Mama's Angel Food Cake with Rum Creme Anglaise

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Can I just say how much I love angel food cake? The sky-high cake that looks airy but when eating a slice (or two... three!) instantly fills you up, is my new favorite cake! I might just make the other two variations from the weekly poll. To make this cake even more spectacular than the angel food cake with cream and strawberries I baked two weeks ago, I served the cake with a rum crème anglaise. Which brings me to my love-affair with rum as well :P I LOVE RUM! The crème anglaise made the cake wonderfully moist and reminded me of a French baba au rhum. What could be better? Rating: 5 out of 5.




Angel Food Cake: Virginia Willis - 'Bon Appetit, Y'all'

Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 12 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Rum Crème Anglaise, optional

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven.
- Sift flour together with ¾ cup sugar. Repeat process three times; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, cream of tarter, and salt on medium speed until foamy. Add vanilla-bean seeds and almond extract. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add remaining ¾ cup sugar. Continue mixing until whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.
- Sift enough of the flour mixture over the egg white mixture to lightly dust the top. Gently fold flour mixture into the egg white mixture. Repeat process until all the flour is incorporated into the egg white mixture.
- Gently spoon batter into a 10-inch tube pan. With a spatula or knife, using a circular motion, cut through the batter twice to eliminate any large pockets of air. Smooth top to remove any large peaks.
- Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Invert pan over a bottle (such as a 2-liter soda bottle or wine bottle) until completely cooled, about 2 hours.
- To serve, set upright, and using a butter knife or a long spatula, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert onto a serving plate. Slice using a serrated knife or an angel food cake cutter; serve drizzled with bourbon crème anglaise, if desired.



Rum Crème Anglaise: makes 3 cups

Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup sugar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon rum or bourbon

Instructions:
- Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.
- Place milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thick and light. Slowly pour in half of the hot milk, while stirring constantly. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the remaining milk mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in bourbon.
- Place saucepan over low heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat.
- Strain crème anglaise through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Set bowl in ice water bath and stir creme anglaise until cooled. Keep refrigerated until ready to use, up to 1 day.


A slice of heaven drenched with rum crème anglaise ♥.

'Laduree: The Sweet Recipes' Baking Book Giveaway! New Domain Celebration!

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Bonjour!

It finally happened!
ParisPastry.blogspot.com is now ParisLovesPastry.com

I've thought long and hard about the new domain and name.
Why choose a different name you might wonder...

Well, ParisPastry.com is taken by a Californian bakery.
Plus, pastry-legend David Leibovitz has a new book out named 'Paris Pastry'
(which might mean that he paid a visit to my blog once..?!), so that might end up
for confusion. Especially since he has the name 'Paris Pastry' taken on Twitter.
And, I don't want to confuse anyone with this blog and the great
ParisBreakfasts.blogspot.com blog.

So voilá!

Still staying true to the catchy 'Paris Pastry' phrase, I decided to go for
Paris Loves Pastry. Because I do. I love Paris and I LOVE pastry.





And what's a celebration without a gift?
A very special gift I might add.

I spotted this book when I stayed in Paris last Summer.
At the time, there was only the French version. But I immediately knew I wanted to
give one of my readers a copy of this book when the English version would come out.


How To Enter:
(everyone across the world may join)

1. Leave a comment here with your email address.
If you have a Blogger account and your email is on there, that's fine too.

2. For a second entry, become or be a public follower of Paris Pastry on Blogger.
I hate to be prissy about this, but I do actually check if you are.

3. For a third entry, Like Paris Loves Pastry on Facebook.

4. For a fourth entry, follow Paris Loves Pastry on Twitter.


The green links will direct you to Facebook and Twitter.
But, they are on the top of the sidebar as well.


Giveaway closes on July 10th. Bonne Chance!







Images: 1, 2, 3, 4

One Potato, Two Potato ... Volunteering with Kids

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As we were driving toward the volunteer day, and I saw a sign promoting the Arts at the Arboretum event. We usually go to this fun day in the park. Would my kiddo be mad when she found out we would miss it this year, for a "Potato Drop?" We had people coming for dinner, too, we were so busy, too busy for one more thing in our day?

No, I thought, and what we are about to do is way more valuable than getting some face painting and our dinner guests would understand if things were late to the table. Just shove over, mom guilt, I thought, I'm doing the right thing.
This was my kiddo's first volunteer gig. And not a small one at that. Forty-two thousand pounds of potatoes were waiting for us to load into different trucks, vans and cars for delivery to food pantries all over our city and surrounding area. Forty-two thousand pounds of food, and still, less than a pound of potato per person in need in our area; over 60,000 people food insecure, and that number is growing daily.

I hesitated, was my kiddo at only six really ready for this? Age six? I kept driving through my doubts. We headed to the volunteer event. No time like today to find out.

I got a great surprise. Not only was my kid well-behaved, but I watched her be the first one, big or small, to jump into the back of a truck and load sack after sack. Seriously, thousands of pounds of potatoes herself. Then, when done there, jump down and run to the next vehicle to load. Over and over. She was a rock star.

I was amazed, just glowing really. I learned that six is not too young to count, not to young to make a difference for others. As a mom, this has to be my proudest moment, but I sure can't take a bit of credit here. It was all my child's achievement, all her doing. It was also the love and support of the 100 strangers around us, cheering her on, helping one another with joy, and heart. The whole day was charged with the job of this village of people who took a beautiful Saturday morning to help put food on the tables of thousands. The worries I had vanished and I felt lighter, more sure and happy than I had in a very long time.

As a parent, I've worried more than once, "Am I teaching my kid the right values? Am I doing okay?" It's hard to explain to a child just how lucky she is to have food on the table each night, good food. All I can do is show her and hope she'll embrace the lesson.

We were done early. As we walked toward the car, I heard, "Mom, I want to go load backpacks, I want to help with bingo, why can't we go do more today?"
"Patience, kiddo." I said. "We'll do more of this. A lot more." And I fell in love with my child again, a hundred times over again and again. Six is not too young, neither is 16, 26 or 66.

Jessica at O the Joys asked me to help promote this fantastic effort: October 16-22 is “Make Your Mark Week” – A week of young people making a difference through simple acts of service. It culminates on October 22^nd, Make A Difference Day. Not too late to get your family involved.

Thanksgiving: Simplified, Cranberry-Applesauce

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I can recall a lot of stressful holidays growing up. The unattainable quest for the perfect holiday gathering ruled our household for the weeks before the date. It never made sense to me because the "guests" were our family and closest friends — the very people who should love you the most "as is."

Now that I am a grown up, well, supposed to be a grown up at least, and it's our house and our kitchen for the Big Meal, I do my best for a stress-free season. Note, this is not an "easy holiday meal" post to lure you in with false hope of whipping out dinner in minutes and having time for that hour massage at the spa before the guests arrive.

It's not going to be totally easy. That size of meal for twelve is going to take some effort. I just don't want you or I to stress about it or aim for some kind of unrealistic myth of holiday perfection. Tell your inner perfectionist to, uh, "stuff it" and just breathe. It will be okay.

Part of reducing the workload of holidays is making as much ahead as possible. Another bonus is this lets me use the local ingredients I sourced from the farmers market in October.

This Cranberry-Applesauce is a nice upgrade on the classic "cranberry sauce" that often appears on Thanksgiving tables in a wiggly, translucent can-shaped form that no one ever eats. How does it come of the can perfectly shaped like that, anyway?

You can make this recipe now, and freeze. Just take out of the freezer and put it in the fridge three days before Thanksgiving. Check to make sure it thawed the day before. One dish done and one less worry on the main cooking day.

Cranberry-Applesauce
8 Gala or Granny Smith Apples, cored, peeled and sliced thin
1 cup apple cider
1 pint fresh cranberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. Five Spice Powder
pinch salt

Place the apples and cider in a large pot, cover and heat to a simmer to cook apples.

Put cranberries in a smaller saucepan with the brown sugar and honey. Heat on medium until the berries burst and give up their juice and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the cardamom and the five spice powder and mix.

Stir the apples to break them up into a chunky "home style" applesauce. Mix in the cranberry sauce. The end result is a lovely red color with a warm and subtle spice to it that goes well with many holiday dishes.

Black-eyed Peas in a Healthy Soup for New Year's Luck

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For the last few years, we've made sure to make black-eyed peas for New Year's. I never even questioned the source of this mostly southern tradition. It's an excuse to eat black-eyed peas with smoked ham hock. 'Nuff said. That more traditional recipe is in our cookbook, The Cleaner Plate Club, and plenty of greens recipes to go with it, too.

In the South, the peas symbolize prosperity, greens mean money and the pork is said to symbolize the pig's hard efforts at foraging for itself. Some of the history behind the custom comes from Civil War days when the Union soliders wiped out all the food crops in the South, leaving just "animal feed" like field corn and the black-eyed peas.

Other history point to farther back, such as ancient Syria and Jewish Rosh Hashana, then brought to the US by Jewish immigrants in the 1700s.

This year, we skipped the ham and went for a vegetarian approach. After the holiday excess, I have to admit that we were all ready for something light. This soup is based on the Fall Vegetable Soup in the book, with the addition of farro, a wholegrain the offers some protein, and, of course, black-eyed peas which are available fresh this time of year. Also check in the freezer section for frozen ones.

Still, we have the peas for prosperity, kale as the greens for money, and the cheap, healthy protein source of farro for my own foraging, as well as some herbs from my garden (what has not totally frozen yet). And, without the saturated fat from the smoked pork, well, this soup adds a healthy start on your New Year's resolutions.

To modify the recipe for dried black-eyed peas, you'll need to soak them overnight. After sweating the onion, celery, garlic, and carrot, add the stock and black-eyed peas (drained and rinsed from the soaking water) and bring those to a boil, then simmer for 1.5 hours before going forward with the rest of the recipe.

Makes 12 servings

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2/3 cup chopped carrot (about 
3 medium carrots)

2/3 cup chopped celery (about 3 stalks)

2 garlic cloves, minced

10 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 Tbsp dried summer savory

2 tsp dried thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 small Parmesan rinds, optional

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small (¼-inch cubes)

1 lb winter squash, peeled and diced small (¼-inch cubes)
1 cup farro, rinsed and drained or 1 cup lentils, rinsed, sorted and drained

1 lb. fresh or frozen black-eyed peas

1 bunch (about 12 oz) kale or chard greens, stemmed and chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Warm the oil over medium-low heat and add the onion, carrot and celery. Sweat this combination, known as a mirepoix, until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the stock and the savory, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the sweet potato, squash and Parmesan rinds, and then simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Add the farro or lentils and black-eyed peas and simmer for 30 more minutes (or until the lentils, if present, are al dente).
4. Add the greens, and simmer for 5 more minutes.
5. Remove the bay leaf and Parmesan rinds. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

When we were eating, my six-year-old who often won't eat soft textures of orange foods, said, "Mom, can we have this soup every New Year?" As picky as kids can be, especially after a sugar rush of holiday desserts, I think that's about as lucky as it gets.

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you are off to a healthy, happy new start.

I'm Nuts About This Post!

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Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend.

We did the usual...shopping:)

The rain stopped us from a day trip to Vermont, but we were just there last weekend anyway:) Below is a picture of Lake Champlain with the Adirondack Mountains in the background. It was so lovely.

Our main reason for going to Vermont last week was an Antique and Classic car show in Stowe. Have you ever seen a car with a record player in the dashboard?

Raise your hand if you actually know what a 'record player' is! :)

Since we usually have to do our food shopping on weekends, I was so happy to find a great Natural Foods store right on the same road as the show:) We stopped on the way home for a much needed cold coconut water and a few pantry essentials. If you find yourself in Waterbury Center, Vermont make sure to stop by Sunflower Natural Foods.

The store was very well stocked,

and so neat and clean with a very friendly staff:) There was even a sweet play nook upstairs for the little ones:)

Don't you wish you were 4 or 5 again?

My recent post, Raw Pantry Essentials, showed a few pictures from one of my usual places to shop. But sometimes, a 'special ingredient' can only be found online.

I recently ordered Heathy's Moonie Pie ebook (they look amazing btw), and noticed that I didn't have one of the ingredients. Hmmm...as well stocked as my favorite store is, they do not carry this one special ingredient. A quick online search for it brought me to NutsOnline.

My order was placed on Monday, and the box arrived at my door Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours later! What a pleasant surprise:) Everything looked great!

NutsOnline has a huge selection of organic and raw products, as well as hundreds of other products.

While checking out their blog, I was thrilled to see they had linked up to my Sprouting Chia seeds post:) Thanks NutsOnline!

So, I am very excited to tell you NutsOnline has generously offered one of you* a chance to try 2 of their products!

One pound of Organic Chia Seeds, and one pound of Raw Organic Hemp Seeds! YAY!!!!!

Thanks so much to the lovely Katie Ide from NutsOnline for making this giveaway possible.

These products were hand picked by yours truly:), but you can change them if you have issues with either of these...for anything of a lesser or equal value:)

*This giveaway is limited to residents of the United States and Canada only.

Requirements to enter this giveaway are simple:

Mandatory for entry #1:
Visit NutsOnline and leave a comment below telling me which of their products you would love to try, and what you would make with them.

For one additional entry:
Subscribe to the NutsOnline Newsletter to receive special offers and coupons, leave a comment here telling me you did so, for entry #2.

That's it! This giveaway will close at midnight EST Sunday August 29, 2010. Winner will be announced on, or shortly after Monday, August 30.

You probably already have a favorite recipe using hemp or chia seeds, but if you don't, here are several pictures of a few of mine to whet your appetite.

All the links are to my posts which either have the recipe, or tell you where to find it:

Chia Puddings

Bitts Hemp Brownies

Kate Magic's Marching Biscuits

Magic Chocolate

Hemp Power Ball Truffles

Chia-Sesame Cracker

Oh my...I think we need something with a little green:)

Russell James' Wilted Kale Salad with Creamy Chipotle Dressing


My S&M Salad with Creamy Macadamia-Lime Hemp Dressing

There, that's better!

Good luck everyone!!!!

Drommekage - Danish Dream Cake

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After spending a week in Denmark it's safe to say that I fell in love with the country. So you can expect Danish and Scandinavian desserts coming up! I already made a pre-Denmark dessert the Danish Pastry, and now one of my new favorite cakes: a Drømmekage or a Danish Dream Cake. Yes, this cake is a dream in every possible way! It's a dream to make because it's super easy, it's a dream to eat because it's super delicious, and my favorite, when eating a slice I dream of Denmark (and hopefully a returning visit!). I made this cake in Denmark attending a baking workshop and to cure my post-Denmark depression I'm making it again! Rating: 5 out of 5. Super duper nice!



Drømmekage: Diana's Desserts

Ingredients for Cake:
- 2 ¼ cup (250g) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup (50g) unsalted butter, softened
- 7 oz. (200ml) milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for Topping:
- ½ cup (125g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup (50ml) milk
- 1 ⅓ cups (100g) dessicated coconut
- 1 to 1 ¼ cups (200-250g) light brown sugar

Instructions:
- For the Topping: In a mixing bowl, combine all topping ingredients. Set aside until ready to spread over cake.
- For the Cake: Preheat oven to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9-inch (20-22cm) square or round baking pan. If desired, line baking pan with parchment paper, then grease paper.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder. Melt the 50g butter and mix with the 200ml milk. Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, then fold in the flour mixture. Lastly, fold in the butter and milk mixture.
- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean (leave oven on and set to 225 degrees C/425 degrees F). Remove cake from oven and immediately spread the topping over cake and bake cake for an additional 5-10 minutes at 225 degrees C/425 degrees F. Cool cake completely on wire cooling rack before serving. Cut cake into squares (or wedges, if baking cake in a round pan).





To view my pictures of the wonderful Copenhagen, click here.