Happy second blogiversary to meee!! I cannot believe The Medical Gourmet is already 2 years old – these past two years have flown by. At this point I could get deep and soppy and reflective, but let me not bore you. For all of you who don’t have a reason to drink some bubbly this evening – use my blogiversary as an excuse;-). And, if you are in search of a delicious dessert recipe to go with your bubbly – you can never go wrong with an indulgent citrusy meringue pie. Well, that’s my plan anyways. Cheers to a great year. Happy Wednesday!
Tag Archives: egg white
Almond Cardamom Mousse with an Apricot/Passionfruit Sauce
For all the Swiss and German pastry lovers out there: if you think back to your childhood, what was your favourite breakfast pastry? I’m not speaking cake, but more of pastries such as filled croissants, chocolate buns, cinnamon or nut rolls, donuts, spitzbuebe, danishes. Have one in mind? Well, one of the top contenders on my list is the classic almond croissant. Not the kind you’ll find in an English bakery where a normal croissant is cut in half post baking and stuffed with an almond filling, but the Swiss kind where one fills the croissant before baking. I couldn’t (and still cannot) get enough of that rich almond filling. It’s like marzipan but better. When I came across the filling in a jar, I secretly wanted to run around in the supermarket 10 times screaming my head off to express my joy. Luckily my inner sensible self stopped me before I had a chance to embarrass myself.
Now I have the filling.. what next? I wasn’t in the mood for actual croissants, but desperately wanted to use the filling for something….. what to make for grown ups which isn’t breakfast….. hmm….. and what do I do best….. DESSERT! After googling (haha I cannot believe this is an actual word..) for inspiration I found a recipe to use as a guideline. Of course I decided to add some cardamom, because, why not, let’s face it, cardamom for the win. Let me know what you think!
Almond Cardamom Mousse with an Apricot/Passionfruit Sauce
adapted from wildeisen
Citrus and Berries Vol. II
After the success of my previous citrus and berries dessert I couldn’t get enough of the curd – I had a craving which I needed to satisfy. Almost as though I were pregnant… HAHA… definitely not the case. Anyways…. I have also never made a pavlova. What a great excuse to make both – pavlova topped with lemon curd. Sounds like pure perfection to moi.
This is actually the first time ever that I have attempted to make meringue. I was determined to make it early on during the day so if it failed I still had enough time to quickly pop to the shops and buy replacements…… sadly sunshine and birthday bubblies kidnapped any sense of time I had and suddenly dinner was only 2 hours away. And no meringues to be seen. AAAHHHHHH. I took a deep breath, one last sip of bubblies, found this extremely helpful guide guide and switched into my Emergency Room efficiency mode. My meringues were saved.
Mini Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Berries
The Medical Gourmet’s Tiramisu
Tiramisu is, despite being simple, a tricky dessert. Lots of people claim to have the best recipe and don’t want to reveal their secret. However, in my opinion, Tiramisu is the one dessert one can’t really claim to be the king of, as tastes widely vary. How much coffee to use? Whether or not to add egg whites? Oooo or Marsala or Amaretto or Rum or Grand Marnier? And who on earth decided to add fruit to Tiramisu? That is just wrong. Is it? I’m sure every italian grandma would shake her head with disapproval.
I have yet to try an actual italian home-made Tiramisu and am longing for one of my italian friends to make me a one ala Nonna. Come to think of it, I don’t really know many italians. Damnit. Well, I guess until then I am stuck making my own. My preference: a medium amount of coffee (due to the fact that I actually don’t like coffee… ), egg whites, Marsala, and no fruit pieces. If I may say so, it has improved drastically since my first attempt a couple years back. My secret ingredient: lemon zest and juice. Go ahead and try it out, let me know what you think!
Tiramisu
Chocolate Mousse
A day without chocolate is …… non-existent in my life. So maybe you’ve realised I’ve been posting a lot about chocolate. Reason is: a crazy friend decided to sacrifice this essence of life for lent. 46 days without chocolate! INSANE! Hence I am still helping her catch up on what she missed out 🙂
And now for a short medical digression: my mom always makes this chocolate mousse for parties as it is always a hit. Last I remember she made it for a new years dinner. There were lots of pregnant guests who immediately asked: “are there raw eggs in this mousse?” OF COURSE THERE ARE, WHAT IS MOUSSE WITHOUT EGG WHITE?? NOT MOUSSE!!! (I once saw a post of a chocolate mousse, which was made without egg whites. It really, really, really ruined my day). Sadly, the preggers were left without dessert (I didn’t mind: more for me!). During pregnancy raw eggs, raw meat and unpasteurized milk shouldn’t be consumed, as the chance of catching an infection with nasty bugs called toxoplasmosis and listeria are quite high. These two can, when caught in early pregnancy, be lethal for your baby.
So we learn: stuff your face with mousse, tartar and rare filet de boeuf as much as you can before hitting the bedroom with reproduction in mind.
Incredible Chocolate Mousse
The Medical Gourmet 
