Sicilian Lemon Tart with Mascarpone Cream

'Sicilian' Lemons (Actually from Amalfi)

Assembly Line of Pastry Crusts

Egg Graveyard (70 in total)

First Plating of the Day

I’m thinking about coming out with a new workout DVD, entitled – ‘Dana B’s Lemon Tart’ – Butter and sugar your way to a sculpted upper body.

I kid you not.

I awoke Monday morning from a 19 hour lemon-tart-athon covering both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Saturday was spent making the pastry crust and lemon curd filling (which involved “constantly stirring” 15 batches of lemon curd), and Sunday was spent rolling out the pastry, baking them, assembling with the lemon, baking again, making 8 cups of mascarpone cream and then plating up 120 servings (15 tarts in total)

Exhausting? Yes. Sore muscles? You betcha! Spending the weekend as a ‘professional’ pastry chef for my friend’s ‘pop-up restaurant’ – absolutely phenomenal.

Rewind back a few weeks to when AG originally rang me to get my thoughts on helping him out with his Pop-Up endeavour. I’d sent through a number of dessert suggestions that fit with his Tuscan inspired menu, but new to this ‘professional baking’ thing I didn’t think about the effort involved in making so many of one particular dish. Lesson learned. The effort involved in lemon tarting is exponentially greater than let’s say, a mascarpone cheesecake with balsamic berries. Sure the cheesecake take a lot of time to solidify etc....but it’s ready to go on the day. More of a love ‘em and leave ‘em approach. No faffing about with pastry crust and assembly. And second degree burns covering a 2 inch by 2 inch space on my arm...

The other somewhat comical bit was that of the hundreds of desserts I’ve ever made, I’d never actually made a straight up lemon tart. And with so many different opinions on pastry crust and lemon filling, I knew I needed to do a bit of homework to make sure I got it 'just right.'

Homework manifested itself in 4 lemon tarts the week before the Pop-Up. I had lemon tart coming out of the wazoo. Luckily, I have generous friends (ES, LM, KC) who were ever so kind as to come take the tart off of my butter and sugar coated hands. Probably a good thing because even though I tried to give most away, I still knocked back half of a whole one. But as I was the lead taste tester, it was a rough job that I had to take on – the tart needed to be perfected and we all know practice makes perfect.

And to add calories upon already thousands of calories, May Guilty Pleasures fell into the middle of my Lemon tart practice runs so I also was ‘forced’ to squeeze in a batch of lime and coconut cupcakes with lime cream cheese frosting as well. It was a rough week, one that I’m not entirely sure even 3 dance rehearsals and 2 trips to the gym could even out. Which reminds me, I need to buy stock in Spanx. Note: Lemon tarts and cupcakes are not a match made in heaven with fishnets and sequin shorts.

So what did my research prove?

1. Pastry crust need not be secondary to the lemon tart filling. And while being able to stand on its own two feet, should not just be a conduit for the lemon but a complementary partner in crime.

2. You can make a ‘Scicilian Leman Tart’ with a pastry crust recipe written by a French chef. I used Joël Robuchon’s which included your typical ingredients of flour, butter, eggs, etc. but also calls for ground almonds and vanilla beans (in an attempt at cost savings I used extract instead of the bean).

3. Lemon tart filling recipes should not be complicated. I tried the ‘sabayon’ method – it ended in disaster and all over me. However, recipes can be doubled but should most definitely NOT be tripled or quadrupled.*

*Note: I was getting exhausted and tried combining the lemon curd batches, three or four at a time... only to have to separate it back out into two pots so it would finally thicken, because it wouldn't with so much in one pot. Just picture me sitting by my stove top (yes sitting, I was EXHAUSTED) with 2 whisks, one in each hand ... ‘stirring constantly’...for a few hours. At least when I was only doing one batch at a time I had one free hand for playing scrabble on my iphone. Not. A. Joke.

4. Sorry folks, but mascarpone cream, whilst indescribably delicious, tastes pretty much exactly like plain whipped cream, only with a slightly more dense consistency. Not sure it’s worth the extra bucks/quid/yen to make it with mascarpone, but it did give the lemon tart a slightly more Italian nuance.

Time to make the doughnuts

There’s a first for everything, and a few weeks back was my time to foray into the world of homemade doughnuts (also known by New Englanders as the donut).

For years I’d hoped Santa would bring me a deep fat fryolater in my stocking so that I could whip up delicacies like tempura, chips, and of course – hot and deliciously-fresh doughnuts.

I’m sure my bathroom scale and cholesterol are secretly happy not to have received a contraption that’s sole purpose is to be a big vat of bubbling oil, but as such I figured I had to take the bull by the horns and come up with a different solution to my doughnut-making excitement.

Low and behold, the answer manifested itself when I was stranded Stateside last month due to the Volcano. Note: Not a sentence that I thought I’d ever actually write.

I was visiting my favourite bakery, Clear Flour, in Brookline, MA when I spotted a new addition to their ever-perfect bread and pastry menu – baked doughnuts with dried currants. Once again, so delectably perfect in its creation I was barely out the door and was covered head to toe in cinnamon and sugar deliciousness. Even though not filled with anything, the dough they make the doughnuts from was so creamy and rich it made for a sweet moist custardy-like interior.

I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to make the same thing at home without finding out their exact recipe, so I did the next best thing – an excessively sad amount of web research to see what I could find in the way of baked doughnut recipes.

What I came up with was based off of this amazing blog I came across by a woman named Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks, and a whole lot more research to ensure I was going to get the right consistency. Because of my hectic schedule I hadn't had time to go to the ‘real’ grocery store and get the required yeast, active dry. Instead I was stuck with fast action. Now for those of you who’ve tried to use a different yeast than what the recipe calls for, you'll know of the excessive differing opinions on how and in what like-to-like quantities it should be used.

Ever the management consultant I consulted numerous sources of data and came up with a solution that would result (I hoped) in the most successful outcome. I used approximately 2/3 the amount of the active dry, and instead of a dough hook attachment which I’m pretty sure I’ve lost under my couch, pummelled that dough within an inch of it’s life. I couldn’t find dried currants so instead swapped in some highly successful dried blueberries.

4 hours, 2 dough rising sessions, and head to toe flour coverage later, I took the doughnuts out of the oven to quickly cover them in melted butter and more cinnamon and sugar than should be legal. They were at their peak eaten immediately, but managed to make their way to Curley’s 'curry extravaganza' later that night to the welcome bellies of friends who, also now covered in cinnamon and sugar, were singing their praises.

Note: Not quite to the Clear Flour calibre I shall continue practicing until either a) I can find that magical recipe or b) my ‘practice’ at doughnut making (and consumption) exceeds the weight limitation on my bathroom scale.

Where in the world? Part 2 - Hong Kong is not a New England state (apparently)

The Brits may have their 'local' but the Suburban Massachusetts Jews I grew up with have their Chinese food. Growing up, at least once a week you'd find my family and usually at least a dozen others from my Temple waiting patiently for a table at Cherry Blossom or Uncle Cheung's.

I've since expanded my Asian cuisine palate to consist of the likes of Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, etc. but there will always be a comfort food soft-spot in my heart for all things Peking Ravioli.

Now, I'm fully aware that 'real' Chinese food is drastically different from what I grew up with. Still, I couldn't wait to get my hands on some pork dumplings and other tasty tidbits.

Hong Kong Highlights:

Cucumbers and Baked Custard Buns at Lei Gardens

According to the www.discoverhongkong.com website, Hong Kong, "the culinary capital of Asia" boasts more than 11000 restaurants. Bearing this in mind it would need to be some damn good food that brought me back to the same place three times in 1 week. Lei Garden did that and more (scurrying the internet to try and find some of their recipes for home replication). Even more than the delectible soupy shanghai dumplings and crispy pork offered on their menu, I fell love at first bite with their marinated cucumbers and dim sum 'baked custard buns'.

Not just any cucumbers, but 'magic cucumbers' with extremely addictive qualities, these babies are marinated in a concoction of (perhaps blanched?) garlic, rice wine vinegar, soy, big chunks of coriander, and other secret ingredients.

Moving on to the custard buns...

Slightly off-putting by the cadbury cream egg orange centre, Lei Garden's baked custard buns are of equally exquisite status. Apparently these custard buns sell out super quick so we had to book early reservations each day - 11:30 / 12. I'm glad we heeded this sage advice (thanks JB). Slightly bread like with a sweet custard center and crispy sugar coating they were a cross between a hot custard doughnut and a crispy sugared crepe. Seriously, I dare you to think of something better.

TBLS

TBLS - short for tablespoon, is a newly opened, slightly 'underground' restaurant serving up a Westernised tasting menu (e.g. Mini crab cake sandwich on home-made brioche and a shot of corn consume). The restaurant serves about 15 people each night and in 007 fashion, requires a secret pass code to get buzzed up to the roof top restaurant. Throughout the night we were fed 7 small delicious bits, from the crab cake, to pork belly, to a 'carrot cake with cream cheese ice cream' finally ending with a grown up peppermint pattie (peppermint macaroon with dark chocolate gelato in-between).

A truly remarkable meal, it was as un-Asiany as one might find in Hong Kong. One of the best meals I've had in the past 12 months, and hands down beating anything I've had in London recently. If anyone is heading to Hong Kong in the near future...definitely go. The views alone are amazing.

Seafood Delights at Sai Kung

Sai Kung in the New Territories east of Kowloon is a Mecca for seafood lovers. Walking the short strip of boardwalk you are surrounded by fresh seafood in every direction. On one side, down in the water are a number of fisher(wo)man selling a vast variety of fishies, each type cordoned off in their own little section. The boats look like little checkerboards with at least 2 dozen different types of seafood on offer. You point down to what you want, it gets weighed and then put in a bucket and pulleyed up to you, ready to be cooked immediately if not sooner! I love efficiency!

On the other side of the boardwalk is restaurant after restaurant with big tanks outside with hundreds of fresh lil' guys swimming around waiting to be picked (or I suppose trying to avoid being picked). Slightly sad if you stop and think about it for too long, ACB and I left it to JB and TH to go pick out lunch. After walking up to the tanks and cherry picking what we were going to eat, we joyously feasted on fresh lobster, scallops, sea bass, and calamari.

Where in the world? Part 1 - Rocking the Kasbah

In under 3 weeks I've flown to Africa and back. Asia and back. Tomorrow I'm flying to the US. 5 days later I'm back in London. Two days later I'm back in the US. And so on and so forth...

Even though I've literally worn out the wheels on my suitcase and slept twice in my bed over the past few weeks, I wouldn't trade my recent adventures for anything in the world.

Part 1 - Marrakech.

KC and I took a cheeky long weekend to Morocco (Marrakech) for a few days of eating, not much drinking, and relaxing. Mission accomplished on all three fronts.

Highlights?

1. Discovering how much I love mint tea, particularly when served in silver teapots and accompanied by Moroccan sweets oozing with chopped peanuts, honey and coconut. NB: Discovering the tradition Moroccan sweet made with Orange Blossom was NOT a highlight. It was exactly what I'd imagine soap or hand cream might taste like if I was so inclined to give them a nibble.

2. Ordering the vegetarian dips 'appetiser' only to be served up 2 meals worth of deliciousness such as smoked roasted aubergine, carrots with cumin, pumpkin, mushrooms, courgette - each delicately prepared and tasting in their own right like they should be on centre stage.

3. Giving in to the pushy food sellers in Djemaa el Fna (I've never felt so loved by the attention I was receiving). So what if it was mainly because they wanted me to eat a kabob from their stall? I may not know who she is, but being told I look like 'Donna from East Enders' MUST be a good thing no? We may have passed on the silverware they gave us to use - doing it up old school with our fingers and bits of bread, but it was still an amazing experience - and one I'd suggest for those that aren't obsessed with cleanliness.

Discovering Le Peche Mignon

I interrupt whatever you are doing to inform you of a special news bulletin.

I’m officially a dummy.

It should be clear by now that anything of the artisanal / gourmet / foodie variety makes me very, very happy. I don’t haggle over prices, worry about depleting bank reserves or even question my sanity when occasionally spending more on food than rent (ok, a slight exaggeration). I think about food every day and map out meals days or even weeks in advance. And a little secret that’s probably not so secret, that ‘dream job’ that everyone has? I’m torn between hosting my own cooking show (yes, I’ve auditioned on two different occasions) and ultimately having my own sweet little bakery / cafe full of the best baked goods, signature salads and sandwiches and a few other special surprises that would make it oh so very Dana.

So, last week when I discovered Le Peche Mignon, a stylish little French delicatessen, serving a selection of soups, sandwiches, pastries and other take-away delights (Italian figs covered in white chocolate anyone?) I was blown away. LITERALLY it's a 4 minute walk from my flat (2 doors down on a side street from my dodgy GP on the shady stretch of Holloway Road). How was it possible I'd missed this little bijoux? It wasn’t new, it had been there for the 3 years I've been living right around the corner! How this had happened is actually beyond me. Maybe it's that when I walk that stretch of Holloway Road I try to get through it as fast as I can, not stopping to look left or right down those pesky side streets.

There’s a clear shady north London and cool hipster north London divide right about where I live. I think I’ve officially found the demarcation line in Le Peche Mignon.

The lesson learned is that even sweet little cafes needs good PR. Can you even imagine what they would have made off of me alone if I'd been tapped into this 3 years ago?

Springform says, kiss my bundt.

For Curley’s birthday last week I offered to make any cake her little heart desired. I had emailed through a few suggestions and while her general response was one of ‘surprise me’, she suggested a few delights that were some of her favourites, one in particular, Angel Food Cake (AFC).

Now a few preliminary comments regarding AFC:

1. AFC doesn’t exist in the UK, a few folks have heard of it; likely from being mentioned on an episode of 90210 or the Hills, but it’s not something you can pick up in the store or in a bakery
2. AFC (for those that don’t know) is a fat-free cake make with an exorbitant amount of eggs whites, which should ideally result in a light and airy type cake. Sometimes it’s then garnished with frosting or whipped cream
3. AFC was the one thing my mom always bought in a store. When I gave her a call to find out if she’d ever made AFC before she said: “Honey, I made one about 30 years ago – it stuck to the pan and I couldn’t get it out. Never again. It wasn’t worth it when the store ones were pretty good.”

Always up for a culinary challenge, I decided to go for it. I found a recipe with decent reviews that called for 9 egg whites (many others listing up to a dozen). I figured if nothing else it would be a bit of an adventure to make.

So with not much to go on I did a bit of research. Apparently AFC requires a special AFC pan. It looks somewhat like a Bundt pan but it has 'feet' for it to rest on. Some have removable bottoms like Springform pans. It’s critical (apparently) that you don't use a non-stick pan so the batter can grip the sides and pull itself up.

I was surprised and had a few chuckles over how many discussion boards there are on this topic. Shuffling through all of the research and opinions I felt like I was embarking on a science experiment.

So with no AFC pan in sight I basically had two choices – a silicone Bundt pan or a Springform pan (not non-stick). Many opinions I'd read said that you needed the hole in the middle of the pan for the cake to ‘rise up’. However, if a non-stick or silicone pan was used it would be flat and listless. Having to buckle down and make a choice, I went the Springform pan route thinking that avoiding a non-stick pan trumped using one with a hole in the middle.

And I'm happy to report that for whatever reason, it did actually work. Contrary to many naysayers who'd posted messages that said, without a AFC pan your AFC "will be a disaster."

Who knows, maybe they just didn't have the special 'touch' required?

All of that said, was it remarkably better than the store bought ones of my youth? Will I make it again anytime soon? Probably not. But once slathered in chocolate frosting, was a super crowd pleaser for Curley and her friends.

Ready Freddie?

January’s Guilty Pleasure’s theme was the fantasmical “Night of One Thousand Freddies," marking the 40^th anniversary of Queen. Ah-mazing.

To give a bit of background into falling in love with this theme; when I was a wee one I got a massive Sony 5-disc CD changer for my 12th birthday. With my shiny new present unwrapped, clearly the next step was to head down to Caldor’s to buy a few CDs and give it a test drive.

Contrary to my cheesy taste in music back then, it wasn't the Bangles, NKOTB, or Salt ‘n Pepa that I headed straight for. Yes people, heavily influenced by 3 older siblings and growing up on a diet of Classic Rock and Entenmann's - it was Queen’s Greatest Hits I.

Considering the homage that was due, I was posed with a basic (but difficult) question. What on earth type of cupcake might represent Freddie? Could I dress it up in drag ala I Want to Break Free? Frost them in black and white in honour of Freddie's magnificent outfit in We Are the Champions…

Thinking about it long and hard (about 10 minutes whereby I made the question my facebook status and waited for suggestions), I decided really – was there anything more iconic than Freddie’s beautiful moustache?

With that I prepped some Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes (a nice staple, erring slightly on the dense side) from the Martha Stewart Cupcake cookbook, used some Vanilla Buttercream which was leftover and had been in my freezer for about 6 weeks (still tasting...parfait), and whipped up some Chocolate, Sour Cream, & Cream Cheese frosting (also from Miss Stewart but with reduced fat SC and CC instead) for the perfect 'stache.

The chocolate frosting ended up a little thinner than normal, making the consistency similar to that of a thick pudding (which then became a self-fufilling prophecy as couldn't stop shovelling it into my mouth like it WAS pudding). I bordered on disgusting. I was feeling a little Chunk-like from Goonies. Particularly because I'd forgotten to reduce the recipe by 3/4 (as originally planned) and had a massive bowl that could have frosted about 4 dozen cupcakes let alone decorate 2 dozen with mini-moustaches. Good thing using up the Vanilla Buttercream freed up that space in the freezer, eh?