Adults Only Tiramisu

With the amount of alcohol in this recipe, I had to warn my daughter not to drive after eating this luscious Italian dessert. Her probationary license stipulates zero alcohol content in your system, and I'm sure a breathalyser test would have registered way up there after only a couple of mouthfuls. Luckily only the biscuits are quickly "dipped" into this potent brew, otherwise we'd all end up happily tipsy, not that that would be an issue. I must confess I have only made Tiramisu once before, and that was due to a request from my eldest when she turned 16. Because she was "grown up" in her eyes, the customary birthday cake made way for this "adults only" dessert. Maybe it was her way of consuming alcohol right under my nose, instead of waiting for a party with her friends!! She is now 24, well and truly grown up, and I'm happy that I have an excuse to make it again. So are the dessert deprived members of this family. They all think HHDD is fabulous, because they can indulge in the rare treat of desserts after a meal. When I told my youngest what the theme for this month was going to be, she insisted we shop for the ingredients immediately. I wonder if her enthusiasm would have been the same had the theme been some savoury dish. I think not.

Alexandra, from Addicted Sweet Tooth, the deserved winner of the last round of Hay Hay it's Donna Day, a fun event now under the wing of Bron Marshall, has chosen Tiramisu for this months challenge. This is a no-bake (right up my alley when it comes to desserts), rich Italian dessert, that literally translates as "pick me up" or "make me happy/less sad". We all know the virtues of coffee, chocolate and alcohol, each providing a momentary state of euphoria. Combine them all together and what do you get? An exhilarating uplift with every spoonful, equally addictive as the individual ingredients can be on their own. Just don't drive for a while. Enjoy your happiness.

Tiramisu

Prep time: 30 minutes

2 hours refrigeration

Ingredients

300 ml espresso coffee

3 ½ tblsp Marsala

2 tblsp Kilkenny cream (coffee and chocolate liqueur)

2 tblsp brandy

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

3 eggs separated

75 g caster sugar

300 g mascarpone

Cocoa for dusting

100 g good quality dark chocolate, grated

Savoiardi biscuits

Chill six 300 ml glasses. Combine coffee, coffee liqueur, brandy marsala and vanilla in a large bowl and set aside.

In a bowl beat egg yolks with sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in mascarpone. Beat eggwhites intil soft peaks form, then fold into the mascarpone mixture.

Dust the base of each glass with a little cocoa and sprinkle with some of the grated chocolate. Add a spoonful of the mascarpone mixture to each glass. Quickly dip the biscuits, a few at a time, into the coffee mixture and arrange in a single layer on top of the mascarpone, breaking biscuits to fit if required. Dust with cocoa and chocolate and then repeat layers again, finishing with mascarpone. Leave to chill for a couple of hours in the fridge and then dust again with cocoa and grated chocolate.

Befuddling Muddleine's

It's Taste and Create time again, an event founded by Nicole at For the Love of Food, where you are given a partner, visit your partner's blog, and chose a recipe to recreate in your own kitchen. So this month I'm off to Great Britain to the home of Hippolyra, who has an incredibly healthy and tasty blog, Fuss Free Flavours and I'm all in favour of anything "fuss free". As soon as I saw the recipe for Genoise Batter Madeleine's, something I had never tried before, I knew my decision was made. I even had a Madeleine tray, brand new and waiting to be tried, in the cupboard. I purchased this tray a couple of years ago, when I renovated my kitchen, and tossed all of my old stuff out, replacing it all with brand new shiny items.

Righto...lets get started. The eggs and sugar were happily mixing away. Time to grease the shiny new tray. What new tray? It was gone...not a trace. Every cupboard and drawer was upturned. Where else could it be? In the meantime the Genoise batter was not going to wait. The kitchen had been turned upside down in my vain attempt to locate the missing tray. I could only surmise that I had lent it to my octogenarian neighbour at some stage, and she has "forgotten" to return it. I was very suspicious of her having early stage Alzheimer's, and now that suspicion was seeming more of a reality. Of course she wasn't home when I was running around like a mad woman doing circles, so I had to improvise with another pan (which I didn't even realise I had!). Could the Madeleine tray have morphed into this tray that I'd never seen before? This was turning into a fiasco, and I felt as though I had completely lost my mind, along with the tray. Perhaps it was me with early Alzheimer's. It's still a mystery and it's annoying the crap out of me.


Needless to say the Madeleine "fingers" turned out great, even if they look nothing like Madeleine's. I'm sure every French person is guffawing with laughter, so in respect for the true and proper Madeleine's, I'm renaming mine Muddleines, so as not to offend anyone, especially Hippolyra. And when I find my tray, I will make proper Madeleine's, damn it!


"And that's all there is -- there isn't any more."

Just Swanning Around with Chantilly Cream Puffs

When Suzanne from Home Gourmets announced the theme for this months Hay Hay it's Donna Day, I quietly cringed. Choux pastry....Aaarrgghh! I love eating the stuff, but successfully cooking it is another matter. My first and only attempt, up until now, was quite disastrous. After reading up a bit on how to make Choux, I realised now that I did every possible thing wrong in my first attempt. My pot was too small, the heat wasn't right, I felt that I had to stir it like a cement mixer...the list goes on. However, this event that is now nurtured by Bron Marshall and originally conceived by Barbara at Winosandfoodies is all about setting participants a challenge. And who doesn't love a challenge?

So with the assistance of Monsieur Larousse, who states " The first stage in making the paste is to heat the liquid (water or water and milk) and butter until the butter melts. This should be done slowly at first, without allowing the mixture to boil (if the liquid boils before the butter melts, it will reduce)". Wish I'd known that important little tip the first time. When referring to mixing the paste until a ball forms, Monsieur Larousse kindly points out "do not beat the paste at this stage or the fat will separate out slightly, making it oily". Yet another mistake I made first time round. Merci, Monsieur.

I decided to go ahead with Chantilly Cream Puffs, because I love saying Chantilly in French ("shahn-tee-yee "), and I have always put vanilla and sugar in my whipped cream, unknowingly making Chantilly cream all along. When he stated that these cream puffs are made to resemble swans, I nearly swallowed my tongue. Oh puhleese, can I just get the puffs right before murdering them with my lack of artistic abilities? Oh well, looks like I have more challenges on my plate than I expected.

The result? Not quite perfect (even a bit tacky) Chantilly Swans. Once again my family thanked Hay Hay it's Donna Day for allowing them to devour this indulgent pastry, which they have been deprived of in the past. You never know, I might even have another go at this satisfying paste. It's not as hard to make as I thought it was....once you know the secrets!




Chantilly Cream Puffs

Choux Paste
In a medium sized pot add 1 cup of water, or equal parts milk and water to make 1 cup. Toss in a large pinch of salt and 65 g (5 tblsp) of softened butter cut into small pieces. Add 2 tsp caster sugar. Heat gently until the butter melts, then bring to the boil. As soon as the mixture comes to the boil, remove the pot from the heat, add 125 g (1 cup) of plain or all purpose flour and mix quickly. Return the saucepan to the heat and cook until paste thickens, stirring (it takes about a minute for the paste to leave the sides of the pan). Don't overcook the mixture or beat it vigorously as this will make it greasy or oily. Beat in 2 eggs, the 2 more eggs one after the other, continuing to beat hard until a smooth glossy paste is obtained (I did this last step in the KitchenAid ...much easier).

Pipe or spoon onto baking sheet and place in a heated oven (220 C) for 10 minutes, reduce temperature to 200 C and continue cooking until golden and crisp. The initial warmer temperature is to create steam inside the bun, causing it to "puff". Pipe some backward "S" shapes (think of the number 2) onto the baking sheet. Obviously these "necks" won't need to be baked as long as the puffs, so I placed them on a separate small tray and put them in the oven towards the end of the cooking time.

Chantilly Cream
Place 400 ml (1 3/4 cups) of very cold double (heavy) cream, 100 ml very cold milk and 1 tblsp vanilla sugar in a chilled bowl and whip. When the cream starts to thicken, add 40 g (3 tblsp) caster sugar continuing to whip until thickened to desired consistency.

Split and cool the buns, then cut the top off each bun, cutting the top in half lengthways which will form the swan's wings. Fill the buns with chantilly cream . Place a "neck" at one end of the bun and stick the "wings" into the cream on either side. Dust generously with icing sugar.

Toffee Apple Clafoutis HHDD#19

Childhood memories bring to light many joyous moments, such as receiving my first Teary Deary Doll from Santa, or the feeling of jubilation riding my two wheeler, finally unassisted by Dad, and not crashing into the lemon tree in the backyard. Two memories really stick out though. The first is homemade toffees in patty pans, covered in hundreds and thousands or peanuts, which I could savour all day, wrapped in a handkerchief in my pocket when the sugar fix had wained. The second is autumn apples, Golden Delicious apples, the size of a softball on steroids, the juice running down to my elbows with every deafening crunch. These apples were straight from the orchards in King Valley, and a large box would always be sitting on the table of our back verandah, tempting us every time we walked past.

When Bron Marshall (the esteemed winner from last month) announced the theme for Hey Hey it's Donna Day #19 as clafoutis, I was a shattered woman. I'm not normally one who opts for desserts, and thought a savoury clafoutis, maybe baby tomatoes, prosciutto, goats cheese...something along those lines, would satisfy my savoury tooth. This is a popular monthly event founded by Barbara from Winosandfoodies. Check out both of these fabulous blogs.

Finally the penny dropped. Use what is in season. Tomatoes have finished...finito, kaput. Apples rule. So I have combined two of my childhood favourites, apples and toffee to make Toffee Apple Clafoutis.

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

60 minutes

Ingredients (serves 8)

• Melted butter, to grease
• 6 (about 1.2kg) golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, quartered
• 220g (1 cup) caster sugar
• 80ml (1/3 cup) water
• 100g (2/3 cup) plain flour
• 160g (2/3 cup) sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbs Cointreau liqueur
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 tbs vanillin sugar
• 500ml (2 cups) milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Brush a 10-cup (2.5-litre) ovenproof dish with the melted butter to lightly grease. Arrange apple pieces over the base of the dish.
2. Place caster sugar and water in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until mixture is golden, occasionally brushing down side of pan with pastry brush dipped in water. Remove from heat, allow bubbles to subside. Pour toffee evenly over apples in dish.
3. Combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add the liqueur, oil and vanillin sugar. Gradually pour in the milk, stirring continuously, until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture over the apples. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes before serving.

Hay Hay it's Donna Day Terrines

Tammy, from Running With Tweezers is the host for this month's HHDD, an event born over at Winosandfoodies, and she has chosen terrines. Tammy is an old hand at hosting this event, as she has won it three times now! Her recipes are absolutely stunning.

My first instinct, when I read what the theme is going to be, was to phone Mum and ask her how she used to make brawn, but suddenly I had a nightmare-ish image return to me from my childhood, of a plate in the fridge, sporting an hideous cow's tongue being squashed under a brick. Big, purple and full of pimples.....just revolting. I protested, saying "who knows where THAT'S been?". After that discovery, I never ate brawn again, even though I must admit that it was delicious. I think that was the very moment I vowed I would never eat offal of any sort.

So, being the considerate person I am, I decided not to put my own family through such a scary ordeal, and I've turned my thoughts to Christmas instead.

Christmas in Australia has turned from the traditional roast turkey to seafoods and BBQ's. Because our weather on the 25th December can be extremely hot, who wants to spend all morning over a hot stove and oven? Then again, I can recently recall that we had to light a fire one year, whilst bushfires were raging around the country. Nothing is predictable for Christmas Day.


This terrine is called a festive terrine, adapted from Delicious magazine, December 2005. It's an ideal alternative to a hot plum pudding, without forsaking the traditional dish completely. As nobody in this house is a big fan of glace cherries, I substituted dried strawberries and blueberries.

Ingredients (serves 10)

• 180g caster sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 900ml thickened cream
• 200g Christmas pudding, crumbled
• 1/2 cup dried strawberries
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
• Silver cachous, to serve

Method

1. Line a 1.5-litre terrine with plastic wrap, leaving some overhanging to cover top.
2. Place sugar in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons cold water over low heat. Stir, with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and cook for 5 minutes, without stirring, but brushing down sides of pan occasionally with a damp pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals forming. Be careful the syrup doesn't darken. Allow to cool.
3. Meanwhile, with an electric mixer, beat egg yolks until doubled in volume. Beating continuously, slowly add sugar syrup and continue to beat until cool.
4. Lightly whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold half the whipped cream with the crumbled pudding and half with the egg mixture. Using a metal spoon, carefully fold the two whipped-cream mixtures together with the strawberries, blueberries and pistachios. Spread the mixture into the terrine mould, pressing down well, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight.
5. When ready to serve, remove the terrine, invert onto a platter and top with silver cachous.

Notes & tips

• Begin this recipe the day before.

Apple Day

On September 28 swissfruit is organizing the 15th apple day. I never knew that the Swiss eat approximately 18 kg of apples per person, per year. They sure love their apples!!

Kochtopf, famed for her World Bread Day event, (which is happening on 16th October) is spreading the word. This event is impromptu, however most people have the odd apple or two in their fruit bowl or pantry, so why not join in. Post about a dish with apples as the star ingredient.
Send an email to kochtopf(at)gmail(dot)com including

- your name
- your blog's name and your blog's URL
- the recipe name and the post's URL
- your hometown/region and country

Submissions have now been extended to Sunday 30th September, so get those peelers (however the skins contain the best source of nutrients) and corers out of the gadget draw and lets show how we can keep the Doctor away for good! The health benefits of eating apples are extraordinary. The phytochemicals (which act as antioxidants) found in apples help:

• Reduce cancer of liver, colon, lung and prostate
• Reduce the risk of heart disease
  
• Reduce cholesterol
• Age related memory loss
• Increase lung function and also decrease lung disease, including asthma
• Decrease the risk of strokes - to name just a few.
  

I chose a Tuscan Apple Cake as my submission. This is a delicious sweet, served with a dollop of whipped cream...Hmmmm...maybe not the right choice to keep the Doctor away, but apples help reduce cholesterol, right? Just remember, all food is good if eaten in moderation. This dessert will test your willpower somewhat.

The apples in this dessert are Golden Delicious apples, my favourite when they are in season. I remember as a child, our family driving to an orchard nearby, and picking boxes of crisp and juicy Golden Delicious apples. The juice would run down to your elbows with each loud crunch. They're great for eating, and their high sugar content means they hold their shape when cooked, so are ideal for pies, cakes and Tuscan Apple Cakes!

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 6 thick slices woodfired bread, crusts removed, cut into cubes
• 1 cup (250ml) milk
• 3 eggs
• 90g caster sugar
• 3 tbs (1/4 cup) plain flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup (250ml) thin cream
• 2 golden delicious apples, peeled, sliced
• Icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and lightly grease a 24cm springform cake pan with a tightly fitting base, or grease and line the base of a regular 24cm round cake pan.
2. Place bread in a shallow container, pour over milk and soak for 30 minutes.
3. Place eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla and butter in a bowl and use a hand whisk to combine. Slowly add cream, beating well.
4. Squeeze bread, discarding milk. Place in cake pan, pressing down well. Lay apple over top in a circular pattern. Pour over egg mixture and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
5. Bake for 50 minutes until golden and cooked but still moist. Cool slightly in pan. Dust with icing sugar.
6. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Happy apple day everyone

A total of 59 amazing apple recipes can be found here in the roundup

Well done Zorra, great job!

WHB # 96 Strawberry Shortcakes

A noticeable omission in this blog are sweet dishes. I'm more of a savoury than sweet person, hence the lack of muffins, cup cakes, desserts and other sweet delectable recipes. I'm not totally anti-sweets, I just don't cook or prepare them much. If there's a tub of icecream in the freezer, my family is happy.

So in a fit of madness on my part, I suddenly had an urge to make strawberry shortcakes. Don't ask me why. Maybe because I thought I had to justify the cost of my Kitchenaid mixer, and use it for something other than mixing bread dough. I have a morbid fear of creaming sugar and butter, as I never know when it is ready.

I decided to take beginners steps here into the world of "baking", and this recipe doesn't call for any creaming whatsoever. In fact it was made in my food processor with the Kitchenaid doing the whipping of the cream. Maybe next week I'll take the next giant step and make, wait for it, but don't hold your breath waiting,.......a cake!

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, and Zora from Kochtopf is the host of this special event.

Shortcake:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tblsp packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
4 tsps granulated sugar, divided
3/4 cup milk

Filling:
1 quart ripe strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of confectioners (icing) sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, grease a baking sheet
With blade attachment on food processor, wiz flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, butter and 2 tsps of granulated sugar until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Pour mixture into medium bowl
With wooden spoon or paddle attachment on electric mixer, add milk and mix just until it forms a smooth dough.
Scoop dough onto baking sheet in 6 equal mounds.
Dust top of shortcakes with remaining 2 tsps granulated sugar.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven, transfer to wire rack and let cool.
To make Filling, in a medium bowl, mash 1/2 the strawberries.
Mix with granulated sugar and vanilla.
Refrigerate 1 hour.
To make whipped cream, in a chilled mixing bowl, beat cream with confectioners sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla until it holds soft peaks.
Add sour cream; beat until stiff peaks form.
Cut of tops off shortcakes, and spoon filling onto bottom of shortcakes.
Cover with whipped cream and remaining sliced strawberries, replace tops.
Garnish with a dollop of cream, a strawberry half and a sprig of mint.

Bienenstich ... delish

As a special request, my nephew's fiance asked me to make a Bee Sting for her colleagues at work. This was Monday night after a long day at work, but in the meantime I realised that it was my bosses birthday the Saturday before, so a belated cake was called for. As it turns out, the recipe makes two Bee Stings, and my boss is from Germany, so I killed two birds with one stone, or as he would say "killed 7 flies with one swat".