Sweet Tooth Experiments

Monthly Archives: April 2017

Torta Di Ricotta

Posted on Posted in Italy, Tarts .

Torta Di Ricotta

Torta Di Ricotta

I must say I do get drawn to traditional Italian desserts; they really do produce the most magnificent desserts on the world (and clearly don’t underdeliver of the savory side ether)!

One dish that I have had my eye on for ages is a traditional Sicilian Cheesecake that is commonly made for Easter celebrations. This sweet treat being the Torta Di Ricotta.

Now there are a few variations of this, as there are for most traditional desserts pending the part of Italy you are in. The version I have chosen to explore in a fig, hazelnut and of course the traditional Italian dessert wine Marsala (my favorite wine).

Not only is this tart easy to make its not too unhealthy as it’s low-ish in sugar and uses low fat protein building ricotta.

 

Ingredients:

Pastry

  • 230g plain flour
  • 70g sugar
  • 160g butter
  • 1 egg

Filling

  • 135g dried fig
  • 80ml marsala
  • 750g ricotta
  • 110g sugar
  • 2 tbsn honey
  • 1 egg
  • 100g roasted hazelnuts
  • 1 orange

 

Method:

  1. Make the pastry first by placing the flour, sugar, butter and egg yolk into a food processor and pulse until the mix comes away on the sides.
  2. Place the dough on the bench and knead until the dough is smooth and combined.
  3. Place in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 1 hour.
  4. Pre-heat the oven to 190c degrees and place a 30cm round tart pan on the bench ready for later.
  5. In the food processor pulse the figs until finely chopped, then place in a small bowl mixed in with the Marsala. Leave aside for 20 minutes so the figs soak up the liquid.
  6. Place the ricotta, sugar, honey and egg in a large bowl and whisk until combine.
  7. In the food processor pulse the hazelnuts until finely chopped, place in with the ricotta mix as well as the zest of an orange and fig mix.
  8. Whisk until smooth and combined.
  9. For the tart shell cut off approx. a 5th of the pastry and leave aside for the top of the tart.
  10. With the remaining larger quantity of pastry roll into a ball then rollout with a rolling pin to a 35cm radius circle.
  11. Place the pastry in the tart pan, pressing the pastry into the bottom and sides of the tin.
  12. Trim the pastry if it overlaps and add to the smaller quantity.
  13. Bake the tart shell for 10 minutes.
  14. Spoon the ricotta mix into the tart and smooth down with a spoon.
  15. With the remaining pastry roll out and cut into long 1 cm strips. Top the tart with the strips overlapping to create a lattice look.
  16. Brush the lattice pastry with the remaining egg white.
  17. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
  18. Once cooled dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

 

Torta Di Ricotta recipe

Ingredients

Torta Di Ricotta recipe

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Torta Di Ricotta

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Torta Di Ricotta

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Torta Di Ricotta

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Torta Di Ricotta

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Torta Di Ricotta recipe

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Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Jelly Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Jelly Cake

Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Cake recipe

For quite some time now I have been meaning to make a cake with passionfruit. For some reason I always struggle when I bake with this fruit, so I decided to have a passionfruit experimental day of baking. The pairings; passionfruit lemon coconut lime, passionfruit lemon yoghurt and passionfruit orange blossom and vanilla.

All cakes were made with the same method just variations to the ingredient flavor pairings.

The lime cake – well the learning here is that passionfruit is not the most intense flavor. In fact the passionfruit was overpowered by the citrus flavors to become a soft background unnoticeable aftertone. Don’t get me wrong, this cake was nice but defeated the experimental purpose.

The Passionfruit lemon cake was ok as I upped the passionfruit amount in this cake, however the yoghurt didn’t produce the best texture of the cake I was looking for.

Lastly, after taking the learnings from the last 2 cakes I opted for the less intense orange blossom for the sweet floral notes instead of strong citrus profile. The vanilla also provided a lovely floral aroma that complimented the blossom but didn’t overtake the passionfruit flavor.

To be honest the only way I could really make the passionfruit flavor shine was to use passionfruit jelly crystals in addition to using actual fruit.

Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Cake Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla CakeBatter:
  • 160g self-raising flour
  • 1/2 tsn salt
  • 130g butter
  • 80g passionfruit jelly crystals
  • 100g white sugar
  • 2 egg
  • 2 tsn vanilla
  • 2 tbsn poppy seeds
  • 3 tsn orange blossom water
  • 150g buttermilk
  • 4 passionfruit pulps

Frosting:

  • 60g thickened cream
  • 400g cheese
  • 160g butter
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 2 tsn vanilla essence
  • 1 tsn orange blossom water
  • 2 passionfruit’s pulp

Extra:

  • 2 passionfruit’s pulp

 

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175c degrees and line a 25cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Place the butter, jelly crystals and sugar into a bowl and beat with electric beaters for 2 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between each addition.
  4. Add the vanilla, orange blossom and poppy seeds and beat for 2 minutes.
  5. Add half the buttermilk, the passionfruit pulp, the salt and half the flour, stir until just combine.
  6. Add the remaining buttermilk and flour and stir until combine.
  7. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour of until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
  8. Set the cake aside for 10 minutes then transfer onto a cooling wrap to cool completely.
  9. Meanwhile to make the frosting beat the cream with electric beaters until soft peaks form, set aside.
  10. Beat the remaining frosting ingredients for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
  11. Add the cream to the cheese mix and beat until just combined.
  12. To make the cake, cut the cake horizontally into 3 equal layers.
  13. Place one layer onto a plate, spread with ¼ frosting, add a second layer, spread ¼ of the frosting and top with the remaining cake layer.
  14. With the remaining frosting top the cake as well as the sides until smooth.
  15. Top the cake with the 2 passionfruit’s pulp and enjoy.

 

 

Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Cake recipe
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Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Cake recipe

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Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Cake recipe
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Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Cake recipe
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Passionfruit Orange Blossom Vanilla Cake recipe
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Elderflower and Plum Soufflé

Posted on Posted in Souffle .

Elderflower and Plum Soufflé

Elderflower and Plum Soufflé recipe

This recipe’s flavor pairing has come about by a chef friend giving me an interesting flavor combo he thought would work well – and that it did!

I trialed elderflower & lemon, elderflower & blackberry and elderflower & berries flavour combo’s but just was not getting the ‘wow’ flavor I was after.

It was when I tried the plums with the elderflower I found an interesting complementing flavor mix I had been looking for.

I wanted to make something different outside of my usual cakes and slices, which I have been skewing towards lately. Based on this I did some trialing and thought it would be interesting to transform the usual cheese or chocolate soufflé into an elderflower and plum soufflé. Outcome = a 4 ingredient treat success!

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 200g plums
  • 4 + ½ tsn elderflower cordial

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175c degrees.
  2. Spray 4 x 1 cup ramekins with oil spray.
  3. Dust the ramekins with sugar, coating on the inside.
  4. Separate then eggs with whites in one bowl and yolks in the other.
  5. With electric beaters beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
  6. Add 2 tbsn sugar to the eggwhites and beat until stiff peaks form.
  7. In the egg yolk bowl beat the yolk and remaining sugar for 5 minutes until pale and creamy.
  8. Place the deseeded plums and a large scoop of the yolk mix into a food processor until the mix is a smooth consistency.
  9. Add the plum mix and cordial to the yolk mix and beat until well combine.
  10. Spoon a quarter of the eggwhite mix into the yolk mix and fold until combine.
  11. Add the remaining egg whites and fold until just combine with a few white streaks.
  12. Pour the mix into the ramekins and fill to the top and place in the oven for 25 minutes.
  13. Remove from the oven and serve with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Notes:

  • The longer you bake for the more cake like and less creamy like the souffle will be.

 

Elderflower and Plum Soufflé recipe

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Elderflower and Plum Soufflé recipe

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Elderflower and Plum Soufflé recipe

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Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake

Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake recipe

Tiramisu is my ultimate, all-time favorite sweet treat.

I love playing with the flavor combo of chocolate, marsala and coffee, it always reminds me of my birthday as my mum made the dessert every year without fail.

I’ve made many variations on Tiramisu over the years, cake, ice-cream and frozen cheesecake to name a few. Something I have never tried is extending the flavor profile and incorporating multiple nontraditional layered textures.

The additional flavor I have utilised that’s not common with Tiramisu is almonds. I felt that the dessert needed an extra crunch layer therefore opted for chopped almonds to complement the silky ganache and smooth mouthwatering filling texture.

 

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 180g butter, softened
  • 1 tsn Marsala
  • 180g brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 150g self-raising flour
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • ½ tsn salt
  • 60g almonds, finely chopped
  • 5 tsn espresso coffee

Filling:

  • 140ml thickened cream
  • 35ml Marsala
  • 35ml espresso coffee
  • 40g dark (70%) chocolate
  • 60ml icing sugar
  • 200g cream cheese, at room temperature

Ganache:

  • 40g cream
  • 100g dark chocolate
  • ½ tsn coffee granules
  • 2 tsn Marsala

 

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175c degrees and line a 25cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Place the butter, Marsala and sugar into a bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time beating in between each addition.
  4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the mix, pour in the cold coffee and add the chopped almonds.
  5. Carefully mix the batter until just combine.
  6. Pour the mix into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
  7. Leave the cake aside to cool on a cooling rack.
  8. Meanwhile, to make the filling place 30ml cream into a bowl along with the coffee and Marsala.
  9. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat until the mix starts to boil.
  10. Stir cream mix and add in the chocolate in pieces, leave to sit for 1 minute.
  11. Stir the chocolate into the cream with a metal spoon until smooth and glossy, leave aside to cool.
  12. Place the remaining 110ml cream into a bowl with the icing sugar and beat with electric beaters until soft peaks form, leave aside.
  13. Add the cream cheese into the chocolate mix and beat for 4 minutes or until the mix is smooth and pale in colour.
  14. Add the cream mix to the chocolate cream cheese mix and beat on low until just combine.
  15. Make the ganache by placing the cream, coffee and Marsala into a bowl and heat in the microwave until boiling.
  16. Add the chocolate and leave for 1 minute, stir until smooth and glossy in texture.
  17. To put the cake together, cut the cake in half horizontally and place one layer on a plate.
  18. Add the filling, place the second cake layer on top of the filling.
  19. Pour the ganache over the cake and allow to overflow the sides.
  20. Top with extra chopped almonds and enjoy.
  21. Cut into slices and serve.

 

 

Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake recipe

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Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake recipe

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Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake recipe
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Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake recipe

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Tiramisu Meringue Cake recipe
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Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake recipe
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Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake recipe
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Mocha Marsala and Almond Sandwich Cake recipe
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Dried Date Fig and Honey Bread

Posted on Posted in Bread .

Dried Date Fig and Honey Bread

Dried Date Fig and Honey Bread recipe

After having some dried figs left over from my Fig and Grape Syrup cake and dates from my Date Spiced Syrup Doughnuts I decided to come up with a recipe that would utilize these two ingredients.

After doing quite a bit of baking with dried fruit in cakes, puddings and pies recently I wanted to step away and bake with dried fruit in a different way.

I have also been baking a lot with dough in the past few weeks and though not an expert I felt I had the confidence to take on bread making.

My favorite bread is raisin toast so I thought I would put my spin on fruit bread and make a gourmet fig and date version.

This bread warmed, with a spread of butter is pure magic tasting!

Ingredients:

  • 400g white bread flour
  • ½ tsn yeast
  • 2 tbsn honey
  • 100g dried figs
  • 100g dried dates
  • 1 tsn salt
  • ½ tsn cinnamon
  • 20g almonds
  • 1 tbsn olive oil
  • Pinch of ground ginger

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c degrees and line a baking tray with oiled baking paper.
  2. Dice up the dates, figs and almonds.
  3. Mix the flour, yeast, honey, salt, cinnamon, almonds, dried dates and figs in a bowl.
  4. Place the olive oil and 280ml warm water in a separate bowl.
  5. Mix the water in the dry ingredient bowl and once combine knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  6. Oil the bowl and place the dough back in the bowl, covering with cling wrap to prove for 1-2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.
  7. Push-back the dough by kneading for 2 minutes, shape into a load shape and allow to prove again for 1 hour on the tray covered with cling wrap.
  8. Once proved slash a cross on the top of the loaf and dust with a pinch of flour and ground ginger.
  9. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
  10. Allow to cool then slice and spread with butter, enjoy!

Dried Date Fig and Honey Bread recipe

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Dried Date Fig and Honey Bread recipe

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Dried Date Fig and Honey Bread recipe

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Dried Date Fig and Honey Bread recipe

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Dried Date Fig and Honey Bread recipe

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