This Year's Raspberry Cream Cake

My family loves raspberry cream cake, and we used to get delicious ones at a local bakery. The last one we got was overpriced and underwhelming, so we've sworn off them and I occasionally remember to make one, usually when local raspberries are in season. I used to want to recreate that bakery cake, but I always end up making something completely different. That's okay, because I can still remember the other cake fondly while I'm gorging on raspberries, cake and cream. This one was exactly like the fraisier I made for the July Daring Bakers' challenge. Okay, not exactly. I used raspberries, skipped the almond paste and soaking syrup, and added lots of lemon zest to the cake batter. The verdict? Delicious.
Here's the link to that recipe because I'm far too lazy to type it up.
:)

Update: I am still not home! I'm enjoying my last week in Ecuador, and thinking of all the things I'll miss and making plans to return. I know my last post said I was on my way, but that was a mix-up on my part. I had lots of auto posts scheduled but the death of my computer while I was here buggered that up a bit. Anyway, enjoy some cake and I'll see you in a week or so!

Raspberry and Honey Cranachan

This is my last auto-scheduled post, and I should be on a plane home by the time this is posted. I can't wait to get back to my own kitchen to bake up some Thanksgiving goodies!

I used red and golden raspberries, along with tayberries

Funny name, isn't it? Now, if I was one of those bloggers that did tons of research into how foods got their names, I'd have a story to tell. But I'm not that person. What I can tell you is that this dessert is Scottish and delicious. When I went to Edinburgh for work, this was one of the things on my to-do list. I wasn't sure how to pronounce it, but I knew that any combination of raspberries, cream, whisky and oats was bound to be amazing. I tried it in a few places just to confirm, because I do believe in some kinds of research. I even ate this combination atop hot oatmeal at a very cool spot at the Edinburgh Farmers' Market called Stoats Oats. It was a porridge bar where you could get any number of interesting toppings on your bowl of oatmeal. It was July, but freezing and pouring rain, so this was a Saturday morning treat. Here's the link to the breakfast dish, but I recommend you have the dessert version. This would also be delicious with stewed rhubarb (of course!) or other berries or cherries in season.

Raspberry and Honey Cranachan
Source: River Cottage Every Day
Serves 4
50 grams rolled oats
2 tablespoons whisky
250 ml double or whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
250 grams raspberries

1. Warm a small frying pan over low heat. Add rolled oats and stir until they are golden and toasted. Watch carefully as they burn easily. Transfer to a plate to cool.
2. Stir the whisky and cream together and whisk until it holds soft peaks. Lightly crush a few of the raspberries so their juices run. I didn't crush them enough, so my cream was pale and full of whole berries. Not as pretty, but tasty. Fold all the raspberries, honey and oats into the cream, spoon into small glasses or bowls and serve immediately.

Lemon Mascarpone Layer Cake

Have you been over to my place for dinner yet? You should come. The food's good and so is the conversation. It's the getting there that's a struggle. You see, preparations for a dinner party follow a very predictable course chez Mary. Basically a dinner invitation means I want to cook up something I've never made before. I am not one of those people who goes for the tried and true. Once I finally decide on a menu, I procrastinate extensively. The day of the dinner party dawns, and is usually spent in a frenzy of cooking, cleaning, shopping, and just lying around, hoping it all magically gets done on its own. As the afternoon progresses, I look at the clock, wondering if there's anything I can skip. That is why you should never look in my closets. The laundry might fall over and smother you. As the minute of the guests' arrival approaches, I usually jump in the shower and then panic when I realize I've forgotten something crucial, like cleaning the bathtub. What? Well, you never know. The consummate hostess is prepared for everything. 

Last month I had the pleasure of welcoming some good friends from Australia, along with their son and his grandmother, for dinner. I used to work with L in Toronto, where we also had some fun kitchen adventures. I'm giggling remembering the Benriner episode, the double cardamom shortbread fail, and the pumpkin ravioli. Oh, and cringed when I remembered T eating the whole cayenne pepper I had forgotten to fish out of a curry. L and T had also been my guests many times in Toronto and knew the drill. They used to pace outside on my driveway, waiting for the appointed time, not knowing what they'd find if they showed up early. Smart people! I don't mind lateness too much, being chronically late myself, but I think being early is insufferable for all involved.

Anyway, they were most considerately 90 minutes late, and I was pretty well ready when they got here. I had even managed to get a photo of the cake, even though it was a grim, grey and rainy day. L is a photographer, so I stressed about this a bit. We had a simple, but delicious menu of orange and olive salad, chicken, spinach and tomatillo tacos, refried black beans, and this cake. The only thing that wasn't homemade were the corn tortillas, and they were awful--soggy and falling apart. Next time I will be better prepared and make them myself. Ha! No really. I actually had to run to the store to get them, with not much time to spare, and some jerk yelled at me because my umbrella and his wife's caught, soaking us both. 
The cake was nice, but I think it could have been better. The frosting, with the mascarpone and lemon curd was delicious--creamy and not too sweet. The cake seemed a bit floury and didn't rise as much as I would have liked, meaning I couldn't divide the layers. That meant there was a tiny layer in the middle where the syrup didn't reach. I don't think anyone else noticed, but it bothered me. Also, the cake wasn't as lemony as I would have liked. Next time I make this, I'll use a genoise from The Cake Bible and add use passionfruit curd instead of lemon. The raspberries were my addition, and I loved the texture and tart, winey flavour they added.

This cake had a lot of components, but it didn't take that long to put together. Or maybe I was just running on warp speed. Start the day before your dinner party, as the finished cake needs to sit overnight.
:)
Cake recipe after the jump!

Sheridan's Black and White chocolate pudding for St Patrick's Day

Do we really need a dessert for St Patrick's Day? No, Guinness is not a dessert. Anyway, last year I made some coffee gelee and topped it with cream in a tiny beer glass. This year, I had lots of ideas, but no time. So, I decided on a rich chocolate pudding. It was made in about 10 minutes flat. Now, I am not a huge fan of chocolate pudding, and much prefer custard, but I thought I'd give it another try. I had tried a vanilla pudding a few months ago and found it too starchy, but hoped the chocolate and booze would fix that. I adapted the recipe from this one, where hundreds of commenters raved about it. I read a lot of the comments and they fell into a few categories: those that loved it; those that couldn't get the pudding to thicken; and the disturbing ones. They made weird substitutions like Cool Whip for milk, breast milk, artificial sweeteners, or they had really odd ideas about food chemistry. I don't know why I torture myself by reading comments, but sometimes it's like a car crash and you just can't look away. At least I can't: I'm nosy.

I added some Dutch-process cocoa and used 72% chocolate here. I was glad I was adding the liqueur at the end, as was very thick, even while hot. If you're skipping the alcohol, reduce the cornstarch a bit, or replace it with another liquid to get a wonderful, silky soft pudding. Have you ever tried Sheridan's? It comes in two colours that are separate, but in a fused glass bottle. The black is whiskey-coffee and the white is creamy vanilla. When you pour it, you get a layered drink. And it tastes much better than Bailey's, I think. I put the black in the pudding and the white in the cream top. Hmmm, in looking for photos of Sheridan's, I see that it is hard to find in the USA. Feel free to replace with whiskey and Bailey's.

Source: Tipsy Gifts

Black and White chocolate pudding
Makes 4-6 servings
Black:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
large pinch salt
2 tablespoons darkest Dutch-process cocoa
3 cups whole milk
6 ounces dark chocolate, melted (I used 72%)
4-6 tablespoons Sheridan's black liqueur
White:
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons Sheridan's white liqueur

Black: Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium saucepan and then slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until pudding just comes to a boil. Whisk for one minute. Remove from heat and whisk in melted chocolate and liqueur. Strain through a sieve and divide amongst serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
White: Whisk cream and liqueur together until soft peaks form. Serve puddings with a dollop of cream.

Vanilla panna cotta on clementine Amaretto gelée

Does gelée sound like the most pretentious thing ever? Maybe, but it sounds a hell of a lot better than Jell-O. I could have called it jelly, but isn't that something you spread on toast? Gelatin just doesn't sound very appetizing. Whatever you call it, this is a super easy and delicious dessert. It's summery and refreshing, but uses one of winter's most popular fruits. And it only takes a few minutes to make.

Clementine gelée layer
1 cup freshly squeezed, strained clementine juice (I used 7 clementines)
1-2 tablespoons Amaretto
¾ teaspoon powdered gelatin*
Panna cotta layer
1 cup light cream or heavy cream ( I used mostly whole milk with some cream)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (or more Amaretto)
¾ teaspoon powdered gelatin*

1. For the clementine layer: Pour ¼ cup juice into a small saucepan and sprinkle 1 teaspoon gelatin over the top. Let stand a few minutes, then heat over medium-low heat, stirring, until gelatin is completely dissolved. Add the rest of the juice and the Amaretto. Divide amongst 4 small ramekins or pretty glasses (¼ cup in each). Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set.
2. For the panna cotta layer. Pour ¼ cup cream and the sugar into a small saucepan and sprinkle 1 teaspoon gelatin over the top. Let stand a few minutes, then heat over medium-low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Add the rest of the cream and the vanilla and carefully pour over the clementine layer. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight. 
3. Serve with some candied orange peel or a cookie. Makes 4 small ramekins.

*This is enough gelatin to give a very soft, wobbly set, but not enough that you can turn the dessert out onto a plate. If you'd like to do that, use 1 teaspoon of gelatin for each layer and then refrigerate overnight. 

Passion fruit mousse

I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things since the holidays. I've been surprisingly busy at work this week, and daylight has been fleeting. I actually made this on Monday, and just managed to get some pictures today, so I can tell you that this mousse is a good keeper. Not that it'll last long once you try it. Isn't it just the dreamiest colour? Well, maybe not in Ottawa's dull light, but trust me, it was a beautiful pale orange.

I love passion fruit, but it's so expensive to buy them fresh here, and sometimes you get a dud, with almost no pulp inside it. I lucked out just before Christmas, because my aunt brought me back a shopping bag full of them from the Dominican Republic. I ate a lot over the holidays, but still got almost a kilogram of pulp from the rest. I've been sneaking spoonfuls and using it in smoothies, enjoying it thoroughly, but I wanted to make something I've never made before with passion fruit. When I was at my mother's over the holidays, I looked through some of the cookbooks I keep there and found a recipe for a bavarois, or Bavarian cream. Now, I'm not sure that it actually is a Bavarian cream, as they don't usually contain meringue. My Larousse Gastronomique is in storage, so I've just called this a mousse, and enjoyed it thoroughly. A rose by another name and all that.

This recipe started with a passion fruit curd, which got lightened with an Italian meringue and whipped cream and set with a bit of gelatin. Perfect: it would dirty all my dishes! I had also been loaned a set of small metal molds, by a friend who went hunting in her childhood home over the holidays. This recipe did indeed require lots of bowls, but the results were worth it. The texture is light, from the meringue, and tart, but still a bit creamy. It really is January diet fare, if you ignore the 7 egg yolks and cup of cream. That said, it made a lot! I filled all my ramekins, molds, and even set some aside for another dessert. According to The Cake Bible, it can even be frozen, so I'll try that with a few ramekins and let you know how it turns out.

Passion fruit bavarois
From The Secrets of Baking, by Sherry Yard
Serves 8

½ cup cold water, divided
1 ¼ ounce envelope powdered gelatin
1¼ cups granulated sugar, divided
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
¾ cup strained. pureed passion fruit pulp (can use frozen)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I skipped this, as my passion fruit was very tart)
1 cup heavy cream
4 large egg whites

a 2-quart/litre decorative mold or smaller individual ones

1. Pour ¼ cup of the cold water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over top. Set aside to soften. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a simmer over medium heat. 
2. Whisk together the egg yolks, eggs and ¾ cup of the sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. Place over the simmering water and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the passion fruit and continue whisking until the curd reaches 160℉/71℃, or is the thickness of sour cream.
3. Melt the softened gelatin by heating for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave, and stir into the curd.
4. The recipe recommends straining and cooling over an ice bath, but I just put it in the fridge while I prepared the other components, and stirred it occasionally.
5. Whip the cream, then place in the fridge. Wash the beaters.
6. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Swirl to moisten the sugar, then cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover and cook to 235℉/113℃. While you are waiting...
7. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites to the soft peak stage. When the syrup is ready, drizzle it into the whites while you are beating. Be careful not to get the syrup directly on the beaters, as it will harden there, or be spun onto the sides of the bowl. Whip until stiff, shiny peaks have formed.
8. When the curd is cool (70℉/21℃), but not set, fold the meringue in with a spatula or a whisk. When it is almost incorporated, fold in the whipped cream. 
9. Immediately pour the mixture into the mold(s) and refrigerate. It will be set in about 2 hours. To remove from the mold, invert it onto a serving dish and rub the outside of the mold with a warm damp towel. Tap the mold to loosen the gelatin. This did not work for me! I had to dunk the molds into hot water before they would release. Perhaps I'll oil them lightly next time. If you wet your plate first, you will be able to slide the bavarian into place more easily. Stays fresh, refrigerated and covered with plastic wrap for up to 3 days. Garnish with extra passionfruit pulp, or other tropical fruit.

Raspberry cream cake

Yikes, where have I been? Well, I moved, meaning that all of my stuff is packed. I put it in storage, so I'm not sure when I'll see all my favourite kitchen tools again. Sniff, sniff. Right now I'm in Toronto for the month, working. I am staying in a lovely condo downtown, and, while the kitchen is nice, no normal person has as much kitchen gear as I do. That said, I may still try to throw a few things together while I'm here. I made this cake in the week between my move and coming here. I was staying part of the time at my mother's, and part of the time at a friend's place. I made this at my mother's for my family, as we all love raspberries and cream. 

I used to get a raspberry cream cake for my birthday every year from a local bakery in my family's small town. One year, though, we were really disappointed. The cake was tough and the cream tasted fake. We (I) complained to the bakery, but they said there was nothing wrong with it. Needless to say, we never got another one. I had forgotten about it, but decided to try my hand at it, as it really is quite a simple cake. The bakery cake was different from this one in that it had a layer of cooked raspberries separate from the cream, but I didn't want to cook the lovely fresh raspberries I had picked up at the market. 

I made an angel food cake using this recipe, minus the ginger. It shrank a bit in the last few minutes of baking, but was moist and fluffy and sweet, and, really, what else do you want from an angel food cake? I cut the top inch off and made a tunnel. After eating the cake scraps, I filled the tunnel with a mixture of mashed raspberries and sweetened whipped cream. I put the top back on and iced it with more whipped cream. It was light, yet very creamy, sweet and tart all at the same time. These pictures are all of different slices of the cake, which was just an excuse to eat more of it!

This cake must be chilled, and the filling needs a few hours to set for the neatest slices. It keeps for about 2 days, but after that the filling started to weep a bit. Not that that stopped us from eating it. 

Strawberry wedding cake

It still amazes me that anyone would ask me to make their wedding cake. Sure, it would probably taste good, but would I finish on time? I'm happy to say that I finished this cake with 6 minutes to spare. Yeah, 6 minutes didn't leave much time for piping, hence the rather rustic coat of whipped cream on it. Oh, and it tasted good! Sadly I didn't get a photo of the cut cake, which had a lovely pink filling, but I was so relieved by then that it hadn't collapsed that I just sat down and ate some. In fact, this is the only picture I got of the finished cake.

This cake was for my friends M and D, and it was the most relaxed wedding ever. Nobody could be further from being a Bridezilla than M. In fact, her only requirement was 'cardamom', and we did discuss berries, and there was a definite preference for whipped cream rather than buttercream, but that was it. And D, well I think he'll eat anything. I got pretty stressed out by this cake, which is unusual, especially when it comes to baking. I usually throw things together without too much of a plan, and because I have enough experience, it usually works. However, I wasn't willing to have a big, slumping, melting mess of a cake unveiled in front of lots of people I didn't know, and some that I do. So, I thought about it a lot. I read books and looked at websites and forums.  I bought new pans and lots of accessories. I stole a dozen straws from Starbucks. Not exactly stole: I paid $3.25 for a latte, and took them in lieu of sugar.

Those of you who have seen my kitchen are probably wondering how I did it. There are 6 layers of cake, all made on my 16" (40 cm) of counter space, and baked in my apartment-size oven. No worries, I have a breakfast table that's 13.5' (4.1 m) from said counter. Did I mention that I am moving? I am, on Monday, meaning that the space between counter and table is littered with half packed boxes, and requires hopping, turning sideways and taking a very circuitous route. Needless to say, it was a tight squeeze, and I broke 3 plates in the process, including my lovely old cake plate. I was upset about that one, as good cake plates are hard to find, but, as for the other two plates: less to pack. I also managed to drop a full container of cornstarch off the kitchen counter and discovered that it can fly all the way to the breakfast table, and even stick to the curtains. I came home the other day to discover a set of white footprints leading from my apartment to the elevator. I keep thinking I've got it all cleaned up, but it's hard with all the boxes in the way.

Anyway, back to the cake. All the recipes were from The Cake Bible, by Rose Levy Berenbaum. No recipes, as I've already packed the book. I made the génoise classique in 6", 8" and 10", with 2 layers of each. This took 22 eggs, but less than 200 grams of butter! It was a light sponge cake, spiced with freshly ground cardamom, soaked with a rum syrup and filled with a strawberry-white chocolate mousse. This mousse was a combination of Rose's strawberry cloud cream and white ganache. I frosted it with sweetened whipped cream flavoured with vanilla and stabilized with cornstarch. There was more than 2 litres of whipping cream in the cake, more than making up for the lack of butter, I think.

I baked the cakes on Thursday evening, syruped and put the layers together on Friday night (after the civil service and a great Chinese dinner), meaning I finished at 3 am. On Saturday morning, I woke up at 9 and thought I had better find a box to transport it in, and pick up some strawberries to garnish it. As you can see, I went a bit overboard with the strawberries, buying a flat (12 pints). I finally finished them yesterday. :) I got the tiers put together, using those straws to support them, and got the whipped cream on at 1:24 pm. My ride was arriving at 1:30. All I needed to do was get dressed. I was really worried about the cream melting, so I ripped a rack out of my fridge by force, and jammed the cake in.

When my ride arrived, I got the cake in its box and got it in the car, but sat in the backseat with it, as I was really worried. It was then I noticed I was wearing my house flip-flops, which did not match my dress at all. Oh well. Even though I had pushed a wooden dowel down the centre (a long cooking chopstick, actually), I could envision it sliding apart. Sure enough, on a corner that T took like an F1 driver, the whole thing tilted dramatically. Once I saw that it was okay, I relaxed. A bit too much, apparently, because as we took off from a stoplight, the box and cake lurched backward, smearing on the back of the box. Luckily it wasn't too bad, and I fixed what I could and put that side against the wall. I put the strawberries on at the venue, and watched the cake through the whole dinner, as I was really worried about it melting, or just collapsing entirely. It seemed the time to eat it would never arrive, to both me and the four year old at our table. He kept asking, "Is it time for cake yet?"

Well, it's always time for cake, in my world, but I think I'll stick to simpler things for the next little while. See you Tuesday!

TWD: Tender shortcakes

I feel like I made these ages ago, because all I can remember is that they were very good! I really should write up my posts soon after baking, but writing is my least favourite part of this blogging thing, so I put it off as long as possible. Anyway, it's all coming back to me now. I made one quarter of the recipe and ended up with 5 dainty shortcakes. The dough was very crumbly and I had a hard time making it stick together on the baking sheet, so I was worried that I'd end up with a pile of crumbs, but the baked shortcakes were incredibly tender and crumbly. Even though local strawberries arrived in the market here this past week I used blackberries, as I had lots in the fridge. I had so many that I decided to make a blackberry curd with some of them. This was purple and tangy and creamy, and perfect with the shortcakes, berries and whipped cream.
This week's pick was chosen by Cathy of The Tortefeasor, and it was a great one! Almost no effort, and a delicious result.

Blackberry curd

8 ounces (by weight) blackberries

½ cup sugar (maybe more)

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

a pinch of salt

2 eggs

Combine berries, sugar, lemon juice, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until hot and berries have broken down. Mash them with your spoon to help. Remove from heat and turn stove down to medium low. Beat eggs in a heatproof bowl, and slowly add about ½ cup of the fruit mixture, stirring all the while. Return tempered egg mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly on medium low, until thickened. Do not allow it to come to a boil or it will curdle. It should be opaque when it's ready, and remember that it will thicken further in the fridge. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and refrigerate, covered, for up to a week.

If you want it thicker, reduce blackberries to 6 ounces. You can also use raspberries here for a bright pink curd.

Rhubarb, 3 ways

I think I'm finished with the rhubarb for this year. I picked some yesterday, but gave it all away. I know that I should spread these recipes out, but I'm really too lazy to make 3 separate blog posts, so here they are. Not sure how much baking I'll be doing this week, as it's in the 30s here already, which is unseasonably warm.

First up is a recipe from Baking with Julia. It's called Hungarian shortbread, but isn't shortbread-like at all. It's more like a cake with a layer of rhubarb jam in the middle. This is made by freezing and then grating the shortbread mixture, for a light and tender cake. I make half the recipe below in a 9" square pan, but use the full amount of rhubarb filling. You could use any jam here if you don't love rhubarb. If you don't love rhubarb you're probably not reading any longer...

Hungarian Shortbread, from Baking with Julia, written by Dorie Greenspan. Contributing baker: Gale Gand.

Rhubarb Jam
1 pound rhubarb, cut in 1" lengths
½ cup sugar
½ cup water ( I use less)
½ vanilla bean, split

Combine jam ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the rhubarb turns to mush. Cool to room temperature, or chill if making in advance. This will keep for a week in the fridge, covered.

Shortbread
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pound butter at room temperature
4 large egg yolks
2 cups granulated sugar

Whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside.
Beat the butter on high speed until pale and fluffy, and add the sugar. Beat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is light. Beat in the egg yolks. Reduce the mixer speed and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated.
Divide the dough in half and form it into 2 balls. Wrap each in plastic and freeze for half an hour, or until firm. You can also keep this dough in the freezer and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
Assembling and baking
Preheat oven to 350℉. Remove one ball of dough from the freezer and grate it on a box grater, using the largest holes, directly into a 9"x12"pan (or 9"x 13"). If you only made half a recipe, use an 8"x8", or 9"x9" pan. Pat the dough gently to get it into the corners, but don't press it down too much. Spread the jam overtop, and grate the remaining dough over the top, spreading evenly.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Mine always seems to take 50 minutes or so, even in a small pan, so be sure to check that it's firm in the centre before taking it out.

Dust with icing sugar as soon as you remove it from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack. Cut into squares when cool. You'll probably need to add more icing sugar.

These keep for a couple of days, but are best on the day you make them. They can also be frozen once baked.

Next is rhubarb soda, which is easy and refreshing.

Combine 5 cups thinly sliced rhubarb, 5 cups water and a scant 3 cups sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, or until the rhubarb dissolves. Strain and cool. Use this pink concentrate to make a soda by diluting with sparkling water. Some booze would not be out of place here...

I seem to be making lots of things with egg yolks recently, so am left with a glut of egg whites. I decided to make a pavlova-type meringue and top it with rhubarb fool. This was delicious, but as you can see in the pictures, melted fast. I only made 2, but you can easily scale the recipe up.

Meringue
1 egg white
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon vinegar
a bit of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment. Beat egg whites to soft peaks, then beat in sugar gradually, until they hold firm peaks. Quickly beat in cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla. Form meringue into 2 mounds on baking sheet, making a dip in the centre to hold the filling. Place in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 250℉. Bake for 1 hour, until crisp but not browned. Turn oven off and cool in over with door propped open.

For the filling, I used the leftover rhubarb I had roasted at 375℉ with a few tablespoons of sugar, along with some of its syrup. I combined the rhubarb with about ¼ cup of cream, whipped, and an equal amount of Greek yogurt, some icing sugar and some of that pink syrup. This mess I piled into the cooled meringue shell. It was perfect--crisp and chewy, creamy, sweet and tart too.

I crumbled the second meringue and mixed it with the cream filling to make a kind of Eton mess--it was pretty good too!

There's another pound or so of rhubarb in the fridge, but I'll spare you for now! See you on Thursday with the Daring Bakers' reveal, which was one of my birthday cakes this year.

TWD: Sweet cream biscuits

I think this week's recipe was even quicker than last week's, which was a good thing, because I've been working more than usual and the early mornings don't agree with my night owl hours.  I had these mixed, baked, photographed and eaten within 30 minutes! I made ¼ of a recipe, and ended up with 2 biscuits, which, along with some of the marmalade I made last month, made a quick, early and pretty tasty dinner. I almost always add chopped crystallized ginger to my scones/biscuits, but I forgot today. I was just about to take these out of the oven when I noticed that they looked incredibly plain, so I brushed them with a bit of cream and sprinkled them with maple sugar. Highly recommended, that step:)

This week's recipe was selected by Melissa of Love at First Bite, so click on over there for the recipe. Thanks for such a great pick! To see what the rest of the TWD bakers have made, this is the place to be. I bet there are some much more creative versions out there.

Daring Bakers' March Challenge: Orange Tian

Tian? What? It certainly sounds fancy, doesn't it? A tian is a layered dish, either sweet or savoury. The required components for this month's challenge were:

• the pastry base (pâte sablée)
• the orange marmalade
• the whipped cream
• the citrus segments
• and a caramel sauce 

I was excited about making marmalade, as I have made all sorts of preserves before, but never marmalade. I got so excited that I made about 3 litres of the stuff, or 14 jars! I used a tablespoon in the tian recipe, so there are leftovers. Want some? I've been eating it instead of ginger honey on my toast, but considering I don't eat much toast, it could last a while. I made it with Seville oranges, and it was delicious, but there was definitely a bitter undertone.  The colour was beautiful, so I may just hang a jar in my window as a suncatcher. Except I don't get much sun in my apartment. This photo was taken at my mother's--she gets lots of sun.

I really spaced out the components of this challenge. About a week after the marmalade I made the caramel and segmented the oranges (navel and blood) and grapefruit as they had to sit overnight in the caramel. The next day I made the pâte sablée and realized I had no whipping cream to make the filling. So, the citrus got an extra day in the caramel. At least some of it did--it was pretty tasty.

The next day it rained and was completely grey outside, so I postponed again. My north-facing apartment gets little enough light as it is, and I couldn't get enough to photograph anything in natural light. Of course I haven't got lights--I'm using a point and shoot camera! So, I just ate a bit more of the fruit and hoped I'd have enough to put the dessert together.

Once I finally remembered to pick up the whipping cream and the weather cleared up it came together really quickly. The recipe called for stabilizing the cream with gelatin, but since I was only making 2 small tians I didn't think this was necessary. I had read in Rose's Heavenly Cakes that dulce de leche could be used to sweeten and stabilize whipped cream, so I did that, as I thought that it would be nice with the caramel sauce, and it was. I already knew that dulce de leche went very nicely with the pastry, as I had made cookies out of the leftover pastry, sandwiched them together with dulce de leche and used them for Tuesdays with Dorie just a day earlier. Recycling is in, people!

These were delicious! The crisp and buttery pâte sablée base with the caramel whipped cream, fresh citrus and more caramel sauce made for a great combination. I used Seville orange juice in the caramel sauce, so it was not very sweet. The marmalade in the cream was a nice surprise too. Well, not really a surprise, since I had just made it, but I was still somewhat surprised to find it there. Not paying attention can have its benefits!

Mandatory blog-checking lines: The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris. 

Thanks Jennifer for a great challenge! Check out the slideshow to see what all the rest of the fabulous Daring Bakers have come up with this month.
:)

Recipes after the jump.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

In celebration of a great holiday, I bring you.... coffee jelly with marsala cream! I had some extra coffee and extra filling from the tiramisu challenge, so this is what I did with it:

Coffee rum jelly:
1 tablespoon gelatin
3 tablespoons water
¼ cup sugar
2 cups strong coffee
rum or liqueur to taste

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small saucepan and set aside for a few minutes. Add the coffee and sugar, and stir, heating, until the gelatin and sugar are both dissolved completely. This won't take long at all if your coffee is hot. Stir in the rum and pour into glasses or ramekins and chill. Serve with whipped cream. The marsala cream I used had 4 separate components, so I don't recommend making it just for this, but you could always add more booze to your whipped cream.

Oh, and if you were looking for something Irish, I made some wheaten bread a while back. It'd be good with a real pint of Guinness.