The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz » Blog Anniversary

Queen of Puddings

Paz — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:39:26 +0000

Please help me welcome this week’s guest blogger, Elizabeth of The House in Marrakesh and About New York. It is especially fitting that she’s made a tasty dessert because today happens to be the three year anniversary of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz. Yay! So, we can celebrate with her delicious-sounding Queen of Puddings. Help yourself, everyone! Thank you, Elizabeth!

Paz

Photo from DeliaOnLine.com

I am honored to be a guest blogger for chef Paz!

Some while ago, we were discussing our favorite dessets. We like dessert!

In these days of increasing food prices it is good to be thrifty. What better way to use of stale white bread than a delicious

Queen of Puddings?

Also called Queen Pudding, this dish, based on a 17th Century version, was created for Queen Victoria by her chefs at Buckingham Palace. You can tell Chef Paz and I like to be in important company! This is a great favorite with my family and is easy to make.

Serves 6-8

You need:

2 cups stale white breadcrumbs (you can make these in your blender from any stale loaf)

1 tbl sp castor sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 1/2 cups milk

60 gm butter

4 eggs separated

1/4 cup raspberry jam

3/4 cup caster sugar (extra)

2 tsp crystal sugar

Method:

1. Combine breadcrumbs, castor sugar, essence and rind in large bowl.

2. Heat milk and butter in pan until almost boiling, stir in to bread mixture; stand 10 mins

3. Stir yolks into bread mixture, pour into shallow ovenproof dish (five cup capacity).

4. Bake uncovered in moderate oven about 35 mins until set.

5. Carefully spread top of pudding with warmed jam.

6. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form, gradually add extra castor sugar, beat until sugar is dissolved.

7. Spread meringue over pudding, bake in moderate oven about 10 mins or until lightly browned.

Serving Suggestion: Recipe best made before serving, not suitable for freezing or microwaving.

Happy Anniversary! Happy Birthday!

Paz — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 03:19:08 +0000

Lady Fingers and crema pasticcera

Happy Anniversary! Happy Birthday to my blog! Today marks the two year anniversary when I first posted on this blog. Unbelievable. I never thought I’d ever develop an interest in cooking and then have the nerve to blog about it. Time sure flies when you’re having fun, learning new cooking tips, finding awesome recipes and meeting fellow food bloggers and making really good friends.

Sometime ago, I was talking to Simona of Briciole (one of the blogs I love!) about the different ways of making tiramisu. This is one of the first desserts I prepared and blogged about. Even to this day I still can’t believe that I actually made tiramisu because until then, I always had to go to a restaurant to order it. While I like to make tiramisu, I can’t prepare it often because one family member has a low immune system and can’t risk eating it because of raw eggs ingredients.

Simona suggested making a simple dessert of Lady Fingers and crema pasticcera, which doesn’t include raw eggs. This was something she used to make often as a teenager, so she shared her recipe for crema pasticcera and the dessert with me.

After I prepared the crema pasticcera, I dipped the Lady Fingers in coffee and then layered it with the crema (instead of the mascarpone mixture, which contained the raw eggs). Instantly, I had a delicious dessert! Thank you Simona! I had fun making this dessert. It was very easy to prepare and everyone enjoyed it.

According to Simona’s research on alternative Tiramisu recipes:

1. A number of people use crema pasticcera instead of the raw egg mixture to make Tiramisu, but they add mascarpone to it.

2. Other people use crema pasticcera and don’t use mascarpone, but they add whipped cream to the crema (we call the mixture crema chantilly) .

3. Ladyfingers and crema can be used to make zuppa inglese, but then you would need alchermes to moisten the cookies, not coffee.

4. However, some people make zuppa inglese using coffee to moisten the ladyfingers ( which is what I did).

Thanks to everyone who stops by here and leaves a comment. It would be no fun without you. For the past couple of months my food posts have diminished. I have a different schedule that doesn’t allow me to cook and blog much, neither have I been able to stop by other blogs as I previously did. In the near future, I hope to get up to speed again and blog about my cooking adventures more often. I certainly have a lot of recipes to try out and share!

Paz

Crema pasticcera in the pot

Crema Pasticcera

Briciole

2 extra-large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
500 ml milk (slightly more than 2 cups)
3 strips of lemon peel about 3” long and 1/2” wide (using a potato peeler to cut the strips makes it easier to avoid cutting the white part of the lemon)
3 tablespoons pastry (or unbleached) flour
Pour the milk into a pan, add the lemon peel and warm up to well below boiling point.
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is white and bubbly.
Sift the flour over the egg mixture and beat briefly until it is incorporated.
Remove the lemon strips from the milk.
Add the milk to the eggs and mix with a wooden spoon.
Pour the mixture into the pan and set it to very low heat, stirring at least every couple of minutes. When the froth on the surface disappears completely, crema starts to feel thicker. From then on stir almost continuously.
When crema reaches boiling temperature, cook for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and stir to bring down the temperature.
While the crema cools down, stir it every now and then to prevent the formation of a film over it.

Covered in crema pasticcera

Covered with crema pasticcera and chocolate powder

Happy One Year Anniversary!

Paz — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:30:00 +0000

One of my favorite flowers Ã¢â‚¬â€ Sunflower
Click on photo for larger image

This past week has been the one year anniversary of my blog. Last year on this date, I posted my first blog post. You can find the first month of my blog posts here.

I canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t believe IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve been cooking and blogging for one whole year now! ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s been a fun and challenging experience.

Thanks to all who have stopped by here, especially those who have taken time to leave a comment. I appreciate it very much. Thanks for all your encouragement and tips. It has made cooking even more fun and a greater learning experience. I also thank all the food bloggers, who are so creative and inspiring.

I look forward to another year of cooking adventures with you all!

Best,
Paz