Cream Tart

 

Often times people will ask me where I get baking inspiration from and my usual answer, "anywhere and everywhere," probably sounds a bit disappointing, but it's true!  I can't pinpoint anything in particular that inspires me.  Sometimes it's tasting an amazing pastry and wanting to replicate it at home or a friend texting me to to say they've seen a particular dessert and asking if I could make it.  

 

 

In the case of the Cream Tart, it was seeing an Instagram post that was the inspiration.  If you're on social media I'm sure you've seen these cakes before, normally shaped into numbers or letters.   Apparently cream tarts have been popular since 2018, but to be honest I never really paid much attention to them.  After seeing that Instagram post I did some research and discovered that cream cakes weren't so difficult to make. 

 

 

When deconstructed, the tart was comprised of shortbread and some type of filling, then decorated with fresh fruit, meringues, macarons, flowers* and anything else your heart desired.   Once all the components were compiled the actual cake assembly was quite simple.  But you would never think that when you look at the finished cake...so visually stunning and very Instagram worthy!  [*Make sure the flowers you use are safe to put on food! For the "S" cake I mistakenly put a few sprigs on baby's breath but DO NOT DO THIS!  Baby's breath are toxic when consumed. They were immediately removed after taking the photo.]

 

 

I could easily see these cakes being the star dessert for a birthday, baby shower, bridal shower or any kind of party.  Since so many of my friends have birthdays in September (including my own!) they just might be getting a cream tart to celebrate.  

 

Merveilleux

 

 On my last few trips to Paris I remember seeing a pâtisserie shop called Aux Merveilleux de Fred selling Merveilleux (French for Marvelous), which are cakes made out of meringues sandwiched with whipped cream and covered in chocolate shavings.  The desserts looked so pretty but for some reason I never bothered having a taste, which in hindsight I really regret.  On the bright side I now have something to look forward to when I return to Paris, right?  

Hopefully we'll be able to safely resume international travel in 2022, but until then I'll have to be content with making merveilleux chez moi.  I ended up using David Lebovitz's recipe from his book, My Paris Kitchen, because it had received good reviews when I was searching for merveilleux recipes online.  

 

The desserts aren't difficult to make and the steps can be spread out over multiple days, which is what I did, but the process to make the merveilleux can be messy.  In particular the part where you fill and coat the meringues with whipped cream.  If your cream isn't beaten to a stiffness similar to buttercream I can see easily foresee challenges getting it to stay intact.  Next time I'll add more whipped cream in the middle and on top to get the really tall cone shape like the cakes I saw in Paris.  Even if your merveilleux aren't shop display worthy don't worry because the final coating of chocolate shavings hides all kinds of imperfections. 

Wanting to make as many flavors of merveilleux as possible in one go, I split the filling recipe into thirds and made stracciatella, strawberry and coffee chocolate chip.    Based on it's appearance you might think the merveilleux would be really sweet, but in fact it's not.  The lightly sweetened whipped cream is a really nice contrast to the crispy meringue cookie.  Delicieux!  An added bonus is that the cakes are 100% gluten-free which makes them perfect for anyone with a wheat intolerance.  Until I can hop of a plane to the city of lights I'll be happy enjoying my homemade merveilleux.  

Triple Berry Brita Cake

Rarely does a dessert exceed my expectations but I have to admit that this Triple Berry Brita Cake had me smitten at first bite.  I initially spotted this cake on Jenn Yee's Instagram and was immediately obsessed with the combination of cake and pavlova.   The recipe for this beauty comes from Susan Spungen's Open Kitchen: Inspired Food for Casual Gatherings and can be found online here.

Apparently brita cake has Nordic origins but in all the years I've visited Norway I don't think I've ever tasted it.  I can't believe what I was missing!  Pavlovas are one of my favorite summertime desserts so how excited was I find discover a dessert that added cake to the mix?  

This cake is so good that I actually made it twice in two days.  The first cake I brought along to a 4th of July BBQ and the second cake was to photograph for the blog, but I only made half the recipe which fit a loaf pan perfectly.  

I strayed slightly from the original recipe when it came to the cream toppings  I didn't have any creme fraiche so I increased the amount of heavy cream to a total of 2 cups and added some vanilje-sukker (vanilla sugar) that I picked up on previous trips to Norway.

 

The combination of moist, yellow cake and crispy meringue topped with fresh vanilla whipped cream and strawberries, blueberries and raspberries is absolutely amazing.  It's pure symphony I tell you!  It couldn't be easier to make so I highly encourage you to make this fruity dessert to really showcase summer's best berries.

Cara Cara Angel Food Cake

I'm trying to process everything that's going on in the world right now and the one emotion that is omni present is anxiety.  Anxiety about the uncertainty, anxiety about the well being of loved ones, anxiety about society in general.  The list goes on and on.  In times like this I inevitably turn to baking for solace.  It may seem small and insignificant but it provides the comfort I need to get me through the craziness.  So let's get baking!

San Francisco residents are currently under a shelter in place order so I've been trying to use the food I have on hand to minimize the need to leave my house.  For baking inspiration I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks, Bravetart: Iconic American Desserts.  I knew I had a lot of egg whites and Cara Cara oranges so it was an easy decision to make an orange-flavored Angel Food Cake.  You don't have to use Cara Cara oranges, but I can't recommend them enough.  A member of the navel orange family, Cara Caras have a reddish hued flesh that I think is also sweeter than your average citrus variety.

Angel food cake doesn't have a traditional leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder.  Its height comes solely from whipped egg whites and sugar, aka meringue.  Don't skimp on the lengthy whipping in the recipe, otherwise you won't get a nice, tall cake.  Oh, and another thing, a nonstick tube pan will not work.  The batter needs a "sticky" surface to cling to as it rises in the oven and a nonstick pan doesn't provide that grip.

To you this may only be cake, but it's giving me some much needed light during these dark times.  Wishing everyone health and safety and don't forget to practice kindness with each other!

Raspberry Meringue

If you've ever been to Yotam Ottolenghi's eponymous restaurants in London then these Raspberry  Meringues will be no stranger to you.  You can't help but notice how the pink, billowy clouds of goodness stand out among all the other baked goods on display.  I distinctly remember being mesmerized by them the first time I visited the Westbourne Grove location many years ago.  Back then I never even bothered trying the meringues; call it a temporary lapse in judgement.  Now, years later, I'd finally gotten around to making a copycat version for myself and I was so pleased with the results.    

It all came about because I was in search of a dessert that was elegant, light and refreshing for a dinner I recently hosted. I had a ton of egg whites sitting in my fridge just waiting to be used and pavlovas immediately popped in to my head.  The meringue dessert topped with fresh whipped cream and berries sounded like just the ticket.

I turned to my friends at Cook's Illustrated and found their recipe for pavlovas.  As I was whipping up the Swiss meringue an image of Ottolenghi's fruity meringues popped in to my head.  Fortuitously I also had a bag of Trader Joe's freeze dried raspberries in my cupboard.   Bingo!  Combine the two and you get a very legitimate replica to the original.

Zimtsterne (German Cinnamon Stars)

I've got several friends who are gluten and dairy intolerant so it can be challenging to find Christmas cookies that meet those criteria.  Fortunately for me these Zimtsterne (German Cinnamon Stars) fit the bill perfectly! 

After a google search I found this great recipe from Daring Gourmet.  The cookies are made with only a few ingredients but they pack a punch: almond flour, confectioners' sugar, egg whites, cinnamon, vanilla sugar and salt.  These German treats remind me a little of macarons, but are so much easier to make.   Plus, I love that you can easily tint the meringue topping any color you'd like.  

Chocolate Espresso Dacquoise and a Cook's Illustrated Giveaway

I collect baking cookbooks like they're going out of style; I absolutely love them and get so many ideas and inspirations for this blog.  The most used and beloved book in my library, Baking Illustrated, is also the ugliest; a torn cover and well worn pages smudged and stained from flour, butter and chocolate are evidence of that.

You can't imagine how excited I was when I found out that America's Test Kitchen was publishing a follow-up, appropriately called The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book.  Would it be as good - dare I say better - than it's predecessor?   When America's Test Kitchen reached out to me to ask if I would like to review the book for the blog the answer was obvious and definite...YES!!!  Regular readers know I pretty much love all things from America's Test Kitchen, let's face it I'm a bit of a groupie!, so the probability of me not liking the new book were slim to none.

After staying up late one night to read through the entire book I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed in the least.  The Baking Book continues the successful formula synonymous with all ATK cookbooks; they do the testing (and hard work) and you get the fantastic results. With 450 delicious recipes, along with explanations and descriptions of why they work, home bakers of ALL levels, novice to expert, will find recipes to match their experience and comfort level.  Baking can be daunting but I can assure you that this cookbook makes it less so.

 

As a monthly online subscriber to Cook's Illustrated magazine I have previously made several of the recipes featured in the new baking book and I can tell you from personal experience they definitely work.  Among my favorites are these ones that I make repeatedly: Croissants (AMAZING!), Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes, Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake, Chewy Brownies and Blueberry Pie.   I was delighted to discover so many new recipes, especially the breads and pizzas!

To celebrate the publication of The Baking Book I decided to make a real showstopper of a dessert that I haven't previously made, Chocolate Espresso Dacquoise.  At first glance it looks like an intimidating recipe but in reality was actually quite straight forward.  I followed the instructions to the letter and the results looked just like in the book.   The crunchy, nutty meringue layered with bittersweet chocolate ganache and coffee buttercream was irresistible and surprisingly not too sweet.  On top of that the recipe is 100% gluten-free.  Think I'll be making it again for the holidays!   Like I've said before, "ATK = SUCCESS!"

Now you can be witness for yourself...the nice folks at ATK have kindly offered to send a copy of The Baking Book to one of you!  

Here's how to enter:

Leave a comment to this blog post answering the following question:

What's your favorite thing to bake?  If you don't bake, what would you like to learn to bake?

IMPORTANT: You MUST include your email address with your comment; sorry, but that's the only way I can contact the winner.  Contest ends on Friday, November 8th at 11:59 PM PST.  One entry per person.  Open to US residents only.  Good luck!

Contest is closed!  The winner of the cookbook is Jan who loves to make cupcakes.  Thanks to all who entered!