Cinnamon crunch muesli and an important question for the readers

I have finished reading "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest", therefore finishing the Millennium Trilogy – the books are fantastic and it’s a pity that Lisbeth Salander’s adventures have come to an end. My idea now is to go for one of the classics, maybe "Moby Dick", but I’m not sure yet. That is why I ask you for suggestions: would you help me out choosing the next book I’m reading? I’m all ears. :D

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s rather early and I haven’t had breakfast yet – this delicious muesli with some yogurt will be perfect.

Cinnamon crunch muesli
from the gorgeous Feed Me Now

½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup (58g) light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 ¾ cups (316g) rolled oats
1 cup (150g) almonds (with skin), roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Place the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and sugar dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the oats and almonds and stir to coat evenly.
Spread the mixture evenly on the prepared sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Serve with milk, yogurt or/and fruit.

Makes 16 portions

Strawberry and rose hazelnut tart, music and a baking bonus

When I was 10 years old I got the Arena album as a gift from a cousin I deeply love. I used to listen to it nonstop, 24/7. I still have the album but since I no longer have a record player I bought the CD a while ago – I love listening to it while I drive to/from work. So good.
The CD version has two bonus tracks, but unfortunately “Girls on Film” and “Rio” are songs I never cared about (and still don’t).

Like one of my all time favorite albums, this recipe has a bonus, too, but in this case it’s a really good one: you get a delicious, fresh tart for dessert and also yummy slice and bake cookies with the leftover pastry. The cookies are so good you might consider postpone making the tart and stick to the pastry alone. :)

Strawberry and rose hazelnut tart
slightly adapted from the always stunning and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

Spiced hazelnut pastry:
¾ cup + ½ tablespoon (176g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (148g) icing sugar, sifted
finely grated zest of 1 orange
3 egg yolks
1 ¾ cups + ½ tablespoons (250g) all purpose flour
¾ cup (75g) hazelnut meal (finely ground hazelnuts)
¾ cup (75g) almond meal (finely ground almonds)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling:
700g strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (72g) superfine sugar*
¼ cup (30g) corn starch
finely grated zest and juice of ½ orange
3 teaspoons rosewater
seeds of 1 vanilla bean
heavy cream, for brushing
icing sugar, for dusting
crème fraîche, to serve

Start by making the spiced hazelnut pastry: beat butter, icing sugar and orange zest in an electric mixer until creamy, add yolks and beat to combine. Add remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (2-3 hours).
Roll two-thirds of hazelnut pastry to 3mm-thick between two large pieces of lightly floured baking paper and line a lightly buttered 24cm (9in) diameter tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim edges, prick pastry all over with a fork and freeze until firm (15 minutes). Roll out remaining dough on a lightly floured piece of baking paper to a rough 24cm-long rectangle, place on an oven tray and refrigerate between the paper pieces until firm (15-20 minutes).
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Combine strawberries, sugar, corn starch, zest, juice and vanilla seeds in a bowl and fill pastry case.
Remove the pastry rectangle from the fridge, remove the paper piece on the top and cut the pastry into your favorite shapes using a cookie cutter (mine was a drop shaped cutter about 3cm long). Place them randomly over strawberry mixture, leaving some of the filling uncovered**. Brush pastry with heavy cream, place tart pan onto a baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden (35-40 minutes), cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar and serve with crème fraîche.

* after tasting the tart I though the filling needed a bit more sugar – have a taste of your strawberries and adjust the sugar amount accordingly to their sweetness

** I gathered up the pastry leftover pieces and made slice and bake cookies with the remaining pastry – they tasted delicious!

Serves 10

Pear, apple, brown sugar and maple syrup cake

People who like to cook and bake – myself included – get mad at recipes that do not work – I think it’s only natural to feel that way about something that involves time, ingredients ($$) and expectations. I get really angry sometimes, to the point of cursing like a character in a mafia movie. :D

But if the recipe works and the food tastes good, I’m OK with a couple of details that might be different from the recipe – the fruit on top of this cake, for instance, should have sunk into the batter while it baked in the oven, according to Nigel Slater; that did not happen, but it doesn’t matter – I actually think the cake looks nicer this way.

Pear, apple, brown sugar and maple syrup cake
slightly adapted from the absolutely beautiful Tender Volume II

Fruit mixture:
2 ripe pears
1 Granny Smith apple
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Cake:
100g unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup (50g) superfine sugar
1/3 cup (58g) light brown sugar, packed
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup (50g) almond flour (ground almonds)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Butter a 20cm (8in) round baking pan, line the base with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Peel, core and dice the pears and the apples – the pieces should be around 1cm each. Transfer the fruit to a large frying pan, add the butter and cinnamon and cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5-8 minutes. Pour in the maple syrup, let the mixture bubble up briefly, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and thick. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add the almond flour. In a small bowl, whisk lightly with a fork the eggs, milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the eggs mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Spoon the fruit mixture over the batter and bake for 40 minutes or until golden, risen and lightly firm and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack.

Serves 8-10

Baked lemon ricotta doughnuts - all the deliciousness of doughnuts without frying

I love doughnuts – as do many of you, I believe – but the idea of frying them... Not so much. I’m not a fried food kind of cook – I love eating it, not making it. That is why I was quite taken by this recipe: the doughnuts are baked instead of fried and they turned out beautiful, very tender, absolutely delicious.
The filling is oh, so good – I ate several spoonfuls of it before actually assembling the doughnuts. And I’m not ashamed of that. :D

Baked lemon ricotta doughnuts
slightly adapted from the always beautiful and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

Dough:
5 1/3 cups (746g) all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
½ cup + 3 ½ tablespoons (142g) superfine sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons (7g /1 sachet) dried yeast
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm whole milk, plus extra for brushing
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk*
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Lemon ricotta filling:
250g ricotta
¼ cup (50g) superfine sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
1 large egg

To serve:
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) superfine sugar
finely grated zest of 1½ lemons

Start by making the dough: combine flour, sugar, yeast and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix to combine. Whisk together milk, buttermilk, eggs and the melted butter and, with motor running, add to flour mixture, then mix on medium speed until dough is smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes). Shape into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (1-1½ hours).
Meanwhile, for lemon ricotta filling, process ingredients in a food processor until smooth (1-2 minutes), transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (otherwise it will be too fluid).
Knock back dough, turn onto a lightly floured surface and roll to 5mm thick. Cut 48 rounds with a 7.5cm-diameter cutter (reroll scraps if necessary**). Place a heaped teaspoon of lemon ricotta filling in centre of 24 rounds. Brush edges with milk, cover with the remaining rounds, press to seal edges well. Trim with a 7cm-diameter cutter. Transfer to a large baking sheet, lined with baking paper, cover and stand in a warm place until risen (1-1½ hours), then bake until lightly golden (10-12 minutes).

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and set aside. Combine sugar and lemon zest in a bowl. Dip hot doughnuts immediately in the melted butter, toss in lemon sugar and serve hot.

* homemade buttermilk: place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk. Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

** I tried rerolling scraps, but dough became tough, it did not work; so I braided the scraps into several little breads

Makes about 24 doughnuts

Passion fruit poppy seed pound cake

I bought a bag of beautiful, fragrant passion fruit to make Tessa Kiros’s passion fruit ice cream, but since there still was some strawberry cheesecake ice cream in the freezer I had to think of another use for the fruit. I thought of my good friend Ana Elisa, who I’d discussed Tessa’s book with once: I’d told her that I’d bought the book but hadn’t cooked from it yet, and how disappointing that was. “You have to give the book another try, it’s great!” she said. I remembered our conversation, then I remembered an amazing passion fruit cake she’d baked a while ago. Bingo!

I love it when one good thing leads to another – a perfect train of thought. :)

Passion fruit poppy seed pound cake
adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe, inspired by Ana Elisa’s cake

Cake:
2 cups (240g) cake flour*
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup + 3 tablespoons (156g) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ½ tablespoons passion fruit pulp, strained
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
4 large eggs
1 ¼ cups (250g) superfine sugar

Passion fruit glaze:
½ cup (70g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1-2 tablespoons passion fruit pulp, strained

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 22.5x12.5cm (9x5in) loaf pan**, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, cream, vanilla extract, passion fruit pulp and poppy seeds. The mixture should have the consistency of thick liquid – if too thick, reheat gently until the butter melts again.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in medium speed for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until just combined. Fold ¼ of the egg-flour mixture into the butter mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour or until the cake is risen and golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for at least 30 minutes then carefully unmold onto another wire rack. Cool completely.
Make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and passion fruit pulp until smooth. Pour over the cake and let it set for 20 minutes before slicing it.
Cake can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in room temperature for up to 3 days.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

** I made the exact recipe above using a 20x9cm loaf pan

Serves 8

Caramel brownies and changing my mind in a matter of moments

One of my cooking/baking pet peeves – and I have several – is that I hate it when I choose a certain recipe and it says there that there will be some frosting/filling/whatever left: it immediately puts me off making it because I know that the frosting/filling/whatever will probably go to waste.

After much delay I decided to make these brownies – even though there would be caramel sauce left. OK, let’s make an exception. The funny thing was that I went from “damn, there is a lot of caramel left” to “damn, there is not enough caramel left!” in a matter of moments – all it took was a spoonful of the mixture. :D

See? Movies are not the only thing I change my mind about. :D

Caramel brownies
slightly adapted from the gorgeous Baked Explorations

Caramel:
1 cup (200g) superfine sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
½ teaspoon fleur de sel - I used Maldon salt
¼ cup sour cream*

Brownie:
1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
308g (11oz) dark chocolate (60-72% cocoa solids), chopped – I used 100g of 70% chocolate + 208g of 53%
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, diced
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Make the caramel: in a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and the corn syrup with ¼ cup water, stirring them together carefully so you don’t splash the sides of the saucepan. Cook over high heat, without stirring, until mixture is dark amber in color, 6-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly add the cream, stirring, and the fleur de sel – be careful because mixture will bubble like crazy. Whisk in the sour cream and cool completely.

Now the brownie: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 22.5x32.5cm (9x13in) light-colored metal or glass pan**, line the bottom and sides with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, forming “handles”. Butter the paper, too.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cocoa powder.
Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until the ingredients are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water, and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove the bowl from the water. Mixture should be at room temperature.
Add 3 eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir – do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the batter and, using a spatula, fold them into the batter until there is just a trace amount of the flour mixture visible.
Assembling: pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Drizzle ¾ cup of the caramel over the batter in a zigzag pattern, making sure it doesn’t reach the foil or it will burn. Use an offset spatula to spread the caramel evenly over the batter. In heaping spoonfuls, scoop the remaining brownie batter over the caramel. Smooth the brownie layer with a spatula, covering the caramel layer completely.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, and check if the brownies are done by inserting a toothpick into the center of the pan – it should come out with a few moist crumbs (mine needed 45 minutes in the oven).
Remove from the oven and cool completely over a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve (with the remaining caramel sauce if you like).

* homemade sour cream: mix ¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream with 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in room temperature for 1 hour or until thick

** I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan

Makes 16 large brownies

Pea soup, my sister's high school graduation and too many caipirinhas

I wish I could say that I made this soup for a noble reason, but the truth is that I made it for lunch because of a massive hangover. :S

It all started the night before: we’d all gone to my sister’s high school graduation prom and had a lot of fun there (I shed a few tears during the ceremony, too, I’ll admit it). Then my brother told me that I “had to try” the caipirinhas that were being served. I tried a traditional one, made with lime. That was good. Then he told me that the strawberry caipirinha was delicious, too. And the kiwi one. And the passion fruit one. And, of course, the pineapple caipirinha as well. On the following morning I was a mess: my head was about to explode, Joao had gone to work (I was on vacation) and there was nothing in the fridge. My salvation was a bag of frozen peas and a couple of slices of bread.

Nevertheless, the soup was delicious and very easy to make – that’s why I’ll share it with you today.

Pea soup
from the always beautiful and delicious Donna Hay magazine

½ tablespoon olive oil
½ onion, finely diced
2 ½ cups frozen peas
2 ½ cups (600ml) chicken or vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup sour cream*

Heat a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the oil and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the peas, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the peas are tender. Remove from heat and blitz with a handheld mixer until smooth (or use a food processor) - be careful because you are dealing with hot liquid. Make sure you hold the cap down on the top of the blender while puréeing. Ladle into bowls and top with the sour cream. Sprinkle with some extra pepper and serve.

* homemade sour cream: mix ¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream with 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in room temperature for 1 hour or until it thickens

Serves 2

Tangerine chocolate marble cake with tangerine icing

I keep telling you about recipes that go wrong and how I do not give up on them. This cake is sort of an example: I made the chocolate orange marble cake from DH mag (#44) and it turned out miserable - an 8-cup capacity pan would not hold that much batter, but I insisted on trusting the recipe. I ended up tossing the whole cake. :(

I decided to make it again – I adore marble cakes – and used a slightly different recipe (same source, though) and a larger pan. Tangerines replaced oranges and went along with the chocolate batter. The cake turned out delicious.

Still on the “not-giving-up-mood”, I finished watching “In Bruges” – I cannot believe how wrong I was. The movie is great and went straight to my list. ;)

Tangerine chocolate marble cake with tangerine icing
slightly adapted from the always wonderful and foolproof Modern Classics Book 2

Cake:
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups + 1 tablespoon (278g) superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature
¼ cup (23g) cocoa powder, sifted
finely grated zest of 3 tangerines
2 tablespoons superfine sugar, extra
1 tablespoon whole milk, extra

Icing:
1 cup (140g) icing sugar
1 tablespoon tangerine juice, more if necessary

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter generously a 10-cup capacity Bundt pan.
Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition (scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally). Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the butter mixture and fold through with the milk. Pour half of the batter into another bowl and add the tangerine zest. To the other bowl, add the cocoa, extra milk and sugar and stir to combine. Drop alternate spoonfuls of the two batters into the prepared pan, the swirl lightly with a butter knife to give the cake a marbled effect. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes then carefully unmold onto a wire rack (if using a silicone pan follow the manufacturer’s instructions). Cool completely.
Make the icing: sift the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add the tangerine juice and mix until spreadable consistency. Spread over the cake.

Serves 10-12

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream and a very, very scary movie

I’ve come to the conclusion that my courage, these days, is pretty much having ice cream (the one on the photo, delicious) in very cold days.

My sister wanted to watch “Insidious” and since I cannot say “no” to her I went along. I spent most of the movie with my eyes closed and that did not stop me from having nightmares about it for days. She left the theater laughing and told me the movie was not scary at all, while I drove home secretly wishing my husband were there already so I would not have to take a shower alone in the apartment. :S

And to think that I watched “The Entity” in my teenage years... What a shame. :D

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream
adapted from the always fantastic and delicious The Perfect Scoop, inspired by the beautiful Beyond the Plate

Cheesecake ice cream:
225g (8oz) cream cheese
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
1 ¼ cups (300ml) heavy cream
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cup (133g) superfine sugar
pinch of salt

Strawberry sauce:
250g strawberries, hulled
1 ½ tablespoons superfine sugar, or to taste
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and place into a blender or food processor. Add the milk, heavy cream, lemon zest and juice, sugar and salt and blitz until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, make the strawberry sauce: purée the strawberries in a blender with the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Press the purée through a fine strainer to remove the seeds. Chill.
Freeze the cheesecake mixture in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. By the end of churning time add the strawberry sauce gradually to the ice cream maker to have some of it mixed into the cream and some of it creating a marbled effect. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Makes about 3 cups (750ml)

Broccolini rigatoni - delicious food in almost no time at all

I love being in the kitchen, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying quick meals too – they have been a great idea in these cold days, when all I want is to be wrapped in a blanked, reading or watching TV.

After watching several episodes of the wonderful “Jamie’s 30-minute meals” I ended up buying the book - which is absolutely beautiful - and the first recipe I tried was this pasta dish: broccolini is in season and the hubby loves it. It instantly became one of his favorites – and heaven knows how rarely that happens. :)

Broccolini rigatoni
slightly adapted from the wonderful Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes; I bought it on amazon.co.uk

250g broccolini or broccoli
½ small onion
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
a few sprigs of fresh thyme, stalks removed
200g rigatoni
generous handful finely grated parmesan, plus more to serve
handful of basil leaves

Slice all the broccolini florets from the stalks and set the florets aside. Place the stalks, the onion, the garlic and the capers in a food processor and process until a rough paste forms.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the broccolini paste. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add ¼ cup (60ml) hot water, season with salt, pepper, the lemon zest and the thyme leaves and stir.
Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente, adding the broccolini florets to the water in the last minutes of the cooking time.
Drain the pasta and broccolini florets reserving about ½ cup (120ml) of the cooking water. Transfer the pasta and broccolini to the pan with the paste, add the parmesan and basil leaves and mix to combine everything together. If necessary, add a little of the reserved cooking water to loosen the pasta sauce.
Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with more parmesan and serve at once.

Serves 2

Apple cranberry croustade with cornmeal crust and another childhood favorite

Because I’ve been on a nostalgic mood lately, I bought an insane amount of Granny Smith apples last week – they were my favorite apples growing up (actually, they’re still are), and would lose only to strawberries in a favorite fruit contest. My dad used to find it quite funny that I loved something that tart as a kid – maybe it was a sign of the sour future to come in terms of flavor preferences, I guess. ;)

Being unable to eat all those apples on my own – believe me, I tried - I decided to bake with some of them. And a delicious croustade was the result – raisins would be a nice substitution for the cranberries if you can’t find them: just pop them in a small bowl with some rum and set aside until they plump up.

Apple cranberry croustade with cornmeal crust
adapted from the always wonderful and delicious Bon Appetit Desserts

Crust:
2/3 cup (94g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (35g) icing sugar
2 ½ tablespoons cornmeal or polenta
pinch of salt
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (70g) unsalted butter, chilled and chopped
1 chilled large egg, lightly whisked with a fork

Filling:
1 ½ tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter
670g (about 3 medium) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, each cut into 12 wedges
3 tablespoons superfine sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup (28g) dried cranberries
whole milk, for brushing
1 tablespoon demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Start by making the crust: place flour, icing sugar, cornmeal and salt in a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg gradually and pulse again until moist clumps form – you might not use the entire egg. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Make the filling: melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples and sprinkle with the superfine sugar. Cook, turning the apples occasionally, until they’re golden brown, about 12 minutes – mix gently to avoid breaking the apple slices. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, mix in the cranberries and set aside to cool completely.
Assemble the croustade: preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Roll out dough between two large pieces of lightly floured baking paper to form a 30cm (12in) round – if dough gets too soft, place it in the freezer (still between the paper pieces) for 5 minutes. Slide the bottom sheet of baking paper with the dough onto a heavy cookie sheet. Starting at the center of the dough, arrange the apple slices, spreading towards the edges, but leaving 3.5-5cm (1 ½ to 2in) plain border. Using the paper as aid, fold border over filling. Brush the border with the milk and sprinkle crust border and filling with the demerara sugar.
Bake until crust begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce the oven to 190°C/375°F, then continue baking until crust is golden brown and filling is heated through, 20-25 minutes. Cool until warm over a wire rack, then carefully run a thin knife under the tart to loosen it from the paper. Use the bottom of a tart pan (the removable bottom) to transfer the tart to a serving plate.

Serves 6

Lime cupcakes and a crazy dream I had the other night

I had one crazy dream a couple of nights ago: I dreamt that people were planning a remake of “Blade Runner” (can’t tell you how much I adore that movie) and Daniel Craig had been chosen to play Roy Batty. Don’t know about you, but in my dream it seemed to be a very smart decision. :D

I guess that the only thing I love as much as movies are citrus flavors. So there you have it, lime cupcakes. :D

Lime cupcakes
slightly adapted from the fantastic Bon Appetit Desserts

Cupcakes:
1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups (250g) superfine sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
¾ cup (180ml) buttermilk

Frosting:
225g (8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (210g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line 12 standard (1/3 cup – 80ml) muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. Using the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in lime juice and zest (batter might look curdled). In low speed, beat in flour in three additions alternately with buttermilk in two additions. Fill each paper case by 1/3* with the batter and bake for 20 minutes or until risen and beginning to color and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Make the frosting: place cream cheese and butter in the large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Add the sugar, zest and vanilla, beat to combine. Spread over completely cooled cupcakes.

* the icing is really soft, so you need extra room inside the paper cases to “accommodate” it; I filled each cupcake liner by half and still got room for the icing

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe and got 9 cupcakes

Chocolate chip peanut cookies

When I was a kid my favorite chocolate bar was one studded with peanuts – my dad would bring one from work from time to time and mom would only let me eat it after dinner (of course), when I would sit on the couch and read comic books till bed time.

Biting into one of these cookies made me instantly think of those chocolate bars – the difference was that this time I was reading a graphic novel instead of comic books. :D

Chocolate chip peanut cookies
slightly adapted from The Commonsense Kitchen

2 1/3 cups (325g) all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (200g) light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups (437g) semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups (225g) salted roasted peanuts

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar just until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the dry ingredients followed by the chocolate chips and peanuts. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared sheets. Bake just until the tops are no longer shiny, 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for a moment, then carefully transfer to a rack to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies – I halved the recipe above and still got 32

Raspberry Port linzer tartlets and a list of the movies I love

I’ve finally finished something I’d been meaning to do for ages: a list with my all time favorite movies – the ones I deeply love. It was rather difficult putting the list together – and I might have forgotten something, only time will tell – but it was a lot of fun doing it. It is posted here, if you’re curious. :)

These lovely tartlets were a similar challenge: the pastry was very difficult to work with – too crumbly – but it tasted so good it was all worth it. And the filling was delicious, too – raspberry jam spiked with booze? I’m in. ;)

Raspberry Port linzer tartlets
slightly adapted from The Boozy Baker

Dough:
1 ½ cups (157g) sliced almonds
2/3 cups (133g) superfine sugar
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks

Filling:
1 ½ cups raspberry preserves
3 tablespoons Port wine

Start by making the dough: combine the almonds and 1/3 cup (66g) of the sugar in a food processor and pulse until coarse. Add the remaining sugar (66g), flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and the yolks and process until a dough begins to come together. Turn the dough onto a clean surface and knead lightly to make it come together. Divide in two pieces, one slightly larger than the other, flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Make the filling: place the preserves in a small bowl and break it with a fork. Add the wine and mix to combine.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Roll the larger piece of dough between two pieces of lightly floured baking paper until you have a 30cm (12in) circle. Transfer to a lightly buttered 23cm (9in) tart pan with a removable bottom and press up the sides.
Roll the second piece of dough to a 30cm (12in) circle. Cut into strips, transfer to a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes.
Pour the filling into the tart shell and smooth the surface. Remove the dough strips from the freezer and arrange half horizontally and half vertically across the tart, creating a lattice pattern.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Remove the outer ring of the pan, cut into wedges and serve.

Serves 8 – I halved the recipe above, used 9cm tartlet pans and got 6 tartlets