Tag: Peach

Chocolate Vanilla Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake … of ice creams & beautiful desserts

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;
It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
Seneca
cats+final
The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.
This was a challenge I wasn’t going to do because it had way too many steps for me as my kitchen was going to be under ‘attack’ beginning the month of July. Then again, fate had some other plans for me, and procrastination was out. The night before, i.e. on the 30th of June, I put some peach ice cream in to set because I had bought a load of juicy peaches. When I read the challenge the next morning, I was torn between doing it because I had ice cream ready, and not doing it because there was so much more to the challenge.
Tossing coins – should I, shouldn’t I? Then the daring baker in me won and I got tempted into trying the Swiss rolls even though I knew I was pushing my luck. I thought I would serve a decontructed dessert and took a stab at attempting the challenge. One thing that initially deterred me was the amount of cream in the recipes, but I knew I would find a lighter way out, and I did, pairing low fat cream with stone fruit. I have used cherries, peaches and plums in just about every dessert I could, including the chocolate pavs in the last months challenge. I’m lovin’ it!
I absolutely adore doing Swiss rolls. I find them ever so easy to make … Mango Ice-Cream Swiss Roll, Strawberry Chocolate Swiss Roll, Star Anise Swiss Roll, Red Velvet Swiss Cake are just a few… you can tell I love them! They bake in the express lane, and are the most charming things when you slice them up! I followed Sunita’s recipe and it was great. Once filled with a low fat cream and stone fruit filling, cutting back on many calories, I loved the rustic look they had. BLISS … I love being a Daring Baker! Being one just makes me want to push my limits, inspiring me to achieve beyond the odds. The pairing of the vanilla and chocolate rolls with the low fat and stone fruit filling was outstanding!
The peach ice cream was a big batch! I knew it would be good enough for the whole filling, with still some left over. Insanely enough, I hypnotized myself into making a small batch of chocolate ice cream too just because I needed egg whites to try making macarons! The recipe is one I made on the go, based on the method for a custard or pastry cream, and that seemingly was the most luxurious part of the dessert. The kids love the deep, dark chocolate flavours it offered, right in the heart of the cake!
The whole process was a challenge given that we were in the peak pf summer in North India at 40C + temperatures, but it all came together well and was a joy to make. It was tad bit involved though, and we enjoyed each part more individually as compared to altogether! A lot of flavour and a lot of colour … and a lot of work! Yet, the experience was wonderful and gave me many ideas for similar desserts, maybe not frozen!
Do stop by here and check out the BOMBES that the other Daring Bakers have rolled out!

Thank you Sunita for this exciting challenge. It was very engaging and a bombe to make! I was over the moon when I demolded the cake and it came out so easily! Thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!!

Chocolate & Vanilla Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake with Stone Fruit
Recipe source– Inspired by the Swiss swirl ice cream cake from the Taste of Home website
Peach Low Fat Ice Cream
{My recipe. This makes double the amount you need for the ice-cream cake}
1 kg peaches, peeled, stoned and pureed
1/2 – 3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 cup hung yogurt
400ml low fat cream
1 tbsp vodka {optional}
1 tsp almond extract

Method:

Whisk all the ingredients together with an immersion blender or in a food processor until well mixed. {Check and adjust the sweetness}
Freeze the mixture in a wide dish or plastic container. {The larger the surface area, quicker the freezing – since we have to pulse this mixture a couple of times}…or follow the instructions of your ice cream maker.
Keep checking on the mixture every 30 minutes or so and use the stick blender to break the icicles, 4, maybe 5 times. (I used a sturdy whisk).
Chocolate Ice Cream
{My recipe}
100ml low fat cream
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean scraped
4 tbsp cocoa powder
50gms dark chocolate, broken
Put the cream, 1/2 cup milk, sugar, cocoa and scraped vanilla bean on simmer. Heat till small bubbles begin to rise on the sides.
Pour this over the yolks in a bowl, off the heat, whisking continuously.
Pour the yolk mixture back into the pan, whisk in the remaining milk, and cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard coats the back of the spoon. Take off heat, strain into a heatproof bowl, add the dark chocolate and mix till it melts.

Cool over an ice bath, and then freeze

Swiss Roll 1
Ingredients
3 medium sized eggs
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
3 tbsp plain flour + 2.5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together
1 tbsp of boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans
Swiss Roll 2
3 medium sized eggs
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
5 1/2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans
Method

Preheat the oven at 200C. Brush the baking pans {11 inches by 9 inches} with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.
Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water. Spread the batter out evenly into the prepared pan, guiding it gently into the corners of the pans.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch.
Meanwhile, spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.
Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.
Repeat the same method for the 2nd Swiss roll.

Filling
200ml low fat cream, chilled
3-4tbsps granulated sugar powdered with 1/2 a vanilla bean
5 medium peaches, peeled and chopped fine
1/2 cup sweet cherries, pitted and chopped fine
Juice of 1/2 lime
Method:

Whisk the chilled cream and vanilla sugar with a balloon whisk. Fold in the chopped fruit quickly and gently, so the cream doesn’t lose volume.
Divide it into 2, and use as filling between the completely cooled cakes
Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges {a border of ½ an inch should be fine}.
Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down. {I froze them for easy slicing as it was extremely hot here, about 42C}

Assembly
Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices, approximately 2 cms each.
Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm {at least 30 minutes}.
Soften 1/3 of the peach ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm {at least 1 hour}.
Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the peach ice cream. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze till firm, at least an hour.
Soften another 1/3 of the peach ice cream and cover the chocolate ice cream, making this the last layer. {Some peach ice cream will be left over}. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze till firm, for at least 4-5 hours till completely set.

To Serve

Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.
Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

{Baking} Stone Fruit Almond Crumble … baking in the midst of rubble, and LOVING it!!

“Mind like a sieve these days and the attention span of a flea!!”  
Jeanne Horak @ Cooksister

I love the quote above. Words from Jeanne @ CookSister in emails being exchanged a couple of days ago, much of it nonsensical light banter. It coined the way I felt, and I was absolutely taken in by the rhythm of the words! My foodie world has been thrown into disarray and I often feel at odds. It’s a world of rubble, heat and dust, the odd shower thrown in, which adds to humidity. There is SO MUCH on the mind, and the additional want to ‘blog & tweet‘ doesn’t help…

The kitchen is under the hammer, literally, being broken down with hammers and chisels for a much needed face lift. It’s like a scene out of a war zone and fine dust settles like a shroud  everywhere, eerily concealing everything underneath. It was a revelation to hear from Ken that a lot of old places in New York still have concrete kitchens like ours! Made me feel better instantly, though getting any work done in India is a whole new ball game. The workers each have a mind of their own, are mostly uneducated but technically superior at what they do, AND enjoy endless chai breaks!
In the midst of the rubble and ‘war like’ home zone, stone fruits still tempt me into buying them when I go intending to pick up basic food supplies to tide over these busy days. Just before work began, a week ago, I had bought a box of cherries and some dark red plums optimistically thinking of making this rice pudding I saw at Tartlette! Unrealistic me; must have been dreaming …
Didn’t get much further than roasting the fruit, and then ran out of time and quickly bundled it off into the fridge. There was a kitchen to be emptied, fridges to be moved etc, and I knew that once cooked, the fruit would keep safe for a bit, and importantly, not torment me. They kept beautifully, and when I saw the Double Cherry Almond Crumble on TasteSpotting, I knew instantly that was where my fruit would go. My love for stone fruit in desserts had found a plan …
It’s a delicious take on the crumble. I loved the topping which incorporated almonds and added loads to the flavour. I couldn’t locate my almond essence in the mess, but am sure it would have added to the ooomph! The crumble was fabulous and a real treat for the family, given that the boy looks longingly at the incomplete work, ruing the fact that dessert days have gone! He was thrilled to see the little ramekins coming their way! I served them with a teeny dollop of unsweetened cream. Nothing like a stone fruit laden crumble…NOTHING!!

Stone Fruit Almond Crumble
Adapted minimally from Good Food, Good Wine, and a Bad Girl
Makes 8 individual servings, or 1 large
Filling:
2 cups pitted sweet cherries
4-5 dark red plums {stoned and chopped}
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean
4-5 peaches, stoned and chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
Crumble:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, chilled
1 tbsp milk

Method:
For the filling:

Prepare the cherries and plums:
Adapted from Tartlette
Preheat the oven to 200C.
With the tip of a knife, slice the half vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into a small dish or ramekin. Add the sugar and mix with your fingertips until the vanilla bean seeds are well distributed.
Place the cherries and plums in a baking dish and sprinkle the vanilla sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until juicy. Let cool.

For the Crumble:
Preheat oven to 180C.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cherries plum compote, peaches, lime juice, sugar and cornstarch. Stir until sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Set aside.
In a food processor, combine flour,almonds and sugar and whiz in brief spells until the almonds are ground. Add the butter and process briefly until loose and crumbly. Add milk and stir until the dough just comes together
Pour the fruit mixture into individual ramekins {or an 8×8 baking dish}. Pinch off small pieces of dough, and place on fruit mixture to more-or-less cover the fruit.
Bake the crumble in preheated oven for 20-25minutes {40-45 minutes for 1 large serving}, or until filling is bubbly and topping is crisp and golden.

To quote the ‘Bad Girl‘ on the her recipe… Depending on your mood, the crumble can be served warm or at room temperature. If you’re in a particularly indulgent mood, serve warm crumble a-la-mode with a scoop of good-quality vanilla ice cream. It was wonderful with a dollop of unsweetened low fat cream too!
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

Don’t miss a post Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

Baking | STONE FRUIT & CHOCOLATE CLAFOUTIS … with flaxseed!

“A man’s worth has its season, like fruit.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As usual, my fridge is stuffed to the gills with an assortment of stone fruit. The weather is wonderful with the monsoons {rainy season in India} showing up, and a gentle breeze blowing through the house on most days. Two days ago, I was dog tired as the school vacations were still on, the kids had friends from Ukraine over for the day, but the weather was perfect for baking! So what did I have in the fridge? A bag of peaches, a box of cherries and some plums. Mangoes too, but those awaited a different fate because the kids love mangoes in their milkshake.

Nothing gives me more joy than when I work with fruit, especially stone fruit. Oh the colours! I would slave every single day if I had to, just to enjoy the colours that fruit offer during these summer months! With such a vibrant and exciting task on hand, tiredness forgotten, I tossed the chopped fruit in a sachet of vanilla sugar that my friend just brought for me from Ukraine. Yes, it was time for a clafoutis, and also time to experiment.

That bag of Linwoods Milled Flaxseed, Cocoa and Berries is still good to go for a few more guinea pig run, and this time it was headed for the clafoutis. I contemplated adding some additional  cocoa powder or dark chocolate to deepen the flavours, but stopped. Wanted to get a feel of how it would taste as is. Also, took no chances and added a little cornflour to help set the custard., and added the beans scraped from a vanilla pod too. I dislike runny, eggy custard! While I was doing my silly experiments, the kids were running RIOT all over the place, the boys especially!

The skies had been overcast all morning. By noon, the rain came down. The girls stayed indoors, but not the boys. Boys will be boys, and decided a game of soccer was in order, and the only way to have fun was splash in dirty muddy puddles in the middle of the road. Nothing stopped them, and before we knew it, my exuberant fellow was splat out in the middle of the muddiest puddle of them all! SIGH… good thing I remembered to write down notes as I was adding ingredients to the clafoutis!

Don’t know whether I had more fun that day taking pictures {of the fruit, dessert, kids etc}, putting the ramekins together, or eating the clafoutis. Making the dessert and taking pictures was a celebration of colours, a brilliant palette of JOY! Clafoutis is traditionally made with cherries, but IMHO, all stone fruit should be headed into one some time or the other! Anything-but-clementine actually, as this post on Smitten Kitchen rightly suggests!

The verdict on the clafoutis was YUM YUM, and the fact that it had healthy milled flaxseeds made it even better! We all loved it, kids included. The daughter really enjoyed all the fruit juices that bubbled out through the edges. It wasn’t very light because of the addition of  the flax-seeds. In addition, I used loads of fruit, so less batter went into each. The fruit got stewed in there, and delicious syrup rose up the sides once the custard was baked. With a little time on hand and a teeny bit of low fat cream in the fridge, I eyeballed ingredients and cooked up some kind of sauce to go with it. That turned out to be delicious too and very flavourful!

Clafoutis can be made as you like. Play around with ingredients, somewhat like pancake batter! Find what works for you. You can probably grind flax seeds and combine them with cocoa powder. Else use flour instead of the milled flax seed mix. Experiment – use fewer fruit if that’s what you prefer or maybe just a single variety. Some folk skip the cream and use whole milk, some 2 eggs, not 3. It’s a forgiving and infinitely adaptable dessert to make … am sure you’ll find what works for you! Next time, I might add some dark chocolate or more cocoa to the batter to make it more chocolaty.

Stone Fruit & Chocolate Clafoutis
3 peaches, stoned and diced
3 plums, stoned and diced
1cup sweet cherries, pitted and halved
1 sachet vanilla sugar, optional
3 eggs
200ml low fat cream {25% fat}
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1/2 cup vanilla sugar {or regular granulated}
1/3 cup milled flaxseed, cocoa and berry mix from Linwoods
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cornflour

Method:

Stone and chop all fruit, toss in sachet of vanilla sugar and divide equally between 8-10 ramekins.
Blend remaining ingredients together till smooth, and gently pour over fruit.
Bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes {increase to 45-50 minutes if doing on large portion} until lightly browned and fluffy.
Serve warm or cool, or even cold out of the fridge if you like, with some lightly sweetened cream, or drizzle a generous spoonful of chilled chocolate cherry cream sauce over each ramekin and serve!

Chocolate Cherry Cream Sauce
1 tbsp cherry brandy
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100ml low fat cream
2-3tbsps vanilla sugar
Method:

Place all of the above in a small pan, and stir over low heat till the sugar melts and the sauce comes together nice and thick, 5-7 minutes. Taste and adjust sugar if required. Add a little more cocoa if it is too sweet, or increase the sugar if it isn’t sweet enough.
Strain into a bowl, cool and then chill.
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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse & Preserved Stone Fruit

“To follow without halt, one aim; there is the secret of success. And success? What is it? I do not find it in the applause of the theater. It lies rather in the satisfaction of accomplishment.”
Anna Pavlova

 

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.
It’s the Daring Bakers time of the month again, and I’ve just got it together in the nick of time. The challenge Dawn chose is primarily based on a recipe from Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard – Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. Chocolate Epiphany a book on my wish-list, and the name of the recipe so delicious, I was thrilled to see the challenge. What’s not to love about a chocolate pavlova!!
   

Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Ánna Pávlova. Colloquially referred to as “pav“, it is a cake similar to meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner. The dessert is believed to have been created to honour the dancer during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s.

It’s become some sort of a norm for me to usually get the DB challenge done early. I used to procrastinate for long before, but the last few challenges have had me up and going in the first week or so. Not this time though. It’s been a busy month, and I just didn’t get down to it. We were away into the Himalayas in the first week of June, then came the boys birthday, and then the hub came down with the nasty tummy virus. A potent combination of baking and blogging just not happening, but all the time I had chocolate pavlovas on my mind. Whether it was in Gangtok climbing the hills to get to the monastery, or baking a  Swiss Black Forest Cake for the son wondering if I could pass off a pavlova as a birthday cake, or the 3 days I spent in the hospital with Mr PAB who was not looking too good, strangely enough, all along I had Chocolate Pavlova fixation!

 

I’ve made Tropical Fruit Pavlova earlier from INDULGE – 100 Perfect Desserts by Claire Clark for a Blogger Aid fund raiser. That had been my first attempt and at the time I had wondered why it took me so long to get there. Many desserts later, I was thrilled to see this months choice for the challenge, chocolate pavlovas, something I’ve wanted to try forever! I didn’t get as far as the creme anglaise and mascarpone cream because of the lack of time. Also because it’s been far too hot in North India, and anything with a cream base just tends to run in seconds. I managed to stabilise my mousse with some gelatin, and that too barely. At 44C, nothing stays!!

 

 

In an attempt to keep it as light and refreshing as possible, I topped the stabilised mousse with a combination of preserved stone fruit. As time goes by, I seem to add more and more ‘passions‘ to my list. I am completely taken in by food photography, and also mad about preserving stone fruit, thanks to some jars I found in the market. Jars of the sort are not part of normal kitchen stuff available in India, so you could hear me whooping down the aisle! The past month has seem me in a frenzy pitting cherries and stoning peaches and apricots! I made a jar of brandied burgundy cherries from notes in The Cake Bible, and then went on to preserve a jar of regular cherries and peaches to make the most of the summer bounty! I was thrilled to be able to use them here, as Mr PAB couldn’t stop having a go at them!
All in all, a delectable summer combination. Chocolate and cherries offered the classic combination, and mascarpone chocolate mousse just made it better. For the record, I need to add that mascarpone doesn’t freeze well, at least not my homemade mascarpone. I made some a while ago and decided to freeze it before we left for Gangtok as I thought I would use it for the pavlovas. Ack. .. was strange and granular on defrosting when I returned, so I made a fresh batch from my post here. Nothing as simple and good as home made fresh mascarpone! Also, just for the record, a power cut doesn’t affect the baking of a meringue base. I know because the minute I popped the meringues into the oven… POP… off went the electricity for an hour!

 

 

I did have a bit of a time with the weather very hot at 44C, and so couldn’t get my mousse to behave. Once I managed to stabilise the mousse, the rest was FUN FUN FUN!! Thank you Dawn for something so ‘doable‘, and something so utterly divine! We loved it to the last crumb!! Thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!!

Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse, Brandied Cherries and Peaches
Recipe Source: Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard

Chocolate Meringue {for the chocolate Pavlova}
3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar {I powdered 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp cornflour}

1/3 cup cocoa powder
Method:
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 95º C. Line one baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. {The whites should be firm but moist}.
Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white.
Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into 6 rounds or whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon. {I made 6, but 8 would have been a good serving size too}

Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

 
Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse
 
300gms mascarpone cheese {homemade recipe here}
200gms dark chocolate
1/4 cup low fat cream
1 tsp gelatin powder
2tbsp milk
Method:
 
Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk in a small bowl, and  place the bowl in a larger bowl of warm water till translucent.
Run the dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 1-2 minutes until soft. Add the cream, and run for another 20 seconds. Mix till well blended and let sit at room temperature until cool.
Whisk the mascarpone until smooth.{DO NOT OVER-BEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK}. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture gently.
Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Add the gelatin quickly, but gently, and mix uniformly. Chill till holds form.
Spoon or pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas. Top with brandied burgundy cherries, peaches and cherries in syrup, and chocolate flakes.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
Do stop by HERE and take a look at the marvelous pavlovas the rest of the talented daring Bakers have whipped up this month.
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As I sign off, just a reminder for a giveaway I am hosting courtesy of CSN Stores. On offer is a one-time-use $80 gift certificate for one lucky winner to use as they wish on any of the CSN websites. Do leave a comment HERE if you wish to take part.
 
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

{No Bake/ Summer Drink} GINGER & PEACHY BUBBLES … Ginger Ale & Peach Consommé

“Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”
Noel Cowards
The origin of that expression is from Rudyard Kipling who once described the delirium produced by the sun in India, observing that only “mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun”. We fitted in right with it when we went out in the afternoon yesterday. Was it hot, or was it hot? Mr PAB, who is just recovering from a bad bout of tummy virus, dehydration and subsequent hospitalisation, had some urgent pending work, so yours truly volunteered to play chauffeur! What kept me going was the thought of getting back home to some chilled ale!
Ouf!! We’ve had a hot summer, and when I say hot, I mean HOT! The temperatures have consistently stayed in the mid 40C’s and there has been little respite. This is the peak of the North Indian summer, which is known for being as treacherous and unrelenting as can be. It’s customary for folk like me to wake up each morning and whiff the morning air for any hint of rain coming our way. ZILCH! Day after day we are faced with heat and dust, and power-cuts of course!
What makes the heat bearable and often enjoyable is refreshing posts like this one by Aran Goyoaga of Canelle et Vanille, an award winning blogger who continues to amaze and inspire me with her posts. The minute I saw the ginger ale, the mixology and the bubbles, I knew it was going to be a happy summer. Suddenly life seemed so much more bearable and worthwhile! Summer is for ginger ale! YES! I truly loved Aran’s post at Design Sponge, characteristic of her aesthetic photographs and her evocative writing. The advent of fresh ginger this season had me longing for ale. A simple and fun recipe, with ‘mixology’ thrown in, something for everyone… what more could we want this summer?
The glasses I’ve served the bubbly in are typically the sort found across India, and are used to serve tea in road-side tea stalls. They’ve been around for as long as I can remember. I remember seeing them when we used to travel by train as kids. It was either these or little terracotta cups, but they form a part of  the essence of India. I had gone into the heart of the old city a few days go on work, and found an old lady selling tea in these. Of course I immediately asked her if I could buy a set. She pleaded with her rather unrelenting old man, eventually persuading him into agreeing, then happily packed them off with me. Her only question was what I would do with these? Sweet lady!

The bottles in the background are also part of our cultural heritage if I may say so. Summer in North India is not complete without crates of these available at every street corner. They are filled with lime juice and sealed with a marble on top, offering a thirst quencher for the man on the street. They are called called ‘bunta-bottle’  in the local lingo, bunta meaning marble. I love the shape of the bottle and the heaviness of the glass too. Though I am now very iffy about the source of water that fills the bottle, I bought them for their rustic charm!

To get to the mixology stage, with strawberries being from a season gone by, my next best bet for a consommé  lay in peaches.Yes, indeed, stone fruits – the other thing that makes summer so much fun. Googling didn’t throw up anything, so I did what I thought was best, and made a consommé of peaches. Since it was less potent than strawberry consommé, I had to use more than 1 tbsp, and it lent a subtle hint of peachiness to the ale. This ale is a wonderful addition to summer!

Homemade Ginger Ale:
Adapted from Aran Goyoaga’s recipe posted @ Design Sponge
25g fresh ginger, grated
1 cup raw sugar
½ cup water
Juice of 2 limes
1/8 tsp active dry yeast
7 cups water
Method:

In a small saucepan, add the grated ginger, raw sugar and ½ cup water. Bring to a boil and let sugar dissolve. Remove pan from heat and let the syrup steep and cool for about 30 minutes.
Strain the syrup through a fine sieve. Mix with the lime juice, yeast and 7 cups of water. Whisk together and using a funnel, pour into a plastic bottle. Screw the cap on the bottle. Make sure it is a plastic bottle and not glass as the gases from the fermentation can crack the glass jar.
Let it ferment at room temperature for about 2 days until carbonation forms. Make sure to refrigerate after it starts to carbonate.

Peach Consommé:
{Aran made a sweet strawberry consommé}
1 lb fresh peaches, peeled, pitted & chopped
½ cup sugar
Method:

In a bowl, toss together the peaches and sugar. Cover the bowl and let them macerate for 2-3 hours, and puree.
Strain through a coffee filter and leave to stand undisturbed for 4-5 hours. Do not press as we only want to collect the clear juice.
Mixology:

1/2 cup homemade ginger ale
2 Tbs peach consommé
1 Tbs vodka to taste (optional)
Fresh lemon slices
Peaches
In a rocks glass mix the ingredients. Add ice to chill. Squeeze a fresh lemon to taste and garnish with fresh lemon and strawberry slices. Serve and enjoy!

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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

{Baking} VERLET’S APRICOT TART … with peaches & cherries too

“Do something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”
Julia Child
My first introduction to Julia Child came in Feb 2008 via the Daring Bakers challenge of her French Loaf, when I conquered my fear of yeast. Then last year, the film Julie & Julia ignited my love for French pastry, and in many way, most things French.  The film won my heart for everything it offered – food, blogging, Paris, cookbooks; more so because I’m a huge fan of Meryl Streep. From my point of view, which might well be wrong, if it wasn’t for all that butter that makes French food as delicious as it is, I would have cooked my way through most of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by now. Last year, meeting these girls from France, Jamie and Pamela at the FBC in London, just made my love for French connections even deeper…
One hot summer afternoon, Googling for something to do with my basket of apricots, the search threw up fresh apricots in baking in so many different ways. There were cobblers, crisps, cakes; and then there was this charming recipe for Verlet’s Apricot Tart from The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris Of course I looked no further as I read the little introduction to the recipe … Verlet is a tiny tea and coffee shop that also serves good homemade pastries. Anyone who loves apricots will love this simple, homey pie. Be sure to use fresh, not canned, apricots.

I made some minor changes to the recipe since heavy cream isn’t available here. I used low fat cream, increased the cornflour a wee bit, threw in some ground almonds left over from the tart shell, and substituted some buckwheat flour for a little all purpose flour in the shell. Be careful not to over bake the shell, or it gets over crisp.

The tart was delicious and full of summery goodness. A smooth, light and flavourful filling which complimented the fruit beautifully. Make sure you give it a good sifting of powdered sugar as soon as it’s baked, and again before serving. As with most fruit baked desserts which are best served warm, we enjoyed this cold too. Might be because of the incessantly hot weather we have these days, but a chilled slice was absolutely refreshing.


Verlet’s Apricot Tart … with peaches & cherries added
Adapted from Tarte Abricot Verlet from Epicurious.com
Recipe from Patricia Wells, The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris
For pastry
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour {or 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour}
2 tbsps finely ground unblanched almonds

For filling
200ml low fat cream {or half cup crème fraîche/heavy whipping cream}
1 large egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tbsps vanilla sugar {or full-flavored honey, such as lavender}
1 1/2 tbsps cornflour
2 tbsps almond meal {I has some left from above, so I added it}
About 500-600gms fresh stone fruit ,apricots & peaches, pitted and halved {do not peel}, and few fresh pitted cherries
Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish

Method:
Preheat the oven to 175C.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23cm) fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Set aside. {I used a 6″ fluted tart pan & two 3″fluted tart pans}
Pastry:
In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and the sugar, and using a wooden spoon, stir to blend. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to form a soft, cookie-like dough. Transfer the dough to the center of the buttered pan. Using the tips of your fingers, evenly press the pastry along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. The pastry will be quite thin.
Place the pans in the center of the oven and bake unitl the dough is slightly puffy and set, 12 to 15 minutes. {The smaller ones are ready in 8-9 minutes}. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the bottom of the crust. {This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.}

Meanwhile make the filling:

In a medium-size bowl, combine the cream, egg, extracts and sugar and whisk to blend. Whisk in the flour and almond meal {if using}.
Pour the filling evenly over the pastry. Starting just inside the edge of the pan, neatly overlap the halved apricots {cut side up} and sliced peaches, at an angle. Arrange in two or three concentric circles, working toward the center. Fill in the center with the remaining apricots, and pitted cherries..
Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until the filling is firm and the pastry is a deep golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes. The apricots will shrivel slightly. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Place the tart on a rack to cool. Sprinkle again with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

Woke up one morning to see that Passionate About Baking had been reviewed by Blog Revue. Thank you Danielle for the wonderful words. You can read about it here … Your Life Would Be More Interesting If You Had More Passion In It …

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India Latest post ‘Peach and Cherry Crisp … Baking With Stone Fruit!‘
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Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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