Tropical Entremet

 Mango, passion fruit and banana - what a combination! When you add coconut to it... yes, tropical flavour lands in my top 5 flavors ever.  Surely mind picture of palm trees, white sand and crystal clear turquoise water has got something to do with it right? 

Coconut dacquoise, vanilla mousse and heavenly fruit insert make this desert super attractive.

 DACQUOISE  ( it is plenty to spread across 2 baking sheets)

233g egg whites

60g caster sugar

49g pastry flour

69g ground almonds

60g grated coconut

130g icing sugar

Whisk together egg whites and caster sugar to the stiff peaks. Combine all dry ingredients and combine gently with whisked whites, being extremely careful not to over mix it. Bake for about 8-10min in 200C or till slightly brown. 

MANGO - BANANA - PASSION FRUIT CONFIT

100g mango puree

40g banana puree

40g passion fruit puree

10g caster sugar

4g pectin

5g gelatine

Bloom gelatine. Heat all the purees and sugar to 50C and then add pectin. Boil slightly and take it off the heat. Add gelatine. Pour it in the mould(s) and put it in the freezer.

VANILLA MOUSSE

250g cream

250g whole milk

100 egg yolks

50g caster sugar

2 vanilla pods ( or 2tsp vanilla paste)

350g whipped cream

7g gelatine

Put milk and cream together in a pan and bring to boil. If you will use vanilla pods - split them in half, take the seeds out and put everything in a pan with milk, you will fish the pods out later. Whip egg yolks and sugar slightly and pour it over boiling milk. keep in on the heat until thickens slightly. That is your cream anglaise. Take it off the heat and add gelatine. Cool it down to 25C and add whipped cream gently. 

To assemble: pour half of the vanilla mousse into the mould first, put the fruity insert on the top and cover it with remaining mousse. Close it with dacquoise on the top and put it in the freezer for at least 3h or until ready to unmould. 

GLAZE

350g mango puree

125g passion fruit juice

250g water

100g caster sugar

15g pectin

7g gelatine

Boil first 4 ingredients together. Add pectin, it will thicken slightly. Take it off the heat and add gelatine. Let it cool and use it at 35C.  I had plenty leftover for the next dessert. Enjoy!

Catching up and Happy Valentine's Day!

   2 months since Christmas rush, I can't believe it. Where is the time going?
 It has been a big learning curve for me. I delivered my first big wedding cake ( Yay!)

and perfected a glaze for my mousse cakes which feels like a milestone to me !

Changing job and shifting my swimming pattern was very upsetting as I hate changes!
The good side of it is that I have more time to open my home baking business. There is a lot trial and error going on at the moment but I wouldn't have it any other way. Hopefully everything will go back to normal-ish very soon and I will share with you some of my new recipes.

Happy Valentine's Day and keep warm!

Chocolate Christmas Trees

  It is a sure thing that I will end up watching 'Home Alone' this year again. I am also sure that I will get really annoyed with hearing Christmas songs (now matter where I go) over and over again (is there nobody out there to write something new?) But can you imagine Christmas without it? 
  I am still not sure though what I will bake. Every year I am trying something different, something I haven't had before. 18 sleeps to go and I am still undecided!
This isn't really a recipe but just an idea of how to transfer ordinary white chocolate into something extraordinary?

All you need is 3-4 white chocolates (100g each) and some hazelnuts. I roasted them on a frying pan for 5 min. and then peeled the skin off. But you can buy blanched hazelnuts which will make everything so much quicker. Melt the chocolate over bain marie and add hazelnuts.  Now you have to try and make something resembling the star shape with your chocolate covered hazelnuts. Drawing a 3 different sizes of star shape on parchment paper will be very helpful. Wait until it is set and arrange as you wish. 
P.S. Kids love them!

Viennese Shortbread

Fancy a break from Christmas rush and all those complicated recipes? In 30 min you will end up with super delicious biscuits and if you are lucky, your children can do most of work for you ;)

190g unsalted butter
1 pinch salt
75g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg white
225g cake flour, sifted

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Soften butter and a pinch of salt until creamy.





Add icing sugar, vanilla extract and egg white. Mix well after each addition.

 Add flour to the mixture, stirring with wooden spoon until it comes together

Transfer batter to the piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the ribbons in a letter Z on a prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 min or until golden.

Dust with icing sugar. Make yourself a coffee, put your feet up and enjoy your biscuits.

Recipe comes from Laduree baking book :)