noir plus

I'm now at Turin, Italy when updating this post.

I'm attending a science conference with my colleagues & I have 2 days conference so I'll have some times walking around the town.

I had a long weekend break & took the chance to make some entremets.

I was craving for chocolate so I decided to make the chocolate mousse & coffee creme brûlée from "Top10名师的50道人气蛋糕技术教本" (50 Popular Cakes from Top 10 Pâtissiers).

The original recipe includes a jaconde base, chocolate mousse & coffee creme brûlée.

I used a different cake base & added some caramel hazelnuts for some variations.

I made this recipe into 6 small glasses & 6 little domes.

The chocolate mousse is absolutely divine.

The rich coffee creme brûlée enhances the bitterness & sweetness of chocolate mousse which makes a great combination.

Chocolate Torta with Chocolate & Coffee Ganache

It was my sister Kelly's birthday so I wanted to make her a mascarpone mousse cake filled with fresh raspberry.

However, the supermarket closest to my place wasn't open on Easter Sunday.

Instead I baked this decadently dark chocolate torta with the bittersweet chocolate & coffee sauce.

The recipe is adapted from Willie's Chocolate Bible which has been in my collection over 2 years now.

I absolutely adore this cookbook as it includes a variety of savoury & sweet recipes for chocolate but I had to say this is the first time I've baked something from it.

This italian chocolate torta is heavenly smooth & chocolatey, simply divine.

It's very rich so I would suggest you to have it in smaller slices.

When ready to serve, make yourself a nicely brew coffee.

If you're not a coffee lover, tangy fruit tea is also a good choice which will ease the richness.

Now, have a small bite & let the chocolate torta slowly melt in your mouth, enjoy the velvet texture & allow your palate to take in the flavour.

Take a sip of the hot coffee/tea, sigh with satisfaction & enjoy the rest of the day.

Caramel Cafe Noix

Well, I made this cake 2 weeks ago & I should have updated the blog last week.

But I just couldn't get in the mood to write.

I get overwhelmed with my thoughts lately, mainly because I'm stress about my work.

A lot of tasks to be completed, experiments to be carried out, parties to attend, cakes to be baked…

Back to my obsession with cake & caramel.

Yes, another caramel entremets.

This cake has coffee genoise as a base, caramel coffee mousse & crunchy caramel hazelnuts.

The bitterness of coffee blended well with the sweet & rich caramel flavour, finally with the nutty crunchy hazelnuts.

A lovely combination of different textures & flavours.

Brésilienne

This is the first time I've tried to test the recipe from the book 素材より素材らしく―杉野英実の菓子 (Le Goût Authentique Retrouvé by Hidemi Sugino) my friend bought it for me from Japan in September.

I've tried to make Pomme d'Eve but the recipe wasn't his, I might give it a try sometimes. 

Evan from Evan's Kitchen Ramblings has tried many desserts, all of them look gorgeous.

The recipe I chose to give a closure to 2011 was Brésilienne.

A truly elegant dessert consists of coffee mousse, caramel mousse & coffee joconde biscuit.

I have to say I didn't do a perfect job to make the entremets look like the photos from the book.

I didn't have the right mousse rings & I did make a mess with the first cake when I spread the glazing on top.

So, I gave up with the glazing part...

I think the taste is the most important.

First of all, this cake is definitely not for people with a sweet tooth, if you're coffee lover, you'll fall in love with it.

When eating the coffee mousse alone, it's quite bitter.

But the sweetness is enhanced by the caramel mousse & the coffee joconde.

I personally think the Cognac syrup for the joconde is a must as it adds a sophisticated note to the cake.

 Thank you for joining me in my journey of baking this year.

Wishing you all the best the coming year.

Over the Weekend

I was busy planning the trip to Prague so I didn't have time to update the blog last week.

I've come back to England 2 days ago & I've so many things to sort out.

The photos & notes I took throughout the trip which I'll tell you later.

From now, I'm sharing a few recipes which I've tried over the weekend almost 2 weeks ago.

I baked some green tea financiers & vanilla semifreddo with espresso.

We had dinner at Strada italian restaurant & we ordered nougat semifreddo with espresso for dessert.

It was great so I wanted to try if I can make it.

I've found some recipes & almost all of them uses raw eggs so I decided to write up my own.

It's simpler & yet delicious!

As for the financiers, I bought a silicone mould from the trip to Calais & I haven't tried making financiers before.

I wasn't sure how financier should be like but I like the matcha flavour.

The sakura looks great too.

The End of 2010

It's hard to believe that it's the end of 2010 & a new year is coming.

I'd started a new course in October 2009, I felt that I wasn't able to complete it as I changed to a new field.

So, I had a stressful & busy study life in from spring to autumn.

I managed to graduate & now carry on with my study, I hope I can manage for another 3 years.

Baileys Irish Coffee Cheesecake with Lavender Mousse

After having a great trip to Paris, I was so tempted to make something like the cakes I ate in Paris but when I thought twice, 'No, it's too complicated'.

I enjoyed eating them but not so to make them, maybe I'll take the challenge one day.

Passion Fruit & Caramel Coffee Mousse Cake

The weekend was nice & warm.

I have a few friends had their birthdays last weekend but I only made one birthday cake for a close friend that I have known for 8 years.

He has helped my family & me a lot since I came over to England.

In Love with Chestnut III ~ Chestnut & Coffee Cake

My 3rd part of chestnut desserts.

I should have made this cake earlier because I think it is for winter.

Although it is still chilly outside, I think it should be spring now & cakes should be of lighter taste.

The cake is soft, spongy & rich in taste.

Enjoy!

Would you like a cup of coffee?

This is a Mochaccino cupcake, not coffee!

I bought a new cookbook with pretty pictures & lots of inspirations.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly as it has coffee liqueur which I don't like.

But I like the idea.

I didn't like to drink coffee, because of the bitter taste.

I'm getting used to the taste & smell of coffee now.

The one I love is Mocha.

A wonderful combination of the bitter from coffee & the sweetness from chocolate.

Mochaccino Cupcakes

2 eggs

80g butter

25g dark chocolate (70%)

150ml milk

120g caster sugar

2 tbsp instant coffee

20g cocoa powder

250g self-raising flour

Decorations:

200ml heavy cream, whipped

Cocoa powder for topping

Butter the cake moulds or line with cupcake cases.

Combine the chocolate, milk & coffee in a small saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth.

Beat soften butter, sugar & eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light & fluffy.

Stir in sifted flours, cocoa powder & warm chocolate mixture, mix until smooth.

Fill the prepared moulds until 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated oven at 180’C for 25 - 30 min.

Remove from the oven, cool on a rack.

Remove cases/moulds from cakes, put them in coffee cups.

Pipe whipped cream on the top & sprinkle with cocoa powder.