this curd, well. I had so wanted this to be a post on how you could successfully make a lip-puckering, citrus-loving curd in the microwave – no fire in this blistering heat – but no. it still turned out utterly delicious, beautifully set and the best celebration of citrus juice I can imagine, but that was after a bit of quick salvation and rapid whisking - so, yes, still a success if not the convenient method I had hoped.
this is the third orange madeleine recipe here on andmorefood - and the best one. now my go-to recipe, it creates humps for me every single time, and stands up to any sort of citrus – and is always highly requested at home. not too sweet, tender, with a deeply-caramelized edge, I can’t say enough good things about it.
I have a jar of expiring nutella – so be prepared for a deluge of yummy-chocolate-hazelnut-containing recipes! I’ve shared a swiss roll recipe with you guys before, and this one is a little better. less cracks, a finer-and-more-tightly-bound crumb – one step closer to the swiss roll recipe of my dreams.
and I promise, it’s not just better because it’s rolled up tightly with as much nutella as I could pack into it – I admit to a certain amount of sense-numbing induced by nutella consumption. everything else nievitably fades into the background.
makes the daily grind a little smoother. in all defence – this is only a terribly (in both senses of the word) occasional treat in my otherwise whole-grain routine, and that large jar of nutella sitting in the kitchen is reaching expiration.
not that I should have to justify nutella intake though, eh?
here’s an update – if you don’t know what I’m talking about, have a look at part one and two – photos from a (supposedly) satisfied customer. that cake almost looks like the rehearsal product – and really, I’m so impressed he managed to arrange those pink dragées in a discernible problem. and furoshiki, too!, though that cake wrapping was likely more for subterfuge than aesthetic reasons.
now, anyone up for a cakesultation? I’ll even throw in a couple of amateur graphics (witness that gorgeous cake box)!
this is part zwei of my cakesultation: read part one here!
after we got the batter in, there was a discernible escalation in excitement on his part – I got the impression that the baking session had only just started at that point for him – and out came the bottles of whiskey. I’m no drinker, and it was still rather early morning, but we had an taste-smelling: how else to see what would go with the other components?
this, you guys, is something I’m really excited to share with you. I did my first cakesultation – which really is a fancy way of saying I helped a friend with his vision for a special cake – meant for his girlfriend’s (hi gwen!) birthday – and it couldn’t have been more fun.
shawn’s a close friend – I’m not going to say more about this in fear of unnecessarily building his substantial ego – and I was pretty stoked when he asked for cake-ing help. it eventually evolved into something pretty awesome: drawing diagrams of cake is cool, you gotta admit. he’s rather clueless about baking – probably why I was enlisted – and the only things I had to go on were chocolate-and-whiskey, no berries or fruit, and three layers. let’s start – it’s a long storytelling!
I’ve already shown you guys two techniques I use for my daily breakfast: a hot cereal of grains, and a cold bircher variation – I’ve eaten either of these two nearly everyday for the last few years, and it truly makes my morning. I may enjoy going out for breakfasts and brunch, but it’s these comforting bowls of oats that I wake hungry for – also why I sometimes pay exorbitantly for a bowl of muesli outside.
this is an update on the cold bircher recipe – and really, a result of indulging myself to a spot of photography in the brilliant night-light on the back porch. I almost prefer this to sunlight – it gives me brilliant white balance and great colour. on to the recipe!
yes, it’s that green.
I don’t seem to have much affinity with pandan desserts – they all require second-tries-and-the-promise-of-practice. in truth, it’s probably not the fault of the screwpine leaf – all the recipes calling for it are inevitably asian desserts, which also inescapably means vagueish instructions and a felicitous mix of finesse and experience (and fengshui, let’s not forget that).
this wasn’t bad actually, just a tad too sweet and lots of I-should-haves on hindsight. no recipe for you today, therefore, but a few notes if you’re thinking of trying this out!
I’ll be back tomorrow with more food for you guys, but I hope you have a great rest-of-the-weekend!
(recipe for these tasty nutella cake-muffins coming soon!)
