Sorry

I apologise for the recent lack of posts. This is what I've been busy with...



Helping J built models for his gp.

FYI: I didnt make the model in my picture by myself it was a collaboration between Clara, Steve, J and myself.

Holidays are up in a weeks time and I have a few things up my sleeve. Stay tuned!

The Week Gone By 12/06/2007

Piped shortbread filled with raspberry jam and dipped in dark chocolate.
(Photo courtesy of Julius)





Chocolate Macaron
(Photo courtesy of Julius)




Zimtsterne (Cinnamon Biscuits)




Biscotti

Lemon Meringue Tart

Here's the story behind making a lemon meringue tart.

Julius once recommended J to try a frozen Pampas lemon meringue pie which to my horror J liked and not only liked but finished the whole damn pie in one day.

I can understand why Julius likes the pie, it reminds him of his mum's version.

But J ? A frozen pie? The whole frozen pie?
Here's the real insult. J has never every finished any of my pies or tarts but he ate the whole bloody pampas.

I have nothing against Pampas but I do have something against frozen premade pies. They have thick crusts that are not usually baked enough and by the time you defrost it, it gets all soggy. At least if its a meat pie, you can reheat it but not a lemon meringue pie.

Anyway, Julius is here to help J with his work and I had to make a fresh one to prove my point.

I found a recipe on Joy of Baking which I like because she used whole eggs to make her filling rather than the usual egg yolks, lemon juice, zest and butter that is thickened with cornflour. Plus, when using cornflour, if it is not made properly, the gluggy, floury taste can be very unpleasant.

Another alternative is making a lemon curd which uses egg yolks, lemon juice, zest and butter which will produce a stronger more robust filling for the tart.



I loved this recipe. Here are a few pointers:

1. The tart case was baked longer than necessary. Until it was very golden brown. I hate nothing more than a uncooked tart case. In fact, I like it just where the fine line between cooked to slightly burnt is. You don't get the bitter burnt taste but you get the buttery crunch.

2.The sugar in the meringue was reduced by 25g because I felt it was abit too much.

3. I should have whipped my meringue just a minute longer, it did not have quite enough definition for me to pipe with the star nozzle. It has to be whipped to stiff peaks but not overwhipped till the point where it flakes.

4. It was the first time I used the grill for the oven and I burnt the meringue top because I didnt expect it to brown that fast.



All in all, I loved how the lemon filling turned out. It was light and foamy, even lighter than the meringue which was refreshing considering other lemon meringue pies I've had, the filling is usually much heavier than the meringue.

And J only had ONE BITE. Julius and myself finished the rest of the tart.

I Dont Understand.

Lavender Gate Farm

A few weeks back, a few friends and myself went on a trip to Hunter Valley.

Just on the outskirts of the valley in a town called Wollombi we stopped at The Lavender Gate Farm for breakfast.



It is a beautiful little rustic establishment painted burnt orange and decorated with vintage crockery and furnishings. It possessed lots of provincial charm and friendly service.





We were too early to order from their lunch menu which I really wanted to try because they had a brick oven where they make fresh wood-fired pizza.





Anyhow, we ordered their Lavender Scones (as you would since they farm lavenders) which came with the basic cream and strawberry jam. They were delicious. Warm and buttery with a hint of lavender.



I definitely recommend stopping by for tea or lunch if you are heading to the hunter valley.

Opera Gateau

Opera Gateau will be the cake to make for this semesters exam.
It is layers of jaconde sponge soaked in coffee syrup, coffee flavoured buttercream and chocolate ganache. Topped with a shiny chocolate glaze.

Personally the hardest part when making this cake was spreading the jaconde mixture thin and even without fiddling with it too much.

Not spreading it out enough meant the sponge will be too uneven. Handling it too long means the air that was incorporated escapes and the sponge is flat and dense. The only solution is practice.

Croquembouche

Crocquembouche is very popular in France for weddings. Yesterday for class I made my first one ever. Everything was made from scratch.

Nougatine, which is made from sugar, glucose and almonds was used for the stand. The profiteroles were made with classic choux pastry and filled with vanilla creme patisserie. Everything was glued together with hard crack sugar and lastly the roses were made with white chocolate modelling paste.



I really enjoyed making it and survived with only a little burn on my pinkie from the very hot sugar.

The Week Gone By 28/05/07

Bread Week

Baguettes, Ciabatta, Lavosh, Vegetable Bread, Wholemeal Cobs, Baps, Fruit Loaves and French Sour Dough.

Plus, aching arms and yeast smelling fingers.