Madeleines

Last summer, my friend Jeanne gave birth to a cute little Madeleine. As she was thinking of a canapes menu for the party after her daughter’s christening, she asked me about the Madeleines recipe in order to offer them home-made to her guests!

There is quite a lot of recipes for the Madeleines… even for the basic ones. One contains baking powder, another one is with melted butter and needs to rest, a third one is with butter at room temperature and so on…. I have tried many of them and the only thing that I can say is that I like my Madeleines when they are sweet and buttery in a well-balanced way. I don’t like them when they are too light and airy and they need to be cooked enough to have that nice golden color on the edges and at the bottom.

It’s up to you to make your choice among all the recipes you can find in books and on the web. Mine belongs to Philippe Conticini’s cookbook Sensations because I really think vanilla and lemon make the difference.

Ingredients for 20 madeleines

• 125g of plain flour
• 3 eggs
• 140g of caster sugar
• 135g of melted butter
• 50g of semi-skimmed milk
• 5g of baking powder
• 2 tsp of honey
• 1 tsp of fleur de sel or Maldon Sea Salt
• 2 tsp of lemon zest grated
• 1 vanilla pod cut lengthwise, seeds grated
• 1 tbsp of groundnut oil

 

Method

In a pan, melt the butter and let it cool down.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, honey and vanilla seeds until it gets white and foamy.

Incorporate the groundnut oil and the lemon zest to the mix.

Mix together the flour and baking powder and add it to the mix then incorporate the melted butter that must not be hot.

Once the mix is uniform you can then add the milk, whisk it again and cover it with cling film to avoid any crust on the surface.

Leave it to rest at least 1 hour in the fridge.

Brush the madeleines cases with melted butter and fill them with the mix up to 90% and leave it to rest another hour in the fridge.

Before baking the madeleines, preheat your oven to 160° with the baking tray in the oven.

Once the oven is ready, place the cold madeleines tray on the hot baking tray of the oven and bake it for 10 minutes.

You can serve them straight away or leave them to cool down and keep them for later. The fresher the madeleines, the better… As many French treats, they don’t last very well and you may be disappointed the day after!

About the Madeleine’s shape… Philippe Conticini’s explanation:

You may think 2 hours of rest takes a while but it is what it takes to get a mix really cold.

Because the mix is very cold and the tray is very hot, the mix will react in such a way that a bump will appear.

 

Orange, Fennel, Cranberries and Spinach Salad

Salad sounds like a Summer word, fresh and colorful, light and appetizing especially when it comes to green salads…. Winter salads are often starchy in order to fight properly against cold weather and snowy days….

You may still want something green and colorful as a side of your dish or as a main sometimes but you find it difficult to make it appetizing AND tasty as most of the vegetables you were thinking about are not as you expected them to be those days…. Tasteless tomatoes, watery cucumber, peppers that are not crunchy…

Why don’t you use seasonal vegetables and other ingredients that will make your salad so special?

Here is an idea….

Ingredients for 6 people

• 500g of baby spinach washed and spinned
• 1 small fennel bulb washed
• 3 oranges
• A handful of dried cranberries
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Method

Finely grate the zest of 2 oranges and reserve in a bowl.

Using a sharp serrated knife, peel the skin of the oranges and carefully cut the orange segments. Reserve them in a bowl and squeeze the extra juice in the zest bowl.

Cut the fennel into 2 and get rid of the heart of the fennel that is to hard and not very tasty. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, finely slice the fennel and marinate them in the orange zest and juice. Add a little olive oil, salt and pepper and reserve in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To assemble, layer some spinach in a salad bowl then add some fennel, orange segments and cranberries and spread some of the marinade of the fennel on top. Check the seasoning first. You may want to add some extra acidity. In that case, you can add some cider vinegar for example.

Keep on layering until you finish all the ingredients.

Other ideas:

• Use blood oranges or grapefruits instead of oranges
• Add finely chopped dill or chervil in the marinade
• Use mixed leaves or rocket instead of spinach
• Replace cranberries with pomegranate seeds
• Add some pumpkin seeds or nuts such as pecans or pine nuts
• Add crumbled feta, grilled haloumi or shredded mozzarella for a more consistent salad

Sticky Toffee Pudding with a Double Toffee Sauce… Just in Case!

Last Sunday, we went to Chiswick in order to visit my friends Rhea and Martin’s flat. She booked a table in a very nice pub on the Thames called Annie’s. The place was perfect, there was a large table for our group, comfortable chairs, baby friendly waitresses and lots of games to keep them busy! The food was also really good, perfectly cooked fish for me with an amazing green aïoli on top and nice proper burgers, huge piece of crispy pork belly, generous salads for the others. But I have to say that the best part was the dessert. They had some Blueberry Cheesecakes and Sticky Toffee Puddings to share and I have to say that you can’t have a whole portion by yourself even when you are hungry…! It was really massive and generously covered with toffee sauce.

My friends just loved it and told me that it would be great to have a nice recipe on my blog…. then here I am! I asked about the best recipes and compared two of them and finally choose Simon Hopkinson one (the other one was from Peter Gordon if you want to know…!). I found it in his book called The Good Cook which contains plenty of great recipes and tips for anyone who loves to cook.

Sticky Toffee Pudding serves 6

Ingredients for the Pudding:

• 275ml of boiling water
• 175g of Medjool dates pitted and chopped
• 1 rounded tsp of baking soda
• 50g of salted butter
• a good pinch of salt
• 75g of Demerara sugar
• 75g of Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 175g of self-raising flour
• 1tsp of pure vanilla extract
• Soften butter to grease the mold

Ingredients for the Toffee Topping:

• 250ml of double cream
• 80g of salted butter
• 80g of dark brown sugar

Ingredients for the Extra Sauce:

• 300ml of whipping cream
• 50g of salted butter
• 50g of dark brown sugar

Method for the Pudding:

Preheat the oven to 180°.

Once you have pitted and chopped your dates, put them in a bowl and cover them with the boiling water. Stir them and let them cool down a little bit.

In the meantime, measure out all the other ingredients and mix them with the water and dates. Pour the whole mix in a food processor or blender and puree it until nearly smooth with some bits of dates still visible.

Prepare a loose-bottom baking tin to bake the pudding (at least 22 cm diameter and tall). Cover the base with parchment paper and grease generously the edges with soft butter.

Pour in the pudding mix and bake for about 30 minutes. Be careful, the mix must not fill more than half the baking tin as it will rise and you will still need some space to pour the toffee sauce on top.

The cake is cooked when a skewer comes out clean and the cake is firm to the touch. Let it cool down a little while preparing the toffee sauces.

In two small to medium pans, pour the ingredients of each sauce and heat gently. Whisk regularly until it comes to a boil and smoothly amalgamate.

Pour the topping on top of the cooked cake and place under a moderate grill until bubbling and sticky-looking.

It may take up to 5 minutes depending on your oven. Let it cool down and get it out of the tin.

Serve it in a bowl and pour the extra sauce on top.

What’s for Breakfast today? Up to you…. Muffins or Granola… Homemade of course!

Even if those recipes are among the basics of our everyday cooking, it’s still good to bring fresh ideas for those of you who are always having the same breakfast and might want to give it a chance to something new!

Breakfast as we all know is the most important meal of the day for kids as well as grown-ups. Anyway, we all have our mornings in a rush from time to time or all the time and we just postpone or give-up the idea of having a proper breakfast. As a result, after a couple of hours, we slowdown, feel a bit dizzy and we are almost inefficient if we try to last til lunch time!

 To each his own breakfast: french baguette or toasts with butter and jam, bacon and eggs, Viennoiseries, full English breakfast, muffins or cereals….  Options are innumerable but I still wanted to share with you 2 recipes that I came to appreciate since I arrived in London: the Muffins and the Granola

I like Muffins because they are heartwarming and convenient at the same time. Well protected by its paper case, the Muffin is a perfect take-away breakfast. You grab a bite at 8.15 while waiting for the bus and another bite at 9.30 while you are on hold with a client or a friend. You can forget it and it does not dry-out in the meantime but its softness always brings you back to the happy days of your childhood… Some will always have the same one, others will fancy a different taste every day! Blueberry, Lemon and Poppy Seeds, Apple and Cinnamon, Raspberry, Banana and Walnut, Triple Chocolate, Cranberries…. The week does not count enough days to make it a flavor a day!

 

Muffins Recipe

 

Ingredients for 10 to 12 Muffins

•  160 g of butter
• 2 eggs
• 18og of caster sugar
• 250ml of Greek Yogurt
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 300g of plain flour
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1/3 tsp of baking soda
• 1 banana
• 70g of dark chocolate chopped

Method

Preheat your oven to 170°.

Fill your muffins tray with muffin cases or if you don’t have them, generously brush each compartment with butter and keep the tray in your fridge while preparing the muffin’s mix.

Melt the butter in a pan and keep it at hand.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until it gets white and foamy.

Add the butter, yogurt and vanilla essence and give it a good whisk.

Then quickly incorporate the flour, baking powder and baking soda altogether. Do not overwork the mix.

At last incorporate the garnish of your choice. Here, you just have to roughly chop your chocolate and cut your banana in small pieces or mash it with a fork and in that case you incorporate it at the same time as the yogurt and butter.

Spoon the mix in the cases up to 3/4 of their height. If you fill them too much, it will rise too much and you will need a knife to separate the muffins from each other.

Bake them about 20 minutes. The muffins are golden brown on top and very smooth inside but a sharp knife comes out of them clean.

Get them out of the muffin tray and let them cool down a little. You can have them still slightly warm or cold later in the day.

Regarding the garnish options, here is some of the most well known but it’s up to you to create new combination!

• A handful of blueberries
• 1 or 2 diced apples with a tsp of cinnamon
• 2 tbsp of poppy seeds and a lemon zest finely grated
• A handful of granola
• A handful of chopped chocolate
• 1 or 2 diced pears with some chopped walnuts
• A handful of pecans with maple syrup

Here is my last advice: in all the good bakery or coffee the muffins are cooked on a daily basis because they do not last very well overnight.

As they are very easy to prepare, it’s better to decrease the quantities and prepare them more often rather than keep them too long!

 

That’s it for my breakfast suggestion for those of you who are often in a hurry…. Let’s talk about granola now. To me, granola is synonymous with rich sweet flavors but also great breakfast with friends or family around a table talking and taking their time to share stories and food!

Granola is richer than Muesli because it is cooked with butter and honey. Anyway it’s still very healthy as it’s prepared with lots of nuts, seeds and fruits and it’s up to you to adjust the amount of butter and honey that you spread on top of the oats!

My Granola is rich in nuts and spices but never the same…. When I prepare mine, I open my cupboard and put all the leftovers of nuts that I have in a bowl then I add any dried fruits but raisins because I don’t like them and I add a pinch of spices and/or a zest of citrus if I have some!

 

Granola Recipe

 

Ingredients for a large jar of Granola

• 700g of rolled oat
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 60g of butter
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup of slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup of Macadamia
• 1/4 cup of mixed nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashew…)
• 1/4 cup of dried apricots
• 1/4 cup of dried cranberries
• 1 orange zest finely grated
• 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of ground ginger

Method

Preheat your oven to 180° .

In a heavy bottom pan, melt together the butter and honey. Off the heat, add the spices and orange zest and give it a good whisk.

In a deep baking tray covered with a silicon mat or parchment paper, spread the rolled oat evenly and pour the melted butter and honey on top of it.

Use a wooden spoon to get the oats well coated with the butter and honey.

Bake them 8-10 minutes and after 4-5 minutes, work the oats with the wooden spoon to get the uncooked one on top. After another 2-3 minutes, the oats should be slightly brown and caramelized. Stir the nuts and seeds in the mix and cook it for another 2-3 minutes to get the nuts well toasted.

Once you have reach the caramelization that you prefer, let the mix cool down and stir in the remaining ingredients while it’s still hot.

Once it’s cool, pour them in a metal box or an airtight box to keep them as long as you can.

The granola usually last up to 2 weeks. For breakfast, it is often prepared with a large spoon of yogurt or milk and freshly cut fruits. The granola can also be used as a garnish. It’s delicious on top of a yogurt, ice cream, in muffins….

Regarding the garnish options, here is some ideas but once again it’s up to you to decide what’s your favorites!

• Coconut
• Raisins
• Goji Berries
• Dried Mango
• Sesame Seeds
• Sunflower Seeds
• Agave Syrup
• Maple Syrup

An Asian Feast

For the last dinners I have organized at home I tried new ideas and new techniques. I tried the wild flavor of the Hot Smoked Paprika from Spain then I felt like a Magician playing with a crazy amount of spices to cook Indian food. Yesterday, I was in an Asian Mood…. I had tried one of Nigel Slater‘s pork recipe from is book Real Food and it was really yummy! That’s why I decided to do it again with a few other easy Asian dishes. Here is the menu… and the recipes!

Menu: serves about 6 people

Mango and Sugar Snap Peas Salad with a Ginger and Lime Dressing

Molded Pilaf Rice with Grilled Coconut

Pork with Cashews, Lime and Mint from Nigel Slater Cookbook

Mango and Sugar Snap Peas Salad with a Lime and Ginger Dressing

Ingredients

• 500g of sugar snap peas
• 1 mango firm not ripe in order to cut nice squares
• 2-3 spring onions
• coriander and/or mint, chervil
• 1/4 cup of cashew nuts
• Sesame oil
• kecap mani sauce (sweet soy sauce)

Ingredients for the Dressing

• 2 limes juice and zest finely grated
• 2-3 cm of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1/2 red chili seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp of palm sugar or honey if you don’t have it

Method

First prepare your ingredients.

Wash the sugar snap peas and cut them into 2-3 stripes with an angle to give them a nice shape.

Peel the mango and cut 2 thick slices along the stones then cut the slices into 2-3 cm squares.

Wash the spring onions and finely slice them with the same diagonal angle.

Wash the herbs and chop or slice them finely. If you are using them later, put a wet piece of kitchen towel on top of it to prevent them from getting dark.

In a wok or large frying pan, toast the cashew nuts until golden brown. Because the nuts are oily, you need to toast them to release the flavor.

Add 1-2 tsp of kecap mani sauce or honey on top of it and stir them until well coated. The sauce will caramelize around the cashew nuts. Pour the cashew nuts on a silicon mat or a piece of parchment paper.

In the same pan while it’s still hot, add a little sesame oil and pour the sugar snap peas in the wok. Fry them quickly as they need to remain crunchy. The leftover of kecap mani will caramelize the edges of the peas.

After 2-3 minutes, pour them in a container and let them cool down.

Then add a little sesame oil in the wok and quickly fry the mango cubes. Because the mango is not ripe, the cubes will not tear apart and they will keep their shape.

Set aside and let them cool down.

While that time, prepare the sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and depending on your taste, add more palm sugar for the sweetness or lime to make it more sour.

Just before serving, mix together the sugar snap peas, mango, spring onions, herbs, cashew nuts and the sauce, place them in a nice serving dish and decorate with a few remaining chopped herbs.

Molded Pilaf Rice with Grilled Coconut

Ingredients for the Pilaf Rice

• 2 cups of Basmati Rice
• 5 cups of hot water
• 1 chicken/veg stock cube dissolved in the hot water
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped or crushed
• salt and pepper
• groundnut oil
• grilled coconut

Method for the Pilaf Rice*

In a deep medium frying pan, pour a little oil and start to gently fry the onions then add the garlic and keep on frying until golden brown.

Add the rice and cook it until it becomes translucent. Stir it to avoid it sticks to the pan.

Then add the stock on top of it, some salt and pepper and stir it just one time. Bring it to a gentle boil. Cover it and let it cook for at least 20 minutes.

When the rice is cooked, (just taste it to check, it has to be tender) either put the pan in the oven if it is oven proof or keep on cooking on a very gentle heat.

It will slowly create a nice crust of rice at the bottom of the pan.

Just before serving, you can add some grilled coconut on top of the rice to have it at the bottom and as for a cake, turn the pan upside down on a serving plate. The rice should come out easily and keep the shape of the pan.

Add some grilled coconut on top and serve it.

* You can have a lot of fun with the pilaf rice and give it the taste that you want. For example, you can add some spices to the onions such as curry, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and make it more Indian like.

You can also replace half of the stock with coconut milk or infuse Jasmine Tea instead of stock cube.

You can add fresh herbs, toasted nuts, chopped vegetables.

Indeed, this recipe is just a base that you can adapt to the main dish you are cooking.

Pork with Cashews, Lime and Mint

from Nigel Slater Cookbook

Ingredients 

• 800g-1kg of pork fillet
• 60ml of groundnut oil
• 2 handful of cashew nuts or peanuts
• a bunch of spring onions finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic or 2 shallots finely chopped
• 8cm of ginger peeled and finely chopped
• 4 red chillies seeded and finely sliced or chopped
• 60ml of nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
• a bunch of mint leaves finely chopped
• a bunch of basil finely chopped

Method 

Start by preparing all your ingredients. Chop the onions, ginger, chillies and cashew and set aside for later. Chop the herbs and keep them in a wet kitchen towel so that it does not get dark.

In a large wok or frying pan heat 1 tbsp of oil and seal the whole pork fillet until it gets golden brown. Turn the fillet upside down to get the other side the same golden brown color. If the fillets are thick, do the same for the sides that are still raw or barely cooked.

Once it’s done, set the meat and its juice aside. Cut the meat into thin strips about 7-8mm and keep the juice that comes out when you are cutting it.

Return the unwashed wok to the heat, add 2 tbsp of oil in it and as soon as it is hot, add the spring onions, garlic, ginger and chillies. Fry the whole mix and stir constantly for about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Just before serving, reheat the unwashed wok and pour 1 tbsp of oil in it and when it’s hot, quickly fry the slices of pork and pour the mix on top, stir it then add the nuts, the meat juices, the lime juice and the fish sauce. Stir it for about 2 minutes then stir in the herbs.

Serve immediately.

Spiced Pork Braised with Prunes and Apricots with Pan-Fried Polenta

It happens sometimes that we have a little time for a break in our kitchen. In that case, we keep on chatting a bit longer with a nice cup of ginger tea or coffee but sometime we seize the opportunity to dive into cookbooks to get fresh ideas.

As I am not really into meat when I am cooking, I have been looking at the meat section of different cookbooks and eventually, I spent most of my time in only one book:

The Food I Love by Neil Perry

This book is really full of inspiring recipes and Neil Perry gives plenty of tips about ingredients and method which is always valuable when you are on your own.

Basically, I wanted to try most of them but the Spiced Pork with the Pan-Fried Polenta won my attention and it was an opportunity to practice both on a Stew and on Polenta!

Here they are….. the recipes! The recipe indicates it is for 4 but I think it is rather for 6 especially if your are having finger food or starter before and pudding/cheese after!

Spiced Pork Braised with Prunes and Apricots

Ingredients

• 1kg of pork shoulder diced into 2-3cm pieces
• 1tsp of ground coriander
• 1tsp of ground fennel
• 1tsp of ground cumin
• 1tsp of ground cinnamon
• 2tsp of sea salt
• 80ml of olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 125ml of Porto
• 250ml of red wine
• 8 pitted prunes
• 8 dried apricots
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 bay leaves
• 500ml of veal stock
• fresh ground pepper

Method

Mix all the spices and salt altogether and coat the pieces of pork with it. Cover and let it marinate for at least an hour or the night before.

Choose a large and deep heavy based saucepan for that recipe as you will have to add quite a lot of ingredients!

Heat the oil and spread only half of the pork in the pan and fry the pieces until it gets brown but be careful, if it’s too hot, the spices will burn. Also if you put all the meat, the risk is that the meat won’t fry and get a nice brown color. That’s why it’s better to do it into 2 times or more if you have to double the recipe for a large party!

Remove the first batch and repeat with the other batch then set aside for later.

Now add the diced onion in the pan with a pinch of salt and cook it for another 5 minutes on medium heat until soft and golden brown.

You are not starting the recipe with the onions because they need to be cooked after the pork in order to get all the nice flavors of the spices and juices of the pork.

Then you can add the Porto and reduce it by half and add the wine. Bring it to a boil and cook it for another 5 minutes in order  to burn off the alcohol.

Basically, you’re almost done! Now you just have to add the pork, prunes, apricots, orange zest, bay leaves and stock and bring it to a boil then to reduce to a gentle simmer and cover it for 1 1/2 hours.

It’s important to cover the meat because it will keep it tender and the mixture will not reduce dramatically!

Remove the lid and cook for another 20-30 minutes. The pork has to be tender and the sauce is neither too liquid nor too thick. Adjust the seasoning with freshly ground pepper and salt if needed. Remove the bay leaves and serve it.

Neil Perry suggests pan-fried polenta, couscous or rice with that dish. Here I am telling you about the polenta but now that I have tried I may advise you to go rather for couscous or rice as it will be perfect to soak up the braising juices!

Pan-Fried Polenta

Ingredients

• 100g of polenta
• 375ml of milk
• 250ml of chicken stock (or veg stock if you are on a vegetarian option)
• 1tsp of sea salt
• 50g of finely grated Parmesan
• 50g of unsalted butter diced
• freshly ground pepper
• olive oil

Method

First, line a loaf tin (8*8*30cm) with parchment paper and set aside.

In a pan, almost bring to a boil the milk, stock and sea salt then shower the polenta into the mixture and stir continuously with a whisk. Still stirring, simmer over very low heat for about 40 minutes. The polenta is very thick and pulls away cleanly from the side of the pan.

Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, butter then the salt and pepper up to your taste.

Spread the polenta into the lined tin and cover with cling film to prevent from crusting. Let it cool down then refrigerate for a few hours.

On the picture, the container is much larger than a loaf tin…. it’s just because I was cooking for much more than 6 people….

Once the polenta is ready, turn it out of the tin and cut it into slices 1,5-2 cm thick.

Heat the grill or a pan with olive oil and quickly pan-fry the slices until it gets a nice golden brown color or char-grilled marks.

You can also grill them in your oven.

The polenta can be cooked many ways, it can be creamier and served like a puree for example but you can also have fun with the shapes. You can cut them into little sticks for example and use them as a base for canapes….

Milky Crunch

In December, I have introduced you to the Praliné technique thanks to Philippe Conticini but I also told you that I will write a post about a gorgeous cake made with praliné: the Milky Crunch that I discovered on a french website:

http://myhome-made.blogspot.com/

I wanted to give it a try as it really looked gorgeous and even if it took me a while to do it, it was really worth it!

Then be prepared to spend a lot of time in your kitchen if you want to do it. I prefer to warn you as most of my recipes try to be everything BUT time consuming…. This one is not but I really had a lot of fun as well as my husband who took most of the pictures and tasted each layer of the cake before I started to assemble it.

Here is my translation of the recipe with a few adaptations…. I did not do the thin chocolate layer and as we don’t have Gianduja in London or in my neighborhood, I just used dark and milk chocolate….

INGREDIENTS

For the Hazelnut Dacquoise Layer

• 175g of egg whites
• 50g of caster sugar
• 150g of hazelnuts
• 125g of icing sugar

For the Praliné Crunch Layer

• 100g of praliné
• 125g of crêpes dentelles (Gavottes)
• 25g of milk chocolate
• 20g of cocoa butter or quality butter if you don’t have
• 20g of hazelnuts roasted and roughly chopped

For the Chocolate Layer and the Decorations

• 300g of tempered chocolate

For the Milk Chocolate Mousse

• 550 g of milk chocolate
• 2 egg yolks
• 25 g of caster sugar
• 125 g of whole milk
• 600 g of single cream (150 + 450 )

For the Dark Chocolate Ganache

• 200g of dark chocolate
• 125 g of single cream
• 1 tbsp of honey
• 30 g of butter

For the Chocolate Icing

• 100 g of dark chocolate 70% or 300g if you don’t have Gianduja Chocolate
• 200 g of Gianduja Chocolate (with hazelnuts)
• 200 g of single cream
• 50 g of water
• 50 g of glucose syrup
• 25 g sunflower oil

METHOD

For the Hazelnut Dacquoise Layer

- Preheat your oven to 180 degree.

- Roast the hazelnuts on a tray or in a frying pan and let them cool down. Place them in a processor and roughly chop them with the icing sugar. You need to keep some hazelnut pieces as they will keep the dacquoise crunchy.

- Whisk the egg whites and add the 50g of caster sugar to get them tighter. They must form soft peak and hold by themselves.

- With a spatula, gently incorporate the hazelnut to the egg whites.

- Spread the mix on a baking tray covered with a silicon mat or parchment paper and bake it for 15-20 min. The Dacquoise is still soft and slightly colored.

- Once the Dacquoise is cool, use the mold in which you are going to assemble the cake to cut out a piece of Dacquoise that will be the base of your cake. It can be a circle, rectangle, square….

For the Praliné Crunch Layer

-Melt together the Chocolate Milk and the butter in a pan on slow heat or in the microwave (15 sec at a time).

-Mix together the praliné and the crushed Gavottes (crepes dentelles).

-Incorporate the roughly chopped hazelnuts and the chocolate and butter mix.

- Spread the mix on parchment paper and cover it with another piece of parchment paper and make it flat with a rolling pin.

- Cut out a piece of the same shape and same size as the dacquoise so that it fit on top of it and reserve it in the fridge.

For the Chocolate Decorations

- Using silicon molds for mini cupcakes, place 1/2 a square or 2 chocolate buttons into each case and get the chocolate melted in the micro-wave (15 secondes at a time) or just place the mold in a hot oven until the chocolate covers the bottom of the cases.

- Place the mold in the fridge and use it when it’s time to decorate the cake.

For the Dark Chocolate Ganache

- Chop the dark chocolate and melt it in a bain-marie or in the micro-wave (15 secondes at a time)

- In a pan, bring the honey and the cream to a boil and pour 1/3 on the chocolate and incorporate it vigorously with a spatula then add another 1/3 and the last 1/3.

- As the temperature will decrease, add the butter and mix it again to have a nice and silky ganache.

For the Milk Chocolate Mousse

-Chop the chocolate and melt it in a bain-marie or in the micro-wave (15 secondes at a time)

- Start with the cooking of the custard: in a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until it gets foamy and white. Pour it into a pan with the milk and 150g of cream and cook it on a slow heat while spooning constantly. The temperature must be between 82 and 84 degrees otherwise, the egg yolks scramble or the cream will not get thicker. If you are not used to do the custard, cook it on a bain-marie, it is easier even if it takes a bit longer.

- Once the custard is thick enough (it covers the back of the spatula and when you pass your finger on it, it leaves a trace), pour 1/3 on top of the melted chocolate and incorporate it with a spatula. Once the mix is homogeneous, add another 1/3 and incorporate it with the spatula then finish with the last 1/3.

- Whisk the remaining 450g of cream in a bowl until it gets light and airy then incorporate it to the chocolate mix when that one as cooled down to 45 degree.

For the Chocolate Icing

-Chop the chocolate and melt it in a bain-marie or in the micro-wave (15 secondes at a time)

- In a pan, bring the milk, glucose syrup and cream to a boil and pour it 1/3 at a time on top of the chocolate.

- Mix it well to obtain a nice and silky icing and use it as it’s still warm (about 40 degree).

HOW TO ASSEMBLE

- First prepare the praliné crunch layer, cut it and reserve it.

- Second, bake and cut the dacquoise and reserve it.

- Grease the edges of the mold (such as a loose bottom pan) you are using and cover it with parchment paper to make it easier when you will have to get the cake out. Place the dacquoise layer at the bottom then cover it with the praliné crunch layer. Press well so that they stick together.

- Prepare the chocolate ganache and pour it straight away on top of the praliné crunch layer.

- Prepare the chocolate mousse and pour it on top of the ganache.

- Make the chocolate icing and pour it on top of the mousse. Place in the fridge and let it rest for a few hours.

- If you did not use parchment paper for the edges: once the cake is refrigerated, use a sharp knife and plunge the blade in boiling water before passing it around the edges of your mold. Press the cake through the bottom and it will come out easily. Otherwise, press through the bottom and carefully remove the parchment paper around the cake.

- Use the hot blade to smooth the edges of your cake as the paper or mold may have stuck to the chocolate icing.

- If you have been making chocolate decorations with the tempered chocolate, you can add them when you unfold the cake. For mine, if have been using finely grated chocolate and chocolate pieces made with the temperate chocolate.

- Enjoy straight away with a large bunch of friends…

You can also make a couple of medium size cakes or many small ones and freeze them. Just get them out 24 hours before!

Fancy more Macaroons?

If you have tried the Macaron Caramel Beurre Sale since I posted the recipe, you may want to try new fillings and new techniques such as butter cream, curd or flavored chocolate ganache.

Here they are, from lemon & basil to chocolate & chilli, I hope you will enjoy the flavors and play with the colors!

Just a quick reminder of the shells method….

Ingredients

• 30g flour
• 350g icing sugar
• 212g almond powder
• 190g egg whites
• 90g caster sugar
• Food Colouring

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°c.
Start by preparing your baking sheets (3), either buttered and lined with greaseproof
paper or lined with a silicone matt. Also prepare a piping bag with a plain tip.
Sift the flour, icing sugar and almond powder together, set aside in a bowl.
In the bowl, put the egg whites, measured precisely, and start whisking with a hand
electric mixer. Add half of the caster sugar as it starts foaming, keep whisking until it
thickens, and add the rest of the caster sugar near the end, you can add the colouring
as well at that point. The whites must be shiny and firm, but be careful not to over
whisk (the whites will become grainy if over whisked).
Add the dry ingredients (flour, icing sugar, almond powder) to the whites and start to
mix gently using a large flexible spatula. When the mixture is smooth and there are
no streaks of egg whites, stop folding and scrape the batter into the piping bag (if you
are alone, it helps to put the bag in a large glass).
Pipe the batter on the prepared baking sheets in 3cm circles (about one tablespoon
each of batter, evenly spaced 3cm.
Leave to rest for at least 20min.

Then bake for 12min. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.
Assemble the shell and the ganache: pipe some ganache on one shell, put the other
shell on top.
The macaroons taste even better the next day.

Here they are…. the cooked shells!

Matching the shells now…

Ready to pipe the ganaches and other fillings!

Here they are…. the cooked shells!

Chocolate and Chilli Macaroons

Chocolate and Chilli Ganache

• 1/2 red chilli or 1 tsp of chilli flakes
• 130ml double cream
• 130g dark chocolate
• 30g butter

Boil the cream and chilli flakes together and let infuse.
Melt chocolate and butter over a bain-marie
Incorporate the cream to the chocolate, pour in a piping bag and refrigerate for at
least an hour.

Chocolate and Passion Fruit Macaroons

Chocolate and Passion Fruit ganache

• 300g dark chocolate
• 250ml double cream
• 2 passion fruits

Put the dark chocolate in a bowl, broken into small pieces.
Put the cream in a pan and bring to the boil. Pour over the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the passion fruit. Leave to cool down and then put the mixture in a piping bag. Refrigerate.

Rose & Litchi Macaroons

Rose & Litchi ganache

• 24 Litchis
• 200g of white chocolate
• Rose Water

Peel and remove the stones of the litchis and puree them in a pan with a little rose
water.
If needed, blend the litchis in order to have an homogeneous mix then add the white
chocolate and let it melt with the litchis until you have a nice and silky ganache.
Taste the ganache and add a little rose water if needed.
Pour the ganache in a piping bag and let it rest in the fridge.
Your ganache will be ready to pipe.

Raspberry Macaroons

White Chocolate and Raspberry ganache

• 300g white chocolate
• 150ml double cream
• 150g raspberries

Mix the raspberries to make a coulis.
Put the white chocolate broken into small pieces in a bowl.
Put the cream in a pan and bring to the boil then pour it over the white chocolate and
mix. Add the raspberry coulis, mix, and leave to cool down before you transfer it in a
piping bag. Refrigerate so that it sets.

Pistachio Macaroons

Pistachio ganache

• 300g white chocolate
• 150g double cream
• About 1 tsp pistachio paste

Put the white chocolate broken into small pieces in a bowl.
Put the cream in a pan with about one teaspoon of pistachio paste (more or less
according to your taste) and bring to the boil then pour it over the white chocolate,
mix. Leave to cool down before you transfer it in a piping bag. Refrigerate so that it
sets.

Lemon and Basil Macaroons

Lemon and Basil curd

• 1/2 gelatine sheet
• 3 eggs
• 135g caster sugar
• 130g lemon juice (2 ½ lemons)
• 10 basil leaves finely chopped by hand
• 175g butter, diced

Put the gelatine in a bowl with cold water to soften it.
Mix the eggs with the sugar and the lemon juice. Put in a pan and heat slowly, always mixing. Add the basil leaves. Cook the mixture until it starts boiling and it thickens. Add the gelatine, put the mixture in a sieve and filtrate above a bowl that contains the diced butter. Mix the lemon cream with a hand electric mixer for 1 min.
Leave to cool and then transfer into a piping bag.

Orange and Cinnamon Macaroons

Orange and Cinnamon curd

• 1 1/2 orange
• 1 lemon
• 100g unsalted butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp Corn flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon or ½ cinnamon stick
• 3 eggs lightly whisked

In a bowl, whisk the sugar and the corn flour together.
In a pan, put the Zest of the oranges with the juice of oranges and lemon. Add the
mixture of sugar and corn flour, and the butter to the pan and bring it to a boil. As soon as it boils, take out of the stove and add the eggs, while stirring.
Put back on the heat still stirring until it thickens.
Then transfer to a container and let it cool down. You can either transfer into a piping bag or just spoon it on the macaroons.

Lavender Macaroons

Lavender Butter Cream

• 25ml whole milk
• 1tbsp lavender
• 250g icing sugar
• 80g unsalted butter
• red and blue colorings

In a pan infuse milk and lavender and let them rest then strain the liquid through a sieve.
Whisk the icing sugar and butter until it gets light and fluffy then add the food coloring purple first then blue until you get a nice lavender color.
Incorporate the milk while whisking until fully incorporated and beat for another 5 min until light and fluffy.
Pour in a piping bag and fill the macaroons straight away.
If refrigerated, give it a good whisk before piping.

Lavender Ganache

• 250g white chocolate
• 150g whipping cream
• 2 tsp Lavender

Bring the whipping cream to the boil with the lavender. Leave to infuse for about 10min.                                        Grate the white chocolate and put it into a bowl.
Bring the cream to the boil again and pour it over the white chocolate (use a sieve if you don’t want any lavender bits).
Let it cool down and set before filling the macaroons.

Coffee Macaroons

Coffee Custard Cream

• 50cl whole milk
• 15 grams instant coffee
• 3 eggs
• 100g caster sugar
• 50g flour

In a pan bring the milk to a boil and add the instant coffee to dissolve it.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until it gets white and airy, add the flour and whisk until well incorporated.
While whisking, slowly pour the milk on top of it then pour back in the pan and cook on medium heat until it gets thick and start to boil.
Pour on a tray or in a bowl and cover with cling film to avoid the cream starts to crust. Before piping, give another whisk, pour in a piping bag and fill the macaroons.

Goat’s Cheese and Fig Macaroons

Goat’s Cheese Filling

• 200g fresh soft goat’s cheese
• 2 tbsp single cream
• Fig jam

Soften the goat’s cheese with a fork and a bit of cream. Pour it in a piping bag and pipe a small amount on a shell then create a little hole in the middle of the goat’s cheese by pressing with your finger in order to create space for the fig jam.                                                                                                                                               Pipe a little fig jam in the hole then cover with the other shell and twist and press at the same time to lock your macaroon.

Lemon and Meringue Pie with a Poppy Seeds Shortcrust Pastry

As a kid, I have always been impressed by the texture of the meringue covering the lemon pies that my mum is fond of.

As an adult, I have tried to understand that mystery and I have rolled my sleeves many times to get to the right result.

There is so many recipes for the lemon and meringue pie…. the lemon curd can be cooked in the oven or in a bain-marie, the meringue can be french or italian, you can also have two types of lemon curds in the same tart…..

As I tried many recipes, I ended up with my own recipe which is a selection of my favorites elements picked in each recipe.

I added poppy seeds and lemon zest to the sweet pastry to make it more tasty and give it some extra crunch!

I have chosen Eric Kayser lemon curd for the filling of the tart because his recipe is tasty and simple in term of ingredients and technique.

And for the meringue, I finally tried the Italian meringue and I have to say…. the consistency is much better. Because the sugar is cooked, the meringue is dense and firm and very important, if you keep your tart in the fridge, it will hold perfectly. 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE POPPY SEED AND LEMON PASTRY DOUGH (Makes 1 large tart or 8 individuals)

• 250g of flour
• 5g of salt
• 100g of icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp of poppy seeds
• 1 lemon zest finely grated
• 125g of butter cold and diced
• 1 egg whisked
• Plain flour to roll out the dough
• Iced water if necessary

INGREDIENTS FOR THE LEMON CURD

• 1 unwaxed lemon zest and juice
• 240g of caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 300g of butter cold and diced

INGREDIENTS FOR THE ITALIAN MERINGUE

•   4 egg whites
• 250 g of caster sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 10 cl of waterof caster sugar

METHOD FOR THE SWEET PASTRY

By hand: Place the flour, icing sugar, salt, poppy seeds, lemon zest and cold diced butter in a bowl and start bringing the ingredients together until they form a light bread crumb consistency.  Now, add the egg and combine completely. Add a little water if the dough is to dry. Shape the pastry into a bowl slightly flatten and wrap it into cling film. Let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.  This freezes beautifully.

With a Magimix: Sift the flour, salt, poppy seeds, lemon zest and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and add the cold diced butter.  Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Whisk the egg and add to the pastry mixture and stir well to bring together, adding a little more iced water if necessary.  Bring the pastry together into a flat disc and wrap it into cling film. Chill it for 30 minutes before rolling out.

To roll the pastry, dust a clean and wide enough surface with flour and place the dough in the middle of it and start rolling until you get a dough 2-3 mm wide.

Check that it’s big enough to fit into your case. To do that, place the case in the middle of the dough. There must be enough dough all around to cover more than the edges of the case.

Now roll it on your rolling pin and unroll it on top of the pastry case or fold it into 4 and unfold it on top of the pastry case. Gently push the dough at the bottom of the case and press it with the back of your fingers to make it fit perfectly in the pastry case.

Put it back in the fridge or the freezer for at least 30 minutes. It will prevent the dough from shrinking when you blind bake it in the oven!

In a preheated oven (200°) blind bake the pastry case for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on the edges and at the bottom as it won’t go back to the oven.  Remove the shell from the case and let it cool down on a rack.

METHOD FOR THE LEMON CURD

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and the sugar. Once it’s getting white and foamy, add the lemon zest finely grated and the juice.

Put the bowl on top of a bain-marie and cook the lemon curd until it gets thick and creamy. This process may take a while (30-40 minutes) and you HAVE to keep on whisking the curd all along!

If you feel confident enough, you can skip the bain-marie step and cook it in the pan at a lower temperature but be careful as the curd can easily burn!

Once the lemon curd is cooked, take it off the fire and incorporate the diced butter. Mix it until completely incorporated.

Pour the lemon curd in the tart shell and let it cool down.

METHOD FOR THE ITALIAN MERINGUE
Pour the sugar and the water in a medium pan and start to cook gently. The sugar will melt and turn into syrup. If needed, brush the edges of the pan with a pastry or silicon brush to prevent the sugar from crystallizing.
Using a thermometer, bring it to a boil and keep cooking it until it reach 121°.

At that step, if your egg whites are already whisked with the pinch of salt, pour the syrup slowly on the edges of the bowl while it’s still whisking.

Otherwise, plunge the bottom of your pan in very cold water to stop the cooking of the syrup. While the syrup is cooling down, pour your egg whites and the pinch of salt in the bowl of your Kitchen Aid and whisk them until firm then pour slowly the syrup on the edges of the bowl while it’s still whisking.

The egg whites will become thight and silky. Keep on whisking until the meringue cools down.

You can either pour the meringue in a piping bag with the nozzle of your choice and pipe it on top of the lemon curd otherwise you can spoon it straight away and create nice shapes with the back of your spoon.

Here you are…. Almost done!

Let’s have fun with the blow torch now and give the meringue peaks a nice dark brown colour. To do that, use the blow torch as if it was a brush and quickly bring it close to your meringue without touching it.
If you don’t have a blow torch, you can obtain the same result with the grill of your oven but be careful, depending on the oven, it can take only a few seconds!

Carrot & Coco Soup…

First of all, I wanted to wish to all of you an Happy New Year… I hope you had as lovely holidays as I did even if I had way too much of our French treats such as Foie-Gras, Fine Cheeses and all kind of sweets. It’s time for me to get back to healthy BUT tasty dishes in order to DETOX my body in a gentle way!

For those who have been very moderate or just postpone to February all the good resolutions because of the Galette des Rois, don’t worry… you can still enjoy the recipe that I posted last year!

Ingredients for 6 servings

• 1 kg of carrots
• 0,8 l of water
• 40 cl of coconut milk
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 large onion
• ½ tsp ground coriander*
• ½ tsp ground cumin*
• 1 pinch of ground cinnamon*
• 1 tsp of olive oil

*You can replace those spices with mixed spices of your choice, I used Garam Massala but Chinese 5 Spices, All Spices and other mixes work very well…

Method

• Wash and peel the onions and carrots. Chop the onion and cut the carrots in slices 2-3mm wide.

• In a large heavy bottom pan, heat the oil and gently fry the onion until it gets golden brown. Add the sliced carrots on top, salt and pepper then pour the water and the stock. You can dissolve the stock cube in hot water before otherwise, it will dissolve by itself while cooking. Bring it to a boil then cover the pan with a lid and keep on cooking gently for 25-30 minutes.

• Once the carrots are cooked (they are soft and easy to cut), pour all the content of the pan in a blender with the coconut milk and the spices. Blend them until you obtain a nice and smooth soup. Taste and rectify the seasoning up to your taste.

• Depending on how you like your soup, you can adjust the quantity of water or coconut milk to make it more or less liquid, more or less creamy.

• Pour it into serving bowls and serve it straight away while it’s still hot.

• For decoration, you can add coriander leaves or a spoon of whipped cream and some freshly ground pepper.