More Than Sweet

Nordic Paris-Brest

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Cardamom crusted choux with parsnip crème diplomat and rosemary poached pears

Parsnip crème diplomat

Parsnip milk

500ml whole milk 
300g parsnip, peeled and cut into cubes 
1 sri lanka cinnamon stick 
25g honey 
Pinch of salt

Parsnip crème diplomat

250ml parsnip milk
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
40g egg yolks
50g sugar
18g cornstarch
1,5 leaves gelatine

175ml heavy cream

Add whole milk, parsnip cubes, cinnamon stick, honey and salt to a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and infuse in the refrigerator overnight. Strain out the parsnip and cinnamon and measure off 250ml parsnip milk for the pastry cream.

Soak gelatine leaves in cold water. Heat the parsnip milk and 1 Tbsp. of heavy cream with 15g of the sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch, then whisk in the hot milk mixture. Strain back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat while stirring continuously until pastry cream thickens. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, to cook out the starch. Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from the gelatine and whisk into the pastry cream. Transfer the pastry cream to a container and press a piece of clingfilm directly against the surface. Chill in the refrigerator until completely cooled.

Whip the pastry cream until creamy. In a separate bowl, lightly whip 175ml of heavy cream, then gently fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream. Pour into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Rosemary poached pears

1l water
250g sugar
4 pears, peeled, halved and cored
4 sprigs of rosemary
5cm strip lemon rind

Heat water and sugar in a large pot until sugar is dissolved. Add pears, rosemary and lemon rind to the warm poaching liquid, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until fork tender.

Transfer the pears and poaching liquid to a container and refrigerate overnight.

Cardamom crusted choux rings

50g butter
65g water
65g whole milk
3g sugar
2g salt
125g egg
75g all purpose flour

1 tbsp. cardamom seeds, coarsely crushed
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 180C.

Melt butter, water, whole milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan on low heat. When the butter is melted, bring to a boil over high heat and immediately remove from direct heat. Stir in flour to make a soft dough. Return the pan to low heat and cook the dough for a few minutes, while stirring continuously. Be careful not to scrape the film forming on the bottom of the pan.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer and leave to cool for 5-10 minutes. Beat in the egg a little at a time until dough is glossy, elastic and holds a “V”-shape when dropped from a spatula. You might not need all of the egg for the dough.

Line two trays with baking paper and use an 8cm cookie cutter as stencil to draw four circles on each tray with a pencil. Flip the baking paper around so the pencil mark faces down.

Place the choux dough into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm star nozzle and pipe eight choux circles.

Sprinkle liberally with the cardamom sugar and bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

To assemble the Paris-Brests, drain the pears and cut into 1x1cm cubes. Cut the choux rings in half and place the pear cubes in the bottom halves.

Pipe parsnip crème diplomat on top of the pears and layer with the top halves.

Serve immediately.

GREEN STRAWBERRY & OOLONG DESSERT

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GREEN STRAWBERRY TART WITH GOOSEBERRY AND FENNEL POLLEN & OOLONG MILK TEA ICE CREAM
OOLLING MILK TEA ICE CREAM 

650ml whole milk
65ml heavy cream
4 Tbsp. Oolong tea
65g skimmed milk powder 
100g sugar
40g liquid glucose  
4g ice cream stabiliser 
Pinch of salt 

Mix stabiliser with 15g sugar, set aside. Add milk and cream to a heavy-duty pot and warm up to 80C, add tea leaves and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Strain off the tea leaves and add milk powder, 85g of the sugar and glucose. Whisk in stabiliser mixture and heat the mixture to 82C while stirring continuously. Remove from heat and leave the ice cream base to age in the fridge overnight. Before churning, emulsify the ice cream mixture using an immersion blender, season with a little salt to taste then churn in an ice cream maker. Freeze for at least an hour in the freezer before serving.

WHIPPED FENNEL POLLEN GANACHE

100g white chocolate, chopped
200ml heavy cream
1 Tbsp. liquid glucose
1/2 tsp. fennel pollen
Pinch of salt

Add the white chocolate to a heatproof bowl. Heat the heat heavy cream with the glucose and fennel pollen and bring to a boil. Pour over the white chocolate and beginning in the centre of the bowl start emulsifying the chocolate and the heavy cream. When the ganache is smooth and shiny, press a layer of clingfilm against the surface and chill overnight in the fridge.

PATE SUCRÉE 

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Roll out the dough and line six 7,5cm tart rings with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shells for 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the tart shells.

Preheat the oven to 175C and bake the tart shells until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

SALTED PISTACHIO CRUNCH

50g white chocolate
30g pistachio praline paste
30g feuilletine (or toasted, chopped pistachios)
40g toasted, chopped pistachios
Salt to taste

Melt the chocolate and mix with the pistachio praline paste, fold in the feuilletine and toasted pistachios. Season to taste with salt and spread in the bottom of the tart shells. Leave to set.

GOOSEBERRY COMPOTE

200g green gooseberries, topped and tailed
50g sugar
Juice of 1 lime

Add everything to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the gooseberries are tender. Remove from heat and leave to cool in a bowl.

GOOSEBERRY GLAZE

150ml water 
75g green gooseberries
50g sugar
3g yellow pectin

Whisk together sugar and pectin and set the mixture aside.

Place gooseberries and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Leave to cook for 10-15 minutes, then strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve.

Measure of gooseberry juice and heat to 45C in a small saucepan, add the pectin mixture and whisk to dissolve fully. Bring to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, turn off the heat pour into a bowl, cool to about 34-35C.

TO ASSEMBLE AND SERVE

300g strawberries, rinsed, hulled and quartered
Floral olive oil in a squeeze bottle
Sweet cicely leaves (or substitute lemon thyme or even cilantro)

Beat the chilled ganache until light and creamy and transfer to a piping bag.

Add a thin layer of gooseberry compote on top of the pistachio crunch layer and pipe the chocolate ganache on top. Use a spatula to even the layer and place in the fridge to set.

Quarter the green strawberries and brush them with a thin layer of gooseberry glaze. Arrange the gooseberries artfully on top of the whipped ganache and decorate with sweet cicely leaves.

Place 7-8 dots of olive oil on the tart and top with a quenelle of Oolong milk tea ice cream.

Strawberry tart with Tahiti vanilla & white pepper

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Strawberry tart

Makes one 20cm tart

Pate sucrée

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Roll out the dough and line a 20cmx3,5cm tart ring with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shell for 15-30 minutes in the fridge. 

Mazarin with white pepper

100g almond paste, at least 60% almonds
1 egg
75g butter
75g sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
Pinch of salt

40-50g melted dark chocolate

Beat together almond paste, egg and white pepper until fully combined and there are no lumps remaining. In a separate bowl cream together butter and sugar, mix with the almond mixture and season with a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 175C and prebake the tart shell for 5 minutes. Pipe or pour mazarin into the tart shell and smooth the surface with a spatula. Return the tart to the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the tart shell and mazarin is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool to room temperature.

Brush the surface of the mazarin with melted dark chocolate and leave to set.

Tahitian vanilla bean cremeux 

125ml heavy cream
125ml whole milk 
4 egg yolks
35g sugar 
1/2 Tahitian vanilla bean 
3 leaves gelatine
Pinch of salt 

Soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix with the sugar, beat with egg yolks until pale and very airy. Bring milk and cream to just below boiling with the empty vanilla bean, remove from heat and pour 1/2 into the egg mix while whisking rigourously. Return to heat and warm up to 85C while whisking continuously. Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from the gelatine and stir into the hot custard, until it is fully dissolved. Season with a pinch of salt. Strain into a clean bowl and press a piece of clingfilm directly against the surface to prevent a skin forming. Chill until fully set.

Bergamot nappage

100ml water
50g sugar
5g yellow pectin
10g bergamot juice (or lemon, lime or orange)

Whisk together sugar and pectin and set the mixture aside. Heat the water to 45C in a small saucepan, add the pectin mixture and whisk to dissolve fully. Bring to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, turn off the heat and add the citrus juice. Pour into a bowl and cool to about 34-35C.

To assemble and serve

300g strawberries, rinsed, hulled and quartered

Whisk the cremeux until light and smooth and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe into the tart shell and smooth the surface with a spatula. Arrange the quartered strawberries on top of the cremeux and brush with the bergamot nappage.

Best served within 3-4 hours of assembly.

Yuzu-chamomile tart with mezcal gelé, elderflower & cucumber sherbet

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Yuzu-chamomile tart with mezcal gelé, fresh elderflowers & cucumber sherbet

Serves 8

CUCUMBER SHERBET

115g sugar
3 grams ice cream stabiliser
35g glucose syrup
450g cucumber juice (from about 3 cucumbers)
15g yuzu juice 
300g full fat plain yogurt 
Pinch of salt, to taste

Mix 15g of sugar with stabiliser, and set aside. Add 100g sugar, glucose syrup, cucumber juice and yuzu juice to a pot and warm up to 36C. Add stabiliser and warm up to 83C while stirring continously. Remove from heat, cool down to 60C, then blend in yogurt with an immersion blender. Season to taste with salt.

Age the sherbet overnight in the fridge, then churn in an ice cream maker. Chill the sherbet in the freezer at least an hour before serving.

YUZU-CHAMOMILE FILLING

180ml heavy cream 
2 Tbsp. dried chamomile blossoms
275g eggs (about 5 eggs)
1 egg yolk
200g granulated sugar
150ml yuzu juice
Pinch of salt 

Bring heavy cream to just below boiling in a small saucepan, remove from heat and whisk in chamomile blossoms. Leave to infuse overnight in the fridge.

Stir together eggs, yolk and sugar, then set aside until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the heavy cream through a fine meshed sieve into the egg syrup and stir gently to combine. Stir in the yuzu syrup and a pinch of salt.

PÂTE SUCRÉE

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough and line four 10cm tart rings with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shells for 15-30 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 175C and preface the tart shells for about 15 minutes, until golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack, meanwhile lower the heat to 140C.

Gently pour in the yuzu custard, then bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the custard is just set but there is a wobble in the center of the tarts. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

MEZCAL GELÉ

100ml water
50ml mezcal
1g agar agar

Add water and agar to a small saucepan and leave to hydrate for 5 minutes. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes while whisking, whisk in mezcal and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl and leave to set for an hour. Purée until smooth, pass through a fine meshed sieve and transfer to a small piping bag or squeeze bottle.

TO ASSEMBLE AND SERVE

Fresh elderflower blossoms or baby leaves of herbs such as lemon thyme, basil, cilantro or mint

Cut the tarts in half and pipe 12-13 small dots of mezcal gelé on the set custard. Place a single elderflower blossom or herb leaf on the gelé dot.

Serve with a quenelle of cucumber sherbet.

Almond sorbet with strawberries and vanilla olive oil

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A refreshing and not overly sweet treat perfect for warm summer afternoons or as a light dessert. The almond sorbet is my variation on the traditional Sicilian almond granita typically eaten for breakfast.

Almond sorbet

650ml water
100g sugar
50g glucose syrup
17g dextrose
6g ice cream stabiliser (or 2,5g locust bean gum)
150g blanched almonds or almond flour
Pinch of salt, to taste

Mix ice cream stabiliser with 15g of the sugar, set aside. Add water, remaining sugar, glucose and dextrose to a pot and warm up to 35-36C. Add stabiliser mix, whisking to dissolve, and warm up to 85C. Remove from heat and cool to 60C. Transfer to a blender with the blanched almonds and blend until a very smooth mixture. Pass through a fine meshed sieve, season to taste with salt and pour into a bowl. Cover with clingfilm and age overnight in the fridge.

Use an immersion blender to emulsify the sorbet base before churning in an ice cream maker.

Freeze for at least an hour in the freezer after churning, before plating the sorbet.

Strawberries with vanilla olive oil

250ml fruity olive oil
1 empty vanilla bean
300g strawberries
Pinch of salt
Fresh herbs (lemon verbena, orange tagetes, basil, lemon balm, lemon thyme…)
Raspberry vinegar

Infuse the vanilla bean in the olive oil for at least a few days, up to 2 weeks. Rinse and hull the strawberries. Cut them in quarters, drizzle them with vanilla olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt. Arrange the strawberries in four bowls, drizzle with a little raspberry vinegar and garnish with fresh herbs. Serve with a quenelle of almond sorbet.

Costa Rica Vanilla Panna Cotta

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vanilla panna cotta

The intense prune, cognac and caramel notes of the Costa Rica vanilla bean and adding salt to the panna cotta mixture makes the velvety custard taste almost like the best vanilla bean salted caramel

Costa Rica Vanilla Panna Cotta

Serves 4-6

400ml heavy cream
300ml whole milk
1 Costa Rica vanilla bean, split lengthwise

75g granulated sugar
4 gelatine leaves hydrated in cold water (or 7,5g gelatine powder dissolved in 60ml cold water)
1/2-3/4 tsp. salt, to taste

Heat the heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla seeds and empty bean to just below boiling. Remove the pot from heat and leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes, but overnight is even better for maximum flavour extraction.

Reheat the milk mixture with the sugar while stirring to to fully dissolve. Squeeze excess water from gelatine sheets and add to the hot vanilla cream and stir until gelatine is fully dissolved. Season to taste with salt.

Pour the warm vanilla cream through a mesh sieve into a pouring jug and leave to cool at room temperature for an hour, stirring every once in a while to prevent vanilla seeds from settling at the bottom.

The panna cotta mixture will start to thicken and set slightly, but should still be a pourable consistency. Pour panna cotta mixture into 4-6 silicone moulds or oiled ramekins and leave to set in the fridge, this will take anywhere from 2-4 hours. If using silicone moulds, freeze panna cottas in the freezer for easier unmoulding, then leave to thaw completely on the plates before serving.

The panna cotta is delicious on its own, but it could also be served with stewed prunes, basil-apple salsa, brandied cherries or pear sorbet. Or make the panna cotta with floral and anisey Tahitian vanilla beans and my white peach & tarragon sorbet.

Salt & olive oil gelato

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Olive oil gelato

700ml whole milk
65g skimmed milk powder 
100g granulated sugar
40g liquid glucose 
4g ice cream stabiliser 
125ml fruity olive oil
A generous pinch of salt

Start by mixing the stabiliser with 15g sugar, then set the mixture aside. Add whole milk, skimmed milk powder, the remaining sugar and liquid glucose to a heavy-duty pot. Warm the mixture up to 40C, before whisking in stabiliser mixture and warming up to 84C while stirring continuously. Remove from heat and emulsify using an immersion blender until homogenous. Pour ice cream mixture into a lidded container and age in the fridge overnight. Aging the ice cream mixture will improve both texture and flavour of the ice cream. Next day add the olive oil to your ice cream mix and blend using an immersion blender. Season with a generous pinch of salt to your taste, then churn the ice cream mixture in an ice cream maker.

Transfer ice cream to a lidded container, then freeze for at least an hour. If frozen for longer, thaw the ice cream in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, before serving. The olive oil gelato is delicious with chocolate desserts, fresh fruit or on its own, I love it sprinkled with the olive oil crumble for a bit of crunch.

Note: If you don’t have an ice cream maker at home, you can still make a delicious ice cream. It just takes a little longer, and a bit more work on your part. Instead of churning in the machine, pour the mixture into a suitable container and freeze for 30 minutes. You then whisk the mixture with a hand mixer or whisk to break all the ice crystals that are forming. Repeat this process every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours, until the ice cream is smooth and without any ice crystals left. Freeze for at least an hour before serving.

Tarte au vinaigre a l’ananas

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TARTE AU VINAIGRE A L’ANANAS

Makes 6 tarts

PÂTE SUCRÉE

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and line six 12cm calisson tart rings with the pastry. Trim the edges and rest for another 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 175C and preface the tart shells for about 8-10 minutes, until pale golden, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

PINEAPPLE VINEGAR CUSTARD

275g eggs (about 5 eggs)
1 egg yolk
200g granulated sugar
180ml heavy cream 
150ml pineapple vinegar 
Pinch of salt

Stir together eggs, yolk and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved. Leave for 30 minutes while roasting the pineapple. Gently stir in the heavy cream followed by the pineapple vinegar and season with a pinch of salt. Skim off any foam on the surface of the custard.

BERGAMOT OLIVE OIL ROASTED PINEAPPLE

1 medium sized pineapple
3 Tbsp. Bergamot olive oil
6 Tbsp. brown sugar 
1 Tbsp. pineapple vinegar 

Preheat the oven to 175C. Cut the ends off the pineapple and carefully slice the skin off and remove the “eyes”. Quarter pineapple and remove the stem in the center. Place the plneapples in a baking tray, mix sugar, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pour over the pineapple.

Roast for 30 minutes, until the pineapple is just tender, basting every 10 minutes with the syrup.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Turn oven heat down to 140C.

Cut pineapple into roughly 0,5×0,5cm cubes. Place in a single layer on the bottom of the tart shells, gently pour over the custard and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the custard is just set, but there’s a soft wobble in the center. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve at room temperature.

Rhubarb tarts with vanilla & pink grapefruit

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Makes six 7,5cm tarts

Pâte sucrée

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and line six 7,5cm tart rings with the pastry.

Trim the edges and rest for another 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 175C and bake the tarts for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Tahitian vanilla cremeux

125ml heavy cream
125ml whole milk
4 egg yolks
35g sugar
1 Tahitian vanilla bean
3 leaves gelatine
Pinch of salt

Soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix with the sugar, beat with egg yolks until pale and very airy. Bring milk and cream to just below boiling with the empty vanilla bean, remove from heat and pour 1/2 into the egg mix while whisking rigourously. Return to heat and warm up to 85C while whisking continuously. Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from the gelatine and stir into the hot custard, until it is fully dissolved. Season with a pinch of salt. Strain into a clean bowl and press a piece of clingfilm directly against the surface to prevent a skin forming. Chill until fully set.

Roasted rhubarb

8-10 slender rhubarb stalks, washed and trimmed
80g sugar
Juice of 1/2 grapefruit

Preheat oven to 200C. Cut the rhubarb to fit the six tart rings snuggly and place in a roasting tin. Sprinkle with sugar and grapefruit juice and roast for 10-12 minutes, until they are fork tender, but not mushy. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

When ready to serve, whip the cremeux until soft and creamy and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe the cremeux into the tart shells and top with the rhubarb batons. Serve within a few hours of assembly.

Salted caramel snow egg with pickled apple & vanilla creme anglaise

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Salted caramel snow egg with pickled apple & vanilla creme anglaise

Created for Mette Ravn Vanilje

Serves 6

Creme anglaise

250ml heavy cream
250ml whole milk
1 tahiti vanilla bean, seeds of
50g sugar 
5 egg yolks
Generous pinch of salt, to taste

Add heavy cream, whole milk and the vanilla seeds to a heavy bottom saucepan and warm up to just below boiling. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale and very airy in a heatproof bowl. Remove vanilla bean from the milk mixture and set aside, warm back up to just below boiling and pour 1/2 of the warm milk into the egg mixture while whisking rapidly. Return egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring constantly, until custard reaches 85C on an instant read thermometer. Remove from heat and pour into a clean bowl, add the vanilla bean and cover with cling film. Leave to cool completely in the fridge.

Pickled apple

3 apples, peeled, cored and diced
200ml water
100g sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 empty tahiti vanilla bean

Bring water, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla bean to a boil. Remove from heat, add the apple dices and leave to quick pickle for 5 minutes. Remove the apple dices from the pickling liquid and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Salted caramel meringue

165g sugar
5 egg whites
Generous pinch of salt

Caramelise the sugar until a deep amber color and pour onto a silicone mat or piece of baking paper to set. When the caramel is completely hardened, grind it to a fine powder in a food processor. Sieve off any large pieces of caramel.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then add the caramel powder 1 Tbsp. at a time until it is fully incorporated. Then beat to a stiff, glossy meringue. Season with salt to taste.

Bring a wide shallow pan of water to a rolling boil, then turn off the heat. Quenelle 6 meringue eggs into the warm water and poach for 2 minutes, before gently turning them over and poaching a minute or two on the other side. Using a slotted spoon, remove the poached meringue from the water and drain on a kitchen towel.

To serve, divide the apple dices in the centre of six bowls and pour over the chilled creme anglaise. Place a poached meringue on top of the apples and serve immediately.