The Daring Bakers: Le Fraisier

le Fraisier: 2 thin layers of genoise, a layer of strawberries, 

a layer of pastry cream, 

topped with almond paste decorated with circles of strawberry coulis 

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make Fresh Fraisiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.


You can download the recipe from here.

I love the cake a lot; the pastry cream is rich but seems so light and everything goes well together with the wonderful fresh strawberries, of course. Thanks Jana for a delectable and extremely gratifying challenge.

The inspiration for the design is as usual from my favorite baking book ADVANCED BREAD AND PASTRY by Michel Suas.

Food Friday: Crêpes with Bucayo

crêpes filled with bucayo 

I love crêpes, both sweet and savory. This time I wanted something sweet and Filipino. I filled them with bucayo, rolled them spring roll style, and drizzled with coconut sauce. They're sweet and coconut-y...perfect with ripe mangoes.

Recipes:

Crêpes

Bucayo

Coconut Sauce

Korean Sesame Glutinous Buns

Have you ever cooked or baked something following the recipe from just drawings or pictures, sort of  a rebus baking/cooking. I bought a packet of Korean ready to bake mix glutinous buns with black sesame seeds. The packet doesn't have instructions in English, but at least the ingredients are written in English. I have guessed from the photo on the package that the buns may be tapioca flour because they look like pão de queijo. These sweet version of the buns are indeed made with tapioca starch, wheat flour, sugar, fat-free milk solids, and other ingredients. The buns are slightly sweet and salty, are crunchy on the outside with airy and chewy crumb. Really really really yummy. 

From the illustrations and the corresponding amounts in grams and milliliter, it's easy to understand how much eggs and liquid to add, the weight of each bun, oven temperature, and how many minutes to bake the buns. Here is my "translation" based on the above:

1. In a bowl, whisk together 60 grams of egg/s and 70 ml water [or maybe milk]
2. Stir in one 250-gram packet of mix until fully combined.
3. Divide dough into 40-gram pieces, [you'll have about 12 pieces] and place on a sheet pan. Spray with water.
4. Bake in a preheated 180°C (356°F) oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden.  

There, that was easy. (^__^)

Food Friday: Chicken and Asparagus Sandwich

Chicken and Asparagus Sandwich is a family favorite for decades now, specially during the hot summer months. We usually open a can of asparagus but I now prefer steamed fresh. With a tablespoon or two of regular, not low-fat mayonnaise, and chunky cooked chicken breast, this sandwich always satisfies. Today for lunch, instead of baby dill pickles, I had it with strawberries dipped in sea salt. I love the sweet, slightly tart, and salty flavors with the sandwich. Yum!