L' Atelier Vi

Macarons au Chocolat-Mangue ~ 巧克力香芒奶油馬卡龍

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:48:00 +0000

From time to time, you saw these little jewels graced the web page of my blog so you should know that I am a huge fan of Parisian macarons! As it turns out, I am not the only addict - this beautiful bride also is a fan. She requested that macarons be included on the menu of the dessert table that she ordered for her wedding although she didn’t specify what flavors so that left the possibilities wide open. Giving thought that not everyone is into exotic flavors, I have made 2 flavors, raspberry macaron with raspberry confiture – a classic favorite, and a more exciting chocolate mango flavor.

Bursting with flavor, what a fantastic combo! If you haven’t paired the two together, you should definitely give it a try! Based on previous feedbacks from my guinea pigs, many complained that buttercream is a bit dense, so I decided to add mango purée to flavor it, hoping that the acidity would help cut the grease. The result is an incredibly fragrant and flavorful buttercream, which married well with the fruity, bitter undertone of the cocoa used to flavor the macarons. Undeniably, this have become my new golden combo and I am sure I will pair these two again very soon! Also, I have dressed up the macarons with a dash of cocoa nibs – just sprinkle the top of the piped batter before baking! That way, not only do they taste scrumptious but look great too! Again, presentation is very important!

I stressed many time that ingredients play a key role in the food we eat. I would have made my own mango purée but I didn’t find any good one in the markets that have that incredible fragrance that I was looking. Fortunately, I found some les vergers boiron mango purée in the freezer of the Pasta Shop in Berkeley. I have heard so much praise about this line of deep-frozen purées from France that I have been searching for ages. Something that you can’t easily find in the Bay Area so I was very excited that I came across it! What makes boiron’s purées so special? This line of purées is produced from carefully selected fruits at the peak of their ripeness, which are then squeezed and strained. Most importantly, no addictives and retain the full flavor and original color of the fruits. I too, call myself a fan now (^u~)

To find out more, click here~

Crème au beurre de mangue (mango buttercream)

1 large whole egg
40g caster sugar
40ml water
100g unsalted butter
70g mango purée

I thought you should know:
Fruit purées are high in water content, when mixed with butter it appears to be separated at first, but keep whisking and the cream will come back together giving a smooth and shiny texture.

Cut the butter into ½ inch (5mm) thick squares, place in a heatproof container and heat in the microwave over medium heat for 10 – 15 seconds. Butter should be soft to touch but NOT melted. Using a rubber spatula, mash the butter until smooth and creamy (like the texture of mayonnaise), set aside.

In a heatproof container, mix the caster sugar with the water then heat over medium heat in a microwave for 1 minute, stir until sugar completely dissolved. Return it to the microwave and continue to heat for 4 more minutes over medium heat. Remove with CARE out from the microwave and stir with a spoon. Spoon a little bit of the hot syrup into some ice water; it should solidify into a little ball. If it does not, continue to heat in the microwave, 1 minute at a time, until it gets to this state.

While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment, whisk until pale and foamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl, being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture, as it will harden! Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the egg mixture is thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in the butter. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the butter cream is thick and shiny. Add the mango purée, beat for an additional minute until incorporated. Refrigerate the buttercream for 10 minutes before piping.

If stored in an airtight container, it will keep for 5 days and up to a month if frozen. Bring the cream back together before use.

FAQs for making buttercream:
- Wait! My buttercream won’t come together!
Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overheat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

- Wait! My buttercream is too soft!
Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2 – 4 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Macarons au chocolat – 20 sandwiches

2 large egg whites
40g granulated sugar
120g powdered sugar
55g almond flour or finely grounded blanch almonds
8g Dutch-process cocoa powder
some cocoa nibs

Prep:
- First, sift the almond powder twice then add it to the powdered sugar and cocoa powder mix, and sift again.
- On the backside of 2 parchment papers, trace 1½-inch (4cm) circles about 2 inches (4cm) apart. Flip them over and line the baking sheets.
- Preheat the oven to 440°F/220°C.

I thought you should know:
- Must let the piped cookies sit out for 10 - 20 minutes before baking.
- Press the piping tip on the baking sheet and pipe for uniformly shaped macarons. Do not suspend the tip in the air.

In a large dry bowl, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy and the color turns white. Gradually add the granulated sugar, increase the speed to high and continue to whip until stiff peaks form – the whites should be firm and shiny, about 3 minutes.

With a rubber spatula, fold half of the almond/sugar/cocoa mixture to the meringue, fold until incorporated then fold in the remaining flour mix and fold until completely incorporated. Now it is ready for the macaronnage process.

With the rubber spatula, scoop and spread the batter, in a full circle, on the inside wall of the mixing bowl. Repeat this scoop & spread process, for a total of 15 times. Lift some batter with the spatula, it should falls into the bowl in a ribbon fashion, and should look glossy.

Fit a piping bag with a 3/8 inch (1cm) round tip, fill it with the cocoa batter and pipe the batter from the center of the drawn circle onto the baking sheets, about 40 circles. Sprinkle some cocoa nibs over piped circles. Let dry at room temperature for 10 - 20 minutes before baking to allow skins to form. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 440°F/220°C.

Bake for 4 minutes at 440°F/220°C, then turn it down to 260°F/130°C, continue to bake for 8 minutes. Remove macarons from oven and transfer to cool on the cooling rack. Once cooled, slide a knife underneath the macarons to remove from parchment paper.

Assemble the macarons:
Pair 2 macarons of similar size, pipe about 1 teaspoon of the buttercream filling onto the flat side of one of the macarons then sandwich them. Place in the refrigerator to set. Make about 20 sandwiches. It will keep for 3 days, if stored in the refrigerator and up to 4 weeks if frozen. Let stand at room temperature at least 20 minutes before eating.

常來這裡的朋友應該知道我對小巧玲瓏的馬卡龍著迷不已﹐所以我就不再強調了。不過現在才知道除了我﹐身邊很多人也很愛﹐這個新娘子就是其一。她要求跟我訂的甜點布斐菜單中必須包含這道小點心﹐而口味卻不挑。我想了很久﹐為了讓人嚐到不同口感與風味的成品﹐決定做兩種口味(要不是時間及人手不充足﹐我還想多弄幾個口味呢﹗)。除了男女老少都愛的酸酸甜甜覆盆子馬卡龍配覆盆子果醬口味﹐另一款就是這個較新鮮的組合 - 巧克力芒果風味﹗

原來濃郁的巧克力跟香氣襲人又帶有酸味的芒果的配對是很有個性的。加了芒果泥的奶油餡甜中微帶一點清新的酸剛好托襯出巧克力的甘苦味﹐還順帶的令口感清爽起來。那芬芳四溢的芒果香氣在口腔裡久久不散﹐讓人心醉神迷﹗除了在皮與餡的組合花了點心思﹐造型上也稍作改變﹐就是在表面灑了些可可豆碎加以裝飾﹐讓整體更富趣味~

至于這個芒果泥﹐我用的是法國boiron牌。耳聞很久了﹐好不容易在Berkeley的Pasta Shop找到的呢﹗不便宜但是果香濃厚襲人﹐顏色鮮艷﹐嚐起來像在吃新鮮的芒果﹐極品呀﹗除了芒果泥我還購入百香果泥和青蘋果泥﹐我想也是擁有極致的品質的﹐值得極力推薦的優質果泥﹗

關於boiron果泥(轉自Gourmet' s Partner):

Les Vergers Boiron是來自法國的天然頂級果泥，於1936年成立，1970年開始創新研發生產冷凍果泥，為市場第一位推出該類型商品的製造商，因為高成本與高品質的緣故，幾乎僅有五星級以上的飯店才會使用，為西點烘焙業的領導品牌。通過ISO 9001與ISO 14001認證，每種果泥口味皆嚴選各國最適合的水果來源及品種，挑選最高峰的採收期採收，因此無論是口味、顏色、重量和紋理，都絕對經過縝密的挑選，以獨特的產品篩選及完善巴氏瞬間滅菌法的保存技術，展現獨具要求的製程技術，採用標準化的萃取精華，混合四個味道，分別是桔子、紅橙、福柑和檸檬。同時強調「產地、品質、色澤」做為產品的最高要求。每批產品都維持一致的完美口感，不會因產季採收、熟成度等外在因素，而影響其口感及成品之表現。同時根據不同的水果種類屬性，研發出不同的製作技術與成分比例，秉持健康天然原則，100%不添加防腐劑、人工色素、濃稠劑等，符合現代顧客追求健康的飲食取向，低糖不膩口，全程冷藏，彈牙爽口不言而喻，嚐起來有天然果香，絕對是果泥中的極致。

篩選全世界最新鮮美味的嚴選水果，使用最完善規模的冷凍技術，Les Vergers Boiron對於天然果泥的堅持，讓世界各國如日本、法國等熱愛精緻美食的先進國家指定購買，有了最完美的果泥，烘焙出讓人安心又幸福的甜蜜糕點，品嚐最健康美味的結晶。

香芒奶油餡心

1個大的全蛋
40g 細砂糖
40ml 水
100g 無鹽奶油
70g 芒果果泥

要注意什麼呢﹖
水果泥的水份含量高﹐容易在和奶油攪拌過程中造成分離﹐但只要繼續攪拌就會成為滑潤的奶油醬。

把無鹽奶油切成1/2寸(5mm)厚的小方塊﹐然後放進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐再放進微波爐裡加熱10 - 15秒使奶油變軟。絕對不可以加熱到融化﹐手指按下去有壓進去的軟度即可。用橡皮刀用力壓變軟的奶油﹐再攪拌成美乃滋狀﹐備用。

將細砂糖與水混合倒進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐放進微波爐裡加熱60秒後取出﹐迅速拌至砂糖完全溶解。再次放進微波爐裡加熱4分鐘後取出(要小心處理﹐非常燙喔﹗)﹐用湯匙拌勻。舀取一小匙糖漿滴到冷水中﹐取出在手指間搓揉﹐若能成為小球狀的濃度即可。若是沒能搓成球狀﹐再加熱60秒。

利用糖漿加熱的時間以電動攪拌機以高速將蛋打散至起細泡﹐再轉低速繼續打發﹐待糖漿達到所需的溫度時﹐邊打發邊細絲般的慢慢地注入滾燙的糖漿(千萬不要讓糖漿直接和攪拌機接觸到﹐要在碗邊注入糖漿﹐這樣就不會結晶了)，完全注入糖漿後轉高速繼續打發﹐直到冷卻出現結實尖角的程度﹐約5分鐘。將奶油分2次加入蛋霜中﹐以中速打發攪拌至融合﹐拌入芒果果泥﹐轉高速繼續打發2分鐘至光滑立體狀態為止。將奶油醬放冰箱冷藏10分鐘即完成。

如果不立刻使用﹐將奶油醬倒入密閉的容器裡放冰箱存放﹐可以保存5天。如果放冰格冷藏可以存放1個月。使用前靜置回溫即可。

製作奶油餡最常遇倒的問題:
- 奶油餡看起來有分離的跡像:
將奶油餡隔熱水加熱5秒﹐看到奶油餡融化時即停止加熱。用木匙稍微攪拌﹐然後用電動打蛋器打發至光滑立體狀態為止。

- 奶油餡看起來太軟了:
將奶油餡放進冰箱冷藏10分鐘後﹐用電動打蛋器打發至光滑立體狀態為止。如果還是不夠立體﹐可以加2 - 4湯匙的奶油 (硬的) 至奶油餡中用低速打發至光滑立體狀態為止。

巧克力馬卡龍 - 20個

2個蛋白(L尺寸)
40g 砂糖
55g 杏仁粉
120g 糖粉
8g Dutch-process無糖可可粉
適量可可豆碎

事前準備:
- 杏仁粉過篩2次後和糖粉、可可粉混合過篩1次﹐備用。
- 準備兩塊烤纸﹐然後在每一張的反面畫上直徑1 ½寸間隔2寸(4cm間隔4cm)的小圓圈﹐然後鋪在烤盤上。

要注意什麼呢?
- 擠出麵糊後要放置10 - 20分鐘讓表面乾燥﹐才可進烤箱。
- 擠可可糊時先固定一個點﹐從上方擠出是要訣。

用電動攪拌機先以中速將蛋白打發至起泡、顏色變白﹐將砂糖分成2 - 3回加入蛋白中﹐仔細發泡﹐轉高速打至出現尖角成立體型蛋白霜﹐約3分鐘。

將一半篩過的粉類加入蛋白霜中﹐用橡皮刀從底部往上翻起的方式迅速拌勻﹐加入剩餘的粉類﹐攪拌至粉末完全消失為止。進行macaronnage程序。Macaronnage即是將麵糊從底部往上翻起再往拌碗的內壁壓推勻15次至表面紋理細緻且有光澤的麵糊為止。

將可可糊倒進裝上直徑3/8寸(1cm)的圓形擠花嘴的擠花袋中﹐在先前畫了圓圈的烤盤紙上擠出圓形的可可糊。先固定一個點﹐再從上方擠出比圓形稍小的可可糊﹐總共擠出40個。在可可糊上面灑上些許可可豆碎﹐放置10 - 20分鐘讓表面乾燥﹐用手摸不沾黏即可。放置的同時預熱烤箱至440°F/220°C。

用440°F/220°C的烤箱烘烤4分鐘﹐然後降溫到260°F/130°C繼續烘烤8分鐘。取出後放網架上靜置放涼﹐用抹刀取下﹐備用。

組合馬卡龍:
在半數的馬卡龍平坦面上擠出約1茶匙的夾心﹐再蓋上另一半的馬卡龍﹐做成20個。放冰箱至餡心凝固即可。

將馬卡龍包好放密封的容器中放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天。如果放冰格冷藏可以存放1個月。食用前靜置回溫即可。

A Splendid & Charming Affair ~ 美的讓人驚嘆的婚禮﹗

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:36:00 +0000

I am happy to tell you that I just did my very 1st dessert table order over the past weekend and judging from the speed that they vanished off the plates that it was a success =)

Since the bride, the talented Dorothy of Mints in Alameda, who is also the designer of Charlyn Koo is a friend so I was also invited to her oh-my-god-so-gorgeous wedding! Dot and her talented sisters did the planning, the floral design, the table setting, and all the crafts. Also, their super talented dad built the photo booth from a design Dot drafted up! She even designs her wedding dress and had a local shop custom made it for her! There were so many details in her wedding. From the favorite dishes as table number to the balloon in place of flower baskets for the flower girls. It was just so charming!! I am swoon!

Before digging into the foie gras and filet mignon, I took some pictures to share with you. I don't think my pictures do justice for this splendid day so when she shares her pics, I will share with you ;)

久等了~~~~~~~~~

讓阿Vi來跟大家匯報一下這個週末完成的的第一個甜點訂單。很幸運的受到賓客們的喜愛。以朋友的說法是甜點像狂風掃落葉般的被人一掃而空﹗他還混進人群中聽到褒多以貶的評語呢﹗呵呵。。。我想算是成功的邁出了我們的第一步了﹐不過還得更努力才行。

當天除了是負責甜點布斐﹐很有幸的我也是受邀參加婚禮的客人之一。新娘是非常有才華的一個人﹐除了是Mints的老闆娘之一﹐還是Charlyn Koo品牌的平面設計師及老闆娘﹐她的婚禮當然是雅致非常了。上至wedding flowers下至喜帖都是她規劃設計的﹐是不是美呆了呢﹖

1st order! 我負責的甜點布斐^^

Crème Fraîch Panna Cotta with Strawberry Mousse, Strawberry Gelée & Baked Meringue Sticks ~ 法式酸奶草莓奶酪佐烤蛋白霜

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Apologies for the lack of postings lately, time really does fly!! Since the wedding, I have been in the kitchen testing out recipes for an upcoming dessert order for an October wedding. Yes, I am officially going into business! I have been dreaming of opening my own shop but unfortunately the piggy bank is still not full so I am setting up shop on the web. There are lots of things that I still need to sort out like launching the actual event and catering website, putting together a pricing menu and etc. I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything will go as planned! Of course, I will post the updates here as things unfold ^^

I have been enjoying lots of fresh picked fruits from the farmers markets this summer especially berries and stone fruits. Unlike the varieties in the supermarket, seasonal local fruits are so much sweeter and juicier. Like the other day, I bought a flat of strawberries and ate 1/3 of it at one go because it was so yummy and plump, a huge contrast to the sour and hard variety from the supermarket. I thought it would be excellent for dessert so I pureed the rest and set out to find a great recipe.

Instead of flipping through books or doing my usual repertoire, I went off a recipe off this talented pastry chef/photographer/stylist/blogger’s site - one my favorite places to go for inspirations and also to give my eyes a feast.

The components were easy to make but the end result was just scrumptious! I especially love the meringue sticks, it added texture and a touch of sophistication! Mmmmm…….I hope you’ll enjoy this dessert as much as I did =)

Crème Fraîch Panna Cotta with Strawberry Mousse, Strawberry Gelée & Baked Meringue Sticks
Recipes from Cannelle et Vanille

Crème Fraîch Panna Cotta
200 grams heavy cream
45 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 grams sheet gelatin
100 grams crème fraîch

In a small saucepan, cook the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla bean until it comes to a boil. In the meantime, soak the gelatin in ice water. When the cream has come to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the softened gelatin. Whisk to dissolve it. Pour this into a clean bowl and let it cool to about body temperature. Add the crème fraîch and whisk well.

Pour the panna cotta into your molds or jars and let it set in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Mousse
100 grams strawberry puree
10 grams sugar
2 grams sheet gelatin
75 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Warm half of the strawberry puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatin in ice water. Add the softened gelatin to the warm strawberry puree. Add the rest of the puree and let it cool.

Fold in the whipped cream into the puree base. Pour this mousse on top of the yogurt panna cotta and let it set in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Gelée
150 grams strawberry puree
30 grams sugar
2 gram sheet gelatin

Warm half of the strawberry puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatin in ice water. Add the softened gelatin to the warm strawberry puree. Add the rest of the puree and let it cool.

Pour this gelée on top of the strawberry mousse and let it set in the refrigerator.

Baked Meringue Sticks
100 grams egg whites (3.5 ounces or a little under half a cup)
100 grams sugar (1/2 cup)
100 grams powdered sugar, sifted (1 cup)

Whip the egg whites until a light meringue forms (soft peaks). Slowly add in the sugar while mixing. Continue to mix to stiff peaks. Fold in the powdered sugar until incorporated.

Place the meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a plain (round) tip. Pipe straight lines of meringue on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake the meringues in a very low oven, about 200°F/100°C until crispy, about an hour. Keep them in an airtight container to stop them from becoming soggy.

中文食譜晚點再補上哦~

More from the gardens^^

Amateur Wedding Planning: Organic Chic - Linda & Don ~ 阿Vi的婚禮顧問處女秀!

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:05:00 +0000

Here are some snaps from the wedding that I have been working on! It was a beautiful day with lots of beautiful people =)

阿Vi的婚禮顧問處女秀在過去的週末完美謝幕﹗好吧﹐我承認並不是完美完美﹐可並沒什麼大的問題﹐安然度過 ^0^

Date: August 29, 2009
Theme: Organic Chic
Colors: Sage, Truffle & Ivory
Ceremony @ Shakespeare Garden, San Francisco
Banquet @ New Asia Restaurant, San Francisco

Crystals and ribbons were hung on trees to add dazzle to the aisle. 行禮用的走道很重要﹐所以我們將水晶跟絲帶掛在樹上﹐隨風舞動f發光^^

P1. Hand stamped & embossed note cards were placed on the table for guests to write their wishes for the newly wed. P2. A ribbon & crystal curtain "'altar". P4. Guests were being treated to homemade cookies, brownies, sandwich bites, and jars of candy. P1.許願井及DIY的卡片 P2.交換誓言的altar是用絲帶和水晶做成的簾子 P4.給賓客享用的茶點

Took me 2 days to make this flower basket and ring pillow. 花籃和戒枕花了整整2天的時間才完成(還有大量的膠水)!!

Aren't they cute (Bella, Bailey, and baby Issac)? 花童花女很可愛吧﹖

The bride's bouquet is green, wrapped with a piece of truffle color satin and embellished with rhinestones. 新娘的花球是全綠的﹐用巧克力色的緞布裹著晶石點綴。

The guests and my fellow bridesmaids. 賓客們及伴娘們~

The glowing bride - Linda! 女主角登場~

Behind the scene shots! 朋友拍的照片﹐你猜那一個是阿Vi ^^

My dress and shoes~ 我的伴娘裙及高跟鞋。

P1. This was how the photo booth was set up. We had to sew this huge curtain ourself. P3. A view of the receiving table. P4. Money box. P1. 拍照的佈景長這樣﹗自己縫的帘子再用鐵棒吊起來﹗P3. 迎賓處 P4. 你猜這是什麼﹖做成蛋糕狀的禮金盒 =)

P1&2. Hand stamped, embossed place cards and table cards. P3&4. The head table. P1&2. DIY的坐卡及桌卡 P3&4. 主家桌子~

Martha Stewart inspired wedding cake! 這個不是我做的蛋糕﹐我只是負責把它裝飾的美美的^0^

The newly wed!

Handmade money box adorned with magnolias. DIY的禮金盒 ﹗這純白的花是木蘭花。花語是1)純真自然的愛2)向你宣誓,表示信任^^

P1&2. DIY cookie jar label and water bottle label! P3&4. Well wishes note cards. It took a team of people to stamp and emboss them! P1&2. DIY的餅乾罐子及瓶子標籤紙~ P3&4. 共設計了5款卡片, 製作過程頗費時間。

Maid of Honor: Venus Wei
Best Man: Lawrence Cheung
Bridesmaids: Diana Le, Judy Le, & Jamie Le
Groomsmen: Chung Hau, Prescott Boholst, & Spencer Hui
Flower Girl: Bella Soo-Hoo
Ring Bearer: Bailey Cheng
Officiant: John Briggs
Wedding Planner: Venus Wei
Wedding Coordinator: Sally Hoang
Florist: Venus Wei
DJ: Danny Le
MC: Otis Fong

Special Thanks to:

Maylin: I don't know how I could have finished the flowers without you being there!

Yvonne - You're mighty with that curler! Thank you!

Also a shout out to Elaine, Steven, Kenny, Ang, Mui and anyone that I have failed to catch the names…thank you for making this day so successful!

Stone Fruit Bonanza ~ 盛夏の核果響宴

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:23:00 +0000

I have been enjoying quite a few stone fruit recipes recently due to endless supply of yummy peaches, nectarines, and apricots from my dear friends at the Kashiwase Farm. I am grateful to their generosity and I tried to repay them with the desserts made from these fruits. They seem to enjoy them as much as I do and I hope you will too^^

I have bookmarked the page for the roasted apricots with chamomile from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course as soon as I saw the recipe. I just love the idea of cooking with flowers =) It sounds so appealing yet seems easy to make and I know it is going to taste great since I had a taste of another dessert using a recipe from this same book! Yes, the taste was as promising as the ingredients gave away - tender, luscious, and gently perfumed. They were lovely just as is but CF suggested serving it as a topping to plain cake and ice cream, which I’m yet to try.

Not long ago, I spent a day making feullitage or puff pastry dough and I still have some left over so I thought some fruit tarts would go well with the roasted apricots. It was very simple, all I did was poached some apricot and yellow peaches in vanilla and star anise infused syrup and baked with the pastry. While still warm, I brushed some syrup on the tarts then serve. Easy but nothing short of deliciousness! Oh, these pair well with ice cream too.

Next up is a Wa-fu or Japanese style tiramisu. When I saw this gorgeous post by one of my all time favorite bloggers, I just couldn’t wait to get started!! The flavor combination – apricot and matcha – sounds so intrigue and exciting! The apricots were cooked until tender in vanilla syrup then made into purée to fold into whipped cream to make the mousse. Although the matcha sponge was yummy but I had to use a different recipe because I thought it tasted too subtle and I like a more intense flavor. The tangy sweet mousse paired with fragrant matcha sponge, feather-light mascarpone cream and a generous dust of unsweetened cocoa powder simultaneously underscore and complement each other. Rich was not the word to describe this cake, it is more of a taste of summery freshness! Oh, I piped some left over mousse into small molds and made bite size cakes too^^

I also made a cheesecake with yellow peach at the request of my mom for her to share with her co-workers. I prepared the peach purée the same way that I did with the apricots then added some pâte de peche (peach paste) to enhance the flavor. Once the cheese mixture was set, I arranged thin slices of peach on top then added a thin layer of peach jelly, made with the syrup and agar powder.

I know I have been posting lots of fruit desserts lately but I just can’t help it! Summer has so much lovely fruits to offer and I like to cook with what’s in season =)

Roasted apricots with chamomile
serves 4

1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup fresh chamomile flowers or 1 chamomile tea bag
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
8 apricots, unpeeled, halved and pitted
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 375°F/185°C. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the vanilla pod and seeds, chamomile flowers (or tea bag), then simmer for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve into a baking dish or roasting tray.

Arrange the apricots in the syrup, cut side down, roast for about 10 minutes. Turn them over, baste with the syrup and roast for another 5 minutes until tender. Serve warm.

The apricots will keep for 3 days, refrigerated.

Vanilla spice poached apricot & yellow peach tarts

1/3 recipe of homemade feullitage or 2 sheets of store-brought puff pastry
1 large yellow peach, peeled, finely sliced and pitted
4 apricots, unpeeled, halved and pitted
2 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
1 star anise
1 ¼ cups sugar
50ml white wine
200ml water

For the egg wash:
1 large egg yolk
1tsp water

Some flour, for work surface

Remove the feullitage out the freezer 10 minutes before. On a slightly floured work surface; roll out the feullitage to a 5mm/¼in thick square. Stamp out 3in/5in ~ 7.5cm/12.5cm rounds using cookie cutters, prick all over with a fork then return the dough to the freezer to firm up. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

Combine the sugar, water, white wine, star anise and vanilla pod + seeds in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to medium and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the apricots to the hot syrup and let poach for 3 minutes; removed. Add the peach slices to the hot syrup and let poach for 2 minutes, removed. Simmer the syrup down to two thirds of its original volume then strain, discard the solid and reserve the syrup.

Beat the egg yolk with the water to make the egg wash. Set aside. Take the feullitage out the freezer and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a knife, score but not cut all the way through a ¼ inch boarder all around, then brush with egg wash but avoid the boarders.

Arrange 2 apricot halves on each 3in rounds and peach slices on the 5in rounds (within the boarders), then dot with diced butter. Place in oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Brush the tarts with the reserved syrup. Serve warm.

Apricot and Matcha Tiramisu
makes 4 3in x 3in squares

Matcha génoise
100g granulated sugar
70g all purpose flour
15g matcha
20g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs

Apricot mousse
350g apricots (after pitting)
250ml water
100g sugar
1 vanilla bean (cut lengthwise, seeds scraped out)
4g gelatine sheet
150ml heavy cream
2 egg whites
75g caster sugar

Mascarpone cream
100ml heavy cream
15g caster sugar (you may not need it if you’re using tinned apricots)
30g mascarpone cheese

For the matcha génoise:
Brings a small pot of water to boil, set aside. Melt the butter in a microwave, set aside to cool.

Lightly butter a 12 x 9in/28 x 24cm roll cake pan and line it with parchment paper. Sift together flour and matcha, set aside. Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C.

Using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs together in a heatproof bowl then add sugar and beat until blended. Place the bowl over the pot of boil water and continue to beat over medium speed until it is foamy and warm to the touch. Remove from heat, continue to beat in a circular motion until it doubles in volume and soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sifted matcha flour mix using a rubber spatula and fold gently until incorporated. Add in the melted butter, quickly fold until completely incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread and smooth out the batter using the spatula. Tap the pan slightly on the counter to release any air bubbles, place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the apricot mousse:
Soak the gelatine in cold water. Place the water, 100g sugar and vanilla seeds (as well as the pod) in a saucepan over medium heat. When the sugar has dissolved, add the apricots and simmer for about 5 minutes until just tender. When cool, strain the apricots through a fine sieve (you’ll get about 250g purée) and add 50ml syrup from the pan. Reserve some syrup and discard the solids.

(If you’re using tinned apricots, puree 250g fruit and strain through a fine sieve then add 50ml syrup from the tin. Reserve some syrup for soaking the sponge.)

Squeeze out the gelatine, melt in a bain marie and stir into the puree. Whip the double cream into soft peaks (it’s important that the purée and cream have a similar consistency). Make the meringue with the egg whites and 75g sugar – whip the egg white until foamy, add the sugar a little at a time, whipping as you go along. When the purée is slightly set, gently fold the cream and meringue into it.

To make the mascarpone cream:
Place the double cream and sugar in a bowl and whip into soft peaks then mix the cheese in.

To assemble the cake:
Cut 4 pieces of sponge to the size of your mold. Place the sponge in the mold as a base and brush with the left over syrup, pour the mousse, then place the other sponge on top.

Freeze the cake until firm enough to slice (you don’t need to but it helps to cut neatly), layer the mascarpone cream on top and dust with cocoa powder just before serving.

Peach Flavor Chilled Cheesecake
makes one 18cm/6in round cake

Peach purée
2 large yellow peach, skinned, pitted, sliced
1tsp vanilla extract
1cup sugar
50ml white wine
200ml water

Crust
100g honey graham crackers
50g unsalted butter

Peach cheesecake mixture
200g cream cheese
50g mascarpone cheese
200ml whipping cream
100g condensed milk
50g peach purée
1tbsp pâte de peche
5g gelatine sheet

Peach Jelly
200ml peach syrup (add water if you don’t have enough)
8g agar powder (Kanten/寒天- かんてん)
1tbsp lemon juice
1tbs Amaretto liquor

Prep:
- Wrap the cream cheese in plastic food wrap and place in microwave on low for 1 minute to soften it.
- Soak the leaf gelatine in a bowl of ice water for a few minutes to soften it. Squeeze off excess water, set aside.

For the peach purée:
Combine the sugar, water, and the white wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to medium and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the yellow peaches to the hot syrup and let poach for 3-5 minutes then remove from heat. When cool, strain the peaches through a fine sieve. Add the vanilla extract and 35ml syrup from the pan to the purée. Strain, discard the solid and reserve the syrup.

For the crust:
Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C. Break the crackers into small pieces, then place into a zip lock bag or any heavy weight plastic bag (remove air bubbles), and crush + roll using a rolling pin until crackers become fine crumb. Place butter in microwave and heat for 30sec – 1min over medium heat. Pour melted butter into the bag, remove air bubble and close the bag, then shake it to mix the two. Pour this mix into the cake pan; using the back of a large spoon, press crumb firmly to pan until packed. Bake for 20 minutes then cool on wire rack.

For the peach cheesecake:
Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, whisk cream cheese until blended; add the mascarpone cheese and whish until blended then add in other ingredients in the following order: --> condensed milk --> peach purée --> cream --> pâte de peche, make sure that each item is well blended before adding another; set aside.

Place the pre-soaked gelatine and 1 tablespoon of cream in a heatproof bowl then place in microwave and cook for 30 seconds on low heat to melt the gelatine. Cool it in a cold water bath then gradually pour the melted gelatine into the cream cheese mixture while stirring non-stop. Mix well until combined then strain the cheese mixture, pour into the cake pan and then place in fridge and leave to set for 2-3 hours.

Skin, core, and slice a yellow peach then arrange the slices on top of one another in a circle on the set cheesecake; place back into the fridge.

For the peach jelly:
Pour the strained syrup into a saucepan then sift in the agar powder and cook over low heat. Once it reaches 150°F/75°C, remove from heat and place saucepan in a cold water bath. When it cools to room temperature, add the lemon juice and amaretto. Slowly pour it into the cake pan from the side and let set for an hour.

To unmold the cakes:
Wrap a hot towel around the cake mold for 10 second then push it out.

夏季是核果橫行的季節﹐這樣說應該沒人會不認同吧﹗最近常享用這些水嫩多汁的核果﹐也很常用它們製作甜點及點心。說來還得謝謝在Kashiwase Farm工作的朋友們不停的提供這些有機培植的時果。吃了那麼多﹐我也很不好意思﹐只有以甜點回報她們了。可是給她們送去的甜點越多﹐送來的水果的盒數就越多﹐我想這應該是她們喜歡吃﹐莫非是要我做多一點送她們的意思^^

這道洋甘菊烤杏桃是我翻Claudia Fleming的The Last Course甜點書時其中一個黏了標籤要製作的甜點﹐只因喜歡以花卉來製作甜點的方子。看起來是頗簡單的甜點﹐不過由於做過這位女甜點主廚的其它甜點的方子﹐對她充滿驚喜及創意的材料配搭很有信心﹐所以還是很期待。不用多說味道很美味﹔杏桃經慢烤後釋放更甜美的果香﹐且還帶有淡淡的清雅花香。除了單吃﹐CF還建議將烤杏桃作為較單調乳酪蛋糕或冰淇淋的配料﹐為平平無奇的它們添加色彩。

我不喜歡吃市售的果塔﹐總覺得添加了很多有的沒的﹐味道並不討喜﹐所以總是喜歡自己動手做。剛好不久前耗了一天半的時間反覆摺疊製作出有著無比酥脆口感的千層派皮﹐想說配核果做成餡塔應該和烤杏桃很搭。做法很簡單 – 將用香草﹑八角茴香﹑糖跟白酒泡煮好的杏桃跟黃桃鋪在派皮上烘烤成金黃色﹐再刷一層香草茴香糖漿即成。雖然簡單﹐可味道讓人一口接著一口的吃過不停﹐配冰淇淋更是無敵 =)

再來是充滿和風的提拉米蘇。杏桃配抹茶這個組合怎麼樣? 很特別吧?﹗是一個阿Vi很喜歡的博客跟據某本日語甜點書的食譜演變出來的美的讓人心醉的一道甜點。將煮過的香草杏桃製作成杏桃果泥跟發泡鮮奶油做成酸甜適中的杏桃慕斯夾在兩片有著襲人淡雅茶香的抹茶海綿蛋糕間﹐跟著是一層綿密富乳香的馬斯卡朋奶油乳酪﹐最後是超濃厚的可可亞。跟著方子做出來的抹茶海綿蛋糕很美味﹐但抹茶味偏淡﹐由於喜歡重一點的﹐我改用另一個抹茶方子。除了做成小蛋糕﹐還做成一口小點呢~

我還應媽咪的要求製作了一個黃桃風味的冷藏式乳酪蛋糕讓她跟同事分享。以製作杏桃果泥雷同的方法做出黃桃果泥後﹐再混合奶油乳酪﹑馬斯卡朋乳酪做成乳酪糊。為了讓桃子的味道更鮮明﹐我加了少量的桃子濃縮糊。要是這樣稍嫌單調了點﹐所以加了一層透明果凍﹐讓賣相更引人。

呵呵。。。這次先post這些。Bon Appétit =)

洋甘菊烤杏桃
1 ½ 杯砂糖
¼ 杯新鮮洋甘菊或1個洋甘菊茶包
1條香草豆﹐縱的開半﹐刮籽
8個杏桃﹐開半﹐去核﹐留皮
1杯水

預熱烤箱至375°F/185°C。將砂糖跟水倒進小鍋中﹐以高溫加熱至沸騰。加進香草豆跟籽﹑洋甘菊或茶包﹐然後轉中火熬煮5分鐘﹐離火。用濾網過濾糖漿﹐然後倒進耐熱烤盤中﹐跟著將杏桃切面朝下排列在烤盤中﹐先烤10分鐘﹐然後翻面沾上糖漿再烤5分鐘即可。最佳食用的溫度是微暖。佐香草冰淇淋﹑烤餡餅﹑味道是一級棒。

香草茴香核果餡塔

自製千層派皮3分1 的份量或2片市售的千層派皮
1個大的黃桃﹐開半﹐去核﹐去皮﹐切薄片
4 個杏桃﹐開半﹐去核﹐留皮
2湯匙無鹽奶油 ﹐切丁
1條香草豆﹐縱的開半﹐刮籽
1粒八角茴香
1 ¼ 杯砂糖
50ml 白酒
200ml 水
桿麵皮用的麵粉適量

蛋汁
1個 (L尺寸) 蛋黃
1茶匙水

將千層派皮從冰箱取出解凍備用﹐約十分鐘。

將派皮麵糰放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐用桿麵棒將派皮桿成約厚5mm或1/4寸的薄片﹐用分別直徑3寸跟5寸(7.5cm/12.5cm)圓形餅乾模具吸出薄片﹐再用叉子戳刺氣孔﹐放進冰箱冷藏備用。預熱烤箱到350°F/175°C。

將砂糖﹑水﹑白酒﹑八角茴香﹑香草豆跟籽一起放入小鍋裡﹐再以高溫加熱煮至沸騰後轉中火繼續煮2分鐘。將杏桃加入熱糖漿中泡煮3分鐘﹐取出。跟著將黃桃片加入熱糖漿中泡煮2分鐘﹐取出。繼續熬煮糖漿至濃縮變稠﹐約至原體積的3分2量﹐用濾網過濾糖漿﹐備用。

把蛋黃和水一起拌勻成蛋汁﹐備用。將派皮從冰箱取出，放到鋪了烤紙的烤盤上。用刀子輕輕的在麵皮邊緣劃界線﹐約寬1/4寸(5mm)﹐小心不要切斷麵皮。用蛋汁塗抹界線裡的麵皮，界處不塗抹蛋汁。將兩塊杏桃排列在直徑3寸(7.5cm)派皮上﹐然後將黃桃片排列在直徑5寸(12.5cm)的派皮上﹐隨意將切小丁的無鹽奶油撒在派皮上，放進烤箱烘烤約25 - 30分鐘至金黃色。取出﹐放涼5分鐘﹐然後用刷子將香草茴香糖漿塗在餡塔表面即可。

杏桃抹茶和風提拉米蘇
4個3in x 3in 小蛋糕

抹茶傑諾瓦士
100g 砂糖
70g 麵粉, 篩過
15g 抹茶
20g 無鹽奶油
3個大尺寸全蛋

杏桃慕斯
350g 杏桃(去核後的重量)
250ml 水
100g 砂糖
1條香草豆﹐縱的開半﹐刮籽
4g 明膠片
150ml 鮮奶油
2個大的蛋白
75g 細砂糖

馬斯卡朋奶油
100ml 鮮奶油
15g 細砂糖 (可免若用罐裝糖煮杏桃)
30g 馬斯卡朋乳酪

製作抹茶蛋糕:
先燒開一小鍋的水﹐備用。將奶油切丁﹐倒進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐然後放微波爐加熱融化﹐靜置放涼備用。

將1個直徑12 x 9in/28 x 24cm長方形模具抹上厚厚的奶油﹐再鋪上烘烤紙﹐備用。將抹茶和麵粉混合篩過﹐備用。將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至360°F/180°C。

將蛋倒進耐熱拌碗中﹐用電動攪拌器以中速打散﹐加進砂糖﹐攪打至顏色變淡。將拌碗放小鍋上隔熱水加熱打發﹐不停攪拌至微溫發泡。停止加熱﹐繼續以劃圓圈的動作打發至富含空氣會如緞帶般重疊時即可。分數次加進篩過的抹茶麵粉﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐然後拌入放涼的融化無鹽奶油﹐同樣的以橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。

一鼓作氣地將麵糊倒進烤模中﹐推勻﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後﹐放進預熱過的烤箱裡﹐烘烤約15分鐘。當週圍會因烤熟而稍稍縮小﹐烤模和蛋糕體間就會出現空隙﹐輕按蛋糕中間時感覺到彈性即烤好。也可以用竹籤插入中央﹐慢慢拔出時不會沾黏﹐就烤好了。從烤箱取出﹐翻轉倒扣脫模﹐擺在網架上整個放涼。將蛋糕切成所需的片狀。

如果不立刻使用﹐可將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天。使用前靜置回溫即可。

製作杏桃慕斯:
將水﹑100g砂糖﹑香草豆跟籽一起放入小鍋裡﹐開中火加熱煮至砂糖完全融化後加進杏桃熬煮5分鐘至軟﹐離火。靜置放至室溫後﹐將杏桃用濾網撈起﹐用力碾壓擠成杏桃果泥﹐約有250g成品。用濾網過濾糖漿﹐將杏桃果泥跟50ml的糖漿混合﹐剩下的糖漿包好備用。若是用罐裝糖煮杏桃﹐將250g的糖煮杏桃用同樣的手法壓成泥﹐再從罐裡取50ml的糖漿跟泥混合。

明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分。將泡軟的明膠片隔熱水融解後拌進杏桃果泥中﹐確實拌勻﹐備用。將鮮奶油打發至出現尖角的起泡程度﹐備用。將蛋白打散﹐然後將細砂糖分數次加進蛋白中打發至出現尖角的起泡程度。用切拌法(用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻)將2分1的發泡鮮奶油拌入杏桃果泥中﹐攪拌乳化後﹐拌入剩餘的鮮奶油﹐確實攪拌乳化後再拌進蛋白霜﹐攪拌乳化後倒進擠袋裡備用。

製作馬斯卡朋奶油乳酪:
將馬斯卡朋乳酪室溫放軟。將鮮奶油和砂糖混合打發至出現尖角的起泡程度﹐用切拌法(用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻)將放軟的馬斯卡朋乳酪拌入發泡鮮奶油中﹐攪拌乳化即可。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:
將4個無底方形慕斯模擺放好﹐然後在每個模中鋪放一片抹茶蛋糕。用刷子將糖漿塗在蛋糕表面, 將杏桃慕斯擠進模中﹐鋪進另一片抹茶蛋糕﹐輕輕按下去(去氣泡)﹐跟著用抹刀抹一層馬斯卡朋奶油乳酪﹐抹平後放進冰箱冷藏凝固﹐至少3小時或一個晚上。

將蛋糕脫模﹔以溫毛巾圍著模型溫熱10秒後﹐然後用手指將蛋糕往上推出脫模。享用前撒上一層無糖可可亞粉﹐再以食用金箔點綴即可。

黃桃風味冷藏式乳酪蛋糕
1個6in/18cm 的蛋糕

黃桃果泥
2個大的黃桃﹐開半﹐去核﹐去皮
1茶匙香草精
1杯砂糖
50ml 白酒
200ml 水

全麥餅底
100g 蜜糖全麥餅乾
50g 無鹽奶油

黃桃乳酪糊
200g 奶油乳酪
50g 馬斯卡朋乳酪
200ml 鮮奶油
100g 煉乳
50g 黃桃泥
1湯匙桃子濃縮糊(膏)
5g 明膠片
1個大的黃桃﹐去核﹐去皮﹐切薄片

桃子透明果凍
200ml 糖漿
8g 寒天粉
1茶匙檸檬汁
2湯匙義大利杏仁酒

事前準備:
- 將奶油乳酪用保鮮膜包起來﹐放進微波爐﹐以弱溫加熱1分鐘﹐使其軟化。
- 將明膠片用冰水泡軟﹐擠掉水分備用。

製作黃桃果泥:
將砂糖﹑水﹑白酒一起放入小鍋裡﹐以高溫加熱煮至沸騰後轉中火繼續熬煮2分鐘。加入黃桃塊繼續煮3 – 5分鐘。靜置放至室溫後﹐將黃桃用濾網撈起﹐用力碾壓擠成桃泥。用濾網過濾糖漿﹐將桃泥跟35ml的糖漿跟香草精混合﹐剩下的糖漿包好備用。

餅底﹕
烤箱預熱至360°F/180°C。將蜜糖全麥餅乾裝入拉鍊袋﹐用桿麵棍打碎。滾動桿麵棍﹐將餅乾壓成細末。奶油放進微波爐加熱至融解﹐加入袋內並封緊袋口﹐用手搓揉混合。倒入1個6in/18cm底板可以拆除的模模具中﹐用湯匙背使勁壓平後﹐放進烤箱烘烤20分鐘。取出﹐擺在網架上整個放涼。

黃桃乳酪糊:
將軟化的奶油乳酪放入拌盤中﹐用打蛋器攪拌至順滑加入馬斯卡朋乳酪﹐攪拌均勻順滑後依序加入煉乳à 黃桃果泥à鮮奶油à桃子濃縮糊﹐每加入一樣都必須確實攪拌均勻, 備用。

將1湯匙的鮮奶油和泡軟擠掉水分的明膠片倒進一個耐熱的容器中﹐再放進微波爐以低溫加熱至明膠完全溶解。放冰水浴中冷卻﹐然後拌入乳酪糊中﹐用打蛋器攪拌至順滑後用濾網過濾﹐倒入模具中﹐放進冰箱冷藏2 - 3個小時。將桃片以放射狀排列於凝固的乳酪蛋糕上﹐放進冰箱備用。

桃子透明果凍:
將濾過的糖漿倒進小鍋裡﹐然後將寒天粉過篩到糖漿上﹐以低火煮至150°F/75°C﹐離火﹐放冰水浴中冷卻後﹐加入檸檬汁跟杏仁酒。在模的邊緣緩緩的倒進模中至滿﹐再放進冰箱冷藏凝固1 - 2個小時或一個晚上。

以溫毛巾圍著模型溫熱10秒後﹐用手指將蛋糕往上推出脫模即可。

Giveaway Winners ~ 週年慶得獎名單^^

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:52:00 +0000

Before I announce the winners for my little blog’s 2nd anniversary drawing, I would like to take a moment to thank you all again for all the lovely and warming comments that you sent me! Also, I hope I didn’t make you wait too long for this^^

You ready?

Here we go………..

Yumi is eager to find out who the winners are too^^
看﹐我家Yumi也很關心誰是得獎人喔~

Drum roll please)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

The winners are 貓姐 and Sandy! Each of you will receive a set of copper cookie cutters and an apron. Please send me your mailing address to LaAtelierVi [at] gmail [dot] com. I will ship it out as soon as I get your address. As for everyone who participated, don’t feel disappointed because there will be more giveaways to come =)

有了﹗有了﹗週年慶得獎名單有了﹗在公佈得獎人前﹐阿Vi再一次謝謝你們的留言及鼓勵﹗還有希望沒有讓你們等太久喔~

要公佈了﹐準備好了沒?

贏得餅乾模及圍裙的人就是。。。。。。。。。。。

貓姐))))))))
+
Sandy)))))))))))))))))

得獎者請發email到LaAtelierVi [at] gmail [dot] com留下你的郵寄地址給我。我會儘快將獎品寄出。這次沒被抽中的人不要失望﹐因為很快就會再有抽獎喔~

Have a wonderful week everyone~

Playing hostess ~

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:23:00 +0000

a corner of my work board

Gosh, I can’t believe another whirlwind week has come and gone! I have been busy playing hostess, wedding planner, and maid of honor to a dear friend whose big day is set for the end of August! You can imagine how full my plate is! However, one of the big things just got checked off. Below is a capture of the bridal shower and bachelorette party that the bridesmaids and I hosted to honor the bride-to-be.

We used a green/ivory/truffle color palette to tie in with the color theme of her wedding. Plus it seems more put together when the same color story is weaves thru out. Almost everything was DIY and homemade. I have to admit that it was a lot of work but the end result was fabulous, don’t you think^^

最近阿Vi忙著籌備朋友的8月婚禮忙的昏頭昏腦不亦樂乎。這次除了當首席伴娘﹐還身兼婚禮顧問及花藝家﹐可想而知有很多東西給我管@_@" 除了婚禮的事﹐在婚禮前﹐身為首席伴娘的我聯同所有的伴娘們可得幫準新娘辦出嫁前最後的一次歡送會(bridal shower)及告別單身聚會(bachelorette party)﹗不知道這是不是美國才有的習俗﹐ 歡送會即是一屋子女人的聚會﹐屬端莊又淑女的活動﹐讓新娘享受最後和姊妹們相聚的的單身時光﹐因為女人一旦走入婚姻﹐大部分會以家庭為主﹐可能沒那麼多自由時間和姊妹聊天了﹗告別單身聚會就比較瘋狂﹐讓新娘在婚前把握最後一次單身和好友們徹夜玩樂的機會﹐有臉紅心跳的話題以及遊戲﹐還有脫衣猛男(如果新娘許可的話)喔^^

差不多所有的東西都是DIY - 從紙吊飾﹑花擺飾﹑回禮的盒子﹑welcome旗子等等。而食物都是伴娘們自己弄的﹐而我當然是負責甜點的部分囉~

the green & white pom pom took me 10 minutes to make but took someone who-know-how-long to pull and fluff up; I woke up the morning of and went to the flower mart to get the flowers to make these centerpieces, pretty?

Menu:
Cheese & ham crackers
Tea sandwiches
Bruschetta
Fruit salad
Chinese sausage fried rice
Pot stickers
Veggie stick with dips

Desserts:
Mango panna cotta cups
Chocolate cupcakes
Strawberry mousse cake

Drinks:
Peach iced tea
Fruit nectar
Mineral sparkling water

Favor to guests:
Benefit makeup

meet the bride-to-be Linda

faces of some of the lovely & furry guests at the party

Guests won gifts like fleece blankets, sweets, and movie tickets when they played the games we prepared for them

she must had received 2 weeks full of naughty but pretty dainty lingerie among other beautiful gifts

these pillow boxes (25+) took me a day to make, you like?

The bachelorette party follows immediately after the bridal shower and the night unfolds with a light dinner at Zen’s. Many giggles later, we went back to the location of the bridal shower, which with some help of some very talented people, have transformed into a VIP lounge and also kick off the night. Unfortunately what happened in that room was not to be disclosed to anyone other than the one who were there that night so we will just leave it here ;p

sharing laugh & foods at Zen's

the room transformed into a VIP lounge!

L’ Atelier Vi turned 2 & giveaway!! L’ Atelier Vi 兩歲了之週年慶送禮物 =)

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:57:00 +0000

L’ Atelier Vi turned 2!! Time seems to have gone by so quickly! I’d like to thank all the readers of my little blog for your support. I would not have gone this far without you. I’ve been inspired by all your feedback and truly grateful to your kind comments over the year!!

As this being said, it calls for a celebration!! Besides whipping up a little something to celebrate the anniversary, I also got you a little something in return of your continuing support of this little blog of mine. Remember what I did for the 1st anniversary? Well, you don’t have to do anything this time…umm…other than leaving a mark on the comment page of this post so that you can be enter into the drawing by 7/31!!! As for the gifts I picked out for you, there are 2 sets – each consists of a box of 2 copper cookie cutters and a simple apron of black rose pattern (sewn by me). I hope you’ll like them =)

Now, let’s talk about the little something I made for the anniversary. Giving this special occasion, I attempted something from my too-hard-to-do list! A dessert conjured of layers of feullitage and pistachio cream from a pastry book written by Chef Koji Yamamoto of Patisserie Les Planetes. Feullitage or puff pastry as known to most, is not something myself and most people would have the leisure to make regularly given its lengthy method (precise technique too). I have been dragging until this very day to finally give it a try because I was repeatedly told by many baking enthusiasts that all I need to master fabulously flaky feullitage is flour, butter and plenty of time and patience - the repetitive roll-fold-rest process will take up a good amount of time (a day & a half to be exact).You know how people said about good things need time? They were right! Indeed a lot of time but the end result worth every minute of it. The lengthy process yields a layered pastry structure of unparalleled lightness and flakiness and once you take a bite into the ultimate buttery goodness, you’ll be hooked for life!!

As for the pistachio mousseline, it is relatively easy. The hardest part was trying to find the pâte de pistache, which I found here (I just love this place!). As for the griotte cherry in liquor (another hard to find item in the States), I happened to find it in a local specialty shop in Berkeley; however, you can replace this by using Bing cherries or Rainier cherries coated lightly with Kirsch and a sprinkle of vanilla sugar. Because both the pistachio mousseline and mille-feuille are loaded with butter, you can imagine how rich and creamy this dessert is. I suggest serving it with some sorbet high in acidity (like lemon or passion fruit) to cut the creaminess.

Mille-feuille Pistache Griotte (Napolean with Pistachio Mousseline & Sour Cherry) makes 5 single serving cakes

Feullitage
I use tear drop shaped mousse rings to cut out puff pastry and served them as individual cakes as opposed to cutting them into sheets. Yield about 15 tear drops.

185g bread flour
125g cake flour
50g unsalted butter, cubed
5g salt
140g ice cold water
225g blocks of unsalted butter, each thinly sliced lengthways

Crème pâtissière (vanilla custard)
340g whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split & seeds scraped
55g egg yolks
85g granulated sugar
30g cornstarch

Crème mousseline à la pistache (pistachio mousseline)
150g crème pâtissière
50g pâte de pistache (pistachio paste)
75g unsalted butter, room temperature
20 griotte cherry in liquor, cut into halves

For garnish
Some apricot jam, Isomalt sugar decoration, and fresh rainier cherries

For the Feullitage:
Night Before
Arrange the butter slices into a square on a piece of plastic food wrap, put another piece of food wrap on top then mash the butter into 1 big square using a rolling pin; refrigerate it until firm. Make the base also known as a détrempe next. Using a food processor, process flours, cold butter cubes, water and salt until the dough is well combined. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and form dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic food wrap and leave to firm up overnight in the refrigerator.

Next Day
Roll out pastry dough on a floured surface to a square slightly bigger than the butter block then arrange the butter block in the center, pull in all 4 corners toward the center then flip it over and roll it out to a rectangle. Fold the top third of pastry to the middle third then fold up bottom third. Turn counter clockwise so opening is on the right, roll out pastry to a square, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate until firm (1-2 hours). Repeat 5 more times, resting in between.

Divide the dough into 2 halves, wrap 1 half in plastic food wrap, store it in a airtight container and place it in the freezer, it will keep for months. Roll out the other half of pastry dough to 3mm (1/8 inch) thick, prick dough all over with a fork and let chill for 15 minutes or until the dough is firm enough. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Place dough in a jelly roll sheet pan lined with parchment paper, place a wire rack on top (to prevent dough from puffing) and bake for 30 minutes or till nicely browned and cooked through. Remove and let cool.

For the crème pâtissière:
Combine milk, vanilla pod and seeds in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar until mixture turns pale yellow. Add in the cornstarch and whisk until combined.

Remove the milk mixture from the heat and add a little to the yolk mixture to warm it first, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from cooking. Pour the rest of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly as you pour. Strain the mixture into a clean saucepan.

Return the custard to the stove and cook over low heat, whisking constantly. Let the custard cook for 1-2 minutes until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Using a fine sieve; strain the mixture into a clean bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

For the pistachio mousseline:
Using a handheld mixer, beat the chilled crème pâtissière over medium speed until smooth. Fold in the pâte de pistache, beat until combined then fold in the unsalted butter and beat until combined. If not being use immediately, please refrigerate (just whisk until smooth before use).

Assemble:
Place a tear drop shaped mousse ring on top of the puff pastry, trace the outline using a paring knife and cut out 15 pieces. Spoon the pistachio cream inside a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Arrange 5 tear drop shaped mousse rings on a sheet pan, put 1 piece of puff pastry inside each ring, arrange some griotte cherry halves, pipe a layer of cream on top, level with the back of a spoon, put in another piece of puff pastry, press down lightly to release any air bubbles, arrange some more griotte cherry halves, pipe another layer of cream almost to the top, level with the back of a spoon, put another piece of pastry on top and press down lightly to release any air bubbles. Refrigerate until firm.

Brush a layer of warm apricot jam on the top then carefully push out the cakes from the rings. Arrange 2 rainier cherries on top then a piece of Isomalt sugar decoration, viola!

又到七月了﹐也就表示我的部落格邁入第二個年頭了﹗我的天呀﹐兩年過的真快﹐真不敢相信 L’ Atelier Vi已經兩歲了﹗ ﹗希望以後還有無數個兩年可以在這個平臺跟你們分享切磋製作甜點的心得。最重要是不管你是從一路走來的舊友﹐還是剛剛到訪的新知﹐衷心感謝你們不時送上鼓勵加油的話﹐感動死了 ~.~

為了回饋大家的支持﹐阿Vi準備了一點小禮物送你。有別於去年週年慶的競賽﹐今年你無須參加任何比賽﹐因為是以抽獎形式送出。如果你想收到阿Vi為你準備的禮物﹐只需在美國西岸時間7月31日的限期前在這個post的留言版畫個丫﹐說明你想參加抽獎即可。至於禮物嘛﹐是一套以巴黎為主題的餅乾模和我以黑玫瑰圖樣亞麻布縫製的手工圍裙(有照片喔)﹐共送出2份。希望你會喜歡~

現在來說說為了這個特別的日子製作的甜點吧﹗當在Patisserie Les Planetes 的甜點主廚山本光二師傅著作的書中看到這個以開心果櫻桃組合做成的千層派﹐就深深的迷上這個看起來高雅又帶有清涼感的甜點。可是看到需要自己動手製作千層派皮時卻步想放棄﹐因為我沒耐性挑戰這個高難度﹑耗時﹑需要繁複的製作過程的麵糰。可很多培烘同好不斷地游說說要做出酥脆美味的千層派皮並不如想像中的困難﹐最後被說服決定嘗試磨煉一下自己的能耐。耗了我一天半的時間反覆摺疊製作而成的千層派皮有著超級酥脆的口感﹐無比細膩層次的特質﹐咬下去的瞬間所散發出來的奶油香讓我覺得付出的時間是值得的。現在終於明白人們說好的東西是需要同等的時間去準備的道理了 =)

我是頭一次製作開心果奶油慕斯。開心果奶油慕斯的質地很柔滑﹐味道帶點草腥味﹐頗有個性。不知道是不是先解決了高難度的千層派的關係﹐相比下奶油慕斯製作過程很容易﹐well…除了搜購開心果糊這部分﹗不得不說很多日語書所需的食材在美國是很難找的﹐不過好在自從發現這家店後絕少讓我失望。另外酒漬櫻桃也很難找﹐不過月前無意間在Berkeley的一家market給我找到。若是找不到﹐用以適量櫻桃白蘭地﹑香草砂糖稍微醃漬的新鮮櫻桃代替可不能不加﹐由於千層派和奶油慕斯用上相當份量的奶油﹐口感雖香酥濃郁可對亞洲人來說應該有點厚重﹐而微酸的櫻桃可以中和讓味道清爽一點﹐最好還搭配酸味重一點的冰品享用﹐好讓味道更滋味多元。

櫻桃開心果千層派 – 5個小蛋糕
捨棄傳統的條狀而將它做成小蛋糕主要是為了方便食用。

千層派皮
185g 高筋麵粉
125g 低筋麵粉
50g 冰凍無鹽奶油﹐切成小方塊
5g 鹽巴
140g 冰水
225g 夾入用無鹽奶油

奶油蛋糊
340g 全脂奶
1條香草荳﹐開半刮籽
55g 蛋黃
85g 砂糖
30g 玉米粉

開心果奶油慕斯
150g 奶油蛋糊
50g 市售開心果糊(膏)
75g 無鹽奶油 - 切成小方塊﹐室溫放軟
20粒酒漬櫻桃﹐橫的切成兩半

裝飾用
適量的杏果果醬﹑烤糖片裝飾﹑金黃櫻桃

千層派皮的做法
前一晚:
將無鹽奶油縱向的切厚塊﹐放置在一片保鮮膜上成正方形形狀﹐再蓋上一片保鮮膜﹐然後用桿麵棍敲打使其成方磚狀﹐包好冷藏備用。跟著製作千層派皮的外層麵糰基地 (détrempe)。將高﹑低麵粉﹑鹽水﹑丁狀無鹽奶油用食物調理機攪拌勻成奶油糰塊。取出﹐放在撒上少量高筋麵粉的工作台上﹐快速揉成球狀﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱靜置一個晚上醒麵。

第二天
從冰箱取出奶油麵糰﹐放在撒上少量高筋麵粉的工作台上﹐用桿麵棍桿開成比奶油磚稍微大一點的正方形﹐然後將奶油磚交錯地放置在上﹐再將麵糰的四個角拉向中央。不要讓空氣進入其中地將麵皮拉緊折疊﹐並且將各個邊緣逐一捏緊。將糰塊翻面﹐用桿麵棍各以直向﹑橫向桿開來﹐使麵糰和奶油可以相互緊密結合﹐然後將麵糰從中央向前後桿開成長方形條狀。將麵糰折疊成3折﹐稍壓一下﹐再90度扭轉麵糰 (封口向右)﹐用桿麵棍各以直向﹑橫向稍微拉長﹐用保鮮膜包好﹐放冰箱靜置60分鐘以上醒麵。重複這組各以直向﹑橫向桿開來﹐折疊成3折﹐90度扭轉﹐再直向﹑橫向拉長﹐包好﹐放冰箱靜置的程序5次(合共6次)。

預熱烤箱至400°F/200°C。取出麵糰﹐切半。一半包好冷凍保存﹐一半麵糰桿開成約厚3mm或1/8寸的薄片﹐再用叉子戳刺氣孔﹐放入鋪了烘烤紙的烤盤裡﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱冷藏約15分鐘定型。取出﹐在麵糰上放上網架(防止烘烤時過度的膨脹)﹐放入烤箱烤30分鐘或至派皮呈金黃色。取去擺放在網架上放涼。

奶油蛋糊的做法
將牛奶﹑香草荳和籽混合倒進小鍋裡，以中火煮至剛沸騰即離火﹐蓋上鍋蓋燜幾分鐘。將蛋黃和砂糖一起攪打至顏色變白﹐再加進玉米粉﹐充份地攪拌均勻。

將熱奶漿逐一加入蛋糊中﹐並同時用打蛋器不間斷地攪打。過濾奶蛋糊﹐再倒回小鍋中以低火加熱。用打蛋器持續不斷地攪拌至變稠﹐並可以在木匙背劃出清晰的線條時(約2分鐘)就完成了。將奶油蛋糊過濾後在表面蓋上保鮮膜(黏著蛋糊)﹐放進冰箱冷藏備用。

開心果奶油慕斯的做法
將奶油蛋糊取出﹐用攪拌機以中速攪打至軟滑﹐拌入開心果糊﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐再拌入室溫放軟的奶油﹐用攪拌機以低速攪打至混合呈光滑狀﹐放冰箱備用。使用前﹐再攪打軟即可。倒進密閉的容器裡﹐放冰箱可存放2個星期。

組合及裝飾蛋糕

事前準備:
- 將千層派皮用淚滴形狀慕斯模切割出約15片派片﹐備用。

將5個淚滴狀慕斯模放置在烤盤上﹐在各個模中鋪放一片派片﹐再隨意的放一些酒漬櫻桃粒﹔備用。將拌軟的開心果糊倒進裝有圓形擠花嘴的擠袋中﹐先擠些開心果糊填滿模具至4分滿﹐用湯匙背推勻鋪平至模具邊緣﹐再在各個模中鋪放一片派片﹐輕輕壓一下釋放氣泡﹐再放些櫻桃粒﹐再擠入一層開心果糊至模具8分滿﹐推平﹐鋪上第三片派片﹐往下輕按﹐然後放入冰箱冷卻定形。

取出蛋糕﹐在派片表面塗抹一層微溫的杏果果醬﹐然後用手指將蛋糕往上推出脫模。在各個蛋糕上擺放2粒金黃櫻桃再放一片烤糖片即可﹐放冰箱冷藏存放。

A recent weekend trip to SoCal~

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:12:00 +0000

Over the past weekend, I went down to LA then hopped over to Las Vegas for a concert with a few friends. While we were down there, a friend who recently relocated to LA brought us out to this delicious (and pricy) Korean BBQ restaurant at the heart of Korean Town. According to some, it is the crème de la crème of Korean BBQ in the City of Angels.

This restaurant is spacious, bright and the ambiance is the polar opposite of other dim, packed, noisy, and smoke-filled Korean BBQ restaurants. High ceiling, spacious waiting area furnished with leather couch, an open bar, and a large outdoor patio fully equipped with tables with grills. It is definitely an up-scale version of normal Korean BBQ restaurants.

Our friend who is Korean said this is as authentic as it gets to the BBQ from Seoul. As that being said, we let him do the ordering. Since beef is what this place is famous for, we ended up ordering just that. We had seng galbee gui; house special short rib cubes without marinade, ross gui; thin slices of choice beef without marinade, served with salt and sesame oil, and seafood pancakes. Melt in your mouth beefs; just exceptional. He must of order 10 people servings because we only finished half and he had to doggie bag the rest!

After dinner, he took us to the Coffee House Heyri couple blocks away. According to him, this place thrived as the night gets darker. The café appears to be converted from a house with seating areas on the 1st floor, private rooms on the 2nd and an interesting outdoor patio. There are heat lamps and they supply you with blankets to keep you warm. The drinks are okay but not the best; however, the ambiance is what makes me recommend this place to you. Overall, it is a good place to relax and catch up with friends. Gees, I kind of miss LA now.....

Shop data:
Chosun Galbee Korean Barbeque Restaurant
3330 W. Olympic Boulevard,
Los Angeles, California 90019
Tel (323)734-3330
http://www.chosungalbee.com/

Coffee House Heyri
755 S Hobart Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Tel (213) 389-6138
cafeheyri.com

My 1st pair of baby shoes ~ 阿Vi學做鞋

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:42:00 +0000

100% organically made in my sewing studio; a pair of baby shoes made for a friend's daughter - baby Charene (isn't this a beautiful name?). It is made of 100% cotton and linen with ultimate comfort in mind. I was aiming for a French country-inspired look. Do you think I have achieved it?

This was supposed to be done before Charene is born but I didn’t finish it after she celebrated her 100 days on earth. You see I was distracted by other projects – too many things on hand and too little time! It is better late than never - don’t you agree with me =)

Have a wonderful weekend! I sure will as I’ll be leaving town for a couple of days ^^

這是送給一個叫Charene的漂亮寶寶的禮物。衣服縫了不少﹐可這還是我這一次做的鞋子﹐而且還那麼迷你的呢﹗鞋子完成的那一剎﹐真的超有成就感的﹗鞋子走的是法式田園風﹐由100%純棉及亞麻布縫製而成﹐想說除了吸汗又舒服外也可以減低由布料引起的過敏。我還挺滿意這次的成品的﹐你覺得呢?

Chocolate Shortbread with Cacao Nibs, Pink Pepper & Fleur de Sel ~ 巧克力鹽之花胡椒奶油酥餅

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Many of you remind me that I should update my blog more regularly but I have been preoccupied with projects and things other than desserts lately. What have been keeping me busy? I have been working on the making of my summer wardrobe, practicing point de croix (cross-stitching), taking dance classes and putting together a friend’s wedding in August; not much but just enough to drain my energy and drag me away from the kitchen for now. Nevertheless, I did manage to squeeze an hour to bake this shortbread, something that has been on my to-bake list for a while. Adopted from a recipe by Elizabeth Falkner in The Essence of Chocolate, this chocolate shortbread is another favorite of mine since I discovered these matcha shortbreads.

I first baked these chocolate shortbreads to nibble on the drive to a friend’s wedding up in Lake Tahoe. Though friends are used to my pick of unusual flavor combinations in desserts & pastries, few were still surprised with this “salty” cookies. Most thought they were too rich and odd with a salty sweet flavor but a few thought the saltiness added a kick to the chocolaty cookie. As for me, these shortbreads are quite intriguing, the perfect balance of sweet and savory. They have an intensely rich buttery chocolate flavor, the sweetness of the chocolate pairs especially well with the mineral notes in fleur de sel sea salt. The fleur de sel and chocolate combination just enticing, seductive and simply brilliant! Bitterness, acidity, sweetness, astringency and saltiness are inherent to chocolate and fleur de sel sea salt brings out and enhances these spectacular dimensions of flavor in chocolate, emphasizing its aromatic and bittersweet note.

Again I baked these chocolate shortbreads this past weekend because I had a craving for it. However, I added another spice to the dough and that is ground pink peppers. It has a sweet, mild taste not pungent like the regular ripe pepper fruits, which I think further enhances the chocolate flavor. I think other spices like cumin, lavender would also work but take care not to add too much because you want to enhance (or balance) not overpower the chocolate flavor. Also, they are quite rich so enjoy them with a cup of good tea or serve with sorbet like I did - click here for the chocolate sorbet recipe ~

Chocolate Shortbread with Cacao Nibs, Pink Pepper & Fleur de Sel – yields 30
Adapted from Elizabeth Falkner’s recipe in The Essence of Chocolate

1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup + 2 tbsp cacao nibs, crushed with a rolling pin
½ tsp pink pepper, finely grinded
1 tsp fleur de sel sea salt
12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

I thought you should know:
- The dough can be refrigerated, well wrapped, for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 2 months.
- Make sure to press the cookie cutter hard into the dough to get a clean cut. Take care to keep the shape by shaking the cutter slightly before pushing out the dough.
- To preserve the crispiness, shortbreads must be completely cooled before being stored in an airtight container.

Combine flour and cocoa powder then sift the flour mixture into a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the cocoa nibs, sea salt and pink pepper. Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the vanilla extract then add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add in the remaining flour mixture, stopping as necessary to scrape down the bowl. Once incorporated, mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, or until well combined. Mix in the nibs + salt + pepper mixture and mix until evenly distributed.

On a lightly floured board or between two pieces of parchment paper, roll the dough into a square ¼ inch (7mm) thick. Cut into 1 by 2.5 inch (2.5cm by 6.5cm)rectangles or stamp out other desired shape using cookie cutters, and place on the prepared pans about 1 inch (2.5cm) apart.

Bake for 20 minutes. It is sometimes difficult to tell when these are done; however, one of the best indications is the smell of baked cookies in the air. When the cookies are nudged, they shouldn’t feel soft, but the bottoms should seem crisp.

Remove from the oven and transfer shortbreads to a cooling rack to cool completely. The shortbreads can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

不知是夏天的好天氣讓人變的懶散﹐還是少了嘗試新的甜點方子的動力﹐最近進廚房的次數五隻手指可以數的出來。走出廚房﹐阿Vi還是有忙不完的事。忙著做手工﹐忙著做夏天的衣服﹐忙著幫人做嫁衣﹐還有忙著籌備朋友八月的婚禮﹐生活過的頗充實的。

這道簡單的奶油酥餅是繼抹茶餅乾我最愛的小點心。在過去的五月往太浩湖參加朋友的destination婚禮時帶去跟朋友在車上分享﹐可評語是參差不齊。不喜歡它的朋友的評價是酥餅的口感太厚重﹐過於濃郁﹐不喜歡那偏鹹的風味。喜歡它的人卻愛它那淡淡的鹹味跟吃完之後的甘甜餘味。我個人是偏愛鹹酥中帶有淡淡的甜味的這種風味的﹐但也明白大眾普遍喜歡味道甜一點的。我覺得酥餅的味道有深度﹐出色之處在於用料上的組合。可可亞本身帶有甜味﹑苦味﹑酸味及它獨特的香氣﹐海鹽能凝聚及提引它的甜味﹐襯托出它的苦甘味﹐強調它的存在感﹐使它更加鮮明﹐帶出它獨有的風味。

對它的味道念念不忘﹐在剛過去的週末又再次烤了這個酥餅。聽說胡椒﹑鹽跟巧克力是充滿魅力的組合﹐所以加了粉紅胡椒來提味。品嘗酥餅時吃不到辛辣味﹐但巧克力味很濃郁﹗好像是粉紅胡椒辣味不強﹐但帶有獨特的香氣﹐能讓巧克力更出色鮮明的原因吧﹗如果你想嘗試搭配其它的香料﹐注意不要使用過量的香料﹐因為過量反而會干擾巧克力原有的香氣。不得不說口感是有點厚重﹐建議佐杯解膩的好茶又或是像我這樣佐杯巧克力雪酪享用 ~

巧克力鹽之花胡椒奶油酥餅 – 約30塊
食譜摘自The Essence of Chocolate

1杯麵粉
¾杯無糖可可粉
¼杯 + 2湯匙可可豆碎(桿壓成碎末)
½茶匙粉紅胡椒﹐ 磨碎
1茶匙鹽之花海鹽
12湯匙無盬奶油(室溫放軟﹐切丁)
½杯砂糖
1茶匙香草精

要注意什麼呢?
- 酥餅麵糰如果不立刻使用﹐用保鮮膜包好﹐再放冰箱存放約1個星期﹐若放冰格可存放2個月。
- 用餅乾模具吸出麵糰時一定要大力的按下出﹐左右搖晃幾下﹐這樣麵糰才會輕易的脫出。
- 酥餅烤好後一定要在鋼架放涼後存放﹐否則就不會有酥脆的口感。

將可可粉和麵粉混合拌勻後﹐篩過備用。將可可豆碎﹑鹽之花﹑磨碎的粉紅胡椒混合倒進另一個容器中﹐攪拌勻後備用。烤箱預熱至325°F/165°C。在餅乾烤盤上鋪上烤盤紙﹐備用。

將砂糖跟室溫放軟的奶油用電動攪拌器先以低速拌勻﹐改用中速打至蓬鬆且顏色變淡及一致﹐約5分鐘。加入香草精及二份一的可可麵粉﹐以低速拌勻後倒入剩下的可可麵粉﹐再以低速拌勻﹐然後轉中速攪拌2分鐘。將可可豆碎﹑鹽之花﹑胡椒混合物拌入麵糰中﹐用橡皮刀從底部往上翻起的方式切拌至完全混合。

將麵糰放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐揉成四方形條狀﹐再輕壓成1寸乘2 ½ 寸(2.5cm乘6.5cm)的長方形狀。將麵糰切成¼寸(7mm)的厚片或是將麵糰桿成約厚¼寸(7mm)後﹐再用餅乾模具吸出麵糰。以1寸/2.5cm之距排放在鋪了烤紙的烤盤上﹐放入烤箱烤20分鐘或是烤到酥餅變硬即可。取出﹐放網架上靜置放涼。酥餅放密閉式容器中可存放1個星期。

You know summer is knocking on your door when.....

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:35:00 +0000

...you see lots of luscious succulent stoned fruits

....you drink lots of iced tea

...and flowers in full bloom

fresh cut hydrangeas from my garden

fresh cut roses from my garden

Happy Monday and have a wonderful week!

Mad about strawberries - Macarons à la fraise ~ 吃草莓之馬卡龍﹑果醬﹑甘納許

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Sun, 17 May 2009 08:21:00 +0000

Every Spring I pick up these Sequoia June-bearing strawberry plants from a local nursery. The reason that kept me returning every spring is because this variety produces bountiful, luscious and juicy fruits that are exceptionally sweet, aromatic, which just perfect for making dessert and jam. Normally, they bear fruit in June over a period of just a few weeks into mid July but this year, I found some of the plants already bearing fruits and this give the perfect reason to bust out my long list of must-try fruit recipes^^

The first thing that came across my mind was making jam, a first for me. I found a tempting recipe in Mes Confitures, a book which many claimed is the bible of jam making. The author of this book is Christine Ferber, whom people in France and food lovers all over the world refer to as the fairy godmother of jams and jellies. She has been known to use only the best, freshest, seasonal fruits and ingredients from local farmers and that she produces only small batches at a time by hand in her small boulangerie-pâtisserie, Au Relais des Trois Epis in Niedermorschwihr in Alsace, France. I have not come across any of her confitures at my local markets or specialty stores but I am already won over by the interesting flavor combinations presented in this book: wild blueberry + pinot noir + licorice, white peach + lemon verbena, black cherry + eucalyptus honey + fresh mint and that just to name a few! I picked out the seemingly easy recipe to start with - strawberry with black pepper & fresh mint. The recipe called for 2 pounds plus strawberries but unfortunately, this early harvest didn’t produce enough strawberries and I had to buy some. So you ask the taste of this jam? Très délicieux!! I must admit that it is an elevation from the really good strawberry jam I buy from A.G. Ferrari. I wonder if it is the recipe or just because I made it ;p

Macarons à la fraise or strawberry macaron is next up on my must-try fruit recipes. I just love these dainty little jewels! After looking through all my books on macaron, I found that strawberry macarons are actually vanilla macarons with red coloring paired with either strawberry jam or strawberry buttercream!! I always thought the macaron was flavored with strawberry! Well, I just learn something new. So for this recipe, I have added dehydrated strawberry powder that I got from this wonderful store to the batter to make real strawberry flavor macarons. As for the filling, I tried a new recipe – white chocolate ganache with a hint of strawberry flavor. To do so, I infused the cream with sweet and fragrant strawberry tea leaves overnight. I also paired the macarons with the jam for variation. For an intense burst of strawberry flavor, pair both the ganache and jam with the macarons!

Macarons à la fraise – yield about 30 sandwiches

Italian meringue method
55g egg white
150g caster sugar
40g water

Tant pour tant
150g almond flour
150g powdered sugar
10g dehydrated strawberry powder
55g egg white
1 drop red food coloring
Some chopped raw almonds

Prep:
- On the back side of 2 parchment papers, trace 3cm/1 ¼in circles about 3cm/1 ¼in apart. Flip them over and line the baking sheets.
- Prepare 2 sheets of foil the size of the baking sheets.

I thought you should know:
- Must let the piped cookies sit out until dry to touch before baking to prevent them from cracking during baking.
- Press the piping tip on the baking sheet when piping for uniformly shaped macarons. Do not suspend the tip in the air!
- It is best to consume the macarons within 3 days as it loses its moisture and becomes dry fast.

Sift together almond flour, strawberry powder, and powdered sugar twice then place the mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add 55g egg white to the flour mixture and stir until it forms into a sticky ball, set aside.

Heat water and caster sugar over medium heat until it thickens and register at 230°F/116°C on a candy thermometer. While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg white at high speed in the bowl of a mixer using the whisk attachment; whisk until pale and foamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl, being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden! Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until it becomes thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch, about 5 minutes. When you lift the meringue with the whisk, it should form into a stiff peak. Dilute a drop of red food coloring with a tablespoon of water, adding a little by little to the meringue until it reaches the desired pink hue, fold until incorporated.

With a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the almond/sugar/strawberry flour mix to the meringue, fold until incorporated then fold in the remaining flour mix and fold until completely incorporated. Now it is ready for the macaronnage process.

With the rubber spatula, scoop and spread the batter, in a full circle, on the inside wall of the mixing bowl. Repeat this scoop & spread process, for a total of 15 times. Lift some batter with the spatula, it should falls into the bowl in a ribbon fashion, and should look glossy.

Pour the batter into a piping bag with a small round tip and pipe the batter from the center of the drawn circle onto the baking sheets. Pipe about 60 circles. Sprinkle some chopped raw almonds over piped circles. Let dry at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking to allow skins to form. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F/220°C, with racks in upper and lower thirds.

When the batter is dry to the touch, place into the preheated oven and bake for 2 minutes, then quickly turn it down to 300°F/150°C, bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets (upper and lower racks), cover the sheets with foil, and continue to bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to cool on the cooling rack. Once cooled, slide a knife (fragile, must be careful) underneath the macarons to remove from the parchment paper.

Assemble cookies:
Pair 2 macarons of similar size, pipe about 1 teaspoon of the ganache filling or spoon 1 teaspoon of jam or both onto the flat side of one of the macarons then sandwich them. Let them set in room temperature or refrigerate to set. Make about 30 sandwiches. If refrigerate, let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours to soften before eating.

Ganache chocolat blanc à l'infusion de thé à la fraise
(White Chocolate Ganache flavored with Strawberry Tea)

150g quality white chocolate
150g heavy whipping cream
1tsp loose strawberry tea leaves

The night before, add the tea leaves to the whipping cream and let infuse overnight in the refrigerator.

Strained the tea mixture and discard the solid. Bring the whipping cream to just a boil over medium heat and pour it over the chopped white chocolate. Let seat for 1 minute before stirring the hot mixture with a rubber spatula until completely melted and has a satiny look. It is ready to pipe when it registers 70°F/35°C on the candy thermometer.

Strawberry with Black Pepper & Fresh Mint Jam
Adopted from Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber

2 ½lbs strawberries
1 ¾cup granulated sugar
Juice of 1 small lemon
5 fresh mint leaves
5 black peppercorns, freshly ground

Day 1
Rinse the strawberries under cold water then dry with a towel and hull them. Let the strawberries macerate with the lemon juice and the sugar in a ceramic bowl covered with a piece of parchment paper overnight in the refrigerator.

Day 2
Bring the preparation to a simmer over medium-high heat in a preserving pan. Pour it back into the ceramic bowl, cover with a piece of parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.

Day 3
Sterilize the jam jars by putting them in boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, drain, then dry with paper towel.

Pour the preparation into a sieve. Bring the collected syrup to a boil in a preserving pan, skim and continue cooking on high heat. When the syrup appear concentrated and register at 221°F/105°C on the candy thermometer, add the half cooked strawberries from the sieve, fresh mint and pepper; return it to high heat. Skim and bring back to a boil for about 5 minutes, stirring gently. The strawberries will now be translucent, remove from heat then quickly spoon the jam into prepared jars to almost full, lightly tap them to release air bubbles and seal. Flip the jars upside down and let cool completely. Store in a cool, dry place, and out of light.

每年的春天我都會在家附近的花圃買入Sequoia June-bearing品種的草莓苗回家種植。這品種所培植出來的草莓不僅色澤紅亮﹐滋味豐腴甜美﹐更有著迷人的甜蜜果香﹐非常討喜。樣子紅灩灩的又精緻剔透﹐還有著清甜柔軟的口感﹐無論是製作甜點﹑果醬又或是裝飾蛋糕都是不二之選。本來每年六月到七月間才是收成的季節﹐可今年五月中就有少部分的草莓已經結果了。也好﹐終於有了藉口好好清一清我那必試水果甜點食譜清單的機會。

最先在我腦中閃過的就是很早就被列在必試清單上的草莓果醬。這還是生平第一次嘗試做手工果醬哩﹐所以定必找個很棒的食譜才行﹐而我在被稱為果醬聖典的Mes Confitures 一書中找到了。這是在法國無人不知﹐被美食圈中人稱為果醬教母的Christine Ferber所出版的果醬食譜書。她之所以被稱果醬教母﹐原因在於她的果醬及果凍配方獨特﹐又採用當地各種優質上選時令水果﹑花朵﹑香料﹑蜂蜜﹑酒等食材加上繁複的手工製作過程熬煮而成。值得一提的是不同於其他的名廚﹐她沒有華麗的店面或包裝﹐她的店只有一家﹐就是當年太祖父開在法國阿爾薩斯鄉間的Au Relais des Trois Epis甜點店。舖子很小﹐但所推出的各款果醬卻是名聞全球擁有很多星級粉絲像法國料理教父Alain Ducasse﹑甜點界的畢加索Pierre Hermé等。雖然我還沒有那個福分吃到她的果醬(好像美國沒有售賣的說)﹐以她書中果醬的配方涵藏著的無限的可能性及精彩度﹐也足以令我臣服了。我所選擇的配方是書中比較簡單操作的了﹐堪稱草莓果醬變奏版。配方需要2磅多的草莓﹐比採收到的數量多﹐只好向超市購買填補了。吼~~~~加了黑胡椒跟新鮮薄菏熬煮的草莓果醬﹐味道質地口感比我從A.G. Ferrari花$8USD買的好許多。味道濃郁﹐果香襲人又隱約嘗到薄菏的香氣﹐都不知該如何形容才好了﹐我想還是你自己嘗味才行﹗

另一個清單上必試的水果食譜就是草莓風味的馬卡龍。翻過家裡所有和製作馬卡龍有關的書籍﹐居然記載的草莓馬卡龍配方都是香草馬卡龍加色素的做法﹐原來所謂的草莓馬卡龍根本只是指它的草莓餡心吧了﹗為了做出有著草莓香氣及味道的馬卡龍﹐在L’ Epicerie買來乾燥處理過的濃縮草莓粉來實驗。呵呵。。。這次烤的馬卡龍折損率偏低﹐我好像捉到竅門了﹗至於餡心﹐嘗試了新的配方﹐就是添加了草莓花茶的白巧克力甘納許﹐讓人吃的滿嘴是優雅迷人草莓奶香﹗為了讓草莓風味更濃郁突出﹐我將有著不同口感的草莓果醬跟甘納許一同作為餡心﹐組合成名符其實的草莓馬卡龍 =)

草莓風味馬卡龍 - 30個

義式蛋白霜
55g 蛋白
150g 細砂糖
40g 水

Tant pour tant
150g 杏仁粉
150g 糖粉
10g 草莓粉
55g 蛋白
1滴紅色食用色素
裝飾用切碎的生杏仁隨意

事前準備:
- 準備兩張烤纸﹐然後在每一張的反面畫上直徑3cm/1¼in間隔3cm/1¼in的小圓圈。鋪在烤盤上。
- 準備兩張相等於烤盤大小的鋁箔紙﹐備用。

要注意什麼呢?
- 擠出麵糊後要放置到表面乾燥為止才可進烤箱。
- 擠麵糊時先固定一個點再擠出是要訣。
- 馬卡龍不宜放置太久﹐否著就會失去濕潤的口感﹐最好在3天內吃完喔~

混合草莓粉、杏仁粉、糖粉﹐過篩2次後倒進一個大的拌碗中。將55g的蛋白倒進粉中﹐用橡皮刀確實攪拌勻成膏狀後靜置備用。

把水和細砂糖混合倒進小鍋中﹐以中火熬煮至出現黏稠狀﹐糖果溫度計達到230°F/116°C或用手指沾黏(非常燙喔﹗)會牽出糖絲的程度即可。在煮糖漿的同時﹐將55的蛋白用電動打蛋器以高速打發至起泡但還沒出現尖角的程度。轉低速繼續仔細打發﹐然後邊打發邊細絲般的慢慢地注入滾燙的糖漿(千萬不要攪拌糖漿不然會結晶)，完全注入糖漿後轉中速繼續打發﹐直到冷卻出現結實尖角的程度至光滑立體狀態為止﹐約5分鐘。將1滴紅色食用色素用1湯匙的水拌稀﹐再一點點的拌入蛋白霜中至達到理想的顏色為止。

將3分1的草莓杏仁粉拌入蛋白霜中﹐用橡皮刀從底部往上翻起的方式拌勻﹐再分兩次加入剩餘的草莓杏仁粉﹐拌勻後進行macaronnage程序。Macaronnage即是將麵糊從底部往上翻起再往拌碗的內壁壓推勻15次至表面紋理細緻且有光澤的麵糊為止。

將麵糊倒進擠花袋中﹐在先前畫了圓圈的烤盤紙上以小口徑的圓形擠花嘴擠出圓形的麵糊。先固定一個點﹐再從上方擠出比直徑3cm稍小的圓形。總共擠出60個﹐然後將切碎的生杏仁粒撒在麵糊上。放置30分鐘讓表面乾燥﹐用手摸不沾黏即可。放置的同時預熱烤箱至400°F/200°C。

待表面形成薄膜後用400°F/200°C烘烤2分鐘﹐然後迅速降溫到300°F/150°C繼續烘烤5分鐘。迅速取出烤盤各自覆上包裝鋁箔紙﹐放回烤箱時將烤盤調換 (上下烤架) 好讓馬卡龍烤的均勻﹐再烘烤7分鐘﹐取出﹐放網架上靜置放涼後用抹刀取下﹐備用。

組合馬卡龍:
在半數的馬卡龍平面上擠出約1茶匙的夾心﹐再蓋上另一半的馬卡龍。做成30個。可放室溫或冰箱至餡心凝固。

草莓風味白巧克力甘納許餡心

150g 白巧克力﹐切碎
150g 鮮奶油
1茶匙草莓花茶葉

鮮奶油與茶葉混合，放進冰箱冷藏泡浸一個晚上。

白巧克力切碎後﹐放進一個耐熱的碗裡。將奶漿從冰箱取出﹐過濾後倒進小鍋﹐開中火煮至剛沸騰後熄火。將滾燙的奶漿注入切碎的白巧克力中﹐靜置1分鐘﹐然後用橡皮刀攪拌至完全融化順滑的狀態為止。放涼至70°F/35°C﹐這是擠花的適當軟硬度。

草莓+黑胡椒+薄菏手工果醬
食譜源自果醬女主廚 Christine Ferber的Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber

2 ½磅草莓
1 ¾杯砂糖
1個小檸檬﹐榨汁
5片新鮮薄菏葉
5粒黑胡椒粒﹐磨碎

第1天
把草莓洗乾淨﹐抹乾﹐去蒂。將草莓﹑檸檬汁﹑砂糖混合倒進陶瓷碗內﹐全體充份拌勻後蓋上烘培紙﹐放進冰箱糖漬浸軟一個晚上。

第2天
將浸軟的草莓和汁倒入銅鍋中﹐開強力中火熬煮﹐不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至沸騰後離火。倒回陶瓷碗內﹐蓋上烘培紙﹐放進冰箱浸泡一個晚上。

第3天
將果醬罐子消毒: 燒開一鍋水﹐然後將果醬罐子放進滾燙的水中煮3分鐘﹐取出﹐用紙巾抹乾備用。

將網篩架在一個有深度的大碗上﹐將草莓倒進網篩中過濾﹐撈起草莓﹐僅加熱糖漿。將糖漿倒入銅鍋中﹐開強力中火熬煮﹐不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至變稠(約221°F/105°C) ﹐此時才將草莓﹑薄菏﹑胡椒加進糖漿中一同熬煮。不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至沸騰後﹐繼續煮5分鐘至草莓呈現剔透模樣為止﹐離火。將熱騰騰的果醬舀入罐子內直到罐口處﹐將罐子輕輕敲一下去除氣泡﹐緊栓住瓶蓋後倒立放置冷卻。將果醬放日光無法直射的陰涼處存放。

Vanilla Mascarpone Coeur à la Crème with Edible Flowers and Fruit Sauces ~ 法式香草軟乳酪心佐雙色果醬

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Though coeur à la crème (cream heart) has long been a part of the classical French repertoire; it is far from being haute dessert like most French desserts. It is so simple to make that it debunks the myth that French desserts are, without exception, complex and difficult. How simple? One can make this dessert in less than 30 minutes (chill time not included)!!

As I learnt, traditionally, this dessert is made from unsweetened soft white cheese set into porcelain heart-shaped molds with perforated bases for the whey to drain and firm up overnight. They are then unmolded and served with cream poured all over and with a generous amount of sugar sprinkled all over.

My version of this much loved classic French dessert is an adoption of Christine Manfield’s version found in this book. She made hers using a combination of mascarpone cheese, cream cheese and yogurt instead of the traditional unsweetened soft white cheese. She stated that this combination has a more complex, sharp and interesting flavor than the traditional version. Btw, she used homemade mascarpone in this recipe but of course, you can substitute with the store brought kind. If you are not in favor of her combination, try replacing the mascarpone with cottage cheese, ricotta, or crème fraîche and it may yield a different and intrigue texture and flavor. I have never had this dessert before so I don’t know how it suppose to taste like but I am leaning more to CM, where she served them with fresh berries and fruit sauce instead of the traditional way.

The dessert was just as delicious as CM promised. It has an extremely smooth and airy texture and the sweet-tangy sauces works in heady harmony with this creamy dessert and helped on cutting down on the creaminess giving it a perfect balance. It is absolutely scrumptious!

I hope that you’ll give this a try. Please don’t be put off from making this sophisticated tasting dessert if only because you can’t find these traditional porcelain molds. You can make this dessert with any mold, as long as it has draining ability. If you have none of such molds then just simply wrap the cream mixture in muslin, making them a more free form affair. As for me, I got these traditional porcelain molds from sur la table just in case you’re interested =)

Vanilla Mascarpone Cream Heart with Edible Flowers and Fruit Sauces – makes 6
150g vanilla mascarpone
100g cream cheese
125g caster sugar
250ml heavy whipping cream
125g plain yogurt
Some edible flowers such as pansies and nasturtiums
Some raspberry sauce
Some mango sauce
Some roasted pistachio, coarsely chopped

Blend the vanilla mascarpone, cream cheese, and caster sugar in a food processor until smooth; occasionally scrape the side of the bowls to ensure the mixture is evenly distributed, about 3 minutes. Add the plain yogurt and cream and blend until incorporated.

Line 6 porcelain heart-shaped molds with perforated base with a layer of wet muslin, press the muslin onto the walls then arrange 1 to 2 edible flowers in each mold. Spoon the cream mixture into the molds until full and even; lightly tap them on the counter to release air bubbles. Place a wire rack inside a sheet pan then place all the molds on the rack and cover with plastic food wrap then let set in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours before serving.

Lift the cream heart out of the molds by lifting on the muslin, invert them onto the center of the serving plates then carefully remove the muslin. Spoon some fruit sauce onto the plates, sprinkle some toasted pistachio if you fancy and serve immediately.

Vanilla Mascarpone – makes 700g
If you want to make plain mascarpone, simply just omit the use of vanilla bean.

2 limes
1000ml whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1tsp scant citric acid or strained fresh lemon juice

Zest and juice the limes. Bring the zest, cream and vanilla bean to a vigorous boil over medium heat; continue to boil until the cream separated, about 5 minute, add the lime juice and citric acid or lemon juice and bring it back to a boil. Let cream mixture simmer for a minute then remove from heat.

Line a mesh sieve with a piece of muslin then pour the hot cream through the sieve into a bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and leave the cream to set; about 5 hours.

Position a mesh sieve lined with 2 layers of muslin over a large bowl. Remove the set cream from the refrigerator and pour it into the sieve. Cover the sieve and bowl with plastic food wrap, put it back into the refrigerator to let drain allowing the whey to separate from the curd for 24 hours.

Discard the whey and scoop the curd into an airtight container and let refrigerate until ready to use. The mascarpone will keep for a week.

Raspberry or Mango Sauce - makes 300ml
500g raspberries or mangoes
100ml sugar syrup
25ml strained fresh lemon juice

Make the sugar syrup: bring equal amounts of sugar and water to a boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool before use.

Puree the raspberries or mangoes, with the sugar syrup and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Pass the puree through a fine-meshed sieve and discard the solids.

The sauce can be stored in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days before the puree separates from the syrup.

在這個被譽為世界甜點之都﹐於美食甜點文化上足以傲視群倫的法國，甜點的複雜鋪陳度﹑精緻度、多樣化、與細膩考究程度都是眾所週知的事實﹐可這道易操作卻美味無比的coeur à la crème甜點卻破解了以上所陳列的種種。比起那些需時1-2天製作的點心﹐這可以在30分鐘內就可完成的甜點是那麼的讓人驚訝及在意料外的事。

據說這道點心的正宗傳統做法是將一種軟的原味白乳酪用心形陶瓷模具盛著﹐靜置隔去多餘的水份凝固定型﹐再淋上鮮奶油加砂糖一起食用﹐簡單的享受新鮮的滋味。雖然很想嘗試這個簡單的做法﹐可我偏向較精緻的Christine Manfield’s版本。她起用的材料比較多元﹐味道上有別於正宗的風味。以馬斯卡朋﹑奶油乳酪﹑和原味優格的組合來取代原味白乳酪﹐據她說味道更豐富多元富層次﹐質地更細緻軟滑。不得不說她用自製的馬斯卡朋﹐相對的讓這道甜點更富挑戰性﹐當然市售的馬斯卡朋也可以。如果以上的組合不是你的那杯茶﹐可以嘗試用以下的軟白乳酪像美國的cottage cheese(農村乳酪?﹗)﹑ 意大利的瑞可達乳酪﹑又或是法國酸奶油乳酪crème fraîche等﹐我想味道也是值得期待的。因為從未吃過這道甜點﹐所以無法比較它的味道口感但我偏向CM提議的享用法﹐就是捨棄濃郁的鮮奶油加砂糖取佐解膩的酸味較重的新鮮漿果與果醬。

果然就如CM說﹐這道法式香草軟乳酪心的成品有著絕佳軟滑質地，並和各式酸味果醬交揉互映間取得完美的均衡與和諧﹐真的是一絕﹗希望你們不會錯過這麼美味的甜點喔﹗

法式香草軟乳酪心佐雙色果醬 – 6人份量
食譜源自Christine Manfield的Desserts

150g 香草馬斯卡朋
100g 奶油乳酪
125g 細砂糖
250ml 鮮奶油
125g 原味優格
適量食用花卉如紫羅蘭﹑金蓮花
適量覆盆子果漿
適量芒果果漿
適量烤開心果仁, 切碎

將香草馬斯卡朋﹑奶油乳酪﹑和細砂糖倒進食物調理機中打至順滑﹐約3分鐘。加進鮮奶油和原味優格﹐攪打至均勻融合備用。

在6個底部穿孔的心形陶瓷模具裡鋪上一層濕的紗布﹐按壓出氣泡讓紗布完全貼服﹐然後再隨意的擺放1~2朵食用花卉(花瓣朝下黏著紗布)。將乳酪糊舀進模具中至滿﹐用湯匙背推平﹐再輕輕敲一下模具釋放氣泡。將一個網架擺放在蛋糕卷專用模具裡﹐再將模具放在網架上蓋上食物保鮮膜後放冰箱靜置凝固最少8個小時隔掉水份。

取出﹐兩手拉著紗布往上提脫模﹐將香草乳酪心翻轉倒扣在碟子中心﹐再慢慢撕掉紗布。分別淋上喜歡的果醬﹐也可以撒些開心果仁碎一起食用。

關於這個底部穿孔的心形陶瓷模具: 若你人在北美﹐這模具在sur la table有售。就算沒有做這道點心的模具也沒關係﹐任何一種有洞可去水份的模具和容器也行﹐就算沒有也可簡單的用紗布裹著。

香草馬斯卡朋 – 約700g
要是想做原味的﹐不加香草荳即可。

2個青檸檬
1000ml 鮮奶油
1條香草荳﹐開半刮籽
1茶匙煮融化的食用檸檬酸或檸檬汁

將一片紗布鋪進網篩備用。將青檸檬取茸榨汁。

將青檸檬茸﹑鮮奶油和香草荳跟籽一同倒進小鍋裡﹐以中火煮至沸騰後繼續煮5分鐘至奶漿出現分離的跡象時加進青檸檬汁跟檸檬酸(或檸檬汁)﹐再煮至沸騰後離火﹐約1分鐘。將奶漿倒進鋪了紗布的網篩中過濾﹐然後放冰箱冷藏最少5個小時以上至完全凝固。

網篩中鋪進兩層的紗布再架在一個有深度的大碗上。將已凝固成乳酪狀的奶糊倒進網篩中﹐蓋上食物保鮮膜後放冰箱靜置24小時慢慢隔掉水份即成馬斯卡朋乳酪。將乳酪舀取進密閉容器中﹐放冰箱存放可保存約1個星期。

覆盆子﹑芒果果醬 – 約300ml

500g 覆盆子或芒果
100ml 糖漿
25ml 檸檬汁﹐濾過

製作糖漿: 將同等份量的砂糖跟水(各1杯)倒進小鍋﹐以中火煮至融化沸騰後再煮15分鐘即可﹐放涼即可。

將覆盆子或芒果﹑檸檬汁和糖漿一同倒進食物調理機中﹐攪打成泥状﹐然後用網篩濾過﹐倒進密閉容器中﹐放冰箱可存放約3天。

I FELT for the love of sweets ~ 朝著手作達人之路邁進

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:40:00 +0000

I love Japanese craft books – the cutesy styling, the clear step by step photo instruction, unique projects, the pattern booklet that comes with the book (not always), and the beautiful photos - no wonder these books are so celebrated!

Lately, I am have been bitten by the craft bug and am obsess with making pastries with felt fabric! Though it is tedious work but the end result is so rewarding! It is just the cutest plus it makes great present too! Now, I can ship my “pastries” worldwide =)

不得不說我非常喜歡日本的手作雜貨書。除了照片漂亮﹐作品出色可愛い外﹐做法清楚易明﹐又附有剪裁圖樣﹐難怪它們那麼受手作達人的歡迎﹗看到她及她的手作﹐忍不住也要湊熱鬧變身手作達人。最近除了刺繡就最哈不織布藝。在Michael’s買的不織布方塊色彩鮮艷﹐價錢便宜﹐又用途廣泛﹐非常好用喔。而用不織布製作出的各種蛋糕點心更是有趣又漂亮。雖然縫製的過程花時間，但看到美美的成品時，就會有一股滿足的開心。最重要的是現在我可以將蛋糕寄給遠方的朋友﹐他們總是抱怨說不知何時才能品嘗到我的甜點。雖然蛋糕不能吃﹐可是所費的時間及心血是同等的 =) 你看﹐是不是很精緻呀?

Have you ever wonder what you can do with scrapes of fabrics? I like to use them to make pincushions! As for materials for pincushion, possibilities are endless! I made them out of mini jam jar, bottle cap, cork, small glass and etc. Aren’t these lovely?

我有收集縫製衣服剩下的碎布的習慣。這些碎布的用途很多﹐只需利用基本的縫法、繡法，又或配不同的布料，就可製作出很多獨特的生活小物。我最喜歡利用這些布料做針包﹐而做針包的素材可多囉 - 迷你果醬罐﹐瓶蓋﹐杯子﹐總之差不多中空的容器都行。這些有夠可愛是不?

Beside bitten by the craft bug, I also caught the vintage fever. I have been roaming Antique stores and found many great things. Other than picking up bakewares and silvers, I can’t help myself from purchasing vintage wooden spools, laces, linen, buttons, and the list goes on. I have been eyeing this cute Victorian era sewing machine and am just looking for reasons to justify the splurge ^^

我有說過我很愛往古董店挖寶嗎? 挖到很多好東西說。最得意是找到很多古董烤模﹐蕾絲﹐食用銀器﹐及造型獨特的茶杯等。除了這些﹐我還忍不住狂買古董木制的線軸﹐喜歡充滿懷舊風的小東西﹐覺得很有味道。而最近看上了一台出自維多利亞年代的縫紉機﹐現在很努力的在說服自己敗下去。。。真的好想要。。。

Something Chocolaty for Easter ~ 復活節獻禮: 讓我著迷懷念的味道...

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:10:00 +0000

My friend Caroline brought me a chocolate cupcake with fleur de sel ganache from Kara’s Cupcakes a while back and that little handcrafted cupcake has made such a lasting impression that it sent me on a hunt for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe! Numerous trials and pounds of Valrhona chocolate and cans of cocoa powder later, I am please to tell you that I found it in this glorious book! These cupcakes are nothing short of richness and so addictive with the tense chocolate flavor, fluffy texture, almost ganache like center and best eaten when they are still warm.

Giving thoughts that Easter Sunday is around the corner, I want to dress them up and give to friends who celebrate this holiday. I like the chocolate and salted caramel combo since this so I made some caramel as the filling then topped with ganache glaze and garnish with truffle eggs. Making truffle egg is a first for me, something I have been anticipated to give a try since it was published in Martha Stewat’s Living magazine a while back! I used a different truffle flavoring though I followed her coating instruction. It was fun but also messy at the same time; take care not to stain your hands with the food coloring like I did.

Btw, giving a little more thought on decorating, these splendid little cakes will be ideal for afternoon tea with girl friends, as an elegant dessert at dinner party and would make a magnificent birthday cake too! I have been baking batches of them since I discovered the recipe and I am sure you’ll be the same^^

Espresso Truffle Eggs
Makes 30 eggs

100g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
5g espresso bean, finely grinded
50ml heavy cream
1tbsp Myer’s rum

For the coating:
300g white chocolate, finely chopped
3 – 4drops Sky-blue gel-paste food coloring

Place the bittersweet chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to just simmer over medium heat; remove from heat. Pour it over the bittersweet chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir until smooth. Stir in the espresso bean, and let cool to touch then stir in the rum. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until very cold and set but still pliable, about 1 hour.

Using a demi spoon, scoop balls of ganache, transferring them to a jellyroll pan lined with parchment paper; refrigerate for 10 minutes. Using your hands, roll each ball into an egg shape. Place in freezer until very firm, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, put the white chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth; remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm then add a few drops of food coloring, and swirl lightly with a toothpick.

Dip the eggs in swirled chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. As you work, transfer eggs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Truffles can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from The Essence of Chocolate recipe by Stephanie Hersh

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup quality unsweetened cocoa powder
10 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature, diced
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 large egg
¾ cup whole milk

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line 12 muffin cups (3/4-cup capacity) with paper liners.

Stir together the flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl, and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until pale, light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.

Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately in two batches each, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Continue mixing until the batter is a uniform color.

Pour the batter into a pastry bag without a tip; snip the tip once the bag is filled. Pipe the batter into the muffin cups about two-thirds full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the cupcake spring back slightly when pressed in the center.

Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack, then remove and allow to cool completely on the rack.

Assemble:
Using a chef's knife, scrape milk chocolate bar at a 90-degree angle, forming enough fine shavings to measure ½ cup; set aside.

Spoon a teaspoon of salted caramel sauce into the center of the cupcakes. Place the cupcakes on a cooling rack then set it over a jelly roll pan. Spoon a spoonful of chocolate ganache glaze over each cake; letting some drip down the sides then using the ganache as the adhesive, build a wall of wood grain chocolate decoration round the cakes. Form a nest with chocolate shavings on top, and fill with truffle eggs.

自從朋友請我吃過Kara’s Cupcakes 的鹽之花甘那許巧克力杯子蛋糕後﹐我就對那個充滿濃濃巧克力香氣及濃郁濕潤的口感的點心著迷不已念念不忘至踏上狩獵終極巧克力杯子蛋糕食譜之路。無數的試驗又耗掉不少Valrhona巧克力及可可粉後﹐終於在這本書中找到了﹗剛烤好時還是軟心的﹐表面形成一層脆脆硬薄膜﹐好吃到不行﹐一氣吃多個也不膩。超濃郁但沒有厚重的口感﹐是記憶中懷念的味道。

過兩天是復活節﹐為了配合節日送給朋友應節決定好好的給它們裝扮一下。自從吃過這個﹐發現焦糖跟巧克力實在是絕配﹐決定在蛋糕中心抹上自製的焦糖醬。焦糖醬因加入鹽之花調味所以帶有淡淡的鹹味至讓巧克力更富存在感。為了讓巧克力更濃郁(沒辦法﹐我是巧克力狂迷)﹐再淋上甘那許鏡面。說到復活節又怎麼可以沒有蛋呢? 很久前Martha Stewart的Living雜誌刊登過松露蛋的做法﹐覺的很有趣﹐很想嘗試所以決定做這個作為裝飾。製作過程很好玩不過要小心處理食用色素﹐不要沾到喔~

這個杯子蛋糕要是裝飾成不同的風格還可以配合不同主題的party哦﹗大家不妨發揮你的想像力製作出屬於你的風格的杯子蛋糕造型~

咖啡巧克力松露蛋
約30顆

100g 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
5g 咖啡豆, 摩碎
50ml 鮮奶油
1湯匙蘭姆酒
300g 白巧克力﹐切碎
數滴天空藍食用色素

蛋糕卷烤盤中鋪上烤纸﹐備用。將巧克力切碎﹐倒進耐熱容器中備用。鮮奶油倒進鍋子裡用中火加熱煮至剛沸騰後離火。將熱奶漿注入切碎的巧克力中﹐輕輕搖幾下鍋子﹐好讓熱奶漿覆蓋巧克力碎塊﹐讓靜置2分鐘﹐然後用橡皮刀攪拌均勻至順滑看不見碎粒即可。拌進摩碎的咖啡豆﹐攪拌勻﹐靜置放涼至微溫後拌入蘭姆酒。蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固約60分鐘。

取出﹐用小匙舀取出甘那許球﹐小心倒在鋪了烤纸的蛋糕卷烤盤上﹐放進冰箱冷藏10分鐘。取出﹐用手將甘那許球揉成橢圓形﹐放冰庫冷藏60分鐘成形。

將切碎的白巧克力倒進耐熱容器中隔熱水加熱融化。用橡皮刀攪拌均勻至順滑看不見碎粒後離火。待降溫至微溫時﹐滴數滴食用色素在巧克力中﹐用牙籤拉出大理花紋。從冰箱取出巧克力蛋﹐分數次倒進巧克力漿中﹐用製作巧克力專用叉子將巧克力蛋取出﹐在碗邊輕輕敲一下去掉多餘的巧克力漿後放在鋪了烤纸的蛋糕卷烤盤上﹐再放冰箱定形﹐約60分鐘即成。

松露蛋用密閉容器包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存2個星期。

極濃巧克力杯子蛋糕
12個

1杯麵粉
½杯無糖可可粉 (品質越好﹐成品約出色)
10湯匙室溫無鹽奶油﹐切丁
½杯黑糖
½茶匙蘇打粉
1/8茶匙發粉/泡打粉
1/8茶匙鹽巴
1顆大的雞蛋
¾杯全脂奶

事前準備:
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至350°F/175°C。
- 在12杯份量馬芬烤盤鋪入紙模﹐備用。

將麵粉跟可可粉混合拌勻備用。混合無鹽奶油﹑黑糖﹑蘇打粉﹑發粉和鹽巴﹐然後用電動攪拌器以中速攪打至富含空氣且顏色變淡成乳霜狀為止﹐約5分鐘。加入蛋﹐攪打均勻後﹐再交替地分數次加入可可麵粉跟牛奶﹐充分攪打均勻。

將麵糊倒進擠花袋中﹐剪去一角﹐將麵糊擠入烤模中至約8分滿﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後放進預熱過的烤模裡﹐烘烤約15 - 20分鐘。當用手指按蛋糕的中心時回彈時﹐就烤好了。從烤箱取出﹐擺在網架上放涼10分鐘﹐然後脫模整個放涼。

將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天﹐使用前靜置回溫即可。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:
用小刀在牛奶巧克力磚刮出約1/2杯巧克力屑﹔備用。舀取1小匙焦糖醬﹐抹在蛋糕中心。待所有的蛋糕都抹上焦糖醬後﹐將蛋糕排放在網架上再擺放在蛋糕卷烤盤裡。舀取一大匙微溫的巧克力甘那許醬﹐淋在蛋糕上﹐任它溢滿源周邊流下﹐將烤盤提起輕敲一下會幫助甘那許平均攤開。甘那許降溫的快﹐這時動作要迅速。將切成不停形狀的木紋圖案巧克力裝飾貼在蛋糕的側面整個包覆起來。最後用小匙將巧克力屑在蛋糕上描畫出鳥巢狀﹐再擺1顆松露蛋在鳥巢中即成。

Birthday Treat - Napa Valley Wine Train ~ 生日禮物之納帕谷品酒列車

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:38:00 +0000

During my birthday week, my group of girl friends brought me up to Napa Valley to celebrate my twenty-something years old birthday. I have requested a picnic but they have made reservations for the Napa Valley Wine Train – something that we have wanted to do for years! I was really excited about the trip!

We took off at the break of dawn and drove to Oxbow to board the train. It was too early when we got there so we wandered off to the shops adjacent to the station. We decided to kill time at the Oxbow Public Market before boarding. While the girls were chatting away, I was snapping pictures everywhere I brought myself to. Can you tell I am obsessed of taking pictures of marketplace?! I also did some shopping. I got myself some hibiscus salt and powder from Whole Spice for baking.

These girls brought me to Napa =)

Ellen the event coordinator & me =)

We walked back to the station and checked in then we were told to find a seat because we are about to do some wine tasting before boarding the train. Shortly after we had a glass each of white and red wine and a wine tasting lesson (included with the tickets), we boarded the 3 hours train ride.

The lounge cars are luxuriously furnished and equipped with picture windows to maximize the view. All the rail cars are expertly finished with Honduran mahogany paneling, etched glass partitions, brass accents and original artwork by Nepo. We were told by our server that we are free to explore the train like the kitchen car to see the chefs in action or the wine tasting car. None of us were much of a drinker so we didn’t do wine tasting on board. We had cocktail though =)

We were first served appetizers in the lounge car while heading to St. Helena then we moved to the dinning car for our gourmet lunch on the return trip. The meals are freshly prepared in a specially fabricated kitchen car located immediately adjacent to each dining area. According to the server, the meals were prepared using environmentally responsible ingredients, humanely raised, hormone free meats and fresh, and line caught fish.

We had the followings:

hor d'oeuvre - artichoke hearts, cured salmon with capers, olives, goat cheese, fresh fruits & etc

1st course
- Baby Lettuce Salad w/Candied Walnuts and Smoked Goat Cheese In a Honey Cider Vinaigrette
- Cream of mushroom

Entrée Choices
- Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary Potatoes and Grilled Squash in a Syrah Sauce
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Sautéed Portabella Mushrooms and Fig Duxelles
- Pan Seared Sole with Mango Salsa
- Catch of the day – Halibut

Dessert Choices
- Chocolate Mousse
- Vanilla Crème Brulee

I must admit that the food is way better than I expected – worth every penny! We were talking about doing this again while enjoying our meals. There are many other different packages for different time of the day so I am sure I will do this again soon! It was a great gift from the girls and we enjoyed some quality girl bonding time together and had some major catch up!

My other group of friends was really sweet to me too (thought I forgot about you guys?). They surprised me with a birthday dinner at Zen Asian Fusion Tapas + Lounge! My first time there but I love almost everything I had! The Asian fries, kimchi fried rice, beef carpaccio, yin yang wings, Wagyu beef salad, halibut carpaccio……I have been dreaming of them since! Thank you all for treating me and I love my 2 birthday cakes!

What surprised me most are the presents from oversea! Since I started writing this blog, I had met some of the most wonderful people that became dear friends to me. Yvonne aka YY Cake is one of them. We started exchanging emails with each other then we soon started sending packages to each other. The gifts weren’t intended as birthday present but since it arrived during my birthday, I treated it as is ;) She has hand-sewn a lovely purse and included her first book – published trilingual (Chinese/English/Tagalog)! I have been looking for a copy so I was really happy when I received it! What more can a girl asks for! A bear hug and thank you to YY! I also received a package full of lovely things by Table Art from a friend who is currently working in UK. I thought he forgot so big thank you to J!

Again, thank you all for giving me a wonderful birthday and make me feel so loved! Kisses!

朋友為了慶祝我的生日﹐定了納帕谷品酒列車作為禮物。這是我們從很久前就一直想做的事﹐但因為大學畢業後各自忙著工作所以擱置了。我們實在太興奮﹐所以很早出門往納帕谷﹐到達時比出發的時間早很多所以就在附近的商店Oxbow Public Market閒逛。當朋友閒聊的同時﹐我就拿著相機到處拍﹐當然也不會放過shopping的機會﹐ 買了木芙蓉(洛神花)香料及鹽巴。

加州納帕谷品酒火車頗有名的﹐貫穿整個納帕谷﹐除了卡車收藏超過上百款的紅白香檳美酒，可享用精緻套餐﹐還可看盡鐵路兩兩旁的美麗葡萄園與葡萄樹叢中聳立著一棟棟具有歐洲風味的酒莊。列車採用的車廂是從1915 – 1950之間年份的老車廂改裝整修而成。除了風格各異﹐同時提供不同主題的體驗方式呢。朋友選擇了吃好料的Le Gourmet Express主題﹐所以從搭上火車的那一剎那就開始吃 =)

搭火車前在車站裡先品了紅及白酒及上了一門品酒課﹐又因我們都不勝酒力﹐上火車後就沒有再點酒喝了不過有點雞尾酒。侍應先上開胃小點及飲料﹐在回程時再往典雅用餐卡車吃套餐(前菜，主餐和甜點)。比我預期中精緻很多﹐有高級餐廳的水準喔~

以下是我們吃過的料理:
開胃小點 - artichoke hearts, cured salmon with capers, olives, goat cheese, fresh fruits等

前菜
- Baby Lettuce Salad w/Candied Walnuts and Smoked Goat Cheese In a Honey Cider Vinaigrette
- Cream of mushroom

主餐
- Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary Potatoes and Grilled Squash in a Syrah Sauce
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Sautéed Portabella Mushrooms and Fig Duxelles
- Pan Seared Sole with Mango Salsa
- Catch of the day – Halibut

甜點
- Chocolate Mousse
- Vanilla Crème Brulee
- Pear galette w/red wine sauce & vanilla gelato

我們除了吃到好料還利用搭乘的時間聊近況﹐實在好久沒這樣過了。好懷念以前住在一起的時光~

除了她們﹐我的另一幫朋友也給我在位於Alameda市的Zen Asian Fusion Tapas + Lounge 辦了個驚喜飯局。說到這家開業不久的餐廳﹐是一個適合談心事又愜意的去處。賣點是中西合併﹑種類多元的下酒菜。味道及氛圍都很不錯﹐值得推薦﹗

最讓我驚喜的還是收到從遠方來的禮物﹗自從寫這個部落格以來﹐通過這個媒介認識了很多素未謀面卻交淺言深的朋友﹐其一就是Yvonne亦即大家稱yy cake的甜點﹑手作達人﹗她不知道是我的生日﹐這只是一份just because的禮物﹐但由於在生日期間收到我就視之為送我的生日禮物囉! 除了收到她縫的清新手工包包﹐還有她的第一本著作 – 自家製美味甜品。非常謝謝YY的大禮﹗

還要感謝一位遠在UK工作的友人J先生。他給我寄來了Table Art餐具﹐居然沒忘記還送禮﹐謝謝你呀﹗還有其他朋友送的禮物﹐殊不能在這儘錄。真的非常謝謝大家讓我過了一個難忘又窩心的生日﹗熊抱加飛吻~~~~~~~~~~~

Birthday present to myself! ~ 送給自己的生日蛋糕^^

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Having been asked to make cake for many friends’ birthday, I realized that I have not made my own birthday cake before! Some said that I should have others bake me a cake and someone did (thanks Mei & family!). Nevertheless, I still want to make one and not just for me but also for my brother and Linda, my evil twin. Our birthdays are within days from each other, one stone three birds =)

This dome shaped cake is a 1st for me and composed of 8 components!! It has a beautiful name - Cité Jardin - city garden, giving hints of all the beautiful red, green, brown hues. It is the work of Yoshiya Inoue of Puissance located in Japan. His original composition was of pistachio dacquoise/pistachio crème brûlée/confiture de fruits rouges/white chocolate mousse/white chocolate glaze but since the pistachio paste I ordered was on back order, I opted for a different composition.

When one look at the components, it may look busy with all the different ingredients but they were actually quite subtle. The exotic taste of saffron-infused crème brûlée, the subtle bitterness of matcha génoise, chewy macarons gives it a very contrasting texture and all these flavors work wonderfully together. Though the mousse and baravois was surprising light to me but it may taste rich and creamy to some so serve more raspberries on the side to cut the creaminess.

Decoration-wise, to bring out the garden theme, I stick to Inoue’s use of wood grain chocolate decoration, colorful fresh fruits, sprig of mints and added a personal touch of Isomalt sugar decoration, and a dust of matcha. Overall I was happy with the result except that next time I won’t do a macaron insert. It got lumpy from the moisture and didn’t give me the crumbly texture I hoped for. There is always room for improvement ^u^

Cité Jardin – makes one 19cm/7 ½ dome
Composition is as follow:

1) matcha génoise
2) mascarpone mousse
3) saffron-infused crème brûlée insert
4) matcha macaron crumbs insert
5) white chocolate bavarois filling
6) white chocolate glaze

#1 ~ Matcha Génoise (recipe here)
The cake can be baked a day in advance. Once cooled, cut out a 13mm/½in thick and 16 ½cm/6 ½in diameter round. Wrap with food wrap and store at room temperature.

#2 ~ Saffron-infused Crème Brulée Insert -1 8in/18cm round pan

220g heavy cream
60g whole milk
20g boiled water
12 saffron threads
40g egg yolks
40g granulated sugar

Place the saffron threads in a small bowl, add the boiled water and let steep for 5 minutes. Pour the saffron-infused water and saffron into a small saucepan, add in the milk and heavy cream, heat over medium heat to just boiling. Remove from the heat, put the lid on and let infuse for 10 – 15 minutes then strain the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 240°F/120°C. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks till pale in color, then pour the saffron-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour, and mix until combined. Place a napkin over the mixture to soak up the bubbles that formed from whisking. Pour into the pan, place it into a large roasting pan then pour hot water into the roasting pan all the way up half way of the pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.

Let cool then chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight until firm up.

#3 ~ White Chocolate Bavarois Filling
260g heavy cream
110g whole milk
56g quality white chocolate, finely chopped
45g egg yolks
20g granulated sugar
6g gelatine leaf
18g egg white
9 g caster sugar

Prep:
- Line a 19cm/7 ½in half sphere mold with food wrap, press firmly onto the mold to push out air bubbles, leave a 2in/6cm tail outside the mold.

Place the gelatine in icy water, soak until soften, squeeze out the water, set aside. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl then place it over a pot of simmering water, stirring constantly until completely melted. Place in a warm water bath to keep warm.

Bring the milk to just boiling then remove from heat. Using a hand mixer, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large mixing bowl, slowly pour in the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly until combined.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat until thicken and the temperature reaches 170°F /85°C, about 2 minutes. Add the pre-soaked gelatine, mix well then using a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of it to the melted chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in the remaining egg mixture until incorporated. Set the bowl in an icy water bath to cool.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold 1/3 of it into the chocolate mixture, mix well then fold in the remainder of the whipped cream until incorporated. Using a hand mixer, whisk the egg white until foamy then gradually add in the caster sugar, whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of it to the chocolate mixture, mix well then fold in the remainder of the meringue until incorporated. Pour into the prepared mold and slightly tap it on the counter to release air bubbles. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

#4 ~ Mascarpone Mousse (recipe here)
Pour the mousse into a piping bag without a tip, set aside.

#5 ~ White Chocolate Glaze
The glaze jellifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.

240g quality white chocolate, finely chopped
200g whole milk
80g corn syrup
7g gelatine leaf

Prep:
- Pre-soak the gelatine, set aside.

Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl then place it over a pot of simmering water, stirring constantly until completely melt.

Bring the milk and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning the mixture. Pour the hot mixture into the melted chocolate, using the rubber spatula, stir until completely incorporated, add in the pre-soaked gelatine and mix well. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well, use immediately.

#6 ~ Matcha Macarons – 30 sandwiches

Italian meringue method
55g egg white
150g caster sugar
40 g water

Tant pour tant
150g almond flour
150g powdered sugar
15g matcha
55g egg white
1 drop green food coloring

Chocolate ganache filling
Raspberry Buttercream

Prep:
- On the back side of 2 parchment papers, trace 3cm/1 ¼in circles about 3cm/1 ¼in apart. Flip them over and line the baking sheets.
- Prepare 2 sheets of foil the size of the baking sheets.

I thought you should know:
- Must let the piped cookies sit out until dry to touch before baking to prevent them from cracking during baking.
- Press the piping tip on the baking sheet when piping for uniformly shaped macarons. Do not suspend the tip in the air!

Sift together almond flour, matcha, and powdered sugar twice then place the mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add 55g egg white to the flour mixture and stir until it forms into a sticky ball, set aside.

Heat water and caster sugar over medium heat until it thickens and reaches 230°F/116°C. While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg white at high speed in the bowl of a mixer using the whisk attachment; whisk until pale and foamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden! Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until it becomes thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch, about 5 minutes. Add in a drop of green food coloring, fold until incorporated.

With a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the meringue into the almond/sugar/matcha flour mix, fold until incorporated then fold in the remaining meringue and fold until completely incorporated. With the rubber spatula, scoop and spread the batter, in a full circle, on the inside wall of the mixing bowl. Repeat this scoop & spread process also known as macaronnage, for a total of 15 times. Lift some batter with the spatula, it should falls into the bowl in a ribbon fashion, and has a glossy look.

Pour the batter into a piping bag with a round tip and pipe the batter from the center of the drawn circle onto the baking sheets. Pipe about 60 circles. Let dry at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking to allow skins to form. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F/220°C, with racks in upper and lower thirds.

When the batter is dry to the touch, place into the preheated oven and bake for 2 minutes, then quickly turn it down to 300°F/150°C, bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets (upper and lower racks), cover the sheets with foil, and continue to bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to cool on the cooling rack. Once cooled, slide a knife (fragile, must be careful) underneath the macarons to remove from the parchment paper.

Wood Grain Pattern Chocolate Decoration
80g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
120g white chocolate, finely chopped

Chop the bittersweet chocolate into tiny pieces and place into a dry heatproof mixing bowl. Temper the chocolate by melting it in the microwave. Need to do it on medium for 4~5 times and at 30 second interval. Stir the chocolate each time the microwave stops until becomes completely melted and smooth. Cool for 2 minute.

Spread out a few 2.5x14in/6x40cm acrylic strips on the back of a jelly roll pan. Dip the pattern side of the wood grain comb into the chocolate, and draw the pattern on the acrylic strips. Chill in the fridge to set.

Melt and temper the white chocolate using the same method as above. Let cool to touch then spread the melted chocolate evenly with a spread knife on top of the chilled chocolate pattern. Place in refrigerator to chill and set. Carefully peel off the chocolate and break/cut into desired size.

Sugar Decoration
Some Isomalt sugar

Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C。Sprinkle the Isomalt sugar evenly on a jelly roll pan lined with silpat silicone sheet, place another silpat sheet on top, and press it down lightly. Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven, press it lightly using a rolling pin then return it to the oven and bake for 5 minutes until sugar completely melted. Let cool completely then break/cut into desired size.

Assemble your dome:

Prep:
- Line your mold with food wrap, press firmly onto the mold to push out air bubbles, leave a 2in/6cm tail outside the mold.
- Cut the saffron crème brûlée into 16 ½cm/6 ½in round.
- Cut the matcha génoise into 16 ½cm/6 ½in round.

THIS IS FOR UNMOLDING FROM UPSIDE DOWN TO RIGHT SIDE UP. You will want to tap your mold gently on the countertop after each time you pipe mousse in to get rid of any air bubbles.

Snip off a little corner of the piping bag with the mascarpone mousse, pipe to about 1/3 height of the mold, spread evenly. Push the bavarois filling into the mousse; it will fill to 2/3 full. Pipe another layer of the mascarpone mousse, place macaron halves on top, then the saffron crème brûlée insert, another layer of mascarpone mousse and then top with the matcha génoise (syrup side down) round, press lightly. Chill in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Unmold the cake by grabbing the food wrap and carefully pull upward. Once loosen, turn it out on a wire rack. Make the glaze now. Place the cake along with the rack over a large baking pan, pour the glaze on top and let flow down to cover the entire cake. The glaze jellifies quickly so work fast; let set for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Cover the entire side of the cake base with a pattern of 1 macaron half & 2 raspberries. Place the chocolate and sugar decorations at the top of the dome then arrange some fresh fruits like strawberries, raspberries, kiwi berries and mints on top then a dust of matcha powder.

給不少的朋友做過生日蛋糕﹐但卻從沒給自己做過一個。有人說讓他人做一個給我就好了﹐為什麼需要自己動手呢? 因為這個蛋糕是要和另外兩個人- 我弟跟好姐妹Linda分享的。我們的生日很近﹐想說一石三鳥嘛﹗還有﹐今年第一次收到一個朋友做給我的生日蛋糕﹐好感動哦~~~~~~謝謝Mei跟她的姐姐們還有她可愛的侄女 ~~

這款用半圓形模具做的蛋糕是首次嘗試﹐更別說是用上8種不同風味口感的甜點素材組合而成。這個充滿田園氣息的蛋糕有個很美很符合它的名字 : Cité Jardin就法文的[田園都市]的意思﹐是日本Puissance 甜點店的井上佳哉師傅的作品。蛋糕本來是由開心果風味的杏仁蛋白蛋糕﹑開心果烤布蕾﹑白巧克力慕斯﹑果醬﹑和白巧克力奶油淋醬組合而成﹐可因我沒能買到開心果膏等材料﹐我將蛋糕的組合改了。

咋看到材料的組合可能會讓人感到構成的材料很多很忙﹐甚至繁複鋪陳的程度，足以令人咋舌﹐但味道﹑口感、氣味出乎意料的融合﹐口感鋪陳和我想像一樣的極端精緻、豐富、多樣化﹐使甘美的香氣合而為一。質地細緻綿密柔軟的馬斯卡朋慕斯包裹著帶有濃郁乳香口感綿密的白巧克力芭芭羅瓦餡心﹑富茶香的抹茶馬卡龍﹑充滿異國香氣的番紅花風味烤布蕾﹑再以襲人的淡雅茶香的抹茶海綿蛋糕托底﹑最後以富濃郁奶香的白巧克力鏡面包過著。為配合田園的主題﹐跟著井上師傅用鮮艷覆盆子﹑迷你奇異果﹑薄荷香草﹑木紋巧克力裝飾跟糖片裝飾蛋糕的頂端﹐然後在蛋糕週圍用1塊抹茶馬卡龍2顆覆盆子的花樣整個包圍﹐最後撒些抹茶點綴組合成這個鮮艷亮眼的蛋糕。

蛋糕最後只跟弟及家人分享﹐因為Linda旅行去了。如往常﹐甜點一上桌就給一掃而空。品嚐過程裡，從視覺到味蕾到整個心靈的滿足，久久難以忘懷。

田園都市

1) 抹茶海綿蛋糕
2) 馬斯卡朋慕斯
3) 番紅花風味烤布蕾
4) 抹茶風味馬卡龍
5) 白巧克力芭芭羅瓦餡心
6) 白巧克力鏡面

#1 ~ 抹茶海綿蛋糕 (點這裡)
蛋糕可以前一天烤好﹐包好室溫存放。

#2 ~ 番紅花風味烤布蕾 - 直徑8in或18cm圓形烤模1個

220g 鮮奶油
60g 全脂奶
20g 熱水
12根番紅花
40g(3個M尺寸) 蛋黃
40g 砂糖

用小碗盛著番紅花﹐加熱水泡5分鐘後﹐倒進小鍋中。跟著將奶﹑鮮奶油也倒進小鍋﹐用中火慢慢加熱﹐ 煮至沸騰時立刻熄火﹐蓋上鍋蓋泡10 – 15分鐘。

預熱烤箱至240°F/120°C。將蛋黃和砂糖混合充份攪拌勻至淡白﹐慢慢注入過濾後的番紅花熱奶漿﹐邊倒邊攪拌﹐攪拌均勻後在奶漿上方鋪上一片餐巾紙﹐輕輕地吸取掉泡沫後倒進模具中。將模具放進有深度的烤盤裡﹐然後注入熱開水達模具一半的高度﹐再放進預熱過的烤箱裡烘烤40分鐘。當搖晃模具時布蕾中央會抖動但週邊不動即烤好了。取出﹐待室溫放涼﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放冰箱冷卻一個小時或一個晚上。

#3 ~ 白巧克力芭芭羅瓦餡心

260g 鮮奶油
110g 全脂奶
56g 白巧克力﹐切碎
45g 蛋黃
20g 砂糖
6g 魚膠片
18g 蛋白
9 g 細砂糖

事前準備:
- 在一個19cm/7 ½ in的半圓形模具裡鋪上一層保鮮膜(四邊留約2in/6cm的尾巴)﹐按壓出氣泡讓保鮮膜貼服﹐備用。

明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分﹐備用。將切碎的白巧克力倒進一個耐熱容器中﹐隔熱水加熱融化後﹐放溫水浴中保溫。

將牛奶倒進鍋子裡用中火加熱﹐煮沸後離火。將蛋黃和糖混合倒進一個大的拌碗中﹐用電動攪拌器以中速打發至顏色變淡白﹐然後邊打發邊細絲般的慢慢地注入滾燙的牛奶﹐拌勻後﹐倒回小鍋中以小火加熱﹐用打蛋器持續不斷的攪拌至變稠至溫度為170°F /85°C後離火﹐約2分鐘。加進泡軟的魚膠片攪拌融化後﹐邊攪拌邊慢慢地拌進融化的的白巧克力中﹐用橡皮刀攪拌至順滑﹐使其乳化。過濾後﹐放冰水浴中降溫。

用電動打蛋器打發鮮奶油至變富含空氣出現軟角的程度﹐然後將3分1拌進微溫的巧克力漿中﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。拌入剩下打發好的鮮奶油﹐輕輕的拌勻。

用電動攪拌器以低速打發蛋白至起泡﹐然後分數次的加入細砂糖打發﹐打至富含空氣出現結實尖角的程度為止。將3分1拌進巧克力乳漿中﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐再拌入剩下的蛋白霜拌勻。倒進鋪了保鮮膜的模具中﹐輕輕敲一下釋放氣泡後﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固最少2個小時或一個晚上。

#4 ~ 馬斯卡朋慕斯(點這裡)
將慕斯倒進擠袋裡備用。

#5 ~ 白巧克力鏡面
鏡面很容易凝固﹐所以最好在裝飾前製作。

240g 白巧克力﹐切碎
200g 全脂奶
80g 玉米糖漿
7g 魚膠片

事前準備:
- 明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分，備用。

先將切碎的白巧克力隔熱水加熱融化備用。將牛奶和玉米糖漿混合倒入小鍋裡﹐用中火加熱﹐不時攪拌讓液體不會煮焦﹐煮沸後離火。將奶漿倒入白巧克力中﹐用橡皮刀攪拌均勻至順滑﹐加入泡軟的明膠片﹐拌勻至融合﹐放涼備用。

#6 ~ 抹茶風味馬卡龍 - 30個

義式蛋白霜
55g 蛋白
150g 細砂糖
40 g 水

Tant pour tant
150g杏仁粉
150g 糖粉
15g 抹茶
55g蛋白
1滴綠色食用色素

苦甜巧克力甘那許夾心餡
覆盆子風味奶油餡心

事前準備:
- 準備兩張烤纸﹐然後在每一張的反面畫上直徑3cm間隔3cm的小圓圈。鋪在烤盤上。
- 準備兩張相等於烤盤大小的包裝鋁箔紙﹐備用。

要注意什麼呢?
- 擠出麵糊後要放置到表面乾燥為止才可進烤箱。
- 擠麵糊時先固定一個點再擠出是要訣。

混合抹茶、杏仁粉、糖粉﹐過篩2次後倒進一個大的拌碗中。將55g的蛋白倒進粉中﹐用橡皮刀確實攪拌勻成膏狀後靜置備用。

把水和細砂糖混合倒進小鍋中﹐以中火熬煮至出現黏稠狀﹐用手指沾黏(非常燙喔﹗)會牽出糖絲的程度(約230°F/116°C) 即可。在煮糖漿的同時﹐將55的蛋白用電動打蛋器以高速打發至起泡但還沒出現尖角的程度。轉低速繼續仔細打發﹐然後邊打發邊細絲般的慢慢地注入滾燙的糖漿(千萬不要攪拌糖漿不然會結晶)，完全注入糖漿後轉中速繼續打發﹐直到冷卻出現結實尖角的程度至光滑立體狀態為止﹐約5分鐘。最後倒入1滴綠色食用色素﹐拌勻。

將3分1的蛋白霜拌入的抹茶杏仁粉糰中﹐用橡皮刀從底部往上翻起的方式拌勻。分兩次加入剩餘的蛋白霜 ﹐拌勻後進行macaronnage*程序。將麵糊從底部往上翻起再往拌碗的內壁壓推勻15次至表面紋理細緻且有光澤的麵糊為止。

將麵糊裝入擠花袋中﹐在先前畫了圓圈的烤盤紙上擠出圓形的麵糊。先固定一個點﹐再從上方擠出比直徑2cm稍小的圓形。總共擠出60個﹐放置30分鐘讓表面乾燥﹐用手摸不沾黏即可。放置的同時預熱烤箱至400°F/200°C。

待表面形成薄膜後用400°F/200°C烘烤2分鐘﹐然後迅速降溫到300°F/150°C繼續烘烤5分鐘。迅速取出烤盤各自覆上包裝鋁箔紙﹐放回烤箱時將烤盤調換 (上下烤架) 好讓馬卡龍烤的均勻﹐再烘烤5分鐘﹐取出﹐放網架上靜置放涼後用抹刀取下﹐備用。

木紋圖案巧克力裝飾
80g 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
120 g 白巧克力﹐切碎

苦甜巧克力切碎後﹐放進一個耐熱的碗裡。碗一定要確實擦乾﹐不可有任何水份。放進微波爐裡加熱。分4~5次﹐每一次間隔為30秒的加熱及調溫巧克力。每一次都要確實攪拌勻至完全融化的狀態﹐放涼約2分鐘。

將蛋糕卷專用模具或方形模具倒轉﹐鋪上矽膠條(2.5x14in/6x40cm)。用木紋梳子沾取少量的調溫後的巧克力﹐塗抹在矽膠片上劃出圖案﹐放進冰箱凝固定形。

將白巧克力調溫融化後﹐用抹刀的前端沾取少量薄薄地填平在凝固定形後的苦甜巧克力上﹐在常溫下凝固後﹐再放進冰箱定形。

烤糖片裝飾
適量 Isomalt糖

預熱烤箱至360°F/180°C。將Isomalt糖均勻的灑在烘烤膠蓆上﹐蓋上另一片烘烤膠蓆﹐輕壓﹐然後放進烤箱烤5分鐘。取出﹐用桿麵棍輕壓一下﹐再烘烤5分鐘至完全融化後取出。放涼後將糖片切成你需要的大小。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:

事前準備:
- 在一個19cm/7 ½ in的半圓形模具裡鋪上一層保鮮膜(四邊留約2in/6cm的尾巴)﹐按壓出氣泡讓保鮮膜貼服﹐備用。
- 將烤布蕾切割成16 ½ cm/6 ½ in的圓形片﹐備用。
- 將蛋糕體切割出16 ½ cm/6 ½ in 的圓形片﹐備用。

將裝著馬斯卡朋慕斯的擠袋剪去一角﹐先擠些慕斯填滿模具至3分滿﹐推勻並薄薄地鋪平至模具邊緣﹐輕輕敲一下模具釋放氣泡。將白巧克力芭芭羅瓦餡心填入馬斯卡朋慕斯中﹐然後再擠入一層馬斯卡朋慕斯至模具7分滿。鋪上馬卡龍片﹐將烤布蕾填入慕斯中﹐再一層薄薄的馬斯卡朋慕斯﹐推平﹐最後鋪上塗了糖水的蛋糕片﹐往下輕按﹐將蛋糕放入冰箱冷卻定形3小時或一個晚上。

取出蛋糕﹐兩手拉著保鮮膜往上提﹐待蛋糕體可以拉離模具時翻轉倒扣脫模。製作巧克力鏡面。

將蛋糕連網架擺放在深的烤盤上。將微溫的鏡面淋在蛋糕上﹐任鏡面溢滿源周邊流下包覆整個蛋糕(連烤盤一起提起輕敲一下會幫助甘那許源邊流下)。記住這時動作要迅速，因為溫度容易下降﹐鏡面很快就會凝固。將蛋糕放冰箱凝固定形30分鐘才可以裝飾蛋糕。

以1個馬卡龍片2個覆盆子的比例貼在蛋糕的側面。將烤糖片﹑木紋圖案巧克力裝飾隨意的插在蛋糕的頂﹐然後擺放一些新鮮的覆盆子﹑草莓﹑迷你奇異果﹐及薄荷等等。最後在表面撒一些抹茶粉即可。

Isn't it gorgeous? This gorgeous arrangement is the topper on a cake that Mei made for my birthday. Mei is the owner of this lovely flower shop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
我不是說過Mei送我一個手工蛋糕嗎? 這些花是她用作裝飾蛋糕用的。是不是很漂亮?﹗當然啦﹐她可是花店老闆娘耶﹗

Blueberry & Kumquat Cream Cheese Tarts with Graham Cracker Crust ~ 藍莓﹑金桔奶油乳酪卡士達塔

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:23:00 +0000

I have heard so many praises from my fellow food bloggers about a book titled - The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern that I decided to purchase a copy for me. However, it turned out that the book has been out of print for sometime. I have searched numerous used book stores but no sight of it then I found copies available at Amazon but I wasn’t ready to pay hundreds dollar for it. Nevertheless, I finally made the purchase and I’m glad I did. This beautiful book by Claudia Fleming is a gem. Her minimalist approach and use of local, seasonal ingredients in her desserts are so inspiring. Her recipes seem simple to make but they all have a little twist (cracked-pepper ice cream anyone?) to them making them special and unique.

Who is Claudia Fleming? She was the award winning pastry chef at the famed Gramercy Tavern in NYC but in 2006, she and her husband (also a renowned chef) moved from New York City to Long Island, New York, to open The North Fork Table & Inn, which features a seat-in restaurant and guest rooms. Btw, I just found out she re-printed her book and you can order it off her site here.

The first recipe I tried from this book was this dainty blueberry cream cheese tarts with graham cracker crust. I’m not a tart person as the others I had before seem too sweet for my taste. So why pick this recipe? I was convinced by the picture in the book! Also, I thought the graham cracker shells were supposed to be made from the store brought cracker like the way we made cheesecake crust but I was wrong. It is actually graham cracker crust, redolent of honey and cinnamon and has a crispy texture. The cream cheese custard is soft, airy and melts at the tip of your tongue and pair so well with the sweet-tangy blueberry & kumquat compote – perfect for spring~

Blueberry & Kumquat Cream Cheese Tarts with Graham Cracker Crust

Graham Cracker Tart Shells
makes about 10 (1 ½x4in) flute shell & 12 (2x4in) financier tart shell

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup Demerara sugar
¼ cup honey
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Place the butter and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth over medium speed until the mixture is smooth, fluffy and light in color. Add the honey and beat until combined; set aside.

Combine the flours, salt, and cinnamon in another bowl then add to the butter mixture in two batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Mix until the dough is well combined. Wrap the dough in plastic and form into a disk. Chill until firm, at least an hour and up to two days.

Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Use a rectangular cutter or knife to cut out the dough to fit the tart pans, press the dough gently into the tins, trimming away any excess dough. Prick dough all over with a fork and let chill for 20 minutes or until the dough is firm enough. Chill longer if necessary.

Bake tart shells until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. They can be made a day in advance. Also, they can be kept up to 3 months in the freezer when stored in an airtight container.

Cream Cheese Pastry Cream
makes about 4 cups

1 cup milk
5 tbsp sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 ½ tbsp corn starch
6 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Combine ¾ cup of the milk and 3 tablespoon of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Whisk the remaining ¼ cup milk into the yolk mixture. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and add a little of the hot milk to the yolk mixture to warm it, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from cooking. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour.

Return the custard to the stove and bring it to a boil, whisking constantly. Let the custard cook for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Add the cream cheese and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Using a fine sieve; strain the mixture into a clean bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

Beat the heavy cream over medium speed until soft peaks form. Whisk the pastry cream until smooth and fold in the whipped cream until combined.

Blueberry Compote - 2 1/2 cups

2 ½ cups blueberries
1 tbsp sugar

In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup of the blueberries with the sugar. Cook over low heat until all the berries have popped and the juices come out.

Strain the mixture into a bowl and discard the solids. Add the rest of the blueberries into the syrup and toss to combine.

Kumquat Compote
Make 48 halved kumquats

400g (about 24) kumquats
2 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cup water

Wash and pat dry kumquats. Remove calyces, cut them in half horizontally then pit with a fork. Bring sugar and water to boil, add the kumquats. Cover with a paper towel (directly on kumquats) and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat.

Remove from heat and let sit overnight at room temperature. Trash the paper towel and remove the kumquats and transfer to a bowl. Reheat the poaching syrup to a boil then remove from heat. Add the kumquats back into the syrup and let sit overnight at room temperature. Place the compote (discard the syrup) in an airtight container and keep refrigerated; good up to a week.

To assemble:
Spoon the pastry cream into each tart shell and top with the blueberries or candied kumquats, sprinkled with finely chopped pistachios. Serve soon after assembling.

有頗多bloggers推薦一本名為The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern的書。他們跟著食譜做出來的甜點很是吸引人。我好奇它是不是像大家說的那麼棒﹐所以決定也買一本來看看。去過幾家大型的連鎖書店也找不到﹐問店員才知道這書絕版了。去信出版社﹐得到的答案是他們不會再印這本書了。沒辦法﹐只好往賣舊書的書店碰運氣。可是去過很多店﹐都是失望而回。終於在Amazon看到有人出讓﹐可是要$100 USD多﹐而且還是圖書館的書﹗半個月前﹐終於找到非圖書館版本又價錢比較合理的。收到書的那天真的好激動 ;p

好在書沒讓我失望。食譜的名字很有詩意﹐看似簡單但處處看到驚喜之處例如胡椒口味﹑羅勒口味的冰淇淋。可惜照片很少﹐要不然就完美了。而這本書的著者是紐約星級Gramercy Tavern餐廳的前甜點總廚Claudia Fleming。她以採用當季的食材製作甜點和節約風格而著名。現在想吃到她的甜點就需前往她和丈夫經營位於紐約州Long Island的小旅館囉。這是我下一次到紐約必去的地方。如果你有興趣買她的書可前往她的旅館網站訂購(按這裡)。我剛剛才得知她自己出資重新出版這本書。嗚嗚嗚。。。我買貴了。。。

其實我不是很喜歡塔派類的甜點﹐因為印象中這些都很甜膩。那麼為什麼我還選擇這個藍莓奶油乳酪卡士達塔呢? 很簡單﹐因為照片很漂亮﹗而且這個肉桂甜塔皮聽起來很好吃的樣子。果不其然塔皮在烘烤時﹐廚房是滿滿的肉桂香﹐真的好香好香。奶油乳酪做成的卡士達醬輕盈細緻輕易的在舌尖上化開﹐和我以前嘗過的甜膩口感完全不一樣﹐好驚喜哦﹗最愛的是糖煮藍莓﹐本來吃起來很酸﹐可是將跟糖煮過的莓汁混合後就變的剛好﹐我留起了一半佐原味優格吃。看冰箱還留著早前做好的糖漬金桔﹐就拿了一些做餡料﹐也很配。甜酸適中﹐很開胃﹐很適合春﹑夏季節吃的一道點心。就連不愛吃甜的媽媽都一口氣吃了3個塔﹐還帶了一些給她的朋友。希望你也會喜歡~

藍莓﹑金桔奶油乳酪卡士達塔 – 約22個

肉桂甜塔皮– 10個直徑1 ½ x 4寸船形塔皮跟12個直徑2 x 4寸長方形塔皮

1杯無鹽奶油 - 室溫放軟﹐切成小方塊
¼杯黃糖
¼杯甘蔗糖或黑糖
¼杯蜜糖
2杯麵粉
½杯低筋全麥麵粉
1茶匙鹽巴
½茶匙肉桂粉

將麵粉﹑低筋全麥麵粉﹑鹽巴﹑和肉桂粉混合備用。將切成小方塊的奶油﹑砂糖用電動攪拌器以中速攪打至奶油變淡黃色呈蓬鬆狀後加入蜜糖﹐攪拌勻﹐然後加入混合好的粉類快速拌勻成糰塊。將麵糰放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐揉至軟滑成球狀。輕壓成扁圓片﹐蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱靜置最少60分鐘(最久兩天)醒麵。

烤箱預熱至325°F/165°C。取出麵糰﹐放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐將麵糰桿成約厚3mm或1/8寸的薄片後用長方形的餅乾模具吸出或用刀子切割出薄片。鋪進塔派模裡﹐壓實塔皮底及塔皮壁﹐用刀子將多出來的麵皮切掉﹐再用叉子戳刺氣孔。蓋上保鮮膜﹐放進冰箱冷藏約20分鐘定型。

取出﹐放入烤箱烤20分鐘或至塔皮呈金黃色。取去擺放在網架上放涼。

奶油乳酪卡士達醬 – 約4杯

1杯全脂奶
5湯匙砂糖
4個大的蛋黃
2 ½湯匙玉米粉
6oz 奶油乳酪
1茶匙香草荳精
½杯鮮奶油

將3/4 杯牛奶跟3湯匙砂糖混合裝進小鍋裡，以中火煮至砂糖融化沸騰即離火備用。另一個拌盤裡加進蛋黃﹑玉米粉﹑剩下的2湯匙砂糖﹐拌勻後拌入剩下的1/4 杯牛奶﹐攪拌均勻。將熱奶漿慢慢地注入蛋糊中﹐這時要用打蛋器不斷攪打﹐拌勻後﹐倒回小鍋中以低火加熱。用打蛋器持續不斷的攪拌至變稠﹐約2分鐘﹐然後拌進奶油乳酪及香草精﹐不停攪拌至順滑﹐離火。將蛋黃醬過濾後﹐倒進碗中﹐在蛋黃醬表面蓋上保鮮膜(黏著蛋黃醬)﹐放進冰箱冷藏約60分鐘。

將鮮奶油打發至出現軟角的程度﹐拌入放涼的蛋黃醬中﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻即可。倒進密閉的容器裡﹐放冰箱可存放3天。

糖煮藍莓 – 2 ½ 杯
2 ½杯藍莓
1湯匙砂糖

將1杯藍莓和砂糖倒進平鍋裡﹐以低火煮至砂糖融化﹐藍莓變軟成漿為止﹐約3分鐘。將藍莓漿過濾取汁。將剩下的藍莓拌進莓漿中﹐拌勻即可。

糖漬金桔
24粒金桔　
2杯砂糖
1½杯水

作法：
把金桔洗乾淨﹐抹乾﹐去蒂﹐橫的切成兩半﹐再用叉子去籽。將水和砂糖裝進小鍋裡﹐開中火煮沸﹐把金桔加進去﹐用一片*紙巾覆蓋在金桔上﹐繼續煮兩分鐘﹐離火﹐在常溫中放涼置一晚。

丟掉紙巾﹐把金桔撈出來﹐僅加熱糖漿﹐煮沸後熄火。此時才將金桔放回糖漿中﹐在常溫中放置一晚。把糖漿倒掉﹐倒進密閉容器中﹐可冷藏存放一個星期。

*紙蓋的作用是要使金桔沉入鍋內﹐完全浸泡在糖漿裡。

組合:
將奶油乳酪卡士達醬舀進塔皮至8分滿﹐舀些糖煮藍莓﹐再以薄荷葉裝飾一部分的塔。剩下的隨意的擺放金桔﹐再撒些切碎的開心果仁裝飾。

Kuri Matcha Choco Verrines ~ 栗子抹茶可可和風物語

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:09:00 +0000

It is so wonderful that the sun is out after weeks of stormy weather! I had caught the blue bug from all that rain and didn’t want to do anything but lay in the bed! Now that it is sunny and warm, I am motivated to be back in the kitchen ^^

This Japanesey sweet is my take on a dessert featured in the Japanese version of ELLE à Table (Jan/09). I like the layering effect showed in the magazine and was convinced by the intrigue combination of chestnut and matcha. The two is a fairly common pairing in making wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets), but this nothing short of deliciousness combination seem somewhat unpopular or common in western pastry. If you have a recipe made of the two, would you mind sharing? I’m just mad about them!

The sweet is composed of spongy fragrant matcha génoise, rich & dense flourless chocolate cake, candied chestnuts, light & melt-in-your-mouth chestnut Chantilly then a dusting of cocoa powder and a piece of candied chestnut complete this lovely, Springy dessert - giving it not just a lovely presentation but a contrasting texture of light and dense. All the components were simple to make and you can make them a day in advance (except the chestnut Chantilly). Though I was very happy with the result but I couldn’t stop thinking that this may taste even better with Jasmine mousse, maybe you can try this combo and let me know how it turns out =)

Kuri Matcha Choco Verrines – makes six 8oz glasses
¼ recipe Matcha Génoise, diced
¼ recipe Chocolate Valentino, diced
1 recipe Kuri (chestnut) Chantilly Cream
8 whole chestnuts in syrup (available at Japanese markets)
Some cocoa powder

Matcha Génoise
100g granulated sugar
70g all purpose flour
15g matcha
20g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs

Prep:
- Sift together flour and matcha, set aside.
- Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C.
- Lightly butter a 12 x 9in/28 x 24cm roll cake pan and line it with parchment paper.

Brings a small pot of water to boil, set aside. Melt the butter in a microwave, set aside to cool.

Using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs together in a heatproof bowl then add sugar and beat until blended. Place the bowl over the pot of boil water and continue to beat over medium speed until it is foamy and warm to the touch. Remove from heat, continue to beat in a circular motion until it doubles in volume and soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sifted matcha flour mix using a rubber spatula and fold gently until incorporated. Add in the melted butter, quickly fold until completely incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread and smooth out the batter using the spatula. Tap the pan slightly on the counter to release any air bubbles, place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice it into small cubes.

Kuri (chestnut) Chantilly Cream
200ml heavy cream
3tbsp chestnut cream or crème de marrons
1tbsp caster sugar
¼ vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped out

Bring 50ml heavy cream, vanilla pod & seeds, and the chestnut cream to just simmer over medium heat; stirring occasionally to prevent from burning. Remove from heat and continue to stir until the two are fully incorporated. Remove vanilla pod and place the saucepan in an ice water bath to cool.

Place the remaining cream, sugar in a bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in the cooled chestnut cream mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Pour the whipped cream into a piping bag w/o a tip, let chill in refrigerator.

Assemble:
Spoon some Chocolate Valentino cubes into the glasses (I use champagne flutes) to ¼ height of the glasses then spoon in matcha génoise cubes next to 2/4 full. Snip off a little corner of the piping bag, and pipe the cream to ¾ full, place some candied chestnuts on top then pipe more cream until almost to the top. Sprinkle some cocoa powder and top off with a piece of candied chestnut. Voilà!

這個和風甜點的靈感來自一款在日版ELLE à Table(01/09)看過的點心。我承認是因為照片拍的很漂亮﹐所以我才給吸引住的。再看它的材料配搭居然是我最愛的抹茶跟栗子的組合﹐我可沒理由拒絕了。其實抹茶跟栗子的組合是和菓子常見的風味﹐但在製作西式點心方面這個搭配並不是很普遍。好可惜喔~

很喜歡這個甜點的味道鋪陳 – 由有著襲人的淡雅茶香的抹茶海綿蛋糕﹑濃郁濕潤的純巧克力蛋糕﹑質地輕盈細緻口感清爽不膩帶有淡淡奶香的栗子風味香堤麗鮮奶油﹑還有藏在香堤麗鮮奶油中的鬆軟綿密帶著微甜的栗子甘露煮交揉出絕妙的層次及鮮明的口感﹐讓人為那份美味著迷感動。這個甜點適合用透明度高的容器來呈現﹐這樣才能看到它賞心悅目的漂亮層次。而因為它本身很精緻﹐裝飾上方簡單的用濾網過篩可可粉﹐再擺放一顆栗子甘露煮就可以了。

我覺得將栗子風味香堤麗鮮奶油變成茉莉風味慕斯﹐味道應該更迷人典雅。如果你剛巧不愛栗子﹐不妨嘗試這個組合吧 ^O^

栗子抹茶可可和風物語– 約6杯
¼ 份量的抹茶傑諾瓦士﹐切丁
¼ 份量的 巧克力華輪天奴蛋糕﹐切丁
1 ½ 杯栗子風味香堤麗鮮奶油
8顆市售栗子甘露煮(購自日本超市)
少許可可粉

抹茶傑諾瓦士 ~ 直徑12 x 9in/28 x 24cm長方形模具1個
100g 砂糖
70g 麵粉, 篩過
15g 抹茶
20g 無鹽奶油
3個 L尺寸全蛋

事前準備:
- 將抹茶和麵粉混合篩過備用。
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至360°F/180°C。
- 模具抹上厚厚的奶油﹐再鋪上烘烤紙﹐備用。

先燒開一小鍋的水﹐備用。將奶油切丁﹐倒進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐然後放微波爐加熱融化﹐靜置放涼備用。

將蛋倒進耐熱拌碗中﹐用電動攪拌器以中速打散﹐加進砂糖﹐攪打至顏色變淡。將拌碗放小鍋上隔熱水加熱打發﹐不停攪拌至微溫發泡。停止加熱﹐繼續以劃圓圈的動作打發至富含空氣會如緞帶般重疊時即可。分數次加進篩過的抹茶麵粉﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐然後拌入放涼的融化無鹽奶油﹐同樣的以橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。

一鼓作氣地將麵糊倒進烤模中﹐推勻﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後﹐放進預熱過的烤箱裡﹐烘烤約15分鐘。當週圍會因烤熟而稍稍縮小﹐烤模和蛋糕體間就會出現空隙﹐輕按蛋糕中間時感覺到彈性即烤好。也可以用竹籤插入中央﹐慢慢拔出時不會沾黏﹐就烤好了。從烤箱取出﹐翻轉倒扣脫模﹐擺在網架上整個放涼。將海綿蛋糕橫切成小丁備用。

如果不立刻使用﹐可將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天。使用前靜置回溫即可。

栗子風味香堤麗鮮奶油 – 約1 ½ 杯份量
200ml 鮮奶油
3湯匙市售栗子醬
1湯匙細砂糖
¼條香草豆﹐開半刮籽

將50ml的鮮奶油﹑香草豆及籽﹑栗子醬混合倒進小鍋中﹐以中火煮至剛沸騰﹐期間要不時的攪拌以免煮焦。離火﹐確實攪拌勻栗子奶漿後﹐丟掉香草豆﹐放冰水浴中放涼。

將鮮奶油和細砂糖放入拌碗中﹐用電動打蛋器先以低速打發鮮奶油至起泡﹐再轉中速攪打至出現尖角的程度。拌入放涼的栗子奶漿﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻即可。將栗子香堤麗倒進擠袋裡﹐剪去一角﹐放冰箱冷藏備用。

組合及裝飾:
將切成小丁的巧克力華輪天奴蛋糕舀進杯中至4分1滿﹐然後舀進丁狀的抹茶傑諾瓦士至4分2滿。將栗子香堤麗擠進杯中至4分3滿﹐填入切碎的栗子甘露煮﹐然後再擠栗子香堤麗至滿頂。撒一些可可粉﹐再擺放栗子甘露煮點綴裝飾即可。

Daring Bakers Challenge: February Chocolate Bonanza ~ 純巧克力蛋糕佐巧克力﹑洋槐花蜜風味雪酪

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:01:00 +0000

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino is a flourless chocolate cake adopted from Sweet Treats by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. The recipe consists of 3 simple ingredients, chocolate (your choice), butter, and eggs. The simplicity of this recipe gives credit to the ingredients much in the same way of French baguette. It comes together very quickly too. However, the end result is a rich, luxurious and moist cake that would have you asking for a 2nd, maybe 3rd serving!

Our hosts have provided recipes for vanilla ice cream but I opted to try something different. I chose to serve the cake with 2 flavors of sorbet, chocolate and Acacia honey. I recently was giving a book written by the founders of Scharffen Berger and there is this wonderful but seemingly simple recipe for chocolate sorbet that I have wanted to give a try. It was indeed simple to make and has such a deep and clear flavor. This chocolate on chocolate combo answers the call to all the die hard chocoholics =)

I am in love with Acacia honey since I used it to make this lovely cake. I love its subtle floral note and thought that it would make a lovely and delicious flavoring for a sorbet. It was light, delicate and has a distinctive honey aroma. This flavor combo is for those that are looking for a balance from the dense texture of the chocolate cake.

Thank you Wendy and Dharm for this wonderful recipe! Click here to check out my fellow DBrs' version of the cake!

The rules as per our hosts:
- Use the provided cake recipe.
- The original recipe calls for the cake to be served with whipping cream BUT we decided to make this more of a challenge and ask you to make your own ice cream – a first for the DBrs. You can choose any flavor you want and any recipe although we provided two vanilla ice cream recipes. We are giving you a little freedom here and will allow whipped cream as a topping as well or of course non-dairy whip. Be as creative as you want with your topping. Any fruit puree or sauce would be lovely with this cake.
- It is optional to use a heart shaped pan. For a real Valentino, bake it in a heart shaped pan or cut it out into a heart shape. You may use any shape pan that gives you an area of 50” - 6x8 or 7x7. An 8” spring form pan works with great results as do smaller pans or ramekins.

What you need to know:
- A higher cocoa percentage increases the bitterness of the chocolate, which means the darker the chocolate, the denser the cake
- Use your favorite chocolate – the finished cake will taste exactly like the chocolate you use. Be creative with your chocolate, if you like a sweeter cake use milk chocolate or a combination of the semisweet and milk chocolate. If you like bittersweet chocolate use that and add sweetness by mixing the semi sweet with bittersweet. If you are daring, try white chocolate.
- The cake will sink a little as it cools but will still hold its shape and the top forms a light crust kind of like a brownie.

Chocolate Valentino – 8-inch cake

16oz (454 grams) bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams) unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

While the chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter the pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls. Whip the egg whites in a large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry). With the same beater beat the egg yolks together then add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with the remaining 2/3. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375°F/190°C。

Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140°F/60°C。.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.Remove cake from oven and cool on rack for 10 minutes then unmold and let cool completely.

Chocolate Sorbet - makes 1 quart
adopted from The Essence of Chocolate

2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
4 cups water
1tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine cocoa powder and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk in 1 cup of the water until any large lumps of powder are broken up, then whisk in the remaining water, 1 cup at a time, and whisk until all dry ingredients are dissolved.

Bring the mixture to just a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour mixture into a bowl, let cool then refrigerate overnight. The following day, place the sorbet base in an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instruction.

Acacia Honey Sorbet
makes 1 quart

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoon Acacia honey
4 cups water
1tsp vanilla extract

Combine honey and water in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the honey. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour mixture into a bowl, let cool then refrigerate overnight. The following day, place the sorbet base in an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instruction.

Plating:
Using a small heart shaped cookie cutter, stamp out little cake hearts. Place the hearts on plate, scope out the sorbets and place it on cake. Add the chocolate praline feuillete (recipe here) and top with edible gold. If you like, you may drizzle chocolate sauce on top of all.

抱歉喔﹐說好過兩天會補上食譜的﹐結果過這麼久才貼。這幾天都不在家﹐還有舊金山灣區下了好些天的雨﹐讓我心情鬱悶到不行﹐懶懶的什麼都不想做。還好這兩天太陽伯伯終於露臉了﹐我的心情也跟著放晴 =)

這個純巧克力蛋糕又名巧克力華倫天奴是我二月的Daring Bakers的培烘挑戰。這個月的hostess選用了據說是馬來西亞最華麗耀眼的美食大使Chef Wan 的Sweet Treats 書裡的食譜。雖然不知為什麼以華倫天奴命名﹐但這名字好像常跟浪漫掛鉤﹐我想以這命名的蛋糕是想讓吃到蛋糕的人感受到甜甜濃濃的愛意吧﹗這麼說頗適合送給情人﹐特別在情人節又或是送給喜歡的人表白。。呵呵。。。

此款蛋糕的特色是完全沒有添加任何麵粉，能輕鬆﹑近乎零失敗的在家製作。口感吃起來外層乾、脆，有點像布朗尼蛋糕但內層比布朗尼蛋糕更濕潤綿密，含有濃濃的巧克力味。單吃蛋糕好像單調了點﹐所以建議佐冰淇淋或醬汁一同享用。Hostess提供了香草冰淇淋的做法﹐可我想嘗試不一樣的口味配搭。早前朋友送我一本Scharffen Berger 創辦人寫的巧克力食譜書﹐裡頭有個巧克力雪酪讓我心癢癢的想吃很久了﹐這下終於付諸行動製作手工雪酪了。很容易製作的說﹐然而口感濃稠綿密﹑入口即化。

眼看雪酪這麼好製作﹐決定再弄其他的口味。因為不是人人喜歡濃郁的口味﹐就想來點清爽的﹐那就花蜜口味好了。自從使用洋槐花蜜製作慕斯就喜歡上這個味道﹐喜歡它淡淡的花香﹐我想用作雪酪的調味應該也不錯。還真的是不賴﹐綿綿的口感﹐非常清爽可口﹐很滋味。

你應該知道的事 - 蛋糕:
- 完全沒加麵粉﹐只需3樣材料就能做出的一個蛋糕。烤好的蛋糕中心會稍微下陷﹐但蛋糕體的形狀還是膨膨的。
- 選用的巧克力的可可脂肪越高也代表味道越濃郁﹐也就說蛋糕體越是稠密濃厚。
- 這個蛋糕的風味完全就是你選用的巧克力的拷貝品﹐所以建議使用你鍾愛的巧克力種類。

巧克力華倫天奴蛋糕– 8寸 (20.5cm) 圓形模具1個
16oz (454g) 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
½ 杯加 2湯匙 (146g) 無鹽奶油﹐切丁
5 個 L尺碼蛋黃
5 個 L尺碼蛋白

事前準備:
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至375°F/190°C。
- 模具抹上一層奶油﹐鋪上烤盤紙﹐再在紙上抹上一層奶油﹐備用。

先燒開一小鍋的水﹐備用。將切碎的巧克力和切丁的奶油混合倒進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐放小鍋上(容器不能碰到熱水)隔熱水不停攪拌至順滑﹐完全融化為止。放一旁降溫。

在另一碗中加進蛋白﹐用電動攪拌器以中速攪打蛋白﹐攪打至富含空氣且顏色變白出現尖角程度為止﹐約3分鐘﹐蛋白霜就完成了。跟著將蛋黃倒進另一個拌碗中﹐打發至顏色變鵝黃色﹐然後拌進微溫的巧克力中﹐拌勻。

將1/3量的蛋白霜加進巧克力蛋糊中﹐用橡皮刀輕輕的源邊往下刮翻切拌勻。再分兩次拌進剩下的蛋白霜﹐刮翻切拌勻至不見任何蛋白霜即可。

將麵糊倒進模具中﹐將麵糊推勻﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後﹐放進預熱過的烤模裡﹐以375°F/190°C烘烤約25分鐘。將糖果溫度計插入蛋糕中央﹐如果溫度到達140°F/60°C﹐蛋糕就烤好了。如果沒有糖果溫度計也可以用竹籤插入中央﹐慢慢拔出時不會沾黏但還是濕濕的﹐而蛋糕表面已形成一層硬薄膜(有點像布朗尼蛋糕的薄膜)就好了。從烤箱取出﹐擺在網架上放涼5分鐘﹐然後翻轉倒扣脫模﹐翻轉﹐整個放涼後用心形餅乾模吸切割出小蛋糕。
如果不立刻使用﹐可將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天﹐使用前靜置回溫即可。　

你應該知道的事 - 雪酪:
- 類似冰淇淋的雪酪(sorbet)，跟冰淇淋的區別是完全不含乳脂製品﹐多以新鮮果泥、果汁為主要成分。
- 新鮮做的雪酪有點柔軟，如果喜歡吃質地硬一點的，將雪酪放進冰箱多冷凍1小時。

巧克力雪酪 – 4杯份量
食譜摘自The Essence of Chocolate

2杯無糖可可粉﹐篩過
1 ¾ 杯砂糖
4 杯水
1茶匙香草精

把篩過的無糖可可粉、砂糖混合裝進小鍋裡，慢慢注入1杯水﹐攪拌勻後再注入餘下的3杯水﹐拌至可可粉及砂糖溶解為止。以中火煮沸，熄火，加進香草精﹐拌勻。將可可漿倒進1個大碗中﹐放涼後再放冰箱冷藏一個晚上。從冰箱取出雪酪基地﹐倒進冰淇淋機裡，然後根據製造商的指示製作雪酪。

洋槐花蜜風味雪酪 – 4杯份量

¾杯加2湯匙洋槐花蜜
4杯水
1茶匙香草精

把洋槐花蜜、水混合裝進小鍋裡，以中火煮至沸騰花蜜完全溶解，熄火。加進香草精﹐拌勻後倒進1個大碗中﹐放涼後再放冰箱冷藏一個晚上。從冰箱取出雪酪基地﹐稍攪拌直到它變得有點順滑後，倒進冰淇淋機裡，然後根據製造商的指示製作雪酪。

組合擺飾:
將用心形餅乾模吸切割出的心形小蛋糕﹐擺放在碟子中央。將雪酪挖成橢圓形狀的小球﹐然後放在蛋糕的上方。將切成三角形狀的巧克力千層酥(食譜點這裡)插在蛋糕體﹐再擺些烤過的杏仁片﹑食用金箔點綴即可。如果喜歡﹐也可以擠些巧克力醬。

Eggs, 2 ways ~ 以蛋為主角的甜點 =)

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:19:00 +0000

The egg is the simplest, highly nutritious and versatile food. Not only can be prepared into savory dishes like omelets and egg benedicts but also a favorite of pâtissiers and dessert chefs. It is important to use fresh eggs whenever possible but it is quite difficult for those who live in the city - local farmers’ markets are your best bet. When mom came home from Friday’s farmer market with 2 dozens of farm fresh eggs, I was quick on my feet to use them for desserts.

First is a simple vanilla custard, quintessentially English but it is known as crème Anglaise to most; made of a mixture of cream and eggs thickened by gentle heating. It is favored for serving warm alongside grilled stoned fruits, cakes; chilled and layered with jelly, mousse in frozen desserts, or churn it using an ice-cream machine to make your own ice cream. Though I made the traditional vanilla flavor, its flavoring options are virtually unlimited, whether infused with spices, scented with flower essences, spiked with booze, or enriched with chocolate. The vanilla bean I used is the Madagascar Bourbon variety. It blends beautifully with all the ingredients and didn’t just stand out by itself.

Traditionally, egg soufflé refers to a savory dish that is served over Sunday brunch. This dessert should be called faux soufflé because it requires no baking! When I saw it made into a dessert and served in egg shell, I thought it was just too cute to pass off ;)

How to prepare eggshells as serving vessels:
Using a paring knife, score the top of the eggshells, and carefully crack. Separate egg whites and yolks. Bring a small pan of water to a boil. Add eggshells, and boil 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove shells, drain then scrape out membrane, and discard. Set eggshells aside in an egg carton.

Egg Soufflé – makes 8 (eggshells)
Adopted from Michel Richard in Off Duty

Lemon Curd
recipe here

Meringue
2 large egg whites
100g caster sugar

Whisk the egg whites, adding sugar little by little, until they form soft peaks. Pour the meringue into a piping bag, snip a little corner, and pip into the prepared eggshells to 1/3 full. Spoon a teaspoon of the lemon curd on top of the meringue then pip meringue until full.

Before serving, place it into the microwave and heat for 5 second (this will cook and sterilize the egg whites). Burn the top with a blowtorch or put under a hot grill for a few seconds.

Vanilla Custard Served in Eggshells
Makes 6 eggshells - adopted from Martha Stewart

2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup whipping cream
¼ vanilla bean, seeds scraped
¼ cup vanilla sugar
3g leaf gelatine
¼ teaspoon salt

Separate egg whites and yolks. Transfer the egg yolks to a bowl; reserve egg whites for another use.

Put milk, cream, vanilla bean and seeds, and sugar into a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, once sugar dissolved, add in the pre-soaked gelatine, stirring until completely dissolved, removes from heat.

Whisk salt with egg yolks. Slowly whisk in hot milk mixture until combined, and then pour back into saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove vanilla bean then pour custard through a sieve. Divide custard among the eggshells, refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

雞蛋有良好且均衡的營養成分﹐可做成簡單卻又華麗的蛋料理像蛋捲﹑班尼迪客蛋﹐更是烘烤﹑製作甜點不可缺的材料。挑選雞蛋的重點是它的鮮度。越是新鮮的雞蛋其蛋黃和蛋白的張力越強﹐在打發起泡時越是結實鬆軟。而放在冰箱冰過的雞蛋張力也很強﹐打發時也容易起泡。對於我們這些城市人來說﹐想吃新鮮的雞蛋好像也只有往農夫市場碰運氣了。媽媽的運氣還不賴﹐前幾天從市場帶回從雞蛋農場買到的新鮮雞蛋﹐我迫不及待的拿了一些做甜點。

簡單的製作了卡士達奶黃布丁及蛋舒芙蕾。說到這個卡士達奶黃醬﹐我想大家應該不陌生。它的另一個名字是英式奶黃醬﹐有著甜而不膩且滑潤的口感﹐在甜點裡面算是運用最廣、最多的醬料。它不僅是佐簡單烤核果的最佳醬料﹐也可與打發的鮮奶油、果膠拌勻而變身為美味的慕斯甜品，還可以做成冰淇淋﹐用途廣泛。

我用產自瑪達加斯加的波旁香草Bourbon vanilla來調味﹐氣味溫和但同時擁有芬芳無比的香氣。倘若與其他材料結合的話，它的變化更是豐富﹑多樣化的。大家不妨採用香味藥草﹑乾燥辛香料﹑甜酒﹑巧克力來加強香氣及調味﹐會有意想不到的效果喔~

而小小的蛋舒芙蕾是我在Off Duty書裡看到並迷上的甜點。食譜由Citronelle的主廚﹐ 人稱French-Californian料理之父Michel Richard 提供。是不是很可愛?﹗ 這個甜點除了有可愛的造型﹐享用的人吃到蛋黃即檸檬乳醬時驚喜無比呢^^

如何將蛋殼處理作容器:
先用小刀在蛋殼上劃痕﹐將蛋一一小心翼翼劃破﹐然後將蛋黃和蛋白分別盛進碗裡﹐蛋殼備用。燒開一小鍋水﹐將蛋殼放滾水中燙3分鐘後﹐撈起瀝乾﹐去掉蛋殼內壁的透明膜﹐裡外抹乾備用。

蛋舒芙蕾 – 蛋殼8個

檸檬乳醬
食譜在這裡

蛋白霜
2 個大的蛋白
100g 細砂糖

要注意什麼呢?
- 製作蛋白霜時﹐儘量選擇新鮮或冰過的雞蛋為要。

用電動攪拌機將蛋白打發至柔滑、顏色變白。將細砂糖小量地分數次加入蛋白中﹐仔細發泡﹐打至出現軟角成光滑立體蛋白霜的程度為止。

將蛋白霜倒入擠袋裡，剪去一角﹐將蛋白霜擠進蛋殼裡至3分滿﹐取1茶匙檸檬乳醬舀入蛋殼中﹐然後整體擠滿蛋白霜。

享用前將它們放進微波爐以高溫加熱5秒達殺菌的功效。上桌前用烹飪用噴槍將正面﹑側面焦化上色即可。

香草卡士達奶黃布丁- 蛋殼6個
改自Martha Stewart

2大的雞蛋
1杯全脂奶
½杯鮮奶油
¼香草荳﹐開半刮籽
¼杯香草風味砂糖
3g魚膠片
¼茶匙鹽巴

事前準備:
- 明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分，備用。如果用明膠粉: 將明膠粉倒入水裡 (2大匙) 泡脹後備用。
- 將蛋黃跟蛋白分開﹐再分別盛進碗中。

將牛奶﹑鮮奶油﹑香草荳和籽﹑及香草砂糖混合裝進小鍋裡，以低火煮至砂糖融化即離火﹐加入泡軟的明膠片，確實拌勻備用。

用打蛋器攪打蛋黃和鹽巴至顏色變淡。將熱奶漿慢慢地注入蛋糊中﹐這時要用打蛋器不斷攪打﹐拌勻後﹐倒回小鍋中加熱。用打蛋器持續不斷的攪拌至變稠﹐並可以在木匙背劃出清晰的線條時(約5分鐘)﹐蛋黃醬就完成了﹐離火。將蛋黃醬過濾﹐倒進蛋殼中至滿﹐ 放進冰箱冷藏凝固約2小時。

St. Valentine’s Day: Coup de coeur ~ 草莓花蜜慕斯蛋糕

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:33:00 +0000

Happy St. Valentine’s Day, everyone! This is my Valentine’s gram to you =)

This is a remix version of the classic French fraisier or strawberry shortcake! Instead of filling it with crème patisserie, I filled it with honey mousse, something I have been tempted to do since I got myself a copy of Christine Manfield’s Desserts. There isn’t a fraisier recipe in her book but when I saw the recipe for the honey mousse I immediately thought of it as a substitute for the cream filling. It is so much lighter! However, I can’t guarantee that it is skimmer^^ I also used her génoise sponge recipe but made some adjustment to it. The recipes were easy to follow but the end result is marvelous!

Coup de coeur
yields 2 - 6x2in cakes

Almond Génoise Sponge Cake
5 large eggs, separated
150g granulated sugar
80g almond flour
70g all purpose flour, sifted
1tsp vanilla essence
50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 320°F/160°C. Grease a 24cm round cake pan with generously with butter and line it with parchment paper.

Sift together almond flour and flour. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy. Add in the sifted flour mix, vanilla essence, the melted butter; stir until combined after each addition. In another bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form then gently fold it into the cake batter with a spatula, fold until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap the pan slightly on the counter to release any air bubbles, bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice it into 10mm thick rounds then stamp it with the heart shaped mousse ring.

Acacia Honey Mousse
320ml whole milk
60g *Miele di Acacia (Acacia Honey)
4 egg yolks
100g granulated sugar
7g gelatine leaves
250ml heavy cream

*Elegant and rich, Acacia honey is called the "moonflower honey" in Italy. It has a clean, light vanilla flavor. It tastes delicious with coffee or tea, also great drizzled over toast, ricotta cheese or shaved hard cheeses.

First, bring a pot of water to boil then reduce to low heat once boiled. Bring the milk and honey to just boil over medium heat; stirring constantly to avoid burning the mixture. Remove the honey milk mixture once reached simmering point. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl then whisk in the honey milk slowly. Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water and stir gently until the mixture thicken into a custard or until it coats the back of a wooden spoon then remove from heat. Stir in the pre-soaked gelatine leaves, stir until completely dissolved. Pass the custard through a fine meshed sieve and place into a bath of icy water to cool. Whisking constantly to keep it aerated as it cools.

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form then fold 1/3 of this into the cooled custard, mix until combined. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream until combined. Spoon the mousse into a piping bag without a tip, set side.

Kirsch Syrup
2tbsp granulated sugar
4tbsp water
2tsp Kirsch (cherry liqueur)

Put sugar and water in a heatproof bowl then place it in the microwave to dissolve the sugar, about 30 seconds. Let cool until adding kirsch to the mixture, stir until combined.

Rose Flavor Chantilly Cream
200ml heavy cream
2tbsp caster sugar
1tsp rose essence

Place the cream, sugar and rose essence in a bowl and whip until semi-stiff peaks form.

Assemble and decorating the cake:
Place the mousse molds on a tray then put a cake base inside each mold then brush a layer of kirsch syrup on top. Arrange the strawberry halves cut side to the side of the mold, pipe the honey mousse in between the strawberries and fill up to about 1/2 of the height of the moulds. Arrange strawberries on cake base until full, pipe more mousse until almost to the top, take another piece of cake, brush a layer of syrup then place it on top with syrup side facing down. Push it down slightly with your palm to take out any air bubbles then place in fridge to set for 1 hour.

Remove from fridge. To unmold the cakes, wrap a hot towel around the mold for 10 second then use your fingers to push the cake upward. With an icing knife in hand, spread the cream onto the cake center, move the knife over the top to get a smooth finish. Decorate with white chocolate ruffles, rose petals and fresh strawberries.

情人節快樂﹗這是阿Vi送你的情人節禮物喔~

這個蛋糕是法式經典草莓蛋糕fraisier的變奏版。由原本奶油餡心(crème patisserie)改成了花蜜慕斯﹐口感清爽許多。不知為啥在翻Christine Manfield的Desserts一書時看到這個食譜馬上就想到用它做為fraisier的餡心。傑諾瓦士海綿蛋糕的食譜也是來自這書﹐不過我加了杏仁粉﹐蛋糕體也變的較濕潤。食譜雖然簡單﹐但是甜點整體味道豐富有層次。蜜糖的濃郁甜味配酸酸的草莓合適的不得了﹐吃了滿嘴的草莓奶香~

草莓花蜜慕斯蛋糕 ~ 法式經典草莓蛋糕變奏版
2個 - 直徑6x2in 心形蛋糕

杏仁傑諾瓦士(海綿)蛋糕 ~直徑24cm/10寸圓形模具1個
將原份量的一半麵粉用杏仁粉代替﹐所以有別於傳統海綿蛋糕﹐口感品嚐起來較濕潤及清爽。

5 個大的蛋黃
5 個大的蛋白
150g 砂糖
80g 杏仁粉
70g 麵粉, 篩過
1tsp 香草精
50g 放涼的澄清無鹽奶油

事前準備:
- 將一烤架移到烤箱中格﹐烤箱預熱至320°F/160°C。
- 模具抹上厚厚的奶油﹐再鋪上烘烤紙﹐備用。

將杏仁粉和麵粉混合篩過﹐備用。用電動攪拌器以中速攪打蛋黃和砂糖﹐攪打至富含空氣且顏色變淡為止。加進篩過的杏仁麵粉﹑香草精﹑及放涼的澄清無鹽奶油﹐每加進一樣就要確實拌勻。

在另一大碗裡加進蛋白﹐用電動打蛋器以低速將蛋白打發至起泡出現軟角的程度時﹐將速度加至中速打發至立體為止。小量地將蛋霜拌入麵糊裡﹐用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻切拌勻﹐會如緞帶般重疊時即可。

輕輕地將麵糊倒進烤模中﹐輕輕敲一下烤模釋放氣泡後﹐放進預熱過的烤模裡﹐烘烤約20分鐘。等烤到焦色恰到好處時﹐週圍會因烤熟而稍稍縮小﹐烤模和蛋糕體間就會出現空隙﹐輕按蛋糕中間時感覺到彈性即烤好。也可以用竹籤插入中央﹐慢慢拔出時不會沾黏﹐就烤好了。從烤箱取出﹐翻轉倒扣脫模﹐擺在網架上整個放涼。將海綿蛋糕橫切成10mm厚片﹐然後用直徑6x2in的心形慕斯模吸切出4片蛋糕片﹐備用。

如果不立刻使用﹐可將蛋糕包好放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天。使用前靜置回溫即可。

洋槐花蜜慕斯
取自洋槐又名相思樹花之蜜，清澈純淨的色澤，細緻高雅的風味中帶有洋槐花香。

320ml 全脂奶
60g 洋槐(相思)花蜜
4 蛋黃
100g 砂糖
7g 魚膠片
250ml 鮮奶油

事前準備:
- 明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分﹐備用。如果用明膠粉﹐將其倒入水裡泡脹後備用。

製作蜜糖蛋黃醬：
先燒開一小鍋的水﹐轉小火。將牛奶跟蜜糖混合裝進小鍋裡，以中火煮至剛沸騰即離火﹐備用﹔要不時地攪拌以免燒焦。

用電動攪拌器以中速攪打蛋黃和砂糖至顏色變淡。將蜜糖奶漿慢慢地注入蛋糊中﹐這時要用打蛋器不斷攪打。放小鍋上隔熱水加熱﹐用打蛋器持續不斷的攪拌至變稠﹐並可以在木匙背劃出清晰的線條時(約10分鐘)﹐蜜糖蛋黃醬就完成了﹐離火。加入泡軟的明膠片，確實拌勻後將蜜糖蛋黃醬過濾﹐再放進冰水浴中﹐並不時的攪拌至完全放涼。

製作花蜜慕斯:
將鮮奶油打發至出現尖角的起泡程度﹐用切拌法(用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻)將3份1份量的發泡鮮奶油拌入蜜糖蛋黃醬中﹐攪拌乳化後﹐拌入剩餘的鮮奶油﹐確實攪拌勻備用。

櫻桃酒糖漿(塗抹蛋糕用)
4湯匙清水
2湯匙砂糖
2茶匙櫻桃利口酒

清水﹑砂糖裝進小碗裡﹐再放微波爐微波30秒煮沸至砂糖融化為止。放涼後拌入櫻桃利口酒備用。

玫瑰風味香堤麗鮮奶油 – 約1 ½ 杯份量
200ml 鮮奶油
2湯匙細砂糖
1茶匙玫瑰精

將鮮奶油﹑玫瑰精﹑和細砂糖放入mixing bowl裡﹐用電動打蛋器先以低速打發鮮奶油至起泡﹐再轉中速攪打至出現尖角的程度。將鮮奶油放冰箱冷藏10分鐘即完成。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:
將一片蛋糕片鋪進慕斯圈中﹐在表面用刷子塗上櫻桃酒糖漿﹐然後將切掉蒂頭﹑對半縱切的草莓原著模型邊緣排列。將慕斯倒進擠袋裡﹐剪去一角﹐先擠些慕斯填滿草莓間的空隙﹐然後由外往中心整體填滿慕斯至半滿。將去蒂的草莓排列填滿整個模型﹐然後再擠進慕斯填滿。在另一片蛋糕片的表面塗上櫻桃酒糖漿﹐塗面朝下疊蓋在慕斯上﹐輕壓使其確實貼黏著﹐放入冰箱冷卻凝固60分鐘。

取出蛋糕﹐將蛋糕脫模﹐以溫毛巾圍著模型溫熱10秒後﹐用手指將慕斯往上推出脫模。用抹刀將玫瑰香堤麗鮮奶油平均的塗抹在蛋糕的正上方。在蛋糕上方的一角擺放白巧克力裝飾﹐再擺放滿滿的玫瑰花瓣及草莓即可。

In season: Lemon Mousse with Citrus Curd ~ 檸檬慕斯乳醬杯

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:22:00 +0000

Since I developed an interest in pastry and baking, all these gorgeous food magazines seem to just appear out of no where! To name some of my favorite reads: Donna Hay, Delicious, Elle à Table, エル・ア・ターブル(Elle à Table in Japanese) Gourmet Traveller , Saveurs , Vogue Entertaining + Travel , and fresh off the press is jamie magazine - Jamie Oliver’s newest project - which was launched this past holiday! These are food magazines that seamlessly married beautiful photography with stunning styling! I strongly recommend that you look for a copy of any of the above on your next trip to a book store. I am positive that you won’t be disappointed^^

Oh back to this dessert – so we know that citrus are in season and like any other great chefs would do – cook with what is in season! Plus I got the prefect recipe for it too^^

The recipe belongs to Andy Bunn of Café Sopra at Fratelli Fresh in Australia, who also is a contributor at VE+T. I have been eager to give this lemon mousse with citrus curd a try since I saw it on the cover of Vogue Entertaining + Travel (Vol.33 no.4) - it simply looked divine. Now that the citrus in my garden are at their best, I couldn’t wait any longer. I made these as the finale for a family dinner over the weekend and it was well received.

I stayed true to his recipe and didn’t make any adjustment except adjusting the quantities of some ingredients. It tasted lovely, airy and has an ultra silky texture. I served them with elderflower thins giving that it is quite tangy – a recipe I found in the Delicious December issue. I came to love anything make with elderflower after having eaten this dessert. Btw, this is great to be served at the Valentine’s Day dinner that you may be preparing. Talking about Valentine’s Day, I have just the perfect cake recipe in mind but let’s just hope that I am able to share with you before this date….

Lemon Mousse with Citrus Curd

Citrus Curd
175g caster sugar
3Lrg. eggs, lightly beaten
125g unsalted butter, chopped into cubes
Juice of 3 lemons

Lemon Mousse
200ml fresh lemon juice
160g caster sugar
10g leaf gelatine
300ml whipping cream
250ml water

Garnish:
1 pink grapefruit
1 orange
Some candied kumquat

Make the citrus curd:
Place the lightly beaten eggs, lemon juice, caster sugar and butter in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Using a whisk, whisk the mixture continuously until it becomes thicken and glossy. Remove from heat, cool slightly then spoon into an airtight container and let chilled.

Make the lemon mousse:
Bring lemon juice, sugar and water to a boil over medium heat. Continue to boil until sugar completely dissolved then remove from heat. Add in the pre-soaked gelatine and still until completely dissolved. Place the mixture in an ice water bath and let cool completely, stirring occasionally. This cooling step is critical: otherwise, when the cream folded in, the two mixtures will separate into two layers. While the lemon mixture is being cool, whisk the cream until soft peak forms then fold it into the chilled lemon mixture until combined. It should look runny/loose at this point.

Spoon and divide the citrus curd among 6 glasses, tap glasses lightly to release the air bubbles, place 1 - 2 pieces candied kumquat on top then spoon in the lemon mousse next and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight to set. Garnish with orange and grapefruit slices, also some grapefruit pulps.

Elderflower thins – makes about 50 cookies
100g unsalted butter, softened
110g caster sugar
1 egg
1tbsp elderflower syrup
200g all purpose flour, sifted
1tsp baking powder

I thought you should know:
- Only bake the cookies the day you plan to serve them to keep its flaky texture.

Sift together flour and baking powder and set aside. Place the unsalted butter in a bowl, mash it with a spoon. Add in the sugar and stir with a spoon to combine. Add in the flour mixture gradually until combined then add the elderflower syrup, egg and mix to form a soft dough ball.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll into a cylinder. Wrap it with parchment paper, place it in the freezer and chill for 2 hours.

Take the dough out and let rest for 15 minutes to soften; meanwhile, preheat the oven to 380°F/190°C. Cut the dough into 5mm slices and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

自從對甜點跟培烘產生濃厚的興趣﹐突然間像發現新大陸似的發現很多讓我眼睛為之一亮的烹飪雜誌。奇怪了﹐為什麼以前都好像沒看到呢?﹗其中又以Donna Hay, Delicious, Elle à Table, エル・ア・ターブル(Elle à Table 的日文版) Gourmet Traveller, Saveurs, Vogue Entertaining + Travel, 還有去年十二月才創刊的jamie magazine是我每期必敗的。這些雜誌從擺盤到攝影風格都充滿美感﹐美的不像話﹗我隆重推薦給大家﹐希望你們下次進書店的時候找找看﹐我敢說你一定會得到一個視覺上的饗宴﹗

這個甜點就是來自雜誌的。大家也知道現在是柑橘當令的季節﹐大廚們常建議說多食用當季的蔬菜生果﹐所以找食譜的時候也是朝著這方向選材的。甜點食譜來自Vogue Entertaining + Travel。是由澳洲的Café Sopra的主廚Andy Bunn提供的。去年夏天VE+T的封面就是這個檸檬慕斯乳醬杯﹐咋看好不驚艷哦﹗食譜除了改了某些材料的量﹐基本是沒有更改﹐原汁原味。味道酸酸的﹐乳醬又或是慕斯的質地都非常細緻軟滑﹐入口即溶﹐ 口感輕盈的不得了﹐佐清雅的接骨木花脆餅享用會取得絕妙的均衡與和諧滋味喔~

還有過幾天就是情人節了﹐這個甜點操作不難﹐推薦大家做這個作為餐後甜點﹐酸酸甜甜像極了戀愛的感覺呢^^

檸檬慕斯乳醬杯 - 約8杯

檸檬乳醬
175g 細砂糖
3個 L尺寸全蛋﹐稍微打發
125g 無鹽奶油﹐切丁
3個 Meyer檸檬(過濾檸檬汁)

檸檬慕斯
200ml 濾過的新鮮檸檬汁
160g 細砂糖
10g 明膠片
300ml 鮮奶油
250ml 清水

裝飾用:
1個柳橙
1個柚子
適量的糖漬金桔

要注意什麼呢?
- 檸檬糖漿一定要完全放涼才能拌入打發好的鮮奶油﹐要不然兩者是不能完全乳化﹐會分離的。

製作檸檬乳醬：
先燒開一小鍋的水﹐轉小火。將打散的蛋﹑濾過的檸檬汁﹑細砂糖及奶油混合裝進耐熱大碗裡，放小鍋上隔熱水攪打。用打蛋器持續不斷的攪拌至變稠﹐並可以在木匙背劃出清晰的線條時﹐約8-10分鐘﹐乳醬就完成了。稍微放涼後倒進密閉的容器裡﹐放冰箱存放。

製作檸檬慕斯:
明膠片用冰水泡軟之後擠掉水分﹐備用。如果用明膠粉﹐將其倒入水裡泡脹後備用。

把檸檬汁﹑細砂糖及水混合倒進小鍋裡﹐用中火煮至砂糖完全融化後﹐離火。加入泡軟的明膠片，確實拌勻後將小鍋放冰水浴放涼。

待檸檬糖漿放涼後﹐將鮮奶油隔著冰水打發至出現尖角的起泡程度﹐然後拌進冷卻後的檸檬糖漿中。用切拌法(用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻)將3份1份量的發泡鮮奶油拌入檸檬糖漿裡﹐攪拌乳化後﹐拌入剩餘的鮮奶油﹐確實攪拌勻備用。

舀取3 – 4湯匙檸檬乳醬倒入杯中至3份2滿﹐抹平﹐輕輕叩幾下釋放氣泡﹐放1 - 2塊糖漬金桔在上, 然後舀進檸檬慕斯至滿﹐輕輕叩幾下釋放氣泡﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固﹐至少2小時或一個晚上。

享用前放幾瓣柳橙﹑柚子在慕斯上﹐再撒一些柚子果肉。

接骨木花脆餅– 約50個
100g 無鹽奶油﹐室溫放軟﹐切丁
110g 細砂糖
1 全蛋
1tbsp 接骨木花糖漿
200g 麵粉, 篩過
1tsp 發酵粉/泡打粉

要注意什麼呢?
- 這個餅乾的麵糰預先做好﹐享用的時候才烘烤方能保持酥脆的口感。

將麵粉和發酵粉混合篩過。將室溫放軟的奶油用湯匙壓散拌勻至蓬鬆。加入細砂糖攪打勻後加入小量的麵粉﹐拌勻後再加入剩下的麵粉﹐然後加入接骨木花糖漿﹐雞蛋﹐拌成糰塊。

將麵糰放在撒上麵粉的工作台上﹐揉至成圓柱狀﹐用烘烤紙包裹好再放進冰箱靜置2個小時醒麵。

取出麵糰﹐室溫回軟15分鐘。同時預熱烤箱至380°F/190°C。在餅乾烤盤上鋪上烘烤紙﹐備用。將麵糰切成約厚5mm的薄片﹐有間距地排放在鋪了烤盤紙的烤盤上﹐放入烤箱烤15分鐘或是烤到餅乾週邊變金黃色就可以了。烤好後記住要在鋼架放涼﹐否則口感沒那麼酥脆。

Spring is near….

LaAtelierVi@gmail.com (Venus ~ Vi) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:01:00 +0000

….so it is time to clean up the garden and get ready for springtime gardening. As this being said, I am calling Elaine (I know you’re reading this post!) to report to duty. I will repay you with lots of goodies =]

I have been giving serious thoughts to redo the garden - I want to build big planter boxes so that I can grow my own veggie! The thought of having an organic, edible garden in the back thrills me – fresh carrots, snap peas, egg plants…….

Also, I have been thinking of building an additional shed to house my ever growing fabrics collection. The other has been turned into a sewing studio and sample room and just too cramp after I bought a cutting table and 2 additional fitting mannequins; only if I can contain myself not to buy anymore and I know it is just impossible!

春天好像快到了﹐我也要打理後院那些花花草草﹐實在荒廢了太久了。這個春天想在花園的一角開拓出一個蔬菜園﹐因為擁有一個自家的有機蔬菜園是我一直夢寐著的事。真的該問問專家好好規劃一下才行。還有就是想再建一間小屋來存放不斷地增長的布料數量。現在的小屋已經被改造成我的工作室了。怎麼辦﹐我好像永遠缺地方來存放我的收藏品 O_o"

BTW, have a nice weekend everyone!