June 25, 2012

Baking | Macaron à la Peaches et Crème … Vacation Macs!

“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.”
Robert Orben

It’s been literally a mac-vacation for me, a vacation I dislike as it keeps me away from a challenge I love with a vengeance. I’m back on board to get in with the fun and beautiful Mac Attack Jamie and I host each month. This time our call was for Vacation Macs … and how better could I get there with my mac-a-vacations … Macaron à la Peaches et Crème {pardon my French please}The flavours are reminiscent of one of the best vacations we enjoyed a few years ago in the Himalayas. We’ve had some other fabulous ones include Goa, Sydney, Hong Kong, Gangtok … but the one the ‘now threatening to be quite terrible just turned 13‘ teen remembers every single day is this one at Ramgarh. Nothing like the serenity of the Himalayas to unwind!

That vacation filled in perfectly with our call this month. Our best macarons reminiscent of that ideal vacation or that perfect holiday spot. Mountains, seaside, tiny hamlet lost in the countryside, large, bustling city teeming with restaurants and museums, these are our inspiration. With the best vacation that comes to mind, from that thought, memory or distant dream, create a fabulous Vacation Macaron!

We stayed at a beautiful heritage cottage surrounded by peach trees and since it was peak summer, we walked by peach trees plucking fresh, juicy fruit right off the tree. This is where my lad became a peach monster and developed a deep love for the fruit.Summer is for stone fruit is my chant. I just cannot have enough of these delicious fruit that are reaching us in the foothills of the Himalayas; better quality and quantity every year! This summer I have had a field day with stone fruit…… Apricot Peach Sorbet, Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake, Mini Quark Vanilla Cheesecakes with Balsamic Cherries, Black Forest Cake, Oatmeal Peach Apricot Mango Smoothie {yet to post}, Dark Chocolate Cherry Wholewheat Cakelets {yet to post} … and my fridge is full of cherries, peaches, mangoes and apricots!I have also been developing some food recipes for Del Monte for their website World Foody. The peach ice cream above is one I made last week from their canned peaches, beautiful cling peaches with a fabulous deep flavour. Will let you know when the recipe is up on the website; until then it’s Macaron à la Peaches et Crème!The macaron shells were going to be perfect, something deep within me said to me when I was done folding the macaronage. BUT … in my hurry to beat the power cut, I switched on the upper element instead of the lower one, so my feet popped out with the thermal shock and the skins developed a ‘peach‘ blush. It was too late to salvage the batch, and the little macronage left proved my feeling right! Aaaargh! And did I tell you that at 45C ice-cream melts SO FAST? I was RACING!I used the several times tried and tested David Lebovitz recipe that lives in my head. It never goes wrong if you mix the macronage correctly and let it rest! However, a little more advice follows …

Do you want to join us making MACARONS?

If you do, you are most welcome to join us for this challenge, or the next. You can find all the information at our dedicated macaron blog MacTweets. We generally post the round-up by the end of every month, following which a new challenge is posted!

… these cookies are fiddly creatures and are dependent on way too many things. egg whites {aged or not}, almond meal,oven temperature, room temperature, humidity levels, the hand that mixes them, the way you pipe them out … and above all, lady luck!

Before I get onto the recipe, I’d like to thank Chillibreeze for interviewing me. You can read it here if you like.I’d also like to thank the Financial Times, Times of India, for including me so generously in their feature ‘Gurgaon is Blogging & How‘ on Business Street, 21st June, 2012. Last but not the least, thank you Javelin Warrior for adding my Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake in your delicious Friday Food Fetish.

Thank you all! I feel really honoured.

Monthly Mingle is the brainchild of the lovely Meeta @ Whats For Lunch Honey, and this month it celebrates Barbara’s spirit at the wonderful Jeanne @ Cook Sister with a Taste of Yellow. I am sending this to the MM for July 2012.

Recipe: Macaron à la Peaches et Crème

Summary: Vanilla macarons sandwiched with a home made low fat peach & cream ice cream. Perfect for those hot summer days!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes {plus resting time}
Ingredients:

Vanilla Macarons
{recipe adapted from David Lebovitz}
1 egg white {35gm} {I didn’t age mine}
2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar {I used granulated vanilla sugar}
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 tsp egg white powder
1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder
Peach ice cream for filling

Method:

Run the powdered sugar, almond meal, vanilla bean powder and egg white powder in blender until well blended. Sift into a bowl.
Beat the egg white until foamy, then add the granulated sugar and beat for approximately 2 minutes until stiff peaks form.
Fold in 1/4 of the dry mix until no streaks remain, then add the remainder of the dry mix and gently fold in until you get a lava like batter. {Donot overfold}
Place into a piping bag and pipe circles onto parchment paper.
Tap the trays sharply to get rid of air bubbles and allow to rest for 30-45 minutes.
Bake in double trays at 140C for 12-15 minutes, until the shells are firm and no longer jiggly. {My oven uses just the lower element for baking, so I place the double trays towards the top of the oven}
Cool and sandwich with softened ice cream. Store in freezer and serve directly from there.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

May 24, 2012

Baking | Oatmeal Nutella Whoopie Pies … and a peep into Old Delhi

“But there’s always a first time for everything”
Melissa de la Cruz

These were ~~cookies~~ whoopies waiting to happen! One look at the inbox a few weeks ago and the Pioneer Woman had me bookmarking again. There’s loads of make-able stuff that Ree constantly churns out, and oatmeal in whoopies were right up my street. A few days ago we had Oatmeal Nutella Whoopie Pies! Whoopie pies are sweet baked delights that are a cross between a soft cookie and cake or pie, basically a set of ~~cookies~~ whoopies sandwiched together with a frosting. As expected they were a hit with the teens! It’s amazing how comfort food can bring out the kids in young adults. Both the ‘now much taller than me kids’ grabbed a pair each, pulled the cookies apart and proceeded to lick the frosting, savouring every Nutella lick. Then it was time to demolish whatever was left!!I took a small nibble of the unfrosted cookies and they were quite nice. Maybe I’ll skip the cinnamon next time as it reminds me of warm winter days. I think an orange zest kick would make yum summer whoopie pies! Mmmm, maybe that’s an idea since brown sugar, orange and chocolate are a good pairing.The cookies were a tad on the sweeter side according to Mr PAB, so I’ll cut back the sugar next time. They disappeared really quick as I could see hungry eyes pick out the box from the fridge to devour the pies. I refrigerated them as the Indian summer has really kicked in, 42C and rising! Won’t even begin to tell you about the nonsensical and irrational power cuts…. sigh! Heat & Dust = North Indian Summer! It’s the beginning of a tough summer; a long hot month ahead before the monsoons get here. Then it’ll be hot + humid! On my list of things to do was a visit to Old Delhi which I managed a few days ago before the heat became unbearable. My Mum had some work there so I happily tagged along … I bought this charming brass teapot {pictured with the whoopie pies} from a shop near Jama Masjid. I also climbed up rickety old ladders and pulled out vintage handmade copper boxes from a dusty old shop that sold copper by the weight. We had a wonderful local guide who walked us through quaint places, like Mohalla Kabristan which quite literally translates into ‘Graveyard Colony‘. It was an uncanny feeling having to walk nonchalantly around graves that lay in your path! This little colony was built ages ago around old graves that dot cemented streets. Goats languish lazily around every possible corner, heat, dust and more dust, shops that sell everything under the sun … beads, incense, bottles, cookware, bangles, buckets, cloth, paper, silver jewelery, fresh juice, food! A journey into the ‘walled city’ transports you into another world. We got onto rickshaws from the historic Turkman Gate {one of the 14 gateways to the Shahjahanabad of yore} in the heart of New Delhi. The minute we crossed the gate and took a right turn, the road disappeared into a ‘gali‘ or narrow street! No cars, just rickshaws, people on foot, goats galore, mules too …. a different cacophony!Some of my photographs might have a ‘rickshaw shake’ as we were in a hurry to get around, but I had to share them with you. It’s the essence of Old Delhi, a city I love, which appears rather mystically the minute you cross over into the walled area, or Purani Dilli. The city grows on you!Tomorrow I’m off to Goa with the kids for a short break, a revisit after a gap of over 20 years. Whoopie!! Hopefully will have some more pictures of yet another beautiful Indian city to share with you soon! Until then, here are my version of Rees whoopie pies!

Other Pioneer Woman recipes on PAB
Sweet Orange, Roasted Strawberry & Chocolate Buttermilk Rolls
Apple Cranberry Almond Olive Oil Pull-Apart Loaf & Popovers

PAB featured on The Pioneer Woman on Web Deliciousness: Strawberries!
Old Fashioned Eggless Chocolate Cake with Balsamic Strawberry Cream Filling
Whipped Strawberry Curd Cream Tartlets with Walnut Shortbread Crust

Recipe: Oatmeal Nutella Whoopie Pies

Summary: Charming little sweet oatmeal whoopie pies sandwiched with a Nutella frosting … brings out the child in you! Minimally adapted from The Pioneer Woman. I made half the recipe, about 12 whoopie pies.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes {plus cooling/chilling time}
Ingredients:

Cookies
190g brown sugar
75g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 whole egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp boiling water
1/2 tsp baking soda
150g plain flour
90g rolled oats
Nutella Filling
2.5 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
75ml low fat cream, chilled
75gm Nutella

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Cookies
Cream brown sugar and butter. Add egg, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and mix. Mix baking soda and boiling water, then add to the bowl and mix. Add flour and oatmeal and mix well.
Scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets so that you have rounded heaping teaspoons. Bake for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn. Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack, and let the cookies cool completely.
Filling {adapted from That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had, by Missy Dew from here}
In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it’s very thick. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla.
Whip the low fat cream to medium soft peaks. Whip the cooled flour mix until smooth, then add the Nutella and whip again until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes/until firm enough to spread.
Scoop a small amount onto cookies, pressing a second cookie on top.

This post featured on Huffington Post

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

March 22, 2012

Baking| Savoury Dill Cheddar Buckwheat Sables … a spicy #baketogether

“As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists.”
Joan Gussow

These cookies suprised me. When I made the dough I thought I had ‘it’ all wrong. Ambitiously adding ingredients with not enough deep thought, I wrote them off even before I baked them. But sometimes substitution can be a pleasant surprise. These Savoury Dill Cheddar Buckwheat Sables were a happy ending to one such culinary adventure!I hardly ever bake sables. Please don’t get me wrong. I love the cookies to bits but somewhere in my head I associate them to be loaded with butter. Chocolate sables = guilty pleasure, a pleasure I can ill afford these days as baking and food seems to rule my existence! Got to keep the butter down; not out, but down!I missed the last couple of months of #baketogether, Abby Dodges absolutely charming bake up party. The talented Abby inspires a group of avid bakers month after month with a #baketogether recipe that you are encouraged to play around with. Just my cup of ~~tea~~ coffee! I’ve had some wonderful past entries with Double Chocolate Mousse Cookies, Classic Spice Apple Walnut Buttermilk Cake, and Plum Almond Ginger Summer Fruit Cake.This month she called for savoury cookies from her recipe for Spicy Parmesan Sables. Though still short on time, and breathless in life, I couldn’t keep away from them. I LOVE SAVOURY BAKING. Besides, the ‘not so terrible anymore’ teen is constantly craving for either double chocolate double almond biscotti {recipe on its way}, or ‘something chili’ please!I decided to experiment because halfway through I ran out of plain flour! I made up the weight with buckwheat, and used fresh dill to flavour the cookies. Dill and cheddar make for good pairing, and I ~~have~~ had a huge patch of dill growing in my garden. After an overnight rest, the cookies were baking soon.Dill is a beautiful herb, delicate with a wonderful aromatic flavour that comes to life when the leaves are chopped. In India, there is a more robust variety of dill, locally called soya, which is widely used in the winter months in North India.One bite into the warm cookie and I was so relieved. These were so good. Thankfully the dill wasn’t overpowering, and the buckwheat gave the cookie good texture, other than scoring on the whole grain front too! However whole grains like buckwheat are an acquired taste, and unfortunately the ‘not so terrible anymore’ teen didn’t love it to bits.I was a little disheartened and hesitatingly ran it past the ‘now threatening to be quite terrible’ pre-teen. He said, “YUM! Can I have the whole box?“. You win some, you lose some. These are a nice cheese tray cookie and would pair well with mature cheddar and fruit! As Abby says, “Made with butter, cheese, flour and cayenne for a kick, they make for a lovely hors d’oeuvre to serve with wine or cocktails and the possible twists are endless”

Thank you Abby for yet another winning recipe, and also yet another chance to push my boundaries. You are an inspiration!

Recipe: Savoury Dill Cheddar Buckwheat Sables

Summary: A savoury cookie that packs big-time flavor with a flaky, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Made with butter, cheese, flour and cayenne for a kick, these cheese crackers make for a lovely hors d’oeuvre to serve with wine or cocktails. Makes 29-30 sables.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes {plus chilling time}
Ingredients:

110gm all purpose flour
50gm buckwheat flour {or use all plain flour}
50gm cheddar, grated
1 teaspoon table salt
1 tsp chopped fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon {adjust to taste} red chili pepper {or cayenne pepper}
100gm unsalted butter, cut into cubes, well chilled
2 tablespoons very cold water
Sea salt & fresh dill for sprinkling

Method:

To make the dough:
Put the flour, buckwheat flour, cheese, salt and chili powder in a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter pieces are slightly larger than pea size, about 10 to 12 pulses depending on your machine. Drizzle the water evenly over the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough begins to form moist crumbs that are just beginning to clump together, about 8 or 9 more pulses depending on your machine.
Dump the moist crumbs onto the unfloured counter and gather into a pile. With the heel of you hand, push and gently smear the crumbs away from you until they start to come together in a cohesive dough. Two or three ‘smears’ should do the trick. Using a bench scraper, gather the dough together and turn it about 45 degrees and give it one or two more smears. {see visuals here}
Gather the dough together and shape the dough into a 7 1/4-inch long and 2 1/4 -inch wide rectangle using the bench scraper to make the sides nice and straight. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, about 3 hours, or up to 2 days.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 190°c. Line two large baking sheets with parchment. { I used just one cookie sheet}
Using a thin, sharp knife, cut the logs into 1/4-inch slices and arrange about 1 inch apart {they don’t spread much at all} on the prepared sheets. If you like, sprinkle the crackers with a little sea salt and fresh dill before baking.
Bake, one sheet at a time, until nutty brown around the edges, 16 to 18 minutes. Serve slightly warm or room temperature. {If they aren’t crisp as you like, you can bake them at a lower temperature for 10-15 minutes longer. Keep an eye so they don’t get burnt}.
Note: The dough can be shaped and frozen for up to a month and then thawed for about an hour on the counter or in the refrigerator overnight. Likewise, tuck the baked and cooled sables in a heavy duty zip top bag and stash them in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature and warm them for a few minutes at 160°C to refresh the flavors.