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Doritos Financiers – corny but good ;-)
Apricots – some ideas for what is possibly my favourite fruit to bake with
Fresh Turmeric and Lemon Curd
Portuguese Palmiers Recheados with Black Sesame Custard
These recipes are bananas! A round-up of unusual banana recipes

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Dark Chocolate Brownies with Medjool Dates and Almond Butter
Seedy Buckwheat Bread (gf)
Fig Leaf Mousse with Fig Leaf Oil and Caramelised Buckwheat
Gibassier

INSTANT FOOD

If there is one ingredient I could see as a new trend for 2020 (and I actually hope it becomes a new trend because of how much I like it!) it is Hojicha. I had no idea what Hojicha was until I got off a 12h long flight in Singapore’s Changi airport and spotted an iced Hojicha Latte at Starbucks. Never one to miss the opportunity to order something new-to-me on a menu (apparently this includes trips to Starbucks!) I ordered one and was immediately hooked. Hojicha is a Japanese green tea. But it is very different in terms of appearance and flavour from other Japanese green teas. This is because it is roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoals (most green teas are steamed). Thanks to the high temperatures Hojicha has a brownish colour. Low in caffeine it is a great alternative for coffee in case you are trying to cut down. I would describe Hojicha’s flavour as malty, chocolatey and maybe a bit nutty - in one word delicious and I actually prefer it to Matcha! Not quite as common as Matcha (even in Japan), it seems to be popping up more and more. Be it as a soft serve flavour, as the flavour for a custard in a pie filling, infused into cream for panna cotta, as a hot or iced drink, or in cookies and cakes etc. I like both drinking it as a loose leaf tea or ground into a powder (using a small spice grinder) for a stronger flavour or for when I want to cook or bake with it. Thankfully Hojicha is also becoming easier to buy in Europe. Here in Brussels I buy it from Palais des Thés. Do you have any favourite ingredients you think deserve more time in the spotlight?

Apparently Tahini is one of next year’s food trends. Not sure who writes these food trends lists - it’s weird to think of Tahini as a ‘trend’ ingredient given how widely it’s been used for years (no doubt thanks in large part to the popularity of Ottolenghi’s recipes). But it reminded me of these Tahini Danishes with Cardamom Custard that I made a while ago and clearly need to remake. This is a twist on the Custard Danishes of my German childhood. The dough is a sort of quick Danish or cheat’s Danish dough where you layer a yeasted dough with Tahini and puff pastry. Relatively easy and quick and really delicious. Link is in profile.

Back on my morning bowl of porridge but kinda wish I could have one of these still warm sfogliatelle to warm my belly instead!

Settled on a mini pastiera. A tart made with a filling of cooked wheatberries, ricotta, candied oranges, cinnamon and orange blossom water. Typically eaten for Easter in this part of Italy, you will find them throughout the year. The flavour tends to vary a bit from pasticceria to pasticceria - some add candied cedro, some use more or less orange blossom water. Either way, one of my favourite Italian tarts. This one was from @gambrinus_napoli in Naples - I have only been to Naples a few times, but think I have come here at least once on each trip so far.

More Baba. This time from @gambrinus_napoli in Naples.

Minori’s seafront looking just as moody on our last day as you would expect on a crisp November morning.

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Dark Chocolate Brownies with Medjool Dates and Almond Butter
Seedy Buckwheat Bread (gf)
Fig Leaf Mousse with Fig Leaf Oil and Caramelised Buckwheat
Gibassier

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Japanese Medlar

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Inspiration from the interwebs, Musings, Notes for the kitchen, The art of baking 0 Comments

May 5, 2018May 5, 2018

It’s Nespole season!

Growing up, Nespole (also known as Loquats or Japanese Medlars) weren’t exactly the kind of fruit your local supermarket would

read more It’s Nespole season!

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