Chilled Coffee Yogurt Cream Gateau

So its time for another Event. Well I cannot tell you how good it is to have a partner in crime , well partner in blogging. It keeps me in the kitchen, all that discussion about food makes me happy and then there is the possibility of co-hosting an event which is so great because when there is an event then you buck up and try and find new dishes to create which I love and there is the possibility of being introduced to so many new dishes or at least new recipes by your co-host.

We are calling this our Summer-time Love Event. So basically for the next one month we shall fill our blogs with chilled desserts and icy delights. While the peak of summer is over in India in my opinion India has a good 8 months of hot humid weather. Even though the monsoons have come knocking on our doors a scoop of ice-cream can never be a bad idea. It is of course a different story that I personally love having ice-creams in the peak of winters when its a good 10C.

Before I forget to introduce my co-host, its the lovely Pritha from Guilt Free. Do hop on to her blog for some fabulous dishes.

So we start our Summertime Love with some Mango Lassi by Pritha and here is a chilled Coffee Yogurt Cream Gateau from my end.

A bit about what to expect from my side :-

I firmly believe that my blog is a reflection of the things I love the most. So quite obviously I have used ingredients which I adore.

Coffee flavours :-

I love coffee and I like mine strong , full bodied and almost bitter. Give me a strong cup of coffee and I shall be happy. I do not use instant coffee for my coffee as a beverage or for my desserts so you shall find a lot of usage of coffee flavouring. For all my coffee flavouring I use a homemade alcohol based coffee extract.

Fresh Dairy cream and Hung Curd :-

While we all love creamy desserts using cream for most desserts would mean that I would be 20 pounds heavier by the end of the event. Besides in India we do not get heavy dairy cream and since I do not use Non-dairy cream on principle as a result there will be a lot of Hung curd used in many recipes along with a mixture of Hung curd and dairy cream with 25% fat.

Seasonal Fresh Fruits :-

I love fruits and though I usually like eating them on their own I do like incorporating them in my desserts as well

And then there is much more to expect in the next 1 month where Pritha and I take turns to post the dishes which we have created or are creating for our event.

Creme Anglaise / Custard :-

I am a huge fan of do it from scratch and I can tell you with a certainty that if you put in a little bit of effort the end result in your kitchen is way better than some packaged stuff which has a long shelf life. With the suage of proper ingredients and a little effort its quite easy and the end result superior. So I have Creme Anglaise in many of my recipes and I already have the recipe of Creme Anglaise up on my blog and once you see how easy it is I bet you won't go back tot he flavourless packaged faux custard.

So let's get on with flagging off this event with a Chilled Coffee Yogurt Cream Gateau

Its creamy, with a strong flavour of coffee and is an absolute indulgence. While I lamented the unavailability of Fresh heavy dairy cream, once I made this I in fact loved it due to the mild tangy taste imparted by the hung curd.

Chilled Coffee Yogurt Cream Gateau :-

Makes 2 servings :-

Sponge base

3 eggs separated
20gm all purpose flour
20gm corn flour
125gm caster sugar

2 tsp Coffee extract for soaking the sponge

200ml single cream (25% fat)
400gm yogurt which is made into hung curd
3 heaped tsp icing sugar
2 tbsp coffee extract

10 almonds to 15 almonds blanched, toasted and made into flakes for decoration

Start by first chilling your pack of cream. Then move on to making your hung curd. Take 400ml curd and tie it in a muslin cloth and hang it for 5 hours till you get a thick creamy lump. carefully cut your pack of cream and pour the semi solid contents in a large bowl and remove the liquid part. Its a bit difficult but this ensures a creamier consistency for your gateau. In the same bowl in which you have kept your chilled cream add the hung curd and whisk with the icing sugar and coffee extract till you get a creamy consistency and chill this.

Now bake your sponge base.

Line an 8 inch cake pan with baking paper and use clarified butter to grease the sides.

Sift the cornflour and all purpose flour together.

Now preheat the oven at 180 C for 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

While the oven heats up separate the eggs and whisk the sugar with the egg yolks over a double boiler till it reaches a ribbon stage. Be careful to not let it curdle. Now whisk your egg whites separately with a few drops of lemon juice to stiff peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites with the egg yolk mixture sprinkling the sifted flour and cornflour.

The success of your sponge heavily depends on your expertise in folding the batter. Never ever whisk the egg whites with the egg yolks. Once you whisk the egg whites and egg yolks separately your whisking is done for. After this you need to fold it as mentioned above.

Bake for 15 minutes to 20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake bakes take out the yogurt cream mixture and bring it to room temperature.

Let the cake cool down in the pan for 10 minutes and then take it out and invert it on a cooling rack and wait for 10 minutes before peeling off the baking paper. Now let it cool down completely.

Use a sharp knife to trim the edges to make a rectangle and halve the rectangular sponges . Use a pastry brush to soak the sponges with the coffee extract and use a generous amount of the coffee yogurt cream mixture to sandwich the sponge and then apply the mixture all over to create two petit fours.

Chill it.

Right before serving decorate with almond flakes and voila you have a beautiful chilled dessert waiting for you.

A few notes

I could have used a baking tray to make a square shaped cake but then again my jelly roll pan is of a large size. You can always use a jelly roll pan and this way once I trim the edges I soak them in a bit of coffee extract and after I am done with icing the gateau I leave some for myself as a cook's indulgence.
I use a lot of coffee extract. This does need a bit of pre-planning but I promise you its worth it. Take 180ml vodka and 4 tsbp coffee beans. Crack the coffee beans and soak the coffee beans with the vodka in a jar with the lid on and keep it in the corner of your cabinet for 1 week. After a week double strain this and voila you have your coffee extract ready. Use it to make vanilla flavoured ice-cream a little more jazzy , boozy and coffee flavoured. I personally use ti extensively for coffee flavoured desserts.

Chilled Coffee Yogurt Cream Gateau