bananas

Chocolate Caramel Banana Tart & A CookBook For Haiti

04.02.2010 71 Comments

What I am happy and honored to announce below is closely related to the Chocolate Caramel Banana Tart above. But I need your attention for 2 paragraphs before I tell you more about the tart. It’s important. [Update: the BlogAid Cookbook is not available for sale anymore. For more info read this.]

A few days after the horrible tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti, I received an email from Julie from Dinner With Julie that made me jump in my seat and say "Heck yes I’m with you!". She had been watching the news and with every passing hour, she was as feeling as upset and hopeless as a lot of us did. She had a plan to help raise money for Haiti and she emailed for help. Julie set out to create the BlogAid Cookbook. Twenty seven of us came together and provided her with some of our favorite recipes and pictures.

Julie and her friend Cathryn worked almost around the clock to pull it all together. and I am honored and thrilled to announce that the BlogAid Cookbook is up for order!

The proceeds from the book sales will go straight to Haitian relief via the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders. It’s not all though! Both West Canadian AND Blurb are matching the dollar amount of the proceeds raised, to TRIPLE those dollars going to Haiti. And until February 12th, the Canadian government will match that.

It’s a POD (print-on-demand) system, meaning the books are printed and shipped as they’re ordered and arrive at your doorstep in about 8 days. You can purchase yours for a good cause here.

While Julie was working on this project I was having interesting discussions with a good friend about buying too much, accumulating without purpose, wanting versus needing. I am the child of a homemaker and an army guy who lived on a small pension. I worked in a restaurant where every purchase-usage-spoilage was scrutinized, discussed and fixed. And it’s in everything I do now as an adult. I am not talking about being cheap but about using things to the last drop. Or the last crumb…

My friend has a small farm. She raises a few chickens. This year she got a couple of goats. She is slowly transitioning into a path that suits her to a T and she is making enormous sacrifices along the way. Her positive energy and generosity are always invigorating. So are the eggs she gives me for baking. You can bet that none of them go to waste. As a thank you I made her this Chocolate Caramel Banana Tart.

I love the meals and snacks that take place when I clean up the pantry of fridge of all the bits and pieces before it’s too late. A homemade vegetable soup with fried pieces of prosciutto, an omelette topped with the last bit of the aged gouda I like so much, a mixed up pasta dish full of different handful of herbs. I bet there’s a bit of the same going on in your kitchen at times!

Desserts are always a different story at our house. Between us, the neighbors, the friends, the family, it’s rare to have leftovers. Dough scraps seem to abound in the freezer though. Oh and little containers with only spoonfuls of ice cream. Too many. I lost track.

Bananas are always the ones that end up being frozen and forgotten or mashed and forgotten. Or simply forgotten. Except when I play my "make a dessert by association" in my head. Banana – peanut butter – chocolate – crust. I originally thought about doing just caramel and chocolate but this version ended up being much better than anticipated.

I finally nailed a gluten free chocolate shortcrust recipe that we both love and it makes perfect chocolate shortbread cookies too. The tart filling was soft and gooey without flowing all over your fork. Just don’t be walking around the house with a slice of pie. Don’t say I did not warn you…

Chocolate Caramel Banana Tart:

Serves 8-10

For the crust:
1 stick (113gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (60gr) unsifted powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 cup (160gr) white rice flour
1/4 cup (30gr) amaranth flour
1/4 cup (40gr) tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1/4 cup (20gr) unsweetened cocoa powder

For the caramel-peanut butter-banana layer:
1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup peanut butter (your choice smooth or crunchy)
2 small bananas, peeled and mashed

For the chocolate ganache topping:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks or chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Prepare the crust:
In a mixer, whip together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time and beating well after each addition. Mix until incorporated. Add the three different flours, the xantham gum and cocoa powder and mix briefly. Dump the whole mixture onto a lightly floured (use more rice flour) board and gather the dough into a smooth ball. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat oven to 350F and position a rack in the center.
When the dough is nice and cold, roll it out on a lightly floured board or in between two sheets of plastic to fit your prefered pie pan. (I went with rectangular this time) If the dough tears while you roll or/and transfer into the pan, just patch it with your fingertips. Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dy beans and par bake for 15-20 minutes until completely done. Remove the weights and parchment paper.

Prepare the filling:
In a heavy bottom saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil over meadium high heat and cook until you get a dark caramel. (do not walk away – it only takes minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and add the cream and butter. The mixture will bubble so be careful. Place the pot back on the stove and cook on low until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, add the peanut butter and banana and whisk until completely smooth. Pour over the crust. Refrigerate for 2 hours before topping with the ganache.

Prepare the ganache:
Place the chocolate in a medium size bowl. In a small saucepan set over medium high heat, bring the cream to a strong simmer. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for a couple of minutes and slowly stir in with a whisk or spoon until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes and spread all over the banana filling. Refrigerate until firm.

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Le P’tit Coin Francais:

Pour la pate:

115gr beurre mou
60 gr de sucre glace
3 jaunes d’oeufs
pincee de sel
160gr farine de riz blanc
30 gr farine d’amaranthe
40gr farine de tapioca
1/2 c.c de gomme xanthan
20 gr de cacao

Pour la garniture:
For the caramel-peanut butter-banana layer:
100gr sucre
2 c.s d’eau
2 cs creme liquide entiere
2cs beurre mou
30gr de beurre de cacahuete (avec ou sans morceaux)
2 petites bananes mure, epelees et ecrasees

Pour la ganache:
240gr chocolat en morceaux
125ml de creme liquide entiere

Le reste des instructions arrive…promis.

It Takes All Sorts Of Macarons To Make The World Go Round

27.10.2009 130 Comments

I love, like, enjoy, many people and many things in this life but if there is one thing that I live for on the weekends is when B. comes home from playing music and we sit on the bed and geek out for hours about all sorts of topics. Photography, films, history, and often times, food. Before we know, it’s three o’clock in the morning (not his bedtime at all) and we go to sleep with growling stomachs and visions of sugar plums. Especially when we geek out about macarons. Especially when they are Peanut Butter and Jelly, Lemon Meringue Pie and Banana Caramel Macarons.

We were recently putting together a care package for a friend in town and we started brainstorming about what to include. Macarons, are always first on the list for some reason, eheh! I was looking for flavors I had not done before and he was looking to recreate some of his favorites. In the end, our friend S. received 2/3 of the Daring Bakers challenge delivered right to her front steps. From the look on her face, I knew I’d be repeating these flavors over again.

Bill’s go-to breakfast is a bagel with peanut butter and jelly and turning this into a macaron was very easy. I used half almond and half peanuts for the shells and filled those with a teaspoon each of peanut butter and homemade raspberry jelly.

One of my favorite desserts is lemon meringue pie and after coniving on the best way to make this into a macaron, I finally settled on keeping the shells all almonds and adding the zest of one lemon to the batter. I filled the insides with homemade lemon curd and a teaspoon of freshly made Swiss meringue.

One of my husband’d favorite snacks when he comes home from playing music is to cut up a banana and drizzle it with Salidou, the homemade salted butter caramel sauce that I always keep handy in the fridge. For the macarons I simply mashed a whole banana and mixed it with the leftover from the Taffy Apples I posted yesterday. Once cooled and naturally thickened a bit, it was easy to pipe on the macarons shells and sandwich them.

I’ve known about this month challenge since this summer when Amy emailed with concerns about doing macarons for the Daring Bakers. We covered all types of questions from aging the egg whites, drying the macs before baking to food coloring and how to best incorporate flavors. I volunteered a phone macaron making session and guided her over the phone while she baked my tried and true recipe. In the end she felt most comfortable with the version she knew best, Claudia Flemming’s, which brought on my most common comment about macarons: if you find a recipe that works for you, stick to it, no matter whose it is, especially if you are new to macarons and don’t make them that often.

Amy, thank you for the fun phone macaron making session and it was a pleasure helping out with some of your questions!

I’m glad I tried a new recipe for macarons and did not have any problems with it, probably because I’ve been making them for 15 years so I know what to expect. I will however stick to the recipe I use all the time, for no other reason that it is engrained in my DNA right now!

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Macarons, from Claudia Flemming' The Last Course: The Desserts Of Gramercy Tavern.

Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
Cool on a rack before filling.

For the PB&J Macarons:– Replace half the amount of almonds with finely ground unsalted roasted peanuts.
– Once cooled, fill the shells with a dollop of peanut butter (either smooth or crunchy) and jam.

For the Lemon Meringue Macarons:
– Fill the shells with a teaspoon or so of freshly made lemon curd
– Add a teaspoon or so of Swiss meringue. (I made half the recipe)

For the Caramel Banana Macarons:
– Mixed one smashed banana with half the quantity of toffee sauce I made for the dipped crabapples.

Bananas Foster Tartelettes & A Giveaway

17.10.2009 288 Comments

I like to think I am fairly organized. I mean, there is logic to whatever battle is taking place on my desk. Or in my head. Like most of us, I get pretty psyched about being a step ahead and I was darn happy for having posts in drafts right before I left for BlogHer food in San Francisco. David says he has 40 stories or so in drafts at all times. I giggle when I have one ahead of the game. I am however excited when “the” one is these Bananas Foster Tartelettes. Things got busy then and things got busier this week but these were too good to wait any longer to post.

Whenever I travel, I try to leave a few easy things for B. to reheat for dinner knowing too well he’d end up eating at his parents or be invited here and there. He tends to skip meals when there is no one to call him to the table. I know he can boil water for pasta. I’ve seen it. I even happen to know he can make awesome steamed clams.

This time was no different as I labeled containers of food and even took him on a guided tour of the fridge and pantry. It’s just not his thing. I was tempted to post-it the entire house but refrained. However, as previously mentioned, his eyes got stuck on all the desserts left on top shelf from my zealous attempt at getting prepared. This is his thing.

After describing what the tarts were made of, he exclaimed “oh! Kind of like bananas foster without the fire flambéing action!” Precisely. We tend to have a surplus of bananas in the house, and after making banana donuts last month, I still had plenty to use up, hence the tarts (and a few loaves of banana nut bread).

The tarts start with a crispy shortbread base and are filled with a hazelnut and almond frangipane before being topped with fresh banana slices and a (generous) drizzle of salted butter caramel sauce. I am all over banana and nuts and I am all over salted butter anything, so the combination was pretty much a no brainer. However, it all came together out of the necessity to use all the tidbits ingredients in the fridge, pantry and freezer.

I had leftover shortbread dough in the freezer from a previous tart making day as well as a jar of salted butter caramel sauce, a handful each almonds and hazelnuts in the pantry, a knob of butter and a tiny bit of cream in the fridge. And of course a good many banana giving me the sweet eye.

As I have said before, I hate waste. Having worked in a restaurant kitchen for many year, I pretty much nailed down the recycling issue. If you don’t recycle, re-use or force yourself to use items bought on a whim, you are likely to drive your place to the pits. I have the same mentality when it comes to the kitchen. Being on a tight budget, I can’t allow us to waste, even less impulse buy certain items. Everything these days is budgeted, accounted for and used to the max. More than ever before I am aware of what I have. Time, the ability to cook, develop recipes, a wonderful mother- in -law who unexpectedly drops by with supplies, etc…

Some of us are not that lucky. I do my best but some can’t. In that spirit, I really like what Macy is doing in their campaign Come Together to fight hunger to raise awareness and money to feed 10 million of people suffering from hunger, and they will match donation dollar for dollar.
When Macy’s got in touch to spread the word last week, I immediately agreed. There are 3 different ways you can get involved in this great campaign:

1) You can host dinner parties and ask that instead of bringing traditional host gifts, guests make a donation to Feeding America.

2) You can donate $1 directly at any Macy’s register, one dollar provides dinner for seven.

3) You can shop at any Macy’s and get special savings in-store on October 17 (today). A portion of the $5 in-store ticket sales will benefit Feeding America.

Macy’s also provided me with two $25 gift certificates to give to my readers. All you have to do is leave a comment (multiple entry will automatically be deleted) before Tuesday october 20th midnight eastern time, for a chance to win. My better half will select the winners at random from the comments left on this post. Even if Macy’s does not ship internationally nor has stores outside the US, everyone can enter. You can always use the gift certificate to do your Christmas shopping for friends or family here and continue to spread some good spirit.

Good luck!

Bananas Foster Tartelettes:

Serves 8

Sable Dough:
1 stick (113 gr) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (95 gr) powdered sugar (unsifted)
1 large egg
1 1 /2 cups (190gr) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (20 gr) cornstarch
pinch of salt

For the almond-hazelnut frangipane filling:
1 stick (115 gr) butter, softened
½ cup (100 gr) granulated sugar
½ cup (50 gr) ground almonds
½ cup (50gr) ground hazelnuts
seeds from half a vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup (60gr) heavy cream

Remaining ingredients:
3-4 bananas, thinly sliced
Salted butter Caramel sauce
Vanilla Ice Cream

Prepare the shortbread rounds:
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy on medium speed, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the flour, cornstarch and salt and mix briefly to incorporate. Dump the whole mixture onto a lightly floured board and gather the dough into a smooth ball. Do not work the dough while in the mixer or it will toughen up. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
You will need half the amount of dough to make the tartelettes. The other half can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen, well wrapped for up to 3 months.
Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
When the dough is nice and cold, roll it out on a lightly floured board or in between sheets of plastic wrap to about ¼ -inch thick. Cut out eight 3-inch rounds with a pastry ring or cookie cutter. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

Prepare the filling:
Place the butter, sugar, ground nuts, vanilla bean seeds and the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth (can also be done in a food processor). Add the cream but stir in it instead of whisking to prevent emulsifying it or it will rise while baking. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Place 8 baked rounds of dough in 8 pastry rings of the same dimension, divide the cream evenly among the rings and bake 20 minutes at 350F. Let cool. Once cooled, remove the tarts from the rings and arrange the banana slices decoratively on top, drizzle the caramel sauce on top. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Banana Doughnuts With Dried Banana "Streusel"

14.09.2009 98 Comments

Before I tell you all about these delicious Banana Doughnuts, I must announce the winner of the giveaway: "minisuperbias" won "Confections Of A Closet Master Baker" by Gesine Bullock-Prado. Congratulations! Please, email me your mailing address at mytartelette{at}gmail{dot}com and I will get the book in the mail pronto.

Back to the doughnuts. They pretty much made everybody swoon. Granted we did not share but with one neighbor so we can’t really say for sure but we have the feeling they would make people do just that. Or sigh heavily in approval. I did and that is no small feat given my general dislike of bananas. Yes. The only reason why I even buy bananas is because Bill can’t live without.

We are very territorial about our fruits, I have noticed, and have clear favorites. However, he can rest assured that I’ll never have a midnight craving for "la banane". At a rate of a banana a day for him, I tend to buy a bunch for the week to be on the safe side. Well, last week I found myself with 22 of them in the house. Ugh! I got 8, he stopped by the store on his way home and got 8 (hello! He never goes grocery shopping!) and his mother brought 6 huge ones (were on sale – bought too much – dumped them on me). My least favorite fruit! I had to come up with a plan.

I started with an easy and quick dessert, bananas foster. Ok, down to 21. Then we had banana bread. 19. "Mon cheri, eat one please. Right now!". 18. I’m never going to see the end of this, I thought. Oh yes! Skewer 2 more on lollipop sticks, freeze, coat with melted chocolate and eat. 16. Banana sorbet. 14. Can I start breathing again now. Not yet?

At 14 left, I threw my arms up in the air and said "Mon cheri (I promise, start every request with this or"mon amour" works every time), give me some ideas because this is becoming boring." He pondered this for a minute and asked if they could find their way into a doughnut. At this point, I would have come up with anything to get rid of more so "Yes! Brilliant!"…

After tweaking my recipes to make sure I had the right ratio of dry to wet ingredients, I was still down only two more bananas, unless I was ready to make more and stand at the stove frying the entire evening, feeding our neighborhood and the one next to it. I remember Bill mentioning he liked those little streusel pieces on top of certain doughnuts and that’s when the idea of topping the doughnuts with chopped dried bananas came to my mind. Wow! It really made things come together!

The banana flavor in the dough is very subtle and the fruit acts more as a moisture agent than a flavoring. The dried bananas really made it for us. Their smell alone is enough to reconcile me with them. After an hour of drying time, I opened the oven door and did not close it for a few seconds. I was almost paralyzed by the whiff of caramelizing bananas hitting my nose! Amazing! I could eat home dried bananas everyday. Natural chewy candy that makes the house smell absolutely wonderful.

We were then at 11 bananas left. A lot more manageable here, especially if he doubled up on the daily intake!

Banana Doughnuts

Makes about 24

For the doughnuts:
3 to 3 1/2 cups (440gr) all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons (12gr) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2gr) baking soda
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 small bananas, mashed
1/4 cup (55gr) sour cream
canola oil for frying.

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk

For the dried bananas: (best prepared the day before or while the dough is resting)
1 small banana

Prepare the dough:
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt twice and set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and honey for one minute at medium speed, until light and airy. Add the bananas and sour cream and beat until well incorporated. Turn the speed down to low and add the dry ingredients (little by little). The dough will be soft. Transfer to a medium bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
On a well floured board or countertop, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut rounds either with a 3-inch doughnut cutter or use a 3-inch cookie cutter and a 1-inch small cutter to make the holes in the middle. Reroll the scraps as you go. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes if it starts getting tough as you reroll and cut, to relax the gluten.
In a large cast iron skilet, heat enough oil (2 inches deep or so) to 325F and fry the doughnuts 3 to 4 at a time, 1 to 2 minutes on each side, turning them once. Do not over crowd your skillet or it will drop the temperature of the oil and you will end up with soggy doughnuts. Drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

For the glaze:
In a medium bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the milk and whisk until smooth.
Dip the doughnuts into the glaze and let drip on a wire rack set over a piece of parchment paper

For the dried bananas:
Line a baking sheet with either a silicone mat or a piece of parchment paper.
Preheat the oven at 250F and position a rack in the middle.
Slice the bananas in 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and place them on the baking sheet. Let the banana slices dry in the oven for 2 hours. Let cool. Chop in small pieces.
Scatter the chopped banana slices over the doughnuts after the glaze is applied but before it is completely set so they have time to stick.

Banana Tatin Verrines

22.12.2008 69 Comments

I never know "sur quel pied danser" (on which foot to dance) the last few days leading to Christmas. I have my feet in the starters' block but it is too soon to get going! The tree is up, the house is decorated, all the doughs for the cookies and treats are made and parked in the fridge waiting for Tuesday to be baked and Wednesday to be packaged. The menu is set, the food has been shopped for and is awaiting its own oven time. Today, there were moments of pure calm with a "yeah, I can have a cup of tea and a sit down" mixed with "Oh geez! Should I be panicking, should I, should I?"…

I could have panicked this afternoon when B. asked me what were the plans for lunch. I opened the fridge, peeked in the drawers, closed the door and smiled "well, I know you wouldn’t have a problem eating raw biscotti dough for dinner but it ain’t Christmas yet child…so let’s go get some fish and grill". I was telling Lisa last night that I was on my 4th batch of shortbread dough and not because I was packing them up but because B. was eating them faster than I was baking them!!

We took the long way home coming back from the store and walked around the neighborhood checking houses all decked up for the holidays. All of a sudden the wind picked up and the air got downright chilly, and tonight there is a 20 degrees difference from the same time yesterday. Absurd…Yet the perfect occasion for one of those dessert you tend to crave on chilly days….like a tarte tatin. I opted for Banana Tatin Verrines instead with caramelized bananas layered, creme fraiche and a ginger crumble topping. Comfort in a spoon…

Banana Tatins Verrines:

1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
(to make your own: mix one cup heavy cream with 1/4 cup sour cream and let sit overnight in the oven with the pilot light on, uncovered, refrigerate after that)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons butter
2 bananas, cut into thick slices
Crumble topping (recipe follows)

Divide the creme fraiche between two glasses or ramekins.
In a large skillet set over medium high heat, cook the sugar with the water until it caramelizes to a golden caramel. Turn the heat down to medium and add the butter. Let it melt before adding the bananas. Let them cook in the caramel for a couple of minutes until soft and caramelized. Remove from the heat and wait a couple of minutes before dividing the banana slices in between your glasses. Top with the crumble and serve.

For the crumble topping:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons cold butter
2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat your oven to 350F.
In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour. Add the butter cut in small pieces, the ginger and mix with your fingertips until you get a mixture that ressembles coarse crumbs. Spread the mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Santa came a little early thanks to my dear friend Hannah from Bittersweet who sent me the cutest felt macarons that she made herself. Aren’t these adorable? And calorie free!!

I might be able to post around Christmas day (maybe some pics of all the finally baked goodies and house decorations?) but I wanted to wish you all the Happiest Holidays and much love spent celebrating with family and friends!

Frozen Rhubarb And Banana Charlottes

10.03.2008 83 Comments

What follows is a typical conversation you can hear at our house on a Sunday afternoon:
Me: Hey, what’cha got planned today?
Him: well, I found this electric saw (or drill, or vacuum,….) in the street and I thought I’d fix it up. You?
Me: I just picked some stuff up at the grocery store and I’d thought I’d play around a little.
Both at the same time: well, call me before you burn the house down!

We had a very similar conversation last week but this time I was on a mission. I was standing in the middle of the fruits and vegetables stands, starring at gorgeous stalks of deep red rhubarb when my friend S. called. "Remember my bridal shower next July?" Yesssssss….(can’t you just tell what’s coming?!) "Change of plans…it’s in two weeks otherwise I’ll have to throw a baby shower with it!" Yesssss "Can you think of something pretty, girlie, decadent, pink, red, white….?" Yesssss…I love S., she is the exact opposite of me in almost everything and in that regard she is the ultimate girlie girl, ultra pink and fuchsia, which makes me look like a Gothic tomboy (and if you know me, you know I am not which gives you a pretty good image of S.) Good thing I was holding pretty red rhubarb when she called and that she happens to love it too.
So here I was, back in the kitchen letting my brain do its usual selection of all the wild ideas running through my mind. A charlotte is always a pretty thing and since the weather has been very clement and her shower would be an intimate affair (12 ladies), I thought about a chilled/frozen filling. Bananas are one of my favorite ingredients for frozen mousses because they provide good body and sweetness without being too heavy. When cut in long strips and prepared just a bit, the rhubarb graciously replaces the traditional ladyfinger casing of a charlotte. While the leaves are toxic, the stalks can be used to your heart’s contents but they need a good dose of sugar as they are very tart and make cranberries look weak in that department.

When working with cold or frozen individual plated desserts you can use metal pastry rings but since they are not cheap and I tend to accumulate mini pans of all shapes and sizes I rely on a big stock of different pvc pipes. Yep, hardware stores are a cook’s treasure land sometimes! For a minimal fee you can select all the diameters you like and if you smile big enough (maybe throw in a little eyelash action for good measure) they might even cut the pipe for you. Since the pipe is almost indestructible, I am not worried about storage, bending or rust. To make sure the "rhubarb ladyfingers" would not stick to the plastic mold, I just lined them with parchment paper that I secured with tape. The rhubarb is cut in paper thin slices and barely softened in a low temperature oven for 10 minutes, to retain the color without caramelizing them. Once filled and frozen, the charlottes popped right out and all I had to do was to carefully peel the paper.

After the stalks, I chopped up the remaining tidbits, cooked them down with some sugar until I had a deep red puree and just stared at it mesmerized. Just kidding! Although I just wanted to spread that delicious jam on fresh toast, I thinned it down a bit and used for the plating along with some of the frozen banana filling. I topped each charlotte with caramelized banana slices and a little rhubarb bow with strips cut in the soft slices. as a homage to S’s girlie-ness. She came over that night for dinner and loved it, from the presentation to the taste…Ouf! (that’s French for "big sigh of relief!)….Now I have got the think about that baby shower of hers!!

Frozen Rhubarb And Banana Charlottes:

Serves 4. The molds used are 3 inches tall and 3 inches across.

For the Rhubarb "ladyfingers":
12 to 15 rhubarb stalks, cleaned and cut to measure 3 inches
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat your oven to 200F. With a sharp knife and without peeling the stalks, cut them into thin slices (1/8inch thick). Keep the ends and trimmings for later. Set them onto parchment paper lined baking sheets (or silicone ones), and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely.
Cut strips of parchment paper to fit inside the molds and carefully line the inside of the mold with the sliced rhubarb easier to do if you lay the mold on its side). Place the rings in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Frozen Banana Mousse:
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 cup pureed bananas
1 cup heavy cream

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar until pale and fluffy. Fold the banana puree into the yolk mixture. Whisk the egg whites until they foam and 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 batter. Keep about 1/4 cup of the mousse to use as a sauce for plating if desired. Spoon the mousse into the rhubarb lined rings and freeze overnight.

Caramelized Banana Slices:
Cut 2 bananas into thin slices. In a pan, melt 4 Tb sugar with 4 TB butter, and cook until the sugar is melted. Add the bananas and cook them until barely soft. Remove them from the pan and let cool. It is preferable to do these the day you plate up the whole dessert.

Options for plating:
Cook down the bits and pieces of rhubarb you have left from cutting the slices with some sugar (to taste) until soft and jam-like and let it cool completely. If it becomes too thick the next day, thin it down with a bit of water to use it as a sauce.

To Serve:
Carefully unmold the charlottes from the rings by pushing down gently from one end, peel off the parchment paper. Quickly set the room temperature banana slices on top, use some of the rhubarb jam and leftover mousse for sauces. Make a bow if you have it you (which I know you do since you all wrap presents so well) I got to tell you that was a rather sticky experience!!
You might have leftover mousse when you fill the rings. I just layered it with some cooked rhubarb and pop these in the freezer for an easy weeknight dessert.

Mascarpone Banana Tartlets

10.10.2007 41 Comments

I apologize for the current lack of posts but my parents are leaving in a week and I want to spend as much time as possible with them, even if it’s just relaxing on the patio with a glass of lemonade and some macarons, or spending the whole evening playing cards like when I was a kid. It’s going to be a little hectic here at Mr. and Mrs. Tartelette B&B as we have other friends dropping by for the next couple of weeks and then I am off to my favorite spa….

Back to our regular programming…

Leaving for a weekend getaway is fun and relaxing, especially with my parents (the “in-laws” for B.) They are really fun to hang out with, always ready for the next thing whether it is an exhibition or a hike. I am really happy that they adore B. and we all get along watching rugby (go France) or playing cards. I am not saying it is always rosy but when the logistics of packing for a trip and unpacking when we are back are easier when everybody gets along. I had to work last evening so I left the house in the hands of mom…unpacking the goods and knickknacks bought along the way, separating the laundry, taking care of my poor husband suffering from a terrible lumbago, etc… When I got home there was a post it on the counter top next to a plate of overripe bananas, “we are at the dock, catching shrimp for dinner. These bananas need to be used. We want dessert!” Now, this is a command I am most happy to execute! Especially if they took the time to fish dinner and all I have to do is fix the salad…There is nothing that screams more vacation to me than having boiled shrimp and salad for dinner. You can make a mess right there on the table and get silly on cocktail sauce and beer.

Back to the bananas…Right before my parents got in town, I had started to prepare a tart dough for one of my husband’s favorite pies but never got around to use it much less go beyond that part of the prep work. Hopefully I’ll get around it soon but in the meantime I had a whole delicious chocolate dough parked in the fridge about to give me a hissing fit if it did not get used (remember that my ingredients speak to me). Not wanting to make a dozen little tarts (too easy to eat!), I divided the dough in half and froze the rest for later use. Coming back home is always nice but the bananas had a most definite sad look about them. Not it was not cake or crumble, but tarts this time, how surprising eh?! The mascarpone filling is pretty straightforward. I used it a lot in catering and can’t tell you where I got it from, we all seem to have passed it down to one another over the years at the restaurant. You can use cream cheese if you prefer, but I like the smooth texture and sharper taste of mascarpone, especially with a touch of almond extract. Perfect balance to chocolate and bananas, and perfect bite size dessert after a big crab and shrimp boil!

Mascarpone and Banana Tartlets

Makes 6 3-inch tartlets

Chocolate Crust (inspired from Chocolate Passion, by Tish Boyle and Tim Moriarty)

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 stick butter, softened, cut into small pieces

Sift flour with cocoa powder and make a well in the center. Add the egg yolks, sugars and vanilla to the well. Combine with your hands or a mixer and add the butter pieces. Knead with your hands 2-3 minutes or until the dough comes together. Divide in 2 and wrap in plastic. Note that you only need one half for the recipe. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes prior to using.
When ready to use, roll the dough in between sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Cut out 4 inch circles with a cookie cutter or other template. Fit into the 3 inch tartlets or other desired molds. Prick with a fork and blind bake for 10 minutes at 350F
Let cool completely before feeling them with the mascarpone cream.

Mascarpone Banana Filling:

1 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on your taste)
1 egg
1 tsp. pure almond extract
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp lemon juice
2 bananas, thinly sliced

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mascarpone, sugar and egg. Whisk until well blended. Add the lemon juice, zest and almond extract.
Divide evenly among the tart shells. Arrange the bananas slices over, pushing them in the cream a little. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Tartine’s Banana Cream Pie…With Caramel and Chocolate

12.09.2007 88 Comments

I am nowhere close to Tartine Bakery in San Francisco and yet I get to have their Banana Cream Pie for dessert! Actually, it would be like going to Paris for a patisserie from my sugar daddy at that point! Except….one very generous blogger and friend, fellow Daring Baker, emailed Lisa and me one day saying she had an extra copy of Tartine and Balthazar and if we could decide which one we wanted she’d be happy to give them a new home. If I recall my email back was something along the line "I woul love the Tartine one, of it is okay with Lisa"…"please, please, please Lisa…." secretly crossing my fingers, hands and toes! As you can see I received the coveted one! Thank you Veronica…(and Lis!) I am enjoying it a lot and so is everyone else in the neighborhood!

It took me a while to decide what to make first. Really, all their pies look gorgeous, the cakes and cookies sound all so mouth watering and the pastries would make anybody drool (be right back, I forgot to wipe page 149 !).
Anyway, I had my in-laws over for dinner a couple of days ago and decided to end dinner with a very Southern treat, banana cream pie. I admit I am not a big fan of banana pudding, or pudding textures in general, except for my beloved pastry cream, but I wanted to make something that would show them my appreciation for all the wonderful things they have one for B. and me over the past 10 years. I looked online, I called my neighbor C., thinking that this good Southern girl would have a recipe for it somewhere…except that I had forgotten that C. is the one calling me for desserts so no luck there. I was started to think I would have to change my plan or come up with a botched up version of it, aka French banana cream pie – sacrilege!Nah! Can’t have that! I started daydreaming barely noticing I had my elbow propped up on Tartine. I looked down at the cover and saw the cutest pie…oh could it be?! Maybe they have a great non-pudding recipe for it! Sure they do, page 54: Banana Cream Pie, with caramel and chocolate…

Allright, so it’s not the speediest of pies to make, especially of you make individual ones, but you will be rewarded by a table of well fed, content, and well sugared guests. Just listen to this: flaky pie crust, layer of chocolate ganache, layer of caramel, pastry cream, bananas and if that was not enough a dollop of whipped cream! No pudding! No fake banana flavor!
I did change a couple of things (sorry, can’t help myself), that in my opinion only worked in its favor. Instead of the bakery’s caramel sauce, I used my beloved salted butter caramel sauce, and skipped the extra whipped cream on top as the pastry cream makes it rich enough and I think it would have masked the banana flavor. From what I can tell no one missed it…you know you did something right when there is pure sweet silence at the table!

Banana Cream Pie, with caramel and chocolate, adapted from Tartine.

Serves 8-12 (10 inch tart)

Flaky Pie Crust:
1 tsp / 5ml salt
2/3 cup/ 150ml very cold water
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons / 455 gr. flour
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons / 300 gr. chilled butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

In a small bowl, dissolve salt in water and keep cold.
To make dough with a food processor: put flour in the work bowl, scatter butter over flour, and pulse until the mixture forms large crumbs, but some of the butter is the size of peas. Add salted water and pulse for several seconds, until the dough comes together as a ball, but is not completely smooth (you should see some butter chunks).
On a floured surface, divide dough into two balls, shape into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
To fill a 10 inch tart pan, roll out one disk on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick, rolling from the center toward the edge in all directions, lifting and rotating the dough a quarter turn every few strokes. Cut out a circle 1½ inches larger than the tart pan and carefully transfer dough round to the pan (folding in half, if necessary), easing it into the bottom and sides and pressing into place, and trim the edge with a knife.Line with parchment paper and pie weights or dry beans.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Bake until the surface looks dry with no opaque areas left, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and remove parchment and weights or beans and return shell to oven for another few minutes. If the center starts to rise, gently pierce with a knife tip. Let cool completely.

Ganache Layer:
1 cup/ 250 ml heavy cream
3 oz/85 gr. bitter sweet chocolate

Set the chocolate into a bowl. Heat the heavy cream to boiling point and pour over the chocolate. Let stand a couple of minutes an gently stir until fully incorporated and glossy. Cool to room temperature. Pour over the cooled pastry shell and refrigerate.

Salted Butter Caramel Sauce:
240 gr. sugar
80 ml water
115 gr salted butter
150 ml heavy whipping cream

In a heavy saucepan set over low heat, combine the sugar and water and heat just until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter. Let it come to a boil and cook until it reaches a golden caramel color. Remove from the heat and add the cream ( it will splatter and get crazy, but do not fear and trust the recipe). Whisk to combine and put back on the stove. Let it come to a boil again over low heat and cook 10-15 minutes until you reach a nice creamy consistency. Let cool to room temperature.Pour over the cooled chocolate ganache and refrigerate.

Pastry Cream:
2 cups/ 500ml whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, cut open down the middle, seeded
1/4 tsp of salt
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
1/2 cup/ 110gr. sugar
2 large eggs
4 Tb/ 55 gr. butter, cut in small cubes

Heat the milk, vanilla seeds and salt in a pan and put over medium heat, and bring to a boil.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and eggs until smooth. Slowly add 1/2 of the milk mixture into the egg and whisk constantly to temper them. Add the remaining milk and return the whole thing to the saucepan. Cook until you get a thick consistency, whisking non-stop. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl, let cool for 10 minutes and then incorporate the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until smooth . Cover the surface with plastic wrap, directly touching the cream, let cool completely.

Layer the pastry cream on top of the chocolate and caramel. Cut 2 ripe bananas in medium-thick slices (you know, not a mouthfull but not disintegrating when you pick it up), and arrange them over the cream, lightly pressing down. Decorate with chocolate shavings and if you really need it, some whipped cream.

Ok…there is something else that makes me beam with joy beside the pie: I will be wearing the 3rd Brownie Babe apron very soon! Go check Myriam's blogs for some seriously delicious brownies recipes. Wow! Just wow! There are so many incredible recipes I want to try soon, it is a great honor to be chosen among all these fine bakers. Ya’ll went all out! I have to thank Guillemette and Loukoum for this one, I stumbled onto the Marbled Ricotta Cheesecake Brownies one day by accident and decide that my friends on this side of the pond ought to have the recipe too!

Salted Butter Caramel Sauce and Banana Chocolate Crepes

24.07.2007 45 Comments

Under other circumstances I would have started this post with the title "Banana Crepes and Salted Butter Caramel Sauce", but Andrew wanted sauces to be the center of attention in this month "Waiter There Is Something In My…" so my favorite caramel sauce took center stage.

There are very few things I love more than crepes in the desser category. Summer or winter I do not mind standing in front of the cooktop and flipping a batch. Oh yeah, I am a flipper! As soon as that crepe is pulling out from the side and loose from the bottom, I will flip it. There is enough batter for a couple to end up on the floor (makes the dog happy) or stuck to the ceiling (makes the husband worried). I like them sweet with a spritz of lemon juice and sugar or filled with my mother’s strawberry jam. That’s when I am being good….When I am being bad, I will load them up with Nutella, bananas, drizzle some caramel sauce, a good amount of whipped cream and some chopped nuts. Maybe just some chocolate, coconut sorbet and again that awesome sauce.

Allright there is obviously something that I love as equally as my sweet crepes and it is that heavenly and damned salted butter caramel sauce. It is heaven on a spoon, soft and good, it is evil on your thighs, especially if you eat it at the rate we do! Try it once and there is no going back!! I noticed I always have jar of it in the fridge and it is one of the first things I put in goodie baskets for friends and family. It was not always so and I can’t believe I have let such a long time pass by before making it! I was first introduced to it while reading one of my favorite blogs, Chocolate and Caetera. Guillemette makes the most tempting creations and when I read her post about the sauce, I was hooked. I am sure that caramel sauce also helped win HHDD #10 Cheesecakes.

Now that everybody has been introduced, let’s proceed with the fun. If you read French, head over to Marmiton where you will find the crepe recipe under (I translated) "the best crepe batter in the world". Now if you post such a title, you’d better have some back up or a strong faith in your recipe! Well….It became "the best" I had made so far after I added 1/2 cup light beer to the batter. See, to me there is no crepe without beer or cider. It helps the dough relax better, it helps it become airy and light without adding too much butter or oil to the batter.
The banana filling pretty much came together as I was going along….can’t mess up too much cooking nanners in butter, sugar and rum now can you?!! Once the crepes were flipped and filled I tied them up in little bundles with cut strings of licorice. The sauce served alongside really gave them another dimension. Can’t you tell we enjoyed dessert that evening?!

Salted Butter Caramel Sauce

240 gr. sugar
80 ml water
115 gr salted butter
150 ml heavy whipping cream

In a heavy saucepan set over low heat, combine the sugar and water and heat just until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter. Let it come to a boil and cook until it reaches a golden caramel color. Remove from the heat and add the cream ( it will splatter and get crazy, but do not fear and trust the recipe). Whisk to combine and put back on the stove. Let it come to a boil again over low heat and cook 10-15 minutes until you reach a nice creamy consistency. Pour into a jar and try to refrain yourself from drinking it!

Crepe Batter

Makes 12 crepes

250 g flour
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1 Tb. oil
pinch of salt
1/2 cup light beer

In a blender or food processor, combine all the igredients and pulse until fully incorporated and no lumps remain.
If you decide to do it by hand: combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, oil and a little bit of milk. Work the batter with a whisk, and slowly add the remaining milk, until the batter comes together and the lumps disappear. Add the beer.
No matter what method you used, strain the batter if necessary. Refrigerate, covered for an hour.
In a saute pan set over medium high heat, laddle 1/4 -1/3 cup batter (depending on the size of your pan) and cook 1-2 minutes on each side.

For the filling:
This is not a recipe per se because I only made enough for 4 crepes:
Cut 4 bananas into thin slices. In a pan, melt 4 Tb sugar with 4 TB butter, add 1/4 cup rum and cook until the sugar is melted. Add the bananas and cook them until soft. Remove them fom the pan. Let cool.
Melt 1/2 cup of dark chocolate with 1/4 cup heavy cream in the microwave.

To Assemble:
Fill each crepe with about 2 Tb. melted chocolate and 14 cup bananas. Gather the edges of the crepe together and tie up with a string of licorice. Serve with plenty of caramel sauce.

Banana & Mascarpone Mousse Parfaits

15.05.2007 36 Comments

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.