17/12/2017
(Français) Bûche poire châtaigne sans gluten

The Ingredients

The Genoise

50g chestnut flour
3 eggs
50 g cane sugar
Chestnut mousse

250g soy or rice milk
3 eggs
25g corn starch
1.5 sheets of gelatin
190g chestnut cream
15g sugar

Pear coulis

4 pears
25g sugar
1 vanilla pod
1/2 c. coffee corn starch
1 lemon
1 sheet of gelatin
a few pieces of candied citron (or lemon)

Frosting

– 25g white chocolate
– 1 pear

The Recipe

The Genoise

1. Preheat your oven to 180 ° C.
2. Separate the whites from the yellows. Mix the yolks with the sugar, then add the flour.
3. Mount the egg whites with a pinch of salt. Stir in the preparation.
4. Pour on a baking sheet covered with baking paper and bake for 12 minutes. The sponge cake must remain blonde.

Chestnut Mousse

1. Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water.
2. Mix corn starch and egg yolks.
3. Heat the soymilk to the boil. Pour the milk over the yolks and stir. Pour everything back into the saucepan and heat until thickened with custard cream.
4. Add the brown cream and the dehydrated gelatin leaves.
5. Beat the egg whites gradually incorporating the powdered sugar. Gently stir the egg whites to the previous preparation.

Pear coulis

1. Dip the gelatin sheet in cold water.
2. Peel, seed and dice the pears.
3. In a saucepan over low heat, pears, sugar and vanilla bean split in half. When the pears are cooked, add the cornstarch diluted in the lemon juice. Cook for another 30 seconds.
4. Remove the vanilla pod, add the gelatin leaf and mix the pears.

Mounting the log
1. In a log mold, put a stretch film to facilitate demolding, then pour the chestnut mousse and chill.
2. Once the mousse has taken, pour the pear coulis, add a few pieces of lemon or candied citron, then finish with the sponge cake that you cut at the bottom of your mold. Let cool for a few hours.

Frosting

1. Peel the pear and cut into small cubes. Cook with a splash of water, then mix.
2. Melt the white chocolate, add it to the pear compote and mix again to obtain a smooth cream.
3. Unmold the log, pour the frosting and then cool again for a few hours.

15/12/2017
Christmas gifts selection for the whole family !

It’s the race… more than a few days before finalizing your purchases and you’re running out of ideas? Do not panic, here are some gifts I found for you …

For him

1- Japanese knife – Gyuto (26€)
2- Spice 94, Gin without alcool – Seedlip (27€)
3- Make your own beer workshop – Beer Fabrique (60€)
4- Big Mamma recipe book – Marabout (25€)
5- Pizza stone for the oven – Cookut (34€)
6- Denim and leather apron – Uskees (40€)

Pour elle

1- Matcha ceremony set – Paper & Tea (75€)
2- Enamel pan – Riess (24€)
3- Chocolat star – Alain Ducasse (45€)
4- Mojito candle – Malin & Goetz (55€)
5- Mortar – Tom Dixon (198€)
6- Cats mesuring mugs – Anthropologie (34€)

Pour les enfants

1- Egg cups – U Studio (12€)
2- Nuts overalls – Emile et Ida (70€)
3- Alpaga teddybear – Oeuf NYC (111€)
4- Plate and cutlery set – Done by Deer (40€)
5- Pineapple lamp – Goodnight Light (89€)

10/12/2017
The Special.T tea machine

It has been some time since I discovered the Special.T tea machines, during their ephemeral pop up where I could taste the pastries of Gilles Marchal, or in the fabulous one-Michelin-star restaurant H of Hubert Duchenne during a dinner with food and tea pairing.

Being particularly fond of teas, I must admit that before testing this machine, I was somewhat dubitative, but I was really very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the teas that I tasted. Thanks to its technology, each capsule of tea or herbal tea is recognized, and the temperature and the infusion time are adapted in a very precise and perfect manner. In addition, it is really easy to use (there is only one button), and also has a water filter, in case you do not use mineralized water (which is optimal for tea though). In terms of capsules, there is a multitude of choices (more than 35 varieties), all selected worldwide (China, India, Japan, Ceylon, South Africa) in the highlands, respecting seasonality. Fine picking is preferred in order to harvest only the most flavored leaves. And – to my great pleasure – you can also find organic teas!

And as Christmas comes, and who says Christmas says gift, you can win you a superb tea machine Special.T (black model) and 4 boxes of capsules of different teas. To play it is very simple, just leave me a comment below telling me what is your favorite type of tea.
You can also multiply your chances by playing on Instagram and Facebook.

Contest only open to France.
Game stops on 25th December at midnight.

Japanese sesame spinach salad (horenso no goma-ae)

You may have already seen this salad next to my tuna tataki … It’s a salad I love and I make regularly, during the spinach season that runs from November to May. For powdered sesame seeds, you can either find them in Japanese grocery stores or grind them yourself.

The Ingredients
– 1 bunch of spinach leaves
– 3 tablespoons roasted white sesame seeds
– 1 tablespoons of sugar
– 2 tablespoons soy sauce
– 1 tablespoon of sesame oil

The Recipe
1. Blanch the spinach in a large volume of boiling salted water really quickly, just a few minutes. Then immerse them in a bowl of iced water to fix the green color, then wring by pressing them by hand.
2. Crush the sesame seeds and add the sugar, the soy sauce, and then the sesame oil. Mix well.
3. Season the spinach with the sauce.

29/11/2017
Gluten free lemon and yuzu tart

For 6 tartlets
Pastry
– 100g of rice flour
– 50g of corn flour
– 50g of teff flour
– 100g butter
– 1 egg
– 100g sugar
– 1 pinch of salt (if your butter is not salted)

Lemon curd
– 4 organic lemon (juice and zest)
– 5 tablespoons of yuzu pulp (I used the Monin one)
– 3 eggs
– 150g of butter
– 150g of sugar
– 3 tablespoons of corn starch

The Recipe

Place the flour in a large salad bowl and make a well in the middle. In another container, mix the sugar, egg and salt. Pour this mixture into the flour and mix.
Add the soft butter in small pieces and knead.
Form a ball, then roll it out. Put it in a buttered and floured tart pan.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 180°C until the dough is golden.
Mix the eggs, with the sugar, lemon juice and zests.
Cook in a bain-marie stirring until the cream thickens, adding the butter with a whisk. Add also the diluted corn starch.
Add the yuzu pulp and mix everything with a mixer to obtain a smooth cream. Pour over the dough and place in the fridge for several hours before serving.

Note: I like lemon pies when they’re very acid and not very sweet, so do not hesitate to taste your cream and rectify it if you find it lacks sugar!

16/11/2017
Sassy x Jean André

For the end of the year celebrations, Sassy, the Frenchy cider brand, collaborates with illustrator Jean André. This festive and colorful box is available in limited edition at Colette for 30 €.

Contest only open to France. Game stops on 25th December at midnight.

Note: I like lemon pies when they’re very acid and not very sweet, so do not hesitate to taste your cream and rectify it if you find it lacks sugar!

Contest only open to France.
Game stops on 25th December at midnight.