Swiss Apple Pie

They say "time flies when you're having fun", well apparently it also rushes by when you're really busy. I can't believe we're in October already, that I'm getting christmas toys catalogues in the mail and the annual letter for paying the rest of my taxes (yeah, it's all about the fun, isn't it). I feel like I'm talking like my grandma, complaining about the world spinning around way too fast.

So let's dig into on of my grandma's book for the sunday family lunch, maybe it will help us slow down things a bit, or take us back in time. This is a swiss apple pie, original name: Zürcher Pfarrhaustorte (gesundheit!) for those of you who want to practise some swiss-german food vocabulary. The picture in the book looked good, the pie tasted even better, what else do we need. Let's go for a slice of old-fashioned apple pie.

Swiss Apple Pie (From Betti Bossi)

For a 27cm pie dish

for the crust
250gr Flour
25gr Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Salt
125gr Butter
1 Egg
2-3 Tablespoon Cream

for the filling
150gr Ground Almonds
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
100gr Sugar
5-6 Apples
1 Lemon, juiced
2 Tablespoon of Jam (Raspberry)

Start with the pie crust: In bowl, mix the flour, the sugar and the salt. Cut the butter into little cubes and add to the bowl. Using your hand rub the butter into the flour mixture.

When well combined, add the egg and the cream. Using a wooden spoon try to make it into a dough without working it too much. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Now we can work on the filling: in a large bowl, pour the ground almonds, the egg yolks (save the whites for after), the cinnamon and the sugar and combine.
Take 1 of the apple, peal it and using a cheese grater, grate it into the almonds mixture with the lemon juice.
Beat the 2 egg whites to a soft peak and add gently to the rest of the mixture.

Take you pie dough out of the fridge and roll it out to fit your pan. With a spoon, make a layer of your almond mixture on top of the pie crust.
Now clean, peal, cut in half and core your apples. Before placing them on top of the almond mixture, slice the top carefully (not all the way thru, see picture).

Heat up the jam for a couple of minutes, than brush the apples with the jam. Place it in the oven for about 35minutes.

This can made a day in advance and you can sprinkle some icing sugar on top before serving it.

Daring Baker - September 2013: Pastel de Tres Leches

Inma of la Galletika was our Sept. 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and WOW did she bring us something decadent and delicious! Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake, creamy yet airy, super moist but not soggy.. just plain delish!

Another baking travel thanks to the daring baker, this time to south America, with the Pastel de Tres Leches. I never heard of it and at first I thought it might have something to do with the dolce de leches.
The sponge cake recipe is great, and will be used again, as many I was worried the cake might be soggy but it turned out great (ok, I admit I didn't use the whole syrup, because it seemed an awfull lot).
I matched this cake with my smallest niece's birthday, hence the colored chocolate chips decoration, and I choose to go with pears in the filling. It's nice and fresh with the whipped cream and is always a good match with chocolate.

Classic Three Milks Cake

Servings: 12

Ingredients for the vanilla sponge cake
5 large eggs (separated)
½ cup (120 ml) (4 oz) (125 gm) sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) of vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) (5 oz) (140gm) all-purpose (plain) flour (sifted)

For three milks syrup
1 can (14 oz) (400 gm) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 oz) (340 gm) evaporated milk
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream (about 35% fat) or 1 cup of half & half or 1 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons (10 ml) rum (or other flavoring)

Topping and filling
2 cups (500 ml) of whipping cream (about 30% fat)
½ cup (120 ml) (4 oz) (125 gm) sugar
Canned or fresh fruit (to fill and decorate the cake)

Directions For the Sponge Cake:

1. Preheat oven to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Prepare a square 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) pan or 9” (23 cm) round cake pan
2. Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
3. Beat the egg whites on medium speed, 3 - 5 minutes.
4. When soft peaks form slowly add the sugar in small batches.
5. Whip until stiff peaks form about 5 minutes. Set aside.
6. In a medium bowl beat egg yolks at medium-high speed for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until the egg yolks become pale colored, creamy and puffy. Stir in vanilla.
7. Pour the egg yolks over the egg whites, gently fold until just combined trying not to lose any volume from the mixture.
8. Fold in the flour little by little in the form of rain. Mix until just combined (over-beating will result in a denser, flatter cake).
9. Pour the batter into the prepared 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) square cake pan or 9” (23 cm) round cake pan.
10. Bake in the preheated moderate oven for 25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean
11. Let it cool
12. Once cool, split the cake in half, flip the top of the cake and place it on a base. Poke using a fork holes all over the cake to better absorb the three milk soaking liquid.

Three milks syrup

1. In a saucepan add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream and cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove it and let it cool.
2. Once it is cool, add the rum or any other flavoring you are using
3. Gradually brush all the milk soaking liquid into all sides of the cake (including the cut surfaces) until all absorbed. Best to rest the cake in the fridge overnight to complete the soaking process.

Topping

1. Layer some whipped cream on the bottom layer and cover with canned or fresh fruit and decorate the top layer with whipped cream and the fresh or canned fruit.

Daring Baker - August 2013: A Cake and Two Cookies

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen was our August 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to make some amazing regional Indian desserts. The Mawa Cake, the Bolinhas de Coco cookies and the Masala cookies – beautifully spiced and delicious!

This month's Daring Baker challenge is making me travel to India. A country I don't know much about, except it's touristic clichés, Rajesh Koothrappali, and whose cooking is more famous for it's spicy savory recipes, but I had no idea what's in store for the sweet tooth in India.

I choose to make the mawa cake aswell as the bolinhas de coco, for I love coconuts and also I couldn't get a hold on curry leaves that where necessary for the masala cookies. Plus the name clearly stated it's portuguese history, and that's always a plus in my book!
Making the mawa was a whole new experience, it almost felt like making some kind of cheese, and in the end it gives the cake a nice moist texture. The use of cardamom in both recipe gives them an exotic touch, it's a spicy that I love, but don't get to use it so often.

MAWA CAKE (Cardamom Flavoured Milk Cake):

Servings: Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

For the Mawa:
1 litre (4 cups) full fat milk

For the cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) (120 ml) (4 oz) (115 gm) unsalted Butter (soft at room temperature)
3/4 cup (180 ml) packed crumbled mawa
1-1/4 cups (300 ml) (10 oz) (280 gm) castor sugar
3 large eggs
5 to 6 cardamom pods, powdered, (about 1-1/2 tsp powdered cardamom)
2 cups (500ml) (9 oz) (260 gm) cake flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract (optional)
Cashewnuts (or blanched almonds) to decorate (about 18 to 20)

Directions:

1. First make the “Mawa”. Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed saucepan, preferably a non-stick one. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring it on and off, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Turn down the heat to medium and keep cooking the milk until reduces to about a quarter of its original volume. This should take about an hour to an hour and a half.
2. The important thing during this process is to watch the milk and stir it frequently to make sure it doesn’t stick to the sides or bottom of the pan and get burnt. The danger of this happening increases as the milk reduces and gets thicker.
3. Once the milk it has reduced to about one fourth, 1/4 quantity, lower the heat to low and let cook for a little while longer. Keep stirring regularly, until the milk solids (mawa) take on a lumpy appearance. There should be no visible liquid left in the pan, but the mawa should be moist and not stick to the sides of the pan.
4. Remove the pan from heat and transfer the mawa to a bowl and let it cool completely. Then cover and refrigerate it for a day or two (not more) till you’re ready to make the cake. It will harden in the fridge so let it come to room temperature before using it.
You should get about 3/4 to 1 cup of mawa from 1 litre (4 cups) of full-fat milk.
5. Now start preparations for the cake by pre-heating your oven to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Beat the butter, the crumbled mawa and the sugar in a largish bowl, using a hand held electric beater, on high speed until soft and fluffy.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium speed till well incorporated. Add the vanilla and milk and beat till mixed well.
7. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt onto the batter and beat at medium speed and well blended. If you cannot find cake flour, place 2 tablespoon of cornstarch in the bottom of your 1-cup measure and then fill it with all-purpose (plain) flour to make up to 1 cup.
8. Grease and line only the bottom of an 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan. Pour the batter into this and lightly smooth the top. Place the cashew nuts (or blanched almonds) on top of the batter randomly. Do not press the nuts down into the batter. A Mawa Cake always has a rustic finished look rather than a decorated look.
9. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 1 hour until the cake is a golden brown and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Do not over bake the cake or it will dry out. If the cake seems to be browning too quickly, cover it will aluminium foil hallway through the baking time.
10. Remove from oven and allow it to cool for 10 min in the tin. Release the cake, peel off the parchment from the base and let it cool completely.

BOLINHAS DE COCO (Cardamom Flavored Coconut Biscuits/ Cookies):

 Servings: Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups (500 ml) (5-1/3 oz) (150 gm) fresh grated coconut, packed
1-1/2 cups (360 ml) (9 oz) (250 gm) semolina
1-1/4 cups (300 ml) (8-3/4 oz) (250 gm) granulated sugar
3/4 cup water (180ml) (6 oz) (175 gm) water
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (1 oz) (30 gm) ghee (clarified butter) or melted unsalted butter
2 large eggs
8 to 10 pods cardamom, powdered (about 1-1/2 teaspoon)

Directions:

1. Run the grated coconut in your processor or the small jar of your blender a couple of times so that the flakes are smaller and uniform in texture. Do not grind into a paste. Keep aside.
2. Put the semolina in a pan and toast/ roast it, over low to medium heat, until it starts giving off an aroma, and looks like it’s about to start changing colour. This should take a couple of minutes. Do not brown. Transfer the semolina into a bowl and keep aside.
3. In the same pan, pour the water and add the sugar to it. Place it on medium heat and keep stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Once the sugar has dissolved, keep stirring the solution and let it cook for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. The sugar solution should just begin to start forming a syrup but is still watery. Do not cook until it forms a thick syrup.
4. Add the toasted/ roasted semolina and mix well. Then add the coconut, salt and ghee (or melted butter) and mix well. Put the pan back on the stove, and over medium heat stir the coconut mixture until it is really hot and easily forms a thick clump. This should take about 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Take the pan off the heat and let the semolina coconut mixture cool to room temperature. Transfer this into a bowl or container, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, ideally overnight. For really fluffy biscuits/ cookies, the overnight rest is recommended.
6. The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Separate the yolks from the egg whites. Lightly beat the yolks with a fork to break them and add to the dough. Also add the powdered cardamom and mix well with a wooden spoon or fork.
7. Whisk the egg whites by hand until frothy and add to the dough. Mix well till incorporated.
8. You will now have a slightly moist and sticky dough. Refrigerate this dough for about half an hour so it firms up a bit.
9. Pre-heat your oven to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line your baking trays with parchment or grease them well with some ghee or melted butter.
10. Take the dough out and pinch off walnut sized bits of dough. The dough should be firm enough to handle without difficulty. If the dough is sticking to your palms, lightly dust your palms with flour before shaping the dough. Roll the bits of dough into balls and then flatten them very slightly.
11. Decorate the top by marking criss-crosses (3 equidistant lines one way and another 3 crossing them at right angles), with a table knife. Press down a bit but not too deep or right through the biscuit/ cookie. Use up all the dough this way.
12. Place the shaped dough on the baking trays leaving a little space between them. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until they’re a golden brown and done. Let them cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then transfer to racks to cool completely.
13. Store the biscuits/ cookies in airtight containers. This recipe makes about 4 dozen Bolinhas de Coco.

Death by Chocolate: Chocolate Valentino Cake

As stated many times before, my addiction to chocolate knows no boundaries. I don't know where it comes from, or for how long it's been going on, but as far as I can remember, I've been enjoying, seeking, longing for chocolate in one form or an other. And thru difficult times, nothing works quite as good for me as some good dark chocolate.

So yes summer is here, my holidays are around the corner, I'm healthy... bla bla bla... When your mind is not into it, there is just no way of getting it there sometimes. I call that my post birthday depression, once you're over 25, all of the sudden, birthday turn into this big questionning about your achievement, where you're going with your life... All that grown up stuff I don't like. Have I mentioned I'm a cancer before, and that we are all kinds of nutcases?

Anyway, I'm going to shake this of, and one good way is heading to the kitchen and baking something. This chocolate cake is ridiculously delicious, is only for true chocolate lovers, because it just taste like pure chocolate... Choose your favorit chocolate for this recipe, and remember chocolate is the answer!

Chocolate Valentino Cake (From Chef Wan's Sweet Treats)

450gr of Black Chocolate (I used Meunier)
150gr of Butter
5 Eggs

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Grease a 20cm oven dish, line it with parchement paper and butter it again.

Break the chocolate into small bits, add the butter into cubes into a heatproof bowl. You can melt this over a "bain-marie", meaning over simmering water, or the lazy way: in the microwave. On low power, never over 30 seconds each time and whisk in between, this should be done in 3 or 4 times. Leave to cool a little.

Separate the egg white and yolk, whip the egg white to a stiff peak and seat aside. Beat the egg yolk a little to add some air to them and whisk them in the cooled chocolate/butter mixture.

Using a spatula, fold in a third of the egg white to soften the batter, than add the rest of the egg white, carefull fold until it's well combined.

Pour the batter into the greased dish and place it in the oven for 25-30minutes, the top should be like a brownie and a cake tester should come out wet.

Leave it to cool for at least 10 minutes then unmold. You can enjoy this with a bit of whipped cream flavored with vanilla sugar.

Life of Pie, episod 2: American Apple Pie

I have unfortunately never been to the USA, so my (most likely mis-) conception of it comes from the movies and TV shows I've seen or from the books I've read. Considering the size of the country aswell as the number of states, this vision must be about as accurate as summing up France by just talking about Paris.

But some images, or should I even say clichés, seem just as american as can be. One of those is the apple pie. I guess I have this on my mind from some "Tom and Jerry" cartoon I watched growing up, with Mammy two Shoes backing a pie and leaving it to cool on the window counter, before Tom and Jerry start doing some kind of mayhem involving that pie.

Then, there is also that song "American Pie", which I shamefully admit, that I got to know this song from Madonna's version of (it's not an excuse, but I wasn't born in 1971). I catched up in the meantime, but I still like Madonna's version and video.
On a side note it's also a song that I really enjoy, because it's one of the few I can kinda play on my guitar and badly sing along to it, all the more fun (for me).

As I had a lot of fun with this month daring baker challenge, I used the week end to make the double crust apple pie. My only addition to the original recipe given below is that I did about half apple and half pears and added a bit of cinnamom to the filling.
So as the 4th of July is upon us, aswell as I wanted to chear americans on the historic week they've been thru, let's all be a little bit american today.

Double Crust Apple Pie:

Servings: 8
Active time: 45 minutes altogether
Baking time: 50 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Flaky pastry

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5-1/3 oz) unsalted butter
1¾ cups (420 ml) (250 gm) (8-2/3 oz) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon (10 ml) (10 gm) (1/3 oz) sugar
1/4 teaspoon (1½ gm) salt
3-8 tablespoons (45-120 ml) cold water

Filling

1 – 1½ kg (2¼ to 3-1/3 pounds) apples (depending on the depth of your pie dish)
1 cup (240 ml) (200 gm) (7 oz) light brown sugar, lightly packed (more or less to taste)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves, nutmeg and/or ginger (optional)
1 - 2 teaspoons (5-10 ml) (5-10 gm) white sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Glaze

either 1 egg beaten with 1/2 teaspoon water, or 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

Flaky pastry

1. Weigh/measure out the correct amount of butter, wrap it in foil and freeze it for at least 30 minutes.
2. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl.
3. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the frozen butter directly over the flour in the bowl. Hold the butter by the foil to avoid warming it up too much and work as quickly as possible.
Using a table fork, toss the grated butter in the flour until it's all coated.
Alternatively, finely chop the butter and rub in with your fingertips, working quickly to avoid warming it. This is best left to those lucky folk with cool hands!
4. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of cold water over the mixture and mix together with the fork. Add more water, spoon by spoon, as needed - it will depend on temperature, humidity and a million other factors, but the finished dough should be moist and starting to come together, but not wet. I used 7 tablespoons (315 ml). Use your fingertips to test if it's sticking together.
5. Finish by using your hands to quickly bring the dough together into a ball. Just press, don't knead.
6. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Pie

1. Preheat oven to hot 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7 . Lightly grease a deep 9"/24cm ceramic or metal pie dish. Note that a dish this size results in quite a thin top crust - if you want a sturdier top which cuts more cleanly, then you should use a smaller dish so you don't need to roll it out so thinly.
2. Take 2/3 of the pastry dough (I weighed my dough and 2/3 was about 12oz/340g) and roll out to fit pie dish, right up to the rim. Line the pie dish with it, prick all over the bottom with a fork and set aside.
3. Peel, quarter, core and slice the apples and place in a bowl. How tightly you can pack them into the pie depends on how thinly they are sliced - I like them chunky, but you will get a firmer filling if they are very thin.
4. Sprinkle the brown sugar and spice(s) over the apples and toss well to coat.
5. Pack the apples tightly into the lined pie dish. The filling can come up above the rim of the dish in a mound.
6. Roll out the remaining pastry dough to fit over the apples.
7. With a wet finger, moisten the edge of the pastry in the dish. Place the dough lid on the pie and press the edges together. Trim the edges as necessary and crimp the seam closed with your fingers or the back of a fork.
8. With a pair of kitchen scissors, cut three vents in the top of the dough. You can either cut leaf-shaped vents and use the pieces you removed to fashion decorative leaves, or you can cut straight vents and use any pastry trimmings to fashion decorations as desired. Moisten the back of the decorations with a wet finger and gently press onto the top of the pie.
9. Glaze the top of the pie with a beaten egg or milk, then sprinkle the top with a little white sugar.
10. Place pie dish on a baking sheet and put it into the center of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and bake for a further 30 minutes. The top should be light golden brown.
11. Serve hot, warm or cold.

Daring Baker - June 2013: Life of Pie

Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie!

Summer is here! And one of my "go to" dessert during those hot days is pies. We have so many gorgeous fruits during this time of the year, it would be a shame not to use them some way or an other for dessert.
I'm also lucky enough to have farmers in my family, so when I got a call a few weeks ago, and got asked "Do you want some strawberries?" of course I said yes! Little did I know that "some" meant about 4 kilos!! So I spend my day off making jam, which is always a fun day and with the oh-so-satifying feeling of having those pretty jar aligned on the kitchen counter. A job well done!

Although Rachael offered many different recipes, which I would try out in the future, I went for the crostata di marmellata, an italian pie with a jam filling. Around here, we have something similar, called Linzertorte, a raspberries filled pie with a spices and almonds crust, which is one of my favorit dessert.
So between the freshly made strawberry jam and the expectation of trying this pie, my choice was obvious. And I'm really pleased with the result, where the linzertorte is more a winter dessert, for its rich dough, this one really feels like summer. I loved the lemon flavored dough that makes a soft and crumbly crust, I will used it again in many more pies to come.

Crostata di marmellata:

Servings: 8
Active time: 1 hour altogether
Baking time: 30 minutes altogether
Chilling and resting: 2 hours altogether
Cooling time: 3 hours altogether

Ingredients

Filling

3-1/3 cups (800 ml) 500 gm strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered
250 gm 2:1 gelling sugar (or 500 gm of 1:1 gelling sugar, or as much white sugar (1 to 2 cups) as desired + pectin according to manufacturer's quantities)
2 tablespoons (45 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pasta Frolla (basic Italian pie pastry)

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5-1/3 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) (75 gm) (2-2/3 oz) sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 medium lemon
1-2/3 cups (400 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
pinch salt

Glaze

¼ cup (60 ml) (75 gm) (2-2/3 oz) apricot jam
1-2 teaspoons (5-10 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Filling

1. Stir everything together in a heavy-based saucepan and heat slowly over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.
2. When the strawberries have released their juice and the mixture comes to a boil, allow to boil for the time given in the gelling sugar/pectin manufacturer's directions.
3. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
4. Can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered, for up to a week until needed.

Pastry

1. Using a paddle attachment on a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer or whisk, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 2 - 5 minutes. The amount of time you cream the butter will affect the final dough - longer means lighter which in turn means a softer, more fragile dough which is less easy to work, but I prefer the texture of the cooked pastry this way because it's lighter too. If you want to do a more intricate lattice, I'd recommend a shorter creaming time so you have a firmer dough.
2. Add the egg, vanilla and lemon zest, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
3. Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together but remains soft, about 1 minute using a stand or electric mixer or a wooden spoon if mixing by hand. Don't over-mix.
4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour.
5. When getting ready to bake, rest dough at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
6. Lightly grease a shallow 9"/24cm metal pie dish.
7. On either a piece of parchment or a lightly floured surface, roll 2/3 of the dough (I weighed my dough and 2/3 was about 12oz/340g) out to a circle to generously line the pie dish. I prefer to use parchment with a circle traced on it so I can roll it as quickly as possible, before the dough gets too soft to handle, then use the parchment to transfer it to the dish.
8. Transfer the dough to the pie dish, press in gently and roll the edges to form a good surface for attaching the lattice later. Prick all over the bottom with a fork.
9. Refrigerate the dough-lined pie dish for 30 minutes to reduce shrinkage during baking.
10. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4..
11. Line pastry with parchment and fill with dry beans or pie weights. Bake until set, around 15 minutes.
12. Remove the weights and parchment and allow to cool. If using a springform or loose based pie dish, remove the side of the pan.
13. Preheat oven to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6.
14. Roll the remaining dough to fit the pie dish and cut it into roughly half inch/1.5cm-wide strips.
15. Spread the filling over the par-baked crust.
16. Arrange the strips of dough in a lattice over the filling (see links below for some how-to guides - you can do an intricate intertwined lattice or a very simple overlay one like I've done), trim as needed and lightly pinch the ends onto the rolled edge of the bottom crust.
17. Place pie dish on a baking sheet and place in center of oven. Bake until lattice is golden, around 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.

Glaze

1. Heat the jam and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Alternatively, you can heat it on medium-high in a bowl in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring halfway.
2. Strain through a fine mesh sieve if it's chunky.
3. While glaze and pie are both still warm, brush over lattice crust.
4. Allow pie to cool completely before serving.

Cheesy New York Cheesecake

Have you noticed that life is a lot about expectations? We hope for the weather to improve, for the unemployement rate to get better, for a parking space to open when we arrive at our destination, for our problems to be solved, for love to be around the corner or for a miracle to happen (like a healthy diet based on Nutella).
But isn't the problem with expectations, that we just "expect" them? Seated on our behinds, complaining nothing ever happens. Because it's safer, because that way you can blame everyone but yourself, because if you don't do anything, how could you do something wrong?

And if we may not do anything wrong, we might not do anything right either. So here's to the brave ones, who take decisions at the blink of an eye or to the sound of a heartbeat, who dare doing something different than everybody else, who might success or might fail, but at least had the courage to try.
I do not belong to the brave ones, I can get myself to brave moments every now and than though, and that's a start. For trying is always better than regretting.

What does this have to do with cheesecake? Not much to be honest, beside the hope for it to meet the expectations of your guests, or the promise to make you travel to New York just with a spoonfull.

New York Cheesecake (based on Marcus Wareing, Cozinhar na Perfeição...)

For a 10 slices pie

60gr of Butter
135gr of Graham Crackers
500gr of Cream Cheese (Philadelphia)
150gr of Sugar
5 Tablespoons of Cream
30gr of Flour
4 Eggs

Preheat the oven 110°C with the fan. Butter a 20cm springform or cake pan.

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan or in the microwave (10-20seconds steps only). Blitz or break the graham crackers to have some sand. Pour the melted butter on the crackers and combine, than pour that in your pan and using a spoon, press down the mixture to evenly coat the bottom of your pan.

Have the cream cheese at room temperature and pour in the sugar to start mixing with a spatula. Now add the the cream and the flour and keep mixing.
Crack your eggs in an other jar, beat them lightly, before adding them to the creamcheese. Carefully whisk until everything is combined and smooth.

Pour this mixture on top of the cracker layer, try to smooth the top for the air bubbles to disappear. Place in the oven for 1h30min. The middle should still be a bit shaky went you take it out of the oven.

Leave it to cool at room temperature. Even if it's not adviced in the book, I like to have my cheesecake in the fridge, makes the texture denser and is nicer on a hot day.

Daring Baker -May 2013: SWEDISH PRINSESSTÅRTA!

Korena of Korena in the Kitchen was our May Daring Bakers’ host and she delighted us with this beautiful Swedish Prinsesstårta!

I have never been much of a princess kinda girl. Ask my parents, I wanted GI Joes for christmas, I had a tool box, a wood saw kit or a basket ball. Though my mum wanted me to keep my hair long as a child (and I was happy to cut them shorter when I grew up), I'm thankfull for my parents not pushing any stereotypes on me, I didn't have to wear a pink dress and flowers in my hair, and could be what I wanted to be.

Even though I'm still looking like a tomboy today, I believe I've learned to be in touch with my "girly" side. And making this cake was definetly a good way to that! My nieces, who are not found of desserts in general (it cuts into their playing time!!) were all over it. So I guess the cliché still stands today, and (most) little girls want to be princesses.

I've basically used the recipe given by Korena, I've just made my custard with soy milk and I was a little low on time, so I used store bought marzipan to decore it with daisy (not roses like the tradtional one). Even if it is time consuming, by taking it step by step, it does make a great cake with an impressiv result.
Thank you Korena for this fun and girly challenge, and please, I don't want to be told the calory count for each slice ;)

Traditional Swedish Prinsesstårta

Servings: 8 – 10. Makes one 9” round cake.

Vanilla Custard

Ingredients
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream, divided
4 egg yolks from large eggs
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) cornstarch
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (30 gm) (1 oz) granulated white sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract)
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and egg yolks. Gradually whisk in ½ cup (120 ml) of heavy cream until smooth. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) of heavy cream and the scraped vanilla bean and bring just to the boiling point. Remove the vanilla bean pod, leaving behind the seeds. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the bowl with the egg mixture to temper the eggs.
2. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it becomes thick like pudding and just comes to a boil. The mixture must hit a boil for the cornstarch to properly thicken the custard, and also to cook out any starchy taste. If it starts to look curdled or lumpy, remove it from the heat and whisk vigorously until smooth, then return to the heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat. If using vanilla extract, add it now.
(If desired, pass the custard through a fine mesh sieve before continuing.)
3. Pour the custard into a clean bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely cold. Can be prepared a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator.

Sponge Cake

Ingredients
Fine dry breadcrumbs for the pan (such as crushed panko)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) granulated white sugar
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
½ cup (120 ml) (65 gm) (2¼ oz) potato starch (or cornstarch)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Thoroughly butter a 9” (23 cm) round springform pan, line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper, then butter the paper. Dust the buttered pan with enough breadcrumbs to coat the bottom and sides, just like flouring a cake pan. Set aside.
2. Place the eggs and granulated white sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed with an electric mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment until the eggs are tripled in volume and very light coloured and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The mixture should fall from the beaters in thick ribbons. Don’t overbeat the eggs – once they form thick ribbons and stop growing in volume, stop beating.
3. Sift the all-purpose (plain) flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt into a bowl, then sift the flour mixture over the whipped eggs. With a balloon whisk, fold the flour into the eggs until blended, keeping as much air in the batter as possible. Use large, gentle yet confident strokes, bringing batter from the bottom of the bowl to the top. Once mixed, the batter should be quite thick and smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread it out evenly, and bake in the lower third of the preheated moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown on top, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.
Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes then run a knife around the edge and remove the sides of the springform pan. Don’t worry if it sinks a bit in the middle.
Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper. If the cake is lopsided, press gently to make it level, then allow it to cool completely before continuing. The cake can be made a day ahead and stored, well-wrapped in plastic, at a cool room temperature.

Prinsesstårta Assembly

Ingredients
2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream, chilled
granulated white sugar, to taste (scant 1 tablespoon is plenty)
Sponge Cake, cooled
1/3 cup (80 ml) seedless raspberry jam (or regular jam pressed through a sieve to remove seeds)
Vanilla Custard, chilled
Marzipan Covering and Rose
Icing sugar, for rolling and dusting
Optional: melted chocolate, royal icing, or piping gel
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar to taste (keep in mind that the rest of the cake components are sweet, so the whipped cream should be very lightly sweetened at most) and continue whipping the cream until stiff. You want it to be sturdy enough to provide structure to the cake, but not over-whipped enough to make butter. Set the whipped cream aside.
2. With a long serrated knife, slice the sponge cake into three even layers. This cake is very delicate, so do this as carefully as possible. Use a gentle sawing motion to move the knife through the cake instead of trying to pull it through the cake. Use a spatula to help you lift off each layer after you cut it. Set aside the middle layer – this will become the top layer of the assembled cake as it is the most flexible and therefore easiest to bend into a dome over the whipped cream.
3. Place one of remaining layers on a cake board or serving platter and spread it evenly with the raspberry jam. Spread or pipe half the chilled custard over the jam in an even layer, leaving enough room around the edges so that it doesn’t spill over the sides of the cake.
4. Top the custard with another layer of cake. Spread or pipe the remaining custard evenly over it, again leaving some room around the edges.
5. Reserve ½ cup (120 ml) of the stiffly whipped cream. Pile the rest into a mound on top of the custard. Spread it into a thick layer with a thin, flexible spatula or off-set spatula, then hold the spatula at an angle to shape the whipped cream into a dome, piling it up in the middle of the cake as much as possible.
6. Place the final layer of sponge cake (the one cut from the middle of the cake) on top of the whipped cream. Do not press on the top of the cake – instead, gently tuck the edges of the cake layer into the whipped cream, so that they are flush with the cream. This will create a smooth, seamless dome on top of the cake.
7. Gently spread the reserved ½ cup (120 ml) of whipped cream over the entire cake to fill in any cracks and even out the surface. If necessary, refrigerate the cake to firm it up before continuing.
8. Dust your work surface with icing sugar and press the marzipan into a 6-inch (15 cm) disc (knead it a bit to warm it up first). Coat both sides with icing sugar and roll it out into a 14” (35½ cm) diameter circle less than 1/8” (3 mm) thick. Use plenty of icing sugar to prevent it from sticking. Alternatively, you can roll the marzipan out between two wide sheets of parchment paper (still use plenty of icing sugar).
9. Use the rolling pin to drape the rolled-out marzipan sheet over the cake and smooth it around the cake gently with your hands.
If it seems like it wants to fold or buckle around the cake, gently lift and stretch it away from the cake with one hand while smoothing it down with the other.
Trim the excess marzipan from the bottom of the cake with a paring knife or spatula blade.
10. If desired, cut leaves out of the scraps of green marzipan (you can knead in another drop of green food colouring to make the leaves a slightly darker green). Use a paring knife to score vein-like lines, then pinch one end of the leaf to give it some shape.
Dust the cake with icing sugar, then place the marzipan rose and leaves in the middle of the cake.
(You can also use melted chocolate, royal icing, or piping gel to pipe a design on top of the cake, if you wish.)
11. To serve, cut the cake into wedges with a large, sharp knife (run the blade under hot water and wipe it clean after every cut for neater slices). The cake can be served immediately but will be easier to slice after chilling in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Strawberry and Tea Jelly

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (Albert Einstein), cooks, bakers and food blogger must be really sane people! As our time spend in the kitchen is mostly about trying, changing ingredients, temperatures and proportions to finally come to the expected result.

Because in life, much like in the kitchen, we should all learn from our mistakes. Not falling back to old patterns, we may know as familiar, but that will end up being bad for us. This is how I think we grow, even if we all have our crosses to bear and our walls to break.
Coming back to food, if desserts, chocolate or sugar would be illegal, I'd be an outlaw for sure. But I know I have to be (most of the time) carefull and wise, that's what this dessert is about.

I hope I'm not making this sound too boring, because even if I came up with this recipe in order to have a lighter dessert, I really enjoyed this and will do it again. Plus, you can mix and match teas and fruits. Regular gelatin could work too, but Agar-Agar is a healthier option in my opinion and is quicker to set. If there was any sun around, it would be a nice summer dessert.

Strawberry and Tea Jelly

Serves 3

1/2 a Liter of Water
2 Tablespoons of Strawberry Flavoured Black Tea
2 Tablespoons of Agave Nectar (Syrup)
2gr of Agar-Agar
10 Strawberries
6 Tablespoons of Vanilla Yogurt

Prepare your tea, boil the water and let the tea infuse for about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour your tea in a sauce pan thru a sieve (to remove all residue from the tea) add the agave nectar (or honey if you prefer) and the Agar-Agar (mine is powder), bring to the boil and set aside, check if it's sweet enough for your taste.

Wash the strawberries, than cut of the top and slice them not too thinly. I used 3 glasses (20cl), place the sliced strawberries evenly in each glass, than pour the tea slowly over. Leave it too cool on your kitchen counter, before placing them in the fridge. They just need a couple of hours to set, but you can leave them overnight.

To serve, pour 2 tablespoons of vanilla yogurt on top of each jelly and enjoy.

Hope or Chocolate Tart?

Once, on a bus ride thru a big city, lost in thoughts and listening to music, my eyes caught a grafitti tag on a road sign that read "HOPE DIED LAST". This simple statement got me thinking, would that be true? Would hope be the last thing we hang on to in the end? Is being hopefull the very essence of being human?

If you came looking for answers, well let me tell you, this is not the place. I simply have none of them. But I believe that hope is a great power, that it moves us forward, gets us up in the morning and keeps us standing thru difficult times. And for being a helpless believer, I have had my hopes shattered more than once. I don't know if that makes me any less hopefull, but maybe just more carefull.

"Let's hope for the best" or "Get your hopes up" are expressions I want to embrace, even when I turn on the news and see hate and violence all over the world. Because after all, what else can we do? If the proverbial "all hope is lost" were to be true, how would we react? I think I'd rather not know.

But for any lost cause, I have the same answer: Chocolate! This chocolate and candied orange tart is yet an other proof, that I'm hopeless when it comes to staying away from chocolate! Why should I anyway...

Chocolate and Candied Orange Tart (based on a recipe from Petit Larousse Pâtissier)

For a 28cm Pie

120gr of Butter
2 Eggs
80gr Icing Sugar
4 Tablespoons Ground Almonds
220gr Flour
A pinch of Salt
30cl Cream
200gr Black Chocolate
50gr Milk Chocolate
3 Tablespoon of Candied Orange Peel

Cut the butter into small cubes. In a standing mixer, whisk the eggs and add the sugar, the almonds and the salt, keep whisking until it's well combine and light. Change to the paddle attachement and add all the flour at once, mix in slowly, than start adding the cubes of butter, one by one, until you have a shiny dough. Form a ball and cover it with cling film and leave it to rest at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Roll out you dough to fit you pie dish (I had some dough left). Prick the dough with a fork, than cover with parchement paper to put some weight on it (like dried beans) to bake your pastry blind for 12 minutes. Than (carefully) remove the beans and cook for 10 more minutes. Leave to cool.

To make the ganache, heat up the cream in a sauce pan. Break the chocolate into little pieces and place them in a bowl, pour over the hot cream and start mixing carefully with a spatula, just until it's smooth.

Dice the candied orange peel and place them in the pie crust, than carefully pour over the chocolate ganache, try to make it even and not have to much air bubbles (your can prick them with a knife). Place in the fridge until you serve it.

Daring Baker - August 2012 Challenge: Filled Pâte à Choux Swans

Kat of The Bobwhites was our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We were encouraged to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors allowing our creativity to go wild!

Hello, it's Daring Baker time again! I was a bit short on this month's challenge, incredible how busy I am while everybody else seems to be on holidays. I enjoy baking pâte à choux, so this was a good excuse to make some.
But I have been making crème patissière and mousseline quite a lot these days, and I was in the mood for something lighter for a change, so my swans are a bit fruity, just like me!

Filled Pâte à Choux Swans

Pâte à Choux
115 gr Butter
240 ml Water
¼ Teaspoon Salt
140 gr all-purpose Flour
4 Large Eggs

Filling
500gr Fromage Blanc
2 Tablespoons of Honey
12 Apricots, diced
2 Teaspoons of Icing Sugar

Directions:

1. Line at least two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper, or grease pans well.
2. Preheat oven to moderately hot 190°C.
3. In a small saucepot, combine butter, water, and salt. Heat over until butter melts, then remove from stove.
4. Add flour all at once and beat, beat, beat the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot.
5. Add one egg, and beat until well combined. Add remaining eggs individually, beating vigorously after each addition. Resulting mixture should be somewhat glossy, very smooth, and somewhat thick.
6. Using a ¼” (6 mm) tip on a pastry bag, pipe out about 36 swan heads. You’re aiming for something between a numeral 2 and a question mark, with a little beak if you’re skilled and/or lucky.
7. Remove the tip from the bag and pipe out 36 swan bodies. These will be about 1.5” (40 mm) long, and about 1” (25 mm) wide. One end should be a bit narrower than the other.
8. Bake the heads and bodies until golden and puffy. The heads will be done a few minutes before the bodies, so keep a close eye on the baking process.
9. Remove the pastries to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before filling.

Assembly:

1. Take a swan body and use a very sharp knife to cut off the top 1/3rd to ½.
2. Cut the removed top down the center to make two wings.
3. Make the filling by combining the honey with the fromage blanc
4. Dollop a bit of filling into the body, add some diced apricots, insert head, and then add wings. Sprinkle some icing sugar on the wings.

Sugar Coma: Baklava

Remember how I told you I was craving for sweet things these days, well I found quite a remedy: Baklava! This has been on my "to-do" list for ages, even before I started this blog I think (Yes, I've been a list maker for a very long time). Phyllo pastry isn't that commum around here, so when I finally got my hand on some, I knew what I would use it for.

To me, Baklava is greek, because it's what I order in a greek restaurant for dessert. But I got to read about it a little, and it's a very commun dessert in the balkans, middle east and even in northern Africa. Obviously, there has to be as many variations as there are countries making it. The version I'm posting here is a mix and match of what I read, aswell of what I had at hand.

Beside the oh so satisfactory sugar high you'll experience with this dessert (please, nobody tells me how much calories this has), I like the fact that I feel like I'm somehow supporting Greece by making this dessert, which seems needed in those trouble times they're having.
Also while it's a very popular muslim dessert, it's also made (in it's greek version) with 33 layers of philo pastry, which represents the age of the Christ. This goes to prouve that around a good dessert, we can all get along.

Baklava (adapted from a recipe from Chef in you)

about 20 Baklavas

100gr Almonds, chopped
150gr Walnuts, chopped
75gr Pistachios, chopped
80gr of Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons of Ground Hazelnuts
2 Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamom
1/2 a Teaspoon of Ground Cloves
200gr of Sugar
200ml of Water
1 Stick of Cinnamom
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice
1 Pack of Phyllo Pastry (250gr)
200gr of Butter

In a bowl, combine the nuts with the sugar, cinnamom and cloves and mix until everything is well blended. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, put the water, sugar, cinnamom stick with the lemon juice and bring it to the boil while whisking it, then turn the heat down a little and let it bubble for about 10 minutes. Then, turn the heat off and leave it to cool.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Melt the butter over a medium heat or in the microwave. Using a brush, butter an oven dish (mine is 20x30cm), and start pilling up the phyllo pastry sheet: place a first one, brush it with butter, place the next one, brush it with butter... etc, make about 10 layers.

Spread now evenly the nuts, sugar and spices you have prepared in a bowl. Start again with the phyllo pastry sheet, butter each one and pile about 10 of them up. If the phyllo pastry sheet are a bit bigger than your oven dish, trim the edges, and with a sharp knife, cut the phyllo pastry in diamond shape.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour. While still hot, pour slowly the syrup you have prepared with sugar, water, cinnamom stick and lemon juice. Try to pour it slowly and evenly above the whole baklava. Now you have to wait for it to absorb the syrup, for about 6 to 8 hours.

Ricotta and Lemon Cake

I'm in a sweet tooth mood lately, not that I'm ever out of it, but I'm just finding myself looking for chocolatey/sugary things around the house these days. And the best way not to munch down everything that falls into my hand, is to have some cookies or cake in the house, so that I can reason myself with having just a slice (or at least I try...).

As we are actually having something ressembling summer these days, I thought something with lemon would be nice. I didn't have enough time on my hands to make a cheesecake, but I remembered seeing a nice italian ricotta cake a while back and thought this was the right time to try it.

I loved the result, it's a nice moist cake, that I would serve with fresh raspberries next time I bake it. I read it keeps nicely, but it didn't survive long enough here for me to confirm that. So for a nice breakfast or to go with your tea time (watching the London olympic games, obviously) I would recommend this cake.

Ricotta and Lemon Cake (based on a recipe from BBC Good Food)

175gr Butter, softened
175gr of Sugar
2 Lemons
4 Eggs
250gr of Ricotta
125gr of Flour
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Butter a 24cm springfrom cake tin and flour it aswell. Using the stand mixer, beat the butter with the sugar for about 2-3minutes. Add the zest of both lemons, aswell as the juice of one, then the ricotta and the egg yolks.

Whisk the egg white into a soft peak and fold them in gently into the ricotta mixture. Still gently, add now the flour and baking powder.

Pour the batter in the cake tin and place in the oven for 40 minutes. Let it cool in the tin before releasing it.

Holiday Baking

Every season has it's up and down side, they might be different for everyone. For me, summer is mostly too hot and too much sun exposition makes me look like a lobster, but I get that those can be positiv to other people.
Now what I like most about summer (beside holidays), are all the fruits available, even if their season is short sometimes, like cherries, melon, blackberries and (for me specially) apricots.

All those fruits don't need much to be enjoyed, and quite frankly eating apricots just like that makes my day. But that's not a recipe and can hardly be posted on a blog, though I'm all for the "eat your 5 fruits or vegetables a day".
Using the oven on a hot day is not the best, so try making it ready early morning, or if you have an oven that can be programmed, cook it in the middle of the night and you'll wake up to this nice clafoutis. Could be worse, now couldn't it!

Peach and Apricot Clafoutis

Serves 4

2 Peaches or Nectarines
4 Apricots
4 Eggs
25cl of Liquid Cream (or milk for a lighter dessert)
150gr of Sugar
50gr of Flour
1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
10gr of Butter
2 Tablespoons of Slivered Almonds

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Butter the oven dish you're going to use. In a bowl, combine the eggs with the sugar, add the flour and whisk everything well together.
Pour the cream slowly as you keep on whisking until you have something smooth, alike to a crêpes batter. Add the vanilla extract, whisk a little more and set aside.

Wash the fruits, cut the peaches in half to take the pit out and cut each half into 3. Place the fruits in the buttered oven dish.
Half the apricots to remove the pit and cut each half in 2, place the slices in between the peach and in the center.

Slowly pour the batter over the fruits, sprinkle the slivered almonds on top, and cook for about 35 minutes.
Serve at room temperature, just by itself or with some vanilla ice cream.

Sweet Crostata: Peach and Blueberry

For any one who knows me a little, it won't be a surprise if I admit that I have a one track mind, or as I like to phrase it: I'm constant in my affections. I'm still following the same band I liked as a teenager, I know some of my best friends since kindergarden, I can't imagine not liking chocolate anymore any day soon...etc

Don't get me wrong, I try not to just stick to what I know. Getting to know different music, people, ingredients, cultures, language, writers... is a daily challenge I try to face, not always with the expected results, but that's part of the experience, aka life. But still, it's nice to go back to what you know sometimes.

I'm also slightly obsessive (not a compulsive disorder, yet) when I watch a TV show, for instance, I'll most likely marathon my way thru it in a few weeks. Or when I cook/bake something I like, I'll try many variations while I'm on the roll. That crostata last week was really fun to make, in addition to being good. So the sweet tooth I am couldn't let it go without a dessert version of it.

I try to limit my baking during the week, because I end up eating most of it, which has annoying consequences. So in order not too have a too bad conscious about this one, I tried not too make it too sweet and with some lovely fruits. After all, if even the Cookie Monster is switching to fruits, why shouldn't we all!

Peach and Blueberry Crostata

for the crust
300gr of Flour (T110 organic)
70gr of Ground Almonds
50gr of Brown Sugar
125gr of Mascarpone
115gr of Butter, cold and cut in cubes
2 Eggs
1/2 a Teaspoon of Cinnamom
1/2 a Teaspoon of Salt

for the filling
5 Peaches
100gr of Blueberry
30gr of Brown Sugar
30gr of Butter, cut in cubes

In a food processor place the flour, the almonds, the sugar, the mascarpone, the butter, the salt and cinnamom. Start mixing until it reaches a crumble like consistency. Add the two eggs down the funnel of the processor, and when a dough starts to form, tip it on your floured worksurface. Form a ball, cover it with cling film and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven 190°C.

On a parchement paper, roll out the dough you've taken out of the fridge to a 35-40cm diameter circle and place it on an oven tray.
Clean and cut the peaches in 8 slices, and place them on the dough, leaving out a 5cm rim on the outside. Spread the blueberries evenly on top of the peaches, sprinkle the sugar on the fruits and place little cubes of butter on top.

Fold the outside rim around the pie, to cover partly the fruits (look at the pictures, it might be better than my explanation). Place the tray in the oven for about 45 minutes, until the dough has a nice golden color. Leave it to cool before serving.