Daring Bakers and Rushing Through a Cheesecake

As you are reading this, my little one and I are on a transatlantic flight home, or perhaps even there by now.

This month's Daring Bakers challenge almost didn't happen for me, but I couldn't let that happen after skipping last month's lasagna recipe. I rushed through it and didn't really have a chance to experiment much, but I did it and that's what counts, right? Or so I hope!



The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

We were given free range to try different flavors, presentations and decorations. I had a bit of pistachio paste leftover, but not enough to flavor the entire base, so I decided to make "bi-color" cheesecakes. Half pistachio and half vanilla with a chocolate cookie crust. Topped it with chopped pistachios and spun sugar. Although with the humidity here, I'm not sure if that was a smart idea.



After I made this base, I realized I still had a lot of raspberries leftover that needed to be eaten before our trip, so decided to make a small batch of cheesecake base and flavor it with some dried rose leaves that my friend Deb brought back from Morocco. She is such a sweetheart.

I thought cheesecake popsicles would be fun for the kids. Make sure to infused the heavy cream with the rose leaves for about 5 minutes, strain it and cool it before adding it to the base. The amount depends on personal preference as not many people like strong floral taste in their desserts, especially children. Also add fresh raspberries to the cheesecake base at the end.

I baked the cheesecake in shot glasses at 300F also in a water bath and they turned out great.



I promise to share photos from our trip soon. Laster arte!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

Chocolate Cookie Crust

2 cups / 180 g chocolate short dough crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar

Cheesecake Base

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1/4 cup pistachio paste

Preheat oven to 320F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

Place ring molds on a deep baking dish lined with parchment paper. Then we will place this baking dish inside a larger deep baking dish that will hold the water bath.

Mix together the crust ingredients and press a couple of tsp into individual ring molds. Set aside.

Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice to the cream cheese base and cream until smooth.

Divide the cheesecake base into two bowls. Add the pistachio paste to one and mix well.

Pour pistachio base half way up into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the pan that holds the ring molds.

Bake 15 minutes, until it is semi set but not completely baked. Remove from oven and pour the remaining vanilla cheesecake batter on top of the pistachio. Tap gently and return to oven and finish baking for another 20 minutes or so.

Let the cheesecake cool in the ring molds and refrigerate overnight before unmolding.

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Kids, Raspberry Cupcakes and Traveling Home

This weekend we are leaving for a two week trip home. I will be traveling alone with our little one and then C. will join us a week later. I have always been one to travel light and never took long to pack and go. Things have changed now, so the days before we travel overseas, I have to make sure I have everything in place so that we have a successful, smooth trip.

It has been busy around here, but I wanted to make sure we had one last play date with our good friend S. Blowing bubbles, balloons, spring weather and of course, cupcakes.



When Jill was here, she introduced me to xylitol. I had seen it at Whole Foods before, but never baked with it. Because I always try to cook and bake very healthy for kids, I decided to make the cupcakes with xylitol and fresh raspberries.

I didn't notice much of a difference once the cupcakes were baked. Xylitol is coarser than granulated sugar so when creaming the butter, there is a slight difference and perhaps doesn't become as fluffy, but the final product had great texture and what's most important, no after taste.



I will be blogging during this trip and will keep updating with photos from our trip. We will be definitely eating here, shopping here, visiting here and hopefully, watching this. I hope the weather helps. The Basque Country in Spring can be quite unpredictable!



Raspberry Cupcakes

adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

4 oz butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups xylitol
2 cups self rising flour
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg whites
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Cream the butter and xylitol for about 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and mix. While continuing to mix, add the flour and milk alternatively, finishing with the milk. Mix until incorporated.

Separately, whip the egg whites to semi stiff peaks and fold them into the batter gently. Fold in the raspberries.

Divide the batter amongst 24 baking cups and bake at 350 for about 14 minutes until done.

Vanilla Buttercream

150 grams of egg whites
300 grams of granulated sugar
450 grams of room temperature unsalted butter
1 Tbs vanilla extract
Natural red food coloring

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 hot to the touch. It will look like light marshmallow.

Bring bowl to the electric mixer and whip until stiff peaks form and the bottom of the bowl feels cool.

Add butter, a tablespoon at a time while whipping. It might look like it is curdling at one point but continue to whip until it comes together.

Add vanilla extract and red food coloring and mix until incorporated.

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Orange and Brown Butter Madeleines, Spring Get Together and Friends

C. and I have always liked to entertain and cook for our friends. After all, I come from the land where everything is discussed, solved and celebrated around a table of good food. But ever since we became parents, it has not been so easy to keep that up. Our nights end at 8pm, dinner can be a messy fare and time for long chats is limited to five minutes. But this weekend, we managed to plan a get together with close friends, which was much needed. Not too many, only ten, which given the circumstances is a perfect number.

For dessert, I had planned a "build your own" sundae bar with homemade chocolate chip cookie crumbs, candy bars, fruit toppings. I also made these orange and brown butter madeleines to finish the meal with coffee and tea, but unfortunately, no one ever made it to dessert.




I came up with this recipe years ago while I was working at my first fine dining restaurant and still attending culinary school. My chef at the time held that ship tightly and never gave any of us any freedom to try anything new (and of course, I don't blame her). But one day, she let me play around and turned a regular madeleine recipe into this one with the addition of lots of orange zest, almond flour and brown butter. Needless to say, I was very excited and everyone seemed to enjoy them.

A few days later, I was taking a petits fours class with a well known pastry chef and the subject of madeleines came up. He said to the class, "as far as I'm concerned, almond flour and brown butter only belong in financiers and you will never see that in any of my recipes". You can imagine the embarrassment. I deflated then and there. Some chefs really had the ability to do that to me.



Orange and Brown Butter Madeleines

6 eggs
250 grams sugar
Zest of 1 orange
2 tsp vanila extract
225 grams cake flour, sifted
110 grams almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
250 grams butter, browned and cooled

Start by making the brown butter. Place the butter in small saucepan and heat until it starts to bubble and sizzle. Watch it closely as it will start to brown soon after the sizzle diminishes slightly. When it smells like roasted nuts and the bottom of the pan is brown, remove the pan from the heat, strain the butter and let it cool.

Place the eggs, sugar, orange zest and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip until light and thick, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, almond flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Slowly add the brown butter as the machine is running. Let butter incorporate into the batter and continue adding it.

Remove bowl from mixer and fold with a spatula to make sure all ingredients are well mixed. Let it rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Pipe batter into madeleine molds. Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes (when "bumps have appeared), reduce oven to 375F and continue baking for 5 more or until browned.

Post Script- I just want to clarify that this chef never had mean intentions. He didn't even know that I had made these madeleines. He was simply voicing his opinion. He happens to be a super sweet chef who is always ready to share. I just had to clarify that. Thank you!

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Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Cream Bars

When I had the idea to make these bars, I started browsing through my compilation of recipes. Then I realized that it will be three years next month that I stopped working in a professional kitchen. That thought paralyzed me momentarily and I felt like saying the same thing my mom always says "where did time go".




The passion fruit and milk chocolate cream recipes come from the last chef I worked for. He won several awards with an entremet he composed of tropical fruits, milk chocolate and caramel. It was definitely one of the most popular desserts we had and the one with most elements.

This is definitely a different version as it only contains two, passion fruit and milk chocolate cream with a base of milk chocolate sponge. I love the pairing of the two and I also applied that to the macaron filling with Pierre Herme's passion fruit and milk chocolate ganache recipe.



And the leftover mousse is also great in a mini cup. Just for when you need a little something. Have a great weekend!

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Tomato Pate Feuilletee and an Easter Picnic

I have really been on a salt craving lately. I even had patatas en salsa verde for a mid morning snack today, so this tomato tart was quite the treat. I know I don't share much of my savory cooking in this blog, but I'm a pretty good cook if I may say so myself.

Ever since I read about Pierre Herme's latest composition called Revelation, I have been so intrigued by the pairing of all these flavors. It is composed of tomato pate feuilletee, vanilla and olive oil mascarpone cream, tomatoes, strawberries and black olives (you can read Veron's review here). Interesting, but perhaps a bit too complex for me right now, so I decided to try the tomato puff pastry alone.



We spent Saturday morning at the farmer's market where they had an egg hunt for the little ones. Mayhem didn't even come close to explaining how crazy it was. We did find some great tomatoes and leafy greens, which was great considering the market will come to an end in a couple of weeks.

We had a picnic afterwards although we didn't make it far. Just right outside our house with some fresh fruit, my favorite Izze clementine sodas and the tarts.




I don't have Chef Herme's specific recipe for the tomato pate feuilletee, but made it following his pate feuilletee inversee recipe and adding tomato paste to it. I have tried his plain recipe before and it is one of the flakiest ever.



I made a large rectangle tart with a mascarpone and ricotta filling and topped with roasted tomatoes, kalamata olives and fresh herbs. For the small ones, I thin slices of fried potatoes and layered them with the roasted tomatoes and onions. All of it topped with crunchy sea salt, of course.



Tomato Pate Feuilletee Inversee

400 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
175 grams all purpose flour
50 grams tomato paste

With the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the tomato paste and mix. Add the flour and mix until combined.

Scrape the mixture into a large sheet of plastic wrap and form a square that is about 6 inches (15 cm) wide. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

185 grams water
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white vinegar
420 grams all purpose flour
115 grams butter, melted and cooled

Place the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. While the mixer is on, add the melted butter and mix until starts to combine. It will be lumpy. Mix the water, salt, vinegar together and slowly add it to the flour while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until it starts to come together. Depending on the flour, you might not need to add all the water. The dough should be the consistency of soft tart dough.

Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and shape it into a square that is about 2 inches smaller than the butter block. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Place the chilled butter block on a well floured marble surface (best). Roll it to a rectangle that is about 12"x7". Place the flour block on the middle half and fold the rolled butter block on top. Seal the edges well. make sure the block that is inside reaches out to all corners. Press it gently if you need to. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for another 2 hours.

To make the first turn, roll the dough on a well floured surface to about 21"x7". The size doesn't really matter that much as long as the dough is three times the length as the width, Give it its first book fold by folding one end of the dough to the middle, the same with the other end. Fold the dough in half at the center. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 2 more hours.

Place the dough on a cold surface. The open edges should be to your left and right. Roll and repeat with a second book fold and refrigerate overnight after this.

The following day, give it its last turn but this time it will be a letter fold. Roll the dough three times the longer than its width. Fold one end so it covers the middle third of the dough and fold the other end over it. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Roll the dough to about 1/8" thickness. Refrigerate the dough for another 30 minutes before cutting. You can also freeze the rolled puff pastry at this point. Just cut it into rectangles that will fit into your sheetpan and place parchment paper in between the sheets so they do not stick in the freezer. It will last up to a month in the freezer.

Roasted Tomato, Ricotta and Mascarpone Tart

4 heirloom tomatoes, various colors if possible
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
100 grams whole milk ricotta
25 grams mascarpone
2 Tbs parmesan, freshly grated
1 egg
1 tsp salt
Fresh basil
Fresh oregano
kalamata olives, small diced

Cut a rectangle of tomato puff pastry that is about 10"x6". Place on a sheetpan lined with parchment and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Cut the tomatoes into 1/4" slices. Place the slices on a sheetpan lined with parchment. Sprinkle the tops with fresh ground black pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. Let them cool slightly before assembling the tart.

Place the ricotta in a fine strainer and let it sit over a bowl. Press lightly with a spoon to remove some of the excess water. Mix ricotta, mascarpone, parmesan, egg, herbs and salt in a bowl.

To assemble the tart, spread the cheese mixture over the puff pastry leaving about a 1" border on each side. Place the tomatoes on top. Bake at 400F for about 30 minutes. When it comes out, sprinkle with some sea salt and the diced kalamata olives. Serve warm or room temperature.

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Strawberry and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Floats

It is strange to think that Spring has begun but it is already the end of strawberry season for us. From now on, juicy strawberries will most likely be arriving from California and we will have to wait another nine months to go strawberry picking again.



I think I told you about the family of kid farmers that has a stand at our farmer's market, the Veggie Kids. I managed to get a dozen of fresh farm eggs this weekend and I decided we could make some strawberry and vanilla bean ice cream to end the strawberry season.



A couple of nights ago, Jill and I were talking about our favorite comfort foods, diner foods and childhood favorites. She was telling me about how much she loves root beer floats and what a treat they are for her. I have to be honest, I always thought that root beer tasted like medicine but that might be because I didn't grow up drinking it. I never even knew what it was until I came here for the first time.

Unlike me, Jill is not much of an ice cream fanatic, but I thought she would enjoy some ice cream floats with fresh berries, strawberry vanilla bean ice cream and citrus flavored sparkling water. And she did.



Strawberry and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

500 grams whole milk
140 grams heavy cream
40 grams glucose
150 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
120 grams egg yolk
175 grams strawberries, hulled and diced
40 grams sugar

Place the whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla bean, glucose and half of the first amount of sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolk and the other half of sugar in a medium bowl. Temper the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. Return this to the pan and cook to 84C or 183F. Strain the ice cream base through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and chill over an ice bath. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

In the meantime, cook the hulled and diced strawberries with the 40 grams of sugar in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate.

Churn the vanilla ice cream base in the ice cream machine. When finished, add the cooked strawberries, mix and transfer to a container and freeze.

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Roasted Rhubarb, Strawberry, White Chocolate and Pistachio

We finally got a glimpse of sunshine here today. It has been stormy for the last few days, which always seems to put a damper on all my Spring plans. However, rhubarb is abundant on the produce shelves and that is always a reminder that Spring is here. It has such a short season that I feel I have to take full advantage of it while I can.

I made these pistachio, roasted rhubarb, strawberry and white chocolate petits gateaux about a week ago, but had not had a chance to enjoy them until last night.




I always seem to poach rhubarb in a simple syrup and then eat it with plain yogurt. That is for some reason encrusted in my brain, but this time I decided to roast it. Roasted fruit is one of my favorite things indeed.

I didn't notice that much of a difference between poaching and roasting as far as texture and flavor. The rhubarb didn't completely caramelize because of the amount of water in it but it did maintain a very vibrant color which seems to dissipate when poached.



Jill was of course first to taste them. She was honest and seemed to like the different components, but said it lacked texture, so that's when the macarons came into play. I had these leftover in the freezer from when I made the strawberry and vanilla bean macarons. Always good to have them handy.

And then there are these ranunculus. My friend M. is the florist at Whole Foods and always seems to bring the best ones out for me from the back. Love her.



Pistachio Joconde

makes quarter sheetpan

52 grams almond flour
53 grams pistachio flour
75 grams powdered sugar
25 grams flour
125 grams eggs
92 grams egg whites
37 grams sugar
17 grams butter

Place this first five ingredients in a bowl of an electric mixer. With a whip attachment, whip this mixture until a thick ribbon forms, about 5 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and wash the electric mixer bowl and whip attachment.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of the electric mixer and whip until a light meringue starts to form. Slowly, sprinkle in the sugar and whip until semi-stiff peaks form.

Mix a third of the meringue into the first mixture. Add the rest of the meringue and fold gently. Add the melted butter and fold until it is all incorporated.

Pour the batter into a quarter sheetpan lined with parchment paper and spread the batter into an even layer. Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes or until it starts to form a light color on top. Let it cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cut disks of cake that are the same diameter of the ring mold you will be using. About 8 3-inch rings.

Roasted Rhubarb

300 grams rhubarb, cut into 2 inch strips
40 grams sugar

Toss the rhubarb with the sugar and place on a baking pan. Bake at 375F for about 15 minutes or until it is soft and slightly caramelized.

Process it into a fine puree while hot. Let it cool in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Roasted Rhubarb Mousse

250 grams roasted rhubarb puree
20 grams sugar
5 grams gelatin sheets
250 grams heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Warm half of the puree with the sugar until sugar dissolves. In the meantime, soak the gelatin in ice water to soften it. Add the softed gelatin to the warm puree. Add the rest of the cold puree and mix.

Fold in the whipped cream into the puree base until well combined.

Place the mousse in a piping bag and pipe on top of the pistachio joconde and freeze until set.

Strawberry Gelee

300 grams strawberry puree
60 grams sugar
5 grams gelatin sheets

Warm half of the puree with sugar. In the meantime, soak gelatin in ice water to soften it. Add the softened gelatin to the warm puree. Add the rest of the cold puree and mix well.

Pour a thin layer on top of the frozen rhubarb mousse and freeze until set.

White Chocolate Chantilly

200 grams heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
100 grams white chocolate, melted and slightly cool

Add a third of the whipped cream into the bowl with the melted and cooled chocolate. Whisk vigorously. Then add the remaining cream and now, fold gently with a spatula.

Place chantilly in a piping bag and top the ring mold with it. Using an offset spatula, level the tops. Freeze or refrigerate depending on when it will be eaten.

Top with a quenelle of sweetened vanilla whipped cream, chopped pistachios and macarons.

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