Drama rolls itself... first came in the peach, in a tenor tone, declaiming sweet poems.
Then, like a soprano, came the raspberries in a sour sharpness that carries away all the orchestra.
Lovably, the libreto ends and the opera is touched by the promiss of an endless love.




Melba roll

Serves 12:

Cake layer:
4 eggs
100 g sugar
50 g cornstarch
100 g almonds, powdered
a pinch of salt
75 g butter, melted
Peach jam
Raspberry coulis
Fresh raspberries

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Grease and line with parchment paper a rectangular baking sheet (35x40 cm)
Whisk 1 egg, 3 egg yolks and sugar.
Add cornstarch, powdered almonds and at last the butter.
Gently fold in the egg whites whipped with the salt.
Pour the mixture into the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes.

Unmould the roll and spread evenly the jam on top.
Using wax paper as an aid, roll up cake jelly roll–style, beginning with a long side. Carefully transfer, seam side down, to platter, using wax paper to help slide cake.
Decorate with the raspberry coulis and fresh raspberries.


Raspberry coulis:
70 g raspberries
5 g icing sugar

Place the raspberries and icing sugar into a food processor or blender and blend to a puree.
Pass the puree through a sieve into a bowl.
Refrigerate until required.


Peach jam:
1 kg peaches (peeled and sliced)
800 g sugar
15 g pectin (hydrated)

Bring the sugar to boil with a bit of water
Add the peaches and pectin.
Continue to boil mixture and stir frequently until desired thickness.
To test whether the jam is ready, place a cold metal spoon in the mixture and tilt. The jam should form a single stream.

Quickly pour hot mixture into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1 cm headspace; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process jars in boiling-water bath 10 minutes.

Labels: peach, raspberry, recipes

Champagne, hibiscus and rooibos infused plums with a raspberry sorbet and a tuile

Infusion:
1 l champagne
200 g sugar
10 plums
10 g hibiscus
20 g rooibos
¼ cinnamon stick


Bring the champagne to boil with sugar until it dissolves (1-2 minutes).
Remove from heat and infuse herbs and cinnamon.
Strain and set aside.


Score each plum by cutting an 'X' mark into the skin on one end.
Drop plums into rapidly boiling water for some seconds.
Remove plums to an ice water bath. Cool for a minute.
Easily peel away the skin at the X.
Cut in two halves and destone.


Pour the infusion over the plums.
Marinate for 1 hour, minimum.
Serve chilled.




Raspberry sorbet:

1 1 water
1 kg sugar
1 kg raspberry pulp
Juice of 1 lemon


Bring the water and sugar to boil for 1 minute until it dissolves.
Let it cool down completely.
Mix syrup with the pulp and lemon juice.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream machine or frozen stirring regularly to prevent crystalization.


Orange and almond tuiles

120 g sugar
90 ml orange juice
48 g melted butter
72 g almonds, powdered
Some drops of raspberry juice.

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC.
Combine all the ingredients together.
Pour the mixture over a silpat with the desired shapes and sprinkle with some red fruits juice drops.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
Let them cool down to stiff.

Labels: champagne, hibiscus, plums, raspberry, recipes, rooibos, sorbet