Lavender and white chocolate mini pavlovas

Those around here in their 30s - like yours truly - probably remember Rick Astley: a thin, red haired guy that had a really powerful voice. It made me wonder how such a strong voice would come out of such a small person. For my younger audience – who must be thinking “what on earth is she talking about??” - Alex Band would be a similar example. :D

The lavender buds I used in this recipe are just the same: teeny tiny, but full of flavor.

Lavender and white chocolate mini pavlovas
own creation, based on a recipe from Donna Hay magazine

1/3 cup (80ml) egg whites
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
½ teaspoon edible dried lavender
1 tablespoon corn starch, sifted
1 teaspoon white vinegar
¾ cup (180ml) whipping cream
50g white chocolate shavings
lavender buds, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper (I used regular). Trace six 8cm rounds on one side of it then turn the paper over.
Place the sugar and lavender in a small food processor and process for 15 seconds or until the lavender buds are coarsely ground. Sift the sugar into a bowl and discard the excess lavender.
Place the egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form – the bowl must be completely free of fat and/or water.
Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy - rub a little of the mixture between your fingertips; when you no longer feel the sugar granules, the mixture is ready.
Add the corn starch, vinegar and whisk until just combined.
Divide the mixture into the traced circles.
Reduce oven to 120ºC/250ºF and bake for 35 minutes – mine baked for 45.
Turn the oven off and allow the pavlovas to cool completely in the oven – I did this overnight and, even though the pavlovas seemed to be too soft when I turned off the oven, there was a thin, hard layer outside them on the following morning.
Whisk the cream until firm peaks form. Place a layer of whipped cream over each meringue and top with chocolate shavings and a few lavender buds – they are kind of bitter so you might want to decorate your pavlovas some other way.

Makes 6

Cinnamon ice cream

Doing several things at the same time can be tricky – Dr. Manhattan knows that well. :D

I gathered the ingredients for this recipe while watching Nigella and talking on the phone - something got lost in between. I ended up using less cinnamon sticks than required but the ice cream still tasted wonderful - the cinnamon flavor is subtle but you can definitely feel it.

I had doubts about posting the recipe due to my mistake, but my best friend helped me make up my mind – she liked the ice cream so much I thought I should share it with you, too.

Cinnamon ice cream
from The Perfect Scoop

1 cup (240ml) whole milk
¾ cup (150g) sugar
pinch of salt
four 3-inch (8cm) cinnamon sticks, broken up*
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks

Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup (240ml) of the cream in a medium saucepan. When it comes to a boil, cover, remove from the heat and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour – mine steeped for almost 2 hours.
Rewarm the cinnamon-infused milk mixture; pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium-low hear with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula – do not let it boil.
Pour the custard through the strainer into the cream and discard the cinnamon sticks. Set aside to cool then refrigerate for at least 5 hours.
Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

* the original recipe calls for 10 sticks, but I got distracted and used only 4; since they were strong (the Fauchon cinnamon sticks I got from my friend Clarice) the cinnamon flavor was subtle, but noticeable.

Makes 1 quart (1 liter)

White chocolate lime cookies

Remember when I told you I’d watched “Zodiac”? After returning it to the video store, I decided to get two more movies. I was in a hurry and did not think much – sort of grabbed whatever was in front of me, because those were movies I’d been dying to see for ages. Do you know what I got? “Blindness” and “Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind”. Yes, my friends - three movies with Mark Ruffalo in just one week.

Sometimes I get stuck with something and my mind has a hard time letting go. That’s why I give you the combo lime + white chocolate again – this time, in cookie form.

White chocolate lime cookies
from here

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (150g) sugar
¾ cup (130g) light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 ½ cups (350g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
336g (12oz) white chocolate chips/chunks

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl using a stand mixer, beat sugar, brown sugar and butter until combined but not fluffy.
Add eggs one, at a time, then add vanilla, lime juice and lime zest. Mix to combine.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix into creamed mixture until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips/chunks.

Shape the dough into 2.5cm (1 inch) balls and place 5cm (2 in) apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers are just set – mine needed 15 minutes.
Allow to sit on the pan for three minutes before moving to wire racks.

Makes 5 dozen cookies – I halved the recipe, dropped ½ rounded tablespoon of dough onto sheets (dough was too soft to be rolled into balls) and got 33 cookies

Pistachio brigadeiro

As most of you know, I’m a huge movie fan – hence the name I chose for my blog. But I also love reading, even though these days I don’t read as much as I used to.

Unlike many people, one thing I don’t stress about is when books become movies – to me, it’s very clear that they are two completely different means of communication and one can never be exactly like the other. The book author has one point of view that may not be shared by the screenwriter and the director. It’s someone’s version about someone else’s work – it will never be the same but that doesn’t have to be something bad: I had tears in my eyes this morning after watching Jose Saramago’s reaction to Fernando Meirelles’ take on “Blindness”.

Now I give you my take on Brazilian chef Morena Leite’s pistachio brigadeiro – it is not exactly like hers, but still delicious.

Pistachio brigadeiro

100g unsalted, shelled pistachios
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter + a bit extra for buttering the plate

Butter a large plate and set aside.
Place the pistachios in a food processor and grind until it resembles wet sand.
Mix the condensed milk, butter and ground pistachios in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour into the prepared plate. Set aside to cool completely.
To serve, place 2.5cm (1 inch) portions into individual serving spoons or roll into balls and place in a serving dish.

Serves 10-12

Sugared apple galette

A long time ago I posted a list of my top 5 favorite songs. I had a hard time choosing them – one huge problem was picking only one song by The Smiths. Other songs I deeply love were left out of the list but that’s OK – I knew I would regret it minutes after writing it. :D

There’s one song, though, that could not be included on that list – it’s so beautiful, perfect and magical that it belongs in the Music Olympus and should never be mixed with nor compared to with other songs. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is simply the best song ever created. Period.

The same happens with my favorite recipe websites – they are wonderful and I adore them all, but Australian Gourmet Traveller is my #1. It’s where I got this recipe from.

Sugared apple galette
slightly adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Brioche base:
2 ¼ teaspoons (1 envelope/7g) dried yeast
30g caster sugar
80ml (1/3 cup) lukewarm milk
330g plain flour
finely grated zest of 2 limes
1 egg and 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten together, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brandy
120g unsalted butter, softened

Sugar apple top:
80g Greek-style thick yogurt
60g unsalted butter, stored in the freezer for ½ hour
80g caster sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lime
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and deseeded, very thinly sliced

For dusting:
pure icing sugar

For brioche base, combine yeast, a pinch of the caster sugar and warm milk in a bowl, stir to dissolve yeast, then set aside in a warm place until foamy (2-3 minutes). Meanwhile, combine flour, lime zest and remaining sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix to combine. With mixer on low speed, add yeast mixture, egg mixture and brandy and mix to combine. Add butter a little at a time and beat until smooth and glossy (4-5 minutes).

Transfer to a buttered bowl, turn to coat and cover with plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place until double in size (1½-2 hours).
Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 30cm-diameter circle. Line a buttered 27cm-diameter fluted tart pan* with the dough, rolling edges in and pleating as you go, and prick within border with a fork.
For sugar apple top, spread yogurt over brioche dough within border. Coarsely grate butter and scatter two thirds over yogurt. Combine sugar and lime zest in a small bowl, scatter two thirds of the sugar mixture over butter. Layer apple over sugar mixture, overlapping slices, then scatter with remaining butter and sugar mixture.
Bake until golden and cooked through (15-20 minutes), dust edges with icing sugar and serve immediately.

* I used a 24cm pan

Serves 6