Rushing Through a Chocolate Truffle Cake

Yesterday was Jill's birthday and I had the best intentions in the world to make a beautiful cake for her, but I have been juggling too many things at once and it just didn't come out as I had envisioned it. A bit sloppy, but full of good wishes.

I wish I could share more photos. Soon. Happy Birthday Jill!

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Rushing Through a Chocolate Truffle Cake

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Lemon Cream Cookies for Jill

As I told you in my last post, my best friend Jill and her son Connor are staying with us for a few days. For years now, Jill has been obsessed with anything citrus, particularly lemons. She lives in Colorado so she never really gets to taste anything I make, but when she reads on my blog that I made something with lemon or even lemon and pistachio, I get a text message saying "you are killing me!".



Jill loves the lemon cream shortbreads that Whole Foods sells under their Bakery line. It's her little addiction, so of course, when we went to Whole Foods a couple of days ago, she had to get a box. I wanted to explain to her that those can be so easy to make and even wanted to challenge her to do a blind tasting between my lemon cream cookies and them.

Even C. got involved. I placed the store-bought cookies on one plate and mine on another. It only took two bites and they made up their minds. You can imagine the rest. Oh... these two really know how to make me happy!



The filling is swiss buttercream that is flavored with lemon zest, lemon oil and sandwiched between two lemon spritz cookies. The cookies are piped into rosettes and baked to a light golden brown. They are very buttery and crumbly and in my opinion, they get better the following day.



Lemon Spritz Cookies

110 grams butter, room temperature
90 grams sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp lemon oil
Zest of 1 lemon
180 grams flour
2 grams salt

Cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon oil together until well combined. Add the yolks and mix until combined. Add the flour and salt and mix.

Place the soft dough into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe rosettes onto a sheetpan lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350F for about 12 minutes or until lightly golden.

Let them cool completely and fill with the lemon buttercream.

Lemon Buttercream

75 grams egg whites
150 grams sugar
225 grams butter, room temperature
Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp lemon oil
Juice of 1 lemon

Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place the bowl over a double boiler. Whisk the egg whites and sugar until the sugar starts to melt and the egg whites appear very white and light, almost like a light marshmallow. It should be very hot to the touch.

Remove the bowl from the heat and place in electric mixer. Whip until meringue forms and the bowl feels cool.

Add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time. Add the juice, oil and zest. It might appear as the buttercream is separating. Continue whipping until it comes together.

Post Script- I am so sorry to be missing this month's Daring Bakers challenge. I have been so busy... lame excuse, I know. I will be here next month though. I promise. Please check out what other DBers have been up to.

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Lemon Cream Cookies for Jill

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Simple Chocolate and Raspberry Pots de Creme

It has been a very busy couple of weeks and I feel I have not had enough time to answer all your comments and emails. I apologize for this and please bear with me. I have taken on a couple of new assignments that have left little time for any other recipe development or photography.

Even through all the coming and going, I did manage to bake some simple chocolate and raspberry pots de creme to fill my custard craving. The stress and the rainy weather always make me crave the simple things like bread and cheese, good soup and chocolate. Chocolate in anything.




My best friend Jill and her son Connor are also staying with us for the next few weeks so we have been really trying to spend as much time as we can with them while they are here.

Connor is on a gluten, dairy and soy free diet so unfortunately, he cannot taste many of the things I make. However, I did promise Jill I would teach her how to make pot de creme using alternative milks. We will be trying hemp milk soon and I hope I get to share those recipes with you.

In the meantime, here is this one. Hope you are having a great week.



Chocolate and Raspberry Pot de Creme

225 grams whole milk
225 grams heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
40 grams sugar
85 grams egg yolks
160 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
Raspberries, fresh or frozen

Bring the milk, cream, vanilla bean and half of the sugar to a boil. Pour this over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is competely melted.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the other half of the sugar. Temper the hot chocolate mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Strain the custard through a fine sieve.

Place some raspberries into ramekins and pour the custard into them. Place the ramekins on a sheetpan and bring this to a preheated 300F oven.

Place the sheetpan in the oven and pour hot water in the sheetpan. Bake the pot de creme in the water bath until center is set. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

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Simple Chocolate and Raspberry Pots de Creme

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Welcome Spring with a Rhubarb Flan and Pistachio Crumble Tart

The first things that come to mind when I think of Spring are cherry blossoms, morning dew and rhubarb. Growing up, I always looked forward to the few sunny mornings we got during Spring. Winter always seemed to linger far too long and when we had one full day of sun without rain, we rushed outside to play. I remember waiting anxiously for the trees to start to blossom and to start getting the first fruits and vegetables of the season.

Even though now I live in a warm climate where the change of seasons is very mild, I still feel the same excitement I did back then when I see new produce arrive or new flowers being planted. This week I spotted my first rhubarb and my head started spinning with all the possibilities.



There are many rhubarb desserts to come, but I really had to start with some kind of custard component. I hope you forgive me for all the eggs and milk that you will be seeing in this blog, but I am still not through with my custard craving.

So here is a tart made with vanilla bean sugar dough, poached rhubarb, vanilla bean flan and pistachio crumble. I love the tart rhubarb against the warm vanilla and the creamy interior with the crunchy topping. Let me warn you, this is best eaten slightly warm.

Have a great weekend!




Vanilla Bean Sugar Dough

250 grams butter
125 grams powdered sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 egg
370 grams flour
2 grams baking powder
3 grams salt

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla bean together. Add the egg and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl. add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until dough comes together.

Form the dough into a disk, flatten it and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least two hours.

Roll the dough to about 1/16"-1/8". Cut circles larger than your tart rings and fill the rings with the dough. Place the filled tart rings in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Poached Rhubarb

200 grams water
100 grams sugar
75 grams rhubarb cut into 2 inch pieces

In a small saucepan, make a syrup with the water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Turn heat down to barely simmering and gently poach the rhubarb in the syrup for about 3 to 5 minutes until the rhubarb is soft but still keeps it shape.

Remove the rhubarb from the syrup and drain. Be careful not to mush it too much.

Flan

100 grams heavy cream
50 grams whole milk
75 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped
3 eggs
20 grams cornstarch

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream, whole milk, half of the sugar and the vanilla bean to a boil.

In the meantime, whisk the eggs, rest of sugar and cornstarch together. Temper the hot cream into the egg mixture and whisk until combined. Strain through a fine sieve and cool over an ice bath.

Pistachio Crumble

100 grams unsalted butter
100 grams sugar
100 grams flour
125 grams pistachios, chopped
pinch of salt

Cream all ingredients together in an electric mixer. It will be crumbly. Place on a cookie sheet or in an air tight container and refrigerate over night.

Assemble the tarts

Start by blind baking the tart shells. Place a square of parchment paper on top of the dough and fill the ring with beans or pie weights. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Drain the poached rhubarb really well and fill the pre-baked tart shells with it. Fill the tart with the flan mixture and bake in a 300F oven for about 5 minutes until it is slightly set.

Place the crumble on top of the flan and finish baking at 350F for about another 10 minutes until golden.

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Welcome Spring with a Rhubarb Flan and Pistachio Crumble Tart

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Pistachio and Grapefruit Macarons and a Pot De Creme Craving

When I was thinking about my Paris inspired post for Deb, I immediately went to the refrigerator and started separating eggs and scaling the ingredients for macarons. I later decided to go with croissants, but made the macarons regardless. How could I have a dessert related post about Paris without macarons?

It seems like there is always a large crowd of friends ready to taste whatever new flavor combination comes out of my kitchen. Although, I have to say, my macarons are pretty conservative compared to the new trends and all the experimentation that is going on in the world.




The filling on these is a white chocolate, campari and a citrus ganache that I adapted from Pierre Herme's "Macarons". I am not a big fan of white chocolate, but I do enjoy it when paired with citrus or any sour fruit. I added a bit of grapefruit zest to the shell along with pistachios.

Because I have been in an inexplicable craze for all things custard, I made small pot de cremes scented with lemon thyme. It is time for me to replant all my herbs. Unfortunately, the chamomile plant I very much love didn't make it through the winter, but the lemon thyme is still hanging in there.



Grapefruit and Pistachio 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 sugar
1 tsp grapefruit zest, finely grated
few drops of red food coloring
few drops of yellow food coloring
chopped pistachios

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 sugar slowly while whipping. Add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring and continue whipping to stiff peaks.

Add the dry ingredients and the grapefruit zest 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. Sprinkle the tops with chopped pistachios. 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 10 minutes and rotate sheetpan and bake for another 5 minutes.

Let the macarons cool on the sheetpan.

Grapefruit, Campari and White Chocolate Ganache

adapted from Pierre Herme's "Macarons"

10 grams lemon juice
55 grams grapefruit juice
22 grams orange juice
25 grams campari
210 grams white chocolate

Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler. Make sure not to heat it too much or it will burn.

Combine the juices and campari and warm them to about 110F (45C). Add the juice mixture slowly into the chocolate while whisking. Mix the ganache with an immersion blender for about 3 minutes to obtain a good emulsion. Pour onto a quarter sheetpan or square cake pan. Place plastic wrap directly on the ganache and refrigerate overnight.

Lemon Thyme Pot de Creme

1 liter of heavy cream
10 egg yolks
200 grams sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 grams (about 3 Tbs) of fresh lemon thyme leaves

Place the heavy cream, lemon thyme leaves, lemon zest and half of the sugar in a medium saucepan.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar. Temper the hot cream over the yolks and whisk until well mixed. Strain the custard through a fine sieve to get rid of any coagulated egg yolk.

Place the ramekins you are using on a roasting pan or a sheet pan. Pour the custard into the ramekins and bring them close to the oven. Pour hot water in the roasting pan or sheet pan and place in the oven.

Bake in the water bath at 300ºF until the center of the custard doesn’t giggle when we shake the pan.

Let the ramekins cool a little bit, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.

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Pistachio and Grapefruit Macarons and a Pot De Creme Craving

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Flickr Favorites and Guest Blogging at Tartelette's

This is the second time I am a guest blogger this week. I'm next door today. Come and see!

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Flickr Favorites and Guest Blogging at Tartelette's

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Dreaming of Paris, Croissants and Bonbon

Today I am a guest blogger at Deb's. She went to Paris for a little trip and all I wanted to do was to sneak in her luggage. I am dreaming of Paris, Spring, the last time I visited the city and the amazing croissants we had every morning for breakfast. Please visit here to read the full story.

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Dreaming of Paris, Croissants and Bonbon

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Pavlova, Berries and Spring

My good friend B. always says I tend to speak of the past too much, that I am too nostalgic. He might be right. Not that I don't enjoy the present or that I don't look forward to the future. Not at all, but nostalgia is a sweet place I go to when I miss my family.

I remember the first time I ever made pavlova out of a recipe I found in a British magazine clipping. It was one of those early Spring days with cool temperatures, but sunny blue skies. Later that day, I had plans to go see one of my good friends who I secretly had a crush on. He and I would have tea, go for a walk and listen to music. Nothing special, but for some reason that day really has stuck in my memory.



After last week's craziness, I really needed some time to walk and get fresh air. I took my time and reflected on the things that are important to me and really started paying attention to my surroundings. I realized why people love to come to Florida this time of year. It is just perfect. So green and lush with perfect temperature.

I thought of that Spring morning about 13 years ago when I made my first pavlova and decided I needed to make it one more time. It had been a while.



I made some milk chocolate chantilly to go with the pavlova. Our strawberries are so sweet right now and with the slightly sour raspberries, this was a real treat. I hope you had a good weekend too.



Pavlova

120 grams egg whites (about 4 egg whites)
pinch of salt
100 grams granulated sugar or superfine sugar
100 grams powdered sugar, sifted
15 grams cornstarch, sifted

Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip on medium speed until they are whipped to about soft peaks. Slowly sprinkle in the granulated sugar while continuing to whip. Whip to medium peaks.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the sifted powdered sugar and cornstarch.

Place the meringue in a piping bag and pipe rounds or spoon some of the meringue on to a sheetpan lined with parchment paper.

Bake in a 250F oven for about 45 minutes. You should be able to gently lift the meringues from the parchment without sticking. Turn the oven off and let them sit in there for another 10 minutes or so.

Store them in an airtight container until ready to assemble the dessert.

Serve the meringues with a dollop of milk chocolate chantilly and fresh berries.

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.

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Pavlova, Berries and Spring

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Spring Love

I am afraid I do not have a recipe for you today. It has been a very busy week (sick little boy included), which hasn't left much time for baking.

I have Spring fever and have been filling my house with color and flowers. I thought I would share this photo I took a couple of days ago. Aren't ranunculus the most beautiful? Ez thought so too.

I also wanted to tell you about my new crush. I am in love with this book.

Have a great weekend!

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Spring Love

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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.

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Johnny Iuzzini's Chocolate Chiboust and Meyer Lemon Tart

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