Unlike last week's simple and delicious recipe (Oeufs à la Neige (Snow Eggs with Caramel and Crème Anglaise), this one has five components, which equals a pile of dishes!

The ladyfingers are simple, and this time I followed the directions and sprinkled the confectioner's sugar on the piped fingers instead of stirring it into the batter like last time. For the fingers, you just whip the egg whites, fold in the yolks and then fold in the flour. Pipe, sprinkle with icing sugar and bake at 350°F until golden.

Why do the French like their pears so much? I've never been overly fond of this fruit and find it mealy. They do improve with poaching, however. Halve the pears and poach in water (to cover), sugar and vanilla. When they're soft, let them cool, then purée half the pears and dice the other half.

My favorite part of this dessert is the Crème Anglaise. The way some people can eat raw cookie dough (which I can't), I could eat a whole saucepan of Crème Anglaise. But, adding the softened gelatin and water mixture to the custard kind of spoils it for me. Jello and custard aren't a good marriage, in my opinion.

Then, after whipping the cream (with too much liqueur, which I chose to leave out this time), fold it into the Bavarian cream (Crème Anglaise and gelatin mixture).

Finally, purée the raspberries, strain the seeds (if you want), and whisk in the confectioner's sugar and lemon juice.

And after all that, you then have to wait 4-5 hours for the Bavarian to set!

Bavarois is a dessert that's thickened with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream.
-Thip from Bonbini

Charlotte aux Poires, Coulis de Framboise (Pear Charlotte with Raspberry Coulis)

Serves 6


Ladyfingers
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup cake flour
Confectioner's sugar, sifted
Unsalted butter, softened for baking sheet

Pear Bavarian Cream
1 pound pears
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 ounce powdered gelatin (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons cold water

Crème Anglaise
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar

Whipped Cream
1/4 cup Poire William or domestic pear brandy (I ended up leaving this out)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Raspberry Coulis
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained

You can find the recipe for Charlotte aux Poires, Coulis de Framboise (Pear Carlotte with Raspberry Coulis) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home.


Tasting Notes
If you like pears, you'll like this recipe. If you like jello, you'll like this recipe. I liked the ladyfingers and the Crème Anglaise so all was not wasted. And you can't go wrong with raspberry coulis, but it's a very strong taste that likes to overpower the subtle taste of pear.

More Charlottes
• Whisk: Charlotte aux Pommes, Crème Anglaise au Rhum (Apple Charlotte with Rum-Flavored Crème Anglaise)
• Whisk: Charlotte Malakoff (Almond Cream Charlotte)
• Whisk: Charlotte aux pommes, crème anglaise au Calvados (Apple Charlotte served with Calvados custard sauce)
• Bonbini: Charlotte Royale
• La Cerise: Charlotte and Biscuits à la Cuillère (Ladyfingers)
• Happy Home Baking: Tiramisu Charlotte Cake

More Bavarois
• Whisk: Bavarois à la Vanille, Coulis de Framboise (Vanilla Bavarian Cream with Raspberry Coulis)
• Whisk: Bavarois à la Fraise (Strawberry Bavarian Cream with Strawberry Coulis)

Next Time
Crème d’amande (Almond cream) in Almond-Filled Basque Cake page 253

::Whisk Whenever::
I'm baking my way through a cooking school curriculum using the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook. The "classes" are based on the Le Cordon Bleu curriculum found online and used as a guideline. Not all the items in the curriculum are in the cookbook, but most are. Where the items are not in the book, I try to find a suitable substitution.

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I'm addicted to Grande Tazo Chai at Starbucks. And putting these flavors into oatmeal was too tempting. Here's a special brunch if you like Chai Latte.

Chai Oatmeal

Serves 2


1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch nutmeg
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup oats

yogurt, nuts, dried fruit, raisins, coconut or fresh fruit

Pour milk into a saucepan. Whisk in salt and spices. Add vanilla bean and honey. Stir to blend. Bring this mixture to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Add the oats and stir. Cover the pan and leave over low heat for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

When the oatmeal has thickened to your taste, remove the vanilla bean and serve with yogurt, nuts, dried fruit, raisins, coconut or fresh fruit and milk.

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I'm always collecting recipes that look great, taste even better but don't involve an all-day session in the kitchen to prepare. And if I can make the meal ahead of time, it's a winner. This recipe meets all those qualifications. Plus, it's versatile. You can substitute different cheese and vegies to hide in the chicken.

Stuffed Chicken

Serves 4


1 cup broccoli, chopped and cooked
1/4 cup onion, sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons red pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
2 whole chicken breasts, boneless (with skin if you prefer), each breast cut in half to make 4 pieces
2 tablespoons oil
Salt

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, mix the broccoli, onion, cheddar, ricotta cheese, red pepper and pepper.

Slice a pocket into the chicken breast. Fill with the stuffing mixture. Use toothpicks and string to hold the pockets closed.

Heat a large pan on top of the stove on medium-high heat, then add the oil. While the pan is heating, season the chicken breasts with salt. When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts. Sear on one side, about 2 minutes or until brown. Flip over and brown the other side. Put pan in oven until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear, about 15 minutes.

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The Summer issue of Taste & Travel is on store shelves now.

Travel to several countries and savour the unusual and delicious recipes between the pages of this gorgeous magazine. This issue covers the Yucatán, Paris, Rome, Adelaide, Merida, Malaysia, and New York. You'll see a preview of David Sterling's forthcoming book on the cuisine of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, a feature about the glorious food in Ottawa's backyard, details about the legendary Knysna oyster from South Africa and get a visual taste of the Chelsea Market in New York City. You'll find recipes for eel, elk, goat, curried spaghetti and bread pudding to name just a few.

The head office of Taste & Travel is in the village of Metcalfe, Ontario, but relies on an editorial team that is international. The creative director is in New Zealand, the senior editorial consultant lives most of the year in Southeast Asia, a contributing editor works out of Japan and a team of other staff members reside in exotic locales. I had fun doing some recipe testing and photography for this issue and am excited to work with the magazine.

You can find Taste & Travel at Chapters stores across Canada. If you're in the Ottawa area, you can also find it at the following stores:

• Pepper Mill in Manotick
• Just Imagine in Manotick
• The Manotick Village Butcher
• Chilly Chiles in Navan
• Domus in Byward Market

Since it sells out quickly, you may want to subscribe so that you won't miss an issue.

I have been following Natalie MacLean's wine writing career for many years and was one of the first subscribers to her wine newsletter. Since then, she's gone on to write a book, Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass, that recently won Best Wine Literature Book in the English language at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. She's also been named the World's Best Drink Writer. She's won four James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards and is the only person to have won both the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation and the M.F.K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary Writing from Les Dames d'Escoffier International.

Subscribe to her newsletter, follow her on Twitter, and read her blog.

I have a monthly column on Natalie's blog called "Bottles & Bites". My latest column is a pairing of bubbles and sweetness: Prosecco with Lemon Sponge Cake, Lemon Curd and Raspberry Ice Cream. Check it out!

This is one of my favorite desserts. It's just poached meringue in custard and caramel. It's simple, bistro food. And each component can be made ahead. Plus it's economical and contains ingredients you would normally have on hand. The egg whites are used to make the meringue and the yolks are used for the custard. There are only three parts to this dessert:

• Meringue
• Crème Anglaise
• Caramel

There is some debate about the difference between "Snow Eggs" (Oeufs à la Neige) and "Floating Islands" (Île Flottante). I haven't been able to get a definitive answer. Here are the possibilities:

• snow eggs are poached in milk whereas floating islands are baked in a bain-marie
• snow eggs don't contain caramel whereas floating islands do
• snow eggs are poached in sweetened milk or water whereas floating islands have hazelnuts in the meringue and it's baked in a mold
• the name snow eggs refers to the shape of the meringue whereas the name floating islands refers to how the egg whites float in a puddle of crème anglaise

If you know the answer to this naming mystery, let me know.

Making the custard is simple. Just heat the milk and vanilla to boiling (but not boiling over)! While it's heating, whisk the yolks and sugar. Then when the milk has come to a boil, slowly pour it into the egg-sugar mixture while continuing to whisk (but avoid foam, if possible). Then return the mixture to the heat and thicken.

For the meringue, whisk the egg whites until stiff and then add the sugar and whisk until glossy and stiff.

For the caramel, melt the water and sugar and bring it to a golden color. Then, to stop the color from going darker, add about a 1/4 cup of water and keep it warm.

To poach the meringue, bring some water in a large frying pan to a simmer and drop dollops of meringue in. Cook on one side for about 3 minutes, and then flip and cook the other side for 3 minutes. Drain on a dish towel. Then assemble all components (sharing with guests if you must).

Recipe for Oeufs à la Neige (Snow Eggs with Caramel and Crème Anglaise)

Serves 6

Crème Anglaise
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar

French Meringue
4 egg whites
4 tablespoons sugar

Caramel
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

You can find the recipe for Oeufs à la Neige (Snow Eggs with Caramel and Crème Anglaise) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home.

Tasting Notes
It's my favorite dessert. Sweet. Comforting. Light.

Links
• Video (in French): how to poach meringue

More Oeufs à la Neige
• Whisk: Floating Islands
• La Tartine Gourmande: Pisatachio Floating Island for Benoit
• La Tartine Gourmande: Vanilla, Cardamom Snow Eggs
• Joe Pastry: Floating Islands Recipe

Next Time
Crème bavarois (Bavarian cream) in Charlotte aux Poires, Coulis de Framboise (Pear Carlotte with Raspberry Coulis) page 308

::Whisk Whenever::
I'm baking my way through a cooking school curriculum using the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook. The "classes" are based on the Le Cordon Bleu curriculum found online and used as a guideline. Not all the items in the curriculum are in the cookbook, but most are. Where the items are not in the book, I try to find a suitable substitution.

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Weekends are wonderful. Time to work on all your projects, catch up on sleep, spend time with friends and linger over a leisurely brunch.

I've always had a weakness for French Toast. And this is the best French Toast. It's sweet from the bananas that are caramelized in butter and brown sugar and crunchy from the toasted almonds and streusel topping. Letting the mixture soak into the thickly-cut cinnamon raisin bread overnight is delicious, but better yet easy. You can make most of this dish the night before and then just finish it in the morning.

Spiced French Toast with Caramelized Bananas and Toasted Almonds

Serves 4, 4 mini loaf pans




¾ loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, thickly sliced

3 eggs
¾ cups milk
1/8 cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 bananas, sliced

½ cup almonds, slivered and toasted
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup oats
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Maple syrup

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, sugar, vanilla and spices. Cut the bread to fit the pan you're using. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and allow to soak overnight covered in the refrigerator.

In the morning, finish preparing the French Toast. In a non-stick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and melt. Add the bananas and cook until caramelized, about 4-6 minutes, stirring gently. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, combine toasted almonds, brown sugar, oats, flour, and melted butter.

Place banana mixture on top of bread. Sprinkle with almond mixture. Bake until topping is golden and filling is hot, about 25 minutes. Serve with warmed maple syrup.

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Do you have a favorite fruit? One that brings back memories? For me, it's passion fruit. There is something earthy and reminiscent about this fruit for me. The smell takes me to distant and happy times. I love the crunch of the passion fruit seeds. The tang. The sour. The sweet. And just a teaspoon of passion fruit takes a boring beverage and turns it into a memory.

I have a cookbook from my mom simply called "The New Guinea Cookbook". On its worn, time-heavy pages are typed recipes sorted alphabetically including ones for Baked Breadfruit and this one for Passion Fruit Drink. Here's how it's presented (in Courier font) in the book:

PASSION FRUIT DRINK  Add lemon juice, sugar and ice water to sieved passion fruit for a refreshing drink. 

Below is my version of this simple recipe.

What food brings with it waves of memories for you?

Recipe for Passion Fruit Lemonade


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