Come Spring...Tarte aux fraises ~ 春的氣息の草莓田園

Hello friends, it has been a while. Do you miss me? Hug <3

If you have been following me then you know the reason why I have been missing in action although it is not an excuse for not updating this space for such a long period of time. I thought it is still January, time just flies!

We had the coldest winter in the San Francisco Bay Area in years. It is especially cold and wet for the past 2 weeks making me really down. To cheer myself up, I fooled myself into believing spring is here by making spring-ish desserts =)

I decided to make fruit tarts simply because I found the cutest and yummiest strawberries at this marketplace. OMG, I can go on and on about this place but I’ll save that for another post because it deserves to have a post dedicated to it. It has the most amazing produces department – a must-visit shop if you live in the area. Now back to sweets. This is not your typical fruit tart - this one is a light version made with fresh whipped cream instead of pastry cream but it is nothing short of deliciousness! The shell is of a light, crumbly texture like sablé cookies. The strawberries are of the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. Put the 3 together, a mouthful of goodness and the perfect tea-nack! For variation, use raspberries and raspberry puree and rose water for the cream. So heavenly! bon appétite~





Tarte aux fraises
- make 6 individual size tarts

Pâte Sucrée or French Sweet Pastry Crust
290g all purpose flour
20g pastry flour
100g unsalted butter, softened and diced
80g caster sugar
2 eggs
Pinch salt

Strawberry Chantilly Cream
Makes about 2 cups

250ml heavy cream
60g granulated sugar
55g strawberry puree
1tbsp strawberry liqueur

Strawberries, mint leave for garnish

For the sweet pastry:
Sift together the flour and pastry flour; set aside. Beat butter, sugar and a pinch of salt using an electric mixer until pale, add eggs and mix. Add flour, mix until just combined, then turn onto a lightly floured surface and form into a disc; add a tablespoon of ice water if it appears too dry to form into a ball. Wrap in food wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C. Rollout the pastry as thinly as possible on a lightly floured pastry board. Use a 12cm/5-inch diameter round cookie cutter to stamp out 6 circles then use these cut outs to line six 10cm/4-inch pastry rings. Prick the bases with a fork and chill for 1 hour or until firm then trim off excess pastry.

Line each pastry ring with foil then fill with pie weight/baking beans/uncooked rice. Bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove foil and pie weight, return the pan to the oven for 10 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let cool.

For the Strawberry Chantilly Cream:
Place the heavy cream, sugar in a bowl and whip using low speed then gradually increase to medium speed until soft peak forms. Add in the strawberry puree, liqueur and whip until stiff peak. Pour the whipped cream into a piping bag w/o a tip, let chill in refrigerator.

To assemble:
Spoon the Chantilly cream into each tart shells until ½ full. Arrange the strawberry halves, cut side up on top of the cream and some diced strawberries in the center. Finish off with a few mint leave. Serve soon after assembling.




哈囉﹐大家過的好嗎﹖阿V終於來更新了﹐真的不是故意偷懶喔。如果你常來這裡該是知道阿Vi在忙什麼。可能是忙昏了頭﹐我以為我只是離開了一會兒嘿嘿。。。

這個冬天好像特別的慢長﹐特別的冷﹐尤其是過去的兩週﹐好鬱悶喔。為了找回我的好心情﹐唯有騙自己說春天就在轉角所以特地做了富春天氣息的甜點。不知道是吃甜的讓人心情變好﹐還是看著嬌嫩剔透的莓果賞心悅目的關係﹐心情是up up =)

本來是想做慕斯蛋糕的﹐但是在這個好地方看到長的超可愛又香甜的草莓就決定做簡單又可突顯它美味處的甜點。說到這個好地方﹐簡直是愛煮愛吃的人的天堂﹐我可是可以幫它做一個專輯﹐愛死這家店了﹗好了﹐再說這個草莓塔﹐可不是一般的傳統果塔因為它的餡是發泡的鮮奶油而不是卡士達餡。加了草莓泥打泡的香堤麗鮮奶油除了香氣逼人外﹐口感清爽無負擔﹐搭配口感像sablés般酥脆到不行又富滿滿的奶油香可又不膩的塔皮﹐加上清甜中帶微酸的草莓﹐吃的很滿足。若用心的將草莓排列在鮮奶油上來營造賞心悅目的視覺效果再招待朋友來家吃下午茶很體面呢。聽起來不錯吧﹖也可以做成覆盆子玫瑰口味 - 將草莓改成覆盆子﹐草莓泥改成覆盆子泥﹐再用食用玫瑰露代替利口酒即可。


草莓田園
~ 6個直徑 10cm/4寸的塔

法式甜塔皮
290g 中筋麵粉
20g 低筋麵粉
100g 無鹽奶油 - 室溫放軟﹐切成小方塊
80g 細砂糖
2個 全蛋
/4茶匙 鹽巴

草莓風味香堤麗鮮奶油 – 約2 杯份量
250ml 鮮奶油
60g 砂糖
55g 草莓果泥
1湯匙 草莓利口酒

裝飾用
草莓
薄荷葉

製作甜塔皮：
將中筋麵粉﹑低筋麵粉混合過篩後備用。將切成小方塊的室溫奶油﹑細砂糖﹑1/4茶匙的鹽巴用電動攪拌機攪打至奶油變淡黃色後加入雞蛋﹐攪拌勻﹐然後加入麵粉快速拌勻成糰塊。若是麵粉過乾﹐加入1湯匙冰水﹐如果看起來還是很乾再加1湯匙冰水至聚集成糰塊。將麵糰放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐揉至軟滑成球狀。輕壓成扁圓片﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱靜置60分鐘醒麵。

烤箱預熱至360°F/180°C。取出麵糰﹐放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐將麵糰桿成約厚3mm的薄片後用直徑12cm/5寸的圓的餅乾模具吸出4個圓形薄片。鋪進直徑10cm/4寸的塔派圈模裡﹐壓實塔皮底及塔皮壁﹐再用叉子戳刺氣孔。然後蓋上保鮮膜放進冰箱冷藏60分鐘定型。

取出﹐用刀子將模型裡多出來的麵皮切掉﹐在每個塔皮鋪上烘焙用紙﹐加入烘焙石或乾豆至半滿﹐放入烤箱烤15分鐘。取去烘焙用紙及烘焙石﹐繼續烤10分鐘或至塔皮呈金黃色。取去﹐擺放在網架上放涼。

製作草莓風味香堤麗鮮奶油:
將鮮奶油和砂糖放入拌碗中﹐用電動攪拌機先以低速打發鮮奶油至起泡﹐再轉中速攪打至出現軟尖角的程度。加入草莓果泥和草莓利口酒﹐以高速攪打至出現尖角的程度及拌勻即可。將香堤麗倒進擠袋裡﹐放冰箱冷藏備用。

組合及裝飾:
享用前將香堤麗鮮奶油舀進塔皮內至5分滿﹐然後將切掉蒂頭﹑對半縱切的草莓排列在上﹐再舀些草莓丁至塔的中央﹐最後以薄荷葉隨意的裝飾即可。

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﹖

Crème Fraîche + Mango Verrines ~ 芒果奶酪慕斯杯

I know it is already fall but I just couldn’t resist making this summery dessert, plus I have to use up the remainder of the mango purée from making this out-of-this-world-yummy buttercream!

This mango verrine is nothing too complicated thus it does look and taste sophisticated. It is suggested that it be served in see through container so that the beautiful layers can be visible. If you can’t find readily available mango purée, you can make your own using a food processor. In this case, it is very important to use ripe mangoes in order for the flavor to pop. I have made this dessert before with a traditional panna cotta layer, but since devouring this version made with crème fraîche, I have been eager to pair this rich, velvety, tangy, and nutty cream cheese to sweet mango! The result?! It is a truly delicious combo! Try it yourself (^u^)

Btw, for those who observed Thanksgiving – Have a wonderful Turkey Day!! I’ll be cooking my 1st big girl Thanksgiving dinner!! Hopefully, I can take some pictures to show and tell later ;)



Crème Fraîche + Mango Verrines Compositions
- Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta
- Mango Gelée with Mango Cubes
- Mango Mousse
- Mango Coulis
- Mango Cubes, slightly torched

Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta
~ adopted from Cannelle et Vanille

200 grams heavy cream
45 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 grams sheet gelatine
100 grams crème fraîche

In a small saucepan, cook the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla bean until it comes to a boil. In the meantime, soak the gelatine in ice water. When the cream has come to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the softened gelatin. Whisk to dissolve it. Sift into a clean bowl, discard solids, and let it cool to about body temperature. Add the crème fraîche and whisk well.

Pour the panna cotta into glasses or cups (I used verrine cups I found in a local Party Warehouse.) to about 1/3 of the height and let it set in the refrigerator, about 2 hours.

Mango Gelée with Mango Cubes
~ adopted from Tony Wong’s dessert series

150 grams fresh mango, diced
100 grams mango purée
25 grams granulated sugar
2 grams sheet gelatine

Warm half of the mango purée with the sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatine in ice water. Remove saucepan from heat once sugar completely dissolved. Squeeze off excess water and add the softened gelatine to the warm mango purée. Add the rest of the purée and diced mangoes and mix well. Let it cool to room temperature then spoon the mixture on top of the chilled crème fraîch panna cotta to about 2/3 of the height of the glasses/cups. Let it set in the refrigerator, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Mango Mousse
~ adopted from Tony Wong’s dessert series

150 grams mango purée
15 grams granulated sugar
3½ grams sheet gelatine
120 grams heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Warm half of the mango purée with the sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatine in ice water. Remove saucepan from heat once sugar completely dissolved. Squeeze off excess water and add the softened gelatine to the warm purée and stir until completely dissolved. Add the rest of the purée; stir to combine then let it cool to room temperature.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the heavy cream until soft peaks then using a rubber spatula; fold the whipped cream into the purée base until fully incorporated (no more white streak). Pour this mousse on top of the mango gelée, smooth it out using the back of a spoon and let it set in the refrigerator, about 1 hour.

For garnish:
Mango Coulis
100 grams mango purée
20 grams granulated sugar

Warm half of the mango purée with the sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove saucepan from heat once sugar completely dissolved. Add the rest of the purée; stir to combine then let it cool to room temperature. Pour it on top of the mango mousse layers, swirl the cup until it covers the mousse completely. Chill in the refrigerator while you prepare to torch some mango cubes – take care not to burn them! If you like, you can also add some edible flakes to dress them up.



雖說天氣已轉涼﹐該是吃一些熱騰騰的麵包又或是較富濃郁風味的甜點的﹐可我就是無法抗拒吃冰品甜點﹐特別是水果慕斯類的﹐就是喜歡它那酸酸的綿如蜜的口感。除了貪吃﹐正好也可消化掉上次做那個芒果口味奶油餡剩下的芒果泥。

光是看這道芒果奶酪慕斯杯層次分明的賣相就讓人以為是道費時費工的甜點。沒錯﹐是需要點時間來凝固﹐但製作過程很簡單。材料鮮就是好吃的秘訣。若是買不到優質芒果果泥就找品質、色澤﹑香氣具佳的新鮮芒果取肉﹐用食物調理機打成泥狀再過濾。要是兩種也購買不到﹐不妨選用其它當季的水果。我不是第一次製作這道點心﹐可是頭一次用crème fraîche(酸味軟乳酪)做成的奶酪配芒果只因為嚐過濃郁中帶清爽的crème fraîche後就愛上這味道﹗該如何形容這個組合呢? 就濃郁誘人﹐甘香軟滑﹐齒頰留香~

明天就是感恩節囉﹐你有什麼樣的節目呢﹖阿Vi我明天將會專職做廚娘做飯給party of 15﹗我會想辦法用鏡頭記錄我人生的第一頓感恩節晚餐跟你分享的﹗Happy Thanksgiving~



芒果奶酪慕斯杯 - 12杯
- Crème Fraîche 奶酪
- 芒果凍
- 芒果慕斯
- 芒果果醬
- 微焦化的芒果粒

要注意什麼呢?
- 確實每層都完全凝固才可再倒入另一層﹐這樣才有承托力。
- 因為是奶製品﹐最好在兩天內吃完噢~

Crème Fraîche 奶酪
~自Cannelle et Vanille

200g 鮮奶油
45g 砂糖
1條 香草豆﹐縱的開半﹐刮籽
3g 明膠片
100g crème fraîche (法國酸奶油)

明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分備用。將鮮奶油﹑砂糖﹑香草豆跟籽一起放入小鍋裡﹐開中火加熱煮至沸騰後熄火。加入泡軟的明膠片，攪拌至融化混合﹐過濾奶漿。待放置至微溫後拌入crème fraîche﹐攪拌均勻﹐盛入杯子中至1/3滿，然後放入冰箱冷凍凝固﹐約2小時或一個晚上。

芒果凍
~ 自Tony Wong的五星級蛋糕甜點

150g 新鮮芒果肉﹐切粒
100g 芒果果泥
25g 砂糖
2g 明膠片

明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分備用。將一半分量的芒果果泥和砂糖混合倒進小鍋裡﹐用小火煮至砂糖完全融化後離火。加入泡軟的明膠片，拌勻後再拌入剩下的一半果泥跟芒果肉﹐攪拌至均勻混合。為免底層受熱溶解﹐需待放置至微溫時才用湯匙將芒果茸舀進杯子中至2/3滿。放進冰箱冷藏凝固﹐約30分鐘~1小時。

芒果慕斯
~ 自Tony Wong的五星級蛋糕甜點

150g 芒果果泥
15g 砂糖
3½g 明膠片
120g 打發好的鮮奶油

明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分備用。將一半分量的芒果果泥和砂糖混合倒進小鍋裡﹐用小火煮至砂糖完全融化後離火。加入泡軟的明膠片，拌勻後再拌入剩下的一半果泥﹐攪拌至均勻混合﹐將鍋子放冰水浴中散熱放涼。

將鮮奶油打發至出現軟尖角的起泡程度。將發泡鮮奶油倒入冷卻後的芒果泥中﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻攪拌至乳化均勻。將芒果慕斯用湯匙舀進杯子中至填滿﹐用湯匙背將表面均勻漂亮地抹平﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固﹐約1小時。

芒果果醬
100g 芒果果泥
20g 砂糖
適量 芒果粒

將一半分量的芒果果泥和砂糖混合放進小鍋裡﹐用小火煮至砂糖完全融化後離火。為免底層受熱溶解﹐需待放置至微溫時才用湯匙將芒果醬舀在芒果慕斯上﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固。上桌前用烹飪用噴槍將適量的芒果粒焦化作點綴即可。

Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta with Strawberry Mousse, Strawberry Gelée & Baked Meringue Sticks ~ 法式酸奶草莓奶酪佐烤蛋白霜

Apologies for the lack of postings lately, time really does fly!! Since the wedding, I have been in the kitchen testing out recipes for an upcoming dessert order for an October wedding. Yes, I am officially going into business! I have been dreaming of opening my own shop but unfortunately the piggy bank is still not full so I am setting up shop on the web. There are lots of things that I still need to sort out like launching the actual event and catering website, putting together a pricing menu and etc. I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything will go as planned! Of course, I will post the updates here as things unfold ^^

I have been enjoying lots of fresh picked fruits from the farmers markets this summer especially berries and stone fruits. Unlike the varieties in the supermarket, seasonal local fruits are so much sweeter and juicier. Like the other day, I bought a flat of strawberries and ate 1/3 of it at one go because it was so yummy and plump, a huge contrast to the sour and hard variety from the supermarket. I thought it would be excellent for dessert so I pureed the rest and set out to find a great recipe.



Instead of flipping through books or doing my usual repertoire, I went off a recipe off this talented pastry chef/photographer/stylist/blogger’s site - one my favorite places to go for inspirations and also to give my eyes a feast.

The components were easy to make but the end result was just scrumptious! I especially love the meringue sticks, it added texture and a touch of sophistication! Mmmmm…….I hope you’ll enjoy this dessert as much as I did =)



Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta with Strawberry Mousse, Strawberry Gelée & Baked Meringue Sticks
Recipes from Cannelle et Vanille

Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta
200 grams heavy cream
45 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 grams sheet gelatin
100 grams crème fraîche

In a small saucepan, cook the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla bean until it comes to a boil. In the meantime, soak the gelatin in ice water. When the cream has come to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the softened gelatin. Whisk to dissolve it. Pour this into a clean bowl and let it cool to about body temperature. Add the crème fraîche and whisk well.

Pour the panna cotta into your molds or jars and let it set in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Mousse
100 grams strawberry puree
10 grams sugar
2 grams sheet gelatin
75 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Warm half of the strawberry puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatin in ice water. Add the softened gelatin to the warm strawberry puree. Add the rest of the puree and let it cool.

Fold in the whipped cream into the puree base. Pour this mousse on top of the panna cotta and let it set in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Gelée
150 grams strawberry puree
30 grams sugar
2 gram sheet gelatin

Warm half of the strawberry puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatin in ice water. Add the softened gelatin to the warm strawberry puree. Add the rest of the puree and let it cool.

Pour this gelée on top of the strawberry mousse and let it set in the refrigerator.

Baked Meringue Sticks
100 grams egg whites (3.5 ounces or a little under half a cup)
100 grams sugar (1/2 cup)
100 grams powdered sugar, sifted (1 cup)

Whip the egg whites until a light meringue forms (soft peaks). Slowly add in the sugar while mixing. Continue to mix to stiff peaks. Fold in the powdered sugar until incorporated.

Place the meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a plain (round) tip. Pipe straight lines of meringue on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake the meringues in a very low oven, about 200°F/100°C until crispy, about an hour. Keep them in an airtight container to stop them from becoming soggy.

中文食譜晚點再補上哦~

More from the gardens^^

Stone Fruit Bonanza ~ 盛夏の核果響宴

I have been enjoying quite a few stone fruit recipes recently due to endless supply of yummy peaches, nectarines, and apricots from my dear friends at the Kashiwase Farm. I am grateful to their generosity and I tried to repay them with the desserts made from these fruits. They seem to enjoy them as much as I do and I hope you will too^^

I have bookmarked the page for the roasted apricots with chamomile from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course as soon as I saw the recipe. I just love the idea of cooking with flowers =) It sounds so appealing yet seems easy to make and I know it is going to taste great since I had a taste of another dessert using a recipe from this same book! Yes, the taste was as promising as the ingredients gave away - tender, luscious, and gently perfumed. They were lovely just as is but CF suggested serving it as a topping to plain cake and ice cream, which I’m yet to try.

Not long ago, I spent a day making feullitage or puff pastry dough and I still have some left over so I thought some fruit tarts would go well with the roasted apricots. It was very simple, all I did was poached some apricot and yellow peaches in vanilla and star anise infused syrup and baked with the pastry. While still warm, I brushed some syrup on the tarts then serve. Easy but nothing short of deliciousness! Oh, these pair well with ice cream too.

Next up is a Wa-fu or Japanese style tiramisu. When I saw this gorgeous post by one of my all time favorite bloggers, I just couldn’t wait to get started!! The flavor combination – apricot and matcha – sounds so intrigue and exciting! The apricots were cooked until tender in vanilla syrup then made into purée to fold into whipped cream to make the mousse. Although the matcha sponge was yummy but I had to use a different recipe because I thought it tasted too subtle and I like a more intense flavor. The tangy sweet mousse paired with fragrant matcha sponge, feather-light mascarpone cream and a generous dust of unsweetened cocoa powder simultaneously underscore and complement each other. Rich was not the word to describe this cake, it is more of a taste of summery freshness! Oh, I piped some left over mousse into small molds and made bite size cakes too^^

I also made a cheesecake with yellow peach at the request of my mom for her to share with her co-workers. I prepared the peach purée the same way that I did with the apricots then added some pâte de peche (peach paste) to enhance the flavor. Once the cheese mixture was set, I arranged thin slices of peach on top then added a thin layer of peach jelly, made with the syrup and agar powder.

I know I have been posting lots of fruit desserts lately but I just can’t help it! Summer has so much lovely fruits to offer and I like to cook with what’s in season =)




Roasted apricots with chamomile
serves 4

1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup fresh chamomile flowers or 1 chamomile tea bag
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
8 apricots, unpeeled, halved and pitted
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 375°F/185°C. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the vanilla pod and seeds, chamomile flowers (or tea bag), then simmer for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve into a baking dish or roasting tray.

Arrange the apricots in the syrup, cut side down, roast for about 10 minutes. Turn them over, baste with the syrup and roast for another 5 minutes until tender. Serve warm.

The apricots will keep for 3 days, refrigerated.

Vanilla spice poached apricot & yellow peach tarts

1/3 recipe of homemade feullitage or 2 sheets of store-brought puff pastry
1 large yellow peach, peeled, finely sliced and pitted
4 apricots, unpeeled, halved and pitted
2 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
1 star anise
1 ¼ cups sugar
50ml white wine
200ml water

For the egg wash:
1 large egg yolk
1tsp water

Some flour, for work surface

Remove the feullitage out the freezer 10 minutes before. On a slightly floured work surface; roll out the feullitage to a 5mm/¼in thick square. Stamp out 3in/5in ~ 7.5cm/12.5cm rounds using cookie cutters, prick all over with a fork then return the dough to the freezer to firm up. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

Combine the sugar, water, white wine, star anise and vanilla pod + seeds in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to medium and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the apricots to the hot syrup and let poach for 3 minutes; removed. Add the peach slices to the hot syrup and let poach for 2 minutes, removed. Simmer the syrup down to two thirds of its original volume then strain, discard the solid and reserve the syrup.

Beat the egg yolk with the water to make the egg wash. Set aside. Take the feullitage out the freezer and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a knife, score but not cut all the way through a ¼ inch boarder all around, then brush with egg wash but avoid the boarders.

Arrange 2 apricot halves on each 3in rounds and peach slices on the 5in rounds (within the boarders), then dot with diced butter. Place in oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Brush the tarts with the reserved syrup. Serve warm.



Apricot and Matcha Tiramisu
makes 4 3in x 3in squares

Matcha génoise
100g granulated sugar
70g all purpose flour
15g matcha
20g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs

Apricot mousse
350g apricots (after pitting)
250ml water
100g sugar
1 vanilla bean (cut lengthwise, seeds scraped out)
4g gelatine sheet
150ml heavy cream
2 egg whites
75g caster sugar

Mascarpone cream
100ml heavy cream
15g caster sugar (you may not need it if you’re using tinned apricots)
30g mascarpone cheese

For the matcha génoise:
Brings a small pot of water to boil, set aside. Melt the butter in a microwave, set aside to cool.

Lightly butter a 12 x 9in/28 x 24cm roll cake pan and line it with parchment paper. Sift together flour and matcha, set aside. Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C.

Using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs together in a heatproof bowl then add sugar and beat until blended. Place the bowl over the pot of boil water and continue to beat over medium speed until it is foamy and warm to the touch. Remove from heat, continue to beat in a circular motion until it doubles in volume and soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sifted matcha flour mix using a rubber spatula and fold gently until incorporated. Add in the melted butter, quickly fold until completely incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread and smooth out the batter using the spatula. Tap the pan slightly on the counter to release any air bubbles, place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the apricot mousse:
Soak the gelatine in cold water. Place the water, 100g sugar and vanilla seeds (as well as the pod) in a saucepan over medium heat. When the sugar has dissolved, add the apricots and simmer for about 5 minutes until just tender. When cool, strain the apricots through a fine sieve (you’ll get about 250g purée) and add 50ml syrup from the pan. Reserve some syrup and discard the solids.

(If you’re using tinned apricots, puree 250g fruit and strain through a fine sieve then add 50ml syrup from the tin. Reserve some syrup for soaking the sponge.)

Squeeze out the gelatine, melt in a bain marie and stir into the puree. Whip the double cream into soft peaks (it’s important that the purée and cream have a similar consistency). Make the meringue with the egg whites and 75g sugar – whip the egg white until foamy, add the sugar a little at a time, whipping as you go along. When the purée is slightly set, gently fold the cream and meringue into it.

To make the mascarpone cream:
Place the double cream and sugar in a bowl and whip into soft peaks then mix the cheese in.

To assemble the cake:
Cut 4 pieces of sponge to the size of your mold. Place the sponge in the mold as a base and brush with the left over syrup, pour the mousse, then place the other sponge on top.

Freeze the cake until firm enough to slice (you don’t need to but it helps to cut neatly), layer the mascarpone cream on top and dust with cocoa powder just before serving.

Peach Flavor Chilled Cheesecake
makes one 18cm/6in round cake

Peach purée
2 large yellow peach, skinned, pitted, sliced
1tsp vanilla extract
1cup sugar
50ml white wine
200ml water

Crust
100g honey graham crackers
50g unsalted butter

Peach cheesecake mixture
200g cream cheese
50g mascarpone cheese
200ml whipping cream
100g condensed milk
50g peach purée
1tbsp pâte de peche
5g gelatine sheet

Peach Jelly
200ml peach syrup (add water if you don’t have enough)
8g agar powder (Kanten/寒天- かんてん)
1tbsp lemon juice
1tbs Amaretto liquor

Prep:
- Wrap the cream cheese in plastic food wrap and place in microwave on low for 1 minute to soften it.
- Soak the leaf gelatine in a bowl of ice water for a few minutes to soften it. Squeeze off excess water, set aside.

For the peach purée:
Combine the sugar, water, and the white wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to medium and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the yellow peaches to the hot syrup and let poach for 3-5 minutes then remove from heat. When cool, strain the peaches through a fine sieve. Add the vanilla extract and 35ml syrup from the pan to the purée. Strain, discard the solid and reserve the syrup.

For the crust:
Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C. Break the crackers into small pieces, then place into a zip lock bag or any heavy weight plastic bag (remove air bubbles), and crush + roll using a rolling pin until crackers become fine crumb. Place butter in microwave and heat for 30sec – 1min over medium heat. Pour melted butter into the bag, remove air bubble and close the bag, then shake it to mix the two. Pour this mix into the cake pan; using the back of a large spoon, press crumb firmly to pan until packed. Bake for 20 minutes then cool on wire rack.

For the peach cheesecake:
Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, whisk cream cheese until blended; add the mascarpone cheese and whish until blended then add in other ingredients in the following order: --> condensed milk --> peach purée --> cream --> pâte de peche, make sure that each item is well blended before adding another; set aside.

Place the pre-soaked gelatine and 1 tablespoon of cream in a heatproof bowl then place in microwave and cook for 30 seconds on low heat to melt the gelatine. Cool it in a cold water bath then gradually pour the melted gelatine into the cream cheese mixture while stirring non-stop. Mix well until combined then strain the cheese mixture, pour into the cake pan and then place in fridge and leave to set for 2-3 hours.

Skin, core, and slice a yellow peach then arrange the slices on top of one another in a circle on the set cheesecake; place back into the fridge.

For the peach jelly:
Pour the strained syrup into a saucepan then sift in the agar powder and cook over low heat. Once it reaches 150°F/75°C, remove from heat and place saucepan in a cold water bath. When it cools to room temperature, add the lemon juice and amaretto. Slowly pour it into the cake pan from the side and let set for an hour.

To unmold the cakes:
Wrap a hot towel around the cake mold for 10 second then push it out.




夏季是核果橫行的季節﹐這樣說應該沒人會不認同吧﹗最近常享用這些水嫩多汁的核果﹐也很常用它們製作甜點及點心。說來還得謝謝在Kashiwase Farm工作的朋友們不停的提供這些有機培植的時果。吃了那麼多﹐我也很不好意思﹐只有以甜點回報她們了。可是給她們送去的甜點越多﹐送來的水果的盒數就越多﹐我想這應該是她們喜歡吃﹐莫非是要我做多一點送她們的意思^^

這道洋甘菊烤杏桃是我翻Claudia Fleming的The Last Course甜點書時其中一個黏了標籤要製作的甜點﹐只因喜歡以花卉來製作甜點的方子。看起來是頗簡單的甜點﹐不過由於做過這位女甜點主廚的其它甜點的方子﹐對她充滿驚喜及創意的材料配搭很有信心﹐所以還是很期待。不用多說味道很美味﹔杏桃經慢烤後釋放更甜美的果香﹐且還帶有淡淡的清雅花香。除了單吃﹐CF還建議將烤杏桃作為較單調乳酪蛋糕或冰淇淋的配料﹐為平平無奇的它們添加色彩。

我不喜歡吃市售的果塔﹐總覺得添加了很多有的沒的﹐味道並不討喜﹐所以總是喜歡自己動手做。剛好不久前耗了一天半的時間反覆摺疊製作出有著無比酥脆口感的千層派皮﹐想說配核果做成餡塔應該和烤杏桃很搭。做法很簡單 – 將用香草﹑八角茴香﹑糖跟白酒泡煮好的杏桃跟黃桃鋪在派皮上烘烤成金黃色﹐再刷一層香草茴香糖漿即成。雖然簡單﹐可味道讓人一口接著一口的吃過不停﹐配冰淇淋更是無敵 =)

再來是充滿和風的提拉米蘇。杏桃配抹茶這個組合怎麼樣? 很特別吧?﹗是一個阿Vi很喜歡的博客跟據某本日語甜點書的食譜演變出來的美的讓人心醉的一道甜點。將煮過的香草杏桃製作成杏桃果泥跟發泡鮮奶油做成酸甜適中的杏桃慕斯夾在兩片有著襲人淡雅茶香的抹茶海綿蛋糕間﹐跟著是一層綿密富乳香的馬斯卡朋奶油乳酪﹐最後是超濃厚的可可亞。跟著方子做出來的抹茶海綿蛋糕很美味﹐但抹茶味偏淡﹐由於喜歡重一點的﹐我改用另一個抹茶方子。除了做成小蛋糕﹐還做成一口小點呢~

我還應媽咪的要求製作了一個黃桃風味的冷藏式乳酪蛋糕讓她跟同事分享。以製作杏桃果泥雷同的方法做出黃桃果泥後﹐再混合奶油乳酪﹑馬斯卡朋乳酪做成乳酪糊。為了讓桃子的味道更鮮明﹐我加了少量的桃子濃縮糊。要是這樣稍嫌單調了點﹐所以加了一層透明果凍﹐讓賣相更引人。

呵呵。。。這次先post這些。Bon Appétit =)



洋甘菊烤杏桃
1 ½ 杯 砂糖
¼ 杯 新鮮洋甘菊或1個洋甘菊茶包
1條 香草豆﹐縱的開半﹐刮籽
8個 杏桃﹐開半﹐去核﹐留皮
1杯 水

預熱烤箱至375°F/185°C。將砂糖跟水倒進小鍋中﹐以高溫加熱至沸騰。加進香草豆跟籽﹑洋甘菊或茶包﹐然後轉中火熬煮5分鐘﹐離火。用濾網過濾糖漿﹐然後倒進耐熱烤盤中﹐跟著將杏桃切面朝下排列在烤盤中﹐先烤10分鐘﹐然後翻面沾上糖漿再烤5分鐘即可。最佳食用的溫度是微暖。佐香草冰淇淋﹑烤餡餅﹑味道是一級棒。

香草茴香核果餡塔

自製千層派皮3分1 的份量或2片市售的千層派皮
1個 大的黃桃﹐開半﹐去核﹐去皮﹐切薄片
4 個 杏桃﹐開半﹐去核﹐留皮
2湯匙 無鹽奶油 ﹐切丁
1條 香草豆﹐縱的開半﹐刮籽
1粒 八角茴香
1 ¼ 杯 砂糖
50ml 白酒
200ml 水
桿麵皮用的麵粉適量

蛋汁
1個 (L尺寸) 蛋黃
1茶匙 水

將千層派皮從冰箱取出解凍備用﹐約十分鐘。

將派皮麵糰放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐用桿麵棒將派皮桿成約厚5mm或1/4寸的薄片﹐用分別直徑3寸跟5寸(7.5cm/12.5cm)圓形餅乾模具吸出薄片﹐再用叉子戳刺氣孔﹐放進冰箱冷藏備用。預熱烤箱到350°F/175°C。

將砂糖﹑水﹑白酒﹑八角茴香﹑香草豆跟籽一起放入小鍋裡﹐再以高溫加熱煮至沸騰後轉中火繼續煮2分鐘。將杏桃加入熱糖漿中泡煮3分鐘﹐取出。跟著將黃桃片加入熱糖漿中泡煮2分鐘﹐取出。繼續熬煮糖漿至濃縮變稠﹐約至原體積的3分2量﹐用濾網過濾糖漿﹐備用。

把蛋黃和水一起拌勻成蛋汁﹐備用。將派皮從冰箱取出，放到鋪了烤紙的烤盤上。用刀子輕輕的在麵皮邊緣劃界線﹐約寬1/4寸(5mm)﹐小心不要切斷麵皮。用蛋汁塗抹界線裡的麵皮，界處不塗抹蛋汁。將兩塊杏桃排列在直徑3寸(7.5cm)派皮上﹐然後將黃桃片排列在直徑5寸(12.5cm)的派皮上﹐隨意將切小丁的無鹽奶油撒在派皮上，放進烤箱烘烤約25 - 30分鐘至金黃色。取出﹐放涼5分鐘﹐然後用刷子將香草茴香糖漿塗在餡塔表面即可。



杏桃抹茶和風提拉米蘇
4個3in x 3in 小蛋糕

抹茶傑諾瓦士
100g 砂糖
70g 麵粉, 篩過
15g 抹茶
20g 無鹽奶油
3個 大尺寸全蛋

杏桃慕斯
350g 杏桃(去核後的重量)
250ml 水
100g 砂糖
1條 香草豆﹐縱的開半﹐刮籽
4g 明膠片
150ml 鮮奶油
2個 大的蛋白
75g 細砂糖

馬斯卡朋奶油
100ml 鮮奶油
15g 細砂糖 (可免若用罐裝糖煮杏桃)
30g 馬斯卡朋乳酪

製作抹茶蛋糕:
先燒開一小鍋的水﹐備用。將奶油切丁﹐倒進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐然後放微波爐加熱融化﹐靜置放涼備用。

將1個直徑12 x 9in/28 x 24cm長方形模具抹上厚厚的奶油﹐再鋪上烘烤紙﹐備用。將抹茶和麵粉混合篩過﹐備用。將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至360°F/180°C。

將蛋倒進耐熱拌碗中﹐用電動攪拌器以中速打散﹐加進砂糖﹐攪打至顏色變淡。將拌碗放小鍋上隔熱水加熱打發﹐不停攪拌至微溫發泡。停止加熱﹐繼續以劃圓圈的動作打發至富含空氣會如緞帶般重疊時即可。分數次加進篩過的抹茶麵粉﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐然後拌入放涼的融化無鹽奶油﹐同樣的以橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。

一鼓作氣地將麵糊倒進烤模中﹐推勻﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後﹐放進預熱過的烤箱裡﹐烘烤約15分鐘。當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﹐翻轉倒扣脫模﹐擺在網架上整個放涼。將蛋糕切成所需的片狀。

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。

製作杏桃慕斯:
將水﹑100g砂糖﹑香草豆跟籽一起放入小鍋裡﹐開中火加熱煮至砂糖完全融化後加進杏桃熬煮5分鐘至軟﹐離火。靜置放至室溫後﹐將杏桃用濾網撈起﹐用力碾壓擠成杏桃果泥﹐約有250g成品。用濾網過濾糖漿﹐將杏桃果泥跟50ml的糖漿混合﹐剩下的糖漿包好備用。若是用罐裝糖煮杏桃﹐將250g的糖煮杏桃用同樣的手法壓成泥﹐再從罐裡取50ml的糖漿跟泥混合。

明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分。將泡軟的明膠片隔熱水融解後拌進杏桃果泥中﹐確實拌勻﹐備用。將鮮奶油打發至出現尖角的起泡程度﹐備用。將蛋白打散﹐然後將細砂糖分數次加進蛋白中打發至出現尖角的起泡程度。用切拌法(用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻)將2分1的發泡鮮奶油拌入杏桃果泥中﹐攪拌乳化後﹐拌入剩餘的鮮奶油﹐確實攪拌乳化後再拌進蛋白霜﹐攪拌乳化後倒進擠袋裡備用。

製作馬斯卡朋奶油乳酪:
將馬斯卡朋乳酪室溫放軟。將鮮奶油和砂糖混合打發至出現尖角的起泡程度﹐用切拌法(用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻)將放軟的馬斯卡朋乳酪拌入發泡鮮奶油中﹐攪拌乳化即可。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:
將4個無底方形慕斯模擺放好﹐然後在每個模中鋪放一片抹茶蛋糕。用刷子將糖漿塗在蛋糕表面, 將杏桃慕斯擠進模中﹐鋪進另一片抹茶蛋糕﹐輕輕按下去(去氣泡)﹐跟著用抹刀抹一層馬斯卡朋奶油乳酪﹐抹平後放進冰箱冷藏凝固﹐至少3小時或一個晚上。

將蛋糕脫模﹔以溫毛巾圍著模型溫熱10秒後﹐然後用手指將蛋糕往上推出脫模。享用前撒上一層無糖可可亞粉﹐再以食用金箔點綴即可。



黃桃風味冷藏式乳酪蛋糕
1個6in/18cm 的蛋糕

黃桃果泥
2個 大的黃桃﹐開半﹐去核﹐去皮
1茶匙 香草精
1杯 砂糖
50ml 白酒
200ml 水

全麥餅底
100g 蜜糖全麥餅乾
50g 無鹽奶油

黃桃乳酪糊
200g 奶油乳酪
50g 馬斯卡朋乳酪
200ml 鮮奶油
100g 煉乳
50g 黃桃泥
1湯匙 桃子濃縮糊(膏)
5g 明膠片
1個 大的黃桃﹐去核﹐去皮﹐切薄片

桃子透明果凍
200ml 糖漿
8g 寒天粉
1茶匙 檸檬汁
2湯匙 義大利杏仁酒

事前準備:
- 將奶油乳酪用保鮮膜包起來﹐放進微波爐﹐以弱溫加熱1分鐘﹐使其軟化。
- 將明膠片用冰水泡軟﹐擠掉水分備用。



製作黃桃果泥:
將砂糖﹑水﹑白酒一起放入小鍋裡﹐以高溫加熱煮至沸騰後轉中火繼續熬煮2分鐘。加入黃桃塊繼續煮3 – 5分鐘。靜置放至室溫後﹐將黃桃用濾網撈起﹐用力碾壓擠成桃泥。用濾網過濾糖漿﹐將桃泥跟35ml的糖漿跟香草精混合﹐剩下的糖漿包好備用。

餅底﹕
烤箱預熱至360°F/180°C。將蜜糖全麥餅乾裝入拉鍊袋﹐用桿麵棍打碎。滾動桿麵棍﹐將餅乾壓成細末。奶油放進微波爐加熱至融解﹐加入袋內並封緊袋口﹐用手搓揉混合。倒入1個6in/18cm底板可以拆除的模模具中﹐用湯匙背使勁壓平後﹐放進烤箱烘烤20分鐘。取出﹐擺在網架上整個放涼。

黃桃乳酪糊:
將軟化的奶油乳酪放入拌盤中﹐用打蛋器攪拌至順滑加入馬斯卡朋乳酪﹐攪拌均勻順滑後依序加入煉乳à 黃桃果泥à鮮奶油à桃子濃縮糊﹐每加入一樣都必須確實攪拌均勻, 備用。

將1湯匙的鮮奶油和泡軟擠掉水分的明膠片倒進一個耐熱的容器中﹐再放進微波爐以低溫加熱至明膠完全溶解。放冰水浴中冷卻﹐然後拌入乳酪糊中﹐用打蛋器攪拌至順滑後用濾網過濾﹐倒入模具中﹐放進冰箱冷藏2 - 3個小時。將桃片以放射狀排列於凝固的乳酪蛋糕上﹐放進冰箱備用。

桃子透明果凍:
將濾過的糖漿倒進小鍋裡﹐然後將寒天粉過篩到糖漿上﹐以低火煮至150°F/75°C﹐離火﹐放冰水浴中冷卻後﹐加入檸檬汁跟杏仁酒。在模的邊緣緩緩的倒進模中至滿﹐再放進冰箱冷藏凝固1 - 2個小時或一個晚上。

以溫毛巾圍著模型溫熱10秒後﹐用手指將蛋糕往上推出脫模即可。

Mad about strawberries - Macarons à la fraise ~ 吃草莓之馬卡龍﹑果醬﹑甘納許

Every Spring I pick up these Sequoia June-bearing strawberry plants from a local nursery. The reason that kept me returning every spring is because this variety produces bountiful, luscious and juicy fruits that are exceptionally sweet, aromatic, which just perfect for making dessert and jam. Normally, they bear fruit in June over a period of just a few weeks into mid July but this year, I found some of the plants already bearing fruits and this give the perfect reason to bust out my long list of must-try fruit recipes^^

The first thing that came across my mind was making jam, a first for me. I found a tempting recipe in Mes Confitures, a book which many claimed is the bible of jam making. The author of this book is Christine Ferber, whom people in France and food lovers all over the world refer to as the fairy godmother of jams and jellies. She has been known to use only the best, freshest, seasonal fruits and ingredients from local farmers and that she produces only small batches at a time by hand in her small boulangerie-pâtisserie, Au Relais des Trois Epis in Niedermorschwihr in Alsace, France. I have not come across any of her confitures at my local markets or specialty stores but I am already won over by the interesting flavor combinations presented in this book: wild blueberry + pinot noir + licorice, white peach + lemon verbena, black cherry + eucalyptus honey + fresh mint and that just to name a few! I picked out the seemingly easy recipe to start with - strawberry with black pepper & fresh mint. The recipe called for 2 pounds plus strawberries but unfortunately, this early harvest didn’t produce enough strawberries and I had to buy some. So you ask the taste of this jam? Très délicieux!! I must admit that it is an elevation from the really good strawberry jam I buy from A.G. Ferrari. I wonder if it is the recipe or just because I made it ;p




Macarons à la fraise or strawberry macaron is next up on my must-try fruit recipes. I just love these dainty little jewels! After looking through all my books on macaron, I found that strawberry macarons are actually vanilla macarons with red coloring paired with either strawberry jam or strawberry buttercream!! I always thought the macaron was flavored with strawberry! Well, I just learn something new. So for this recipe, I have added dehydrated strawberry powder that I got from this wonderful store to the batter to make real strawberry flavor macarons. As for the filling, I tried a new recipe – white chocolate ganache with a hint of strawberry flavor. To do so, I infused the cream with sweet and fragrant strawberry tea leaves overnight. I also paired the macarons with the jam for variation. For an intense burst of strawberry flavor, pair both the ganache and jam with the macarons!

Macarons à la fraise – yield about 30 sandwiches

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

Tant pour tant
150g almond flour
150g powdered sugar
10g dehydrated strawberry powder
55g egg white
1 drop red food coloring
Some chopped raw almonds

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!
- It is best to consume the macarons within 3 days as it loses its moisture and becomes dry fast.

Sift together almond flour, strawberry powder, 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 register at 230°F/116°C on a candy thermometer. 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. When you lift the meringue with the whisk, it should form into a stiff peak. Dilute a drop of red food coloring with a tablespoon of water, adding a little by little to the meringue until it reaches the desired pink hue, fold until incorporated.

With a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the almond/sugar/strawberry flour mix to the meringue, fold until incorporated then fold in the remaining flour mix and fold until completely incorporated. Now it is ready for the macaronnage process.

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, for a total of 15 times. Lift some batter with the spatula, it should falls into the bowl in a ribbon fashion, and should look glossy.

Pour the batter into a piping bag with a small round tip and pipe the batter from the center of the drawn circle onto the baking sheets. Pipe about 60 circles. Sprinkle some chopped raw almonds over piped 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 7 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.

Assemble cookies:
Pair 2 macarons of similar size, pipe about 1 teaspoon of the ganache filling or spoon 1 teaspoon of jam or both onto the flat side of one of the macarons then sandwich them. Let them set in room temperature or refrigerate to set. Make about 30 sandwiches. If refrigerate, let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours to soften before eating.



Ganache chocolat blanc à l'infusion de thé à la fraise
(White Chocolate Ganache flavored with Strawberry Tea)

150g quality white chocolate
150g heavy whipping cream
1tsp loose strawberry tea leaves

The night before, add the tea leaves to the whipping cream and let infuse overnight in the refrigerator.

Strained the tea mixture and discard the solid. Bring the whipping cream to just a boil over medium heat and pour it over the chopped white chocolate. Let seat for 1 minute before stirring the hot mixture with a rubber spatula until completely melted and has a satiny look. It is ready to pipe when it registers 70°F/35°C on the candy thermometer.

Strawberry with Black Pepper & Fresh Mint Jam
Adopted from Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber

2 ½lbs strawberries
1 ¾cup granulated sugar
Juice of 1 small lemon
5 fresh mint leaves
5 black peppercorns, freshly ground

Day 1
Rinse the strawberries under cold water then dry with a towel and hull them. Let the strawberries macerate with the lemon juice and the sugar in a ceramic bowl covered with a piece of parchment paper overnight in the refrigerator.

Day 2
Bring the preparation to a simmer over medium-high heat in a preserving pan. Pour it back into the ceramic bowl, cover with a piece of parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.

Day 3
Sterilize the jam jars by putting them in boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, drain, then dry with paper towel.

Pour the preparation into a sieve. Bring the collected syrup to a boil in a preserving pan, skim and continue cooking on high heat. When the syrup appear concentrated and register at 221°F/105°C on the candy thermometer, add the half cooked strawberries from the sieve, fresh mint and pepper; return it to high heat. Skim and bring back to a boil for about 5 minutes, stirring gently. The strawberries will now be translucent, remove from heat then quickly spoon the jam into prepared jars to almost full, lightly tap them to release air bubbles and seal. Flip the jars upside down and let cool completely. Store in a cool, dry place, and out of light.



每年的春天我都會在家附近的花圃買入Sequoia June-bearing品種的草莓苗回家種植。這品種所培植出來的草莓不僅色澤紅亮﹐滋味豐腴甜美﹐更有著迷人的甜蜜果香﹐非常討喜。樣子紅灩灩的又精緻剔透﹐還有著清甜柔軟的口感﹐無論是製作甜點﹑果醬又或是裝飾蛋糕都是不二之選。本來每年六月到七月間才是收成的季節﹐可今年五月中就有少部分的草莓已經結果了。也好﹐終於有了藉口好好清一清我那必試水果甜點食譜清單的機會。

最先在我腦中閃過的就是很早就被列在必試清單上的草莓果醬。這還是生平第一次嘗試做手工果醬哩﹐所以定必找個很棒的食譜才行﹐而我在被稱為果醬聖典的Mes Confitures 一書中找到了。這是在法國無人不知﹐被美食圈中人稱為果醬教母的Christine Ferber所出版的果醬食譜書。她之所以被稱果醬教母﹐原因在於她的果醬及果凍配方獨特﹐又採用當地各種優質上選時令水果﹑花朵﹑香料﹑蜂蜜﹑酒等食材加上繁複的手工製作過程熬煮而成。值得一提的是不同於其他的名廚﹐她沒有華麗的店面或包裝﹐她的店只有一家﹐就是當年太祖父開在法國阿爾薩斯鄉間的Au Relais des Trois Epis甜點店。舖子很小﹐但所推出的各款果醬卻是名聞全球擁有很多星級粉絲像法國料理教父Alain Ducasse﹑甜點界的畢加索Pierre Hermé等。雖然我還沒有那個福分吃到她的果醬(好像美國沒有售賣的說)﹐以她書中果醬的配方涵藏著的無限的可能性及精彩度﹐也足以令我臣服了。我所選擇的配方是書中比較簡單操作的了﹐堪稱草莓果醬變奏版。配方需要2磅多的草莓﹐比採收到的數量多﹐只好向超市購買填補了。吼~~~~加了黑胡椒跟新鮮薄菏熬煮的草莓果醬﹐味道質地口感比我從A.G. Ferrari花$8USD買的好許多。味道濃郁﹐果香襲人又隱約嘗到薄菏的香氣﹐都不知該如何形容才好了﹐我想還是你自己嘗味才行﹗

另一個清單上必試的水果食譜就是草莓風味的馬卡龍。翻過家裡所有和製作馬卡龍有關的書籍﹐居然記載的草莓馬卡龍配方都是香草馬卡龍加色素的做法﹐原來所謂的草莓馬卡龍根本只是指它的草莓餡心吧了﹗為了做出有著草莓香氣及味道的馬卡龍﹐在L’ Epicerie買來乾燥處理過的濃縮草莓粉來實驗。呵呵。。。這次烤的馬卡龍折損率偏低﹐我好像捉到竅門了﹗至於餡心﹐嘗試了新的配方﹐就是添加了草莓花茶的白巧克力甘納許﹐讓人吃的滿嘴是優雅迷人草莓奶香﹗為了讓草莓風味更濃郁突出﹐我將有著不同口感的草莓果醬跟甘納許一同作為餡心﹐組合成名符其實的草莓馬卡龍 =)



草莓風味馬卡龍 - 30個

義式蛋白霜
55g 蛋白
150g 細砂糖
40g 水

Tant pour tant
150g 杏仁粉
150g 糖粉
10g 草莓粉
55g 蛋白
1滴 紅色食用色素
裝飾用切碎的生杏仁隨意

事前準備:
- 準備兩張烤纸﹐然後在每一張的反面畫上直徑3cm/1¼in間隔3cm/1¼in的小圓圈。鋪在烤盤上。
- 準備兩張相等於烤盤大小的鋁箔紙﹐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。
- 馬卡龍不宜放置太久﹐否著就會失去濕潤的口感﹐最好在3天內吃完喔~

混合草莓粉、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﹐糖果溫度計達到230°F/116°C或用手指沾黏(非常燙喔﹗)會牽出糖絲的程度即可。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。將1滴紅色食用色素用1湯匙的水拌稀﹐再一點點的拌入蛋白霜中至達到理想的顏色為止。

將3分1的草莓杏仁粉拌入蛋白霜中﹐用橡皮刀從底部往上翻起的方式拌勻﹐再分兩次加入剩餘的草莓杏仁粉﹐拌勻後進行macaronnage程序。Macaronnage即是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。

將麵糊倒進擠花袋中﹐在先前畫了圓圈的烤盤紙上以小口徑的圓形擠花嘴擠出圓形的麵糊。先固定一個點﹐再從上方擠出比直徑3cm稍小的圓形。總共擠出60個﹐然後將切碎的生杏仁粒撒在麵糊上。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7分鐘﹐取出﹐放網架上靜置放涼後用抹刀取下﹐備用。

組合馬卡龍:
在半數的馬卡龍平面上擠出約1茶匙的夾心﹐再蓋上另一半的馬卡龍。做成30個。可放室溫或冰箱至餡心凝固。



草莓風味白巧克力甘納許餡心

150g 白巧克力﹐切碎
150g 鮮奶油
1茶匙 草莓花茶葉

鮮奶油與茶葉混合，放進冰箱冷藏泡浸一個晚上。

白巧克力切碎後﹐放進一個耐熱的碗裡。將奶漿從冰箱取出﹐過濾後倒進小鍋﹐開中火煮至剛沸騰後熄火。將滾燙的奶漿注入切碎的白巧克力中﹐靜置1分鐘﹐然後用橡皮刀攪拌至完全融化順滑的狀態為止。放涼至70°F/35°C﹐這是擠花的適當軟硬度。

草莓+黑胡椒+薄菏手工果醬
食譜源自果醬女主廚 Christine Ferber的Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber

2 ½磅 草莓
1 ¾杯 砂糖
1個 小檸檬﹐榨汁
5片 新鮮薄菏葉
5粒 黑胡椒粒﹐磨碎

第1天
把草莓洗乾淨﹐抹乾﹐去蒂。將草莓﹑檸檬汁﹑砂糖混合倒進陶瓷碗內﹐全體充份拌勻後蓋上烘培紙﹐放進冰箱糖漬浸軟一個晚上。

第2天
將浸軟的草莓和汁倒入銅鍋中﹐開強力中火熬煮﹐不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至沸騰後離火。倒回陶瓷碗內﹐蓋上烘培紙﹐放進冰箱浸泡一個晚上。

第3天
將果醬罐子消毒: 燒開一鍋水﹐然後將果醬罐子放進滾燙的水中煮3分鐘﹐取出﹐用紙巾抹乾備用。

將網篩架在一個有深度的大碗上﹐將草莓倒進網篩中過濾﹐撈起草莓﹐僅加熱糖漿。將糖漿倒入銅鍋中﹐開強力中火熬煮﹐不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至變稠(約221°F/105°C) ﹐此時才將草莓﹑薄菏﹑胡椒加進糖漿中一同熬煮。不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至沸騰後﹐繼續煮5分鐘至草莓呈現剔透模樣為止﹐離火。將熱騰騰的果醬舀入罐子內直到罐口處﹐將罐子輕輕敲一下去除氣泡﹐緊栓住瓶蓋後倒立放置冷卻。將果醬放日光無法直射的陰涼處存放。

Blueberry & Kumquat Cream Cheese Tarts with Graham Cracker Crust ~ 藍莓﹑金桔奶油乳酪卡士達塔

I have heard so many praises from my fellow food bloggers about a book titled - The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern that I decided to purchase a copy for me. However, it turned out that the book has been out of print for sometime. I have searched numerous used book stores but no sight of it then I found copies available at Amazon but I wasn’t ready to pay hundreds dollar for it. Nevertheless, I finally made the purchase and I’m glad I did. This beautiful book by Claudia Fleming is a gem. Her minimalist approach and use of local, seasonal ingredients in her desserts are so inspiring. Her recipes seem simple to make but they all have a little twist (cracked-pepper ice cream anyone?) to them making them special and unique.

Who is Claudia Fleming? She was the award winning pastry chef at the famed Gramercy Tavern in NYC but in 2006, she and her husband (also a renowned chef) moved from New York City to Long Island, New York, to open The North Fork Table & Inn, which features a seat-in restaurant and guest rooms. Btw, I just found out she re-printed her book and you can order it off her site here.

The first recipe I tried from this book was this dainty blueberry cream cheese tarts with graham cracker crust. I’m not a tart person as the others I had before seem too sweet for my taste. So why pick this recipe? I was convinced by the picture in the book! Also, I thought the graham cracker shells were supposed to be made from the store brought cracker like the way we made cheesecake crust but I was wrong. It is actually graham cracker crust, redolent of honey and cinnamon and has a crispy texture. The cream cheese custard is soft, airy and melts at the tip of your tongue and pair so well with the sweet-tangy blueberry & kumquat compote – perfect for spring~



Blueberry & Kumquat Cream Cheese Tarts with Graham Cracker Crust

Graham Cracker Tart Shells
makes about 10 (1 ½x4in) flute shell & 12 (2x4in) financier tart shell

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup Demerara sugar
¼ cup honey
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Place the butter and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth over medium speed until the mixture is smooth, fluffy and light in color. Add the honey and beat until combined; set aside.

Combine the flours, salt, and cinnamon in another bowl then add to the butter mixture in two batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Mix until the dough is well combined. Wrap the dough in plastic and form into a disk. Chill until firm, at least an hour and up to two days.

Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Use a rectangular cutter or knife to cut out the dough to fit the tart pans, press the dough gently into the tins, trimming away any excess dough. Prick dough all over with a fork and let chill for 20 minutes or until the dough is firm enough. Chill longer if necessary.

Bake tart shells until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. They can be made a day in advance. Also, they can be kept up to 3 months in the freezer when stored in an airtight container.

Cream Cheese Pastry Cream
makes about 4 cups

1 cup milk
5 tbsp sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 ½ tbsp corn starch
6 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Combine ¾ cup of the milk and 3 tablespoon of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Whisk the remaining ¼ cup milk into the yolk mixture. Remove the milk mixture 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. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour.

Return the custard to the stove and bring it to a boil, whisking constantly. Let the custard cook for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Add the cream cheese and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Using a fine sieve; strain the mixture into a clean bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

Beat the heavy cream over medium speed until soft peaks form. Whisk the pastry cream until smooth and fold in the whipped cream until combined.




Blueberry Compote - 2 1/2 cups

2 ½ cups blueberries
1 tbsp sugar

In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup of the blueberries with the sugar. Cook over low heat until all the berries have popped and the juices come out.

Strain the mixture into a bowl and discard the solids. Add the rest of the blueberries into the syrup and toss to combine.

Kumquat Compote
Make 48 halved kumquats

400g (about 24) kumquats
2 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cup water

Wash and pat dry kumquats. Remove calyces, cut them in half horizontally then pit with a fork. Bring sugar and water to boil, add the kumquats. Cover with a paper towel (directly on kumquats) and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat.

Remove from heat and let sit overnight at room temperature. Trash the paper towel and remove the kumquats and transfer to a bowl. Reheat the poaching syrup to a boil then remove from heat. Add the kumquats back into the syrup and let sit overnight at room temperature. Place the compote (discard the syrup) in an airtight container and keep refrigerated; good up to a week.

To assemble:
Spoon the pastry cream into each tart shell and top with the blueberries or candied kumquats, sprinkled with finely chopped pistachios. Serve soon after assembling.



有頗多bloggers推薦一本名為The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern的書。他們跟著食譜做出來的甜點很是吸引人。我好奇它是不是像大家說的那麼棒﹐所以決定也買一本來看看。去過幾家大型的連鎖書店也找不到﹐問店員才知道這書絕版了。去信出版社﹐得到的答案是他們不會再印這本書了。沒辦法﹐只好往賣舊書的書店碰運氣。可是去過很多店﹐都是失望而回。終於在Amazon看到有人出讓﹐可是要$100 USD多﹐而且還是圖書館的書﹗半個月前﹐終於找到非圖書館版本又價錢比較合理的。收到書的那天真的好激動 ;p

好在書沒讓我失望。食譜的名字很有詩意﹐看似簡單但處處看到驚喜之處例如胡椒口味﹑羅勒口味的冰淇淋。可惜照片很少﹐要不然就完美了。而這本書的著者是紐約星級Gramercy Tavern餐廳的前甜點總廚Claudia Fleming。她以採用當季的食材製作甜點和節約風格而著名。現在想吃到她的甜點就需前往她和丈夫經營位於紐約州Long Island的小旅館囉。這是我下一次到紐約必去的地方。如果你有興趣買她的書可前往她的旅館網站訂購(按這裡)。我剛剛才得知她自己出資重新出版這本書。嗚嗚嗚。。。我買貴了。。。

其實我不是很喜歡塔派類的甜點﹐因為印象中這些都很甜膩。那麼為什麼我還選擇這個藍莓奶油乳酪卡士達塔呢? 很簡單﹐因為照片很漂亮﹗而且這個肉桂甜塔皮聽起來很好吃的樣子。果不其然塔皮在烘烤時﹐廚房是滿滿的肉桂香﹐真的好香好香。奶油乳酪做成的卡士達醬輕盈細緻輕易的在舌尖上化開﹐和我以前嘗過的甜膩口感完全不一樣﹐好驚喜哦﹗最愛的是糖煮藍莓﹐本來吃起來很酸﹐可是將跟糖煮過的莓汁混合後就變的剛好﹐我留起了一半佐原味優格吃。看冰箱還留著早前做好的糖漬金桔﹐就拿了一些做餡料﹐也很配。甜酸適中﹐很開胃﹐很適合春﹑夏季節吃的一道點心。就連不愛吃甜的媽媽都一口氣吃了3個塔﹐還帶了一些給她的朋友。希望你也會喜歡~



藍莓﹑金桔奶油乳酪卡士達塔 – 約22個

肉桂甜塔皮– 10個直徑1 ½ x 4寸船形塔皮跟12個直徑2 x 4寸長方形塔皮

1杯 無鹽奶油 - 室溫放軟﹐切成小方塊
¼杯 黃糖
¼杯 甘蔗糖或黑糖
¼杯 蜜糖
2杯 麵粉
½杯 低筋全麥麵粉
1茶匙 鹽巴
½茶匙 肉桂粉

將麵粉﹑低筋全麥麵粉﹑鹽巴﹑和肉桂粉混合備用。將切成小方塊的奶油﹑砂糖用電動攪拌器以中速攪打至奶油變淡黃色呈蓬鬆狀後加入蜜糖﹐攪拌勻﹐然後加入混合好的粉類快速拌勻成糰塊。將麵糰放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐揉至軟滑成球狀。輕壓成扁圓片﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱靜置最少60分鐘(最久兩天)醒麵。

烤箱預熱至325°F/165°C。取出麵糰﹐放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐將麵糰桿成約厚3mm或1/8寸的薄片後用長方形的餅乾模具吸出或用刀子切割出薄片。鋪進塔派模裡﹐壓實塔皮底及塔皮壁﹐用刀子將多出來的麵皮切掉﹐再用叉子戳刺氣孔。蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱冷藏約20分鐘定型。

取出﹐放入烤箱烤20分鐘或至塔皮呈金黃色。取去擺放在網架上放涼。



奶油乳酪卡士達醬 – 約4杯

1杯 全脂奶
5湯匙 砂糖
4個 大的蛋黃
2 ½湯匙 玉米粉
6oz 奶油乳酪
1茶匙 香草荳精
½杯 鮮奶油

將3/4 杯牛奶跟3湯匙砂糖混合裝進小鍋裡，以中火煮至砂糖融化沸騰即離火備用。另一個拌盤裡加進蛋黃﹑玉米粉﹑剩下的2湯匙砂糖﹐拌勻後拌入剩下的1/4 杯牛奶﹐攪拌均勻。將熱奶漿慢慢地注入蛋糊中﹐這時要用打蛋器不斷攪打﹐拌勻後﹐倒回小鍋中以低火加熱。用打蛋器持續不斷的攪拌至變稠﹐約2分鐘﹐然後拌進奶油乳酪及香草精﹐不停攪拌至順滑﹐離火。將蛋黃醬過濾後﹐倒進碗中﹐在蛋黃醬表面蓋上保鮮膜(黏著蛋黃醬)﹐放進冰箱冷藏約60分鐘。

將鮮奶油打發至出現軟角的程度﹐拌入放涼的蛋黃醬中﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻即可。倒進密閉的容器裡﹐放冰箱可存放3天。

糖煮藍莓 – 2 ½ 杯
2 ½杯 藍莓
1湯匙 砂糖

將1杯藍莓和砂糖倒進平鍋裡﹐以低火煮至砂糖融化﹐藍莓變軟成漿為止﹐約3分鐘。將藍莓漿過濾取汁。將剩下的藍莓拌進莓漿中﹐拌勻即可。

糖漬金桔
24粒 金桔　
2杯 砂糖
1½杯 水

作法：
把金桔洗乾淨﹐抹乾﹐去蒂﹐橫的切成兩半﹐再用叉子去籽。將水和砂糖裝進小鍋裡﹐開中火煮沸﹐把金桔加進去﹐用一片*紙巾覆蓋在金桔上﹐繼續煮兩分鐘﹐離火﹐在常溫中放涼置一晚。

丟掉紙巾﹐把金桔撈出來﹐僅加熱糖漿﹐煮沸後熄火。此時才將金桔放回糖漿中﹐在常溫中放置一晚。把糖漿倒掉﹐倒進密閉容器中﹐可冷藏存放一個星期。

*紙蓋的作用是要使金桔沉入鍋內﹐完全浸泡在糖漿裡。

組合:
將奶油乳酪卡士達醬舀進塔皮至8分滿﹐舀些糖煮藍莓﹐再以薄荷葉裝飾一部分的塔。剩下的隨意的擺放金桔﹐再撒些切碎的開心果仁裝飾。

St. Valentine’s Day: Coup de coeur ~ 草莓花蜜慕斯蛋糕

Happy St. Valentine’s Day, everyone! This is my Valentine’s gram to you =)

This is a remix version of the classic French fraisier or strawberry shortcake! Instead of filling it with crème patisserie, I filled it with honey mousse, something I have been tempted to do since I got myself a copy of Christine Manfield’s Desserts. There isn’t a fraisier recipe in her book but when I saw the recipe for the honey mousse I immediately thought of it as a substitute for the cream filling. It is so much lighter! However, I can’t guarantee that it is skimmer^^ I also used her génoise sponge recipe but made some adjustment to it. The recipes were easy to follow but the end result is marvelous!

Coup de coeur
yields 2 - 6x2in cakes

Almond Génoise Sponge Cake
5 large eggs, separated
150g granulated sugar
80g almond flour
70g all purpose flour, sifted
1tsp vanilla essence
50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 320°F/160°C. Grease a 24cm round cake pan with generously with butter and line it with parchment paper.

Sift together almond flour and flour. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy. Add in the sifted flour mix, vanilla essence, the melted butter; stir until combined after each addition. In another bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form then gently fold it into the cake batter with a spatula, fold until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap the pan slightly on the counter to release any air bubbles, bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice it into 10mm thick rounds then stamp it with the heart shaped mousse ring.



Acacia Honey Mousse
320ml whole milk
60g *Miele di Acacia (Acacia Honey)
4 egg yolks
100g granulated sugar
7g gelatine leaves
250ml heavy cream

*Elegant and rich, Acacia honey is called the "moonflower honey" in Italy. It has a clean, light vanilla flavor. It tastes delicious with coffee or tea, also great drizzled over toast, ricotta cheese or shaved hard cheeses.

First, bring a pot of water to boil then reduce to low heat once boiled. Bring the milk and honey to just boil over medium heat; stirring constantly to avoid burning the mixture. Remove the honey milk mixture once reached simmering point. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl then whisk in the honey milk slowly. Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water and stir gently until the mixture thicken into a custard or until it coats the back of a wooden spoon then remove from heat. Stir in the pre-soaked gelatine leaves, stir until completely dissolved. Pass the custard through a fine meshed sieve and place into a bath of icy water to cool. Whisking constantly to keep it aerated as it cools.

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form then fold 1/3 of this into the cooled custard, mix until combined. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream until combined. Spoon the mousse into a piping bag without a tip, set side.

Kirsch Syrup
2tbsp granulated sugar
4tbsp water
2tsp Kirsch (cherry liqueur)

Put sugar and water in a heatproof bowl then place it in the microwave to dissolve the sugar, about 30 seconds. Let cool until adding kirsch to the mixture, stir until combined.

Rose Flavor Chantilly Cream
200ml heavy cream
2tbsp caster sugar
1tsp rose essence

Place the cream, sugar and rose essence in a bowl and whip until semi-stiff peaks form.



Assemble and decorating the cake:
Place the mousse molds on a tray then put a cake base inside each mold then brush a layer of kirsch syrup on top. Arrange the strawberry halves cut side to the side of the mold, pipe the honey mousse in between the strawberries and fill up to about 1/2 of the height of the moulds. Arrange strawberries on cake base until full, pipe more mousse until almost to the top, take another piece of cake, brush a layer of syrup then place it on top with syrup side facing down. Push it down slightly with your palm to take out any air bubbles then place in fridge to set for 1 hour.

Remove from fridge. To unmold the cakes, wrap a hot towel around the mold for 10 second then use your fingers to push the cake upward. With an icing knife in hand, spread the cream onto the cake center, move the knife over the top to get a smooth finish. Decorate with white chocolate ruffles, rose petals and fresh strawberries.

情人節快樂﹗這是阿Vi送你的情人節禮物喔~

這個蛋糕是法式經典草莓蛋糕fraisier的變奏版。由原本奶油餡心(crème patisserie)改成了花蜜慕斯﹐口感清爽許多。不知為啥在翻Christine Manfield的Desserts一書時看到這個食譜馬上就想到用它做為fraisier的餡心。傑諾瓦士海綿蛋糕的食譜也是來自這書﹐不過我加了杏仁粉﹐蛋糕體也變的較濕潤。食譜雖然簡單﹐但是甜點整體味道豐富有層次。蜜糖的濃郁甜味配酸酸的草莓合適的不得了﹐吃了滿嘴的草莓奶香~

草莓花蜜慕斯蛋糕 ~ 法式經典草莓蛋糕變奏版
2個 - 直徑6x2in 心形蛋糕

杏仁傑諾瓦士(海綿)蛋糕 ~直徑24cm/10寸圓形模具1個
將原份量的一半麵粉用杏仁粉代替﹐所以有別於傳統海綿蛋糕﹐口感品嚐起來較濕潤及清爽。

5 個 大的蛋黃
5 個 大的蛋白
150g 砂糖
80g 杏仁粉
70g 麵粉, 篩過
1tsp 香草精
50g 放涼的澄清無鹽奶油

事前準備:
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至320°F/160°C。
- 模具抹上厚厚的奶油﹐再鋪上烘烤紙﹐備用。

將杏仁粉和麵粉混合篩過﹐備用。用電動攪拌器以中速攪打蛋黃和砂糖﹐攪打至富含空氣且顏色變淡為止。加進篩過的杏仁麵粉﹑香草精﹑及放涼的澄清無鹽奶油﹐每加進一樣就要確實拌勻。

在另一大碗裡加進蛋白﹐用電動打蛋器以低速將蛋白打發至起泡出現軟角的程度時﹐將速度加至中速打發至立體為止。小量地將蛋霜拌入麵糊裡﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐會如緞帶般重疊時即可。

輕輕地將麵糊倒進烤模中﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後﹐放進預熱過的烤模裡﹐烘烤約20分鐘。等烤到焦色恰到好處時﹐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﹐翻轉倒扣脫模﹐擺在網架上整個放涼。將海綿蛋糕橫切成10mm厚片﹐然後用直徑6x2in的心形慕斯模吸切出4片蛋糕片﹐備用。

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。



洋槐花蜜慕斯
取自洋槐又名相思樹花之蜜，清澈純淨的色澤，細緻高雅的風味中帶有洋槐花香。

320ml 全脂奶
60g 洋槐(相思)花蜜
4 蛋黃
100g 砂糖
7g 魚膠片
250ml 鮮奶油

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﹐將其倒入水裡泡脹後備用。

製作蜜糖蛋黃醬：
先燒開一小鍋的水﹐轉小火。將牛奶跟蜜糖混合裝進小鍋裡，以中火煮至剛沸騰即離火﹐備用﹔要不時地攪拌以免燒焦。

用電動攪拌器以中速攪打蛋黃和砂糖至顏色變淡。將蜜糖奶漿慢慢地注入蛋糊中﹐這時要用打蛋器不斷攪打。放小鍋上隔熱水加熱﹐用打蛋器持續不斷的攪拌至變稠﹐並可以在木匙背劃出清晰的線條時(約10分鐘)﹐蜜糖蛋黃醬就完成了﹐離火。加入泡軟的明膠片，確實拌勻後將蜜糖蛋黃醬過濾﹐再放進冰水浴中﹐並不時的攪拌至完全放涼。

製作花蜜慕斯:
將鮮奶油打發至出現尖角的起泡程度﹐用切拌法(用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻)將3份1份量的發泡鮮奶油拌入蜜糖蛋黃醬中﹐攪拌乳化後﹐拌入剩餘的鮮奶油﹐確實攪拌勻備用。

櫻桃酒糖漿(塗抹蛋糕用)
4湯匙 清水
2湯匙 砂糖
2茶匙 櫻桃利口酒

清水﹑砂糖裝進小碗裡﹐再放微波爐微波30秒煮沸至砂糖融化為止。放涼後拌入櫻桃利口酒備用。



玫瑰風味香堤麗鮮奶油 – 約1 ½ 杯份量
200ml 鮮奶油
2湯匙 細砂糖
1茶匙 玫瑰精

將鮮奶油﹑玫瑰精﹑和細砂糖放入mixing bowl裡﹐用電動打蛋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。將鮮奶油放冰箱冷藏10分鐘即完成。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:
將一片蛋糕片鋪進慕斯圈中﹐在表面用刷子塗上櫻桃酒糖漿﹐然後將切掉蒂頭﹑對半縱切的草莓原著模型邊緣排列。將慕斯倒進擠袋裡﹐剪去一角﹐先擠些慕斯填滿草莓間的空隙﹐然後由外往中心整體填滿慕斯至半滿。將去蒂的草莓排列填滿整個模型﹐然後再擠進慕斯填滿。在另一片蛋糕片的表面塗上櫻桃酒糖漿﹐塗面朝下疊蓋在慕斯上﹐輕壓使其確實貼黏著﹐放入冰箱冷卻凝固60分鐘。

取出蛋糕﹐將蛋糕脫模﹐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。用抹刀將玫瑰香堤麗鮮奶油平均的塗抹在蛋糕的正上方。在蛋糕上方的一角擺放白巧克力裝飾﹐再擺放滿滿的玫瑰花瓣及草莓即可。