Bathroom, Gold Bunnies,

I was reminded, this morning, that the other day I bought myself a new rubber mat for my bath/shower and was absolutely staggered to pay $23 for it. Yes, I know, better than slipping, but things are getting so expensive nowadays. Maybe I shouldn't complain, looking for a picture, I saw prices up to $45 or so. Funny, we bought one for each bath at the same time and mine was wearing out with tears in the corners, and Matt's is fine.

I was also looking at a new shower curtain (we would need two) in
my Avon catalogue and they too are pretty expensive. The Avon curtain was really attractive with bright poppies and would cheer the bathrooms up terrifically. This one is $30 and includes a bath mat which we don't need. In the catalogue it looks brighter than this picture. I wonder??? We have plain green at the moment and I am bored with it. Had the curtains a long time now too.

Matt keeps asking if we can eat our Lindt gold bunnies now as it's April and I keep telling him he has to wait til Easter. They are sitting patiently on the shelf waiting for us to guzzle them. I do like Lindt chocolate. Actually at the moment we have two milk chocolate bunnies and Matt prefers dark chocolate but couldn't find one the other day. Shopping later today (Tuesday) so will have another look. Wouldn't be Easter to me without my Lindt bunny. In the UK it used to be Easter Eggs, large chocolate eggs with candies of some kind inside. Never seen them here. I claim deprivation because they were not available during most of my childhood due to WWII and once I had my first one, I wanted to gobble  them all up plus sit them on a shelf to look at them. As things improved the eggs got so much prettier with flowers made of coloured chocolates and icing etc.

My earring backs finally turned up. Took long enough. I got a small packet. Having opened it I couldn't see anything and hiding at the bottom was a small plastic bag with the backs inside. It doesn't really look like 100 of them, but I am assuming that is the number. I sure as heck ain't gonna count them. I wondered why I had to wait so long. But maybe they only make them every so often. Staples just called with my printer ink. Got 25% off so worth getting two for free delivery as well.

This dessert came from an email entitled 50 Fantastic Easter Desserts. I ask you, who is going to work their way through 50 recipes for anything? This was the second.

Chocolate Orange Crepe Torte

This beautiful torte consists of layered crepes with a homemade orange cremeux and chocolate

ganache.

Crepes
1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
1 Tbs (12 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (250 mL) 2% milk
2 large eggs
3 Tbs (45 mL) vegetable oil
½ cup (125 mL) soda water

Orange Cremeux
? cup (160 mL) 35% whipping cream
2 tsp (10 mL) finely grated orange zest
8 oz (240 g) white chocolate, chopped
¾ cup (175 mL) full-fat (minimum 10%) Greek yogurt

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup (250 mL) 35% whipping cream
2 tsp (10 mL) finely grated orange zest
7 oz (210 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2-3 slices candied orange peel, for decoration

Crepes

For the crepes, whisk the flour and sugar in a bowl and whisk in the milk, eggs and oil. Right before making the crepes, whisk in the soda water (the batter will be thin). This is enough for at least 8 crepes that are about 9-inches (23 cm) across.

Heat a crepe pan or non-stick skillet on medium heat and grease lightly. Ladle a little batter onto the centre of the pan swirling it so that the batter covers the pan in an even layer in a circle. Return the pan to the heat and cook it until the top surface of the batter appears dry (matte). You may find that you have to fiddle with the temperature and the amount of batter to find “just right”. Gently lift and flip the crepe over, cooking it just 30 seconds more. Remove this to a parchment-lined baking tray and continue with the remaining batter, greasing the pan lightly after each crepe. After the crepes have cooled, they can be stacked on top of each other and wrapped in plastic wrap. If using the crepes on the same day, leave them at room temperature and if making them ahead, freeze them and thaw on the counter when needed.

Orange Cremeux

To make the cremeux, heat the cream with the orange zest in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to show signs of simmering. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate in a bowl, let sit a few seconds and stir gently until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the Greek yoghurt and chill for at least 2 hours until set – the cremeux will be of a spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Ganache

To make the ganache, heat the cream with the orange zest in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to show signs of simmering. Pour the hot cream of the semisweet chocolate in a bowl, let sit a few seconds and stir gently until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature, if still too fluid when you are ready to assemble, you can chill the ganache for 30-40 minutes to set it to a spreadable consistency.
To assemble the crepe torte, trim the crepes so that they are tidy circles about 8-inches (20 cm) across (you can use a tart ring or an inverted bowl to trace and trim.

Place a crepe on a plate and spread a generous layer of cremeux over the crepe extending almost to the edges. Top this with a crepe and now gently spread a layer of ganache evenly over this crepe. Repeat this process, alternating between cremeux and ganache, so that you finish with a layer of ganache on top of the crepe torte. Chill the torte for at least an hour before serving and arrange 2-3 candied orange slices on top of the torte before serving.

Servings: 6-8

Author: Anna Olson

Have a great day