Les cerises... PART I

One of the joys of living in Europe again is the produce. I am lucky enough to have ready access to all sorts of fruit plants and trees...
Including... CHERRIES!!! The question is what to make with all of the beautiful fruit before the birds steal it all...

Something to look forward to...

I am addicted to food magazines. When I was packing up all of my worldly goods before moving back home to my mum's house in January, I realised that I have every Gourmet Traveller from 2007, a good couple of years worth of Delicious, Donna Hay and BBC Good Food. In October 2008, the following cover of Vogue Entertaining & Travel caught my eye. I bought every issue of that magazine until they stop publiching it (I know - I was disapointed too!) Of course as soon as I saw this in the cover, I knew that it would have to be my 24th birthday cake. Of course, time has moved on since then!
The cake was surprisingly easy to make - and that is even using powedered gelatine! I had yet to discover the wonders of leaf gelatine back in 2008. My crystalised rose petals aren't quite up to VE&T standards, but I love them all the same for the story behind how I made them. My mum had forgotten to buy pink roses for me, so on her way walking home from work, she did a very quick dash and grab from a neighbour's garden. I'm sure the roses were leaning over the footpath making them fair game :)

All in all, the cake was an incredible! There was not a single morsel left. I dreamed of this cake afterwards - it was that good! I looked for any excuse to make this cake again. Finally, an occaison presented itelf. Every year, with my girlfriends we have a Christmas lunch to celebrate another year. As none of us are big fans of the traditional Christmas pudding, I decided to give the cake another run. Again, a success! As well, as my girlfriends, my wonderful boyfriend came along to sample the dessert I had slaved over making.

He was in love with it. In fact, he still talked about this cake months and years after I made it! Which, given we are in a long distance relationship and one of the things I missed the most was cooking for him, was so lovely! One of the things I was really looking forward to was making this cake for him again.

On Wednesday night I had my chance! I adapted the recipe to make use of Belgium's famous dark chocolate and the homegrown raspberries from my boyfriend's family home. It was again a success! A bit richer this time, but given the quantity of chocolate I used in both the ganache and the mascarpone mixture, I wasn't surprised...

I'm already trying to find another excuse to make this cake again...

The recipe can be found at the link below

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/22001/stawberry+layer+cake

Vive la cuisine francaise!

I love French food! This may not come as a surprise if you look at some of the recipes I have included on this blog. For the majority of my life, I have been a serious Francophile. I love the language, food, culture, wine, fashion... In short if it is French I love it!

I took a year off university in the middle of my degree - to go and study, work and live in the French Alps. I always loved French (as interpreted by Australian restaurants!) cuisine - but it wasn't until I got over there that I disovered the full range and diversity of French cuisine.
Being based in the Alps, I learnt about cheese, saucisson and of course, more cheese! I fell in love with reblechon, ate more than my body weight in raclette and learnt a very important lesson - never drink with water with fondue, wine only of course!

During that year in France, I ventured further afield to sample the delights of freshly ground north african spices and freshly marinated olives in Antibes, oysters straight out of the water shucked by own hands, les rattes - the most delicious potato - dug from the ground minutes before being washed of and sauted in a hot pan. I enjoyed the sights, sounds and tastes of Paris on as many occaisons as I could and ventured into the southwest for my first ever taste of luscious foie gras in the Perigeux , sweet as can be fraises des boises and liquid gold in the form of Sauternes et Monbazilliac.

I could go on an on - but some of most vivid memories of food revolve around the French countryside in all it's forms. Mid- last year I returned with my boyfriend to explore the wonders of the Cote du Rhone valley and the island of Corsica... I managed to find some old favourites and some new inspiration on the way...Chestnuts, honey, herbs.... I can't wait to show how I used these once I came back to Australia. In the meantime, I will leave you with some of the great meals I had on my trip...

In Provence, we indulged in many a glass of Cote du Rhone - red, white and rose! We thouroughly enjoyed a visit to the beautifl Domaine Saint Nabor, found a beautiful farmstyle restaurant in Godargues!Simplicty at it's best!!! Fresh river trout - grilled whole with lemon, fries and mayonnaise and more of that delivious Cote du Rhone!

French champagne, a market pot-luck lunch, goats cheese and jamon fume... summer on a plate!
I can't wait to go back!!!!!

Et en fin... Inspiration 101

It's been awhile... Between work and life, things have just gotten in the way of blogging...
So I thought I would share some of my inspiration with you. Or rather, a person who inspires me.
I worked with Lawry - waitressing at his restaurant - while I was studying. He simply makes the most beautiful food, and is always happy to talk and discuss food - sharing the benefit of his knowledge! From looking, watching and talking with Lawry I have learnt so much! A fabulous creme brulee is one of those things...

So, what makes Lawry's creme brulee so wonderful? Texture and surprise. By pouring the toffee over the custard instead of blowtorching sugar to form a "crust", you get crack and crunch which is of course the attaraction to creme brulee!! The surprise comes in the form of different flavour combinations... Of course nothing beats that vanilla hit, but one thing Lawry tought me is how to build flavours into a dish and to pleasantly surprise the diner! Try layering the flavours in the custard, try giving them something unexpected!

In this variation, I have used Frangelico to give pleasant mellow nuttiness to the custard, and I deepened this by putting some crushed toasted hazelnuts on top of the firm custard, but underneath the toffee crust. The almost-but-not-quite hazelnut praline topping gives the Frangelico something to bounce off!

Hazelnut Crème Brulée
3 egg yolks
225mL milk
3 1/2T caster sugar
1T plain flour
1tsp vanilla bean paste2T Frangelico
150g hazelnuts, chopped roughly
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water

Heat milk in saucepan over low heat, slowly bringing the milk to boil. At the same time beat caster sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Incorporate flour until well combined. Add hot milk, and whisk mixture over low heat until mixture thickens. The consistency should be thick enough to leave a ribbon of custard. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and Frangelico. Pour custard into ramekins, leave to cool.
Toast hazelnuts lightly in a dry frypan. Set aside. Place sugar and water in a saucepan, heat until sugar dissolves (do stir the pan!) and continue heating until a toffee is achievedScatter toasted hazelnuts over cooled custard, pour a thin layer of toffee over the top. Leave to set

Ma petite robe noire... Canapes!

Do you ever have those recipes which just work? The ones that you know everyone will love without even thinking about it? I was given a cookbook for my birthday a few years ago, Ma Petite Robe Noire. This fabulous French cookbook by Trish Deseine is a collection of basics such as stocks and sauces and of, course, her stand-by recipes! The idea is that every cook should have a few fail safe recipes, just like every woman should have "une petite robe noire" (little black dress) in their wardrobe for those occasions when nothing else seems to work for you. Over the years I have definitely accumulated a few "little black dress" recipes of my own which I gradually share over upcoming posts.

These beautiful little tartelettes are so fresh and summery - absolutely perfect for the warm autumn weather we have been having of late. Keep in mind that these rely on super fresh ingredients - great tomatoes are the key! Though you can use ready-made basil pesto, homemade is vastly superior (you can ask my baby sister - I had to wrestle the spoon away from my sister - she couldn't get enough of it!) You can make the pastry cases and pesto earlier, and assemble at the last minute. What more could you ask for?




Tomato, Basil and Bocconcini Tartelettes

12 grape tomatoes, halved
6 bocconcini, halved

Pâté brisé
100g plain flour
50g butter
Iced water
Basil Pesto
1 bunch basil (reserve some of the small leaves and flower-y heads)
2T parmesan, grated
2T pine nuts, toasted
1 clove garlic
Salt
75mL olive oil

Combine flour and butter until you get a crumb like mixture. Add a little water until the mixture comes together as a dough. The less you work the dough, the better the texture will be! Rest the pastry for half an hour in the fridge.
Roll out the pastry and line your tartelette cases (I used a mini cupcake pan for this). Prick the pastry lightly and bake for 10-12 mins or until golden
To make the pesto, crush the garlic and a pinch of salt together in a mortar and pestle. Add pine nute and parmesan and pound further. Add half the basil leaves and half of the oil, continue pounding until well combined. Add remaining basil leaves and the rest of the oil, pound agin until well combined.
Spoon a little pesto into each case, top with 2 tomato halves and a piece of the bocconcini. Top with the reserved basil leaves.
Occasionally I pop the tartelettes back in the oven for a few minutes (without the basil leaves of course!) if I want something a bit warmer. Either way they are delicious!

Makes 12

Mastering Macaroons

Macaroons are beautiful (End point - no arguments!). I first came across these beautiful jewel coloured treats in patisseries when I was living in France. Needless to say, I very quickly became addicted to their slightly chewy texture and vibrant flavours (my personal favourite is violet and cassis - last tome I was in Paris we splurged in Laduree as you can see below!)

Since I have joined the world of food blogging I have been reading about how hard and tempremental these babies are to make at home. With my sister , we decided to spend a weekend mastering the art of the macaroon (at least for home cooks anyway!)

Armed with lots of egg whites and almond meal, a tried and true recipe and a whole day, we set about it. And guess what? We did it! Our little babies had feet and tasted delicious - so maybe my hand isn't the steadiest in piping small circles of batter, but the texture was wonderfully chewy and the lemon and line clearly shone through the sugar and the almonds.

I think I'm going to have to say it...

My macaroons were a success!

Lemon and lime macaroons

3 egg whites

50g caster sugar

200g icing sugar

110g almond meal

Zest of 1 lime and 1/2 a lemon

Lemon curd, to fill (my sister made this, and it was amazing!)

1. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add caster sugar to egg whites until a glossy merengue forms. If you tip the bowl upside down, nothing should fall out!

2. Sift icing sugar and almond meal together twice to make sure you have a fine homogenous mixture. Add to merengue along with zest. Fold aggressively for about 10 "turns" to incorporate the almonds into the merengue. Continue folding for another 35 turns. Lift a small bit up, if the tip fades after about 30 seconds, then you are good to go! Otherwise, do a few more turns and test again.

3. Fill a piping bag with the mixture, pipe small rounds onto lined baking tray. Once complete, let tray "proof" for about an hour.

4. Pop the macaroons into a 150 degree Celsius oven for 10-12 minutes.

5. Cool and fill with the lemon curd

Makes about 24 macaroons

Going Home and Tea Time Treat!

I love going home - hanging out with my family and generally relaxing (and being spoilt by my mum of course!) And, I think they like it when I come back and cook for them all as well!

I have been very inspired by the last of the stone fruit that is slowly getting harder and harder to find. I adore peaches and wanted to try something a little different. I have been reading these two blogs obsessively and both often feature fruit mouses in their summer recipes.

Then, whilst shopping for baking supplies - my sister and I were having our first try at baking macaroons - I found the most gorgeous mini tartelette cases that I just had to buy. So requirement number to go with the fruit based mousse - some sort of pastry base in my new cases.

The final component... blueberries. I love Nigella Lawson and - like me - she thinks that peaches and blueberries are a match made in heaven! So I garnished these tartlettes with blueberries.


I left the tartelettes in the fridge until the light was right for photographing them... And then I came back to get them ready. A few were missing... apparantly my mum couldn't wait for afternoon tea!

These two are the other reason I like to come back as well... My wonderful dogs have the most beautiful personalities (and they love food too!)

Peach and Blueberry Tartelettes

½ quantity pâte sucrée (use this recipe, replacing the cocoa with plain flour)
2.5T water
¼ cup sugar
3 egg yolks
2 gelatine leaves, soaked in cold water
250mL thickened cream
2 peaches, pureed
Blueberries, to decorate

Blind bake pastry in oven (180 degrees) for 10 mins or until golden brown. Leave to cool

Dissolve sugar in water, bring to boil (taking care not to stir the syrup) until syrup reaches soft ball stage.

Lightly whisk egg yolks, add sugar syrup and gelatine leaves and whisk quickly (so egg yolk doesn't cook from the heat of the syrup) until thicknened

Whisk thickened cream until soft peaks form. Stir a quarter of the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture, and fold mixture back into remaining whipped cream. Stir peach puree into cream and egg mixture until well combined.

Spoon or pipe peach mousse into cool pastry cases. Leave to set in the fridge for a couple of hours. Top with blueberries.

Makes approximately 20 tartelettes or 4 individual tarts