Meyer Lemon, Lime and Quinoa Pudding Cakes and Thoughts of Hope

It seems frivolous and inhumane to talk about food when not far from here, there are thousands and thousands of people fighting for their lives and the lives of their families. Watching the images that are coming from Haiti break my heart. I'm sure yours too. Such a poor country doesn't deserve this. It's hard to understand why the poor always suffer, but perhaps it should be a wake up call to all of us who do have our families with us, who do have a home and a roof and a bed to start appreciating this moment more. Because this moment is all we have.

I have worked with many Haitians in my restaurant and hotel days and they would always share horror stories of survival and hunger. My heart goes out to all of them.



There are many ways we can all help a little bit. I made my donations here. The blogging community has quickly risen up to the circumstances and many people have organized fund raisers and donations. You can visit here and here.

I would say that I would love to dedicate this post and these pudding cakes to all of those in despair, but that seems cruel in a way. I don't know how I feel right now. I think the only way to feel should be empathetic and hopeful.



The limes for these pudding cakes came from my neighbor N.'s tree. She kindly shared them with me when the frost of last week almost destroyed all plants, herbs and anything that was growing around here. We put them to good use in these super light, almost souffle-like gluten free pudding cakes.



Meyer Lemon, Lime and Quinoa Pudding Cakes

makes about 8 4 oz ramekins

2 egg yolks
185 grams whole milk
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp lime zest
30 grams meyer lemon juice
30 grams lime juice
100 grams sugar
25 grams quinoa flour
pinch salt
2 egg whites

In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, lime zest, lemon juice and lime juice.

In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt and quinoa flour. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk.

Whip the egg whites until medium peaks form. Fold a third of the egg whites into the batter. Add the rest and fold gently.

Pour the batter into the greased ramekins. Fill them to the top. Place the ramekins on a deep baking pan and bring the pan to a 325F preheated oven. Pour hot water into the baking dish enough to cover the ramekins half way. Bake for about 25 minutes until set.

Post Title

→

Meyer Lemon, Lime and Quinoa Pudding Cakes and Thoughts of Hope

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2010/01/meyer-lemon-lime-and-quinoa-pudding.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Johnny Iuzzini's Chocolate Chiboust and Meyer Lemon Tart

I have a confession to make. I have a cookbook addiction. I collect cookbooks. I do not always read them, but I like to have them, touch them and see them on display. Strange since I am not a collector at all and I cannot live surrounded by clutter, but cookbooks... I cannot help myself.

About 6 or 7 months ago, I read that Johnny Iuzzini (executive pastry chef at Jean-Georges) was coming out with a new cookbook. I immediately pre-ordered it and waited and waited impatiently for months until I received it in the mail. The book is outstanding. Divided into seasons and ingredients, just like I would have written it if I ever wrote a book. Amazing photography, modern simplicity and surprisingly, very accessible to even those who might not have professional expertise. And then, there is the obvious. Just take a look at the cover.




The combination of chocolate and lemon is one of my favorites. A perfect balance. When I saw his recipe for chocolate and meyer lemon tarts, I had to make it, mainly because I had some meyer lemon curd leftover from one of my last recipes.

I was especially intrigued by the chocolate chiboust that is baked on top of the tart creating a souffle-like effect. It develops a thin skin but the inside remains very, very airy, just like a chiboust should be. The thin chocolate tart crust with the creamy meyer lemon custard and the airy chocolate chiboust is just perfection.

Post Title

→

Johnny Iuzzini's Chocolate Chiboust and Meyer Lemon Tart

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2009/03/johnny-iuzzini-chocolate-chiboust-and.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Meyer Lemon Semifreddo and Some Macarons

As you know, I had a bag full of meyer lemons that I received over the weekend. After reading all your suggestions, all I can say is that I wish I had a couple more bags. My brain was spinning with all of those ideas. Sometimes I wish certain fruits were available all year round but again, there is something so exciting about waiting. It makes us appreciate that moment even more.

I have been having fun lately playing around with different presentations of the same recipe and for some reason, I keep coming back to frozen desserts and macarons. It must be the Spring-like weather we are having.

Sometimes I think that I could really just spend my days making macarons. All colors and flavors, a la Pierre Herme or Stephane Glacier. Have the windows wide open, a cool breeze coming in and piping all day long while I listen to The Beatles' "White Album".



I decided to make a simple meyer lemon curd with all those lemons and turn that curd into a meyer lemon semifreddo. Some in ring molds and some in my over-used recycled yogurt containers. Yes, I know. Overused. But so lovely.

For the macarons, I used my regular macarons recipe but added yellow food coloring and some zest. For the filling, I mixed about two thirds vanilla buttercream with about a third of the lemon curd and some extra zest. So refreshing and colorful. Can you tell I love yellow?



Meyer Lemon Curd

100 grams eggs
35 grams sugar
100 grams meyer lemon juice
Zest of 1 meyer lemon
10 grams butter, room temperature

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, juice and zest. Cook this mixture in a double boiler until it thickens (84C).

Strain into a clean bowl and chill it over an ice bath until it is about body temperature. Add the room temperature butter and mix with a hand blender until an emulsion is form (it will turn a bit lighter in color). Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pate a Bombe

110 grams sugar
30 grams glucose
55 grams water
40 grams egg yolk

Place the egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer and start whipping until light and thick.

In the meantime, place the sugar, glucose and water in a small saucepan and cook to 240F. Add the sugar syrup to the whipped yolks in a slow and steady stream pouring on the side of the bowl. Continue whipping in high until egg yolks thick and cooled.

Meyer Lemon Semifreddo

110 grams pate a bombe (about the full recipe described above)
6 grams sheet gelatin
80 grams meyer lemon curd
Zest of 1 meyer lemon
220 grams heavy cream, soft peak

Soften the gelatin in ice water for 5 minutes. Add about 3 Tbs of the heavy cream to the softened gelatin and microwave for about 10 seconds until the gelatin melts into the cream. Add this gelatin into the rest of the soft peak heavy cream and whisk rapidly until the gelatin is incorporated.

Fold a third of the heavy cream into the pate a bombe and mix well. Fold in the rest gently.

Fold the meyer lemon zest and curd into the base leaving some streaks visible.

Pour into molds and let it set in the freezer.

Post Title

→

Meyer Lemon Semifreddo and Some Macarons

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2009/02/meyer-lemon-semifreddo-and-some.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Beautiful Things That Friends Bring

We spent the weekend camping and when we returned home, we had a beautiful surprise at our door step. My friends know how much I love fruit. Little things that make me happy.

Any guesses on what I will be making with these?

Happy Monday!

Post Title

→

Beautiful Things That Friends Bring

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2009/02/beautiful-things-that-friends-bring.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Of Meyer Lemons, Souffles and Romance

There is something exciting about a souffle. The anticipation, the perfect timing, its delicate nature... I would even say there is something romantic about a souffle. Yes, I said it, romantic. Souffle for two is romantic.

This is a roux based souffle, which yields a super creamy interior, almost like a custard. This is the basic recipe I use always, but this time, I flavored it with limoncello and what else but meyer lemon curd. Oh yes, and some pistachio and meyer lemon shortbread cookies. It couldn't be any other way.




It seems like souffle has been on everyone's mind this week (as seen here, here, and here). Maybe Valentine's Day being around the corner has something to do with it? I have to admit that I have never celebrated Valentine's. (I'm sorry all you dreamers and romantics out there), but all these images might have influenced me a bit.

So can you share with me, does souffle speak of romance to you?



Meyer Lemon and Pistachio Shortbread

110 grams butter
30 grams powdered sugar
Zest of 1 large or 2 small meyer lemons
1 Tbs meyer lemon juice
140 grams flour
2 grams fine sea salt
30 grams pistachios, chopped

Cream the butter and powdered sugar until light. Add the zest and juice and mix. Add the flour and salt and mix until combined. Add the chopped pistachios and finish mixing.

Roll dough into a log that is about 2" in diameter. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.

Cut the dough into disks that are about 1/4"-1/2" thick. Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

Lemon Curd

100 grams eggs
35 grams sugar
100 grams meyer lemon juice
Zest of 1 meyer lemon
10 grams butter, room temperature

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, juice and zest. Cook this mixture in a double boiler until it thickens (84C).

Strain into a clean bowl and chill it over an ice bath until it is about body temperature. Add the room temperature butter and mix with a hand blender until an emulsion is form (it will turn a bit lighter in color). Refrigerate until ready to use.

Meyer Lemon Souffle

90 grams butter
110 grams bread flour
400 ml whole milk
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
90 grams sugar
125 grams lemon curd
15 grams of limoncello
Butter, room temperature
Sugar

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the bread flour and cook for about 2 minutes to make a roux. Add the hot milk and whisk It will thicken to a paste. Transfer this mixture to a clean bowl. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, continue mixing the roux base to cool it down slightly before we add the egg yolkd. When steam stops coming off but it is still warm, add the egg yolks one a time and mix.

In the meantime, start whipping the egg whites. When they are medium peaks, start adding the sugar slowly. Whip to stiff peaks.

Add the lemon curd and limoncello to the roux and egg yolk base. Fold in a third of the meringue to the base and mix to lighten it. Add the rest of the meringue and fold gently.

Brush inside of ramekins with room temperature butter and coat the sides with sugar. Fill the ramekins with souffle base almost to the top.

Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes depending on the size of the ramekin.

Post Title

→

Of Meyer Lemons, Souffles and Romance

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2009/02/of-meyer-lemons-souffles-and-romance.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

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.

Post Title

→

Chocolate and Meyer Lemon Love

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2009/01/chocolate-and-meyer-lemon-love.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

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.

Post Title

→

Coconut, Meyer Lemons and White Chocolate

Post URL

→

http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2009/01/coconut-meyer-lemons-and-white.html

Visit Merci Madame for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection