Yogurt and passion fruit syrup mini cakes

Certain actors have a very special place in my heart –they are so talented that I’m always interested in watching their movies.
Christian Bale, for example - I have seen him in several different movies and he continues to make me curious about what’s coming.

It’s like baking with yogurt – the more I do it (like last month’s lime cake), the more I enjoy it.

Yogurt and passion fruit syrup mini cakes
from Donna Hay magazine

150g unsalted butter, softened
220g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup thick Greek-style natural yogurt
300g self raising flour, sifted

Passion fruit syrup:
1 cup (240ml) passion fruit syrup
½ cup (120ml) water
110g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF. To make the passion fruit syrup, place passion fruit pulp, water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10-15 minutes or until syrupy. Set aside.

Make the cake: place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 10-15 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt and beat until well combined.
Fold through flour. Spoon mixture into lightly greased 24cm bundt or ring pan* and bake for 35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove cake from the pan and place on a serving plate (I left the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes and then unmolded them).
Spike cake all over with a thin skewer or toothpick, drizzle with syrup and serve while still warm – it tastes delicious at room temperature, too.

* I halved the recipe, used a muffin pan (each well holds 1/3 cup batter) and got 9 small cakes

Serves 8

Super lime ice cream

There are simple things in life that have the power of lighting up our day – like arriving home and finding a package or your favorite magazine waiting for you in the mailbox. I love that.

My copy of David Lebovitz’s ice cream bible was delivered Friday and Saturday morning I was in the kitchen, preparing a recipe from it. Are you surprised my first choice was a citrus flavor?? Didn’t think so. :D

Super lime ice cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

2 large limes
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) caster sugar
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 3 large limes)
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt

Zest the limes directly into a food processor or blender. Add the sugar and lime juice and blend until the sugar is dissolved. Blend in the milk and heavy cream.
Chill for 1 hour, then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

Basil and parmesan madeleines

Even though I have my pride – I’m a Scorpio, after all – I will admit it when I’m wrong and apologize.

After telling you that I wasn’t in the mood for Mr. Benjamin Button, I changed my mind and decided to watch it – with a little push from my good friend C. I’m so glad I did - what a beautiful movie. It touched my heart like very few have. David Fincher really gets the best out of Brad Pitt, every time.

Something similar happened here. I wasn’t so sure savory madeleines would work. So I kept postponing making them. And now, a year after bookmarking the recipe, I finally tried it. And it’s good. I was wrong.

My only thought here is that both flavor and texture are much better when the madeleines are hot/warm. But let me know if you disagree.

Basil and parmesan madeleines

8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (140g) cake flour – I used all purpose flour
3 teaspoons finely minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 eggs
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 190ºC/375ºF (I preferred to bake them in the higher part of the oven so they would not burn).
Brush the molds of two 12-well madeleine pans with 2 tablespoons of the butter and dust with all-purpose flour; tap out the excess.

Sift the cake flour into a bowl and gently stir in the basil, the 1 teaspoon fleur de sel and the pepper. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs on high speed until yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and sugar and beat until the mixture drops from the whisk in ribbons, about 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture and the 1 cup cheese, then fold in the remaining 6 tablespoons butter*.

Spoon the batter into the prepared molds so the batter is even with the rims. Bake until the madeleines spring back when pressed lightly, about 12 minutes. Immediately remove them from the pan and let cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with a pinch of fleur de sel and cheese and serve.

* the recipe doesn’t call for it, but I refrigerated the batter overnight

Makes 18 madeleines – I halved the recipe and got 15 madeleines (I used a 15-well pan and each well holds 1 tablespoon batter)

Vanilla butter rounds

It’s been such a while since I last posted cookies I almost did not recognize my own blog – Technicolor Kitchen without cookie recipes is like a Tim Burton movie without Johnny Depp. :D

These are deadly simple to make and, aside from the nuts, only simple ingredients are involved – I’m sure there’s a little butter and a couple of eggs in your fridge.

Vanilla butter rounds
slightly adapted from Big Fat Cookies

2 ¾ cups (385g) flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (340g/3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar – I used vanilla infused sugar
3 large egg yolks
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
18 whole unblanched (with skins) almonds or pecan halves

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large howl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until lightened in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla extract until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. The dough will be soft and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is cold and firm enough to roll into balls with your hands without sticking, about 1 hour.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 165ºC/325ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using an ice cream scoop or measuring cup with a ¼-cup capacity, scoop out mounds of dough. Roll each mound between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball, flatten it into a 7.5cm (3-in) circle, and place the cookies 5cm (2 in) apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press a nut into the center of each cookie.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are light brown, about 22 minutes – mine needed 30.
Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes 18 cookies - I halved the recipe, shaped 5cm (2in) cookies using 1 ½ tablespoons of dough and got 18

Very berry meringues

After so many batches of custard based ice creams – there are recipes I’ve made three or four times – I had several egg whites left. I did freeze some but there were a couple of whites still in the fridge – that seemed like the perfect excuse to make meringues.

I’d bookmarked this recipe ages ago – I just love Delicious. magazine’s website – and it called for only 5 ingredients, all of them in my pantry/fridge... The perfect treat for those moments when you are feeling much too lazy/tired for a trip to the grocery store.

Very berry meringues

4 large egg whites, room temperature
225g caster sugar
75g mixed dried berries, coarsely chopped – I used dried cherries and cranberries
20g shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped
140ml double cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 140ºC/284ºF. In a large, grease-free bowl, using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually whisk in the caster sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Using a large metal spoon, briefly fold in the mixed dried berries to evenly distribute through the meringue.

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper, fixing the paper in place with a tiny blob of meringue in each corner. Using 2 large metal spoons, take a spoonful of the meringue and scoop it from 1 spoon to the other to shape it into an oval ‘quenelle’ shape; alternatively, just dollop large, craggy spoonfuls of the meringue onto the baking sheets.
Drop onto the baking paper, then repeat to make 8 large meringues, spacing them 5cm (2in) apart as they will expand as they cook. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.
Bake the meringues in the oven for 1h15min for mallowy centers, or 1h30min for crisper meringues – swap the trays halfway to ensure even cooking. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside to dry out for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
To serve, transfer the meringues to serving plates. Whip the cream to soft peaks and serve a dollop with each berry meringue.

The cooked meringues will keep in an airtight box in a cool place for up to 4 days.

Serves 8 – I halved the recipe and got 5 large meringues