Very very berry

How about a berrylicious treat — from blueberries to strawberries, cranberries and more? Then look no further. Sweet, tart, luscious and delicious – a myriad of flavours in every bite! Come, dive into the wonderful world of berries as pastry chef Shiva weaves his magic at Delice, the specialty cake and gourmet shop at Novotel, Bengaluru.

RASPBERRY MACARON (gluten free)

Ingredients
Almond powder-100 grams
Icing sugar-180 grams
Egg whites, at room temperature-100 grams
Cream of tartar-1/4 teaspoon
Caster sugar-35 grams
A few drops of pink gel paste food colour

Raspberry Filling:
Cream cheese, at room temperature-75 grams
Raspberry filling-3-4 tablespoons

METHOD:

Macaroon:
Baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Place the almond powder and confectioners’ sugar in food processor and process until they are finely ground (about 1 to 2 minutes). Sift the mixture to remove any lumps.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar. Gradually add the superfine sugar, and continue to beat, at high speed, until the meringue just holds glossy and stiff peaks. Almond mixture should be completely folded into the meringue.
Fill a pastry bag with the batter. Pipe rounds of batter onto the parchment paper. Let the macarons sit at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 150 degree C. Bake the macarons for about 16-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a wire rack. Let the macarons cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Place the macarons on a wire rack so it cools completely.

Raspberry Filling
In a bowl, beat or whisk the cream cheese with the mascarpone cheese until it becomes nice and smooth with no lumps. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons of raspberry jam until well combined. Place it in a small piping bag.

To Assemble Macarons
Start with two cookies of about the same size. Pipe a round of raspberry filling onto the flat bottom side of one cookie. Take the second cookie and place it (top side up) on top of the filling to sandwich the two cookies together.

BAKED WILD BERRY CHEESE CAKE

Ingredients
Butter, melted, plus extra for greasing-75 grams
Digestive biscuits- 175 grams
Berries, plus extra for decorating-175 grams
Cream cheese-450 grams
Caster sugar-150 grams
Vanilla extract-1 tsp
Lightly beaten eggs-4
Icing sugar, to dust

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Butter the sides and base of a 24cm cake tin.
Place the biscuits in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs. Alternatively, place them into a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and press down into the base of the tin. Spread the berries over the base and keep it in the fridge until it is chilled.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and the eggs together in a large bowl until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Pour over the top of the berries and then bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until it turns pale golden and only wobbles slightly when you gently shake the tin.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for about 10-15 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge to loosen it and carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin.  Sprinkle over a few blueberries, then dust with icing sugar.
This cheesecake is best eaten when it is at room temperature.

Blueberry pate de fruit (eggless)
Ingredients
Blueberry puree-1,000 grams
Sugar-1,140 grams
Corn syrup-200 grams
Citric acid diluted in 15 g. water, (or 15 g. lemon juice)-15 grams.
Powdered pectin-20 grams.

METHOD:
Mix about 100 g. of sugar with the pectin. Whisk them together.
Heat the puree to 120 degrees F.
Whisk and add the pectin/sugar mixture. Bring it to boil and let it boil for one minute.
Add the corn syrup and the rest of the sugar. Cook to 223 degrees F.
Once the mixture reaches 223F, stir in the citric acid/water mixture or the lemon juice. Cook for one more minute.
Pour the molten pate de fruits mixture into a half-sheet pan, which you have lined with a silicon mat. Allow it to cool. When the mixture reaches room temperature, slice it into small squares.
Enrobe them with tempered milk chocolate.