Chocolate, Banana, Salted Caramel and Peanuts

Chocolate mousse with banana cake, salted caramel cream, peanuts and baked chocolate meringues




As you might know, I sprained the back of my knee last week. It was hard to move around and I wasn't in the mood for baking. The only thing I made all week were the lemon and olive oil madeleines that I gave away. That's all. My brain was going a million miles an hour thinking about what I was going to make next but my body could not follow. So I waited a couple of days until I felt better and then the weekend came. Perfect timing.

The first morning cup of coffee tastes better on Saturday mornings for some reason. C. and I look forward to watching "At the movies with Ebert and Roeper". Definitely my favorite show all week. I also know that on weekends, I will have another set of hands to help with "curly cues" because sometimes it is very hard to bake and especially photograph when you have a hungry little boy tugging at your leg. If this boy doesn't turn out to be a cook, I'd be very surprised!

So I was really wanting to invest some time in the kitchen this weekend. I wanted to make something with lots of components, flavors and textures. The freezer was going to be my friend.


The cake is best when it has sat at room temperature for a few minutes


It really becomes very, very creamy



This cake is really not very complicated to make but it does require time. But let me tell you, it is well worth it. As C. said, the best dessert I have made in a long time. And if I may say, I agree with him. Creamy, crunchy, sweet, bitter, salty. All in one.

The filling is a thin slice of banana cake, a thin layer of salted caramel cream and salted peanut powder. I made the banana cake in my small rectangular loaf pans and then cut thin slices and out of those thin slices, I cut circles using a cookie cutter. Separately, I made a salted caramel cream. Poured this into a silicon mini muffin pan, topped it with salted peanut powder and placed the banana cake circle on top. The muffin pan goes in the freezer until it hardens. This will allows to place the filling inside the chocolate mousse in one block and keep a perfect shape. This is how you obtain perfectly straight lines inside the mousse.

I used a very simple chocolate mousse recipe that can be whipped up in 10 minutes. Literally. I lined my aluminum ring molds with parchment paper. The mousse is placed in a pastry bag and some of it piped into the mold. Then the frozen filling is inserted, some more mousse piped on top, another layer of filling and finished with some more chocolate mousse. The ring molds are then placed into the freezer so the mousse hardens completely and is easy to remove.

The cake is finished with baked chocolate meringue sticks. When I make baked meringue, I tend to bake different shapes because they make great cookies. I will be making some milk jam later on this week and will sandwich some of the chocolate meringue cookies with some creamy, super sweet milk jam. I can't wait!








So here are all the recipes step by step. I wish I had another person working with me so they could take photographs while I bake and then I could post step by step photos. For now, it's impossible. It would take me forever to do both.

Chocolate Meringue

150 grams organic egg whites
150 grams sugar
150 grams powdered sugar, sifted
25 grams good quality cocoa powder (I used Valrhona), sifted

Whip the egg whites until they are almost fully whipped. Slowly start adding the granulated sugar while the mixer is still running. Whip until we obtain a shiny, stiff meringue but make sure not to overwhip or it will dry out.

Sprinkle a third of the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder and fold with a spatula. Repeat until all the powdered sugar and cocoa powder have been folded in.

Place meringue into a pastry bag with number 4 pastry tip and pipe lines onto a sheetpan lined with parchment paper. Bake in a 200 degree oven for an hour. Let the meringues cool and then, store them in an airtight container until ready to use.







Banana Cake

makes 3 small loaves

300 grams organic ripe bananas, pureed
250 grams sugar
3 organic eggs
200 grams sunflower oil
200 grams unbleached all purpose flour
4 grams sea salt
4 grams aluminum free baking soda

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients. Add the wet to the dry and whisk until all the flour is incorporated. Divide the batter into 3 small loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees until done. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to test for doneness.

Let the cakes cool. Take one of the loaves, and cut into 2 mm slices. With a cookie cutter that is the same diameter that your mini muffin pan cavities, cut circles out of the banana cake slices. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Caramel Cream

Makes enough to fill a mini muffin pan that has 8 cavities

120 grams organic heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split
30 grams sugar
2 organic egg yolks
1/2 sheet of gelatin
1 tsp sea salt

Roasted and salted peanuts, powdered or finely chopped

Sprinkle the sugar on a small saucepan. Make a dark caramel with the sugar. Add the vanilla bean and the cream that we have previously warm up. The caramel will bubble up when we add the cream so make sure to be careful not to get burnt and whisk constantly.

Temper this mixture into the egg yolks. It will be so hot and the amounts we are working with are so small, that there is no need to return this mixture back to the heat. The temperature of the caramel will pasteurize the egg yolks.

Add the softened gelatin to the base and strain the whole thing through a fine sieve.

Pour this into the mini muffin pan. We want to have about 4 mm high of the cream. then we will sprinkle some powdered peanuts on top of the cream and we will place the slices of the banana cake on top. The whole thing goes in the freezer until we are ready to assemble the cake.

Chocolate Mousse

makes enough for 4 ring molds

150 grams 70% chocolate, melted
450 grams organic heavy cream, whipped to soft peak.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Remove from the heat. Add a third of the soft peak whipped cream to the chocolate while whisking. Work quickly so the chocolate doesn't set too fast. Add the rest of the cream but this time fold using a spatula.

Now that we have the mousse made, we should assemble the cake. If we transfer the mousse to the refrigerator, it will harden too much and we will not be able to pipe it as smoothly into the ring molds. So have all your components ready to go. Mise en place people, mise en place!

Assemble the Cake

Cut parchment paper strips that will fit the inside of your ring molds and line the molds with the paper.

Place the rings on top of a sheetpan lined with parchment or a silicon mat.

Pipe some mousse inside each one of the molds. Insert the filling disks inside each mold. Top with a little bit more mousse, another disk of the filling and top with some more mousse.

Flatten the top of the mold eliminating any excess mousse. We want a flat and smooth top.

Place these in the freezer to set. When they are frozen, push the mousse out of the mold and place it on your plate or cake board. We are going to let them thaw out at this point so remember that once thawed out, they will be hard to move to another plate.

When they are softer, place the baked meringue sticks all around and top with broken pieces. Serve right away so the meringues don't become too soggy.




This is what happens when you try to photograph cakes in the middle of the afternoon!!!

Post Title

→

Chocolate, Banana, Salted Caramel and Peanuts

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/chocolate-banana-salted-caramel-and.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Madeleine Giveaway Winners

And the two winners of the Lemon and Olive Oil Madeleines are... Rachelle of Mommy I'm Hungry! and Eileen of Living Tastefully.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to leave comments and share your thoughts. Even the international bloggers that knew I couldn't ship any overseas. I loved reading every single one!




Thank you, thank you, thank you!

PS: I just wanted to clarify that the winners were picked by Random Number Generator. Someone asked me to clarify that. Thank you!

Post Title

→

Madeleine Giveaway Winners

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/madeleine-giveaway-winners.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Party Cake with the Daring Bakers

So I'm a Daring Baker! Finally! I have been waiting for this for a few months now. I remember how excited I was the first time I read about them. A baking club! I wanted to join right that second! I don't know if I have ever been a member of anything... maybe the gym but I never go so I guess it doesn't count.





This first challenge, hosted by Morven, was wonderful. Perfect for Easter. It really represents what my idea of what an American cake is like. Fluffy icing, moist cake and sweetened coconut. I could already visualize what my photograph was going to look like before I even made the cake. White, white, white... and fluffy.







The cake was easy to throw together. Not temperamental at all while baking, but surprisingly delicate when I went to slice it. The raspberry preserves soaked the cake with sweetness and additional moistness. I let the assembled cake sit on the counter for about 3 hours before cutting it and it really made a big difference. It was super moist and all the flavors blended together.





The buttercream is also very light and tasty and the lemon juice brought it to life. My problem with buttercream is that sometimes it has a very heavy mouth feel, almost greasy. Do you know when you have buttercream made out of butter and powdered sugar and it becomes grainy and a little dry? I do not like that. I like Italian and Swiss buttercreams because it creates an airy product. The addition of the lemon eliminated a little of that "fatty" taste.







Sometimes C. is afraid to taste my desserts because he feels like his taste is not sophisticated enough for me. He is afraid to hurt my feelings if he says he doesn't like a certain macaroon I made or this or that. But he LOVED this cake. It's exactly his type of dessert.... and mine!






I cannot wait until next month!

Post Title

→

Party Cake with the Daring Bakers

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/party-cake-with-daring-bakers.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Lemon Olive Oil Madeleines and a Giveaway

I sprained my knee last night. My son woke up at 2am and as usual, he wanted to come downstairs so I could rock him back to sleep. As I was walking down the stairs, I slipped and fell on the floor. Luckily, I had my hand behind his head and he did not get hurt. But... I did. I have been limping all day and yes, I should go to the doctor, but I'm going to wait to see if the swelling goes down with rest.

I wanted something comforting. Something to go with my cinnamon tisane. My son was resigned to the idea that we were not going to be able to go outside much today because ama cannot walk very far, so he was good and let me bake some madeleines. One of my favorite sweet treats. I tried a new recipe with lemon zest and olive oil and it really worked well. They really had good "domes" just like I like them.





While I was sipping my tea, I thought "any excuse is good to bake and give". My friends always ask me what I do with all the stuff I make. "Do the three of you eat all of it?" . Well, I always save some for C to try and of course my curly haired boy always has to "snatch" a little bit of whatever I am making, but honestly, most of the treats I make end up in our neighbors', co-workers or lucky stand-by's bellies.

Today, sitting on the sofa with my leg resting on a pillow, I thought "why not share some goodies with the readers I have managed to capture in these three months?". Every time I bake, write and photograph something for this blog, I look forward to reading your comments and see what you have to say about what I made. Hey, I love compliments, what can I say!





So next week, I will be giving away two boxes of freshly baked lemon and olive oil madeleines. All you have to do is leave a comment briefly explaining what was going through your mind when you started your blog. What inspired you? What were you doing the day you sat down in front of the computer and created an account? I'm always curious about what drives people. And if you don't have a blog but like to read food blogs, don't worry, please let us know what interests you; what makes you read a blog over another one. Is it the photographs, the challenging recipes or easier recipes, articles, personal stories..


You have until Sunday March 30th at 3pm EST and I will announce the lucky winners' names that following Monday. Due to the delicate nature of the goodies and to preserve their freshness, I can only ship in the US (sorry rest of the world...).




Thank you for reading!

Post Title

→

Lemon Olive Oil Madeleines and a Giveaway

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/lemon-olive-oil-madeleines-and-giveaway.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Mini Apple Tarts

During one of my last trips back home, I stopped in Barcelona to visit my friend Ainara. Barcelona has a special charm, the light, the ocean, the mystic, quirky culture. Beautiful and colorful. And if you are obsessed with pastry as I am, it's full of beautiful small pastry shops. Chocolate is a big part of their gastronomy. The windows are always full of chocolate sculptures and during Easter, the entire town goes chocolate crazy. It's a pleasure to watch.

One of my favorite stops in Bubo. It's a modern pastry shop owned by famous pastry chef Carles Mampel. The shop is only about 3 or 4 years old and it's full of the most exquisite yet fun pastries I have seen in a long time. His tarts are divine. Some simple, some complex. He also has a catering business and displays some of his mini creations in the window. Savory tapas in a stick. I seem to find food on a stick a lot lately. I think it brings us back to our childhoods and makes food playful, easily and uncomplicated.

Another great Spanish patissier is Paco Torreblanca. He has published three amazing pastry books, two of them are professional level and one of them is for the home cook. More on him on future posts because his books really inspire me.









The tart is built with three different components. Sable breton base which is the same recipe I used for the strawberry and rhubarb tarts, diplomats cream which is pastry cream lightened with whipped cream and caramelized apples. I finished it with apricot glaze and pistachios. The glaze gives it shine and it also protects it from oxidizing.

I used Fuji apples because although they are not used a lot in baking, I feel their crisp texture and tartness makes them perfect for tarts or desserts in which you want to keep some of its consistency.

Caramelized Roasted Apples

Makes 4 tarts

3 medium size Fuji apples or you can even use Granny Smiths

2 Tbs granulated sugar

Peel and core the apples. Cut them into 8 wedges. Place these wedges on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and sprinkle the sugar on top of each one of them. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until they start to soften and the sugar starts to caramelize. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the sheet pan until they are cool enough to handle.

Diplomats Cream

Makes more than you will need but you can use the rest as a filling for another pastry or eat it all by itself

2 cup organic whole milk
4 oz sugar
1.5 oz cornstarch
2 organic eggs
1 organic egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs unsalted organic butter

1 cup organic heavy cream, whipped to soft peak

Whip the cream to soft peak and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make a pastry cream with the rest of the ingredients. Place the milk in a saucepan and bring it to a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until there are no lumps. Temper the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk. Return this custard to the saucepan and cook until it starts to boil and it thickens. Remove from heat and immediately, transfer the cream to a clean bowl. Whisk in the vanilla and the butter. Continue whisking until the cream cools down. Place plastic wrap on top, touching the cream so no skin forms on the custard. Refrigerate.

When the pastry cream is cold, we will combine it with the heavy cream. Add a little bit of the pastry cream to the whipped cream and fold gently with a spatula until well incorporated. Add another small amount and continue the same until all has been added.

Assemble the Tart

Pipe a small amount of the cream on top of the baked and cooled sable rounds. Place 5 or 6 baked apple wedges on top of the cream creating a pattern that looks like a fan. Glaze the tart with some hot apricot glaze. Most of the time I use apricot jam that I warm up in the microwave and strain through a fine sieve to get rid of any chunks. Finish with chopped pistachios.





The apples melt in your mouth. They almost taste like if they had been baked with lots of butter but no, they haven't. There's something about Fuji apples!

Post Title

→

Mini Apple Tarts

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/mini-apple-tarts.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Truffles

My friend Deena is having a baby! She is scheduled to go into the hospital tonight so if everything goes well, we should welcome baby S. into the world some time tomorrow. I want to have something to bring for her besides some beautiful flowers, so I decided to make some milk chocolate and passion fruit truffles from Pierre Herme's Chocolate Desserts.

Deena is one of those friends who always has a special detail waiting every time she comes to see us or even when we go to see her, she always wants to send us home with food or flowers or some little token for our little boy. She has always been that way.

She has had some busy weeks during the last trimester so she deserves the best and some relaxation... although now that I think of it, there might not be much of that from now on and I speak from experience!






These truffles will be my entry for this month's Sugar High Friday which is hosted by Habeas Brulee and the theme is sweet gifts. Perfect, isn't it? Most of us bake and cook to give and to share with our loved ones so I thought this was a fantastic theme for a blogging event.

The truffles are really, really soft, just like a perfect ganache should be. However, the recipe suggests finishing them by rolling them in powdered sugar which didn't work very well for me. I found that this ganache would be better if it were dipped in tempered chocolate or as a filling for a molded candy. This ganache needs to be refrigerated, which makes it "sweat" so when it's rolled in the powdered sugar, the sugar starts to melt and in a few minutes, turns into a crust almost like a glazed doughnut. So I ended up rolling them in really good quality Valrhona cocoa powder.

Overall, it is a lovely ganache, very smooth and balanced. The sweetness of the milk chocolate goes great with the tartness of the passion fruit puree. The dried apricots are a great texture and sweetness too. Unexpected but excellent.
Next time, I will temper some chocolate and dip the truffles in it. Tempering is not complicated but it does require some practice and a cool room, which I don't have as the temperatures in Florida are starting to reach the 80's now.






Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Truffles

adapted from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme

210 grams milk chocolate
25 grams dried apricots, small dice
1 Tbs water
80 grams passion fruit puree
45 grams organic heavy cream
1/2 Tbs wild raw honey
30 grams organic unsalted butter, room temperature

Mix the chopped apricots with the water and let them plump up. When you are ready to add them to the ganache, drain them and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Place chopped milk chocolate in a bowl big enough to hold all ingredients. In a saucepan, bring cream, passion fruit puree and honey to a boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Let this mixture cool a little bit. Add the softened butter and mix until all incorporated. Add the chopped and plumped apricots.

Let the ganache set in the refrigerator and when hard, make small balls and roll them in good quality cocoa powder.

Post Title

→

Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Truffles

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/milk-chocolate-and-passion-fruit.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Vanilla Cheesecake Lollipops

Easter is approaching and I wanted to use wheatgrass for some kind of presentation. We used to make lollipops all the time in the hotel where I worked last. Cookies in a stick, sugar lollipops, chocolate lollipops and this one was my favorite, cheesecake lollipops.

Growing up, we didn't celebrate Easter the same way Americans celebrate it. We didn't have an Easter bunny, or egg hunts or colorful eggs. For us Easter meant going to church on Good Thursday and having our feet washed during mass. To be honest, I couldn't tell you what that meant. The week before Easter was somber with church processions and a mourning environment. Or at least that's my recollection of it.

Monday after Easter Sunday was always great though because we used to eat "mokots", a brioche type of yeast bread topped with a hard cooked egg. I always looked forward to Easter just for that bread.










My mom was the best helper and taster during her visit




This is a very simple cheesecake recipe but the vanilla adds such a warmth and aroma. I used silicon mats, also called flexipans, to bake the custard in and once baked, froze them so they can pop out really easily. That's the beauty of silicon molds, you can bake in them, throw them in the freezer, they are really easy to wash... Endless possibilities.







If you do not have a silicon mold however, you can bake the cheesecake mix in any cake pan, sheet pan or cheesecake pan you have. Once baked and cooled, refrigerate the whole pan overnight. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and with a small ice cream scoop, make small balls. Place these balls on a sheet pan and freeze them so they don't fall apart when you dip them in chocolate. And while they are in the freezer, insert a lollipop stick and freeze again so they are hard solid when you want to dip them.







I know, I know, it sounds complicated but it really isn't!










Vanilla Cheesecake

450 grams organic cream cheese, room temperature
135 grams sugar
150 grams creme fraiche (or sour cream)
1 vanilla bean
2 organic eggs
15 grams cornstarch
30 grams organic heavy cream

Cream the cream cheese with the sugar in the Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment. Make sure you scrape the bowl a couple of times to avoid lumps later on. Add sour cream, vanilla and the eggs one at a time. Add cornstarch and heavy cream. Mix until well combined and there are no lumps.

Pour mix into mini half sphere silicon molds. Place this silicon mold on a sheet pan. Place inside oven. Carefully pour some boiling water on the sheet pan to create a water bath. Bake at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes. Let the pans cool and then place in the freezer and freeze until the cheesecake is frozen solid.

Remove the pan from the freezer. At this point, you must work quickly because we want to keep the spheres hard solid so they don't lose their round shape while we handle them. Make a ball with the half sphere cheesecake pieces and insert a lollipop stick in the middle. Lay these on the sheet pan as you work through all your pieces. Repeat this process with all the cheesecake we have baked. Place lollipops in the freezer again.

Melt some dark chocolate over a double boiler, remove from the heat and dip the frozen cheesecake in it. Dip into chopped pistachios. Keep them in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.









Happy Easter everyone... eta Aberri Egun on bat pasa!

Post Title

→

Vanilla Cheesecake Lollipops

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/vanilla-cheesecake-lollipops.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Zucchini Bread... in a Pot

Organic Florida Zucchini Bread



Spring is an exciting time to be a food lover. My brain starts spinning every time I go to Whole Foods and I see that new fruits and vegetables have arrived. Nowadays, zucchini is available all year round but when I was growing up, zucchini was only a summer vegetable. My grandparents grew it in the farm and so did my uncle. Our zucchini was a little different though. The skin was thin and the color was a very pale green, almost transparent. The seeds were also larger so often times, we had to discard them. We never made zucchini bread. I learned this when I came to the US. Our favorite dish was pisto which is a Basque version of ratatouille, with sauteed onions, bell peppers of different colors, zucchini, potatoes and eggs... All summer vegetables.




Line clay pots with parchment and the cake comes out perfectly



Over the weekend, my mom and I took our last grocery shopping trip together before she and my father went back home (which has left me very sad). I think our favorite past time is to go food shopping and I'm not exaggerating. If you have ever been to the Basque Country you will know that our lives revolve around food. Always thinking about what to make for lunch, then for dinner, for the upcoming Sunday lunch... Non-stop. So my mom wanted to make sure my refrigerator was well stocked with fruits and vegetables before she left. She knows how hard it is for me to go shopping with my little boy.

We walked into Whole Foods and they had a large display of organic, dark green, Florida zucchinis. It was so beautiful and inspiring. I used some for pisto, some for pasta, some for rice, but I had to save some for dessert!

This recipe is adapted from a recipe that I found in Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt, one of my favorite pastry books. I changed some things around though. I used peach jam instead of orange marmalade. Then I added some orange zest and also used pecans instead of walnuts.

I wanted to do something fun with it so I found these little clay flower pots at the craft store, lined them with parchment paper and baked some of the batter inside. They turned out wonderful and if the pot is well greased and with enough parchment, the cakes slide right out.


Zucchini and Pecan Bread
adapted from Tartine

makes 3 small loaves

270 grams unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp aluminum free baking soda
1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 organic eggs
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs sunflower oil
150 grams sugar
115 grams peach jam
zest of half an orange
285 grams organic zucchini, grated
115 grams pecans, chopped
Demerara sugar for topping

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, orange zest, peach jam and grated zucchini. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. Add the chopped pecans and fold.

Bake in a 350 degree oven. Check for doneness with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, they are done.

Post Title

→

Zucchini Bread... in a Pot

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/zucchini-bread-in-pot.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Free, Free, Free Chocolate Molten Cakes

Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free Chocolate Molten Cake


Who doesn't love a good, warm, gooey chocolate molten cake served with vanilla ice cream? Tell me, is there anything more comforting than melting chocolate cake with melting vanilla ice cream? Hot and cold. That's how it should always be.

Well, by looking at these photos, you would never guess that these cakes are actually gluten, dairy and soy free. Yes, you heard it! My "three frees" once again!

Linda at Make Life Sweeter! is hosting this month's Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free! The theme is Birthday Baking for Kids. This is an event from Naomi of Straight into bed Cakefree and Dried and as the name suggest it's all about the gluten-free side of life. When I read about this, I instantly thought about this chocolate molten cake. It's based on a full wheat and full dairy recipe but since the main ingredients are eggs and chocolate, I thought it could easily be transformed into a "three free" one. I used rice flour instead of all purpose flour, butter-flavored non-hydrogenated shortening and gluten free, dairy free and soy free chocolate chips. All this ingredients are readily available at most health food stores and they really work well in this recipe.

I topped the molten cake with vanilla rice milk ice cream (Rice Dream) which is also gluten and soy free. Some of the Rice Dream flavors contain some gluten and some soy so make sure to check labels if you are concerned about any of these allergens.



Decorated Cakes




I didn't throw a kids birthday party per se, but I invited my 4-year old next door neighbor over for some cake and ice cream. I decorated it with all natural pink and yellow sprinkles and she loved it! That's the true test!


Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free Chocolate Molten Cakes

4 oz butter-flavored, non-hydrogenated shortening
6 oz gluten, dairy and soy free chocolate chips
2 organic eggs
2 organic egg yolks
2 oz sugar
3/4 oz organic white rice flour
pinch of sea salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar and whip until very thick and pale. In the meantime, melt the shortening and the chocolate chips together over a double boiler.

Add the shortening and chocolate mixture to the whipped eggs while the mixer is on low speed. Once all the chocolate is added, turn mixer back to high for about 10 seconds so it's all well mixed.

Fold in the rice flour and the sea salt. Pour batter into 4-oz greased molds and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. The outside of the cake will be baked but the center will stay slightly soft and gooey.

Let the cakes rest in the molds for a few minutes until they cool down enough to handle and then flip them onto a plate. These are best served warm with ice cream.







If you don't have any allergies, you can certainly make this cake with regular unsalted butter, all purpose flour and regular good quality chocolate (70% is best). The end result is the same, I promise!

Post Title

→

Free, Free, Free Chocolate Molten Cakes

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/free-free-free-chocolate-molten-cakes.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Art You Can Eat # 2 and Petites Bouchees

Milk Chocolate Cream with Milk Cloud



A few days ago, Holly from Art You Can Eat visited my blog and told me about an event she is hosting along with Inge from Vanielje Kitchen featuring eggs and creations that are shaped like eggs. She liked the chocolate filled eggshells I made earlier this month and suggested I submit this as an entry for her event. So here is my little milk chocolate cream with milk cloud again!

When I first posted this, many of you that left comments for me, gave me ideas on how to improve, how to bake in the eggshell, different flavors and so on. That is what I love about comments, it's an opportunity to share ideas with other bloggers. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

Holly directed me to Martha Stewart's web site for ideas on how to sterilize the eggs, so if you are concerned about salmonella when you make this recipe, this is a great tip. Thank you Holly!

Now on to Petites Bouchees...





If you remember my gianduja macaroons post from earlier this month, I mentioned that I placed an order for two dozen assorted macaroons from Petites Bouchees. Well they arrived on Wednesday. The transaction went smoothly and the macaroons arrived in really good condition considering how UPS usually handles their merchandise. The ice packs were still cold and the insulated packaging was neatly packed inside the cardboard box.







Each box holds a dozen macaroons. The packaging is so lovely... Brown box with blue ribbon and the Petites Bouchees sticker. Just how macaroons should be wrapped.




The macaroons were superb! Seriously! My little boy stuck a whole hazelnut macaroon in his mouth, ate it and kept asking for more. I ended up having to put them away in the refrigerator to get them away from him. He was going crazy! I particularly liked the chocolate macaroon. The shell was very different than my chocolate macaroons. This was "cakey-er" than my recipe, almost a little brownie-like. Very, very good. The hazelnut with salted caramel was also excellent, the raspberry was my mom's favorite and the vanilla was my second favorite. Close call... chocolate... vanilla... Don't make me choose!







Look at that face... Worth every penny!

Post Title

→

Art You Can Eat # 2 and Petites Bouchees

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/art-you-can-eat-2-and-petites-bouchees.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Strawberry, Rhubarb and Yogurt Cupcakes

If you remember my rhubarb and strawberry tarts from a couple of weeks ago, this recipe will look familiar. I used the rhubarb I poached that day to fill these strawberry and yogurt cupcakes I wanted to make for "Cupcake Spectacular" hosted by HomemadeS.




I was excited to make this new cupcake recipe that I have been working on for a while. It is very moist and "fondant-y" (Don't worry you will not be able to find fondant-y in the dictionary but I hope you understand what I mean). I used homemade yogurt. It doesn't really develop a tall dome but let me tell you, it is very, very good!




My mom used to make yogurt pound cake when I was little. A cup of flour, a cup of sugar, a cup of yogurt, a cup of olive oil... She measured everything in the empty yogurt container she used for the recipe. It didn't have any icing or powdered sugar or glaze... It was just moist and full of goodness all by itself. Simple, simple, simple.

I have to admit that I have not made many variations of cupcakes but I love how they have evolved into almost a plated dessert with different components, textures, flavor combinations. Just like many of you, I am addicted to Cupcake Bakeshop. She delivers the most beautiful, unusual and inspiring cupcakes every time. So mine are nowhere near that but I'm happy with the outcome and so was my family! You can really taste the strawberries in the cake and the icing and the poached rhubarb in the middle adds a touch of tartness and sweetness that works great. I even used the liquid where I cooked the rhubarb to make a little rhubarb jelly to top the cupcakes with.







Strawberry and Yogurt Cupcakes with Poached Rhubarb and Cream Cheese, Yogurt and Strawberry Icing

Strawberry Yogurt Cupcake

Makes a dozen cupcakes

170 grams organic butter
300 grams sugar
2 organic eggs
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
150 grams homemade yogurt or store-bought organic whole milk yogurt
70 grams organic strawberries, pureed
180 grams unbleached all purpose flour
4 grams aluminum free baking powder

Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl and mix well. Add the vanilla extract, the yogurt and the strawberry puree. I don’t like to strain the strawberries after I puree them because I like the chunks in the cake.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour and the baking powder and finally add this to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake papers and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Strawberry, Yogurt and Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 oz organic unsalted butter, room temperature
5 oz powdered sugar
1.5 oz homemade yogurt or store-bought whole milk yogurt
1 oz organic strawberries, pureed and strained

Cream the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar together until all the lumps have disappeared and we have a smooth cream. Add the yogurt and the strawberry puree. I like to strain the puree for the icing just because I like it smooth.

Rhubarb Jelly

200 ml rhubarb cooking liquid, cold
1 envelope of powdered gelatin



In a bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cooking liquid. Let it sit and bloom for 5 minutes. Place it over a double boiler and melt the gelatin. Pour it in a small cake ring up to 1/4 inch high. Refrigerate until it sets and cut different shapes with small aspic cutters.

Assemble the Cupcakes

Cut out a quarter size piece out of the tops of the cupcakes and fill with the poached rhubarb. Cover it with the piece of cake and pipe the strawberry icing on top. Place a rhubarb jelly circle on top.








Happy, happy, happy!!!

Post Title

→

Strawberry, Rhubarb and Yogurt Cupcakes

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/strawberry-rhubarb-and-yogurt-cupcakes.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Cinnamon, Rice and Graham Cracker Ice Cream

Arroz Con Leche Ice Cream Quenelle



When I started this blog back in January, rice pudding or arroz con leche was one of the first desserts I made. I absolutely love it. It really describes my childhood memories and to this day, we eat it about once a week in my house. That's what we call comfort food.

I have been wanting to make an ice cream with those exact flavors for a while because if you know me at all, you know I'm an ice cream junkie. I went through a very obsessive period in which I really wanted to find the perfect rice pudding ice cream recipe. I tried several cookbook recipes, some from magazine clippings, made up my own... but none worked.

This past weekend, I decided to start from zero using my basic vanilla ice cream recipe and introduce the rice pudding cooking method into it. Surprisingly, I got it right the first time I tried. I thought the easiest way was to cook part of the liquid in the recipe with the rice and some sugar. This will add starchiness and caramelization to the basic ice cream recipe. I chose to discard the rice for texture reasons thinking that it might become too gummy after frozen but next time I make it, I will leave it in to see what happens.

The ice cream was gone in about 2 hours after I took it out of the ice cream machine. We devoured it!



Quenelle melting in the afternoon sun






Arroz Con Leche Ice Cream

500 grams organic whole milk
25 grams arborio or valencia rice
25 grams sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp sea salt
500 grams organic heavy cream
100 grams organic egg yolks
75 grams sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
25 grams all natural cinnamon graham crackers, crumbled

In a small saucepan, cook the milk, 25 grams of sugar, rice, cinnamon stick and salt. Simmer in medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Strain the milk through a sieve and discard the cooked rice and the cinnamon stick. We want to have 350 grams of the cooked milk. If you have reduced it too much, add enough fresh milk to get those 350 grams we need but try to be as close to it as possible to avoid diluting the milk too much and to obtain the most flavor.

In a medium saucepan, boil the heavy cream with the cooked milk. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Temper the cream into the yolks. Whisk until well combined. Return this custard back to saucepan and cook for another minute (if you want to be completely sure, you can use a thermometer and cook to 84 degrees Celsius).

Strain the ice cream base through a fine sieve, add the ground cinnamon and cool down over an ice bath. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Churn it in the ice cream machine. Right before the ice cream is done, add the crumbled graham crackers and stir. Freeze until hardens.

Post Title

→

Cinnamon, Rice and Graham Cracker Ice Cream

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/cinnamon-rice-and-graham-cracker-ice.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Simply... Lemons

I feel like I need a little food detox after this last weekend. I have been cooking, baking and eating way too much lately. I need to slow down. And what is my version of detox? Lemons! I know, I know... that's no detox! That's no green tea or wheat grass! I must start slowly and... aren't lemons stringent and acidic enough to eliminate any fat deposits in my blood? Aren't lemons used in detergent to fight grease? So I think this will do for now.




Oh yes, I did add pistachio and almond crumble and some butter and some eggs and some sugar.... What the heck! We will start detox next week!


Lemon Curd

100 grams organic eggs
35 grams sugar
100 grams organic lemon juice
Zest of 1 organic lemon
8 grams organic unsalted butter

Whisk eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together in a bowl. Place bowl over a double boiler and cook slowly while whisking until it thickens. Strain through a fine sieve and let it cool in an ice bath. Add the softened butter and whisk until incoporated.

Post Title

→

Simply... Lemons

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/simply-lemons.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Chocolate, Olive Oil and Fleur de Sel

Chocolate, arbequina olive oil, fleur de sel and crusty baguette


Do you ever feel like you wake up one day and life is telling you something? Signs, signs, signs... everywhere. This is what happened to me a few days ago.

I haven't had a chocolate sandwich or "bocadillo de chocolate" as we like to call it, since I was 18 or so. It used to be our afternoon snack when we were kids. We got out of school at 5pm and our mothers (because all kids had this) had chocolate bocadillos waiting for us. Dark chocolate inside a piece of crusty baguette wrapped with aluminum foil. That was our afternoon snack and everyone loved it.

I think I remember the last time I ate a "bocadillo de chocolate". I say, I think, because my memory has been failing lately but my last recollection of eating one of these is when my friends Amaia, Jill and I were travelling through Europe in the summer of 1992. We had just graduated from high school and we went on a two week backpacking trip across Western Europe. We were young and broke so we slept in youth hostels, on the train and on park benches. We ate bread (lots of it), yogurt, fruit... anything we would find at the local markets and lots and lots of chocolate. I mean, we were in France and Belgium and Switzerland... what else would we eat but chocolate, right? So bread and chocolate was an everyday staple. That's my last memory of eating chocolate bocadillos.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a food blog out of the Basque Country called Sukaldean. Fun food blog by accomplished cookbook authors Hasier Etxeberria and David de Jorge. And what was the first thing I saw? You guessed it! Chocolate bocadillo but this time with olive oil and sea salt. "Wow!" I thought to myself... "I have to make that soon!". But life got busy and I didn't. A few days later, I went to Tartelette's blog and what did I see? A baguette she made for the Daring Baker's February challenge stuffed with a bar of chocolate! It seems like Helen and I have been sharing the same brain lately. I couldn't control myself so today, I ran to Paul, got some good crusty bread and made myself this bocadillo.






Green & Blacks 70% organic chocolate



I used Arbequina olive oil from Hacienda Queiles which is mild and fruity. The first time I ever tried this olive oil, it was at Akelarre in San Sebastian. It was so fragant and unusual. It tasted just like bananas, I thought! I got the name of the producer from the maitre d' and a couple of days later, I bought myself a small bottle. It goes perfectly with the chocolate.

As for the salt, I used fleur de sel from Ile de Re that my friend and former pastry chef Sebastien brought back from France for me a couple of years ago. I know, I know... it's been a while but I've been saving it for special occasions like this one.

Chocolate, Olive Oil and Fleur de Sel Bocadillo

1 crusty baguette
2 70% cacao chocolate bars
2 tsp organic arbequina olive oil or any good quality extra virgin olive oil you like
Couple of pinches of fleur de sel

Cut the baguette in half and toast it under the broiler. Remove it from the broiler, drizzle some olive oil and place the chocolate on top of the bread. Place it back in the broiler for 5 seconds so the chocolate warms up a bit but remember that we don't want to melt the chocolate! Remove from the oven and finish it with the salt.

Open your mouth big and eat right away!

I want to thank Sukaldean and Helen for bringing back these wonderful memories!

Post Title

→

Chocolate, Olive Oil and Fleur de Sel

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/chocolate-olive-oil-and-fleur-de-sel.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Grapefruit, Almonds and Brown Butter

Gluten Free Grapefruit Financiers

A couple of days ago, I started thinking about what to make next. I wanted to make something gluten free. My friend Jill gave me a recipe for gluten free croissants that she found in a magazine last summer. I started reading through it but I had a lot of questions about the method, the ingredients. So I kept thinking... "Financiers! That's it!". The main ingredients are almond flour and egg whites and only a little bit of wheat flour which can be easily substituted by rice flour. Besides, any excuse to impregnate the kitchen with the smell of brown butter is good, right?

We are in the middle of citrus season here in Florida so the store is full of organic grapefruits which are hard to find all year around. Grapefruit and nuts, can't beat that. I think pistachio flour would also work perfectly here and it's available through Pastry Chef Central .

Financiers are simple to make, stay moist for a few days and are the perfect snack. They won't sit long on my kitchen counter, that's for sure!







Gluten Free Grapefruit Financiers

120 grams organic egg whites
125 grams sugar
55 grams rice flour
55 grams almond flour, toasted
150 grams organic brown butter
Half organic grapefruit, segmented

Place butter in a small saucepan and cook it until it starts to turn brown and starts to smell nutty. Strain it into a bowl and let it cool. In the meantime, toast the almond flour in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Let it cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, rice flour, toasted almond flour and brown butter. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. The batter will harden in the refrigerator.

Pipe the financier batter into your mold and top with a grapefruit segment. Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown.

Post Title

→

Grapefruit, Almonds and Brown Butter

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/grapefruit-almonds-and-brown-butter.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Hazelnut Macarons with Gianduja Ganache

I have been visiting Veronica's Test Kitchen for a few months now, long before I even started my own blog. She has a beautiful blog and now, as most of you know, her own business, Petites Bouchees. That is so fantastic!

Last week, a couple of bloggers commented on how wonderful her macarons are. I love making my own macarons but I also love discovering what other people are making, so right after I read one of those posts, I sent Veron an email asking her if she was taking internet or phone orders. She promptly responded and I should be receiving my first box of Petites Bouchees around March 10th. I can't wait Veron!

But in the meantime, I have had requests from friends to make macarons. My next door neighbor is a macaron addict so I made this batch mostly for him. I surprised him early Saturday morning with a cone filled with hazelnut and gianduja macarons. He was very excited and that is what I enjoy the most. I love making people smile and happy and lick their mouths and their fingers... The other box went to Lena, the most amazing photographer who took my curly, blonde-haired boy's photos yesterday.





Macaron filled cone at my neighbor's door





We ate these in one afternoon with good coffee and great conversation

Hazelnut Macarons

181 grams hazelnut flour
243 grams powdered sugar, sifted
138 grams organic egg whites
3 grams egg white powder
2 grams fine sea salt
81 grams sugar

In a large bowl, sift together the hazelnut flour, powdered sugar and sea salt. In an electric mixer, combine egg whites with the egg white powder and whip to soft peak. Slowly start adding the granulated sugar. Continue whipping until a stiff meringue forms.

Add the hazelnut flour mixture to the meringue. Fold the meringue into the dry ingredients with a spatula until all incorporated and we get a shiny mass.

Pipe the macarons onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or silicon mat. Sprinkle some hazelnut flour on top of the macarons. Let them dry for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheet pan for even baking. bake another 5-7 minutes.



For detailed instructions click here and see my previous macaron recipe.

Gianduja Ganache

80 grams heavy cream
160 grams gianduja

Chop the gianduja into a bowl. Boil cream and pour it over the gianduja. Stir until the chocolate is all melted. Let it rest at room temperature until it cools down and it can be piped. Pipe some of the ganache on a macaroon and top it with another one that is similar size.

If you can't find any gianduja, you can use milk chocolate and some roasted, ground hazelnuts. Toast the hazelnuts and finely grind them in a food processor. They might even start to release some of the oil and make a paste. That is also good. Combine the milk chocolate, the ground hazelnuts and make a ganache with the cream.





Macarons before going in the oven



Macarons after they came out of the oven



Boxed macarons

Post Title

→

Hazelnut Macarons with Gianduja Ganache

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/03/hazelnut-macarons-with-gianduja-ganache.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection