Rose bakery, Merci Paris

I Can't believe that it has taken me up until now to visit

MERCI Paris

I was pretty sure I was going to love it 

and guess what 

I did 

I was in Paris for Maison et Objet 

as were the rest of the design world 

and Merci was teaming with japanese, Americans, Northern Europeans 

This is where the inspirers go to get inspired 

After a spot of shopping 

We made our way to Le Bon Marche 

and the highlight here was I also finally got to eat lunch at a Rose Bakery outpost

Amazing

simplicity 

taste

texture

perfection

and the cakes......

I purchased the cook book 

and I have already begun working my way through it 

Highly recommended 

 

 

Salted Butter Ice Cream

Ice Cream + Butter + Sea Salt = AAAHHH DELICIOUS

Salted Butter Ice Cream 

Recipe 

400 ml milk 

320 ml double cream 

100g butter

4 egg yolks 

130g sugar

big pinch sea salt

METHOD

heat milk and cream,

In a mixing bowl whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale

remove milk and cream from the heat and add butter 

let stand for 2 minutes until butter has melted

pour mixture slowly over eggs stirring continuosly

pour mixture back into pan and heat until thickened

leave to cool completely

preferably in the fridge overnight (but ok to just leave for a few hours)

Pour into ice cream machine 

or freeze in a container and remove every hour to whisk away ice crystals 

 

enjoy 

x

Tartine @Ballymaloe

A couple of months ago I was pondering my Bread making skills

I am a massive fan of Jim Laheys No Knead Bread

and make it every week 

But I felt like I wanted to push things up a notch 

After a little bit of a web trawl I was amazed and delighted to discover that 

Chad Robertson from Tartine in San Francisco 

was teaching a workshop at Ballymaloe

Chad Robertson in cork!!! teaching a workshop that I can attend!!

I have been a massive fan of Tartine for some years and have dabbled in his country bread

although I must admit I found the prospect of starters and leavens a little intimidating 

I literally felt like a 5 year old waiting for Christmas 

And finally the day came last week 

Firstly this was my first visit to Ballymaloe

and most certainly will not be my last 

The Weather was not on my side but I still managed a stroll around the impressive gardens

Now that is a herb garden !! (below)

 

I ate dinner at Ballymaloe house on the first night 

(the cookery school is about 2 miles away)

Local, fresh, they make their own butter and cheese and of course bread 

and grow their own vegetables

Each day the menu is designed around what is fresh and available 

 Mackerel to start 

and then slices of sirloin with spinach and Ballymaloe potatoes

Heaven...

The following morning after eating a delicious breakfast 

Day 1 began 

Darina introduces Chad

Chad talks us through the process as Richard his right hand man 

gets busy mixing the doughs

I would say the message of the morning was pay attention to your environment

Your starter and leaven are living things 

they react to room temperature drafts etc 

be aware of what is going on with your dough

Chad is an intuitive baker

and talked more about look, feel, smell 

than measurements and scales

I am not going to post the recipe for the bread as if you are familiar with Tartine 

then you have the book

and if you are not and you want to make the best bread of your life then buy it 

The recipe in the book is 38 pages long

and I will not do it the injustice of writing a synopsis

Chad talked about the autolysse (initial resting of the dough) 

and the resting and turning of the dough

and the hydration (water percentage)

This dough is WET!

after resting and turning for about 3 hours 

and leaving for a bench rest 

Richard and Chad got to the shaping 

Chad shaping the dough

Chad makes it look very easy ......

In the afternoon the discussion was about Chad's new book (available end of November)

and how his travels to 

Denmark and Sweden had influenced his baking 

He is looking at darker breads 

and using a lot of sprouted grains

I look forward to getting it 

Richard cuts the Rugbrod for tasting

Me the groupie with Chad and Richard

The real highlight came though on the second day 

when we actually got to go into the kitchen with Chad and Richard and mix a dough 

What an honour

and Richard and Chad were so gracious and patient

as the attendees ranged from the experienced chef 

like Skye Gyngell to the complete novice 

Me and Skye

At 2 o'clock I left Ballymaloe

with 2 doughs in plastic bags nestled around a 2 litre of cold milk 

to try and stall the fermentation process while i drove home 

then when i got home, 4 hours later, I tipped them into bread baskets 

left them for 2 hours and baked 

and without a doubt the BEST bread I have ever made 

a light crust 

a chewy centre

complex flavour

This bread has no equal 

 

So Thank you Richard and Chad 

It was a privilege

x

Strawberry and Rose Petal Ice Cream

.....Or Summer on a plate

Ireland is enjoying an uncharacteristically hot spell

Temperatures are averaging 24c

and have been that way for a few weeks now

We just don't know ourselves!

I cracked out the ice cream machine 

last week I made a pretty delicious caramel ice cream with almond praline

basically it was a basic custard mix with half a can of carnation* caramel tossed in

then almond brittle broken into pieces and thrown in while churning

This week though I felt like something a little fresher

and considering I had 2 punnets of strawberries that were past their best in the fridge this seemed like the perfect answer

The addition of rose petals gives this a slightly more grown up twist 

You could also throw in some chopped pistachios 

which would taste great but also look incredibly pretty

I added a few mint leaves chopped finely

I always use Apple mint (wooly mint)

Ingredients

500g strawberries

175g sugar, + 2 TBspn

500ml full fat milk

500 ml double cream

TSpn vanilla extract

5 egg yolks

2 TBspn lime juice

Method

Hull the strawberries and chop 

Place in a flat dish (like a lasagna dish) and sprinkle with the 2 TBspn of sugar

Pour the milk and cream into a heavy based saucepan

heat, not to boiling

remove from heat

place egg yolks in a bowl and whisk with sugar until pale

gently pour on the heated cream and milk

whisking while you are pouring

place back in pan on the heat and stir until it begins to thicken

10 mins approx

Mash your strawberries with a fork or potatoe masher

add petals from 1 rose roughly chopped

(make sure you use an unsprayed rose)

add vanilla and add mixture to cream

pour into ice cream maker 

add chopped pistachios or mint if using

I am off to Turkey on a much needed vacation see you in a couple weeks 

x

Chloe

I rarely talk about Fashion anymore on here

Now that I don't make clothes anymore 

My relationship with Fashion has changed 

We were a long term stressed out Marriage that took each other for granted 

and had forgotten why we got together in the first place 

Now we can enjoy each other again

With a new found appreciation and none of the pressure

Knowing that our relationship is for fun and not for life 

On that note I particularly loved the Chloe Pre Spring show 

 Flat sandals with a ballgown

so chic and modern

 Accessory lust

all images vogue.com
simplicity and elegance
This is how I want to dress

SUNSHINE! AND A PEAR TART

 we recently had a spell of very fine weather here in Ireland 

It is amazing how the landscape changes here when the sun comes out 

and the humour

when the weather is 24c suddenly all kinds of things are possible

A dip in the lake 

An evening walk collecting wild garlic becomes a thing of beauty

you can stop and blow the dandelion clocks

You can potter in the garden until 11pm 

because in summer, in Ireland it stays light until then

Or you can go for a dip in the pool!!

All of this "hard" work calls for a little refreshment 

 Some mint, lemon balm and nettle tip tea

Pear and Almond tart

If you read this post 

You will know that I am attempting to make some healthy changes

the running is going well

after a few stalls I have kept going and am really starting to see and feel a difference

I downloaded the couch-5k app

I try to get in 2 runs a week

The no sugar thing is tough but i have definitely cut down considerably 

and i have also tried to adjust some of my favourite recipes 

to up their nutrition and make them a treat but a slightly healthier one 

so here is a slightly healthier but incredibly delicious pear tart 

Spelt Flour Shortcrust

250g whole spelt flour

95g cold butter

Tbspn sugar

1 egg yolk

preheat oven to 180c

butter and line a 25cm tart tin

Rub butter into flour until you get breadcrumbs

add sugar, stir

add eggyolk and bring together to form dough

wrap in plastic and pop in fridge for an hour

remove from oven and *grate into a prepared tart tin 

push and flatten evenly to create crust

refrigerate for 10 mins

prick the base with a fork 

line with parchment paper and add baking beans 

cook for 15 mins

remove beans and parchment and cook for a further 5 minutes

allow to cool

Topping

3 ripe pears peeled, cored and sliced into quarters length ways

200g soft butter

 200g ground almonds

2 large eggs lightly beaten

200g honey

preheat oven to 150c

cream the butter for 3 mins until light and fluffy

add almonds, eggs, honeyand fold carefully until combined

place the pears on the cooled tart case

spoon mixture over allowing pears to stand proud of the mixture

bake for 50 minutes until golden brown

serve with Greek yoghurt with a little honey added

* The method of grating a cold pastry dough into the tin is one which i think works incredibly well and it is much simpler than rolling and lining the tin
also because you are not pulling the dough it remains very light and crumbly
I will never go back

Abigail Ahern e-course

A couple of months ago I signed up for 

Abigail Ahern's new E-course 

"Creating your dream home"

The course started last week 

First assignment was to create a mood board for a room in your house you would like to decorate

Above is mine 

I have stock piled Farrow and Ball Down Pipe

Before the shops closed for the weekend 

Paint brushes at the ready.....

Hope you have a great one 

x