Buttermilk pancakes

I realise Shrove Tuesday was over 2 months ago, but I have a busy schedule so I had to delay to pancake making somewhat. But I've made these on a Tuesday so I think it still counts. I usually make crepes but these are traditional American style pancakes, complete with maple syrup. What makes them especially delicious is that they are buttermilk pancakes, although in fact I couldn't find buttermilk and just substituted with yoghurt, so you can do the same if you don't have buttermilk handy.

Recipe (makes 9-12 pancakes)

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or yoghurt)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

Extra melted butter to grease the pan

Mix together all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Then mix them all together until just combined, do not overmix (it's normal for the batter to have small lumps). Grease the pan with a small amount of melted butter, and heat it. When the pan is sufficiently hot, add a tablespoon of the batter and spread it so it is not too thick (the inside will not cook if it is). You should cook for about 1 minute on each side, or until both sides are browned.

Chocolate plastic roses

This was surprisingly one of the easiest things to make, except it was a little time-consuming because you have to mould each petal individually. Also you can't play with them for too long because the thin wafer of chocolate starts to melt. I made it for cupcakes but I think it would actually make more sense to make one big rose and use it as a cake decoration, to cut down on the amount of time spent.

Ingredients:
200g dark chocolate (I used couverture)
1/3 corn syrup/honey

1. Melt the chocolate using a double boiler, and stir in the corn syrup or honey. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. You can also store it for longer if you do not need to use it immediately.
2. When you are ready to use it, take it out of the fridge and leave at room temperature for about 15mins or until it becomes soft enough to be pliable.
3. To start with make a small ball of chocolate which will become the core of the rose. Then take a small bit of the chocolate, put it inside some greaseproof paper (folding the greaseproof paper onto itself) and roll it out on top of paper so you are not actually coming in contact with the chocolate itself. Then unwrap it from the paper (if it has become too soft then simply put it in the fridge for about 5 mins until it hardens) and mould it into a petal shape with your fingers. Before you shape it you may need to cut it so it is the right size for the petal.
4. Once you've shaped the petal curve it around the little ball of plastic you made earlier. Keep making petals and attaching them on until your rose reaches the desired size.

Experiments with buttercream

A while ago, I bought Wilton 1M and 2D icing nozzles and have been dying to try them out. After about 6 months of procrastinating, I went crazy and all at once tried to make 3 different things. I started out with some chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream (you can see the tiny vanilla seeds in the decoration):

I then followed this up with chocolate chiffon cake, with coffee buttercream:

Then finally I made 2 large batches of chocolate cupcakes with coffee buttercream:

The first two were made with the 1M tip, and the final one with the 2D tip. The swirl and the rose respectively. I am now waiting to try out the Wilton 104 when I have the time.

Gingerbread village

My sister was visiting this week, which I thought would be a great excuse to construct an elaborate village out of gingerbread. I had made the single gingerbread cottage last year, but it had felt so lonely and isolated, I decided I needed to ramp it up to an entire neighbourhood this time. There were minor glitches along the way, I lost a ring when I took it off to roll dough - and had to take a break from baking for 2 hours to search for it (I have yet to find it). Also I splashed a bit of caramel on myself whilst sticking the gingerbread pieces together sustained minor burns. Alas, that is the price one must pay for edible housing.
I used the same recipe as last time, but added some caramel windows (Heat caramel till dark brown, then pour over greaseproof paper and let it cool. You can then break off pieces and stick them inside the gingerbread house so they cover the window holes.)

It's difficult to see in the light, but in the dark you can see the fairy lights inside the houses lighting up the windows as above.

I changed the template slightly so the houses were smaller, as I was making more than one. I also added a icing snowman, some pine cones, and cinnamon stick logs.

Lime and Coconut Macarons

I can't believe how long it has taken me to post this, the last couple of months have been so busy that today was the first day in a long while that I didn't have to set an alarm to wake up. Of course I've been used to getting up so early that I just woke up at 8.30am regardless. Anyway, this was yet another macaron experimentation, I also recently made vanilla and olive oil macarons à la Pierre Hermé, but since I rushed to make them in a rare hour I actually had free (a personal record on how quickly I could make them) I had no time to take pictures, and will try to remake them at some point.

For the shells:
90 gr egg whites - separated 2 nights before
30 gr granulated sugar
200 gr icing sugar
73 gr almonds
37 gr coconut shreddings

Whisk the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Add the food colouring and continue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be dry. Put the icing sugar, coconut shreddings and almonds through a food processor until the nuts are finely ground. Sift them into the meringue, give it a quick fold initially to get it mixed and then start folding carefully until you obtain a batter that smooths itself after about 15 seconds.
Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. Note: if the mixture flattens too quickly you've over-mixed it.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe small rounds of the batter (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C. Let the macarons sit out for 45 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool before you remove them from the tray.

For the lime buttercream:
115 gr icing cream
55 gr butter, softened
2 tablespoons lime juice
Zest from 1 lime

Beat the butter until soft and fluffy then beat in the icing sugar. Add the lime juice and zest.

Chocolate Ice Cream

I realise it may seem ridiculous that I have waited till the end of summer to try making ice cream, but really this is an intentional move as part of my greater agenda that ice cream has no season or weather, it can be made and eaten at any time. Until now the greatest impediment to this noble vision for me has been the lack of an ice cream maker in my kitchen (I still have no idea why I didn't just buy one). Anyway, about a month ago I stumbled upon this recipe on Cafe Fernando which resolved this gaping, ice-cream-maker-shaped hole in my life. 

I should clarify that this a denser and creamier ice cream than what you will be used to, which makes it unquestionably superior. It also melts very easily, so must be eaten as soon as served - which was not a problem based on multiple observations. However, if it does melt, you can put it right back in the freezer and regain the same product because it doesn't get icy when frozen (which is why you don't need an ice cream maker to make it).

Although not a difficult recipe, my attempts to make it were plagued with minor catastrophes like missing ingredients, cream having gone bad, and the forgetting of the pan on the stove to burn while trying to deal with the cream issue. There was a point of unbearable despair and then finally success! (I can't remember how many attempts later that was)

The crucial ingredient in this recipe is the cornstarch, as it acts as the thickening agent. If your ice cream ends up being too solid, either reduce the amount of cornstarch or cook it for a shorter period. The original recipe called for 8-10 minutes on medium-high heat, but 4-5 minutes on low-medium heat was enough for me.

1 can (400 grams) sweetened condensed milk
180 grams whole milk
175 grams heavy cream
170 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
25 grams cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (or two tablespoons freshly-brewed espresso)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of fine sea salt
12 grams cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

In a heavy-bottomed large pan, whisk sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and heavy cream until combined. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Take off heat and add the finely-chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk (using an electric whisk) until the chocolate melts and the cocoa powder is completely dissolved.

Mix cornstarch and cold water in a bowl with a fork until completely dissolved, and add to the ice cream base. Whisk until combined.

Place the pan over low-medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan to prevent burning, until thickened, for 4-5 minutes. Note that the consistency should still be very much liquid, if it gets thick like pudding you have waited too long.

Transfer to a heatproof bowl and set aside, uncovered, to cool for half an hour. Don't worry if a skin forms on top. When the bowl is cool enough to handle, cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly--preferably overnight--in the refrigerator.

Before transferring the chilled ice cream to the freezer, stir or whisk to dissolve the skin on top and scrape into a container. Cover with plastic, this time pressing the wrap against the ice cream to create an airtight seal; put the lid on (or cover with an additional layer of plastic wrap) and freeze until firm enough to scoop.

White chocolate and raspberry macarons

I wanted to make some brightly coloured macarons but wasn't sure which fruit to go for. I initially tried to make cherry icing, which I didn't like. So instead of ruining the perfect shells with a not so nice filling I decided to try making a white chocolate and raspberry ganache, which was delish. I used raspberry jam to make it as I didn't have fresh raspberries at hand, but I think those would be a nice substitute.

For the shells:

90 gr egg whites - separated the night before
30 gr granulated sugar
220 gr icing sugar
110 gr almonds
red food colouring

Whisk the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Add the food colouring and continue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be dry. Put the icing sugar and almonds through a food processor until the nuts are finely ground. Sift them into the meringue, give it a quick fold initially to get it mixed and then start folding carefully until you obtain a batter that smooths itself after about 15 seconds. 
Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. Note: if the mixture flattens too quickly you've over-mixed it.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe small rounds of the batter (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C. Let the macarons sit out for 45 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool before you remove them from the tray.

For the ganache:

80g whipping cream
100g white chocolate
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
red food colouring (optional)

Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until boiling, then add to the chocolate. Mix until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the raspberry jam, and a couple of drops of food colouring should you so choose.