raspberry

Honey Yogurt Mousse With Raspberry Coulis & Shortbread Cookies

17.09.2010 62 Comments

Time flies. Let’s face it, the only time when it doesn’t is when we twirl our thumbs. And even then, I have seen people twirl they thumbs long enough to realize how time flew by – along with life – as they were doing so. The only thing I’ve twirled this week were my hair while sitting at the computer to edit pictures and lastly the spoon in my verrine of Honey Yogurt Mousse with Raspberry Coulis. And cookies! I have twirled a cookie around my little finger. My life is now complete…

Ok, you know that’s sarcasm. There is more to life than mousse and cookies… although…Simplicity has been the motus operandi lately around the house and will remain for a little while (more on that later) and as such, these fit the bill perfectly. I could not help but giggle as I was spooning the different layers in the glasses. I kept thinking of my niece Camille who looked at me with wide open eyes one morning I was twirling honey and yogurt for my cereals.

She’s at the age of food discoveries and adventures. Foods that look good touching, separated, stacked. Textures that play well together. Or not. Colors. Foods that fly on spoon to get into your belly. Those especially rock. And I was happy to oblige and fly that spoon for her. I’ll always treasure those moments alone just as much as those spent with her sister or with her sister alone. These two are just beautiful inside-out and I am proud of my brother for that. Awesome parenting.

The little things that are second nature to an adult like mixing honey and yogurt mean a great deal to her right now. Other food related questions were pretty entertaining too. How do you make the air bubble up in a mousse? Why do you turn your spoon in your cup as you eat? Our morning rituals were about the essentials of food. Came four o’clock and we were into Disney Princesses and their lack of fashion sense. Go figure.

All these moments came rushing back in my head as I was making these and taking great care in separating the layers of yogurt mousse and raspberry sauce. Why? No idea since it would all turn into a giant swirly twirly mess once we’d start digging. It reminded me of the day Camille spent 15 minutes separating her steak from her tabouleh salad only to mix it all up in the end. It’s food. It’s fun. And if you don’t mind eating cold, play along.

When I say we have to do simple these days, I am not exaggerating. I don’t usually talk a whole lot about work here (that’s what the "tear sheet" section of my portfolio is here for – needs an update too) but the next few weeks, months, will be trying my energy to come here to post. Right before leaving for France I signed a contract with Gibbs Smith Publisher to do the photography and styling for Holly Herrick's new book on Tarts. Holly is wrapping up the writing and I have started the photography as we speak (Fall/winter 2011 release). I am completely psyched about it!

It’s Holly’s third book as an author, my second as photographer & stylist and our first together. With a blog titled Tartelette, I also think it was kismet…

It is as rewarding as it sounds. It’s a lot of hard work too. I am doing the shopping, cooking, styling, photographing, post processing, etc… Holly is an accomplished recipe writer (and food stylist – team work!) so I do work with the assurance that the recipes will work. I just take extra steps since we only have one shot to tell you a thousand thoughts. So yes, there is necessary tweezer action in pulling that piece of tomato forward to even out colors or tucking that slice of peach sticking out like a cowlick on a baby’s head.

Some of you have emailed wondering about another book. I can tell you that Carrie’s book that I styled and photographed, Deliciously Organic will be released in November. I just got the chance to look at the final manuscript and I got such a strong pinch in my heart. I am so honored to have participated in Carrie’s vision and message and at the same time worked with such a professional team. And the food…ah the food! It will knock your socks off!

Just thinking about the pile of work ahead makes me reach for one of those yogurt mousses. Soft, creamy, tangy from the raspberry and with that soft touch of honey through and through. Exactly what the doctor should prescribe on a Friday night. Make mine a double!! The cookie is a necessary icing on the cake so to speak. Trust me. Makes it even better…

Honey Yogurt Mousse With Raspberry Coulis:

Makes 4 to 6

Notes: the gelatin amount used in the mousse is small enough to help stabilize the whipped cream and prevent the liquids from separating but is not enough to gel it completely so the texture remains soft and silky.
You can use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour instead of the rice, millet and potato flour used in the gluten free shortbread recipe.

For the coulis:
2 cups (500gr) fresh or frozen raspberries
a few springs of lemon thyme (or lemon verbena, lemon balm, mint, lavender, etc…)
1/4 cup honey

For the mousse:
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1 cup (250ml) Greek yogurt
1/4 cup (60gr) honey (I use a lavender honey from the Hautes Alpes)
1 cup (250ml) heavy whipping cream

For the shortbread cookies:
1 stick (115 gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (95 gr) powdered sugar (unsifted)
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup superfine white rice flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 potato flour
(or replace the rice, millet and potato flour with 1 1/2 cups all purpose)
2 tablespoons milk
pinch of salt

Prepare the raspberry coulis:
Place the raspberries, lemon thyme and honey into a heavy saucepan. Cook on medium heat until the raspberries start to break down, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool and discard the lemon thyme if using. Set aside until ready to layer with the mousse.

Prepare the mousse:
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt and honey. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the cream to medium stiff peaks. Set aside.
Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 12 seconds or melt on top of a double boiler. Working quickly, pour the melted gelatin over the yogurt and whisk thoroughly. Gently fold in the whipped cream until everything is blended.

To assemble: layer about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mousse and 2-3 tablespoons coulis in glasses and repeat the layers one more time. Serve with shortbread cookies if desired.

Prepare the shortbread cookies:
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 flours, milk 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.
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 1/4 – inch thick. Cut out rounds with a pastry ring or cookie cutter of your preferred size. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool.

Raspberry Pistachio Frangipane Tarts With Meyer Lemon Chantilly

19.02.2010 73 Comments

If it weren’t for a bit of a chill early morning (pre-sun rising), you’d be hard pressed to feel like it is still winter here. It seems like it all happened in the past couple of days. No more need for a coat, no more fires. Piping bowls of soup are not preciously close to the body and used as hand warmers anymore. The skies are changing color. That wintry filter in front of the sun is slowly disappearing each day.

Even produce at the store is losing its marbles. It’s a bit of a mess during this seasonal transition. There’s everything everywhere. Usually it starts bugging me by late February except this year. I needed this off season produce frenzy to work on Carrie’s book as I was covering four seasons, breakfast items, main meals and desserts. I hate to admit it but for once, the fact that I could find plump and gorgeous tomatoes from California in the middle of February was making me jump for joy instead if mumbling "not the season yet damn it".

My seasonal cook preference to find the berries stands completely void of raspberries this time of year was quickly meant with slight panick when I needed a bunch for a few recipes (had to be fresh). Good thing there was lots of other things to work on but you can bet that when the shelves filled up again, so did my cart! I had a couple of pints left over and decided to make these Raspberry Pistachio Frangipane Tarts With Meyer Lemon Chantilly.

I thought I was commiting another seasonal faux pas when I loaded my basket with (incredibly cheap) Meyer lemons for an article but Sam, my produce guy, told me their season could extend as late as April. I raised an eyebrow and said "that’s awesome. If you are in California. Since they’re not indigenous to our parts so really, we should take it to the streets and strike!" to which he replied "You’re so French. Striking!". We were both joking but deep down not so much.

To sum it up, don’t do what I did for these tarts unless raspberries are in season where you are. They were good but I felt like I was holding a box of diamonds at $6 a pint. Trust me, even though the photo gig is over, I am still making the last pint last to the last berry. They’re good, don’t get me wrong but I *know* they will be way better in a couple of months.

On the other hand trust me when I say that the combination of shortbread dough, topped with pistachio frangipane and fresh raspberries was pretty darn good on its own. Believe me again when I add that the Meyer lemon chantilly will wrap this whole thing in the best bite of tangy whipped cloud that will make you giggle in all the right places.

Raspberry Pistachio Frangipane Tarts With Meyer Lemon Chantilly:
Serves 8

Notes:
– I used eight 3-inch mousse rings to bake mine but you can fit the whole thing into an 8 or 9-inch pie plate. The tart filling will probably need extra baking time (add 10-12 minutes) at the same temperature.

– I used a combination of basic gluten free flours but you can substitute all purpose or whole wheat flour in the same quantity.

– As you can imagine, when I was preparing the dishes for Carrie’s book I had to use the exact same ingredients she does in her recipes. There were only two I was not much familiar with, one of which was "organic whole cane sugar", an unrefined and unbleached sugar with nice molasses undertones (and much healthier). It’s not organic cane sugar, nor organic brown sugar and you will find it with the names rapadura or sucanat sometimes. I love molasses so I have fallen completely in love with it. It doesn’t go with every dessert but it worked really well in the shorbread dough. Of course, feel free to substitute regular granulated sugar or a strong brown sugar like demerara or dark muscovado.

– The other one was coconut oil. I knew of it, I knew some about it but I never used it in my cooking. I do now everyday (while keeping using butter, olive oil, avocado oil, etc…) A little goes a long way but make sure to get the best kind: unrefined, extra virgin cold pressed. It is more expensive than most store bough coconut oil but a little goes a long way. It does smell like coconut but not as strongly (if at all) when cooked or baked.

For the shortbread bottoms:
1 stick (115 gr) unsalted butter or coconut oil, at room temperature
1/2 cup (95gr) whole organic cane sugar (or granulated or dark brown)
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup (80gr) brown rice flour
1/2 cup (80gr) white rice flour
1/4 cup (30gr) sorghum flour
(Or use 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour instead of the 3 mentioned above)
2 tablespoons (20 gr) tapioca starch
pinch of salt

For the pistachio frangipane:
1 stick (115 gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (95 gr) organic whole cane sugar (or granulated)
1 cup (100 gr) ground pistachios
2 eggs
1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream

For the Meyer lemon chantilly:
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey
zest of one Meyer lemon

2 pints fresh raspberries

Prepare the tart shells:
In a mixer, whip together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and mix until incorporated. Add the flours, tapioca starch and salt and mix briefly. Dump the whole mixture onto a lightly floured board and gather the dough into a smooth ball. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle.
When the dough is nice and cold, roll it out on a lightly floured board or in between two sheets of plastic (it tears easily). 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. Cut out eight rounds with a 3-inch pastry ring, dock with a fork and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Prepare the pistachio frangipane filling:
Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle.
Place the butter, sugar, ground pistachios, and the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth (can also be done in a food processor). Add the cream but stir it in carefully instead of whisking it (you do not want to emulsify it or it will rise while baking). Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Place the 8 baked rounds of dough in eight 3-inch pastry rings, divide the cream evenly among the rings and bake 20 minutes. Let cool.

Prepare the Chantilly:
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or hand held) whip the heavy cream together with the honey and lemon zest to medium stiff peaks.

Assemble the tarts:
Pipe or spoon a generoud dollop of chantilly in the middle of each tart and place raspberries all around. Oh yeah…Eat!

————————————————————————————-
Le P’tit Coin En Francais:

Pour la pate sablee:
115 gr beurre non salee, a temperature ambiante
95 gr de sucanat (ou sucre integral – voir ici) (ou un bon sucre brun)
1 jaune d’oeuf
80gr farine de riz brun
80gr farine de riz blanc
30gr farine de sorghum
(Ou utilisez 160gr de farine au lieu des trois mentionees ci dessus)
20 gr de farine de tapioca (ou maizena)
pincee de sel

Pour la frangipane pistache:
115 gr beurre non sale, mou
95 gr sucanat (ou sucre brun)
100 gr de pistaches en poudre
2 oeufs
60ml de creme liquide entiere

Pour la chantilly au citron:
250ml de creme liquide entiere
1 cuilliere a soupe de miel
zeste d’un citron Meyer ou autre

500 gr de framboises fraiches

Preparer les fonds de tartes:
Dans le bol d’un mixer, fouetter le beurre et le sucre pendant 2-4 minutes. Ajoutez le jaune d’oeuf et battre jusqu’a ce que le melange soit homogene. Ajoutez les farines, le tapioca et le sel et melanger brievement pour obtenir une pate a biscuit. Formez la pate en boule sur votre plan de travail et refrigerer 30 minutes a une heure. (la moitie suffit pour la recette mais la pate se garde bien au congelateur pendant 1-3 mois).
Prechauffer le four a 170C.
Sur votre plan de travail etalez la pate sur une epaisseur d' un demi centimetre. Decoupez 8 cercles de 5cm de diametre environ et piquez les a la fourchette.
Faites les cuire environ 8 minutes. Laissez les refroidir completement et posez les dans des cercles a tarte de 5cm de diametre et de 2 cm de haut.

Preparez la frangipane:
Prechauffez le four a 170C.
Dans un grand bol, melangez tous les ingredients et ajoutez la creme doucement pour ne pa l’emulsionner ou la creme risquerait de gonfler au gour. Gardez la au refrigerateur 30 minutes a une heure.
Dressez la creme sur les fonds de tarte et cuire environ 20 minutes. Laissez refroidir completemet avant de garnir avec la chantilly.

Preparez la chantilly au citron:
Dans le bol d’un mixer, montez la creme en chantilly avec le miel et le zeste de citron. Garnir une poche a douille avec la chantilly et deposez des rosettes de creme au centre des tartes. Ajoutez les franboises tout autour.

A Bouquet of Raspberry Mascarpone Macarons

15.02.2010 139 Comments

Didn’t expect to take this long to announce the winners of the cookbook giveaway but we had snow over the weekend. Snow! In Charleston! (which was gone by 9am the day after). Kind of – sort of – just about unheard of. I did not even know of B’s existence the last time it snowed in Charleston. So yes…while everyone was glued to the tv weather report worrying about a ooplah of a inch accumulation, I was outside with the pups, dancing and playing in the streets, in the woods and by the marsh.

Anyways…Congratulations to Victoria N. winner of Amy’s Bread and Rosa from Rosa’s Yummy Yums, winner of Unforgettable Desserts. Email me at mytartelette{at}gmail{dot}com with your postal addresses please!

I wanted to hear that particular sound after the snow falls. A muffled breeze. The sound of silence soft as a cotton ball. The intense pleasure of snow falling on my face at midnight in immaculate quietness. Alone. The brightness of the moonlight bouncing off the snow. The dogs chasing snow and eating it as if it were cotton candy.

I know it sounds crazy but the evening was made complete by a loss of power. Right when the snow stopped for a moment. We never get this weather so our power lines probably got overwhelmed by a few flecks. Didn’t bother me. The spectacle was outside. There are always reruns to watch the Olympics. Good thing I did not have a batch of macarons ready to go in the oven when we lost power. I did shortly after the power came back though!

I did make this Raspberry Mascarpone Macarons bouquet for my Valentine. Because we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Hmmm…I need to backtrack there because I saw your eyebrows go up half an inch just then. We both dislike Valentine’s Day. We’ve always had that knee-jerk reaction when the Hallmark labeled "sweetest day" of the year would roll in. Most years we were both at work that day, him in the front of the house serenading couples out on the town and me in the back of the house plating them the "de rigueur" chocolate lava cake or swan petit choux.

We don’t celebrate the sweetest day because each day we are together is well, pretty darn sweet as it is. It is! We feel bad for the people experiencing all the pressure of an evening having to go perfectly. Perfect is not real people! It does not last. Perfectly wrapped up love is pretty but insipid. Love is messy. Love is jumps and loops. Not bows and boxes. We both joked that we might get our "on the sweet side of life" citizenship cards revoked given our sarcastic comments associated with the day.

We also know that for some folks it is a bunch of hopes all wrapped up in many emotions getting a chance to come out on V-Day. We get that. We love that. I get chills watching young men getting roses at the stores. I love watching couples roaming the isles planning a great meal by candlelight. I get that. I still couldn’t tell you where the candles are in our house. Hurricane lamps I can. It was with this last thought that I turned to Bill and said "Oy! Time to do one fluffy puffy red or pink, smallish please, drippy sweet thing today. I fear it’s bad juju now if we don’t. I don’t even know if we have candles anymore!!"

He went and got me roses. For the argument we have not had yet and which he already knows he is going to lose. His words. I made him a bouquet of macarons. Pink macarons with a mascarpone raspberry filling. His favorites.

I’ve been toying with the idea of putting a macaron on a stick for a while. I even mentioned to Bakerella, the Queen of cake pops, when she took my macaron workshop in Atlanta that I wouldn’t be surprised if she came up with a macaron pop next. Then I thought, "eh, why can’t I? Hope she won’t mind!" I emailed Angie-Bakerella one night that I was making macarons pops for Valentine’s Day inspired by all her fun cake and cookie pops. She emailed back with a couple of pictures of her latest creation: adorable macaron pops! Made me so happy that we had been on the same wave length with these. I felt largely vindicated in my macaron geekiness. Ha!

I think that more than love on Valentine’s Day, I love when ideas come together completely by chance. Genuine coincidences. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Dear Angie-Bakerella, Bill said he’d share one of his macarons with you, because this Valentine’s Day, you were the sweetest thing. Love from the both us…

Raspberry Mascarpone Macarons:

For the shells:
90 gr egg whites (use eggs whites that have been preferably left 3-5 days in the fridge)
25 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever you like)
1 tablespoon cherry pink powdered food coloring

Prepare the macarons:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar and almonds and powdered color in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.

For the filling:
4 oz mascarpone, room temperature
2-3 tablespoon good quality raspberry preserves

In a small bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and preserves together until well incorporated. Fill a small piping bag with a large plain tip (Ateco #809) with it and pipe in the center of each shell. Let the shell mature at least 24 hours in the fridge so all the flavors have the chance to meld together.

For My Birthday Girls: A Raspberry Rose Vanilla Cream Cake

14.08.2009 100 Comments

Two people I love are having a birthday this week and as much as I wanted to make something special for each of them, work decided to get in the way big time. Not complaining, just saying, and that’s why I am so late updating this week. Thus, I find myself asking them to share this Raspberry Rose Vanilla Cream Cake. I know they won’t mind because they already share so much. One is my wonderful mother and the other one is my (now) three year-old beautiful niece. Joyeux Anniversaire les filles!

It bugs me to say that I don’t see enough of my niece but a trip to France has not been quite feasible in the past couple of years. I do get to hear a lot about her and her personality through my mom’s reports and pictures my brother sends me. Her sister is just like me and she seems to be more like her dad. Oy! If they keep the ressemblance going, teenage years are going to suck for him big time because we were anything but pleasant to each other!!

While I did make a batch of saffron macarons for my mother, (which we devoured for her, eheheh!) I wanted to find something they could both enjoy, albeit virtually. Not sure little C. is ready for saffron yet, although given how talented a cook my brother is, I would not be surprised!

My mother makes me think of apricots and lavender and she is as soft and delicious as a raspberry mousse tarts (Yes, my mom is delicious). My baby niece on the other hand makes me think of cream and vanilla. Soft as a rose too. A Raspberry Rose and Vanilla Bavarian Cream Cake!

The cake is composed of almond dacquoise slightly enhanced with a bit of rose water and layered with layers of jelled raspberry puree and vanilla bean scented bavarian cream. I added a simple lemon glaze on top to bring forth all the flavors. While it may look complicated and time consuming it is not, I assure you. I made the dacquoise and the raspberry layers one evening and the bavarian cream and assembly the next day. The only difficult part would be to resist the bavarian cream before it actually makes it into the cake!

A year ago: Cashew Gateau With Coffee Cardamom Mousse

Raspberry Rose Vanilla Bavarian Cream Cake:

Serves 8 to 10

For the almond rose dacquoise:
1 1 /2 cups (160gr) almonds
1 cup (100gr) powdered sugar, unsifted
1/4 cup (30gr) all-purpose flour
6 egg whites
1/2 cup (100gr) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons rose water

For the raspberry layers:
2 tablespoons powdered gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
4 cups frozen raspberries
1/2 cup sugar

For the vanilla bavarian cream:
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup (100 gr) sugar
2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
1 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons powdered gelatin, sprinkled over 1/4 cup water
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream

Lemon glaze: (prepare once the cake is set)
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
2 tablespoons (15gr) water
2 tablespoons (25gr) sugar
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin sprinkled over 2 teaspoons water

Prepare the dacquoise:
Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the oven.
In a food processor, pulse the almonds and the powdered sugar together until finely ground. Sift the flour over the mix and reserve. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add the sugar while whipping the egg whites on high speed until stiff. Add the almond-flour mixture to the egg whites and fold gently with a spatula. Halfway through the process, add the rose water and continue to fold until smooth. Try to keep as much air as possible.
Line two quarter sheet pans with parchment paper, coast slightly with cooking spray and divide the batter among both pans and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Let cool. Inver the pans onto a cutting board and slowly peel off the parchment paper.

Prepare the raspberry layers:
Line two quarter sheet pans with parchment paper.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and reserve.
In a large saucepan set over medium low heat, bring the raspberrries and sugar to a simmer and cook until the berries are completely thawed and reduced to a puree (smash them down with a spoon if necessary) and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the gelatin, stirring until it completely dissoved in the raspberries. Pour over the prepared sheet pans. Let cool to room temperature and then freeze until firm.

Prepare the Bavarian cream:
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until very pale. In the meantime, in a large saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk and the vanilla bean (split open and scraped over the milk) to a boil. Slowly pour the milk over the yolks, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan over medium low heat and cook until the cream coats the back of a spoon (as if making creme anglaise). Remove the vanilla bean. Add the softened gelatin and stir until melted completely into the cream. Let cool to room temperature.
Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks and fold it into the cooled cream base. Use immediately.

Prepare the lemon glaze:
In a small saucepan set over medium high heat, bring the lemon juice, water and sugar to a simmer and cook until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is hot. Remove from the heat and add the softened gelatin. Stir until it is completely dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

To assemble:
Line a 8×8 or 9×9-inch sqaure baking pan with enough plastic wrap to have about 2 inches overhanging on all sides (easier to pick up to unmold once the cake is set). By all means, use a square frame if you have one instead and build your cake directly in the frame set on a sheet pan.
Cut one of the dacquoise to fit inside the cake pan and place it at the bottom. Remove the raspberry jelly from the freezer and cut a piece to fit inside the cake pan also. Place it on top of the dacquoise layer. Pour a little less than half of the bavarian cream on top of the raspberry layer (you want to keep a little bavarian for the very top layer). Repeat with a layer of dacquoise, a layer of raspberry jelly, a little less than the other half of the bavarian cream. Use the remaining cake cut outs to form a final layer of dacquoise. Smooth the remaining bavarian cream in one thin layer on top. Refrigerate the cake until completely set, about 2 to 4 hours or overnight. Once it is firm, spread the lemon glaze on top. Place the cake back in the fridge and let it set for about 30 minutes. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. To plate, remove the cake from the pan by lifting all four corners of the plastic wrap and trim the edges.

Raspberry Parfait Lollipops And The Little Big Things In Life

03.11.2008 68 Comments

The little big things in life…Let me start by a very little thing: fresh tasty raspberries in late October. I had stopped at the restaurant last week to say "hi" to the old crew when Crazy D and Nazi K (the appropriately nicknamed line chefs) emerged from the kitchen with a small crate of raspberries. "For you!" they exclaimed at the same time. I was quite surprised as we have spent 6 years in crammed quarters together, sweating, cursing (yes, I know how to!), loving and hating each other at the same time. To see them bearing gift, you can guess that I was expected a prank or something worse. To my surprise the berries were juicy, sweet and tasty. "Where did you get these? They are so good!". I got the usual "Fell off the back of a truck" answer. We would say that anytime we’d get something we were not supposed to. Hmmm the little things in life…don’t ask, just do!

I contemplated for a day or two what I was going to do with this unexpected summer extension. In spite of a couple days when we wore long sleeves, it’s been perfectly sunny and warm around here, the perfect backdrop to a little frozen treat. I opted for frozen parfaits, perfectly rich and at the same time light and creamy with whole raspberries in them. The base of the parfait is a simple mousse made with a pate a bombe, aerated with whipped cream. Pate a bombe is one of those kitchen techniques that make your life much easier when making mousses, not to mention incredibly creamier.

The yolks are beaten with a sugar syrup that has been brought to 238F. When it’s just us, I use both whipped egg whites and whipped cream to finish the mousse, but in the process of calming raw egg worriers I am usually cooking for, I use only whipped cream and save the whites for meringue buttercreams or macarons. The result is of course a tad richer but I am far from being the last to turn one away. Come to mama, you little creamy thing!

If Lisa lived here, I would absolutely serve these at her bridal shower but she does not and she already had it…so I am going to have to eat them all by myself. Why am I mentioning Lisa and her upcoming nuptials? Again, one of those little things in life that turns into a big thing. When I first started blogging, Lisa was one of the first to leave comments and support and one thing leading to the next we became virtual friends outside of the blog. Those friendship can become quite strong even through emails and online chats and there are a handfull of bloggers I communicate with on a daily basis. I had the chance to actually visit Lisa twice, sealing the bond that we formed online.

This coming Wednesday, I am boarding a plane for Lisa’s house where for the next few days I will be, along with Kelly from Sass And Veracity, friends and family, helping her prepare her wedding party food, be one of her bridesmaids and last small thing, make her wedding cake. Now, I am getting nervous… Before I leave though, I have another macaron baking marathon with Kim today and Tuesday, so if you thought I was the ghost commenter before, visiting your blogs less and less regularly, I am afraid I will be most absent this week and I apologize for it. But I feel blessed that I’ll be able to share this big adventure with Lisa and W. turning one early morning comment over two years ago into one of the most meaningful relationships of my life.

Yes, those little Frozen Raspberry Parfait Lollipops are perfect to wish them both "Congratulations!".

Frozen Raspberry Parfait Lollipops:

Makes 8-10 depending on your molds.

Kitchen Note: I used disposable bath Dixie cups to pour the mousse into but you can use any small ramequins, glasses, silicone molds, etc…

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) heavy cream
6 egg yolks
5 Tablespoons (100gr water)
1/2 cup (100 gr) sugar
1 3/4 cups (220 gr) fresh raspberries

In the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with the whisk attachment or hand held one with balloon whisks, beat the cream until it just holds soft peaks. Chill while you prepare the base of the frozen parfait. Wash your bowl and whisk attachment.
In a heavy saucepan, stir together the water and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Since you are not making caramel, it is ok to stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil and bring the mixture to 238°F on thermometer (soft-ball stage).
In the clean bowl of your mixer, still using the whisk attachment, beat the yolks slightly to break them up. Increase the speed to medium high and slowly pour the hot syrup over the yolks. Go fast enough to prevent the eggs from scrambling but not so fast that you end up with most of the syrup on the wall of the bowl or the whisk. Continue to whip until the mass is completely cold and airy.
Fold about one third of the pate a bombe base into the chilled whipped cream to loosen it up and make it easier to incorporate homogeneously. Fold in the remaining pate a bombe. Add the raspberries and give the batter one last quick fold. Divide mixture evenly among cups, glasses or silicone molds, place a lollipop stick in the middle and freeze until firm.

Plum – Raspberry Cardamom Crumbles

13.10.2008 67 Comments

It’s been a yucky week….all grey with some rain drops here and there. Rain with warm tempereatures. Thunderstorms and shorts, I’ll never get used to this!! I decided to see it as soft and comforting. I baked and I baked without prospect of a good picture taking day. The fridge is overflowing, the freezer is about to get there. In the midst of running out of room in former, I had to start reorganizing the latter. I pulled out one bag each of raspberries and juicy plums to replace them with other desserts that will hopefully be "taken care of". I already told the neighbors to come over for desserts because there is no way B. and I can eat a dozen fast enough. Well we could….but our doctor would not be very happy!

The weather had been threatening us with rain long enough for me to let my guard down and leave the house without an umbrella. Don’t ask…Of course I got soaked while leaving the grocery store after a quick run for milk and eggs one early morning!! Actually I was still dripping when I got home that I figured "what’s a little longer?" and took the dogs for their long walk. They were wired and going crazy and I needed a quiet house later on to work, not the usual circus of Bailey hanging from Tippy’s tail. Once back inside, we were all hungry and in need of a little comforting. I let them chase each other around, that their idea of comfort. Well more like Bailey running like a kid who just put his paw in a plug and Tippy watching, shaking his head as if to say "you crazy dog". I, on the other hand, was craving the comforting smell of a freshly baked crumble and a cup of tea.

Easy, fast, comforting…I don’t know about you but at that moment a crumble felt as good as a dry towel.

I tossed together the raspberries and plums and topped them with a streusel topping spiced up with a little cardamom. Thirty minutes and a dry off later, I was rewarded with the wonderful smell of freshly baked "comfort". I exclaimed "you missed all the fun!" when B. got home and saw us all huddled together on the living room floor enjoying the rest of the morning. He saw an extra crumble dish on the counter top and quickly replied "no, I don’t think I did" before proceeding to dig in his share with a happy smile. Dessert before lunch….my idea of making the best out of a rainy morning!

Plum-Raspberries Cardamom Crumbles:

Serves 4

For the fruits:
4 plums, pitted and chopped into small cubes (about one cup diced)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
2 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb cornstarch

Streusel topping:
6 tablespoons butter, cold
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 30F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the fruits and the rest of the ingredients. Toss well, but gently not to break the raspberries too much. Divide between 4 ramequins and place them on a baking sheet as the fruits are most likely to release their juice, causing a spill. Set them aside while your prepare the topping.
In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cardamom and walnuts if using. Add the butter cut in small pieces and mix with your fingertips until you get a mixture that ressembles coarse crumbs. Divide th topping evenly among the 4 dishes. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

You can make this gluten free by substituting the all purpose flour with gluten freee flour or rice flour. Why am I mentionning this? October is Celiac Awareness Month! If you want to venture into gluten free baking, check this article.

Don’t forget to enter the drawing to win one of 5 copies of Confetti Cakes for Kids! The contest ends Tuesday October 14th at midnight US Eastern time.

Lemon Raspberry Mille Feuilles

07.10.2008 83 Comments

I know, I know, it is Fall…so why all the raspberries? And now the lemon? Store diplays, magazine covers and tv shows "fall season" premieres are doing a great job at convincing me it is Fall. Yet, one step outside in the middle of the afternoon keeps telling me otherwise, time and time again. Still wearing flip flops and shorts so I hope you will indulge me for a couple more raspberry posts. I promise the next one will have an autumnal twist.

We are enjoying quite a few dinners outside with the neighbors and the summer grill outs have finally given way to wonderful oyster roasts. It is hard to believe the way our street functions but if you spend one week here it’d be easy to see why I wish I could take the whole street with me if we ever move. It is not uncommon to harbor someone else’s dog while they help you run after your own, have about 3 strollers and 8 dogs walking alongside your own crazy little-big ones. A walk up to the dock usually turns into a crabbing or shrimping fest while 2 of the above mentionned dogs decide to go for a swim without giving you notice first.

These are the moments that my soul swell with life and good feelings, the ones that make you wish your arms were big enough to grab a hold of it all. So you let your heart do it. You let all the wonderful strangers in. There will be moves and departures, goodbyes and boxes of macarons dropped at the doorstep of new neigbors. Just let them in…because they never ask why and what.

Our little nucleus likes to gather on the front steps of C&H and the twins. It is much easier to monitor the pets, the kids and we literally can throw a head of lettuce in direction of the picnic table if someone forgot the greens. I have not tossed anything like cakes and desserts, although the twins are polishing their receivers' skills for that very purpose. This past weekend we celebrated A’s first time without training wheels, AJ’s first three teeth (all or nothing kind of baby!), a tiny peaceful newborn, a kittie and a new neighbor. Somebody rented the house next to ours for the next few months and C. and I started to joke around that she might run away scared after one weekend spent around here. Loud. Busy. Open doors. Skateboards. Loud. Treehouse. S’mores. Frisbees. Did I say loud? I was feeling bad for this poor lady but I remembered the phrase "baptism by fire"…

Saturday night, the steamer started going full blast, we dragged the long narrow table upfront and set out buckets, oyster knives, crackers, wine, cocktails, etc… The kids really wanted to meet this new neighbor and were wondering if she might ever come out and say hi. I laughed and said "don’t worry, she will…and fast I bet. If she comes down fast and smiling that means she is hungry and wants to meet you. If it is fast and fuming, run!!!" Within 20 minutes, L. was among us, glass of wine in one hand and my dog licking her other hand clean.

I am just in charge of desserts here. C. has a talent for making a yard or a driveway feel like the front steps of a magical kingdom. She laid down a huge and almost brand new rug she had found on the side of the street a couple days prior, a couple of newly painted red lawn chairs picked up from an army depot store and the kids were watching movies projected on a oversized curtain on the side of the house while the adults were seriously entertaining.

Since the mood was light and the temperatures still in the upper 80s, I decided to bring a summer-ish dessert to our picnic table. The children love to eat what the Pretending-To-Be-Grownups eat, preferably without plates or utensils, and the messier the better. While we delicately forked into our Lemon and Raspberry Mille Feuilles, sometimes separating layer for more of that flaky effect, they exercised perfect gluttony by eating these in two bites, flat. Good thing they were light and not too tangy and that I had made twice the amount necessary!

Light is the word. Mille Feuilles takes its name from the numerous layers puff pastry and although the traditional one, well, the one I grew up on, is filled with vanilla custard and topped with chocolate fondant, once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless. Puff pastry is not that difficult to do. No really, I am not just saying that. It requires patience and time, so yes, it best left for a day you are around the house doing other things. Make sure your kitchen is not blistering hot and that you let the dough rest the require amount of time in between each turn. Not only is it crucial to relax it but it also prevents the butter from turning to mush and running out of your dough while you roll.

What you see in the pictures is a quick puff pastry I have been working on and I am really excited of the way it turned out, but I can’t give you the recipe quite yet. I will however re-direct you to another one I absolutely love, from Martha Stewart. Works like a charm and make the most tender, flaky dough, and if you have to learn one basic, well hers is a great start. Each layer is filled with a lemon curd mousse and topped with rows of raspberries. Again, feel free to change the fruit as any would work great with lemon. There is plenty of chocolate coming up with the holidays so a little lemon-berry slice is a welcome lighter sight (that is if you forget all the butter in the dough!)

Lemon Raspberry Mille Feuilles:

Makes 6-8 depending on the size of your rectangles.

Kitchen Note: the dough makes more than you need but double wrap it in plastic film and freeze for a later use. You won’t regret it.

For the puff pastry:
Makes about 2 1/2 pounds.
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface (420 gr)
3/4 cup cake flour (105 gr)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (7 gr)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, well chilled (60 gr)
1 1/4 cups cold water (295.5 ml)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (14 gr)
1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, well-chilled (405 gr)

– Make the dough package: In a large mixing bowl, combine both flours with the salt. Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture; using your fingers or a pastry cutter, mix in the butter until it resembles coarse meal.
-Form a well in center and pour in the water. Using your hands, gradually draw flour mixture over the water, covering and gathering until mixture is well blended and begins to come together. Gently knead mixture in the bowl just until it comes together to form a dough, about 15 seconds. Pat dough into a ball, and turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly, and refrigerate 1 hour.
– Make the butter package: sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon flour on a sheet of parchment paper. Place uncut sticks of butter on top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon flour. Top with another sheet of paper; using a rolling pin, pound butter to soften and flatten to about 1/2 inch. Remove top sheet of paper, and fold butter package in half onto itself. Replace top sheet of paper, and pound again until butter is about 1 inch thick. Repeat process two or three times, or until butter becomes quite pliable. Using your hands, shape butter package into a 6-inch square. Wrap well in plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator until it is chilled but not hardened, no more than 10 minutes.
-Assemble and roll the dough: Remove dough package from refrigerator, and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll dough into a 9-inch square. Remove butter package from refrigerator, and place it in the center of the dough square. Fold each corner of dough square over the butter package so that it is completely enclosed. Press with your hands to seal.
– Using the rolling pin, press down on the dough at regular intervals, repeating and covering the entire surface area, until it is about 1 inch thick. Gently roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 9 by 20 inches, with one of the short sides closest to you. Be careful not to press too hard around the edges, and keep the corners even as you roll. Brush off any excess flour. Starting at the near end, fold the rectangle in thirds as you would a business letter. This completes the first single turn. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 45 to 60 minutes.
– Remove dough from refrigerator, and repeat the rolling and folding process, giving it five more single turns. Always start with the flap opening on the right as if it were a book. Mark the dough with your finger each time you complete a turn to help you keep track. Chill 1 hour between each turn. After the sixth and final turn, wrap dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before using.
-Divide the dough in half, double wrap one half with a sheet of parchment paper and plastic wrap and freeze for a later use. The dough can be frozen up to three months.
-Roll one half to a 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick 18×10 or so rectangle and cut out 4×2 rectangles and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Dock the dough with a fork to let the steam out while baking so your rectangles will be evenly puffed. Bake at 350F until golden brown. Let cool completely before filling with the mousse.

For the lemon mousse:
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup (250 ml) lemon juice
1/2 cup (100gr)sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (250 ml)heavy cream
2 pints fresh rapsberries (about 2 cups)

Combine the zest, sugar, juice in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, beat the eggs until light. Beat some of the lemon mixture into the eggs to temper. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook stirring constantly until it thickens up, about 5 minutes. Strain and let it cool to room temperature, covered with plastic wrap until ready to use.
In a stand mixer, whip the cream to medium stiff peaks. Incorporate the cooled lemon curd in three additions. Place in a piping bag and pipe (or spoon) onto the puff pastry rectangles. Top with raspberries and repeat to obtain two or three sheet stacks.

Red Berry Almond Milk Panna Cottas

03.10.2008 76 Comments

I need to start with an apology…or two. First, as you can tell my blog posting schedule has slowed down to 2 posts a week instead of every other day. Hmmm…wonder why?!!! I really wanted to thank you for keeping on reading and checking back, especially right now that I have noticed some stressed induced grey hair. Ok, only two..but still! Second, I wanted to apologize for being such a ghost commenter on your blogs. I sometimes have to pack a whole week’s worth in one evening so do not worry if it seems like I am stalking your blogs on Friday night….whole pages at a time. In that regard, I wanted to thank you for coming here and leaving comments, you have no idea how supportive I find them, especially at midnight when I am tweaking a recipe for the third time and recalculating metrics one more time.. just to be safe. So peeps….from the deep dark corners of my kitchen, thank you!

It is funny how things happen in series. Right after I posted the Daring Bakers challenge on gluten free crackers and vegan dips, a close friend of ours told us that he had been diagnosed with an allergy to dairy. While not an immediate concern since we do not live together, it became one fast since we had just invited them over for dinner. My initial thought was to look closely at the menu and remove all dairy from it until he called and asked if I could help him come up with dairy free options of his favorite foods. Absolument! Avec plaisir! Yes, it would be my pleasure!

One of his favorite desserts is panna cottas, this delectable Italian concoction of cream, sugar and milk and precisely what he thought he would have to give up on this new eating regimen. I reassured him that there were tons of dairy free milks and creams available nowadays that it would not be difficult to satisfy his sweet tooth. He had just bought a carton of soy milk that tasted just like cardboard and he was starting to have serious doubt he’d find something he’d like. I reassured him that he had probably picked up the only cardboard tasting one in the bunch and pushed him to persevere and try rice milk, oat milk, hazelnut milk and my personal favorite, almond milk.

I actually think he gave me an easy one to tweak first. There are so many ways to approach panna cottas: milk, cream, yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, creme fraiche, fromage blanc. All can be used in making this dessert. I like yogurt based ones a lot but I have a fondness for rich "creamy cream" ones, so does our friend. Problem with almond milk is that it tends to be on the thin side consistency wise so I added some dairy free creamer to the base, like I would in my usual recipe (whole milk and cream). I was a little concerned that the overall taste would be to his liking so I came up with a little diversion just in case: a little raspberry and redcurrant pureed at the bottom of the glasses.

The end result could have fooled the best dairy lover out there (hmmm that might be me!) and the almond milk added a little extra nutty flavor that was perfect with the berries. No grittiness, no cardboard after taste, no "fake" taste lingering after that last bite. Feel free to substitute your favorite dairy free milk and cream as well as fruits to go along. On the other hand if you’d rather stick to regular dairy full panna cottas, click here to get some ideas.

Red Berry Almond Milk Panna Cottas:

Serves 4-6 depending on the size of your glasses or ramequins

Kitchen Notes:
1/ When you pour the liquid over the fruit, you will notice that the fruit and liquid mass have a tendency to get a little mixed and some of your fruit starts to float in the milk. One way to remedy that is to freeze the glasses once they are filled with the fruit puree while you prepare the panna cotta. Make sure the liquid is at room temperature before pouring it into the glasses or you will shatter your glass.
2/ I used Almond Breeze milk.

1 cup raspberries
1 cup red currant
1 cup almond milk
1 cup dairy free creamer
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin bloomed in 2 Tb water (means to pour the water over the gelatin and let it sit while you prepare the panna cotta)

In a food processor, puree the raspberries and redcurrant together and divide the mixture among 4-6 glasses. Freeze (see Kitchen Note).

Combine all the ingredients, except the gelatin, in a saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 8 seconds and quickly stir it in the cream mixture. No microwave at our house so I set the cup with the gelatin in large saucepan with enough water to come up halfway up the sides of the gelatin bowl, on medium heat and let the gelatin melt that way. Let the panna cotta mixture cool to lukewarm. Remove the glasses from the freezer and slowly pour the cream over the red berry puree and let set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Decorate with fresh berries if desired.

To make your own almond milk, you can check this recipe here, I have not tested it.

Toasted Coconut And Berries Charlottes

22.09.2008 97 Comments

"I want a bouquet of berries!"
That’s what my friend Laura exclaimed when we met at the florist to talk bouquets for her upcoming wedding.
"You mean…for real..or on your cake, as a separate flavors, as favors? What? What?"…

Can’t you just sense the panic in my voice? Lord knows I love Laura, I laugh with her, cry with her, call her crazy and yet, I never know when she is joking when she is in charge of making decisions. See, Laura has already changed her mind 3 times for her dress…after it was bought. The ceremony has been changed just about everytime the wind changed direction, the vows?…typed, backspaced, saved, erased, and started over countless times. A couple of things have remained: the groom is still "The Original One" as we have nicknamed Jason, her husband to be, and as always her group of friends has vowed to throw her into the pool after the big event.

I met her while at the restaurant, she was waiting tables and quickly volunteered to be my dessert guinea pig. Laura loves to organize big parties, Halloween bashes, fundraising dinners, etc…and she is good at it. She knows to bring people together, her diplomacy is impeccable and she never loses her cool…but she ended up in the pool more times than she remembers. Over the years we have learned to let her talk and scribble away and wait a couple of days for the finalized plan.

So when she said she wanted a bouquet of berries, I, on the other hand saw a big blue pool… I should have trusted her and let her finish her sentence instead. Had I paid attention, I would have noticed that she was on the phone with Old Chef telling him she did not want a wedding cake but a couple of plated desserts. There will be a mini version of Jason’s favorite, Carrot Cake, made by our friend C., the other pastry chef in the group, and I would make Laura a dessert that represents her. Except nothing really "represents" Laura given her ever changing nature. I threw some ideas to her and finally drew sketches of charlottes made of thin toasted coconut ladyfingers, filled with a raspberry mousse and topped with whipped cream to evoke the white of her wedding dress and topped with berries….a bouquet of berries. One decision made, 85 of these to make for her wedding this coming Saturday.

When I make charlottes at home for the family, I like to use savoiardi cookies, not that I am lazy to make my own but they remind me of my grandparents who always kept a box in their pantry. My grandma would give us some to dunk in our tea or hot chocolate and we had a contest to see who could dip the longest without the cookie disintegrate on them. My grandfather would give us some whenever the adults had Champagne so we could get a little taste. I have to admit though that eating freshly made ladyfingers ranks as high as eating freshly cooked sables or shortbreads…very high. Before you run away when you look at the recipe: once again I am a big advocate of spreading plated desserts preparationover a couple of days if you need. Make the ladyfingers one day and store them in the fridge in a tight container and tackle the mousse the next.

For Laura’s dessert, it was easier to make them and pipe the batter thin to mimic flower stems. The mousse base is a quick Chiboust cream where instead of the traditional Italian Meringue, whipped cream is added to a creme anglaise base and held with some gelatin. There are also two kinds of Chiboust, one with creme anglaise, one with pastry cream, I went for the former. We went for raspberries but strawberries or other would work quite well. For work production purposes I purchased frozen organic raspberries, let them thawed and mashed them before adding them to the mousse base. I like to fold the fruit base into the whipped cream and not the other way around. I find it more consistent, faster and more reliable, but you will read different directions on the subject so experience to find the one you like best.

Toasted Coconut And Raspberry Charlottes:

Makes 6, 3 inch wide charlottes

For the ladyfingers:
1/2 cup (65 grams) cake flour
3 large eggs yolks
1/2 cup (1oo grams) sugar, divided
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
pinch of salt
1/2 cup to 3/4 grated coconut (both unsweet or sweet are fine)

– Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
– Fit your mixer with the paddle attachment and beat the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of the sugar until thick and pale yellow at high speed for about 5 minutes. Add the orange blossom water and give the mixer another quick whirl to combine.
– Transfer the batter to a bowl, and sift the cake flour over it but do not fold it in yet.Wash your mixer’s bowl thoroughly before proceeding with the egg whites.
– Fit your mixer with the whisk attachment and whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the pinch of salt and increase the speed and whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and whip until stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture in three additions, mixing just until incorporated. Do not over fold or you will loose air and the cookies will turn flat.
– Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitting with narrow tip (I used Ateco #807) and pipe the batter into 6 3 inch circles first, then continue with the remaining batter to make 4 inch long ladyfingers.keeping one inch space in between them. Feel free to draw circles and lines on the parchment paper and to invert it prior to baking (so you don’t get ink or pencil lines on your cookies) as a guide.
– Sprinkle as little as 1/2 cup to as much as 3/4 cup of grated coconut, depending on your taste.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the ladyfingers are firm but only slightly browned and are spongy when pressed with a finger.
– Remove them from the oven and let the baking sheets cool on wire rack for a few minutes. It will be easier to remove the cookies from the parchment paper if you do so when they are still a little warm. Once lifted from the paper, let the cookies cool completely on wire racks before using them.

For the raspberry mousse:
250 ml (1 cup) milk
1/4 cup (55 grams) sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tsp Chambord
2 tsp powdered gelatin + 1/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed and mashed with a fork
3/4 cup heavy cream

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside to bloom.
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks until pale yellow. In the meantime time, in a medium saucepan, heat the milk to boiling point. Slowly pour some of the hot milk over the egg yolks to temper them. Add the remaining milk in one steady stream, whisking well. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan, and cook over medium low heat until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, add the Chambord, raspberries and gelatin and stir until the latter is completely dissolved.
Let cool to room temperature. In a large bowl or in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to soft peaks. Incorporate the raspberry base in 2 additions into the cream. Use immediately.

To assemble the charlottes:
Place 6 rings onto a parchment line baking sheet. Line 6 rings with parchment paper, place a disk of ladyfinger cookie at the bottom and line the inside with as many fingers as will fit in them. Divide the mousse evenly in between the rings. Refrigerate until completely set.
When ready to serve, unmold the charlottes and top with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Jasmine Tea Ice Cream In Roasted Plum Cups With Sables Cookies

09.09.2008 78 Comments

Eat me quick….I am melting….

Thank you all for your concern with the storm. We did get a good bit of rain, enough to make the water come up the hill from the river during the night at high tide but it was all gone by 9am with blue skies, bright sun and scorching heat once more. I woke up at 3am to check the river and the backyard and took Bailey out so he’d let us sleep a little in the morning. Bad mistake…he ~~loves~~ adores water and started doing a little "Dancing In The Rain" number… lovely. Good thing he loves rolling in a towel too, makes our job easier!! Anyway, Hanna turned out to be windy and rainy but nothing compared to the threat that Ike seems to be. Anybody in Ike’s path, be safe.

Didn’t I say a couple of weeks ago with the redcurrant sorbet dessert that it was the last time I was trying to shoot ice cream during summer? Yes, well…either I am a sucker for punishment or I am a sucker for ice cream. Hmm…yes, apparently my love for anything ice cream-ish made me churn a batch of ice cream and sing aloud "que sera sera" when I attempted to take a few decent shots in 5 minutes in the heat and humidity (yes, even with the AC cranked up…I swear it seeps through the windows!). It did not help that cutie-patootie Bailey was pulling on the tablecloth every 10 seconds…that nose could smell that jasmine tea ice cream, or maybe the sables breton. There are days we call him "The Nose" but today he was "Mr. Pull-it-all"…anything hanging came down, all day long.

I loaded up on fresh red plums at the store the other day as I could not resist their beautiful color and perfect roundness, not to mention they were a great bargain. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them yet but the more I was looking at them in the fruit bowl the more I thought they would be a great vessel for something. During the afternoon I made myself a large mug of jasmine tea, sat down at the computer with a fresh cut plum and started writing, sipping my tea and munching on the plum. That’s when it hit me, a soft vanilla ice cream flavored with jasmine tea and paired with roasted plums. I like some crunch with my ice creams and when my father in law called to ask if I could make some sables bretons for him, I thought I’d keep some for us to get that little crunch while eating the ice cream. I made some cut out cookies and sandwich them with some leftover quick berry jam from the other day and its tartness provided the perfect contrast to the smooth taste of the ice cream. I use one of those Linzer cookie cutters but plain ones will be fine too to sandwich the jam.

For a take on the roasted plums, I sliced them rather thin, sprinkled them with sugar and popped them in a 300F oven for a few minutes. After they were cooled, I line cups with plastic wrap and laid the slices in, overlapping each other, filled the cup with ice cream and froze them until completely set. I did some in glass cups and some in half sphere silicone molds and both came out fine, so feel free to use either options. You can prepare the ice cream the day before, as well as the plums, assemble the cups the next morning, take care of the cookies while the plum cups set in the freezer and have everything ready for dinner. You can even do the ice cream part a week before if you want to spread your baking time ever more. That’s the beauty of ice cream….it keeps!! I did try to take step by step pictures but I only have one small window in the kitchen and the sun coming through French doors behind me. Some people like my buddy Jen are experts at step by step, I obviously don’t have the proper set up for quality pics and I will keep practicing for the time being.

Jasmine Tea Ice Cream In Roasted Plum Cups With Sable Bretons Cookies:

Serves 6

For the jasmine tea ice cream

4 egg yolks
2 cups (500ml) half and half
4 oz (120gr) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag jasmine white tea, broke open to get the leaves

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

For the roasted plums:
6 plums
1/4 cup (50gr) sugar

Preheat your oven to 300F.
Cut the plums in half and thinly slice each half, skin on. Lay then down on a silicone mat or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle them evenly with the sugar and bake for 20 minutes or until the plums become to take color. Watch carefully so that you don’t burn the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

For the plum cups:
If you use glass cups: line them with a sheet of plastic wrap and lay the plum slices slightly overlapping each other.
If using silicone molds: skip the plastic sheet step and overlap the plum slices directly in the molds.
In both cases, fill each cup with about 3/4 cup to 1 cup ice cream, depending on your mold capacity.

For the Sables Bretons:

Makes about 2 1/2 dozens

1 stick (115 gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 3/4 cups (245 gr) all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup to 1/2 cup raspberry jam

In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract (or paste) and beat until blended. Add the flour and salt and beat until just incorporated.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough just to bring it together. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove one portion of the dough from the refrigerator and place on a well floured surface so it won’t stick as you roll. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. If you have a Linzer cookie cutter (3 inch diameter) with little cut out inserts, use it without the insert to get full circles and start cutting out. Place them on the baking sheet and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. In the meantime roll out the other half of the dough the same way but place the cut out insert in the cutter and cut away the cookies. I keep the little cut out scraps to munch on…my little bakers treat!!
Once cooled filled one cookie with jam and sandwich with another cookie.

A little news flash before my brain melts too:
The 3rd issue of Desserts Magazine is online!! All vegan, all the way! I am pyched to have contributed once more to the magazine (cover picture and pages 4 and 5). Thank you Chris for the lovely polka dots napkins and the pitcher !