Pistachio Ice Cream

I have been meaning to make pistachio ice cream for AGES. For as long as I can remember really. So, I finally go around to it. Finally got the nerve to fork out the dough for the pistachios (those little green babies aint cheap!) and finally got the fingers up for the task of much nut shelling. For some reason shelled pistachios are harder to find than the ones in the sharp little shells. Typical.

I don't know what it is about pistachios that I like. Or that people in general like so much that they are willing to pay the large price demanded for silly little bags. So here's a bit of trivia about the pistachio: its originally from Iraq/Iran and has been a food source since 6750BC. The pistachio was supposedly grown in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon around 700 BC, so its seen some history and been part of an ancient wonder of the world. Impressive. Also, human studies have shown that 32-63 grams per day of pistachio nut can significantly elevate plasma levels of lutein, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and gamma-tocopherol. No idea what that mans, but hey. It sounds impressive.

Its pretty much a typical ice cream recipe, consisting of a custard made with cream, milk, egg yolks and sugar. Lots of gentle stirring while the eggy, bubbly mixture slowly turns into a velvety, rich base which could really be used for any ice cream flavour. Just a hint, the mixture expands a lot once the egg yolk mixture has been added to the hot creamy milk, so use a big saucepan to avoid you having to switch over half way through cooking like I did. Its messy. But worth it.

The roasted, pureed pistachios are added to the custard and the the mix is sieved to smooth it out a bit. It is still a slightly coarse mixture, but with that amount of nuts in it, that isn't surprising. And I liked the slight texture sensation. It is a gorgeous creamy, nutty ice cream. The only thing I might change next time is that amount of the sugar. I do think it could be dialled back some. Maybe from 400g to 350g, or even 300g. Next time...

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Pistachio Ice Cream

What you will need:

200g unsalted shelled pistachios
400g caster sugar, plus an extra 80g
700ml full-cream milk
300ml double cream
10 large eggs, yolks only (freeze the whites in a couple of batches and use them for meringues)

What to do:

Roast the pistachios by putting them into a dry frying pan over a medium to low heat. Watch them carefully and shake the pan so that the pistachios brown very lightly on all sides. Don't let them burn.

Put the roasted pistachios into a food processor with 80g of sugar and pulse-chop them as finely as possible.

In a large thick-bottomed saucepan, heat the milk and cream to just below boiling point (you will see bubbles beginning to form at the very edges of the pan). Remove from the heat.

Put the egg yolks and 400g of sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for about 8 minutes, until pale and thick and doubled in volume. Wash the saucepan (this is to remove any milk residue that might be a bit scorched).

Add the warm milk and cream to the egg and sugar mix, beating on the lowest speed.

Return this custard mixture to the clean thick-bottomed pan and cook slowly over a very gentle heat until it coats the back of a spoon; this will take at least 15 boring but worth it minutes.

Remove the custard from the heat, stir in the pistachio paste, and then pour and rub the whole thing through a fine sieve into a bowl.

Leave to cool, then churn in an ice cream machine (in two batches if necessary, as it was for me) until frozen.

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Orignal From: Pistachio Ice Cream

un-a-MUSE-ing

So, I seem to have lost my blogging muse. I have sat here, in front of the New Post page, for ages, many times. And nothing. No inspiration. No drive. No muse to fuel my word-fire. I can't remember the last time I had a word-rich conversation that tickled my internal dictionary. So today, in there interest of starting, rather than looking blankly at the screen for half an hour before closing my laptop and giving up. Again.

So instead of words, here are some photos of this some work from the last couple of weeks.

Virgin Media Corporate Cupcakes

Pink & White Wedding Cake

Hello cutie Kitty

Making Tiramisu cupcakes, and the Kahlua needed testing :)

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Orignal From: un-a-MUSE-ing

Poached Eggs

Poached eggs. Not exactly rocket science one would think. But they have stymied me for a long time. I have tried putting vinegar in the water, making a whirlpool, all sorts of tips and hints. But I would invariably end up with an eggy, watery mess.

Until now. And I owe it all to Heston. In the most recent series by the slightly crazy ad very adventurous Heston Blumenthal, he covers one ingredient per show. And he did one on eggs. And he showed all us hopeless egg poachers, exactly how to do it so it will work. Every time.

Rule 1. Use fresh eggs, as they are less watery so the white will hold together.
Rule 2. Have the water hot, at 80 deg C, not boiling furiously, not even simmering, 80 deg.
Rule 3. Place a plate upside-down  at the bottom of the pot to protect the eggs from the direct heat of the pan.
Rule 4. Crack the eggs into a slotted spoon before putting in the water, to allow any the watery egg white to drain away.

It worked. It was amazing. Heston's poached eggs, combined with leftover spinach, some soft, warm rolls, and Delia's Hollandaise sauce, oh its the breakfast of kings. Mmmmmmm

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Orignal From: Poached Eggs

Caramelised White Chocolate

I'm back. With a new look, and a new style. Style as in look, and style as in content. My blog is all about me, my food, my work, and my running. I have struggled to keep my blog active over the last few months as my work has kept me busy and after baking all day (I made 19 sponges in 4 hours the other day) I just didn't feel like all the food-based blogging when I got home. So I have decided to vary things a bit. Blog about food and cooking and baking still, but add variety with work stuff, running stuff and any other stuff that comes to mind. So I hope thats ok. Let me know what you think. I do it for you, my invisible audience.

 

So I was home this afternoon. I worked this morning, then I took the pooch running in the woods. 10k later and my legs are feeling it. I am not as fit as I used to be. Its a shame. But I still love it. It was warm today too. Like a whole 12 degrees. I had actual sweat in my hair and all over my t-shirt. could it be the first vestiges of spring? Or is it just mother nature teasing us with the wonderful warmth, just to dump a foot of snow on us again at easter? Who knows. I will enjoy it while it lasts and try not to speculate. 
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Soba Noodle, Aubergine, Mango & Tofu Salad

I eat too much cake. Its a fact. And rather unavoidable given my occupation. So in the evenings, when the cake baking is done and my tastebuds and stomach are craving something savoury, I do try to cook healthy foods. When I want to be even more super duper healthy, I meander over to 101 Cookbooks or my copy of Super Natural Every Day and pick something from Heidi's collection of super whole and healthy recipes.

The problem I do have with her recipes though, is that there are some ingredients I don't even know what they are, let alone where on earth, here in Manchester, England specifically, I would be able to get hold of them. What is Tempeh? Where do I find black sesame seeds? These are questions that perusing her book has left me with. So, I do often have to improvise a little bit when cooking her recipes, and add my own ingredients or alternatives.
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German Chocolate Cake

Hello world. Its been a while. How are you doing?

I am ok. Living with cake, cake and more cake. Recently I made a wedding cake that I didn't know was a wedding cake, I made 150 cupcakes in little bags, and today I have been making a marriage proposal in Venice cake. Complete with gondola, man on bended knee(s) and pretty scenery. But today's post is about the king of the chocolate cakes. German Chocolate Cake.

I attend the Clandestine Cake Club in Manchester. It is a group of ladies who all love to make, and eat cake. Every meeting there is a theme and we all make a cake in line with the theme. Then we bring the cakes to a meeting place, a different one every time, and we sit around, drink coffee, talk about cake, and most importantly, eat a lot of cake. And I mean a lot.  I think this time I managed to have a teeny sliver of about 6 different cakes. I'd love to try them all, but my stomach is not up to the challenge of 15 or so cakes, unfortunately.



This months theme was family favourites. As I could not think of a particular cake that was a 'favourite' in the family, I decided to be liberal with the theme and go with a cake that is from my heritage. I have heard of German Chocolate Cake before, so this was a perfect opportunity to bake it up with my German heritage.

A far as cakes go, I make a lot of them. Most days of the week. Yesterday I made 3, and that was when I got home from my shift at the bakery, but this cake, this cake is different. Its a project cake. It consists of no less than 4 components - sponge, syrup, filling and ganache, and it takes time. But oh is it worth it. It is sublime, divine, heavenly. And all the ladies of the CCC concur.

I cannot take the credit for the recipe, it is courtesy of Mr David Liebovitz,  but I can take credit for my making of it, and I take credit for the chunk of it I munched, and for the fact that there was not a single bit left. The sponge is so light and moist from the syrup it alone would be a treat, but that filling. Oh that filling. I could have munched the entire bowl with a spoon and then happily drifted off into a sugar & butter induced coma. Its good. Make it.



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German Chocolate Cake

OK, the recipe looks long, I know. And I won't deny that you need a couple of hours in which to construct this beauty. You cannot whip it up on a whim. But I say again, its sooooo worth it. Every second. Every mouthful. Mmmmmm.

One big, tall 9-inch cake; about 16 servings

For the cake:
4 ounces dark chocolate chopped
6 tablespoons water
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¼ cup + ¼ cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
3 ounces butter, cut into small pieces
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted and finely chopped pecans
1 1/3 cups desiccated coconut, toasted

For the syrup:
1 cup water
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum or 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the chocolate ganache:
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 ½ ounces unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream

1. Butter two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Melt the chocolate with the 6 tablespoons of water. Use either a double-boiler or a microwave. Stir until smooth, then set aside until room temperature.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and 1 ¼ cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate, then the egg yolks, one at a time.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

5. Mix in half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, then the rest of the dry ingredients.

6. In a separate metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, droopy peaks. Beat in the ¼ cup of sugar until stiff.

7. Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until there's no trace of egg white visible.

8. Divide the batter into the 2 prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool cake layers completely.

While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the filling, syrup, and icing.

To make the filling:

1. Mix the cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the 3 ounces butter, salt, toasted coconut, and pecan pieces in a large bowl.

2. Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of your spoon

3. Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature. (It will thicken)

To make the syrup:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum/vanilla extract.

To make the ganache:

1. Place the 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl with the 1 ½ ounces of butter.

2. Heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Let sit until room temperature.

To assemble the cake:

Remove the cake layers from the pans and cut both cake layers in half horizontally, using a serrated bread knife.
Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush well with syrup. Spread ¾ cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach to the edges. Set another cake layer on top.

Repeat, using the syrup to brush each cake layer, then spreading ¾ cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top.

Ice the sides with the chocolate ganache, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.

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Orignal From: German Chocolate Cake

A Big Responsibility, and a Castle Cake

This week, I have a dog. We have got a dog. Haven't bought a dog, as he was 'free to a good home', but he has been brought home, and now is a member of the household. A permanent fixture. A responsibility. It feels weird. I haven't been responsible for another living thing, well, ever. And here he is. Living, breathing, eating, farting, doing all the things that a dog does, and at this very moment, I am responsible for him. Just me. Weird. I guess this is a very watered down version of what having a baby feels like.

Its funny. You look at people picking up dog poop, and you think, yuck. Gross. How can they do that. Then you have your own dog, and its just part of the package. YOu just take it in your stride. And how he was when I came home from work today, he was overjoyed to see me. He jumped up and down and looked so excited he could barley contain himself. He then lavishes love on me in every way a dog knows how. That. That unconditional, uncontrolled love, when he's only known me 7 days, that is why I love dogs. And this one, Toby, in particular.

So, I haven't baked anything, at home at least, this week. But I have done lots of baking at the bakery, and lots of decorating too. Today - it was the castle cake. Never having made a castle out of cake before, I was not completely sure where to start. So I started at the beginning. Grey. and the rest just flowed really. I was in the 'zone'. Cake decorators will know what I mean. That place you go, that switch that flicks in your brain when you start decorating. You are focused, and everything around you goes out of focus. All you can see is the cake, and you just start. And you only stop when you are happy that you are done. That the cake is complete. Then you step back, smile, and the rest of the world comes back into focus and you move on to the next one.

I do plan to make something blog-worthy this weekend. At the moment I am torn between Salted Butter Caramels and White Chocolate and Ginger Ice Cream. What should I make??

 

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Orignal From: A Big Responsibility, and a Castle Cake