Torrone

It took me 2 attempts to get this one right. The first attempt, I carried out in great haste, shuffling between making the torrone and whipping up a potato salad for an office party. The potato salad turned out fine; the torrone, quite unsurprisingly on hindsight, failed miserably. Of course, it did not help that I did not have a candy thermometer and was left guessing after the needle on my meat thermometer burst its scale.

I went out to buy a candy thermometer the next day.

So round 2 was definitely more precise. I stirred patiently, waiting for the sugar/honey/water mixture to approach the appropriate temperature benchmarks, whipped the egg whites into stiff peaks and gently folded in the roasted nut mix. Not too difficult afterall. The torrone had set well.

Cleaning up though (removing the hardened candy mixture from my baking equipment) was quite a nightmare. I had intended to make several batches, but with all the hassle I gave up. So to those who would have received pistachio-almond torrone as a xmas gift, my apologies.

Meringue Snowman

You can feel it now, yuletide cheer fills the air. Christmas it nearing! We don't have snow here in sunny (well, not quite sunny these days given the flash floods) singapore, but who says we can't have some fun with snowmen.

Matcha Bread Rolls

I'm currently planning our vacay to Japan in april next year. Albeit early, its nonetheless mouth-watering. I can't wait to canvas the food streets and sample all the fare.

And it's delectfully queer how the Japanese are able to experiment with other cuisines, filter it through a local perspective and whip up Japanese versions to almost anything. From pizzas and pastas, to patisserie and even curry, japanized eats have left an indelible imprint on the world of gastronomy.

In the spirit of Nippon infusion, I attempt sesame-topped matcha bread rolls.

Gruyère Gougère

The classic french cheese puff - Gougères.

Gougères are made from a thick paste called pate a choux (which translates to cabbage paste since its shape resembles small cabbage heads). The pastry for the pate a choux is one of the most simple and versatile; from this dough you can make cream puffs, eclairs and the french dessert, paris brest. With the addition of grated cheese, the dough transforms into savoury gougères. I used the swiss gruyère, but you can use any kind of hard, sharp cheese like mimolette or comté. Gruyère is sweet but slightly salty, adding wonderful flavour to the gougère.

Now, all I need is a bowl of warm, hearty soup to eat with.

Dobos Torte

For the longest time Jozsef C. Dobos, a well-known confectioner and the creator of this Hungarian delight, though traversing Europe and introducing this sponge and chocolate buttercream layered cake wherever he went, kept the recipe a secret. But come his retirement, Dobos gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, allowing everyone to use it freely. To date, there are countless variations of this recipe.

Baking this cake turned out easier than expected. Well, I cheated a little. Instead of baking the layers one at a time, I opted for a smaller sized cake, having only to bake 2 large sheets and subsequently dividing them into equal slices. The tedious bit though was having to spread all 12 layers with buttercream and finely chopped almonds.

Tomato and Basil Ham on Oatmeal Raisin Bread

Baked this loaf of oatmeal & raisin bread 2 days ago with the last bit of rolled oats that's been sitting in my fridge. And since I've baked a similar one previously (see http://voilacakes.blogspot.com/2009/07/oatmeal-buttermilk-bread.html) I wasn't planning to post an entry of this bread. But since Dennis took a pix of it, I might as well stick it here.

All set for a quick bite.

Swiss (Roll) Bliss

The swiss roll is no more swiss than an english muffin is english. In Austria, its called biskuitroulade. In France, the gâteau roulé and in Italy, biscotto arrotolato. In Spain, it bears the name brazo de gitano, meaning gypsy's arm, while closer to home in the Philippines, the pianono. In Switzerland, oddly enough, it isn't widely consumed.

The origins of the term swiss roll is unclear. But this much we know, the provenance of this light, fluffy cake hails from Central Europe and features as a traditional German, Hungarian and probably Austrian type of cake.

Most versions of the swiss roll are filled with either jam, buttercream or, as is most commonly found in asia, whipping cream. In Chile however, the swiss roll is slathered with a generous portion of manjar, a South American variant of dulce de leche.

I filled mine with homemade lemon curd.