My macarons will always come out with big ruffle skirts = )
Thursday, July 16, 2009
A simple strawberry cake
I remember watching the cooking video of Julia Child and Jack Pepin.
Julia said : I always whip my cream in an ice bath.
This is what I should have done. It gets so so so warm at my house during this time of year. hehe
Julia said : I always whip my cream in an ice bath.
This is what I should have done. It gets so so so warm at my house during this time of year. hehe
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Pear with Caramel & Spices Jam~ a Christine Ferber recipe
I have been so exhausted lately, that I don't think I can write anything. And this was made in early October.
So I will construct this post with lists.
1. I made this jam a while ago, the pictures had been sitting in my iphoto file but I really didn't feel like writing anything.
2. I took 284 shots at the jam, but non of them I'm happy with, not even one
3. This is a Christine Ferber recipe, it came from the book Mes Confiture
4. Christine Ferber is awesome Christine Ferber is awesome Christine Ferber is awesome
5. I also own her tart book, the Mes Tartes
6. The tartes in the book looks wonderful but I don't have time to try any of them yet.
7. Anyhow, back to the jams, I pasteurized the jam using the water bath method and it was just as easy as I thought it would be .
8. My pectin didn't turn out as think as it probably should be, so consequently , my jam was a bit on the runny side.
9. But it's O.K., the jam is really good and I will do better next time
10. I used double the pears indicated in the book, because my pears were ripe and soft already, they didn't have enough body to balance with the liquid so I threw in another pound of pears.
11. I julienned the pears as instructed in the recipe , but next time I might try slices or squares
12. I had no problem with making the caramel sugar in this recipe, obviously the caramel was past the golden brown stage but that's the best I can do for now. I once used my friend's copper sugar pan , and the result was definitely different. But I'd rather blame on my skill for now, so I won't feel like buying a copper pan too much.
13. I'm always very conservative on spices, because I don't want people to taste the jam and go : Cardamom , Cinnamon and star anise!!! But this time it's different, I threw in double the portion of the spices because the oranges I got had strong pungent and all I tasted was orange.
14. I think school isn't really that tiring, it's the unknown future that's tiring me
15. You know, when you're putting so much effort to present but you don't know if the kind of future you expect is guaranteed
16. hooda hooda~ you all ready for the Ho Ho Ho season?
Monday, September 8, 2008
what? More macarons?
Love to take pictures of something half eaten...
and it's Macarons again
I was hesitated when uploading these pictures..
because I have way too many macaron posts on my blog.
But this is a new attempt, this is Matcha macaron with vanilla buttercream ring and chocolate ganache in the center.
Yes, when I saw Tartelette's new macaron post I knew that I had to try making these again , in Taiwan !! and during summer!!!
And believe me , it's quite challenging...Since I've failed so many times in August..
Could it be the humid weather (or .. perhaps it's just me ), that none of the batches I made in the past month's turned out right.
The texture of the macarons were very weird , a texture beyond that I can not describe . Something you'd dump into the trash right away. And not only did the little lace feet fail to occur , they all cracked on the top too.
So the past one month in Taiwan's been kind of depressing for me . Because I must make macarons on vacations!
So you all know that I was determined to experiment on them again (although I've failed like 6 times in the past month)
And I said to myself : if this batch doesn't turn out right, then that's it and I'll just wait till I get back to the States . Make them in a drier climate and get the proper result.
But guess what~?
The batch turn out great. The feet is as big as I wanted them to be.
And the surface of the shells are glossy too . (after refrigeration of course)
The only problem........yes, the only problem. Don't you just hate it when everything's perfect but there's only one problem (which does not make it perfect anymore)
The problem is , the butter I used for the buttercream tasted like margarine.
It said clearly on the package : butter . But it tasted , smelled, and looked like margarine.
I had no choice but to use it because we can't do return in Taiwan , and I didn't know the result would be this bad.
So I guess that's the only flaw, but a flaw that's bad enough to ruin the entire cookie.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
August's DB challenge is here~~~ it's late but it's done~
Guess what's this month's challenge?
It's not cream puffs...but eclairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(ok..eclairs r puffs.....)
And not just any eclairs, it's Pierre Herme's chocolate eclairs
If you do keep one of PH's books you'll notice that whenever the recipe calls for chocolates, it will always say "preferably valrhona" followed by percentage of cacao instructed. Strange enough when most people prefer valrhona , I prefer cacao barry.
Somehow the taste of vaorhona is just not up my liking. So I always use cacao barry rather than valrhona.
What I used here for my chocolate pastry cream was made with cacao barry and I am extremely satisfied with the result once again. I don't like pastry cream all that much..and I don't like making it either. Because of all the energy you need.
Tempering the yolks and whisking it while it's on the stove. But it's all worth it for PH's chocolate pastry cream.
It was devine!
However, I do love PH's recipe for the choux. It was wonderful..
I used to always make my choux with just water, but I guess subbing some water w/ milk can make it taste even better.
This is what I love about DB's challenges, it helps me learn things. And the challenges are always so fun.
Thanks to Tony and Meeta, the hosts of August's challenge.
The challenge was wonderful and fun !!!! And here's the recipe for the eclair.
Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm
1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.
2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.
Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.
Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)
1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.
3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.
Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.
2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.
Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.
2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
will be very soft and smooth.
3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.
Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé
• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
[bNotes:[/b]
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.
Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.
Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)
• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.
It's not cream puffs...but eclairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(ok..eclairs r puffs.....)
And not just any eclairs, it's Pierre Herme's chocolate eclairs
If you do keep one of PH's books you'll notice that whenever the recipe calls for chocolates, it will always say "preferably valrhona" followed by percentage of cacao instructed. Strange enough when most people prefer valrhona , I prefer cacao barry.
Somehow the taste of vaorhona is just not up my liking. So I always use cacao barry rather than valrhona.
What I used here for my chocolate pastry cream was made with cacao barry and I am extremely satisfied with the result once again. I don't like pastry cream all that much..and I don't like making it either. Because of all the energy you need.
Tempering the yolks and whisking it while it's on the stove. But it's all worth it for PH's chocolate pastry cream.
It was devine!
However, I do love PH's recipe for the choux. It was wonderful..
I used to always make my choux with just water, but I guess subbing some water w/ milk can make it taste even better.
This is what I love about DB's challenges, it helps me learn things. And the challenges are always so fun.
Although I always fail to post it promptly. Anyhow, I hope you guys will like my creation.
Thanks to Tony and Meeta, the hosts of August's challenge.
The challenge was wonderful and fun !!!! And here's the recipe for the eclair.
Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm
1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.
2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.
Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.
Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)
1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.
3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.
Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.
2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.
Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.
2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
will be very soft and smooth.
3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.
Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé
• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
[bNotes:[/b]
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.
Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.
Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)
• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.
Oatmeal cookies (Made in June)
The ingredients for making the cookies.
Sometime during my mom's visit in the states, she insisted that I should teach her how to make this oatmeal cookie.
So I did. and she's happy, but she's never made it afterwards.
But I love this cookie, love this recipe. It's the best oatmeal cookie ever.
Bear guarding the jar of cookies
Sometime during my mom's visit in the states, she insisted that I should teach her how to make this oatmeal cookie.
So I did. and she's happy, but she's never made it afterwards.
But I love this cookie, love this recipe. It's the best oatmeal cookie ever.
Bear guarding the jar of cookies
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