LEAH AND I MADE DONUTS!
I’m not going to post a recipe as it can be found here. Honeykki’s demonstration is clear! Here’s just a diary of the various shapes and fillings we put together styled on some brown linen.
Ricotta Pancakes
Ricotta Pancakes
Meringue
1 egg white
1 Tbsp sugar
Main batter
1 egg yolk
56g cake flour
1 tsp sea salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup ricotta
1 Tbsp lemon juice
25g melted butter
Make a meringue with whites and sugar.
Whisk egg yolk, ricotta, lemon juice together.
Sift cake flour, salt and baking powder.
Fold flour into yolk mixture – small lumps are fine (so I’ve been viciously told by my sous Chef).
Fold meringue into batter in two parts. Doing it in two parts allows you to loosen the batter up first, then folding the next part in gently to keep the bubbles relatively intact.
Then fold in melted butter.
Heat up a pan on low heat, preferably non stick and lightly coat with oil (I wipe off the excess to get an evenly browned pancake, some people love it with lots of butter to get crispy bits – to each his own – I wanted McDonald’s style).
When it’s hot, place batter in pan and cover with a lid.
Cook until bubbles form and once it’s relatively cooked through and flip, cook until lightly browned and serve.
Chocolate & Lavender Cake
I’m so careless with typing recipes when I get so excited to share things that I miss out a couple of ingredients here and there sometimes. Just a disclaimer, I am not and never have accepted any sponsorships to do or promote anything and I would not do it unless it’s something I truly believe in. I do not get paid or receive any benefits when I share these recipes either. I’m purely doing this out of the spirit of sharing during this hard period we’re all going through. I have only ever sold the bakes I’ve made. I’ve never believed in ‘advertising as money’. It may be a long term investment, but it also has its risks which I did not feel was necessary to take back in the day as I was doing more than I could cope with. So pardon my mistakes! And let me know if you’ve spotted one – like did you forget the sugar? or eggs?
This chocolate cake is SO simple to make, you don’t need a mixer, you really only need a whisk and a bowl. Because I baked it in a sheet tray, it left me many options to the sizes I could build. I made a tiny cakelet and a 4″ layered cake. I could have made another 2 more cakelets, but I saved the rest wrapped up and placed in the freezer.
If you don’t like lavender, leave it out. But I find the floral flavour of lavender so delicious with dark chocolate. Lavender almost has a ginger-esque/rosemary quality to it. It’s such a complex flavour. Used in moderation it’s luxurious, and too much it tastes like soap. I steep it to taste, most timings I place are just a general guide, so follow your taste!
Chocolate Cake
Yield: One 1/4 sheet tray – 9×13″
Wet:
95g Plain yogurt
55g Water
137.5g Sugar
72.5g Oil
2ea Eggs
Dry:
20g Cocoa powder
102.5g Plain flour
3g Salt
4g Baking Soda
Whisk wet in a bowl, sift dries into wet and whisk until smooth (stop when it’s smooth, don’t overwhisk it)
Line a quarter sheet tray with parchment and pour cake mix in
Preheat an oven to 350F/170C
Bake cake for 18-20 minutes or until set
Lavender Dark Chocolate Cremeux
Yield: enough to pipe two 3 layered 4″ cakes
Anglaise:
250g heavy cream
250g milk
1 TBSP lavender buds, gently crushed
100g yolks
50g granulated sugar
325g dark chocolate
Make an anglaise by placing cream and milk into a pot with lavender buds and bring up to a boil
Steep for 5 minutes
Strain and measure the milk-cream mixture again, top it up with milk to make 500g
Place in a pot and bring up to a boil
Whisk yolks and sugar together
Temper yolks by whisking hot milk in 3 small additions then bring back to the pot and cook until 80C
Immediately strain hot milk mixture over chocolate and let it sit for a few seconds
Whisk until smooth, place a piece of plastic wrap touching the surface of the chocolate and refrigerate until set
Once cooled, place a piping tip into a piping bag and fill bag with cremeux
Assembly:
Freeze or refrigerate cake
Cut circles out by using a cutter or a bowl to trace a circular shape
Pipe cremeux
Repeat two more times for a 3 layered cake
Refrigerate to set
Temper at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, or have it cold straight out of the fridge with a glass of cold milk
The texture of the cremeux should be pipable out of the fridge, if not let it sit on the counter until it’s soft enough to be piped
