Vanilla bean macarons with roasted strawberry buttercream

You understand, right? That obsessed people can’t help themselves? There you have it, macarons again. :D

I was inspired by Jen’s breathtaking strawberry macarons and being a roasted strawberries addict I ended up adding them to the filling. The shells, on the other hand, have just a hint of vanilla, to let the filling shine through, but their smell while baking was so intense (and good) that even the hubby – the one who doesn’t like sweets – asked what was in the oven. :)

Vanilla bean macarons with roasted strawberry buttercream
shells adapted from here, filling from here and here

Shells:
150g almond meal
150g confectioners’ sugar
120g egg whites (room temperature)
185g granulated sugar
50g water
2 vanilla beans, scraped seeds only – I used 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Roasted strawberries:
16 strawberries, hulled and halved
1/3 cup (67g) caster sugar

Buttercream:
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
2 large egg whites
1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
roasted strawberries, without the syrup and processed into a paste

You will need 2-3 baking sheets for these , depending on how closely you pipe them; make sure you use good quality aluminum pans – if they’re too thin, the macarons might crack on top. I followed Ms. Humble’s tip and double layered the pans. I also used baking paper, this baking mat and this one and got the best results with the teflon one.

Prep a large pastry bag with a #11 Ateco tip (or a similar medium sized round tip, little under 1cm) – I did not use a tip, I just cut the tip of the pastry bag. Pre-heat your oven to 160-162°C (320-325°F) – I wouldn’t recommend making macarons with an oven thermometer.

You will need a candy thermometer for this method, as it will require bringing the sugar syrup to a precise temperature. Half of the whites I used had been in the fridge for 4 days (and had been previously frozen for 2 weeks) and half was from fresh eggs.
Weigh out your confectioners’ sugar and almond meal and give them a whirl for a minute, pulsing in a food processor. Pour the almond/sugar mixture into a large bowl, add the vanilla seeds and set aside.

Weigh out 60g of egg whites into the bowl of your stand mixer (make sure the whites are yolk free and your mixer's bowl and whisk attachment are very clean and free of any traces of oil). Also measure out 35g of granulated sugar into a small bowl and set it near the mixer.
Weigh out another 60g of egg whites into a small bowl and set aside.

Weigh out 150g of the granulated sugar into a small sauce pan. Add 50g of water to the sugar, attach your candy thermometer and place it over medium heat – use a very small saucepan so its tip will be immersed in the syrup.
When the sugar hits 87°C/190°F, start beating the egg whites in your mixer on medium low speed until foamy, while keeping a close eye on the sugar syrup. No need to stir the syrup, just let it come to a boil over medium heat (you're aiming for 110°C/230°F). Once the eggs are foamy, slowly add the 35g of sugar and beat to soft peaks on medium speed.

When your sugar mixture hits 110°C/230°F pull it off the heat, increase the speed of your mixer to medium high, and slowly pour in the syrup. You want to let the mixture trickle down the side of the bowl, so it doesn't splatter and get tossed onto the sides of the bowl. You want the sugar in your meringue, not a candy coated bowl.

Now you can relax, the hard part is over. Allow the mixer to beat the meringue for about 5-8 minutes until cool.

While waiting for your meringue to cool, combine the remaining 60g of egg whites with the sugar/almond mixture and mix until well combined.

Once the meringue is ready, add it to the almond/sugar mixture and quickly fold it together. You should fold until it is just barely uniform, using as few strokes as possible. It is very, very important you don't over mix as the batter will thin considerably with each stroke of the spatula. Your batter is perfect when you lift your spatula and a thick ribbon slowly cascades off, back into the bowl.
Now you're ready to fill your piping bag. If the mixture is just right, it will ooze from the tip slowly under its own weight. (If it oozes out quickly, something went horribly wrong and you'll need to start over.)

Pipe 3cm macarons onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them a few centimeters apart.

Once you complete a full pan, knock it on the counter gently, to bring up any bubbles and quickly pop them with toothpick (I forgot to do that).
Allow the macarons to rest like this for 15 minutes. (They can sit longer if you want to bake one or two sheets at a time, but will develop slightly thicker shells)

Bake at 160-162°C/320-325°F for 14 minutes (I baked mine for 17).

Once done, remove from the pans using the silicone baking mat and allow to cool completely (about an hour) before carefully attempting to remove them from the mat. If you're having trouble even after an hour, pop the sheet into the freezer for about 5 minutes and they should pop off easily.

Now, the filling: preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. To make the roasted strawberries, place them in a small baking dish (do not use a shallow dish because the juices will bubble away in the oven) and sprinkle with the sugar. Mix well and roast for 10-15 minutes or until the strawberries are soft and syrupy. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Buttercream: put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. Add the processed strawberries to the buttercream and fold with a spatula until fully incorporated. If not using right away, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 1 month.

Fill a piping bag with the buttercream and use to sandwich your macarons.
To store, keep the shells in an air tight container. Fill before serving.

Makes about 50 macarons (already filled)

Choc chip marshmallows

Not only my readers are the sweetest people ever, they also give me wonderful ideas – Barbara left me a comment once about homemade marshmallows she used to order and told me that her favorites were the chocolate chip ones. Hey, that is one marshmallow flavor I hadn’t tried yet! :)

So I made choc chip marshmallows, inspired by the lovely Barbara. And for the record, they became my sister’s favorites, too. :)

Choc chip 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 vanilla extract
100g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

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 vanilla and beat for 10 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Fold in the chocolate chunks – some of them will melt lightly, causing the marbled effect. 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

Apple pie cupcakes

I needed inspiration for today’s post and my friend Ana Elisa sent me the link for Serious Eats’ “the best cupcakes in New York City” slideshow.
I took a look but did not feel very inspired – so let’s call it for the day and have some apple pie cupcakes.

Apple pie cupcakes
from Donna Hay magazine

Caramelized apples:
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (73g) caster sugar
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced – I used Gala apples

Cupcakes:
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups + 2 tablespoons (275g) caster sugar
4 eggs
2 ¼ cups + 2 tablespoons (335g) all purpose flour
2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (240ml) whole milk

Whipped cinnamon icing:
500g unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (280g) icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, extra, for dusting

Make the caramelized apples: place the butter and sugar in a large frying pan over low-medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the apples and cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden and caramelized.
Remove the apples from the pan and allow to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Place the butter and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Sift over the flour and baking powder and beat until combined. Fold through the milk and spoon the mixture into two 12-hole ½ cup capacity muffin pans lined with paper cases. Top with the apples and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on wire racks.
Make the whipped cinnamon icing: place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 5-6 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon and beat for 10 minutes or until light and creamy.
Using a palette knife, ice the cupcakes and dust over the 1 tablespoon cinnamon.

Makes 24 – I halved the recipe above (for the cupcakes and the caramelized apples), used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans and got 10 cupcakes; I made only 2/5 of the icing recipe and it was enough to generously frost all the 10 cupcakes

Lemon cloud tea cookies

Let me tell you a secret: sometimes I feel like one of Mr. Ivan Pavlov’s dogs when I hear (or read, for that matter) the word “lemon”. :)

That is why I could not resist this recipe when I saw it on Joy’s blog – and I’m glad I didn’t, because these little cookies are delicious.

Lemon cloud tea cookies

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
¾ cup cornstarch
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
113g (8 tablespoons/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (140g) confectioners’ sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Combine the butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low speed with the paddle until well mixed. Increase the speed to medium and continue beating until light, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time. Batter may look broken and curdled. Beat in the juice and zest.
Decrease the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and give the dough a few good turns with your spatula to bring it all together.
Arrange rounded teaspoons of the dough on prepared pans. Space the balls about 5cm (2in) apart. After all the cookies have been placed on the pan, flour a fork and press a crisscross design into the top of each mound of dough. Bake the cookies until they spread and become golden, about 20 minutes. Slide the parchment paper off the pan to cool completely.

Makes 48 tiny cookies – I halved the recipe above and still got 32 cookies

Old fashioned apple pandowdy

From the food-with-irresistible-names series: pandowdy. :)

You already know I choose recipes because of their unusual names, so no secrets here. And just to prove you I’m not that shallow, I can’t wait to try all the other desserts on the link the pandowdy came from. If you want to know more about pandowdies, Elle has a great post here, with a delicious recipe on the side.

Old fashioned apple pandowdy
from here

Filling:
1/3 cup molasses (not robust or blackstrap)
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice – I used lime juice
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
5 Gala or Granny Smith apples (900 to 1.2kg / 2 to 2 ½ lb), peeled, cored, and cut into 1.25cm (½in) wedges
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup (100g) sugar
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, cut into bits

Biscuit top:
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder – oh, yes, that much
3 teaspoons sugar, divided
½ teaspoon salt
¾ stick (85g/6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1.25cm (½in) pieces
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream plus additional for brushing
heavy cream, extra, to serve

Start by making the filling: preheat oven to 190°C/375°F with rack in middle. Stir together molasses, water, lemon juice, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Add apples and stir to coat, then stir in flour and sugar.
Transfer apple mixture to a buttered 22cm (9in) square baking pan and dot with butter. Bake, covered with foil, 25 minutes.
Now, make the biscuit top while filling bakes: whisk together flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cream and stir with a fork just until a dough forms.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times to bring dough together. Pat or roll dough into a 20cm (8in) square. Brush with a little additional cream and sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.
Cover hot fruit with dough and bake, uncovered, until biscuit is just golden, about 20 minutes. Use a spoon to break up biscuit top and mix slightly with filling, drizzling some of apples and liquid over biscuit.
Continue to bake until apples are tender and biscuit is golden brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool to warm, about 20 minutes. Serve with cream.

Serves 6 – I halved the recipe above, used 3 Gala apples and a 20cm (8in) round flan dish

Strawberry, pistachio and orange cakes

These little cakes are, to me, essentially friands – ground nuts + egg whites + melted butter – but my favorite magazine website calls them cakes, so cakes they are. :)

They turned out really good – tender and moist – and the roasted strawberries are delicious: I used to say that apples and bananas can benefit (a lot) from some time in the oven and now I have to add strawberries to that list.

Strawberry, pistachio and orange cakes
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Roasted strawberries with orange blossom:
300g strawberries, hulled and quartered
½ cup (50g) caster sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Cakes:
6 egg whites
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (184g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ¾ cups (245g) icing sugar, sifted
150g unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted and finely ground
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour, sifted
finely grated zest of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; butter six deep 10cm loose-bottomed flan pans.
For roasted strawberries, combine ingredients in a baking dish, cover with foil and roast in oven for 10 minutes or until tender. Cool and reserve cooking juices.
Whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy, add melted butter and whisk to combine, add icing sugar, ground pistachios, flour and zest and stir to combine.
Spoon mixture into prepared pans and arrange 3-4 pieces of strawberry on top of each.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center withdraws clean.
Stand in pans for 5 minutes then carefully unmold onto a wire rack.
Serve warm, drizzled with the reserved juices (they taste delicious at room temperature as well).

Makes 6 – I halved the recipe, used shallow 9cm tartlet pans and got 7 cakes

Chocolate and cinnamon suspiros

It’s been a month since I last brought you anything chocolate – cocoa doesn’t count – and hope you like these meringues as much as Jessica and I did. :)

I wasn’t really in the mood for meringues but needed to do something with my frozen egg whites (which seem to be suffering from the Gremlin curse, too); what convinced me here was the addition of chocolate and cinnamon.

Chocolate and cinnamon suspiros
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

120g egg whites (about 3)
pinch of salt
120g caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped seeds only
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
120g pure icing sugar, sifted
100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
Dutch-process cocoa, to serve

Preheat oven to 120°C/248°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Whisk egg whites and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer (medium-high speed) until soft peaks form (4-5 minutes), add caster sugar in a thin steady stream, whisking continuously until stiff and glossy, then whisk in vanilla seeds and cinnamon. Fold in icing sugar, then chocolate and spoon mixture into 5cm-diameter mounds on prepared sheets. Bake until dry and lightly colored (2-3 hours – that will depend on how big the suspiros are). Turn off oven, cool in oven for 1 hour, then transfer to a wire rack, dust with cocoa and serve. Suspiros will keep, stored in an airtight container, for about a week.

Serves 10 – I halved the recipe above and got 5 very large suspiros

Baked rice pudding with honeyed apples

As you can see, I’m still on comfort food mode on. :)

I remember seeing these apples on the magazine and thinking “wow, they look so good!”, but did not feel as enthusiastic about the porridge; don’t get me wrong, I love oats, but those golden, beautiful apple slices deserved more – so I decided to pair them with rice pudding. And that was absolutely brilliant – modest mode off. :)

Baked rice pudding with honeyed apples
recipes adapted from Donna Hay magazine

Rice pudding:
½ cup Arborio rice
4 cups (960ml) whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
4 tablespoons caster sugar
2 pieces lemon zest – 5cm (2in) each
ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Honeyed apples:
3 red apples, sliced
3 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F. Place the rice in the base of a 7 cup-capacity shallow ovenproof dish. Combine the milk, vanilla bean and seeds, sugar and lemon zest, pour over the rice and stir to combine. Cover tightly with foil and place on a baking tray. Bake for 1 hour, remove the foil and stir. Bake, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes or until al dente.
Make honeyed apples: heat a large frying pan over high heat. Cook the apples for 1 minute each side. Add honey and cook for a further 1–2 minutes or until golden and caramelized.
Divide the rice pudding among 6 bowls, dust with the cinnamon, top with the apples and serve.

Serves 6

Leek and chickpea soup

If someone asked me what I would like to be doing right now, I’d say that I’d like to be on my couch, under the blankets, having this soup for lunch – and Lisa’s cherry peach almond crisp for dessert. :)

Leek and chickpea soup
adapted from Kitchen: The Best of the Best

2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
8 saffron threads
1 large leek, cleaned and finely sliced
grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
2 tablespoons roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
2 ¼ cups (540ml) chicken stock
150g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked in salted water for 40 minutes or until al dente (or canned chickpeas, if you prefer)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the butter and saffron threads in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek when the butter begins to bubble, and cook until it is soft and transparent. Add the zest, carrot and parsley and cook for a further minute before adding the stock and chickpeas. Season to taste and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Note: I’ve made this soup twice already and the second time I added small macaroni to it - the soup was even better!

Serves 2

Little strawberry meringue tarts

The strawberry maniac strikes again – and this time with pies topped with meringue. :)

I know I’ve been carried away by the strawberry season, but tell me: would you resist making such adorable little pies? I’m not that strong. :)

Little strawberry meringue tarts
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Filling:
400g strawberries, hulled and quartered
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed – you might need more depending on how sweet the strawberries are
1 vanilla bean, scraped seeds only
juice of ½ small orange
juice of ½ lime

Brown sugar pastry:
50g soft unsalted butter
50g brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour

Italian meringue:
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
2 tablespoons (24g) demerara sugar
1 egg white

For brown sugar pastry, beat butter and brown sugar, using an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until pale, then add the egg and beat to combine. Add flour, beat until just combined, turn onto a lightly floured work surface, form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, place strawberries in a heavy-based saucepan. Add brown sugar, vanilla seeds and orange and lime juices and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5-8 minutes or until strawberries are soft and liquid is reduced. Set aside to cool, then refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Roll pastry on a lightly floured surface to 2mm thick and use to line ten 6.5x3.5cm deep pie pans (see note), trim edges and pierce crust all over with fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and cut roughly into ten squares; place the foil squares, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. Bake blind for 10 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool for 5 minutes in pans, then remove from pans and place on a baking tray. Using a fork to remove some of the liquid, transfer strawberry mixture into pastry cases and set aside*.
For Italian meringue, combine sugars and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and cook until syrup reaches 115°C/239°F on a sugar thermometer, then remove from heat. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whisk egg white until soft peaks form, then, with motor running, slowly add hot syrup and whisk for 5 minutes. Spoon meringue over strawberry filling, forming into peaks. Place pies under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes or until meringue is golden or use a blowtorch to brown meringue lightly.

* since this is a very moist filling, assemble the tarts as close as possible to serving them - the juices in the filling will make the pastry soggy

Note: If you’re unable to find pie pans of this measurement, use individual fluted tart cases instead (they’ll hold less filling).

Serves 10

Apricot thumbprint cookies

I’ll be honest with you: I made these cookies to use up the apricot jam in my fridge; after making a tart, some small cakes and these cookies I still have some around – I wonder if someone splashed it with water or fed it after midnight... :)

Apricot thumbprint cookies
adapted from here

180g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Using a spatula, stir through the flour and baking powder to form a dough. Roll 2 teaspoons of the mixture into balls and place onto prepared sheets 5cm (2in) apart.
Press deep dents into the middle of the balls with the back of a small teaspoon, wetting the spoon if the dough starts to stick – I thought it was easier to do that with my index fingertip.
Fill each of the indents with ½ teaspoon of jam and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Let cool in sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

Makes 35 – I halved the recipe and still got 24

Pear friands

Many of you have asked me if I eat everything I post here – not really, otherwise I’d be the size of a house. :) I do eat a little of each recipe I cook/bake and then decide if it is good enough to be shared with you, but the amounts are very modest: 2-3 cookies, 1 slice of cake, and so on. At first I did not think I’d be able to do that - because I love eating - but so far, so good. :)

These friands turned out so good that I ate 2 in a row. And that doesn’t happen every day. :)

Pear friands
adapted from Modern Classics Book 2

1 cup finely ground almonds (almond meal)
1 2/3 cups (233g) icing sugar, sifted
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
5 egg whites
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, melted
2 pears, ripe but still firm, cored and finely sliced
icing sugar, extra, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter ten ½ cup (120ml) capacity muffins pans.
Place almond meal, icing sugar, flour, baking powder and nutmeg in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the egg whites and stir to combine. Stir in the butter. Divide mixture among prepared pans – each should be ¾ full. Top each pan with 2-3 slices of pear, sinking them into the batter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through when tested with a skewer.
Let stand in the pans for 5 minutes, then carefully turn onto a wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Makes 10 – I halved the recipe, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity pans and got 7 friands

Passion fruit jelly panna cotta

Blogging has made me change my mind about lots of foods: dishes I did not like, or should I say thought I did not like, have become favorites. And jellies are a good example: I thought they were boring until I tried the ones made with real fruit juice.

This passion fruit jelly is a bit different from the one I made before – the other recipe mixed passion fruit and orange – and goes really well with the panna cotta; the only “but” for me here was the panna cotta – I prefer it creamier and would use less gelatin next time.

Passion fruit jelly panna cotta
from Donna Hay magazine

Jelly:
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon gelatin powder
4 passion fruit – it will depend on their size, you might need less
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) caster sugar
1 ¼ cups (300ml) water, extra

Panna cotta:
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons gelatin powder*
2 cups (480ml) single or pouring cream
1/3 cup (47g) icing sugar, sifted
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

To make the jelly, place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Stand for 5 minutes or until the gelatin absorbs the water. Strain the passion fruit pulp through a fine sieve – you should have approximately ¼ cup (60ml) juice.
Place the juice, sugar and extra water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes to dissolve the gelatin. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and divide between six ½ cup (120ml) capacity molds/glasses (if you intend to unmold the dessert, lightly grease the molds with neutral vegetable oil). Refrigerate until set (4-5 hours).
Make the panna cotta: place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Stand for 5 minutes or until the gelatin absorbs the water. Place the cream in a saucepan over medium heat with the sugar, vanilla bean and seeds. Stir occasionally, allowing the cream to come to the boil. Add the gelatin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or just until gelatin is dissolved. Pass mixture through a fine sieve and allow to cool to room temperature before pouring over the firm passion fruit jelly. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.
Serve in the glasses or unmold into plates.

* if you’re not unmolding the dessert, use less gelatin in the panna cotta – it is much more delicious when it’s creamier

Serves 6

Lavender chiffon cake with lime curd, cream and lime icing

Certain flavor combinations are wonderful and we already know they work perfectly, while others might seem a bit unusual to some of us. I’d seen lemon + lavender everywhere – in bars, cookies, cakes and frozen yogurt – but hadn’t given it a try yet. After seeing a beautiful cake in an old magazine, I decided to try the combination, using limes instead.

Now this combo can go straight to the all time favorites list, with apples + cinnamon and chocolate + hazelnuts. :)

Lavender chiffon cake with lime curd, cream and lime icing
adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes, idea from Donna Hay magazine

Cake:
6 eggs, separated
¼ cup (60ml) neutral vegetable oil, such as canola or soybean
6 tablespoons water
1 ½ cups (300g) caster sugar
1 ½ teaspoons dried edible lavender buds
1 1/3 cups (187g) cake flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Lime curd:
6 egg yolks
1 tablespoon corn starch
6 tablespoons caster sugar
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
finely grated zest of 1 lime
2/3 cups (160ml) whipping cream, whipped to firm peaks with 2 tablespoons icing sugar (do it just before assembling the cake)

Lime icing:
2 cups (280g) icing sugar
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ½ tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line the bottoms of three 20cm (8in) round cake pans with baking paper; do not grease.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, oil and water. Set aside.
Place 1 cup (200g) of the sugar in a food processor, add the lavender buds and process. Sift into a large bowl, discarding the excess lavender. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the sugar and whisk gently to combine. Add the yolk mixture and whisk to form a smooth batter.
Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment on medium-high speed until frothy. Slowly add the remaining ½ cup (100g) sugar and the cream of tartar and continue to whip until soft, droopy peaks form. Fold ¼ of the beaten egg whites into the batter, taking care not to deflate the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining whites. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden and a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow layers to cool completely in the pans. To remove, run a blunt knife around the edges, invert each pan and tap out the cake onto a wire rack. Carefully peel off the paper.
While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the lime curd and chill completely.

Lime curd: in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and corn starch. Combine the sugar and lime juice in a non-reactive saucepan and whisk in the egg yolk mixture. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat whisking gently the entire time. Allow to boil for 1 minute, still stirring – curd will thicken.
Pour through a sieve into a heatproof bowl and whisk in the butter until it is completely melted. Whisk in the zest. Let cool slightly, then cover with plastic wrap pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.

Lime icing: sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl and gradually add the lime juice and water, mixing well until the desired consistency.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate and spread half the lime curd over the top. Top with half the whipped cream. Repeat with another cake layers and the remaining lime curd and cream. Top with the third cake layer and drizzle with the lime icing.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Serves 12-16 – I made 2/3 of the recipe above for a two-layer cake

Apple yogurt muffins

So I did what I told you I’d do: I’ve started baking more bread. And it feels great. But the absent minded here forgot to buy more yeast and used the last teaspoon in the sachet to make our Saturday night pizza. :(

Luckily I had some baking powder around – and a very lonely apple in the fridge. :)

Apple yogurt muffins
adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Muffins

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
½ cup (100g) sugar*
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 ¼ cups (325g) plain yogurt
2 large eggs
5 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Gala apples, peeled, cored and diced

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and make a well in the center. In a small bowl or jug, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the apples and mix with a fork until just moistened – do not overmix; the batter is supposed to be lumpy.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pans filling each cup ¾ full.
Bake until golden, 16-20 minutes, and cooked when tested with a skewer.

* these muffins are not too sweet, and in my opinion that makes them perfect for breakfast – add a bit more sugar if desired

Makes 12 - I halved the recipe above, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans and got 6