The pears are poached with a vanilla bean and a bit of sugar. Then, they are cooled down and sprinkled with shredded chocolate. This is a very easy recipe to make and will be perfect for a special event or holidays.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
servings
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Ingredients
- 4 pears
- 750 ml water
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 vanilla bean cut in half longwise
- 50 g dark chocolate
- Some Fresh mint
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Peel the pears.
- Cut them in half, then core.
- In the pot, bring water to a boil with sugar and vanilla bean.
- Add the pears and boil for 10 to 15 minutes, until they became soft but keep their shape. Remove the pot from the heat and let the pears cool in the syrup.
- To serve, drain the pears well. Then place each half on an individual plate.
- Sprinkle with shredded chocolate and decorate with mint.
- You can also serve this dessert in a glass.
This post was posted in Desserts
Peach Melba
This is my version of a classical dessert “Peach Melba” with roasted peaches, a red berry sauce and an exquisite whipped cream.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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Ingredients
- 3 peaches
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar (or sugar)
- 250 g berries (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries)...)
- 200 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%) very cold
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 l vanilla ice cream
- Some dark chocolate
- Some sliced almonds
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 390 degrees F. Line one baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the peaches in half, and remove the stones. Place the peach halves on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Bake in the oven about 35 minutes until the peaches are tender. Remove from the oven, let them cool down completely, then carefully peel the skin.
- Rinse and drain fresh berries and puree them until smooth. Pass the puree through a fine sieve to remove all tiny seeds.
- Whip the heavy cream with the sugar until fluffy. Don't over beat.
- In each glass, put one half of peach and one ball of vanilla ice cream.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of berries puree.
- Add the whipped cream and finish with chocolate crumbs and sliced almonds. Serve right away.
This post was posted in Desserts
Green Tomatoes Jam
Don’t know what to do with the left-over green tomatoes from your summer harvest? Jam, of course! This recipe is extremely easy. Try it for breakfast, on top of bread, or as an appetizer with some cheese.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 35 minutes |
| Passive Time | 10 hours |
| Servings |
|
Ingredients
- 1 kg green tomatoes
- 3/4 inch ginger (optional)
- 2 lemons
- 650 g sugar
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Cut the tomatoes into wedges. Peel and grate the ginger, and press the lemon.
- In a pot, combine the tomatoes, sugar, ginger, and lemon juice. Cover and let sit all night.
- The next day, remove the cover and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and simmer for about 35 minutes, stirring frequently. Skim if needed. The cooking time depends of how much water is in the tomatoes. Don't over cook. When the jam is cooled down, it will be less liquid.
- Pour the jam into a clean jar and cover it with its lid.
This post was posted in Desserts
Easy Madeleines
Very light, fluffy and tasty French cookies. Classic small sponge cakes shaped like seashell, usually made with lemon zest. I love lemon, but I decided not to add any to my madeleines. I just like them plain.
You can find molds for mini-madeleines. That’s really nice and you can savor them for a cafe gourmand.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Passive Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
pieces
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Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 220 g sugar
- 120 ml milk
- 200 g all purpose flour sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 120 g unsalted butter melted
Ingredients
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Instructions
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In a medium bowl combine eggs and sugar. Whip until light. Add milk and mix well.
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Carefully fold in the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt.
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Add melted butter and mix throughly until smooth. Let the batter rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter madeleine pan. My pan makes 12 cookies at a time. From this receipe you'll make 24 cookies.
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Spoon batter into the prepared molds, filling 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the tops spring back. Remove the madeleines from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes.
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With a knife or fork carefully loosen the madeleines from the pan and then tip the whole pan out to a prepared plate.
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If you want to make it in a loaf pan, it will take much longer, about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake come out clean.
This post was posted in Cafe gourmand, Desserts
Berry Charlotte Cake
This is a famous French dessert made of ladyfinger biscuits, light mousse and topped with fresh fruits. My Berry Charlotte Cake is very easy to make, although it seems like not. The only downside to a charlotte is that it is not always easy to assemble the ladyfinger in the spring form.
Even though the berry season is only a few months out of the year, frozen berries allow us enjoying the sweet taste of summer year round.
If it is winter time or you happen to not finding any good berries at the store, use frozen ones, for the mousse and fresh ones for the decor.
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 3 minutes |
| Passive Time | 6 hours |
| Servings |
servings
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Ingredients
- 500 g berries raspberries, strawberries or blackberries...
- 50-70 g sugar
- 500 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%) very cold
- 8 g gelatin
- 24 Ladyfingers
For decoration
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- Fresh berries
- Fresh mint optional
- whipped cream optional
Ingredients
For decoration
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Instructions
- Rinse and drain berries, add sugar and puree until smooth.
- Pass the puree through a fine sieve, to remove all tiny seeds.
- You will need about 1/2 cup of puree for dipping the ladyfingers. The rest pour into the saucepan.
- Add 4-5 Tbsp of cold water to gelatin, and set it aside.
- Place the saucepan with berry mixture over medium heat on the stove (don't boil), remove from the stove and add gelatin. Whisk well until the gelatin is dissolved. Let it cool to room temperature. ...
- Pour the very cold heavy whipping cream into a large bowl and whisk, until the cream reaches the soft peaks stage. Do not over beat!
- Once the berry puree is completely at room temperature, gently fold it into the whipped cream and set it aside.
- Line the inside and walls of a springform pan with parchment paper or plastic wrap. ...
- Measure the length you need.
- You can trim off one end of each ladyfinger.
- Dip one side of the ladyfinger in the puree mixture. Let the excess syrup drip off, then line the ladyfingers (dipped side needs to be inside) in a tight ring, cut side down, around the spring form pan.
- If you having trouble fitting the last ladyfinger in, you can cut it in half.
- Pour the berry mousse into the springform. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
- Carefully remove springform walls and plastic wrap. Transfer cake to the plate.
- Dust with cocoa powder.
- Garnish with some fresh berries, fresh mint, whipped cream and shredded chocolate.
- You can decorate with ribbon, but don't forget to remove the ribbon before cutting the cake. 🙂
This post was posted in Desserts
Mini Pavlova
Pavlova is a dessert, named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926. It is a meringue dessert with crisp crust and soft light inside, topped with cream and fresh berries.
You can make meringue shells ahead of time and freeze them. I usually make the cream the same day I want to serve my Mini Pavlova. And as always this dessert is a perfect mini dessert for my Cafe Gourmand.
I rarely use food coloring when baking. I like my desserts to have their original color. But if you are cooking for Valentine's Day or for a Princess party, you may add some food coloring to your dessert. This time I used one tiny drop of red coloring to make the cream pink.
| Prep Time | 35 minutes |
| Cook Time | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
Ingredients
Meringue
- 4 egg whites (room temperature)
- 1 pinch of salt
- 220 g confectioner's sugar
Cream
- 200 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%) very cold
- 100 g mascarpone cheese
- 2,5 Tbsp sugar
- 1 drop red food coloring (optional)
- Fresh berries raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries...
Ingredients
Meringue
Cream
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Instructions
Meringue
- Using mixer, begin beating your egg whites and salt on a low speed, steadily increasing up to medium high.
- While beating on a medium speed, slowly add the confectioner's sugar, about 1-2 Tbsp at a time. Once all the sugar is added, keep beating until the egg whites hold stiff peaks.
- Preheat oven to 230 degrees F. Draw circles of approximately 4-8 cm diameter (you can use a pint glass as a guide) on each of the parchment lined sheets.
- Spoon meringue into piping bag, fitted with 3/4 inch tip. Pipe meringue to cover circles on prepared baking sheet. Pipe two more rings of meringues on top of outer edge to form walls of Pavlovas.
- Bake in center of oven until dry and crisp, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Turn off the oven and let the meringues completely cool in the oven. Once cooled, you can top them with whipped cream and berries.
Filling
- With mixer, beat together very cold heavy cream and mascarpone cheese, until whipped gradually adding sugar. Add food coloring. Don't overbeat the cream, or you will end up with butter.
- Spoon cream into piping bag.
- Right before serving, pipe frosting on the pavlovas and top with fresh berries.
- If you have some leftovers cream, you can pipe it into a small glass and garnish with some fresh berries.
Recipe Notes
Pease don't waste your egg yolks, you can always make Creme brûlée.
This post was posted in Cafe gourmand, Desserts
King Cake (Galette de Rois)
This is a very popular French pie that celebrates the holiday of Epiphany, the day when 3 wise men came bearing gifts for newborn Jesus. The traditional way to bake this king cake is to place a porcelain figurine or “fève” into the center of the galette. The person who receives the slice with the figurine is “King of the Day” and gets to wear a (paper) crown for the rest of the day.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 35 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
servings
|
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (100 g) softened butter
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup (100 g) almond powder
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 Tbsp rum (optional)
- 2 sheets ready-to-use puff pastry ( Puff Pastry Sheets)
- 1 egg yolk
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Beat the softened butter and sugar together, then beat in the eggs. Stir in the almond powder. Add vanilla, rum and set it aside.
- Roll out one sheet of puff pastry. Poke holes with fork.
- Spread the almond filling over the center of the dough, leaving a 1 inch (1.2 cm) exposed border. If you wish, place a little porcelain figurine "fève" somewhere in the almond filling.
- Brush the edges of the pastry with water and cover with another circle of dough on top and press down to seal the edges.
- Use a paring knife to create a design on top of your galette, then brush with beaten yolk. Poke 3-5 holes in the top, to allow steam to escape while baking.
- Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. (Bake on the bottom rack of the oven).
This post was posted in Desserts
Easy Apple Cake
Delicate and full of apples easy to make cake. Recipe is very similar to famous Russian Apple Sharlotka but with a little of olive oil and baking powder. Must try!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 45 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 200 g sugar
- 150 g sifted flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 big apples Granny Smith
- 1 tsp confectioner's sugar (facultatif)
Ingredients
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Instructions
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Preheat oven to 370 degrees F. Grease and flour a round cake pan or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
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Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar. Add flour and baking powder. Mix well, then add oil and mix last time.
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Peel and dice apples into small pieces. Lay out the apples on the bottom of the pan.
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Pour the batter over the apples.
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Bake for about 45 minutes or until а knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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Let the cake cool then transfer to plate.
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Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
This post was posted in Desserts
Cabbage and Carrot Slaw
This cabbage and carrot slaw is simple, healthy and nutritious. It is super easy to make and requires only a few ingredients. A perfect side dish to literally anything.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized cabbage head
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 carrots
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 4-5 Tbsp 5% white vinegar
- 4-5 Tbsp olive oil
- fresh herbs (dill, parsley, green onion)
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Cut the cabbage in half and peel of a few of the thin outer layers. Cut each half into quarters, then cut out the tough core in the middle. Slice each quarter crosswise into thin shreds. Add salt and squeeze the shredded cabbage with your hands.
- Peel the carrots and shred them.
- Transfer the shredded carrots and cabbage into the mixing bowl. Add sugar, white vinegar and olive oil. Gently toss everything together. Taste and add some more salt if needed. Garnish with fresh herbs before serving.
This post was posted in Salads
Bread Kvass
A traditional Russian bread kvass is a fermented and carbonated beverage in which the main components are Rye bread, yeast, sugar, water and raisins. In Russia kvass is used in some cold recipes such as okroshka.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 6 minutes |
| Passive Time | 14 hours |
| Servings |
servings
|
Ingredients
- 3 l boiled water room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 10 slices Rye bread
- 3 Tbsp raisins optional
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Slice Rye bread.
- Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat the broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet. Broil the slices until dark brown, turning them over only once, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- In a large bowl, mix together active dry yeast, sugar and water. Place bread and raisins in 3 Mason jars and fill the jars with water.
- Cover the jars with lid or plastic wrap and let it stand on the countertop for 6-8 hours at room temperature, stir the mixture occasionally.
- Carefully remove the toasted bread and raisins and discard them. Using a strainer pour the kvass into empty jars or plastic containers and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Serve chilled and ENJOY!
This post was posted in Drinks