Fabien's cakes and desserts

Coconut milk and vanilla panna cotta

2012-05-20T03:14:00.000-07:00

Ingredients for 4 people

Coconut milk and vanilla panna cotta

1.5 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker

(3 g)

20 cl coconut milk

25 cl heavy whipping cream

1 vanilla bean

50 g granulated sugar

Method

Coconut milk and vanilla panna cotta

- Boil together milk, cream, sugar and the scraped vanilla bean, cover it and let it infuse for 20 min.

- Hydrate the gelatin on cold water.

- Pour the cream through a strainer into a bowl and add the gelatin.

- Pour in the container of your choosing and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.

You can serve your panna cotta with fruit, chocolate or caramel coulis.

Strawberry and white-chocolate mousse pie

2012-05-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Light and crunchy. A real treat!

Ingredients for 6 people

500 to 800 g fresh charlotte strawberries

Chocolate shortcrust pastry

180 g all-purpose flour

120 g butter

60 g granulated sugar

20 g eggyolk

20 g unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream

1 pinch of salt

White-chocolate mousse

200 g white chocolate

200 g cold heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream

1 gelatin sheet Dr. Oetker (2 g)

Method

Chocolate shortcrust pastry

- In a stand mixer or between your hands, rub the butter into the flour.

- Add the sugar, the salt, the yolk, the cream and the chocolate and knead the dough until homogeneous.

- Put the dough 30 min in the fridge.

- Preheat the oven to 356°F.

- Roll out the dough to a round shape.

- Put it in a pie mold, cover it with wax paper and ceramic beads to prevent the crust from swelling.

- Bake for 15 min, remove the wax paper and the beads and bake for another 10 min.

- Let it cool down.

White-chocolate mousse

- Melt your chocolate in a bain-marie.

- Whip the cream.

- Melt the gelatin with the teaspoon of cream.

- Mix into the chocolate then fold the whipped cream into the chocolate.

- Pour over your shortcrust pastry and add your fresh strawberries.

- Put in the fridge.

Pastry cream mousse like a crème brûlée, red berries

2012-04-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

Ingredients for 6 ramekins

250 g fresh red berries

Brown sugar

Pastry cream mousse
470 g whole milk
2 vanilla beans
110 g egg yolk
110 g sugar
47 g cornstarch
47 g butter
33 cl cold heavy whipping cream
2 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (4 g)

Method

Pastry cream mousse

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 20 min or more.
- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.
- Meanwhile, beat together the yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch without whitening or frothing.
- Boil the milk again and pour 1/3 into the eggs, blend, add in the rest and blend.
- Put it back into the pan by pouring it through a strainer and beat over high heat until it thickens.
- Remove the pan and add the butter.
- Cool it rapidly stirring the whole time so as to prevent the cream from drying.
- Once it is cool, whip the cream and fold it gently in the pastry cream.

-Put your berries in your ramekins.

- Pour some mousse and put in the fridge.

- Before serving, sprinkle some brown sugar over each crème and caramelize with a blowtorch.

Strawberry and basil soup

2012-04-01T11:09:00.001-07:00

Simple and refreshing for the arrival of strawberries.

Ingredients for 6 people

500 g fresh strawberries

100 g mineral water

80 g sugar

Juice of a quarter of a lemon

Between 10 and 20 basil leaves

Cold heavy whipping cream

Method

- Wash the strawberries and cut the peduncle (not the other way around).

- Wash the basil leaves.

- Bring water and sugar to a boil for 1 minute.

- Blend everything together and put it in the fridge.

- Serve cold with a few drops of heavy cream and small leaves of basil.

Crème brûlée

2012-03-24T02:36:00.001-07:00

What a treat crème brûlées are, especially with quality vanilla beans. The big question surrounding crème brûlées is how to bake them. Some use bain-marie, others bake them directly in the oven. The end result is the same, only the timing changes: 30 minutes in a bain-marie at 320°F, 1h15 directly in the oven at 212°F. In the end, a perfectly baked crème brûlée must always be wobbly in its middle.

Ingredients for 4 people

2.5 vanilla beans

180 g egg yolk

300 g heavy whipping cream

300 g whole milk

84 g sugar

Brown sugar

Method

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 10 to 15 min.

- Preheat the oven: 320°F for bain-marie, 212°F directly in the oven.

- Whisk the yolks and the sugar until it melts.

- Pour the vanilla milk through a strainer, whisk, then add the heavy cream, whisk again.

- Pour the custard into 4 ramekins. Be generous.

- Bake for 30 minutes or 1h15 minutes.

- Refrigerate them.

- Before serving, sprinkle some brown sugar over each crème and caramelize with a blowtorch.

Blueberry mousse cake

2012-02-25T01:28:00.000-08:00

You can easily use frozen blueberries to make your purees but you must use fresh one for your decoration because the frozen one will dampen your cake too much. As for the decoration, use either the meringues or the whipped cream because the meringues will absorb the humidity of the cream and will get soft and melt.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration

250 g fresh blueberries (125 g on top, 125 g in one layer)

Whipped cream

300 g cold heavy whipping cream

60 g sugar

Vanilla

Meringues

1 egg white

33 g granulated sugar

33 g confectioner’s sugar

Optional filling

Light vanilla cream

82 g whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean

23 g egg yolk

23 g sugar

8 g cornstarch

8 g butter

0.5 gelatin sheet Dr. Oetker (1 g)

83 g cold heavy whipping cream

Blueberry syrup

100 g blueberry puree

50 g mineral water

50 g sugar

Sponge cake

80 g egg yolk

160 g egg white

120 g all-purpose flour

120 g sugar

Confectioners' sugar

Blueberry quark mousse

150 g blueberry puree

40 g sugar

9.5 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (19 g)

43 g mineral water

85 g egg yolk

165 g sugar

425 g quark 30% fat (you can replace it by unsalted cottage cheese)

510 g cold heavy whipping cream

Sugar

Method

Decoration

Whipped cream

- Whip together the whipping cream, the sugar and the vanilla until stiff.

- Put the whipped cream in a pastry bag with the decorating tip of your choosing.

Meringues

- Preheat the oven to 302°F.

- Whisk the egg whites with a little bit of sugar.

- When they are enough whisked, add the sugars little by little so as to obtain a smooth and white meringue.

- Put the meringue in a pastry bag, make some small balls and brown them with a blowtorch.

- Turn off the oven and put the meringue inside with the door still open to dry them.

Blueberry syrup

- Mix together all the ingredients in warm water to allow the sugar to dissolve.

- Put aside.

Sponge cake

- Preheat the oven to 390°F.

- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer (Cuisinart or KitchenAid) on high speed.

- Add the sugar little by little until the egg whites are very firm.

- Beat the yolks with a fork and add them to the egg whites. Whisk for 5 seconds on slow speed.

- Add the sifted flour and fold delicately with a spatula.

- Take a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip (1 cm wide) and make two 10.5-inch biscuits on wax paper. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and bake for 10 minutes.

- Let it cool on a cooling rack then cut the biscuits with a 9-inch ring.

Filling

- Light vanilla cream

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 15 to 20 min.

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Meanwhile, beat together the yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch without whitening or frothing.

- Boil the milk again and pour 1/3 into the eggs, blend, add in the rest and blend.

- Put it back into the pan by pouring it through a strainer and beat over high heat until it thickens.

- Remove the pan and add the butter.

- Cool it rapidly stirring the whole time so as to prevent the cream from drying.

- Once it is cool, whip the cream and fold it gently in the pastry cream.

- Pour the cream over the first soaked biscuit in a 9-inch wide ring. Add 125 g of fresh blueberries.

Blueberry quark mousse

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed.

- Boil the water with the sugar to 244°F, pour immediately on the yolks and beat until it cools to room temperature.

- Blend the quark, the blueberry puree and 40 g of sugar.

- Melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add in the blueberry mixture.

- Add to the yolks.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the blueberry cream.

Choux with pastry cream, vanilla sablage

2012-02-17T08:03:00.002-08:00

Ingredients for 15 to 20 choux

Vanilla pastry cream

50 cl whole milk

1 vanilla bean (use 30 g unsweetened cocoa powder instead of the bean to make chocolate pastry cream. Mix it with the cornstarch)

120 g egg yolk

120 g granulated sugar

50 g cornstarch

50 g butter

Vanilla sablage (optional)

50 g butter, room temperature

62 g brown sugar

62 g plain flour

5 g vanilla sugar

Choux paste

75 g whole milk

75 g mineral water

6 g salt

12 g granulated sugar

135 g butter

165 g plain flour

300 g eggs

Fondant glaze

250 g fondant patissier

40 g syrup at 80 B or 5 cl mineral water

A few pieces of 68% chocolate to make chocolate fondant

Method

Vanilla pastry cream

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 20 min or more.
- Meanwhile, beat together the yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch without whitening or frothing.
- Boil the milk again and pour 1/3 into the eggs, blend, add in the rest and blend.
- Put it back into the pan by pouring it through a strainer and beat over high heat until it thickens.
- Remove the pan and add the butter.
- Wrap the cream in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

- Once cold, beat the cream the soften it.

Vanilla sablage (optional)

- Mix all the ingredients together with working it too much.

- Spread it between two sheets of wax paper, 2 to 3 mm thick.

- Put it in the freezer.
- Cut 4x4 cm squares of sablage and put one over each ball of dough.

Choux paste

- Bring water, milk, salt, sugar and butter to a boil.

- When it starts boiling, remove from the heat and add the sifted flour and stir.

- Put the pan back over the heat and keep stirring with the spatula until the dough doesn’t stick to the side of the pan anymore (2 or 3 min).

- Put the dough in a mixing bowl and add the eggs one at a time, stirring between each addition until the dough makes a nice ribbon, not too firm, not too soft.

- If the dough is too firm, add a little bit of warm milk.

- Put the dough in a pastry bag with an 8mm soft decorating tip.

- Make balls of dough, 4 cm wide. Be careful not to make them too close to each other.

Technique for baking your choux
- Preheat the deck oven to 356°F and bake for 20 to 25 min.

- Use a convection oven preheated to 482°F. Turn it off and put your dough immediatly in the oven for 20 to 25 min. Turn it back on to 356°F and bake for 15 min. Never open the oven. (Technique of Christophe Michalak, winner of the World Baking Championship in 2005).

Fondant

- Melt all the ingredients in a bain-marie.

- Use the fondant between 86° and 95°F.

Banana and chocolate pie

2012-02-12T06:16:00.001-08:00

A very easy and delicious pie...

Ingredients for 8 people

Shortcrust pastry

250 g all-purpose flour

100 g granulated sugar

140 g butter

30 g eggyolk

Banana batter

4 bananas

100 g granulated sugar

100 g sour cream 30% fat

1 vanilla bean

3 eggs

1 teaspoon rum (optional)

Dark-chocolate icing

75 g chocolate 48% cacao
75 g chocolate 67% cacao

170 g whipping cream

20 g butter

Method

Shortcrust pastry

- In a stand mixer with the flat mixing paddle, mix together butter, flour and sugar until the sablage is homogeneous and yellow (do it between your hands if you don’t have a stand mixer).

- Add the egg yolk and knead with your hands.

- Let the crust rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours in a plastic film.

- Preheat the oven to 350°F.

- Roll your crust out to a round, 3 mm thick.

- Put it in a pie mold, cover it with wax paper and ceramic beads to prevent the crust from swelling.

- Bake for 8 min.

Banana batter

- Blend together 2 bananas, the sour cream, the sugar, the eggs, the grated vanilla and the rum until homogeneous.

- Pour the batter over the precooked crust.

- Add 2 bananas, cut in slices.

- Bake for 30 min.

Dark-chocolate icing

- Put together the chocolate, the whipping cream and the butter in a pan.

- Let it melt over a low heat.

- Pour over the pie and put in the fridge.

- Eat it cold.

Crepe batter

2012-02-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

Crepes... there is nothing easier to make. It can also be adapted to the taste of everyone with rum, orange flower water, lemon zest, vanilla... Little tip, add some sugar or confectioner's sugar between each crepe as you cook them.

Ingredients for about 15 crepes

Crepe batter

360 g all-purpose flour

150 g sugar

7 g salt

2 eggs

10 g melted butter

98 cl whole milk, room temperature

Flavor

Method

Crepe batter

- Sift together flour, salt and sugar.

- Make a whole in the middle, add the eggs and mix.

- Add the melted butter to the milk.

- Pour the milk little by little in your mixture, mixing between each addition of milk.

- Add flavor and reserve in the fridge for about an hour.

Chocolate and pear marquises with custard sauce

2012-01-28T13:15:00.001-08:00

In order to gain some time, you can use store-bought butter biscuits rather than homemade ones to put under your marquises. They will be a perfect alliance with your custard sauce and the chocolate.

Ingredients for 6 marquises

Chocolate and pear marquises
120 g butter
60 g egg yolk
90 g egg white
200 g chocolate 55% cacao
80 g confectioner’s sugar
1 preserved pear
Salt
1 lemon zest

Custard sauce
1/2 vanilla bean
50 cl whole milk
120 g egg yolk
60 g sugar

Method

Chocolate and pear marquises
- Bring the butter to room temperature.
- Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie.
- Add the butter, mix, then add the egg yolks and confectioner’s sugar. Beat until smooth.
- Whisk the egg whites until firm with a little bit of salt. Fold gently in the chocolate.
- Add the pear cut into small cubes.
- Pour in 6 silicone molds and put in the freezer for several hours.
- Remove from the molds onto a biscuit; spread some lemon zest at the last moment.

Custard sauce
- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 20 min.
- Beat together the egg yolks and the sugar without whitening or frothing.
- Pour in 1/3 of boiling milk, beat, add the rest and beat.
- Put the custard back in the pan and cook over low heat to 180°F stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
- Put the pan in cold water so as to stop it from cooking.
- Sift it if necessary.
- Put in the fridge.

Vanilla, caramel and chocolate cake

2012-01-21T15:09:00.002-08:00

This cake is a variation from the banana caramel and chocolate cake. You’ll need to use quality vanilla beans and to let them infuse longer than usual (20 min or more) so as to bring out all their flavor.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration
Nougatine
125 g sugar
50 g slivered almonds
3 drops of lemon or 50 g glucose

Dried-fruit crumble
100 g butter
100 g all-purpose flour
50 g sugar
50 g brown sugar
100 g dried fruit (almond, hazelnut, coconut… you can vary)
40 g butter

Creamy caramel
435 g boiling heavy whipping cream
60 g egg yolk
90 g egg white
30 g cornstarch
210 g sugar
100 g butter
3 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (6 g)
8 g orange liquor (optional)

Light vanilla cream
470 g whole milk
2 vanilla beans
110 g egg yolk
110 g sugar
47 g cornstarch
47 g butter
400 g cold heavy whipping cream
3 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (6 g)

Chocolate cream
125 g whole milk
30 g sugar
45 g egg yolk
170 g chocolate 48% cacao
80 g chocolate 67% cacao
180 g cold heavy whipping cream

Method

Dried-fruit crumble
- Preheat the oven to 340°F.
- With the flat mixing paddle of a stand mixer (Cuisineart or KitchenAid) on low speed, beat 100 g of butter with the flour.
- Add the sugar and dried fruits.
- Spread and bake for approximately 15 min.
- Cool the crumble and put it back into the electric mixer on low speed.
- Add 40 g of melted butter.
- Spread and press the crumble in a 10x3 ring on a cake cardboard and put it in the fridge.

Creamy caramel
- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.
- On medium heat, caramelize the sugar.
- Once mildly brown, add the boiling whipping cream.
- Beat together the eggs and the cornstarch without whitening or frothing.
- Pour in 1/3 of caramel, blend, add the rest and blend.
- Put the caramel back in the pan over high heat and beat until it thickens.
- Remove the pan and add the butter.
- Blend with a hand blender.
- Once cooled, melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add in the caramel with the orange liquor.
- Pour the caramel in a 9-inch wide ring put over the crumble and put it back in the fridge.

Light vanilla cream
- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 20 min or more.
- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.
- Meanwhile, beat together the yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch without whitening or frothing.
- Boil the milk again and pour 1/3 into the eggs, blend, add in the rest and blend.
- Put it back into the pan by pouring it through a strainer and beat over high heat until it thickens.
- Remove the pan and add the butter.
- Cool it rapidly stirring the whole time so as to prevent the cream from drying.
- Once it is cool, whip the cream and fold it gently in the pastry cream.
- Pour the cream over the caramel in the same ring and put everything in the fridge.

Chocolate cream
- Put both chocolates in a mixing bowl.
- Boil the milk.
- Beat together the egg yolks and the sugar without whitening or frothing.
- Pour in 1/3 of boiling milk, beat, add the rest and beat.
- Put the custard back in the pan and cook over low heat to 180°F stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
- Immediately pour over the chocolate, blend with a hand mixer and cool to 86°F.
- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the chocolate cream.
- Remove the 9-inch ring and pour the chocolate cream into the 10-inch.
- Freeze it at least for two hours.

Decorate with the nougatine and some strawberries.

Poached pears with chocolate and its caramel sauce

2011-12-29T01:21:00.002-08:00

Poached pears are a delicious classic. Combined with chocolate, caramel, slivered almonds and pistachios, they are exquisite. Always use ripe but firm pears. If you can find Louise Bonne pears, they are one of the best suited for this recipe because they remain firm and melting at the same time.

Ingredients for 10 poached pears

10 Louise Bonne pears, firm but ripe

Decoration

Grilled slivered almonds and pistachios

Vanilla and cinnamon syrup

3 vanilla beans

3 cinnamon sticks

1.2 L water

450 g sugar

Caramel sauce

160 g sugar

70 g butter

20 cl boiling heavy whipping cream

Dark chocolate icing

200 g boiling heavy whipping cream

30 g honey

180 g chocolate 67% cacao

1 tablespoon oil

Method

Vanilla and cinnamon syrup

- Combine the water, sugar, scraped vanilla beans et cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil in a large pot over high heat, stirring from time to time. Let it boil for 5 minutes.

- Meanwhile, peel your pears and rub them with lemon juice to prevent discoloring.

- Delicately add the pears in the syrup and let them poach to a mere simmer for 20 minutes, turning them regularly.

- Remove the pears with a skimmer, allow them to cool on a cooling rack placed over a dish and chill them in the refrigerator.

Caramel sauce

- On medium heat, caramelize the sugar.

- Once brown, remove the pan and add the boiling cream, be careful because it will bubble up.

- Put the pan back over medium heat and stir 2 to 3 minutes to allow the caramel blocks to melt.

- Remove the pan and add the butter.

- Pour the caramel in 10 small glasses and chill in the refrigerator. You will heat them up in the microwave before serving the pears.

Dark chocolate icing

- Break your chocolate bar into small pieces in a mixing bowl.

- Bring the cream and honey to a boil and pour it on the chocolate.

- Allow the chocolate to melt, blend and add the oil.

- Let it cool to room temperature.

- Pour the chocolate on the whole pears. Do it twice.

- Put the pears back in the refrigerator and decorate at the very last minute.

Chestnut mousse and chocolate cream cake with mascarpone-flavored whipped cream

2011-12-27T07:31:00.001-08:00

I made this cake for Christmas eve with a mousse that will remind you of Nestle's Marronsuis... only much better. To tone it down, use freshly made mascarpone-flavored whipped cream and don't hesitate to use a lot of it because it is so good.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration

Mascarpone-flavored whipped cream

200 g mascarpone
45 g sugar

230 g cold heavy whipping cream

Vanilla syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

70 g mineral water

50 g sugar

Sponge cake

80 g egg yolk

160 g egg white

120 g all-purpose flour

120 g sugar

Confectioner's sugar

Chestnut spread mousse

300 g chestnut spread

250 g chestnut spread

42 g sugar

24 g mineral water

72 g egg yolk

30 g mineral water

15 g brown rum

3.5 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (7 g)

330 g cold heavy whipping cream

150 g fragments of marrons glacés (optional)

Chocolate cream

125 g whole milk

30 g sugar

45 g egg yolk

170 g chocolate 48% cacao

80 g chocolate 67% cacao

180 g cold heavy whipping cream

Method

Mascarpone-flavored whipped cream

- Whip together the whipping cream, the sugar and the mascarpone until stiff.

- Put the whipped cream in a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip.

Vanilla syrup

- Mix together all the ingredients in warm water to allow the sugar to dissolve.

- Put aside.

Sponge cake

- Preheat the oven to 390°F.

- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer (Cuisinart or KitchenAid) on high speed.

- Add the sugar little by little until the egg whites are very firm.

- Beat the yolks with a fork and add them to the egg whites. Whisk for 5 seconds on slow speed.

- Add the sifted flour and fold delicately with a spatula.

- Take a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip (1 cm wide) and make two 10.5-inch biscuits on wax paper. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and bake for 10 minutes.

- Let it cool on a cooling rack then cut one of the two biscuits with a 9-inch ring.

Chestnut spread mousse

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Mix 30 g of water with 300 g of chestnut spread.

- Whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed.

- Boil the 24 g of water with the sugar to 239°F, pour immediately on the yolks and beat until it cools to room temperature.

- Heat the rum over medium heat and add the gelatin to melt it.

- Add the rum to the chestnut spread, and then add the yolks.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the mixture.

- Add the fragments.

- Put a 9-inch ring over the widest biscuit, soak it and pour 4cm of mousse.

- Slather 250 g of chestnut spread on the back of the other biscuit, place it in the ring and pour a thin layer of mousse.

- Put it in the freezer for about an hour.

Chocolate cream

- Put both chocolates in a mixing bowl.

- Boil the milk.

- Beat together the egg yolks and the sugar without whitening or frothing.

- Pour in 1/3 of boiling milk, beat, add the rest and beat.

- Put the custard back in the pan and cook over low heat to 180°F stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

- Immediately pour over the chocolate, blend with a hand mixer and cool to 86°F.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the chocolate cream.

- Cut the biscuit before removing the 9-inch ring and pour a thin layer of chocolate cream into the 10-inch.

- Freeze it at least for two hours.

Decorate with the mascarpone-flavored whipped cream on the whole cake.

Bordelais canelés

2011-12-25T15:14:00.001-08:00

Cannelés are a specialty from Bordeaux, a city in south-west France. Traditionally, cannelés are baked in tinned copper molds (that you can find at www.surlatable.com) but they are extremely expensive. There exists some in aluminum or in silicone but results may vary. When you take your cannelés out of the oven, they must be crunchy and caramelized on the outside and soft on the inside. You can perfectly use silicone molds, I do, but buy really good ones and you will be able to achieve the perfect cannelé.

Ingredients for 10 big cannelés

Canelé batter (make it the day before)

250 g whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean

25 g butter, room temperature

125 g sugar

40 g egg yolk

30 g egg white

1 teaspoon brown rum

60 g all-purpose flour

1 dash of salt

Method

Canelés

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 5 to 10 min.

- Meanwhile, soften the butter in a bain-marie.

- Remove the butter form the heat and add the ingredient in this specific order, mixing in between each addition:

- Sugar, eggs, sifted flour, salt and brown rum.

- Remove the vanilla bean and pour the hot milk in the mixture.

- Leave it aside in the fridge for a minimum of 12 hours.

- Preheat the oven to 465°F.

- Grease your molds with butter, even the silicone ones.

- Fill them to 3/4.

- Bake them for 10 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 355°F and bake 45 to 55 minutes.

- Let them cool on a cooling rack and eat them at room temperature or cold the same day.

New York cheesecake, vanilla-flavored cheese cream mousse and raspberry coulis

2011-12-25T10:42:00.003-08:00

The real New York Cheesecake revisited! I added over this creamy recipe a layer of vanilla-flavored cream cheese mousse that melts in your mouth and some raspberry coulis.

Ingredients for an 8x3 ring

Crust

100 g graham crackers

50 g butter
20 g sugar
25 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon mineral water

Cheesecake

750 g Philadelphia cream cheese

220 g sugar

1 vanilla bean

90 g egg white

100 g egg yolk

12 g all-purpose flour
125 g cold heavy whipping cream

Raspberry coulis

70 g raspberry puree

14 g sugar

2 g lemon juice

Vanilla-flavored cream cheese mousse

80 g Kiri

1 vanilla bean

150 g cold heavy whipping cream

20 g confectioner's sugar

Method

Crust

- Mix all the ingredients together in a stand mixer (Cuisinart or KitchenAid) using the flat mixing paddle on low speed so as to obtain homogenous dough.

- Spread and press in the ring placed over wax paper.

Cheesecake

- Preheat the oven to 355°F.

- Smooth the cream cheese and add the other ingredients in the given order, mixing in between each addition:

- Sugar, vanilla seeds, flour, eggs, and heavy whipping cream.

- Butter the inside of the ring and pour in the mixture over the crust.

- Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

- Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake inside for 30 more minutes.

- Let it cool before removing the ring and chill in the refrigerator.

Raspberry coulis

- Blend your fresh raspberries, pass them through a strainer and add in the sugar and lemon juice.

Vanilla-flavored cream cheese mousse

- Smooth the Kiri, split your vanilla bean in two and add the scraped seeds.

- Whip the heavy cream and sugar and fold it gently in the Kiri.

My very own Schuss cake recipe

2011-12-23T11:34:00.002-08:00

The Schuss cake is one of the crown jewels of a famous French cooking school: Lenôtre. I took several recipes we can find on the Internet and I built my very own recipe with fresh raspberries and organic vanilla beans from Madagascar. Its unique taste will surprise your senses.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration

250 g fresh raspberries

Whipped cream

150 g cold heavy whipping cream

30 g sugar

Vanilla

Raspberry jelly

300 g raspberry puree

108 g sugar

24 g inverted sugar (optional)

4.25 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (8.5 g)

Vanilla syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

70 g mineral water

50 g sugar

Sponge cake

80 g egg yolk

160 g egg white

120 g all-purpose flour

120 g sugar

Confectioners' sugar

Vanilla quark mousse

1.5 vanilla beans

7 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (14 g)

43 g mineral water

85 g egg yolk

128 g sugar

425 g quark 30% fat (you can replace it by unsalted cottage cheese)

510 g cold heavy whipping cream

Method

Raspberry jelly

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Blend your fresh raspberries, pass them through a strainer into a pan.

- Slowly heat to 104°F stirring with a spatula.

- Add sugar and inverted sugar, then the gelatin melted in the microwave without boiling.

- Pour in a 9-inch silicone mold and freeze it.

Whipped cream

- Whip together the whipping cream, the sugar and the vanilla until stiff.

- Put the whipped cream in a pastry bag with the decorating tip of your choosing.

Vanilla syrup

- Mix together all the ingredients in warm water to allow the sugar to dissolve.

- Put aside.

Sponge cake

- Preheat the oven to 390°F.

- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer (Cuisinart or KitchenAid) on high speed.

- Add the sugar little by little until the egg whites are very firm.

- Beat the yolks with a fork and add them to the egg whites. Whisk for 5 seconds on slow speed.

- Add the sifted flour and fold delicately with a spatula.

- Take a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip (1 cm wide) and make two 10.5-inch biscuits on wax paper. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and bake for 10 minutes.

- Let it cool on a cooling rack then cut the biscuits with a 9-inch ring.

Vanilla quark mousse

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the quark.

- Whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed.

- Boil the water with the sugar to 244°F, pour immediately on the yolks and beat until it cools to room temperature.

- Melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add in the quark mixture.

- Add to the yolks.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the vanilla cream.

ASSEMBLY (without filling)

- Put a biscuit on a cake cardboard and soak it with half the syrup.

- Pour some mousse, add the frozen jelly and cover with more mousse.

- Put the other biscuit, soak it with the rest of the syrup and pour the rest of the mousse.

- Freeze it at least two hours.

- Remove the ring.

- Decorate with the whipped cream and the fresh raspberries.

Strawberry mousse cake

2011-12-22T08:50:00.001-08:00

Let me introduce another creation of mine: the strawberry mousse cake. Light and fresh with its homemade sponge cake; you can also add another flavor to your cake: vanilla or lemon. It is very easy to make and will be even better if you use fresh charlotte strawberries.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration

Whipped cream

300 g cold heavy whipping cream

60 g sugar

Vanilla

1 kg fresh strawberries shared between puree, syrup, filling and decoration.
Slivered almonds

Optional filling

- Light vanilla cream

82 g whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean

23 g egg yolk

23 g sugar

8 g cornstarch

8 g butter

0.5 gelatin sheet Dr. Oetker (1 g)

83 g cold heavy whipping cream

- Lemon zabaglione

45 g egg yolk

40 g sugar

3/4 lemon zest

40 g lemon juice

105 g cold heavy whipping cream

1.5 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (3 g)

Strawberry syrup

100 g strawberry puree

50 g mineral water

50 g sugar

Lemon juice

Sponge cake

80 g egg yolk

160 g egg white

120 g all-purpose flour

120 g sugar

Confectioners' sugar

Strawberry quark mousse

150 g strawberry puree

40 g sugar

9.5 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (19 g)

43 g mineral water

85 g egg yolk

165 g sugar

425 g quark 30% fat (you can replace it by unsalted cottage cheese)

510 g cold heavy whipping cream

Sugar

Method

Whipped cream

- Whip together the whipping cream, the sugar and the vanilla until stiff.

- Put the whipped cream in a pastry bag with the decorating tip of your choosing.

Strawberry syrup

- Mix together all the ingredients in warm water to allow the sugar to dissolve.

- Put aside.

Sponge cake

- Preheat the oven to 390°F.

- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer (Cuisinart or KitchenAid) on high speed.

- Add the sugar little by little until the egg whites are very firm.

- Beat the yolks with a fork and add them to the egg whites. Whisk for 5 seconds on slow speed.

- Add the sifted flour and fold delicately with a spatula.

- Take a pastry bag with a smooth decorating tip (1 cm wide) and make two 10.5-inch biscuits on wax paper. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and bake for 10 minutes.

- Let it cool on a cooling rack then cut the biscuits with a 9-inch ring.

Fillings

- Light vanilla cream

- Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape the seeds into the milk. Bring to a boil and let it infuse 15 to 20 min.

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Meanwhile, beat together the yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch without whitening or frothing.

- Boil the milk again and pour 1/3 into the eggs, blend, add in the rest and blend.

- Put it back into the pan by pouring it through a strainer and beat over high heat until it thickens.

- Remove the pan and add the butter.

- Cool it rapidly stirring the whole time so as to prevent the cream from drying.

- Once it is cool, whip the cream and fold it gently in the pastry cream.

- Pour the cream over the first soaked biscuit in a 9-inch wide ring. Cut in half some fresh strawberries and put everything in the fridge.

- Lemon zabaglione

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Whip together the yolks, the sugar and the lemon zest.

- Add the lemon juice and poach in a bain-marie to 158°F.

- Then whip with a hand mixer on medium speed until cool.

- Melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add it in, then the whipped cream.

- Pour the zabaglione over the first soaked biscuit in a 9-inch wide ring. Cut in half some fresh strawberries and put everything in the freezer.

Strawberry quark mousse

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer on high speed.

- Boil the water with the sugar to 244°F, pour immediately on the yolks and beat until it cools to room temperature.

- Blend the quark, the strawberry puree and 40 g of sugar.

- Melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add in the strawberry mixture.

- Add to the yolks.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the strawberry cream.

ASSEMBLY (without filling)

- Put a biscuit on a cake cardboard and soak it with half the syrup.

- Pour some mousse, add strawberries cut in half, sprinkle with sugar and cover with more mousse.

- Put the other biscuit, soak it with the rest of the syrup and pour the rest of the mousse.

- Freeze it at least two hours.

- Remove the ring.

- Decorate with the whipped cream and the remaining strawberries.

Banana, caramel and chocolate cake

2011-12-22T02:24:00.002-08:00

This cake is one of my best creations. It combines 3 different creams and a dried-fruit crumble that bring a crunchy sensation. It is not very complicated to make but it is quite long due to the 3 different creams and the several cooling periods. Nevertheless, it is so worth your time.

Ingredients for a 10x3 cake

Decoration :

Grated coconut

Crispy chocolate balls

Slices of banana

Dried-fruit crumble

100 g butter

100 g all-purpose flour

50 g sugar

50 g brown sugar

100 g dried fruit (almond, hazelnut, coconut… you can vary)

40 g butter

Creamy caramel

435 g boiling heavy whipping cream

60 g egg yolk

90 g egg white

30 g cornstarch

210 g sugar

100 g butter

3 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (6 g)

8 g orange liquor (optional)

Banana cream

40 g mineral water

55 g sugar

150 g egg yolk

190 g blended bananas

90 g sugar

60 g boiling heavy whipping cream

300 g cold heavy whipping cream

4 gelatin sheets Dr. Oetker (8 g)

Chocolate cream

125 g whole milk

30 g sugar

45 g egg yolk

170 g chocolate 48% cacao

80 g chocolate 67% cacao

180 g cold heavy whipping cream

Method

Dried-fruit crumble

- Preheat the oven to 340°F.

- With the flat mixing paddle of a stand mixer (Cuisineart or KitchenAid) on low speed, beat 100 g of butter with the flour.

- Add the sugar and dried fruits.

- Spread and bake for approximately 15 min.

- Cool the crumble and put it back into the electric mixer on low speed.

- Add 40 g of melted butter.

- Spread and press the crumble in a 10x3 ring on a cake cardboard and put it in the fridge.

Creamy caramel

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- On medium heat, caramelize the sugar.

- Once mildly brown, add the boiling whipping cream.

- Beat together the eggs and the cornstarch without whitening or frothing.

- Pour in 1/3 of caramel, blend, add the rest and blend.

- Put the caramel back in the pan over high heat and beat until it thickens.

- Remove the pan and add the butter.

- Blend with a hand blender.

- Once cooled, melt the gelatin in the microwave without boiling and add in the caramel with the orange liquor.

- Pour the caramel in a 9-inch wide ring put over the crumble and put it back in the fridge.

Banana cream

- Hydrate the gelatin in cold water.

- Whip the egg yolks with a stand mixer on high speed.

- Boil together the water and 68 g of sugar and add in the beaten yolks.

- Beat until it is cool.

- On medium heat, caramelize 90 g of sugar.

- Blend the bananas.

- Add 75 g of boiling whipping cream into the caramel, then the blended bananas.

- Add in the gelatin and let it cool.

- Add to the yolks.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the banana cream.

- Pour the banana cream above the caramel cream in the 9-inch ring.

- Freeze it for about an hour.

Chocolate cream

- Put both chocolates in a mixing bowl.

- Boil the milk.

- Beat together the egg yolks and the sugar without whitening or frothing.

- Pour in 1/3 of boiling milk, beat, add the rest and beat.

- Put the custard back in the pan and cook over low heat to 180°F stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

- Immediately pour over the chocolate, blend with a hand mixer and cool to 86°F.

- Whip the cream and fold it gently in the chocolate cream.

- Remove the 9-inch ring and pour the chocolate cream into the 10-inch.

- Freeze it at least for two hours.

Decorate with grated coconut, crispy chocolate balls and slices of banana at the very last time.