WEEDING DELIGHTS.

 What to expect when attending the celebration of a weeding in Guadeloupe? A big party from 8pm to 7am with the whole family, friends and acquaintances.  A colourful decorated reception room, loud zouk music until dawn. Food and drinks are served all the time, but you don’t want to miss the most popular dairy beverage: the chaudeau served around 11pm which has to be accompanied with the sweet aromatised the gâteau fouetté.

 Chaudeau

Chaudeau is a dairy-based beverage from Guadeloupe, pretty much similar to the eggnog beverage, but we put no cream. There is no way to attend a christening or a first communion and leave without tasting the chaudeau,.
It is traditionally served warm with a slice of delicious cake on its side such as the Mont-Blanc (coconut cake) or the gâteau fouetté.

You will need...

1 litre of milk
125g of sugar
2 yolks
Vanilla
Cinnamon stick
Grated nutmeg
Lemon zest
Rhum Arrangé

 1. In a pan pour in the milk, and add the cinnamon stick, the grated nutmeg, the lemon's zest, the vanilla (Cut the vanilla pod into two pieces and divide longwise in halves and scratch out the seeds and add in the pan) and the sugar. Then put on a low heat.

2. In a bowl, crack your eggs and keep the yolks. Then from the pan take out a ladle of milk and combine with the yolks.

3. Mix the mixture with the yolks.

4. Pour in the egg-mixture into the pan and mix without boiling.

5. Sieve the mixture into a jug to make the drink smoother.

6. Pour the drink back to the pan and heat for 2 mins, Don't let it boil.

GATEAU FOUETTE (Wedding Cake)

 Gâteau Fouetté is a creole genoise prepared with no butter, often used to make layer cakes for wedding or any other great occasions. What is special about this cake is that the weight of the eggs determines the weight of the other ingredients, the weight of the sugar must be identical to the eggs’ and the flour must weight half of the eggs’ weight. The gâteau fouetté goes perfectly with the popular dairy-based beverage from Guadeloupe known as chaudeau.

You will need:

4 eggs (approx 250g)
250g of sugar
125g of flour
1 lime zest
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
a pinch of salt

Get your ingredients out, by weighing the eggs (238g), the sugar which has to be the same weight as the eggs (238g). Sift the  self raising flour .The weight of the flour has to be half of the weight of the sugar and eggs, namely 119.

1. In two different recipients, separate the yolks from the whites. Eggs separate more easily when cold, so separate them immediately after taking them out of the refrigerator. Even the tiniest bit of yolk can inhibit the beating quality of the white. Allow the egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Let's carry on with the yolks. Add  the sugar into the yolks.

2. Then beat briskly and vigorously with an electric whisker until the mixture is becoming thicker and the colour is pale yellow.

3. Fold in the flour into the pale yellow mixture we've achieved above, then mix.

4.Gradually add small amount of flour and mix, then carry on until none left. Then leave aside.

1. Take the egg whites you've left aside. Add a pinch of salt and grated  lime.

2. Begin whipping your egg whites on low speed until they become foamy and frothy.

3. Once the egg whites are foamy, increase the speed to high until they become whipped to the desired stage.

4. Reserve the egg white.

 1. Incorporate a portion of the egg whites delicately into the previous mixture using a wooden spatula.

2. Mix delicately until the egg white incorporates well in the mixture.

3. Carry on until no egg whites are left.

4. Add the grated lime, the grated nutmeg and cinnamon, the vanilla , the almond essence and a teaspoon of your "rum-arrangé". Preheat your oven to 180°C.

 1. Mix the whole mixture delicately.

2. Grease your 23cm Savarin mould.

3.Pour in the batter into the greased floured 23cm round Savarin mould and place in a pre-heated oven..

4. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (Remember: do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes!).

1. When the cake is baked, remove it from the oven to chill.

2. Remove the cake from the mould and place on a safe plate.