Category Archives: Baking with vegetables

Brown Butter & Tonka Bean Pumpkin Madeleines 

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with Chai Caramel Dipping Sauce

Makes 24

Ingredients

Madeleines

  • 12/ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon mixed spice
  • 1 Tonka bean, grated
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

Caramel Dipping Sauce

  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon chai spice mixture

Method

Madeleines

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 12-shell madeleine pans with baking spray or cake release. (Or brush with melted butter and coat with flour, tapping out the excess flour)
  2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is a brown color, It will now start to have a “nutty” smell. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool (You’ll notice small brown/black particles. Don’t worry these are all part of brown butter!)
  3. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice and tonka bean. Whisk., to combine and set aside until needed
  4. In a stand mixer bowl add the eggs and sugar and with the whisk attachment mix on medium-high until the mixture is light in color, thick, and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and mix on slow until combined
  5. After removing the bowl from the mixer, fold in the flour mixture gently by hand. Once the flour is completely added, gently pour in the cooled melted butter and fold it into the mixture until completely incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure no pockets of unmixed ingredients
  6. Pour the madeleine batter into a large piping bag (fitted with plain circular nozzle, or snip the end of the bag off)
  7. Fill the prepared trays with batter in each mould to 3/4 depth
  8. Bake the madeleines for 10-12 minutes or until puffed and golden
  9. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack

*Keep in an airtight container for up to for 2-3 days. The madeleines can also be frozen for up to 2 months and then reheated in the microwave or in a 350F oven before serving.

Caramel Dipping Sauce

  1. In a heavy-based saucepan combine the brown sugar and water. Heat until the sugar dissolves
  2. Increase the heat and allow the sugar mixture to deepen in color, approximately 240F (Soft Crack on sugar thermometer)

*exercise care in these next few steps!

  1. Remove the saucepan with the melted sugar from the heat and add in the salted butter. Whisk briskly and carefully so that it melts and becomes incorporated into the sugar mixture. It may hiss and spit so please take care!
  2. Next add the cream in a steady stream and stir to fully incorporate. Again take care at this point.
  3. Stir in the chai spice mixture
  4. Pour into the small ramekins or mini-milk bottles to serve with the pumpkin madeleines

**The final caramel sauce will keep for up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator. I find it’s best if removed from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving to allow it the return to full “saucy goodness”. If you prefer it warmed, heat in a microwavable container in 10-15 second bursts until it at desired temperature

Cinnamon Cheesecake stuffed Pumpkin Spice Loaf

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Makes 2 x 2lb loaves

Ingredients

Cheesecake Filling

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Pumpkin Loaf

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice mix
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups pumpkin purée
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Method

Cheesecake Filling

  1. In a bowl beat together the filling ingredients until fully combined and smooth
  2. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside until needed

Pumpkin Loaf

  1. Preheat your oven to 325F
  2. Prepare two 2lb loaf tins with cake release or grease and line with baking parchment
  3. In a bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices
  4. In a stand mixer, combine the sugar, butter and mix for at least 10mins until light fluffy
  5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until fully combined
  6. Add in the pumpkin puree and mix on slow until just combined. Don’t worry if it looks like the mixture has split
  7. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the flour mixture 1/4 cup at a time. Keep  the mixer going until just combined – make sure there are no white flour pockets. Scrape down the sides of the bowl at regular intervals
  8. Remove the bowl and fold in the chocolate chips to incorporate
  9. Pour the mixture equally between the two prepared tins to 1/2 level
  10. Pipe, or spoon, a stripe of cheesecake mixture from the piping bag into each tin. Ensure that the cheesecake mixture doesn’t touch the sides of the loaf tin
  11. Once all the cheesecake mixture has been used, use the remaining pumpkin batter to fill up the loaf tins. Level the tops of the mixture
  12. Bake in the oven for 60-70mins until a skewer comes out with slight crumb
  13. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the tins until fully cooled. When cool, remove from the tins and wrap in clingfilm until needed

Corn Husk Meringue w/ White Chocolate Sweetcorn Mousse

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So this is a dish that in a sense “never was”. Episode 3 of Food Network Canada’s Great Chocolate Showdown had an elimination challenge of selecting from a preset range of vegetables and using said vegetable as the feature item in a dish of your creation. Along with chocolate of course! I got to sit this out thanks to winning “Sweet Safety” that week but nonetheless I couldn’t help but think that I’d have loved to have done this challenge as it’s right in my wheelhouse of using unexpected ingredients in unexpected places.

I’d have been hoping for Sweetcorn from the Parsnip; Pumpkin; Beets; Fennel and Sweetcorn). This would have given me the ideal opportunity to pay homage one of my food idols Enrique Olvera. Taking one of his feature desserts from the menu at his Pujol restaurant and tweaking it somewhat (hopefully not too irreverently!) to facilitate the over-riding brief of the show and yes- include chocolate.

Corn Husk Meringue w/ White Chocolate Sweetcorn Mousse #recipe #greatchocolateshowdown

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Ingredients

Makes 4

Meringue

  • 4 dried cornhusks
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Mousse

  • 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 3 ears)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 oz white chocolate, grated
  • 1/4 cup mascarpone

Salted Bitter Caramel Popped Corn

  • 1/3 cup popping corn kernels
  • 2 Tablespoons Canola, or other flavorless, oil
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Additional sea salt to taste

Method

Meringue

  1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Spread the husks on a large baking sheet; bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned. Remove the browned husks from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 200° F
  2. Cut any unbrowned ends from the husks, discard and break the remaining browned husks into small pieces Transfer to a spice grinder in batches and grind to a powder. Sift the husk powder through a fine sieve and discard the larger remnants
  3. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, gradually beat in the sugar until medium peaks form. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of the husk powder; beat at medium-high speed until stiff. Reserve any remaining husk powder for serving
  4. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe four 3-inch rounds of meringue onto a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the meringues are set and sound hollow when lightly tapped on the bottom. Set aside and set cool completely while you make the mousse

Mousse

  1. In a skillet, combine the corn, sugar, salt and 3/4 cup of the cream and bring just to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring, until the corn is tender, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a blen­der and puree until smooth.
  2. Strain the puree through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids. Add in the white chocolate and stir until melted and fully combined. Let cool completely, then whisk in the mascarpone
  3. In a bowl, beat the remaining 1/4 cup of cream until stiff. Fold into the corn mixture until no streaks remain. Chill until ready to serve

Salted Bitter Caramel Popped Corn

  1. Measure corn kernels and oil into a large pan
  2. Cover pan leaving lid slightly ajar and place over a medium heat
  3. Kernels will start to pop, shake occasionally. When popping slows and stops remove pan from heat and carefully remove the lid
  4. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a bowl to cool fully while you prep the caramel coating*
  5. Line and oil spray a baking sheet
  6. In a pan combine the brown sugar and water. Heat over a medium heat until sugar has melted, swirling the pan often
  7. Increase heat to high and boil for 6-8 minutes until sugar syrup has thickened
  8. Remove pan from heat, stir in the Kosher salt and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully toss in 1 1/2 cups popped corn and gently stir to fully coat the popped corn pieces. Transfer to your prepared baking sheet, spreading the pieces out before leaving to cool and set.
  9. Once cooled toss the pieces in additional seas salt to taste

Assembly/ To Serve

  1. Transfer the meringues to plates and gently crack open with a table knife. Spoon the corn mousse between the meringues
  2. Arrange a sprinkling of the salted bitter caramel popped corn around the plate and sprinkle the remaining corn husk powder over. Serve right away

*This recipe makes more popped corn than needed. Any surplus can be stored in an air-tight bag or container for scoffing later!

**In the photos here I have also garnished with some tempered white chocolate “corn husks”.