The Sugar Bar

As you all know, my time on the blog has gotten very much shorter and the time to try new recipes and invent chocolate truffle combinations has been almost obliterated by the massive workload I have to complete. If I intend to save my degree, it’s all got to be done and The Sugar Bar has, unfortunately, to be placed on the backburner for a while. Nevertheless, I will update regularly (as much as I can) with some interesting pictures and places/little bits to eat. I won’t be gone completely of course. You see me on Twitter way too much.

The lovely Naomi, of BakersRoyale, noticing my struggle was very kind enough to suggest guest-posting for me and created a beautiful bit of heaven in the shape of a mini cake, all in the essence of a person with limited time and kitchen space.

I met Naomi, or actually I found her, through one of the cake posts she submitted to Foodgawker and boy, did I gawk. Her cakes are stunning, little bits of art to be honest and all so meticulously put together. And I bet they taste as divine as they look – always quivering on my laptop screen, tempted to plop right out of it straight onto my dessert plate. She’s truly inspiring and such an easy-going person, we got along straightaway! In fact, sometimes I do wonder if she’s actually a twin of mine. We’re on the same wavelength. But enough of my chitter-chatter, let me give you Naomi! Here’s what she said:

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SoNo’s No Bake Cheesecake ~ A no bake cheesecake dressed up in a pistachio crumb and topped with some fresh raspberries.

This famous cheesecake is from John Barricelli’s SoNo Bakery in Connecticut and is featured in his SoNo Bakery book. After trying several no bake cheesecakes, this is hands down the best-period.

The bits of lemon and orange zest give the cheesecake a citrus balance that will refresh your palate with every bite. Add the pistachio crumb and the raspberries and this cheesecake moves from delicious to heavenly.

Aside from taste, the other reason I love this version of a no-bake cheesecake is John Barricelli’s use of gelatin to help set it. Now while he describes the finishing mixture as a mousse, I find the finishing mixture more similar to a baked cheesecake. No-bake versions tend to be very light and where this recipe not only has the velvety texture of a baked cheesecake, but it also has enough weight for every bite to be well tasted, rather than submitting and dissipating on contact.

I miniaturized this dessert into two inch mini cheesecakes the original recipe calls for a 9 inch pastry ring. If you don’t have one, a springform pan will work just as well.

SoNo’s No Bake Cheesecake
Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 cup crushed graham cracker
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
7 tablespoon unsalted butter(melted)

Cheesecake:
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
2 ¼ cups heavy cream
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature (at least six hours)
2/3 sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Grated zest of orange
Grated zest of lemon
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¾ sour cream

For assembly
1 cup pistachios, shelled and finely chopped
2 cups raspberries

For the crust:

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs with sugar.
2. Add melted butter and blend until combined.
3. Press into pan. Set aside.

For the cheesecake:

1. Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler. Sprinkle water over gelatin and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Using a spatula scrape the softened gelatin and place it into the top of the double boiler. Set it over simmering water and heat until the mixture becomes liquid. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, beat the cream to medium peaks. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
4. Replace whisk attachment with a paddle. Wash out bowl. Add cream cheese, sugar, salt, lemon and orange zest and lemon juice in mixer bowl and beat on medium high speed until the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.
5. Add a dollop of cream mixture to the gelatin and fold with a rubber spatula. Return the gelatin mixture to the remaining cream cheese mixture and fold together.
6. Scrap the new mousse mixture into pastry rings or springform. Smooth the top and cover with plastic. Freeze for at least four hours or overnight to set.
7. Remove cake. The cake will have a slight sunken center. Using spread sour cream on top as if icing a cake to even out the top.
8. To remove from pastry ring, use a hot towel and wrap it around the ring. You may have to do this twice.
9. Don’t worry about the uneven sides as it will be covered with the pistachio crumb.

To assemble:

Cover sides with pistachio crumb and garnish top with raspberries.

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Hope you liked Naomi’s post as much as I did! If you want more, jump over to her blog here.

If you thought I was done with pink – mate, you thought wrong. I decided to take it to the next level. A quick check on the BBC predicted sunny intervals today. So I was quick to take advantage of those little spurts of sunshine to pop out to the local off license a couple of roads away from my road. It was a lovely walk, warm and sunny, a little wind. First time out in my flip flops in ages as well so I was in a well jolly mood. The butcher lady was all smiles; the shopowner of the 2 shops I popped into were nearly chirpy, seeing as they were large, burly men I would hope have a disinclination to be cute with a girl like me. I know I’m a victim of the corporate: shopping at supermarkets, big fan of M&S and high fashion labels but I can say (in addition to the fact that I dig indie record labels and underground musicians) that there’s nothing quite like getting local produce from a crooked, old, quaint little shop. It isn’t exactly the classiest place to shop at, doesn’t exactly stock the freshest produce (hey, I’m in Birmingham what can I do), but it’s almost heartwarming to be standing in front of a wooden table of fruit and vegetables, shaded from the English rain or piercing sun, deliberating what one should get for dinner.

A crate of strawberries, still warm from the sun, had just been delivered. Thinking I’d totally scored (which eventually I did, wait for it), I grabbed a 99p hand-packed plastic box of strawbs, a nectarine, some oranges and other groceries. Somehow I managed to balance all of that and make it to the counter. Equipped with my fresh fruit, I got started on ‘painting’ my white plate with something, if I can say so myself, that is one of the most delectable things I’ve ever made!! This recipe has been modified from a recipe of Madison Magazine’s. I’ve put my own spin on it and dialed up its colour intensity and might I say, flavour intensity as well. Nonetheless, that recipe is a keeper because it’s so easy and great as a basic one for all sorts of variations depending on season, occasion and mood.

Instead of peaches, I’ve gone for the more humble and flamboyantly coloured nectarine which is just as good in flavour – but has more of a bang than a sweet white peach. Instead of going for a simple vanilla ice cream (classic yes…but my plate’s white you know), I opted for Ben & Jerry’s world-reknown Cherry Garcia. Perfect flavour for a warm, sunny day. If you’re watching your waistline, and counting the fat grams (I usually don’t approve of this but because spring’s here I want to look good too haha) go for B&J’s new range – Low Fat Yoghurt. Honestly, I’ve always been rather skeptical with low fat ice cream because I couldn’t see how it could possibly taste as good. But B&J hasn’t let me down. Yes, scooping the ice cream isn’t as easy and you will definitely not get a nice, smooth, glossy round ball because it just doesn’t have the appropriate fat content to give it that ice-cream goodness texture. Now, here comes the BUT – it tastes as good as the original. And because it’s frozen yoghurt, you don’t quite feel you’ve had more than you actually have. So seconds are never out of the question.

Remember the strawbs I was talkin about before? Thought I’d share with you one of the cutest strawbs I’ve ever seen. I remember seeing one quite like this on someone’s food blog but it was bout 3 times as big. This would be its long lost younger sister I bet. What a trooper! It’s unbelievably sweet as well…

Let’s get to the thing everyone’s really wanting to know. Here is the recipe, producing 4 servings.

Vanilla Poached Nectarine, Low-fat Cherry Garcia Ice Cream with Rosewater Syrup

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 nectarines
1 tbs rosewater
zest of half a lemon
a drop of red food colouring
vanilla extract with seeds (optional)

To serve:

dark chocolate, grated
pistachios, chopped
strawberries
ice cream

Wash the nectarines so that the skin is clean and smooth. Bring to boil a cup of sugar, the vanilla bean, lemon zest, rosewater and 1.5litres of water in a large saucepan. Then lower the heat and simmer, placing the nectarines gently into the water and cover with a plate, making sure that it stops the nectarines from floating up as you want them to be completely submerged in the sugar water. Allow to poach for 5min. Remove nectarines with a slotted spoon or egg poaching spoon (I found one in Hans’s cupboard so it was very easy to treat the nectarine with care). Under a running tap of cold water, gently rub the nectarines so that the skin starts to peel away from the soft flesh inside. Be careful not to rub the flesh off as well, you want to keep the shape of the fruit. Put aside to cool.
Keep a cup of the sugar mixture and bring to boil with the rest of the sugar and added vanilla extract. I’ve done this as you probably would’ve poured away the rest of the mixture and lost some of the vanilla. It’s really not very important though as the flavour would’ve been absorbed into the fruit anyway. Then simmer for about 15min until it thickens and is reduced to about half the initial amount. Add a drop (or however much you fancy, just don’t go overboard) of red food colouring when it’s about done. Let cool or using a ‘pulled-tea’ method, pour from the pan into a cold jug at a height, pulling the liquid to cool it. Repeat. Be careful not to be wearing white clothing.

Place ice cream on a plate or in a bowl, depending on how fancy you want to be. Forming a nice bed in the middle of it. Add the strawbs and then gently place the nectarine on the ice cream. Garnish with dark chocolate and pistachios. Finally, using a teaspoon, drizzle the rosewater syrup onto the plate. Serve.

I thought of eating this with a fork and spoon. Honestly did attempt to. In the end, I dug in with both hands caveman style. Probably one of the best times I’ve had this week. I’m a lioness. I hunt, then feed. It’s great.

You’re probably wondering why this post is even here when we could be ploughing through the Festival of Chocolate. And I’m ashamed to admit my system is slightly plugged up with way too much chocolate. It’s as though I’m inside a bubble, heavy-headed and clogged up with Minstrels, mini eggs, Divine Chocolate, Green & Blacks, etc. So I decided to make something lighter today. Of course the Chocolate Season will resume shortly – there’s definitely more to expect. Trust me to milk this festive season dry.

(and just for this month – stop worrying about that waistline; stop fretting about how much you’ve eaten today; being healthy and staying fit is awesome, but there’s definitely more to life than worrying about it to the point where you forget how good it is to just be. Never forget to celebrate life.)

These cupcakes were a treat to myself to be honest. I’ve been wanting to make something green for a while. The colour green is upligfting. And mint green never fails to put me in a calm, quiet, comforted state. Out of all the perfumes by my bed, the latest Prada scent is my favourite not just for its unique fragrance (which I think matches my personality to a tee) but for its mint green box.

This recipe was taken from 500 Muffins & Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly. I added some vanilla extract to the cupcake batter, altered the sugar requirement and added more rosewater than was called for. My conclusion? It worked. Rosewater is the distillate of rose petals and its used a lot in Europe and Asia. It is often used in cosmetics, medicine and perfumes. In the Renaissance period, rosewater was often used as a remedy for depression. Marzipan was first made with ground almonds, sugar and rosewater. In Singapore, the popular bright pink sweet drink bandung is made with rosewater, milk, sugar and colouring. The lovely French madeleine cakes we know of are usually flavoured with it as well. Turkish delight, a light pink sweet, is also traditionally made with it.

Rosewater has indeed had a long, romantic past and still continues to survive in cooking, confectionary, etc today. I’ve read that it’s pretty easy to make at home as well. You’ll just need a bit of alcohol and water, if I’m not wrong. Anyway, here’s the recipe which yields about 10 regular sized cupcakes. Lovely, flavourful and light.

Rosewater Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing & Pistachios
Ingredients

225g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar (I used 1 cup)
225g self-raising flour (this worked out to be 1,3/4cup)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp rosewater (I increased this to 1tbs)

For the icing:

200g cream cheese
175g icing sugar
2 tbs rosewater
1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat the oven to 175d Celsius and line your muffin tray with pretty cups!
Cream butter and sugar till smooth. Add the eggs one at a time. I whisk them till nice and bubbly first before adding to the batter. You’d think this batter would be so eggy what with the number of the eggs. To be honest, when it was cooking, it was as though I was making some eggy beast! Tasted great though so no problems there.
Add the rosewater and vanilla, beat. Beat in the flour. Spoon into cups and into the oven for 25min-30min.
Once cooked, remove from oven and let cool.
To make the icing, give the cream cheese a good beating so it’s smooth and shiny. Mix in the rosewater by tbs ensuring that the cream cheese doesn’t separate. Then sift the icing sugar and mix carefully. Taste it – it’s awesome.
When cupcakes are cool, cut off the volcano tops. Put a dollop of icing on it, smooth it out with the back of a spoon and sprinkle with a generous amount of pistachios. Serve.