I am looking forward to a day tomorrow alone with my sourdough starter and I. With only silence and my thoughts to accompany us. Maybe a longing glance in the direction of the four litres of ice cream smirking in our freezer. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Just as promised. A little something simply delicious. I was craving a custard-like texture but I didn't want to wait. Zabaglione sounded perfect. I knew I needed to have something firm to eat it with and remembered this cake took only 20 minutes to bake. A vanilla genoise I've made before. Tart cranberries and sweet zabaglione marry perfectly.
To make the cranberry compote I stewed fresh cranberries in a simple syrup on low for 20 minutes. The tartness the cranberries perfectly balanced the sweetness from the zabaglione.
The zabaglione is something I've been making my entire career and here I used an orange liqueur to make the flavour in the cake more prominent.
Vanilla Genoise
Adapted from here
3 eggs, separated
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. hot liqueur (I used Grand Marnier)
2 T. melted butter
1/2 c. AP flour
In mixer combine egg yolks, 1/2 c. sugar, salt and vanilla and beat on high with whisk until thick, 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add warmed liqueur. Scrape bowl and again whip on high until thick. Fold in flour and butter. Set aside.
In clean bowl whip egg whites on medium until frothy, add remaining sugar. Whip until stiff and fold into reserved batter. Spread into 9x9 inch pan lined with parchment. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 ºf, until golden brown on top and springs back when touched lightly.
I made this yesterday.
While at T&T in the city the other day we happened across kaffir lime leaves. Though commonly used in savory cooking, I, inspired by the wonderful fragrance, wanted to make it into a dessert. So I made a kaffir lime leave sorbet. To accompany it, rum and coconut. A sweet rum tart. A coconut tuile. A spicy candied pecan. And candied lime leaves.
The kaffir lime is native to Indonesia and Malaysia and is grown on a thorny bush. Unlike a regular lime these leaves are very sweet and can be eaten, though they are commonly used for flavour. The kaffir lime leaf has a very unique citrusy-floral flavour that can not be substituted.
I couldn't find a recipe I wanted to use so I made my own. It needs work, but the basics are there. There are two types of custards stovetop and baked. I wanted a combination of the two and I also wanted a mixture that did not have a starch in it.
In my recipe I used 1 c. of liquid to 2 egg yolks and 3 T. of sugar.
The minimum ratio which will produce a properly thickened custard is 1 c. of liquid to 1 egg plus 2 T. of sugar.
Increased sugar lengthens cooking time and makes result less firm.
Increased egg yolks shortens cooking time and make results more firm.
Two egg yolks can be used in place of one whole egg.
Rum tart
1 1/4 c. AP flour
1/2 c. icing sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. cold butter, cut in 3/4-inch pieces
2 lrg egg yolks
1 T. heavy cream
1/2 c. cream
1/2 c. milk
2 egg yolks
3 T. sugar
1/4 fresh nutmeg
2 T. dark rum
In food processor combine flour, icing sugar and salt. Pulse 1 or 2 times to mix. Add butter pieces and pulse 7-8 times until mixture forms coarse crumbs. In small bowl lightly beat egg yolks with a fork, then stir in cream until blended. With motor running, add the egg mixture and process just until the dough begins to come together, but does not form a ball.
On a work surface, shape dough into flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 45 minutes or up to overnight.
Roll out crust into 4-inch tart shells and par bake in 350ºf oven for 10 minutes.
Heat cream and milk in saucepan until hot but not boiling. Meanwhile mix together egg yolks and sugar. Temper in hot milk. Pour mixture into saucepan and heat stirring constantly over medium heat until mixture coats back of a wooden spoon. Take pan off heat and mix in rum.
Pour mixture into shells and bake in 325 ºf oven until centers are set. About 25-30 minutes.
In keeping with a winter theme, happy snow day!
We got an extended vacation this year.
S. also took a snow day.
So we made a desert we've been meaning to finish.
Green tea ice cream, vanilla genoise, blood orange curd, soft meringue and blood orange reduction. Though the components sound odd, together they taste amazing.
Since we couldn't find and matcha powder on the shelves of the stores in our small town we went to Starbucks where we knew they had it.
"Hey" we said to the little girl working "We need green tea powder"
Her, "Ummmmmmmmm, whhhhhhhhhat?"
Us: "You know the stuff you make green tea lattes with, we'll pay you what it costs to make the drink but all we want is the powder"
Her: "ohhhhhh, I ...don't....knowwwww"
Us: "We just need a little to cook with"
Her: "... ... ..Ohh! okay!! You can just have some! How much??"
Us: "Like two tablespoons"
She comes back with 1/3 cup.
Her: "Is that enough"
Us: "YUP!" and we quickly scamper away.
SCORE!
The following morning I spilled all but two tablespoons of it on the floor.
