Tag:

dessert

Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Rum

by koalifiedbaking May 12, 2019May 19, 2019

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope all the mothers in the world get the love that they deserve and feel extra special today. I cannot be physically be there with my family so this banana milk chocolate mousse cake is dedicated to my mum who has been loving, caring and supportive to her children.

Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake

This Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake is what I call a classic beauty – it has a soft & fluffy chocolate sponge soaked in rum syrup, layered between is a smooth milk chocolate mousse filled with fresh banana pieces and chocolate crumbs. For decorations, I used ladyfingers dipped in Milk Chocolate, Vanilla Beans Chantilly and Pistachio Praline Sprinkles (recipe can be found here). A bite into this cake, you get so many layers of taste and texture. There’s nothing too complicated about it but everything just works well together. Even if you’re just a amateur in baking, I am sure you can nail this cake (if you read the instructions well, haha).

I created this recipe based on the Banana Chocolate Cake recipe by the Cooking Tree with some personal twists put on it. I have been a big fans of her desserts for a while now, as she has such a clean and simple approach to cakes that I absolutely admire. If you observe closely, there’s a lot to learn even though there isn’t one single spoken instruction in the videos. Her recipes give me a lot of inspirations and I can’t thank enough for her youtube tutorials.

One thing that I want to say is that making the sponge and mousse might seem easy, but they have to treated very carefully and gently. Be sure that you don’t over-mix the cake batter or over-whip the mousse, or they can turn into disaster. I hope you enjoy this Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake and again Happy Mother’s Day!

Ingredients:

Chocolate Sponge:
– 150g whole eggs
– 85g sugar
– 20g honey
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 75g cake flour
– 10g cocoa powder
– 25g melted butter
– 40g milk

Milk Chocolate Mousse:
– 200g pure cream
– 100g milk chocolate, melted
– 1 tbsp dark rum
– 2 bananans

Chocolate Crumbs:
– 100g caster sugar
– 100g all purpose flour
– 60g cocoa powder
– 5g corn starch
– 1 tsp salt
– 85g unsalted butter, melted

Rum Syrup:
– 50g water
– 25g sugar
– 1 tbsp rum

Vanilla Beans Chantilly Cream:
– 200g pure cream
– 20g caster sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla beans paste

Decorations:
– LadyFingers dipped in Milk Chocolate
– Pistachio Praline
– Banana Pieces

Instructions:

Chocolate Sponge:
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line a 8inch cake pan and set aside.
2. Put eggs, sugar, honey, vanilla, extract in a mixing bowl and heat while whisking continuously on a Bain Marie (double boiler), until the mixture reaches 40C. With an electric mixer, whip the heated egg mixture with a whisk attachment on high speed until pale and fluffy to make sabayon (i.e. ribbon stage).
3. While the egg is whipping, sift cake flour, cocoa powder into a mixing bowl, and set aside.
4. Fold in the flour mixture into whipped egg mixture GENTLY with a spatula, until most four is not visible.
5. Put 2 tbsp of the cake batter into the melted butter, and mix until fully incorporated (this step is to let the butter attain a similar consistency with the cake batter, to ensure better incorporation). Then pour the butter mixture and the milk into the whole cake batter. Fold in gently until incorporated (do not over-mix to avoid knocking out all the air).
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 170C for 20-25 mins, until the cake spins back when you press on it gently.

Chocolate Crumbs (recipe by Christina Tosi):
1. Preheat oven to 150C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Put sugar, flour, cocoa powder, corn starch and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed for 3 mins.
3. Pour melted butter into it until buttery crumbs are just formed. Do not over-mix or it will turn into a paste.
4. Spread the crumbs evenly onto the prepared baking tray. Bake at 150C for 20-15 mins. Set aside until ready to use.

Milk Chocolate Mousse:
1. Melt chocolate on bain marie or by microwave. Let cool for 5 mins.
2. Put pure cream and melted chocolate in a mixing bowl, whisk by hand until soft peak. Set aside in fridge.

Rum Syrup:
1. Put water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring it to boil. Off heat and and add in the rum. Set aside until ready to use.

Vanilla beans Chantilly:
1. Put pure cream, caster sugar and vanilla bean paste into a mixing bowl, and whisk until medium peak. This step can be done after the cake has been refrigerated for at least 2 hours.

Assembly:
1. Cut the sponge evenly into two layers with a serrated knife. Use a 6-inch metal cake ring to cut off the edge of the cake and get two 6-inch cake sponge sheets.
2. Put one layer of cake sheet into 6-inch metal cake ring as the base. Brush some rum syrup onto the cake to make it moist.
3. Cut bananas to get 5-7 pieces of the same size (you should determine the length of the banana pieces by putting it onto the cake sheet, the top of the banana piece should be 1cm below the top of the cake ring). Place the bananas, while allowing gaps to insert the chocolate mousse, onto the cake sheet,
4. Fill up the gaps with the milk chocolate mousse and use a off-set spatula to smoothen the top. Sprinkles Chocolate crumbs onto the mousse evenly.
5. Place the second cake sheet on, press slightly to let it stick, and brush rum syrup on.
6. Wrap the cake with plastic and put in refrigerator to set for 2-3 hours.
7. When the cake is set, carefully lift up the meal cake ring. Dip Lady Fingers in melted chocolate and immediately stick on the side of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 10 mins for the chocolate to set. Pipe chantilly cream and put on banana and pistachio praline to decorate. Enjoy!

May 12, 2019May 19, 2019 0 comment

Choux Pastry (Eclairs and Puffs)Desserts

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Cream Puff with Black Sesame Chantilly Cream and Tofu Creme Patissiere

by koalifiedbaking September 1, 2018September 1, 2018

It’s been a while everyone! I’ve spent some time to come up with this recipe with choux pastry, because I want to make a cream puff, aka profiterole, that is out of the ordinary and surprise the person who eats it. This charcoal dark chocolate cream puff with black sesame cream chantilly and tofu creme patissiere is the one to impress your guests – it has a monochrome exterior with a multitude of flavours and textures layered between.

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Cream Puff with Black Sesame Chantilly Cream and Tofu Creme Patisserie4

Black sesame is one of my favourite asian flavours to use on desserts. It is used extensively in Asian sweets and sometimes savoury, as apparently its nutty and rich taste is quite addictive. Check out my Charcoal Black Sesame Cake Roll if you are also a fan of black sesame like me!

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Cream Puff with Black Sesame Chantilly Cream and Tofu Creme Patisserie5

To pair with the black sesame chantilly, I decided to use silken tofu for my creme patissiere that has a smooth texture and a subtle soybean note. If you don’t have immediate access to silken tofu, you may consider using soy milk instead. Also, I sneakily incorporated chocolate elements in my choux and craquelin (the “cracked skin” on top of the choux) because it is chocolate, period. And I may or may not have added some oreo biscuit at the bottom for some extra crunch as well.

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Cream Puff with Black Sesame Chantilly Cream and Tofu Creme Patisserie7

Making choux essentially involves two steps:

Cook while constantly stirring flour, butter, water/milk, salt and sugar in a saucepan to form a panade.
Add BEATEN eggs gradually until the right consistency is reached

If you aren’t experienced in making choux pastry, it can be a little bit tricky to pull off. You need to have enough practice to know how much eggs you should add to the panade to reach the desired consistency of choux pastry. When I first learnt how to make choux for eclair, I was told to incorporate the eggs by hand as I could have more control. However, I would say adding the eggs by hands is only suitable for a small recipe as it can be really exhausting. That said,if you are confident enough, feel free to use the machine right away! Just be mindful that a tiny extra amount of egg can make the choux too wet to pipe properly, and you might have to start all over again.

In short, your ideal choux pastry should have:

A pipeable consistency, not too stiff or runny
Proper sheen due to the additions of eggs

If you are looking for a detailed explanation of how to make a perfect choux pastry, I recommend The Favour Blender’s How to Make Perfect Choux Pastry .

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Cream Puff with Black Sesame Chantilly Cream and Tofu Creme Patisserie2

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Cream Puff with Black Sesame Chantilly Cream and Tofu Creme Patisserie3

Another key to making choux is proper baking method. You need to be careful with temperature and time in order to get the signature “puff”. The reason why cream puff got a hollow structure is that the liquid in the choux paste evaporates and the steam causes the choux to expand and puff up. To attain this result, I find it the best way is to bake at high temperature (180C) for around 25-30 mins to let it puff up, then lower the temperature (160C) for 10-15 mins to dry the cream puff. If the cream puff aren’t dry enough, they will absorb the moisture from the inside and become soggy after a while, which is obviously not ideal.

For me, a perfectly baked choux pastry should be:

Deep golden brown in colour
Crispy, light shell on the outside
Soft and custard-like inside

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Cream Puff with Black Sesame Chantilly Cream and Tofu Creme Patisserie6

One more thing I should mention is the craquelin, i.e. the famous crunchy topping of choux pastry. A well made craquelin has a few purposes:

it give additional texture to the choux pastry
It is a way to introduce other colours and flavours
It acts as a cover to control how the choux pastry expands in the oven upon heat, thus helping the choux to maintain the desired round shape

You should remember that craquelin is always the first thing you should prepare, because it needs time to chill and firm up so it can be easily to handle and manipulate afterwards.

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Cream Puff with Black Sesame Chantilly Cream and Tofu Creme Patisserie

If you love making choux pastry please give this recipe a go! Otherwise, it is always a good thing to practise as practice makes perfect. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Ingredients: (make around 15 medium size cream puffs)

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Craquelin

115g unsalted butter
145g brown sugar
145g all purpose flour
25g almond meal
25g melted chocolate
1 tsp charcoal powder

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Choux Pastry

125ml water
125ml full cream milk
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
100g unsalted butter, chopped into small cubes
75g all purpose flour
75g baker flour
30g dark chocolate, melted
250g eggs (+/- 10%, variable)
2 tsp charcoal powder

Black Sesame Chantilly (black sesame whipped cream)

250ml pure cream
40g black sesame paste
20g caster sugar
2 tsp charcoal powder

Tofu Creme Patissiere (tofu pastry cream)

300g silken tofu
100ml milk
50g caster sugar
25g corn flour
1 egg (50g)
20g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp charcoal powder

Instructions:

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Craquelin

Mix all ingredients together to make a short crust pastry.
Flatten it into a rectangle. Cool in refrigerate for 15 mins.
Roll out at 2mm thick and cut circles using a round cutter*
The size of the cutter depends on how big you pipe your choux. Ideally, when placed on the uncooked choux puff, the craquelin should cover the whole choux to form a “hat”.
Keep in refrigerator to firm up until ready to use.

Charcoal Dark Chocolate Choux Pastry

Preheat oven to 180C. Prepare a baking tray sprayed with cooking oil. Remove excess oil with a tissue paper. Set aside.
Boil water, milk, salt, butter and sugar in a saucepan.
Add all purpose flour, baker flour.
Over low heat, keep cooking while vigorously stirring with a big spoon for around 3-4 mins. It is ready when it forms a shiny, smooth dough that pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. You should see a skin forming at the bottom of the pan.
Add melted chocolate and charcoal powder. Mix well with a whisk until incorporated.
Let cool in a mixing bowl for around 5 mins. Meanwhile, fully beat the eggs in a measuring cup and set aside.
Using an electric mixer with a beater attachment, beat the dough on medium-high speed and slowly add the eggs (only add around ¼ of the egg mixture each time). When the mixture is well combined and the eggs have been incorporated, add gradually another batch of the eggs mixture and continue beating. Repeat the process until the mixture is thick, shiny and it falls nicely when you lift it up with a scraper. (The amount of egg that you add will vary, depending on the weather or how much the flour absorbs moisture. You might have to add extra egg, or you might have some eggs to hold back.)
Transfer the mixture into a piping bag topped with a round nozzle. Massage the bag with your hand to remove any air bubbles. Hold the bag and nozzle perpendicularly tover the prepared tray, and pipe circles of the desired size. Leave at least 4 cm in between each choux to allow space for expansion.
Take out the prepared cut craquelin and place gently onto the choux.
Bake at 180C for 30-35 mins until risen up and golden. Lower the temperature to 160C, and open the oven door to release the steam for 15 seconds. Close the oven door and continue baking for 10-15 mins until the choux feels firm and dry.
Place the choux in another tray to cool for 10 mins.
Cut the top of the choux with a serrated knife, as the “cap” of the cream puff. Do this step once your choux is cooled and firm enough to cut as it helps the moisture trapped inside to escape and prevent the choux from becoming soggy.
Leave them at room temperature until ready to assemble.

Black Sesame Chantilly Cream (black sesame whipped cream)

If your black sesame is refrigerated and too stiff, microwave it for 10-15 seconds to make it soft. Otherwise, go straight to step 2.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the pure cream and sugar to soft peak.
Fold in black sesame paste and charcoal powder until well mixed.
Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Tofu Creme Patissiere (tofu pastry cream)

Drain water from silken tofu. Blend the tofu until completely smooth. Mix in milk, set aside.
Beat caster sugar, egg, and corn flour with a whisk in a mixing bowl, until pale.
Heat the tofu-milk mixture in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
Gradually add the tofu-milk mixture while whisking into the egg mixture until incorporated. This step is to temper the egg.
Pour the whole mixture back to the saucepan to continue cooking. Add charcoal powder. Stirring with a whisk all the time until the mixture starts to thick and form bubbles. Heat off, whisk in butter.
Let the pastry cream cool in a mixing bowl. Use a plastic wrap to cover the surface of the pastry cream to avoid skin from forming.

Assembly:

Whisk the tofu creme patissiere until smooth and transfer it to a piping bag topped with a round nozzle. Pipe into the cream puff until full. Smoothen the surface with a small palette knife.
Transfer the black sesame chantilly cream to a piping bag topped with a star nozzle. Pipe on top of the cream puff.
Cover with the craquelin “cap” that you previously cut. Do it gently so not to squash the chantilly crema underneath.
Optional: chocolate decoration with black lustre powder.

September 1, 2018September 1, 2018 3 comments

Cupcakes and Muffins Desserts

Honey Lemon Cupcake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Honeycomb

by koalifiedbaking August 11, 2018August 11, 2018

These honey lemon cupcakes with yuzu swiss meringue buttercream are heavenly – light, refreshing and full of citrus flavour – and the additional homemade honeycomb on top gives you a perfect sweet crunch when you bite into it.

Honey Lemon Cupcake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Honeycomb2

Honey Lemon Cupcake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Honeycomb3

I’ve always wanted to try to make desserts with yuzu because i just find it has a floral, citrus aroma that makes it so special among all the citrus. It might still not be a popular item in western countries, but it has always been part of asian culinary culture, especially in Korea and Japan. Yuzu fruits are not readily available in Australia, and I had been on the search of yuzu puree/juice for a while. That said, feeling exhilarated is probably an understatement the moment i saw it on an asian store’s shelf a couple of weeks ago. In this recipe, the subtle incorporation of lemon and honey is just to complement, if not enhance, the yuzu flavour, which is the hero of these cupcakes.

Honey Lemon Cupcake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Honeycomb1

Honey Lemon Cupcake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Honeycomb5

So I guess I should do a little update of my school life here.

TIME DOES FLY. I am now in the superior level – the third and final stage of my certificate III of Patisserie @ Le Cordon Bleu Sydney. During this term, we are focusing more on marzipan, mousse-based cake and entremets (basically, entremet refers to multi-layer mousse cake of various flavour combination and textures). I used to feel terrified of making entremets as the timing was so tight to complete an entremet within a 3.5-hour practical class and my cakes were usually not frozen solid enough for the final glazing. However, as I got to practise more, I’ve learnt to organise better and work faster in the kitchen and I start to feel more in control of things. The cakes that I share below are two of my favourite entremets made at school. The first one is passionfruit and white chocolate entremet that taste luxurious from top to bottom, and the second one is gianduja entremet bursting with tropical flavours.

passonfruit and white chocolate entremet

passionfruit and white chocolate entremet

gianduja entremet1

gianduja entremet

Next week, we are going to have a trial of making our own entremet for our final assessment. It’s the time for all students to show what they’ve learnt in the past nine months and I can’t wait to test my ideas and bring my design into life! Enjoy your weekend!

Honey Lemon Cupcake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Honeycomb4

Ingredients:

For the cupcake

190g all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
130g butter, softened
80g caster sugar
30g honey
2 whole eggs, room temperature
120ml milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 lemon, zest of

For the yuzu swiss meringue buttercream

150g egg whites (around 5 eggs’ worth)
200g caster sugar
280g butter, softened and chopped into small cubes
3 tbsp yuzu juice
1/4 tsp salt

For honey comb

300g granulated sugar
150g honey
80ml water
50g golden syrup
1 tbsp baking soda

Instructions:

For the honey lemon cupcake

Preheat oven to 350°F (175C) . Line pans with cupcake liners.
In a mixing bowl, sift and combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. These are your dry ingredients. Set aside.
In another mixing bowl, using a hand-held mixer or an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter, honey, sugar, and lemon zest on medium high speed until creamy and smooth. This will take around 4-5 mins.
Add eggs, one at a time, and continue beating for 1 min. Add milk and vanilla. Continue beating for 30 secs.
In 3 batches, pour the prepared dry ingredients into the mixture, and gently stir with a spatula until incorporated. Don’t overmix.
Fill cupcake liners to nearly full and bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cupcake’s centre comes out clean.

For the yuzu Swiss meringue buttercream

Add egg whites and sugar to an oil-free bowl. Using a double boiling method, gently heat the egg whites mixture up, while whisking constantly, until temperature reaches 140F (60C). The sugar should have completely dissolved at this stage.
Add the hot egg white-sugar mixture to your electric mixer mixing bowl (oil-free). Whip on high speed until the meringue is thick and glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels cool (this is very important, otherwise the butter you’re about to add it will melt). This will take about 7-10 mins.
Turn to medium-low speed, gradually add the softened butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated. Continue beating until a silky smooth texture is reached. Add yuzu juice and salt, and beat until well combined. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

For the honeycomb

Line a flat, big tray with parchment paper. Set aside until ready to use. And you will need a sugar thermometer.
Put sugar, honey, water, and golden syrup in a large saucepan with enough depth. Cook, while stirring continuously with a spatula, on low heat until all sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to medium high and bring to boil. Cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 154C on the thermometer. Immediately remove from heat and let the bubbles subside.
Add the baking soda and mix thoroughly to let the reaction occur. Many bubbles will form and the mixture will rise so please be careful. Pour the mixture onto the prepared tray and set aside to cool completely.
Break the honeycomb to pieces to your preferences.

Assemble

Pipe the buttercream on top of each cupcake with your favourite nozzle, and top with honey comb pieces.

August 11, 2018August 11, 2018 8 comments

Cakes Desserts

Chocolate Mud Cake with Chocolate Shards, Honey Comb and Salted Caramel Popcorn

by koalifiedbaking July 4, 2018July 19, 2018

Chocolate Mud Cake

This chocolate mud cake with mint chocolate ganache is a GAME CHANGER. It is essentially your familiar mud cake taken to the next level. The cake is incredibly moist and intensely rich in chocolate flavours, and the mint chocolate ganache rounds it off with a hint of freshness.

Chocolate Mud Cake2

I tailor-made this birthday cake for a client whose son is a huge mint chocolate fans like me. *high five* There were two main requests: mud cake, and mint chocolate. Well, I was thrilled about the order as I could let my imagination run free. As you can see the cake has that mysterious, galaxy vibe thanks to the dark theme and gold sprinkles. With the chocolate shards, honey combs and salted caramel popcorn as the extra elements, this cake cake looks luxurious and captivating, unlike an ordinary mud cake. (Secret: I’ve decided to put it on my menu when I have my own patisserie in the future, and I am gonna name it Mud, lol)

Chocolate Mud Cake4

For the cake base, I used the recipe from Cake Paper Party that yields a rich, moist dark chocolate mud cake. If you are interested, I recommend you to take a look at the recipe as explains how she came up with the best mud cake recipe which makes perfect sense. I poured pure cream and baileys onto my left over chocolate cake and it’s sooo good.

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Chocolate Mud Cake3

I considered using Lindt Intense Mint Chocolate for the ganache, but I didn’t because I found it so much sweeter than the normal 70% dark chocolate. Therefore, I decided to introduce the mint flavour by adding mint extract, which went extremely well. That said, however, feel free to leave out the mint extract if you prefer to stick with the original dark chocolate taste. I used to have problems making ganache as it would split once I mixed the hot cream and chocolate together. But now I realise the key to making ganache is to let the cream-chocolate mixture sit for around 3 mins before you gently stir it. Also, try to stir as gently as possible as you don’t want to incorporate too many air bubbles into the ganache.

Thank you for reading and have a good weekend as always!

Ingredients :

Dark Chocolate Cake (the cake batter is enough to pour into two 8 inch cake pans, each cut into two layers)

220g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate, broke into small pieces
350g caster sugar
60g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
300ml hot water
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, room temperature
280g all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mint Chocolate Ganache

2 tbsp mint extract
400g dark chocolate
500ml pure cream
50g soften unsalted butter

Chocolate shards with gold sprinkles

200g dark chocolate (I tempered my chocolate using XX)
Gold sprinkles

Honey comb

300g granulated sugar
150g honey
80ml water
50g golden syrup
1 tbsp baking soda

Salted Caramel Popcorn

100g salted caramel (find the recipe here)
Popcorn *I used the plain microwave-popcorn and mixed it with homemade salted caramel, or you can directly buy salted caramel popcorn if that’s what you prefer

Instructions:

Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350 F (175C). Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with melted butter. Line the pan bottom with parchment paper.
Using a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter and whisk until completely melted and smooth. Alternatively, you can use the microwave, but check every 30 seconds.
Mix the instant coffee powder and hot water. Set aside to let cool a bit until ready to use.
Whisk in sugar and then cocoa powder into chocolate-butter mixture until fully incorporated.
Slowly add hot coffee in 3 additions while whisking constantly until fully incorporate.
Add vanilla and then the eggs( one at a time).
Now, prepare the dry ingredients by sifting flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another mixing bowl with a beater attachment. Beat in low speed for 30 seconds to combine.
While the mixer is still on low speed, slowly pour in the chocolate mixture.
Change to medium high speed, beat for 1 min. Scrap the bottom and continue beating for 30 seconds until smooth.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans, and bake for about 35 mins or until a skewer inserted into the cake’s centre comes out clean.
Let cool in pans for 10 mins before you take the cake out to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Cut each cake into two 1.5-cm thick layers with a cake cutter or serrated knife. Set aside until ready to use.

Mint Chocolate Ganache

Break the chocolate into small pieces in a mixing bowl.
In a sauce pan, boil cream and pour onto the chocolate.
Let sit for 3 mints before gently stirring it until incorporated.
When the mixture is cooled to around 35C. Stir in the butter and whisk until fully mixed.
Cool the mixture using an ice bath until the ganache reaches a pipable consistency.
Put the ganache into a pipe bag with a 6mm round nozzle.

Honey Comb

Line a flat, big tray with parchment paper. Set aside until ready to use. And you will need a sugar thermometer.
Put sugar, honey, water, and golden syrup in a large saucepan with enough depth. Cook, while stirring continuously with a spatula, on low heat until all sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to medium high and bring to boil. Cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 154C on the thermometer. Immediately remove from heat and let the bubbles subside.
Add the baking soda and mix thoroughly to let the reaction occur. Many bubbles will form and the mixture will rise so please be careful. Pour the mixture onto the prepared tray and set aside to cool completely.
Break the honeycomb to pieces to your preferences.

Salted Caramel Popcorn

Mix the salted caramel and popcorns together until the popcorns are evenly coated with salted caramel.

*if your salted caramel is a bit firm, microwave for 20-30 seconds so that they can evenly coat the popcorn.

Tempered Chocolate shards

temper the chocolate and spread it thinly on a tray lined with parchment paper.
Put some gold sprinkles on top of the chocolate before they’re completely set.
Break them into pieces to your liking.

Assemble

Place one layer of cake onto a cake turntable and top it by piping ganache in a swirling motion. Smoothen the ganache with palette knife. Repeat with the second and third cake layer, and then last layer of cake. Frost the cake with remaining frosting.
Decorate with chocolate shards, honey combs and salted caramel popcorn. Enjoy!

July 4, 2018July 19, 2018 8 comments

Cakes Desserts

Earl Grey Honey Cake with Passion Fruit Curd and Toasted Italian Meringue

by koalifiedbaking June 3, 2018June 8, 2018

These mini Earl Grey Honey Cake with Passion Fruit Curd and Toasted Italian Meringue are perfect for an afternoon party to feed your guests! They are bursting with fruity freshness with a subtle citrus tone, not to mention the cake’s melt-in-your-mouth soft texture.

Earl_Grey_Cake_with_Passionfruitcurd_and_Toasted_Meringue3

The background story of this creation can be traced to the madeira cake I made at school at the beginning of this term. Medeira cake is a simple citrus cake served with tea or sweet wine; it has a golden brown surface and light yellow interior, and is characterised by its close crumb structure because of its specific making method. I loved this cake when I first tried it because it got the texture that I liked and it’s so simple yet delicious. Yet, this time for my own creation, I, of course, changed things up a bit with some additional elements to make the cake interesting.

Earl_Grey_Cake_with_Passionfruitcurd_and_Toasted_Meringue

To pair with the sweet, citrus taste from the earl grey honey cake, I decided to use passion fruit curd and some toasted meringue. I have eaten passion fruit desserts before outside but It’s actually my first time to buy passion fruit in my life (I know right..). And I realised I’d been missing out such a great fruit! The moment I cut it open, the fragrance coming out from it was just heavenly and I could instantly well imagine how good it would taste with some greek yogurt and honey for breakfast.

Earl_Grey_Cake_with_Passionfruitcurd_and_Toasted_Meringue2

Also, I also grasped today’s free time to practise tempering chocolate. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but tempering chocolate gives me a headache most of the time and sometimes it gets really frustrating. Luckily, today I did manage to temper chocolate and make some simple decoration successfully. I will need to temper chocolate again the coming week and I hope today’s experience is gonna give me more confidence. Anyway, I hope that you all like this recipe and have a fruitful week ahead of you! (pun intended)

Ingredients (makes around 15 mini cakes) :

Earl Grey Honey Cake

180g cake flour
100g corn flour
80g almond meal
4 earl grey tea bags, loose leaves of
5g baking powder
Salt, pinch of
200g unsalted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
50g honey
1 lemon, zest and juice of
3 whole eggs, room temperature
50g sour cream
100ml milk
1 vanilla pod

Passion fruit curd

1 1/2 cup of Passion Fruit Curd (from Donna Hay’s Passion Fruit Curd Recipe)
3g gelatin
30ml water

Italian Meringue

100g caster sugar
60ml water
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

Earl Grey Honey Cake

Boil milk, 2 bags of earl grey loose leaves, and vanilla beans in a pot. Let it infused until ready to use.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and honey until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest in the last minute of mixing.
Add eggs SLOWLY until all incorporated (only add more eggs until they are fully incorporated or you’d risk curdling the mixture; also, mind that the eggs should be at room temperature/slightly warm to achieve the best result)
While the eggs are mixing, prepare and sift your dry ingredients (i.e. cake flour, almond meal, 2 bags of earl grey loose leaves, baking powder, and salt). Gently fold in dry ingredients into the butter mix until just incorporated (don’t over mix)
Slowly add earl grey-infused milk, lemon juice and sour cream. Mix until just incorporated.
Put the batter into a piping bag and pipe evenly into silicon mould. Tap the mould to release air bubbles. Bake at 180C for 25-30 mins until golden brown. Let cool.

Passion fruit curd

Dissolve gelatin in hot water and add to the passion fruit curd while it’s still warm.
Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until they start to set*

*They set pretty fast so please be ready to pipe when they reach the ideal consistency.

Italian Meringue

Put sugar and water in a small saucepan and do NOT stir. Bring the water and sugar to boil at 118C. When the syrup reaches 115C, simultaneously start whisking the egg whites to soft peaks on a medium speed.
When the sugar reaches 118C, pour it over the egg whites (pour the hot syrup on the side of the mixing bowl to avoid cooking the egg whites). Turn the mixer to high speed and continue beating for about 5-7 mins, until the meringue is cooled down to 50C and glossy stiff peaks have formed.

P.S When you assemble the cakes, you should first pipe the meringue AND toast them, before you pipe the passion fruit curd to avoid melting the curd.

Yum

June 3, 2018June 8, 2018 8 comments

Brownies and Bars Desserts

Boozy Bite – Guinness Double Chocolate Brownies

by koalifiedbaking May 16, 2018June 8, 2018

Another chocolate dessert for you all! These Guinness Double Chocolate Brownies are luxuriously rich and moist, carrying a hint of roasted malt taste from Guinness that intensifies the chocolate flavour of these brownies. If you haven’t noticed, I really like adding alcohol to my desserts for some boozy, delicious treats, and this time I choose to use Guinness – an Irish dry stout that has a distinctive burnt, malty flavour from roasted barley. If you’re interested in alcohol infused desserts, feel free to check out my other posts:

Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Mousse with Baileys Ladyfingers (topped with chocolate soil)

Coconut Rum Pecan Banana Bread

White Wine Poached Pear Almond Tart

Coffee Liqueur Double Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Muffin

Lemon Curd Limoncello Meringue Éclair

As I planned to use this brownie as the base for my Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownie Truffle (recipe coming soon!), I purposely toned down the sweetness of these brownies through using smaller amount of sugar, as well as using chopped dark chocolate that oozes out from the brownies when baked. With the addition of the Guinness, these brownies have a strong malt, and bittersweet chocolaty finish which I personally love. However, if you have a serious sweet tooth, free feel to adjust the sweetness by adding an extra 50g white sugar to the batter. Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll have fun making these delicious brownies for a special occasion! (or anytime really- I mean, who needs a reason to eat brownies?)

Ingredients:

100g butter, softened
60ml vegetable oil
200g white sugar
50g brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
180ml guinness
1 tsp vanilla
180g all-purpose flour
100g cocoa powder
100g chopped dark chocolate

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a square or rectangular baking tray and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, sieve and add flour and cocoa powder. Set aside.
In another mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, vegetable oil, white sugar, brown sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape the mixing bowl in between if needed. This is will about 5 mins.
Reduce speed to medium, add eggs ( one at a time) and beat until well combined.
Add guinness and vanilla, mix until well combined.
Add the prepared flour and cocoa powder, mix until just incorporated.
Fold in the chopped dark chocolate.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray. Bake for 25 mins or until until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Do not overbake. Set aside to cool. Enjoy!

Yum

May 16, 2018June 8, 2018 1 comment

Desserts Recipes

Earthy Soul – Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Mousse with Baileys Ladyfingers (topped with chocolate soil)

by koalifiedbaking April 22, 2018June 8, 2018

If you’re hosting a party soon and looking for a fancy-looking dessert recipe to impress your hungry guests, you’ve found the right place. This Hazelnut Bailey Chocolate Mousse Cup is made of the same rich & smooth hazelnut dark chocolate mousse used for the chocolate semi-sphere I shared before, with devilicious baileys-soaked lady fingers layered between. You think it cannot get any better? How about if I tell you it’s finished off with some crunchy hazelnut chocolate soil on top? Conventionally, people would put mint leaves onto the “soil” but I didn’t have any mint that day so I skipped it. Dig into these layers with a spoon and I promise you it’s one of the most satisfying feelings ever.

I came up with this idea when I was asked to prepare party food for a bunch of young adults. I got so pumped and I thought about what would make the best dessert to get the party going? Alcohol. Duh. Rum, Cointreau, limoncello and Coffee Liqueur are the to-go alcohol that I would use for desserts, but it’s about time I tried THE renowned Baileys, a creamy and smooth Irish whisky-and-cream-based liqueur that is usually served cold (with ice-cream, yum!). As you can all imagine, Baileys is delicious just as it is, but it goes extremely well with chocolate too. I didn’t hold myself back when I was dipping my ladyfingers into Baileys (I mean, why I should I?), so there could be 2 shots of baileys in each cup and everyone loved it. But you’re wary of getting your friends drunk, do try to limit yourself with it.

I made my own ladyfingers this time using the recipe by Anna Olson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezR5UUqiOJc), as I always preferred making things from scratch if possible. But if you’re running out of time or feeling a little bit lazy, feel free to get them in supermarket. For those who don’t know what a ladyfinger is, it is essentially a simple sponge biscuit that resembles the shape of a large finger. It’s commonly used in layered dessert such as Tiramisu, and all sorts of parfaits; or it can be dipped in chocolate and enjoyed as it is. I love it for its subtleness and versatility. Make this boozy mousse cup and get indulged in all the creamy chocolatey goodness!

Ingredients (make 10 mousse cup):

Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Mousse

150g dark chocolate
50g butter
3 egg yolks
6 egg whites
35 caster sugar
25g nutella

Ladyfingers (modified from http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/chocolate-dipped-lady-fingers/12698/)

½ cup (64g) all-purpose flour
5 tbsp (63g) cornstarch
3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
9 tbsp (113g) sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar

Hazelnut Chocolate soil

40g unsalted butter
110g granulated sugar
50g unsweetened cocoa powder
50g hazelnut, finely chopped
¼ tsp salt

Instructions:

Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Mousse

Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate on low heat until melted. Let it cool slightly. Stir in butter and nutella. Set aside.
Using a whisk, lightly beat egg yolks until pale and creamy. Add to the chocolate mixture, mix well.
Using an electric mixer, beat egg white until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat egg white to stiff peaks.
Gently stir in the chocolate-egg yolk mixture (in three additions) into the egg whites, mix until no obvious egg white is visible.
Refrigerate until ready to use.

Ladyfingers (extracted from http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/chocolate-dipped-lady-fingers/12698/)

Preheat the oven to 400 F and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Sift the flour and cornstarch together and set aside. Whip the egg yolks with 3 Tbsp of the sugar until thick and pale and they hold a ribbon when the beaters are lifted. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy, then slowly add the remaining 6 Tbsp of sugar and continue whipping until the whites hold a medium peak when the beaters are lifted.
Fold the whites into the yolk mixtures using a whisk, then fold in the flour until just incorporated. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip and pipe lady fingers onto the prepared trays that are 4-inches long and an inch apart (they will spread a little once piped). Bake for about 8 minutes, until the fingers are an even golden brown. Allow the fingers to cool completely before removing them from the trays.

Hazelnut Chocolate soil

Using a double boiler or microwave, melt butter and allow it to cool to room temperature.
While the butter is cooling, put sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a whisk and set aside.
While whisking, slowly add the melted butter into the sugar cocoa mixture. Continue to mix until the mixture resembles dark soil.
Add the chopped hazelnut and mix to provide the soil texture. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Assemble

Put the hazelnut chocolate mousse in a piping bag with a plain round nozzle, pipe the mousse into the bottom of the cup. Then, break the ladyfingers into pieces (I broke one ladyfinger into 3 parts) and soak them generously in Baileys, and put them on top of the mousse.
Repeat step one to create alternating layers of hazelnut chocolate mousse and Baileys-soaked ladyfingers, with the hazelnut chocolate mousse as the top layer in the end (Save half an inch of space for the chocolate soil).
Cover the top hazelnut chocolate mousse with chocolate soil. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yum

April 22, 2018June 8, 2018 12 comments

Desserts Recipes

Layers of goodness – Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Mousse Sphere (with Coffee Creme Patissiere & White Wine Poached Pear & Crispy Chocolate Base)

by koalifiedbaking March 23, 2018June 8, 2018

This post is all about celebration – about finishing my first basic term @LCB passing all my assessment, about flying to Brisbane in a few days for vacation, and about finally successfully making a mousse sphere for the first time (after contemplating on it for a thousand years). This hazelnut chocolate mousse sphere is my cup of tea, hands down – it marries my favourite flavours into one dessert that tastes absolutely divine. I’ve always wanted to make mousse spheres but I was too scared to, until I recently watched Zumbo’s just dessert which motivated me to be a better “dessert maker”. While I was watching all those amatuer home-bakers produce their eye-opening, beautiful desserts, my heart ached for creating some of my own.

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As I said, this dessert is celebratory, so I decided to apply some of the skills I learnt from school to it. It is also inspired by the Shiny Mirror Glaze Mousse Dome with Crispy Chocolate Base and Ganache Topping created by Cupcake Savvy’s Kitchen. Cutting through the sphere, you get a smooth French hazelnut chocolate mousse, creamy coffee creme patissiere, and a layer of refreshing poached pear that balances the richness & sweetness of chocolate. The dessert’s crunchy texture is provided by a crispy rice puff chocolate base (who doesn’t like indulging him/herself in loads of cocoa rice puffs???), and I finished it off with a shiny chocolate mirror glaze that renders the dessert a sophisticated look. How does that not sound heavenly?

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Special thanks to my friend who made me this stunning board with my baking motto – Simple Ideas, Big Whisks – written on it. <3 hazelnut_mousse_sphere_with_mirror_glaze10

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Realistically speaking, baking at home can be a bit tricky at times because you don’t always get the equipment or tools you need for your recipe. Like this time, I didn’t have a smaller sphere mold for my coffee creme patissiere so I had to carefully spoon it into the large mold, which could create a bit of a problem in terms of even layerings. But well, as as a pastry chef wanna-be, I need to be adaptive and make use of what I’ve got at home. Although the end result isn’t as perfect as I wanted, I am already quite happy with it. Anyway, give this recipe a go – If you are a hard-core chocolate fans, I think you will fall in love with it. Have a good weekend!

Ingredients:

Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Mousse

150g dark chocolate
50g butter
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
35 caster sugar
25g nutella

Coffee Creme Patissiere (coffee pastry cream)

150g milk + 1 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp coffee liqueur
25g egg yolk
25g caster sugar
10g corn flour
10g butter

White Wine Poached Pear

2 fresh pear, cored
300ml white wine
300ml water
60g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 orange, zest of
1/2 cinnamon stick

Crispy Chocolate Base

200g dark chocolate
100g choco rice puff

Chocolate Mirror Glaze

100g sugar
35g cocoa powder
40g water
70g double cream
1 1/2 tsp gelatin
1 1/2 tbsp water

Instructions:

Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Mousse

Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate on low heat until melted. Let it cool slightly. Stir in butter and nutella. Set aside.
Using a whisk, lightly beat egg yolks until pale and creamy. Add to the chocolate mixture, mix well.
Using an electric mixer, beat egg white until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat egg white to stiff peaks.
Gently stir in the chocolate-egg yolk mixture (in three additions) into the egg whites, mix until no obvious egg white is visible.
Refrigerate until ready to use.

Coffee Creme Patissiere (coffee pastry cream)

Using a saucepan, heat milk and instant coffee powder over medium heat and bring it to boil.
While the milk is being heated, add egg yolk, sifted corn flour, caster sugar in a bowl. Mix well with a whisk until you can a thick, creamy consistency.
With a steady mixing motion, pour 1/3 of the milk mixture to the egg mix to temper the egg.
Pour the above mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium heat while whisking vigorously for at least 3 mins, until all starch is cooked. You will know it’s almost ready when it starts to bubble. Continue cooking for 1-2 mins. Remove it from the heat.
Whisk in the butter and coffee liqueur until incorporated.
Pour the custard into a bowl and cover the custard surface with a plastic wrap. This will prevent a skin from forming on top.
Let the custard cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use.

White Wine Poached Pear

Put all ingredients (except the pears) in a pan.
Peel and core pears, gently poach (NOT boil) pears in syrup.
Cook the pears for about 1 hour until they are soft. Use a stick to test every once in a while to see if the pears are done.
When done, take out the pears from the pan to stop the cooking process.
Cut one poached pear into small cubes, and blend the another one into puree or mash it with a fork. Pour the pear cubes into the puree and mix well. Refrigerate until ready for use.

Crispy Chocolate Base

Using a double boiler, melt chocolate on low heat until melted. Pour the chocolate onto the rice puff and shape the mixture into a 2-cm thick layer.
Refrigerate for at least 30 mins, and use a circular cutter that fits the size of the spheres to cut 6 circular bases. Refrigerate until ready to use. (If the base is too hard to cut through, run the cutter in a hot water bath and dry it before usage.)

Chocolate Mirror Glaze

Add gelatin and cold water into a bowl. Stir and set aside until ready to use.
In a saucepan, add sugar, cocoa powder, water and cream. Mix well with a whisk.
Over medium heat, bring the mixture to boil while stirring continuously. Cook for about 2 mins until the mixture is smooth and no lump is visible.
Turn off the heat, add the gelatin mix and stir well.
Set aside and let cool to at least 35 C for usage.

Assembly

Put the hazelnut chocolate mousse into the mold. Smoothen out the surface with a spoon until you can an even layer as the outer layer of the sphere. Freeze for 15 mins.
Then, put the coffee creme patissiere in the mold. Freeze for 15 mins.
Then, pour the pear mixture into the mold. Leave some space for the next step of closing the sphere with the hazelnut chocolate mousse. Freeze for 15 mins.
Then, close all the spheres with a thin layer of the hazelnut chocolate mousse. Smoothen the surface with a off-set spatula. Freeze for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight to let it set completely.
Carefully push the spheres out of the mold and put them on to a cooling rack. Pour the mirror glaze (at 35 C). Set it set. And put the glazed sphere on to the circular chocolate base.
Sprinkle some chopped hazelnut on top as decorations.

Yum

March 23, 2018June 8, 2018 8 comments

Cakes Desserts Recipes

Zuger Kirschtorte with a raspberry twist (with review of the 1st week of final practical assessment @LCB)

by koalifiedbaking March 15, 2018June 8, 2018

Hello again, I’m quite excited about this post because I just had my first practical assessment week and I could do a little review (YAYY!!). One major part of this week’s assessment is making French puff pastry, which was needed to make vol-au-vent, bouchee, and palmier. Learning to make puff pastry myself was quite a journey; yes, it is a long and technical process but hey, it’s actually very fun and rewarding when you see the result. Although I still panicked everytime I used the dough sheeter ( the chance of dropping the pastry on the ground is so high, well at least for me, if you don’t pay enough attention), I successfully produced puff pastry products that rose beautifully and were flaky and buttery :). Sorry that I didn’t take any pictures of them as I was too preoccupied that day.

Other assessment items for the week include linzer torte, baklava, coffee eclairs and fruit flan. I didn’t get to practise on linzer torte because I got sick last week; luckily, it was a rather straightforward dessert with an elegant look. Also, we had to make baklava, a rich buttery dessert made of layers of filo pastry filled with grinded nuts soaked with syrup. I wasn’t a big fan of baklava as I found it too heavy when I first tasted it a few weeks back then, but I realised that it tasted so much better when served cool/cold.

Linzer Torte

Zuger Kirsch Torte (with raspberry twist) 3

Zuger Kirsch Torte (with raspberry twist) 6

Coffee eclairs and fruit flan were the last assessment items for this week. As we did a lot of mise en place the day before (i.e. pastry cream and sweet pastry dough), it was the most relaxing day among all. When I made my eclairs yesterday, my choux pastry got too liquidy as I added too much egg. So I had to quickly make another choux pastry without falling behind my schedule too much. Luckily I got back on track and got to finish and present my items on time. What a relief!

At this point, you may wonder what we will be mainly making for our final assessment next monday. It’s Zuger Kirschtorte. Zuger Kirschtorte is a traditional layer cake from Switzerland with layered with japonaise (almond-meringue), kirschwasser flavoured génoise sponge, and buttercream. Normally, the outer layer of the cake is coated with flaked almond as well. I absolutely love this cake because of its intricate complexity – it is layered with various elements working together to create beautiful textures and flavour combinations.

Zuger Kirsch Torte (with raspberry twist) 5

For the recipe I am sharing here*, it holds the essence of the cake with a raspberry twist. I decided to incorporate raspberry to the cake for three reasons. Firstly, the buttercream has to be pink for the final assessment, maybe for aesthetic reasons (?), so I reckon raspberry would be a good choice to fit the color. Secondly, the tangy and sweet flavours of raspberry would complement the richness of buttercream perfectly. Thirdly, they look so damn good as decoration no? This cake is perfect for celebration, especially when it’s in this ridiculously adorable pink color haha. Finger crossed that I can successfully finish making this cake next monday! Enjoy the weekend 🙂

*Recipe and Instructions given are adapted from those provided by Le Cordon Bleu. Zuger Kirsch Torte (with raspberry twist) 2

Zuger Kirsch Torte (with raspberry twist) 4

Génoise sponge

Ingredients:

100g whole eggs, room temperature
65g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
65g plain flour
20g melted butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven at 190C.
Grease and line a 6 inch pan.
Using an electric mixter, mix eggs, vanilla, and sugar on medium speed until thick and pale (or ribbon stage is reached).
Fold in sifted flour and melted butter alternatively. Gently mix until no flour is visible.
Pour batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake at 190C for 15-18 mins until golden brown, or when a skewer inserted into the cake’s centre comes out clean. Let cool and unmold the cake. Cut a slice of the cake (around 2 cm thick) with a serrated knife; set aside.

Japonaise

Ingredients:

95g egg whites
60g caster sugar
pinch of cream of tar tar
20g corn flour, sifted
95g ground almond
70g caster sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven at 170C.
Using an electric mixer (make sure the whisk and bowl are oil-free), beat egg whites and cream of tar tar on high speed until stiff. Gradually add in sugar and mix for another 2 mins.
Mix corn flour, ground almond, and caster sugar in a bowl. These are your dry ingredients; set aside.
Fold in half of the egg white mix to the dry ingredients. Mix gently.
Add the remaining egg white mix and gently blend until just incorporated. Important: be as gentle as you can in this step. Don’t overmix to avoid the mixture from becoming too thin.Put the batter into a piping bag with a plain round nozzle. Pipe two 6 inch discs onto silicone paper.
Bake at 170C for 20-25 mins until golden brown.

Kirsch syrup

Ingredients:

50g caster sugar
50g water
30ml kirsch

Instructions:

Bring the sugar and water to the boil.
When cooled, add the Kirsch.

Raspberry vanilla italian buttercream

Ingredients:

160g caster sugar
40ml water
100g egg white
250g unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped to small cubes
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp raspberry jam
few drops of red food coloring

Instructions:

In a medium pot, boil sugar and water.
When syrup reaches 110 C, start whisking egg whites with an electic mixer on high speed.
When syrup reaches 118C, add syrup in a fast stream (be careful with the hot syrup!) to the egg whites. Continue whisking until the mixture is light and cooled to room temperature.
Add butter to the italian meringue piece by piece. Add raspberry jam. Continue mixing until no butter cubes are visible, and the buttercream is smooth and creamy.
Set aside for frosting.

Homemade raspberry jam (can substitute store-bought jam):

Ingredients:

125g fresh raspberry
125g sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

Bring sugar and raspberries in a saucepan on high heat for around 2 mins until all sugar has dissolved. Mash raspberries with a fork as you go.
Turn to medium heat, continue to cook the jam until it’s thickened enough to your liking.
Turn off heat. Add lemon juice and mix well.
Transfer the jam into airtight jar for later use.

Assembly

Assemble gateau using two discs of japonaise sandwiched with raspberry jam, buttercream and Genoise sponge soaked with kirsch syrup.

In other words,

Firstly put a disc of japonaise as the cake base.
Then, pipe 1 cm thick of italian buttercream. Spread raspberry jam on top of italian buttercream.
Add the sponge cake. Generously brush the kirsch syrup onto the sponge cake until it’s well soaked.
Repeat step 2.
Put the 2nd disc of japonaise on top of the sponge cake.
Frost the cake with italian buttercream and decorate it with garnishes to your liking.

Choice of garnish

Flaked almond
Fresh raspberry
Chopped roasted pistachios

Yum

March 15, 2018June 8, 2018 6 comments

Desserts Recipes Tarts and Pies

Drunk in Style – White Wine Poached Pear Almond Tart

by koalifiedbaking March 4, 2018June 8, 2018

It’s been a while, everyone. I am really glad that I’m finally sharing a recipe I learnt from school with you all. This week, our teacher demonstrated how to make this French-style white wine poached pear almond tart (Pear Bourdaloue); I absolutely loved it and I knew I had to recreate it for myself.

White-wine-poached-pear-almond-tart4

Making tarts hasn’t been my strong suit, because up until now I haven’t fully grasped the techniques of handling and rolling pastry. Thanks to school, I had to squarely deal with all my weaknesses and practice. Cope with the huge difference between last year’s baking experience and that of this year isn’t easy either. In LCB, I am constantly introduced all sorts of pastry items that never existed in my world due to my limited exposure to the culinary world. Honestly, the feelings of inadequacy could be overpowering at times, but so is the sense of excitement burning in my heart that I know I just have to keep learning and getting better. For those who are curious about what I’ve made at school for the past few weeks, I’ve attached couple photos at the end of this post as promised.

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About the tart itself, I know in many sense it matches with autumn theme more, but when you want to eat tarts who cares about the time? Sweet and soft pears shall be the star of this tart – they are beautifully spiced by cinnamon and cloves, with the addition of tangy, sweet flavour thanks to the white wine, as well as lemon and orange peel. Poaching pears requires correct time, temperature and patience. You want soft, sweet, flavoured pears that are not cooked to become mushy in the end. Having the pears together wIth the nutty almond cream at the bottom is simply delicious. I like having this tart when freshly baked (preferably with vanilla ice-cream on top, yummmm), but it’s purely my own preferences. I hope you will enjoy this recipe!

White Wine Poached Pear (Can be made the night before)

Ingredients:

6 fresh pears
500ml water
500ml white wine
250g sugar
peel of 1 lemon
peel of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick (or 1 tsp ground cinnamon)
1 clove (or ⅛ tsp ground cloves)

Instructions:

Put all ingredients (except the pears) in a pan.
Peel and core pears, gently poach (NOT boil) pears in syrup.
Cook the pears for about 1 hour until they are soft. Use a stick to test every once in a while to see if the pears are done.
When done, take out the pears from the pan to stop the cooking process. Reserve the liquid. When both the pears and liquid have cooled, let the pears continue soaking in the liquid. Keep in fridge until ready to use.

Sweet Pastry Dough (this recipe makes two tart shells):

Ingredients:

225g unsalted butter
142g sugar
90g eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla essence
375g bakers flour
Pinch of salt
45g almond meal

Instructions:

Cream butter and sugar by hand or with a mixer until well combined.
Adds eggs (one at a time) and vanilla. Mix.
Mix in sifted flour and almond meal to form a dough.
Wrap it with plastic and keep in refrigerator to set and rest for at least 30 mins. (the gluten in the dough needs to rest or the pastry will shrink when baked)
Preheat your oven to 180C.
Lightly flour your working surface. Roll out the pastry to 2.5-3mm thickness. Line a 8 inch tart pan with sweet pastry. Poke littles holes with a folk on the pastry’s base to avoid air bubbles from forming when the pastry is baked. Refrigerate to rest the pastry for 20 mins.
Bake the pastry for 12-15 mins until golden brown.
Let cool and set aside.