Poire William Mousse with Caramel Biscuit ~ 小巧洋梨餅皮慕斯蛋糕

Can’t believe this year is almost over! Come to think about it, lots have happened and some were life-changing events, bad and good. Nevertheless, I have no regret and am looking forward to the year ahead =)

I said I would try to update this space as often as possible but it seem like I need to try harder, which some of you never failed to remind me ;) So what I have been up to? Well, lets see – working on the launch of my event business, fulfilling orders, planning a baby shower, working on a fashion line and that is about it. How do I toggle between, the answer is loads of sugar and caffeine! Talking about sugar, that would bring us to the dessert that I want to share with you =]


I must admit that I haven’t got round to trying as many new recipes as I would like but this one involving pears is one of the new ones that I tried! It is adopted from one of my Japanese dessert books. I’m not a big fan of pears but thought it looked refreshingly lovely and would give it a go. Nothing complicated involved; you just need to make or buy some caramel for the biscuit, make the biscuit, make the crème anglaise and fold it with whipped cream to make the mousse then flavor it with the Poire William liqueur. Taste wise, the liqueur’s fruity note is in every bite but it is not overpowering. It was good but not great, though others loved it – enough for them to put in requests for more pear-oriented desserts…I’m not sure if I’m ready for more, but maybe given time…

May the Holiday Season bring only happiness and joy to you and your loved ones. Peace On Earth and best wishes throughout the New Year~




Poire William Mousse with Caramel Biscuit – make 8 -10 individual cakes

Caramel Sauce
275g caster sugar
110ml whipping cream
135g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
1/3cup water
1tsp fleur de sel

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until dark-amber in color then remove from heat. Carefully add cream, butter and fleur de sel (mixture will spit) and stir. Return to heat and cook for 3 minutes or until smooth, remove from heat. Pour caramel into an airtight container, let cool and store in the refrigerator.

Caramel Biscuit Cake

Italian Meringue
4 medium egg whites
80g caster sugar

4 medium egg yolks
20g caster sugar
60g cake flour
40g cornstarch
3tbsps caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 425°F/210°C. Grease a 43cm x 30cm jelly roll sheet with butter and line it with parchment paper, set aside. Sift together the cake flour and cornstarch twice then set aside.

In a dry clean bowl, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy and the color turns white. Gradually add the sugar, increase the speed to high and continue to whip until stiff peaks form – the whites should be firm and shiny, about 5 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy. With a rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of the meringue into the egg mixture until just combined then fold in the rest of the meringue and fold until just incorporated. Add in the sifted flour mix and gently fold until combined.

Fit a piping bag with a 3/8 inch (1cm) round tip, fill it with the cake batter and pipe identical wavy lines touching each other. Using a spoon, drizzle some warm caramel sauce over piped batter.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and transfer to cool on the cooling rack. Once cooled, using a ruler cut out stripes that are slightly shorter than the height of the mousse rings that you’re using. Also, stamp out cake bases using mousse cake moulds. Place the mousse moulds on a tray, roll up a cake stripe, place it inside the mould then put a cake base inside each mould; set aside.

Poire William Mousse

Crème Anglaise
175ml whole milk
8 medium egg yolks
60g caster sugar
8g powered gelatin
40ml water
½tsp vanilla extract

350ml heavy whipping cream
45ml Poire William liqueur

For the crème anglaise:
Sprinkle the powdered gelatin over 40ml of water. Bring the milk to about simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy. Remove from the heat and add a little of the hot milk to the yolk mixture to warm it, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from cooking then pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk (pan), whisking constantly as you pour.

Return the mixture to the stove and warm it over medium heat, whisking constantly. Let the custard cook until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 - 5 minutes then remove from heat. Add in the pre-soaked gelatin, stirring until completely dissolved. Using a fine sieve, strain the custard into a clean bowl then whisk in the vanilla extract, stir to cool.

For the whipped cream:
Beat the heavy cream over medium speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the crème anglaise, fold until just combined. Fold in the liqueur until incorporated. Pour mousse into mousse cake moulds lined with caramel biscuit till full and level with an icing knife, place in fridge to set for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Chantilly Cream – 1½ cups
200ml heavy cream
2tbsp caster sugar

Place the cream and sugar in a bowl and whip until semi-stiff peaks form over medium speed. Chill in the fridge if not noting immediately.

Decorating the cakes:
Using a fine sieve, gently sift cocoa powder (sparingly) over the cakes. Spread a thin layer of nappage (natural glaze diluted 1:10 ratio) using an icing knife - move the knife over the top of the glaze to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance.

Unmold the cakes by wrapping a hot towel around the mould for 10 second then use your fingers to push the cake upward, repeat this process with the rest of the cakes. Pipe some Chantilly cream on top then finish with half of a mini pear and a sprig of parsley.



2009眼看就快過完了﹐時間真的是不等人的﹗今年發生了好些事情﹐但還是走過來了也過的更精彩﹐未來也要過的更好 - 這是對自己的承諾。2010好讓人期待哦~

很抱歉﹐我食言了 - 就我說我會多更新布落格但好像沒了這回事。本來也沒感到愧疚的我﹐經由某些好心人不厭其煩的提醒﹐良心發現了。。。呵呵呵。。。我可沒在偷懶喔﹗那究竟Vi在忙啥呢﹖你還記得我在規劃在網上開店的事嗎﹖現在忙著最後的網頁設計還有logo。除了這個還有忙著接甜點訂單﹐在規劃好友的baby shower ﹐還有在為自己的時裝品牌在努力。雖然我沒更新但並不代表說我沒在弄甜點吃喔﹗你也知道鐵人也需要能量的﹐何況是我這個小小女生(不認老)呢﹖而我的能量補給就是數不盡的咖啡因跟甜點。又因很挑食﹐所以非得自己弄來吃不可。都是一些草莓蛋糕什麼的﹐但偶而也會嘗試新的甜點﹐以下這個以洋梨為主的慕斯蛋糕就是其一。

我不是梨子的粉絲﹐但是在我收藏的日文甜點書中看到這道點心有給它清新可愛的模樣吸引到﹐覺得不妨試試﹐好在也不複雜 - 就焦糖風味的餅皮包裹著由英式蛋黃醬﹑打發到7分的鮮奶油再跟洋梨利口酒混合做成的慕斯。簡單是不﹖小心不要將焦糖跟英式蛋黃醬煮壞﹐要叮緊一點。雖然我是自己製作焦糖醬但可用市售品代替。蛋糕不錯吃﹐但不是會讓我一吃再吃的那種﹐但也有人不認同﹐覺得好吃到不行還問什麼時候再製作以梨子為主的甜點呢﹗

祝有個愉快又窩心的聖誕節﹗May the Holiday Season bring only happiness and joy to you and your loved ones. Peace On Earth and best wishes throughout the New Year~

小巧洋梨餅皮慕斯蛋糕 – 8 - 10 個小蛋糕

焦糖醬
275g 細砂糖
110ml 鮮奶油
135g 無鹽奶油, 切丁
1/3杯 清水
1茶匙 fleur de sel 海鹽

將細砂糖和水倒入小鍋裡﹐用中火加熱﹐不停的攪拌至細砂糖完全融化。煮沸後繼續煮﹐不時輕輕搖一下小鍋使糖漿不會煮焦﹐待煮至砂糖完全融化呈深琥珀色(過程約8 -10分鐘)﹐離火。慢慢地注入鮮奶油﹐其間不停的攪拌﹐然後加入奶油(會有分離的跡象)及fleur de sel 海鹽 ﹐攪拌勻。用小火繼續加熱煮3分鐘至奶琥珀色及滑順﹐離火。將焦糖醬倒入密閉的容器裡﹐稍微放涼﹐放冰箱存放。

焦糖餅皮

義式蛋白霜
4個 中尺寸蛋白
80g 細砂糖

4 個 中尺寸蛋黃
20g 細砂糖
60g 低筋麵粉
40g 玉米粉
3湯匙 焦糖醬

事前準備:
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至425°F/210°C。
- 在1個43cm x 30cm的烤盤中鋪上烘烤紙。

將低筋麵粉和玉米粉混合過篩2次﹐備用。用電動攪拌機先以中速將蛋白打發至起泡、顏色變白﹐將砂糖分成2 - 3回加入蛋白中﹐仔細發泡﹐轉高速打至出現尖角成立體型蛋白霜﹐5分鐘。

在另1個大的鋼盆裡加進蛋黃跟砂糖﹐用電動攪拌機以中速攪打至富含空氣且顏色變淡為止。將1/3量的蛋白霜拌入蛋黃糊裡﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻方式迅速切拌勻後再拌入剩下的蛋白霜﹐拌勻﹐然後加進篩過的粉類﹐攪拌至粉末完全消失為止。

將麵糊倒進裝上直徑3/8寸(1cm)的圓形擠花嘴的擠花袋中﹐在烤盤上將麵糊擠成瓦片狀。用湯匙舀起微溫的焦糖醬﹐從麵糊的上方以細線狀滴落。用425°F/210°C的烤箱烘烤10分鐘至金黃色﹐取出後放網架上靜置放涼。如果不立刻使用﹐可將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天。使用前靜置回溫即可。

將蛋糕體切成比慕斯模矮3/8寸(1cm) 的長方形條狀﹐再用慕斯模吸切出蛋糕片底座。將中空慕斯模擺放好﹐然後在每個模型中嵌進蛋糕條跟蛋糕片底座﹐備用。



洋梨慕斯

英式蛋黃醬
175ml 牛奶
8個 中尺寸蛋黃
60g 細砂糖
8g 明膠粉
40ml 清水
½茶匙 香草荳精

350ml 鮮奶油
45ml 洋梨利口酒

將明膠粉撒進40ml的水中泡脹。將牛奶倒進小鍋裡，以中低火煮至冒泡即離火。同時間﹐在鋼盆裡加進蛋黃跟砂糖﹐用電動攪拌機以中速攪打至富含空氣且顏色變淡為止。將1/3量的熱奶慢慢地注入蛋糊中﹐這時要用打蛋器不斷攪打﹐拌勻後﹐倒回小鍋中﹐邊倒邊用打蛋器攪拌﹐再以中低火加熱。用木匙持續不斷的攪拌至變稠又順滑並可以在木匙背劃出清晰的線條時(3 - 5分鐘)﹐蛋黃醬就完成了﹐離火。加入泡軟的明膠片，確實融化拌勻後將蛋黃醬過濾到大碗中﹐然後拌進香草荳精﹐攪拌勻﹐放涼。

將鮮奶油用電動攪拌機先以低速打發至起泡﹐再轉中速攪打至出現軟角的程度﹐然後拌入放涼的蛋黃醬中﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐再拌入洋梨利口酒確實拌勻即可。將慕斯倒進已嵌進蛋糕片的中空模中至滿﹐用抹刀將多餘的慕斯刮除﹐將表面均勻漂亮地抹平﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固﹐至少3小時或一個晚上。

香堤麗鮮奶油 – 約1 ½ 杯份量
200ml 鮮奶油
2湯匙 細砂糖

將鮮奶油和細砂糖放入mixing bowl裡﹐用電動攪拌器先以低速打發鮮奶油至起泡﹐再轉中速攪打至出現尖角的程度。若不立刻使用﹐將鮮奶油放冰箱冷藏著。

裝飾蛋糕:
用篩網將可可粉零散地篩在蛋糕表面﹐然後將微溫的鏡面果膠(以水1 ﹕果膠10比例﹐加熱融化再放涼)淋在蛋糕正上方﹐再迅速地用抹刀抹平。將慕斯脫模: 以溫毛巾圍著模型溫熱10秒後﹐用手指將慕斯往上推出脫模。在蛋糕表面擠上適量香堤麗鮮奶油﹐最後再以迷你洋梨跟細葉芹點綴即可。

Oh, as promised, here is a recap of my 1st big girl Thanksgiving dinner!!
這是我人生做的第一頓感恩節晚餐﹐還可以吧﹖

L’ Atelier Vi turned 2 & giveaway!! L’ Atelier Vi 兩歲了之週年慶送禮物 =)

L’ Atelier Vi turned 2!! Time seems to have gone by so quickly! I’d like to thank all the readers of my little blog for your support. I would not have gone this far without you. I’ve been inspired by all your feedback and truly grateful to your kind comments over the year!!

As this being said, it calls for a celebration!! Besides whipping up a little something to celebrate the anniversary, I also got you a little something in return of your continuing support of this little blog of mine. Remember what I did for the 1st anniversary? Well, you don’t have to do anything this time…umm…other than leaving a mark on the comment page of this post so that you can be enter into the drawing by 7/31!!! As for the gifts I picked out for you, there are 2 sets – each consists of a box of 2 copper cookie cutters and a simple apron of black rose pattern (sewn by me). I hope you’ll like them =)



Now, let’s talk about the little something I made for the anniversary. Giving this special occasion, I attempted something from my too-hard-to-do list! A dessert conjured of layers of feullitage and pistachio cream from a pastry book written by Chef Koji Yamamoto of Patisserie Les Planetes. Feullitage or puff pastry as known to most, is not something myself and most people would have the leisure to make regularly given its lengthy method (precise technique too). I have been dragging until this very day to finally give it a try because I was repeatedly told by many baking enthusiasts that all I need to master fabulously flaky feullitage is flour, butter and plenty of time and patience - the repetitive roll-fold-rest process will take up a good amount of time (a day & a half to be exact).You know how people said about good things need time? They were right! Indeed a lot of time but the end result worth every minute of it. The lengthy process yields a layered pastry structure of unparalleled lightness and flakiness and once you take a bite into the ultimate buttery goodness, you’ll be hooked for life!!

As for the pistachio mousseline, it is relatively easy. The hardest part was trying to find the pâte de pistache, which I found here (I just love this place!). As for the griotte cherry in liquor (another hard to find item in the States), I happened to find it in a local specialty shop in Berkeley; however, you can replace this by using Bing cherries or Rainier cherries coated lightly with Kirsch and a sprinkle of vanilla sugar. Because both the pistachio mousseline and mille-feuille are loaded with butter, you can imagine how rich and creamy this dessert is. I suggest serving it with some sorbet high in acidity (like lemon or passion fruit) to cut the creaminess.



Mille-feuille Pistache Griotte (Napolean with Pistachio Mousseline & Sour Cherry) makes 5 single serving cakes

Feullitage
I use tear drop shaped mousse rings to cut out puff pastry and served them as individual cakes as opposed to cutting them into sheets. Yield about 15 tear drops.

185g bread flour
125g cake flour
50g unsalted butter, cubed
5g salt
140g ice cold water
225g blocks of unsalted butter, each thinly sliced lengthways

Crème pâtissière (vanilla custard)
340g whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split & seeds scraped
55g egg yolks
85g granulated sugar
30g cornstarch

Crème mousseline à la pistache (pistachio mousseline)
150g crème pâtissière
50g pâte de pistache (pistachio paste)
75g unsalted butter, room temperature
20 griotte cherry in liquor, cut into halves

For garnish
Some apricot jam, Isomalt sugar decoration, and fresh rainier cherries

For the Feullitage:
Night Before
Arrange the butter slices into a square on a piece of plastic food wrap, put another piece of food wrap on top then mash the butter into 1 big square using a rolling pin; refrigerate it until firm. Make the base also known as a détrempe next. Using a food processor, process flours, cold butter cubes, water and salt until the dough is well combined. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and form dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic food wrap and leave to firm up overnight in the refrigerator.

Next Day
Roll out pastry dough on a floured surface to a square slightly bigger than the butter block then arrange the butter block in the center, pull in all 4 corners toward the center then flip it over and roll it out to a rectangle. Fold the top third of pastry to the middle third then fold up bottom third. Turn counter clockwise so opening is on the right, roll out pastry to a square, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate until firm (1-2 hours). Repeat 5 more times, resting in between.

Divide the dough into 2 halves, wrap 1 half in plastic food wrap, store it in a airtight container and place it in the freezer, it will keep for months. Roll out the other half of pastry dough to 3mm (1/8 inch) thick, prick dough all over with a fork and let chill for 15 minutes or until the dough is firm enough. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Place dough in a jelly roll sheet pan lined with parchment paper, place a wire rack on top (to prevent dough from puffing) and bake for 30 minutes or till nicely browned and cooked through. Remove and let cool.

For the crème pâtissière:
Combine milk, vanilla pod and seeds in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar until mixture turns pale yellow. Add in the cornstarch and whisk until combined.

Remove the milk mixture from the heat and add a little to the yolk mixture to warm it first, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from cooking. Pour the rest of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly as you pour. Strain the mixture into a clean saucepan.

Return the custard to the stove and cook over low heat, whisking constantly. Let the custard cook for 1-2 minutes until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Using a fine sieve; strain the mixture into a clean bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

For the pistachio mousseline:
Using a handheld mixer, beat the chilled crème pâtissière over medium speed until smooth. Fold in the pâte de pistache, beat until combined then fold in the unsalted butter and beat until combined. If not being use immediately, please refrigerate (just whisk until smooth before use).

Assemble:
Place a tear drop shaped mousse ring on top of the puff pastry, trace the outline using a paring knife and cut out 15 pieces. Spoon the pistachio cream inside a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Arrange 5 tear drop shaped mousse rings on a sheet pan, put 1 piece of puff pastry inside each ring, arrange some griotte cherry halves, pipe a layer of cream on top, level with the back of a spoon, put in another piece of puff pastry, press down lightly to release any air bubbles, arrange some more griotte cherry halves, pipe another layer of cream almost to the top, level with the back of a spoon, put another piece of pastry on top and press down lightly to release any air bubbles. Refrigerate until firm.

Brush a layer of warm apricot jam on the top then carefully push out the cakes from the rings. Arrange 2 rainier cherries on top then a piece of Isomalt sugar decoration, viola!




又到七月了﹐也就表示我的部落格邁入第二個年頭了﹗我的天呀﹐兩年過的真快﹐真不敢相信 L’ Atelier Vi已經兩歲了﹗ ﹗希望以後還有無數個兩年可以在這個平臺跟你們分享切磋製作甜點的心得。最重要是不管你是從一路走來的舊友﹐還是剛剛到訪的新知﹐衷心感謝你們不時送上鼓勵加油的話﹐感動死了 ~.~

為了回饋大家的支持﹐阿Vi準備了一點小禮物送你。有別於去年週年慶的競賽﹐今年你無須參加任何比賽﹐因為是以抽獎形式送出。 如果你想收到阿Vi為你準備的禮物﹐只需在美國西岸時間7月31日的限期前在這個post的留言版畫個丫﹐說明你想參加抽獎即可。至於禮物嘛﹐是一套以巴黎為主題的餅乾模和我以黑玫瑰圖樣亞麻布縫製的手工圍裙(有照片喔)﹐共送出2份。希望你會喜歡~

現在來說說為了這個特別的日子製作的甜點吧﹗當在Patisserie Les Planetes 的甜點主廚山本光二師傅著作的書中看到這個以開心果櫻桃組合做成的千層派﹐就深深的迷上這個看起來高雅又帶有清涼感的甜點。可是看到需要自己動手製作千層派皮時卻步想放棄﹐因為我沒耐性挑戰這個高難度﹑耗時﹑需要繁複的製作過程的麵糰。可很多培烘同好不斷地游說說要做出酥脆美味的千層派皮並不如想像中的困難﹐最後被說服決定嘗試磨煉一下自己的能耐。耗了我一天半的時間反覆摺疊製作而成的千層派皮有著超級酥脆的口感﹐無比細膩層次的特質﹐咬下去的瞬間所散發出來的奶油香讓我覺得付出的時間是值得的。現在終於明白人們說好的東西是需要同等的時間去準備的道理了 =)

我是頭一次製作開心果奶油慕斯。開心果奶油慕斯的質地很柔滑﹐味道帶點草腥味﹐頗有個性。不知道是不是先解決了高難度的千層派的關係﹐相比下奶油慕斯製作過程很容易﹐well…除了搜購開心果糊這部分﹗不得不說很多日語書所需的食材在美國是很難找的﹐不過好在自從發現這家店後絕少讓我失望。另外酒漬櫻桃也很難找﹐不過月前無意間在Berkeley的一家market給我找到。若是找不到﹐用以適量櫻桃白蘭地﹑香草砂糖稍微醃漬的新鮮櫻桃代替可不能不加﹐由於千層派和奶油慕斯用上相當份量的奶油﹐口感雖香酥濃郁可對亞洲人來說應該有點厚重﹐而微酸的櫻桃可以中和讓味道清爽一點﹐最好還搭配酸味重一點的冰品享用﹐好讓味道更滋味多元。



櫻桃開心果千層派 – 5個小蛋糕
捨棄傳統的條狀而將它做成小蛋糕主要是為了方便食用。

千層派皮
185g 高筋麵粉
125g 低筋麵粉
50g 冰凍無鹽奶油﹐切成小方塊
5g 鹽巴
140g 冰水
225g 夾入用無鹽奶油

奶油蛋糊
340g 全脂奶
1條 香草荳﹐開半刮籽
55g 蛋黃
85g 砂糖
30g 玉米粉

開心果奶油慕斯
150g 奶油蛋糊
50g 市售開心果糊(膏)
75g 無鹽奶油 - 切成小方塊﹐室溫放軟
20粒 酒漬櫻桃﹐橫的切成兩半

裝飾用
適量的杏果果醬﹑烤糖片裝飾﹑金黃櫻桃

千層派皮的做法
前一晚:
將無鹽奶油縱向的切厚塊﹐放置在一片保鮮膜上成正方形形狀﹐再蓋上一片保鮮膜﹐然後用桿麵棍敲打使其成方磚狀﹐包好冷藏備用。跟著製作千層派皮的外層麵糰基地 (détrempe)。將高﹑低麵粉﹑鹽水﹑丁狀無鹽奶油用食物調理機攪拌勻成奶油糰塊。取出﹐放在撒上少量高筋麵粉的工作台上﹐快速揉成球狀﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱靜置一個晚上醒麵。

第二天
從冰箱取出奶油麵糰﹐放在撒上少量高筋麵粉的工作台上﹐用桿麵棍桿開成比奶油磚稍微大一點的正方形﹐然後將奶油磚交錯地放置在上﹐再將麵糰的四個角拉向中央。不要讓空氣進入其中地將麵皮拉緊折疊﹐並且將各個邊緣逐一捏緊。將糰塊翻面﹐用桿麵棍各以直向﹑橫向桿開來﹐使麵糰和奶油可以相互緊密結合﹐然後將麵糰從中央向前後桿開成長方形條狀。將麵糰折疊成3折﹐稍壓一下﹐再90度扭轉麵糰 (封口向右)﹐用桿麵棍各以直向﹑橫向稍微拉長﹐用保鮮膜包好﹐放冰箱靜置60分鐘以上醒麵。重複這組各以直向﹑橫向桿開來﹐折疊成3折﹐90度扭轉﹐再直向﹑橫向拉長﹐包好﹐放冰箱靜置的程序5次(合共6次)。

預熱烤箱至400°F/200°C。取出麵糰﹐切半。一半包好冷凍保存﹐一半麵糰桿開成約厚3mm或1/8寸的薄片﹐再用叉子戳刺氣孔﹐放入鋪了烘烤紙的烤盤裡﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱冷藏約15分鐘定型。取出﹐在麵糰上放上網架(防止烘烤時過度的膨脹)﹐放入烤箱烤30分鐘或至派皮呈金黃色。取去擺放在網架上放涼。

奶油蛋糊的做法
將牛奶﹑香草荳和籽混合倒進小鍋裡，以中火煮至剛沸騰即離火﹐蓋上鍋蓋燜幾分鐘。將蛋黃和砂糖一起攪打至顏色變白﹐再加進玉米粉﹐充份地攪拌均勻。

將熱奶漿逐一加入蛋糊中﹐並同時用打蛋器不間斷地攪打。過濾奶蛋糊﹐再倒回小鍋中以低火加熱。用打蛋器持續不斷地攪拌至變稠﹐並可以在木匙背劃出清晰的線條時(約2分鐘)就完成了。將奶油蛋糊過濾後在表面蓋上保鮮膜(黏著蛋糊)﹐放進冰箱冷藏備用。

開心果奶油慕斯的做法
將奶油蛋糊取出﹐用攪拌機以中速攪打至軟滑﹐拌入開心果糊﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐再拌入室溫放軟的奶油﹐用攪拌機以低速攪打至混合呈光滑狀﹐放冰箱備用。使用前﹐再攪打軟即可。倒進密閉的容器裡﹐放冰箱可存放2個星期。

組合及裝飾蛋糕

事前準備:
- 將千層派皮用淚滴形狀慕斯模切割出約15片派片﹐備用。

將5個淚滴狀慕斯模放置在烤盤上﹐在各個模中鋪放一片派片﹐再隨意的放一些酒漬櫻桃粒﹔備用。將拌軟的開心果糊倒進裝有圓形擠花嘴的擠袋中﹐先擠些開心果糊填滿模具至4分滿﹐用湯匙背推勻鋪平至模具邊緣﹐再在各個模中鋪放一片派片﹐輕輕壓一下釋放氣泡﹐再放些櫻桃粒﹐再擠入一層開心果糊至模具8分滿﹐推平﹐鋪上第三片派片﹐往下輕按﹐然後放入冰箱冷卻定形。

取出蛋糕﹐在派片表面塗抹一層微溫的杏果果醬﹐然後用手指將蛋糕往上推出脫模。在各個蛋糕上擺放2粒金黃櫻桃再放一片烤糖片即可﹐放冰箱冷藏存放。

Something Chocolaty for Easter ~ 復活節獻禮: 讓我著迷懷念的味道...

My friend Caroline brought me a chocolate cupcake with fleur de sel ganache from Kara’s Cupcakes a while back and that little handcrafted cupcake has made such a lasting impression that it sent me on a hunt for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe! Numerous trials and pounds of Valrhona chocolate and cans of cocoa powder later, I am please to tell you that I found it in this glorious book! These cupcakes are nothing short of richness and so addictive with the tense chocolate flavor, fluffy texture, almost ganache like center and best eaten when they are still warm.

Giving thoughts that Easter Sunday is around the corner, I want to dress them up and give to friends who celebrate this holiday. I like the chocolate and salted caramel combo since this so I made some caramel as the filling then topped with ganache glaze and garnish with truffle eggs. Making truffle egg is a first for me, something I have been anticipated to give a try since it was published in Martha Stewat’s Living magazine a while back! I used a different truffle flavoring though I followed her coating instruction. It was fun but also messy at the same time; take care not to stain your hands with the food coloring like I did.

Btw, giving a little more thought on decorating, these splendid little cakes will be ideal for afternoon tea with girl friends, as an elegant dessert at dinner party and would make a magnificent birthday cake too! I have been baking batches of them since I discovered the recipe and I am sure you’ll be the same^^




Espresso Truffle Eggs
Makes 30 eggs

100g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
5g espresso bean, finely grinded
50ml heavy cream
1tbsp Myer’s rum

For the coating:
300g white chocolate, finely chopped
3 – 4drops Sky-blue gel-paste food coloring

Place the bittersweet chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to just simmer over medium heat; remove from heat. Pour it over the bittersweet chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir until smooth. Stir in the espresso bean, and let cool to touch then stir in the rum. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until very cold and set but still pliable, about 1 hour.

Using a demi spoon, scoop balls of ganache, transferring them to a jellyroll pan lined with parchment paper; refrigerate for 10 minutes. Using your hands, roll each ball into an egg shape. Place in freezer until very firm, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, put the white chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth; remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm then add a few drops of food coloring, and swirl lightly with a toothpick.

Dip the eggs in swirled chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. As you work, transfer eggs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Truffles can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.



Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from The Essence of Chocolate recipe by Stephanie Hersh

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup quality unsweetened cocoa powder
10 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature, diced
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 large egg
¾ cup whole milk

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line 12 muffin cups (3/4-cup capacity) with paper liners.

Stir together the flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl, and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until pale, light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.

Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately in two batches each, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Continue mixing until the batter is a uniform color.

Pour the batter into a pastry bag without a tip; snip the tip once the bag is filled. Pipe the batter into the muffin cups about two-thirds full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the cupcake spring back slightly when pressed in the center.

Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack, then remove and allow to cool completely on the rack.

Assemble:
Using a chef's knife, scrape milk chocolate bar at a 90-degree angle, forming enough fine shavings to measure ½ cup; set aside.

Spoon a teaspoon of salted caramel sauce into the center of the cupcakes. Place the cupcakes on a cooling rack then set it over a jelly roll pan. Spoon a spoonful of chocolate ganache glaze over each cake; letting some drip down the sides then using the ganache as the adhesive, build a wall of wood grain chocolate decoration round the cakes. Form a nest with chocolate shavings on top, and fill with truffle eggs.



自從朋友請我吃過Kara’s Cupcakes 的鹽之花甘那許巧克力杯子蛋糕後﹐我就對那個充滿濃濃巧克力香氣及濃郁濕潤的口感的點心著迷不已念念不忘至踏上狩獵終極巧克力杯子蛋糕食譜之路。無數的試驗又耗掉不少Valrhona巧克力及可可粉後﹐終於在這本書中找到了﹗剛烤好時還是軟心的﹐表面形成一層脆脆硬薄膜﹐好吃到不行﹐一氣吃多個也不膩。超濃郁但沒有厚重的口感﹐是記憶中懷念的味道。

過兩天是復活節﹐為了配合節日送給朋友應節決定好好的給它們裝扮一下。自從吃過這個﹐發現焦糖跟巧克力實在是絕配﹐決定在蛋糕中心抹上自製的焦糖醬。焦糖醬因加入鹽之花調味所以帶有淡淡的鹹味至讓巧克力更富存在感。為了讓巧克力更濃郁(沒辦法﹐我是巧克力狂迷)﹐再淋上甘那許鏡面。說到復活節又怎麼可以沒有蛋呢? 很久前Martha Stewart的Living雜誌刊登過松露蛋的做法﹐覺的很有趣﹐很想嘗試所以決定做這個作為裝飾。製作過程很好玩不過要小心處理食用色素﹐不要沾到喔~

這個杯子蛋糕要是裝飾成不同的風格還可以配合不同主題的party哦﹗大家不妨發揮你的想像力製作出屬於你的風格的杯子蛋糕造型~

咖啡巧克力松露蛋
約30顆

100g 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
5g 咖啡豆, 摩碎
50ml 鮮奶油
1湯匙 蘭姆酒
300g 白巧克力﹐切碎
數滴 天空藍食用色素

蛋糕卷烤盤中鋪上烤纸﹐備用。將巧克力切碎﹐倒進耐熱容器中備用。鮮奶油倒進鍋子裡用中火加熱煮至剛沸騰後離火。將熱奶漿注入切碎的巧克力中﹐輕輕搖幾下鍋子﹐好讓熱奶漿覆蓋巧克力碎塊﹐讓靜置2分鐘﹐然後用橡皮刀攪拌均勻至順滑看不見碎粒即可。拌進摩碎的咖啡豆﹐攪拌勻﹐靜置放涼至微溫後拌入蘭姆酒。蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固約60分鐘。

取出﹐用小匙舀取出甘那許球﹐小心倒在鋪了烤纸的蛋糕卷烤盤上﹐放進冰箱冷藏10分鐘。取出﹐用手將甘那許球揉成橢圓形﹐放冰庫冷藏60分鐘成形。

將切碎的白巧克力倒進耐熱容器中隔熱水加熱融化。用橡皮刀攪拌均勻至順滑看不見碎粒後離火。待降溫至微溫時﹐滴數滴食用色素在巧克力中﹐用牙籤拉出大理花紋。從冰箱取出巧克力蛋﹐分數次倒進巧克力漿中﹐用製作巧克力專用叉子將巧克力蛋取出﹐在碗邊輕輕敲一下去掉多餘的巧克力漿後放在鋪了烤纸的蛋糕卷烤盤上﹐再放冰箱定形﹐約60分鐘即成。

松露蛋用密閉容器包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存2個星期。



極濃巧克力杯子蛋糕
12個

1杯 麵粉
½杯 無糖可可粉 (品質越好﹐成品約出色)
10湯匙 室溫無鹽奶油﹐切丁
½杯 黑糖
½茶匙 蘇打粉
1/8茶匙 發粉/泡打粉
1/8茶匙 鹽巴
1顆 大的雞蛋
¾杯 全脂奶

事前準備:
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至350°F/175°C。
- 在12杯份量馬芬烤盤鋪入紙模﹐備用。

將麵粉跟可可粉混合拌勻備用。混合無鹽奶油﹑黑糖﹑蘇打粉﹑發粉和鹽巴﹐然後用電動攪拌器以中速攪打至富含空氣且顏色變淡成乳霜狀為止﹐約5分鐘。加入蛋﹐攪打均勻後﹐再交替地分數次加入可可麵粉跟牛奶﹐充分攪打均勻。

將麵糊倒進擠花袋中﹐剪去一角﹐將麵糊擠入烤模中至約8分滿﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後放進預熱過的烤模裡﹐烘烤約15 - 20分鐘。當用手指按蛋糕的中心時回彈時﹐就烤好了。從烤箱取出﹐擺在網架上放涼10分鐘﹐然後脫模整個放涼。

將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天﹐使用前靜置回溫即可。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:
用小刀在牛奶巧克力磚刮出約1/2杯巧克力屑﹔備用。舀取1小匙焦糖醬﹐抹在蛋糕中心。待所有的蛋糕都抹上焦糖醬後﹐將蛋糕排放在網架上再擺放在蛋糕卷烤盤裡。舀取一大匙微溫的巧克力甘那許醬﹐淋在蛋糕上﹐任它溢滿源周邊流下﹐將烤盤提起輕敲一下會幫助甘那許平均攤開。甘那許降溫的快﹐這時動作要迅速。將切成不停形狀的木紋圖案巧克力裝飾貼在蛋糕的側面整個包覆起來。最後用小匙將巧克力屑在蛋糕上描畫出鳥巢狀﹐再擺1顆松露蛋在鳥巢中即成。

Birthday present to myself! ~ 送給自己的生日蛋糕^^

Having been asked to make cake for many friends’ birthday, I realized that I have not made my own birthday cake before! Some said that I should have others bake me a cake and someone did (thanks Mei & family!). Nevertheless, I still want to make one and not just for me but also for my brother and Linda, my evil twin. Our birthdays are within days from each other, one stone three birds =)

This dome shaped cake is a 1st for me and composed of 8 components!! It has a beautiful name - Cité Jardin - city garden, giving hints of all the beautiful red, green, brown hues. It is the work of Yoshiya Inoue of Puissance located in Japan. His original composition was of pistachio dacquoise/pistachio crème brûlée/confiture de fruits rouges/white chocolate mousse/white chocolate glaze but since the pistachio paste I ordered was on back order, I opted for a different composition.

When one look at the components, it may look busy with all the different ingredients but they were actually quite subtle. The exotic taste of saffron-infused crème brûlée, the subtle bitterness of matcha génoise, chewy macarons gives it a very contrasting texture and all these flavors work wonderfully together. Though the mousse and baravois was surprising light to me but it may taste rich and creamy to some so serve more raspberries on the side to cut the creaminess.

Decoration-wise, to bring out the garden theme, I stick to Inoue’s use of wood grain chocolate decoration, colorful fresh fruits, sprig of mints and added a personal touch of Isomalt sugar decoration, and a dust of matcha. Overall I was happy with the result except that next time I won’t do a macaron insert. It got lumpy from the moisture and didn’t give me the crumbly texture I hoped for. There is always room for improvement ^u^



Cité Jardin – makes one 19cm/7 ½ dome
Composition is as follow:

1) matcha génoise
2) mascarpone mousse
3) saffron-infused crème brûlée insert
4) matcha macaron crumbs insert
5) white chocolate bavarois filling
6) white chocolate glaze

#1 ~ Matcha Génoise (recipe here)
The cake can be baked a day in advance. Once cooled, cut out a 13mm/½in thick and 16 ½cm/6 ½in diameter round. Wrap with food wrap and store at room temperature.

#2 ~ Saffron-infused Crème Brulée Insert -1 8in/18cm round pan

220g heavy cream
60g whole milk
20g boiled water
12 saffron threads
40g egg yolks
40g granulated sugar

Place the saffron threads in a small bowl, add the boiled water and let steep for 5 minutes. Pour the saffron-infused water and saffron into a small saucepan, add in the milk and heavy cream, heat over medium heat to just boiling. Remove from the heat, put the lid on and let infuse for 10 – 15 minutes then strain the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 240°F/120°C. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks till pale in color, then pour the saffron-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour, and mix until combined. Place a napkin over the mixture to soak up the bubbles that formed from whisking. Pour into the pan, place it into a large roasting pan then pour hot water into the roasting pan all the way up half way of the pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.

Let cool then chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight until firm up.

#3 ~ White Chocolate Bavarois Filling
260g heavy cream
110g whole milk
56g quality white chocolate, finely chopped
45g egg yolks
20g granulated sugar
6g gelatine leaf
18g egg white
9 g caster sugar

Prep:
- Line a 19cm/7 ½in half sphere mold with food wrap, press firmly onto the mold to push out air bubbles, leave a 2in/6cm tail outside the mold.

Place the gelatine in icy water, soak until soften, squeeze out the water, set aside. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl then place it over a pot of simmering water, stirring constantly until completely melted. Place in a warm water bath to keep warm.

Bring the milk to just boiling then remove from heat. Using a hand mixer, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large mixing bowl, slowly pour in the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly until combined.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat until thicken and the temperature reaches 170°F /85°C, about 2 minutes. Add the pre-soaked gelatine, mix well then using a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of it to the melted chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in the remaining egg mixture until incorporated. Set the bowl in an icy water bath to cool.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold 1/3 of it into the chocolate mixture, mix well then fold in the remainder of the whipped cream until incorporated. Using a hand mixer, whisk the egg white until foamy then gradually add in the caster sugar, whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of it to the chocolate mixture, mix well then fold in the remainder of the meringue until incorporated. Pour into the prepared mold and slightly tap it on the counter to release air bubbles. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.



#4 ~ Mascarpone Mousse (recipe here)
Pour the mousse into a piping bag without a tip, set aside.

#5 ~ White Chocolate Glaze
The glaze jellifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.

240g quality white chocolate, finely chopped
200g whole milk
80g corn syrup
7g gelatine leaf

Prep:
- Pre-soak the gelatine, set aside.

Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl then place it over a pot of simmering water, stirring constantly until completely melt.

Bring the milk and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning the mixture. Pour the hot mixture into the melted chocolate, using the rubber spatula, stir until completely incorporated, add in the pre-soaked gelatine and mix well. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well, use immediately.

#6 ~ Matcha Macarons – 30 sandwiches

Italian meringue method
55g egg white
150g caster sugar
40 g water

Tant pour tant
150g almond flour
150g powdered sugar
15g matcha
55g egg white
1 drop green food coloring

Chocolate ganache filling
Raspberry Buttercream

Prep:
- On the back side of 2 parchment papers, trace 3cm/1 ¼in circles about 3cm/1 ¼in apart. Flip them over and line the baking sheets.
- Prepare 2 sheets of foil the size of the baking sheets.

I thought you should know:
- Must let the piped cookies sit out until dry to touch before baking to prevent them from cracking during baking.
- Press the piping tip on the baking sheet when piping for uniformly shaped macarons. Do not suspend the tip in the air!

Sift together almond flour, matcha, and powdered sugar twice then place the mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add 55g egg white to the flour mixture and stir until it forms into a sticky ball, set aside.

Heat water and caster sugar over medium heat until it thickens and reaches 230°F/116°C. While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg white at high speed in the bowl of a mixer using the whisk attachment; whisk until pale and foamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden! Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until it becomes thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch, about 5 minutes. Add in a drop of green food coloring, fold until incorporated.

With a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the meringue into the almond/sugar/matcha flour mix, fold until incorporated then fold in the remaining meringue and fold until completely incorporated. With the rubber spatula, scoop and spread the batter, in a full circle, on the inside wall of the mixing bowl. Repeat this scoop & spread process also known as macaronnage, for a total of 15 times. Lift some batter with the spatula, it should falls into the bowl in a ribbon fashion, and has a glossy look.

Pour the batter into a piping bag with a round tip and pipe the batter from the center of the drawn circle onto the baking sheets. Pipe about 60 circles. Let dry at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking to allow skins to form. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F/220°C, with racks in upper and lower thirds.

When the batter is dry to the touch, place into the preheated oven and bake for 2 minutes, then quickly turn it down to 300°F/150°C, bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets (upper and lower racks), cover the sheets with foil, and continue to bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to cool on the cooling rack. Once cooled, slide a knife (fragile, must be careful) underneath the macarons to remove from the parchment paper.




Wood Grain Pattern Chocolate Decoration
80g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
120g white chocolate, finely chopped

Chop the bittersweet chocolate into tiny pieces and place into a dry heatproof mixing bowl. Temper the chocolate by melting it in the microwave. Need to do it on medium for 4~5 times and at 30 second interval. Stir the chocolate each time the microwave stops until becomes completely melted and smooth. Cool for 2 minute.

Spread out a few 2.5x14in/6x40cm acrylic strips on the back of a jelly roll pan. Dip the pattern side of the wood grain comb into the chocolate, and draw the pattern on the acrylic strips. Chill in the fridge to set.

Melt and temper the white chocolate using the same method as above. Let cool to touch then spread the melted chocolate evenly with a spread knife on top of the chilled chocolate pattern. Place in refrigerator to chill and set. Carefully peel off the chocolate and break/cut into desired size.

Sugar Decoration
Some Isomalt sugar

Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C。Sprinkle the Isomalt sugar evenly on a jelly roll pan lined with silpat silicone sheet, place another silpat sheet on top, and press it down lightly. Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven, press it lightly using a rolling pin then return it to the oven and bake for 5 minutes until sugar completely melted. Let cool completely then break/cut into desired size.

Assemble your dome:

Prep:
- Line your mold with food wrap, press firmly onto the mold to push out air bubbles, leave a 2in/6cm tail outside the mold.
- Cut the saffron crème brûlée into 16 ½cm/6 ½in round.
- Cut the matcha génoise into 16 ½cm/6 ½in round.

THIS IS FOR UNMOLDING FROM UPSIDE DOWN TO RIGHT SIDE UP. You will want to tap your mold gently on the countertop after each time you pipe mousse in to get rid of any air bubbles.

Snip off a little corner of the piping bag with the mascarpone mousse, pipe to about 1/3 height of the mold, spread evenly. Push the bavarois filling into the mousse; it will fill to 2/3 full. Pipe another layer of the mascarpone mousse, place macaron halves on top, then the saffron crème brûlée insert, another layer of mascarpone mousse and then top with the matcha génoise (syrup side down) round, press lightly. Chill in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Unmold the cake by grabbing the food wrap and carefully pull upward. Once loosen, turn it out on a wire rack. Make the glaze now. Place the cake along with the rack over a large baking pan, pour the glaze on top and let flow down to cover the entire cake. The glaze jellifies quickly so work fast; let set for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Cover the entire side of the cake base with a pattern of 1 macaron half & 2 raspberries. Place the chocolate and sugar decorations at the top of the dome then arrange some fresh fruits like strawberries, raspberries, kiwi berries and mints on top then a dust of matcha powder.



給不少的朋友做過生日蛋糕﹐但卻從沒給自己做過一個。有人說讓他人做一個給我就好了﹐為什麼需要自己動手呢? 因為這個蛋糕是要和另外兩個人- 我弟跟好姐妹Linda分享的。我們的生日很近﹐想說一石三鳥嘛﹗還有﹐今年第一次收到一個朋友做給我的生日蛋糕﹐好感動哦~~~~~~謝謝Mei跟她的姐姐們還有她可愛的侄女 ~~

這款用半圓形模具做的蛋糕是首次嘗試﹐更別說是用上8種不同風味口感的甜點素材組合而成。這個充滿田園氣息的蛋糕有個很美很符合它的名字 : Cité Jardin就法文的[田園都市]的意思﹐是日本Puissance 甜點店的井上佳哉師傅的作品。蛋糕本來是由開心果風味的杏仁蛋白蛋糕﹑開心果烤布蕾﹑白巧克力慕斯﹑果醬﹑和白巧克力奶油淋醬組合而成﹐可因我沒能買到開心果膏等材料﹐我將蛋糕的組合改了。

咋看到材料的組合可能會讓人感到構成的材料很多很忙﹐甚至繁複鋪陳的程度，足以令人咋舌﹐但味道﹑口感、氣味出乎意料的融合﹐口感鋪陳和我想像一樣的極端精緻、豐富、多樣化﹐使甘美的香氣合而為一。質地細緻綿密柔軟的馬斯卡朋慕斯包裹著帶有濃郁乳香口感綿密的白巧克力芭芭羅瓦餡心﹑富茶香的抹茶馬卡龍﹑充滿異國香氣的番紅花風味烤布蕾﹑再以襲人的淡雅茶香的抹茶海綿蛋糕托底﹑最後以富濃郁奶香的白巧克力鏡面包過著。為配合田園的主題﹐跟著井上師傅用鮮艷覆盆子﹑迷你奇異果﹑薄荷香草﹑木紋巧克力裝飾跟糖片裝飾蛋糕的頂端﹐然後在蛋糕週圍用1塊抹茶馬卡龍2顆覆盆子的花樣整個包圍﹐最後撒些抹茶點綴組合成這個鮮艷亮眼的蛋糕。

蛋糕最後只跟弟及家人分享﹐因為Linda旅行去了。如往常﹐甜點一上桌就給一掃而空。品嚐過程裡，從視覺到味蕾到整個心靈的滿足，久久難以忘懷。

田園都市

1) 抹茶海綿蛋糕
2) 馬斯卡朋慕斯
3) 番紅花風味烤布蕾
4) 抹茶風味馬卡龍
5) 白巧克力芭芭羅瓦餡心
6) 白巧克力鏡面

#1 ~ 抹茶海綿蛋糕 (點這裡)
蛋糕可以前一天烤好﹐包好室溫存放。

#2 ~ 番紅花風味烤布蕾 - 直徑8in或18cm圓形烤模1個

220g 鮮奶油
60g 全脂奶
20g 熱水
12根 番紅花
40g(3個M尺寸) 蛋黃
40g 砂糖

用小碗盛著番紅花﹐加熱水泡5分鐘後﹐倒進小鍋中。跟著將奶﹑鮮奶油也倒進小鍋﹐用中火慢慢加熱﹐ 煮至沸騰時立刻熄火﹐蓋上鍋蓋泡10 – 15分鐘。

預熱烤箱至240°F/120°C。將蛋黃和砂糖混合充份攪拌勻至淡白﹐慢慢注入過濾後的番紅花熱奶漿﹐邊倒邊攪拌﹐攪拌均勻後在奶漿上方鋪上一片餐巾紙﹐輕輕地吸取掉泡沫後倒進模具中。將模具放進有深度的烤盤裡﹐然後注入熱開水達模具一半的高度﹐再放進預熱過的烤箱裡烘烤40分鐘。當搖晃模具時布蕾中央會抖動但週邊不動即烤好了。取出﹐待室溫放涼﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放冰箱冷卻一個小時或一個晚上。



#3 ~ 白巧克力芭芭羅瓦餡心

260g 鮮奶油
110g 全脂奶
56g 白巧克力﹐切碎
45g 蛋黃
20g 砂糖
6g 魚膠片
18g 蛋白
9 g 細砂糖

事前準備:
- 在一個19cm/7 ½ in的半圓形模具裡鋪上一層保鮮膜(四邊留約2in/6cm的尾巴)﹐按壓出氣泡讓保鮮膜貼服﹐備用。

明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分﹐備用。將切碎的白巧克力倒進一個耐熱容器中﹐隔熱水加熱融化後﹐放溫水浴中保溫。

將牛奶倒進鍋子裡用中火加熱﹐煮沸後離火。將蛋黃和糖混合倒進一個大的拌碗中﹐用電動攪拌器以中速打發至顏色變淡白﹐然後邊打發邊細絲般的慢慢地注入滾燙的牛奶﹐拌勻後﹐倒回小鍋中以小火加熱﹐用打蛋器持續不斷的攪拌至變稠至溫度為170°F /85°C後離火﹐約2分鐘。加進泡軟的魚膠片攪拌融化後﹐邊攪拌邊慢慢地拌進融化的的白巧克力中﹐用橡皮刀攪拌至順滑﹐使其乳化。過濾後﹐放冰水浴中降溫。

用電動打蛋器打發鮮奶油至變富含空氣出現軟角的程度﹐然後將3分1拌進微溫的巧克力漿中﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。拌入剩下打發好的鮮奶油﹐輕輕的拌勻。

用電動攪拌器以低速打發蛋白至起泡﹐然後分數次的加入細砂糖打發﹐打至富含空氣出現結實尖角的程度為止。將3分1拌進巧克力乳漿中﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐再拌入剩下的蛋白霜拌勻。倒進鋪了保鮮膜的模具中﹐輕輕敲一下釋放氣泡後﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固最少2個小時或一個晚上。

#4 ~ 馬斯卡朋慕斯(點這裡)
將慕斯倒進擠袋裡備用。

#5 ~ 白巧克力鏡面
鏡面很容易凝固﹐所以最好在裝飾前製作。

240g 白巧克力﹐切碎
200g 全脂奶
80g 玉米糖漿
7g 魚膠片

事前準備:
- 明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分，備用。

先將切碎的白巧克力隔熱水加熱融化備用。將牛奶和玉米糖漿混合倒入小鍋裡﹐用中火加熱﹐不時攪拌讓液體不會煮焦﹐煮沸後離火。將奶漿倒入白巧克力中﹐用橡皮刀攪拌均勻至順滑﹐加入泡軟的明膠片﹐拌勻至融合﹐放涼備用。

#6 ~ 抹茶風味馬卡龍 - 30個

義式蛋白霜
55g 蛋白
150g 細砂糖
40 g 水

Tant pour tant
150g杏仁粉
150g 糖粉
15g 抹茶
55g蛋白
1滴綠色食用色素

苦甜巧克力甘那許夾心餡
覆盆子風味奶油餡心

事前準備:
- 準備兩張烤纸﹐然後在每一張的反面畫上直徑3cm間隔3cm的小圓圈。鋪在烤盤上。
- 準備兩張相等於烤盤大小的包裝鋁箔紙﹐備用。

要注意什麼呢?
- 擠出麵糊後要放置到表面乾燥為止才可進烤箱。
- 擠麵糊時先固定一個點再擠出是要訣。

混合抹茶、杏仁粉、糖粉﹐過篩2次後倒進一個大的拌碗中。將55g的蛋白倒進粉中﹐用橡皮刀確實攪拌勻成膏狀後靜置備用。

把水和細砂糖混合倒進小鍋中﹐以中火熬煮至出現黏稠狀﹐用手指沾黏(非常燙喔﹗)會牽出糖絲的程度(約230°F/116°C) 即可。在煮糖漿的同時﹐將55的蛋白用電動打蛋器以高速打發至起泡但還沒出現尖角的程度。轉低速繼續仔細打發﹐然後邊打發邊細絲般的慢慢地注入滾燙的糖漿(千萬不要攪拌糖漿不然會結晶)，完全注入糖漿後轉中速繼續打發﹐直到冷卻出現結實尖角的程度至光滑立體狀態為止﹐約5分鐘。最後倒入1滴綠色食用色素﹐拌勻。

將3分1的蛋白霜拌入的抹茶杏仁粉糰中﹐用橡皮刀從底部往上翻起的方式拌勻。分兩次加入剩餘的蛋白霜 ﹐拌勻後進行macaronnage*程序。將麵糊從底部往上翻起再往拌碗的內壁壓推勻15次至表面紋理細緻且有光澤的麵糊為止。

將麵糊裝入擠花袋中﹐在先前畫了圓圈的烤盤紙上擠出圓形的麵糊。先固定一個點﹐再從上方擠出比直徑2cm稍小的圓形。總共擠出60個﹐放置30分鐘讓表面乾燥﹐用手摸不沾黏即可。放置的同時預熱烤箱至400°F/200°C。

待表面形成薄膜後用400°F/200°C烘烤2分鐘﹐然後迅速降溫到300°F/150°C繼續烘烤5分鐘。迅速取出烤盤各自覆上包裝鋁箔紙﹐放回烤箱時將烤盤調換 (上下烤架) 好 讓馬卡龍烤的均勻﹐再烘烤5分鐘﹐取出﹐放網架上靜置放涼後用抹刀取下﹐備用。



木紋圖案巧克力裝飾
80g 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
120 g 白巧克力﹐切碎

苦甜巧克力切碎後﹐放進一個耐熱的碗裡。碗一定要確實擦乾﹐不可有任何水份。放進微波爐裡加熱。分4~5次﹐每一次間隔為30秒的加熱及調溫巧克力。每一次都要確實攪拌勻至完全融化的狀態﹐放涼約2分鐘。

將蛋糕卷專用模具或方形模具倒轉﹐鋪上矽膠條(2.5x14in/6x40cm)。用木紋梳子沾取少量的調溫後的巧克力﹐塗抹在矽膠片上劃出圖案﹐放進冰箱凝固定形。

將白巧克力調溫融化後﹐用抹刀的前端沾取少量薄薄地填平在凝固定形後的苦甜巧克力上﹐在常溫下凝固後﹐再放進冰箱定形。

烤糖片裝飾
適量 Isomalt糖

預熱烤箱至360°F/180°C。將Isomalt糖均勻的灑在烘烤膠蓆上﹐蓋上另一片烘烤膠蓆﹐輕壓﹐然後放進烤箱烤5分鐘。取出﹐用桿麵棍輕壓一下﹐再烘烤5分鐘至完全融化後取出。放涼後將糖片切成你需要的大小。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:

事前準備:
- 在一個19cm/7 ½ in的半圓形模具裡鋪上一層保鮮膜(四邊留約2in/6cm的尾巴)﹐按壓出氣泡讓保鮮膜貼服﹐備用。
- 將烤布蕾切割成16 ½ cm/6 ½ in的圓形片﹐備用。
- 將蛋糕體切割出16 ½ cm/6 ½ in 的圓形片﹐備用。

將裝著馬斯卡朋慕斯的擠袋剪去一角﹐先擠些慕斯填滿模具至3分滿﹐推勻並薄薄地鋪平至模具邊緣﹐輕輕敲一下模具釋放氣泡。將白巧克力芭芭羅瓦餡心填入馬斯卡朋慕斯中﹐然後再擠入一層馬斯卡朋慕斯至模具7分滿。鋪上馬卡龍片﹐將烤布蕾填入慕斯中﹐再一層薄薄的馬斯卡朋慕斯﹐推平﹐最後鋪上塗了糖水的蛋糕片﹐往下輕按﹐將蛋糕放入冰箱冷卻定形3小時或一個晚上。

取出蛋糕﹐兩手拉著保鮮膜往上提﹐待蛋糕體可以拉離模具時翻轉倒扣脫模。製作巧克力鏡面。

將蛋糕連網架擺放在深的烤盤上。將微溫的鏡面淋在蛋糕上﹐任鏡面溢滿源周邊流下包覆整個蛋糕(連烤盤一起提起輕敲一下會幫助甘那許源邊流下)。記住這時動作要迅速，因為溫度容易下降﹐鏡面很快就會凝固。將蛋糕放冰箱凝固定形30分鐘才可以裝飾蛋糕。

以1個馬卡龍片2個覆盆子的比例貼在蛋糕的側面。將烤糖片﹑木紋圖案巧克力裝飾隨意的插在蛋糕的頂﹐然後擺放一些新鮮的覆盆子﹑草莓﹑迷你奇異果﹐及薄荷等等。最後在表面撒一些抹茶粉即可。

Isn't it gorgeous? This gorgeous arrangement is the topper on a cake that Mei made for my birthday. Mei is the owner of this lovely flower shop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
我不是說過Mei送我一個手工蛋糕嗎? 這些花是她用作裝飾蛋糕用的。是不是很漂亮?﹗當然啦﹐她可是花店老闆娘耶﹗

Daring Bakers Challenge: February Chocolate Bonanza ~ 純巧克力蛋糕佐巧克力﹑洋槐花蜜風味雪酪

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino is a flourless chocolate cake adopted from Sweet Treats by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. The recipe consists of 3 simple ingredients, chocolate (your choice), butter, and eggs. The simplicity of this recipe gives credit to the ingredients much in the same way of French baguette. It comes together very quickly too. However, the end result is a rich, luxurious and moist cake that would have you asking for a 2nd, maybe 3rd serving!



Our hosts have provided recipes for vanilla ice cream but I opted to try something different. I chose to serve the cake with 2 flavors of sorbet, chocolate and Acacia honey. I recently was giving a book written by the founders of Scharffen Berger and there is this wonderful but seemingly simple recipe for chocolate sorbet that I have wanted to give a try. It was indeed simple to make and has such a deep and clear flavor. This chocolate on chocolate combo answers the call to all the die hard chocoholics =)

I am in love with Acacia honey since I used it to make this lovely cake. I love its subtle floral note and thought that it would make a lovely and delicious flavoring for a sorbet. It was light, delicate and has a distinctive honey aroma. This flavor combo is for those that are looking for a balance from the dense texture of the chocolate cake.

Thank you Wendy and Dharm for this wonderful recipe! Click here to check out my fellow DBrs' version of the cake!




The rules as per our hosts:
- Use the provided cake recipe.
- The original recipe calls for the cake to be served with whipping cream BUT we decided to make this more of a challenge and ask you to make your own ice cream – a first for the DBrs. You can choose any flavor you want and any recipe although we provided two vanilla ice cream recipes. We are giving you a little freedom here and will allow whipped cream as a topping as well or of course non-dairy whip. Be as creative as you want with your topping. Any fruit puree or sauce would be lovely with this cake.
- It is optional to use a heart shaped pan. For a real Valentino, bake it in a heart shaped pan or cut it out into a heart shape. You may use any shape pan that gives you an area of 50” - 6x8 or 7x7. An 8” spring form pan works with great results as do smaller pans or ramekins.

What you need to know:
- A higher cocoa percentage increases the bitterness of the chocolate, which means the darker the chocolate, the denser the cake
- Use your favorite chocolate – the finished cake will taste exactly like the chocolate you use. Be creative with your chocolate, if you like a sweeter cake use milk chocolate or a combination of the semisweet and milk chocolate. If you like bittersweet chocolate use that and add sweetness by mixing the semi sweet with bittersweet. If you are daring, try white chocolate.
- The cake will sink a little as it cools but will still hold its shape and the top forms a light crust kind of like a brownie.

Chocolate Valentino – 8-inch cake

16oz (454 grams) bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams) unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

While the chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter the pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls. Whip the egg whites in a large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry). With the same beater beat the egg yolks together then add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with the remaining 2/3. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375°F/190°C。

Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140°F/60°C。.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.Remove cake from oven and cool on rack for 10 minutes then unmold and let cool completely.



Chocolate Sorbet - makes 1 quart
adopted from The Essence of Chocolate

2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
4 cups water
1tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine cocoa powder and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk in 1 cup of the water until any large lumps of powder are broken up, then whisk in the remaining water, 1 cup at a time, and whisk until all dry ingredients are dissolved.

Bring the mixture to just a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour mixture into a bowl, let cool then refrigerate overnight. The following day, place the sorbet base in an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instruction.

Acacia Honey Sorbet
makes 1 quart

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoon Acacia honey
4 cups water
1tsp vanilla extract

Combine honey and water in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the honey. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour mixture into a bowl, let cool then refrigerate overnight. The following day, place the sorbet base in an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instruction.

Plating:
Using a small heart shaped cookie cutter, stamp out little cake hearts. Place the hearts on plate, scope out the sorbets and place it on cake. Add the chocolate praline feuillete (recipe here) and top with edible gold. If you like, you may drizzle chocolate sauce on top of all.



抱歉喔﹐說好過兩天會補上食譜的﹐結果過這麼久才貼。這幾天都不在家﹐還有舊金山灣區下了好些天的雨﹐讓我心情鬱悶到不行﹐懶懶的什麼都不想做。還好這兩天太陽伯伯終於露臉了﹐我的心情也跟著放晴 =)

這個純巧克力蛋糕又名巧克力華倫天奴是我二月的Daring Bakers的培烘挑戰。這個月的hostess選用了據說是馬來西亞最華麗耀眼的美食大使Chef Wan 的Sweet Treats 書裡的食譜。雖然不知為什麼以華倫天奴命名﹐但這名字好像常跟浪漫掛鉤﹐我想以這命名的蛋糕是想讓吃到蛋糕的人感受到甜甜濃濃的愛意吧﹗這麼說頗適合送給情人﹐特別在情人節又或是送給喜歡的人表白。。呵呵。。。

此款蛋糕的特色是完全沒有添加任何麵粉，能輕鬆﹑近乎零失敗的在家製作。口感吃起來外層乾、脆，有點像布朗尼蛋糕但內層比布朗尼蛋糕更濕潤綿密，含有濃濃的巧克力味。單吃蛋糕好像單調了點﹐所以建議佐冰淇淋或醬汁一同享用。Hostess提供了香草冰淇淋的做法﹐可我想嘗試不一樣的口味配搭。早前朋友送我一本Scharffen Berger 創辦人寫的巧克力食譜書﹐裡頭有個巧克力雪酪讓我心癢癢的想吃很久了﹐這下終於付諸行動製作手工雪酪了。很容易製作的說﹐然而口感濃稠綿密﹑入口即化。

眼看雪酪這麼好製作﹐決定再弄其他的口味。因為不是人人喜歡濃郁的口味﹐就想來點清爽的﹐那就花蜜口味好了。自從使用洋槐花蜜製作慕斯就喜歡上這個味道﹐喜歡它淡淡的花香﹐我想用作雪酪的調味應該也不錯。還真的是不賴﹐綿綿的口感﹐非常清爽可口﹐很滋味。

你應該知道的事 - 蛋糕:
- 完全沒加麵粉﹐只需3樣材料就能做出的一個蛋糕。烤好的蛋糕中心會稍微下陷﹐但蛋糕體的形狀還是膨膨的。
- 選用的巧克力的可可脂肪越高也代表味道越濃郁﹐也就說蛋糕體越是稠密濃厚。
- 這個蛋糕的風味完全就是你選用的巧克力的拷貝品﹐所以建議使用你鍾愛的巧克力種類。

巧克力華倫天奴蛋糕– 8寸 (20.5cm) 圓形模具1個
16oz (454g) 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
½ 杯 加 2湯匙 (146g) 無鹽奶油﹐切丁
5 個 L尺碼蛋黃
5 個 L尺碼蛋白

事前準備:
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至375°F/190°C。
- 模具抹上一層奶油﹐鋪上烤盤紙﹐再在紙上抹上一層奶油﹐備用。

先燒開一小鍋的水﹐備用。將切碎的巧克力和切丁的奶油混合倒進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐放小鍋上(容器不能碰到熱水)隔熱水不停攪拌至順滑﹐完全融化為止。放一旁降溫。

在另一碗中加進蛋白﹐用電動攪拌器以中速攪打蛋白﹐攪打至富含空氣且顏色變白出現尖角程度為止﹐約3分鐘﹐蛋白霜就完成了。跟著將蛋黃倒進另一個拌碗中﹐打發至顏色變鵝黃色﹐然後拌進微溫的巧克力中﹐拌勻。

將1/3量的蛋白霜加進巧克力蛋糊中﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。再分兩次拌進剩下的蛋白霜﹐刮翻切拌勻至不見任何蛋白霜即可。

將麵糊倒進模具中﹐將麵糊推勻﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後﹐放進預熱過的烤模裡﹐以375°F/190°C烘烤約25分鐘。將糖果溫度計插入蛋糕中央﹐如果溫度到達140°F/60°C﹐蛋糕就烤好了。如果沒有糖果溫度計也可以用竹籤插入中央﹐慢慢拔出時不會沾黏但還是濕濕的﹐而蛋糕表面已形成一層硬薄膜(有點像布朗尼蛋糕的薄膜)就好了。從烤箱取出﹐擺在網架上放涼5分鐘﹐然後翻轉倒扣脫模﹐翻轉﹐整個放涼後用心形餅乾模吸切割出小蛋糕。
如果不立刻使用﹐可將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天﹐使用前靜置回溫即可。　



你應該知道的事 - 雪酪:
- 類似冰淇淋的雪酪(sorbet)，跟冰淇淋的區別是完全不含乳脂製品﹐多以新鮮果泥、果汁為主要成分。
- 新鮮做的雪酪有點柔軟，如果喜歡吃質地硬一點的，將雪酪放進冰箱多冷凍1小時。

巧克力雪酪 – 4杯份量
食譜摘自The Essence of Chocolate

2杯 無糖可可粉﹐篩過
1 ¾ 杯 砂糖
4 杯 水
1茶匙 香草精

把篩過的無糖可可粉、砂糖混合裝進小鍋裡，慢慢注入1杯水﹐攪拌勻後再注入餘下的3杯水﹐拌至可可粉及砂糖溶解為止。以中火煮沸，熄火，加進香草精﹐拌勻。將可可漿倒進1個大碗中﹐放涼後再放冰箱冷藏一個晚上。從冰箱取出雪酪基地﹐倒進冰淇淋機裡，然後根據製造商的指示製作雪酪。

洋槐花蜜風味雪酪 – 4杯份量

¾杯加2湯匙 洋槐花蜜
4杯 水
1茶匙 香草精

把洋槐花蜜、水混合裝進小鍋裡，以中火煮至沸騰花蜜完全溶解，熄火。加進香草精﹐拌勻後倒進1個大碗中﹐放涼後再放冰箱冷藏一個晚上。從冰箱取出雪酪基地﹐稍攪拌直到它變得有點順滑後，倒進冰淇淋機裡，然後根據製造商的指示製作雪酪。

組合擺飾:
將用心形餅乾模吸切割出的心形小蛋糕﹐擺放在碟子中央。將雪酪挖成橢圓形狀的小球﹐然後放在蛋糕的上方。將切成三角形狀的巧克力千層酥(食譜點這裡)插在蛋糕體﹐再擺些烤過的杏仁片﹑食用金箔點綴即可。如果喜歡﹐也可以擠些巧克力醬。

Non-stop celebrations - Lunar New Year! ~ 過不完的節日^^

Did I tell you this time of the year is my favorite time of the year?! You see, it is non-stop celebrations – Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Lunar New Year (LNY) and Valentine’s Day (plus my Chinese birthday and birthday are only weeks away too)!!! Yup, it is fantastic =)

I was cleaning the house and the garden over the weekend for LNY, and found that all the citrus trees in my garden were bearing fruits – loads of. I have been thinking of baking some sweets to give to my relatives as gifts for the LNY holiday and was flipping thru books to look for recipe that is suitable. We bring sweets (candies, Chinese pastries, chocolate and etc) to family and friends’ home when paying them visits over LNY, symbolizing prosperity in the new year - a traditional of LNY. When I saw all those mandarins, a light bulb lighted up; I knew of just the perfect sweet I can bake up – mini citrus cakes!

To get in the spirit of the Lunar New Year, I decided to use what Chinese see as the symbol of prosperity – Kumquat (pronounced gam gwat) and mandarins fruits. Kumquat is widely popular during LNY and sold as a plant and used to decorate the house – think Poinsettias for Christmas and mandarins fruits are eaten as snacks – at least in my family~



I adopted the recipe from Hidemi Sugino’s The Dessert Book; the original recipe was for fava bean pound cakes, which sounds really interesting and soon to be tested. I would say these mini pound cakes are a variation to the financier cakes I made last year. Since I used 2 types of citrus in this recipe, I was worried that it would be overly tangy but the end result was some super moist cakes with ultra citrus fragrant that will delight anyone who eats them. BTW, they are best enjoyed with a cup of good black tea ;)

Citrus Mini Pound Cakes – 4in x 2in x 5¾in mini loaf pan
For the batter:
200g unsalted butter, thinly sliced
280g confectioners’ sugar
7 whole eggs, L size
200g almond flour
140g all-purpose flour
80g candied mandarins peel, process until purée-like in a food-processor
3g baking powder
Some candied kumquat halves
Some pistachio dice
Some Cointreau for brushing on cake

Prep:
- Butter the loaf pans generously with unsalted butter.
- Preheat the oven to 340°F/170°C.

Sift together, flour, almond flour and baking powder; set aside.

Using a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar and mix over medium speed for a few seconds or until incorporated; gradually add the eggs, flour mixture, mix for a few second after each addition.

Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and fold in the mandarins purée until incorporated. Pour batter into a piping bag. Snip off a corner of the bag and pipe batter into the prepared pans, lightly tap each pan to release the air bubbles, arrange 3 to 4 pieces of kumquat and sprinkle pistachio dice generously on top. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden; remove from oven. Remove the cakes from pans, brush a layer of Cointreau on top of cake while it is still warm then leave on wire rack to cool.




Candied Mandarins Peel
100g mandarins peel
½ tsp salt

Syrup:
100g granulated sugar
100g water

Make the syrup: bring sugar and water to a boil over medium heat; remove from heat and set aside.

Wash the peel well using a veggie brush then slice into thin threads. Put peel, salt, add water to just cover in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and drain; repeat this step 1 more time.

Return the drained peel to a small saucepan, add the syrup to just cover and boil over medium heat until translucent. Let cool and cover (with syrup) overnight.




一年中就屬十一﹑十二﹑一月這些時候最得我心了。無他﹐因像有過不完的節日是的(笑)。想說剛剛才過完西方的聖誕﹑新年﹑可過幾天又是農曆新年了﹐可樂了我~

自踏入冬天﹐我就很少打理后花園那些花花草草﹐不過因為新年的關係﹐在過去的這個週末就想清理一下好去舊迎新。走進花園映入眼前的是顏色鮮艷的各色柑橘類的果樹﹐原來它們都結滿了果實﹐有檸檬﹐柚子跟橘子等。媽媽說現在是柑橘的季節﹐所以都結果了。果實看起來實在是太飽滿了﹐打掃中途忍不住摘了個橘子來吃﹐味道還不賴不過偏酸﹐覺得比較適合用來製作果醬。剛好我在為該做什麼樣的拜年糕點拌手禮而頭痛﹐突然想到我該用這些橘子跟朋友由佛羅里達州帶回來的金桔作為食材。記得Hidemi Sugino’s The Dessert Book 中有多個柑橘甜點的做法﹐決定做什麼後馬上翻食譜去。

想想大可做我去年烤過的桔香小蛋糕﹐不過那實在需要烤多次才能達到我要的數量﹐決定做比較有份量的磅蛋糕。原食譜是用蠶豆茸(改天一定要試做)﹐我改以加入用糖漿煮過的橘子皮及金桔及刷一點橘味白蘭地酒好讓味道更突出﹐不過麵糊base做法還是源用Sugino大師的。味道做出來是我的那杯茶﹐是一種樸素而簡單的蛋糕﹐但是味道很紮實﹐可以享受到柑橘獨特的香味。最適合午後配杯紅茶享用喔~



柑橘風味磅蛋糕
磅蛋糕模具4in x 2in x 5¾in 6個

200g 無鹽奶油﹐室溫放軟﹑切片
280g 糖粉
7個 全蛋﹐L尺寸
200g 杏仁粉
140g 麵粉
80g 糖漬橘子皮粗泥
3g 發酵粉/ 泡打粉
適量 糖漬金桔
適量 開心果仁碎
適量 刷塗用橘味白蘭地酒

事前準備:
- 先把奶油從冰箱取出﹐使恢復為室溫。用手指戳一下奶油﹐變軟即可。
- 模具抹上厚厚的奶油﹐備用。
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中間﹐烤箱預熱至340F/170C。

要注意什麼呢?
- 麵糊攪拌至飽含空氣後立刻烘烤。
- 烤箱應不同制造商﹐溫度有異哦﹗記住烘烤時間只是參考而以﹗

混合篩過杏仁粉﹑麵粉﹑發酵粉﹐備用。用食物處理器將糖漬橘子皮磨打約一分鐘至粗泥狀後﹐移至碗中備用。

用電動攪拌器以中速把糖和奶油打至融合﹐分數次加入雞蛋﹐每加一次攪打數秒至融合。跟著小量地加入混合篩過後的粉類﹐每加一次都必須攪打均勻﹐至呈順滑麵糊狀。將麵糊倒進裝有橘子皮粗泥的碗中﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻拌勻。將麵糊倒入沒有擠嘴的擠花袋裡﹐剪去一角﹐將麵糊擠進烤模中至約8分滿﹐輕輕叩幾下釋放氣泡﹐放3 - 4塊糖漬金桔在上﹐最後撒些開心果仁碎。

放進預熱過的烤箱裡﹐烘烤約25分鐘至金黃色。用竹籤插入中央﹐慢慢拔出時不會沾黏﹐就烤好了。從烤箱取出﹐擺在網架上稍微放涼﹐翻轉倒扣﹐然後在蛋糕表面刷一點橘味白蘭地酒後整個放涼。

糖漬橘子皮
100g 橘子皮
½茶匙 鹽巴

糖漿:
100g 砂糖
100g 清水

製作糖漿: 將水和砂糖倒進小鍋裡﹐開中火煮沸後離火備用。

將橘子皮洗乾淨﹐抹乾﹐切成絲﹐備用。

將橘子皮﹑ ¼ 茶匙的鹽巴﹑適量的水(蓋過橘子皮即可)以中火煮沸﹐撈起橘子皮﹐倒掉熱水﹐擠掉水份﹐再重複一次這個去水份的做法。將橘子皮和糖漿混合倒進小鍋以中火煮沸後繼續煮至變透晶瑩為止。在常溫中放涼置一晚。將橘子皮跟小量的糖漿倒進密閉容器中冷藏存放。

December Daring Bakers' Challenge: Entremets au chocolat ~ French Yule Log - 極緻的巧克力樹幹慕斯

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilège Gourmand!

What is a French Yule Log? According to our hostesses, you can buy two kinds of Yule log in France, the Genoise or Buttercream type. However, what is more commonly purchased is a frozen Yule Log very reminiscent of an ice cream cake, only often it’s not made of ice cream but rather frozen mousse of some sort. In French this is called an entremets which is sometime loosely translated in English as simply as a cream dessert. This also means that this recipe is not holiday specific - it is just a scrumptious dessert recipe that you can enjoy year round!

The recipes of most elements come almost entirely from Florilège Gourmand, which belongs to Flore, except for one small labeled portion and some of the variations courtesy of our dear Daring Baker fairy Tartelette. Different recipes have been pulled from the entremet section of Flore’s site to make up this masterpiece. Also, since Flore’s blog is written in French, hugs to the hostesses for the translation! Thank you ladies for choosing this beautiful and absolutely scrumptious dessert!

Before we begin, I just want to let you know that this may look impossible to complete but I assure you that this looks 100 times harder than it really is! The key to success is organization! As long as you complete each element in the order that it calls for, you are half way there, what is left is how to assemble and to decorate. On top of this, I strongly advise you to break the elements into 2 days so you have enough time to draft up the final look of this dessert. You see, I bake the crème brûlée and make the chocolate praline crisp the night before and let them set in the refrigerator. Bake the dacquoise biscuit the next morning, while it is being cool, I whipped up the mousse. Assemble these elements and let set in the fridge. Meanwhile, make the ganache and complete the log composition. Later in the afternoon, demold and cover the log with glaze to complete it. Decorate it an hour before serving.

Now, enjoy the ooh and ahh from your friends and family, my dear^^

Here are the rules for the CHALLENGE - MUST MAKE ALL 6 of the following elements for the log:
1) dacquoise biscuit
2) mousse
3) ganache Insert
4) praline (Crisp) Insert
5) crème brûlée Insert
6) Icing/glaze

Some things to keep in mind:
- You are of course free to flavor your layers differently, we realize not everyone likes chocolate; it was just the simplest way to introduce variations. You will notice there are fruit variations in a couple of the components, you may of course do fruit flavoring for all of them, but we can’t guarantee we know exactly how to change the recipe in that case, so bear with us and we’ll try to help you out as much as possible.
- PLEASE READ THE NOTES AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY SECTION. They should help you with most questions you may have, at least we hope.
- Please look at the pictures of the “new” components in this recipe that you may never have seen before and at a completed log courtesy of Marion running a test at the very end of the recipe.
- We’ve tried to give you as many measuring units as possible (this recipe started out in grams only). We hope this helps. Imperial units (tbsp etc…) are American.
- For all our alternative bakers, the recipe is so long we didn’t know where to start even asking Nathalie to do a gluten-free one, so please feel free to ask, we’ll do our best to help you.

French Yule Log or Entremets by Flore of Florilège Gourmand

Element #1 ~ Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert

Note: Feuillete means layered (as in with leaves) so a Praline Feuillete is a Praline version of a delicate crisp. There are non-praline variations below. The crunch in this crisp comes from an ingredient which is called gavottes in French. Gavottes are lace-thin crepes. To our knowledge they are not available outside of France, so you have the option of making your own using the recipe below or you can simply substitute rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K for them. If you want to make your own praline, please click here.

Gavottes (lace crepes - recipe by Ferich Mounia) yields 60g
1/3cup (80ml) whole milk
2/3tbsp (8g) unsalted butter
1/3cup minus 2tsp (35g) all-purpose flour
1tbsp (15g) beaten egg
1tsp (3.5g) granulated sugar
½tsp vegetable oil

1. Heat the milk and butter together until butter is completely melted. Remove from the heat.
2. Sift flour into milk-butter mixture while beating, add egg and granulated sugar. Make sure there are no lumps.
3. Grease a baking sheet and spread batter thinly over it.
4. Bake at 430°F (220°C) for a few minutes until the crepe is golden and crispy. Let cool.

Chocolate Praline Feuillete:
100g bittersweet chocolate
1 + 2/3tbsp (25g) unsalted butter
2tbsp (30g) praline
60g gavottes or 2tbsp rice krispies or corn flakes

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline and the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.



Element #2 ~ Jasmine-infused Crème Brulée Insert

Note: The crème brulée can be flavored differently by simply replacing the jasmine with something else e.g. cardamom, lavender, etc...

½ cup (115g) heavy cream
½ cup (115g) whole milk
4 med (72g) egg yolks
2tbsp (25g) granulated sugar
1tsp premium loose jasmine tea leave

1. Heat the milk, cream, and jasmine tea leave to just boiling. Remove from the heat and let the jasmine infuse for about 12 minutes.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the jasmine-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture and mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Place it into a large roasting pan then pour hot water into the roasting pan all the way up half way of the baking mold. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C) for about 1 ½ hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.

Tartelette says: You can bake it without a water bath since it is going to go inside the log (the aesthetics of it won't matter as much since it will be covered with other things)....BUT I would recommend a water bath for the following reasons:
- you will get a much nicer mouth feel when it is done
- you will be able to control its baking point and desired consistency much better
- it bakes for such a long time that I fear it will get overdone without a water bath

Now...since it is baked in a pan and it is sometimes difficult to find another large pan to set it in for a water bath, even a small amount of water in your water bath will help the heat be distributed evenly in the baking process. Even as little as 1 inch will help.

Element #3 ~ Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)

Note: You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom and top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible.

¾ cup + 1Tbsp (80g) almond meal
½ cup (50g) confectioner’s sugar
2tbsp all-purpose flour
3tbps unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
100g about 3 med egg whites
4tbsp (50g) granulated sugar

1. In a mixer, pulse the together the almond meal and the confectioner's sugar for no longer than 30 seconds then sift in the unsweetened cocoa powder. Finely mix all ingredients until incorporated.
2. Sift the flour into the mix.
3. Beat the eggs whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff.
4. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and blend delicately with a spatula.
5. Grease a piece of parchment paper and line your baking pan with it.
6. Spread the batter on a piece of parchment paper to an area slightly larger than your desired shape (circle, long strip etc...) and to a height of 1/3 inches (8mm).
7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven), until golden. 8. Let cool and cut to the desired shape.



Element #4 ~ Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse

Note: You will see that a Pate a Bombe is mentioned in this recipe. A Pate a Bombe is a term used for egg yolks beaten with sugar syrup then aerated. It is the base used for many mousse and buttercream recipes. It makes mousses and buttercreams more stable, particularly if they are to be frozen, so that they do not melt as quickly or collapse under the weight of heavier items such as the crème brulee insert. In the Vanilla Mousse variation, pastry cream is made to the same effect. In the Mango Mousse variation, Italian meringue is made to the same effect. Italian meringue is a simple syrup added to egg whites as they are beaten until stiff. It has the same consistency as Swiss meringue (thick and glossy) which we have used before in challenge recipes as a base for buttercream. The whipped Cream option contains no gelatin, so beware of how fast it may melt.

Gelatin/Gelatine is the gelifying agent in all of the following recipes, but if you would like to use agar-agar, here are the equivalencies:
8g powdered gelatin = 1 (0.25 oz) envelope powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp Agar-Agar. 1 Tbsp. of agar-agar flakes is equal to 1 tsp. of agar-agar powder.

2.5 sheets gelatin or 5g powdered gelatin
3 tbsp (40g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp (10g) glucose or thick corn syrup
1tbsp (15g) water
50g (3 med.) egg yolks
175g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1.5 cups (350g) heavy cream

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water. (If using powdered gelatin, follow the directions on the package.)
2. Make a Pate a Bombe: beat the egg yolks until very light in color (approximately 5 minutes until almost white).
3. Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should reach 244°F (118°C). If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the sugar temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water, if it forms a soft ball in the water then you have reached the correct temperature.4. Add the sugar syrup to the beaten yolks carefully by pouring it into the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to beat the yolks. You can do this by hand but it’s easier to do this with an electric mixer. Continue beating until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The batter should become thick and foamy.3. In a double boiler or equivalent, heat 2 tablespoons of cream to boiling then add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.
4. Whip the remainder of the cream until stiff.
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the softened gelatin, mixing well. Let the gelatin and chocolate cool slightly and then stir in ½ cup of WHIPPED cream to temper then add the Pate a Bombe.
6. Add in the rest of the WHIPPED cream mixing gently with a spatula until incorporated.

Element #5 ~ Jasmine-infused Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert

Note: Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar and then adding the cream. It may splatter and boil.

4tbsp (50g) granulated sugar
1tsp premium loose jasmine tea leave
135g dark chocolate, finely chopped
3tbsp + ½ tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened
2/3 cup minus 1tbsp (135g) heavy cream

1. Add the jasmine tea leave to the heavy cream and let steep in the fridge overnight. Strain before use. 2. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the jasmine infused cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Element #6 ~ Dark Chocolate Glaze/Icing

Note: Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.For other gelatin equivalencies or gelatin to agar-agar equivalencies, look at the notes for the mousse component.

½ tbsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin
¼ cup (60g) heavy cream
5tbsp (60g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50g) water
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Boil the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 3 minutes after boiling.
3. Add gelatin to the chocolate mixture. Mix well.
4. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

How to assemble your French Yule Log:

Depending on whether your mold is going to hold the assembly upside down until you unmold it or right side up, this order will be different.

THIS IS FOR UNMOLDING FROM UPSIDE DOWN TO RIGHT SIDE UP. You will want to tap your mold gently on the countertop after each time you pipe mousse in to get rid of any air bubbles.1. Line your mold or pan, whatever its shape, with rhodoid (clear hard plastic, I usually use transparencies cut to the desired shape, it’s easier to find than cellulose acetate which is what rhodoid translates to in English) OR plastic film. Rhodoid will give you a smoother shape but you may have a hard time using it depending on the kind of mold you’re using.

You have two choices for Step 2, you can either have Dacquoise on the top and bottom of your log as in version A or you can have Dacquoise simply on the bottom of your log as in version B:

2. Cut the Dacquoise into a shape fitting your mold and set it in there. If you are using an actual Yule mold which is in the shape of a half-pipe, you want the Dacquoise to cover the entire half-pipe portion of the mold.
3. Pipe one third of the Mousse component on the Dacquoise.
4. Take the crème brulee insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
5. Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the crème brulee Insert.
6. Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
7. Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
8. Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.
9. Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight edge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
10. Close with the last strip of Dacquoise.

Freeze until the next day.

OR

1. Pipe one third of the Mousse component into the mold.
2. Take the crème brulee insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
3. Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the crème brulee insert.
4. Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
5. Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
6. Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.
7. Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight edge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
8. Close with the Dacquoise.

Freeze until the next day.

If you are doing the assembly UPSIDE DOWN with TWO pieces of Dacquoise the order is:
1) Dacquoise
2) Mousse
3) Crème Brulee Insert
4) Mousse
5) Praline/Crisp Insert
6) Mousse
7) Ganache Insert
8) Dacquoise

If you are doing the assembly UPSIDE DOWN with ONE piece of Dacquoise on the BOTTOM ONLY the order is:

1) Mousse
2) Crème Brulee Insert
3) Mousse
4) Praline/Crisp Insert
5) Mousse
6) Ganache Insert
7) Dacquoise

If you are doing the assembly RIGHT SIDE UP in a springform pan the order is:
1) Dacquoise
2) Ganache Insert
3) Mousse
4) Praline/Crisp Insert
5) Mousse
6) Crème Brulee Insert
7) Mousse
8 OPTIONAL) Dacquoise

THE NEXT DAY...

1. Unmold the cake/log/whatever and set on a wire rack over a shallow pan.
2. Cover the cake with the icing.
3. Let set. Return to the freezer.
4. You may decorate your cake however you wish. The decorations can be set in the icing after it sets but before you return the cake to the freezer or you may attach them on top using extra ganache or leftover mousse, etc...
5. Transfer to the refrigerator no longer than ½ hour before serving as it may start to melt quickly depending on the elements you chose.

就以巧克力為2008年完美的落幕吧﹗

這巧克力樹幹慕斯是Daring Bakers12月的指定挑戰品。蛋糕的食譜由自名為Florilège Gourmand的網站~

用上6種濃厚風味口感的甜點素材組合而成﹐步驟複雜但卻不會讓人感到構成的材料很多﹐是人人也可在家製作的一道甜點。對於口感的重視﹐是法國甜點獨一無二的特徵﹐雖然這蛋糕混合了多種巧克力﹐可又很奇妙的在舌頭上融合﹐使甘美的香氣合而為一。

#1 ~ 巧克力千層酥 - 直徑9x13in/23x34cm長方形烤模1個
3.5安士 (100g) 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
1 + 2/3湯匙 (25g) 無鹽奶油
2湯匙 (30g) 榛果糖膏
60g法式薄餅or 2湯匙玉米片

蛋糕卷專用烤盤或長方形模具上鋪上烤盤紙﹐備用。將切碎的巧克力和無鹽奶油放進一個耐熱的碗裡﹐隔水加熱融化。用橡皮刀不停地攪拌至完全混合融化後﹐倒入榛果糖膏及玉米片快速攪拌勻。將巧克力糊倒在鋪了烤盤紙的模具中﹐推勻﹐再鋪上另一張烤盤紙輕壓鋪平。放進冰箱冷藏至定形成硬塊備用。

#2 ~茉莉口味烤布蕾 - 直徑8in或18 X18cm方形烤模1個
布蕾(又名烤布丁)可以做成很多不同的口味像香草﹑薰衣草﹑荳蔻﹑巧克力等等。

½ 杯 (115g) 鮮奶油
½ 杯 (115g) 全脂奶
4 個M尺寸(72g) 蛋黃
2湯匙 (25g) 砂糖
1茶匙 茉莉茶葉

將奶﹑鮮奶油及茉莉茶葉混合倒進小鍋裡﹐用中火慢慢加熱﹐ 煮至沸騰時立刻熄火﹐蓋上鍋蓋泡10 – 15分鐘。

預熱烤箱至210°F/100°C。將蛋黃和砂糖混合充份攪拌勻後 (不要攪拌至變淡白)﹐慢慢注入過濾後的茉莉熱奶漿﹐邊倒邊攪拌﹐攪拌至蛋奶漿變稠均勻後在奶漿上方鋪上一片餐巾紙﹐輕輕地吸取掉泡沫後倒進模具中。將模具放進有深度的烤盤裡﹐然後注入熱開水達模具一半的高度﹐再放進預熱過的烤箱裡烘烤90分鐘 (60分鐘後要不停的查看以免烤焦)。當搖晃模具時布蕾中央會抖動但週邊不動即烤好了。取出﹐待室溫放涼﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放冰箱冷卻一個小時或一個晚上。

#3 ~巧克力杏仁蛋白蛋糕(Dacquoise) - 直徑9x13in/23x34cm長方形烤模1個
令人心醉的香醇濃郁風味﹐香氣四溢﹐品嚐起來是紮實的堅果口感。保溼性佳，就算等上一段時間才享用，也不失其溼潤口感。

¾ 杯+ 1湯匙 (80g) 杏仁粉
½ 杯 (50g) 糖粉
2湯匙 麵粉
3湯匙 無糖可可粉﹐篩過
100g (約3個M尺碼) 蛋白
4湯匙 (50g) 砂糖

事前準備:
- 將一烤架移到烤箱下格﹐烤箱預熱至350°F/180°C。
- 蛋糕卷專用烤盤或長方形模具上鋪上烤盤紙﹐備用。

將杏仁粉﹑糖粉用食物處理器攪打30秒﹐篩入可可粉﹐攪打至混合﹐再篩入麵粉﹐拌勻備用。

另一mixing bowl裡加進蛋白﹐用電動攪拌器以中速攪打蛋白﹐小量地加進砂糖﹐攪打至富含空氣且顏色變白出現尖角程度為止﹐約3分鐘。小量地將杏仁粉加進蛋霜中﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。

將麵糊倒進模具中﹐將麵糊推勻﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後﹐放進預熱過的烤模裡﹐以350°F/180°C烘烤約15分鐘。等烤到週圍會因烤熟而稍稍縮小﹐烤模和蛋糕體間就會出現空隙﹐輕按蛋糕中間時感覺到彈性即烤好。也可以用竹籤插入中央﹐慢慢拔出時不會沾黏﹐就烤好了。從烤箱取出﹐擺在網架上放涼5分鐘﹐然後翻轉倒扣脫模﹐整個放涼後切割成長方形狀(比模具稍微小一點)。

如果不立刻使用﹐可將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天。如果放冰格冷藏可以存放1個月。使用前靜置回溫即可。

#4 ~ 黑巧克力慕斯
pâte à bombe指的是將熱的糖漿加入蛋黃中充份打發至富含空氣的蛋漿糊。是很多奶油餡及慕斯甜點的基底﹐可讓其更固定﹐成托力更好及不易融化。

3 湯匙 (40g) 砂糖
1½ 茶匙 (10g) 玉米糖漿或純葡萄糖
1湯匙 (15g) 清水
50g (約3個) 蛋黃
175g 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
1杯半(350g) 鮮奶油
2.5片魚膠片或5g 魚膠粉

事前準備:
- 明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分﹐備用。如果用明膠粉: 將明膠粉倒入水裡 (2大匙) 泡脹後備用。

製作pâte à bombe:
Mixing bowl裡加進蛋黃﹐用電動攪拌器以中速打發至顏色變淡白﹐約5分鐘。打發蛋黃的同時﹐邊將砂糖﹑玉米糖漿﹑及清水混合倒進鍋子裡用中火加熱。約煮3分鐘至溫度為244°F /118°C為止。如果沒有糖果溫度計﹐舀取1小匙糖漿滴到冷水中﹐取出在手指間 搓揉﹐若能成為小球狀的濃度即可﹐離火。

用電動攪拌器以低速繼續打發蛋黃﹐邊將糖漿細絲般的慢慢地注入蛋漿中(千萬不要攪拌糖漿會結晶的)，完全注入糖漿後轉中速繼續打發﹐打至冷卻富含空氣變結實的程度﹐約5分鐘﹐備用。

製作慕斯:
將2湯匙的鮮奶油以中火煮沸﹐離火。加入切碎的苦甜巧克力﹐讓靜置2分鐘﹐然後用橡皮刀攪拌至順滑﹐紋理細緻且有光澤為止﹐稍微放涼。巧克力漿放涼的同時﹐用電動打蛋器打發剩餘的鮮奶油至變富含空氣出現尖角的程度。將泡軟的明膠片拌進還是流動狀態的巧克力漿裡﹐攪拌勻。拌入約3份1打發好的鮮奶油﹐拌勻後倒進pâte à bombe﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。最後拌入剩下打發好的鮮奶油﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。

#5 ~ 茉莉口味苦甜巧克力甘那許夾心 -1½ 杯份量

4湯匙 (50g) 砂糖
1茶匙 茉莉茶葉
135g 苦甜巧克力 (65 -70% 可可亞成份), 切碎
3湯匙 + ½ 茶匙 (45g) 無鹽奶油 - 室溫放軟﹐切成小方塊
135g 或2/3杯減1湯匙的 鮮奶油

鮮奶油與茶葉混合，放進冰箱，泡浸一個晚上。

將砂糖倒入小鍋裡﹐用中火加熱。不要攪拌砂糖但要不時的輕輕搖幾下﹐讓它不會煮焦。同時用別個鍋子將過濾後的茉莉鮮奶油以中火煮沸﹐離火。待砂糖完全融化證琥珀色時﹐將茉莉鮮奶油一鼓作氣倒進糖漿中﹐這時奶漿可能會四處飛濺﹐不要給燙到喔﹗這個時候糖漿會結晶﹐搖幾下鍋子﹐繼續煮2分鐘就會溶化﹐離火。

將焦糖漿慢慢地注入切碎的苦甜巧克力中﹐讓靜置2分鐘﹐然後用橡皮刀攪拌至順滑﹐加入奶油拌勻。改用打蛋器攪打至巧克力完全融化﹐全體出現光亮且黏稠滑順時即可。然後將甘那許倒進擠花袋裡備用。

#6 ~ 巧克力鏡面 – 1 ½ 杯份量
鏡面很容易凝固﹐所以最好在裝飾前製作。

¼杯 (60g) 鮮奶油
5湯匙 (60g) 砂糖
¼杯 (50g) 清水
1/3杯 (30g) 無糖可可粉
2片魚膠片或½ 湯匙魚膠粉

事前準備:
- 明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分，備用。如果用明膠粉: 將明膠粉倒入水裡 (2大匙) 泡脹後備用。

將鮮奶油﹑砂糖﹑清水及無糖可可粉混合倒入小鍋裡﹐用中火加熱﹐不時攪拌讓液體不會煮焦﹐煮沸後繼續煮3分鐘。加入泡軟的明膠片﹐用橡皮刀攪拌均勻至順滑看不見碎粒即可﹐稍微放涼。待可可漿變稠﹐並可以在湯匙背劃出清晰的線條時就可使用。

螺旋狀巧克力裝飾
135g 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎

巧克力切碎後﹐放進一個耐熱的碗裡。碗一定要確實擦乾﹐不可有任何水份。放進microwave裡加熱。分4~5次﹐每一次間隔為30秒的加熱及調溫巧克力。每一次都要確實攪拌勻至完全融化的狀態﹐稍微放涼約一分鐘。

將蛋糕卷專用模具或方形模具倒轉﹐鋪上矽膠條(2.5x14in/6x40cm)。用抹刀的前端沾取少量的調溫後的巧克力﹐塗抹在矽膠片上﹐用鋸齒梳子劃出線條圖案﹐在常溫下凝固。待巧克力看上去是乾的但還沒有完全變硬的時候﹐將矽膠條捲成圓形螺旋狀﹐然後放置在半圓形模具中﹐在常溫下凝固定形後﹐再放進冰箱定形。

水滴狀巧克力裝飾
將蛋糕卷專用模具或方形模具倒轉﹐鋪上矽膠條/片。用抹刀的前端沾取少量的調溫後的巧克力﹐邊按壓在矽膠條/片上邊用手向前拉﹐形成水滴圖案﹐在常溫下凝固定形後﹐再放進冰箱定形。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:

事前準備:
- 在一個40X8cm的長半圓形模具鋪上一層保鮮膜(四邊留約2in/6cm的尾巴)﹐按壓出氣泡讓保鮮膜貼服﹐備用。
- 將巧克力千層酥切成約2.5in/6cm片狀的長方形條﹐備用。
- 將烤布蕾切割成2.5in/6cm片狀的長方形條﹐備用。
- 將蛋糕體切成4片比長半圓形模具小一點的長方形條﹐備用。

將黑巧克力慕斯倒進模具中至5分滿﹐推勻並薄薄地鋪平至模具邊緣﹐輕輕敲一下模具釋放氣泡。將烤布蕾條填入巧克力慕斯中﹐鋪上巧克力千層酥片﹐再一層薄薄的巧克力慕斯﹐推平﹐擠一層巧克力甘那許夾心在上﹐再鋪上薄薄的巧克力慕斯﹐推平﹐最後鋪上蛋糕條﹐往下輕按﹐將蛋糕放入冰箱冷卻定形3小時或一個晚上。

取出蛋糕﹐兩手拉著保鮮膜往上提﹐待蛋糕體可以拉離模具時翻轉倒扣脫模。切去表面四週的蛋糕體﹔製作巧克力鏡面。

將蛋糕連網架擺放在深的烤盤上。將微溫的鏡面淋在蛋糕上﹐任鏡面溢滿源周邊流下包覆整個蛋糕(連烤盤一起提起輕敲一下會幫助甘那許源邊流下)。記住這時動作要迅速，因為溫度容易下降﹐鏡面很快就會凝固。讓蛋糕靜置凝固15分鐘才可以裝飾蛋糕。

在蛋糕表面撒一些食用金箔粉﹐然後貼一些烤杏仁片在蛋糕側面﹐隨意擺放巧克力旋渦條﹐再在蛋糕前後方黏幾片裝飾巧克力片﹐最後加點食用金箔點綴即可。將蛋糕放進冰箱冷藏30分鐘固定。