Sometimes my Google Reader throws up a real gem, like these pumpkin cinnamon roll pancakes. Lori from Recipe Girl says that this is the best breakfast treat she has ever made, and I have to agree! What a change from our usual boring pancakes with maple syrup and whippy.
Cinnamon filling
I'm not going to put the recipe here, because the only change I made was to use mascarpone cheese for the icing, just click the link for it: pumpkin cinnamon roll pancakes. If you don't like pumpkin or can't find it (I got mine in Waitrose) just make ordinary American pancakes instead, adding the cinnamon filling and cream cheese icing - D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.!
I love chocolate and I LOVE this book! Couture Chocolate by William Curley is one of those books that you can't put down. The glossy, beautiful photographs will have you drooling and wanting to lick every page!
My rum and raisin bouchée waiting to be cut and coated in chocolate
But before I go any further, I want to mention a few things so I can get onto the good stuff. You must have incredible patience to dabble in all things chocolate, many of the recipes have quite a few stages and some of the decorations/techniques are intricate. To make the best of the book you will need some special equipment including decent chocolate moulds and a good candy thermometer. Some of the ingredients can be expensive and elusive - kinako powder and cocoa butter for example - and the book suggests using fine couverture chocolate with Trinitario or Criollo beans listed in the ingredients, the minimum amount of chocolate being 500g (1lb 2oz) for tempering.
Nice layout and plenty of detail
I'm pretty sure all of the chocolates and cakes in the book were made in William Curley's professional kitchen, so don't be disappointed if you make something and it doesn't *ahem* come out looking quite like the photo - you've just made the 'rustic' version and it should still taste delicious. Just remember to tell yourself that William Curley is the country's top chocolatier, winning numerous awards and accolades.
The pages of Couture Chocolate are well laid out and the recipes have quite detailed, easy to follow instructions, many with step by step photos and additional notes. William explains the origins of cocoa and the importance of cocoa content. He introduces divine exotic flavours and different textures to his chocolates. Tempering chocolate is quite tricky, but he gives us a couple of different methods to try, one of which is suitable for the minimum amount of chocolate. This book is more than just chocolates and truffles, there are chapters on bars & bites, bouchées, cakes & biscuits, patisserie and a brilliant one on ice cream, sauces & drinks.
Some of the recipes that I have marked to try include chocolate rum baba, chocolate & praline spread, sea salt caramels and an awesome looking chocolate & apricot roulade. Even if some of the recipes seem a little complicated, it's worth making the effort to try them. As the desserts are so beautifully presented, you can also use the book for inspiration and ideas.
This video shows William Curley making gorgeous sea salt caramel tarts from the book, page 190 - simple huh? (!)
My hazelnut & feuillantine cakes, if you look closely you can see one is upside down - oops!
I made two recipes from the book, little Hazelnut & Feuillantine Cakes and someRum & Raisin Bouchée. The cakes were covered in what was my first attempt at tempering chocolate and although the tempering went quite well, I can see a digital candy thermometer going onto my Christmas list - accuracy is the key here! 'Feuillantine wafers' were listed in the cake ingredients and after some internet research, the closest thing resembling the wafers that I could get hold of were ice cream cone wafers. Apparently, feuillantine wafers are dried crêpes!
Substitute for the feuillantine wafers
Cakes just out of the oven
For the the rum & raisin bouchée recipe, I just poured the chocolate mixture into a parchment lined tin as I didn't have the recommended silicone pan. This was a relatively easy recipe and the chocolates tasted fabulous.
Finished rum & raisin bouchée
An exciting book with some truly fantastic recipes, good ideas and beautiful photography. If you use the right equipment, recommended ingredients and have a lot of patience, you could be making chocolate delicacies to be proud of. My rating is 9 out of 10.
The book can be bought from Amazon and all good book shops.
Couture Chocolate, by William Curley £30.00 / Hardback, 224 pages Publisher: Jacqui Small Llp An Imprint of Aurum Press Ltd October 2011 ISBN: 978-1-906417-59-8
Nduja! No, I'm not swearing! It's one of the new products from Unearthed, hitting the shelves of Waitrose at the moment.
What is it?Nduja (pronounced en-du-ya) is a spicy, spreadable cured pork sausage which is traditional and unique to Calabria in Southern Italy. It seems to be the latest trend in London and I was invited to a very special cooking club to find out more.
All set for a Nduja party!
It was with some intrepidation that I accepted an invitation from Luiz at The London Foodie to join the Nduja cooking club, mainly because I had not tried Nduja or been to a cooking club before. Of course, I have cooked with my friends and done the bring a dish to a dinner party thing many times, but going to a stranger's house and cooking a course at a dinner with people from the internet? Sounds like something my mother warned me about!
Sometimes when you take a chance you can be in for a very pleasant surprise, in this case it was a fabulous afternoon. Some of the other bloggers had participated in cooking clubs before, and some were newbies like myself. Luiz has been hosting the London Cooking Club at his home for some time now and has a different theme each month - I was made to feel very welcome.
So what did we make? Well, everyone prepared one course, some of us teamed up for the larger dishes, and each dish (apart from dessert) had Nduja in it - which was supplied by Unearthed.
Spicy Nduja Palmier - prepared by May from Slow Food Kitchen Delightful crisp bites of puff pastry, with Nduja and Parmesan cheese.
Linguine with Nduja, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil - prepared by Fede from Pasta Bites This was my favourite Nduja dish, the flavour was subtle and delicious.
A drizzle of olive oil
Pan Fried Cod on Butter Beans and Nduja, with a Lemon and Sage Dressing - prepared by Luiz of The London Foodie and Rosana from Hot & Chilli This was a recipe invented by Luiz for an Unearthed Nduja Challenge, I adored the butter beans and side dish of samphire.
Draining the butter beans
Plating up
Pimp My Piri Piri Poussin - prepared by Qin from In Pursuit of Food (this was the dish I helped to cook) An easy dish to prepare, very succulent - was served with crispy roast potatoes and a Greek salad.
Accompanying sauce for the poussin
Greek Salad - prepared by Sian from Domestic Sluttery Crisp and fresh!
Lemon Posset - prepared by Cassie from A Girl Has To Eat O M G - D E L I C I O U S ! ! !
Would I go again? Yes, YES and YES! And if you get an invite to a cooking club, I suggest you GO! You can find the recipes on Rosana's blog, Hot & Chilli.
