Cornmeal, coconut and marmalade cake

I bought Ottolenghi’s beautiful book ages ago and if I am not mistaken the first recipe I made from it was the semolina, coconut and marmalade cake – it is delicious and the recipe yields two cakes: you can enjoy one while making other people’s day better sharing the second loaf.

One day I wanted to make this cake again, however I did not have any semolina at home. I decided then to use corn flour instead and it worked beautifully. Feel free to use one or the other.

Cornmeal, coconut and marmalade cake
slightly adapted from the wonderful Jerusalem

Cake:
¾ cup (180ml) sunflower oil
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 cup (240ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
160g orange marmalade
3 large eggs
70g granulated sugar
70g unsweetened desiccated coconut
90g all purpose flour
180g fine corn flour
2 tablespoons almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

Soaking syrup:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
140ml water
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Whisk together the oil, orange zest and juice, marmalade, and eggs until the marmalade dissolves. In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined. The mixture should be runny.
Butter or brush with oil, line two 1-lb loaf pans (8½x4½ in/22x11cm) with baking paper and butter the paper as well. Divide the filling evenly between them. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until a skewer inserted in a cake comes out clean and the tops turn an orangey brown.

Near the end of the baking time, place the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, start brushing them with the hot syrup using a pastry brush; you’ll need to do this in a few goes, allowing the syrup to soak in for a minute or two before you carry on brushing with more syrup. Make sure you use up all the syrup and it is all absorbed into the cakes.
Cool completely on the pans over a wire rack.

Makes 2 cakes

Cherry, pistachio and marzipan cake, and things worth waiting for

Every time I see something delicious made with cherries I mentally file the recipe to make it by the end of the year, when the fruit is abundant, sweet and not as expensive as during the winter. The problem is there are always many recipes to be made and cherry season is, unfortunately, too short.

One of the recipes I’d been meaning to make for a while was this cake from Delicious Australia, which combines two passions of mine: cherries and marzipan. The cake turned out moist and flavorsome, perfumed with orange blossom water, which is something I love, but if you’re not into it just replace it with vanilla extract. I found the pistachios on the top of the cake to be a bit too much and, as much as I love these nuts I don’t think they’re an interesting addition here – I liked the cake better without them.

It certainly paid off to wait months to prepare this wonderful cake, as much as it paid off to go to sleep at 2 a.m. to see the brilliant Leonard DiCaprio receive a Golden Globe. :)

Cherry, pistachio and marzipan cake
slightly adapted from the stunning Delicious Australia

Cake:
300g cherries, pitted, finely chopped
150g marzipan, chopped into 1cm pieces – I used homemade
150g all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon, extra, for dusting the cherries
200g unsalted butter, softened
185g granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
100g almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
50g unsalted pistachio kernels, lightly toasted, chopped
icing sugar, for dusting

Syrup:
juice of the orange zested for the cake
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Butter a 20cm (8in) springform cake pan (I used a pan with a removable bottom), line the bottom with a circle of baking paper, then wrap the outside with foil (this will prevent batter from leaking).
Toss cherries and marzipan in the extra 1 tablespoon of flour and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and orange zest with an electric mixer for 3-5 minutes until thick and pale, then beat in orange blossom water and the vanilla.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt, then stir through half the marzipan and cherries. Spread mixture into pan, sprinkle over remaining marzipan and cherries, then gently press into the batter, making sure they’re just covered.
Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 160°C and bake for a further 50-60 minutes until light golden and cooked through.
Meanwhile, for the syrup: place all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, then cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until thick and syrupy.
Pierce cake all over with a skewer, then drizzle over warm syrup. Sprinkle with pistachios and dust with icing sugar. Cool slightly, then remove cake from the pan and cool completely before serving.

Serves 6-8 – I made the exact recipe above, but baked the cake at 180°C/350°F the entire time (total of 60 minutes)

Chocolate pain d’épice, two versions of the same song and of the same baked good

One day, back when I worked as a teacher, I told my students I liked Soft Cell and, two days after that one of them brought me the “Memorabilia” album and begged me to listen to it – he was sure I would love it, and in fact I did. On that CD there was a slightly different version of “Loving You, Hating Me” from the one I knew (and already liked) – the arrangement was a little less metallic, let’s put it this way – and I fell completely for the new version (it became one of my all-time favorites).

Last year I posted a recipe for pain d’épice and now I bring you another one, made with whole wheat flour and chocolate – I like both, but the chocolate version won my heart over (thank you, Eric Lanlard). :)

Chocolate pain d’épice
slightly adapted from the absolutely beautiful and delicious Chocolat (I bought mine here)

200ml whole milk
8 tablespoons clear honey*
125g dark chocolate – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
300g whole wheat flour
65g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 900g loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In a small saucepan, combine the milk and honey and heat gently but do not let it come to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Cool for 5 minutes.
in a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices and salt. Make a well in the center and whisk in the eggs, vanilla and orange blossom water. Whisk in the chocolate mixture, then whisk until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold and transfer to the rack. Cool completely, then remove the paper.
The pain d’épice keeps well for up to 2 weeks if well wrapped in plastic.
You can toast the pain d’épice slices and serve them with butter or jam.

*measuring honey by the spoonful is a pain in the neck – if you don’t feel like doing that, go ahead and consider that I used half a 350g jar

Serves 8-10

Nougat flavored financiers

I might have been oh, so brave facing the heat and making pastry anyway but that, folks, was pretty much it: when it came to making nougat I gave up. :S However, that doesn’t mean I can’t have a nougat flavored baked good, right? When I looked at the egg whites left from making the eggnog frosting I instantly thought of financiers, and the candied orange zest left from the panforte inspired me to make these treats – they are tender, delicious and unlike real nougat, they’re very easy and quick to make.

Nougat flavored financiers
adapted from Bill’s wonderful financier recipe

2/3 cup (67g) almond meal*
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar + plus extra for dusting
1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
4 egg whites
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange blossom water
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly warm
1/3 cup (43g) unsalted pistachios, slightly toasted, cooled and chopped
¼ cup chopped candied orange zest
1/3 cup (36g) dried cranberries, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter and flour eight 1/3-capacity muffin pans (mine were silicon, so I just buttered them).
In a large bowl, sift together the ground almonds, icing sugar, flour and salt. Stir in the egg whites until just combined, followed by the vanilla and orange flower water. Stir in the melted butter, then the pistachios, candied zest and cranberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans over a wire rack for 5 minutes then carefully unmold onto the rack to cool.
Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

* I had 2 tablespoons very finely ground pistachios left from another recipe and I used it mixed with the almond meal

Makes 8

Orange-blossom madeleines and the end of another trilogy

After two months of ups and downs, I have finally finished reading "Mockingjay", and I want to thank the readers Gertrude and Debora for their comments, for they were the reason I did not give up on the book; after what seemed to be ages – but was actually a handful of pages – the story got super interesting again, like it was in the two previous books: I could not put the book down and seriously considered taking it to the shower with me. :D
A quick visit to one of my favorite websites shows that the list of great actors for “Catching Fire” grows almost on a daily basis, and now that Peter Jackson has made me lose all the interest in “The Hobbit” I can go on and focus my attention – and anxiety – on another movie. :D

I love making madeleines and hadn’t made any in quite a while – I guess they were sort of forgotten, just as the poor “Mockinjay”. The orange blossom water adds a subtle and delicious touch, but if you haven’t gotten any – of don’t like it at all – omit it and use the zest of the whole orange to make orange madeleines.

Orange-blossom madeleines
slightly adapted from the always stunning Australian Gourmet Traveller

½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter + a bit extra, melted, for brushing
1 tablespoon honey
finely grated zest of ½ orange
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (124g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon orange-blossom water, or to taste

Cook butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until light golden. Remove from heat, stir in honey, orange zest, orange-blossom water and vanilla and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, whisk flour, sugar, salt and eggs in a bowl until smooth and creamy, then set aside to rest (10 minutes). Gradually add cooled butter mixture, beat until smooth and just combined, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest (overnight).
Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Lightly brush 24 madeleine molds (1 tablespoon capacity each) with the extra melted butter, then refrigerate for 10 minutes. Spoon in heaped tablespoons of the madeleine batter into the molds. Bake until golden around the edges and humped in the middle (10-12 minutes), then unmold onto a wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes 24

Le gibassier

I was just searching for a recipe to use some of the candied orange peel left in my fridge from making the almost mother-in-law cake, but what I found was the most beautiful bread I’d ever seen, a type of bread I’d never heard of before. I adore it when certain things lead to great discoveries, and I felt this way again a week ago, when after watching the fantastic "The Fall" I made my usual trip to IMDb: going through Lee Pace’s profile I found this movie, which I’d never heard of before and looks exactly like the type of drama I love.

Le gibassier
from the always glorious and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

1/3 cup (80ml) lukewarm whole milk
14g (2 sachets/4 ½ teaspoons) dried yeast
6 tablespoons (72g) granulated sugar, divided use
2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons orange-blossom water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (70g) softened unsalted butter
100g candied orange peel, drained and finely chopped – I used homemade, recipe here
icing sugar, sifted, for dusting

Stir milk, yeast and 3 ½ tablespoons of the sugar in a small bowl and stand until foamy (10 minutes).
Combine flour and remaining sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add eggs, oil, orange-blossom water, vanilla and yeast mixture and mix until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes), then, mixing continuously, gradually add softened butter until incorporated. Add candied peel, knead to incorporate, then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (1½-2 hours).
Line a large baking sheet with foil. Knock back dough and divide in half. Roll out each half into a rough leaf shape, cut slits in bread, gently pull slits slightly open, and set onto the prepared sheet. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen tower and place in a draught-free place until doubled in size (1 hour) – after this period of time the slits I’d previously made on the breads were almost invisible, so I cut the breads again before baking them.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Bake gibassier until dark golden and cooked through (10-12 minutes). Dust with icing sugar and serve warm (I thought it tasted great at room temperature, too).

Serves 8

Yogurt panna cotta with caramelized tangerine slices

A while ago I told you how much I was enjoying Twitter, but something changed some days ago – I haven’t felt that way anymore. It is probably my fault – I should follow other people, people I might have more in common with. :S

I think I need something sweet – I’ll go have another panna cotta. :D

Yogurt panna cotta with caramelized tangerine slices
from here and from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Panna cotta:
¾ cup (180ml) heavy cream
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped with the back of a knife
¼ cup + ½ tablespoon (56g) caster sugar
2 leaves gelatin
250g skim milk yogurt – I used regular yogurt

Caramelized tangerine slices:
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
1 ½ tablespoons water
½ teaspoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon orange-blossom water
vegetable oil, for greasing
2 tangerines, thickly sliced horizontally

Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it comes to a boil. Add the vanilla seeds and bean, stir, cover and let infuse for 30 minutes.
Add the sugar to the cream and reheat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, again just until it boils. Remove from the heat.
Soak the gelatin in a bowl of cold water until soft. Squeeze out the excess water and drop the gelatin into the hot cream mixture and whisk until dissolved. Add the yogurt and whisk until smooth.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, discard the vanilla bean, then divide between four ½-cup capacity (120ml) ramekins. Set aside to cool, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours, or until just set.
Make the tangerine slices: combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir to dissolve sugar, then cook until dark caramel (4-5 minutes). Remove from heat, add butter and orange-blossom water (be careful as hot toffee may spit), then return to heat and stir until dissolved. Pour onto an oiled metal tray and set aside to cool. When cool, break into coarse pieces and process in a food processor until finely ground. Place mandarin slices on a baking tray, scatter with orange-blossom toffee, then caramelize with a blowtorch (or under a hot grill) until golden (2-3 minutes). Serve immediately with the panna cotta.

Serves 4 - this panna cotta is also delicious served with this blackberry lemon swirl

Dulce de leche crêpe cake with Suzette sauce

Before I give you the recipe for this delicious dessert, I have to confess something: I cheated. See those pretty little citrus segments on top of the crepe cakes? I did not cut those. I suck at segmenting citrus fruit. After murdering two oranges trying to finish up the recipe I gave up – and reached for the jar of mandarins in syrup I had gotten in a Christmas basket and thought I would never use. :D

Wow, I feel a lot lighter now. :D

Dulce de leche crêpe cake with Suzette sauce
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

395g (1 can) dulce de leche
4 oranges, segmented
pouring cream, whisked to soft peaks, to serve

Crêpe batter:
350g (2 ½ cups) all purpose flour
finely grated zest of 1 orange
4 cups (960ml) whole milk
160g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup (240ml) beer

Suzette sauce:
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
¼ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (68g) caster sugar
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon orange-blossom water (optional)
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon + ¼ cup (60ml) Cointreau, Grand Marnier or brandy, separate use

Start by making the crêpe batter: combine flour and zest in a large bowl and form a well in the center. Combine milk, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan over high heat until butter melts (5-6 minutes). Whisk eggs and oil in a bowl until combined, add milk mixture, then gradually pour into flour, stirring with a whisk until blended and smooth. Stir in beer, cover with plastic, stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate to rest (overnight)*.
Heat a non-stick crêpe pan with a 21cm-diameter base over medium-high heat, add ¼ cup (60ml) crêpe batter, swirl to coat pan, cook until golden (2 minutes), turn and cook until set (30 seconds). Transfer to a plate and repeat, stacking crêpes as you go. Makes about 25 crêpes.
Spread 3 teaspoons of dulce de leche on each crêpe except the top one, stacking crêpes on an ovenproof serving plate as you go. Set aside at room temperature.
For Suzette butter, cook butter, sugar, zest and orange-blossom water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and bubbles (4-5 minutes). Add orange juice and 1 tablespoon Cointreau and simmer until slightly thickened (7-8 minutes; the sauce can be made ahead up to this stage and reheated when ready to use).
To serve, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Warm crêpe cake in oven (5-8 minutes). Meanwhile, add orange segments to Suzette butter, warm over low heat (3 minutes), spoon a little Suzette butter with orange segments over cake, and transfer remaining to a serving dish. Return pan to heat until warm, add remaining Cointreau, carefully ignite alcohol with a long match, tilting pan away from you (be careful as alcohol will burst into flames), then pour over cake while still lit. Serve warm with whipped cream and Suzette butter.

* I refrigerated my batter for 6 hours and it worked out fine

Serves 12 – I halved the recipe above, made 12cm crêpes and got 20; made two stacks with 10 crêpes each

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

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

Chocolate, pistachio and orange-blossom truffles

I was watching some music videos with Joao last Sunday and told him that even though I’ve loved Queen for as long as I can remember not until when I was an adult I realized that the blond girl on this video was Roger Taylor. :)

What can I say? There are things we learn late in life. Like choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate when making truffles. :)

Chocolate, pistachio and orange-blossom truffles
slightly changed from Australian Gourmet Traveller

300g dark chocolate (58% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped – I used 70%
200ml heavy cream
1 tablespoon orange-blossom water*, or to taste
½ cup (70g) pistachio kernels, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
½ cup (45g) Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

Combine chocolate and cream in a medium saucepan, stir over low heat until melted and smooth (4-5 minutes), stir through orange-blossom water and 50g pistachios. Pour into a shallow tray and set aside to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (2-3 hours). Finely chop remaining pistachios.

Mix remaining chopped pistachio and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Roll about ½ tablespoon of the mixture into rough balls. Roll the truffles on the cocoa/pistachio mixture and gently shake to coat. Truffles will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 10 days.

* I could not feel the orange blossom water flavor – you might want to add a little bit more

Serves 15 – I made 2/3 of the recipe above and got 23 truffles

Mini meringues with boozy cherries and orange cream

Some people say – and several of them are from my family – that the best things in life are the simple ones. As much as I hate agreeing with my grandmother – and she knows that – this orange cream is a good example: ridiculously simple, but it has got to be one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. In 31 years of existence. :)

The original recipe called for fresh cranberries, but I can’t get hold of them here in Brazil – the wonderful, plump dried cherries I got from a lovely friend replaced them beautifully.

Mini meringues with boozy cherries and orange cream
adapted from Delicious magazine

Meringues:
400g caster sugar
200g (about 5 large) free-range egg whites

Topping:
about ½ cup (72g) dried cherries*
3 tablespoons vodka
40g caster sugar
600ml heavy (whipping) cream
2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
1-2 tablespoons orange flower water, to taste
Handful unsalted shelled pistachios, chopped

Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F. Spread the sugar evenly over a shallow baking tray, lined with baking paper, and place in the oven for about 10 minutes until really hot.

Place the egg whites in an electric mixer fitted with a whisk. Whisk on high speed until the whites begin to froth, then gradually pour in the hot sugar. Continue whisking on a high speed for 10 minutes until the meringue is beautifully silky and holds its shape.
Reduce the temperature to 110°C/230°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper - stick the baking paper to the baking sheets with a little meringue.
Fill a piping bag with the meringue and pipe golf ball-size rounds on to the baking sheet – I used two small spoons to shape the meringues and made them a little bigger. Have a bowl of water nearby; dip a teaspoon in the water and use the back of it to create a nest shape. Repeat, spaced apart – you should get about 60 mini meringues.
Bake the mini meringues for 1 hour, or until crisp to touch. Turn off the oven and leave inside to cool completely.
Gently heat the cherries, vodka and caster sugar in a small pan for 3-5 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries plump up a bit. Cool a little. In a bowl, whip the cream, icing sugar and orange flower water, to taste, to soft peaks.
To assemble: place the meringues on serving plates, and spoon a small dollop of orange cream onto each one. Spoon a boozy cherry and a little syrup over the top, then sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

* the amount of cherries will depend on the number of meringues you end up with, since there has to be one cherry to top each mini pavlova

Makes 60 – I made ¼ of the recipe above, used two spoons to shape the meringues (instead of a piping bag) and got 8 mini pavlovas

Orange blossom water semifreddo with almonds, honey and strawberries

I was a tad emotional this weekend. I cried when I heard that Paul Newman had passed away, then I cried again watching “Juno”. I did laugh out loud in some parts, too, that’s true. Isn’t Michael Cera just the most adorable thing ever?

Cooking and baking made me feel so much better. And so did this semifreddo. Especially because I kept thinking of Joao mimicking Bill while we were watching his show the other day. :)

Orange blossom water semifreddo with almonds, honey and strawberries
adapted from here

6 egg yolks
3 tablespoons honey
250ml cream, whipped
2 teaspoons orange blossom water
about 150g strawberries, hulled and cut in half
extra honey, to serve
flaked almonds, to serve (to taste) – you might want to toast them before using

Beat the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons honey together with electric beaters for 10 minutes, or until thick, pale, creamy and doubled in volume. Fold in the whipped cream and orange blossom water until just combined.
Line the base and the sides of a 1 liter (35 fl oz/4 cup) loaf pan with a piece of plastic wrap, leaving the wrap hanging over the sides of the pan. Spoon the mixture into the pan, fold the plastic over the top to cover the semifreddo and freeze for 3-4 hours, or until completely frozen.
Before serving, leave to soften in the fridge for 20 minutes – I did not have any trouble slicing my semifreddo right out of the freezer.
Turn out of the pan, remove the plastic wrap, cut into slices and place onto serving plates. Place the strawberries on the side, sprinkle wit the almonds and drizzle with the extra honey. Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

Pistachio and orange blossom water madeleines

Remember when I told you guys I was a madeleine addict? Well, I’m not alone here. A dear friend of mine could be called a madeleine monster. Every time I want to bake her something, madeleines are my first option.

She was upset with me and I needed to make amends... A box of fresh madeleines was mandatory. And the recipe I found on Lorraine’s wonderful blog seemed perfect for the occasion.

I used orange blossom water instead of rosewater – the cookies tasted delicious but I think the orange blossom water flavor was a bit overpowering. My friend did not agree and told me the madeleines were fantastic.

If there’s someone you want to please or apologize to, I highly recommend these. :)

Pistachio and orange blossom water madeleines

1 large egg
40g caster sugar
pinch of salt
25g unsalted pistachios
2 tablespoons of pure icing sugar
50g unsalted butter + 1 tablespoon for greasing pan
45g all purpose flour
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/428ºF; melt all the butter over a low heat, then leave to cool. Set aside a scant tablespoon of the cold, melted butter for greasing the pans, then flour them. Grind pistachios with icing sugar until fine.

Beat the egg, caster sugar and salt in a bowl for about 5 minutes, preferably with an electric mixer of some sort, until it’s as thick as mayonnaise or about 3 times the original volume-it will be pale and a lemony white. Then sprinkle in the flour; you can hold a sieve above the egg and sugar mixture, put the flour in it and shake it through.

Fold in the flour with a wooden spoon, fold in the butter along with the orange blossom water and the pistachio/icing sugar mixture. Mix well, but not too vigorously.

Spoon batter into tins, about 1 teaspoonful in each should do for mini madeleines or 1 tablespoon in each for regular sized madeleines. Don’t worry about covering the molded indentations; in the heat of the oven the mixture will spread before it rises. Bake for 7 minutes, or until springy to touch (though check after 5 minutes). Turn out and let cool on a rack, then arrange on a plate and dust with icing sugar.

This recipe made 12 regular madeleines for Lorraine; I doubled the recipe and got 15 regular and 12 large ones (the scallop pan I own).