Tag: sugar

Posted in Daily, Food, Stories Around the World

The “Petit Four” Story

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“It was the best first kiss in the history of first kisses. It was as sweet as sugar. And it was warm, as warm as pie. The whole world opened up and I fell inside. I don’t know where I was, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care because the only person who mattered was there with me.” Sarah Addison Allen (author of The Sugar Queen)

Craving for a snack between meals, especially during office hours wherein it is a situation between the need for the sugar versus the knowing that control is a must (mind vs. body), the deli across the road offers a relief during the short breaks. With the variety of mignardises of petit four on display, these cravings can be satisfied when their effect runs too hard.

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Known more commonly as petit four than mignardises, the former word when literally translated from French means “small oven”. These small bite sized single piece confectionery or savoury appetizer arose in the 18th and 19th century French cuisine.

Before the gas ovens had been invented, those years saw the large brick ovens (more common Dutch design) being used. The latter used to take a long time to heat up (especially to the bread baking temperatures) as well as cool down. Taking advantage of the stored heat, bakers used these ovens to bake pastry during the cooling process which was known as baking à petit four (literally “at small oven”).

Walking into any French patisserie, these assorted small desserts are usually called mignardises; whereas the hard, buttery biscuits are called petits fours. Similar to the petit four is the classical Austrian confection of pastry known as Punschkrapfen or Punschkrapferl (punch cake), which has a legend of it’s own.

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These petits fours come in three main varieties, as Petit Fours Glacé (“glazed”) predominantly served as iced or decorated tiny cakes topped with marzipan covered in fondant or icing. The second category includes savoury bite-sized appetizers usually served at cocktail parties or buffets known as Salé (“salted”). The third category are the Sec (“dry”) which encompasses dry cookies, dainty biscuits, baked meringues, macarons, sable beurre, palmiers, duchesses and puff pastries, all baked at low temperatures for a long time. Other categorizations also include the Petits fours frais which are any small pastries like sponge cakes like madeleine, financiers, creme filled pastries like eclairs or tartlets, all these must be eaten the same day they are made for the quality is lost if they sit longer. On the healthier front, there is the “Petits fours Deguises”, made of fresh or dried fruit dipped in a sweet coating such as chocolate or cooked sugar.

Homemade petit fours can be made on a more simple and creative way with plenty of icing sugar, fondant, candied bit and pieces as well as the good old chocolate to add to the flavours and sparkle it to a work of art. With this wide assortment of treats, petit fours are indeed a delightful to enjoy that little bit of sugar, the concentrated way or slightly less or simply be savoury for a change.

Source:http://www.1ksmiles.com/petit-four/
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Source:https://www.escoffieronline.com/tiny-pastries-the-petit-four-story/
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Posted in Daily, Food

Sparkles on the Cups

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Originally referred to as number cakes or “1234 cakes” (based on the measures of the ingredients), these sugary delicacies of 1700s have reached their own level of importance and appeal for the dessertarian of the present era.

“Cupcakes take the cake.” Unknown Author

While the earliest description of today’s cupcake was based as a recipe for “a light cake to bake in small cups” as written in American Cookery (1796) by Amelia Simmons, the term “cupcake” itself was seen earlier as per Eliza Leslie’s Receipts cookbook in “Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats” (1828). Though the early 19th century saw the distinction between “cup cake” (based on measures or cups” and the cupcake, the difference was more for the baker’s perspective. Over the years, cupcakes turned from the simple delights to those with frosting, icing, sprinkles and sparkles. With the redesigning and reassembling and additions of ingredients, flavours and colours, the “cupcake” became a palatable fest and an art by itself. For special occasions, elaborately designed and frosted cupcakes have replaced the specially designed cakes, for a while.

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With the arise of a variety of cupcakes, many other variants to the regular baking techniques have been seen. Like the popular “cake in mug” (made in a microwave) or “cake in a jar” are other ways of making cupcakes. By the latter technique, a glass jar instead of muffin tins or cupcake liners is used to bake the mix. Of the specially designed variants, are the fairy cakes or butterfly cake, a variant of cupcake made from any flavour of the cake. The top of the cupcake is cut off or carved out with a spoon and cut in half. Butter cream, whipped cream, jam or similar sweet fillings are spread into the hole. Finally the two cut halves are stuck into the butter cream to resemble butterfly wings with the “wings of the cake” being often decorated using icing to form various patterns.

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Source:https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/recipe/fairy-cake-recipe
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Likewise “cake balls” are individual portion of cake, round like a chocolate truffle, coated in chocolate and made from crumbled cake mixed with frosting (than being baked) made as a sphere. Yet the specialty are in the “gourmet cupcake” of today, a recent variant of the routine cupcake. These “gourmet cupcakes” are large filled cupcakes, based around a variety of flavor themes like Tiramisu, Cappuccino, Oreo cookie shards, M &M rich and other exotic flavours.

“When you look at a cupcake, you’ve got to smile.” Anne Byrn

With each cupcake getting it’s special days, for the Chocolate Cupcake Day (October 18th) it would be fun to redesign the simple chocolate cupcakes as elaborate fairy cakes, sprinkles and icing or simply experiment and enhance the available recipe to an exotic twist. For that’s the fun with the sugar rush and art of dessert.

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Source:Bella’s cupckaes. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/451345193881029361/

Posted in Daily, Food, Stories Around the World

Of Coffee, Iced and “Frapped”

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Some of the best things of life occur not when everything goes by plan, or by mere accidental occurrences. Adding to the list, is the delightful flavours of coffee, chilled, icy and sweet; though meant or the hot summer days can be had at any occasion, day or time. Though the 19th century saw a variety of cold coffee drinks as “café frappé (à la glace)”, some were like iced coffee and others similar to slushes. Although special mention of the iced coffee drink, known as Frappé coffee (or Greek frappé or café frappé, frapés), has to be made as it became ingrained into the coffee culture.

“Iced coffee, on a hot day, can perform miracles.” Lish McBride

Although frappé with etymological origins from French means “chilled in crushed ice”; the discovery of the café frappé  using instant coffee happened in Greece. As the narrative goes, at the Thessaloniki International Fair (1957), Giannis Dritsas (the Nestlé company representative) was exhibiting a new chocolate beverage produced instantly by mixing it with milk and shaking it in a shaker. With Dritsas’ employee Dimitris Vakondios looking for a way to have his usual instant coffee during his break and for the lack of hot water, he mixed the coffee with cold water and ice cubes in a shaker. With this experimentation, frappé was born and established with it’s Greek finish.

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The Greek frappé in Greece is available in various varieties depending on their degrees of sweetness and the amount of sugar used. These are mainly glykós (“sweet”, 2 teaspoons of coffee and 4 teaspoons of sugar); métrios ( “medium” with 1:1 ratio of coffee and sugar) and a skétos (“plain”) without sugar). The chocie of serving can be with evaporated milk, then known as frapógalo or “frappé-milk” or without any milk. At times water is substituted by milk for a very thick, milky coffee frappé (mostly a Cyprian variation). Over the years, further flavours like Kahlúa, Baileys Irish Cream or other liqueurs are used, along with a ball of vanilla ice-cream (not milk) or made blended with spoon. With the spread of frappé from Greece, further variations have been according to the local choice like the “hladen nas” (Serbian) made with milk or ice-cream and whipped cream often added on top or the Danish version of using cold milk on crushed ice with coffee in the shaker.

“I was taken by the power that savoring a simple cup of coffee can have to connect people and create community.” Howard Schultz

With the experimentation streak running high, homemade frappé can be had for a change from the regular. With a hand mixer or cocktail shaker, the homemade blend would be a welcome change from the regular sweet coffee. Moreover, it could be a start to a new frappé tradition of own  choice, ingenuity and memorable moments.

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Source: https://miakouppa.com/2017/06/12/frappe-coffee-%CF%86%CF%81%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%AD/
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One or two teaspoons of instant coffee (traditionally Nescafe), sugar (to taste) and a little water are blended (with a cocktail shaker or an appropriate mixer like the hand mixer) to form a foam, which is poured into a tall glass. To this is added cold water and ice cubes, and, optionally, milk (typically evaporated milk). The glass is served with a drinking straw.

 

Posted in Daily, Food

Of Colours and Flavours, Simple and Sweet

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

One of the necessities of having a good meal family, besides sitting down together and enjoying home cooking is to close the meal with the “sweet finish”. Preparing the big family luncheon, even though it may be a pot luck dinner at times; getting the final finish right is what makes the meal complete. With a big joint family, dessert includes something sweet for the children, sweet and healthy for the adults, balanced dessert for the diabetics, health conscious and the ultimate dish for the professed dessertarian.

“Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over the table.” William Powell

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Originating from the French word “desservir” ( means to clear the table), dessert as a term was in known use in the 1660s. Although this term may have been in use from the 14th century, the present meaning may have arose around the beginning of the 20th century as the setting a variety of dishes on the table at the same time (service à la françaisee) was replaced with the serving of a meal in courses (service à la russe). As described in A History of Dessert (2013), Krodnl states that dessert was served after the table had been cleared of other dishes. While sweet were a part of the Mesopotamian era, Persian Empire, the Greeks, ancient India and other civilizations; dried fruits and honey were perhaps the first sweeteners used. With the spread of sugar and trade, the modern dessert dishes slowly began taking shape.

“I am starting to think that maybe memories are like this dessert. I eat it, and it becomes a part of me, whether I remember it later or not.” Erica Bauermeister

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Contrary to expectations, desserts doesn’t necessary have to be of very high standards or made of expensive ingredients. Neither does it always need to indulged in with the sense of guilt and foreboding. Desserts can be had not just to statisfy the sweet cravings or close a meal, but also to enjoy the right mix of sugar, nutrients and taste at the end of the meal. From cheese board, parfait of berries, nuts and yogurt, cinnamon on ice cream and biscuits or bananas slices and covered in dark chocolate and crushed nuts to the elaborate fairy cakes or mousse; desserts can be had elaborate or whipped out of thin air with basic ingredients, creativity and an artistic eye. At times, desserts need to sticky sweet and loaded with calories for that little bit of sugar high or as basic as fruits with a sprinkling of the sweet stuff. Either way, there is always plenty of variety to choose from.

“There is no better way to bring people together than with desserts.” Gail Simmons

With the colours of autumn slowly setting in, what better way to ring in October than to get the sweet tooth going in a healthy manner. With the National Dessert Month setting in and the fall harvest closing in, it would be easy to stock on the fruit preserves, enlist creative ideas and set a traditional family dessert trend.

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Posted in Daily, Food, Stories Around the World

Of Chocolate

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Can I offer you a slice of this amazing caramelized white chocolate apricot brioche made by my favorite granddaughter?” “You may indeed.”
When you slice the rich, buttery bread topped with crunchy bits of pearl sugar, you get a swirl of white chocolate, which now also has hints of caramel flavor from having been roasted, and chunks of apricot. ” ? Stacey Ballis ( Author of Wedding Girl)

One of the drawbacks of reading books revolving or having a bit of the food factor, is the sudden trigger for that particular dish or meal. Using this as a justifiable excuse to dig into my toddler’s stash of white chocolate, would satisfy the sudden craving for the chocolate, creamy and white.

Interestingly white chocolate isn’t exactly chocolate. Made from cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, lecithin and flavorings (most commonly, vanilla); it doesn’t include chocolate liquor. The latter beside s giving the bitter flavour and dark colour to chocolate, by the FDA Guidelines state that chocolate liquor has to be present in a product to be known as “chocolate”. Though today as per the US Guidelines (2004), white chocolate (by weight) should have at least 20% cocoa butter, 14% total milk solids, 3.5% milk fat with maximum of 55% sugar or other sweeteners. On a plus point, white choclate has very minimum caffeine as compared to the regular chocolate.

 

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On tracing to the exact origin of chocolate being white, no definite person or country can be given credit. While the Swiss company Nestlé takes almost sole claim to being the initial source of marketable white chocolate (1930s, Milkybar) in Europe; rumours exist of a New Hampshire man producing white chocolate shortly after World War I. Other records state of Kuno Baedeker, who had developed white chocolate (1945) and is widely considered the first creator of the same in North America. Though as records mostly show that Nestlé was the heart of creation and development of the modern white chocolate.

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All said and done, one can melt it, chip it in, drink it or just have it like that. Like the regular choclate, white choclate has become a very prominent add on in the cookie dough, cake mix, quick desserts, melted with hot choclate and a regular combination with ice cream. Which is why, a bar of white chocolate has it’s own role of cheering up the depressing bits of life, no matter how old one grows.

“I like caramel flavors; some people prefer a lighter taste, like rose, at least to start with. The chocolate-flavored ones are lovely, of course…” I am rambling; it is like choosing a favorite child, practically impossible. “What’s in this one then?” She points at my newest creation, a pale, creamy white with soft flecks of yellow, like glints of gold in white marble.
“Reve d’un Ange. It means ‘dream of an angel.'” She tilts her head, interested, and I shrug. “Hopelessly romantic name, I know. Couldn’t help myself.” “What’s in it?” she asked, lowering her voice.
“It’s my white chocolate macaron. Ganache, that’s a kind of chocolate cream, sandwiched in the middle. I’ve added a little lemon rind and cinnamon.”
-Hannah Tunnicliffe ( author of The Color of Tea)

 

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Posted in Daily, Food

Of Apples, Pastry and Sugar

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.” Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost

Peel the apples, uncore the slices and lay them on pastry crusts. The hole from the core may be filled with cinnamon, butter and sugar and sometimes dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas, or currants. Wrap the pastry crust around the apples and seal the seams to form them as dumplings. Place the dumplings on the pan, pour the spiced sauce over it and bake it in the oven. Voila, baked dumplings.
Lack of time or power outage for the electricity run oven.
Boil the dumplings and serve with brown sugar, cinnamon, berry preserve, maple syrup, honey, cottage cheese, chocolate syrup or any toppings of choice. That’s boiled dumplings for dessert.

Source:https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/apple-dumplings/6907c45f-62d0-4bc7-a958-25d8c6013f2e
Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_dumpling#/media/File:AppleDumpling.jpg
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These pastry-wrapped apple were among the earliest fruit puddings, being a popular add on at major social gatherings and had at all social levels. Served as breakfast, main side dish or dessert, there were popular and could be had cold, hot or just as it was. Although the boiled versions were the initial recipes, it was the baked ones that were more popular across the menus of established restaurants.

“A man cannot have a pure mind who refuses apple dumplings.” Charles Lamb

While the Austrians have their apfelnockerln (“large, soft” apple dumplings), Czech cuisine have their fruit dumplings, including apple known as ovocné knedlíky and are eaten with quark or tvaroh cheese, often served as a complete meal. The German Apfelklöße (1801) are elaborate “small pudding of apples,” cored and filled with jam or marmalade, sometimes raisins or nuts, wrapped in pastry, boiled, and topped with a sweetened sauce containing raisins, sugar, cinnamon, and wine. While in the United Kingdom, these apple dumplings were referred to as form of suet puddings with the prepared dumplings tied in cloth and boiled. On the other side of the western sphere, apple dumplings were considered as cultural staples (United States).

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Source:https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/439101135946969/Apfelkloesse.html
Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T%C5%99i_ovocn%C3%A9_knedl%C3%ADky.JPG

Seasonal fruits were used similarly to make fruit dumplings. Like the Austrian and Hungarian Knödel ( dumplings stuffed with plums), Crotian Knedle sa šljivama (dessert dish of plum dumpling with a potato dough), Austrian Marillenknödel (apricot dumplings) and the traditional Czech recipes of dumpling filled with plums, apricots, strawberries or blueberries. A similar dish is baked apples (minus the pastry shell). Unpeeled apples are cored (some preparations remove only the top part of the core leaving a half-inch at the bottom) and stuffed with fillings such as butter, brown sugar, currants, raisins, nuts, oatmeal, spices and other ingredients.

Made any way, boiled or baked, pastry covered or not, these perfect pocket sized simple desserts are perfect add-ons for simple, elaborate or too tired to cook days. With imagination running riot, what better way is there to make perfect use of the cold weather, indulge the sugar cravings with apples and sweet and make way for this traditional recipe not just simple and wholesome but a treat for the artistic eye and creative cooking.

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Source:https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-make-baked-apples-and-why-you-should-article
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Source:https://www.bonappetit.com/story/branded-meet-the-dumpling-for-every-occasion
Posted in Daily, Food

Ice, Cream and Coffee

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

An impromptu get-together of classmates and families over the weekend, makes for a memorable time. With potluck lunch being the norm, cooking was never a hassle. Though the matter of settling the desserts takes up more time. Considering the higher proportion of sweet tooth among the adults and children alike, there was a huge batch of ice-cream, not just any but homemade coffee ice-cream to follow.

“There were some problems only coffee and ice cream could fix.” Amal El-Mohtar

There are few recipes and tricks that are handed down from one generation to the next. Among them desserts, especially those which can be made with regular ingredients; coffee ice cream along with the regular tarts, puddings, gulab jamuns and the like which require basic ingredients or minimum preparatory time are saved for the “dessert quandary“.

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Interestingly, early records show that coffee ice cream (1869) was first used in the making of parfait. Few cookbooks (1919) had the recipe of an Egg Coffee consisting of cream, crushed ice and coffee syrup. By late 1900s, coffee ice-cream slowly rose to fame having it’s own secure place on the menu in the ice cream parlours.

While vanilla still is the most popular ice cream, with a regular supply often stocked up in the freezer; coffee ice cream makes way for a delicious change. With many recipes found online, subtle changes like adding beaten egg yolks to the cooling coffee/milk/cream mix and using dark-roast beans makes for the changing flavours each time coffee ice-cream is made at home. Though the longer the ice cream is frozen, the better it is; morning preparations are ready by noon with a minimum freeze time of four hours. The next time an impromptu meet is there, sprucing up the regular ice cream can make for more deliciously happy and fun memories.

“Personally, I like to mix and match–I prefer to get a couple of milk shakes, a banana split … a sundae or two. Then I top it off with a mocha chip in a cone. I don’t know why. I guess that’s like the dinner mint at the end of a meal to me. Know what I mean?” J.R. Ward, The Beast

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