Meyer Lemon Mousse and Blueberry Puree Verrine

Posted June 14, 2015

Filed under Creams and Puddings, dessert, Mousses, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Today is a very special day. It is the anniversary of our Flag. Indeed, on this special day in 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution to adopt the current flag as our flag. According to Wikipedia, “The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted “the American continental army” after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.

1775 – The Continental Army was founded by the Second Continental Congress for purposes of common defense. This event is considered to be the birth of the United States Army. On June 15, George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief.

1777 – The Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the “Stars and Stripes” as the national flag of the United States. The Flag Resolution stated “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” On May 20, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed June 14 “Flag Day” as a commemoration of the “Stars and Stripes.”

As a special day, I thought I would share with this fun dessert. I had made it last year for my daughter graduation. Since it is quite simple to make (if you do not make those little stars;-), I thought I would make it again for this very special day.

Ingredients for about 6-8 medium-sized glass:

The white chocolate and Meyer lemon mousse:

300 gr. or 11 oz. of white chocolate ( use good quality, either European or Guiradhelli)
250 gr. or about of heavy cream
250 gr. or about 9 oz. of greek yogurt
1 envelope of gelatin
2 tbsp of water
the zest of one Meyer lemon

Ingredients for the blueberry puree

300 gr. or about 11 oz. of fresh blueberries
40 gr. or about 1.40 oz. of sugar
juice of one lemon
2 tsp of water
1 tbsp of pectin

Decoration for the mousse:

1 pie crust
1 egg yolk
granulated sugar

First prepare the blueberry jelly. Place the blueberries, water, lemon juice and sugar and cook over medium-high heat.
When the blueberries are cooking, and “bubbling, take a fork, and pop the blueberries.
Add the pectin and bring the mixture to boil again.
Carefully pour a bit of the mixture inside the glasses that you are using and let them rest for a goof hour so that the blueberries jelly will have time to congeal.
When they have, start preparing the white chocolate mousse. Pour the gelatin powder into a small bowl and mix it with 2 tbsp of water. Let the gelatin thickens and congeal. Set aside.
Zest the lemon and place the zest with the cream into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to boil.
When the cream is boiling, add the gelatin and stir to make sure that the gelatin is melting. Cook for another few minutes, but do not bring to boil!!!
Add the white chocolate and stir. Place the panna cotta in the fridge to cool down for 15 minutes.
When the mixture is lukewarm, add the greek yogurt.
Then pour the lemon mousse into the glasses atop the blueberry jelly.
Place the mousse in the fridge so that they will congeal. It will take another hour.
Meanwhile, cut the pie crus into small stars. Place the stars onto a silpat that you would have placed atop a medium perforated sheet.
Place the egg yolk into a small bowl and with a brush, brush each star. Sprinkle some brown sugar, and cook the stars for 8-12 minutes at 400, or until they are golden brown.
Before serving, place the miniature stars over the white chocolate and meyer lemon mousse and sprinkle some brown sugar. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Meyer Lemon Mousse and Blueberry Puree Verrine

Servings: 6-8 people
Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Print

Ingredients for about 6-8 medium-sized glass

The white chocolate and Meyer lemon mousse:

300 gr. or 11 oz. of white chocolate ( use good quality, either European or Guiradhelli)
250 gr. or about of heavy cream
250 gr. or about 9 oz. of greek yogurt
1 envelope of gelatin
2 tbsp of water
the zest of one Meyer lemon

Ingredients for the blueberry puree

300 gr. or about 11 oz. of fresh blueberries
40 gr. or about 1.40 oz. of sugar
juice of one lemon
2 tsp of water
1 tbsp of pectin

Decoration for the mousse:

1 pie crust
1 egg yolk
granulated sugar

First prepare the blueberry jelly. Place the blueberries, water, lemon juice and sugar and cook over medium-high heat.
When the blueberries are cooking, and “bubbling, take fork and pop the blueberries.
Add the pectin and bring the mixture to boil again.
Carefully pour a bit of the mixture inside the glasses that you are using and let them rest for a goof hour so that the blueberries jelly will have time to congeal.
When they have, start preparing the white chocolate mousse.
Pour the gelatin powder into a small bowl and mix it with 2 tbsp of water. Let the gelatin thickens and congeal. Set aside.
Zest the lemon and place the zest with the cream into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to boil.
When the cream is boiling, add the gelatin and stir to make sure that the gelatin is melting.
Cook for another few minutes, but do not bring to boil!!!
Add the white chocolate and stir. Place the panna cotta in the fridge to cool down for 15 to 30 minutes.
When the mixture is lukewarm, add the greek yogurt.
Then pour the lemon mousse into the glasses atop the blueberry jelly.
Place the mousse in the fridge so that they will congeal. It will take another hour.
Meanwhile, cut the pie crus into small stars. Place the stars onto a silpat that you would have placed atop a medium perforated sheet.
Place the egg yolk into a small bowl and with a brush, brush each star.
Sprinkle some brown sugar, and cook the stars for 8-12 minutes at 400, or until they are golden brown.
Before serving, place the miniature stars over the white chocolate and meyer lemon mousse and sprinkle some brown sugar. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Peach Espuma

Posted July 21, 2014

Filed under dessert, fruit, Mousses, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Espuma is a a foamy dessert, a whipped concoction made of fruit. Unlike many other mousse, in the Espuma, air or gas is added to a juice or a broth to make a lighter texture.

“Natural flavors (such as fruit juices, infusions of aromatic herbs, etc.) are mixed with a neutrally-flavored gelling or stabilizing agent such as agar or lecithin, and either whipped with a hand-held immersion blender or extruded through a whipped cream canister equipped with N2O cartridges.”

An espuma or thermo whip is commonly used to make these foams through the making of a stock, creating a gel and extruding through the N2O canister.

I wanted to present you the Peach Espuma because I like to serve it along a peach tart.

Ingredients for 4 Espumas:

1 cup of water
2 peaches
1 tbsp of green tea leaves
1/8 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp of sugar
1/2 packet of gelatin

Fill a medium saucepan with water, and bring to boil.
When the water is boiling, drop all 2 peaches in the saucepan at the same time, and keep turning them around for a minute or so, so that they will cook evenly, and will be easy to peel.
Peel the skin of the peaches.
In another saucepan, fill 1 cup of water. Add the peaches that you would have quartered, 1/8 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp of green tea leaves, and bring to boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the peaches from the water, and puree the peaches with a hand mixer.
Sieve this puree. Set aside.
In a small bowl mix 1/2 pack of gelatin with 1 tbsp of water and let it expand.
Place the puree back in a small saucepan, add 2 tbsp of sugar, and bring to boil.
Add the gelatin, and stir.
Remove the pan from the stove and let the puree cool completely.
When the puree is cool, pour it into a whipping container such as ISO. Follow the instructions to make the espuma. Fill small glasses with the espuma for each guest.
To serve your dessert, place the tart, the glass of Espuma, and a scoop of ice-cream on a plate.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Le Marceau or Scrumptious Chocolate Cake

Posted March 23, 2014

Filed under Cakes, chocolate/ candy, dessert, Fancy European Desserts, Fleximolds, Large round mold, Mousses, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, stainless steel cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I should have posted this dessert months ago, but time has been so scarce that it is seeing only the light of the day today. I know many of you have asked to get this recipe, so here it is;-) A Vos fourneaux mes chers amis!!!

On birthdays, we are expected to invite the whole family over to celebrate the event. I never understood why, but I have gone along this tradition ever since I have been married to my husband. So since I am to cook, and since we are celebrating someone special, i always always ask what my husband, son, or daughter wish to eat on their special day.

When my oldest child Lisa turned 18 this year, she requested the following : Beef Wellington, Macaroni and Cheese Appetizers, a chocolate dessert and anything in between. I figured the rest out making sure it would please her. I think we had macaroni and cheese appetizers bites, mini crab cakes, truffle flavored potatoes, green beans and a very very yummy dessert.

She loves chocolate mousse and love decadent desserts like me so i thought i would bake a cake out of the wonderful book of Stephane Glacier called Le Marceau from hi s beautiful bool called Tartes, Gouters, and Entremets.

I adapted his recipe since it was designed to make 4 cakes, and not everything turns out the same with American ingredients and ovens.

Chocolate Cake:

57 gr. of yolk
50 gr. of sugar
20 gr. of dark chocolate cocoa
29 gr. of flour
57 gr. of egg whites
12 gr. of sugar
20 gr. of butter

Praline Crunch:

175 gr. of pralin ( recipe here).
63 gr. of milk chocolate
8 gr. of hazelnut oil to be found at the fresh market ( or any fancy grocery store)
125 gr. of feuillantine ( very thin waffer from France, if you do not have any, you may replace with cigarette russes ( it will not be as good, but it will work).

Mousse au chocolat:

20 gr. of water
100 gr. of sugar
67 gr. of yolk
100 gr. of eggs
235 gr. of chocolate ( preferably 65% cocoa (I like Ghiradhelli)
340 gr. of heavy cream

Vanilla Syrup:

125 gr. of water
100 gr. of sugar
2 gr. of vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:

125 gr. of heavy cream
100 gr. of Syrup ( 60 gr. of sugar, 40 gr. of water brought to boil)
25 gr. of glucose or corn syrup
300 gr. of dark chocolate chips such as bittersweet Ghiradhelli.

First we want to prepare the cake so that it will completely cold when we will assemble to cake.

Beat the egg whites with 12 gr. of sugar until they are forming hard peaks. Set aside.
Place the egg yolks in a kitchen mixer and beat the egg yolks with 50 gr. of sugar until they are foamy and have doubled in volume. Set aside.
Place the butter in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds or until it is completely melted. Set aside.
Add 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture carefully so as not to deflate the egg whites.
Mix the flour, cocoa and add it to the egg white/ egg yolk mixture.
Add the rest of the egg whites to it.
Slowly mix in the melted butter.
Pour the batter into a medium round that you would have placed on a medium perforated sheet, and cook in a warm oven of 320 for 20-25 minutes (or until the tooth pick comes out clean).
When the cake is cool. Unmold it from the round mold.
Slice it in half and set it aside.
Let’s do the syrup as well since it needs to cool: place 100 gr of sugar, 125 gr of water, and 1 tbsp of vanilla extract into a small saucepan and bring to boil. When it has, turn the heat off and set it aside to cool.
Let’s prepare the Praline Crunch: Place the chocolate into a small bowl and microwave it for 60-90 seconds or until it is melted and fluid.
Pour this chocolate into a kitchen mixer. Add the pralin, the hazelnut oil and the feuillantine and pulse a few seconds so as to make a paste like texture.
Place the metal round onto a medium silpat that you would have placed on a perforated sheet.
Pour the praline croustillant inside the metal round and spread it out evenly. Place it in the fridge to cure.
Prepare the mousse: in a small saucepan place the water and 100 gr of sugar and cook over high temperature. Cook until you are starting to see large bubbles or your thermometer is showing 118c.
Mix the egg yolks, and eggs into a kitchen mixer until they are becoming foamy. Slowly pour the syrup while you are still beating the eggs. And beat on high until the mixture has cooled down completely.
Set aside.
Meanwhile place the chocolate into a medium sized bowl and cook for 90 seconds to 2 minutes until it is melted and free if lumps. You may need to add 30 more seconds to get to the right consistency. Set aside.
In another kitchen mixer, beat the cream into a soft peak whipped cream.
With a spatula carefully fold in the whipped cream into the chocolate.
Whisk the mixture to get an even mixture.
Add the egg mixture and mix well until the mixture is homogeneous.
Yeah, now it is time to assemble the cake!! With a spatula, spread a bit of the mousse atop of the pralin layer.
Pour the syrup into a rectangular cookie sheet and soak up the cake with that syrup. You will need to either turn the cake, or pour some on top of the cake to make sure that the cake is throughly soaked with that syrup.
Place one cake on top of the mousse. Press hard so as to glue the cake to the mousse.
Top the cake with 1/2 of the mousse.
Place the other half of the cake.
Cover the cake with the remainder of the mousse.
Place the cake in the freezer to set at least one hour.
Meanwhile prepare the chocolate glaze. In a microwavable container, pour in the cream, syrup, and the glucose and cook for 1 minute in the microwave or until it is hot. Pour the mixture over the chocolate chips that you would have placed into a bowl. Let the mixture sit for a while to let the chocolate chips melt on their own.
After 1-2 minutes, start stirring. Let the mixture cool a bit before glazing the cake.
Place the cake onto a cooling rack, and pour the ganache over the cake.
Collect the ganache that dripped down and pour it over the cake again. Be careful to only use “clean ganache” without cake debris so that the cake will look shiny and even.
Place the cake into the fridge to cool.
Decorate the cake as you wish. I used vanilla flavored macarons;-)
Et voila!!! Miam , miam. Definitely one of the best cake I have ever made!!! Merci Stephane!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

Posted March 11, 2014

Filed under chocolate/ candy, deep flexipan, dessert, Fancy European Desserts, fruit, Mousses, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, stainless steel cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

On Sundays I always like to indulge and fix a yummy dessert for the whole family. Today was no different, except that I decided to share this yummy dessert with my in-laws over tea. I don’t always have time to see them even though they only live a few blocks from us, but since this weekend I did not have that much to do I decided to call them up and invite myself for coffee and cake;-)

Though my mother-in-law asked that i not bring anything, I did not listen.. you know me:-) I will take any opportunity to play in my kitchen.

This cake looks very fancy, but is not at all so I hope that you will give it a try, and impress your friends and family.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe from Guy Demarle called “Bouchees Tropicales”.

Ingredients for 15 individual portions, or 56 miniature, bite size desserts.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Cake.

50 gr. of chocolate chips
20 gr. of butter
2 eggs
30 gr. of granulated sugar

Ingredients for the raspberry Mousse:

1 pack of gelatin from Knox
325 gr. of seedless raspberry jam
3 eggs
80 gr. of sugar
15 gr. of cornstarch
150 gr. of butter

Ingredients for the Chocolate Mousse:

240 gr. of chocolate chips of good quality ( i used ghiradhelli)
360 gr. of heavy cream
Fresh fruit for decoration, I used blueberries.

This cake is really easy to make, but requires a bit of time as they are 4 steps to it: the cake, the raspberry mousse, the chocolate mousse and finally the decoration.

Turn the oven to 350.
Place the chocolate chips for the chocolate cake into a small container and melt it into the microwave for 60 seconds. Add the butter and mix it in. Set it aside.
Meanwhile divide the eggs into yolks and egg whites. Place the egg whites into a kitchen mixer and beat them until they are foamy.
Add the sugar and continue beating the egg whites until they are firm.
Add the egg yolks into the beaten egg whites and beat them for a few seconds.
Slowly mix in the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture and mix it until the cake batter is smooth.
Spread this cake batter over a deep flexipan and cook it for 8 minutes.
When the cake is cooked, set it aside to let it cool and prepare the raspberry mousse.
Empty the gelatin into a small container and pour a tbsp of water over it. Let the gelatin soak and set it aside for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the content of the jelly into a small saucepan and warm it up over medium temperature.
While the jelly is warming up, beat the eggs with the sugar just enough so that the sugar is no longer visible.
Add the cornstarch and mix well. Pour a few tablespoons of the jelly into the egg mixture and mix well.
Empty the gelatin into the jelly and cook for a few minutes. Add the butter and mix well.
Add the jelly mixture to the egg mixture. Mix well and cook over low medium heat until the mixture is boiling.
Pour this mixture over the cake. Shake the pan against your countertop so that the raspberry mixture will spread out evenly and be smooth.
Place the tray into the freezer for a minimum of one hour.
To prepare the last layer, you will need all the ingredients for the chocolate mousse.
Place the chocolate chips into a bowl and microwave it for 2 minutes. Stir. And cook for another 30 seconds if needed, continue cooking until the chocolate is completely melted and is free of lumps.
Meanwhile place the cream into a large mixer and whip the cream until it is thicker but has still soft peaks.
Add 1/4 of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate and mix well. Then add the rest and slowly mix well until the mixture is a smooth texture.
Spread the chocolate mousse over the raspberry mousse and place the tray back into the freezer for another hour.
Keep the remainder of the mousse into a piping bag and place it into the fridge for later use. You will need it to decorate the cake before serving it.
To make individual mini portions, you will want to cut 1 1/4 inch squares and pipe a flower on each square. Serve as it or with coffee or tea like we did this week-end;-)
Let the cake warm up at room temperature for 15 minutes to 30 minutes before eating it. It will be very soft and will melt in your mouth;-) Yum Yum!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Poire Belle-Helene Revisited

Posted November 26, 2013

Filed under Cakes, Creams and Puddings, dessert, Fancy European Desserts, Fleximolds, Mousses, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

One of my dad’s favorite was Poire Belle-Helene, or Pear Belle Helene. It is a dessert made of Poached Pears atop vanilla ice-cream, and covered with Chocolate Syrup and toasted almond. It is delicious and really easy to do.

According to Wikepedia, “Poire belle Hélène was created around 1864 by Auguste Escoffier and named after the operetta La belle Hélène by Jacques Offenbach.” The original Simpler versions replace poached pears with canned pears and crystallized violets with sliced almonds.

I love the combination of vanilla, chocolate and pear. It is a comforting dessert, warm and delicious.

This past Saturday I was in the mood for those combinations, but was also craving cheesecake instead of ice-cream so that is when I decided to combine all those ingredients to make this dessert.

Ingredients for 12 people:

Ingredients for the Pear Compote:

3 pears peeled and cored
1/3 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cup of water
1/8 tsp of tonka powder, if you can’t find any replace with cardamom

After coring and peeling the pears, slice them in half and cube them very small.
In a medium-sized saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the diced pears. Mix well.
Add the sugar, the water and the tonka or cardamom spice.
Bring to a boil and when it is boiling, reduce the heat down and cook until the liquid has reduced to half.
When it is done, remove it from the heat and let it cook completely.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Syrup:

1 cup of chocolate of good quality ( I use Ghiradhelli)
1 cup of heavy cream

Place the heavy cream into a microwable safe bowl and cook the cream for 2 minutes or until it is really hot. ( you may cook the cream over the stove if you do not want to use the microwave).
Place the chocolate chips into a small bowl. Pour the hot cream over it and let it sit for a few minutes.
After a few minutes mix the cream and the ganache will be perfect, free of lumps;-)

Ingredients for 12 individual lingot cheesecakes:

▪ 387.5 gr or about 14 oz of cream cheese at room temperature ( about 1 1/2 cream cheese bar)
110 gr. or about 1/2 cup of sugar
▪100 gr. or about 1/2 cup of sour cream
80 gr. or about 2 medium-sized eggs
13 gr. , or about 3 tsp of egg yolks
13 gr. , or about 3 tsp of corn starch
70 gr. , or about 1/4 cup and 1 tsp of heavy cream
a vanilla bean

Place the cream cheese in a kitchen mixer and beat it.
Add the sour cream and mix again.
Add the sugar, egg yolks, eggs and beat it again until the texture is free of lumps.
remove the vanilla seeds from the bean with a sharp knife and mix it with the heavy cream. Add the corn starch and beat until the mixture is smooth.
Pour the mixture into a fleximold of your choice. I chose the lingot tray.
Cook in the oven for 50 minutes at 194.
When the cheesecakes are cooked, let them cool and place them in the fridge to cool for a few hours ( overnight is better).
The following day, remove the cheesecake one at a time and dip them into the warm chocolate ganache to half.
Place the cheesecake on individual plates.
Place a few tablespoons of the pear compote on top of the cheesecake and drizzle of bit of the chocolate on the side of the cheesecake for added decoration. Et voila!

If you wish to serve more pear compote, spoon the pear compote on the plate, place the cheesecake on top of it, drizzle some chocolate over the cheesecake et voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Meyer Lemon Mousse

Posted May 24, 2013

Filed under dessert, fruit, ice-cream. sorbet, Mousses, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

My mom did not really like Chocolate. I never really understood why growing up as I was a chocolate aficionado. Nothing could be better than chocolate then. Today, my world is changing. Though I still enjoy chocolate, I am much difficult with the kind of chocolate I will eat – preferably dark, 60% cocoa and from Europe…. Yeah I know…

These days however I am more tempted by citrus desserts and citrus mousse. When I saw this recipe on the net last week, it made me think of one of my mom’s favorite: Citron Glace so I had to try it. I made a few adjustments. The recipe was inspired from the Martha Stewart’s website.

Ingredients for 3 lemons:

4 Meyer Lemon ( 3 for the shell, and one for the zest)
1/4 cup of Myer Lemon Juice
1 egg separated
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tbsp of butter
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 tbsp of sugar for the egg whites
1 pinch of salt

Using a very sharp knife, trim the tip end of each lemon so that they can sit straight. Cut the top of the lemon about 1/4 of an inch from the top. Repeat those steps with all 3 lemons.
With a spoon, carefully dig into the lemon and scoop the flesh out but being careful not to tear the lemon. Wrap the lemons in plastic wrap and refrigerate them so they will not dry out.
PLace the flesh into a container and squeeze the juice out of it by squeezing the flesh through a a fine sieve. Keep only 1/4 cup of the juice for this dessert, and refrigerate the rest for some other usage.
Place the 1/4 cup of lemon juice, the egg yolk and the sugar into a small saucepan and cook until the mixture thickens. Set aside.
When the mixture is thick, let it cool completely, then add the butter and mix. Stir in the zest. Cover the mixture with a plastic wrap and seal it well so that a ” skin” will not form.
PLace the heavy cream in a mixer and whip the cream until it forms hard peaks. Remove the whipped cream from the mixer and refrigerate.
Clean the mixer, add the egg and beat the egg whites with 1 pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of sugar to form glossy peaks.
Remove the lemon curd and the whipped cream from the fridge and fold the whipped cream slowly into the curd.
Fold the egg whites into this mixture.
Fill a pastry bag with this mixture, and fill the lemon shells with this mixture.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I personnally froze mine.
Make sure to take the lemons out at least before 30 minutes before eating them. The mousse will be slightly frozen. But i kind of like to eat them that way:-)

Your turn to give it a try and tell me how you like them;-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Lime Curd

Posted April 17, 2013

Filed under Creams and Puddings, dessert, fruit, Mousses, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, stainless steel cookware, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Spring is finally here and I am so glad;-) I am certainly enjoying this weather. It has been so nice to be able to do my jogging outside, and not inside this boring gym.

Well this weather has also given me envy of citrus. You saw the recipes I posted last week. Well this weekend I got busy and made a few treats. Lime curd, Limoncello and Meringue Tartlets and Lemon Squares. Today I will post the recipe of the lime curd.

I had never made lemon curd until today because I was never a fan.

My mom on the other hand, was and would eat it every morning on her tartines along with her tea, and sometimes sardines… Yes my mom had some surprising tastes.

she would make me try but i enjoyed confitures ( jelly) much more. It was so as tangy.

Once would have thought that I would change my mind as I traveled through England and was offered the best of the best. But no…No matter the brand I never really liked lemon or lime curd.

I despised it so that i never ate it again until tow years ago. My sister had started to make some confiture and wanted me to try all that she was making so I could be the judge. I will tell you that I was relunctant to try that lemon curd, but hers was so yummy that it gave me envy to make my own one day. Well every year I plan to make some and every year time passes and I forget to make some. This week-end since I did not have a lot to do, and I had many many lime on hands, I decided to make not a lemon curd, but a lime one.

It is much more tart than a lemon curd, but I kind of like it better. Not as sweet.

Ingredients for 2 cups:

6 egg yolks
the zest of 2 limes
juice of 4 limes, or about 1/2 cup of lime juice
1 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter

In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks and the sugar together until the mixture is thickening and is becoming whitish.
Add the lime zest and the lime juice and mix well.
Place this mixture over boiling water and keep stirring until the mixture is becoming really thick ( it should look like a mayonnaise). It will take between 5-8 minutes to get to this .
Remove the bowl from the boiling water and add the butter. Mix well.
Place the lime curd into the fridge. Et voila.

You can eat it with your tartines ( toasts), in the morning, mix it in your yogurt or use it to make some lime tarts. Easy and Yummy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Coooking!!!

Mini Lemon Tartlets

Posted August 9, 2012

Filed under dessert, fruit, Mousses, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

With this heat, I have very little appetite. I am easily satisfied with a few bites of whatever I am fixing. But however hungry, or not I am, I need my little dessert at the end of my meal. Sometimes it is a square of chocolate with my evening coffee and sometimes it is a dessert that I fixed. These days I crave fruits, most particularly tropical fruits and citrus.

Today I will offer you a recipe of a very very simple desserts that is very ” summery”: lemon tarts.
Ingredients for a big lemon pie of 9″, or 40 mini:
Juices of 2 lemon, 1 1/4 cup of water, zest of 2 lemon, 3/4 cup of sugar, 3 tbsp of corn starch, 2 box of pie crust ( to be found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store).

Cut the pie crust to fit your pie crust mold. I wanted to fix bite size lemon pies so I used my mini tartlet mold. I used the 2 1/4 Round to cut my little crust. Place them on my tray, perforate each tartlet with a fork and bake them at 400 for 8-10 or just until they are a nice golden color.
While the tartlets cool off, prepare the lemon filling. In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to boil.
In another bowl, mix the 1/2 cup of water with the corn starch and mix well!!
Add the lemon, lemon rind, sugar and mix.
Add this mixture to the boiling water and stir. The mixture should thicken.
Bring it to boil again and once it does, lower the temperature to medium low and cook for 2 minutes or until the mixture has began to thicken.
Add the 2 egg yolks and mix well. Set it aside.

8. Whip some heavy cream into a whipped cream and empty the mixture in a separate pastry bag.

9. Pipe first the lemon in each tartlet and then pipe the whipped cream. And grate some lemon zest for added color. Et voila!!!! Very satisfying dessert!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Orange Brownie and Sabayon

Posted July 30, 2012

Filed under Cakes, dessert, Fancy European Desserts, Mousses, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I love citrus, and i love chocolate so when i saw this recipe in a French cookbook called En Deux Coups de Cuilleres de Frederic Berque, I could not flip the page to the next one. I had to try!!!

The combination of orange, chocolate and sabayon is simply luscious. The brownie is so moist, it is hard to not go for second. I hope you will give it a try;-)

Ingredients for 12 cupcakes size: 3 eggs at room temperature, 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, 1/3 cup and 2 tbsp of brown sugar, 1 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, 3/4 cup and 2 tbsp of bittersweet chocolate chip ( i prefer ghiradhelli), 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup and 2 tbsp of flour, zest of an orange.

Turn the oven to 350. In a mixer, place the eggs and both sugar and beat the mixture until it becomes a pale yellow and doubles in volume. Meanwhile, place the butter and the chocolate and melt it both in the microwave for 90 sec. Remove the chocolate from the microwave oven and stir to blend the butter into the chocolate. Pour the chocolate mixture into the eggs and mix. Add the cream, then sift in the flour while mixing. Finally add the orange zest, and stir. Empty the content of the batter into a ziploc bag to easily pour the batter into the cupcake molds and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the sides of the brownies look dry. The center should still be soft and a bit gooey.

You can use a variety of molds. I used the brioche mold. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes

While the brownies are baking, prepare the orange sabayon:

Orange sabayon: 2/3 of fresh orange juice ( I squeezed the orange that i used above and added some more orange juice), 2 tbsp of orange liquor such as Cointreau, 2 tbsp of granulated sugar, 2 yolks.

Place the orange juice, the liquor and the sugar in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to boil. In another bowl, beat the yolks. Pour the hot orange mixture over the yolks stirring vigorously. Place the mixture back on the stove at medium high temperature and cook until it is almost boiling. Beat very hard so that the mixture will thicken and foam up.

You may serve the dessert warm. Pour some of the sabayon in a small plate and place a brownie in the middle. You may also eat it cold. It is really up to you. Both is great!!! To decorate, zest some of the orange peel and place it as decoration on top of the brownie.

You will need to eat the sabayon the same day that you made it, or it will drop and it will no longer be thick or foamy. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Lemon And Mascarpone Mousse: So YUMMY!!!

Posted July 25, 2012

Filed under Creams and Puddings, dessert, Fleximolds, fruit, ice-cream. sorbet, Mousses, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Whoah.. Can you believe this heat??? Well I don’t know about you , but I am not going out much these days. I am staying cool in the comfort of my air-conditionned house. Luckily this heat has also put a damper on my appetite. The good part is that it has allowed me to quickly get rid of the few pounds I gained in Europe this summer. And I have been craving to eat lots of fresh fruits and lots of “sweets” with citrus. At first I thought of making a lemon pie but I wanted to eat something a bit lighter so I settled for lemon and mascarpone mousse that I found in Les verrines du Chef des Editions Marabout.

Serving for 6 large verrines, 20 shot glasses, or 12 fleximold cupcake size:

For the lemon mousse: 2 oz of butter, 4 oz of sugar, 3/4 tsp of gelatin powder, the zest of one lemon, 3 whole eggs, 1/3 cup of lemon juice.

Melt the butter in a little saucepan, then add the lemon juice, the zest, and the eggs and the sugar that you would have previously mixed together. Keep stirring until the mixture almost comes to boiling.

When you are starting to see small bubbles forming at the top, remove the saucepan from the stove and whip energically. Then add the gelatin and mix well. Empty the cream into a bowl. Cover the cream with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool. The cream should be thick and glossy.

For the Mousse: 1/2 a container of mascarpone cream cheese at room temperature, 1/3 cup of heavy cream, 1 1/2 tbsp of powder sugar.

Place the cream in a large bowl and beat until the cream is thickening but does not form hard peak. It should look like a soft whipped cream. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the mascarpone a bit to whip it up. Add a few dollops of the whipped cream into the mascarpone and stir softly by folding the cream into the mascarpone. Add the rest of the cream and stir it in gently again.

In a shot glass, a glass or a fleximold, pour the lemon cream first, then the mascarpone mousse and then the lemon cream again. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

To add more effects to your dessert, you can also use a fleximold. I used the Charlotte tray. I layered the cream as I explained above and then I placed the fleximold into the freezer for 12 hours. To serve, unmold the dessert on a plate and eat it as such ( frozen) or, let it thaw out for 1 hour if you want to be it like a mousse. Decorate with lemon slices and lemon zest. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!