Apple Crumble

This recipe is off bbcgoodfood and allowed me to fill one big and one individual pie pot, it's a little bit modified because I have a slight problem with not checking I have the right ingredients before I start! I used Bramley apples which ended up being so sweet and tangy at the bottom of a nice chunky crumble topping, using only the best, Lizi's Granola.  Even though apple crumble is probably the dessert I dislike the most, I really enjoyed eating this, probably due to the fact is was so easy to make!

Macaroons Take Two!

 

I was so infuriated with myself the other day for not being able to succeed with either of the macaroon recipes that when I went into work today I mentioned it to the Chef. Now armed with the Ritz recipe I took another bash at it. Still not perfection! A couple of years ago my mom, sister and I went to a macaroon course at a local bakery and those were simply delicious, I just need to dig through the cellar and find the recipe... I'll be letting you know once I do!

Macarons au Chocolat et Fraise

The strawberry macaroons were my first attempt, I got the recipe from Gifts From The kitchen by Annie Rigg. The batter was so liquid that even though I had traced circles onto the greaseproof so as to get them all identical, they ended up running and being much to thin and were therefore brittle. Insistent I could do it, I searched our baking books for another recipe and I found one in Mes Desserts au Chocolat by Pierre Herme. The ingredients and quantities were very similar but the outcome was so different! So although neither ended up looking perfect, they tasted yum, as Dad said after he had eaten the whole bowl. The only tip I can give is to respect the guideline of leaving them to rest for 30minutes before cooking to as to get the 'crust' on the side. 

Better luck next time!

Salon Du Chocolat

This weekend I went to Salon Du Chocolat with my mom and after an hour of waiting, we were in! It took place at Porte de Versailles and lasted four days involving 200 chocolatiers. After many tasters we ended up buying a selection of 18 chocolates by MOF and Champion of the World in Pastry, Frank Kestener. Needless to say, they were delicious.

Lemon and Poppy Seed

Fluffy lemon cupcakes with a rich and zesty frosting. I had tried a couple with lemon curd in by hollowing out the centre and adding a spoonful of the curd but since the frosting is so rich it really wasn't necessary.
Just the thing to brighten up a gloomy winter afternoon.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

As it's nearly Halloween, we bought some pumpkins to start the festive baking. These cupcakes are very delicate with such a light and airy sponge, slightly similar to carrot cakes. For the cream cheese icing, I never manage to follow a recipe because I use St Moret, a french cream cheese, so it always ends up like an icing and never a frosting!

Almond chocolate cake

This was a last minute recipe to use up some of the chocolate I had melted for the Truffles and a random selection of nuts in the snack drawer! I've used Peanuts and Almonds as that's what we had but any nuts will do.

The icing and filling is a chocolate ganache with some added glucose to make it extra shiny. 

Caramel Cups

I bought a chocolate mould from E.Dehillerin, a specialist cookery shop in Les Halles Paris and it’s taken me two years to finally use it! I tempered some dark chocolate then brushed it into the polished moulds so as to avoid air pockets then I filled the cases with chocolate. At this point it is crucial to flip the mould over and tap firmly and evenly all over so as to obtain a thin shell and leave to set.

This is when I made the caramel from condensed milk. Once filled 1mm from the top, pour on the rest of the chocolate then scrape off straightaway. You want the mould to be as clean as possible so that the chocolates will drop out willingly once ready.

http://www.e-dehillerin.fr/index.php 

Thanksgiving Pecan Pies

These were my first attempt at pecan pies, using a recipe from BBCgoodfood. They were extremely easy to make, pop all the ingredients in a bowl and mix! The pastry was so crumbly that it wasn't rolled but pressed into the tins and tasted deliciously buttery.