the hungry expats

As far as I can remember, my mom always started this cake by coating the bottom of a pan with a dark brown caramel. This recipe is more Southern in the sense that it calls for a mix of butter and brown sugar, which caramelised the pineapple nicely and gave the cake a wonderfully-rich buttery flavor. Sorry Mom, I like it better this way. INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup unsalted butter 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 1 can sliced pineapple, drained 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 pinch of salt 1 egg 1/2 cup milk (not non-fat) 1/3 cup greek yogurt or sour cream 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract DIRECTIONS   Preheat oven to 350F.  In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Pour it into a 9-inch cake pan. Tilt the pan to coat sides with butter. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter. Add 1 whole pineapple slice to the center of the pan. Halve the remaining slices. Place them in a fan-like shape around center pie...

Traditionally, a strawberry bavarois is a light strawberry mousse on top of a thin layer of génoise (sponge cake). As I love the contrast between the smoothness of the filling and the texture of the crumbly crust found in the cheesecake, I decided to replace the traditional sponge cake base by a crunchy chocolate cookie crust. I am very pleased with the result: the dark chocolate crust adds a rich depth and works wonderfully with the airy strawberry mousse.   CRUST 150 grams of Oreo-style cookies (about 6 oz.) 50 grams of butter, melted pinch of salt   FILLING 500 grams of fresh strawberries 1 lemon 6 leaves of gelatin (11 or 12 grams) 40 cl. of liquid heavy cream (at least 30% fat), chilled 200 to 220 grams of white sugar (1 cup) Preheat oven at 350°F. To make the crust, place cookies in a mixer and pulse to obtain a sandy texture (20 to 30 seconds). Pour into a bowl, add salt and melted butter. Stir to combine ingredients and spread evenly at the bottom...

This is a French classic. When strawberries are in season, fraisiers start to pop up in every pastry shop. They're really not that difficult to make though, so why not try your hands at it? Here's the recipe I used.   FOR THE CAKE   4 large eggs 1/2 cup white sugar 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon almond extract FOR THE CREME MOUSSELINE 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup white sugar 2 large eggs 1/4 cup cornflour 1 stick + 1 tablespoon butter (125 grams), softened 1 vanilla pod 1 pound fresh strawberries Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.   Start with the cake. Place sugar and egg yolks in a large bowl.   Using electric beaters, whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture is pale in colour. Add in almond extract and set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg whites with electric beaters on high speed until firm peaks form . Fold egg whites into the egg-sugar mixture in 3 times, just enough to keep batter light and airy.   Divide batter in halves ...

This recipe is slightly adapted from the one featured in the November '13 issue of SAVEUR Magazine. A real Southern gem. The taste of the toasted pecans on top really comes through.  CAKE 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used canola oil) 2 cups sugar 5 eggs, separated 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 1 cup finely chopped pecans (extra flour and butter for the pans) FROSTING 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 4 tablespoons  unsalted butter, softened 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted DIRECTIONS Heat oven at 350°. Butter and flour three 8" cake pans. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl. Cream butter, shortening and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until fluffy, 2 t...

Temporarily separated by one thousand kilometers, my partner and I decided yesterday to Skype each other and bake banana nut bread simultaneously. Like two modern Julia Childs, we set our webcams in the kitchen, and proceeded to describe what we were doing with the ingredients. We used differents recipes, and while Mark claims that his banana nut bread would easily "bring all the boys to the yard" (if you don't get it, look up Kelis' Milkshake), I was extremely pleased with mine and thought I would share the recipe here. BANANA NUT BREAD Yields one 10-inch loaf 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 large eggs 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup plain yogurt (or buttermilk) 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 or 3 bananas) 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped Preheat oven at 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch loaf pan (I used p...

Unfortunately, this is another Mardi Gras season I will spend away from New Orleans. All I can do to cheer myself up is look at my boxes of beads collected over the years and bake king cakes, which I enjoy very much with coffee and chicory. KING CAKE (Adapted from "Jambalaya, 15th Anniversary Edition, A Collection of Cajun & Creole Favorites from The Junior League of New Orleans)  Yields 2 cakes CAKE 1 stick (110 g.) plus 1 tablespoon butter, divided 2/3 cup evaporated or skim milk 1/2 cup sugar, divided 2 teaspoons salt 2 packages dry yeast 1/3 cup warm water 4 eggs 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1 tablespoon orange zest 6 cups all-purpose flour FILLING 1 stick (110 g.) butter, melted 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon TOPPING 1 egg, beaten 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, divided 6 tablespoons milk food coloring (yellow, green and purple) 2 (3/4-inch) plastic babies, or 2 beans Melt 1 stick butter i...

I always wanted to try and make a croquembouche (or pièce montée for the French out there) but was afraid to tackle something that seemed so difficult and technical. That is, until I saw an episode of Masterchef Australia: All Stars last week, featuring Adriano Zumbo's recipe. For those who want to try it in its full measure, here's the link: http://www.masterchef.com.au/recipes/croquembouche-2012.htm Personally, I divided everything by 4, which still yielded about 20 choux puffs, and made some adjustments of my own: CROQUEMBOUCHE PUFF PASTRY   100g butter   5g sugar   135ml whole milk   5g salt   105ml water   130g all-purpose flour   4 eggs CREME PATISSIERE   425ml whole milk   1 Tablespoon vanilla extract   5 egg yolks   110g white sugar   45g corn flour   45g butter, diced, softened CARAMEL   150g white sugar   50ml water   65ml corn syrup Preheat ...