Bond and a lesson in French Kissing

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

And now on to another episode of Bond...
M sighed as she looked at the fax. "Surely No. 10 has better things to do than bother themselves with this." She sighed again, deeply this time.

"Moneypenny! Get me Bond." She barked. If anyone could get to the bottom of this, Bond could.

James swaggered into the office of the head of MI6. He bowed ever so lightly, "At your service M"

"Ah yes, James. The French are coming in next week and No 10 has chosen to pander to Carla's whims" M stated.

"Ahh... what's Mr Brown trying to do this time?" Bond smiled.

M frowned as she explained, "Well, apparently Carla has taken quite a fancy to French Kissing - can't quite get enough of it apparently. She simply adores the French version although she claims that the French copied it from the Italians."

Bond's mind immediately started to roam. He thought back to Jacquilynne, the litte French pastry chef cum spy and then his mind switched to Francesca Sofia Giada Alessandra Valentina del Piero, the Italian spy from Milan. Both were amazingly good kissers and he would be hard pressed to pick between the two - as far as kissing went anyway. For without a doubt, the French Jacqui had such beautiful and supple...

"Your mind wondering again Bond!" M barked, and not in question either.

"err.. sorry M. Just thinking of kissing the Frenchies and Italians - um, I mean sleeping with their spies... um, I mean working, working with their agents, M. That's It."

"Oh shut up Bond! Your mind is always in the gutter. This isn't really about kissing!" M thundered.

"B-but you were the one that started with the French Kissing M!" Bond watched M's heaving bosom and for a moment, albeit brief, he imagined himself pressed against her and kissing her wantonly. He shook his head quickly, wiping the image from his mind.

M's bosom shuddered as she exhaled in frustration. "Listen up Bond and pay attention. This is about Macs, not kissing."

"Ahhh... Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, onions, pickles on a sesame seed bun." Bond replied, almost in song.

"Good heavens Bond. Thats a bloody Big Mac. I'm talking abouts Macs! Short for Macarons, also known as a French Kiss. Sarkozy wants to give Bruni the perfect French Kiss, as in a Macaron - and now Brown has gotten himself involved. He's offered to serve French Macarons when the Sarkozy's come for their official visit next week. Britain Always has to undermine the French you see and No prizes for guessing who has to make it."

"Blasted Macarons." Bond muttered under his breath. "I'd rather be frenching with Carla."

"What was that Bond?" M practically screamed out.

"Um nothing, M... quite nothing at all."


** Scene fades and reopens **

Bond is lying in bed with a Halle Berry lookalike - wherever does he find these gorgeous women? Her naked body (Obviously) is covered by white satn sheets while Bond has the sheets only up to his waist, displaying his very manly and hairy chest - have you EVER wondered why this is always the case in the movies??

Bond was busy with his laptop. In addition to poring over the recipe, he was surfing for macarons. Every now and then he looked over to glance at the heaving bosom of his bedmate and to pause to inhale her sweet fragrance.

He had never tasted a macaron before nor had he ever seen one. Sure, he had seen pictures of macarons but never the real thing. He learnt that macarons were one of the more popular items in food porn, much like the Halle Berry lookalike next to him could put a porn star to shame. With thoughts of porn floating around in his head, Bonds fingers left his laptop and slid under the covers, teasing the silken thigh of his bed-mate.

"James! I'm reading!" She giggled as she lightly slapped his hand.

Bond frowned. This would never have happened to him before he started baking. Ever! He was Commander Sir James Bond. Agent 007. Women fell at his feet and did his every bidding. This is what happens when you age, lost your hair and grow a pot belly. Grumbling to himself, he continued to read about macarons, before he decided he was going to get to sleep.



James woke up the next morning and leered longingly at the gorgeous woman next to him. Her sheets had slipped off her during the night and her naked form beckoned him - much like a moth to the flame. He briefly considered having his way with her before he remembered how she had spurned him the previous night. "Humph," he spluttered grumpily to himself. "She'll not be getting any of Commander Bond this morning. Serves her right too" Bond didnt realise that he was really only depriving himself. Cutting his nose to spite his own face so to speak...

He got out of bed, pausing to cover her naked body - He didnt want her to catch cold but it was more to sto phim from giving in to his lustfully wanton desires. He washed up and proceeded downstairs to make the macarons. He decided he was only going to make half the measure. That is when he encountered the first problem for the day - the recipe called for 5 egg whites. How on earth would he divide 5 into two? Two and a half egg whites?

He called Q who quite knowledgeably told him to separate the third egg into a separate bowl and then halve that amount of egg white. James couldn't be bothered with such accuracy and so he just used two large eggs and one smaller egg. First problem overcome.

Bond then used his trusty Qenwood mixer (a gift from Q, modeled after the Kenwood Major but with a lot of hidden firepower) to beat up the eggs to soft peaks before adding sugar and whipping the whites to stiff peaks. The thought of stiff peaks sent his mind reeling back to his holiday in the German Alps with Helga, from the German Foreign Affairs Office. Helga had a very advanced bosom that she fondly referred to as the die Deutshces Turm - meaning the German Towers. He used to refer to them as the Twin Peaks. Bond smiled fondly at the memory.

He then gently folded in the sugar and almond meal into the mixture and then proceeded to pipe out small circles. He regretted not investing in one of these Hi-Tech non stick silicon pads but figured his silicon paper would do just as well. Egads and Heavens to Murgatroyd! He had run out of silicon paper and so he used non-stick baking paper instead.

Bond followed the recipe, baking the macarons at a low temperature, removing them from the oven and then letting the oven temperature rise before baking it again. Bond was pleasantly surprised to see that his macarons had little feet on them. Perhaps not as good as it should have been but there they were - feet! It was a good thing he didn't have a foot fetish, he laughed to himself.

Next came the question of what to sandwhich the macarons with as well as what to do with the egg yolks. Bond quickly heated a cup of milk and whisked the egg yolks into it to form a custard. He then whisked in some chocolate to make a chocolate pudding. With the egg yolk problem solved, James melted a little peanut butter with some chocolate to form a nice thick ganache. He mixed in a little of the custard to thin it a little and then sandwhiched the macarons with this mixture.


Job completed and Bond thought that he had done a pretty decent job of it. Now all he had to do was to serve it up at No.10.

He waited patiently for the the Browns and the Sarkozys to finish their main meal, passing the time by flirting with the kitchen maid and sipping a martini. As the head waiter signalled to him, he set the macarons up on a nice serving dish and carried it proudly to the dining table where the Sarkozy's were feasting with the Browns.

Bond purposefully walked passed Carla Bruni, glancing down at her cleavage, so obviously obvious in that little black dress. He placed the serving dish down and walked away, this time giving Carla a not so subtle look - she smiled at him, obviously quite thrilled that the great Commander Sir James Bond, Britains finest, thought she was worth his time.

Bruni reached over and placed a macaron between her red lips. Her eyes rolled upward, obviously rather enamoured with Bond's macarons. Gordon Brown smiled with pride as Carla clapped her hands gleefully stating that the Macaron was delightful - crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
"Ooo-la-la Ces't Magnifique! Eeet eez, how you say in Englizh, almost remindz me of Nikolas. He pretend he is tough on ze outside but really, he is a softy on the inside." she giggled and beamed as she stuffed her face with macaron after macaron.

Gordon Brown called M immediately, gloating over the success of the macarons and congratulating M on Bond's efforts.

"He's the best we have…although I'd never tell him." M said quietly to herself as she put the phone down.

Meanwhile, Bond was back in the kitchen, his hand deftly unclasped the bra of Chantalle, the vivacious and buxom Kitchen Maid. As his hands roamed, he gave her a free lesson in the art of French Kissing. This lesson however had nothing to do with Macarons...

Later, with her hair all in a mess, her clothes all over the kitchen and Bond long gone, the kitchen maid relived her time with Bond. Bond most Certainly was the Best she had ever had...and that made perfect sense as he was The Best that Britain had to offer...

*** ******


This was a really fun challenge and one that I didn't think I would pull off - seriously! I've read about macarons and how difficult they are that I was practically trying to ignore this challenge - but I'm glad I didnt!


Taste wise, these were SPECTACULAR! The Kids just Loved the macarons and couldn't get enough. The macarons were perfect - crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The chocolate and peanut butter mix gave it a lovely taste and they were simply delicious. The macarons practically finished off in one sitting and as my son reached for the last one, he asked if there were anymore - hoping that I had some still left in the kitchen. It was then that I wished I had made the full measure.


My son loved them so much that he stuffed a whole macaron in his mouth. I cant blame him as I have a tendency for doing stuff like that too. Greedy daddy, greedy son - the apple doesnt fall far from the tree!!

They both proclaimed that this was one of their favourite DB challenges so that is certainly a winner in my books and I am sure I will HAVE to make this again sometime. - probably soon!!



Notice the chocolate covered mouth and fingers of my little princess - who just couldnt get enough of these macarons!



Thanks for a great challenge AmiS. The whole blogosphere will be full of Macarons today so please go visit the rest of the Daring Bakers!

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen. Ami's note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.

How to tell if a tart Bakes Well

Please switch off your handphones as you enter the theatre. The show will commence shortly but first, a word from our sponsors...

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.

With that done, please settle back in your seats and enjoy the movie...




Bond was aging. His ankle hurt whenever he stood for too long – a result of all the wild escapades of his younger days. He looked at the latest Dossier that M had given him. The global economic crisis had seen a stockpile of almonds and butter but HRH Queen E wanted a Bakewell Tart and it was up to him, Bond, James – Agent 007 of MI6, the finest Britain had to offer, to go and make this tart. Bond grimaced slightly as he realised he was more involved these days with baking goodies to satisfy the Royal Family rather than with espionage.

Bond smiled quietly to himself as he perused the recipe for the Bakewell Tart. He so loved tarts – especially the long legged kind in a short skirt and a skimpy top. He almost laughed aloud when he saw that the recipe called for jam. He remembered Tiffany, the Tart from Trafalgar, and how she would smear jam all over her face and upper body just before showering. She claimed it was good for her skin tone but James had always found better uses for the jam. Uses that were a lot more fun and that would always delay her shower…

“Ahhh, such sweet mammaries.” James laughed to himself, chuckling at his pun. He put the recipe away, making a mental note to make it on a Saturday, the day he reserved for these kind of activities.

Saturday came way to fast and James groaned as he looked over at the alarm clock, realising it was time to get up. He looked over (as he usually did) at the sexy woman lying beside him( which was also usually the case). He watched her soft breasts rising and falling as she slept. Bond ran his hand slowly up her thigh but his hand was quickly smacked away.

“I've got my school reunion this morning darling.” The sultry beauty announced as she climbed out of bed, her curves teasing Bond. “Lynn has asked me to be there early and I’ll only be back around 3 so you need to organise lunch for the kids.”

Bond made a mental note to stop cavorting and sleeping with women that had children. It just wasn't good for his reputation and neither was it good for his image that he was expected to look after the children every time the gorgeous woman had something on. It didn’t matter that the children were his…

James stared, almost leeringly, at the women as he watched her swaying hips walk out the door. Briefly he contemplated making his way to the reunion for a surprise visit. No doubt there would be plenty of sashaying hips at the reunion but he dismissed that thought.

“The things I give up for Queen and Country.” James muttered to himself.

Bond opened the freezer and took out the unsalted butter. Butter prices had escalated of late and unsalted butter was even more expensive than normal butter. Bond used the special laser butter knife that Q had designed for him to cut the exact weight required. He used his titanium blade grater to grate the butter and that worked out just great. Next came the part about working the butter into the flour with his fingers.

Bond grimaced at this thought as his fingers were meant for greater things like pulling triggers, breaking necks and of course teasing thighs and other parts of sexy women. Nonetheless, Bond plunged his fingers into the butter and flour and began to rub it in. Surprisingly, his fingers started to hurt after a while and Bond realised he really was getting on in age.
The buttery flour began to resemble breadcrumbs after a while and he quickly mixed in the eggs and water before wrapping the dough in plastic wrap and letting it rest in the fridge.

Glancing at the clock, he realised that he would need to plan his time carefully as not only did he have to sequence the tasks for the tart, he needed to make lunch too!

Bond made some mental notes. “tart dough resting in fridge. Need to warm the jam. Make the creamy tomato chicken pasta sauce. Line the tart pan and put it in freezer for a while. Make the Frangipane. Sounds like a plan!”

James did just that, following that sequence. He warmed the jam, pleased to see how it thinned out a little. Next he spent some time making his creamy tomato chicken pasta and as it simmered, he lined the tart pan and place it in the freezer. As he did so, he marvelled to himself.

“Who says men can’t multi-task huh?”


Then came the Frangipane. Now Bond had never heard of a frangipane before, unless of course you count the Frangipani flower which is certainly not the same thing nor even remotely related in any way.
James dove straight into it, noting that the recipe said that the mixture would curdle. Bond thought back to his Engineering days and figured that this would be right. With only 125 grams of butter, and three eggs, there wouldn’t be enough fat to form an emulsion with the eggs – no matter how hard you whipped the damn thing. It did settle a little with more beating but really looked fine once the flour and almond meal was added in.

Bond did the following in quick succession, he removed the tart from the freezer, spread the jam over it and then covered the whole thing with the Frangipane before deftly slipping it into the oven.



30 minutes later, and Bond surveyed the tart, cooling on the counter. He sprinkled some almonds on it, just like he used to do with Tiffany the Tart from Trafalgar. He had to admit that it wasn't as sultry looking nor as sensous as the two legged tarts he was used to but he had to admit that the feeling of Making a tart instead of Bedding a tart was immensely pleasurable. Very, very satisfying indeed!

---

There was some dough left over from the tart pan and I made mini tarts shells, planning to also make mini bakewells. Unfortunately, there wasnt enough jam nor frangipane to go around so what I did was to make shortcrust tart shells. The kids had these shells for dessert and although they were empty, they polished off two shells apiece - in one sitting!



It was really difficult not to cut into the tart as I decided to take it for dessert the next day to my parents house for Fathers Day - that explains why I wasn't able to plate the tart as nicely as I wanted to. Nonetheless, the tart was a huge success where everyone really enjoyed it!

I originally wanted to use apricot jam but my little princess thought that blackcurrant was a better idea. I kind of think she was right coz the contrasting colours made the tart look really nice. I also liked the stronger taste of the blackcurrant that complemented the frangipane really nicely.




My two official taste testers simply loved this dessert! My little princess kept asking when she could try the "Tart with filling, not the empty ones we had yesterday." She really enjoyed the tart and as she polished of one slice, she looked up at me and asked "Can I have another piece - bigger this time!"



My son really enjoyed this tart too and you can tell how busy be was stuffing his face. Later, after we had returned home, he asked if he could have another slice. Unfortunately, there was none left...



Now when you have a tart that everyone really enjoys, when your official taste testers declare that they love it and want seconds - THAT is how you tell if a tart Bakes Well. And you know it really Bakes Well when it's a Bakewell Tart! Pardon all my puns!

A Huge Thanks to Jasmine and Anne-Marie for this fabulous challenge. I think this will be something that I will certainly make again - if not in whole, at least some of the components!

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Sweet shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Ikea Daim Cake - Take 3 and Success!

This is the third time I am trying to replicate the Ikea Daim Cake. For those of you that have yet to try it, this cake is also known as the Almondy Cake and is very decadent and delicious. The link shows you how the real Almondy is supposed to look and I must admit that as far as looks go, my attempt is far from pretty. Taste wise however, I do think mine gives the original a run for its money!




I made this cake for a dinner that we hosted for a few of our good friends - friends of the Lovely Wife's dating back to her school days! I decided to improve on this cake again since Lynn, who had heard about my Ikea Daim Cake attempts had mentioned that she wanted to try it.

In my previous attempt, I had used a joconde recipe for the base but felt that it was too thick. This time, I decided to go with my Almond Meringue base. I also use Dark Toblerone instead of Daim chocolate since Daim is extremely expensive on this side of the world. I also decided to make some almond praline to replicate the caramel in the Daim.

I also decided to make my Pastry Cream with a little ground almonds rather than using almond essence. I think that worked out better than the almond essence as the almond taste was not so pronounced.

So this is what I did.

Almond Biscuit
3 Egg whites
125 g sugar
160g almonds

line two 8" pans with parchment or nonstick paper. Whisk egg whites and sugar till stiff. Fold in almonds till nicely incorporated. Spread evenly into the two pans and bake in a 190C oven for about 20 mins. Remove paper and let cool.


Ganache
300ml thickened cream
2x100g bar Dark Toblerone
100g Dark Chocolate

Heat Cream till boiling and then pour over Toblerone and Dark Chocolate, stirring till melted and smooth. Set aside.

Praline
6 heaped tsps sugar
a little water
about 50g almond slices (2 handfuls)

Make Caramel by melting sugar with a little water and boiling till mixture turns a nice amber colour. Quickly add in the almond slices and mix thoroughly ensuring nuts are coated. Pour out on to a greaseproof lined baking tray and let set.


Pastry Cream
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
2 Tbsp ground almonds
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 grams) caster sugar
1/8 cup (20 grams) all-purpose flour
Scant 3 tablespoons (20 grams) cornstarch
50g butter
35 tbsp icing sugar

Method
In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the caster sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon. (Never let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.) Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.

Meanwhile in a saucepan heat the milk on medium heat until boiling. (The milk will foam up to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.) Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.)

Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.

Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the butter and ground almonds. Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool. Beat with icing sugar before using to firm it up a little more and get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

Assembly
Spread a thin Layer of Almond Pastry Cream over one layer of the Almond Meringue. Cover with the second layer and spead with another thin layer of Pastry Cream. Place in fridge to chill for a while. Cover with chopped praline and spread melted chocolate over the top and sides.


One mistake I made was to let the chocolate cool for too long. I actually put it in the fridge to set up a little so that I had to spread the chocolate over the cake resulting in a rather thick layer of chocolate. Nothing wrong with that really but I think the next time I make this, I should pour a thin layer of chocolate over the pastry cream before layering the second layer of almond meringue.



Taste wise, this was really lovely and the almond praline made a big difference. Our guests loved it as did the Lovely Wife and kids - and that is why I reckon that this effort was the most succesful! I think I have almost perfected the Ikea Daim Cake and I just need to try and make the layers a little thinner and more beautiful...

Ikea Daim Cake - Take Two

I'm almost there! Even with all my modifications, I beleive I have almost made the Ikea Daim Cake also known as the Almondy Cake. Heck, my son even thinks my version is better so I guess that is something in itself isnt it!

For those of you not familiar with this cake, it is a delicious nutty cake with Daim chocolate. It is one of the 'must-haves' at the Ikea cafe and you can also get the whole cake, frozen that is, from the Ikea deli just after the exit - at the Kuala Lumpur, Ikea anyway.


I tried making this before but the custard icing I tried turned out really runny. I've also learnt (after making this cake again) after a trip to Ikea, that the yellow layer in the cake is actually marzipan. So I guess my doing an almond flavoured pastry cream wasnt too far off the mark!

For the base of the cake, I made a Joconde - the same Joconde from the Opera Cake made for a DB challenge .

For the chocolate topping, instead of using Daim chocolates, I used Toblerone. Then I sprinkled Roasted Almonds all over.




This is what I did:

Joconde
2 tbsps (30g) unsalted butter, melted
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tbsps granulated sugar
1 cups (110) almond flour or finely ground almonds
1 cups icing sugar, sifted
3 large eggs
¼ cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Line jelly-roll pan with parchment paper, and coat parchment with 1 tbsp of the melted butter.
In a clean, dry mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, whip on low speed until the whites become foamy, then whip on medium-high speed until the whites reach soft peaks. Add granulated sugar, and whip on high speed until the whites are stiff and glossy.
In a separate mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat almond flour, icing sugar, and eggs on medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and voluminous. Add flour and beat at low speed until it disappears. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold meringue into the almond mixture, then fold in the remaining melted butter until just combined. Spread mixture into pan and spread evenly.
Bake cake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and let cool to room temperature.


Pastry Cream

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
1/2 tsp almond essence
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 grams) caster sugar
1/8 cup (20 grams) all-purpose flour
Scant 3 tablespoons (20 grams) cornstarch
50g butter
5 tbsp icing sugar

Method
In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the caster sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon. (Never let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.) Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.

Meanwhile in a saucepan heat the milk on medium heat until boiling. (The milk will foam up to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.) Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.)

Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.

Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the almond essence. Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool. Beat with icing sugar before using to firm it up a little more and get rid of any lumps that may have formed.



Ganache
250g Dark Toblerone
200ml Cream
Roasted Almonds

Break chocolate and place into a heat proof bowl. Boil the cream and then pour over the chocolate. Mix well till melted and then let cool.

Assembly
Layer the Joconde with the almond pastry cream. Then cover with the Chocolate Ganache and Roasted Almonds.



In retrospect, I think I should have baked the joconde a bit longer to make it crisper. I should also have halved the recipe and then cut the cake to get really thin layers. I'd also chop the toblerone and add it to the top of the cake with a ganache rather than just melting it down into a ganache. Other than that, I think this cake was really scrumptous.


Maybe Take Three might produce the perfect Ikea Daim Cake...or at the very least a further improvement on this one!

UPDATE:
Ikea Daim Cake - Take 3 was done in February 2009 and I think this is the best and closest version yet!!!

Mom's Birthday - Reverse Black Forest Cake

It was my Mom's birthday on the 13th and would you believe that it was my Dad's birthday exactly a week earlier? On the 6th? They were born in the same year too. Quite amazing really.

So to kill two birds with one stone, the family went out for lunch and then we all came home to my place to cut the cake. My Mom loves her cake, more so than Dad. Mom also loves anything with Chocolate in it, as do most of us, so the sensible thing to do was to make a cake with loads of chocolate in it.

But at the same time, I wanted to make her something different and so I decided on a Reverse Black Forest Cake. A What?? Well, its my own concoction so I beleive I can call it whatever I want to. So there!

But first, some history on the Black Forest Cake. This cake is believed to have originated in Germany in surprise, surprise, the Black Forest! The Black Forest Region is located in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg and is known for its sour cherries. Kirsch - a clear Cherry Brandy is made from these sour cherries.

In German, the cake is known as Schwarzwälder kirschtorte or to translate Black Forest Kirsch Cake. This cake is basically a chocolate layer cake infused with Kirsch and layered with cherries and cream.

So a Reverse Black Forest Cake would simply be a Vanilla Layered Sponge, infused with Kirsch and layered with cherries and Chocolate Mousse. Get it?

But we haven't quite finished. We need a German name for no better reason than the fact that I spent some time in Munich and Hanover and thus think that I know a helluva lot of German (which I dont, but humour me anyway.) So, the Reverse Black Forest Cake would now be known as a umgekehrt Schwarzwälder kirschtorte

Rather brilliant if you ask me!! :)


This is my recipe given with some hindsight as I think I used to few cherries. If I were to make this again, I'd double the cherries although it is terribly, terribly expensive to get canned dark cherries over here....:

Vanilla Sponge Cake (from the Aust Womens Weekly New Cookbook - 1978!!)
4 egggs
3/4 cup castor sugar
2/3 cup plain flour
1/3 cup cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Beat eggs with electric beater till thick and creamy. (about 5-8 minutes) Mixture will triple. Gradually beat in sugar till dissolved.
Sift dry ingredients a few times and the gently but quickly fold into the egg mixture. Pour mixture into two greased and lined 20cm (8in) round cake tins. Bake in preheated 180C oven for about 20 - 25 mins.

Chocolate Mousse
4 egg yolks
400g good quality dark chocolate
650 ml whipping cream or thickened cream
Sugar to taste (optional)

Melt chocolate in a double boiler with about 30ml of the cream. Mix in beaten egg yolks while still over heat and stir quickly. Mixture may thicken and coagulate a bit but dont worry. Remove from heat and beat till chocolate smoothens. In separate bowl, whip cream till soft peak stage and then add in cooled chocolate mixture. Continue to beat till mixture thickens and becomes light, airy and mousselike.


1 to 2 cans Black Cherries drained and syrup reserved (depending on how fruity you want the cake)
Brandy - to your taste or you can omit altogether.
Infuse the brandy (if using) into the syrup.

Assembly:
First, bake the sponge as per directions. Then make the mousse. Place sponge in center of 9" springform of 9" metal ring. Brush cake with syrup to moisten it. Lay a layer of cherries over the cake and then cover with a layer or mousse, ensuring the the mousse fills in the 1/2 inch space around the cake. Place second sponge over the mousse and soak with syrup as well. Repeat layer of cherries and mouuse and smoothen the top. Allow to chill for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.

Before serving, garnish with Roasted Almond slivers or almond nibs. Dust with snow powder.



This recipe is not as complicated as it looks and produces a very lush and decadent cake that was enjoyed by everybody.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Toblerone Almondy Cake - or the Ikea Daim Cake attempt

How many if you have seen or tried the Daim Cake sold at Ikea? It has a lovely almond base and is filled with some sort of golden custard like substance and then topped of with luscious chocolate and chopped Daim. I like this cake and I thought I would attempt to make it. Looking around for a recipe on the web yielded zilch but what I did find was a link to the company that actually produces this cake.
The company website calls the yellow layers 'Golden Buttercream' and so I thought a custardy flavoured buttercream with do the trick. I also decided to use Toblerone as a replacement for Daim since the latter is so expensive. For the base, I decided to modify my almond meringue base by adding an extra egg white and baking it a little longer.
Sounded like a good plan but all good plans sometimes go awry....! The custard buttercream I made turned out too powdery so I thought I would cook it. That didnt turn out to be such a good idea since the butter melted and produced a sticky mass that although it tasted rather nice, refused to set and stayed as a sticky, gooey mass. That's the yellow bits you see leaking out of the cake!
So what I did was to scrape off as much of the goo as I could rescue and convert my Ikea Daim cake to a Chocolate Mousse Almondy Biscuit cake with Toblerone topping!
Turned out rather delicious even if I do say so myself and the guests that partook of this second dessert at the Dinner at Restaurant Dharm went home very satisfied.

UPDATE:
I tried to perfect the Ikea Daim Cake another TWO times and the results (together with the recipes) can be found at the links below. I think Take 3 is the best replication so far!!!
Ikea Daim Cake - Take Two (July 2008)
Ikea Daim Cake - Take 3 and Success (Feb 2009)