It's fig season and my all time favourite fruit couldn't be tastier (or cheaper) at the moment. I've read that back in the 9th century, the Greeks may have banned the trade of the best looking figs out of the country, and I think I can understand why. So to make the most of these sweet, soft and delicate fruit, I've combine them with couverture chocolate and turned them into a rich decadent tart. Start with a chocolate sweet paste for the base. Fill with a cocoa enriched frangipane mix and some diced figs and bake. While this would suffice for a lovely dessert, I wasn't convinced, and decided to add a rich and creamy chocolate mousse layer on top. While the mousse may not have set as smoothly as I would have liked, the flavour was there. Lastly to add another textural element, I sprinkled Callebaut Crispearls and flakes over the piped mousse and added a few fresh figs...This one was for the fig lovers out there.
Rustic Blueberry Galettes
What to bake when you only have a few sheets of frozen puff pastry, frozen blueberries and some frozen raspberries left in the freezer? Try baking these freeform berry galettes. Perfect for a cooler day, as you can serve them straight out of the oven. They'll look even cuter served in small cast iron skillets, perfect if your stuck for a quick and impressive dessert to serve last minute guests!
Bon Appétit
Chocolate Mousse Tart
Firstly, I must admit I have an obsession with cookbooks! In particular those that are related to baking anything sweet of course. So when I stumbled upon 'Patisserie: Mastering The Fundamentals of French Pastry' cookbook (in English) by Christophe Felder, I knew I had struck gold and quickly made my way to the cashier!
After many hours perusing the pages, looking at all the neatly set out step by step instructions, I finally decided on which recipe I would attempt first…a chocolate mousse tart!
While this book might not be for beginners, it's a fantastic resource for pastry makers as it provides a little more knowledge about the techniques used in pastry, chocolate and sugar art. I found the recipe for the chocolate mousse tart easy to follow and it turned out exactly as I had hoped. The only thing I added was some frozen raspberries to the mousse mix. Once baked, using an Eiffel Tower cookie cutter as a pattern, I dusted it in cocoa powder.
So if your looking to add to your own cookbook collection, this one might be worth having a look at.
Bon Appetit