Arroz con Leche Creme Brulee and a Cause Close to my Heart

Everything about this post is very dear to my heart, starting with the arroz con leche and followed by the cause at hand. A few days ago, I visited one of my favorite blogs Make Life Sweeter. When I saw that Linda announced "Got Milk?", a blogging event in support of World Breastfeeding Week, I knew I had to participate. I have been a bit absent from blogging events lately, but I really wanted to bake for this one.

I try to not to be too militant in my life. I want to keep my eyes and mind open to opinions and points of view, but breastfeeding and the lack of it in many countries (including my own) is an important subject to me. I believe in the bond that breastfeeding creates, in its health benefits and the de-sexualization of breastfeeding. This is not about confrontation or about criticizing those who do not breastfeed, but about raising awareness in our community of the important benefits of breastfeeding. I have found that here in the United States, many more mothers than I expected breastfeed, however, breastfeeding in public is not always accepted. I think it's important to teach our communities how isolating it can be when a mother cannot breastfeed in public and it makes her feel like she is doing something wrong.



The premise of this event is to cook something with milk as the main ingredient. Of course, I immediately thought about arroz con leche and giving it a new twist by turning it into a creme brulee. I absolutely love the slightly caramelized milk when it's reduced with the cinnamon and vanilla bean and then finished with crispy burnt sugar.

Arroz con Leche Milk Base

2 liters organic whole milk
100 grams sugar
100 grams Valencia rice or arborio rice
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split
pinch of salt

In a large saucepan, heat the whole milk, the salt, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Heat the milk over medium heat stirring occasionally until it comes to a light boil. Add the sugar and the rice and reduce heat to medium low.

Cook stirring often for about an hour until the milk has reduced by almost half. We don't want the milk to boil, just lightly simmer (some small bubbles are ok).

Strain the milk through a fine sieve reserving the milk and discarding the rice, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Save for another use, if desired.

Arroz con Leche Creme Brulee

1 liter of the rice cooking milk
10 organic egg yolks
50 grams sugar

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar. Temper in the hot milk and whick until combined. Strain this custard through a fine sieve. Pour into ramekins. Place the ramekins on a sheetpan and bring it to the oven. Once it is in the oven, pour some boiling water in the sheetpan to create a water bath. Bake the custard in a 300F oven until the center sets. The time will depend on the size of your ramekins but for a 4 oz ramekin, it will take approximately 30 minutes.

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Arroz con Leche Creme Brulee and a Cause Close to my Heart

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Roasted Plums with Tarragon Ice Cream

I have been in a fresh herb kick lately. I think I have neglected them for a very long time and I don't know why. I love them just as much as I love fresh flowers. I respect them for their medicinal benefits and for what they add to food. I feel I have been redeeming myself and all I can think about are fresh herbs.

The first time I ever tried this ice cream was at a class I took with Sebastien Cannone from the French Pastry School and I will never forget it. Yes, it is delicious and perfectly balanced, but that is not the reason why. You see, I was assisting him in his class and I was asked to just get the mise en place ready for him. I had just started culinary school and I was very intimidated around all these professional chefs.

When I set myself out to scale the tarragon ice cream recipe, I think I forgot to zero out the scale at one point and I completely mis-scaled the entire recipe. Can you imagine how embarassed I was when he was cooking it and noticed the proportions were off? I thought that was the end of my professional career as a pastry chef. I thought, "what a disgrace, I can't even scale a simple recipe!" Well, he was a complete gentleman and didn't even say anything, just asked me to rescale it in a very polite matter. So I did. It worked and it was as perfect as I imagined it to be.



For those of you who have never tasted tarragon, I would say it is the licorice of the herb family. It reminds me a lot of licorice root or fennel. Very sweet and mild. I roasted the plums with a little bit of sugar (not much because they were very sweet naturally), vanilla bean, pink peppercorns and star anise which is also very licorice-y.

Sebastien's recipe has very specific guidelines on when to add ingredients, at what temperature, how to mix them... I didn't follow them as precisely but it turned out well, although not as smooth as when churned in a commercial ice cream machine. So the recipe below is not as accurate as his but it worked for me. Also, if you do not have access to some of these ingredients, you can make similar ice cream if you follow the recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago for mint chocolate chip. Just use tarragon instead.



Tarragon Ice Cream
adapted from Sebastien Cannone's recipe

490 grams whole milk
30 grams non fat dry milk powder
115 grams sugar
40 grams glucose powder
4 grams ice cream stabilizer
80 grams butter
5 grams fresh tarragon
60 grams egg yolks

Place the whole milk, tarragon, butter and milk powder in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil. In the meantime, whisk the sugar, glucose powder and ice cream stabilizer in a bowl. When the milk comes to a boil, add the sugar mixture and whisk. Return to a boil.

Temper the milk mixture into the egg yolks. Return this custard to the pan and cook while constantly stirring to 84C. Strain into a clean bowl through a fine sieve and cool completely over an ice bath.

Refrigerate for at least 12 hours so the ice cream matures properly. Churn in ice cream machine and freeze.

This recipe will be my entry for Mike's Table's "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Frozen Desserts". Remember you have until July 7th!

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Lemon, Orange and Almond Savarin Cakes with Grapefruit Sorbet

I have been feeling a bit nostalgic lately and I think it shows in my writing and the inspiration for my recipes...

Almonds remind me of my grandfather. I remember him sitting quietly on an aqua-colored stool we had at the bakery while he peeled kilos and kilos of blanched almonds. Both hands working at once, snapping the hot, blanched almonds between his fingers to remove the skin. Prune-like skin on his finger tips. I remember that clear as day.

This was done mostly around Christmas time to make marzipan and turron. The almonds arrived unshelled but with the skins still on them. They were quickly blanched in boiling water and placed on top of towels to drain while we peeled the skins off the almonds while they were still warm. This becomes an annual ritual and it is still done today.

My grandfather was a slim, meticulous and quiet man. Always liked to be surrounded by family. After all, my grandmother and he raised eight children. The bakery doors were always open and people would come and go all day long. Friends would pop in to say hello and move on with their days. My grandparents always welcomed everyone.

I grew up in the bakery. That's where we would go after school, that's where we spent our weekends but I never got to work alongside my grandfather. He started as an apprentice in the renowned patisserie Martina Zuricalday in Bilbao when he was 14 years old. He opened his shop in 1949 and he retired when I was still a child. I often times think how I would have loved to stand next to him and watch him do his craft. A true master. So this recipe is dedicated to the memory of my Aitite Angel who I adored with all my heart.




These cakes also known as pain de genes are made with pure almond paste, eggs and a lot of citrus zest. There's barely any flour so they are leavened by the air incorporated into the eggs. Very, very spongy and very, very citrus-y.

Of course I had to make some sorbet to go with it because it is scorching hot in Florida and since I had some grapefruit juice in the refrigerator, I thought I could make a sorbet with it and complete the citrus theme with a good finale. I used some of the sorbet to accompany the cake but I also piped some into shot glasses for a sorbet popsicle later on.

When you read through the sorbet recipe, I know many of you will just give up on me completely. Yes, I am using ingredients that are not available in the regular supermarkets. I apologize for that. I realize not everyone has access to these (I got them from L'Epicerie) but you must understand that this grapefruit recipe is the best one I have ever tried and so THIS one is the one I had to make. The atomized glucose which is powdered glucose, makes it completely creamy... hard to explain. There is no crystallization at all. For a conventional grapefuit sorbet recipe, you can use this one.

Lemon, Orange, Almond Pain de Genes

Makes a dozen savarins

200 grams almond paste (50% almond)
4 organic eggs
30 grams unbleached all purpose flour
3 grams baking powder
80 grams organic unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the almond paste, zest with 2 eggs (use paddle attachment at first). When this mixture has turned to a paste, add the rest of the eggs and switch to the whip attachment. Whip the almond paste and eggs to a ribbon (about 5 minutes). Add the flour and baking powder and mix. Add melted butter.

Place the batter in the refrigerator overnight. Place it pastey bag and pipe into savarin mold. bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Grapefruit Sorbet

250 grams unsweetened grapefruit juice
110 grams sugar
60 grams powdered glucose (atomized glucose)
200 grams water
2 grams sorbet stabilizer

Place water in a saucepan and heat slightly. Add the atomized gluzose, whisk and bring to a boil. Mix the sugar and the sorbet stabilizer in a bowl and add to the boiling syrup. Whisk and return syrup to a boil. Remove from heat.

Refrigerate the syrup for at least 4 hours. Add the grapefruit juice to the syrup and churn in ice cream machine. Freeze.

Candied Lemon Slices

1 lemon
50 grams sugar
50 grams water

Make a simple syrup with water and sugar. Cut the lemon into very thin slices, dip them in the cooled simple syrup and place them on a silicon mat. dry the lemon slices in a very low oven (about 200F) for about an hour. Store them in an air-tight container.







This dessert is my entry for this month's Sugar High Friday which is a blogging event founded by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess and this month's challenge is hosted by the lovely Helen of Tartelette.

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Matcha, Lemon and Chocolate Opera Cake

I'm not sure that I can call this cake an opera cake. Some purists might find it offensive. You see, the traditional opera cake is made with layers of joconde or almond sponge, coffee buttercream, coffee syrup and chocolate ganache. Opera cake is tradition and I hate messing with tradition. So ok, my cake has similar elements and it's built the same way so I will just say that is inspired by opera. Is that better?

This cake has layers of matcha and almond sponge, lemon buttercream and chocolate ganache and covered with a shiny chocolate glaze. I really wanted to use yuzu juice for the buttercream but I looked and looked and was not able to find it anywhere. I could have had to order it online but it would have taken too long and it is quite expensive. So I settled for simple lemon juice and enhanced it with potent lemon oil.

The matcha powder I have is from L'Epicerie and let me tell you, it is fine, fine, fine. Fragrant, delicate. I have to admit I don't use it very often but this time was well worth it. Some people are not very fond of a strong green tea taste but I think the lemon, the chocolate and the almonds really balance out the entire cake and even C. and my little boy enjoyed it.















Again, this might seem like a complicated cake to make by all the instructions that follow. It really isn't. OK, yes, it is more involved than making brownies let's say, but don't you like a challenge once in a while? I love my quiet time when my little boy naps. I am able to focus and build different elements of whatever recipe I am making. I didn't make this in one day, it is the work of several days, but I loved every second of it. Patience, patience.


Matcha Almond Sponge Cake

Makes 3 1/4-sheetpan sheets

160 grams almond flour
110 grams sugar
40 grams flour
15 grams matcha green tea powder
4 eggs
4 egg whites
55 grams sugar
30 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the first five ingredients. Whip in high speed for about 5 minutes until it becomes thick and the batter forms a ribbon. Transfer this batter to a large bowl and clean the mixer bowl.

In the electric mixer, whip the egg whites until it starts to form a meringue. Slowly sprinkle the 55 grams of sugar. Continue whipping until a stiff meringue forms.

Fold a third of the meringue into the almond batter. Add the rest of the meringue and fold carefully not to deflate it too much. Add the melted and cooled butter and fold until it is well incorporated.

Divide the batter equally into the 3 quarter sheetpans that we have previously lined with parchment paper and sprayed with pan spray.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes until it starts to turn a little brown. We don't want a brown cake. We want to keep the green color so remove the pans from the oven when the cake is baked and before it starts to change color. Let the cakes cool until we are ready to assemble the opera.


Lemon Buttercream

60 grams egg whites
120 grams sugar
180 grams butter, softened
25 grams lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon oil or 1/2 tsp lemon extract

Mix the egg whites and the sugar and place them over a double boiler while you whisk them together. The sugar will start to dissolve and the egg whites will start to turn white and fluffy. Continue whisking until the egg whites feel hot to the touch.

Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer and whip in high speed until light and fluffy and the bottom of the bowl doesn't feel hot anymore. About 3-5 minutes.

Start adding the softened butter by the tablespoon. Keep adding more butter as it is incorporated into the meringue. Once all the butter has been added, add the lemon juice and the lemon oil. It might look as if the buttercream has separated. Don't worry, keep whipping it because it will come together. Reserve until ready to use.


Chocolate Ganache

170 grams bittersweet chocolate (58% cacao)
170 grams heavy cream

Chop the chocolate into a bowl. Boil the cream and pour it over the chocolate. gently whisk the cream and the chocolate until the ganache is formed. Do not over whisk or it might separate depending on the type of chocolate you have used. We want the ganache to be liquid when we assemble the cake so I recommend making this right before or make it ahead of time and remelt it right before we are going to make the cake.


Lemon Simple Syrup

100 grams water
100 grams sugar
2 tsp lemon extract

Boil the sugar and the water until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add the lemon extract. Set aside.


Chocolate Glaze

110 grams bittersweet chocolate
110 grams coating chocolate
35 grams vegetable oil

Melt all the ingredients together over a double boiler and keep warm until we are ready to assemble.








Assemble the Opera Cake

The most important thing when you are building a cake with many components, is to set your self ready for success. That means, get your mise en place ready. Clean your work area of pots and pans and line all your components in front of you so you don't go crazy and you work clean. Working clean is 75% of the success in your final product. I promise!

So get your sponges ready, the melted chocolate glaze, the melted ganache, the room temperature buttercream, the simple syrup, an offset spatula and a rubber spatula.

Place the first sheet of matcha sponge on your working surface. It will still have parchment paper on the bottom of the cake. Spread a very very thin layer of chocolate glaze on the top of the sponge cake. Spread the chocolate very thinly over the entire surface of the cake with a metal spatula (offset spatulas work best). let this glaze harden.

When the glaze has hardened (you can even put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes), turn it over onto a sheetpan that is also lined with parchment paper. So at this point, the glazed side of the sponge is down and you are left with the old parchment paper facing you. Remove this paper and discard.

Soak the cake with the lemon simple syrup with the help of a pastry brush. Then spread a third of the buttercream over the cake with an offset spatula. It is important to have an even layer because when we cut the cake, we want it to look clean and straight.

After the buttercream, pour a third of the ganache over the buttercream and spread it evenly. Place a second sheet of matcha sponge over the ganache making sure that the parchment paper that was on the bottom is now facing up. Remove the paper and brush the top of the cake with the lemon simple syrup. Spread half of the remaining buttercream over the cake, then spread half of the remaining ganache over it. Place the last sheet of sponge on top. Brush with simple syrup, spread the last bit of buttercream on top and finish with the ganache. There will be a total of 3 layers of sponge, 3 of buttercream and 3 of ganache.

Refrigerate the cake until the ganache sets. Then, flip the cake onto the back of another sheetpan so it is raised and we can glaze it. Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate glaze over the top and let the excess run off the sides. Refrigerate it again so the glaze sets.

Cut it into rectangles and decorate with a dusting of sifted matcha powder and gold leaf. This is optional, of course.






This will be my submission to this month's Sugar High Friday hosted by La Petite Boulangette. This month's theme is Japanese patisserie which has really been the latest explosion. I just wish I could have gotten my hands into some yuzu juice... Maybe next time.




And on another note, Holly from Art You Can Eat just awarded this blog with An Award For Excellence. That is very thoughtful and appreciated. Thank you!






Now I want to pass this award on to ten bloggers who have been doing an excellent job baking, writing, commenting on life... very interesting.

La Cerise... The most labor intensive, croissant recipe tester out there. I applaud you for it!

My Sweet and Saucy... Beautiful cake and cookie decorating.

Pastry Studio... elegance and perfection.

Make Life Sweeter... Beautiful photos and recipes.

Cakespy... I get a sugar high every time I read this blog. Pure genius.

Pittsburgh Needs Eated... beautiful photos, elegance and non-stop baking over in Pittsburgh.

Eggbeater... fabulous photos and very, very interesting commentary about the life of a professional pastry chef.

Fields of Cake... another great cake decorator and all around baker with beautiful kids!

Veronica's Test Kitchen... fabulous macarons and French patisserie.

I Shot The Chef.. exquisite photos and great recipes.

Thank you to all those bloggers for doing what they do and I wake up every morning looking forward to my everyday sweet, blogging fix!

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Sugar High at Turtle River Montessori and Blogging for Babies

I have always been a conscious eater, trying to cook almost everything I eat myself, buying local as often as possible, etc. That's how I was raised. It was always a personal choice for me and never felt the need to have to convince others. Until I became a mother, that is. Having a child changed everything. I have become more socially conscious and I would say that I have become a crusader for better eating.

When I see what children eat in most schools nowadays, I start to really worry and I do not want that for my son. Us, parents, have hectic lives and sometimes food becomes another thing to worry about and we choose to take the "easy route" by buying prepackaged foods. I am not saying I don't ever buy prepackaged foods, because I do, but I always read labels and try not to take too many shortcuts.




I believe that healthy eating starts at home and children will do as they see and not as they are told. In that sense, I feel relief because I know that my children will learn to appreciate food because our family's love for it. I think there has to be a collective effort to really educate our children about food, where it comes from and good eating choices. Believe me, I am not talking about eating alfalfa sprouts or cardboard cookies. It's about the quality of ingredients, no matter whether it is chicken, tofu, ice cream, spinach or chocolate chip cookies.

I made these mini carrot cupcakes thinking about Stella and her classmates at Turtle River Montessori. Stella is my 4-year old, cutie pie neighbor who loves school. Each day of the week, one child is responsible for bringing healthy snacks for the rest of the class. They rotate so this happens about once a month. The school asks that children bring fruits and other healthy foods.

I wanted to make the snacks for Stella's class for the day she was the "snack girl". I wanted to show the kids that they can eat sweet treats that are made with wholesome and natural ingredients. So I decided to make mini carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I used all organic and natural ingredients of course, even the sprinkles are made with beet juice!





Carrot Cake


Makes 6 dozen mini cupcakes

12 oz organic demerara sugar
9 oz sunflower oil
4 organic eggs
8 oz organic whole wheat flour
0.2 oz baking soda
0.2 oz aluminum free baking powder
0.3 oz organic ground cinnamon
0.2 oz organic vanilla extract
13 oz organic carrots, peeled and shredded

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the sugar with the eggs and the oil for about 5 minutes until the eggs start to turn a little pale. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in the shredded carrot. Pour batter into cupcake papers and bake at 350 degrees.


Cream Cheese and Yogurt Icing

1.5 lbs organic cream cheese, room temperature
12 oz organic unsalted butter
8 oz organic raw agave nectar
5 oz organic whole milk yogurt
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
All natural pink sprinkles

In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese, butter and agave nectar until all lumps have disappeared. make sure to scrape the bowl a couple of times. Add the yogurt and the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Ice the cupcakes and add tons of sprinkles!!!

I was only able to photograph Stella eating them because when Stella's mom took the cupcakes to school, the teacher made the kids wait to eat them until recess. I really wanted some good, messy shots of the kids!




Keeping with the children theme, I wanted to tell you about Blogging for Babies which is a blogging event to support the March of Dimes walk this April. Holly from Phe/Mom/enon contacted me about this, so I would like to submit these mini carrot cupcakes for her event.

Read her inspiring story about baby Cole. Amazing!

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Party Cake with the Daring Bakers

So I'm a Daring Baker! Finally! I have been waiting for this for a few months now. I remember how excited I was the first time I read about them. A baking club! I wanted to join right that second! I don't know if I have ever been a member of anything... maybe the gym but I never go so I guess it doesn't count.





This first challenge, hosted by Morven, was wonderful. Perfect for Easter. It really represents what my idea of what an American cake is like. Fluffy icing, moist cake and sweetened coconut. I could already visualize what my photograph was going to look like before I even made the cake. White, white, white... and fluffy.







The cake was easy to throw together. Not temperamental at all while baking, but surprisingly delicate when I went to slice it. The raspberry preserves soaked the cake with sweetness and additional moistness. I let the assembled cake sit on the counter for about 3 hours before cutting it and it really made a big difference. It was super moist and all the flavors blended together.





The buttercream is also very light and tasty and the lemon juice brought it to life. My problem with buttercream is that sometimes it has a very heavy mouth feel, almost greasy. Do you know when you have buttercream made out of butter and powdered sugar and it becomes grainy and a little dry? I do not like that. I like Italian and Swiss buttercreams because it creates an airy product. The addition of the lemon eliminated a little of that "fatty" taste.







Sometimes C. is afraid to taste my desserts because he feels like his taste is not sophisticated enough for me. He is afraid to hurt my feelings if he says he doesn't like a certain macaroon I made or this or that. But he LOVED this cake. It's exactly his type of dessert.... and mine!






I cannot wait until next month!

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Free, Free, Free Chocolate Molten Cakes

Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free Chocolate Molten Cake


Who doesn't love a good, warm, gooey chocolate molten cake served with vanilla ice cream? Tell me, is there anything more comforting than melting chocolate cake with melting vanilla ice cream? Hot and cold. That's how it should always be.

Well, by looking at these photos, you would never guess that these cakes are actually gluten, dairy and soy free. Yes, you heard it! My "three frees" once again!

Linda at Make Life Sweeter! is hosting this month's Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free! The theme is Birthday Baking for Kids. This is an event from Naomi of Straight into bed Cakefree and Dried and as the name suggest it's all about the gluten-free side of life. When I read about this, I instantly thought about this chocolate molten cake. It's based on a full wheat and full dairy recipe but since the main ingredients are eggs and chocolate, I thought it could easily be transformed into a "three free" one. I used rice flour instead of all purpose flour, butter-flavored non-hydrogenated shortening and gluten free, dairy free and soy free chocolate chips. All this ingredients are readily available at most health food stores and they really work well in this recipe.

I topped the molten cake with vanilla rice milk ice cream (Rice Dream) which is also gluten and soy free. Some of the Rice Dream flavors contain some gluten and some soy so make sure to check labels if you are concerned about any of these allergens.



Decorated Cakes




I didn't throw a kids birthday party per se, but I invited my 4-year old next door neighbor over for some cake and ice cream. I decorated it with all natural pink and yellow sprinkles and she loved it! That's the true test!


Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free Chocolate Molten Cakes

4 oz butter-flavored, non-hydrogenated shortening
6 oz gluten, dairy and soy free chocolate chips
2 organic eggs
2 organic egg yolks
2 oz sugar
3/4 oz organic white rice flour
pinch of sea salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar and whip until very thick and pale. In the meantime, melt the shortening and the chocolate chips together over a double boiler.

Add the shortening and chocolate mixture to the whipped eggs while the mixer is on low speed. Once all the chocolate is added, turn mixer back to high for about 10 seconds so it's all well mixed.

Fold in the rice flour and the sea salt. Pour batter into 4-oz greased molds and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. The outside of the cake will be baked but the center will stay slightly soft and gooey.

Let the cakes rest in the molds for a few minutes until they cool down enough to handle and then flip them onto a plate. These are best served warm with ice cream.







If you don't have any allergies, you can certainly make this cake with regular unsalted butter, all purpose flour and regular good quality chocolate (70% is best). The end result is the same, I promise!

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Art You Can Eat # 2 and Petites Bouchees

Milk Chocolate Cream with Milk Cloud



A few days ago, Holly from Art You Can Eat visited my blog and told me about an event she is hosting along with Inge from Vanielje Kitchen featuring eggs and creations that are shaped like eggs. She liked the chocolate filled eggshells I made earlier this month and suggested I submit this as an entry for her event. So here is my little milk chocolate cream with milk cloud again!

When I first posted this, many of you that left comments for me, gave me ideas on how to improve, how to bake in the eggshell, different flavors and so on. That is what I love about comments, it's an opportunity to share ideas with other bloggers. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

Holly directed me to Martha Stewart's web site for ideas on how to sterilize the eggs, so if you are concerned about salmonella when you make this recipe, this is a great tip. Thank you Holly!

Now on to Petites Bouchees...





If you remember my gianduja macaroons post from earlier this month, I mentioned that I placed an order for two dozen assorted macaroons from Petites Bouchees. Well they arrived on Wednesday. The transaction went smoothly and the macaroons arrived in really good condition considering how UPS usually handles their merchandise. The ice packs were still cold and the insulated packaging was neatly packed inside the cardboard box.







Each box holds a dozen macaroons. The packaging is so lovely... Brown box with blue ribbon and the Petites Bouchees sticker. Just how macaroons should be wrapped.




The macaroons were superb! Seriously! My little boy stuck a whole hazelnut macaroon in his mouth, ate it and kept asking for more. I ended up having to put them away in the refrigerator to get them away from him. He was going crazy! I particularly liked the chocolate macaroon. The shell was very different than my chocolate macaroons. This was "cakey-er" than my recipe, almost a little brownie-like. Very, very good. The hazelnut with salted caramel was also excellent, the raspberry was my mom's favorite and the vanilla was my second favorite. Close call... chocolate... vanilla... Don't make me choose!







Look at that face... Worth every penny!

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Strawberry, Rhubarb and Yogurt Cupcakes

If you remember my rhubarb and strawberry tarts from a couple of weeks ago, this recipe will look familiar. I used the rhubarb I poached that day to fill these strawberry and yogurt cupcakes I wanted to make for "Cupcake Spectacular" hosted by HomemadeS.




I was excited to make this new cupcake recipe that I have been working on for a while. It is very moist and "fondant-y" (Don't worry you will not be able to find fondant-y in the dictionary but I hope you understand what I mean). I used homemade yogurt. It doesn't really develop a tall dome but let me tell you, it is very, very good!




My mom used to make yogurt pound cake when I was little. A cup of flour, a cup of sugar, a cup of yogurt, a cup of olive oil... She measured everything in the empty yogurt container she used for the recipe. It didn't have any icing or powdered sugar or glaze... It was just moist and full of goodness all by itself. Simple, simple, simple.

I have to admit that I have not made many variations of cupcakes but I love how they have evolved into almost a plated dessert with different components, textures, flavor combinations. Just like many of you, I am addicted to Cupcake Bakeshop. She delivers the most beautiful, unusual and inspiring cupcakes every time. So mine are nowhere near that but I'm happy with the outcome and so was my family! You can really taste the strawberries in the cake and the icing and the poached rhubarb in the middle adds a touch of tartness and sweetness that works great. I even used the liquid where I cooked the rhubarb to make a little rhubarb jelly to top the cupcakes with.







Strawberry and Yogurt Cupcakes with Poached Rhubarb and Cream Cheese, Yogurt and Strawberry Icing

Strawberry Yogurt Cupcake

Makes a dozen cupcakes

170 grams organic butter
300 grams sugar
2 organic eggs
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
150 grams homemade yogurt or store-bought organic whole milk yogurt
70 grams organic strawberries, pureed
180 grams unbleached all purpose flour
4 grams aluminum free baking powder

Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl and mix well. Add the vanilla extract, the yogurt and the strawberry puree. I don’t like to strain the strawberries after I puree them because I like the chunks in the cake.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour and the baking powder and finally add this to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake papers and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Strawberry, Yogurt and Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 oz organic unsalted butter, room temperature
5 oz powdered sugar
1.5 oz homemade yogurt or store-bought whole milk yogurt
1 oz organic strawberries, pureed and strained

Cream the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar together until all the lumps have disappeared and we have a smooth cream. Add the yogurt and the strawberry puree. I like to strain the puree for the icing just because I like it smooth.

Rhubarb Jelly

200 ml rhubarb cooking liquid, cold
1 envelope of powdered gelatin



In a bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cooking liquid. Let it sit and bloom for 5 minutes. Place it over a double boiler and melt the gelatin. Pour it in a small cake ring up to 1/4 inch high. Refrigerate until it sets and cut different shapes with small aspic cutters.

Assemble the Cupcakes

Cut out a quarter size piece out of the tops of the cupcakes and fill with the poached rhubarb. Cover it with the piece of cake and pipe the strawberry icing on top. Place a rhubarb jelly circle on top.








Happy, happy, happy!!!

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Rhubarb and Strawberry Tart

Rhubarb, Strawberries, Mascarpone, Orange

Today is one of those cold, sunny winter Florida days. When I say winter, I mean 65 degrees. It feels like spring as I knew it growing up, crips mornings, dew on the flowers in the garden... If you read one of my previous posts, you might already know that these are my favorite kind of days. Spring is almost here, Easter around the corner.



The cyclamen is still alive



A few days ago, I read that Julia at Slice of Cherry Pie was hosting the "In the Bag" event. The secret ingredients were rhubarb, orange and sugar. Immediately I started thinking about this tart but then I realized, "wait a minute... will I be able to find any rhubarb anywhere?". I called around but nobody was carrying rhubarb just yet, so I just decided it might be too early for rhubarb on this side of the Atlantic (Julia is in the UK). But yesterday, I went to the store for something else and there it was, bright red rhubarb waiting for me! I ran home and quickly started making my sable breton for the tart, poaching the rhubarb, the mascarpone orange cream... I was in heaven.





Rhubarb and Strawberry Tart

Sable Breton
Makes 20 4-inch circles

160 grams sugar
160 grams salted organic butter
4 organic egg yolks
zest of half an orange
225 grams unbleached all purpose flour
15 grams aluminum free baking powder

In an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg yolks and the orange zest. Add the flour and baking powder combined until it comes together. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Roll out to about 1/2" thickness and cut 4" circles with a round cutter. Bake the circles in a silicon muffin tray or regular muffin pan that has about 4" circle cavities (you can cut different size circles depending the size of pan you have).




Bake the circles in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until golden. Let them cool.


Mascarpone Orange Cream

100 grams organic heavy cream
50 grams mascarpone cheese
2 tsp orange zest
20 grams sugar

Whip all ingredients together until stiff peaks form.

Poached Rhubarb

150 grams sugar
150 grams water
200 grams rhubarb stalks



Make a sugar syrup with the water and the sugar by boiling them together. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat and add some of the rhubarb to it. Cook in low heat until poached. Repeat with the rest of the rhubarb. If you are going to refrigerate this, keep it in the syrup until ready to use.


Assemble the Tart



Pipe a small amount of mascarpone cream on the center of the sable breton. Place half strawberries around. Place some poached rhubarb on top of the cream and sprinkle chopped pistachios on top. Glaze the the strawberries with warm apricot jelly.



There will be more strawberries and rhubarb soon... I smell Spring in the air... Thank you for stopping by!

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Roasted Pineapple and Passion Fruit Charlotte

When I read that CookThink had the Root Source Challenge # 2 going on and that the ingredient in question was pineapple, I almost turned it down. For some reason I am not comfortable around tropical fruit. Of course I have eaten plenty of it and cooked with it (I live in Florida) but I’m intimidated by it.

I didn’t grow up with tropical fruits. I think I was 12 or 13 the first time I ate a kiwi. The only pineapple we ever ate was canned and submerged in a thick sugar syrup. I didn’t even have passion fruit until I came to the US and started working in pastry. I have never had a culinary reference point when it comes to tropical fruit so I almost turned my back on this challenge. But as you might have guessed... I didn’t and here I am!

I didn’t have to think long and hard about what to make. Charlotte was the first thing that came to my mind and roasted pineapple second. I simply love any roasted fruit and particularly pineapple. So sweet and keeps such a wonderful texture. There is some vanilla, some orange and some star anise in the caramel where the pineapple is roasted and I think it really enhances its flavor.

This charlotte also has a passion fruit mousse in the middle. I wanted to stick with the tropical theme and since the pineapple is so sweet I thought that tart passion fruit would be perfect for it. Besides I had some passion fruit puree in the freezer. But please, don’t get discouraged if you can’t find any passion fruit in your supermarket… any fruit will work, mangoes, peaches, coconut… Anything you like.





I had leftover passion fruit mousse so I used it to fill flower shaped silicon molds I had. I think these are adorable and perfect for a buffet, don't you?



Ladyfingers

Makes 4 dozen small ladyfingers and 12 small sponge disks

3 organic egg yolks
75 grams sugar
3 organic egg whites
50 grams powdered sugar, sifted
75 grams unbleached all purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg yolks and the granulated sugar until they become very thick and pale (ribbon stage). I only have one bowl for my Kitchen Aid so I have to transfer this mixture to another bowl. Wash the Kitchen Aid bowl.

Whip the egg whites fully and slowly add the sifted powdered sugar. Keep whipping until you have a pretty stiff meringue. Fold the yolks into the meringue and finally fold the flour in.

Pipe the ladyfingers and the disks onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I usually draw lines on the parchment so I can guide myself and pipe equal size ladyfingers. Sift powdered sugar on top and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let them cool.

Roasted Pineapple

225 grams medium diced pineapple
100 grams demerara or turbinado sugar
15 grams butter
Juice of 2 oranges
1 Tbs dark rum
½ vanilla bean
1 star anise

Make dry caramel with the sugar. Add the butter, orange juice, vanilla, star anise and rum. If the caramel seizes a little, let it dissolve in the pan. Add the diced pineapple, stir and simmer for about 10 minutes on top of the stove or finish in a 350 degree oven. Let it cool. Strain the caramel before we assemble the charlotte.

Passion Fruit Mousse

100 grams passion fruit puree
10 grams sugar
1 sheet gelatin
100 grams heavy cream

Whip cream to soft peaks and keep in refrigerator. Soften the gelatin in ice water for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, warm the passion fruit puree and the sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the softened gelatin leaf to the warm puree. Stir making sure that the gelatin has dissolved completely. Set this base over an ice bath until it cools to the touch. Fold in the whipped cream and stir until the mousse is well combined.

Assemble the Charlotte

I used stainless steel ring molds that are 2 inches high by 3 inches wide but you can use any mold you like, even a large one. You can even make it in a cake pan that has a removable bottom or a cheesecake pan. Anything will work.

Line the outside of the mold with the ladyfingers. Place a sponge disk on the bottom. Spread some diced pineapple on top and a little bit of the passion fruit mousse. Place another disk on top, some more pineapple and finish with the mousse.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours so the mousse sets. Serve it topped with some more roasted pineapple.



And finally... I had to share this photo with you. This is the reason why I do what I do, the one who always wants to devour everything I make. Too cute!

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Early Valentine’s and Mini Pie Revolution #2

I know I’m going to get a lot of heat for this but the truth is that I have never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day. Don’t ask me why but the bows, heart shaped boxes, teddy bears… it’s just not me. All I want is a nice evening with chocolate and raspberries. C. will not be home for Valentine’s this year so we celebrated early.

At the same time I found out that he was going to be away, I found the “Mini Pie Revolution #2” and I thought this was a perfect opportunity to make something for Valentine’s and to enter the blogging event which ends on February 12th.

I love raspberries and C. loves chocolate so it had to be chocolate mousse and raspberry tart. I have to admit that for a while, I felt like the combination of chocolate and raspberries was overdone. It was everywhere. I know, it sounds a little snobbish of me, right? As if somehow this combination was “so yesterday”. I apologize, I shouldn’t even admit to this. I have now come to my senses and realize that we should never question classic flavor combinations.

Besides, I couldn’t let these raspberries get away. Did you see the size and color of these berries? And they were just as sweet as you might envision them to be. My mom couldn’t believe it. “Is it raspberry season?”, she asked… Hmmmm.. “No”, I replied embarrassed. You see, we come from a family where you only eat what’s in season so my mom couldn’t understand how I was able to find them in the first place or what’s worse, why I would spend so much money to buy something that in her mind is probably not as sweet, comes from who knows where, etc, etc. But these were excellent so she forgave me.








The tart shell is made from chocolate sugar dough that I pre-baked and then filled with a layer of very thin raspberry pate de fruit (the batch that didn’t come out right the first time), chocolate mousse and topped with the beautiful raspberries. Oh yes, and the little dots, that is strained, store-bought peach jam. So here it is.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE AND RASPBERRY TART

Chocolate Sugar Dough

This recipe makes a lot of dough but just use whatever you need for your tarts and freeze the rest.


450 grams butter
225 grams powdered sugar
2 organic eggs
5 grams sea salt
4 grams baking powder
625 grams flour
25 grams cocoa powder

Cream together the butter and the powdered sugar with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
Wrap dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Remove from refrigerator and roll out to about 1/8” to 1/4” thick. Place rolled dough in the mini ring molds and refrigerate for another 30 minutes so the dough relaxes and does not shrink in the oven.
Bake in a 325ºF oven for about 14 minutes or until fully cooked. In the middle of the baking process, I use a fork to deflate the bottom of the dough if it starts to puff up or you could lightly dock it before placing it in the oven. I don’t use pie weighs or beans because I have found that if you let the dough rest before baking it and that if you lightly dock it, it will keep its shape.

Chocolate Mousse

Makes 8 small tartlets


100 grams 70% chocolate
300 grams heavy cream, whipped to soft peak

In a small bowl, melt the chocolate over a double boiler. In the meantime, whip the cream to soft peak.
When the chocolate is hot to the touch, remove it from the double boiler and pour about a third of the cream into it. Whisk the cream into the chocolate with a wire whip. This must be done quickly so the chocolate doesn’t seize up. Add the rest of the cream but this time, fold it in with a spatula. Be careful not to over-whip or the mousse will break.

Assemble the Tart

Pipe a thin layer of soft raspberry pate de fruit or raspberry jam on the bottom of the tart shell. Pipe the chocolate mousse on top. Top with fresh raspberries and decorate each berry with a dot of the strained peach jam or apricot glaze would be even better.



Taking these photos was a real challenge today because my curly, blonde-haired boy could not stay away from the tarts. He was screaming for them. Too cute!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Time to Make the Doughnuts

Who doesn’t love sweet fried dough?

As soon as I saw that Tartelette announced the “Time to Make the Doughnuts” event, my brain started spinning; yeast doughnuts, filled doughnuts… And then I thought to myself… “Wait a minute, I have never made doughnuts before!”. How could that be? I love doughnuts!

I have plenty of doughnut recipes and I love discovering new ones, but I have never made them. When I was in culinary school, I must have skipped that lesson. Oh, oh… So this was the perfect opportunity to take on the challenge.

These doughnuts have no yeast in them. They are actually made from fried choux paste. Instead of the traditional pastry cream, I decided to fill them with chiboust, which is pastry cream lightened with meringue. I thought the chiboust complements the light beignets much better than the thick pastry cream. As for the flavor… there I go with the caramel again! Bananas that are slowly cooked in a light caramel and then folded into the cream. Winter brings out all my caramel cravings!



Caramelized Banana Beignets with Chocolate Soup

Beignets

Makes about 4 dozen small beignets

250 ml water
Pinch of salt
150 grams flour
110 grams of unsalted butter
3-4 eggs
Canola oil to fry
Cinnamon sugar to dust

In a saucepan, place water, salt and butter and bring to a boil.
Add the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon. We want to cook the dough for a couple of minutes to cook out the starch flavor.
Transfer dough to a bowl and stir until it cools down a bit. Add the eggs, one at a time incorporating them into the dough.
Spoon small mounts of dough into the 350ºF canola oil and fry until golden brown.
Roll in cinnamon sugar and fill with the caramelized banana chiboust.

Caramelized Bananas

2 bananas
100 grams sugar
25 grams butter
50 grams heavy cream

Cut bananas in half and split each half down the middle, so you have eight banana quarters.
Make a dry caramel with the sugar and add the bananas to this caramel.
Add the cream and the butter and let the bananas simmer in the sauce for a few minutes until they are soft. Set aside.

Vanilla Chiboust

320g whole milk
½ vanilla bean, split
4 egg yolks
25 grams sugar
25 grams cornstarch
4 egg whites
35 grams sugar

In a medium saucepan, boil the milk and the vanilla bean.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch.
Temper the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Pour this custard back in the saucepan and cook until it thickens. Remove from pan and place in a clean bowl.
Add the cooked bananas into the warm pastry cream. I didn’t add most of the caramel, just the bananas . We want to keep some small pieces of banana.
While the pastry cream is still warm, we are going to make an Italian meringue with the egg whites and the sugar.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer. Turn the mixer on slow speed so the egg whites have a chance to develop some volume while we cook the sugar. We want the egg whites to be almost fully whipped when we add the hot syrup.
Place the sugar with a couple of tablespoons of water in a saucepan and cook until it reaches 240ºF or soft ball stage.
Pour the hot syrup over the whipped egg whites while the mixer is on low speed. Continue whipping until it has whipped into a meringue.

Carefully, fold the meringue into the warm pastry cream trying to keep as much volume as possible.

Place the caramelized banana chiboust into a pastry bag and pipe into the beignets.

Chocolate Soup

200 grams milk
100 grams heavy cream
100 grams 70% bittersweet chocolate

In a saucepan, bring cream and milk to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate melts. Serve warm.



My parents are visiting from the Basque Country and my mother has been my devoted recipe taster. She particularly liked these beignets because she loves the light chiboust.

Eskerrik asko Ama!

And also... don't you think this is a pretty sexy Valentine's Day dessert too?

On Egin!

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