Back from vacation with apricot jam cake

Hello, everyone!

I am back after spending wonderful vacation days in Spain: beautiful places, delicious food and massive amounts of Cava. :D

I returned home very happy, but also a couple of pounds heavier, even though I walked around a lot while I was there – one can’t eat all that jamón and pan con tomate and get away with it, right? :) I intend to eat lots of vegetables and fruit in the weeks to come (there’s a huge pot of vegetable soup already in my fridge), but I know I can’t survive without a slice of cake on the weekend.

Moderation is my mantra. ;)

If you’re like me, may I suggest this jam cake? It tastes delicious and it is very tender – don’t worry if the center sinks a bit, it’s totally OK because of the weight of the jam added to the batter. I haven’t tried it with other jam flavors, but I believe it would work with something sharp, not too sweet.

Apricot jam cake
from one of my favorite cookbooks

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened
150g light brown sugar
1 cup apricot jam
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line the bottom with baking paper, butter the paper as well and flour everything, removing the excess.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the jam until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Add the sour cream and mix until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until golden, risen and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool completely in the pan. Carefully unmold, remove the paper and invert onto a serving plate.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 8

Jam and rye crumble bars - falling in love with rye flour

There was some beer left from Nigella’s spectacular cake, and I started looking for a good recipe to use it in. I froze part of the beer for another day and part of it was transformed into a rye bread. Very flavorful, it was gladly devoured in open sandwich form – I mixed Brazil and Scandinavia and made the open sandwiches with hearts of palm and cheese. They were extremely simple but oh, so delicious.

I liked the bread so much I couldn’t wait to use the rye flour again, and it was such a revelation to me to use it in baked goods other than bread – I’d seen the recipes before, but hadn’t tried them myself. In these bars, for instance, it adds a very interesting depth of flavor, not to mention it paired beautifully with the jam flavors I chose – I mixed apricot jam and marmalade because I did not have 1 cup of either to use in the recipe, and it ended up being a very nice thing. Because I was using marmalade, I added orange zest to the topping, and you can’t imagine how great my kitchen smelled while the bars were in the oven.

I still have some rye flour left and several ideas in my head from the recipes I’ve seen, like using it in cakes and tarts. Such a wonderful addition to my repertoire – and it all started with a simple (yet delicious) loaf of bread.

Jam and rye crumble bars
slightly adapted from the glorious Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours

Shortbread base:
55g rye flour
105g all-purpose flour
40g light brown sugar
pinch of salt
75g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumble topping:
70g rolled oats
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
40g rye flour
25g all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
finely grated zest of 1 orange
55g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup jam – I used ½ cup apricot and ½ cup marmalade

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

Crust: in a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar and salt. Add the melted butter and vanilla and stir until thoroughly combined. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. Put the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Crumble topping: add the oats, brown sugar, rye flour, all purpose flour, granulated sugar, salt and orange zest to the bowl of a food processor and process until the oats are partially ground, about 5 seconds. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the melted butter and stir with your hands, squeezing the dough as you mix to create small crumbly bits. Set aside.
Bake the frozen shortbread until golden brown and firm when touched, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 180°C/350°F.
Spread the jam over the shortbread crust and top with the crumble. Bake the bars for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in the pan. Cut into squares to serve.
The bars can be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Makes 16

French apple cake and the Cannes jury

One thing that always makes me curious is the Cannes Jury, especially the president – sometimes it means nothing special, sometimes the Palme d'Or can sound a little too political, and sometimes it can be a complete surprise.

This year Jane Campion will be president of the jury, which to me is very exciting news for two reasons: a) she’s a woman, and that is only the ninth time that has happened, and b) she’s a director I really admire. Willem Dafoe and Nicolas Riding Hefn are part of the jury, too, and I find that a wonderful choice, both of them being known for things that can’t be called conservative – always a great thing on my book.

And since we’re talking about La Croisette, nothing better than a French cake to go with it: in this case, a delicious and oh, so tender cake packed with apples, both diced and sliced, with a layer of apricot jam for shine and flavor. Oh là là! :)

French apple cake
from one of my favorite books

500g eating apples – I used Gala
90g unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick, broken
4 medium eggs*
250g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (60ml) canola oil
280g all purpose flour
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Calvados or rum – I used the latter
150g apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 23cm (9in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Set 1 apple aside for the top, then peel, core and dice the remaining. Melt 30g of the butter in a large nonstick frying pan over gentle heat, add the diced apple and the cinnamon stick and fry for 5 minutes or until the apples are tender but not mushy. Cool. Melt the remaining butter and cool.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar until thick, pale and doubled in volume. Beat in the vanilla. fold in the butter and oil, then sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the mixture and fold in. gently fold in the lemon zest and rum, followed by the cooked apples (discard the cinnamon stick).
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Finely slice the remaining apple and arrange in three rows on the top of the batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the cake is risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.
Carefully unmold the cake, remove the paper, then transfer to a wire rack. Heat the apricot jam over medium heat until it liquefies, press it through a sieve and brush the cake with it. Let is set before serving.

* I always buy large eggs, so I chose the smallest I could find in the package to use in this recipe

Serves 10-12

Coconut and apricot bars to shake off the sadness

My sister and I take turns choosing the movies we watch together at the theater, and last Saturday it was her turn to pick it: I wanted Robocop, but she went with The Book Thief.

I haven’t read the book, therefore can’t verify if the movie is faithful to it, but in general I liked the story and I’ll watch anything with Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush, actually. However, the movie made me feel really sad at the end – movies about the Nazism are never easy to watch, but I’d seen more graphic ones on the subject, and up to now I haven't been able to figure out why Liesel’s story had stuck in my head like that.

I went home thinking about it and tried to shake it off by spending some time on the treadmill, with no success. Then I decided to bake something, something sweet, and all that sugar and coconut and apricots took my mind off the sadness for a while – by the time I removed the cake pan from the oven I was feeling a little lighter already, and then I had something tasty to munch on while I watched another episode of House of Cards – the Underwoods make me so nervous I could have chewed all my nails off.

Coconut and apricot bars
slightly adapted from a Bill Granger recipe published by The Independent

Crust:
120g unsalted butter, melted
120g granulated sugar
50g sweetened flaked coconut
150g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
180g ready to eat dried apricots, chopped

Topping:
150g sweetened flaked coconut
50g granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Crust: in a large bowl, mix the melted butter, sugar, coconut, flour, baking powder, salt and egg. Spoon into the pan and spread the mixture out into an even layer. Dot the chopped apricots over the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges.
Make the topping: in a medium bowl, mix the coconut, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla until combined. Remove the pan from the oven, spread over the jam and use 2 spoons to spread out the coconut mixture in a rough, even layer.
Return to the oven and cook for a further 20-30 minutes or until top is golden. Cool completely in the pan, then cut into bars to serve.

Makes 16

Apricot lemon bars with almond crust

One of the good things about being a blogger for so long is that you know me well enough not to be surprised to find one lemon recipe after another around here. :)
These bars come from Alice Medrich's great book on cookies and are a variation of a recipe I made a while ago; both versions are delicious and to this moment I haven't been able to decide which one is my favorite - I guess you'll have to bake both and let me know which one you prefer. ;)

Apricot lemon bars with almond crust
slightly adapted from the delicious Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

Crust:
¾ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (120g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (33g) almond meal
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (150g) apricot preserves
1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 20cm (8in) square baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil.
Crust: place the flour, almond meal, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the butter and vanilla and mix until smooth. Press dough evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until fully baked and golden brown in the center.
Towards the end of the cooking time of the crust, make the topping: in a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and flour. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the preserves, breaking up any large pieces, then stir in the lemon juice. When the crust is ready, turn the oven down to 150°C/300°F. Pour the filling over the crust. Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the topping no longer jiggles with the pan is tapped. Cool completely over a wire rack.
Lift up the bars using the foil and cut into bars.
Bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Makes 16

Lebkuchen

These delicious and beautiful cookies should have been included in last year’s holiday series – at least that was my idea – but here they are, a year later.
My birthday is in November and Martha’s book was a gift from a very dear friend – after receiving it I immediately started looking for cookies with a Christmassy feel and the lebkuchen seemed perfect. However, I somehow kept forgetting to buy all the necessary ingredients – me and my poor list making skills – and when I finally got the dates but forgot the apricot jam I simply gave up and ended up baking the almond spice wafers from the same cookbook (which, by the way, are fantastic).

So now, without further delay, I bring you the cookies I would love to eat from now up until next Christmas, nonstop. :D

Lebkuchen
slightly adapted from the wonderful Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share (Martha Stewart Living Magazine)

Cookies:
¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour*
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
100g blanched whole almonds toasted + more untoasted for decorating the cookies
1/3 cup diced candied orange zest
4 dates, pitted and chopped
85g (3oz) almond paste, crumbled into small pieces – I used homemade, recipe here
1/3 cup apricot jam
3 large eggs
¾ cup (131g) packed light-brown sugar

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons whole milk

Cookie: whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Pulse almonds in a food processor until very finely chopped. Add candied orange zest and dates, and pulse until finely chopped. Add almond paste, and pulse to combine. Add jam, and pulse. Add eggs and brown sugar, and pulse. Add flour mixture, and pulse. Transfer dough to an airtight container, and refrigerate overnight (or up to 3 days).
Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F (I baked my cookies at 180°C/350°F). Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop (¼ cup), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 7.5cm (3in) inches apart. Place 3 almonds close together on top of each cookie. Bake until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
Whisk together confectioners' sugar and milk, and brush over cooled cookies. Let stand until set. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

* the batter was too liquid (even after one night in the refrigerator) and after testing it by baking one cookie – which spread like crazy – I added more flour to the batter; that way I ended up using 170g flour total

Makes 18 – I used a 3-tablespoon capacity ice cream scoop and got 15 cookies

Fig galettes

It’s been a tough week – I know that hating our job is not a healthy or positive feeling, but that’s how I feel; my patience has been tested so many times in the past 5 days I feel like a hero. :)

What comforts me is that in a couple of hours I’ll be home, on my couch, with a cookbook on my lap, choosing something to bake tomorrow – I guess I’ll use this amazing book again.

Fig galettes
inspired by Elise, pastry recipe from Bon Appetit Desserts

Pastry:
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
½ tablespoon caster sugar
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
2 tablespoons (or more) ice water
heavy cream, for brushing

Filling:
2 tablespoons apricot jam
4 figs (about 300g), halved, each half cut in three slices
1 tablespoon demerara sugar

Make the pastry: place flour, sugar, salt and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarse meal forms. With the motor running, add the water (more if necessary) until dough comes together. Divide in half and make a disk with each half. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Roll out one pastry disk between lightly floured sheets of baking paper until you have a 25cm (10in) circle. Carefully transfer to prepared sheet (or roll both pastry circles on the same piece of baking paper and transfer the paper to the baking sheet – I find that easier).
Spread 1 tablespoon apricot jam over the center of the pastry, leaving a 4cm (1 ½in) border. Arrange half of the fig slices over the jam, then sprinkle the fruit with half the demerara sugar. Gently fold the pastry edges over the filling. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Brush edges of the galettes with the heavy cream.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is bubbly – do not worry if some of the jam leaks while the galettes are baking, the baking paper will make clean up easy. ;)

Serves 4 (moderately)

Apricot jam friands

After reading that the lovely Taranii thought I was from Oceania because of the massive amounts of friands around here I might be ready to admit I’m addicted to these delicious and tender little cakes... :)

This recipe comes from DH mag #35 and is part of my “finishing up a jar of almond jam” project. :)

Apricot jam friands]
from Donna Hay magazine

½ cup + ½ tablespoon (75g) all purpose flour, sifted
1 ½ cups (210g) icing sugar, sifted
1 cup (100g) almond meal (ground almonds)
4 egg whites
180g unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter ten ½ cup (120ml) capacity fluted pans.
Place the flour, icing sugar and almond meal in a bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the center, add the egg whites, butter and vanilla and stir well to combine. Divide batter among prepared pans. Top each with ½ teaspoon of jam and bake for 10-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes then carefully unmold onto a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving, if desired.

Makes 10 – I halved the recipe above, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffins pans and got 7 friands

Apricot thumbprint cookies

I’ll be honest with you: I made these cookies to use up the apricot jam in my fridge; after making a tart, some small cakes and these cookies I still have some around – I wonder if someone splashed it with water or fed it after midnight... :)

Apricot thumbprint cookies
adapted from here

180g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Using a spatula, stir through the flour and baking powder to form a dough. Roll 2 teaspoons of the mixture into balls and place onto prepared sheets 5cm (2in) apart.
Press deep dents into the middle of the balls with the back of a small teaspoon, wetting the spoon if the dough starts to stick – I thought it was easier to do that with my index fingertip.
Fill each of the indents with ½ teaspoon of jam and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Let cool in sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

Makes 35 – I halved the recipe and still got 24