Last week, I saw a video on Desserts Magazine about how to make French macaroons and it left me wanting to make a batch of those addictive little cookies soooo badly. But after my first and second attempt at making them, I just knew I didn't have the patience to make them from scratch. So I just watched the video to learn the proper technique and admired the French dialogue. Maybe I'll make them again when I'm not in such a hurry to devour them. Quick confession: I understand very little French and speak even less. Oh but I"m trying. I do have the best intentions to learn more; I have a stack of books and cds to prove that. Je parle francais..someday.
Anyway, I still wanted some macaroons. So what's a girl to do? Well, there's only one place I know of that has French macaroons here in San Diego. Opera Cafe and Patisserie offers a gorgeous selection of French desserts and pastries as well as a delicious breakfast and lunch menu. And best of all, they have a beautiful assortment of macaroons that come in adorable pink boxes. They sell them for $10 a dozen and you get six flavors in each box. Whenever I have a craving for macaroons, this is where I go.
I actually interned at Opera for a short time when I was a pastry student. I guess my instructor, Chef Yves, thought it was the perfect place for me to go since I'm such a francophile. Thierry and Vincent were great teachers and it would've been nice to learn more from them. Too bad I didn't get to watch them make macaroons. I would've loved that!
Since Valentine's Day was coming up, I decided to drop a few hints and told Hubby that I would LOVE some Parisian macaroons. No roses. No chocolates. Just macaroons, s'il vous plait. And thank goodness he got me some. Oh...have...mercy!
Just in case you're looking for Parisian macaroons, I stumbled upon a list of where to find macaroons around the world over atSerious Eats. If you have a favorite place to buy macarons, please feel free to share it. You might be helping out someone who's searching for them in your town. Let's spread the love for macarons!
For this Valentine's Day, I decided to draw inspiration from another one of my favorites from Hans and Harry Bakery. On a previous post, I shared my homemade version of their famous fresh fruit strudel. This time around, I've created an egg-free version of their equally popular fresh fruit cake. It's a rich vanilla butter cake layered with Bavarian cream and topped with fresh fruit.
You might have noticed the even though the recipe makes two cake layers, I only have one layer in the photo. My son was hovering around me, smacking his lips and eagerly waiting for this cake. So I just quickly arranged the fruit on top and let him eat his Valentine's Day cake :-)
Here's another variation of my fresh fruit cake with only strawberries (see, I got to use two cake layers for this one). Feel free to use any fruit you'd like and it doesn't necessarily have to be fresh fruit either. Sometimes I use frozen fruit (like blueberries or raspberries) and canned fruit (like pineapple and peaches).
Happy Valentine's Day!
Egg-Free Fresh Fruit Cake
Makes 2 layers (6 1/2 cups of batter)
Allergy Note: contains wheat and dairy ingredients
cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups butter, melted
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups warm milk
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
cream:
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 pint whipping cream
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon flavored liqueur (optional)
cake syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
strawberries, cut in half
mandarin orange segments or peaches
blueberries
for the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine butter, vegetable oil, milk, vinegar and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients. Mix till smooth. Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely. Level and trim the top of the cakes.
For the cream:
Using an electric mixer, whisk together instant pudding mix, milk and whipping cream (and flavored liqueur) together until thickened.
For the cake syrup:
Combine ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes on HIGH. Stir till the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool.
To assemble the cake:
Drizzle a little bit of cake syrup over the cake. Spread half of the seedless raspberry jam over the cake. Spread half of the cream over the cake. Repeat for the second cake layer. Top with fruit. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
