Eating my way across Europe, part II

Café Norden's Caramel Latte

As you'd expect, when you visit so many great countries, you get exposed to a lot of really great food, and this trip was no exception.  I found a fabulous and super sexy resto-café in Copenhagen, called Café Norden, that serves a killer mushroom pasta with grilled chicken, or, if you're only in the need of a hot drink to warm you up, sit back in one of their pillow-lined window banquettes and enjoy a caramel latte that had me drooling while I watched them make it... thick, homemade caramel, smeared around the inside of a tall glass mug, a shot of espresso, topped off with some frothy steamed milk and served with a couple of delicious chocolate almond cookies.... it's the perfect way to warm up if the wind has gotten to you.  If you ever find yourself in Copenhagen, I highly recommend you stop in at Café Norden.

Dutch Stroopwafel 

Delft was where I finally tasted my first stroopwafel, a thin, crisp waffel, halved and then glued back together with a cinnamon-caramel syrup.  I have seen these for sale in gourmet markets locally, but my friend Nicolette, who was born in the Netherlands, says that the ones here just don't taste the same, so I decided it was better to wait for the real deal.  What I didn't know, until I tasted one, was that there was cinnamon in the syrup, which gives it a unique and pleasant flavour that I wasn't expecting.  I also learned that these are best served fresh and warm, when the syrup is nice and gooey, and that a small stroopwafel is more than enough of a sugar-buzz for the average adult.

les gaufres des Liége.... pure heaven!

Belgium - home of the Belgian Waffle.  Naturally I had to try a gaufres liégeois, especially when my chocoholic friend Kerrin said that she loved these even more than she loves chocolate.  Whoa - that's really saying something.  Luckily, gaufre vendors are not hard to find.  The first one I tried was au naturel and fresh from the iron - so hot in fact, that I had to keep my gloves on to keep from burning myself.  Ohhhhh myyyyy..... I knew immediately why Kerrin says she loves these so much.  This is unlike any waffle, Belgian or otherwise, that I have ever had.  For those of you who only know waffles from breakfast-all-day diners, you are seriously missing out.  The most noticeable difference is the large pieces of pearl-sugar strewn throughout the waffle.  When the waffle is baking on the iron, these chunks of sugar melt and caramelize and create... magic.  While savouring each bite, I was admiring the texture and crumb of this decadent treat, and that's when I noticed the second difference; these had to be made with yeast!  The food-geek in me noticed that the crumb was more similar to that of a dinner roll than it was to the typical breakfast waffle I'm familiar with.  Sure enough, one mention of this to Kerrin and she immediately sent me this link to a recipe.  Bingo!  I know what I'm making when I get back to my waffle iron!  

the crumb texture of gaufres liégeois - you don't get that crumb without yeast

Many vendors also offer a variety of toppings for their gaufres, but, having tasted them on their own, I feel it would be a crime to hide these babies under a mound of whipped cream and chocolate (I can't believe I'm saying it either), though judging by the crowds, scarfing them down on the street, I might be alone in that thinking.  Ironically, I also saw gaufres de Liége being sold at many places in Florence, Italy - which is how I learned that these are only good when they are fresh and warm.  My craving suckered me into buying what had to be 3-day old waffles, re-heated in a microwave... lesson learned!  Let's just say that the pigeons in Florence aren't quite as discerning as I am (Kerrin: ahem... told ya so)

Pierre Marcolini in Brussels

Besides waffles, Belgium is most often associated with chocolates, and Brussels has more than it's fair share of chocolateries.  Sadly, not all of them are worthy of mention - too many chocolate shops have popped up in the tourist zones, cashing in on the action by selling what, in my books, equates to overly sweet brown wax, completely lacking in chocolate flavour.  However, true chocoholics need not worry - there are a number of shops that feature high-quality, gourmet chocolate creations; Pierre Marcolini, Wittamer, Neuhaus and Mary Chocolatier, to name a few.  I spent my fair share of € in these shops, selecting a passionfruit caramel here, a pistachio nougatine there, walnut marzipans, gianduja truffles... decadently dark and chocolatey morsels drawing me in from display counters.  While Brussels wasn't my favourite city among the twelve I visited, it has a lot to offer the chocolate-loving traveler.

Mary Chocolatier

Nantes, in the Loire region of France, a charming and vibrant city filled with ancient cathedrals alongside imaginatively modern buildings, and home to my friend and fellow food blogger Jamie of Life's A Feast.     It was a great treat to see Jamie and have a "girl's day out" of window shopping, good conversation, and getting to know this beautiful city.  As Jamie's birthday was just a couple of days away, we had an additional excuse to go out for a nice lunch to a restaurant that she and her husband enjoy going to.   Pizzeria Pinocchio is a quaint little place that served me the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life.  Thin, crispy crust, baked in a traditional wood-fired oven, with flavourful toppings... it was pizza perfection.  After lunch, we did some window shopping in a few of Nantes' fantastic kitchenware shops, checked out macarons at a local pâtisserie and bought a few kouign amanns to sample - a first for both of us (sorry folks - I dropped the ball, so no pictures).  I only wish I had known a bit more about these caramelized butter and pastry cakes before we had bought them - then we'd have known that they should be heated up and served warm, rather than cold like we had them.  Not only were they very sweet, but they were extremely sticky & chewy - almost to the point we feared we'd each lose some teeth!  Now that I've learned where we went wrong, I can imagine how decadent these traditional Breton cakes would be, served fresh from the oven.

Nantes - ancient and modern side by side

After a visit to her gorgeous apartment, and getting some much needed puppy love from their Boston Terrier, Marty, I finally met her charming husband, JP, and the three of us headed out for a wonderful dinner.  The plat du jour was a fantastic calamari dish unlike anything I have ever had - it was tender and so flavourful, and served as you would a pasta, tossed in a delicate sauce.  Great food, great wine and great conversation with two really great people... it was a perfect evening and just what I needed after 10 days of traveling alone.  The one thing I hadn't foreseen about my trip, was how much I would miss good conversation - something that consists of more than ordering dinner or checking-in at a hotel.  With our stomachs very full from dinner, Jamie & JP walked me back to my hotel and we said our good-byes and parted ways... for now at least, as I get to see Jamie again in a few months at From Plate to Page in Germany!!

The next morning, the pace of my trip thus far was staring to take it's toll on me.  I felt tired and achy all over, and I wanted nothing more than a couple more hours to snooze in bed, but I had a train to catch - one of the few I had booked in advance.  After trying to soothe my muscles with a hot shower, I found myself in one of the few hotel rooms on my trip that didn't have a hair dryer.  Ugh.  Fine.  I crammed a hat on my wet hair and headed off to the station to catch my train back to Paris.  As it turns out, most major train routes in France seem to pass through the City of Lights, and when I changed trains in Paris I would be departing from a different station than I arrived at.  Well, darn.  If you didn't know this already, Paris happens to be my favourite city in the whole world, so of course I took the opportunity to spend the night here before heading off to my next destination.  When I arrived at gare Montparnasse, with my wet-hair-hat-head, I was welcomed by the most brilliant business idea ever - The Beauty Bubble!  Let's face it, everyone has, at some point in their life, arrived after a long day of travel feeling less than stunning, and the French have come up with the perfect solution.  For just €10, you can get a haircut or blowdry and style in about 10-15 minutes, and then be on your way feeling like a million bucks.  Well, I whipped my hat off and plopped myself down in that chair faster than you can imagine, and 10 minutes later, left with my sleek and freshly styled do with a spring in my step.

Beauty Bubble at Gare Montparnasse

One short metro-ride to my hotel to drop off my bags and I found I had the energy to go for a stroll and find a place for dinner.  Now, in Paris, you don't have to wander far to find a café, so I only went a block or two before I found myself with dozens of choices at hand.  Seeing places I've eaten at before, and some I hadn't, I decided on the latter, and grabbed at table at Les Éditeurs.  With it's beautiful, cozy decor and a relaxing vibe, I knew I'd made the right choice.  I ordered the risotto champignons and was absolutely blown away.  Of all my trips to Paris, I think this was the best meal I've ever eaten there.  It was incredibly creamy - almost like eating a savoury rice pudding - and so flavourful.... I was in heaven.  And on top of all that, my waiter was downright cheery and even asked how I was enjoying my meal - something that doesn't typically happen in France.  While I've never really experienced the "rude" French reputation the nation has been saddled with (with the exception of one particularly snooty shop owner in le Marais), I've always found French waiters are usually polite and efficient, and damn good at their jobs - a completely different breed from the saccharine-sweet and bubbly wait staff you often get in North America.  I stayed for a while, basking in the glow of a truly divine meal, ordered a coffee to follow my dessert of ananas gratinée (in a word: decadent!), before slowly wandering back to hotel for some sleep.  After all, I had an early train to Zurich to catch in the morning!

les Éditeurs risotto champignons

For the rest, you'll just have to wait for Part III!
(I'm such a tease!)

Merry Macarons to you!

Parmesan Pancetta Rosemary Macarons

This holiday season has been a busy one for me, but I am not complaining. It's incredibly flattering to have people hire you to do baking for them. This means, prior to leaving for vacation, most of my nights have been spent happily up to my elbows in sugar and flour and butter and eggs... and almonds. Yes, I made quite a few macarons this month, and even spent an evening with my friend Shannon, "teaching" her how to make these finicky french cookies, or rather, teaching her how not to. The evening led to the discovery that macarons are *not* one of those kids-can-help recipes. Shannon's adorable 4 year old son, who loves to cook, and 6 year old daughter, who loves chocolate mousse, were excited to help out in any way he could. But sadly, this is what our macaron shells turned out like that night. It's not pretty, but at least we had fun.

Major macaron fail... NOT a kid-friendly recipe

Well, back in my kitchen, I was back at the mixer, fingers crossed that I could finally get feet on my little macs. Shells of various colours and flavours were prepared, and {whew} batch after batch turned out as hoped - feet and all. And what better time to bake up my MacTweets Challenge macs... Savory Sweet Holiday Macs!

It's true that there are limitless flavour combinations that can be made in a macaron. The delicate flavour of almonds makes them compatible with just about everything under the sun. From tomatoes to pork to fish to olives, almonds can be accompaniment to any of them, though not necessarily in a sweet application. Contemplating the possibilities, and flipping through Pierre Hermé's Macron, I finally settled on Parmesan Pancetta Rosemary Chocolate Macarons.

Festive red macarons with Pancetta, a sprinkling of Parmesan and Rosemary infused ganache

Hubby and I attended a wine and chocolate tasting evening several months back, and one of the treats that was better than we expected was Pancetta and melted chocolate. Yes, bacon seems to be popping up in all kinds of dessert applications, but pancetta is bacon with the flavour volume turned way up - and it really works with the tannic bitter undertones of dark chocolate. One thing I was not prepared for, when baking my macaron shells, is the effect that a sprinkling of parmegiano reggiano cheese would have on them. Baked on the same sheet and from the same batch of regular macaron shells, the parmesan shells somehow "erupted" and cracked, while the regular shells were perfectly shaped and domed. I'm not sure just what it is about the addition of cheese that causes this, but that's the only variable that can be the cause.

The mystery of the erupting parmesan mac shells

So, with my less-than-perfect Parmesan mac shells, I made a simple chocolate ganache, first infusing the cream with a bit of fresh rosemary. With the addition of some finely minced pancetta, and topped it off with a larger ruffle of the cured Italian bacon. The result? While it's not my favourite flavour of mac, it is definitely a good one. The salty and sweet mix of chocolate, almonds and pancetta, and the earthy flavour of the rosemary, made for a nice combination.

Parmesan Pancetta Rosemary Macarons
makes approximately 36 cookies, but is easily doubled
adapted from Pierre Hermé Macarons

100g almond flour
150g confectioners sugar
55g egg whites
~
150g granulated sugar
37g water
55g egg whites (yes, another 55g of egg whites in a separate bowl)
1/2 tsp food colouring

2 Tbsp grated Parmegiano Reggiano cheese

Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the almond flour and confectioners sugar together into a large bowl.
In a small bowl, mix the food colouring with the first 55g of egg whites. Stir the coloured eggs into the almond sugar mixture until well combined and set aside.
In the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the second bowl of plain egg whites until they are foamy but do not yet hold a peak. Turn off the mixer and prepare the syrup:
Pour the water into a small saucepan, and pour the sugar into a mound the centre of the pot, but do not stir.
Place the pan over medium high heat, and keep your thermometer handy.
As the sugar begins to dissolve, gently and carefully swirl the mixture around to distribute any sugar that has not yet melted.
Once the syrup begins to boil, periodically check the temperature until it reaches 115˚C (239˚F).
Remove the pan from heat and check the temperature again - the syrup will continue to cook.
When the mixture reaches 118˚C (244˚F), turn the mixer up to medium speed and carefully pour the hot syrup into the egg whites in a steady stream.
Once all of the syrup has been added, turn the mixer to medium-high and whip for another 2 minutes until the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks.
Using your thermometer, check the temperature of the Italian meringue - it should register about 50˚C (122˚F) or slightly cooler.
Fold the meringue into the coloured almond mixture until no white streaks remain, and has a consistency similar to cake batter.
Fill a piping bag with the macaron batter and pipe small rounds onto the prepared baking sheets.  Sprinkle a small amount of cheese onto each of the macaron shells while they are still wet.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F and place rack in the centre of the oven.
Allow the piped cookies to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to form a dry "skin" while the oven comes to temperature.
To make sure the cookies are ready to bake, gently touch one with your finger, if any batter sticks to your finger, they are still too wet. You should be able to lightly press your finger to the top and have it come up clean.
Bake one sheet at a time, for 12 minutes. You should have nice puffy macaron shells with the loveliest feet you have ever seen. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.

Rosemary Infused Chocolate Ganache with Pancetta

120ml (1/2 Cup) heavy cream

2 stalks fresh rosemary

120g (1/2 Cup) dark chocolate, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

50g thinly sliced pancetta

Pour the cream into a small saucepan.  Using your hands, firmly bend and "bruise" the rosemary, to help release the fragrant oils.  Add the rosemary to the cream, and gently heat the cream until it is steaming but not boiling.  

Place the chopped chocolate and salt in a medium bowl.

Remove the rosemary from the cream and pour the mixture over the chocolate, and allow it to sit for 3-4 minutes.

Gently whisk the chocolate and cream together until it is thick and silky, but be careful not to incorporate any air into the ganache.

Set the bowl aside and allow the ganache to cool to room temperature.

Set a few layers of paper towels over a shallow bowl or plate and set it near the stove.  In a frying pan or skillet, quickly fry the pancetta until it is ruffled and crispy.  Pancetta has a much lover smoke point than regular bacon, and also cooks much much faster, so there's no time to turn your back.  As soon as the pancetta is ruffly and shrunken, remove it to the paper towel to drain.  

Once the ganache has cooled to room temperature, fill a piping bag with the ganache and pipe a generous amount onto the underside of 1/2 of the macaron shells.  Place a small piece of pancetta on top of the ganache, and then add another small dot of ganache and top them all with the remaining macaron shells.

Refrigerate the macarons for at least 24 hours.  Remove the macarons from the fridge about 2 hours before serving so they can warm slightly.

Enjoy!

Getting over my fear of frying

This month's Chocolate with François challenge was selected by yours truly.  When I was asked to select the recipe for July, I carefully perused Chocolate Epiphany, searching for something different.  I wanted a recipe that would really put my cooking and baking skills to the test, something that would teach me something new.  As soon as I read his recipe for Chocolate Beignets with Crème Anglais, however, the search was over....

"This is my version of the American doughnut; a ball of ganache that is dipped in a great beer-based

yeasty batter, then fried and served with a crème anglais dipping sauce instead of icing."

Oh François, you had me at ganache, battered and fried....

Are you kidding me???  This sounded so incredibly over-the-top and decadent that I simply had to do it.  And if anything could help me get over my fear of frying, fried chocolate ought to do it.  

Fried foods are yummy - no one can really dispute that.  Certainly there are a number of arguments questioning the healthfulness of fried foods, but their palatability can hardly be denied.  Nearly every culture on the globe has a food that is plunged into boiling hot fat until it is crispy and brown and sizzling, and this would not be the case if it wasn't tasty.  But as soon as we get to the part about the "boiling hot fat", a part of me cringes.  I've always lived with a healthy fear of all things flaming or boiling -  basically anything that has the ability to permanently remove my flesh if I'm not careful, and deep frying is at the top of that list.  Ironically though, even as a kid the junior food scientist in me wondered why putting things into one pot of boiling liquid (ie: water) produced such drastically different results from another pot of boiling liquid (ie: oil).  Today of course, I understand a bit more about the process of caramelization, and more about why I didn't always fit in as a kid - but that's an entirely different post.  Ya, who am I kidding - that's an entirely different blog.

Anyway, back to frying... basically, deep frying is dangerous on many levels, and that's why I have steered clear... until now.  After returning home from dinner one night, I broke out the ganache and the canola oil and got busy conquering my fear.  The key is to stay focused and busy enough that you don't have time to think about being scared - kind of like getting over a fear of heights.  The longer you sit and think about how high up you are, the longer your vivid imagination has to take over and present you with wildly fanciful images of how things could possibly go wrong.  And once that happens, you're screwed.  Best really to just get off the elevator, walk straight ahead to the railing, look out (not down!) at that vista and breathe.   The other key, at least in term of deep-frying things, is to be very organized.  Get your bowls of egg wash, dredge and batter all lined up, nice and close to your pot of hot oil.  Keep your tools handy, line a plate with a few paper towels and then dive right in.  In no time, you will find that it's not so scary after all.  And once you take the first bite of that crispy, melted chocolaty orb, you will declare yourself a convert and you will wonder what all the fuss was about in the first place.

This little dessert got some very interesting feedback.  My father-in-law, who is visiting right now from overseas, declared that these should be illegal.  Hubby and his co-workers envisioned "beignet junkies loitering outside the back alleys of seedier pastry shops in Paris" - and they only got to taste them the next day, when they were no longer crispy and wonderful, fresh from the frier.  Which brings me to my other note;  these really do need to be enjoyed within about 20 or 30 minutes of being made - eating them after that is like trying to enjoy day-old french fries, it's just not the same (but three people can only eat so many balls of deep fried ganache at 10 o'clock at night without going into a diabetic coma, so off to the office they went).  Because of the richness of the beignets alone, I chose not to make the crème anglais dipping sauce, and instead sprinkled them with a bit of coarse Maldon sea salt, which was excellent.  The salt highlighted the chocolate's characteristics and, in my opinion, the sweetness of the crème anglais would have been too much.  That said, I'm still going to include that recipe for you here, for those of you daring enough to go all the way...

Happy Frying!

Chocolae Beignets with Crème Anglais

from Chocolate Epiphany by François Payard

serves 8

Chocolate Ganache

225g (8oz) chopped dark chocolate 

250g (1 Cup) heavy cream

In a medium bowl, place the chopped chocolate.  In a small saucepan, warm the cream, but do not allow it to boil.  Pour the cream over the chocolate, and gently whisk to combine.  Once the ganache is thick and silky, cover with plastic wrap and chill until set - 3-4 hours at least.  

Once set, scoop tablespoon amounts of ganache onto a parchment lined baking sheet and put this into the freezer for 30-60 minutes, until the ganache is firm.

Beer Batter

25g (3 Tbsp) active dry yeast

30g (2 Tbsp) warm water (110˚F to 115˚F)

1 XXX ml (12oz) beer, at room temperature - any beer will work, but avoid strong dark stouts

400g (2 3/4 Cups) flour

45g (3 Tbsp) sugar

Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it stand for 10 minutes, until the yeast begins to foam.

Pour the beer into a medium bowl, slowly whisk in the flour and the sugar.  Let the batter rise for about 10 minutes, until the beer bubbles up, or overnight in the refrigerator.

For Frying

2L (2 quarts) vegetable oil

1 egg, beaten, at room temperature

85g (1/2 Cup) dry bread crumbs

Fill the large pot of oil.  Clip a deep-frying thermometer to the side of the pot, and heat the oil to 350˚F.  Put the egg and the bread crumbs in separate, shallow bowls.

Dip the frozen ganache balls into the egg, then dredge in the bread crumbs, taking care that they are thoroughly coated.  Dip them in the beignet batter until they are completely coated.

Fry the beignets in the oil, a few at a time or the oil will cool down too much.  Fry them for 2-3 minutes, until they are deep golden brown.  As they are done, remove them to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt or kosher salt.  Serve immediately with plenty of napkins!

Crème Anglais (if you really feel the need to add more sweetness to this incredible dessert)

makes 2 cups

240ml (1 Cup) whole milk

240 ml (1 Cup) heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split

6 large egg yolks

75g (6 Tbsp) sugar

Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes, to make an ice-water bath.

Combine the milk and cream in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat.  Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the pot, and add the pod as well.  Bring the mixture to a boil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns a pale yellow.

Pour about 1/2 Cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep the eggs from curdling.  Return the yolk mixture to the pan with the remaining liquid over medium heat, and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 3 minutes.  If you drag your finger through the mixture when it coats the spoon, the trace should remain.

Remove the mixture from the heat, and immediately strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.  Place the bowl in the ice bath to cool the mixture rapidly, then cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours, or up to days.

Now that's my kind of Cherry Bombe!

Chocolate Cherry Bombe

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.  Well, the timing for this recipe challenge could not have been better.  Dad's birthday is in July and, as I mentioned in a previous post, my dad *loves* ice cream.  He loves ice cream the way some people love chocolate.  At any given time, there are probably 4 or 5 containers of ice cream in my parents' freezer, and let's just say they are never in danger of freezer burn.  I've been told that when hubby and I go to Rome, Mom and Dad can give me a map showing where the best gelato can be found.  Seriously, I'm talking ice cream-aholic.  The fact that this recipe did contain a small amount of actual cake was actually a strike against it, but I figured for some homemade ice cream, he'd likely look past that minor flaw.  

The birthday boy's shirt don't lie....

(One thing to note about this cake... this is not a "whip up a quick dessert an hour before company arrive" kind of dessert.  Each layer needs a couple of hours of chill time in the freezer, so it's best to start a day or two before you want to serve it)

Though we have had a solid 10 days of very wet weather here, the grocery stores are still filled with summer's haul of fresh stone fruits.  I picked up a huge bag of dark red cherries for one of the two ice creams called for in this recipe.  Ice cream #2 would be a nice creamy vanilla, because in my opinion, vanilla ice cream is often overlooked.  Years ago, Sis told me that vanilla couldn't be my favourite flavour of ice cream because it's the food equivalent of white in a colour palette - it's a non-flavour.  I disagree.  For me, vanilla ice cream (and I mean really *good* vanilla ice cream) is more like the little black dress in your dessert wardrobe.  Every girl should have a little black dress, and every kitchen should be stocked with a really good quality vanilla ice cream.  After all, when your sweet tooth starts screaming to be appeased, vanilla ice cream can provide the perfect backdrop for a dark rich chocolate ganache, a smooth fleur de sel caramel sauce, fresh fruit, or hubby's favourite: an ice cream float made with orange pop.  

The cherry ice cream layer turned out to be a real labour of love.  It took about 20 minutes just to pit the entire bag, before I quartered them and put them in a saucepan with a bit of sugar and a pinch of salt to bring out the juices and reduce them down to an intense syrup.  When the juices were just starting to boil,  I added a generous splash of Crème de Cassis (our liquor cabinet was all out of Kirsch), and cooked everything for another few minutes before straining out the fruit and pouring the liquid back into the pan for more reduction.  Today's food science tip; when you want to make a fruit-flavoured ice cream but you don't want to break a tooth on an icy chunk of fruit, cook the fruit with a bit of alcohol first - preferably something that compliments the flavour, or vodka.  Alcohol doesn't freeze, so you're essentially infusing the fruit with just enough anti-freeze to keep them a similar consistency as the ice cream itself.  A second food science tip regarding ice cream is that when things are extremely cold or frozen, our taste buds don't register flavour as strongly as when the same food is room-temperature.  So, when adding a flavour component to ice cream, it should be much stronger that you would make it for any other dessert.  Likewise with sweetness and flavours, which is why that last little bit of melted ice cream at the bottom of the bowl always tastes so much sweeter than the first spoonful did.  So, instead of adding just the straight cherry juice to my ice cream base, reducing the juices down until they are thick and syrupy, concentrates the flavour in them, which makes for a tastier ice cream in the end.  When it finally came time to churn everything in the ice cream maker, I added about 1/2 of the cherry reduction to the cream base and, as I transferred the entire batch to a freezer-proof bowl for the final chill, I wove a ribbon of the same syrup through the finished ice cream after the cherries were folded in.  The result was sheer perfection - probably my best batch of fruit ice cream ever (candied ginger holds the top spot for all-time favourite homemade ice cream).  The intense, distinct flavour of dark cherries was unmistakable and impossible to miss.  Now it was time to make the Swiss roll cake.

Cherries, chocolate, ice cream... what's not to like?

A Swiss roll typically uses a classic génoise cake as the sponge.  Perhaps without realizing it, we have all tasted génoise cake at some point in our lives, because it is highly adaptable and can be used in an endless variety of dishes.  However, the process for making a génoise is very unique.  For one thing, the batter contains no chemical leaveners.  That's right, no baking powder, no baking soda.  Instead, it uses a method similar to Swiss meringue, only génoise whips the entire egg into a foam, and cooks it gently over a double boiler to help stabilize the structure of the foam, before the dry ingredients and butter are added and the batter is baked.  The result is a very light, flexible cake that can be rolled up before it cools without breaking apart and crumbling.  Once cool you can gently unroll the cake, spread on a layer of filling, typically either a flavoured whipped cream or fruit preserves, then roll it all back up and serve.  Once the cake was filled with chantilly cream,  I let it firm up in the freezer for about 20 minutes to make for cleaner slices.  That gave me enough time to find the right bowl to use as a mold, and line it with plastic wrap.  I carefully cut the cake into 20 equal slices and arranged them snugly around the bottom and sides of the bowl.  I then scooped the cherry ice cream on top of the cake, and smoothed it out a bit, covered it with plastic wrap and put it back into the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up.

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake - perfect for a summer birthday!

For the fudge sauce layer, I went simple.  I prefer a nice dark chocolate ganache to most chocolate or fudge sauce recipes that often call for corn syrup or other things that only make the sauce sweeter, taking away from the chocolate.  Ganache stays relatively soft once it's frozen, so it's a fine substitution.  Equal parts heavy cream and dark chocolate, heated up and stirred together... it takes less than 2 minutes to make and is *so* good when it's done.  To eliminate any chance of melting the ice cream layer by adding warm ganache, I left it on the counter overnight to cool to room temperature.  The next morning, I had a fully frozen ice cream mold and a scoop-able truffle layer, which I smoothed over and set back in the freezer while I made the final layer of ice cream.... Vanilla!

Both ice creams for this recipe were made Philadelphia style.  It's a lot faster to make than French style ice cream, because you don't have to cook and then cool the cream.  You can just mix everything together and churn it in your ice cream maker if you have one (If you don't happen to have an ice cream maker, Sunita has also posted a recipe for homemade ice cream that doesn't need any special equipment).  Milk, cream, sugar and a generous amount of vanilla were mixed together, churned and scooped on top of the chocolate layer.   A couple more hours in the freezer to firm up and the cake was finally done.

Dad loved his ice cream cake.  In fact, when Mom tried to send the left-overs home with me after dinner, I insisted it would keep in the freezer and he could enjoy a piece after dinner every night this week if he wanted.  When Mom asked Dad if he would be able to finish it, his reply was a simple "It's ice cream!"  Enough said....

So, if you have a couple of days to prepare in advance, and you want a nice summer treat to cool everyone down, this is a great dessert to make.  The sky's the limit when it comes to flavour combinations - if you can dream it, you can make it in this cake.  I'll definitely be making this dessert again and mixing up the flavours yet again.

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Cherry Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake
serves 12-14

Chocolate Genoise Cake


60g (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
107g (3/4 Cup) all-purpose flour
30g (1/4 Cup) cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 eggs, room temperature
201g (1 Cup) granulated sugar

5ml (1 tsp) vanilla

Preheat  oven to 350˚F and place rack in centre of oven.  Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Butter and flour any areas that may not be completely covered by the parchment.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt and set aside.

In a medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs and sugar.  Continue whisking gently until the mixture reaches 110˚F (check using an instant read thermometer).  Immediately pour the mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a whisk.  Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and whip until the egg mixture has more than doubled in volume.  When the whisk is lifted and held above the bowl, the mixture should fall in a thick ribbon that rests on top of the batter for several seconds.  Whisk in the vanilla.  Gently fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.  Gently fold in the melted butter.

Holding the bowl very close to the sheet pan, and being very careful not to deflate the batter, gently scrape the batter onto the prepared pan.  Carefully smooth the batter with a spatula.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is springy to the touch.  Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes.

On a flat, clean worksurface, smooth out a clean dishtowel which is larger than the sheet cake.  gently sprinkle cocoa powder onto the towel.  One the cake is just cool enough to handle, invert the cake onto the dusted towel.  Working quickly and using the towel, tightly roll the cake width-wise.  Set aside to cool completely.

Once the cake is fully cool, carefully unwrap the cake just before preparing the cream...

Vanilla Cream Filling
250ml (1 Cup) heavy cream
30g (2 Tbsp) granulated sugar
15ml (1 Tbsp) vanilla

In the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks.  Gradually whip in the sugar and vanilla, and continue until the cream holds still peaks.  Spread in an even layer over the top of the cake, leaving a 1/2 of clean border along the outer edge of the cake.

Slice the cake into approximately 20 equal slices, and line the mould tightly with the rolls.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer to set while you make the cherry ice cream.

Cherry Ice Cream
2 Cups fresh cherries, pitted and sliced into quarters.

100g (1/2 Cup) granulated sugar

1/2 stp salt

45ml Kirsch liqueur

500ml (2 Cups) heavy cream

Place the cherries, sugar and salt in a large saucepan.  Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the juices have begun to reduce.  Strain the cherries over a bowl, reserving the juices.  Return the juices to the saucepan and stir in the Kirsch.  Continue to simmer for several minutes until the juices are thick and syrupy.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once cool, combine 1/2 of the syrup with the heavy cream and churn in an ice cream maker, following manufacturer's directions.  Once the ice cream is churned, quickly fold in the cherries and finally, a ribbon of the syrup.  Immediately spread the ice cream into the cake-lined mould.  Cover and place in the freezer to set.

Chocolate Ganache
250ml (1 Cup) heavy bream
250g (1 Cup) dark chocolate, chopped
15ml (1 Tbsp) Kirch

Heat the cream over medium heat, but do not allow it to boil.  Place the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl.  Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and whisk gently to combine.  Once the ganache comes together, gently stir in the Kirsch.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool for approximately 1 hour.

Once cooled, pour the ganache on top of the cherry ice cream, but do not spread it to the top of the mould.  Cover and return the cake to the freezer once more.

Vanilla Ice Cream
500ml (2 Cups) heavy cream
100g (1/2 Cup) granulated sugar

30ml (2 Tbsp) vanilla

Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Churn the mixture in the ice cream maker according to directions.  Once fully churned, spread the ice cream over the ganache layer in the mould, and smooth the top.  Cover and return to the freezer and allow to chill completely, approximately 6-8 hours.

Shortly before you are ready to serve, remove the mould from the freezer and carefully run warm water over the outside of the mould to help release the dessert.  Gently invert onto a plate and keep in the freezer until everyone is ready for dessert.  To slice, use a very sharp knife, dipped into very hot water.

Not every ballerina gets a dessert named after her....

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard - a book already in my collection.

Ahhhhh, Pavlova. There's a dessert I haven't had in years! This was one of the dessert's in my mom's arsenal when I was a kid. She often made this when we were going over to a friends' for dinner, or had company to our house in the summer - the perfect light and elegant dessert. Even better, it was quick and easy to prepare and didn't require standing around a hot stove for hours on those +34c days of summer. A gorgeous puff of meringue, baked in a low, slow oven until it was nice and crisp with just a bit of colour, covered in a blanket of whipped cream and served with sweet, juicy strawberries. Mm mmm mmmmm... It was a huge favourite of my sister's, not only because it's sweet and about 50% cream, but this dessert was named for the once famous ballerina, Anna Pavlova (I say "once famous" because he time was back in the 1920's and I'm willing to bet more people today know the dessert than the dancer). Well, sis dreamed of being a ballerina, and she worked hard at it for years, but the women in my family were not blessed with height, so it was not to be.

Whoa, this ain't my momma's Pavlova. Chocolate, mascarpone cheese, creme anglaise... nope, this is a different dish altogether, and I could not wait to give it a try. This is why I decided to stick to the recipe as it was posted. Ooooh - and I can work on my piping skills! Thank you Dawn! 

The meringues whipped beautifully into glossy gorgeous peaks in no time - they were absolutely pearlescent before I added in the cocoa and icing sugar. Because meringues were one of the hardest things for me to master when I first began learning to bake, I find a perfect meringue to be a thing of beauty. I filled my piping bag with the glossy foam and began piping out swirly nests that would hold the rich chocolate mousse. Taking a page from my macaron experience, I decided to let these air dry for about an hour before I put them in a low temperature oven for another hour. Just before bed, I turned off the oven and left the meringues there get nice and crisp overnight. By morning they were irresistible, yet I would have to resist, at least until I got home from work and made the mascarpone mousse and crème anglaise. 

I had made crème anglaise once before but found it to be nothing but tooth-achingly sweet. This recipe, however, from François Payard, with mascarpone cheese whipped into it was thick and creamy and delicately flavoured. Not having any Sambuca in my liquor cabinet, I chose to omit it, instead doubling the amount of vanilla. While the crème chilled in the fridge, it was time to make the chocolate mascarpone mousse, which was fairly straightforward as mousses go. With the addition of the cheese, it was beyond rich - almost overpoweringly so, but it was thick and creamy and held it's shape beautifully. Since the crème anglaise was not yet chilled, the mousse also went into the fridge for the night. Which turned out to be a happy coincidence actually...

The next night, hubby finally arrived home from his 2 week business trip (yay!), so I didn't do much baking - between flight delays and waiting for luggage, we didn't get home until 10pm. The next night however, we had some surprise dinner guests in friends visiting from Vancouver. Dinner was a simple homemade pasta with grilled shrimp, and dessert was as simple as assembling the chilled components sitting in the fridge. Violà! Garnished with a few fresh cherries, and we enjoyed a fabulous elegant dessert in less that 5 minutes!

No, this certainly is not the pavlova of my childhood, it is an incredibly rich, chocolatey version of it. Next time, I would probably make opt to just make the meringues and the mascarpone crème anglaise, serving an elegant version of Ile Flottant. I think it would be significantly lighter yet still just as elegant as this challenge turned out.  But don't just take my word for it - give it a try yourself and let me know what you think!

Happy Baking!

Julia

Chocolate Meringue:
3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder
Directions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.
Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)
Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)
Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days


Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse:1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)

grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (490 mls) mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)
Directions:

Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.

Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks.
Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Mascarpone Cream:
1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream
Directions:
Prepare the crème anglaise (below). Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the optional Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Crème Anglaise:
1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar
Directions:In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.
Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. Be careful not to overcook.
Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.


Final Assembly of the Chocolate Pavlova with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse:
Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.

Chocolate Blinis

For May's Chocolate With Francois challenge, Linda at Diva Weigh selected Chocolate Blinis. Traditionally, blinis are made with yeast and are served with caviar and sour cream, but in this case, they are leavened with whipped egg whites, and are definitely more sweet than savoury. Essentially, these are light, fluffy little pancakes, that are incredibly chocolatey.

The batter came together quite easily; melted chocolate and butter is stirred into an egg and sugar mixture, dry ingredients and ground hazelnuts are folded in, followed by whipped eggs whites. A short rest in the fridge and the blinis are ready to be cooked!

Cooking the blinis proved to be a bit more challenging than expected though. Even with the pan over the lowest flame, they had a tendency to burn, or if they weren't burnt, they were still too raw to flip. That picture up top?  Ya, that's the only blini that turned out presentable... that's why ther's only one on the plate.  After almost a dozen blinis turned out mishapened and burnt, I changed gears and started heating up the waffle baker. The waffle blinis turned out much much better. They were crisp and light and perfectly browned.

Since these were going to be a dessert, I whipped up a bit of cream to serve on top. Then inspiration called and I remembered the new flavour of jam that I had recently spied at the grocery store. Bonne Maman's Mandarin Jam is a lovely marmalade, yet it's not overly bitter like so many marmalades can be. A few tablespoons of this jam whipped into cream, turned out to be a stellar topping for these very chocolatey waffles.

The complete recipe can be found on Linda's blog DivaWeigh.

Happy Baking!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Nutella Biscotti

Growing up, Sis and I were probably considered luckier than most kids.  You see, when Mom went grocery shopping and bought cereal, she always allowed my sister and I to each choose one box of the "good" cereal.  You know, like Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, Franken-Berry, Count Chocula, or the mouth-shreddingly good, Cap'n Crunch.

Even today, my sister is a total and complete cereal addict.  To this day, she will happily have a bowl of cereal at any time of day - even for dinner if she doesn't feel like cooking.  As for me - sure I like cereal just fine, but I was always fascinated by the kids on the TV commercials who got to have Nutella for breakfast.  I mean c'mon!  It's chocolate on bread!  For breakfast!  How awesome is that?!?  To this day they still market it as "...part of a tasty balanced breakfast", yet Mom seemed to draw the line at Cap'n Crunch.  It would be many years later before I finally had my first taste of Nutella, and it was well worth the wait.

Now that I am all grown up, I can have Nutella for breakfast any time I want to (though I usually have some yogurt and a really good cup of coffee), but it still feels more like a dessert spread to me than breakfast food.  For this month's Nutella Challenge, hosted by Paula at bell'alimento, however, I am bringing this hazelnut-chocolate spread back to the breakfast table with Nutella Biscotti.  Technically, biscotti is a cookie and not breakfast, but it is meant to be served with coffee, and that first cup of the day is always my favourite.

I found this recipe in a new cookbook I recently picked up: The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet for Sur la Table - this book has recently picked up an IACP Award and was nominated for a James Beard Award.  Cindy's book is filled with a tonne of fantastic recipes, lots of step-by-step photos for different techniques, plus most recipes also have little sidebars of tips and tricks titled "what the pros know" and "getting ahead" tips for making recipes in advance.  One of the things that drew me to the recipe, aside from the use of Nutella, is that she describes these twice-baked Italian biscuits as having a slightly softer texture than traditional biscotti.  I love that idea, as so often biscotti can be rock hard when dry, only to crumble and break off when you dunk them in your coffee - and that ain't a pretty thing to find in the bottom of your cup.  These turned out perfect in my opinion: a nice firm, crunchy texture, but they completely hold together when you dunk them.  Delicious.  One change I did make to this recipe was that I used Lindt's Fleur de Sel Chocolate in place of just regular bittersweet chocolate.  Mostly because I love the depth of flavour that the sea salt brings to Lindt's silky, rich chocolate, and I thought it would be a nice addition in these cookies, and I was very pleased with the results.  Cindy also says you can substitute any type of nuts you want in this recipe, but since I was making her Nutella variation, I decided to stick with the classic hazelnut.

Nutella Biscotti with Hazelnuts and Chocolate
The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet


Ingredients:
1/2 Cup (113g or 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 Cup (134g) granulated sugar
1/2 Cup (172g) Nutella, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 Cups (390g) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Cup (75g) hazelnuts, skinned, toasted & roughly chopped
1 Cup (180g) chopped dark chocolate


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F and position rack in the centre of the oven
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a medium bowl with a handheld mixer), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the Nutella and mix until fully combined.  With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture all at once, and mix on low speed until there are no more patches of flour visible.  Add the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate, and mix on low until incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and mix the dough by hand, using a rubber spatula, to evenly distribute the nuts and chocolate.
Divide the dough in half, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Gently squeeze and roll the dough into a log about 13 inches long.  Transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet, and gently press down and flatten the rolls until they are about 2 inches across on the top.  Repeat with the second half of the dough, allowing 4 inches of space between the logs.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the logs are firm to the touch and lightly golden brown.
Transfer logs to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely (if you slice the cookies while they are still warm, the chocolate will smear and you'll have ugly biscotti).
Reduce oven temperature to 275˚F, and position 2 racks in the oven, dividing the oven into thirds.
Once the logs have completely cooled, using a sharp, serrated knife, slice the logs on a slight diagonal into individual cookies about 3/8 thick (I sliced mine much thicker).  Place the sliced biscotti, cut side down, onto two parchment lined cookie sheets and place them back in the oven for another 30-40 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets about halfway through.  The biscotti should be dry and lightly golden brown.
Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
These cookies will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 2 months... that's assuming they don't all get eaten right away.

The Fastest Dessert You WIll Ever Make

Recently, I received a flattering invite from the fabulous Mardi at Eat.Live.Travel.Write., asking me to join in the fun for Hay Hay its Donna Day.  Denise at ChezUs, who organizes this monthly challenge group) announced Mardi had won April's HHDD event, and therefore gets to host May's challenge, and she selected Blackberry Cheesecake Pots.  It wasn't a hard decision to join in the fun - I love cheesecake (or pretty much anything with cream cheese) and I love blackberries - it's a win-win situation!

I will admit, I've seen Donna Hay Magazine on the racks at the bookstore, but I've never picked one up.  I think it's because I've heard she's been referred to as the Aussie Martha Stewart, and, well, I'm kinda Martha'd out  (don't get me wrong, there are a tonne of wonderful ideas in her magazines, and I admire her shrewd business-sense, but I just wish she'd give more credit to her talented staff and ease up a bit).  Shame on me for judging Donna so quickly on such a comparison, inflicted on her by others.  I've learned my lesson though; now that I've tried out one of her recipes, I think I'll have to pick up a copy and give her a shot.  For one thing, this is definitely the quickest recipe I have ever made!  I swear, it takes longer to scoop out a bowl of ice cream - "I don't have time, so I'll just pick up a dessert at the grocery store" has now become nothing more than a weak excuse.  It's also delicious, and ridiculously versatile - you could make this recipe with just about any seasonal fruit you happen to have on hand.  In fact, once I discovered that this dessert took longer to read than in did to make, I proceeded to whip up another batch using the bright red strawberries I had on hand - and it was equally delicious.

So then I got to thinking, what if you didn't happen to have any fruit on hand?  Or what if you weren't in a fruit-dessert kinda mood?  Well, a quick trip to the grocery store for more cream cheese and I was ready to rock in my cheesecake pot extravaganza.

First up (actually third up at this point), was my no-fresh-fruit-on-hand scenario.  I added a 1/2 Cup (125g) of cherry jam to the cheesecake base mixture.  The result?  YUM.  It's absolutely delectable and has a much more intense fruit flavour than the fresh fruit versions.

Finally, I went ahead with the not-in-a-fruity-kind-of-mood scenario, and replaced the fresh fruit or jam with 1/2 Cup (125g) of Nutella.  Another tasty flavour option has been discovered.  mmmmmm....good stuff.  If you're one of the few people on the planet that don't love the taste of Nutella, you can switch it out for an equal amount of room temperature chocolate ganache, and you'll end up with a lovely 5-minute chocolate cheesecake.

So if you find yourself in a pinch because of last minute dinner guests, or you just want to enjoy a fabulous dessert that takes little to no effort, then this is the recipe for you.  You can whip this up as soon as you receive the phone call or walk through the door, and it can firm up in the fridge while you cook and enjoy your dinner.  Voilà!  Elegant dessert is served!

Oh - and if you really want to see how to turn this into a dessert that will wow your guests, head on over to Jamie's blog Life's A Feast... yes it took her more than 5 minutes to prepare, but it was definitely time well spent!

So here you go: simple, elegant, delicious and ridiculously quick to prepare:

Donna Hay's Name-Your-Flavour Cheesecake Pots
serves 4, but is very easily doubled

Ingredients:
1 Cup (250g) cream cheese
1/4 Cup (55g) superfine sugar (aka "berry sugar" in Canada)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 Cup (60ml) whipping cream
and 1/2 Cup (125g) of any one of the following:

• fresh or frozen berries of your choice
• jam or fruit preserves
• chocolate ganache (room temp)
• Nutella (room temp)

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, blend cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cream together until smooth.  Add in about 1/2 of the berries and process until just crushed, using 1-second pulses.  Spoon into 4 small 1/2 cup dishes and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.  Serve with remaining fresh berries.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what flavour you made!

There's a Chocolate Mousse Day?

It's the Easter long weekend- YAY!  Three whole days off!!!  For hubby and I, this also meant three consecutive evenings out for dinner, and 3 different desserts I needed to make, for that's what I do - I bring dessert (seriously, with a blog title like mine, you didn't think I'd be in charge of bringing salad, did you?).  So, for a Friday night BBQ at our friend's house, I decided to make another Spicy Apple Pie like last weekend - it's just so good that I thought I should have another taste.  It was well received once again, though I did make it with an apple variety that has more tartness to it, Gala, so it definitely tasted a bit different.  Ironically enough, I think I prefer the first one I made with the sweeter Ambrosia apples.  Still, I'm really pleased with the flavour and especially the crust for this pie.  I imagine I'll be returning to that recipe again and again in order to perfect it.

For this evening's Easter dinner with the in-laws, I discovered that it also happened to be National Chocolate Mousse Day, so choosing a dessert to bring didn't take a lot of thought.   I have NO idea who decides or makes up these odd little food holidays that happen throughout the year.  A quick Google search brought up all kinds of weird and wacky food days on the calendar.  OK, admittedly, it would be very hipocritical of me at this point to speak out against any of these Food Days - after all, I went on and on and on about le Jour du Macaron, and here I am again, recognizing Chocolate Mousse Day.  Still, it seems a tad excessive, doesn't it?   I mean really, does there really need to be a National Candied Orange Peel Day?  Or National Eat a Red Apple Day?  How about National Escargot Day?  Then there are the foods that get an entire *month* of awareness;  National Noodle Month, National Chicken Month, Snack Food Month, Soup Month... the list goes on and on.  My research also turned up a National Apple Jacks Month, which I am sure that my cereal-loving sister will happily observe (FYI Sis, it's October), as well as International Bacon Day, which my nephew will *love* (the Saturday before Labour Day). Thank goodness we haven't all been sucked into decorating trees and buying cards for all these holidays, or we'd never get a break.

I'll get back on track now... so I made chocolate mousse, something I have made many, many, many times before, mostly because it makes a fantastic not-too-sweet frosting for a wicked chocolate cake.  At this evening's dinner, there were going to be quite a few kids, so I thought I'd mix it up a bit with a milk chocolate mousse as well as my standard dark-chocolate mousse.  I should have stuck with my tried-and-true.  The milk chocolate mousse was hugely disappointing for me - way too sweet and it had a horrible grainy texture that was completely off-putting.  The dark chocolate mousse was fluffy, rich and silky smooth, like a good mousse is supposed to be.  As a result, I'm not even going to post the recipe for the milk chocolate mousse - it's nothing but a waste of time, money and good ingredients that can be put to better use.

Because of the gelatin in this recipe, it also makes a great cake frosting, as I mentioned above - the more traditional egg-white mousse doesn't hold up against gravity the way this does.  That said, it's also a deliciously decadent, elegant dessert all on it's own.

As for tomorrow night's dessert, family tradition dictates - stay tuned..........

Dark Chocolate Mousse

serves 8

2 Cups (350g) dark chocolate, chopped (guess which kind I used)

1 tsp gelatin powder

1 Cup (240ml) milk

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/2 Cups (600ml) whipping cream

2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract

Place chopped chocolate, or chips in this case, in a medium, heatproof bowl.  Pour the milk into a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and allow it to sit for a couple of minutes.  Once the gelatin has "bloomed", gently whisk the mixture together, along with the salt.  Heat the milk, until it just begins to simmer.  Pour the heated milk over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.  Slowly and gently stir the chocolate and milk together until it is thick and glossy, then stir in the vanilla.  Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature (about 20-30 minutes).

In the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium low, and with the mixer running, pour the cooled ganache into the cream.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer to medium high, and continue to mix for about 30 seconds, until no dark streaks remain.

Pour the mousse into bowls or cups and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.  You can garnish with a bit of softly whipped cream if you like.  If using the mousse as a cake frosting, use immediately before placing in the fridge to chill and set.

Enjoy!