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These cherry treats are my late continuing celebrations of the cherries. I caught myself in a complete obsession with cherries this summer - in my attempt to keep them for longer, I rushed into preserving and tasting. The following recipe is my cherry version of the recipe (slightly modified) of William Curley -  a chocolatier I admire enormously.   400g of tempered dark chocolate - 70% will be needed. I use dark chocolate, which combines well with the high sweetness of the jam and the marshmallow. The bitterness of the chocolate makes these teacakes just irresistible. After, all everything is about chocolate ... For the cherry purée: 50 ml water 50 g sugar 500 g cherries - pitted 10 ml lemon juice Bring the water and the sugar to a boil. Process the cherries in a blender. Add the syrup and the lemon juice. Blitz to a smooth purée and pass through a sieve. Keep in the refrigerator until needed. For the cherry jam: 250 ...

For the dough: 425 flour 55 g cornmeal 10 g fresh rosemary 7 g salt 2 g ground black pepper 2 g malt syrup or 4 g honey 5 g dry yeast 50 ml + 250 ml warm water 60 ml olive oil Dissolve the yeast in first quantity of water. Sift the flour in a bowl of a mixer. Add the other ingredients without the water. Stir to mix well. Add the yeast, the last quantity of water and the olive oil. Mix at low speed until the dough is formed. Knead for about 8 minutes and cover to ferment for one hour. For the topping: 300 g cherry tomatoes + whole brandy wine tomatoes if desired 1-2 (100 g) shallots (2 shallot fans for each pitta) red pepper thinly cut rings fresh basil 15 ml olive oil Slice the shallots lengthwise, keeping the root end. Cut each half-mooned shape of the shallots again lengthwise very thinly but do not cut through the root end. Press firmly the uncut root end and spread the thin slices in a fan shape. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves. If brand...

500 g  Pâte brisée For the purée: 1 kg potatoes 50 g butter 500 ml milk Peel the potatoes, cut in cubes and boil in hot water in a heavy-bottomed pan for about 15 min. Drain the water - leave a little bit of water at the bottom of the pan. All the minerals from the potatoes are extracted into the water while boiling.  Keeping some will add  healthy value to our meal. Put the butter into the pan with the hot potatoes and cover the pan with the lid. Let them rest for 5 min to melt the butter. Mash the potatoes with the butter, adding slowly the milk. Potatoes need to be mashed really well if at tailoring you will use piping on top. Add the milk in portions. As soon as a purée consistency is achieved, stop adding more milk. The quantity will depend on the quantity of water left in the purée. If it became too watery, return over the heat again and stirring constantly, evaporate some of the excessed liquid. Note: This way of "baking" the purée is a great way of ...

600 g flour 10 g salt 300 g butter 1 egg 1 egg yolk 50 ml cold water 5 ml lemon juice With the paddle attachment of the self-standing mixer, blend the flour, salt and the butter at low speed. Combine the lightly beaten egg, yolk and water. Add first the lemon juice to the butter mixture and then  the egg just until incorporated, without mixing more then needed to form a dough. Foil the dough and refrigerate for two hours before using in the recipe. The dough could be frozen for two to three months. Working by hands: In a small bowl combine the egg, yolk and water. In a working big bowl, scale the flour. Add the cut in cubes cold butter. With the opposite side of a wide knife work a bit both substances trying to incorporate the butter into the flour. Continue working just with the tips of your fingers, until a mixture looking a lot like a cornmeal forms. Do not work with hands - body temperature will warm the butter too much and then, while in co...

55 g unsalted butter I 225 g unsalted butter II 30 g flour 15 g cold water 7 g dry yeast 20 ml lukewarm water 160 ml col water 14 g malt syrup , or 30 g dark honey 12 g salt 1 large egg 380 g flour My Grandma used to "toast" the butter for almost every pastry - either at the time of preparing or just before serving. It gave just a small "intonation" of difference to the colour but such a complete finish to the taste. At the time I did not care what and why she did that - to me it was just an extra unnecessary work. Later on at the university I realized how the separation works and what a difference it makes to the taste. French call it beurre noisette and use it mostly for pastry and savoury hot sauces, Indians call it ghee and cook mainly with it, in Germany and in the German part of Switzerland, chefs use this "toasty" butter for the buttergipfels .  The process is a simple separation into butterfat and milk solids, called clarificat...

Blooming Chocolate Mouses Celebration to a very special, turning 14 years flower! Think about the cake a few days in advance - while you are waiting at the bus stop, or waiting for a children's class to finish. Decide what image will fit perfectly the occasion. Prepare the design that  you would enjoy on the sides of your cake. I first draw it on a sheet of paper. From a thick acetate sheet cut the design, making your own stencil - there is nothing more satisfying in making cakes than using your signature, even if it is in a small detail. For the Ribbon Sponge (as per "Le Cordon Bleu"): have all the ingredients at room temperature 50 g butter  50 g confectioners' sugar 50 g egg whites 55 g flour food colouring Joconde Sponge Prepare the coloured paste first as it needs to harden for a while in the refrigerator, once it has been shaped: Beat the butter until creamy, add the sugar, mixing well. Add the whites, while b...

This soft and melting taste is a warming kiss in cold summer days. This summer serves rain and cold wind almost every day. I serve a poetic chocolate high hope with summer fruits. Farewell to summer (by Bernard McEvoy) Weep! weep! oh, tearful skies, While summer gently dies, And let us bid her sad farewell; There are no tears so dear As yours, nor so sincere, Not to our hearts such solace tell. Farewell! For 8 pains: 100 g unsalted butter 75 g sugar 2 large eggs 100 g dark chocolate 85 g flour 3 g baking powder blanched sliced almonds By the night coldly kissed, The silvery ghostly mist Wakes from its slumbrous earthly cell; Wanders beneath the trees, Moved by each passing breeze, Where late the burning sunshine fell. Farewell! My grandma did not have the fancy cup liners we use now. She did not have the cup-cake pans either. She did not use the real chocolate - it was too expensive and kept in the cupboard only for spe...

I made these for a 17th wedding anniversary. It is considered an Amethyst anniversary that is a symbol of durability. What e relationship! The petits fours are full of chocolate and nuts - corresponding well with the nutty character of the couple. Flowers represent the amethyst colour. For the petits fours: 200 g unsalted butter 200 g confectioners' sugar 200 g skin on finely grounded almonds 4 large eggs 100 g dark chocolate, melted Prepare a baking sheet (aprox 28 x35 cm) with parchment paper on the bottom.  Melt the chocolate over bain-marie.Leave it to cool slightly. With a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy consistency. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Beating at medium, add the eggs one at time, making sure that each egg was creamed well into the butter. Do not worry if the batter is not smooth, warmness and density of the chocolate will fix that easily. Add th...