Category Archives: SWEET

Strawberry Gratin (Strawberries Under a Creamy Blanket)

36 Comments

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:

strmoussecoulispp

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

48 Comments

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:

strawbmoussep

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.

Palets bretons (Sweet and Salty Brittany Cookies)

38 Comments

paletspp

This was one of the first recipes I have posted. I hardly had any visitors at the time, so I have decided to dig it up and write about these French biscuits (or cookies). They may look ordinary, but their delicate crumbly texture, buttery taste and a delicate touch of saltiness make them very special.

“Palet” (pronounced without the final “t”) means a “puck” , and “jeu de palets” is a Brittany regional game with pucks which shape is similar to those used in hockey. Brittany is famous for its rich in butter sweets – usually made with salted butter – and one of those is a crumbly cookie, called “palet” in reference to its puck shape. They have a buttery taste, are slightly salty and sweet at the same time, very crumbly and melt in your mouth too quickly… Palets bretons are quite popular all around the  country and can be found in every supermarket, but they are easy to prepare and obviously taste better baked at home.

Together with Crème brûlée palets are a good way to use up egg yolks (if you have made Coconut Cookies for example…or another dish calling for whites uniquely).

There are French internet recipes galore for these cookies. The one I tried for the first time and have always made with success comes the French blog Miamm…Maman Cuisine, where I also found the trick to keep their shape (see below).

TIPS: Click here to see a few ideas of how to use up the leftover egg whites.

You can sprinkle the cookies with coarse salt for an extra crunch and extra saltiness, but I don’t advise it for the first batch you prepare (you can test on one or two biscuits first).

Special equipment: muffins or similar size forms

Preparation: almost two hours (including 1 hour in the fridge)

Calories (the whole batch): about 1700 kcal

Ingredients for 12-15 pucks:

80g (about 3 oz) salted butter (or unsalted butter+1/2 teaspoon salt, but salty butter is better)

80 g (about 3 oz) confectioner’s sugar

140g (about 5 oz) flour

1/3 small package of baking powder (1 1/2 heaped teaspoon) 

2 yolks

(coarse good quality sea salt)

Mix the yolks and the sugar well in a food processor. Add the softened butter, mix again.

Add the flour and the baking powder.

Knead it for 5 minutes.

Form a thick sausage (diameter=the bottom of one whole in a muffin form), wrap it in plastic film and put into the fridge for 1 hour (or more, until the dough becomes hard enough to be easily sliced).

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Take the dough out of the fridge, unwrap it, cut into 1 cm (about 0,4 in) thick slices.

Put them inside the muffin forms (this way they’ll be more or less of equal size and will only rise instead of spreading around).

If you don’t have muffin forms or other cookie forms, simply put the cut cookies on a baking sheet, but at your own responsibility: they’ll probably spread around and become flatter than the ones “imprisoned” in a mould.

(You can sprinkle them with coarse salt for an extra salty crunch.)

Bake for 15-20 minutes till golden.

Rhubarb Kisiel (Warm Gooey Rhubarb Pudding)

31 Comments

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):

rhubarbdrinkpp

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:

wobblyrhubp

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.

Light Crème Brûlée (Light Burnt Cream)

33 Comments

cremebruleep

Even though most people consider crème brûlée (or burnt cream) a typically French dessert, British sources often cite Trinity College, Cambridge, as the place where it first appeared at the end of the XIXth century. The famous British food writer, Jane Grigson, says (in her excellent English Food) she has come across burnt cream recipes in several ancient English cookery books, some dating back to the XVIIth century. The French claim to be the inventors and also cite a XVIIth century (1691) book “Le Cuisinier royal et bourgeois” by François Massialot as the first occurrence of crème brûlée. The doubt of the origins will probably always haunt both sides of the Channel, but whatever the origins, crème brûlée or burnt cream is an invention of a genius.

The recipe I share with you is the very first I used and certainly the last one, not because it is lighter (half milk, half cream), but because it produces the best crème brûlée I know. I found it in “Le Grand Livre de Cuisine d’Alain Ducasse: Bistrots, Brasseries et Restaurants de Tradition” written by one of the most renowned French chefs, who is also among the three most Michelin-starred in the world. Alain Ducasse is not any diet guru, the book has got nothing to do with any weight loss plans (see the title of his book!) and the recipe wasn’t labelled as lightened. It is simply excellent, elegantly fresh and as such didn’t need any explanations. The addition of milk also illustrates the way the traditional cuisine has been changing in hands of modern French chefs and confectioners, following the way our lifestyles and nutritious needs change, but wisely, i.e. without any taste compromise.

I have already posted this recipe a long time ago, but I thought it merits to be mentioned again, especially since now I know I’m not the only one blogger who looks for lighter desserts and also because some of my friends have recently been trying to lighten their eating habits ;-)

If you feel like playing with this classic dessert, I strongly recommend this refreshing and amazing matcha crème brûlée, my second favourite:

matchacrbrp

TIPS: Blowtorch is a very good investment since, at least from my experience, it’s impossible to obtain the contrasting textures and temperatures crème brûlée is famous for with an oven broiler (the cream warms up). You can use blowtorch on many other custardy desserts and sweet tarts.

Click here for a few ideas of how to use up the leftover egg whites.

If you don’t have brown cane sugar, you can use caster sugar to burn, but the taste is worse.

If you want to prepare a smaller batch (serving max. 4 people), divide the below amounts by two, but use 5 egg yolks.

If you travel to France and order burnt cream in an unknown restaurant, I would strongly advise asking if it’s burnt just before being served. I had several times an unpleasant surprise of soggy caramel and a uniform temperature in restaurants where the cream is burnt before the opening hours and sits for several hours in the fridge.

Special equipment: a blowtorch

Preparation: around 2 hours+a couple of hours in the fridge

Calories (the whole batch, made with skimmed milk, 25% fat cream and including the burnt sugar): about 3200 kcal

Ingredients (serves six – eight, depending on the size of the baking dishes; if you use the ones I did (8-9 cm diameter) you will obtain eight portions):

9 egg yolks

500 ml/17 oz milk

500 ml/17 oz liquid cream (min. 20% fat, without any thickeners)

4 vanilla pods

9 slightly heaped tablespoons caster sugar

about100 g/about 1/2 cup cane sugar (but not the moist one!)

Cut the vanilla pods lengthwise in two.

Put into a saucepan with milk and cream. Bring to the boil, put aside for 30 minutes.

Strain it. Scrape off the vanilla seeds and blend with milk and cream. The seeds are not necessary, but I think the cream looks nicer with small black spots.

Preheat the oven at 100°C.

Mix the yolks with sugar in a big bowl. Pour the warm (not hot!) milk with cream over it and mix again.

Pour the mixture into burnt cream dishes or other small individual ramekins.

Bake it for approximately 45 minutes. (The custards are ready when only their centres are slightly trembling when moved).

Take out the creams and let them cool down. Put into the fridge for several hours.

Just before serving, take the creams out of the fridge and pat dry with paper towel (there will be some water drops on top and it will make the burning difficult).

Sprinkle with dark cane sugar and caramelise it with a special blowtorch.

Serve immediately while the top is still warm and crunchy and the cream below is very cold.

ANZAC Biscuits with Dried Cranberry

41 Comments
anzac_cranp

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):

anzac_p

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

kokos_pj

Easiest Chewy Coconut Cookies (aka Macaroons)

bountytrufflespj

Coconut, Chocolate and Rum Truffles

cocochococakepj

Moist Chocolate and Coconut Cake

cococakep

or the above Moist Coconut Cake but without chocolate

coffeecoconutcreamp

Coffee and Coconut Cream with Agar

chocococo2p

Light Chocolate and Coconut Cream (also with agar)

matchacoconutp

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.

Easter Party Ideas

46 Comments

wontoncupspj

Wonton Cups, or Edible Snack Containers

Zsuzsa, my blogging friend from Zsuzsa is in the Kitchen, has recently invited me to join her and other bloggers (Eva from Takarékos Konyha, Elisabeth from Food and Thrift and Eva from Kitchen Inspirations) and, just like them, post my Easter menu suggestions. I was honoured, but at first I panicked because apart from a Chicken Terrine (see below) I don’t really have traditional Easter dishes on my blog. Both Zsuzsa and Elisabeth have convinced me to present whatever I might serve for such an occasion, even if it is not traditional in any country or region of the world. Thank you, ladies, for your advice! Thus, I have chosen some festive dishes I love, regardless their origins or relation to Easter celebrations. Thank you so much, Zsuzsa, for your kind invitation. I hope my eclectic choice, far from Easter traditions will not disappoint you.

Here is a list of dishes I would take into consideration if I had guests for Easter (of course I wouldn’t serve all of them!). All of them can be served at a buffet-style party, my recent favourite way to entertain. Such a concept usually means more work beforehand because, contrary to traditional meals, one cannot serve just three dishes, but this way I offer a bigger choice to the guests, who are not forced to eat all they are served, but most of all such a party has a more relaxed atmosphere. Apart from one exception, I have chosen easy recipes, which either can be prepared very quickly or made in advance. They have both Western and Asian origins, so I hope you will find here some useful ideas, not necessarily for Easter.

First of all, I would never skip the obligatory Wonton Cups, or Edible Snack Containers (see the photo above). Versatile, cute and easy, these edible containers are nowadays a staple not only when I have guests (thank you, Juliana!).

lastmcrackersp

Last-minute Crackers can be prepared really just before the guests arrive as long as you have some puff pastry in the fridge. These star-shaped crackers were prepared for Christmas, but you can give them any shape you wish, such as bunnies…

olives2pp

These olives are so easy to prepare you will never consider buying them seasoned by someone else again.

mackerspreadp

This Smoked Mackerel and Egg Spread can be prepared with any smoked fish of your choice, of course.

taramosalatapj

Recently discovered Taramosalata (Fish Roe Spread) is one more thing I will never ever even think of buying. Home-made version is incomparably better.

patepp

Light Chicken Terrine with Nutmeg is actually the only dish I used to have as a child for Easter and other festive occasions.

goatcakepp

Savoury Cake with Goat Cheese and Dried Tomatoes (aka Goat Cheese and Dried Tomatoes Bread) is a wonderful alternative to canapés.

cakejamp

Cake with Ham and Olives, another canapés substitution, is a real crowd-pleaser.

makishrimpp

If you feel like serving Japanese food (why not?), try preparing Maki Sushi with Shrimp, Avocado and Cucumber. They will not necessarily look as perfect as in your sushi shop, but they are really easy to prepare.

roastrollspp

Spring Rolls with Leftover Roast and Carrots, an Asian sandwich alternative, can also be prepared with the remains of your roast, after the Easter holidays.

chickensesamep

Sesame-Coated Chicken Nuggets (Tori no goma age) can be made in advance and will please all the sesame fans.

chickenleekp

Japanese Chicken and Leek Skewers (Negima) are brushed with teriyaki glaze and usually please every guest.

asparagusporkpp

Asparagus Teriyaki Pork Rolls are incredibly easy to prepare and are one of my favourite ways to serve asparagus.

chterrinespeculoospj

Unbaked chocolate Cake with Biscuits (Chocolate Terrine with Speculoos) is a rich creamy dessert which doesn’t require baking and is incredibly simple to prepare.

bountytrufflespj

Coconut, Chocolate and Rum Truffles (Bounty Truffles). Who doesn’t like chocolate truffles?

matchatruffles3p

Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles are the only ones which might be tricky to prepare, but they are green, fresh, festive and have this amazing slightly bitter matcha flavour…

prunechdp

Chocolate and prunes are all you need to prepare these luscious Prunes in Chocolate, a quicker and easier alternative to chocolate truffles.

kiwic4p

This Kiwi and Rum Cocktail seemed perfect for a spring party.

I strongly encourage you to check the wonderful Easter menu suggestions proposed by my blogging friends and would like to wish you all a very happy Easter and wonderful holidays to those who don’t celebrate it!

Light Unbaked Cheesecake with Passion fruit

34 Comments

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:

strcheesepp

Unbaked Strawberry Cheesecake in a Glass

blueberrycheesep

Unbaked Blueberry Cheesecake in a Glass

 

unbakedch4pp

Unbaked Vanilla Cheesecake

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

passiond2p

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.

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.

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

35 Comments

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:

wobblyrh2p

Wobbly Rhubarb Delight

chocococo2p

Light Chocolate and Coconut Cream

matchacoconutp

Matcha and Coconut Cream with Agar

cococreampp

Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches

coffeecoconutcreamp

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).

Easiest Chewy Coconut Cookies

29 Comments

kokos_pj

If sometimes you don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen, but are in urgent need of easy sweet snacks, you might be interested in these cookies. I believe they are similar to what is called “coconut macaroons” in North America, but they are much simpler and quicker to prepare. They require maximum ten minutes of work before being baked, you don’t need any kitchen appliances and, last but not least, they call for only three ingredients, which most of you probably always have in the house (sugar, egg whites and desiccated coconut). This, accidentally, makes them gluten free, if I’m not mistaken. As you will see below, you don’t even need any measuring cups or scales: a tablespoon is all you need. Oh, and I would have forgotten: these cookies are the first thing that comes to my mind when I have leftover egg whites.

I posted them a very very long time ago, but I prepare them so often, I couldn’t resist this quick reminder. I have been making them in the same way for many years and this ridiculously simple recipe is the result of my attempts to copy chewy coconut cookies I used to love as a child. I have however a warning to all those who prefer less sugar in desserts:  these cookies are sweeter than most of the desserts I post here! For once I don’t mind it because this sticky, chewy texture I go crazy for couldn’t be achieved with less sugar. I sometimes bake them in mini-muffin moulds, but most of the time I don’t bother and form “pucks” with moist hands and then bake them directly on baking paper.

If you don’t like coconut, you might find these biscuits interesting:

hazelnutcookiespp

Easy Chewy Hazelnut Cookies

TIPS :  Click here to see a few ideas of how to use up leftover egg yolks if you are left with some (I strongly recommend crème brûlée, maybe even with matcha…)

Since the coconut and sugar dryness vary (not to mention the egg whites size), the given quantities can be only treated as approximate. Check the consistency: you should be able to form balls from the dough, but it should remain very sticky and moist.

Preparation: about 30 minutes

Ingredients (about 15 cookies):

2 egg whites
7 flat tablespoons caster sugar
12 well-heaped tablespoons desiccated coconut

Preheat the oven at 170°C.

Take a bowl, mix everything with a spoon, adding gradually sugar and coconut. Since the coconut and sugar dryness vary (not to mention the egg whites size), the given quantities can be only treated as approximate. Check the consistency: you should be able to form balls from the dough, but it should remain very sticky and moist.

Form small balls (medium apricot size) with moist hands, put on baking paper or greased baking tray and squash slightly.

You can also use mini-muffin moulds (any moulds you have and like will do).

Bake the biscuits until slightly golden (about 20 minutes in my oven).

They keep for several days if covered with plastic film.

Unbaked Layered Chocolate Cake (Stefanka)

39 Comments

stefankapj

My blogging friends’ impressive layered cakes (check Zsuzsa’s Chocolate and Caramel Apple cakes and Mr. Three Cookies’s multi-layered Russian Honey Cake) brought back one of my sweetest childhood memories: a frugal layered cake called Stefanka, one of my favourite chocolate treats in those days. Contrary to Poppy Seed and Chocolate Cake, my eternal number one, but reserved for special occasions, Stefanka was a very simple and quick staple weekend chocolate treat.

The original cake calls for several layers of “real” baked pastry, usually made with honey (a common point with the Russian Honey Cake made by Mr. Three-Cookies) and two different filling versions exist: cocoa butter cream or custardy, white cream thickened with semolina. In the simplified, quick homely interpretation my mum preferred (very popular in households at the time) baked layers are replaced with Petit Beurre biscuits. The white cream option was of course out of question in a house full of chocoholics. My only modification in this cake is using my beloved chocolate ganache  instead of the traditional cocoa butter cream, which I find too heavy and fatty (and also not very rich in chocolate flavours). “Stefanka” is in a way a diminutive of “Stefania” and I still remember how surprised I was by its obvious similarity in both name and composition to the Hungarian Stefània Cake I saw at Zsuzsa’s blog. I haven’t made any research yet, but I would love to discover the mysterious travels of this recipe until it became so popular in two different countries.

As I have already mentioned, this is a very easy cake (for me the only tricky part is distributing the cream evenly, as you can see at the photo above…. but this doesn’t influence the taste). In  short, if you have square/rectangular biscuits, good chocolate, some cream in the fridge, then you have everything you need to prepare a delicious chocolate dessert. The soaking mixture for biscuits is not obligatory, but it makes the biscuits softer and adds a rummy flavour.

Other layered cakes you might also like:

tortm2p

the above mentioned Poppy Cake with Chocolate Ganache

 

and the ridiculously easy Apple Cake.

UPDATE! I would have forgotten the most challenging layered cake I have ever made:

the unusual, surprising Hungarian Zserbo (Gerbaud) of which I am particularly proud (I cannot say this alas about the photo…)

TIPS: If you have never seen Petit Beurre, it’s a rectangular butter biscuit; here is the link to some photos:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petit_beurre

Any similar, neutral-tasting butter biscuit can be used instead of course as long as it’s rectangular or square.

If you don’t have any nuts to sprinkle on top (or if you don’t like nuts), crush one or two leftover biscuits and use them instead.

Addition of instant coffee to chocolate desserts is my regular habit, but it is not obligatory of course.

Preparation: 1 hour+ at least 5 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (serves 8):

1x 200 g/about 7 oz package of Petit Beurre biscuits (or similar, rectangular or square thin sweet biscuits)

Cream (chocolate ganache):

200 g/ about 7 oz good quality chocolate (dark, at least 70% cocoa)

170 ml/about 2/3 cup liquid cream (I have used 25% fat)

(1 teaspoon instant coffee)

Soaking mixture for biscuits (not obligatory):

1 small coffee cup of very strong black tea

3-4 tablespoons ml rum or other aromatic alcohol (or 1 teaspoon artificial rum flavouring)

1 tablespoon sugar

(walnuts to sprinkle on top)

Prepare the ganache.

Bring the cream to a boil. Put the pan aside and quickly stirring, incorporate the broken chocolate until it melts.

(Add the coffee, if using).

Put into the fridge for about one hour (it should thicken a bit, but be still a bit runny).

Place 5 biscuits in a row on a cutting board (or other hard rectangular surface) lined with baking paper.

Sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of soaking mixture.

Spoon over the biscuits about 1/4 of the ganache (don’t worry if it leaks at the sides a bit).

Place another layer of 5 biscuits, but starting with half a biscuit and finishing with half a biscuit too (this way the spaces between biscuits are not in the same place and the cake will not desintegrate).

Sprinkle with soaking mixture, spoon over the ganache.

Cover with another layer of biscuits (this time starting with a whole biscuit) and repeat until you finish the fourth layer.

Sprinkle with soaking mixture and soon over it the remaining ganache.

Gather the ganache that leaked at the sides, smoothing it at the sides of the cake.

Sprinkle with walnuts or crushed biscuits.

Refrigerate for at least several hours (the best results are after a night in the fridge).

 

 

Coconut, Chocolate and Rum Truffles (Bounty Truffles)

45 Comments

bountytrufflespj

As soon as I think about the approaching Christmas, I feel like making truffles. I am always planning to offer them as edible presents and… finally end up eating most of them on my own (although I did manage to offer some Prunes in Chocolate last year!). Last week I was looking for something new and browsing through cooking blogs I finally found on this wonderful blog the inspiration I was looking for: Bounty truffles. Unable to stick to almost any sweet recipe, I have modified this one too, mainly replacing butter and sugar with white chocolate, switching to dark chocolate and using real rum.

After all these changes I found the result surprisingly successful (even though my truffles are far from looking as neat and perfect as the original). If you share my passion for coconut and dark chocolate, you will certainly love them. The rum adds a certain lightness, freshness and elegance you shouldn’t refuse these otherwise homely, rich sweet treats. Therefore I want to emphasize that unless you hate rum or cannot consume alcohol (I don’t talk about those who get drunk easily because 2 tablespoons alcohol in 20 truffles wouldn’t affect even the weakest head), do not skip it!

If you are not fond of the above mixture of flavours, you might like some of these:

Matcha, White Chocolate and Oat Truffles

Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles

Prunes in Chocolate

thriftyp

Thrifty Truffles

TIPS: Melting dark chocolate here might prove difficult for those who have never made it. There are several methods: microwaving, melting in a hot water bath and simple melting in a pan over very low heat. My favourite is the latter. I break the chocolate into pieces, in a small pan, on very low heat, constantly stirring. The important thing is not to let the chocolate boil. Take the pan off the heat before the chocolate melts completely (I usually wait until 90% of chocolate melts) and keep on stirring. It will melt in the already warm melted remaining chocolate and this way you will avoid bringing chocolate to a boiling point, which makes it impossible to use. I usually melt butter this way together with chocolate.

The above method doesn’t work for everyone though (it’s easy to boil the chocolate and spoil it), so you might want to try the safer method  recently mentioned here by A_Boleyn: put the broken chocolate into a metal bowl. Place it over a pan of boiling water. Turn off the heat and stir the chocolate vigorously until it melts.

Melting in a microwave consists of doing it in several short stages, but the details depend on the chocolate amount and the microwave you use (Eva does it in several 15-second stages).

(White chocolate is melted here together with cream, see below).

If you want to sprinkle the truffles with coconut, moist them slightly with water and the sprinkled coconut will stick.

Preparation: 20 minutes + 2-3 hours

Ingredients (yields about 20 truffles):

100 ml/about 3,5 oz cream (at least 18 % fat)

100 g/about 3,5 oz white chocolate

2 cups/500 ml desiccated coconut

100 g/about 3,5 oz dark or milk chocolate (whichever you use, choose a good quality product; it will make a huge difference)

2 tablespoons rum

Pour the cream to a small pan.

Break the white chocolate into pieces and throw into the cream.

Heat the mixture of cream and chocolate on very low heat, constantly stirring until the chocolate is dissolved. (Do not overcook!)

Put aside.

Add the rum, the coconut and mix well.

Put into the fridge for 30 minutes until the mixture becomes very cold and easier to handle.

Form truffles, rolling them delicately on the inside of your palms.

Put them back into the fridge, placing them on baking paper (so that they don’t stick).

After 1 hour take the truffles out of the fridge.

Melt the dark or milk chocolate (see TIPS above).

Dip each coconut truffle in a bowl with melted chocolate and put back on the baking paper.
Refrigerate for at least one hour.

 

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

61 Comments

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).

 

 

Chocolate Terrine with Speculoos (Unbaked Chocolate Cake with Biscuits)

48 Comments

chterrinespeculoospj

Chocoholics: beware! This chocolate terrine is one of the most dangerous home desserts I know. Once you taste it, you will constantly be tempted to prepare it once more and once more and once more… When you realise that the recipe is ridiculously easy and the result guarantees admiring looks from your guests, you will understand why I praise it so highly. Katerina from Culinary Flavours is the person I hold entirely responsible for turning me into an addict to this rich, creamy, decadent chocolate delicacy. Her seducing photos wouldn’t simply get out of my mind and when I took a first bite, I found it hard to believe that such a quick and simple preparation can lead to something so sublime.

Katerina’s recipe was called “marquise”, but it could also be named “terrine” because similar desserts bear both names in French cookery books. She has used American chocolate cookies; I have used Speculoos, the famous Belgian spice biscuits, which go so well with the winter season we are approaching. Whether you call it terrine or marquise, whatever biscuits and aromatic alcohol you add, you will certainly receive sincere compliments from your guests and family. Thank you, Katerina, for making me discover one of the easiest and most impressive chocolate treats. I will certainly serve it for Christmas.

I have slightly modified Katerina’s recipe and cut down the amounts by half. Since it’s very filling and rich, this mini-terrine/marquise will suffice for six people. For a bigger group or for second servings, double the amounts. Click here to see Katerina’s original recipe and to have a stroll through her wonderful blog with recipes from Greece (her home country) and all around the world.

TIPS: If you don’t melt chocolate often, this might be the only tricky part of this otherwise easy cake. There are different ways to do it, but my favourite is to melt it, broken into pieces, in a small pan, on very low heat, constantly stirring. The important thing is not to let the chocolate boil. Take the pan off the heat before the chocolate melts completely (I usually wait until 90% of chocolate melts) and keep on stirring. It will melt in the already warm melted remaining chocolate and this way you will avoid bringing chocolate to a boiling point, which makes it impossible to use. I usually melt butter this way together with chocolate.

Preparation: 20 minutes+ a night in the fridge

Ingredients (serves six, fills a 4 x 20 cm/about 1,5 x 8 in baking dish or 8-10 x 10 cm/about 3-4 x 4 in square dish):

125 g/4,4 oz good quality dark chocolate (do not use the “baking” chocolate, but good quality one, without vegetable grease and with min. 70% cocoa)

75 ml/2,5 fl oz liquid cream (at least 25% fat)

50 g/1,8 oz butter

60 g/2 oz Speculoos or other biscuits of your choice

(1/2 flat teaspoon instant coffee)

4 flat tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

1 tablespoon rum (or any aromatic alcohol that would go well with your biscuits and chocolate)

(crumbled biscuits, cocoa or confectioner’s sugar to sprinkle over the marquise before serving)

Melt the chocolate and the butter (in a pan (see TIPS), in a microwave or in a hot water bath).

Add the sugar, the cream, the alcohol and stir well.

Break the biscuits to small pieces (but not to powder!) and incorporate into the chocolate mixture.

Line a baking dish with plastic film (I advise to fold it in two so that it doesn’t break when you take out the cold marquise).

Pour the chocolate mixture into the dish, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Serve very cold, straight from the fridge, sprinkled with crumbled biscuits, cocoa or confectioner’s sugar or the way it is.

 

 

 

 

 

Moist Carrot Cake

48 Comments

carrotcakepj

We are in the middle of the carrot cake season. Many bloggers have already written about this cold-weather dessert and, as it often happens with such popular sweets, there are myriads of versions. I have been faithful to exactly the same recipe for the last fifteen years, so you will be surprised if I say this is the best one I know. Obviously, this is a matter of personal preferences, but if I tell you that the moisture is what I appreciate the most in a carrot cake and that mine is, undeniably the moistest of all the carrot cakes I have ever tasted, you will understand why I dare calling it superior.

Nowadays, with internet and the world seeming smaller and smaller, the carrot cake is no longer a novelty. When I baked it for the first time it was a big adventure because using a vegetable in a dessert seemed highly exotic, if not extravagant. I quickly learnt I should never reveal the carrot’s presence before people tasted it because some were so disgusted by this unusual ingredient, they refused to taste it, inventing different false reasons, such as diets or a copious main meal. Since then I tell the truth (especially to picky eaters) only after they have finished their first slice. I have read somewhere that in Europe carrots have been used in sweets since Middle Ages, so it’s surprising this use has been abandoned in so many countries.

With the dozens of times I served it, I can affirm that this is a totally foolproof, particularly easy cake and, apart from the batter ingredients which guarantee the moisture and stickiness I am fond of, such items as nuts, raisins or spices can easily be exchanged with other ingredients. Unfortunately, at the time I wrote this recipe down I didn’t care much for the sources, so unfortunately I cannot thank the person who has invented it. I also don’t remember if I had modified the original amounts.

TIPS: Exceptionally, I have always measured most of the ingredients of this cake in cups. My cup = 250 ml

This cake is moderately sweet, but if you prefer “standard” sweetness in desserts, double the sugar amount.

I prefer this cake served very cold, straight from the fridge (this is the way I prefer most moist or/and sticky cakes).

Preparation: 1 hour 20 min

Ingredients (fills a 10 cm x 30 cm baking tin):

1 cup (250 ml) flour

1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar (unrefined cane sugar tastes better here, but is not obligatory)

1 1/2 cup (375 ml) finely grated carrots (5-6 medium carrots)

60 g (about 2 oz) melted butter

3 eggs

a handful of raisins (I prefer sultanas)

a handful of chopped nuts

50 ml (1,7 oz) milk

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (if not freshly grated, put the double amount)

1 teaspoon (flat) dried ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Combine everything in a big bowl stirring with a spoon.

Grease the baking tin or (like I do) line it with baking paper.
Pour the batter into the baking tin and bake for 45 minutes to one hour depending on the oven (a skewer put into the cake should come out moist and sticky but without traces of raw batter).

Since this cake is very moist, I prefer it served cold, straight from the fridge.

 

 

 

Moist Chocolate and Coconut Cake

55 Comments

cocochococakepj

Ping (Ping’s Pickings) has recently had some difficult moments and since chocolate is a well known infallible mood improver, I thought I would try to cheer her up a bit showing how I have transformed her extraordinary coconut cake recipe into an irresistible coco-choco delight. First of all, those of you who have never seen (or forgotten) Ping’s Coconut Cake, must absolutely try it. This effortless cake is one of the most unusual sweet treats I have ever tasted. The first time I baked it, I did it two days in a row, so you can imagine how good it was… Since then I have prepared it (my version is slightly modified) at least dozen times and never got tired of it. Here is a quick reminder of what my modified version looks like:

I must emphasize here that this chocolate recipe is not an improvement because the original cake is perfect unchanged. It is simply a slightly different version, specially designed for chocolate addicts. As one of them, I have a habit of adding chocolate to various desserts, guided by the thought that one cannot have too many chocolate recipes. This cake could be considered as an alternative to the cooling Light Chocolate and Coconut Cream but maybe more suited for cold seasons that we are approaching, when richer desserts are welcome.

Here once more the mixture of chocolate and coconut hasn’t let me down. Just like its pure coconut version, this cake was moist and closer to a custard or pudding than to a floury cake. Thanks to the dark chocolate it was obviously richer and slightly heavier. I think that this richer version of Ping’s cake will keep me company throughout the hated cold autumn and winter evenings. Thank you so much, Ping, for one more inspiration. I will have a big slice of this cake as a toast to your health, wishing you a prompt recovery and a quick solution of the recent problem!

Click here to see Ping’s original Coconut Cake or here to see her banana version.

TIPS: Like Ping, I like moderately sweet desserts, but if you have a very sweet tooth, add 50% more sugar.

This cake improves after a night spent in the fridge and tastes definitely better when served very cold.

Preparation: 1 hour (+ not obligatory, but strongly advised one night in the fridge)

Ingredients (10 x 20 cm baking tin):

3 heaped tablespoons (about 1/4 cup) flour

100 g (1/2 cup) sugar

70 g (1 cup) desiccated coconut (+ some more to sprinkle over the cake)

2 eggs

60 g melted butter

100 g (about 3,4 oz) bitter, dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa)

pinch of salt

125 ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk

125 ml (1/2 cup) cow cream (liquid, not crème fraîche)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave (in several short stages to control the melting process and avoid overcooking) or in a hot water bath (putting a metal bowl over a pan with hot water and stirring the chocolate constantly) or simply in a pan at very low heat (this is my favourite method, but quite risky: if the chocolate is overheated it can no longer be used.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

Grease a baking tin or line it with baking paper.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes.

The cake can be sprinkled with desiccated coconut before serving.

It can be served as soon as it cools down, but is definitely best refrigerated overnight.

Plum, Prune and Chocolate Jam

55 Comments

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.

 

 

 

Financiers with Raspberries

41 Comments

financiersframbp

Financiers count among the biggest wonders in the world of pastry. Few ingredients, simple preparation and marvellous, sophisticated result. I have already written about them quite a long time ago (here), but this new summer fruit version turned out so good, I absolutely wanted to share it with you. As I have written in my old post, Financiers are one of the most famous French pastry items and a pure delight for almond fans. They contain almost no flour, but mainly butter, powdered almonds, egg whites and sugar, so you can imagine how intense the almond taste is.

Baked since the Middle Ages by French nuns of the Visitation of Mary, at first they were not called financiers and had an oval form. Then, for a certain time they were forgotten and around 1890, Lasne, a Parisian confectioner, revived the recipe. Since his shop was close to the stock market and financiers were his regular clients, he named the cakes “financiers” and transformed their form into the one recalling a gold lingot, probably thinking they appealed more to his clients. I usually make my financiers in muffin forms, but this time somehow the rectangular shape seemed more appropriate.

Financiers have different versions and raspberry addition seems quite popular, especially in the summer. When I decided to add the fruits I was worried that their acidity might spoil the perfect harmony of the Financiers. Luckily I was wrong. Raspberries bring a subtle tangy note, but they disturb neither the Financiers’ extremely soft, mouth-melting consitency nor their sophisticated taste. I encourage everyone to try this version before raspberries disappear from market stalls.

My recipe comes from Leçons de cuisine de l’école Ritz-Escoffier . The only thing I have modified is the sugar amount (70 g instead of the original 85g).

TIPS: Financiers are very easy to prepare and are an excellent occasion to use up egg whites. Finding powdered (not only ground) almonds might be difficult. I always buy ground almonds and sift them through a sieve. The leftover, big bits of ground almonds are excellent to prepare the even easier Thumbprint Almond Cookies (see the recipe here) or Kings’ Pie (Galette des Rois), which is also a good way to use up two yolks, leftover from this small batch of Financiers…

Click here for some ideas of using the remaining egg yolks.

The only tricky part is taking the financiers out of the forms. They should be cold and handled delicately.

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients (for 6 muffin forms or rectangular, similarly sized forms or 12 mini-muffin shaped forms):

50 g (about 1,8 oz) powdered almonds

70 g (about 2,5 oz) sugar

50 g (about 1,8 oz) butter

2 egg whites

1 heaped tablespoon flour

a pinch of salt

12 raspberries

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Prepare the “beurre noisette” (lit. hazelnut butter): heat the butter in a pan on a low heat and observe the milk solids, which will separate at the bottom. When they become light brown (hazelnut colour), put the pan aside.

Combine the egg whites, the sugar, the almond powder, the pinch of salt and the flour in a big bowl. Add gradually the butter, mixing with a spoon.

Pour the mixture into greased – with butter – muffin or rectangular forms (or other small cakes forms) 2/3 of their height.

Place two raspberries in each financier.

Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes until golden.

Let them cool down before taking out of the forms.

Coffee and Coconut Cream with Agar

45 Comments

coffeecoconutcreamp

A cooling, light coconut dessert and a cup of strong coffee in one. This is probably the best description of the cream I have been enjoying during this summer’s hot weekends. I have almost forgotten to post this recipe, but first I saw MJ’s spicy Mayan Iced Coffee, then Zsuzsa’s extravagant chocolatey Iced Coffee, which both reminded me of this refreshing sweet treat.  I thought that sunny August days might be the last chance to share it with you this year.

It has been a long time since I last reported on my experiments with coconut cream set with agar (see below). This doesn’t mean however that I have stopped them. The simplicity and quickness of the basic recipe makes it ideal for infinite modifications. Such different versions as Coconut Cream with Peaches, Chocolate and Coconut Cream or Matcha and Coconut Cream all turned out amazingly good. Emboldened by coconut milk’s capacity to blend with diverse ingredients, I dared mixing it with coffee and never regretted this test. Coconut milk proved once more that, if correctly dosed, it creates an astonishing, but harmonious combination. This cream was as light as the ones I have mentioned above, but the generous amount of coffee I have included gave it an additional, energising property and made me think of a strong, cold iced coffee. Sprinkled with bitter cocoa and some dessicated coconut, it was a pure delight for the big fan of coffee I am. If I had coffee liqueur I would probably add a splash of it.

As a reminder, agar (agar agar or kanten) is a gelling agent made with seaweed. It’s available in Asian grocery shops, in organic food shops and in Switzerland also in standard supermarkets. It is not a gelatin replacement and creates a slightly different texture. Here are some other desserts where I have used agar and appreciated it:

Matcha and Coconut Cream with Agar

Wobbly Rhubarb Delight

 Light Chocolate and Coconut Cream

Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches

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.

Even if prepared with sugar, this dessert is light, but if you want to make it lighter, you can use a sweetener suitable for cooking.

Instant coffee can be substituted with very strong small espresso. If you decide to use the latter, make it as small as possible and reduce accordingly the amount of cow milk.

Try adding a splash of coffee liqueur if you have some. I’m sure it makes the cream more elegant and festive.

Do not wait until the cream becomes cold before pouring it into glasses 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 flat tablespoons sugar (I used two flat tablespoons sweetener suitable for cooking)

1/3  flat teaspoon agar agar in powder

5 flat tablespoons instant coffee (I have used Nescafé Espresso)

(a splash of coffee liqueur)

(dessicated coconut and bitter cocoa to sprinkle before serving)

Combine alle the ingredients in a pan (apart from the dessicated coconut and cocoa).

Bring to boil on low heat and, constantly stirring, let it simmer for about a minute.

Put aside.

Prepare four individual bowls or low glasses.

Pour the hot mixture into the individual bowls (agar sets at room temperature, so the cream’s temperature should be higher before it is poured; make sure it is not too hot and doesn’t break the bowls or glasses). Let it cool down to room temperature and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Serve very cold sprinkled with coconut and bitter cocoa.

 

 

Unbaked Blueberry Cheesecake in a Glass

58 Comments

blueberrycheesep

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).

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.

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.

 

 

Matcha and Coconut Cream with Agar

52 Comments

matchacoconutp

I am thrilled whenever I discover a simple recipe which is versatile enough to be modified eternally. Savoury recipes are of course much easier to fiddle with, but sometimes I find real versatile gems among the sweet ones too and the Coconut Cream I first prepared with Canned Peaches slowly proves to be one of them. Some of you might remember it was my first successful dessert prepared with agar (also called agar-agar or kanten), a gelling agent made with seaweed. The satisfying result encouraged me to carry on with agar experiments, but I must admit I didn’t suspect that the coconut cream would be versatile. Luckily I was wrong and the Light Chocolate and Coconut Cream, based on the same recipe, turned out a pure delight. Ping’s (Ping’s Pickings) gorgeous Mango Coconut Cream is another wonderful twist on this basic combination and even though I haven’t tasted it, I can well imagine how fabulous are the flavours.

The matcha version you see above has been on my mind for many weeks, but I hesitated. Matcha (抹茶), the Japanese powdered green tea, is one of the most fascinating products, but apart from successful outcomes (see below), I have experienced at least the same number of total failures, realising this is a particularly unpredictable ingredient. I haven’t made any web research about coconut and matcha pairing, so I had no idea if my experiment was risky or not, but I gave it a go and, as you have probably guessed, it was a big success.

First of all this cream is perfect for hot summer days. It is light and extremely cooling, thanks to the matcha’s subtle bitterness. Even though matcha’s flavours dominated, coconut cream was still discernible and I found the combination harmonious. Just like the above creams, the texture of this one was closer to a thick yogurt rather than a thick jelly and the preparation was quite easy (although this time, due to matcha’s dissolving issue, the cream had to be passed through a sieve). I highly recommend this dessert, but only to the fans of matcha’s unique, slightly bitter, “grassy” flavour or of course to those who are willing to discover it.

In case you are interested in matcha experiments, here are some other matcha desserts I have posted and enjoyed:

Matcha Crème Brûlée

Light Matcha Cream

Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles

Matcha, White Chocolate and Oat Truffles

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 individual serving dishes 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 flat tablespoons sugar (as a fan of moderately sweet desserts I used two flat tablespoons)

1/3 flat teaspoon agar agar in powder

2 tablespoons matcha (heaped, if you are addicted to its grassy, bitter flavour)

(more matcha or dessicated coconut for decoration)

Mix the coconut milk, the cow milk and the matcha in a food processor.

Dissolve the sugar and agar-agar in the above mixture. Bring to boil on low heat and, constantly stirring, let it simmer for about a minute.

If matcha isn’t completely dissolved, pass it through a fine sieve and then bring back to boil. Boil for another minute.

Put aside.

Prepare four individual bowls or low glasses.

Pour the hot mixture into the individual bowls (agar sets at room temperature, so the cream’s temperature should be higher before it is poured; make sure it is not too hot and doesn’t break the bowls or glasses though). Let it cool down to room temperature and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Serve very cold sprinkled with coconut or more matcha.

Strawberry and Yogurt Mousse

41 Comments

strawbmoussep

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

56 Comments

apricotclafoutisp

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

46 Comments

 

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

50 Comments

wobblyrhubp

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

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.

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).

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.

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 Chocolate and Coconut Cream

43 Comments

This chocolate cream is my second successful experiment with agar. I have followed the Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches recipe, simply substituting fruit with dark chocolate. Just like the Cream with Peaches, this one had a light, thick yogurt texture. Dark chocolate and coconut combination proved excellent and, thanks to the cow milk content, the coconut taste was tamed down, allowing the chocolate flavours prevail. Because of the chocolate’s presence I cannot say this cream was as low-calorie as the previous one, but it certainly was the lightest chocolate dessert I have ever had and, accidentally one of the most flavoursome too.

As a reminder, agar (agar-agar, “kanten” in Japanese) is a gelling agent very popular in Asia. Contrary to what one might think, this 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 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, this cream is not only the lightest chocolate dessert I know; it is also probably  the healthiest one. With dessicated coconut and shaved chocolate it has made me think of a light Bounty bar in a glass.

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 serving bowls or glasses 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 flat tablespoons sugar (I used two flat tablespoons because I don’t like very sweet desserts)

1/3  flat teaspoon agar agar in powder

60 g/about 2,5 oz good quality dark chocolate, min 70% cocoa

(shaved chocolate, dessicated coconut)

Dissolve the sugar and agar-agar in the mixture of the two milks, add the chocolate broken into pieces. Bring to boil on low heat and, constantly stirring, let it simmer for about a minute. (If the chocolate isn’t completely dissolved, mix everything in a food processor and then bring back to boil).

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!).

Pour the mixture into the bowls or glasses and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Serve very cold sprinkled with coconut and shaved chocolate.

 

 

 

Cannelés de Bordeaux

58 Comments

 

Today I have a big honour to guest post at the wonderful Ping’s Pickings blog. Ping is one of my dearest blogging friends and one of the rare people who always make me laugh with her hilarious style and unique sense of humour. Thanks to Ping’s wide-ranging culinary interests, her posts are always surprising and often result in an amazing discovery, such as the excellent Coconut Pie, which under the name of Coconut Cake has become a staple in my house or the incredible Rum and Carrot Cocktail I have written about in my previous post. Since Ping is particularly fond of unusual patterns and originally shaped pastry (I still get hypnotised looking at these spirals), I have decided to write about cannelés de Bordeaux, hoping their cute shape brings a smile to Ping’s face.

Cannelés (or canelés) de Bordeaux are one of my favourite sweet treats and it would be difficult to say which aspect I appreciate the most. Their taste, aroma, texture and even the beautiful shape are all irresistible. I still remember the first time I tasted them. I loved their rich flavours and was totally blown away by their extraordinary, springy softness. As their name suggests, cannelés come from Bordeaux in France, but they are very popular all around the country and also become famous abroad (I have recently seen a Japanised version on Shizuoka Gourmet blog). Different sources quote different origins, but all agree that the characteristic shape, as well as the obligatory vanilla and rum presence are quite recent and date back to the beginning of the XXth century.

Cannelés are not really difficult, but they require patience, close attention during the long baking process, they do not accept shortcuts and every modification is a big risk. French websites, forums and blogs are full of cannelé recipes and related tips, but I must admit that I had to go through several failed experiments before I found a method that works with my oven and my silicone moulds. From my experience a big amount of rum as well as 24 hours refrigeration are necessary to obtain the optimum taste and texture. Apparently old-fashioned copper moulds guarantee the best results, but they are not easy to use and I am perfectly happy with the cannelés I obtain with very convenient silicone moulds. I have adapted my recipe from the one featured on Marmiton.

Please do not forget to check my post on Ping’s Pickings!

TIPS: Here are some ideas to use up 2 leftover egg whites you will be left with:

Chewy Coconut Cookies

Easy Chewy Hazelnut Cookies

Financiers

Scallops Fried in Nori

Sesame Crusted Chicken Nuggets

Preparation: 15 min + 24 hours in the fridge + about 1h30

Ingredients (makes 18-20 cannelés):

500 ml (2 cups) milk 

25 g (a bit less than 1 oz) butter

pinch of salt

200 g (1 cup) sugar

100 g (about 3/4 cup) flour

100 ml (about 0,4 cup) white rum

1 vanilla pod (sliced in two, lengthwise)

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

In a big bowl combine the flour, the eggs, the yolks, the sugar and the salt.

Pour the milk into a pot, add the butter and the vanilla pod.

Bring to boil.

Pour the boiling milk mixture into the bowl and combine with the remaining ingredients, constantly stirring.

When the batter has cooled down, take out the vanilla pods and scrape off the grains into the bowl, discarding the empty pods.

Add the rum, give the batter a stir and put into the fridge (covered) for 24 hours.

The following day preheat the oven to 250°C.

Fill the baking moulds up with the cold batter to the 2/3 of the height.

(If you make several batches put the remaining batter back to the fridge).

Put the moulds to the oven immediately and bake at 250°C (480°F) for 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 50-60 minutes (in the case of my oven it’s only 50 minutes).

Take the cannelés out of the oven and let them cool completely before removing from the mould.

They should be browned outside, but still soft inside.

Cannelés keep fresh for three days (or maybe more but I have never had a chance to check…).

Light Lemon Curd

47 Comments

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).

Matcha, White Chocolate and Oat Truffles

52 Comments

Yeast hates me. This is all I can say after another failure with this capricious baking ingredient. I love good home-made yeast cakes, but whenever I try making them at least one in three ends up in the bin, just like my yesterday’s attempt. I do not give up, of course, but such an incident is always a bit depressing, so, instead of starting another battle with yeast, I felt I needed to cheer myself up with something completely different.

Since I made Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles and have fallen in love with matcha and white chocolate combination, I have been planning to make their rustic version with oats. I have based my recipe on the popular black chocolate and oats truffles I sometimes make and the truffles have turned out perfectly in terms of both consistency and taste. Contrary to Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles, these are crunchy, slightly chewy, rather filling and definitely healthier thanks to the presence of rolled oats. Last but not least, I was thrilled by their beautiful, bright, green grass hue obtained with a more expensive matcha I have recently bought. In short, these cute snacks have obviously improved my mood and almost made me forget yesterday’s disappointment.

If you look for an easy, quick sweet treat with a healthy twist and a sophisticated matcha touch, I strongly recommend these truffles. I wish you all a joyful and sunny Easter, happy Passover and wonderful holidays!

In case some of you are interested in experiments with matcha, here are some delicious suggestions:

Matcha crème brûlée

Light Matcha Cream

and the above-mentioned Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles.

TIP: The most advised method to melt chocolate is in a water bath (in a small pan put into a bigger pan filled with very hot water), but I am used to a very slow melting process directly on the stove or in the microwave. The important thing is not to overheat the chocolate. Otherwise it will become hard and grainy and impossible to use.

Preparation: 15 minutes + 1 – 2 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (about 15 truffles):

100 g rolled oats (not oatmeal!)

100 g white chocolate

1 full teaspoon matcha

7 teaspoons liquid cream (any fat content works here, as long as the cream is not thickened or soured; I have used 25% fat cream)

Chop roughly the chocolate, put it in a small pan with the cream and the matcha powder.

Let the chocolate melt on a very low heat, constantly stirring. Make sure it doesn’t “bubble” and take off the stove, stirring, if you are afraid the temperature increases too quickly. If the chocolate becomes grainy and very thick, it’s ruined.

Put aside.

(If you use a microwave, put the broken chocolate, the cream and the matcha in a bowl and heat for 15 seconds. Give it a stir and put back for another 15 seconds and so on until the chocolate melts.)

Throw the oats into the pan and combine them with the chocolate mixture.

Prepare a bowl with cold water.

Dip your hands in the water and form walnut-sized truffles.

Moist your hands at least every second truffle.

Put the balls on a plate or in a flat container and refrigerate for at least one hour.

 

 

 

 

 

Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches

43 Comments

 

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!

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/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

42 Comments

 

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.

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 + 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

43 Comments

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Moist Coconut Cake

59 Comments

 

This innocent-looking cake is one of the most unusual things I have ever baked. All the ingredients seem ordinary (actually I have almost all of them constantly in my kitchen) and yet the result is amazing. When I saw it on Ping’s blog (Ping’s Pickings) and read her description I knew I would love it. In fact, it was so good, I had to bake it two days in a row because the first one disappeared too quickly to take any photos. (I cannot say me or my husband suffered from this obligatory second batch…)

If just like me, you like coconut and rich, moist cakes, you might also find this one irresistible. It contains a very small amount of flour and the dessicated coconut together with eggs keep the shape together, creating something close to a pudding, but still firm and possible to cut into slices. It is also addictive because, frankly, a child could prepare it. In fact, the pre-baking stage takes maybe five minutes and there is no need to use any kitchen appliance. In my opinion the recipe is foolproof and allows certain modifications. Actually, since I didn’t have coconut cream, but lots of coconut milk, I used cow cream and coconut milk instead. I doubled the dessicated coconut amount, skipped vanilla and changed the pie shape to a rectangular form. In spite of these changes and in spite of a slightly different final texture (see Ping’s result), the cake was extraordinary.  It tasted at least ten times better served very cold, after a night spent in the fridge, so I strongly advise you to make it late at night and wait until the following day.

Thank you so much, Ping, for this sensational recipe! (Click here to see Ping’s original pie, her variation with bananas and many other fantastic sweet and savoury recipes.)

TIPS: Ping and I are members of the moderately sweet desserts fan club, but if you have a very sweet tooth, add 50% more sugar.

Preparation: 1 hour (+ not obligatory, but strongly advised one night in the fridge)

Ingredients (10 x 20 cm baking tin):

3 heaped tablespoons (about 1/4 cup) flour

100 g (1/2 cup) sugar

70 g (1 cup) dessicated coconut 

2 eggs

60 g melted butter

pinch of salt

125 ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk

125 ml (1/2 cup) cow cream (liquid, not crème fraîche)

(vanilla extract)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

Grease a baking tin or line it with baking paper.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes until golden.

It can be served as soon as it cools down, but is definitely best refrigerated overnight.

 

 

 

 

Caramel Tart with Walnuts (Tarte au caramel et noix)

70 Comments

I know I have been repeating how much I hate excessively sweet desserts and this is true with everything apart from caramel. Hereby I admit I have a weakness for the soft, sticky, chewy, horribly sweet caramel and its close cousin called “dulce de leche”. Maybe it works as an exception proving the rule or maybe the sweetness goes so far, it no longer counts as a very sweet dessert… Whatever the reason, I cannot resist a chocolate filled with caramel and desserts such as millionaire’s shortbread can disappear in no time at all (by the way, Charles from Five Euro Food has a very seductive recipe here). This Caramel Tart with Walnuts is one of the best examples of highly addictive, sickeningly sweet treats I adore.

Caramel Tart is one of these French desserts I have never seen in a bakery or pastry shop, in a restaurant and I have never found it in any cookery book. Before posting the recipe I even had to check if it wasn’t only my family’s recipe, but I admit some French blog feature similar tarts. This extremely simple, basic, two-ingredient tart, sometimes enriched by walnuts can be prepared with the ingredients I suppose most French families (and not only) have constantly at home. It is a crunchy, buttery, very sweet, sticky and irresistible dessert.

“Simple” doesn’t always mean “easy” and I have experienced several huge failures before I asked advice from a kind family member, was instructed on how to avoid them  (and will always be extremely grateful for this!), the main difficulty consisting in stopping the pastry case from raising and not letting the caramel mixture flow under the case (see below). Luckily, even if anything of the above happens, the tart might not look presentable, but still is a pure delight.

Preparation: about 1 hour

Ingredients (for one 28 cm diameter tart):

1 butter-based shortcrust or puff pastry sheet (thinly rolled out)

180 g (about 1 3/4 cup) caster sugar

300 ml (about 10 oz) liquid cream (at least 25 % fat content)

(10 – 20 chopped walnut kernels)

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

In a bowl combine the sugar with the cream.

Grease a tart baking dish or line it with baking paper.

Lay the pastry sheet on a flat surface and prick it thoroughly but delicately with a fork trying not to pierce it (otherwise the cream and sugar mixture will go under the crust).

Line the tart dish with the pastry sheet, the pricked side downwards.

Pour the mixture of cream and sugar.

Sprinkle with walnuts.

Bake for about 1 hour until the filling becomes light brown. (Cover the tart’s sides with aluminium foil if it is too dark and the filling too light).

Let it cool down and serve.

 

 

 

Featherlight French Fritters (Bugnes or Merveilles)

49 Comments

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras (literally Fat Tuesday, in English called Shrove Tuesday), the last day of Carnival (or Shrovetide) in the Christian calendar. Shrove Tuesday was the last moment to indulge in rich sweets just before the approaching fasting period (Lent) starting on Ash Wednesday. Since fats were traditionally forbidden during Lent, Carnival sweets were usually deep-fried, thus allowing to use up the forbidden ingredient. Even though now most people do not fast during the Lent, these seasonal sweets are still very popular in many countries.

Bugnes (pronounced “byuñ”), French carnival fritters, are the speciality of the Lyon region. The most popular bugnes version is made of doughnut-like soft leavened dough, but the bugnes I prefer – actually the only ones I like – are crunchy, featherlight strips, sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and very similar to Italian chiacchiere (also called cenci, bugie and a dozen of other regional names) and Polish “faworki” (“chrust“). In French-speaking Switzerland and in other parts of France very similar light Carnival fritters are called “merveilles” (miracles).

This recipe comes from “Le Grand Livre de Cuisine d’Alain Ducasse: Bistrots, Brasseries et Restaurants de Tradition” and just like all the Alain Ducasse’s recipes I have tried (for example Lemon Tart or Crème Brûlée), this one is perfectly explained and leads to amazing results. His bugnes have a very moderate sweetness level, are not fatty at all (one quickly forgets they had any contact with oil) and the grated zest gives them a wonderful flavour. I think these fritters are the lightest thing I have ever obtained with deep-frying method.

TIPS: Bugnes have to be planned ahead (the dough needs to be refrigerated overnight), but they are quite easy to prepare. The only arduous part is the rolling-out process. The dough really needs to be almost paper-thin (about 1 mm), otherwise the air bubbles will not form and the bugnes will not be featherlight.

Special equipment:

a rolling pin

a pizza cutter or pastry cutter (a good sharp knife can also be used, but cutters are more practical)

Preparation: 15 minutes + 1 night in the fridge + 1 hour

Ingredients (yields about forty 4 cm x 12 cm strips):

250 g flour

1 teaspoon salt

15 g sugar

2 eggs

grated zest from one lemon and one orange or from two lemons

75 g softened butter

oil or pork fat for deep-frying

Combine the flour, the eggs, the salt, the sugar and the zest and knead with your hands or in a food processor until the dough is smooth.

Add the butter and knead for a couple of minutes until the dough stops sticking to your hands.

Wrap the dough in plastic film and leave overnight in the fridge.

The following day roll out the dough as thinly as possible (about 1 mm) and cut into strips.

Heat the oil (160°C if you have a possibility to check the temperature, if not make some experiments with small pastry cuts: if the oil starts bubbling around them and they don’t fall to the bottom, it means the oil is hot enough).

Deep-fry the bugnes until golden brown. They are very thin, so it will take only about 10 seconds on each side.

Drain them on paper towels.

Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve.

 

 

French Lemon Tart or Tartlets

38 Comments

 

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.

(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 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

48 Comments

 

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.

Lemon Pound Cake, or Quatre quarts au citron

50 Comments

poundcakep

“Take any number of eggs and weigh them. Then weigh the same amounts of  butter, sugar and flour. Beat the egg whites, combine with the rest and bake”. Could there be a shorter, easier and more foolproof cake recipe? I don’t think so and every quatre quarts I make confirms this observation. Contrary to what my post title might suggest, “quatre quarts” is not the translation of the English Pound cake, nor the other way round.  Both are very old cakes and both have four ingredients with exactly the same weight.

The English pound cake takes its name from the weight of each of the four ingredients. At the time it was invented families were bigger and lighting an oven wasn’t as quick as nowadays, so everything was baked in big batches. Even though nowadays few people put a pound of each ingredient, this cake has kept its original name.

The French traditional “quatre quarts” comes from Brittany region and is based on the identical principle, but its name doesn’t precise the weight of each ingredient. “Quatre quarts” means “four quarters” and the cake is composed of four ingredients, each of them weighing exactly fourth of the total weight (initially based on the eggs’ weight). This is one of the simplest French cakes I know and definitely the easiest recipe to remember, thanks to the “four quarters” principle. If high quality ingredients are used, it has a beautiful butter and sugar aroma and doesn’t require any additional seasonings. On the other hand, Quatre quarts is a perfect support for aromatic modifications, such as this lemon version.

This recipe comes from Petit Larousse de cuisine, an excellent French cookery book I strongly recommend. My only modification was adding lemon zest and juice instead of the advised rum or cognac. The cake’s texture is soft, slightly moist, slightly crumbly, with a crunchy crust. Simple, irresistible, old-fashioned cake.

TIPS: Some pound cake recipes call for baking powder, but if you beat the egg whites (like the below, French recipe indicates), the cake rises very well without any additional help.

Quatre quarts is usually rectangle-shaped, but a couple of days ago I saw it in a beautiful bundt cake (kugelhopf) shape version, baked by Liz (That Skinny Chick Can Bake), so choose any baking tin shape as long as it’s high.

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients (for a 20 x 10 cm/about 8 x 4 inches baking tin):

3 eggs

flour (weight=eggs’ weight)

caster sugar (weight=eggs’ weight)

soft or melted butter (weight=eggs’ weight)

pinch of salt

zest from 1/2 lemon

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks.

Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Combine all the ingredients apart from egg whites. (The butter can be melted, but if it’s only soft, mix everything in a food processor).

Stir the egg whites delicately into the cake mixture.

Pour into a greased baking tin (or lined with baking paper) and bake until golden brown (about 45 minutes).

This cake keeps fresh for two-three days if wrapped tightly in cling film.

 

Kings’ Pie, or Galette des rois

53 Comments

 

Today is Epihany, the Christian celebration of the day when three kings came to bring gifts to baby Jesus. Kings’ Pie (Galette des rois) is a lidded pie with almond-based soft filling, traditionally served in France before, during and after Epiphany (celebrated in France on the second Sunday following Christmas, in spite of the official date being 6th January). Even though I don’t celebrate Epiphany, I find it an excellent excuse to make this pie. Kings’ Pie dates back to the XVIIth century and shouldn’t be mixed up with Kings’ Cake (Gâteau des Rois), one of the more ancient French cakes, dating back to the XIIIth century. It is a sweet bun filled with crystallized fruit and has a huge doughnut form with a hole inside. It is now mainly eaten in the South of France and less famous in other regions.

When served on Epiphany day Kings’ Pie is linked with a particularly dangerous custom, involving a paper crown and a bean. Traditionally a dry bean – nowadays usually replaced by a figurine – is placed somewhere in the pie and the one who finds it in his part of the pie is announced as the king of the evening and has the right to wear the crown. This tradition is especially perpetuated in the company of children, but from what I have noticed all the bakers put one (or even two) figurines (still called “fève”, meaning “broad bean”) in the pie. I am only wondering if they have ever done statistics concerning the teeth loss during the Epiphany period… I haven’t put anything in mine of course. Dentist’s services is not the most exciting idea of spending one’s savings.

The most frequently made and bought version of Kings’ Pie has only heavy and thick almond cream inside, but the one I prefer is filled with “frangipane” (a mixture of almond cream and pastry cream), giving a lighter and moister result. The latter version is the most delightful, lightest almond cake I know and I prepare it much more often than once a year. My slightly modified recipe was found on the French website 750g.com. The pie is delicious, generously filled with “frangipane” and surprisingly not heavy at all. It is also not very sweet, so if you prefer very sweet cakes, add 30% more sugar.

TIP: If you have leftover puff pastry cuts, you can quickly use them making Last-Minute Crackers

Before I pass to the recipe I would like to draw your attention to this beautiful German Potato Salad  posted by Mr. Three-Cookies (from the Three Cookies blog) and inspired by a recipe from my blog. Thank you, Mr. Three-Cookies, for having tried my recipe!

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Almond cream:

150 g powdered or ground almonds (there will be a difference in texture, but the taste is equally good in both cases)

10 heaped tablespoons sugar

50 g softened butter

2 eggs

Pastry cream:

200 ml milk
3 heaped tablespoons sugar
1 egg yolk
2 slightly heaped tablespoons flour

1 egg yolk (to brush the pie before baking)

2 puff pastry packages (about 230 g each)

Prepare the almond cream mixing the butter with the eggs, adding the almonds and 10 heaped tablespoons sugar and mixing again.

Put aside.

Prepare the pastry cream.

In a small pan bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, in a bowl, mix the yolk with the flour and sugar.

Add the hot milk gradually to the yolk mixture (tablespoon by tablespoon, otherwise the yolk might “cook”). Finally transfer everything back to the pan and constantly stirring, let it thicken (it will take about 3 minutes).

Put it in a cool place (e.g. balcony) to cool down a bit.

In the meantime preheat the oven to 180°C.

Butter a pie dish and line it with one of the pastry sheets.

With a spoon combine the almond cream and the pastry cream in a bowl.

Put the creams’ mixture over the pastry and cover it with the second sheet.

Seal well the edges, pinching with your fingers.

Brush the surface with the egg yolk and pick it with a fork (otherwise the surface will rise too much).

(You may also attempt making a traditional crisscross pattern with a knifepoint).

Bake for around 40 minutes until golden brown.

Serve it alone or with red fruit jam.

Guinness Gingerbread

46 Comments

 

Yesterday I started to feel there was something important missing in all my pre-Christmas baking and cooking frenzy. Gingerbread, of course! When I say “gingerbread” I instantly think “Guinness Gingerbread”. It is soft, fluffy, slightly moist and has a subtle taste, far from the typical overwhelming gingerbread flavours. In short, this is the ultimate gingerbread. The Guinness’ presence is of course undetectable, but adds a certain je-ne-sais-quoi.  I don’t know if I ought to mention it, but since the beer is boiled, then baked and all the alcohol evaporates, this cake is suitable for children and for the non-drinkers. This cake is partifularly simple and quick to prepare. If you are not a Guinness fan, the only difficult part is finding someone to finish the can or the bottle content. It would be such a pity to waste the leftovers of this extraordinary beer.

This delightful cake can be made the day you intend to serve it, but it greatly improves in the fridge, so as soon as it cools down, refrigerate it for at least several hours. (If you manage to leave it overnight, it will be ten times better). The chocolate frosting should be put as soon as the cake has cooled down. If you prefer a thinner layer, use only 50 g chocolate and 25 g butter. My recipe comes from this blog (some recipes, like this one, have also English versions) and has been slightly modified.

TIP: Of course any dark beer similar to Guinness can be used, but do not use a light one.

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients (20 cm x 20 cm baking tin):

160 ml Guinness stout

160 ml treacle (the recipe calls for black treacle, but this time I used 1/2 light treacle and 1/2 agave syrup; the result was as delicious as always)

260g  flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

2 flat teaspoons baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoons dried ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs

130 g sugar (if you use white sugar, the cake will be lighter than mine)

180 ml oil

a pinch of salt

Chocolate frosting (it is very thin, about 2 mm, but can be easily doubled if you prefer a thicker layer):

50-100 g dark chocolate

25-60 g butter

Heat the oven to 175°C.

Bring Guinness to a boil in a small pan. Put aside.

Mix the flour, the cocoa, the salt, the baking soda and the spices in a bowl.

In a second bowl mix (with a spoon) the eggs with the sugar, add the treacle, the oil and stir until the mixture is homogenous.

Add gradually the dry ingredients and at the end pour the beer, stirring quickly until the cake mixture is smooth.

Line a baking dish with baking paper.

Pour the cake mixture.

Bake 40 – 50 minutes until a wooden pick put inside comes out almost dry.

Let it cool down.

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a pan. When it cools down to the room temperature, spread it over the cake.

Put the cake into the fridge. (I kept it in the fridge for three days and its taste improved every day).

Prunes in Chocolate

65 Comments

 

Prunes in chocolate are the easiest sweet snacks I know. They are also the quickest to prepare (and probably to eat). I wrote about them last year, but I thought they deserved one more chance, especially in the pre-Christmas period, where they fit perfectly as potential edible presents or even Christmas tree decorations. These dark brown, irregular pebbles might not look attractive at first, but most people I know get seduced by the soft tangy prune encased in a thin layer of crunchy dark chocolate. They often receive more “wows” and other appreciation sounds than an elaborate, time consuming cake.

The idea of coating prunes in chocolate is not mine. It is a simplified version of the prunes in chocolate I used to adore as a child. Now I find these candies too sweet and packed with all the cheap hydrogenated oils or whatever vilifies the taste of the chocolate. Prune coated in dark chocolate contains the most important elements of these childhood treats and has become my favourite chocolate snack.

The very easy preparation takes ten minutes and then only half an hour to set in the fridge. Apart from these obvious advantages, prunes in dark chocolate are the healthiest chocolate snacks I know. Thanks to the prunes they also improve digestion, the aspect one shouldn’t neglect during the holiday season. Last but not least, contrary to the last week’s Matcha Truffles, they support very well the room temperature and don’t need to be stored in the fridge.

Before I pass to the recipe, I would like to thank Claire from Promenade Plantings for using my Tartiflette recipe. She has transformed this cheese, bacon and potato gratin into a vegetarian dish, skipping the bacon. Nonetheless her version looks fantastic. Click here to see her vegetarian tartiflette.

A couple of weeks ago Shu Han from Mummy I can cook! has tagged me in a game called “bloggers unplugged”. The game consists in answering personal questions and inviting other bloggers to do the same. I have tried to make the answers as short as possible, hoping you will not fall asleep:

1. What, or who, inspired you to start a blog?

Of course other food blogs.

2. Who is your foodie inspiration?

Of course my interest in food comes from the fact that my mum has always been an extraordinary, open-minded cook, never afraid of new recipes, techniques or spices. Her attitude has developped my curiosity, while the fact that her dishes were better than in any restaurant or at anyone’s house made me want to cook at home too. Apart from my mum, now there are several bloggers who constantly inspire me and motivate me to explore the infinite world of cooking.

3. Your greasiest, batter-splattered food/drink book is?

Definitely Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji. I recommend it not only to Japanese cuisine enthusiasts.

4. Tell us about the best thing you have eaten in another country, where was it, what was it?

Pierre Hermé’s macarons. His first macaron has literally put tears in my eyes. Every time I have them, I am spellbound. I have never suspected macarons can be so extraordinary and sophisticated.

5. Another food blogger’s table you’d like to eat at?

I couldn’t choose just one person. I would like to hop from one table to the other, to change countries and cultures every day. The list would be too long to put it here.

6. What is the one kitchen gadget you would ask Santa for this year (money no object of course)?

A huge freezer (or maybe a really huge second fridge with a huge freezer?).

7. Who taught you how to cook?

My mum of course, but afterwards I learnt from books, blogs and am still learning.

8. I’m coming to you for dinner, what is your signature dish?

Strangely, I always get lots of compliments when I improvise, making dishes with leftovers and whatever I find in my kitchen (fried rice, pasta, noodles, tarts) without any precise recipe.

9. What is your guilty food pleasure?

There are many of these. Black pudding, foie gras, korokke, dark chocolates from my favourite chocolatier, bread from my favourite French baker…

10. Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?

This is really difficult… I suppose that since I hardly ever talk about wine, this one might be a bit surprising: if I have to choose between an excellent bottle of wine or excellent food, I will always take the former. I know many wine bottles, not even excessively expensive, I would never exchange for any meal or food in the world.

I would love to hear confessions from the following bloggers (of course if they are willing to participate):

Charles (5 Euro Food)
Jeno (Weeknite Meals)
Kelly (Inspired Edibles)
Mr. Three-Cookies (Three Cookies)
Ping (Ping’s Pickings)

(Sorry if some of you have already played the unplugged game and I have forgotten.)

Now, if you are still awake, let’s go back to the recipe!

As I have already mentioned, chocolate and prunes are the only necessary items, but you can add some aromatic alcohol to your melting chocolate. Apricot brandy (Hungarian palinka is the best!) or rum are excellent.

Special equipment:

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

Preparation: 10 minutes+ cooling time in the fridge

Ingredients:

35-40 prunes (stoned)

100g (one bar) good dark chocolate

(50 ml apricot brandy, rum or any aromatic alcohol you like)

 

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 moving them with a spoon.

Put them on the 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!

Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles

73 Comments

Today I am blog-sitting for Nami! In other words I have the honour of guest posting on Nami’s  Just One Cookbook. Nami is a constant inspiration in my exploration of Japanese cuisine and a dear friend I look up to for her culinary and photographic skills, so I am very proud she has left today her blog in my hands. I strongly encourage you to click here and see my post on Just One Cookbook, where you will find more pictures, my blogging confessions and, most of all, Nami’s extraordinary recipes and photos.

This recipe is a modified version of chocolate truffles I have been making for years. If, like me, you love the soft chocolate truffles bought at confectioner’s shops, you will be happy to learn they are quite easy to make at home. Set in individual paper cases and placed in a nice box, they are quite an impressive edible present. They are also an elegant alternative when served with tea or coffee at the end of a meal.

The basic preparation of such truffles is called ganache (pronounced “ga-nash”), a mixture of melted chocolate and cream, sometimes with a bit of butter. Confectioners often coat such truffles in melted chocolate, but I prefer to coat them in different ground nuts, cocoa or dessicated coconut. Dark chocolate ganache is my favourite, but, especially for today, I have decided to modify these festive treats and adapt them to Nami’s magic world of Japanese cuisine.

Until now my experiments with matcha (powdered green tea) proved successful, so I have decided to use it as the Japanese touch in my chocolate truffles. Opting for white chocolate was a very wise decision. It was a perfect pairing for the sophisticated, subtle taste of matcha. The truffles are not overly sweet and have a very original, slightly bitter, typical matcha taste, mellowed by the buttery creaminess of white chocolate. If you are a fan of matcha, I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

TIPS:

During the chocolate melting process, keep a very low heat, stir constantly and do not let it boil.

While forming the truffles, make sure your hands are not too warm, running cold water on them from time to time and rolling the truffles between your fingers and not on the palm of your hand (which is warmer).

The truffles should be kept in the fridge (it can be the warmest part of the fridge), so make sure you say it while offering a box to someone.

Preparation: 30 minutes + at least 6 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (makes 20 – 25 truffles):

150 g high quality white chocolate

100 ml liquid cream (at least 25% fat)

2 heaped teaspoons matcha

a couple of tablespoons each: cocoa, ground almonds and dessicated coconut

Break the chocolate into small pieces. Put into a small pan with matcha and cream.

Let the chocolate melt on a very low heat, constantly stirring.

Pour into a food processor and mix until very smooth.

Transfer the mixture into a container, close tightly with a lid and refrigerate until the ganache has thickened (at least 3 hours).

(It can also stay in the fridge overnight or even for several days).

Prepare small, deep bowls with the coatings you have chosen.

Your hands shouldn’t be too warm, otherwise the ganache melts and truffles are impossible to form.

Run your hands under cold water every five or six truffles and clean them quickly with a paper towel.

Dust the inside of your hands with the chosen coating, quickly form a truffle, but using only the fingers (the palm of your hand is always much warmer), put it into a bowl with coating  and, moving the bowl, coat the truffle thoroughly.

Repeat until you want to switch to another coating.

Place the truffles on a plate or in paper cases and refrigerate a couple of hours before serving or before offering them.

The truffles should always be kept in the fridge (it can be the warmest  part, but the fridge is obligatory).

Easiest Apple Cake

60 Comments

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.

Light and Moist Baked Cheesecake

42 Comments

Several months ago, while discussing my Unbaked Cheesecake with Vanilla with Charles (5 Euro Food), I promised that one day I would write about my baked version too. First, I must confess I grew up hating baked cheesecakes. I found them heavy, dry and so filling that they almost felt as a second main course. To make matters worse, they often contained raisins (which for me spoil most soft cakes). I also hated the ubiquitous crust, which made the whole thing even heavier. I don’t even mention chocolate glazing or other awful additions such as candied orange zest.

My grandmother made the only cheesecake I loved. It was simple, light, extremely moist, without any crust or raisins and there was something I couldn’t identify, which made it simply addictive. One day, I realised the cake was slightly worse than usually. When asked what was the modification, my grandmother answered in a very natural way: “My doctor told me to stop using pork lard, so I greased the pan with butter instead”. Can you imagine my shock? I love pork, but I would never imagine it could improve a cheesecake’s flavours. In fact, she had been using generous amount of pork fat to grease the pan for years and no one suspected it. Even though I haven’t tested this method yet (but one day I certainly will), I have been trying to copy my grandmother’s recipe for many years and this cheesecake is as close as I have ever got to hers. I shouldn’t boast, but since my grandmother died, this is the only baked cheesecake I like. It is soft, moist, light and perfect for an afternoon tea on a rainy, Autumn day.

The preparation is very easy, but the particular consistency and taste are impossible to obtain without the crucial ingredient, namely curd cheese. Sometimes called cottage cheese (meaning the non-industrial natural version, not the one with huge artificial grains) or farmer’s/farm cheese, it has a grainy texture, somewhere between ricotta and feta and is very easily obtained by souring milk and discarding the whey. Curd cheese is widely used for example in Poland (biały ser, twaróg), Russia (творог) or Hungary (turó) and used in both sweet and savoury dishes. It has a slightly tart, vibrant taste, which has nothing to do with the rather bland, heavy and cream cheese (also very fat in comparison).  When crushed with a fork, curd cheese looks like this:

I am conscious many of you might have problems with getting this important ingredient. I buy it in a Russian shop here, but Polish grocers always carry it (luckily the world is full of Polish immigrants). If you cannot get it, write to me and I’ll explain how you can make (very easily) your own curd cheese. /Update: if you find only quark (very smooth, mixed fresh cheese), you can use it instead, but add 1 tablespoon semolina and 1 tablespoon starch/ If you hate heavy, high-calorie, bland cheesecakes, trying this light, fluffy and moist version will completely change your view of this international dessert.

Other recipes I have posted which call for curd cheese:

-Potato and Curd Cheese Dumplings

-Pear and Curd/Cottage Cheese Pie

-Curd or Cottage Cheese with Chives

Preparation: 1h

Ingredients (for a 20 x 20 cm baking dish):

400 g curd cheese (do not use the light one; it should have at least 15% fat)

4 big eggs

4 flat tablespoons semolina

2 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch

8 flat tablespoons white sugar (add 5 tablespoons if you like very sweet cakes)

50 g butter

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Melt the butter.

Put the cheese in a food processor and mix until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix once more.

Line a pan with baking paper and bake until it’s golden.

Let the cake cool down and then put into the fridge (wrapped in cling film) for a couple of hours.

It taste improves after it’s chilled.

Apple and Apple Sauce Tart

37 Comments

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).

Moist Poppy Cake with Chocolate Ganache

63 Comments

tortmpp

As a child I hated layered, butter-cream, traditional birthday cakes. I suffered whenever I went to other children’s parties and were given a huge slice of an extremely sweet and nauseous cake. My mum’s cake was the only exception and a complete outsider in this category. Everything about it was different. First of all, it wasn’t overly sweet. Secondly, the cake basis was not spongy, but very moist and made not with flour, but with soaked and ground poppy seeds and a bit of bread crumbs. You have probably seen or tasted many sweets with tasteless and dry poppy seeds, but soaked and ground they acquire an unusual nutty flavour enhanced by walnuts pieces. As for the cream, even though it was the traditional butter type, it was loaded with bitter cocoa and was never nauseous thanks to the lemon juice my mum always added. I remember I loved this cake so much, I would practically live on the rests of it for the two days following my birthday party (it was very big, so there was always at least a half left).

Dexterity, patience or love of details, necessary to make such elaborate pastry, are not really my qualities, so even though I have been missing its extraordinary taste and have been planning to prepare this cake for years, I was simply too scared to try it. This year, as my birthday was approaching, I felt a bit nostalgic about the years passing by and desperately needed something to cheer me up. This is how I decided to give it a try.

tortm2p

Just in case I would be able to devour as much as I did as a child, I took two important decisions. First, I reduced the cake’s size by half and, secondly, I substituted the butter cream with chocolate ganache (e.i. a mixture of chocolate and cream), slightly less disastrous in consequences (I hope). Of course – as you can see above – I have totally messed up the aesthetic and technical side. My cake resembled a big, unequally shaped ball, the layers were not very neat and the decoration clumsy, but the taste and the texture were extraordinary. I was very proud to see I had managed to make the poppy soft basis exactly like my mum’s: moist and deliciously original. As for the chocolate ganache, it was a perfect substitute for the butter cocoa cream. It was still very rich, heavenly good, but made me feel a little less guilty when, traditionally, I was finishing the cake the following day. It was simply the adult version of my beloved birthday cake.

If you want a traditionally-sized, big cake, double the amounts of both the cake and the cream. This cake keeps perfect and delicious for at least three days.

Before I pass to the recipe I would like to express my gratitude to Kelly from Inspired Edibles for doing something every food blogger dreams about, e.i. testing one of my recipes, namely my Eggless Applesauce Cake. Those who haven’t seen her Thursday post, should click here and admire the complex and elaborate, fabulous Apple Streusel Cake she has made, adapting my simple and humble Applesauce Cake.

I would also like to thank Stefanie from A Dash of Sugar and Spice for the Liebster Blog Award, she has given to the blogs which have less than 200 subscribers and which, according to her should have more of them. Thank you, Stefanie, I feel honoured and very proud you appreciate my blog so much!

I would like to pass this award to the bloggers who, I think, deserve much much more followers, subscribers or visitors. I am not sure if the bloggers I have chosen have less than 200 subscribers, but I certainly wish them more popularity:

Arudhi from A Box of Kitchen

I know that Charles from Five Euro Food has already received this award and also from Stefanie, but I thought I would say I totally agree with her :-)

Jeno from Weeknite Meals

Jessica from Green Skies and Sugar Trips

Mr. Three-Cookies, whose Easily Good Eats merit at least as much followers as his other blog, Three Cookies

Ping from Ping’s Pickings

Shannon from As A Delish

Shu Han from Mummy, I can cook!

Now back to the recipe.

Preparation: about 5 hours, but count a whole day (both the cake and the ganache can be prepared the night before, kept in the fridge overnight and assembled the following day)

Ingredients (for a 20 cm diameter baking dish):

4 eggs

100 g confectioner’s sugar

125 g poppy seeds

1 tablespoon honey (I used agave syrup)

6 high heaped tablespoons dry bread crumbs

8 walnut kernels, roughly chopped

Cream (chocolate ganache):

250 g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)

250 ml liquid cream (25% fat or more)

5 heaped tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Cake soaking mixture:

1 small coffee cup of very strong black tea

50 – 100 ml rum (or artificial rum flavouring)

1 tablespoon sugar

50 g ground walnuts + 10 kernels for decoration

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Prepare the chocolate ganache.

Break the chocolate into pieces, put into a pan with cream and, constantly stirring, dissolve it on a very low heat (do not boil!).

Put aside and when it has cooled down, refrigerate for a couple of hours, until the ganache thickens.

(Add the sugar only when the ganache is cold, just before you put it into the cake.)

Prepare the cake.

Put the poppy seeds into a pan with cold water. Bring to boil and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

Drain the poppy seeds and grind them in a meat grinder (with the smallest holes) or mix well in a blender (they will become moist and mushy).

Separate the yolks from the whites.

Mix the yolks with the sugar, add the mixed/ground poppy seeds, the bread crumbs, the honey and the walnuts.

Beat the egg whites and incorporate them delicately into the poppy mixture.

Line a round baking dish (20 cm diameter) with baking paper or grease it with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs (the cake will be very sticky).

Pour the poppy cake and bake for about 40-50 minutes.  (Make a wooden skewer test: if it comes out dry, the cake is ready).

Let the cake chill out and put it into the fridge for at least one hour (it’s easier to cut when very cold).

When the cake is completely cold, cut it horizontally into 3 slices.

When deciding in which order you should put the slices, bear in mind the bottom of the cake is always smooth and perfect for the top.

Divide the chocolate ganache into three equal parts.

Place the first part of the cake, sprinkle with a bit of the soaking mixture and spread 1/3 of the ganache over it.

Cover with the second cake layer,  sprinkle with a bit of the soaking mixture and spread 1/3 ganache over it.

Cover with the last part of the cake and spread the remaining part all around the sides and on the top of the cake.

Sprinkle with some ground walnuts and decorate with kernels.

Refrigerate for at least three hours. Serve cold.

Pear Sauce with Prunes

60 Comments

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.

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 sauce and don’t forget to mark the date.

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

40 Comments

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.

Puffed Rice and Chocolate Unbaked Bars

60 Comments

I have been making puffed rice chocolate truffles since I was a child and it was probably the first sweet treat I was able to make completely on my own. My childhood version of the oval truffles – called “hedgehogs” or “pine cones” because of their form – contained only cocoa, butter and rice, but now I always use chocolate and add nuts, raisins and a dash of aromatic alcohol. Last weekend I wanted to use my new kitchen toy, namely a big silicone mould for rectangular bars or biscuits and this way my rice balls have been transformed into rice bars. I have discovered that using moulds is much easier, quicker and allows me to use less chocolate. Whatever the shape, they are ridiculously simple, filling, relatively healthy, irresistibly chewy thanks to softened rice and slightly crunchy thanks to the walnuts.

As you can see on the photo I don’t put a lot of chocolate. It’s there mainly to “glue” the remaining ingredients. If you want, you can double the chocolate amount. I also don’t add any sugar. Raisins and chocolate are sweet enough for me. If you decide to make truffles, definitely double the chocolate amount and add more butter.

Special equipment: silicone moulds (not necessary if you want to make truffles)

Preparation: 15 minutes + several hours in the fridge

Ingredients (makes about 8 bars 5 x 7,5 cm):

20 -30 g puffed rice (I prefer the unsweetened one)

15 walnut kernels

4 heaped tablespoons raisins

50 g dark chocolate (or more)

15 g butter

1 flat tablespoon instant coffee (optional)

50 ml Grand Marnier or any aromatic alcohol of your choice

Put the chocolate, the butter, the coffee and the raisins in a big pan (big enough to contain also the puffed rice).

Melt the chocolate, continuously stirring and don’t let it boil.

Put aside.

Chop the walnuts (or break them into pieces) and add to the pan.

Add the puffed rice, stirring and stop when you see the mixture will not stick together if you add more rice (it depends on the chocolate you use).

Fill the silicone moulds with the mixture or form balls with wet hands.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours. The taste improves if you leave the bars in the fridge overnight.

Double Damson Plum and Almond Tart

42 Comments

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.

Vineyard Peach Jam with Crème de Cassis (Blackcurrant Liqueur)

40 Comments

Would you ever guess the above jam is made with peaches? Its original hue is due to the vineyard peach, the last Summer fruit in France. Its season starts in August, but stretches towards at least mid-September. I say “in France” because I have never seen vineyard peach in Switzerland and always go to buy it on French markets. I also have no idea if this variety grows in the rest of the world. I have already written about the vineyard peach here when I posted an Upside-Down Vineyard Peach Tart recipe. For those who haven’t read it, a quick summary. Vineyard peach is an old variety existing since the  XVIIth century. Since it was very sensitive to mildew, a fungus particularly dangerous to the vines, vineyard owners planted these fruit trees next to the vineyards to alert them from the future attack of the precious vines. They acted like an alarm system warning against this terrible vine disease, hence the name “pêche de vigne” (vineyard peach). No one has fiddled genetically with this fruit, so it still keeps its unattractive greyish skin and uncompromising slightly tart but definitely sweet taste. It also has a very strong wonderful aroma. Here is a vineyard peach slice:

Last year I made many vineyard peach jams, most with gin, which is also an excellent pairing for any other peach. The jams had also this beautiful deep red-pink colour. This year I wanted to experiment with crème de cassis, a French blackcurrant liqueur, traditionally made in Dijon (the same city is very famous for its mustard). I added more of this liqueur than I usually do with other alcohols and I think the resulting jam was even better than my last year’s gin version. I am planning to try other peach varieties jams also with crème de cassis, but this would have to wait for next year unfortunately…

My peaches didn’t really look organic, so I haven’t tried making Peach Peel Butter, but I can imagine its colour would be extraordinary.

Preparation: about 1 hours + processing

Ingredients:

1 kg vineyard peaches weighed without stones and peel

400g sugar (or more if the peaches are not very ripe)

juice from 1 lemon

40g pectin in powder (not necessary if you like a runny jam or if you cook it long enough to be dense)

200 – 300 ml crème de cassis

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. (If the peaches are organic, you can always use the peel to make Peach Peel Butter)

Remove the stones and cut the fruit into small pieces (do not throw away the juice!). Weigh it.

Put the fruit, the lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of water into a non reactive pan and cook on a rather high heat until the peaches become soft. Stir it often and watch the pan constantly (if there is not enough liquid they will burn). Add the sugar and simmer on a low heat for ten more minutes.

Add the pectin and more sugar if the jam is not sweet enough, stir it and cook for another ten minutes. Put aside.

At the end, before filling the jars, pour the crème de cassis and stir the jam once more.

Spoon hot jam into sterilised jars, cover with lids.

Leave the jars to cool.

Place the cool jars into a big pan, 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.

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.

Vineyard Peach Jam with Crème de Cassis on Punk Domestics

Light Unbaked Cheesecake with Vanilla

45 Comments

Unbaked cheesecake is the oldest of all the light desserts I know. The one I make is refreshing, has a mousse-like texture and a very pleasant slight tanginess. When two weeks ago Charles from 5 Euro Food posted a luscious Prickly Pear Cheesecake recipe, I decided that since most bloggers I know prepare no-bake cheesecakes with high-calorie cream cheese, I should write about my way of making this popular dessert.

First, I never use cream cheese in sweet dishes. My unbaked cheesecakes are always made with smooth fresh cheese, often called quark or fromage blanc (not only in French-speaking countries; thank you, Ping!), which looks like a very thick yogurt and is available almost all around the world. (It can also be made with well mixed curd cheese, but this one is much more difficult to get in many countries). Quark exists in several fat content versions, but I usually choose that one or the semi-fat (the 0% fat is a bit too tangy for sweet dishes). However, I have recently realised that even the fattest version has approximately twice less calories than regular Philadephia cream cheese. Do not think I choose fresh cheese because it is low-calorie! I simply love its taste and would never exchange it for cream cheese in my desserts. Apart from that, I am not very fond of crust in cheesecakes, so I never make it (even though I love crusts in tarts).

Sugar, gelatin and fresh cheese are the basic ingredients. This time I have also added vanilla and, just before serving, I grated some dark chocolate over the cheesecake. It reminded me vaguely of stracciatella ice-cream, but in a much lighter version.

TIPS & UPDATE: This cheesecake can be prepared with Greek yogurt instead of quark.

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.

Special equipment:

individual ramekins if you want to serve individual portions

Preparation: 40 minutes + several hours in the fridge

Calories: about 150-250 kcal per serving depending on the cheese fat content

Ingredients (serves 5):

500 g fat or low-fat smooth fresh cheese (quark) or Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons hot water or hot milk/cream

10 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar (you can make it even lighter using a sweetener or powdered stevia)

1 tablespoon gelatin (sometimes the amount depends on the brand; take the amount necessary to set 500 ml of liquid)

1 vanilla pod

(dark chocolate)

Split the vanilla pod in two lengthwise. Put into the hot water or milk or cream and leave for about 30 minutes.

Take the pod out, grate the vanilla seeds into the liquid and put the split pod aside.

Mix the cheese with the sugar and the vanilla-infused liquid.

Dissolve the gelatin in warm water, add to the cheese mixture.

Mix for a couple of minutes.

Fill individual ramekins (or one big dish) with the cheesecake mixture.

Put into the fridge (covered) for a couple of hours. Usually 3 hours are enough.

Unmoulding the cheesecakes is the only tricky part.

Run a knife around the edge and then, quickly, invert the ramekin onto a serving plate.

Tap at the bottom very hard: the cheesecake should fall out.

Damson Plum Butter

50 Comments

Damson Plum is the queen of all the plums and Damson Butter is the king of all the fruit butters. Even though a palatable fruit butter (in other words a very thick jam) can be made practically with every fruit (or even fruit skins, as I realised only last week), damson butter is unique. Damson, Damson plum, or Damask Plum (Prunus domestica subsp. insititia) is oval with a very dark, violet skin, yellow flesh and has a very long history. Its name comes from “prunum damascenum” (plum from Damascus), since it was apparently first cultivated in antiquity in the region of Damascus. I don’t know about the rest of Europe, but it was introduced to England by Romans.

If you think you might have never spotted a damson on a tree or on a market, you must have seen its picture on a bottle of damson brandy called slivovitz, slivovitza, šljivovica, rakia… and produced in several central-European countries, such as Poland, Serbia, Hungary or Slovakia. For me the most aromatic and flavoursome comes from Serbia.

Just like damson brandy, damson butter is a part of long culinary traditions of certain countries. Even the smallest grocer or supermarket in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia or Germany carries damson butter (powidła, lekvàr, mus…), while a standard damson jam might be impossible to get there. If you want to know why, try making a “standard” jam with damsons, and then prepare the damson butter. I have made the the normal jam only once in my life and will never do this again.

Contrary to all the jams or fruit butters I know, properly made damson butter requires only plums and a bit of water. No sugar. This is not my invention of a low-sugar fruit preserve, but a genuine, traditional way of making damson butter. (By “no sugar” I mean no sweetener such as apple juice, often found in sugarless jams). The real damson butter is cooked on a very slow heat for many hours divided in two or three days. Thanks to this long and slow cooking process it keeps in a pantry for long years. I have recently opened a 5-year-old jar and it was perfectly sealed and preserved.

Damson butter has a concentrated fruit taste, with a slightly tart note. It is perfect as a filling for tarts, cookies, biscuits or as a layered cake spread. Thanks to its tanginess it’s also excellent in savoury dishes: with roast pork, chicken, turkey, smoked bacon, in sandwiches, on pancakes, crêpes, with terrines, pâtés, foie gras… In short, this is the only fruit jam I cannot imagine my life without.

Damson butter making process is not difficult. No peeling is involved and stones go out quite easily. It requires however a certain patience and a big batch of fruit; don’t bother if you have less than 3 kg, since the yield is quite low.  Thus, if you have 5 kg plums, you will obtain only 1,5 – 2 l fruit butter. Everything depends of course on the damsons’ quality, skin thickness and cultivation methods. On the other hand, when buying a big box of fruit, you often obtain a substantially reduced price.

I have been making damson butter for many years and can assure you all the effort, time and money spent are definitely worth it.

NOTE: even if you have very ripe plums, the final butter might prove very acid. You can add some sugar, but only at the end, when the thick consistency is obtained and usually it is no more than 10% of the initial fruit weight. Do not add the sugar earlier, since it might make the butter burn easier.

Preparation: about 10 hours (divided into 2-3 days)

Ingredients (yield: about 1,5 l):

4 kg damsons

water

(sugar)

Wash the plums, stone them and put in a big pan.

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).

The butter is ready when you put a wooden spoon in the middle and it doesn’t move.

When you obtain this final consistency, taste the butter. If you think it’s too acid, add sugar, let it simmer, constantly stirring and continue adding sugar and stirring until the required sweetness is obtained and the sugar is dissolved.

Some damsons might seem very sweet at the beginning, but at the end the butter might come out too acid.

If you had ripe plums normally you shouldn’t add more than 10% of sugar compared to the initial fruit weight. (I have never added more than 10% of the final butter weight).

Don’t add sugar before the final, very thick consistency is obtained.

/At this point you can either freeze it (after the butter 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 several years!/

Pour the butter, 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 butter and don’t forget to mark the date.

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.

Damson Plum Butter on Punk Domestics

Light Matcha Cream

31 Comments

This refreshing, light cream is the second dish I have made with matcha, Japanese powdered green tea. It has become my staple throughout the Summer and since hot days are soon over in Europe, I thought it was high time I posted it. I based my recipe on the Joël Robuchon’s cream (in “Le meilleur et le plus simple de Robuchon“), the same one I used while preparing Light Coffee and Cardamom Cream.

As an avowed – though still inexperienced – matcha desserts fan I find this cream extraordinary. It is a distant cousin of Matcha Crème Brûlée, but without the crunch and with a bit less calories. As always, matcha adds elegant bitterness and makes the cream particularly cooling. This is most of all a dessert, but it can also be served between the meals as a palate “refreshener”, recently fashionable in many restaurants.

Beware! This recipe is far from being perfect. In spite of double straining, a part of matcha powder accumulates on the bottom of the dish, creating a darker thin line. This doesn’t alter really the taste, but is quite annoying… If anyone has an idea how to avoid it, please let me know! (Strangely I have never had this problem with Matcha Crème Brûlée).

Preparation: 1 hour + at least 2 – 3 hours in the fridge

Special equipment:

3 or 4 individual baking dishes

Ingredients (makes 4 small or 3 medium creams):

400 ml milk (I used skimmed)

4 egg yolks

4 tablespoons sugar (or sweetener)

2 flat tablespoons matcha

Pour the milk into a pan.

Slowly bring the milk to boil.

Put aside.

Heat the oven to 140°C.

Combine the yolks, the sugar and the matcha.

Strain the warm milk into the bowl with egg yolks and mix everything with a spoon.

Wash the pan.

Pour the cream mixture into the pan.

Heat the mixture for about 10 minutes (without boiling), constantly stirring.

Strain it and put aside.

Boil a big amount of water.

Prepare a baking dish at least as high as the individual cream dishes and big enough to contain all the creams.

Strain the cream mixture once more into the individual dishes.

Place them in the big baking dish.

Fill the big dish with boiling water so that half of the creams is covered.

Cover the creams tightly with aluminium foil and put (very carefully!) into the oven.

(This step is very important to avoid a thick “skin” forming on the top of the creams.)

Bake for about 25 minutes (the creams are ready when only the centre is slightly trembling, but the rest is set).

Let them chill and put into the fridge for several hours.

Serve very cold.

Peach Peel Butter

49 Comments

What you see above is a complete outsider in the world of jams and other fruit preserves. At least in my pantry. I had this crazy idea last weekend while getting ready for my umpteenth Peach Jam with Gin batch. I suddenly remembered reading, in an old cookery book,  something about using fruit skins, leftover from jams or other preserves. I didn’t remember which book it was in, nor the exact recipe, but when I found myself with skins from 2 kg organic peaches, I decided to give them a chance for a second life.

In order to obtain this butter I had to simmer skins with sugar until they disintegrate. It took me many hours (two days to be frank), but the result was definitely worth the efforts, even though I obtained only one jar. The peach skin butter is slightly tart, reminds me of a bit of plum jams and certainly doesn’t look or taste like a leftover preserve. The obtained colour depends on the skins’ hue (mine were rather reddish). It will be perfect as a pie or biscuit filling or on bread, instead of jam. Needless to say, I am already planning to save other skins and peels from the bin.

Preparation: 2 days (about 6 hours of simmering)

Ingredients (yield: 1 x  250 ml jar):

peels from 2 kg peaches

sugar (starting with the amount equal to the peels’ weight; I finally added 2 x the peels’ weight)

juice from 1 lemon

lots of water

Weigh the peels. Put them in a pan, cover with the equal amount of sugar, add the lemon juice and 1/2 litre water.

Let it simmer, giving a stir from time to time, adding water as soon as it evaporates and checking if the peels don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

You can also add more sugar during the cooking process if you see the mixture is not sweet enough.

If you prepare it in two days, simply cover the pan with a lid and start once more the following day, adding water.

When skins have disintegrated, taste if the skins are not too acid/too sweet (add more sugar or lemon juice) and constantly stirring let the mixture thicken to a fruit butter consistency.

/At this point you can either freeze it (after the butter 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 butter, still hot, into sterilised jars. Cover with lids. Leave the jars to cool.

Place the cool jars in a big pan 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 butter and don’t forget to mark the date.

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.

Peach Peel Butter on Punk Domestics

Mirlitons de Rouen, or Almond Tartlets Filled with Jam

37 Comments

“Elle à table” is the only food magazine I regularly buy. It is modern, creative, interesting, doesn’t feature only recipes, but also food-related articles and, most of all, is not aimed only at housewives, but at foodies in general, regardless their profession, time spent in the kitchen or cooking skills. The other day, leafing through the Summer edition, I saw very tempting mini-tarts called “mirlitons”, checked if I had all the necessary ingredients and made them on the spot.

Mirlitons originate from Rouen, in the North of France and there are slim chances to find them in a “standard” pastry shop in a different region of France. The basic recipe calls for an almond and eggs filling with vanilla and orange flower water. The “Elle” recipe included some jam filling and it was the main reason why I have decided to try it. As a notorious food preserver I am in a constant search of other jam use ideas than a simple buttered toast, so they instantly caught my eye.

Mirlitons are quick, easy, have a very pleasant mixture of flavours and textures and are luscious even without vanilla or orange flower water. Thumbprint Hazelnut Cookies and Thumbrint Almond Cookies are other options to use leftover or surplus jam.

Note: These mirlitons shouldn’ t be mixed up with Mirlitons de Pont-Audemer. Shaped like cigars, they are another regional sweet specialty, but completely different and much more complicated to prepare. I hope I will manage to make these one day too…

Special equipment:

pastry cutter (mine had a 11 cm diameter)

tartlet moulds

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients (makes 12-14 mirlitons):

1 puff pastry sheet (230 g – 240 g)

100 g ground almonds

100 g caster sugar

2 eggs

(vanilla, orange flower water)

about 200 g thick jam or fruit butter

5 tablespoons thick cream

flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

With a pastry cutter cut out circles and place in the tartlet moulds.

Put a heaped teaspoon of jam in the centre of each tartlet case.

In a bowl combine the eggs, the sugar and the ground almonds. Add the cream and stir well.

Cover the tartlet cases with the almond mixture up to 3/4 of the height.

Sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake for about 20 minutes until golden.

Serve warm or cold.

Thumbprint Hazelnut Cookies with Jam

40 Comments

Every year, when jam making season arrives I realise once more I have made too many jars which would better be finished to make space for the new generation. Rather than forcing ourselves to have toast with jam for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I prefer making sweet treats calling for jams or fruit sauces, such as Thumbprint Almond Cookies. A couple of days ago I wanted to prepare them once more, realised I was short of almonds and substituted them with ground hazelnuts. The hazelnut version was so good, I am now wondering which one is my favourite… They may look clumsy (the jam is always oozing out of the thumbprint hole during the baking process), but the taste is heavenly.

Before the recipe details I would like to thank Mr. Three-Cookies (from Three Cookies) and Raymund (from Ang Sarap), who invited me to take part in Seven Link Challenge. The challenge consists of presenting 7 links from one’ own blog, each in a different category and then inviting other bloggers to participate in it. The aim is to present some older posts from ones’ blog and to share with the readers our opinions and facts about it.

Choosing the links for the 7 categories was not an easy task. It was however a great occasion to look back on my texts, photos and to have a critical view of my blog. Thank you, once more, Raymund and Mr. Three-Cookies, for tagging me! I will do the best I can. Here are the promised 7 links:

1. The most beautiful post.

I don’t know if I’m influenced by the way it looked in reality, but Asparagus Tempura is my favourite. It’s one of the most beautiful dishes I have ever had on my table.

2. The most popular post.

If I am to believe the number of visit Google has registered, the most popular was Chicken Karaage. I must say it was a very big surprise since I didn’t know there were so many people interested in this Japanese recipe!

3. The most controversial post.

I wouldn’t call it controversial, but since Marmite (the British savoury bread spread) is maybe the most love-or-hate product I have ever used, I might classify the Marmite Muffins as controversial. Believe me, even if you are not a Marmite fan, these muffins are irresistible!

4. The most helpful post.

I have no idea what might seem helpful to my readers. For me the thing that was really helpful was discovering how to make Dashi, or the Japanese stock. Since I started preparing it on my own, I realised how important it was in lots of dishes, not only in soups.

5. The post that was surprisingly successful.

The post which earned me most compliments and interest was Hot Strawberry Sauce. It is my all-time favourite hot sauce and I was positively surprised it appealed to so many readers.

6. The post that didn’t get the attention it deserved.

Actually I will bend here the rules and talk about two posts, both featuring Gochujang, sweet and hot chili paste, the only Korean ingredient I cannot live without.

Black Pudding and Gochujang Toast is the French (or rather European) and Korean fusion snack I would love everyone to try one day. Every time I make it I think how simple it is and how perfect for someone who is fond of gochujang and who adores good black pudding (aka blood sausage).

Scallops with Gochujang are one of the simplest and quickest meals or snacks I can imagine and I would love everyone to taste this combination one day. They go surprisingly well with… sour cream and when scallops are in season I prepare this dish quite often.

7. The post I am most proud of.

I wouldn’t really say here “the post” since the photo isn’t great. Fat Liver Terrine with Port (Foie gras au porto) is rather the culinary accomplishment I still am very proud of.

Duck Fat Liver Terrine is one of my top 5 dishes and usually the most expensive item on the restaurants’ menu. Even though raw fat liver does not cost a fortune and is easy to order from every butcher in France, very few – even French – house cooks ever try preparing it. There is a kind of mystery surrounding its long and a bit complicated preparation. Since there is someone in my family who does it divinely well, I decided to experiment one day on my own and was surprised how fabulous even a less-than-perfect looking home-made terrine is. Since I started making it on my own I have also become very critical to what is served in restaurants and often is simply awful.

It wasn’t easy at all! Now the invitation part! The rule is to choose 5 blogs to continue this game. I bent the rules once more and have chosen three “group” websites created and written by friends, couples or families. I wonder if they easily agree on the seven links’ choice… Hereby, I would like to invite the following bloggers to participate in this challenge:

-Shilpa and Jenny from Baking Devils

-Katherine and Greg from Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide

-Sara and her sisters, hiding under the pseudos kclever and mclevering, from Three Clever Sisters.

If you want to take part in this links challenge, you are more than welcome!

(I would also have tagged of course Nami and Shen from Just One Cookbook, but Nami already took part in this challenge.)

Now back to the Hazelnut Cookies recipe! These cookies can be baked in any moulds (or even without moulds). This time I used mini-muffin ones to make them really tiny. The recipe calls for matzo bread, but leftover biscuits (even slightly savoury crackers) can be used here too.

Preparation: 1 hour+ 1 h 30 min in the fridge

Ingredients (about 40 mini cookies):

100 g butter, melted

90 g ground hazelnuts

45 g matzo bread or biscuits (sweet or slightly salty)

1/4 teaspoon salt

130 g confectioners’ sugar (or less if using very sweet biscuits instead of matzo bread)

1 egg

half a 300 ml jar of thick jam

Mix everything in a food processor (apart from jam). 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.

Bake around 10-20 minutes till they become slightly golden (check if the bottoms are well cooked).

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.

ANZAC Biscuits

36 Comments

 

ANZAC stands for “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps”, created during the World War I and the biscuits bearing this name 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.

Nowadays ANZAC Biscuits are widely available in supermarkets in Australia, New Zealand and apparently also in the UK. They are also very popular among home cooks and there is myriad ANZAC Biscuits recipes on the web. Mine is taken from  Three-Cookies blog (or to be precise from Easily Good Eats by the same author) and if you know Mr. Three-Cookies, you understand that my choice was obvious. If you don’t, either of his blogs and you will quickly realise it would be difficult to find a better cookies and biscuits specialist. If you are familiar with ANZAC Biscuits, Mr. Three-Cookies is also a very adventurous experimenter and his Easily Good Eats blog features also modified versions of this classical recipe.

Before baking them I have never tasted ANZAC Biscuits, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I have already baked with rolled oats and desiccated coconut and frankly thought I would obtain good, but quite ordinary biscuits. Since my expectations were so low, the first bite felt like an electric shock on my tastebuds. I don’t know what magical chemical reaction is created among the ingredients, but the result is irresistible and surprisingly complex. I bet that if you have never tasted ANZAC Biscuits, “Wow!” is all you will be able to say while you bite into the first one. (UPDATE and 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).

I have only slightly modified the recipe and followed Mr. Three-Cookies’ advice (see his post here), using brown sugar, which gave a very pleasant, slightly caramelised taste. I have also put molasses instead of golden syrup. I also totally agree with him on one point: 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 it). The stay crunchy and slightly chewy.

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

Ingredients (I have obtained about 30 biscuits):

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

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

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

Combine the flour, the oats, the coconut 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 (mine were a walnut size) 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 at least three days.


Peach and Gin Mousse

22 Comments

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.

Light Coffee and Cardamom Cream

26 Comments

As an avowed coffee addict I also adore desserts containing my favourite drug. Last week I thought it was high time I tried to make one on my own. Browsing through my cookery books I was tempted to make not the easiest coffee éclairs, but finally opted for the cream recipe I found in “Le meilleur et le plus simple de Robuchon“ (The best and the easiest by Robuchon).

Even though he doesn’t have anything in common with coffee, Joël Robuchon is worth mentioning here for those who have never heard about him. He is the chef, who has collected the biggest number of Michelin starts in the world (26!) and whose most famous recipe was… potato purée! Several years ago Robuchon retired, travelled all around the world, especially to Asia and ended up creating a new “open kitchen” concept of restaurants. His “Ateliers” have been opened in several countries in the world. Click here if you want to learn a bit more about this extraordinary and – what is rare among the big chefs – humble and truly nice man.

Let’s go back to the cream. The recipe didn’t call for coffee, but I saw modifying it would not be a big problem. As the title promised, it was very easy indeed and I say this, conscious of the fact that many people dread the hot water bath, or “bain marie”, necessary in this recipe. I don’t know why I added cardamom, but it proved a wise decision, since it added dynamism and complexity. The coffee-cardamom combination creates a refreshing, elegant and serious dessert, particularly pleasant on hot days. As almost always I have slightly modified the basic cream recipe.

Preparation: 1 hour + at least 2 – 3 hours in the fridge

Calories: approx. 4 x 155 kcal (if using skimmed milk and real sugar)

Special equipment:

3 or 4 individual baking dishes

Ingredients (makes 4 small or 3 medium creams):

400 ml milk (I used skimmed)

4 egg yolks

4 tablespoons sugar (or sweetener)

2 heaped tablespoons instant coffee or 2 very small and very strong espresso)

2 pods of cardamom

Pour the milk into a pan.

Crush the cardamom pods and throw them with the grains to the milk.

Slowly bring the milk to boil.

Put aside and let the cardamom infuse for about 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 140°C.

Combine the yolks, the sugar and the coffee (cold if using espresso).

Strain the cardamom milk into the bowl with egg yolks.

Discard the cardamom and wash the pan.

Mix everything with a spoon and pour into the pan.

Heat the mixture for about 10 minutes (without boiling).

Put aside.

Boil a big amount of water.

Prepare a baking dish at least as high as the individual cream dishes and big enough to contain all the creams.

Strain the cream mixture into the individual dishes.

Place them in the big baking dish.

Fill the big dish with boiling water so that half of the creams is covered.

Cover the creams tightly with aluminium foil and put (very carefully!) into the oven.

(This step is very important to avoid a thick “skin” forming on the top of the creams.)

Bake for about 25 minutes (the creams are ready when only the centre is slightly trembling, but the rest is set).

Let them chill and put into the fridge for several hours.

Serve very cold.

Upside-Down Apricot Tartlets with Muscovado

21 Comments

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.

Light Matcha Crème Brûlée

33 Comments

matchacrbrp

Crème brûlée or burnt cream is probably the most frequent dessert I make and my favourite along with chocolate mousse. It is light, it is cold and warm, soft and crunchy…  Taken from the famous French chef Alain Ducasse’s book (“Le Grand Livre de Cuisine d’Alain Ducasse: Bistrots, Brasseries et Restaurants de Tradition), my crème brûlée recipe calls for half milk and half cream, following the contemporary lightning desserts tendency I observe in the famous chefs’ or confectioners’ recipes. If you have never prepared cream and milk version, do try it.

Crème brûlée (or burnt cream, since the British and the French both claim its invention) is one of the dishes I have always preferred unaltered, only seasoned with vanilla pods. I have always regretted all the modifications. I also think the savoury starter of crème brûlée with foie gras (fat duck’s liver) is the worst thing which can be done with this expensive and wonderful product.

Crème brûlée with matcha is  however an exception. Matcha (抹茶) is the Japanese powdered green tea, used in the tea ceremony and in many desserts. Since I am a big green tea drinker, I have always had a feeling I would love it in crème brûlée. Somehow I have never had the occasion to taste it in a restaurant and I couldn’t decide on making it. One day, when I saw it in a restaurant review featured on the Shizuoka Gourmet blog, I felt the time has come to try it.

I haven’t followed any specific recipe. I have simply adapted my usual one, adding matcha. I must proudly say my crème brûlée with matcha was sensational. It was very refreshing, with a slightly bitter, herbaceous and surprisingly sophisticated taste. Even though I am now its avowed fan, frankly I wouldn’t advice serving it to those who hate green tea and to children. (Both would certainly love the basic crème brûlée though.) However, if you like green tea and/or want to be surprised how easily a sophisticated dessert can be produced at home, give it a try!

The only thing I would change next time is straining the liquid before pouring it into the burnt cream dishes. The foam which forms during the mixing process darkens the burnt cream.

If you don’t feel like experimenting with matcha or if you are simply not a fan of this Japanese green tea, you might like the classic Light Crème Brûlée:

cremebruleep

TIPS: Do not taste this matcha version (it doesn’t concern the traditional crème brûlée) unless it has spent 12 hours in the fridge. It improves with time. It was excellent after 12 hours, but, after 48 hours in the fridge, I could only define it as fabulous.

Blowtorch is a very good investment since, at least from my experience, it’s impossible to obtain the contrasting textures and temperatures crème brûlée is famous for with an oven broiler (the cream warms up). You can use blowtorch on many other custardy desserts and sweet tarts.

Click here for a few ideas of how to use up the leftover egg whites.

If you don’t have brown cane sugar, you can use caster sugar to burn, but the taste is worse.

If you travel to France and order burnt cream in an unknown restaurant, I would strongly advise asking if it’s burnt just before being served. I had several times an unpleasant surprise of soggy caramel and a uniform temperature in restaurants where the cream is burnt before the opening hours and sits for several hours in the fridge.

Special equipment: a blowtorch

Preparation: about 2 hours+ min. 12 hours in the fridge (the best is to wait 48 hours)

Calories (the whole batch, using skimmed milk and including the burnt sugar): about 1600 kcal

Ingredients (serves 4):

5 egg yolks

250 ml/8,5 fl oz/about 1 cup milk

250 ml/8,5 oz/about 1 cup liquid cream (without any thickeners; I have used cream with 25% fat content)

4 teaspoons matcha 

4 slightly heaped tablespoons caster sugar

about 50 g/about 1/4 cup cane sugar (but not the moist one!)

Put the milk and the cream in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, put aside for 30 minutes.

Strain it.

Preheat the oven at 100°C or 120°C if it’s the old oven type .

Put the yolks, the sugar and the matcha in a blender or food processor and mix it.

Add the warm – not hot! – milk with cream and mix again for a couple of minutes.

Strain it to eliminate the foam and pour the mixture into six burnt cream dishes or other small shallow ramekins.

Bake it for approximately 45 minutes. (The custards are ready when only their centres are slightly trembling when moved).

Let them cool down. Put into the fridge for at least 12 hours (but it would be even better to leave them for 48 hours).

Just before serving take the creams out of the fridge and pat dry with paper towel (water drops will appear on the surface and they will make the burning process difficult).

Sprinkle with cane sugar and caramelise it with a special blowtorch.

Serve immediately while the top is still warm and crunchy and the cream below stays very cold.

Chocolate and Tofu Cake

15 Comments

The name of my cake has probably already put off all those who hate tofu and made sceptical even some tofu fans. I must admit if you look for a rich, flour-less, sticky, fudge-like chocolate cake, click here to see my favourite one and don’t even bother trying today’s recipe. However, if you look for a light, refreshing chocolate dessert you can indulge in without feeling guilty, you should absolutely try it. As a big tofu fan I may be biased, but I think the tofu taste is absolutely imperceptible here.

I risked making this cake the day I wanted to have something in theory impossible, namely a healthy, low-fat, low-calorie and delicious chocolate cake. I think I have met the challenge, of course apart from the chocolate itself, which even though healthy when dark and rich in cocoa, will never be low-fat or low-calorie. The cake is barely sweet (put more sugar if you like very sweet cakes) and its smooth, light texture, somehow reminds one of a lighter cheesecake.

The butter can be omitted, but it adds a certain smoothness. Instant coffee is what I always put in my rich chocolate cake (recipe here) and in this one too. In fact, a small amount of coffee brings out the chocolate taste in a marvellous way without altering the taste. This cake is best when served very cold.

Before passing to the recipe part I would like to thank CG from the Cooking Gallery, who has honoured me with not one, not two, but three blog awards! I am very flattered and proud! Thank you CG!

Special equipment:
food processor or blender (necessary to mix the tofu)

Preparation: 1 hour+ at least 3 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (for a 10×15 cm baking tin for a 4 cm high cake or a smaller one if you want the cake to be thicker):

100 g dark chocolate (the best is 70% cocoa)
250 g silken (soft) tofu, drained
3 eggs
(3 tablespoon butter)
5 tablespoons agave syrup, sugar or any other syrup
(a handful of chopped walnuts)
1 flat tablespoon instant coffee

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Melt the chocolate and the butter.
Put everything in a food processor and mix thoroughly (it’s important to mix the tofu very well).
Combine with the walnuts.
Line the baking tin with baking paper and pour the cake mixture.
Bake about 40 minutes.
Take the cake out the oven, let it cool down and afterwards keep in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Serve very cold, straight from the fridge.

Financiers

14 Comments

Financiers are one of the most famous French cakes and an obligatory experience for every almonds fan. In fact, they hardly contain any flour, no vanilla or other aromatic ingredients and are a quintessence of what an almond cake should taste like. They are soft, have a very sophisticated, yet simple taste and disappear very quickly, so I usually make a double portion. Produced since the Middle Ages by the French nuns of the Visitation of Mary, they were not called financiers and had an oval form. Then, for a certain time they were forgotten and around 1890, Lasne, a Parisian confectioner, revived the recipe. Since his shop was close to the stock market and financiers were his regular clients, he named the cakes “financiers” and transformed their form into the one recalling a gold lingot, probably thinking they appealed more to his clients.

I have baked financiers dozens of times and even though at the beginning I used my special lingot shaped forms, I quickly started to prefer the muffin-shaped ones. I simply find them cuter this way and even cuter when baked in mini-muffin forms. Financiers are very easy to prepare and are an excellent occasion to use up egg whites. The only tricky thing might be finding powdered (not only ground) almonds, but I always buy ground almonds and sift them through a sieve. The leftover big bits of ground almonds are excellent to prepare the even easier Thumbprint Almond Cookies (see the recipe here):

The financiers recipe I have been doing since I remember comes from Leçons de cuisine de l’école Ritz-Escoffier . The only thing I modified is the sugar amount (70 g instead of the original 85g).

Click here for some ideas of using the remaining egg yolks.

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients (6 muffin shaped financiers or 12 mini-muffin shaped):

50 g powdered almonds

70 g sugar

50 g butter

2 egg whites

1 heaped tablespoon flour

a pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Prepare the “beurre noisette” (lit. hazelnut butter): heat the butter in a pan on a low heat and observe the milk solids, which will separate at the bottom. When they become light brown (hazelnut colour), put the pan aside.

Combine the egg whites, the sugar, the almond powder, the pinch of salt and the flour in a big bowl. Add gradually the butter, mixing with a spoon.

Pour the mixture into greased -with butter – muffin forms (or other small cakes forms) 2/3 of their height.

Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes until golden.

Let them cool down before taking out of the forms.

Jam Cake with Okara

16 Comments

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).

Thrifty Truffles (Leftover Cookie Truffles)

4 Comments

thriftyp

Throwing away pastry is not something I am happy to do, and yet I had done it many times. The cakes I was offered and which were not to my taste, the leftover, slightly dried ones, or the failures of my baking experiments…. All ended up in the bin. A couple of months ago I learnt how to transform those into cute truffles, which often taste so good no one will guess they are just an alternative to the kitchen bin. The secret to the good taste is the rum, so if you don’t like rum, don’t try this recipe. (I can’t guarantee the result with other types of alcohol).

The recipe has Polish origins, the leftover truffles being called “bajaderki”, “kasztany” (chestnuts) or “kartofelki” (small potatoes), depending on the region, and are made in almost every Polish bakery shop with… leftover cakes and baking failures. The below recipe is based on several different ones found on internet, in the forums and on the advice I found before preparing my first batch of these truffles. Since every time I prepare them, the “base” cake or cakes are different, every batch of truffles tastes different and the ingredients have to be adjusted. The important thing is to taste the “dough” during the making process, adjust its consistency and composition to our taste.

WARNING! Only “dry” cakes, cookies and biscuits, i.e. without cream, can be used here.

Preparation: 15 minutes + one night in the fridge

Ingredients (the amounts are only given as an example):

200 g leftover cakes, cookies, biscuits (crumbled)

5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

50 ml hot water

10 flat tablespoons slightly tangy jam (red fruit or plum)

10 flat tablespoons ground nuts or almonds (these are not obligatory)

50 – 100 ml rum

ground nuts/ground almonds/cocoa/dessicated coconut or chocolate to coat the truffles

Put the crumbled cakes into a big bowl.

Dissolve the cocoa in the hot water and add it to the crumbles.

Add the nuts, the rum and knead the dough with your hands, adding the jam gradually until the ingredients are combined and the dough has a consistency thick enough to form balls.

Taste the dough and add more jam if it’s not sweet enough.

Add more hot water if the dough is too dry and more cocoa if you find the cocoa taste not strong enough.

Form walnut-sized truffles and coat them in ground nuts/ground almonds/cocoa/dessicated coconut.

(I simply put the truffles and on of the above in a big bowl and shake it a bit.)

You can also coat them with melted chocolate.

The above truffles were made with ground almonds and coated with coconut.

Put them into the fridge at least overnight, but I find them better after 48 hours.

Easy Chewy Hazelnut Cookies

4 Comments

They are quick, they are easy, they require few ingredients, they don’t need any beating, rolling, kneading, they help using up leftovers and, most of all, they are incredibly flavoursome! These hazelnut cookies are my second recipe – after chewy coconut cookies - for instant sweet snacks with leftover egg whites. They are inspired by a recipe found in one of the famous Two Fat Ladies‘ autobiography. In fact, Clarissa Dickson Wright, in her second and compelling autobiographical book entitled ” Rifling Through My Drawers“, took an excellent decision to include a recipe after each chapter. The funny thing is her Walnut Biscuits recipe was a transformation of… hazelnut biscuits she appreciated less. Since I had only ground hazelnuts, I somewhat transformed it back.

The second time I was preparing the cookies I forgot to whip up the egg whites and discovered they are even better made this lazy way! The only downside is they don’t want to keep nice round shape, but if you put them in tartlets or muffin forms they’ll spread out neatly. Frankly speaking I don’t mind them looking a bit messy. Hazelnuts can of course be substituted with walnuts, but the soft, moist dark brown cane sugar is obligatory (this is what makes them so chewy). Apart from the hazelnuts, I have modified a bit the ingredients’ amounts.

Click here to see a few ideas of how to use up the remaining egg yolks.

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients (for approx. 15-18 cookies):

2 egg whites

50 g soft moist dark cane sugar

a pinch of salt

1 heaped tablespoon flour

80 g ground hazelnuts (or 55 g powdered and 25 g roughly chopped)

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Combine all the ingredients.

With a tablespoon put dollops of the mixture on baking paper.

Bake for about 20 minutes until they are set, but still a bit soft.

Gerbeaud (Zserbó), or Walnut and Apricot Layered Cake

13 Comments

I would like to proudly announce my accomplishment of gerbeaud, the very first layered cake in my life and one of the monuments of the Hungarian cuisine. Even though at first sight it doesn’t look unusual, gerbeaud (pronounced “jer-bo”, “j” sounding softer, like in “je ne sais quoi”) clearly stands off in the layered cakes family. In fact, instead of being cut after baking or being baked int batches, the layers are assembled with the filling beforehand. This difficult and meticulous method creates a very surprising and complex flavour, which, after the black chocolate topping is added and the cake cooled, gets to a mysterious point where one would swear there is a subtle coffee taste… Gerbeaud is very filling and rich, but doesn’t have the usual sickening sweetness or greasiness of birthday or wedding layered cakes, while apricot jam, as usually, gives it a tangy kick.

Emile Gerbeaud, the creator of this cake, was a Swiss confectioner, who arrived in 1889 to work as a partner in a famous Budapest café, which he overtook and which is nowadays called “Gerbeaud”. Zserbó szelet (literally “gerbeaud slice”) is now firmly established as one of the Hungarian classics. Sold in local cafés, pastry shops and also quite popular among the brave home cooks. It requires long experience to look as neat as on the Gerbeaud café’s website…

This recipe comes from Zsuzsa is in the kitchen blog, where I have previously found (and successfully tested) several delicious Hungarian recipes. Her version, as well as many others I have seen on the web, calls for three pastry layers and this is the version I stuck to for the first time (yes, actually I did it twice!), obtaining a rather surprisingly neat result. Then, I felt particularly bold and attempted a four-layered version (on the photo above). Both cakes were delicious, the latter being much more difficult. It looked messier, but was very moist.

Since this is a “monument cake”, no ingredient substitutions are allowed. Otherwise, it doesn’t have the right to be called “zserbó”. I have increased a bit the filling ingredients amount and prepared the dough in the food processor (instead of hand kneading).

(By the way, here maybe I’ll break the historic aura surrounding gerbeaud, but it is an excellent way to use up previous year’s surplus or an open jar of apricot jam…)

Preparation: 2 hours + cooling + one night in the fridge

Ingredients (for a 20 x 20 cm baking dish, at least 4 cm high):

Pastry:

320g flour

180g butter

40g sugar + 1 teaspoon

pinch of salt

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast

3 tablespoons warm water (not hot!)

Filling:

1 jar of apricot jam (normally it should be sieved or mixed, but personally I appreciated whole bits of fruit…)

150 g ground walnuts (freshly ground and moist taste better)

Topping:

70-100g bitter chocolate

40 g butter

Combine the yeast, the warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar.

In the meantime mix the flour with the butter until fine crumbs are created (or do this with your hands).

Add the yeast mixture, the egg, a pinch of salt, 40g sugar and mix or knead until you obtain a smooth dough.

Divide it into three or four equal parts. Form them into balls, place in a big bowl and cover.

Leave them for 15 minutes.

Line the baking dish with baking paper, leaving it hanging a bit on at least two sides (it will be easier to remove the baked cake).

Sprinkle a rolling pin and the rolling surface with flour. Roll out the first ball into the baking dish’s dimensions. (Here my friend A. gave me a very simple trick consisting of placing the baking dish next to the rolled out pastry, first in height and afterwards in width. Then you simply cut out the square with a knife).

Transfer the rolled out and measured layer delicately and put on the bottom of the dish.

Spread it with some apricot jam and sprinkle with walnuts.

Repeat the operations, finishing with a layer of pastry. (If you have four pastry layers, there should be three filling layers).

Cover the cake and put aside for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Bake the gerbeaud for 30-40 minutes until golden.

Remove it from the oven and let it cool down completely.

Melt the chocolate and the butter.

Turn the cake upside down (the bottom is neater so the top surface will be neater too, I found this idea on the Hungarian desszert.eu website) and put back into the baking dish with the baking paper.

Spread the chocolate – butter mixture on the cake and put it into the fridge.

Serve cut into rectangles.

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).

Lemon and Hazelnut Bars

5 Comments

Until very recently the lemon tart was the only lemon cake I prepared (for me all the sweets containing only lemon zest don’t fall into the “lemon” category). Then, a couple of weeks ago I saw Lemon and Hazelnut Bars at The Kitchen Sink blog and, having saved the recipe, I promised myself to give it a try next time I would have a lemon craving.

This is the first time I taste hazelnut and lemon combination and must admit the hazelnut crust and the lemon filling make a very flavoursome couple, not to mention their contrasting textures. Even though the lemon bars are not as delicate and sophisticated as a good lemon tart may be, their preparation is incredibly easy and, to my surprise, tastes even better when the crust is made with wholemeal flour (I have tried both versions). And, last but not least, even those who usually are scared of tangy lemon sweets, adore these bars. I have slightly modified the original recipe.

Preparation: 1 hour + at least 2 hours in the fridge

Ingredients:

the crust:

80g ground hazelnuts

30g flour (I used wholemeal flour, but the original recipe calls for white one)

25g sugar

1/4 teasponn salt

8 tablespoons butter, diced

the filling:

4 eggs

150g sugar

100ml lemon juice

40g white flour

(dusting sugar)

Preheat the oven to 175°C.

Mix the crust’s ingredients in a food processor or knead them to a homogenous sticky dough.

Line a baking dish with baking paper (my dish had 20x20cm) and cover the bottom with the crust.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the crust becomes slightly brown.

In the meantime prepare the filling.

Combine the eggs, the sugar, the flour add the lemon juice and mix well with a fork or a whisk.

Take the baked crust out of the oven. Lower the temperature to 150°C.

Pour the filling over the hot crust and put it back into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.

Let the cake cool and put it for about 2 hours in the fridge. Cut into bars and serve cold. (You can sprinkle it with dusting sugar. I didn’t because I hate sugar-dusted cakes).

Tipsy Cherries in Chocolate

Leave a reply

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)

14 Comments

 

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.

(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 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.


Flourless Chocolate Cake

2 Comments

 

This is a chocolate cake with two big Cs. This is by far the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted and I don’t say it to boast of my baking skills, but simply because it brings out the marvelous chocolate taste better than any home-made cake I have ever had. When I say “the best”, I mean both the texture and the taste. This cake is very soft, sticky in a fudge-like way, with a very deep dark chocolate flavour. In my opinion, the perfect result is obtained when adding salt or using salted butter. This is also the most frequent of all the cakes I prepare.

Here I must emphasize this cake should be taken seriously. It does not accept any compromise in terms of two main ingredients, namely chocolate and butter. Any kind of chocolate with less than 70% cocoa is not satisfactory, not to mention those containing hydrogenated fats (only cocoa butter should be listed). As for the butter (unsalted or salted), it should absolutely be not substituted with margarine. The result depends so much on the buttery taste and texture (as you’ll see below, there is no flour), that any other intruder will simply make the cake smell and taste of… margarine. I can’t even imagine the texture it would have, since I have never made it with margarine (frankly speaking I have never prepared any cake with margarine, I simply see no point in stuffing oneself with hydrogenated and much worse tasting fats, which are nonetheless still fats…). If you are one of those who don’t or can’t eat even small amounts of butter, simply make another cake (for example the Guinness Gingerbread, made with oil). A precious advice for those living in Switzerland: cross the border and buy either German or French butter (it freezes very well, in case you buy big amounts). Beware, once you substitute the Swiss butter, you’ll never want to use it in this cake, so either stick to it or simply stock on French or German one.

The best moment to prepare this cake is at night, after dinner. It has to be refrigerated for at least ten hours in order develop the sticky, fudgy, firm texture and to improve the taste. If you try cutting it and serving after, say, one or two hours, the cake will fall into pieces and will not be as flavoursome as after a night’s sleep in the fridge.

Preparation: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

200g/about 7 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa minimum)

150-200g/about 5-7 oz butter (unsalted or salted, I prefer the latter; if you don’t have the salted butter, the slightly salty result may also be obtained by adding 1/4  flat teaspoon salt)

a pinch of salt (or nothing, if you use the salted butter or add 1/4 teaspoon salt)

150-200g sugar/about 3/4 – 1 cup (depends how sweet you like cakes in general)

1 tablespoon instant coffee diluted in a small amount of water (it can be dry if not granulated, but powdered) or a small strong espresso

1 heaped tablespoon bitter cocoa

(20 crushed walnut kernels)

4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Melt the butter and the chocolate in a small pan (do not let it boil!).

In the meantime mix the eggs, the sugar, the coffee, the cocoa, the walnuts and a pinch of salt (it can be done with a fork, not necessarily a food processor).

Add slowly the melted butter-chocolate mixture, stirring continuously.

Line a baking dish with baking paper. Pour the cake mixture and bake for about 30 minutes.

The cake will rise first time just a bit, and then it will rise a lot (it will fall down when cooling). Stop the baking process when you see it has risen a lot. The cake should be very soft, almost liquid inside and solid outside.

Let it cool and then put into the fridge for at least a whole night. Serve cold.

Prunes in Chocolate

2 Comments

 

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

Leave a reply

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

Leave a reply

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).

/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 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 sauce and don’t forget to mark the date.

Quince Jelly

Leave a reply

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.

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 jelly and don’t forget to mark the date.

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

Thumbprint Almond Cookies

Leave a reply

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.

Nectavigne Jam

Leave a reply

Remember the vineyard peach? Nectavigne is its young and beautiful cousin. This French cross between the vineyard peach and the nectarine exists on the market only since 2004 and I hope it will stay for good! I usually am not fond of the newly developed fruit or vegetable varieties, as they tend to be rather good looking than good tasting, the main interest being easy, fast and cheap  growing process. I find however the nectavigne simply enchanting! Maybe it is an easily grown fruit, but it certainly is also delicious and very aromatic. I am only worried it’s so rarely seen on the markets…

Like the vineyard peach, nectavigne takes on a darker, beetrooty colour during the cooking process and it looks very originally among other jars. The jam is made more or less in the same way as the peach jam I posted a while ago, but the peeling stage is omitted and since the nectavignes are harder than the peaches, I prefer dividing the cooking time in two days.

Special equipment: wear rubber gloves while manipulating the fruit (it stains the nails for a couple of days)

Preparation: around 1 hour +jars processing

Ingredients:

1 kg stoned nectavignes

300g sugar (or more if the fruit is not very ripe)

juice from 1 lemon

40g pectin in powder (or less if you prefer a runny jam)

Cut the fruit into small pieces (do not throw away the juice!).

Put the fruit, the lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of water into a non reactive pan and cook 20 minutes on a rather high heat until the nectavignes become soft. Stir it often and watch the pan constantly (if there is not enough liquid they will burn). Add the lemon juice, the sugar, let it dissolve, cover and put away for the night.

The following day cook the nectavignes for 20 more minutes.

Add the pectin and more sugar if the jam is not sweet enough, stir it and cook for another ten minutes. Put aside.

Spoon hot jam 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 jam and don’t forget to mark the date.


Upside-Down Vineyard Peach Tart

Leave a reply

This extraordinary fruit is a peach. And not a newly designed one, but a very old variety which existed in XVIIth century. At the time French vineyard owners noticed a certain peach variety was very sensitive to mildew, a fungus particularly dangerous to the vines, and planted the peach trees next to the vineyards to alert them from the future attack of the precious vines. They acted like an alarm system warning against this terrible vine disease, hence the name “pêche de vigne” (vineyard peach).

Maybe because no one has fiddled genetically with this fruit, it still keeps its unattractive greyish skin and uncompromising slightly tart taste but definitely very sweet. Its smell is so strong that when I entered the kitchen after a couple of hours I couldn’t believe a peach can smell this way! Would you believe this greyish ball hides an extraordinary crimson, juicy flesh and an enticing aroma?

I have no idea if this peach exists outside of France and Switzerland, but at least in France the fruit appears on the markets for a very short time and is never seen in the supermarkets of course. You can eat this peach in the same way you have the classical peach, the colour and aroma are a bonus!

As you may have already guessed the above is not a beetroot cake. After the baking stage the vineyard peach takes this beautiful colour with an almost violet side to it. The upside-down tart has a crunchy bottom (once turned upside-down of course!) and very soft rich fruit top. The following day the bottom will become a bit soft, but still delicious.

Before touching the peach wear dark clothes and gloves! Its juice (especially after baking) stains almost like… beetroots.

Preparation: 45 min – 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 tart pastry package (mine weighed 230 g) + a bit of confectioner’s sugar or your own home-made pastry

1 kg vineyard peaches

6 tablespoons sugar

50 g butter

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease a tart dish generously with butter (also the sides). Sprinkle half of the sugar on the bottom.

Put the peaches for a minute or two in boiling water. Take them out with a slotted spoon and put into a cold water bowl. Peel them with your fingers or a knife. Cut them into eight pieces, discarding the stones.

Line the greased tart bottom with fruit pieces. Sprinkle over them the rest of the sugar.

Roll out the tart pastry. Sprinkle on both sides with confectioner’s sugar (unless the pastry is already sweet).

Cover the peaches with the pastry sheet, tucking the well the sides downwards.

Prick the surface regularly with a fork.

Put into the oven for at least 45 minutes. Take it out when the tart is golden brown.

When it cools down a bit, put over it a big plate (bottom side up) and carefully turn the tart upside down. (Do it over a kitchen sink and wear dark clothes.) Arrange on the top the fruit pieces which haven’t fallen onto the plate.

King of the Pippins Sauce

3 Comments

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.

/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 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 sauce and don’t forget to mark the date.

Pear and Prune Sauce

Leave a reply

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

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, 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.

Mini Pear Tarts

Leave a reply

Pears have been on the markets for several weeks. Since I was going to cook them for the first time this year,I wanted to have a sweet and crunchy base, but also to leave the maximum space for the fruit. I achieved my aim with simple tarts, thanks to the very thin pastry layer, the absence of tart sides (which is good news for those who don’t have mini-tart forms!) and the generous layer of fruit. The French-style tarts are light, delicate, crunchy and the pear is THE protagonist.

Whatever variety you choose, the pears shouldn’t be too ripe, otherwise they will be difficult to cut into thin slices and they may fall into pieces during the baking process.

Preparation: 15 minutes+baking (around 30 minutes)

Ingredients for around 18 – 20 mini tarts (6 cm diameter):

1 ready made puff pastry or other tart pastry (around 230g, thinly rolled out)

10 small or 7 big pears

cane sugar

ground cinnamon

ground clove (half of the cinnamon quantity)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Cut out 6cm diametre circles in your pastry with a glass or a special round pastry cutter. Put them on a baking sheet or in mini-tart forms (the tart forms make it easier to keep the fruit well in place) and sprinkle each circle with a teaspoon of sugar. Prick them with a fork an put aside.

Peel the pears, quarter them lengthwise and remove the cores. Cut them into very thin slices (2-3 mm) and place very tightly (overlaying halves of the slices) on your mini-circles. Sprinkle with cinnamon and/or clove and some more sugar.

Bake the tarts until the visible pastry parts are golden brown. (The time depends on your oven and on whether you put them on baking paper or into tart forms).

Mirabelle Tart

Leave a reply

The mirabelle plum has many varieties. I suppose every country has its typical ones. In France the most popular are Metzian mirabelle (from the city of Metz, but, of course, they are cultivated everywhere) and Nancy mirabelle, both appearing in August. The ones I have bought are Metzian mirabelles – small, round, with cute red freckles. They taste subtly sweet without being bland, they have a delicate flowery and honey-like smell and… are perfect in a simplest tart! Especially if you make your own slightly sweet butter pastry, roll it very thin, cover with a lot of fruit and sprinkle with light cane sugar, thus bringing out their subtle taste and aroma. Even though these are among the smallest plums, stoning my mirabelles was surprisingly effortless (the stones didn’t cling to the flesh).

 

Ingredients (for one round 24-26 cm diametre tart):

1 kg stoned and halved mirabelles

6 tablespoons light cane sugar

—Pastry:

125g flour

90g softened butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons caster sugar

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 1/2 cm for a mirabelle tart) and line the tart pan.

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

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Take out the pastry and cover with mirabelle halves very tightly, overlaying parts of the fruit, so that not even a smallest part of the pastry is visible. Otherwise, since the fruit will shrink, you’ll end up with big empty spaces on your tart.

 

Sprinkle the cane sugar over the fruit and put the tart into the oven for around 45 minutes depending on your oven.

Bake until the tart sides are dark golden.

Peach Jam with Gin

4 Comments

 

I never liked jam or anything sweet for breakfast. Therefore, when it comes to preserving, I prefer fruits in their savoury and/or spicy forms (see the previous posts on mango and plum sauces). I prepare jams, marmelades and other sweet jars for the jam-loving part of my family and friends, but I also use them to glaze roast or grilled meat, put in cakes or pies, mix into drinks… This summer’s first jams are made with peaches.

Peach is I think my favourite fruit. Since I was a child I have only hated its hairy, felt-like peel. Even now, when eating a whole raw peach, I always put it under water so that the peel becomes smooth. My favourite is the yellow flesh variety, but I am not sure if it’s because of the actual taste or simply the colour.

Just like tomatoes, peaches are very easy to peel when put for a minute or two in boiling water. It takes only around 15 minutes to peel a kilo of fruit, so easier than one might suspect. Even though my jam became orange and lost the beautiful yellow peach colour (cooked for too long probably), it has a perfect “peachy” taste and smell. Gin enhances the peach taste, gives the jam a certain je ne sais quoi and makes it more… sophisticated.



Preparation: around 1 hour+jars processing

Ingredients:

1 kg very ripe peaches weighed without stones and peel

300g sugar (or more if peaches are not very ripe)

juice from 1 lemon

40g pectin in powder (not necessary if you like a runny jam or if you cook it long enough to be dense)

100ml 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 cut the fruit into small pieces (do not throw away the juice!). Weigh it.

Put the fruit, the lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of water into a non reactive pan and cook on a rather high heat until the peaches become soft. Stir it often and watch the pan constantly (if there is not enough liquid they will burn). Add the sugar and simmer on a low heat for ten more minutes.

Add the pectin and more sugar if the jam is not sweet enough, stir it and cook for another ten minutes. Put aside.

(Here you can pour the gin and stir the jam once more before filling the jars).

Spoon hot jam 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 jam and don’t forget to mark the date.

Peach Jam with Gin on Punk Domestics

Madeleines

Leave a reply

These spongy, moist cakes are easily recognisable by their characteristic shell-like indentations and a “hump”. Madeleine was apparently a name of a woman who cooked for Stanislas Leszczynski, a Polish king in exile, at the time Duke of Lorraine. One night, while entertaining his guests in the castle of Commercy, he asked his cook, Madeleine, to prepare a new dessert. Delighted by the discovery, he sent some of the cakes to his daughter, Marie Leszczynska, king Louis XV’s wife. Thanks to the queen’s and court’s appreciation the cakes became one of the most famous French pastry.

Even though the batter is very easy to make, it should be made at least 12 hours in advance and the baking process must be carefully watched. Otherwise madeleines may come out heavier, without the famous hump and they may not rise as much as they should (I have tested this quick and lazy option).

Since it’s a national classic, every French cookery book has a slightly different recipe version. I have tried several of them but my favourite is the one by Alain Ducasse, a famous French chef,  (taken from “Le Grand Livre de Cuisine d’Alain Ducasse: Bistrots, Brasseries et Restaurants de Tradition”). Just like all his recipes, this one never lets me down.

Preparation time: 25 minutes (+ 12 hours in the fridge)

Calories (the whole batch): about 1300 kcal

Ingredients (around 30-35 madeleines):

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

65g sugar

60g flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

75g warm melted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 vanilla pod or zest grated from one lemon/small orange

butter and flour for the forms

Mix the eggs and the yolk in a food processor.
Add the sugar and mix until it whitens and becomes very foamy.
Add the salt, the baking powder and the flour. Mix again.
If using vanilla pods, split them lengthwise and scrape all the grains into the batter. If you prefer lemon madeleines, just add the zest.
At the end pour the warm butter, mix a bit, put into a container, cover it and leave in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

Preheat the oven at 210 ° C.

Grease madeleine forms with butter and sprinkle with flour. Shake off the excess flour, fill with the cold batter up to 1/2 height, (they will rise a lot)  and put into the oven.

Now you should observe the cakes carefully. As soon as the borders rise and madeleines become hollow at the centre, switch off the oven (without opening it) and wait till the “humps” are formed. As soon as they form, switch on the oven to 190°C and cook until golden. Take them out very carefully as they are quite soft and delicate.