Some Roasted Plums, Coconut Milk Risotto and Muscovado Cakes

Last week, I had to deal with some unexpected (arent't they all?) health issues, which forced me into a blog hiatus and necessary rest. It was nothing serious, but enough to stop me from baking and shooting as much. Sometimes life has funny ways of making us slow down even if it's against our own will. I appreciate all the concerned emails wondering if something had happened or if I had gone into premature labor. All is well and just excited for the new season.



We received a big box of plums as a gift and have been enjoying them everyday. Purple, red, yellow pluots, prune plums... a beautiful assortment. It seems like every year plums mark the end of summer for me and the excitement for the new season begins.

I have been living vicariously through everyone else who gets to go apple picking and visiting orchards this time of year as we have none around us. But even that is exciting enough right now.



I have been baking with muscovado sugar a lot lately. It adds a richness and moistness to cakes and cookies that is hard to get any other way. No wonder it is called "moist sugar"! And even though I have never liked sugar in my coffee, I even started putting some muscovado in my morning dose following Ashley's advice.

The roasted plum and muscovado mini cakes are moist and rich with a touch of sour cream and lemon, but also unexpectedly light. We served these for friends during a play date on a rainy afternoon.



The coconut milk risotto is a slight variation on my arroz con leche recipe that I make all the time. It is much lighter, a bit less sweet and much faster to cook. I served it with the warm roasted plums, red currants and a sprinkle of pink peppercorns. My new favorite.



Coconut Milk Risotto

500 ml whole milk
20 grams sugar
pinch of salt
10 grams butter
60 grams arborio rice
120 grams coconut milk

In a saucepan, warm the whole milk, sugar and pinch of salt over a medium heat.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the rice to it and sautee it for about a minute. Add about half of the warm milk and stir over medium heat. Let it bring to a light simmer and then reduce the heat if necessary. Cook the rice in the milk while constantly stirring. When that milk has reduced, add a little bit more of the remaining warm milk and continue stirring. Proceed like that until all the milk has been added and the rice is cooked, which will take about 20-25 minutes. (Note that if you have added all the milk but the rice still not tender, you may add extra just to finish cooking it).

Finish the cooking process with the coconut milk. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the risotto into a bowl to chill. I like mine at room temperature but you might store it in the refrigerator.

Roasted Plums

4 plums
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
pink peppercorns
star anise
Juice of half an orange
musvocado sugar, some for roasting and some for sprinkling at the end

Cut the plums in half and remove the pit. Place them on a roasting dish. Add the star anise, pink peppercorn, vanilla bean, orange juice and sprinkle each half plum with muscovado sugar.

Bake the plums at 350F for about 30-40 minutes until tender.

Cut them into wedges and serve them on top of the coconut milk risotto accompanied by some red currants, muscovado sugar and pink peppercorns.

Roasted Plum and Muscavado Sugar Cakes

Makes a dozen 3 inch mini cakes

180 grams butter, room temperature
150 grams muscovado sugar
125 grams granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
180 grams sour cream
180 grams flour
4 grams baking powder
6 plums
muscovado sugar for sprinkling

Cream butter, muscovado sugar, granulated sugar, lemon zest and vanilla together until light. Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl well. Add the sour cream and mix. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until batter comes together.

Lightly butter and flour mini cake molds (I used tart rings that are 3"x1"). Pipe the batter into the molds. Place thin slices of plum on top and sprinkle with some more muscovado sugar.

Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Wait until slightly cool to unmold them.

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Some Roasted Plums, Coconut Milk Risotto and Muscovado Cakes

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Raspberry and Pink Peppercorn Macarons and a Little Giveaway

Every time I go home, I come back with a spare suitcase full of food and ingredients. This time was no different. A few blocks of Idiazabal cheese, over a dozen large cans of tuna in olive oil, jars of cooked beans, spices, recycled yogurt containers and a large bag of freeze-dried raspberry powder. This was a bit of a surprise since this is not a common ingredient in our traditional cuisine, but a good surprise nevertheless.

So this week when I had a request for macarons, I decided to put it to good use and pair it with the sweet and delicate spiciness of pink peppercorns.



Last year, I made pink peppercorns macarons served with strawberry sorbet that ended up being a hit.

If you have never had red berries with a touch of pepper, you should definitely try it. It adds a new dimension and brings out the flavors. The pink peppercorns are so mild that when mixed with the sweet buttercream and the raspberry macarons shell, it just becomes more like an aromatic layer rather than a spicy flavor. Hard to explain, but definitely a must-try. Even my little guy loved them and he is a picky one.



You can definitely make your own raspberry powder by drying some fresh raspberries and processing them, but this stuff I brought back is very, very fine with an amazing red color.

I will be sharing some of it with you. All you have to do is leave a comment from now until Friday June 5th and I will be choosing the random lucky number over the weekend. And maybe I will throw a couple of more goodies in there as well. Good luck!



Raspberry Macarons

140 grams egg whites
3 grams egg white powder
80 grams sugar
180 grams almond flour
240 grams powdered sugar
2 grams salt
7 grams freeze-dried raspberry powder
2 drops red food coloring

Make sure that the egg whites have been separated from the egg yolks at least the night before. This bit of aging really makes a difference in the macarons.

In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, sea salt and raspberry powder. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites with the egg white powder until very fluffy, almost fully whipped. Start adding the sugar slowly while whipping. Add the red food coloring and continue whipping to stiff peaks.

Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and fold with a spatula until a shiny mass forms. We want to achieve a batter that makes ribbons. You might have to test it to see if it's done. Pipe a small amount on your sheetpan. If it keeps a little bit of a top when piped, then you have to mix it a bit further, if it spreads really fast, you have gone too far and your macarons will turn out flat.

When you have the right consistency, place the mass in a pastry bag with a number 5 tip and pipe small rounds onto sheetpans lined with parchment or silpat. Let them dry at room temperature for at least 45 minutes to an hour. The tops must be dry when you touch them.

Have the oven preheated to 350F degrees. Place one sheetpan in the oven at a time and reduce the temperature to 300F degrees. Bake for 8 minutes and rotate sheetpan and bake for another 5 minutes.

Let the macarons cool on the sheetpan.

Pink Peppercorn Buttercream

100 grams egg whites
200 grams sugar
300 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp (or to taste) finely ground pink peppercorns

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 warm to the touch. Bring bowl to the electric mixer and whip until stiff peaks form.

Continue whipping until the bowl feels cool. Add butter, a tablespoon at a time while whipping. It might look like it is separating but continue whipping and it will come together.

Add the ground pink peppercorns and taste.

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Raspberry and Pink Peppercorn Macarons and a Little Giveaway

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