A sweeter year
I’m back to the battle field. I take a look at everything around me and I get ready for a new year.
Sweet days will come!…
Coconut and cardamom puddings
320 ml coconut milk
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
60 g sugar
Grinded cardamom or cardamom seeds, as desired
Lichees and green pistachio to decorate
Pre-heat the oven to 180º C.
Pour some water into a large pan (for a double-boiler).
Prepare a caramel and pour it into the bottom of small pans.
Combine eggs and sugar.
Bring the coconut milk to boil with the cardamom seeds. Seive and pour into the egg mixture.
Pour into the coated pans.
Bake in a double-boiler for 40 minutes or until firm.
Unmould when cold.
Strawberry fields forever
I’ve kidnapped Spring… in a one-bite pleasure…
Strawberry fields
Pâte sablé
Makes 24 (5 cms diameter)
40 g egg yolks
60 g icing sugar
62.5 g butter, softened
84 g wheat flour
5 g baking powder
1.5 g salt
Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC.
Combine butter with sugar until creamy.
Add the egg yolks (one by one).
Gently seive the salt with flour and baking powder into the egg mixture, mixing constantly.
With a pastry bag pour the mixture into small moulds.
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Almond jelly:
Makes 24 (4cms diameter):
300 ml milk
75 ml cream
75 g almonds, powdered
75 g sugar
7.5 gelatin sheets (15 g)
Grease (with vegetable oil) 24 small pans (or use silicon pans).
Hydrate the gelatin and dry well.
Combine all the ingredients and bring to heat until cooked.
Remove from heat and add the gelatin, stirring constantly to completely dissolve the gelatin.
Pour this mixture into the pans.
Refrigerate until firm.
Place the jelly over the pâte sablé discs.
Decorate with strawberry and pistachio.
Brush with a neutral glaze.
Mamma mia
Stretches, rolls, unfolds in chocolate…
Chocolate tagliatelle with chocolate sauce
Serves 4:
200g wheat flour + flour
2g salt
2-3 eggs
40g icing sugar
50g powdered cocoa
3 l water (to cook the tagliatelle)
20g butter
50g icing sugar to sprinkle
Sieve the flour with salt to a bowl. Set aside.
Whisk the eggs.
Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa into the whisked eggs and combine well.
Pour the egg mixture into the flour and work by hand into a smooth paste.
Leave in the fridge for 90 minutes wrapped tightly in wrap film.
Gently flour the work surface and cut the dough in 3 pieces.
Stretch the dough with the rolling pin until very thin.
Spread more flour on the stretched dough and roll it tightly.
Cut 5mm wide ribbons from the rolled dough and unfold them onto a gently floured dry cloth, for 30 minutes.
Heat the water in a saucepan and boil the tagliatelle for a few minutes (as soon as they come up they are ready).
Dry the pasta in a large colander.
Sautée with butter and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Chocolate sauce:
Makes 500 ml:
130 g 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
250 ml water
70 g icing sugar
125 ml double cream
Combine well all the ingredients and bring to boil in medium heat stirring constantly.
Reduce to low heat and cook until creamy and it stays at the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat and serve immediately.
You could also let it cool down at room temperature, strring occasionally.
You can keep it in the refrigerator for two weeks on an hermetic container.
To serve, place it in a double boiler, stirring occasionally.
Source: Pierre Hermé
Gnocchi for Fall
Romantic and melancholic, Fall always tastes like sunset…
The decline of days in a warm colours degradé and bigger nights escort my increasing sleep.
Cold’s arrival doesn’t cheer me up… I always feel some ceremony with coats and unconfortable with this restart.
Nevertheless I can’t avoid the dry leaves crackling, some rain kisses and my crush on chestnuts…
Chestnut gnocchi with hazelnut and milk chocolate sauce
Makes 65 gnocchi:
250 g chestnuts, peeled
250 ml whole milk
10 g butter
50 g wheat flour
30 g sugar
12 g manchego cheese, grated
1 egg yolk
Water to cook the gnocchi
1 vanilla bean
25 g butter
40 g icing sugar
Combine the butter with the vanilla seeds.
Bring the chestnuts and milk to low heat for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked.
Purée the chestnuts.
While warm combine the chestnut purée with all the other ingredients.
Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface.
Roll out the dough into a 3 cms wide rope. Cut this rope into 3 cms pieces.
Gently place the tines of a fork over each gnocchi.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
Add the gnocchi.
Gnocchi are cooked when they start to float.
Sauté with butter and vanilla and sprinke with icing sugar.
Hazelnut and chocolate milk sauce
200 g milk chocolate, chopped
100 g cream
50 g hazelnuts
Pre-heat the oven to 150ºC.
Spread the hazelnuts over a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
Wrap the hazelnuts with a kitchen cloth and scrub to peel.
Grind the hazelnuts while warm to paste.
Combine the hazelnut paste with chocolate.
Bring the cream to boil.
Pour the cream into the hazelnut chocolate mixture and stir well.
Place the gnocchi on a plate and serve with the hazelnut and milk chocolate sauce.
Decorate with roasted hazelnuts.
Serve immediately.
Tocino de cielo
I who am always toiling and endeavouring
to seem that I have as a poet
the grace that Heaven did not grant me…
Miguel de Cervantes, Journey to Parnassus, 1614
Tocino de Cielo
Makes 24 small moulds (4 cms diameter) or a large pan (to serve 8):
12 egg yolks
300 g sugar
250 ml water
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Bring the water to boil with the sugar for 5 minutes or until it reaches 103-105ºC.
Coat the inside of the moulds with this syrup and set aside the remaining syrup.*
Whisk the egg yolks and gently pour the remaining syrup stirring constantly.
Seive.
Pour the mixture into the moulds and cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in a bain-marie for 40 minutes or until a needle comes out clean.
Unmould when cold.
* you could make a caramel to coat the moulds and use all the syrup in the egg mixture.
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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