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diplomat cream

Raspberry Mousse Tartelettes and Pink Macarons

tartpink3g


I can’t quite tell if it is my mother’s warm hugs or Spring pointing its nose that has me thinking in all shades of pinks, purple and reds lately. Greens too. Colors are starting to pop everywhere and everyone around me seem to have that awakened sense of things changing around them.

I have been sneaking some work time early morning and late nights but there is one particular thing I have been looking forward to when my parents said they’d come visit: sneaking into the bed with my mom after when dad gets up. Yep, I am slightly regressing and that is all fine by me! My dad gets up early and my mom likes to linger in bed just a half hour longer. When I hear his footsteps down the stairs, I fetch him a cup of coffee, kiss him "bonjour Papa" and make a rush for the bedroom. I love the morning sun there. It kisses you just so, making you want to roll over and just enjoy.

I often told my mom that I like to pick up a book and start my day with a few pages up there, in the silence of the sun and the skyes around me. The other day when she asked why, I did not know how to explain it at first. Suddenly I felt a rush of peace and warmth. "It’s like when you hug me. It’s that moment when we are on the bed and chat with sleepy eyes and fuzzy brains."

Raspberry tartelettes


Later that afternoon, I was flipping through some of the pastry magazines she brought me from home and I stumbled on the cutest little sables tarts, filled with raspberry jam, pink mousse cream and adorned with pink macarons. A fuzzy morning sun embrace. I turned to her and I said "That’s it! That’s how it feels when we share! Like a pink creamy tart with a bit of a crunch!" She replied "Well, we should bake some then!"

And we did… And we were quite happy to discover that they are also perfect during a passionate game of cards in the evening to calm every one’s edge!!

My apologies if I am not around as much in the coming weeks and especially if I am extremely slow in visiting your blogs. Soon I’ll be able to get a breather and park my brain on "Spring break" mode before new adventures I hope!

If you want to read more about the macaron recipe I used here, head over to Design*Sponge "In The Kitchen With" where Kristina asked me to provide a basic recipe to illustrate Matt Amerendiz’s (Matt Bites) latest photo shoot. I dream of the day I would actually spend some time on a shoot with this super talented and genial photographer. Thank you Kristina!

Tart and Macarons


Raspberry Mousse Tartelettes Recipe, inspired by Vincent Gerlais

Makes six 3-inch tartlets.

For the sable crust:
1 stick butter (113 grams) butter, at room temperature
¼ cup (50 grams) sugar
2 egg yolks
1 ½ cups (190 grams) all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30gr)of cream, optional

1/2 cup raspberry jam

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping the bottom and side of the bowl in between each addition. Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just starts to come together. If the dough seems too crumbly, add some cream, one tablespoon at a time. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it a little to a small disk and wrap it well in plastic wrap. Refrigerate one hour before using.

Preheat oven to 350F. Flour your work area well and start rolling the dough from the center out, lifting it from the work area every 2-3 times you roll over it. Do not be afraid to flour the work area well as you feel the dough getting warmer and softer.
Cut out six 4 inch rounds and fit them inside six 3 inch tartlet molds pastry dough inside them, patting the dough in with your fingertips if needed. Place a small piece of parchment paper inside the tart shells, fill with beans or pie weights and blind bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and remove the shells from the rings. Divide the raspberry jam evenly among the tart shells.

For the raspberry Diplomat cream mousse:
1 1/2 teaspoons (3 sheets) gelatin
1 tablespoon (15ml) cold water
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (throw the seeds in the pot with the milk)
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup (50gr)sugar
2 tablespoons (25gr)cornstarch
1/3 cup raspberry jam
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream

In a ramekin, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until you prepare the cream. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, egg and egg yolk together, add the cornstarch mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.
Meanwhile in a saucepan combine the milk and vanilla bean on medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling, (pour through a strainer if this happens). Remove vanilla bean. Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Add the jam, cook another 30 seconds and remove from the heat. Immediately add in the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the cream so that it does not develop a skin as it cools to room temperature.
Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form and gently fold it into the pastry cream. Pipe or spoon the mousse immediately in the cake rings. If you have any leftover, spoon into dessert dishes or glasses for quick snack.
Decorate with a macaron and some chopped pistachios.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake With Meyer Lemon Mousse

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake With Meyer Lemon Mousse


If you love a woman and are reading this blog, married, mated or single, this might help you understand her a tiny bit better: surrender. When she sees everything in chocolate, surrender. When she wishes for double cream in her eclairs, surrender. When she sneaks that last piece of caramel cake for a late night snack, surrender. Every month I go through a one week citrus fest and B. surrenders. I can’t get enough vitamin C in my body and he laughs at the dessert scenarios I create to get my fix. He does not seem to mind the latest onslaught of Key lime mousse, grapefruit sorbet, citron givre and this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake topped with a Meyer Lemon Mousse. The strawberries…I thought the touch of red would tell him I love him too (wink).

I love when it happens in the middle of winter since the selection could not be more perfect. I guess there could be worse cravings than this, right? Mine usually veer to chocolate and stinky cheeses after 4 days but after 10+ years together, B. knows, and as long as I don’t combine some stinky Livarot and chocolate cake at the same time, (not that I ever did or will), he’s pretty happy with the dessert choices. Most days are simple like half a grapefruit sprinkled with a little sugar and quickly broiled for a little sweet crust, fresh orange slices and mint salad. Some days it is a bit richer and then we split or we take it next door and share. Knowing that there is a gathering of some sort almost every Saturday around here, I made these individual cakes not knowing for sure their upcoming fate. Will they be all mine? Nah….! They helped a good game of Scrabble with our good friends last until the wee hours of the morning.

The cake base is a straightforward lemon poppy seed cake jazzed up with Meyer lemon zest and juice. Why Meyer lemon? It’s mild, fragrant without being offensive to your palate or your stomach. Next to my childhood "citron de Menton" (which we celebrate almost as much as Carnival), this is the one that sends me into citrus heaven so when they started popping out at the stores, I hoped, skipped and jumped…Feel free to use any other kind. The mousse base is a simple diplomat cream (pastry cream based) with lemon juice and more zest added. I did save half a lemon to candy some slices for decoration and almost slapped myself for not making more…they were so good on their own. The recipe may look like a lot of work but really beside making the cake and the mousse, the rest is assembly.

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Lemon Poppy Seed Cake With Meyer Lemon Mousse Recipe:

Kitchen Note: You can build this cake as one 8-inch round cake if you do not have cake rings, or three 4-inch round individual springform pans. The cake won’t be as tall built in an 8 inch so I’d advise doubling the mousse recipe. You can also do what I tend to do and recycle cans of tuna, wash them well, remove the top and bottom lids and line them with parchment paper or film strips like you would with purchased rings. I am also known to recycle soup cans if I need to build tall individual desserts. The ones I used here were 3 inches wide and 2 inches tall.

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups (185gr) all purpose flour
1 cup (200gr) sugar
1 tablespoon (14gr) baking powder
1/4 (1.5gr) teaspoon salt
1/2 cup egg whites (about 3-4)
3/4 (175ml) cup milk
1/4 cup (62.5ml) lemon juice
grated zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon (9gr) poppy seeds
1 stick (113gr) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 300F. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the cake. Set aside. In a separate bowl combine the egg whites and the milk. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and slowly add in the egg white mixture while stirring with a whisk. Add in the lemon juice, zest, the poppy seeds and the melted butter. Mix with a whisk until smooth. Line a half sheet pan or a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper, lightly spray with cooking spray and pour in the batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean. Let cool and cut out six 3-inch rounds to fit your cake rings. Line 6 cake rings with parchment paper or rhodoid (pastry film, but cut sheet protectors work well too), secure with tape if necessary and place your cake bases at the bottom. Place the cakes on baking tray. Set aside.

Soaking syrup:
In a small saucepan set over low heat dissolve 1/4 cup lemon in 1/4 cup of water with a couple of tablespoons of sugar. Let cool to room temperature and brush the cake rounds with the syrup.

Strawberries:
1 to 2 cups strawberries

Quickly wash the strawberries, pat them dry and slice into 1/8 inch to a 1/4 inch thick slices and line the cake rings with them. Set aside.

Meyer Lemon Mousse:

1 1/2 teaspoons (3 sheets) gelatin
2 tablespoons (30ml) cold water
1 1/4 (310ml) whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (throw the seeds in the pot with the milk)
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 grams)sugar
1/4 cup (40 gr)cornstarch
1/4 cup (62.5ml) lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream

In a ramekin, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until you prepare the cream. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together, add the cornstarch mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.
Meanwhile in a saucepan combine the milk and vanilla bean on medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling, (pour through a strainer if this happens). Remove vanilla bean. Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice and zest, cook another 30 seconds and remove from the heat. Immediately add in the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the cream so that it does not develop a skin as it cools to room temperature.
Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form and gently fold it into the pastry cream. Pipe or spoon the mousse immediately in the cake rings, level the top with an offset spatula and refrigerate. If you have any leftover, spoon into dessert dishes or glasses for quick snack.

To garnish:
candied lemon slices (tried this recipe just the other day, works very well)

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake With Meyer Lemon Mousse