With Pride Month in mind, I made a batch of colorful macarons, filled with raspberry jam and lemon-flavored buttercream. The universe conspired so that in that exact week I had a maintenance appointment with my orthodontist. And to my surprise, they were “wigging it”: every staff member, orthodontists included, went to work wearing a colorful wig. They asked the patients to do the same, if they were so inclined… I was more than happy to comply (see the end of this post).
For the macaron shells, follow this recipe (I added 1/4 tsp egg white powder to the granulated sugar, whisked very well, before incorporating into the meringue, because humidity was at 58% the day I made the macarons)
LEMON-BUTTERCREAM MULTICOLOR FILLING
120g butter, softened 320g powdered sugar zest of 1/2 lemon 1 tsp lemon juice pinch of salt heavy cream to adjust consistency
Whisk the butter for 30 seconds or so, then add all other ingredients except the heavy cream. Whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved, then adjust the consistency with heavy cream. Divide the buttercream in 5 or more little bowls, add gel color to each bowl. Place lines of buttercream in different colors over plastic wrap, then roll them together as a little sausage. Cut one end, and place the roll inside a piping bag with a star tip. To assemble the macarons, add a circle of buttercream and a small dollop of seedless raspberry jam in the center.
Comments: These were a lot of fun to make. After the shells were assembled, I used different luster powder colors diluted with vodka to pain a stripe for a simple, but effective decoration. They were delivered to the staff at Hayden and Kholmeier office with proper wig, as required…
And this virtual spot is now officially a teenager! Thirteen years. One thousand, five hundred and forty-six posts published. Over twenty-nine thousand comments. But how do we measure all the joy I get from keeping this site alive? Impossible. For thirteen years I’ve been doing it with the exact same enthusiasm of the first week. I don’t think I could keep at it, if I was not fully in love with the whole process. To celebrate, I share a little entremet with mirror glaze, the kind of bake I adore, but with the limitations of the pandemics I’ve been unable to do. Since it was just the two of us, I went with individual portions, very small cakes with a combination of cherry, pistachio, and mascarpone. Plus the mandatory bling!
CHERRY AND PISTACHIO MINI-ENTREMET CAKE (from the Bewitching Kitchen)
for the cherry-pistachio centers: 20 g egg yolk 8 g caster sugar 3 g cornstarch 20 g milk 60 g whipping cream 10 g pistachio paste 4 Amarena cherries in syrup
Heat the oven to 200F (yes, very low temperature). In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the sugar and cornstarch. Put the milk, cream and pistachio paste in a saucepan and heat while whisking. As soon as it boils, pour it over the egg yolk mixture and whisk. Put one cherry in each of 4 holes of a small half-sphere mould (about 1 inch in diameter). Pour over the pistachio mixture. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the center is almost fully set. Cool to room temperature, then freeze for several hours to overnight, to be able to un-mold them.
for the sponge: 70 g icing sugar 70 g almond meal 100 g egg 10 g all-purpose flour 10 g pistachio paste 70g egg white 10g granulated sugar melted white chocolate for brushing cake circles
Heat the oven to 375F. Using a KitchenAid mixer, whip together the icing sugar, almond meal and the eggs. The mixture should double in volume, so whip it for at least 8 minutes. Reserve.
Make a meringue, gently beating the egg white until soft peaks form. Increase the speed of the mixer and add the sugar, a little bit at a time. Beat until firm peaks form. Fold one-third of the meringue into the whipped egg mixture, followed by the flour. When the mixture is smooth, gently fold in the remaining meringue. Spread the mixture on a half-sheet pan covered with parchment paper, and smooth the surface with an off-set spatula. Bake for about 10 minutes, until dry to the touch. Dust a sheet of baking paper with a little powdered sugar and invert the baked sponge over it. Peel off the parchment paper that it baked on. Using two cookie cutters, cut out 4 discs that will fit inside the mold that will hold the dessert, and 4 discs that will fit inside the little mold used for the cherry inserts. Melt the white chocolate and apply a very thin coat over one side of the larger piece of sponge. Reserve.
for the mascarpone mousse: 6 g Platinum gelatin (3 sheets) 80 ml whipping cream 55 g egg yolks 80 g granulated sugar 160 g mascarpone cheese 1/4 tsp vanilla paste 320 g heavy cream
Bloom the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Combine egg yolks with sugar, whisking well and set aside. In a saucepan, heat 80 ml of cream until it boils. Remove from heat, and slowly pour a bit of the hot liquid into the egg yolk mixture, to temper it gently. Add the rest of the cream and transfer all the mixture to a saucepan.
Over low heat, cook until 180 F stirring constantly. Remove from heat, drain the gelatin, and add to the mixture, stirring until completely dissolved. Let the mixture cool down to around 140 F. Add the mascarpone cheese, mix until the cheese is incorporated. Process with a hand mixer, to emulsify. Add the vanilla paste, and let it cool to around 95 F. Meanwhile, whip the 320 ml of cream to soft peaks. Incorporate the cream gradually to the mascarpone mixture.
ASSEMBLE THE DESSERTS. Place a small amount of mascarpone mousse inside each of 4 cavities of a semi-sphere silicone mold (3 to 3.2 inches in diameter). Drop the cherry insert inside. Place the small circle of sponge on top. Cover the cavity with mousse, leaving a little space on the top, so you can place the larger circle of sponge on top, with the chocolate painted side facing up. Smooth the surface, adding a little more mousse if needed. Freeze overnight, or for a minimum of 6 hours.
for mirror glaze: 3 sheets Platinum grade sheet gelatin 120ml water 150 g liquid glucose 150 g granulated or caster sugar 1 tsp agar-agar 100 g condensed milk 150 g white chocolate, chopped fairly small ½ tsp titanium oxide (optional, but advisable) red and purple gel food coloring Prism powder to sprinkle in the end (optional,I used Tourmaline Pink)
Put the water, sugar, liquid glucose and agar-agar in a small pan and bring to simmering point, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let it stand for about 5 minutes. This is the base syrup for the glaze. Meanwhile, soak the gelatin in some cold water for about 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and stir into the hot water, sugar and liquid glucose mixture to dissolve. Stir in the condensed milk and the titanium oxide.
Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and pour this hot mixture slowly over the chocolate, stirring gently to melt it, avoid making bubbles. Add the red food gel dye. A stick immersion blender works great, but you must keep the blades fully submerged at all times. If bubbles are present, pass the mixture through a fine sieve.
The ideal temperature to glaze is 92 to 94 F. Un-mold the cakes, immediately pour the mirror glaze over the frozen surface. Sprinkle with Prism powder or golden luster powder. Cake should sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.
Comments: I love making entremet cakes. They seem complicated but the nature of these cakes pretty much forces you to do everything in steps, over a period of a couple of days. No rushing is advisable, not even feasible. Just take your time and enjoy the ride. This version calls for a baked center. That part of the recipe came from a great cookbook, Patisserie at Home, from Melanie Dupuis. Once that is made (and it can sit in the freezer until you are ready to proceed with the recipe), it is all very straightforward. A sponge bake, some assembling, freezing everything and then my favorite step, mirror glazing!
I used two different ways to present the mini-cakes. In the first version the cake was placed on a small plate and little chocolate covered candy added around the base. A little gold leaf for a final touch on top.
The second version was a little less time-consuming, I just carefully added golden non-pareils around the edge, in a random pattern, and a little white pearl on top.
I imagine you are curious to see the cake cut… So here it is, the different components of this very tasty dessert…
I must say that of all the entremets I’ve made, this ranks very high in the deliciousness level. The cherry, when cooked to make the center, gets a very nice texture and the taste seems concentrated. Lovely. If you make mirror glazes, I want to point out that I add a touch of agar-agar to my recipe. That makes the layer cut more nicely, without slipping, as it is common with gelatin-only formulas. There is no change in taste.
Without further ado, I invite you to step with me into the 14th year of my blogging adventure!
Super simple recipe. If you use ground pork, no need to add any oil to the skillet. If you use ground turkey, add a tablespoon of grape seed oil before sautéing it.
STICKY SPICY PORK WITH ASPARAGUS AND EDAMAME (inspired by Modern Proper)
1 pound ground pork 1/2 tsp salt small bunch of asparagus, tough ends removed, cut into 2-inch pieces 1/2 cup frozen edamame, no need to de-frost 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 tablespoon Gochujang sauce (or more to taste) minced ginger, to taste (I used about 2 tsp)
Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the pork, season with salt, and use a spoon to break it up into large pieces. Cook, until beginning to brown and crisp, about 8 minutes, resisting the temptation to move it around. You want to get a nice crisp layer in the bottom. Add the asparagus and edamame, stir everything around, and cover the pan. Simmer for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the soy sauce with Gochujang and ginger.
Open the pan, add the prepared sauce and cook, stirring for another couple of minutes, until veggies are crisp-tender. Serve over golden rice (recipe available here) or plain steamed rice.
Comments: This is the type of recipe that is at the table in no time… Make sure to prepare the rice in advance. If you follow my recipe for the golden rice, it sits in the burner for exactly 30 minutes, so you can start that step and 10 minutes later get going with the pork. Do not use asparagus that are overly thick, if that’s all you have, steam them for a couple of minutes in the microwave before using in this preparation. Finally, the most important thing is to get that crispy bottom on the pork before moving it around. Leftovers were still awe-inducing on day #2…
I follow a group of food bloggers I completely trust. Kelly from Inspired Edibles is part of this group. When she raves about a recipe, I usually jump on making it. This is the most recent example, and I know if you make it you will rave about it also. Two things: do not be tempted to use canned chickpeas. And go for the slow-roasting of bell peppers. These two small details make the dish shine.
MARINATED CHICKPEAS WITH SLOW-ROASTED RED PEPPERS (adapted from Inspired Edibles)
for the veggie mixture: 1 + 1/4 cup dried chickpeas (from 1 1/4 cup dry) 2 large red bell peppers, cut into strips 110 g Feta cheese 60 g pitted Kalamata olives, sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, halved parsley to serve
for the marinade: ⅓ cup olive oil 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 ½ Tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp Herbes de Provence ¾ tsp salt or to taste black pepper to taste ½ Tbsp honey
Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water. Next day, drain and rinse, then cook in slightly salted water until tender, but still al dente – about 40 minutes. the chickpeas in a large pot with lots of water until desired consistency is achieved (for this recipe, I prefer the chickpeas to have some texture – not too mushy – so I aim for al dente, it takes over 1 hour). This step can be made in advance.
Heat oven to 300F and prepare the marinade by whisking together all the ingredients. Make sure when you add the honey that it gets fully integrated with the other components.
Place the cooked chickpeas (ideally still warm) in serving platter with tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese. intermingle with tomatoes, onion, olives and half of the feta. Pour the marinade over top, tossing gently to combine.
While the chickpea mixture marinades at room temperature, spread the sliced peppers out on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1.5-2 Tbsp olive oil and add a couple shakes of salt, and roast for about one hour. Add them to the chickpea mixture, and serve, sprinkled with parsley leaves.
Comments: This recipe is a winner, all the way. Leftovers were fantastic next day and even better on the second day. I warmed everything in the microwave, just barely, and there was no compromise in the texture, the taste of the marinade just got more intense. Perfect.
Make sure to stop by Kelly’s blog and read her post, as she offers a different way to enjoy it, with cucumbers in tzatziki sauce. The key is to cook the chickpeas from scratch. Totally different from canned, which works fine for other preparations such as hummus. The slow-roasting of the bell peppers is another great twist, they develop a milder flavor and very soft texture.
Bewitching Kitchen 