Clafoutis... well, I only baked it once before, several years ago. I used kiwis and added some drops of marsala to the batter for some kick. Meanwhile, here’s a quicker version with sour cherries – I have a lot of things on my plate right now.

Ingredients—

250g pitted sour cherries

10g butter

2 tbsp semolina

3 (medium) eggs

210ml milk

a pinch of salt

3 tbsp sugar

175g flour (+extra flour -> baking pan)

a drop of vanilla extract

Marcel helped me pit the sour cherries using a metallic straw.

What next?

Melt the butter in the oven in a regular tart baking pan. Flour the pan, spread the cherries on it, and sprinkle the semolina on top of them.

Whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add the flour and mix until you get a fine batter. Add the vanilla extract at the end.

Pour the mix over the sour cherries. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes at 180⁰C.

This dessert turned out so delicious that I ate a big slice and then had two more (ok, they were smaller!). I didn’t need whipped cream or powdered sugar, it was perfect as it was.

Makes 10 portions (10*5 choux)

Choux pastry

125ml water

60g butter

a pinch of salt

130g flour

4 eggs

Filling

2 eggs

330ml milk (+3-4 tbsp milk)

120g sugar

50g flour

a drop of vanilla extract

2 sachets vanilla sugar

Chocolate sauce

200g dark chocolate

30g butter

500ml milk

20g cornstarch

Éclair – chou – profiteroles. The perfect triad – even my Mom had them written down one after the other. I had baked the first two; so, profiteroles were still on the list. Marcel is crazy about this dessert, so I made it today and…

To make the shells, add the water, the butter, and the salt into a pan and place it on low heat. When the mixture boils, add the flour at once, stirring fast with a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat and let the dough cool. Add the eggs one by one, stirring continuously. Don’t add an egg until the one before was fully incorporated.

I’ve recently read that using a mixer for an extra-airy dough would be a smart trick. Why do we think that mixers should only be used with cold ingredients? J

Fill a pastry bag with a 1-cm nozzle (I still use a cup to make my life easier) and – on a baking tray lined with parchment paper – pipe out small balls, about the size of large sour cherries (says Mom). Leave a 2-cm space between them.

Bake the shells in the preheated oven, at 190°C, for the first 15 minutes, and then at 170°C, with the oven’s door slightly open, for 5 more minutes.

Take them out of the oven, place them on a rack (I also placed aluminium foil underneath the rack).

When the shells cool, by using a pastry bag nozzle, make a hole on the back of the shells and start filling. I usually fill all the shells once, I leave the cream set, and then I fill them one more time.

You need to make the pastry cream. Mix the yolks with 2/3s of the sugar amount until you get a foamy cream. Add 3-4 tablespoons of milk and mix again. Add the flour and immediately pour into the milk (simmering with the vanilla extract). Stir continuously until it boils. Remove from heat and add the egg whites beaten until stiff with the remaining sugar. Finally, add the vanilla sugar for that extra touch.

I ate profiteroles often in Turkey. They use a pretty gooey sauce there – and I’m still researching the recipe. However, at the end of 2020, in Egypt, I found a delicious chocolate sauce while having one of my breakfasts. I ended up talking with the chef and he told me the ingredients used.

Inspiration for the chocolate sauce came from these two sides. Melt the chocolate and the butter on a steam bath, add the milk; when the mix is hot, stir in the cornstarch. Continue stirring until it boils and you’ll get a wonderful chocolate sauce.

In the end, put 5 choux into a cup and cover them with chocolate sauce. You’ll probably ask for a refill.

...the wait was worth it.  

Makes 8

60ml water

30g butter

a pinch of salt

70g flour

2 (small) eggs

Filling

1 egg

165ml milk

60g sugar

25g flour

a drop of vanilla extract

+150g whipping cream or sour cream, 25% fat content (beaten with 20g sugar)

It took too long for this recipe to get to you (it is still my Mom’s recipe!) – I was very stressed over the last period but it’s getting better –. These cakes turned out so delicious... that I could not not share their taste with you.

The shells are made like in the case of éclairs—

Add the water, the butter, and the salt into a pan and place it on low heat. When the mixture boils, add the flour at once, stirring fast with a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat and let the dough cool. Add the eggs one by one, stirring continuously. Don’t add an egg until the one before was fully incorporated.

Half-fill a pastry bag with a 1-cm nozzle and – on a baking tray lined with parchment paper – pipe out dough half an egg large, and not bars. Bake the shells in the preheated oven, at 190°C, for the first 20 minutes, and then at 170°C, with the oven’s door slightly open, for 20 minutes more.

When the shells are baked, cut off their top and fill the lower part with pastry cream and add a whipped cream layer.

How to make the pastry cream? Mix the yolk with 2/3s of the sugar amount until you get a foamy cream. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk and mix again. Add the flour and immediately pour into the milk (simmering with the vanilla extract). Stir continuously until it boils. Remove from heat and add the egg white beaten until stiff with the remaining sugar. /I must tell you that it’s my favourite pastry cream version!/

Going back to the cut-off top, place it back onto the cake and... munch it.

How was it? :D

16 éclairs

Choux pastry

125ml water

60g butter

a pinch of salt

130g flour

4 (small) eggs

Filling

125g sour cream, 25% fat content

20g sugar

125g mascarpone

1 ripe mango

Glazing

100g dark chocolate

Do you like this dessert? My Marcel adores it and he has been nagging me to bake it since Egypt (we used to eat a lot of mangoes there). There are times in a year when he only wishes to eat ’éclair’ (he’s already bought a mango for the next batch). I found my Mom’s recipe for the shells and I’ll prepare it with a modern twist i.e. the filling.

At least 5-6 hours before baking the shells, make the mango filling. Beat the cream with the sugar in a bowl and the mascarpone in another bowl. Blend the mango, mix the mascarpone into the cream, stirring gently, with a wooden spoon. Add the mango purée and place the bowl into the fridge.

To make the shells, add the water, the butter, and the salt into a pan and place it on low heat. When the mixture boils, add the flour at once, stirring fast with a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat and let the dough cool. Add the eggs one by one, stirring continuously. Don’t add an egg until the one before was fully incorporated.

Half-fill a pastry bag with a 1-cm nozzle (I use a cup to make my life easier) and – on a baking tray lined with parchment paper – pipe out 10-cm long bars, a finger thick. Leave a 3-cm space between the bars.

Bake the shells in the preheated oven, at 190°C, for the first 20 minutes, and then at 170°C, with the oven’s door slightly open, for 20 minutes more.

Take them out of the oven, place them on a rack (I also placed aluminium foil underneath the rack).

When the shells cool, by using a pastry bag nozzle, make three holes on the back of the shells and start filling. [it was a bit difficult given the fibrous texture of the mango] I usually fill all the shells once, I leave the cream set, and then I fill them one more time.

In this case, I decided to glaze half of the éclairs with chocolate and I placed the rest of the éclairs in the fridge.

Melt half of the chocolate on a steam bath and then turn off the heat and add the remaining chocolate, stirring until it looks silky. Pour it over the éclairs and let it cool.  

They are great for breakfast or munched with friends.

Makes 4

100g sugar -> to be caramelised

2 eggs

70g sugar

zest from a quarter of an organic lemon

a drop of vanilla extract

300ml milk

On many Sundays of my childhood, my Mom used to make crème brûlée (the Romanian version) in a baking pan that seemed too large in my eyes. The caramel syrup fascinated me every time.

I found the recipe and I adapted it to individual portions. It is easy to make.

Let the sugar caramelise on low-medium heat (for about 6-7 minutes) and then pour it immediately into the ramekins (be careful, it will be very hot!).

While the caramel cools, mix the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and milk in a bowl. Pour the mixture over the caramel, place the ramekins into tall dishes filled with water (at about ¾ of the ramekins’ height) and then into the preheated oven, at 160°C, for 35 minutes.

Marcel and I couldn’t resist (even though crème brûlée should sit in the fridge for at least a few hours if not overnight) and savoured two warm crèmes brûlées. The other two will rest in the fridge and will be perfect for breakfast. The caramel will also set. J

P.S. The taste was similar to the taste of my Mom’s crème brûlée. ♥