Sweet Potato, Yogurt and Hazelnut Cakes

Our little M. turns two weeks old today and our lives have forever changed. We have been spending a lot of time inside, nesting, enjoying the quiet time and resting when the little bean sleeps. I am so thankful to have my mom here to cook healthy meals for us. I don't know how I would do it without her, really.

I also have to thank you all for all the wonderful comments and words you left for us in the last post. It's overwhelming and very, very touching. We really appreciate it.



I slowly started baking again over the weekend, but at a much slower pace as the little one requires so much attention and needs to be nursed often. I had forgotten so much about this stage in a baby's life and I feel like I'm learning everything all over again. She is also a very different baby than J. was. Perhaps an easier baby? Or maybe I'm more relaxed about it all.



I made these sweet potato, homemade yogurt and hazelnut cakes a week before M. arrived. I actually had to make them twice because the first time I made them, they disappeared so quickly that I had none to style and photograph. These were definitely a hit. Moist, crunchy and spicy. I even turned some into cupcakes with a simple mascarpone and mace icing.

Right before the birth, I told you about my yogurt making craze. I made yogurt about every other day and enjoyed it in so many different ways like the maple and yogurt panna cotta, these sweet potato cakes or just plain with some caramelized apples and pistachio crumble. My kind of healthy and comforting snacks.



Sweet Potato, Yogurt and Hazelnut Cakes

300 grams sweet potato puree (from about 2-3 medium size sweet potatoes)
100 grams brown sugar
50 grams sugar
3 eggs
100 grams homemade yogurt (or whole milk store bought)
100 grams vegetable oil
Zest of half an orange
160 grams flour
40 grams hazelnut flour
4 grams sea salt
4 grams baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
130 grams hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
30 grams hazelnuts, chopped for topping

Place the sweet potatoes in a baking dish and bake at 400F for about 45 minutes to an hour until flesh is fork tender. Let them cool, cut them open and scoop out the flesh. Puree it.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, hazelnut flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sweet potato puree, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, yogurt, oil and orange zest. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk until combined. It will be a runny batter. Fold in the toasted and chopped hazelnuts.

Pour the batter in the molds (about 3/4 of the way full), sprinkle the top with chopped hazelnuts and bake at 350F until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Time will vary depending on the mold. For small loaf pans, about 22 minutes, the smaller individual molds about 17 minutes.

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Sweet Potato, Yogurt and Hazelnut Cakes

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A New Life

It's hard to believe that a week ago today, I was writing a post about pears and panna cotta and only four hours later, our little Miren Lili came into our lives. Excuse me if I sound overly romantic, but it truly was a miracle. She was born at home with the help of my friend and midwife Alanna who has been the best midwife I could have ever asked for. It was a peaceful and healthy birth.

We are quickly adjusting to having our little bundle. Having my parents here to help has been priceless. My mom is an amazing cook and has been spoiling us with healthy homemade meals. But as you might imagine, I haven't been baking much this week. I will soon as I am recovering quickly.



Thank you very much for all your emails and wishes and have a great Thanksgiving!

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A New Life

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Maple and Homemade Yogurt Panna Cotta with Poached Forelle Pears

I cannot believe that I am actually writing this post in between was seems to be early labor. Contractions have been happening on and off for the last few hours and when I visited my midwife this morning, she said this baby is well on her way. I never thought I would be blogging or tweeting through this (so unlike me), but the excitement is way stronger than I anticipated. I believe nature is wise and that my body was actually waiting for my parents to arrive to really get things going.



I made this panna cotta a couple of days before my parents actually arrived, but I knew I had to freeze some for them to taste. Poached fruit is one of my mom's favorite desserts and I have fortunately inherited that from her. So simple and light.

It had been a while since I made homemade yogurt, but for some reason, I have been at it again lately. I've been using yogurt in almost everything and I love the touch of acidity that it adds to the panna cotta. It's a beautiful contrast to the sweet and dark maple syrup.



So this is it for now. Short and sweet. Like I said before, now we just have to let life happen. I will be back shortly with news, more recipes and photos to share. Thank you very much!



Poached Forelle Pears

300 grams sugar
600 grams water
2 vanilla beans, split
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tbs fresh ginger
8 forelle pears, peeled


Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. Turn heat to low and poach the pears (they may not al fit at once) until tender, about 15 minutes.

Maple and Homemade Yogurt Panna Cotta

500 ml heavy cream
150 grams dark maple syrup
4 sheets of gelatin
250 ml homemade yogurt

Place the heavy cream and maple syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a light boil. In the meantime, soak the gelatin sheets in ice water until soft, about 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatin and add it to the hot cream. Stir to dissolve.

Transfer the cream to a clean bowl and let it cool to body temperature. Add the yogurt and stir. Pour into containers and refrigerate until set.

Serve with the poached pears, maple syrup and some chopped pistachios.

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Maple and Homemade Yogurt Panna Cotta with Poached Forelle Pears

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Forelle Pears

My friends know me well.

I received these as a gift a couple of days ago and today I poached them in a spice sugar syrup and served them with maple syrup and homemade yogurt panna cotta. It really put me in the holiday mood as I realized there are only two weeks left before Thanksgiving.

I am getting the house ready for my parents to arrive this weekend and then just waiting for life to happen. And thank you everyone for your emails and comments with all your well wishes!

Will be back with the recipe and photos soon!

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Forelle Pears

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Churros with Spiced Chocolate Bisque to Satisfy a Late Pregnancy Craving

I believe a few weeks ago, I told you that I don't usually like fried desserts or that I have not had much of a chocolate craving as of late. Well, I must take all of that back as this week I fried up the largest batch of churros and cooked the richest chocolate bisque I have made in a long time. We were able to open all windows this week and let the cool autumn breeze come in. Most of you are probably bundled up in scarves and coats by now, but we have had an unusually warm month (even for Florida), so this was a great feeling.



As I approach the last couple of weeks of this pregnancy, all I want is to be comforted and have all the ones I love close. C. returned from his trip to Montana and now we are getting ready for my parents to arrive.

One night while C. was giving me a much needed foot rub, we were talking about memories and my family back home. Suddenly the thought of chocolate con churros hit me. Cinnamon sugar churros dipped in a thick chocolate custard. "I must make them tomorrow", I said and so I did.



The traditional hot chocolate served in Spain doesn't contain eggs. It is a thick chocolate cream usually thickened with a bit of cornstarch or made with a special kind of chocolate that contains thickeners. This recipe is a bit like a creme anglaise flavored with dark chocolate, coffee, orange, fresh ginger, cinnamon and vanilla bean. It can be served warm or even cold, but I really like the churros dipped in a warm custard.

Churros

125 ml water
125ml whole milk
110 grams butter
pinch salt
large pinch sugar
150 grams flour
3 eggs

Canola oil for frying

Cinnamon sugar for coating

Place the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring this to a boil. Add the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a smooth ball.

Transfer this mass to the bowl of an electric mixer (or can do it by hand) and start mixing with a paddle attachment. When most of the steam has evaporated, add the eggs one at a time. Mix until it comes together to a smooth thick mass.

Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (#5).

In a wide pan that has tall sides, pour about 3" deep of canola oil. Heat it to 350F. When it reaches the temperature, pipe the batter into the oil and cut with scissors. Fry them until golden brown. Remove the churros from the oil and roll them in cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately.

Spiced Chocolate Bisque

500 ml heavy cream
200 ml whole milk
100 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
1 star anise
1 stick of cinnamon
Zest of 1 orange
3 slices of fresh ginger
5 grams cocoa powder
3 grams instant coffee powder
6 egg yolks
135 grams dark chocolate, chopped

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, sugar, vanilla bean, star anise, cinnamon, orange zest and fresh ginger. Bring it to a boil. Turn the heat off and let it steep for about 10 minutes. Return the mixture to a boil and add the cocoa powder and instant coffee powder. Whisk well.

Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and temper the milk mixture into them while whisking. Return this mixture to the sauce pan and cook for a couple of minutes while constantly stirring until lightly thickens.

Place the finely chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Place a fine sieve over the bowl and pour the custard over the chocolate. Mix until all the chocolate is melted and you have a smooth cream.

Can be served warm, room temperature or cold. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It will thicken when it cools.

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Churros with Spiced Chocolate Bisque to Satisfy a Late Pregnancy Craving

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Zoe's Gluten-Free Brioche, Poached Egg Salad and Some Chocolate and Praline Crunch Panini

Last week, after a couple of rather rough days, I received an unexpected package in the mail that really made my day. Zoe sent me copies of her two baking books "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day" and "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day". As you know, I am a cookbook addict and nothing makes me happier than discovering new books, especially if they are written by friends.

I started browsing through them right away and one recipe in particular caught my eye, the gluten-free brioche. I have experimented with gluten free baking before, but usually in recipes that are easy to adjust and that the gluten content is not the main requirement for its success. Bread baking is a whole different game though and I was intrigued to see what the texture of a brioche made mainly with cornstarch would turn out to be.



So I used our Halloween morning get-together to experiment with the recipe. The brioche has great flavor and texture and it is so easy to make that it even surprised me.

We had beautiful farm eggs that morning and what a better way to showcase their freshness than by poaching them. This technique immediately lets you know how fresh an egg is by just seeing how much it stays together once submerged in the poaching liquid. The yolks were so bright and colorful that really, there is no better ingredient for brunch.

Served the poached eggs on toasted slices of the brioche with a salad of watercress, purple basil and thinly sliced Granny Smith apples. I had some toasted hazelnuts from before so I though a mustard and toasted hazelnut vinaigrette would make the perfect dressing. So much flavor and texture.



I reserved some of the brioche to make hazelnut, chocolate and praline crunch panini. I don't have a panini maker so I just spread some organic, store-bought hazelnut and chocolate spread on slices of brioche with some praline crunch and toasted them on a griddle. It really was a decadent way to finish this Halloween weekend. I wish I could show you the kids' faces covered in chocolate and praline.



Gluten-Free Brioche

adapted from "Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" by Zoe François and Jeff Hertzberg

Makes enough bread for three 1.5 lb loaves

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch (tapioca flour)
3 3/4 cups cornstarch
2 Tbs granulated yeast
1 Tbs kosher salt
2 Tbs xanthan gum
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup honey
4 eggs
1 cup neutral flavor oil
1 Tbs vanilla extract
Egg wash
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Whisk together the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, yeast, salt and xanthan gum in a 5 qt bowl.

Combine the liquid ingredients and gradually mix them into the dry using a paddle attachment until there are no dry bits of flour.

Cover and allow the dough to rest for 2 hours. The dough can be used now or refrigerated for up to 5 days.

On baking day, grease a 8.5"x4.5" pan. Break a 1.5 lb piece of dough and shape it into a round. Wet your hands as the dough will be sticky. Elongate the dough into an oval and put it in the pan. You might need to wet the top a bit to smooth it out. Let it rest for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you are using non refrigerated dough).

Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle raw sugar right before baking. Bake at 350F for about 40-45 minutes.

Toasted Brioche, Poached Egg, Watercress and Apple Salad

Serves 4

8 slices toasted gluten-free brioche
4 eggs (preferably farm fresh)
2 cups watercress
Bunch of purple basil
2 Granny Smith apples, thinly slices
Few drops lemon juice
Water for poaching eggs
1 Tbs white vinegar
Mustard and toasted hazelnut vinaigrette

Poach the eggs. Bring 3 qts of water and the vinegar to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Break off the egg into a ramekin and gently submerge the egg in the simmering liquid. Do not let the water boil and only cook 1 or 2 eggs at a time. Cook for about 2 minutes or until white has coagulated but yolk is still liquid. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Thinly slice the apples and drizzle with some lemon juice so they don't oxidize.

Place 2 small slices of toasted brioche on a plate. Garnish with watercress, purple basil and thinly sliced apples. Place the poached egg on top and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Drizzle the mustard and toasted hazelnut vinaigrette on top.

Mustard and Toasted Hazelnut Vinaigrette

2 tsp mustard
2 Tbs minced shallot
2 Tbs hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs olive oil

Place the mustard, minced shallots, hazelnuts, balsamic and apple cider vinegars in a bowl. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking creating a light emulsion.

Thank you Zoe for sharing with us!

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Zoe's Gluten-Free Brioche, Poached Egg Salad and Some Chocolate and Praline Crunch Panini

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