Olive and herb focaccia

I do not understand people who don’t like olives – don’t get me wrong, I have my own food pet peeves (won’t eat liver for the life of me), but olives are so juicy, so meaty and tender... I find them completely irresistible. ;)

That is why, while setting up the ingredients for this delicious bread, I pulled 20 olives out of the jar. :D

Olive and herb focaccia
slightly adapted from The Weekend Baker

Dough:
3 cups + 1 tablespoon (430g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or thyme
2 ¼ teaspoons (7g) dried yeast
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 ¼ cups (300ml) warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Topping:
12-15 black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh oregano or thyme leaves
1 teaspoon coarse salt – I used Maldon

In a large bowl, combine flour, oregano, yeast, salt and sugar. Stir to combine. Drizzle with the water and the olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes – resist the urge to add more flour; the dough is really soft so I preferred to use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook to knead the dough.
Shape the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Lightly oil a heavy cookie sheet. Turn the dough onto it and press gently to deflate. Shape into an oval about 2cm thick - the oval will be about 25cm (10in) long. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil and loosely cover the surface directly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise again in a warm spot until puffed and almost double, about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough. Lightly coat your middle 3 fingertips with flour and press into the dough down (but not through) the bottom. Repeat this dimpling all over the dough. Scatter the olive pieces over the surface, pressing them into the dimples. Drizzle the dough evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the oregano and the coarse salt.
Bake until the top of the focaccia is golden and browned, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the pan and, using a large metal spatula, transfer the focaccia to a wire rack, drizzle with the remaining ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Serve warm (I found it delicious cold, too).

Makes 1 large focaccia

Pear gingerbread cakes

On the couch, trying to find something nice on TV the other day, the hubby asks: “have you watched ‘The Painted Veil’?” – “Yes, four times already. But I would not mind watching it again if you’re in the mood”. What can I say? When I like something, I really like it. That’s just me. ;)

Not only did I learn to love ginger, I also bought a whole book devoted to this ingredient. That’s just me. ;)

Pear gingerbread cakes
adapted from the beautiful Gingerbread

1 1/3 cups (186g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (58g) packed brown sugar
½ cup (120ml) molasses
1 large egg
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
2 pears

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line eight 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans with high paper cases*.
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Put the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Pour in the molasses and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix until incorporated, stopping at least once to scrape the bowl. Reduce the mixing speed to medium-low and alternately incorporate the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Increase to medium speed and beat until smooth.
Divide each pear lengthwise into quarters and remove the seeds. Divide the batter among the prepared pan and place ¼ of pear into each, sinking the pear pieces a little into the batter. Before placing the pan in the oven, fill the empty cavities halfway with water.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then carefully remove and transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely.

* if using regular paper cases you’ll probably get 12 cakes (and will need an extra pear)

Makes 8

Lemon, lime and coconut bars and good/bad additions

I know, I know, I’ve made lemon lime bars before (and those were delicious, by the way). But there’s a special addition to these: coconut in the crust, which works beautifully combined with the lemon/lime filling.

While some additions are wonderful – in the case of these bars – some are disastrous: who would have thought that a simple mustache could do that much harm? ;)

Lemon, lime and coconut bars
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay magazine

Base:
2/3 cup (65g) shredded sweetened coconut
1 1/3 cups (185g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons (90g) superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, cold and chopped

Lemon filling:
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 cups + 3 tablespoons (436g) superfine sugar
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (50g) all purpose flour
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
finely grated zest of 1 lime
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
icing sugar, to serve

Start by making the base: preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan, line with foil, leaving an overhang in two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.
Place the coconut in the bowl of a food processor and process to chop the threads into smaller bits. Add the flour, superfine sugar, vanilla and butter and process until mixture comes together. Press in the base of the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/350°F. Make the lemon filling: place the eggs and yolks in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the superfine sugar, flour, lemon and lime zest and juices and whisk until smooth. Pour over the base and bake for 20-25 minutes or until just set. Remove from the oven, let cool completely in the pan over a wire rack then refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or until firm). Dust with icing sugar, cut into bars or squares and serve.

Makes 16

Chocolate-orange truffles with almonds - flavor combos that never tire

Since you already know that I obsess over things from time to time it will come as no surprise to you that I’ve put chocolate and orange together in ganache form again – it worked so well as tart filling I thought it would be delicious as truffles, too (and the almonds add a wonderful texture element here – do not omit them).

That way, I know you won’t find it weird that I’ve already finished the first book (644 pages!), have begun the second and bought the third. ;)

Chocolate-orange truffles with almonds
slightly adapted from the amazing, out-of-this-world Bon Appetit Desserts

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (90ml) heavy cream
170g (6oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped (do not exceed 61% cacao)
finely grated zest of 1 small orange
1 teaspoon Cointreau or Grand Marnier – or to taste
½ cup flaked almonds, lightly toasted, cooled and finely chopped

Place chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until creamy and smooth. Remove from the heat, add the orange zest and the Cointreau and mix to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. Using a small cookie-scoop or a spoon, make truffles with 1 slightly rounded teaspoon of ganache per truffle and roll into the chopped almonds. Place in fluted paper cases and serve.
Truffles can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Makes about 25 truffles

Summer blueberry tart and nice surprises

Isn’t it great to find good things unexpectedly? Surfing the net I accidentally discovered that Camera Obscura is the band responsible for a song I adore. Nice surprise. Like the one I had the other day while buying fruit at a supermarket near the office: fresh blueberries. They’re not easy to find near my house so I decided to buy a couple of punnets (despite their not-very-friendly price). Some were devoured plain – Joao thought they tasted a lot like pitangas – and some were used in the panna cotta and in this tart. Please do not ask me to pick favorites. ;)

Summer blueberry tart
slightly adapted from the wonderful Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Tart dough:
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (70g) confectioners’ sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Pastry cream:
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
¼ cup (50g) superfine sugar
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds removed with the back of a knife
pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped

To assemble:
250g fresh blueberries

Start by making the tart dough: in the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and confectioners’ sugar. Mix on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add ¾ cup (105g) flour, and mix on low speed just until the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add remaining ¾ cup (105g) flour along with the salt and cream and mix just until flour is no longer visible, about 1 minute.
Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a flattened rectangular. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Make the pastry cream: in a small saucepan, combine the milk, 2 tablespoons (24g) sugar, vanilla bean and seeds and salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch and remaining sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot milk mixture, gradually, into the egg yolks mixture. Continue adding the hot mixture and whisking. Pour it all back to the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and registers 71°C/160°F on a thermometer. Remove from the heat and pass mixture through a fine sieve into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the butter to the cream and, using the mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat in medium speed until butter melts and cream cools, about 5 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight. Just before using, beat on low speed until smooth (or by hand).
Bake the crust: roll out the pastry between two large pieces of lightly floured baking paper until you get a 40x15cm (16x6in) rectangle, about 6mm (¼ in) thick. Fit dough into a 35x10cm (14x4in) lightly buttered tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing into corners. Trim the excess pastry and prick the pastry all over with a fork. Freeze for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Line the chilled tart shell with a buttered piece of foil and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are golden, 15-17 minutes. Carefully remove weights/beans and foil and bake for 20 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown all over. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Assemble the tart: spread the pastry cream into the tart shell and freeze for 20 minutes (it will firm the filling a bit so the berries do not sink into it). Arrange the blueberries on top of the cream and serve (you might want to wait for the cream to become silkier before serving).

Serves 6-8