Category Archives: Fruit

Strawberry Gratin (Strawberries Under a Creamy Blanket)

bakedstrpp

Slightly softened fruits, hidden under a light creamy vanilla-scented blanket… This how I imagined a strawberry gratin and at first it seemed an easy task. I made a quick research on internet, found a reliable-looking recipe and… a disaster. Then, another recipe and another inedible, mushy result. Then I decided to find my own method, turning to foolproof basics. I quartered the fruits, covered them in pastry cream (crème pâtissière), baked for 15 minutes and this obvious, straightforward solution worked perfectly. If you like strawberries and pastry cream in fruit tarts, you will probably enjoy them in this warm, light gratin.

This dessert is an excellent way to use up leftover egg yolks. If you start with whole eggs, click here to browse some egg white using ideas.

If you don’t like the idea of a warm strawberry dessert, you might like this Yogurt Strawberry Mousse I have recently wrote about:

TIPS: I strongly advice to serve this dessert warm (not hot). When it cools down, it somehow loses its charm.

Vanilla is not necessary here, but in my opinion it enhances the strawberry taste.

You can prepare this dessert in two stages (in two days). First make the pastry cream, refrigerate it overnight (well covered) and, if you still have some cream left the following day , prepare the final stage just before serving.

Unless you have health problems which forbid you even its smallest intake, do not skip the butter in the pastry cream! Even if you are on a diet. This is only one tablespoon divided into six portions, but it changes the taste and texture a lot. (The worst thing you could do here though would be substituting butter with margarine…).

Special equipment: 6 x 9 cm/3,5 in shallow round baking dishes (or similarly sized baking dishes)

Ingredients (serves 6):

24 big strawberries

(6 tablespoons almond slivers)

Pastry cream (crème pâtissière, based on Pierre Hermé’s recipe (from “Plaisirs sucrés”), the best I have ever found):

250 ml (about 1 cup) milk

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 heaped tablespoons caster sugar

1/2 – 1 vanilla pod

2 egg yolks

1 heaped tablespoon butter

Prepare the pastry cream.

Bring to boil 3/4 of the milk with the vanilla pod cut in two lengthwise.

Put aside and let it cool down.

Scrape off the two vanilla pieces so that the small vanilla grains stay in the milk.

Combine the yolks, the sugar, the corn starch and the remaining 1/4 cold milk.

Strain the warm vanilla milk, constantly stirring, into the yolks mixture.

Discard the vanilla pod (wash it, dry it thoroughly and put into a confectioner’s sugar jar: you’ll have vanilla scented sugar).

Put back the obtained mixture into the pan and constantly stirring bring to boil.

Put aside when it thickens to the cream consistency.

If the cream is not smooth and you see many lumps, mix it in a blender or rub through a sieve.

When the cream is no longer hot, but still very warm, combine it with butter.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (about 400°F).

Prepare 6 individual baking dishes.

Quarter the big strawberries and distribute equally among the dishes. (If the strawberries are small you can halve them or even leave whole).

Spread the pastry cream equally on the top of each dish, sprinkle with almond slivers and bake for 15 minutes (until the almonds start changing colour).
Serve warm.

(You can sprinkle the gratins with some brown sugar and burn it with a torch just before serving, but make sure you don’t burn the almonds).

Yogurt Strawberry Mousse with Strawberry Coulis

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strmoussecoulispp

If my blogging rules consisted of posting every single dish I have, you would see this mousse at least every other day during the whole strawberry season (regardless the weather). In fact, this is one of the rare sweet treats I never get bored with. First of all, I never get tired of strawberries and if they are a part of a very light, quick and easy dessert, which moreover keeps fresh for several days in the fridge, it obviously becomes my staple.

I have already posted a basic light strawberry mousse recipe (see below), but this one is my recent favourite: it is topped with an irresistible strawberry coulis. Making the coulis (which consists simply in mixing fruits with confectioner’s sugar) takes a minute, but adds an additional texture, a sharper flavour and, in my opinion, a little elegant touch.

If you don’t feel like making the coulis (or don’t have enough strawberries), here is a basic version of my Yogurt Strawberry Mousse:

TIPS: I used to prepare all my quick fruit mousses with fresh cheese (also called “quark” or “farmers cheese”) and discovered that this mousse is perfect with yogurt too. Given the fact that many of my readers cannot easily buy fresh cheese, the yogurt version can be prepared I suppose all around the world. The only tiny difference is that when made with quark or Greek yogurt, this mousse is slightly creamier than the one prepared with yogurt. Both are terrific.

The amounts of gelatin depend sometimes on the brand. Leaves are sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller, powdered gelatin sometimes contains other products and doesn’t set as well as pure gelatin in powder… In short, the aim here is to use here the amount of gelatin which sets 500 ml/2 cups/about 17 oz liquid. (The whole mousse mixture has more than 500 ml, so the mousse will be firm but not hard).

Preparation: 10 minutes+ 2 – 3 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 4):

250 g (about 1 cup) unsweetened natural yogurt (you can use also Greek yogurt, which will make this mousse creamier, or quark (fresh cheese))

300 g (about 11oz) strawberries (hulled)

4 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar or sweetener (or no sugar if you prefer your mousse to be very tangy)

1 tablespoon gelatin in powder or other amount necessary to set 500 ml liquid, see TIPS above (you can use leaves too, in amounts necessary to set 500 ml/2 cups liquid)

(some strawberries for the decoration)

Coulis:

150 g (about 5- 6 oz) chilled strawberries

4 flat teaspoons confectioner’s sugar (or more if you want)

Mix the strawberries in a food processor or a blender. Add the sugar and the yogurt (remove the liquid floating on the surface). Mix once more.

Taste and add more sugar if needed.

Dissolve the gelatin in 4 tablespoons warm water (if using leaves, soften them in cold water, squeeze and dissolve also in 4 tablespoons warm water).

In a food processor mix well the dissolved gelatin with the strawberry mixture.

Divide the mousse into serving dishes.

Put the mousse into the fridge for 2 -3 hours until it sets.

Coulis should be prepared just before serving: in a blender mix the remaining strawberries with confectioner’s sugar. Top each serving dish with an equal amount of coulis.

Serve very cold.

Rhubarb Kisiel (Warm Gooey Rhubarb Pudding)

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kisielp

This is one of the most extraordinary things that can be made with rhubarb. The tangy fresh flavours, the pink hue and, most of all, the addictive gooey consistency make this pudding one of my favourite spring sweet treats. One of the rare desserts I prefer when still warm.

Probably a majority of my dear readers have never even heard of kisiel, so I will start with the explanation. Kisiel (pronounced “kishyel”) is a very popular Polish pudding, made with fruit soft drinks or whole fruits with water (and nowadays, alas, most people buy its powdered instant versions…). It is thickened with potato starch (hence the gooey consistency), served warm or cold and usually has a fresh, tangy note. Its unique texture – vaguely reminiscent of Lemon Curd - is as important for me as its flavour. It is a very light, fat-free pudding that can easily be made even lighter if you use a sweetener instead of sugar.

I have learnt only recently that similar fruit dishes exist for example in Germany, Estonia, Lithuania or Finland, but sometimes they mean slightly thickened soft drinks and not puddings. When I saw a Finnish Rhubarb Kiisseli recipe in my Moomins Cookbook (for those of you who don’t know it yet, I am particularly fond of Moomin characters; I have already mentioned this book here), this discovery gave me the idea to include the Moomin family into the photo. The beautiful tray you see above was one of the most touching presents I have ever been offered. I was completely blown away when I received it from my dear friend Charles (from Five Euro Food), who bought it during one of his trips to Sweden. This tray, my infallible mood improver, was perfect to serve kisiel, since both bring back my childhood memories. Thank you so much again, Charles, for your thoughtful kind gesture.

Since all this has put me in a happy “Moomin” mood, here is the cartoon’s theme song:

Even though the Finnish kiisseli was my inspiration for this post, I have used my own old recipe which is a bit different. I prefer to have this pudding warm, but it can also be served cold.

If you feel like playing with rhubarb, you might like this quick and easy Rhubarb Soft Drink (which by the way is the first step of this pudding’s instructions):

or this refreshing Wobbly Rhubarb Delight I made with agar agar (kanten), and which, I insist, is not a jelly, but a less dense, incredibly light dessert:

TIPS: Potato starch thickening properties can vary, so you might need to adjust its amount during the cooking process. Start with the below amount and if after 3-4 minutes of cooking, the texture is still too liquid, dissolve one more tablespoon starch in a glass with two tablespoons of cold water and add to the pan, constantly stirring (see the instructions below).

This pudding can be served both warm and cold, but I prefer it warm. Taste both to choose your favourite way.

BEWARE! Do not eat or cook rhubarb leaves! They are toxic. Only stalks are edible.

Preparation: 1about 40-50 if you need to prepare the Rhubarb Soft Drink, 15 – 20 min if you already have it

Ingredients (serves four):

500 g (about 1 lb) fresh rhubarb, leaves removed, stalks cut into 2-3 cm pieces (about 1 inch)

2 litres (4 cups) water

sugar or sweetener

4 slightly heaped tablespoons potato starch

First prepare the rhubarb soft drink (if you already have it, skip this step).

Put the rhubarb into a big pan with water.

Bring to a boil at medium heat and cook until the rhubarb completely softens.

Strain while still hot, put aside and wait until the rhubarb drink cools to the room temperature. (You can also prepare it in advance, refrigerate and follow the dessert instructions the following day or even two days afterwards).

Measure 1 liter (4 cups) rhubarb drink and pour it into a pan. (Do not throw away the remaining soft drink, which is delicious!).

Add sugar or sweetener to your taste.

Dissolve the potato starch in additional 4 tablespoons rhubarb drink (make sure it is no longer hot!).

Bring the rhubarb drink to a boil. Pour slowly the dissolved potato starch, constantly stirring.

Cook it until thickened (about 4 minutes).

If your pudding is still liquid after four minutes, put the pan aside.

Dissolve one more tablespoon in 1 tablespoon cold rhubarb drink or water and add it to the pan, stirring. Heat, constantly stirring until it thickens.

Serve warm or cold.

ANZAC Biscuits with Dried Cranberry

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Have you ever heard of ANZAC biscuits? Many of you might be put off by the above unequally shaped, unattractive cookies, but in reality these are one of the most delicious and addictive sweet snacks I know. Until now I have been preparing only their standard version and I wish I had thought of cranberries earlier because I liked them this way even more.

ANZAC stands for “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps”, created during the World War I and these biscuits were created at the same time by women desperate to send nutritious home-made food to their husbands, sons and boyfriends. According to this website, faced with at least two months’ transportation time, a group of women worked out a recipe based on rather healthy Scottish rolled oats biscuits and added only those ingredients which ensured long preservation. There are several theories on why eggs are not used, but their absence certainly makes biscuits last longer.

The first time I baked these biscuits (see the recipe here), I was inspired and encouraged by Mr. Three-Cookies, the cookie and biscuit specialist from Three-Cookies blog, where I found the recipe (actually at Easily Good Eats by the same author). Before tasting ANZAC biscuits for the first time I expected ordinary, but good crunchy biscuits, with a healthy twist, i.e. oats. What I obtained was well beyond my hopes: slightly crunchy, slightly chewy, addictive sweet snacks with a very pleasant buttery taste, enhanced by baked nutty oats. In short, the mixture of such simple ingredients has created a complex, surprising result I am still fond of, after dozens of batches.

ANZAC biscuits have always been so satisfactory, I haven’t even bothered to modify the basic recipe. However, a couple of days ago, the beautiful Cranberry Coconut Quinoa Loaves posted by Kelly (from Inspired Edibles) convinced me that dried cranberries are a perfect pairing for coconut and this is how I had the idea to tweak my usual recipe. The experiment was a big success, at least for a big fan of chewy cookies like me (the cranberries’ presence has at least tripled the chewiness!). The flat rounded, more or less equal shape was more difficult to obtain with dried fruit inside, but then I’m not a very meticulous cook… Thank you so much, Kelly for such a wonderful inspiration; cranberries and coconut are an excellent pairing, definitely worth further explorations. Thank you again, Mr. Three-Cookies, for making me discover the world of ANZAC biscuits.

If you don’t like or have cranberries, I strongly advise testing the classic recipe first (or simply follow the below recipe eliminating cranberries):

If you are fond of coconut sweets, you might like these too:

Easiest Chewy Coconut Cookies (aka Macaroons)

Coconut, Chocolate and Rum Truffles

Moist Chocolate and Coconut Cake

or the above Moist Coconut Cake but without chocolate

Coffee and Coconut Cream with Agar

Light Chocolate and Coconut Cream (also with agar)

or Matcha and Coconut Cream with Agar

If you want to play with the basic ANZAC recipe, Mr. Three-Cookies has frequently (and successfully) experimented with these amazing biscuits, so check his Three Cookies blog for inspiration.

TIPS: Unless you have a health problem, do not use margarine or any other vegetable shortening. The butter taste and aroma is so strong, you will lose a big part of the pleasure.

As I have mentioned above, they keep fresh in a tightly closed container for several days (and maybe even more, but I wasn’t able to test more than five days). The biscuits stay crunchy and slightly chewy.

Do not expect vivid red spots on your biscuits: the cranberries will darken during the baking process (the ones you see above are just meant to add a touch of colour to the dark biscuits.)

WARNING: do not taste the raw dough! You will end up eating it straight from the pan while you wait for your previous batch to bake.

Preparation: 1 hour (or 30 minutes if you manage to bake everything in one batch)

Ingredients (I have obtained about 35 biscuits, you will obtain a bit less if you skip cranberries):

70 grams/1 cup rolled oats

90 grams/1 cup desiccated coconut

120 g/1 cup flour

125 g/about 4,5 oz butter

160 g/3/4 cup brown cane sugar

1 tablespoon dark syrup (I used 2 tablespoons molasses)

1 teaspoon baking soda (bi-carbonate of soda, in countries where it is not widely available, for example in France, it can be easily bought in pharmacies)

2 tablespoons boiling water

6 heaped tablespoons dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Melt the butter and syrup or molasses in a big pan.

Combine the flour, the oats, the coconut, the cranberries and the sugar. Add slowly to the melted butter.

At the end combine the boiling water and soda. Pour the mixture into the dough and stir well with a spoon.

Roll small balls (I usually make walnut-sized balls, but this time I wanted smaller biscuits, so I made the balls 1/3 smaller) and put them on a baking sheet (leaving at least 3 cm spaces between each ball since they will spread).

Flatten them slightly (they will flatten even more during the baking process) and bake 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Don’t worry if the dough seems crumbly. It is normal. Just squeeze well the dough when forming balls in your hands and don’t flatten them too much.

Keep them in a tightly closed container. Apparently they keep for ages. All I know is they keep for at least five days, well closed.

Light Unbaked Cheesecake with Passion fruit

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passioncheesep

Bored with lemons, oranges, apples and pears, I decided to experiment with something more exotic and discovered a new passion for the… passion fruit. Passion fruit macarons are one of my beloved Pierre Hermé’s creations, passion fruit chocolates are made by many chocolatiers in my city, passion fruit daiquiri is one of my favourite cocktails… and yet, I have never tried making a passion fruit dessert on my own. This first attempt felt like uncovering a whole new world of exciting culinary adventures. Topping a simple unbaked cheesecake with passion fruit pulp cannot really be called elaborate work in the kitchen, but it proved one of the most astonishing experiments I have ever made. The powerful, irresistible fragrance, the tangy flavour and crunchy seeds paired with the creamy, silky cheesecake created a complex and unusual combination. Since it was also one of the easiest and quickest sweet treats I know, I predict a bright future for this wonderful match, at least until strawberries appear.

I have already shared with you my enthusiasm about the unbaked cheesecake (see below). It becomes a staple in my house, especially when the weather gets warm and light, refreshing desserts are more welcome. I haven’t written about it for quite a long time, so here is a quick explanation of the unbaked cheesecakes I prepare. My unbaked – and also baked – cheesecakes have both Polish origins, i.e. they are not made with North American cream cheese, but with natural fresh cheese (called curd cheese, quark or fromage frais). In the unbaked version this cheese is very smooth and can easily be substituted with Greek yogurt, similar in both taste and texture.

Apart from the taste, the main reason why I prepare unbaked cheesecakes so often is their healthy side: contrary to the North American-style cheesecakes, these are low-fat, low-calorie and, I think, can be proposed to people on a slimming diet. I also love them for their instantly recognisable, slightly tangy taste and a light texture, close to a very dense mousse. In my opinion the basic unbaked cheesecake preparation (cheese, gelatin and sugar) is an excellent basis to play with different fruits, aromatic alcohols, spices and other seasonings (some cover them with a thick layer of fruit jelly, the item I have never liked). Many people prepare also a crust, but since I don’t like it in either baked or unbaked cheesecakes, I always omit it. Thanks to this my cheesecakes are even lighter and quicker to prepare. This slightly acid passion fruit version was excellent, but if you don’t like tangy sweets (or passion fruit), you might want to try other versions instead:

Unbaked Strawberry Cheesecake in a Glass

Unbaked Blueberry Cheesecake in a Glass

Unbaked Vanilla Cheesecake

If you are a fan of passion fruit (or passionfruit), you might like this delicious cocktail:

Passion fruit daiquiri

TIPS: This cheesecake can be made in one big mould lined with plastic film, and then sliced into portions like a baked cheesecake, but I find individual portions easier to handle and much cuter when served.

You can of course prepare any baked or unbaked crust of your choice.

Preparation: 15 minutes + 2 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 4-5):

500 g (about 17 oz) very smooth (mixed) fresh cheese/curd cheese/quark/fromage frais or Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon gelatin or 6 – 8 sheets, depending on the size/brand, so take the amount necessary to set 500 ml/17 fl oz of liquid, see TIPS above)

4 tablespoons warm water (I prefer to use hot water with powdered gelatin)

4 flat tablespoons confectioner’s sugar or sweetener of your choice

(2 tablespoons rum)

(white chocolate)

Dissolve the gelatin in 4 tablespoons warm or hot (not boiling) water. (If using leaves, proceed as indicated on the package).

Mix the cheese, the rum and the sugar in a food processor.

Add the dissolved gelatin and mix once more.

Pour the cheese mixture into individual bowls or glasses and put into the fridge for at least two hours.

Just before serving cut the passion fruits in two and pour the flesh over the cheesecakes (1 small or 1/2 big passion fruit per glass).

You can sprinkle them with grated white chocolate.

Light Coconut Agar Cream with Pear and Lime Zest

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cocopoire

The last couple of days have been so warm and sunny, I don’t even care if they announce snow for next week. Spring is in the air and nothing will change it. The spring evoking exquisite, bright green matcha latte posted by Kelly (from Inspired Edibles) has inspired me to begin the season of refreshing, light desserts. I found some dying pears at the bottom of my fridge and instead of a cake or tart, I decided to incorporate them into the easiest and quickest light dessert I know.

Some of you might remember my discovery of a wobbly, creamy dessert based on two milks (coconut and cow milk) and agar. This discovery has changed into a real addiction and I must have already prepared dozens of batches. The basic mixture is extremely versatile, sets quickly (agar sets at room temperature) and, since I put a tiny amount of sugar or sometimes even only sweetener, it’s one of the lightest desserts I know. I have already experimented many different versions, such as chocolate, coffee or matcha (see below). Even though agar is a jelling agent, I use it in scarce amounts and obtain a slightly wobbly, “falling off the spoon” consistency, rather than a well-set jelly, hence the name “cream”.

My first plan was to cut up the pears and simply pour the cream over them (just like I did with canned peaches here). It seemed however a bit boring (especially visually), so I decided to grate some lime zest on top for decoration and… it was a revelation! As silly as it may sound, it was the first time I have combined pear with lime zest and I found it extraordinary. The mellow, “flat” sweetness of the pear and coconut suddenly becomes exciting with the tangy, refreshing and slightly bitter zest. I am very tempted to explore further this surprising combination, at least until summer fruits appear.

As a reminder, agar (“kanten” in Japanese) is a gelatinous substance obtained from certain seaweed varieties, usually sold powdered or (in Asian countries) in long sticks. Look for it in Asian grocery shops or in organic (health-food) shops or… in normal supermarkets (they sell it in my Swiss supermarkets). Even though some people say agar-agar is a gelatin equivalent, I cannot agree with it. The way it sets food is different from the gelatin I have been using for years and, if you buy it powdered, only a tiny amount is required. When used in scarce amounts, agar yields a creamy, wobbly, delicate result, but when a big amount is used, it sets the food stronger than gelatin, so it’s a bit tricky when used for the first time.

If you feel like experimenting with agar, here are some ideas you might like:

Wobbly Rhubarb Delight

Light Chocolate and Coconut Cream

Matcha and Coconut Cream with Agar

Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches

Coffee and Coconut Cream with Agar

TIPS: Look closely at your agar package instructions. On mine 1/2 teaspoon is said to set 500 ml/2 cups liquid to a jelly. I use only 1/3 teaspoon and obtain a wobbly, “falling off the spoon” consistency. If you prefer a well-set jelly, use the amount advised on the package.

Do not wait until the cream becomes cold before pouring it into the bowls because agar sets at room temperature and once disturbed, it will not reset properly!

Preparation: 15 minutes + 2-3 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 4 – 5):

250 ml coconut milk

250 ml cow milk

4 flat tablespoons sugar (or less, if, like me you prefer moderately sweet desserts; I have put only 2 tablespoons)

1/3 flat teaspoon agar agar in powder

3 medium pears

2 – 3 limes

Dissolve the sugar and agar-agar in the mixture of the two milks. Bring to boil and, constantly stirring, let it simmer for about a minute.

Put aside.

Prepare four individual bowls or low glasses.

Peel the pears and cut them up into cubes.

Distribute them equally into the bowls. (Do not wait until the cream becomes cold because agar sets at room temperature and once disturbed, it will not reset properly).

Pour the milks’ mixture into the bowls and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Serve very cold decorated with grated lime zest (you can also incorporate it into the dessert, before it sets, but it won’t have the same freshness).

Drying Apples, Using a Radiator, an Oven or a Stove

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driedapplespj

I have always loved dried apples for their tanginess and chewy texture and even though I eat them regularly, I have never bought them in my whole life. My mum used to dry apples which were too wilted to be eaten or very acid, tart varieties offered by friends or family, who had trees going wild. Some fruits were even too bad to be baked, but drying worked like a magic wand, transforming them into flavoursome, healthy snacks. I have been doing the same for many years, but it is really nothing to boast about: dried apples are the easiest home-made snacks I know. Especially if, like me, you can dry them on… radiators.

My mum dried apples in three different ways: in the oven, over the stove and on radiators, the last method being the most frequent (and my absolute favourite). In fact, even though they are not often considered as such, radiators are excellent drying appliances in heating season: easy to use, absolutely free and not requiring our presence or much attention. Of course this will not work if you have floor heating or if your radiators have a drying-unfriendly shape (although you can always play with threads… see below). I have always been lucky to have drying-friendly radiators in every flat I lived in.

Drying in the oven is not more difficult, but it consumes energy and requires your presence at home (unless you are one of those people who trust electric appliances and leave ovens, dish washers and washing machines on when they go out; I have lost my faith in machines after a serious accident with a relatively new washing machine). Drying over the stove is probably the oldest fruit-drying method. It is also cost-free (unless you rarely cook), but requires preferably a gas stove and a bit more work beforehand because apple pieces have to be thread on strings or threads and placed above the stove.

Dried apples are very handy in a mixture of snacks served with drinks. They might be a nice healthy, slightly tangy accent among the nuts, crisps, chips or whatever you plan to serve with drinks during the approaching end-of-year parties. Obviously, do not mention that these snacks were a way of saving dying fruits from the bin and even less that you have dried them on a radiator!

TIPS: Whatever method you choose, keep tasting apples every several hours. This way you will choose the texture and dryness level you prefer.

If you mix several different varieties, dry them separately and put in labelled different jars. My favourite are acid varieties but many people prefer the sweeter, floury ones.

Preparation: several hours – several days

Ingredients (the final yield depends on the apple variety and on the dryness level):

apples (can be very wilted)

Peel the apples, core them and cut into thin slices (they should be 1/2 cm/ 1/5 inch thick; otherwise you will obtain crisps (or chips)).

You can cut the whole apples (this will produce slices with a hole inside) or if you don’t have the apple corer, cut the apples in quarters, core them and then slice each quarter.

———DRYING ON A RADIATOR:

Cut a piece of baking paper similar in size and shape to the surface of your radiator.

Place the apple pieces, making sure they do not touch each other.

If your radiators are very thin or have another form which doesn’t allow placing a flat piece of baking paper, you can use the STOVE-DRYING method (see below) and dry your apple pieces on threads hung on radiators.

Taste them every 4-5 hours to check the dryness and texture. I prefer my apples slightly soft.

Put the dried, cool apples in a jar with a lid. They will keep at least for a year (no need to refrigerate).

———DRYING IN THE OVEN:

Preheat the oven to 50°C (122°F).

Place the apple pieces on baking paper, making sure they do not touch each other.

Taste them every 4-5 hours to check the dryness and texture. I prefer my apples slightly soft.

The drying process can be divided into several days.

Put the dried, cool apples in a jar with a lid. They will keep at least for a year (no need to refrigerate).

———DRYING OVER THE STOVE (works best with gas stove):

If you have sliced whole apples and obtained doughnut-like slices with holes, put them on a thick thread and hang high above the stove.

If you have quarter slices (like the ones you see above), take a resistant but thin thread with a needle and, piercing every apple slice, put them on the thread. Hang the thread high above the stove.

The apple slices will dry while you cook, so of course this process should be divided into several days.

Taste them every 4-5 hours to check the dryness and texture. I prefer my apples slightly soft.

Put the dried, cool apples in a jar with a lid. They will keep at least for a year (no need to refrigerate).

Plum, Prune and Chocolate Jam

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chocolateplumjamp

First of all, I would like to apologize for my long silence and the absence of new posts during the past week. I went on an unexpected, last-minute trip to Japan and hardly had the time to pack my luggage correctly. Those of you who know for how long I had been dreaming about visiting this country will probably understand why I have completely lost my mind there and wasn’t able to follow my beloved blogs, not to mention posting. I hope you will all forgive me. Even though I did take some photos during this wonderful stay, I don’t have as many as I wanted (on the other hand isn’t our brain the best photo album in the world?) and certainly not enough to make a whole post about Japan. As soon as I find my camera battery charger, I will see if I can share with you at least a couple of the food-related ones. In the meantime I will be trying to catch up with all your posts I have missed and would like to share with you an unusual, wonderful preserve I discovered just before I left for Tokyo.

Even though it’s hard to believe, this unappetising jar contains a highly palatable jam. Plum and chocolate jam has been quite popular on internet several years ago and as a huge fan of both plum jam and chocolate I bookmarked this idea and then forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago I noticed this original version of Plum and Chocolate Jam by my inspiring friend Bea, who also lives in Switzerland and who I greatly admire for both culinary skills and extraordinary photographs. I made a small batch almost instantly and even though my jam looked much less appetising than hers, the result was stunningly good. Bea calls the jam “prunes in chocolate” and if you have ever had this sweet snack I personally go crazy for (see here my 10 minute recipe), you must test this recipe too.

The unusual mixture of sweet, sour and bitter flavours will not please every palate (my husband said he preferred the real Nutella ), but for tangy and dark chocolate dessert fans like me it is a real feast. I think this jam would be excellent on buttered toast, but also as a versatile cake, biscuit or cookie filling. Plums are invading market stalls now and I already now that apart from the Plum Butter I prepare every year, I will fill my pantry with another batch of this delicacy. I have slightly modified Bea’s recipe, adding more rum and skipping the spices (ginger, cinnamon and cloves), so feel free to add them for a more complex flavour. Thank you so much, Bea, for this extraordinary recipe.

If this Plum and Chocolate Jam doesn’t sound inspiring, you might like the Damson Plum Butter, the extraordinary, rich taste of which has got nothing to do with standard plum jam:

And if you look for a quick and delicious (and rather healthy) sweet snack, try the ridiculously simple Prunes in Chocolate:

TIP: The best plums to use here are long, dark violet (purple) or dark blue plums, of damson variety or similar. They should have aromatic, dark skin and dark yellow flesh.

Preparation: 2 days

Ingredients (yield: about 4 x 200 ml/7 oz jars):

20 prunes (without stones)

50 ml (about 1,7 oz) rum + 50 ml hot water

2 kg (about 4,4 pounds) long, violet/purple/dark blue plums

50 g (about 1,8 oz) good bitter chocolate

5 heaped tablespoons cocoa

sugar (at least 600 grams; the amount depends on your preferences and the plums’ sweetness)

(50 ml/about 1,7 oz rum)

Cut up the prunes into pieces and soak in rum and hot water overnight.

The following day wash the plums, stone them and put in a big pan. Add the prunes and their soaking water.

Add some water (about 10% of the fruits’ initial weight), so that they don’t stick to the bottom until they start releasing their juice.

Put the pan on a low heat and let it simmer, stirring occasionally. First you can stir every 30 minutes, but when the mixture thickens, you should lower the heat to the absolute minimum and stir it every ten minutes. The thicker the mixture, the more often you should stir it.

If the pan burns, quickly transfer the unfinished butter to another pan (otherwise it will “take” the burnt flavour).

After about two or three hours add the minimal amount of sugar.

Simmer the jam for about 30 minutes and add more sugar if needed (and simmer for 30 more minutes, constantly stirring).

30 minutes before the end add the cocoa and the chocolate and let the mixture simmer, constantly stirring. Add more rum if you want (I thought rum was a perfect flavour enhancer here).

If you want, you can quickly mix the jam in a food processor, so that it has a smooth, spread-like consistency. (I did it).

/At this point you can either freeze it (after the jam has cooled down) or keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or process it in the jars, as described below, and store it in your pantry for at least a year./

Pour the jam, still hot, into sterilised jars. Cover with lids. Leave the jars to cool.

Place the cool jars in a big pan, bottom lined with an old kitchen towel folded in two (this will prevent the jars from breaking), cover up with hot – but not boiling – water to the level just below the lid. Bring to boil and keep on a very low heat, in simmering water, for around 20 minutes.
Stick on self-adhesive labels, write the name of the jam and don’t forget to mark the date.

Unbaked Blueberry Cheesecake in a Glass

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I hope you are not bored with my desserts in glasses. I simply cannot help it: it’s hot and instead of cakes or biscuits, I crave fruity, light, refreshing – and most of all easy – desserts just like this one and am tempted to experiment with different seasonal fruits, hence this blueberry version of my Strawberry Cheesecake. When writing about the Strawberry Cheesecake in a Glass I said it was supposed to be prepared with fresh cheese (also called quark). I know now that some of you have difficulties in finding it, so I would like to emphasize here once more that such a dessert can very well be made with cream cheese used in North America in regular cheesecakes. Such a version will not be as light in terms of fat and calories (unless you use low-fat cheese), but I’m sure it will satisfy all the fans of cream cheese. (By the way, I would love to hear from you what the cream cheese version tastes like). UPDATE: Having recently discovered the Greek yogurt (apparently easily available in Northern America), I must add that it would be the best substitution for the quark/fresh cheese.

Even though this is only a slight modification of the Strawberry Cheesecake, thanks to the presence of blueberries, which lack the strawberry’s acidity, this dessert is not tangy and gives an impression of a much bigger creaminess both in taste and texture. I did add some lemon juice because I like to feel some tanginess, but it’s absolutely not necessary.

UPDATE & TIPS: Instead of quark/fromage blanc you an use Greek yogurt here (it’s a better option than cream cheese).

Preparation: 15 minutes + 2 – 3 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

300 g (about 10 oz) fresh cheese (quark, fromage blanc) or Greek yogurt (or cream cheese)

1 tablespoon gelatin (if you use leaves, take the amount necessary to set 500 ml/2 cups liquid)

200 g (about 7 oz) blueberries

4 flat tablespoons confectioner’s sugar or sweetener of your choice

(2 tablespoons lemon juice if you like to feel some tanginess in your desserts)

(mint leaves for decoration)

Put aside 50-60 blueberries for the decoration.

Dissolve the gelatin in 4 tablespoons warm water. (If using leaves, proceed as indicated on the package).

Mix the cheese, the sugar, the lemon juice if using and the blueberries (apart from those left for the decoration) in a food processor.

Add the dissolved gelatin and mix once more.

Pour the cheese mixture into individual glasses/bowls and put into the fridge for at least two hours.

Decorate just before serving.

Strawberry and Yogurt Mousse

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Light, refreshing, full of seasonal fruit, ridiculously easy and totally guiltless. In short, Strawberry and Yogurt Mousse is my kind of summer dessert. The funny thing is that I would have never discovered how extraordinary a yogurt mousse can be if I hadn’t run out of fresh cheese (also called quark), my old basis for strawberry mousse. For years I was convinced it was the lightest and the best strawberry mousse I could achieve and when the cooling desserts season arrived I would make sure the fresh cheese was in the fridge. I am glad I forgot to buy it last weekend and made this substitution. The yogurt version had a slightly lighter texture, the taste of strawberries was stronger, but otherwise the taste was similarly tangy and equally good. For the hundredth time since I started to cook I can confirm that necessity is the mother of invention! Moreover, thanks to this accidental modification I hope that this time I can recommend this mousse also to all my friends who don’t have access to fresh cheese, since yogurt seems to much more international.

TIP: The amounts of gelatin depend sometimes on the brand. Leaves are sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller, powdered gelatin sometimes contains other products and doesn’t set as well as pure gelatin in powder… In short, the aim here is to use here the amount of gelatin which sets 500 ml/2 cups/about 17 oz liquid. (The whole mousse mixture has more than 500 ml, so the mousse will be firm but not hard).

Preparation: 10 minutes+ 2 – 3 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 4):

250 g (about 1 cup) unsweetened natural yogurt

300 g (about 11oz) strawberries (hulled)

4 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar or sweetener (or no sugar if you prefer your mousse to be really tangy)

1 tablespoon gelatin in powder or you can use leaves, but the amount necessary to set 500 ml liquid/about 2 cups (see the TIP above)

(some strawberries for the decoration)

Mix the strawberries in a food processor or a blender. Add the sugar and the yogurt (remove the liquid floating on the surface). Mix once more.

Taste and add more sugar if needed.

Dissolve the gelatin in 4 tablespoons warm water.

Mix with the strawberry mixture.

Pour the mousse into serving dishes.

Put the mousse into the fridge for 2 -3 hours.

Serve very cold.

Clafoutis with Apricots and Almonds

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Clafoutis (a cooked custard with fruit, pronounced “kla-foo-tee”) is one of the French cuisine classics from the Limousin region, but widely known in the whole country. Since it’s very easy to prepare, it’s a typical home cake. If not specified in the name, clafoutis contains cherries, but in more than ten years of baking it I have tried it with many different other fruits too. Last weekend was apricot’s turn. Of course, as a big apricot fan, who particularly appreciates its tanginess, I didn’t take much risk, but I must warn all those who hate tangy desserts: this version of clafoutis might not be for you. In this cake the fruit plays the main role, so no matter how much sugar is added, the apricot tartness will stay distinct.

Another novelty in this clafoutis was the use of almond milk. I have recently talked with Charles (Five Euro Food) about almond butter and promised myself to experiment with it. In the meantime I stumbled upon almond milk and was very impatient to use it. This first experiment was highly successful, so thank you, Charles, for this excellent idea. The custard consistency was as good as ever, while the taste was subtler than when cow’s milk is used. I highly recommend this milk to all the lactose intolerant or simply curious cooks. Almond milk is surprisingly low-calorie, lactose-free of course and smells divinely, so I will keep on experimenting with it in the near future.

TIPS: Some clafoutis recipes contain cream and/or butter. This one doesn’t and I’m glad this is the first recipe I accidentally found many years ago, because since then a clafoutis means for me a light and guiltless dessert.

Clafoutis can be served tepid or cold, but I prefer it very cold straight from the fridge.

Preparation: 1 hour 15 min

Ingredients (6 portions, I used a 20 cm/almost 8 inches diameter tart dish):

3 eggs

5 tablespoons sugar (or a smaller amount of sweetener)

5 tablespoons flour

100 ml/3,5 fl oz milk (I used almond milk, but cow’s milk is the traditional ingredient)

about 20 medium apricots

3 tablespoons cane sugar

sliced almonds

Preheat the oven at 180°C.

Mix the eggs and sugar with a spoon. Add the flour gradually. Pour the milk and mix well.

Grease a baking dish or line it with baking paper.

Cover the bottom with stoned halved apricots (skin side down) and pour the custard over them.

Sprinkle with sliced almonds and cane sugar.

Bake around 45 minutes – 1 hour until the custard is light golden.

Serve it tepid or put into the fridge and serve it very cold.

Quick Eggless Chocolate Mousse

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Even though this is certainly a delightful dessert, I will be honest and admit this is not my beloved chocolate mousse. My favourite one calls for twice as much ingredients, including raw eggs, requires lots of attention and at least 12 hours in the fridge. The above mousse was prepared on the spur of the moment and at first was supposed to be a simple, improvised chocolate cream. It requires only three hours, no eggs and is incredibly easy to prepare.

My idea was to melt dark chocolate, combine it with cream, maybe add a bit of sugar and let the whole dessert set in the fridge. When I took the cream out of the fridge I had a crazy idea: whip it! I say “crazy idea” because probably, just like me, most of you have heard and read hundreds of times that only cream with minimum 30% fat content can be whipped. I swear I have whipped 25% fat cream! The consistency was not as thick, the taste was lighter, the colour less yellowish, but it was whipped! Actually, as someone who is not a fan of whipped cream, I discovered this one was much more to my taste. It didn’t have this nauseous effect the fatter cream has on my palate and didn’t feel fatty. Since whipped cream I’m used to has 36% fat content, it is not surprising that the 11% have made quite a difference. Anyway, after whipping the cream I added some confectioner’s sugar, then cooled melted chocolate, put individual portions into the fridge and discovered after only three hours that my desserts were ready and tasted better than I hoped. Of course they were particularly enjoyable served with raspberries.

TIP: Depending on the chocolate brand and your sweetness preference, either add the sugar or skip it.

Preparation: 3h30 (including refrigeration time)

Ingredients (serves four):

250 ml (about 1 cup) liquid cream (at least 25% fat) or any whipping cream of your choice

150 g (about 5 1/2 oz) good quality dark chocolate

pinch of salt

4 flat tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

(raspberries)

Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it in a pan on a very low heat or in a water bath (stirring and watching it constantly so that it doesn’t burn) or in a microwave (if you microwave it, do it in two-three stages because once it’s “cooked”, it cannot be used).

Put aside and let it cool down.

Pour the cream into a high bowl, add the pinch of salt and whip it at medium speed.

When it’s almost ready, add the sugar and finish the whipping.

Combine delicately the chocolate with the whipped cream, adding the chocolate in two – three batches.

Make sure the mixture is homogeneous, divide into serving bowls or glasses and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Serve cold.

Wobbly Rhubarb Delight

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Jelly is not the only dessert that can be described as “wobbly” and the above is the best example. Even though I am not a fan of standard, well set, thick jelly, I have literally fallen in love with this light, barely set dessert I decided to call Wobbly Rhubarb Delight. Its unusual, “falling-off-the spoon” consistency was achieved thanks to a reduced amount of agar (see below), just like in my previous experiments with this gelling agent.

For those who haven’t read about my recent adventures with this product, agar (agar-agar, “kanten” in Japanese) is a gelling agent very popular in Asia, but it is not a gelatin substitute. It is prepared in a slightly different way and, most of all, gives different textures and consistencies. In Europe it is widely used in food industry and is quite popular among vegetarians, since agar is produced from seaweed (not bones, like gelatin). Apart from its gelling properties, agar has considerable health benefits. It helps digestion and is often consumed as a slimming diet booster. A Japanese friend has confirmed what I had already read about: in her country some women dissolve it in tea to help digestion and to suppress appetite (I haven’t checked if it works on my appetite though).

In short, not only this dessert is delicious, light and refreshing, but it is healthy too. To prepare it I used the Soft Rhubarb Drink I wrote about recently (see the recipe here) and then simply proceeded like with my other agar desserts, i.e. adding less agar than advised on all the packages and in all recipes in order to obtain a looser consistency. After two hours in the fridge I obtained an amazingly refreshing, elegant, tangy and sweet treat, with a subtle rhubarb aroma. Apart from ending a meal, it could be served as a palate cleanser or even a cooling drink substitute (it is an excellent thirst quencher).

The below recipe includes the Soft Rhubarb Drink preparation, so if you already have it, skip the first, rhubarb cooking, stage and simply measure 500 ml (2 cups and 2 tablespoons) to use in this recipe.

In case you are interested in other desserts using agar, until now I have written about:

-Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches

-Light Chocolate and Coconut Cream

Since water evaporates during the first (rhubarb cooking) stage and rhubarb absorbs some water too, it is difficult to say how much liquid you will obtain. You need only 500 ml (about 2 cups) for the recipe (at least for the below amount of agar), so simply measure it and drink the rest!

I like very tangy desserts, so I have added only 1 heaped teaspoon sugar per portion, but feel free to double or triple it before the setting process, gradually tasting the result (a certain tanginess should remain, otherwise it will turn into a bland, tasteless dessert).

TIPS: Rhubarb leaves are poisonous, so before you start cooking it, cut off and throw away every single trace of leaves, sometimes left on the stalks.

Do not wait until the liquid becomes cold before pouring it into serving glasses because agar sets at room temperature and once disturbed, it will not reset properly!

Preparation: 1 hour+2 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (yields 4-5 portions):

250 g (8.8 oz) rhubarb stalks

700 ml (almost 3 cups) water

4 or more heaped teaspoons sugar (a sweetener can be used too)

1/3 teaspoon agar in powder

Cut up the rhubarb and put it into a big pan with water.

Bring to boil at medium heat and cook until the rhubarb completely softens (starts falling into pieces).

Put aside and wait until the rhubarb drink cools down.

Strain it.

Measure 500 ml (about 2 cups) of the liquid (the rest can be put into the fridge and used as a soft drink).

Add the sugar gradually, increasing its amount to suit your taste and the rhubarb’s acidity (some rhubarb varieties are less acid).

Pour it into a pan, add the agar and stir to dissolve both agar and sugar.

Bring to boil, stirring, lower the temperature and let it simmer for about 1 minute constantly stirring.
Transfer into serving glasses or bowls and when the dessert has cooled down, refrigerate for two hours.

It can be served with whipped cream if you like it.

Unbaked Strawberry Cheesecake in a Glass

64 Comments

Light, quick, easy and refreshing. I don’t know what are your preferences, but this is the description of my ideal spring or summer dessert and unbaked cheesecake meets all these conditions. Some of you might remember that my unbaked cheesecakes are made with fresh cheese (also called “quark”) and not the most popular cream cheese (see the Unbaked Vanilla Cheesecake here). They are low in fat, have a slight, refreshing tanginess I like and have a light consistency, comparable to a dense mousse. Since I don’t like the crust in cheesecakes, I always omit it, which makes such a dessert even lighter and quicker to prepare.

Unbaked cheesecakes are in my opinion an excellent basis to experiment with different fruits without losing their precious vitamins, nutrients and delicate aroma. If you decide to try fresh cheese, its slight tartness goes particularly well with red fruits such as strawberries. I realised it a couple of days ago when I decided to make my first strawberry dessert this year. Not only was it, quick, easy and practical (it requires only four ingredients), but most of all it enhanced and preserved all of the the strawberry flavours and its enticing aroma.

TIPS & UPDATE: If you don’t find fresh cheese (quark) the best option would be to use the Greek yogurt. If you are a cream cheese fan, this dessert can of course be prepared with cream cheese too, but the consistency will probably be less mousse-like and the taste different (I admit I haven’t made or tasted such a version).

Preparation: 15 minutes + 2 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

300 g (about 10 oz) fresh cheese/quark or Greek yogurt (or cream cheese if you don’t find quark or Greek yogurt)

1 tablespoon gelatin (or gelatin leaves, the amount necessary to set 500 ml liquid, see TIPS above)

200 g (about 7 oz) strawberries

4 flat tablespoons confectioner’s sugar or sweetener of your choice

Put aside 4-5 strawberries for the decoration.

Dissolve the gelatin in 4 tablespoons warm water. (If using leaves, proceed as indicated on the package).

Mix the cheese, the sugar and half of the strawberries in a food processor.

Add the dissolved gelatin and mix once more.

Cut up the remaining strawberries in quarters (do not use those for the decoration!) and place them in individual glasses.

Pour the cheese mixture over the strawberries and put into the fridge for at least two hours.

Decorate just before serving.

Light Lemon Curd

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When Charles (Five Euro Food) and then A_Boleyn posted Lemon Curd recipes I thought it was high time I presented a lighter version, which might please all those, who, like me, prefer sharper and more intense lemon desserts. I must have heard of lemon curd for the first time a long time ago, but given the amazing rapidity with which I was able to empty a butter- and sugar-loaded jar, this delightful spread was one of the rarely enjoyed sweet treats. When I finally tested its low-fat version I quickly forgot this was a lightened lemon curd and have never come back to the traditional version. In fact, the drastic reduction of fat has resulted in a more intense, sharper and, I would even say, more elegant flavour. (It was a bit like discovering Alain Ducasse’s half-cream, half-milk Crème Brûlée, which has put me off the 100% fatty cream, traditional version forever).

After several batches I slightly modified the original recipe (adapted from this fantastic Polish baker’s blog). I added a small amount of butter instead of the advised oil (I missed a touch of buttery flavour) and found a foolproof and easy method of getting rid of lumps (see below). I have also made this lemon ultralight, partially substituting the sugar with a special cooking sweetener (I wouldn’t advise however substituting all the sugar with a sweetener: the texture is not the same and it simply tastes worse).

Lemon curd is fantastic on any type of sweet biscuit, on toasted bread, on a slice of yeast cake, challah, but it’s also an excellent tart, pie, cake or cookie/biscuit filling (see for example Thumbprint Almond Cookies). It is of course irresistible on its own, eaten directly from the jar.

TIP: Start with 12 tablespoons sugar and add more, if needed, after the curd has thickened.

Preparation: 15 – 20 minutes

Ingredients (yield: one 300-350 ml jar):

juice from 3 lemons

zest from 1 lemon

12 – 15 tablespoons castor sugar (or 10 tablespoons sugar + 5 tablespoons cooking sweetener which is usually sweeter than sugar)

2 eggs

1 flat tablespoon cornstarch (or potato starch, but cornstarch gives a lighter result)

1 heaped tablespoon butter

Mix everything in a blender, apart from the butter.

Pour into a small pan, add the butter and warm at low heat, constantly stirring, until it thickens.

Taste and add more sugar if needed. Stir well until the sugar/the sweetener dissolves.

Put into a jar, close the lid and let it cool down.

Keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Serve on toast, bread, use it as a pie or a cake filling (it is delicious in the Thumbprint Almond Cookies).

Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches

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A couple of weeks ago a Japanese friend invited me for a lunch which ended with a most sensational light dessert. Actually her coconut cream was one of the lightest desserts I have ever had in my life, in terms of both calories and texture and certainly one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. Luckily the recipe wasn’t secret! I did hesitate however before making it because it called for agar-agar, a product which brings back awful memories. Since I had been assured the preparation was simple, I gave agar-agar another chance. The cream was very easy indeed and the result was perfect at the first attempt.

Agar-agar (“kanten” in Japanese), apparently meaning “jelly” in Malay, is a gelatinous substance obtained from certain seaweed varieties, usually sold in a form of powder or (in Asian countries) in long sticks. Even though it has been used by food industry all around the world, it is rarely used in European households, gelatin being the most popular gelling agent. It has been gaining popularity probably thanks to its vegetable origins and to its health benefits. In fact agar-agar contains water soluble agents, which help digestion and are considered excellent in slimming diets. Even though some people say agar-agar is a gelatin equivalent, I cannot agree with it.

As I have recently told Charles (Five Euro Food) in my opinion food set with agar-agar is different and someone who is used only to gelatin has to experiment a bit with it on order to obtain satisfying results. This is my first successful dish with agar agar, but certainly not the last because somehow I feel I couldn’t obtain the same results with gelatin. The cream has a very delicate consistency, close to natural yogurt . Since both coconut and cow milk are used, the coconut taste is not overwhelming. In short, an addictive, elegant and refreshing dessert.

Prepared with canned peaches and canned coconut milk, this quick cream is a perfect solution for a last-minute, pantry-based dessert served practically all year round. I find it particularly good now, since we are having very warm sunny Spring. My friend served it with fresh mango and I think any fruit (apart from raw kiwi and raw pineapple) can be used. I am impatient to test it with strawberries!

Do not wait until the cream becomes cold before pouring it into the bowls because agar sets at room temperature and once disturbed, it will not reset properly!

Preparation: 15 minutes + 2-3 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 4 – 5):

250 ml/about 1 cup coconut milk

250 ml/about 1 cup cow milk

4 tablespoons sugar (I have put only 2 but I like moderately sweet desserts)

1/3 flat teaspoon agar agar in powder

4 – 5 halves of canned peaches

Dissolve the sugar and agar-agar in the mixture of the two milks. Bring to boil and, constantly stirring, let it simmer for about a minute.

Put aside.

Prepare four individual bowls or low glasses.

(Do not wait until the cream becomes cold because agar sets at room temperature and once disturbed, it will not reset properly!).

Cut up the peaches into cubes and distribute into the bowls (one half per bowl).

Pour the creamy mixture over the fruit pieces and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Serve very cold.

Light Banana Mousse with Kiwi Sauce

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Waiting for this year’s first strawberries I still keep on buying fruits that kept me company throughout the Winter. A couple of days ago I had only bananas and kiwis, the weather was warm and sunny and I desperately wanted something refreshing. I thought I would try to make a banana mousse based on the strawberry yogurt mousse, my staple throughout the summer.

As soon as I found a way to hide the ugly colour of oxidised bananas, I was satisfied with the result. The mousse was light, low-fat, required no sugar (ripe bananas were sweet enough for me) and the kiwi sauce gave it a refreshing, slightly tangy kick with the additional pleasant crunch thanks to the seeds. In short, a perfect guiltless healthy sweet treat and definitely my favourite banana dessert. If you add some rum this dessert might be treated as a solidified version of my banana rum cocktail.

TIPS: Most of you probably know this, but just in case, do not try to include kiwi into the mousse. Raw kiwi and raw pineapple stop every gelatin-based dessert from setting.

Every gelatin powder is different. I didn’t want this mousse to be completely set like a jelly, so I have checked the package and used a bit more than 1/2 of the amount advised to set 500 ml liquid. You might have to make two experiments with your gelatin to obtain the desired texture. It is always better to put too much gelatin than not enough.

Preparation: 10 minutes + several hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 ripe bananas

1 natural yogurt (125 ml)

1 flat tablespoon powdered gelatin (if you use leaves, take the amount necessary to set 500 ml/about 2 cups liquid, see TIPS above)

3 – 4 kiwis

(2 tablespoons rum)

Prepare 3 or 4 individual serving dishes.

Dissolve the gelatin powder in a couple of tablespoons warm water.

(If you have leaves you have to soften them first in cold water and then dissolve in warm water).

In a blender mix the bananas, the yogurt, the rum (if using) and the dissolved gelatin for a couple of minutes.

Quickly, while the mixture is still frothy, pour it into the dishes and put them instantly into the fridge.

Refrigerate until it is set.

Serve cold.

Just before serving mix the kiwis and pour them over every portion of mousse.

Damson Plum Jam and Chocolate Tart

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I crave chocolate all year long, so even though it’s springtime and I start dreaming about light fruit desserts, I still make sure I have some dark chocolate in case I feel an urgent need bake something with it. I also adore tart desserts, so when I saw Stevie Parle’s damson and chocolate tart on the Telegraph website, I thought it was a perfect combination of both. Moreover, this tart reminded me of one of Prunes in Chocolate, my favourite quick chocolate snack.

I decided to make this tart several days ago when I realised that even though I offer jars regularly to my friends and family, I have almost no free space for this year’s preserves. My favourite jam is thick damson plum jam (damsons are oval violet plums with a tangy skin and yellow flesh) called “butter” and slowly cooked without sugar addition. (I have posted the Damson Plum Butter recipe here). Thanks to its tanginess and deep, slightly smoky flavour, damson plum jam is excellent with both savoury and sweet dishes and, as I have recently realised, also with dark chocolate.

Instead of following S. Parle’s complicated recipe, I have made my foolproof shortcrust pastry and filled the tart with a modified version of Joël Robuchon’s chocolate tart filling (found in Le Meilleur et le plus simple de Robuchon). For me this easy, rich, tangy and intensely chocolatey tart was an amazing discovery, but I would advise it only for those who are big fans of bitter chocolate and who prefer moderately sweet desserts.

TIPS: This tart is an excellent way to use up an opened jam jar (or last year’s preserves). Any thick jam will be good in this recipe, but in my opinion sour cherry, strawberry, raspberry or apricot jam would be the best.

I strongly advise home-made shortcrust. Its thin, buttery, crunchy layer cannot be substituted with any ready-to-use crust. However if you use a bought one (about 230-240 g), make sure it’s rolled out very thinly and that it’s made only with butter.

Special equipment:

beans for blind baking (I have been using the same real dried cheap beans for several years now)

Preparation: 2 hours

Ingredients (makes a 28 cm diameter tart):

Shortcrust (or 230-240 g of ready-to-use thin, 100% butter shortcrust pastry sheet):

125g flour

90 g softened butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons caster sugar

Filling:

300 ml tart thick jam

200 g dark good quality chocolate (more than 72% cocoa)

250 ml liquid cream

1 big egg

Prepare the shortcrust.

Mix the butter, the salt and the caster sugar in a food processor. When these ingredients are mixed thoroughly, add the flour and mix again.

Stop when you see a big ball is being formed.

(You may also knead the pastry without the food processor, but then you have to do this very quickly, maximum 5 minutes, pushing with the heel of your hand and minimising the use of your fingers, otherwise the tart will be too crumbly.)

Wrap the dough in a cling film and put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes (you can leave it there up to 48 hours).

Take it out of the fridge and let it soften a bit before using it.

Roll it thinly with a rolling pin (I would advise 3 mm) and line a greased tart dish or spread it with your fingers without rolling if you find the rolling process difficult.

Put back into the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Take out the tart dish from the fridge.

Cover the flat surface with a baking sheet and put some dried beans on it. This way the pastry will not rise.

Precook the tart shell until it’s no longer raw, but still white (it will take 10-15 minutes).

In the meantime prepare the chocolate filling.

Break the chocolate into small pieces.

Bring the cream to boil and pour over the chocolate, stirring quickly until the chocolate melts and forms a homogenous ganache.

When it cools down and is no longer hot, add the egg.

Take the blind-baked shortcrust out of the oven, put the beans back into their jar and let the tart shell cool a bit.

Cover the tart shell with a generous layer of thick jam and then pour the chocolate filling on top.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the chocolate filling is set.

French Lemon Tart or Tartlets

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As much as I dislike pairing sweet and sour flavours in savoury dishes, I have always found it irresistible in desserts and the French Lemon Tart represents for me the apotheosis of this combination. I have written about it a long time ago, but the photo was far from appetising and the recipe passed almost unnoticed. I am very grateful to Arudhi from The Box of Kitchen, who has recently dug out my old post, baked the tart and, most of all, enjoyed the results. Her experience and kind compliments made me decide to change the photo, to add some important explanations and to re-post this extraordinary recipe, sharing it with all those who have a passion for tangy desserts.

Even though lemon tart (or pie) is popular in many countries, the thin crust and the absence of cream, flour or condensed milk in the filling make the French version the most subtle and particularly light (by “light” I mean taste, since the tart is far from being low-fat or low-calorie). I don’t know if it’s the thin, crumbly, buttery, almond crust, the delicate, falsely light filling, the perfect balance between the sweet and the tangy or simply the combination of all the flavours, but this is the only tart I can easily finish on my own in two sessions. Served after a nourishing and heavy meal it is a refreshing relief for the palate. For me it is the ideal ending of a spicy meal, such as Beef Rendang, Indian or Thai curry.

The recipe comes from “Le Grand Livre de Cuisine d’Alain Ducasse: Bistrots, Brasseries et Restaurants de Tradition”, a highly reliable source of French recipes I recommend to everyone. This one is as foolproof as other Ducasse’s recipes I have made (madeleines, crème brûlée or my transformation into Matcha Crème Brûlée), but has to be followed attentively without skipping or simplifying any stages.

TIPS: If you wish – and have a blowtorch – you can sprinkle the tart with brown sugar and burn it before serving, like crème brûlée. (Personally I prefer it simple or with some grated lemon zest.)

You can make either one big tart or, as you see on the above photo, individual tartlets (with the amounts below you will obtain about 12 standard tartlets). The tartlets are in my opinion easier to make. If you decide to make individual tartlets, cut down the baking time as advised below.

Special equipment:

beans for blind baking (I have been using the same real dried cheap beans for several years now)

Preparation: 1 hour + 2 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (one 28 cm diameter tart or about 12 standard tartlets):

Crust:

100 g flour

30 g ground or powdered almonds

90g softened butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons caster sugar

Filling:

200 ml lemon juice

100 g butter

4 eggs

120 g confectioner’s sugar

(grated lemon zest)

(brown sugar)

Prepare the pastry case.

Mix the butter, the almonds, the salt and the sugar in a food processor. When these ingredients are mixed thoroughly, add the flour and mix again.

Stop when you see a big ball is being formed.

Wrap the dough in a cling film and put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes (you can leave it there up to 48 hours).

Take it out of the fridge and let it soften a bit before using it.

Roll it thinly with a rolling pin (I would advise 1/2 cm) and line the tart pan or individual tartlets forms. (If you don’t manage to roll it out, you can wait until it softens more and spread it with your fingers).

Pick the surface with a fork and place it into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Take out the tart dish from the fridge.

Cover the flat surface with a baking sheet and put some dried beans on it. This way the pastry will not rise.

Precook the tart shell (or tartlets shells) until it’s no longer raw, but still white. Take it out, put the beans back into their jar and let the tart shell cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 130°C.

Melt the butter in a pan. Put aside.

Break the eggs in a bowl, add the sugar, the lemon juice and the warm butter. Stir well.

Pour the lemon filling on the warm (not hot) tart shell (or individual shells) and bake it at 130°C for about 30 minutes (or 15-20 minutes if making individual tartlets), depending on the oven (when the tart is moved the surface should be only slightly trembling in the centre).

Let it cool down and put into the fridge for at least two hours.

Take it out of the fridge no more than 30 minutes before serving (it must be cold, but the pastry should soften a bit). At the last moment either sprinkle it with fresh lemon zest or gently pat it dry with paper towels, sprinkle with brown sugar and burn it, or simply serve it as it is.

Far breton, or Brittany Prune Pudding

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Far breton is one of my favourite and most frequently baked sweet dishes. It is light and low-fat, but filling, slightly sweet, but tangy, it is best served cold, but perfect even in cold seasons too. I wouldn’t only call it irresistible, but also undownputable, just like a fascinating book. Far breton is as easy to prepare as it is impossible to translate. It’s not exactly a cake, nor a custard, nor a flan… Since nothing I have ever tasted has a similar consistency, maybe “a baked, dense, slightly elastic pudding” (in the German sense of the word) would be a good definition.

As its name suggests, far breton is a Brittany region specialty and a small Breton village bakery shop is the first place where I discovered it . Apparently, many centuries ago the dish called far was a kind of gruel with dried fruit, and far is a Latin word meaning “wheat” or “spelt” . Afterwards the dish evolved into the today’s dense pudding-like cake. The oldest written trace of the present form of far breton dates back to the XVIIIth century, when both savoury (made from buckwheat and served with meat) and sweet fars (usually without any fruit) were popular. Nowadays only the sweet one is very popular not only in Brittany, but all around France.

Most people prepare it, like me, with prunes, some add only raisins, some both, and some purists refuse any kind of fruit. I find the most popular, slightly tangy version the absolute winner. I think it is best served cold, preferably left overnight in the fridge. Having prepared far breton for many years, I no longer remember where I found this recipe, but I appreciate it for the absence of butter or any fats and for its low sugar content. Its colour varies and depends on eggs. My organic Winter egg yolks were particularly small, hence the light colour.

TIP: Many people worry about the fact that prunes fall to the bottom. I don’t mind, but I have heard that coating prunes in flour prevent them from falling. (I have never tested it though).

Preparation: 1 h (+ at least 2 hours in the fridge)

Ingredients (fills a 10 x 30 cm or 20 x 20 cm baking dishes):

250 g flour

70 g sugar

4 eggs

750 ml milk

1 pinch salt

a bit of salted butter to grease the dish

25 big prunes (stoned)

a bowl of hot strong black tea

50-100 ml rum

Soak the prunes in tea until they become soft. Drain them.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease the pan with butter (or line with baking paper).

Warm the milk until it is hot (don’t boil it!).

Combine the eggs, the flour, the salt and the sugar.

Slowly add the warm milk and the rum, stirring.

Pour the batter (it will be very liquid) into the baking dish. (If it is not smooth, mix it in a blender or pass it through a sieve).

Place the prunes inside, more or less regularly.

Bake for about 1 hour until golden brown.

Let the far cool down before putting it into the fridge for several hours.

Serve very cold, sliced.

Easiest Apple Cake

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If you know how to peel and grate apples, you know how to make this easiest apple cake in the world. By “easy” I not only mean the baking and preparation process, but also the recipe which stays instantly engraved in your memory. Since it doesn’t require any eggs, it is very convenient too. Accidentally, this is also one of the most palatable fruit cakes I know and quite an original one, since it contains semolina and is divided into layers. The upper flaky, crunchy and buttery layer creates a very interesting contrast with the other layers softened by the apple juice produced during the baking process.

This recipe has been “sleeping” for many years in my old notebook until I finally dug it out when, seeing Mr. Three-Cookies baking the hundredth semolina cake or cookie (Three-Cookies blog), I remembered a semolina apple cake I used to make many years ago. Thus, thanks to Mr. Three-Cookies, a very exceptional recipe was brought back to life.

If you have bland apples, you can combine them with cinnamon, vanilla or whatever spice you prefer. I had very good King of the Pippins, so I decided to leave them as they are. You might also add some sugar to the grated apples if you like very sweet cakes or if your apples are sour.

(This is the first recipe with several ingredients measured in cups. Somehow, for once it proved much easier, even for me. My measuring cup has 250 ml.)

Preparation: 1 h 30

Ingredients:

1,5 kg apples (or even 2 kg if you want the fruit to dominate your cake)

1 cup semolina

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1,5 heaped teaspoon baking powder

70- 100 g butter

pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Peel the apples and grate them on a vegetable grater (I do this in a food processor).

Combine the flour, the semolina, the salt, the baking powder and the sugar, stirring well with a spoon.

Grease a baking dish (the smaller it is the higher the cake will be, the minimum diameter is 20 cm).

Put 1/3 of the dough mixture into the dish.

Cover with half of the grated apples (or less, if you want to create a thinner and a thicker layer, like I did).

Put another 1/3 of the dough.

Cover with the remaining apples.

Sprinkle the rest of the dough mixture.

Cover the top of the cake with thin butter slices, so that it covers the whole surface.

Bake until golden.

Serve warm or cold.

Apple and Apple Sauce Tart

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A couple of days ago, when I started to get bored with the umpteenth jar of Apple Sauce, I decided to look for a new light apple dessert recipe. I decided to make an apple tart from the famous Joël Robuchon’s cookery book (Le meilleur et le plus simple de Joël Robuchon). Imagine my surprise (and pride!) when I noticed that his idea was very similar to what I thought I had invented a couple of weeks ago when making a plum tart! For those who don’t remember, I was very proud of the result obtained with with a combination of plum butter and raw plums. Here, in Robuchon’s recipe, a layer of apple sauce is covered with thin raw apple slices.

This tart is what the French call “Tarte Fine”, i.e. very thin (mine was maybe 1,5 cm thick), with a very thin layer of fruit and usually without a border (I didn’t have a bigger baking dish, so my border was simply lower than usually). Thanks to the combination of apple sauce and raw apples, the flavours are surprisingly complex and the difference in three textures particularly enjoyable. (I also particularly liked this tart because it forced me to buy an apple core remover, one of the kitchen gadgets I didn’t own.)

The only arduous parts here might be cutting very thin apple slices and removing cores. Both can be very quick and simple if you have a mandolin and an apple core remover. If, like me, you have very good apple variety (I used here King of the Pippins, or “reine de reinettes” in French), you don’t need to add any spices. If your apples are slightly bland and lack aroma, add some vanilla. (The below recipe is slightly modified).

Special equipment:

apple core remover

mandolin

Preparation: 1 hour 30 or 2 hours if you make the apple sauce from the scratch

Ingredients:

1 puff pastry sheet (rolled out very thinly, e.i. about 3 mm)

7 apples (for the best aesthetic result they should have more or less the same size) + 3 tablespoons sugar , or 200 ml sweetened applesauce + 4-5 apples

2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

2 tablespoons caster sugar

a couple of tablespoons melted butter

(2 vanilla pods)

If you are making apple sauce, peel and core 4 apples, cut them into small pieces, add the grated vanilla grains, the sugar, 3 tablespoons water and let them simmer on a low heat until they fall into pieces and form a sauce.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a greased (or lined with baking paper) baking dish with puffed pastry.

Pick the surface with a fork, cover with aluminium foil or baking paper covered with dry beans (so that the pastry doesn’t rise too much) and blind bake it (until the pastry is firm but still white).

Spread the apple sauce on the tart crust.

Peel the remaining apples, core them and slice very thinly with a mandolin or with a knife, but the slices shouldn’t be thicker than 2 mm.

Arrange the slices on the apple sauce, overlapping each other, so that both the apple sauce and the central hole are covered.

Brush the tart with melted butter, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons caster sugar and bake until the apple slices start browning.

Take out of the oven and just before serving sprinkle once more with confectioner’s sugar and put under the grill/broiler (watch it constantly since it’s very easy to burn!).

Serve hot or warm (it tastes great with vanilla ice-cream).

Pear Sauce with Prunes

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I have been making apple and pear sauces for years. Both fruits are cheap and easy to works with since no peeling is involved. Fruit sauces can be eaten straight from the jar, served on buttered bread, but they are also excellent as tarts and cookies fillings and as I have recently learnt, also as an egg substitute (click here to see a delicious Eggless Applesauce Cake recipe). I don’t remember how I had this idea, but probably one day I got bored with the pear sauce I had been making for years, saw a jar of prunes whiles reaching for the sugar and decided to experiment. The result was so satisfactory, I simply stopped making other pear sauce versions and prunes have become the obligatory ingredient of my pear sauces.

Even though both prunes and pears have strong flavours, neither of them gets lost in this combination. The sweetness of the pear is completed by a slight tanginess of the prune creating a harmonious final taste. With their fiber, vitamins and other health benefits prunes add a healthy accent to this sweet treat.

Before I pass to the recipe details, I would like to thank Stefanie from A Dash of Sugar and Spice, Shannon from Just as Delish and Charles from 5 Euro Food for the Versatile Blogger Award I have recently got from all of them. I feel honoured to get this triple (!) award.

The Award has two rules. The first one is to say 7 random things about oneself that others might not know and the second one is to pass the award to 7 other bloggers. I found it very hard to think of the things which might be interesting and hope the following random facts don’t make you yawn:

1. I used to be a vegetarian for a year when I was 16 or 17. The smell of my mum’s roast chicken made me quit.

2. I used to be a huge Depeche Mode fan as a teenager and still love listening to their old songs sometimes. Their concert last year was one of the most moving moments of the past several years of my life. Of course this one is among my favourites (althought this is not my concert):

UPDATE: Apparently (thank you, Nami!) the above video doesn’t work in the US, so I hope the below non-live version can be viewed worldwide:

3. I have recently started to love harpsichord (which used to irritate me) and the late Scott Ross’s interpretations not only give me goose pimples, but some bring tears to my eyes.

4. The only book I have read at least ten times (and which still makes me laugh) is The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend.

5. At the age of 13 I knitted four wool jumpers and actually wore them. Two of them were quite complicated (one had a very kitsch Mexican desert landscape with cactuses and sunset…). I still don’t know how I did them or how I dared wearing them.

6. I am a Hungarian folk music fan. It makes me happy and sad at the same time.

7. I am not ashamed to say I love South Park. Eric Cartman rocks! Click here to see one of my favourite Eric scenes.

Ideally I would love to be able to pass the Versatile Blogger award to all the authors whose wonderful blogs I follow and who are my teachers and my constant inspiration. Some of my blogging friends have already been nominated, which is a good thing, because even without them, I find it difficult to put only 7 names. Anyway, here is the list of seven (oops,eight) out of many bloggers I admire and find exceptional (I am sorry if some of you have already been nominated):

Arudhi from A box of Kitchen

Jeno from Weeknite Meals

Kelly from Inspired Edibles

Miss Iona Lion from Twice Bitten

Mr. Three-Cookies from Three Cookies

Ray from Wok with Ray

Shilpa from Baking Devils

Shu Han from Mummy, I can cook!

Now back to the recipe.

Preparation: about 2 hours

Ingredients:

2 kg pears

100 g prunes (without stones)

500g-1 kg sugar (depends on the pears’ sweetness and your own preferences)

juice from 1 big lemon

Wash the pears, chop them roughly into four-five pieces and put them in a big shallow pan.

Pour a litre of water, cover the pan and cook at medium heat until the fruit is well cooked and almost falls into pieces.

In the meantime mix the prunes in a food processor or chop them very finely.

Pass the cooked pears through a food mill, transfer into a big pan.

Add the lemon juice, the sugar, the prunes and cook, stirring around 15 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce starts boiling.

Taste if the sauce is sweet enough, add more sugar if needed, cook for 30 more minutes, stirring from time to time.

/At this point you can either freeze it (after the sauce has cooled down) or keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or process it in the jars, as described below, and store it in your pantry for at least a year!/

Pour the sauce, still hot, into sterilised jars. Cover with lids. Leave the jars to cool.

NOTE: For the readers who live in the USA, the USDA-approved canning method is different. You can find it described here:
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/using_bw_canners.html.

Eggless Applesauce Cake

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As soon as I saw a Low-Fat Banana Bread on Jeno’s blog (Weeknite Meals) I thought it looked and sounded very similar to the Applesauce Cake I make. I promised Jeno I would post my recipe and I hope she will forgive me for being so terribly late!

I have found this recipe in Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Marritt Farmer, an excellent book I have bought at second hand book sales, unconscious of the treasures I would find there. It might not be the most appealing source of recipes (especially my old edition), but everything I have tested proved fully successful. (If you don’t cook often from books, believe me, foolproof cookery books are rare jewels…). Another recipe from this book I posted some time ago are the fabulous and easy Deep-Fried Scallops.

Apart from being sticky, moist and flavoursome, this cake has several big advantages. It is very simple and quick to prepare. It doesn’t requite any eggs or fresh fruit, so it can be made with your pantry’s permanent stock all year round. You will also be surprised to see it keeps fresh for ages, especially if refrigerated. Since it’s best very soft and moist, I prefer it served straight away from the fridge, anyway.

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients:

120 g butter (about 1/2 cup); I often reduce this amount to 50 g butter

250 ml (1 cup) unsweetened applesauce + 200 g (1 cup) sugar, or sweetened applesauce + 100 g sugar (1/2 cup)

220 g (2 cups) flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

(cinnamon or vanilla or nothing if you applesauce is already seasoned)

a big handful chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Mix the sugar with butter, add the applesauce and the remaining ingredients. Stir well.

Bake in a buttered and floured pan (or lined with baking paper because the cake is very sticky) for 40 minutes – 1 hour.

It can be served after it has cooled down, but I like to wrap it tightly in cling film and put into the fridge for several hours.

Then it becomes really moist and irresistible.

Double Damson Plum and Almond Tart

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One of the magical sides of cooking is that a slight modification can unexpectedly transform an ordinary, popular dish into an unforgettable delight. I have made dozens of French-style plum tarts in my life, but always kept them simple: short crust or puff pastry, fruits, sugar and sometimes almonds. Last week, while preparing one of those, I realised I had some leftover Damson Plum Butter in the fridge and decided to spread it on the pastry before placing the plums. Very glad to find a new way of using leftovers, I haven’t suspected this thin layer would change my humble tart so much. With crunchy pastry, fruit butter, softened damsons and flaked almonds, the texture had very pleasant four different levels, while the flavours’ intensity and complexity raised my tart to a higher level of taste bud impressions. If you haven’t tested a similar tart yet, I encourage you to try it until plums are still in season. If you cannot find damsons or/and fruit butter, I am sure any other plum variety and a thick jam made from the same variety will produce a similar effect.

Before I pass to the recipe details, I would like to say I was very happy to learn that Zsuzsa (from Zsuzsa is in the Kitchen) has trusted my recipe and made my Light Unbaked Cheesecake with Vanilla. Click here to see her version.

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients (for 24- 28 cm diameter tart dish):

1 shortcrust or puff pastry sheet (mine weighed 230 g)

about 40 damsons or other plums

6-10 heaped tablespoons sugar (depends on the fruit’s sweetness)

10 flat tablespoons flaked almonds

about 150 g plum butter or very thick jam

Roll tout the pastry sheet and line the greased tart pan (or covered with baking paper).

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Stone the plums and halve them.

Spread the Damson Butter on the tart bottom and cover with plum halves, skin side down, overlaying parts of the fruit. Otherwise, since the fruit will shrink, you’ll end up with big empty spaces on your tart.

Sprinkle the almonds over the plums and then the sugar.

Bake for around 45 – 60 minutes until the pastry is golden.

Peach and Gin Mousse

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Peaches and gin go hand in hand. When I made my first jar of Peach Jam with Gin I discovered peaches and gin go hand in hand. Obviously, when I started to look for an idea of a peach dessert, I immediately thought of gin addition.

I wanted a high concentration of peach taste in a light, refreshing treat for hot days and the mousse idea appealed to me at once. All the recipes I saw or knew called for cream, yogurt, cream cheese or egg whites, but I decided to stick to the basics: fruit, gin and gelatin. The result was an irresistible explosion of peach flavour, with a slightly sharp note due to the gin addition. This cooling dessert reminded me of a sorbet, but softer, neater and rather for adults.

TIP: The amounts of gelatin depend sometimes on the brand. Leaves are sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller, powdered gelatin sometimes contains other products and doesn’t set as well as pure gelatin in powder… In short, the aim here is to use here the amount of gelatin which sets 300 ml/about 10 oz liquid. (The whole mousse mixture has a more than 300 ml, so the mousse will be firm but not hard).

Preparation: 10 minutes+ a couple of hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 3 – 4):

4 very ripe peaches (about1/2 kg)

2/3 tablespoon powdered gelatin (you can use of course leaves, the amount necessary to set 300 ml liquid; this way you will obtain a “moussy” texture, see the TIP above)

juice from 1/2 lemon

100 ml gin

Put the peaches in boiling water for two minutes. Take them away with a slotted spoon and place immediately in cold water. After a couple of minutes the peel will come off easily with fingers.

Remove the stones and mix the fruit with the gin in a food processor.

Dissolve the gelatin in a couple of tablespoons of warm water and add to the peach mixture.

Mix well for 1 minute.

Pour the still liquid mousse into individual bowls and place in the fridge for a couple of hours.

It will keep in the fridge for several days.

Upside-Down Apricot Tartlets with Muscovado

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Apart from the very practical home-cooking books I also buy those written by famous – usually French – chefs or confectioners with breathtaking, state-of-the-art photos and incredibly long and scary recipes. I buy them not only to leaf through the glossy pages, dreaming of sophisticated dishes and admiring the masters’ skills, but also to find some ideas, tips or bits of recipes I could introduce into my cooking. This is the case of “Plaisirs sucrés” by Pierre Hermé, my absolute idol in the world of macarons and confectionery.

Frankly speaking, if the cover of my “Plaisirs sucrés” starts being used up, it’s not because I use Pierre Hermé’s recipes often in my kitchen. Nonetheless, since I found there the best pastry cream (crème pâtissière) in the world, (I used it in Strawberry Tartlets), I decided to look there for a new apricot dessert idea. This is how I came across the thing which makes this upside-down tart unique, namely the extravagant use of moist, sticky, brown sugar, called muscovado. By “extravagant” I mean putting a 1 cm layer of sugar I would have never dared in my previous upside-down tarts. Having tried both a thick and a thin layer of muscovado (opting for individual tartlets made this experiment easier), I can affirm the 1 cm layer is obligatory (actually I have put about 1 cm, but Pierre Hermé advised 1,5 cm!). One of the tartlets was made with normal brown sugar; it wasn’t even half as good. The apricots are darkened by the muscovado, but the aroma and the taste are simply divine.

A tip: I couldn’t find this sugar in “normal” shops and have finally seen it in both a Vietnamese and a British grocery…

Special equipment:

individual tart dishes

pastry cutters (slightly bigger than the tart dishes)

Preparation: 1h30

Ingredients (makes 6x 10 cm diameter tartlets):

1,5 kg apricots

1 thin puff pastry sheet (about 230g)

muscovado sugar

50 g butter

juice from 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Grease small tart dishes generously with butter (also on the sides).

Put a 1 c, thick layer of muscovado sugar on the bottom of each dish.

Cut the apricots in two, remove the kernels.

Arrange the apricots very tightly (they will shrink) in a nice pattern, laying them on the side. (Not the kernel side or the skin side!).

Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apricots.

Cut out circles from the pastry sheet? They should be a bit bigger than the dish bottom diameter.

Cover the apricots with the pastry tucking well the sides downwards.

Prick the surface several times with a fork.

Put the tartlets into the oven for 30 – 40 minutes.

Take them out when the tart is dark golden.

When the tartlets cool down a bit, make sure, with a knife, that the pastry doesn’t stick to the sides of the dishes.

Put a small serving plate over each tart dish (bottom side up) and carefully turn the tartlets upside down. (Do it over a kitchen sink and wear dark clothes.)

If some fruit pieces haven’t fallen into the plate, simply arrange them in the tartlets and if there is any juice left in the dishes, simply pour it over the turned-upside tarts.

Put them into the fridge and serve cold.

Strawberry Tartlets

19 Comments

The French are unquestionably the fruit pastry masters and the very popular Strawberry Tart with Pastry Cream is an excellent example of this typical, fruit quality enhancing dessert. Delicate, simple and light, it is found in most cookery books and in season it is available in many pastry shops. This tart has no equals when it comes to enjoy aromatic, perfectly ripe strawberries that one would regret transforming for example into a mousse (ideal with slightly acid or simply not perfect fruit).

The recipe is not complicated, and the secret of the best result lies in the perfect pastry cream (with a real vanilla pod), the butter-based thinly rolled out pastry sheet and, of course, in the highest fruit quality. The pastry cream is inspired by the recipe I have found in “Plaisirs sucrés” by Pierre Hermé, a famous confectioner whose macarons’ discovery was one of the most unforgettable moments in my life. Even though this is the best pastry cream I have ever tasted, I have slightly modified it after the first test (mostly the sugar amount). The same recipe can be adapted of course to a big tart, but I usually prefer individual portions.

Click here to see two other examples of even simpler typical French fruit tarts: the Mini Pear Tarts and the Mirabelle Tart

And see here a few ideas of what to do with leftover egg whites.

Special equipment :

a round pastry cutter and 6 small round ramekins of the same diameter

Preparation: less than 2 hours

Calories: about 300-320 kcal per tartlet (counted without butter in the cream and depending on the pastry)

Ingredients (makes 6 x 10 cm diameter tartlets):

about 200 grams thinly rolled out puff pastry (or home-made sweet pastry)

500 g strawberries (preferably equally sized)

Pastry cream:

500 ml milk (I used skimmed)

50 g corn starch

4 heaped tablespoons caster sugar (or more if you like very sweet desserts)

1 vanilla pod

4 egg yolks

50 g butter (can be omitted, but the taste will be slightly worse)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Cut out the circles. Put them on the baking paper. Cover with another layer of baking paper and block from rising with round ramekins with a similar diameter.

Bake until golden.

Put aside.

In the meantime prepare the pastry cream.

Bring to boil 400 ml milk with the vanilla pod cut in two lengthwise.

Put aside and let it cool down.

Scrape off the two vanilla pieces so that the small vanilla grains stay in the milk.

Combine the yolks, the sugar, the corn starch and the remaining cold milk.

Strain the warm vanilla milk, constantly stirring, into the yolks mixture.

Discard the vanilla pods (wash them, dry them and put into a confectioner’s sugar jar: you’ll have vanilla scented sugar).

Put back the obtained mixture into the pan and constantly stirring bring to boil.

Put aside when it thickens to the cream consistency.

If the cream is not smooth and you see many lumps, mix it in a blender or rub through a sieve.

When the cream is no longer hot, but still very warm, combine it with butter.

Put a couple of tablespoons of the cream on each tart circle.

Cover with the strawberries (cut in halves, in four pieces, sliced or whole).

Serve slightly chilled.

Jam Cake with Okara

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In my previous post I explained how I made (quickly and easily) okara (おから) at home. (As a reminder, okara is a very healthy by-product of the soy milk or tofu production.) This cake recipe is my first experience with okara use, but certainly not the last. The addition of okara made is taste lighter and softer, not to mention all the nutritious and healthy elements brought by okara. Last, but not least, a very important information: even those who hate soy milk, tofu etc. appreciate this cake and do not notice anything unusual.

Since the Spring is my “emptying last year’s jars” season, I made this cake with King of the Pippins sauce I had put into jars last year (King of the Pippins is an exceptional apple variety, read more about it + the sauce recipe here). However, this cake can be made with any fruit sauce, jam, marmalade or freshly made fruit purée. Excellent way to use up the leftover fruit (puréed and then sweetened) or the remains of a big jam jar. This cake was prepared with half of the okara I have recently made.

Preparation: 2 hours – 2 h 1/2

Ingredients (one small cake, serves 4):

125 g slightly moist okara

10 heaped tablesoons flour

pinch of salt

7 tablespoons sugar

50 g softened butter

(cinnamon)

a 200 ml jar of fruit jam, sauce of purée

Combine all the ingredients (except for the jam) mixing with your hands in a bowl or in a food processor.

You may add some cinnamon, but it’s not obligatory.

Divide the mixture in three parts and put one of those in a plastic bag in the freezer.

Leave it there to chill for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Line up a greased dish (mine was 10x20cm big) with the remaining 2/3 of the dough.

Spread the sauce or the jam over the top.

Take out the chilled 1/3 of the dough and grate it over the jam (on a grater with big holes).

Bake until slightly golden (about 1hour – 1h15min).

Pear and Fresh Cheese Tart

4 Comments

Even though the ingredients are not unusual, nor exotic and their combination is not really surprising, this tart’s flavour is extraordinarily different. Sweet pears and slightly tart, grainy, fresh curd cheese filling create a unique combination. Since I hardly add any sugar and the pastry case doesn’t have it either, the tart is not overly sweet and be can easily served as a snack, for afternoon tea or for breakfast. I have been preparing it for so many years, unfortunately I can’t even remember the source of my recipe… I can only say it’s not a typically French fruit tart, since they are usually thinner, have less filling and curd cheese is definitely not a very French ingredient.

I know the unique taste and texture of this tart is largely due to the curd cheese, not available everywhere (in the countries where it is not widely used, Russian and Polish grocers sell it). Luckily, the curd cheese can be substituted with the almost universal cottage cheese. If you have to use the cottage cheese, drain it well, squash the big grains with a fork and add 100 ml sour cream or kefir (to add the slight tartness the curd cheese has). If using very dry curd cheese (such as the Hungarian one), add 200 ml liquid cream. The good news is this pie can be done with leftover yolks instead of whole eggs!

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients (for a standard 28 cm diameter pie dish):

1 puff pastry sheet (around 230 g)

500g curd cheese (or well drained cottage cheese, squashed with a fork and combined with 100 ml sour cream or kefir or “quark”, i.e. mixed, smooth fresh cheese)

4 tablespoons sugar

4 eggs or 5 yolks, or a combination of both

5 big or 7 smaller pears (not too ripe, they should stay firm after the baking stage)

2 tablespoons cinnamon or a mixture of cinnamon and ground clove

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Line a greased tart dish with the puff pastry and prick its bottom with a fork.

Cover the pastry case with a sheet of baking paper, cover with dry beans (to stop the pastry from raising) and blind – bake it (before it browns). Remove the baking paper and the beans and put the pastry case aside.

Peel the pears and discard the cores. Cut them into 8 pieces and put into a bowl of cold water mixed with some lemon juice (otherwise they might darken very quickly).

Combine the cheese with the eggs and the sugar.

Pour it over the baked pastry case.

Arrange the pear pieces on the top of the cheese mixture, the rounded part up.

Sprinkle with the cinnamon.

Bake in the oven until the tart’s top is slightly golden.

This tart should definitely be served warm. (If preparing in advance simply reheat it in the oven or a microwave before serving).

Tipsy Cherries in Chocolate

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Cherries from the Sour Cherry Vodka are the most extraordinary by-products I have ever been left with. After the final, straining stage in my alcohol production I discovered the leftover cherries were slightly crystallized, had a very high alcohol content and were simply addictive. I nibbled on them every time I opened the fridge, wondering what cake or confectionery they could fit into. First, I hesitated a bit with the Sour Cherry and Chocolate Pie, but finally decided to make something consumed in smaller portions (the cherries are tipsy and they make one tipsy too…). A simple combination of cherries and dark chocolate ganache resulted in wonderful adult mini – chocolates.

Apart from the amazing, very rich and strong taste, these chocolates are quick to prepare and impossible to fail. Any soft fruit infused in vodka can be used (provided it tastes good of course!). If you don’t have any home vodka leftover fruit, you can simply infuse fruit in alcohol and sugar mixture for several weeks (which will leave you with a decent home-made fruit alcohol…).

Special equipment:

mini-muffin pan/ individual forms (or any other biscuit forms)

a whisk

Preparation: 15 minutes+several hours in the fridge

Ingredients:

100g dark, good quality chocolate

100g liquid cream

approx. 400g fruit left after the Cherry Vodka preparation

Prepare the ganache. Cut the chocolate into squares and put into a shallow bowl.

Bring the cream to a boil. Put aside for one minute. Pour, still hot, on the chocolate, stirring very energetically and whisking it with a whisk. Stop when the chocolate has melted and a thick ganache is obtained.

Throw the drained cherries into the ganache and stir well.

Put the chocolate-cherry mixture into the mini-muffin pan and let it cool in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Remove the mini-muffin pan from the fridge and take the chocolates out very carefully. Present them upside down (they tend to have very unequal surface, and the bottoms are regularly shaped).

French Lemon Tart (or Tartlets)

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My recent cravings for lemon cakes, creams and tarts probably reveal a lack of vitamin C (which probably isn’t there after baking anyway) or, simply, a typical cold days’ need for sunny and vivid colours on the table. Or, maybe, together with sour cherry obsession, they are the obvious signs of my growing preference for acidity… This beautiful tart, served after a nourishing and heavy meal, is not only a refreshing relief for the palate, but also an act of protest against the seasonal gloominess. It is the ideal ending of a spicy meal, such as Beef Rendang, Indian or Thai curry.

Lemon tart is not a newcomer to my kitchen. I have been making the French lemon tart for several years, whenever I had lemon-loving company or when I simply couldn’t stop dreaming about it and finally would end up making a small portion only for myself… Of course, the French are not the only ones to consider the lemon tart as one of their national desserts. However, the thin crust and the absence of cream, flour or condensed milk in the filling make the French version of this worldwide known dish the most subtle and light (by “light”I mean taste, since the tart is far from being low-fat or low-calorie).

My slightly modified recipe can be found in “Le Grand Livre de Cuisine d’Alain Ducasse: Bistrots, Brasseries et Restaurants de Tradition”, a highly reliable source of French recipes. As other Ducasse recipes (crème brûlée, madeleines) I have been making, this one always works perfectly well.

TIPS: If you wish – and have a blowtorch – you can sprinkle the tart with brown sugar and burn it before serving, like a burnt cream. (Personally I prefer it simple or with some grated lemon zest.)

You can make either one big tart or, as you see on the above photo, individual tartlets (with the amounts below you will obtain about 12 standard tartlets). If you decide to make individual tartlets, cut down the baking time as advised below.

Special equipment:

beans for blind baking (I have been using the same real dried cheap beans for several years now)

Preparation: 1 hour + 2 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (one 28 cm diameter tart or about 12 standard tartlets):

Crust:

100 g flour

30 g ground or powdered almonds

90g softened butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons caster sugar

Filling:

200 ml lemon juice

100 g butter

4 eggs

120 g confectioner’s sugar

(grated lemon zest)

(brown sugar)

Prepare the pastry case.

Mix the butter, the almonds, the salt and the sugar in a food processor. When these ingredients are mixed thoroughly, add the flour and mix again.

Stop when you see a big ball is being formed.

Wrap the dough in a cling film and put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes (you can leave it there up to 48 hours).

Take it out of the fridge and let it soften a bit before using it.

Pick the surface with a fork and place it into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Take out the tart dish from the fridge.

Cover the flat surface with a baking sheet and put some dried beans on it. This way the pastry will not rise.

Precook the tart shell (or tartlets shells) until it’s no longer raw, but still white. Take it out, put the beans back into their jar and let the tart shell cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 130°C.

Melt the butter in a pan. Put aside.

Break the eggs in a bowl, add the sugar, the lemon juice and the warm butter. Stir well.

Let it cool down and put into the fridge for at least two hours.

Prunes in Chocolate

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If I hadn’t been encouraged, I would have never thought of considering it a recipe, not to mention posting it! Prunes in Chocolate are the easiest sweet thing I know and probably also a perfect, last-minute and versatile Christmas item. They can be hung as a Christmas tree decoration, they can be given in a bag or box as a small gift, and, especially if coated in dark chocolate, they are an excellent digestive, moderately healthy, tea or coffee snack. The idea is not mine, but an improved reminder of the mass-produced prunes in chocolate I loved as a child.

The “recipe” is not only simple and very quick, but can be infinitely modified and complicated if one wishes and/or has time. Milk or white chocolate can be substituted for dark chocolate and the prunes can be stuffed with marzipan, nuts, jam, jelly or ganache. Any alcohol of your choice can be added to the melted chocolate, and even a mixture of alcohols or no alcohol at all… In short, this recipe can be treated as a basis for different creations. However, if you stick to a thin layer of dark bitter chocolate, it is the lightest version of chocolate candies I know.

Special equipment:

accessories depending on what you want to do with the prunes (gift bags, boxes, paper presentation cases, gift paper and threads to hang them on a tree, etc.)

Preparation: 10 minutes+ cooling time in the fridge

Ingredients:

25 big prunes (stoned)

1 x 100g good dark chocolate

50 ml Hungarian apricot palinka (in other words apricot brandy)

Melt the chocolate on low heat, in a small pan, stirring and not letting the chocolate boil.

Add the alcohol at the end and stir well.

Put the prunes into the chocolate and coat them in it, shaking the pan or stirring with a spoon.

Put them on baking paper or a plate and put into the fridge until the chocolate coating becomes firm.

Take them out of the fridge and do whatever you have planned!

Mandarin Peel Vodka

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Have you ever considered using up mandarin peel? I bet not. Unless discovering a use of a generally scorned and discarded fruit, vegetable or meat part is for you (like for me) one of the most thrilling culinary moments.

This crazy idea started to haunt me as soon as I have peeled this Winter’s first mandarin. When I was at the third one and the beautiful aroma started to spread around the house, I thought I really had to find a way of using it. Since I don’t like candied orange nor lemon zest, I haven’t even bothered to see if it was a possible mandarin peel transformation. Then, when googling “mandarin peel” in different languages I was guided to one of the most fascinating websites: a Polish forum for home wine and liquor makers. The discussion around the mandarin vodka and favourable opinions convinced me quickly it was what I was looking for.

Most Polish home made liquors (called nalewki) require patience and are ready to taste only after a couple of months or even a year. Aging improves them and apparently in the olden times, when life pace was slower, a nalewka was made to celebrate a child’s birth and the bottle opened only at his or her wedding day! Luckily, there are several surprises for the impatient, and the mandarin peel vodka is one of those. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be able to drink it before Christmas!

Since, according to some forum users the vodka made according to the below recipe was too strong, I modified it, diluting the 90% alcohol with water. I am not a chemist nor a home made liquor specialist, but apparently the alcohol has to spend two days diluted with boiled and cooled clean water (and never the same day you start preparing the vodka).

Warning! Since I have never tasted mandarin vodka, not to mention making it, I cannot guarantee the result (but will make an update – hopefully enthusiastic – in 16 days!).

UPDATE: tasted after one month, the mandarin vodka is surprisingly delicious for such an effortless preparation. It is a bit sweet (not as sweet as liqueurs), but quite strong! The mandarin aroma is overwhelming! Some who tasted it say it reminds them of Cointreau, but I think it’s exaggerated (Cointreau has a much more complex taste and aroma!). In short, it’s really worth trying, and maybe it can be added to drinks, instead of Cointreau…

Preparation: 16-18 days

Ingredients:

3-4 small mandarins

200g caster sugar

0,5 l 90% alcohol (I diluted it with 170 ml boiled and cooled water and kept it together for two days in a jar)

200 ml water

Peel the mandarins. Dry the peel (for example on a radiator) and stop drying as soon as it cracks (it took me 24 hours).

Weigh it and keep 5 grams of the dried peel.

Put the mandarin peel in a big jar. Pour over the alcohol or the alcohol+water.

Close the jar. Put it in a warm place (here radiators are useful once more, but don’t put the jar directly on them!).

After two days strain the peel and throw it away, keeping of course the infused alcohol!

Prepare a syrup with the sugar and the 200 ml water.

When it’s still hot (but not boiling), pour gradually the infused alcohol, stirring.

Pour the vodka into a bottle. Close it and store in a dark place for two weeks.

At the beginning the colour will be glowing yellow, but it will “calm” a bit with time and become yellow straw.

Filter it (for example through a coffee paper filter or a piece of gauze plied in 4) into another bottle.

Close it well with a cork or a screw cap (or taste it straight away!).

Quince Sauce

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Saying the quince sauce is made of the leftovers is not a very good advertisement for this delicious preparation. It doesn’t change the fact that this is what I did this weekend with the cooked quince, after the juice has been strained to make the quince jelly (click here to see the details). Since there is hardly any juice left, this sauce is very thick. It can also be prepared of course from the scratch, starting with the raw quince, and skipping the jelly stage. Then it will take a bit more time.

The sauce has a beautiful pale orange hue, a fabulous smell, recalling a very delicate honey, and a slightly tangy taste. It is perfect on toast, as a pie or another pastry filling. Personally I am more impatient to taste this “by-product” than the main, more difficult, famous quince jelly.

If, like me, you have made quince jelly, the sauce preparation will hardly take half an hour (counting from the moment the juice is strained) and, like every fruit sauce, this one requires a food mill.

Special equipment: a food mill

Preparation: 30 minutes (or 1h30 if using raw quince)

Ingredients:

2 kg cooked quince, left after the jelly preparation (but weighed before cooking) or 2 kg raw quince

at least 1 kg caster sugar

juice from one lemon

(If using raw quince wash the fruit, scraping the soft hair and cutting off the stems. Cut it rougly in four or more pieces and put them in a big shallow pan. Pour a litre of water, cover the pan and cook it at medium heat until the fruit is well cooked and almost falls into pieces.)

Pass the cooked quince through a food mill, put (with the juice, if you weren’t making the jelly) into a big pan.

Add the lemon juice, the sugar and cook, stirring around 15 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce starts boiling. Taste if the sauce is sweet enough, add more sugar if needed, cook a bit to dissolve it.

(If you weren’t making the quince jelly, pour the lemon juice and cook until the sauce has the required consistency, add the sugar and cook 15 more minutes, then taste and add more sugar if needed, cook a couple of minutes stirring).

Pour the sauce, still hot, into sterilised jars. Cover with lids. Leave the jars to cool.

Quince Jelly

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For those who don’t know the quince, it’s a beautiful plump yellow fruit which shape might be described as something between a pear and an apple. The taste however has got nothing in common. The quince has a wonderful honey-like aroma and contains a lot of pectin, hence it’s perfect transformed into jelly. When unripe, the quince has greyish soft hair covering the skin. Raw quince has a very tart unpleasant taste and shows its gustative qualities only when cooked or preserved.

I made my first quince jelly last year, when I was offered tons of fruit from my family. This year, however, I was sure I had missed the quince season… Then, last Saturday, I finally managed a trip to my market and was simply euphoric at the sight of what was probably my last chance of the year. Since the fruits were particularly big, ripe and beautiful, I have taken practically all those which weren’t too much bruised or rotten.

Even though all you need is quince and caster sugar, the jelly is not easy to make. The whole process seems simple, but getting the right consistency is difficult and irritating. Mine were very ripe, so they had less pectin and reaching the right jelly consistency was longer. On the other hand, since these were the ripest quinces I have ever had, the smell and the red brick colour were pure magic…

The yield is very low, but the good news is the fruit used in making the jelly can be transformed too! More news tomorrow!

Preparation: 2 hours

Ingredients:

at least 2 kg quince (the yield is very low, I obtained two small jars out of two kg quince)

white sugar

Wash the quince, scraping the soft hair and cutting off the stems. Cut them rougly in four or more pieces and put them in a big shallow pan (together with the pits, since they contain lots of pectin).

Pour a litre of water, cover the pan and cook it at medium heat until the fruit is well cooked and almost falls into pieces.

Strain the juice. Weigh it and add to it the same weight of sugar (it is also possible, if the quince is very ripe, to put half of the sugar, thus obtaining a slightly tangy jelly).

(Don’t throw away the cooked fruit! Store it in a cool place until the following day. More advice tomorrow!)

Put a small plate in the the coldest part of the fridge.

Start cooking on a medium heat, stirring from time to time.

After 30 minutes make a first test of the jelly consistency. Take the small plate out of the fridge, pour a small drop of the jelly and move the plate.

If the drop stays in place and doesn’t flow, the consistency is right.

Test the consistency every ten minutes and don’t overcook the jelly. Overcooked it takes a burnt caramel taste.

/At this point you can either freeze it (after the jelly has cooled down) or keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or process it in the jars, as described below, and store it in your pantry for at least a year!/

Pour the jelly, still hot, into sterilised jars. Cover with lids. Leave the jars to cool.

Tomorrow I’ll explain what to do with the leftover cooked fruit…

Thumbprint Almond Cookies

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These quick, easy and surprisingly flavoursome cookies are inspired by a Gourmet website recipe. They are a great occasion to use up the opened jam jars or the surplus of the home-made jam no longer fitting even to the tiniest jar. Of course, it is possible to fill them with fresh fruit, chocolate, nutella or whatever one likes (however some types of filling should be added after the baking stage I guess… otherwise it might burn). Surprisingly they are not dry at all, in fact they are a bit chewy and definitely addictive…

I modified a bit the recipe calling for matzo bread, unfortunately impossible to find where I live. I substituted it with basic, slightly salty crackers and they worked very well adding a salty accent. Thus, not only have I used up my open jam jars, but also the crackers I’ve had for weeks in my cupboard). I omitted almond and vanilla extract, as even without those the cookies have a very rich almond flavour and don’t need any additional vanilla taste in my opinion.

Special equipment: cookies/tartlets/muffin forms make the baking process much easier

Preparation: 30-40 minutes+ 1h30 min in the fridge

Ingredients:

45g crackers (matzo bread in the original recipe)

80 g ground almonds

100g melted butter

130g caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

a couple of tablespoons jam or marmelade

Mix everything in a food processor. Put into the fridge for at least 1 hour to become firm.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Fill in the greased mini-muffin – or other – forms with a 2 cm thick layer of the dough. (You can also form circles and put them simply on a baking sheet, but in my case the cookies spread around them and became flat).

With your thumb (or another similarly shaped tool) make a small indentation in the middle of each cookie. Put once more into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Take the cookies out from the fridge and fill the indentations with jam or the filling of your choice.

Bake around 10 minutes till they become slightly golden.

Take them out of the oven and take out of the forms when they are cold.

They keep for several days covered with a plastic film.

King of the Pippins Sauce

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I would like to introduce you to the King of the Pippins, the most beautiful and aromatic apple in the world. If you have ever found such apples on the market and were put off by their greyish spots or uneven colour, wait to cook, bake them or simply leave them for several days and feel the wonderful smell they leave in your kitchen. Then you’ll understand why in the olden days apples were used as interior perfume.

Developed by the French in the 18th century, King of the Pippins (or “reine de reinettes” in French) is one of the oldest apple varieties. Due to its strong aroma, its sharp, but not acid taste, it is considered perfect for cooking, baking and preserving. Personally, I don’t undertstand why it is not considered also as one of the best apples even eaten raw. But then, I do not belong to the majority of consumers who love overly sweet, bland (read: tasteless) apples…. provided they are red and shiny. Luckily King of the Pippins is not forgotten by my farmers’ market and I can buy it every year!

As you may have already guessed King of the Pippins is not the kind of apple found all year long in supermarkets nor industrially farmed, so if you want to keep a bit of its exceptional taste, make some jars of apple sauce and use it later in cakes or pies. When making apple sauce I usually add either vanilla or cinnamon, but King of the Pippins is an exception. It is simply too good to be mixed with any spice, and the sauce has such a beautiful golden colour it would be pity to spoil it with anything.

As in the case of Pear and Prune Sauce, this one can be made in two times, for example the apples’ softening stage one day and the rest the following day.

Preparation: 2 hours (+ hot water bath processing)

Special equipment: a food mill (a sieve and a spoon my be used instead, but it takes much longer)

Ingredients (yield: 4 – 5 x 300ml jars):

2 kg apples

1 kg or more caster sugar (the amount depends on the apples’ degree of maturity)

500ml water

juice from one big lemon

Cut up the pears roughly in 4 pieces each, discarding only the stems. Put them into a big pan (there should be some free space at the top), add the water, cover and cook on medium heat until they are completely soft and fall into pieces.

Pass them through a food mill (the skins and pips should be left in the fruit mill).

Put back into the pan, add the lemon juice and the sugar. Cook uncovered on a medium heat.

After 30 minutes check the consistency. When it has reached the thickness of a sauce, taste it and add more sugar if required. Cook 10 more minutes.

Pour the sauce, still hot, into sterilised jars. Cover with lids. Leave the jars to cool.

Pear and Prune Sauce

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If you have two spare hours this weekend and love pears, make some pear sauce! Observing my farmers’ market I presume now is the best moment to make one: the prices are low and the pears are plentiful. Usually the cheapest pears are slightly under-ripe, ugly (but not bruised!), small ones, and these are perfect for a combination with prunes or spices. Whatever variety you use, the pears shouldn’t be too ripe or too floury in texture. If they are completely unripe, you only need to wait a couple of days and they’ll ripen a bit.

Once preserved, fruit sauce is very versatile. It can be eaten as a dessert, a tea time snack (the best one is cold, kept several hours in the fridge) or used as a pie, tart or another cake filling. The sauce can be done solely with pears, but when you get bored doing the same thing, cinnamon, vanilla or cloves are a nice change. My personal favourite is pears-prunes version, the prunes adding a bit of tartness and character.

Fruit sauce is ridiculously easy to prepare. No need to peel, to cut up finely or to stir continuously and the process can be divided in two parts, which means the first stage can be done one day and the second the following day.

If you don’t have a food mill yet, this is the moment to buy one. It’s usually very cheap (at least in Switzerland and France) and is sold in most kitchenware shops or even supermarkets. Several years ago I bought the cheapest I could find and it’s perfect! When using prunes, a food processor might be handy too, but you can chop the prunes instead.

Preparation: 2 hours (+hot water bath processing)

Special equipment: a food mill (a sieve and a spoon may be used instead, but it takes much longer)

Ingredients (yield: 4 – 5 300ml jars):

2 kg pears

1 kg or more caster sugar (the amount depends on the pears’ sweetness)

500ml water

20 prunes (stoned)

juice from one big lemon

Pass them through a food mill (the skins and pips should be left in the fruit mill).

Put back into the pan, add the lemon juice, the sugar and the prunes (chopped if you don’t have a food processor; whole if you have one). Cook uncovered on a medium heat.

After 30 minutes check the consistency. When it has the thickness of a sauce, take off the heat.

Mix in a food processor, put back to cook (omit this step if you’ve chopped the prunes beforehand). Check the sweetness, add more sugar if required and cook 10 more minutes.

/At this point you can either freeze it (after the sauce has cooled down), or keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or process it in the jars, as described below, and store it in your pantry for at least a year!/

Pour the sauce, still hot, into sterilised jars. Cover with lids. Leave the jars to cool.

Place the cool jars into a big pan, bottom lined with an old kitchen towel folded in two (this will prevent the jars from breaking),, cover up with hot – but not boiling- water to the level just below the lid. Bring to boil and keep on a very low heat, in simmering water, for around 20 minutes.
Stick on self-adhesive labels, write the name of the sauce and don’t forget to mark the date.