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Melba roll

Drama rolls itself… first came in the peach, in a tenor tone, declaiming sweet poems.
Then, like a soprano, came the raspberries in a sour sharpness that carries away all the orchestra.
Lovably, the libreto ends and the opera is touched by the promiss of an endless love.

Melba roll

Serves 12:

Cake layer:
4 eggs
100 g sugar
50 g cornstarch
100 g almonds, powdered
a pinch of salt
75 g butter, melted
Peach jam
Raspberry coulis
Fresh raspberries

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Grease and line with parchment paper a rectangular baking sheet (35×40 cm)
Whisk 1 egg, 3 egg yolks and sugar.
Add cornstarch, powdered almonds and at last the butter.
Gently fold in the egg whites whipped with the salt.
Pour the mixture into the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes.

Unmould the roll and spread evenly the jam on top.
Using wax paper as an aid, roll up cake jelly roll–style, beginning with a long side. Carefully transfer, seam side down, to platter, using wax paper to help slide cake.
Decorate with the raspberry coulis and fresh raspberries.

Raspberry coulis:
70 g raspberries
5 g icing sugar

Place the raspberries and icing sugar into a food processor or blender and blend to a puree.
Pass the puree through a sieve into a bowl.
Refrigerate until required.

Peach jam:
1 kg peaches (peeled and sliced)
800 g sugar
15 g pectin (hydrated)

Bring the sugar to boil with a bit of water
Add the peaches and pectin.
Continue to boil mixture and stir frequently until desired thickness.
To test whether the jam is ready, place a cold metal spoon in the mixture and tilt. The jam should form a single stream.

Quickly pour hot mixture into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1 cm headspace; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process jars in boiling-water bath 10 minutes.

October 23, 2008 | Filed under cakes, muffins and madeleines, fruit desserts and jams | 16 Comments 

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

I’m not a big fan of baked apples but today I’ll make an exception…

Baked apples with mascarpone, Port wine, honey and hazelnuts

4 Egremont Russet apples
1 tbsp Port wine
200 g mascarpone
20 g honey
50 g chopped hazelnuts
Cinnamon and star anise

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Mix together wine, mascarpone, cinnamon and star anise.
Peel the apple and cut in thick slices.
In a baking dish put the apple slices with the mascarpone mixture between them.
Top with the remaining mixture and honey.
Sprinkle with the hazelnuts.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.

October 15, 2008 | Filed under fruit desserts and jams | 5 Comments 

Think pink

Champagne, hibiscus and rooibos infused plums with a raspberry sorbet and a tuile

Infusion:
1 l champagne
200 g sugar
10 plums
10 g hibiscus
20 g rooibos
¼ cinnamon stick

Bring the champagne to boil with sugar until it dissolves (1-2 minutes).
Remove from heat and infuse herbs and cinnamon.
Strain and set aside.

Score each plum by cutting an ‘X’ mark into the skin on one end.
Drop plums into rapidly boiling water for some seconds.
Remove plums to an ice water bath. Cool for a minute.
Easily peel away the skin at the X.
Cut in two halves and destone.

Pour the infusion over the plums.
Marinate for 1 hour, minimum.
Serve chilled.

Raspberry sorbet:

1 1 water
1 kg sugar
1 kg raspberry pulp
Juice of 1 lemon

Bring the water and sugar to boil for 1 minute until it dissolves.
Let it cool down completely.
Mix syrup with the pulp and lemon juice.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream machine or frozen stirring regularly to prevent crystalization.

Orange and almond tuiles

120 g sugar
90 ml orange juice
48 g melted butter
72 g almonds, powdered
Some drops of raspberry juice.

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC.
Combine all the ingredients together.
Pour the mixture over a silpat with the desired shapes and sprinkle with some red fruits juice drops.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
Let them cool down to stiff.

September 14, 2008 | Filed under cookies, biscuits and tuiles, fruit desserts and jams, ice creams and sorbets | 7 Comments 

Citrus Augustus

Orange and grapefruit with peppermint toffee.

Serves 4:

3 oranges
3 grapefruits

100 g sugar
30 ml water
1 Tbsp finely chopped peppermint
100 ml cream

Use a paring knife to remove all the peel, white pith, and membrane from outside the fruit. The flesh should be exposed.
 For each section, cut between the fruit and membrane on each side. Lift out each segment and put them on small serving bowls. Set aside.
Bring the sugar and water to boil until it caramelizes.
Add cream and peppermint while stirring the mixture constantly.
Remove from heat.

Serve the orange and grapefruit with ice cream and peppermint toffee.

August 18, 2008 | Filed under custards, fillings, sauces, and glazes, fruit desserts and jams | 5 Comments 

Italy invited again

Italy returns to her seat for dessert… this time with Malevich, Anna Wright and blackberries.
The suprematism in only one spoon turned everything abstract.

Panna Cotta

serves 10:
250 ml milk
250 ml cream
70 g sugar
1 vanilla bean
2,5 gelatin sheets

Grease 10 individual moulds with oil.
In a pan, stir together milk and cream, setting aside a small portion to hydrate the gelatin.
Add sugar and vanilla.
Bring to boil and remove from heat.
Dissolve the gelatin in the hot mixture.
Pour into individual moulds.
When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before serving.

Unmould carefully.

Blackberry jelly:
250 g balckberries
70 g sugar

Mash berries and strain through cheesecloth, wire mesh strainer or seive.
Add sugar and bring to boil in low heat.

Kazimir Malevich, Rectangle and circle, 1915
Anna Wright, Untitled

August 13, 2008 | Filed under desserts, puddings and soufflés, fruit desserts and jams | 3 Comments 

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