Islands in the sky, food & travel

(La version française plus bas...) Well, well, well ! Only a fortnight ago I couldn’t wait to travel abroad, try something called "restaurants" (such a novel idea), take a break and not cook. And here I am, only back home a few days and couldn’t wait to bake something ! Something crispy and meringuey and tangy, I thought, so why not a lemon curd layer cake?  (I'm going to write about traveling during a pandemic in another post, it was lovely btw, I love getting my dose of sunshine in the winter, but you have to get used to wearing masks all the fitchen time...). Back to cakes. What's with me and meringue anyway and why do I dally in it so much ?  Well, I used to think meringue was too sweet and too complicated to make, but since I often have egg whites lying around, and since I've learned to make meringue with less sugar (although longer cooking time), meringues are now a staple in my layer cakes. I've now tried to make them in different ways, with almond flou

(Version française en cours) Since Christmas dinner took days to prepare, we usually cook a simpler (but lovely at the same time) New Year's Eve meal.  So blinis it is then !  For a bit of history, blinis, or small leavened buckwheat pancakes, are a Russian invention and recently celebrated their 1000 anniversary.  By their round form and light color, they symbolize the sun, and in some Slavic countries they are traditionally cooked in winter to honor the rebirth of the sun, so rare during certain months.  (B-tch please, we kind of know all about this right now in northern Europe..., so let's honor the sun's rebirth, asap.) I set up a buffet with the blinis, smoked salmon, tarama, caviar or salmon eggs, humus, eggplant caviar, pickled herring... along with other munchables like potstickers, meatballs, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green leaf salad, etc. Here's what you'll need to make blinis.  This will feed 4 people and have enough for leftovers.  3 eggs separated 2

(Version française plus bas). After all the holiday festivities, how about something light for a change? But something creamy.  And something exotic. And a delicious sponge cake.  Did I actually say light?... Looked around the kitchen and saw the mango was ready after a couple weeks of ripening.  And those coconut flakes in the cupboards, they get thick when you soak them in liquid, noticed that when I put them in custard creams... So went with this combo : mango-coco-almond, and mascarpone for a quick creamy frosting.  Whaddya say? Here's what you'll need :  100 g butter 90 g sugar 3 eggs, separated 100 g mascarpone (or cream cheese) 30 g almond powder 150 g (gluten-free flour blend) or wheat flour 30 g coconut flakes (leave in 1/4 cup milk at least 1 hour) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon almond extract Pinch of salt Mascarpone frosting 200-220 g mascarpone or cream cheese 50 g confectioners sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla  3 tablespoons of coconut flakes, lightly toasted  Fresh