Step-by-Step Recipe: Yuzu & Berry Mille-feuille

In the kitchen with Queenie again and this time, she made this decadent Yuzu & Berry Mille-feuille (pronounced meel foy). Light and rich all at the same time with a touch of spring and summer with yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) and berries.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cup whole milk
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons yuzu juice
1 teaspoon gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 package thawed pastry puff
2–3 pints of raspberries or blueberries
powdered sugar for dusting

1. Put whole milk (1 1/3 cup) in a pot and slowly bring to a simmer.  

2. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks (3), corn starch (2 tablespoons), flour (1 tablespoon), and sugar (2 ½ tablespoons). Mix well.

3. Slowly pour the hot milk into the into the egg/starch mixture while whisking until the milk has been fully incorporated.

4. Pour the milk/egg mixture back to the pot and using a whisk, continue to mix until it starts to thicken.  

5. Remove the pot off the stove and continue to whisk till all the lumps (if any) are gone.  

6. Take a piece of plastic wrap and directly place on top of the pastry cream. Place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.

7. In a saucepan, pour in 1/4 cup of water and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of gelatin on top. Let sit for 5 minutes.

8. After 5 minutes, heat up the gelatin and water.

9. Meanwhile, take out the chilled pastry cream from the refridgerator and mix in the heavy cream (1 ½ cup) and yuzu juice (2 tablespoons). 

10. Slowly add in the liquid gelatin while whisking. 

11. Whisk to a soft whipped cream consistency. Keep it in the refridgerater to firm up the yuzu cream.

12. Preheat the oven to 400F. Take a third of thawed puff pastry. Roll out the dough to 9 x 12 inch rectangle and 1/4 inch thick.  

13. Place the puff pastry on a sheet tray and poke holes using a fork. Fill the entire pastry puff with holes. This prevents the pastry puff from puffing up too much. 

14. Bake for 5 – 10 minutes until golden brown (Check at the 5 minute mark to see how much longer it should be in the oven.) Let it cool before cutting it into 12 rectangles, each sized to approximately 2.5"x 3". Make two more puff pastries to get 36 pieces of puff pastries cut into rectangles.

15. Take the yuzu cream and put it in a pastry bag with a round tip. Take a puff pastry and place pipe. 

16. Start assembling the mille-feuille. Take a puff pastry and place pipe 8 dollops of the yuzu pastry cream. Place another puff pastry on top. Place raspberries or blueberries and dab a small amount at the bottom of the fruit to ensure it will sit securely on the second layer of the puff pastry. Place a third puff pastry on top of the fruit and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. 

Optional: Reverse yuzu cream and berry layers. 

YUZU & BERRY MILLE-FEUILLE
Makes 12 

INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cup whole milk
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons yuzu juice
1 teaspoon gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 package thawed pastry puff
2–3 pints of raspberries or blueberries
powdered sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS
1. Put whole milk (1 1/3 cup) in a pot and slowly bring to a simmer.  

2. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks (3), corn starch (2 tablespoons), flour (1 tablespoon), and sugar (2 ½ tablespoons). Mix well. 

3. Slowly pour the hot milk into the into the egg/starch mixture while whisking until the milk has been fully incorporated.

4. Pour the milk/egg mixture back to the pot and using a whisk, continue to mix until it starts to thicken.  

5. Remove the pot off the stove and continue to whisk till all the lumps (if any) are gone.  

6. Take a piece of plastic wrap and directly place on top of the pastry cream. Place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.

7. In a saucepan, pour in 1/4 cup of water and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of gelatin on top. Let sit for 5 minutes.

8. After 5 minutes, heat up the gelatin and water.

9. Meanwhile, take out the chilled pastry cream from the refridgerator and mix in the heavy cream (1 ½ cup) and yuzu juice (2 tablespoons). 

10. Slowly add in the liquid gelatin while whisking. 

11. Whisk to a soft whipped cream consistency. Keep it in the refridgerater to firm up the yuzu cream.

12. Preheat the oven to 400F. Take a third of thawed puff pastry. Roll out the dough to 9 x 12 inch rectangle and 1/4 inch thick.  

13. Place the puff pastry on a sheet tray and poke holes using a fork. Fill the entire pastry puff with holes. This prevents the pastry puff from puffing up too much. 

14. Bake for 5 – 10 minutes until golden brown (Check at the 5 minute mark to see how much longer it should be in the oven.) Let it cool before cutting it into 12 rectangles, each sized to approximately 2.5"x 3". Make two more puff pastries to get 36 pieces of puff pastries cut into rectangles.

15. Take the yuzu cream and put it in a pastry bag with a round tip. Take a puff pastry and place pipe. 

16. Start assembling the mille-feuille. Take a puff pastry and place pipe 8 dollops of the yuzu pastry cream. Place another puff pastry on top. Place raspberries or blueberries and dab a small amount at the bottom of the fruit to ensure it will sit securely on the second layer of the puff pastry. Place a third puff pastry on top of the fruit and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. Optional: Reverse yuzu cream and berry layers. 

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Black Tea Jelly

So, I have a slight obsession with Curry-Ya, and on a recent visit, I got the coffee jelly and couldn't believe how good it was. I wanted to create my own version using black tea and here is the final result after many failed attempts. My version is mini—of course—and one cup makes four mini cups. A perfect snack or a light dessert.

BLACK TEA JELLY
Makes 1 cup 

INGREDIENTS
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of water
2 teaspoons of black tea (I used Thé du Hammam, a black tea from Le Palais des Thés.)  
1 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon condensed milk
1 1/2 tablespoon half & half

DIRECTIONS
1. Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water. Heat 1 cup of water and steep tea for 5 minutes.
2. Strain tea. Add in the gelatin and sugar. Stir until gelatin and sugar completely dissolves.
3. Pour tea mixture into four mini cups. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Combine half & half and condensed milk. Pour a latyer of milk on top of each jelly. Enjoy! 

//Props used: Bitty Bite mini cups and demi spoons from Crate and Barrel.//

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Pickled Red Onions

Photo taken the day of the Duck Rillette & Pickled Red Onion Tea Sandwich post. The one on the upper right is the one used in the recipe.

The bottom two were variations on boiling the onions with the vinegar and I missed the crunch and the bright colors. The upper left is using just room temperature water and vinegar and the onion flavor was too strong. The upper right was just perfect. I boiled just the water and vinegar mixture and poured it over the red onions.

Here's just the pickled red onion recipe. I have it as a side to my grilled cheese sandwiches, as a topping for salad, and whenever I'm looking for a little acid to a rich or fatty dish.

PICKLED RED ONIONS

INGREDIENTS
1 onion
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Thinly slice onion. (Use a mandoline slicer to get thin and even slices.)
2. Put vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. 
3. Pour hot vinegar mixture over the slice onion. Leave out at room temperature for 1 hour.

Store the pickled red onions in the refrigerator.

Tea Sandwich: Duck Rillette & Pickled Red Onion

I recently discovered packaged duck rillette at WholeFoods and came up with this tea sandwich idea. To get the perfect pickled red onions, I worked on four different recipes and the fourth one used in the tea sandwich was definitely the best. They go great when you're looking for a little kick to your meal so make a couple of onions at a time and keep it in the fridge. 

Notes:
- Make the pickled red onions ahead of time since they get even better the longer they're in the vinegar mixture. Store in the fridge.
- I used a mandoline to get thin, even onion slices.

TEA SANDWICH: DUCK RILLETTE & PICKLED RED ONION

INGREDIENTS
1 onion 
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
duck rillette
mini brioche buns

DIRECTIONS
1. Thinly slice onion. Put vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Pour hot vinegar mixture over the slice onion. Leave out at room temperature for 1 hour.
3. Slice mini brioche bun in half and spread the duck rillette to the bottom half.
4. Top duck rillette with the pickled red onion. Enjoy! 

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Step-by-Step Recipe: Jasmine Panna Cotta with Blueberry Syrup

Back in the kitchen with Queenie, who came up with this recipe and whipped up this delicious dessert in a matter of minutes. I had no idea making panna cotta was so easy.

The smooth panna cotta infused with Jasmine tea is perfect with the sweet yet slightly tart blueberry syrup.

INGREDIENTS

Jasmine Panna Cotta
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch of salt
3 Jasmine tea bags

Blueberry Syrup
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1 teapsoon sugar
1/8 cup water 

1. Pour 1/3 cup of water in a bowl (we used a saucepan) and sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan or pot, combine heavy cream (1 1/2 cups), sugar (1 tablespoon), and salt (a pinch) and bring to a low simmer over low heat. 

3. Once heated, turn off the heat and steep 3 Jasmine tea bags in the heavy cream for 3-5 minutes. Remove tea bags.

4. Take the prepared gelatin and pour it into the heavy cream. Mix well until all the gelatin has melted into the heavy cream. 

5. Fill small jars or cups with the panna cotta liquid and chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

6. To prepare the blueberry syrup, pour sugar (1 teaspoon), water (1/8 cup), and frozen blueberries (1/3 cup) into a saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. 

7. Cool blueberry syrup.

8. After the heavy cream has firmed up in the fridge, pour the cooled blueberry sauce on top of the Jasmine panna cotta.

JASMINE PANNA COTTA WITH BLUEBERRY SYRUP
Makes 4 small cups or mini jars 

INGREDIENTS

Jasmine Panna Cotta
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch of salt
3 Jasmine tea bags

Blueberry Syrup
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1 teapsoon sugar
1/8 cup water 

DIRECTIONS
1. Pour 1/3 cup of water in a bowl and sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan or pot, combine heavy cream (1 1/2 cups), sugar (1 tablespoon), and salt (a pinch) and bring to a low simmer over low heat. 

3. Once heated, turn off the heat and steep 3 Jasmine tea bags in the heavy cream for 3-5 minutes. Remove tea bags.

4. Take the prepared gelatin and pour it into the heavy cream. Mix well until all the gelatin has melted into the heavy cream. 

5. Fill small jars or cups with the panna cotta liquid and chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

6. To prepare the blueberry syrup, pour sugar (1 teaspoon), water (1/8 cup), and frozen blueberries (1/3 cup) into a saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. 

7. Cool blueberry syrup.

8. After the heavy cream has firmed up in the fridge, pour the cooled blueberry sauce on top of the Jasmine panna cotta.

 //Props used: mini jars are recycled Royal Pudding jars from Paris Baguette, see similar mini jars, demi spoons from Crate and Barrel.//

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