Pomegranate White Tea & Honey Ginger Yogurt Verrines

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone was able to spend time with those they love the most. It was a very low key day in our household, but very nice nonetheless. It's hard to imagine that 6 years ago, I would be going on my first date with my future husband. I remember going to dinner and splitting a wonderful blueberry cobbler for dessert (he's lucky he didn't pass up dessert), then heading off to a movie.

These have been on top of my list of things to make for over a year now, and I finally got a chance to a week ago. However, I think they are so pretty and would make a wonderful, understated dessert for Valentine's Day. These verrines, a layered dessert usually presented in a small glass, were delicious. Tart, smooth, and balanced. They made for a great breakfast the next day as well...hey, they're yogurt!


Pomegranate White Tea & Honey Ginger Yogurt Verrines (Adapted from Tartelette)
Makes 6 verrines

For the Pomegranate White Tea Jelly:
1 1/2 cups brewed white tea (I used a pomegranate white tea)
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
1/4 cup cold water

Add the cold water to a small bowl and sprinkle powdered gelatin over it and set aside. Meanwhile, add the tea, juice, sugar, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture and stir until completely dissolved. Let mixture cool to room temperature. Divide mixture among glasses and refrigerate for about 2 hours until set. If desired, position the glasses at an angle in an empty egg carton to set at an angle.

Honey Ginger Yogurt Gelee:
1 1/2 teaspoon gelatin
2 tablespoon cold water
2 cups Greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

In a bowl, combine 1 cup yogurt, the honey and the ginger and mix until combined. Set aside. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and set aside. In another bowl, heat the remaining yogurt in the microwave for one minute. Then heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 12 seconds. Mix the melted gelatin into the hot yogurt mixture and stir until well combined. Add the gelatin and yogurt mixture to the yogurt-honey-ginger mixture and combine. Spoon the yogurt gelee over the pomegranate white tea jelly and refrigerate at least 2 hours or until set before serving.

French Silk Tarts

My birthday was Monday and I don't think it could have been a better day. The large snow storm that dumped over 30 inches of snow in my yard allowed me to stay home and bake. It's now Wednesday, and I'm still off of work because of even more snow, so I'm spending my days trying to craft, bake and clean, however, the kittens are excited that we're not leaving in the morning and have been sabotaging any attempts to do anything but play. They're taking a quick nap, so I thought I'd at least start this post.


I understand many people think I'm crazy for being so excited about the snow, but you see, I'm a Midwest girl at heart, and always will be. I truly miss the snow. The views out my back deck are serene and perfect and I just love making comfort food and blankets and snuggles with the kittens. However, I'm starting to see the downsides of living here with this much snow...they just don't have the resources and are trying their best to clear the roads, but it takes so much more time.


French Silk Pie is probably my second favorite dessert, just slightly behind Creme Brulee. I used to have a slice every time we went to Baker's Square Restaurants, and usually "bugged" my mom into letting us take a whole pie home. I decided I was going to make myself something to celebrate my birthday since going out was a bit treacherous. I decided on French Silk Tarts to share with Steve and my sister Lauren.


These were extremely close to the original...very rich and very delicious. If the snow keeps up, I might have to make these again because were gone so fast.

French Silk Tarts
Makes six 4-inch tarts or one 9-inch pie

For the short crust:
5 1/2 oz (about 1 1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2-4 tablespoon cold water

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 5-10 short pulses. (You can also mix pastry by hand, by cutting butter into flour and salt with a pastry cutter)

Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse to incorporate. Do not over pulse. Test dough by pinching a small amount of dough together; if it is too crumbly add a a little bit more water and pulse until combined.

Turn dough on to a clean surface and form dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick and cut circles large enough to fit into tart pans. Line with parchment and fill with baking beads or dry beans. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool to room temperature before adding filling.

For the french silk filling:
4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 oz (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
4 oz (2/3 cup) semisweet chocolate wafers or chips, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
4 oz (1/2 {liquid} cup) heavy whipping cream

Break eggs into heatproof bowl and whisk to blend. Set the bowl over a simmering water in a saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook the eggs, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 140 degrees F. Maintain the temperature of the mixture for 5 minutes, making sure the temperature does not increase over 150 degrees F. If the mixture climbs above 150 degrees F, remove from heat while continuing to stir. After 5 minutes, place the bowl in an ice bath and stir the eggs until cool.

In a large bowl, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and beat on high for 4 minutes. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Add the egg mixture slowly and beat for 2 minutes on medium-high speed until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Slowly add the melted chocolate and mix until incorporated. Pour the heavy cream in a thin stream and whip on high speed for 2-3 minutes.

Spoon filling into crust(s) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

For the stabilized whipped cream: (Adapted from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum)
Makes 2 cups
3/4 tsp powdered gelatin
4 teaspoon water
8 oz (1 {liquid} cup) heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Refrigerate the mixing bowl and beater (whisk attachment if using stand mixer) for at least 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water and let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Microwave the gelatin and water on high in 5 second intervals, stirring in between each, until gelatin is dissolved. Cool to room temperature. The gelatin must be liquid but not warm when added to the cream.

In the chilled bowl, add the cream, sugar, and vanilla and whip until the traces of the beater marks begin to show distinctly. While continuing to whip the cream mixture, add the gelatin in a steady stream. Beat until stiff peaks form. Be careful to not over beat, as a few seconds past stiff peaks will not allow for a velvety smooth consistency.

Pipe whipped cream onto tart filling using a large star tip (I used tip 1M). Garnish tarts with chopped chocolate or curls.

Note: When using the stabilized whipped cream, the tarts can be refrigerated for up to 2 days without the whipped cream watering out. If desired, tarts can be topped with non-stabilized whipped cream immediately before serving. When ready to serve the tarts, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes to let the filling soften.

Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon and Pistachio Shortbread

Every year, around Christmas time, I get this craving for pistachios. It must come from my childhood memories. Every year, my mom, sister and I made a point to ALWAYS get my father a selection of nuts from a local nut shop. Of course, we always had to make sure there were pistachios in the box. We actually usually got enough to last a month. I think Dad always thought he was extra special, when in reality, it was for us to snack on during the days to come. That fact does not diminish his awesomeness, by any means, because eating the pistachios was always more fun because I did it with him. I think my craving was stronger this year since I wasn't able to make it home and I was a bit homesick.


It just so happened that a friend of mine was having a procedure a few weeks ago, and I wanted to send something to help with the recovery. I started to go through my list of recipes I've been waiting for the right time to make and came across these. They were perfect...quick, easy and shippable, not to mention they were pistachio!


These definitely hit the spot and the care package was well received. I'm hoping to make these again soon and ship some off to my Dad.

Meyer Lemon and Pistachio Shortbread (Adapted from Cannelle et Vanille)

Ingredients
227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
60 grams (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
2 Tbsp meyer lemon juice
zest of 2 large meyer lemons
4 grams (about 2/3 tsp) fine sea salt
60 grams (1/2 cup) pistachios, finely chopped
280 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour

Directions

In a large bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice and zest and cream for an additional minute until smooth. Add flour and salt and mix until just combined. Add the chopped pistachios and mix until well blended.

Divide the dough into two parts, and roll each into a log about 2-inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and referigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the dough is chilled, use a sharp knife to cut 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick disks from the log. Bake on a parchment covered cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden.

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As you can tell, I've been a little distracted and my baking has become sporadic at best, and my blogging non-existent. Well, I think I have a very good reason, as we've had an addition to the family...well 3 to be exact. Last August, we found 5 kittens under our back deck, the results of strays in the neighborhood.


They were only 4 weeks old and had to be bottle-fed for awhile, but since everyone has found their homes and we're not outnumbered by cats any more (one is my sister's), things seem to be looking up. I hope you start to see a lot more of me.

Blueberry Cobbler

Blueberries are one of my favorite berries. I've been known to pick up a pint at the farmer's market that stops by work and just snack throughout the afternoon. The husband doesn't like it so much because he knows by just looking at me (I don't know how he does it!) and is upset when nothing comes home for him. However, I managed to snack on something else a few weeks ago and brought home a nice quart of blueberries to help celebrate the hub's birthday.


Yes, the hub's birthday is at the end of June and I'm just getting around to posting this. It's not for lack of tastiness as I thought this was awesome. S thought the blueberries were a bit to sweet so I might be more aware of the original sweetness of the berries before adding all the sugar, but the cardamom in the biscuit batter made for a nice spice to offset the sweetness. This was my first time using caradmom and I really enjoyed it. It's unlike anything I've used before and despite a little spill across the kitchen floor, it won't be the last. I actually used cardamom seeds and ground them myself in our new grinder. It worked out very well and the aroma filled the kitchen for the evening.

Blueberry Cobbler (Adapted from Gourmet Magazine via Foodnetwork.com)
Makes 4-5 servings

Ingredients
2 cups blueberries, rinsed and dried
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cornstarch
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions
~Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
~Butter an 8-inch glass pie plate.
~In a large bowl, toss blueberries, sugar, zest, lemon juice and cornstarch until well mixed. Transfer blueberry mixture to the pie plate.
~Bake blueberry mixture for 5-7 minutes, using a cookie sheet under the pie plate to catch any blueberry mixture that bubbles over.
~Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt until mixed.
~Add cream, and stir until a dough forms.
~Drop dough into 5 mounds on top of blueberries.
~Return to oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through and golden.

Enjoy!

Where, Oh Where have I been?

I apologize for being missing for so long. I'm not really sure where I've been. To be honest, I've been in a slump. I haven't produced anything wonderful lately, and I hesitate sharing anything less than what I find spectacular, because you deserve that. But it's not just a baking and photography slump, but a life slump. However, I seem to be on the mend mentally and will have some posts coming soon.

In the meantime, I want to say that I belong to a wonderful community of foodies on the What's Cooking board on the Nest. I haven't been there very long, but these group of people are so kind and caring. I love how we have come together to help a friend, most of us have never met.

Joe and Brook
A fellow Nestie and her husband have had a rough road these past few months, including fertility issues, multiple health scares, and three beautiful but very premature children. And although I have never met them, Brooke and Joe are amazing people with strength and faith I'm not sure I would have if I were in their shoes. You can read their amazing story on their blog at threecheersforbabies.blogspot.com.

Lily
Charlie
Annaleigh
These precious babies were born at 25 weeks and 5 days. The have shown tremendous determination in their first month of life, but they will be in the NICU for at least 2 more months. Due to Brooke's health scares, she had to stop working far sooner than expected and in addition to three children, I'm sure the medical costs are adding up fast. The wonderful community on the Nest have pulled together to help this wonderful family out.

I know that times are tough, but I wanted to show my support for these great people. I've added a link to a Chip In Page and if you're able to donate some spare change, I'm sure the family would be more than appreciative.

Have a wonderful evening and please give those you love an extra hug tonight.

Yogurt Mousse Cake

I have been eyeing The Cake Book cookbook for some time now. Lucky for me, I was eyeing it on my friends bookshelf. My friend is a professional chef, so the wealth of knowledge is unbelievable. It's probably one of my favorite past times to just cuddle up with a blanket and read cookbooks, imaging having the time to make all of the recipes in the books and those that I think of when the creative juices get flowing. One day I was hijacking my friends couch and cookbooks and found this cake. My friend was practically salivating when I was showing her this cake, as she is a dairy freak. Literally, I've seen her suck a milk carton basically inside out for the last drop of milk. Classy I tell you!

It just so happened to be close to her birthday, so I decided that a wonderful way to celebrate would be to stuff ourselves full of this cake. This cake was delicious. The cake was light and airy and the yogurt provided the perfect amount of tartness to complement the sweetness of the cake. The recipe originally calls for Earl Grey tea to be used to flavor the syrup to brush the cake layers, but I used Irish Breakfast and it was absolutely delicious. The light fresh flavors make this cake perfect for the spring. I will definitely be making this again.

Yogurt Mousse Cake (Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)
Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients

Classic Genoise
1 cup (3.5 oz) sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
6 large eggs
3/4 cup (5.3 oz) sugar
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled in a 1 cup capacity bowl

Syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 Irish Breakfast tea bag
1 tsp lemon juice

Yogurt Mousse
2 cups plain organic whole milk yogurt
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup heavy cream, divided
2 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Honeyed Raspberries
2 Tbsp honey
6 oz fresh raspberries

Directions

Make the Classic Genoise
~ Position the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of one 9x3-inch springform pan or two 9x2 round cake pans. Dust the pan(s) with flour and set aside.
~ Sift together the flour and salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
~ In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the eggs and sugar by hand. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the mixing bowl. Constantly stir the mixture and heat until the eggs are warm. Transfer to the bowl to the electric mixer and, using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume, about 8 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
~Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula. Repeat sifting and folding in flour two more times.
~ Transfer about 3/4 cup of the batter into the melted butter. Stir until blended. Return to batter and fold in. Transfer batter to the prepared pan(s).
~If using 9-inch springform pan, bake for 25 to 30 minutes and if using two 9-inch cake pans, bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched and cake tester inserted into center comes out clean.
~Cool the cake(s) in the pan(s) on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
~Invert cake(s) onto the wire rack and cool completely.

STORAGE: Store at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week.

Make the Syrup
~Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil. Remove the saucepan from heat and add tea bag. Allow syrup to steep for 15 minutes.
~Remove the tea bag, making sure to extract any remaining liquid from the bag. Stir in the lemon juice. Allow mixture to cool.

Make the Yogurt Mousse
~Line a strainer with 2 layers of cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Add yogurt and let drain at room temperature for about an hour.
~Move drained yogurt (just over 1 cup) into a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add lemon zest and vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
~In a small heatproof cup, put 1/3 cup heavy cream. Sprinkle gelatin over the cream to bloom (soften). Add 1 cup water to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to water to a simmer.
~Meanwhile, in a large bowl beat the remaining 1 1/2 cup heavy cream until soft mounds begin to form. Slowly add confectioners' sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Be careful to not over beat.
~Place the cup with the cream and gelatin into the saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour the gelatin into the yogurt and whisk until blended. Gently fold the yogurt mixture into the whipped cream.

Assemble the Cake
~Using a serrated knife, cut each layer of the Classic Genoise into 2 horizontal layers. (If making Genoise in a 9x3-inch springform pan, cut into 4 layers. You will only need 3 layers, so the remaining fourth layer can be yours to snack on!) Place a small amount of yogurt mousse on a cake board or cake plate to help prevent slippage. Place one layer, cut side up and brush the layer generously with the syrup, using about 1/3 of the syrup. Place about 1 1/2 cups of the yogurt mousse on the cake layer. Using an offset spatula, spread mousse to the edge of the cake layer. Top with second cake layer, cut side up, and brush with 1/3 of the syrup. Spread another 1 1/2 cups of the yogurt mousse over the cake layer. Place the final layer on top, cut side up and brush with remaining syrup. Frost the cake with the remaining mousse by placing it on the top of the cake and spreading over the top and sides. Refrigerate the cake while preparing the honeyed raspberries.

Preparing the Honeyed Raspberries
~Warm the honey in the microwave (about 10 seconds on high power) or in a small saucepan over low heat. In a medium bowl, pour the warm honey over the berries. Gently toss the berries until they are evenly coated with the honey. Arrange the berries in the center of the cake, piling them up. They will start to clump as they cool.

If desired, serve cake slices drizzled with mint syrup (below).

STORAGE: Store in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for up to 3 days.

Mint Syrup
1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp water

~Combine all the ingredients in blender or small food processor and process until mint is finely chopped. Transfer the syrup to a plastic squeeze bottle for easy plating.

STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

Outrageous Brownies!

I think this brownie recipe was made for Ray. Ray is my coworker and a very close friend and loves to tell how he likes to make brownies and mid-way through baking, take them out and hit the pan on the counter to make a really dense brownie. Well today is Ray's birthday and I wanted to make something for him that he would really really enjoy. Happy Birthday Ray!

I am not the hugest chocolate fan, especially in baked goods, but these brownies do live up to their name...they are definitely outrageous. They are extremely dense but melt in your mouth. The walnuts provide a nice contrast in texture. The coffee lends a subtle flavor under the main chocolate attraction. And they have just the right amount of sugar to keep my sweet tooth happy while still providing a rich, tasty treat.

I will warn you that this recipe makes a lot of batter and a really large bowl is needed to make these. I had to switch out bowls when I things got to be too much. I made a full recipe and used 2 9x13 pans which seemed to work well. You can easily halve this recipe and bake in 1 9x13 pan.

Ina's Outrageous Brownies (from Ina Garten via Food Network)
Makes 20 large or about 40 smaller brownies, depending on cutting preference

1 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 pound plus 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips (divided into 1 pound for melting and 12 oz chips)
6 oz unsweetended chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 Tbsp instant coffee powder
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (1 cup for batter, 1/4 cup mixed with nuts and chocolate chip)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces (I roasted whole walnuts for about 8 min before cooling and dicing)

Directions
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 x 18 x 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
~Melt together the butter, 1 pound of semisweet chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
~Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
~Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie batter. Do not over-bake. Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Enjoy!