Cherry Matcha and Mint Charlotte

Cherry Matcha and Mint Charlotte

(4 small Charlottes)

As usual in this time of the year, temperatures are really high here in Barcelona so I didn’t want to make anything too heavy or that would make me feel guilty after, this time I wanted something light and taking advantage of the fact that cherry season has arrived, I decided to make a cherry charlotte.

I've always believed Charlotte cakes are one of the most charming and impressive cakes. But not only that, they are also very versatile so there are countless ways to make them but as I was telling you, this time I decided on a cherry charlotte, made with green tea ladyfingers and a light yogurt cherry mousse with a touch of mint.

Ingredients

Green tea genoise

- 80g all-purpose flour

- 3 eggs, separated

- 20g cornstarch

- 100g confectioner’s sugar

- 1 tablespoon matcha powder

- 1 tsp baking powder

Cherry mousse

- ½ cup white cheese (I used 0% fat cheese)

- ¼ cup low fat greek yogurt

- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

- 8 pitted cherries

- 2 egg whites

- 3 tbsp water

- 3 gelatin sheets

- A few drops of mint extract

Directions

Green tea genoise

1 – Preheat the oven at 175°C.

2 – On a bowl combine flour, cornstarch, matcha powder and baking powder.

3 – On a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy, then gradually add powered sugar and continue beating until the egg whites form glossy stiff peaks.

4 – Fold in egg yolks and gently mix with the meringue mixture with a spatula.

5 – Sift the flour mixture over the meringue and fold lightly until just mixed.

6 – Snip off the end of a pastry bag, and fill with the batter. Pipe a square of about 20cm wide and 20cm long (we will be using this to make the bottom part of the charlotte) and pipe the rest of the batter into long strips of about 8 cm and leaving about 2cm space in between the strips.

Cherry Mousse

1 – Blend together cherries, white cheese, yogurt and a few drops of mint extract.

2 – Combine 3 tablespoons of boiling water with the gelatin sheets cut into pieces and stir until they are almost dissolved.

3 – In a separate bowl add egg whites and sugar and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir gently until the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are nearly scalding to the touch, at that moment; remove the bowl from the pan.

4 – Add the dissolved gelatin to the egg mixture and quickly whisk to combine. Don’t worry if the gelatin has solidified; place it for a few seconds in the microwave and this way it will become liquid again.

5 – With a hand mixer, whip the egg mixture until the outside of the bowl is completely cool to the touch. 

6 – Once it is cool, gently fold in the yogurt mixture.

Assemble of the charlotte

1 – Cut the squared genoise in 4 circles the top of a glass. Mine had about 6cm diameter. Cut the strips in two by the narrower part. Cut again each part in pieces of about 0,5cm wide.

2 – Place the 4 genoise circles inside 4 circle cutters or small springform pans of about 8 cm. The key here is to leave enough space to accommodate the let’s call them “ladyfingers”. Line the inner ring of the cutters with the  “ladyfingers”, standing them upright.

3 – Pour the mousse mixture inside each prepared pan and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.

Almond Kumquat Financiers

Almond Kumquat Financiers 

(14 financiers)

Yesterday I came back from Berlin, it was such an inspiring city with lots of beautiful green spaces perfect to watch the sunset.

Today’s recipe is about some small and delicate French pastries called financiers, they are light and moist, and browned butter gives them a very special nutty taste. I thought candied oranges were too big for this small pastries so inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Canelle et Vanille, I decided to make them with candied kumquats instead. Besides, I am lucky to have a kumquat tree in the garden so I had no excuse.

Ingredients

Financiers

- 80g almond flour

- 4 egg whites

- 50g all-purpose flour

- 120g confectioner’s sugar

- 140g butter

Candied kumquats

- About 8 kumquats

- 100ml water

- 100g granulated sugar

Directions

Candied kumquats

1 – Bring to boil enough water to cover the kumquats in a saucepan.

2 – Once the water is boiling, put the kumquats in the pan and boil them for 30 seconds. Drain them and discard the water. Repeat the process twice.

3 – Pour 100ml of water and 100g of sugar in the saucepan and keep stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Bring the water with sugar to boil and once its boiling, add the kumquats, reduce to medium - low heat and let them simmer for 20 minutes.

4 – Transfer the kumquats to a rack and let them dry for four or five hours. I must say I didn’t wait that long and I used them straight away.

Financiers

1 – In a bowl mix confectioner´s sugar, almond flour, and flour.

2 – Add egg whites and beat until combined.   

3 – Cut the butter into pieces and place them on a saucepan, then heat over medium heat. As it melts, stir continuously until the color starts to look brown, then pour the butter onto the bowl and mix until perfectly combined.

4 – Chill the batter on the fridge for 30 minutes.

5 – Pour the batter on greased financier molds and top them with the candied kumquats.  

6 – Bake them on a preheated oven at 185°C for 10 – 15 minutes, until the edges turn golden.

My Everyday Pancakes

My Everyday Pancakes (8 pancakes)

Sorry for not posting sooner last week I was in Brussels on vacation with some friends and tomorrow morning I’m leaving to Berlin with my boyfriend for another week. By the way, I’m already preparing a Belgian waffle recipe to post, so exited!

Anyways, those days I wasn’t home I missed my breakfast pancakes so this morning I decided to make myself a huge batch of them topped with maple syrup and berries, so delicious.

This recipe is incredibly easy and always turns up well, pancakes are soft and fluffy and taste amazing, and best of all they are healthy!

Ingredients

- ½ cup whole wheat flour

- ¼ cup oat flour

- ½ cup milk

- 1 egg

- 3 tbsp brown sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice

- ½ tsp baking powder

- ½ tsp baking soda

Directions

1 – In a bowl combine whole wheat flour, oat flour, baking powder and baking soda.

2 – Add the vinegar to the milk and let stand for 5 minutes. 

3 – In a separate bowl, mix sugar, the egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.

4 – Combine the previous mixture and the flour and mix until well combined.

5 – Heat a lightly oiled pan over medium high heat. Pour about ¼ cup of batter onto pan, and cook until the edges look dry and bubbles begin to form on the center. Flip and cook on the other side for about 1 minute.

Raspberry Biscotti

Raspberry Biscotti (22 biscotti)

My boyfriend's family is from a small town near Rome called Frascati; it's such a beautiful and lovely place, with impressing gardens and antique buildings. When we went there last Christmas, as you can expect from an Italian family, I had the pleasure to try all sorts of homemade pasta and sauces and some traditional pastries from an artisanal bakery in Frascati too. My favorite where some cookies named biscotti or cantucci, which are typical from Tuscany, they are usually dry and crunchy but those ones where chewy and soft, I just couldn't stop eating them!! I even bought 2 more boxes because I knew I wouldn't find them in Barcelona. Since I came from Rome, I had been trying to find the recipe, at least I knew the ingredients where flour, flour, eggs, sugar and baking powder I just had to find out the amount of each ingredient. Last week I finally came up with the recipe and they tasted just as the original biscotti!!

Ingredients

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 eggs

- 150g granulated sugar

- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

- ¾ teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1 – Preheat the oven at 180°C

2 – In a bowl beat granulated sugar, vanilla sugar and eggs. 

3 – Add flour together with the baking powder and mix until well combined.

4 – Incorporate raspberries by hand or using a spatula.

5 – Divide the dough in two balls and shape them into two large rectangles of about 3 inches wide and 14 inches long.

6 – Bake them for about 20 minutes until golden edges.

Usually when baking biscotti, they need to be baked again but because we want them chewy not dry and hard, we only bake them once.