Raspberries N' Cream Dessert Table

One of the best things about summer is probably the abundant fruit. When I was approached by Project Wedding to develop and photograph a summer dessert, I immediately envisioned something with berries, fresh and colorful. Here is the raspberries and cream themed dessert table with raspberry and yogurt mousse cakes, raspberries and cream macarons and raspberry meringue kisses.




You can get the recipes and read the rest of the story here.



Hope you like it!

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Raspberries N' Cream Dessert Table

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Berry and Coconut Bakewell Tarts and the Daring Bakers

The summer months always seem to fly by much faster than the rest of the year. Having my little boy off from school and trying to keep him busy is always a full time job. Daily trips to the pool or story time at the library are the activities occupying most of my time these days and I like it like that. I remember as I child how I always looked forward to the month of August when my parents took a month off and we spent the entire time camping.

All this to tell you that I am not baking as much lately, but I had to make time for this month's Daring Bakers challenge which are these delicious Bakewell tarts that I brought with me to a dinner that some friends were hosting.



I took advantage of the great looking berries we found at the market this week, made a blueberry compote to go inside the tarts and topped that with coconut frangipane and fresh berries. The lukewarm tarts just melt in your mouth. Perfect.

Hope you are enjoying the summer and have a great weekend!



And the mandatory words.... The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Sweet shortcrust pastry

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Blueberry Compote

200 grams fresh blueberries
100 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
pinch of chinese five spice

Place the blueberries, sugar, vanilla bean and spices in a medium saucepan and cook until blueberries pop pen and the compote starts to thicken, about 10-13 minutes. Let it cool before filling the tarts.

Coconut Frangipane

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) dark rum
60g (4.5oz) ground almonds or almond meal
65g shredded coconut, unsweetened
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the dark rum and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts, coconut and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Assembling the tart

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of compote onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

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Peach Crème Caramel, Amama and Summer Memories

One thing I didn't tell you about in my last post is how my trip to Boston also had a bittersweet note to it. The afternoon before I left, my grandmother, my amama Miren passed away in her sleep. It was not a sudden event and in a way, we were expecting it, but having to leave so quickly and being so far away from the rest of my family really didn't allow for me to mourn her passing until I came back home.

As I am writing this, there is some sadness left in me, but mostly, I am simply thankful for having the opportunity to have known her as I did. She was a quiet, hard working woman who endured difficult times in her life, but somehow managed to always have a positive outlook and a smile to share.



As I was thinking about her this morning, many memories of my childhood with her crossed my mind. Endless hours watching her cook and bake at the pastry shop. Simmering milk, kneading brioche late in the evening when everyone else had already left for the day, peeling apples or just simply blowing our noses.

But there is one summer that I remember clearly when we took a day trip to the small town of Sartaguda to visit my uncle who had rented a summer house by a peach orchard. I must have been about 6 or 7 years old. I remember the car ride there and resting my head on her abdomen and how much I liked doing that. She held my hand while we walked and spoke about her garden when she was growing up. I remember how she picked the peaches right off the tree and cracked them open with her hands to feed them to me.



She was a fantastic cook and baker, but if I had to pick a dessert that described her essence, this would be it. Custard, caramel and summer fruit, her favorites. And so this is for her, for my amama Miren who taught me so much more than I could have ever imagined.



Caramel

250 grams sugar
60 grams water

Have an ice bath ready.

Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook until a medium amber caramel forms. Immediately shock the pan in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Pour the caramel amongst six jars. Let the caramel cool and harden before proceeding.

Peach Custard

Note: If peaches are very ripe and juicy, they should be slightly cooked first to eliminate some of the extra water, otherwise the custard might turn too watery.

500 ml heavy cream
500 ml whole milk
200 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
3 eggs
5 egg yolks
3-4 peaches, peeled and diced into small pieces

Place the heavy cream, milk, half of the sugar and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and rest of the sugar. Temper the hot milk mixture into the eggs while whisking. Strain the custard through a fine sieve and let it cool in an ice bath slightly. I like to leave the custard in the refrigerator for a couple of hours so all the foam rises to the top and then it is easy to skim off.

Divide the diced peaches amongst the jars and pour the custard over them. The fruit will rise to the top and that is ok.

Place the jars in a water bath and bake at 300F for about 30-40 minutes or until the center is set. Let them cool completely before serving.



Agur amama. Nire bihotz-bihotzetik.

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Returning from the International Food Styling and Photography Conference

I returned from Boston Monday night. The conference left me overwhelmed, exhausted, but most importantly, inspired. It has taken me a couple of days to gather my thoughts and organize in my head what it is I saw, heard and learned. I was trying to think about what I should share with you and the essence of it all and believe me, it has not been easy. So much...



I arrived in Boston early Friday morning. I wanted a full day to explore the city and meet up with my good friends Nadia and Ainara (who came up from NYC for the day... she is the lovely girl in the photo). Time flew that day and I didn't manage to get much done, but we did make time to visit Tatte Bakery, which is one of the places I wanted to visit before leaving Boston. Charming little place with the largest biscotti I have ever seen and delicious cinnamon rolls.



The conference opened early Saturday morning with one of my favorite sessions from the entire weekend. Award-winning photographer Christopher Hirsheimer and stylist Melissa Hamilton, who run The Canal House studio, won me over with their presentation called "Unplugged - Creating your own world". They spoke of their special partnership, which reminded me how important finding the right team is and how eventually I would like to work in an environment of trust like theirs.

They had a very independent attitude, putting emphasis on how important it is for a photographer or stylist to create and set their own language. One thing they said and I really related to was "please your eye and aesthetics and the rest will follow". It resonates with me as it's the only way I can work.



Soon after that, Mel Mooney of Saveur and stylist John Carafoli spoke about the fine, often times blurred line that divides editorial and commercial food styling and photography and touched upon real cases in which commercial advertising campaigns were approached with an editorial point of view.

Saturday afternoon, stylists Marcela Sorondo from Argentina and Claire Ferguson from the UK spoke about Global Style and the role culture and cultural subtleties play in food styling.

And the final session of the day was lead by stylist and organic farmer Stef Culberson and photographer Mette Nielsen who approached the subject of sustainable styling and tips on how to eliminate waste, increase efficiency and apply green practices such as taking into account seasonality, placing emphasis on local farms and artisans, ordering the minimal amount of food needed for a shoot, etc. They also shared a slideshow of their beautiful work.



I have to say that one of the highlights of the day for me was to be able to meet Lara Ferroni, one of my favorite food bloggers and food photographers that I have been following from the beginning. Her blog "Cook and Eat" is full of beautiful images, recipes and always fun. And who doesn't know "Still Life With" right? It has definitely been one of my number one resources when learning about food photography.

Lara and I had dinner that night and talked about food, how it has brought us where we are today, how we approach blogging and life in general. This was the first time in probably three years that I was able to go out to dinner with a friend and enjoy the conversation without being interrupted or having to rush through it so it was delightful to say the least.



I was really looking forward to the first session on Sunday because super talented stylist and photographer Bea Peltre of "La Tartine Gourmande" would be one of the speakers. She had a beautiful, brief but effective presentation about her work and her approach to food blogging. One of the things that I've known all along, but she reminded me of again was that food blogging must have somewhat of a personal touch, it must be authentic and it must create a bond of trust with the reader. So true.

Right after that, stylist Delores Custer, Lorna Rhodes and photographer Steve Adams discussed the importance of keeping once visual awareness and great resources for continuous inspiration.

After lunch, Harold McGee spoke about what is new in the molecular gastronomy world and I was happy to see him feature several Basque chefs whose restaurants I have visited.

By this point, I have to admit my head was about to explode with so much information. I wanted to run home right away and start implementing all the ideas that kept bombarding my head, but we still had two more sessions to go. Maxine Kaplan made us all very jealous with her one of a kind prop house in New York. I have never seen anything like it in my life. And finally, photographers Mette Nielsen, Pornchai Mittongtare and James Tse shared their work and inspiration with us.

I was ready for dinner and some fresh air after that, so Lara, Bea, Pascale (who I met at the conference for the first time... sweet as can be) and I headed off to dinner at "Rendez-vous" in Cambridge. Great place.



Finally on Monday, we headed to Francine Zaslow's studio for the workshop we had been waiting for. What a beautiful space this was! It left us all dreaming. Full of props, movable walls, equipment that I wouldn't even know how to use and a full kitchen.

Another one of the food photographers I truly admire, Deborah Jones came from San Francisco for the workshop. Her work includes many (or at least the best) Thomas Keller's cookbooks like "French Laundry", "Bouchon" and "Under Pressure".

The premise of the workshop was to be able to see the entire work flow of a photo shoot, from the cooking, to the styling, to the shooting and the post production. Francine who has a very artistic and even sculptural style would shoot using strobes and Deborah would use natural light exclusively. They had three stylists cooking for them and it was amazing watching them work.



I had to leave the workshop a bit early to catch my flight back home and I probably missed one of the most important parts, the Q&A. It was an exceptional day though and I hope I get to participate in something like that again.

I think as days go by, new thoughts will re-emerge in my head and I will be able to share them with you as I go. Also, read Lara's review of the conference. She has great insight as well.

More to come soon!

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Returning from the International Food Styling and Photography Conference

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International Food Styling and Photography Conference in Boston

This weekend I will be traveling to Boston for the International Food Styling and Food Photography Conference that will be held at Boston University. It will be an intense three-day conference with some of the world's best professionals and I cannot wait.

After years of working in pastry kitchens, I came upon styling and photography almost by accident, but it really has been one of the best things that has happened to me. This weekend, I hope to learn some more new tricks and get insight on how others plan and work. It will be interesting.

I will be back next week with notes and hopefully behind the scene photos. And, let me know if any of you are attending. It would be great to meet you!

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International Food Styling and Photography Conference in Boston

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Stone Fruits, Baking Tarts and the Giveaway Winner

I have to admit that every year, I have a hard time adjusting to the summer season here in the South. Once we enter the rainy season, it gets very, very hot, humid and stormy. We spend a lot of time in the pool and indoors away from the scorching sun. Baking becomes almost like a luxury as we try not to over-heat the house too much. But summer also means stone fruit season and that makes it all worth it.

This weekend we found the ripest and most beautiful nectarines and white peaches. I saved some for sorbet and used the rest for tarts. I couldn't resist.



Because I love both custard and frangipane tarts and because I cannot choose one over the other, I decided to make a little bit of both. I used the nectarines for these super simple nectarine and pistachio frangipane tarts and cherries for cherry and cinnamon flan tarts. Both creamy and very flaky.

Even though sometimes I like to experiment with flavors and I am very intrigued by new techniques and cooking methods, I have to admit that a slightly warm fruit tart with some vanilla ice cream is all I could ever ask for. My ideal way to end a meal for sure.



And finally, what most of you might be waiting for... the winner of the raspberry powder giveaway is ibb of Living in a Matchbox (please contact me so I can get all your information). Thank you everyone for participating and commenting. I should have little giveaways like this more often!



Short Dough

Makes enough for about 12 3-inch tart rings

250 grams butter, room temperature
125 grams powdered sugar
1 egg
Zest of 1 orange
370 grams flour
2 grams baking powder
3 grams salt

Cream the butter and the powdered sugar together. Add the zest and the egg and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and paddle well.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.

Divide the dough into two disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Flatten the disks slightly with your hands. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and if it's too hard to roll, let it come to room temperature for about 10 minutes. Roll to 1/8" thick. Cut circles that are larger than your tart rings. Fill the tart rings and place them on a sheetpan lined with parchment.

Let the filled tart rings rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours so the dough relaxes and doesn't shrink in the oven.

Pistachio Frangipane

200 grams butter, softened
200 grams sugar
2 eggs
60 grams flour
200 grams pistachios, ground to a fine meal

Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg. Scrape and mix well. Add the flour and the ground pistachios and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.

If you are only going to use a little bit of bit, you can freeze the leftovers for up to 2 months.

Assemble the Pistachio and Nectarine Tarts

Dock the bottom of the tarts lightly.

Place the pistachio frangipane in a pastry bag fitted with a pastry tip (#5) and fill the tarts about halfway.

Cut thin slices of nectarine and place them on top of the frangipane. Press them lightly into the frangipane.

Bake the tarts at 375F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cherry, Cinnamon and Vanilla Flan Tarts

100 ml heavy cream
100 mil whole milk
6 egg yolks
50 grams sugar
5 grams cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
Cherries

Use the same short dough recipe but this time, use ring molds that are a bit higher. Fill the ring molds with the rolled short dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Dock the bottom of the short dough, line the inside with parchment, fill with dried beans and blind bake for 15 minutes at 350F.

Prepare the flan filling by whisking together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Add the heavy cream, whole milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Whisk until incorporated. Strain this custard through fine sieve.

Cut and pit the cherries. Fill the pre-baked tart shells with the cherries. Make sure you fill them to the top. Pour the custard into the tarts and bake them at 325F for about 20 minutes until bubbly and set.

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Raspberry and Pink Peppercorn Macarons and a Little Giveaway

Every time I go home, I come back with a spare suitcase full of food and ingredients. This time was no different. A few blocks of Idiazabal cheese, over a dozen large cans of tuna in olive oil, jars of cooked beans, spices, recycled yogurt containers and a large bag of freeze-dried raspberry powder. This was a bit of a surprise since this is not a common ingredient in our traditional cuisine, but a good surprise nevertheless.

So this week when I had a request for macarons, I decided to put it to good use and pair it with the sweet and delicate spiciness of pink peppercorns.



Last year, I made pink peppercorns macarons served with strawberry sorbet that ended up being a hit.

If you have never had red berries with a touch of pepper, you should definitely try it. It adds a new dimension and brings out the flavors. The pink peppercorns are so mild that when mixed with the sweet buttercream and the raspberry macarons shell, it just becomes more like an aromatic layer rather than a spicy flavor. Hard to explain, but definitely a must-try. Even my little guy loved them and he is a picky one.



You can definitely make your own raspberry powder by drying some fresh raspberries and processing them, but this stuff I brought back is very, very fine with an amazing red color.

I will be sharing some of it with you. All you have to do is leave a comment from now until Friday June 5th and I will be choosing the random lucky number over the weekend. And maybe I will throw a couple of more goodies in there as well. Good luck!



Raspberry Macarons

140 grams egg whites
3 grams egg white powder
80 grams sugar
180 grams almond flour
240 grams powdered sugar
2 grams salt
7 grams freeze-dried raspberry powder
2 drops 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, sea salt and raspberry powder. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites with the egg white powder until very fluffy, almost fully whipped. Start adding the sugar slowly while whipping. Add the 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. The tops must be dry when you touch them.

Have the oven preheated to 350F degrees. Place one sheetpan in the oven at a time and reduce the temperature to 300F degrees. Bake for 8 minutes and rotate sheetpan and bake for another 5 minutes.

Let the macarons cool on the sheetpan.

Pink Peppercorn Buttercream

100 grams egg whites
200 grams sugar
300 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp (or to taste) finely ground pink peppercorns

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together egg whites and the sugar lightly. Place over a water bath until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Bring bowl to the electric mixer and whip until stiff peaks form.

Continue whipping until the bowl feels cool. Add butter, a tablespoon at a time while whipping. It might look like it is separating but continue whipping and it will come together.

Add the ground pink peppercorns and taste.

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