Prosciutto and Gruyère Palmiers義式帕瑪火腿和瑞士乾酪蝴蝶酥

I first tried this Palmiers during last New Year Eve party. It was a potluck party and my friends brought their favorite dishes over. One of the dishes that my friend Elaine brought and made by herself was this Prosciutto Palmiers. She said she just used cheddar cheese and she thinks it is a  bit salty. Therefore, I tried to use Gruyere when I try to make it this time. And the taste is awesome.

Serves: Makes approximately 40 palmiers

Ingredients (Pic 1)

• 1 pound good quality puff pastry, halved
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• 3-4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 6 ounces)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one half of the pastry to form a rectangle approximately 12” x 16”. With the long side facing you, brush the top and bottom edges with some of the beaten egg (Pic 2), about ½” from the top. Spread half of the mustard in a very thin layer all over the pastry(Pic 3), avoiding the edges brushed with egg. Top the mustard with half of the prosciutto (Pic 4) and then sprinkle with half the cheese and some black pepper (Pic 5).
2. Starting with the side near you, roll the dough, jelly-roll fashion, just to the middle(Pic 6). Do the same from the top so the two rolls meet in the center. Brush the dough rolls, where they meet, with some beaten egg so they adhere gently. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm (Pic 7), at least one hour. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Note that the formed dough rolls can be tightly wrapped and frozen up to one month.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silpats.
4. While still relatively firm, cut the dough logs crosswise into palmiers, about ½-inch thick. Place them, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheets(Pic 8). Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer palmiers to a rack to cool just slightly then serve warm(Pic 9).

Recipe source: San Francisco Cooking School Blog

London Fog (Earl Grey) with Dark Chocolate flakes Ice cream Sandwiches 黑朱古力碎伯爵奶茶雪糕三文治

Ernest Ice cream is a big hit in Vancouver. And the name "London Fog Ice Cream" is what I learned from their menu. London Fog means Earl Grey. And I love Earl Grey tea very much. I never try Ernest Ice Cream shop version, but I am definitely sure it will taste well.

Ingredients
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
4 earl grey tea bags (Pic 1)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
5 egg yolks 

1 cup of dark chocolate flakes

16-20 Digestive Biscuits or Marie Biscuits

Directions
1| Prepare the night before: Stick freezer bowl in the back of the freezer the night before you plan to make ice cream.
2| Heat milk and heavy cream until it begins to simmer – do not let it boil. Remove from heat and add in tea bags (Pic 2). Let it steep for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3| In the meantime, whisk yolks and sugar until pale in color and thick. When tea milk mixture is done steeping, gently stream into yolk/sugar mixture, whisking constantly after each addition. This is called tempering – the point is to prevent cooking of egg yolks. Have patience, and do this slowly.
4| Pour mixture back into a saucepan and heat until custard is thick. I like to use the spoon test – dip a wooden spoon into the mixture, and remove it. Run a finger in a line down the back of the wooden spoon. If the line remains visible, then the custard is thick enough.
5| Take out tea bags. Pour custard through a sieve into a bowl(Pic 3). Cover with plastic wrap and immediately chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.Sprinkle in ground up early grey tea. 

6| Pour into ice cream maker and churn according to instructions
7|  Stir in dark chocolate flakes. And then pour churned ice cream into an airtight container and freezer for another few hours. (Pic 4)

8| Unmold the ice cream block(Pic 5). Then cut half way.(Pic 6)
9| Use a round cookie cutter and cut out the ice cream same size as the digestive biscuits (Pic 7). Place ice cream in between two biscuits. Serve chilled.

Recipe adapted from: Le Jus D'orange Blog