lannie

Fortunately, the perpetual sun in California allows us to have raspberries in winter here in Canada! minas6907 - That Earl Grey and Bailey's ice cream combination sounds so good - must try it when the weather warms up. Darienne - Agree with Pierogi about the five kinds of chocolate. Wow!

Tried the "Cheesecake Mosaic" recipe from Pierre Herme's new book, Pastries. There were some reviews that said the volume conversions in the recipes were off, so I worked off the weights, instead. Unfortunately, the pistachio cheesecake part did not set well, so was a bit runny. The pistachio mousse turned out well, with good texture and flavour. I did not have sour cherries, but used fresh raspberries, instead. Overall, the flavours and textures complemented each other, with nuttiness from the toasted pistachios/pistachio paste, freshness from the raspberries, and a touch of saltiness from the salted white chocolate and base.

Ordered this, too, and am anxiously awaiting the March 1st publication date. From the few reviews on-line, the photographs look really good. Can't wait for it to arrive! Just received an email that the book has shipped. Woo hoo!

I ventured there this morning and managed to snag a double-baked almond croissant that had just come out of the oven. The toasted sliced almonds on top coupled with the deliciously rich and warm almond filling - simply amazing!

Thank you, Dorie! I was very fortunate to have had an opportunity to taste one of Pierre Herme's Ispahan creations while in Paris last year (arrived late at the shop, but managed to snag the last one in the case!). The flavours were wonderful as a filling for my DD's birthday cake. Now, I will have to think of another PH recipe for next year's birthday cake...

Thank you! It was a lot of fun making the fondant penguins and iceberg. All hail to Pierre Herme - he truly is a master! The rose/lychee (and raspberry) combination has such a lovely balance of flavours.

For DD's birthday, I made a "Hula Penguins in Antarctica" cake using the Perfect Party Cake with vanilla bean buttercream. Inside, there was a filling of buttercream flavoured with rose essence and dotted with lychees - an ode to PH's Ispahan.

I had this problem when using a Pyrex bowl. You must use metal and you'll have no problem at all. ← I would agree with CanadianBakin' that a metal bowl over simmering water would be better. I did whisk for longer than 10 minutes (can't recall how long, but not long enough to get a sore arm!), and the temperature got close enough to 180 degrees. The cream is definitely worth the effort as it is one of the most delectable things that I have ever tasted.

I finally got around to making a tart using PH's Lemon Cream recipe. Why did I wait so long?? It is the most delectably luscious creamy concoction: a wonderful blend of tartness and sweetness with the most pleasant texture. Wow!

Wow! Everyone's creations look fabulous! I made a 6-layer cake using some of the components from Pierre Herme's "Faubourg Pave" (cocoa cakes, caramel syrup, chocolate caramel ganache).

Amrita, I cooked the raspberries slightly in a bit of blackberry jam and lemon juice which took an edge off the tartness. The slight tartness balanced out the richness of the mascarpone and the nuttiness of the almonds/amaretti biscuits. BTW, your creations are truly fabulous! Those macarons especially look divine. Next month, I will be heading over to Paris to indulge in all the macarons available at Pierre Herme! Also, I used to live in Singapore over 10 years ago. The culinary scene has certainly changed as now all the best ingredients are readily available for the home cook. Back then, it was rather torturous for me to have to live in flats that did not have ovens... Did not bake a single thing the entire 3 years that I was there.

Made a raspberry trifle with mascarpone, amaretti, lemon syrup, blackberry jam, and almonds for tea yesterday. Although very rich, it tasted light on the tongue.

I suppose that it is often true that aesthetics reign supreme. I am always amazed by the precise artistry of Japanese sweets. It's too bad about the lack of flavour, though. However, the price is rather extravagant for just a few bites!

Sanrensho, thank you for your suggestions. It does sound like Shinjuku and/or Shibuya would be a better choice since most happenings at Harajuku would over by early evening. I suppose that for an 11 year-old's first exposure to the Tokyo night scene, Shinjuku would be cool with all the lit up skyscrapers and neon signs (but, maybe not Kabuki-cho! ). He'd probably also like to see Hachiko at Shibuya Station. Thanks again!

Thanks for the concerns about the logistics of the trip from Narita into Tokyo. We actually arrive at 2:30pm in Narita, and have an overnight hotel there before an onward flight the next morning. So, I'm hoping that there will be time to get into Tokyo proper by late afternoon, have a nice supper, see a bit of the night happenings, then back to Narita for some sleep. Thanks for the suggestions of Shibuya and Shinjuku. I was also considering those areas.