“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.”
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Savarins. It was the Daring Bakers time of the month on the 27th. I missed posting. Missed not because I didn’t complete the challenge, but despite baking very early in the month, something didn’t quite work out right. I lost the steam to post it. Yet, as a part of this fantastic group, I have a larger responsibility so here goes. Better late than never I guess!
Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina challenges us to make a traditional Savarin, complete with soaking syrup and cream filling! We were to follow the Savarin recipe but were allowed to be creative with the soaking syrup and filling, allowing us to come up with some very delicious cakes!
Time to share something that didn’t quite work out right, yet was pretty to photograph. Also time to ponder why. You win some, you lose some. I often lose some but that doesn’t reach my blog. The amount I experiment at home gives me huge ground for failure. Thankfully you are not at that receiving end as who would like to read about the ones that went wrong?
I loved baking these. The dough seemed good too, maybe didn’t pass the windowpane test. They came out looking rustic pretty. I made half the recipe suggested. Even half made loads of mini savarins. Where did the problem lie? Not sure what I did wrong, and why things went astray, but the savarins refused to ‘drink up‘!
I soaked the little ones in an Orange Spice Tea Syrup, then filled the centres with pastry cream. Some were topped with balsamic strawberries and others with candied kumquats. They looked irresistible.
We ate them. They were OK. The kids didn’t ask for seconds immediately. Quite perplexed at the fate as they were rather dry inside. Maybe I should have dunked them in hot spiced tea syrup.
I reserved the larger ones for later. They went into a filter coffee syrup, hot this time, and I had plans for Tiramisu Savarin. I was sure I had figured out the issue. Sadly I hadn’t. The blighters didn’t drink up the coffee and get soaking good! For a paired pastry cream, I had lofty ideas. I added some espresso and homemade irish cream to the pastry cream and whipped up some delicious Tiramisu pastry cream.
Didn’t hit the ball out of the park. At all. The good bit was that I used the little savarins for a food photography 30 day exercise I was part of with Neel @ Learn Food Photography. So many savarins on hand ensured that I had something to shoot for 3-4 days! The above pictures explore depth of field {f2.8/f11/f22}. Today is the last day of the exercise. It was a fabulous learning experience.
Did I regret that the savarins failed? I did feel sad, but didn’t regret it. No! Baking is always a learning experience, this was just a little steeper! I might not try the recipe again since it was quite involved. You can view it here, and I am sure you will have better luck. A lot of Daring Bakers certainly did. Check them out here.
I have included the CrèmePatisserie recipe below, and balsamic strawberries too. It is one that I make in the Thermomix and it takes me all of 7-9 minutes. You can try making it the traditional way keeping the ingredients the same. It’s a yum recipe. I put it to good use on the Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Fallen Gateau. Was delicious!
[print_this]Recipe: Crème Patisserie
Summary: Simple, easy and delicious, a crème patisserie recipe which is very versatile. Pour it over desserts, add whipped cream to it and fill a cake, or pipe into choux pastry.
Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Ingredients:
CrèmePatisserie
200ml milk 2%
60g sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 tbsp {10g} cornflour
1 egg
150ml low fat cream
Balsamic strawberries
200g strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped {optional}
1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
Method:
Crème Patisserie{can be made the day before}
Stove top method
Bring the milk to a simmering boil. Reserve.
Whisk the egg yolk and sugar with a wooden spoon in a big bowl until the mixture becomes pale and light. Stir in the flour slowly until it is thoroughly mixed with the egg mixture.
Pour the boiling milk into the mixture a little by little while whisking continuously to avoid curdling. Then stir in the cream until the mixture is well combined.
Transfer the whole mixture into a pot, with the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean, and heat it under low setting. Stir it constantly with the wooden spoon or spatula scraping the sides and bottom until it has thickened.
Once the custard has thickened, take it off the heat, and strain / pour it into a clean bowl. Cool, cover and chill.
Whip the low fat cream to soft medium peaks. Gently fold into chilled cream patisserie.
Thermomix Recipe
Place sugar and vanilla bean in TM bowl, and process for 30 seconds on speed 10. Add remaining ingredients, plus vanilla bean shell and cook on 90C/Speed 4 for 7 minutes {until thick}. Strain into a bowl immediately to cool. I chilled it overnight.
Balsamic Strawberries
Place all ingredients in saucepan and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the strawberries soften. Strain strawberries, transfer to bowl. Return syrup to pan and reduce to a thick syrup. Pour back over strawberries and cool completely. Can be stored in a jar in the fridge for 4-5 days.
“Cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness! If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!”
C. JoyBell C.
Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes … charming little tea cakes and a nice departure from my recent adventures with bittersweet chocolate. These little babies came together thanks to all the yummy food gifts I get ever so often. I am eternally grateful for them, they offer a constant source of inspiration.
Finla sent me some marzipan when Haan was visiting India a while ago. She sent me sacks full of stuff actually. So much that I think of her every time I bake because there is always a connect at the baking level. I was also at the receiving end of loads of other baking ingredients that another visiting friend from the UK brought for me.
It’s a touching feeling, nice to be at the receiving end I mean. Growing up, being at ‘that‘ end wasn’t always nice. Now it’s all good! For the baker in me, it can’t get better than this.
Summer has arrived in North India with a vengeance. Not yet into May and we are already hitting the 40C mark. The promise of stone fruit, summer berries, litchis, mangoes and melons lures me, but there’s work to do. I need to get the perishables into the fridge. Can’t leave even chocolate out as ‘room temperature‘ is another story!
Everything melts … E V E R Y T H I N G! Even poor Coco looks like she will melt, eyes and all!
So as I sat settling stuff into my ‘baking fridge,‘ I found many yummy ingredients. So rather than settling stuff, I settled down to bake something I had bookmarked – A Lemon Marzipan Cake. It would need to go the lime way though, as we are not a ‘lemon country‘.
My penchant for mini servings and petite cakes cannot be understated. I reached out for my sweet little mini bundt cake tin that I had bought from Old Delhi in 2009. For some reason I didn’t use it until 2 weeks ago. That was the first time {post yet to see light of day} but I was smitten! A mini bundt tray is a brilliant idea.
I loved the Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes. The batter gave me a bakers dozen – 12 mini bundts and one a little bigger! The texture of the batter was interesting; almost thick and sticky. Must have been the golden syrup doing something in there. The consistency was somewhere in between a cake batter and a cookie batter! It did get me a little unsure but then again, it was ready to bake!
This is my first time using marzipan in a cake. It added delicious new dimensions to these petite cakes. The lime and marzipan paired beautifully, the glaze adding a nice touch to them. I like mini bundts because you have the choice of adding a teeny helping of fresh fruit, or a dessert sauce, or whipped cream, maybe even preserves. For food on the go, a picnic or snack box, they are good to go as is!
It’s always fun when the kids get back in from school. The first question always is – what did you do {as in make in food terms} today. All roads lead to the kitchen! From sudden peace and quiet, it’s always a burst of activity, dog happier than ever that the kids are finally home!
So I served them mini bundts with fresh fruit, strawberries and mulberries, and strawberry & mulberry smoothies on the side! Colourful, pretty and fun, I was glad I made these little bundts! Simple, ONE BOWL {yes indeed} and fuss free, it’s a great recipe to have on hand.
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Recipe: Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes
Summary: Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes … charming little cakes that seem perfect for a tea table, picnic, snack box or as a gift. Simple one bowl petite cakes that are fresh and exciting. A Tate & Lyle recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 12 mold mini bundt tray or line a 900g/2lb loaf tin.
Cut the marzipan into small pieces and toss in a teaspoon of the flour. {It’s easier to chop marzipan when it’s chilled}
Sift the remaining flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the butter, Tate & Lyle Fairtrade sugar, Lyle’s golden syrup, eggs, milk and lemon zest and beat together until well mixed and smooth. Fold in the marzipan bits gently.
Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the surface. Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes {or 40-45 minutes for the loaf tin} or until well risen and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Mix the lime juice and icing sugar together and stir until smooth, when the cake is cool drizzle over the top and leave to set.
Note: Serve with fresh seasonal fruit if you like.
“What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate.”
Katharine Hepburn
A Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Fallen Cake adapted minimally from an Alice Medrich recipe. This gateau is like an ugly duckling, almost flourless cake, which gets dressed up to go out. Reminds me of a shakespearean tragedy as it bakes ; the rise and then the tragic collapse. Left ‘undressed’, it’s a moorish, rustic sunken cake, beautiful in my eyes. Barely any flour makes this cake more special.
The Mail Today, a daily in India, invited me for a photoshoot with some selected women home bakers in the National Capital Region. I was asked to carry something I baked for the shoot. It was a last minute thing, and I was all set to go out for an Old Delhi trek with my girlfriends, something we had long planned.
Considering I was the only ‘non commercial‘ home baker amidst all these very talented girls, the oldest among them too {dinosaur age…blah blah blah}, I thought I’d make something different. The Bittersweet Fallen Chocolate Gateau was it! It’s an adaptation of Alice Medrich’s earthy rustic style of baking. It really appeals to me.
One look and I thought it would be good; Alice Medrich never fails. Baked within an hour, it was done as I raced off to catch the metro into Delhi. On the train, I made mental plans on how to dress up the cake as I’d be home late, and the shoot was early the next morning. { Also made a teenie cake for home just we knew if it tasted alright}.
I had a batch of crème patisserie in the fridge. It’s always handy to have on hand. A L W A Y S! Fold in whipped cream to sandwich a cake with, pipe it into eclairs or profiteroles, serve it over cake or fruit, or then just make it into ice cream. So versatile, and so fun!
And there was also a nice little jar of balsamic vanilla basil strawberries in the fridge from the day I made Strawberry frozen yogurt. That would be UPLIFTING and would contrast nicely with the chocolate and crème patisserie. A few fresh strawberries on top, and a sprinkling of mint leaves and I knew I was set.
So simply constructed that I had time to spare the next morning. Thats when I got ambitious and made a dark chocolate lace border to embrace the cake. Once done, the hour drive into Delhi at 30C was not something I had taken into mind. Fortunately for me, the gateau survived.
Mail Todays ‘femail magazine’ editor is the very young and sweet Lipla Negi. Bubbly, energetic, considerate she effortlessly brought the group together. We were meeting each other for the first time, and within half an hour had hit it off.
It’s always nice to meet like minded folk. It doesn’t get better than a bunch of women home bakers I tell you! {The shoot took place at the beautiful Shiro, Samrat Hotel, New Delhi.With it’s signature high ceilings, majestic statues, stone and water interiors, an aura of splendour hits you as you enter.}
As for my Bittersweet Fallen Chocolate Gateau, it was special. Bittersweet chocolate is my first love, and into this gateau went a beautiful Belgian dark 72% chocolate from The Cocoa Trees. It’s one of 40+ varieties of premium chocolates they have on offer. They sent me a variety of dark chocolates to sample – Chocoholic Dark, Belgian dark 72%, Fry Extra Dark 85%, Cadbury Old Gold Dark Original & Old Gold Dark Peppermint. Chocolate heaven I tell you.
The Cocoa Trees is a chocoholic’s dream come true offering over 40 plus varieties of international chocolate brands which include the fine cocoa filled mouse from Ritter Sport, dark smooth chocolate of Anthon Berg, the unmistakable heavenly crunch of Ferrero, chocolaty pralines from Sorini, and many more. A Singapore based chocolate boutique store, The Cocoa Trees, offers a delicious spectrum of branded chocolates which cater to a variety of individual needs. Since its launch in 2011, the boutique store has expanded its presence with its launch of its two new stores at Nature’s Basket, Bandra and R City Mall, Ghatkopar. You can also find one at the Domestic Terminal {T3}, IGI Airport, New Delhi.
Each bar was of premium quality, and divinely delicious. The Cadbury’s Old Gold collection true to it’s name … exquisite. I enjoyed each one of them, deeply satisfying. I also enjoyed the quality it leant to my gateau. Your bake will only taste as good as what goes in.
Thank you The Cocoa Treesfor sending me this fine selection of dark chocolates. The promise of dark chocolate marries really well with strawberries. The Bittersweet Fallen Chocolate Gateau reflects my love of baked desserts, bittersweet chocolate and including fruit in almost everything I do. Thank you Mail Today for the generous feature. Last but not the least, thank you Urban Dazzle for the Cake Plate. I love it and use it often!
Summary: This rustic Bittersweet Fallen Chocolate Gateau is given a charming uplift with a chocolate lace collar. Crème Patisserie & Balsamic Vanilla Strawberries complete the dramatic look to make the chocolate experience even more special. adapted minimally from an Alice Medrich recipe.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:
Bittersweet Fallen Chocolate Gateau
100g bittersweet dark chocolate {72%}
175g granulated sugar {divided 100g + 75g}
120ml boiling water
50g cocoa powder
pinch sea salt
2 eggs, separated
pinch cream of tartar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
25g plain flour
30g almond meal
15ml kirsch
1 tbsp powdered sugar
Topping
100g low fat cream, chilled
Few sprigs fresh mint
Dark chocolate shavings
CrèmePatisserie {1/4 portion}
200ml milk 2%
60g sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 tbsp {10g} cornflour
1 egg
150ml low fat cream
Balsamic strawberries {1/4 portion}
200g strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped {optional}
1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
Method:
Bittersweet Fallen Chocolate Gateau
Preheat oven to 190C. Line the bottom and sides of a 6″ or 7″ springform tin with baking parchment.
Place the egg whites in a clean bowl with the cream of tartar and beat to soft peaks. Add 75g sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Reserve.
Place the bittersweet chocolate in a large bowl and microwave for 1 minute to soften. Add the remaining 100g sugar and boiling water. Whisk until the chocolate has melted completely.
Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks. Whisk until smooth.
Add the cocoa powder, whisk in well.
Now add the kirsch, almond meal and flour. Stir in to mix completely.
Add 2-3 tbsps on the beaten whites to loosen the batter, then add the remaining beaten whites and fold in gently.
Turn batter into prepared tin and bake for about 30-35 minutes {mine took about 45 minutes} until a tester inserted into the centre comes out moist with a few crumbs hanging.
Cool completely in tin on rack.
Gently demold and sift powdered sugar over the top. Serve with cream patisserie and balsamic strawberries if desired.
CrèmePatisserie{can be made the day before}
Bring the milk to a simmering boil. Reserve.
Whisk the egg yolk and sugar with a wooden spoon in a big bowl until the mixture becomes pale and light. Stir in the flour slowly until it is thoroughly mixed with the egg mixture.
Pour the boiling milk into the mixture a little by little while whisking continuously to avoid curdling. Then stir in the cream until the mixture is well combined.
Transfer the whole mixture into a pot, with the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean, and heat it under low setting. Stir it constantly with the wooden spoon or spatula scraping the sides and bottom until it has thickened.
Once the custard has thickened, take it off the heat, and strain / pour it into a clean bowl. Cool, cover and chill.
Whip the low fat cream to soft medium peaks. gently fold into chilled cream patisserie.
Thermomix Recipe
Place sugar and vanilla bean in TM bowl, and process for 30 seconds on speed 10. Add remaining ingredients, plus vanilla bean shell and cook on 90C/Speed 4 for 7 minutes {until thick}. Strain into a bowl immediately to cool. I chilled it overnight.
Balsamic Strawberries
Place all ingredients in saucepan and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the strawberries soften. Strain strawberries, transfer to bowl. Return syrup to pan and reduce to a thick syrup. Pour back over strawberries and cool completely. Can be stored in a jar in the fridge for 4-5 days.
“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.”
Ruth Stout
The Raspberry Pistachio Roulade captures the colours of spring nicely. It’s light, refreshing, moist and quick to make. Even better that you can make it ahead. I made it while experimenting with GF roulades. Made one with just almond meal and didn’t let it bake enough, so it stuck to just about everything in sight. I was really annoyed as I had baked in a hurry!
The word roulade originates from the French word “rouler” meaning “to roll”.
Sometimes you should just sit back and relax and bake with time on hand. Hurry does make curry and that’s just what happened. While the failed roll was baking, I got the filling together. The filling was finger licking good. {My earlier Gluten Free Strawberry Almond Roulade came out really well}
I did unroll the sticky roulade and dry bake it and served up some sort of Eton mess! Yet the filling played on my mind, so another normal Swiss roll was baked at leisure the next morning. The good thing was that the filling was ready!
So while the roll baked and then cooled, I spent the morning out with Coco in my little garden. While I was ‘shooting’ ladybirds, she stuck her nose into every tomato plant, tried to catch a butterfly or two, begged for a game of ball … she’s a little busy body!
I love this part of the year, spring as it should be, but a little muddled up. The weather really warmed up 2 weeks ago and we thought we’d skipped spring altogether.
Then some ‘western disturbances’ etc hit the area, some rain, scattered hail etc. It’s pretty much like Spring now. Whatever it is, it’s nice.
The plants are happy. Tomatoes are GROWING, Thai chilis’ full of flowers, eggplant and lime are in full bloom, and the kumquat tree laden again. The oregano sprigs have taken root and look quite happy, as does the mint. Dill and coriander play home to ladybirds and bees as the flowers on them bloom. Pretty all the way!
Pretty was the roulade too. Baked, rolled, cooled and ready to go, it got put together in a matter of minutes. I dressed it up with a little leftover cream and sprinkles prior to serving.
You could also use a berry preserve, maybe even a bitter marmalade. The filling was given a lift with some white baking chocolate that a friend sweetly sent, gifts like these a constant source of inspiration.
Pistachios went in for colour, and because I just love them! The good thing was that as the Raspberry Pistachio Roulade sat in clingwrap overnight, the cake and the pistachio nuts took in some moisture, the cake becoming beautifully moist. The nuts swelled up and added a nice texture to every bite.
You could just slather it with preserves and serve it for tea, fill it with whipped cream for a comforting dessert on the go, or give it an adult twist spiking the cream with your favourite liqueur. If you use kirsch, you could consider some balsamic cherries in the filling. Another good option might be Frangelico and Nutella, or maybe Kahlua and coffee cream. Let your imagination lead you.
The Raspberry Pistachio Roulade was plated on this classic white ceramic platter from one of my favourite online stores Urban Dazzle. It’s actually a snack platter that accommodates a dip or relish on the side quite nicely. I use it often, and this time it doubled up as a dessert tray! White always works!!
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Recipe: Raspberry Pistachio Roulade
Summary: The Raspberry Pistachio Roulade captures the colours of spring nicely. It’s light, refreshing, moist and quick to make. It’s a nice make ahead simple homey dessert. {serves 6-8}
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Swiss Roll
3 eggs, separated
75g powdered sugar {50+25g}
50g plain flour
1 vanilla bean, scraped
Filling
150ml whipping cream
50g white baking chocolate
3-4 tbsp Castor sugar
30g shelled pistachios
75g raspberry fruit filling {or a fruit preserve}
Slivered pistachios and flower sprinkles for top
Method:
Swiss Roll
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a Swiss roll tin with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites with 25g sugar to stiff peaks. Reserve.
In another large bowl, beat the yolks with the remaining 50g sugar until thick and mousse like. Add the scraped vanilla bean and beat again.
Sift the flour over the yolk mixture and gently fold in.
Next gently fold in the beaten egg whites in 3 lots.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with sliced pistachio nuts if you like.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until light golden brown and firm to touch.
While this is baking, lay out a clean kitchen towel, bigger than the size of the tray, and sift sugar evenly over it.
Once the roll is baked {might look uneven but don’t worry. Mine was uneven, but came together quite fine}, overturn immediately {very carefully} onto the sugar sifted towel, and gently peel parchment off. Trim the edges if required.
Now roll with the towel lengthwise, and leave to cool completely. {The longer side will be the length of the roll}
Cream Filling
Place the white chocolate with 50ml cream in a heat proof bowl and run in microwave for 1 minute {until melted}. Stir until smooth, and then cool.
Beat the remaining 100ml cream and sugar until medium peaks form. Fold in the white chocolate mixture.
Assembling
Unroll the cooled cake, place on a sheet of parchment, and spread the raspberry fruit filling over it with an offset spatula.
Sprinkle over with chopped pistachios.
Sp
read the cream filling over it, leaving a little border right around to avoid the filling oozing out.
Now with the help of the parchment paper, roll it right back into a roll, pulling the paper slightly to make a tight roll.
Place seam down on clingwrap and chill for a couple of hours. {I left mine overnight}. Unwrap gently and lay seam side down on your serving platter.
Pipe over some left over cream filling, slivered pistachios and colourful sprinkles if you like.
Slice with a sharp serrated knife and serve! Happy SPRING!
“The beet is the melancholy vegetable, the one most willing to suffer. You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip…” Tom Robbins
A Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Peanut Butter Filling seemed the best way to hide my gardens bumper crop of this earthy red vegetable. Veggies in my cakes are not new. I’ve made a Chocolate Beetroot Cake in the past, as also Tartines Zucchini & Orange Marmalade Tea Cake, and a Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake. However, the kids have grown up and are pretty much smarter now. They instantly pick the veggies out. More often than never, the poor beet gets the boot.
Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!!
Beets in soup didn’t work; the son hated the red even as my heart sang at the colour. Beets in veggie juice was given a thumbs down … “Do you have to Mama?“. Even the roasted beet salad that I love, didn’t work. Beet greens though went down happily in these Lamb & Beet Green Calzones.
Getting the veggies down isn’t as much a battle any more actually. The daughter LOVES char-grilled broccoli. Pizzas are made with a mushroom sauce, topped with an abundance of balsamic roasted thinly sliced veggies – bell peppers, onions, zucchini eggplant. Chicken and mozzarella play saviour! No one ever figures out what lies beneath!
Funnily enough, I made an absolutely delicious carrot cake in the first week of March. I hadn’t seen the challenge then. The veggies in that case were also home grown and not hidden in the cake. That was the best carrot cake we’ve ever eaten!
Obviously I was in sixes and sevens as I bravely made a beetroot cake. The Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake wasn’t easy to ‘declare‘ and in many ways the fear was within me. I kept thinking of ways to make something good better!
The cake baked nicely in just under an hour. I contemplated filling and frosting, tossing peanut butter and chocolate in my head. Peanut butter frosting was new to me, but one suggested in the recipe. Chocolate ganache was safe, simple and always welcome.
I settled for both. Peanut butter frosting to sandwich the cake, and dark chocolate ganache for the top. It felt safe. I left a single slice for the lad, muttering that I made something in a hurry and he could have it if he wished. Came back to find both the slices on my cake platter which I had just set up for photographs gone! Crumbs!! He announced, “It was really good Mama. Was that peanut butter inside? Really nice cake!“
Day 2: “Is there any cake left Mama. Oh yum! It’s really nice you know. I never thought a peanut butter frosting would taste so nice”! Of course I contemplated {read forever} if I should let the beet cat out of the bag. Nah!! Decided against it. What they don’t know can’t hurt them, but the cake is going to be on the table often!
Do stop by here and check out some novel ways of hiding veggies in your baking the Daring Baker way! Thank you Ruth for the really novel challenge. Thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!!
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Recipe: Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Peanut Butter Filling
Summary: A Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake that is earthy, moist, dark and delicious. The peanut butter filling compliments the cake really well, and can be doubled if you wish to frost the top of the cake with it too. We did love the extra dark chocolate ganache lavished on top though! Minimally adapted from NZ Woman’s Weekly
1-2 tbsp chilled milk {if required for correct consistency}
Chocolate Ganache Topping
100g dark chocolate chips
100g low fat cream
1 tbsp honey
Grated chocolate for garnishing
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line the base and sides of a 7″ round baking tin.
Place the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract in a large bowl and whisk well with a balloon whisk.
Sift the dry ingredients together.
Mix the grated beetroot and chocolate chips.
Alternatively add the flour mix and grated beetroot in 3 lots.
Mix together lightly and place in the tin. Bake for an hour/ until a tester comes out clean.
Cool completely, then slice horizontally.
Peanut Butter Filling
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whip until smooth. Add a tbsp or two of chilled milk to correct the consistency if required.
Also, taste and adjust sweetness if required.
Sandwich the cake with the filling.
Chocolate Ganache Topping
Place the dark chocolate chips, cream and honey in a heat proof bowl. Microwave 1 minute at a time until the chocolate has melted, stirring well each time. Whisk until glossy and cool a little. Pour over the cake.
Pipe rosettes of any left over peanut butter frosting on the ganache once slightly set, grate chocolate over the top if you wish. Enjoy!
” Laughter is brightest where food is best.”
Irish Proverb.
Irish Creme Chocolate Cakes with an Irish Creme Caramel Sauce … there’s something incredibly infectious about the green posts that have been falling into my mailbox the past few days. Irish Soda bread, shepherds pie, Irish coffee shamrock cookies, chocolate stout cupcakes, beer battered broccoli, Irish floats, corned beef & cabbage. I had to join in!
Years ago, working for BA introduced us to St Patrick’s Day as we had a sizable Irish crew. The accents always stood out, charming as could be. In 2009, the Irish accent beat its French counterpart as the world’s sexiest, thanks to stars like Colin Farrell and James Nesbitt! How sweet was that.
Loads of green is sweeping the net for St Patricks Day. I had a bottle of homemade Irish creme in the fridge, one that I made a while ago when some liqueur inspiration hit me. I made some kumquat liqueur then too. It’s still sitting in some cool dark place!
Cleaning out the fridge rewarded me with a quarter jar of leftover Irish creme caramel sauce and some almond praline, all from a recent recipe shoot. With a few hours on hand yesterday, I thought I’d put the leftovers to good use. With time limited, I opted to use a recent flourless chocolate cake recipe just because it was in my head.
That Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Strawberry Mascarpone Gateau served asinspiration for these little cakes. Since I was experimenting with the basic recipe, I made a few changes, including a teeny bit of wholewheat flour to the batter. If you’d like to keep these gluten free, then by all means use the Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Strawberry Mascarpone Gateau recipe. For 6 small cakelets, just half portions of that recipe will do.
I did an espresso meringue topping, sprinkled over with crushed praline just because I enjoyed doing a meringue topping for the earlier cake. Gave me another chance to experiment. I love the play of textures and colours that different methods bring about. Besides, chocolate is always rewarding to play with!
My touch of Irish green come via mint leaves, and the cakes have the delicious Irish creme stamp all over it. I’ve kept the amounts minimum because of the kids. Feel free to pour another spoon in, or give the caramel a good helping of the same. For the Irish Creme Caramel Syrup, stir your desired amount {upto 1/4 cup} of Irish creme through your to-go recipe of caramel syrup just as you’ve finished making it.
What I loved about these most was the meringue topping studded with crunchy praline. That was literally the ‘icing on the cake’! Do make sure you don’t over bake the little cakes. We want them moist and soft. If they do get a little dry, brush them with a strong coffee solution.
If you are short on time, instead of sandwiching them, you could always serve these with single cream on the side. That would make for a quicker dessert as it’s pretty much together already. A dusting of cocoa, a little dressing up with chocolate shavings, a drizzle of caramel … all done!
Happy St Patrick’s Day to you dear readers.
I love the way food connects the entire globe in such delicious ways!
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Recipe: Irish Creme Chocolate Cakes with an Irish Creme Caramel Sauce
Summary: Irish Creme Chocolate Cakes to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. What’s not to love about these little rustic beauties!
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutesIngredients:
Dark Chocolate Cakes
4 eggs, separated
100g vanilla sugar, divided 75g + 25g
1 vanilla bean, scraped
125g dark chocolate, melted
1 tbsp Irish Cream {Baileys or homemade}
25g wholewheat flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp espresso powder
To finish
100ml low fat cream chilled
1 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp caramel syrup
1 tbsp Irish Cream {Baileys or homemade}
2 tbsp crushed praline {or chopped roasted nuts}
Method:
Dark chocolate cakes
Preheat the oven to 180C. Oil 6 X 3″ dessert rings and secure the bases with foil.
In a large clean bowl whip the 4 egg whites with 25g sugar until stiff, reserve.
In another large bowl, beat the 4 yolks with 75g sugar until pale, creamy and mousse like, 5-7 minutes on high speed.
Beat in the vanilla bean.
Sift the wholewheat, baking powder and salt over the yolk mixture, and fold in gently.
Gently whisk in the Irish cream and melted chocolate.
Reserve about 1 cup beaten whites, and fold the remaining whites into the batter.
Divide between rings and bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile beat the reserved white with 1 tbsp sugar and the espresso powder until stiff. Transfer to piping bag.
Remove half baked cakes from over, gently pipe over a swirl onto each cakelet, sprinkle over with crushed praline.
Continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes, until done. Cool completely in rings.
Assemble
Run a butter knife around the edges to loosed the cooled cakes and demold. Slice each horizontally into two. Keep the pairs together.
Whip the chilled cream with powdered sugar until medium stiff. Sandwich the cakes with the cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup. Top with the meringue halves, and drizzle with a little caramel syrup.
