“No self-respecting mother would run out of intimidations on the eve of a major holiday.”
Erma Brombeck
A Stone Fruit Tea Cake must be one of the best ways to use stone fruit in a cake this summer. Light enough to be a snack to satiate that grumbling in the tummy, yet indulgent enough to offer a light summer dessert if served with whipped cream or ice cream! As I write this post, I am desperately trying to get organised as we are due to leave for a vacation to Hong Kong and Sydney tomorrow … and nothing seems to be moving!Ever since summer and stone fruit arrived, I’ve been looking out for options to use them differently. The Google gods are ready to oblige, and enter the magic words and soon I was led to Rima’s beautiful blog. Her Stone Fruit Tea Cakecaught my eye instantly. It was P R E T T Y, and looked like such an elegant tea cake.Back home my stash of stone fruit nudged me to get going. I seriously needed inspiration to begin as the day was dark and dreary, rainy gray, so no fun taking pictures outdoors! I got onto Twitter after absolute ages and boy was I glad to be back! No lack of inspiration there … a great bunch of folk, and a racing time-line sucked me into another world. Then came the nudge to move it …
dazzler2980: @vindee the mood to photograph doesnt always run parallel to the the weather.. SO you should just go for it.
Before I knew it, I was out with the camera and clicking. Thanks for the dazzling nudgeAnita@ dazzler2980… The cake was baked soon after; was an absolute joy to make. The vibrant colours, the expectancy of a new bake, the uneventful release from the pan {very important happiness factor} all made it so worthwhile! I played around with the original recipe a little {which is now more the norm with me} to up the healthy factor some! It was healthy enough with all the fruit in there, but I put in some almond meal as I love the added texture and flavour it lends to bakes. It does make the cake crumb a little heavier as against using only plain flour, yet the end result is certainly delicious; well worth the healthy addition. As was the Gateau Aux Pommes {apple cake} I recently posted, this tea cake is another good example of a snack cake as well as dessert. Fruit bakes pair well with ice cream and low fat cream {my first preference}, and this cake is no exception. Go on, indulge!! We particularly liked the density and body the almond meal gave the cake, and the fruit were wonderful in here!This is a great cake for tea, served warm, but also nice to make ahead and chill. The dieting diva was back from Dubai and literally hacking LARGE slices off, devouring every crumb with pleasure! The cake kept well in the fridge for 3-4 days {covered}. I love this season … and have done a roasted plum and apricot quark panna cotta too, which hopefully will see the light of day {blog-day} sometime!The kids came back refreshed after a good holiday {away from the Mum}, and were spoilt silly by their cousin and her hub in Dubai. They are now back in the clutches of the ‘wicked mother‘ as we embark on phase 2 of the summer vacations headed Down Under {and HKG}. I am already TIRED, and the intimidations on the quote above are running fast & thick!
[print_this]Recipe: NAME
Summary: A Stone Fruit Tea Cake must be one of the best ways to use stone fruit in a cake this summer. Light enough to be a snack to satiate that grumbling in the tummy, yet indulgent enough to offer a light summer dessert if served with whipped cream or ice cream!
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter (for greasing pan)
1/2 cup almond meal {I ground whole almonds}
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
110gms unsalted butter, room temperature
125gm sugar powdered with 1/2 vanilla bean, sifted
2 eggs
1 sachet vanilla sugar for sprinkling over
5 apricots, 5 plums, 3 peaches, 1 cup of cherries {or any combination of stone fruit you like}
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease a round 9″ tart tin with the tbsp of butter.
Run the almond meal, flour, baking powder and salt briefly in a blender to mix
Cream the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes until light. Add the eggs and beat again.
On low speed, add the flour mix in 3 goes and blend until just mixed. The dough will be soft. You can divide this into 2 and chill one half. Push the other half to line the base of your tart pan/ baking tin
Pit and chop the stone fruit, and scatter evenly over the base lined with dough. Sprinkle generously with sugar if your fruit are sour.
Dollop and roughly spread the remaining dough over the top, spreading roughly with an offset spatula. The dough will even out while baking, leaving pretty gaps for the fruit to peep out. Sprinkle over with vanilla sugar.
Bake at 170C for about 30 minutes. The top will feel firm and set. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from pan.
“When the night has come, And the land is dark And the moon is the only light we see No I won’t be afraid, No I won’t be afraid Just as long as you stand, stand by me.”
Ben E. King
These are lyrics of one of my favourite songs, the words, the tone, the tenor … all pure comfort! I’m sorry it’s been a while and I have to admit life seems to have got the better of me. Summer has hit us splat on, the kids now on summer vacation and the headless chicken dance doesn’t seem to end. Is it something with me being disorganised, or is it just a sign of the times … so much to do and so little time!The last 2 weeks whizzed by getting visas organised etc {we need visas on our passports to go practically anywhere, except HKG maybe!!} Heat and dust, electricity power cuts, teens at their trying best, parents at their coping best or worst {still trying to figure that last one out} … and then the desire to blog!Nothing adds up to a balanced equation…
We put the kids on a flight to Dubai for 5 days where they are being spoilt silly by their sweet cousin. I figured I had 5 ‘whole‘ days to catch up, and had grand plans. 2 days are gone and I’ve hit panic mode. Nothing done as I am still trying to get back my lost energy … the heat saps you of most, and bringing up kids drains the rest.Getting to the foodie bit now. I haven’t baked for a few days with all this running around, so I’ve dug into my archives for an apple cake that I made last month, one I meant to post, but didn’t quite get there. It’s a minimally adapted recipe from Tartlette, one that spells COMFORT! It’s like an old fashioned cake, almost crossing into a steamed pudding, and holds wonderful old world charm.
Of the cake Helene says, “I am pretty sure that most French people reading are familiar with the “Gateau aux Pommes 5-4-3-2-1” that the brand Tupperware® introduced during home demonstrations of their products. A very simple, very unassuming and particularly delicious apple cake, soft and moist all the way through. It was especially known for its creamy butter and sugar topping forming a tempting thin crust while baking.“
I made it with apples. Possibly it should work well with peaches, maybe apricots too. I skipped the cardamom in it as I’m not a huge fan of cardamom in bakes, but you can add a tsp in with the flour. You could sprinkle the top with slivered almonds like I did here, and also for Marie Helen’s Apple Cake from Dorie Greenspan ‘Around My French Table’. That and a dusting of sugar prettied it up!!I made several small cakes in ramekins lined with cupcake liners {to aid easy removal} and a 4″ cake in a spring-form tin. This was indeed a simple, comforting, unassuming apple cake, delicious and moist, with the promise of old world charm. A couple of tablespoons of unsweetened low fat cream make it even more addictive!
[print_this]Recipe: Gateau Aux Pommes {Apple Cake}
Summary: A simple, comforting, unassuming apple cake, delicious and moist. A couple of tablespoons of unsweetened low fat cream make it even more addictive! Recipe adapted minimally from Tartlette.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients for the cake:
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup low fat milk
1/4 cup low fat cream
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
2 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
Ingredients for the topping:
5 1/2 tbsp {80g} unsalted butter, at room temperature
“Chocolate is the only aromatherapy I need.”
Jasmine Heiler
I have a special love for layered cakes, and find them charming and whimsical. Some months go by without an anniversary or birthday and ‘no party cake‘ months makes me sad, as April seemed to be! There was a cake I longed to bake, an old fashioned chocolate cake on Barbara’s beautiful blog. Old fashioned always makes a connect with me, telling tales of days gone by in old stone kitchens and huge ovens where ladies gathered together to bake, sharing recipes and experiences, strengthening friendships that would last a lifetime …Cut to now. Visiting food blogs always leaves me INSPIRED! The quintessential question … What to make and what not to? This one cake was high on my list, and then came along The Secret Recipe Club, the brainchild of the very talented & sweet Amanda of Amanda’s Cookin’. The idea behind the club – Each month you are “assigned” a participating food blogger to make a recipe from. It’s a secret, so don’t tell them you are making something from their blog!The blog assigned to me was one of my favourite food bloggers – sweet, generous, fun girlfriend Barbara @ Barbara Bakes. I was THRILLED, and knew just what to bake – her Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake with Maraschino Cherry Filling. I had 2 boxes of lush, red strawberries, so I decided to go with a balsamic strawberry filling. I knew they would pair well too!What caught my attention about the cake when I saw it first was that it was EGGLESS, yet so moist and delicious looking. I am often asked by my readers for eggless cake recipes. I’ve posted 2 eggless recipes a while ago, both cakes very nice. Yet this one is special because it is a layered cake, eggless, no butter and chocolaty moist! I filled it with a balsamic strawberry and cream filling, and slathered it with a deep decadent chocolate ganache using a 65% dark chocolate – divine!Eggless cakes always seem challenging to me as I’m impatient to get to the other end. Will they ‘deliver’ the promise of a good moist cake, rich in taste and flavour? Is there something I can offer my readers who often ask for an eggless cake recipe? This cake lived up to the promise and DELIVERED a wonderful cake, good to the last crumb {a cake that didn’t last long!} Strawberries and chocolate are a fantastic pairing and this is a great make ahaed cake as the flavours get mature over a couple of hours. I set the cake out about an hour before it had to be served.Mr PAB has not stopped singing praises of it as yet. This was immensely enjoyed by everyone and is certainly one not to be given a miss! If possible make it in 2 cake tins. I trimmed the cake with an 8″ dessert ring, and trimmed off a sliver thin slice from the top and bottom, and then sliced the cake ito 4 even layers. As the weather has turned very very warm already, I layered the slices with the filling and left it to set in the dessert ring for an hour {while we had lunch}.The rest of course was just a simple ganache to cover the cake, and the quickest way to dress it up that I know of, a web. Thank you GF for blogging this absolute winner, and thank you Amanda for assigning me Barbara’s blog. This is my first ‘secret‘ recipe of The Secret Recipe Club, and it’s been a FUN beginning. Here’s to many more!!
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Old Fashioned {Eggless} Layered Chocolate Cake with Balsamic Strawberries & Cream
Summary:This recipe is adapted from Cuisine at Home, taken from Barbara Bakes. This is an old fashioned eggless chocolate cake, which turns out moist and delicious. It’s a great one to make for vegetarians, or people who are allergic to eggs. Use a filling of your choice. I used seasonal strawberries to make mine.
Cake Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract Preparation
Preheat oven to 180ºC with rack in the center. Line the bottom of 1 9″ spring form tin.{If you can, use two 9×2 inch round cake pans}
Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. {Don’t use a mixer.}
Combine water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined, a few lumps are OK. Turn batter into prepared tin {or divide batter between pans if using 2}, then bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes for 1 or 35-40 minutes for 2.
Cool cake on a rack for 15 minutes, then invert them onto the rack.. Leave cake upside down (this flattens domed cakes) to cool completely.
Slice into 4 layers, and sandwich with filling {recipe follows}. Allow to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes, and then frost with the chocolate ganache {recipe follows} Filling
Ingredients
300ml low fat cream
200gm strawberries, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
1-2 tbsp powdered sugar Preparation First prepare filling: Place strawberries, sugar, scraped vanilla bean and balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan, and simmer till it becomes thick and jam-like. Cool completely.
Beat cream to medium stiff peaks, and gently fold in cooled strawberry mixture, taking care not to release the volume of the cream. Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
200gms dark chocolate, room temperature
150ml low fat cream, room temperature Preparation
Place the chocolate and 100ml of cream in a heatproof bowl and microwave for 30-40 seconds {if the weather is warm as it is here, else try for minute}. You can also simmer it in pan until the chocolate melts. Stir well to combine both into a smooth ganache.
Give the cake one basic thin coating with this ganache, and reserve some for piping decorations. Add the remaining 50ml cream and mix until smooth.
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Just got a mail from Babble.com – “Congratulations! You are a Readers’ Choice Mom Food Blogger for 2011! Your blog has been nominated by the public as a supplement to our Top 100 Mom Food Blog list. Clearly your blog is a fan favorite when it comes to the best family-friendly recipes on the web, and we are so happy to recognize your achievements!” {Vote here}
“There is so much power in food”
@pennydelosantos on Twitter
Time for our monthly date with the Daring Bakers. March has been a month that has crawled on a sad note with the natural calamity in Japan causing heartbreak. If an earthquake wasn’t bad enough, the tsunami that followed completely shattered the nation, and the world that watched in shock. Japan has withstood this catastrophe bravely and strongly, the Fukushima 50 continuing to risk radiation exposure in an attempt to secure the nuclear plant. The situation in the prefecture continues to pose serious challenges and the world watches in HOPE while the brave ‘Samurai soldiers’ battle on…
The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.
I made the yeasted meringue coffee cake 2 days after the natural calamity, and Japan was the only thing on my mind the whole time. The unfairness of the scale, the rush of tsunami waters with natures fury tossing cars, ships, trucks like little toys still does not leave me. Now a radiation spike in sea waters near the tsunami stricken nuclear power station … no answers to why the nation has had to suffer so much. Yet the people manage to stay calm, composed and ever so strong. I admire their resilience and strength!I gratefully thanked the Daring Kitchen that day; doing the challenge offered some amount of therapeutic relief. While waiting for the dough to rise, my mind wandered to troubles in Japan yet again, the news channels rolling and re-rolling videos that were coming in. It’s very frightening and surreal to see a HUGE ship floating into a city and cars trying to escape the horror in their path. What could I do with this challenge to give it a shade of creativity? I remembered a post that Michelle had posted on Big Black Dogs about ‘Painted Bread’. It was a beautiful post taking a trip down memory lane to a bakery she visited as a child in Akron and attempted to recreate her memories in her post. You must check out her post and tutorial to learn how dough can be sculpted into roses.I couldn’t get onto her blog since the internet cables had been severed the previous evening {that’s been the bane of my life the past months though I do manage to get some work done from my Mum’s computer}, so I did what I could from memory. On the sweet yeasted coffee cake rests a single rose, and on the savoury version rests HOPE … both my cakes for Japan. The rose, particularly the leaves, got coloured a golden brown as I used light pastels in the egg wash and the heat of the oven browned the bread more than I would have liked.While the sweet version was baking, I sculpted out ‘HOPE‘ for the savoury version, giving it a postbox red colour-wash in the hope that it would fare better. It did. It was a fun challenge as I knew it would be. The recipe soure carried that promise… Jamie found this recipe on a piece of yellowed paper in her dad’s collection of clipped out and hand-written recipes from the 1970’s, no source, no date, and she tried the recipe and it was brilliant!The sweet version got a huge thumbs up from the teen. It was wonderful warm with loads of flavour and a very light crumb. I think I rolled the dough too thin as I didn’t get the airy texture that Jamie had, but it was delish all the same.The lad preferred the cheesy savoury version, much like a pizza he exclaimed, and asked for seconds and thirds. I preferred the savoury version too as I don’t have a very sweet tooth and the oven roasted tomatoes with garlic and fresh herbs were delicious.The past few weeks have crawled on a low note, on the home front and on the internet front too. I managed to read just a handful of blogs this week and find that a lot of us are caught in the rigmaroles of everyday life, facing daily challenges, ups and downs etc, yet in many ways these pale in comparison to the HUGE challenge that the people of Japan face each passing day. Do join me in extending a special thought for them.
Thank youJamie & Ria for the fun and delicious challenge, and thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!! Do stop by HERE and check out how beautifully the other daring bakers have ‘risen’ to the challenge!
Summary: A charming and ‘adaptable to many flavours‘ yeasted coffee cake, from an old undated recipe, source unknown. I make a savoury version as well which was delicious!
Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:
{I used half this dough for the sweet version, and half for the savoury version}
4 cups {600 g} flour
¼ cup {55 g} vanilla sugar
¾ teaspoon {5 g} salt
2 ¼ teaspoons {7 g} active dried yeast
¾ cup {180ml} milk
¼ cup {60 ml} water
½ cup {100g} unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
For the meringue:
3 large egg whites {I used 1/2 quantity for sweet and 1/2 for savoury} Sweet
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cup {55 g} sugar Savoury
½ teaspoon salt
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp sugar For the sweet filling:
1/2 cup {55g} chopped pecans or walnuts
1/3 cup homemade bitter orange marmalade
1/2 cup {55g} dark chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate
1/2 cup tart dried cherries For the savoury filling:
50gms ripe, firm tomatoes, halved
6-7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Fresh oregano
Extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup Gouda {or cheddar}, grated
Sea salt and pepper for topping
Egg wash:
1 beaten egg yolk
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted.
With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes.
Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together.
Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes.
The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.
Thermomix version
, place all dough ingredients in the bowl of the TM. Process at Speed 6 for 10 seconds to combine. Then put dial to closed position, and knead at interval speed for two minutes. Turn onto a floured surface, form into a ball and place in oiled bowl for first rising
Prepare your filling:
Sweet:
In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips, walnuts and tart dried cherries.
Savoury:
Place the tomatoes cut side up, sprinkle with chopped garlic, sea salt, freshly ground pepper and fresh oregano.
Roast in a moderate oven / 180C for about 30-45 minutes. Cool, peel if desired and chop.
Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:
In a clean mixing bowl –
ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom
– beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque.
Divide into 2 if making the sweet and savoury version.
Sweet version:
Add the vanilla then start adding the 1/4 cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
Savoury version:
Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp dried herbs and beat until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
Assemble the Coffee Cakes:
Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Punch down the dough and divide in half.
On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle.
Sweet version:
With an offset spatula spread the bitter marmalade to about 1/2 an inch from the edges and top uniformly with the sweet meringue. Sprinkle over the reserved mixed walnuts, chocolate chips and tart dried cherries.
Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal. Using sharp kitchen scissors {or a sharp knife} make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch intervals.
Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.
Savoury version:
With an offset spatula spread the savoury meringue and sprinkle with the roasted tomatoes, followed by the grated cheese.
Repeat the rest as for the sweet dough.
Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Sprinkle vanilla sugar over the sweet cake, and sea salt and fresh pepper over the savoury one.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.
“Food imaginatively and lovingly prepared, and eaten in good company, warms the being.”
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
As a CSN Preferred Blogger, I was offered the option of another product review or giveaway. I chose the latter which I’d like to pass to my US/Canada readers. The giveaway is valid for US and Canada residents only, as CSN can only ship for free there, though if you have a US/Canada address or would like to gift something to a friend or relative there, do feel free to enter. CSN’s product categories cover everything from cookware, office furniture, bunk bed-office combinations and fitness equipment to gaming chairs, grills, greenhouses and much much more.
To win this ‘One-time-use $75 Gift Certificate’ all you need to do is to visit CSN Stores and tell me which product you would buy if you won this giveaway. Do leave a valid email address in your comment before midnight 01 March 2011. The winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced thereafter. He/she will have 48 hours to respond, else a new one will be drawn.
Now, back to writing about what I like best, BAKING!! Was baking chocolate granola for the nth time the other day, and the teen suggested using blueberries. Something went TING in my head, and I suddenly remembered my stash of dried blueberries that had arrived from the UK not so long ago. It was cake baking day too, so I decided to bake my fave recipe buttermilk pound cake with a twist of lime and blueberries.Blueberries & lime – a combination made in heaven, makes for beautiful pairing.The buttermilk in the pound cake gives it a beautiful, light crumb. The cake tastes very nice warm, and is great the next day as well. The dried blueberries rehydrate with the lime and buttermilk and add glory to the cake. This is one basic cake I make ALL the time, the recipe lives in my head.It’s an amazingly versatile recipe and takes any number of flavour combinations willingly. Versions I’ve tried before include lime buttermilk cake with a lime glazing, orange chocolate-chip, coffee chocolate-chip, plain chocolate, and even a chocolate-vanilla marble cake. See, I told you I make this very often, or at least used to until the teen began dieting…… She now checks the ingredients before taking a bite, and exhales a loud “ewwww!!!” if she as much as hears the word b u t t e r ! Drama in everyday life, so it’s been a while since I made this … 2-3 weeks actually. I did a tangerine yogurt cake yesterday {read low fat, oil not butter}, and will hopefully post that soon.
Blueberries Lime Buttermilk Pound Cake
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour {or 100% plain flour for a lighter crumb}
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup vanilla sugar
2 eggs
100ml buttermilk {or substitute recipe below}
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Juice of 2 limes {or 1 lemon}
Zest of 2 limes {or 1 lemon}
2/3 cup dried blueberries To make buttermilk substitute at home:
Take 100ml milk at room temperature and add 1 tsp of white vinegar. Let it stand 5-10 minutes. When it curdles, it’s ready to use. Method:
Grease and flour the sides of a 8″ ring tin, or a 6″ round tin. Line the bottom. { I play safe line the sides too}.
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Mix the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl with a whisk. Reserve.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat in eggs, followed by the vanilla extract, lime juice and zest.
With the beater on low speed, add the flour mix and buttermilk alternately in three lots. Gently fold in the dried blueberries.
Bake for 50-60 minutes till golden brown on top, and the tester comes out clean.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
~
As I write this post, my heart and thoughts are with the people of New Zealand which has been devastated by the most horrific earthquake. It just seems to unfair, so tragic … the scale of loss unbelievable.
The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.
HAPPY 2011 you wonderful peeps. It’s the first daring ‘time’ of the year, and this challenge lived up to the name D A R I N G! This was a challenge, and certainly not one for the faint hearted which was how I felt when I read and re read it. For starters, I couldn’t figure out the imprime from the entremet, all gobbly gook to my mind, terms I had fleetingly read before yet never gave much thought to.
Truth be told, I almost never got down to doing it. For 3 days the almond flour mix sat on the counter staring at me, and I merrily baked around it. Then it was time for cake as it was SILs birthday. I couldn’t muster up the courage so fell back on thoughts of making a Strawberries & Cream Mac-o-range Cake that I had recently made for a friend. But guilt is a strange friend, and ribs you till you give in.I did feel guilty… and eventually gave in to the challenge, and a challenge it certainly was. Finally, after a long time, a challenge to shake the daring bit in me. I admit I was unsure, almost frightened and on totally alien ground. I made the pattern and just left it in the freezer overnight as I didn’t want to mess it up. The next morning was breezy easy though, as all I had to do was make the joconde batter & pour it on. I had 3 trays. The first was obviously too close to the heat source {element below} and my pattern got ‘brownish’ hues. UGH! So I went with using just the upper element for tray number 2 and 3 and that worked really well. I did I small portion with instant coffee too, and as you can see that pattern really came out well! WOOT…satisfaction!!
Entremets (French baking term)- an ornate dessert with many different layers of cake and pastry creams in a mold, usually served cold.
A joconde imprime (French Baking term) is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. A joconde batter is used because it bakes into a moist, flexible cake. The cake batter may be tinted or marbleized for a further decorative effect. This Joconde/spongecake requires attentive baking so that it remains flexible to easily conform to the molds. If under baked it will stick to the baking mat. It over baked it will dry out and crack. Once cooled, the sponge may be cut into strips to line any shape ring mold.
My pink patterned joconde might have looked much better, had my strawberry mirror not decided to step off the top. It wasn’t quite the perfect consistency {in hindsight I should have cooled it a lot more} and some portion of it went over the edge, between the entremet and mousse strips and made a slight mess. Even the chocolate mousse should have been cooled a bit more. Another change ‘next time’ will be to sprinkle the chopped strawberries over the Bavarian cream, rather than before. I think they pressed into the chocolate mousse, and should have really stayed with the Bavarian. Oh well… lessons learnt!!The entire experience of the joconde, the enteremet, the assembly and the mousse was fabulous. A real daring challenge, and a wonderful learning process. The cake was MUCH loved {even though I wasn’t a 100% happy with the looks}. The taste was great with the deeply decadent dark chocolate mousse beautifully complimenting the light as air strawberry Bavarian cream. Great marriage of flavours and very,very indulgent. I wanted a better looking joconde, and a better looking cross section for the strawberry entermet, yet the espresso entremet I made a week later made up for everything! {The sponge stayed fine in the fridge cut into strips, with the mousse in place, for a week! Baking & dessert making in winter is good!!}I had enough joconde to line the 8″ cake, make a bottom for it, and still plenty left for some coffee joconde. Those were 3 smaller portions, topped with a layer of the chocolate cream, followed by an espresso panna cotta. I whirred the trimmed cake bits in the food processor and folded them through the panna cotta to give it some body! Worked well and didn’t collapse. The taste was fabulous too! I had left over panna cotta-cake crumb mix, which I set in the coffee mugs, topped with pipings of the patterned patterned joconde-decor paste. Nothing wasted!!
All is all this has been a fantastic challenge, and a huge learning experience. The coffee imprint gave me a sense of how beautiful a sponge imprint can actually be, and this is such a versatile beautiful medium. Hail Daring Bakers, I’ve felt challenged after ages, and this was top stuff. I loved it!
Thank youAstheroshe for the exciting and daring challenge, and thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!! Do stop by HERE and check the ‘stamps’ that our other daring folk have left around the globe.
Thank you Suma @ Cakes & Bakes for sending me the mousse strips. They were fantastic!
Joconde imprime /entremets Recipe Source: From Chef John O, The International Culinary School in Atlanta, Georgia USA. Joconde Sponge
YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan
¾ cup almond flour
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons icing sugar
¼ cup cake flour *See note below
3 large eggs
3 large egg whites
2½ teaspoons white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted *Note: How to make cake flour: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/09/how-to-make-cake-flour/ Method:
In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour.
On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light.
Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
Fold in melted butter.
Reserve batter to be used later. Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste
{I made half of this}
YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan
14 tablespoons/200g unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups plus1½ tablespoons Confectioners’ (icing) sugar
7 large egg whites
1¾ cup cake flour
Food coloring gel, paste or liquid COCOA Décor Paste Variation: Reduce cake flour to 6 oz / 170g. Add 2 oz/ 60g cocoa powder. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together before adding to creamed mixture. Method:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
Fold in sifted flour.
Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation. Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:
Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch thick onto silicone baking mat {I used parchment} with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan. Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.
Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.{I froze it overnight}
Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
Bake at 250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.
Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Peel off parchment gently. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! {The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting}
Preparing the MOLD for entremets:
Start with a large piece of parchment paper laid on a very flat baking sheet. Then a large piece of cling wrap over the parchment paper. Place a spring form pan ring, with the base removed, over the cling wrap and pull the cling wrap tightly up on the outside of the mold. Line the inside of the ring with a curled piece of parchment paper or mousse strips overlapping top edge by ½ inch. CUT the parchment paper to the TOP OF THE MOLD. It will be easier to smooth the top of the cake.
Chocolate Cream
2 egg yolks
40gm caster sugar
100ml milk
150ml low fat cream, {25% fat}
1 vanilla bean, scraped
200gm dark chocolate, chopped Method:
Simmer the milk, cream and vanilla bean and leave to steep for 30 minutes.
Beat the yolks with sugar until pale & creamy.
Bring to a simmer again, and pour about 1/2 cup over the beaten yolks, stirring quickly with a balloon whisk to incorporate fully. Pour this back into the remaining milk/cream mixture in the pan, and continue to cook over low heave until the custard thickened and coats the back of the spoon. {Make sure it doesn’t boil} Remove from heat immediately, and strain over the chopped dark chocolate. Stir until smooth. Cool well, until it loses the heat but is still pour-able, yet quite thick. Pour about an inch over the cake base, and allow to set completely in the fridge, at least an hour, before adding next later. Strawberry Bavarian Cream
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup vanilla sugar
1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp milk
1 1/4 tbsp gelatin {reduce to 1 tbsp if you use high fat cream}
400m cream (25% fat)
400gms strawberries Method:
Whisk the egg yolks with a balloon whisk with 1/3 cup of vanilla sugar until smooth.
Simmer 1/2 cup of milk and 200ml cream with 1 scraped vanilla bean, bean included. Turn off heat and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. Bloom gelatin in 3 tbsp of cold milk
Put the pan back on simmer. Once the milk mixture comes to a boil, take it off the heat and whisk into the yolk mix, somewhat like in French pastry cream.
Return to a heavy bottom pan, and place on medium heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly.
Take off and whisk in bloomed gelatin. Strain and leave to cool. {You can quicken the cooling by stirring the bowl held over a bowl of ice.}
Once it is completely cooled, whip 200ml of cream with 1-2 tbsp of Castor sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla extract, and fold it into the custard gently but thoroughly. You will notice the Bavarian thickening. Sprinkle chopped strawberries over the set chocolate cream, and pour the Bavarian mousse over. Leave to set overnight. Espresso Panna Cotta with cake crumbs
500ml low fat cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp espresso powder
1 tsp instant coffee
1.5 tbsps gelatin, bloomed in 1/4 cup water
1 cup cake crumbs, from left over joconde trimmings Method:
Steep the espresso and coffee powder in 1/4 cup heated cream for 10-15 minutes to intensify the flavour.
Combine the cream, sugar and steeped cream and simmer till it comes to a slow boil.
Take the cream mixture off the heat. Whisk in the gelatin, strain & allow to cool, but not set. Continue to stir it so that a skin doesn’t form. Stir in the cake crumbs.
Pour over the cold chocolate cream, and let set undisturbed overnight.
