Going, going gone: passion fruit soufflé

I had a sudden urge to try something I’ve never baked before: a soufflé! I don’t know where the urge came from – it might have been Daniel Boulud’s great-sounding passion fruit soufflé recipe – or perhaps it was the fact that the wonderful Italian store in Chelsea market sells fruit purees that I have been looking for an excuse to try. In any event – I undertook what seemed like an ambitious task to bake a soufflé but it turned out to be rather easy. I had a perfectly tall soufflé out of the oven and then the real challenge – getting a photograph I liked before it was completely deflated. I had thought I might have 5 minutes or more to complete the task but I only had a few minutes – and the walk from my oven to the studio consumed at least one of those. Flicking through the images on my computer was almost like watching a flip book movie of soufflé deflation: going, going, going gone! The funny thing is that the very same week I tried this and posted the results to my flickr food photography group, two others also made soufflés and we had fun comparing results and sharing tips for how to get a good photography. Certainly, baking the soufflés in rounds so I had a number of fresh ones to work with was helpful. I am sure that there are many other tricks to employ. The soufflé discussions also lead me to an article that Helen of Tartelette wrote on soufflés for Desserts Magazine (click here and then see the article that begins on p. 104). Look how gorgeous and tantalizing her photos are! Wouldn't you like to know her mom’s recipe for cheese soufflé?
Passion fruit souffle with caramelized pear-passion sauce (by Daniel Boulud of Daniel)
(makes 4 servings)

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup passion fruit purée

For the soufflé:
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup passion fruit purée
3/4 cup egg whites (about 4 large), at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

To make the sauce:
1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring after each addition, until it melts. Continue to cook until the sugar syrup turns a light golden brown.

2. Add the pear and continue to cook, while stirring, until the pears are tender and nicely caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir in the passion fruit purée and heat for a minute or two. Remove from the heat and keep warm while preparing the soufflés.

3. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Generously butter the inside and rims of four 6-ounce soufflé dishes. Dust the insides and rims with sugar, making certain that they are thoroughly coated. Tap out the excess sugar and put the dishes on a baking sheet.

4. Whisk together the egg yolks and passion fruit purée in a large bowl until well blended; set aside.

5. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-low speed just until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the sugar, beating until the whites form glossy medium-stiff peaks. Using a large rubber spatula and a light touch, fold the meringue into the yolk mixture in three additions until well incorporated but not overmixed.

6. Fit a pastry bag with a large plain round tip and fill with the soufflé mixture. Pipe (or if you prefer spoon) the mixture into the dishes up to their rims. Run your thumb along the outside edge of the dishes to remove any excess butter and sugar. Bake the soufflés for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. If you touch the tops of the soufflés, they should be firm with centers that are still a bit jiggly.

7. Meanwhile, transfer the sauce to a warm sauceboat; keep warm.

8. When the soufflés are done, carefully pull the baking sheet from the oven. Dust the tops of the soufflés with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately with the pear-passion sauce.

Originally appeared in: Daniel's Dish: Entertaining at Home with a Four Star Chef, Daniel Boulud, Filipacchi Publishing, 2003

Sweetie sweets take 2: fleur de sel caramels

It’s that time again – Valentine’s Day. It’s either a holiday that you love or hate. I’m in the love camp. It’s such a great excuse to be a little silly and of course, to cook some sweets! Last year I made truffles in the spirit of the holiday. This year I was taken with a recipe for fleur de sel caramels that I saw in House Beautiful. It’s an Ina Garten recipe. This is just a perfect occasion to employ one of Ina’s buttery, creamy, sugary fattening best! The fleur de sel is the perfect complement to the sweet caramel and pretty to look at as well. Homemade caramels are completely different from the dry, overly tacky caramels that we think of from

I was a bit wary as I’d never made caramels before but they were quite simple and quick. I followed Ina’s recipe to a “t” until I got to the very last step: forming the individual caramels. I’ve adjusted the recipe below to reflect my changes.

p.s. A couple of photography notes: my photo of homemade cinnamon buns won the "aesthetics" award in last month's DMBLGIT - thanks so much Zorra and judges!
Lou Manna is having a photo contest to help find inspiration for the cover of his next book. Read more about it here.


Fleur de sel caramels (by the Barefoot Contessa, adapted from recipe printed in HouseBeautiful)
(Makes 30 caramels)

Vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Line the bottom of an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, then brush the paper lightly with oil, allowing the paper to drape over two sides.

2. In a deep saucepan (89 diameter by 4 1/2" deep), stir together 1/4 cup water with the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown color. Don't stir — just swirl the pan to mix. Watch carefully, as it will burn quickly at the end!

3. In the meantime, in a small pan, bring the cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon of fleur de sel to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.

4. When the sugar mixture is a warm golden color, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful! It will bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248°F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Very carefully (because it's hot!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm.

5. When the caramels are cold, use the parchment paper to pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board (note: the caramels will still be supple and easy to handle – if too stiff, allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes). Using the parchment and starting from the long side, tightly roll the caramel up until you have rolled 1/3 of it. Cut along the edge and repeat two more times. Use the parchment to gently roll each log to even out the thickness and smooth out the seam from the cut side. Cut each roll into 8-10 pieces, taking care not to touch the caramel with your finger. Sprinkle each piece with fleur de sel and wrap individually in glassine or parchment paper. Store in the refrigerator and serve the caramels chilled.

Sweet (and cute): chocolate-coffee cupcakes with mocha ganache

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Daniel Boulud. Love because his creations are amazing – hate because the recipes he publishes for the “peeps” are sometimes not so friendly or “tight” – like the trifle he published in Elle Décor that called for a pan much too small for the cake batter and led to a rather unpleasant explosion in my oven. Or the fact that he sometimes chooses baking dishes that are entirely uncommon and require a trip to a specialty baking store (like the soufflé recipe I am hoping to attempt today). This one, however, is a keeper. It’s a recipe for chocolate coffee cupcakes that has been making its way around the blogsphere and that is simply divine. Yes, it requires a few more steps than one would like but they are all worth it! The cupcakes are served with a mocha ganache and a mascarpone cream that will make you swear off buttercream forever! The fun part about this recipe is finding fun alternatives to cupcake wrappers. I’ve used paper coffee cups, colored ramekins and see-through espresso cups. The recipe makes 30 cupcakes so you can try styling them a few different ways.


Chocolate coffee cupcakes with mocha ganache and mascarpone cream
(Recipe By Daniel Boulud)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter -- at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup coffee beans -- crushed
8 ounces milk chocolate -- finely chopped
2 cups mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar -- sifted

To make the chocolate-coffee cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 30 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

Combine the milk, cocoa, coffee and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, constantly whisking, until the cocoa and coffee have dissolved. Let cool and pour into a liquid measure.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk mixture in three batches, ending with the liquid. Fill each muffin cup halfway with the batter. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the mocha ganache and mascarpone cream

Combine 1 cup of the heavy cream and coffee beans in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat, cover, and let infuse for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean sauce-pan and bring back to a boil. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and pour the hot cream over it, stirring slowly, until the ganache is smooth. Spoon enough ganache over each cupcake to fill the liners to the rim.

Using a whisk or in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the remaining 2 cups of heavy cream to stiff peaks. Add the mascarpone and confectioners sugar and whisk until smooth. Spoon the mascarpone cream into a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip and pipe the cream on top of the ganache in a circle.

To take the chill off: beef and barley stew

Leemei Tan from My Cooking Hut invited me to do a "guest post" about food and photography with a winter recipe. She has posted both today - hop over and see. What fun to be invited to participate in someone else's blog!

For the post, I developed a recipe for a hearty beef and barley stew. It took several tries to get it the way I wanted it but all of the rejects were delicious so no complaining here! I'm posting the recipe below. See Leemei's blog for the rest of the story.

Hearty winter beef and barley stew
(makes 3-4 servings)

1 – 1¼ pounds chuck roast, chopped into ~1 inch cubes
5 cups cold water
A few springs Italian flat leaf parsley plus chopped parsley to garnish
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 medium yellow onion, halved
4-5 medium carrots
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup frozen pearl onions
2-3 smallish waxy potatoes: blue make for a nice color contrast with the other ingredients but any waxy potato will do
2 medium Jerusalem artichokes or parsnips
¼ cup pearled barley
Vegetable oil for cooking
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Season beef generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet and brown beef on all sides.

Transfer beef to a 5-6 quart Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add water, thyme sprigs, 1-2 sprigs Italian flat leaf parsley, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, half of the yellow onion (skin on is fine) and a whole carrot (skin on is fine). Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes. Remove thyme, onion and carrot.

Meanwhile, cut potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes or parsnips into 3/4 inch cubes and peel and chop remaining carrots into 1 each pieces. Re-heat pan used to brown the beef (add a little additional oil if necessary) and cook cut vegetables plus whole pearl onions for several minutes until they begin to brown. Take care not to crowd the pan. If your pan is not big enough, brown in batches.

After beef mixture has cooked 30 minutes per the above, add the barley and browned vegetables plus a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and pepper. Bring temperature back up to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered for an additional 30-40 minutes. At this point,the sauce will have thickened and the beef will be fork-tender. If sauce is not thick enough for your liking, remove cover, raise temperature and cook a little longer. If too thick, add cold water in ¼ cup increments until consistency is as desired. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of chopped flat leaf parsley.