Lemon, Orange and Almond Savarin Cakes with Grapefruit Sorbet

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I have been feeling a bit nostalgic lately and I think it shows in my writing and the inspiration for my recipes...

Almonds remind me of my grandfather. I remember him sitting quietly on an aqua-colored stool we had at the bakery while he peeled kilos and kilos of blanched almonds. Both hands working at once, snapping the hot, blanched almonds between his fingers to remove the skin. Prune-like skin on his finger tips. I remember that clear as day.

This was done mostly around Christmas time to make marzipan and turron. The almonds arrived unshelled but with the skins still on them. They were quickly blanched in boiling water and placed on top of towels to drain while we peeled the skins off the almonds while they were still warm. This becomes an annual ritual and it is still done today.

My grandfather was a slim, meticulous and quiet man. Always liked to be surrounded by family. After all, my grandmother and he raised eight children. The bakery doors were always open and people would come and go all day long. Friends would pop in to say hello and move on with their days. My grandparents always welcomed everyone.

I grew up in the bakery. That’s where we would go after school, that’s where we spent our weekends but I never got to work alongside my grandfather. He started as an apprentice in the renowned patisserie Martina Zuricalday in Bilbao when he was 14 years old. He opened his shop in 1949 and he retired when I was still a child. I often times think how I would have loved to stand next to him and watch him do his craft. A true master. So this recipe is dedicated to the memory of my Aitite Angel who I adored with all my heart.


These cakes also known as pain de genes are made with pure almond paste, eggs and a lot of citrus zest. There’s barely any flour so they are leavened by the air incorporated into the eggs. Very, very spongy and very, very citrus-y.

Of course I had to make some sorbet to go with it because it is scorching hot in Florida and since I had some grapefruit juice in the refrigerator, I thought I could make a sorbet with it and complete the citrus theme with a good finale. I used some of the sorbet to accompany the cake but I also piped some into shot glasses for a sorbet popsicle later on.

When you read through the sorbet recipe, I know many of you will just give up on me completely. Yes, I am using ingredients that are not available in the regular supermarkets. I apologize for that. I realize not everyone has access to these (I got them from L’Epicerie) but you must understand that this grapefruit recipe is the best one I have ever tried and so THIS one is the one I had to make. The atomized glucose which is powdered glucose, makes it completely creamy… hard to explain. There is no crystallization at all. For a conventional grapefuit sorbet recipe, you can use this one.

Lemon, Orange, Almond Pain de Genes

Makes a dozen savarins

200 grams almond paste (50% almond)
4 organic eggs
30 grams unbleached all purpose flour
3 grams baking powder
80 grams organic unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the almond paste, zest with 2 eggs (use paddle attachment at first). When this mixture has turned to a paste, add the rest of the eggs and switch to the whip attachment. Whip the almond paste and eggs to a ribbon (about 5 minutes). Add the flour and baking powder and mix. Add melted butter.

Place the batter in the refrigerator overnight. Place it pastey bag and pipe into savarin mold. bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Grapefruit Sorbet

250 grams unsweetened grapefruit juice
110 grams sugar
60 grams powdered glucose (atomized glucose)
200 grams water
2 grams sorbet stabilizer

Place water in a saucepan and heat slightly. Add the atomized gluzose, whisk and bring to a boil. Mix the sugar and the sorbet stabilizer in a bowl and add to the boiling syrup. Whisk and return syrup to a boil. Remove from heat.

Refrigerate the syrup for at least 4 hours. Add the grapefruit juice to the syrup and churn in ice cream machine. Freeze.

Candied Lemon Slices

1 lemon
50 grams sugar
50 grams water

Make a simple syrup with water and sugar. Cut the lemon into very thin slices, dip them in the cooled simple syrup and place them on a silicon mat. dry the lemon slices in a very low oven (about 200F) for about an hour. Store them in an air-tight container.

This dessert is my entry for this month’s Sugar High Friday which is a blogging event founded by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess and this month’s challenge is hosted by the lovely Helen of Tartelette.


Posted under:  cakes, ice cream and sorbet
Ingredients: 


Creme Bulgare, Christine Ferber and Petit Suisse Nostalgia

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This post is about two loves of mine: yogurt and Christine Ferber…

Growing up, we ate a lot, A LOT of yogurt. Mainly plain whole milk yogurt sweetened with fruits, a bit of sugar or honey. Flavored yogurts from Danone (or Dannon as it is known here) were a treat, eaten as dessert. The fun about getting these flavored yogurts were all the “toys” that came with them. I think these must have been the first real marketing techniques applied to food products in Europe and of course, they were targeted to children. My favorite were the sticker albums usually in reference to some cartoon show that was popular at the time. I remember “Maya the Bee” like it was yesterday.

Our other childhood treat was petit suisse. If you grew up in Europe or even walked the yogurt and cheese section of European supermarkets, you have certainly tried or at least seen these little delicacies. Not to be confused with yogurt, petit suisse is an unsalted, unripened, fresh, cow’s milk cheese originally from Normandy but widespread in Europe now. It is sold in six pack mini containers with ridges on the side and the cheese is usually wrapped in a thin piece of paper. Again, this was one of the staple snacks growing up. There were different flavors, strawberry, chocolate, banana… but my favorite was always plain.


I have looked and looked everywhere but I have not been able to find any near me so yes, I will be making my own petits suisse. Stay tuned for that one. The nostalgia for this rich and creamy texture is what inspired me to make some yogurt of my own but instead of milk, I used heavy cream, 40% butterfat to be exact. Thick like Greek yogurt but not as tangy. Sweet without any added sugar.

My second love is Christine Ferber. I learned about her a few years back and in my eyes, she is the quintessential seasonal pastry chef. All her books and recipes are always organized by season and she focuses very much on fruits. Her books “Mes Confitures” and “Mes Tartes” are two of my favorite pastry books on my shelf and I often times go to them for inspiration. I love her rustic, simple and natural approach to food. It resonates with me and how I like to eat. This apple and rhubarb jam I made to go with the creme bulgare is inspired by one of her recipes.

Creme Bulgare

1 liter of organic heavy cream
1 envelope (5 grams) of freeze-dried yogurt starter

In a saucepan, bring the cream almost to a boil (about 82 degrees Celsius). Remove from heat and let it cool to 42 degrees Celsius. Mix a small amount of the lukewarm milk with the yogurt starter. Add it to the rest of the cream and whisk lightly.

Pour the cream into your yogurt jars and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. A thin layer of fat will rise to the top of the yogurt forming a skin. That’s normal and that is actually the best part in my opinion. Refrigerate once the yogurt is set.

Rhubarb and Apple Jam

makes a medium jar of jam

100 grams rhubarb, small dice
100 grams Granny Smith apples, small dice
200 grams sugar
50 grams apple juice
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Cut the rhubarb in small dice. Peel and core the apples and cut them into small dice. Combine the fruit, sugar, apple juice and lemon juice in a bowl and let it macerated in the refrigerator overnight.

Next day, strain the mixture through a sieve. Bring the leftover syrup to a boil and cook to 221 degrees Farenheit. Add the macerated fruit and bring to a boil again. Skim any impurities, reduce heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes. Pour the jam into jars and let it cool. Serve the creme bulgare with the rhubarb jam.

Candied Rhubarb Strips

75 grams sugar
75 grams water
1 rhubarb stalk

Make a simple syrup by boiling the water and the sugar. Turn heat off once the sugar is dissolved.

Cut thin strips of rhubarb with a vegetable peeler. Dip the rhubarb in the cooled simple syrup and place the strips on a silicon mat. Dry them in a 200F degree oven for about an hour. While they are still warm and pliable, twist them. They will cool quickly and as soon as they cool, they will hold their shape. Store in an air-tight container.


Stay tuned for part II and my attempt to make petits suisse…


Posted under:  gluten free
Ingredients:  , , ,


Canneles and Raspberry Financiers… Little Camping Snacks

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First of all, I have to thank all of you who left beautiful words in my blog. Very inspirational and they have not gone unnoticed….

We just returned from a camping trip. It was a hot, but perfect Mother’s Day camping trip. It is just a joy to see my little boy’s face every time we tell him we are going to the pool or just to watch him play in the dirt. I think life gave me a boy for a reason. I get to rediscover nature through his eyes and how anything and everything is a potential toy. Tree branches make great swords!

Our camping trips always seem to revolve around food. We plan our meals a week in advance, making grocery lists, taking special trips to Whole Foods. Snacks and sweet treats are very, very important, so in preparation for this trip, I made a batch of canneles and raspberry financiers. Small, one bite treats.

Canneles are the quintessential petits fours from Bordeaux. They are not a cookie and they are not cake. It’s almost like a crepe batter that is baked in tin molds to a dark crusty exterior and a soft, custard, chewy interior. They are flavored with vanilla and rum… very very fragrant. Traditionally, these canneles tin molds are coated with beeswax, but I used mini silicon molds. Their exterior is not as shiny when beeswax is not used but they are just as flavorful and the texture very similar.

The raspberry financiers are C’s favorite. In fact, he ate most of them before we even left for the trip. There’s something about brown butter, almonds and raspberries together… Most of the time, I bake a large base and I bake them as I need them. The batter will stay good in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.

Canneles Bordelais

Makes 3 dozen mini canneles

225 grams milk
30 grams butter
75 grams milk
1 egg yolk
90 grams flour
24 grams rum
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
150 grams sugar

Boil the first two ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining of the ingredients together and slowly add the boiled milk and butter. Whisk until there are no lumps. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

Pour the batter into the canneles molds and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until dark brown exterior. While they are baking, the batter will puff up and it will seem like the canneles are going to fall out of the mold. Don’t worry, that’s normal and they will go back down.

Raspberry Financier

Makes 3 dozen mini finaciers

120 grams egg whites
125 grams sugar
55 grams flour
55 grams almond flour, toasted
150 grams brown butter
25 grams fresh or frozen raspberries (I used frozen ones this time)

In a saucepan, place the butter and heat it until the milk solids start to brown and it starts to smell nutty. Be careful not to burn it though. Remove the pan from heat and strain the butter. Let it cool.

In the meantime, toast the almond flour in a 325 degree oven until lightly brown. Let it cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, flour, almond flour, brown butter. Let this mixture rest in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, add the raspberries into the financier base and whisk a bit to break them up. Pipe the mixture in the financiers molds and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden.



Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers and non-mothers who keep on making this a better world to live in!


Posted under:  petits fours
Ingredients:  ,


Chocolate Ganache and Pistachio Creme Brulee… Two Ways

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I made some chocolate and buttermilk cupcakes for a party last week. I had some cupcakes leftover that were not iced so I decided to play around with them. I wanted to use chocolate and pistachio flavors but build different kinds of cakes. If I were as witty and clever as Cakespy, I would have a petit gateau and a cupcake faceoff. (Hey Jessie, are you up for it?)…. Unfortunately, I’m not that funny so it would turn out to be pretty silly. But I did want to play around with different looks. The petits gateaux look a bit more European, but the cupcakes are fun with the buttercream swirls.

First of all, I decided that I wanted a creamy center and a crunchy exterior so I went for a creme brulee custard that I flavored with pistachio paste and baked in mini muffin silicon pans. Then I made a very, very rich chocolate ganache with 70% chocolate that I used inside and to cover the outside of the mini cakes. For the cupcakes, I used buttercream with pistachio paste. To finish both of them, I added some chopped salted pistachios which really make a big difference. The contrast between the rich chocolate and the salted pistachios is what makes this cake in my opinion. I will briefly describe how I built each one and the recipes will follow at the end.

Chocolate Pistachio Cupcakes

With a 1 1/2-inch diameter cookie cutter, cut out a circle of cake out of the top of the cupcake. Insert the frozen pistachio creme brulee disk. Top with a little bit of chocolate ganache and place the cutout piece of cake back on top. Press down gently.

Place the pistachio buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with a number 8 plain pastry tip. Pipe the buttercream on top of the cupcake making large swirls. Top with a generous amount of chopped salted pistachios.


Chocolate and Pistachio Petits Gateaux

Remove the cupcake from the baking paper. Using a cookie cutter, make a perfect cylinder and then cut the little cake into three layers horizontally. Place the first layer down, spread a thin layer of chocolate ganache on top, place a frozen disk of creme brulee on top, top with another disk of cake, more ganache, another layer of creme brulee and finish with the last layer of cake. Press down gently.

Hold the cake down gently and with a small offset spatula, ice the sides and top of the cake with ganache. Press the chopped pistachios into the sides and top of the cakes.

Here are the recipes for the different components…

Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes

makes about 30 cupcakes

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
6 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda

In an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, brown sugar with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the melted chocolate and mix until well incorporated. Scrape the bowl. Add the vanilla and half of the buttermilk. Add the flour and baking soda, mix and finish with the remainder of the buttermilk. Mix until well incorporated. Scoop into baking cups and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache

100 grams heavy cream
100 grams 70% chocolate, finely chopped

Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Mix slowly starting from the center until all incorporated and creamy. Let it cool.

Pistachio Creme Brulee

1 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
25 grams sugar
35 grams pistachio paste

Whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar and the pistachio paste. Slowly add the heavy cream and whisk. Strain through a fine sieve to eliminate any egg particles or pistachio chunks.

Pour into a mini muffin silicon pan that is on top of a sheetpan, about half an inch high. Add hot water to the pan and bake in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until center set. Drain water from the pan and place it in the freezer until the brulees harden.

Pistachio Buttercream

50 grams egg whites
100 grams sugar
150 grams butter
50 grams pistachio paste

Mix the egg whites and the sugar and place them over a double boiler while you whisk them together. The sugar will start to dissolve and the egg whites will start to turn white and fluffy. Continue whisking until the egg whites feel hot to the touch.Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer and whip in high speed until light and fluffy and the bottom of the bowl doesn’t feel hot anymore. About 3-5 minutes.Start adding the softened butter by the tablespoon. Keep adding more butter as it is incorporated into the meringue. It might look like it is curdling but don’t worry, keep mixing. When is well mixed, add the pistachio paste.

The layer of creme brulee inside is so thin that it will thaw out in no time. Serve both the cupcakes and the petits gateaux at room temperature.

Post Script…. this photo describes it all.

Some mornings I wake up and I wonder if this little blog of mine has any meaning. I love my little blog. I treasure the time I devote to it everyday by thinking about what ingredients are available, what I am going to make with them, how I will photograph them. It really has changed my life. But at the same time, I wonder if this isn’t a bit too indulgent. The last few days I have been really thinking about it after reading this, this, this and in this one, Nadia expresses what I am feeling right now. I’m still trying to figure out how to create through food without the guilt that comes with it.

Thank you for reading…


Posted under:  cakes, cupcakes, custard
Ingredients:  ,


Pink Peppercorn Macarons with Strawberry Sorbet

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This was the recipe I had planned to make while Shuna from Eggbeater was here in Florida visiting her family. As soon as I read in her blog that she was coming, I contacted her and asked her if she would like to join me in my kitchen for a baking session. All I could think about were the beautiful photos that would come out of that encounter. I always feel sort of lonely in the kitchen. I like company and often times I wish I had a photographer buddy that could accompany me in my experiments. I couldn’t wait to meet Shuna. I love her blog… she makes me think. So Shuna kindly responded to my email and we agreed to meet on a Friday morning at my house.

But Thursday night, life took a turn, my son got sick and we were never able to meet and bake. I was really looking forward to it and felt very disappointed but it was nobody’s fault. We did meet later that weekend but no baking was involved. Just great conversation and the best sweet kugel I have ever had.

I came up with the idea of pink peppercorn macarons while walking by the meat counter at Whole Foods. It had been a long time since I had thought about or cooked with pink macarons but as soon as I laid eyes on the little jar, I remembered their slightly sweet and spicy aroma. Perfect, I thought, I will fill them with strawberry sorbet. Remember my post for strawberries and pepper? That’s where the inspiration came again.

The smell that came out of the oven while the macarons were baking was incredible. I couldn’t wait for them to cool down enough to try them. I tried one by itself and it was perfect. Sweet, crunch, chewy but a little spicy kick at the end. Subtle.


Pink Peppercorn Macarons

180 grams almond flour
240 grams powdered sugar
140 grams organic egg whites, aged
3 grams egg white powder
2 grams fine sea salt
80 grams sugar
a few drops of all natural red food coloring
Pink peppercorns, ground

Make sure that the egg whites have been separated from the egg yolks the night before. This bit of aging really makes a difference in the macaroons.

In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar and sea salt. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites with the egg white powder until very fluffy, almost fully whipped. Start adding the vanilla sugar slowly while whipping. Whip to stiff peaks but not too much or the meringue will dry out. We want semi soft “ripples” still in the meringue. Add as much food coloring to the meringue as you like. I tend to like soft colors but some prefer really vibrant ones.

Add the meringue to the almond flour mixture and fold with a spatula until a shiny mass forms. We want to achieve a batter that makes ribbons. You might have to test it to see if it’s done. Pipe a small amount on your sheetpan. If it keeps a little bit of a top when piped, then you have to mix it a bit further, if it spreads really fast, you have gone too far and your macaroons will turn out flat.

When you have the right consistency, place the mass in a pastry bag with a number 5 tip and pipe small rounds onto sheetpans lined with parchment or silpat. While the tops are still wet, sprinkle the ground pink peppercorns on top. Let them dry at room temperature for at least 45 minutes to an hour.

Have the oven preheated to 350 degrees. Place one sheetpan in the oven at a time and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes and rotate sheetpan and bake for another 10 minutes. Test to see if they are done by picking one up and seing if it still sticks to the paper or not.

Strawberry Sorbet

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberry puree (I didn’t strain it)
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 water

Make a syrup with the water and the sugar by quickly boiling it until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat right away. Let the syrup cool in the refrigerator. Add the strawberry puree and the lemon juice and churn in ice cream machine. Freeze.


Ingredients: 






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