Matcha and Raspberry Financiers

There are so many recipes that require you to use eggs whites or eggs yolks only. This can be troubling to some, as you will be left with more yolks or whites than you would have liked. In the latest recipe that I shared, I used egg yolks and was left with the whites. I normally freeze the whites if I won't use them within 24 hours. However, I had a recipe in mind that called for egg whites and I was quite excited to try it.

The French Vistandine order of nuns developed a perfect recipe to deal with the extra egg white they had: financiers. My recipe is a take on this simple, yet ingenious, cake recipe.

Financiers are almond based and like many almond based recipes they fell out of fashion due to the widespread fear of cyanide poisoning. It wasn't until Chef Lasne, a renowned pastry chef, brought the visitandines, as they were called, to life by the end of 19th century. His shop, next to the Paris stock market, attracted financial workers who flocked to savor his cakes, especially the financiers as they were easy to carry and did not stain. To further promote the cake, he changed the mold and gave it the shape of a gold bar! His marketing strategy worked and the financier was born.

No matter what shape of mold you use, this cake is delicious, with a soft interior, a firm exterior, and a satisfying nutty flavor.

For 12 small financiers you need:

• 100 g egg whites
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 70 g butter
• 70 g almond meal
• 35 pastry flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 g of matcha (fine green tea powder)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp of rum (optional)
• Raspberries

First mix all the dry ingredients together: flour, almond, salt, matcha and sugar. Sift into a bowl.

Melt the butter and cook it for about 5 min. You need to hear the butter singing and smell a sweet hazelnut aroma filling your kitchen. Turn off the heat and let it cool.

Add the egg whites, the lemon zest, lemon juice and rum to the flour mixture. Mix until you get a homogeneous mixture. Add the butter and mix well again.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for at least an hour or better overnight.

Heat the oven at 180C. Fill your molds. I used small ones with a capacity of about 2 tablespoons. Add a couple of raspberries and bake for about 10 min.

I opted for a shorter baking time to preserve the beautiful green given by the matcha powder. In all cases, you need to adjust the baking time depending on the mold you´re using and your oven.

Let the cakes cool for few minutes in the molds. Unmold and place over a wire rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar and enjoy with a cup of coffee.

These cute little cakes are soft, packed with beautiful sweet and sour flavors, and they melt in your mouth. You will enjoy each and every bite.

Romantic and Sweet, a Valentine's Special: Chocolate and Raspberry Swiss Roll

Valentine's day is a special occasion to remind us of how important love is in our lives. While there's no one way to celebrate this day and express your love, for me the simpler the better. A nice romantic dinner with a sweet finish is all it takes. Let your gift for your significant other be a dinner prepared with love and finished with my idea of a perfectly romantic dessert: a chocolate, raspberry, rose and mascaprone Swiss roll.

You cannot go wrong in the romantic department when you combine chocolate, raspberries and roses; it's not even possible. This cake is not only delicious but it is also easy to make and you won't have to spend hours upon hours to make it perfect and ready for the occasion.

Let´s start rolling:
For the sponge cake you need:

• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 80 g brown sugar
• 80 g flour
• 20 g cocoa powder
• dash of salt
• 1 tbsp of rose water 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and rose water and mix for about 8 to 10 minutes until it triples in volume and becomes pale yellow and rather thick.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt and mix them well together. Sift the dry ingredients over a baking paper. 

Gently fold the flour  mix with the beaten eggs using a rubber spatula.  Make sure there are no lumps in the mix. It is better to add the flour mix in batches to avoid lump formation.

Spread the batter evenly on a 30 x 25 cm baking sheet covered with baking paper, greased and sprinkled with cocoa powder,

Bake in a preheated oven (200C) for 10 min. To make sure the sponge is baked nicely, gently press it in the middle and if it springs back then it´s done.

Let the cake cool for 3 minutes, then flip it over a baking paper covered with cocoa powder.  Gently peel off the baking paper that you used to bake the cake and cover it with a new one or a clean kitchen towel. Flip it again, trim the edges and roll it. Make sure to cover the edges well and let it cool completely. 

For the filling you need:

• 250 g mascarpone cheese at room temperature
• 30 ml rose water
• 40 g powdered sugar (you can add more if you want it to be sweeter)
• 100 g fresh raspberries

In a bowl, mix the cheese, sugar and rose water until you have a smooth and fluffy mixture. I used a hand whisk and it took just few minutes.

Assembly:

Unroll the cake, remove the top layer of baking paper, spread the mascarpone mix evenly over it and scatter the raspberries. With the help of the baking paper or towel you used on the bottom of the cake roll the sponge slowly and tightly. Remove the baking paper or towel and transfer the roll to a serving platter.

You can serve the cake as it is with a sprinkle of powdered sugar but  I decided to add chocolate rose water ganache. 

For the ganache you need:

• 75 g of 70% dark chocolate, chopped finely
• 100 ml cream (35%)
• 1 tsp rose water

Heat the cream until it simmers, remove from the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until all the chocolate melts. Add the rose water and mix again.

Pour the ganache over the swiss roll to cover it completely. Let it cool for 15 minutes, and you´re ready to serve. If you decide to use the ganache to frost the roll, do this before you transfer it to the serving plate.

Enjoy a chocolaty, creamy and  aromatic cake with your loved one or ones! 

Happy Valentine! 

Zebra Berry Cheesecake!

Last week my friend asked me to bake something for her boyfriend´s birthday. We discussed all the options focusing on a cake with chocolate or one with fruits. Finally, we went for a cake featuring berries. This was a logical option now that the berry season started all over Spain and all sort of fresh berries are readily available. Moreover, I love the taste of berries in cakes and my friend couldn't agree more! 

Instead of a regular cake, like a sponge flavored with a filling of berries, I suggested to my friend to make cheesecake. A cold and creamy cheesecake would be perfect now that summer has officially arrived in Spain and Madrid is slowly heating up. 

I played around with my usual cheesecake recipe, and mixed 2 batters to create a beautiful layered or zebra look. The cake was such a hit that I decided  I deserved one just for myself. I did show some restrain and shared few pieces with my close friends. 

The recipe is simple, I baked it in a 15 cm springform pan to get a high result.  You can use an 18 cm pan or even a 23 one if you want a flatter cake. Always adjust the baking time when you change the size of pan that was used for the recipe. 

For this cheesecake you need:

The base:

• 50 g caramel cookies and 50 g digestive cookies 
• 20 g melted butter 
• 1 tsp coconut sugar or brown sugar

To prepare the cookies place them in a zip-lock bag and pass a rolling pin over them as many times as you need until you end up with coarsely textured crumbs.  Add the melted butter, sugar  and  mix well. Place the cookie mixture in a springform pan that is greased and covered with parchment paper. Press the mixture to cover the bottom. You can create a rim at the edge of the pan if you want, though I didn't. Bake in a preheated oven (180 C) for 8 to 10 min.  Set aside and cool.

For the cheesecake mix:

• 600 g cream cheese at room temperature
• 3 large eggs at room temperature 
• 120 g Greek yogurt (or thick yogurt, or sour cream)
• 130 g sugar
• 1 tbsp flour 
• 25 g caramelized biscuits spread (Lotus Biscoff)
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or to your liking)
• 1/2 tsp of kirsch (optional)
• 3 to 5 tbsp of berry coulis (recipe follows)

In your mixer bowl, add the cheese and mix on a low speed with the paddle attachment for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the sugar, the Biscoff spread, yogurt, cinnamon and flour and mix again until well blended and no lumps are visible. Add the eggs one by one and keep mixing on a low speed. Finally add the salt, kirsch and vanilla and mix a bit. 

Divide the batter in 2. To one batch, add the berry coulis but don´t add too much or else you will end up with a runny batter. 

To get the zebra effect, add 2 tablespoons of the white batter, then two of the berry batter  and so on. Ever so slightly tap the pan or shake it to flatten the batter.

Bake in a preheated oven (150 to 160 C). 

Usually it's customary to wrap the spring-form pan with aluminum foil and place it in another pan filled with warm water and then bake for the required time that is usually for a pan of this size one hour to one hour and a half (oven-dependent).  This bain-marie method of cooking is needed to bake your cake at a gentler heat to avoid surface cracks.

What I do is different though. I put in the middle layer of the oven a pan and fill it with warm water then place the cheesecake pan over a cookie sheet and put both over the pan. This creates  a steamy environment in my oven and allows the cheesecake to cook all the way through while retaining a smooth creamy texture and most importantly with no surface cracks whatsoever.

After one hour, turn off your oven, shake the tray, make sure the middle is still a bit wiggly and leave the oven door cracked open for another half an hour to an hour. 

Let the cake cool completely before you put it in the fridge overnight. 

For the berry sauce or coulis:

• 300 mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, blackberries and I also used cranberries)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• half vanilla pod or 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and let them simmer for few minutes over a flame until the fruits are soft. Mash them well then and pass them through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.

You will have sauce than the cake requires. Use the remaining sauce to cover the top of the cheesecake and decorate as you  wish! 

Now you´re ready to taste a luscious and creamy dessert with the amazing tangy addition of the berries! Everybody will love it, I can guarantee it! 

Check my other cheesecake recipes here and here

Raspberry Cream Cheese Streusel Coffee Cake

Our lives are quite often punctuated by daily activities or rituals that we just wouldn't function without. Mine are breakfast and afternoon coffee! I always need to have something with my comfort cup of coffee and it has to be something sweet of course!

This post's cake is called coffee cake but truth be told has no coffee in it, but it's called a coffee cake because it makes such a perfect companion to coffee. In fact it tastes better when eaten while drinking coffee than if you have it alone.

I have made this cake before but with different fruits, this time I opted for raspberry and a touch of lemon for fresh and floral flavors.

There's nothing overaly complicated with this recipe but it does require some planning and if possible a bit of preparation ahead. The result is really worth all the effort you put into it.  You will get a cake with four layers all harmoniously combined. The first layer is the rich and soft base, the second is the creamy and sweet cheese layer, topped  by the third layer of tangy raspberries and finished by the last crumbly cinnamon and crunchy almonds layer! 

Let´s start caking. I used an 18 cm springform pan for this one. 

For the Streusel layer :

• 20 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 20 g sugar 
• 40 g flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• dash of salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and with the tip of your fingers bring everything together until you get a sandy mixture! I made this layer the night before, and left it in the fridge.

Cake layer:

• 1 egg at room temperature
• 80 g sugar
• 60 g soft butter
• 60 g sour cream or yogurt
• zest of half of a lemon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 125 g cake flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder plus 1/4 baking soda
• dash of salt

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. 

Cream butter and sugar, add the sour cream, mix until well combined, add the egg, lemon zest and vanilla and mix again. Add the flour mixture, mix for a few seconds until combined. Spread the batter on the prepared pan, making sure that the edges are about one cm higher, making room for the cheese layer. 

Cheese layer:

• 125 g cream cheese at room temperature
• 40 g sugar
• zest of half a lemon
• 1 small egg (about 50 to 55 g)
• 100 to 125 g of fresh raspberries and almonds, preferably slivered (optional)

Mix the cheese with the sugar and lemon zest, once combined add the egg and mix again until you have a homogeneous mixture.

Now pour the mixture over the cake layer, arrange the raspberries until they cover the cheese layer. 

Sprinkle the streusel all over the top and finish with the almonds if using!

Bake in a preheated over (160C) for about 40 min. It will be ready when the edges are golden brown, the middle is slightly soft and the streusel is golden in color!

Leave it to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 min, then remove and let it cool completely. You can sprinkle some dusting sugar or have it as it is with some fresh raspberries and some coffee of course!