Third Time’s The Charm
Posted: May 29, 2010 Filed under: baking, books, chocolate, genoise, references | Tags: chocolate genoise, rose levy beranbaum, the cake bible 1 Comment »I feel a little bit like a snobby little bitch saying this but I rarely encounter absolute dismal failures in the kitchen. They may not be perfect-excuse-me-while-I-tell-the-universe-about-this! but it’s never been inedible or far off from what they’re meant to be. Even with macarons!
But there’s one thing that I tried making that was totally, totally horrible. HORRIBLE.
A sponge cake.
The recipe required the gentle whisking of eggs in a double boiler before combining them with the other ingredients. It was a recipe from the Baking & Pastry book by The Culinary Institute of America so you know, I was like, “THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST SPONGE CAKE IN THE WORLD!”
The thing about that book is all the recipes are meant to make an insane amount of cakes. I think the recipe I used was meant to give me six sponge cakes, so obviously I had to size it down. I’m still uncertain if it failed because I suck or because you’re not meant to size it down but it was a FLAT sponge cake and totally hard. Seriously.
Rock. Hard.
It was so disappointing. I made it twice and both times were disastrous. The worst thing was it was meant to be part of my brother’s birthday cake. I had made him a Black Forest Gateaux because he loves them.
The failed Black Forest Gateaux
It looks okay, huh? Totally deceiving.
It was actually really yummy apart from the stupid cakes. The cake was filled and iced with dairy-free whipped cream (one of my favourite things!). It’s more like a take on the Black Forest Gateaux because there was no kirsch, but I do think I replaced it with another liquor.. It’s all fuzzy now. I blocked it out of my memory because it was such a mess. The cake would NOT stay stacked, in fact, it slid apart in the fridge and I had to insert dowels to support the cake, and some of the cherries were popping out of the sides of the cake and obviously, I didn’t know how to decorate a cake that would look acceptable for a man. I mean, look at that! Laughable!
It was a NIGHTMARE.
Moist Chocolate Genoise
So when I found a whole section of Genoise in the Rose Levy Beranbaum book The Cake Bible, I was willing to squelch my paranoia and fear for the possibility of a triumphant cake.
The reason I picked this recipe was Rose’s description of the cake. “This cake has the light texture of a genoise but is more velvety and moist.” What? Velvety and moist genoise? SOLD!
I’ll admit it was a little terrifying to whip up because it was rather simple. I kept thinking, “Surely it can’t be this easy?” The cake’s ingredients were really interesting too. It required bittersweet chocolate mixed with boiling water. There was absolutely no butter or flour. Just eggs and sugar.
And there was a little warning at the end, “Avoid opening the oven door before the minimum time or the cake could fall.” I was afraid I’d peep into the oven and discover another flat cake.
But thankfully the cake turned out all right.
Fresh out of the oven (and emptied out of the pan)
Better than all right, actually. I was surprised to be staring at this perfect, fluffy genoise. Then I sliced into it and ate some.
Fluffy spongy deliciousness
It was seriously freakingamazingohmygod good! Because there was no cocoa powder in this, and instead just a really good amount of dark chocolate, the chocolatey taste of this was intense! I used Lindt Excellence 75% cocoa chocolate bars, and it was like eating chocolate, just in a fluffy and light cake form. It had a very mild sweetness as it’s meant to be a base for a Black Forest Gateaux or any other form of ganache. I left it plain, though.
It was a good thing because the next day, I crumbled it into my cereal and Weet Bix breakfast and it was the perfect chocolatey kickstart to my morning. Then I dunked it into my tea and slurped all the crumbs off the bottom of my mug. Mmm.
Sometimes a plain genoise has its benefits.
Oh, Madeleine
Posted: May 16, 2010 Filed under: baking, books, i love butter, madeleine, references | Tags: david lebovitz, madeleine 8 Comments »
Madeleines
The first time I had madeleines, I actually made them myself too. I remember being delighted by the unique texture of it. If you’re Malaysian, I would liken it to kuih bahulu, except the taste is much richer and it’s fluffier.
I recently procured David Lebovitz‘s book, The Sweet Life in Paris, and upon quick perusal through the recipe index, I zoomed in on the Madeleines. I figured his recipe has got to be better than the my first attempt recipe from years ago.
It involved a few more steps than my other recipe but it turned out beautifully. Actually, I wish I had bothered to read through his blog post on it because he recommends a few things that I didn’t do: the freezing of the madeleine tray beforehand as well as at least 3-hour of refrigeration of the batter before baking. I only refrigerated it for an hour before my brain was chanting, “Madeleines, madeleines, madeleinesssss!” like a madeleine-crazed zombie.
What can I say? I’m impatient when it comes to delicious little morsels; especially fluffy, sweet, buttery, zesty goodness in the shape of a seashell.
Humpy glazed goodness
When I was back in Malaysia, finding madeleine trays was like trying to lick my elbow. Impossible. So when I headed to Singapore, my brother’s fiancee’s mother was kind enough to hop on over to one of their huge baking stores (which I’ve forgotten the name of because my brain is a sieve) and got me two trays. Sadly, I haven’t used them yet but I will now that I have this amazing recipe.
They’re not too easy to find in Australia, too, to be honest. But I got myself an inexpensive, non-stick version from Baker’s Secret, off Peters of Kensington. Oh, Peters of Kensington, what would my kitchen be without you?
Freshly glazed madeleines
You may notice that sometimes I don’t put up recipes, and it’s not because I’m a recipe hoarder or I’m stingy but I observe copyright laws and unless I’ve tweaked it and can claim it was merely “adapted” from the original, I don’t feel comfortable with posting the recipe.
That said, there was tweaking here, but it was merely the addition of vanilla extract. I just can’t leave things well enough alone.
But as luck would have it, David Lebovitz is a very generous (and funny) man, so hop on over here to get the recipe. I highly recommend reading his blog too. His Parisian life is entirely fascinating and he makes the most mouth-watering looking food.
Oh and what became of 24 madeleines? I gave 8 away, and devoured most of the rest myself, with a small sharing portion for Jacey. And I’m already planning my next batch because I need them.
Stew-ie Wonder
Posted: April 17, 2010 Filed under: books, cooking, dinner, pork, references 2 Comments »I present to you this picture and recipe due to the pressing demands of my impatient (but loved!) friends after I posted this picture up on my Facebook album.
Spicy Chickpea + Chorizo Stew
The temperature in Melbourne has been steadily dropping and I say this in a gleeful tone because winter is my absolute favourite season of all. Maybe I should be specific and say Melbourne winter because I don’t think I’d be a fan of slushy snow and negative zero temperatures but as a person who grew up close to the equator and experiences humidity and summer weather year-round; winter is sublime. I love the cold and there’s something deeply satisfying about how chic everyone looks in winter gear. Boots, coats, scarves, leather gloves, beanies, pink cheeks… Magnifique!
Naturally, with the temperature change, the cravings for hearty meals have hit me full force. I’ve spent too many moments daydreaming of soups, stews and steamboat dinners! The moment I saw a picture of this dish, I knew I had to make it. It sounded so hearty and naughty, and it’s about two-thirds pork (my favourite kind of meat!).
I’ve augmented the recipe to accommodate my love for spicy food, and dare I say it probably elevated the dish a little. What can I say? You can take the girl out of Malaysia, but you can’t take Malaysia out of the girl. Gotta have my chilli kick.
Spicy Chickpea & Chorizo Stew
Adapted from Delicious magazine March 2008
Serves 3-4
1 Tbsp olive oil
250 g spicy pancetta, cut into cubes
2 chorizo sausages, sliced at an angle
1 red capsicum, diced
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 large potato, peeled, cut into cubes, cooked for 2-3 minutes
400 g can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained
700 ml tomato passata (basically a jar, whatever size your jar is, mine was 700 ml)
1 cup chicken stock
2-3 bay leaves
1 Tbsp dried chilli flakes (or less, if you can’t handle the heat)
Chopped flat leaf-parsley, to garnish
Bread, to serve, preferably crusty
1. Heat oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat. Cook pancetta and chorizo for 2-3 minutes until starting to crisp. Remove from pain and drain on paper towel. Drain oil and fat, but reserve 2 Tbsp in the pan.
2. Return the pan to medium flame. Add onion and capsicum, cook for 5 minutes or until softened.
3. Return the pancetta and chorizo to the pan with the garlic and oregano. Stir for another minute, then add the potatoes, chickpeas, passata, bay leaves, stock and dried chilli flakes.
4. Season, then bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and cook until the sauce has reduced and thickened, approximately 10 minutes.
5. Garnish with parsley and serve with bread.
The recipe is actually fairly quick to whip up. The original didn’t call for spicy pancetta (just plain) or chilli flakes, and it had white wine included but I didn’t have any on hand so I accommodated with more passata and chicken stock. If you’d prefer the wine, then halve the chicken stock amount and fill it up with white wine. If you’re wondering what tomato passata is, it’s like tomato puree but… I don’t know, different. I found it in a deli but no sign of it in the supermarkets I frequent so head down to a deli to find yourself a jar. There are heaps of these gems in Melbourne so go explore a little. I love wandering around delis, it’s basically food window shopping!
I also recently celebrated my birthday. It was a quiet birthday with little fanfare, although my Facebook wall hadn’t been that active in… oh, about a year. After a certain age, it gets tiring trying to organize something with people outside my family and being so far removed from any family, I decided to let the day come and go as silently as possible. Perhaps I’m a little jaded from one too many exhausting attempts to gather my dearest friends in the one place whilst fending off requests for date and time change, and the permission to have a Plus One (usually people I have not met, too!), on top of everyone’s inability to RSVP in a timely manner. Besides, after celebrating the grand 21, people tend to ignore the significance of birthdays. After all, it’s a downhill slide to arthritis and dentures from there.
Regardless, I was still spoiled by my one of my best friends (and housemate), who cooked me a delicious meal and even got me cake with a singing candle!
Birthday spoils
I’ve been on a strict and greatly reduced budget for my final year in Melbourne. Maybe it’s maturity, maybe it’s guilt or a combination of both for taking forever and a century to obtain my bachelor’s degree, but I’ve told myself no more extravagant and unnecessary purchases. Trust me when I say that my self-gifted birthday presents have been much more obscene in previous years but this year I permitted myself ONE cookbook.
I was tossing up between A Day at elBulli and The French Laundry Cookbook, both of which I’ve seen in bookstores, and have spent some time caressing and absorbing with great delight but I ended up choosing the Alinea cookbook. Why? Mostly because I have yet to see it in a bookstore in Melbourne and also because I found it for a reasonable price online here. Other reasons are: I’ve been fascinated with Grant Achatz since I heard of him, and I know Alex Stupak provided the dessert recipes in the book, and I’ve been fascinated with his Pliable Chocolate Ganache since I saw Bryan Voltaggio’s version of it on Top Chef season 6.
The gigantic encyclopedia that is the Larousse Gastronomique is a gift from the wonderful Jacey, although she later dropped it on her foot and if her yelp and the look upon her face is anything to go by, it hurt like a bitch. Coincidentally, it was a book that I had put on my wishlist on Amazon a few months back and had pored over in Borders rather recently but had cast aside as beyond-my-means so thank you very, very much, Jacey, for this extravagant and highly treasured present!
As for the I ♥ Macarons book, it was a lucky find in a bookstore and for such a good price, I couldn’t resist! It’s just adorable and any book that features a bazillion pictures of macarons is my kind of book.
I must say, even if some of it was self-gifted, I’ve never enjoyed my birthday presents this much in a long time!
Consumed
Posted: January 30, 2010 Filed under: books, references | Tags: books Comments OffOne of the things about having an obsessive personality is you get really o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d when you love something. When Prison Break first started, I promoted the series to anyone who would listen. I’d rave about Wentworth Miller and how genius the plot was (season one, remember?) and I’d spread the love. After I read The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Nifenegger, I insisted my friends read the book. Any time anyone asked me for a book suggestion, I’d grab them by the shoulders, stare in their eyes and say, “The Time Traveler’s Wife. You. Need. To. Read. It.”
Well, you get the gist.
My unyielding obsession these days is with baking and cooking. Admittedly, I’ve always been pretty crazy about it. For my 21st birthday, I asked my father for my very own KitchenAid whilst my other girlfriends asked for jewellery or handbags. At 22, I saved up to splurge on a variety of pots and pans from the Jamie Oliver for Tefal range, a Global knife block and some Microplane graters (side note: Microplane graters-can’t live without them!). Majority of my expenses for 2009 was on cake decorating tools: piping tips, piping bags, gumpaste tools, gel paste colouring, stamens, books on cake decorating, and various types of cutters. I got more excited about heading to the cake supply store than hitting up a shopping mall.
Like I said, obsessed.
You know how people flip through magazines when they’re bored? Others curl up with a novel before bed. My father loses himself in news sites for hours, catching up on the latest happenings in the world. I have girlfriends who spend hours reading makeup blogs and watching makeup tutorials on YouTube.
Me? I read about food.
My latest obsessions.
The book right at the top of the pile is something I’ve been meaning to read for a long time now, The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America by Michael Ruhlman. It was simply impossible to track this book down in KL. Most of the Borders outlets didn’t have them, and only one MPH outlet had them in stock. It provides amazing insight to life inside The Culinary Institute of America as a student. It is nothing short of amazing and although I’ve said time and again that I’m more inclined towards pastry arts, Ruhlman’s experience as an undercover student in the CIA has me itching to sign up for the AOS in Culinary Arts as well. I’ve always respected chefs but this brought it to a whole new level. To read about how they think about food, how kitchens are run, the on-your-toes quick thinking required, the crazy hours, the mostly eccentric chefs that lead the kitchens and classrooms… I actually really want that. Some people said the book scared them off wanting to attend culinary school but this got me excited and dying to go. In fact, it’s so good that I hunted down Ruhlman’s following two books, The Soul of a Chef and The Reach of a Chef: Professional Cooks in the Age of Celebrity.
I got the hefty Mastering the Art and Craft: Baking & Pastry book by the Culinary Institute of America a few months back. It’s like a baking textbook. This is going to sound so nerdy, but I love reading it for the technical side of baking that people don’t think about. The Bakers’ Percentage, ingredient identification, the different types of flours and their uses, different types of chocolate and the different percentages of cocoa in them and how they’re used for different types of desserts, gluten development in bread doughs, the various types of cake mixing methods, the different types of meringue and buttercream, etc. It’s 902 pages (excluding the appendices) of education. It has many, many recipes in there but they’re targeted towards the professional baker so making one of these recipes could produce four cakes instead of just the one you’d want. I look at it as a reference book and insight into what it is professional pastry chefs are capable of, although I am certain it is but a meager portion of their full proficiency. It’s definitely something to strive towards.
The two “Essential” cookbooks I own were both bought, strangely enough, on sale. I got The Essential Baking Cookbook in Melbourne from the discount bookstore Andrew’s Bookshop and it was so thick and informative that I thought they priced it wrong. Then I found The Essential Dessert Cookbook in KL for RM27.90 which is crazy cheap. A novel costs around RM65 here and these “Essential” cookbooks are chock-full of recipes of every single kind of baked good you can imagine and they’re pretty good recipes too. My favourite is their “What Went Wrong?” section with pictures of what Perfect, Overcooked, Undercooked, and Undermixed goods look like. It’s fucking awesome, is what it is. They have the basic recipes for everything. I have a pretty huge stack of cookbooks (it’s a bit of an addiction, to be honest) and chefs like putting their own spin on things but I like to know exactly what their spin is. So I head towards an “Essential” cookbook and get enlightened on the basics first. I’m a firm believer of learning to walk before you run, especially when it comes to baking. It never pays to be too ambitious especially if you can’t even master the fundamentals.
If you ever see the Essential cookbooks in store, snag a copy.
Seriously tabbed.
I would like to think that I take great care with my cookbooks, and in a way I do treasure them, but they do get worn and used. I stick tabs on the recipes I want to try (as you can see, there are plenty!). My favourite roast chicken recipe in Kylie Kwong’s Heart and Soul is stained with some of said chicken’s gravy. Most of my books have flour and sugar somewhere between the pages. And all of them are tabbed to a certain degree. Okay, fine, they’re usually tabbed to death. Whenever I buy a new cookbook, I pore over it for hours. I read ingredient lists, the methods and I tab the ones I am dying to make. I’ve since moved on to colour-coded tabbing (more systematic!), which I didn’t get to apply to The Essential Baking Cookbook. Now they’re separated into, “TRY ASAP!” and “Looks interesting!”
I don’t limit the feeding of my obsession to just books, though. The Internet has been one of my greatest resources and source of inspiration. I recently added lots of links to the side of Hey, Sugar! so check them out if you want. Michael Ruhlman (author of the first book mentioned) runs a blog as well, and there are some other interesting blogs that I’ve recently discovered and they’re unlike most food blogs I’ve seen. I can’t pick a favourite but check the links out and you’ll see what I mean. They’ve definitely changed the way I think about food; and I’m sure they will you, too.
