Showing posts with label home cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home cooking. Show all posts
Flourless Chocolate Cake
21:28
Ingredients
- 4 eggs (4 whites and 2 yolks)
- 40g caster sugar
- 125g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
- 30g unsalted butter
- 200ml double cream
- 50g icing sugar, sifted
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Grease a 17cm x 17cm square baking tin with butter, then line it with 2 rectangular pieces of greaseproof paper. This is so you can lift the cake out of the tin when it has cooked, so overlap the pieces and leave 5cm at either side which will be your ‘handles’.
- Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl (any grease at all will stop the whites whisking properly) and add half the caster sugar. Using an electric beater, whisk until they form stiff peaks and then set aside.
- Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to simmering point, and place a large bowl over the pan so the base of the bowl does not touch the water below (this is a bain-marie). Put the egg yolks and the remaining 20g of caster sugar into the bowl and whisk until you reach the ribbon stage (forming thick ‘ribbons’ that fall off a spoon). Remove the bowl and put to one side.
- Place a second bowl on the saucepan. Put the chocolate and butter in the bowl and let them melt, stirring occasionally.
- Take the egg yolk mixture and stir in the melted chocolate and melted butter, then fold in the whisked egg whites.
- Pour the cake mixture into the lined baking tin and place in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, using a hand whisk, whip the double cream and icing sugar together until they form soft peaks.
- Allow the cake to rest for 10 minutes in the tin − this will allow it to set slightly. After this time, carefully lift the edges of the greaseproof paper to remove the cake from the tin. Slice into squares and serve at room temperature with a generous dollop of the cream.
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| 5. Fold in the egg whites... |
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| 6. Pour the cake mixture... |
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| 8. Allow to rest... |
Tarte Normande
14:12This has got to be one of the best non-chocolate deserts out there. This obviously implies I have a certain proclivity toward chocolate. And probably caramel, toffee, fudge, and all those terribly sweet sugar laden deserts. Tarte Normande makes a refreshing change from those. Served with single cream, or creme fraiche, even vanilla ice cream, although I feel this is heading dangerously toward apple pie territory. I digress, it is quite simply delicious.
3-4 Large Granny Smith apples, (or any tart apples) peeled cored, thinly sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice.
Cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling (maybe around 4 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon).
About 1/4 cup apricot jam and 2 tablespoons water, heated over low heat to make nappage.
Tart dough:
200 grams flour
pinch salt
100 grams butter
1 egg yolk
2-3 tablespoons cold water
For the frangipane:
100 grams butter
100 grams sugar
2 eggs
50 grams flour, sifted
75 grams ground almonds
Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Step 1 Sift flour ad salt into a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add liquids and bring the mixture together to form a ball of pastry. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Step 2 Roll out the pastry into a circle large enough to line an 11" tart pan. Dock the bottom of the pastry case with a fork. Chill tart while oven is preheating to 400F (200C). Blind bake, using pie weights, (or dried beans) for around 10 - 12 minutes until a very pale gold on edges. Remove from oven and cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 360F -- ideally it should be between 350 and 375F.
Step 3 For the frangipane, cream the butter and the sugar together thoroughly. Stir in one egg at a time, allowing it to be absorbed thoroughly by the butter-sugar mixture. Fold in the flour, ground almonds. Stir in extracts if using.
Step 4 Spread the frangipane mixture evenly over the pastry case. Insert the apple slices vertically in the frangipane. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.
Step 5 Bake for around 30-35 minutes. Edges will be a deep golden brown, and the sugar-sprinkled apple slices will have caramelized. If adding almond slices on top, sprinkle them on the tart for the last 5 – 10 minutes of baking.
Step 6 Remove the tart from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Cool about 10 minutes, and brush with nappage (while both are still warm). Cool completely.
Step 7 Sprinkle icing sugar on top for decoration.
Ingredients
3-4 Large Granny Smith apples, (or any tart apples) peeled cored, thinly sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice.
Cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling (maybe around 4 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon).
About 1/4 cup apricot jam and 2 tablespoons water, heated over low heat to make nappage.
Tart dough:
200 grams flour
pinch salt
100 grams butter
1 egg yolk
2-3 tablespoons cold water
For the frangipane:
100 grams butter
100 grams sugar
2 eggs
50 grams flour, sifted
75 grams ground almonds
Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Method:
Step 1 Sift flour ad salt into a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add liquids and bring the mixture together to form a ball of pastry. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Step 2 Roll out the pastry into a circle large enough to line an 11" tart pan. Dock the bottom of the pastry case with a fork. Chill tart while oven is preheating to 400F (200C). Blind bake, using pie weights, (or dried beans) for around 10 - 12 minutes until a very pale gold on edges. Remove from oven and cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 360F -- ideally it should be between 350 and 375F.
Step 3 For the frangipane, cream the butter and the sugar together thoroughly. Stir in one egg at a time, allowing it to be absorbed thoroughly by the butter-sugar mixture. Fold in the flour, ground almonds. Stir in extracts if using.
Step 4 Spread the frangipane mixture evenly over the pastry case. Insert the apple slices vertically in the frangipane. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.
Step 5 Bake for around 30-35 minutes. Edges will be a deep golden brown, and the sugar-sprinkled apple slices will have caramelized. If adding almond slices on top, sprinkle them on the tart for the last 5 – 10 minutes of baking.
Step 6 Remove the tart from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Cool about 10 minutes, and brush with nappage (while both are still warm). Cool completely.
Step 7 Sprinkle icing sugar on top for decoration.
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2. Line the pastry with tin foil, then fill with beans to prevent the base from rising as it bakes. |
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2. Your base should look something like this after the blind bake. |
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| 3. While that is baking, whisk together your frangipane. |
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| 3. After everything is combined, it should look like this... |
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| 4. Spoon the frangipane into the pastry crust. Slice your apples into segments. |
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| 4. Place the apple in concentric circles. |
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| 4. You might like to make the circles a little tighter than shown here... |
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6. Bake until the apple starts to turn a perfect golden brown, cool for 10 minutes, then apply the nappage. |
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| 7. Finally apply a dusting of icing sugar. |
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| Enjoy! |
Salade Nicoise
14:10
So I actually made something today. Well, sort of. There's not much "making" really. More like, preparing. But hey, I liked it.
I think my egg was pretty much spot on, the beans were just right, and the vinaigrette weren't too bad either. Yeh, yeh, I know, there's nothing to a vinaigrette, but I'd never made one, so again, I was feeling slightly chuffed with myself...
I had to Google it of course, and just ended up with what is apparently the classic 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. - with a seasoning of salt and pepper. I could have done with a little more bite. Maybe I'll add some Dijon next time.
