My latest and so far bestest enhancement was swirling a little bit of good quality raspberry jam into the dough before baking in. I then covered the top of the cake with more raspberry jam before pouring over a lush chocolate ganache. the icing on the cake wasn't the actual icing though, it was the handful of crushed pink peppercorns which did not only add an unexpected kick to the cake, but also took the edge of the overall sweetness and heaviness of this indulgent piece of chocolate heaven.
Monday, 29 September 2008
The evolution of a cake
Everybody who knows me will sooner or later get a taste, or many tastes of my favourite cake of all times. A French chocolate cake which I refer to as the Mother of all chocolate cakes. So delicious, yet so simple. 30mins from unpacking the ingredients to having a slice of heavenly gooeyness. As with my pates, I try to to re-invent the cake from time to time to avoid boredome amongst my friends. 
My latest and so far bestest enhancement was swirling a little bit of good quality raspberry jam into the dough before baking in. I then covered the top of the cake with more raspberry jam before pouring over a lush chocolate ganache. the icing on the cake wasn't the actual icing though, it was the handful of crushed pink peppercorns which did not only add an unexpected kick to the cake, but also took the edge of the overall sweetness and heaviness of this indulgent piece of chocolate heaven.
My latest and so far bestest enhancement was swirling a little bit of good quality raspberry jam into the dough before baking in. I then covered the top of the cake with more raspberry jam before pouring over a lush chocolate ganache. the icing on the cake wasn't the actual icing though, it was the handful of crushed pink peppercorns which did not only add an unexpected kick to the cake, but also took the edge of the overall sweetness and heaviness of this indulgent piece of chocolate heaven.
Red velvet cake
This isn't actually a recipe, it's more an homage at a cake. Having said that, it's more about the look than the actual taste.
When I went to New York, I stayed with friends in Greenwich Village. It was the perfect location in an otherwise imperfect city. I didn't enjoy New York per se much, but Greenwich Village with all its continental bakeries, eateries and Marc Jacobs outlets was different. Bleaker Street was my favourite. Not only because that's where out apartment was, but that's where almost everything else was as well. Especially all the nice bakeries and cake shops.
On cake shop in particular caught my attention. I cannot remember its name, but the long queue outside this little shop. Long queues always look promising, so I expected a lot when I joined it to get a taste of the famous red velvet cake.
It was ok. As ok as if Betty Crocker herself made it.
So I couldn't help but wonder: did they really just use a white cake mix and spike it with some colouring?
When I went to New York, I stayed with friends in Greenwich Village. It was the perfect location in an otherwise imperfect city. I didn't enjoy New York per se much, but Greenwich Village with all its continental bakeries, eateries and Marc Jacobs outlets was different. Bleaker Street was my favourite. Not only because that's where out apartment was, but that's where almost everything else was as well. Especially all the nice bakeries and cake shops.
On cake shop in particular caught my attention. I cannot remember its name, but the long queue outside this little shop. Long queues always look promising, so I expected a lot when I joined it to get a taste of the famous red velvet cake.
It was ok. As ok as if Betty Crocker herself made it.So I couldn't help but wonder: did they really just use a white cake mix and spike it with some colouring?
Ginger spiced pate
I haven't been cooking a lot recently which worked really well for my waistline, but not so well for my blog. But I volunteered to bring food to some of my friends parties lately. Whether I did it to help them with their preparations or whether I did ot for the sake of having something to add to my blog remains a secret :-)
When my friend Laurent celebrated his 34th birthday, I brought round the biggest block of pate ever, thinking that there will be around 20 guests. As it turned out, 2/3 of the people didn't show up. So I am sure that he and his boyfriend are still having pate every evening.
Whenever there is an occasion, I make pate. Pate and salami are the two reasons why I couldn't become a vegetarian. Salami I buy in the shops, pate is something though I usually make myself: It's cheaper, better and more animal-friendly as I only use organic duck or chicken liver. Also, it's less boring than shop bought pate as I play around with flavours quite a bit.
I have tried many variations, but my favourite one uses spring onion, chilli, ginger, soy sauce and garlic. Once the chicken liver is nicely brown on the outside but still pink in the centre, I add the spices and a few splashes of soy sauce, put it all in a blender, add butter and mix until smooth and creamy.
To make it look more fancy, I decorated my latest pate with some jellied ginger by simply boiling some ginger with water, then adding gelatine. I poured the mixture into a pound cake tin and let it cool in the fridge for an hour before filling the tin up to the rim with pate.
When my friend Laurent celebrated his 34th birthday, I brought round the biggest block of pate ever, thinking that there will be around 20 guests. As it turned out, 2/3 of the people didn't show up. So I am sure that he and his boyfriend are still having pate every evening.
Whenever there is an occasion, I make pate. Pate and salami are the two reasons why I couldn't become a vegetarian. Salami I buy in the shops, pate is something though I usually make myself: It's cheaper, better and more animal-friendly as I only use organic duck or chicken liver. Also, it's less boring than shop bought pate as I play around with flavours quite a bit.
I have tried many variations, but my favourite one uses spring onion, chilli, ginger, soy sauce and garlic. Once the chicken liver is nicely brown on the outside but still pink in the centre, I add the spices and a few splashes of soy sauce, put it all in a blender, add butter and mix until smooth and creamy.To make it look more fancy, I decorated my latest pate with some jellied ginger by simply boiling some ginger with water, then adding gelatine. I poured the mixture into a pound cake tin and let it cool in the fridge for an hour before filling the tin up to the rim with pate.
Friday, 16 May 2008
An awesome birthday cake
I came across a similar cake in a party-food book and was immediately taken by it ignoring the more than obvious fact that it was meant for a kids birthday party. Kids have fairly simple taste buds: as long as it's sweet and with extra sugar icing on top, they'll love it. So the dense quatre quarts dough should do the trick for them. Adults are a bit more fussy, or at least my friends are. Some of them criticised the density of heaviness of the cake. But let's face it: I didn't bake the cake for it's culinary quality but simply for the look. And damn, it did look good.
An awesome birthday cake:
: 1 kg self raising flour
: 1 kg castor sugar
: 1 kg butter
: 15 eggs
Filling:
: 250ml strawberry jam
: 250g butter
: 500g icing sugar
Topping:
: 500g icing sugar
: Smarties, strawberry laces, Jellie Babies, sugar hearts, Maltesters, Jelly Beans etc.
Make the dough in two batches (easier than making it all at once) and divided it between a 25cm, 20cm and 15cm cake tin and a muffin cup. Bake until ready and let cool on a wire rack.
Heat the jam with a little raspberry vodka, then spread it evenly over every cake. Now make the butter cream by mixing the softened butter and 3 tbsp of hot water with the icing sugar. Spread on top of the jam. Finally stack the cakes on top of each other (obviously starting with the largest cake at the bottom).
For the icing, mix the icing sugar with just enough water to make the mixture slightly runny, then cover the entire cake with the icing before adding the decoration.
An awesome birthday cake:: 1 kg self raising flour
: 1 kg castor sugar
: 1 kg butter
: 15 eggs
Filling:
: 250ml strawberry jam
: 250g butter
: 500g icing sugar
Topping:
: 500g icing sugar
: Smarties, strawberry laces, Jellie Babies, sugar hearts, Maltesters, Jelly Beans etc.
Make the dough in two batches (easier than making it all at once) and divided it between a 25cm, 20cm and 15cm cake tin and a muffin cup. Bake until ready and let cool on a wire rack.
Heat the jam with a little raspberry vodka, then spread it evenly over every cake. Now make the butter cream by mixing the softened butter and 3 tbsp of hot water with the icing sugar. Spread on top of the jam. Finally stack the cakes on top of each other (obviously starting with the largest cake at the bottom).
For the icing, mix the icing sugar with just enough water to make the mixture slightly runny, then cover the entire cake with the icing before adding the decoration.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Wheat free ricotta muffins
It's not always easy to cook for friends who are on a special diet. Especially if you try to throw a dinner party for a bunch of friends that all happen to be on a different diet. That's what happened lately when one of my friends was fasting for lent and wouldn't have chocolate and the other one is allergic to gluten.
Of course, there would have been an easy way out with simply making something like mascarpone, cream and fruits served in a martini glass. But then: I don't like the easy way out. Plus I really wanted to bake something. My usual wheat free winner, the melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake was a no go due to its main ingredient. So I looked for some ideas in a few magazines and finally came across the perfect dessert in a German housewives' cooking magazine: Quark and cornflakes muffins.
Quark is not always easy to get in London, so I had to substitute it with some ricotta which worked equally well.
Wheat free ricotta muffins, makes 12 muffins
: 250g ricotta
: 250g cream cheese
: 2 organic eggs
: 75g ground hazelnuts
: 100g castor sugar
: 2 tbsp corn flour
: 10 Physalis, quartered
: 100g white chocolate
: cornflakes
For the topping:
: 75g hazelnut flakes
: 100g castor sugar
: 12 capsicum
Beat the ricotta and cream cheese until smooth, then add the sugar. Beat in the corn flour and slowly add the eggs, one by one. Finally, blend in the ground hazelnuts and the Physalis.
Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie. Mix with a few handfuls of cornflakes. Make sure all cornflakes are well covered with chocolate. Full a tablespoon of the cornflake mixture in each muffin cup, then pour over the cream cheese filling. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 25 minutes.
When ready, decorate each muffin with a spoon full of hazelnut crunch.
Melt the castor sugar in a pan until golden brown, add the hazelnut flakes, then drizzle the mixture over the muffins. Finally, decorate each muffin with a Physalis. If necessary, dip the Physalis in some of the melted sugar (that will make them stick to the top of the muffin).
Of course, there would have been an easy way out with simply making something like mascarpone, cream and fruits served in a martini glass. But then: I don't like the easy way out. Plus I really wanted to bake something. My usual wheat free winner, the melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake was a no go due to its main ingredient. So I looked for some ideas in a few magazines and finally came across the perfect dessert in a German housewives' cooking magazine: Quark and cornflakes muffins.
Quark is not always easy to get in London, so I had to substitute it with some ricotta which worked equally well.
Wheat free ricotta muffins, makes 12 muffins: 250g ricotta
: 250g cream cheese
: 2 organic eggs
: 75g ground hazelnuts
: 100g castor sugar
: 2 tbsp corn flour
: 10 Physalis, quartered
: 100g white chocolate
: cornflakes
For the topping:
: 75g hazelnut flakes
: 100g castor sugar
: 12 capsicum
Beat the ricotta and cream cheese until smooth, then add the sugar. Beat in the corn flour and slowly add the eggs, one by one. Finally, blend in the ground hazelnuts and the Physalis.
Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie. Mix with a few handfuls of cornflakes. Make sure all cornflakes are well covered with chocolate. Full a tablespoon of the cornflake mixture in each muffin cup, then pour over the cream cheese filling. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 25 minutes.
When ready, decorate each muffin with a spoon full of hazelnut crunch.
Melt the castor sugar in a pan until golden brown, add the hazelnut flakes, then drizzle the mixture over the muffins. Finally, decorate each muffin with a Physalis. If necessary, dip the Physalis in some of the melted sugar (that will make them stick to the top of the muffin).
Monday, 18 February 2008
Steamed little gems in Oyster sauce
Ever since my not-so-new-anymore flatmate Qian moved in, I haven’t been updating my blog anymore. The reason is very simple: it seems to be her who now does all the cooking in my house. Even if I have friends round, she would cook for them.
And if she doesn’t cook… then I cook Qian-style dishes. I never really enjoyed Chinese food, but that girl’s culinary skills totally converted me. Maybe it is the distinct lack of monosodium glutamate in her dishes that make them so much more delightful than all the stuff you can get in China Town. Or it is the mere simplicity that makes re-creating her dishes so tempting.
Take steamed lettuce in oyster sauce. Man, that’s good. And on the table in less than 5 minutes. My fridge is packed with little gems at the moment and I have a daily fight with my Guineas over who gets to eat them. I loose out most of the time as I am too lazy to go and get some other stuff for them, but whenever I can I would prepare them as a side dish for prawn dumplings, which are about the only ready meal I have in my freezer.
Steamed little gems in Oyster sauce, for 2
: leaves of 2-3 little gems
: 1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
: vegetable oil
: 2-3 tsp Oyster sauce
: splash of Soy sauce
Blanch the lettuce in some boiling water. In the meantime, heat a little vegetable oil in a pan and fry the garlic for a minute or two before adding the blanched lettuce leaves together with the Oyster sauce and little water if necessary. Finish off with a splash of Soy sauce and serve immediately.
And if she doesn’t cook… then I cook Qian-style dishes. I never really enjoyed Chinese food, but that girl’s culinary skills totally converted me. Maybe it is the distinct lack of monosodium glutamate in her dishes that make them so much more delightful than all the stuff you can get in China Town. Or it is the mere simplicity that makes re-creating her dishes so tempting.
Take steamed lettuce in oyster sauce. Man, that’s good. And on the table in less than 5 minutes. My fridge is packed with little gems at the moment and I have a daily fight with my Guineas over who gets to eat them. I loose out most of the time as I am too lazy to go and get some other stuff for them, but whenever I can I would prepare them as a side dish for prawn dumplings, which are about the only ready meal I have in my freezer.
Steamed little gems in Oyster sauce, for 2: leaves of 2-3 little gems
: 1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
: vegetable oil
: 2-3 tsp Oyster sauce
: splash of Soy sauce
Blanch the lettuce in some boiling water. In the meantime, heat a little vegetable oil in a pan and fry the garlic for a minute or two before adding the blanched lettuce leaves together with the Oyster sauce and little water if necessary. Finish off with a splash of Soy sauce and serve immediately.
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