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Meringue on Lemon Curd Meringue Mousse Cake
Lemon Curd Meringue Mousse Cake with Macadamia Crust flat layAs promised, the hero of this post is lemon curd (that hopefully you’ve successfully made at home :p). You won’t believe it, but this beautiful lemon curd mousse cake is downright my proudest creation throughout my 1 ½ -year-baking-life – so it’s already happily sitting on my still-imaginary-cafe’s menu waiting to be ordered and devoured!Lemon Curd Meringue Mousse Cake with Macadamia Crust top view

In my baking philosophy, balance is as important as flavour. The best desserts are those that deliver multiple complementary tastes and textures. In this balancing act, there is meringue and whipped cream, gently folded in, contributing to the lightness of the mousse. Then, I specifically chose macadamia as the cake base as it is crunchy and light. With the help of butter, it keeps the lemon from completely dominating the taste. 

Slice of Lemon Curd Meringue Mousse Cake with Macadamia Crust

So, from top to bottom, you get the marshmallowy softness of meringue, the creaminess of lemon curd, the airy feel of mousse, and the crunch of macadamia. They all come together to create the perfect mousse cake eating experience.

Freshly sliced Lemon Curd Meringue Mousse Cake with Macadamia Crust

All of that aside, don’t get intimidated by the numerous components of the cake. All you need is time and patience – something I didn’t have at all. Even I of all people am still learning to appreciate the beauty of it every time I’m in the kitchen. Good luck, and have lots of fun with this recipe!

Ingredients:

For the mousse:

  • 180g homemade lemon curd *for its instructions, please refer to the previous post
  • 13g gelatin
  • 150g/ml water
  • 5 egg white
  • 180g caster sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tar tar
  • 200ml heavy cream

For the base:

  • 320g macadamia
  • 50g butter, melted  

For the toppings:

  • 50g homemade lemon curd

Instructions:

For the base:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
  2. Line an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
  3. Ground the nuts in a food processor or blender into a semi-fine texture with some crunch left. Add the melted butter. Mix well.
  4. Evenly distribute the mixture on the bottom of the pan and press with a spoon until the base is even and firm.
  5. Bake for 10 mins until golden brown. Set aside and let cool.

For the mousse:

  1. Mix the gelatin powder with water in a small bowl. Slowly melt the gelatin by placing the bowl in a hot water bath; alternatively, you can microwave the gelatin-water mixture for 15-20 seconds.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add lemon curd and gelatin mixture; mix well.
  3. In another bowl, add egg whites, cream of tar tar, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites at high speed until foamy. Gradually add the caster sugar using a tablespoon, and beat until thick and glossy. This will take about 5-7 mins. Gently fold the egg whites into lemon curd mixture in 3 additions.
  4. Using the same bowl and electric mixer, beat cream until soft peaks form (do NOT over mix). Gently fold whipped cream into the mixture in 3 additions.
  5. Pour the mousse mixture into the cooled cake pan. Refrigerate at least for 3.5 hours for the cake to set.

For the lemon curd topping:

  1. Sift 50g of your homemade lemon curd to remove any lumps or zest.
  2. Evenly spread the curd over the top of the cake. Enjoy!! 

*Feel free to put meringue decoration just like I dd

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Stack of Macadamia Nut Butter Avocado Brownies
In case you still don’t know, I LOVE avocado. The worldwide avocado obsession possibly started with the ridiculously endless yet highly addictive avocado toast pictures that flooded Instagram in recent years. But let’s not get too cynical about its fame and take the time to acknowledge the fact that avo is amazing (and nutritious, creamy, delicious, cute, natural). Three Macadamia Nut Butter Avocado BrowniesAs for the recipe, a friend of mine tried this brownie and she said it was a total bomb. Well, it is indeed. You might be worried about the end result when there’s no butter or any liquid oil added to the recipe; relax. The smoothness of macadamia nut butter blended with the creaminess of avocado keeps the final treat moist and gooey – just as how brownies should be.Tray of Macadamia Nut Butter Avocado Brownies

I also wanted this brownie to feel a little bit more “mature”, so I used coffee and good quality dark chocolate to provide a contrast to the sweetness of the white sugar. In the end, there’re so many different textures in every last little mouthful – creaminess from macadamia nut butter and avocado; crunchiness from chopped macadamia; and gooeyness thanks to half-melted dark chocolate. So, even IFFFF you don’t have the biggest sweet tooth, you’re gonna declare this brownie your new bae.

Ingredients:

  • 95g all purpose flour
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 avocado
  • 60g homemade macadamia nut butter *See Note
  • 120g white sugar
  • 2 eggs  
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp instant coffee powder melted in 1 tbsp hot water
  • 1 tbsp almond milk
  • 50g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
  • 100g macadamia, chopped

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line a square pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl, sift in and combine well flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
  3. In another bowl, mash the avocado until smooth with a fork or masher. Add macadamia nut butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, coffee mixture, almond milk. Mix well.
  4. Pour the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients in three batches. Stir the batter gently with a spatula until everything is just incorporated.
  5. Stir in the chopped dark chocolate and macadamia.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared square tin.
  7. Bake the brownie for 18 minutes (don’t overcook brownies!). Take the brownie out from the oven and let cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before any handling.

*Note for macadamia nut butter

Macadamia nut butter is very easy to make as long as you have a blender or preferably food processor.

Instructions:

  • Roast 200g raw macadamia in an oven at 350F (175C) for 8 mins. Blend or process the roasted macadamia until completely smooth and creamy. Store the excess in an airtight jar and put in the fridge.
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