Apple-Blueberry Crumble

This Apple-Blueberry Crumble was a first for me. In the Netherlands, our 'crumbles' contain a crust, filling, and crumble on top, usually dusted with some powdered sugar. So when I got this recipe I thought it was quite interesting to see the British variety of 'crumble' is basically the best part of the pie: the filling and the crumble, without the crust. Seems like someone had their priorities straight. I had to give it a go, and it turns out this apple-blueberry crumble is nothing short of a tasty mess.

The crumbs are sweetened with vanilla and sugar, and the mixture of apples and blueberries gives the 'filling' a sour-sweet flavor. To my taste, the sweetness of vanilla and the sourness of the berries contrasted a bit too much. Perhaps apples and pears would have been a better choice, but that's not to say the apple-blueberry mixture didn't work alright. My brother-in-law tested it and gave a thumbs up, and I had two scoops of it.

To conclude, the recipe categorizes this dish as a dessert. While that's not a stretch, to call it comfort food would do it better justice. It's really the sort of food to munch on when you're binge-watching the Gilmore Girls in your PJs. It's messy, tasty, and easily eaten out of the baking dish. (It's also tempting to take a bite from in passing, simply because it doesn't require slicing.) 

Now, on to the recipe, which serves 8:

Ingredients:

• 3 apples
• 150 grams blueberries (deep-frozen)
• 200 grams self-raising flour
• 150 grams sugar
• 3 tbsp oatmeal
• 175 grams cold butter
• 1 vanilla pod 
• Optional: 8 scoops of vanilla ice cream

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 190°C or 375°F. Peel apples, remove core, and dice. Mix apple dices with blueberries and spread out onto the bottom of the baking dish.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, and oatmeal. Dice butter and add. Scrape seeds from vanilla pod and add. Knead with fingertips into a crumbly dough. Scoop onto the fruit.
3. Bake for 35 min. in the center of the oven. Can be served hot (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) or cold. 

Biscotti

Winter has officially put its spell on our home. The Christmas tree is up, the treats are on the table, and the radio is on most of the day. We indulge the season spirit, whether that means gathering near the Christmas tree for coffee or curling up with a good book and a big mug of tea. This week I've baked cookies (unpublished, there was as much shape in them as in Flubber), almond-apple pie, boterkoek, and biscotti. It's coziness galore, and that's exactly what winter is supposed to be - or at least December, the month before we all start worrying about what we've done to our waistline and start sprinting towards the gym. But let that be a later concern.

These biscotti are a great treat to go with coffee or - better - with espresso. The full flavor of coffee and dark chocolate go well together. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, because espresso and biscotti are two very Italian things.

Biscotti are crunchy and airy, a bit like rusks, but they are cinnamon flavored and sweetened with chunks of dried prunes and apricots. They take about two hours to make but they are worth the effort. You'll find the recipe below. Bon appetit.

Ingredients:

• 75 grams dried apricots
• 75 grams dried prunes
• 200 grams dark chocolate
• 280 grams flour + extra to dust
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 60 grams soft butter
• 175 grams sugar
• 8 grams of powdered vanilla
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1.  Cut apricots and prunes in small bits. Chop 100 grams chocolate coarse. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in eggs one by one. Add flour mixture and stir. Add apricots, prunes, and chopped chocolate. Knead into a sticky dough.
2. Pre-heat oven to 200°C or 390°F. Divide dough in two portions. On a parchment lined baking sheet (and with floured hands), shape dough into two sheets of 25 cm or 10 inch long and 8 cm or 3 inch wide. Bake for 25 minutes.
3. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 175°C or 350°F. Cut sheets into biscotti of about 2cm or 0.75 inch thick. Bake for another 20 minutes. Turn the biscotti over after 10 minutes.
4. Break 100 grams chocolate in chunks and melt au bain-marie. Use chocolate to decorate the biscotti.

Boterkoek and Apple-Almond Pie

One of my favourite things to bake is the traditional Dutch 'boterkoek' (butter cake). That's not just because it's one of the most delicious pastries of the Dutch kitchen. It's also very practical, as in: it's easily made and not too hard on your wallet. 

The flavor and texture are not easily described or compared to other cakes. The koek in boterkoek literally translates to 'cookie', and that's a fairer comparison, or at least gives a better idea of the sort of pastry this actually is. It's a 'what you see is what you get' sort of cake. There are no layers or fillings, but to simply call it a giant cookie wouldn't do it justice. The texture is comparable to almond paste only a little more solid, and the flavor is sweet, just what you get when you mix butter and sugar. Chewing on it almost feels like it melts in your mouth, and that's quite an achievement for a pastry of any kind.

Perhaps it's best to leave the descriptions for what they are. Try for yourself, and you'll see you won't regret it. But if you're hesitant, rest assured: this cake was entirely family approved.

Ingredients:

• 300 grams soft, sweet cream butter
• 100 grams fine sugar
• 100 grams caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 300 grams flour
• 1 whisked egg

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C or 390°F. With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugars, and salt into a cream.
2. Mix in flour and knead until you have a ball of dough. Wrap in plastic foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Grease a boterkoek pan (or another type of low cake pan). Press the dough into the pan and flatten the surface. Brush whisked egg onto the surface and use a fork to draw a checkered pattern on it.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for a few hours or until the butter has completely solidified. 

As for the apple-almond pie, it's such a common pastry that it needs no introduction. What makes this pie different than the traditional apple pie is that it is filled with almonds and apples, which makes the filling a little less sweet and a little more chewy. The pie got good reviews: it was munched away by five people, including myself.

Ingredients:

• 300 grams self raising flour + extra to dust
• 275 grams caster sugar
• 200 grams cold sweet cream butter
• 50 grams of grated almonds
• 1 egg (split)
• 4 apples
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 big tbsp apricot jam
• springform pan ø 18 cm or 7 inch.

Directions:

1. Mix flour, 200 grams sugar, and salt in a bowl. Using two knives, cut in the butter and mix until you have a crumbly dough. Add egg white and knead with cool hands into a ball. Wrap in plastic foil and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Pre-heat oven to 175°C or 350°F. Dust working surface, rolling pin, and dough. Roll two-thirds of the dough into a sheet of 1 cm or 0.5 inch thick. Use the springform to cut out a circle and place it on the bottom of the springform pan. Cut out strips to cover the sides of the springform pan. 
3. Peel the apples, remove the cores, and cut into cubes. Put the cubes into a bowl, add the almonds, and stir in the cinnamon and the rest of the sugar. Scoop into the crust. 
4. Roll the rest of the dough into a sheet and cut out strips of about 2 cm or 1 inch thick. Place them onto the filling in a checkered pattern. Brush some of the yoke onto the strips.
5. Bake a little below the center of the oven for about 1 hr. If the strips get too dark, cover with silver foil. When the cake is done, brush the apricot jam onto the surface. Let it cool in the pan for about an hour.

C'est tout. Bon appetit!