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8 avril 2010 4 08 /04 /avril /2010 20:29

Orangettes

 

I finally tried my hand at making 'Orangette' for a touch of Paris in the spring,since my best friends went to Paree without me :-) plus we still have tons of oranges on the tree and I hate to see the peels go to to waste, so here goes...




I am pleased to report the result in these pics and as far as taste ... they are ... yummy, chewy /tangy /sweet on the inside, bitter croquant on the outside ... what else can one asks for? :-)




INGREDIENTS:
 
- Equal part orange peels, water, and sugar:
  - Peel from 5-6 medium-size oranges (175gr or 1 overflowing cup)
  - 3/4 cups of water ( 1 cup= 236gr)
  - 3/4 cup sugar
- Valhrona Le Noir Amer (71% Cacao) Chocolate: 2 tablets each - 3.5 oz - 100grams
PREPARATION:

1. Slice ends off four oranges, score the peel from one end to the other, and remove the peels from the oranges. Cut
off some of the pith i.e. leave some.
2. Slice the peels into thin strips and trim the edges. (about 3 mm in width, they will shrink)
3. Using a medium size pot, place the peels in boiling water and blanch them for a 5-7 minutes. Rinse the peels with cold water, and repeat this process a second time. Taste check a bit of peel, if it still tastes bitter, repeat a 3rd time.
4. Prepare the simple syrup by combining water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring the syrup to a simmer, place the peels in the pot, and simmer for 1 hour. Put a timer on, keep an eye on the pot in the last 15' as you don't want to burn the syrup and the peels.
5. Once the peels have cooked, remove them from the pot, and place on a rack to cool and dry overnight.
6. Next day: Melt  over a double boiler. Dip the candied orange peels in the chocolate, remove them quickly, and let them cool on a piece of parchment or foil paper. Place in fridge to harden.
7.Store the orange peels in an airtight container... that is if there are any left :o)




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3 avril 2009 5 03 /04 /avril /2009 21:39

Strawberry Verrine with White Chocolate Chantilly Cream


This is the first time I make a white chocolate whipping cream, and boy I don't think I'll go back to plain whipping cream ... :-)  And I have to confess that I like white chocolate a bit more every day ;-) The white choco chantilly recipe is from Cannelle et Vanille, a gorgeous baking blog, check it out.


INGREDIENTS:
4 Servings (or 3 if using larger verrines like the one in the pic)

- 2 pints of organic strawberry
- 1/2 pint (1 cup) of heavy whipping cream
- 100 gr white chocolate
- some dark chocolate shavings or cocoa powder for decoration (optional)

PREPARATION:
1. Wash, hull and cut strawberry into small pieces
2. Melt white chocolate and let it cool
3. Whip the cream until soft peaks, add a  third of the whipped cream into the bowl with the melted and cooled chocolate. Whisk vigorously. Then add the remaining cream and now, fold gently with a spatula.
4. Place the strawberry into the verrines to 2/3 full, top with the white chocolate chantilly. Use a spatula to level the top. Decorate with cocoa or chocolate shavings. Freeze or refrigerate depending on when it will be eaten.
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23 mars 2009 1 23 /03 /mars /2009 03:45

White Chocolate Hearts with Strawberry and Pistachio

I know Valentine is over, but I saw these on Coco&Medotcom and fell in love :-) And you can always make them for Mother's day!


INGREDIENTS:
makes 6 strawberry hearts

- 6 Oz. Valhrona White Chocolate
- a dozen pistachio
- 1 pint strawberry (it's good to have extra and some dark chocolate to make some chocolate covered strawberries too while you are at it)

PREPARATION
1- Melt the white chocolate  (I like to do it in a small pyrex bowl set over simmering water)
2- Spread the melted chocolate on to grease proof paper or Silpat set on a baking tray. Then pop the strawberry  and pistachio on top, spacing them apart so you can cookie-cut the hearts.  Place the tray with the chocolate spread and fruit it in the refrigerator. When the chocolate starts to stiffen, use a heart-shape cookie cutter, to cut them out!

Here is a close up:


And here are more pics to get you going :-)






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6 mars 2009 5 06 /03 /mars /2009 22:05

Roasted Mango Dusted with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Another recipe with mango :-) Quick to make and quick to eat. I think next time I'll serve it with some vanlla/rum ice cream !



INGREDIENTS:
makes 2-3 servings

- 1 Medium-large mango
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp butter

PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Cut the mango into 2 inch cubes.
3. Butter the baking dish or ramekins
4. Sprinkle the mango cubes with the cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg and rest of butter
5. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes or until the top begins to brown
6. Serve with vanilla rum raisin ice cream ... miam :).
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18 février 2009 3 18 /02 /février /2009 03:18

Fondant En Bouche Chocolate Cupcake

Yippie, I made my first cupcakes today!! the recipe is from Chocolate & Zucchini Melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Cake. It's very very good. The only thing I'd change next time is to lower the oven temperature a bit more to 325 degree F and hopefully the top of the cupcakes will be baby smooth.


INGREDIENTS:
makes 9 cupcakes

- 100g (1 stick minus 1 Tbsp) butter
- 100g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate - 1 tabblette Valhrona dark chocolate 75% cacao
- 100g (1 C) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of flour

- Some whipped cream and chocolate shavings (just shave the side of the Valhrona tablet with a potato peeler)


Note:from C&Z like all dark chocolate cakes, this is best made a day ahead (or at least in the morning if you serve it for dinner).


PREPARATION:


1. Pre-heat your oven to (325°F). Line a muffin pan with  paper cupcake holders.

2. Melt together the butter with the chocolate (in a double-boiler). Transfer into a medium mixing-bowl. Add in the sugar, stir with a wooden spoon and let cool a little. Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition. Finally, add in the flour and mix well.


3. Pour the dough into the cupcake holders (3/4 full). Put into the oven to bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the cake inside for another  5 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove and  put the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool completely.


4. Pipe  a dollop of whipped cream on top of each cupcake then sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Refrigerate, and take it out about 15 minutes before serving.




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15 février 2009 7 15 /02 /février /2009 19:01

Fraises en robes de chocolat


Chocolate covered strawberries have gottabe the easiest dessert to make, and they are perfect for Valentine. This year I decided to cover them with some white chocolate as well. And I actually like them better this way because I used a very dark chocolate and it balances out the "amer" side :-)


Ingredients:
Serving euh... anywhere from 1 to 4 :-)

- 1 pint of fresh strawberries with the green on
-  100g - 1 tablet of Valhrona dark chocolate (Amer 71% cacao)
- 100 g of Valhrona white chocolate

Preparation:
  1. Wash strawberries and pat dry
  2. Break the white chocolate into pieces and melt in a bowl suspended over a pan over simmering water.
  3. Dip the strawberries (one side) into the melted chocolate  then set on a plate - covered with foil paper - and refrigerate.
  4. Break the dark chocolate into pieces and melt in a bowl suspended over a pan over simmering water. 
  5. Take the strawberries out of the refrigerator, dip the other half into dark chocolate, set on the foil covered plate and refrigerate again.
  6. Put the remaining chocolate into a sandwich bag, cut the tip and use to drizzle some curlyqueues on the chocolate-covered strawberries if you wish... et voila elles sont pretes a aller valser les petites fraises :P


-
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15 février 2009 7 15 /02 /février /2009 18:27

Chocopots


I have always wanted to try and make this ever since I say Nigella's Youtube below. So I finally tried it for this year Valentine's dinner.  I used Valhrona dark chocolate (Noir Amer 71% Cacao) and cut the sugar down to 1/3 cup instead of the 3/4 cup called for in the recipe... the chocopot could have been a tad sweeter. So I think next time I'll up the sugar to the full 3/4 cup.

Also remember to time it so that the chocopots are served hot off the oven so that the chocolate is still goooey and not fudgelike, i.e. don't stick them in the oven until 15' before serving.

I served them with chocolate covered strawberries but I think some rasberries or vanilla ice cream would be equally luscious ... YUM.





Ingredients:
4 servings

 - 1 stick butter (1/2 cup or 1/4 pound)
- 125 g dark chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- 3 T flour
- 3/4 c superfine sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter the ramekins with 1 tablespoon butter.

2. Either in a microwave or in a bowl suspended over a pan over simmering water, melt the dark chocolate and 1 stick butter, then set aside to cool a little

3. In another bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar and flour  with a hand whisk and beat in the cooled butter and chocolate mixture. Divide the mixture between the 4 buttered ramekins.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes or so, by which time the tops will be cooked and cracked and the chocolate gooey underneath. (Nigella's recipe says 20 minutes)
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1 décembre 2008 1 01 /12 /décembre /2008 22:10

Chocolate Covered Chestnuts and Chestnuts in Ganache


Here are two variations, both delicious, made with chocolate and chestnuts ... the two must-have food for the holiday seasons. The first - chocolate covered chestnuts - are made simply with metled Valhorna chocolate, the second with ... melted Valhorna cholocate and cream for a softer melt-in-your-mouth-truffle-ike ganache. Basically the more cream you add the softer the mixture, equal parts of chocolate and cream give you ganache, more cream than chocolate will give you ... mousse :)



Dark Chocolate Covered Chesnuts


INGREDIENTS:

- 4 oz Valhrona dark chocolate - 75% cacao

- 1 box steamed chestnut (Trader Joe's steamed chestnut)

- toothpicks

- 1 apple (as holder - see picture)


PREPARATION:

  1.  Break up the chocolate and melt it in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Make sure that the bowl you melt the chocolate in is completely dry (if there’s even a drop of water, the chocolate will “seize”—become stiff and granular—and it will be unusable) and the hot water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
  2. Stick a toothpick in the flat side of the chestnut, dip the chestnut into the melted chocolate and cover tt with cholocate.
  3. Remove and stick the other end of the chopstick into an apple to hold it while it cools off. Continue until all the 'whole' chestnuts from the box are used up. (Use the broken chestnuts in the next recipe - ganache)
  4. Refrigerate the apple and chocolate covered chestnuts until the chocolate is hardened. Remove the toothpicks, set the chocolate-covered chestnuts on a plate and keep refrigerated until ready to serve



Luscious Chocolate Ganache with Chestnuts


INGREDIENTS:

- 6 oz Valhrona dark chocolate - 75% cacao

- 6 oz Heavy cream or whipping cream

- 1/2 box steamed chestnuts - chopped up into small bits (Trader Joe's steamed chestnut)



PREPARATION:

  1. Break/chop the chocolate into small pieces
  2. Place cream in a saucepan over high heat and bring just to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat.
  3. Add chopped chocolate to the cream.
  4. Beat chocolate and cream until thoroughly mixed. The mixture will solidify as it cools.
  5. Mix in the chestnuts
  6. Spoon into small cupcake holder (1/3 of the way)
  7. Refrigerate until ready to serve (peel off the cupcake holder or serve the ganache in them if you wish)
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30 novembre 2008 7 30 /11 /novembre /2008 17:12

Mignardises mignonnes et croquantes




INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup dry roasted almonds
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • fresh raspberries for decoration
PREPARATION:
  1. Chop the almonds up coarsely.
  2. Break up the chocolate and melt it in a bowl set over a pOT of simmering water. Make sure that the bowl you melt the chocolate in is completely dry (if there’s even a drop of water, the chocolate will “seize”—become stiff and granular—and it will be unusable) and the hot water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
  3. Once the chocolate has melted, mix in the raisins, take the bowl off the heat and stir in the chopped nuts, completely coating them with chocolate.
  4. Spoon the chocolate-raisin-nut mixture into cupcake cups . Set a raspberry on top and refrigerate until ready to eat.

They can be a bit 'hard' so I like to leave them out for 10-15' before serving.



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29 juin 2008 7 29 /06 /juin /2008 19:08

Green apple shiso ice


.Inspired by "The herbal kitchen" by Jerry Traunfeld

The ice is made with Granny Smith Apple and shiso leaves and some Meyer lemon juice and sugar, quite a combination. And the topping of apple and shiso leaves is definitely a must.  It was really easy to make and delishious ... definitely a keep and many encore this summer.


Ingredients:
4 servings
- 2 Granny Smith apples, about 1 lb, unpeeled, cored and diced, plus another half for garnish/topping
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 6 large green shiso leaves, plus one cut into thin strands for garnish

Preparation:
1. Put the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir constantly until the syrup starts to boil. Let it cool completely.
2. Core the apple and dice (unpeeled). Cut up the shiso pleaves (pic 2)
3. Puree the diced apple, shiso leaves and syrup in a blender (not a food processor) on high speed until they are liquefied. (pic 3)
4. Pour the puree into a a fne sive set over ablowl, and press the liquid through with the back of a rubber spatula, squeezing the pulp to extract as much liquid as possible. Immediately freeze the liquid in an ice cream maker. When slushy firm, scoop it into a contianer and store it in the freezer until serving time, This will give more of a sorbet tesxture.
5. Alternatively, just pour the liquid into a flat container and  freeze. Every hour or so take it out and mush it  up with a fork for a granita texture.Do so a couple of times or more if you are more patient :-)
6. Scoop the sorbet or granita into glasses and top with thin strips of raw crisp apple and a few strands of shiso and serve immediately.


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