Grape Tart & Strawberry Pie

Challenge 6 (tarts) and 7 (pies) were done at the same time because I was getting behind on schedule (Fall Baking Challenge).

Grape Tart with Ricotta and Walnuts

This recipe was actually for 6 grape tarts of about Ø 10cm, but I only had a springform pan of Ø 18cm so I made one big one instead. I didn't think it would matter much, but the weight of the grapes caused the tart to break when it was taken out of the pan. I suspect this wouldn't have happened if it had been smaller. On the other hand, the grapes leaked their moisture into the dough and I don't think smaller pans would have made a difference as far as that goes. But all in all the flavor and structure of the tart were quite okay. 

As you can probably guess from the photo above, the tart is a bit heavy on the stomach. The dough and the ricotta are quite filling, so a small slice was quickly enough for me.

All in all the grape-walnut tart is nice, but I wouldn't opt to make it again. The ricotta tastes fine and goes well with the grapes, but I think there are many, much nicer pastries to make, eat, and serve guests.

Ingredients:

• 200 grams flour
• 100 grams sugar
• 100 grams butter
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 200 grams ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp. molasses sugar
• 300 grams seedless grapes, sliced in half
• 100 grams walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp. regular sugar
• plastic foil
• rolling pin
• 6 tart molds of about Ø 10cm, or in this case a springform pan of Ø 18cm

Directions:

1. Mix flour, sugar, butter, egg, and salt, and knead into a supple dough. Wrap in plastic foil and refrigerate 30 min.
2. Pre-heat oven to 190°C. Mix ricotta with molasses sugar. Use rolling pin to flatten dough. Press dough into the tart molds/springform pan.
3. Put grapes with the round side up into the crust. Add ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts and sugar.
4. Bake 20 to 30 min. in the center of the oven. Let cool and take out of the molds/springform pan.

 'All American' Strawberry Pie

This recipe, sent to me by an American pen pal, was originally an 'All American Blueberry Pie' - but the supermarket didn't have blueberries, and I couldn't be bothered to go out of my way to get them. Hence, strawberries it became. 

Also, for the crust the recipe mentions 'unbaked deep-dish pie crusts' as an ingredient, which seems a rather typical American thing to me. While those crusts are available here they are not as common as they apparently are in the USA - which meant I had to go search for them and I didn't want to. Besides, I like baking my own crusts much better. Otherwise what's the point of baking? So, I adjusted the recipe to my taste and convenience. 

I should mention that it was my first time baking any sort of pie, hence my first time baking any sort of crust. So, the crust ended up a bit too thin, and the strawberry filling boiled over the edges, as you can see in the photo. Now, the pie looks messy but I think it adds a rustic sort of charm (if pies can have charm), so I'm very pleased with it.

As for the filling, I'd slice one open and show you but I think the photos are pretty self-explanatory. 

The pie is very good - about as sweet as the strawberries are. Mine were a bit sour, but I love sour and think that's actually better. The crust is crunchy  - my father calls it bland, but I think it's just right because it would distract from the filling otherwise. 

All in all, two thumbs up for this one. Definitely one to gobble up by yourself or share with guests.

Ingredients for the crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup butter
• 5 - 7 tbsp cold water

Ingredients for the filling:

• 6 cups diced strawberries
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 1 tbsp. powdered vanilla or 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Other:

• Silver foil
• Deep dish pie plate (I used the same springform pan I used for the grape tart)

Directions:

1. Put flour into a mixing bowl with the butter. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour. Add salt and water. Knead until dough is formed. Roll out on flat surface.
2. Preheat oven to 220℃. Coat a deep-dish pie plate or springform pan with non-stick baking spray. Line with half the dough dough. Roll the rest of the dough into a circle and cut into strips. Set aside.
3. Place strawberries in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, and vanilla. Add to strawberries. Toss to coat. Pour into pie crust.
4. Place 5 pastry strips on top of the strawberries in vertical rows and then in horizontal rows. Seal all of the strips to edge of crust, crimping with fingers or a fork. Place pie on baking sheet.
5. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 175℃. Cover with silver foil and bake 30 minutes more (or until juices are bubbling and thickened). Remove from oven, remove foil. Let cool completely before slicing.

And there you go, your delicious pie is ready! 

 

 

Cinnamon Cookies

Week 5 of the Fall Baking Challenge.

Bam! Cookies.

They were supposed to be ginger cookies but I'm not a big fan of ginger, so I made them cinnamon cookies. Not the best decision I've made so far, really. After trying one I must admit ginger would have been the better choice. But hey, the cinnamon doesn't clash with the rest of the ingredients. The cookies are still a tasty treat. They're simple and modest, sweet and crunchy. I made mine about 4cm x 4cm (about 1.5 x 1.5 inch), so they're actually bite size and perfect to eat with a cup of coffee or tea. They're also very easy to make and quickly done! The drawing of the bows might take some practice (which I didn't get, clearly) but it's still good fun. ​

The recipe:

Ingredients:

• 175 grams of wheat flour + extra to dust
• 80 grams light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. powdered ginger or powdered cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp. baking powder
• 70 grams cold butter in small cubes (I used 100 grams because the dough remained too floury with 70g)
• 1 egg yoke
• 2 tbsp. honey
• pinch of salt
• red and white cake decoration / food coloring pens, like these.
• rolling pin
• baking parchment
• cookie cutters

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, ginger/cinnamon, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Use your fingertips to mix in the butter so you get a crumbly dough. Mix in the egg yoke and the honey. Knead until you get a cohesive dough. Wrap in plastic foil and refrigerate 30 min.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C or 356°F. Dust working surface. Flatten dough into a sheet of 0.5 cm or 0.25 inch thick. Cut out cookies and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Bake cookies 8 - 15 minutes, or until golden-brown and done. Let cool 1 hr (they have to cool to become crunchy). Decorate cookies with coloring pens.

Et voilà, your cookies are done.

Baklava, or: Pistaccio Rolls

So, weeks - nay, a month has passed since my last post and too many pastries have been baked, eaten, and digested unreported. Since my disastrous Orange Mascarpone Cake (recipe contrived by a sadist), the Fall Baking Challenge has required us to make foreign desserts, cookies, tarts, and pies. Today (the day this post was written) was the day for the latter two since I was falling behind, and since this is a day of catching up I might as well post an update gigantique. Well, split in three, because all those photos in one post would be overkill.

So. Baklava. The Turkish goodness. 

Personally, I love baklava but the baklava I know is soft, sweet, squishy, and moist with what I suspect is syrup. Quite different from the pistaccio rolls these things apparently are. 

Anyway, you wouldn't guess from the looks of it but this dessert took me around 5 hours to make. (Includes a trip to the supermarket for pistaccios and filo dough.) Most of the time went into the chopping of the nuts. 

The recipe recommended grinding them in a food processor, but since I don't own a food processor I had to go old school. This meant that the nuts didn't get as finely ground as they were supposed to, but the result was all the more satisfying.

This heap of nuts is nowhere near the actual amount 10 rolls require. It's far too much. I didn't want to waste anything, so I kept on folding pistaccio rolls until I'd run out. In the end I had about 25 rolls.

Also, a heads up: the folding is not as simple as the recipe makes it sound. Practice is needed for decent looking rolls because the amount of filling must be just right and evenly divided. On top of that the dough must be folded just right, otherwise the sheets might open again, or they break or tear, and everything spills out.

It's a bit of an art, actually. In total, I must have spent two hours measuring and folding, spilling butter and ground nuts all over the place. In the end I was so fed up I used the rest of the filling to make one big ass baklava roll, just to get it over and done with.

But all that work pays off. Even though it's not quite what you get at a Turkish bakery, it's actually very good. Crispy, crunchy, and sweet (imagine pistaccio flavor blended with honey and cinnamon), and it works great as finger food / party snacks.

They have been Dad Approved, so you can rest assured they make a good treat. Personally, I love the syrup that comes with it. It's delicious.

Without further ado, the recipe:

Baklava Rolls
Makes: recipe says 10 but if you're going to make bite-sized rolls definitely 20 to 30
Takes: 25 min +15 min baking. That is, if you're a Gordon Ramsay specialized in Turkish desserts. No, this will take a few hours.

Ingredients:

• 200 grams light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 tbsp honey
• 300 grams unsalted nuts like pistachios and almonds + 1 tbsp of unsalted ground pistacchios
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• a pinch of black pepper
• 100 grams of unsalted dairy butter
• 10 to 20 sheets of filo dough, depending on how you fill the rolls and what size the sheets are
• food processor or chopping knife
• parchment lined baking sheet

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, mix 100 ml water, 100 grams sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 - 15 min. Stir in honey and let cool. (This is the syrup.)
2. Preheat oven to 200°C or 392°F. Grind the nuts and mix with the sugar and spices.
3. Melt butter. Take a sheet of filo dough. Brush butter onto it and fill with nut mixture. Scoop nut mixture onto middle of the dough sheet. Roll the left part of the sheet over the nut mixture, fold sides over the filling, and roll again until closed. Brush butter onto all sides and place on baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 - 15 min, or until golden-brown and ready. Put them on a dish and pour the syrup onto them. Sprinkle with ground pistachios. Serve lukewarm or on room temperature.

Orange Mascarpone Cake from Hell

This week, the Fall Baking Challenge required us to bake a cake and I chose the Orange Mascarpone Cake. The Orange Mascarpone Cake was supposed to be my masterpiece but it became my master disaster. According to the recipe, this cake should take 1 hr and 30 minutes to make. It took me little over 5 hours and it still ended up a tiny little monster. So much went wrong! I would've given up if I hadn't already spent all those ingredients on it.

Yep, that's my miserable little cake right there. I will explain how it got so sad.

The first thing that went wrong was entirely on me. Going by the quantities of the ingredients, this recipe assumes a regular sized springform pan. I used a small springform pan but forgot I had to adjust the quantities to it. The result was that the cake turned out a whole lot thicker (higher) than usual cakes: after baking it for 25 minutes I took it out of the oven, removed the pan from the bottom, and let it cool. Only after my first try at the cream did I discover (by slicing the cake open horizontally) that it wasn't done yet. (In my defense, we didn't have skewers for a test.) So, back in the oven it went! It took another 40 minutes for it to be completely done.

By then I'd already gone to the supermarket for another batch of mascarpone, because, yes, that cream had proved a real bitch to make! 

Firstly, the syrup that goes into the cream. (I'm even rolling my eyes at the memory of it.) One sheet of gelatin, the recipe said.

The recipe lies!

I boiled the orange juice for the syrup, added the sheet of gelatin, and let it cool. It certainly looked nothing like syrup (just a thick sort of orange juice) but I figured this might be precisely what the recipe intended. So I mixed it in with the cream and got nothing but an incohesive mess of watery, orange mascarpone.

Hence, off to the supermarket I went to get more mascarpone.

My second attempt at making the syrup went fairly well (with no less than 12 (!) gelatin sheets). To let it cool, I put the pan in a dish with cold water in the sink. Meanwhile, I sliced open the cake and sprinkled it with orange-flavored liquor. Then I turned to the sink to wash my hands, opened the tap... and let all the cold water run right into the orange syrup that was cooling there. Well, fuck.

A third attempt at making the syrup commenced. Another 300 ml of orange juice and 12 more gelatin sheets later I had a proper syrup, which I let cool on the stove this time. Meanwhile, my mixture of mascarpone and powdered sugar was waiting in the fridge, beautifully white and smooth and sweet.

After the syrup had cooled I mixed it in with the mascarpone. It looked fine at first, but as I was spreading it onto the cake it began to... well, it became lumpy, like you see in the photo. And I wasn't sure if that happened because the mascarpone was cold and the syrup was at room temperature (like it was supposed to be), or because it was around 30°C (86°F) today, or if there was any other reason like leprechauns pissing in my food behind my back. But it makes no difference. In the end, what was supposed to happen (according the recipe, but apparently not according the laws of nature) did not happen. Even my bake-savvy sister had no solution.

Additionally, the candied orange slices were too large even for my 'high cake'.

Summed up, that's 5 unusually dedicated hours to a disaster of an Orange Mascarpone cake from someone who doesn't even like oranges that much. The irony isn't lost on me.

But there's more. I had to try the cake too, of course.

Turns out, it's not even good!

The cake is a bit on the dry side, although to be fair it's not so dry it puts off. Perhaps it's a matter of taste. I like cakes that are a bit more moist. 

But it's really quite bland, too; a bite is much of the same. All the flavors used are orange. The cake is flavored with orange peel, the layers are covered with orange liquor and orange mascarpone, and then the cake is covered with the same mascarpone. Perhaps it would have been nice to use chocolate (or anything else) as an extra flavor.

So. Would I recommend you this cake?

Yeah. Sure. Knock yourselves out. Feel my pain and weep.

(Don't do it.)

But - on the bright side - I really liked the candied oranges, if only because they're so photogenic.

I love how even the peel becomes tasty if you candy it.

Candied Oranges:

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges
• 200 grams sugar
• 300 ml water

Directions:

1. Mix sugar with water and bring to a boil. Wash the oranges, slice them thinly, remove seeds. Put slices in the hot sugar water and turn heat low. Leave for 30 minutes.
2. Pre-heat oven to 100°C or 212°F. Drain slices and put them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Dry in the oven for 45 minutes.

So, wanna test the limits of your sanity? Here's the recipe verbatim (well, not actually verbatim, I had to translate it):

Orange Mascarpone Cake From Hell

Serves: 10 (it says)

Takes: 1 hr & 30 min. (bahaha)

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 200 grams sugar
• 180 grams + extra to dust
• salt
• butter
• 300 ml orange juice
• grated peel of 2 oranges
• 1 gelatin sheet (you're on your own, kid)
• 500 grams mascarpone
• 50 grams powdered sugar
• about 5 tbsp. orange liquor

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175°C or 347°F. Split eggs. Beat yokes with 150 grams sugar and the peel of 1 orange until creamy. Beat eggwhites until stiff while gradually adding 50 grams sugar.
2. Mix first half of the eggwhite mixture in with the yokes mixture. When mixed well, stir in the other half. Sift 180 grams of flour and a pinch of salt into the egg mixture and stir well, so you get a smooth batter. (Until here I was still quite pleased with how it was panning out.)
3. Scoop the batter into a greased (butter) and dusted (flour) springform pan and bake 15-25 minutes or until golden-brown and done. Take cake out of the oven and let cool 5 minutes. Then take cake out of the springform pan and let cool more.
4. In a sauce pan, mix orange juice with the rest of the orange peel and let boil until you have about 100 ml left. Meanwhile, soak the gelatin (however many or few you dare to use) in cold water, squeeze to drain them, and stir them into the orange juice. Let cool to room temperature.
5. Mix mascarpone with powdered sugar and mix in the 'orange syrup' (or 'gelatin mixture', or 'devil's brew'). Cut the cake horizontally in three layers and sprinkle each layer richly with the orange liquor. Then spread one-fourth of the mascarpone mixture on the top of each layer and put the cake back together. Cover the entire cake with the rest of the mascarpone mixture. Let stiffen in fridge, then decorate with candied oranges.
6. Get out of the fetal position and pick yourself up from the kitchen floor. Come on. Get yourself together.

So, to sum it all up? Never. Ever. Again.

But if you do try it, you brave soul you, I salute you.

Banana Bread with Pecans and Dates

This week's challenge was a first for me as I've never made a sweet bread before (I also hardly ever eat them). So, I pretty much picked a recipe at random and went for the banana bread with pecans and dates. It sounded nice and it looked nice in the picture, so I just had a go with it.

I stuck to all the directions except one: to bake the bread for 40-45 minutes. I was reading a book and forgot the time... oops! The bread baked 5 minutes too long, and the top got a bit dark. It doesn't look perfect but it still tastes good - some of the edges are just a bit crispy!

(On a side note I should mention that your house will smell delicious for as long as the bread is in the oven.)

The bread has a rough texture, with little chunks of dates and pecans. The flavor is the typical banana kind of sweet (no added sugars), but still savory enough to call it a bread and not a pound cake. Personally, I liked the braided bread of last week better but that's just because I'm more a fan of savory food and soft dough.

This banana bread is actually perfect for afternoon snacks or to add to your breakfast (perhaps with a thin spread of butter on it). It's also very healthy. As I mentioned, it has no added sugars: it contains only 380 calories! (But the calorie count will go up per next week I reckon, though!)

Anyway, the recipe:

Banana Bread with Dates and Pecan Nuts
Serves: 10
Takes: 15 min + 45 min baking + 1 hr 30 min waiting.

Ingredients:

• 400 grams bananas
• 100 grams dates without seeds
• 140 grams unsalted pecan nuts
• 250 grams wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• a pinch of salt
• 100 grams butter (room temp.)
• 2 eggs
• 125 crème fraîche
• greased pound cake mold (about 30 cm or 11.8 inch)
• skewer

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C or 392°F. Mash the bananas and cut the dates in small slices. Save about 10 pecan nuts and coarsely chop the rest.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth. While beating, add eggs one by one, and next the crème fraîche. Scoop into the flour mixture.
3. Add banana purée, dates, and chopped nuts into batter and knead to mix well. The dough will get a bit thicker and more cohesive, which is good. The scoop the dough into the pound cake mold and smoothen it with a spoon. Press the 10 pecan nuts you saved into the top. Bake 40-45 minutes, until golden-brown and done.
4. After 40 minutes, check if the bread is done by sticking a skewer into it. If the skewer comes out clean, the bread is done. Let cool 30 minutes, take out of the mold, and let cool another hour.

Braided Bread with Chia Seeds

Like many of us, I don't bake as much as I'd like. Baking takes time and life tends to distract, so I usually just end up collecting recipes and not doing anything with them. So, I was pretty excited when I discovered the Fall Baking Challenge on Swap-Bot. For this (email) swap we are challenged to bake one item each week for 8 weeks. It's a proper excuse to bake up something delicious on a regular basis.

The first item of the challenge was this: a savory bread. I chose the braided bread mostly because it looked pretty enough to merit the effort of taking photos of it and sending the recipe to my swap partners. It turned out to be a real hit: it's not just pretty, but also delicious and wholesome. Perfect to serve family and friends for lunch, dinner, or as a snack. My family had some for all three.

The dough of this bread is soft, almost sweet, and neutral enough to go with anything. It is perfect to go with sweet sandwich toppings, garlic butter, or just to dip it in your soup. The best part about it is that it looks fancy, but it's actually very easy to make and it doesn't take long at all. I put all the directions in the recipe below. 

Have fun and enjoy!

Ingredients:

•  500 grams of flour
• 2 tsp fine sugar
• 7 grams of dried yeast
• 45 grams of butter (room temp.)
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 250 ml lukewarm water
• chia seeds

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, yeast, butter, water, salt, and 1 egg. Knead until dough is elastic and cohesive.
2. Shape dough into a ball and put in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic foil and let rise for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in volume. 
3. Knead dough and divide in 5 equally large pieces. Roll each piece into a string of more or less 30 cm (11.8 inch). If the dough is too wet or sticky, dust the working surface with some flour. It will stick to the dough and make it easier to handle.
4. Put the strings on a parchment lined baking sheet and press them together on 1 side. Braid the dough until you've reached the end of the strings and press them together there, too.
5. Pre-heat oven to 200°C or 392°F. Split the 2nd egg and whisk the yoke (you don't need the egg white). Brush or gently rub the yoke onto the bread and sprinkle with chia seeds. 
6. Bake bread 20-25 minutes in the center of the oven. Let cool for 30 minutes.   

How to braid the dough:

1. Bring the outer right string to the left and place it in between the 2 outer left strings.
2. Now, bring the outer left string to the middle. When it's there, take the string left of it and put it over it. 
3. Then begin again by taking the outer right string and putting it in between the 2 outer left strings, and so on.