i am blatantly aware of how long it’s been since my last post, how i’ve quietly retreated from the blogging world without explanation. you see, i had been gestating this beauty for 38 weeks…

our first child arrived in December of 2009! while my pregnancy was mostly uneventful, thankfully, it was also fraught with dietary concerns as i was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. this meant that two fundamental ingredients of baking – flour and sugar – needed to be severely restricted. fortunately, through careful moderation, my baby was still delivered naturally at a birthing center in Manhattan with a healthy birth weight of 7lb 10 oz.

the journey into parenthood has and continues to be an amazing growth experience. how this affects my blogging and baking remains to be seen as i take things one day at a time, trusting my instincts as i go along, as i have been all along…don’t worry, i won’t be depriving my little one (who is thankfully clear of diabetes himself) of sweets and look forward sharing with him a lifetime of special baking occasions…

peace and happy new year to all.

janet

This cake is a departure from the French style ones I’ve been making recently. I made this lemon layer cake with passion fruit buttercream for my mother (yes it was for Mother’s Day – so late posting, I know!), so I wanted it to be whimsical, light and Spring-like. Sometimes, it’s just fun to make a good old fashioned American style layer cake with buttercream!

At any rate, in this cake I wanted to experiment with these soy wrapper sheets I found at Japanese mega mart Mitsuwa, in Edgewater, NJ. They’re also available on Amazon here. I’ve even found it in the International section of a local A&P supermarket. The flower pattern was inspired by the popular Marimekko Unikko fabric.

For the recipe, please see this post.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
April’s Daring Bakers challenge was a cheesecake recipe, the challenge of which involved taking a basic recipe and being creative with it. While I’m not a big fan of cheesecake, I took this as an opportunity to try out some techniques I’ve learned or read about recently (though they’re hardly novel and have been used for some years). Ultimately, I created a Coconut Kaffir Lime Cheesecake with Cashew Ginger Crust, and Mango-Blood Orange pearls. The white “sauce” is coconut foam.

When I visited Thailand several years ago, I became enamored with kaffir lime leaves. It’s often used in curries and the delightful Tom Kha Gai soup (coconut lemongrass chicken soup). I finally received a baby kaffir lime tree last year as a birthday gift, which I’ve been nursing since. After the dormancy of winter, I’m quite thrilled with how much it’s been growing. Generally, the leaves are not eaten, but rather torn and used in soups or curries, similar to the function of bay leaves. However, it is more easily ingested when finely chiffonaded.

Instead of a traditional fruit sauce topping or glaze, I tried my hand at making fruit pearls or spheres, which originated several years ago in El Bulli restaurant in Spain. The spheres are often made with sodium alginate or calcium chloride, but not wanting to use such ingredients (not did I have access to them), I used a recipe using agar agar (seaweed-based gelling ingredient) from a recent class with Michael Laiskonis as a basis, omitting the locust bean gum. I basically cooked the juice of one mango and and one blood orange with some sugar (I read that certain fruits such as mangoes, due to their high acidity level will not set with agar agar, but coooking them might change their enzymes and alter their ability to gel). I thought the juice needed a little more kick so I also added some from half a lemon. I had to experiment with the amount of agar agar I used, but I ended up using just over a teaspoon of powder, which needs to be dissolved by boiling in water for several minutes. This juice-agar  mixture was poured into a squeeze bottle and “dropped” into a container of very cold canola oil. In class, we used a large square bucket-like container and the type of container you use will be a determining factor in the success. This part is somewhat trickier than it would sound, because the spheres can fall to the bottom and puddle, or flatten when they reach the bottom of the container, (which happened to some of my pearls). Then you strain the pearls and rinse under cold water.

The cheesecake itself is flavored with coconut extract and coconut flakes and infused the whipping cream with kaffir lime leaves. I also decided upon a cashew ginger crust using ground cashews and crystallized ginger from the book In the Sweet Kitchen. I also tried foaming, a technique made infamous (and not necessarily in a good way) by the contestant Marcel from Top Chef. It is easy to make foam (depending on the liquid-some will not foam) using an immersion blender. You just need to ensure the blade is not entirely immersed in the liquid, but rather at an angle.

Thank you to this month’s host, Jenny.

My last two posts were perhaps a bit heady, admittedly. And speaking of heady, my head has been spinning from all this talk about the psychology and science of food. So I thought I’d lighten things up with a cake to celebrate Spring: green tea sponge cake, yuzu mousse, lavender creme brulee, white chocolate caramel ganache, pistachio white chocolate crisp, white chocolate glaze with green tea and “lavender” macarons.

While this cake was intended for an Easter gathering, I wanted to avoid using any symbols specifically associated with the holiday. It was also for a family gathering, for which I tend to be more experimental – to their benefit or not – because they’ve tried it all, because I know they will still love me and because they will be brutally honest in their critique.

The main  flavor combination of green tea and yuzu was inspired by my recent class with Michael Laiskonis. I used his flavorful green tea biscuit recipe as a base (though in his blog, he doesn’t recommend this cake for an entremet). His recipe calls for the use of trimoline, an invert sugar used for stability and also to retain moistness. Honey is an invert sugar, so I used that instead, also to see what effect it would have. There did seem to be some disparity in the structure and stability of the cake between my cake and the one made in class. Not that the cake I made didn’t hold together well; it also seemed lighter.

Yuzu is an East Asian fruit that’s not commonly found in the US. It’s more commonly found in bottled form as a juice in some Japanese grocery stores. To me it smells sweetly of clementines, yet has the sharp tang of lemons. Little did I realize that I actually grew up on this stuff in yuzu tea form called Yujacha (a Korean marmalade that is mixed with hot water, mainly used to nurse a cold – I could go for some now as I feel a bit under this ‘glorious’ April weather). At any rate, I made a yuzu mousse filling by modifying a lemon mousse recipe found here on Jen Yu’s blog. I also flavored a creme brulee insert with lavender, which also served as an excuse to introduce the lavender color in the final presentation. For a crispy texture, I made a pistachio white chocolate feuillette.  There’s also a caramel white chocolate ganache insert. In the end, the cake was covered with a white chocolate glaze, and decorated with green tea and “lavender” macarons, and dried lavender.

Due to time constraints, I wasn’t going to include the caramel white chocolate ganache. I wasn’t sure about the yield of the yuzu mousse, and quickly realized after layering the creme brulee insert that I wouldn’t have enough, so I decided to make the ganache after all (I would have preferred more mousse between the pistachio white chocolate feuillette and the biscuit – it really bothers me as I look at the cross-section!). I was wary of the use of the white chocolate ganache recipe, but in the end I thought the caramely flavor didn’t compete with the flavors. I was concerned there was too much going on, but ultimately, I think the components worked together and the cake was really enjoyed by all, including an unexpected visitor – a precocious 8 year old who I wasn’t sure would appreciate the cake, but was able identify various flavors and even requested a second serving.

Lavender Crème Brulée
Replace vanilla with dried lavender

White Chocolate Icing (not posted on Saffron & Blueberry’s site, but available as an option in the original challenge)
1.5 gelatin sheets
3.5 oz (100g) white chocolate
2 Tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup (90 g) whole milk
1 2/3 Tbsp (30g) glucose or thick corn syrup

Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes. Coarsely chop the chocolate and butter together. Bring the milk and glucose syrup to a boil. Add the gelatin. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until smooth.
Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

Apologies if this recipe is confusing to follow. I just want to give proper credit to those whose recipes I’ve borrowed from!

Michael Laiskonis is at the forefront of contemporary pastry. He is the executive pastry chef at famed three Michelin starred Le Bernardin in New York, James Beard award winner for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2007, and was featured on “Iron Chef”, “Martha Stewart Show”, etc. Michael generously documents his experiments in molecular gastronomy and creative processes in a blog, Workbook which is a paragon of excellence, in both thoughtfulness and content. While much of his writing may be orientated towards restaurant professionals, it is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the intersection of science, pastry and art. So when I perused the latest catalog from the ICE and saw he would be teaching this session, I immediately stopped what I was doing and registered for his class (or two!).

(Left) Michael Laiskonis tempering chocolate; (Right) “les herbes du jour”: basil, tarragon, rosemary and thyme

Admittedly, I write this post with a vague sense of apprehension, conflict, questioning. I feel apprehension over the thought of writing about molecular gastronomy, of which my experience is non-existent. Michael Laiskonis drew molecular diagrams and and presented various percentages or equations for the perfect ice cream, somewhat reminiscent of watching an Alton Brown show. I was simultaneously taken back to chemistry classes at Stuyvesant High School in New York, where I struggled to grasp a scientific concept while secretly marveling at the demos. I feel conflict over the dichotomies of the much-debated role of “molecular gastronomy” in light of my current reading of Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, where the deconstructionism of the modern diet and somewhat anti-science stance seem at odds with this movement of molecular gastronomy (I may get in trouble here and could expound upon this at greater lengths, but will perhaps save this for a later date). And I question the direction of this little blog o’ mine, as really neither a food critic nor professional chef, wondering – is this blog really a reflection of me – what has my life morphed into? At times, I have felt that I am not quite this and not quite that, never really following a predetermined path. Sometimes I just have to remind myself that I am what am, where I am, that I am the cumulation of my experiences, and that is just fine.

Roasted Pineapple, Sesame Pain de Gênes, Rosemary Ice Cream: I loved this black sesame seed cake with almond paste and can’t wait to try this again on my own. The white rectangles are neutral caramel – a sugary, pineapple dust that fuses to create the ethereal crisp that tops the dessert in the upper left hand photo.

In my experiences taking recreational classes at the ICE, there has always been such a diverse range of students, but there was a roster of more serious students this time, from culinary school graduates to chefs at The Modern, Bouley Bakery and other establishments. I was concerned I might be in over my head, especially after seeing ingredients like trimoline (an invert sugar used to retain moisture), locust bean gum, and glucose atomisé (powder) listed in the recipes.

Vanilla Parfait, Tarragon Meringue, Grapefruit Sorbet: The green disks are tarragon meringues “baked” in a dehydrator; there was also a separate batch baked on silpats in ovens, but those meringues were more brittle and difficult to work with. The dessert was tart and refreshing, the flavors were so nuanced and refined.

Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta, Basil Seeds and Foam, Strawberry Pearls, Lemon Purée.

The glassblower in me still holds an affinity for bright, shiny things and translucence, so I was a bit assertive or ambitious in choosing to do the above dessert, which entailed creating strawberry pearls. The ingredients in the pearls included fresh strawberry juice and agar agar (a gelling agent derived from seawood). The salmon roe-resembling pearls certainly have a great ‘ooh’ factor, and are incidentally rather addictive. Another dessert component that resembled caviar, or the black specks on the spoon, was actually basil seeds hydrated in sweetened water.

Part of the appeal of pastry and working with my hands is being immersed in action unfettered by the mind. Taking Michael’s class, however, has been thought provoking, challenging the symbiotic use of the mind and hands. What I take away from this class will remain to be seen – sometimes there is a potential disconnect between knowledge and experience, in that knowledge and ideas can get ahead of your hands…And sometimes knowledge inspires, and forces development.

For more about Michael Laiskonis, visit his blog.

This is going to be a quick “cook the book” post. I am all for incorporating vegetables into cakes, be it zucchini, sweet potatoes, or in this case, carrots. On an whim, I purchased a juicer not too long ago and would like to incorporate the pulp of my fruits and veggies into a cake some time. If anyone has recipes for this, please do drop a note!

Anyway, I went home for my dad’s birthday, and rather than making a vegan cake for him as I have done in the past, I tried a carrot cake from Pichet Ong’s The Sweet Spot. This recipe calls for canola oil in addition to butter in the batter. The frosting has some cream cheese, sour cream and lime zest in it, and prior to spreading it, the cake is sprinkled with rum-soaked raisins. I decorated the top with carrot slivers soaked in a sugar water syrup for a very rustic look.

Phew! I was in quite a bit of a baking frenzy this weekend, preparing these cake bites for a recent Arts to Grow charity event.  With refrigeration and transportation being a concern, I ultimately decided upon chocolate raspberry ginger cake bites which are dipped in dark chocolate, and dusted with gilded cocoa nibs and crystallized ginger slivers. The event was also Valentine’s Day themed, which also influenced by decision.

Up to my eyeballs in cake bites! Two of three boxes pictured here.

These were a lot of fun and the sheer quantity was a great challenge, but most importantly, I’m happy to have contributed out a great cause, namely children’s arts programs in New York City. For more info or to donate on the program, click here.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Has it been a month already since the last challenge? Time seems to have passed so quickly, yet the yule log and the holidays associated with it seem at once long gone…I’ve been a bit preoccupied with time lately (the recent season premiere of LOST has something to do with it, no doubt), or just preoccupied in general, perhaps. I had visions of “Rock Band” inspired guitar tuiles that never materialized thanks to various projects I’ve got going on, but oh well…

January’s Daring Bakers challenge was all about keeping it light. A tuile, either sweet or savory, or nougatine, were all options this month. Inspired by my recent class with Johnny Iuzzini, I decided to recreate certain elements from the class, partly to see if I could indeed successfuly execute the recipes again. This month, I made peanut nougatine with rum and coke ice cream, and caramelized bananas flambeed with rum.

I tried two shapes for the nougatine – one free form and one cut out in circles. I did not want my nougatine to be too dense, so I chopped the peanuts instead of keeping it whole or halved. They were still a bit dense after introducing the caramelized sugar, so I manually stretched the nougatine to intentionally create holes or a lighter effect. The bananas were caramelized and flambeed with a bit of rum, and the rum was further emphasized in the rum and coke ice cream. Incidentally, the recipes for the caramelized bananas and ice cream are available in Iuzzini’s new book, Dessert Fourplay.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Johnny Iuzzini teaches students to “respect the curves of the fruit”

ICE’s catalogue has some choice offerings this session, including (but definitely not limited to!) classes with chef Michael Laiskonis from Le Bernardin, and this recent class I took with Johnny Iuzzini from Jean Georges restaurant. Iuzzini is a James Beard award winner for Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year, and has trained with Francois Payard, Pierre Herme, among others. He’s also made TV appearances on Paula’s Party, Top Chef as a quickfire challenge judge, Martha Stewart and, oh yeah, also happened to be twice voted NY’s sexiest chef in a Daily News poll. Iuzzini’s book, provocatively entitled Dessert Fourplay, has just been released, so the desserts in the class were based on his book.

Iuzzini is quite a rock star in the pastry world, so I was a bit starstruck meeting him and some members of his team at Jean Georges, who were on hand to assist students throughout the class (they were all so great and helpful, by the way!). I just got a new camera lens a few days prior to the class which I am not yet accustomed to, so I feverishly snapped away throughout class hoping to get a few decent, in-focus shots – in between chopping fruit, piping cake batter, flambeeing bananas, etc.

Various stages of creating the Polenta-Pineapple Cake, from caramelizing sugar, filling with pineapple and piping cake batter; akin to creating flan or an upside down cake.

Chef discussed his dessert quartet concept used at Jean Georges, or how a single element is carried out in a complementary plating of four mini desserts. We would be working in teams to create the numerous components to ultimately plate our own “fourplay” (har, har).

I really liked this peanut phyllo crisp, for example, with a peanut flour/sugar layer, which was later used to garnish one part of the quartet. After an initial baking, a layer of confectioner’s sugar is dusted and the phyllo crisp is reheated, allowing the sugar to caramelize (though unevenly in the second photo below – you want to avoid that). This creates a delicate, flaky crisp, which is later broken into shards and used for garnish.

Peanut phyllo crisp

One of the other quartet components was the flambeed bananas with rum and coke ice cream, which Iuzzini is demonstrating below.

Fire and Ice: flambeed bananas and rum and coke ice cream quenelle

After working in groups the whole night, we each had the opportunity to plate our own desserts. Here’s Iuzzini’s plated demo. I loved the way he balanced and delicately offset the quenelles atop the phyllo crisp/bananas. He also created carrot foam using fresh carrot juice and an immersion blender.

Clockwise from left: Chef Iuzzini’s plated demo of pain perdu (brioche French toast) with cream cheese ice cream and papaya lime compote, pineapple polenta cake with pineapple spice sauce, mango lhassi with diced fruits and carrot foam, flambeed bananas with rum and coke ice cream, peanut phyllo crisp and caramelized peanuts.

Wow, I hadn’t realized all that we accomplished in class until I just detailed all the components in that lengthy description. The class was really well-orchestrated in this respect. Also, while the components are certainly numerous, none were especially difficult. We were all left to plate our own arrangements using the desserts we created in class.

My plating arrangement with overfilled lhassi, deflated carrot foam, half-assed melting quenelle, sans specialized, compartmentalized Jean Georges dinnerware.

In perusing my copy of Iuzzini’s Dessert Fourplay, I’m quite surprised by the relative accessibility of the recipes. Though I haven’t tried them yet outside of class, I think they would appeal to a wide range of pastry cooks. The recipes and flavor combinations are really quite compelling and I imagine this will be a great go-to book. I particularly like how each of various elements of the quartets can really stand on their own, should the idea of creating four mini desserts at once be daunting, as I imagine it would be to many. Also, the desserts are beautifully photographed, which is always appreciated.

My one minor complaint was that I wish there were a little more of a color contrast in the final dessert – but this is more of a personal photography issue (though the photo of the same dessert in the book is quite stunning). Class was a blast and the mere hours spent there were inspiring, edifying. Iuzzini was a really charismatic, generous and playful instructor, even poking fun at students who burnt their caramelized sugar (tsk, tsk). Good times!