Bonbon Oiseau and my Candy Cane Marshmallow

This is the story about another blogsphere friendship that developed over some matcha diamant cookies. It's about the lovely and super talented Deb and her delicate jewelry Bonbon Oiseau and my interpretation of what her pieces represent.

I have admired Deb's work ever since I found her blog "Your Destiny is Stone Golden" a few months ago. We started exchanging emails and as time went on, we decided that one day we would collaborate somehow. Deb asked me if I could photograph her work. Her necklaces are very delicate and almost angelic. I didn't know if I would be able to capture her essence, until I decided to pair them with something that I made. Suddenly, marshmallow entered my mind.

So here is my ode to you Deb, my ode to your fabulous work with some peppermint candy cane marshmallow.



Holidays are here and if you are looking for a perfect gift for a friend, loved one or even yourself, please checkout her fabulous shop. Deb has been kind enough to agree to offer a 20% discount on her pieces to all Cannelle Et Vanille readers until December 10th. Please visit her shop and mention the code "Cannelle Vanille" at checkout.



Peppermint Candy Cane Marshmallow

This recipe makes one layer of the marshmallow, so you will need to make it times two if you want to just make one color, or two times for the bicolor effect; one recipe with food coloring, the other without.

I used a 14"x14" square frame

320 grams sugar
12 grams glucose or corn syrup
130 grams water
40 grams powdered gelatin
130 grams water
45 grams egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
20 grams sugar
1 tsp peppermint oil (optional)
5-6 drops of natural red food coloring (optional)

In a small saucepan with tall sides, combine the sugar, glucose or corn syrup and water. Cook to 126C.

In the meantime, whisk the powdered gelatin and 130 grams of water together and let the gelatin bloom.

Place the egg whites and the cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer and start whipping in medium speed. When the egg whites are almost fully whipped, add the 20 grams sugar and continue whipping in slow to medium speed depending on how far the sugar syrup is from reaching the desired temperature.

When the sugar syrup reaches 126C, turn the heat off and add the bloomed gelatin (will be a solid mass) to the saucepan. It will bubble up so be careful. Whisk until the gelatin dissolves completely in the syrup.

Add the syrup with the gelatin into the whipped egg whites while whipping in low speed. When all has been added, turn the speed up to high and let it whip until ribbons start to form. Add the flavoring and food coloring at this point. We don't want the marshmallow to cool completely because we want to be able to spread it. Remove from mixer and pour into the square frame that has been placed over a silicon mat. Let it harden.

If making the bicolor marshmallow, repeat the recipe and pour on top of the first layer.

If it becomes sticky, sift together half cornstarch and half powdered sugar and lightly dust this over marshmallow. Roll in crushed candy cane powder.

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Bonbon Oiseau and my Candy Cane Marshmallow

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Salted Chocolate, Peanut and Pistachio Nougat Ice Cream

I don't know about you, but the cooler weather always makes me crave chocolate. I am naturally a person that prefers fruit desserts over chocolate, but as soon as temperatures start to drop, all I can think about is having a piece of dark chocolate. I was writing down dessert menu ideas recently and I realized chocolate and nuts were in almost every single item that was roaming around in my head and this salted chocolate ice cream with chocolate, pistachio and peanut nougat pieces was one of them.

This nougat is a softer version than the turron I grew up eating as a child around Christmas time. It is more like the Toblerone filling, but with chunkier nuts in it. How delicious does that sound? I used acacia honey along with salted pistachios and peanuts. I made a large batch and used part of it as a mix-in for a dark chocolate ice cream. If this doesn't satisfy your chocolate craving, I don't know what will.




A few months ago, I had someone ask me why everything has to have the word "salted" in front to sound trendy. I disagreed. Maybe the word itself was not used as often before, but salt has always been a great compliment for caramel, chocolate and nuts. It has always been there in many recipes and formulations, but perhaps wasn't noted in the name. So I do not think this is a trend, but a way to enhance a flavor and it will continue to be.



Chocolate Nougat

290 grams sugar
90 grams glucose
120 grams water
310 grams good-quality honey (I used acacia)
100 grams egg whites
20 grams sugar
pinch of cream of tartar
260 grams unsweetened chocolate, melted
250 grams salted and roasted pistachios
250 grams salted and roasted peanuts

It's best to work on a marble slab but if you don't have one, a large wood block will do. Set up a sheet of parchment paper in between two candy rulers (if available, if not it's ok). Lightly dust the parchment with cocoa powder.

Spread the peanuts and pistachios on a sheetpan and keep warm in a 250F oven until ready to use.

Place the egg whites and the cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whip attachment. Start whipping the egg whites on low speed while we proceed with the rest of the ingredients.

In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar and the water until it resemble wet sand. Brush the sides of the pan with water to dissolve any sugar particles that are left. Turn on the heat and when it starts to lightly boil, add the glucose. Continue cooking the sugar on high until it reaches 155C.

At the same time, pour the honey into a small pan and boil. When it almost reaches a first boil, turn the electric mixer on high and let the egg whites get foamy and fully whipped. Continue boiling the honey until it reaches 120C. The honey will really bubble up and foam up at this point.

When the egg whites are whipped, add the 20 grams of sugar and continue whipping on high for another minute or so until it develops more body. Then, turn the machine to medium speed and slowly pour in the 120C honey from the side of the bowl. Turn the machine back to high speed and continue whipping the egg whites until the sugar syrup reaches 155C. Then turn speed back to low and pour this sugar syrup into the meringue slowly on the side of the bowl. When all the sugar has been incorporated, turn back to high speed and whip for another 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes, turn the mixer down to low speed and add the melted unsweetened chocolate. Turn speed higher and whip for another minute or so.

Remove bowl from mixer and add the warm peanuts and pistachios. Fold with a spatula. Spread the nougat in between the candy bars on top of the parchment. Spread with an offset spatula to even it out. Let it cool a bit. Cover with another sheet of parchment or silicon mat and let it set for 24 hours.

Chocolate Nougat Ice Cream

500 ml heavy cream
250 ml whole milk
25 grams cocoa powder
150 grams sugar
5 grams sea salt
100 grams egg yolks
125 grams 70% chocolate, chopped
150 grams chocolate nougat, chopped into small pieces

Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, cream, salt, half of the sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk and bring to a boil.

In the meantime, place the egg yolks and the other half of the sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Temper the cream mixture over the egg yolks and whisk. Return this mixture to the saucepan and cook to 82C or until it coats the back of the spoon.

Pour this custard over the chopped chocolate and whisk until it is all incorporated and melted. Strain this ice cream base through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and chill over an ice bath. Refrigerate overnight.

The following day, churn the ice cream base in the ice cream machine and when it is done, fold in the chocolate nougat pieces. Pour into container and freeze.

Note: Something I never mention about ice cream and that is very important, is to have your ice cream container (where you will store your churned ice cream) in the freezer before hand. This way, when your churned ice cream hits the container, it stays frozen. If this container were at room temperature, your ice cream would start to melt, losing the air that was incorporated during the churn.

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Salted Chocolate, Peanut and Pistachio Nougat Ice Cream

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Daring Bakers and the Smells of Christmas

When I first learned that this month's Daring Baker's challenge was going to be a hazelnut gateau, I thought to myself... "I wish it was Christmas!". July in Florida is hot and humid and a hazelnut, praline and ganache cake seemed a bit "heavy" for this season, but that first impression didn't last long.

Hazelnuts and praline remind me of winter and particularly of Christmas time when all sweets are made with sugar and nuts. Those are the smells I remember from my childhood. Almonds and hazelnuts caramelizing in the stove, grinding almonds and sugar for marzipan, turron... When I took the hazelnut sponge out of the oven, my entire house smelled of Christmas and that put a smile on my face.




Although the recipe indicated to bake the sponge in a 10 inch pan, I decided to go small. I baked the sponge in a half sheetpan (the recipe was perfect for that), then cut out individual circles with a round cutter and build the cake in ring molds. The praline buttercream was heavenly as I expected. I used Frangelico and some lemon zest simple syrup to soak the cake and covered the individual gateaux with ganache.

I decided to decorate the cake very simply with some gold leaf and caramel dipped hazelnuts. This is a simple technique but it does require a bit of a set up in the kitchen. I cooked my sugar and when it was cooling a bit, I lined the kitchen floor area where I was going to work on with newspaper. Then, I inserted wooden skewers on the bottom of whole hazelnuts and dipped these in the slightly cooled caramel. If the caramel is too hot, then the strings become too thin and most likely will crack. But if the caramel is too thick, then the hazelnuts will be too clumpy and might look sloppy. It's a matter of testing the consistency of the sugar.



While taking photos of the cakes, I had a little incident. My 2 year old son decided to get his two fingers in the cake while I was not looking, then got ganache all over the sofa and ran away with one of my pointy hazelnut decors. He thought it was the funniest thing ever but I wanted to cry...I wish I had someone there to take photos of what was going on...

Thank you Chris from Mele Cotte for hosting this month's challenge and please visit other Daring Bakers for other wonderful interpretations of the same recipe.

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Daring Bakers and the Smells of Christmas

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Daring Bakers... Cheesecake Lollipops Part Deux

I made vanilla cheesecake lollipops for Easter this year so I was surprised when I learned that my second Daring Bakers challenge would also be cheesecake lollipops. I felt the pressure to make something different but how could I? I'm not sure that I achieved anything tremendeously different but I had fun making these again so that's what counts right?


The Daring Bakers recipe was a plain cheesecake recipe so I decided to give it my own twist and add different flavors. I left some of the cheesecake mix plain with a little vanilla extract but for the rest I used fresh raspberry puree and violet syrup (I have a huge bottle of it that I need to use now). They are all good and in fact my little neighbors loved them. I made little decorations with royal icing, used sprinkles, crushed graham crackers... All fun!




Cheesecake Pops

adapted from Sticky, Messy, Chewy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor

Makes 30-40 pops

5 8-oz packages of cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
Boiling water
Lollipop sticks

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Pour the mix into the molds (I used the mini half sphere silicon molds) and bake in a water bath at 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until set. Freeze the molds and when solid, attach the haf spheres to make the balls. Insert a stick in the middle. Freeze again.

Melt bittersweet chocolate over a double boiler and when the cheesecake pops are hard solid, dip them in the chocolate and decorate with sprinkles, graham cracker crumbs, etc. I made a tiny bit of royal icing, colored it with different colors and piped into circles, dots, etc. I piped them onto parchment paper and let them air dry overnight. Those are the little decorations you see on top of the cheesecake.





A big thank you to Deborah from Taste and Tell and Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms for hosting this month's challenge. And a super big thank you to Lis and Ivonne for managing this "village" that the Daring Bakers community has become. It was fun to try this again and all the kids surely enjoyed them!




Happy Sunday to you!

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Daring Bakers... Cheesecake Lollipops Part Deux

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Strawberries, Mascarpone and Violet Marshmallow

In the summer of 2004, I attended a pastry seminar in Las Vegas where I had the pleasure to watch some great pastry chefs in action. It was a jam-packed schedule with morning and afternoon classes and I ended up with a little bit of "pastry chaos" in my head but there was one pastry chef, one, that stole my heart and that was Olivier Bajard. I had been to one of his demos before when I was in culinary school but this class in Las Vegas was something special for me. The theme was "Petits Gateaux". If you have been following my blog the last few months, you have probably noticed that I am very much about mini cakes and pastries in general. I admire sugar and chocolate work, cake decorating and the more artistic side of pastry, but flavor is what draws me. Probably because I am not very artistic myself, I have never wanted to go into cake decorating which most of my classmates and co-workers wanted to do.

So I fell in love with Olivier Bajard. He was quiet, patient and there was no trace of chef ego, although he is a MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) which is probably the highest rank a pastry chef one can achieve in France and in the world, for that matter. Is like wearing a Super Bowl ring, I suppose.







One of the desserts he made was called "Violet". How can you not love anything with a name like that? It was white chocolate squares, with a cassis-violet coulis, vanilla cream, strawberry salpicon and sugar dough. Just out of this world. That was the first time I ever heard of violet extract and seen it being used in pastry. Ever since then, I have been wanting to use violet extract in something but it has been nearly impossible to find it in this country. But I did find a violet syrup used for cocktail making. It's from a company called Monin.

This dessert is certainly not at the level of Bajard's "Violet" but it's inspired by those flavors. This seems like a strawberry shortcake with a French twist. I built it with some sable breton, fresh strawberries, mascarpone cream and marshmallow that I flavored with a little bit of the violet syrup from Monin. The syrup is not very concentrated and certainly not as potent as violet extract, but it worked. It gave the marshmallow a mild violet taste and it didn't change the white color which I like. If you like color, you can most definitely add food coloring at the same time you add the flavoring. That's personal preference.






Violet Marshmallow

430 grams sugar
16 grams corn syrup
175 grams water
53 grams powdered gelatin (2 full boxes of Knox unflavored gelatin)
175 grams water
2 egg whites
25 grams sugar
2 Tbs violet syrup

In a deep saucepan, cook the first three ingredients to 126 degrees Celsius (258 degrees Farenheit). In the meantime, bloom the gelatin in the other 175 grams of water.

While the sugar is cooking, start whipping the egg whites slowly. When they start to build a meringue, sprinkle the 25 grams of sugar over them and continue whipping. When the sugar has reached 126 degrees C, add the bloom gelatin to the saucepan and whisk. It will bubble up so be careful and continue whisking. Turn heat off but let the gelatin completely melt in the sugar. as soon as the gelatin has melted, turn the speed in the mixer to low in the mixer and start adding the cooked sugar in a steady stream on the side of the bowl. When all the syrup is added, turn the mixer to high and whip until light and very fluffy. Add the violet syrup.

The marshmallow will be a little warm still. Pour it into a half sheetpan lined with a silicon mat. Spread it evenly and let it cool. If we whip it until it is cold, it will be very hard to spread it when we pour it into the sheetpan so don't whip it too much. It will be just as fluffy.

Dust some cornstarch on top of the marshmallow and cut it into squares. It will be sticky, especially if you live in a humid climate like I do, so dust your hands and knife with cornstarch when you are going to cut it.






Marshmallow makes a wonderful gift and since this pan makes a lot of it, plan to give some of it away. Share the love of fluffy violet pillows. Have a great weekend!

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Strawberries, Mascarpone and Violet Marshmallow

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Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Truffles

My friend Deena is having a baby! She is scheduled to go into the hospital tonight so if everything goes well, we should welcome baby S. into the world some time tomorrow. I want to have something to bring for her besides some beautiful flowers, so I decided to make some milk chocolate and passion fruit truffles from Pierre Herme's Chocolate Desserts.

Deena is one of those friends who always has a special detail waiting every time she comes to see us or even when we go to see her, she always wants to send us home with food or flowers or some little token for our little boy. She has always been that way.

She has had some busy weeks during the last trimester so she deserves the best and some relaxation... although now that I think of it, there might not be much of that from now on and I speak from experience!






These truffles will be my entry for this month's Sugar High Friday which is hosted by Habeas Brulee and the theme is sweet gifts. Perfect, isn't it? Most of us bake and cook to give and to share with our loved ones so I thought this was a fantastic theme for a blogging event.

The truffles are really, really soft, just like a perfect ganache should be. However, the recipe suggests finishing them by rolling them in powdered sugar which didn't work very well for me. I found that this ganache would be better if it were dipped in tempered chocolate or as a filling for a molded candy. This ganache needs to be refrigerated, which makes it "sweat" so when it's rolled in the powdered sugar, the sugar starts to melt and in a few minutes, turns into a crust almost like a glazed doughnut. So I ended up rolling them in really good quality Valrhona cocoa powder.

Overall, it is a lovely ganache, very smooth and balanced. The sweetness of the milk chocolate goes great with the tartness of the passion fruit puree. The dried apricots are a great texture and sweetness too. Unexpected but excellent.
Next time, I will temper some chocolate and dip the truffles in it. Tempering is not complicated but it does require some practice and a cool room, which I don't have as the temperatures in Florida are starting to reach the 80's now.






Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Truffles

adapted from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme

210 grams milk chocolate
25 grams dried apricots, small dice
1 Tbs water
80 grams passion fruit puree
45 grams organic heavy cream
1/2 Tbs wild raw honey
30 grams organic unsalted butter, room temperature

Mix the chopped apricots with the water and let them plump up. When you are ready to add them to the ganache, drain them and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Place chopped milk chocolate in a bowl big enough to hold all ingredients. In a saucepan, bring cream, passion fruit puree and honey to a boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Let this mixture cool a little bit. Add the softened butter and mix until all incorporated. Add the chopped and plumped apricots.

Let the ganache set in the refrigerator and when hard, make small balls and roll them in good quality cocoa powder.

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Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Truffles

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Raspberry Pâte de Fruit

I have to begin by saying this recipe comes from my dear friend and chef Sebastien Thieffine. I made my first pâte de fruits under his guidance and I haven't stopped ever since.

I could go on and on about Sebastien and the three years I worked for him. He was able to create harmony out of chaos and really developed a great team of pastry chefs. I would describe it as a magical time or as he liked to call it, "the Dream Team". He was a great motivator which made us want to work hard for him and show him “what we were made of”. In return, he taught us everything he knew, shared all his recipes, knowledge and encouraged us to learn outside of our small pastry kitchen. I learned many technical skills but most importantly, I learned how to run an organized and efficient kitchen. I have never wanted to work so hard for anybody else in my life! I owe so much to him...



I made pâte de fruits for Christmas as part of my holiday gifts and all the recipients were delighted and impressed. The truth is that pâte de fruit is really easy to make. It does require some special tools and ingredients but it is not technically challenging and the result is a sweet, colorful and fun confection. Just like macaroons, pâte de fruit can be made with infinite flavor combinations; I have even seen savory versions.

That said, I have to admit that the first time I made pâte the fruit at home, my thermometer was not well calibrated and it ended up resembling a thin jam more than the “gummy” candy that is supposed to be. So make sure you have a calibrated thermometer before you start any of this!

The other special tool that I have is a square stainless steel frame that I use to cast the pâte de fruit in but I don’t think it’s necessary. It can also be poured into a parchment lined half sheet pan and it works just fine. I also find that having a cold surface such as granite or marble really helps because it allows the pâte de fruit to cool down faster.



RASPBERRY PATE DE FRUIT

I bought a lot of frozen fruit purees and the rest of the ingredients for my Christmas project from L’Epicerie, which is a specialty store that carries many hard-to-find ingredients. It’s a beautiful online store and I really encourage you to check it out.

I recommend that you have all your ingredients scaled and your pan prepared before you start cooking the recipe. Like I mentioned, I use a stainless steel square frame that I place on top of a silpat on a marble.

500 grams of raspberry puree
200 grams of whole raspberries, fresh or frozen
15 grams of yellow pectin
75 grams of granulated sugar
750 grams of granulated sugar
150 grams glucose
12 grams tartaric acid solution*
12 grams framboise or kirsch

In a large saucepan, warm raspberry puree and whole raspberries to 40ºC.

In a bowl, whisk apple pectin and 75 grams of sugar until they are well mixed. This is important to avoid lumps when we add them to the fruit. Add this mixture to raspberries and return to a boil.

Add 750 grams of sugar and glucose. Cook mixture to 106ºC while whisking. It will bubble up so make sure to use a large pot.

When it reaches 106ºC, turn off the heat and add the alcohol and the tartaric acid solution. Pour the fruit into your frame and let it sit until it cools down and solidifies.

Cut it into squares or other shapes and roll in granulated sugar before serving.

*The tartaric acid solution is a mixture of equal parts of tartaric acid and water.


There is nothing more beautiful than to give or to receive a nicely packaged box of homemade, colorful pâte de fruit. I know mine will be all gone soon! I hear in the background… “ama, coco… ama, coco”…

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Raspberry Pâte de Fruit

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