Showing posts with label patisserie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patisserie. Show all posts

Japanese Patisserie by James Campbell {book review}

Exploring the beautiful and delicious fusion of East meets West


When one thinks of patisserie you think French or Belgian, but it isn't unknown in Korea and Japan. After taking a trip out there to experience the food and culture and the combination of the two James has been obsessed with Japan and experimenting with Japanese ingredients. James Campbell combined his passion for classic French patisserie and contemporary Japanese flavors and it shows in this book!

He takes us through the ingredients and equipment that we should consider if we are going attempt his recipes with the added bonus of a flavour wheel. The ingredients list isn't that long and is all stuff we can easily source these days in our supermarkets! The equipment list is even shorter and are more extra things to give the recipes the extra touch. Not only does he give us the basic recipes of choux and sweet shortcrust pastry and creme patisserie, but he also gives us some basic techniques before moving on to his sweet treats!


The first chapter gives us small cakes and individual patisserie for treats like - Matcha, Pink Peppercorn & Wild Strawberry Madeleines, Tonka Bean, Milk Chocolate & Raspberry desserts, Lemon & Yuzu Eclairs, and Glazed Buttermilk Scones with Kumquat & Kinkan Marmalade.


The next chapter covers Sweet Tarts and he introduces us to recipe such as - Matcha Creme Brûlée Tarts with Fresh Raspberries & White Chocolate Cream, Yuzu Meringue Pies with Sesame Tuiles, and Miso & Butterscotch Tarts.


Smoked Chocolate Pave with Yuzu Ganache, Miso & Peanut Butter Crunch and Matcha, White Chocolate & Cherry Trench with Hazelnut Sponge are just a few of the recipes in the following chapter of Large Cakes & Gateaux.


It couldn't get any better with the next chapter of Desserts filled with recipes like Layered Panna Cotta with Sake Jelly Fruit Compote & Cherry Blossom, Vanilla Panna Cotta with Boozy Cherry Jelly & Matcha Micro Sponge. 


Cookies & Confectionery is the title of the next chapter and it doesn't disappoint with recipes for Sweet Miso, Sato Nishiki Cherry & Yuzu Fruit Macarons, Matcha 'Kit Kat', and Hot Sake Jelly Shots with Ginger Spherification.


Last but not least is a chapter dedicated to Savouries! Gyoza Chicken Wings Karate-Style, Hirata Steamed Pork Buns, and Panko Doughnuts stuffed with Pork Katsu are just a few of the amazing recipes he has shared with us!

This is just a small look into this exciting culinary journey! As the sub title says it's a "beautiful and delicious fusion of East meets West" and it isn't wrong. There are the traditional classic treats we all know and love with inspiring Japanese flavours. If you are looking for something new and different I would tell you to grab yourself a copy of James' book!

*I was given a copy of Japanese Patisserie: Exploring the beautiful and delicious fusion of East meets West by James Campbell to review by the publisher, Ryland Peters & Small. Retails at £16.99 and available now from your local book retailers or online! All opinions are my own, I was not given any other compensation nor was I asked to give a positive review, please see my contact/policy page for more information.



Nostalgic Delights by William Curley {a book review}


I am an American, as it says in my blog tag line, so one could argue that some of these treats aren't necessarily nostalgic to me, but that's not so. I believe that I have lived here long enough now to have a history with some of the sweet treats in this book.

There was this time, in the early days of me living here, that I was craving chocolate. Just a solid bar. I didn't want any nuts or nougat or cereal or raisins or anything just one solid bar of chocolate. I was recommended a Yorkie, as they are the solidest solid bar of chocolate out there. I went to the till to pay and the guy says to me "Yorkies aren't for birds." I stared at him and asked why anyone would feed chocolate to a bird?


Yeah in this country birds are women. Oh and it was a marketing thing and it said right on the wrapper that they weren't for birds. Anyway, Mr Curley knows his stuff. I have his Patisserie book and it's amazing and this book is amazing.

It's broken down into 7 sections starting with Chocolate Confectionery followed by Bakery Favourites, Patisserie Modern Classics, Ice Cream & Gateau, Afternoon Treats, Frivolities, and basic recipes that you will need for the recipes in the rest of the chapters.


The instructions for each recipe is very precise and clear. It's like the most interesting text book I have ever read in my life. It's also beautifully photographed. There are some recipes that show you in pictures what each step should look like and with a book like this it is great to have that information.

There are so many recipes I'd like to try out! There isn't one for a Yorkie specifically, but there are recipes for other great chocolate bars! Here is a condensed list of recipes I'd like to try!!


Okay before I list the recipes I want to try there is a recipe for Hazelnut Rochers. It's not included in my list because I don't like them, but I know a lot of people do and if you ever wanted to make your own there is a recipe in this book! Just so you know! Now back to the list.

Alpine Chocolates (inspired by Toblerone)
Cartwheel (Wagonwheel)
Walnut Whip
Matcha & Yuzu Teacakes
Cinder Toffee
Caramel Bar
Chocolate Mint Bar
Fudge Bar
Peanut Nougat Bar (Snickers/Marathon)
Curly Wurly
Chocolate Cherry Bakewells
Jam Tarts
Custard Tart
Eccles Cakes
Eclairs
Bee Sting
Fudge Doughnuts
Tropical Snowball (based off of a patisserie marshmallow confection in Scotland)
Black Forest Gateau
Moka (gateau)
Jaffa Cake Tarts
Bounty Ice Cream Bar
Pecan & Banana Cake
Empire Biscuits
Viennese Whirls
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Hob Nobs
Nougat
Marshmallows
Pate De Fruits (Fruit Pastilles)
Whiskey Tablet

That was a lot longer then anticipated! Not sure when I will find the time to make all those things, will need to shorten the list.....


There is so much in here for keen bakers and those who like to experiment in the kitchen! If you have either of those people in your life this book would make an amazing gift!!


last notes: I was given a copy of Nostalgic Delights: Classic Confections & Timeless Treats by William Curly to review by the publisher, jacqui small. Retails at £25.99 and available now from your local book retailers or online! All opinions are my own, I was not given any other compensation nor was I asked to give a positive review, please see my contact/policy page for more information.

Want a closer look inside? Here is a short video I made as I looked through the book....


 

Four for Less: New Baking Books & my thoughts

I haven’t been buying a lot of new cookbooks, but that’s not to say there aren't ones that I want! 

There will always be books I want, but I have been a bit more sensible lately and actually passed along a few of the books that I haven’t used recently.

I have also refrained from replacing ever one of the books I gave away with new ones. I only replaced four of them.

With these:

Which is still less then the amount I gave away! 

The Book of Buns: Over 50 brilliant bakes from around the world by Jane Mason

I like it!

Description (from the back cover): “From every corner of the world this beautiful collection of recipes will inspire you to bake buns – both familiar and new – and share them with your friends and family as part of a wholesome meal or as an indulgent treat to celebrate a special occasion.” 

My thoughts: I bought this from The Book People as it was at a really reasonable price. I don’t have the best of luck with breads, but it is an area that I want to pursue a bit more. Also I like the idea that the recipes are inspired from different cultures all over the world. Jane Mason starts by saying a bun is a bun is a bun. Basically saying buns are universal. She then shares with us the basic bread ingredients we will need to create buns and some shaping techniques used in bun making. Then the book is split into two categories – Everyday Buns and Occasional Buns.

Here are a few recipes, from both categories, I have book marked to try out: Laugenbrotchen, Sfoof, Bun Muska, Iced Buns, Skillingsboller, Coconut Buns, and Apple Buns.

Patisserie by William and Suzue Curley

I love it!

Description (from the inside cover): “Patisserie is an introduction to the most revered of culinary disciplines; it illuminates and explains this often-daunting field, leading you through the basics toward a world of beautiful and elegant patisserie. For beginners and the more advanced alike, this is the essential masterclass in patisserie and is set to become a classic book on the subject.” 

My thoughts: The publishers sent this book to me after I re-tweeted their post and won a copy! It is a beautifully published book, but it’s not just what it looks like it’s smart too. It is a wealth of information. Not only are we given the authors credentials, but they give us the evolution of patisserie, which I found very interesting. Food history is interesting to me. Then they give us the basics so ingredients, equipment, and some tips to get us started. If this isn't daunting then we can move on to the next part which is how to make the foundations of all patisserie which is what you need before you create some beautiful desserts.

This is one of those books that I love looking at and I have been carrying it around with me for a couple of weeks now reading and looking at all the mouth watering and awe inspiring patisserie! I would love to attempt to make all of it! Hopefully with my littlest one starting full time school in September I will have a little bit more time to give to seeing how well I do at patisserie!

Sally’s Baking Addiction: Irresistible Cookies, Cupcakes, & Desserts for Your Sweet-Tooth Fix by Sally McKenney

I love it!

Description (from the back cover): “Sally McKenney started her wildly popular blog Sally’s Baking Addiction in 2011, and she’s made the internet a whole lot sweeter! So whether you like cookies, cupcakes, brownies, bars, candy, cakes, pies, or muffins, there’s a tempting treat for you. Indulge in Sally’s Death by Chocolate Brownies, her Pretzel Peanut Butter Cups, her Nutella Frosted Banana Cupcakes and loads more.”

My thoughts: I was a little late to the party when I stumbled upon Sally’s blog a while back. There was a recipe for something I was after and when I goggled it her site came up. I was hooked from the first look. The writing and photography were great, but the sweet treats were even better. One of the posts I read was about how her book was out. So, of course I went to Amazon and ordered myself a copy.

The cookie section is my favorite and it’s fitting, as there are cookies on the cover. The other recipes look good too, but I love a good soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside cookie. I can’t wait to give the Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies a go! If you like Sally’s blog you’ll love her book.

Jamie Oliver’s FoodTube presents: The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma

I want some more of it!

Description (from the back cover): Jemma Wilson from Crumbs & Doilies is the cupcake queen of Food Tube. Featuring four chapters of beautiful seasonal recipes, plus the need-to-know basics, this book has all the essentials for amazing baking all year round.

My thoughts: This book I picked up at Sainsbury’s for a bargain at 3.50! I already own a couple of cupcake books and wouldn't have bought it at full price. Mainly because it didn't have anything particularly new to me, but I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't have as many baking books as I do! It also doesn't mean that I won’t be trying out a few of these recipes as soon as I get a chance! It’s a wonderful little book that has a lot of inspiration and it fits in a bag so you can take it anywhere and drool over the pictures!

I think I will be trying the Cookie Dough Cupcakes or the Toffee Apple Cupcakes ... or wait maybe the Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes. Or even better yet I should try all of them as someone on Instagram suggested!

notes: I haven’t had a chance to try any recipes from these books yet. It’s not very often that I “review” books without trying out a recipe, so for this post it’s just me sharing and writing about some new books I required. I bought or won these books, for more information please see my contact/policy page. Find me on Instagram 

Golden Snitch Bomb Cake {Happy Birthday Harry!}

Today is the big day! It's Harry's Birthday! It's also JK Rowling's birthday!
Happy Birthday Jo!!!


For Harry's big day I made him a snitch cake, like Mrs Weasley does in book 7. I played around with different ideas. But finally decided I wanted to use sugar paste as I concluded it would give me the look I wanted. Then I used a gold spray to make it golden! Candy melts for the wings and an edible black marker to outline. For the inside I choose a bomb cake recipe from Peggy's Boutique Baking. Make any full or half circle cake you want and decorate! 


I'm not sharing the recipe for this bomb cake is because I followed every ingredient and step to a T and it comes from  Peggy’s Boutique Baking. It’s very in-depth and has step-by-step photos on how to assemble this cake. However, this isn't how she suggested to decorate it.... 

I used pre-made aka store bought marzipan and yellow fondant to cover it. I first rolled out the marzipan (I didn't take photos of that) before covering with the fondant as seen below. I made sure I had enough of the fondant to create the lines of the Snitch. To finish off I sprayed it with edible gold spay paint to give it the shimmer and gold feel. I also used a black edible pen to line some of the lines to try and give it some depth.

The wings were the hardest part to make. I first traced the size and shape of the wings on a piece of baking paper. I melted down yellow candy melts and using a butter knife filled in my drawings... I used a bit of the melted candy melts to attach the wings on.

assembling 




The actual cake is a light sponge cake baked in a shallow cake pan and then shoved or layered inside a bowl then filled with butter-cream patisserie cream and alternated with fresh raspberries. It was delicious!! Anything for Harry! ;0) It's one of my first ever attempts at using fondant and making a bomb cake. It's probably not up to professional standards, but I am happy with the outcome. The first time I tried doing the wings it hadn't worked out so well. They were the toughest part of the whole cake. My daughter ate them off shortly afterwards. It was whole lot of fuss and worry, on my part, for nothing!

I hope you have enjoyed this weekend of yummy treats based on the world of Harry Potter! I know I had a lot of fun making and eating them!


If you have made Harry inspired anything (food, crafts, and so on) I’d love to see it!
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