Lékué Lemon Squeezer

What is it ? It’s your solution to 1/2 a lemon!!!

The new designer lemon squeezer by Lékué :

• Cut a lemon in 1/2
• Put inside the  squeezer
• Squeeze the exact quantity of juice you need
• No pips, no splashes
• Store in the fridge
• Quick & easy to use
• Made of 100% platinum silicone and very hygenic
• Dishwasher safe

WIN your very own Lékué LEMON SQUEEZER

ENTER the contest with THREE easy steps:

1. Go to the Lékué website by clicking HERE
2. Choose your favorite Lékué product
3. Leave a comment on this SWEET PEA post:  stating what your favorite Lékué product is & your email address.  ie) “My favourite Lékué product is the cooking mesh!!”

You are now entered in the free draw!

Click on link below for free draw & LEMON CAKE recipe!

Contest details:

• Contest is open from June 12 to July 12, 2009
• Prize :  2 Lékué Lemon Squeezers (1 box), kindly donated by Lékué
• Winners name will be drawn at random & announced the 3rd week of July!
• Squeezer will be shipped internationally at no cost to the winner, by regular post, upon receipt of the winners delivery address.

The story behind this post….

My wedding list was at a lovely kitchen shop in the old town of Geneva. This is one of those shops that you go into with the intention of just having a look and come out hours later with a variety of wonderful packages. It was here that I found the Lékué Lemon Squeezer – which I have since nick named ‘the LUKI‘ after Luki Hubert, it’s designer !

I bought a Luki for my brother, gave them as favours at a dinner party, recommended them to my work colleagues – and always the same reaction…. “Where has this been all my life!!!” It is the best solution to 1/2 a lemon.

So I contacted Lékué (the Spanish companybased in Barcelona who makes these lemon squeezers) to rave about their Luki. I think more consumers should provide feedback to companies, especially when the product it this fabulous. Not only is the product wonderful, but so are the people working at Lékué – the vibe was always friendly, accommodating & very knowledgeable.

Here are the answers to the questions I asked them, to give you the INSIDE SCOOP on Lékué and the Luki!!!

Who invented the company Lékué?

• José María Lorente founded the company in 1979, he was a great inventor and manager.

What does the name Lékué mean?

• Lékué is a Basque name that means “place.” It was the founder wife’s name (José María Lorente).

Who is Luki Huber?

• Swiss-Born Luki Huber is an internationally recognized designer, who was trained at the Lucerne Schools of Art & Design (Switzerland) and the Escola Massana in Barcelona (Spain). In 1994 he moved to Spain and in 1999 he created his own design studio. Luki has collaborated on a regular basis with world famous companies and restaurants such as elBulli, experimenting & reinventing the rigors of cuisine – creating an original way to enjoy cooking.

Why did Lékué decide to work with Luki Huber?

• Functionality, quality, innovation and avant-garde design constitute the basis of Lékué’s philosophy. Lékué believes that it is indispensable to have a close relationship with the design world & it’s designers, because this is the origin and condition of the constant innovation of our products .
• Our collaboration with Luki Hubert was born to join functional and innovative designs with new products, always focused on improving, facilitating or reinventing well-known objects or processes for both the professional and home/ kitchen, through the use of 100% Platinum Silicone.

Was the lemon press the 1st project you did with Luki Huber?

• Yes, it was the first product designed by Luki Huber and we have had a very successful collaboration since then. The great success of this product is due to its characteristics and original design. The luki lemon press has won two international and prestigious awards: the “Good Design Award” (Japan, Oct 2007) and “Design and Technological Innovation Award” (Madridfusión, Jan 2007).

What inspired the design of the lemon press?

• The challenge was to reinvent different kitchen tools & processes, where platinum silicone had a real benefit.

How long did it take to develop the lemon press?

• It took almost 2 years to launch the product, but we still continue enlarging the products range since then.

Where is the lemon press made in Spain?

• Yes, it is.

Why is it made in green?

• Green is easily related to citrus fruits

How many lemon press are made each year?

• This product is quite new as you know, so we do not have figures from such a long time. Last year 200.000 units were placed in the market.

Over the years, will the acidity of the lemon juice deteriorate the silicone?

• No, it will not. Platinum silicone is a very resistant material, so the acidity doesn’t deteriorate it. Besides, silicone can be reused as many times as needed, it is very hygienic and dishwasher safe. Be careful with the use of knife when cutting and also when cooking in direct contact with fire (burners, etc.).

Will you make a Luki squeezer for other citrus fruits (cítricos) eg: oranges?

• We discarded that idea since at least 3 oranges are required for a single juice and there are other better solutions for this purpose in the market. It would not be a real improvement of the existing orange juice making products. At Lékué, being innovative is one of the aims when developing products.

As this is a cooking blog, my Lékué Luki post would not be complete without a recipe - and one using the LUKI!!!

LEMON CAKE RECIPE – ERIKA ALLLISTON Blog

Lemon cake

LEMON CAKE

• 110 gr unsalted butter
• 110g white sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean*
• 2 medium eggs
• 110gr white all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• finely grated ring of 1/2 a lemon

*Take 1/2 a vanilla bean pod, slice it lengthwise & remove the inside by scrapping with a teaspoon

For the lemon / sugar syrup:

• juice of 2 lemons (here’s where the LUKI comes in handy)
• 50gr icing sugar

1. Pre heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F
2. Line a small loaf tin with baking paper – this is important for absorbing the  syrup!
3. Bring the butter to room temperature
4. Beat the butter until light in colour
5. Add sugar & cream until light and fluffy
6. Add vanilla & mix to combine
7. Add the two eggs and beat well
8. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt
9. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture.
10. Finally add the grated lemon ring, mix untill combined.
11. Pour batter into lined loaf tin.
12. Bake for 30 mins depending on loaf tin
13. While waiting, in a small bowl combine the lemon juice and icing sugar = syrup!
14. Remove from oven. Leave cake in the loaf tin.
15. IMMEDIATELY prick the cake with a tooth pick (approx. 15 times).
16. While the cake is still warm, slowly & evenly pour the syrup over the top of the cake.
17. Leave cake to sit in the loaf tin for 10 minutes so all the syrup is absorbed.
18. Remove cake from the tin and leave to cool on a cooling rack

Chocolate lava cake

Molten chocolate lava cakes have become quite the talk of the town in recent years – slightly crispy exterior opening to reveal a melting chocolate heart! They really are the best of both worlds… a chocolate pudding & chocolate cake combined.

Though I have to admit that I have shied away from serving these lovely cakes at dinner parties, as the whole de-moulding process can go so terribly wrong – towers cracking, chocolate promenading, desert plates ruined.

It was Katya’s TEA CUP idea that solved the problem! Five to six cups (sturdy Ikea variety works best), are buttered & sprinkle with crystally demerara sugar, then covered with unctuous chocolate batter. After being perfectly cooked, they are served with a dollop of whipped cream & powdered with coco or spice.

The presentation is beautiful, the taste divine & gone is the impending doom of serving. You don’t even need to rush out & buy expensive fancy moulds to make this desert!

See link ‘Chocolate lava cakes‘ below for recipe:

A SIDE NOTE: As everyone’s oven is different as are their tea cups, in my experience it is best to do a trial run of this desert before the Queen mother arrives on your door steps.  A cooking time of 14 minutes might work perfectly for me, but perhaps you will need a minute more or a minute less to get your desired lava texture. Please see *** below.

RECIPE - SWEET PEA Blog

• 125gr Dark chocolate (70%)
• 125gr Unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 2 eggs
• 90gr white sugar
• pinch of salt
• 75gr white all-purpose flour
• 100mL full fat (whipping) cream
• coco powder for decoration*
• demerara sugar ** (approx. 5+ tablespoons)  + butter for tea cups

* You can decorate with ground cinnamon, nutmeg or coffee as you prefer

** Use white sugar to coat the tea cups if you do not have demerara sugar

1. First butter 5 tea cups (size 9x5cm, 125mL = 1cup).  Place a heaping tablespoon of demerara sugar into each cup and roll around till all side are evenly coated up to the top of the cup. Set aside
2. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F
3. In a bain-marie melt the chocolate & butter
4. Beat the eggs well. Gradually add the white sugar. Beat until light in colour & frothy
5. Slowly add the chocolate/butter mix
6. Add the flour & pinch of salt
7. Fill each tea cup halfway with chocolate mixture
8. Place the tea cup on a baking sheet
9. Cook for 14 minutes***
10. While waiting beat the whipping cream
11. Serve molten cakes immediately with a dollop of cream & sprinkle with coco

***Each oven is different. Try cooking the cake for 12 minutes then test with a tooth pick  – you want the exterior to be just cooked & the interior of the cake to stay liquid. NOTE: keep in mind that when the cakes are removed from the oven, the tea cup is still very hot, so they will cook a little bit more.

FRENCH CARROT CAKE – a Journey

Can I tell you a secret?

I have always had a terrible weakness for American style carrot cake – the soft, moist slices, filled with spices and topped with thick cream cheese icing. However when it came to the subject of nuts – as far as I was concerned they had no business being in my carrot cake. That was until now.

It all started with my new French cook book, Des Recettes du Potager. On first glance this little green book is filled with savoury recipes for garden vegetables, but on closer inspection I found 1 or 2 sweet treats nestled inside. One of these was le carrot cake, made with ground toasted hazelnuts!

The French are famous for knowing a thing or two about baking, so why oh why did I have so much drama with this new recipe??? The first time I made this cake I followed the recipe to a T, and from an outsiders perspective I had triumphed – the cake rose well, had a nice crusty golden outside & soft moist inside. I especially like the small twist of flouring the cake pan with brown sugar (cassonade), which added a sweet caramel effect. But that’s where the joy ended. Taking a bit of this lovely looking cake, my 1st thought was, oh how delicious …., then wait, hold on, what’s that funny aftertaste, a sort of acidity that rests on your tongue, lingering in the background. Another bite confirmed that I was not hallucinating.

So it was back to the drawing board, for trail N°2. This time I replaced the ground toasted hazelnuts with almonds  & used chestnut flour instead of all-purpose white. The result was better, as the aftertaste was less noticeable, but it was still there, lingering, & I wasn’t happy.

You see – drama drama drama drama.

At this point you’d think that common sense would have prevailed & I’d have moved on. But you would be wrong. Perhaps I can blame my stubborness on the fact that I am born under the sign of the Ram & tend to drive on not matter what…. apparently even when it comes to carrot cake.  I just couldn’t let this recipe go – there was something intrigued about it. The fact that they could sneak in ground nuts to replace part of the flour & it worked, was enough justification in my mind to journey on.

So I geared up for trial N°3, this time using only untoasted ground almonds and replaced the butter with vegetable oil. Please don’t cringe. I love butter and normally do not cave in to using oil. But in my defence I have recently read many a carrot cake recipe, to discover that several called for oil instead of butter (justifications of WW2 & shortage of butter, plus the binding of oil working better with flour).

And it work, by golly it worked!!! Just call me Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes. Gone was that little aftertaste that had been offending my taste buds, while keeping all the things I truly loved about this cake from the beginning. Plus this is a gluten free cake recipe, using only 1/2 a cup of oil (unlike some recipe which call for twice that), so you can have your cake & eat it too!!!

RECIPE : SWEET PEA Blog

• 2 to 3 large whole carrots (250 gr)
• 125 gr ground almond meal
• 100 gr (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 100 gr brown sugar (cassonade) + extra for flouring the cake pan
• 50 gr chestnut flour (us all-purpose white flour if you prefer)
• 3 1/4 teaspoons baking powder (1 sachet if you are in France)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• sprinkle of ground nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• icing sugar for decoration

1. Preheat the oven to 210°C / 410°F
2. Butter a cake pan with removable bottom & then “flour” it with the extra brown sugar
3. Peel & finely grate carrots. Set aside
4. Beat the eggs till light & frothy, then add the grated carrots and almond meal
5. Add the oil, sugar, flour, baking powder & cinnamon. Mix well. The batter will be liquidy.
6. Pour the batter in the cake pan and cook for 35 -40 minutes or until a cake tester (toothpick) comes out clean.
7. Wait 5 minutes before removing the sides of the cake pan.
8. Dust with icing sugar & serve.

NOTE : this cake keeps well, remaining nice & moist. It is just as good the 2nd or 3rd day!

HONEY CAKE, oh honey honey!

Happy New Year! My warm wishes for 2009 are a little late coming this year , as I caught a nasty flu bug my 1st week back to work & it wouldn’t let go. However I am now feeling much better and am back in the kitchen to prove it.

To get the ball rolling I decided to make my Aunt Elise’s New Years Honey Cake.  However on reading down the list of ingredients I hit a road block…. self raising flour…. why oh why…. well I can tell you why, my aunt is from England, as is her recipe and like most English baking recipes it lists this kind of flour. The only problem is, you CAN’T BUY IT in Switzerland.  But you can make it! So if you can’t move the mountain to Mohamed, move Mohamed to the mountain –  I like applying this philosophy to the kitchen!

Self-Rising flour is simply flour that contains baking powder and salt. Mystery solved. However I do not normally use this type of flour 1. because I cannot buy it locally  & 2. because I prefer to add my own baking powder and salt – it has a better raising effect. Plus if you store self raising flour for too long the baking powder loses some of its strength and your baked goods don’t rise as nicely.

Self raising flour basic recipe:

• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon  salt
• 1 cup (125 grams) of all-purpose flour

Mix the ingredients well together, and voila!

Recipe changes:

• I substituted normal all-purpose white flour, baking powder & salt for the self raising flour.
• I replaced half the golden syrup with honey, it is called a honey cake after all so I thought perhaps this key ingredient should be included.
• I also replaced the sunflour oil with butter as I thought it would give a richer taste.
• Elise’s recipe made a cake large enough for the Russian army, and as we are currently only 2 at home… I have scaled down the recipe to half it’s original grandeur.
• In the future I may also try adding a little less white sugar, though despite what initially appears to be a very sugary recipe, when taking into account the total quantity of golden syrup, honey & white sugar, the cake does not come out tasting overly sweet.

Here is the new version of the recipe with the changes mentioned above:

RECIPE – SWEET PEA Blog

• 112 gr (1/4 pound) honey
• 112 gr (1/4 pound) golden syrup (corn syrup)
• 115 gr (1/2 cup) butter
• 100 gr (1/2 cup) sugar
• 120 mL (1/2 cup) boiling water
• 225 gr (1/2 pound) all purpose white flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon mixed spice
• 2 small eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 160° convection heat.
2. Flour & butter a cake pan.
3. In a saucepan over medium/low heat, combine the honey, golden syrup, butter, sugar & boiling water.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & spices.
5. Add the melted sugar/butter mixture to the dry ingredients & stir well until evenly combined.
6. With a hand whisk beat in the 2 eggs. Your batter will be loose & liquidy.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until the tooth pick comes out clean when testing the cake

PIERRE HERME :  P is for perfect and H is for heavenly : sweet delights, from cakes to pastries, chocolates, sweets, tarts, deserts, petits fours, sorbets and macarons!

Pierre Hermé is an artist – an artist of pastry making. Born in Colmar, Alsace, to a family of three generations of baking & pastry making, he began his apprenticeship at Gaston Lenôtre at the age of 14. It was here that he discovered his passion for pastry making. After many years of experience, he opened his 1st boutique in 1998 at the Otani Hotel in Tokyo. It was only in 2002 that he came back to his roots and opened his Parisian store, which I had the pleasure of visiting.

But I am getting ahead of myself, and a story is told best from the beginning!! This past weekend my fiancé whisked me off to Paris for a romantic trip for two….. Knowing my passion for the culinary arts, & the need for inspiration for our forthcoming wedding cake, he had sweetly included a few surprise visits along the way.

As we strolled through the streets, there was no shortage of eye candy…. So when we arrived in the 6ème arrondissement, at Pierre Hermé’s small patisserie on rue Bonaparte, I was intrigued but not overwhelmed. Perhaps the fact that you had to wait outside to then squeeze into the shop, should have been an indication…. but as they say the proof is in the pudding, we had yet to taste.

The door opened to reveal a small, rich, dark chocolate store, with a narrow walkway, in front of a glass display case. Inside were creative little cakes & macarons, neatly arranged in straight lines. We chose a ‘tarte infiniment vanille’ and a selection of colourful macarons.   

Sitting in Jardin de Luxumbourg 10 minutes later, with our little orange & white boxes, I can safely say we had discovered the crème de la crème in patisseries! I surprisingly do not have a great sweet tooth, however even I could not argue that this tart was the embodiment of perfection … the perfect balance of a crunchy butter crust, filled with a vanilla bean cream that was sweetened just so, topped with a vanilla pana cotta and glazed with a very fine layer of meringues. We were speechless.

Back in Geneva, I opened the macarons…. while I have tastes these delights before, nothing has ever come close to those of Pierre Hermé’s. He has achieved a delicate harmony between his ingredients, not too sweet, or strong, no over-powering flavours, everything works together to create a sumptuous finale – circular, thin crisp shells of beautiful colours, filled with a variety of velvety creams …. 

Here are the current summer MACARONS they offer:

• ISPAHAN – pink shell with lechi / rose cream & raspberry compote
• CELESTE – deep yellow shell with light passion fruit cream & strawberry rhubarb compote
• CARREMENT CHOCOLAT – chocolate shell with bitter chocolate ganache & coco beans
• SATINE – white shell with cream cheese mousseline & orange passion fruit compote
• Mandarine and red berry cream in an orange shell

We also tried some of their other flavours:

• ARABESQUE – apricot, peach & pistachio
• JASMINE – jasmine flower with jasmine tea cream
• INFINIMENT VANILLE – Mexican, Tahiti & Madagascar vanilla bean
• Rose – rose petal cream
• EDEN – peach, saffron & apricot
• Olive oil &  vanilla bean

In short, Pierre Hermé’s patisserie is by far the best that I have tasted, and would hight recommend a special trip to his boutique.

Almond Cake

ALMOND CAKE {GATEAU AUX AMANDES}: I think my pantry has been learning old tricks from the washing machine – you put two socks in and only one comes out…. you place a packet of almonds in the pantry and they vanish – coincidence I THINK NOT!

To avoid ’the hunt of humiliation’ the only logical solution was to get their 1st – buy the almonds and use them right away. Which in my case in not difficult as I am a big fan of this nut.

The original recipe for this cake comes from Thomas Keller’s cookbook ’Bouchon’, and uses almond paste and amaretto. I first tried this recipe using 2 substitutions : almond essence & ’masse d’amande’ – a very thick French almond butter made with ground almonds, soya beans and sugar.

My cake turned out wonderfully moist & flavourful – which got me to thinking. If others wanted the same results & didn’t have access to this almond paste, it would be useful to know how to make it from scratch. Thus I have created a homemade recipe, which makes a little extra almond paste that you can keep in the fridge and use as a spread on toast – delicious dear diary!

See link ‘Almond cake‘ below for the recipe:

ALMOND CAKE RECIPE – ERIKA ALLISTON Sweet Pea Blog

• 200g (7oz) almond paste*** (see my recipe below) or use ‘masse d’amande’
• 55g (1/4 cup) white sugar
• 110g (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon almond essence
• 45g (1/3 cup) white flour
• pinch of salt
• 40g sliced sweet almonds for decoration
• icing sugar for dusting the cake

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F
2. Grease & flour an 24 cm (11 inch) round baking pan.
3. Cut butter  into small pieces and let come to room temperature.
4. Combine the almond paste and sugar - beat for 2 minutes.
5. Now add the softened butter and mix for an additional good 5 minutes.
6. Next add the honey, then the eggs ONE BY ONE, and finally the almond essence, mix well.
7. In a separate bowl combine the flour &  salt. Gradually add to the almond mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX at this point.
8. Bake in the oven for approx. 25 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown and a tooth pick come out clean when you poke the cake.

TOASTED ALMOND DECORATION : while the cake is in the oven, using a large non-stick frying pan, gently toast / brown the sliced almonds. Be CAREFUL not to BURN them!  Set aside to cool.

Remove the cake from the oven, let sit to cool for at least 5 minutes. Remove from the cake pan and set on a cooling rack. When the cake is cool place on a serving plate, sprinkle the top with the toasted almonds, and using a small sieve, dust the top with a thin layer of icing sugar.

*** Homemade ALMOND PASTE Recipe***

• 175g (1 generous cup) whole almonds
• 12 tablespoons slightly warm water
• 6 tablespoons oil (almond oil or vegetable oil)
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Put the water into the blender 1st, then the whole almonds and mix. Next gradually add the oil and finally the sugar. You will need a powerful blenderf to make this very thick smooth butter. My recipe makes approx. 330g of almond butter in total, of which you will need 200g for this recipe.

NOTES:

Do not store this cake in an air tight container! If air cannot circulate around the cake the almonds will go soft -  and we don’t want that!!! It is a fine line between not letting your cake dry out and letting it become too moist.

CHESTNUT YOGURT CAKE

It seems as though every culture has their own, good oldfashioned, mother’s milk cake - the Chinese have their pound cake, the English their victoria sponge, the French love a moist ‘quatre quart’ as do the Swiss, and I was recently introduced to the wonderful world of ‘yoghurt / yogurt cake’ which has become a staple in my kitchen.

What makes this cake so perfect is that it is uncomplicated, yet versatile - to be served alone or with jam & butter, to accompany coffee, tea or milk as is your preference (or your age)  – speaking of which doesn’t appear to influence the love for this cake amongst children and adults alike. It is perfect for tea time, the gouter (aka snack) or just when you feel like something a little bit sweet.

I often come home at the end of the day with a hankering to bake but an aversion to spending hours doing so. The yoghurt cake is a great soulution, as it can be made using two bowls, in less than 10 minutes, with endless flavours and to really bring the selling point home it is as good as any cake can be for your waist line as it uses more yoghurt than butter. I have taken to making it on it’s own or with lemon zest, coco powder, vanilla bean and most recently purée de marron AKA chestnut purée.

RECIPE – SWEET PEA Blog

Classic Yoghurt Cake

• 225g white flour
• 200g white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 150g plain fullfat (2%) yoghurt
• 2 eggs
• 70g butter (melted)

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F)
2. Line a loaf tin or small shaped baking tins, with parchment paper (or use butter then flour)
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yoghurt and white sugar. Next beat in the 2 eggs.
4. In a seperate mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients : flour, sugar, and baking powder. Mix well.
5. Now combine the yogurt mixture with the dry ingredients and mix until you have a very smooth batter.
6. Finally melt the butter (see NOTES) and gently mix it into the batter.
7. Fill the tin(s) – make sure the small tins are only filled halfway or they will overflow, and bake for 40-50 mintes for a loaf and 20-25 minutes for small cakes. I air on a shorter cooking time as my oven is powerful, and test the cakes with a tooth pick to see if they are cook.

Tooth pick test – gently poke the toothpick into the cake in various place (especially the very centre which takes the longest time to cook) and if the it comes out CLEAN the cake is ready. The top of the cake should also spring back slightly when you lightly press the top with your fingers.

***YOGHURT CHESTNUT VERSION***

Note: if the chestnut purée that you buy is very sweet to taste (with added sugar) I would reduce the sugar quantity in the recipe to 160-170g

• 225g white flour
• 200g white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 150g plain fullfat (2%) yoghurt
• 150g chestnut purée ( made of chestnut & sugar – I buy the bio / healthfood variety with less sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 70g butter
• 2 tablespoons warm water

Follow the baking instruction above for the CLASSIC cake, only add the chesnut purée to the yoghurt/sugar mix before adding the eggs, and add the water at the very end after the butter. The chestnut purée makes the batter a little thicker, but the extra baking powder and water help with this.

NOTES: if you don’t have or want to use a microwave to melt the butter, I boil a kettle of water, then chop the butter into cubes, which I place in the small thin metal measuring cup from Ikea. I then place the metal measuring cup in a small bowl which I fill halfway with boiling water, which heats the metal and melts the butter!

{BOSTINI CREAM PIE}  This year has been filled with many ’FIRSTs’ …..  the creation of my 1st blog, my engagement, my 1st trip to Moscow (hence the lateness of this post) and this my 1st DARING BAKERS challenge!

THE DARING BAKERS are an on-line community of over 200 members dedicated to baking! Each month we receive a recipe challenge from the chosen host, which we are to make (with only allowed modifications) and then post our results simultaneously on the chosen date!

This month’s challenge was hosted by Mary of Alpineberry blog whose assignment was a ‘Bostini Cream Pie’. Her original recipe called for a large quantity of orange juice and orange zest, two ingredients that we could replace as long as the cake remained a light colour!! As I am not a fan of the combination of orange and chocolate, I replaced the orange juice with milk and the zest with saffron, which turned out beautifully. I also halved the recipe, which scaled down nicely, but for the purposes of this competition I have posted the original recipe.

RECIPE – SWEET PEA BLOG

VANILLA CUSTARD:

• 3/4 cup whole (full fat) milk
• 2 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 whole egg
• 9 egg yolks
• 3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon white sugar

1. Using a whisk, combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl, blend until smooth. Next beat in the whole egg and egg yolks. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine the cream, sugar and vanilla bean (cut bean lenght wise and remove the grains – add pod and grains to the cream). Carefully bring the cream to a boil. Just as the mixture starts to boil, REMOVE from the heat. Mix a ladle-full of the cream mixture into the egg mixture to temper it. Now add the entire egg mixture into the remaining cream.
3. Cook the egg/cream mixture on a lower heat, constantly stirring and watching the consistency, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, and strain with a sieve.  Pour into chosen serving dishes and refrigerate to chill.

SAFFRON CHIFFON CAKE

• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 3/4 cup fine white sugar
• 1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup canola oil (I used sunflower oil)
• 1/3 cup egg yolks (3-4 yolks)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)
• 1 teaspoon cream of tarter

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F)
2. Butter then flour your chosen baking tray (trays) - I used one large baking tray and then cut the chiffon cake into squares.
3. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
4. In a saucepan slightly heat the milk then add the saffron and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.  Now beat in the oil, egg yolks, and vanilla and combine with the dry ingredient mixture.
5. In another large bowl, beat the egg whites a little, so they become frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat again until soft peaks form – then gently fold into the batter.  Pour into the baking tray(s) and cook for approx. 25 minutes, or until the top turns light golden colour and bounces back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

DARK CHOCOLATE GLAZE

• 8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate
• 8 ounces unsalted butter

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Heat the butter in a saucepan until it just bubbles. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate and stir until you have a uniform glaze.

To assemble : I had filled the exterior ring of a flat teacup saucer with the vanilla custard – removed from the fridge, I then filled the central cup holder with chocolate. Cut a square of the chiffon cake and place in the centre of the chocolate and top with a thin layer of chocolate glaze. Garnish with a sprinkle of saffron.

NOTE: When I removed the cake from the baking tray it slightly reduced in height. For decoration, I dropped of dot of chocolate glaze onto the custard and then drag a knife through the dot to form a leaf/heart like shape. The chocolate glaze thickens and eventually hardens once cool, so if you want to serve it as a liquid glaze, serve immediately when you remove from the heat.

Earl Grey Chocolate Cake

CHOCOLATE CAKE :

As the story goes… when my mother was pregnant with me, she used to crave chocolate so badly that she would eat several bars a day! Yet dispite this early training, I came into the world without the ‘chocolate gene‘, and therefore never truly understood what all the fuss was about when it came to desserts like chocolate cake (cries of NO & SHAME!!!)

This was until my friend Evelyn sent me her recipe for “Flourless Chocolate Brownies“. With my mother’s birthday approaching and knowing her weakness for anything chocolate, I thought what better an opportunity than to try out what Evelyn described as the most deliciously, delectable chocolate dessert she had ever tasted.

Being without a brownie pan, I decided to turn the recipe into a cake, and instead of using only plain 70% dark chocolate, I substitute 3/4 “DOLFIN” Earl Grey Tea 70% dark chocolate . The only thing left to say is that after some 20 odd years I have finally found …… chocolate cake!

CHOCOLATE CAKE Recipe - ERIKA ALLISTON Sweet Pea Blog

• 140g Dolfin Earl Grey Dark Tea Chocolate (52% cocoa)
• 85g solid dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
• 100g unsalted butter
• 175g icing sugar (sifted)
• 4 large eggs (room temperature if possible)
• icing sugar for decoration

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)
2. Seperate the egg whites & yolks into two seperate bowls (use a large mixing bowl for the egg white) and set aside.
3. Melt the chocolate and butter together and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Whisk egg yolks & icing sugar until creamy, then gradually add to the chocolate mixture.
5. Finally, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff white peaks – and then fold gently (so as not to loose their lightening effect) into the chocolate mixture.
6. Pour into a greased and floured 25cm bottom cake dish and bake for approx. 20 minutes until slightly cracked on the top. Once completely cool, using a sive dust the top of the cake with icing sugar.

NOTES: This chocolate cake is nice served with crème fraiche! Despite its velvety rich texture it remains a light cake, which can be made a few days in advance and stored outside the fridge covered it aluminium foil without loosing its lovely moist quality. The other advantage to this cake is that it is GLUTEN FREE – for those looking for gluten free recipes due to allergies !!

{PETITS GÂTEAUX AUX FRAISES ET CREME DE ROSE} I am in love….. and my current infatuation comes from the general direction of the kitchen ‘quelle surprise’! It all started when reading Donna Hay’s delicious recipe for “Raspberry cream cupcakes” on the Telegraph website www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink And so the song “Two for tea and Tea for two…. ” from the Musical ‘No No Nanette’ became stuck in my head.

It will come as no surprise that with grass routes in England, that tea time holds a special place in my heart – and what better to go with a cup of tea than a dainty little cake. This is a twist on the traditional fairy cake or cupcake as North American’s call it,  but one that brings back sweet memories of being a little girl serving tea to my dollies. It is shocking how many cakes a plastic doll can consume all by herself ;)

I began with the printed recipe as a base and modified a few things as I went along: as I had just bought local strawberries at the market that morning I decided to substitute them for the raspberries, and thought that a touch of rosewater and sugar would go nicely with the cream.

RECIPE - SWEET PEA BLOG

• 110g unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 100g white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or 1 packet)
• 2 fresh eggs
• 140g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 90ml double cream
• small punnet of strawberries (the smaller the strawberries the better)
• 2-3 teaspoons rosewater
• 2 teaspoons sugar for the whip cream filling
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar

1. First preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Prepare the muffin tin by lining each of the 12 holes with a paper liner. Thicker liners work best as this recipe is rich in butter!
3. In a mixing bowl combine the flour and baking powder, set aside.
4. In a separate bowl using an electric mixer or beaters combine the butter, white sugar and vanilla until light and creamy.
5. Gradually beat in the eggs one by one. Then add the flour mixture followed by the milk.
6. Spoon the fairy cake mixture evenly into each of the 12-holes (to avoid jealousy ha ha)
7. Bake for 15 minutes (depending on your oven), use a toothpick to see if they are cooked. Remove from muffin tin and set on a rack to cool.
8. Now comes the fun part!!!  
9. Cut the strawberries into small pieces.
10. Next whip the cream into soft peaks, mix in the sugar and rosewater (to taste) and then fold in the cut strawberries.
11.  Cut a circle out of the top of each fairy cake and generously fill with the rose cream and strawberry mixture. Replace the top and using a small sive dust with icing sugar.