Mendiant with Fleur de Sel

A mendiant is a traditional French confection composed of a chocolate disk studded with nuts and dried fruits representing the four mendicant or monastic orders of the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans and Carmelites.  Well, or it simply means indulgence to me! 



If you need a simple last minute dessert to complete your Holiday Meal with a sweet ending, this is it! This is a quick and easy treat to make and unbelievably decadent.  I used roasted pistachios, dried cranberries, roasted almond, and candied orange peels as toppings.  You can simply use any dried fruit and nuts you prefer.  I love these toppings because they add so much vibrant Holiday colors to the mendiants.  The different textures and flavor just complement each other really well. 



This time, I used some Scharffen Berger 70% Cocoa bittersweet chocolate as the base.  If this is not pure indulgence, I don’t know what is.  Use a sharp serrated knife for chopping to make your life much easier in the process.  I chopped about one pound of chocolate (minus whatever amount that mysteriously disappeared) and started the tempering process.    



If you want to learn how to temper chocolate, check out Anita’s site Dessert First for the detail instructions. My mendiants came out nice and shiny, thanks to Anita’s informative post.  I’ll do a summery in my recipe below.



Beside the dried fruit and nuts, I also sprinkled some Fleur de Sel on top to finish these mendiants off.  The saltiness really compliments the dark chocolate nicely and rounds out the flavor.  The Fleur de Sel also adds a subtle crunch while the smooth and silky chocolate melts in my mouth.  hm….



Fleur de Sel ("Flower of salt" in French) is a hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans.  They are a little pricey compared to your daily kosher salt or table salt, but it worth every penny.  Besides, you’re going to need just a small amount in a batch of mediants. 



If you haven’t decided on your Holiday desserts, or want to add a quick and easy treat to your menu, give this simple recipe a try.  These mendiants will make a lovely addition to your packaged home made gifts as well.  I think Santa will prefer these over the chocolate chip cookies too! 






Mendiant with Fleur de Sel  (Printable Recipe)
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 cup dried fruits and nuts (I used dried cranberries, candied orange peels, roasted pistachios and roasted silver almonds)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel

Melt 3/4 of the chocolate and espresso powder in a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of 1-inch simmering water.  Please make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.  Stir with a rubber spatula until chocolate is melted.  Do not let chocolate exceed 120 degree F.

Removed bowl from heat and stir in the remaining of the chocolate to cool down and thickened.  When the temperature of the chocolate drops to 82 degree F, place the bowl over the pot of simmering water again until it reaches 88 degree F.  At this point, do not let the temperature of the chocolate gets over 91 degree F.  Otherwise, will need to start the tempering process over.

Drop a small spoonful of melted chocolate onto silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.  Gently top melted chocolate rounds with dried fruit and nuts.  When the chocolate started to cool down a bit, sprinkle Fleur de Sel on top.

Place baking sheet in refrigerator until mendiants are set, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Store in airtight container.



This recipe is shared with:


Full Plate Thursday
Foodie Friday
Sweets for Saturday
Friday Food
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Tuesday Talent Show
Success U

Chocolate Yule Log (Bûche de Noël au chocolat) For Christmas—with Step by Step Pictorial

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow….

Sorry for the cheesy opening of this post, I really couldn’t help it.    But seriously, I envy those of you who get to enjoy a white Christmas.  Although I hate don’t like extremely cold temperature, I don’t mind it for the Holidays.  Oh, who am I kidding!?  If I live in an area that snows, I probably will stay indoor the whole winter with the heater on full blast! Please excuse my mumbling and let’s get to the cake.



Now, you know what I did with these Vanilla Meringue Mushrooms from the previous post!  They were made for decorating this Chocolate Yule Log Cake.  This is a very festive cake to make for the Holiday and it’s much easier to prepare than you think.  I make this chocolate roll cake all the time.  The chocolate roll cake is a very popular cake in Asian bakeries.  The only differences of this Chocolate Yule Log cake are the extras chocolate frosting that I spread on to imitate/resembling the log patterns and the Vanilla Meringue Mushrooms on top for decorations.

Here’s the step-by-step pictorial.  First, preheat the oven to 375 degree F. and grease a 10 by 15-inch baking pan with cooking spray.  Then, line the pan with parchment paper.  Make sure the parchment pager is large enough to have at least 2-inch excess on all sides for easy removal when the cake is done.



Next, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until frothy.  Then slowly add around 1/2 of the sugar as stated in the recipe.



Beat until the meringue reach a medium peak.



In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until light and pale yellow.  Then add the vanilla, instant coffee, melted butter and heavy cream until incorporated.  Sift the cocoa powder and cake flour into the egg yolk mixture.  Fold until the dry and wet ingredients are just combined. 



Add 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter and stir until batter is lightened.  Do not worry about deflating the egg white here.



See how much lighter the batter is? 





Then, gently fold in the remaining egg whites in two batches.  Need to be careful now not to over beat the batter and deflate the egg whites too much. 





Gently spread the cake batter evenly onto the prepared cake pan. 





Bake at 375 degree F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the cake and comes out clean.  Let cool on a wiring rack completely.





To prepare the filling, beat the whipped cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peak formed.  Spread evenly onto the cooled cake.





Roll the cake up, from the shorter end.




To prepare the chocolate frosting, whip the whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peak forms.  Sift in the cocoa powder and fold until well incorporated.  Cut about 2 inches off the rolled cake at an angle, set aside.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of chocolate frosting and spread the rest evenly onto the log.  With the back of a fork, gently press over the chocolate frosting to create the log patterns.  Place the cut off portion on the side of the log and spread the reserved 2 tablespoons of frosting on the side of the smaller log.  Use the fork to create the log patter on this piece as well.  Top with Vanilla Meringue Mushrooms and sprinkle the powdered sugar for the snow effect. 




This Chocolate Yule Log truly brings back many childhood memories.  I remember having my very first Yule Log cake for Christmas when I was about 7 years old.  The cake was bought at a store.  My Grandparents, Parents, Aunts, Uncles, my Brothers and Cousins were all there to celebrate together.  Spending time with family and enjoying good food together are precious and priceless.  I’ll forever treasure and cherish those sweet and warm memories.  I hope you and your family are creating new memories together during this Holiday Season.








Chocolate Yule Log (Bûche de Noël au chocolat)
(Printable Recipe)


Ingredients for the cake:
5 egg whites
5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon caster sugar, divided
Pinch of kosher salt
5 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granulate
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup cake flour

To prepare the cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.  Grease a 10 by 15-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Then, line the pan with parchment paper.  Make sure the parchment pager is large enough to have at least 2-inch excess on all sides for easy removal when the cake is done. 

Next, beat the egg whites with cream of tartart and a pinch of salt until frothy. Then slowly add in around 1/2 of the sugar and beat until medium peak forms.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until light and pale yellow. Then add the vanilla, instant coffee, melted butter and heavy cream until incorporated. Sift the cocoa powder and cake flour into the egg yolk mixture. Fold until the dry and wet ingredients are just combined.

Add 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter and stir until batter is lightened. Then, gently fold in the remaining egg whites in two batches.  Be careful not to deflate the egg whites too much.

Gently spread the cake batter evenly onto the prepared cake pan.  Bake at 375 degree F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the cake and comes out clean. Let cool on a wiring rack completely.

Mean while, work on the filling and frosting.

Ingredients for the filling:
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

To prepare the filling:

Beat the heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peak formed. Spread evenly onto the cooled cake.

Ingredients for the chocolate frosting:

1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

To prepare the chocolate frosting:

Beat the whipped cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peak formed.  Sift and fold the cocoa powder into the whipped cream mixture until well combined.

To Assemble:

Gently spread the filling onto completely cooled cake.  Roll the cake up, from the shorter end.   
Cut about 2 inches off the rolled cake at an angle, set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of chocolate frosting and spread the rest evenly onto the log. With the back of a fork, gently press over the chocolate frosting to create the log patterns. Place the cut off portion on the side of the log and spread the reserved 2 tablespoons of the frosting onto the side of the smaller log. Use the fork to create the log pattern on this piece as well. Top with Vanilla Meringue Mushrooms and a sprinkle of powdered sugar for the snow effect. Take some pictures and enjoy the cake.  If not serve immediately, cover loosely and keep refrigerated.


This recipe is shared with:

Pity Party
Friday Potluck
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Mingle Monday
Do Something Crafty Friday
Tuesday Talent Show
Success U