Showing posts with label bake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bake. Show all posts

Sunday, 31 March 2013

creme fraiche raspberry tart

Every summer my family garden produces beautiful berries in such abundance that my mom has to make jams, desserts, preserves, sauces ... you name it. She cooks with them, mashes them with some yogurt or milk, eats as they are or freezes them.


It is natural you tend to make more fresh berry desserts during this season. So when I got my hands on beautiful fresh and some frozen but not less beautiful and yummy raspberries I knew I wanted to make sour creme raspberry pie my mom used to make. Well unfortunately both of us couldn't remember the recipe so I searched online and came across the following tart which is now a keeper with me.
About a week ago I took it to a picnic with my sweet lady friends and they loved it. The crust of this tart is much easier to make and hustle free but so nice and complements sweet and tangy raspberry filling so well.


The original recipe was posted by Becks here. (Thank you VERY MUCH for this.) She has very nice and clear step by step picture instructions if you are a visual person. She also describes a gluten-free version of this tart which is very helpful for people who are gluten intolerant.
The recipe calls for creme fraiche but you can easily use sour cream instead.

So here is what you will need:

113g butter (1 stick), softened
3/4 cup sugar, divided 1/2 and 1/4 cup
pinch a salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white flour (as the climate I live is humid I tend to add a couple of tbsp more especially when the humidity rises)
3/4 cup (180g) reduced fat creme fraiche
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (I honestly don't think I use 2 cups of frozen ones per tart. But what I know is that 500g bag of frozen raspberries is ideal for two tarts like that. If using frozen berries, thaw them completely in a colander over a bowl to let liquid drain.)
tart tin preferably with a removable bottom.


Here is what you will need to do:
  • In a big mixing bowl combine butter, 1/2 cup sugar and salt and beat until fluffy and mixed. Add 3 eggs and 1/2 tsp vanilla and beat until smooth and well incorporated. The mixture might look a bit curdled but it will come together eventually.
  • Start adding flour a bit at a time. Mix in 1 cup of flour until just combined, do not over beat. If you see the mixture does not keep swirls then add a couple of tbsp more, one at a time.
  • Spread the batter around the bottom and the sides of a tart pan, pushing it up the sides to make a border. 













  • Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). However, you know your oven best so you might need to adjust the temperature. And remember if your oven is fan forced reduce the temperature by 20C.
  • Now it is time to make creme fraiche filling. Combine creme fraiche, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar and beat until well mixed and smooth. Pour over the prepared batter and slightly spread it over. And here come the r-r-r-raspberries. I do take some time with arranging berries, placing them in circles. I start from the sides moving towards the centre making sure that berries are distributed evenly on top of the crust. I know it is a bit time consuming but I do it to make sure that everyone gets a piece with lots of yummy goodness on it.

  • Bake your tart in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until the shell is golden and the centre is firm. Do not over cook. Take out and let it cool before transferring to your serving dish. You can dust with some icing sugar for extra sweetness but for me tart is great as it is.

It's tart-elicious!!! Enjoy!!!

Let me know if you tried it or made some variations to the recipe.
That's all for now...
take care there.

Monday, 18 March 2013

Chocolate brioche

Yesterday my love friend called me and some other friends of ours for a get together day. I had so much fun and great yummy food, flavorful Moroccan mint tea and chocolate cupcakes.
I couldn't come empty-handed though. and besides I had this long-time craving for a chocolate brioche which I made with some really really dark chocolate.


It turned out very good, soft and of course chocolaty.
Ladies loved it and I am happy.
If you decide to make it should be done the day before as the dough requires the rest overnight. Other than that it is just like making any bread... more or less. (more chocolate for sure)
I made half of the recipe below and it was still enough for a 2lb tin loaf (22cm x 11cm x 5,5cm). It didn't rise a lot over the tin loaf but it was perfect for me. One nice and neat loaf to munch.

Ingredients:

the dough:
500g cake flour (see tips for making cake flour)
50g brown sugar
1g instant yeast
10g salt
6 eggs
250g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
an egg yolk with a little bit of milk, lightly beaten

the chocolate ganache:
60ml cream
50g chocoalte, chopped



Directions:

  • Place cake flour, sugar, yeast, salt and eggs in the bowl of a mixer. Using K-beater mix for about 5-8 minutes at medium speed until a firm dough forms.
  • Add butter little by little until everything is well incorporated and the dough has a smooth appearance (it took me long but the result was well worth it).Place the mixture in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a cling film and refrigerate overnight.
  • Turn the mixture out on a floured surface. Knead for a minute to make it pliable, press it flat using hands until it is about 1 cm thick. Sprinkle chopped chocolate over and roll tightly. Line a bread tin or grease it lightly and place the dough inside, cover with a clean tea towel.
  • Leave to rise in a warm place until it doubles for about 60-90 minutes. Since the dough was straight from the fridge don't worry if it doesn't start rising right away.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C (360F). Once the dough has risen, brush it lgihtly with a beaten egg. Be careful not to press much, so that you don't to knock the dough down. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped at the bottom.
  • To make chocolate sauce warm cream till almost boiling point, add chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth. Pour over the brioche or serve warm separately.

Enjoy!!! Yumm!!!

Sunday, 10 March 2013

turkey asparagus easy pasta

Hi there some dear readers.
While running some errands today morning I didn't even notice how hours flew by and it was already lunch time. I realized I was so hungry and I needed something quick but yummy. I got some turkey breast and beautiful asparagus which I've been wanting to use for some time.

So I took some turkey breast (chicken will do as well) sliced it thinly across to make kind of small medallions. Marinated for about 10 minutes and fried turning once. Since the pieces are thin it takes only about 1,5 minutes on each side.
While I was cooking the turkey, I slices mushrooms and cut asparagus into halves. Put big pot of water on heat to boil with a little bit of salt. Once water boiled I cooked pasta, adding asparagus for the last 2 minutes of cooking time.
I took out the greens first and then drained pasta.
When the turkey was ready I just removed it from the pan. I put mushrooms in the same pan, fried for 3-4 minutes, then added cream, brought to simmer and then mixed in Parmesan cheese. I removed it from the heat.
Meanwhile I cup the turkey pieces into bite sizes and preheated the oven to 180-200C. I took ovenproof medium size rectangular dish. I first put the turkey, then drained pasta, poured the gooey mushroom sauce and arranged asparagus right on top. Cover with grated cheese and put in oven. Since all the ingredients are already cooked it just needs the time for the cheese to melt and get beautiful golden color.
And voila you have fast, beautiful and yummy dish.
This amount is actually enough for about 3 people, but it all depends how much you eat and how hungry you are. ;)

Ingredients:


250g turkey breast thinly sliced

marinade:
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp light olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ tsp dry rosemary

cream sauce:
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup cream
about 1 full tbsp Pasmesan cheese

10-11 springs asparagus
3 quite generous handfuls of pasta

At least 1/2 cup grated cheese

I hope you'll enjoy this quick fix.
For the dessert I had these s'more brownies.

You can fine the original recipe here. The taste was nice, however, I will adjust it to my liking a bit. So the recipe to follow.
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