Marbled Ricotta Cheesecake Brownies

I am not sure these are picture worthy to be a Brownie Babe, but if you could just have a bite of them you would ask, beg, connive for more. After just a sample, B and I became quite protective of the whole batch and reluctantly shared some with the neighbors. I made these the week before Sophie arrived and I know it won't be long before I make them again as we have been talking them up ever since!

I have made my share of marbled brownies before but I have never used ricotta doing so, always cream cheese. This recipe combines both and it truly makes a difference in the taste. The "cheesecake" part of the brownie is not as tangy than if using just cream cheese, it has a soft, creamy tesxture and flavor...pure delight. The brownies retain that fudgy, deep chocolate quality that I like so much and it only gets better overnight.

I cannot take credit for the recipe and must direct you to my ever ongoing French blog crush, the very talented Guillemette from Chocolat & Caetera. She is also passing it on from another talented blogger, Loukoum and I hope that these brownies keep on making the rounds.
I am sending these to Myriam and stay tuned for an update of the 3rd Brownie Babe round up on her blog.


Marbled Ricotta Cheesecake Brownies:

maks 35 squares (yeah right...!!)

Cheesecake batter:
250 gr. ricotta (9 oz)
150 gr. cream cheese, at room temperature (5 oz)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
120 gr. sour cream (4 oz)
2 Tb. all purpose flour

Brownie Batter:
200 gr. butter (7 oz)
300 gr. bitter sweet chocolate (10.5 oz)
6 eggs
200 gr. granulated sugar (7 0z)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
150 gr. flour (5 oz)
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredeints for the cheesecake batter. Set aside.
For the brownie: melt the butter and the chocolate together in a saucepan over low heat. Let cool a little. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale. Add the chocolate/butter and mix until combined. Add the flour and salt.
Line a 13x9 inch with foil, spray with cooking spray. Pour in the chocolate batter. Dot the cream cheese batter over it and with a toothpick or the tip of a knife swirl the batters around.
Cook for 25-35 minutes. Let cool, cut and enjoy!

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Pistachio Macarons...A Family Affair

It is always a blessing to have family visits. My parents come regularly, so much so that my produce guy often asks me about them and when they will visit next and they are almost on a first name basis with the mail man! I am surprised that only my brother and his family and my cousin in Savoie are the only ones who also made the trip, with all these paid vacations it should be a no brainer for the others to come visit their "favorite" cousin (cough, cough...) and discover a part of the world they do not know. So having Sophie around is absolutely fantastic on very many different levels. I get to talk about the family, speak French and laugh at the simple words I cannot find easily anymore. When I left she was 7-8 years old, so I also get the chance to discover a maturing young woman full of questions, hope, incertainties and love for life.

I also like having visitors as I can show them this country like they have never seen it before, far away from images of huge skyscrapers, bright neon signs and fast food joints. Ok, so we went to Krispy Kremes, but come on folks! that is a mandatory on the list of culinary treats I have to educate her palate about. Charleston is rich in history, landscape and native animals (she saw her first alligator on a canoe ride in the Lowcountry swamps yesterday) and of course rich in food influences from the Barbadoes, Spain, France, England and Africa. The link with macarons? Well, at the end of the day, after trying many a local delicacies, it's all about the macarons people, and Sophie asked if I could teach her how to make them. As the good hostess that I am I felt it was necessary to fulfill her wishes..twist my arm right?!

For the second time around I went for another recipe than the one I often use for macarons, and opted not to use the Italian meringue method for the shells. Indeed, this recipe does not require that the egg whites be whipped with a hot sugar syrup, but instead mixed in with the powdered sugar/nuts method. The only reason why I chose this method was that it was over 100 degrees outside and after an afternoon roasting at the beach, we did not feel like standing in front of the stove waiting for the sugar syrup to reach proper temperature. I found this particular one for pistachio in one of my new favorites by a talented French pastry chef, Stephane Glacier, in "Un Amour de Macaron". The filling was a simple chocolate ganache with a hint of ground ginger.
We whipped, folded and mixed. We giggled, talked and dipped our fingers in the batter and the ganache. We filled, broke and sampled some...and we packaged half of them in little goodie bags and took some to the neighbors. It's all about Southern hospitality!

Pistachio Macarons, adapted from Stephane Glacier.

Makes 35

225 gr powdered sugar

60 gr almonds

65 gr pistachios

3 egg whites (about 100gr)

green food coloring (optional) (powdered is better)

25 gr granulated sugar

In a food processor, run the nuts and powdered sugar until the nuts are finely ground. Run through a sieve if needed.

Whip the egg whites until foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar, until they are glossy. Add the green food coloring if using.

Slowly fold the nut/sugar mixture into the whites with a wide spatula. The mixture should remain shiny and flow easily.

Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small rounds onto parchment lined baking sheets.

Let the macarons rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 315 and when they are ready, bake them for 12-15 minutes.

Let cool, remove from the paper and fill with the ganache.

Chocolate Ganache Filling:

8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter

1 tsp. ground ginger

Place the chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir with a whisk until smooth. Add the ground ginger. Let cool to room temperature and use as desired.

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Dimply Plum Cake...When Sophie Read Dorie

Her eyes sparkled when she spotted Dorie's big baking book. "Have you made anything from it yet?" she asked picking it up from the shelf. After a few minutes flipping the pages she exclaimed :"Oh wait! I guess you have, some pages are already glued with sugar!"
Having my god-daughter Sophie over is a lot of fun. She marvels at everything The simplest thing that in my new American have become second nature to me are constant sources of surprises and questions....even baking. She has a keen interest in cooking and baking and is eager to tell me about the cakes she makes in the evening while the rest of the family gathers around and talk. I can tell we share the same blood just by the moments she shares in the kitchen with her mom and other relatives, and by her love of sweets!

She was leafing through the book and her hand stopped on the picture of Dorie's Dimply Plum Cake. "Oh that looks so good...I need aspirin, let's go get some plums and make it!"....AND she's got my logic....any excuse to make a trip to the store if I see something I want to bake! Off we went to the grocery store which was another adventure for her: in France cashiers are seated, there is no bagger and people have to bring their own bags (recycling and minimizing trash).
We looked at all the produce that was somewhat tropical and exotic for her, filled up on loads of cherries (we are truly related!), and a big bag of ripe and juicy plums.
Once home we put some lasagna to warm up and in the meantime we made the cake. Easy, straighforward and within 30 minutes, the house smelled like a bakery again with vanilla and sugar tempting our tastebuds. We could not wait very long once it came out of oven and cut 2 big slices, put some creme fraiche on the side and enjoyed it while looking at the sunset...precious! If I could have hugged Dorie herself for such a sweet moment spent with Sophie, it would have been the icing on the cake!

Dimply Plum Cake, adapted from Dorie Greenspan:

Serves 8

1 1/2 cups all purpose four

2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

5 Tb unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup canola oil

grated zest of one lemon

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

8 purple or red plums, halved and pitted

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8x8 baking dish and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and ground ginger.

In a stand mixer cream the butter with the borwn sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture.

Pour the batter in the prepared dish, smooth the top and arrang the plums on top. (Dorie did hers cut side up, I did the opposite). Bake for about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes (if you can).

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Mirroir Fraise Verrines - The Never Ending Story

I know, I know, that is two mirror posts in a row...plus 65 others out there in the blogosphere thanks to my beloved Daring Bakers. If you have followed what I did for our July challege, I made 4 mini ones out of a recipe written out for a 10 inch cake. What did I do with the leftover cake, bavarian cream and strawberry mirror?...throw them away?...Heck no! Not in this kitchen!
I had more guests coming during the week so I layered the cake components in pretty glasses and parked them in the fridge until dinner. It seems that my fridge had a never ending love story with Strawberry Mirror cake for a while but that is ok, it looked pretty that way.

I thought about waiting another week or so before posting this but some events have prompted me to do it tonight. See, my 18 year-old god-daughter, Sophie called me last friday saying she was coming to visit for a while. Arrival day: wednesday....August 1st. Arghhhh!! Well, that meant a little cleaning here and there, a little food shopping and meal planning and prep cooking so I could enjoy my time with her. Oh, and a while means that she is staying a whole month!
She has never been to the States so I am tickled pink, I get to be 18 again!! I plan on making sure she has a wonderful time here so forgive me if my posting is sort of heratic in the coming month. I want to make sure you get your sugar fix though so I enrolled her to fill some macarons with me tomorrow night.



You can find the recipe for the Strawberry Mirror here, and if you decide to give it a go and have leftovers, just take out your favorite glasses and layer away.

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Strawberry Mirror Cake....So Daring Shiny...

For those who have been following the monthly adventures of the Daring Bakers, you were maybe starting to wonder if we had drawn a blank on a recipe challenge for this month....Well, as you can see from the above picture, the answer is no....we are just sitting there...quietly reveling in the beauty of a refreshing and light Strawberry Mirror Cake.

Everything about the cake that Peabody had chosen this month had me excited for so many different reasons. The most obvious being that it seems like ages since I have made a mirror cake which is weird in my field since it is a very attractive cake, and has a perfect mix of light vanilla sponge cake and creamy bavarian cream, and travels and keeps well. Thus, having to make it for our challenge was a great way for me to reconnect with an old friend. As I was thinking about writing this very post I figured that you will have the chance to read about its making process, texture and taste and many other blogs (there are over 90 of us), and realized that for me this cake and its whole making experience was centered around friends. Building, sharing and entertaining friendships.

Soon after we were given the challenge, I started preparing for my trip to visit my new best girlfriend, Lisa. That was a big deal: the Queen of Dorkdom herself, co-founder with Ivonne of the Daring Bakers and accomplished Italian chef! Since we had decided to spend a good bit of time in the kitchen, I asked her if there were specific pastry items she wanted me to teach her, like macarons, caramel work and others. I also asked if she wanted to make the challenge cake that weekend. Her answer was "Oh my god, I am so glad you mentioned it. I was about to beg you to help me with it". Folks, although she feels quite nervous about pastry, Lisa rocked that challenge like a pro! I knew her back and feet were killing her we had done so much walking in the heat so I helped with little things like straining the fruit for the puree and juice, measuring little things and washing bowls and cups. Any nervousness about the cake were quickly dissipated, maybe by the fact that I could give her explanation on what the Bavarian should be like, how to decipher a pastry school recipe, giving her tricks like tapping the side of a pan with the back of a knife to get rid of air bubbles and so on. When other Daring Bakers started to ask how long it took to make certain parts of the recipe, I know we were giggling together, although miles away from each other, because we took the entire day and the next morning to make it. See, much like Tanna and Karen did in June with the bagel challenge, we truly shared a great moment of friendship making this one. The high point being when we sat down Sunday evening with her family and shared a great dinner ending with this gorgeous looking cake.

When I got back home, I tackled the cake challenge yet again but this time on a different feeling. I was by myself in the kitchen that Saturday afternoon, and after such a high friendly first time, I felt quite lonely making it. Instead of making one 10 inch cake like the recipe suggested I decided to make 4 individual ones (4 inches wide), kept one for us and brought the remaining three for our weekly cookout with the neighbors. At that point, the cake screamed friendship to me: sharing, laughing, eating…There was not one moment when I was making it that I did not think about Lisa and her family, the laughs and giggles we shared that weekend. Because I went with individual ones, I had quite a bit of cake and cram leftover so I layered them in glasses and we ate cake that week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but we are up for that in this house, trust me on that! It is light and refreshing, not too sweet and filling enough in small quantities. I used Lemon Vodka instead of the kirsch and did not use any food coloring as B. is allergic and the strawberries were bright red enough.

Strawberry Mirror Cake

3 eggs
3 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
2 TBSP sugar
2/3 cup sifted cake flour
½ cup water
1/3 cups sugar
2 TBSP kirsch or strawberry liqueur

Strawberry Bavarian Cream

2 ½ TBSP unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cups strained strawberry puree(1 ½ baskets)
5 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ cups milk
1 TBSP lemon juice
several drops of red food coloring
1 ¾ cups whipping cream
Strawberry Mirror
1 tsp lemon juice
1 TBSP kirsch
1 TBSP water
1 TBSP unflavored gelatin
Few drops of red food coloring

Strawberry Juice

1 ½ pints of strawberries(18 oz)
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup water

1.Preheat oven to 450F. Butter and flour the sides of an 11-by-17 inch jelly roll pan(rimmed baking sheet). Line bottom of pan with a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit bottom pan exactly.
2.Beat eggs, egg yolks and ¾ cup sugar together in a medium bowl until thick and light. Beat in the vanilla.
3.In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, ad cream of tartar and beat until whites begin to form peaks. Add the 2 TBSP sugar and beat until the whites hold stiff, glossy peaks(do not over beat).
4.Sift flour over the egg yolk mixture and fold in . Stir in one fourth of the whites. Then carefully fold in the remaining whites.
5.Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake until light brown and springy to touch(7 to 10 minutes). Cool in pan 5 minutes. Run a knife along edge to loosen. Invert cake tin to cut out 8 ¼ inch circles of cake. Wrap the cake layers, separated with waxed paper, and set aside. Cake may be frozen at this point.
6.To make soaking syrup: Combine water and the 1/3 cup sugar in saucepan; bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Cool to room temperature; flavor with liqueur. Set aside or refrigerate in glass jar until ready to use.
7.To assemble cake: Brush sides of 10-inch springform pan lightly with flavorless salad oil or almond oil. Cut out a cardboard circle that is exactly the same size as the bottom inside of the pan; cover cardboard with aluminum foil and fit into bottom of pan. Center one layer of the cake bottom of pan. Brush the cake with some of the soaking syrup to just moisten(not drench) the cake; set aside.
8.Prepare Strawberry Bavarian Cream. Immediately pour about half of the Bavarian Cream over the first layer of cake in the pan. Set the next layer of cake on top of the cream. Pour remaining Bavarian Cream over cake and smooth top of the cream with spatula. Refrigerate until the cream sets(1 to 2 hours).
9.Prepare the Strawberry Mirror.
10.To serve: Wrap a hot towel around the outside of springform pan for a few minutes. Run a small sharp knife tip around the edge of the Strawberry Mirror to separate it form the sides of pan. Mirror will tear when sides are unlatched if it is stuck at ANY point. Slowly unlatch the pan and slide it off the cake. Slice cake in wedges and serve in upright slices.

Prep Work
Strawberry Bavarian Cream
1.Sprinkle the gelatin over the strawberry puree in a small bowl and set aside until spongy.
2.Combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl' beat until light. Bring milk to a boil in sauce pan. Pour hot milk into yolk mixture ans stir with a wooden spoon(it doesn't say so but I would temper the egg mixture first to be safe). Return this mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until your finger leaves a clear trail in sauce when drawn across the back of the spoon.(Do not boil or mixture will curdle.) Immediately remove from heat and stir in softened gelatin mixture. Pour into a stainless steel bowl places over a bowl of ice water. Stir in lemon juice and a few drops of red food coloring. Cool over ice water, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens to the consistency of softly whipped cream.
3.White gelatin mixture is cooling, whip the whipping cream until it holds soft peaks. When the gelatin mixture resembles softly whipped cream, fold the whipped cream into the gelatin mixture.

Strawberry Mirror
1.Prepare strawberry juice.
2.Place lemon juice, kirsch, and water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over this mixture; set aside until spongy and soft.
3.Measure 1 ½ cups Strawberry juice into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer; pour over gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve gelatin. Tint to desired color with red food coloring. Place bowl over bowl of ice water and stir occasionally until the mixture is syrupy and just beings to thicken(do not let jell); remove from ice water.
4.When mixture is syrupy, pour a 1/16-inch layer over the top of cake. Refrigerate until set.

Strawberry JuiceWash and hull strawberries; coarsely chop. Place strawberries in saucepan; crush to start juices flowing. Place over low heat; add sugar and water; simmer slowly 10 minutes. Pour juice and pulp through damp jelly bag or cheesecloth-lined colander and drain into a bowl for 15 minutes(Do not press down on fruit).
Adapted from Cakes and Pastries At The Academy by the California Culinary Academy 1993

Want to know what everybody else has been up to with this challenge? Head over to my side bar under "Daring Bakers" and click on "Find Us Here" where you will be directed to our official blogroll and start clicking to your heart's content!

Thanks Peabody for giving me the chance to share great moments both away and at home while making the challenge! Looking forward to August!

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Weekend Meme...Catching Up With The Tartelette

I had not even realised that my friend Hannah from Bittersweet had tagged me until I went to her site to get some links straight for our Traveling Egg Meme. The little eggs have left my house and are now on their way to....surprise!

Anyway, as I am (im)patiently waiting for monday to post our last Daring Baker Challenge, and it is raining cats and dogs preventing me to take picture of B's killer birthday cake, I thought I would accept Hanna's tags and let you in on this new and fun meme.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so:

1. Blairs Boys
2. Harmonia’s Cuppa Tea
3. Vaguetarian Tea Room
4. BitterSweet
5. Tartelette

Next, select five people to tag:
1. Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry
2. Marce from Pip In The City
3. Cynthia from Tastes Like Home
4. Amy from Nook&Pantry
5. Cenk from Cafe Fernando

What were you doing 10 years ago?
B. was visiting me in France and we had just driven down to the Alps to meet up with my parents before going to London for a few days. B. and I had met mid-may, we were now at the end of july and he was telling my dad that he wanted to marry me while my mother and I were shelling peas on the back porch (!)

What were you doing 1 year ago?
Cleaning my cubie at work without telling my area director. I was preparing myself to give my 2 weeks notice as manager of a gym, taking a pay cut and stopping the rollercoaster ride of membership sales and commissions. I wanted to go back to my first love, personal training. At the same time, I was receiving a phone call from a former chef I had worked with at a restaurant and he was asking me to come help him out with pastries and desserts. Finally I had found the perfect way to do two things I loved: 3 days baking, 3 days training. (I have had 6-7 days workweek for the past 10 years, I don't know what a complete weekend off means).

Five snacks you enjoy:
1. Raspberries and whipped cream

2. greek yogurt with toasted almonds

3. apples

4. tortilla chips and fresh salsa

5. milk chocolate squares

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to: it is scary that the first 3 are "old" classics
1. Edith Piaf : L’accordeoniste
2. Edith Piaf : La Foule
3. Jacques Brel : Ne me quitte pas
4. Telephone : Cendrillon
5. Telephone: La Bombe Humaine

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Make sure that my in-laws are provided for until they are no longer with us.
2. Re-buy my husband all his photo equipment including his favorite Hasselblad. His first job with his first wife was to be a photographer and though they liquidated the business when they divorced 20 years ago, I know he misses it terribly.
3. Take a 6 months vacation to visit all my relatives back home.
4. Donate to a couple of organizations dear to my heart
5. Partner up with a very talented baker I know in town and open shop.
How much money were we talking about?...!!!

Five bad habits:
1. Staying up too late. I function very well on 5 hours of sleep, but I know that ultimately it’s not good for me.
2. Eating too fast. B. made me a queue card that he places next to my water at dinner: “slow down and chew”. Sorry, family habit.
3. Not having enough patience with my parents. Age makes me act better though.
4. Never screwing the tops or lids well enough on bottle, jars, boxes,…Ask Chef C. when an entire gallon of mango puree fell on his freshly starched uniform….delighted…never heard my name yelled so loud in my life!
5. Eating while reading blogs…I end up with sticky keys and bad typos!

Five things you like doing:
1. Baking. Whether for a customer or for us I MUST hold a whisk or a spatula at some point during the day. It is a no brainer for me, I just go ahead and do it. It is my element, the fuel that feeds my life.
2. Running and lifting weights. I hurt just about every disc in my spine lifting sacks of sugar and flour, pulling out sheet trays loaded with cake pans and ramequins. The doctor recommended weight lifting to strengthen my joints and bones and it really helped with the aches ad pains as well as the energy levels. Running allows me to clear my head, think about desserts I want to make and “line up” my schedule for the next day.
3.Crafting. I make my own greeting cards with collages, papers and decoupage. Decoupage on wood in another craft I love. From frames to boxes, if it is wood, it’s mine.

4.Reading books. I wish I had more time for it but I guess that’s what retirement is for!
5. Having diner with my husband. No TV, no radio. We just talk…We have very little time together, Sunday is “our” day even if we don’t do anything special so dinners are sacred. We light up a couple of candles, set the table and spend a good hour or more just connecting.

Five things you would never wear again:
1. my green leprechaun looking boots from when I was 12…awful….

2. Flat shoes. I need at least 3 inches or I feel like I stump like an elephant.

3. Large loop earrings….I got this close to having my ears lobes cut out by a baby pulling on my earrings while I was holding her.

4. Bright pink nail polish.
5. stir-ups pants…’nough said

Five favorite toys:
1. Stand Mixers. I have got 2 that are used everyday.

2. Camera. I just love playing with it and figuring out all its possibilities.
3. Laptop. Lisa likes to joke that it is hooked to my hip and she is not completely wrong.

4. My cross-stich. I know it’s more like a craft, but for me it is a toy. I play with it every other day. I am still working on the same project I have bee for the past 5 years, but playing with it relaxes me.
5. My fountain pen. I love writing…poems, lists, shorts, blurbs, diary, thoughts…I use it everyday. Cost 3 euros at Carrefour but I love the way it writes.

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