Chocolate Marshmallow Pie

i am currently so busy doing my thesis and doesn't have any time to do anything much. i still bake, but not as much as last month or the last two months. and though i already ran my business in custom decorated cakes, i completely restrain my self from taking any orders 'til aug 4. i don't want to end up failing either my thesis or my business, so i sacrifice one of them for now :( what about blogging? i still post today yeay! i'll show you chocolate marshmallow pie today, this is however could be considered as late post.

i was requested to make this chocolate pie few months ago for a sunday school services, the order was 125 pcs, and i have some leftover to keep. it was actually just an ordinary basic pie crust, filled with chocolate ganache (with a dash of cinnamon), and topped with mini marshmallow. i ever thought of putting a little more marshmallow on top of the ganache and torched them, but then i felt like i shouldn't overdosed those little children with sugar. it looks prettier with just one marshmallow anyway, i guess. this one is a very practical dessert and easy to love as well.. you can even make it faster using store-bought shortcrust pastry and just fill it with ganache.

Shepherd's Pie

KBB#40: Shepherd's Pie

one of the best thing that still happened to me is that i'm still a member of KBB after all this time. though it's getting harder to keep committing to do all the challenges its given every 2 months, but i still always love all the challenges given. from a long time ago, there's always some connection about what i want to make and what i challenged to make. like this shepherd's pie, i've been wanting to make this pie during my internship program which happened last year, but due to the time constraint i never had the chance to make and try it at home and so the wants to make it just evaporated not long after.

then this month, the opportunity to actually make this pie comes again. it's really fun to make this kind of pie, my favorite part is making the mashed potato and cooking with wine is just something fancy that i love, hahaha, though at the end you barely taste any wine there. shepherd's pie is supposed to be made with lamb but i used beef instead. the final verdict, shepherd's pie has a nice delicate taste that is very good for you who's craving for something comforting without too much rich flavors, though i prefer something a bit rich and flavorful but nonetheless this one is very good for me and my diet.

Nastar / Pineapple Tart

during the time that i didn't blog, i still frequently bake a lot of good things and with the existence of instagram, i somehow become a bragger who almost always post my homemade creation there. though the picture might not be as pretty as the standard of professional food blog photos, it still looks decent on instagram. this one was taken last year, exactly last year. i was experiencing a sudden craving for my pastry teacher's pineapple tarts, thank God she gave me her recipe when i was her student.

pineapple tarts was not my favorite cookies back when i was a child, i didn't like the acidity of the pineapple and also the fragrant of caramelized pineapple kinda made me sick. but now.. i love it, i love pineapple tart more than i could imagine. i realize that somehow my palate of taste has changed not only because of my sudden change of heart in this pineapple tarts but also because when i first wrote this blog i really really hate any lemon flavor in any sort of things, i personally felt like i was eating a car perfume, but lately i am completely in love with lemon. nowadays, everytime i have this tarts around i just couldn't stop munching it, especially with this recipe that is sort of sweeter and crumbly and melt in your mouth. 

french apple tart

here i come back again! with one of the cake i've planned to bake this week.. french apple tart or if you want something fancy, you can call it 'tarte aux pommes' though i don't really know how to pronounce it. hahaha. turns out, nothing too special about this tart. just like the usual combination with apple and cinnamon. i still like it but it bores me.

i was pretty enthusiastic layering those apples until it looks flowery. but i'm not really satisfied with the final look, it's not really neat is it? looks messy :( now, looking at the pictures, i think perhaps it was because i don't peel the apple first. which one do you think? or do you think it's pretty and neat? haha.

what i found interesting in the baking process today was the apple variety. i didn't use granny smith like i usually do when making apple dessert. this time i used local produce, it is Malang Apple and Manalagi Apple. both of them are harvested here in Indonesia and they have the tart taste similar to granny smith. they don't look as green as granny smith, a little paler and smaller. my father loves them more than the imports. and... sorry to say, not that i don't want to share more things with you all today, but to be honest i am completely extremely tired. i need some rest and maybe i'm gonna hit my bed soon. so, without making you wait too long, i'll give you the recipe below:

a late torta pasqualina

i know that it maybe late, completely late for sure.. but i just couldn't keep this post not being published. actually, this was KBB's challenge last month, we had to do a savory baking. indeed, some of us were going to celebrate easter earlier this month, so we were all dared to make this (rumor has it) traditional italian easter tart.

however, i wasn't really positive about how this tart might taste like. what i did thought was that it would taste a little weird on my tongue.. guess why?! because here in Indonesia, we rarely eat spinach with cheese. but seeing all the history i've made with foods i've been eating all my life, i never had any problem with italian food. oh, sorry, i had.. :) it was salad with arugula and rare meat. i would never eat that again. but this Torta Pasqualina, i was also curious about how it would taste. turns out, all my anticipation on whether i will like it or not must change into an anticipation of how many inches my waistline would increase after eating it. i love it! perhaps because of it, i will be making spinach quiche quite often in my kitchy.

but i know, some of you might just be as curious as me when i was first hearing its name. what is torta pasqualina? torta pasqualina is so sexy to say, torrrrta pasqualina. i always always always love hearing spanish and italian language. i wish i had some chances to learn those languages soon. okay, back to torta pasqualina, it is some sort of tart, made from 7 layers of phyllo pastry in the bottom, then a thick layer of spinach - eggs - spices - and milk mixture, then a heaven of cheesy layer, and closed with another 7 layers of phyllo. not forgetting to mention the 10 special whole eggs pour into the cheesy layer just as it is. as the tart baked, the eggs would become hard boiled eggs. LOVE IT!

kbb#24: rich chocolate tart

today, i will present you a chocolate treat. this rich chocolate tart was KBB's challenge for this July. i can guarantee you this tart is so sinfully delicious. but what makes this post special is because today i'm gonna tell you something a little personal about me and also this blog, it has something related with chocolate.

chocolate is almost everyone's favorite ingredient or food. if you've been following my posts these past years, maybe you've known that i am not a huge fan of chocolate. i like chocolate, almost love it, but not crazy with it unlike someone i know really well. i have a special someone who loves chocolate so much and again.. if you've read all my posts labeled under chocolate, i think this person is always being mentioned in each and every chocolate post. lol. the problem here, me who don't love chocolate too much automatically not really often make something related with chocolate, while S. is always waiting for a chocolate treat. S. is indeed a very important person in my culinary journey and the one i really don't like to disappoint with any foods i make.

this food blog, could be established mostly because of S., to be honest i am a girl who spend too much time thinking and hesitating in making decision. at first, i was just too afraid to make a food-blog, i thought i wasn't qualified enough to join this amazing world, but S. supported me and forced me to take that step and keep on moving forward. and here i am, quite proud of what i've done. until now, S. still supported me to make progresses in this culinary world and i'm overwhelmed with those supports. it really means so much for me. so.. to make this long story short, i would like to make this post and also this chocolate tart as a tribute for S.

but for all of you my dear readers anywhere you are, it doesn't mean that i don't wanna share this treat with you as well. there's a lot of slices there, you can enjoy it too.. :)

lemon meringue mini tartlets

hey hey! this is my best lemon meringue pie ever made, you should know. hahaha. but at first, for your information i don't really like lemon flavor, it sometimes tastes like car-perfume for me. lol. however, any desserts involving lemon always look more appealing to me. the pale yellow color always strikes me. that's why i never stop making lemon-desserts, fortunately mom loves anything tangy.

i made lemon meringue pie before, but it didn't turn out really good. i over-kneaded the crust and the filling tasted extremely weird. not like this one superstar, these lemon meringue mini tarts have a perfect filling that i even love. it's me the one who doesn't like lemon flavor loves this lemon filling. this recipe is Donna Hay's by the way, she has never disappointed me so far. her combination of flavor always hits me sensationally. the filling tastes a little tart but somehow i can feel creaminess there. moreover, it goes perfect with the sweet meringue top. they complete each other beautifully. if you are a big fan of lemon meringue pie, try this. i think you'll be dazzled.

too bad, i made a crucial mistake to this cute mini tartlets. i must have done something wrong with the egg whites because they couldn't form a stiff glossy peaks. they resemble more like icing so they couldn't stands tall and beautiful. hate it! if only the meringue was perfect, these mini-tartlets would definitely be cuter. other thing to inform, i finally use my blowtorch again, lol. i was sooo afraid before on using it but yesterday with experts' supervisor i used it, it isn't look as scary as i thought. actually i was kind of excited to use it and wanted to use it again really soon, wait for it! hahaha. without further ado, let's see the recipe.

florentine tarts with frangipane filling

hello hello! today i'm going to post another sweet things, helplessly sweet things. i am quite sure that this is a tartlet that every kids in the world would die for. i am exaggerating a bit, but if i was a kid and my mom making this i would run to the kitchen straight away and ate it as fast as i can. man, this sweet-goodies is so incredibly magnificent.

when i saw this tarts for the very first time at Jr. Masterchef, i had already fallen in love with this tarts. moreover, i have never tasted a frangipane tarts before. i wondered what it tastes like. i found frangipane filling is very unique simply because of its name. it's frangipane and frangipane is a name of flower. i personally love the smell of the flower but never imagine how it would taste like. lately, after i entered 'frangipane filling' in the search engine, i knew that my thought was obviously wrong. the frangipane filling has no relation to any of frangipane flowers have ever existed. ha ha. frangipane filling is basically a filling that has a cake/pastry-like texture with almond flavor. i was getting more curious.

a tart with frangipane itself has already have a beautiful delicate soft almond flavor. i absolutely don't mind eating it without any topping on. but the thought of having another rich flavor added to it couldn't stop me from making the topping. especially when the topping involves flaked almond, cornflakes, and caramel. ooh.. la.. la.. . anyhow, when i first saw the recipe i thought this tarts would be too sweet for my liking, so i tweaked it a little with the sugar and honey. i'll still give you the original recipe though. enjoy!

KBB#17: Savory Baking - Potato and Tomato Quiche

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

guess what? i've officially become one of KBB member now. this is my first real challenge, Savory Bake.
when the challenge email (read: love letter) came, i was quite intimidated yet interested. we have to made lattice pie with puff pastry base and savory filling as the theme was savory bake.

if some of you are confuse with the differences of pies, tarts, tartelettes, and quiche (just like me before doing this task), well tarts and pies are actually the same, while tartelettes are the small / bite-size version of tarts, and quiche according to Wikipedia are pies made primarily from eggs and cream in a pastry crust. thanks to KBB for enlighten me. i found quiche is quite match with this month's challenge, pastry base and most of them are savory. so i choose one of many quiche recipe in my cookbooks called Potato and Tomato Quiche. for this quiche, i made two kinds of garnishes, one for the lattice and one for the perimeter. i used the usual simple lattice you used to see, the woven one, for the lattice tops and for the perimeter i braided my pastry just like Martha Stewart tells in her web. it's literally not that hard, it's really fun and a nice thing to do especially if you love crafting as much as i do. the only hard thing is because of the weather, i live in a tropic country called Indonesia. it's hot here, my pastry can easily reach the room temperature and when it has reached the room temperature it's getting sticky and hard to shaped.

i made this quiche rushing with the day. i had to go to the church at 10.30am and going somewhere after. as the result of that, i woke up at 6am today preparing everything and finished at 9. wooo, relax! it's not that long to bake this quiche actually, it's just me being so slow. that's why i couldn't take a decent pictures today, i just want it to be fast and quickly so bad. o yeah, by the way, daddy's back with our dslr but i'm still a little attached with my dsc. honestly, i failed making this quiche on Tuesday, because i forgot that my filling is so runny. i baked them in a baking tray and just lined the pastry sheet on it. then i pour the filling, result: the filling ran out from the top of the pastry to err.. everywhere? yes. it was also pouring down from the kitchen table to the floor, and it turned out to be a huge mess! that's okay, at least i made a better one today..

portuguese custard tarts

i really want to make my macarons perfect, i also want to try another chiffon recipe with more egg whites (which can make it rise higher). thus, i need a lot of egg whites and abandon some egg yolks. so far, if i want to make anything with just one part of an egg, whether the yolk or the whites, i prefer using the egg yolks first then the egg whites some days later. from my so short life-experience in the kitchen i think it's better like that. so today i made another dessert using egg yolks.

it's portuguese custard tarts. i was actually wondering if portuguese custard tarts are similar to portuguese egg tarts or they're different from each other.. because when i was little, i used to buy and eat portuguese egg tarts from a food-stall called 'Lisboa', i guess the stall isn't exist anymore. what i remember is that portuguese egg tarts have a different texture with the portuguese custard tarts i made today. but for the taste, i guess it's the same. well, maybe i should look for more recipe on these portuguese tarts.