Citrus & coffee checkered loaf with coffee flavored chantilly cream, and snippets of Switzerland

Week before last was all about enjoying the start of spring in Herr Scherrer's home country, Switzerland.  White snow had given way to a beautiful mix of green, brown and red all around lake Zurich and nearby towns and cities.  The skies were clear blue for the entire time we were there.  It was lovely to enjoy the abundant nature and country side (something we don't get much of in Hong Kong).  We've been making regular trips to Switzerland for a number of years now, and its always something I look forward to very much.  Who knows maybe one day we'll decide to make it home? When there are kids to think of perhaps?

We went to our usual favorite food haunts, e.g. Brasserie Lipp, Schlüssel poulet, just to name a few.  There were of course the must-do visits to Sprüngli and Ladurée and Läderach. Yum yum!

We also spent a few days in Zermatt, where there were still plenty of snow for skiing on the slopes from the Klein Matterhorn and Gornegrat.  As you can see in the picture below, there was not a single cloud in the sky!  

We took lazy drives out to catch sights of the Rhine river, stopping for relaxing bites along the way and just simply enjoying the fresh air and good weather. 

And there were lazy strolls through old streets of Schaffhausen, admiring the intricate artwork on the external walls of buildings.

Upon returning to Hong Kong I made a citrus and coffee flavored checkered loaf cake using fatless whisked sponge.  There is no butter or oil in the sponge recipe.  I paired it with coffee flavored chantilly cream, topped with dried rose petals and crushed pistachios.  The resulting presentation makes it so suitable for Spring, don't you think?

Recipe below makes 2 mini checkered loaf measuring approximately 7" by 3.5" each

Fatless whisked sponge cake:

4 eggs

160g sugar

140g all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1 tbls instant coffee powder

grated rind of 1 orange

Coffee flavoured creme chantilly:

320g whipping cream

75g granulated sugar

1 tsp instant coffee powder

Decoration:

dried rose petals

crushed pistachios

1. For the coffee flavored whisked sponge cake: Dissolve instant coffee powder in 1 tbls boiling water and set aside to cool slightly.  Whisk 2 eggs, 80g sugar and coffee mixture in heatproof bowl to mix in the ingredients.  Placing bowl over a pan of hot water and continue to whisk egg mixture till its turns pale and holds a clear trail of ribbon batter on surface.  Remove bowl from pan and continue to whisk till mixture cools.  Fold in 70g flour in 3 batches.  Pour into lined / greased pan (I used a 8" by 8" size square pan) and bake for 15 to 17 minutes in 170C preheated oven until sponge is firm but springy.  Transfer cooked sponge to cool on wire rack.  

2. For the citrus flavored whisked sponge cake: Follow the same procedure above with remaining 2 eggs and 80g sugar, except replacing coffee mixture with grated orange rind.

3. For the creme chantilly: Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Whisk on medium speed till cream is thick enough to spread (slightly more than soft peak). 

4. Assembly: cut and trim each of the coffee and citrus sponge into 9 pieces of 1.5cm tall strips, i.e. 9 strips of coffee sponge and 9 strips of citrus sponge.  Arrange strips to form 2 checkered loaf, using 9 strips per loaf (strips are placed 3 by 3 with longer edge on the horizontal plane - see photos). Ensure the coffee and citrus strips alternate to create checkered effect and fill with creme chantilly between the strips to hold them together.  Using a spatula, frost top and sides of checkered loaf with remaining creme chantilly.  Finish with back of a spoon to create textured surface.  Top with dried rose petals & crushed pistachios (or any other decorative items u desire).

Coffee & caramel mousse cake

I first heard about Hidemi Sugino's book "Le goût authentique retrouvé" in 2005 from Keiko, on her blog.  This was before I knew about his shop in Tokyo.  Keiko is such a talented baker and I've been so inspired reading about Keiko's many creations from Le goût authentique retrouvé.  I've always had a special spot for these pretty multi-layered/textured pretty french-style mousse cakes (or simply entrements as some may call it).  Unfortunately, Hidemi Sugino's book is in Japanese and given he hasn't release an English version since the book was first commissioned in 1998, it is unlikely he will ever do so. 

So fast forward seven years to 2012, a few months ago I was researching into a coffee and caramel mousse cake combination and couldn't really find anything good among all the cookbooks and materials I've gathered over the years (unbelievable as it may sound for the number of cookbooks I have).  I knew Hidemi Sugino had one in his book as Keiko blogged about it before.  Its one called Brésilienne that he still offers it  in his patisserie shop.  Japanese-literate or not, I decided I'll get the book first and think more later.  I knew from Keiko that the ingredients were also listed in French, so at the minimum I would be able to understand that bit. 

The book arrived 3 days later and I was so elated to find it containing many recipes for different mousse cakes and they all look so delicious.  There is so much in the book I can't wait to try.  Although its all in Japanese, there are step by step photos accompanying the recipes.  True I couldn't understand the methodology written in Japanese, but based on the ingredients, it wasn't that difficult figuring out on my own what to do with the ingredients.  The step-by-step photos also help.  

So I finally got to try a coffee and caramel mousse combination thanks to Hidemi Sugino.  And I was truly impressed!  The coffee mousse tasted a little bitter on its own, but when paired with the sweet caramel mouse, it was a surprise burst of flavor on the palate.  The coffee biscuit joconde was also very moist given all the cognac syrup that was added to it, and complimented both mousses well.

The cake ring that Hidemi Sugino uses is almost impossible to find - I had to settle on an oval shaped one which made the cake look like a fat version of his tall & slim model.   I could have also done better on the proportion of coffee to caramel mousse so that the 2 layers are of equal height.  Lastly, I believe Hidemi Sugino uses very little gelatin in his recipes so his mousses are very soft and lovely, which was indeed the case when I tried this recipe, but the downside is it may not last a trip out of the house, especially in more hot & humid weathers.  I will most likely increase the proportion of gelatin next time, especially if I know the cake will need to do some travelling.

Its been nothing but gloomy cloudy days in Hong Kong the past week and I was really frustrated trying to find enough natural light to take some of these photos... hopefully they don't look too gloomy to you.

Continue for recipe:

Visiting a kopi luwak plantation

I always start my day with a warm cuppa coffee, even on the weekends or lazy days that I wake closer to noon.  We have a little nespresso machine at home which makes it real easy to get a cup going even when I’m half awake and groggy in the morning.  I love standing over the machine as coffee gently flows into the cup, sniffing away at the fresh smell of coffee.  

(US$6 for this espresso size cup of kopi luwak)

Herr Scherrer & I were in Bali on a short holiday a few weeks ago and we had the chance to visit a small coffee plantation specializing in the production of kopi luwak, also known as the civet coffee. We also took some photos that I want to share here.

(Civet cat - key to production of kopi luwak)

Believed to be one of the world's most expensive coffee, kopi luwak's manufacturing process is somewhat unique and a little peculiar.  Civet cats are fed ripe coffee cherries and the coffee beans pass through its digestive tract intact and is then defecated.  Thereafter, the beans are collected (yes yes a little yucky, collected from the civet's droppings), thoroughly washed, dried and roasted.  As a result of stomach enzymes of the civet, coffee produced from these beans is believed to have a unique aroma and less bitter. 

(Fresh coffee berries that are fed to the civet cats)

(Various types of coffee that we tried at a little rustic cafe within the
coffee plantation - with ginger, with cocoa, with vanilla, etc)

(Yes, this is poop of the civet cat - you can see intact coffee beans in it)

(Coffee beans collected from the droppings of the civet cat. 
It'll have to be washed & dried before roasting.)

(Trays of coffee beans collected from the droppings of the civet cat. 
The ones towards the right have been washed clean.)

(Coffee beans are roasted over fire)

(Left: Roasted coffee beans are pound to ground using this; Right: Sifting ground coffee power)

(Coffee berries on trees, still green and not ready for picking)

We paid about US$6m for a small espresso cup of this kopi luwak.  There was a little rustic cafe within the plantation.  It was definitely good coffee, but I’m not quite sure if I would be able to tell the difference in a taste-test.  We had an interesting time though walking through the small plantation and snapping photos.

(A little rustic cafe serving kopi luwak within the plantation)

Within the same plantation we also saw them growing/producing cocoa, vanilla & cinnamon - all useful baking ingredients!

(Cocoa plant & fruit)

(Left: Vanilla pods; Right: Cinnamon tree bark)