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Wednesday 31 October 2018

Hotel review - Bram Hotel****, SantʼEufemia Lamezia, Italy

The hotel is at the main road. They upgraded us to a junior suite. During the night there was no noise on the road so we had a good sleep. The pillow is tough like a rock. They should totally change it.

The breakfast was good. Fresh croissants and omelet.

Free wi-fi and free guarded parking.









Tuesday 30 October 2018

Hotel review - Mercure Carcassonne La Cite, Carcassonne, France

The room was small with a very small window. Free private parking and free internet access.

The breakfast was similar to a 2 star hotel.

Overal, far from a proper Mercure - this is just an Ibis where they just charge more for nothing. 





Sunday 28 October 2018

Valen cake - unique recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients for the biscuit base:
  • 110 grams of flour
  • 70 grams of butter at room temperature
  • 20 grams of sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 spoon with cold water
  • a bit of salt

Ingredients for the egg white layer:
  • 30 grams of flour
  • 30 grams of sugar
  • 15 grams of butter
  • 2 egg whites
  • a bit of salt

Ingredients for the pistachio layer:
  • 30 grams of ground pistachio
  • 30 grams of sugar
  • 20 grams of flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white

Ingredients for the strawberry mousse:
  • 350 grams of strawberries
  • 250 grams of mascarpone cheese
  • 70 grams of sugar
  • 3 grams of gelatin sheets

Ingredients for the persimmon/ passion fruit jelly:
  • 30 grams of sugar
  • 2 passion fruits
  • 1 persimmon fruit
  • 1.5 grams of gelatin

Ingredients for the blueberry mousse:
  • 250 grams of bluebberies
  • 250 grams of fresh cream
  • 50 grams of sugar
  • 3 grams of gelatin sheets

Ingredients for the decoration:
  • 250 grams of fresh cream
  • 20 grams of sugar



Prepare the biscuit base:
Mix the flour with the egg yolk, the butter at room temperature, the sugar, the water and the salt and make a non sticky dough. Let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.


Spread the dough on the table and make a round shape. Put it the oven at 180 Celsius degrees and let it bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until done.


Prepare the egg white layer:
Beat the egg whites with the sugar. Add the flour and the salt and mix slowly until well incorporated.


Add the melted cold butter and mix until well incorporated.


Put the composition in a round shape and let it bake at 180 Celsius degrees for 13 minutes or until done.



Prepare the pistachio layer:
Clean and grind the pistachio together with half of the sugar .


Add the entire egg and mix. Add the flour and mix.


Separately beat the egg white with the remaining sugar. Incorporate the beaten egg white into the pistachio composition.


Spread the composition on a baking paper and let it bake at 180 Celsius degrees for 10-13 minutes or until done.



Prepare the strawberry mousse:
Mix the strawberries with the sugar and let it simmer for 5 minutes at slow fire. Meanwhile hydrate the gelatin sheets.

Remove the pan from the fire and while still warm add the gelatin and mix until dissolved. Strain the composition and let it cool. 


When the composition is cold, add the mascarpone cheese and mix until well incorporated. Put it aside.


Prepare the persimmon / passion fruit jelly:
In a pot add the peeled chopped persimmon and the fruit passion and the sugar and let them simmer for 5 minutes at slow fire.
Meanwhile hydrate the gelatin sheets.

While still warm add the hydrated gelatin and mix until dissolved.

Mash the fruits, then strain the composition. Pour the obtained fruit puree in a round shape and let it rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours until stable.


Prepare the blueberry mousse:
In a pot, add the blueberries and half of the sugar and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes at slow fire.
Hydrate the gelatin sheets.

Remove the pan from fire and while still warm add the hydrated gelatin and mix until dissolved.
Strain the composition and let it cool.


Separately beat the fresh cream with the remaining sugar and add the strained juice above. Mix until well incorporated.


Assembling the cake:
On a plate, in a detachable circle place the biscuit base then spread a few spoons with jam (we had blackberry jam). Then place the egg white layer.


Above, add the blueberry mousse and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour. Then add the  passion fruit/persimmon jelly (already stable) and the strawberry mousse and put it back in the fridge for another 2 hours.

Finally add the pistachio layer and put it back in the fridge over night.

Next day, take out the circle and dress you cake.


Beat the fresh cream with the sugar and cover the cake with this cream.


Enjoy!




Saturday 27 October 2018

Trip to Agde, France

Why we did go there? We´ve seen some pictures and they seemed nice, but the town was falling into ruin.





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