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.

Day four.

I had a wonderful post planned, I swear.
But my camera is out of batteries and they need replacing, but soon, I promise.

Day three.

hi.

it's sunny here
and beautiful.
I went on a bike ride this morning.
hence the second picture

the first picture continues the tree series.

I'm starting a small series on trees.

Day One.

Happy sunny day.

Good morning sun.
It's the first sun we've seen all year and it's beautiful.

This is a recipe for peanut butter smores in the middle of winter.

I always thought that marshmallows were hard to make, Alton Brown has shown me otherwise. It's simple and well worth the effort I think. The recipe is an open canvas for flavour, so create.

I did take this recipe from here, but it's my first time, so go easy on me. I paired these marshmallows with a peanut butter cookie and dipped the top in dark chocolate. The recipe makes 8 large cookies and in the interest of moderation I suggest that you make the cookies smaller, (1-2 t. balls of cookie dough instead of 1T. balls)

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 c. room temp. butter
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. flour

Beat butter and peanut butter together until combined. Add sugars, baking soda and powder and mix until combined. Add vanilla and egg and stir until Incorporated. Mix in flour. Roll into balls and flatten cookies with a fork. Bake at 350ºf for 10-12 minutes of golden around edges.


Vanilla Marshmallows

3 pkgs. gelatin powder
1 c. cold water, divided
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. icing sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a mixer with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cook until the mixture reaches 240ºf, approximately 10-15 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, about 11 minutes for softer marshmallows and 13 minutes for firmer ones. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.

To make molds grease pan (I used a loaf pan) and sift in icing sugar/cornstarch mixture to coat all sides well. Alternatively, grease and dust parchment paper and pipe marshmallows into lines, cut when firm to make mini-marshmallows. I just piped my mixture onto the cookies.