Pastry & Sports

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

2011-12-06T15:44:00.000+01:00

I'm trying to create a different chocolate mousse that pleases me...
Soon...

MARACUJA SOUFFLÉ GLACÉ (FROZEN SOUFFLE)

2011-07-31T13:00:00.003+02:00

Here in France we're having probably the coldest summer since ages but it doesn't mean we can't eat a chilled dessert. So, today let me suggest to you a frozen soufflé flavored with passion fruit.

4 servings,

Ingredients :
- 2 egg-whites (70~80 gr)
- 100 gr sugar (I guess it would be better with less sugar but use at least 60 gr)
- 30 ml water
- 25 cl passion fruit pulp (from fresh fruit or canned), or even any other fruit you prefer)
- 10 cl cream
- pinch of salt

Sift the passion fruit pulp through a strainer in order to remove the seeds, tread to save a maximum of pulp.

Meanwhile prepare the Italian Meringue :
Beat the egg whites until they are fluffy but not completely stiff. In a small saucepan boil the water with the sugar until it reaches 115°C/239°F.

Then, pour immediately this syrup in a thin stream over the egg whites, beating all the time until the meringue reaches the room temperature.

the Italian meringue is perfect !

Whip the cream (very cold) until it forms peaks.

And fold it delicately into the fruit pulp.

here I used a whisk but I did not whip, I combined delicately the elements.

Then, fold in the Italian meringue.

also here do not whip !

Form a collar around the ramekins or any other containers with parchment paper or rhodoid film (must be taller than the top of the molds) use sticky tape to maintain it.

molds wrapped with rhodoid or parchment paper

...and fill the molds 1-2 cm above the top of the ramekins.

the mixture must exceed the top to simulate a classic soufflé

Place in the freezer right away for at least 4 hours.

The Passion Fruit Tiles :
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp passion fruit pulp (keep the seeds)
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp ground almond (optional)

Blend the sugar, flour, ground almond and the passion fruit pulp, mix well. Then add the melted butter, mix until perfectly combined.

Spread it very thinly with the back of a spoon over an oven tray covered with parchment paper.

Put in preheated oven (medium heat) for about 3 minutes (keep a eye on it, it burns really fast).

Remove the passion fruit soufflés from the freezer 10~15 minutes before serving, remove the parchment paper or the rhodoid film and decorate with a passion fruit tile.
Enjoy!

ARROZ DOCE

2011-07-24T12:00:00.001+02:00

Arroz doce (sweet rice) is a famous Portuguese dessert.

makes 4 servings,

Ingredients :

- 75 cl milk

- 25 cl water

- 50 gr sugar

- 125 gr rice (I used rice for risotto)

- 25 gr butter

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 1 large strip lemon peel

- pinch of salt

Pour the milk in a saucepan and heat it up.

Boil the water with the cinnamon stick and the lemon peel for 5 minutes in another saucepan (covered to prevent a too fast evaporation).

Then add the rice and the butter, cook (uncovered) until the water is completely absorbed.

let boil 5 min the water with the lemon peel and the cinnamon, then add the rice and butter

Now add the sugar and a ladle of milk over the rice and allow it to completely absorb the milk (as we do for cooking a risotto). Then add one more ladle of milk and so on until the rice is done (it might take a while, about 30 minutes). The rice has to be creamy and quite moist (it will absorb the liquid when cooling down).

when the rice has absorbed the water, add the sugar and a first ladle of hot milk, and so on...

Allow to rest 10~15 minutes, meanwhile prepare the custard sauce.

Crème Anglaise (custard sauce) :

- 12 cl milk

- 12 cl cream

- 3 egg-yolks

- 25 gr sugar

- 1/2 vanilla sugar packet

Heat up the cream and milk in a saucepan. Whip the sugars with the yolks in a large bowl until it lightens the color. Pour the hot cream over the previous mixture. Mix well.

whip the yolks with the sugars, then pour in the hot milk/cream mixture...

Pour back in the saucepan and cook over gentle heat until it reaches 83°~85°C (181°~185°F) or until it thickens a bit (it lightly coats the wooden spoon).

if you have no thermometer, the custard has to coat lightly the wooden spoon

Fold this custard into the rice.

add the custard sauce in the rice

Pour in individual containers. Leave to cool.

Decorate with cinnamon powder.
Enjoy!

here, inspired by Matisse

and here inspired by Vigeland

PANNA COTTA AGLI ALBUMI D'UOVO

2011-07-17T13:00:00.002+02:00

Umilmente dedicato a Moïra, un'amica molto speciale.

Today, a dessert with flavors of Italy, a panna cotta with an apricot sauce and amaretti biscuits.

makes 4 servings,

Amaretti :

- 90 gr ground almond (roasted preferably)

- 75 gr sugar

- 1 egg-white

- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

- powdered sugar

In my opinion it's preferable to prepare the amaretti the day before.

Prepare a meringue : beat the egg white until it starts to form peaks then add the sugar in 2 or 3 times beating all the time until smooth.

Then, fold delicately the ground almonds and almond extract into the meringue.

Now, with the help of a teaspoon (or your fingers) shape small balls of dough and roll them into powdered sugar.

Arrange them on an oven tray covered with parchment paper (space them out because they are going to grow a bit). You can even pinch the dough with the fingers as they do traditionally.

Put in a preheated oven (low to medium heat) for 10~12 minutes or until they are golden brown. Leave to cool and reserve in a hermetic box.

Panna Cotta :

- 35 cl cream

- 3 egg-whites

- 50 gr sugar

- 1 vanilla bean (or half a packet of vanilla sugar)

Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape off the seeds. Then put the pod and seeds in a sauce pan with the cream and the sugar. Bring it to a boil then remove from the heat immediately and let stand to infuse and also to cool down for about 30 minutes.

Beat lightly the egg-whites (just to "break" them) and mix them with the cream previously sifted. Do not whip.

Grease generously the ramekins with butter and pour in the cream mixture.

Bake in a water-bath (the water already hot) and in a preheated oven (low heat) for 35~40 minutes. They still should tremble a bit when done, they will thicken with the cold of the fridge. So, allow to cool for a while and reserve in the fridge at least 2 hours.

Now I have to say something : panna cotta made with gelatin really sucks compare to this one ! Panna cotta with egg-whites is absolutely divine ! The texture is completely different, really smooth, it melts in the mouth, not gelatinous at all. Pure silk !

Apricot sauce :

- 250 gr apricot (peeled and without the pit)

- 25 gr sugar

- 6 cl water

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

Peel and remove the pit of the apricots. Cut them roughly.

Gather the water and the sugar in a sauce pan, bring to a boil and add the fruits and the lemon juice. Cook covered for 10 minutes over gentle heat.

Drain the apricots (and keep the syrup apart) then mix them in a blender, leave to cool and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When cold check out the texture, if it's to thick add some of the remaining syrup (also reserved in the fridge).

At serving time, unmold each panna cotta from the ramekins (run a thin knife around the edge of the ramekins to help it).
Serve the panna cotta with the chilled apricot sauce, some slices of apricot and 1 or 2 amaretti.

we can see the vanilla seeds on the top, not really good looking but at least it's proof of the use of real vanilla ;)

Enjoy!

ORANGE & CHOCOLATE TART

2011-07-14T13:00:00.004+02:00

A small tart with ganache, orange curd and candied orange zest.

makes 4 small tarts,

The Cocoa Sweet Pastry Crust :

- 120 gr flour

- 80 gr softened butter

- 50 gr powdered sugar

- 15 gr ground almond

- 1/2 egg

- 1 level tbsp cocoa powder

- pinch of salt

Follow the steps here : click!

Take the dough out from the fridge and let it stand for about 15 minutes. Then roll it out 2 mm thick. Cut pieces and place them into the small tart pans. Prick the bottom with a fork and place in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Place them in a preheated oven (medium heat) for 13~15 minutes. Allow to cool down and remove the pastry crust from their molds, reserve.

The Ganache :

- 50 gr dark chocolate

- 50 gr cream

Chop finely the chocolate and put it in a large bowl.

Heat up the cream in a small saucepan (but do not bring to the boil).

Then pour the warm cream over the chocolate, stir gently until homogeneous.

Pour 1 tablespoon of ganache in each pastry crusts and then refrigerate at least 30 min in order to set the ganache.

The Orange Curd :

- 2 whole eggs

- 10 cl orange juice (100 gr)

- 50 gr sugar

- 75 butter

- zest of 1 orange

In a small sauce pan, blend the sugar, zest, orange juice, eggs and sugar and cook over gentle heat until it thickens (do not boil).

Out of the heat, add the butter and whip until completely incorporated. Leave to cool until it reaches the room temperature.

Then, pour the orange curd at room temperature over the ganache (already set) and put back in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

The Candied Orange Zest :

Follow the recipe and technique here : click!

Remove the tarts from the fridge 15 to 30 minutes before to serve and garnish them as you want with candied orange zest.

Enjoy!

COCOA SWEET PASTRY CRUST

2011-07-13T17:00:00.001+02:00

Recipe of Christophe Felder,

Ingredients :

- 225 gr all purpose flour
- 150 gr softened butter
- 95 gr powdered sugar
- 30 gr ground almond
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- pinch of salt

Gather the softened butter, the powdered sugar, the ground almond and the salt in a large bowl. Blend until homogeneous.

butter, powdered sugar and ground almond

Add the egg and beat again until homogeneous.

add the egg to the previous mixture...

Add the flour and cocoa powder and mix until all the ingredients are completely incorporated.

...then the flour and cocoa powder

Wrap the dough in plastic film and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Then, use it.

CANDIED ORANGE ZEST

2011-07-13T15:00:00.001+02:00

To garnish your desserts.

Technique from chefsimon.com

Ingredients :

- 1 or 2 oranges

- sugar

- water

Wash the oranges, then remove the zest with a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler. Take care to remove the white parts from the peel.

Place the zest in cold water for 2 hours. Then slice the peel into thin strips.

reference scale : the match

Blanch 2 times the zest strips : place the zest strips in cold water and bring it to a boil for 1 minute or so, then drain and repeat the process a second time. This process allows to remove the bitterness.

Put the drained zest strips in a small saucepan and add the same weight of sugar, then cover barely with water. Bring to a boil then lower immediately the heat to a simmer and cook slowly for 10 to 15 minutes or until the water is completely evaporated.

The orange zest has to be translucent and tender.

Enjoy!

PETITE CREME AU CHOCOLAT BLANC ET AU CARAMEL

2011-07-07T19:45:00.002+02:00

A white chocolate and caramel cream (no eggs)

4 servings,

Ingredients :

- 40 cl milk

- 15 cl cream

- 100 gr white chocolate

- 25 gr corn starch

- 40 gr sugar

- 30 gr butter

Mince the white chocolate finely and reserve it in a large bowl.

I chopped it but of course you can use any other method to melt the chocolate

Dissolve the starch on a bit of the milk. Reserve.

In a sauce pan, heat up the sugar with a bit of water until it caramelize.

sugar is caramelizing

Then, out of the heat add the butter, stir until homogeneous.

caramel and butter

Then, back over the heat, pour the milk on the caramel. At first the caramel crystallizes but it will melt with the heat. So heat up slowly until the caramel is completely dissolved.

Then, add immediately the milk/starch mixture and cook gently until it thickens (stirring all the time). You can adjust the amount of corn starch according to the final texture you prefer, more or less runny.

Pour this mixture right away over the chopped chocolate, stir until homogeneous. Add the cream, mix again.

stir until the chocolate is completely melted then add the cream

Pour it into containers and cover them with plastic film directly on the surface and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

This recipe also works with dark chocolate (Actually, I first tried it with dark chocolate). However, add a bit more sugar, 60 gr instead of 40 gr because here the white chocolate is sweeter than the dark one. I also added 2 tsp cocoa powder (unsweetened), it enhances the chocolate flavor.

PEACH TERRINE AND LEMON GRANITA

2011-07-06T19:30:00.001+02:00

A chilled dessert when the summer is too harsh !

6 servings,

The Lemon Granita :

- 30 cl water

- 15 cl lemon juice (3~4 lemons)

- 75 to 100 gr sugar

featuring the lemon

Boil the water with the sugar until it is completely dissolved. Then, add the lemon juice. Leave to cool.

When it is at room temperature, pour it in a large container and place it in the freezer. After 1 hour or when it starts to freeze, scrape it with a fork. Put back in the freezer for 2 or 3 more hours and scrape it every 30 minutes or every hour, keep an eye on it, you'll figure it out.

scrape it with a fork when it starts to freeze

final result should look like this (more or less fine)

You can keep the lemon shells to serve the granita in them. So, use a teaspoon or a small knife to cut out the remaining flesh of the lemons. Reserve in the freezer.

place the lemon shells in the freezer until the serving

The Peach Terrine :

- 5 to 6 peaches.

- 60 ml water

- 60 ml orange juice

- 15 to 20 gr sugar

- 30 ml Port wine

- 1,5 sheet of gelatin (3 gr)

- pinch of cinnamon and/or ground ginger (or any spices you like, or no spices at all)

Hydrate the sheets of gelatin in cold water.

Prepare the syrup :

Boil and reduce by half the port wine in a small sauce pan.

reducing the port wine by half

Then, add immediately the water, the orange juice, the sugar and spices. Bring to the boil until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the gelatin. Allow to cool for a while.

orange juice, water, some spices and the gelatin out of the heat

Peel the peaches, remove the pit and slice them very thinly (2 mm) with a sharp knife.

nectarines

Then, arrange these slices in the molds almost up to the top, leave some space, about 0,5 cm. Pour the syrup on the fruits to the top. Let the liquid set then add some more. Place the molds right away in the fridge for 2 or 3 hours. Here I used silicon molds but you can use any other molds, just mind to line them with plastic film.

At serving time, remove delicately the terrines from their molds plunging them 5 seconds in hot water. Serve with a lemon shell filled with the lemon granita.

the project

SOMETHING BETWEEN PASTILLA & BAKLAVA

2011-06-26T11:00:00.005+02:00

A kind of pastilla or baklava with mango, almond cream and pistachio.

8 servings,

Ingredients :

- 10 brick sheets (or even fillo sheets)

- 2 mangoes

- 125 gr ground almond

- 125 gr sugar

- 125 gr butter (softened)

- 2 whole eggs

- 100 gr chopped pistachios (peeled and roasted)

- 100 gr melted butter to brush the sheets

and for the sugar syrup :

- 150 gr sugar

- 85 ml water

- 3 tbsp rum (but you can use the flavor you want, like orange flower water)

The Sugar Syrup :

Prepare the sugar syrup first because we need it at room temperature.

Gather the sugar and the water in a small saucepan, bring to the boil 1 or 2 minutes, then remove from the heat, add the rum (or another flavor) and leave to cold.

add the rum (or another flavor) out of the heat

The Roasted Mangoes :

Peel and slice the mangoes, then roast the them with a bit of butter in a frying pan during 5 minutes or less, add the juice of half a lemon and a bit of cinnamon if you like it .

roasting the mangoes, cinnamon is optional

The Almond Cream :

In a large bowl, blend together the sugar, butter and ground almond. When homogeneous add the eggs.

sugar, ground almonds, butter and eggs

Assembly :

the brick sheets

We need a tart tin and a pastry brush.

Melt the butter and brush the bottom of the tart tin.

Place 4 brick sheets in the tart tin overlapping them and spilling them out from the tart tin. Brush them with butter, then add another brick sheet, this time in the middle, brush again.

don't forget to brush with butter

Spread the almond cream over this first layer of brick sheets, then arrange the slices of roasted mangoes.

the almond cream and mangoes over the first layer of brick sheets

Lay 2 more brick sheets over the mangoes and almond cream, brushing each time. Then spread the chopped pistachios.

lay 2 more brick sheets and spread the pistachios

Now, fold the brick sheets that spill out from the tart tin, don't forget to brush with more butter. Finalize laying the last 3 sheets and brushing again generously with butter. Slice it in 8 portion with a sharp knife.

slice it before to bake

Put in preheated oven (medium heat) for about 35~40 minutes or until golden brown. Then remove from the oven and spread the sugar syrup right away over this kind of mango pastilla/baklava.

Leave to cold and enjoy with a mint tea.

PLAITED BRIOCHE 2

2011-06-23T16:00:00.003+02:00

Another one... and definitely my best brioche ! (I'm such a monomaniac ^^)

Ingredients :
- 200 gr flour
- 100 gr butter (softened)
- 2 whole eggs

- sugar syrup (45 gr sugar, 3 tbsp water, 2 tsp white vinegar)
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 level tsp dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt

Here, the differences with my last brioche recipe (click!) is that I used less flour, so the brioche dough can rise more easily, and I didn't melt the butter but used it softened.

The day before :

Hydrate the dry yeast into 2 tbsp water for 5 minutes or until it bubbles.

In a large bowl, blend the flour, the eggs, the re-hydrated yeast and the salt. Knead quickly until just quite well combined.

Then, cook the sugar : in a small saucepan, blend together the water, sugar and white vinegar, bring to the boil and cook until the temperature reaches 105°C/220°F (use a cooking thermometer). Allow to cool down for 1 minute or 2. Then pour it over the dough and knead right away with a spatula. You can skip this step and just add the sugar together with the other ingredients. I like to use cooked sugar because I think (but I'm not sure) that it makes the brioche softer and it increases the preservation.

Place the dough on a floured worktop and knead 10~15 minutes. Then add the softened butter and knead again for 10~15 minutes. The dough is really sticky at first but less at the end of the process. (You can use your bread maker if you're afraid of this step)
Turn the dough back into the bowl, cover it with a cloth and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm place. Give 2 or 3 folds to the dough after 30 minutes and 2 or 3 more at the end of the hour. Cover the bowl with cling film and place it right away in the fridge (for 12 to 24 hours).
I'm sorry I didn't take pictures of this step but you can check out the process here : click!

The D day :

Take out the dough from the fridge, place it on a lightly floured surface and cut it in 3 pieces. Shape them into strands and form a plait (try to be quick because the dough get sticky quite fast).
Place the plaited loaf on an oven tray covered with parchment paper like here : click! or like I did today in a greased cake tin. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until it double or triple its volume.

after 2 hours in a warm place

Then, brush the top of the dough with eggwash (I didn't do it but it's better and nicer) and put in a preheated oven (low to medium heat) for 25 minutes or when it's brown to dark brown.

Leave to cool at least 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

MOELLEUX AU CHOCOLAT

2011-06-19T00:00:00.004+02:00

A simple chocolate cake with mascarpone.

makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients :
- 200 gr chocolate
- 5 whole eggs
- 150 gr mascarpone
- Sugar syrup (150 gr sugar, 3 tbsp water, 2 tsp white vinegar)
- 80 gr flour
- 50 gr butter
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bowl over a water bath.

melting the chocolate and butter...

Join in the mascarpone, mix until homogeneous, reserve.

blending the chocolate with the mascarpone...

Beat the eggs in a large bowl.

beat the eggs before adding the sugar syrup

Prepare the sugar syrup :
Cook the sugar with the water and white vinegar until it reaches 115-116°C/239-241°F

cooking the sugar

Then pour it slowly in a thin stream over the eggs whipping all the time. Keep whipping until the temperature reaches the room temperature. The mixture has to be foamy.

the eggs whipped with the hot sugar syrup...

Combine it with the chocolate/mascarpone mixture.

eggs combined with the chocolate and mascarpone

Fold in the cocoa powder and the flour.

folding the cocoa powder and the flour...

Pour the batter in a greased and floured cake pan (here 24 cm diameter)

cake pan greased and floured

Then put right away in the preheated oven, medium heat for 20~25 min. Do not over cook ! It must be moist inside.

25 minutes in the oven

You can serve it for teatime or even for dessert with a light custard sauce (crème anglaise)... or not.

PISTACHIO CREME BRULEE

2011-06-16T19:00:00.005+02:00

I'm in a pistachio mood :)

Makes 4 creme brulee, (here : ramekins 10 cm diameter and 2,5 cm depth)

Ingredients :
- 50 cl cream
- 5 egg yolks
- 75 gr sugar
- 85 gr pistachio paste (check out the recipe : click!)
- 4 tbsp brown sugar

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar.

yolks and sugar (clearly: the base of pastry lol)

Bring the cream to a simmer with the pistachio paste, then pour it over the previous mixture, stir until homogeneous (avoid the bubbles, so do not whip).

the cream with the pistachio paste

Pass the custard through a sieve.

the pistachio paste has to be very fine so there will be almost any waste

And pour it in the ramekins almost to the top.

Here in a water bath. The ramekins should go to the oven without any bubbles !

Bake in preheated oven (low heat, about 125°C/260°F ) in a water bath for about 45 min to 1 hour (the custard must not boil). When done they still should tremble a bit (they'll thicken in the fridge)
Remove from the oven, allow to cool and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

50 min later, they still tremble a bit but they actually shouldn't have turned brown...
my indomitable oven doesn't love me, you already know that :)

When ready to serve, spread evenly a thin layer of brown sugar on the top of the creams, then use a blow torch to caramelize (don't burn too much or else it'll get really bitter).

the thing !

Enjoy !

And next time I absolutely have to try to make a "crème brulée à la confiture de lait" (milk jam creme brulee). I ate it one time in the restaurant Barrio Latino in Paris and since then I never forgot this taste and texture !!!

PISTACHIO PASTE

2011-06-15T17:00:00.003+02:00

Pistachio paste to flavor your desserts.

Ingredients :

- 125 gr pistachio (unsalted and shelled)

- 65 gr sugar

- 2 tbsp water

- 2 tsp neutral oil

Blanch the pistachios for 1 minute in hot water. Then peel them and roast them in a frying pan. Reserve.

In a small sauce pan, cook the sugar with the water until it reaches 121°C/250°F. Pour right away this syrup over the pistachios and then stir. Pistachios have to be well coated. Leave to cool.

When completely cold, chop them in a blender with the neutral oil, keep mixing until it forms a paste.

Ready to be used.

the more you mix it finely the best it is

RASPBERRY & PISTACHIO TARTLETS

2011-06-12T11:00:00.009+02:00

Raspberry or strawberry actually.

4 to 5 small tarts,

The Pistachio Cream :
- 50 gr pistachio (unsalted)

- 50 gr butter (softened)

- 50 gr sugar

- 1 egg yolk

- 1 tsp all purpose flour

Blanch the pistachios for 1 min in boiling water and then remove the peel.

blanching the pistachios allows to remove the peel easily

Roast them 1 min in a frying pan and then chop them very finely.

Blend the ground pistachios with the softened butter, the sugar, the yolk and the flour. Mix until homogeneous, reserve.

the pistachio cream

The Sweet Pastry Crust :

- 150 gr all purpose flour

- 110 gr butter (softened)

- 55 gr powdered sugar

- 45 gr ground almonds

- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp salt

Cream the sugar with the softened butter, add the ground almonds, the yolk and then the flour. Mix until homogeneous.

Roll out this dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and place in the freezer for 10 min.

Then, cut this dough in pieces to fit the small tart tins (here 10 cm diameter). Prick the bottom of the pastry crust with a fork.

Spread about 1 tbsp pistachio cream over the bottom of the pastry crust.

Place in preheated oven for 10~15 minutes.

Allow to cool down a while (like 10 min) and take them out of the tart tins.

Reserve.

The Diplomate Cream :

The diplomate cream is a pastry cream (patissière) stuck with gelatin in which we fold whipped cream. It is also called "crème légère" or "crème tutti frutti".

- 20 cl milk

- 1 whole egg

- 30 gr sugar

- 20 gr corn starch

- 1/2 vanilla sugar packet

- 10 cl cream

- 1,5 sheet gelatin

Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

Boil the milk.

Mix the sugars, egg, starch until homogeneous, then pour over it the boiling milk. Put back over gentle heat, cook stirring all the time until it thickens. Remove from heat and add the gelatin, stir until dissolved. Cover the cream with cling film, directly on the surface.

Leave to cool down.

When the pastry cream reaches the room temperature (put it in the fridge to accelerate the process), whip the cream and fold it into the pastry cream...

the whipped cream folded into the pastry cream...

Assembly :

- some raspberries or strawberries or both...

I couldn't decide... so I took both

Fill the pastry crust with the diplomate cream.

this diplomate cream is really really interesting !

Arrange the fruits over the cream, sprinkle them with chopped pistachios and refrigerate.

Enjoy !

BRIOCHE 2

2011-06-08T16:30:00.000+02:00

I'm always looking for the best brioche recipe, so I keep trying and trying...

For me, the perfect brioche has to be soft, moist, with a good taste of butter and eggs, of course, but the more important is that it must have a filante crumb (I don't know how to explain... but let's say when you rip up the brioche crumb, it should be "stringy" which is a texture completely different from the crumb of a bread).

Today, instead of sugar, I'm using a sugar syrup (cooked at 105°C/220°F). It's a test, I let you know why below...

Some bakers use inverted sugar in their viennoiserie recipes. This special sugar (most often available only for professionals) allows the brioches to be softer and moist much more time and it increases of course the preservation. That's why our homemade brioches get dry after a few hours and the bakery's ones stay soft and moist much more time.

How does it work ? Long story short, it's the hydrolysis of the "normal" sugar, splitting it in 2 components, the fructose and the glucose. It gives special properties to this sugar. Bees make inverted sugar (part of the honey is inverted sugar.) Even we, humans, make inverted sugar during the digestion...

Ok, I want this kind of sugar in my brioches !!!!

I read that boiling sugar in water with an acid can turn a part of the sugar into inverted sugar. That's why I'm going to make a sugar syrup with a bit of white vinegar (lemon juice should work too, some use cream of tartar or acid citric, probably better...)

For a big brioche,

Ingredients :

- 500 gr flour

- 250 gr butter

- 4 whole eggs (here 225 gr)

- sugar syrup (85 gr sugar, 30 ml water, 1 tsp white vinegar)

- 10 cl water

- 2 tsp dry yeast

- 10 gr salt (2 tsp spoon)

The Sugar Syrup :

Place the water, sugar and vinegar in a small sauce pan and put over gentle heat. Cook until it reaches 105°C/220°F. Then place the bottom of the saucepan on cold water in order to stop the cooking. You should get a thick syrup.

Leave to cool down.

I tried 105°C/220°F because I wanted it still thick and viscous even when cold

The Brioche Dough :

Several steps here,

Melt the butter and leave to cool for a while (should not burn if you put a finger in it)

Hydrate the yeast in the tepid water (10 cl) for 5 minutes.

Put the flour in a large bowl, add the salt, eggs, yeast, butter and the sugar syrup. Mix with a spatula until quite well combined.

blending all the ingredients

So, you can use right now your food processor. Or you can knead directly in the bowl or even over a worktop. I use my hands and arms because I like to suffer (and also because I don't have any food processor... hehe). At this time, the dough is really, really sticky (really !). Knead until the dough does not stick any more to the sides of the bowl or to the surface of worktop. It may take 15 to 20 minutes (and yes it's tiring and it hurts a bit but we are here on Pastry & Sports, not Pastry & Laziness ! hehe).

Then, put the dough back into the bowl, cover it with a cloth or cling film and leave to rest 30 min at room temperature.

after 15 minutes kneading (and a tendinitis lol)

Then, give a fold to the dough. (It means that you have to fold the dough in 2 with a spatula or your hands, then apply a quarter turn to the bowl and give another fold, and so on 2 more times). Allow to rest 30 minutes more, then give another fold. Here the folds give strength to the dough, "donner du corps à la pâte" as we say in France, literally : to give body to the dough.

giving the second fold after 1 hour rising, see the difference ?

Now, place the dough in the fridge (cover with cling film or a cloth) for 1 day. It's called slow fermentation (complex flavors will develop, and we like that very much, complex flavors).

The day after, take out the dough from the fridge, cut it in pieces and shape them into balls over a gently floured surface.

24h after

Place those balls in the brioche mold, previously lined with parchment paper or greased.

Allow to rise 1h30 (up to 2 hours) at room temperature (protected from draft).

Brush the top of the dough with egg wash (I didn't do it, my oven doesn't like that) and put in a steamed (optional) and preheated oven (medium-high heat) for 30 min (according to your oven).

It's been eaten too fast to know if the syrup would increased the preservation. Anyway, it was really soft and moist.

PAVLOVA EMBAVAROISÉE

2011-06-05T13:00:00.009+02:00

A meringue shell, strawberries, a vanilla bavarois dome and a strawberry sauce.

6 servings,

The Bavarois :

You can make this the day before, or a few hours before the service.

- 25 cl milk.

- 2 egg yolks.

- 40 gr sugar.

- 1 vanilla sugar packet (or use a vanilla pod)

- 2 sheets gelatin (or 4 gr powdered gelatin)

- 12 cl cold cream (30% fat minimum)

Bring the milk to the boil in a sauce pan.

Beat the sugars with the yolks in a large bowl.

sugar, vanilla sugar and yolks

Pour the hot milk into the bowl and mix well. Pour back into the sauce pan and cook over gentle heat stirring all the time with a wooden spoon or spatula until it reaches 85°C/185°F or until the custard coats lightly the wooden spoon. It must not boil.

the custard has to reach 85°C (185°F)

Hydrate the sheets of gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes. Wring them out and add them into the previous mixture (out of the heat), stir until well combined.

Let stand until it reaches the room temperature.

When the custard is at room temperature, whip the cream and fold it delicately into the custard.

when the custard is at room temperature you can fold in the whipped cream

Fill the half sphere molds (here 7 cm diameter, silicon) with this bavarois cream and put right away in the freezer for at least 4 hours (or even the night if you do this step the day before)

When the baravois domes are frozen removed them from the mold then reserve in the fridge.

freezing the domes allows to remove them from their molds easily

The Meringue Shell :

- 2 egg-whites

- 100 gr sugar

- 1 tsp lemon juice

Beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until stiff and then add the sugar in 2 or 3 times, keep beating until smooth.

the meringue

With the help of pastry bag or a spoon, cover the sides of the half sphere molds with the meringue.

cover only the sides, the idea here is to make shells

Put 2 hours in the oven at very very low heat. Door ajar the second hour (in order to get rid of the humidity). Honestly I can't give you a lot of advices here because it really depends on your oven. You have to try.

Remove them from the mold, reserve. Don't make them too much in advance, they become soft, particularly by wet weather.

They are fragile and they fear the humidity.

The Strawberry Sauce :

- 400 gr strawberry

- 60 gr sugar

- 12 cl water

French gariguette strawberries

Mix the strawberries in a blender. Boil the water with the sugar then add the strawberry puree. Stir to homogenize then pass through a sieve and reserve in the fridge.

Assembly :

Scrape off gently the base of the meringue shells with a knife so they will be stabilized on the plate.

Cut some strawberries into little cubes and fill the meringue shells with them.

Place a bavarois dome (no more frozen but at fridge temperature) over the meringue shell (use the blade of a knife placed underneath to move it)

Serve right away with the strawberry sauce on the side, so your guests can pour it over the sphere.

Enjoy !

... the project :

the initial project

ÉCLAIRS AU CHOCOLAT

2011-06-01T18:00:00.013+02:00

an "éclair au chocolat"

A classic of the French pastry !

Recipe for 6 éclairs,

The Choux Pastry :

Check out the technique here : click!

- 110 ml water
- 65 gr flour
- 35 gr butter
- 1,5 egg
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt

Fill a pastry bag with the choux pastry and lay down lines of dough about 12-13 cm long on an oven tray covered with parchment paper. Give some scores with a wet fork on the top of each line of dough.

applying the scores will allow them to rise evenly

Put in preheated oven (medium heat) for 25 minutes, then lower the heat and open a little the oven door, keep it like that for 10 to 15 minutes more.

Remove them from the oven and leave to cool completely.

The Chocolate Patissière Cream :

- 250 gr milk
- 2 yolks (or even 1 whole egg)
- 30 gr sugar (it's less than for a classic patissière because the chocolate is already sweet)
- 20 gr starch
- 50 gr chocolate
- 1 tsp cocoa powder (optional)

Chop finely the chocolate, reserve.

Boil the milk in a saucepan.

In a large bowl, whip the sugar, cocoa powder, yolks and starch. Pour the hot milk over this mixture, stir well.

Put back in the saucepan over gentle heat, cook until it thickens, stirring all the time. When the cream is ready, pour it over the chopped chocolate, mix until well combined.

Leave to cool (covered with cling film directly on the surface of the cream).

The Glaze :

- 250 gr white fondant icing. Check the recipe here click!

- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- bit of water

Melt the fondant with the cocoa powder and a bit of water (like 2 tbsp), in a saucepan directly over gentle heat or in a large bowl over a hot water bath.

here the fondant will melt with a bit of water and the cocoa powder

Try to not exceed 40°C (104°F) or else your fondant won't be shiny when cold, then, better check it with a cooking thermometer. Stir until homogeneous. Add a bit more water if it seems too thick then use right away.
Sorry, I have no more pictures of this step, it was kinda delicate so I forgot to take photos.

Assembly :

Make 3 holes under each éclairs with the help of a knife.

Place the patissière cream (at room temperature) in a pastry bag and fill each éclair through the holes.

Refrigerate the éclairs for 2 hours.

Meanwhile prepare the icing. When ready, place it in a large soup plate or leave it directly in the bowl if it fits and dip the top of each éclairs into the glaze or spread it with a spatula (better this way I guess), let flow the excess by maintaining the éclair upright then clean up with a clean finger.

the white fondant is the best glaze for the éclairs in my opinion

Let set the icing. It has to remain shiny and smooth and it should not stick anymore !

Enjoy right away or reserve in the fridge.

Absolutely Delicious !!!

PITA BREAD

2011-05-28T00:00:00.014+02:00

for 8-10 pita breads,

Ingredients :

- 250 gr all purpose flour

- 250 gr semolina

- 320 gr water (32 cl)

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- 1,5 tsp salt

- 1,5 tsp dry yeast

Hydrate the yeast in half of the water for 5 minutes.

Place the semolina in a large bowl. Boil the other half of the water and pour it over the semolina, stir well with a spatula. The semolina should swell.

Here the semolina swells with the boiling water

Then add immediately the flour and the hydrated yeast with the water, the salt and the olive oil. Stir quickly until combined, then put this dough on a floured worktop and knead at least for 10 minutes.

Adding the flour, olive oil, yeast and then kneading at least 10 minutes. Texture must be smooth

Put it back in the bowl, cover it with a moist cloth and let rise 1 hour or until it doubles it volume.

When ready, punch the dough and divide it in 8 or 10 pieces, then shape into balls not too tight and let stand 5 minutes. Then roll out the balls into discs 5 mm thick.

Now we have 2 solutions, the oven or a frying pan...

Frying pan :

Heat up a frying pan and place in it a disc of dough and cook 2 minutes each sides.

they seem to not puff in my frying pan...

Oven :

Place some discs of dough on the oven tray and put in preheated oven (high heat) for about 8 to 10 minutes (according to your oven).

but they puff quite well in the oven

When done, cover them with a cloth (to keep the humidity) until you'll use them, for example to eat with hummus or to make kebab, falafel or even sandwiches of your choice.
Enjoy !

here a sandwich with beef cooked with onion, red sweet pepper, soy sauce, sesame seeds...

WHITE FONDANT GLAZE

2011-05-23T18:34:00.009+02:00

The white fondant icing is used by confectioners to glaze éclairs, religieuses, cakes etc...

It's possible to buy it in specialized shops but it's not easy to find. So, here's a recipe to make it yourself.

Sorry I didn't take photos of the steps :(

You will need a cooking thermometer.

Ingredients :

- 250 gr sugar

- 75 gr water

- 3 tsp lemon juice.

Place all the ingredients in a little saucepan over gentle heat until it reaches 115°C (240°F). Do not stir, and clean the sugar from the sides of the pan with a wet brush (this sugar can burn and colorize the fondant, and can crystallize it as well).

When the syrup reaches the specific temperature, place the saucepan into a container with cold water in order to cool the syrup. When it reaches 75°C (160°F) start whipping with a fork, the syrup should get white quite quickly. Then place it on a worktop (marble or else) and knead with a spatula and when the temperature is bearable, knead with your hands. The fondant crystallizes and goes lumpy in a first time but then it turns again into a paste.

Shape a ball and place in a hermetic container and put in the fridge at least 24 h before to use.

When you want to use it, you just need to heat it up with some water drops over a hot water bath, add flavor, coloring etc.. It'll melt then use it immediately. Do not exceed 40°C (104°F) or else your fondant will lose its brilliance.
You can keep the white fondant in its hermetic container one year.

PARIS-BREST-TROMSØ

2011-05-15T11:30:00.016+02:00

Paris-Brest is a cake that was invented for a French cycling race which has the same name.
I decided to make my own version : the "Paris-Brest-Tromsø".
Why this name ? Because I say so !
And also to celebrate the Midnight Sun Marathon I wish to run one day in the city of Tromsø, north of Norway. A very special place to run where the sun doesn't set in June. At midnight the sun drops off to caress the horizon and then rises again, beautiful, isn't it ?

I know, this challenge is at the planning stage since ages... And until that, let's make the cake !

4 Servings,

The Crackelin :
- 25 gr flour
- 25 gr soft brown sugar
- 25 gr butter (softened)

Mix all the ingredients until homogeneous.

Then, roll it out 1 mm thick between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Place in the freezer like 15 minutes at least.

The Choux Pastry :
- choux pastry (recipe available here)

Put the dough in a pastry bag and lay down small balls of dough (like 3 cm) over an oven tray (covered with greaseproof paper). Stick each choux to each other, shape as a triangle (a triangle because of the 3 cities huh !)

Remove the crackelin dough from the freezer and cut small squares out of it. Put those squares on the top of each choux.

Put in preheated oven, medium heat, for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, do not open the oven for Christ's sake !! Then, turn the oven to low heat and open the door a little and keep it like that during those 10 minutes (this step is with the aim of removing the humidity inside the choux).

The crackelin didn't work out as I wanted. I'm sure you'll do better than me !

Leave to cool. Reserve.

The Raspberry Cream :
- 100 gr raspberry puree
- 25 gr sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 40 gr butter (at room temperature)

yummy

Clean the raspberries and mix them in the blender. Pass the puree through a sieve to get rid of the small seeds.

In a sauce pan, mix all the ingredients except the butter. Cook until it thickens (don't let boil). Leave to cool. When it reaches the room temperature, add the butter cut in cubes and beat until homogeneous. You can use a food processor if it remains bits of butter.

The Mousseline Cream :

The mousseline cream is a patissière cream expanded with softened butter.

- 25 cl milk (250 gr)
- 45 gr sugar
- 35 gr flour
- 1 vanilla sugar packet
- 2 egg yolks
- 100 gr butter (2 x 50 gr)

Boil the milk.
In a bowl, mix the yolks with the sugars, then add the flour, mix again until homogeneous. Pour the hot milk over this mixture, mix well. Put it back in the sauce pan and cook over gentle heat for 2 minutes, until it thickens. Remove from heat, add the half of the butter (50 gr), Mix until homogeneous. Leave to cool down.

when the patissière cream is done mix in half of the butter

Meanwhile, whip the other half of butter in a large bowl. (you can use a food processor)
When the patissière cream is at room temperature, put a bit of it (like 1/3) on the whipped butter, whip again until homogeneous.

the whipped butter / and then whipped with a bit of patissière

Repeat this step 2 or 3 more times until there's no more patissière cream (better with a food processor, but it's possible by hand, it's tough though). You should get a fluffy cream pretty white, absolutely delicious !!! The best cream ever for me !!!!! The texture is very interesting, and we can flavor it with anything we want.
Refrigerate and reserve.

The Assembly :

Slice the choux triangle in two.

Lay down a first layer of mousseline cream with the help of a pastry bag.

Then, a layer of raspberry cream, some raspberries if you want (I forgot). Cover with another layer of mousseline cream.

Cover with the top of the choux, decorate with raspberries and sprinkle some powdered sugar.

Enjoy !

CHOUX PASTRY

2011-05-15T10:00:00.000+02:00

How to do choux pastry.

Recipe for about 20 choux.

Ingredients :

- 100 gr flour
- 165 gr water
- 2,5 ~ 3 eggs
- 50 gr butter
- 1 level tsp salt

Heat up the water with the butter in a sauce pan. When it starts to boil, add the flour in one time. Stir until it forms a ball. Place again over gentle heat and let it dry for a while, like 1 or 2 minutes. Keep stirring.

Now, add 1 egg and mix until absorbed, add another egg and mix again until homogeneous. Now add only half of the last egg, mix and check the dough, it has to be smooth but not too much. If you put a finger on it, the dough has to stick on it doing a spike when you take the finger off. If the dough is a bit thick then add the egg that left.

The dough is ready to be used.

ALABASTER STRAWBERRY DOME

2011-05-07T19:00:00.005+02:00

Another attempt to create an original dessert.
Here I use half sphere molds 7 cm diameter (so, 90 ml !)

4 servings,

White Chocolate Shells :

- 80 gr tempered white chocolate (see the technique here)

- half sphere molds (if not available you can use plastic coffee cups, or even small glass bowls)

- a pastry brush

Brush the molds with a thin layer of melted and tempered chocolate. Let crystallize in the fridge for 5 minutes and brush another layer of melted chocolate. Clean the chocolate that spills out from the mold. Let crystallize again in the fridge. Reserve.

If the chocolate tempering is well done, the chocolate should crystallize really quickly

Cocoa Sponge Cake :
- 2 eggs
- 60 gr sugar
- 50 gr all purpose flour
- 10 gr cocoa powder

Clarify the eggs, whip the yolks with the sugar until very light. Beat the egg-whites until stiff, fold them very delicately into the previous mixture, then add delicately as well the flour and cocoa powder (do not over mix).

With the help of a pastry bag, spread this batter into squares (10 cm) over an oven tray lined with a greased baking paper. Put in preheated oven for about 7 minutes (medium heat).

Jellied Strawberries :
- 400 gr Strawberries
- 60 gr sugar
- 4 sheets gelatin (8 gr)

Hydrate the gelatin sheets in cold water for about 5 minutes. In a blender, puree the strawberries. Place them in a sauce pan with the sugar, heat them up (do not reach the boil) then add the gelatin. Pour it in a large container or even, in small ones, lined with plastic film or parchment paper. Try to get the jellied puree at least 1 cm thick. Reserve in the fridge 2 hours.

here, the idea is to shape a disc of jellied strawberry puree

Strawberry Mousse :

- 200 gr strawberries

- 120 gr cold cream

- Italian Meringue (1 egg white, 40 gr sugar, 2 tbsp water)

- 2 sheets gelatin (4 gr)

the delicious French strawberries

Hydrate the gelatin sheets in cold water. Puree the strawberries in the food processor, heat them up in a pan without reaching the boil then add the gelatin, stir until dissolved. Leave to cold until room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the Italian meringue : boil the water with the sugar. Start beating the egg white. When the sugar reaches 115°C (240°F, pt:ponto de fio até assoprado, fr:petit boulé jusqu'au boulé) then pour it in a thin stream over the egg white (already stiff). Continue beating until glossy and until it reaches room temperature (5~10 minutes).

When the meringue is at room temperature, whip the cold cream until it forms peaks.

Italian meringue & whipped cream

Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry puree, then fold in the meringue.

strawberry puree with whipped cream, then with Italian meringue

When the white chocolate shells are perfectly crystallized, fill them with this strawberry mousse. Reserve in the fridge at least 2 hours.

try to be neat, huh... :p

It's not easy to make an Italian meringue with only one egg-white, so I recommend to use a minimum of 2 egg-whites and then take only the amount you really need for this recipe. (30 to 50 gr sugar for each egg-white).

Strawberry Lace Tiles :
- 30 gr sugar
- 15 gr melted butter
- 15 gr strawberry puree
- 15 gr flour

In a small bowl, blend the sugar, the strawberry puree and the flour, then add the melted butter. Mix well until homogeneous. Refrigerate for a while, the mixture have to thicken a bit.

Then, spread it very thinly with a spoon on an oven tray covered with parchment paper. Choose a form you like. Bake in hot oven about 3 minutes. Better to try with 1 or 2 tiles before in order to calibrate the time.

Shape when still warm (use a rolling pin, a mug, a bottle etc...). When cold, they are crispy and fragile.

be careful, they burn really quickly

The Assembly :

1 hour before serving :

Place the jellied strawberry puree in the freezer for 30 min, so it'll be easier to take them out from their molds (or from the large mold). Then cut them into smaller discs (the diameter of the chocolate shells) with a pastry cutter for example.

Cut the sponge cakes in order to be perfectly square, brush them with a syrup (strawberry puree, water and sugar). Place them on the service plate and put over them, in the center, a disc of jellied strawberry.
Remove delicately the chocolate shells from their molds and put one on each jellied strawberry disc.

Decorate with a lace tile. Put back in the fridge until the service.

you can use some of the lace tile batter to stick the tiles on the chocolate shell

the globe version ;)

the project

CHOCOLATE COATED ALMONDS

2011-05-04T17:25:00.009+02:00

chocolate coated almonds

Today, a recipe of chocolate coated almonds from the beautiful book of Christophe Felder, "Pâtisserie ! : L'ultime référence".

Ingredients :

- 100 gr almonds (without peel)

- 100 gr dark chocolate (with milk chocolate in the original recipe)

- Sugar syrup (30 gr sugar, 25 ml water)

- pinch of salt

- 30 gr powdered sugar

- 10 gr unsweetened cocoa powder

Prepare the sugar syrup : boil the water with the sugar until completely melted. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Place the almonds in a bowl and pour the syrup over them. Stir with a spatula, the almonds have to be completely coated.

Then spread the almonds on an oven tray covered with greaseproof paper. Put in the oven until roasted, it takes like 10 minutes (medium heat). Leave to cold.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate over a hot water bath (or in the microwave). No need to temper it, even if, I confess, I did it, I like to train tempering chocolate... ;)

Place the bowl that contains the coated almonds in a larger bowl with cold water and ice cubes (so the chocolate will crystallize easier and faster).

Then, pour 1/3 of the melted chocolate over the almonds and stir until the chocolate sets and the almonds separate of each other, then pour another 1/3 of chocolate and so on until the almonds are completely coated with the chocolate that left.

Remove the smaller bowl from the water from time to time while you're stirring in order to control the crystallization of the chocolate.

In another container, mix the powdered sugar with the cocoa powder (sifted). And put the almonds in it, stir until the almonds are completely coated with this powder.

Voilà, ready to be enjoyed with the coffee !

Close-up

Visit this page [click here] to know more about close-ups photographs.

FLAN PARISIEN (PARISIAN CUSTARD)

2011-05-01T13:30:00.000+02:00

One of my favorites dessert when I was a kid. The usual names are flan parisien or flan pâtissier or even tarte au flan.

For a pie pan of 24 cm diameter and 5 cm high,

Ingredients :

- a pie crust (recipe here)

- 1,25 liter milk

- 180 gr sugar

- 5 whole eggs

- 2 vanilla pods

- 120 gr corn starch

Cut the vanilla pods in half (lengthwise) and scrape off the seeds, put all of these in a sauce pan with the milk. Give it a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the sugar with the eggs until smooth, then add the corn starch, mix until homogeneous. Pour the milk in this mixture through a sieve, mix well.

Pour back in the sauce pan and place over medium heat, keep stirring until it thickens, it could take 3~4 minutes. Reserve.

Grease a pie pan with butter, flour it and arrange in the pie crust. Pour in the mixture and put in a preheated oven, medium heat for about 40~45 minutes (it could be more according to your oven).

The top should nicely burn.

RUSSIAN CHARLOTTE (DRIED TOMATO, RICOTTA & PESTO)

2011-05-01T13:00:00.000+02:00

A savory and warm version of a Russian Charlotte, as a starter. Here flavored with dried tomatoes, ricotta and pesto.

4 servings,

The Bread Rolls :

- 4~5 slices sandwich loaf (recipe here)

- Pesto sauce (recipe here)

- Dried tomatoes

Cut the sandwich loaf in thin slices.

Drain 4 or 5 dried tomatoes and cut them in small sticks.

Remove the crust and place a slice on plastic film (you can do breadcrumbs with the crusts). Spread 1 tsp pesto on it and some sticks of dried tomato. Then roll it and wrap it tight with the plastic film, tie the tips. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

The Dried Tomato Flan :

- 150 gr dried tomatoes

- 150 gr ricotta cheese

- 1 big egg

- 1 tsp thyme

- salt and pepper

- 2 tbsp cream

Drain the dried tomatoes and chop them very finely.

In a bowl, release the ricotta with the cream, add the egg, thyme, salt & pepper and the chopped tomatoes. Mix well. Add some breadcrumbs if it's too moist.

The Assembly :

Remove the bread rolls from the fridge and cut them into thin slices.

Grease the ramekins with butter and line them with clingfilm (oven-proof), brush again with melted butter. Arrange the bread slices in the bottom and sides.

Pour in the tomato mixture and put in a preheated oven, in water bath for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5~10 minutes. Then turn them out the ramekins and serve with a line of pesto for example.

PIE CRUST (SHORTCRUST PASTRY)

2011-04-30T19:00:00.002+02:00

Base of pies and tarts.

Believe me it's really easy to do and quite fast. You won't buy pie crust anymore.

Ingredients :
- 250 gr flour

- 125 butter (or margarine)

- 1 level tsp salt

- 50~70 ml water

- 25 gr sugar (optional, only for sweetened tarts)

In a large bowl, blend together flour, salt and sugar if you make a sweetened tart, then add the butter cut into pieces. Mix with the fingers (or in a food processor) until it looks like sand.

Add the water and give it a quick knead until homogeneous (do not over knead). The water allows to combine all the elements and makes this dough stronger than the shortbread dough (which is quite crumbly and fragile). Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour before use. Of course It's possible to do it a couple of days before use.

When you are about to use it, remove it from the fridge, unwrap it, and give it a last quick knead (about 2 or 3 movements), so it won't rip when you'll roll it out.

Flour a worktop, roll out the dough quite quickly 3~5 mm thick with the help of a rolling pin, and then arrange it into the pie pan.

Do not work too much the dough otherwise it'll develop the gluten and make the dough elastic and hard to roll. If you feel that, it's better to let the dough rest for 5~10 minutes and then start again.

PESTO (SAUCE)

2011-04-29T18:00:00.003+02:00

The pesto is an Italian sauce. It's interesting to know that here in France we have a comparable sauce (with some differences though) which name is "pistou", proof of the cultural bond between France and Italy.

For about 12 cl (1/2 cup)

Ingredients :

- 3 or 4 sprigs of basil

- 1 or 2 garlic cloves

- 3 tbsp grated Parmigiano-reggiano (or peccorino or grana padano)

- 2 tbsp pine kernels (it's possible to replace them by walnuts)

- Olive oil

- teardrops of lemon juice

Roast the pine kernels in a frying pan or in the oven. They have to turn golden brown. Leave to cold.

Clean and dry the basil leaves, place them in a blender with the pine nuts, the garlic and some teardrops of lemon juice (to avoid oxidation), then mix (you can also use a pestle and mortar). Turn the mixture into a bowl. Grate the cheese and add it in the previous mixture, stir with a fork or a whisk. Add some olive oil in a thin stream and whip until you are pleased with the consistency (Add more or less olive oil according to the use)

basil, garlic, parmigiano, roasted pine kernels

A really nice sauce for pasta and of course plenty of another recipes... stay tuned !

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

2011-04-25T13:30:00.003+02:00

Really nice dessert with a fantastic flavor of pineapple, caramel and rum.

4 servings (individual portions)

Ingredients :

- 2 eggs

- 100 gr flour

- 75 gr sugar

- 80 gr melted butter
- 2 tsp baking powder

- Caramel (60 gr sugar, water)

- 4 slices pineapple (fresh or canned)

Grease the sides of 4 individual molds with butter, sprinkle some sugar on these side.

Prepare the caramel : in a small sauce pan, heat up the sugar with a bit of water (2 tbsp). Cook until brown then de-cook it with 2 cl water (3~4 tbsp), give a last boil and pour this caramel into the molds (just the bottom).

caramel in the bottom, butter and sugar on the sides

Place a slice of pineapple in each mold, over the caramel, press lightly.

In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar, then add the flour, the baking powder and the butter. Divide the batter into the molds.

Put in preheated oven, medium heat, for 15 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the molds when still warm. Leave to cool down.

you can use small tart molds or even ramekins

Prepare a rum flavored syrup to soak the cakes : Boil 50 gr sugar with 10 cl water, then out of the heat add 2 tbsp rum. Pour this warm syrup over the cakes.

Serve without any delay with 1 or 2 nice tablespoons of whipped cream (or a very light sweetened Chantilly).

HOW TO TEMPER CHOCOLATE

2011-04-22T22:00:00.002+02:00

You probably already noticed that when you melt chocolate it never recovers its initial texture when it crystallizes again (when it cools down). It is no more shiny or even perfectly crunchy.

Actually, the cocoa fat is made of several and different molecules that crystallize at different temperatures. All those molecules have to respect a precise structure of crystallization to get a perfect tempered chocolate. Otherwise the cocoa fat may rise to the surface (white traces), the chocolate melts on contact with the fingers, it isn't crunchy at all and it takes too long to crystallize.

I have to confess that tempering chocolate is really not easy to do at home, but it's possible.

We need a thermometer.

Here I'm going to show you the tempering with a water bath.

First we need to chop finely the chocolate, so it'll melt regularly and quickly.

Put 2/3 of it in a bowl over a water bath (simmering water).

Place the thermometer (or the probe) in the chocolate and reach 45°C (113°F)

Then remove right away from the heat and add the chopped chocolate that left (the last 1/3), stir until homogeneous and let cool down to 28-29°C (80-82°F).

Cool to 28-29°C (80-82°F)

When the chocolate reaches this temperature put the bowl again over the water bath and heat up to 31-32°C (88-91°F).

Do not exceed 32°C (91°F)

Do not exceed 32°C (91°F) otherwise you'll have to begin the tempering all over again. Remove the bowl from the heat before the chocolate reaches the final temperature, like 1 or 2 degrees Celsius before. The residual heat will make the chocolate reach the final 32°C.
Now the chocolate is ready to be used, though, try to maintain this temperature as long as you need to work with it.

as you can see the chocolate is shiny, proof that the tempering worked.

Notice that those previous temperatures work only with dark chocolate. Check the curves below for tempering milk chocolate and white chocolate.

range of temperatures to temper chocolate

IBERIAN BREADS STICKS

2011-04-17T14:00:00.000+02:00

Bread sticks for snack or appetizer.

Ingredients :

- 150 gr all purpose flour

- 90 gr water

- 1 level tsp salt

- 1 level tsp dry yeast

- 45 gr Portuguese or Spanish chorizo.

Hydrate the yeast for 5 minutes in the water.

Mix the flour and salt, then add the water with the yeast. Knead for 10 minutes. Leave to rise 45 minutes or until the dough double its volume.

the dough is rising...

Cut the chorizo in small cubes.

chorizo cubes

Roll out the dough into a square and spread the cubes of chorizo on half of it. Fold in 2. Then cut the dough into sticks. Place them on an oven tray and let them rise again for 1 hour.

Put them in preheated oven, high heat, steam, for 15~20 minutes.

Enjoy this outstanding Iberian flavor.

COCOA SEMOLINA CREAM

2011-04-09T18:00:00.000+02:00

A quick and easy dessert for the days we have no time.

4 servings,

Ingredients :
- 25 cl milk
- 50 gr fine semolina
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 3 level tbsp cocoa powder
- 15 gr butter
- 150 gr cold cream

Heat up a small saucepan with the milk, sugar, butter and cocoa powder. Whip.

blend together the milk, sugar, butter and cocoa powder

When it starts to boil, sprinkle in the semolina, whip to avoid lumps.

fine semolina

When the mixture get thick remove from heat and let it cool down.

In the mean time, whip the cream until it forms peaks.
Fold the whipped cream into the semolina mixture.

fold gently until well combined

Pour in recipients and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Before serving, sprinkle it with cocoa powder or pour over it some chocolate sauce.

FISH STOCK (LE FUMET)

2011-04-09T17:00:00.005+02:00

fish stock

Fish stock is a base to make sauces, to braise fish, to make fish soups or seafood and fish risottos.

Ingredients :

- 1 liter water

- 750 gr fish bones and heads.

- 1 medium onion

- 1 shallot

- 1/2 rib celery

- 1 garlic clove

- 1 clove

- 2 sprigs of parsley, 1 bay leaf and 2 sprigs of thyme

- 3 peppercorns

- 15 gr butter

- 10 cl white wine (or red wine, according to the future use)

- pinch of salt

Optional :

- carrot (half one, roughly chopped)

- the green part of a leek (1 handful)

- 1 tsp tomato paste

Clean up the fish bones and heads, remove and get rid of the eyes and gill, then cut into pieces.

Chop the onion and the shallot.

leek, celery, onion, shallot, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns. I also used thyme and clove.

In a large saucepan, over a medium heat, sweat the chopped onion and shallot with the butter (if you want to use carrot, add it now with the onion and shallot). Do not let them brown. Then add the fish bones and heads, cook them gently 2 or 3 minutes, they get white (If you want to use tomato paste, add it now).

white wine, tomato paste and the fish bones and heads

Pour in the wine and let it reduce by half. Then add the cold water, the pinch of salt and the rest of the aromatics and vegetables (the green part of leek if you want to).

Bring to a simmer and let it cook very gently for 30~45 minutes. Don't forget to skim off the scum that appears on top.

1° sweat the onions, 2° sweat the fish bones, 3° add the water and vegetables.

When done, let cool down until it reaches the room temperature (I like to leave it infusing for about 1 hour) then strain the fish stock through a sieve and refrigerate right away or, if need be, use it !

- Notice that here this stock isn't seasoned with salt. The pinch of salt is not enough for that. So, don't forget to season it the moment you'll use it.

- You can freeze it for a later use.

- If you want a stronger fish stock let it reduce by half (or much more if you want a glaze)

ALMONDINE SWISS BRIOCHE

2011-04-03T18:00:00.005+02:00

A kind of Swiss brioche with an almond cream (instead of the patissière cream and chocolate chips)

Ingredients :
- Brioche dough
- Almond cream

Brioche Dough :
I tried another brioche recipe today, using egg yolks instead of whole eggs.
- 200 gr flour
- 30 gr sugar
- 65 gr butter
- 50 ml milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 level tsp dry yeast
- 1 level tsp salt

Hydrate the yeast on a bit of the milk (previously warmed).
Heat up the remaining milk and melt the butter in it.
In a bowl blend together the flour, the sugar and salt. Make a well, add the yolks, the mixture milk/butter and finally the yeast. Mix until well combined and then knead for 10 minutes.
Leave to rise 1 hour and then place in the fridge for 2 hours at least.
Meanwhile, prepare the almond cream.

Almond Cream :

- 60 gr ground almonds
- 60 gr sugar
- 60 gr softened butter
- 1 egg

- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp dark rum (optional)

If you want you could make the ground almonds yourself using whole almonds.
So, plunge them in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and peel them. Then, roast them in a frying pan 10 minutes, low heat, or in the oven 15 min until golden brown. (Roasting the almonds gives them a very good flavor)
Leave to cool down and chop them very finely in the blender.

the almonds are previously roasted, then chopped finely

Gather all the ingredients and mix them together, reserve.

the almond cream

Assembly :

Remove the brioche dough from the fridge and roll it out into a square (over a lightly floured worktop).

dough shapes into a square

Spread the almond cream on half of the dough. Fold the dough in two covering the cream with the part of the dough without cream.

Then, cut into sections.

Place these sections on an oven tray covered with greaseproof paper and put in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, medium to high heat (with steam if possible). If you trust your oven, you can brush them before with a mixture of egg yolk and water. Otherwise, prefer to brush them after with a sugar syrup to get a shiny finishing (I made a mixture of water, icing sugar and rum).

Enjoy rather lukewarm.

CRISPY RICE

2011-04-02T17:00:00.007+02:00

Crispy Rice

Today, a technique to make crispy rice at home.

What to do with crispy rice ?

- Come on! You'll know naturally what to do with crispy rice ! :D

- Otherwise, for you're breakfast

- Or else, homemade cereal bars...

- But it also could be used in the making of desserts (I'm gonna make one soon)

Though, that is not so easy to prepare, we have to respect some rules. Otherwise we'd get a fried rice completely hard and not crispy at all.

Ingredients :

- Rice

- Oil (most neutral one if possible)

- Patience

First we have to cook the rice in hot salted water (classic method). Try to not over cook it. I used long rice but my guess is a round one should've been better.
When done, drain it and plunge it in cold water (this step allows to stop the cooking and to cool down the rice quite faster). Drain it once again and spread it thinly on an oven tray covered with greaseproof paper.

Now, 2 solutions :

- 1) Leave it 2 days at room temperature in order to dry (that's what I did, I left it in the oven, turned off obviously)

- 2) Place it in the oven at very low heat until it get dried. It should take some time (just keep an eye on it). I partially tested it, I know it can work. If you feel to test it...

When the rice is dry (must not stick anymore, ) it is ready to the next step.

If the rice grains are stuck to each other, try to separate them with the palms of your hands when they start to dry.

After 2 days the rice is dry

Now, the tricky part, be careful, it's really easy to fail.

Pour oil in a saucepan like over 2 mm. Heat up, must be hot but not too much.

The rice has to seem dry but I think it has to keep a little bit of humidity inside (like a dry corn grain)

So, when you feel the oil is ready, test it by throwing one rice grain in it. If it got brown instantly it's because the oil too hot. If the grain fries slowly with no reaction, the oil is not warm enough. Actually the rice kernel should pop immediately, get whiter and double its volume.

Then, if the oil is ready, you can throw like 1 tablespoon of rice in the warm oil, be careful it lasts only 2 seconds, then remove right away from hot oil with a skimmer and drain on kitchen paper. Start again until you have no more rice left. Add more oil some times to maintain the initial level. I think one tablespoon each time is reasonable, more than that could cool down too quickly the oil and jeopardize the process.

It also might work in an oil bath so we could make more rice at the same time... but I'm not sure, I'll test one day.

Watch the video (click here) made by Zuzullo.

Must be crispy and not crunchy !

Soon, recipes with crispy rice, stay tuned...

An example of what we can do with homemade crispy rice !
Here : same weight of rice and melted chocolate

CARAMELO CUORE

2011-03-27T13:00:00.006+02:00

Caramelo Cuore

An always popular "fondant au chocolat" but with a butter caramel core.

4 servings,

The Butter Caramel :

- 50 gr sugar

- 2 tbsp water

- 25 gr butter (salted is better)

- 40 gr cream

Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until brown, then add the butter cut into small pieces. Stir until well combined, and add the cream, stir again. Give it a last boil and remove from heat. Put the caramel in a recipient, leave to cool down for a while, then refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

the butter caramel cooling down

The Chocolate Batter :

- 100 gr dark chocolate

- 60 gr butter (unsalted)

- 4 wholes eggs

- 40 gr sugar

- 60 gr flour

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a water bath. Leave to cool down 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the whole eggs with the sugar until fluffy and smooth, then fold the flour into this mixture. Then mix with the melted chocolate. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, butter generously the ramekins.

the chocolate batter

Assembling :

Half fill the ramekins with the chocolate batter and place a nice teaspoon of butter caramel in the center. Fill with more batter until the top. The caramel is quite thick when cold, it's normal, but after baked it will melt and it will flow out of the cake when we'll open it.... yummy !

Refrigerate the ramekins 2 hours.

butter caramel, exquisite !

Put the ramekins in a preheated oven (medium heat) for about 10 minutes.

Here, we want the outside completely cooked and the inside still fluid, so you have to try out. The baking time might be 10 minutes or 12 or more... depends on your oven, this is the tricky part !
Enjoy warm to tepid.

10 minutes and 30 seconds in my oven (th.5)

DILL SAUCE (FOR POACHED FISH)

2011-03-26T00:00:00.009+01:00

For this sauce we can use regular dill or even the summits of fennel bulbs (they share the same family)

Make 4 servings,

Ingredients :

- a small bunch dill (or summits of 2 or 3 fennel bulbs)

- 2 small shallots (or a big one)

- 80 gr butter

- 10 cl white wine

- 3 tbsp lemon juice

- 30 gr flour

- 25 cl cream

- 40 cl fish stock (or the court-bouillon used to cook the fish)

- salt and ground pepper

hake fish and stock fish

Prepare a fish stock* or a court-bouillon* and poach the fish of your choice in. When done reserve the fish covered with an aluminum foil in the oven (very low heat) with the aim of keeping it warm until we're preparing the sauce. So, we must be quite fast...

you can use dill or even fennel summits, the flavor is a bit different though.

Chop finely the dill. Blend together the cream, the fish stock (already seasoned) and the chopped dill.

cream, stock fish and chopped dill

Mince the shallots very finely and cook them in a small saucepan with the butter for about 2 minutes. When done deglaze with the white wine and lemon juice, cook until the wine evaporates completely. Then add the flour, stir and cook for more 1 minute. Pour very progressively the fish stock/cream mixture, cook until thick, creamy and smooth. Adjust salt and pepper. If it's too thick add some more stock.

final sauce

Ready to enjoy with your poached fish.

*Fish stock : it's made of heads and bones from fish and some aromatic vegetables cooked in unsalted water. Its flavor is stronger than the court-bouillon.

*Court bouillon : it's basically salted water and some aromatic vegetables like carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, bay leaf etc... It has to cook a little while before poaching the fish in.

Some translations :

dill = aneth (fr) ; aneto (pt)

fennel = fenouil (fr) ; funcho (pt)

PASSION FRUIT & COCONUT ICE CREAM

2011-03-20T21:00:00.001+01:00

Ice cream quenelle is so classy ;)

What to do with remaining egg-yolks ? An ice cream of course ! An exotic one actually, a passion fruit and coconut ice cream.

Ingredients :

- 20 cl cold cream

- 25 cl passion fruit pulp (canned or from fresh fruits)

- 25 cl coconut cream (or coconut milk)

- 5 egg yolks

- 40 gr sugar

- Cooked sugar (30 gr sugar, 2 tbsp water, 1 tbsp lemon juice)

- 2 gelatin sheets (here I use the gelatin as a stabilizer and emulsifier)

Hydrate the sheets of gelatin in very cold water.

Prepare the cooked sugar : heat up 30 gr sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan, cook until 110°C/230°F. Then add immediately the coconut milk and the passion fruit pulp (previously mixed in a blender). Bring to the boil. (you can skip the cooked sugar step, so heat up directly coconut and passion fruit mixture)

Coconut cream is common in France. The passion fruit canned not so much...

Meanwhile, beat 40 gr sugar (+ 30 gr if you didn't do the cooked sugar) with the yolks until light and fluffy. Pour the hot passion fruit/coconut mixture in the yolks and turn it back over the heat, keep stirring and cook until it reaches 85°C/185°F or when the mixture coats the spatula. Leave to rest out of the heat for 5 minutes and add the gelatin sheets, stir until well dissolved.

Leave to cool down.

when the cream coats the spatula you can stop the heat...

When the mixture reaches 35°C/95°F or when it almost reaches the room temperature, whip the cream until it forms peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the previous mixture. Pour in a container and place it in the freezer. Don't forget to mix or whip the ice cream every 30 minutes for 3 or 4 times (it prevent the ice crystals)...

fold the whipped cream only when the mixture reaches the room temperature...

...Or you can refrigerate it and when cold use your ice cream maker.

Take out the ice cream of the freezer at least 15~20 minutes before serving.

passion fruit and coconut combine quite well...

MOLOTOF

2011-03-20T13:00:00.012+01:00

Portuguese Molotof

Molotof is a typical dessert from Portugal. Basically it is a baked meringue flavored with caramel. As light as a cloud !

And before to enjoy it we need to gather :

- 10 egg-whites

- 150 gr sugar

- Caramel (150 gr sugar, 50 ml water, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 20 ml water for "de-cooking" the caramel)

- Butter for mold

- A big mold (30 cm)

The Caramel :

In a little saucepan, blend together 50 ml water with the lemon juice and the sugar. Place over medium heat and cook until brown, then "de-cook" it (stop the cooking) with 20 ml water. Reserve.

(The acidity of lemon juice helps to prevent the crystallization of the sugar during the process.)

The Meringue :

Beat the egg-whites, when they start to get lightly stiff add the sugar, keep beating and then add some of the caramel (about 5 tbsp). Stop when completely stiff. Pour the remaining caramel in the mold (bottom) and grease generously the sides of the mold with butter. Then place the meringue into the mold with a spoon or spatula, try to avoid holes.

Put in a preheated oven (medium heat) and in a water bath (water already hot) for about 10 minutes. After this time switch off the oven and leave the mold like 30 more minutes inside (do not open the door).

Take it out of the oven and remove the molotof delicately from the mold and refrigerate right away.

The butter and caramel didn't let the molotof stick to the mold ! Nice !

very, very, very yummy !!!

"as light as a cloud"

CHICKEN BALLOTINE

2011-03-19T00:15:00.002+01:00

Today, a technique to prepare chicken ballotines.

It's quite easy to make and it gives something fancy to common chicken breasts.

Recipe for 1 ballotine (multiply for each serving)

- Chicken breast (ie, big and little fillet)

- Salt, ground pepper, spices

- 30 ml Cream

- half sweet pepper (or mushrooms or whatever you want to stuff the ballotine)

- Olive oil

- Cling film (must support heat)

- Aluminum foil

Clean the chicken breast piece and remove from it the little fillet, reserve it.

Cut the bigger fillet sideways to form a wider fillet (do not cut the all way). Give it some scores with a knife and then flatten it between to layers of plastic film or parchment paper with the help of a pastry pin or sauce pan.

giving some scores with a knife helps to flatten the fillet

Lay it down over a piece of cling film, season it with salt and ground pepper. Reserve.

Prepare the stuffing : Peel the sweet pepper (about half one for 1 serving), cut it into small cubes and fry them over a low heat with a bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes, reserve.

yellow and red sweet pepper

Chop the little breast fillet in a blender and had 30 ml cream, mix again, season with salt, ground pepper, the spices you like and add the cubes of sweet pepper (or mushrooms, hazelnuts, prunes etc...), blend with a fork until homogeneous.

the little fillet / chopped with the cream / blended with the sweet pepper

Spread this stuffing over the flattened chicken breast and shape a tight roll in the cling film. Tie the tips. Then roll it again into aluminum foil.

Cook in hot water (low heat) for about 20~25 minutes.

When done, remove the aluminum foil and cling film, slice the ballotine and serve it with a sauce you want. In my case, I made a sauce with a duck braising stock I kept from a previous recipe.

slice it and serve with a sauce of your choice

CHOCOLATE CHUNK BRIOCHE

2011-03-13T14:32:00.000+01:00

I had a remaining brioche dough from a previous recipe so I did small chocolate brioches.

We need :

- brioche dough.

- chocolate chunks (more or less according to your taste)

Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Spread the chocolate chunks and shape a roll. Then cut into pieces and place them in generously greased molds (I used muffin pan). Leave to rise 1 more hour and then put in oven for 15 minutes.

When baked brush them with syrup (water and powdered sugar) to get a shiny finish.

BRIOCHED TATIN & VANILLA ICE CREAM

2011-03-13T13:00:00.008+01:00

I can't help it, I really really like brioche. And I guess I like even more tarte Tatin (Those caramelized apples with butter and sugar are so yummy !!!!)

Here, the idea of this brioched Tatin is to replace the traditional shortcrust pastry (or puff pastry) with a brioche dough.

Recipe for 4 individual brioched Tatin.

Let's Start With The Vanilla Ice Cream :

- 30 cl milk

- 20 cl cream

- 5 egg-yolks

- 70 gr sugar

- Cooked sugar (30 gr sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp water)

- 1 vanilla pod

- 2 gelatin sheets (here I use the gelatin as a stabilizer and emulsifier)

Cut the vanilla pod in half (lengthwise) and scrape off the seeds, reserve.

Hydrate the gelatin in very cold water.

In a pan, prepare the cooked sugar. So, melt the sugar (30 gr) in the water and lemon juice and cook until it reaches 110°C/230°F, then add the milk, cream and vanilla (pod and seeds), give it a boil and stop.

Meanwhile, beat the sugar (70 gr) with the yolk until light and pour in it the mixture milk/cream. Place it again in the pan over low heat and keep stirring until it reaches 85°C/185°F. Do not reach the boil at this step. Out of the heat remove the vanilla pod and add the gelatin, stir until dissolved.

yolks and sugar / vanilla pod / final ice cream batter

Leave to cold completely and then use your ice cream maker, otherwise pour it into a container and place it in the freezer. In this case remember to mix or whip the mixture every 30 minutes for 3 or 4 times in order to prevent ice crystals.

ice cream done

The Brioche Dough :

- 200 gr flour

- 65 gr butter

- 1 whole egg

- 50 ml milk

- 25 gr sugar

- 3/4 tsp dry yeast

- 1/2 tsp salt

Heat up up the milk (not too warm, it'll kill the yeast).

Hydrate the yeast in a bit of the warm milk and melt the butter in the remaining milk.

Blend together the flour, sugar, salt and egg then add the melted butter in the milk and the dehydrated yeast. Knead for 10 minutes (or use your bread-maker or food processor). Leave to rest at least 1 hour covered and in a warm place.

Then, punch the dough and cut into balls (about 35~40 gr each), reserve and prepare the apples.
(you can make little brioches with the remaining dough).

the brioche dough resting

The Caramelized Apples :

(this step was inspired by Le Sot L'y Laisse)

- 5 medium apples

- 60 gr butter

- 30 gr sugar

- caramel (100 gr sugar, 25 ml water, 1 tbsp lemon juice)

Peel the apples, remove the core and cut into quarters (or half quarters), cook them slowly in a frying pan with the sugar and butter. Reserve when smooth and golden brown (about 15 min).

Prepare the caramel : heat up a little pan and melt in the sugar with the water and lemon juice until brown (try to not make it too much brown because that turns the caramel bitter)

Line the molds/ramekins (bottom and sides) with the caramel and arrange the apples in them. Press a bit with a spoon.

caramel / apples / brioche dough

Roll out the balls of dough into circles (the diameter of your molds/ramekins) and place them on the top of the apples, press lightly.

Put in preheated oven (medium heat) for about 15 minutes.

Leave to cool down but remove them from the molds when still a bit warm, it helps.

after 15 minutes in the oven : it smells like heaven

Serve the brioched Tatin lukewarm or even at room temperature with a quenelle of vanilla ice cream (remove the ice cream 15~20 minutes from the freezer before serving, and use a spoon soaked in hot water to shape the quenelles).


the brioche is soaking up the caramel

Beautiful, isn't it ?

ORANGE TUBE

2011-03-06T12:58:00.000+01:00

A dessert featuring the combination Orange/Chocolate.
The final result wasn't what I was expecting, a bit disappointing. I can't really tell where is the problem but I am really really not pleased. However, I leave the steps below because some techniques and recipes are interesting.

Makes 4 servings.

The Thin Brownie :
- 75 gr black cooking chocolate
- 50 gr butter
- 30 gr chopped and roasted hazelnuts
- 75 gr sugar
- 1 whole egg and 1 yolk
- 50 gr flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- pinch of salt

Melt the butter together with the chocolate (in water bath or in the micro waves). Roast the roughly chopped hazelnut and join them to the previous mixture. Beat the eggs with the sugar until very light then add the chocolate mixture and finally the flour with the cocoa powder and salt (do not over mix in this step).
Spread thinly in a pan (1 cm thick) or on an oven tray, bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overcook, it must be still moist inside. Leave to cold completely and cut into rectangles (about 10 cm X 5 cm)

the bottom of this dessert is a thin brownie (about 1 cm thick)

The Orange Cream :
- 125 ml orange juice (about 2 oranges)
- 130 gr sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1,5 gelatin sheet
- 125 gr melted butter
- 1 tsp corn starch

Rehydrate the gelatin in cold water.
Blend together the orange juice, the sugar, eggs and the corn starch and put in a sauce pan over low heat, cook until 85°c or until lightly thick (do not boil). Let cool down for a little bit and add the gelatin, stir until dissolved and finish with the melted butter, stir again until well combined. Refrigerate.

Cook the orange cream until 85°C (185°F)

The Cigarette Biscuit Dough :
- 40 gr butter
- 40 gr powdered sugar
- 40 gr egg-white (1 from a big egg)
- 40 gr flour

Cream the sugar with the softened butter, add the egg-whites and finally the flour. Spread this dough very thinly ( 1 mm) over an oven tray lined with baking paper and bake until the edges are brown (about 4~5 minutes).

Cut into rectangles (10 cm X 11 cm) and wrap it around a metal tube (2,5 cm diameter) while it still warm (10 cm it's the length of the tube we want at the end) Press to seal. If the cigarette dough harden before you can even make the tubes, so put it back in the oven for seconds.
Reserve.

The Cooked Stiff Egg-Whites :
- 2 egg whites
- 20 gr sugar
- pinch of salt

Beat the egg-whites until it starts to form peaks and join the sugar, beat again until completely stiff. Place this meringue in a dish and bake it in a water bath for 15 minutes in the oven (medium heat) and covered with an aluminum foil. Or cook them in the micro-waves for 30 seconds. Let cool down, remove from dish and slice into 10 cm lengths slabs (and about 4 cm high)

Assembling The Cake :

the initial project

With the help of a pastry bag or a spoon trace a line of orange cream on a brownie base then stick on it a slab of meringue (so it won't move). Lay on the top of the meringue some more cream and stick on it the crunchy tube filled with the same orange cream. Decorate with orange supremes.
Serve and enjoy.

"FORÊT POIRE" (PEAR BLACK FOREST)

2011-02-20T13:00:00.004+01:00

The Forêt Poire is my version of the "Forêt Noire" (black forest) with poached pears instead of the traditional cherries. Forêt Poire... pfff I know, this pun really sucks ! :D

Makes 4 individual cakes :

Cocoa Sponge Cake
- 3 eggs
- 90 gr sugar
- 75 gr all purpose flour
- 20 gr cocoa powder

Clarify the eggs, whip the yolks with the sugar until very light. Beat the egg-whites until stiff, fold them very delicately into the previous mixture, then add delicately as well the flour and cocoa powder (do not over mix).

the sponge cake batter spread evenly on the oven tray

Spread over an oven tray lined with a greased baking paper. Put in preheated oven for about 8 minutes (medium heat). When baked turn upside down and remove the baking paper, leave to cool.
When completely cold, cut circles with a pastry cutter (about 8 cm). We need 3 layers of sponge cake in each individual cake.
You can make the sponge cake the day before.

the sponge cake baked and cut in circles

Poached Pears and Syrup
- 2 or 3 pears
- 50 cl water
- 200 gr sugar
- cinnamon
- vanilla pod or (1 or 2 vanilla sugar packets)
- orange zest
you can also use clove, anise, star anise, ginger, cardamom etc...

featuring the pears...

Heat the water and sugar until warm, add the spices. Peel the pears, remove the core and cut in 2. Place them in the syrup and cook for 15 minutes (low boil). Remove from the syrup, leave to cool completely. Reserve. Keep the syrup.

the poached pears

Pear Chips
- 1 pear
- the syrup

Slice the pear the more thinly as possible (about 1 mm). Poach those slices in the syrup until they look translucent (2-3 minutes). Remove slices from the syrup and lay them on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 30 minutes (low heat) or when they are golden brown and look like dry. They harden when cold.

pear chips

Reserve the syrup. Out of the heat you can add like 2 or 3 tbsp pear liqueur (optional). We'll need this syrup to soak in the sponge cake.

Chantilly
- 250 gr cream
- 40 gr sugar

Whip the cold cream until it begins to form peaks, then add the sugar and keep whipping until completely thick and fluffy.

Chocolate Shavings
- 100 gr black chocolate

Melt chocolate in a water bath (bain marie) then pour it very thinly over a very cold oven tray, place in the freezer for a while (few minutes) and scrape off the chocolate with the help of a knife to form the shavings. This step can be done the day before so keep the shavings in a box in a cold place (like the fridge).

Assembling the cakes
Cut the poached pears in little cubes (about 1 cm).

pears cut in cubes

Brush the sponge cake circles with syrup. Spread some Chantilly on a first circle with a spoon or a pastry bag and put on some pear cubes. Put down a second layer of sponge cake, spread Chantilly and then more pears. Place the third circle on top.

Cover evenly the sides and top of the cake with Chantilly. Sprinkle the sides with chocolate shavings (I put the shavings in a large plate and I roll the cakes over the chocolate). Decorate the top with pear cubes, a pear chip and some more Chantilly.

Refrigerate for 2 hours at least.

SQUID AND RED WINE RISOTTO

2011-02-19T13:00:00.003+01:00

I've been trying a lot of risottos lately, often disappointing, it's not that easy to make a really good risotto. The risotto I'm gonna show you is definitely my best one.

The foundation of a good risotto is obviously the stock (or broth) so try it homemade, it's much more interesting and so we're no more dependent on the actual standardization of tastes.

Makes 2 servings,

Ingredients :

- 160 gr rice for risotto, arborio or carnaroli.

- 250 gr squids

- 1 liter seasoned fish stock (homemade if available)

- 125 gr tomato puree

- 1,5 tsp tomato paste

- 100 ml red wine (1 glass)

- 1 medium onion (or half a big one)

- olive oil

- 1 bay leaf

- 25 gr grated Parmesan

- 20 gr butter

the squids

Clean and slice the squids.

Heat up 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan, add the chopped onion and the bay leaf and fry for about 3 minutes without coloring, then add the tomato paste, let it stick to the frying pan, we call it "pincer" in French (to pinch), it allows to remove a part of the acidity of the tomato paste. Add half of the wine and let reduce by half. Join the squids and the tomato puree and cook covered (low heat) for about 20 minutes or when the squids are almost done...

Arborio Rice

...then add the rice (turn the heat higher) fry it for 2~3 minutes and then add the remaining red wine. When the rice has absorbed all the wine then pour 1 ladle of fish stock (turn down the heat to a simmer). Keep stirring and add the next ladle of stock only when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the rice.

Carry on adding stock until the rice is done. The rice has to be smooth and creamy outside and firm inside (al dente like a perfectly cooked pasta). This process lasts about 20 minutes.

the steps

Why do we have to gradually pour the stock ladle by ladle ? This technique allows an easier evaporation of the liquid during the cooking which will nicely concentrate the flavors at the end. That's why we use much more liquid compared with the regular way to cook the rice. So, mind to not use a too much salted stock because the salt will concentrate as well.

When the rice is done, take it off the heat and add the cold butter in pieces and the Parmesan, stir well until creamy. The very final texture of this risotto must be "all'onda" (on the wave, in Italian) ie when you shake the frying pan the rice should ripple like a wave.

Let it stand covered for about 3 minutes and serve it without any delay. I served it with coriander leaves and the tentacles that I previously fried in a bit of oil.

CHICKEN AND PINE KERNEL RAVIOLI IN BROTH

2011-02-13T20:00:00.004+01:00

This recipe makes 4 servings as a starter.

The Chicken Stock :

- Whole chicken wings (about 6)

- Chicken bones (optional)

- Aromatics (1 onion chopped, half celery stalk, the green part of a leek, 1/2 carrot, 2 or 3 garlic cloves)

- Herbs (2 sprigs of parsley, 2 branches of thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 dried clove)

- Black peppercorns (4~5)

- Butter

Prepare this stock some hours before.

Remove the meat from the drummettes and wingettes, reserve this meat, we'll use it to prepare the stuffing. Break the bones with a solid knife and place them in a saucepan with a bit of butter, cook over a high heat until the bones are golden (do not burn them, of course). Cover with cold water (1 liter) and bring to the boil, then lower immediately the temperature to a simmer and skim off the scum that appears on top. Then add the aromatics, the herbs and pepper. Simmer for 2 hours covered, don't forget to skim if impurities appear on the surface.
When done, strain the stock through a fine sieve.
Leave to cool down for a while then place in the fridge (in order to reduce the bacterial development). When completely cold, scrape off the fat that solidified on the surface of the stock.

ingredients for chicken stock

the fat will solidify on the surface when cold

The Stuffing :

- Chopped chicken meat (from the chicken wings we used to prepare the stock)

- Pine kernels

- Shallot

- Garlic clove

- Grated Parmesan or Grana cheese

- 2 tbps cream

- butter

- salt and ground pepper

pine kernel (pinjekjerner)

Put a small piece of butter in a frying pan, cook the finely minced shallots for 1 minute, then add the pine kernels, the chopped chicken and chopped garlic, season with salt and ground pepper and then cook until done, then add the cream, cook 2 minutes more. Out of the heat, add the cheese. If the mixture is too sticky then add some breadcrumbs.

Reserve.

the stuffing (chicken meat and pine kernels)

The Pasta Dough :

- 50 gr flour

- 50 gr semolina (hard wheat) You also can use only regular flour instead.

- 1 whole egg

- 1 Tbsp olive oil

- 1/2 tsp salt

Blend together the flour, semolina, egg, olive oil and salt. knead until smooth and dry. Wrap it in plastic film and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, fold it in two, roll out again. Do that 2 more times. This process helps to develop the gluten and give the dough its firmness and solidity.

Roll out a last time into two thin sheets and place small amounts of stuffing on one of the pasta sheets. Brush the dough between the stuffing with water or egg yolk then place the second pasta sheet over the first one avoiding to add air then press the dough between the stuffing mounds to seal the pasta. Shape/cut the ravioli with the help of a knife, a pastry wheel or pastry cutter.

Reserve them on a floured surface. Do not stack them, they would stick together.

The Leek Broth :

- The chicken stock

- Some leeks

- Salt

Season the stock with salt, heat up. Meanwhile, clean and cut the leeks into 5 cm lengths (the white parts), then place them immediately in the stock and cook until done over a very low heat (about 25~30 minutes).

The Final Step :

While the leeks are cooking and in order to keep the broth without any flour traces from the ravioli I prefer cooking them in salted water. Then place them into boiling water and cook for 4~6 minutes. Strain.

Serve some ravioli in a bowl with leek lengths and a ladle of broth.

Enjoy very hot, rather for diner and in winter, when the sun is already set, drink a glass of Bordeaux and listen Pachelbel's canon in D Major

GÂTEAU NANTAIS (NANTES' CAKE)

2011-02-13T13:00:00.001+01:00

gâteau nantais and strawberry jam

Today another dessert with the amazing flavor of rum... :) and almonds.

Nantes is a city from western France.

Ingredients :

- 175 gr sugar

- 165 gr softened butter

- 130 gr ground almonds

- 4 whole eggs

- 55 gr flour

- 9 Tbsp dark rum

- 75 gr icing sugar

If you have whole almonds, boil them for 1 minute, then remove the peel. Roast them 15 min in a hot oven. Chop them finely. Roasting the almonds give them a stronger flavor.

roasted almonds have a better flavor

Beat together the sugar and the softened butter until fluffy. Add the ground almonds, mix and add the eggs one by one stirring after every addition. Then add the flour and 3 tbsp of rum, stir until well combined, do not over mix though.

Spread this batter into a buttered cake pan. (I used a 24 cm one but a smaller one should've been better). As this cake doesn't rise very much so you may not use a cake pan too much big if you want it quite thick.
Place it in a preheated oven (medium heat) for 30~40 min (according to the power of your oven, mine cooked in 30 min and it was a bit over cooked). It must be golden, not brown, then if it turns brown too quickly then cover it with an aluminum foil. My oven hates me, it likes very much to burn my stuff so it burnt the sides of the cake... such a sadness.

Remove it upside-down from the cake pan and brush the bottom with 3 tbsp of rum then put it in the right side and leave to cool down.

Prepare the icing.

Mix the icing sugar with the remaining rum (3 tbsp) and spread on the top of the cold cake with a brush, a spoon or a spatula (make it nicely, not like me huh! Probably because the cake wasn't completely cold...). Let rest, the icing will solidify.

Enjoy just like that or with 1 tbsp of strawberry jam on the side. Why strawberry jam with this cake ? Why not ?! :P

The Strawberry Jam :

- 200 gr frozen strawberries

- 120 gr sugar
- some drops of lemon juice

Blend the the sugar and the strawberries into a saucepan and bring the mixture to the boil. Cook for 15 minutes (until 103~105°C / 217~220°F). Leave to cool completely and refrigerate.

(this process is available only if the jam is going to be eaten right away, so don't keep it more than a few days in the fridge)

BABA AU RHUM (RUM BABA)

2011-02-06T15:00:00.012+01:00

Another French classic ! A dessert with rum.. a dessert for men ! Yeah !!! :D

This recipe makes 4 servings,

The Baba Dough (or Savarin in the appropriate mold) :

- 100 gr all purpose flour

- 1 big whole egg

- 10 gr sugar

- 1/2 tsp dry yeast

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tbsp milk

- 30 gr melted butter

Rehydrate the yeast in the warm milk (about 5 minutes)

Mix together the flour, sugar, salt, egg, yeast and then the melted butter. Knead for 10~15 minutes.

Leave to rise for 1 hour covered and in a warm place (I left it a night in the fridge)

Then, punch the dough (sticky), cut in 4 equal pieces and put in greased baba molds (I used muffin pans). Leave to rise again for 2 hours.

Then, put in preheated oven (medium heat) for 13~15 minutes, until golden brown. (I lightly over-cooked mines.)

Remove from the molds, leave to cool down and reserve.

after the first rise and the second one...

15 minutes in the oven...

The Syrup :

- 150 gr sugar

- 30 cl water (300 gr)

- some orange zest (optional)

- 4 cl dark rum (40 gr)

Blend together the water, the sugar and the zest in a saucepan. Bring it to the boil until the sugar completely dissolved. Cool down to 40°C (warm but not too much), then add the rum.

Put the syrup in a large bowl and place the babas in it, turn them several times until they can not absorb any more syrup (they will swell, it takes 5 to 10 minutes)

the syrup in progress and the dark rum...

the babas soaking up the syrup...

We can eat them just like that or with a vanilla Chantilly...

I think it is nice just like that but we can add some Chantilly...

The Vanilla Chantilly :

- 100 gr cold cream

- 1 vanilla sugar packet (7 gr)

Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks, add the sugar and whip again.

whipping the cream by hand... :p

Place the babas in a plate or a bowl, add some more syrup and garnish them with the Chantilly. Serve. Enjoy.

Notice that they are much better when prepared in advance (some hours or even one night). In this case reserve some of the syrup that left to pour it over the babas before serving, it will compensate the natural desiccation.

CREPES

2011-02-02T18:00:00.005+01:00

Here in France the tradition wants that we make crepes for Candlemas. I really agree with that tradition, then crepes it is !

Makes 15-20 crepes,

The Crepe Batter :

- 50 cl milk

- 250 gr flour

- 3 eggs

- 25 gr sugar

- 4 cl oil (or melted butter)

- pinch of salt

- zest of lemon or orange (optional)

Combine together the flour, the eggs, the sugar, salt and a bit of the milk. Mix until homogeneous. Then add gradually the milk and the oil.

Leave to rest for at least 1 hour.

Put a lightly greased frying pan over medium heat and pour a small ladle of batter on it (swirl the pan to distribute the batter evenly). Cook for 1 minute each side. Put in a plate and cover with another plate to prevent the desiccation.

Sprinkle them with sugar or spread some jam, fold them etc... (I'm sure you know how to eat them lol)

I chose to filled them with salted butter caramel, raspberry jam and lemon curd.

The Salted Butter Caramel :

- 100 gr sugar

- 50 gr salted butter

- 100 gr cream

In a saucepan heat up the sugar with a bit of water (and some drops of lemon juice, it helps). Caramelize the sugar, not too dark. Then add the salted butter, when melted add the cream, cook for 1-2 minutes. Reserve.

Be careful, cooking sugar is quite dangerous, it is very hot and it sticks on the skin and it hurts ! ;)

The Lemon Curd :

- 8 cl lemon juice

- zest of a lemon

- 2 whole eggs

- 100 gr sugar

- 50 gr butter (at room temperature)

In a saucepan blend together the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and eggs. Cook until thickened (71°C/160°F on the thermometer). Remove from heat and add the butter, stir until melted. Reserve.

The Raspberry Jam :

- 150 gr frozen raspberries (or fresh)

- 100 gr sugar.

Blend the raspberries and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil, cook for 10-15 minutes. reserve.

The amazing flavors...

1 minute each side...

Filling them...

Fold them as you want... different foldings to recognize the filling ;) Enjoy !

STRAWBERRY CHARLOTTE

2011-01-30T11:00:00.037+01:00

A classic, again.

We can realize this recipe with frozen strawberries or fresh ones, the process is lightly different though. I used strawberries from the garden that I froze last summer.

Makes 4 individual charlottes.

THE JELLIED STRAWBERRIES.

- 1 cup frozen strawberries (about 200 gr)

- 1 tbsp sugar.

- 2 tbsp water.

- 1,5 to 2 sheets gelatin (or 3~4 gr powdered gelatin).

Hydrate the gelatin.

Heat up the water with the sugar, add half of strawberries rougly chopped, cook 2 or 3 minutes. Then add the other half of strawberries (cut in 2) and cook again for 2 minutes. Add the gelatin, pour in a ramekin or a pastry ring and put in the fridge until jellied.

Remove from the ramekin and cut in 4 slices. Reserve.

If you have fresh strawberries, just use them like that (cut in 2 according to the size of them or even your taste). I gel the frozen strawberries because they release a lot of liquid and I don't want them to seep through the cake.

THE LADYFINGERS (BISCUIT CUILLER)

We can buy them of course, it's easier but I prefer to make them because I can stick them to each other, the manipulation is easier and I guess it's a little more aesthetic. Notice that in French "cuiller" (or cuillère) means spoon, because those biscuits were shaped with a spoon before. Nowadays we use a pastry bag.

- 4 egg yolks.

- 2 egg whites.

- 50 gr sugar.

- 40 gr flour.

- powdered sugar.

Beat the yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat the whites until stiff and fold them with the previous mixture. Add the flour delicately (in 2 times).

Cover an oven tray with greaseproof paper, fill a pastry bag (plain tip) with the batter and lay it down into 5 cm long. Leave space between them or stick them to each other (then make a strip which will fit with your pastry rings). Now shape the same way circles for the charlottes bottom. Sprinkle with powdered sugar 2 or 3 times and bake them for 6-7 minutes (medium heat). Remove them from the oven tray.

Line the individual rings with the ladyfingers strips (sides and bottom). Obviously we can first brush the ladyfingers with a syrup (water + sugar + liqueur). I didn't do it because the ladyfingers aren't dry as they are homemade.

Reserve.

THE BAVAROIS CREAM.

It's basically a custard sauce (crème anglaise) flavored traditionally with vanilla and stuck with gelatin and finally combined with whipped cream.

- 25 cl milk.

- 2 egg yolks.

- 50 gr sugar.

- 1 vanilla sugar packet or a vanilla pod (cut along the whole length, scrap out the seeds and keep them).

- 2 sheets gelatin (or 4 gr powdered gelatin).

- 15 cl cold cream (30% fat minimum).

Hydrate the gelatin.

Beat the yolks and the sugar until pale and fluffy. Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan with the vanilla pod and seeds (or simply add a vanilla sugar packet) and then pour it over the previous mixture, stir well. Put again in the saucepan and cook over very low heat until thickens (up to 85°c/ 185°F if you have a thermometer). Leave to cool for about 15 minute and add the gelatin, stir well. Leave to cool to room temperature. Then whip the cold cream until thick and fold into the custard.

Half fill the molds with this bavarois cream, then put the stawberries (fresh ones or one slice of jellied strawberries) and fill again with bavarois cream until the top leaving 5 mm free for the strawberry coulis.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

THE STRAWBERRY SAUCE.

- 250 gr fresh or frozen strawberries.

- 50 gr sugar.

- 10 cl water.

Bring the water and sugar to the boil, add the strawberries. Cook for 2~3 minutes and then mix in a blender, sift and refrigerate.

Remove the charlottes from their molds/or rings and pour some sauce on the top and eventually in the service plate, decorate as you want and enjoy.

The jellied strawberries...

The ladyfingers strips...

The charlottes' bottom...

In a ring (here rhodoïd)...

One layer of bavarois cream, slice of jellied strawberries and another layer of bavarois cream...

LEMON MERINGUE TART

2011-01-23T00:00:00.023+01:00

One of my favourite desserts ! ;)

For 6 little tarts or one regular one.

The Sweet Pastry Crust :

- 200 gr flour

- 100 gr softened butter

- 70 gr powdered sugar

- 1 whole egg

- pinch of salt

Mix the butter and the sugar until fluffy, add the egg, stir until combined. Then add the flour and salt until homogeneous.

Roll out this dough between 2 sheets of baking paper (about 3 to 5 mm). Put in positive cold for about 30 min or in negative cold for about 10~15 minutes.

Put the dough in the tart molds and then in a preheated oven (medium heat) for 10 minutes. Remove from molds and put again in the oven for 5 more minutes or until golden brown.

Reserve.

The Lemon Cream :

- 8 to 10 cl lemon juice (2 regular lemons)

- zest of 2 lemons

- 2 whole eggs

- 85 gr sugar

- 100 gr softened butter (at room temperature, important)

In a bain-marie (waterbath), beat the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and the eggs until thick and fluffy (82~85°C, mine was ready at 70°c /160°F... weird). It takes about 10 minutes.

Let cool down to 40°c (104°F) or less and add the softened butter cut in pieces (in about 3 times) and whip again with the help of a hand whisk (or food processor). This step and temperature is really important, because we have to keep the texture of the softened butter, it must not melt, that's why we have to let the cream cool down around the 40°c or less. The final texture of the lemon cream is really interesting, creamy but fluffy and not heavy at all in spite of the amount of butter.

Pour the cream in the sweet pastry crust and reserve in the fridge.

The Italian Meringue :

- 2 egg whites

- 110 gr sugar

- 50 gr water

Boil together the sugar and the water.

Meanwhile, start beatting the egg whites.

When the sugar reaches 115°C (240°F, pt:ponto de fio até assoprado, fr:petit boulé jusqu'au boulé) then pour it in a thin stream over the egg whites (already stiff). Continue beating until glossy and cold (5~10 minutes).

With the help of a pastry bag or a spoon, spread the meringue on the tarts (decorate as you want).

You can serve them like this as the egg-whites are already cooked by the sugar.

Or you can brown them in the oven or with a blowtorch. It gives the meringue a light caramel flavor.

Reserve in the fridge until the service.

The sweetened dough baked...

Filled with the lemon cream...

Preparing the Italian meringue...

The meringue over the cream...

The Italian meringue is very stable (it doesn't weep) and is thick...

Browned with a blowtorch (optional)...

Enjoy !

BOLO REI (THE PORTUGUESE TWELFTH NIGHT CAKE)

2011-01-08T18:00:00.001+01:00

My first Bolo Rei :)

Ingredients :

- 400 gr flour

- 100 gr butter

- 100 gr sugar

- 80 gr milk (80 ml)

- 3 whole eggs

- 150 gr crystallized fruit (100 gr for decorating the top)

- 70 gr raisins

- 75 gr nuts (walnuts, almonds, pine kernel)

- 5 cl Port wine (to soaked the raisins in it)

- zest of lemon and orange

- powdered sugar (for decorating)

- 1,5 tsp dry yeast

- 1 tsp salt

Hydrate the yeast in a bit of the milk (lukewarm) for 5 minutes.

Soak the raisins in the Port wine.

Heat up the remaining milk with the butter, let it melt and reserve until lukewarm.

In a bowl, mix the flour, the sugar, salt, zest. Add the mixture milk/melted butter, the yeast, stir, and add the eggs. Knead for 10 minutes. Cut 50 gr of the crystallized fruit into little cubes (reserve some for decorate the top of the cake), cut roughly the nuts, strain the raisins and combine all those fruits into the dough, knead for 1 or 2 more minutes. Let rise for 2 hours (covered in a warm place).

Then, punch the dough, shape it into a crown and decorate with the remaining crystallized fruit and some nuts. Let it rise one more hour.

Then, put in a preheated oven (medium heat) and steamed, for 25 minutes.

Brush it before with a mixture of egg yolk and a bit of water. I didn't do it, because my oven always burns it, so I prefer brush the cake after baked with a syrup (water + sugar).

the dough at first rise...

decorated and 2nd rise...

25 minutes in the oven...

EASY CHICKEN CURRY

2011-01-04T16:50:00.002+01:00