Meyer Lemon Curd With Vanilla Sugar

As I was planning for my Baby Girl’s Birthday, I couldn’t resist but to incorporate something refreshing into the cake.   Here’s a little sneak peek on what went into her birthday cake, and I made some more as party favors for guests to take home.  My latest creation—Meyer Lemon Curd with Vanilla Sugar.  I’ll post the picture of Baby Girl’s birthday cake on my next post, I promise.  But let’s talk about this Meyer Lemon Curd with Vanilla Sugar first.



I have a jar, a huge jar actually, of Vanilla Sugar in my pantry that I have been using for baking.  It’s easy to make the vanilla sugar.  Simply split some vanilla beans in half (length wise), scrape the seeds out and snuggle the pods and the seeds into a jar of regular granulated sugar.  Just make sure the pods are covered by the sugar.  Let it sit for at least a few weeks before using.  The sugar is infused and perfumed by the fragrant and sweet scent of the vanilla beans.  As I used up the vanilla sugar in my baking, I refilled the jar with more sugar and add another vanilla bean every once in a while if necessary.  It’s wonderful and adds a lot more flavor to the baked goods. 



Why did I choose Vanilla Sugar instead of regular sugar in this recipe?  Because I ran out of regular sugar on the day I needed to make the Lemon Curd!  LOL….But what a lovely and tasty mishap!  This Meyer Lemon Curd turned out with another depth of flavor like a little surprise.  It certainly add a layer of sweetness without adding more sugar.  You can even see the little vanilla seed in the curd and it smells wonderful.



Simply spread the curd on a slice of bread and it’s the perfect breakfast or afternoon pick me up.  Here’s a simple white bread recipe that yields the most soft and fluffy loaf of bread if you miss that post from the past.  If you have some Lemons or Meyers Lemons on hand, make some Meyer Lemon Curd with Vanilla Sugar.  You’ll love what you created.

This Meyer Lemon Curd with Vanilla Sugar is perfect for gift-giving for the Holiday Season.  I'm submitting this to The Holiday Recipe Exchange.  Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.

Meyer Lemon Curd with Vanilla Sugar:

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups Vanilla Sugar
Zest of 3 Meyer Lemons
5 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup Meyer lemon juice (around 3 Meyers lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter, vanilla sugar and Meyer lemon zests until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

In a 2 quart saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until thickened (around 8 to 10 minutes), stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and let cool completely.  Store in air tight containers and refrigerate.
 
*Note: Since Meyer Lemons are not as tart as regular lemons, you might want to add a bit more sugar or cut down on the amount of lemon juice in this recipe if you are using regular lemons.


This recipe is linked to:

Melt in your mouth Monday
On the Menu Monday
Wandering Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday
Foodie Friday
Fresh Food Friday
I'm Lovin' It
Home Made Gift Ideas Linky Party

Chocolate Library Review— To conclude the Hong Kong, Macau and Australia Trip

This is the last part of our trip to Hong Kong, Macau and Australia.  To see the previous posts of the trip, please click here, here, and here.
Before we travel back to Hong Kong, we knew that The Ritz-Carlton—Hong Kong, located in the International Commerce Centre(ICC), was going to open for business right before our arrival.  Of course, Ritz is a fine hotel, but what attracted me the most was one of the restaurants inside the hotel—The Chocolate Library, located on the 103rd floor of the ICC!  As a chocolate lover, how can I not visit them to try their chocolate afternoon tea?  So, are you ready to see the details?  Here we go…

 


The afternoon tea opened between 2:30pm to 6pm, we arrived early and there was already a short line in front of us waiting to be seated.  These empty seats (see above picture) next to our table were filled up in no time. 


  

This was the menu for the Afternoon Tea Set.  We looked at the a la carte menu but there were not as many choices compared to the Afternoon Tea Set.  So, my husband and I both ordered the Afternoon Tea Set.




While we were waiting for the food, we enjoy the beautiful decor around us.  With the soft background music playing along with the simple and elegant decor, the atmosphere was quite relaxing.  Being on the 103rd floor, the best thing to enjoy (besides the chocolate) was the magnificent harbor view.   Unfortunately, the day we were there was a bit foggy and the view didn’t show up clearing on the pictures that I’ve taken.  The fog got even stronger as we waited.  So, I didn’t have another chance to show you the views.  If you’re interested, click here to the Ritz-Carlton’s site and they have quite a few awesome pictures of the harbor view.


 

First food item arrived was the Hot Chocolate made with Valrhona Chocolate.  Boy oh boy, if you are familiar with Paula Deen’s cooking show, you know how she loves to roll her eyes to the back, lean forward to the counter and tell you how delicious something was that she just tasted.  After just one sip of this hot chocolate, I had my eyes probably at the back of my head!  LOL  It was rich, smooth, creamy, decadent, and irresistible.  Yes, very chocolaty!  I can definitely sip this all afternoon long. 

 

Hot Chocolate made with Valrhona Chocolate

Yes, that was me enjoying the Hot Chocolate and the view.

Here comes the Afternoon Tea set.  The serving vessel was so cool and looked just like an encyclopedia.  I was excited and eager to see what’s inside.

 

Ta dah….lovely, isn’t it?

Here are the close ups of each item.

  

Smoked barbarie duck, cantaloupe melon confit on walnut bread

First savory item, Smoked BBQ Duck, cantaloupe melon confit on walnut bread.  Honestly, there was just a tiny little bit of duck in there.  It would be perfect if the portion of the duck was at least doubled.

 

Cocoa nib chocolate bread, duck fois gras terrine

Second savory item, Cocoa nib chocolate bread, duck fois gras terrine.  I loved the rich and creamy fois gras in this dish.  Perfectly matched with the cocoa nib chocolate bread.  Nicely done.

White chocolate berries shot (Ivory white chocolate 35% cocoa)

The White chocolate berries shot was divine.  My husband didn’t like berries at all and he finished the whole thing in no time.  The tartness from the berries balanced perfectly with the sweetness from the white chocolate mousse.  A lovely dessert.  Maybe I’ll try to replicate this in the future.

 

Milk Chocolate apricot (Jivara milk chcolate 40% cocoa)

Not a fan of apricot myself.  This milk chocolate apricot was not bad.  The milk chocolate mousse on top was silky, light and perfectly sweet.  I didn’t care for the cakey bottom though.  A bit too soggy for my liking.

Chocolate framboise tart

Loved this chocolate framboise tart.  Very chocolaty and decadent with a hint of raspberry scent from the framboise. A perfect chocolate tart.

 

Berries cocoa tart, guimauve (Manjari chocolate 64% cocoa)

Another classic dessert with the combination of berries and chocolate.  This berries cocoa tart, guimauve (marshmallow in French) was unique.  I love the little pink marshmallow on top. 

  Chocolate mille-feuille (Caraibe chocolate 66% cocoa)

Up to this point, I was really stuffed.  LOL.  Normally, I could take a lot more sweets.  Maybe because the cup of hot chocolate was really rich, I almost couldn’t continue…almost.  But how could I say no to chocolate?  So, I tried a bit of this chocolate mille-feuille.  It was rich and dense.  I was expecting something flaky and light, like how a typical mille-feuille should be.  Personally, I didn’t like the fudge bottom of this dessert.

Chocolate orange confit macaron (Guanaja chocolate 70% cocoa)

A perfect chocolate macaron, except, I couldn’t taste the orange confit at all!  Did the chef forgot to put it in there? hm….

Marble cheese cake (Coeur de guanaja 80% cocoa)

This was a wonderful cheese cake to end the meal. Again, couldn’t find the marble!  But just think of it as a regular cheese cake.  It was rich and creamy with the perfect amount of sweetness.

The price?  $398 HKD (around $50 USD) for two.  It was a nice experience and a wonderful way to spend the afternoon, especially when the kids were not around.  Special thanks to my in-laws and cousins who baby-sat the kids for us so my hubby and I could have a date together.  I believe it was the very first time we went out on a “date” alone without the kids, ever since we became parents!  It meant a lot to us.  So, thank you!

Now that you've read my review.  I would like to know what you think of this place.  Please cast your vote.  (It's just for fun, no sign up required.)

*Disclaimer

This post is linked to:
I’m loving it
Foodie Friday
Sweets for Saturday
Party Mindie Style

When Life Gives You Meyer Lemons, Make THIS Meyer Lemon Cake!

Some of you might know that I get unlimited supply of Meyer Lemons, all year around.  If you’ve missed that post, click here to read more.  Yes, I’m a very lucky girl.  If you haven’t try a Meyer Lemon before, you’ve got to hunt down this fruit for a taste test.  Meyer Lemon is a cross between a true lemon and either a mandarin or common orange.  The skin is fragrant and thin.  The color is a deep yellow with a slight orange tint when ripe. Meyer lemon has a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common lemon.



I truly love the fragrant from the skin.  Therefore, I used a lot of zest in this recipe.  Oh boy, this was such a lovely cake.  It’s sweet, it’s tangy, it’s full of the Meyer lemon fragrant.  This cake was also fluffy and moist.  It probably was the moistest cake I’ve ever tasted.  Why? Because when the cake was done baking, I drizzled a Meyer lemon syrup all over it before icing it.  Sounds irresistible? It truly was.




When life gives you Meyer lemons, it’s the sweetest deal!  There are many ways to enjoy Meyer lemons besides making this cake and a lemonade.  Here are a few of my favorite recipes, Candied Meyer Lemons, Meyer Lemon and Herb Vinaigrette, Meyer Lemon Macarons, Meyer Lemon and Strawberry Mousse Verrines, and Berries-Kiwi, Meyer Lemon and Basil Sorbet.



Take a closed up look of the inside of this cake below.  You can totally see how moist it was.  With all the zest showing through each bite….hm….it truly was the sweetest way to end a meal.




I'm sharing this recipe with Holiday Recipe Exchange.  Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Kerrygold.



Meyer Lemon Cake:  Printable Recipe
Yield: 1(8-inch) loaf



For the Cake:
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
Zest of 3 Meyer Lemons
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Meyer Lemon Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Meyer Lemon Juice

For the Meyer Lemon Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice


To Prepare the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan.  Line the pan with parchment paper and allow the excess to hang over the sides.

Cream the butter sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, followed by the lemon zest.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. In another bowl, combine lemon juice, the heavy cream, and vanilla. Add the flour and cream mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, smooth the top, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean.

To Prepare the Meyer Lemon Syrup:
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and Meyer lemon juice and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves.

When the cake is done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and set it on a rack over a tray lined with foil (for easy clean up).  With a toothpick, prick holes all over the cake.  Spoon the Meyer lemon syrup over pricked cake.  Let the cake cool completely.

To Prepare the Meyer Lemon glaze:
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the Meyer lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the cake and allow the glaze to drip off the sides.

This recipes is linked to:

Melt in your mouth Monday
On the Menu Monday
Tuesday Night Supper Club

BBQ Galore

Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day.  In the States, it’s the “official” BBQ day.  So, here we go.  A recap of what we had to celebrate 4th of July with family and friends.



What’s a celebration without some bubbly?  Plus, the person who “man the grill” needed a chilled drink too, especially with the hot weather.  It was nice to add a few frozen blueberries to keep it super cold.



On the menu, we had baby back ribs, citrus marinated chicken wings and chicken drumsticks.  We also had some shrimps and sweet onions skewers marinated with olive oil and thyme.
 


BBQ shrimps are the best when you’re hungry, they were done in just a few minutes. 



Of course we needed more veggies.  I used to roast asparagus in the oven and thought they were good.  After trying these grilled version, I can totally start the grill just for them!  They were so flavorful!  The grilling really enhance their natural sweetness and added a lovely charcoal flavor at the same time.  These asparagus were really tender, yet still had a great crunch to them.  nom, nom, nom….



Corn was another wonderful item to BBQ.  These were particular sweet and juicy.  I had some crimini mushrooms wrapped in foil too, but they were all gone before I had a chance to take pictures.



The chicken wings are my favorite items to BBQ as well (I really have that many favorites!)  With a coat of honey at the end, they are out-of-this-world-succulent.  Yes, wings are a little messy to eat, but totally worth it because they are finger licking good.



I totally forgot to take a closed up shot for the chicken drumsticks, the wings are too distracting!  LOL.  The drumsticks were juicy and flavorful with a hint of smoky flavor.  Not bad at all.



By the time the baby back ribs were done, I was quite full already.  But, still can’t help but to cut myself a piece or two. 




For dessert, we had Nutella Macarons, Mixed Berries Sorbet with Meyer Lemon and Basil, and lots of ice cream!  We’ll have another BBQ party coming up soon to celebrate baby girl’s birthday.  Can’t wait to enjoy more BBQ goodness with my family and friends.

This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday
Sweets For Saturday

Happy Fourth of July--Prosecco Gelatin with Berries and Mint

Gardening is really NOT my specialty, I knew it all along.  Even cactus died on me, that was years ago and I refused to plant those any more ever since.  It’s just hurt my self-esteem sad to see the strongest plant died under my care.  However, I use quite a bit of herbs in my cooking. It is way more economical and convenience to grow my own. 



As I shared with you a while ago, I planted some herbs this spring. Mint was one of the later addition to the herb family. To my surprise, it is growing out of control! It is almost bursting out of the pot I planted it in, and it is taking up too much soil space from the other herbs in the same pot.  I transferred it once to a separate pot and it’s still growing like this. Okay, that’s a little exaggerating, but you can imagine.

Flowers started blooming on it lately(I assume it’s not a good thing) and I know I have to use some up quickly.  I have no problem with that at all as it’s so refreshing in drinks and desserts.  Especially in these Prosecco Gelatin with Berries and Mint!



The Prosecco Gelatin with Berries and Mint screams summer right in my face!  The mint simple syrup is sweet, with the cool mint and chilled gelatin, it’s the best way to cool down in this hot weather.  The berries add a little tang to this sweet treat.  You can totally taste the prosecco in the gelatin and it’s the best way to enjoy prosecco, besides drinking it straight.





What's better than a Red, White, and Blue dessert to celebrate 4th of July?  Probably the extra green mint in it.  hahaha....Happy July 4th for those who celebrate.  This Prosecco Gelatin with Berries and Mint is the perfect treat to cool down after the BBQ.  Also, you can make this the day before the party so you can have more time spend with your friends and family.

For the kiddo’s version, substitute the prosecco (and simple syrup)with the same amount of fruit juice, such as apple juice or white grape juice.  As the fruit juice is sweet enough and you don’t need to add any sugar in the kid’s recipe. 





Prosecco Gelatin with Berries and Mint:
Makes: 4 Servings

For the Gelatin:
2 package of unflavored gelatin powder, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of cold water
1/4 cup blueberries
4 strawberries, diced
2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
2 cups chilled prosecco
Mint Simple Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
a handful of fresh mint leaves

To make the mint simple syrup:
In a small pot, bring water and water to a boil. When sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat and add mint leaves. Let steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove mint leaves from syrup.

To make the gelatin:
Add gelatin mixture into mint syrup and heat until gelatin dissolved and syrup return to a simmer. Remove from heat. Add prosecco, berries and chopped mint.
Evenly divided the mixture into 4 (8 ounces) cups and chill for at least 2 hours or until set; enjoy.

 

This recipe is linked to:

Theme Baker Sunday
Full Plate Thursday
Foodie Friday
Fun with Food Friday