A Floral Themed High Tea at Patisse

I recently had the pleasure of attending a lovely high tea at Patisse in Sydney.. not just any high tea, but one created by Vincent Gadan and the hardworking team at Patisse in Waterloo. Does the name ring a bell? It may for all those Masterchef fans out there. Vincent Gadan is the talented, French-born pastry chef who faced up to (and won) a roast challenge against Hayden. He also appeared again on the series for a masterclass with some of the contestants. Recognise those score cards in the frame on the table?

When I learnt that Patisse was starting monthly themed high teas I jumped at the chance, and I attended their high tea debut on July 31st. The theme? Floral: Rose, lavender and violet. But no scones and clotted cream in sight here - this was a french take on high tea.

The selection of sweets and savouries for guests was as follows:

Savoury

Wagyu Pie – cocktail size

Spinach and Feta Quiche – Cocktail size

Chicken Sandwich finger

Roast vegetable sandwich finger

Sweet

Lavender Madeline

Pistachio and rose cake

Violet Tropeziennes

Verrine of Lavender

Some pictures of the food for you to drool over. First, our roasted vegetable finger sandwiches...

Spinach and feta quiches fresh out of the oven, the pastry buttery and flaky... mmmm!

The beautiful sweets plate... a bouquet of flavours and textures!

Check out this thing of beauty - the verrine of lavender... I gave this one a miss as I don't eat gelatine, but it was certainly pretty to look at.

And lastly, the sweet highlight from the high tea for me.. the Pistachio and Rose Cake - a beautifully moist cake coated with pistachios and topped with orange blossom yoghurt and rose petals... absolutely lovely.

We also enjoyed a tea tasting as part of the high tea, something I have never experienced before. We sampled beautiful teas by a new Australian company called The Rabbit Hole. Their organic teas were selected to accompany the floral theme of the high tea, and they were beautiful! In fact, you'll actually be hearing more about them on my blog soon.. so stay tuned tea lovers!

Towards the end of the high tea we were all introduced to Vincent who welcomed us and spoke about the menu he created for the day.

All in all an enjoyable high tea, and definitely something a little different from many high tea offerings in Sydney. Check out the Patisse website for information about upcoming high tea events.

Ladybird and guest attended high tea as guests of Patisse

Patisse
Shop G01, PYD Building
197 Young St
Waterloo NSW
Ph: (02) 9690 0665

http://www.patisse.com.au/
Monday to Saturday, 8:30am to 4pm

Lavender and Honey Madeleines

I've got to tell you, I felt a little tingle as I returned to my blogging this weekend. It really is great to be back! And what a glorious weekend it's been in Sydney... crisp Autumn air, clear blue skies and beautiful sunshine. On afternoons like these, I like nothing more than the opportunity to sit back and relax on my balcony with Mr Ladybird over a nice cup of tea and something freshly baked. I am also savouring such moments as I approach a big change in my life...

You see, while I've been away I have been doing a little baking of my own, and I am delighted to tell you all that I have a bun in the oven! Yes, Mr Ladybird and I are expecting our first child! We are absolutely delighted and can't wait to meet our little one in October.

So there you have it - there's my news... As my first recipe after my hiatus, here is a lovely recipe for delicious madeleines ever so lightly touched by the scent and flavours and lavender and honey - a winning flavour combination, I think :)

Lavender and honey madeleines
(Recipe adapted from 'Petit Fours' by Murdoch Books)

How many madeleines this recipe will make depends on the size of your madeleine moulds. My tray's mould's are quite large (8cam in length), and this recipe made 8 - just enough for afternoon tea with 2 or 3 people. These are best served the same day as baking.


Ingredients

30g (1 oz) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons honey
2 1/2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp dried (culinary) lavender
30g (1oz) plain flour
1 1/2 tbsp ground almonds
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tbsp icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree celcius (350 F/ Gas 4). Use pastry brush to lightly grease madeleine moulds.
2. Melt the butter and honey in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool.
3. Place the sugar and lavender in a mortar and pestle and grind to release the fragrant oils. Sift the lavender sugar to remove the lavender husks.
3. Sift the flour, ground almonds and three pinches of salt three times. This will help to lighten the texture of the madeleines.
4. With an electric mixture, whisk the egg and sugar mixture until thick and creamy.
5. With a metal spoon, fold in the cooled honey/butter mixture, followed by the flour. Fold until just combined. Allow mixture to stand for 10 minutes.
6. Spoon the mixture into madeleine moulds until they are around three-quarters full.
7. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly golden. Carefully remove from the moulds and place on a wire rack to cool. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve.

Note: As you can see from the madeleines pictures, mine are a little past being lightly golden, so take care not to overcook them.


Until next time, dear readers!

Ladybird x

Ginger & Spice Crème Brulee

This crème brulee recipe is inspired by the ginger brulee tarts at the Bourke St Bakery in Sydney. Their tarts are so good!

*** French cuisine purists beware - this brulee recipe does not follow the orthodox method of creating the brulee custard... you have been warned! ***

This recipe makes 6 small brulees (I used 1/4 cup capacity ramekins)

Ingredients
2 cups (500ml) pouring (pure) cream
4 egg yolks
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1/2 small, thin cinnamon stick
2 green cardamom pods, bruised
1/4 cup caster sugar
demerara sugar, for sprinkling
chopped pistachios, for decoration

Method
1. Place the cream, ginger, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 3 minutes, then set aside for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius.

2. Remove the ginger and spices by straining the mixture into a bowl, then return the cream to the saucepan.

3. Return the saucepan to very low heat (important because we don't want to scramble the yolks) and add the yolks and caster sugar and stir continuously for 6-8 minutes until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.

4. Transfer custard to a jug (you can strain out any lumps with a sieve) then pour into ramekins. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and pour enough boiling water into the dish so that it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the custards set. Remove from the baking dish and cool to room temperature before refrigerating for an hour, or until cold.

6. When ready to serve, sprinkle the tops of the custards with demerara sugar. Caramelise with a torch, or under a hot grill, then repeat. Two layers of caramelised sugar makes for a beautiful crisp top to crack through, yielding delicious creamy custard beneath.

Yum! :)

Ladybird x

Bastille Day Cookies

Alas this post is a day late (sigh)... I seem a bit out of sorts with my food blogging at the moment.. Leaving my camera at home when I go out, laptop out of action, kitchen disasters... mon dieu! It's been a funny week, but at last I bring you my Bastille Day cookies!

Cookies for such an important day in the French calendar would not be suitable unless they themselves were a little French. I had been hanging onto a french butter biscuit recipe for months, scribbled down on a post-it note floating around my handbag.. crying out for some love and attention! Regrettably, I do not have the source for this recipe, so do forgive me. Oh, and a brief disclaimer.. if you are the French baking police I do not purport to be an expert on anything French, let alone French baking :)

These butter cookies are known as Sables. 'Sables' is French for 'sand' and refers to the sandy texture of this delicate, shortbread like cookie. Sables are said to originate from Normandy, France.

Like many sweet French recipes, the quality of your final result depends on the quality of your ingredients. So it seemed only appropriate to use two of my absolute favourite ingredients for baking... Lurpak unsalted butter and vanilla bean paste.

Here is the recipe to this simple (but a bit 'ooh la la') cookie recipe.

Sables

140g unsalted butter, at room temperature

100g caster sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

260g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

scant 1/4 tsp salt

1. With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg and combine well.
2. In a separate bowl combined the dry ingredients and whisk together briefly to remove lumps.
3. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just incorporated. Take care not to overbeat.
4. Divide the dough in half and wrap in cling film and refrigerate until firm. A couple of hours is best.
5. On a lightly floured surface, bring the dough together and roll out to around a half centimetre thickness.
6. Cut out desired shapes and transfer onto baking trays lined with baking paper.

7. Place the baking tray in the fridge for about 20 minutes to chill and firm up the dough and preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius (350 degrees F).
8. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden at the edges. Cool briefly on trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cool I rolled out thin strips of blue, white and red fondant. To stick the fondant to the cookies, I dabbed a tiny amount of water here and there on the reverse side of the fondant. And voila - miniature, edible French flags!

Viva la France!

Ladybird x

Lemon Liqueur Macarons

These are the second batch of macarons I've made, and (it must be said) a vast improvement on my first attempt, but still a long way off from being right. Learning how to make macarons is a frustrating process! In my paranoia about overmixing the batter, I ended up undermixing and so the batter was quite lumpy and difficult to pipe. Edible and tasty, but not very aesthetically appealing... But also one step further towards a perfect macaron :)
As a result of my mistakes in the first batch, I learnt a lot about how to make macarons and now a bit more confident in setting about making these little french delicacies again in future. I have also learnt a lot from reading online. The wealth of knowledge and experience available via the Internet never ceases to amaze me - it's incredible!

I love anything lemony, so I enjoyed these little lemon liqueur macarons. I made mine a little too fat, but made smaller this recipe makes 16 complete macarons.

From The Australian Women's Weekly: Macaroons & Biscuits.
Ingredients
3 eggwhites
1/4 c (55g) caster sugar
yellow food colouring
1 1/4 c (200g) icing sugar
1c (120g) ground almonds
2 tsp finely grated lemon ring
1 tbsp icing sugar, extra
1/4 c pouring cream
150g white chocolate, chopped coarsely
4 tsp limoncello liqueur

Method
Macarons

1. Grease oven trays and line with baking paper.
2. Combine the ground almonds and icing sugar and sieve twice. Set aside.
3. Beat eggwhites slowly and then gradually increase speed until soft peaks form. Add caster sugar a spoonful at a time and a few drops of the food colouring, beat until the sugar dissolves. Fold in sifted icing sugar, ground almonds and rind in two batches.
4. Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 2cm plain tube. Pipe 4 cm rounds about 2 cm apart onto trays. Tap trays on bench so macarons spread slightly. Dust macaroons with extra sifted icing sugar. Stand 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
6. Bake macarons about 20 minutes until crisp, but not coloured. Cool on trays.

Ganache
1. Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan, remove from heat, add chocolate, stir until smooth. Stir in liqueur, stand at room temperature until spreadable.
2. Sandwich macarons with filing.

Tips
- Age the eggwhites overnight. I let mine sit out of the fridge in a small container (winter here at the moment, so no problem).
- Beating the eggwhites slowly and then increasing the speed strengthens the eggwhites.
- Don't be afraid of being too rough with the batter. It is important to fold the mixture, but it is more important to achieve a nice smooth batter. When recipes say "it should flow like magma" (which, I feel, is an obscure and frustrating comparison!), they mean it should ooze in slow motion when you tip the bowl to the side.
- To remove any piping peaks (or 'nipples' as I have heard them referred to as in my reading!), dip a finger in water and gently pat the top of the macaron. I forgot to do this step, so otherwise I think the tops would have been smooth. 
- Sandwich macarons just before serving to avoid sogginess.


Until next time readers :) Happy baking

Ladybird x