“Gastronomy is and always has been connected with its sister…
…art of love.”
M.F.K. Fisher
14th morning is always an action replay of the days gone by. He will come and announce {without fail} that we first met on the 13th of Feb many years ago. 21 years!! Can’t believe it’s been that long. Mr PAB has a memory that astounds me, and in many ways is my personal journal – birthdays, anniversaries, who died when etc, each day with marked by an event significant to the time elapsed. He offers me time-lines whether I want it or not, often a balm to my cluttered mind. I do the more mundane practical stuff – insurances, bank work, bills, payday for Man Friday, the gardener etc!Red is the colour of passion or so they say. IMHO, V Day is much over-hyped and a commercial oversell for new lovers! Me? Give me the vibrant colours of nature and I’m inspired. Roasted red bell pepper sauce, a fiery yet sweet Sriracha {finally made it and it’s yum!}, strawberries … all colour my world. {Daughters red painting too!}I am far from a mushy V Day person, yet there’s something magnetic about all the red one sees around this time of the year. It tends to get to me, making me obsess about a Valentine Day special, for PAB though. Blogs are resplendent with sweetheart desserts, one more charming than the other, often more amazing than any you’ve ever seen, and they egg me on to post some love on V Day too.I fell for the trap of this love filled or rather love-fueled day. More red & more l♥v after the heart shaped Strawberry Meringue Chocolate Layer Cake. The bazaar is still flooded with the most gorgeous red strawberries, the second annual wave in India every year. The fruit & veggie vendor, or fruitwala, is a persuasive fellow, charming me with the shiny red berry. Knocks off a fraction of the price. ‘Specially for you,‘ he says. In my heart I know he says this to many regulars, but I get talked into it and come back in a gleeful mood.What shall I make is the eternal question? Waffles are really on top of my list since I saw El’s gorgeous Belgian Waffles post, but after a headless chicken dance on soccer Saturday, a Sunday morning waffle exercise falls flat. By the time we get our act together, it’s almost time for lunch. The teen has been up doing art work since 5am and at 8am decides its time for nap number 2.Wild horses can’t drag the dieting diva out of bed … so dessert it has to be!Rough puff pastry in the freezer is a bad thing, possibly worse than I ever thought it would be. Do you think so too? It has hypnotizing powers and is the easiest thing to have in the freezer. Did me in for World Nutella Day when I made Nutella Strawberry Puff Pastry Hearts.It threw me a line of temptation yesterday too.Quick check of the fridge revealed low fat cream, home made easy lemon curd, strawberries and of course rough puff pastry! Time for mille fueille, the classic French dessert which holds endless charm, and one I’ve never baked before. If you have puff pastry on hand, this is an indulgent dessert on fast track. I used whipped lemon curd cream instead of pastry cream, the latter I think is quintessential to the classic version. Also cut out a few hearts on top to go with the ♥VDay♥ theme, gave the tops a brushing of egg yolk, and sprinkled some vanilla sugar on top {which you can see got caramelised}. I suppose regular puff pastry would yield a more layered Napoleon vis-a-vis rough puff pastry, but the later is simpler to make at home and is fine with me.
The Napoleon is a pastry made of many layers of puff pastry with filling alternating the layers. It can be eaten as a dessert, or even as a decadent meal. As a French pastry it is called mille-feuilles, or thousand leaves, and it is usually filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, and fruit preserves – most often raspberry jam. The topping may be simply powdered sugar, or a layer of fondant, often with strings of chocolate drawn into a chevron design. In Italy, where the pastry is thought to have originated in Naples, it is called mille foglie (again, thousand leaves), and contains a similar layering like the mille-feuilles of cream, pastry cream, and fruit preserves. A traditional napoleon is filled with plain pastry cream but if desired you may add a thin layer of fruit preserves such as seedless raspberry or strawberry jam or preserves to the filling.
Roll out the puff pastry to a 1/4″ height, trim the edges, and cut into 9 equal rectangles. Cut out hearts in 3 of them if you like, and place rectangles and cut out hearts on a baking tray.
Place tray in the freezer while you preheat the oven to 225C.
Brush the pastry with the glaze, sprinkle with vanilla sugar if using, and bake for 20-25 minutes till puffy and golden.
Cool on racks, and then carefully split each horizontally into 2 with a sharp knife. or the tines of a fork. {You can get 3 layers if you use regular and not rough puff pastry}
Whip the cream to medium peak, and then gently but thoroughly fold in the lemon curd. The cream should thicken quite well now. {You won’t need to add sugar as the lemon curd is quite sweet on it’s own.}
Reserve the heart cut out layers for the pastry tops. {I used the tops and bottoms to give me ♥ cut out tops}
Spread about 1 1/2 tbsp of the whipped lemon curd cream on the bottom layer, and layer with strawberry slices. Top with a middle layer of pastry. Repeat and finally top with remaining pastry layers. Garnish with sliced strawberries if you like. Chill up to 1 hour.
“Sometimes you don’t need a goal in life, you don’t need to know the big picture. you just need to know what you’re going to do next!”
Sophie Kinsella
It was a recipe that changed my view on breakfast, and my life as far as the teen daughter goes. The son has never been a problem with breakfast. In fact, much to my horror, he sees it as a 3 course meal. Begins with a glass of milk, next munches happily through a hot house egg{thanks to Roald Dahl}, then makes himself comfortable with a bowl of cereal! For her, it’s only a glass of milk and maybe the odd omelet. ‘I’m on a DIET’, she whines, and doesn’t eat! The lad is forever hungry & happily eats whatever is on offer. She can be heard scrabbling in the kitchen from time to time, “I need FOOD, I’m HUNGRY, but I’m on a diet, so can’t eat!”. I often battle her over breakfast where she would rather go hungry than eat a healthy breakfast. That was about to change. She draws for hours together, art her favourite subject in school, and then emerges from her ‘den’ ravenous! That black & white art-work above is a paper bag she recently designed for a project in school. Took her four hours to complete it … then the hunger pangs hit!I’ve made granola bars before, yet I never imagined this recipe would hit such a high note with her! The mister has muesli for breakfast every morning, and that day the box lay empty. The brand I normally buy wasn’t in stock, so I was quite cheesed off. Began surfing for muesli recipes that morning… I am glad I stopped by Bea’s gorgeous La Tartine Gourmande. Canelle et Vanille had a story on Aran’s little M and Bea’s little Lulu. It’s been an amazing journey following the 2 babies, from when they were born, to milestones along the way, their first foods, often cross connections on these 2 beautiful blogs. I love the way some foodblogs I follow create a connect with the journey of their life with food as a base …I followed Aran’s story over to Bea’s, and halted in my tracks. Breakfast couldn’t get easier than this.
Both granola and muesli contain a mixture of grains (such as oats), nuts, dried fruit and sometimes bran and wheat germ. Muesli may contain sugar and dried-milk solids, but it can be unsweetened. Granola is typically toasted with honey and oil, resulting in a crisp texture and sweet glaze not found in muesli. Because granola contains the addition of honey and oil, it tends to have a higher sugar and fat content. As a result, granola is, on average, higher in calories than muesli. Both granola and muesli offer nutritional benefits. Both have fiber from the grains, fruits and nuts. In addition, the dried fruits provide antioxidants, while the nuts offer healthy fats. Topping either muesli or granola with low-fat milk, soy milk or yogurt makes for a nutritionally balanced, filling breakfast. Most people do not realize that muesli and granola are fairly easy to make at home. Making homemade muesli or granola allows you to choose your favorite ingredients and avoid those you do not care for. Homemade muesli is particularly simple since you only toss together the desired ingredients. While granola requires toasting, making it at home allows you to limit the amount of sugar and oil added, thus creating a healthier granola. {Source: livestrong.com}
Gave it a shot with the ingredients I had on hand. How healthy can healthy get, and how delicious can healthy get? Try it for yourself. It’s five minutes to deliciousness and gluten free too! 2 minutes to put the pan on a simmer, a minute to get the dry stuff together, 30 seconds to toss the dry with the wet, another 30 to spread it out. Open door, pop in tray… there done! Visit the oven every 15 minutes to move the stuff around for even baking, make sure the bottom isn’t getting over browned, keep an eye towards the end. The delicious pairing won the teen over that afternoon. The closest she’ll come to granola is a bar. ‘This isn’t a bar,’ she nonchalantly declared, yet gave the chocolate an interested gaze. I offered it to her with a teeny drizzle of low fat cream, really teeny. ‘This is GOOD’, she exclaimed. Next morning, I was on the phone and she walked in with the box in her hand. ‘I’m having some. Can you make some more?’
I could have danced on the ceiling. ‘OK, if you like, but go slow on the cream‘. By now the son’s curiosity was bubbling over. ‘I’m hungry‘, he decided as the temptation was far too much for him. That was the end of box number one. I’ve made another 2 lots in the last week, and another this morning. Easy as can be, healthy beyond belief, and addictive as a snack anytime of the day. I put together some parfaits using the granola with left over quark cream and strawberries from this Strawberry Meringue Chocolate Layer Cake. The possibilities are endless. Thank you Bea for such a tempting good post.
[print_this]Chocolate granola adapted minimally from Bea @ La Tartine Gourmande {Makes 4.5 cups}
3 1/2 cups rolled oats {I use Quaker oats}
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup raisins
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water
1 vanilla bean scraped, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips Method:
Preheat the oven to 150C and have a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper ready.
In a small pot, combine the water, honey, sugar, butter {or use a vegetable oil if you prefer}, salt and vanilla bean / vanilla extract. Bring to a simmer and let cook until the sugar is dissolved.
In a large bowl, combine the other ingredients minus the chocolate. Stir in the liquid to the dry ingredients.
Transfer the granola mixture to the baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon a few times to make sure that the granola cooks evenly. Let cool completely.
Transfer to a air-tight container and add the chocolate. Enjoy with plain yogurt or any type of milk of your choice.
Note: Gluten free eaters should be sure to get labeled “gluten free” oats, as regular oats like Quaker are not gluten free since they are produced on a line with wheat flour.
“You are the creative type. We all are – even if we don’t know it yet.”
Oprah
I’m late and I’m racing. It’s World Nutella Day today, the 5th of February. Though I had 2 jars of Nutella in the larder, I kind of got the dates all wrong. A tweet fromthe wonderful Michelle @Bleeding Espresso, one of the WND co-hosts, caught my eye … and she said ‘You still have time. It isn’t until tomorrow’. Sara @ Ms Adventures in Italyis the other host of this delicious event.Tomorrow is already here, and I have battled to get this post rolling after an afternoon of baking with yummy Nutella.
Nutella is the brand name of a hazelnut flavored sweet spread registered by the Italian company Ferrero at the end of 1963. It is a tasty hazelnut spread that contains quality ingredients such as skim milk and a hint of cocoa. Nutella contains no artificial colors or preservatives.
Nutella® spread, in its earliest form, was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing. So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy (northwest), to extend the chocolate supply.
I thought I’d just do a rectangular puff pastry tart with Nutella and strawberries, but then the inner passion took over. My sweet & spicy friend Meeta’sMonthly Mingle was on my mind. The theme – Small Bites – Soul Food for your Loved Ones, hosted this month by the lovely food blogger, Astrid @Paulchen’s Food Blog. February is Astrid’s birthday month, and she says “I’d be more than happy if you surprise me for my Birthday with lots of suggestions for a luscious and seductive Valentine’s Day Dinner”! Nutella and strawberries offer quintessential seductive pairing; serve them in crisp puff pastry hearts, and I think you’d hit bulls eye!The morning was a race to the finish as Saturday is an early morning soccer league match for junior. We made it to the game in time, and thankfully the lads team won. I drove back, dirty soccer kleats and boy. It was laundry time again! Oh the mundanities of life. Got back to find the teen had finished all the granola and asked if I could make more. {That post is coming soon… it’s a granola that changed my life!}. ‘LATER‘, I boomed!! Nutella was the only thing on my mind.Kebabs for lunch √. Happily polished off by the troops. Finally time for me and my Nutella. A creative streak kicked in while rolling the puff pastry, and out came heart cookie cutters. I have PLENTY of those in every size and avatar possible! Don’t even ask me why! I’m not a mushy person, and would never think of baking hearts for Mr PAB. Practical, level headed, creative and pretty stubborn am I, baking is my guilty pleasure. I baked hearts to feed the blog in honour of World Nutella Day! I managed to make sweet little bites and tick it off my list-to-do for the day. Are you like me? Before I sleep every night, I have a list of things to do in my mind for the next day. Often it’s a fight to the finish as I try to get them ticked off before the ‘dwarves’ come home from school. And often, they find me running breathless and tired to the bone, but I almost always achieve my targets.I ran a small heart past the mister to check if it was fine to post. He ♥’d it… crisp buttery pastry, slightly tart strawberries and luxuriant chocolate cream! “Indulgent“, he declared … and so they are! I think these are fabulous served for tea, or would make for great V Day dessert served with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream for dessert! Happy Nutella Day!
Nutella Strawberry Puff Pastry Hearts
250gm rough puff pastry
1/2 cup Nutella
100gms strawberries, slice
2 tbsp apricot glaze
Pistachios Method:
Roll out the puff pastry to 1/4″ height. Neatly stamp out 6 3″ heart shapes. {Reroll the pastry gently if required for the 6th shape}.
Take a slightly smaller heart shaped cookie cutter and mark a border about 1/2″ inside, not cutting the pastry right through.
With a offset spatula, or butter knife, spread about 1 tbsp of Nutella over the inner heart. Top with 5-6 slices of strawberries, overlapping slightly. Brush the sides with low fat cream {or egg glaze if you like}
Heat the apricot glaze till runny. Bake at 220C for 30-40 minutes till risen and puffed up.
Remove to a cooling tray. Paint over the strawberries as soon as the tarts come out. Garnish with chopped or slivered pistachios.
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.
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.”
John Muir
It was definitely inspiring and a great wrap on 2010. I’m talking about the Donna Hay Strawberry & Vanilla Macaron Trifle I made over Christmas. It made me look at the endless charm that macarons offer with wonder. Having won sort of won the battle with feet, or rather managing the frills on the fiddly macs more often than never {100% success is yet to land on my platter}, I wanted to explore different ways of incorporating macarons in dessert.Laduree in Paris might have introduced some delicious made in France cupcakes, and the tables might look to be turning around once again making cupcakes the new macarons! Been hearing that sort of mild buzz on the net recently; also that these cupcakes are ‘out-of-this-world‘ good. They do look novel, creative & pretty, but then that’s Laduree for you! Nothing but the best!!However, in my mind, I’m not ready to give up my macaron ‘fascination bordering on obsession’ just yet. Feet still give me endless joy; each batch popped into the oven still a heart-stopping adventure. The kids walk by nonchalantly exclaiming, “Oooh pretty, you got feet! Can I have one?” So many failed batches later and we are a well versed mac household who know the importance and the mood swings that come with the failures & success of the pitter patter!I made this cake, inspired by mac thoughts for a sweet old lady who lives near by. She’s over 80, sprightly as can be and bursting with positive energy. Two days without seeing me and she’s at my gate with her walking stick checking if all is well, filling me up on the neighbourhood happenings, telling me that the lime tree is full of fruit etc. She sends me tangerines from her tree each year to make Bitter Orange Marmalade … one of my absolute favourite pass-times. It gives me as much joy, well almost, as finding feet! Seeing translucent pretty marmalade take shape from the very tart tangerines is in my mind, priceless!It was her birthday a few days ago, and I knew the cake had everything she would love … strawberries, cream and orange. I added macarons around and on top for effect as I was elated to have found enough feet to go around a cake! Gosh, it isn’t often that I find so much mac-success, so mac-inspiration was in order.
Mac-Inspiration is our theme for our monthly macaron event on Mactweets this month …STARTING THE NEW YEAR WITH THE OLD AND THE NEW : MACINSPIRATION! You can combine or integrate your macarons into any dessert, making it a new part of an old favorite, or turn your macarons into your favorite dessert, inspired in flavor, texture, color.
What dessert would you be inspired to see recreated in macarons? I continue to be inspired by fruit in season, the colour palette that nature amazingly offers, textures … and of course macarons! Ever since sweet Jamie & I got together and launched MacTweets{a blog dedicated to making macarons}, there has been no dearth of inspiration! This time, my macarons are inspired by strawberries & cream, a simple dessert that we love to love. I made vanilla bean macarons, and filled them with slices of strawberries and cream {also did a few with candied orange slices and cream}.
Do you want to join us making MACARONS?
If you do, Jamie & I would be happy to have you join us for this challenge, or the next. You can find all the information at our dedicated macaron blog MacTweets. We generally have the round-up by the end of every month, following which a new challenge is posted!
Strawberries & Cream Mac-o-range Cake Serves 6-8 Orange Sponge
1/2 cup plain flour
1/8 cup cornflour
1/2 + 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs, separated
1/8cup oil {I used sunflower oil}
3 tbsp water
Rind of 1 orange {I used kinnow, a mandarin orange/citrus hybrid, like a satsuma}
1 tsp orange extract, or pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar Method:
Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a 7.5-8″ round tin; grease and dust with flour.
Mix together the cornflour, plain flour, baking powder, salt and1/2 cup powdered sugar in a large bowl {I used a balloon whisk}.
Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cream of tartar and beat till droopy soft peaks form. Reserve.
With a whisk, lightly mix the oil, water, yolks, rind and extract together. Stir into into the dry ingredients.
Beat with an electric beater on low speed until smooth.
Gently fold the beaten whites into the yolk mixture.
Turn into the prepared tin and bake till well risen and golden brown, about 45 minutes/until done. Check if it is done with a wooden pick. {Slide a sheet of foil lightly over the top if it begins to brown too fast}.
Leave in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on rack.
Once cool, cut into 2 layers. Filling
200ml low fat cream
2-3 tbsps powdered sugar
200gms strawberries, chopped Method:
Whip the cream and sugar to medium peaks. Fold in the chopped strawberries. Whipped Buttercream Topping Method:
200ml low fat cream
1 tbsp melted butter
2-3 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp strawberry extract {optional}
Beat the low fat cream, sugar and extract, and pour in the melted butter in a steady stream while beating. This will reintroduce the fat back into the low fat cream and allow it to be whipped to stiff peaks. Assemble
Sandwich the cake with the filling
Frost the sides and top of the cake with the whipped butter-cream.
Garnish with sliced strawberries, candied tangerine slices and macarons
Vanilla Macarons Macaron Batter
1/2 cup powdered vanilla sugar
1/4 cup almond meal
1 large egg white {30gms}, at room temperature
2 1/2 tbsp granulated vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp egg white powder Method:
Preheat oven to 140C.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond meal briefly so there are no lumps. Don’t over work, else you might get oily almond butter.
In the bowl, beat the egg whites until they become frothy. Beat in the granulated vanilla sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding. {If you draw the spatula through the macronage, the line drawn should disappear to the count of ten.}
Using a teaspoon, or piping bag, drop / pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1″ circles evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.
Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons and get rid of trapped air bubbles, then rest for about an hour.
Bake them for 15-18 minutes, watching carefully. {I bake mine on the highest shelf, as my oven functions on just the lower element}
Let cool completely, then remove from baking sheet.
Sandwich with some whipped buttercream and strawberry and candied orange slices.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
May I share with you my 5 minutes of fame which made me do the Happy Feet dance?
I was featured in the January 2011 Indian edition of ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ with an interview and 4 recipes in a 3 page feature.
“Giving birth is little more than a set of muscular contractions granting passage of a child. Then the mother is born.”
Erma Bombeck
Another year… welcome 2011! She came into our lives 15 years ago, in 1996, on a chilly foggy 2nd Jan. It was cold beyond belief, and we waited for what seemed like forever with our baby bag packed, never knowing when the ‘time would come‘. A few false alarms later, poor Mr PAB was in panic and driving me down through foggy roads … it was time. After some rather painful hours, we found a new world with the sweetest little bundle of joy. She was here!He still remembers her cute little face, a huge mop of hair, eyes blinking, gurgling laughter … a little cherub. I remember not, nothing much, and that is typical me. My memories are recorded by Mr PAB, and he replays them time and again, whenever he is hit by a wave of nostalgia … happens O F T E N!. A golden child till she was 3. Then bit by bit she developed her own stubborn little ways, shaping her personality as the years went by…She turned 15 two days ago. No 1st January or New Year Day has the hype as the 2nd at home. Hushed whispers, gifts being wrapped and the teen in our mind. She isn’t the angel she used to be; much the rebellious little lady now. Life isn’t a cake walk at all given times, and handling her isn’t exactly easy. Still, her heart of gold makes life better! I knowhope know we will look back at these ‘wonder years‘ and wonder how we pulled through.Until then, there is always cake!As the years go by, it seems easier to make a cake. Teens are T O U G H to handle, layered cakes are not! Winter makes baking and cake making fun. The cream {low fat is what we get here} whips into submission, the frosting sets and doesn’t melt, the bright orange hybrid ‘kinnows‘ colour the bazaar orange, and the tangerines are ripe for picking! I initially wanted to make something from the Le Cordon Bleu Chocolate Bible, but hadn’t taken permission to reprint the recipe. Made a Chocolate Orange Almond Gateau instead. There had to be some chocolate in there…The orange sponge comes out light and delicious, like a cloud. It’s a recipe that I’ve made before from a tiny book by Sue Ross. The method is different from any other, yet the cake is light, spongy and rises beautifully. The original recipe is for one 3 egg gateau, but I made 2 three egg sponges as we are a large extended family, and love our cake! There is no culinary joy for us without seconds; the kids will try and get thirds if possible … the lad managed with his charming persuasive skills!!I didn’t get any pictures of the making as the day was dark, dreary & foggy. Thankfully the blanket of fog and the cloud cover disappeared for a bit on the 2nd, and I got a few pictures. The cake was wonderful and moist, with a beautiful balance of flavours. Orange, almond and chocolate hang in delicate harmony, each complimenting the other, no overpowering flavours. The basic sponge recipe is a nice one to keep in your recipe folder as a base for layer cakes. I’ve got it in my folder …
Chocolate Orange Almond Gateau Serves 15-18 Orange Sponge {I doubled the following recipe for 2 X 10″ sponges}
150gms {1 1/4 cup} plain flour
25gms {1/8 cup} cornflour
150gms {1 1/4 cup} powdered sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs, separated
5 tbsp oil {I used sunflower oil}
5 tbsp water
Rind of 1 orange {I used kinnow, a mandarin orange/citrus hybrid, like a satsuma}
1 tbsp orange / kinnow juice
1 tsp orange extract Method:
Preheat the oven to 190C. Line 2 10″ spring form tins; grease. {The original recipe uses 2 8″ sandwich tins for 1 three egg cake. I made 2 three egg cakes, each cake in a 10″ tin}
Sift the cornflour, plain flour, baking powder, salt and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl.
Beat the egg whites till they stand in soft peaks. Keep aside.
With a whisk, lightly mix the oil, water, yolks, juice, rind and extract together. Stir into into the dry ingredients.
Beat with an electric beater on low speed until smooth.
Carefully fold the beaten whites gently into the yolk mixture.
Turn into 2 lined tins and bake for about 45 minutes till well risen and golden brown / until done. Check if it is done with a wooden pick. {Slide a sheet of foil lightly over the top if it begins to brown too fast}.
Leave in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on rack.
Once cool, cut into 2 layers each. Ganache
200ml low fat cream
225 gm dark chocolate Method:
Place the cream & half the dark chocolate in a pan over low heat and stir until the chocolate has melted.
Put the remaining chocolate in a bowl, and pour the melted cream and chocolate mixture over it, and stir until all the chocolate has melted and is glossy. Reserve. {It will continue to thicken as it stands} Filling / Almond Nut Whipped Cream
600ml low fat cream, chilled
4 tbsp almond meal
4tbsp powdered sugar {increase if required} Method:
Whip all ingredients together till thick and hold peaks. Adjust sugar if required. Syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup water
1/2 tsp orange extract
Small stick cinnamon Method:
Simmer till the sugar has dissolved, and cool completely. {I usually keep a thick syrup in a jar in the fridge, sieved leftover syrup from poaching pears in} Assemble the Gateau
Brush the cake with the cooled syrup and sandwich with the almond nut whipped cream.
Frost the sides and top of the cake with the ganache. Decorate the top with grated chocolate shavings etc. Top with a few slices of candied tangerines. Stick some toasted slivered almonds into the sides {Thank you for the slivered almonds Madhulika. Loved using them!} Chill well for the flavours to mature. In winter keep out at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. In warm weather, serve straight out of the fridge.
