Torviewtoronto: sweet

Showing posts with label sweet. Show all posts

Udi's gluten free food

I had the opportunity to try Udi's gluten free products. It didn't feel any different from the food with gluten that we usually have. My family (including children) enjoyed all the treats and buns without any complaints.

Pear jam, home preserving and Global food security

This is the time of the year when we all get excited about thinking of ideas to preserve the summer vegetables and fruits. The Complete book of home preserving has lots of ideas that will come handy. There are about 400 recipes and 48 colour photographs in the book.

The detailed instruction on the book is easy to understand and follow, which beginners will appreciate. It also answers questions the experienced canners may have. There is a produce guide and a glossary that explains everything we need to know from ingredients to canning equipment. The book is separated to seven chapters: getting started, soft spread, fabulous fruits, salsa relish chutney, condiments, perfect pickles, tomato and pressure canning.

When we preserve at home it is free from chemical additives and preservatives. This book gives directions on safe canning and preserving methods.

I think preserving food to have during off-season is lots of fun, which becomes useful when it isn't in season. I usually make jam with berries, chutney with tomato and pickle vegetables. These homemade goods make delicious gifts that family and friends appreciate.

I made about a cup of pear jam to have with puri.

2 ripe pears

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 star anise

Combine the peeled chopped pear with the sugar and lemon juice. Let it cook in low heat, you can cover the pan lightly so it will cook in its own liquid. Add the star anise towards the end when the pear get soft and has a jam consistency or it will have an overpowering taste.

I served the jam with puri. We finished the jam in a couple of days, so I am not sure how it will taste if it is kept for a long period of time in the fridge.

Amaretti cookies

Grace's sweet life is a book full of delicious homemade Italian dessert recipes written by Canadian blogger Grace Massa Langlois. Grace has an Italian background and has learned her cooking knowledge from her mom. With her children's support, she started sharing her love for food with the world.

All the basics are in the beginning of the book with tips and explanations. Grace has put in different types of variations that exist on the recipes. Some of the basics are pastry cream, chantilly cream, sweetened whipped cream, ricotta cream, Italian meringue, egg foam base for semifreddo and mousse, sweet pastry doughty, pie dough, croissants, hazelnut praline, puff pastry and choux pastry.

The pies and tart recipes in the book are presented beautifully. The pastries and fried desserts such as Sicilian cannoli, honey balls, profiteroles and many more are in a different section. The creams, custards, mousses and soufflés section is full of colourful desserts. Some desserts require gelatine. The recipes in the frozen and fruit desserts section will be enjoyed during this heat.

The book has delicious Italian cake and cheesecake recipes. Some cakes require the yeast for cake with vanilla (Lievito Vaniglinato) and liquor, so I couldn't try most of the cakes. I will be looking for the yeast soon :) I would have liked if there were suggestions of what ingredients we can be substitute to replace the liquor, as I don't use it.

The cute mini dessert section has six fabulous looking detailed recipes. I tried the soft amaretti cookies from the cookies and confections section. The recipe in the book makes six dozen cookies so I reduced the ingredients to make one third of the recipe.

Here is the original recipe from the book

3 eggs

1 1/3 cup superfine sugar (I pulsed granulated sugar)

4 1/2 cups less 1/2 tbsp almond meal (blanched almonds dried then finely ground)

confectioners sugar for rolling (I didn't do this part)

silver dragées for decorating (I didn't use this)

Separate the eggs in to two bowls. Let the egg yolk and egg white come to room temperature, leave it covered with plastic wrap for 1/2 hour before whisking.

With a whisk beat egg yolks then add the sugar and whisk until the sugar is combined. Add the ground almond meal and whisk till combined, don't over mix.

With a clean whisk beat the egg whites to barely a soft peak, this is very important don't overbeat.

Fold one third of the egg whites into the almond mixture then fold the rest and combine don't over mix.

Cover and refrigerate the cookie dough for about 1 hour or overnight.

Bake in a preheated 325F oven on a baking mat. Roll the cookie dough into 1 tbsp balls. Roll the balls in icing sugar and place a sliver dragée if using in the center. Don't flatten the cookies. Bake 20 cookies per sheet for 25 to 30 minutes rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Place the baking mat on a wire rack and allow the cookies to cool for two minutes. Using a spatula transfer the cookies on to the wire rack to let it cool completely.

Almond cardamom whoopie pies

Almond cardamom whoopies

This Whoopie pie book is cute and written in a friendly manner. I like that the authors have placed the page numbers beside the recipes, which make it easy to access the recipes. The first whoopie pie I made are pumpkin whoopie pies, which is one of my favourite; I mostly make it during fall.
The introduction in this book is a must read as it will be useful to make whoopies.

Whoopies are soft, round shape cake/cookies that have a creamy filling. It is not quite a cake or a sandwich cookie. For me, it has a childhood taste of something that tastes similar to these yummy whoopies without the cream; I actually prefer without the cream :)
The book makes us go down our own childhood memory lane. It is definite that once you make or taste a whoopie pie it is very likely that you will enjoy it.

The cake or soft cookie part of the whoopie can be made a head of time and it can be frozen up to a month. Defrost 2 hours at room temperature before filling.
Most fillings such as buttercream stay in the fridge for up to a week. Bring to room temperature about an hour before filling. The marshmallow or whipped cream filling doesn't store well so use these right away. Assembled pies store in airtight container for up to 3 days. It can be individually wrapped and frozen up to one month.

There are lots of combinations that have been suggested and experimented in the book for us to try and get started. The book also has places where we can find hard to find ingredients, sources, places in USA where whoopies are sold and about the annual whoopie festival that is held in Pennsylvania.
This book is available online, amazon and at bookstores i.e. Chapters.

First, I tried the Classic chocolate whoopie recipe from the book, however I didn't like the strong baking soda taste in it. I am not sure if there is an error in the amount of baking soda. Although it looks good I prefer not to share the recipe as it wasn't tasty.

Then, I tried this pistachio cardamom whoopies by replacing the pistachio with almonds and it tasted fabulous. I didn't put any filling because we enjoyed the cake like cookies on its own. It had a beautiful aroma.

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla (I replaced with rose water)
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup ground pistachio (or almonds, hazelnuts or macadamia nuts)

*can be replaced with a favourite spice i.e. cinnamon, ginger, ground spices
Sift flour, baking powder, cardamom, salt and leave it a side. Beat butter with the sugars until it is fluffy and smooth. Add the egg and beat well. Add vanilla or rose water and beat.
Add half of the flour mixture then buttermilk beat till incorporated. Add the rest of the flour and buttermilk beat till combined. Add the ground nuts and mix till combined.
Using an ice cream scoop (2 tbsp) drop the batter onto the baking sheet or wax paper 2" apart. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F until it is brown, I inserted a skewer to check. Leave the whoopies in the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring on to a rack to cool completely.

Giveaway on Createwithmom
The Smart Mother's guide to a better pregnancy book giveaway worldwide ends July 15th, please leave a comment on the post to enter.

Basic Chiffon cake from Tartine

I enjoyed looking through and following the recipes of the book, Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson. The authors of this book, as many of you know are chefs and bakery owners of Tartine in San Francisco. They use fresh seasonal ingredients in their recipes. The recipes in the book are detailed and the ingredients are reduced for home use. It is easy to follow so we can make bakery style croissants, fruit tarts and tender cakes at home.

I like the black and white images and the colourful pictures in the book. The vivid details in the introduction and other chapters of the book were interesting to read. If I visit San Francisco, I would want to taste the fresh baked pastries and goodies from Tartine bakery after reading this book :)

There are few tips and suggestions throughout the book such as leave the peel and sometimes the seeds i.e. cherry and apricot to enhance flavours in the baked goods. Leaving the apricot pit will make the desserts have an amaretto liqueur taste.

I tried a few recipes from the book, which turned out well. I am looking forward to make the quiche, chocolate cake and ginger pudding soon. There are lots more recipes such as how to make croissants, puff pastries, brioche and more.

Here is the recipe for the basic chiffon cake from the book Tartine.

2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 egg yolks (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest grated
10 egg whites (1 1/3 cups)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar or lemon juice
egg whites at room temperature

Sift the flour and baking powder. Then whisk the 1 1/4 cups sugar and salt to the flour.
In a small bowl whisk oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest.
Make a well in the flour mixture, add the yolk mixture and whisk thoroughly and quickly for about 1 minute until it is smooth.
Beat the egg whites until it is frothy. Add the cream of tartar or lemon juice and beat until the whites hold soft peaks. Add the 1/4 cup sugar and beat on medium high speed until the whites are firm and have shiny peaks.
Add 1/3 of the beat egg whites to the yolk mixture and then fold it in gently to lighten the batter. Fold in the remaining whites until combined.
Line the bottom of a 10" springform pan with 3" sides using a parchment paper cut to fit exactly. Don't grease the sides of the pan. Pour the batter into the pan smooth the top and bake in a 325F preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes until the skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on top of a wire rack. Unmould the cake and then peel off the parchment.
The cake keeps well wrapped in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

This goes to cake recipes event.

Pomegranate orange juice

1 pomegranate

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

sugar to taste

2 tsp orange flower water

fresh mint sprigs for garnish optional

Remove the seeds from the pomegranate without the white pith. In a blender puree the pomegranate with the water, then strain using a fine sieve. Press the puree to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer to a container and add the orange juice, sugar and orange flower water. Serve with ice cubes and garnish with mint sprig.

This refreshing drink Pomegranate orange juice (Hassir roman b'limmoun) is from Cooking at the Kasbah.

This recipes goes to Sara's Event Cooking with Love Series hosted at Torviewtoronto"

Mango chutney

2 mangos cubed without peel
1 red bell pepper chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white vinegar
1 tsp mustard seeds* slightly crushed

* I used a combination of black and brown mustard seeds.
Combine everything and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour until it gets to a thick consistency like jam, stir often.
Serve hot with rice and flatbreads or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

This recipe is from the book, The Vegetarian Kitchen Table Cookbook by Igor Brotto and Oliver Guiriec. I tried a few recipes from the 275 recipes included in this book, as I found it easy to follow and the ingredients are easy to find.
I like the variety of dishes they have included in this book. It is separated into appetizers, salads, light bites, soups, main dishes, sides, basics and condiments and desserts. The selections of recipes are not specified to any type of cuisine.
There are many dishes with a variety of flavours and combinations that we can make for any occasion. The book has a few pictures of the dishes. It is a useful book for beginners and the experienced cooks. This book is available online i.e. Amazon and at bookstores i.e. Chapters/Indigo.

This recipe goes to only series mango at Anu's site, Mango mania 99, dish name starts with M

Cooking with love Aunt event

Dear friends,
I am guest hosting Sara's Event Cooking with love Series Aunt.
Please post any recipe (except things with Pork and alcohol) for this event from June 1st to 30th.
Please link your post that says, "This recipes goes to Sara's Event Cooking with Love Series hosted at Torviewtoronto".
Please make sure it has both links and the logo :)
Archived recipes with the links and logo are accepted.
Link the recipes using the linky below or email me the details.
Both bloggers and non-bloggers can participate.
Thank you friends, looking forward to your support.