午夜飞行

Lovely summer has arrived, lucky the temperature didn't went too high yet. As I said earlier, summer makes me excited: sunny day walking on the beach, having a picnic on a lazy afternoon, a lots lots of fruits, all those kinds of thing. ah, I can't wait for these.
Also my favorite summer fruit----stone fruits has arrived too. The first one come in my mind is beautiful, ruby red cherries. Since I love lemon verbena so much, I decide make lemon verbena flavored cherry jam, well, not so traditional.

It's fun and easy to make cherry jam, all you need is a lemon, sugar, some lemon verbena leaves and cherries. Rinse the cherries then remove the stems, and here comes my favorite part of making this jam---pit the cherries, with the cherry pitter. After you done all of them, chop up 3/4 cherries, put in a large pot with juice of one lemon and zests, cooking and stirring for 20 minutes, or until softened.
Process lemon verbena leaves in a food processor with some sugar. Add about cooked cherries 3/5 of the amount of sugar (include the lemon verbena sugar), cook a litte bit more, when the jam start to coat the spatula in a thin jelly-like layer, add some kirsch or cognac.

 I made cherry and rosemary clafoutis with leftover cherries. And the scents are quite strong, I didn't happy with it, although it's not bad. So I use lemon thyme instead, when you serve the custard warm, a hint of thyme scents makes all the different.

Cherry and rosemary clafoutis         (adapted from Jams, conserves & preserving)

125g sugar
1 egg yolk
2 eggs
20g flour, sifted
25g ground almonds
200ml milk
100ml cream
300g cherries
1tbsp kirsch or cognac
1 rosemary sprig(or 2 lemon thyme )
salt

1. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolk in a bowl, then whisk in the whole eggs. Fold in the flour, almonds and a pinch of salt and whisk well. Stir in the milk,cream and kirsch, then set aside in a cool place to rest for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, arrange the cherries and rosemary(thyme) in a well-greased ovenproof dish. Whisk the batter again, pour it over the fruit and cook in a preheated oven, 180℃/350°F, for 30 minutes. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes and serve slightly warm.

早就想用lemon verbena做这个tartlet了，只是一直没有等到喜欢的水果，现在我最爱的stone fruits正好in season, 怎么可以错过。(我还用cherry做了很多东西，先卖个小关子，嘻~~)
这个tartlet非常简单，不过我超喜欢，lemon verbena infused pastry cream, 预先烤好的塔皮是用PH的sweet tart dough, 很酥脆，尤其里面还加了almond flour, 更香。堆上喜欢的水果，voilà.

Lemon verbena的香味，闻一次就会爱上它，like someone said: If you've never rubbed a leaf of lemon verbena, it's impossible to explain the lovely scent. 有点像清爽的花香气里带着淡淡的柠檬味，哪怕只是摘几片泡茶喝都让人愉悦。不过一定要用新鲜的叶子，干的味道远不及新鲜的来得好闻。

这是另外一天做的Key lime white-chocolate tart，酸酸甜甜的。不过对我来说酸了点，我怕酸。配上whipped crème fraîche稍微好点。跟我想象中的差距蛮大的，虽然有苦甜的巧克力塔皮来中和，不过味道还是太sharp，也许下次做key lime pie看会不会好点。

Lemon verbena  pastry cream              (adapted from Joy of Cooking)

2 cups milk                                    牛奶
1/3 cup sugar                                糖
2 large egg yolks                          蛋黄
1 egg                                              全蛋
2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp cornstarch     玉米淀粉
1/3 cup sugar                                糖
2 Tbsp butter                                奶油
2 Tbsp rough chopped  fresh lemon verbena   新鲜柠檬马鞭草
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract                香草精

1. In a heavy saucepan, dissolve sugar in milk and bring to a boil. Turn off heat.
2. With a whisk, beat egg yolks and whole egg in a separate, stainless steel bowl.
3. Sift cornstarch and sugar into eggs, whisking until perfectly smooth.
4. Take 1 to 2 Tbsp of of hot milk mixture and whisk into the eggs quickly. Add hot milk, a couple of tablespoons at a time, to egg mixture while whisking until egg mixture is rather warm. Pour egg mixture back into remaining milk/saucepan.
5. Add fresh herbs to saucepan.
6. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Continue whisking and cooking for approximately 45 seconds.
7. Once mixture looks like it is thickening, remove from heat.
8. Pour it through a sieve or fine mesh strainer into a large bowl.
9. Stir in butter until completely blended in.
10. Cover custard with wax or parchment paper - press to surface of custard. Let cool. Then, cover and refrigerate before using, up to 2 days.
You can taste the pastry cream to see if it tastes very starchy before you remove it from the heat. If it does, cook it for 30 seconds longer to reduce the starchy flavor.

我用了一半的食谱。

夏天----想想就觉得兴奋, 尤其是水果多得挑花眼, 可以做好多好多甜点, 有没有人像我一样瞎开心的?
而且不光水果，连蔬菜们都非常可爱，也想把它们都用到甜点里，呵呵。

把Fava bean入甜点，不得不说Hidemi sugino是个genius. 用Vanilla bean poach fave beans, 来去除豆腥味，再purée加入蛋糕里，增加清香。蛋糕做法和Kumquat pound cake 一样。
味道么，请同学们自行发挥想象，想象它有多好吃: P

 还记得去年拍的那些rosebushs 吗，今年发现了新的颜色，粉嫩，粉嫩的。还有蜜蜂一直来抢镜头，也帮它们拍了几张，不过很难拍。

P.S: Special thanks to P,  for giving me a "hand".

当还和Peter是普通朋友的时候，他的birthday cake就是我负责的。他说想要cheesecake，所以就选个不太一样的给他.
用Brie来做蛋糕，同时加入white chocolate，口感比普通的NY cheesecake要light，但是味道却一样浓郁，真是很奇妙~

提前做好的fleur de sel and hazelnut brittle,放在密封罐里，等蛋糕做好，吃之前摆在上去。要赶快吃掉，不然会化的。

P看着照片说: 蛋糕不好看。
我: 难道不好吃吗？
P: 好吃，就是太丑了。
我: ......

好吧，我要声明一下，蛋糕比看上去的好吃。

 Brie white-chocolate cheesecake    (adapted from Pure chocolate)

4 oz white chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature
12 oz brie cheesecak, room temperature, weighed after the rind is removed
3/4 cup suger
5 large eggs, room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Butter a 9inch cake pan. Line bottom with a lightly buttered parchment paper.
3. In double boiler melt the white chocolate. Remove the chocolate when nearly melted and stir until completely smooth. Set aside to cool.
4. Beat the cream cheese at mid-high speed until smooth, about 3 mins. Transfer the cheese from the mixing bowl to another bowl and set aside.
5. In the same bowl, beat Brie on mid-high speed until completely smooth and elastic, about 3 mins.
6. On medium speed, add the cream cheese to the Brie in 3 parts. Blend until smooth. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the sugar.
7. Add the eggs, one at a time. Pour the melted white chocolate in, mix until well blended, smooth, and creamy.
8. Pour into the pan, and wrap outside with foils. Place on a rimmed baking sheet ,add 1/2inch of simmering water.
9. Bake for 1 hour and 15mins, or until the top is lightly golden brown and puffed. Let cool in pan for 2 to 4 hours.

再不更新，5月就溜走了，夏天开始悄无声息的到来。
好像我不止慢半拍，那天路过樱花树发现上面的果子都结出来了。可惜今年只拍到了单樱，八重樱开时，我正好out of town，等我回来连地上的花瓣都没得拍了，唉，又要等上一年。

Peter说他最喜欢这张，一定要我放上来。我问到底哪里好，他也说不出来，可就是喜欢，呵呵。

这张不是我拍的，听着peter说花已经开了，拍不到心里实在舍不得，就拜托他替我去拍。尽管能挑出一大堆的毛病来，可我还是最喜欢这张，锦缎似的~~

记得去年做过的樱花甜点吗？最让我惊艳的Cherry blossom cardamom english cream，实在是很喜欢，所以今年又做了，不过是以Crème brûlée的形式。味道还是那么迷人，小小用力敲开焦糖，露出底下香滑的蛋奶，几乎融合了我的最爱。

 很好奇cherry blossom和cream cheese在一起会是什么味道。这个no-bake cheesecake里加了细细切碎的樱花，上面一层樱花冻，下面是原味的joconde sans beurre. 至于味道嘛，淡淡的花香，要细细的品，口感很清爽。

 Always the little thing that caught my eye.

我放着马上要meet deadline的东西不写，跑来更新是为了什么呀？我被打击到了，我被蛋糕神遗弃了，我一连做了3个蛋糕----都失败了！
实在是受不了这样的刺激，需要一些能让我comfort的，最好是巧克力的。不做蛋糕，其他的甜点总可以吧。

还没有开始烤整个面糊就香气四逸，和我想象的一样，加了Buddha's hand zest 味道完全就不一样了。buddha's hand 是我闻过最好闻的水果，花香加橙香的味道。照片把它拍丑了，实物是更漂亮的。我把它们切片放在糖罐头里，做buddha's hand sugar，这样就算过季没有了，我还能保留这个味道，闻到它实在是很幸福的事呀。

扯远了，回到我的comfort food，madeleines出炉时就有股浓浓的巧克力香，当你咬破这个小点心时，里面有一个惊喜，就好像花儿一下子绽放开来，花香伴着巧克力的苦香，Mmm......这一刻我的心受到了抚慰，看来我还没有完全被遗弃，还是有救的。原食谱是单纯的chocolate madeleine，我加进了zest，觉得比原来的更好。

Chocolate madeleines                    (adapted from Pure chocolate)

3 oz  unsalted butter
3 oz  semisweet chocolate  (我用55%)
1 1/2 eggs
1/2tsp vanilla extract
1/2cup cake flour
1/4tsp B.P
2Tbsp cocoa powder

1. 把奶油溶化，放在一边放凉。
2. 隔水完全溶化切碎的巧克力，也放在一旁放凉，但是不要让它凝固起来。
3. 混合鸡蛋和糖用打蛋器高速打3分钟，颜色变成淡黄色，加入vanilla。
4. 拌入巧克力，筛入面粉，可可粉和B.P，用软铲拌匀。加入溶化的奶油，完全均匀后，盖上保鲜膜，静置20分钟。
5. 烤箱预热425°F，另取一些奶油刷在模子上。面糊装到8分满，放入烤箱烤8-10分钟。出炉后，乘热把madeleines脱模。乘热吃，配牛奶非常好。

我在面糊里加了1/2tsp的Buddha's hand zest。如果没有，用橙子，柠檬或者是青檬皮，也是一样美味的。这个食谱不甜，偏苦。

我说过的，这次会勤劳------勤劳的清理冰箱。上次做东西剩下的材料，蛋白、橘子奶油，塔皮全部凑到一块，就有了这个Mandarin meringue tartlet. 其实，我一直都是想做Lemon meringue tart的，只是每次都阴差阳错的错过了。

做这个也是为了上面的挤花，挤得各式各样，很漂亮，可惜这次材料不够，就做了2个，还没挤过隐呢。最后Blow torch烧一烧就很漂亮了，不过这个烧焦了点。

去花市买了点花，在那里挑了半天，就为了配颜色。想做一个漂亮的球状插花，无奈没什么天赋，只能弄成这样。多下来的放在窗台上，坐着上网一抬头能看到它，心情就很好。