Sunday, August 14, 2011

mini blackberry cream cakes.



mini blackberry cream cake. 
with sweet'n'salty crust, liquid berry core and tangy white chocolate topping.
on saturday i bought fresh, beautiful, plump blackberries from my local farmer's market.
it was a buy on impulse, i didn't have clue yet what to do with them.
since i have my newly acquired silicone forms in all shapes and sizes taking up my kitchen i decided to put one of them to use and make a cream dessert. 
i just had to freeze the finished cake and then i could pop it out of the silicone form. 
yes, it really is that easy to achieve a neat, clean cut form!
i pureed the blackberries with some sugar in the food processor to see where that would get me and the result was so scrumptious i decided i needed to put the puree inside of the torte.
most of the time the simplest tastes are the best ones. 
i've learned not to over-mix and match different ingredients too much.
keeping it simple with quality ingredients is the best.

blackberry cream cakes

makes 8 cakes 6 inches in diameter

for the puree:
177g blackberries
50g sugar

in food processor blend blackberries and sugar.
(this is what i had left over, and it makes a bit more than one really needs. but i bet it would make a great mix in to ice cream or to flavor ice cream!)

3/4 recipe of sweet'n'salty crust

for the cream:
120g blackberry puree
180g whipped cream
6g sheet gelatine

extra puree

for the white chocolate topping:
100g white chocolate
250g creme fraiche (30% fat content)
4g sheet gelatine

start in by soaking your sheet gelatine in water (for cream and topping separately).
prepare the crust. press into forms. freeze.
whip your cream. set aside.
in microwave, melt sheet gelatine until liquid and hot. it can even boil, that does not change it's properties.
constantly stirring, mix in gelatine into puree.
fold in the whipped cream. first a little and then the rest at once.
with either a pastry bag or spoon, divide into your form.
freeze.
melt chocolate by low temperature in microwave or over a hot water bath. 
melt gelatine and add into the chocolate, stirring vigorously.
it will turn hard to mix and grainy, but it will go away after you add the creme fraiche, little by little.
if it's too cold the chocolate will seize up, so reheat when you notice it's not warm anymore.
spoon into form and freeze.
after completely frozen (about 2 hours) pop out of mold and garnish with fresh blackberries.