Apricots’ time
Fine apricot cut for roofbeam
Fragrant cogongrass tie for eaves
Not know ridgepole in cloud
Go make people among rain
Fine apricot was cut for the roofbeam,
Fragrant cogongrass tied for the eaves.
I know not when the cloud from this house
Will go to make rain among the people.
Fine Apricot Lodge, Wang Wei
White chocolate ganache with apricots and lime
Serves 6:
Crumble:
50 g softened butter
50 g light brown sugar
50 g powdered almonds
1 maldon
50 g wheat flour
Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine all the ingredients until smooth.
Reserve for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Seive the dough with a large sized mesh directly over the baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Set aside.
White chocolate ganache with apricots and lime:
8-10 apricots
2 limes
40 g light brown sugar
180 g white chocolate, chopped
150 ml cream, 35% fat
Peel, pit and dice the apricots.
Sautée the apricots over high heat.
Add the juice of the 2 limes, the light brown sugar and the zest of 1/2 lime.
Cook for 4 minutes and remove from heat.
Place the apricots at the bottom of 6 ramekins.
Bring the cream to boil with the zest of 1/2 lime.
Pour 1/3 of the cream over the chocolate and combine well until smooth. Repeat this process twice.
Pour the white chocolate ganache over the apricots.
Top with the crumble.
Serve warm or cold.
Couscous, raspberry caramel and greek yoghurt
Lost in Maghreb…
Serves 6:
Couscous:
75 g pre-cooked couscous
120 g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
200 g cream (35% fat)
Cook the couscous following the package directions.
Bring the cream to boil.
Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and stir gently until smooth.
Combine the couscous with the ganache.
Raspberry caramel:
80 g sugar
250 g raspberries
Bring the sugar to boil on a heavy bottomed pan until it caramelizes.
Remove from heat and add ¾ of the raspberries.
Add the remaining raspberries.
Greek Yoghurt
300 ml greek yoghurt
60 g icing sugar
Place the couscous into the bottom of a glass. Pour the raspberry caramel and top with the sweetened greek yoghurt.
“la vie en rose”
Because Spring has pink arms that always touch the sky…
Strawberry Charlotte
Serves 6:
Syrup:
200 g sugar
200 g water
Bring the water and sugar to boil for 5 minutes or until the sugar is completely disolved.
Remove from heat and let it cool down.
Sponge cake:
5 eggs
117 g sugar (33 g + 84 g)
83 g wheat flour
50 g cornstarch
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Grease and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Seive the flour with the cornstarch. Set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks with 33g of sugar until thick. Set aside.
Whisk the egg whites and add the sugar until firm and glossy.
Gently fold in the yolks mixture into the whites’ mixture.
Gently fold in the flours.
Spread a thin layer of the dough over the pan.
If needed use a spatula to make it even.
Bake for 5 minutes.
Strawberry mousse:
75 g strawberry pulp
5 g gelatin (2.5 sheets)
80 g sugar
325 g cream
Bloom the gelatin.
Heat a part of the pulp with sugar and dissolve the gelatin.
Semi-whip the cream and gently fold it into the previous mixture.
Pour this mixture into a pastry bag.
Strawberry jelly:
500 g strawberry jam
8 g gelatin (4 sheets)
Heat the jam without boiling.
Sieve and fold in the blossomed gelatin.
Use while warm.
Presentation:
Line the interior of the cake rings with food-safe acetate.
Cut stripes of the sponge cake the size of the cake rings and circles for the bottom.
Line the cake rings (bottom and sides) with the sponge cake.
Brush generously with the syrup the inner side of the cake.
Fill the ring with the strawberry mousse.
Top with the strawberry mousse.
Freeze.
Remove the acetate while the cake is still frozen.
Refrigerate until serving time.
Amour et crème brulée
Weekend stretches itself in an enormous smile.
Everything is genuine, unique and perfect.
Ah, L’Amour…
Crème Brûlée
Serves 8 (170 ml ramekins):
1 l cream (35% fat)
2 vanilla beans
12 egg yolks
180 g sugar
Brown or granulated sugar to caramelize top.
In a medium-sized saucepan bring to boil over low heat the heavy cream combined with the vanilla beans and the vanilla beans’ seeds.
Remove from heat and let it rest for 15-30 minutes.
Remove vanilla beans.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick.
Gently pour the cream over the egg mixture while stirring.
Bring to low heat until the mixture sticks t the back of a spoon.
The mixture shouldn’t boil (ideally it should be below 85ºC).
Remove from heat and pour the mixture into the ramekins.
Cover with film wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To serve put a thin layer of granulated or brown sugar atop each custard.and use a blow torch to caramelize it.
This should be a quick procedure to avoid the heating of the crème.
Ramekins could be refrigerated for 1 hour (maximum).
Hojarasca con Manjar
“[Die slowly] He who becomes the slave of habit,
who follows the same routes every day (…)”
Pablo Neruda
…today I’m heading to South America…
This is a typical dessert from Chile.
In Argentine it’s called Rogel and is usually topped with meringue.
Hojarasca con Manjar
Pastry:
225 g wheat flour
60 g butter, melted and cold
60 g white wine
4 egg yolk
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine all the ingredients until smooth.
Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Roll out the dough over a lightly floured worksurface to 1mm thick.
Cut the dough with the desired shape and size.
Pinch the pastry with a fork and bake for 5 minutes or until light brown.
Dulce de leche (traditional way)
3l milk
1 vanilla bean (seeds)
800g sugar
½ tsp baking soda
On a heavy-bottomed pan bring the milk, vanilla bean and sugar to boil until sugar dissolves itself.
Add the baking soda and keep boiling.
When the mixture starts to thicken, stir constantly.
Stir ocasionally for 3 hours until it reduces its volume and get a brown tone.
Remove from heat and stir until cold.
Dulce de leche (simpler way)
1 condensed milk can
Place the can totally immersed in water on a pan.
Bring to boil over high heat.
Reduce to low heat and keep boiling for 3 1/2 hours.
Add water as needed.
Open the can when completely cold (very important!).
You can also use a pressure cooker.
Italian Meringue
450g sugar
120ml water
230g egg whites
a pinch of salt
Combine 340g of the sugar with the water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Continue cooking without stirring, until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage (116ºC).
Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a wire whip attachment and whip the whites on medium speed until frothy.
Gradually add the remaining 110g sugar and beat the meringue to medium peaks.
Add the syrup to the meringue in a slow and steady stream while whipping on medium speed.
Whip on high speed to stiff peaks. Continue to beat until completely cold.
Assembly:
Spread generously the dulce de leche over a pastry layer (it’s easier if you heat the dulce the leche to avoid breaking the pastry).
Place another pastry layer on top and repeat this operation as many times as you want.
Top with the meringue. Use a torch to brown the meringue.
A pinch of vanilla, eggs, sugar and cocoa... Unmeasured words, seasoned silences... stir all that I am and set aside in bain marie...
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