crispy and creamy rice treat.

At first glance, you may think that it's a recipe for rice krispie treats, but this recipe comes from a Pierre Herme book so just what does it mean?

Basically, it's a charlotte. Lined with ladyfingers lemon syrup-soaked ladyfingers, filled with a rice pudding custard, sprinkled with chopped nestle chocolate crunch bars and hazelnuts, smothered in a layer of chocolate cream before topped with caramelized rice krispies. Obviously, it's not quite the easy American treat made possible in minutes. We would need... a lot more time, to put it simply.

I happen to love and hate multi-component french desserts. They're time-consuming, fussy and require much planning in advance, but once you've completed them, you get this sense of satisfaction that no muffin can give. They're just so beautiful that taking pictures is a snap. When you eat them, you really appreciate them. You blog about them with pride. That's why I love them.

I want to open my own bakery in the future, and I'm still thinking if I should do a shop selling homey baked goods or a patisserie with exquisite little entremets. Although I would walk into my little shop everyday feeling immensely proud of the fine french cakes, I don't know if I can persevere through each day of layering, freezing and stacking many components. This is when I start to think that a bakery selling comforting cakes, pies and tarts would be more flexible but I do love the elegance of patisseries... Or perhaps I should do both? Or is that just suicide?

Anyway, coming back to this dessert. I made rice pudding before with just vanilla as a "seasoning" but this one does not. It uses cinnamon and lemon zest, which is an amazing combination! I admit I was skeptical at first but wait till you try this out. I was also quite worried that my rice wasn't cooked through since the ratio of milk to rice was very low and it turned out to be okay but it has quite the bite so I would soak the rice for at least half an hour before cooking. And then you have to make a creme anglaise and dissolve gelatin and whip cream... as you can see, not exactly hey presto! in 1 hour.

The original recipe used a chocolate cream to top but since I had some ganache kicking around in the fridge, I used that instead. I got lazy afterwards and decided to chop up more nestle crunch bars and hazelnuts to top the charlotte off instead of caramelizing rice krispies.

It appears that I'm not the only one with a penchant for long and laborious desserts. You can check out these two other people's crispy and creamy rice treats too!

waffle my world: savory sour cream and chive waffles.

I would like to start off this post by saying a big thank you to commenters on this blog! I know I don't reply everyone but I do read every single comment with a brimming smile and a heart overfilling with joy. The reason why I don't reply everyone is because I'll probably be typing thank you thank you thank you over and over again. So I figured that its a better option to send all you lovely people out there a giant muacks <3 to avoid repetition. I still can't believe that I have this blog with people who read and actually like it. This time last year, Crumbs and Cookies was just a tiny brainwave but look at it now! It's nothing compared to amazing blogs like Tartelette, Evan's Kitchen Ramblings and Sprinkle Bakes amongst many others but I can't help but feel so proud of it, and it's all thanks to you guys! I hope to see you around again soon~

I'm still a bit hesitant to post this waffle because I felt that a lot can be done to improve on it. I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com and I didn't follow it exactly as I subbed sour cream for buttermilk. Just one change but a major one- that's why I can't be sure if it's really as good as it should be. For starters, buttermilk does not have a flavour as rich and tangy as sour cream so the waffle's taste fell below my expectations. Because it's a savory waffle, egginess is actually desirable. I felt that more eggs can be used to increase that savory oomph. And even though the recipe said a pinch of salt, I think more than just a pinch is required to really bring out the flavour. I would suggest 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons of salt depending on the coarseness. Finally, because it's a sour cream and chive waffle, I would add more chives because the palsy amount the recipe called for doesn't make a difference at all, unless you just want colour. Maybe doubling it?

If anyone has a good savory waffle recipe, please do let me know! One with cheese would be good, I think. I don't really like cheeses but I feel that they are essential in making something really savory and comforting so I would be willing to try a waffle recipe with some in it.

Savory Sour Cream and Chive Waffles
adapted from Foodnetwork.com

Note: This is a very active batter due to the large amounts of leavening present in it so do put less batter than you would usually or you'll end up with a explosive eruption! 

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
A couple pinches salt *I would up this to 1/4- 1/2 tsp salt depending on the coarseness of the grain
2 tsp sugar
A little freshly grated nutmeg *I think this doesn't make a difference so I would omit this
3 to 4 tbsp chopped chives * I would double this
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
2 tbsp butter, melted

Mix dry ingredients and chives in a mixing bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix the wet and dry mixtures together until just combined.

Preheat your waffle iron. Cook the waffles as per your manufacturer's instructions.

Makes 12 individual rectangular waffles or probably 5 round waffles.

chocolate frozen yogurt.

Imagine life without an oven.

Shudders. 

Well that's my life, temporarily. Obviously since I can't bake anything, the freezer has to stand in for a while. And I've always wanted to make chocolate frozen yogurt...

I made this recipe up with a little adaption from here and here. I still have a lot of tweaking to do. I used too much cornstarch to thicken the base and it created an unpleasant mouthfeel although it was very creamy and rich. If you didn't know it was frozen yogurt, you could have mistaken it for ice cream! I used a considerable amount of cocoa powder too, which made the froyo indulgent and chocolaty with just a tiny tiny bit of tang from the yogurt. It's just a hint of sourness- it's hard to tell that it's from yogurt, more like from lemon zest. If you are a chocolate freak, you will like this version. But personally, I would go easier on the cocoa next time. I prefer my chocolate froyo to still taste like yogurt.

Speaking of cornstarch, I have a burning question which I really hope to get answers to: Why do cornstarch-based ice creams melt so much more quickly? I gather that its the cornstarch which causes the quick melting because my previous batch of yogurt made without any cornstarch managed to stay frozen for much longer. However, this batch, along with my vanilla bean gelato, melted as soon as the scoop hit the bowl. It's frustrating because I don't like to use egg yolks in ice cream but cornstarch is the only way I know how to thicken ice cream bases. Can someone please provide an answer and hopefully another alternative to thicken the bases without cornstarch or egg yolks? I would very much appreciate it!

Until then, here is the recipe after my modifications.

Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
makes a small batch, about 2 servings

2 tbsp + 2 tsp sugar
4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup lowfat milk2 tbsp chocolate chips, semisweet or bittersweet depending on your preference
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup plain yogurt

Stir together the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and pour in the milk. Stir until no lumps remain. Heat over medium high heat until the mixture has come to a boil and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted, then stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl before adding the yogurt. Allow the mixture to cool completely until placing it in the fridge to chill thoroughly.

If you're using an ice cream maker, make the frozen yogurt according to your manufacturer's instructions or do it by hand by placing the base in a shallow container in the freezer, whisking every half an hour or so until it has thickened and firmed up like soft serve, about 3 to 4 times in total. After the last whisking, allow it to freeze completely before consuming.

bake sale: lemon buttermilk muffins

maple frozen yogurt.

I. Can't. Stop. Making. Ice cream/ Frozen yogurt.

And I'm most unlikely to, especially after tasting this yogurt. It's hard to believe- no ice cream maker and just two ingredients. The texture is unbelievable. This batch has the best texture amongst all the ice cream/ frozen yogurt recipes I've tried so far. The ice crystals are tiny and it doesn't melt into a puddle immediately after you scoop it out! My best ever vanilla gelato was smoother but I felt like I was racing against it to avoid ending up with soup.

I realized something very important when making this. And this piece of information is very very crucial.

Are you ready?

Before churning the base, it has to be...

Cold. Absolutely. positively. cold. 

This isn't quite the shocking revelation, I know, but it's a mistake I've been making the past few times. I thought because I wasn't using an ice cream maker, I could start freezing and whisking once the base is room temperature. I never really gave it a chance to chill completely in the fridge for a few hours beforehand. I thought that it wouldn't make a difference to hand-churned ice creams.

Oh but how wrong I was. True, I can't produce ice cream in mere minutes like an ice cream maker, but when the base is cold, I cut down hours of whisking time. What took me 4 to 5 hours can now be accomplished in 2. Even if you don't mind the extra waiting, it's bad for your frozen dessert. More time taken to freeze to the right consistency means a higher chance of large ice crystals forming and you'll ultimately end up with an icier dessert. So do yourself and your ice cream a favor and just chill. 

As proud as I am about the texture, I felt that the flavour could be improved. The maple component was barely noticeable, most probably because my maple syrup isn't strong enough. I should have added maple extract in that case, but I couldn't find any at a short notice. The maple froyo was in limbo- not really tasting of maple yet it had a muddy flavour because the syrup shielded some of the yogurt's tartness. And I did feel that it was a little sweet. If I make this again with a neutral sweetener, and trust me, I will, I would reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup.

It isn't necessary to use expensive Greek yogurt for a luscious, creamy texture. I used normal yogurt, 2% in fact, and I'm very thrilled with the results! Just make sure that the yogurt you use isn't too watery or the texture of the final product will be affected. Now I won't have to spend ridiculous amounts of moolah on froyo chains!

Maple Frozen Yogurt
makes about 1 quart
adapted from The Perfect Scoop 

3 cups plain yogurt
3/4 cup maple syrup

Stir together the yogurt and maple syrup and refrigerate until completely cold.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to your manufacture's instructions or if you don't have one like I do, (yay! join the club!) empty the base into a shallow container and place it in the freezer, whisking every half an hour until it has thickened up to the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. After that, you can just leave it to freeze until hard or enjoy immediately.

Linked to These Chicks Cooked, Sweet Treats Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Sweets for a Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday and Sweet Indulgences Sunday.