Classic cut out sugar-cookies

I don’t know when I start collect the cookie cutter, but now I have about 100+ pieces of cookie cutter in my boxes, a lot, I don’t think so. You can easily fall in love with them, how can you resist a lovely flower, a dog, a bear, a butterfly and etc, I can’t get enough of them, but the good recipe for cut out cookie is the other thing, I had try many recipes and feel disappointed.

But this recipe is good enough to show you, because it’s so easy to work with and the taste is good too. The shape of the cookie is sharp (but the texture is not too hard), so you can play around with your cookie cutters. The only problem for me is I really don’t know which cookie cutters to use because all of them are so cute, may be I have to make more so I can use all of my cookie cutters.

Classic cut out sugar-cookies

MAKES ABOUT 4 DOZEN 2-INCH COOKIES

3 cups (300g)	sifted cake flour, spooned in and leveled
¼ tsp	baking powder
½ tsp	salt
1 cup (2 sticks / 225g)	unsalted butter, slightly firm
¾ cup (150g)	superfine sugar
1	egg
1½ tsp	pure vanilla extract
1	large egg white, lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons of water
	Sparkling white sugar, pearl sugar, or sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Strain together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar on medium-low speed.

3. Using a fork, beat the egg and vanilla together and mix into the butter-sugar mixture. Add the dry ingredients one-half at a time, mixing only until mixture begins to form a mass. Empty the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead four or five times, or just until smooth. Divide the dough into quarters. Using lightly floured hands, shape the dough into four disks. Dust lightly with flour and wrap each with plastic. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Note: For anyone who live in tropical climate, don’t knead it, you should beat the dough until smooth in the bowl and place the dough in a wax paper before rolling it).

4. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F.

5. On a lightly floured pastry cloth or board, working with one-fourth of the dough at a time, roll the dough to a 3/16 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. After cut ting, transfer the cookies to a sheet of wax paper. Brush the tops lightly with egg wash and sprinkle evenly with sparkling white sugar, pearl sugar, or sanding sugar. Carefully place on cookie sheets.

6. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. To ensure even browning, toward the end of baking time rotate the sheets from top to bottom and front to back. Let stand on pans for 1 or 2 minutes. With a thin metal spatula, remove to cooling racks.

Green Tea Ice Cream (Using Pâte à bombe)

As I told you in Gâteau Moka – Patiserie Style Coffee Buttercream Cake that, Pâte à bombe can be use in ice cream recipe. I add this recipe so you can be sure that you don’t have to throw anything away, because you can use the rest of the Pâte à bombe in this recipe and this is very easy too.

I don’t like my ice cream to be very sweet, so I don’t add more sugar in this recipe, because the Pâte à bombe is quite sweet.

Green Tea Ice Cream (Using Pâte à bombe)

Makes about 3 cups

12 g	Green tea powder (sifted)

225 ml	Whole milk
225 ml	Heavy cream
160 g	Pâte à bomb

Heat the milk and whisk the green tea powder in, let cool to room temperature.

In a bowl, whisk whole milk together with heavy cream and Pâte à bombe until smooth.

Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Gâteau Moka – Pâtisserie Style Coffee Buttercream Cake

This is a long recipe but I really want you to try. It’s delicious and worth time and effort, plus it’s so much fun. My mom love coffee flavor cake, so this recipe is the one that I want to make for her. The recipe comes from .......................... (which I already write about or you can read about it, .....). Because I want to make something special for mom and this one is very special (because you use a lot of time to make it, so if someone that you make this one for, have to be importance). The buttercream is a composition of 4 things, butter, Pâte à bombe, Meringue italienne and Coffee syrup, you have to make each one before making the butter cream. You can prepare the Biscuit d’amandes one day ahead, and make the buttercream the day you want to serve the gateau because the gateau taste best when freshly make (or if you refrigerate it, be sure to put it to room temperature before serve because the buttercream will harden).

The recipe for Pâte à bombe is quite a lot but you can make a gelato from this base (I will post the next time).

Gâteau Moka

Makes 8X4 inches (4 layers cake)

Biscuit d’amandes
108 g		Almond powder
108 g		Icing sugar
A	53 g	Whole egg
	24 g	Egg yolk
B	11 g	Egg white
	11 g	Water
	½ tsp	Vanilla essence
22 g		Cake flour
82 g		Unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
⅛ tsp		Salt
Meringue	40 g	Egg white
	8 g	Sugar

Preparation:

Pan size: 9X13 inches pan lined with baking paper

Oven temperature: 180 °C

Sift the flour and salt together.

Sift the almond powder and icing sugar together.

1. Mix almond powder and icing sugar in a large bowl, then pour the (B) in the bowl and mix to form a paste.
2. Pour the (A) into the almond mixture and mix until combine.

1. Make the meringue by beating the egg white and sugar together until stiff peak form.

4. Put the flour and salted in the almond mixture fold to combine.

5. Fold the meringue into almond mixture in 2 additions; be careful not to knock off the air.

6. Pour the melted butter into the batter, and fold to combine.

7. Pour the batter into prepared pan, and put into the oven

8. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Meringue italienne (Italian meringue)

Make about 180 g

50 g	Egg white
95 g	Sugar (a)
5 g	Sugar (b)
40 g	Water

1. Put the sugar (a), water in a thick based pan, and place over a moderate heat and stir until it boils

2. When the syrup temperature reaches 110 °C beat the egg whites and sugar (b) until stiff

3. When the syrup temperature reaches 118°C slowly whisk it into the egg whites in a thin stream taking care not to let it run onto the whisk

4. Continue beating until completely cold.

Pâte à bombe

Make about 200 g

80 g	Egg yolk
125 g	Sugar
50 g	Water

1. Put the sugar, water in a thick based pan, and place over a moderate heat and stir until it boils

2. When the syrup temperature reaches 100 °C start beating the egg yolk.

3. When the syrup temperature reaches 115°C slowly whisk it into the egg yolk in a thin stream taking care not to let it run onto the whisk

4. Continue beating until completely cold.

Sirops (Syrup)

Makes about 115 g

68 g	Sugar
50 g	Water

1. Put the sugar, water in a thick based pan, and place over a moderate heat and stir until it boils

2. Let cool to room temperature.

Coffee syrup

1 tbsp	Instant coffee
⅛	Salt
1 tsp	Hot water
25 g	Syrup
25 g	Kahlua

1. Put the instant coffee and salt in a small bowl and pour the hot water over it, whisk to dissolve the coffee and salt.

2. Mix the syrup and Kahlua together and pour into the coffee mixture.

Coffee buttercream

200 g	Unsalted butter
40 g	Pâte à bombe
30 g	Meringue italienne
	Coffee syrup

1. Beat the butter until creamy and light in color; gradually add the Pâte à bombe and mix to combine.

2. Add the Meringue italienne into the butter mixture, mix to combine.

3. Pour the coffee syrup into the buttercream and mix until uniform.

Assemble

1. Cut Biscuit d’amandes into 4 pieces (about 8X4 inches).
2. Spread the coffee buttercream between cake layers and over top and sides.
3. Decorate with chocolate pieces.