Tuile Madness with the Daring Bakers

January has flown by and here we are at the end of the month with another Daring Bakers challenge. It is tuile madness this month.

We were given three tuile recipes. We had to choose one and build a dessert around it. A pretty simple task that had my brain spinning for days. "What to do, what to do". Sometimes simple doesn't mean easy, but that is what I liked about the challenge. It is wide open to each individual's imagination.



Although I only followed one of the recipes given to us, I created similar tuiles with slightly different methods.

I had many ice creams and sorbets in the freezer so immediately thought about making chocolate and vanilla ice cream cones with the sugar tuile recipe. I paired the cones with chocolate and devonshire lemon ice creams. I was really inspired by the bi-color Italian cookies we used to eat with ice cream growing up.



Then came the chocolate tuiles. The recipe we were given called for dark chocolate and almonds, but I decided to use white chocolate and vanilla bean instead. I paired it with lemon streusel and blood orange sorbet. I love the contrast of the vanilla specs next to the white chocolate and the sweet and sour flavor combination.



Finally, and the most delicate of them all, are these nougatine cannelloni that were inspired by a recipe I learned from chef Christophe Michalak a few years ago. I remember having to make them for an entire week for a special we had at the restaurant where I was working. Every day, I guarded those little cannellonis with my life because the slightest movement could crush them into a million pieces. One must be gentle with these, but the result is out of this world.

They are filled with gianduja chantilly and they just dissolve in your mouth.



Vanilla and Chocolate Tuiles

adapted from “The Chocolate Book” by Master Chef Angélique Schmeinck.

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder
A couple of drops of red food coloring

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Mix a small amount of the batter with red food coloring and some with cocoa powder.

Cover the bowls with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat. Place a stencil with a circle cut out (about 4" in diameter) on the mat. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate and vanilla batters. Leave some room in between your shapes. Place the red batter in a paper piping bag and pipe lines on the circles.

Bake in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape into cornettes. Keep them in an airtight container until ready to use.

Devonshire Cream and Lemon Ice Cream

adapted from "Frozen Desserts" by Chef Migoya

450 grams whole milk
Zest of 3 medium lemons
180 grams sugar
100 grams egg yolks
375 grams devonshire cream

Place the whole milk, lemon zest and half of the sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar. Temper the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk base and whisk. Return this to the saucepan and cook to 84C.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the devonshire cream. Whisk to break up any lumps. Strain the whole ice cream base through a fine sieve into a clean bowl.

Chill the mixture in an ice bath and once cool, refrigerate overnight. Churn the base in ice cream machine.

Nougatine Cannelloni

adapted from Christophe Michalak

150 grams fondant patissier
100 grams glucose
87.5 grams slivered blanched almonds
12.5 grams butter

Cook glucose and fondant to 180C. Remove from heat and add the almonds and butter. Spread this on a silicon mat and let it cool completely. Grind to a fine powder in a food processor.

Place the powder in a sieve and dust over a rectangular stencil that is placed on a silicon mat. Sprinkle enough to cover the entire surface but not too much. We want a thin nougatine.

Lift up stencil from the mat carefully and bake in a 375F oven for about 4 minutes until lightly golden and the sugar lightly melts. Let the nougatine cool for about 30 seconds on the hot baking sheet and when pliable, roll around a cylinder forming a tube. Work quickly so the nougatine doesn't harden and break. If cools down too fast, you can return the nougatine to the oven to warm up.

Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Gianduja Chantilly

250 grams heavy cream
100 grams gianduja

Boil the cream and pour over the gianduja. Stir until the gianduja is completely melted. Refrigerate this ganache overnight and whip to thick ribbon when ready to use.

Place cream in a pastry bag and pipe into the nougatine tubes. Serve right away.

White Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Tuiles

100 grams white couverture pistoles
1 vanilla bean

Temper the couverture, and stir in the vanilla bean seeds. Take some of the couverture with the tip of an offset spatula and spread over acetate paper strips. Place the strips on a tuile pan to shape them before the chocolate hardens. Let the tuiles sit at room temperature to harden completely.

Blood Orange Sorbet

250 grams blood orange juice
110 grams sugar
2 grams sorbet stabilizer
60 grams atomized glucose
200 grams water

Place water in a saucepan and heat slightly. Add the atomized glucose, whisk and bring to a boil. Mix the sugar and the sorbet stabilizer in a bowl and add to the boiling syrup. Whisk and return syrup to a boil. Remove from heat.

Refrigerate the syrup for at least 4 hours. Add the blood orange juice to the syrup and churn in ice cream machine. Freeze.

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Please visit other Daring Bakers to see their interpretations of the challenge.

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A Year, Gratitude and a Chocolate Cake

It's hard to believe that today, this little blog of mine turned one. This has been a very creative year for me, full of surprises, new friendships, new discovered passions and very, very unexpected. The year in which I discovered photography and how it has changed my life.

Today I learned that Cannelle Et Vanille was voted "2008 Best Food Blog - Photography" in the 2008 Food Blog Awards hosted by Well Fed. Just to be nominated in that category next to super talented bloggers and photographers blows me away. That alone was a real gift to me.



When I look back at those photos, I realize how unplanned this all was. I didn't sit down for days thinking about starting a blog. I just did it. The recipes poured one after another without too much thought. Photography followed soon after and it has now taken a hold of my life.

I have many things to be grateful for and many people to thank for all their support and encouragement this year. Helen, Nadia, Jill, Bego y las tres Marias, Robyn, my dear C., Katherine, Bea, ama ta aita, Valerie, Pia, Esti, Deb, Jessie, Amaia, Benat, Ez, Traci... so many people, always ready to share, to inspire and to help.



I wanted to take this moment to thank all of you who have followed and supported this blog from the beginning and those of you who took the time to vote for me on the awards. It really means the world to me.

Here is a little celebratory cake composed of chocolate biscuit, milk chocolate mousse, fresh berries and chocolate cigarettes. I shared it with my neighbor Scott who kindly cleaned my camera a couple of days ago (a cake can be very motivating for some!).



Please visit the Well Fed site to read the full list of winners. And a big congrats to my dear friend Helen for TWO awards. Wow...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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Camping Bliss

I am working on a new recipe for you, but in the meantime, here are some images from our weekend getaway. I couldn't resist.

Happy Monday!

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Strawberries and Vanilla Bean

I know to some of you, it might seem strange that I am using strawberries in the middle of winter, but here in Florida, we have a funny strawberry season that starts in December and lasts through May. The peak of the season and the best strawberries will be around next month and into March, but I couldn't wait to start eating them and baking with them. So I made a strawberry pate de fruit to go inside these vanilla bean macarons that I filled with a white chocolate and vanilla bean cream.




I had an eventful week filled with positive things and not so fun ones (like having my car broken into and my handbag stolen while picking up my son from school), so I am looking forward to a camping trip we have planned for this weekend. I will be taking some of these macarons on our trip and sharing the rest with friends who really deserve a thank you for all the support I have been getting lately.

I just realized yesterday that this little blog of mine will be turning one next week. Time flies, doesn't it?

Thanks everyone for your kind words, comments, votes, support... have a great weekend!



Strawberry Pate de Fruit

120 grams strawberry puree, strained
3 grams yellow pectin
15 grams sugar
150 grams sugar
30 grams glucose
4 grams lemon juice

Puree about 175 grams of strawberries to get 120 grams of seeded strawberry puree (it might vary a bit).

Mix the pectin with the 15 grams sugar.

Place the strawberry puree in a small saucepan and bring to a light boil. Add the pectin and sugar mixture and whisk. When it comes to a boil, add the rest of the sugar. Whisk and let it come to a boil again. Add the glucose and cook to 106C. It will take about 3 minutes or so on medium heat. Stir so the sugar doesn't burn on the bottom.

When it reaches the desired temperature, remove from heat, add the lemon juice and cast into half sphere silicon molds (or any mold that you would like). let it sit for a few hours until it hardens completely.

Cut into small pieces that will go inside the macarons.

Vanilla Bean Macarons

180 grams almond flour
240 grams powdered sugar
140 grams egg whites, aged
3 grams egg white powder
2 grams fine sea salt
80 grams vanilla sugar
few drops of red food coloring

Make sure that the egg whites have been separated from the egg yolks at least the night before. This bit of aging really makes a difference in the macarons.

In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar and sea salt. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites with the egg white powder until very fluffy, almost fully whipped. Start adding the vanilla sugar slowly while whipping. Add a few drops of red food coloring and continue whipping to stiff peaks.

Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and fold with a spatula until a shiny mass forms. We want to achieve a batter that makes ribbons. You might have to test it to see if it's done. Pipe a small amount on your sheetpan. If it keeps a little bit of a top when piped, then you have to mix it a bit further, if it spreads really fast, you have gone too far and your macarons will turn out flat.

When you have the right consistency, place the mass in a pastry bag with a number 5 tip and pipe small rounds onto sheetpans lined with parchment or silpat. Let them dry at room temperature for at least 45 minutes to an hour.

If you want to sprinkle them with anything, you must do it right after piping while the batter is still wet. If you want to paint them, wait until they are dry and before they go in the oven.

Have the oven preheated to 350F degrees. Place one sheetpan in the oven at a time and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes and rotate sheetpan and bake for another 5 minutes.

White Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Cream

125 grams heavy cream
60 grams white chocolate
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

Chop the white chocolate nto a bowl. In a saucepan, boil the cream and the vanilla bean and pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

Let this ganache sit in the refrigerator overnight and whip the next day until a thick cream is formed.

Pipe onto the macarons shells and place a piece of strawberry pate de fruit in the middle. Top with another macarons shell.

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Chocolate and Meyer Lemon Love

I hope you had a lovely weekend. The weather was so beautiful here that we spent most of our time outdoors. I did manage, however, to finish this mousse cake I had started last week. Here I am once again with meyer lemons, which I cannot get enough of.

This cake was inspired by a yet another childhood memory. Growing up, in the summer time, we used to eat popsicles that were shaped like rocketships. I never really knew whether it was ice cream or sorbet because the texture was somewhere in between, but I do remember the flavors clearly, lemon and chocolate. It had three distinct layers of this unknown frozen texture, topped by a thin layer of dipped, crunchy chocolate top. I cannot remember whether it was "Miko" or "Frigo" who made them, but it was my favorite.




I would say generally, I am not a big fan of fruit and chocolate flavor combinations unless we are talking about citrus, raspberries, passion fruit... Fruits that are tart and sour really balance out chocolate, particularly in recipes that might be overly sweet.



This cake has many components and it might seem like it's a bit time consuming, but in reality, it is fairly simple. It has a chocolate biscuit or cake base and layers of dark chocolate mousse, meyer lemon cream and milk chocolate cream.

The meyer lemon cream is an adaptation of a lemon emulsion recipe we used to use at work, but with extra butter added to it to make it thicker and hold its shape better. It is painfully delicious.



I also used some of the extra mousse and cream to make these little verrines. Same components, just a different presentation.

Chocolate Biscuit

adapted from Stephane Glacier's "Verrines et Petits Gateaux"

makes 2 half sheetpans

285 grams egg yolks
240 grams sugar
275 grams egg whites
2 grams cream of tartar
55 grams sugar
95 grams cocoa powder
135 grams flour
95 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Whip the egg yolks and the sugar to a thick ribbon.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until almost fully whipped. Sprinkle in the sugar and whip until a firm peak forms.

Lighten the egg yolk base with a fourth of the meringue. Sift the dry ingredients into this base and fold gently. Fold in the remainder of the meringue.

Add the melted and cooled butter and fold.

Divide the batter between two half sheetpans lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 375F for about 10 minutes.

Limoncello Simple Syrup

50 grams water
50 grams sugar
limoncello or any liquer to taste (optional)

Cook the sugar and water together until sugar is dissolved. Let the syrup cool and then add the liquer, if desired.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

adapted from Florilege Gourmand

2.5 sheets gelatin
40 grams granulated sugar
10 grams glucose
15 grams water
50 grams egg yolks (about 3 medium)
175 grams dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
350 grams heavy cream

Soften the gelatin in cold water.

Beat the egg yolks until very light in colour (approximately 5 minutes until almost white). Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should reach 244°F (118°C). If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the sugar temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water, if it forms a soft ball in the water then you have reached the correct temperature.

Add the sugar syrup to the beaten yolks carefully by pouring it into the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to beat the yolks. You can do this by hand but it’s easier to do this with an electric mixer. Continue beating until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The batter should become thick and foamy.

In a double boiler or equivalent, heat 30 grams of cream to boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Whip the remainder of the cream until stiff.

Pour the melted chocolate over the softened gelatin, mixing well. Let the gelatin and chocolate cool slightly and then stir 100 grams of whipped cream to temper. Add the pate a bombe. Add in the rest of the whipped cream (220g) mixing gently with a spatula.

Meyer Lemon Cream

215 grams eggs
75 grams sugar
215 grams meyer lemon juice
Zest of 3 meyer lemons
300 grams butter, cut into small pieces and at room temperature

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, juice and zest. Place this bowl over a double boiler and cook while whisking until the custard thickens (about 84C).

Immediately, strain the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Let the custard cool to about 55C. It will be warm to the touch but not too hot that when we add the butter, it will melt right away. We want to create an emulsion with the butter that's why the temperature it's very important.

Once the custard has cooled, start adding the butter and using a hand held immersion mixer or blender, blend the cream. Continue blending until all the butter has been incorporated.

Milk Chocolate Chantilly

adapted from Stephane Glacier's "Verrines et Petits Gateaux"

250 grams heavy cream
90 grams milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Boil the cream and pour over the milk chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Let this ganache rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Then whip it as whipped cream.

Assemble the Cake

Turn over one of the chocolate biscuit sheets. Peel off the parchment paper. Flip it over again and place it on a clean sheet of parchment on a sheetpan.

Make the chocolate mousse right when you are ready to start building the cake. Place a 14"x14"x3" square frame on top of the chocolate biscuit. Press down so that the frame cuts all the way to the bottom. Save the scraps for something else. This is where we will build the cake.

Soak the cake with the limoncello simple syrup. Spread the chocolate mousse evenly on top of the biscuit. Let this harden in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

In the meantime, make the lemon cream. When the chocolate mousse has harden, spread the lemon cream evenly on top of it. Freeze the cake overnight.

To remove the frame, make sure the cake is frozen so the layers stay intact. Cut around the cake with a knife (close to the edge) and lift the frame up.

Cut the cake when it is semi frozen. Pipe the milk chocolate chantilly over the lemon cream and top with a tempered chocolate rectangle and a macaron.

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Blood Orange, Key Lime and Kumquat Sorbet

Inspired by all the citrus available and the color palettes for spring, I started a crazy sorbet making spree last week. I made sorbet of all fruit I encountered at the store and we have been enjoying the refreshing treats every afternoon. All this abundant fruit makes me very happy.

I know many of you are in the dead of winter, surrounded by snow and frigid temperatures, but I can have ice cream and sorbet all year round regardless of the temperature outside. In fact, we have been experiencing some chilly temperatures as well, but not even that is enough to keep me away from the freezer.




The combination of theses three sorbets is almost like a symphony of color and taste. I know, I know, it sounds cheesy when I say it that way, but it's true. There are different levels of sour in these sorbets and they compliment each other very well.

Squeezing the tiny key limes one after another took its time, but it was so worth it. The flavor is so pungent, sour and vibrant. The sorbet is by far the most sour of them all, but it balances out perfectly the sweetness of the kumquat sorbet, which is the "mildest" of the bunch.

Blood oranges must have the most special color of all the fruit and once turned into sorbet, it turns into this bubblegum pink that not even C could resist. This was my favorite sorbet of the three, not too sweet not too sour. So here is to sorbet in the middle of winter!



Kumquat Sorbet

400 grams kumquat puree
600 grams simple syrup (50% water and 50% sugar)

Whisk together the kumquat puree and simple syrup and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours. Churn in ice cream machine.

Kumquat Puree

800 grams kumquats
Water to cover, 3 batches

Place kumquats in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil. Drain the kumquats and repeat the process two more times with fresh water every time. This removes some of the bitterness from the fruit.

Place the cooked kumquats in the food processor or a blender and puree. Strain the puree through a fine sieve. You should get about 400 grams of kumquat puree.

Key Lime Sorbet

480 grams simple syrup (50% water and 50% sugar)
420 grams key lime juice

Combine both components and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours. Churn in ice cream machine and freeze.

Blood Orange Sorbet

This sorbet uses ingredients that might be difficult to get for some of you, but the resulting sorbet has great texture and mouth feel. If you prefer, you could follow the same recipe as for the key lime sorbet but using the blood orange juice instead.

250 grams blood orange juice
110 grams sugar
2 grams sorbet stabilizer
60 grams atomized glucose
200 grams water

Place water in a saucepan and heat slightly. Add the atomized glucose, whisk and bring to a boil. Mix the sugar and the sorbet stabilizer in a bowl and add to the boiling syrup. Whisk and return syrup to a boil. Remove from heat.

Refrigerate the syrup for at least 4 hours. Add the blood orange juice to the syrup and churn in ice cream machine. Freeze.

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Coconut, Meyer Lemons and White Chocolate

This was one of those great weekends where we spent endless hours outside playing in the park, taking photos and baking. Although I love the change in seasons and cold weather, I feel pretty lucky to live in Florida in the middle of winter. We have been having fantastic weather with beautiful blue skies and cool mornings. It feels like the spring I grew up knowing. I love leaving all the windows and doors wide open and feeling the cool breeze in the morning.




I made this dessert for New Year's Eve dinner, but it was so good, that I had to make it again once I found meyer lemons. Some citrus is so hard to find that I really try to use it to its last squeeze. Meyer lemons, which are somewhere between a traditional lemon and a mandarin, are sweeter, the skin has a more orange tint to it and are very, very fragrant.

These are small cakes with layers of coconut dacquoise, meyer lemon chiboust all wrapped in a thin white chocolate strip. I was also lucky to find red currants, which I can never resist. It's a very light and airy dessert and the sweetness from the coconut dacquoise and the white chocolate is really balanced out by the tartness of the lemon chiboust.



These are some photos from our weekend. Hope you had a great one as well!



Coconut Dacquoise

125 grams egg whites
30 grams sugar
130 grams unsweetened finely shredded coconut (coconut rape)
80 grams powdered sugar, sifted

In a bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites to their fullest. Slowly sprinkle in the granulated sugar while whipping. Continue whipping to stiff peaks.

In a bowl mix the coconut rape and sifted powdered sugar. Add a third of this dry mixture to the meringue and fold gently. Repeat adding more dry ingredients and folding gently.

Spread the dacquoise on a sheetpan lined with parchment paper that we have previously sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 375F until top is lightly golden. Let it cool before cutting.

Lemon Chiboust

100 grams whole milk
100 grams lemon juice
50 grams egg yolks
12 grams sugar
12 grams cornstarch
3 grams sheet gelatin
100 grams egg whites
15 grams sugar

Place the whole milk with the sugar in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil.

Soften the gelatin in ice water for about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch and lemon juice in a bowl. When the milk mixture comes to a boil, temper it into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk this. Return base to the same saucepan and cook until it starts to boil and it thickens. Add the softened gelatin to the hot custard and whisk. Transfer this custard to a clean bowl.

Start whipping the egg whites. When they are fully whipped, sprinkle in the sugar and continue whipping one more minute. If you are worried about the raw egg whites, make an italian meringue instead by cooking the sugar with a bit of water to 240F and then adding it to the egg whites when they have fully whipped.

While the custard is still warm, fold a third of the meringue into it. Gently fold and add the rest. Fold until it is incorporated and no more egg white pockets can be seen.

Assemble the Cake

Make the chiboust right before you are ready to assemble the cakes.

Line 3"x2" ring molds with acetate or parchment paper. Place the ring molds on a sheetpan lined with parchment.

Place a disk of coconut dacquoise on the bottom of the ring molds. Pipe in some chiboust. Another layer of coconut dacquoise and finish with the chiboust. Smooth out the top with an offset spatula and refrigerate until it solidifies.

Cut strips of acetate or parchment paper to fit the circumference and height of the ring mold.

Temper white chocolate couverture and spread a thin layer on these strips. Wrap the cake with the white chocolate strips and return to the refrigerator.

Remove the acetate or parchment before serving and top with berries and a dust of powdered sugar.

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Candied Kumquat and Pistachio Financiers

Citrus season is in full bloom here in Florida and you will be seeing a lot of it in this blog. Tangelos, grapefruits, navels, key limes, kumquats... all of it. After several weeks of chocolate, big dinners and over-indulging, I am so excited to be making lighter and more refreshing desserts. Just the colors alone can lift up anyone's mood and kumquats are particularly beautiful to look at. It's almost like nature knows we are in great need of a good detox right after the holidays.

Kumquats are small with a sweet skin and very tart flesh and for those of you who have never tasted them, you will be surprised to know that they are eaten whole, skin and all. They are filled with tons of seeds so I find that the skin is often times more appetizing than the flesh itself and they are perfect for candying.




My 2 1/2 year old son has been helping me around the kitchen lately. As soon as he sees me take out eggs out of the refrigerator, he brings over his step stool and says "I want to help". It is so adorable... We worked on a simple chocolate cake together a few days ago and I will share those photos with you soon.

Financiers are so so simple to make that I thought they were the perfect little cakes to make with him. He got on his step stool, helped me weigh and mix the ingredients and felt like it was the biggest accomplishment of his life. The following day when I baked them, he stuffed about three in his mouth and couldn't stop eating them. Just priceless. So if you have children, I encourage you to bake with them. It can be great fun.



I also want to apologize for the overuse of pistachios in this blog, but I just cannot help myself. They make everything so much better...

Candied Kumquats

100 grams sugar
100 grams water
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded
1 pint of kumquats

Bring some water to a boil in a small saucepan (enough to cover the kumquats) and add the kumquats. Blanch them for about 30 seconds and drain them. Discard the water. Repeat the process two more times. This will eliminate any bitterness from the kumquats.

Make a simple syrup with the first three ingredients by bringing them to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the blanched kumquats and simmer for about 15 minutes in low heat. You can drain them, let them dry and coat them in sugar or you can store them in the simple syrup in the refrigerator.

Pistachio Financier

120 grams egg whites
125 grams sugar
Zest of half a lemon
55 grams flour
25 grams almond meal
30 grams pistachio meal
150 grams unsalted butter, browned and strained, cooled

Cook the butter in a small saucepan until it starts to foam and dark particles start to form on the bottom of the pan. It will smell nutty. Strain the butter and let it cool.

Whisk the first six ingredients together in a bowl. Slowly add the brown butter and whisk until it is incorporated. Let the batter rest in the refrigerator overnight.

Pipe batter into silicon mold, top with candied kumquat and bake at 375F for about 10 minutes or until golden. Time will vary depending on the size of the mold.

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Rosca de Reyes and Galette des Rois

Holidays can be difficult for me since I am so far away from my family and many traditions that I miss. Although today is no longer a holiday in the US, it is a big day in many countries around the world. It is the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Epiphany.

On this day, we got to eat Rosca de Reyes, which is a brioche dough, that is shaped in a circle, topped with candied fruits and it comes with a surprise mini figurine inside. In our family, whoever got the slice of rosca with the figurine had to do the dishes for an entire day. It was a fun day that wrapped up the Christmas season.




A few years back, my French chef Sebastien introduced me to the "Galette Des Rois", which is a traditional tart composed of puff pastry and frangipane also eaten on Epiphany. I couldn't resist making this since I had some leftover puff pastry in the freezer. For the filling, I went with a pistachio frangipane because if you have not noticed, I have a bit of an obsession with pistachios.

My friend Helen told me that in the South of France where she is from, they also have a similar cake called "Couronne des Rois". Check out her version here.



This year, we celebrated Epiphany a few days early because life was going to go back to normal after a couple of busy weeks. A slice of sweet pastry and good coffee is all I really wanted.

For the recipes, please click on all the links I provided. I hope you are enjoying the new year!

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Southern Weddings

Here is my little contribution to the latest issue of Southern Weddings magazine. I walked into Barnes and Noble yesterday and saw they had copies on their stands. It was pretty exciting. They have been great supporters of my work over at Southern Weddings so a big thank you to them. Check out their blog, love it!

Hope you are enjoying the new year!

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Southern Weddings

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Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection