D e l i s i o u c i t y

Dessert First! Blueberry-Lemon Tartelette

Somewhere in the cesspits of my exhausted cerebrum there lies a reminder that did not sound its alarm when it was supposed to. I had forgotten to “celebrate” Delisioucity’s first year anniversary! I knew the first time I published on blogspot was a year ago in May, but somehow I assumed it was somewhere mid-month… when it’s actually early May! Nevermind that, yes. Besides, when I moved to my own dot com, I vouched to celebrate that migration instead Nonetheless, who says you need to have a reason just to whip up some dessert? (And a whole dinner party for four!) BUT, the food needs to be eaten of course,.. so I thought it would be apt to call a couple of friends for a small din-din and a celebratory post.

We don’t often have people come around the house, other than my nephews and nieces who occassioanally come by to play the Wii and finish my baking surpluses. Dinners with family and friends, I can count. I am  therefore making it a point from now on to have more dinner parties (ok, eating fest?) when I can manage it. Reason? Because hosting can be so much fun. And because it makes my day to see satisfied faces and hear the sounds of “mmmmm~ it feels yummy in my tummy!” In fact, I have a new-found source of satisfaction: the heavy, drooping eyelids of a friend, ready to roll into bed, two minutes after finishing his main course. Pure joy that was. But let me start with the dessert first (as usual)

Blueberry and Lemon Tartelettes
(adapted from Desserts, Murdoch Books Test Kitchen)

375g ready-made sweet shortcrust pastry (I made my own pate sucree – mail me if you need the recipe and method)
125g caster sugar
3 eggs
3 Tbspns buttermilk
1 Tbspn lemon juice
2 tspns grated lemon zest
2.5 Tbspns custard powder
250g blueberries
Icing sugar for dusting

Roll out pastry, and press into tartelette moulds. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes, then bake blind. Remember that if you are making your own pastry, do not overhandle or knead (just roll it out); and when baking blind, ensure that you put in a layer of parchment on the pastry, held down with rice or beans. Baking blind should take about 10 minutes at 200c. Remove parchment, and reduce heat to 180C and proceed to bake for another 5   minutes just to dry out the bottom of the pastry case. I somehow did not manage to do this still, so perhaps to start with 200C may be a bit too much. As a result the custard filling seeped through the casing and you can see the dried mixture at the bottom in the picture above! Remove the cases from the oven, and make the filling.

Filling: beat eggs and sugar till fluffy and pale. Addbuttermilk, juice, zest and custard powder. Fill in just enough into the pastry cases and bake at 165C for 15  minutes or until the  pastry is golden and the filling is set. Cool on a wire rack and top with blueberries. Dust the icing sugar when completely cool so you don’t get sugar melting into the tartelette, and just to ensure you get a nice snowy effect

This is a very simple recipe that requires little planning, except if you are making your own pastry crust.  The filling is made with custard powder. Since I am not a big fan of custards, the leftover tartelettes are testament to how some desserts can indeed be an acquired tase (gasp, i know). Next time, remind me to use a frangipane recipe instead..  personally this was uninteresting to my palate, but our guests enjoyed them, and that was all that mattered

Next, I’ll run you my own recipes for a chic appetizer, soup, and main course. Brace yourself for a long post and some food porn.

No, the leeks weren’t the appetizers. The pastry was. Like many things pastry, and I’ve said this before, they’re extremely easy to transform into wonderful pieces of artsy and chic food. This is provided that you make the pastry carefully (again, with cold fingers & plenty of ‘resting’) OR get them already made. The readily available puff pastries are pretty good, so don’t worry about making your own pate feuilletee, inversee or otherwise for this one. Lest you desire to stress yourself out

Mozarrella, Tomato and Capsicum with Poppy Seed Entree
(by Nikki. A @ delisioucity)

2 sheets puff pastry, cut into small squares
1 egg, beaten
120g mozarella cheese
1 tomato
1/2 yellow capsicum
Poppy seeds
Black pepper

Lightly brush one layer of pastry with egg, and place another layer on it. Brush the top layer again, and dump a tablespoon of shreaded mozarella on it. Cut the tomato and capsicum julienne, and place on top of the cheese. Sprinkle poppy seeds on top, and pepper to taste. Bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 175C, or until the pastry puffs up adequately and turns golden. Serve immediately as an entree, on a fancy schmancy platter

Next, Creamy Pumpkin-Carrot Soup with Cumin and Cinnamon.

Now when I was calling H to invite him to the dinner, I told him what I was serving and immediately he said ‘MMmmmm! pumpkin soup!” I suppose the beauty of well-made pumpkin soup lies in the seasoning and the smoothness of the texture. I was floored when I tried Senor Pablo’s version at his abode, which is simple and healthy. This is my take on the soup that everyone loves, with the much added calories mind you

Creamy Pumpkin-Carrot Soup wih Cumin and Cinnamon
(By Nikki A. @ delisioucity)

Half a medium pumpkin, cubed
2 cups water
1 carrot, cubed
1.5 cup chicken stock (use the real thing by boiling chicken with onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, salt and pepper)
2 Tbspn cumin powder
1 Tbspn cinnamon powder
3 Tbspn Olive oil
1 cup cream
1/2 Tbspn black pepper
Salt to taste

In a medium saucepan, boil the pumpkin and carrot together in water until soft. Drain away. Heat olive oil and add cumin and cinnamon powder. Gently stir till fragrant. Add chicken stock, pumpkin and carrot. Let simmer. Add cream and seasoning and let sit on the stove on low heat until the carrots are pulpy. Cool, and use an immersion blender to smoothen the texture of the soup. Serve with croutons.

Croutons
(By Nikki A. @ delisioucity)

Day-old bread of your choice (I used country grain)
3 Tbspn clarified butter

Cut the bread into small squares or diamonds. Heat a pan with the clarified butter and toast the bread. Make sure all of the bread is coated by gently stirring and tossing them about in the pan.

I have to admit, the soup definitely stole the night as everyone agreed that it was really good. This is one recipe I am soooo going to overuse. Husby, being the perfect gourmand, thought the soup + croutons tasted like murtabak. Geez. On the other hand, H thought it tasted authentically Moroccan, and both he and M were very happy to have second and third helpings and ate this with their main course.  I need to research on this: is pumpkin soup Moroccan in origin?? Or was it the cumin. Hmm, scratching head.

Let’s finally move on to the main course! This was a Roasted Chicken with Cumin, Maple Golden Syrup and Parsley.

This dish is cooked twice. I boiled the chicken first (with the spices listed in the soup recipe before), and got a pretty good stock out of it. Then, marinate for two hours with the forthcoming concoction, and roast for an hour at 180C. The marinate nicely resonates the taste of the pumpkin soup.

Roasted Chicken Marinate
(By Nikki A. @ delisioucity)

For two chickens.

1 cup olive oil
Juice from half a lemon
2 Tbspns lemon zest
A bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbspn cumin powder
1 Tbspn cinnamon posder
3 Tbspn Lyle’s Golden Syrup, maple flavour (or simply maple syrup or replace with honey)

Mix everything in and brush on the chicken. Leave for two hours in the fridge to marinate.

Make sure you include the spices from the boiling process into the roast. I also left the skin on this time so that it appears golden and he meat to cook nicely without drying too much.

Whew! What a way to “celebrate”. I wasn’t kidding when both my husby and our friend H started to look like a pair of sleepy snakes by the end of the meal. Finally, our two friends left with a favour: remember the sables that I made in the previous post? So plenty of people actually asked what the pegs were for. And no, I did not use them for kneading the dough :p Here they are, et simple too! Instead of ribbons, use tiny decorative pegs to secure your favour bags for a chic twist. I wouldv’e used a glassine paper bag but I just could not find one here other than make them myself. Ah well, perhaps next time! In the next years to come, hopefully I’ll develop more creative things to share

“I imagine pastries that I would love to
eat myself. For me, the most important
thing is to please the palate”
- Pierre Herme -

The crisp, crunchy and crumbly shortbread biscuits known as ‘sable‘ (sandy) is an excellent pairing with a cup of coffee. It is also just too easy to make, but like many things in pastry, you have to pay attention to the process and the amount of ingredients that make for precise chemistry. The recipe here is derived from The Cook’s Book, edited by Jill Norman; and specifically from the section on Pastry & Sweet Doughs by monsieur Herme. I adjusted a few things, just because.

Sables Diamant Vanille
(Makes 50) adapted from Pierre Herme, The Cook’s Book

230g unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into pieces
105g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used Nielsen Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla beans)
1/4 tsp salt (fleur de sel)
330g all purpose flour
Sugar crystals, demerara sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, colourful pearls (whatever you like)

Beat butter in a mixer until creamy. Add sugar, and continue to beat. Add extract, and salt. Then sift the flour and incorporate into the batter until you get a dough. Roll into a ball and refrigerate (preferably overnight, but one hour is good enough). Roll into a sausage with parchment paper, and once that is formed, spread some pearl sugar/ sugar crystals or whatever you desire and roll the dough on them so that the surface is coated fully. Wrap the sausages in parchment, and leave in the freezer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, warm up the oven to 180C. Continue rolling the remaining dough, but do not knead or overwork them! Take the frozen sausage dough out and cut into coins with a sharp knife. Bake for 20-22 minutes and prepare your coffee! Boo ya.

Oh did I tell you that I am in absolute admiration for all things Pierre Herme? I suppose it all began with the macaron. Then I started reading on him and began to adore his generosity – both in the fact that he gives  macarons away on the annual Macaron Day (in France), and that he is never stingy in sharing his recipes and techniques. J’adore!! Ultimately, and the bottom line is: I love his work. His beautiful beautiful desserts, especially the Ispahan macaron spinoffs (desserts made with rose, lychee/litchi, and raspberries) – are works of art. I wish I could just eat them all without gaining the subsequent poundage

Nonetheless, desserts and patisseries can certainly be enjoyed sans the guilt, provided it is done in moderation. I have to say that this is easier said than done though. If you could just imagine that whilst these sables were cooling off, prying hands could be seen to land on one biscuit after another! hehe.  I suppose the butterfly (or is that a moth?) made its way into our kitchen possibly because of the sheer fragrant of the baking sables. This really is a simple, yet warm and delicious treat. And man, does it just melt in your mouth! I need to hand you down some tips when making these though, as you need to keep the dough “short” by working very minimally with it. So, if making these in the absence of a food processor or a mixer, ensure that you dont knead the batter too much. And if possible, cut the butter into the flour with a cold knife, or rub with cold fingers. Yes, you need them cold :p

For such a simple and quick recipe, and yet divine to the palate, I thank PH for ‘le inspirations’ that he gives me and many others. Of course, this is much a classic (or rather, ’stelama’) biscuit that all moms have in the their recipe books. In the middle of making these, I couldn’t help but recall the times when I was a little girl  – and amongst the many things we made for Eid celebrations. This was definitely one of them.  Food and fond memories? Priceless.

(if you are wondering what the clothes pincers are doing in the previous picture, I’ll put up in my next post their use with regards to the biscuits )

Quote from urban dictionary’s definition of BFF:

This simply stands for best friend forever. A BFF is someone who has been there for you at all times and will listen to what ever you have to say. They will call you just to see how you are, but that’s if they’re not with you at the moment. Usually, a BFF is someone you’ve known most of your life and have been through a lot with them.

Thad: Dude, why are you always with Yamila?
Sonny: It’s simple, she’s my BFF.

Greg: What does BFF stand for?
Sonny: Best Friend Forever, idiot.

Haha

I was out with three of my BFFs (haha) during the weekend and had a really good time doing our usual random things. One thing that’s never random is of course, dining. Thinking that we had stuffed our faces for lunch and that a light dinner would do, we proceeded to a coffee-place, apparently ‘just for drinks’. That is, until the menu was read!

The venue was CoffeZone. I had their lamb cutlet, well done, and in black pepper sauce. With two heaps (or rather, generous quenelles) of mashed potato, it was a match made in the cesspits of gastronomic heaven. For a small/short person, this dish was a bit too much for me to be honest, and even my inner glutton couldn’t finish it up. But a pretty good and tender meat can never go wrong, especially when the chef did it spot on to the diner’s request. The mash too, was creamy and ultimately did me in with respect to a filling effect. I was very satisfied, I fank you.

The drink for me was comme ci comme ca though, and for a place called Coffeezone, my coffee drink wasn’t precisely memorable. They could truly do without the outdated (read: not classic) decor of the run-of-the-mill loveletter/wafer jutting-out-of-the-drink ensemble. T’s lemony drink was ok I suppose, at least we made plenty of jokes about the devil’s fork stir-er that was in the drink. And she seemed to have gulped her espresso cup in a blink ^_^ J also had two drinks:  a green tea  delight which was very nice (according to him), and a ‘normal’ moccachino. M was well stuffed and only had garlic bread which we shamelessly helped ourselves with Her drink? Can’t recall to be honest..

All in all, a pretty swell service from the attendants is what I really wanted to write about. I know of a lot of restaurants and diners here in Brunei that have excellent food but ultimately poor service. Some will not even apologise or have the decency to say please and thank you, and that’s an awfully common trait over here, for some reason. One thing I really loathe about some establishments is the fact that the waiters would hover about your table for the entire length of your meal, making you extremely conscious of your gob and the crummies that may be hanging about on your chin For some reason, their training probably included getting indoctrinated with a mantra on invading the privacies of their clientele whilst they eat! There is a fine line between being attentive, waiting hand and foot; and being just a plain nuisance. And coffeezone, at least that night, seemed to know the difference. So well done on that ^_^

I had been making an awful lot of children birthday party cakes and favours lately that I missed out on posting a couple of them here. This short post is all I can muster at the moment, so enjoy!

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing for Aedan’s yacht club pool party guests:

These are bespoke items: hand crafted, custome-made, colour-coordinated, individually wrapped and heat-sealed. The level of customisation ensures Delisioucity’s clients receive premium quality products made out of passion and taste.
(Well ok, I tried very hard to make each one as perfect as possible!)

Amir’s brownie cupcakes. His family aren’t big fans of desserts or sweet things, so I settled on brownies (they’re a rather one-off consumption kind of thing) and the toppers are removable, bien sur! They had a proper ice-cream cake for everyone else too, so the 6 pieces were just right for themselves, post-partee.

I’m liking how Marie Elefantey is turning up to be quite a pseudo-mascot for delisioucity. (hehe)

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Whew! Nearly didn’t make it for this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge (again!) April has been a right heck of a month and my oven is well worn out from all the baking. But one finale – in the form of a cheesecake baked in a water bath, well deserves to be the ‘cherry on top’ as my series of baking culminates to its end (well, at least for April that is). This cake is awesome too, by the way! Thanks Abbey and Jenny

The challenge this month was to create a cheesecake based on a basic winning recipe by Jenny’s friend, Abbey. Initially I wanted to make something completely off, well at least to my taste buds… and that’s durian cheesecake. Just imagine the pong! It would’ve been daring indeed, you see But I couldn’t find durian paste in the supermarkets and didn’t bother about the bulky Thai durians either.  Also, I realise that this I had wanted to make a pear frangipane tart earlier, so the pears went in to this challenge instead. They are poached in water, rose syrup, 2 pieces of cinnamon sticks, and a couple of cloves till tender. You then cool the pears and continue to reduce the liquid until you get a syrupy mixture. Slice the pears to top off the cheesecake later on.

And here’s the full recipe:

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake:
crust: 2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too – baker’s choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

I halved the recipe and made sure the cheesecake batter was filled with half of the poached pears. I also used brown sugar in the crust mixture, along with an addition of almond meal. I think all cheesecake bases should have some nutty input Husby is not a big fan of cheesecakes, but actually loved this one as the cheesiness isn’t overpowering. I just thought this recipe was fantastic except that it was a bit creamy and felt undercooked as I was expecting a drier texture from the baking. However, it does produce a lovely moist cake because of the water-bath method. Not too bad, and I think you should try this recipe too if you like the combination of fruit and flower

For other bloggers’ submissions on this cheesecake recipe (and boy, you will see so much yummy variations!) head over to the Vanilla Fairy badge on the right sidebar to access the Daring Bakers website.

*Update: This cheesecake is truly one of a kind, as I sit here with my slice that had stayed overnight in the fridge, I can’t help but feel calmed  and somewhat de-stressed! *ecstatic eye roll*

Note: This is a very sweet coincidence: a recipe win and my 100th post. I present to you now, macarons (yes, again!) and a report on the recent Foodie Bloggers’ Challenge, in celebration of my 100th blog entry!

Oui, ouui, absolutement! Troisieme place! These Pandan (pandanus plant) French-Malay dessert fusion were among the macaron flavours that I entered in the Foodie Bloggers’ Challenge on Sunday, 26th – and subsequently won third place for! I was so excited that I couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. It was like getting a healthy dose of endorphine (ok, sugar rush rather), especially after meeting up with people whose written words you read on a regular basis. These bloggers, amongst who I lurk/stalk in the comforts of cybertopia, are all the nicest and most generous people you could get possibly acquainted with! The amount of knowledge and information, food-wise, that was inherently part of the din yesterday, were all but not muted by the scraping off of Pablo’s pumpkin soup, Reeda’s champion lamb, and Eleanor’s roasted garlic & anchovies. Ouh my God, you know. The spread was amazing. I truly am very honoured to even achieve a third spot seeing that the competition was in effect a showdown of everyone’s culinary talents. And it was mixed genre too!

Here is a full list of the winners:

1) Quick & dirty lamb – Anak Brunei.
2) Roasted Garlic & Anchovies – Foodie Tales
3) Macarons – Delisioucity (Homygosh!)
4) Sea bass - Chef Pol of Self taught Chef
5) Lolita Macaroni – Hajah Zarinah
6) Cheesy Fruity Triffle – Hajah Tom
7) Tangy Prawn delight – Maria Rahimin
8)  Herbal Chili Chicken – Zulfadly of Soul Connection
9) Chinese Chicken Salad - Foodie Tales
10) Lamb Herb Jus - Creative Chefs
11) King prawn tomato – Hajah Sabtuyah
12) Red Snapper – Creative Chefs

As you can see from the list, only two were desserts! I am so tempted to have a desserts showdown in the future, and wonder if there would be many to participate? Other people who brought desserts that day included Maurina (lovely & funny girl!) with her chocolate pudding and some other entries that I was too busy going here and there that I didn’t get to taste them. In fact, I shamefully didn’t even get to eat the winner’s entry But no matter though. The book that is to be the result of this event will be available soon, and will be sold for charity Double excitement ^_^ A recipe for the French method macaron shell (au blanc monte) is going to be in the book, so I can finally sleep well at night with the thought that I at least have brought this piece of dessert to some well-deserved attention (hehe). I mean, many have called macarons “gifts from the Gods” on one end, and on the other, (especially those who have tried at least 7 times before they can get a perfectly domed and collared shell), often call these “divas” or even devil cookies. Sigh, such repute.

Here are some pictures from the event itself, which includes the desserts entries, the main dishes, and a cooking demonstration from local chefs from the infamous Empire Hotel (omg, woooot!!) Flambe-d too, they did!

The host, Senor Pablo’s wife, Bunny, has a business selling all sorts of desserts. I absolutely loved her apple maple cakes (top left), they’re so gorgeous and classic. They just melt and melt in your mouth… *rolling in fields sensation* And it is no surprise she is also a sweet lady Just imagine the aromas coming out of Pablo’s house thanks to her!

The following are some main entrees, sans Reeds’s winning lamb. Sigh. Drool.

And finally, the Creative Chefs. Work it!

It was such a fun evening, and the weather was also simply beautiful. I’d like to thank Pablo for hosting this event and hope that the good deed of the charity recipe book sale will bring you and your team great blessings! A final shout out to Eleanor, Chef Pol (I had a good chat with this guy and thank you for putting my macarons on par with that of Laduree’s! I’m humbled), Maurina, Thanis (omg u are such a foodie!! fun talking to u), Hani, Azian, and Reeds’ lovely wife!

Oh and the local paper, the Borneo Bulletin also did a coverage (albeit an erronous one: apparently I am an  ingredient in Eleanor’s roasted anchovies dish!) Cheers for that.

P/s: Macaron flavours that day: Le Signature Chocolat (nude, cocoa-dusted shells), milk chocolate (pink shells), pandan (green, with painted shell), and a rather daring mango cinnamon in cream cheese base (dense yellow). This one went soggy fastest, and I have to say, needs terrible adjustments. Oh well, food is after all about experimentations too!

I’ve been up to my eyes with rolling sugarpaste the past weeks that I find their very scent rather appaling! Quite right too, as I have been veering off a bit much from the main purpose of my blog/gastroventures, which is to unearth the secrets and techniques of classic (& classy) pastries and desserts. Certainly food decoration can be simple, elegant and tasteful and non of this have anything to do with fondants :p The whole sugarpaste phenomena probably became more significant with the advent of video tutorials, Sex and the City (with the cupcake scenes), flickr, and sugarpaste that are readily-available to home kitchens. If I never become a pastry chef in this life then I’d probably make half a career in food styling or something. I like! I want! And there’s so much to learn and get inspired from.

I’m talking about photography knowledge and skills here as much as a defined, crisp taste in spatial arrangements. Ok there you go. I am finally outing myself: I am a trained Geographer and I love anything to do with spatiality.. how things connect in a spatial context, where they are located, and why. Sometimes it makes a lot of sense, but most times (and architects alike will know this) it is about taste, and aesthetic pleasures… all working in tandem with functionality and practicality, of course. My perpetual fixation towards details can be overbearing at times, to the point of being completely anal. It frustrates me when overall pictures look great but details tell otherwise (such as the poor lighting in my photos, hence the shadows). I wish I could make time for lessons, but you know what? Minute flaws can be quite artsy too! (Such as crummies accidentally strewn about).

Anyhow, these “teacakes” are formed with a scone ring and are sandwiched together with Cocoa Italian Meringue Buttercream, a type of buttercream made with a technique akin to making the Italian version of macarons that I quite enjoy making it. The texture is silky too, and though I vouch for my dislike towards buttercreams in general, I do not mind these in small, small doses.  The cake here is adapted from Peggy Porschen’s recipe, and baked in a 10″ sheet. They rise quite well, hence the tall-ish structure, and when carved or cut, do not crumb too much. Pretty foregiving and decent for novelty cakes I must say; and according to Porschen, makes a great bottom tier for stacking.

It doesn’t end there either. These cakes are also moist and spongy, and the denseness is nicely cut with a light cream such as this. Although,… I probably won’t mind it even more if I drowned these poor old sods in Creme Anglais. Or or minty ice cream! Ouh the possibilities.. for all the senses!

Surely chocolate wins all the time, doesn’t it?

My niece Batrisyia loves green so much and wanted this ladybug cake made for her birthday party. The inside is a carved Rich Dark Chocolate Cake layered with Belgian Chocolate Ganache and frosted with Vanilla Italian Meringue Buttercream. Fondant covered, and decorated with fondant pearls. I thought the pale, pastel green makes it look sweet rather than alarmingly alien and unpalatable. But I don’t really know anyone who eats fondant covers or decors, really :p

Having said that, why do we bother with decorations in the first place? Most people just peel the fondant off and eat the cake. But cupcakes I suppose have come a long way… the amount of fancy designs that you can afford makes them a great gift item(s). And the added perk is the fact that the edible, yet uneaten, fondant toppers can be kept for a long time, so they can be picked off the cupcakes and be kept as a memento  As long as they’re away from too much sunlight, the colours will also fade slower.

The insides are made of Almond and Lyle’s Maple Golden Syrup Cupcakes, and frosted with whipped chocolate ganache. It’s a pretty nice combination, and one of the new recipes that I’m experimenting with.

Backbreaking work, these fondants @_@

Some fond moments often occur on birthdays, and in anticipation of that, I made these to be served and celebrated today. Mangoes and myself have come a long way in the walk down memory lane,  but the fondest of memories with these juicy fruits has got to be the ones to do with my parents. As simple as it is, they both  loved mangoes. Mum still does, of course, but she gets the tummy bugs when she eats too much of it so she has to settle with only a slice or two nowadays. A fond and funny story is when my dad used to just throw mango seeds out into the backyard like it’s nobody’s business and they’d grow healthily as if planted with care. Green thumbs indeed, and one that I’ve never been able to inherit. So our family home is dotted with lots of random mango trees of various types and sizes sprouting mainly at the back, and strewn randomly around outside the house. Mangoes seemed to have invaded my life, growing up

Last night at 12 am I officially joined the ranks of those who are at the dusk of their twenties (boohoo).  Yes, I was actually born at 12 am (it says so in my birth certificate!) so I’m both an Aries and a Taurus, if you’re into that sort of thing. I finished making all the components of this birthday dessert for today at about 10pm and let me tell you.. I am smittened by the pistachio joconde layer! Husby also practically gobbled up some leftovers of it after I shaped them into the circular discs.

Pistachio Joconde (adapted from Aran)

55g almond flour
56g pistachio flour
80g icing sugar
30g all purpose flour
130g eggs
100g egg whites
40g sugar
20g butter, melted
Pinch of salt

Whip almond, pistachio, icing sugar, flour, and eggs in an electric mixer until a thick ribbon forms (about 5 minutes). In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until a light meringue forms. Slowly add the sugar one tspn at a time whilst whipping the egg whites. Continue until you get an almost stiff peak consistency.

Now mix a third of the meringue into the first mixture. Fold in the rest gently and finally incorporate the melted butter into the whole batter. Slowly now! Pour the batter into a sheetpan lined with parchment and bake at 375F (about 190.2C) for about 10 to 12 minutes. Watch it at the last few minutes, as you should be aiming to get a lightly browned top.  Let cool, wrapped in greaseprof paper and foil until ready to use.

The joconde is the bottom cake layer and fourth layer from the top. I’d probably want it a bit greener than it is appearing here, but the taste far offsets any shortcomings. The entremet is then layered with a Mango Bavarian Cream, and topped with a layer of Mango Gelee and White Chocolate Chantilly.

Mango Bavarian Cream

3 Tbsp gelatin
1 and 1/2 C strained mango puree (about 5-6 Thai mangoes)
5 egg yolks
2/3 C sugar
1 and 1/2 C milk
1Tbsp lemon juice
Several drops of yellow food colouring
1 and 3/4 C whipping cream

Sprinkle the gelatin over the puree and set aside until spongy. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a mixer bowl and beat until light. Boil milk in a saucepan and pour into the egg mixture, while stirring with a wooden spoon. Return this mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whilst constantly watching and stirring. It is done when your finger leaves a clear trail in the sauce when drawn across the back of the wooden spoon. If you overcook this mixture, chuck it in the bin because you would have produced curdled, finely scrambled eggs remove immediately from the heat and stir in the softened gelatin/puree. Get a bowl of ice ready with some water, and immerse the mixture into this bowl and let it cool. It will stiffen up as it cools, so stir occassionally as it thickens with time. Whilst you are doing this, prepare your mixer bowl and beat the whipping cream until it holds soft peaks. Add food colouring at this point. When the gelatin/puree mixture is ready and resembles softly whipped cream, fold the whipped cream carefully into the gelatin/puree mixture.

Mango Gelee

After you’ve pureed your mangoes for the Bavarian cream, you will obtain a nice thick mango nectar which you can then sprinkle with about 2Tbsp of gelatin. Add a tspn of lemon juice and some yellow food colouring. Let sit. It might take a while to thicken.

White Chocolate Chantilly (adapted from Aran)

This is my next favourite component! I could just eat this as dip for fresh mangoes!

100g heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
50g white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

Add a third of the whipped cream into the chocolate and whisk vigorously. Then add in the remaining cream and fold gently with a spatula.

If you love mangoes, this is definitely a must try/must make. The mousse-like effect can be a tad overwhelming for this one though.. but I think the joconde did the trick with a dimension of texture. The macaron shells (orangey round domed discs you see in the picture) also lay a hand in providing a nice crunch and some sweetness. The gelee is rather sour, but like I said, the macaron does the job well. All in all, I love this birthday ‘cake’ for myself and I will probably start developing a taste for fancy entremets from now on! (Read carefully as: signs of ageing). hehe.

April is officially making my fingers cramped. This month, I’ve made birthday cakes for my brother, my best friend, my niece, cupcakes for my nephew, entremet for myself (auto-post will be up!), and some more coming up for my cousin’s son. Oh did I also forget to mention? I am also making macarons for Senor Pablo’s charity do, the Foodie Bloggers event next Sunday (26th Avril). So if you’ve been wanting to make an intellectual and palatial comparison between my macarons and those of *koff* Fleur de Lys (the only ‘other’ macaron that you can possibly find in Brunei), do ask Pablo how you can attend the event

You know when I went to Hua Ho to get this Barbie doll, I did NOT anticipate to stay at the toys section for half an hour. Care to consider the very phrase “like a kid in a candy store”? The truth of the matter is that I used to play all things Barbie when I was small; I used to dress her up and I used to have her kitchen set and some other. Non of my sisters played with Barbie… but then I am the youngest and most possibly the loneliest as everybody grew up and left home. Poor sod I was! haha… (long sigh). Anyhoo. Yes, it was quite fun being there, browsing about the different types and looks that Barbie could possibly be. She has absolutely changed I tell you, never have I seen so many different Barbie faces, and some were actually quite fugly to be honest! Anyway, I settled for the ‘kinder’, prettier one for my niece. Don’t want her getting nightmares now do we Barbie plays leading roles in several animated films, I’ve come to understand. And one of them is this one: she plays Odette, the girl who was cursed to become a swan, falls in love with a prince (hah!), somehow got turned back to a human/doll, married, and lived happily ever after. Or so that’s what I think anyway. Maybe I’m wrong but they all have the same soppy storylines, oui ??

The skirt is made from lemon Victoria sponge cake, and layered with Italian Meringue Buttercream. Barbie is donning a handmade fondant swan dress (ok I missed out on her sleeves), and piped with royal icing. Her clothes were packed in her original box, and yes, Barbie nowadays wears an undetachable pair of white knickers. Hoorah for that.