More fun with teacakes

This was a spring project that I’m just getting around to writing about. At this moment it’s HOT, HOT, HOT here, and it seems like I should be writing about summer fruits and cool/easy to make goodies. But here goes!

Have some egg whites in the fridge? Time to use them up? Let’s make some teacakes! Very similar to financier, this base recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book “Sweet” and is a good one for creating different flavors. Here’s the recipe PDF which includes citrus and chocolate cake versions.

Made with egg whites/sugar/butter/all purpose and almond flours, unlike financier there’s no need to brown the butter - you simply melt it and let it cool a bit before proceeding with the recipe. Easy peasy.

I’m not here to go through all the steps but simply to share the above versions with you to get your own creative juices flowing. This time I added 4 g (2 standard teabags worth) of ground Earl Grey tea to the melted butter, worked the zest of one orange into the sugar and added a teaspoon of coriander to the dry ingredients before proceeding with the recipe.

I baked ‘em up in my favorite square savarin style silicone molds and, once cooled, filled some of the wells with orange white chocolate ganache and some with dark, both left over from a recent class project.

Here’s a mini ganache primer for you. Remember - ganache keeps well in the fridge for some weeks.

I rewhipped some vanilla caramel Swiss meringue buttercream that I had taken out of my freezer the day before. I also made a small batch of a 3 part cream to 1 part dark chocolate ganache that, once chilled, would be whipped up for garnish. Such fun!

Once the ganache wells had set, I played some mix and match with the toppings. The dark-chocolate-welled cakes got a swirl of vanilla caramel buttercream and the white-chocolate-welled a swirl of whipped dark chocolate ganache.

I love a little crunch to my creations so topped them with Valrhona crunchy pearls that I had snagged on sale through Bake Deco (all things baking and pastry!). White on top of whipped dark and dark on top of vanilla caramel. Matches made in heaven.

Here’s a cross section for you - the white welled version smeared but the dark welled gives you a nice vision of what you’ll be biting into. They look like little google-y eyed sea creatures. See the flecks of Earl Grey?

While the teacakes appear dense, they’re quite light and oh so delicious.

I shared these treats with folks at our exercise facility - working hard does deserve a little reward now and again don’t you think? Yummy.

Now go have some fun with your own versions.

Ending on a horticulture note - after all the many days, months and years I have walked along the same path, I had never seen this one before. Growing just alongside the path, branches hanging somewhat over and immature berries scattered on the ground - hmmmmm! The berries look like a ripening blackberry sort - I went to my helpful PlantNet app and confirmed that this is Morus Nigra or black mulberry. Don’t ya just love discovering new things! Supposedly one can eat them, but I’ll leave them for the birds and other creatures who may enjoy them.

Stay cool! Until next time.

Favorite garnishes part 3: easy brittles (and Happy New Year!)

Moelleux chocolat/mascarpone cream/sesame brittle

I freely and proudly admit that I’m a dough loving gal in the pastry kitchen. Give me tart dough, puff pastry, croissant and Danish dough, yeast breads (lean and enriched) and shortbread and I’m a happy camper.

Other than the occasional chocolate nut bark or cluster, soft caramel or chocolate truffle, candy making isn’t something I do often. But, particularly when it comes to a tasty garnish, there’s nothing like a snappy brittle to brighten up one’s day. Not only great for a small snack when you’re craving a hint of sweet crunch, they’re a wonderful way to dress up small cakes, custards, ice cream, tarts . . . . . . . . I think you know where I’m going with this.

Here I’ll focus on what has become my go-to-perfect-for-garnsh brittle recipe, compliments of Yotam Ottolenghi”s book “Sweet”. So straight forward with nary any muss nor fuss with candy thermometers or sugar cooking stages. Let’s keep it easy!.

Ottolenghi’s sesame brittle

Here’s a previous post with the recipe and one of the ways I’ve used it. And here’s the recipe again with a printable PDF here.

1. Toast 125 g sesame seeds (mix of 1/3 black and 2/3 white or all white like I did) either in the oven at 325ºF for about 10 minutes until nicely brown, stirring occasionally, or in a skillet on medium-low on the stove top. Do what you're most comfortable with. Set aside. Increase the oven temp to 350ºF.

2. Have two half sheet pans and four pieces of parchment (or two parchment and two silicone mats) at the ready.

3. In a medium saucepan put 100 g granulated sugar, 100 g light corn syrup, 50 g unsalted butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stirring constantly on high heat, blend the mixture and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the toasted sesame seeds.

4. Put two pieces of parchment (or Silpat!) on a heat proof surface (I used two overturned half sheet pans) and pour half of the sesame mixture on each. Cover with the other parchment pieces and roll with a rolling pin until about 1/8 inch thick.

5. Slide the paper with the sesame caramel onto half sheet pans and remove the top layer of parchment. Peel it back gently, using an oiled silicone spatula to push down any caramel that might stick. Bake for about 20 minutes until nicely browned. Remove from oven, cool and break into shards.

Oiled spatula to hold the brittle down while removing the parchment

Bubbling away in the oven

Out of the oven

Pumpkin custard tart with sesame brittle from a Thanksgiving past

I also made a HALF recipe of a cocoa/cacao nib version by subbing cacao nibs (60 g in this case) for the sesame seeds and adding 10 g sifted Dutch process cocoa powder into the sugar/butter mixture along with the nibs. It’s another great addition to teacakes and ice cream as well as a garnish or crunchy layer for desserts, particularly when you need a bit of chocolate-ness.

Note: the cacao nibs I use are pretty chunky so I put them in a zip-top bag and pound them with the smooth side of a meat mallet to crush them up. It works!

Cacao nib version

These brittles come out thin and crispy without fear of any tooth-sticking pull. They store nicely in single layers between pieces of parchment or waxed paper in a well sealed container (ideally in a cool/non-humid environment) and can also be frozen for several weeks.

Get creative with your own version. I’ve done one with puffed rice. Finely chopped nuts of choice are always an option and crushed pumpkin seeds aren’t bad either.

Before I go, here’s a quick tart project I did to use up some leftover components in my fridge and freezer. I had enough dough for a few small tarts; some dark chocolate ganache (3 parts cream to 2 parts chocolate); a handful of petite, frozen ricotta custard rounds from an earlier project; some thawed roasted Michigan strawberry purée that I had used for our Christmas Eve dessert (more on that later); a little bit of white chocolate to make a loose ganache for whipping; plenty of cacao nib brittle.

I blind baked some chocolate tart shells with my favorite chocolate tart dough - one 140 mm “sharing” size and four 65 mm individual sizes. TIP: this is a good plan ahead step since you can freeze blind baked tart shells for days.

Two of the smaller tarts served as a quick dessert after the Christmas holiday, filled with ganache, topped with whipped cream and crushed nibs. So tasty.

For the remaining tarts I brushed some dark chocolate ganache on the bottoms . . . . . .

then sprinkled crushed cacao nib brittle over the chocolate and popped in the frozen ricotta rounds (they thaw pretty fast but hold their shape).

I spooned the ganache around as best I could. It’s a tad messy but will be covered up so no one’s the wiser. You could pipe it in too but I wasn’t in the mood.

I added a generous soup spoon full of strawberry purée to the chilled white chocolate ganache (used 120g heavy cream to 40 g white chocolate) and whipped it up to soft peaks. For the sharing size tart I piped the cream around and over the ricotta discs then topped with fresh raspberries and more crushed nib brittle.

Et voilà - our New Year’s Eve dessert!

Triple chocolate tart with berry cream

Psst . . . . the smaller tarts were used as taste tests. I was able to spread the softened ricotta flush into the tartelettes then top with a bit of berry cream and nib brittle for a midday snack that Steve and I so enjoyed. Yum - the chocolate crust and ganache with the smooth ricotta custard, hint of berry cream and crunchy nibs is just divine.

Happy New Year everyone and may 2022 bring us new adventures and peaceful, happy days!

I’ll leave you with just a hint of the lovely holiday displays at nearby Meijer Gardens