"But soft, what smell through yonder oven seeps"- Romeo

So after my failed Frankenstein experiment I have decided to redeem my reputation and create a front cover blog special. Just like the segment on MasterChef, where they had to create a magazine front cover dish, I too have made the winning rich chocolate mousse tart for my blog. A la Mindy Chocolate Mousse tart with orange caramel sauce.
Ticks all the boxes for a good dessert. Delicious.Yum factor. 


I will admit that you have to put in a few hours of sweat over melted chocolate and caramel, but if you love cooking.....and by cooking I mean baking then this is worth all the effort and more. Pastry is always a little tricky- just make sure it's not too dry or moist. I took this into work and the positive feedback was astounding! One of the men even said it beat the Marriott dessert bar he had the night before. Score for me. It literally had people salivating and was demolished as soon as it was put down.

 

This dish is a crowd pleaser, makes a fantastic signature dish for those parties that you have to "bring a plate" and will trump all other dishes. 

Chocolate shortcrust pastry

• 100g (2/3 cup) plain flour
• 70gDutch cocoa
• 20gground almonds OR if nut allergy dessicated coconut
• 60gicing sugar
• 90gunsalted butter, chilled, chopped
• 1egg, lightly beaten

Chocolate mousse

• 275gdark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
• 140gunsalted butter, chopped
• 2eggs
• 3egg yolks
• 110g (1/2 cup)caster sugar
• 1orange, zested

Orange caramel

• 110g (1/2 cup)caster sugar
• 100mlorange juice
• 3oranges, segmented
• Baby basil leaves (optional) and mascarpone, to serve

Method

Preparation: 30 minutes plus 45 minutes to rest pastry
Cooking: 40 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. You will need a 24cm round fluted tart pan.

2. For pastry, places flour, cocoa, almonds, sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor and process for 30 seconds or until well combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg and process until mixture almost comes together. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Roll out pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until 4mm thick, then use to line pan. Using scissors, trim pastry to 5mm above tart pan rim, then prick base with a fork. Freeze tart shell for 15 minutes. Line tart shell with baking paper, place pan on an oven tray and bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper, then bake for a further 10 minutes or until pastry is dry. Cool for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, while cooling, make chocolate mousse, by placing chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir occasionally until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. Reserve pan of water on the stove.

5. Place eggs, egg yolks and caster sugar in a heatproof bowl over the pan of simmering water. Using hand-held electric beaters, whisk on medium speed for 6 minutes or until nearly tripled in volume and mixture holds a trail. (Alternatively, using a balloon whisk, whisk for 10 minutes.) Remove from heat, add zest, then fold into chocolate mixture in 3 batches until just incorporated. Immediately pour mousse into tart shell and level with an offset spatula. Place pan on an oven tray and bake for 18 minutes or until just set.

6. Meanwhile, place caster sugar in a medium frying pan over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes or until sugar begins to melt. Swirl pan as sugar begins to caramelise, but do not stir. In a separate small saucepan, bring orange juice to the boil. Once caramel is a deep golden, immediately pour in hot orange juice, taking care as mixture will splutter, and stir until smooth. Place orange segments in a heatproof bowl and pour over orange caramel. Brush hot tart with a few coatings of orange caramel, then set tart aside for 20 minutes.

7. To assemble, using a slotted spoon, place a spoonful of orange segments over centre of tart, scatter with basil leaves, if using, and drizzle with a little orange caramel. Serve with mascarpone and remaining orange segments and caramel.

Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers- Romeo and Juliet

Pitter Patter. The rain has finally hit today and the clouds all rolled up and gathered into one. A perfect night to sit on the lounge and rug up and watch "Masterchef." Or maybe, I could attempt a collossal feat in baking to celebrate the end of the Term and the upcoming school holidays? This way I can surprise some of the staff tomorrow with a bunch of calories instead of eating them all myself. This could save the hips.  So here I am, currently in the kitchen constructing a Mojito genoise, as made in Masterclass by Lorraine Pascall! Mojito cake? You had me at Mojito. What a great idea for a birthday cake for an 18th? This is no easy feat though. It requires a lot of ingredients, steps, time and love - all worth it though don't you think! The cake looks fluffy and similar to hers, and the butter cream......well let's just say I've licked the bowl a few times. The sugar syrup was a bit thick but will let you know how it goes when we eat it tomorrow. Presentation looks awesome and the praline.....lucky there is left over!

And the smells wafting through the house are delicious; the oven warming the living area on this cold wintry evening. Perfect baking weather methinks!


Great excuse to pull out the Bacardi and maybe reward myself with a Mojito cocktail too. Bottoms up!

Sugar Syrup

• 150 g (5.3oz) Soft light brown sugar
• 40 ml (1.4fl oz) Water
• 2 Finely grated zest and juice of limes
• 80 ml (2.8fl oz) White rum
• 1 Bunch of fresh mint, leaves only

Praline

• 400 g (7.1oz)Granulated sugar – Pecan coating
• 200 g (7.1oz) Pecans – Pecan coating                           
• 1 Dash of vegetable oil, for oiling – Pecan coating

Genoise Sponge

• 260 g (9.2oz) Caster sugar
• 115 g (4.1oz) Butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing
• 260 g (9.2oz) Plain flour
• 6 Eggs, lightly beaten

Buttercream Icing

• 300 g (10.6oz) Butter, softened
• 600 g (21oz) Icing sugar
• 2 Vanilla pods or 4 drops of vanilla extract
• 1 large or 23 small Lime – Finely grated zest and juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C; grease a 20cm cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Feel free to mix yourself a real mojito for consumption later – (although for this you’ll need more mint and sugar).
2. Make the sugar syrup first to give the mint and lime plenty of time to infuse. Zest 2 limes and put zest aside.
3. Place soft light brown sugar, water, the juice of the limes and 80 ml white rum in a medium pan over a low heat.
4. Cook until the sugar dissolves, then boil for 2-3 minutes until the syrup thickens.
5. Remove from heat and add the leaves from a bunch of fresh chopped mint (leaves only) and the lime zest .
6. Set aside to infuse.
7. Line a baking sheet with paper.
8.  Put sugar in a medium-size pan over a medium-high heat and leave to melt.  Don’t stir it, just swirl the pan to move the sugar round.
9. Once the sugar is melted, bring the mixture to the boil and cook until caramel colour is reached. Be careful not to burn it!
10. Add 200 g pecan nuts, swirl the pan to coat them a bit in the sugar and pour on the lined baking tray. Leave to cool.
11. Once this has cooled right down, blitz the praline in a food processor (or alternative place in a plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin). Put aside.
12. Place a large pot around a third full of water and bring to the boil while you lightly beat 6 eggs in a heatproof bowl. You’ll want this bowl to fit snugly over the pot of water, which is the next step. Now’s also a good time to melt the butter gently, and measure out the flour so you have them to hand.
13. Remove the pot from the heat from heat and place the bowl over the top, containing the eggs and caster sugar. Make sure the base isn’t touching the water
14. Beat like crazy with an electric handheld mixer – trust me; you do NOT want to do this by hand. You should beat for about 10 minutes over the pan of hot water – this might be a good time to throw back another mojito, because you won’t be going anywhere for a while!
15. Remove the bowl from the pot and continue beating for 5 mins or so. You need to get to a ribbon stage – when if you take a spoonful and trail it back in, the resulting ribbon should hold itself for at least 3-4 seconds before blending  back into the mixture.
16. Pour the melted butter around the sides of the bowl, so as not to knock out the air (which is what happens if you pour it in the middle.
17. Fold the melted butter into the egg mix, moving the bowl around and scooping down to the bottom to fold the mixture over itself, using as few movements as possible to retain maximum air.
18. Repeat the process with the flour, again using as few movements as possible. Be aware though that those rotten flour lumps lurk at the bottom of the bowl, and you don’t want to be pouring it into the tin and finding a dry pocket at the bottom of the bowl!
19. Pour the mixture gently into the prepared tin, and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 mins. Keep an eye on it, as it’s easy to burn.
20. Leave to cool for 10 minutes or so, then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
21. Once cool, divide the cake horizontally into two. I use a cake separator, but on Masterchef Lorraine used kitchen string stretched around the cake and then pulled tight to slice the cake evenly in half.
22. Prepare the buttercream by adding 300g softened butter, 600g icing sugar and the seeds of 2 vanilla pods (or the vanilla extract) into a bowl and whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the jest and juice from the lime.
23. Assembly time! Place the bottom of the sponge on the plate and brush with the reserved sugar syrup. Be quite liberal to make the cake really moist.
24. Put a big dollop of buttercream on top of the sponge bottom and, using a palette knife, spread the buttercream over the cake until it is level.
25. Take the top half of the cake, turn cut side up and brush with the sugar syrup. Turn it back over and put it on top of the buttercreamed sponge.
26. Next, cover the whole cake with the buttercream, including the top and sides, making sure it is a smooth as possible with straight sides and top. Put the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to firm up a little.
27. Use the praline crumbs to coat the sides of the cake, picking up the fallen crumbs and gently patting onto the cake.
28. Gently indent the cake top into sections, to work out where you will place whole pecans and lime slices.
29. Top with one pecan and one lime eighth per slice, and serve.

 It was demolished! 

I've created a monster....

No I'm not quoting Eminem but alluding to the classic novel "Frankenstein" as I just went and watched the National Live Theatre stage play and it was an "out of this world experience" and got me thinking.......about my monster creation- my husband. I've turned his savoury taste buds to delectable sweetness, and there is no going back! My kitchen's cogs cannot seem to produce enough sweet treats to satisfy these late night cravings. Cakes, ice -creams, tarts, puddings, cheesecakes, slices cannot come out fast enough before being consumed of the fox's produce line.


As a result we spent the majority of yesterday in search for figs to make Debra's cake from MasterChef, "Sticky Fig and  Caramel Cake with Vanilla Custard. We went everywhere to find the seasonal product that is out of course out of season. Of course once the thought of eating this cake had blossomed within our minds nothing would do, so the search continued to Ferry Rd Markets, which have everything.....and of course the elusive fig. 


My husband was literally jumping up and down screaming "We found figs....We found figs." Might as well have been "It's alive...It's alive." It was a Kodak moment.


So was it worth it? I'm going to let you be the judge!

Cake

• 150g butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (bean reserved for custard)
• 2 eggs
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1/3 cup full cream milk

Caramel sauce

• ¼ cupcaster sugar
• 50g butter
• 1/3 cup pure cream
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped



Pouring on the home made custard! Definitely making this again.

• 4 large fresh figs

Vanilla custard

• 1 cupfull cream milk, plus 1 tablespoon extra
• ¼ cup pure cream
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, plus reserved bean
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon plain flour
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 300ml pure cream, whipped to soft peaks, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20cm round spring form cake tin with foil then with baking paper.

2. For cake, beat butter, sugar and vanilla seeds together until pale, add eggs one at a time until combined. Add flour alternately with milk.

3. For caramel sauce, place all ingredients except figs into a medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar has melted. Bring to the boil and cook until mixture turns golden brown. Remove vanilla bean.

4. Pour caramel into prepared tin. Cut figs in half and arrange in the pan cut-side down with tops pointing towards the centre. Cover gently with cake batter, spreading until even. Place cake on a baking tray and bake for 45-50 minutes until cooked through.

5. For custard, pour milk and cream into a medium saucepan with vanilla and heat until scalding but not quite boiling. Meanwhile whisk egg with sugar until pale, slowly add warm mixture, whisking continuously. Mix flour with one tablespoon milk to a runny paste, add to mixture and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a clean saucepan, place over low heat and stir until mixture starts to thicken, 5-10 minutes. Once custard coats the back of a spoon, stir in honey. Cover custard closely with cling film.

6. Serve cake warm with vanilla custard and whipped cream.

Ode to dessert and quick thinking!

Yesterday I decided to whip up some of the desserts from the MasterChef love challenge. Kylie's was the winner so I thought I'd make her concoction and take into class for three Extension English girls as a surprise. Nothing better than eating when writing an essay!!!
Tried her " Spiced Poached Meringue with Chocolate Custard." 


This seemed easier than it looked. Meringues were a disaster. Poaching a meringue? Tried. Tasted. Failed. Ended up with a foam like substance. Discarded it. Drank the milky mixture used for the poaching- just like an egg nog. The other meringue didn't really seem to have crunch. Mind you the chocolate custard was amazing, except figs are out of season for the presentation. Plan 21.....strawberries! 


So in the end had small little ramekins with the custard, topped with strawberries, some softish meringue, pistachio crumble (I processed) and some toffee. Nothing like Kylie's dessert at all but the girls were impressed and thought it was "fancy" and the husband got some too. Result= everyone is happy and one extra notch on my masterchef belt for resilience and quick thinking!


Matt Preston would have been impressed!


Can't wait for tonights masterclass to try out next week!!!

(http://www.masterchef.com.au/recipes/spiced-poached-meringue-with-chocolate-custard-and-baked-meringues.htm)