Blueberry and Lemon Yoghurt Panna Cotta

Before I'd made panna cotta, I used to wonder why it was so frequently chosen as a dessert by Top Chef contestants.
Then I made it and discovered: it's easy, delicious and impressive... what better competition entry could you think of?
(Well, personally,  if I was on Top Chef or Master Chef, I'd go with this chocolate tart; paired with coconut sorbet, perhaps...
But I digress! And I certainly don't plan on adding Master Chef stress to my list of things to tackle!)

So, back to panna cotta... 😉

This recipe is from Lorraine Pascale, Saturday Kitchen.  
Part of it's attraction, though, is that it's a Friday kitchen activity - you can make panna cotta the day before your dinner party. How convenient!

You'll make 2 batches of panna cotta for this dessert - one for the blueberry layer, and one for the lemon layer. But it's so straight forward that that really isn't a problem.
Alternatively, use the base recipe in any way you choose, and get creative with the flavour additions.

Blueberry and Lemon Layered Yoghurt Panna Cotta 
Recipe adapted from Lorraine Pascale, Saturday Kitchen 

Prepare 6-8 small glasses/ jars on a tray that will fit easily into the fridge.

Ingredients:
3 gelatine sheets
Cold water - enough to cover the sheets of gelatine
100ml cream (double/ whipping cream - 35% fat content)
100ml full cream milk
100g caster sugar
1/2 vanilla pod - seeds only
300g double thick Greek yoghurt (you can substitute with medium or low fat yoghurt)

100g blueberries - pureed
  or
zest of 2 lemons (for the second batch)

Method:
Soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes.

While it is soaking, place the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan.
Heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has all dissolved.

Mix the pureed blueberries into the yogurt.

Once the gelatine is soft, lift the sheets from the bowl and squeeze out the excess water.
Stir softened gelatine into the warmed milk / cream mixture until it has dissolved.
Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then pour this into the yoghurt/ blueberry mixture.
Stir gently until well combined.

Divide the mixture evenly between the glasses / jars; pour carefully to avoid spilling on the sides of the glass.
(If you want a completely smooth panna cotta, pour the mixture through a strainer/ sieve.)

Refridgerate.

Once the blueberry panna cotta has started to set, continue with the second layer - repeat the process above but replace blueberries with lemon zest.

Carefully pour the lemon panna cotta into the glasses, on top of the set blueberry layer.

Chill for a few hours, or overnight.
Top with a blueberry, lemon blossom or curl of lemon zest before serving.

These will keep for a few days in the fridge - if you can resist them that long!

Happy dessert-making!

xxM

Vanilla Cake with Creamy Rose Water Icing

I'm going through an add-rose-water-to-everything phase.
 Ok, almost everything, I guess. Chocolate cupcakes are exempt; as are rusks, and coffee cheesecake, and carrot muffins... So, maybe not even close to everything I've baked recently.
 But a lot a few things, ok?!

Sometimes I call these treats "turkish-delight-flavoured", but essentially it's just a splash of rose water...

The impulse is partially to do with the flavour (it's the taste of spring!), but also because it's an excuse to fling some rose petals around for the photos - it's just so darn pretty decorating with rose petals 💕

This sponge cake is the recipe I use very often for cakes and cupcakes. Most recently in these pastel-coloured mini cakes... which actually were rose-water flavoured!

The icing is a blend of normal buttercream and cream cheese icing ... and rose water flavoured, of course.

Creamy Rose Water Icing:

250g butter, at room temperature
500g icing sugar, sifted
250g medium fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2-3tsps rose water (to taste)
Pink gel food colour


Beat the butter until smooth, light and creamy (This step takes a while, but is well worth it for the final texture of the icing).
Add the sifted icing sugar. Beat again until light and creamy.
Gently beat in the cream cheese, gel colour and rose water.

When you assemble the layers of sponge and icing, sprinkle some crushed pistachios on top of the icing for extra flavour and colour (and crunch!) or chop up squares of turkish delight and add those to the icing. Then we can truly call it turkish delight icing, right?!

Happy baking!

xxM

Gorjuss Doll Cake Toppers

You don't have to be a little girl to love Gorjuss dolls! 

In fact I think they're appreciated more by adults than children (who get a little unsettled by the lack of facial features!) 

I've been admiring Santoro's whimsical works of art for a while, and what a pleasure it's been to  reproduce them in cake form. 

Mine are made from a modelling chocolate / fondant blend, except for the legs, which needed to have the stockings painted on, so I added tylose/CMC paste into that mix. 

My ratios are a 1:1 ratio of modelling chocolate to fondant, and then if I add tylose/CMC paste, it'll be 1/4 of that weight... 

50g modelling chocolate + 50g fondant = 100g paste, then I'll add 25g tylose/CMC paste. 

And it has to be the paste - don't use tylose powder in a modelling chocolate blend; it isn't as effective as it is when added to pure fondant. 

Why do I add the tylose paste? It results in a quicker drying time and firmer finish, especially when working in heat and humidity. 

Just make sure, though, if you make your own tylose paste, that it is dry and not tacky. 

It's not going to help combat the challenges of humidity if your paste itself is too damp!  

The beauty of modelling these figurines is the simplicity of their faces. 

And yet they're still so full of character, aren't they?  

Happy decorating!

xxM 

Spring Themed Mini-Cakes

It's Spring Day!

That announcement should be followed by some sort of tra-la-la, shouldn't it?! Picture Julie Andrews singing on the foothills of the Alps...The hills are alive...

etc...

Yes, well...

The Alps are very very far away so we'll just celebrate with cake instead.  

       

I made this sponge cake in three different colours, planning on 3-layered mini cakes. But while that would have been visually appealing, they'd have been too much of a mouthful. And considering they were for real-life tea, not Instagram or Facebook-life tea,  I settled on two layers. 

I still need to try the three layered look sometime (for sharing on IG and FB, of course), but in the meantime...

To get the colours true, without yellow undertones coming through, I used an oil-based sponge recipe, and replaced whole eggs with egg whites only. 

Spring-Coloured Vanilla Sponge Cake

Ingredients:
200g egg whites (or 4 whole eggs if you're not colouring the batter) 
400g caster sugar
320g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
250ml milk
100ml vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract 
Gel colours - pink, blue, purple

Method:
Set the oven temp to 175'C
Grease and line 3 x 8 inch round cake pans 

Mix the milk and oil together in a jug, and heat in microwave for 2 min on high. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Place the sugar, vanilla extract and eggs in a mixer, and beat on medium-high for 6 minutes, until pale and fluffy.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt together. 

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the egg mix, then half the milk mix; gently blending in between.  
Repeat; ending with the dry ingredients. 
Mix until just combined. 

Divide the batter evenly between 3 bowls. Add colour to each bowl, stir until uniformly mixed.

Pour the batter into 3 x 8 inch cake pans and bake for 20 minutes, or until the sponge springs back when touched. 

Cool in the pans. 

When completely cool, use a scone cutter / round cookie cutter to cut out circles of cake (trim the tops flat, if necessary). 

Pipe swirls of icing on top of half of the rounds, and top with a different-coloured circle of cake. 

Pipe another rose swirl on top, and add some "leaves". 

The icing used here is swiss meringue buttercream flavoured with rose water, which pairs beautifully with this light sponge.  

Happy baking, and happy (Southern Hemisphere) Spring Day!

xxM