Chocolate pavlovas and two surprises on the same TV show

I was never aware of Jon Hamm before Mad Men (and apparently I wasn’t the only one) and despite my pet peeves with the fifth and part of sixth seasons I must be honest: there could not be another Don Draper – he’s just perfect for the part.

Being used to watching a very serious – and sometimes rude – man on the show it was a surprise to see him in a comedy, and days ago I was even more surprised with him pulling off a dark comedy show, and doing it brightly. The amount of shock doubled when I saw on that same show that Harry Potter, I mean, Daniel Radcliffe is absolutely amazing portraying someone completely different from HP – I never imagined he had such great timing for comedy.

Everything about A Young Doctor's Notebook is superb: the supporting cast, the writing, the production. It was some good two hours I spent in front of TV and I now eagerly wait for another season – while that doesn’t happen, let’s keep Mother Russia in mind with this delicious dessert created in honor of Anna Pavlova.

Chocolate pavlovas
adapted from the wonderful Bon Appetit Desserts, inspired by the beautiful Annie Bell's Baking Bible

Meringues:
4 large egg whites (112g)
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

To assemble:
1 cup (240ml) chilled heavy cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted
200g fresh raspberries

Meringues: preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt in large bowl until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until whites are thick and resemble marshmallow creme, about 5 minutes. Beat in cornstarch, vinegar, vanilla and cocoa. Drop meringue onto prepared sheet in 6 mounds, spaced 5cm (2in) apart. Using back of spoon, make slight depression in center of each.
Place meringues in oven. Immediately reduce temperature to 120°C/250°F. Bake until meringues are dry outside (but centers remain soft) and pale straw color and lift easily from parchment, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool on sheet on rack. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Before assembling the pavlovas, beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until medium peaks form.
Place meringues on plates. Spoon whipped cream into the center depression. Arrange raspberries top of the cream.

Serves 6

French apple cake and the Cannes jury

One thing that always makes me curious is the Cannes Jury, especially the president – sometimes it means nothing special, sometimes the Palme d'Or can sound a little too political, and sometimes it can be a complete surprise.

This year Jane Campion will be president of the jury, which to me is very exciting news for two reasons: a) she’s a woman, and that is only the ninth time that has happened, and b) she’s a director I really admire. Willem Dafoe and Nicolas Riding Hefn are part of the jury, too, and I find that a wonderful choice, both of them being known for things that can’t be called conservative – always a great thing on my book.

And since we’re talking about La Croisette, nothing better than a French cake to go with it: in this case, a delicious and oh, so tender cake packed with apples, both diced and sliced, with a layer of apricot jam for shine and flavor. Oh là là! :)

French apple cake
from one of my favorite books

500g eating apples – I used Gala
90g unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick, broken
4 medium eggs*
250g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (60ml) canola oil
280g all purpose flour
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Calvados or rum – I used the latter
150g apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 23cm (9in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Set 1 apple aside for the top, then peel, core and dice the remaining. Melt 30g of the butter in a large nonstick frying pan over gentle heat, add the diced apple and the cinnamon stick and fry for 5 minutes or until the apples are tender but not mushy. Cool. Melt the remaining butter and cool.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar until thick, pale and doubled in volume. Beat in the vanilla. fold in the butter and oil, then sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the mixture and fold in. gently fold in the lemon zest and rum, followed by the cooked apples (discard the cinnamon stick).
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Finely slice the remaining apple and arrange in three rows on the top of the batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the cake is risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.
Carefully unmold the cake, remove the paper, then transfer to a wire rack. Heat the apricot jam over medium heat until it liquefies, press it through a sieve and brush the cake with it. Let is set before serving.

* I always buy large eggs, so I chose the smallest I could find in the package to use in this recipe

Serves 10-12

Cinnamon and chocolate rolls for a mind unable to forget

For days in a row I had cinnamon rolls in mind and I wasn’t really sure why – maybe because I’d seen some at Starbucks when I stopped by with a friend? That makes sense. But then again I’d seen blueberry muffins there, too, and they did not cross my mind at all. My mind works in mysterious ways, I guess. :)

Because it was Easter I felt like baking with chocolate, so why not add a handful of the ingredient to some already delicious cinnamon rolls? I did, inspired by Eric Lanlard, and to make the buns more interesting I switched a bit of the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour – not only was the flavor great paired with the chocolate and the cinnamon but it also added a beautiful golden hue to the rolls (and it lightened a bit the guilty factor). :D

I chose not to glaze the rolls for two reasons: I thought it would be overkill and without the glaze they can be reheated in the oven for a couple of minutes before serving – the melted chocolate combined with the cinnamon permeating the soft roll is something I can’t recommend highly enough.

Cinnamon and chocolate rolls
adapted from two wonderful sources: Chocolat and The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook: 100 Delicious Heritage Recipes from the Farm and Garden

Dough:
2 ½ teaspoons dry yeast
¼ cup (50g) + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) warm water
6 tablespoons (85g/¾ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large egg yolks
¾ cup (180ml) buttermilk*
½ teaspoon table salt
80g whole wheat flour
3 to 4 cups (420g to 560g) all-purpose flour

Filling:
100g light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of table salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
100g dark chocolate, grated – I used one with 53% cocoa solids and blitzed it in the food processor

icing sugar, for dusting

Dough: in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in the warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
Meanwhile, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and ¼ cup granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg yolks, buttermilk, and salt until well combined (mixture might look curdled). Beat in the yeast mixture. Add the whole wheat flour and 3 cups of the all purpose flour and mix until combined. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour if necessary – I switched the paddle attachment for the dough hook and kneaded the dough using mixer; in total, I used 470g all purpose flour.
Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Filling: in a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll to a 30x45cm (12x18in) rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough, then sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture followed by the chocolate. Starting at the longest end, roll tightly into a cylinder. Cut crosswise into 16 equal pieces.
Line a large baking sheet with foil and brush it lightly with butter. Place the slices side by side, 2.5cm (1in) apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until light and puffed, about 45 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown and well risen. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 16

Marmalade cake and new things

Jam is something I always have around, but I have a special kind of love for marmalade, so much it has become a staple at my house: its tangy bitterness is great on toast and/or whole wheat bread and it goes well in baking, too – delicious in cake, bar or tart form.

I used to think marmalade was way too bitter, but learned to appreciate it with time – just as I did with beer. Now, it’s really hard for me not to gobble up a spoonful of marmalade while separating ingredients for a baking session. :D

This very easy to make and very tasty cake comes from here – I had never heard of Rosemary Shrager before and the cookbook was a very nice surprise: everything looks wonderful and I have bookmarked several recipes to try. I’d also never heard of David Michôd or Michaël R. Roskam before the excellent Animal Kingdom and Bullhead and now I cannot wait for The Rover and The Drop – new things can be good, people. :)

Marmalade cake
slightly adapted from the delicious Rosemary Shrager's Bakes, Cakes & Puddings

Cake:
250g all purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
130g unsalted butter, softened
130g granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 orange
3 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
50ml whole milk, room temperature
150g marmalade

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Cake: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line the bottom with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and orange zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and the milk.
Fold in the marmalade (mixture might look curdled), followed by the sifted ingredients. Mix until combined. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack, then carefully unmold, remove the paper and place onto the rack.

Glaze: sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl and gradually add the juice, mixing until you get a drizzable consistency. Pour the glaze over the cake and let it set for 20 minutes.

Makes 16 squares

Macadamia and white chocolate chip cookies (with a touch of iron)

I'm not one who repeats sweet recipes often - aside from household favorites such as Alice Medrich's cocoa brownies and Nigel Slater's lemon and thyme cake, for instance, I get thrilled to try new things, or at least pimped up versions of baked goods and desserts I once tried and loved.

I hadn't baked white chocolate macadamia cookies in ages, and was pretty happy with my go-to recipe, but when I read Alice Medrich's version with pulverized rolled oats in the dough I had to give it a try: after I found out I was anaemic I tried to increase the amounts of iron rich foods on my daily routine, and oats were a big part of it - in this case it was a win/win situation, since the cookies turned out delicious, too. :)

Macadamia and white chocolate chip cookies
from the delicious Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

75g rolled oats
100g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
70g granulated sugar
70g light brown sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
135g roasted salted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
170g white chocolate chips or chunks

Pulverize the oats in a food processor or blender until fine. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Pulse to combine and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the melted butter with the sugars and vanilla. Whisk in the egg. Stir in the flour mixture just until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes if it is still warm. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F – you will bake the sheets in the center of the oven, one at a time.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator to soften. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Scoop 1 rounded tablespoon of dough per cookie and place 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, 13-15 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then slide the paper onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 35 cookies