The Gouda Life

After a week of treats, dinners made for me (unheard of in these parts), and restaurant visits, it’s finally over. Goodbye birthday week, it’s been a slice. Though not a slice of cake. You keep that birthday cake to yourself - I don’t want any of it. All crumbly, dry and sickeningly sweet - blech! 

You all know I’d take dinner over dessert any ol’day - but there are certain things I would happily eat as a substitute for typical ‘birthday cake’. This year, my birthday happened to fall the day after Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Tuesday!!) so it was only natural for me to create some sort of Birthday panCAKE to celebrate. And boy, am I glad I did. The result was something other-worldly. 

Tiramisu is something I would trade in my first born (Ryder - chocolate lab) for a bite of. It’s light, airy texture and creamy coffee-spiked flavour puts me into an intoxicated state of bliss. Add some fresh fruit, strawberries to be more precise, and I’m putty in your hands. My girlfriend, Zu, was the first to introduce me to her Strawberry Tiramisu and it’s easily become one of my top 5 sweet-treats.

Last week, in honour of Pancake Tuesday, I decided to swap out the lady-fingers and instead layer coffee-cocoa flapjacks between layers of sliced strawberries, creamy Mascarpone and a sweetened strawberry puree. Not only were the colourful stacks devastatingly beautiful, they were the perfect balance of sweet and savoury. I’ll take a stack of the Strawberry Tiramisu Pancakes over birthday cake any day. I have a feeling you might agree! If strawberries aren’t your thang, I think bananas or blueberries would be a lovely swap-in. 



Strawberry Tiramisu Pancakes
pancakes adapted from The Ivory Hut
Makes enough for 4 (3-pancake) mini-stacks or 2 (2-pancake) large stacks.

Before you start, I would brew 1 cup of espresso and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. It’s easier than waiting for it to chill while you’re in the middle of getting everything together. 

Puree:
1 cup strawberries
2 tbsp confectioners sugar

In a bullet, food processor or blender - puree sugar and berries until smooth.

Creamy Mascarpone
1 cup Mascarpone
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tbsp brewed espresso, chilled
1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
Using hand-mixer or whisk attachment on stand-mixer - beat all 5 ingredients until thick and creamy, 1-2 minutes. 

Pancakes
Dry:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
a generous pinch of salt  

Wet: 
1/2 cups sour cream 
1 1/2 cups milk
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons instant coffee  
vegetable oil, for frying pancakes

To Serve: 
1 cup strawberries, sliced lengthwise 
1/2 cup brewed espresso, chilled (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt together until combined.

In another bowl, add the sour cream and a little bit of the milk. Whisk until it starts to loosen up. Add a bit more milk, continue to whisk. Add the rest of the milk. This helps ensure no clumps of sour cream remain. Add the instant-coffee and mix well until it’s all dissolved. Whisk in eggs, vanilla and melted butter and mix until smooth. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently until just combined with no flour pockets remaining. It should be slightly lumpy, you don’t want to over-mix.  



Place a large skillet (or set up your griddle if you have one) over medium heat and add 2 tbsp of oil. Heat until rippled and add 1/4 cup of pancake batter (or 2 tbsp for tiny pancakes). Let it sizzle away until bubbles come up and the edges look cooked. Carefully flip and cook for another minute.  

To Serve (this is for 3-pancake mini-stacks);



Place a little dollop of cream  on the bottom of a serving plate and place one pancake on top. Pour 1-2 tsp of chilled espresso over the pancake (this is optional - but I like the soggy coffee spiked cakes). Place 1-2 tbsp of the Mascarpone mixture, a few sliced berries, and a drizzle of the berry puree. Repeat again. Place last pancake on top, dollop with cream, drizzle with puree and top with a whole berry. 

 

I’m turning into an old man. Have you noticed? 

All I can seem to talk about lately is the weather. I want to talk about it all day long. And if I’m not talking about the weather, I’m talking about how I talk about the weather. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about it by now, aren’t you? 

But guess what? It’s still hot as hell in Ottawa. And I’m still trying to find dishes that help cool me down without eating a freezer full of Popsicles. And I’ve got a great one for you today.

As I was flipping through the newest edition of Food & Drink, I came across a recipe that sounded almost as delicious as it ended up tasting. It’s simple, straightforward, fresh and tastes oh-so-decadent. And, in case you hadn’t already assumed, it’s easy. Almost as easy as this post. Which I do apologize for, but believe it or not, some nights I’m not nearly as brilliant and witty as I typically appear …. haw haw haw! (Ok, tell me that wasn’t even a little funny? No? Shoot.)

Parfaits are one of Mr GL’s favourite treats. Which is great considering they take 5 minutes to put together. Layers of whipped cream and fresh berries are easy and delicious enough, but when you add cream cheese and a citrus curd to the mix, it becomes something entirely different. The layers of flavour in this parfait are so fresh and clean. You can almost taste every ingredient separately before they combine in your mouth. To say they very least, it’s lovely. And also, it’s beautiful.

 

Strawberry-Mint Parfaits with Cheesecake Cream and Lime Curd
serves 4
adapted from Food & Drink

Because there are only two of us, we went the gluttonous route and piled the ingredients high into two glasses. But it actually does serve 4. Mais, nous sommes des cochons! 

If you don’t like lime, then you’re no friend of mine. No wait, I’m sorry. You can use lemon or grapefruit instead! 

6 cups fresh strawberries
2 tbsp sugar
handful fresh mint, chopped fine
1 package (250g) light cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup cold whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1-1 1/2 cups lime curd, recipe to follow
Zest of 1 lime 

Set 4 of the best looking strawberries aside. Hull and slice the rest of them. Place in a large bowl with sugar and chopped mint. Cover and refrigerate until ready to put parfaits together. 



Using a standing or handheld electric mixer whip the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth in a large bowl. In another bowl, add the vanilla and heavy cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold the two creams together until smooth. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. 





When ready to assemble parfaits - get 4 parfait or wine glasses capable of holding 1 cup and set on clean surface. Carefully add a spoonful or two of berries, followed by a large dollop of cream and a spoonful of curd. Finish with another layer of berries, cream and another spoonful of curd. Garnish with a whole berry and a sprinkle of lime zest. 






Lime Curd

4 large limes
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened

Finely zest one of the limes. Set aside. 



Juice the 4 limes into a small bowl. 

In a medium sauce pan, whisk eggs sugar and butter. Stir in juice and zest. Whisk constantly over low heat until mixture starts to thicken and turn lighter in colour. 15-18 minutes. Do not boil. 



Once thickened, pour through a mesh strainer into a glass bowl. Press plastic wrap right against the curd and let cool in fridge for 1 hour. 

Keep in fridge for one week or freeze and scoop as needed.
 
 

T-Minus 24 hours until I’m out of the city for FOUR WHOLE DAYS. Do you even know how long it’s been since I left home for that long? Because I sure don’t. Between my schedule, Allan’s schedule, the dog, the two cats, trying to see family, friends… it doesn’t make it incredibly easy to be gone for too long. But this weekend is our one getaway for the whole summer and I, for one, plan to take extreme advantage of it. We’ve got enough food to feed an army and enough booze to keep the Jersey Shore kids quenched. Not to mention a blow up boat with a steering wheel AND a horn (Allan tells me I’m probably too big for it, but so long as I can fit one leg in the boat I figure I won’t drown. And I can still toot the horn.)

I haven’t posted for a little bit with all the craziness of the business, so I didn’t feel right leaving on vacation without giving you a little something to sink your teeth into. And what better than a no-bake dessert that comes together quickly and tastes decadent as anything.

I’ve been playing with icebox cakes for a while but this one definitely took the… cake (haw haw haw!). It’s so versatile, light (tasting, that is. Though it’s not EXTREMELY fat-packed if you compare to typical cakes) and fresh! And as mentioned before, it’s so quick to make that it can be a last minute dinner party life-saver. Use whatever fruit is in season (specifically bananas, peaches, blueberries, raspberries etc etc! And try mixing a few different ones!) and you’ve got a winner. When I made my first few icebox cakes, I used the suggested graham crackers. I ran into a little troouble finding them last minute at a few places (not grocery stores. I happened to have a Shoppers and a Zellers nearby) but I could always find Arrowroot cookies. I will never go back to graham…unless homemade. Maybe.

Strawberry Ice Box Cake w/ Chocolate Ganache

2 pints fresh strawberries (set aside 4 whole berries for garnish)
1 1/2 + 1/2 Cup Whipping Cream, seperated
1 tbsp pure maple syrup (optional)
2 Sleeves Arrowroot cookies
1/2 Cup dark chocolate, rough chopped

(that’s it! can you believe it?!)

Put 1 1/2 Cups of whipping cream in the bowl of your stand mixer (if you don’t have a standing mixer, put the cream in a bowl and use a hand mixer or a whisk…. my mixer makes me lazy. I have no excuses.) and whip until you have stiff peaks. If using, add maple syrup to sweeten the whipped cream ever-so-slighty. Set aside. Cut the tops off the strawberries and slice into thin pieces.

In your dish (I used a long, skinny oval dish but you’re free to also use a square gratin-dish or whatever else you have on hand) spread a thin layer of whipped cream to cover the bottom. Add a layer of arrow root cookies, a layer of strawberries and another layer of whipped cream. Repeat until you’ve used almost everything and finish the top layer with whipped cream. Garnish with whole strawberries. Cover and put in the fridge for 4 hours so the cookies can soften a bit (I know I said this was an easy dessert….but this 4 hours of not being able to eat it is really hard. I’m sorry!)

An hour or two before you’re ready to serve dessert, put your chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Bring your 1/2C of leftover whipping cream just to a boil and remove from heat. Pour over chocolate and let it sit for a minute or so. Starting from the middle of the bowl make little circles and gradually combine the cream and chocolate until smooth. Let sit at room temperature for an hour to set. When you’re ready to eat, drizzle the tops of the cake with ganache (not pictured).

Alright. That’s it. Did it change your life forever? I thought so. Don’t say I never did anything for you.

Now back to packing (read: eating cake and drinking wine).

I’ll try to think of you all while I’m leg deep in my childrens boat with a 6-pack tied to the side of it, bobbing around Beaver Lake (giggity?).

Have a great (and safe!) long weekend, ya’ll! Eat something for me!

—-

(edit: 08/02/2010)
In case you were hoping for a visual - below is the boat that I did not fit in. UNTIL I cut the kid leg holes out and used it as a donut floatie. WIN!

(photo taken by my talented sister Laura!)