Custard and Mousse Archives - Page 4 of 11

Chocolate And Earl Grey Pots De Creme

27|01|2017

There goes an entire month. It’s no longer a New year! Our boys enjoyed an almost two month vacation and will be finally back to school next week. These two months seem the longest to me. From the time vacations kick off to the onset of the new class, (which is basically 2/3 of an Australian summer) there is non-stop action on the home front and work turns out to a bit of a struggle. When your home and office are located in the confines of the same space, time is no longer the factor that determines when you switch off and when you resume. It is you who decides. If you’re like me, you won’t stop. You go on and on. You push your limits till you reach the absolute brink of exhaustion. With young kids around, the distraction is crazy. And to make up for that, the hours in the night are precious. Sleep takes a backseat. You are low on energy and the creative juices stop flowing. Ha! All this rant to tell you that when you can’t think of anything new, you turn to your favourites. Good old chocolate and Earl Grey. Always a hit! Always delicious. Always.

Pots de creme is like a feel-good dish for me. Lesser steps than a mousse but pretty much similar in taste. Slightly more intense, but that’s what you need sometimes. Less fuss and more decadence. Chocolate, tea, cream (I love cream), sprinkles and berries. What is not to love about this?

Chocolate And Earl Grey Pots De Creme
Serves 4

1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
2 Earl Grey tea bags
100g good-quality milk chocolate, roughly chopped
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp. castor sugar (more if you require it sweeter)
Berries to serve

Slowly heat the cream and milk in a saucepan until very hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and add the tea bags. Let steep for 30 minutes. Press down with the back of a spoon to extract more flavour. Discard tea bags and warm the cream-milk mixture gently to a slight boil (do not boil). Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Leave undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl until well combined. Pour the warm cream-chocolate mixture over the egg yolk mixture, little at a time whisking constantly until smooth. Take care not to add the entire cream to the eggs together as it can overcook the eggs resulting in scrambled eggs.

Divide the custard into four lightly-greased, ramekins or ovenproof cups. Place in a deep baking tray. Pour boiling water into baking tray until halfway up sides of ramekins.

Bake custards, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until just set (while the centres are slightly jiggly when shaken). Remove from the oven and take the ramekins out of the water bath. Leave to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with berries or fruit of choice.

Christmas Desserts with Bulla Cream

11|12|2016

Less than a month to go for Christmas! Are you excited? Have you got your Christmas menu sorted out or are you looking for something new to try this year? Or are you like me, saving the ‘cream’ of the crop for the big day? I turn to cream based desserts every time I need something outrageously delicious, light and without toiling away in the kitchen for hours. Because, who doesn’t like a fluffy, creamy dessert that melts away like silk in the mouth? If cream is the hero of my dessert, it has to be the best! I want a range of creams that are versatile, don’t curdle, whip up quickly, hold their shape while decorating and, most importantly, taste special. That cream is Bulla!

Bulla Dairy Foods is one of Australia’s oldest family owned dairy companies, proudly making dairy for six generations. With more than 100 years of expertise in making dairy, Bulla has every kind of cream in its product range that one could imagine for their cooking, baking or decorating needs. All of Bulla’s products are made from the freshest milk and creams. The product range includes cooking cream, sour cream, whipping cream, dollop cream and the award winning Bulla Crème Fraîche.

I use them all the time in my kitchen but, the Bulla Whipping Cream, Bulla Dollop Cream and Bulla Crème Fraîche are my absolute favourites. How amazing is it when the fillings and frosting that are the essence of your dessert are ready in just a few minutes. It makes life so much easier! I also love that they are easy to flavour and the consistency never changes no matter what I add to them.

Cream-based desserts are lighter on the palate. With a warm Christmas in the southern hemisphere, guests generally prefer a light, cold dessert to a rich pudding or a heavy cheesecake. Cream is also far quicker and simpler to deal with as it takes up flavours with ease and there is no end to the creative ways it can be presented. With that in mind I’ve created four recipes for you that will not only look stunning with minimal effort but also blow away your taste buds as well. Whether you are a pro in the kitchen or trying your hand at desserts for the first time, these desserts have got you covered.

I’ve played around with rose water and ginger mixing them into the cream in the first two recipes and these can be made ahead of time. The next two recipes can be whipped up on the same day of serving and are pretty simple to make.

Raspberry And Rosewater Cake
Layers of Raspberry Cake with rosewater infused cream and candied ginger, topped with a white chocolate glaze.
Makes a 3-layered, 6 inch round cake

Recipe:
Raspberry Cake
250 g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 eggs

21/2 cups self-raising flour
2/3 cups milk
1 punnet fresh raspberries
¼ cup candied ginger

Rosewater Simple syrup
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp Rose water

Rosewater Cream
300 ml Bulla Whipping Cream
¼ cup caster sugar
11/2 tsp rosewater
2-3 drops Pink food colouring (optional)

White chocolate glaze
100 g white chocolate
3 tbsp Bulla Whipping Cream
1-2 drops pink food colour

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease and line the bases of 3, 6 inch round cake pans with baking paper.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter, caster sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating to combine. Add half the flour. Stir to combine. Add the remaining flour and the milk. Stir to combine.

Divide mixture uniformly between prepared pans. Divide the raspberries and candied ginger between the pans and press down into the batter. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the Rosewater simple syrup : Bring the water and sugar to a boil over low heat. Remove from heat when sugar dissolves. Let cool and add the rosewater.

To make the white chocolate glaze: Heat the white chocolate and heavy cream over very low heat in a small saucepan. When cream just reaches boiling point, remove from heat and leave aside. Stir with a spoon to make a smooth mix. Add the food colour and stir to blend. Cool slightly before using.

To make the rosewater cream : Chill the bowl and whisk attachment of a stand mixer for 20 min. in the refrigerator or 5 min. in the freezer. Pour Bulla Whipping Cream into the bowl and whisk on medium-high speed until it just starts to thicken. Slow the speed down to medium and gradually pour in the sugar. Continue to whisk until soft peaks form.

Add the rosewater and food colour (if using) and continue to whisk by hand until the cream is smooth, and stiff peaks form. The cream will stand up straight when the whisk is raised. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

To assemble : Once the cake layers are completely cool, start assembling..
On a cake plate or stand, spread a little fresh cream frosting in the centre and place one layer of the cake (so that the cake does not move about while frosting). Spread about 1/2 a cup of the rosewater frosting. Place the second layer. Repeat. Place the last layer upside down (so you get a flat top). Spread frosting on the top and sides. If you want it to look like a naked cake, a thin layer of frosting is good enough.
Stick the cake into the refrigerator for 15-20 mins.
Make the white chocolate glaze 5 minutes before you take the cake out from the fridge. Once the ganache is cool, but still flowing freely when you lift it with a spoon, spoon it onto the cake slowly. Be gentle on the edges to create the drippy effect
Decorate with meringues, raspberries and fresh flowers. If you are using fresh flowers, make sure you cover the stems in baking paper before inserting them into the cake.

Peach Jelly, Panettone And Ginger Cream Trifle
Layers of fresh peaches in jelly, crumbled Panettone, ginger infused cream and shaved white chocolate.
Serves 6-8

Recipe:
3 cups apple or orange juice (or juice of your choice)
4 tsp powdered gelatine
3-4 fresh peaches, stoned and cut into wedges
2x 300 ml Bulla Whipping Cream
½ cup caster sugar
11/2 tsp powdered ginger
Store bought Panettone, 800 g (you will need only half), cut into squares
200g white chocolate blocks, shaved

Method:
Place the gelatine and juice together in a medium saucepan and leave aside for 5 minutes for the gelatine to bloom. Warm the mixture over low heat for 1-2 minutes or until the gelatine dissolves completely. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Pour into a trifle bowl. Place the peaches into the jelly mixture. Refrigerate for 4-5 hours or until set.

Meanwhile pour Bulla Whipping Cream into a bowl that has been chilled in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Using a hand mixer or an electric mixer whisk on medium until it starts to thicken. Gradually add the sugar and powdered ginger and whisk on low speed till stiff peaks form. Refrigerate the cream until needed.

Once the jelly has set completely, layer the Panettone squares over the jelly. Pipe 2 layers of rosettes of ginger infused cream (or spoon the cream). Top with shaved white chocolate.

Salted Honey And Roasted Hazelnut Eton Mess
Crunchy Meringue, salted honey, roasted hazelnuts and dollop cream
Serves 4

Recipe:
6 Store bought meringue nests
300 ml Bulla Dollop Cream
½ cup hazelnuts, roasted
¼ cup good quality honey
½ tsp fleur de sel (or sea salt

Method :
Place the honey and fleur de sel in a small saucepan and warm slightly. Remove the pan from heat and leave aside until needed.
Roughly crumble the meringue and divide them among 4 serving glasses. Top with half the dollop cream, roasted hazelnuts and honey. Repeat the layers until the top is reached.

Profiteroles with Cinnamon Crème Fraiche and Berries
Profiteroles filled with Cinnamon infused Crème Fraiche, dipped in white chocolate ganache and served with red berries.
Makes 15

Recipe :
60 g butter, chopped
3/4 cup (185 ml) water
3/4 cup (115 g) plain flour
3 eggs
100 white chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp Bulla Thickened Cream
Fresh berries, to serve

Cinnamon Crème Fraîche Cream

200 ml Bulla Whipping Cream,
¼ cup caster sugar
4 tbsp Bulla Crème Fraiche
111/2 tsp powdered cinnamon

Method :
To make the profiteroles : Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (180 degrees C for fan-forced). Line a baking tray with non-stick paper.

Heat the butter and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat until butter melts and the mixture comes to the boil. Remove from heat. Sift in the flour. Use a wooden spoon to beat for 1-2 minutes or until mixture comes away from side of pan. Transfer mixture to a heatproof bowl. Set aside, stirring occasionally, to cool slightly.

Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is thick and glossy.

Pipe the mixture or place spoonfuls of mixture on the prepared baking tray 3 cm apart from each other. Use wet hands to pat down any peaks of dough. Sprinkle trays with water to create steam. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Turn off the oven. Use a knife to pierce the base of each puff. Place the profiteroles in oven for 20 minutes to dry out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the Cinnamon Crème Fraiche Filling : Pour Bulla Whipping Cream into a bowl that has been chilled in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Using a hand mixer or an electric mixer whisk on medium until it starts to thicken. Gradually add the sugar and Bulla Crème Fraîche and whisk on low speed till stiff peaks form. Refrigerate the cream until needed.

To make the white chocolate ganache: Heat the white chocolate and heavy cream over very low heat in a small saucepan. When cream just reaches boiling point, remove from heat and leave aside. Stir with a spoon to make a smooth mix.

To assemble, using a serrated knife, slice through the top third of the choux puff. Leave the top aside. Pipe or fill up the base with cinnamon infused Crème Fraîche. Put the top back. Dip the tops in white chocolate ganache. Top with fresh berries and sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining profiteroles.

This post is brought to you by Bulla Dairy Foods. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are entirely mine.

Kirsten Tibballs’ Milk Chocolate Mousse Cups

10|08|2016

Jars of milk chocolate mousse, roasted hazelnuts, layers of caramel and dollop cream. Recipe by Kirsten Tibballs.

A few weeks ago, I had the incredible pleasure of meeting one of my favourite food heroes, Kirsten Tibballs at the Bulla Chef’s table. The event was hosted and organised by Bulla Dairy foods, a major Australian dairy company to celebrate their award winning chef ambassadors Guillaume Brahimi, George Calombaris and Kirsten Tibballs. I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting them alongside other food industry personalities and dining with them. The menu was created by the chefs inspired by their favourite Bulla cream. The entire setup was gorgeous, the menu, exquisite but the highlight of the day for me was to discover that my seat was right next to Kirsten Tibballs. Oh my God (insert face with open mouth emoji)! I got to chat with her about different aspects of the pastry world and she was just wonderful!

Kirsten Tibballs, as you might already know is popularly referred to as the ‘queen of chocolate’. She is one of Australia’s most celebrated and internationally respected pastry chefs and chocolatiers. She was in fact, recognized as the best in the world for her handmade chocolates at the World Pastry championships in Las Vegas. That was just another addition to the innumerable accolades she has won around the world. Have a look at her renowned pastry school Savour, and you will know what I mean. Well, lucky me and now, lucky you that she has generously shared her decadent, outright delicious yet simple to make Milk Chocolate Mousse Cups recipe exclusively for Sugar et al. readers. I had requested for a simple yet decadent chocolate recipe to share with you guys and I was thrilled with this one.

Chocolate Mousse is loved around the world but many find it tricky to make at home as it involves separating egg, making custard or use of gelatine. This recipe has no eggs or gelatine in it. It is as simple as whipping and mixing. The taste is to-die-for! Seriously, so little effort and such an impressive dessert! What can go wrong with chocolate, cream, caramel and hazelnuts? Make it and you can thank Kirsten later:-)

Sugar et al would like to thank Bulla Dairy Foods and Mkt Communications for the invite and excellent hospitality, La Tessa Photography for the images at the event and Kirsten Tibballs for her fabulous recipe. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Kirsten Tibballs’ Milk Chocolate Mousse Cups

Makes 6-7 mousse cups

Caramel

Ingredients:
120 ml Bulla Thickened Cream
200 g brown sugar
70 g unsalted Butter
Pinch of salt

Method
1. Boil the cream and sugar for approximately 5 minutes, stirring regularly
2. Then add in the butter and salt

Roasted Hazelnuts

Ingredients:
60 g Hazelnuts

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 160°C
2. Roast the hazelnuts in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown
3. Remove the skins if necessary and roughly chop them

Milk Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:
100 ml water
100 g caster sugar
2 tbsp of honey
300 g milk chocolate
200 ml Bulla Thickened Cream

Method:
1. Boil the water, caster sugar and honey together then pour over the roughly chopped milk chocolate and whisk to combine
2. Cool the ganache slightly until it is no longer warm when you touch the bowl.
3. Place the Bulla Thickened Cream into a bowl and semi-whip it until it has some body but still collapses.
4. Fold the semi-whipped cream through the chocolate base with a spoon until combined.

Assembly

Ingredients:
2 tubs of Bulla Dollop Cream

Method:

1. Pipe chocolate mousse into the base of the cups about one third of the way.
2. Cover with a spoon of dollop cream, sprinkle with roasted hazelnuts and drizzle with caramel.
3. Repeat the process until the jar is full
4. Finish with Dollop cream, chopped hazelnuts and drizzled caramel.

Caramel Pumpkin Pots De Creme

21|07|2016

July is turning out to be such a crazy month. Many things happening at the same time. The boys had winter holidays and that meant that I kept work to a minimum. But when do things go to plan? Do they work for you? I always tell myself that it’s me…I have to be more in control. And I set deadlines. I stick to them to the best of my ability. But from somewhere, something else will pop up. The irony is that, the ‘something else-s’ are things I love to do. So there’s so choice really. Being a Mum is so great, being able to do what I love is equally great! But there is no balance. I want to be perfect in both my roles but that is close to impossible in my situation. So it’s a struggle but there is some satisfaction and joy at the end of the day. At least, the fact that I am able to work from my own home is comforting. I am there for my children on most afternoons and I am able to help them with homework is great. They are fortunate to be taking lunch from home. So yes, I think I am still luckier than many others. Anyway, don’t bother with my ranting. I think documenting it here is making me feel less overwhelmed.

So we are halfway into winter! Our winters are different from the rest of the world. It’s sunny on some days, rainy on others. There are trees with no leaves, trees with red, yellow leaves and there are trees which are bright green. We have a bit of everything. Pumpkin is my latest favourite thing to add to desserts and after I ate this, I felt that even non-pumpkin lovers would find it delicious. Brown sugar is a magical ingredient. Even though it is regarded as ‘sugar’, it actually is a lovely flavouring agent. It lends a butterscotch or caramel sort of taste to baked goods. Once again I added the chocolate coated honeycomb to the pumpkin pots. If you remember it was on my cake in the last post. It is such a wonderful addition to spiced up desserts. Be prepared to see it often in my upcoming posts:-)

To those of you who follow this blog, I mentioned to you about some good news in a past post. Well, news doubled up and now I have more news. Let’s start with my work last year for Spoonful Mag. I created a bunch of recipes for them alongside a gathering that was about a girlfriends lunch get-together. I chose that theme because you know I love pretty food. I had all the opportunity to style them with vibrant colours, flowers and very girl-y flavours. I loved working with them as they were extremely passionate like me. In this big, wide world, isn’t it amazing that you run into people who you click with instantly? I am very excited to be working on their forthcoming issues as well. The Summer issue is out now! The other news is that I was invited to design apparel for a gorgeous brand using my own art, that is desserts. How crazy does that sound? I found it weird in the beginning, but I assure you it is coming together well. Can’t wait to share my online shop with you! 2 days ago something incredible happened as well. I got to meet one of my food heroes at an event hosted by Bulla Family Dairy, a major dairy company in Australia. Imagine my shock when I realized my seat was next to Kirsten Tibballs, one of the best pastry chefs in the world. Oh my God! She had created an exceptionally beautiful and delicious dessert for the occasion (I shared it on Instagram). I have to admit I was a bit star struck at the start and didn’t know what to say to her but she was such a sweet woman.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I love that Spring is not far away in Australia.

Caramel Pumpkin Pots De Creme
Serves 5-6

1/2 cup milk
11/2 cup heavy/thickened cream
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup home made (or store bought) pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp powdered cinnamon
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Crushed honeycomb, to serve

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C ( 140 degrees for fan-forced ovens) .Combine cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until hot (do not allow to boil). Remove saucepan from heat.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl until well combined. Add the pumpkin puree and spices and mix till blended. Pour the warm cream mixture over the egg yolk mixture, little at a time whisking constantly until smooth. Take care not to add the entire cream to the eggs together as it can overcook the eggs resulting in scrambled eggs.

Divide the custard into five or 6 lightly-greased, ramekins or ovenproof cups. Place in a deep baking tray. Pour boiling water into baking tray until halfway up sides of ramekins.

Bake custards, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until just set (while the centers are slightly jiggly when shaken). Remove from the oven and take the ramekins out of the water bath. Leave to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with crushed honeycomb.