Orange snickerdoodles

I have been called a Cookie Monster by some of my blogging friends, but I believe I am not the only one – the lovely and dear Susan seems to love cookies as much as I do, because she’s hosting the second season of Eat Christmas Cookies!



I took part in the first edition of the event last year and so did many of talented people. There were several delicious entries and I am sure this year will be the same. To make things even better, Susan will give away one copy of Anita’s book. Yay! :D

My choice this time is snickerdoodles, but not the traditional ones - these are packed with a wonderful citrus touch. Yum!

Orange snickerdoodles
from here

110g unsalted butter, softened
215g sugar
1 egg
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
200g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar (215g) until light and fluffy. Add the egg and orange zest and beat for 30 seconds more. Finally add the flour and baking soda and beat until incorporated. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

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

Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

Make balls using 1 rounded teaspoon of dough and roll them in the sugar-cinnamon mixture and place on prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart.
Bake for 10 minutes, one sheet at a time, or until they swell then crack. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes then transfer cookies to a wire rack.

Makes 45

A big hug, flavored with passion fruit

Blogging has several good aspects, and a very important one is meeting great people – and it doesn’t matter if they live around the corner or across the ocean.

The lovely Barbara is one of those people and she’s going through a hard time right now, battling cancer once again. :(

The equally lovely Bron and Ilva organized a virtual hug for Barbara and I’m glad to be a part of it. I hope she likes this fresh and simple dessert, full of fruity flavors.

Barbara, my dear, be sure that there are Brazilian fingers here crossed for you. I know you’ll kick cancer in the ass again.
You might be half a planet away, but are certainly close to my heart.

Passion fruit jellies with banana and honey yogurt
slightly adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

350ml passion fruit juice*
175ml freshly squeezed orange juice
200g sugar
6 gelatin leaves, softened in cold water
200g yogurt
30g honey
thickly sliced banana, to serve
passion fruit pulp, to serve

Combine juices, sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then pass through a fine sieve. Warm ½ cup juice mixture in a saucepan over medium heat, squeeze excess water from gelatin, add to pan and stir until gelatin dissolves, then add remaining juice mixture. Cool slightly and pour into six 1 cup-capacity glasses and refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.
To serve, whisk together yoghurt and honey. Top jellies with a spoonful of yogurt, cover with banana slices and spoon over passion fruit pulp.

Note: to make passion fruit juice, blend passion fruit pulp in a food processor to crack seeds, then strain through a fine sieve. Twelve passion fruit yield about 1 cup of juice.

* I used concentrated bottled juice

Serves 6

White chocolate and pecan spice friands for Sugar High Friday

Or, “the poor little friand that stood alone”. Because the friand on the photo was the only one I could remove from the pans – all the other 6 got stuck! :(

I’d just received the book by mail and quickly looked for a recipe calling for spices (because of this month’s Sugar High Friday). I’d been meaning to try friands for ages and thought I’d found a great excuse for that (as if I needed an excuse to bake...) :D

My brand new small brioche pans seemed perfect to prepare such precious treats. Too bad it didn’t turn out as I had planned. I did butter them beyond generously, but...

These friands tasted amazing and were tender. I wish I’d gone the simple way and used my muffin pan.

This is my entry for this Sugar High Friday, a sweet and delicious event created by Jennifer and this month hosted by the talented and lovely Anita, who has become a book author!

White chocolate and pecan spice friands
from Little Cafe Cakes

100g unsalted butter, room temperature
100g white chocolate, chopped
1 cup ground pecans
6 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups (210g) icing sugar
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Grease well – very, very well – 10 individual cake or muffin pans.
Place butter and white chocolate together in a bowl and microwave on medium for 1-2 minutes, mixing in 30 second intervals, or use a double-boiler – you want the ingredients to melt, but do not let the butter burn.
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until just combined.
Spoon mixture into prepared pans; they should be just over ½ full. Bake for 25 minutes.
Let stand in pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Makes 10 – I halved the recipe and still got 7

White chocolate, cranberry and Cointreau truffles

Before I got married, people used to tell me that brides never eat during the wedding – they are too busy walking around, talking to guests, thanking for presents...

I might not have eaten tons of food during the wedding but not because I was terribly busy. I did talk to everyone and it was wonderful to see all those dear faces on such a magical day for me, but that was my day and I wanted it to be about things I like doing. That’s why I danced a lot – so much my shoes were off by the end of the night – and enjoyed the moment with Joao to the fullest, with a slice of cake and ice cream on the side.

The catering company we hired prepared a snack box for us to take to the hotel – that was so nice! There were a lot of sweets in the box and they were delicious – I could enjoy the ones I hadn’t eaten during the wedding. :)

I am telling you all that because my Brazilian buddy Fernanda is hosting an event about wedding sweets and candies, which is something absolutely traditional here in Brazil.
I’m taking part on the event with these truffles; the ones I had on my wedding were plain, with just a touch of brandy, but I wanted to add an unusual ingredient for Brazilians that goes so well with orange – cranberries.

White chocolate, cranberry and Cointreau truffles
adapted from here

300g good white chocolate
¼ cup (60ml) whipping cream
1 ½ tablespoons of Cointreau or other orange flavored liqueur
½ cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated orange zest or rind
½ cup (70g) icing sugar

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (bain-marie).
Warm the cream in a saucepan or microwave but be careful not to scald.
Add the warm cream to the chocolate (still in the double boiler) and mix together until evenly combined.
Remove from heat, add the Cointreau, cranberries and the grated zest and beat the mixture until smooth – chocolate will look curdled, don’t worry. Just beat well until glossy again.
Cover and refrigerate the mixture until it has set, 4 hours or overnight – remove mixture from fridge 10 minutes before rolling the truffles.
With a small spoon or cookie scoop roll small balls of the mixture.
Dust the truffles by rolling them in icing sugar and refrigerate again until hard.
Place into small paper or foil cases to serve if desired.

Makes 25-30

Lemon meringue cake

The fun, adorable and sweet Susan is celebrating her first blogiversary and she’s throwing a party to celebrate it!
I want to be a part of it, so this is what I’m bringing – a light (not as in “low fat”, of course), refreshing and very lemony dessert, that resembles a pavlova. I hope she likes it!

Meringues are “tricky little buggers” - as Jamie would say - so it’s really, really important to keep the oven temperature correct and stable. An oven thermometer is extremely useful here.

If you want to enter Susan’s Blogiversary Bash, too, there’s still time - she’s taking entries till midnight (details here). Did I mention she’s giving away lots of gifts? ;)

Lemon meringue cake
adapted from here

Meringue shell:
4 egg whites
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Filling:
1 egg
¼ cup (50g) sugar
3 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup (80ml) water
¾ cups (180ml) whipping cream – it should be very cold
1 ½ tablespoons sugar

Garnish:
½ cup shaved white chocolate – use a vegetable peeler to get the curls

Preheat oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites in an electric mixer until frothy. Slowly beat in sugar. Continue to beat until egg whites are thick and glossy and stand straight up when beaters are lifted out. Beat in lemon juice.
Draw a 10-inch (25cm) round on the parchment-lined baking sheet and scoop mixture into round, spreading meringue mixture to the sides to make a shell. The sides will be about 2- inches (5-cm) high. It should look like a pie shell. Bake for 1½ to 2 hours or until lightly browned and dry – if the oven temperature rises too much, open its door and hold it a bit open using a wooden spoon. Close it again once the temperature gets right. Turn oven off and leave for about 4 hours to cool.
Whisk together the egg, sugar, lemon juice and zest together in a heavy pot to make filling. Combine cornstarch and water in another bowl then stir into lemon mixture.
Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick. Remove from heat. If lumpy, pour through a strainer into a separate bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap into the surface of the lemon filling to prevent a film from forming, and refrigerate until firm and cold.
Remove lemon mixture from the refrigerator and break it with a fork or metal whisk.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue beating until firm. Fold in lemon mixture.
Spoon lemon filling into meringue shell, spreading evenly. Scatter with white chocolate shavings.

Serves 8

Sake panna cotta

My dear and sweet friend Clarice is hosting a special event to celebrate 100 years of Japanese Immigration in Brazil. She is a Brazilian of Japanese ascendancy and has been living in Japan for almost 2 decades now.



The event is about cooking or baking with Japanese ingredients. I thought about so many different recipes, but ended up choosing this one – all I did was use sake instead of grappa. It was my first time making a panna cotta and I was pleased with the result – the sake flavor is very subtle and the cooked apples and syrup compliment it beautifully.

Clarice, darling, I hope you like my entry! It took me a while to post it because I wanted to make it in my brand new kitchen. :)

Sake panna cotta
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

300ml double cream
300ml pouring cream
110g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, removed with a peeler
60ml sake
2½ leaves of gelatin (titanium strength)*, softened in cold water

Sake apples:
2 pink lady apples, cored and cut into thin wedges – I used Gala apples
juice of 1 lemon
165g caster sugar
grated zest of ½ lemon
12 cloves
125ml sake

Heat creams, caster sugar, lemon zest and half the sake and stir over low heat until combined (4-5 minutes). Increase heat to medium and cook gently until mixture comes to the boil (4-5 minutes). Squeeze excess water from gelatin, add to cream mixture and stir to dissolve, remove from heat and cool to blood temperature. Strain, add remaining sake, stir and pour into six ½-cup-capacity dariole moulds rinsed with water. Refrigerate overnight or until set.

For sake apples, combine apples and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside. Heat sugar, lemon zest, cloves and ¾ cup water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until reduced to ¾ cup (8-10 minutes). Drain apples, reserving liquid, add apples and half the sake to sugar syrup, return to the boil over medium-high heat, then simmer very gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender and translucent (35-40 minutes), add reserved lemon juice and remaining sake and cook until syrupy (8-10 minutes). Cool to room temperature.

To serve, briefly dip panna cotta moulds into boiling water and invert onto serving plates. Serve with sake apples to the side, drizzled with extra syrup.

* I had no idea of kind of gelatin this was, so I used 6 leaves of regular gelatin. I think I could have done with 5.

Serves 6

Waiter, there's something in my... picnic! Olive, herb and parmesan sticks

I haven’t taken part in blog events lately – I never seem to keep the deadlines in mind – but picnics are something I hold very dear and they are the theme for this “Waiter, there’s something in my...”, hosted by Johanna, Jeanne and Andrew.

When I was little, my parents used to take me and my brother to parks on the weekends, and we had wonderful picnics there (I once wrote about it here). To this day I can remember the towel over the grass and all the yummy snacks prepared by Mom – she was a magnificent cook/baker.
After she was gone, my paternal grandmother - who looked after us for a couple of years - would let my brother and I have picnics on the living room; she would lay the towel on the carpet for us to eat, just like my mom did on the grass.

These delicious bread sticks are my contribution to the event. Just stay away from them as they come out of the oven – otherwise, there will be none left for the picnic.

Olive, herb and parmesan sticks
from Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads

Dough:
5g fresh yeast or ½ envelope (3.5g) active dry yeast – I used dry
250g white bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup (180ml) water, room temperature

Filling:
¾ cup purple olives, such as Kalamata, with pits in
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
cornmeal, for dusting – I didn’t have any at home, so I used flour instead

Start with the dough: using a mixer with the dough hook, put the flour in the mixer bowl and rub in the yeast (if using dry, just mix in). Switch the mixer onto the slowest speed, add the salt and then the water, and mix for 2 minutes, then turn up to the next slowest speed and mix for another 6-7 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Remove the dough from the bowl, transfer to a lightly floured counter and mold into a ball.
Place in a lightly floured large bowl, cover with plastic/cling film and let rise in a draft-free area for 1 hour.

Make the filling: pit the olives and cut each one roughly into three (I cut into more pieces). Mix the olives, cheese and herbs together in a bowl. Set aside.

Assembling: with the help of the rounded end of your scraper, turn the dough onto the counter, lightly dusted with cornmeal. Using your hand, flatten out a rectangle about ¾-inch (2cm) thick. Sprinkle the filling on top and press it into the dough with your fingertips. Fold one third of the dough into the center and press down with your fingertips. Then fold the opposite side over on top (as if you were folding a letter to put into an envelope). Press with the palms of your hands to work the olives into the dough. With the flat edge of your scraper, cut the dough widthwise into 10-12 strips about ½-inch (1cm) wide. Flour the counter with cornmeal. Twist each strip (I pressed the sides together so the filling wouldn’t fall off) and roll them a little on the counter so they stretch to the length of your baking try (nonstick or covered with foil so the cheese in the dough won’t stick to the tray) and place the strips on top, leaving a gap between them – 1 inch (2.5cm) is fine.
Cover with a lintfree dishtowel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220ºC/428ºF; put the baking dish into the oven and mist the inside with a water spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Use a spatula to lift them from the baking tray. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 10-12 – I got 16

Bacon and oregano homemade pasta and two silly people having fun in the kitchen together

I have read that food can bring people together. I think it’s true – many celebrations involve family and/or friends around a table. And one doesn’t need an established occasion at all – having friends over for dinner for no apparent reason is equally wonderful.

Joao and I make our Sunday lunches a special part of our life. Work and traffic jams already keep us apart on weekdays and there’s barely any time for cooking. That’s why I love cooking and baking on weekends – my way of having fun. I’m lucky the hubby shares that with me.

Weekdays are all about what I have to do, so weekends are all about what I want to do. I want to have fun. And is it fun making pasta while Joao takes pictures? You bet!

We laughed like two kids – there was flour all over my kitchen when we finished our “pasta making session”. And after that, we had delicious, fresh pasta for lunch. A pretty good Sunday, if you’ll ask me.

This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by the lovely Kalyn, the blogger who created the event.

Bacon and fresh oregano homemade pasta
from Donna Hay magazine

400g (14oz) fettuccine, linguini or any long pasta you prefer
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
60g (2oz) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup olive oil, extra – I used a little less
crispy bacon, to serve
grated parmesan, to serve

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, return to the saucepan and keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat, add the oil and oregano and cook for 30 seconds or until crispy. Drain on absorbent paper. Add the capers and garlic and cook for 1 minute or until crispy. Add to the pasta with the butter and extra oil and toss to combine. Divide between plates and top with the oregano, bacon and parmesan.

Serves 4.

Crash-hot potatoes

I was devastated when I learned that Tastespotting had been closed. Luckily for me and for all the foodies, there new options for our daily dosis of food porn: Food Gawker and RecipeMuncher. Go check them out!

Deb, from the super yummy Taste and Tell, has mentioned a couple of times that she has trouble choosing side dishes. Deb, my dear, these are for you! Not only they are extremely simple to make but they’re also delicious! And one can play around using their favorite herb – I followed one of Jill Dupleix’s suggestions and went for thyme.

This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Joanna, from Joanna’s Food.

Crash-hot potatoes
from Totally Simple Food

16 small, round potatoes
salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon thyme or rosemary sprigs – I used a bit more

Heat oven to 230 or 250ºC/445 or 480ºF - yes, hot. Don't peel the potatoes. Just bung them into a pot of salted water, bring to the boil, and simmer for around 15 minutes until they'll take a skewer without too much resistance. They should be just about cooked, without being soft.

Drain, and arrange on a lightly oiled baking tray or sheet. Use a potato masher to squash each potato flat, until it is twice its original diameter.

Brush the tops with olive oil, and scatter with sea salt, pepper and thyme.

Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until terminally crisp and golden. Serve hot.

Serves 4

Orange cranberry slice-and-bake cookies and an appeal for Bri

You must have already read on other food blogs that the sweet Bri is battling cancer once again. She’s shown us her strength and will power through these hard times and I’m sure she’s in everyone’s prayers.

Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi are coordinating a fundraiser for Bri. The goal is to raise $12,000 to help her pay for her treatments (for a year). Click here to find out more about it and also to make a donation.

Yellow has become the color of hope – that’s why I’m posting these delicious orange cranberry cookies (a recipe by Deb).

Orange cranberry slice-and-bake cookies

1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
grated zest of 2 oranges
½ cup dried orange-flavored cranberries, chopped

Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until it is smooth. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat again until the mixture is smooth and silky. Beat in the egg yolks, followed by the salt, zest and cranberries. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, beating just until it disappears. It is better to underbeat than overbeat at this point; if the flour isn’t fully incorporated, that’s okay just blend in whatever remaining flour needs blending with a rubber spatula. Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and divide it in half. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log that is about 1 to 1 ¼ inches (2.5 to 3.2cm) thick. (Get the thickness right, and the length you end up with will be fine.) Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for 2 hours. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF (I preferred to bake my cookies at the central rack, one sheet at a time). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

While the oven is preheating, using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies about 1/3 inch (1cm) thick. (You can make the cookies thicker if you’d like; just bake them longer.) Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, leaving about ½ inch (1.5 cm) space between them.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are set but not browned. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

Keeping: Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature or in the freezer for a month. Unbaked logs can be frozen for longer.

Makes about 50 cookies

Rolled flank steak

Discovering new food blogs is always an interesting thing. I love going through their archives, checking texts, recipes and photos, getting to know a little about that foodie – who will probably become a blogger friend.

One of my latest “findings” is packed with beautiful photos and delicious recipes, and the girl behind it is a huge Martha fan, like me. I’m talking about Mimi.

She is hosting an event called “Martha Mondays” and I really liked her idea. One of the rules was to cook a recipe from this gallery and, to please my dear husband – who has been eating tons of chicken and fish lately because of me – I chose a beef dish.

If I keep making dishes like this, Joao will end up joining the Martha fan club as well. :)

Rolled flank steak

680g (1½ lb) flank steak - I used a different cut
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup (57g/2oz) shredded mozzarella cheese – I used the yellow mozzarella we have here, made from cow’s milk
4 scallions, sliced
¼ cup (57g/2oz) roasted red peppers, cut into thin strips
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 230ºC/450ºF with rack in center. Between two sheets of plastic wrap, pound steak to 1.25cm (½-inch) thickness with a meat mallet or heavy skillet. Using a sharp knife, score the steak on one side in a cross-hatched pattern. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and garlic. Place the steak inside and marinate at least 20 minutes or up to overnight.

Remove steak from marinade. Lay steak on cutting board, scored side down, with a short end facing edge of work surface. Cover steak with cheese, scallions, and peppers, leaving 1.25cm (½-inch) border on the long sides and 5cm (2-inch) border at the far short end. Season with salt and pepper. Starting from closest side, roll up tightly. Using kitchen twine, tie steak crosswise.
Season with salt and pepper.

Place, seam side down in a lightly oiled baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast until juices run clear, 35 to 40 minutes for medium rare. Let rest 10 minutes, and remove string before slicing.

Serves 4 – I used a 400g steak and my husband ate 80% of it. :)

Rolled flank steak

Chocolate discs with orange cream and marinated oranges

Before I tell you about this luscious dessert, I want to thank you all for your support regarding my last post. I don’t even know how you are able to walk around with your hearts, since they are the size of a house.

I haven’t taken part in Sugar High Friday for quite a while now – which is a total shame, since I love participating in food events. Just need to get organized and watch the deadlines closely; will try hard to do that.

SHF was created by Jennifer and this time is being hosted by the lovely Helen, a.k.a. Tartelette. I was in heaven when she announced that the theme would be citrus. You all know I am a complete sucker for lemons, limes and oranges. And after the super talented host nominated me “Queen of Madeleines”, the stakes were high – I would have to choose wisely to take part in the event!

Even though this recipe needed a couple of adjustments, I was glad with my choice. Orange and chocolate are wonderful together and the looks of this dessert is worth all the four letter words I said in my kitchen while making it. :)



I’m posting my version of the dessert – click here to see the original recipe.

Chocolate discs with orange cream and marinated oranges

Discs:
200g (7oz) bittersweet chocolate – I used 50% cocoa solids

Orange cream:
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
¼ cup (60ml) orange juice
2 large eggs, well beaten
1 ½ cups (360ml) whipping cream

Marinated oranges:
2 navel oranges, peeled and pith removed
¼ cup (60ml) orange juice
1 tablespoon caster sugar – I used vanilla caster sugar
icing sugar, for dusting
zest strips, for decorating

Melt chocolate over low heat in a double-boiler, stirring occasionally. Draw 8cm (3in) circles on baking paper; flip paper over, so you’ll use the side without pencil/ink marks. Spoon one teaspoon of chocolate onto centre of circle and spread quickly with a spatula – I got better results with the back of a spoon. If the discs are not quite perfect, don't worry. Refrigerate until chocolate discs are cold and, using a spatula, remove from paper. Refrigerate until needed.

Make the cream: mix sugar, butter, orange zest, orange juice and eggs in a heavy pot. Stir gently over low heat until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 to 15 minutes. Do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle. Pour mixture into a glass bowl and immediately place plastic wrap over mixture to prevent a skin forming. Set aside to cool completely before using. Whip cream until it holds its shape (very firm peaks) and fold gently into orange cream. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Now, the marinated oranges: place juice and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until juice is reduced; place the orange pieces inside this syrup and leave to marinate overnight, or at least 2 hours, in the refrigerator.

Assembling the dessert: using a spatula, place one chocolate disc on serving plate. Top with 1 generous tablespoon of orange cream. Place another disc on top and another tablespoon of cream. Top with a third disc. Place the orange wedges and some of the syrup alongside the chocolate discs. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with orange strips; serve at once.

Serves 6

Crepes filled with corn and nutmeg

Don’t you love going through cookbooks/websites with lots of photos? Isn’t it wonderful to know what to expect – visually speaking – from a recipe?

After taking a look at this, I knew I would end up making it. I’m a big fan of crepes and they look so adorable served this way!

I thought these were good, but in my opinion they would have been better with some sort of sauce. I think the sage brown butter sauce I used for this spaghetti would have worked really, really well here.



This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Gay, from A Scientist in the Kitchen.

Crepes filled with corn and nutmeg

Crepes:
1 cup (240ml) milk
½ cup (120ml) water
2 eggs
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
butter, oil or cooking spray, to coat the pan

Filling:
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups frozen, cooked corn kernels, thawed – I used canned corn kernels, drained
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
2 cups (480ml) milk
salt
freshly ground fresh pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
chives, to fasten the crepes – dip them quickly in hot water before using, so they will be more flexible

Start by making the crepes: Place the milk, water, eggs, salt and flour in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled or greased with butter 22cm (9in) frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the pan, using ¼ cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Repeat with remaining batter. Set aside.

Now, the filling: in a large, deep frying pan, melt butter over medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until golden. Add the corn, cook for 2 minutes, then sprinkle with the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for another minute. Add the milk and cook, still stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, mix well. Place mounds of warm filling on the center of each crepe, closing it like a bundle/package and tie it up with one chive.

Makes 12