Tuesdays with Dorie - Croissants

Today´s recipe for the Tuesdays with Dorie group is for buttery Croissants. The recipe for these traditional French Croissants was contributed by baker and teacher Esther McManus. Basically, a Croissant is made of a simple yeast-risen dough, layered with butter, cut into a triangle and rolled up like a scroll so that the center bulges and the ends taper out. Traditionally, the unbaked Croissant was then curved into a crescent shape, though nowadays Croissants are often left straight.

I decided to make miniature Croissants (crescent shaped),  filled some of them with dark chocolate (66% cocoa solids) and left some of them plain…

….and to make some miniature Pains au Chocolat (rectangular shaped).

To start off the baking of these French pastries, you will need to prepare a croissant dough made of fresh yeast, plain flour, sugar, salt and whole milk. Fresh yeast is readily available and I had no trouble whatsoever finding it around here, I almost always use fresh yeast when baking cakes and breads that call for a yeast dough. For the flour,  I chose to use an all purpose white flour from an artisan flour mill that I visited two weeks ago.

The dough gets an overnight rest in the refrigerator along with 510 grams (4.5 sticks) of unsalted good quality butter – the dough and the butter have to have the same temperature the next day so you will be able to incorporate the butter properly into the dough. After the first rest, the dough needs many more rests and turns and folding and chilling before it can be rolled out and cut and made into delectable Croissants and Pains au Chocolat.

This recipe proves that a warm, buttery Croissant or Pain au Chocolat for breakfast is really one of life’s little pleasures, and you certainly do not need to live above a Parisian Pâtisserie to enjoy them. These French pastries are notoriously laborious to make properly. They require quite some patience and lots of folding and rolling, so you may need to supervise. But it will be worth it once your family is sitting down to Le petit Déjeuner of homemade Croissants, Pains au Chocolat, big bowls of Café au Lait, and French honey and apricot preserves.

Homemade buttery croissants, freshly baked, are a real triumph. And you can feel proud when you succeeded in making them.

This rather labor intensive recipe lives up to all the expectations! A good freshly-baked croissant should be flaky and crisp on the outside, and tender and moist inside with all the dough aerated and evenly baked. There should be no layers of unbaked dough, and the crust should leave very little buttery oil on the fingers.

If you have any leftovers (which we did not) you can store the Croissants at room temperature in a paper bag, to avoid condensation and retain some crispness. For longer storage, you can easily freeze the Croissants, then bake from frozen.

I really enjoyed the experience of baking these Croissants and we loved the way they tasted but next time I might try my hand at a recipe that is a little less time consuming, even if it is just to see and taste the difference.

To see the other Croissants as prepared by all the other enthusiastic members of the Tuesday with Dorie group, please do click here.

The recipe can be found at Amanda´s blog – Girl+Food=Love- "Thank you for hosting today´s recipe, Amanda"!

French Fridays with Dorie - Chicken Breasts Diable (Poulet à la diable with Homemade Wholegrain Mustard)

Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Chicken Breasts Diable (Poulet à la diable). Low in fat and quick to cook, skinless chicken breasts are an easy option for a simple supper and this recipe is no exception. The dish gets its “devilish” name from the addition of mustard to the cream based sauce. Mustard is a bit the “unsung hero” of the kitchen cupboard, adding some heat and a depth of flavor to a huge range of dishes. It is actually made from nothing more than mustard seeds and some flavoring ingredients.

Dorie´s recipe calls for sautéeing chicken cutlets and making a pan sauce with shallots and garlic, white wine, cream, and mustard – she suggests that it is best to use either a Dijon mustard (used for example also in salad dressings and marinades) or a wholegrain mustard (prominently used for example also in salmon gravalax sauce and honey glazes for hams).

To round out this chicken with the cream sauce, I bought some fresh spinach and sautéed it in some olive oil with some new spring garlic…

…and made the new “family favorite”, namely Roesti (Rösti) - albeit this time, I made mini versions.

Since I like to make cream based sauces for my chicken or pork every so often, I thought that it was time to make the preparation of this kind of sauce a bit more interesting. I decided to make my own wholegrain mustard to be added to this sauce “à la diable”.

Mustard is available in many different styles and from any shop that sells food. Artisanal mustards have become quite the rage around here recently and we will be visiting an artisan “mustard mill” during the Easter break, but for now, I realized that it could not be easier to make your own mustard. The advantage being that you can make the mustard exactly how you like it and you will have a certain sense of satisfaction that you get when you succeed in making something that tastes better than the store bought variety.

Mustard is made by setting off a series of chemical reactions. The mustard seeds itself are not inherently pungent, they need some grinding and water to spark the distinctive kick, which then needs to be held in place by vinegar and preserved with salt. You can add whatever you like to make it your own, such as some local honey, dried herbs (maybe from your garden), some spices, or even chili. The homemade mustard needs a day or two to mellow. So here is the recipe for a basic mustard that can be adjusted to a whole variety of different tatses.

Recipe for Homemade Wholegrain Mustard

Ingredients for the Mustard

• 6 tbsp mustard seeds (I used 5 tbsp yellow mustard seeds and 1 tbsp brown mustard seeds)
• 2 tsps fine French sea salt
• ½ tbsp mustard powder (I used Colmans mustard powder)
• 6 tbsp white wine or cold water (I used the same French white wine that I also used in the cream sauce)
• 3 tbsp vinegar (I used a Riesling vinegar from our local oil and vinegar manufacturer)
• honey to taste (I always use local honey in all my cooking and baking)
• some dried herbs, turmeric, ginger, or cloves (entirely optional)

Preparation of the Mustard

1. Grind about half the mustard seeds in a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder until fine. It is best to do this in stages.
2. Then add the rest and give them another quick grind. The resulting mixture should be smooth and rough at the same time (some powder, some cracked seeds, a few whole seeds)
3. Transfer the mustard seed mixture to a bowl and stir in the salt and mustard powder. 
4. If using, add one of the optional ingredients now as well.
5. Then pour in the wine or cold water . The mustard can be made a bit more mellow if you substitute warm water at this stage.
6. Stir in the vinegar.
7. Pour into a sterilized glass jar and refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving. NOTE: You can keep the mustard for a few months in your fridge.

Once you have prepared the chicken breasts for this recipe and prepare the “sauce à la diable”, you can add about three tablespoons of your homemade wholegrain mustard together with the white wine, cream and the other ingredients. Quite delightful!

We all loved this recipe for “Poulet à la Diable with Homemade Wholegrain Mustard”, the sautéed spinach with new garlic and the mini Roesti (Rösti). What a wonderful weekday dinner!

To see how the Chicken Breasts Diable were prepared by the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group, please do click here.

Baking Cakes with Potatoes III - Potato-Lemon Cake

This is Part III and therefore the third cake that I am featuring in my February/March series "Baking Cakes with Potatoes". Todays´s cake is a moist and citrusy Potato Lemon Cake (Kartoffel-Zitronen Kuchen). This is a wonderful, flourless cake - the flour is replaced not only by mashed potatoes but also with blanched and ground almonds. The sweetness of the ground almonds truly works well with the sharpness of the lemons. And the addition of the ground almonds and mashed potatoes gives this cake a very interesting and delightfully moist texture.

This recipe has never failed me and it is really quite simple and quick to make. The cake is not overly rich and has an amazing lemon flavor. The lemon drizzle topping makes it even a bit more lemony.

Recipe for the Potato Lemon Cake
(Kartoffel-Zitronen Kuchen)

Ingredients for the Cake

• 50 grams (5 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 200 grams (7 ounces) superfine (caster) white sugar
• 4 eggs (L), free range or organic whenever possible
• 225 grams  (8 ounces) ground almonds (skins off)
• 2 tsps baking powder 
• 250 grams  (9 ounces) cold mashed potatoes
• finely grated zest of 2 lemons and juice of 1 (see Note at the end of this post)
• some crème fraîche for serving (optional)

Ingredients for the Glaze/Syrup

• juice of 2 lemons and zest of 1 lemon (see Note at the end of this post)
• 5 tbsp superfine (caster) sugar

Equipment

• one 26 or 28 centimeter (10- or 11- inch) round springform pan
• unbleached parchment paper (baking parchment)
• pastry brush

Preparation of the Potato Cake

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degress Fahrenheit).
2. Line the base of the pan with baking parchment.
3. To make the cake, whisk together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding 1 tbsp ground almonds to prevent curdling between additions. 
5. Now fold in the baking powder and remaining ground almonds. 
6. Gently fold in the mashed potatoes, lemon zest and juice, then pour into the prepared baking pan and level the top with an offset spatula.
7. Place the pan on a baking sheet in the centre of the oven and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes.

Preparation of the Syrup

1. Place the lemon juice and zest, and sugar in a small pan and simmer gently for about one minute.
2. Remove the cake from the oven, prick the surface all over with a skewer and spoon over the hot syrup until it is all absorbed. 
3. Cool in the pan for about one hour before turning out to cool completely. 
4. Serve, perhaps with a dollop of crème fraîche and garnish with a few strips of lemon zest. NOTE: keep it simple though, a few strips of lemon zest is all you need for garnish. You can use a zester or a potato peeler to remove fine strips of zest from the surface of the lemon, taking care not to remove any of the white pith along with it, as it tends to be very bitter.

Lemons

Lemons can be bought waxed or unwaxed. Waxed lemons are fine if you are just using the juice of the lemons. But you should definitely choose unwaxed lemons if you are planning to use the zest, or give your waxed lemons a good scrub with a vegetable brush to remove the wax. I know that some cooks even use a bit of alcohol to rub off the wax on the rinds.  Remember though that although unwaxed lemons are more expensive as their shelf life is not as long, their flavor is definitely superior.

Whenever I buy lemons, and especially when I know that I will be using some of the aromatic rinds, I try to find organic unwaxed lemons.

Tip for the Syrup

Poking holes into the cake to help the syrup sink in, as recommended by most recipes, does seem to give a good, even distribution – although more important is adding the syrup while the cake is still warm. Bear in mind it will always seem like more liquid than the cake could possible absorb, but do not worry, it will turn out just fine. Take your time when spooning over the syrup. This way, it will be gradually absorbed throughout the cake for a delicious, moist, citrusy cake

This is truly a very tasty, light and moist cake .It is simply lovely and moist but not too moist either. Just what you might be looking for in a cake at this time of year!

Sources:

• Round springform pan from "Kaiser" (http://www. springform-pan.kaiserbakeware.com)
• Cake plate from "Kaiser Porzellan" (http://www.kaiser-porzellan.de)
• Linen napkins from "Butlers" (http://www.butlers.de)
• Dessert plates and forks are from my "vintage collections"

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Baking Cakes with Potatoes I - Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf

Baking Cakes with Potatoes II - Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam

Baking Cakes with Potatoes III - Potato-Lemon Cake

Part IV of my "Baking Cakes with Potatoes" series will feature a lovely, moist Potato Pear Cake (Kartoffel-Birnen Kuchen).

Baking Cakes with Potatoes II - Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam

The second cake that I am featuring in my series "Baking Cakes with Potatoes" is a so-called Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam (Kartoffel-Krümel-Kuchen mit Kirschmarmelade). A delightful cake, perfect with that afternoon cup of tea or coffee. This simple cake certainly has that "old world charm" that I like so much in my baking.

Recipe for the Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam
(Kartoffel-Krümel-Kuchen mit Kirschmarmelade)


Ingredients for the Crumb Cake

• 300 grams (10.5 ounces) plain/AP flour
• 2 ½ tsps baking powder
• 125 grams (4.4 ounces) waxy (russet) potatoes - cook the potatoes with the peel on.in unsalted water, let them cool, then peel and grate them on the small grates of your box grater. Or peel the potatoes while they are stiill warm and push them through a potato ricer and then let them cool them completely.
• 50 grams (1.7 ounces) old-fashioned oats 
• 150 grams (5.2 ounces) superfine white sugar
• 1 egg (L), preferably free range or organic, room temperature
• 2 tsps of homemade vanilla sugar (you can also use 1 package pure vanilla sugar or 2 tsps pure vanilla extract instead)
• one pinch fine salt (I used fine sea salt)
• 75 grams (2.6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
• a few tablespoons cherry jam or any other jam of your choosing (preferably homemade)
• a bit of dark rum (optional)
• a bit of powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Equipment

• one 26 or 28 centimeter (10- or 11- inch) round springform pan
• unbleached parchment paper
• pastry brush

Preparation of the Crumb Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Butter the springform pan, line with unbleached parchment paper, butter and flour parchment paper, knocking out any excess flour.
3. In a large bowl, either using your hand mixer or a pastry cutter, mix together all of the ingredients just until they come together as a crumb mixture.
4. Take half the crumb mixture and put it into the springform pan in an even layer a possible. Press lightly to even out the crumbs a bit.
5. With an offset spatula spread the jam on the crumb mixture. NOTE: you can add a bit of dark rum to the jam and heat it slightly before you spread it on the crumb mixture.
6. Cover the jam layer with the remaining crumb mixture.
7. Bake for about forty minutes, transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing. You can also dust  the baked cake with a bit of powdered sugar before serving. 

Serving some lightly whipped cream would be wonderful with this cake. As the Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf, this cake can be stored for a few days, just make sure to wrap it well.


Sources:

• Round springform pans from "Kaiser" (http://www. springform-pan.kaiserbakeware.com)
• Cake plate and dessert plates from "Bunzlau Pottery" (http://www.ceramicboleslawiec.com)
• Cake forks from "Butlers" (http://www.butlers.de)

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Baking Cakes with Potatoes I - Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf
Baking Cakes with Potatoes II - Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam
Baking Cakes with Potatoes III - Potato-Lemon Cake

Baking Cakes with Potatoes I - Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf

Today, I am posting a recipe to start off my new series, namely “Baking Cakes with Potatoes". The first recipe of this series is the Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf (Kartoffel-Rosinen Gugelhupf). It is a cake with a yeast based dough, with finely grated cooked potatoes to keep the cake extra moist for quite a few days. You can either dust the baked cake with some powdered sugar or even glaze it with unsweetened chocolate, either way, it is quite wonderful with a noticeable taste of vanilla and rum soaked raisins.

No matter whether you are planning to bake breads, rolls, or cakes with potatoes, they can be used in a whole variety of baked goods. In times of dire need caused in the past by many shortages including bad harvests, potatoes had to act as "stand-ins" for other food items that were not always readily available such as butter and flour or eggs. And a lot of people had potatoes in their gardens or could easily get some from a farmer in their neighbourhood. That was the time the creative ideas for some of  these "old-fashioned" recipes were born and I have always loved these kinds of simple yet delicious recipes.

The recipes in my series can be re-created very easily and especially if you are looking for cakes that are not overly sweet and have this "old world" kind of look, you might want to try your hand at one or the other recipe.



Recipe for the Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf
(Kartoffel-Rosinen-Gugelhupf)

Ingredients for the Gugelhupf

• 400 grams (14.10 ounces) waxy (russet) potatoes - cook the potatoes with the peel on.in unsalted water, let them cool, then peel and grate them on the small grates of your box grater. Or peel the potatoes while they are stiill warm and push them through a potato ricer and then let them cool them completely. NOTE:  after you have peeled them, you will be left with about 300 grams/10.5 ounces of potatoes
• 300 grams (10.5 ounces) plain/AP flour, plus some for the pan
• 1 package instant yeast 
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) superfine white sugar
• 2 tsps of homemade vanilla sugar (you can also use 1 package pure vanilla sugar  or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract instead)
• one pinch fine salt (I used fine sea salt)
• 3 eggs (M), preferably free range or organic, room temperature
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus some for the pan
• 125 grams (4.4 ounces) raisins soaked in warm rum or apple juice for about twenty minutes, drained
• some powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Ingredients for the Butter Glaze

• 50 grams (1.7 ounces)  unsalted butter, melted 

Equipment

• one 10 cup Gugelhupf or Bundt pan
• pastry brushes

Preparation of the Gugelhupf

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
2. Butter and flour the Gugelhupf pan, knocking out any excess flour.
3. In the bowl of your mixer, carefully whisk together the flour with the instant yeast.
4. To the flour mixture add the sugar, vanilla sugar (or extract), salt, eggs and butter and mix for about two minutes until the cake batter is smooth.
5. Switch to a spatula and gently add the grated potatoes and raisins to the batter.
6. Transfer the batter to the pan and with a small offset spatula, smooth the top of the batter.
7. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean, or with only a few crumbs attached.
8. When the cake is done, transfer it to a wire rack to cool for about ten minutes.
9. After ten minutes, turn out the cake, heat the remaining butter, just until melted and brush the warm butter over the warm cake. Cool the cake completely on the wire rack.

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When looking at these recipes, you should remember that adding cooked, mashed or riced potatoes to your recipe makes the cake extra moist. The potatoes add texture and help to keep the cake from drying out without adding "potato flavor" to it.

Sources:

• Gugelhupf baking molds from the Alsatian pottery called "Poterie Lehmann - Soufflenheim" (http://www.poterie-soufflenheim.com)

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Baking Cakes with Potatoes I - Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf
Baking Cakes with Potatoes II - Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam
Baking Cakes with Potatoes III - Potato-Lemon Cake

French Fridays with Dorie - Cheating-on-Winter Pea Soup

Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is a colorful Cheating-on-Winter Pea Soup. You "cheat" on winter when preparing this soup because you use frozen, not fresh peas for this velvety, spring colored soup.

Frozen peas are available year round, fresh garden peas, however,  are in season only from early June until late July. “Petits pois” or “Small Garden Peas” are young garden peas that are picked and shelled when small, young and tender, and can be found in stores year round as frozen peas, therefore, I believe there are the best choice for this soup which calls for one pound of frozen peas in addition to an onion (I used spring onions), a few cups of stock (I used home made vegetable stock), and one medium head of romaine lettuce (I used a head of wonderfully tender butterhead lettuce instead).

This soup is prepared much the same way any cream of vegetable soup is prepared – all you are required to do is sauté the onion, add the broth, stir in the peas and lettuce leaves, simmer away, purée, garnish with some crème fraîche and serve. Voilà. It is that easy and delightful and delicious. The small peas are easy to purée and there was no need to push the soup through the strainer before serving.

In my never ending quest to find local manufacturers and producers, I finally found a regional artisan flour mill. So on my first visit there on Wednesday, I bought four different kinds of flour and could not wait to use some of the "extra strong bread flour"  and bake a bread to accompany this wonderful soup. If you serve warm bread with this Pea Soup, you will have a nice winter lunch or dinner. In summer, you could also serve this Pea Soup cold, with or without a side salad.

Recipe for Cheese Bread with Garlic and Thyme

Ingredients for the Bread

• 500 grams strong white bread flour (I used bread flour from a regional artisan flour mill)
• 7 grams yeast
• 1 tsp fine sea salt (I used French sea salt)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (I used organic extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (I used Grade "A" maple syrup)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed lightly with the flat of a knife and the heel of your hand
• 25 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
• 200 grams Comté cheese, grated (you could also use a different cheese)
• a few fresh thyme leaves

Preparation of the Bread

1. Measure the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl.
2. Mix 300 ml hand-hot water with the oil and maple syrup in a small bowl, then pour into the dry mix, stirring all the time to make a soft dough.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, then knead for a good five minutes until the dough no longer feels sticky, sprinkling with a little more flour as you need it.
4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume (about an hour and thirty minutes).
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and fit it onto a baking sheet. Dimple the dough with your fingers.
6. In a small bowl, mix the crushed garlic with the butter, then dot over the dough. Sprinkle over the cheese and snip over the thyme.
7. Cover the bread with lightly oiled plastic wrap, then leave in a warm place to rise for about forty minutes.
8. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
9. Remove the plastic warp, then bake the bread for about thirty minutes or until golden and risen.
10. Leave to cool for ten minutes, then cut or tear into pieces and serve with the Pea Soup or any other soup or salad.

Overall, this is a lovely, simple soup, perfect for winter as well as summer. I love to use ingredients that I always have on hand and make something new and delicious with them, such as this Cheating-on-Winter Pea Soup. If you would like to have an even silkier texture, than you should strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve. I can imagine that while frozen peas are wonderful in this recipe, using fresh peas in summer will be divine – but, of course, you would have to change the name of the soup to “Simply Divine Summer Fresh Pea Soup”.

To see how the other Doristas prepared this Cheating-on-Winter Pea Soup, please click here.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Boca Negra

Today´s recipe for the Tuesdays with Dorie group is Boca Negra or “black mouth” – which is what you will certainly have after taking a taste of this decadent chocolate cake. The incredible recipe for this chocolate cake was contributed by Lora Brody, cookbook author and “chocolate maven”.

The recipe for the Boca Negra requires but a few ingredients, namely, white sugar, bourbon, unsalted good-quality butter, farm fresh eggs, a little bit of white flour and a good amount of chocolate, 12 ounces (or 340 grams) to be precise. Therefore, to create a truly amazing chocolate experience, you really want to use a good quality chocolate. A huge range of eating and cooking chocolate is available in supermarkets and specialist shops, including chocolate made from organically grown ingredients and coming from Fairtrade sources. Make sure to seek out quality chocolate and the results will shine through. High-quality chocolate will make a distinctive, crisp, snap when broken, shattering cleanly. It should also start to melt when you hold it in your hand for a few seconds - the quicker the better, as this indicates a high cocoa butter content. I chose a wonderful dark chocolate from a local chocolate manufacturer called Coppeneur. After much discussion with one of the clerks, I settled on "Cru de Cacao - Puristique" with  66 % cocoa solids. Perfect.

The Boca Negra gets baked in a water bath for a good thirty minutes – the middle of the cake will be slightly fudgy and molten – before carefully being turned out onto a cake platter.

The texture of this cake is perfect. I followed the recipe as it is in the book and I have to say that this recipe will definitely make many repeat performances at our house. The deep chocolate flavor is a taste treat and we loved the creamy texture.

I served the Boca Negra with some unsweetened crème fraîche. The tartness of this wonderful rich French cream was a wonderful contrast to the rich creaminess of the cake. And next time I serve it, I will not omit it, it all works so well together.

We tested the cake at varying intervals and liked it refrigerated best of all

To see the other Boco Negra´s as prepared by all the other enthusiastic members of the Tuesday with Dorie group, please do click here.

The recipe can be found at Cathy´s blog –A Frederick Food Garden - "Thank you for hosting today´s recipe, Cathy"!

Sources:

• Chocolate called Coppeneur Cru de Cacao Puristique from Coppeneur (http://www.coppeneur.de/cru-de-cao.html)
• Plates and table linens from Strauss (http://www.strauss-innovation.de) 
• Cake plate and and other linens from Dille Kamille ( http://www.dille-kamille.nl)

French Fridays with Dorie - Coeur à la Crème

Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Coeur à la Crème. Of course, "crème" means "cream" and "coeur"  means "heart" in French and as everyone knows, the French are a romantic people. So what better way to celebrate your loved ones then with a French sweet heart or "soft cheese heart". Even when it is not Valentines Day. And even when the heart is not a heart but a round shape.

This week’s recipe is for a very traditional French dessert of whipped cream and cream cheese (I used Quark), sweetened and flavored with vanilla (I used homemade vanilla sugar) and framboise, Kirsch or rum (or freshly squeezed lemon juice as in my case), and set to drain until thick, sweet, and creamy in a heart-shaped mold (I had to use a sieve).

The cheese mixture for this dessert gets spooned into the dampened cheesecloth or muslin-lined mold or basket, leaving plenty overlapping around the sides. The dessert is then refrigerated overnight, during which time the whey (liquid) drains out through the basket or perforated mold. To serve, the dessert is unmolded and garnished with a coulis, fresh berries and /or other fruit.

To serve,  I opted for fresh blueberries instead of the usual raspberry coulis and made a blueberry sauce by placing 150 grams of blueberries in a saucepan with a bit of powdered sugar, water, and grated organic lemon zest. I let the sugar dissolve over gentle heat and simmered the sauce for a few minutes, and then tossed in some remaining blueberries. I spooned the berries and blueberry sauce around and served straight away.

As an additional touch, I heated some local honey in a skillet and added sliced almonds to the pan - it made a nice addition to the dessert and it looked pretty.

Despite my efforts, I could not find a proper heart-shaped mold or molds, so I had to use a sieve, much the same way I use it when I make ricotta or yoghurt cheese. While it might not look as nice, the taste certainly did not suffer and next  time, we are going on a trip to France, I will make sure to buy one or the other of these wonderful fun looking white porcelain molds.

This dessert leaves a lot of room for some interpretation. Originally, I was planning to prepare a rosy-hued rhubarb stew to serve with this dessert. Alas, no such luck getting the first fresh rhubarb of the season, too cold still. But blueberries worked fine and the almonds added a really nice crunch.

This is one the best no-bake desserts on the book. It is decadent and sweet, and fun. It is simply the perfect treat for a loved one or all your loved ones on any special occasion.
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While I could not find the first rhubarb of the season yet, the first Grape Hyacinths or Muscari have started to bloom on my kitchen window sill. I am particularly fond ot these tender blue harbingers of spring.

To see how the other Doristas prepared this very traditional French dessert, please click here.