Creme Fraiche Blancmange and Plum Mousse Cake... and Petit Suisse Part Trois

Let me start by saying that I have made blancmange many times before, but this time, when I decided to add creme fraiche to it, I realized that I found a really good substitute for the petit suisse I have been craving for so long.

For those of you who have never had blancmange, it is similar to panna cotta in the sense that it is sweetened heavy cream that is stabilized with the addition of gelatin. This recipe however, does not warm the heavy cream, it is whipped instead, resulting in a very light, mousse-like layer. The addition of creme fraiche adds that richness and bit of tang similar to petit suisse.

I have always liked a dollop of creme fraiche with roasted fruits so I decided to use it in the blancmange. After I spread some on my mousse cake, I had some leftover that I piped into shot glasses. That was going to be my mid-afternoon snack. When I tried it, I realized it tasted just like petit suisse and then the lightbulb turned on in my head... "That's right! It makes complete sense!".

After my first attempt to make petit suisse, which resulted in a nice fromage frais, I started reading more about the petit suisse making process. It's very similar to the fromage frais but then at one point, after the milk has curdled, extra heavy cream is added. I wasn't clear on how to proceed with those instructions so I left it at that, but this blancmange tastes just like petit suisse and now I know why. It is a cross between a fresh, soft cheese and sweet cream.



I built this cake with an almond and roasted plum sponge as the base. Then the roasted plum mousse is thinly spread over it, the vanilla bean creme fraiche blancmange and it is all topped with burnt swiss meringue. I also made some bubble sugar as decoration. I know it might seem very intimidating to work with sugar at home, and it can be, but this decoration is really easy to make and I think it's a nice touch.



Plum and Almond Sponge
makes half a sheetpan

175 grams egg whites
90 grams sugar
150 grams almond flour
55 grams powdered sugar
30 grams flour
40 grams plum puree

In a bowl, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and flour. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites to almost a full meringue. Slowly add the sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle a third of the sifted dry ingredients and fold. Add another third, fold and add the rest. Fold gently. Add the plum puree and fold.

Spread the sponge batter on a half sheetpan with an offset spatula. Spread evenly.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the top starts to turn color but not brown.

Plum Mousse

200 grams plum puree
20 grams sugar
2 gelatin sheets
200 grams heavy cream, soft peak

Warm the plum puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soften the gelatin in an ice bath. When the gelatin has softened, add it to the plum puree. When the plum puree is slightly cool, add the whipped cream into the base and fold gently until all ingredients are incoporated.

Spread the mousse evenly over the plum sponge and freeze right away.

Creme Fraiche Blancmange

350 grams heavy cream
2 vanilla beans
75 grams sugar
3 gelatin leaves
250 grams creme fraiche

Whip the heavy cream, vanilla and sugar to soft peaks. In the meantime, soften the gelatin leaves in ice water for about 5 minutes. Add about 3 Tbs of the whipped cream to the gelatin and melt it over a double boiler. Do not over heat it though. Stir so all the gelatin is dissolved.

Add about a cup of the whipped cream to the gelatin mixture and whip. We are tempering the gelatin. If we were to add the melted, warm gelatin to the entire batch of cold whipped cream, the gelatin would set right away and we would be left with chunks of gelatin in the cream. So temper a little bit of the cream into the gelatin and whisk. Then fold in the rest.

Finally, fold the creme fraiche into the cream base. Evenly spread the blancmange over the plum mousse with an offset spatula. Let it set in the refrigerator or freezer.

Swiss Meringue

75 grams egg whites
150 grams sugar

Mix egg whites and sugar in a bowl and place over a double boiler. Whisk them together until sugar starts to melt. It will be hot to the touch and the color will change to white.

Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whip to a stiff meringue. Place the meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe some meringue on top of the blancmange. Burn the meringue with a blowtorch.

Bubble sugar

180 grams sugar
90 grams water
30 grams glucose

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook to 317F degrees. In the meantime, take a piece of parchment paper and make it into a ball with your hands. Open it up and flatten it but we want to keep the texture. Rub a little bit of alcohol on the parchment paper and when the sugar reaches 317 degrees, pour a little bit of sugar on one edge of the paper. Lift it and let the sugar run down. The alcohol will make the sugar bubble up creating the bubble effect.

This is very hot so be careful when you handle it. Once the sugar has hardened, peel the paper off carefully. Store the bubble sugar in an airtight container.

This is obviously not how petit suisse is made, so there will be more coming on this subject. Stay tuned... I have an accomplice on this!

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Creme Fraiche Blancmange and Plum Mousse Cake... and Petit Suisse Part Trois

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Daring Bakers: Danish Braid and the Patience for Laminated Doughs

When I learned that this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was Danish dough, the first thought that went through my mind was, "how in the world am I going to be able to keep my son home for at least 4 hours straight so I can roll the dough?". And then my second thought was, "I better lower the air conditioning right now!". So yes, in that sense this was a true challenge.

It has been a while since I have made laminated doughs. As a matter of fact, I believe this is the first time that I have ever made laminated dough at home. Laminated doughs require a cold environment, cold surfaces and a long, long time. I had to reserve this task for a weekend so I could have some help with my little boy. He will not stay home all morning or afternoon so I can bake, so having an extra set of hands was crucial for me to finish this challenge.

Since timing is everything I decided to start about mid-afternoon so I could let the dough rest overnight and shape, proof and bake the following morning. It has been hot, hot, hot here lately so I had to make sure the air conditioning was turned down and that no cooking needed to be done while I was rolling the dough. I worked as quickly as I could and given that this was a small batch, it was not too terrible to handle. I remember the large batches of croissant dough that I had to make in past lives and that's when I really had to work fast so the dough never got warm. But I also had a sheeter back then.



This dough is soft and very, very aromatic with all that orange zest, vanilla bean and of course, cardammon. I struggled during the rolling process trying to keep the lock-in butter cold. It was getting sticky at times. Streching the dough so it relaxed was difficult because my hands were melting the butter a bit, but I finally made it.

I divided the dough in half and decided to make a large braid and some individual pastries. I filled the large braid with hazelnut frangipane and some black cherry preserves that I have from back home. With the other half of the dough, I made some mini cinnamon sugar snails that I topped with pistachio crumble and some frangipane diamonds that I topped with fresh strawberries.



Thank you very much to Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’? for hosting this month's challenge. Please visit their blogs for the recipe. For other Daring Bakers' creations, please visit the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

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Cherry, Almond and Chocolate Mini Cakes

I have been eating cherries like crazy the last few weeks. Sometimes I don't even like to bake with them because they are so fantastic on their own, fresh, plump and juicy. I love to watch my son eat them even though that means he will stain his shirts and that will be the end of them. All so very worth it.

So these are chocolate almond cakes with pieces of cherry inside that I baked in mini ramekins. I love how moist yet dense they are. A little goes a long way with this cake.





Cherry, Almond and Chocolate Cake

175 grams almond paste
3 eggs
50 grams butter
90 grams bittersweet chocolate
30 grams flour
2 grams baking powder
cherries, pitted and cut into medium dice

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the almond paste with one egg with the paddle attachment. When this becomes a smooth mixture, add the rest of the eggs and switch to the whip attachment. Whip this for about 5 minutes until light and fluffly.

In the meantime, melt the butter and the chocolate over a double boiler. When the eggs have become thick and make a ribbon, turn the machine to low and add the melted chocolate and butter. Mix until combined. Add the flour and baking powder and mix. Fold in the pieces of cherry.

Refrigerate the batter for a couple of hours. Pipe into molds (half way up) and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. When the cake has almost set completely, place a whole cherry with its stem on top, let the cake finish baking for another 3 minutes or so.

I know this is a short post. Short but sweet. Have a wonderful weekend!

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Cherry, Almond and Chocolate Mini Cakes

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Lemon Verbena and Chamomile Creme Brulee for the Soul

When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a lot of natural remedies for different ailments. I was hardly ever given any cough syrup or pills. Herbal teas were mostly used and amongst those, I really remember chamomile. I strongly disliked it at the time and someone always had to hold my nose shut while I drank the tea but today, I really appreciate it. I enjoy the apple-like aroma and mild taste. As a matter of fact, I drink it almost everyday.




In the Basque Country, herbs are abundant. Surprisingly though, they are traditionally not used much in cooking. They have had a medicinal role and now they are being re-introduced in the culinary world by all the new young chefs. One of the greatest Basque chefs at the moment is Andoni Luis Aduriz, who is chef owner of Mugaritz. He has published several outstanding books that I highly recommend. Some of them have been translated into different languages as well. My favorite one is definitely Clorofilia, in which he lists all the available herbs in our area with amazing recipes and beautiful short stories. There is a very mystical aura to him.

I was reading through his book a few nights ago and memories of my grandmother and chamomile came over me. I closed the book, shut my eyes, leaned back and tried to think about her. Then, I got online and ordered some lemon verbena and chamomile plants and knew exactly what I was going to be making with them.

These days, a few of my friends and some family seem to be going through a rough patch. Even I have found myself very introspective lately. Thinking about life, the world, where we are headed. So this is dedicated to all who seem to be going through hard times. Hang in there, things come and go, and usually, if we face our fears face to face, the outcome will only be bright. So have some chamomile tea and I will be here to listen.



Lemon Verbena and Chamomile Creme Brulee

500 ml organic heavy cream
5 organic egg yolks
100 grams sugar
3 grams (about 3 sprigs) lemon verbena leaves
1 grams chamomille leaves (my plant does not have any flowers yet but the leaves are also fragrant)

In a small saucepan, place the cream and the herbs and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off and let the herbs steep in the cream for a few minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Temper the warm cream into the yolks and whisk. Strain the custard through a fine sieve.

Place ramekins on a sheetpan. Pour custard into ramekins and bring the pan into a 300 degree oven. Once the sheetpan is on the oven rack, pour some boiling water on the pan to create a water bath. Bake the creme brulee in the 300 degree oven in a water bath for about 20 minutes (it depends on the size of the ramekin or how much custard is in each one). When lightly shaken, the center should jiggle slightly but not appear liquid.

Refrigerate the baked custards for at least 4 hours. Sprinkle some demerara sugar on top and burn with a torch or under a hot broiler.

Chamomile Shortbread

110 grams butter
80 grams sugar
1 organic egg
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 Tbs chamomile leaves
175 grams flour
pinch of salt

Cream the butter and the sugar. Add the egg and mix. Scrape the bowl. Add the flour, salt, lemon zest and chamomile leaves. Mix until combined.

Place dough on parchment paper and roll into a log that is about 1 inch thick. Wrap it in the parchment paper and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Slice the log, place the cookies on a sheetpan lined with parchment or silicon mat and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until slightly golden.

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Caramelized Pineapple and Olive Oil Cake... and a Short Camping Trip

As I mentioned on my last post, we were going to spend the weekend camping near Lake Okeechobee. The weather had been terrible all week with the usual summer afternoon thunderstorms. I wasn't completely sure that camping was going to be a good idea but we decided to be adventurous and see what was going to happen.

We left on Friday after work. The skies were blue and scattered thunderstorms were forecasted for the weekend. We started driving west when I spotted some nasty looking clouds ahead of us. We could see lighting strike not too far from us and I started to really worry. Surely, a mile later, we were driving through the worst storm I have ever been through. Lighting, thunder, torrential rain, baby screaming in the back and we are towing a travel trailer. I was ready to turn around right then. This scenario lasted for about half an hour.



When we arrived at the campground, it was not what we had expected. We were hoping for some thick, Florida wilderness, but this seemed like a mobile home park right next to the highway. I couldn't believe my eyes. The place looked abandoned. Not a soul. We tried to just forget about everything and headed for the pool. Rain started again. Ran for shelter and that's where we spent the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning we had about an hour of pool fun but by mid morning the sky started to turn black again and I just couldn't spend another afternoon and evening inside a trailer in a concrete campground. So we left and never got to enjoy the cake I had made for this trip but I did manage to take a couple of photos of my little boy and his beloved trucks.



This was a long story to tell you about this cake we never really got to enjoy while camping. It was an almond and olive oil sponge that I wanted to serve with grilled pineapple and a bit of cream. I love grilled fruit.

I took these photos before we left since I knew I wouldn't be able to take decent photographs while camping. But not only that, we never ate it. When I made it at home, I caramelized the pineapple with a bit of demerara sugar. I was really looking forward to some grilled pineapple...

Olive Oil Sponge
Makes quarter sheetpan

3 eggs
110 grams sugar
1 Tbs lemon zest
100 grams olive oil (I used Arbequina)
90 grams whole milk
110 grams cake flour
10 grams baking powder
50 grams almond flour

Pineapple rectangles
Demerara sugar

Whip the eggs, lemon zest and sugar to thick, ribbon stage. Slowly stream in the olive oil and the milk. Add the sifted flour, baking powder and almond flour and mix only until combined.

Batter will be relatively thin. Pour the batter in sheetpan or individual molds and bake immediately in a 400F degree oven for about 10 minutes until slightly golden brown.

Once the cake has cooled, cut rectangles. Cut pineapple rectangles that are the same size as the cake. Place the pineapple on top of the cake, sprinkle demerara sugar on top and burn it with a blow torch.

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Caramelized Pineapple and Olive Oil Cake... and a Short Camping Trip

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Milk Chocolate and Coffee Macarons

I haven't made macarons in a few weeks and I wasn't planning on making them until a friend of mine requested them as a present for someone else. They are a classic flavor combination of a coffee macaron shell and a milk chocolate ganache filling. Simple, easy yet always make an impression. She was happy and that's all that matters.


What else can I say about this recipe that I haven't said before... It's the same recipe I always use but this time I added a bit of coffee extract to the meringue.

The milk chocolate ganache was made without a scale. I took two parts of milk chocolate and one part heavy cream. I like to work with ratios because it makes my life really simple. It is true that ganaches are delicate and must be perfectly balanced but sometimes, I just use quick ratios, like one part dark chocolate one part heavy cream, two parts white chocolate and one part heavy cream. Easy and quick.



So I leave you without a recipe today. Just follow the guidelines for my previous macarons recipes and the quick ganache that I mentioned above.

And why the short post you might ask? Well, we are going camping this weekend! I will see you next week and I hope you have a wonderful weekend too!

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Milk Chocolate and Coffee Macarons

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Roasted Plums with Tarragon Ice Cream

I have been in a fresh herb kick lately. I think I have neglected them for a very long time and I don't know why. I love them just as much as I love fresh flowers. I respect them for their medicinal benefits and for what they add to food. I feel I have been redeeming myself and all I can think about are fresh herbs.

The first time I ever tried this ice cream was at a class I took with Sebastien Cannone from the French Pastry School and I will never forget it. Yes, it is delicious and perfectly balanced, but that is not the reason why. You see, I was assisting him in his class and I was asked to just get the mise en place ready for him. I had just started culinary school and I was very intimidated around all these professional chefs.

When I set myself out to scale the tarragon ice cream recipe, I think I forgot to zero out the scale at one point and I completely mis-scaled the entire recipe. Can you imagine how embarassed I was when he was cooking it and noticed the proportions were off? I thought that was the end of my professional career as a pastry chef. I thought, "what a disgrace, I can't even scale a simple recipe!" Well, he was a complete gentleman and didn't even say anything, just asked me to rescale it in a very polite matter. So I did. It worked and it was as perfect as I imagined it to be.



For those of you who have never tasted tarragon, I would say it is the licorice of the herb family. It reminds me a lot of licorice root or fennel. Very sweet and mild. I roasted the plums with a little bit of sugar (not much because they were very sweet naturally), vanilla bean, pink peppercorns and star anise which is also very licorice-y.

Sebastien's recipe has very specific guidelines on when to add ingredients, at what temperature, how to mix them... I didn't follow them as precisely but it turned out well, although not as smooth as when churned in a commercial ice cream machine. So the recipe below is not as accurate as his but it worked for me. Also, if you do not have access to some of these ingredients, you can make similar ice cream if you follow the recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago for mint chocolate chip. Just use tarragon instead.



Tarragon Ice Cream
adapted from Sebastien Cannone's recipe

490 grams whole milk
30 grams non fat dry milk powder
115 grams sugar
40 grams glucose powder
4 grams ice cream stabilizer
80 grams butter
5 grams fresh tarragon
60 grams egg yolks

Place the whole milk, tarragon, butter and milk powder in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil. In the meantime, whisk the sugar, glucose powder and ice cream stabilizer in a bowl. When the milk comes to a boil, add the sugar mixture and whisk. Return to a boil.

Temper the milk mixture into the egg yolks. Return this custard to the pan and cook while constantly stirring to 84C. Strain into a clean bowl through a fine sieve and cool completely over an ice bath.

Refrigerate for at least 12 hours so the ice cream matures properly. Churn in ice cream machine and freeze.

This recipe will be my entry for Mike's Table's "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Frozen Desserts". Remember you have until July 7th!

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Roasted Plums with Tarragon Ice Cream

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Chocolate Pot de Creme, Banana Caramel, Gianduja Cream and Six Questions

That is a long post title just to tell you that this is a post about a fun tag and a dessert full of rich goodness.

You see, I was tagged by Esti last week and I wanted to create something super rich and sweet to entertain you while you read my response to her tag. I am terrible about keeping track of tags, memes, awards... I apologize ahead of time if any of you have tagged me before and I have not responded to it. I am just terrible at this.

As I said, this tag came from Esti, another one of my girl-crushes. I have many. Esti is from my hometown of Bilbao and when I found her blog, Pintame El Dia, I immediately fell in love with her drawings, poetry and references to music. She and I have never met, but it turns out we were in a lot of the same places at the same time right about 10 years ago. The tag involves answering some random questions about oneself, pretty silly ones but all in good fun. So here I go...

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Finishing my economics degree at the University of Deusto, going to a lot of concerts, trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do with myself after college and getting ready to pack my bags to move to the US. It all seems like a blur now.

What are the five things on your to do list today?

Make gluten free waffles for breakfast,
Return the movie "Control" which I absolutely loved,
Take my little boy to the pool,
Search for plane tickets to fly home this summer, and of course...
Call my mom on the phone.

Three snack you enjoy?

Berries, nuts (lots of them) and petit suisse (help me find the recipe please!).

Four places you have lived?

Amorebieta, Colorado Springs, Denver, Palm Beach County.

Five things you would do if you were a billionaire?

This is a question for my husband who plays the lottery every week... I'd rather not think about being a billionaire but it would probably involve getting to see my friends and family more often.

Six people you want to know more about?

Only six??? So here is my suggestion... if you are up for it, why don't you try to answer these questions in the comment section. I would love to learn more about you. You can answer just one question or all of them, if you'd like.



And if you haven't tuned me out just yet, let me tell you about these shot glasses. It starts with a layer of chocolate pot de creme that I baked in a very low oven in a water bath. Most people will be shocked that you can bake in glass, as long as it's in a low oven and in a water bath. Of course, there are many glass dishes that are made specifically to go in the oven and obviously in that case, you don't have to worry about anything. But if you are not sure, just bake in a water bath and in low heat, just like a did here.

I made a banana caramel to go on top of the chocolate pot de creme and finished it with a layer of whipped cream flavored with gianduja. I thought the combination of chocolate, banana and gianduja would help you read through this post. I hope you enjoyed it!

Chocolate Pot de Creme

500 ml heavy cream
50 grams sugar
5 egg yolks
125 grams 70% chocolate, chopped

In a saucepan, bring the cream and the sugar to a boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate and whisk until the chocolate melts completely. Temper into the egg yolks. Strain the custard through a fine sieve.

Pour the pot de creme custard in your shot glasses or ramekins. Place these on a sheetpan and bake in a water bath at 300 degrees until set. Because I used tall shot glasses, I baked them on a tall cake pan so I could add enough water to slowly bake the custard.

Banana Caramel

110 grams sugar
40 grams glucose or corn syrup
55 grams butter
225 grams ripe bananas, pureed

Puree the bananas. Place the glucose or corn syrup in a small saucepan. When it starts to melt and bubble up, sprinkle a third of the sugar on top. As soon as that starts to melt and caramelize, add some more sugar. Let that caramelize and add the rest of the sugar. It's ok to stir with a wooden spoon. If some crystalizes, it's ok, let it melt. Add the softened butter, stir and add the banana puree. At this point, turn the heat off but let any chunks of harden caramel melt on the stove.

Pour in a bowl and let it cool. Once cold, pipe on top of the chocolate layer.

Gianduja Cream

1 cup heavy cream
25 grams sugar
25 grams gianduja paste or Nutella

Whip all three ingredients together until stiff peaks form. Pipe this cream on top of the banana caramel.

And since I started talking about what I was doing 10 years ago, let me leave you with the music that was buzzing around in my head around that time...

Teenage Fanclub's "Sparky's Dream"
Surfin' Bichos' "Mi Hermano Carnal"
Red House Painter' "Brockwell Park"

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Pistachio, Cashew and Cherry Nougat Glace with Warm Chocolate Sauce

I dreamt I was in a room full of people. I stood up and said "Hi, my name is Aran and I am a nut addict". I looked over and there was my dad, my brothers, my friend Amaia... All nut addicts. And then I woke up.

I grew up in a household where there was always a basket of raw, unshelled nuts on the kitchen table. Walnuts all year round, hazelnuts mostly in the winter, pistachios... you name it. The nutcracker was always accesible next to the everyday flatware and kitchen knives.




During Christmas time, we always had a cupboard full of turron in our house. There were different varieties, some soft, some chocolate with rice puffs, some made exclusively out of yolks and sugar, but my favorite was always the teeth-breaking "turron duro" which is similar to nougat. Egg whites, honey and cooked sugar made into a stiff marshmallow with whole almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and many other combinations.

I was craving turron but it didn't seem very season appropriate so I remembered the frozen nougat parfait or nougat glace recipe we used to make at my previous job. I adapted it to my own taste but the technique is the same. It is basically, nuts that are cooked in a caramel and added to a meringue and whipped cream mousse. Very, very fresh, light and it has a perfect mouthfeel. Much "fluffier" than ice cream. I molded it into ring molds and also a terrine since I had extra that didn't fit into the rings. For the terrine, I used a small rectangular cake pan but you can use a round cake pan, pyramids, half spheres, anything.

To serve along side with it, I made chocolate sauce and pourred it over the nougat glace while still warm. It instantly dissolves the parfait. Just how I like it.



Pistachio, Cashew and Cherry Nougat Glace

100 grams sugar
30 grams raw pistachios
25 grams raw cashews
25 grams dried cherries, soaked in kirsch, drained and chopped
75 grams egg whites
75 grams honey (I used Acacia)
250 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

In a medium saucepan, sprinkle some of the sugar and turn the heat to medium high. When that sugar starts to melt and slightly caramelize, add some more and let that melt too. Proceed like this until all the sugar has been added and it starts to caramelize. You can stir with a wooden spatula to achieve an even caramelization. When the caramel is amber, add the room temperature nuts and stir until they are roasted. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes.

Spread the nougat over a silpat and let it cool completely. Be careful because this is very hot!

Once it has cooled, chop into small pieces. You can even chop it in the food processor but be careful not to completely pulverize it. Reserve.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and reserve in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the mousse.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites. In the meantime, place the honey in a small saucepan and bring it to a full boil. When the egg whites are whipped, turn the speed of the mixer to low and slowly add the boiled honey on the side of the bowl in a steady stream. When all the honey is in, turn the mixer back to full speed and whip the egg whites until fully whipped and the bowl cools down.

Add the meringue to the whipped cream. Fold gently. Add the chopped nougat and the drained and chopped dried cherries. Place the mousse in a pastry bag and pipe into your molds.

Chocolate Sauce

50 grams heavy cream
50 grams whole milk
15 grams sugar
2 tsp corn syrup
115 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped

In a small saucapan, bring the first four ingredients to a boil. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and when the milk comes to a boil, pour over the chocolate and stir until completely melted.

Serve or store in the refrigerator.



On a different note, I just wanted to tell you about a little interview I had for the Basque Public Radio yesterday. The interview is in Basque therefore not many of you will understand it, but for my Basque readers (and I believe I have a few), you might want to just visit the EITB web and listen to Euskadi Irratia at 11:15am Continental European time (5:15am EST) today.

Eskerrik asko Arka!

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Summer Berry Charlotte

I made this charlotte for no reason other than it's almost summer and we feel it in the air. Friday was the last day of school and that afternoon our pool was full of overjoyeous kids. That always puts a smile on my face. I haven't been spending much time in the kitchen lately but this is so refreshing, so colorful, that I had to make it. My mood needed it. My mood needed something bright, girly, fresh and fruity.




The charlotte is filled with blackberry and raspberry mousse. I added a little bit of raspberry puree to the ladyfingers but it was not enough to make a difference so I didn't include it in the recipe that follows.

I also experimented using my financier flexipan to make the ladyfingers. I usually pipe them free-hand but the mold worked really well because it is the same heigth as the ring mold in which I built the charlotte. There is something about repeated piping that is very therapeutic for me. One of my favorite things to do. Pipe, steady hand, focused mind. My old executive pastry chef, Sebastien, would always try to compete with us to see who could pipe macarons the fastest. We are talking four, five, six full sheetpans in less than 3 minutes. Those were good times.

Ladyfingers
Makes 4 dozen small ladyfingers and 12 small sponge disks

3 organic egg yolks
75 grams sugar
3 organic egg whites
50 grams powdered sugar, sifted
75 grams unbleached all purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg yolks and the granulated sugar until they become very thick and pale (ribbon stage). I only have one bowl for my Kitchen Aid so I have to transfer this mixture to another bowl. Wash the Kitchen Aid bowl.

Whip the egg whites fully and slowly add the sifted powdered sugar. Keep whipping until you have a pretty stiff meringue. Fold the yolks into the meringue and finally fold the flour in.

Pipe the ladyfingers and the disks onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I usually draw lines on the parchment so I can guide myself and pipe equal size ladyfingers. Sift powdered sugar on top and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let them cool.

Blackberry Mousse

100 grams blackberry puree, strained (about 175 grams blackberries)
10 grams sugar
1 sheet of gelatin
100 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Heat the blackberry puree with the sugar. When it comes to a slight boil, remove from heat. In the meantime, soften the gelatin in ice water for about 3 minutes. Add the bloomed gelatin to the puree. Let it cool until it is about body temperature. If we add the hot puree to the cream, it will deflate.

While the puree cools, whip the cream. When the puree has cooled slightly, add it to the cream and fold gently until you can no longer see any streaks of unmixed cream.

Place the mousse in a pastry bag and pipe about half way up the ring mold with the ladyfingers assembled on the edges. Freeze the charlottes.

Raspberry Mousse

100 grams raspberry puree, strained (about 175 grams raspberries)
10 grams sugar
1 sheet of gelatin
100 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Proceed as above. Pipe the mousse on top of the frozen blackberry mousse. Place the charlottes in the refrigerator for the mousse to set.

Decorate with fresh berries on top.

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Summer Berry Charlotte

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http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/06/summer-berry-charlotte.html

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Matcha Diamants and Unexpected Gift Giving

This past week, I woke up and decided it was time to thank some friends. No apparent reason, just the sheer pleasure of baking something unexpectedly and with full gratitude. These friends have brought me so much joy these last few weeks that it was payback time. Most of the time, I don't need a big production or expensive gift to make me feel this way. A simple smile or some kind words are enough. Besides, there is nothing better than sharing with those that you know will be so grateful and appreciative.

Some of these friends live out of state so I had to take that into consideration when deciding what to ship to them. I thought about making macarons since all my friends seem to love them, but they are too fragile and I decided to go for cookies that would hold well for a couple of days. I made a batch of raspberry financiers, triple chocolate fudge cookies and matcha diamants.



Diamants are very buttery and crumbly cookies that are usually rolled out in a log shape, rolled in sugar, sliced and baked. The green tea is mild and subtle so it's not too overpowering for those who do not like a strong matcha flavor. These cookies really hold well for a couple of days and if you ask me, they get better as they sit for a day.

One of the recipients was kind enough to blog about her little gift... thank you Nadia!

Matcha Diamants

200 grams organic unsalted butter
80 grams powdered sugar
1 organic egg yolk
220 grams unbleached all purpose flour
10 grams matcha powder
pinch of salt
egg yolk to brush the outside
sugar to roll the sable in

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg yolk. Mix and scrape the bowl. Add the flour, salt and green tea. Mix until combined.

Roll the dough into a log that is about 2 inches wide. Wrap in plastic or parchment and refrigerate overnight.

Brush the outside of the log with egg yolk and roll it in the sanding sugar. Cut 1/2-inch circles and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 12 minutes.

I also saw that Fanny made some beautiful ones. She is so amazing... Check them out!

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Matcha Diamants and Unexpected Gift Giving

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Triple Chocolate Fudge Cookie and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches

I have a soft spot for mint and chocolate. My love affair started when I was 12 years old and travelled to England for the first time and I discovered After Eights.

My parents started sending my brothers and I abroad for summer exchange programs in hopes to makes us fluent English speakers. Now that I look back, it was the best gift our parents could have given us because we were exposed to different cultures and lifestyles from a very young age. Travelling helped me overcome many of my fears and discover new foods.




The first time I ever participated in one of these summer programs, I went to Dublin with my brothers, where I stayed for an entire month with a wonderful family, the O'Sullivans. I used to get on a bus by myself every morning to go to class. My brothers would often times wait at the bus stop with me and tell me "when you see bus number 33, lift up your arm, get on it and you know where to get off", and they would go off to play golf. Can you believe it? I was 11 years old! But looking back, that's what I needed since I had always been a very fearful child.

So the following year, we spent the summer in London where I was exposed to way too much candy. I think when I went back home after that month, my mother was mortified after seeing how much weight I had gained. Our candy selection back home was a decimal part of what I found at the little convenience store around the corner from the London house I was staying in. Salt and vinegar crisps, chocolate maltballs, Milky Ways and After Eights became part of my everyday bus ride snacks.

The following summer, I spent the entire month of July in Michigan where I was introduced to Baskin Robbins and mint chocolate chip ice cream. That was it for me. That was the beginning of my path of ice cream addiction. A couple of years later, I spent my junior year of high school in Colorado Springs where my host sister and best friend Jill and I would go to Baskin Robbins for mint chocolate chip ice cream any chance we had. It even became a joke amongst our friends. I don't know if she remembers those years as fondly as I do, but that experience truly marked me for the rest of my life.



So this was a long story just to tell you how much I love ice cream sandwiches. I made these last weekend with some mint a neighbor had given me. I like a very minty ice cream so I infused the cream with lots of fresh mint and even added some mint oil. C, however, does not enjoy such a strong mint flavor and claims it tastes a bit like grass. Well, well, well... I didn't add any food coloring thus the plain yellow color, but you most certainly could. The mint does take a bit of a pale green color after it is infused but there are so many egg yolks in the recipe, that the final ice cream turns out fairly yellow.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

500 grams whole milk
130 grams heavy cream
40 grams glucose
150 grams sugar
180 grams egg yolks
20 grams fresh mint leaves
1 tsp mint oil
green food coloring (optional... I didn't add any)
100 grams chocolate chips

In a saucepan, combine the whole milk, cream, mint, glucose and sugar together. Bring to a boil, turn heat off and let the mint steep in the milk for about 30 minutes. After that, return the milk to the stove and bring to a boil. When the milk comes to a boil, temper it into the egg yolks. Whisk. Add the custard back to the saucepan and cook stirring constantly to 84 degrees Celsius.

Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and chill it over an ice bath. When it has cooled, add the mint oil. Taste it and adjust the flavoring. Remember that when the custard is warm, the flavor is more potent and once it is churn, the flavor will dilute a bit so take that into consideration.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let it chill overnight and the next day churn in the ice cream machine. Freeze.

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cookies

2 eggs
160 grams sugar
55 grams unsweetened chocolate
80 grams milk chocolate
80 grams bittersweet chocolate
80 grams butter
40 grams flour
1 gram baking powder
2 grams salt
55 grams milk chocolate chips
110 grams dark chocolate chips

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the eggs and sugar. In the meantime, melt the three chocolates and the butter over a double boiler. When the chocolate has melted, add it to the eggs and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the flour and baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips by hand.

The batter will be very liquid and it will be impossible to scoop it out, so let it rest in the bowl for about an hour or the time necessary for the batter to harden. When it is hard but pliable, using an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls onto a sheetpan lined with parchment or a silicon mat.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies have set. The center might look a little too soft but don't worry as they will dry out as they cool. I prefer a chewy cookie. When the cookies have cooled completely, scoop a little bit of the ice cream on top of one and sandwich with another.

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Triple Chocolate Fudge Cookie and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Two Tarts and a Late Spring Cookout

I love when summer comes and people head out to the streets. It's a bit different here in Florida where summer is actually when people become more recluse and spend more time indoors due to the scorching heat and the unbearable humidity. I still love the idea of living outdoors though, with open windows, lawn chairs on the grass, kids playing in the pool, sidewalk chalk, concerts in the park...

We had a great cookout for Memorial Day weekend when we teamed up with our next door neighbors for a food filled day. Let's say it was not vegetarian friendly and I've been trying to do a gastro-intestinal cleanse ever since. The smoker was on all day long, friends came over, kids played in the pool, we ate way too much food, but of course, there is always room for dessert. What's an American holiday without a pie, right? Well, these are more like tarts since I used a sugar dough or pate sucree recipe rather than pate brisee. Both tarts use the same dough so the prep work was very easy.



When I make sugar dough or any dough for that matter, I make large amounts and then freeze in individual portions so whenever I am going to need to bake a pie, the dough is there ready for me. I just take it out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw out in the refrigerator. Sometimes, I even pre-assemble a tart and freeze it raw but this only works for tarts that require no prebaking. So for example, I can fill a tart ring with raw sugar dough, pipe in frangipane, place fruit slices on top and freeze it. Then I can bake it when I need it. However, this doesn't work once the tart shell has been baked.

As for fillings, mousses or any custard with a high percentage of fat can be frozen but custards such as pastry cream will not hold in the freezer. They become watery and separate once thawed out. Pastry cream and fresh fruit tarts are best when they are eaten the same day they are prepared.

The banana cream tart was filled with pastry cream flavored with rum and creme de banana, topped with banana slices and sweetened cream. The cherry galette was super simple and really, I didn't need a recipe. Pitted some cherries, tossed them in a bit of flour, sugar and almond extract and placed them in the center of the dough.



Sugar Dough

8 oz unsalted butter, softened
4 oz powdered sugar
1 egg
12 oz flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg, mix and scrape bowl to ensure all ingredients are well mixed. Add the flour, salt and baking powder and mix until combined. Do not overmix.

Make a ball with the dough and wrap it in plastic wrap. Press down on the dough to create a flat disk. This will make the rolling easier later on. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours.

Roll the dough out to about 1/8-inch thick and place it over your tart pan. Press down the sides, remove excess from the top and refrigerate for a couple of hours. This is very important so the dough doesn't shrink in the oven.

Dock it and bake it in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Let it cool and fill with the pastry cream

Pastry Cream

2 cups whole milk
4 oz sugar
1.5 oz cornstarch
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
0.5 oz butter
Rum, optional
Creme de banana, optional

In a saucepan, bring the milk, half of the sugar and vanilla bean to a boil. Whisk the eggs, egg yolk, half of the sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. When milk comes to a boil, temper it into the eggs. Return base to saucepan and cook until it comes to a boil and it thickens, whisking constantly.

Transfer the cream to a clean bowl and add the butter while whisking. When it cools slightly, cover it with plastic wrap making sure the plastic is in contact with the cream. This will avoid any skin to form.

Refrigerate until ready to assemble the tart.

Assemble the Banana Cream Tart

Spread a good amount of pastry cream on the bottom of the prebaked tart shell. Place thin slices of fresh banan on top covering the enrire surface of the pastry cream. Pipe sweetened whipped cream on top of the banana trying to cover all the banana and sprinkle shaved chocolate on top.

Assemble the Cherry Galette

Cut large circles of sugar dough with a large cookie cutter (about 8 inches in diameter). Place some pitted cherries in the middle, sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and a dot of butter on the top. Gather the outside edges of the dough towards the center folding a packet. Don't worry about being perfect since this is meant to be a rustic tart. Brush the sides of the dough with egg wash and sprinkle some coarse sugar on top. Sprinkle some slivered almonds on top and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until dough golden brown.

I hope you are really enjoying stone fruits like I am!

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Two Tarts and a Late Spring Cookout

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