Proust had his madeleines, I am devastated by the smell of onions frying in butter!
Chicken Korma … simple, flavourful and just the kind of thing I’ve missed sharing here for a bit. It’s been some time since I blogged a curry on PAB. Feels like a wonderful new beginning. My sis in Houston shared the recipe with me a few years ago. It comes from an old family friend’s repertoire. Everyone who digs into it requests her for the recipe, as my sis did too. We’ve shared it, swapped it, minimally adapted it to suit our palette.
Like all cooking, use this as a springboard. Make it just as is and enjoy it. Then play around and customise it if you like. Kormas are gently spiced and slightly rich. With roots in the Mughlai cuisine, this meat based curry dish often has yogurt, maybe a seed and nut paste, and a few gentle spices. Oh yes some red chili too.
The yogurt is traditionally slow cooked so that it doesn’t curdle. It acts as a tenderiser as well as contributing to a nice thick slightly piquant gravy. The colour of the curry comes from the fried red onions … the star of the show IMHO. They lift this korma to new delicious levels, giving it a rich colour and moorish flavour.
Another tip that the aunt uses is to sift the coriander powder instead of just throwing it in. Maybe it lightens the powder for better distribution or something. I also like that the recipe uses staple pantry ingredients. Try this very simple traditional Chicken Korma, mopping it up with some yeasted whole wheat rotis/flatbread or over basmati rice. If parathas are your calling, go right ahead!
You could also try a similar korma with lamb. The cooking time will wary of course but the basic recipe will be quite the same. For lamb, you could consider marinating the mutton in yogurt paste for a few hours, then cooking on dum/simmer until done. Kormas like these are integral parts on Lucknowi cuisine, the city of my mothers birth. Kebabs, curries, kormas, biryanis all form part of their rich Awadhi cuisine.
This particular one is as simple as it gets. It’s one I make often. Today I made a Chicken Ishtoo, Al-Jawahar style {an eatery in Old Delhi} from a recipe on Sangeeta’s blog. That turned out finger licking good too. So many curries, so little time, but will share that one day soon!
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Recipe: Ishrat Aunties Chicken Korma
Summary: Almost every Indian household has there own recipe, and this chicken korma / curry recipe comes from my mother’s childhood friend from Meerut. It’s simple, uses staple pantry ingredients…and leaves you wanting for more!
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:
800gm chicken on the bone, cut into pieces
1/3 cup ghee {or oil}
3 onions, finely sliced {about 200gms}
5-6 choti elaichi / green cardamom {slightly crushed}
5-6 long / whole cloves
1 1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
200g yogurt, whipped
4 tsp coriander powder, sifted
1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
Salt to taste
Method:
Heat ghee / oil in a wok and fry the onions in it till golden brown. {Take care not to let the onions turn too dark, else the korma will be slightly bitter}. Drain the onions from the oil and cool. Then grind to a paste using 1-2 tbsp of the yogurt. Whisk the paste into the yogurt. Reserve.
In the same wok with the remaining oil, add the choti elaichi / green cardamoms and long / cloves and saute till they smell fragrant, 1-2 minutes. {Add a little more oil if required}
Now add the chicken pieces and roast on high heat till nicely seared and golden. Remove from oil and reserve in bowl.
To the hot oil add the sifted coriander powder, the red chili powder, the ginger and garlic paste and mix well so that it all comes together, 1-2 minutes. Now add the chicken back to the wok and give it a good stir for 2-3 minutes.
Now add the fried onion-yogurt mixture, stir well, season with salt, and cook covered on simmer for about 20 minutes. Now the gravy should be fragrant and beautifully coloured. Add a little water if you need to increase the gravy, taste and adjust salt if required. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to mature. Sprinkle a little garam masala if you like and serve with whole wheat rotis, parathas or basmati rice.
“Summertime is always the best of what might be.”
Charles Bowden
Chocolate Oat Almond Walnut Brownies … you can’t have enough brownie recipes under your belt. The younger teen is suddenly showing sporadic bursts of interests in the kitchen. Maybe he’s trying to beat the heat, or maybe discovering a new hobby. Maybe forever H U N G R Y, he thinks it’s best
I was pleasantly surprised some time back when he sauntered into the kitchen in his PJs while I was stirring brownies. Nonchalantly he took the whisk and bowl from me, and made the batter like he had been doing it for years! So I asked him to get up early a few days ago to bake another batch. He made these as we were off for a weekend to Calcutta.
It’s a nice way to engage kids in the kitchen, brilliant actually. Brownies are forgiving creatures. Delicious too! The batter gets stirred together in minutes, and these are less messy. It’s a simple one bowl recipe. Nothing much can go wrong.
You can see how the lad had a go at them. He stirred them together gently, and then in a moment of happiness, gave the batter a vigorous stir up! Soon we had a batch of Chocolate Oat Walnut Brownies. These are gluten-free.
{Research suggests that pure, uncontaminated oats and oat products are not toxic to the majority of adults and children with coeliac disease. However the vast majority of oats and oats products on the market are contaminated with wheat, rye and/or barley. Processing, such as milling, makes them unsuitable for people with coeliac disease. The protein found in oats is called avenin, which is similar to gluten. There is some evidence to suggest that some people with coeliac disease may even react to pure, uncontaminated oats.}
This recipe is ever forgiving and came out good. Good enough for the kids to enjoy, good enough for the younger teen to flaunt them. “I made them”, he announces to all and sundry, then goes on to devour another rightful square! Milk and brownies forever welcome!
He also enjoyed brûléeing the crème brûlée we made a few days ago. It’s nice to involve kids in the kitchen during the summer break. Beware though, the mess is yours to clean if you have teens like mine! He seems to be loving it. So does the elder sis. She baked the cocker a special doggie birthday cake a few days ago. I was skeptical. Needn’t have been. She had a blast and made it look so pretty! Baking is now a big option in the vacations!
These Chocolate Oat Walnut Brownies were for Calcutta, the city of joy! Not a planned vacation, but a weekend getaway to join Mr PAB who had work there. Another inspiring Indian city covered, another opportunity to experience a rich culture. O Calcutta … you are just so beautiful!
There’s been a lot of Bengali influence in my life of late. I was recently interviewed by Sananda magazine, the east Indian version of Femina, in an anniversary special. These days, Mr PAB regularly visits Calcutta on work, coming home laden with intriguing tales! I’ve also recently reviewed a Bengali cookbook cum food journey ‘Bong Moms Cookbook’ for a magazine. That brought the Bong culture and cuisine onto my table.
What are your plans these holidays? We’re halfway through the vacations here. Between internships and a theatre workshop, we’ve crossed the halfway mark. With Master Chef Oz around the corner, hopefully some culinary skills might get polished. Did I forget to mention some candid photography that the kids did too? They both get pretty trigger happy now and then!
Here are some simple recipes to get the kids into the kitchen with … Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Brownies, Creme au Chocolat Shots, Minty Chickpea Yogurt Parfaits, Simplest & Best 2 ingredient Dark Chocolate Mousse, Whole Wheat & Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vanilla Bean Chocolate Chip Wookies, Almond Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream, One Bowl Milk Chocolate Brownies, Strawberry Fro Yo
[print_this]Recipe: Chocolate Oat Walnut Brownies
Summary: A simple one bowl recipe, these Chocolate Oat Walnut Brownies are perfect for kids to make in the kitchen. Healthy, gluten-free and moist, this offers yet another yummy dimension to the ever loved brownie!
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutesIngredients:
100g butter
200 g milk choc
2 tbsp coffee {optional}
100g sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
50g Quaker oats
25g almond meal
75g walnuts, chopped
50g dark chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a square 8 X 8″ baking tin with parchment paper.
Place the butter and chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute {or simmer over a double boiler}. Whisk well until the chocolate has blended well. Add coffee if using, and whisk again.
Add the sugar and whisk well.
Whisk in the eggs, followed by the vanilla extract, then baking powder and salt.
Now fold in the oats and almond meal, followed by the dark chocolate chips and /or nuts if using. {Reserve a few chocolate chips to sprinkle on top of the batter if desired}
Turn batter into prepared tin, spread uniformly and bake for approximately 20-22 minutes.
Cool in tin, then remove gently and cut into squares.
“I doubt whether the world holds for any one a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice-cream.”
Heywood Broun
Cherry Fro Yo … you could fall in love with the colour alone. My heart skipped a beat when I started whirring the thermomix. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Deep, red, bursting with flavour. It was love at first sight! At first bite too!!
Tis the season for frozen desserts. Mangoes have been around for a bit but they aren’t at their juiciest tastiest best yet. Next came plums, and hot on their heels cherries. Cherries are what win my heart over year after year.
I think they are the best fruit of all; immense possibilities. I’ve had a good run this season already. Other than popping loads into my mouth, I’ve done a crisp and loads of balsamic cherries. They’re a great way to top a dessert, a cheesecake or even a sundae. I topped a dark chocolate mousse with some. Heaven!!
I had about 1/3rd box leftover the other day. A fro yo was dancing in my head after I spoke to the sweet Cookaroo. She was having a field day down south making chikoo ice cream and mango sorbet to beat the heat. I had to make something frozen soon!
There was yogurt hanging in the fridge for a potato salad. That was enough to get me on the frozen yogurt trip. I’ve made a Fresh Cherry Fro Yo 2 years ago, a recipe that cooked the cherries down etc. I decided to go the raw way this time. Something newer, something fresher!
How much can you go wrong with fresh luscious juicy cherries, yogurt and sugar? Throw some kirsch in and you’ll be licking the bowl clean. Just what happened to me. This recipe is headed off to a monthly challenge called ‘Our Growing Edge‘ hosted at Bunny Eats Design, a beautiful blog penned by Genie.
Our Growing Edge is the part of us that is still learning and experimenting. It’s the part that you regularly grow and improve, be it from real passion or a conscious effort.
This monthly event aims to connect and inspire us to try new things and to compile a monthly snapshot of what food bloggers are getting up to.
Genie is a graphic designer obsessed with food and bunnies and lives in New Zealand. Her initiative above aims to connect and inspire us to try new things and to compile a monthly snapshot of what food bloggers are getting up to. This is one food experience I just had to share!
‘Heartachingly’, 300g of cherries made just a small quantity of frozen yogurt. It’s ironical that when you make a small teeny amount of anything, it comes out amazingly good! This must have been the best fro yo I’ve made. Best on all counts – colour, taste, depth of flavour, burst of fruit. YUM!!
I can see loads of this beautiful fro yo through summer. Maybe a cherry buttermilk sorbet too. Also loads of red splashes all over the kitchen, tiles and all, while pitting these juicy berries. Beware of the red drips, murderous red! Years of pitting have ensured I wear an apron. The black apron tells no tales! The tiles can be scrubbed clean!
You can make fro yo pops too. I’ve done a plum version of fro yo in an ‘eggless desserts’ feature I did for BBC Good Food this month. It’s the Plum Fro Yo {picture above} and is quite as delectable as the cherry fro yo. The collage below has the different desserts I created and shot for them. The magazine is on the shelves now. A digital version is available here.
[print_this]Recipe: Fresh Cherry Frozen Yogurt
Summary:Refreshing and addictive, this is a great summer dessert or ‘coolant’! Low on calories and high on taste, this cherry frozen yogurt will leave you asking for more … and more! Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutesIngredients:
300g hung yogurt {drained overnight}
300gms fresh cherries {pitted}
25g brown sugar
100g vanilla sugar {or more as required}
15ml kirsch
Method:
Thermomix
Pit the cherries and toss in brown sugar. Freeze until hard, about 2 hours.
Freeze the yogurt as well, chopping up after about an hour.
Place all ingredients in bowl of TM, and process at Speed 7 going up to speed 10 for a minute.
Open scrape down sides, and repeat until you get a smooth blend.
Taste and adjust sweetness if required.
Serve immediately else place in a freezer safe bowl and freeze.
Ice Cream Maker
Pit the cherries and toss in brown sugar. Freeze until firm and chilled, about an hour or two.
Place all ingredients in bowl of processor and blend until smooth.
Transfer to ice cream maker and set according to manufacturer instructions.
“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.
Swedish Prinsesstårta Cupcakes … the best BEST cake we’ve eaten of late. Perfect balance of flavours, moist, flavourful, addictive good, non chocolate … PERFECT! It’s been a while since I enjoyed a Daring Bakers challenge so immensely. Everything was good about it. I have to admit that I veered off the basic recipe … but need to blame the treacherous North Indian summer for that!!
Come May and I got a very excited call from local DB Ruchira. “Guess what the challenge is? A Princess Cake! Wheee… I love it!” I was equally thrilled. A Princess cake is junior teens most favourite cake of all time. Years ago I did a recipe testing for Helene of Tartlette which included a Bavarian cream. That was a princess cake of sorts.
To date, it’s been the best ever cake for the kidlet. He repeatedly tells me how good ‘that Bavarian cream‘ was! Talk about love for food and good taste. Everything Helene does has the midas touch. The months challenge was partly inspired by her recipe.
Korena of Korena in the Kitchen was our May Daring Bakers’ host and she delighted us with this beautiful Swedish Prinsesstårta!
A little research revealed that the original recipe was created in the 1930s by a Swedish home economics teacher named Jenny Åkerström, who taught the three Swedish princesses of the time. She published a series of four cookbooks called “The Princess Cookbooks” and in one of the editions, there was a recipe for “Grön Tårta” (green cake). One story is that this later became known as “princess cake” (prinsesstårta) because the three princesses are said to have loved it so much.
Another story is that Ms. Åkerström actually created three very elaborate “princess cake” recipes – a different one for each princess – and that the current version is a simplified combination of all three. That explains the princess connection, but the reason for the cake being green still seems to be a mystery.
I got to the challenge very very late. It was the 25th already. And the weather? Hot as hot can be, threatening to get worse by the minute! It was 46C at 6pm day before. Fry the eggs on the sidewalk hot, maybe bake the poor princess there too! Plans for a Princess cake were rapidly demolished. Yet I am very nostalgic about the Daring Bakers, a journey that has been long and fruitful. I have been with them for 5 years maybe, and it’s the only baking group I have continued with. I owe them most of what I’ve learnt. The journeys been full of ultimate highs, and a few heartbreaks too; entirely memorable.
Besides, the challenge this month was not just one of being a ‘baker‘. Bakers as you know double up quite often as patisserie chefs too. A finger in every pie, and so on! It was a test of skills at many different levels.I had to make something. That came by way of these sweet Princess Cupcakes that I’ve had bookmarked for years! {I baked the cupcakes the previous evening and completed them at the crack of dawn. You can find a few grainy pictures taken in a hurry to guide you through}
The components are quite the same. There is cake, pastry cream, whipped cream, jam and marzipan. A petite version in this blistering heat which hitting 48C is much easier to handle. I had some balsamic cherries from the two ingredient dark chocolate mousse. Cherries make life a lot more worthwhile.
The Swedish Prinsesstårta Cupcakes turned out excellent. The cupcakes are layered about the same way as you would a Swedish Prinsesstårta. In 20 minutes, spared of a power cut, I was past stage one. Cupcakes done! While they baked, the pastry cream was stirred in the Thermomix. 7 minutes to perfect pastry cream!
I made the pastry cream a little thicker as it’s so hot. I didn’t get to the marzipan though I have made it several times in the past. It was far too hot to attempt marzipan from scratch. A special gift from my dear friend and Daring Baker Finla came to my rescue. She sent me marzipan with a truckload of stuff a few months ago. I use it very sparingly and was thrilled to have some on hand for the princess cupcakes.
This was the best part! Such fun dressing the little ones up. I did the flowers and leaves out of trimmings and it reminded me of my first and only fondant cake, theTea Rose Fondant Cake, I made a while ago. The cupcakes were patched together on fast track as everything threatened to melt. The end result isn’t as neat as I would have liked it to be, but the marzipan was going too soft.
Thank you Korena was such a beautiful and eye opening challenge. I intend to make the original Swedish Prinsesstårta once the weather gets cooler. Thank you as always Lisa ofLa Mia Cucina andIvonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!!
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Recipe: Swedish Prinsesstårta Cupcakes
Summary: Swedish Prinsesstårta Cupcakes… the best BEST cake we’ve eaten of late. Perfect balance of flavours, moist, flavourful, addictive good, non chocolate … PERFECT! Recipe adapted from The Cookie Shop. Makes 5 cupcakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutesIngredients:
Vanilla Cupcakes {can be made up to 2 days ahead}
100g all purpose flour
85g sugar
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
50g – room temp. and cut in pieces
1 egg
80g milk
1/2 vanilla bean
Pastry Cream {can be made 1 day ahead. Only less than half quantity needed}
200ml low fat/single cream
50ml milk
1 egg
50g sugar
12g cornstarch
1/2 vanilla bean
20g butter
Filling
1/2 recipe pastry cream
200ml low fat cream chilled
1-2 tsp sugar
Rum syrup
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon rum
For assembling
5 vanilla cupcakes
1/2 cup pastry cream
sugar syrup
low fat cream, chilled
1/2 cup balsamic cherries {1/2 portion chopped fine}
300g marzipan approx
food coloring
confectioners sugar
Method:
Vanilla cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 5 cups of a muffin pan, or 5 individual muffin tins with paper liners.
Place milk, egg and 1/2 scraped vanilla bean in a small bowl. Whisk to mix with fork.
Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl of electric mixer and pulse to mix.
Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and process briefly until it resembles coarse meal {the larger pieces should be the size of peas}.
With the processor on medium speed, add the milk mixture in three additions, and beat only until incorporated.
Distribute the batter evenly in the prepared tins. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the cupcakes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before proceeding with the assembling.
Pastry cream
In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat milk and cream just until it simmers.
In a small bowl, whisk together egg and sugar until light and fluffy. Add cornstarch and continue whisking until smooth.
Slowly pour the hot milk/cream mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk until completely smooth and free of lumps. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, and cook for another 2 minutes, or until it thickens. Remove from heat and add the butter, whisking well to incorporate.
Thermomix : Place all ingredients in bowl of TM. Pulse at speed 6 to mix for 10 seconds. Then cook at speed 4, 90 C for 9 minutes.
Remove the pastry cream to a bowl. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Syrup
Place water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and add the rum if using. Let cool completely before using or refrigerating.
Marzipan
Divide the marzipan into 5 portions.
Mix the marzipan with the 4 different coloring and knead until the color is uniform. Leave one natural off-white. If it gets sticky, sprinkle a little confectioner’s sugar. Wrap with plastic.
Assembling
Cut off the domed tops of the cupcakes, and peel off thee liners.
Invert cakes and cut into 3 layers.
Whisk the cream and sugar until soft peaks form.
Brush the layers with sugar syrup.
Over removable bottoms of tartlet tins, start assembling the cupcake layers.
first, a very thin layer of chopped balsamic cherries {or jam/preserve}
over the jam, a teaspoon whipped cream;
cake + syrup;
a teaspoon of pastry cream;
last layer of cake + syrup;
Place a few cherries on top to help build the ‘dome’ if you like.
Whip the remaining cream with the remaining pastry cream.
Cover the whole cupcake with whipped pastry cream, trying to make the rounder the top you can. Refrigerate while you complete the next.
Over a working surface, sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar, roll out the marzipan.
Put the rolled out marzipan over the cake making sure to cover the entire cake and cardboard. When finished, some marzipan should drape onto the work surface all around the cupcake. There will be folds on the sides. To remove them lift the outside edge of the marzipan with a hand on either side of a fold and, without tearing or stretching, gently pull the marzipan out and down until the fold disappears. {It was too hot for me to attempt this}. Trim any extra marzipan and reserve for flowers etc.
Stamp out flowers, leaves and stems from the trimmed marzipan and place on cupcakes.
Sift a little confectioner’s sugar over the cakes and transfer to the serving dishes or cake stand.
Note: These are best eaten the same day they are assembled.
“I invented it — but it was so easy, I’m embarrassed!”
Hervé This
Dark Chocolate Mousse. Sweet comfort. Chocolat! This turned out to be the simplest mousse ever. One with fewest ingredients too. Just two. OK three four since I added some sugar & a dash of Kirsch. This was something I had longed to make but just didn’t get there. The past few days have been a little busy, a little heartache, too much running around and no energy to bake. At 46C, baking feels a little HOT!
I craved chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate. The bookmarked folder threatens to burst with a collection that spans a few years. When I need to immerse myself in food, get away from the real world, I know I can dive into the folder. It’s a great place to get lost in.
So much inspiration, so much food for thought. Chocolate recipes are aplenty. This particular Heston Blumenthal mousse recipe inspired by Hervé This has always seemed challenging and unreal. Somewhere deep down I didn’t believe that chocolate mousse can be created with just chocolate and water. Nah!! Impossible!!
Monsieur Hervé This, a French physical chemist with a PHD in molecular gastronomy, invented the recipe for Chocolate Chantilly, or this simple chocolate mousse. His main area of scientific research is molecular gastronomy, that is the science of culinary phenomena. Some of his discoveries include the perfect temperature for cooking an egg, and the use of an electrical field to improve the smoking of salmon. He also found that beating an egg white after adding a small amount of cold water considerably increases the amount of foam produced.
This is the simplest chocolate mousse. Since it uses just two ingredients, chocolate and water, use the best quality chocolate you can lay your hands on. The trick is to whip it just until it begins to thicken and hold soft peaks. Over whipping results in a grainy mousse. If it does get grainy, you can heat the mixture and begin whipping again! So forgiving!! {You can see Heston Blumenthal making this mousse here.}
This is the chemistry they didn’t teach us in school! Who would have thought that chemistry would enter by way of molecular gastronomy into our lives to make it so delicious? The dark chocolate mousse is fab on its own. Sensuous, smooth, satisfying, intense … everything good quality dark chocolate promises to be.
It’s very unlike me to leave well enough alone. Cherries are in season. While the mousse was chilling, I simmered some cherries with balsamic and sugar. This is a great way to preserve cherries. Makes for a fabulous dessert topping. Chocolate and cherries are a match made in heaven. Oh and BTW, a balsamic cherry sauce pairs beautifully with meat too.
I thought I’d drizzle some low-fat cream over the mousse and top it with the balsamic cherry sauce. Low fat cream NEVER whips up to stiff peaks, especially during the 46C days of the Indian summer. Murphy’s law kicked in. Within seconds of whipping the low-fat cream, it thickened up like no ones business.
When you least expect it, you can see the mountain move!! For the first time in my culinary life, I needed soft flowing cream… and I got stiff peaks! Strange!! So I rearranged the layers in my head. Topped the mousse with balsamic cherries, piped some cream over it, topped the cream with dark cocoa nibs…
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Recipe: Simplest & Best Dark Chocolate Mousse
Summary: The dark chocolate mousse is fab on its own. Sensuous, smooth, satisfying, intense … everything that good quality dark chocolate promises to be. Top it with balsamic fresh cherries and take it to even more delicious levels. Mousse recipe minimally adapted from Heston Blumenthal, inspired by Hervé This.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Place a large mixing bowl on top of another slightly smaller one, filled with ice and cold water (the bottom of the large bowl should touch the ice). Set aside.
Put chocolate and water (also sugar and/or liquor if you’re using) in a medium-sized pan and melt the chocolate over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Pour the melted chocolate into the mixing bowl sitting on top of ice and water, and start whisking with a wire whisk (or an electrical hand-held mixer) until thick. Watch the texture as you whip and make sure not to over-whip as it will make the mousse grainy. If the mousse becomes grainy (which is possible at your first try), transfer it back into the pan, reheat until half of it is melted, pour it back to the mixing bowl and whisk again briefly.
Divide into serving cups and chill until set.
Top with balsamic cherry sauce. Pipe whipped cream over. Sprinkle over dark cocoa nibs if desired.
Balsamic Cherry Sauce
Place the cherries with a splash of water in a non reactive sauce pan. Simmer for 4-5 minutes until the cherries begin to get soft. Add the remaining ingredients other that the Kirsch.
Stir for 2-3 minutes over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Strain the cherries out and reserve in a bowl. Return the syrup back to the pan and reduce until thick.
Take off heat, stir in the Kirsch and pour back over cherries. Cool and then chill.
Whipped cream
Place cream, sugar and almond extract in a large bowl. Whip until firm peaks. Place in a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
Note: You can make this mousse without the liqueur. Just substitute the amount of liqueur with water, i.e. use 240ml water.
“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!
