Caramel Cardamom Mousse

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, good times and laughter. We did, kind of mellow some days, kind of crazy some others...waiting for that cold weather to come our way so we could cozy up in front of the fireplace. Well, after temperatures in the 60s and the 70s, we finally have some cold weather. Of course it occurs on January 2nd, Mother Nature scoffing at us now that Santa is long gone and New Year's Eve is simply but a page turned. But you know what? It does not really matter anymore as I did not need the fireplace to make me feel cosy this Christmas season. Nope. I had the warmth of looking at cards every morning upon waking up, looking at my really weird looking Norfolk pine tree. Some were too kind to tell me it looked good....I did not care for it, but it was a gift and it got "prettified" as one of neighbors kids said.

Anyways, I was also blessed one Christmas Eve morning when I received a box full of cookies and gifts for the house, (look Lisa! the stars are giving my dessert some spice), a cookbook, The Sweet Life by Kate Zuckerman (see Veronica! already put to good use), and the softest fleece robe courtesy of my mother in law. The correlation with Cardamom Caramel Mousse? Well, that Christmas morning I felt really blessed that I could eat one of my friend's cookies, while reading the other friend's cookbook, and all wrapped up in my surrogate mom's gift....Really, it just dawned on me that very minute: "gosh, this is pretty special"...and as I was lost in all things metaphysical (ya'll know I am kidding, right?!), my hand stopped the pages of the book from turning by pushing on page 106, where Kate Zuckerman wrote the Caramel Mousse.

I can see why her recipe is at the backbone of so many of her desserts and the applications and variations on it are almost endless. A hot caramel syrup is whipped into egg yolks to create a safe cream to which some gelatin and whipped cream is added. The end result sets rather quickly but the taste is out of this world and the texture...well...soft as a pillow...really. In her original recipe Kate uses cinnamon to spice up the taste, and although I have nothing against cinnamon, I will go for cardamom first if given the choice. I thought about infusing the caramel syrup for the mousse with some barely crushed open pods. I started looking at the variations given when I noticed that she had a cardamom one, but used just the pods in their original form. Granted they are fragrant on their own, but I feared that the flavor would get lost in the boiling syrup, (even with the 10 pods she uses) so I went for a tiny bit more complication (one day I might play with caramel in a simple way, maybe!). I opened the pods, let them boil with in the caramel, strained the caramel over a bowl and quickly added it to the egg mixture for the mousse. It won't cool the caramel syrup long enough to weaken its emulsifying power for the mousse part.

Will I make the mousse again? You bet! The cardamom was such a good match for the caramel that it makes me want to experiment. The texture makes you believe it is light as air but if you're here reading this you know better: cream, sugar, eggs...And tomorrow? Butter, flour, sugar and cream....My New Year resolutions: small quantities of lip smacking desserts because life is too short to have less than the best! I am not saying I never use a box or a can of anything once in a while, I'd be lying and non-human, but there is nothing like the real thing! The pictures in the book are so crisp and drool-inducing that I'll probably feed off her concepts and try some other great associations she came up with. Now, how can see why Veronica and Anita kept pushing me to give it a look. If only we could share a Kate Z. baking session now!!!! Allright, on to the recipe:

Cardamom Caramel Mousse, adapted from the Sweet Life, by Kate Zuckerman:

Yields 5 cups

6 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 packet unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup water, divided
1 cup sugar
5 cardamom pods, cracked open
2 cups heavy cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the egg yolks and the salt. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup water, and let it sit while you make the caramel.

Combine the sugar, cardamom pods and 1/4cup water in a heavy saucepan. Cover and bring to a rapid boil over medium high heat (prevents crystallization of the sugar on the side of the pan). Once boiling, uncover and cook the sugar until deep golden brown. Turn off the heat and carefully pour 1/4 cup water into the hot caramel. The syrup will bubble and spurt, so stand back.Make sure the water incorporates fully to the syrup. Return to the heat if you get caramel bits and stir until it is one smooth liquid.

Strain the pods and seeds in a container with a spout, it will be easier to add the to the yolks. Pour the caramel slowly and into a steady stream into the egg yolks with the machine running on medium high. Melt the gelatin in the microwave for 10 seconds or into the (now empty) saucepan until dissolved. Add it to the yolk mixture and continue to whisk on medium high until it triples in volume and cools to room temperature.

In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Add it to the mousse base and fold the two gently together. Divide the mousse into cups, ramequins, dishes, etc...and let it set, covered in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

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A Year In Posts

I always admire people who send out Christmas or New Year’s newsletters and tell you all the wonderful, funny or tragic details of the year past. I keep feeling nothing major happened in my life but I start thinking about things and quickly realize that I am far from the truth. Starting at home, there is never a dull moment, whether it be due to our different cultures and customs or whether it be because of our age difference, B. and I surely know how to keep ourselves entertained…!

Then there is this blog. It has given me so much in the past year that I wanted to remember the good and sad moments, the friendships and mind blowing events I have experienced. I did this post a little selfishly to have a reference of this past year but I also wanted to highlights for you guys the moments of 2007 that make this blog what it is today and I could not do it without your readership.

January 2007: After a wonderful 3 weeks back home in France it was hard to get myself back in the groove. I had tasted so many delicious pastries and foods that I felt kind of lame in my little kitchen. It made me miss restaurant work (and trust me I itch for it everyday but not in this town!). One way to quickly snap out of it was by making creamy delicious Chestnut Mousse.

February 2007: Month of all things Valentine reds and rosy pink, little did I know that by sending Ivonne a Valentine’s card that she would try to seduce me with a cake. Mr.Tartelette still does not quite get it! It was also the month I finally made the most fat laden lemon cream filling by bloggers’s sugar daddy Pierre Herme, and this most excellent Nutella Mousse with Macarons.

March 2007: It was “step out of your comfort zone” for me. First,inspired by Marce I had the brilliant (sarcasm) idea to put Dulce de Leche in brioche rolls…talk about gooey sticky mess all over my counter top, apron, and pan! I then experience with sweet avocado cream and meringue. I still can’t get people to trust me on that one, but one bite and they are sold. Then there was the Sunflower bread, time consuming but delicious. Lastly, I won my first “competition”, HHDD hosted by less evil twin Peabody, with a Japanese style cheesecake served with Salted butter Caramel sauce. Surprised, elated…happy ya’ll deemed it worthy!

April 2007: As the winner of HHDD I got to host my first blog event and what a thrill that was! I loved every minute of it, the energy and high of hosting! Then there was the ever notorious Daring Bakers’ Chocolate Cr(a)epe cake challenge. I got in touch with my inner caramel diva but the whole thing made me curse the Martha! Poor Brilynn for calming our frustrations! That month I also professed my love for another sugar daddy, Richard Leach and made my best macarons to date (according to the people who ate them) Blood Orange Macarons. I also started to give you guys serious hints about my love for verrines and all things that are small and can be put in a glass.

May 2007: Definitely a bittersweet month. By participating in the Livestrong event, hosted by Barbara, one of the nicest bloggers around (and she is so good to me) I experienced with a sweet creations while remembering the loss of my grandmother and brother to cancer. Blog surfing one day, I met Kate from Applemint and we realized we had the same birthday and decided to blog bake a cake for each other to mark the occasion. May was very related to home and family, clafoutis, ile flottante but I was obviously as serious with my ice cream making!! Oh, and more caramel by hosting my first Daring Bakers challenge with Anita, one of my first reads before I started blogging. Meeta also trusted me enough to ask me to write articles for The Daily Tiffin, and it is a pleasure to be able to motivate people.

June 2007: What did not start as great month turned out to be the one of the most heart fulfilling ones after all. Blogging friends came numerous to cheer me up after a loss in my family with notes, cards, emails, and presents, every single day there was something wonderful and magic at my doorstep. Celebrating friends’birthday or blogging event provided great times in the kitchen. Putting our favorite candy in macarons was also one of the highlights of the month. The other one being winning DMBLGIT for the first time with this spur of the moment picture.

July 2007: Finally meeting Lisa was definitely “it” in July. To put it in her words, finding this bestest friend was quite unexpected but fills me everyday with joy and laughter…oh boy do I hold my ribs when opening my emails! Thinking outside the box and using bubble wrap in unusual ways was also another fun moment that she pushed me to do when I was not sure it would turn out ok. Starting a fun world wide event with Hannah and her cutest crochet eggs (not bad for a vegan!) was a way to get more bloggers involved to reach across the miles…I am dying to know where are the eggs now!

August 2007: Definitely a family month for me. My goddaughter came to the US for the first time and we had a great time both in the kitchen and in the city. It made me realize how many American things and habits had become "mine" and how many traditions I still had from home. Macarons and cakes were made many times, as well as cute cupcake cones and delicious caramel chocolate tarts! I was the cool godmother, woohoo!!

September 2007: I became a Brownie babe, with a cool apron to show for it!! My parents came for a while and I had to adopt our favorite treat due to their diet restrictions, but this month was particularly enhanced thanks to gorgeous gifts from other bloggers dear to my heart. Mary and Elle, I cannot thank you enough for the boxes of Meyer lemons and quinces that helped me bake tasty treats for those around me. When the craziness of the holidays calms down a bit you’d better stay close to your mailboxes.

October 2007: Wow! Another DMBLGIT award and I have to thank my mom for that one because my Daring Baker’s sticky buns look much better with her frames as the background! I enjoyed playing with my blowtorch and pretend it was Fall while carving some pumpkins. I went to see Lisa for the second time, and was joined by Mary who really went out of her way with the flight situations. We had a wonderful time, baked up a storm and while I was there I copied so many recipes from a magazine Lisa had that I am surprised I only made this cake so far!!

November 2007: All about friends and pies and buns again! I tried new flavors and food, such as dried hibiscus flowers, but also reminisced about my late grandmother and her great tarts. Coconut cream pie looked mighty deconstructed and prettier thanks to a long time friend while cranberry and nuts tart became a new Thanksgiving favorites. The cross states cinnabon knockoff adventures made up a sick day turn into play day thanks to Mrs. Sassy herself. Then Tanna asked me to cover myself in sticky dough and I could not refuse!

December 2007: This month finally sealed my addiction for cinnamon rolls and unusual macaron flavors. It was also the month to celebrate other’s holidays as well as my own traditions. I was the lucky recipient of a pay it forward package and I am dying to send one to Sarah to continue the chain, as soon as I get her mailing address. It was all about the friends who become family and good times. Cream became the definite flavor this month and I might have a couple more up my sleeve to start the New Year. Stay tuned!

Well, there you have it….my blogging year in a nutshell. What a wonderful year 2007 was! I plan on continuing to share the love with you guys in 2008 and keep improving my recipes, pictures and writing. Thanks for your comments, questions and readership, they mean the world to me!

Happy New Year!

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Looks Like Santa Came By !

Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope your day is filled with laughter and good times with your loved ones.
Thank you all for your readership and support, this site would not be the same without you and your visits.
Cheers!

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Buches De Noel – Looks Like Christmas Is Finally Here!

Buches de Noel also known as Yule Logs were the challenge given by Lisa and Ivonne, founders and co-host this month of the Daring Bakers. I think they just had the perverted idea to see us buttered, creamed and rolled in light genoise, Swiss buttercream, decorated in meringue and flavorful Marzipan. You should not that when I talk in those terms it can only be because they gave us an awesome challenge! Did I mentioned I buttercreamed my hair? Hmm, yeah…what I thought was the first gray hair was just a streak of buttercream from picking up the phone, lifting my glasses up and frosting my hair with a fork full of buttercream. See, they even raise my blood pressure…those two I tell you!!

Buche de Noel is ancient tradition in my family, and I think for most European families as well. Wasn’t too long after I figured out how to make genoise that yes, it could be filld, and yes it could be rolled and “oh my!” before you know it I was making it for our Christmas dinner. Over the years, there were the traditional stump looking one, with flavors just as traditional: chestnuts, chocolate, caramel, coffee. One year I decided to make a pink and purple one to match the table setting (not Grandma’s favorite!). We also had the genius frozen one that required 6 hands and an electric knife for proper dissection! Yeah, not an event I wish to revisit. Buche de Noel, how do I love thee….well ask me next Tuesday when I am done making them for family, church, friends and strangers. Ok, so they pay me, still…I like when Yule Log season starts, I also like when it ends.

This time our instructions were to do a light genoise, fill and frost it with preferably coffee Swiss buttercream, so as to prevent any white/red/green/blue logs (how did they find out about my childhood one is still a mystery J) although options were given for those who did not like coffee. Requirements for decorations were either meringue or marzipan mushrooms.

It turned I needed two logs within days of each other so instead of visiting the recipe twice, I went ahead and made double batches of everything. I have long ago learned that December is the most hectic month of the year in which days are 12 hour long instead of 24…yep, really and although I am a night owl I have also seen too many sunrises this month with buttercream in my eyes? Did I mention I tried it as eye shadow one night I still had someone the back of my hand and went to rub my eyes?

So, here was my game plan and you can see executed in the pictures:
Log # 1: Coffee – Burnt Orange
- burnt orange genoise: instead of mixing orange zest in the batter, I scattered it on top and put the tray in a hot oven. The zest got darker but nor bitter.
- Once cooled, I brushed the cake with a Grand Marnier simple syrup
- Coffee Swiss meringue for the frosting where I dissolved the coffee with Grand Marnier instead of the brandy called for in the recipe. (French meringue is egg whites whipped firm with sugar, Italian is hot syrup drizzled over whipped egg whites and continuing whipping until is cools, Swiss is egg whites and sugar brought to 140F over double boiler then whipped until cooled)
- Filling: Orange Confit Coffee Mousse; part coffee buttercream, part whipped cream with added coffee and bits of orange confit scattered in it. Some broken meringue mushroom pieces for a crunch
- Decorations: Meringue mushrooms called for in the recipe and then I needed to challenge my sculpting skills so I made a marzipan teddy bear (Theodore), a red hatted snowman (Albert) and green hatted snowman (Truman). Lisa challenge me to a moose which turned out looking like a donkey so I ate it…I am evil, I know!

Log #2: Chocolate – Vanilla Crème Brulee – Chocolate Sauce
That’s where I challenged myself and the log almost won: I had the crazy idea that it would be cool to have a layer of vanilla bean crème brulee inside the Yule Log. How was I going to come up with that? I made a classic brulee batter, threw in some gelatin, poured it into a sheet pan and let it set in the fridge. Rolling that thing in the cake proved to be a challenge as the set batter had only one thing in mind, escape!! But I stepped away, took a deep breath and rolled again, tighter this time,and closed the thing shut.
- genoise was left plain, with some vanilla in there for good measure
- layer of chocolate ganache, layer of chocolate buttercream, layer of vanilla crème brulee
- chocolate buttercream to cover it all
- decorations: I drew rounds on top of the log with a glass and carefully spooned out some of the cream, filled the indentation was homemade chocolate sauce. That way the log comes with its own sauce and everybody get a little extra chocolate!
The final testing for that one will be Tuesday, for now it is parked in the freezer, well wrapped, hoping I don’t crush it with a bag of cauliflower! Did I mention I also buttercreamed my dog? My spatula was overloaded, he yapped, I turned abruptly and a big dollop landed on his snout. He spent ten minutes chasing it around, on its own nose…a sight to be seen!

The cake was light and airy and the buttercream smooth and oh so good sandwiched in between chocolate shortbread cookies! I had a blast, as you can see by the pictures and should you want the recipe, check either Lisa or Ivonne for the full lowdown. I am having issues with blogger so not posting the recipe just yet. Make yourself a good cup of coffee and check out all the beautiful logs out there.

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Sugar Cookies For A Good Cause

I often talk about my neighbor C. and her twin boys and how they are a loving, loud and buoyant pair. What I failed to mention so far is that about once a week, I "borrow" her boys for the afternoon. This expression started over a year ago when I kept the kids occupied one afternoon by teaching them how to make cookie dough while she was cleaning the house top to bottom and had no way of keeping them busy without supervision. They play a lot on their own but believe me we are still amazed at how they made it to seven so far without a broken leg or worse injury: fire, water, engine, anything that rolls, chops, cuts, explodes will find a way into their hands.

Having said this you might think I was crazy for volunteering to have them over. Well, when things start getting heated and borderline out of hand, I give them"the look". My grandfather Rene had "the look", piercing and serious enough to make you melt in your socks and I am glad I inherited that particular feature. One glance and the boys were playing somewhat in a quieter way but not entirely to make a studious afternoon: what fun would it be to make cookie dough without a little play, right? I was merely trying to keep the dough on the counter and not used as putty on the walls and grout on the kitchen floor. After that afternoon last year, their dad joked around and asked if I still wanted children after that experience and I joked "I'll just borrow yours for the time being", and that's how the expression stuck around.

Last Friday C. asked me to watch over the boys so she could pack the family's suitcases for their trip to North Carolina. I said "Great! Let's do A Drop In and Decorate Party!"...which was received with 6 incredulous eyes and a big "a what party?" I then proceeded to tell C. and the boys how crucial they were going to be in bringing some joys to less fortunate kids their age.
Every year since 2002, Lydia of The Perfect Pantry hosts a Drop In and Decorate Cookies For Donation. When I read about it in November I mentioned it to a few friends but we never seemed to be able to find a suitable baking day. Thus, when I was supposed to borrow the twins last week, it seemed like my last chance to bake for a great cause before the full blown crazy wind of the holidays.

Let's just say that I spend half my day saying "Don't touch that with your red hands! Step away from the wall! The first one to open the oven without me has to spell brother backwards, etc...." Interestingly enough, I never have to say these but a couple of times as they are completely into their task and they took their job of decorating for charity very seriously. They had a purpose, they were going to play Santa, they were going to make people smile. I love hanging out with those two because you give them the choice between a video game and piece of wood to go bang on something...they'll go bang and march down the street to get the other kids involved. But again, that might just be because C. is the coolest mom ever!!

We made a plain sugar cookie dough, rolled cut and baked about 8 dozen cookies, and iced them with an icing from Dorie Greenspan found on Epicurious. The best I ever worked with so far, smooth, shiny and spreadable, very easy for the kids to handle. They kept one dozen to give to friends at school, and I kept one dozen for friends too, the rest went to "Helping Hands" which provides safe shelter to victims of domestic violence and their children. Victims there are in immediate danger from verbal, emotional, physical or sexual abuse. I am familiar with the place as I go there about once a month for baking or cooking demo with another chef friend of mine and we teach women there how to come up with good and wholesome meals while on a tight budget and with minimal equipment. There are a lot of women and children who are so disheartened with the basic notion of love, self and kindness that I really wanted to help put a smile on their face. Saturday morning we dropped off all the cookies, trees, sugar men, snowmen and visited the shelter for about an hour...long enough for me to almost "lose" the twins who were busy outside making mounds of dirt for "make believe sleigh rides"...their words, not mine! Where do they get such ideas?!!! Anyways...mission accomplished. The whole experience was profitable to all on so many levels, so if you don't know what to do with the family visiting and all the kids getting in your way this weekend, sit them down at the kitchen table and make them decorate a bunch of cookies for a good cause. Chances are you will be visited by the Spirit of Christmas...

Basic Sugar Cookie Dough:

2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 1/3cups sugar
1 egg
3 cups flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp. baking soda

In a large bowl, mix the flour,baking powder and baking soda and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together the utter and sugar until light and airy. Add the egg and whisk until well incorporated. Add the flour mix and whisk until incorporated.
Divide the dough into two balls, flatten them out and wrap them in plastic film. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight, until firm.
Remove one dough ball from the fridge and roll the it out in between sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out as man shapes as desired. Reroll the scraps, and refrigerate that smaller dough until firm again. Work with the other dough ball in the meantime.
Bake the cookies until they just about turn gold around the edge,8-10 minutes at 350F. Let cool completely before icing.

Royal Icing, adapted from Dorie Greenspan,via Epicurious:

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 large egg whites
1 tsp lemon juice
Assorted food colorings (optional)
Makes about 2 cups

Using electric mixer, beat the powdered sugar and egg whites until thick and shiny, adding more powdered sugar by tablespoonfuls if mixture is too thin to spread, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice. Add more powdered sugar if the icing is too thin for your taste. Divide icing into portions. Add different food coloring to each,according to what you plan to decorate. Cover until ready to use. You can refrigerate the icing for a couple of days if necessary.

Meeta's Monthly Mingle this time around is centered around the event created by Lydia, so the cookies in the above picture are also virtually going to Germany!

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Coconut Creme Brulee And Coconut Sorbet

I am sure your holiday baking is full of cookies and cakes and after spending a lot of time in the kitchen, the last thing you think about is more desserts. Well, what if I were to bring you these two-bite coconut creme brulees and coconut sorbet? Do I see a sparkle in your eyes again? Granted you have to like coconut to begin with but knowing you can keep the cremes plain or flavored to your taste is always a good thing.

Since the weather had been so nice and it felt more like a cool summer day than early December, I brought these along to our weekly get together with the neighbors. We were trying to get in full Christmas mode decorating C's trees (the party was at her house), drinking egg nogg while the kids were making sandmen instead of snowmen outside. Yet, no one was in the mood for fruitcake, pumpkin roll or chocolate cake. I had just finished a batch of macarons for gift giving and was facing an evil amount of egg yolks, so creme brulees were the obvious choice.

My dear B. hates coconut with a vengeance, not the flavor but the texture, what he calls those gritty shreds, while I on the other hand love it...and love seems like a small word: the scent, the texture, the flavor...everything! I will always remember the day my dad brought a fresh coconut back to the house, piercing holes in it, the juice dripping down our chins, and cutting it open chopping its flesh out...nothing like what you find at the stores in pretty blue packages these days. The opening of the coconut was something of a ceremonial, much like the day he brought home papaya, scooped the seeds out,drizzled it with lime juice and handed a half to each of us...the best moment in a girl's life: eating with my hands, with juice and fruit all over and not a care in the world!

Back to the creme brulees though. Since I had some coconut texture haters in the group,I decided to infuse the milk with the flesh ad pass it through a sieve prior to baking. The only shred of shreds (no pun intended) is the toasted coconut on top of the sorbet which you can omit if necessary. I used what C. had on hand, sweetened coconut so I reduced the sugar in the creme brulee batter and since it has caramelized sugar on top, I think you won't really miss it either. The sorbet is a simple syrup mixed with coconut milk and processed in a ice cream machine but you can achieve a nice sorbet by doing as follows: freeze the mixture for a couple of hours, take it out and whip it in your mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand held mixer. Repeat a couple of times.

Coconut Creme Brulee And Coconut Sorbet:

Serves 4

For the Creme Brulee:
1 cup egg yolks (between 6 and 8 depending on the size of your eggs)
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup grated coconut (increase sugar to 1 cup if you use unsweetened coconut)
1/4cup brown sugar mixed with 1/4 cup white sugar for brulee topping

Preheat oven to 350F. Place 4 ramequins inside a roasting pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow. Add the coconut. Heat the cream until scalding hot. Slowly whisk it into the egg yolk mixture, mix well,but ot too vigourously or you will add toomuch air. Pour into a container and let cool to room temperature,skim off the top foam if necessary. Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove the coconut and divide among the 4 ramequins. Pour water to about halfway up the sides of the ramequins and put the pan in the oven. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the mixture appear almost set,it should stillwiggleabit in the middle. It is ok to remove the pan from the oven at that point as the custard will continue to bake and set.
Let cool to room, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Right before serving: divide sugar on top of each custard and use a blow torch to caramelise the top or put the pan under the broiler.
A good creme brulee is hot on top, room temp in the middle and cold at the bottom.

For The Sorbet:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 can coconut milk

In a saucepan, heat the water with the sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add to the coconut milk.Let cool to room temperature and process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions, or use the hand held or mixer method described above.

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