25.11.2008

r_cheesecake01

New York cheesecake to share (not)

I returned to my trip to New York with a serious addiction to cheesecake. While there, I couldn’t have enough of it. Once I was back, I started having serious withdrawal symptoms, I craved for that dense creamy heavenly dessert night and day.

I really had to try to bake one, but the occasion always seemed to escape. If I didn’t have a party or dinner to take it to, or some friends over to share it with, I would easily have ended up eating a whole cheesecake on my own. And we all know why that would be a bad idea!

Continue reading…

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22.07.2008

r_strawberrybday01

Helena’s Strawberry Cake

Time flies! My adorable niece Helena is already one year old! And what a smart, happy and fun kid she’s turning out to be! My mission for this weekend was to bake her a birthday cake, big enough for a crowd of 50. Scary… Continue reading…

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13.05.2008

Strawberry Love

Strawberries and cream” are in season, but I decided to turn things around to “Cream and Strawberries” by using my heart-shaped ice tray from IKEA for something other than ice.

In the end, the mini pannacotta hearts on strawberry sauce require a bit of work, so I don’t blame anyone for just popping them in regular jelly moulds. However, after seeing how extremely cute they were, I thought they were totally worth the effort.

You can make both the hearts and the sauce well in advance. Actually, you need to do them in advance, so they have time to thaw once removed from the moulds.

Creamy hearts in strawberry sauce

For the hearts (makes about 64):
600ml Single Cream
1/2 cup sugar
Two envelopes of unflavoured gelatin

For the sauce:
2 cups pureed strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tbsp Corn flour
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Dissolve the powdered gelatin in a few tablespoons of cold water and let it soak for a bit. Mix the sugar with the cream in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for 3 minutes and then remove from heat. Add the gelatin mixture, stirring until fully mixed. Let it cool for a bit and then pour into the ice trays. Chill and then cover the trays with cling film and freeze until solid.

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan and blend thoroughly. Gradually stir in the water.
Add the pureed strawberries, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Continue to boil about 2 minutes. Pour into serving dishes.

When the sauce is completely cooled, you can remove the ice trays from the freezer. Run them under hot water to help release from the moulds, and them pop them into the sauce. Let them sit in the refrigerator until the hearts thaw completely and regain their jelly softness.

You can use other red fruits for the sauce, raspberry, for instance, is a classic.

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26.03.2008

My Strawberry Obsession

It’s my personal opinion that if you don’t like strawberries, there must be something seriously wrong with you. And if you’re unfortunate enough to be allergic to strawberries - my condolences, I feel truly sorry for you.

Strawberries look beautiful, taste wonderful on their own, and best of all, can be transformed into a fantastic variety of desserts, from ice-cream to milk-shake, from mousse to pie, from jam to sauce. So, when spring comes and they start being available all over, I can’t stop myself from feasting. You can expect plenty more strawberry related posts around here in the next few months, savoury recipes included.

Jelly is just a nice place to start. Spotted at school lunches and children’s parties, the artificial kind is already considered a tasty, healthy treat. Real fruit chunks and juice take it to a completely different level of healthiness and yummyness.

Not So Childish Strawberry Jelly

500g Strawberries
Juice of 3 oranges
1 cup sugar
4 sheets of flavourless gelatin (7grs, aprox.)

Wash and chop the strawberries, place them in a bowl and mix them with the sugar. Let it rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more, allowing the strawberries to create some sauce. Then, strain that liquid into a pan over a low heat, and set the strawberry pieces aside.

Meanwhile, soak the gelatin sheets in cold water. When the strawberry sauce starts simmering, drain the softened gelatin sheets and add them to the pan. Mix carefully to make sure the gelatin melts thoroughly, and then remove from heat.

At this point, slowly pour in the orange juice, and when it’s blended, add the chopped strawberries. Spoon the mixture into jelly moulds or pretty glass cups, and once it cools down, put them in the refrigerator until it solidifies. You can serve it plain or with a bit of pouring cream.

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