Limoncello cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

A lot has been going on , with stuff at home, birthdays , with laziness in between and enjoying a long summer this year, I have been super lazy with blogging but not with baking. There has been plenty made and eaten.  And more than plenty that needs to be written.

So, I had got this bottle of lovely limoncello from Italy from my holiday earlier this year (it seems like looong long time ago) and I really wanted to try and use it in baking. So I made these limoncello cupcakes and a cake with the same recipe. I love using buttermilk in cakes, it just makes the cakes so moist and gives them a much deeper flavour. For the filling in the cupcakes and the cake, I used some home made lemon curd to give them an extra lemony kick and layered it up in lemony lemon cream cheese frosting. It is lemon all the way and I love it!

280 g cake flour ( to make your own cake flour- for every cup of plain flour- a cup of plain flour, remove 2 tbsp of the plain flour and add 2 tbsp of cornstarch and sift this mixture 2-3 times so that the cornstarch is distributed evenly)
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
113 g butter at room temperature
270 g granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk (If you do not have buttermilk, use whole milk and add about a tbsp of lemon juice, stir and let it sit for 5 minutes and then use instead of buttermilk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp limoncello (optional- can substitute with more lemon juice)
zest of 2 lemons

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar till it gets light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat till combined-this takes about 2 minutes.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet mix and stir with the spatula. Now add buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix till just combined, do not over mix.
5. Pour into cupcake liners and bake at 180 ˚C for 17-20 mins or till the skewer comes out clean. If making it as a cake, bake for a longer time.

For the cream cheese limoncello frosting:

113 g unsalted butter at room temperature
113 g cream cheese at room temperature
1 tbsp limoncello or lemon juice
2 cups of powdered sugar

In a bowl, beat cream cheese with butter till light and fluffy. Add limoncello and mix. Gradually beat in powdered sugar till it is fully incorporated.

For cupcakes, scoop out a spoonful from the center of the cupcake and add a spoon a lemon curd and top with the limoncello frosting.

I even made some macarons using this recipe and with cream cheese frosting filling to go along with the cake!

Dulce de Leche Macarons

And if you think I am done with Dulce de Leche, well you are wrong. I want to use it for everything at the moment. I made some rolled up French toasts recently and filled them with Dulce de Leche- it was divine!  One of the things I enjoy making most is macarons. They are also one of the hardest things I found to perfect, it took me months before I found ‘my’ recipe- that is a recipe that works for me and I am sticking to it! Macarons not only taste great but also look pretty and exciting as they can be made to be of any colour and any flavour, funky or sophisticated.

I will start with a few tips that I think might help in perfecting these little macarons,

1. I found after a lot of trials that my oven is not the best kind for macaron making. Since it is a fan oven, it seems to rip apart my macarons on the back row of the tray. To lessen the impact( though I cannot fully prevent it), I bake my macarons on the lowest rack of the oven. I put an empty tray directly on the shelf above the bottom rack as well.
2. I ALWAYS use parchment paper. I have tried using baking mat, baking sheet , greaseproof paper etc,  they did not work. Either the macarons did not form feet or stuck to the baking sheet. So parchment paper it is!
3. I put the egg whites in the fridge overnight though you might find varying opinions on this on the numerous macaron recipes and blogs. I have used fresh egg white which works as well but I find the overnight stored ones work just a tad bit better. Also I use a stainless steel bowl to beat the egg whites.

For the macaron shells

35 g almond flour
58 g icing/powdered sugar
36 g egg white (about 1 egg white)
18 g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
gel food colour

1. Pre-heat oven at 150 ˚C.
2. In a food processor, whizz the icing sugar and almond flour for about 2 minutes. Then sift it and let the last bit of granules remain, do not push them through the sieve and discard them.
3. In a stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg whites on a medium speed till it forms soft peaks. Then start adding the caster sugar and beat till stiff. Add salt and colour in the last couple of minutes. Do not over beat the egg white.
4. Now add the almond and sugar mixture in 3 parts and fold it in the egg white. This step is quite tricky and for me it took a few attempts to get the right consistency. What you are looking for is a stage when all the flour and sugar mixture is mixed and the consistency is such that the batter falls as smooth ribbons. For me it takes about 35-40 strokes.
5. Pipe small rounds on parchment lined baking sheet keeping adequate space between each macarons. I sprinkled some instant coffee granules on top of the shells.
6. Once piped, hold the tray and ram it on the counter 3 times. This will dislodge the air bubbles in the macarons.
7. Now let the macarons sit for about 15 minutes.
8. If your oven does not regulate temperature very well like mine, bake them at the bottom of the oven and put an empty baking sheet on the shelf directly above it. Bake for 10 minutes turning the tray around mid way.
9. Cool the macarons completely on wire rack.
10. Fill the macarons with Dulce de Leche. Store in an airtight box in the fridge over night so that the macarons mature. (Of course pop a few in your mouth before you do that.)

Enjoy!

 

Paris!

Before my trip to Paris, I did quite an extensive research on what I wanted to do there. The research was more to do with where I wanted to eat in Paris than what I wanted to see. Quite a few blogs and websites helped of course, one that stands out is David Lebovitz’s recommendations.  I did manage to visit quite a few foodie places on my list, missed a few mostly because they were either closed on the Sunday and Monday when I was there. Of the tourist must-dos, I missed out completely on all museums, not purposefully but mostly because of a delayed flight and short on time. But they are on my list for the next visit! As you will see my trip was mostly food-centric this time round!

Day 1:

Even though we left Edinburgh in the morning, a delayed flight and long train ride later, we reached Paris late in the afternoon. Right after we dumped our luggage in the hotel, our first stop was to see the Parisian icon- Tour Eiffel. I wanted the first day to relax, taking in the lights and the flavours of Paris, and the best way to do that is on foot. Walking along the Quai Branly road, approaching the Eiffel tour, the view is majestic as it rises in front of your eyes out of nowhere. We walked across the Siene river on the Pont d’léna, with the Eiffel tower behind us, we crossed the bridge towards Trocadéro. As the evening waned, the Eiffel lighted up bright behind us. Of course a few camera poses later, we walked towards the Arc de Triomphe taking the Avenue Kléber. The Arc looked glorious in the night lighted up against a deep blue sky.

Then we walked along the Champs-Élysées, home to the designer stores, a broad shimmering street. Even in the freezing cold of Paris, this street was packed with shoppers. At the end of this street we walked towards the river Siene, it was a perfect walk along the river, beautiful and romantic, essentially Paris! By this point, we were very hungry. We headed towards Luxembourg, having no energy left to look for any of the restaurants that I had listed to eat in Paris, we just went into the first one that looked inviting and reasonably priced- Le Luxembourg brasserie near Jardin du Luxembourg. I had the most amazing chicken dish (wish I had remembered the name of the dish) and an utterly divine chocolate cake. A good start to Parisian food!

Crème brûlée

Day 2:

We started the day with a very good French breakfast at Le Danton (103 Boulevard Saint-Germain,) near Odeon metro.  Charming little place, it was a very authentic and old fashioned French braserrie. We ordered croissants, coffee and hot chocolate. The coffee was very good and the hot chocolate-remarkable. Right across from there was the Georges Larnicol’s shop, a must visit stop in Paris, full of such delicious looking goodies!! I bought myself some Kouign Amaan, a pastry like cake, a couple of kouignettes (smaller kouign amaan in different flavours, I got pistachio and chocolate ones) and a pot of salted butter caramel. I brought all these back from my trip (imagine the temptation to eat it all there and then!). The Kouign amaan when warmed up in oven was a buttery delight, an absolutely delicious sinful thing to eat, made my pain of leaving Paris a wee bit less. And the pot of caramel only lasted a few days as I basically just ate spoons full of caramel everyday as a treat after dinner !!

Georges Larnicol

Kouign Amaan

salted caramel pot

So after leaving Georges Larnicol’s, we headed to Place Saint-Michel for a walking tour around the city. Even with what felt like sub zero temperatures and wind and sleet, Paris looked beautiful. We walked along the right bank of the river, passing the Lovers bridge or Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge which is covered with pad locks, towards the Louvre.

Padlock bridge

After a short introduction to the Louvre, we stopped at a café by Rue de Rivoli to re-fuel ourselves on sweet stuff which is when I had the creamiest tarte au citron! I was in a state of deliciousness induced coma (read- too greedy) at the time to click pictures of my tart. I also bought some Eric Kayser ‘s caramels which were on sale in this café. I had to try really hard to make them last more than 3 days after coming back from our trip.

Caramels

After some more interesting history of the Louvre and its gardens we headed to Saint Chepelle. What a sight it was- as soon as you enter the top floor of the stained glassed chapel, you are in awe of the room.

Saint Chepelle

It was raining on that day, but I can only imagine what a spectacular sight it would be on a sunny day with sunlight filtering through the coloured glasses creating a magical spectre of colours. After a long rainy wait in the queue to get into the Notre Dame Cathedral and a quick run through the beautiful building (again beautiful stained glass windows all around), we headed to find the famous Berthillon’s ice cream. Clutching the umbrella against the now stormy sleet, we managed to find the place. And a relief it was to get out of the rain. Finally when we settled near a window seat, we ordered an ice cream sundae with raspberry, blackberry and cherry ice cream with fresh cream and cherries. Can you believe an ice cream in such a cold weather was such a great comfort?!

Day 3:

It was the last day in Paris and finally the weather opened up a little and it didn’t rain for most of the day. We did the essential Eiffel Tower climb. From there, as the sun began to peek out of the clouds , we headed to the Monmartre district to see the Moulin Rouge and Basilica of the Sacré Cœur.  Monmartre is a beautiful district, and I loved the narrow hilly streets all around. On the way to the Basilica we passed by this really inviting looking patiserrie, as usual I was eyeing the window display, excitedly. I went into the store- Le Grenier à Pain (38, rue des Abbesses – 75018), I chose an apricot and chocolate cake and pistachio madeleines- bliss!

Apricot and chocolate chip cake

After a leisurely walk around the Basilica, we came upon the painters square. What a picturesque sight! Very touristy but still pretty.

Painters square

From there we took the subway to visit Jacques Genin’s store in rue de Turenne. Unfortunately it turned out to be closed. I should have checked but I always assume everything is open on a Monday! I was totally gutted.

We spent the evening relaxing with a few cocktails near the Louvre, putting a pad lock on the lock bridge with our names and year on it (haha ,I know we are totally cliché and such predictable tourists!!), couple of more sweet things stuffed in my mouth and a quick shop to get a few souvenirs. And we ended our wonderful trip with a walk around the Eiffel tower at night. It truly looks magical at night, more so when it sparkles, truly magnificent and perfect way to end our trip. I have to say, Paris is pretty by day and enchanting by night. Anyone visiting Paris- I would strongly recommend on a magical evening walking by the river and the Eiffel tower.

Since coming back, I have been obsessed about all French food, and have been trying to re create some of the things I had there. Like that yummy tarte au citron which I tried to re create here. Also the cholocate cake which we had on out first night dinner, I tried to re create but have not achieved that light mousse like texture. If anyone has a better recipe for that kind of Parisian/French cake I would really appreciate it! I also bought back some different flavoured marshmallows, one of them being violet flavoured- they were interesting, I wouldn’t say I am totally sold on them but yes I would definitely try more flavours again.

flavoured marshmallows

I had also been to couple of other stores like Pierre Herme’s on Rue Bonaparte for some fantastic macarons and a couple more which were unfortunately closed on the days I visited. Next time then!!

I would love to hear about your Parisian adventure, please leave comments below!

Petit fours

So, a delayed update of my personal baking challenge- that is to bake something from each of the GB Bake off series competition, I made the petit fours for round of patisserie recipes episode. Petit fours are small desserts, mostly bite sized, which are served with coffee at the end of the meal.

I decided to make mini chocolate éclairs, crème patissière filled shortcrust tartlets with raspberries and orange-caramel macarons.

I love making choux pastry, they are delightfully light to eat and fun to make. I toyed with the idea of make choux pastry swans but mini éclair seemed cuter idea to make. I decided to fill it with chantilly cream, which is basically vanilla flavoured whipped cream and topped it with chcocolate ganache. The recipe for chocolate ganache I used is one I found in Mary Berry’s book and it works wonderfully for the eclairs as it is not too runny, though I would not use it to top cakes. You will find the recipe for choux pastry here.

I thought shortcrust tart would be a more interesting tart idea to do than the conventional tart recipe plus I have wanted to make crème patissière for ages. So this was a good excuse to learn a new technique as well. I top the filling with raspberries- always a good idea to use fresh, I used frozen as I did not have fresh ones at the time I was making and they were so soggy! Just sift icing sugar on the top for a dramatic presentations ! You will find the recipe for the shortbread tartlets here.

As for macarons, I have been obsessed with them for months, to perfect them. I have finally found a recipe and technique that works for me. For the filling, I made caramel and added it to the buttercream icing with orange zest. And here is my macaron recipe.

So, finally my petit fours all together. They did not last very long, since they are small in size, that gives me an excuse to eat more of them!

Thanks for stopping by and I would love to hear from you.

Caramel orange macaron

After months and months of trying batches and batches of macaron recipes, I have finally found the one that works for me. After so many trials I have come to the conclusion, as do all who get obsessed with , not making, but perfecting their macarons is that everyone has their ‘own’ recipe, one that works with their ingredients and especially in their oven. I know for a fact that ovens play a big role in adjusting the macaron recipe. After the mocha macarons which did work beautifully, I had been struggling to get consistent results. Some batches would work fine one day and the same recipe would fail miserably the other.

What works for me and which might suit your fan oven too is:

35 g almond flour ( now the recipe would normally use 30 g but I use 35 because once you sift the flour you lose a few grams in the a large un-sifted leftover)
58 g icing sugar
1 egg white (about 35 g)
20 g caster sugar
pinch of cream of tarter
pinch salt

1. Put the almond flour and the icing sugar in the food processor and mix it for at least 2-3 minutes, this also makes the almond flour fine. 
2. Now sift the mixture, at the end you will be left with about a tablespoon of larger granules of the almond flour, do not sift that in. Keep aside the sifted almond flour mixture.
   

   Discard the unsifted granules

3. Whip the egg white , when the whites are foamy add a pinch of cream of tarter. Whip for another 30 seconds and then add the sugar and a pinch of salt. Now whip the egg whites till it forms almost stiff peaks, so that you can add whatever colour you want in your macarons before the final whip else you will end up over beating the egg whites. The egg whites are done when it forms stiff peaks and it clumps together in your whisk.
   

   When the egg whites are foamy, add the sugar in.

   

   Beat till the egg whites form stiff peaks.

4. Using a spatula, fold the almond flour mixture in 2 steps. Add half the mixture and fold in just till it is incorporated for about 8-10 strokes. Add the rest of the mix and fold it in. The strokes you use to fold in the mixture should be made as to deflate the egg white. It takes about 35 strokes in total to get the mixture such that it forms ribbons. This is the key step in macaron making- it is called macaronage. If you under beat the mixture, it will still be stiff and full of air that means your macarons will have large air pockets. If you over beat them, they will be too runny! It is perfect when it falls like a ribbon. When you put a dollop of mixture on the mixture itself it smooths out a little but does not incorporate back fully.
5. Put the mixture into the piping bag and pipe about 1″ circles on the baking sheet lined tray. Once piped, bang the tray onto the table 3 times, this is to get rid of any air in the macarons- you will see bubbles coming to the top. Leave it at room temperature for 15 minutes.
6. Pre heat the oven at 150 ˚C. I have a fan oven which I have found very tricky to bake macarons in as my oven does not maintain a consistent temperature. It is hottest at the back so my macarons towards the back always split! So you will have to play around with your oven settings. I have found that if I bake on the lowest shelf and turn the tray around half way through the baking then they are fine.
7. After 15 minutes of resting the macarons, bake them for 10-12 minutes.
8. Cool on a wire rack. When cooled peel the macarons off the baking sheet.
9. Pipe the filling on the base of a macaron and sandwich it with another shell.

This is the basic macaron recipe. Now this can be flavoured with a variety of fillings. For the petit fours I made an orange and caramel buttercream filling.