Cucumber Lime Sorbet

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Surprised?

Un peu, beaucoup.

Sceptical, maybe.

Just like my mum:' Un sorbet au quoi?!'

If you think about it, cucumbers are just of the same family as watermelon after all. A great thirst-quencher: just try a slice of cucumber in a glass of water instead of lemon! A bowl of gazpacho is another great option.

Cucumbers seem such an ordinary and bland fruit/vegetable, but if you are adventurous, this sorbet is definitely the way to go. This colorful sorbet surprisingly captures the freshness and the light-melon flavour of the fruit.

It is also extremely easy to make: I just whizzed the fruit with sugar and salt into a smoothie, that I passed through a strainer to collect the juice. To avoid wasting food, I saved the remaining pulp and used it in my shrimp cocktail recipe. I stirred the zest and the juice of one lime into the dark green juice, that I chilled in the fridge. Before churning the sorbet in the icecream maker , I stirred in some of Adam's pepper-flavoured vodka to limit ice crystal formation. Feel free to experiment with a slice of watermelon. Et voilà!

Ingredients for about 2/3 quart:

2 English cucumbers (about 2 pounds)

½ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 lime zest and juice

1 tablespoon pepper-flavoured vodka

1. Wash and slice the cucumbers.

2. Purée the cucumber with the sugar and salt until smooth.

3. Pass the cucumber smoothie through a strainer, pressing firmly on the cucumber to extract all the liquid (NB: I saved the pulp as relish for my shrimp cocktail recipe).

4. Zest and press the lime into the cucumber juice.

5. Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

6. Stir in the vodka and freeze in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

7. Transfer into a plastic container and store in the freezer. (Don't forget to take it out of the freezer 10 mins before scooping)

Madagascar Vanilla Semifreddo with Pine Nut Pralines

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Summer is well under way and, after 2 weeks offline, it's time to catch up with my recipes! And my favourite blogs...David Lebovitz just published a tasty compilation of ice cream delights from around the blogosphere.
I have here a semifreddo - a half-frozen Italian ice cream, as creamy and rich as ice cream but soft. To balance the softness of this vanilla semifreddo, I folded in pine nut pralines for sweetness and crunch. The other advantage of this recipe is that you don't need an icecream maker to freeze the mixture. The air trapped in the whipped cream and the meringue during the whisking processes helps the ice cream freeze without hardening. Just what you need to perfect scoops.
This icecream is quite simple to make. I made the pine nut pralines first so that they cooled, starting with a caramel into which I stirred roasted pine nuts. I spread the hot caramel-nut mixture onto a greased baking sheet and let the brittle cool. I separated the eggs and beat the yolks with sugar and Madagascar vanilla. I whipped the cream and stirred it into the yolk mixture. I whisked the whites into a meringue, which I folded into the yolk mixture. I pulverised and stirred half the pralines into the vanilla cream and saved the rest to top the scoops.

Adapted from this book:
Ingredients for about 1 liter:
1 cup whipping cream
4 large eggs
¼ cup sugar
1 Madagascar vanilla bean
Pinch of salt

For the pralines:
1 cup pine nuts
¼ cup water
1 cup sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Toast the pine nuts for 8 mins or until golden.
3. Let cool.
4. In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil over medium high heat.
5. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter.
6. Let boil for 5 mins until the caramel turns golden.
7. Stir in the cooled pine nuts and let simmer until the caramel browns.
8. Remove from heat and spread over the greased baking sheet using a spatula.
9. Let the pralines cool to room temperature.
10. Pulverise half of the pralines using a food processor and coarsely break the other half into pieces.
11. Separate the eggs.
12. In a bowl, beat together egg whites and salt until firm.
13. In another bowl, mix together the egg yolks with the vanilla and the sugar until light yellow.
14. In a third bowl, whip the cream into soft peaks.
15. Mix cream and yolks.
16. Gently fold the whites and the praline powder into the yolk mixture.
17. Transfer into a plastic container and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Sour Cherry and White Chocolate Ice Cream

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Que faire avec des griottes? Fanny was just asking.
I have here a delicious and refreshing way to enjoy sour cherries. Try this sweet and delicious white chocolate ice cream. Yes! I know. For the chocolate purists, white chocolate has been stripped off all cocoa powder and, therefore is not “real chocolate”. However, I do not think that anyone who could possibly say no to a scoop of this unctuous, sweet-and-sour treat to keep cool these days! If you prefer dark chocolate, you could always substitute the nuts and white chocolate chunks for cherries in this chocolate sorbet.
Using sweet warm milk and egg yolks, I first prepared custard which I poured hot over white chocolate chunks. Once the chocolate melted, I stirred in heavy cream and chilled the mixture in the fridge overnight. The next morning, I froze the mixture in the ice cream maker and folded the drained sour cherries into the freshly churned ice cream. I saved then reduced the syrup to drizzle on the scoops.

Adapted from the Perfect Scoop

Ingredients for 1½ liters:
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks (you can freeze the egg whites or use them for meringue cookies, another great accompaniment for ice cream)
8 ounces white chocolate chunks (I used Callebaut white chocolate)
2 cups heavy cream
1 16-ounce pitted sour cherries in light syrup (unless you can find fresh sour cherries to poach)

1. In a saucepan, warm the milk, sugar and salt over medium-high heat.

2. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks while slowly pouring the sweet warm milk.

3. Transfer the mixture into the saucepan.

4. Constantly stir using a wooden spoon over medium high heat until the mixture thickens to coat the spoon.

5. Pass the custard through a sieve onto the chocolate chunks.

6. Whisk until the chocolate has melted and stir in the cream.

7. Let cool to room temperature and chill overnight.

8. Vigorously whisk the chilled mixture and freeze in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

9. Drain then fold the sour cherries into the white chocolate ice cream, saving the syrup in a small saucepan.

10. Transfer into a plastic container and store in the freezer.

11. To make the sour cherry drizzle, add one to two tablespoons of sugar to the syrup and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

12. Reduce by half and let cool to room temperature.

13. Transfer into a jar and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Pecan Molasses Lace Cookies

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I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

But there is always a quest for the best accompaniment to my, your, our péché mignon ­– which, believe it or not, literally translates into cute sin! Fresh fruit, crême Chantilly, chocolate or butterscotch fudge sauces…as far as your sweet tooth and imagination can go!

I made these oversized lace cookies to go with my chocolate sorbet, and they bring the perfect buttery sweetness and crunch to balance its rich and intense flavour. They are quick and easy to make. I just melted together butter, fancy molasses and sugar, and stirred in Madagascar vanilla extract, chopped pecans, and flour. I dropped the dough onto lined baking sheets and baked the cookies for 12 mins until golden brown. I left the lace cookies on the baking sheet for 2 mins, until cooled but malleable enough to handle, and I transferred them onto a rolling pin for shaping before cooling on the rack. Feel free to try and enjoy them with any other ice cream!

Ingredients for 1 dozen oversized cookies:

¼ cup butter

¼ cup fancy molasses

¼ cup crystallised sugar

¼ teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract

½ cup pecans

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. In a small saucepan, stir together butter, molasses, and sugar over medium high heat, until melted.

3. Coarsely chop the pecans.

4. Remove from heat and stir in Madagascar vanilla extract, chopped pecans, and flour.

5. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.

6. Drop the dough using a tablespoon onto lined baking sheets, leaving 3 inches between the mounds to allow the cookies to expand.

7. Bake the cookies for 12 mins until golden brown.

8. Leave the lace cookies on the baking sheet for 2 mins, until cooled but malleable enough to handle.

9. Transfer onto a rolling pin for shaping.

10. Cool completely on the rack.

Choco-Therapy: Macadamia Nuts and White Chocolate Chunks Chocolate Sorbet

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I just made the most decadent sorbet ever!

Three days of heat!

9:30 am, as I tend to my watering duty, the morning fresh air has almost vanished, and so have the shades of the Manitoba maples and the choke cherry trees.

11 am – 27 °C inside, full sun outside, and the air in our little old house is getting still and stifling hot by the minute.

No worries! It’s ice cream time! Technically, I cannot call this treat an ice cream because there is no milk or cream in the recipe, but this sorbet captures all the depth and richness of dark chocolate. The macadamia nuts and the white chocolate chunks are scattered through the intense dark velvet as little nuggets of sweetness.

The sweet smell of chocolate lingered in the house for two days! I started with hot chocolate by boiling together cocoa powder and sugar in water. Away from the heat, I thickened the hot chocolate by adding finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and whisking until I obtained a smooth mixture. After adding some vanilla, I chilled the chocolate mixture overnight and churned it the next morning. I added the nuts and chocolate chunks just before transferring the sorbet into a plastic container and freezing.

Don’t forget to take it out of the freezer a few minutes before scooping! Enjoy with a dollop of whipped cream and a pecan molasses lace cookie!

Adapted from the Perfect Scoop.

Ingredients for 1 dozen oversized cookies:

¼ cup butter

¼ cup fancy molasses

¼ cup crystallised sugar

¼ teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract

½ cup pecans

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Finely chop the bittersweet chocolate using a serrated knife.

2. Stir together cocoa powder, sugar, water and salt in a saucepan.

3. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent the hot mixture from boiling over.

4. After boiling for 1 min, remove from the heat and whisk in the chopped chocolate until obtaining a smooth and homogenous mixture.

5. Whisk in the vanilla and chill the mixture in the fridge overnight.

6. Vigorously whisk the chilled mixture and freeze in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

7. Coarsely chop macadamia nuts and white chocolate chunks and add to the sorbet at the end of the freezing process.

8. Transfer into a plastic container and freeze for at least 4 hours, until set.

Rhubarb Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Muffins

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Mid-June already and you know summer is almost here when you can enjoy a leisurely brunch in the backyard. Fruit salad, pastries and fresh cup of your favorite caffeine fix laid out on the patio table.* Sigh*

Our rhubarb has grown to a giant bush – perfect hiding spot for the cats. Red stalks up straight, ready for harvesting and for all the treats and desserts you can imagine… How about using some stalks for some tasty buttermilk muffins for breakfast? And because it is the most important meal of the day, I thought I’d better add a few chocolate chips to start it right.

A few minutes to whip up and bake the muffins, just enough to prepare the fruit salad and the tea… and back to the yard!

Ingredients for one dozen large muffins:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 large egg

¾ cup buttermilk

2/3 cup safflower oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1½ cup fresh or frozen rhubarb

½ cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

2. In a bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract using a whisk.

3. In another bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Stir the rhubarb and chocolate into the flour mixture.

5. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the ingredients are just combined.

6. Brush the muffin cups with oil and fill with batter.

7. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

8. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Aniswood Cookies

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Still happily celebrating the return of Spring! Choke cherry trees and lilac are blossoming and their heady fragrances are attracting bees and wasps into our garden. I love waking up to the chirping of the sparrow and their chicks. I even surprised a couple of blue jays and cardinals playing underneath the arcs of water while I was watering the lawn.

Hard to do any cooking when the backyard is warm and inviting, but I made the quickest cookies in the world the other day.

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Simples comme bonjour!

18 mns flat, including baking! For these no-butter cookies, I just whisked all the ingredients together in a bowl and freshly grated aniswood bark into the batter. Yes, aniswood again. I just can’t get enough of this spice and, literally, I still have a bucketful to go through so no sense being stingy! Feel free to substitute with freshly ground fennel or anis seeds! Another point: unlike regular drop cookies, the dough is essentially a batter but do not fret! 15 mins in the oven and these cookies will keep your sweet tooth satisfied.

Ingredients for 3 dozen:

4 eggs

1½ cup sugar

1¾ cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon anis wood (Substitute with fennel seeds)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Mix eggs and sugar in a large bowl using a whisk.

3. Stir in the flour and the aniswood.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Drop the disks of batter onto the lined baking sheet using a tablespoon.

6. Bake for 15 mns until golden.

7. Let cool on the baking sheet and store in an airtight container.

For other recipes using aniswood:

- Pain d'Epices

- Smokey Red Peppercorn Crusted Mahi Mahi on Sauteed Peas and New Potatoes

- Slow Braised Short Ribs

Almond Fruitcake Rum Balls

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Not sure about you, but I have been living Spring in full!

Witnessing the rebirth of my garden, watching every leaf, stem, and shoot turning into bud then flower almost overnight is such an invigorating experience!

Barely warming three weeks ago and, as we were busy raking the last remnants of winter off our yard, narcissi were blooming, peonies and daylilies were just poking out of the ground. Already then, I noticed that my ladybug friends were back on the budding birch tree.

One week later, the first tulip and crocus were opening their bright petals while the first chartreuse leaves appeared our rose bush.

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Very tempting to start any planting outdoors at that time, with the high risk of frost I decided for kitchen spring cleaning instead.

Perfect time to go through the pantry! I found a good chunk of Christmas cake– the best fruitcake ever, homemade packed with candied cherries, dried apricots and raisins, pecans (Note to self : Will have to blog the recipe sometime*). Adam and I LOVE this Christmas cake so much that we usually preserved it wrapped in plastic and foil, making last until Easter, lovingly basting it with dark rum or rye to keep it moist and germ-free.

With Easter being April this year, it was time to transform our fruitcake into rum balls.

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Wrong season for rum balls? Pas du tout!

Most recipes use graham crackers for their dough but why not recycle leftover fruitcake instead? Especially when all you have to do is to mix fruitcake crumbs with chopped nuts, cocoa, syrup, sugar and rum and roll the dough into balls.

The recipe I found in Canadian Living is so simple that you could use any leftover cake, including some of that spice loaf I made recently. I adapted it by replacing the pecans with unblanched almonds for which I doubled the amount. I also doubled the quantity of rum to make the dough more malleable, thus easier to roll, and easier to coat. The rum balls were firm enough after coating that I skipped the drying and refrigeration steps altogether.

I dove in right away: soft and sweet inside, crunchy outside…

Adapted from Canadian Living.

Ingredients for 1½ dozen rum balls:

2 cups almonds (I toasted unblanched almonds because their more earthy, richer taste)
1½ cup chopped fruitcake
2 tablespoons icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons corn syrup
¼ cup dark rum, preferably Madagascar rum

1. Toast almonds in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat until fragrant and light brown, tossing frequently to prevent them from burning.

2. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Chop the fruitcake in a food processor, pulsing to make fine crumbs, and transfer to a bowl.

4. Finely chop the toasted almonds using the food processor.

5. Add 1 cup of almonds to the fruitcake and transfer the rest to another bowl.

6. Stir in sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup and rum to form a sticky dough.

7. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.

8. Roll the dough using one tablespoon of dough per ball. (Note: Rinse hands as needed)

9. Coat the balls with almond crumbs and place on prepared tray.

10. Enjoy ASAP (or refrigerate for up to one month if you can resist)

Sweet Black Olive Shortbread

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Le hasard fait bien les choses… So tasty I had to find a safe hiding spot for the tin!

Back from a three-day process engineering training! The gamut on operations, costs, efficiencies et al. Interesting, brain-twisting problems, but after being trapped in a classroom with only cafeteria fare for distraction, I just needed the buttery softness of shortbread cookies for comfort.

To make these cookies, I adapted Jamie Oliver’s recipe for basic shortbread without rolling the dough. It is very similar to the one I used for the vanilla sablés, without eggs or refrigeration step. Just like scones, shortbread comes in sweet as well as savoury flavours, ranging from chocolate and almonds, to rosemary and fleur de sel.

Why black olives? I was browsing through my fridge for a salty snack – a pickle, maybe, I stumbled upon my favourite Moroccan black olives from the Italian store and remembered about Pierre Hermé’s green olive macarons.

Bingo! Salty, but bold and creamy also…perfect flavour and texture to enhance my sweet shortbread. Just keeps me coming back!!!

Ingredients for 18 cookies:

2 cups cake or all-purpose flour

1 cup butter, diced and room temperature

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup crystallized sugar (instead of superfine, but pulverized using food processor)

2 tablespoons to ¼ cup greek-style Moroccan dry cured black olives

1. Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer.

2. Sift flour and cornmeal into a bowl.

3. Pit and finely chop the olives, and stir into the flour.

4. Stir the flour mixture into the buttercream, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

5. Preheat the oven to 300 F.

6. Line the bottom of a 9x9 inch pan with wax paper, and grease the sides with butter.

7. Press the coarse dough into the pan with floured hands (Do not worry if the dough is crumbly, because it will give the sablé texture to the shortbread)

8. Prickle the dough with a fork and bake for 50 mins, until lightly golden.

9. Let cool slightly and cut the cookies using a knife. (Similar to the sablés, the dough is soft to the touch)

10. Let cool completely before unmolding.

Sweet Macadamia-Chocolate and Savoury Cheddar-Sun Dried Tomato Scones

Le weed-end, c’est sacré! Sacrebleu!

Weekends are sacred! Is it just me or do you also live for your weekends? A gorgeous, sunny Saturday afternoon and nothing to worry about - unless you are a grad student stuck in the lab, trying to complete the last experiments that will set you free from your slave-driving boss!

Friday, 4 pm…no 3:30 pm. Traffic is already backed up, but for once this week, nothing will take that smile off your face. Not mine, anyway. Shut the car door, put my sunnies on. Turned CKUA on. Already cruising off the office politics, planning for a well-deserved glass of wine and a relaxing fin de semaine.

This weekend, you might have planned for afternoon tea with you girlfriends or a brunch with your in-laws, and scones are an easy treat to make. They are best freshly baked, but they barely need any kneading to achieve flakiness and lightness. I just simply wanted to treat myself with something other than muffins for brunch, plus I got to snack on the leftover for goûter instead of cheese and crackers. The buttermilk dough I found in Chatelaine is not only light but, but also slightly tangy. I decided to divide my dough into two portions for sweet and savoury scones, but you can easily make two separate batches to scale it up.

These scones are decadent enough to be enjoyed on their own, but feel free to enhance your experience with simple yogurt dips! A berry yogurt is the perfect match for the rich and sweet macadamia and chocolate scones. For the cheddar and sun-dried tomato scones, a plain yogurt spiked with lime juice and a pinch of salt. YUM!

Ingredients for 12 scones:

2 cups baking or all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 egg

½ cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons milk

For 6 sweet scones:

1/3 cup macadamia nuts

1/8 cup dark chocolate chips

For 6 savoury scones:

½ cup grated yellow cheddar

¼ cup sliced sun dried tomatoes

1 small red onion (about ¼ cup)

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.

2. Stir in sugar using a fork.

3. Cut the cold butter into the flour until crumbly.

4. In another bowl, whisk egg with buttermilk.

5. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture.

6. Mix with a wooden spoon. Divide the dough into two bowls at this point if you want to make sweet and savoury scones.

7. With floured hands, add in chopped macadamia nuts and chocolate chips for the sweet scones; cheddar, sun dried tomatoes and red onion for the savoury scones.

8. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

9. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.

10. Gently knead the dough for 10 secs, just enough to mix the filling in.

11. Gather and pat the dough onto a floured board to form a ½ inch-thick disk.

12. Cut out scones using a floured small glass.

13. Place the scones about 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheets.

14. Lightly brush with milk and bake for 13 mins, until light golden.

15. Cool on a rack and serve with yogurt.

Madagascar Vanilla Sablés

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After trying the pain d’épices, I was trying to remember all my favourite childhood snacks. Of course, sablés and palets bretons were one of them. Sablés and palets are the French shortbread cookies from Normandy and Brittany. I hope to find a recipe for palets; in the meantime, here are my sablés. Just as buttery as the Scottish cookie, their texture is slightly sandy, hence the name. Unlike other shortbread recipes, I thought that Madagascar vanilla would be perfect to enhance the delicate, nutty flavour of this cookie. Simple and delicious.

Ingredients for 3 dozen sablés:

1 ½ cup cake or all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornmeal
1 vanilla bean
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (Note: I make my own vanilla extract by letting the beans soak in dark rum. This method also helps preserve the vanilla beans, preventing them beans from drying)
1 cup unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature
1 cup icing (confectioner’s) sugar
2 egg yolks
1 pinch of salt

1. Sift flour, cornmeal and sugar into a bowl.

2. Cut the butter into the flour mixture, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

3. Separate the egg yolks into a small bowl.

4. Slice the vanilla bean, scrape the vanilla seeds onto the yolks, and lightly mix in the extract with a fork.

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5. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture using a wooden spoon until obtaining coarse dough.

6. Divide the dough into two portions and transfer onto parchment paper.

7. Press and roll each portion into a 2 inch-diameter log using the parchment paper.

8. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs (overnight if possible).

9. Preheat oven to 340 F.

10. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

11. Once the logs are chilled, cut the dough into ½ inch discs using a serrated knife. (Tip: If the dough is crumbly, slightly pat the dough and put back into the fridge)

12. Place on baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart and bake for 10-12 minutes until just lightly golden on the edges.

13. At this point, the cookies are soft to the touch. Let cool on baking sheets until firm.

Chocolate Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

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Please, please! Make my favourite cookies, this time!

Which ones?

Well, I think that we can all relate to this piece of conversation!

I think that we just don’t want to admit it, we all love cookies! I like baking them, but I like eating them too. Truth be told, pleasing your loved ones is the best catalyst for baking cookies.

Everyone has a favourite cookie! Oatmeal cookies! We got oats, raisins and chocolate! Just for that! I know that, for the purist, I am missing chopped walnuts or pecans here. Well, I just wanted my buttery treats soft and chewy but you are most welcome to add nuts for crunch. Because, I was in spicy mood, I also decided to incorporate spices from my pain d’épices recipe into my cookies.

Ingredients for 4 dozen cookies:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

1½ cup flour

1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Thompson raisins

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars using an electric mixer, until fluffy.

2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

3. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

4. Incorporate the flour mixture to the buttercream.

5. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and raisins.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

7. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

8. Drop the cookie dough using a teaspoon onto the lined sheets. Make sure to leave 2 inches in between the mounds, because the cookies will flatten and spread upon baking.

9. Bake for 10 mins.

10. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 mins then on a wire rack.

Pain d’Épices

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I know most of you associate exotic spices with Christmas and gingerbread cookies, Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie, or Easter and hot cross buns. For me, spices mean pain d’épices, a specialty loaf from Eastern France loaded with honey and spices.

For our after-school goûter, my sister and I used to have one or two buttered slices of pain d’épices with a warm cup of milk – nothing is better than milk and cookies on a rainy day! I remember seeing it at the gourmet food store in Montréal and at the Italian store in Edmonton, with Prosper, the teddy bear, smiling on the label. I had completely forgotten about it until we got to have it toasted and covered with foie gras for New Year’s Eve. How sweet, how decadent!

Back at the Italian store, I resisted getting my childhood treat, but I was determined to find a homemade spice loaf recipe. I chose this great, low-calorie recipe, in French, from the Marmiton, because it uses milk, not butter. Instead of using powders, I opted for bulk or fresh spices and doubled their amounts. I also replaced the ground fennel seeds with grated anis wood from Madagascar and added orange zest instead of using Chinese five spice mixture.

Aniswood is a peculiar spice, which like cinnamon, comes from the bark of the ravitsara, a tree native to Madagascar. Like for nutmeg, the bark is chunky and needs to be grated to release its flavour. I have used the bark to infuse my barbequed mahi-mahi or my short ribs with sweetness and smokiness.

Adapted and translated from the Marmiton.

Ingredients for one loaf:

250 gram cake or all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon grated aniswood
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons freshly grated cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
½ teaspoon cracked black peppercorn
½ teaspoon salt
1 orange zest
2/3 cup honey (Still my very special honey I used for the brûlée)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/5 cup milk, preferably homo milk
¼ cup triple sec

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and all the spices but the vanilla using a whisk.

2. Heat the honey until just bubbling.

3. Make a well in the flour mixture.

4. Pour and stir in the warm honey using a wooden spoon.

5. Incorporate the eggs, adding one at a time, then the vanilla.

6. Heat the milk, until warm, and add to form a smooth batter.

7. Preheat the oven to 320 F.

8. Line a loaf pan with parchment or wax paper.

9. Transfer the batter into the pan.

10. Bake for 1hr – 1¼ hr, until a toothpick comes out residue-free when inserted into the cake.

11. Let cool in the pan to room temperature.

12. Unmold, moisten with liqueur and wrap in aluminum foil for at least 2hr before serving.

Orange Meringues

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Custard-based recipes like ice-creams, crême brûlée, and tiramisu mainly require egg yolks, and you always end up with extra egg whites. One way to use up leftover whites is to make soufflé - and I will hopefully be able to share my taro root soufflé with you very soon! If you need to satisfy your sweet tooth and are not up to the challenge, a simpler way is to make meringues. Meringue cookies may seem intimidating for any beginner, but as long as you start with water- and grease-free utensils and bowls, these feather-light cookies will be a breeze to make!

Ingredients for 3-4 dozen cookies:

5 large egg whites (Tip: Make also sure that no yolk has slipped into your bowl when you separate your eggs !)

7 ounces icing sugar

Zest of 1 orange

1. Sift the icing sugar to ensure that there will be no lumps and zest the orange.

2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites using an electrical mixer until firm peaks form.

3. Slowly add the sugar while keeping the mixer on to obtain glossy peaks.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

5. Line baking sheets with parchemin paper.

6. Gently fold the zest into the whites and transfer into a freezer bag.

7. Cut one tip of the bag and pipe the whites onto the lined baking sheets, keeping about one inch between the cookies.

8. Bake for 1 hr, making sure not to open the oven door during the first 30 mns. (Tip: Try to bake all the cookies in one batch prevent the meringues from falling)

9. Let cool on a rack to room temperature.

Ginger and Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies

(Click on the picture for details)

Once again, I had to make something to satisfy my chocolate craving. Thinking back at the chocolate recipes that I have posted so far, I saw that I completely forgot to mention chocolate chip cookies! I love cookies and if you are like me, you will like yours extra decadent, moist and – most of all, with as much chocolate as they can hold. If you are desperate for chocolate fix, you will not be disappointed by these treats. The candied ginger adds extra-special sweetness and warmth to these brownie-like chocolatey cookies! Delish!

Ingredients for about 3 dozen cookies:

1 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 cup crystallized sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1-2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1¾ cup all purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chopped walnuts

½ cup chopped candied ginger

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars and vanilla using an electric mixer, until fluffy.

2. Beat in the egg, then the sifted cocoa and the buttermilk.

3. In a small bowl, mix flour and baking soda.

4. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate buttercream.

5. Stir in ginger, chocolate, and walnuts.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

7. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

8. Drop the cookie dough using a teaspoon onto the lined sheets, leaving 2 inches in between the mounds.

9. Bake for 12 mins.

10. Cool for 2 mins before removing from the baking sheet.

Frangipane Buns

It has been 30°C below zero all week up here, in Edmonton – almost 50°C with windchill! The best way, and of course my favourite, to fight these frigid temperatures is to bake. Nothing is more comforting than letting the warm scents of flour and yeast fill the house. You will find these almond swirls perfect for breakfast – or for gouter! One or two of these goodies and you will be ready to shovel the snow off your sidewalk ...or simply cuddle up in your favourite blanket by the fire.

Ingredients for 12 buns:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)

½ cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (approx.)

Frangipane:

1 cup whole unblanched almonds

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

3/4 tsp kirsch (or almond extract)

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 tbsp icing sugar

1. Add 1/4 cup warm water to a large bowl and stir in 2 tsp of the sugar.

2. Crumble the yeast into the sweet water and allow to dissolve about 10 minutes.

3. In a small saucepan, heat milk , remaining sugar, butter and salt until butter is melted; let cool to lukewarm.

4. Stir the milk mixture into the yeast mixture along with eggs.

5. Stir in the flour in three parts to form a shaggy dough.

6. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

7. Transfer into a large greased bowl.

8. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 ½ hours.

9. In the meantime, make the frangipane, by finely chopping the almonds in a food processor.

10. Pulse in sugar and flour.

11. Add butter, egg and kirsch to obtain a smooth paste.

12. Punch the dough down and roll the dough into 18 by 14 inch rectangle on a floured board.

13. Leaving a 1-inch border, mound some frangipane on one long side and spread the rest evenly over the dough.

14. Starting with mounded side, tightly roll up and pinch seam to seal.

15. Cut the roll into 12 slices using a serrated knife.

16. Line 13 by 9 inch metal cake pan with double thickness parchment paper.

17. Place the slices, cut side up, in the prepared pan.

18. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

19. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

20. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the sliced almonds.

21. Bake until golden and rolls sound hollow when tapped on bottoms, 20 to 30 minutes.

22. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then on a rack.