0 SILENT SNOW

Dust of Snow

By Robert Frost (1923)

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

0 CARDAMOM CRUMB CAKE

During the weekend, I'm always looking for easy to make, yet highly pleasurable treats that we'll be able to savor in front of our favorite series...

While going through my much-loved copy of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Fom My Home To Yours", a streusel-topped cake attracted my attention with it's interesting combination of flavors and moist texture. It looked and sounded so good. I knew that I had to try it!

Although, at first glance, this crumb-topped coffee cake looks somehow plain, I wasn't at all disappointed as it is really not just an ordinary baked good. From afar, it looks just like any other cake and seems not to be too special, but once you take a bite from it, you immediately realise that it is unique and soul-upliftingly divine.

Dorie Greenspan's "Cardamom Crumb Cake" is heavenly. The unusual combination of cardamom, coffee, walnuts, vanilla and orange zest is just mindblowingly fantastic, and it's smooth as well as moist inside pairs perfectly well with the generous layer of cardamom-spiced, walnut-dotted crunchy topping.

A delicious cake for all occasions!

~ Cardamom Crumb Cake ~
Recipe from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking From My Home To Yours" and adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums.

Makes one cake or 8 servings.

Ingredients for the "Crumbs":
1/2 Cup (64g) All purpose flour
1/2 Cup (60g) Coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 Cup (70g) Castor sugar
1 Tbs Grated orange zest
1/2 Tsp Instant espresso powder
1/2 Tsp Ground cardamom
1/2 Stick (4 tbsp/60g) Unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature
Ingredients for the "Cake":
2 Cups (255g) All purpose flour
2 Tsps Baking powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/4 Tsps Ground cardamom
1 Tsp Instant espresso powder
2/3 Cup (140g) Castor sugar
2 Tbs Finely grated orange zest
1 Stick (8 tbsp/120g) Unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 Large Eggs (~63g)
1/2 Cup (120g/ml) Whole milk
1/2 Cup (120g/ml) Strong coffee, cooled
1 1/2 Tsp Pure vanilla extract or paste

Method for the "Crumbs":
1. Put all the ingredients except the butter in a bowl and toss them together with a spatula just to blend.
2. Add the butter and, using your fingers or the spatula, mix everything together until you have crumbs of different sizes.
3. Set the crumbs aside.
Method for the "Cake":
4. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 200° C (400° F).
5. Butter an 20x20cm (8 inch square) pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Put the pan on a baking sheet.
6. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and espresso powder in a large bowl.
7. Turn the dry ingredients out onto a sheet of wax paper and put the sugar and zest in the bowl. Rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong, then return the dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk to blend.
8. Put the remaining ingredients in another bowl and whisk them to blend.
9. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir - don't beat - to mix.
10. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and top with a thick, even layer of the crumbs. 11. Pat the crumbs ever so gently into the batter.
12. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake has risen (it will crown), the crumbs are golden and a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
13. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Remarks:
Why not replace the walnuts by pecans?
When mixing the butter with the dry crumb ingredients, remember that it's nice to have a few big pieces, so don't overdo it.
The crumbs can be made up to 3 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated.
When mixing the wet ingrdients with the dry ones, stir only until you've got an evenly moistened batter.
Cut the cake in the pan, otherwise, if you transfer it to a serving plate, you'll lose some of the crumbs when you turn it over.
This cake is best served on the day it is made, but it can be airtight wrapped and frozen up to 2 months (once it defrosts, it benefits from a quick warm-up in a 180° C/350° F oven).

Serving suggestions:
Serve warm or at room temperature for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dessert. You can even drizzle some flavored (cardamom, coffee or vanilla) glazing over the cake.

***************

~ Cake A La Cardamome~
Recette tirée du livre de Dorie Greenspan's "Baking From My Home To Yours" et adaptée par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums.

pour 1 cake ou 8 parts.

Ingrédients pour le "Streusel":
1/2 Tasse (60g) de Farine blanche/fleur
1/2 Tasse (60g) de Noix de Grenoble grossièrement hachées
1/3 de Tasse (70g) de Sucre cristallisé
1 CC de Zeste d'orange
1/2 CC de Poudre à café (espresso) soluble
1/2 CC de Cardamome en poudre
60g de Beurre non-salé, coupé en 8 morceaux, à température ambiante
Ingrédients pour le "Cake":
2 Tasses (255g) de Farine blanche/fleur
2 CC de Poudre à gâteau/lever
1/2 CC de Sel
1 1/4 de CC de Cardamome en poudre
1 CC de Poudre à café (espresso) soluble
2/3 de Tasse (140g) de Sucre cristallisé
2 CS de Zeste d'orange
120g Beurre non-salé, fondu et à température ambiante
2 Gros oeufs (~63g)
1/2 Tasse (120g/ml) de Lait entier
1/2 Tasse (120g/ml)de Café fort, à température ambiante
1 1/2 CC d'Extrait ou de pâte de vanille pure

Méthode pour le "Streusel":
1. Mettre tous les ingrédients sauf le beurre dans un bol et bien mélanger.
2. Ajouter le beurre et, en utilisant les doigts, bien incorporer le beurre afin d'obtenir une texture grossière s'apparentant à du sable grossier (grains de différentes tailles).
3. Mettre ce mélange de côté.

Méthode pour le "Cake":
4. Mettre une grille au centre du four et préchauffer à 200° C (400° F).
5. Beurrer un moule carré de 20x20cm et le saupoudrer de farine, puis enlever l'excédent en tapant sur le dos moule.
6. dans un grand bol, mélanger ensemble la farine, la poudre à lever, le sel, la cardamome et la poudre de café soluble.
7. Mettre le sucre et le zeste d'orange dans un petit bol et les frotter ensemble avec les doigts afin que les zestes libèrent toutes leur saveur, puis transférer ce mélange dans le grand bol et bien mélanger.
8. Mettre tous les ingrédients restants dans un bol moyen et battre légèrement afin d'obtenir un mélange homogène.
9. Verser le mélange liquide sur le mélange sec et incorporer délicatement (sans battre ni trop mélanger) afin d'obtenir une pâte.
10. Verser la pâte dans le moule et saupoudrer avec le "streusel".
11. Appuyer légèrement sur le "streusel" afin qu'il adhère/colle bien à la pâte.
12. Cuire pendant 30-35 minutes, ou jusqu'à ce que la lame d'en couteau inséré dans le cake en ressorte propre.
13. Mettre sur une grille et laisser le cake refroidir.

Remarques:
Pourquoi ne pas remplacer les noix de Grenoble par des noix de pécan?
Quand vous incorporez le beurre au mélange sec pour le streusel, faites-le tout en faisant un sorte que le streusel soit pas trop fin.
Le streusel peut être fait 3 jours à l'avance et conservé au frigo dans un récipient bien étanche.
Quand vous incorporez les ingrédients mouillés aux ingrédients secs, ne mélangez pas trop - juste suffisamment afin que ça forme une pâte.
Coupez ce cake dans le moule. Si vous le transférez, vous risquez de perdre une grande quantité de streusel au cours de l'opération.
Ce cake est meilleur lorsqu'il est mangé le même jour. Par contre, il peur être bien emballé et congelé (pas plus de deux mois et, une fois, dégelé, passé au four à 180° C).

Idées de présentation:
Servir ce cake tiède ou à température ambiante, pour le petit-déjeuner, le brunch, le slunch, les quatre heures ou pour le dessert.
Vous pouvez même le servir avec un glaçage (qui fera office de sauce) à la cardamome, au café ou à la vanille.

0 TAG

Sab at "Le Plaisir De Gourmandise" (France) and Anabel02 at "Ana's Kitchen" (France) have tagged me with this meme in order to know me a little better./ Sab de "Le Plaisir De Gourmandise" (France) et Anabel02 de "Ana's Kitchen" (France) m'ont taguée afin d'en savoir plus sur ma petite personne.

Diamonds or pearls/Diamant ou perle?
Neither, although they are both beautiful. I'm more into semi-precious stones./Aucun des deux, même si ils sont très beaux. Je préfère les pierres semi-précieuses.

What is the last film you saw/Quel est le dernier film que tu as vu?
"The Dark Wind" by Erroll Morris (1991)/"The Dark Wind" de Erroll Morris (1991).

Your favorite series/Ta série TV favorite?
As I'm a series junkie, there are too many series that I love (Nip/Tuck, Californication, The L Word, Six Feet Under, Weeds, Ugly Betty, Queer As Folk (USA/Canada), My name Is Earl, etc...). One of my all time favorite is "The Sopranos"/Je suis une droguée de séries alors il y en a plusieurs que j'adore (Nip/Tuck, Californication, The L Word, Six Feet Under, Weeds, Ugly Betty, Queer As Folk, My name Is Earl, etc...). Par contre, une de mes préférées est "The Sopranos".

What kind of breakfast do you have usually/Petit Déjeuner?
A cup of coffee and nothing else. I can't eat in the morning.../Une tasse de café et rien d'autre. Je n'arrive pas à manger le matin...

Second given name/Deuxième prénom?
Jeanne like both my grandmothers (my Swiss grandmother's name was Jeanne and my English grandmother's name is Jean - same names in two different languages). I prefer the English version of this name/Jeanne comme mes deux grand-mères (ma grand-mère suisse s'appelait Jeanne et ma grand-mère anglaise s'appelle Jean - les mêmes noms dans deux langues différentes). Je préfère la version anglaise.

Which kind of food can't you stand/Quels aliments n'aimes tu pas manger du tout?
I'm not really complicated when it comes to food! I mostly like everything except mussels, snails and dried figs.../Je ne suis pas compliquée. J'aime manger de tout à l'exception des moules, escargots et figues séchées...

Favorite name (at the moment)/Prénom préféré du moment?
I don't know./Je ne sais pas.

Which car do you drive/Quelle voiture conduis-tu?
None. I have no car./Aucune. Je n'ai pas de voiture.

Which trait of character don't you like/Quel trait de caractère n'aimes tu pas?
I dislike hypocrisy, meanness and toxic behaviour./ Je déteste l'hypocrisie, la méchanceté/petitesse et les comportements toxiques.

Favorite clothes/Habit préféré?
My slim black trousers./Mes pantalons noirs "slims".

If you could take the aeroplane to go somewhere, where would you go/Si tu pouvais partir n'importe où en avion, où irais-tu?
Canada or the US (North America)./Au Canada ou aux USA (Amérique du Nord).

Where would you want to live when you are retired/Où veux-tu passer ta retraite?
Canada or the US (North America)./Au Canada ou aux USA (Amérique du Nord).

Which birthday do you remember the most/De quel anniversaire te souviens-tu?
The most important one, but I'm not very good with dates.../Les dates les plus importantes, mais je ne suis pas très douée pour retenir les dates...

Your birthday/Ta date d'anniversaire?
Le 25 décembre./The 25th of December.

If you were a color, which one would you be/Si tu étais une couleur?
Black or violet./Le noir ou le violet.

Chocolate or vanilla/Chocolat ou vanille?
Chocolate, but I love both very much./Le chocolat, bien que j'aime tout autant la vanille.

Coffee or tea/Café ou thé?
Both, I can't choose./ Les deux. Je n'arrive pas à choisir.

The last person you had on the phone/La dernière personne que tu as eu au téléphone?
I can't remember. I hate being on the phone... /Je ne m'en rappelle plus. Je n'aime pas téléphoner...

Sweet or savory/Sucré ou salé?
Once again, I'd say both. It all depends on my mood./Encore une fois, je dirais les deux. Tout dépend du moment.

The day of the week you prefer/Jour de la semaine préféré?
Fridays as the weekend is still in front./Les vendredis car le weekend est encore pas entamé.

I tag the following people (if you want)/Je tague les personnes suivantes (si vous acceptez):
Vibi at "La Casserole Carrée" (Canada)
Rosa at "Living As Rosa" (USA)
Ivy at "Kopiaste" (Greece)
Lacy at "Razor Family Farms" (USA)
Ariela at "Baking And Books" (USA)
Elra at "Elra's Baking" (USA)

0 WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #192

This week, Mir. Tigger & the "M-Cats Club"(USA) are happy to announce that they are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #192...

To submit your kitty picture(s), you can either leave a message in their blog's comment section (with your permalinks) or contact them via e-mail without forgetting to give all the needed information.

There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.
~ Wesley Bates ~

0 SNOW-KISSED LANDSCAPES

As though pretending to be blooms
The snow flakes scatter in the wintry sky.
~Matsuo Bashô ~

0 UPSIDE-DOWN HONEY CHEESECAKES

Although, you might not have guessed, I am an immense cheesecake lover. This inimitably creamy, fluffy and slightly acidic dessert never fails to give me the most intense gustatory pleasure...

I appreciate all kinds of cheesecakes (European, American, with cream cheese, with quark, with ricotta, etc..), but I must say that the American version is my most favorite as, flavor- and texture-wise, it can't be beaten. Nothing compares to a big, thick, oppulent slice of New York Cheesecake made with cream cheese (Philadelphia type). If you've never eaten that speciality, then you don't know what paradize tastes like!

The very first time I encountered Bon Appétit's "Upside-Down Honey Cheesecakes" was when my good friend Jessica from the blog "In Search Of Dessert" (who lived in my village, but has moved back to the US - Austin, Texas), introduced me to these delightfully luscious flan-like (creme brulee-like) and crustless cheesecakes on the occasion of one of our get-togethers. It was love at first bite!

With their rich, yet delicate caramelly, flowery, lemony and tangy aromas as well as their lusciously silky, smooth texture and moist, gooey honey topping, these individual melt-in-your-mouth mini upside-down cheesecakes are fantastic and soooooooo addictive.

Give yourself a chance to savor them as slowly as you can and resist the compulsion to gobble them fast. Like any good wine, they deserves to be enjoyed with temperateness..

~ Upside-Down Honey Cheesecakes ~
Recipe fom "Bon Appétit", April 2007 and adpated by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2009.

Enough for 8x 3/4 cup ramekins or custard cups or 8 people.

Ingredients for the "Honey Caramel":
1/2 Cup (105g) Castor sugar
1/4 Cup Runny honey (fragrant)
1/4 Stick (30g) Unsalted butter
1/4 Cup (60g/ml) Water
Ingredients for the "Mini Cheesecakes":
12 ounces (360g) Cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 Cup (105g) Castor sugar
1/2 Cup (120g/ml) Sour cream
1 Tsp Fresh lemon juice
1/2 Tsp Lemon extract
1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract or paste
2 Large eggs (~63g), at room temperature

Method for the "Honey Caramel":
1. Place the sugar, honey, and butter in heavy medium saucepan.
2. Stir over medium heat until butter melts and mixture is blended.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil (without stirring).
4. Lower the temperature and let simmer until mixture darkens slightly (medium brown) and thick, about 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and add the water (mixture will bubble vigorously).
6. Whisk to blend and let cool a little (5 minutes).
7. Divide equally (~3Tbs per greased ramekin).
8. Place in the fridge to cool (completely).
Method for the "Mini Cheesecakes":
9. Preheat oven to 180°C (300°F).
10. Using on/off turns, blend cream cheese and sugar in processor (or with a handmixer), scraping bowl occasionally.
11. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon extract.
12. When smooth, add eggs one at a time, processing just to blend between additions.
13. Divide the mixture among ramekins.
14. Place ramekins in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
15. Bake the mini cheesecakes until set, about 30-32 minutes.
16. Remove from the roasting pan, let cool at room temperature and chill at least an hour in the fridge before inverting.
17. Run the blade of a thin knife around sides of ramekins.
18. Invert onto plates, scooping any remaining topping from ramekins over the cheesecakes.

Remarks:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
This dessert should not to be eaten straight away as it needs to cool and then be refrigerated for several hours, preferably overnight, so that the flavors have time to blend and the texture becomes nice and firm.
To make sure that the cheesecakes don't stay stuck to the ramekins when inverting, leave the pots in warm water for about 1 minute.

Serving suggestions:
Garnish with fruits, praline powder or coarsely chopped roasted nuts.

***************

~ Mini Cheesecakes Renversés ~
Recette tirée du magazine "Bon Appétit" et adaptée par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2009.

Pour 8 petits ramequins ou 8 personnes.

Ingrédients pour le "Caramel Au Miel":
1/2 Tasse (105g) de Sucre cristallisé
1/4 de Tasse de Miel liquide (parfumé)
30g de beurre non-salé
1/4 de Tasse (60g/ml) d'Eau
Ingrédients pour les "Mini Cheesecakes":
360g de Cream cheese (type Philadelphia), à température ambiante
1/2 Tasse (105g) de Sucre cristallisé
1/2 Tasse (120g/ml) de Crème sûre/aigre
1 CC de Jus de citron
1/2 CC d'Extrait de citron
1 CC d'extrait de vanilla pur ou de pâte de vanille pure
2 Gros oeufs Large eggs (~63g), à température ambiante

Méthode pour le "Caramel Au Miel":
1. Mettre le sucre, le miel et le beurre dans un casserole à fond épais.
2. Mélanger tout en chauffant à feu doux jusqu'à ce que le beurre ait fondu et que le tout soit homogène.
3. Monter la température et porter à ébullition (sans mélanger).
4. Baisser la température et laisser mijoter le caramel à feu moyen, pendant 5 minutes, jusqu'à ce qu'il devienne plus foncé (brun) et épais.
5. Retirer du feu et ajouter l'eau d'un seul coup (le caramel va réagir violamment).
6. Bien mélanger le caramel à l'aide d'un fouet et laisser refroidir pendant 5 minutes.
7. Répartir le caramel entre les ramequins beurrés (~3 CS par ramequin).
8. Mettre les ramequins au frigo afin que le caramel refroidisse.

Méthode pour les "Mini Cheesecakes":
9. Préchauffer le four à 180°C (300°F).
10. A l'aide d'un mixer (ou d'un batteur manuel), bien battre (en pulsant) ensemble le cream cheese et le sucre, tout en nettoyant regulièrement les bords du bol.
11. Ajouter la crème sûre/aigre, le jus de citron, la vanille et l'extrait de citron.
12. Un fois le mélange homogène, ajouter un oeuf à la fois, tout en mixant après chaque ajout.
13. Bien répartir le mélange entre les ramequins.
14. Les mettre dans une plaque à gratin et ajouter assez d'eau chaude (dans le plat à gratin) afin que celle-ci atteigne le milieu des remaquings (bain-marie).
15. Cuire les cheesecakes, pendant environ 30-32 minutes.
16. Retirer les ramequins de la plaque à gratin et laissez-les refroidir à température ambiante, puis mettez-les au frigo au moins une heure avant de les inverser.
17. A l'aide d'un couteau, libérer les bords des cheesecakes.
18. Inversez-les sur des assiettes (tout en récupérant le caramel à l'aide d'une maryse).

Remarques:
Ces cheesecakes peuvent être faits 3 jours à l'avance et gardés au frigo.
Ce dessert ne devrait pas être mangé tout de suite car il a besoin de refroidir et d'être réfrigéré au moins quelques heures ou toute une nuit car de cette manière les cheesecakes développeront leur saveur et leur texture sera meilleure (plus ferme et crémeuse).
Afin de bien les démouler plus facilement, trempez les ramequins pendant 1 minute dans l'eau chaude avant de les inverser.

Idées de présentation:
Décorez ces mini cheesecakes avec des fruits, de la poudre de pralin ou des noix torréfiée et concassées.

0 "SELECTION ALEXANDER VON ESSEN" WINES

Today, I am not going to talk about food, but about wine. Often referred to as the "Juice of the Gods" (for obvious reasons), it is the perfect accompaniment to any delicous dish and the icing on the cake when having a wonderful meal...

Some time ago we have discovered "Selection Alexander Von Essen" (see link in German/contains more info) wines and have not been disappointed by any of the bottles we have bought and which were tagged with that "brand" as they are all phenomenal vintages!

The German-based importer Baron Alexander Von Essen has transformed his passion into a rewarding career as a wine dealer. In the 80´s, he had the great idea to to offer wine lovers a special selection of excellent wines fom Europe (Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Spain) and the New World (South America & South Africa). So, he decided to incite the greatest winemakers to vinify the grapes from the best plots of land separately and to create top-grade cuvees for him.

Baron Alexander Von Essen likes to discover new regional wines and believes that the most expensive wines aren't always the best and that more affordable ones can also be as interesting. For him the culture of wine shows a fascination for nature and he shows as much interest for traditional winemakers as for newcomers...

The design of his bottles is also very important, because, on the outside, the packaging is the only thing that sets a bottle apart from the others. In his opinion, the bottle, the label and the appearance should correspond to the quality of the wine. That is why the packaging of all "Selection Alexander Von Essen" wines has been designed by himself.

Tasted and highly recommended wines:

• Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Mariposa / Los Vascos, Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Chili)
• Chardonnay Cuvée Orchidée / Château L’ Hospitalet, Gérard Bertand (France)
• Sauvignon Blanc Cuvée Orchidée / Château L’ Hospitalet , Gérard Bertand (France)
• Barbera d’Asti Superiore DOC "Vigneto Caplot" / Azienda Canova (Italy)
• Ripasso Rivolo / Masi (Italy)
• Südtiroler Lagrein 'Abtei' DOC / Muri-Gries (Italy)
• Pinotage / Bouwland (South Africa)
• Eternity Chardonnay / Buitenverwachting (South Africa)
• Sauvignon Blanc Coastal / Buitenverwachting (South Africa)