Islands in the sky, food & travel

This chiffon is my basic go-to cake recipe for pillowy cakes.  I use it for layer cakes, cupcakes, rolls... Now that it's full steam ahead cherry season, there are 3 desserts I make during this time of year : a clafoutis, a panna cotta, and this cherry chiffon.  Unfortunately, this year, we had a frost in mid-April in France, known as "the worst frost of the century" and our cherry tree had just been pruned, so we have no fruit this year.  But on a normal year, it's full-on cherry bakes and desserts with basketfulls from our one tree. Here's the recipe, I basically used the chowhound.com recipe, but there are similar versions throughout the web, I found their version straight-forward, not too sweet, soft and honestly, perfect : 3 eggs, separated 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons of water 1 cup cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon almond extract Cherry filling (or use ready-made, or cherry preserves) : ...

Hello ice-cream lovers ! This recipe is found everywhere, both the internetz (see foodnetwork.com) and mom's recipe box (somewhere in the upper cupboards) so I decided to try it out.  It's a no-churn version.  I have an ice cream maker but I'm too lazy to reach up in the cupboards for it. Summertime laziness. So here's the (well, basically) 2-ingredient recipe, you must try it with your favorite flavors. Look around like I did, most ingredients are at hand's reach (fruits, candies, cookies, cereal...) 2 cups heavy cream, cold 14-ounce can (396 g) of sweetened condensed milk Pinch of fine salt 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste Beat cream in a bowl until thickened and stiff, about 3-4 minutes. Fold in condensed milk. Add vanilla and salt. Pour into 3 containers (about 3/4 of the way) for 3 flavors. Freeze for about 1 hour then add flavors.  I layer the flavors on top or just slightly press in, so they are still crunchy or chewy. Freeze at least...

Hello all! Here it is summer in full swing, meaning of course, heat, storms, bugs, late sunsets, outdoor meals or picnics, summertime laziness... and cool desserts. That means something refreshing with seasonal fruits.  And to be precise "if you can't take the heat, stay out of kitchen" no-bake treats.  Lots of those to come, kids are even requesting, "something cold, mom." I had lots of strawberries so a bavarois came to mind. The origin of the Bavarois is unknown, some say princess Isabeau from Bavière of southern Germany introduced it to the French court upon her marriage to Charles VI in 1385 ; others say its origins date from German princes staying in France in the 18th century.   No matter, it's basically a mousse-like cake, and in this version, I layered strawberry mousse with ladyfingers (or you can layer with thin sponge cake) and topped with a strawberry gelatin and fruit. Here's the recipe I used for 4 large ramekins (or 1 small 22 cm round mo...

I love cherry season, don't you? We had a bunch of cherries so I was pleased this cake idea came to mind.  Here is a recipe for a very soft chocolate cake, filled with a mascarpone whipped cream, fresh cherries  and cherries preserves with kirsch :  Batter: 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup milk) 1/2 cup melted butter 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons instant coffee in 1/3 cup boiling water, allow to cool 1/2 cup almond slivers (optional) Mascarpone vanilla cream: 500 g mascarpone or cream cheese 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla Mix all ingredients until creamy, leave in refrigerator to set. Cherry filling: 1/2 cup cherry preserves 3 tablespoons kirsch (or vodka, whisky...) Mix to get a spreadable consistency 15-20 cherries, halved, pits removed Preheat oven 175° C/ 350° F.  Line baking sheet or roun...

I never thought this day would come. Even if I could get very good donuts in some pastry shops, there aren't any in our village and I am rarely in the city nowadays to go to specialty shops. So home-cooked donuts it is !  They are very easy to make (especially if you have a bread machine like cheater-me), since it could take hours of kneading, rising and whatnot.  That's why the bread machine comes in handy, while I'm doing my thing I often forget I've got some bread/donuts to put in the oven or fry.  The recipe below is for making donuts with or without the machine ;) so muscle up. These are the oven-baked variety.  They don't stay soft over a day, so must be eaten promptly. No problem with that in my family ;) Recipe for no-fry or deep fried donuts that worked for me from biggerbolderbaking.com  (enough for about 30 donuts. I cut the dough in half, put half in the refrigerator, baked donuts one day and fried donuts the next day). Dough  2-1/4 teaspoon act...