recipes
walnut goat cheese cakes with macerated strawberries
GOAT CHEESE CAKE
SERVES 6
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
10 1/2 oz fresh goat cheese (room temperature)
5 oz crème fraîche (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and salt
for 1-2 minutes. Add the room temperature goat cheese and whisk
briskly by hand for 30 seconds to smooth out the batter. Finally add
the crème fraîche. Whisk batter together for 1 minute only. If you
overmix this batter, the cheesecake can have a grainy texture.
Spread batter in the prepared pan. Wrap a large piece of aluminum
foil around the outside of the cheesecake pan. Make sure the foil fully
surrounds the pan so that once you set it in a 1 1/2 inch deep water
bath, none of the water can touch the pan. Place the foil wrapped pan
in a your roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with water so that it
comes up 1 1/2 inch along the side of the cheesecake pan. Bake the
cake for approximately 40 minutes. The cheesecake should barely
expand in the oven. An air bubble or 2 might rise to the surface. To
test for doneness, gently bang the tray, the goat cheese cake should
be set – the center of the cake should not jiggle separately from the
whole custard when tapped. Remove cake from oven and allow it to
cool. Chill for 30 minutes. If you are using individual molds, you do
not need a water bath. Bake the individual cakes for 20-24 minutes
rotating the pan half way into the baking process. If these cakes are
rising, remove them from the oven right away. Allow the cheesecakes
to cool completely (1 hour). Refrigerate them for another 1/2 hour
and then unmold them. Wrap a warm kitchen towel around the outside of the molds and invert the pan or pans. The chilled cakes should
slide out. Set them aside in the refrigerator.
WALNUT TOFFEE
Ingredients:
Walnut toffee
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Preparation:
Tape your piece of parchment paper onto a cutting board. When
the toffee is done you will pour the hot caramel out onto the parchment and spread it immediately with a spatula into as large a rectangle as it will make.
In your heavy bottomed pan, cook the butter, sugar, corn syrup
and 1 tablespoon of water over medium-high heat. Have a heat
proof spatula and a whisk next to the stove. Stir the boiling syrup
with your spatula, scraping the bottom every minute or so. Whisk
the boiling candy vigorously to make sure all of the Ingredients:
are caramelizing evenly. Once the candy takes on a universal gold-
en brown color, remove it from the heat and whisk in 1/3 cup of
chopped walnuts. Once the nuts are mixed in, quickly pour the tof-
fee out and spread it as thinly as possible on your prepared sheet.
MACERATED STRAWBERRIES
Ingredients:
1 pint washed, dried strawberries
4 basil leaves
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
Preparation:
Quarter the strawberries. In a bowl, toss the sliced fruit with the
sugar and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the fruit to sit for
1/2 hour. Before serving slice the basil leaves into thin strips and toss
them with the macerated strawberries.
Assemble dessert:
Using both hands, pat the ground walnut toffee onto the top and
the sides of the cake or cakes. Serve on a plate with 2 spoonfuls of
macerated strawberries.
cinnamon caramel mousse and chocolate napoleon with cherry compote
TEMPERED CHOCOLATE RECTANGLES
Ingredient:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
