Sunday, November 27, 2011

Sans Rival
 I have to admit going a bit too far with the changes on the original recipe, but since my sinfull desserts are not always much in request, I was compelled to cut down on fat and sugar. Thus I ended up with lemon and matcha sans rival where butter is mostly replaced by cream cheese but the flavor and texture are great. I also found the opportunity to try the tricky macaron for the third and rather most successful time and plan on modifying the recipe with more sugar reduction for these overwhelming cookies... 

                    Matcha dacquoise
                    70gr                                           finely ground nuts such as cashews or almonds
                    36gr                                           flour (or additional nuts for more chewy meringue)
                    30gr                                           powdered sugar
                    5 (140gr)                                    egg whites
                    80gr                                           granulated sugar
                    7gr                                             matcha powder (optional)
                    1                                                lemon zested

                    Lemon cream
                    400gr                                         cream cheese
                    320gr                                         milk
                    40gr                                           butter
                    30gr                                           flour
                    3                                                egg yolks
                    60gr                                           lemon juice
                    100gr                                         granulated sugar
                    50gr                                           powdered sugar
                    1                                                zested lemon
                    half                                            vanilla bean


For the dacquoise, grind nuts with the powdered sugar until very fine and shift the dry ingredients together. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whisk the whites with the ganulated sugar to meringue and fold in the dry ingredients in two doses adding also the zest. Finally spread the batter on a 20x33cm rectangle of parchment paper and bake at preheated oven to 180C for about 13min.


As the dacquoise cools prepare the filling by warming milk with vanilla, zest and half of the granulated sugar in a saucepan. In a separate bowl add the yolks with flour, lemon juice and the rest of the sugar whisking well to combine. As soon as the milk gets almost boiling hot, pour one third of it in the egg mixture stirring quickly and then return to the saucepan. Stir well with the whisker to avoid clotting and when the cream starts to boil remove from heat and add the butter.

sans rival

Let the cream cool, beat the cream cheese with powdered sugar until soft and combine the two mixtures with a spatula. Finally cut the dacquoise into three 11x20cm pieces and place the first on the covered bottom of a 11x20cm rectangle pan. Fill it with the first cream layer and continue the same way with the rest. Refridgerate overnight and decorate with chopped and sugar dusted nuts. 



Saturday, November 12, 2011

Quick and easy pastry cream cake with quite dense texture, pretty concentrated flavor and a lot of chocolate.

                         Cake base
                         1 portion                                      olive oil cake from ''Mscarpone torte'' post
                        
                         Pastry cream
                         300gr                                            milk
                         125gr                                            heavy cream
                         70gr                                              sugar
                         1                                                  egg
                         2                                                  big yolks
                         35gr                                             cornstarch
                         1/2                                              vanilla pod

                         Chocolate mousse
                         100gr                                           pastry cream
                         210 gr                                          chocolate
                         250gr                                           heavy cream
                         20gr                                             cognac

                        Vanilla chiboust cream
                        rest of the                                    pastry cream
                        4gr                                               gelatin leaves
                        100gr                                           heavy cream

                        Ganage
                        150gr                                           chocolate
                        150gr                                           heavy cream
                        1tsp                                             glucose or honey

Starting with the pastry cream heat milk, cream, vanilla and some of the sugar in a saucepan, whisking separately the eggs, cornstarch and rest of the sugar together until homogenised. Soak the gelatin in a bowl with cold water and just before the milk starts to boil, pour one third of it in the beaten eggs whisking constantly. Return the mixture to heat and stir quickly with a whisker as the cream thickens. As soon as it boils remove from heat, separate the 100gr needed for the chocolate cream and stir the softened gelatin in the rest. 


While the cream cools, whip the heavy cream for both of the fillings together to soft peaks, keep it in fridge until used and prepare the oil cake. When the cake comes to room temperature cut it in two layers and place one of them on the bottom of a 20cm-diameter ring. Fold 100gr of the whipped cream in the portion of pastry cream with the added gelatin and use a whisk if the mixture is too stiff. Spread it on top of the bottom layer and cover it with the other one. Next melt the chocolate called for the filling in a bain marie and warm the cognac until hot.


Combine the cognac with the left 100gr of pastry cream and quickly whisk in the melted chocolate.Then fold in the remaining whipped cream and fill the ring to the top with the completed mousse. Refrigerate for an hour or until the cake has set and unmold. For the ganage heat the cream until hot and pour it over the chopped chocolate, or combine the two in the microwave oven. Stir well to get a shiny cream and glaze the cake with the ganage slightly cooled to achieve a wavy surface. Optionally decorate with soft chocolate curls or pipe the remaining fillings combined as garnish.