LEMON CURD ICE CREAM WITH MERINGUE SWIRLS

SPRING ON VACATION

It was a sweltering day in May when I found this recipe. May, I repeat, for those of you who missed that word. This year, it seemed that spring had decided to take an extra long vacation and leave the climate duties to her companion summer. It was still May when we had our first over 30℃ (which is 86  degrees in fahrenheit) day in Tokyo, and it's been like this ever since. Although I love summer and I would say without hesitation that it is my favourite season, I also do enjoy the mild and beautiful days of spring and autumn — the best time of year to wear trench coats and other fashion items that are harder to incorporate during the harsher seasons. And though I shamelessly play favourites, the best part of living in Tokyo is that you are able to experience the change of seasons fully; the pale pink cherry blossoms when the earth comes back to life and everything starts to turn green again, the rainy season when you see hydrangeas and the pops of colourful umbrellas everywhere, the sweltering summer days when people enjoy the fireworks wearing "yukatas", the crisp autumn days when the leaves turn red and golden and there are no clouds against the bright blue skies, the cool evenings when you hear crickets chirping, the cold days when people all bundled up walk briskly and the fairy lights glimmer in the city, and finally the freezing and bleak days when people gather and have "nabe parties" and there are a few days of snow. I wanted the full experience this year too, and I wanted those pleasant spring days back, even if just to have a few more weeks to look forward to summer. But we are getting a little off track.

INDIVIDUAL TARTES TATIN

THE HAPPY ACCIDENT

Tarte tatin was the result of an accident. Or so I've read.
There are a few versions of the story but it is commonly said that Stéphanie Tatin, one of the two sisters that ran the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, was overworked one day and while trying to bake her specialty "tarte aux pommes", accidentally placed the apples and sugar in the pan before placing the pie crust first. In a rush, she threw the crust on top, baked the whole pan in the oven and turned it out on a plate upside down . . . and the rest is history. An accident turned one of the most famous french desserts of all time. "An accident in the kitchen story" surely does not get better than this. But that does not mean there aren't other good stories.

The storyline is a bit different but these tartes tatin was a result of an accident too: there were some figs trying to be caramelized and they collapsed. Luckily there was an apple.

As the Tatin sisters' story tells us, the kitchen is a place to learn that not all accidents are failures — quite the contrary, some of the most beautiful and delicious things can be a result of one. How odd to welcome these "accidents" when all my life I have been more than careful to avoid (m)any, going to great lengths at times. It is like looking at the world (or the kitchen) through a different pair of glasses, and improvisation and spontaneity and a few spills and crumbles here and there . . . it is all welcome. Accidents do not end as mere accidents but become happy accidents. Which brings us back to the tartes tatin.

VANILLA CARAMEL RIBBON ICE CREAM

FAREWELL SUMMERTIME

Every year, as I grow older, time seems to pass by quicker each and every year; hour by hour, day by day, month by month, and season by season. This summer was no exception — if not, it was the fastest I had felt a season slip away, and the hot languid days passed by in a hazy blur. How could that be?
But summer was here and I have memories to prove that I had a good one: buying a new pair of sunglasses at my favorite shop and having ice cream on the way back home, having long languid conversations with close friends over champagne and dinner, going to the aquarium — for the first time in a very long time — with a close friend and then later in the week helping her move out of town (I miss her already), grabbing drinks at a tiny beer cafe with Yu on a random weeknight, lunching with my dear friend in our high school neighborhood just for old times sake (she was wearing the best hawaiian print button down shirt over a long flowing skirt), going on a girls-only outing to Hakone with my grandmother, mother, and aunt . . . Even a trip to Disneyland with my brother and his girlfriend which is something I would not be up for during any other season.
But even with all these good memories (and more), I am still not quite ready to let go of summer. There are sweaters and coats displayed in the shop windows, and the days have been much cooler with grey clouds and the rain taking place of the harsh summer sun. There are no more cicadas crying in the trees, and when the wind blows it is no longer a summer breeze. Whether I like it or not, autumn is right around the corner — or maybe it is already here — but I am still holding on. Wearing my favorite pair of summer shorts/white shoes one last time, buying the last of peaches and plums at the grocery store, listening to Lana's Summertime Sadness, and making good use of my ice cream maker.

CLASSIC CRÈME CARAMEL

A HERO'S FAVORITE DESSERT

An extraordinary grandfather is a wonderful thing to have, and fortunately, I am one of the lucky grandchildren in this world to have one. A Grandfather N to be exact, whom my brother and I call J. He is, and will always be my hero; a role model, a mentor, maybe even a superstar that I will always look up to no matter how old I become. He is that wonderful.
On May 19th, J passed away. He had been ill for some time, and the last 7 months of his life were spent in a hospital room, close enough from his home but still away from it (which is a shame because he loved his home). He went peacefully in the sole company of my grandmother, his beloved wife to whom he had been married for 62 years. As you can probably imagine, the event left me devastated.
But today, I am not going to write about my heartbreaking sorrow. Nor am I going to write about all the wonderful memories I have of him. I am going to tell you about my beloved grandfather's beloved dessert.

J was a dessert lover. He had a sweet tooth, and dessert, along with 'ocha' (tea time) which is around 4 o'clock at my grandparents's house, was something he looked forward to immensely. I remember particular treats he was fond of; the most light and delicate cheesecake, a swiss roll filled with fluffy cream, (both from the 'depa-chika' of department stores he frequented), classic choux à la crème from a neighborhood pâtisserie, ice cream from the grocery store (he loved häagen-dazs), slices of fruit (cantaloupe was his favorite), and his go-to treat: crème caramel.
During J's 7 month stay at the hospital, everyone in our family took turns visiting him, with the exception of my grandmother who was there practically every single day. (Ah, true love, no?) We would talk to him, hold his hand, rub his feet, play his favorite music on the iPad and . . . deliver his crème caramel of the day. Being diagnosed with diabetes at the time, J was on a strict diet, but because he ate so little while he was in the hospital, he was given permission to have treats. Crème caramel was one of the few things he would eat even when he didn't have much of an appetite, and the pudding texture was ideal for his swallowing (he had aspiration pneumonia); hence began the daily delivery. It was the highlight of his day, the moment he had his first spoonful, giving me or whoever else was present a huge boyish grin.
I think about all the times in the past we had crème caramel together at the kitchen table back at his house. I don't think it was ever his "favorite" dessert. But you see, J is the kind of person to fall madly in love with a certain dessert requesting it over and over again, only to fall madly in love with a different dessert after a few months, sometimes a few weeks. His sweet tooth "affairs" come and go most of the time, but I could remember various times in between various affairs we had crème caramel together. Crème caramel is, and I am suspecting always has been, his female companion; the friend he goes back to and has nice conversations with when the affairs tire him out, the friend he is loyal to and never ditches no matter how long it takes for him to visit again. She is gentle and sweet and wholesome (well in a chic way — after all, creme caramel is French), and suits any occasion including the occasion you are sick in the hospital.

Less than a week before J passed away, I made this dessert with him in mind. He hadn't eaten in a while . . . maybe he wouldn't be able to ever again. I wish I had thought of making this earlier while he could still eat, but I was afraid of making him sicker — 'what if I give him food poisoning?' was a thought I couldn't shake. They turned out perfectly, an all too rare result for first time recipes, and I couldn't help but think that J must be sending good vibes to the little oven in my kitchen. He passed away the following Monday.

It has been two and a half months since that day and I have made crème caramel exactly three times since then. Each attempt has turned out perfectly. Of course I am thinking it is because of J, that he is still sending good vibes . . . good vibes from heaven. Which makes me think I will never fail at making crème caramel. The thought is enough to make me feel invincible — even if it is only for those few moments I am making this dessert — and it is a lovely feeling. It feels very much like love.

Thank you J, for being the extraordinary grandfather you are, for showing me to do the things you love to love the life you live, for loving me unconditionally, and for all the good vibes from heaven to my oven. You are indeed my hero.

* { crème caramel adapted from : Masahiko Hayashi via kyounoryouri (みんなのきょうの料理) — custard pudding (カスタードプリン) }
— click on the images above, or continue reading for the recipe

THE CUPCAKE PROJECT № 3 | BANANA CUPCAKES WITH CARAMEL SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

This is the first time in a very long time for me to do a cupcake post. When I started this blog, I wanted to do a mini-series featuring these festive treats, but that didn't work out as planned, as I ended up taking a very long break after only two posts. (If I remember correctly, it was due to buttercream trauma.) Fortunately, I am planning to get back on track (and much more skilled at making swiss meringue buttercream than before), and I have the perfect welcome back cupcake recipe: banana cupcakes with caramel swiss meringue buttercream. And yes, these are as heavenly as they sound. The recipe is originally from Martha Stewart, adapted via the amazing and talented Linda Lomelino. You can find her blog Call me Cupcake! here.

What better time to restart a project than spring — the cupcake project is officially back . . . *

* { banana cupcakes with caramel swiss meringue buttercream adapted from : call me cupcake — banana cupcakes with caramel frosting }
— click on the images above, or continue reading for the recipe

PHOTOGRAPHY № 6 | MILLEFEUILLE AUX FRAISES

From a while ago; leftover pâte feuilletée rapide and leftover crème pâtissière turned into a spring dessert. Please excuse all the crumbly messiness . . . *

CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE & CHOUX À LA CRÈME

Once upon a time, I was not interested in crème pâtissière (pastry cream). I liked desserts which included this crème, but I had never given any thought to what a good crème should taste like, because I was far more interested in the shell, the crust, the vessel that surrounded it. But as any normal baker/food blogger/pastry addict should realize, one day it dawned on me that if I wanted to make all these amazing sweets with all my beloved crusts, I would have to learn to make the filling as well . . .

This is how my search for the perfect crème pâtissière began. And until I started the search, I didn't realize how picky I was. (Some pastry addict I am.) It seems, the pâtisserie I frequent (and sells the best choux à la crème in my opinion) uses the best classic crème pâtissière (again, in my opinion), so that was what I was looking for. And anything other than that tasted . . . well, wrong. So bracing myself for the journey, I dived head first into a sea of eggs, milk, and vanilla beans, and after quite a few egg cartons later, miraculously came up for air with the winner.
And trust me, one of the things that every pastry addict (or baker. or food blogger.) should have is a perfect crème pâtissière recipe. And even if you are none of the above, it's still good to have one, because you never know when you might want to seduce someone with a perfect chou à la crème. (Is there a better way to seduce someone than with a good sweet?)

This crème pâtissière (which is adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo) is a very classic version, and once you learn how easy it is to make, you'll want to try more than just choux à la crème; strawberry millefeuilles, strawberry tartlets, strawberry trifles . . . (I'm thinking spring is a lovely time for crème pâtissière) the possibilities are endless. Just make sure that you make enough because I tend to run out, especially when I'm making choux à la crème.

* { crème pâtissière adapted from : the little paris kitchen classic french recipes with a fresh and simple approach by rachel khoo }
— continue reading for the recipe for choux à la crème

LA CRUST | PÂTE À CHOUX

Beginner's luck; that's what I had for this particular recipe.
The first batch of puffs (or "choux") came out perfectly; puffed and golden brown, just like the choux à la crème that are sold at the patisserie I frequent. Too bad I messed up on the pastry cream AND ran out of eggs. Well, I didn't have any whipping cream either, so I guess it was for the best.
2 days later, I tried everything over and ended up making 3 batches of choux just to get them close to that first batch. The key to success seems to be how quickly you work to maintain the temperature of the dough, and how much egg you add at the end.
This was one of the recipes that made me realize all over again how very chemical baking is. I was once told by a very experienced food blogger that "cooking is all about taste and adding this and that through the process, while baking is all about chemistry and following the recipe precisely". Very wise words which I always keep in mind whilst baking.

p.s. recipe for choux à la crème to be posted soon . . . *

* { pâte à choux adapted from : sadaharu aoki, via NHKテレビテキスト 趣味DO楽 パティシエ青木定治とつくるあこがれのパリ菓子 — パータ‧シュー }
— click on the images above, or continue reading for the recipe

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR | CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE STARS

. . . a belated happy, happy new year, and wishing you all the very best for 2014!
How has your new year been so far? Here, it has been a non-stop whirl ever since christmas, and there were champagne toasts and merry merry dinners, much needed family time and pretty holiday cards, last minute cooking and new year's baking, and now it is monday again, and have been thinking very hard about where {chasing sofia crumbs} will be headed for the new year (and there is still much to consider), but first a recipe for a bright & beautiful start.

The idea for these chocolate truffle stars (or chocolate truffle reverse-tartlets) came up when I was designing my new year's card. Back when I made these lemon tartelettes, I also tried the chocolate truffle tartlettes by miette, and they were fantastic. The only problem was, because the chocolate ganache was so rich, a whole tartlet felt slightly too rich. But I didn't want to give up on these chocolate treats because they truly were delicious. Thoughts of making them in smaller bite size portions came up momentarily, but making canape-size tart shells wasn't very appealing, and besides, I thought these treats deserved a prettier look (than my probably wonky canape tart shell attempts).

Fast-forward to christmas time. I had a brand new star-shaped cookie cutter, and the phrase "bright & beautiful new year" was appearing on my new year's card design. It also helped seeing this beautiful photograph of salted caramels (taken by my idol Katie Quinn Davies, full post here), and the idea for chocolate truffle stars was born. These are reverse-tartlets with the pâte sucrée crust in the middle and the chocolate ganache on the outside rather than the other way around. I tried topping them with a pinch of fleur de sel, and they upgraded the intense chocolate flavor (at least in my opinion, but I was in a euphoric state so please feel free to omit this last step if you are skeptical) and set a lovely contrast. Make sure that you get the ganache as glossy and smooth as you can, and also keep them in the refrigerator until serving time because ganache becomes sticky and soft at room temperature.
Happy baking, and hope your 2014 is bright & beautiful!


* { chocolate truffle stars adapted from : miette by meg ray with leslie jonath — chocolate truffle tartlettes }

a thank you note & recipe for coffee jelly

Months ago from now, received the loveliest email from a reader of {chasing sofia crumbs}. And because it was the very first email, and because it had been hard to believe that there were any readers at all up until then, it is a special memory; one of the fondest moments ever since starting this blog.

Time has flown by since, but all the while had been thinking of posting something special to thank this lovely reader for her kindness. Ideas came and went, and recipes were tried, but in the end, realized that this simple and flavorful coffee jelly would be perfect, especially with the holiday season right around the corner.

This dessert is a common and much loved dessert in Japan, but have rarely seen it served elsewhere. It is perfect for those of you who are addicted to coffee, and also perfect for hot summer days, but as mentioned above, it would be perfectly refreshing to serve during or after the festive holiday meals which tend to get as heavy as they are merry.
Coffee jelly is also extremely easy to veganize, which was discovered while doing a little online research. For those of you interested, this video is highly recommended.


♥♥♥
TO A,
THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE KIND WORDS AND SO VERY SORRY FOR THE LATE LATE POST. LOVE THAT WE BOTH LOVE COFFEE, AND HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED TWEAKING IT. XO

* NOTE
To make the recipe as easy as possible instant coffee is used here, but for those of you who are serious about your coffee, just use 400ml of strong coffee (espresso is too strong) instead of the water and instant coffee.


p.s. a short video after the jump . . . *


* { coffee jelly }
— コーヒーゼリーのレシピは以下 :

les glaces et sorbets | coffee ice cream

At home, at kitchen table. Every morning, a cup of coffee is savored to start the day off, but will admit in a heartbeat that am in no way a coffee snob. Have no idea about the different aromas nor the art of brewing, and the kind of coffee served in this home is usually instant (!!!) coffee. (Just to save face, it is good quality instant coffee, if there is such a thing in the sacred world of coffee.)

But good or not, a cup is savored every morning, and the thing is, am quite the coffee fan, so was very natural to have started the hunt for a good coffee ice cream recipe after discovering that ice cream can be homemade.
There were literally hundreds of recipes to choose from, but came across Simply Recipes's coffee ice cream and the search was officially over. The recipe calls for whole coffee beans and that sounded promising, even to a total non-coffeesnob. (Not to mention that the original recipe seems to be from Mr. David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop; double points for that, around here.)

The results were well worth the extra effort of straining whole coffee beans (ah, and choosing/buying coffee beans for the first time ever at a shop that stocks more than 30 different kinds of beans; italian roast was the choice); aromatic and richly flavored. Will most definitely be making again, perhaps with different coffee beans to see the difference in taste. (Wish were a coffee expert now more than ever.)
All in all, best coffee ice cream have ever tasted. Now, if only could find the perfect ice cream cone recipe . . . *

p.s. Highly recommend serving in waffle cones (the ones pictures above are store-bought), and with a dusting of cocoa powder . . . *

* { coffee ice cream adapted from : simply recipes — coffee ice cream }
— コーヒーアイスクリームのレシピは以下 :

rich chocolate ice cream

At home, at kitchen table. A lesson has been learned. The importance of "la cuillère à glace" (the ice cream scoop) has been discovered. A plain spoon will not do. Definitely an ice cream scoop for the perfect photogenic scoop.

The only problem is, it is quite difficult to find a good ice cream scoop in tokyo. Millions of shops, but no classic scoops. The ones that have been found are shiny, brand new, and very 21st century. Am hoping to come across a classic (rustic) beauty. Something that would look lovely in a Berthillon shop (but then again, most things would look lovely in a Berthillon shop . . . ). Will have to make use of grandmother's very old (authentic vintage) one until search is over.

This ice cream is rich, sweet, intense, and heavenly. It is an ice cream for true chocolate lovers. Am thinking of experimenting with a less cacao percentage chocolate (perhaps 54% as have good 54% cacao chocolate in pantry) to create chocolate ice cream for the chocolate liking ice cream lovers. If anyone tries, would be very happy to hear about results.
Happy ice cream making!

p.s. Do check Indochine Kitchen's recipe here, as it has step by step photographs explaining the process of ice cream making perfectly.

* { rich chocolate ice cream adapted from : indochine kitchen — chocolate ice cream }
— チョコレートアイスクリームのレシピは以下 :