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30 septembre 2006 6 30 /09 /septembre /2006 23:22

Mini Mango Stroopwafel Tarts


A colleague brought over some stroopwafel from Holland a month or so ago for snacks during a meeting ... and I was strooped :)

Wiki says : "Stroopwafels (Dutch for “syrup waffles”) are Dutch cookies made from two round waffle-like wafers with a caramel filling in the middle. Nuts or other flavors may be added to the filling. They are usually about four inches in diameter. They are traditionally prepared by cutting a freshly-made waffle in half (how in the world do they do that?), spreading the filling and rejoining the two halves.

Stroopwafels are an old Dutch treat, invented in Gouda in 1784. The story goes that a baker in Gouda made a biscuit from all the left over crumbs and spices then smothered it in caramel syrup. Thus the stroopwafel started out as a sweet of the poor and eventually the most popular tea or coffee accompaniment in Holland. They may seem exceptionally sweet to the untrained palate.

Traditionally, the Dutch eat them with a cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa. Some place the stroopwafel just before it is eaten on top of the hot cup in order to soften it up. The stroopwafel is the single best selling food item at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport [..]

At many street markets, the stroopwafels are made freshly by bakers. The stroopwafel stand can be recognized from afar by the smell of the warm stroop (syrup) and the waffles themselves are bigger plate size (8-10 inches in diameter). Offcuts and crumbs, usually in clotted lumps from the syrup that oozes at the edge during pressing, are also sometimes sold in bags as stroopwafelstukjes (stroopwafel pieces)."

This weekend I found some mini stroopwafels at Trader's Joe and inspired by a recipe on 101cookbooks.com decided to make my own version of Mini Mango Stroopwafels Tart. They are goooooood and soooo easy to make (have I sold you on it yet?). In any case, this is the first time I used mascarpone as well, and I realized now what I've been missing all these years!




Ingredients
- 1 8oz tub of mascarpone
- 3-4 Tbsp powder sugar (adjust to taste)
- 1-2 Tbsp Grand Marnier (also adjust to taste :))
- 1 fresh large mango peeled and cubed
- A couple dozens of mini stroopwafels (less if you pile up the mascarpone topping)

Preparation
- Peel and cube the mango
- Mix the mascarpone and sugar and Grand Marnier and go ahead taste it as you go :). Keep refrigerated until ready to use
- Place the stroopwafels under a broiler or in a toaster oven and lightly toast ( just until their fillings heat up).
- Spread a layer of the marscapone over each stroopwafel then top that with a few cubes of mango and off you go!

You can go tutti frutti and try it with apples, pear, rasberry or any fruit that strikes your fanci oops fancy! :) Buon Appetiti!

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15 septembre 2006 5 15 /09 /septembre /2006 03:10

How to make ripples ...

... in ice-cream that is :-) I tried it yesterday with chocolate sauce and blueberry ice cream following these step-by-steps - adapted from the CCA book on "Ice Cream and Frozen  Desserts".
" The secret to making a perfect ripple effect is to use a syrup or sauce with a rather thick consistency. A very think syrup would result in a not very well defined ripple." It also helps to use contrasting coloured ice cream and sauce ... As you can see the chocolate and blueberry colours are hard to distinguish.



Blueberry Ice Cream:
- See recipe here

Chocolate sauce:
-  3 ounces bittersweet  chocolate
- 1/2 Tblsp unslated butter
- 1/4 Cup sugar
- !/2 Cup milk
-  1 Tblsp light corn syrup
1. Melt the chocolate and butter on top of a double boiler until completely smooth.
2. Cook sugar and milk in a small  saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Stir in chocolate mixture and corn syrup. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using in ice cream.

How to make ripples:
1. Use ice cream directly from the ice cream machine; it will still be soft. Spread 1 inch of ice cream in the bottom of the container to be used for freexing.
2. Next, spread a thin layer of the sauce that will form the ripples.
3. Continue alternating the layers of ice cream and sauce until the container is full or you run out of ice cream :-)
4. With a wooden spood or sturdy pastry saptula, cut straight down through the center of the ice cream. Pull the spatula through the mixture from side to side 2 or 3 times, then remove it by pulling  straight up.
5. Place ice cream in the freezer to firm up (about 1 hour)





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26 août 2006 6 26 /08 /août /2006 00:49

Very Berry Blueberries Icecream Cream

This looks almost like the blackberry ice cream but they do have their own distinctive fruity flavors, and when mixed with fresh raspberries and strawberries  and whipped cream, they will make you go very  berry-berry merry :-)

I also like to use a melon baller as an ice-cream scoop so the ice-cream is the roughly the same size as the raspberries.




Ingredients:
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Preparation:

  1. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the fresh blueberries, water and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes to steep.
  2. Transfer the blueberry mixture to a food processor and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
  3. Add the cream and lemon juice to the blueberry puree and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.
Source: http://content1.williams-sonoma.com/recipe


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21 août 2006 1 21 /08 /août /2006 21:06

Taro Gelato

Here are the results and findings on Taro Gelato. It's like a very "bui`" gelato for which the closest translations - after a lengthy debate among the MCP74s :-) - came to  "buttery (engl.)" and "oncteux (fr.)

The good news is it's super easy to make, there is no ice cream machine involved, so no more excuse guys and gals, give it a try :-)  Guarantee, you will get this question "What flavor of ice cream is that?"  You can't really tell it's taro until you are told what the mysterious "bui`" flavor is ...


and  a close-up


Ingredients:
- For each 200g of boiled Taro
- 4 Tbsp heavy cream
- 4 Tbsp condensed milk
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- 1 drop of vanilla essence (optional)
I used 350g of Taro and get about a square sandwich sized tupperware  full of ice cream. (pic 4)
Make sure you use the small round variety of taro (pic 1)

Preparation:
1.  Boil taro with a small spoonful of fresh lemon juice (I didn't coz I haven't got any in the house :)) until taro  becomes soft (prick it with a fork), then cool it and weigh (pic 2)
2. Mix all ingredients (pic 3) and put through a food processor at high speed for 30 seconds or mash and whip thoroughly by hand. Don't over whip!
3. Put in a plastic or metail pan and freeze it for 3-4 hrs
4. Scoop out and enjoy!


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19 juillet 2006 3 19 /07 /juillet /2006 22:47

Chocolate and Coconut Thach Flowers


I love Agar Thach and Panna Cotta  and yet  can't stand jello,  I wonder why?  Summer is definitely the time to enjoy these refreshing  deserts. I have yet to try and make thach from the long agar strands, I 've bought some and they have been sitting in the kitchen cupboard, patiently waiting :-) 
























Ingredients:
Pic 1 (left of 1st row): One box of coconut flavor Agar Mix, 1/3 tablet of chocolate

Preparation:
Pic 2 (center of 1st row): Empty package of Agar Mix in 3 cups of water. Stir constantly. Bring to a slight boil.
Pic 3 (right of 1st row): Melt chocolate. Actually do this 1st and keep warm on the stove
Pic 4 (left of 2nd row): Pour 1/2 of Agar from step 2 into a shallow pyrex container and let cool until set.
Pic 5 (center of 2nd row): Pour the remaining 1/2 into another bowl, and mix in the melted chocolate
and let cool until set.
Pic 6-7 : Cut both coco and chcco agar into cubes or flowers using a flower-shaped cookie cutter (pic
8-9) . Refrigerate until ready to serve. The coco-choco flowers are pretty yummy (meo` khen meo`
zai` dduo^i :-))

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9 juillet 2006 7 09 /07 /juillet /2006 00:27

Strawberry Ice Cream and Molten Chocolate Cake


The recipe for the ice cream  is here and the one for the Molten Chocolate is here.

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4 juillet 2006 2 04 /07 /juillet /2006 22:30

Blackberry Ice Cream

As you can see I am still on an ice cream binge ... Mmmm  ...   Serve it with juicy fresh blackberries and Valhrona dark chocolate chips (just chop half a tablet into small chips). The luscious combination of flavours and textures will blow your mind awayt :)




Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 C fresh blackberries
- 1/2 + 1/4 C sugar, divided
- 1/2 + 1/4 C whole milk
- 1 + 1/4 C heavy cream
- 1 + 1/2 t  pure vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine the blackberries with 1/2 C of the sugar. Stir gently and allow the berries to macerate in the sugar for 2 hrs (pic 1).  Mash or puree the berries. ( pic 2)
2. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved (pic 3), about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, and strain in the  pureed berries, vanilla and mix well (pic 4,5,6)
3. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into the freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes (pic 7).  The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture (pic 8). Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15' before serving.  (pic 6)



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28 juin 2006 3 28 /06 /juin /2006 04:02

Coconut and Pandan Ice Cream

 
They are delishhhhhhhhhious, I tell ya.  The  Pandan (la' zu*a') smells so good, it brings to mind our beloved banh' za lo*n. and it's light and refreshing, whereas the coconut is creamier (must be from the egg custard). Both go pretty well with mangoes but also  make a perfect duo composition dessert. by themselves.


     
Pandan Ice  Cream (bottom, very  light jade colour) Recipe from somewhere on WWW
Ingredients:
- 2 Cup milk
- 2/3 Cup castor sugar
- 4 Tbsp glucose
- 1/2 Cup Coco cream
- 5 Tsp pandan leaf
- 1 C shredded coconut (optional)
Makes 4 cups.

Preparation:

1. Clean and  chop the pandan leaves  into small chunks (pic 1,2)
2. Combine all except shredded coconut in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over Med Low heat (pic 3)
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool and stand in refrigerator overnight. (pic 4)
4. Strain and churn in icecream machine for 25' (pic 5,6, 7)
5. Add shredded coconut in the last 5' and transfer to a container and put in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.  (pic 8)

  You can find more  Information on Pandanus leaves at: http://www.asiafood.org/index.cfm.
 
Coconut Ice Cream (top, rich yellow colour) - Recipe from William Sonoma website
 
  For a double coconut treat, stir 1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut into the ice cream during the final minute of processing. To make a colorful sundae, garnish the ice cream with diced tropical fruit.

Ingredients:

-1 1/4 cups packed sweetened flaked coconut
-1 1/2 cups half-and-half
-3/4 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut
-6 egg yolks
-1/3 cup sugar
-1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:
Put the flaked coconut in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the coconut until it begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. (Pic 9,10,11)

Pour the coconut mixture through a medium-mesh sieve set over a large bowl, pressing on the coconut with a rubber spatula to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the coconut. Return the coconut milk to the same saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Add the cream of coconut and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat.  (Pic 13, 14)

In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until blended. (Pic 12)

Gradually add the hot coconut-milk mixture, whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Return the mixture to the same saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring slowly and continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard thickens and a finger drawn across the back of the spoon leaves a path, about 5 minutes; do not allow the custard to boil. (Pic 16)

Pour the custard through the medium-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl. Add the cream and stir well. Nestle the bowl in a larger one filled halfway with ice and water and cool the custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a chilled container, cover and freeze until firm, 3 to 4 hours. Makes about 4 1/2 cups.  (pic 18)



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23 mai 2006 2 23 /05 /mai /2006 04:55

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream


Ye', I did it. I made my first batch of ice cream, it's yummy as can be!!!  For this first try, I just followed the recipe that came with the Cuisinart  Pure  Indulgence TM Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker.


Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 C fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced
- 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice ( I used lime since I don't have any lemon :))
- 1/2 + 1/4 C sugar, divided
- 1/2 + 1/4 C whole milk
- 1 + 1/4 C heavy cream
- 1 + 1/2 t  pure vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 C of the sugar. Stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hrs (pic 3).  Strain the strawberries (pic 4),  reserving juices (pic 5). Mash or puree half the berries.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved (pic 6), about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed strawberry, vanilla. (pic 7)
3. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into the freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes (pic 8). Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture (pic 9).  If a firmer consitency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15' before serving.

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16 mai 2006 2 16 /05 /mai /2006 00:29

Sweet mango and coconut rice

This concludes the Asian Fusion Menu. Its still a little early in the season for mangoes, but when it gets going this is definitely a must.  When I serve this for dessert, I tried not to have other rice dish as part of the meal.





Ingredients:

Sweet rice:
- 1 cup Thai sweet sticky rice
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp salt

Coconut sauce:
- peanuts for garnishing
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 3 T of sugar


- 2 small mangoes
Serves 4.

Preparation:

Sweet rice:
- Rince rice a couple of times, soak overnight in water 2-3 inches above surface or
at least 4 hours, then drain well.
- In a saucepan bring rice and all the other ingredients to a boil, then lower heat
and simmer uncovered 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a steamer and steam 15-20 minutes over boiling wather until cooked
through

Coconut sauce:
- Put the coconut milk and sugar and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Cook over
 medium heat stirring it well, until it starts boiling then turn heat down to low and
simmer for another 5' or so. Adjust seasoning to your 'sweet tooth taste'.
- Put a handful of roasted salted peanuts in a sandwich back and use a roller or
bottle to smash it coarsely.

Mangoes:
- Wash and peel mangoes, cut the 'cheeks' into think slices when ready to serve.
- Serve with a scoop full of rice (re-steam it to warm it up if it's cold).
- Garnish the rice with a couple of tablespoons of the the coconut sauce and
peanuts

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