus the plain yellow color, but you most certainly could. The mint does take a bit of a pale green color after it is infused but there are so many egg yolks in the recipe, that the final ice cream turns out fairly yellow.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

500 grams whole milk
130 grams heavy cream
40 grams glucose
150 grams sugar
180 grams egg yolks
20 grams fresh mint leaves
1 tsp mint oil
green food coloring (optional... I didn't add any)
100 grams chocolate chips

In a saucepan, combine the whole milk, cream, mint, glucose and sugar together. Bring to a boil, turn heat off and let the mint steep in the milk for about 30 minutes. After that, return the milk to the stove and bring to a boil. When the milk comes to a boil, temper it into the egg yolks. Whisk. Add the custard back to the saucepan and cook stirring constantly to 84 degrees Celsius.

Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and chill it over an ice bath. When it has cooled, add the mint oil. Taste it and adjust the flavoring. Remember that when the custard is warm, the flavor is more potent and once it is churn, the flavor will dilute a bit so take that into consideration.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let it chill overnight and the next day churn in the ice cream machine. Freeze.

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cookies

2 eggs
160 grams sugar
55 grams unsweetened chocolate
80 grams milk chocolate
80 grams bittersweet chocolate
80 grams butter
40 grams flour
1 gram baking powder
2 grams salt
55 grams milk chocolate chips
110 grams dark chocolate chips

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the eggs and sugar. In the meantime, melt the three chocolates and the butter over a double boiler. When the chocolate has melted, add it to the eggs and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the flour and baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips by hand.

The batter will be very liquid and it will be impossible to scoop it out, so let it rest in the bowl for about an hour or the time necessary for the batter to harden. When it is hard but pliable, using an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls onto a sheetpan lined with parchment or a silicon mat.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies have set. The center might look a little too soft but don't worry as they will dry out as they cool. I prefer a chewy cookie. When the cookies have cooled completely, scoop a little bit of the ice cream on top of one and sandwich with another.