Pear or apple whiskey frangipane tart with vanilla-whiskey custard

Pear or apple whiskey frangipane tart with vanilla-whiskey custard 

Recipe for the tart adapted from Baked Explorations, and recipe for the almond paste from Food.com 

Day 1: 

Poach the apples or pears:

250g / 8.8 oz caster sugar
180g / 6.4 oz brown sugar 
260 ml / 8.8 fl ounce water 
Juice from 1 lemon 
A few strips of lemon rind 
½ Tbs vanilla paste 
4-6 apples or pears, depending on size 
2 Tbs whiskey 

1. Wash, peel and core the fruit, then slice in half and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients (except fruit and whiskey) to a medium-large pot and bring to a boil over med-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugars. Once syrupy, add another 1.5-2 cups of water and the apples or pears. 
3. Reduce the heat to low and make sure that the fruit is covered in poaching liquid. If it is not, add as much water as required to cover all the fruit. Place a piece of baking paper over the fruit to keep it immersed and poach for 10-15 minutes. 
4. The fruit is done when a knife is inserted easily but before the fruit has started to disintegrate and turn to mush. Once done, remove the fruit and place in a bowl. Allow to cool, then drizzle over whiskey, cover and refrigerate overnight. 
5. Refrigerate the poaching liquid, as it will be required later on. If you want to poach another batch of fruit, you can use this syrup again, as it will be fine in the fridge for a week or so.

Make the almond paste: 
Note: this will make double the required amount for the tart, so either halve it or keep the rest refrigerated for up to a month or frozen for up to three months) 

250 g / 8.8 oz blanched almonds 
250 g /8.8 oz powdered/icing/confectioners sugar 
1 egg white 
½ tsp almond essence 

1. Grind the almonds until they are very fine, then add the powdered sugar and pulse until well combined. Add the egg white and almond essence and pulse until smooth. 
2. Dump the paste onto some cling wrap and form a log. Wrap and refrigerate until use.

Note: my almond paste never seemed to get completely smooth in the processor (after around 6 minutes of grinding) so I just tipped it out and upon forming it into a log it looked perfect and smooth. 


Make the pastry dough: 
Note: all measurements are from the original American recipe, but I used Australian measuring cups, and the pastry turned out perfectly, so either way you should be fine. 

¼ C sugar 
1 ½ C all purpose flour 
¼ tsp salt 
½ C (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes 
1 large egg, beaten 

1. Combine sugar, flour and salt in a food processor (it doesn’t need to be washed from making the almond paste) and pulse a few times. 
2. Sprinkle over the butter and pulse until sandy (6-10 times), then add the egg and pulse until the dough just starts to come together. There will still be small crumbly bits that do not stick together but that is fine. 
3. Tip the dough onto a large piece of cling wrap and form a disk. Wrap well and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2: 
Take the dough out of the fridge (and the almond paste) and allow it to sit for around 20 minutes on the counter (shorter if it is summer, longer if it’s a freezing cold day like mine was). Once it is workable, flour a clean bench top and roll the dough out to fit a 14 inch long rectangular tart pan or an 11 inch diameter round pan. The dough is quite sticky so don’t be stingy with the flour. Make sure to move the dough around a bit as you roll it out otherwise when you go to pick it up it will be impossible. 

Line your tart pan then roll the rolling pin over the top of the pan to give the tart a clean edge. If you have extra dough like I did, make a few smaller tarts. Freeze the dough for 30 minutes, then line with aluminum foil and ceramic baking stones or dried rice/beans and bake for 15 minutes at 375F/180C. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until the edges of the pastry are just turning blond. Allow to cool completely before filling. 

Make the frangipane: 

¼ C unsalted butter, cool 
4.4 oz almond paste (I just used half of what was made above) 
1 large egg 
1 ½ Tbs cornstarch 
1 Tbs whiskey 

1. Beat the butter and almond paste until lightened in colour and fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg until well combined, then sprinkle over the cornstarch and mix on low. Add the whiskey and beat again until smooth.

Assemble the tart: 
Fill the pastry with the frangipane and slice the apples or pears into thin slices (around ¼ inch or ½ cm thick), then arrange them on top of the frangipane, pushing them down just a little. Bake for 35-40 minutes in a 375F/180C oven, or until the pastry has darkened and the frangipane has risen and turned golden. 


Make the glaze: 
1 C poaching liquid from day 1 and any remaining whiskey from the overnight soak 
An additional ½ Tbs whiskey 
¾ tsp cornstarch 

1. Boil the poaching liquid and leftover whiskey over a medium heat until reduced to about ¾ of a cup. Remove from the heat and whisk for a minute, then add the extra whiskey and cornstarch and whisk until combined. 
2. Return the pot to a medium-high heat and bring to a boil for about a minute, or until the glaze has thickened.
3. Brush the glaze over the fruit and serve with custard. 

Note: you won’t want to use all of the glaze, but it might make a nice syrup for a sponge cake or any other dry cake. This tart is best the day it is made, but it will keep for up to three days at room temperature. After the first day, the crust will lose a bit of its crunch, but you could pop it back in the oven for a few minutes if you wanted to get this back. 

Whiskey custard 
Recipe adapted from Taste.com.au 

250 ml / 8.5 fl ounces heavy cream (NOT double cream) 
250 ml / 8.5 fl ounces milk 
¼ (about 60 ml, 2 fl ounces) C sugar 
4 egg yolks 
1 heaped Tbs corn starch 
1 tsp vanilla paste or 1 vanilla pod

1. Heat the cream, milk and vanilla over medium until quite warm to the touch. You don’t want the mixture to boil, but you want it to be almost there. Meanwhile whisk the sugar, egg yolks and cornstarch in a heatproof bowl until slightly lightened. 
2. Remove the vanilla pod if using, scraping the seeds into the milk. 
3. SLOWLY pour the cream into the yolks, whisking CONSTANTLY (whisk while pouring if possible), then return the mixture to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. 
4. Continue to stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard coats the back of the spoon. If you notice any clumps forming, whisk until the custard is smooth again. These clumps are just cornstarch (assuming you have not had the heat on too high and cooked the eggs), and will go away. If you like a thicker custard, continue to cook for a little longer. I never strain my custard and have never had any clumps in it, but if you are worried, strain the custard through a fine sieve. 
5. Remove from the heat and add whiskey to taste (I tend to add about 1 Tbs, and this gives a fairly punchy flavour, so taste as you go).

Note: I have used this recipe dozens of times and it has never failed me. Sometimes I leave out the whiskey or add rum instead. I have even used coconut cream in place of the heavy cream to give it a soft coconut flavour that pairs beautifully with a passionfruit curd or other tropical fruit. 

All-purpose dark chocolate cake

All purpose dark chocolate cake

Delicious Magazine 

Makes 2 x 20cm round cakes

220g unsalted butter

400g dark (<60% chocolate)

2 C caster sugar (reduce by 1/2 a cup maximum)

2 Tbs vanilla

3 Tbs coffee

4 eggs

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/3 C sour cream

2 2/3 C AP flour

1 1/2 C boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Melt butter and chocolate over simmering water, stirring until melted. Cool slightly, then add sugar and beat until well combined. 
2. Add vanilla and coffee, then eggs, one at a time. Combine baking soda and sour cream, then add to the chocolate mixture. 
3. Fold in flour until just combined 
4. Pour in boiling water and beat until smooth. 
5. Bake 25-30 minutes (realistically more like 35-45 minutes), or until skewer comes out clean. 
6. Cook for 5 minutes then remove and cool on wire racks. 

Bananas foster cake

Bananas foster cake

Banana cake

Adapted from here

1 1/2 -2 C very ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp lemon juice

3 C flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 C butter or margarine, softened

1 1/4 C sugar (down from 2 1/8)

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 C buttermilk (1.5 Tbs vinegar in 1 1/2 C milk)

1. Line a 9x13 cm dish or 10 inch cake tin with baking paper so that it is overhanging on two sides and preheat the oven to 135C/275F. 
2. Mix mashed bananas and lemon juice and set aside. 
3. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. 
4. Cream butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs, one at a time. 
5. Stir in vanilla, then beat in the flour mixture alternatively with milk, starting and ending with flour (3x flour additions, 2 x buttermilk additions). 
6. Stir in the bananas, then pour batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, ~1 hour. 
7. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then wrap the base of the cake pan in a kitchen towel and place in the freezer for 45 minutes. This makes the cake especially moist. 
8. Once completely cook, remove cake from freezer and slice into two layers. 

Notes: Cake can be baked at 175C without a problem, just reduce the baking time to 35-45 minutes and check more frequently. 

Buttered rum glaze

6 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs honey

1 Tbs butter

2 Tbs dark rum

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat brown sugar, syrup and 3 Tbs water in a small saucepan over medium heat, until all the sugar has dissolved. Stir in additional ingredients and whisk until cinnamon is incorporated. 

Rum pastry cream

Adapted from European Tarts 

1 1/2 tsp gelatin

1 Tbs water

1 1/2 C milk

6 egg yolks

1/3 C sugar (down from 3/4 C)

1/3 C flour

3 Tbs dark rum

1 tsp vanilla paste

1 C heavy cream

1. Sprinkle gelatine over water and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
2. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium/high until it is just below boiling point.
3. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a jug, then add the flour and continue to whisk. While still whisking, gradually pour in the hot milk, then transfer the mixture back to the milk saucepan and stir constantly. Once very thick (can bring to the boil for one minute), remove from the heat and whisk in the rum and vanilla. Tear in the gelatine and stir until smooth. Transfer pastry cream to a cool container and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cool. 
4. Whip cream to medium peaks, then fold 1/3 into custard. Fold in the rest, then set aside until required. 

Cream cheese frosting

250g cream cheese, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 Tbs butter, RT

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3-5 heaped Tbs powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese and butter on medium until soft and fluffy, then add remaining ingredients (starting with 3 Tbs powdered sugar) and mix on low until combined. Increase speed to med/high and beat for an additional minute. 

Caramelised bananas 

3 just-underripe bananas

couple of Tbs sugar

couple of Tbs butter

1. Heat butter in a small saucepan over med until bubbling. 
2. Slice bananas into 3/4 inch rounds and dip each cut side in the sugar. Place one cut side down in the saucepan and cook until golden. Flip bananas and continue to cook for a couple of minuets, until also golden. 
3. Drain and cool completely on a rack. 

Assembly:

1. Brush the base cake layer generously with glaze, then scoop on the pastry cream and smooth.
2. Place on the other cake layer and decorate the outside with swirls of cream cheese frosting (make a bit of a barrier to hold in the bananas. 
3. Once cool, add the bananas to the centre of the cake.   

Vermicelli salad with honey-lime salmon

Vermicelli salad with honey-lime salmon

Serves 2

200g Vermicelli noodles 

1 Carrot, julienned

1 cucumber, julienned

1/2 red capsicum, julienned

1/2 C mushrooms, thinly sliced

Fried tofu, thinly sliced

1/2 C roasted, salted peanuts, bashed 

Handful mint leaves, thinly sliced

Sauce

4 Tbs sesame oil

3 Tbs soy sauce

3 Tbs rice wine vinegar

2 tsp peanut oil

1 Tbs maple syrup

1 large red chilli, minced (1/2 a red chilli is not spicy at all)

1. Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
2. Soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 5-10 minutes, until COMPLETELY soft. Drain, then rinse with cold water and combine with carrot, cucumber, mushrooms, capsicum and the dressing. 
3. Fry tofu until crispy, then mix though 3/4 of the mint. Top salad with tofu, remaining mint, and peanuts. 

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals

2 salmon fillets, with skin

1 heaped tsp Chinese five spice

1 Tbs runny honey

Juice of 1 lime

1 Tbs sesame seeds

1. Cook salmon over med/high in a TINY amount of oil, skin side down. When mostly cooked through, turn salmon over and cook for a short time. Flip to skin-side down again and drizzle over honey and sesame seeds and allow to caramelise. Add lime juice. 

Passionfruit tart

Passionfruit tart

Pastry 

From Baked Explorations 

¼ C sugar 

1 ½ C all purpose flour 
¼ tsp salt ½ C (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes 1 large egg, beaten 

1. Combine sugar, flour and salt in a food processor (it doesn’t need to be washed from making the almond paste) and pulse a few times. 

1. Sprinkle over the butter and pulse until sandy (6-10 times), then add the egg and pulse until the dough just starts to come together. There will still be small crumbly bits that do not stick together but that is fine. 

1. Tip the dough onto a large piece of cling wrap and form a disk. Wrap well and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Passionfuit filling

Adapted from Butterbaking.com

150ml cream

105g caster sugar (if using canned passion fruit, 70g fine)

300g eggs (5-6)

165g passionfruit pulp (after straining)

1. Whisk together all filling ingredients. Reduce oven temperature to 160C/320F, then pour into pastry case without removing from the oven. Fill right up to the top. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until filling is set, and no longer jiggles when moved. 
2. Cool completely before serving. 

Is great when topped with dark chocolate mousse. 

Smoked salmon pasta

Smoked salmon angel hair pasta

Serves 3-4

Half packet angel hair pasta

200-400g smoked salmon, roughly chopped

2 Tbs capers, drained

Punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

1.5 C Peas/beans

2 C Mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 C white wine

200g cream

Rind and juice of 1 lemon

Parmesan cheese and rocket, to serve

1. Bring water in a large pot to the boil. 
2. Cook mushrooms in butter or oil over med/high heat until liquid is released and evaporated. Add white wine and continue to cook on high until all is absorbed/evaporated. 
3. Add smoked salmon, then cream, artichokes, capers, lemon juice and rind, and tomatoes. 
4. Boil pasta with beans and peas until just done, ~2 minutes. 
5. Drain pasta then add to sauce and stir. 
6. Top with parmesan and rocket to serve. 

Caesar salad

Traditional Caesar salad

Adapted from Taste.com.au

2 egg yolks

2 tsp dijon or seeded mustard

4 anchovies

1 Tbs red or white wine vinegar

1/2 C canola oil

Place yolks, mustard, anchovies and vinegar in a food processor, and process until smooth. With the motor running on low, slowly add oil until dressing thickens. Season with salt (not much!) and pepper, then refrigerate until use. 

Large cos lettuce

Poached or fried egg

Veg bacon

Parmesan cheese

Croutons 

Thai yellow curry

Yellow curry

Adapted from here

Paste:

1/2 - 1 stalk lemongrass, minced, or 2-3 Tbs prepared lemongrass

1-2 red chillies

1/3 C chopped onion

1 inch pieced ginger, chopped

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbs fish sauce (or reduce to 2 Tbs + 1/2 tsp shrimp paste)

3/4 tsp turmeric

1/3 tsp pepper (white pepper if available)

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs lime juice

1 Tbs tomato ketchup (or tomato paste + 1/2 tsp sugar)

Vegetables:

Potatoes

Eggplant

Baby corn

Mushrooms

Chickpeas 

Fried tofu (Combine Chinese 5 spice, salt, pepper, cornflour and coat tofu. Fry until golden and crispy)

1. Combine all paste ingredients in a food processor and blitz until almost smooth. 
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a wok and fry curry paste until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 C chicken or vegetable stock plus vegetable. 
3. When vegetables are almost done, add coconut milk until the desired taste and thickness are reached. 
4. Bring back to a boil and top with natural yogurt or coconut milk to serve. 

Paste can be stored for at least 2 weeks in refrigerator. 

Salmon burger patties with lemon aioli and warm potato salad

Salmon patties

Makes ~10

500g fresh boneless, skinless salmon

200g smoked salmon

1 potato, mashed

2 eggs

Handful finely chopped parsley

Half a can of corn 

1/3 C breadcrumbs

Zest of 1 lemon

~1/2 C AP flour

2-3 eggs, beaten 

1 C panko breadcrumbs

Oil, to fry

Pulse fresh salmon in food processor until finely chopped but not minced to a paste. Finely chop smoked salmon and combine in a bowl. Mix in all other patty ingredients, then form into 10 patties and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Coat in flour, then egg then panko and fry in oil until deep golden and crispy. 

Lemon aioli

Adapted from Serious Eats

2 egg yolks

1/2 C canola oil

1/2 C olive oil

2 tsp water

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

2-3 Tbs lemon juice

salt

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer or food processor, beat yolks, water, mustard and 2 tsp lemon juice on high for 5 seconds, or until combined. Continue to beat and drop in a tiny amount of canola oil. 
2. Add another drop and another, ensuring that each drop is incorporated before adding the next. Once half the canola oil has been added, drizzle the remaining in in a slow stream. Drizzle in the olive oil in the same way. To thin the aioli, add additional lemon juice/water rather than oil, as this will thicken it. Add lemon and salt to taste. 

Warm potato salad

Adapted from taste.com.au

1.5kg baby chat potatoes, halved

2 Tbs olive oil

Few rashers veg bacon, finely diced

1/4 C sour cream

1/4 C mayonnaise 

1 Tbs capers, chopped

1 Tbs lemon juice

4 Tbs parsley, chopped

1. Boil or microwave potatoes until almost tender, then transfer to a baking tray with oil and bake at 175C for 25 minutes, turning occasionally. Add the veg bacon and continue to roast for ~15 minutes, until very soft inside and golden outside. Remove from the oven and season. 
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl then mix though the potatoes. Top with extra parsley to serve. 

Pizza dough

Pizza dough

Australian Good Taste - November 2006, p69 via Taste.com.au

Makes 3 bases

75 ml (1 1/2 C) warm water

7g/1 sachet dried yeast

Pinch caster sugar

600g (4 C) plain flour

1 tsp salt

60ml (1/4C) olive oil, plus extra for bowl

1. Combine water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes until foamy. 
2. Whisk together flour and salt in kitchen aid bowl, then make a well in the centre and pour in yeast and oil. Using the dough hook attachment, turn on speed 1 and mix for 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. 
3. Put extra oil in a clean bowl and place in dough. Coat dough in oil, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes, or until dough doubles in size. 
4. Preheat the oven to 240C and place the pizza stone inside. 
5. Divide dough into 3 and roll out to a circle the size of the pizza stone. 
6. When ready, remove pizza stone and sprinkle with polenta. place dough on top, then add toppings, making sure that there isn't too much, or the pizza base won't cook properly. 
7. Reduce oven to 200C and cook for ~15 minutes, or until crust is hard and cheese bubbling and golden. 

Kirsty's spinach cob dip

Kirsty's spinach and artichoke baked cob dip

1 cob loaf, top cut off and bread scooped out

1 small tub sour cream

1 C mayo

1 packet frozen spinach, thawed and chopped

1 packet French onion soup powder

1 C grated cheese

1 tin water chestnuts, finely chopped

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, finely chopped 

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl then place in bread and bake, covered, at 175C for about 50  minutes, or until heated through.

Joconde cake with chocolate and lemon mousses

Joconde cake with chocolate and lemon mousses
Makes one 7 inch and two 4 inch cakes

Meringue cloud cookies

Makes an enormous number of small meringues, so halve the recipe if you don't want too many extra.

1/3 C water
1 C sugar
5 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla paste

1. Preheat the oven to ~100C/200F. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium/high heat, and swirl to dissolve the sugar, without stirring. Brush down the sides of the saucepan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent sugar crystals forming and falling into the syrup. When the syrup reads 112-115C (235-240F) on a candy thermometer, remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside while you beat the egg whites. 

1. Beat egg whites on low until frothy (approx. 2 min), then add the salt and cream of tartar and slowly increase the speed to medium/high, until soft peaks form (another 2 minutes). 

1. Continue beating the eggs and add the hot syrup slowly, then add the vanilla. Keep beating until the meringue has cooked, is very thick, shines and tastes like marshmallows (7-9 minutes).

1. Pipe the meringue onto baking paper-lined trays and bake for anywhere between an hour and two hours, depending on the size of the meringues. They are ready when they feel completely hard and dry. 

1. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in there until completely cool, then store in an air-tight container for 2-3 weeks. 

Joconde sponge

There is a wonderful explanation and recipe over at Baker's Royale.

Lemon sponge 

Recipe from Life's a feast 3 eggs, separatedZest of 1 lemon1/2 tsp vanilla1/2 + 1/8 cup (125 g) sugar, dividedJuice of 1 lemon + water to make 1/4 cup (62 ml) total liquid1/2 + 1/8 cups (80 g) flour

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F. Line a baking tray with paper.

1. Beat the egg yolks and 1/2 cup (100g) of the sugar in a large bowl until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and continue to beat. 

1. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add 1/3 of the flour. Once combined, add half of the lemon juice mixture, then repeat, ending with the last 1/3 of the flour. 

1. Beat the egg whites with a drop of lemon juice until soft peaks. Gradually add 1/8 C (25g) sugar while continuing to beat the egg whites. 

1. Once the meringue has stiff peaks, fold a third of the meringue into the cake batter. Repeat with half of the remaining egg whites, then fold in the rest. 

1. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread it as evenly as possible. The batter should be about 1/2 inch/1cm in thickness. 

1. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the sponge just start to colour and the sponge bounces back when you press on it gently. 

1. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then place on a cooling tray. The cake does not need to be taken off the baking paper until it is required for assembly. 

Vanilla simple syrup

1/8 C sugar1/8 C boiling water1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla  paste

1. Combine the water and sugar and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Stir in the vanilla until well combined and set aside. 

Dark chocolate ganache

100g dark chocolate, chopped75g heavy cream 

1. Heat the cream over medium heat until it starts to bubble, then pour it over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. 

Dark chocolate mousse

Recipe from  Cannelle et Vanille   

2.5 sheets gelatin (Around 3 grams total)40 grams granulated sugar 10 grams glucose 15 grams water 50 grams egg yolks (about 3 medium)175 grams dark chocolate, coarsely chopped350 grams heavy cream

1. Soak the gelatin in water for 5-10 minutes while you set everything else up. 

1. Beat the egg yolks for 5 minutes, or until very pale in colour. 

1. Combine sugar, glucose syrup and water over medium heat until it reaches 118C/244F, around 3 minutes.

1. While beating the yolks, stream in the hot sugar syrup gradually, and continue to beat until the mixture has cooled (around 5 minutes). 

1. Bring 60g of the cream to a boil, then add the chocolate and stir until smooth (the original recipe says 30g, but I found that just too small an amount to melt the chocolate adequately). 

1. Whip the remaining cream to stiff peaks.

1. Squeeze all the excess water out of the softened gelatin, then place it in a large bowl. Add the melted chocolate and mix well, making sure that the gelatin is completely integrated and the mixture is smooth. Fold in 1/3 of the whipped cream to temper the mixture, then fold in the egg yolks. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream and pour into the joconde.

Lemon chiboust

Recipe from Cannelle et Vanille 100 grams whole milk100 grams lemon juice50 grams egg yolks (3 yolks)12 grams sugar12 grams cornstarch3 grams sheet gelatin100 grams egg whites (3 egg whites)15 grams sugar

1. Soak the gelatin in water for 5-10 minutes. 

1. Boil the milk and 12 grams sugar in a medium saucepan.

1. Whisk the egg yolks, cornstarch and lemon juice together. When the milk has boiled, slowly stream it into the yolks, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook until it starts to thicken and boil. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin and add it to the custard. Whisk well, then transfer to a large clean bowl.  Allow to cool slightly.

1. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks, then gradually add the 15g sugar and continue to whip for an extra minute. 

1. Fold a third of the meringue into the custard (the custard should still be warm but not at all hot). Fold in the rest of the meringue until well combined. 

Milk chocolate Chantilly

Recipe from  Cannelle et Vanille

250 grams heavy cream90 grams milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces

1. Boil the cream and pour it over the chocolate, then whisk until smooth. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 8 hours, but preferably 24 hours, then whip it to stiff peaks, as you would with whipped cream. Because of the addition of chocolate, this cream is quite stable, provided it is used immediately after whipping, and will hold it's shape for at least 24 hours very well. (The small cake in the first image was decorated 24 hours after whipping the Chantilly, which is why the piping has faded a little. The larger cake was decorated immediately after whipping, and the piping held perfectly for a day before the cake was served.

Assembly

1. Lay a large piece of baking paper on the bench and place a piece of plastic wrap on top of it. Put the outside ring of a springform tin on top of the plastic wrap and pull the plastic wrap and baking paper up tightly around the tin. Use a large rubber band to secure the baking paper in place (wrap it around the baking paper on the outside of the springform tin).

1. Using a ruler, measure the height of the baking tin and cut the joconde to size. If the sponge is not long enough to go all the way around the tin, that's fine, just cut another piece and place them right next to each other. You want them to be pushing against each other quite firmly, and the edges will stick together.

1. Cut another piece of joconde to line the bottom of the cake pan, then wedge that in there too. Now you have a basic shell that ready to be filled up!

1. Pour the chocolate mousse into the shell, up to around 1/3 of the height of the tin. Refrigerate this for a couple of hours or freeze it for about an hour, until set. 

1. Pour over the chocolate ganache and allow this to set too. If the mousse is already cold, it will be almost instantaneous. 

1. Cut a circle in the lemon sponge and fit it on top of the ganache. Use a brush to soak the sponge with vanilla simple syrup. Because of this step, it doesn't matter too much if you overcook the sponge a bit.

1. Fill the cake up with lemon chiboust and refrigerate or freeze for 2 hours. 

1. It is best to keep the springform tin around the cake until it needs to be served, but providing the mousses have had ample time to set before removing the tin, the cake will hold up very well, even after slicing. 

1. Decorate with milk chocolate Chantilly and meringue cookies and serve immediately. If you can't serve the cake straight away, decorate it with the Chantilly cream then refrigerate it until required. Top with meringue cookies immediately prior to serving, otherwise they will become soggy on the outside.