Risking taking Risks

Why would someone intentionally sell a cake without any prior experience in making that certain cake? Well, because that someone, who just happens to be me, is stark raving mad.

In a frenzy of delicate macaron making for the sudden rush of orders I recieved, I also recieved an order for a birthday cake...and it proved to be a tough one! I had many restrictions. The cake had to NOT include any nuts, coffee, chocolate, or cheese. Bummer!...hence, I had to surrender to the goddess of Flora and Fauna. It took me about 5 minutes of deep thought to come up with something which would taste fabulous, yet not contain any of the taboo ingredients.

Roses, Lychees, Strawberries....All delicate flavours, which would compliment each other perfectly, I thought. Well, the stars were aligned perfectly this morning, as the cake turned out to be orgasmic!

I started off early in the morning, preparing my rose sponge cake...followed by 5 minutes of sheer delight, listening to my liquidizer blend up some fresh and fated for death lychees as well as some insanely sweet strawberries I managed to stick my claws into on a trip to the supermarket.. Oh, the harmony!

Anyway, the rest, as they say, is history. If my crystal ball is telling the truth, this cake will definitely be a hit with this client, and many more to come. Hopefully not this week, though! I've been rushing through a mad frenzy of orders this past week...one of which includes an order for over 300 dark and white chocolate truffles. Thank heavens Stef came over and helped me roll those little moreish morsels of euphoria. She is a life saver!

I'll be posting the Strawberry Vodka Jam recipe which Stef and I made last week. All credit goes to her, the Empress Dowager of jammy goodness.

Strawberry Vodka Jam

Ingredients

- 250g Strawberries
-Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
-1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
-130g Caster Sugar
-2 tbsp Vodka
-1/2 tsp Butter
-Dash of salt

Sterilise a jam jar,wash with boiling water, wipe,then place in a pre-heated 100 degrees celsius oven to dry completely.

Place a small glass dish in the freezer. Wash the berries hull them, and choose 2 or 3 of the softest,reddest ones. Mash with the lemon juice and zest to release natural pectin which helps to set the jam.

Cut the rest of strawberries up into even chunks. (Not too small as you want chunks of fruit. )

In a heavy based pan over medium heat, place mashed berries with sugar and cider. Stir, then place chopped berries in with pinch of salt. Pour in vodka (you may choose to ignite to let alcohol burn off right away---if you don't ignite...it will evaporate eventually anyway.)

Keep stirring, and occasionally dab down pan sides with a wet brush. Allow 5 to 7 minutes of rapid boiling and stirring. To test if jam has set , place a little on your dish from the freezer.

If jam forms a skinvand wrinkles when pushed, it is ready. If it slides down like a sauce, continue to boil for a further 1 to 2 minutes. Turn heat off and stir in butter to remove any foam that has formed on jam.

Ladle carefully into your hot, sterilised jar, and place a square of baking paper over the cap. Seal immediately and store in the fridge.

Jamming Session #1

I'm officially back! Sorry for being so awfully quiet!

My friend Stef came over yesterday, and since she's the Empress Dowager of Jam, we concluded that a Jamming Session was obligatory. In return, I would teach her how to make the ubiquitous MACARON. It was then, that "Jamming Session #1" was born.

Stef and I first made macarons, but I'll get to that later on. After piping them, we headed out to get my yeti eyebrows waxed and trimmed. Ouch. I managed to convince Stef to get her's done too. Bad move...now she wants to have me assassinated due to all that pain I put her through.

After about 20 minutes of torture, we headed out to the grocery store to get some strawberries and blueberries for our jam...

When we got back, we quickly baked our macarons and got started on our jam. I love how stef doesn't use any pectin in her jam..I always thought that pectin was essential in making jam, but I was and have been misguided up till now.



Stef also indulged me in the fact that the apples for our blueberry apple jam had to be par-boiled, as cooking it in its raw state would wreak havoc due to its extremely high water content, giving me apple soup. After making jam, we made some lemon curd as well..which I didn't photograph..yeah, so shoot me :)



Onto the macarons now...

Empress Dowager brought along her "Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream" oil...which turned out to have a really addictive smell..I went around sniffing the contents of the little bottle like a crack whore.

We added the oil into the chocolate shells, giving it a unique flavor, unlike the previous chocolate shells I have made. We also made a mint ganache...which I accidentally poured coconut extract into. OH NO! THE HORROR! Well, it didn't matter since we poured in even more mint extract, which seemed to consume the coconut flavor of the ganache. (Stef could still taste it, but I couldn't)

Due to my lovely new oven from the depths of hell, I ended up with lemon macarons which had "baby feet" once again.



Suddenly, inspiration hit us! Why not make large macarons? Smaller than Ispahan macarons, yet larger than regular macarons! We filled them with some berry buttercream which I just happened to have on hand, along with a dollop of luscious lemon curd in the center. After sandwiching them, we studded the edges with our blueberries. And voila, a new creation was born!

We decided to name it Kristobelle, and she will now be a sister of my popular Isadore and Bethanie macarons! Oh joy! Who knows what we will come up with next week, in Jamming Session #2!

Breaking the Curfew

Okay, so technically, I'm supposed to be on hiatus.

But oh, what the hell! Here's the lowdown of what's been going on recently. My once not so amazing kitchen is now really really out of this world. Well, at least to me, it is.

We re-furbished the kitchen, got rid of everything that was malevolent, installed new built-in cabinets, another new oven, new hobs, a new sink, and practically new everything!

Finally, I have a constructive work triangle, which doesnt make me just want to scream in rage everytime I cook or bake something. As you guys know, I am supposed to be on hiatus, studying for my examinations and all that jazz. However, since the exams will be over by next week, I decided to test out my new oven! I could be compared to a child, yearning for a kaleidoscopic lolly, hung right in front of her face, but just far enough for her to not be able to grab it and lick away. My father told me last night, "Do NOT make anything till the exams are over!!".....But hey, he's at work, and he'd never know, right?

I just had to use my new oven. I just HAD to. I had to "consummate" it. Anyway, as evident in the photo above, you've probably realized that the macarons are a little flat, and have baby feet, as my friend Stefanie likes to consolably say. Was it the oven? Or was it just a case of an overmixed macaron batter? Rather puzzling. The bottoms of the macaron shells were also much softer, compared to the ones made in another oven. Perhaps they need a little extra time in this new oven?

The only time I actually ended up with baby feet and soft bottoms was when I accidentally overmixed a Lemon Macaron batter a couple of months ago. However, I'm pretty sure I achieved perfect macaronage today. So was it the fault of the oven? Perhaps I'll just have to try again. There's always an excuse to make more macarons, mind you.

Onto the flavor now...The macaron shells were flavored with just a tad of strawberry extract. As for the filling, it is a concoction of carefully proportioned ratios of buttercream and Strawberry Vodka Jam, which was a gift from Stefanie. She makes great jam! Still, the buttercream was lacking a booze factor. So I added a generous splash of Absolut Raspberri. Heavenly.

As for now, it's just a matter of me trying to perfect my macarons yet again, in this new oven. Wasn't perfecting them once in a different oven enough? I guess not. I'll probably have 2 methods of macaron making now...One for the ancient oven, and another for the brand spanking new one. My only worry now is that my father sees the macarons in the chiller. Oh well, what's done is done!

Hey everyone! I'm going to be on hiatus for a while!

Hey everyone! I'm going to be on hiatus for a while!

Basically, I have the GCSE examinations coming up, and hence, will not have enough time to regularly update the blog with recipes etc till Mid November, when all the hoo-haa ends.

I've also taken down a couple of things from the boulangerie temporarily...Macarons, Large Cakes and Fudge...Reason being they take too long for me to make, compared to the other stuff, like cupcakes and bars.

After a quiet period with only a few orders, I suddenly find myself in a huge frenzy of orders, which are making me dizzy! A friend's friend has ordered a fondant covered anniversary cake for her parents, another customer has also ordered 24 snowskin mooncakes. On top of that, a bank, which I will not name, has ordered a cake for their 20th birthday! How cool is that?

Also, on the 27th, 28th, and 29th, I will be catering for a high end bag boutique in a hotel, for one of their fashion shows or whatnot.

Phew!!! And guess what? All this has to be done by the end of September!!! Im going to go nuts, I think!

Anyway, like I said, I will not be updating till mid november...After my exams,you'll be SURE to see practically DAILY updates, with this being my last year in school and all. (No more school next yr!! Yeah!)

I'll leave you with a collage of some of the stuff I've been up to recently. Toodles for now! XoXo

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by The Culinary Princess! . It's time for me to bare it all!

Before I begin, here are the rules:

- Players must list one fact, word or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name.

- When players are tagged they need to write their own blog-post containing their own first or middle name game facts, word or tidbit.

- At the end of their blog-post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.

- Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So here it goes!..

A - Arrogance! I have to shamefully admit that I come off as very very very arrogant 70% of the time! Its not that I intend for people to think of me in such a way, but I guess it has to do with the way I was brought up, the people whom I was exposed to etc.....As a child, I never got much attention (not like I get much attention now, anyway) and that was probably the main foundation of the "arrogance" wall I built around myself. Oh well!

M - Mischievous, oh mischievous. Physically, I may be 16, but I act like a 5 year old most of the time. I was surprised the other day, when a comedy didnt amuse me. Instead, the Pink Panther which was showing on television made me laugh till I felt like throwing up. Strange, I know. Ever since the age of 9, I never did want to grow up. I hated having to take on resposibilities and giving up my comfort blanket for maturity. I guess it's still evident in my current state of still not wanting to grow up...sigh.

R - Red! Yes! I really really really dislike all things red, because the color reminds me of blood! I fear blood like the plague! I remember, a couple of years back, when the headmistress talked about teenagers slashing their wrists, I just fainted right there and then. Plop. Even during the disection of a sheep's heart during my biology lesson, I REFUSED to take part in anything at all. The teacher eventually gave up and let me sit in a corner!

I - Irresponsible. I am sooooo irresponsible! At this current moment, I haven't been able to find my housekeys. They've been lost for about a week now. Its probaby the 5th time I've lost my keys. I also throw stuff around the house and inevitably, they will go missing. This is most evident in my constant purchases of baking supplies and tools.

T - The Simpsons. I LOVEEEEEEE watching the Simpsons. The television show, that is. NOT THE MOVIE, which was an utter disppointment and a waste of 2 hours of my life. "Eat my Shorts!"...Another disturbing thing is that I find Bart Simpson hot. Haha!

A - Anti-social. I'd rather watch a movie on my own, alone, than with someone else. I love shopping on my OWN, and just doing about everything on my own. I shy away from social gatherings. Now you know what a psychotic freak I am :)



My targets to be tagged are......

Patricia from Technicolor Kitchen
Jef from MyFoodGeek
Kristen from Dine and Dish
Jen from The Barmy Baker
Peony from My Culinary Journal
Jen from Milk & Cookies

TGRWT#5 Round-up

Well, its time for my much awaited round-up!

Chocolate and Meat turned out to be a rather classic yet difficult pairing. I mean, who would think throwing a nugget of milk chocolate into your mouth along with a piece of steak would taste great..? Get what I mean?

Anyway, I am ecstatic that I recieved over 11 entries for the first flogging event I've ever hosted! At first, I did not seem to recieve any entries at all! That seriously worried me and got the nerves kickin'. However, as Martin predicted, most of the entries started pouring in a few days before the deadline. PHEW!

Anyway, here are all the fantastic entries which I recieved from so many different people in different parts of the world. Enjoy!

PS: Click on the participant's highlighted name to view their blog entries. He he :)

Andrew over at Blinded By Science decided to do something unlike what many did. He
created a dish where chocolate was the main component and meat was the flavoring agent. I love how Andrew rationalizes about how things are going to taste based on science!
His verdict: The recipe tasted great. I found out that raisins and rum shared the same number of flavor chemicals for chocolate and beef, leading me to believe that their inclusion in the dish would be tasty....the whole thing paired really well.



Caroline over at A Consuming Passion created something that looked absolutely mouth-watering! She made a pasta sauce that was otherwise much like any other bolognese sauce, a hearty one with the addition of pinenuts and raisins as well.
Her verdict: Tasting the pasta for myself, I had to agree with him. The first sensation of flavour that I got when I took my first bite was the lingering aroma of the red wine, and although the sauce was sweeter and slightly thicker than most bolognese sauces, I wouldn't have guessed there was chocolate in there either. Despite not being able to pick out the chocolate flavour, we both agreed that the chocolate added to the richness of the sauce




Papin from Flavor Alchemy made something that looks just as interesting as it's unique name, Koko KeeBee. At first, he thought the challenge simple, but he was wrong. While making a traditional Mole with cooked beef and unsweetened chocolate, he tried adding a variety of flavors to create something interesting. That turned out a disaster!He then decided to use the chocolate as a condiment instead.
His verdict: Beef and chocolate do go well together, in the right proportions.




Dennis from Kookjegek made a not so classic Beef Wellington, of course, due to the addition of chocolate. His was a Beef Wellington served with a chocolate sauce, inspired by Gordon Ramsay. You should also check out his blog, it's very cool.
His verdict: The result was pretty nice. Unfortunately my beef was too well-done. But the chocolate definitely added some nice contrast to the sauce. Although 10 grams was probably still too much. Next time I will use some real red wine instead of red wine vinegar, I think this can also benefith the sauce.




Martin himself, from Khymos, combined Pork and Chocolate, along with a beef stock cream. Talk about creativity! His photo of his masterpiece also makes me turn green with envy. Superb photography skills, Martin!
His verdict: The chocolate beef stock cream has very meaty and almost nutty flavour. Honey is important to round of the otherwise slightly bitter taste of the chocolate. Chili oil gives it a bite, but can be omitted.




Cara and goat's cheese.from Cara's Cravings decided to make eggplant caponata . I myself am not too sure what a caponata is, but after looking at Cara's version of it, I most definitely will be trying this out sometime soon. She used a lovely combo of ground turkey
Her verdict: The wonderful thing is, I am not the only one who loved this - my fiance declared it absolutely fantastic!







M was fantastic and made 2 dishes for the event the first one, (not pictured), was a Liver Soup with Almonds, Cinnamon and Chocolate. The second one, pictured above, is Chorizo Con Chocolate. He first came accross the idea online, and then started googling for information on chorizo & chocolate That brought him to Tia Pol, a tapas bar in New York 's website, where they serve among other tapas 'chorizo con chocolate'. The rest, as they say, is history.
His verdict: The chocolate I used was too sweet [30%] for the combination with chorizo & I didn't like it. Less sweet chocolate should be used or the sweetness of the chocolate should be suppressed.



Sarina at Trini Gourmet made a fiery Texas Chili. Instead of using beef chuck, she very intelligently used ground beef to cut the cooking time by a substantial amount. I love how she shows the different steps she took in preparing the dish.Her verdict: I loved the warmth that the ground coriander added to the sauce and also was quietly amazed at what an effective thickener cornmeal was (why hadn’t I thought of that before?!).



Newcomer Megan from Megan's Cookin made a Rib Eye Steak with Chocolate Port Sauce. Keep up the great job, Megan! Her steak looks good enough to be put on the menu of any top notch restaurant in NewYork.
Her verdict: The sauce was kind of sweet, with a slight chocolate flavor in the background. You could definitely tell there was wine in it. It felt like velvet on the tongue.



Laurel, all the way in Sweden, decided on a Beef Carpaccio with Chocolate Balsamico Reduction. Her final product was so fantastic that she didn't even have enough left to photograph! You go girl!
Her verdict: The nutty/peppery argula really adds something to this dish and seems to marry the chocolate balsamico with the savory truffle and cheese. The beef just melts on your tongue. Delicious! Chocolate and meat DO go really well together if I am to judge by this dish.

Swaha over at Miller Kitchen made an appropriately named Chilli Con Cocoa. Her recipe is very flexible, and any meat can be used as the main component. She only had turkey in his pantry, and that is what he used!
Her verdict: Cocoa adds a very appetizing earthiness and depth to the flavor of the chilli; it also gives it a rich terra cotta hue which makes a great presentation.



Anders from Aleph wowed me with his artistic shot of his Chili Chocolate Elk and Beef Jerky. He was inspired by chocolate coated candied orange peel. He even used Lindt Chilli chocolate! I never knew Lindt made such a flavor! Amazing!
His verdict: While interesting, I don't think this simple combination works on its own. It is too tricky to be just a snack, it has to be processed mentally to be enjoyable. The meat taste and the chocolate do go well together. It is a strong, slightly hot and quite savoury tone. The problem is the texture: the yielding chocolate doesn't work together with the fibrous and strong meat. They need to be combined more firmly, likely as part of the jerky preparation process.


Inge over at Vanielje Kitchen made a Wild Rabbit, Prune & Chocolate Tagine. I myself have never tried rabbit before, so I'm not too sure how it would go with chocolate. According to Inge, it really was lovely! She also rushed to meet the deadline, and luckily, she did! Good job!
Her verdict: Delicious, but I forgot how rabbity rabbit is when not grilled. Dakota - 'I'm not so keen on this'. Fair enough, she's not so keen on Jemima Puddleduck either...


Evelin from Bounteous Bites was one of the few who paired pork with chocolate. She was also irked at the idea of pairing her dish with pasta, due to it's sweetness, and paired it with rice instead. Did you know that she's only 17 too? She's even teaching her mom how to cook!
Her verdict: My parents liked meat in chocolate sauce!


Last but not least, Klaus, all the way in Germany, made a delicious looking dish. However, I don't quite understand german, so you'll have to read his entry yourself!

Thanks to all who participated for making my first hosting event a very memorable one indeed.

When your hands feel clammy, have some Clam Chowder

Take a little trip to Wikipedia, search "Clam Chowder", and this is what you will eventually end up with:

Clam chowder is any of several chowders containing clams and broth. Along with the clams, potato chunks are common, as are onions, which are occasionally sauteed in the drippings from salt pork. Vegetables are uncommon, but small carrot strips might occasionally be added, primarily for color. A garnish of parsley serves the same purpose. Bay leaves are also sometimes used as a garnish and flavoring.

Ah, and the one I decided to make, was the good ol' New England Clam Chowder. Usually, its loaded with cream and bacon drippings, but hey, not everyone wants to go up 2 sizes overnight, or at least I don't think so!

My mom's new habit is to frequent a joint called "The Soup Spoon". Im guessing that by the name, you know what they specialize in. She bought the clam chowder home for my sister and herself the other day, and they were RAVING about how good it was. The jealous cooking monster in me naturally came out. I know, I am weird.

"I am going to make BETTER clam chowder. BETTER I TELL YOU!!!!" I screamed in my head.

Since fresh clams of high quality are rather difficult to find over here, I settled for canned baby clams. And since most New England Clam Chowders start of with a roux, I ended up using milk instead of cream, since the roux would thicken it up and make it seem like cream in the end, anyway.

I also didn't intend on putting carrots in my chowder, but for some reason, I reached for some carrots in the refrigerator and started dicing them for no apparent reason. "Oh well, I guess they've gotta go in, then"

PS: My mother still has NOT replaced my camera's charger, so I had to use my sister's camera again. I have to admit, I have NO idea on how to use her camera properly, and hence, my photo didn't turn out as good as it could have :(

New England Clam Chowder
Serves 6

-2 10 oz cans of Baby Clams
- 1 cup white onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced potatoes
- 1 cup diced celery

For the roux,

- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 litre of whole milk
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

-Salt/Pepper to taste

In a large pot, combine ingredients and all the liquid from the tinned clams. Reserve clams for later on.

If there isn't enough 'clam juice' to cover the vegetables, top it off with either bottled clam juice or just good ol' water. You don't want to SUBMERGE the vegetables, though.

Bring to a boil and lower the heat, leaving it at a simmer. Cook till the vegetables are barely tender. Turn off heat.

In another large pan, melt butter. Add flour all at one go, and whisk for 1-2 minutes to cook the flour. At first, gradually add the milk and whisk whisk whisk, in order to prevent any lumps from forming. After about 1/2 of the milk is incorporated, you can speed up the pouring process.
Continue whisking the milk mixture till it has thickened substantially. To this, add in the undrained vegetables, clams and red wine vinegar. Let the clams heat through, being careful to not overcook them, or they'll go all rubbery and nasty.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle the tops of individual portions with dried parsley flakes.