Category Archives: French

Butter Chicken Breast with Saffron Aioli

SKIN-ON CHICKEN BREAST LIGHTLY SEASONED AND MARINATED AND SEARED IN BUTTER. SAFFRON-LEMON AIOLI. FONDANT POTATO BRUSHED WITH ROSEMARY, THYME, FINISHED IN HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK.  ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOMS IN SEASONED CHICKEN OIL. MICROGREENS AND RADISH SLICES.

Oh boy, it’s good to be back in the kitchen! Over the last couple years, I realized just how poorly I eat when food isn’t a priority. Cooking can become a total chore in between being at the hospital and studying for exams. After way too many one-pot curries and stews at home, and burrito bowls in between caffeine shots, it became obvious how important texture is to enjoying food. How many times have you heard someone describe a food as having “a crunchy outside, and a soft and creamy inside” to advertise its deliciousness? In the multi-step process of tasting food, texture is second only to sight, and in my opinion is what separates great dishes from average ones. And so I was inspired to play with textures as I renewed my cooking creativity, keeping flavors simple and using just the technical basics – breaking down a whole chicken, keeping chicken breast moist, and making a simple sauce that brightens up the rest of the flavors on the plate.

How do different textures feature in this French-inspired ensemble? First, the crispy skin is obligatory. I borrowed a technique chefs often use for whole chicken – loosening the skin from the meat and seasoning the space underneath to both draw moisture away from the skin surface and to season the meat. Second, the sides. A fondant potato develops a delightfully crusty exterior that contrasts with a heavenly creamy interior that soaks up the flavors of chicken and butter that it cooks in (also, it looks like a scallop and Pea loves scallops). Then, veggies are cooked in the oil left over from the rendered chicken skin, just far enough to take off the raw edge but leave some crunchy freshness.

So, regardless of what you eat or cook, I hope you start discovering the magic of textures in your homecooking, taking it to another level! – Boo

Servings: 2 (main portions)
Difficulty: 

Crispy chicken breast:

  • 1 (~12 oz) skin-on boneless chicken breast
  • Marinade
    0.5 tb butter
    0.5 ts coarse salt
    0.5 ts coarse black pepper
    0.25 ts ground coriander
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 rosemary sprig
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  1. Pat the chicken dry, then slide fingers under the skin to separate skin from meat, keeping one long edge of skin attached.
  2. Rub butter on the meat underneath the skin, then evenly apply other marinade seasonings underneath the skin.
  3. Refrigerate chicken breast to marinate, 8-12 hours.
  4. Before cooking, rest chicken at room temperature, 1-2 hours.
  5. In olive oil over medium-high heat, place chicken skin-side down to sear until crisp, ~8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, use tongs to hold rosemary, thyme, and garlic together and brush in oil and on the chicken while cooking.
  6. Flip, and cook over medium heat until cooked through (internal T = 155 F), ~8-10 minutes. Continue to brush herbs over chicken skin.
  7. Rest chicken on cutting board, 5 minutes. Meanwhile, make saffron aioli.
  8. (optional) Saute 2 servings of vegetables in remaining chicken oil.

Saffron aioli:

  • 1 egg yolk
  • pinch of saffron threads
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1 tb lemon juice
  • 0.5 c extra-virgin olive oil
  • 0.25 ts salt
  • 0.25 ts white pepper
  1. In a small bowl, soak saffron in 1 tb hot water. Set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolk with lemon juice and garlic until slightly thickened.
  3. Gradually add oil in a slow stream while whisking until thickened.
  4. Beat salt, pepper, and saffron into aioli.
  5. Serve with chicken.

Salted Caramel Hazelnut Macchiato Macarons


SPICED HAZELNUT ESPRESSO MACARON SHELLS WITH BUTTERY SALTED CARAMEL FILLING.

As if they haven’t gotten tired of making macarons already, about 100 more shells came out of the BooPeaKitchen oven since our vanilla bean macarons a few recipes ago. An unrepentant coffee and hazelnut fanatic, Boo loves his tiramisu and macchiatos and has chowed through literal boxes of raw hazelnuts in his years as a fatty. With Pea’s love of caramel, and macarons being a primary product in their kitchen, batches marrying these these flavors were obligatory.

Hazelnut flour is just like almond flour, and works just as well for macarons, but tastes even nuttier. A few dashes of cayenne pepper and cinnamon in the macaron shells give them a flavor that plays with your mouth unlike many other recipes, with just a bit of a tingle! The salted caramel filling recipe will make leftovers, but is a lot easier to work with in a batch this size. So make more macarons to use it all up, or heat it up and ladle it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream – it won’t need to go to waste!

P.S. If you haven’t made macarons before, read our quickie guide in our French Macaron blurb – it’s a lot less intimidating than some people make it seem, and we break it down into 3 main things to look out for!

Yield: 44-56 shells
Difficulty: 2 star

Oven: 310 F, 18 minutes

Preparation:

  • Line 2-3 baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  • If using parchment paper, optionally draw guide circles (diameter 2.5-3 cm) about 3 cm apart on parchment paper, and flip written-side down.

Hazelnut espresso shells:

  • Dry ingredients, sifted
    120 g hazelnut meal
    150 g powdered sugar
    1 tb instant espresso powder, ground
    0.25 ts cinnamon
    pinch cayenne pepper
  • Meringue
    110 g (~3) egg whites, room temperature
    0.25 ts cream of tartar (or lemon juice)
    95 g granulated sugar
  1. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sugar to egg whites, and beat to a stiff meringue (tips of peaks should gently curl when whisk is lifted), ~4-6 minutes.
  2. Add dry ingredients to the meringue. Fold until smooth and falling in thick ribbons (which disappear after 6-8 seconds).
  3. Using a large round tip, pipe circles onto the prepared baking tray spaced 1.5-2 cm between the edges of adjacent shells.
    Small pea tip: Keep the tip perpendicular to, and 1 cm above, the baking tray. Keep the tip centered while piping each shell to desired size; avoid moving it around while piping.
  4. Rest at room temperature until dry to the touch, 60-90 minutes.
  5. Bake on middle rack, 18 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside until cooled to room temperature. Meanwhile, making filling.
    Small pea tip: Lower the oven temperature by 5-10 F, and bake for 1 minute shorter if using a dark pan.
  6. Carefully remove/peel shells from parchment or silicone mat.
    Small pea tip: If macarons stick to silicone mat, may run a thin knife across the bottom to help release shells from the mat.

Salted caramel cream:

  • Caramel
    1 c sugar
    2 tb water
  • 0.33 c heavy cream
  • 8 tb (1 stick) butter, diced
  • Flavorings
    0.25 ts vanilla extract
    0.5 ts instant espresso powder
    1 ts salt
  • cold water bath
  1. In a light-colored pot, heat sugar with water over medium heat to desired caramel color.
  2. Remove from heat, and carefully whisk in heavy cream until smooth.
  3. Whisk in butter until smooth.
  4. Whisk in flavorings, and transfer to a mixing bowl in a shallow cold water bath.
  5. Beat caramel just until peaks start to form, and remove from cold water bath.
    Small pea tip: Avoid over-chilling the cream, since this will cause the butter to solidify and separate from the cream. If it separates, microwave and whisk until recombined.
  6. Assemble macarons.

Assembly:

  1. Pair shells by size.
  2. Using a round tip, pipe ~0.5 tb filling onto one shell of each pair. Gently sandwich with the second shell.
  3. In an airtight or covered container, refrigerate macarons in a single layer, at least 8 hours.
  4. Serve, and optionally refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

 OOPS!

Vanilla Bean Macarons

VANILLA BEAN MACARONS WITH CREAMY VANILLA ERMINE BUTTERCREAM.

How vanilla became synonymous with boring and unexciting is a mystery to me. Used correctly, vanilla is an amazing, unique flavor that is the furthest thing from “default” you could get. After all, vanilla beans contain over 200 distinct chemical compounds. Vanillin is the most important by far, and the others help make the aroma nearly indescribable. So if you’re one of those people who judges vanilla from its use in commercial ice cream and limited edition cola, it’s time to give it a real try.

We always keep a healthy stock of vanilla extract from our favorite wholesale warehouse at our disposal, but we’re breaking out the vanilla beans for these vanilla macarons today. Other than decorating your shells with tons of tiny vanilla seed specks to let your friends know you used the real deal, you also don’t lose as much of the vanilla flavor with baking as you do with regular vanilla extract. With a smooth ermine buttercream with plenty of vanilla to fit the theme, these vanilla macarons are anything but boring! – Boo and Pea

P.S. If you haven’t made macarons before, read our quickie guide in our French Macaron blurb – it’s a lot less intimidating than some people make it seem, and we break it down into 3 main things to look out for!

Yield: 44-56 macaron shells
Difficulty: 2 star

Oven: 310 F, 18 minutes

Preparation:

  • Line 2-3 baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  • If using parchment paper, optionally draw guide circles (diameter 2.5-3 cm) about 3 cm apart on parchment paper, and flip written-side down.

Macaron shells:

  • Dry ingredients, sifted
    120 g almond meal
    150 g powdered sugar
  • Meringue
    110 g (~3) egg whites, room temperature
    0.25 ts cream of tartar (or lemon juice)
    2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
    100 g granulated sugar
  • (optional) 4-10 drops food coloring
  1. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla bean seeds to soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sugar to egg whites while beating to a firm meringue (tips of peaks should gently curl when whisk is lifted), ~4-6 minutes.
  2. Sift dry ingredients into the meringue. Fold until smooth and falling in thick ribbons.
  3. Using a large round tip, pipe batter into buttons (diameter 2.5-3 cm) onto the prepared baking trays spaced ~3 cm between the edges of adjacent shells.
    Small pea tip: Keep the tip ~0.5 cm above and perpendicular to the baking tray. Keep the tip centered and still while piping each shell to desired size.
  4. Rest at room temperature until surface dries to the touch, 45-60 minutes.
  5. Bake on middle rack, 18 minutes. Remove from oven, and set side until cooled to room temperature. Meanwhile, make filling.
    Small pea tip: Lower the oven temperature by 5-10 F, and bake for 1 minute shorter if using a dark pan.
  6. Carefully remove/peel shells from parchment or silicone mat.
    Small pea tip: If macarons stick to parchment or silicone mat, run a thin knife across the bottom to help release shells.

Vanilla ermine buttercream:

  • Roux
    0.25 c milk
    1 tb flour
    pinch of salt
  • 4 tb butter, room temperature
  • 3 tb sugar
  • 0.5 tb vanilla extract
  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir and bring roux to a simmer, and cook, 2 minutes. Transfer to a small container, and cover and refrigerate until chilled.
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar and vanilla.
  3. Beat roux into butter mixture by spoonfuls, and beat until fluffy.

Assembly:

  1. Pair shells by size.
  2. Using a round tip, pipe ~0.5 tb filling onto one shell of each pair. Gently sandwich with second shell.
  3. In an airtight or covered container, refrigerate macarons in a single layer, at least 8 hours.
  4. Serve, and optionally refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

Eggnog Cream Puffs

CHOUX PASTRY BALLS FILLED WITH MERINGUE AND NUTMEG PASTRY CREAM. TOPPED WITH CHOCOLATE AND CRUSHED HAZELNUTS.

With the first official day of winter less than 24 hours away, we wanted to share a cream puff recipe, but with an obligatory holiday twist or two. When served chilled, these little puffs are as addictive as they are dangerous when you lose track of how many you’ve already eaten – but that’s perfectly okay when you remember that holiday calories don’t count. In any case, all the holiday deliciousness will just motivate those health-conscious New Years’ resolutions even more.

If you haven’t worked with choux pastry before, it’s really quite a simple and mesmerizing dough that happens to be used for churros, éclairs, beignets, funnel cakes, and so much more. High in moisture compared with other pastry doughs, choux pastry puffs up as the moisture steams up during the cooking process, whether baked (like with éclairs and cream puffs) or deep-fried (like with churros, beignets, or funnel cakes). Baking also leaves a hollow interior for all sorts of tasty fillings! We used a nutmeg chiboust cream, or a nutmeg-infused pastry cream with some meringue folded in to lighten it and simulate the frothiness of a classic holiday eggnog. We wish everyone a happy and tasty holiday season! – Boo and Pea

Yield: 30-35 cream puffs
Difficulty: 

Oven: 400 F, 10 minutes; then 350 F, 20 minutes

Preparation:

  • Line 1-2 baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Eggnog chiboust cream:

  • 1.25 c milk
  • Yolk mixture
    3 egg yolks
    0.25 c sugar
    2 tb flour
    2 tb corn starch
  • 3 tb butter, chunked
  • 0.75 ts nutmeg
  • 0.5 tb vanilla extract
  • Meringue
    3 egg whites
    0.33 c sugar
  1. In a saucepan, heat milk to a bare simmer.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk yolk mixture ingredients until combined. Whisk and slowly add hot milk into yolk mixture.
  3. Return mixture to saucepan, and whisk quickly over medium heat until thickened and boiled for 2 minutes.
  4. Sieve custard into a mixing bowl.
  5. Whisk butter, nutmeg, and vanilla into custard until homogenized.
  6. In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar while beating to stiff peaks.
  7. Fold meringue into custard.
  8. Cover with plastic wrap pressed to custard surface, and refrigerate until set, ~2 hours. Meanwhile, prepare choux puffs.

Choux pastry balls:

  • Wet ingredients
    0.5 stick butter
    0.25 c water
    0.25 c milk
    1 ts sugar
    0.25 ts salt
  • 0.5 c flour
  • 2 eggs
  • Egg wash
    1 egg, beaten
    1 tb water
  1. In a saucepan, bring wet ingredients to a bare simmer.
  2. Stir flour into saucepan until dough forms. Stir and cook over medium heat, 2-3 minutes.
  3. Remove dough to a mixing bowl, and cool to lukewarm.
  4. Beat 2 eggs into dough until homogenized.
  5. Using a large round tip, pipe buttons (diameter 2.5 cm, height 2 cm) onto the prepared baking trays spaced ~3 cm between the edges of adjacent buttons.
  6. Brush and smooth buttons with egg wash.
  7. Bake at 400 F on middle rack, 10 minutes. Reduce to 350 F, and bake until golden-brown, 20 minutes.
  8. Turn off oven, and leave door ajar to cool puffs until safe to handle. Refrigerate until assembly.

Assembly:

  • melted chocolate
  • hazelnuts, crushed
  • nutmeg
  1. With a skewer or toothpick, make a small hole near the top of each puff.
  2. Using a small round tip, fill puffs with eggnog pastry cream.
  3. Refrigerate until chilled, 45-60 minutes.
  4. Optionally, dip cream puffs into melted chocolate, and top with crushed hazelnuts and nutmeg.
  5. Serve chilled.

Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb

herb-crusted rack of lambROASTED RACK OF LAMB WITH CRUSHED HERB AND GARLIC CRUST. SERVED WITH ASSORTED SEASONAL VEGETABLES.

A wise man (not me) once tweeted, “Once you realize that you don’t need a special occasion to buy a cake, the second part of your life begins.” And while I can definitely get behind cake anytime and anywhere, the same can be said about rack of lamb. Often found on Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner tables, or as specialties at your local fancypants restaurant, rack of lamb is a natural centerpiece and can (and should!) be appreciated year-round with it’s mildly gamey, tender, juicy, supremely flavorful meat. Though quite pricey even at our favorite wholesale clubs, rack of lamb is still our perfect go-to as an occasional treat or a date night main course. In our humble opinion, it goes best with bright and fruity flavors, or with savory sauces like red wine reduction or demi-glace! There’s just nothing quite like it. -Boo

Servings: 2-3 (main portions)
Difficulty: 2 star

Oven: 375 F, 20 minutes; 400 F, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 (1.5-2 lb) rack of lamb
  • coarse salt and black pepper
  • 2 tb Dijon mustard
  • Herb crust
    2 tb breadcrumbs
    2 tb fresh parsley
    2 tb fresh rosemary
    2 tb fresh thyme
    3 cloves garlic
    2 tb olive oil

Directions:

  1. Process or finely mince herb crust ingredients, and set aside until use.
  2. Season rack on all sides with coarse salt and pepper.
  3. Sear in olive oil until browned on all sides. Remove to a work surface.
  4. Brush rack completely with Dijon mustard , and press herb crust mixture evenly over the rack.
  5. Roast at 375 F to desired doneness, 20 minutes.
  6. Increase temperature to 400 F, and roast to desired doneness, 14-16 minutes for medium-rare.
  7. Set aside to rest, 10 minutes.
  8. Slice racks into chops, and serve.

Raspberry Financiers

raspberry financiersMOIST, GOLDEN FRENCH ALMOND CAKES WITH RASPBERRY COULIS AND POWDERED SUGAR.

These little guys are like cupcakes, but even better! They are traditionally made as rectangular bars to resemble bars of gold, hence the name financier. And although Boo and I have managed to collect molds of all sorts of shapes, we don’t expect everyone else to have a rectangular 6 x 3 cm mold at arm’s reach, so we decided to use a regular cupcake tin. Plus, I think they’re cuter round. Geometric differences aside, these moist, spongy almond cakes are absolutely satisfying, incredibly easy to make, and great with a cup of tea or coffee.

When you’re making these, you may want to mix gently to keep from incorporating too much air into the batter, otherwise they will deflate as they cool after baking. After breaking up the egg whites with a fork, I used a rubber spatula to mix the batter together, which worked out just fine. But other than for aesthetic reasons, this step can be optional.

For our financiers, we used raspberry, but almost any fruit with a hint of tartness – like blueberries, peach, or even passionfruit – would pair beautifully with the richness of the cake. Be warned: they’re addictive. Thank goodness this recipe only makes 10! – Pea

raspberry financiers 2

Yield: 10 financiers
Difficulty: 1 star

Oven: 400 F, 6 minutes; 350 F, 14 minutes

Preparation:

  • Grease 10 small cupcake molds, or line with cupcake wrappers.

Almond cake:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 4 egg whites
  • Dry ingredients
    0.5 c sugar
    1 c almond meal
    0.33 c flour
  • 2 tb honey
  • 10 raspberries
  1. In a small saucepan, heat and stir butter over medium heat until browned. Pour into a bowl, and set aside to cool slightly.
  2. In a mixing bowl, lightly stir together dry ingredients, egg whites, and honey until homogenized.
  3. Gently stir butter into egg mixture.
  4. Divide batter into prepared molds or cupcake wrappers. Place a raspberry in the center of each with the cavity facing up.
  5. Bake at 400 F, 6 minutes. Lower to 350 F, and bake ~14 minutes until cooked through. Meanwhile, make raspberry coulis.

Raspberry coulis:

  • 3 oz raspberries
  • 1.5 tb sugar
  • 2 tb water
  1. In a small saucepan, stir and mash ingredients over medium heat until thickened, 10-12 minutes.
  2. Press through a strainer, and discard seeds.
  3. Using a small round tip, pipe coulis into the centers of financiers.
  4. Serve warm.

*recipe inspired by Bruno Albouze

The French Macaron

french macaronsFOUR CLASSIC MACARONS. ALMOND MACARON WITH FRENCH ALMOND BUTTERCREAM. MINT MACARON WITH MINTY WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE. CHOCOLATE MACARON WITH NUTELLA DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE. ROSE MACARON WITH RASPBERRY ROSE MASCARPONE CREAM.

If there’s a dessert with a reputation for its difficulty, it’s the macaron. Bakers will tell you how finicky they are from the temperature and age of your egg whites to the moisture content of your flour and the air. They’ll tell you the recipe for the perfect batch one day might crack, collapse, and end in utter disappointment the next evening. That every measurement needs to be absolutely precise. Yes, there’s some truth to these worries. But no, making consistent batches of macarons isn’t just playing a lottery. Just like perfecting any dish or dessert, macaron making comes down to a few key principles – the meringue, the macaronage, and the drying (notice that the weather, age of your egg whites, and miniscule changes in your flour moisture content are not included!). Whether it’s a hot, sunny day or a cold, rainy day, these principles stay the same. It might take a few batches to know exactly what you’re looking for, but once you get it, you won’t forget it!

  1. The Meringue. It’s whipped just enough so that you can fold the almond flour and sugar into it completely without knocking out too much air. You’re looking for peaks that gently curl over when the whisk is lifted straight out of it. This gives you the perfect amount of air so that during the macaronage, you don’t deflate the meringue before all the dry ingredients are properly mixed in (underwhipped), and you don’t have a lumpy, broken mixture (overwhipped)! And there’s no need to age your egg whites. It might make whipping them take a minute or two less but makes no difference in the final product. It’s less effort, too.
    meringue firm peaks
  2. The Macaronage (or the folding of the solids into the meringue). The macaron batter is a suspension of almond meal in a meringue that has been deflated just enough to pipe out smooth round buttons that spread ever so slightly. This is the part where practice makes perfect. Just keep in mind that it’s better to under-mix than  to over-mix, or you’ll have your macarons running into each other on the baking sheet! Some describe this stage as the “molten lava” stage, and others call it the “thick ribbon” stage. Call it what you want, but it should look something like this:
    macaronage
  3. The Drying. After piping out your cute buttons, you need to set them aside until the tops are dry to the touch and don’t stick to your finger when you “pet” them. Just like with royal icing (the shiny, smooth icing you might find on decorated cookies), a crust forms on the macaron surface as the air pulls moisture from the meringue. This forces the air in the meringue to find another way out during baking – through the bottom, where it bubbles out and forms the frilly feet of the macaron. No need to postpone your macaron-making plans on a rainy or humid day! The drying will still happen – it might just take a little longer.
    meringue buttons

Once you get the hang of it, there are all sorts of small changes you can make to the shell recipe, such as using hazelnut or pistachio flour, or adding extracts for flavor and food coloring for fun. And there is a whole world of fillings to try. Below you’ll find the recipe for the basic almond macaron to get you started, with a French almond buttercream. Enjoy! – Boo and Pea

french macarons angleYield: 44-56 macaron shells
Difficulty: 2 star

Oven: 310 F, 18 minutes

Preparation:

  • Line 2-3 baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  • If using parchment paper, optionally draw guide circles (diameter 2.5-3 cm) about 3 cm apart on parchment paper, and flip written-side down.

Macaron shells:

  • Dry ingredients, sifted
    120 g almond meal
    150 g powdered sugar
  • Meringue
    110 g (~3) egg whites, room temperature
    0.25 ts cream of tartar (or lemon juice)
    100 g granulated sugar
  • (optional) 4-10 drops food coloring
  1. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sugar to egg whites while beating to a firm meringue (tips of peaks should gently curl when whisk is lifted), ~4-6 minutes.
  2. Sift dry ingredients into the meringue. Fold until smooth and falling in thick ribbons.
  3. Using a large round tip, pipe buttons (diameter 2.5-3 cm) onto the prepared baking trays spaced ~3 cm between the edges of adjacent shells.
    Small pea tip: Keep the tip ~0.5 cm above and perpendicular to the baking tray. Keep the tip centered and still while piping each shell to desired size.
  4. Rest at room temperature until surface dries to the touch, 45-60 minutes.
  5. Bake on middle rack, 18 minutes. Remove from oven, and set side until cooled to room temperature. Meanwhile, make filling.
    Small pea tip: Lower the oven temperature by 5-10 F, and bake for 1 minute shorter if using a dark pan.
  6. Carefully remove/peel shells from parchment or silicone mat.
    Small pea tip: If macarons stick to parchment or silicone mat, run a thin knife across the bottom to help release shells.

French almond buttercream:

  • 3 egg yolks
  • Simple syrup
    75 g sugar
    2.5 tb water
  • Flavorings
    1 ts almond extract
    0.25 ts vanilla extract
    0.25 ts salt
  • 6 tb butter, room temperature
  1. In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolks until light yellow and thickened.
  2. In a small saucepan, heat sugar with water to 240 F (or just beginning to turn golden).
  3. Continue beating egg yolks while pouring syrup into yolks a thin stream along the side of the bowl. Beat until cooled to room temperature, 6-8 minutes.
  4. Beat in flavorings.
  5. Add butter in 1 tb increments, and beat until smooth and holds peaks.
  6. Refrigerate for 5 minutes until use.

Assembly:

  1. Pair shells by size.
  2. Using a round tip, pipe ~0.5 tb filling onto one shell of each pair. Gently sandwich with second shell.
  3. In an airtight or covered container, refrigerate macarons in a single layer, at least 8 hours.
  4. Serve, and optionally refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

Berries Mousseline Cake

berries mousseline cake 2FOUR-BERRY MIXTURE TOSSED WITH FLUFFED VANILLA BEAN PASTRY CREAM. LAYERED WITH A RICH, SWEET BUTTER CAKE BRUSHED WITH RASPBERRY COULIS. DECORATED WITH SUGAR-COATED BERRIES.

And now, BooPeaKitchen will launch its newest guide on how not to organize surprise parties. Last year, when Boo tried to organize a surprise birthday party for me it wasn’t very successful — let’s just say that repeatedly and unpromptedly asking birthday-girl-to-be to not make plans on the weekend of her birthday is not the best approach. I have to admit though, I didn’t fare much better either. Leading up to Boo’s birthday, I arranged for him to go on a mid-summer hiking trip, giving myself the perfect excuse to stay home with the kitchen to myself and ample time to work on his cake. In my mind, my plans ended with storing the cake at a friend’s place and having her bring it the next day to Boo’s astonishment, but they were foiled by an unexpected afternoon nap. I woke up to Boo’s return, and realizing the finished cake was still in the fridge, I immediately fessed up to the whole plan…

Resting on this boast-worthy surprise party streak of zero, Boo and I decided to recruit our friends to set up a double surprise which upped our success rate to 1/4! Well, at least we have two cakes to show for it: this Berries Mousseline Cake and a Black Forest Cake coming up soon! – Pea

Servings: 8-12 (dessert portions)
Difficulty: 3 star

Oven: 350 F, 40-50 minutes

Preparation:

  • Line an 8.5-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour the interior.

Butter cake:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 0.5 c sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 ts vanilla extract
  • Dry ingredients
    1.66 c flour
    2 ts baking powder
    0.5 ts salt
  • 0.5 c milk
  • Meringue
    2 egg whites
    0.5 c sugar
  1. Cream butter with sugar. Beat in yolks and vanilla.
  2. Alternately beat dry ingredients and milk into butter mixture in 5 additions.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar while beating to a firm, glossy meringue.
  4. Fold meringue into batter by thirds.
  5. Bake in prepared springform pan until cooked through, ~40-50 minutes.
  6. Cool to room temperature. Cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, ~2 hours.

Vanilla mousseline:

  • Cream mixture
    1.25 c heavy cream
    1.25 c milk
    0.25 ts salt
  • Yolk mixture
    6 egg yolks
    0.75 sugar
    0.25 c flour
    0.25 c corn starch
    1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
  • 1.5 sticks butter, room temperature
  1. In a large saucepan, bring cream mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat.
  2. Whisk yolk mixture ingredients together. Whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture.
  3. Return mixture to saucepan over medium heat, and whisk constantly until thickened and gently boiled for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and whisk in 4 tb butter until incorporated.
  4. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Refrigerate, plastic wrap pressed to the surface, until cooled to room temperature, ~1.5 hours.
  5. Beat cooled cream, 2 minutes. Add remaining butter, and beat until light and fluffy, 5-6 minutes.

Raspberry coulis:

  • 3 oz raspberries
  • 1.5 tb sugar
  • 1 tb water
  1. In a small saucepan, stir and mash ingredients over medium-high heat until thickened. Strain, and set aside until use.

Assembly:

  • (optional) acetate cake bands, cake ring, or springform form
  • Berries
    1 lb strawberries, halved or quartered
    6 oz blackberries
    6 oz blueberries
    6 oz raspberries
  1. If using acetate, assemble a ring (height 4 inches) around circumference of the cake, and place on serving surface.
  2. Slice cake into two disks. Trim one disk by 1 cm around the circumference.
    Small pea tip: Trim the disk with the flattest surface, since this will be used for the top layer.
  3. Place the larger disk in acetate ring, springform pan, or cake ring. Brush cake with raspberry coulis.
  4. Set aside one-third of the mousseline and choice berries for garnish. Mix remaining berries with remaining two-thirds of the mousseline.
  5. Assemble some fruit around the bottom border. Optionally, use mousseline to help keep berries in place. Spread mousseline-fruit mixture evenly into cake.
  6. Place the trimmed cake layer on top. Spread remaining mousseline smoothly over and around the cake.
  7. Cover and refrigerate until set, 3-4 hours.
  8. Garnish as desired with remaining fruit and raspberry coulis, and serve.

berries mousseline cake 1

Chocolate Soufflé with Passionfruit-White Chocolate Filling

chocolate souffle passionfruit fillingRICH, SWEET, AND FLUFFY CHOCOLATE DESSERT WITH A WARM WHITE CHOCOLATE AND A PASSIONFRUIT CENTER.

And now to finish off the Valentine’s tangy series, the dessert course. I thought we could combine chocolate and passionfruit, and we decided to make a soufflé with a passionfruit filling. We ended up posting this a little later because Boo wanted to make some changes to the recipe to make it a little more chocolaty with a dash of coffee and cocoa powder. Hope you enjoy! – Pea

Servings: 2 (9-oz ramekins) or 4 (5-oz ramekins)
Difficulty: 2 star

Oven: 375 F, 22 minutes

Preparation:

  • Coat inside of ramekins with melted butter, then with sugar. Place prepared ramekins in freezer until use.

Passionfruit white chocolate filling:

  • 3 tb white chocolate chips
  • 0.75 tb passionfruit concentrate
  • 0.5 tb heavy cream
  • pinch salt
  1. In a small bowl, microwave and stir together ingredients in 5-10 second increments until homogenized.
  2. Refrigerate to set while preparing souffle.

Chocolate souffle:

  • Chocolate mixture
    3.5 oz dark chocolate
    4 tb butter
  • Yolk mixture
    2 egg yolks
    0.5 tb instant espresso powder
    0.5 tb  cocoa powder
    1 ts vanilla
    0.25 ts salt
  • Meringue
    3 egg whites
    0.25 ts cream of tartar
    3 tb sugar
  • powdered sugar
  1. Over a bain-marie, melt chocolate with butter. Set aside to cool slightly.
  2. Beat yolk mixture ingredients until homogenized, and whisk into chocolate mixture.
  3. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar while beating to stiff peaks (tips of peaks should gently curl when whisk is lifted), 4-6 minutes.
  4. Fold meringue into chocolate mixture by thirds.
  5. Fill prepared ramekins halfway with batter. Spoon the passionfruit white chocolate filling into the center of each ramekin. Top off with remaining batter.
  6. Level off with a knife, and use a fingertip to trace around the inside of the top edge, which helps the souffle to rise.
  7. Bake until maximally risen and cooked through, 21-23 minutes.
  8. Dust with powdered sugar, and serve.

Pork Tenderloin à la Diable

pork tenderloin a la diableSIMPLY-SEASONED AND ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN OVER A BED OF SHREDDED PURPLE CABBAGE. WITH A BUTTERY, SPICY DIJON SAUCE. GARLIC-SAUTÉED VEGETABLES.

There are probably a hundred (if not many, many more) ways to prepare a pork tenderloin, one of the most versatile cuts of pork or red meat anywhere. As its name implies, it’s so tender that you can cut it with a fork – try it for yourself! Of the ways Pea and I have tried, this has to be one of the easiest and most flavorful. Literally just seared with salt and pepper, and roasted just long enough to prepare a side of veggies,  this can be a quick and easy weekday dinner. It goes so well with the sauce, which is smooth and creamy, yet tangy and smokey from the Dijon mustard and paprika and adds a comforting warmth, even eaten a little cold like we did after taking our pictures. But as I said before, pork tenderloin tends to go well with a lot of different things, so hopefully this recipe helps make it one of your staple proteins, too! – Boo

Servings: 3-4 (main portions)
Difficulty: 1 star

Oven: 375 F, 23 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 pork tenderloin
  • salt and black pepper
  • Sauce
    0.5 c chicken stock
    0.33 c white wine
    1 tb heavy cream
    1 tb Dijon mustard
    1 ts smoked paprika
    0.25 ts cayenne pepper
    2 tb butter, cold

Directions:

  1. Salt and pepper the tenderloin on all sides.
  2. In an oven-safe pan, sear tenderloin in olive oil on one side, ~4 minutes.
  3. Flip seared-side up, and transfer to oven to roast, ~23 minutes for medium-well (internal temperature 150 F).
  4. Remove from oven, and set tenderloin aside to rest.
  5. In the same pan, bring chicken stock and wine to a simmer over medium-high heat.
  6. Add Dijon, paprika, and heavy cream. Stir and reduce by half or until slightly thickened.
  7. Remove from heat, and stir in butter until melted.
  8. Slice tenderloin, and serve with sauce.

pork tenderloin a la diable 2