Banana & Mascarpone Mousse Parfaits

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for wishing me a Happy Birthday (32 for the curious). You sure know how to make a girl feel special!

Late wednesday night I was cleaning the kitchen after an afternoon of baking and macaron making when I gave a serious look into the fruit bowl: the bananas I had bought two days earlier were already having a mini meltdown. It is quite amazing how fruits wilt faster than you can use it over here. At first, I thought of the usual: banana tartelettes, bread puddings, muffins, cakes, breakfast treats...
It was hot you see, so I went for a cold treat instead and I am glad I did. I was tempted to make ice cream but changed my mind for something a little bit more elaborate when I learned we might have company on thursday night. Our dinner party did not take place but I was able to serve this to B. and the neighbors tonight while playing cards.

These parfaits were adapted from my other Sugar Daddy, Richard Leach. I have been mesmerized by his creativity, techniques and use of seasonal produce. His book might seem daunting at first but there is not one recipe that did not turn out delicious and even if one dish is made out of 4-5 elements you can definitely make them separately, like I did with these Banana Parfaits. I made the original recipe (post later this week) then had enough leftover parfait batter to make individual servings without guilding the lillies like he did (nothing wrong with that but I have more than one job and less than one day to do them all!).

Banana & Mascarpone Mousse Parfaits, inspired by Richard Leach:

Serves 8

2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pureed bananas
1/2 cup mascarpone, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream

In an electric mixer bowl, whisk the egg yokls and 1/4 cup of sugar until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl, stir the banana puree and mascarpone until smooth. Fold the yolk mixture into the banana mixture. Whisk the egg whites until firm peaks. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 Tb. at a time and continue to whip until glossy. Fold the whites into the banana mixture. Whip the cream to soft peaks and add to the banana mix. Spoon into different shape molds. I used silicon pyramid shaped ones. Freeze overnight.

Chocolate Glaze:

Heat 3/4 cup heavy cream to boiling point. Remove from heat and add 1 cup dark chocolate chips. Let stand for 2 minutes ten whisk until incoporated. Let cool to room temperature

To assemble: Unmold the banana parfaits and drizzle the chocolate ganache on top, sprinkle with pistachios if desired.

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Birthday Girls...

Tomorrow is my birthday (30 something and rocking...) and Kate's (20 something and rocking...)

I had no idea when I started this blog over a year ago that blogging would come with benefits. Not only did I become part of a wonderful group of talented, supportive and Daring Bakers (if you knew how fantastic they are you'd get teary-eyed too), I have also been asked to be one of the co-administrators of the Daily Tiffin by my dear friend Meeta....and last but not least I have met a funny and talented young lady, Kate of Applemint while I was hosting HHDD 11.

After exchanging emails we realized we shared the same birthday: May 13th.... We decided to celebrate this coincidence that we would both bake each other a cake.
Euh...Helen, today is May 12th....Ah maybe here in northern America but in Hong Kong where Kate lives it is already the 13th and I want her to see my birthday cake as soon as she turns her computer on. She has made me an awesome lemon sponge with lemon grass and lime leaf mousse with mango compote jelly. I love it! I asked what her favorite flavor(s) was and the answer came in one sweet sentence: "anything with dark chocolate".

In her honor I made a deep dark Devils Food Cake with Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Ganache.

Happy Birthday to you Kate! Happy Birthday to Me!

Devil's Food Cake, adapted from Dorie Greenspan:

Makes 8 individual cakes

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup boiling water
4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugars and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate. When it is fully incorporated, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients). Still working on low speed, mix in the boiling water, which will thin the batter considerably. Switch to a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with the rubber spatula.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. Transfer the cake pans to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. Cut 8 4-inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

For the glaze:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 ounces white chocolate

Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Gently stir in the vanilla. Transfer glaze to a small bowl and cover the surface of the glaze with plastic wrap and let cool for 5 minutes at room temperature before using.
Place the chilled cakes, still on the cake round, on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Slowly pour the hot glaze onto the center of the cake. Smooth the glaze over the top and sides, letting the excess drip onto the baking sheet . Melt the white chocolate and srizzle over the cake.

Kate, I wish you all the best for this new year and wish for the day that you can show me the sights of Hong Kong!

Since I'll be celebrating my birthday out somewhere tomorrow, I take this opportunity to wish all mothers out there a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow. My mom will get her own special post June 3rd when they celebrate Mother's Day in France.

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Blueberry - Acai & Pineapple Verrines

This is not only a tasty and refreshing spring dessert but a very healthy one to boot. I am going to let you in on a little habit of mine: I drink acai juice everyday....what is it? It is the juice from the acai berry, a palm fruit, originally used by the tribes of the Amazon. The fruit contains great health properties and the juice is actually quite tasty once you get acclimated to a little grassy palate.
I started drinking it when I was told to increase my levels of vitamin Bs and essential fatty acids. I hate taking pills, I almost always choke or gag and frankly I could do without all the coating additives around them...plus 1/2 cup of juice a day beats a handful of pills. I have grown to like the taste and have been trying to get B. to drink some in the morning but the man is like a tornado throughout the house..always on the go..until we both crash (yes, it is exhausting watching him!).

I figured I would try to sneak it in desserts to make sure he would enjoy the same benefits, so I came up with these "verrines" or "dessert in a glass". The blueberries have a strong enough flavor to mellow the acai juice taste if you have a reluctant tester or a picky eater, and the crushed up macaron on top, well, it's just like the cherry on the cake!

Blueberry - Acai and Pineapple Verrines:

Serves 4

2 cups of fresh pureed or diced pineapple
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/3 cup acai juice
1/2 cup sugar

For the blueberry-acai layer:
In a saucepan, heat the blueberries,ginger, cinammon, lemon zest with 1/4 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the blueberries start to break down and get juicy. Remove from heat, stir in the gelatin until dissolved. Add the acai juice. Let cool and divide among glasses. Refrigerate until slightly thickened.

For the pinneapple:
In a saucepan, heat the pureed pineapple with the remaining 1/4 sugar. When hot, remove from heat and stir in the gelatin until dissolved. Let cool and pour over the bluberry-acai layer.

To finish: crush up a few macarons, meringues or cookies on top of each glass and serve.

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Bananas Foster Tartelettes

Well, the same says it all. This was an impromptu dessert made last night. The boys were working on the boat and I decided to have T. stay over for dinner. There was plenty for 3 but I did not have any dessert fixed up....ok I am lying, there was ice cream but only for one and if we did not want to fight over it I'd better come up with something fast. I had half of the inside-out puff pastry chilling in the fridge and some banana that were getting a little too yellow for B. so there you have it:

Bananas Foster Tartelettes:

(serves 4)

Inside Out Puff Patry (or store bought)
2 bananas
2 Tb. butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum

Roll enough puff pastry to cut out 4 3-inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchement paper, cover with another sheet of parchement paper and set another baking sheet on top. They will puff up but won't get wild on you. (I did not press them flat after baking like I did with the Mille-Feuille)
Bake at 375 (F) until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the bananas:
Cut them into 1/2 inch thick slices.
In a sautee pan, over medium heat, melt the butter, add the brown sugar and the rum and sloow the sugar to melt and the mixture to thicken up a little. Put the slices in a single layer in the sauce and cook 2 minutes. Flip and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Once cooled, place them in a decorative pattern on top of the tart shells, and serve.

Oh man that was good...so good I am glad I made extras....!
See...I can do uncomplicated sometimes!!!

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Meet My Sugar Daddy...

Well, Lisa and Ivonne are never going to forgive me but it seems like I have an affair with Pierre Herme almost every weekend, at least on sunday afternoons when I finally can sit down and fantasize about him..ok, maybe not "him" but his culinary ventures and creations. Every macaron, gateau, pastry is a poem in itself...so does the man. As I tried to put into words what I felt for and thought if Pierre Heme, I remembered a post I had bookmarked from ubber talented pastry chef Shuna at Eggbeater. Read this and you will understand why we are infatuated!

Instead of my traditional "internet fantasies by P.H", I became completely engrossed in a book my mom gave me for Christmas years ago... I love the book and yet I probably only made a handful of recipes from it, rice pudding, a couple of sorbets, creme brulees, chocolate mousses,etc. I am afraid to touch gold...I am afraid to mess with perfection...Oh what the heck?! I am far from his level so why not...after all, he put his recipes in book, he's got to be thinking about us and (please say so) can't be completely narcissistic....

I always read a cookbook from the end first: the materials and ingredient sources, the index, the ingredients and above all the techniques and tips from which I can always learn.
As I was reading the book, my eyes stopped at this recipe : "pate feuilletee inversee"...or...Inside Out Puff Pastry. Yes, you read right. In regular puff pastry, the layers are created by folding pastry dough over a butter block and folding and turning it several times. Well, leave it Pierre Herme to fold the butter block over the pastry dough, folding and turning. The result is fabulous, layers upon layers of soft, airy buttery goodness. I was really curious to see how that butter block (with a minimum of flour) would behave being on the outside. Things turned out perfectly and if I could have kissed my butter right then I think I would have, but the neighbors were around and I did not want to scare anybody off.
I don't know if Herme created the concept but it would not surprise me a bit given his ability to re-invent classics and techniques.

One particular recipe in the book caught my eyes, a "mille feuilles" also known as "napoleon" with gorgeous red strawberries, rhubarb and vanilla pastry cream. I had the dough, fresh plump raspberries and freshly roasted rhubarb. I favor simple whipped cream with raspberries and I was short on time, trying to put together an impromptu dessert for our weekly friday evening al fresco dinner with the neighbors. In other words, I skipped the pastry cream, and I am glad I did because the finished dessert was light, tart and let the dough shine through instead of taking supporting role.

Raspberry Rhubard Mille Feuilles, adapted from Pierre Herme:

Inside Out Puff Pastry: (enough for 4 napoleons and 1 large tart)
Butter Block:
190 gr soft butter
75 gr flour
Dough:
175 gr flour
7 gr. salt
60 gr melted butter
70 ml water

For the Butter block: mix together the soft butter and the flour and form into a ball, in between two sheets of plastic or parchment paper, roll into a disk 3/4 inch thick. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours
For the dough: mix all the ingredients together, adding the water little by little until you get a smooth dough. Pat into a square 3/4 inch thick and refrigerate 1 1/2 hours.
Roll the butter block into a 1/2 inch thick disk, put the dough block on top and enclose it with the butter block (by pulling the extra butter dough over the pastry dough).
Roll into a rectangle 16x9 inch. Fold the top and bottom toward the middle, fold the dough in half. Put the folded edge toward your left, lightly press the dough with your hand and refrigerate for an hour.
Repeat one more time and refrigerate 1 hour.

For the third and final turn, roll out the dough into a rectangle again, visually dive your dough in 3 and fold the bottom and top thirds toward the middle tier. Refrigerate another hour before using in your recipe.
The dough makes more than what you might need for one tart or severl Napoleons, but it is easier to work a large quantity of puff pastry and refrigerate or freeze what you don't use.

Remaining components:
1/2 Inside Out Puff Pastry
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks with 2 Tb sugar
1 pint fresh raspberries.
Roasted Rhubarb:
Heat oven to 375. Cut 2 rhubarb stalks into 1 inch slices. Put them in a medium sized roasting pan, sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar over it and roast until the rhubarb get caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, and slightly mash with a fork.

Roll the dough to a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Line a baking sheet with parchement paper, lay the puff pastry on it, cover with another sheet of parchment paper, put a baking sheet over it and bake at 375 until golden brown. The top baking sheet adds enough weight for your dough to remain under control and yet allows for the layers to puff up during baking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Once cooled, cut the dough into equally sized triangles (decide the size according to your taste. I went for a base of 3 inches).

To assemble:
Put a pastry triangle on a plate, pipe or spoon some whipped cream over it, cover with raspberries. Top with a sheet of pastry, spoon some roasted rhubarb, cover with a final sheet of pastry and dust with powdered sugar.

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Vanilla Cardamom Ice Cream - A Taste Of Spring

Why "A Taste of Spring"? Well, because here in South Carolina, this is just about what we have been given....a few days of clement and mellow temperature, a smidget of wind and soft blue clouds. I love spring and since I moved to SC I have been deprived of it. Scorching hot summers and mellow winters, but no spring, and don't get me started on fall!

I knew I only had a few days to celebrate Spring and since this is a perfect "entre deux" (in between) season, I aimed to combine my 2 favorites from winter and summer.
Cardamom screams winter to me and I go through huge supplies every year: in brioches, sweet rolls, hot teas, mulled spices, moroccan dishes, creams, custards,....
As far as summer goes it should be spelled "ice cream". I tend to agree that there is no season for it but a little scoop (make mine a big bowl) of ice cream on a sultry summer day is extremely refreshing.

For this dessert, you have an ice cream maker go ahead and use it but I did not have enough room in the freezer so I froze the custard base and took it out every couple of hours or so and give it a whirl with an hand held immersion blender and everything came out perfect.

Vanilla Cardamom Ice Cream, inspired by this recipe.

4 egg yolks
2 cups half and half
4 oz sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 cardamom pods, broken in half

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick, add the vanilla.
In a saucepan, on medium heat, bring the half and half and cardamom pods to boiling point but do not let it boil.
Slowly pour the hot cream onto the egg yolks mixture and stir to combine (tempering). Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of spoon. At this point you have made a custard sauce, also known as "creme anglaise".
Let cool completely, strain the cardamom pods and refrigerate until cold. Process the custard according to your ice cream maker manufacturer's instructions or use the hand held immersion blender described earlier.

I wish I had made 2 gallons of this...so good...so sophisticated.
I believe I have to make more if I want to have at least a couple of scoops to take to Meeta's Monthly Mingle, appropriately celebrating spring. Participate as well, so I can live Spring vicariously through you!

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