A Chocolate Valentine for the DBs

This is going to be short because I don't tend to spend a lot of time at the computer these days since it's not very comfortable for me. I've been neglecting this space mostly because I haven't been eating anything exciting since pretty much everything that I eat is very healthy and very plain so as to minimize common digestive misfortunes of pregnancy which, I'm happy to say, is working pretty well right now. But no matter how much I neglect this place, I usually come back for the last hurrah of the month also known as the Daring Bakers' Challenge.

Fortunately for me and my current fatigue, the challenge this month was very simple. A chocolate Valentino cake and an ice cream of our choice (we were given vanilla ice cream recipes just in case). I can't eat either of those things at the moment, but other souls in this house are happy to partake. Originally, I had all sorts of ideas for what I would do with this challenge since we were free to choose shapes and flavors and things (we were left free to pick the chocolate we would use since this recipe consists simply of chocolate, eggs and butter and the resulting cake would taste exactly like the kind of chocolate we picked), but when push came to shove I was too tired to go with the whole shebang and the little one is getting to feel quite heavy now, so outside of my walks, I minimize the standing around when I can, thus the very simple and very plain endeavors you see here.

I made the cake twice, once for my beloved A.'s birthday a few days ago and then again yesterday. The first time the cake came out quite dense so I decided to make chocolate bars out of it with the help of a little melted chocolate and some cocoa powder, the second time the cake rose and then never deflated in the little cupcake containers I'd decided to bake it in. Both times I made pistachio ice cream to go with it, although the pistachio ice cream that went with the chocolate bar is a middle eastern version which is made without eggs and with mastica which gives it a slightly chewy texture that I just love because that is the texture of Persian ice cream, whereas the ice cream with the little chocolate valentino cupcakes is a normal Western custard recipe. When it's a little more comfortable to hang out here, I will give you the recipe for the Middle Eastern ice cream.
Anyway, that's about all I have to say about that. I apologize for the pictures, even with a tripod it's hard to maneuver around with a big watermelon in front of you, especially when you forget to take your pictures in the daytime! Only 4 more weeks...

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Eric Kayser's Pistachio-Apricot Tart and a Meme - La Tarte Abricot-Pistache d'Eric Kayser

Helen de Tartelette m'a taggé pour un questionnaire, mais comme il est long, je le laisse en Anglais sans le traduire en Français. La direction s'excuse donc de l'absence temporaire de traduction dans ce blog. Et d'accord je n'ai pas fait la tarte abricots-pistache d'Eric Kayser, mais j'en ai mangé une du magasin Rue Monge et voulait vous faire part de ma bonne fortune. Cette tarte est dans son livre Les Tartes d'Eric Kayser et dès que je trouverais de bons abricots - il est probablement déjà trop tard pour cela - je la ferai moi-même et partagerai la recette avec vous.

In English...

Helen from Tartelette has tagged me for a meme about myself, so here goes (and sorry about the weird formatting, I don't know why it looks like it does). And ok so I didn't make Eric Kayser's apricot-pistachio tart yesterday, but I did eat one from his store and wanted to share my good fortune. This tart is in his book Eric Kayser's Sweet and Savory Tarts and as soon as I actually find some decent apricots, which it may now be too late to do, I will actually make it myself and share the recipe with you.


INSTRUCTIONS:
Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so:

1. Harmonia’s Cuppa Tea
2. Vaguetarian Tea Room
3. BitterSweet
4. Tartelette
5. Saffron & Blueberry

Next, select five people to tag:
1. Mercedes from Desert Candy
2. Patricia from Technicolor Kitchen
3. Steph from A Whisk and a Spoon
4. Deborah from Taste and Tell
5. Orchidea from Viaggi e Sapori

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was enjoying my summer home in Paris before moving to New York to work. I went for a little trip to Oslo to visit some people and generally lazed about, knowing it would be my last real summer of freedom. There was a temporary scare when my mother's beautiful cat got lost in the not-really jungle behind the house and didn't come back for 3 days (this was a house cat mind you, not at all an explorer of any sort). But all ended well.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was packing to move between continents and then all my plans changed and I didn't move.

Five snacks you enjoy:
1. Strawberries and whipped cream

2. Apples with cheese

3. Salt and Vinegar Chips

4. Tortilla chips and fresh salsa
5. Dark chocolate squares

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to:
I can't decide which five songs to tell you about? A childhood friend of mine likes to joke that 80% of my brain seems to be occupied by song lyrics. I'll just pick five randomly then.
1. Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin
2. Les Amants d'un Jour - Edith Piaf
3. Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
4. A Day in the Life - The Beatles
5. Beautiful Day - U2

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
Who says I'm not??? ;-)
but actually at least a couple of things I would do would be to:
1. Travel extensively and discover peoples and lands that I don't yet know.
2. Go do the baking program at Le Cordon Bleu (which doesn't require millions but does require time, and as we all know, time is money).

Five bad habits:
1. Staying up too late. But I'm a night owl, what can I say?
2. Eating haphazardly, as in, when the fancy strikes me, or noshing all day, which I'm sure isn't actually good for me.
3. Not having enough patience with my parents. Unlike Tartelette however, age does not seem to be improving my behavior.
4. Eating while reading blogs…you all know what that's like, even if you won't admit to it.

5. Being bad about asking for things that I want and then getting upset that other people can't read my mind. But that I'm getting way better at these days.

Five things you like doing:
1. Reading.
2. I love to bake although I am not so lucky as to be a professional baker like Tartelette.
3. Taking Pictures.
4. Doing Arts and Crafts. If I send a handwritten letter, I'll make the envelope for it out of pictures and magazine pages. I'm painting a wooden box right now and learning to paint watercolor. I also like to cross-stitch and am making an ABC set for a friend's baby. I love doing things with my hands, which must be why I like to bake so much.
5. Walking. I like to walk.

Five things you would never wear again:
1. My go-go boots, I don't think I can pull them off anymore.

2. My striped shorts and tank top outfit from when I was 12. I'm not a sailor.

3. Clothes that are way too big for me as I was wont to do as a teenager to cover my shapes.
4. No more Doc Marten boots, I'm way past the age 13-18 combat zone.
5. A bright red juicy couture shirt that I had and that I'm not sure was decent in some ways.

Five favorite toys:
1. The Internet. Must I explain this?

2. My still-shot Cameras. Like I said above, I love taking pictures.
3. My Computer: aside from the internet, for all the other nifty things I can do with it.

4. My iPod Shuffle, 'nough said.
5. My Video Camera: because it's cool to record things for posterity, or just for fun.

The Taste of Cherries – Le Goût des Cerises

I had a revelation not too long ago about cherries in things.
Let me explain: I do not like cherries in things. I love them by themselves, but I’ve never liked cakes and pastries with cherries in them. I tried Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream once and never ate it again. I don’t like traditional English cakes with dried cherries, I don’t like cherry clafoutis…I think you get the point.

Well, that didn't account for the incredible talent of our collective gastronomic boyfriend Pierre Hermé. A few weeks ago, back when the weather was still gray and rainy, I finally made it into his abode on Rue Bonaparte, after having passed the store countless times without ever setting foot in it. And friends, I made a great discovery. I bought various macarons and an Ispahan. This pastry, as I told one of my blog-godmothers Marion, intrigued me because I’m of Iranian origins. I wanted to try it out, especially since there are no lychees in Iran. (The mystery surrounding its name was resolved when I read a PH interview somewhere in which he stated that the name was inspired by the rose flavor in the cake – there is actually a rose named the Ispahan rose since it comes from there and which is absolutely spectacular both to sight and smell). But I digress…
So I got an Ispahan, and amongst the macarons, a macaron Mosaïc, that is “vanilla macaron biscuit, pistachio and cinnamon cream, morello cherries.” I was sceptical, but I adore pistachio, I love cinnamon and I love cherries, and…I am a gourmande after all.

It was de-li-cious. DE-LI-CIOUS. The melting vanilla macaron, the light pistachio and cinnamon cream (I actually think it’s the cinnamon that ties it all together), the little tart note of the morello cherries and their slight crackle with the surrounding softness of the other items. So delicious that I’m considering making it a little weekly habit…

Between the 12^th and the 24^th of June, it’s Mosaïc Mania at Pierre Hermé. Which means there are ten variations (cakes, tarts, ice cream, candy) on the theme in the store. There’s a Millefeuille, a crisp Cherry and Pistachio Tart (note: crisp is not really a proper translation of croustillant, it’s in the right spirit, but it doesn’t convey the range of experience that croustillant does), an Emotion, a Sensation, a Surprise, a Cheesecake, a Miss Gla’Gla, and another ice cream, and Fruit Drops, and of course, the macarons. So I swung by there yesterday with a friend, and had a terrible time picking something out, but in the end, the Millefeuille being slightly too big for me (though apparently the most popular of the variations, there was only one left at 3PM to the six or eight of the other variations), I chose an Emotion (“Morello cherries in cherry gelée, pistachio gelée, pistachio mascarpone cream”), and a crisp Cherry and Pistachio tart (“savory pastry crust, pistachio almond cream, morello and black cherries, cardamom crumble”).

So here is my report: the verrine (little glass) was, unfortunately, average; I didn’t find anything special about it and I wouldn’t get it again. The way one had to eat it given its design (layered), all the flavors pooled together at the first spoon-inflicted dent, and it was impossible to appreciate each layer for its taste and what it added to the subsequent layer and to the whole. On the other hand, the tart was succulent, especially because of the little exotic touch brought by the cardamom-flavored crumble, which replaced the cinnamon. I slowly savored it, trying to catalog each different flavor and texture so that I could try to reproduce this little bit of happiness at home.
Of note, after the 24^th of June, there will still be Mosaïc dessert variations available at PH, but only as a function of the availability of their ingredients. Makes sense. The Mosaïc Macaron is always available.

En Français…

J’ai eu une révélation tout récemment à propos des cerises dans les trucs.
Je m’explique : Je n’aime pas les cerises dans les trucs. Je les adore toutes seules, mais je n’ai jamais aimé les gâteaux où les pâtisseries qui ont des cerises dedans. J’ai goûté une fois à cette glace fétiche de Ben & Jerry’s nommée Cherry Garcia et je n’en ai plus jamais mangé. Je n’aime pas les cakes anglais avec des cerises séchées, je n’aime pas les clafoutis aux cerises, bref, je pense que je me suis fait comprendre.

Eh bien, c’était sans compter les grands talents de nôtre petit copain gastronomique à toutes, Pierre Hermé. Il y a quelques semaines, alors que le temps était encore pluvieux et grisâtre, je me suis finalement arrêté chez lui Rue Bonaparte, après être passée devant la boutique maintes fois sans y entrer. Et mes amis, j’ai fait une grande découverte. J’ai pris quelques macarons de variétés différentes et un Ispahan. Ce gâteau, comme je l’ai raconté à une de mes blog-marraine Marion, m’intriguait parce que je suis d’origine iranienne. J’ai donc voulu l’essayer d’autant plus qu’il n’y a pas de litchis en Iran. (L’énigme a été résolu quand j’ai lu une interview de PH quelque part où il disait avoir été inspiré de ce nom par le goût de rose présent dans ce gâteau – il y a justement une rose nommée l’Ispahan car originaire de la ville et d’ailleurs tout à fait spectaculaire à la vue et à l’odorat). Mais je digresse…
J’ai donc pris un Ispahan, et parmi les macarons, un macaron Mosaïc, cad « biscuit macaron vanille, crème pistache à la cannelle, griottines .» J’étais sceptique, mais j’adore la pistache, j’aime la cannelle, et j’aime les cerises, et puis…je suis une gourmande.

Et c’était…dé-li-cieux. DE-LI-CIEUX. Le macaron fondant à la vanille, la crème légère à la pistache et cannelle (en fait je pense que c’est la cannelle qui lie le tout ensemble), la petite touche acidulée des griottines et le mordant de celles-ci mêlé au coulant du reste. Tellement délicieux que je pense à en faire une petite habitude hebdomadaire…

Il se trouve qu’entre le 12 et le 24 Juin, c’est Mosaïc Mania chez PH. Ce qui veut dire dix déclinaisons (gâteaux, glace, tarte, confiserie) du thème dans la boutique. Il y a un Millefeuille, une Tarte croustillante aux Cerises et Pistaches, un Emotion, un Sensation, un Surprise, un Cheese-Cake, un Miss Gla’Gla, une Glace, et une Pâte de Fruits, et évidemment les macarons. Alors je suis allée faire un petit tour par là-bas hier avec une amie, et j’ai eu bien du mal à décider, mais en fin de compte, le millefeuille étant un peu trop grand pour moi (mais très populaire apparemment, il en restait un seul à 15h contre les six ou huit des autres variétés), j’ai choisi un Emotion (« cerises griottes à la gelée de griottes, gelée de pistaches, crème de mascarpone à la pistache »), et une Tarte croustillante aux Cerises et Pistaches (« pâte brisée, crème d’amande à la pistache, griottes et cerises noires, crumble à la cardamome »).

Donc voici mon petit rapport : la verrine était moyenne malheureusement, je n’y ai trouvé rien de particulier et je n’en reprendrais pas. Ca se mangeait assez inhabilement de par sa construction, c’est un peu difficile à expliquer, mais comme tous les goûts se sont mélangés au premier coup de cuillère, je n’ai pas pu apprécier ce que les saveurs différentes contribuaient les unes aux autres et au tout. En revanche, la tarte était succulente, surtout avec la petite note apportée par la cardamome dans le crumble, et qui a pris la place de la cannelle. Je l’ai mangé tout doucement en essayant de me souvenir les textures et goûts différents pour pouvoir essayer de reproduire cette petite touche de bonheur à la maison.
A savoir, après le 24 Juin, il y aura encore des variétés différentes de desserts Mosaïc chez PH, tout simplement il n’y aura plus toutes les variétés en même temps et les gâteaux seront présents en fonction de la disponibilité de leurs ingrédients. Logique. Le Macaron Mosaïc, lui, est toujours disponible.