Lemon Roll

I love the tangy taste that lemon adds to desserts, it cuts the sweetness well. I remembered drooling over a lemon roll that I saw on the Hairy Bikers cooking programme, so I decided to give it a go today as I had quite a few lemons in the fridge which suited me well on this occasion. I didn't have the recipes, which I could have easily obtained from the BBC website if I had wanted to but I decided to do my own. Starting with the cake base, I made a genoise. Unlike other cakes, a genoise doesn't use a leavening agent, its volume comes from the air suspended in the batter during mixing using the bain-marie method. During the week we were learning how to make genoise, "Artisan power!" could be heard in class to spur everyone on, punctuated with a deep breath out whenever someone caught a quick rest in between the whisking.

Once the genoise was baked, I got on with making the lemon butter cream, then the lemon curd (again, more whisking) and finally the lemon syrup to soak the genoise. Finally came the fun part - putting the different components together. The result was a delight! I brought a few slices to a dinner date I had with Anne-Marie and she loved it! We had a nice evening tucked in warmly in her attic apartment, listening to the rain splashing on the windows, knitting and watching Bridget Jones Diary (it was like the 20th time she'd watched this movie!!). When I came home, my editor had tasted my lemon roll. Perfect was his word :)

Home-Made Market - Prins Hendrikstraat, Den Haag

Three weeks have passed since my last post, I have not done much besides meeting friends. The rain kept coming, patchy but persistent. Nothing exciting on the weather front, but not so for sport! On the day of Manchester's triumphant win over Arsenal at Old Trafford on the 28th of August 2011, a decision was made - I was going to participate in the Home-Made Market :)

I spent the whole week planning for my inaugural sale, and still managed to slot in time to cook up a dinner for my editor's colleagues. The morning of the day before, I woke up early (not really my forte since I moved to the Hague) to get ready for a baking marathon. My editor doubled up as my assistant, running around to get stuff that I needed. My day went by pretty smoothly except for a little drama at the end - a few of the lemon tart bases crumbled, so I only had one instead of four as planned. It was not until 5am that I finished baking... I sank straight into my bed snoring away before being woken up three hours later by the alarm...

It wasn't the best weather at the start of the day, clouds were hovering above and there were rain drops. I quickly washed up and donned a dress. I still hadn't really figured out how to transport my cakes and tarts! But no time to panic, I started cutting the cakes while working out a plan. Finally, we loaded everything onto a bamboo board and in baskets, cling-wrapped it and set out to the market. We were an hour late for the scheduled opening time.

The crowd started to pour in and my cakes started to disappear one by one... I was sold out in just about 3 hours! I made a profit, a small but proud one ;) I was so tired but it was well worth the experience and fun, I'm glad I did it :) A big hug to my editor and Eva who came to help and a big thanks to all the people who bought from me :)

Egg Tart

While the West have croissant and coffee for breakfast; in the East, we have pastry too for breakfast, egg tart. It's very much like the portuguese egg tart but with a wobbly and soft egg custard centre. Oooh... it's delicious! We do not only have it for breakfast, for lunch, tea, in fact at any time of the day as your heart desires ;) It's a familiar dish during "dim sum" where you savour individual portions of food - dumplings and pastries, steamed or baked or fried served in a bamboo steamer basket or plate. Egg tart is a must for me, especially when it's fresh from the oven!

Pizza

I like to eat, and don't be fooled by my small frame, I could eat as much as my editor! I like food of all kind (almost ;)). I grew up eating fast food pizza and never liked it, but eating the real thing in Italy changed my mind :) We chanced on a pizza restaurant in Alghero, Sardinia one evening and had some amazing pizzas that it inspired me to make my own!

Brioche aux fruits

The rain finally stopped, well, for today. Went for my tennis lesson. It wasn't the most strenuous session I ever had but strangely I was panting badly after only a short rally. It's probably one of those days or maybe the rain has been keeping me away from tennis, enough to undo whatever stamina I had built up over the last week. I was really hungry and tired when I got home. As my editor had a prior engagement with his colleagues, I was left to fend for myself this evening. Not very exciting cooking for myself, so I decided to bake.

Blueberry Tart

Summer is my favourite season. The sun is bright, the day is long, the fruits are sweet and abundant and the mood is uplifting! Except for the peculiarly heavy rain that dampened the mood on some days... On days like this, I just stay in and bake. Today, I decided to bake a blueberry tart.

Summer Berry Bavaroise

After a long break, I'm slowly picking up baking again. I first made this dessert for a friend's wedding. I wanted to give them something delicious and had this idea in my head of dacquoise, summer berry coulis and raspberry bavaroise. I had never made this before, so doing it for the first time as a wedding gift was rather risky. But I took the (calculated) risk anyway, putting in love and care to make sure it was done well. It paid off :) She came back wanting to learn how to make it! So we decided to organize a pot luck evening with some girls.

Profiteroles

Profiterole - it’s a choux pastry ball filled with pastry cream (whipped cream, ice cream etc.) garnished with chocolate sauce or caramel sauce. To prepare good profiteroles is rather tricky; it’s sensitive to the amount of liquid (water, milk or eggs) in it. Too little liquid the pastry won’t rise, too much of it the pastry will just collapse. I’ve made profiteroles a couple of times in class. Each time, the amount of eggs added varied, depending on how long the liquid had been boiled, to adjust the consistency. 

Chocolate Soufflé

I invited some friends (a jazz singer, a musician and a boxer) over for dinner today. I was having trouble deciding what to cook. My menu changed from lamb, steak, fish... finally my editor decided for me - chicken rice, a typical food you find in Malaysia and Singapore, should be nice for my Hungarian, Venezuelan and Dutch friends ;) For dessert, I chose chocolate soufflé.

Croissant

Waking up to freshly baked croissants is heavenly ;) It’s all I want on some Saturday mornings ;) This was my first attempt after procrastinating for months, well, nothing new. Never mind, procrastination and hesitation are history now and I started getting my hands dirty. First, the dough. Happily measuring all the ingredients in the mixing bowl according to the recipe, some time passed, my dough was still very wet and sticky.

Macarons!

Oh macarons, macarons… so what’s the fascination with these French meringue-like cookies? The first time I had them, well, I honestly don’t quite remember when (who does? It’s irrelevant), but it was quite heavenly. I was fascinated by the assorted macarons displayed in the shop window - so delicate, so cute, so colourful. I was very excited that I finally got to learn the secret behind the macaron!

Custard Cream Pastry

I have been procrastinating to bake millefeuille, meaning thousand leaves, because I was afraid that I’d get disappointed if the puff pastry didn’t rise, also I was more interested in playing tennis in the sun than to stay in-door to bake ;). Well, I think I have put it off long enough, it’s time to confront it!

Carrot Cake

I have been lazy since coming back from Cuba. Still trying to recover from the surreal holiday. I had such a great time in Cuba! It was unpretentious, laid back, rough and exciting! The scenery changed from one city to another - from lush Vinales, to pretty Trinidad, charming Camaguey and beautiful and lively Havana. Coming back to normality was a little difficult but

Orange Day

* Why Orange? see previous post on "Orange Toque? Find out on Queen’s Day"

It took me a while to get up this morning, was still recovering from jet-lag after two weeks in exotic Cuba. Or perhaps I was trying to escape from the Queen’s Day sale that I had been planning for weeks. I was a little bit hesitant; I had nightmares thinking that I just may have to eat all the financiers myself!

Orange Toque? Find out on Queen's Day :)

Why Orange Toque? And why on Queen's Day? Toque is the hat worn by a chef. Queen's day is a national holiday in the Netherlands that celebrates the birthday of the Queen. Orange is the Dutch national colour.

Passion Fruit Bavaroise

Trees are sprouting and flowers are blooming, it’s the start of a beautiful season. Yes, spring is here! ;) How about celebrating the arrival of spring with a dessert?

Pancakes with Orange Pomegranate syrup

I promised my editor that, one day I would make him some pancakes served in bed. He likes the fluffy American pancakes, so do I, though I also like crepes, the French version of pancakes. Pancake is great for breakfast or brunch especially on a lazy Saturday or Sunday.

Mini Break

I'm off for two weeks... will be back after my holiday, stay tuned ;)

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

Strawberries and cream, a Wimbledon signature snack! Oh yes, Wimbledon, Wimbledon, one of the Tennis Grand Slam tournaments and one that has a special place in my heart. Oh how I used to dislike the drizzle of London, but on this occasion in June 2005, I was glad it rained, or I wouldn't have had the opportunity to watch a Special Sunday Wimbledon Final. 

Galette du Roi

I’m always amazed by the layers in puff pastry like croissant, millefeuille, chausson aux pommes (apple turnover)… and last but not least la galette du roi (the king’s cake), it’s one of my favourite French puff pastries.

Corned Beef and Onion Pie

Two bikes, two blokes, two friends, they go round the globe seeking out new dishes - travelling to Namibia, India, Vietnam, Argentina, Mexico, Ireland... Yes, if you follow BBC2, you'll know who they are! The Hairy Bikers! I love watching BBC2 cooking programmes - different chefs, different techniques of cooking, different approaches to food.

Indulgence

To most people especially girls, chocolate is heaven. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of chocolate though. But once in a while, I do indulge myself in some chocolate desserts, and I must say when it's done right, it tastes like heaven.

Peasant Food

March 7 2011: The rain is back, it hasn't stopped since Friday... it's the dreadful drizzle that never ends... to fend off the lousy mood, I invited my girlfriend over for porridge, served with pickled vege, fried anchovies, salted egg and fried eggs with pickled radish.

Orange Polenta Cake

London is a place that grows on you. There are enough annoyances to drive you crazy like the weather, the signaling problems on the tube… but there are also plenty of reasons to like it. It’s conservative yet exuberant, it’s quaint!

Finding a Jewel in the Crown...

The sky was overcast, the mood was melancholy, but I was out with my girlfriend having a nice time wandering the cobbled streets of The Hague. The cold occasionally numbed my lips so much so that I felt retarded when I spoke and was trying to hold back my saliva.

Chocolate Tart

I loved playing tennis so much that I never missed training even in winter, those were my days in London. Though I played quite a fair bit of tennis then, I was not good at it, just loved hitting the balls and being in the sun!

Kahlua Tiramisu

I first attempted to make tiramisu because I was inspired by a friend who told me it's one of his favourite desserts. I browsed the net for a recipe, mixing it with one from my school and adding a touch of my husband's idea, and there... the inception of my version of a tiramisu.

Banana Rhapsody

The sun was shining so brightly today that I couldn’t resist taking my bicycle to the beach. Passing by woods, parks and canals, I zigzagged my way to Scheveningen, a nearby beach suburb. Found a nice spot, laid out my beach towel, and was reading a book written by Jeffrey Archer, And Thereby Hangs A Tale (love his novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less). 

Apple Fangipane Tart

Apple tart, apple tart, you get apple tart in almost every cafe you go to in The Hague, in The Netherlands, the same for herring, potato chips, croquette, stamppot... a typical dutch apple pie is a mix of apples, sultanas, cinnamon and cloves encased in a sweet crumbly crust. But I wanted something different!!

Czech Pastry

Koláč is a traditional pastry from Czech Republic. It’s slightly sweet and light, baked with fillings and topped with a crumbly mixture of sugar, flour and butter. You find this in every Czech home, grandmother’s recipe handed down from generation to generation, usually eaten with coffee or tea at breakfast, after lunch or simply any time of the day especially during the summer months when fresh fruits are abundantly available in the gardens and markets.

Overcoming the fuss of baking

There are plenty of recipes online and many baking books on the shelf to choose from, in fact, too many that I often don’t know which one to choose! The only way to know if a recipe works is to try it at least once. And many times, the different measurement systems make it seem so daunting... well, that’s what I find anyway.

Financier

Financier is a small french cake, light and moist and has, traditionally, a rectangular shape. I've always wondered why it's called Financier, a search on the internet soon quenched my curiosity. Some say the name Financier is derived from its traditional shape that resembles a gold bar.

Simply Lemon

A friend once asked me to bake something delicious but something not too sweet nor chocolatey for a dinner he wanted to host, I immediately thought of lemon tart, a baked lemon tart!

A Bit Thicker or A Little Softer?

Custard powder or corn starch? I’m curious to find out if it makes any difference despite being told that the two are inter-changeable. So my girlfriend (who is an avid custard cream lover) and I did an experiment together, making pastry cream based on the same recipe with 3 different type of powder – corn starch, normal custard powder and gluten free custard powder.

The Classic

Cheese is classic French. In France, you’ll find hundreds of types of cheese, more than you can imagine. I love farmer or weekend markets, and in particular, the cheese you typically find in these markets produced with care in small farms. I find them unique.

Tea Time Delight

The weather's grey, but I know how to cheer myself up. Known as 'quatre-quarts' in French, the quarter pound cake is one of my favourite tea time delights. It is extremely easy to prepare but it is delicious.

Cafe Food

It's the weekend, yeah! As usual, I didn't get up until my stomach protested and the sun was shining well above my head. The question then was what to eat and where to go? we finally found the answer. There is this little cafe tucked in the corner of an alleyway that we have always wanted to try. So there we were, seated next to the window with our books and newspapers.