Mazarin Cupcakes

February 4, 2017Brunch, Cake, Desserts, Frostings & FillingsTove Balle-Pedersen1 Comment

Mazarin cake is yet another Danish classic. I made a similar cake before, but this ones is a quick take on the Mazarin Cake. Instead of making one big cake, I opted for the smaller cupcake, in perfect serving size.
A classic Mazarin cake is covered in chocolate. By icing the small cupcakes with a ganache, I didn't have to temper the chocolate, and I got a bolder chocolate flavor, and a delicious creaminess.

Makes 10-12.

Ingredients:

150 g butter, salted and room temperature
150 g sugar
150 marzipan, grated
2 eggs
75 g all-purpose flour

Ganache:

150 g dark chocolate (I used Valrhona)
150 ml heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 355℉ (180℃).

Butter a cupcake pan. Line the bottom with some parchment paper, this will prevent the cupcakes from sticking. You can also use parchment paper cups.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, mix in the grated marzipan, making sure the mixture again gets light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix just until fully incorporated.

Sift flour and baking powder into the mixture, and gently fold it in.

Fill the the cups ¾ and bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache:

Chop the chocolate finely, and put in a medium bowl. Bring the heavy whipping cream to a boil, and pour the hot cream into the center of the bowl with thew chocolate. Whisk vigorously until the mixture become cohesive and shinny. Let the ganache chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Transfer the ganache to a piping bag with a large star tip. Pipe good amount on top of each cupcake, and add sprinkle.

Enjoy!

Fastelavnsboller - Choux Pastry

January 27, 2017Cake, Desserts, HolidayTove Balle-PedersenComment

Fastelavnsboller can be very different things. It can be a sweet roll filled with marzipan and a custard, it can be a puff pastry cake, a custard filled Marie bun or as here a puff pastry with different fillings.

Here I have used 3 different fillings.

Pink: Whipped cream mixed with some powdered sugar and fresh raspberries.
Orange: A passionfruit curd mixed with whipped cream.
Blue: custard and whipped cream.

I tend to use less sweet fillings, because I use iced pastry, but feel free to use your own favorites. I think a mocca mousse or chocolate mousse could be good too.

Fastelavn is a similar tradition as the American Halloween if you add some kind of piñata in the form of barrel. Children get dressed up, and go a kinda trick and treating in the early afternoon. You can read more about the Danish fastelavns traditions here.

Makes 12-16.

Ingredients:

Vanilla custard:

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2,5 dl milk
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
heavy whipping cream, whipped

Cream puff (choux pastry):

300 ml water
150 g butter, salted
175 g all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1 pinch baking powder
4 eggs

Icing:

confectionary sugar (powdered sugar)
water, hot
food coloring

Directions:

Vanilla custard:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Whisk in the cornstarch and vanilla paste.

Heat the milk to a slow boil, set aside.

While whisking vigorously drizzle the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time at first. Once you’ve added about ¼ of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin steady stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and reheat it over medium heat. Whisk constantly until it starts to boil and is thickened. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar or press some plastic wrap against the custard so it won't form a pudding skin. Chill the custard completely in the refrigerator.

When the custard is cold, whip the heavy whipping cream. Fold the whipped cream in the custard a little at a time till you get the desired taste and texture.

Cream puff (choux pastry):

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put water and butter in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. In a bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt. When the butter is all melted add all the flour at once, and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Lower the heat and keep stirring until a dough is formed and it pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny.

Keep beating the dough with the wooden spoon until slightly cooled, about 2 minutes.

Beat all the eggs in a bowl. Add a little of the beaten eggs, incorporating it thoroughly before adding more. Add the egg in small amounts until you have a thick paste but not runny at all.

Scoop or pipe the 24 dough (golf ball-sized) onto the parchment paper lined baking sheets. If you have small tips on the puffs anyway, dab the tops of each puff with a fingertip dipped in water to smoothen the tops.

Bake the puffs for 18-20 minutes, until they are puffed up and golden brown.

DO NOT open the oven while baking the choux pastry, it will cause them to deflate.

Let the puffs cool on a wire rack. Ice the buns with some colorful icing.

Cut the buns in half and fill it with prepared vanilla custard and some whipped cream. Serve with a nice cup of coffee or tea.

Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup

January 22, 2017Dinner, SoupTove Balle-PedersenComment

This soup is a classic in many countries. It's a good hearty everyday soup, that will heat you up and fill you up without robbing your wallet. And I love that this soup is easy to make, dinner is ready under 45 minutes.

Serve the soup with a cheesy dinner roll.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

Soup:

850 g potatoes, peeled and diced
3-4 leeks, rinsed and sliced thinly. Save a little for garnish
20 g butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1200 ml stock, vegetable or chicken
1½ dl (little over ½ cup) heavy whipping cream
salt & pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste

Toppings:

bacon
leeks
parsley

Directions:

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan. Add leeks, garlic and potatoes, cook them for 5-7 minutes, until potatoes begin to soften. Do not let the potatoes get browned. Add the stock in bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Puree soup in batches in a blender* until smooth, and return to saucepan.

Add the cream and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Serve the hot soup with the toppings.

Enjoy!

* Be careful when working with hot soup in a blender. If you need a new blender, consider a Vitamix. They are expensive, but they are worth all the money. They can liquefy almost anything and makes soup and margaritas so smooth and creamy. But the best part, you can blend hot soups without having to clean the soup of all your kitchen cabinets afterwards. Just saying. ;)

Passionfruit Curd

January 16, 2017Brunch, DessertsTove Balle-PedersenComment

We have a thing for anything passionfruit in my house. So every time I find passionfruits in my grocery store, I have to buy some.

This delicious curd can be used in cakes, on pancakes, crepes and on ice cream.

Makes about a cup.

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
60 ml (¼ cup) passionfruit juice, without seeds
100 g (½ cup) sugar
70 g (5 tablespoons) butter, cold and lightly salted

Directions:

Whisk yolks, passionfruit juice and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, until 160℉ (71℃).

Remove from heat. Add the butter, a little at a time, stirring until smooth.

Strain the curd through a sieve into a bowl.

Cover with some plastic wrap pressing it against the custard so it won't form a skin. Chill the curd completely in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Overnight Oatmeal

January 11, 2017Breakfast, BrunchTove Balle-PedersenComment

I have been wanting to make this for the longest time. Why it has taken me so long, I do not know. This is an easy, delicious, and healthy breakfast, to just grab and go in the morning. So, so much better than classic warm oatmeal. The overnight oatmeal will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The longer it sit, the more soggy it will become. I always make overnight oats for 2 days.

You can change this up in so many ways. Overnight Oats pretty much have no rules, you can use whatever you like. But as a rule of thumb use twice as much liquid as oats. If you do not add any thickening seeds like chia or flax seed, use a little less liquid.

Liquid: You can use pretty much any kind of milk you prefer, but if you use a sweetened milk, you might have to skip adding any additional sweetener. For a tangier flavor you can use or add buttermilk or thinned yogurt.

Seeds: I personally like flax seeds in my overnight oats, but you can use chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or again use your favorite seeds.

Sweeteners & spices: I use brown sugar in my overnight oats but feel free to use maple syrup, honey or whatever you like. Spices give you more flavor options. Use vanilla, cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa or cardamom or keep it plain and simple.

Toppings: I like to have fresh berries or fruit and chopped nuts as topping. But yet again it's all up to you. By adding cocoa nibs you get good texture and a chocolaty flavor for a new twist.

Makes 1 portion.