Blueberry muffins are my favorite after chocolate chip muffins! I love blueberries and when I had some to spare after gorging on them for days I decided to make muffins. I was looking for a vegan recipe and found one I liked on kurryleaves.blogspot .
Vegan Blueberry Muffins
It’s a great recipe and delivers crumbly, moist, tangy blueberry muffins. I have adapted the recipe with a couple of changes.
Ingredients:
135 g All purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Salt
Orange zest- from 1 orange
110 g caster sugar
104 ml soy milk
53 g Vegetable oil
1/2 tbsp White vinegar
1/2 tsp Orange Blossom water
150 g Fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions :
Preheat oven to 180 Deg C. Lightly grease the muffin tins or line it with paper liners.
In a mixing bowl,combine together all purpose flour,baking powder,salt and orange zest and whisk.
In another bowl , whisk together sugar, milk, oil, vinegar and orange blossom water.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients over and mix well until combined.Do not over mix.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Fill the muffin cups about 2/3rd full.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Leave in pans for 5 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.
It’s been raining last few days and I just love curling up with a book listening to music and enjoying a cup of coffee with these muffins. Well, if you want sugar in your coffee, eat Cake. 😉
“Ummmm”. Well, this is the kind of instant response I am usually seeking from mon chéri when I want to cheer him up.Still under the world cup hangover he unfortunately injured his ankle in a game of football and needs about 2-3 weeks of bed rest to recuperate. No golden boot here… 😦
With this sinful combination of orange and chocolate I’ve hit the nail on the head! I went about creating this dessert as I wanted to try out two recipes, one for an orange sponge cake by Julia Child and the other, a chocolate mousse by Christophe Felder. When you are trying to re-create recipes of two outstanding individuals of the culinary world, you can’t go wrong at all! Julia Child, one of the chefs whom I admire most for her determination and courage who brought about a revolution in the culinary world. Apart from the movies, the book “My Life in France” gives a humurous and lively representation of Julia’s culinary adventure. Christophe Felder, is not only an amazing pâtissier but is also considered as the creator of plated desserts by some critics!
No points for guessing that the combination of both the recipes turned out to be utterly delicious and fulfilling.
I have tried to create a plated dessert here since this is one of the skills I am trying to enhance and find my own style. 🙂
Orange Sponge with Choc Mousse and Orange Mint Curd
Ingredients :
Orange Sponge Cake: 9-inch cake serves 4-5 portions (I made half this recipe)
120 g sugar
4 egg yolks
Zest of 1Orange/ orange blossom water 1/2 tsp
72 ml orange juice
Salt, pinch
100 g all purpose flour
4 egg whites
Cream of tartar/ lemon juice/ salt, pinch
1 tbsp caster sugar
Candied orange peel:
1 orange
50 g sugar
100 ml water
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon (optional)
2 Tsp Vanilla sugar
Chocolate Mousse:Serves 12 (I made 2 portions)
100 g heavy cream
250 g chocolate (60-70% cocoa)
Cream of tartar/ lemon juice/ salt, pinch
6 egg whites
40 g sugar
2 egg yolks
Orange Mint Curd:
1/2 gelatin sheet (1g)
88 g butter, softened
1 egg
68 g sugar
65 ml orange juice
8 medium mint leaves
Orange Sponge Cake:
Butter and flour the cake tin. Preheat the oven to 170 C.
Beat the sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy to form a ribbon.
Add the orange zest, orange juice and salt and beat until foamy.
Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks. Add the sugar and beat until it forms stiff peaks.
Pout one-third of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and fold. Fold in the rest.
Pour into the cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Cool before serving.
Candied Orange Peels:
Bring a saucepan with water to a boil.Peel the orange into wide strips. Cut into strips.
Add to the boiling water, cook for a minute and drain. This will help to remove bitterness.
Now, combine the sugar and water and boil over medium heat stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Add the orange peel and boil for 2 minutes. Add the honey and stir.
Let the mixture Rest for 15 minutes.
Drain the peel. Transfer to a wire rack and let dry for an hour.
Whisk the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Add the orange peel to the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat.keep aside.
Chocolate Mousse:
Finely chop the chocolate.
Bring the cream to boil over medium heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it melt slightly. Whisk to make a smooth, shiny ganache.
Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and whip until they form soft peaks.
Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until they hold a firm peak.Do not overbeat.
Whisk the egg yolks into the ganache.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg whites. Gently fold with a spatula. The mousse should be smooth.
Chill for an hour before serving .
Orange Mint Curd:
Soak the gelatin sheet in a bowl of cold water until softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
Pour the egg into a heavy saucepan and add the sugar. Whisk the eggs with the sugar.
Whisk in the orange juice. Continue to whisk over medium heat.
Tear the mint leaves into the pan and cook just until the cream comes to a boil and thickens.
Whisk in the softened gelatin.
Strain the cream over the softened butter. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream and butter for one minute until smooth.
Chill completely, at least 30-45 minutes.
Assembling the cake:
Spoon a little orange curd on the plate.
Cut a piece of cake and place over the curd. Spoon some mousse over/beside the cake.
Dust the cake with icing sugar, cinnamon and top with almond flakes.
Sprinkle the pistachio and top with the candied citrus peel. Viola!
Plating A
Plating B
Was Plating B a Hit or a Miss? I would love to know which Plating appealed to you more?
Who doesn’t love the Opera cake? When I would walk into a patisserie to buy a croissant or macarons, my eyes would always fall on the rich, dark, mysterious cake. It is almost as if I was falling in love with it over and over again. They look so attractive and always make you test your will power….. 😉 Just a bite of these dreamy little cakes can take all worries off your mind. Literally!
I haven’t eaten the Opéra cake in a long time and when I found myself thinking about it for days together, I decided it was time to get baking! 🙂 They sure do have a lot of elements, but time flies when you make these and the effort is totally worth it. It would make for an outstanding dessert to finish off a dinner party.
This recipe has been adapted from Cristophe Felder’s “Patisserie”. If I have to make this again, I would eliminate the egg yolk buttercream from the buttercream recipe and use just butter, coffee and italian meringue. I have used half of the recipe and made a small cake.
The cake turned out moist and light, with perfectly tempered chocolate. What more can one ask for? 😉
Makes 16 by 12 inch cake Ingredients:
Coffee Syrup : ( I have made 1/4 of the recipe)
400 ml warm coffee
150 g caster sugar
Jaconde Cake:( I have made 1/2 of the recipe)
8 eggs, 4 whole, 4 separated
220 g ground almonds
275 g sugar
100 g all purpose flour
Chocolate Ganache :( I have made 1/2 of the recipe)
170 g dark chocolate (60% cocoa)
120 ml milk
40 ml heavy cream
2 tbsp butter, softened
Coffee Buttercream:
20 ml espresso or strong coffee, at room temperature Italian Meringue:–
62 g sugar
1.5 tbsp water
1 egg white Egg Yolk Buttercream:
2.5 egg yolks
120 g sugar
50 ml water
180 g butter, softened
Chocolate Glaze:( I have made 1/2 of the recipe)
400 g chocolate (%2% cocoa)
50 g vegetable shortening (replaced with butter)
50 g grapeseed oil (replaced with butter)
Instructions :
Coffee Syrup :
Combine the coffee and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Keep aside.
Jaconde Cake:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line 3 baking sheets with baking paper.( I have used 2 baking sheets)
Combine the whole eggs, egg yolks, ground almonds and half of the sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 15 minutes.
Whip the egg whites in a bowl until soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar and beat until firm and glossy.
Gently fold the egg whites into the egg-almond mixture.
Gradually sift in the flour and gently fold until smooth.
Spread one-third of the cake batter on each prepared sheet. Bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.
Remove and let cool.
Chocolate Ganache :
Finely chop the chocolate and place in a bowl.
Bring the milk and cream to a boil in a small saucepan and pour over the chocolate. Add the butter and whisk until smooth.
Coffee Buttercream : Step 1: Italian Meringue
Whisk the egg whites in a kitchen mixer on a medium speed.
Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in a small pan and cook over a high heat until it has reached 117C/242F or the ‘soft ball’ stage.You can tell when the bubbles are almost the same size, that’s the stage we are looking to achieve here.
Reduce the speed on the mixer to its lowest setting and pour the sugar syrup from the sides of the bowl onto the firmly whipped egg whites.
Increase the speed to high and continue to whisk until the mixture returns at room temperature. Touch the bottom of the bowl, it should not be hot. Step 2: Egg yolk buttercream :
Whisk the egg yolks at low speed.
Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in a small pan and cook over a high heat until it has reached 117C/242F or the ‘soft ball’ stage.You can tell when the bubbles are almost the same size, that’s the stage we are looking to achieve here.
Reduce the speed on the mixer to its lowest setting and pour the sugar syrup from the sides of the bowl onto the egg yolks and beat until they are pale. This should be the ribbon stage. Step 3 :
Whip the butter until it is creamy and smooth. Step 4:
Add the egg yolk mixture to the butter and beat at low speed until the texture is light.
Beat in the italian meringue at low speed.
COntinue beating at medium speed for about 10 minutes.
Step 5:
Add the espresso to the buttercream and whip at low speed until smooth. Assembling the Cake:
Line the cake board with parchment paper. (Optional) I just used some buttercream on the board. 🙂
Place one sponge cake and brush with coffee syrup.
Spread half of the coffee buttercream over the cake with an offbeat spatula.
Place the second sponge onto it and brush with coffee syrup.
Spread a thin layer of chocolate ganache over it.
Place the third sponge cake on top. Brush with coffee syrup.
Spread the remaining buttercream and smooth with the spatula.
Chill until set, at least an hour.
Chocolate Glaze:
Finely chop the chocolate and place with butter in a bowl. Place over a double boiler and let melt, stiring until the chocolate reaches between 95 and 104° F or 35 to 40° C. Remove the bowl from the heat.
Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, smooth with an offbeat spatula and chill until set.
Decorate as you please… 🙂 Serve:
Dip the knife into hot water and wipe it dry after each cut. Serve with a big smile…:)
My Tryst with Baking 