Citrus pavlova with pomegranate

I made this recipe for the pavlova: worked fine. On top I put some segmented blood grapefruit and mandarins, passionfruit and pomegranate seeds. I also added some creme fraiche under the fruit. I liked it a lot, even if OTHER PEOPLE were all like "Usually I have BANANA on a pavlova." Whatever, freaks: I like citrusy desserts and I get to make them how I want, so there. This was our Easter Sunday dessert. 

Ladurée (again)

I've blogged about Ladurée before. This visit was JUST AS GOOD. 

They make their own champagne: who knew. 

I blogged about having a rustic kouign amman in St Malo a few years ago.

My favourite every pastry: the palmier (front left). The thing in the middle is a Paris Brest. 

Kugelhopf

This is Dorie Greenspan's recipe for kugelhopf: I made the recipe as written here.

It's technically a kugelhopf made in the wrong pan. This is a rose-shaped bundt pan. A kugelhopf is traditionally supposed to be in a tall swirly turban-like shaped pan.

I found out a few things while planning this cake:

1. A bundt cake in modern parlance is an American term for anything baked in a bundt tin of whatever shape, typically some sort of pound cake or heavy cake in any flavour. You can get bizarro bastardised versions in sour cream and carrot, black forest, pecan caramel, etc.

2. A bundt cake in the traditional sense is a German chocolate-laden thing, still in the fancy shape but with cinnamon-coffee-mocha-type flavouring.

3. A kugelhopf is not a bundt cake. It is like a brioche, but not. It has raisins in it and runs on yeast, not self-raising flour. So it is like a half-bread, half-cake bakery mutant.

I also learned that flour can Do Things I Did Not Know It Could Do. When the dough was first mixed, it was super-sloppy, almost like pancake batter. I was all like "whatever, it's screwed, I put too much milk in it". Then Dorie was all like "beat it in the mixer until the end of time." I was like "whatever Dorie, that's never going to become a cake, or even remotely dough-like. Good luck, lady." But anyway, I did the eternal mixing, and slowly it came together and all the gluten strands stretched and stretched and eventually it was like smooth stretchy chewing gum. No joke. I was amazed. Then it had to rise and be knocked back about six times, then sit overnight, then rise again for hours. By the end of all that I was like "THIS BETTER BE WORTH IT". Anyway, it totally was.

This thing came out of the oven and it was light, richly flavoured (no doubt from maturing and rising and yeasting for so long) and the raisins were soft and juicy, and it was awesome. I also dusted it with cinnamon along with the sugar. It was delicious with coffee.  Perfect for afternoon tea. Or breakfast. Or dessert. Incredible.

My tip: if you use a bundt pan or a rose pan or anything with tons of ridges or moulded detail, butter it real good, butter it again and then lightly flour the tin as well. I hate it when things stick to pans.

French Festival 2011

Really, we only went for the macarons. These ones were from the Belle Epoque stall (made by their patisserie at the Emporium). The salted caramel was by far, and really by far, the absolute best. The others were also excellent but just too sweet for me. Apart from that the festival was well-attended, despite there being not as many "fun" stalls as I remember from last year (jewellery, clothes, homewares etc) and just lots of corporate and travel-agent stalls. Meh. Stage performers tried hard, but the crowd wasn't in the mood to be interactive (note to festival organisers: Francophiles and language people generally don't enjoy calling out lame responses and yelling out how they're feeling. It's not Homebake. Or a Wiggles concert). The coffee was OK, considering. Some good efforts from food stalls: merguez, rillettes, quality fromages, crepes and the like. Too many middle-aged women in berets and swishy coats for my liking: they looked like they were off to a fancy-dress French Stereotypes cocktail evening. Leave the flag-themed outfits and pompom hats to the little girls- there were MANY and they were all ADORABLE. Likewise for the schnauzer in a sweet little red harness, nomming away on a bread stick. I WANT ONE.

Emma's pear tart

Valentine's teddy cookies

Cherry pavlova

Inspired by Margaret Fulton's Christmas pavlova.

My version involves a jar of sour morello cherries, the juice reduced with a tiny bit of sugar, unsweetened whipped cream, and tons of fresh cherries.

Brownies: double chocolate and peanut butter swirl

Nom nom nom. These were the perfect reward for some very helpful boys. I made double chocolate brownies, and peanut-butter swirl brownies. How lovely to be gently stirring melted chocolate when there's a tropical thunderstorm brewing outside.

Double chocolate brownies

115g unsalted butter

115g plain milk chocolate (broken up)

300g caster sugar

pinch salt

1 tsp proper vanilla extract

2 big eggs

140g plain flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

100g choc chips, or crumbled dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line your brownie tin. Melt the butter and milk chocolate over simmering water; cool slightly. Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat well till all blended good.

Sift in the flour and cocoa, then add the choc chips and stir them in. Pour it into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out almost clean.

Peanut butter and chocolate swirl brownies

150g dark chocolate

100g unsalted butter

1 cup caster sugar

Half a cup of plain flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 big eggs

200g crunchy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line your brownie tin. Melt the chocolate and butter over simmering water and leave to cool. Meanwhile, sift the flour, cocoa and sugar into a bowl. Pour the chocolate into the bowl and then add the eggs. Stir until just combined. Pour the mixture into the tin and then blob the peanut butter over the top. Swirl it in a bit with a butter knife. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out with crumbs on it.

Buche de Noel 2010

With mini snowmen on top.

Buche de Noel

Sponge cake

50g cocoa

pinch sea salt

3 large eggs

75g light muscovado sugar, or a mixture of caster and brown sugar

Filling

375g sweetened chestnut puree

75g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

180ml whipping cream

Icing sugar

Christmas figurines or other decorations

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Butter a Swiss roll tin (approx. 23cm x 32cm), line it, and butter the lining.

2. Put eggs and sugar into electric mixer and whisk for 8 to 10 mins, or until pale and moussey.

Sift cocoa and salt into bowl and fold in lightly.

3. Pour into tin, tap on bench to knock out any air bubbles. Bake for 8 to 10 mins or until set and springy.

4. Turn cake out onto a clean tea towel dusted with icing sugar. Leave the paper on and carefully roll up the sponge, using the tea towel to help. Roll from the short end. Leave it to cool.

5. Whip the cream. Melt the chocolate over hot water. Combine both with the chestnut puree to taste.

6. Unroll the sponge, remove paper. Spread with half the filling mixture. Roll it back up. If the sponge cracks or breaks, just stuff it back together or ignore it.

7. Tip sponge onto serving plate, seam down. Spread it with the rest of the filling. Use fork to make lines and swirls, like a tree branch. Add decorations.

8. Chill in the fridge for an hour or longer. Bring it back to room temperature before serving, then sift over icing sugar.

Little fondant snowmen

To go on top of my buche de Noel.

Halloween cookies

Shaped cutters from Aldi.... Spookalicious!