Weekly round-up
Firstly, how on earth is it only a week until Christmas? I’m baffled – this year has EVAPORATED. When I started writing that gift list last week, I genuinely thought I had a good 6 weeks or so to go until Xmas was upon us, and therefore ample time to be sending out my gift suggestions. No, we are down to days… DAYS… nightmare!
‘I’m a celeb’ fans, are we in agreement that the relationship between Sam and Tony was the purest most wonderful thing to witness? Mum and I have rewatched that final episode 3 times now because it’s beautiful, smile inducing material! I am now bereft without my 9pm TV entertainment!
Watched Bridget Jones for the millionth time, never gets old!
Spent way too long trying to solve the questions from this years GCHQ Christmas Challenge 2023 - anyone else try it? It took me a couple of days but I think I got most of them!
New delicious meal ideas including:
a riff on this Healthy-ish chicken Korma from Mob – I halved the amount of chicken and subbed in some chickpeas, I also added a little garam masala and bay leaves – it’s a quick, nourishing, wholesome dish, also incredibly filling - perfection!
I also made an epic Chilli with a hand full of minced braising steak from my local butcher, lots of plump red kidney beans from bold bean co, a smoky, charred red pepper, all the standard spices and some (not so secret) ingredients: a square of dark chocolate, pinch of cocoa powder, and a tablespoon of peanut butter - such a warming comforting dish! NOM!
(side note, my mate Lottie from Bake off has been doing a brilliant ‘hump day’ meal video every Wednesday. She’s TV gold so it’s hilarious but also, she’s come up with some excellent suggestions so if you need some inspo, check her out)
Bread… lots of BREAD - for toast, sandwiches and random snacking.
First off I made a simple white loaf – GREAT for cheese on toast/toasties or bacon butties.
I followed that up with my OG multigrain loaf ( I added seeds to the top for real ‘Granary-style’ vibes) – this one is perfect slathered with butter and served with soup (also makes great toast - butter and marmalade is a big YES).
Finally I made a batch of seedy rolls, which I filled with ham, English mustard/butter & tomato!
Conclusion - BREAD IS LYF!!!I know I’m so dull but isn’t baking just so exciting? Look at the centre of these choux - Simply MAGIC! How did people come up with this genius concept!?
I spent Tuesday morning (and Friday morning) feeling really quite tipsy whilst refining my ‘Tiramichoux’ recipe (more deets on that below). Needless to say, Marsala is quite potent, and I’m a lightweight!!
…And that’s about it - another thrilling week!!!
Hope you’re all doing ok! X X X
Tiramichoux chat
First off a disclaimer…
OK so this Tiramichoux journey has been an ordeal - one that I’m still a bit nervous about sharing with you, here’s why.
Basically, I’m frustrated. I realise I’m not a trained pastry chef, therefore I lack classical training and my experience has its limitations. However, I am a real nerd about this baking malarky, I spend more time than I care to admit trying to understand why and how things behave as they do because I’m genuinely fascinated… and I want to be confident that under XYZ circumstances, I will be able to nail a recipe every time… I then can share it with you and hopefully, you will be able to revel in the bake-y happiness too.
Some recipes/techniques, however, present an especially exasperating conundrum for me. I see something executed ‘perfectly’ on TV, Instagram or You Tube, try it myself and face a problem, wonder why I’m so useless, and then find that Google can’t solve my issue.*
The behaviour of Mascarpone is one of a few real head scratchers for me… especially in the context of authentic Tiramisu (i.e. a combo of eggs/mascarpone and booze). To keep things brief, various sources imply that mascarpone is simply folded or whisked into an aerated egg yolk mixture. Once combined, it should look thick and luscious, like soft butter… this video is an example. I have tried various methods over the years to achieve this and almost every time end up with a slightly lumpy, slightly loose sitch, it’s not a complete fail but it’s not cute and defo isn’t what I see others producing!
After MUCH experimentation - I spent circa £15 on Mascarpone this week - I have, somewhat unscientifically, reached the following conclusions:
First off, the quality of the mascarpone potentially determines your success (or failure in my case). Some sources specify that you need the proper Italian, deli-style, stuff that is SUPER THICK like clotted cream. Unfortunately, this real deal stuff isn’t that readily available around my neck of the woods, so I can’t confirm whether it behaves better than supermarket equivalents. However, I ended up reliably getting success with a combo of: a Marsala sabayon, Waitrose Essential Mascarpone, and a portion of whipped double cream folded through at the end, phew!
Next up, temperature makes a difference - mascarpone mustn’t get too warm - it splits and looks GROS - but it also doesn’t behave that well if it’s too cold… I, know - it’s such such a diva.
Finally, for goodness sake, don’t over mix it… but give it a little mix (honestly it’s a real Goldilocks ingredient)
So, after multiple attempts, I achieved an outcome that I’m fairly happy with; it tastes phenomenal and after a bit of chilling in the fridge holds well, so I’m sharing it with you below.
However, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t fancy this sort of jeopardy, and thus have shared a less risky version, whereby you just whisk any old mascarpone, sugar, marsala and cream together just until it holds a medium/stiff peak, it isn’t as authentic which distresses me a bit, and is a bit richer, but it still tastes wonderful, and for some reason the mascarpone doesn’t display (as many of ) the crazy characteristics that you face when trying to combine it with an eggy-mixture - it’s mystifying, really!
Why Tiramichoux?
Now I’ve explained my worries, let’s back track - how did I end up with this idea? and why mess with the real-deal original Tiramisu? The answer? It all started with a dream I had a few months ago - genuinely I did dream it, all by myself, I thought I was going to be the pioneer of something magical. After a quick Google, I devastatingly realised that I was SO yester-year because it’s been on the block for ages and I’m basically just very late to the party, gutted. Nevertheless, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head and having tried it, realised that, yes, authentic tiramisu will forever be the OG, but this switch-up is a very lovely alternative.
Despite my worry over the recipe, and the fact that it has been done before, I am sharing what I did because honestly, it’s a mouthful of pure pleasure that you need to try, particularly if you’re a tiramisu/coffee/marsala fan. Not only that, I experienced some unrivalled baking excitement - preparing and watching my little choux balloon in the oven whilst baking, I then thoroughly enjoyed my morning(s) feeling slightly squiffy on Marsala whilst making the creamy filling... need I justify myself for this decision any more?
The recipe
How does my version differ from others? Well, firstly I have given you options - we love a bit of pick and mix don’t we? - so you can choose which one you fancy.
I have shared my base recipe (including tips) for wonderful choux pastry. Below it is flavoured with coffee. You could literally just make the choux, with or without the coffee, and scatter pearl sugar on top for cute and very moreish chouxquettes - they would go down a treat at a drinks party where you need little canapé style desserts, and witnessing this sort of culinary chemistry in your very own kitchen is THRILLING!
I have also suggested TWO types of craquelin (a sweet crunchy topping) to top your choux with; either a chocolate or coffee flavoured version- Craquelin isn’t an essential step in making choux pastry, you don’t need it if you make chouxquettes, but for some reason it encourages the choux to rise bigger and in a more uniform fashion, it also gives the top a very pleasurably sweet crunch, so it’s worth the extra step IMO.
I’ve chatted about the mascarpone filling a lot already but just to recap. I have suggested a couple of options; one is a more traditional Tiramisu style mascarpone cream filling prepared with a sabayon base that is cooled and blended with the mascarpone and finally some (less traditional) whipped cream is folded through at the end - it’s light and heavenly but, as I said above, it can sometimes be a little trickier to prepare SO… as an alternative, I came up with a simple marsala flavoured mascarpone cream mixture that is equally good, a doddle to prepare, and the perfect consistency for filling choux - winner!
Just want a simple profiterole?
I know we’re all about Tiramisu here but if you want to keep things super simple, fill the choux with a basic Crème Pâtissière or Chantilly cream (with or without some booze) - top them with melted chocolate/ganache and feel fantastic!
Decoration?
I top my choux with a little flourish of the mascarpone cream filling piped on top and a grating of chocolate or dusting of cocoa powder… honestly, it’s pure joy! You could just as well leave them bare though.
Preparation and shelf life + Mum’s top tip
A quick note on preparation - the craquelin can be made ahead, frozen and used as and when required, the choux can also be prepared ahead of time - only a day or so IMO - you will need to pop them back in a low oven for about 5-10 minutes to crisp back up, then let them cool again before filling. As for the fillings, made and used immediately please. In terms of assembly, fill, chill, and then serve within a few hours of assembly for best results.
Mum also wants me to tell you that if you make the version which includes the Tiramisu-style cream filling, and end up with some leftover, freeze them… they become a wildly good frozen dessert - I assume the sabayon element of the cream, creates a sort of parfait-esque centre that doesn’t set too firm, obviously the choux isn’t crisp per se but if you remove them from the freezer, give them 5-10 minutes at room temp, then tuck in, they taste just like… well, like a frozen tiramichoux - very good!
*on this note, I feel like one of the biggest failings of chefs/bakers/recipes is that they often don’t prepare us for what might go wrong e.g. if we don’t do something precisely as explained, if we add salt at the wrong time or add too much sugar, if fat is added at the wrong stage, if something is heated or cooled too little or too much, if the timing is wrong or if we use the wrong version of an ingredient. It’s said that most people don’t care, they just want ease, a short ingredient list, and simple instructions… but what if this isn’t possible without facing uncertainty or failure, then it becomes an expensive mistake and we are left angry, clueless and if you’re like me blame ourselves, not cool. SO I think more of the details should be explained, end of rant.
Right, enough chat, let’s get baking!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Comfort Chronicles to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.