Elegant Cranberry and White Chocolate Gateau

There's something magical about mousse. It's easy to prepare, makes a wonderful filling for a wide variety of cakes and is a dessert in its own right.

Once you have a simple repertoire of mousses and sponge cakes down, the variety of desserts you can make is almost limitless. Mousse and sponge cake are comparable to classic wardrobe basics that you can mix and match, or in this case layer with fruit, chocolate or pastry creams, thereby allowing you to create creative and unique desserts that can either be either simple or complex.





The trouble is finding good, reliable and consistent mousse recipes. You do not even want to know how many I've tested over the years. Most of them are utter failures. They look great in the cookbook and then turn out flat, grainy, gummy or runny. To me, if you know what you're doing and you follow a recipe, you should get adequate instruction to make the recipe turn out well at home. Not so with many cookbook recipes for mousse. This is why I was thrilled to find the mousse recipes at Cannelle et Vanille. Why? Her mousse recipes work and are delicious.

Because it's still fall in New England, I was eager to do something with the abundance of cranberries we bought when we visited Cape Cod. I also wanted an alternative to the tasty but heavy pies and squash recipes that we typically serve on Thanksgiving. Yearning for something lighter and more elegant I decided to make this incredible cranberry and white chocolate gateau. The result is spectacular and if you do nothing else, try the cranberry mousse recipe. It would be great served as a verrine with cranberry compote or on its own.







Elegant Cranberry and White Chocolate Gateau

Note: Both mousse recipes are adapted from Cannelle et Vanille.

Cranberry Base

6-8 oz. fresh cranberries, washed with stems removed
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Stir together ingredients and boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce to simmer. Cook until mixture thickens with a slight bit of juice remaining. Cool until you can handle the mixture but do not let it set. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Strain and refrigerate. Cranberry base can be made several days in advance.


Pate a Bombe

8 oz. sugar
2 oz.corn syrup
4 oz. water
3 oz. egg yolks

Cook the sugar, corn syrup and water to 240 degrees Farenheit. In the meantime, whip the yolks until they turn fluffy and pale. Slowly add the cooked sugar to the yolks and continue beating until the bowl has cooled. This may take about 10 minutes. This mixture can also be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. To bring to mixture back to working temperature defrost in microwave for about 5 seconds. Leftover will keep for several weeks and can be used in additional mousse desserts.


Cranberry Mousse

2 oz. pate a bombe
1 1/2 sheets of gelatin
3 oz. of cranberry base
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Whip heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peak and set aside. In a stand mixture fitted mix the cranberry base with the pate a bombe until well-blended. This will take a few minutes. Soften the gelatin in ice water and then melt in microwave for 5 seconds. With mixer running, slowly pour gelatin into the pate a bombe and whisk until well incoporated. Fold in whipped cream.


White Chocolate Mousse

150 grams heavy cream
1 sheet gelatin
75 grams good quality white chocolate, chopped

Place the white chocolate in a bowl and melt it over a double boiler. Remove the bowl from the heat when the chocolate is melted and let it cool slightly. Alternatively, you can place the chopped chocolate in a glass or ceramic bowl and microwave for about 1 minute. Check it frequently as white chocolate seizes easily.

In the meantime, whip the cream to soft peak. Melt gelatin in microwave for about 5 seconds and pour into bowl slowly while cream is whipping. Pour a third of the whipped cream into the chocolate and mix quickly and thoroughly. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture.


Simple syrup

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Boil and then simmer until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly.


Sponge Cake (Genoise) adapted from Michel Roux

125 g. all purpose flour
4 large eggs at room temperture
125 g. sugar
2 tbs. butter, cooled to tepid

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Butter and flour 10X15 jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet with sides). If you're making a full size cake, you can use round cake pans.

In a stand mixture fitted with whisk attachment, whip the eggs and sugar on medium high speed for about 12 minutes or to the ribbon stage. (i.e., when you lift the whisk the mixture will flow down in a thick and smooth ribbon-like fashion). Shower in the flour and delicately fold into the egg/sugar mixture. Fold in the melted butter. Do not overwork. Pour batter into sheet pan and spread with an offset spatula. Bake for about 10 minutes until mixture springs back when touched. Cool.

For this particular cake I used 3 inch cake rounds to cut out circles, brushed them with simple syrup and layered them alternately inside of a 3 inch cake round lined with food-grade acetate. What I learned from Chef Aran is that pressure needs to be evenly applied to each layer to get the mousse to look good. So, for example, I would put down a layer of cake, then some mousse, and then a layer of cake. I'd then apply even, gentle pressure with a bottle that fit inside of the ring. Just remember, you can make this cake in any size or shape you want, add any additions that seem tasty to you and decorate it however you please. The most important thing is to have fun with the recipe and make it your own.






Enjoy the recipe and the season...Bon Appetit!

Buttery & Delicate Viennese Cake with Afternoon Tea

I love beauty.

To me, beauty isn't commercial - the high price-tag definition of beauty thrust upon us by Madison Avenue. It's not the latest fad or trend dictated to us by family, friends or the culture. To me, beauty is found in those places and things that exalt our senses and make each of us feel better about being in our world and living in our own skin.

What defines beauty is different for everyone.

I find beauty in walking on the beach or in the woods, having a picnic with freshly prepared food, taking a bite out of a hand-crafted cheese, paying a visit to a local art exhibit or simply enjoying the lines and lettering on an old stack of old books.

Whenever possible, I try to surround myself with beauty. Living in New England, where much is preserved, it's easy.

Lately I've been loving old New England antique stores, full of vintage items and old plates and dishes that I pick up 3 or 4 dollars a piece. Bringing these inexpensive pieces into my home and using them at the dinner table takes me back to a more elegant time and place in our history. I love the feeling of pouring freshly brewed tea into an English china cup and serving myself or a loved one a piece of cake on a hand-painted plate. It's as though the whole world slows down and dignity and elegance matter again.







One of my favorite old-world desserts to serve is the Austrian coffee cake created by 18th century coffee house Demel in Vienna. I found the original recipe for this in Saveur Magazine but have since adapted it to suit my taste.

226 g. unsalted butter
110 g. flour
26 g. cornstarch
2 g. salt
60 g. confectioners sugar plus extra for dusting
zest of one orange, minced
10 g. vanilla extract
3-4 oz. high quality bittersweet chocolate
35 g. Grand Marnier
5 eggs separated
1 pinch cream of tartar
204 g. sugar

Heat oven to 325 degrees (163 Celsius). Grease molded bundt or kugelhopf pan with butter and flour.

Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt and set aside.

Cream butter and beat in sugar. Beat in zest and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add reserved flour mixture in 3 parts beating well after each addition.

Melt the chocolate and mix well with Grand Marnier. Set aside to cool slightly.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until they start to have shape. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold one third of whites into the batter to lighten it. Then fold in remaining egg whites. It will be slightly lumpy when you're done.

Pour half the cake batter into the pan. Spread the chocolate on top of the batter in a line around the center of the batter. Pour the rest of the cake batter on top. Bake 40-55 minutes depending upon your oven. Remove when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Do not over-bake or the cake will be dry. Cool. Remove from mold. Dust with confectionery sugar.

Variations: Mix a portion of the batter with the melted chocolate to create a marbled effect. Change the liqueur to rum or other flavoring. Replace the melted chocolate with your favorite butter and nut crumble.

This cake is lovely served with tea. My favorites are Mariage Freres, Damman and New England's own Tea Forte.







Taking time out in the day for a special treat like this brings beauty to my day.







What enriches your life? What do you find beautiful?


Pain passes but beauty remains ~ Pierre Auguste Renoir

Brown Sugar and Chocolate Baked Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The trees are shedding their leaves, the temperature is falling and it's getting dark early. There's something about the decrease in day light hours that makes me want to curl up with an old novel, a hot drink, a warm quilt and eat comfort food.

Comfort food: (n) food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being, typically with a high sugar or other carbohydrate content and associated with childhood or home cooking.

It's my understanding that comfort foods vary internationally. For example, in the US we tend to crave macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and chocolate. In Canada, poutine is a favorite. In India, it's dahl and roti and in Japan, miso soup. Ice cream seems to be the most internationally ubiquitous choice. What's your favorite comfort food?






I have another reason to need comfort. Back in September I caught "the dreaded flu." About 2 weeks ago the dastardly beast decided to take up residence in my rib cage and wreak havoc in the form of inflammation and painful breathing. It's supposed to heal but after too much time off and more doctor visits than I care to recount, it's getting to be a bit much.

Being at home with the dark skies and the falling leaves whirling about with this condition is the closest thing I can imagine to living a modern day Dickens novel. Comfort, in this case, is not a luxury but a necessity. Fortunately, my sense of humor is in tact and my appetite for all things chocolate remains wholly unaffected.

That brings me to the chocolate creation. If you're like me and you're comforted by things that are simple, warm, chocolaty and delectable - this dessert is for you.

Brown Sugar and Chocolate Baked Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Brown Sugar and Chocolate Baked Pudding

150 g. self-rising flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
50 g. good quality cocoa powder
275 g. dark brown sugar, preferably from Wholesome Sweeteners
80 g. butter, melted
120 g. creme fraiche
1 egg, lightly beaten
extra brown sugar and cocoa powder for dusting
500 ml boiling water

Preheat oven to 355 degrees (180 Celsius)

Sift the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Blend in the melted butter, then the creme fraiche, then the egg. Spread batter into one large baking dish or several small ramekins. Sprinkle with extra brown sugar and cocoa powder. Pour boiling water over the top. Bake 30-40 minutes in a large dish and about 10-12 minutes in smaller ramekins. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum)

128 g. egg yolks (about 7 large)
200 g. super fine sugar
1 pinch salt
232 g. heavy cream
540 g. milk
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
2 tsp. vanilla

Beat the yolks and superfine sugar together.

In heavy saucepan, heat the cream milk and scraped vanilla bean until simmering.

Gradually temper the hot liquid into the egg mixture while beating constantly.

Pour entire mixture into a bain-marie and heat to 180 degrees F.

Mixture is done when it leaves a well-defined trace of cream on the back of a wooden spoon.

Chill and then add vanilla. Churn in ice cream machine. Freeze.






I hope you find this recipe as comforting as I do. Bon appetit!