Passionate About Baking

PLUM & DRIED BLACK GRAPE FRANGIPANE CLAFOUTIS...INSPIRED BY TARTLETTE

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:34:48 PDT

“What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?”
Logan Pearsall Smith

Danced off Helen's beautiful blog, Tartlette's, the other day, in a dreamy trance. Two thoughts rang through my head. Helen's hub B smashing the tops of the dreamy desserts, and an urgency to recreate the delightful dessert as soon as possible. Not the first time a fruit dessert has done this to me. Did it off Judy's blog, No Fear Entertaining when the peach season began and I instantly made Apricot Cherry Mini Crisps. Then again, off Ari's blog, Baking and Books with Plums & Brown Sugar Cakes in July... and many times in between. I call it inspirational blogging!! Dived into the fridge looking for fruit. Darn ... just pears and green apples! And then I saw them; tucked into the back - a bag of plums, very sour! My mother is a die hard fruit shopper. She loves to buy fruit, but I virtually fall at her feet and beg her not too. She has no idea of how to choose good fruit, yet she goes, again and again, shopping for fruit at any ones recommendation, which is how these plums landed up on my doorstep. For Rohan, she announced, who loves plums. One bite & Rohan abandoned them in a hurry ... 'They are SO SOUR Mama!', he whimpered, with a puckered up mouth! I thought, 'No problem, plum jam!'... but that never happened of course. Thank you sweet Tartlette ... for helping me find me a plum position for my plums! I began to write my thoughts as they baked, looking lovely, popping out of the little baking dishes. I used a variety because I wanted to experiment. Couldn't wait for the kids to get back home and see them with 100 watt lights in their eyes. Then dive into them...YUM! Worth a million bucks I tell ya! In the hurry to get baking that morning, I realised I was out of unsalted butter. India is a strange country. You can find plenty of salted butter, but white butter or unsalted butter for baking is rare. I usually make my own unsalted / sweet butter for baking. I did have salted butter, but also on hand was clarified butter or ghee, and I used just that. In too went some dried black grapes. I had bought some bags of black grapes, somewhat like raisins, when I went to Old Delhi, but the kids didn't like them in their muffins. They were threatening to spoil because of a high moisture content, so I left them in a barely warm oven overnight to dry them out.That was the night I saw the recipe, so I thought the dried grapes might find a spot in the clafoutis, and maybe a compote too. Yay... a destination for both plums & grapes made me ecstatic. Didn't regret it one bit. Have to say they tasted fab in the compote, and I shall be on the lookout for the seasons last sour plums to make some more.Surprisingly enough, the clarified butter didn't lend any strange taste / flavour. A handy substitute for people like me! The clafoutis was delicious. Beautiful bite to it, the crumb moist, yet cake like, the almonds imparting a delightful flavour, and the plum-black grape pairing just right. A dollop of whipped cream & some sweet-tangy compote seemed to finish it off in style! We LOVED it. Thank you Helen. You are truly inspirational!!

Plum & Dried Black Grapes Frangipane Clafoutis
Adapted from Tartlette's recipe here
Serves 6
For the clafoutis:
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1 1/2oz clarified butter/ghee, at room temperature (or butter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, separated
200ml light cream
1/2 cup whole almonds, ground
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch of salt
4 plums, halved and pitted

For the plum/dried fruit compote:
4-5 plums, pitted & chopped
1/2 cup dried black grapes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup mango juice (You can use orange juice. Mango juice was all I had)

For the frangipane clafoutis:
Preheat the oven to 170C. Lightly coat 6 ramekins with cooking spray or a dab of butter and place them on a baking tray. Set aside.
Grind the almonds, with skin, in a coffee grinder, with 1 tbsp of sugar, till fine, Do it in short burst so that it doesn't end up as paste.
In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, clarified butter, vanilla extract and the egg yolks until the mixture is a smooth paste. Add the cream little by little.
In a separate bowl, stir together the almonds, flour and salt, add this to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until well blended.
In a very clean bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the almond mixture.
Divide evenly among your ramekins (make sure to fill them only 3/4 of the way up) and place 1/2 a pitted plum, cut side up, and a few dried grapes on top of the batter. Bake for about 25-30 minutes.
Serve warm with the plum & dried black grape compote and/or a dollop of unsweetend whipped cream.

Prepare the plum & dried black grape compote :
Put all the ingredients in a pan, mix, and simmer for 15-20 minutes till thick and syrupy. Adjust sugar if required. You might need to add some lime juice if your plums are sweet. Mine were SOUR!

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

GINGER LEMON-GRASS CREME BRULEE ...TASTE OF YELLOW

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:46:42 PDT

“For me it was always a simple passion”
Lance Armstrong

This is a sunshine post for Barbara of Winos & Foodies. She's back with her ' Taste of Yellow' event, and my yolks were screaming yellow at me. In Barbara's words, "LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow is my way of supporting the Lance Armstrong Foundation by raising awareness of cancer issues world wide. It is a way for all food and wine bloggers to share their stories. The happy and the sad, the struggles and the triumphs. If you are lucky and have not be touched by cancer you are still welcome to participate." The Yellow Wristband Project

For champion cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, yellow is more than just the color of the Tour de France's leader jersey. It's a symbol for hope, courage, and perseverance. Today, more than 47.5 million LIVESTRONG wristbands have been sold since they were first made available in May of 2004 to raise funds for the programs of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF).

I've been meaning to make creme brulee or at least creme custard for ages, but my dislike for eggy smells has kept me at bay. No longer though. Now that I finally had this lovely big bag of vanilla beans that Ria managed to source for me from South India, I had to make the custard right away.

The elegant dessert creme brulee has a thick pudding base of cream and eggs topped by a delicate layer of caramelized sugar. In French, "creme brulee" means "burnt cream," which refers to the process by which sprinkled sugar gets heated to a temperature that caramelizes it to a delicious brown. The traditional method of cooking this type of custard has evolved many flavored variations.

My custard is a fusion of flavours, Thai I think. I had ginger in the fridge, and lots of lemon grass growing in my little patch outside, so I googled for ideas. There I was - A Ginger Lemon-Grass Creme Brulee I found here. None of the flavours in the custard were overpowering or overwhelming. Just simple subtle flavours, combining elegantly to flavour the custard. Simple enough to be enjoyed by the kids too. I did have trouble with the brulee though since I don't have a blow torch. It took forever for the sugar to caramelise under the hot grill & I was a bit wary of my custard melting. 4 ramekins later, I cheated a little and took a shortcut for the remaining few. I caramelised some sugar to very brown in a pan & quickly poured it on top of the chilled custard. Tilted the ramekins immediately to spread it, kept it thin... Unauthentic, but it got me to some sort of brulee stage alright! Later even tried to spin some sugar with not very good results!

Ginger Lemon-Grass Creme Brulee
Adapted from recipe by Eric Lanlard from Glamour Puds
Ingredients:
400ml single cream
125ml whole milk
6 large eggs
100g of caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
2 stem of lemongrass, chopped
1 stem of fresh ginger
Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Method:

Preheat the oven to 140C.
Put the ginger and lemon grass in a pestle and mortar and bruise well to release flavours.
In a saucepan add the cream, milk, split vanilla pod and the lemongrass and ginger paste then heat slowly until hot but not boiling. Leave to infuse for an hour. (or overnight which is what I did). Reheat to almost boiling just before use.
In a mixing bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar until white and fluffy. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg mixture mixing continuously.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.
Pour the cream into lightly greased ramekins bake it for approximately 30 minutes until the mixture is wobbly.

Leave to cool down. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours, or even overnight.
Sprinkle about 2 tsps demerara sugar on the top of each and caramelize with a blow torch for 1-2 minutes before serving. Or set the ramekins on a baking sheet and slide it under the broiler. Broil, watching constantly and rotating the pan for even caramelization, until the toppings are bubbling and a rich brown, about 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the intensity of the heat.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

'FEETS, FEETS,' I GOT 'FEETS' ... FRENCH CHOCOLATE MACARONS with PISTACHIO BUTTERCREAM

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:34:28 PDT

"@vindee yes! Deeba those are definitely feet. Twittdome so hear that?

It's the patter of Deeba's Mac Feet!"

Meeta @ WFLH via twitter

I'd written this virtual post in my mind over and over again. The search for elusive 'FEET' is where I almost met my Waterloo in baking. These elegant French cookies, the ultimate beauties, have eluded me too long. I have gazed endlessly at the most gorgeous macarons at Helen and Aran's blogs. Seven attempts down & yet here I was, back again. Each time a mixed bag of emotions. Will there be 'feet' this time? Once I begin piping out the little circles, I am at a 100% level of confidence. Oooh they look so good; these are gonna be leggy for sure. All I've always ended up with was cracked tops, utterly disappointed. All I wanted was macarons that could stand sideways like Helen's did! It was certainly becoming an obsession! Dating back to the 18th century, the macaron is a traditional French pastry, made of egg whites, almond powder, icing sugar and sugar. This sweet pastry came out of the French courts' baker's oven as round meringue-like domes with a flat base. At the Versailles Court in Paris, members of the Dalloyau family, whose descendants later founded the gastronomy house of the same name, served macarons to royalty in the then ruling House of Bourbon. Marie Antoinette loved macaron from young age, she even named her cat Macaron when she was 5 years old. In the 1830s macarons were served two-by-two with the addition of jams, liqueurs, and spices. The double-decker macaron filled with cream that is popular today was invented by the French pâtisserie Ladurée.

We got together a challenge for ourselves on twitter, the group of wannabe mac bakers, yet a terrified bunch. Began with Aparna calling out to me, and me in turn daring my lovely friend, and over the top, talented Jamie. By the end of the first 2 days, we set twitter on fire. Our days were gone tweeting hysterically about macs, doing the headless chicken dance. Jamie, took the dare head-on, and produced macs upon macs with great aplomb, and was declared our gangs' own Mac Queen. With her firmly in the drivers seat, there was no looking back. She's still driving the express & there's no way of getting off!! I went through dizzy spells, with the rest of the gang getting 'feet' one by one. (Just in case you are still wondering, FEET are the little ruffles the macaron develops at the base when it rises.)Woe begone me... desperate times call for desperate measures & after lengthy consultations with Aparna, I found myself shivering at the back of the class with Monsieur Lebovitz! One look and you're dead! He's the no nonsense sort, calls a spade a spade, & is downright scary! I mean, did I ever want to go back to school? ...Nah! But well, had a rep to protect, & it had a passion behind it. 4th time with my failed macs in tow, I now proceeded very clinically. Trying to find logic in my feet. Was been helped beyond belief by the mac attack gang! Aparna offering me Indian baking advice from Goa...we share similar humid weather these days. Jamie, now royally pronounced the New Queen of Macs, royally discharged her duties, & cross questioned me from step 1! Helen, the original & revered Mac Queen, who patiently answered my dumb questions one after the other, & I had zillions. Hilda, who wasn't a newbie mac baker, gave me endless advice, trying to get to the bottom of my debacle. Meeta, my partner in crime, the only other mac retard as she called herself, got feet on her first go. Even went on to suggest I shove the BOXES of failed macs under mattresses & behind sofas, & begin again.The hub was now uber suspicious. What are these boxes of strange airy things lying all over the house? We've been eating faux tiramisu, ice creams with crushed failed macs, macs on their own ... they are darned delicious though! Back to the role call, Hilda, sweet Hilda, who gave me many options - try Italian if French doesn't work, and sent me links to another mac supremo, Mercotte. Deb called me to Umbria to relax - who cares if u didn't make them, just get over here. Purple Foodie who said, I know you'll be back again, I know you. She does...Scorpions of the world reunite!...And of course the Cooking Ninja, adding spirited words to my ordeal. She did a research for me on every tweet & updated me bit by bit on twitter. Thank you gang, you got me on my FEET!So many people behind my mac endeavours, so I had to deliver. They'd all got 'feet' and were ready to dance, but the lovely tweeple waited with baited breath for me, wide eyed. "We'll strut our stuff together", they said.!! Sometimes I was scared of going onto twitter because they'd ask, hesitatingly, " Any luck - got feet yet!".

One more imaginary scowl from Monsieur Lebovitz later, quick discussions with Hilda, Aparna, & Meeta, I experimented for the 6th time that particular day. Two trays, 140C, a bowl at the bottom to absorb extra heat, resting time of an hour... and the Mr Levobitz's Chocolate Macaron recipe finally found me my 'feet'!

.
Pamela @ Cooking Ninja gave me my victory call in her tweets, constantly making me feel like I would get there, ...
vindee U'll get your feets dearie. Can see you jumping up & down in yr kitchen shouting 'I got feets! I got feets!' like u won lotto. ;)

@vindee Did I hear that you got feets finally?

@vindee woohoo! Congrats! :)

Chocolate Macarons with Pistachio Buttercream

as adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe

( I made half this recipe )
Macaron Batter
1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds

3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
Method:
Preheat oven to 140 degrees C.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn't quite fine enough.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).
Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.
Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. ( I rested them for over an hour because it was humid).

Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

Pistachio Buttercream
Double the ingrdients if you are making the whole recipe above.
Ingredients:
3 tbsps butter, soft
1/4 cup pistachio nuts
1/8 cup granulated sugar
Few drops green food colour
Method:
Run the pistachio, sugar and colour in a nut/coffee grinder till well ground.
Whisk the butter till smooth for a minute, add the nut mix & blend.
Pipe onto cookies & sandwich. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Could write a thesis. Read up Helen's Macaron 101 and her online tutorial at Desserts Magazine, David Lebovitzs macaron instructions, Lemonpi's macaron posts, Mercotte's beautiful pages of Desperately Seeking Macarons, Veronica of Kitchen Musings Macaron Chronicles from back to front & all around ... unbelievable!

The original Mac Queen, Helen of Tartlette still rules our twitterverse, supremely, & we could never had gotten anywhere without her! Thank you!!

As time is going by, we've had more & more folk join our twitter gang. Rachel, Shelley, Deb, Pamela, Erin, Ilva, Ria, Barbara, Megan, Paula, Reene, Finla ... and a few more as we get closer to the 15th of September, '09. That's the date for the round-up at Jamie's blog @ Lifes A Feast ...

So if you still want to join, do drop us a tweet (or comment/mail). We'll be happy to have you on board!

DARK CHOCOLATE, RICOTTA & GINGER TARTLETS with Poached Pears...& the Paper Chef #44 winner

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:39:54 PDT

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure..."

William Feather

What spells Fall? Longer nights and shorter days. Leaves just about beginning to change colour. More serious food choices coming forth.

Hola... September's here, and with it Fall / Autumn in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Adios to the lightness that spelt summer. Stone fruits have been pipped by pip fruits, and the seasons first apples and pears are beginning to creep in. We've sadly said goodbye to the last of the stone fruits, plums were the last to go. There was a time that my heart sank when the mango season ended. That was 2 years ago...

Now, thankfully, with fruit having established a rather significant and central role in my baking, I actually look forward to a change in season. New boundaries to be crossed, new fruit to be experimented with... so much to look forward to. In addition, being on Twitter throws up endless banter, involved discussions, much more creativity & a new meeting ground.

When Ilva of Lucullian Delights asked if I was OK to be a judge on Paper Chef as a one off, I said YES! Didn't know what it was all about, but heck, you don't get called to be a judge everyday. LOL! If you are trying to figure out what I'm talking about, check my post here, and also check out the Paper Chef blog here. It's a great creative culinary contest and is meant to be fun. Once I chose my ingredients, I felt very inspired to try something my self, so what if I can't judge myself he he!

As judge, I got to choose 3 regular ingredients and a 4th one, which could be exotic, outlandish or theme based, whatever. I would have loved to go with outlandish, but with fall just stepping in, I chose to go with a theme. I thought FALL! Think fall, think deep serious cooking again. Warm and richer flavours, spicy aromas, hearty food, filled plates. Cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin, pie spices, roasts, steamy coffee, soups...

Before I take you to my recipe, I first need to pick a WINNER from the delicious entries our Paper Chef #44 got in this month. Judging is never an easy task, & this was no exception. I am always amazed at the creativity that a handful of ingredients can draw out of food bloggers. My ingredients of choice were Ricotta, Ginger, Dark Chocolate...& any other fourth item that spelt Fall! The entries for this episode of Paper Chef are inventive, creative and exciting. You can see in the round-up here. Makes one think out of the box... immense creativity and endless possibilities... Was tough to choose between so many favourites that were calling my name, each one of them very very special. I had to make the difficult choice, and eventually picked Ginger, Ricotta & Pumpkin Wontons from Ri @ Musings RI, a savoury entry to this round of PC. Creative, enticing & an early call to fall with roasted pumpkin making the 4th ingredient. Ri roasted the pumpkins herself, and even used the pumpkin seeds. Chocolate entered the dish by way of an intriguing chocolate-balsamic dipping sauce. As Ilva mentioned on her round-up, these are certainly 'incredible'. A creative & delicious result !! Congratulations Ri, I hand this round of Paper Chef to you. Well done indeed. Thank you Ilva, for giving me this rare opportunity to play judge. I enjoyed it immensely; it's been a huge learning experience. Thank you also to all the wonderful bloggers who participated in Paper Chef #44, and played with my ingredients of choice. I am completely taken in by your creativity.

Even though I couldn't be judged, I was truly inspired. I love the idea of Ready Steady Cook, Iron Chef etc, & the Paper Chef event was certainly fun. Went along this preparation without much prior thought, and thankfully the dessert worked out well. The kids lapped it up happily, & were ready for seconds (which they didn't get!). The hub loved it too, though he felt it was tad heavy. I think hub has yet to make the transition from fresh & light summer, to earthy, deep autumn. One thing I might change the next time is reduce the ricotta slightly (bring it down to about 250gms), and whip the cream separately before I fold it in. Pumpkin puree with pie spice instead of chocolate might work some magic in here too, who knows?

Dark Chocolate, Ricotta & Ginger Tartlets with Poached Pears

My recipe with Paper Chef #44 ingredients

Biscuit Base

Ingredients:

150gm digestive biscuits
1/4 cup clarified butter (or softened butter)
1/8 cup crystallised ginger

Method:
Run the biscuits & ginger in the food processor till like fine meal. Add the clarified butter & whiz again till it starts clumping.
Line some dessert rings or/and squares with parchment paper, & place on a tray lined with parchment paper.
Put about 1/8 cup of biscuit crumb mix into each, divided equally among the 8 rings, & press down to flatten into a base. I used a pestle.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes. take out & cool on tray .

Ricotta chocolate filling
350-300 gms ricotta (I made mine out of 1.5 litres of whole milk/recipe here); drain excess whey for 30minutes
100gms dark chocolate at room temperature
6-8 slices of crystallised ginger
200ml low fat cream
1-2 tbsps of vanilla sugar if required

Method:
Blend the warm ricotta, ginger & dark chocolate in the processor till thick & mousse like. The warmth from the ricotta should melt the chocolate.
Add the cream and whisk again. Taste and adjust sugar if required. I added 1 tbsp of sugar. Blend briefly. You should get a little more than 2 cups of mixture.
Pour over the cooled biscuit bases, with the rings/squares still in place. Chill for 4-5 hours. Serve with chilled poached pears, drizzled with syrup.

Poached Pears in Ginger/Vanilla syrup

Ingredients:
3 small firm, ripe pears, cored cut into 6 slices each
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 vanilla bean
1" piece crushed ginger
Method:
Put all the ingredients in a heavy bottom pan & simmer for 15-20 minutes till pears are tender. Cool a bit. Remove pears to platter lined with kitchen towels to drain & cool completely. Chill until needed.
Reduce the syrup on medium heat until it is a thick & syrupy liquid. Reserve to spoon over tartlets just before serving. Can be used as an ice-cream sauce etc.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

DARK CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM...for days when life hands you yolks!!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:14:42 PDT

"O when the yolks, come marchin' in, O when the yolks come marching in,

There's gonna be dessert tomorrow, O when the yolks come marchin' in..."

These are pretty happy days for the family. Desserts of every kind entice them, and footfalls from the mac attack seem to be never ending! Faux tiramisu, mango mascarpone budini, basil sandwich cookies, flat pathetic macs ... the sweet run continues. The last day of mac frenzy left me with something I didn't particularly relish the thought of ... egg yolks , and 6 of them! I'm pretty much an egg yolk hater. I've confessed this several times, yet have passion to bake. Eggs and baking go hand in hand most of the time. It's one thing baking with full eggs, & another thing dealing with yolks. Have you ever had yolks and more yolks building up in the fridge? I know of a bunch of mac attackers that had just those... and I was one of 'em! An involved & fun bunch of us stood up to a mac challenge on twitter very recently, and by then end of the frenzy, a number of us had many yolks, beautiful yolks on hand. If macarons were to be made only with yolks, there was no way I was in for the challenge! You see, the French macarons use just whites, and when you are mac challenged, you tend to use up many whites trying to get 'feet'. However, when you are majorly mac challenged like me, obsessed about getting it right, and can try 6 times in a day, then it's time for ice-cream! I made this delectable dark chocolate ice-cream from a book my daughter bought for me as a gift on my birthday in November last year. 'Ice Cream' by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson is a "cheery little cookbook celebrates the innumerable pleasures of ice cream, from simple Milk Chocolate and fresh-tasting Strawberry to elaborate Raspberry and Kaffir Lime Leaf Sorbet. The authors provide a glossary of ice cream terminology and a useful guide to toasting nuts, caramelizing condensed milk and performing all the other steps necessary to churn up homemade ice creams, gelatos, yogurts and sorbets."

I'm not an egg yolk ice-cream person at all. I'm much the eggless ice-cream lover, but life is unpredictable, and you can never say no. With the mantra of 'waste not,' which is held close to my heart, rather then throwing the yolks down the drain, I hung on to them. Ideas for yolks - cream patisserie, mayonnaise, creme caramel, custard, brulee ...

...but in the back of my mind was this beautiful little book, the only dedicated ice-cream book I own. ICE-CREAM. It's pure eye candy, with pick-me-up pictures and fun ideas. Leafing through the book, I could instantly find many good uses for the yolks. For a while, I got hopelessly distracted by eggless ice-creams like cinnamon and mascarpone ice-cream, ricotta ice-cream etc. Slapped my self back into focus, & reluctantly returned to the eggy ones. A foodie's got to do what a foodie's got to do...

The recipe in the book is described as... "this recipe was inspired by Italian food writer Marcella Hazan's Chocolate Gelato, first published in her book Marcella's Kitchen. It's dark, velvety and divine." As much as I enjoyed making it, I just couldn't get myself to taste it. The hub tried very hard to convince me to have a T E E N Y bit as there wasn't the faintest of eggy smells, the kids loved it & asked for seconds...but not me. I shall wait for eggless. It's psychosomatic & I know it; that's the tragedy of the wiring in my brain. Weird!!

You might wonder why I got my ice-cream into this shape. Actually, not very long ago, my sis sent me this fluted baking tin thinking I would conjure up some magic in it, baking little cakes on the go. Little did she know that it was a fluted brioche mold, & brioches are breads rich in egg & butter. A few conversations later, we knew that the tin had to be used for something else. I don't like bread with eggs, breads rich in eggs even less. So the other day, while making the ice-cream, I thought it would be nice to set it in this fluted mold to add some fun quotient. I did just that, after lining the tin with clingwrap. I also added some crushed failed macs to the tin just before leaving it to set finally. I made the ice-cream by hand, since I don't own an ice-cream maker, & it came out really smooth & rich. No crystals, just pure deep chocolate heaven ( as per the feedback from my happy tasters)!

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
adapted from Ice-Creams
by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson, pg 33
Makes 600ml (1 pt)
Ingredients:
6 egg yolks (4 large; our Indian yolks are very small)
1/2 vanilla bean
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
125g plus 2 tbsps vanilla sugar
500ml full cream milk/whole milk
100gm dark chocolate, broken into pieces, melted
45g cocoa powder

Method:
In a heat proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, seeds of 1/2 a vanilla pod, vanilla extract and 125gms vanilla sugar till thick & creamy.
Gently heat the milk to near-boiling point, then pour into the bowl of egg mixture, beating well.
Beat the melted chocolate into the egg mixture, followed by the cocoa.
Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir with a wooden spoon until the bubbles deflate and the mixture coats the back of the spoon. remove from heat
Meanwhile, in a very small saucepan, make a caramel, combining the 2 tbsps sugar with 2 tbsp of water. Boil the mixture until it turns a dark amber in colour, swirling the pan as it begins to darken. (It is ready at 180C on a sugar thermometer)
Whisk the caramel into the chocolate until smooth - it will sizzle. Cover the surface with cling film & let it cool. (I cooled it over an ice water bath, stirring often.)
Leave in the fridge for at least an hour, then churn in an ice cream maker. if you don't have one, like me, whisk every hour to break down crystals. Serve or transfer to a freezer container, cover the surface with foil & put in the freezer.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

APPLE AND BLACK GRAPE BANDE AUX FRUITS...& BLOGGERAID

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:37:56 PDT

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
Martin Luther

This fall, BloggerAid...Changing the Face of Famine, a dedicated group of food bloggers will make their mark on global hunger and kitchens around the world when they release “The BloggerAid Cookbook." The proceeds from the sale of this cookbook will benefit Friends of WFP. It's thanks to this beautiful, dedicated and hard-working group, and to Absolute Press, UK, one of the UK's leading publishers of food and drink books, that I am fortunate enough to review 'INDULGE - 100 Perfect Desserts' by Claire Clark, as part of a fun event BloggerAid is hosting. Agreements have been reached to partner cookbook publishers with BloggerAid…Changing the Face of Famine to offer members participation in book and product reviews. Thank you BloggerAid...

INDULGE ... a book that brought the whole house buzzing with sweet excitement. It's gorgeous and utterly delicious; an enviable book to own! The son immediately said...'Now you have 100 more desserts to try Mama'!! My daughter stopped & stared at every page, falling at my feet begging me to bake stuff out of it. Imagine the pressure!! She even cleared her room, and wrote down things-to- do list! Such is the power of food!

Leafing through the book made me want to try everything as soon as possible. Claire Clark is counted among one of the world’s best pastry chefs, and has been a celebrated chef at The French Laundry. She has an easy style of writing, & a personal touch which offers a little culinary connection with each recipe. The book is conveniently divided into different sections – biscuits and cookies, cakes, pastry, meringues, desserts, mousses and jellies, puddings, ices and petit fours. Each recipe has an inspiration, intriguing attention to detail, and beautiful presentation. There's something for everyone!

About the book ... "It's aimed at people with a passion for pastry - domestic cooks, mainly. But then when I'd finished it I thought, 'this is a student book', because all the recipes I've included are my 'first' recipes, including the basic building blocks I use all the time," she says. "If you want a recipe for ganache, it's there. If you want a strudel dough, or a custard recipe or Battenberg recipe, they're there as well."

At the beginning of each section you can find an all important talk through of basic processes, equipment, & common follies we tend to commit. Claire is generous to share her experiences, and brought many smiles to my face during the course of reading the book. The time she blew up the pastry oven, brought some tiles down from the roof, getting blacked out in the process & reaching hospital, had me in shock, & then, fits of laughter. She honed her craft under legendary Swiss patissiers Ernest Bachmann and John Huber, and served as pastry chef at The French Laundry in California, which is among the state's best known and loved restaurants. Her book is a perfect bed time read to ensure sweet dreams!

The recipes vary in levels of difficulty & complexity. She offers cookies easy as breeze, a minimalistic pudding on one end of the spectrum, and an all out stunning Opera Cake on the other. There’s something too to match every occasion. Of course I skidded to a halt the minute I saw the macarons page. The current obsession still very much there! Bookmarking hopelessly … macarons, eccles cakes, apple strudel, franscutti, apple bande aux fruits, apple charlotte, crème caramel....apple anything got precedence actually. After all, it's FALL!

The book is exciting, and Claire's write up reflects it beautifully. " I wanted this book to sum up everything I love about my occupation. To be extravagant, luxurious, serious but playful, decadent, rich & truly irresistible." I had to bake something quick. A book as good as this is entirely gawkable! A classic! I sat immersed in it for long periods of time, wanting to make everything in a hurry. But the flu got the better of me. Despite the racking cough & bouts of high fever, I still hit the kitchen to INDULGE! I would have liked to make something chocolatey (the book offers enough options), but having just finished off a rather decadent round of double chocolate ice-cream, decided to go with fruit. Apples & pears galore occupy the fruit basket in my kitchen, so I joyfully turned to the Apple & Blackberry Bande Aux Fruit. No blackberries in India, but me the queen of substitutes, always finds a way out. I used dried black grapes instead, soaked in boiling water with a little sugar & 1 tsp of almond essence, as suggested by Pamela @ Cooking Ninja when we had been discussing blueberry muffins on twitter earlier. Great idea because I got the look, and the taste too. What did we like about the dessert? Everything. A beautiful pastry; easy to make, well behaved, light & indulgent. The frangipane had just the right amount of sweetness, the almond taste enhanced every so beautifully by the essence, the apples most welcome with autumn creeping up here, & the berries or grapes adding to the dessert. I find the use of the rectangular tart tin entirely charming & am always looking out to use it. I made the tart during the day, & left it out at room temperature. We had it at night for dessert with unsweetened whipped cream, and black grape compote, which added just the right bit of luxury to it. You can also serve it with Creme Anglaise as the author suggests. The dessert got me high fives from everyone who had it, me included. I had some extra pastry dough & almond cream left over, and made a small tart with it, using a sliced pear on top. Since this was a review, I adapted it just minimally for certain ingredient substitutes, otherwise following the recipe. This is the first of my adventures into this beautiful book by an outstanding author I have recently discovered ... and this will not be my last. The only thing that will hold me back, if at all, is the large hearted use of butter, even in biscuits and cookies, but then, that's what being indulgent is all about!

Apple and Black Grapes Bande Aux Fruits
adapted minimally from Indulge by Claire Clark

Ingredients:
50gms black grapes (or blackberries)
2 apples
3-4 tbsps apricot glaze
2-3 tbsps icing sugar
1 tbsps Calvados or cider
For the sweet pastry
110gms softened unsalted butter
50gm Castor sugar
1 medium egg
1/2 capful pure vanilla extract
210gm plain flour
a pinch of salt

For the almond cream

Ingredients:
125gm softened unsalted butter
125 gm Castor sugar (I used powdered vanilla sugar)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
40 gm plain flour
125gm ground almonds
Method:
You will need an oblong tart tin for the recipe. I had extra dough so made one small round 4" tartlet as well, and 1 extra pie shell.

Pastry:
Make the pastry in the food processor by placing all the ingredients in the bowl, and pulsing gently,till they form a soft but not sticky dough. Flatten to about a 1/2" disk, wrap in cling wrap, and rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Almond Cream:
Cream the butter & sugar till pale and fluffy.
Add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, beating well between each addition.
Mix in the zest & vanilla extract.
Sift the almond & flour together on a piece of parchment paper, and add to the creamed mix in one go.
Fold in the dry ingredients.

Assembling:

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface. Use to line the oblong tart tin, pressing it well into the base and up the sides. lightly roll the pin over the top of the tin to remove the excess pastry.
Spoon the almond cream into the lined tart tin so it is about two-thirds full, and level with a spatula or palette knife. Set aside in a cool place, but not the fridge, while you prepare the apples.
Peel & core the apples, cut in half, and then slice thinly, keeping them together in a half shape. Place the apple halves onto the pastry cream, pressing on them lightly, so they fan out slightly. Dot the black grapes around the apples.
Bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is brown & the almond cream springs back when touched. Check to see if it's cooked by inserting a small knife into the centre of the flan; it should come out clean.

Bring the apricot preserve to a boil with 1 tbsp of water and pass through a fine sieve. Brush this over the tart to seal in the moisture & give it a shine.
Now combine the icing sugar & Calvados / cider in a small bowl until smooth & clear; it should be runny. Brush the mixture on top of the apricot glaze.
Serve the tart was with lashings of hot Creme Anglaise or unsweetened whipped cream & compote.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

CAPPUCCINO BUTTERMILK MUFFINS...Virtual Connect & O Food Contest

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:51:15 PDT

"Caffeine isn't a drug, it's a vitamin!"

Woke up groggy one morning. Had been up till 1.30am battling blogger issues. Then the son decided to wake me up at 4.30am with a painful foot. They're 'growing pains' the doctor once said; the lad has P L E N T Y. 'Why me, why today', was the only thought I had! For some insane reason, I was wide awake thereafter. Had to find something therapeutic to do. Hadn't made them a snack for school the day before because I had been dog tired. A thought ran through my head - 'I'm going to bake some muffins' ... the first time I've actually baked at 5.30am! Reached out for my recipe folder on the counter & opened the most in demand comfort bake - Cappuccino Muffins. I love making these. They are simple, get put together real quick, and above all, connect me to Nic @ Cherrapeno where I found the recipe.

Nic and me get on famously, and our email exchanges are sometimes quite hysterical & funny. Makes me a happy baker carrying out a virtual conversation with her! We do also catch up on twitter sometimes, though not as often as we'd like to. Nic and I have plenty of giggles that keep us in splits! I just love 'food with a connect' - a memory, a conversation, a giggle attached to it, something like the macarons we made in a mac attack on twitter not so long ago.

They are lovely muffins & pack a punch in each bite. Soft and delicious, with a deep coffee taste. I think using buttermilk instead of milk makes them a tad lighter. Maybe it's just a figment of my imagination, but well...I find them to be just perfect comfort food. Grab a warm muffin, curl up with a cup of coffee, a good cookbook...bliss!

Cappuccino Buttermilk Muffins

adapted from Nic @ Cherrapeno

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsps instant coffee
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Mix coffee into melted butter. Whisk well.

Whisk eggs lightly into the buttermilk with the vanilla extract.

In a big bowl mix well the following - both flours, vanilla sugar, baking powder & salt.

Now pour in the buttermilk mixture & the butter mixture, and mix in gently by hand till moist. DO NOT over mix or muffins won't be nice & soft. Fold in chocolate chips lightly & do not over mix.

Fill up the prepared muffin tins 2/3 full, sprinkle a few coffee beans if you like. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 20-22 minutes.
Cool on rack.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

This is my entry for the 2nd Annual O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. 'CAPPUCCINO BUTTERMILK MUFFINS'. Do head across to Michelle's at Bleeding Espresso and be part of tradition in honor of award-winning pastry chef Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen; Gina has been fighting ovarian cancer for the past year and a half, and in addition to physically battling the disease, she has also started the Cowgirl Cure Foundation to raise awareness and money for research as well.

CONTEST RULES

O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.

There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:

ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

PRIZES for recipe posts:

1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;
2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);
3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).
OR
TWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

Awareness posts PRIZE:

One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.
———
From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!

Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.
Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: NO MEAN BEAN - A VANILLA BEAN

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:02:21 PDT

Ah, you flavor everything; you are the vanilla of society”
Sydney Smith

When Foodbuzz invited proposals for September's 24 24 24 I knew it was time to explore my favourite bean, and I'm thrilled they picked me. No, I'm not talking about the French bean, neither the kidney, not the haricot, unfortunately not the java bean...and NO, not even Rowan Atkinson. It was time to get to the heart of the VANILLA BEAN!

My exposure to this intriguing bean, in essence, actually knowledge of it's very existence came via 2 of my favourite blogs - Canelle et Vanille & Tartlette. Both blogs beautifully inspirational, nurtured by 'Pastry Chef' bloggers who are large hearted in terms of sharing their knowledge & vast experience in the world of exotic desserts.

I got my first bean in great anticipation & couldn't for the love of me believe this old wizened looking thing was 'the' bean in question. I soon got a precious tube of Madagascar vanilla beans from the States, & my sister never let me hear the end of it. Then picked up a tube of Indian vanilla beans on a visit to Chennai - 3 for the princely sum of Rs 300! A chance conversation with Ria lead to my discovery of a more affordable & better grade Indian vanilla bean. It's a fine bean at a fine price. Where would you be able to buy a Grade A vanilla bean at 25 cents?

~~~~~~~

My post today, as part of the Foodbuzz 24 24 24 is a 'SALUT TO THE VANILLA BEAN'! I briefly explored the history behind the bean, and the varieties of beans available.

A bit of vanilla background...

Vanilla originated in Mexico and for ages no other country in the world has known the secret of its magnificent flavor. First taken out of the country by the Spanish conquistadors, vanilla pods were stolen and replanted in the former Bourbon Island - the actual French Reunion Island. To this day the term "Bourbon" vanilla still applies to vanilla originating from that part of the world.

Vanilla beans are grown in four main areas of the world. Each region produces vanilla beans with distinctive characteristics and attributes. Madagascar is the leading producer in the world, with a quality known among vanilla extract producers as the most distinctive and flavorful - Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla. This is due to a particularly auspicious combination of climate, geography and traditional know-how. Indonesia is the second largest producer of vanilla, with a vanilla that is woody, astringent and phenolic. Madagascar and Indonesia produce 90 percent of the world's vanilla bean crop.

Mexico & Tahiti are the 2 other major areas of vanilla bean production. Indian vanilla bean production is in very nascent stages, but demand is slowly picking up as they begin to cure the bean the traditional way. It's popularity is slowly increasing in the international arena.

Once I began using pure natural vanilla extract, the chemical substitute or 'imitation vanilla essence' became a thing of the past. I make my own vanilla sugar & pure vanilla extract. At any given time I have 3 bottles of extract on hand - 2 under construction, and 1 in use. It takes a good 4-6 weeks to get the bottle of extract ready.

Good quality vanilla beans & some vodka is all you need. Vanilla sugar is even easier. Just tuck a split and cut vanilla bean into t ajar of sugar, shut tight, give it a good shake every alternate day. By the end of the week you will have the beginnings of sweet smelling vanilla sugar at your disposal! Keep replenishing the sugar as you use it. I even grind my sugar at times, with a piece of vanilla bean and sift it to get vanilla castor sugar!

My post today is a bit lengthy, so I divided it into a couple of sections...

I'll begin with a VANILLA conversation with Aran @ Canelle et Vanille who was good enough to take time off her busy schedule and sweet talk vanilla with me. Thank you Aran, appreciate your having done this!

Canelle et Vanille’

Aran, a professional pastry chef, is a Basque ex-pat living in the US. She blogs at Cannelle Et Vanille, her blank canvas for creating anything and everything sweet that comes out of her heart. Her beautiful blog reflects the smells and tastes of her childhood.
She is available for recipe development, food styling and photography.Press regarding her blog includes The UK Times Online, Cravings Magazine, BBC's Olive Magazine, Southern Weddings Magazine, Pastry & Baking Magazine, Saveur.com, Design*Sponge, RealSimple.com, Decor*8 and many other blogs.

1. Your first thoughts when I say ‘vanilla bean’ are…
Warmth, childhood, grandparents
2. Do you find vanilla beans indispensable in your kitchen as a baking ingredient?
Yes, I use it in most of my recipes whether it is as a main ingredient or to enhance a recipe.
3. Do you always have vanilla beans on hand?
Yes, I always buy in bulk as they are cheaper this way and store them tightly wrapped in an airtight container.
4. In a month, how many vanilla beans would you use on an average?
Because they are so expensive, I really stretch the use of my beans. I might go through 10 beans a month (that I always reuse in other forms) and 4 oz of vanilla extract.
5. Do you have a favourite variety of the vanilla bean?
There are many varieties now but Bourbon is still the most readily available and what I tend to use most. Tahitian has a floral note and a bit of a less sweeter aroma, which I really like. I recently tried some African varieties that were excellent as well.
6. What in your opinion is the best way to showcase the flavor of the vanilla bean?
If I am using vanilla bean, I like that to be the main flavor component of the recipe. It really doesn't need much, just a little steeping or incorporated into a cream is perfection in itself. Also, I think a tiny pinch of salt always enhances the flavor of the vanilla.
7. Have you heard of or used savoury vanilla extract or saffron vanilla extract?
Yes and I actually just recently used vanilla fleur de del in a recipes in my blog (http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2009/08/vanilla-fleur-de-sel-caramel-and.html). I have heard of saffron vanilla but have never used it myself. Will have to try that soon.
8. What is your favourite recipe using this flavourful bean?
So many... but maybe because we are entering autumn season, the roasted apple and vanilla bean souffle is one of my favorites...(http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2008/10/roasted-apple-and-vanilla-bean-souffle.html)
♥ Thank you Aran ♥

So much sweet talk and it's time to unleash a VANILLA based DESSERT onto the post. I had mascarpone on hand, home made & fresh and was looking for a delicious vanilla based end to it. Also had figs and oranges on hand. Twitter to the rescue as usual, and help came via wonderful friend Hilda @ Saffronberry. Ever willing to help anytime, never fails to amaze, she suggested Vanilla Mascarpone Cream Hearts from a gorgeous blog - Nordljus.

So, I made these Vanilla Mascarpone Cream Hearts with an Orange & Dried Fig Compote, inspired by the beautiful dessert on Keiko's beautiful blog. Thank you Hilda for twittering to my rescue & for the brilliant recipe suggestion. About the dessert - it was an elegant, delectable dessert, and the compote complimented it beautifully.

Vanilla Mascarpone Cream Hearts with Dried Fig & Orange Compote
Adapted from this recipe at Nordljus
Serve 6
Ingredients:
300g Mascarpone (homemade recipe here)
125g vanilla castor sugar
1 vanilla bean
200ml low fat cream, chilled
125g thick plain yogurt

Method:
Chill the bowl and blade of a food processor in the refrigerator.
To make the cream hearts, blend the mascarpone, seeds of 1 vanilla bean and vanilla castor sugar in the food processor until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula occasionally to keep the mixture evenly distributed. Add the cream and yogurt and blend briefly to incorporate.
Line 6 porcelain heart moulds with a double layer of wet muslin and carefully spoon in the cream mixture until the moulds are full and the surface is even. Put the moulds on a tray with a lip (to catch the whey - important), then cover with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.

To serve, lift the cream hearts out of their moulds using the muslin, then invert each heart onto the berries and carefully remove the muslin. Arrange figs and orange segments around, and spoon the compote over the cream heart.

Orange & Dried Fig Compote
Ingredients:
10-15 dried figs, snipped with kitchen scissors
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange
Slices of 1 orange, pith etc removed, chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
Some extra figs and orange segments for serving, optional Method:
Simmer everything gently for 10-15 minutes, till soft & syrupy. The syrup will thicken as the compote cools. Cool before use.

To wrap up, I managed to get in touch with 2 vanilla bean producers down in South India to get a sniff of vanilla bean production in India. I am enjoying using my precious beans; you can too if you like. I've put the contact details down at the bottom for both the producers!

I've have had good fortune of trying out a couple of varieties of vanilla beans, Madagascar included, and find that the Indian Vanilla beans I sampled from Vanilco turned out to be quite good. In my humble opinion, it's a good quality, flavourful bean, and meets the criteria for a good quality bean. I spoke to Paul Jose, the manager at Vanilco Bean Company, one of the biggest suppliers of vanilla to the ice cream industry.

Vanilco heads a consortium of 2500 vanilla farmers, & in Mr Jose's words, they face a unique dilemma. The slightly higher price of natural vanilla leads to most ice cream manufacturers using an imitation vanilla or a chemical substitute, so demand for pure vanilla is slack. In India very few manufacturers sell real ice cream, as 'Ice cream' is in name only. 'Frozen Dessert' is mentioned in small print', as both vanilla and vanilla ice cream are products with standard identity, and it's usage would mean higher prices.

Vanilco was the 1st producer complany in India established in 2004. They produce vanilla beans and 39 other value added products for both domestic and international markets. They market their product in selected tourist destinations in South India under the brand name Vanilla India.

They have a diverse range of products which include Savoury vanilla, Saffron vanilla, Vanilla Cocoa powder, Vanilla tea / coffee, Vanilla paste and Vanilla sugar. The beans are not expensive compared to their US and European counter parts. In South India 1 vanilla pod will cost only around Rs. 5 to 10 (US$1=Rs48 ... so you can get 4-5 beans, sometimes more, for a $). His message - The only way to promote natural vanilla is to create awareness among the public that natural vanilla is available in India, and that it's better to use as compared to chemical substitutes.

VANILLA INDIA PRODUCER COMPANY LTD.
Tel - +91 484 5599233, Cell +91 9349 256746

(Disclaimer: The pictures included above are not reflective of the Vanilco product. They are the author's pictures)

I found that this sentiment echoes across the sector. John.P. John, CEO of Tharakan & Company, another major vanilla bean producer in India since 2000, said the same thing.

Thakaran and Company market their product under the brand name 'Nature's Nurture', and are willing to courier their products to domestic consumers. They are manufacturers of finished good from vanilla beans, apart from being a supplier of the bean. They claim to be the only manufacturer of Natural Vanilla Extract with Cold process technology, which gives both aroma and taste of vanilla.They also manufacture Pure Natural Vanilla Powder, Natural vanilla Paste, Vanilla seeds etc, supplying vanilla beans in transparent tubes and vacuum pouches to the domestic market. They also offer it worldwide.In his words... Most vanilla beans under production either head for export are are used for vanilla extract. Per se, the vanilla bean is still struggling to find demand in the local market.
Tharakan & Company,
Ph +91 481 2516619/ +91 481 2516119
Cell +91 94470 37383

HUFFING WITH THE DARING BAKERS...TIME FOR PUFF PASTRY!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:54:23 PDT

"All things require skill but an appetite"

George Herbert

VOLS-au-VENT with The DARING BAKERS

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, the fun and talented creators of The Daring Kitchen, commented on this challenge ... 'The September 2009 Daring Bakers' Challenge has been chosen by Steph of a whisk and a spoon. Steph chose Vols-au-Vent, which we are pretty sure in French means, “After one bite we could die and go to heaven!” They obviously knew what they were talking about! This pastry is entirely captivating, simple & fun... all you gotta do is get the weather right! Knowing I was heading for trouble, I tried it thrice, & didn't get very far in the puffs department. The taste department was amazing though! Do stop by at Steph's beautiful blog to see the recipe, and some great filling ideas! Thank you for a FAB challenge Steph. I enjoyed it despite the odds!

I got the better of the Daring Baker challenge for September halfway through the month, or so I thought I did. I really really love puff pastry, and this has got to be the best I've tried. Well, the best given the temperature & weather conditions. Didn't manage the beautiful puffs that should have been achieved, but blame that on oozing butter & panicky situations. I tried it a second time again, with tips flying thick in secret direct messages across twitter, but obviously butter will melt if the weather is hot, and this ain't no rocket science! With the temperatures still wildly fluctuating & heading straight back into the 37C's range, AND given that we have suddenly encountered massive butter shortages in the market (why this month?), I chose to make half the pastry dough. By then time the butter began oozing crazily all over the place, panic struck. I forgot all counts of the number of turns etc & made the fridge my best friend as Steph said. Yes, the fridge is the only person to count on when making puff pastry. This is an absolutely beautiful pastry to make. the dough is a breeze, especially if you have a processor. It's done in a matter of minutes, which you can cut down even further if you just look at the video of Michel Richard making the pastry with Julia Child keeping him company, & you'll fall in love with pastry. The man is GOOD. He sings, he's enthralling & he's downright fun! Of course I made the mistake of seeing the video after I made my pastry, but well. Can't wait for the weather to get cooler & try this again ... whatever I managed, tasted mighty fine. You won't believe it but DH saw the other posts on the forum over my shoulder, & gasped! Should I have read the writing on the wall? Ho hum ... there I was again that very night, whirring puff pastry in the processor for second time, while the family sat watching Bourne Supremacy! I guess I was trying to achieve puff supremacy...well it didn't quite happen. The second time around was a bit better, marginally I might say. There was a third attempt too...oh well never mind! Did get some more ' PUFFS' but will have to wait for better weather to get to the real thing. The second time around, made some more mascarpone (becoming a habit I tell you, YUM YUM!), and flavoured it with Nescafe Taster's Choice medium roast coffee. Delicious, divine, decadent dessert...oooh, we loved it! I went both savoury & sweet on the challenge, and made both options with a base of home made mascarpone. Yum Yum! I think I'm in love with this soft cheese, and with the idea of using it to its versatile best! This mushroom filling was one I made up as I went along, & is the very first time the daughter has willingly enjoyed mushrooms in any form! VICTORY!!

Mascarpone, Mushrooms & Roasted Bell Peppers
Ingredients:
200gm mushrooms; sliced fine
1/4 each roasted red & yellow bell pepper (I always have some in the fridge)
1 small red onion; chopped fine
3-4 cloves of garlic chopped fine
Red chili flakes, salt & pepper
1/2 cup of mascarpone (recipe here)
Knob of butter
1 tbsps olive oil
Method:
Sweat butter & olive oil on simmer with the onion, garlic & red chili flakes till translucent.
Add the sliced mushroom, salt & pepper & saute on high heat till they wilt & release moisture. Reduce heat to minimum, add the mascarpone, stir well to dissolve it in. Take off heat, stir in chopped roasted bell peppers. Adjust seasoning.
Pile into shells. makes enough filling for about 12 3" shells (not sure how deep though; mine never got deep enough)

Mascarpone with seasonal fruitIngredients:
1 cup mascarpone (recipe here)
3-4 tbsps vanilla sugar
1 tsp saffron vanilla, optional
Chopped seasonal fruit (mango, kiwi fruit, star fruit)
Method:
Whisk mascarpone with vanilla sugar & saffron vanilla till smooth.
Pipe into canapes & add chopped seasonal fruit.
makes enough for 6-8 3" shells
Add the mascarpone

Whipped Coffee Mascarpone
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mascarpone (recipe here)
3-4 tbsp vanilla castor sugar
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 oz dark chocolate
Method:
Melt the dark chocolate in a baggie, & drizzle over the edges of the bottom shell.
Leave in fridge to set for 10minutes.
Meanwhile, whip all the remaining ingredients together until firm enough to pipe. Taste & adjust sugar if required.
Pipe into shells & garnish.
Makes enough for 6 3" shells

Do stop by HERE and check out the rest of the Daring Bakers huffing and puffing with puff pastry vols-au-vent around the globe!

PEAR TART WITH ALMOND CREAM...

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:21:53 PDT

"And with Yeats you lean against a broken pear tree,

the day hooded by low clouds."
~William Collins

The last week has gone in some kind of daze with the kids home all the time because of an Autumn break. (Autumn never actually got here by the way). Then it was time for the 13 year old to leave on her annual camping trip to the foothills of the Himalayas, so we spent 2 days shopping for unnecessary items of little or no consequence. I shall attempt to share some pictures with you when she gets back if they are scenic and 'shareable'. Teen pictures have a different flavour altogether, or so I have learnt, with weird angles and are very people centric!!

Also got truly bitten by many 'blocks' - baking block, writers block, bloggers block...and twitter block over the past few days. My good friend Peter @ Kalofogas managed to tempt me 'out of the gutter' on hump day and sorta dragged me back on my feet. Ilva and I discovered we were on the same boat...you know what we mean. Last night I was in the dumps, and so was she. She suggested on twitter that we get back some kind of mac thingy going again to boost our flailing spirits to get our happy mojo back! Good idea...In the midst of this involved discussion, just as I thought I had peace at home, the boy began whining with unbearable growing pains again. I hurriedly abandoned the computer & rushed to his rescue...which might explain the first few comments on my 'wordless Wednesday' post. (Thank you Manggy for always hitting the nail on the head...ouch). Yes, I stand guilty of pressing the wrong button, and publishing the post sans 'words'. Left some candy out on my blog at night for my friends ('they' know what I'm talking about), almost kicked myself this morning. Was suitably embarrassed! But oh well, it gave me something to write about huh? Wednesday has gained new significance and a sense of identity since yesterday. Coincidentally, I pressed the button on Wordless Wednesday with a wordless post! Hmmm...

Hump day makes more sense...a reference to making it through to the middle of the work week as getting "over the hump." on Wednesday.
In the folk rhyme, "Wednesday's child is full of woe".
In Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar Wednesday is the day when the sun shines grey.
In the 1945 John Steinbeck novel Sweet Thursday, the titular day is preceded by "Lousy Wednesday".

Happy October. We should be leaping off rooftops enjoying some good fall weather, cool air etc, but it isn't happening. Global warming at it's worst and we still suffer from temperatures as high as 37C. Very summer weather but no stone fruit. Unseasonal for this time of the year; the only saving grace is that pears and apples are here! So here is a Pear Tart with an Almond Cream that I made a few days ago with the seasons first bounty of pears. I mixed up a few recipes for a tart from here and there because all I wanted was to make a beautiful frangipane based pear tart but didn't want to use butter in the almond cream. This came out beautifully, even though I misjudged the size of the tart pan, and used one an inch bigger than I should have. Perils of collecting too many tart pans when one standard size will do! Sigh... anyway, I managed to cut out the butter from the almond cream, and substitute it with single cream (25% fat) which is all we get here locally, and it worked out well. Ideally I would have liked to have the fanned pears peeping out beautifully, but they kind of disappeared under the cream because of the tart pan size. However, the tart was delicious, full of all things good, so I had to share it!

Pear Tart with Almond Cream
Ingredients:

4 small medium firm pears

1 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla bean

1 1/2 cups water (approx)

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup whole almonds; ground with skins

200ml single cream

1/2 tsp almond essence

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp vanilla sugar

1 1/2 tbsp flour

For the pastry

5 oz plain flour

1/8 tsp salt

4 oz cold unsalted butter, frozen

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 tbsp fresh lime/lemon juice

For the pastry:

Put the flour & salt into the bowl of a food processor & blend briefly. Grate in the cold butter & blend till a breadcrumb like mixture forms.

Add beaten egg yolk & lime juice, and pulse till it comes together to form a ball. Wrap in cling wrap & chill for 30 minutes.

For the pears:

Take about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water & 1 cup of sugar. Scrape 1/2 a vanilla bean into it, and bring to a simmering boil. Use a pan size good enough to submerge the pear halves.

Peel and 1/2 the pears, and put in pan with sugar syrup. Poach on simmer till just done, but firm. Leave to cool in syrup, and then drain well. Reserve syrup for other uses like a base for lemonade or fresh lime-ginger juice, or thicken further to use as ice-cream sauce. It is delicious. Thick syrup also makes a good garnish for plated desserts.

Assembling tart:

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 1/8" thickness, enough to line the tart pan.(I used a slightly large tin in error since I was experimenting, so I lost out on volume)
Transfer to an 8" tart dish and trim.
Stand cooled, poached pears on paper towels for 1 minute. Remove the core with a melon baller. Slice each half thinly crosswise, keeping in shape and fanning them out slightly.
Transfer to the tart with the help of a metal spatula, and place on bottom of tart pan, arranging like spokes of wheels.
Whisk the egg, yolk, cream, almond extract and vanilla extract well with the ground almonds, and ladle over the pears. Sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180C, and bake till the almond cream has set and the pears begin to caramelise, about 20 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature. This is nice served with additional chilled poached pears, whipped unsweetened cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

COOKIES FOR A FRIEND...Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:22:28 PDT

“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.”
Elisabeth Foley

I saw these cookies at Brown Eyed Baker a few days ago, & my first thought was how lovely and comforting they looked. Said to be the famed Neiman Marcus cookies, off a recipe that has been making the rounds via e-mail for ages, they have rave reviews. The difference in these cookies is the way the oats are added. They are ground into an oat flour and give the cookie a lovely texture, more wholesome than the plain flour chocolate chips cookies, yet lighter than regular oat cookies.

I think these cookies bridge the gap perfectly, & I had to make some for Jamie when she asked me if I could do a guest post for her beautiful blog! I was honoured that she thought of me. Please stop by at Jamie's Life's A Feast for the rest of the post...

While you are here, I'll ask you to please consider voting for 2 special friends for two ongoing contests...

1. For Jamie's blog Lifes A Feast for Blogger Choice Awards 2009 HERE for Best Food Blog where she shares her favorite recipes; stories of her life through food.

2. For Helene's Gingerbread Cake at the Bread Contest at Phamfatale.

♥ Thank you ♥

FRUITY APPLE SPIRAL SWIRLS ... for Monthly Mingle

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:12:08 PDT

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
Henry James

It's time for Monthly Mingle, Meeta's little baby that she so lovingly created in 2006. It's being hosted this time by Aparna @ My Diverse kitchen. The Monthly Mingle call this month is for high tea snacks, something I used to find quite challenging not so long ago. No longer though since blogging has opened untold avenues. 'Don't know what to make' is passe! Now it's more like, "shall I make this, this, this, or, oooooh this"!

The call was for 'High Tea Treats', & I immediately got transported to the Ritz, a hotel we oft halted outside often while wandering around Central London. Never did we step in, for in those days the pockets were empty, and so The Ritz intimidating! Known for it's afternoon tea service, the picture in my mind of The Ritz is a whimsical one ... well laid tables, dainty linen, polished silver, fine china, delicate pastries, elegant petit fours, scones, clotted cream, jam ... !

Reading Indulge-100 Perfect Desserts by Claire Clark led me into the kitchens in the basement of The Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly where she worked as a pastry chef in 1984. I quote from her book, "I dreaded the run up to the weekend, when the hotel held its famous tea dances. We would slave away all week constructing the intricate, delicate and elegant pastries to give ourselves time to make, roll, cut and bake vast amounts of scones on the day."

I associate British cuisine with high tea, a tradition as elegant as it is beautiful. My first exposure to this lovely tradition was back in the 80's when a bunch of us girlfriends had gone over to stay in a castle up in North England that was being restored by a Scottish lady. The memories are quite faint now, but I vividly remember a couple of things ... the huge gate-posts made of stone with carved lion heads, early morning mist, beds of lavender, the beautiful guest rooms in hues of pastel pinks & lilac, interiors daintily done up in hand-made lace and linen made by Irish nuns ... & fresh scones for tea!

I made 'Coffee-glazed Chocolate chip scones' almost exactly a year ago from Ari's Baking & Books, and some 'Dark Chocolate, Craisin & Walnut Scones' from a David Lebovitz recipe more recently. So this time, for the Monthly Mingle, I explored BBC Good Food for tea snacks, and found plenty of eye candy there. Beautiful options from the Olive Magazine amongst others, but I eventually settled for this rather rustic roll ... Fruity Spices Swirls. I had all the ingredients on hand, & the recipe seemed simple, allowing me room for change. It's very difficult for me to stick to a recipe to the T, as my mind tends to wander off marking its own path. These fruity swirls are something like an apple strudel, but sans the hard work of rolling paper thin pastry. Then again, something like a Swiss roll, but with rustic pastry. The pastry isn't flaky & buttery, but is still light & full of apple, raisin & nuts tossed in a spiced sweet butter... These are an entry for the episode of Monthly Mingle that you are hosting Aparna. No eggs is just how I know you'll love these. I even substituted the egg yolk wash for a glaze with milk to make them a 100% vegetarian! This was a fun recipe, and the resultant swirls were delicious eaten warm with tea. Big hit with the hub & kids too. I sliced 15 portions as against the 10 in the original recipe as one of the reviewers said that the portions were big. I stored the leftovers in the fridge, and the daughter devoured them back from her camping trip. I was told they tasted good cold too!

Fruity Apple Spiced Swirls
Adapted from this recipe at BBC Good Food
Ingredients:
2 tsp pie spice
3 tbsp demerara sugar
4 tbsp soft butter
1 eating apple , peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried black grapes
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
350g flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
85g cold butter , cut into cubes
4 tbsp demerera sugar
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk, to glaze

Method:
Toss chopped apple in lime juice & add raisins, black grapes & walnuts.
Beat 1 tsp pie spice and 2 tbsp demerara into the butter, then stir in the apple and raisins.
Mix the remaining spices in with the flour.
Put the flour mixture, 1 tsp pie spice, salt and baking powder into a food processor, then whizz in the butter until it disappears. Pulse in the sugar, tip into a large bowl, then make a well in the middle. Warm the yogurt, milk and vanilla together in the microwave for 1 min or in a pan; it should be hot and may well go a bit lumpy-looking. Tip into the bowl and quickly work into the flour mix using a cutlery knife. As soon as it's all in, stop.Put a flat baking sheet in the oven at 220C. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, then roll to about 40 x 30cm. Spread with the fruity butter, then roll up from the long side, tucking the ends over neatly. Cut into 1" slices. Brush with milk and scatter with 1 tbsp demerara. Flour the baking sheet, then bake for 14 mins until golden and risen.

Eat warm, with more butter if you dare. (We didn't!)

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

As I wrap up, I'd like to thank 2morrowknight for the including my name is his list of 10 top foodies tweeters in his article on The Huffington Post here - 10 World Class Chefs on Twitter Who Make it Sizzle. Thank you!!

CHOCOLATE & STRAWBERRY MASCARPONE CAKE FOR PINK OCTOBER

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:23:03 PDT

“Well, we don't expect him to look pink and wonderful, do we?”
Roger Williams

I love October. The weather's finally changing. There's a nip in the morning air, ever so slight, but it's there. It's October, and with October comes DH's birthday. DH, or Mr PAB, is the reason behind my blog, my biggest source of inspiration, my biggest admirer, and yet my biggest critic. He calls a spade a spade, and as much as I cringe to criticism, I have to be grateful that he doesn't mince words. He is reserved, very much so, doesn't have a runaway tongue like me, and talks as little as I do lots! Is the wind beneath my wings, my free spirited nature ... this pink was for him!

I made a chocolate Sachertorte for his birthday 2 years ago, and frosted it with pale pinks ... A Pinktober Cake for a blogging event in support of breast cancer. Mr PAB didn't have an issue with a pink birthday cake, and was even happier to see pink back this year. I got distracted last year & fell back into my coffee mode. Made a Chocolate Coffee-Almond-Meringue Layer Cake for his birthday, and still regret not having gone pink in 2008. This year am firmly back on track. He noticed the pink comeback this year, and surprisingly, so did the daughter. She asked me why I made pink for Papa every year. The pink seems to make more sense to her now. Her friends' mother is just recovering from a second bout of breast cancer, and a neighbour of mine has just been diagnosed with it.

These beautiful flowers of the Rangoon Creeper have something to do with my 'this time of the year pink obsession'. The plant blooms 2-3 times a year, and happily always in the first week of October too, lending gorgeous shades of pink to our garden. (I virtually met Purple Foodie over a conversation about these flowers 2 years ago!). They are inspirational, and I spend many a morning just sitting looking at them. I picked the colours off the flowers to frost my cake this year.The RANGOON CREEPER (Quisqualis indica) is a large woody creeper which is a native of Malaysia, south-eastern Asia and tropical Africa but has become so popular as a cultivated plant that it is now one of the commonest creepers to be found in Indian gardens. The Circular Garden where the Mughal Gardens end has its share of this creeper. Popular Indian names for this creeper are Madhumalati and Radhamanohari. The outer surface of the flowers are slightly flushed with pink, the inner surface after the bud has opened is pure white, which slowly turns pink and finally a rich red. As the flowers open in succession there are to be found flowers of all ages on the plant, hence the effect of the numerous blossoms, some white, some pink and some red, is very striking. The flowers are beautifully scented in the evening. Back to the cake... The basic cake, a chocolate sponge, is a recipe from 'Indulge - 100 Prefect Desserts' by Claire Clark that I recently reviewed for an event for BloggerAid. I am eternally grateful to BloggerAid for getting this book to me, as it has everything dessert I can dream of. The chocolate sponge for this particular cake forms the base for the 'Bitter Chocolate, Praline Brulee, Espresso Torte' in her book, which I very nearly made. It was the espresso / coffee factor that nearly nudged me off the pink factor, but I caught myself just in time. The sponge turned out lovely & moist. However, it was nowhere near done in the suggested 20 minutes, and when I opened the door to check a couple of times, it deflated from a good height of 4 1/2" to a rather uneven 3"! Well to salvage it for my base, I cooled it in the tin (as suggested), & placed a weight on it. Left it in the fridge overnight. I managed to get 2 even slices from it in the morning. Worked fine for me, and was decadent, chocolaty & moist!

The rest of the cake was made on a whim. Made mascarpone (yes, 'again') because it's a firmer soft cream cheese, with a flavour we love. Got talking to Manggy on twitter, and took his expert advice on the filling, layering etc. He suggested that it was better to add some gelatin to stabilise the mascarpone, given our hot weather. Always err on the side of caution: maybe even 1 teaspoon in the cream would do. Never a better piece of advice, and I am GLAD I asked him! Worked perfectly! Also took on Hilda's suggestion, which she gave me a while ago, on an alternative for acetate sheets. We don't get acetate here, and in the middle of a twitconversation, I happened to mention it. She was quick on an alternative, suggested using transparencies instead from a stationery shop. I've stocked up on those, and it's the best thing that happened to me. Loved the ease of working with them. Thank you Hilda, and thank you Manggy ... ever grateful for your expert advice.

Pink for October 2009
In the month of October, the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is recognized by survivors, family and friends of survivors and/or victims of the disease. A pink ribbon is worn to recognize the struggle that sufferers face when battling with the cancer. Pink for October is an initiative started by Matthew Oliphant, which asks that any blog and website owners willing to help make people aware of breast cancer, change their template or layout to include the color pink, so that when visitors view the site, they see that the majority of the site is pink. I went PINK for October to show my support for breast cancer awareness. Do stop by HERE if you want to learn more, or are game to go pink!

Chocolate & Strawberry Mascarpone Birthday Cake
Chocolate Sponge
adapted from Indulge by Claire Clark, page 156

100gm dark chocolate, chopped fine
100gms butter

4 medium eggs
185 gms (6 ½ oz sugar) sugar
60gms (2 ½ oz) plain flour
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease an 8” Spring form tin, and line the bottom with parchment.
Place the chopped chocolate & butter in a pan over boiling water & stir until melted. Don't let the base of the pan touch the water. Remove from the bowl of water, and keep warm on side of stove.
Beat the eggs & sugar until light and fluffy, and the batter triples in volume. It should leave a trail when it falls back.
Gently fold in the chocolate butter mixture, keeping as much volume as possible.
Sift the flour over a piece of parchment & fold in very gently.
Turn batter into the prepared tin, even the surface, and bake for 20 minutes until the top springs back, or the tester comes out clean. (Mine took over 35 minutes)
Leave to cool in tin.

Filling
350gms mascarpone (home made recipe here)
100ml light cream (25% fat)
3-4 tbsps ground vanilla sugar / or castor sugar (adjust to taste)
1 tsp gelatin
Method:
Sprinkle the gelatin over 1/8 cup of cold water & leave to soften. Mix well.
Horizontally slice the sponge in two. Put the lower layer onto your serving platter, and encircle with acetate to form a snug ring mold.
Whip the mascrapone, cream & vanilla sugar until it forms stiff peaks. Sieve in the gelatin, and quickly whisk in well to mix uniformly. Pour over the base of cake, into the acetate mold.
Drop 5-6 tbsps of strawberry concentrate/conserve & marble with a wooden pick.
Leave in fridge to firm up for about an hour or so. Top with the second layer & leave to chill for another hour.

Frosting
250gms mascarpone
3 tbsps ground vanilla sugar (or castor sugar)
1/2 tsp strawberry essence (optional)
Food color for piping on top
Dark chocolate etc for garnishing
Method:
Beat the mascarpone, essence & sugar till firm peaks form.
Reserve 2-3 tbsps in a baggies for piping designs on top.

Frost just the top of the cake, within the acetate mold & leave to set ( within the acetate so it doesn't flow off the sides), OR, if you want to frost the sides as well, remove the acetate gently, & frost all around. I left the cake covered in the fridge overnight for the flavours to mature.
Pipe designs gently on top as you like, grate dark chocolate with a microplane zester to cover the sides, and place a few chocolate shavings on top. Chill until ready to serve.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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This post found mention on

Food Shots
Refrigerator Soup Headlines 7th Oct '09
Dying for Chocolate

STIRRING UP SOME TURKISH DELIGHT!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:08:43 PDT

'Eat sweet and speak sweet'

Turkish proverb

Another PINK for October, and this time it's candy! When Ilva said she was making Turkish Delight last month, I jumped right in too. Another opportunity to use Indulge - 100 Perfect Desserts by Claire Clark which I reviewed for BloggerAid recently. This would mean 3 down , 97 to go, as I had done an Apple & Black Grape Bande Aux Fruit & a basic chocolate sponge from the book recently. Getting to a 100 desserts, page by page! Claire Clark is counted among one of the world’s best pastry chefs, and has been a celebrated chef at The French Laundry. She has an easy style of writing, & a personal touch which offers a little culinary connection with each recipe. Turkish Delight is part of the Petits Fours section of the book, and at first glance I thought, 'Cool, will sail right through'. It was another thing that I was eating my words pretty soon. Delightful as this Turkish delicacy might be, it comes with it's baggage of work. Ilva tried once, not quite right, and then went on to her second try, which she did beautifully. Turkish Delight ((Rahat) Loukoum) or Cyprus Delight (Loukoumi) is a confection made from starch and sugar. It is often flavored with rosewater, mastic or lemon; rosewater gives it a characteristic pale pink color. It has a soft, jelly-like and sometimes sticky consistency, and is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with icing sugar or copra to prevent clinging. Some types contain small nut pieces, usually pistachio, hazelnut or walnuts.

Well I managed something, something tasty, but not exactly how it should have been. Was a little sticky & gooey, and got labelled TD Slugs by none other than my good friend Jamie. Am waiting for her to have a go, but knowing her French expertise, she'll have perfect ones, so I shall hold my breath! I hope I will get it looking better next time. It tasted very nice,; a tad too sweet for me though.

I used some rose extract to flavour them that Man Friday got for me from his nephew who works in a rose factory. Excellent stuff. It lent a mild flavour to the TD, and I also added some blanched & peeled pistachios and almonds. The Turkish Delight did taste good! By the way, I always thought rose extract was pink in colour? Well, discovered that it's not!! it's actually a very light creamish white, almost like whey!Offered candy to the kids when they came home, & both jumped on them. 'Oooooh they're like the ones in Narnia', hollered the son & wolfed down a whole slug, almost choking. Then the daughter descended into the chaos. 'PRETTY!', Madame declared, 'very pretty!' I was like 'bow scrape'. She took one, savoured it, licked her chops, took another. 'These are good you know. Mmmmmm, very addictive too!' By piece number 5, I had grabbed the box & done away with it. Too late, I was already peeling sugar high kids off the ceiling by the evening!

TURKISH DELIGHT or LOUKOUM
from Indulge by Claire Clark
Makes about 40 pieces
450 g/ 1 lb caster sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
145 g/ 5 oz corn starch/cornflour/Maizena
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp rose water
To finish:
250 g/ 9 oz icing
50 g/ 1,75 oz corn starch/cornflour/Maizena
- Line a 15 cm/6 in square baking tin with cling film, then oil the film lightly. Make sure the sides of the pan are lined as well as the base.
- Place the caster sugar, lemon juice and 250 ml/9 fl oz water in a large, heavy-based pan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, the turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Put a sugar thermometer in the pan, reduce the heat and simmer without stirring until the sugar reaches soft-ball stage (118 C/ 245 F). Remove from the heat straight away.
- While the sugar is boiling, combine the corn starch and cream of tartar, then mix to a smooth liquid with 250 ml/9 fl oz water. Place in a heavy-based sauce pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, whisking continuously (start to heat the corn starch mixture as soon as the sugar has reached the 118 C/ 245 F and is resting; this allows the sugar to sit just long enough to cool but not so long that it gets to thick to pour). Pour the hot sugar syrup into the corn starch mixture and continue to simmer over a low heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring frequently to prevent it sticking. It will change to a very light golden colour. As it reaches the last 15 minutes of cooking time, you will need to stir it continuously to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. (This was the tough part for me to figure out. Should have given it more time)
- Stir the rosewater and add a few drops of red food colouring, if desired. (I added some blanched chopped pistachios & almonds). Pour into the lined tray and spread evenly. Leave to cool in the tin, uncovered, overnight.
- The next day, sift the icing sugar and corn starch for finishing on to a sheet of baking parchment on a tray. Cut the Turkish Delight into cubes and roll them in the mixture on the tray.
Claire's Notes:
I like to leave my Turkish Delight for a day once it has been coated in the icing sugar, so it firm up on the outside a little. Leave in a cupboard, uncovered, on a tray.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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JACKET TATERS...Spuds We Like & a Giveaway

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:57:26 PDT

"Worship the potato? The idea seemed silly to me. But then I thought, what else is more deserving of worship? It's simple, it comes from the earth, and it can kill you if you disobey it."
Jack Handey

Time for a savoury bite, and here's a simple post. With the weather changing, it's time for hearty soups, apple-walnut salads and comfort food. This jacket potato fits snugly into these sorts of everyday comfort meals. There are very few people in this world who don't like taters, so here's a recipe to add to the mighty variety this humble vegetable offers. It's a recipe that my sister gave me many years ago, much before I began blogging, and I use it often. As an impromptu snacky meal, a side, or as a fun dish for the kids, it never fails to comfort the hunger pangs. There's nothing to it, other than piercing with the tines of a fork, & then microwaving till done. Pile it as high as you like, play around with the fillings, make it low cal as I do, or high cal as you might like. Then dig in & enjoy these spuds!

Jacket Baked Potato

Take as many largish potatoes as you like. Scrub them well, with a firm vegetable brush, under lots of running water.

Pat them dry on paper towels, then pierce with the tines of a fork all around. This is to ensure that moisture gets released while cooking in the microwave & they don't burst!

Take a 1/4 tsp of vegetable oil per potato in your palms & rub over the skin.

Microwave at full power for 5-6 minutes, then check to see if they are fork ready & done. If not, give them 2-3 minutes more. (The baking time will vary with the number of potatoes you choose to bake at a time.)

Once done, let it rest for a minute, then slice each horizontally into two. (Be careful- HOT POTATO). Scoop out the hot baked potato flesh potato, leaving the jacket intact.

Mash the scooped out bit with a fork, season it with salt & pepper, add some mayo, grated cheese, boiled egg, spring onions etc, mix well & pile back into the baked potato shells.

Greshly grind some pepper over them. Serve warm!

I have a 'Custom Stickers' giveaway promotion on my blog today from one of my blog sponsors, UPrinting ! Their custom stickers are perfect for creating product labels, unique business cards, promotional stickers and more. They are offering me and my readers an opportunity to try this amazing product for ourselves. Learn more about their stickers by visiting these links, “Sticker Printing” and “Uprinting”.

Giveaway Prize Details

250 Stickers/Labels for One (1) lucky winner

Sizes: 2” x 3.5”, 2” x 4”, or 3” x 3”

Paper: 70 lb Label Matte

Specifications: Full color front, blank back; 4 Business Day printing

To sweeten the pot, they are offering FREE UPS Ground Shipping in the USA (Canadian residents need to pay shipping and taxes).

Offer is not available to residents outside the US and Canada.

If you wish to part of the giveaway, please leave a comment on what you would use the stickers for. I'd love to hear about your creative ideas for these stickers!

The giveaway is on until October 29th. The prize will be announced thereafter.

I will also be receiving 250 Stickers/Labels from UPrinting.com for hosting this giveaway.

RED BELL PEPPER, WALNUT & GOUDA FRENCH FOUGASSE...a little banter!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:52:13 PDT

"Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven."

Yiddish Proverb

In our foodie web world, I find a couple of things that seem to unite people the most these days - desserts, bread and blogging. It's virtual unification without borders. A connection made at different levels, be it blogs, twitter, social networking sites, virtual cookbook launches ... one thing is common, and that is GOOD FOOD!! My post today touches a couple of these. One of them is bread, something that is inherent to cuisine across the world, often a basic part of the menu. The idiom, break bread, or eat together, adds to the charm of bread. World Bread Day 2009 is here again; the fourth edition of this great event hosted by Zorra @ Kochtopf.

The theme this year is open, just bake a bread with or without yeast, use sourdough, experiment with different flours, add some seeds... It's up to you! I was there last year too, and this year am sending Zorra my all time favourite bread, one that is most loved in our house, the French Fougasse. Rustic and ever so adaptable, a bread that you can even go sweet with if you like. I often make one loaf at a time, and store the rest of the dough in the fridge up to 3 days.

The other issue I wanted to highlight was a social initiative by some food bloggers. It's exciting news for us over at BloggerAid as our cherished book reaches the final stages of printing. I submitted a recipe a while ago, and it's going to be part of this delicious cookbook. BloggerAid…Changing the Face of Famine is an international network of food bloggers united behind the cause of ending global hunger. Members use their blogs as a platform for raising awareness about hunger in communities at home and abroad.

Have you thought of writing your own cookbook? The Cookbook People can make that happen. In their words " We're committed to helping families keep their cherished recipes, so we designed our own family cookbook software. Matilda's Fantastic Cookbook Software prints your home-made family cookbooks. One copy…or as many copies as you want. Whenever YOU want. Because you make it yourself on your own computer! "

The Cookbook People have not only donated a software package as a prize to BloggerAid, they went the extra mile. They set out a challenge to all members of BloggerAid - Changing the Face of Famine. They are willing to donate $20 to our charity for every member who creates a blog post about their site. Take a trip over to their site - have a look around. They will ship worldwide and are wonderful people to work with.

French Fougasse with Roasted Red Bell Pepper, Walnut & Gouda
adapted from The Practical Encyclopedia of Baking
Ingredients:
450gms all purpose flour
280ml warm water
20gms fresh yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
1 bell pepper, roasted and chopped
100gms Gouda
1 cup walnuts, chopped
Olive oil for brushingMethod:
Take 4 tbsps of water from the 280ml, & dissolve the fresh yeast into it. Stir the salt & 2 tbsp olive oil into the remaining water.
Make a well with the flour, & pour the dissolved yeast & water mixture into it. Knead to a dough, kneading further on a floured surface for 8-10 minutes, till it gets smooth & elastic.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover the bowl with cling wrap & leave in a warm place for about an hour until doubled.
Punch down & divide into 4 balls of dough (or 2 if you have a big oven)
Roll out to about an 8" circle, grate 1/4 of the cheese over the base, and top with a 1/4 of the bell pepper & walnuts.
Season lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Fold over the dough 2-3 times on itself to incorporate the stuffing. Shape each back into a ball.
Flatten each & fold the bottom third up, & top third down to make an oblong.
Roll into ovals with a flat base, cut slits diagonally, three on each side. Pull slightly to open the cuts.
Place on oiled baking sheets. Cover with cling wrap & leave to double for 35-40minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C, brush the loaves with olive oil, & bake for approximately 25-30 minutes till golden brown. Cool on racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

This post has been 'Yeastspotted'

A LITTLE SWEET & 100's of SPICE ... Ras Malai & Spicy Chickpeas for Diwali!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:13:18 PDT

"Light is good from whatever lamp it shines."
Author Unknown

"I can't wait for tomorrow..." that phrase has been echoing through the house since yesterday. The boy is over the top excited , and the daughter wonders why he can't 'grow up'. His excitement is for Diwali, one of the prettiest festivals in India. Diwali, is popularly known as the "festival of lights"; it's most significant spiritual meaning is "the awareness of the inner light".It's to do with lighting of lamps, making rangolis or floral designs on the floor, and for the boy, the chance to shoot off some fire crackers... and enjoy more sweets! He has 3 'most favourite' festivals, as he calls them ... Holi, the festival of colour, Diwali, the festival of light (or crackers in his case), and Christmas. Both kids enjoyed the flowers, festivities, sweets and crackers when young, though crackers have been significantly reduced in number over the past few years. Too much pollution. We haven't been able to convince the kids to let them go entirely though, but we still try, year after year! Giving in to the hubs sweet tooth, I often try something new on Diwali, both sweet & savoury. I did Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Fudge and Spicy Almonds last year. Was twittering with Alessio @ Recipe Taster the other night, and he said he made some yummy Indian pudding with condensed milk and cream. That set me thinking, and I eventually settled for Ras Malai, an Indian soft cheese based dessert. This was a stove top recipe, but there is another one, ricotta based, baked in the oven that I will try soon.It's a very popular North Indian dessert, and was surprisingly easy to make at home. 'Ras' meaning juice and 'malai' meaning cream. It's a soft cheese based dessert, where the cottage cheese roundels are cooked lightly in a sugar syrup to form a sponge like cloud. These are then gently squeezed and immersed in a creamy reduced milk base, flavoured sensuously with saffron & cardamom. Mine didn't come out a 100% light because I used 2% milk for the cottage cheese / paneer, but they tasted out-of-this-world good! Make sure you serve them chilled, which is how they taste best. I made one batch out of ricotta as well, and that was delish too. They're a great make ahead dessert & very indulgent. I'm sending these off to Mansi @ Fun & Food Cafe for her event, Sweet Celebrations.

Ras Malai
Adapted from this recipe @ Show Me The Curry
Ingredients:
Ricotta or cottage cheese from 1 litre of whole milk (recipes here)
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 litre whole milk
1 /2 tsp saffron + 1/4 tsp granular sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
Almonds & pistachios, soaked,peeled & sliveredMethod:
Run the ricotta/cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth. Will take about 2-3 minutes in short pulses. You can even knead it by hand, but it will take a lot longer to get it absolutely smooth.
Divide the ricotta /paneer into 10-12 equal portions a little smaller than the size of a ping pong ball.
Roll the portions in your hands until a smooth ball is formed. Lightly press the ball until it flattens out.
In the pressure cooker dissolve 1 cup sugar with water, and add the flattened ricotta / paneer.
Close pressure cooker lid and cook until one whistle sounds. Immediately switch off the stove and set the timer for exactly 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, carefully take the pressure cooker to the sink and pour cold water over the lid to remove the pressure.
Remove the cooked ricotta /paneer with a slotted spoon into a bowl and allow it to cool.
Meanwhile, the milk in the non-stick pan should have reduced to half. Add sugar to taste, cardamom powder and nuts. Switch off the stove and keep milk aside.
Once the ricotta /paneer is cool enough to handle with your hands, gently squeeze out the sugar syrup from the ricotta / paneer and place the roundels in a serving dish.
Pour the prepared reduced milk over and chill in the refrigerator. Garnish with additional chopped nuts.

For savoury, I went to a recipe I've had bookmarked for ages, a spicy chickpeas recipe off Cathy's blog @ Noble Pig. I loved the way she wrote that you can have a few thousands of these. I changed the spices a teeny bit to adapt to an Indian theme, and they were yum. A nice twist to the regular chickpeas / cholas / chanas we eat at home. Play around with spices as you like, but don't forget the lime! I daresay this will also make a nice tossed Indian salad with chopped onions and tomatoes too.It was fun making the spicy chickpeas, and you can make it simpler by using canned chickpeas. Do stop by at Noble Pig to see her version, made out of canned chickpeas.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
adapted from this recipe @ Noble Pig
Ingredients:
250gms of of chick peas, soaked overnight & cooked with 1 tsp of salt (Don't overcook or they'll get mushy)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon black rock salt
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Lime wedges Method:

Drain the chick peas well, shaking the colander to remove as much water as possible. As Cathy says...It's okay to take out a bit of aggression on the peas, they won't mind.
Combine rinsed chickpeas, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon black rock salt salt and 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder. Mix well to coat the chickpeas. Spread the chickpeas out on a foil lined baking sheet, one large enough to hold chickpeas in a single layer.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until chickpeas begin to brown, shaking pan twice during baking.
Remove chickpeas from the oven. In a small bowl, combine the chill powder and paprika. Place the mixture in a small sieve to sprinkle over the cooked chickpeas. Bake another 5 minutes or until a dark, golden-red. (The more the chili powder, the darker the red. Mine are less 'hot' because of the kids)
Serve with lime wedges. Do not forget to serve these with lime wedges.

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PRALINE PUMPKIN PIE ... FALLING FOR DESSERT!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:12:05 PDT

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers."

Laurie Colwin

An exciting new cookbook, Park Avenue Potluck CELEBRATIONS is being published today. When Kelsey @ The Naptime Chef invited me for the virtual "dinner" party for the books' publications, I was delighted, and said yes quickly. Kelsey and I had met earlier at Monica Bhide's virtual dinner for Modern Spice, and we hope one day we meet in real time too.

Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations is a beautiful user-friendly cookbook, and is once again, a fundraising vehicle for cancer care and research. This book is the highly anticipated follow-up to the best selling cookbook, Park Avenue Potluck.

Created and authored by members of The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), the new cookbook is to be released nationwide in October 2009 and offers advice on how to celebrate in style with a compilation of sensational recipes, entertaining ideas, party-planning tips, and personal anecdotes from New York’s most celebrated hostesses. Award-winning food writer and contributing New York Times columnist, Florence Fabricant authors and edits each recipe as well as contributes to the book.In addition to having fun, this virtual dinner party will be supporting the fight against cancer. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Park Avenue Potluck CELEBRATIONS will provide funding for The Society’s patient care, research and education programs at MSKCC. Founded in 1946 by a group of pioneering women, The Society strives to bring comfort and care to improve the quality of life of patients treated at the Center.

Kelsey offered me a choice of making a drink, appetizer, side dish, entrée or dessert. I tried very hard not to follow my heart, and go for an appetizer or main course, but that didn't happen. Heart won over the head. Dessert it had to be, and what better choice for Fall than this fabulous Praline Pumpkin Pie from this beautiful book.

I have to admit this is my first go at making pumpkin pie, something I've wanted to do for long, and now can see what we've been missing. India is not a 'pumpkin puree in a can' country, and if we need pumpkin puree, we just need to do it from scratch. The recipe was exciting enough to get me to do just that. Making pumpkin puree is simple as can be, and what's better than fresh pumpkin puree whenever you want it, and at a fraction of the cost.

Bought a 500-600gm pumpkin, halved it, took the innards out & roasted it in the oven at medium heat, cut side down, for about 35-40 minutes. Scraped the roasted pumpkin, hot, from the peel, & mashed it immediately with a fork. I added the sugar & the pie spices into it at this time itself . The favours were beautiful. The puree can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a couple of days. Yield approximately 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree.

The pie was delicious beyond belief. This was the first time I'd seen a pie recipe with a praline topping, and was slightly skeptical in the beginning. One bite transported us to pie heaven, and banished all doubts. The caramelised walnuts with brown sugar & butter took it to an all new level. The combination of flavours made for a perfect fall marriage. Unsweetened whipped cream added the guarantee of luxury! I'm not to good at making pie shells from scratch, so this was my second attempt. The first pie shell was used in another pie, which I shall post later. I hope to get a crash course in making pie shells soon.

Praline Pumpkin Pie
from Park Avenue Potluck CELEBRATIONS
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients:
½ recipe Pastry for Pies (page 185)
2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons canned, frozen, or freshly cooked unseasoned pumpkin puree
¾ cup granulated sugar
1¾ cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons whole milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons dark rum
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Roll out the pastry and line a 9-inch glass pie pan. Trim the edges and crimp with a fork. Line the pastry with a sheet of foil and pile in pastry weights or dried beans. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then remove the foil liner and weights and bake for another 10 minutes, until lightly colored.
Remove from the oven and cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Brush the bottom of the crust with the jam. Place the pumpkin puree in a large bowl and beat in the granulated sugar, 1 cup of the cream, the milk, eggs, rum, spices, and salt. Pour into the prepared crust, place in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes longer, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack.

Preheat the broiler. Combine the brown sugar, pecans, and melted butter in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the pie. Cover the crimped pastry edge with a strip of foil and broil for a few minutes, just until the topping bubbles, watching carefully so it does not burn. Transfer the pie to a rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.
Whip the remaining 1 cup cream and serve it with the pie.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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ROASTED PLUM & BROWN SUGAR CAKES...delicious dessert!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:32:18 PDT

“What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?”
Logan Pearsall Smith

T'was the day after Diwali, and the bazaars were finally nice and empty. The festive frenzy had ceased, & I could stroll at leisure. The fruit vendor came to me with a clutch of plums, firm, large & very tempting. While he tried to talk me into buying them, I could see Aran's beautiful Roasted Plum Muscavado Sugar Cakes in the back of my head. I didn't need convincing at all! Came home bounding with renewed energy. Yes, indeed a bonanza to find some plums when fall is here, and time for a bake with fruit again. Made the cakes with whatever I had on hand. Me, being me, the adventurous 'substitution baker' played around. No muscavado sugar here, so used soft brown sugar. Didn't have sour cream, so used my own oft-used concoction of hung yogurt, low fat cream & a dash of lime juice. Also added some almond meal to it. I still have a bagful I made for my escapades with French macarons in eager anticipation of 'feet'!

I like the addition of almond meal to bakes. It adds oomph to the texture, making each bite more interesting, and is also nutritionally good. Just 1/4 to 1/2 cup of almond meal in desserts is becoming more of a norm with me. So far, the experiments have ended on a positive note! These turned out to be pretty cakes indeed, and the house smelt so good. I made just half the recipe, using my 3" tart rings I had bought from a trip into Old Delhi not too long ago. I love an opportunity to use them, and this was just the thing. Petit fours, individually plated desserts etc are the love of my life. A little dusting of sugar, a tiny dollop of cream, just the tiniest hint of silver leaf, a few slivers of almonds ... all dressed up & looking good!! Just the way I like it...

Roasted Plum and Soft Brown Sugar Cakes
adapted from this recipe @ Canelle et Vanille
Makes 6 mini cakes, 3" each
Ingredients:
90 grams butter, room temperature
75 grams soft brown sugar sugar
60 grams granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
90 grams sour cream (I used a mix of hung yogurt + 1 tbsps low fat cream + juice of 1/2 lime)
90 grams flour
30gms almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
2-3 firm, ripe plums
Soft brown sugar for sprinkling Method:
Cream butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, lime zest and vanilla together until light. Add the egg, and beat. 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 brown sugar.
Bake at 180CF for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Wait until slightly cool to unmold them gently.

Serve warm, with a little dollop of cream, if desired!

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Persimmon Flan - I've Got My Eye Set On You...BOO!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:28:15 PDT

"Where there is no imagination there is no Horror."

Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr.

I've got my eye set on you, also got my mind set on you, you Bootiful flan!

When Renee @ Flamingo Musings asked last month if I celebrated Halloween, and if I'd like to join her and gang for the Great HallowTweet, a halloween Bloghop, I was quite unsure. Nothing like Halloween here, and actually we don't get 'scary stuff' in stores that I could include in my posts. So I was compelled to say no, but the temptation drew me in. As days went by, ideas kept cropping up, with twitterverse on fire with hallow tweets galore, I was sitting on the edge. I eventually jumped on board the Great HallowTweet and was having fun in no time. I had a flashing thought from a brilliant Halloween post from Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella, & decided to top my flan with an eyeball made out of marzipan. Made some marzipan (from almond meal that I made for my mac escapades), and have to say that my foodie journey is becoming more and more exciting! This flan is made out of persimmons, my first adventure with this very temperamental and unpredictable fruit!

Persimmons, known to the ancient Greeks as "the fruit of the gods" are rightly royal fruit. Had seen this stunning fruit on blogs before but never met one in my life. The sight of the basket full at the local market brought me to a grinding halt. The man at the shop tried desperately to sell me bruised, soft fruit, insisting that the others would 'catch my throat', and I gave the poor soul a disdainful look. ''Trying to palm off yesterdays fruit to me, eh?", so I lovingly sat & chose beautiful firm persimmons in gorgeous fall colours!

A few tweets later, discussions with the Greek God of Food, Petah @Kalofagas, and I was harshly enlightened. What a fruit the persimmon is. Astringent beyond belief if unripe, and luscious to eat when bruised & soft. There are 2 popular varieties, the hachiya and the fuyu, the latter being less astringent, and therefore an easier one to deal with.

I find the persimmon too fiddly for me, somewhat like French macarons. Strange comparison you might think, but both have the potential to bring you to your knees. I've been there, done that, with both the persimmon and with macarons, so I really know! Both have the foodie in me perplexed. Just when I think I've got a handle on either, they reduce me to tears! Lesson learnt - Fruits of the God & 'he' knows how to figure them out! Unfortunately, I found the fruit downright fussy for me. It took me one astringent bite to decide. ACK, it had 'caught my throat'! Thereafter began my battle. Sat them in a brown paper bag for days. Are they ripe? Cut one ... ugh! Finally got 2-3 ripe fruit & was forced to chuck 2-3 unripe ones. Hmmm... just when I was ready to throw the towel in, I saw a tweet from Lisa @ Lisa is Cooking. She made Persimmon Flan, and boy did it look good! WOW!! That was enough for me to get back into the game. I discussed ingredients with her on ever dependable Twitter, and with great inspiration from her, arrived at this beautiful flan. I wouldn't say that it had a discernable persimmon taste (or maybe I know only of astringent tastes), but the flan was drop dead gorgeous, and very delicious. No eggy taste either. Beautifully behaved, it turned out easily from the mold. I made 3 4" flans, and 8 tiny little ones in fluted tart pans.

Persimmon Flan

Inspired by advice from Lisa @ Lisa Is Cooking
Persimmon puree
5-6 very ripe fuyu persimmons, calyx (cap)/stem removed
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp cinnamon powder (optional; you can even use pumpkin pie spice)
juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
1/4 cup apple juice

Method:
Place all of the above in a heavy bottom saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes, a bit more if the fruit aren't very very ripe.
Cool & refrigerate overnight for the flavours to marry.
Discard the cinnamon stalk (& seeds of the persimmon, if any. Mine were seedless), whiz in the blender. Yield 1cup persimmon puree.Caramel
1 cup granular sugar
1 tbsp water
Method:
Make a caramel out of 1 cup granular sugar. Heat 1 cup sugar in a heavy bottom pan,& stir gently only when it begins melting.Once it is golden brown & completely melted, remove form the fire & add 1 tbsp of water. BE CAREFUL at this point as it is dangerously hot, and will splutter. Allow them to bubble for a few seconds & come together. Quickly pour into your molds & twirl the molds around to coat bottom and sides (or only bottoms if you like).Custard:
1 cup persimmon puree
200ml low fat cream (25%)
4 small eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tin/400ml condensed ilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Method:
Preheat oven to 170C
Place all of the above in a big bowl & whisk for 1 minute to blend.
Pour into prepared caramel lined molds, just below the tops.
Place in a roasting tin, and pour enough hot water in the roasting tin to some about half way up the sides of the molds.
Bake for 25-30minutes, until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool, and then chill. (Do not try to turn out the custard warm/hot. It will fall apart) Run a knife around the edges, or give the mold a good shake, and turn it out into he serving plate. Pour any remaining caramel over the top. (Tastes mighty fine with a LITTLE drizzle of cream too)

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

Be sure to take the Halloween hoppa which you will find on my sidebar & check out the rest of the gang on the Great HallowTweet! Thanks for taking me on Renee ... BOOOOOO!!
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DARING BAKERS MAKE FRENCH MACARONS...YES, TIME FOR FEET AGAIN!

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:16:14 PDT

"Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential."

Winston Churchill

It's the 27th again, time to post the Daring Bakers challenge, a wonderful & fun group brought together by Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice. This month we were led into a merry dance; the challenge was to find 'FEET'. Hail the great French macaron/macaroon, an elegant French cookie that I find entirely temperamental and fiddly. One that has reduced me to tears in the past, brought me to my knees in the quest for 'feet'...yet one that gave me untold joy when I finally found them.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Unless you’ve been frozen in permafrost for the past five years, you’ve likely noticed that cupcake bakeries have popped up all over like iced mushrooms. Knock one down, and three take its place. Much has been made about not only the cupcake’s popularity, but also its incipient demise as the sweet du jour. Since we seem to be a culture intent on the next sensation, pundits, food enthusiasts and bloggers have all wondered what this sensation might be. More than a few have suggested that French-style macaroons (called macarons in France) might supplant the cupcake. This may or may not come to pass, but the basic premise of the French macaroon is pretty damned tasty.In the United States, the term “macaroon” generally refers to a cookie made primarily of coconut. But European macaroons are based on either ground almonds or almond paste, combined with sugar and egg whites. The texture can run from chewy, crunchy or a combination of the two. Frequently, two macaroons are sandwiched together with ganache, buttercream or jam, which can cause the cookies to become more chewy. The flavor possibilities and combinations are nigh endless, allowing infinitely customizable permutations.

French macaroons are notorious for being difficult to master. Type in “macaroon,” “French macaroon” or “macaron” in your search engine of choice, and you will be inundated not only with bakeries offering these tasty little cookies, but scores and even hundreds of blogs all attempting to find the perfect recipe, the perfect technique. Which one is right? Which captures the perfect essence of macaroons? The answer is all of them and none of them. Macaroons are highly subjective, the subject of passionate, almost Talmudic study and debate. Chewy? Crisp? Age your egg whites? Ground the nuts or use nut meal or nut flour? Cooked sugar syrup, or confectioners’ sugar? In the words of a therapist, what do you think is the ideal macaroon? The answer lies within you...

A mac obssessed group of us foodie pals on twitter had ventured into mac territory a few months ago, and it took me many attempts before I got it right. 'Many' translate into 6 attempts on a single morning, in a mad frenzy, batch after batch, failure after failure. It was on the 7th attempt that I finally tasted success with David Lebovitz's French Chocolate Macarons with Pistachio Buttercream. All credit went to a great bunch of tweeples who held my hand. Of them many were Daring Bakers - Meeta, Aparna, Hilda, Jamie, Ria & Barbara! Jamie was crowned the Mac Queen...and boy, am I glad I got all that experience. What worked for me then was a much lower temperature and David Lebovitz's recipe; I now call him the 'Mac Mastah'!!When the challenge was announced this month I was doing the salsa, the flamenco, the tango, the cha-cha-cha ... even the macarona, if there was one! We needed 'FEET' here, and I knew just what I had to do; also knew just how to behave if they failed. No more tears, no more panic. Many egg whites lined up, almond meal made from scratch & I was ready to roll. Popped batch one into the oven with the DB recipe, and the first lot at 93C turned out beautifully, with the prettiest feet developing. All was lost at 190C & my tray bubbled over. UGH! I should have known, because that's just what happened when I tried a David Lebovitz recipe during the mac attack at 190C.

Then again, no drama. Calmly wrapped the parchment paper, binned it & began all over again, but this time with my tried & tested 140C variant on the Lebovitz recipe, sans cocoa. Found colour inspiration and sound advice from Trissa @ Trissalicious. One look at her blog, & her beautiful coloured macs, returned me to an uber confident baker, unfazed by failure. Exchanged mails with her, and was back at it in no time, again with a 1 egg white batch. I divide the batter into 5 portions and added a drop of neon colour to each. Ended with vanilla sugar flavoured, pretty coloured French macarons, not perfect, but good enough for me. Loved doing the challenge, maybe because it worked for me. I sandwiched them with a vanilla butter cream, and the kids loved them. I'd do this again soon, but for the fact that I find macarons far too sweet. I might try them again in the winter with a bittersweet chocolate filling, or might try them again just because I love the way they look! They really are stunning little creatures!I did a batch with pumpkin pie spice too, just because I had some pumpkin puree left over from this Praline Pumpkin Pie here, and I wanted to make something pumpkin pie spice flavoured. These turned out delish too, but we finished them sooner because of the pumpkin puree filling, as it had more moisture. I preferred these to the vanilla buttercream ones, as I found them less sweet.Awesome tasty cookies. I'm including them here for the Great HallowTweet ... a Halloween Bloghop by Renee @ Flamingo Musings (refer my post here)!

Vanilla Macarons with Vanilla Buttercream
as adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe
(I made half this recipe )
Macaron Batter
1 cup powdered vanilla sugar
½ cup powdered almonds
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
Liquid neon colours

Method:
Preheat oven to 140 degrees C.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn't quite fine enough.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes. (They should stay in the bowl if you hold it upside down. try at your own peril!!)
Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).
Divide into bowls and gently mix in the colour if you want too. See Trissa's post here.
Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.
Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then bake them for 15-18 minutes.
Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Double the ingredients if you are making the whole recipe above.
50gms butter at room temperature
50gms powdered vanilla sugar
1/4 vanilla bean
1 tbsp light cream
Method:
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into a bowl with all the ingredients, & whip together to firm consistency.
Pipe onto cookies & sandwich. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Note: For pumpkin spice macarons, 1 added 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice to almond meal & blended for a few seconds. For pumpkin buttercream, I mixed 1 tbsp of pumpkin puree to a white chocolate ganache. These macs should be consumed faster because the moisture content in the pumpkin buttercream could lead them to be soggy faster than the regular buttercream.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

Do stop by and see the other Daring Bakers around the world find their feet HERE!

Thank you Amy @ Baking Without Fear for this wonderful challenge!

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CUTE SPOOKS FOR GREAT HALLOWTWEET...Meringue Ghosts

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:46:06 PDT

"Ghosts, like ladies, never speak till spoke to."

Richard Harris Barham

Onto my last post for the Great HallowTweet and it's been a fun ride this week. Thanks to a call from Renee @ Flamingo Musings, and I joined this fun & spooky ride. Take time to stop by the blogroll with the lit-up pumpkin on my sidebar & check out some Great HallowTweet posts.

The kids got adventurous this week on seeing the ghosts I meringued around with. The son decided to dig out to a book to make face paint at home, and the daughter wanted to paint his face.

He, who is always in for some wayward fun, was a good volunteer ... until she began plastering him. But it was too late, and this is how it ended. Spooky... and she did a good job! She also sat the whole day melting candles left over from Diwali to make a set of candles for Halloween. She didn't let me burn it for too long though!! I made these meringues out of egg whites saved for my Daring Baker French macarons. I had plenty saved because I was ready for failure, but that didn't happen this time. I had a pretty easy macaron ride, thanks to Monsieur Lebovitz's recipe, so I turned to GHOSTS! The son had a poetry week in school and they explored interesting forms of poetry including haiku, autobio, acoustic, CinQuain, limericks, etc. The students each made a little poem book with their creative thoughts. The poems made for interesting reading. Let me share his autobio with you which had mention of 'ghosts' so...

Your first name... Rohan
Four descriptive traits... kind, cool, peacfull, awesome
Sibling of... brother of meher
Lover of (people, ideas)... Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, my dad
Who feels... sad, happy, good
Who needs... PSP, computer, TV
Who gives... Love, Peace, Joy
Who fears... dark, my sister, ghosts
Who would like to see... Jeff hardy, Matt Hardy, Kane
Resident of (your city)... Beverly Hills
Your last name... Rajpal

Of course I asked him to pass these meringue ghosts if they frightened him. I got a 'charming' smile back as if to say, but these are sweet Mama. Here are my ghosts, and a few mice. The mice 'happened' because there was just a bit of meringue left in the bag. I used roasted pumpkin seeds to give them ears. You can use flaked almonds too.

My little ghosts were meant to be white but they began to turn brown about 30 minutes into baking a 100C. Maybe an element issue with my poor old oven, but they tasted darned nice. The kids loved the crispy exteriors and slightly chewy interiors. I think they liked these creatures better than macs!

Meringue Ghosts for Halloween
adapted from Joy of Baking
2 egg whites (120 grams)
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 powdered vanilla sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to 105C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks.
Spoon the meringue into a large self-sealing plastic bag. Use a sharp pair of scissors to snip 1/2 inch off from one corner of the bag to form a makeshift piping bag.Hold the bag upright and squeeze the meringue, forming a wide base, a slightly smaller middle, and a curled top (almost as if you were piping a soft-serve ice-cream cone) to form a chubby, upright ghost shape.
Carefully press two candy eyes or two silver dragees or miniature chocolate chips into each meringue ghost.
Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours or until they are dry and crisp to the touch and easily separate from the parchment paper. Turn off the oven, open the door, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours, or even overnight.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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APPLE & WALNUT BROWN BUTTER TARTLETS

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:31:06 PST

"Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not!"
Author Unknown

Yay, it's November! Really surprised how silently it snuck up on me, and am still wondering what happened to poor old October. It went Q U I C K, but I'm not complaining as I love November, not least because it's my birthday month. It is possibly the best month of the year in North India, the onset of a beautiful winter, temperatures more like a European autumn as Pam said the other day. Our winters see new leaves sprouting, chrysanthemums, carnations, oodles of farm fresh vegetables & bright sunny days. We wake up to slightly nippy mornings, with the slightest hint of a morning mist, birds chirping & kids bundled up already walking briskly to school. Yes, days of gorgeous weather are here again! Did I forget to mention 'cricket season'? Yes, that too!

The downside, these are days far shorter than I can handle. Day breaks late, the sun sets by 6pm & the kids are home before you know it. I can keep talking till the cows come home, but the thing is that I am stressed. The lad is leaving on a 3 day trip to the 'The Himalayan Bear Stream Camp', nestled in the Himalayas, and is driving me crazy. I have packed & unpacked his rucksack a trillion times, he is talking non-stop, wants to take 4 dozen cookies just in case he doesn't like the food ... H E L P! In the midst of this mayhem, I am trying to post an apple dessert that I fell in love with, and have made twice this week. It's also apple season in full swing here, and this year’s seen a good apple crop. Last year we had unseasonal weather and a failed crop, but this year seems good. I saw a 'Peaches to the Rescue' post at An Edible Symphony, Muneeba's delicious blog, and the mind was set. This I had to make, and make soon, but I knew I'd use apples or maybe pears since peach season was long gone. Her post sang to me, & played on my mind all day long. I made it soon enough, twice in a week actually because it was DELISH. The second time around I made it in dessert rings without a pastry base. Cut the calories, but kept the taste...nom nom nom!! Browned butter in the list of ingredients immediately caught my eye. I find the use of clarified butter/browned butter/ghee in baking particularly interesting & intriguing. Most Indian households always have a jar of ghee/clarified butter on hand, and there's nothing more convenient than using it. If you find a box/carton at your local Indian store, it's worth the buy. More so because it has a long shelf life, and doesn't need refrigeration. Just make sure you store it in an airtight container in a cool place. I used clarified butter in here in Dark Chocolate, Ricotta & Ginger Tartlets with Vanilla Poached Pears , and here Plum & Dried Black Grapes Frangipane Clafoutis and also in this Chocolate Genoise Cake with Mocha Mascarpone. Ghee is the traditional Sanskrit word for clarified butter. Chefs often use clarified butter because it will not burn during frying (this is known as a high smoking point), and possesses a more buttery flavor. Ghee lacks hydrogenated oils and is a popular choice for health-conscious cooks as well. Additionally, since all the milk proteins have been removed during the clarifying process, ghee gains further nutritional value because it's lactose free, making it a safer alternative for those who are lactose intolerant.
Several cultures make ghee outside of India. Egyptians make a product called samna baladi, literally meaning "local ghee", virtually identical to ghee in terms of process and end result. In Ethiopia, niter kibbeh is made and used in much the same way as ghee, but with spices added during the process that result in a distinctive taste. Moroccans (especially Berbers) take this one step further, aging spiced ghee in the ground for months or even years, resulting in a product called smen. In Northeastern Brazil, a non-refrigerated butter very similar to ghee, called manteiga-de-garrafa (Butter-in-a-bottle) or manteiga-da-terra (Butter of the land), is common. In Europe it is also widely used. For example, Wiener Schnitzel is traditionally fried in a version of ghee called Butterschmalz.

Apple Brown Butter Tartlets
adapted from Peachy Keen Brown Butter Bars from An Edible Symphony
Serves 8 I used some 4" puff pastry pie shells I made with left over Daring Bakers puff pastry dough for one lot, and went sans base, that is just fruit, for another lot. Both were great, and I loved the good taste & lower calories in the baseless ones! The kids got just the crustless ones which they loved! Do check out An Edible Symphony for her crust recipe.
Ingredients for the filling:
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (or regular sugar)
2 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup clarified butter/melted ghee
4 apples, peeled and sliced
Method:
Preheat oven to 190C.
For the filling, blend eggs, salt, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Very slowly drizzle in the browned butter until smooth and completely blended.
Arrange two layers of apple slices on the pre-baked crust, (or within a foil lined dessert/tart ring if going sans pastry).
Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Pour the brown butter mixture carefully over the fruit. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
Bake for 20-25 mins till golden and puffed (or 40-45 minutes if baking 1 large pie).
Serve warm or at room temperature with some unsweetened whipped cream, or vanilla ice-cream for added luxury. ♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

I have a winner for the 'Custom Stickers' giveaway promotion on my blog from one of my blog sponsors, UPrinting !

The winner is Michelle @ Big Black Dogs. Congrats Michelle. Will just mail you...

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IT'S RAINING PIES HALLELUJAH...SIMPLE PUMPKIN & CREAM PATISSERIE

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:20:16 PST

“Promises and pie-crust are made to be broken.”
Jonathan Swift

My love affair with pumpkin pie, all things pie continues. The first ever one I made was the Praline Pumpkin Pie from this stunning book Park Avenue Potluck CELEBRATIONS, a book published for cancer cure research & a celebration of food in every way. It's a gorgeous book, with stunning photographs taken in stately NY homes, and is divided into seasonal menus. I found that quite a unique and novel idea. That pie was quite the best pie I've ever made, and so I decided to explore my love for pumpkin more. There are a lot of folk who don't like 'pumpkin' anything & I'm really glad to discover we're a pumpkin loving family as far as desserts go in any case. So now I try and keep some puree in the fridge to try something new. Pumpkin puree on hand makes pie making easy. Cookie dough makes it fun. This was a less luxurious pie as compared to the Praline Pumpkin Pie, which would be my first choice for special pie, but was delicious nevertheless. The kids enjoyed chomping straight warm slices of it. The shortbread cookie dough added some luxury and delicious flavour to it. You can use a regular pie base too if you like.

Simple Pumpkin Pie

Recipe by Julia, author Of Dozen Flours
Adapted from Megans Cooking here
Ingredients:
One regular pie shell, or a pie shell made out of brown sugar shortbread dough, baked blind & cooled

Pumpkin Pie Layer
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

Topping
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Drizzle
1/4 cup low fat cream
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C.
Filling:

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly over the pie shell.(mixture will be thick and cookie batter-ish.)
Combine white sugar, walnuts & cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon mixture over the top of the batter.
Bake for 33-40 minutes (maybe more depending on your oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the pie cool completely (about an hour).

Optional: After the pie is completely cool, mix a little low fat cream with pumpkin pie spice and drizzle over the top. Alternately, serve warm slices with unsweetened whipped cream.

From one who never quite made pies of this sort before. Looking back, I now am amazed at how far I've come & how adventurous I've become. From someone completely eggophobic, to someone who now makes pies using eggs ... WOOT! Makes me do a happy jig, and keeps the family guessing what the next dessert is going to be.

The second pie is a result of a what I thought was a ruined pastry shell meant for the Praline Pumpkin Pie, a dessert which was an absolute celebration of everything pie ... smooth, luxurious & satisfying. My first attempt was far from perfect, maybe given the warm weather. Had to use it elsewhere. I also had 4 egg yolks left over from the Daring Bakers macaron challenge and a shout out on twitter had Pam @ The Cooking Ninja to my rescue, with MILs cream patisserie recipe. For me, who wouldn't touch egg yolks with a barge pole, it was a paradox of sorts. But the cream patisserie was a real breeze. I even began to enjoy the ease of working with the yolks!! Could I dunk it into the shell and make pie? Did!!

A while later Hilda gave me words of assurance that it may just work, and Pam was all enthusiastic about experimenting. I had nothing to lose...and the experiment came out a winner. WE HAD PIE!! A delicious pie, topped with a strawberry concentrate I made with frozen strawberries & topped with grated chocolate curls... Can you tell how good it was? The family loved it!

Crème Pâtissière, Strawberry & Chocolate Pie
Ingredients:
A 9" pie shell (Pam has a good recipe for short crust pastry/pâte brisée)
1 quantity French Pastry Cream (recipe at bottom)
1/2 cup strawberry conserve
Dark chocolate at room temperature for topping

Method:
Pour the cool pastry cream into the pie shell and leave to set overnight.
Ladle the strawberry conserve/concentrate, and spread gently but uniformly. Grate chocolate directly over the pie. Refrigerate till ready to serve.
Crème Pâtissière (French Pastry Cream)
as adapted minimally from The Cooking Ninja
Enough for 1 9" pie shell (serves 4 otherwise)
Ingredients:
½ litre milk
4 egg yolks

1/2 a vanilla bean
130g fine sugar
2 sachets vanilla sugar
30g cornflour
a pinch of salt
Method:
Bring the milk, vanilla sugar & a pinch of salt to a gentle boil in a pot.
In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks and sugar with a wooden spoon in a big bowl until the mixture becomes pale and light. Stir in the flour slowly until it is thoroughly mixed with the egg mixture.
Pour the boiling milk into the mixture a little by little while whisking continuously to avoid curdling. And then stir in the rest of the milk until the mixture is well combined.
Transfer the whole mixture into a pot, with seeds scraped from the vanilla bean, and heat it under low setting. Stir it constantly with the wooden spoon or spatula scraping the sides and bottom until it has thickened.
Once the custard has thickened, take it off the heat, pour it into a clean bowl and let it cool down.

Just before I leave you, I have some fun news for fellow foodies and Macapassionatas!

Jamie @ Lifes A Feast and I have finally organized the second great Mac Attack and with it, we have created our own virtual Mac Kitchen, a place where we can bake macs together, share recipes, share failures and successes, ask questions, help each other through the difficulties and the bumps along the road, encourage and cheer each other on MACTWEETS!

Spread the word to other foodies and food bloggers! Don't be afraid! Let the Mac Games begin!

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CINNAMON BUTTERCREAM AUTUMN CAKE... for the Daring Kitchen

vindee@airtelmail.in (Deeba PAB) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:45:32 PST

"I dream for a living"

Steven Spielberg

How would you like to attend the New York Cake Convention thanks to the wonderful people at the U.S. Confection Connection? That's right, I read it correctly, but sadly a contest I am not eligible for because I don't stay in the US or Canada.

Still, anything with cake decoration, especially a theme based one gets me thinking, and a few mails exchanged with Ivonne where she said... "I really hope you take part, Deeba! Even though it's for US/Canada residents, we are offering a prize to a participant outside of North America. It's a cookbook but still ... we hope you take part!" ... and I continued to dream!

Heck, The Daring Kitchen, in conjunction with the U.S. Confection Connection, is offering one lucky person the chance to attend the New York Cake Convention from January 2 to January 5 on an all-expenses paid trip. You've still got time to submit your creation by midnight, Eastern Standard Time, on November 9th. All you Daring Baker kind of people who qualify... go for it!

Cake decorating is a passionate hobby for me. I don't get it professionally perfect, as I have no professional training, and lack the tools & basic ingredients like whipping cream etc, but I manage to some extent. A comment by Manggy on twitter a while ago, over this for Chocolate & Strawberry Mascarpone Cake for Pink October, made me do a jig of joy. He said something to the effect of it being my signature style, and then it dawned on me. He was right , (like he always is...LOL)! COOL! I've actually developed a signature style over the years without realizing it!

So when I saw the shout out for the competition on Daring Kitchen and Ivonnes blog, Cream Puffs in Venice, I knew what I wanted to do. Even better that the contest was theme based; so much easier to focus. My thought ... a fat less sponge with a butter/clarified butter/cream frosting & my signature piping on top. Turned out to be a bit of an uphill drive as piping the buttercream wasn't as smooth as I wanted, so I had to scrape it off & begin all over again. I finally smoothened the cake out with a light whipped cream cover, left it to set & then piped swirls free-hand.

Mr PAB was kind enough to film it as I had promised Happy Cook I would definitely take a video the next time I attempted the piping. I promised her a lesson in piping, but distances being what they are, this seemed a better idea. I recycle milk bags we get here for piping designs etc. Pardon my green nails but I hastily abandoned making marzipan leaves to get this filmed. My first video... (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=vindeexyzditervi#p/u)

Simplistic cake decorating is my passion, and I enjoyed doing this. A contest asking you to decorate a cake to represent what the Autumn means to you...Starting with a 9-inch cake as your base, create a visual representation of one of the most colourful, beautiful seasons: Autumn. Your cake can be homemade or store-bought, but you MUST start with a completely undecorated cake. It can also be a single layer cake or a multi-layer cake, that’s up to you!You can use any medium to decorate your cake (i.e., buttercream, fondant, sugarcraft), however, it must all be edible (no non-edible decorations) and it must all be made by YOU!!! This is my cake on Autumn ... a beautiful season, when the leaves beginning to turn beautiful colours, where brightly coloured pumpkins stand out in contrast to pale leaves. Colours that weave dreamy designs, each complimenting the other. My inspiration ... Colours of Autumn & Pumpkins. My cake ... Cinnamon Buttercream Autumn Cake, with pumpkins made out of home made marzipan!

Cinnamon Buttercream Autumn Cake
Ingredients:
Sponge
4 eggs (200gms)
125 gms powdered sugar
125 gms plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour/optional (makes the cake texture lighter)
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon powder

Buttercream filling & frosting
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
2 tbsps clarified butter
2 tbsps low fat cream
3-4 tbsps powdered sugar
2tsps cinnamon powder (to taste)
Icing Sugar - 3-4 Tbsp

Topping
200ml low fat cream
1-2 tbsps powdered sugar food colours as required
Marzipan for pumpkin patch
Home made/from scratch recipe here
Method:
For the sponge
Preheat oven to 190C , reduce to 180C after 10mins of putting the cake in. Grease and line a 9" spring form cake tin.
Sift the flour + baking powder + salt + cornflour + cinnamon powder 3 times.
Beat the eggs and sugar well with beater till very thick ribbon falls and holds in place for at least 5 seconds (beat for approx 10mins).
Add vanilla extract and beat for 1 min. Gently fold in the sifted flour; mix lightly so that air doesn't escape.
Turn gently into tin and bake for 30-35 mins till done. Once done, remove from tin after 5 mins and leave on rack to cool completely.
Cut horizontally into 3 layers. (Mark side with colour to make it easy to stack back later)

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting/Filling
Whip all ingredients until thick and frosting holds peaks. Sandwich & frost cake with cinnamon buttercream. Leave to set in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Topping:
Whip the low fat cream & sugar till holds peaks. Colour as desired.
Reserve about 2-3 tbsps in a baggie, and lightly frost the cake to give a smooth finish. Garnish with marzipan pumpkins & leaves.
Chill well before serving.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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