Saffron if you dint know comes form the crocusplant, and is the stigma  of the purple flower which grows on the plant. because its so tiny and delicate it has to be handpicked and since you only get 3 per flower, so pushed the prices ridiculously high. but nothing compares to the aroma and color that you can get from using really good saffron. you get some very good saffrom from iran, the worlds largest producer and the best quality saffron to look for is called sargol, which is the all red part of the stigma, with maximum color and aroma.

anyway after all that info, lets get down to business.

creme anglaise/ english custard

250 ml milk or half milk and half cream like we did

4 egg yolks

120 gm sugar

7-8 strands of saffron / more is not good, can get bitter and too much toxic(really).

100 gms of crushed pistachio nuts lightly toasted

combine the egg yolks with the sugar. warm the milk and add it to the egg and sugar mix. mix in well, but dont whisk it too much, otherwise it gets to foamy and then its difficult to see whether it has been cooked to the right degree.strain to get rid of any shell fragments and get a smoother texture.

put on a very very very low heat. if in doubt, then use a double boiler. cook till the mixture starts to thicken .at this stage you could add in the saffron just as it is or lightly toasted(10seconds in the microwave). take it off the fire, when it has thickened enought o coat the back of spoon with. cool down and either churn in the ice cream machine or put in the freezer and take out every half hour or so and give it a good whisking then . when its half set add int he pistachio and freeze. use with abandon !!!

1. 100 gms sugar
2. 200 gms butter
3. 300 gms flour

rub the butter and sugar with the flour till the butter mix is blended in with the flour. its called rubbing in , and helps to achieve the short crumbly texture that we want for a tart/pie or cookie dough. add in 1 egg and combine lightly to just form a dough. rest in the chiller for 30 minutes.

part 2

make a strawberry compote / jam with fresh, frozen strawberries and sugar about 500g berries and 200 sugar till really thick. belnd it all together and cook over a low heat. thats to get a really concentrated flavor. if you are short of time then get a really good jam with high concentrate of fruits

1. eggs-2 whole
2. sugar- 50 gms
3. white wine 50 ml

cook over a double boiler whisking till really light and frothy and thick . the white wine will add lots of flavor, plus volume. then add in 10 gms of gelatine powder, which you will have soaked in about 10 ml of cold water beforehand(i hadnt mentioned it earlier, but now i have).oh also nuke the gelatine in the microwave for aboout 10 seconds and mix it in the egg mix.

Add in about 150 gms of the strawberry compote /jam.

now whip about 200 ml of cream till thick and light , soft peaks . no sugar in this , because our strawberry already has some so do the eggs.  by the time the cream is whipped , the egg mix will have cooled down sufficiently to fold it in. voila here is the strawberry mousse mix.

oh and we go back to our 123 dough. roll it out and line a sprigform pie/tart mold with it. there is enough for that and with the scraps you can make easy cookies.

bake at 175 C /350 F for about 20 minutes . dock the pastry so that it does not rise. cool down.  melt some white chocolate and brush the inside of the tart/pie shell with the melted white chocolate. this will prevent it from going too soggy when the mousse mix goes in.

pour in the mousse mix in the pie/tart shell. and chill for about an hour .

slice and decorate with plenty of strawberries. for the final piece of work you can glaze it with some strawberry jam thined down with orange juice and melted  in the microwave. brush it over the sliced strawberry topping and we are ready to rock after 2 good hrs of some work , but hey, this is not fast food . this is slow and decadent.

first part- scoop out the pulp from the feijoas-for the people not from nz, its similar to a guava and the aroma s incredible. then cook these on low heat with the sugar till really nice and soft and pulpy.blend to a puree. it will have crunchy bits from the seeds in it. dont strain these out.these add to the nice crunchy texture in the middle of some creamy goodness

next do the same thing with red/pink guavas but strain the seeds out cos they are a whole lot bigger.

NOW

• 2 eggs whole
• 50 gms grain sugar+30-40 depending on how sweet your feijoa mix was.
• 10 gm gelatine soaked in abt 20 ml of water
• 250 ml cream.

Method

1. whisk the eggs and 50 gm sugar over a double boiler until really frothy and thick and light. melt the gelatine in a microwave (10 seconds max and add it in)
2. taste your feijoa puree to see how sweet it is.should be fairly sweet but not cloyingly so.add into your egg mix.
3. whisk the cream and keep chilled.
4. when the feijoa , egg mix is cooled down , fold in the whipped cream, set in glass bowls or wine glasses or whatever you want it in really.when thats done put in a little bit of the guava inside and swirl it around using a wooden skewer.
5. set in the chiller and enjoy with some brown brother orange flora and muscat or if you feeling rich some sweet sauternes.CHILLED.

Method

• melt the dark chocolate and butter.
• whisk eggs and sugar till thick and creamy.
• mix well the flour and cocoa powder, if lumpy then sieve together.
• Add vanilla essence , and the melted chocolate and butter mix to the eggs.
• slowly fold in the flour /cocoa mixture.
• line one half chafing pan insert with greaseproof paper, and pour the mix over it.then top with the raspberries and the white chocolate.Had forgotten to put this bit in, thanks Rakhi for reminding me.:)
• bake at 175 C for 25-30 minutes. the center shouldn’t be too dry just soft cos we want them to be gooey like proper brownies should
• Cool down well, and cut into desired size for use.
• Makes about 1 small tray of brownie

Makes  one  9″ cake enough for about 8 people

1. olive oil- 250 ml i used half pomace and half extra virgin
2. sugar grain- 200 gms
3. eggs- 2 nos
4. flour- 225 gms
5. Baking powder- 10 gms
6. cocoa powder- 25 gms
7. Dark chocolate-100 gms
8. milk-100 ml

Method

• Melt the dark chocolate and milk together in the microwave – about 45 seconds or as long as it takes really without burning the chocolate. shouldnt take too much longer though
• Warm the olive oil slightly and add in the sugar, and whisk well , with the slight residual heat should help to melt it.
• Add in the eggs one at a time ,and it will get a mayonnaise like consistency
• Add in the melted chocolate +milk mixture
• mix in lightly a combination of the flour, cocoa, and baking powder , which (obviously) you would have mixed together before being the baking pro that you are.
• pour into greased / or sprayed with non stick spray cake tin and bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes. I used a springform tin and after 20 minuted covered the top to prevent it form colouring too much.

• milk -500 ml
• cream -500 ml
• egg yolks -10 nos
• sugar 250+200for the kiwi fruit pulp
• kiwi fruit- abt 10 nos / 1 kgs golden are nicer because they are sweeter.

Remove the pulp from the kiwi fruit.Blend to a puree.cook, till reduced down to half the volume with 200 gms of sugar. you can add a herb flavour to this. i added not only rosemary but sea salt flakes as well.

Combine, the egg yoks, with 250 gm sugar, milk, and cream and cook over a low heat to form creme anglaise / custard, making sure you dont overheat or curdle the eggs.

Mix the custard and the kiwi puree. if you have a sorbetiere then churn in that or else freeze, till set and serve!!!

melt the chocolate with about 50 ml of cream and keep warm.

whip the remaining cream to soft peaks and keep chilled.

Combine the eggs and sugar and whip over a double b oiler to a sabayon like consistency. should be very thick and creamy and leave a trail when whisking. add in the chocolate mix to this.

Add in the cocoa  powder, and liqueur.Add in 25 gms of melted butter. let it cool down slightly.Fold in the whipped cream.

Set in ramekins and freeze. serve frozen because the consistency is such that in a chiller it will go soft.

Serve with abandon.Enjoy.

• eggs – 3 whole
• castor sugar- 270 gms
• flour 45 gms
• cocoa , bitter, and dark again-85 gms
• butter -185 gms
• nuts – if u like them then u can add some, of any kind chopped

process of making the thing.

1. melt the butter and chocolate together.
2. sift the flour, cocoa,and add the chopped nuts to it.
3. whisk eggs and sugar till thick and fluffy. add in the butter, and choc mix.
4. fold in the flour, and nut thing, and bake at 375 F, 175 Deg C for about 25-30 mins. it should be tested, to see that it doesnt get too dry.
5. end result shld be nice and gooey like a propah brownie. cool down and dont share with any body.

Whisk together till light and creamy

60g   cornflour+100g cocoa powder mix together

900g      dark chocolate+500g butter melt in microwave on low

15 egg  white +150g sugar, beat together to form a meringue with stiff peaks

Before  all the above things are accomplished,make sure yu have apre- heated oven to 200 C.

then add the melted butter /choc mixture to the eggyolks, incorporate the cornflour/cocoa mix, and finally fold in the egg white. grease about 40 ramekins ( 60-70gms mix )with butter , and grain sugar. pour in the mixture to about 3/4th of the height, then pop into the oven.Bake for 8-10 minutes, if you want it soft centered,or about 4 minutes more if you want it more dry.(good idea in this case is to cover the top with some foil.

serve hot with some vanilla ice cream..