Farewell to Fay - White Gold Passion Genoise

On Friday, Fay retired to a life of freedom and cruises - we can't wait to hear what Fay does next!

In the usual fashion, I made Fay a cake. She wanted me to make her something new, so I chose the White Gold Passion Genoise from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Heavenly Cakes. It consists of a genoise soaked with passionfruit syrup, filled with passionfruit curd, then topped with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting.






Before I go further, a word from our sponsor - you can now buy the BloggerAid Cook Book online here. Laws of the Kitchen has contributed a recipe, once again using passionfruit, so check it and all the other fabulous recipes out! All proceeds go to the World Food Program's School Meals Program.






Here is Fay proudly displaying her cake, even before she knew what sort it was or had tasted it. Love ya Fay!



This cake is very involved as far as steps go, so I made the genoise and the curd one night and the syrup and the frosting on the night of assembly. The genoise worked out great - I loved Rose's tips, like combining some of the batter with the melted butter before incorporating the butter into the batter; I found that this prevented an oily separated pool forming at the bottom of the bowl. I also liked her idea of sifting the flour into the batter instead of just plonking some in before folding - it helped a lot in the combination process.



Here's a peek inside the cake, showing the layers:




The sweetness of the frosting is cut by the sharpness of the passionfruit, and together it makes a wonderful combination. None was left over, even though I cut the cake into tiny pieces for it to go around as far as possible.


The recipe is as follows:


Genoise


3 tablespoons clarified butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup minus one tablespoon cornflour


Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius and grease, flour and line a 9" cake pan with 2" sides.


Put the clarified butter in a heatproof bowl and warm it until almost hot, then stir in the vanilla. Cover the bowl and keep the butter warm.


In a heatproof bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Put the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring constantly, until lukewarm.


Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk the egg mixture with a stand mixer for 5 minutes or until the mixture has quadrupled in volume.


Whisk together 1 cup of the beaten eggs with the clarified butter mixture. Set aside.


Sift half the flour over the rest of the egg mixture and fold in with a spatula. Once it has been combined, fold in the remaining flour and finally the butter mixture.


Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-20 minutes or until the cake is golden and has started to pull away from the sides of the pan. Unmould onto a wire rack sprayed with cooking oil immediately, then, leaving the bottom pan lining in place, turn the cake right side up and leave to cool completely.


Curd


3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
42g butter
1/2 cup passionfruit pulp
pinch of salt


Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and butter in a saucepan until well combined. Whisk in 5 tablespoons of passionfruit puree and the salt. Cook the mixture on medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon. Remove the curd from the heat and strain into a heatproof bowl, then stir in the remaining passionfruit. Allow the curd to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before covering and refrigerating until cool.


Syrup


1 vanilla bean
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp


Put the sugar into a small saucepan, and scrape in the vanilla beans from the split vanilla bean pod, and rub them into the sugar. Add the pod to the pan, and stir in 1/2 cup passionfruit pulp. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring continuously, then cover it and remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely. Transfer it to a jug and stir in the rest of the passionfruit pulp.


White Chocolate Frosting


100g white chocolate
2 x 50g butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
170g cream cheese
1/2 tablespoon creme fraiche or sour cream (I used natural set yoghurt)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


In a baine marie, melt the white chocolate and butter. Whisk in the egg and yolk, and continue whisking and heating the mixture until it reaches 60 degrees Celsius. Remove the mixture from the heat, and allow it to cool to ~20 degrees Celsius. To speed it up, you may refrigerate the mixture for around 20 minutes. (I had to - my kitchen temperature was 26 degrees Celsius!)


In a stand mixer bowl, whisk the cream cheese and butter until smooth, then beat in the creme fraiche (or sour cream). Gradually beat in the white chocolate mixture and vanilla, then increase the mixer speed and beat until light and creamy.


Assembly


Using a serrated knife, remove the top and bottom crusts of the cake, and cut it in half. Brush the top and bottom of each half with the syrup.


Place one half of the cake onto a cardboard cake round. Spread it with 3/4 cup passionfruit curd, and place the other half of the cake on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the frosting, swirling the top, and place the cake in the fridge for an hour to set the frosting. Put small dabs of the remaining passionfruit curd on top of the frosting and swirl to combine.


Enjoy!


I recommend buying Rose's book if you are into making cakes - it is very beautiful and packed with wonderful recipes and tips.

Happy 40th Birthday to Sesame Street - Sesame Street Cupcakes

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street ...

Today is the 40th birthday of Sesame Street. I grew up on a steady diet of Sesame Street and Playschool, so Sesame Street holds a special place in my heart. I can't remember for sure who was my favourite character, but I remember being fascinated by Mr Snufalufagus because he was so elusive. I also vividly remember being called "Big Bird" by a much shorter pre-pubescent boy in Grade 7 at Belle & Beau Ball dance practice for Project Club, so perhaps this explains my fascination with Mr Snufalufagus. Wow, that brings back some memories!


In honour of Sesame Street's 40th birthday (after all, you don't turn 40 every day), I have made some Sesame Street cupcakes. I found the general idea for the decoration here on Petit Chef.

For the base cupcakes, I used my favourite Crabapple Bakery Vanilla Daisy cupcake recipe. For Elmo, I used Wilton red ready-made icing, and piped it on with a plain tip in strands to imitate hair. I then stuck on half of a Delta Cream biscuit from which I had scraped the icing for the mouth, and an orange Skittle for the nose, and finally piped on the eyes using Wilton white ready made icing and Queen chocolate fudge icing.

For Oscar the Grouch, I made green buttercream icing which I slathered on roughly to give the effect of fluffy fur, and again used half of a Delta Cream for the mouth (but this time upside down because he's a grouch), and piped on the eyes. I ran out of Wilton white icing for the eyes, and at 9.30pm I wasn't in the mood to make more, so I scraped up the icing from the middle of the Delta Creams into a piping bag and used that to finish the eyes. It worked like a charm!

I think these cupcakes are gorgeous. They would be perfect for a children's birthday party, and are fairly easy to make - they just take time and patience to decorate, not to mention some elbow grease if you are using the large Wilton ready-made icing tubes to pipe with!

Happy 40th birthday to all the gang at Sesame Street!!

Berliner Pfannkuchen

At midnight on 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall began to be dismantled, ending 30 years of separation between communist East Berlin and West Berlin. On Monday night at midnight, the 20th anniversary of the occasion was marked in Berlin with celebrations, including the knocking over of painted foam dominoes to symbolise the coming down of the Wall.

I wanted to mark this auspicious occasion, so I have made Berliner Pfannkuchen, a type of jam donut which I understand to be a traditional recipe originating in Berlin. President John F Kennedy is famous for declaring on his visit to Berlin on 26 June 1963 that "Ich bin ein Berliner!" - which unfortunately literally translates to "I am a jam donut!"

I used a recipe for Berliner Pfannkuchen that I found on Cast Sugar's site. Like Cast Sugar, I eschewed the traditional dusting of icing sugar for a coating of caster sugar - as I am a sweet tooth too!

For some reason, my jam spread inside the donuts instead of being contained in an oozy single centre - but hey, they still tasted good! This is my first ever batch of fried donuts.

To all Berliners, congratulations and enjoy this momentous occasion!

TWD - Cran-Apple Blueberry Crisp

This week's Tuesday with Dorie is hosted by Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef, who has chosen Dorie's Cran-Apple Crisp.


The recipe calls for fresh and dried cranberries. As I didn't have fresh cranberries, I substituted fresh blueberries, hence I ended up with a Cran-Apple Blueberry Crisp. I also didn't have traditional oats, and used quick oats instead, which seemed to work just fine. Stupidly, I halved the recipe (which makes 8 serves) and only made 2 crisps instead of 4. I was puzzled when the fruit filled the ramekins to the brim, and I had to throw away half the topping - and now I know why. I also quite happily ate what I now know was a double serving of crisp - oops. The other one is still in the fridge and will be eaten in two sittings.


This dessert tasted delicious! What can be bad about apples, cranberries and blueberries topped with an oaty, crisp topping. As you can see, the proof of the pudding is in the eating:




You can check out how the other TWD bakers went with the cran-apple crisps by checking out the TWD blogroll, and you can find the recipe in Dorie's book or on Em's site.

Parkin for Guy Fawkes Night

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

Tonight is Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night. It originates in the UK, and marks the anniversary of the night in 1605 when Guy Fawkes was found with several barrels of gun powder in the cellars of British Parliament to implement a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament and overthrow the government. The idea of commemorating this event is to remind people of the consequences of treason so that they are deterred from undertaking a similar course to Guy Fawkes, whose fate was to be hung, drawn and quartered.


On Bonfire Night, children burn effigies of Guy Fawkes (known as "guys") and bonfires and fireworks are lit to commemorate the event. Traditionally, jacket potatoes, toffee apples, treacle toffee and parkin (a particular form of gingerbread) are shared by revellers on Bonfire Night.


Guy Fawkes Night ceased to be celebrated in Australia some time ago when fireworks were banned because of the safety risks. My closest connection to Guy Fawkes Night is my mother's stories of enjoying fireworks with her family. However, in the spirit of the occasion, I have made parkin. I made Dan Lepard's parkin recipe, which you can find here. I omitted the mixed citrus peel, as I didn't have any, and used oats instead of oatmeal (as that is what I had on hand). The result is a delicious, dense, gingery cake that is perfect for taking to outdoor activities on Bonfire Night.


To everyone in the UK, I hope that you have an enjoyable Bonfire Night.

TWD - Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

Happy Tuesday to everyone! Things have been a little quiet at Laws of the Kitchen, as I have just returned from 4 days away in Melbourne to attend Derby Day and catch up with friends. We certainly had 4 seasons in 4 days, if not in one day, as it was cold and wet and grey on day one, hot and sunny day two, cool but sticky and overcast on day three and cool and sunny on day four. That's Melbourne for you! Luckily I am an old hand at guessing what to wear, and the weather was kind on Derby Day so I could wear my pretty race dress in traditional black and white, so all went well. (I didn't win anything, if you are curious, but had a lovely time.)

It's Tuesday with Dorie time again, and this week, our host is Katya of Second Dinner, who chose Dorie's Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake. This cake is a doozie - it consists of a base cake laden with nut spread (it's supposed to be chestnut, but chestnut spread being thin on the ground in Brisbane, I used hazelnut spread), filled with a chocolate caramel ganache and chopped tinned chestnuts, then glazed with a chocolate glaze and decorated with more chestnuts.



It is rather a rich confection, and a small slice goes a very long way, but it tastes delicious. It came together fairly easily for me - it even sliced into three portions quite neatly:

Here is the cake after being filled then slathered with ganache:

And again after being coated in the chocolate glaze:

Because of the time and money which goes into making this cake, it is not one that will make its way into my regular repertoire. However, it was delicious, and I would consider it again for a special occasion, perhaps using all hazelnuts, which are easier to acquire and in my view tastier.

To see how all the other TWD bakers went, check out the TWD blogroll, and for the recipe, go to Dorie's book or Katya's site.

I leave you with a slice of the chocolate caramel chestnut cake to help you through the day:

The Kitchen Reader - My Life in France by Julia Child

The Kitchen Reader book for October is My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Alex worked with Julia in the last year of her life to put together this book from her memories and from old letters that the Childs and their friends and relatives had sent over the years. The idea for the book had first been floated by Paul Child, Julia's husband, in 1969, but it was not until shortly before Julia's death in 2004 that the idea came to fruition. It was a close call, as Alex had to finish the book after Julia's death.


My Life in France documents the lives of Paul and Julia Childs, not only during their time in France, but also during Paul's diplomatic transfers to Norway and back to America before his retirement. Through its pages, we learn how Paul and Julia came to be in France, and how Julia came, first to cooking and earning a diploma from Le Cordon Bleu, then to writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking (MtAoFC) and her subsequent TV career. I learned for the first time that Julia co-authored MtAoFC with two French women, Simone Beck (known as Simca) and Louisette Bertholle, and that the project to write a book on French cookery for American women was actually started by Simone and Louisette. It was not until their original publisher rejected their efforts and suggested that they find an American collaborator to help them that Julia's involvement with MtAoFC commenced. None of Julia's achievements came without considerable downs and lots of hard work. Perhaps the most striking aspects of Julia's personality which shine through in My Life in France are Julia's determination and committed work ethos. Without them, MtAoFC would never have been published.


The pages of My Life in France are littered with colourful characters, including the larger than life Julia and her sister, Dort, through to their cantankerous father, John McWilliams, the Childs' French maids, Coo-Coo and Jeanne-la-folle ("crazy Jeanne"), Chef Bugnard, Julia's teacher at Le Cordon Bleu, Julia's devoted friend Avis De Voto (who is integral in MtAoFC finally being published), Judith Jones, the editor who made MtAoFC happen, and last but certainly not least, Paul Child, the love of Julia's life. The relationship between Paul and Julia is remarkable, and I would consider myself extremely blessed if I find a soulmate who makes me feel like Paul made Julia feel.


Paul and Julia dubbed their apartment in Paris "Roo de Loo" (as it was located at 81 Rue de l'Universite), and it is here that much of the action in the book takes place. Although Paul and Julia are forced to leave Paris after 4 years for Marseilles due to Paul's work commitments, their hearts remain in Paris. While in Paris, Julia met Simca and Louisette, and together they started a cooking school called L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes ("The School of the Three Hearty Eaters") before their book collaboration began. When Julia collaborated with Simca and Louisette on what was to become MtAoFC, there were so many hurdles to the book's publication that I am sure that Julia often had reason to recall one of Paul's favourite phrases, Illegitemus non carborundum est ("Don't let the bastards grind you down").


Julia's successful TV career began in 1962 after she returned to the US as a means of promoting MtAoFC, at a time when she had never even watched television. It was a baptism of fire, as the original three shows were filmed without interruption, and as Julia herself said, she was a complete amateur. However, those first three shows were popular enough for her show, The French Chef, to become a regular television program.


Child residences which feature prominently with Roo de Loo include their Provence getaway situated near the Becks called La Pitchoune (meaning "The Little Thing" and dubbed "La Peetch" for short), and their final home at 103 Irving Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, which Avis spotted for them, and from whence Julia's famous kitchen was relocated to the Smithsonian Institute.


The book's conclusion is rather poignant, as Julia's relatives and friends begin "to slip off into the wide blue yonder". However, a life as rich as Julia's gives reason to celebrate rather than to mourn. We are incredibly lucky that, thanks to Paul Child's original idea, Julia's dedication to that idea and Alex Prud'homme's ability to bring it to fruition, we are able to share some of the details of Julia's life, and be inspired ourselves.


My Life in France has a wonderful tale to tell, which is interesting and inspiring regardless of whether or not you have an interest in food or have seen Julia's shows or own MtAoFC. It gives readers an inside look at an extraordinary life and at a number of pivotal historical eras in modern European and American history.