Mazarin Cupcakes

Mazarin Cupcakes

Mazarin cake is yet another Danish classic. I made a similar cake before, but this ones is a quick take on the Mazarin Cake. Instead of making one big cake, I opted for the smaller cupcake, in perfect serving size.
A classic Mazarin cake is covered in chocolate. By icing the small cupcakes with a ganache, I didn't have to temper the chocolate, and I got a bolder chocolate flavor, and a delicious creaminess. 

Makes 10-12.

Ingredients:

• 150 g butter, salted and room temperature
• 150 g sugar
• 150 marzipan, grated
• 2 eggs
• 75 g all-purpose flour

Ganache:

• 150 g dark chocolate (I used Valrhona)
• 150 ml heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 355℉ (180℃). 

Butter a cupcake pan. Line the bottom with some parchment paper, this will prevent the cupcakes from sticking. You can also use parchment paper cups. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, mix in the grated marzipan, making sure the mixture again gets light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix just until fully incorporated. 

Sift flour and baking powder into the mixture, and gently fold it in.

Fill the the cups ¾ and bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache:

Chop the chocolate finely, and put in a medium bowl. Bring the heavy whipping cream to a boil, and pour the hot cream into the center of the bowl with thew chocolate. Whisk vigorously until the mixture become cohesive and shinny. Let the ganache chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. 

Transfer the ganache to a piping bag with a large star tip. Pipe good amount on top of each cupcake, and add sprinkle.

Enjoy!

Fastelavnsboller - Choux Pastry

Fastelavnsboller - Choux Pastry

Fastelavnsboller can be very different things. It can be a sweet roll filled with marzipan and a custard, it can be a puff pastry cake, a custard filled Marie bun or as here a puff pastry with different fillings. 

Here I have used 3 different fillings. 

• Pink: Whipped cream mixed with some powdered sugar and fresh raspberries.

• Orange: A passionfruit curd mixed with whipped cream.

• Blue: custard and whipped cream.

I tend to use less sweet fillings, because I use iced pastry, but feel free to use your own favorites. I think a mocca mousse or chocolate mousse could be good too.

Fastelavn is a similar tradition as the American Halloween if you add some kind of piñata in the form of  barrel.  Children get dressed up, and go a kinda trick and treating in the early afternoon. You can read more about the Danish fastelavns traditions here.

Makes 12-16.

Ingredients:

Vanilla custard:

• 3 egg yolks

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 2,5 dl milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

• heavy whipping cream, whipped

Cream puff (choux pastry):

• 300 ml water

• 150 g butter, salted

• 175 g all-purpose flour

• 1 pinch salt

• 1 pinch baking powder

• 4 eggs

Icing:

• confectionary sugar (powdered sugar)

• water, hot

• food coloring

Directions:

Vanilla custard:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Whisk in the cornstarch and vanilla paste.

Heat the milk to a slow boil, set aside. 

While whisking vigorously drizzle the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time at first. Once you’ve added about ¼ of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin steady stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and reheat it over medium heat. Whisk constantly until it starts to boil and is thickened. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.  Sprinkle with sugar or press some plastic wrap against the custard so it won't form a pudding skin. Chill the custard completely in the refrigerator.

When the custard is cold, whip the heavy whipping cream. Fold the whipped cream in the custard a little at a time till you get the desired taste and texture. 

Cream puff (choux pastry):

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put water and butter in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. In a bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt. When the butter is all melted add all the flour at once, and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Lower the heat and keep stirring until a dough is formed and it pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny. 

Keep beating the dough with the wooden spoon until slightly cooled, about 2 minutes.  

Beat all the eggs in a bowl. Add a little of the beaten eggs, incorporating it thoroughly before adding more. Add the egg in small amounts until you have a thick paste but not runny at all.

Scoop or pipe the 24 dough (golf ball-sized) onto the parchment paper lined baking sheets. If you have small tips on the puffs anyway, dab the tops of each puff with a fingertip dipped in water to smoothen the tops.

Bake the puffs for 18-20 minutes, until they are puffed up and golden brown.

DO NOT open the oven while baking the choux pastry, it will cause them to deflate.

Let the puffs cool on a wire rack. Ice the buns with some colorful icing.

Cut the buns in half and fill it with prepared vanilla custard and some whipped cream. Serve with a nice cup of coffee or tea. 

Enjoy!

Passionfruit Curd

Passionfruit Curd

We have a thing for anything passionfruit in my house. So every time I find passionfruits in my grocery store, I have to buy some.

This delicious curd can be used in cakes, on pancakes, crepes and on ice cream. 

Makes about a cup.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 60 ml (¼ cup) passionfruit juice, without seeds
• 100 g (½ cup) sugar
• 70 g (5 tablespoons) butter, cold and lightly salted

Directions:

Whisk yolks, passionfruit juice and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, until 160℉ (71℃).

Remove from heat. Add the butter, a little at a time, stirring until smooth. 

Strain the curd through a sieve into a bowl. 

Cover with some plastic wrap pressing it against the custard so it won't form a skin. Chill the curd completely in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year

Pistachio kransekage.

True to the Danish tradition we have champagne and kransekage at midnight. This year we started the new year celebration with my native Denmark, at 3 pm in California, testing a new color champagne. 

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog through out the year. It really warms my heart when you leave kind and constructive comments on my posts. This make me feel like a make a difference in the big community called the Internet.
I wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2017.

Happy New Year!

Pistachio kransekage

Make 8-10 cakes.

Ingredients:

Kransekage:

• 50 g raw pistachios

• 100 g sugar

• 1 egg white

• 250 g marzipan

Icing:

• confectionary (powdered) sugar

• hot water

Directions:

Put pistachios and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it and the pistachio/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven for 375℉ (190℃).

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your finger, and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Press the top part, making a top. 

Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool completely before icing them.

Enjoy!

Ebelskiver - Æbleskiver version 2.

Ebelskiver in the making.

December the 8th, I always think back on my maternal grandmother, it was her Birthday, she would have turned 114 this year. We always gathered at my Grandma's at her birthday and had gløgg and æbleskiver (ebelskiver). 

I posted my moms recipe for æbleskiver, but this year I tweaked them a tiny bit, adding some cream into the mix, and they are still really really good.

Makes about 25-30

Ingredients:

• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 125 g butter (salted and melted)
• 250 ml milk (little over 1 cups)
• 125 ml heavy whipping cream (little over ½ cup)
• 2½ g salt (just under ½ teaspoon)
• 4 eggs
• ½ teaspoon cardamom
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 large lemon, the zest of

Directions:

Mix milk with flour, cardamom and baking powder till there's no lumps. Add the melted butter, egg yolks, salt and lemon zest. Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes. 

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Whisk whites with a mixer until stiff peaks form. 

Gently fold in the egg whites, do not over mix the batter, but you don't want spots of egg whites in the batter.

Turning æbleskiver.

Heat the ebelskive pan. Fill the holes little over ¾.  As soon as the batter starts to bubble around the edge, turn* them halfway. When you have turned all halfway turn the ebelskiver all the way, so you end up with a perfect ball. Continue cooking, turning the ball to keep it from burning.

Serve the ebelskiver with confectionary sugar and a good quality jam.

* I use a knitting needle to turn the ebelskiver, but you can use a small fork.

Enjoy!