Tuna and potato salad with anchovy dressing

Even though it was published here I’m a vegetarian, that is not true – I don’t eat red meat, but like poultry and love fish.

This salad is very simple, but the dressing takes it to a whole new level.

Tuna and potato salad with anchovy dressing
from Donna Hay magazine

600g kipfler potatoes, cleaned and halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 roma tomatoes, sliced
¾ cup basil leaves
425g (15oz) can tuna in oil, drained

Anchovy dressing:
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar – I used ¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F. Place the potatoes in a baking dish, add the oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Roast for 45 minutes or until golden.
Make the dressing: place the anchovies, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk to combine (the anchovies will melt). Set aside.
Toss the potatoes with the tomatoes, basil and tuna. Drizzle with the anchovy dressing and serve.

Serves 4

Orange blossom water marshmallows

I told you I’m absurdly partial to sweet recipes and I’m sure you’d noticed that already. :)
I love making spoon desserts and cupcakes, for instance, but there’s something that really makes me extra happy: to share what I make. Maybe that is why I’m such an avid cookie baker – they’re easy to package and to carry around; place some cookies in a bag and you can really make someone’s day nicer.

Marshmallows are the same – that’s why you always see them around here. :)

Orange blossom water marshmallows
adapted from here

2 tablespoons powdered gelatin
½ cup (120ml) warm water
330g caster sugar
½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons glucose syrup
1/3 cup (80ml) water, extra
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

For rolling the marshmallows:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon corn starch, sifted

Lightly oil a 20cm (8in) square cake pan and dust with icing sugar.

Place the gelatin and warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer, stir well to combine and set aside. Place the sugar, glucose and extra water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and cook without stirring for 5-6 minutes or until soft ball stage (115°C/240°F) on a sugar thermometer.

With the mixer running at high speed, gradually add the hot syrup to the gelatin mixture. Add the orange blossom water and beat for 10 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Pour into prepared pan, cover with foil or baking paper but do not let it touch the marshmallow. Set aside overnight in room temperature.

Place the icing sugar and corn starch in a bowl and stir to combine. Turn the marshmallow onto a surface lightly dusted with a little of the icing sugar mixture and carefully remove the pan. Cut into squares with a lightly oiled knife.

Dust with remaining icing sugar mixture and store in an airtight container.

Makes 36

Toblerone cookies

I’ve been feeling like a certain cat lately – not so keen on Mondays... :)

These cookies could certainly cheer one up, even Garfield – it’s too early for lasagna, anyway. :)

Toblerone cookies
adapted from here

¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (117g) light brown sugar, packed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
200g milk Toblerone, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth, then stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and 150g Toblerone.
Drop leveled tablespoons of dough onto each sheet, 5cm (2in) apart. Press the remaining chopped Toblerone over the surface of the cookies.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, just until dry-looking and covered with even cracks but not quite firm to the touch. Leave to cool and firm up on the baking sheets for a few minutes before carefully peeling away from the paper.

The cookies will keep in an airtight tin for up to 3 days.

Makes 22

Lemon pistachio friands + something new

There’s something new here today – and I know you’ll forgive me for the self-centered moment. :)

After receiving emails and comments asking me about the kind of training I have, the equipment I use for my photos, etc., I’ve decided to add an “about me” page to TK – and that would have to come with a lemon recipe on the side, of course. :)

Lemon pistachio friands
adapted from here

190g unsalted butter
60g all purpose flour
200g icing sugar, plus extra to dust
60g almond meal (ground almonds)
60g unsalted pistachios, finely ground
5 egg whites
grated zest of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Melt butter and use a little to grease a 12-hole friand pan. Dust with a little flour, shaking out excess.
Sift the flour and sugar into a large bowl, then stir in the almond meal and the ground pistachios.
Place egg whites in a small bowl and lightly froth with a fork. Add to dry ingredients with melted butter and zest, stirring until completely combined. Fill each friand hole two-thirds full. Bake for 25-35 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven, leave in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

The friands will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe above and got 9 friands, 6 using 3-tablespoon capacity star shaped pans + 3 using 1/3-cup (80ml) capacity muffiin pans

Banana pancakes

I love holidays – who doesn’t? :)

Lazy days like today call for a special breakfast, like these banana pancakes – they are delicious with fresh fruit, especially strawberries. A wonderful way to start the day. :)

Banana pancakes
from Simple Essentials Fruit

2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup (116g) brown sugar, packed
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 ½ tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter
½ cup maple syrup or honey, to serve

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, buttermilk, eggs and bananas in a large bowl and mix to combine. heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add a little of the butter and pour 1/3 cup (80ml) of the mixture into the pan and cook, in batches, until bubbles appear on the surface. Turn the pancakes and cook for 1 minute or until golden. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
Serve in stacks layered drizzled with the maple syrup or honey.

Serves 4 – I halved the recipe, used ¼ cup (60ml) of batter per pancake and got 12

Choc chip madeleines

Thank you all for your thoughts on the size of the photos here – I was surprised by the amount of comments! :)

Some of you liked the larger photos better – including me – but the majority preferred smaller ones (and yes, I counted the votes). :)

I’ll try to make us all happy with this size – not too big or too small – and hope you like it too.

Choc chip madeleines
adapted from Dorie’s traditional madeleines

2/3 cup (94g) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (84g/¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
75g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and eggs together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter and chocolate chunks. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven's heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.

Makes 12 large or 36 mini cookies – I got 20 regular madeleines (like the ones on the photos, 1 tablespoon-capacity pans) + 9 using a scallop-shaped pan (2 tablespoon-capacity pans)

Maple cranberry oatmeal cookies

Certain ingredients or types of food automatically remind me of certain people – does that happen to you, too?

Every time I make something with maple syrup I think of Brilynn – she hasn’t written on her beautiful blog lately, but I’m glad that now I can follow her on Twitter.

Maple cranberry oatmeal cookies
from Big Fat Cookies

1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (175g) packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup (120ml) maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups (200g) oatmeal (not quick cooking)
1 ½ cups (165g) dried cranberries

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, add the eggs, maple syrup and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the oatmeal, then the cranberries.
Using an ice cream scoop or ¼ cup (60ml) measuring cup, scoop mounds of dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing the cookies at least 6cm (2 ½in) apart.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and the tops and bottoms are lightly browned, about 18 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 15 cookies – I halved the recipe above, used 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie and got 26

Dulce de leche profiteroles

A while ago, I told you I saw no fun in using Twitter. Well, my dear readers, that has changed – and I have my Brazilian friend Tina Lopes to blame. I still don’t twit a lot, but my opinion about it is definitely different now. :)

Another Brazilian friend – hi, Lu! – and I were twitting about how I’d once tried making a croquembouche using a recipe from “Feast” and it turned out to be a disaster: the profiteroles were in the oven for ages and never puffed nor turned golden. :S

Time to try making profiteroles again and this time the result was really good – recipe from here (I love this book). Next time I’ll add a tiny splash of vanilla to disguise the light eggy smell.

Dulce de leche profiteroles
from Modern Classics Book 2

1 cup (240ml) water
100g unsalted butter
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (115g) all purpose flour
5 eggs
2 cups dulce de leche
300g dark chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F*; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Place the water and butter in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Add the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook, stirring, over low heat until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat, place in an electric mixer and beat on high, gradually adding the eggs until well combined. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a 12mm plain nozzle and pipe 4cm rounds onto prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until puffed and dark golden. Cool on wire racks, then carefully peel the profiteroles off the paper. Using the tip of a sharp knife, make a small hole in the bottom of each puff.
Place the dulce de leche in a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle - I used a ¼ inch one . Insert nozzle into hole of each choux puff and pipe in enough dulce de leche to fill. Set aside.
Carefully dip the top of each profiterole in the melted chocolate and set aside until firm.

* the ones I baked at 200°C/400°F turned out prettier, puffier and tastier

Makes 35

White chocolate and vanilla fudge cakes and your opinion about something

Today’s post is a sort of poll: what do you think of the new size of the photos here? Like it? Not so much? Couldn’t care less? Please, let me know – I can’t decide this one on my own. :)

You’ll find a magazine article featuring yours truly here (page 4) – it is written in Portuguese and I’m sorry for that, but at least you’ll be able to see who the girl that keeps asking you for votes and opinions is. :)

White chocolate and vanilla fudge cakes
from Donna Hay magazine

150g white chocolate, chopped
100g unsalted butter, chopped
½ cup (120ml) whole milk
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (73g) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped with the back of a knife
1 egg
¼ cup (35g) self raising flour
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (75g) all purpose flour
200g white chocolate, extra

Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Butter well twelve 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity mini Bundt pans*.
Place the chocolate, butter, milk, sugar and vanilla seeds in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Allow to cool completely. Stir in the egg.
Sift flours in a large bowl and add the chocolate mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Spoon the mixture into prepared pans. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then carefully unmold onto a wire rack. Cool completely.
Place the extra chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth. Drizzle the cakes with the melted chocolate and set aside until firm.

* I made slightly larger cakes, using four 1 cup (240ml) capacity Bundt pans

Makes 12

Spiced chocolate mousse

Do you remember my friend Neusa? A couple of weeks ago she told me she’d looked for a chocolate mousse recipe here on the blog but did not find it. Then it hit me: more than three years into blogging and I’d never posted a chocolate mousse recipe. Shame on me.

It’s about time I fixed things up, with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg to make this dessert even more special. But if you’re in the mood for traditional chocolate mousse, just omit the spices.

Spiced chocolate mousse
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

180g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
3 eggs, at room temperature, separated
3 tablespoons caster sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
225ml heavy cream, whipped until soft peaks form

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, turn off heat and cool, add yolks and stir to combine – mixture will thicken; add spices. Add cream and fold through to combine.
In a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar and mix to combine. Add whites to chocolate mixture and fold to combine. The mousse should be smooth and even in color.
Spoon into six ½ cup (120ml) capacity moulds and refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.

Serves 6

Fruit crumble cake and a big thank you

The list of the Saveur’s Food Blog Awards’ winners has been published – congratulations to all the winners!

Technicolor Kitchen did not win as best baking and desserts blog but I want to thank you all for your votes and support – I deeply appreciate it. And I’d also like to tell you that award or no award the sweet recipes will continue to flow around here – like this delicious and tender crumble cake.

Fruit crumble cake
adapted from Modern Classics 2

¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (184g) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups + ½ tablespoon (272g) caster sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 1/3 cups + 1 tablespoon (337g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
5 plums, stoned and thinly sliced
5 apricots, stoned and thinly sliced
caster sugar, extra, for sprinkling

Crumble topping:
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (51g) all purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
2 ½ tablespoons (35g) cold unsalted butter, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan and line with baking paper – butter the paper as well.
Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture, add the milk and beat in low speed until combined. Spoon the mixture onto prepared pan, arrange the fruit over the top and sprinkle with the extra sugar.
To make the crumble topping, place the flour, sugar and butter in a bowl and rub with your fingertips until fine crumbs form. Scatter over the fruit.
Bake for 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Serves 10 – I made 2/3 of the recipe above, used a 20cm square pan and replaced the plums and apricots for 2 nectarines and 270g frozen cherries (thawed)

Fresh mint choc chip ice cream

Wasting food is not an option at my house – I’m sure none of you like that either. After making the pineapple mint sorbet there were still some mint leaves around – they smelled so good I started eating some while washing them. :)

Those mint leaves ended up becoming ice cream – choc chip mint ice cream, to make things even better. I always have the feeling the mint flavored sweets taste like toothpaste, but this ice cream doesn’t –the flavor is really subtle and, to me, delicious.

Fresh mint choc chip ice cream
from The Perfect Scoop

1 cup (240ml) whole milk
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt
2 cups (80g) lightly packed fresh mint leaves
5 large egg yolks
140g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (240ml) of the cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and stir until they're immersed in the liquid. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan (the milk will be a lovely shade of emerald*). Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves. Pour the remaining 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer on top.
Rewarm the mint-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mint liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over low heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (5-6 hours); freeze custard in ice cream maker.
While ice cream is freezing, melt chocolate in clean metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently, then transfer to a 1-cup glass measure. When ice cream has finished churning, carefully pour chocolate in a slow stream directly onto ice cream as it churns and continue to churn 30 seconds (chocolate will harden in streaks). Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

* mine was really pale, so I added a few drops of green food coloring

Makes about 1 liter (1 quart)

Cherry chocolate chippers

I always find it sad when a magazine stops being published – I think of all the people that might be out of work and that breaks my heart...

This recipe comes from Gourmet’s website – it’s a shame the magazine is gone, but at least there’s some really good online material for nostalgic days.

Cherry chocolate chippers
from here

2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
170g (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (132g) packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
336g (12oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) chunks
1 cup (145g) dried tart cherries

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer until blended and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture on low speed until blended well, then mix in chocolate chips and cherries with a wooden spoon.

Put 1 leveled tablespoon of dough 3.75cm (1 ½ in) apart on prepared sheets and bake in batches in middle of oven until golden around edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 2 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 5 dozen – I halved the recipe above and got 28 cookies