A tea party

Can you believe there's only 1 day left until Christmas? In this fast-paced world, time seems to only accelerate with each passing year! But for me, being back in Jakarta after a brief stint in Auckland and Sydney, I am relieved to finally be able to empty my suitcase and relax with the family.

Recently, I received a large folder of pictures in my inbox of my high tea fundraiser in Auckland taken by power couple Clint and Jo Chang. To give you international folks a snapshot of the lovely event, a blog post was no doubt in order. So let's look through the pictures and recount a beautiful summer afternoon of tea and cakes in Auckland's Grey Lynn.

Out of a desire to share the delicious foods I have been posting on this blog with readers and friends who have shown great support for my sweet endeavors, a tea party seemed like a fun way to share the love. The profits of the event has gone towards the production and pressing of my band Teacups' final record, as because of me being away in Paris this past year, we were unable to perform any gigs and therefore have no money. With the help of the ever resourceful Sarah Firmston from Bread and Butter Letter, we were able to attain a few sponsorships which helped the event to take shape and materialize. 

LYCHEE, ROSE AND RASPBERRIES

It sure is good to be back in the southern hemisphere; about to have me a summer Christmas like I'm used to. To me, December means lazy days at the beach, long lunches with friends and super cold bottles of summer cider. 

Some friends and I enjoying lunch at The Oyster Inn in Waiheke Island.

To mark the start of the summer season, a friend had asked me to create a simple raspberry tart to be featured on the Glassons blog. I wanted the tart to be fresh, simple and feature the freshness of this season's latest harvest. 

After coming across reasonably priced punnets of plump red raspberries, I decided to have a little play with Pierre Hermé's classic flavor combination, the Ispahan. It must have been a moment of divine inspiration when Monsieur Hermé had the idea to combine lychee, rose and raspberries together. The trio of aromas just blends and blooms together so nicely on the palate, you should really give him a well deserved pat on the back next time you see him.

Cakes and Teacups

Hello guys and girls. Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. It seems that between organizing my past year of existence in Paris into cardboard boxes and boarding several nauseating, ear popping long haul flights back home, I got a little distracted from making cakes! Unacceptable I know.. But here I am now back in Auckland, with a preposition to make it up to you.

I've enlisted the help of some of my great friends from the delightful vintage and craft store Bread and Butter Letter in Auckland's Eden Terrace to host an afternoon of tea and cakes on Saturday the 8th of December. The proceeds from the event will go towards the post-production and release of my band Teacups' last and final record; an EP that has encapsulated our friendships and experiences these past few years and how we've grown as individuals. 

I will be making several original and classic french cakes and petit fours, as well as delicious sandwiches and macarons that you can enjoy with cups of tea from the Informal Tea Co. The much-loved cake queen Jordan Rondel from The Caker will also be serving a surprise sweet treat for you fortunate people. These delectable treats and hot teas will be served in vintage plates and tea-ware, kindly provided for us by the lovely ladies at The Vintage Table, a service that hires out beautiful vintage chinas to perk up your events and weddings. To round up your saturday afternoon high tea experience, the captivating Jocee Tuck, Sam Allen and Rebecca Melrose will charm you with their lovely voices and mad skills. 

I must inform you that there are only 30 seats available for this wonderful rare event! You can reserve your seat by emailing me at talita@talitaskitchen.com. This will sell out, you have been warned!

Feel free to email me with any questions you may have. I hope to see you there!

x Tal

Blackberry and Orange-Chocolate Dome Cakes

On my way home from the gym, I walk past a really great fruit shop which always has amazing local and fresh produce on display. Sometimes I like to pick up a "barquette" of blackberries or some mandarins to nibble on as I walk home for my post-gym hunger pangs and for a little antioxidant and vitamin fix. As I approached my apartment one night, I had the idea to combine the two fruits into a delicious dessert. So I got out a pen and paper and went on to design a cake which I think will be worth sweating on the treadmill for. 

The Blackberry and Orange-Chocolate Dome Cakes

I hid a tab of dark chocolate and orange cremeux inside a tart blackberry mousse, and covered the cake with blackberry 'ganache'. I also had the idea of using chocolate covered cereal balls (Crispearls) to recreate the drupelets of the blackberry before I placed the cake on a disc of sablé breton with candied orange peel. The cake is then garnished with a fresh blackberry round up the look. 

I am pretty proud of this latest cake, even though it would mean I might need an extra long session at the gym tomorrow!

My Lavender Opéra

I can't believe it's November already! It's less than two months till Christmas and two weeks until I pack up and leave this beautiful city of love. I have about 30kg of cookbooks that I have accumulated this past year that I am currently a little stressed about shipping.. I know I have been imprudent about my book hoarding but I really couldn't help myself! The latest addition to my collection is the "La pâtisserie des rêves" cookbook by "Philippe Conticini". I've always loved the Japan-influenced design of the pastries from La Pâtisserie des Rêves (translation: "The pastry shop of dreams"! Cute right?) for their subtle whimsicality.

I've had several friends ask me about the steps I take to design and create my own cakes. I think it is really important to read as many books/magazines as you can! You could even start a Pinterest account and pin everything that catches your eye. I think once you've decided your aesthetic and figured out what it is about a particular thing that you like, it is really easy to start to create your own products. 

For this latest cake, I've decided to approach one of the French patisserie staples; the "Opera" and give it my own twist. The classic gateau Opera was invented by Maison Dalloyau 1955. It is composed of 3 layers of joconde biscuit which are imbibed with coffee syrup, 2 layers of coffee buttercream and a layer of dark chocolate ganache. I think this cake is perfect, simple and super delicious. You would find this cake in any pastry shop around the world. To be honest, I wouldn't change a thing. But for me, the concept of a "Lavender Opera" became too hard to ignore.

Opéra - Création Dalloyau 1955

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you would know that I am rather fascinated by floral flavors. I think a subtle floral element can really pique the eater's curiosity and has the potential to turn the act of eating into an experience. So for the past few weeks, I've been trying to think up ways to work lavender into a cake. Lavender has a strong aroma that can easily overpower any other flavors that it is paired with. However, I then had the idea of using earl grey tea to balance it out. In my mind the fragrant bergamot will hold its own against the lavender while also providing a nice foundation of which the lavender can really shine. 

So here is my floral interpretation of the French classic:

For my cake, I used 2 layers of joconde biscuit which I imbibed with earl grey syrup, a layer of chocolate financier, 2 layers of earl grey mascarpone cream and a gorgeous layer of lavender infused ganache. I gave the cake a light spraying of cocoa butter, a sprinkling of dried flowers and candied violets to finish. I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of this one :)

Are you feeling a little skeptical about lavender in a cake? Why don't you try the recipe and see if you like it? I sure did!

The cherry on top

Ok, I know it's not exactly cherry season right now.. But I came across some really amazing cherry cake moulds. I knew I had to get them right away and recreate the cutest cake ever.

So dear friends and readers, I present to you my interpretation of Josep Maria Rodriguez Guerola's "La Cirera"which I read about on So Good Magazine,

The Cherry and Lime Cake

I used frozen sour cherries (griottes) for this recipe because not only they are cheaper, they taste just as good and they come already pitted! I made a lime cream and berry compote insert to place inside the cherry mousse, and placed the fruit shaped cake atop a platform of chocolate financier and berry/white chocolate crumble. The cake is finished by a good spraying of red cocoa butter, a chocolate stem and a touch of gold leaf for good measure. 

The lime, cherry and chocolate combination is nothing short of a triumph for the taste buds! This cake has a lot of components and takes a bit of time to complete, but the end result will no doubt impress and surprise the any dessert lover. 

If you have a free weekend and would like a dessert project that would put your baking skills to the test, then feel free to read on, my ambitious friends..

TK's first giveaway!

Dear readers, 

I have been thinking of ways of how to thank you for your support and encouragement of my blog. Since my readers come from many parts of the world, I thought the best way to thank you all is with this blog's very first giveaway! 

Before coming to Paris, I lived my days as a music student in Auckland. I played double bass for several bands, but the band that has a special place in my heart is the one with my two best girl-friends: "Teacups".

photo by Bayly & Moore

We will be releasing our new record in the next couple of months, so if you haven't heard of us yet, I think you need to listen to our debut album before listening to this next one ;)

Lucky for you, I have 5 Teacups' debut album "Forest Fiction" to send right to your door.

You can preview our album on iTunes here.

Read a review here.

And you can also watch a video of us here:

Interested?

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER: 

Simply answer the following question in the comments section of this post:

From the desserts featured on this blog, which is your favourite and why?

(Click on the "Recipes" link on the side bar for a full list of cakes.)
Don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you!

Want extra chances to win your personal copy of "Forest Fiction"? Here's how you do it:

• For an extra entry, go over to Facebook and “like” Talita's Kitchen, and then come back to this page and leave a comment to tell me that you did so. That comment will count as an extra entry.
• For an additional entry, go over to Facebook and “like” Teacups, and then come back to this page and leave a comment to tell me that you did so. That comment will count as an extra entry.
• For an another entry share this blog on your own Facebook page, and then come back to this page and leave a comment to tell me that you did so. That comment will count as an extra entry.
• For another additional entry, share this post on Twitter and include @talitasktchn, and then come back to this page and leave a comment to tell me that you did so. That comment will also count as an additional entry.

THE RULES:

• You need to submit an answer for the first question before submitting extra entries.
• You need to leave separate comments for your extras entries for them to count separately.
• Contest closes and winners announced on October 21st, 2012.
• Winners will be contacted by email, and albums sent to them by post anywhere in the world!

Thank you for helping to spread the word about my blog, and good luck everyone :)

x Tal

ps. If you like Teacups, you'd probably love Chelsea's solo venture Watercolours

Rosewater and sour cherry cheesecake

I don't know why I've never made cheesecakes before. I'm sure you'll agree that the combination of tangy cream cheese, sour fruits and a rich biscuit base create nothing less than a symphony in the mouth. On my recent trip back to Auckland, I was pleasantly surprised by the new bakeries and cafes that have popped up around town. One that I have been raving about to everyone I've met ever since is "Little Bird Organics" on New North Road. They like to call themselves an "unbakery" because not only is everything in the cafe organic, it is also completely raw! I have to be honest, at the beginning, I was a little cynical. Just how can you have a raw bakery? Even the concept is oxymoronic! So of course I made the trip out to Kingsland to taste test their creations and feed my curiosity. I purchased some delicious coconut macaroons, some organic white tea and a raspberry mini cheesecake. The mini cake was the triumph of the day as it reminded me of how simple and delicious cheesecakes can be. The experience has been playing so much in my mind ever since, that I knew I had to try to make my own when I got back to Paris. 

I then remembered that Natalie Smith had asked me to base a cake on another object after I had done the "candle cake" for Curio Noir for the Simon James Design blog. My muse this time is the bow ring by London-based fine jewelry designer Jessica McCormack. I tried to think about the kind of flavors that can be associated with diamond rings, and couldn't really come up with anything that wasn't so farfetched. So I did a little research and found out that these bow rings were inspired by the 1983 collection by French fashion house YSL. 

The dresses featured huge pink bows which combined playful femininity and classic symbolism. So from this, a flavor profile slowly started to come together.

I knew I wanted to use rosewater to symbolize the classic and romantic nuances of the ring's design. I paired it with a compote of French sour cherries "Griottines" - a very traditional french ingredient, which will emphasize the origins of the ring's muse YSL. For the base, I used girly pink ladyfinger biscuits from "Massion Fossier" called "Biscuits Roses de Reims" which I ground up into a fine powder. I moulded the whole thing in an adorable bow-shaped PVC cake mould. For the decoration, I went with a simple rose petal and a sugar diamond to give it a bit of regal quality. 

Mini cheesecakes and mini "Biscuits Roses de Reims"

I think this cake would be perfect served in a wedding banquet, especially if the bride herself was wearing the ring that the cake is based on. Don't you think it'd be a great idea for the guests to be able to experience the piece of jewelry that holds a special significance to the happy couple? I think I may be onto something here.

So here's the recipe. You can use any cake moulds for this cheesecake. This recipe will make 6 mini cakes or a 6 or 7 inch round cake.

Autumn fruit tarts

It's hard to believe autumn has fallen upon us yet again (pun intended - sorry). The changing of seasons is always very exciting for me, as fresh produce I've missed start to appear again in the marketplaces. Right now, the stores are abundant with fall favourites such as plums, figs and passionfruit that  I am just filled with ideas for autumnal desserts!

This morning's market haul includes fresh plums, figs and amazing red "William" pears - all fresh, local and cheap as chips!

I knew straight away that I wanted to make these fruits into tarts because I wanted to display and preserve their beautiful natural colours. So here are what I've managed to bake up this fine Sunday afternoon:

Fresh fig tart with spiced pear 

Red plum tart with hazelnut frangipane

These tarts are super delicious and easy to make! The tartness of the fruits (pun again?! I am on fire!) are balanced well by the fragrant and rich hazelnut frangipane, whilst the crunchiness from the tart base and roasted nuts makes for no lack of textural contrast. I absolutely adore figs - they have a unique flavour and photograph so beautifully. It really is a shame they are not available in New Zealand! 

So without further ado, it's recipe time!

French market at my house

I am currently writing this post on the plane back to Paris after spending three glorious weeks in my hometown Auckland...

The view from my kitchen..

Martin iPhoning

It's been wonderful catching up with all the friends I've missed dearly, all brimming with curious and probing questions on the year I've been away. I've also had the pleasure of meeting many new people through my blog, of whom are all very humble and talented on their own rights. I am also very grateful to have had the opportunity to be featured on the media on my few weeks back at home!

Natalie Smith of "Eat Here Now" and "Magic Surrounds" fame, very kindly wrote an article about this blog and my everyday life in Paris for the September issue of New Zealand food magazine "Taste". And I am also very excited about the new hits my blog have been getting from its feature on Metro magazine's blog "Metro Eats" written by my dear friend Jeremy Olds. Jeremy wrote about the happenings of the weekend's past where I had hosted a French-market breakfast for a few close friends in my humble abode.