Short, sweet and simple with Filbert

I will keep this post brief as I am still encountering processing issues with my laptop.

It is that time of the month again where Daring Bakers unite and test our baking skills and patience in the kitchen. This month's host is Chris from Mele Cotte (thank you Chris!) where you will find the entire recipe for the gateaux. Also, check out the various renditions of Filbert on my fellow DB sites.

I did not venture far from the original recipe, I simply scaled everything down by half to yield a smaller cake -- sufficiently satisfying the sweet tooth of six persons. The only problem I encountered was with my genoise, which shrank and sank upon removing from the oven. The texture, however, was moist, slightly dense and nibby with hazelnuts. As I was a little rushed for time, I used praline paste (50g to a total weight of 400g Swiss buttercream) instead of making my own for the buttercream which I know was cheeky and lazy on my behalf but hey, I go to work because somebody has to pay the bills (NB I assembled this cake in 5 minutes before leaving for work this morning - I did leave this challenge until the last minute and I do feel some sense of guilt I have to admit).

For the ganache, I used 100g of 85% cocoa Lindt dark chocolate melted in 180 mls pouring cream, 1 tablespoon glucose and 30g unsalted butter. The result is a super-glossy and thicker than normal ganache made with minimum 55% cocoa dark chocolate.

Although I enjoyed eating every bit of the slice of cake (pictured below), I thought it would be best if I shared it with my new workmates. I hope they enjoy eating it every last bit of it too.

Lemon-raspberry roulade and Coffee cream puffs

Yes, finally a post for the month of February and I do apologise for going all quiet. The thing is, I am on vacation. That's right, 1000s of miles away from work and soaking in the company of the people I love most and for the past fortnight, I have been caught in the usual flurry of activity surrounding Chinese New Year festivities and playing host-n-guide to a mate of mine visiting from Australia.

Anyway, I have been meaning to show off this lemon-raspberry and mascarpone roulade made to christen a very good swiss roll tin by baker's secret I scooped up at a bargain price. Incidentally, it is my first EVER sweet roulade! The dessert was inspired by the 2 classic flavours of summer - refreshing citrus and berry. I chose mascarpone to cream because I love the slight subtle yoghurt-like tang of the cheese. Also, I find it is less cloying.

For the sponge, I followed the recipe card so generously provided by the tray's manufacturer and I apologise for not including it here because well, I simply forgot to write it down before I tossed the card in the bin. Still, it isn't difficult sourcing a basic sponge cake recipe from the web which you can use as your very own blank canvas. Here, I spread lemon curd on the sponge base before smoothing on a layer of sweetened mascarpone marbled with crushed raspberries.

I found it hard to refrain from sneaking a peek or two while it was in the refrigerator - just like a proud mother watching her new born baby rest in the nursery. Ah yes, this is my Baby - even if for one day. Eventually, the mascarpone firmed up enough for me to slice the cake and to say those whom I served it to were rapturous would be just a blatant lie. They were underwhelmed by it, "The flavours are great but the sponge is just too dry".

To me, it is my baby and it is just PERFECT.

I hadn't the faintest idea how much mascarpone was required for the roulade so I played it safe and purchased 2 tubs, an equivalent of 500g. Needless to say, I used less than half the amount I had and was left pondering what to do with the rest. I entertained the thought of a tiramisu for a while but didn't have all the necessary ingredients so I made some coffee cream puffs with orange dark chocolate drizzle instead.

Simple yet elegant.

The coffee cream is made by sweetening mascarpone with some icing sugar (I always use a 1:10 ratio of sugar to cheese/cream), then adding a tablespoon of coffee/hazelnut liquer and a teaspoon of ground coffee (I find it best to use a wooden spoon when working with mascarpone as over-mixing can result in a curdled mess). Pipe into cooled choux puffs and drizzle with melted chocolate.

Take a step back, lick fingers and take delight in these sweet adorable specimens.

Too easy!