Tag: lebkuchen

Baking| Lebkuchen & Garam Masala Macarons … and the failings of my sourdough experiment! Blame Scrooge!!

“External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty.”
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Lebkuchen and Garam Masala MacaronsScrooge, my sourdough starter let me down. He’s been sitting on my counter for the past few days, being diligently fed, bubbling a bit now and then, showing signs of life. Everyone seems so hungry during the holidays, but Scrooge was the hungriest … after Coco of course. But the sourdough for Daring Bakers wasn’t meant to be. What did ‘happen‘ however were these Lebkuchen and Garam Masala Macarons with a salted butter caramel buttercream!Sourdough trouble! I got up that morning and everything seemed to go wrong. Decided to make half a recipe, and weighed out double Scrooge in error. PLOP … he fell in and almost instantly I tried to fish him out. ACK…don’t even bother if you ever make that mistake. It was the day after Christmas, the coldest in the past 10 years. No way was Scrooge going to lend some warmth to my dough to rise. He just clenched his fists and stayed put! 2 hours later, minimum rise … It rose marginally after beign somewhat shaped; then we ran into yet another power cut for the rest of the day. By the time the electricity was back, the oven preheated, and I bunged the dough into the oven, I was distracted. There was so much more to do. I cranked the oven to the highest setting … and forgot all about the bread! Sigh!! The tops burnt, spewing out black fumes! {No pictures…sorry!} A kitchen filled with smoke was enough to ring the deathknell on my bread! So I am back to the drawing board again, feeding the little bit of miserly Scrooge who sulks on the counter. Must try the drama again, maybe on a warmer day. In the meantime, I am back with some feet that ran faster than Scrooge, that gave me more luck on the not so cheery day! Yes, it gladdened my heart to find success by way of Mactweets, our call this month to let the seasons and her holidays inspire you. We’ve had some stunning macarons join our ranks these past few weeks. I jumped in late and present my humble mac-offering – Lebkuchen Macarons & Garam Masala Macarons with Salted Caramel Buttercream. I had piped out others, colours, flavours … but alas, the power tripped again, so I am glad to have a few.Jamie and I tempted you to Think COLOR: I did {though sadly my pinks and blues didn’t make it}; Think FLAVOR: I did … Lebkuchen and garam masala and salted butter caramel from Jamies recipe that I so love! Think HOLIDAY: Impossible not to. Kids at home 24 X 7, hungry and full of beans, pooch so excited to have kids at home so even she is more full of beans than ever before … always something happening!

Do you want to join us making MACARONS?

If you do, you are most welcome to join us  for this challenge, or the next. You can find all the information at our dedicated macaron blog MacTweets. We generally post the round-up by the end of every month, following which a new challenge is posted!

[print_this]Recipe: Lebkuchen & Garam Masala Macarons

Summary: Lebkuchen and Garam Masala Vanilla Macarons sandwiched with a salted butter caramel buttercream. Holidays are here!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • Lebkuchen / Garam Masala Macarons
  • 1 egg white, aged 2 days
  • 1/4 cup almond meal
  • 1tsp Lebkuchen spice or Garam Masala {either one}
  • 1/2 cup powdered vanilla sugar
  • 1/4 tsp egg white powder
  • 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • Few drops orange food colour
  • Salted Butter Caramel Buttercream
  • 3 tbsp of salted butter caramel sauce {recipe here}, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Method:

  1. Lebkuchen / Garam Masala Macarons
  2. Preheat oven to 140C.
  3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  4. Blend the powdered sugar, almond meal, Lebkuchen spice or garam masala {whichever you choose} and egg white powder briefly in the bowl of your food processor to mix. {you can sift it too}
  5. In a large clean bowl, beat the egg white for about 20 seconds till it appears foamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue to beat till it becomes firm and holds peaks, about 2 minutes.
  6. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg white with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and falls in ribbons like molten lave, stop folding. {Do not overmix}
  7. Using a teaspoon, or piping bag, drop / pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1″ circles evenly spaced one-inch apart.
  8. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then rest for about an hour.
  9. Bake them for about 15 minutes until the shells feel firm to touch.
  10. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.
  11. Salted Butter Caramel Buttercream
  12. Whisk the salted butter caramel with the butter until smooth and firm.
  13. To assemble:
  14. Match equal halves of macarons, and keep together.
  15. Use a small spoon and deposit a tiny amount of buttercream filling on the flat side of the macaron and sandwich with another half of the same size, squeezing gently. Leave to set.
  16. Notes: I bake my macarons on the upper shelf in my oven, using just the lower element for heat. I also use double baking trays.

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These holiday cookies are on the way to Suma’s Cakes And More Cookie Fest
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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

 

Baking | Lebkuchen Cream & Genoise Verrines with Apple Craisin Compote

“Life is a great big canvas,
and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”
Danny Kaye

When we were very young, we received  a Danny Kaye for Children LP as a gift. We spent HOURS listening to “I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat”, “Tubby the Tuba Song”, “Popo the Puppet”, “Laugh it Off Upsey Daisy” … and so many more.  Can’t not mention “I’m Late” from Alice in Wonderland. Did you listen to Danny Kaye when you were little {alright, I’m like talking the 70’s!}? Life was carefree, full of hide & seek moments, climbing trees – a laugh-riot all the time with simple and fun comfort zones everywhere!

I often miss those ‘no TV, no computer, no i-this, that and the other‘ days. Days when you could count the minutes pass, catch butterflies and grasshoppers, and languish mindlessly in the mid day sun. Can still feel my shaky little hands gently lifting the needle of the record player to place it on the LP … blissful! I often feel bad that my kids will never know simple joys of playing and listening to an LP … their comfort zone existing in plug-ins and downloads!

This dessert was a result of one of my recent carefree adventures,  one of those things that happened. I seldom follow a plan for desserts I serve at home as this is my playing ground; my experimental comfort zone. I know that if my culinary escapades turn out good or even just OK, my sweet guinea pigs will lap them up. They’ll let me know whether it’s a ‘HIGH FIVE’ or just ‘Hmmmm OK‘, but they won’t let it go waste! I count my blessings…

These verrines were lapped up joyfully. I had a vanilla bean genoise sponge ready, one that I wanted to make into a strawberry kiwi cake for someone, but that day strawberries played truant in the market. {Yes, the strawberry season in North India has just begun again}. I came back rather disappointed, and baked a coffee genoise instead, but had this basic sponge on hand. The daughter declared that she wanted to frost it on Sunday…but as I knew would happen. With her exams on, and rather lost as always, she forgot about it! It still played on my mind …All of a sudden, another frosted cake seemed a boring proposition. I looked around and saw a sachet of lebkuchen spice that spicy Meeta had got for me a while ago. YES… that was definitely part of my dessert,  maybe in cream. The mind began wandering. What next? I saw these coffee mugs, and thought ‘layered dessert’. One thing led to another, and soon I was whizzing chunks of the cake in the food processor to get a breadcrumb like mix. What followed was layers of vanilla genoise crumbs, lebkuchen cream, and more crumbs. Scrabbled through the larder. What would go with warm, spicy Christmas flavours that the lebkuchen spice threw up so enticingly? It’s a seductive spice blend, one which calls your name! Apple compote sounded like an idea, maybe with craisins or raisins. Some orange zest too? I was on the track.Make sure you leave the cream whipped to soft peaks so it mingles gently with the cake crumbs, moistening it as you allow it to stand in the fridge for a couple of hours. It permeates the layers and infuses the lebkuchen spice aroma right through. This is a light dessert, yet quite satisfying. I do love verrines for their appealing looks. Play around with layers if you like. The space within is your canvas. I think verrines are a wonderful playground of colours and textures.Make the holiday season fun. Grab any transparent glasses, coffee mugs, goblets, shot glasses, ice cream bowls you have, doesn’t matter if they are mismatched. Begin the layering. Add a red cranberry compote layer to tie the colours in nicely, and top the glasses with a sprig of mint. Red and green ribbons swathed around tie it all together nicely. I love dressing up my food, and I’m having fun as you can see. {Thank you Mia for the vanilla beans that I spiced my genoise up with, and the ribbons! Love them!!}

Lebkuchen Cream & Genoise Verrines with Apple Craisin Compote
6-8 servings { depending on size of glass}
Prep: 30 mins | Cooking: 25 mins | Assembling: 10 minutes
2/3 of a 3 egg vanilla genoise sponge
300ml low fat cream {25% Amul, chilled}
3-4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp lebkuchen spice
Method:
Whip all ingredients till the cream holds soft peaks.
Apple Craisin Compote
3 medium apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1/2 tsp lebkuchen spice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 cup water
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup craisins/raisins
Zest of 1 orange
Method:
Place all ingredients in heavy bottom pan. Simmer, covered till apples are soft and liquid almost evaporated. Stir from time time. Taste and adjust lime and sugar {and lebkuchen} if required.
Genoise cake cubes for topping:
18-24 tiny cake cubes, like croutons
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp sugar
Place sugar and butter in a frying pan on simmer. Once the butter and sugar melt, before the sugar turns brown, add the cake cubes, and toss them around to coat all sides.
Keep an eye on them, and take off once the sides begin to get caramelised. Cool and store in an airtight container until use
Assembling the verrines:
Run genoise slices in food processor for a minute or two till you get a fine breadcrumb like mixture. Spoon 2-3 tbsp per glass.
Add 2 tbsp of lebkuchen spice cream over the crumb layer, and add some more cake crumbs. Divide any remaining cream over the second layers. Poke a thin cake tester through the centre to gently ease some cream through to the bottom layer.
Spoon the warm apple-craisin compote over the second layer of cream, and chill until time to serve.
Top with crisp sautéed genoise cake cubes!
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

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