blueberry Archives - Sugar et al

Blueberry Friands/Financiers

19|04|2024

Egg whites are never wasted at my place because the quickest, easist and most delicious way to use them up is my baking friands. Blueberry friands are by far the favourite at home. If you’ve never heard of friands, they are nothing but french financiers. They are popularly known as friands in Australia. There are barely any cafes that don’t sell them in Sydney and I love having them with my coffee.

These blueberry friands obviously don’t look like the traditional ones that are larger in size. These are coated in white chocolate and made in special molds to create the heart shapes. You could bake them in a muffin pan too and leave out the coating if you’re after a tea cake sort of thing. The coating of course elevates the apperance and gives it a fancy high-tea look. The white chocolate layer also complements the juicy blueberries within the friands.

If you like Blueberry desserts don’t forget to checkout this Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake or these Mini Blueberry Cakes

Blueberry Friands/Financiers
Makes 10-12 small friands

3 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork
100 g butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup pure icing sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
75 g almond meal
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

150 g white chocolate melts, melted
purple gel food colouring

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a madeleine mold (I used a 6 capacity mold) or any other sillicone mold. Place the egg whites, butter, sugar, flour, almond meal, vanilla in a large bowl and beat until combined (about 1-2 mins). Fold in the blueberries.

Spoon batter into molds until 2/3rd full. Bake for 20-25 mins or until friands are golden and cooked through. Remove from oven, allow to rest for 2 mins, then gently unmold onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Colour the white chocolate with 1 drop of purple food colouring. Pipe (or spoon) small amount of melted white chocolate into a 3-4 holes of a clean mold, gently press friands over the chocolate. Refrigerate for 30 mins or until set.
Add 2 more drops of food colour to the chocolate for a darker shade (if starting to solidify, warm to melt again). Repeat with remaining friands. Friands should easily come off the molds. Store in an air tight container in room temperature.

Mini Blueberry Cakes

14|03|2022

Summer has come to an end in our part of the world. The last couple of weeks have brought us so much rain that it was hard to notice the change of seasons. Muddy backyard, gloomy days and no sun. I thought I would make something pretty to uplift everyone’s spirits.

These are so easy. The cakes are made in a single bowl. For the outer design, any kind of silicone mold will work. If you don’t have molds avilable at hand, you could use muffin liners. Just ensure you add enough white chocolate to make a sturdy coat.

Mini Blueberry Cakes
Makes 8-10 mini cakes

1 and 1/4 cup plain flour
2/3 cup castor sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 egg, lightly whisked
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup white chocolate melts,melted
Blue colour

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly grease/spray 8 silicone molds.

Place flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add the egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Fold in the blueberries.

Pour batter into mold. Bake for 18-20 mins or until cooked through. Insert a skewer in the middle to check. If it comes out clean, it’s ready.

Remove from oven. Gently unmold and place on a wire rack to cool.

Divide between 3 bowls and colour according to prefernce.
Spread mold’s with white chocolate. Place cakes back into each mold. Allow to set in the fridge (15 mins). Unmold and decorate with flowers or berries. Enjoy!

Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake

14|01|2018

Is it too late to wish you a very Happy New Year? I hope not because I’m still very much in holiday mode and I feel the year has just taken off. I’ve only just started making resolutions and setting goals for the year. Do you make resolutions? Speaking of resolutions, the one thing I think most of us have at the top of our minds, (myself included) is health and fitness. While we will continue to have naughty treats in this space, I’d also like to play around with a few healthy substitutes to regular ingredients this year. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to enjoy some luscious desserts without having to worry about calories?

The core ingredient of this cheesecake is cottage cheese which is not as popular in desserts as it’s cousin, ricotta cheese despite being creamy, highly nutritious and low in fat. It is a low calorie source of protein and calcium that is pretty versatile whether you use it in sweet or savory recipes. I chose a gluten free almond crust for this cheesecake to make it available to a wider audience. The filling is light and delicious but naturally does not have a lot of flavour on it’s own. You have the option of having it as is or topping it with fresh fruits, grated chocolate or a compote like the one I’ve used here. Blueberries are at their seasonal best right now, so I couldn’t think of a better topping.

Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake
Makes an 8 inch round cheesecake

For the crust
11/4 cups almond meal
2 tbsp brown sugar
75 g unsalted mutter, melted

For the filling
500 g cottage cheese (preferably smooth)
1 cup Greek Yoghurt
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
1/4 cup castor sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (can use vanilla extract)

For the blueberry compote
150 g blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp castor sugar
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Place almond meal and sugar in a medium bowl. Add in the melted butter. Using your fingers, press into the base of an 8 inch Springform pan that has been placed on a baking tray (for ease of movement in and out of the oven). Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 degrees C while you make the filling.

In a food processor or using a blender, blend the cottage cheese and yogurt together until smooth. Add the eggs and sugar and blend again. lastly add the cornflour and vanilla paste and mix together until smooth and blended. Pour the filling into the pan over the crust. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until cheesecake is almost set (the centre is very slightly jiggly). Remove from oven, let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight (or at least for 6 hours).

When ready to serve, top with blueberry compote and fresh blueberries.

To make the blueberry compote, place blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook stirring for 8 minutes or until syrupy and thickened slightly. Remove from heat, cool and refrigerate until needed.

Blueberry-Misu

11|08|2017

Do you guys make anything special on Fridays for the weekend? I don’t enjoy spending too much time in the kitchen on the weekend unless I’m hosting a get-together or entertaining. When Rugby season kicks in during the cold months, most of our Saturdays are spent driving the boys and watching them play at a different location versing a different club. Being constantly on your toes can get really tiring! So on Friday, I make my treats and put them in the fridge to enjoy on the weekend. Trifles, mousse and cheesecakes are perfect for this.

Tiramisu is one of my favourite desserts. The pairing of coffee and mascarpone cheese is like a flavour bomb. But that does not mean that mascarpone is not great in other sweet recipes. Berries and Mascarpone are fantastic together as well. This trifle like dessert with layers of sponge fingers that have been dipped in lemon syrup, blueberry compote and whipped mascarpone is perfect for a delicious, make ahead treat without actually being perfect. As in, get messy! No need to use piping bags or make neat layers. It looks great anyway and taste even better.
Have a wonderful weekend all of you!

Blueberry-Misu
Serves 4

10-12 Savoiardi sponge finger biscuits
fresh blueberries, to serve

Blueberry compote
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp castor sugar

Lemon syrup
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup castor sugar (for the lemon syrup)

Whipped mascarpone
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup castor sugar (for the cream filling)
120 g (about 1/2 a tub) mascarpone cheese, room temperature

To make the blueberry compote, combine blueberries and sugar and with 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderate heat till blueberries break down (about 5 mins). Cool to room temperature.

To make the lemon syrup, heat the lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat. Once sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Beat cream and sugar until soft peaks. Add the mascarpone and beat gently till combined and almost stiff. Regrigerate until needed.

To assemble: Dip sponge finger biscuits in the cooled lemon syrup one at a time for about 10 seconds so that the sponge fingers soak up some of the liquid but do not disintegrate. Place at the base of a serving glass. Using a spoon layer the mascarpone and blueberry compote over the sponge fingers. Repeat layers till you reach the top of the glass. Serve chilled with fresh blueberries and edible flowers