rosemary lemon mousse cakes with olive oil cake

It's hard to believe Christmas is only 14 days away.  I'm so far away from being prepared.  I have one gift together and a small pile of ideas that I have yet to make any progress on.  Honestly, aside from listening to a lot of A Charlie Brown Christmas' soundtrack, making these cakes is the most holiday-y thing I've done.  I'll get myself together eventually, right? 

These little mousse cakes aren't too hard to make, just a layering of rosemary lemon mousse and olive oil cake, with tiny white chocolate paste holly berries and candied rosemary on top.  I used 4" concentric rings, but it could just be made into one large ring also.

R o s e m a r y   L e m o n   M o u s s e

3 cups  Lemon Curd 

1 quart  Heavy Cream

4 each Gelatin Sheets

1/4 cup Orange Juice

5 sprigs rosemary

I.  Heat heavy cream and Rosemary in saucepan and let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Allow cream to cool.

II.  Bloom gelatin in cold water

III.  Heat orange juice on medium heat.

IV.  Add gelatin to orange juice and whisk until melted

V. Add curd to gelatin mixture and whisk until combined

VI.  Whip the rosemary heavy cream until soft peaks, fold into the curd mixture.

O l i v e   O i l   C a k e

10 oz.  Cake Flour

1  oz  Baking Powder

.2 oz  Salt

13 oz   Sugar

6 oz  Olive Oil

5 oz.  Milk

15 oz Eggs

I.  Line a sheetpan with parchment paper and oil pan.

II.  Place all the wet ingredients in a kitchen aid mixer, pour dry on top.  Using whip attachment blend together on low for 30 seconds.

III.  Whip for 3 minutes on high speed.

IV.  Whip for 2 minutes on medium speed.

V.  Mixture will be relatively liquidy, pour onto sheet pan and bake for about 30 - 40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.  

VI.  Once cake is cooled, cut layers with the concentric rings, 3 layers per ring that you have.  Line the ring with acetate.  Put the 1st layer on the bottom of each ring, and then pipe the rosemary lemon mousse about 1/3 of the way up the ring.  Alternate until you have piped mousse onto the 3rd layer of cake.

The berries were created by folding in a bit of red gel coloring into white chocolate modeling paste and rolling them into little berry shapes.  The rosemary was candied by dipping sprigs of rosemary into nearly caramelized simple syrup and then rolling them in sugar.  This method did leave the rosemary pretty crunchy however, letting them simmer in the simple syrup for about 5 minutes and then rolling them in sugar might create better results.

< 3

roasted garlic, tomato, basil bread

I know once upon a time I told you all I would do a food post once a week, and then, not living up to my word at all - I didn't do any food posts after that.  Well, a bit of life happened, getting in the way.  And also during that time, I had grand dreams to start my own food blog - a whole designated section of the internet that was dedicated to my foods! So, I began working on that, created a banner and everything, and was hoping to unveil my new food blog as an offering for my lack of food posts.  And then I got a job, in addition to going to school 40 hours a week, along with many other things, and essentially became the busiest person ever.  I still hope to create a food space, but I decided, for now, and for my own well-being - I'll hold off on that until I'm not quite so constantly busy.  But, I still have this space to post whatever I want! 

 So, here's a simple batard filled with roasted garlic, tomato, basil, and fresh parmesan!

For my Artisan Breads class final I made two breads, one that was going to be pretty challenging, and then this bread as a backup, because I mean how could this combination of ingredients not be completely delicious? And I'm happy I did because my more challenging bread flopped!  I'm going to try to perfect that recipe and share it soon though!  Creating your own bread recipe is more difficult than you would think.  However, this recipe is pretty simple.  You can easily make it in your own home and impress all your friends.

I used a fancy deck oven to make this, the advantage mostly being that you can steam the bread once it's in the oven.  It definitely makes a difference in the final appearance, but if you're looking to get that caramelized, crusty artisan crust in your convection you can try putting ice at the bottom of the oven, or I've heard of filling a hotel pan with water and placing that underneath the bread for the first 10 minutes of baking.

I made this bread two separate occasions.  Once where I used a Poolish preferment and once where I didn't.  I have to say the preferment made a huge difference.  The bread came out so much fluffier and crustier than the one without.  But if you're looking to save time - make it without the Poolish and it will still be delicious!

I was going to take pictures of the bread sliced, but I shared it with friends and before I knew it there wasn't any left!

 R o a s t e d   G a r l i c,  T o m a t o,  B a s i l   B r e a d  

p o o l i s h

125 grams flour

125 grams water

2 grams natural yeast

I.  Mix together the flour, yeast and water until combined.  It should look like pancake batter.

II.  Cover the poolish and let it sit overnight.  Make sure it is in a container that will allow for it to at least double in size.

d o u g h

500g strong white bread flour

20g coarse semolina

10g fresh yeast

10g salt

320g water

I.  Place the flour, semolina, and yeast in a bowl 

II..       Add the salt, water, and poolish and and bring the dough together

III..       Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and work using your preferred method until smooth and elastic

IV..       Place in a lightly-floured bowl and rest in a warm place for 1 hour

F i l l i n g

250g tomatoes (cherry tomatoes halved, larger tomatoes quartered)

Salt and pepper

Fresh basil
175 grams of parmesan cheese, reserve some for sprinkling onto the tomatoes as they roast.

12 cloves of garlic

Olive Oil

I.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  

II. Individually place the tomato slices or halves on a parchment lined sheet pan.  Sprinkle the salt and pepper, a bit of fresh basil, and parmesan on top. Wrap the garlic cloves in aluminum foil with a bit of olive oil. 

III. Bake both in the oven about 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes have crisped up around the edges.

 

f i n a l    d o u g h 

I.        Carefully turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and then use your fingertips to push it into a rectangle about 35cm by 25cm. It should be positioned like a landscape painting in relation to where you’re stood

II.       Place the tomatoes across the rectangle and gently push them into the dough. Do the same with the garlic and the basil leaves.  Liberally sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top.

III..       Imagine that the rectangle is split into 3 columns. Fold one of the outer columns into the centre, then fold the other outer column on top of these other two

IV.       Gently push the dough down with your fingers to work together the dough and other ingredients. Tuck in the two open ends

V.       Cut the dough horizontally to make 3 small rectangles. Tuck in the end of the central rectangle so that you have 3 pieces of dough with one open end each

VI..       Lightly oil a baking tray (you might need 2) and place the dough on the tray with the closed end down and the open end facing up. It’ll take a bit of gentle manipulation to get it to sit with this open end properly facing up

VII.       Cover the dough and leave it to rest for 30 minutes

VIII.       Preheat your oven to 220°C (425°F or gas mark 7)

IX.       Once the dough has rested, place it in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown

X.   Brush with olive oil while still warm, then leave to cool completely

recipe adapted from Robert Bertinet's book  Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads.  I highly recommend checking it out!

Black Sesame Strawberry Balsamic Macarons.

My second day back in baking classes and we were assigned a practical, for the next day - sheesh.  As if I wasn't still consumed with settling into my place and just generally transitioning back to living Vermont - a process, which I always forget, where after the honeymoon excitement of a new location wears off - you're suddenly alone in this different place again.  And then it's pretty hard for 3 weeks.  Then, after that,  I'm reminding myself, things start to become comfortable, and you begin to consistently enjoy things again. Which will be a lot nicer than this up and down manic confusion of, "wait, where am I" ... "I have to go to class?"..."was I really on the other side of the continent just 3 weeks ago?"

Anyway, the thing that always lightens and enlivens me is being creative with food, and for our final one of our tasks was to successfully make a french macaron.  I had my heart set on making green tea macarons, and then saw that there was already a recipe for them in the instructor's book, at which point I realized - I might actually be incapable of directly following a recipe.  If a product is going to reflect upon me, like for a final, I am a slave to my need to change things up and add at least one quirk. I mean, there could be worse things, but my final would have been so much easier if I could have just kept everything classic, followed the recipe, and called it a day.  

But, these aren't too offbeat (I actually considered sun-dried tomato or beet macarons) they just weren't directly in the recipe book, and most importantly, sounded really delicious in my head: a classic almond macaron with a bit of toasted sesame, and then filled with balsamic chocolate ganache, and a bit of strawberry preserves - mmm mm mmm.

S e s a m e   M a c a r o n s

makes about 16

1/3 cup ground almonds

3 tbsp finely ground sesame seeds pluse 1 tsp extra black sesame to decorate

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 extra large egg whites

1/4 cup superfine sugar

I.  Mix together the ground almonds, ground sesame seeds and confectioner' sugar and sift the mixture into a bowl.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

II.  Place the egg whites in a large bowl and whip until soft peaks.  Gradually beat in the superfine sugar to make a firm, glossy meringue.

III.  Using a spatula, fold the almond mixture into the meringue - one-third at a time.  When all the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated continue to cut and fold the mixture until it forms a shiny batter with a thick, ribbon-like consistency.  Make sure not to over work them!

IV.  Pour the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch/1 cm plain tip - or whatever tip you think you can successfully pipe quarter sized circles.  Pipe 32 small circles, about the size of a quarter onto the prepared baking sheets.  Gently tap the baking sheets firmly onto a work surface to remove air bubbles. If you're working with a fan - assist convection oven - be sure to pipe around the edges of the parchment paper so they don't blow all over the place once you put them in the oven.

V.  Sprinkle over the sesame seeds.  Let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes so that the piped macarons form a firm skin around them.

VI.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Bake in the preheated oven for 10 - 15 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes.  Carefully peel macarons off the parchment paper and let cool completely.

C h o c o l a t e   G a n a c h e   B a l s a m i c   F i l l i n g

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate

1/2 ounce unsalted butter

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup strawberry jam

I.  Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Pour cream over chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Don't stir!! Let sit for 2 minutes so that the cream can begin to melt the chocolate and then add the butter and whisk until the mixture is smooth.  Let cool, stirring often.

II.  Once the ganache is cold, add the balsamic vinegar in stages of 3, mixing after each addition.  The mixture may for a few seconds seem runny, but the balsamic actually ends up setting the ganache.

III.  Fill a piping bag with jam and using a small circular tip, pipe dime sized amounts of jam on one half of each macaron.  I actually used chunky strawberry preserves, which I quickly realized won't squeeze out of a small piping tip, so I used a small spoon and carefully placed a dollop on each half.  The finish isn't as neat, but it still worked well.

IV.  Fill a piping bag with the balsamic ganache, and using a 1/2 inch/ 1 cm tip, pipe a thick, dime sized layer on the other half of each macaron.  Once finished, carefully sandwich the jam and ganache halves - and - there you go!  French macarons!