Drambuie Ice Cream (No-Churn)
This Scottish whisky liqueur, honey and herb ice cream will liven up any dinner party when it’s served with dessert! Strictly for adults only…
Egg yolk recipes that require 6 yolks
Egg Pasta Recipe: Alsatian Noodles
You know how I love sharing egg yolk recipes with you – especially if you’re mad about macarons, financiers, meringue and such likes that use egg whites. But just because the blog’s name has the word macaron in it, I realise now that I shouldn’t shy away from posting my favourite savoury recipes here too.
When the girls were younger, one of their best party souvenirs was based on a homemade pasta theme. They adored dusting the strands of pasta with flour, as well as on themselves, flour-dusting the kitchen floor as everyone took turns to rotate the pasta-maker’s handle and watch the strands appear for the grand finale like a beaded curtain found in Mediterranean yesteryear groceries.
The best part was at the end, watching them all tuck in around the table, tongues twisting with concentration as they twirled their lovingly homemade noodles around giant forks as they lapped it all up just tossed in butter with a few fresh herbs from the garden. Suddenly last week, Lucie asked to make homemade pasta again during the school holidays. And I’m so glad she did, even if this time it was just a party for two.
This egg pasta is extra special as it uses so many egg yolks. I first discovered the classic recipe for them as Alsatian Noodles (Nouilles à l’Alsacienne) by the late Chef Bernard Loiseau, who loosely called for 8-10 yolks, or 5 whole eggs but over the years I’ve used a couple of eggs in there with 6 yolks and find it so easy to work with.
Normally the beautifully rich noodles are simply tossed in good butter, a little olive oil, freshly cracked pepper and often served with slow-cooked stews such as Lapin Chasseur, a right old French grandmother’s rabbit dish.
Alsatian Noodles – Egg Yolk Pasta Recipe
Serves 4
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes + 1 hour
Cooking Time: 3-5 minutes (depending on the thickness of the noodles)
To make noodles, this recipe is so much easier using a pasta machine, although it’s not completely necessary.
500g plain flour + extra for dusting
6 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
Butter, olive oil & seasoning to serve
1. Ideally, using a food mixer, mix all the ingredients at low speed until well mixed. (If you make this by hand, make a large well in the flour, add the salt and crack the eggs and oil into it. Gradually mix in the flour with the hands until you have a non-sticky dough). Divide the pasta dough into 4, cover each with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Lightly flour the working surface. Taking each ball of pasta at a time, flatten the dough with the palm of your hand and press into the first and largest setting to flatten it out. Repeat each step a couple of times with each of the 4 balls until the dough runs through easily. Continue the process on setting 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 until the pasta elongates into beautifully long sheets. Sprinkle with flour, then pass through each sheet through the noodle attachment. (If making by hand, flatten to 2mm using a rolling pin, sprinkle with flour, then roll the dough into a spiral and cut into thin strips using a sharp knife).
3. Spread out the long noodles, coating them with some flour so that they don’t stick together and leave to dry for about an hour.
4. Place a large pot of water to the boil with a couple of tablespoons of salt and plunge in the pasta, stirring immediately to prevent any noodles from initially sticking to each other. The noodles are ready as soon as they remount to the surface, after about 3-5 minutes (depending on thickness).
Serve tossed in butter and olive oil and season to taste.
This is also delicious served with my favourite dinner party recipe for Autumn-Winter, which is slow-cooked pigs’ cheeks. I must post it for you soon since when you try it, you’ll be asking for seconds!
In the meantime (don’t tell the lovely French from Alsace!), I mixed Alsace with Italy and tossed the noodles in a most deliciously easy sauce, thanks to my lovely Scottish-Italian friend, Christina Conte of Christina’s Cucina (you heard me rave about our escapade together in Bordeaux and then in Charentes-Maritime, where we took part in Karen’s Lavender & Lovage Cookery School). You must watch Christina’s Dad making this anchovy sauce recipe! Although it’s not traditional with these noodles, we thought it was fantastic.
Now you’ve used 6 egg yolks for the pasta, leave the egg whites in a clean jam jar with lid on for up to 5 days and enjoy making macarons, financiers and meringue-topped French tarts from Teatime in Paris!
Whisky Toffee Frozen Crème Brûlée
It was a sign: a Scottish saltire traced onto such dazzling blue Parisian skies this week by the routine planes rumbling over us, to and from Charles de Gaulle Airport.
It was another reminder of this month’s historic Scottish referendum that has created such a powerful and passionate impact on a country that was already once independent.
I’ve never been into politics much but, hearing many lively debates and enthusiasm about the subject, it became increasingly frustrating that I couldn’t vote as a Scot living in France. I could hear the same calls from my fellow Scots living in England, Wales or Ireland. A familiar remark from friends and family, who were either for or against an independent Scotland was, “Well, my heart wanted to vote Yes to Scotland being an independent country; but my head told me it was better to stay together with the UK”. With such a close winning vote of 55% to stay in the UK, the Scots have perhaps been divided on the results but as we could think that the Yes voters are upset – or ‘gutted’ as I heard on BBC radio the day of the results – the debate continues.
“We’re not crying into our porridge yet.”declared my Uncle David, a proud Scot from the Shetland Islands. “We’re just delayed a bit”, he said, as thousands of Scottish flags were being waved in Glasgow and Edinburgh this weekend, showing their excitement at how quickly they’ve received so much enthusiastic support.
Did someone say whisky toffee is in that, Jimmy?
Another Scottish sign came via Jamie Schler’s recent whisky recipes on her blog, Life’s A Feast: with a beautifully glazed Honey Whiskey Bundt Cake, and her celebratory Whisky Soufflé. It occurred to me how little I cook or bake with Scottish Whisky. Admittedly, the last time I added it was to coffee macarons (the recipe for Café MacWhisky is in the book, by the way). These macarons make an excellent accompaniment to this whisky toffee frozen crème brûlée dessert, a recipe I’d ripped out from Mum’s pile of Sunday Times mazagines this summer when in Edinburgh, as it’s an ideal egg yolk recipe for all of you macaron lovers.
While the recipe below calls for American Bourbon whiskey, I’ve opted for Scottish Whisky. Both are slightly different in flavour and they have different spellings: in Scotland and the rest of the world it’s always referred to as Whisky but in America and Ireland it can be Whisky or Whiskey, depending on the producer’s chosen spelling.
On another note, there was yet another sign this week: I need to hide any macarons that are lying out for photos. I quickly took this one with just three chocolate macarons that were left, salvaged before they were also pounced on from the pastry box in the fridge. But when I went back to continue the photo with the crème brûlée, there were only two. It’s a mystery that one. The girls say it wasn’t them. Perhaps it was a Scottish ghost?
The recipe asks for a ‘shot of bourbon’. Being a bit lazy, I poured out a small enough shot glass of Ballentine’s Whisky (a blended Scotch, ideal for cooking/baking) and threw it into the pan. It didn’t take long to realise visibly that my toffee caramel became rather liquid, so I added more sugar and boiled it up to thicken. No harm was done, as I ended up with more toffee so dribbled even more on top of the ice cream before freezing. But for the record, a shot is 25ml.
As I left them in the freezer overnight, caramelising the sugar with the blowtorch hardly melted the ice cream. That way it was easy to return them to the freezer before serving later. To enjoy them at their best, remove from the freezer 5-10 minutes before serving.
Whisky Toffee Frozen Crème Brûlée
Recipe adapted from the UK’s Sunday Times Magazine. I substituted 1 shot of Maker’s Mark Bourbon whiskey stipulated in the magazine with Balletine’s Scottish Whisky, but you can use your own favourite American bourbon. The recipe says it serves 4 but I filled 8 ramekins with it.
Serves 8
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
FOR THE CREME FROZEN CUSTARD
2 vanilla pods (or 4 tsp of vanilla extract)
300ml whole milk
300ml double cream
100g caster sugar
6 egg yolks
FOR THE SALTED WHISKY TOFFEE
80ml double cream
20g butter
1 shot of whisky (25ml)
Pinch sea salt
TO BRÛLEE
20g caster sugar
A mini blowtorch
1. Deseed the vanilla pods. Pour milk and cream into a pan, add the pods and vanilla seeds. Heat until it almost boils. Turn off the heat and allow the vanilla cream to infuse for 30 mins.
2. Boil the toffee ingredients in another pan, then gently simmer. Stir for 3 minutes, then chill in the fridge.
3. Hand-whisk the caster sugar into the egg yolks. Add to the pan with the vanilla cream. Place on a low heat; stir for 7 minutes until it becomes a light custard. Cool, then chill for an hour.
4. Take the custard out of the fridge. Remove the vanilla pods from the vanilla cream. Pour the custard and cream into an ice-cream maker until it has the consistency of soft ice cream. Turn off the machine and ripple in the toffee, using a spoon. Scrape the frozen custard into serving glasses. Freeze for 2.5 hours.
5. Sprinkle caster sugar over the top of the desserts with a teaspoon. Heat the sugar with a mini-blowtorch until it forms a caramel. Serve immediately or refreeze until ready to serve.
Unlike a classic crème brûlée, where you crack into the caramel directly into the cream, this frozen version makes the hardened caramel even more exciting. Try it: it’s like skating your spoon and cracking into the ice.
To accompany Mad About Macarons’ Egg Yolk chapter, check out the database of more egg yolk recipes on le blog!
Guest Recipe: Chocolate Pots de Crème
It has been a while since we’ve seen chocolate on the site. Passing by a few chocolate shops this week, it has been uplifting to see beautiful pots of lily-of-the-valley arrangements, traditionally associated with 1st May to bring good luck. When my friend, Liz Berg told me that she had a recipe for chocolate pots to share for today’s guest post, I was so excited. It was just perfect!
Lily-of-the-valley pots in chocolate shops, Paris
A self-confessed chocoholic, one look at Liz’s blog, “That Skinny Chick Can Bake” and it’s confirmed. She has – to date – 85 recipes for chocolate and more recipes including chocolate chips. That can’t be bad for a skinny chick, n’est-ce pas?
Liz is not just a blogger but a friend to us as well. Injected with humour, through her blog she shares her enthusiasm for cooking and baking in the family (even the dog isn’t left out!) Liz is also so generous with her recipe tips and suggestions, and tempts us with her drool-worthy photos.
I am so proud that she has come today to share her pots of chocolately deliciousness for the egg yolk recipe series. On top of that, they contain not just one or two but SIX egg yolks! Topped with raspberries and white chocolate whipping cream. No more from me – it’s over to Liz.
Liz of “That Skinny Chick Can Bake“
I was delighted to receive an invitation from Jill to write a guest blog. Jill is such a delightful blogger and friend…her warmth and good humor shine with every word she posts. She’s seen me crank out dessert after dessert, so it was fun to be challenged to dig up a recipe which utilizes a lot of egg yolks.
Chocolate pots de crème are often found on our Christmas menu…and today’s version was for Easter. I live in a household of chocoholics, so every holiday must have a chocolate dessert. You can serve these plain or, for special occasions, top them with a luscious white chocolate whipped cream. If you use smaller dishes as I did, check for doneness early and often by doing a jiggle test…the outer edges should be set, though the middle may still wiggle when you gently tap the ramekin.
These make a stunning dessert…and use up 6 egg yolks. I think I may have to whip up some macarons this week! Hope you all enjoy…thanks for this opportunity, Jill.
Chocolate Pots de Crème
…loosely adapted from Bon Appetit
2 cups heavy cream
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 300º. Place six 6-ounce ramekins in large baking dish.
2. Add cream to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir till chocolate is melted.
3. Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl, till thick and pale. Drizzle a bit of the hot chocolate mixture into eggs to temper, whisking constantly. Continue slowly adding hot liquid while whisking till all liquid is incorporated. Avoid incorporating air into mixture if possible. If you find you have some small, unmelted particles of chocolate at the bottom of the saucepan, gently heat till melted and add to bowl.
4. Place a fine mesh sieve over a large measuring cup. Strain custard. Pour custard into the ramekins, then pour enough hot water into pan to reach halfway up ramekins. Cover pan with foil and poke a few holes in foil to allow steam to escape. Bake 25-30 minutes or till outer inch of custard is set. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate till serving time.
Serve with a dollop of white chocolate whipped cream and garnish with berries.
custard set in the ramekins
Now for the white chocolate cream…
White Chocolate Whipped Cream
…adapted from Bon Appetit
2 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup whipping cream
Combine chocolate and the 2 tablespoons whipped cream in small microwave safe bowl. Gently microwave stopping and stirring frequently, till chocolate is melted and smooth. Cool 10 minutes. Whip the remaining cream to soft peaks. Whisk in white chocolate. Cover and refrigerate.
Et voilà: Chocolate Pots de Creme
Many thanks to you, Liz, for sharing such a scrumptious yolky chocolatey dessert with us. Now you’ve given us plenty of egg whites to put aside for macarons!
Don’t forget to pop by “That Skinny Chick Can Bake!” for many more tempting and delicious recipes from Liz and say hello from me!
1st Guest Post: Pineapple Curd
I am so excited. Not only for hosting my first Guest Post but also launching a NEW SERIES of recipes entirely devoted to using egg yolks. What better way to kick off the series than with the organic guru herself, Erin, author of BigFatBaker.com. When I read her blog post the other day that she had found a new passion in eating and making curd, I thought: this is it! EGG YOLKS! She’s brilliant. As macaronivores, we’re always looking for ways to use up these yolks and what’s more, we can use curd to FILL macarons, too.
Now sit back and pay attention. You are heading for Erin’s most tangy pineappley curd which you can use to fill your macarons for an extra special exotic touch. Coconut ones would be beautiful, for example. Like macarons, this curd is gluten free. Now without my further ramblings, it gives me great pleasure to hand you over to Erin…
Erin, author of BigFatBaker.com :
I am so honored to be a guest here on MadAboutMacarons.com. When Jill invited me to share my egg yolk recipes, I was overjoyed. I can’t think of a better place to do my first guest post! This is my first, in a series of three, guest posts on curd recipes – Enjoy!
If you are new to the curd making process, do not worry. Making curd is surprisingly simple! All you have to do is follow the steps, and pay attention. What’s even better is the ingredients list for curds is short, and easy to keep organic.
When Jill initially asked me about a guest post I was in the process of making a pineapple curd. Pineapple is one of my all time favorite fruits, and I was intrigued to see if it would be tart and tangy like lemon curd, or more subdued and sweet.
Ultimately, I was pleasantly surprised with how the curd turned out. It is different from lemon curd in the sense that it doesn’t use butter. The lack of butter results in a slightly different texture, but it was still smooth and pudding like.
Remember how I said making curd is easy? It is. Promise.
PINEAPPLE CURD
1 medium sized, organic pineapple or 2 ¼ cups pineapple juice
6 large egg yolks
¾ cup white sugar
5 tbsp cornstarch
1. First, juice your pineapple. Try and get as much juice as you can, you will need 2 ¼ cups.
Slice off the top and bottom, then carefully cut down the sides of the pineapple to remove the rind. Try and remove as little of the fruit as possible!
Cut into 1-inch pieces, and move all pineapple pieces to a blender. Add in 2-3 tbsp water, and blend. You could also use a food mill, or juicer.
You could also use the canned pineapple juice to make things even easier, but I highly recommend the fresh stuff.
2. Next, in your saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add in the cornstarch and pineapple juice, and whisk until everything is combined.
Hey, using egg yolks now to make macarons later!
3. Set your burner to low (between 2 and 3 on my stove), and slowly bring up the temperature of your mixture. Over the next 3 minutes gradually increase the heat to medium (about 4 ½ on my stove) while you continue to whisk.
4. After about 10 more minutes of whisking your curd will be starting to thicken up. Once this happens turn off the burner, remove from the heat, and continue to whisk for 5 more minutes.
5. Allow the mixture to cool for 5-10 minutes before pouring into the jars. And you are done!
You now have fresh, organic pineapple curd to fill macarons, cakes, or eat by the spoonful.
Thank you so much, Erin.
Don’t forget to check out Erin’s blog at BigFatBaker.com and say bonjour from me, ok? She has many more gorgeous organic recipes to share with you. She also has the most delicious organic raspberry curd. I can tell you’re going to share a curd passion, too, very shortly…
To Orange Blossom & Paris Lovers
It has been chilly in Paris this week. On a damp, drizzly Monday morning a brisk walk through the Tuileries Gardens was therapy to banish the winter blues instead of taking an extra metro stop. It was spookily desserted except for wrapped-up, serious joggers on the run. I say serious: have you ever seen a happy jogger? Perhaps everyone was inside the Orangerie Museum, marvelling at Monet’s Water Lilies. The cold clinging humidity certainly didn’t stop these two from having a good neck in the corner, though.
The Orangerie at the Palace of the Louvre was quite the trend in the 17th & 18th Centuries. Royal and aristocratic residences all needed an orangery with citrus trees in tubs or under glass in winter to impress.
I just wanted to impress hubby with something different for dessert. So, realising there were no egg whites ageing (wonder what for?), orange blossom ice cream seemed fitting after a couscous – and more importantly, since they use 8 yolks. How to make it? I simply replaced 100ml of the cream from the ice cream recipe in the book with orange flower water and added a touch of orange colouring to the cream. Simple and pure heaven.
I adore the heavy perfume of orange blossom and I know I’m not alone. I use it in the form of room scents, shower gels and body lotions but when it comes to food, it adds a whole new dimension.
Adding a touch of orange blossom water (or orange flower water) can take desserts or pastries to another level. In France l’eau de fleur d’oranger is normally added to madeleine cakes and marshallows (guimauve). But it’s almost like a secret ingredient that you want to keep for yourself so that nobody can make quite the same brioches, crêpes, gaufres (waffles), cookies, rice puddings or fig tarts (these are coming on le blog.)
Adding it to a simple orange salad or couscous can whisk you on a magic carpet for a few moments to Marrakesh. I sometimes even put a dash of it in pumpkin soup for that touch of je ne sais quoi. I’ve added my recipe take on a creamy panna cotta: a cinnamon, orange blossom & pistachio panna cotta.
And it goes without saying (ça va sans dire) that orange blossom macarons are one of our favourites. This time I infused an Earl Grey teabag into the cream to add an extra powerful fragrant punch to accompany a pot of Lady Grey tea at goûter time. I can’t believe we polished off 40 of them already…
Orange Blossom & Earl Grey Tea Parisian Macarons
This post was published long before even Mum knew I had a blog. If you would like to leave a comment now, it’s not too late. You’ll make my day! Jill xo