Banana and dulce de leche pots: in the oven or in the Air Fryer

If you have been around here long enough you know that I love baking, and I love baking with fruit: it makes me happy to transform less than perfect apples, pears, peaches and plums into cakes, muffins, galettes. Sometimes I look forward to the weekend so I can make a new recipe with fruit, but then I end up eating them all before the Saturday begins. 😊

Bananas are such a favorite of mine, but living in a tropical country can be very tricky to keep them from becoming ripe too quickly: it has been really hot here since the beginning of the year and my baking list just gets larger and larger as I postpone making them to avoid turning the oven on (it is already hard enough to use the stove).

These pots are a wonderful way of using ripe bananas, especially when you don’t have enough of them to make a large cake: only one large banana is required for this recipe. I have made this recipes several times in the past months and it works very well both using a regular oven and the Air Fryer: the only slightly difference is that the tops of the pots get more browned when using the Air Fryer.

 

Banana and dulce de leche pots

own recipe

 

¼ cup (35g) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup (33g) cashew nut flour (replace with almond flour if you like)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 large, very ripe banana (100g weighed with the peel)

1 large egg, room temp

3 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons dulce de leche

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) or the Air Fryer to 180° (350°F). Brush 4 heatproof 1-cup capacity ramekins with oil. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cashew nut flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk well together the banana, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients – do not overmix.

Pour 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each ramekin, then top the center of the batter with 1 tablespoon of dulce de leche. Divide the remaining batter evenly onto the ramekins, topping the dulce de leche.

Oven: transfer the ramekins to a medium baking sheet, then bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Air Fryer: transfer the ramekins to the Air Fryer, carefully not to get burned, and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown (do the same test with the skewer).

Serve warm, with ice cream, whipped cream or plan yogurt if you like.

 

Serves 4

Oatmeal dulce de leche choc chip cookies and some teary days

I don’t know why, but I have felt very sensitive in the past few days – I even thought it was PMS, but no.

I saw a photo of a father playing with his two little girls in a destroyed bathtub – someone posted it on Facebook – and cried my eyes out. I was not having a very good day, and when I saw those kids playing in a place completely destroyed by war I felt so insignificant… My problems were nothing compared to that.

Then I watched Michelle Obama’s amazing speech last night and the tears came down hard – wow, that woman touched my heart in so many ways! My husband was in the kitchen making dinner and he was like “what happened? Are you OK?”, and I was just watching Michelle being fantastic.

Minutes ago, as I reached for this recipe and started writing down the post, I thought of my nephew and how much he enjoyed these cookies: it was a matter of remembering him eating them and bam, there came the waterworks. Lately, actually, everything related to him makes me cry: as I spend time with him, watching him discover the world, I think of my mom and of how much she would enjoy sharing these moments with us. My nephew is a very smart kid – he has long conversations with us, even though we don’t understand everything he says – and he is very tender and sweet – I get kisses and hugs all the time, plus he sometimes calls me “mom”. I get emotional every time I think of her and of how much she would love her grandson if she was around. I have cried often lately, sometimes they are tears of joy and sometimes they are tears of sorrow. I guess that is life, right?

These are Martha’s oatmeal raisin cookies that got turned into something a bit different: as I grabbed the ingredients to bake them, I saw the dulce de leche left from making the molten cakes I posted days ago. So I added a very generous dollop to the batter – cutting back a bit of the sugar – and replaced the raisins for chocolate chips, since dulce de leche and chocolate go so well together.

The cookies turned out fabulous and if you don’t believe me take my nephew’s word for it. ;)

Oatmeal dulce de leche choc chip cookies
slightly adapted from the goddess Martha S.

2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (130g) packed light-brown sugar
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (150g) dulce de leche
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 cups (240g) rolled oats
1 cup (165g) chocolate chips – I used ones with 53% cocoa solids

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter with both sugars, and beat until light and creamy. Beat in the dulce de leche and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until just combined. On low speed, mix in the oats and chocolate chips.

Drop 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the prepared pans, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until they’re golden-brown around the edges. Cool completely in the pans.
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes about 28

Dulce de leche molten cakes - an easy peasy recipe + a fantastic movie

I have a terrible habit that I think some of you might share: even though there are thousands of great movies out there I sometimes ended up watching the same ones over and over again. :)

There are times, however, when watching movies more than once is necessary: my husband hadn’t watched Whiplash yet, and since this was the best movie I saw last year I was more than willing to watch it again, this time with him. He absolutely loved it – Whiplash is, to me, the kind of fantastic movie which almost impossible to describe without using four letter words. :D
I got to watch J.K. Simmons being beyond fantastic again – he pulled a Cate Blanchett and won each and every award with that role, not to mention one of the most deserved Oscars in History.

I liked J.K. Simmons before – I am a Law and Order devotee, after all – but I really did not think he could be that great. What a pleasant surprise.

A surprise similar to the one I had with the recipe I bring you today: with so few ingredients and put together in a matter of moments, I did not expect these cakes to be so good – well, I was wrong, very wrong: they are delicious and so easy to make I see myself repeating this recipe to exhaustion – the same way I see myself watching Whiplash at least once a year from now on. :D

Dulce de leche molten cakes
from the always gorgeous and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (300g) dulce de leche
4 tablespoons (40g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F. Generously butter six 120ml capacity muffin pans or mini cake pans.

Place the eggs, yolks and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 4–5 minutes or until very thick and pale. Add the dulce de leche and whisk on low speed until just combined.
Add the flour and salt and carefully fold through the mixture. Divide the mixture between the prepared pans.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or puffed and still slightly soft in the middle. Allow to stand in the pan for 1 minute, then very carefully run a knife around the edges to release the cakes from the pan and invert them onto a plate. Serve immediately with ice-cream.

Serves 6

Dulce de leche swirl congo bars

Sometimes I buy cookbooks and wait anxiously for them to arrive by mail only to go through them back and forth countless times without any idea of which recipe to start using them from – I know it sounds stupid, but that is exactly what happens around here.

Then it takes me forever to go back to that cookbook, not because I did not like it but because there were lots of other recipes grabbing my attention in between. I suddenly see the book while looking for something else and take it to the couch with me to go through it back and forth all over again, until I find that makes me run to the kitchen.

I made these bars a long time ago, after making the delicious coconut and pecan bars from the same book, but never posted them – they were scrumptious and were a hit with my former coworkers. I ended up taking a “healthy” route in my baking a while ago and thought that bars made with pecans, chocolate and dulce de leche were a bit too much. While searching for a certain photo I found this picture and thought that it was such a waste not to share this recipe with you – after all, eating a couple of these bars once in a blue moon won’t kill anyone.

While you read the recipe I’ll grab Nancy Baggett’s book and choose something tasty for the weekend. ;)

Dulce de leche swirl congo bars
slightly adapted from the delicious Simply Sensational Cookies

¾ cup (1½ sticks/170g) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 ¼ cups (215g) packed light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 cup (110g) pecans, chopped
1 cup (165g) dark chocolate chips – I used 53% cocoa solids
1 cup dulce de leche

Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 22x32cm (9x13in) baking pan, line it with foil and butter it as well – I used a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Remove from the heat and cool to warm. Stir in the sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla until well blended. One at a time, vigorously stir in the eggs. Stir in the flour just until evenly incorporated. Fold in the nuts and chocolate until evenly distributed.

Spread a generous half of the mixture evenly in the pan. Put evenly spaced heaping tablespoonfuls of the dulce de leche over the batter. Then drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter over the top. Using a table knife held vertically, swirl the two together to produce a slightly rippled effect; don’t blend them too much.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until nicely browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Makes 18

Churros cake and two favorite TV shows gone

I sat down this morning to write this post when I read that two of my favorite TV shows have been cancelled: Resurrection is gone, and we’ll no longer have the lovely Dr. Henry Morgan and his son Abe on Tuesday nights. :(

It was Resurrection, along with the one and only Raymond Reddington, that got my husband hooked on TV series – I’ll always be in the show’s debt. A while afterwards we started watching Forever and loved it – I mourned the end of three great shows alone, but this time my husband is keeping me company in my sadness (and there are lots of people as sad as us over on People magazine’s website).

I saw a recipe for a cinnamon tea cake on this beautiful cookbook and as I read the instructions for brushing the top of the cake with melted butter and sprinkling it with sugar and cinnamon I immediately thought of churros – here in São Paulo it is very common to find them filled with dulce de leche (differently from the ones I ate in Spain), that is why I decided to transform a cinnamon tea cake into a churros cake by sandwiching it with dulce de leche (and according to my brother, this cake really tastes like churros). :)

After reading the news I definitely need something sweet: I’ll head over the kitchen to cut myself a (big) slice of cake and drown my sorrows in dulce de leche, sugar and cinnamon. ;)

Churros cake
adapted from the cinnamon tea cake from this absolutely gorgeous book

Cake:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
60g unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk, room temperature

Filling:
1 ¼ cups dulce de leche

Topping:
1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter it as well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until light and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Stir in the dry ingredients and milk until smooth.
Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 30 minutes. Carefully unmold, peel off the paper and cool completely over a wire rack.

Cut the cake in half horizontally using a large serrated knife. Place the bottom half of the cake onto a serving plate and spread over the dulce de leche. Cover with the other half of the cake.
Brush the top of the cake with the melted butter. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Serves 8-10

Sticky toffee squares

I have a sweet tooth and that’s not a secret, but there are sweets and desserts that have a special place in my heart for something other than their taste: they remind me of certain periods of my life, certain days and occasions, and that makes them extra special.

When I was a kid my grandmother would make dulce de leche at home every now and then, and it was one of my favorite things: it was delicious on its own, by the spoonful, spread on sliced of bread, with cheese… The thought of it makes my mouth water already – grandma used to make a big pot of dulce de leche at a time, but it never lasted long. :)

I still love dulce de leche, but I have never tried making it at home the way my grandmother used to – so far I’ve only made it by cooking a can of sweetened condensed milk in the pressure cooker, but nowadays it’s so easy to find Argentinean dulce de leche around here I don’t even do that anymore – all I do is open up a jar, and to stop myself from eating it all by myself I bake with it, too, making yummy things like these squares. :)

Sticky toffee squares
slightly adapted from the delicious Olive magazine

Cake:
175g all purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons ground almonds
175g unsalted butter, softened
150g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs

Icing:
2/3 cup dulce de leche
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line the bottom with a square of baking paper and butter it as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and almond meal. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla.
Beat the flour mixture into the sugar and butter in 3 batches, adding an egg each time. Beat the mixture until smooth and then spoon it into the pan and level the top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then carefully unmold, peel off the paper and invert onto the rack to cool completely.

Icing: place dulce de leche and cream in a small bowl and mix to combine. Spread over the cooled cake. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Dark chocolate and dulce de leche puddings

By your comments and emails I think you’ve been enjoying the healthier recipes I’ve been posting here in the past few months, and that makes me really glad – I believe that eating better food has increasingly become important to many people, even to young people like my sister.

However, I’m sure I’m not alone here when I say that certain situations call for decadent sweets: a celebration, friends coming over for dinner, a broken heart – these are not the time to think of nutritional values, these are the times for butter, cream, chocolate, or all of them together.

You can go ahead and add dulce de leche to that mix, too – why not? :D

All those ingredients are combined in these puddings, and they are delicious, but very, very rich, so be warned; they also work well for entertaining because they can be assembled in advance and be placed in the refrigerator – when you want to serve them, pop them in the oven, they are ready in no time at all.

Dark chocolate and dulce de leche puddings
slightly adapted from the always amazing Donna Hay magazine

1 can (380g) dulce de leche
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
200g dark chocolate, chopped
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
3 eggs
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (50g) almond meal
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Place the dulce de leche in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the cream and mix well to combine. Divide the mixture among eight 1 cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof cups or ramekins.

Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8–10 minutes or until doubled in size. Fold the chocolate mixture, almond meal and salt through the egg mixture. Divide between the cups, on top of the dulce de leche. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until risen and the centers are soft – do not overbake or the mixture might overflow.
Stand for 5 minutes, then serve.

Serves 8

Churros waffles for my sister

I sometimes look at photos of my sister as a kid and my eyes tear up a little bit – I miss those days, she was a fun, smart kid, it was great being around her. I love telling her the funny things she used to say and do back in the day, the games she liked to play, the clothes she liked to wear – like the T-shirt I gave her when she was around two years old and that she wanted to wear every single day, to her mother’s despair – and the food she liked to eat. She was never picky; she loved salads and ice cream, strawberries and chocolate cake, and would also devour a plate of pasta or rice and beans like nobody’s business.

Her taste has changed over the years, naturally – she still loves strawberries and chocolate cake, but won’t eat bacon anymore. Still, it is always a nice feeling for me to learn that most of the things she loves are the ones I love, too. She could have become pain-in-the neck picky like my brother, but luckily she’s a lot more adventurous, always trying new things like tacos, chilli con carne and guacamole, sushi and sashimi. I can see, sometimes, a bit of me in her, and that makes me really happy. <3

Something we both love and eat together every now and then are churros, so when she came over for another Super Mario Bros. session I told her I would make waffles that tasted just like churros – she was thrilled with the idea (and so was I). :)


These waffles are the perfect way to quench the desire for churros without the frying (and also a great way of winning brownie points with sisters). :D


Churros waffles
slightly adapted from Richie, who got it from Vitor Hugo

For serving the waffles:
unsalted melted butter
½ cup (50g) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (or to taste)
dulce de leche

Waffles:
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
35g corn starch
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt
200ml whole milk, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cool
1 large egg, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a shallow plate, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.

Make the waffles: in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk the egg white until firm peaks form.
Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until smooth. Fold in the egg white.
Heat a waffle iron until very hot; lightly coat with nonstick spray. Working in batches, cook waffles until cooked through.
When the waffles are cooked, brush them with the melted butter and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Serve at once with the dulce de leche.

Makes 4 waffles

German chocolate cheesecake bars

I love making cheesecakes but hardly ever remember to buy cream cheese. And there are times when I happily bring home cream cheese packets only to remember, upon arriving, that there are no cookies for the cheesecake base. That's me - I can remember lines from a movie I saw 10 years ago but can't write a proper grocery list. :)
Last week, however, I managed to buy all the necessary ingredients on the same day. I wanted a special cheesecake and I knew exactly where to look for it: the lovely "Tea with Bea" has several cheesecake recipes and they all look amazing. These bars are delicious and since they are very rich a little goes a long way: you can share them with your family and friends.

German chocolate cheesecake bars
slightly adapted from the oh, so beautiful Tea With Bea

Base:
150g digestive cookies
45g unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
400g cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons corn starch
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey
175g dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
37g unsalted butter, cold, cubed
4 tablespoons sweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted and cooled
½ cup (55g) pecans, lightly toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped
¼ cup dulce de leche

Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line it with foil leaving two overhangs in opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Crust: place the cookies in a food process and process until finely ground. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles wet sand. Transfer to the base of the prepared pan and press it firmly with your hands. Refrigerate it while you make the filling.
In a large bowl, stir the cream cheese with a spatula to loosen it up a little. Add the sugar and mix until smooth. Add the egg, mix to combine. Sift the corn starch over the mixture and whisk until combined, removing any lumps. Stir in the heavy cream and the vanilla. Pour over the base and bake for about 35 minutes or until slightly jiggly in the center and the top doesn’t look shiny or wet anymore. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Topping: place the cream and honey in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the honey. Heat until it starts to boil, remove from the heat and immediately add the chocolate. Set aside for 1 minute, then gently stir until melted. Stir in the salt, vanilla and butter, and mix until butter is completely melted. Cool to room temperature – the mixture will thicken as it cools (do not refrigerate).
Spread the chocolate mixture over the cheesecake. Sprinkle with the coconut, then the pecans. Spread the dulce de leche on top by the spoonfuls.
Carefully remove from the pan using the foil and cut into squares or bars.

Makes 16

Sour cream dulce de leche swirl cake + "Midnight Cowboy"

I watched many wonderful movies when I was younger – that was when I started paying attention to the directors, and not only to the cast – and many of the movies I saw back then have become classics; however, there are still many to be watched, and a couple of days ago I gladly crossed another name off my list – the fantastic and brilliant “Midnight Cowboy”. Up to this moment I’m amazed by Jon Voight’s and Dustin Hoffman’s performances – there are no words to describe what these two do in this movie, it is fine acting at its best, the kind I’d love to see more often in the movies released nowadays.
I adore opening sequences – my friend Bianca knows that – and “Midnight Cowboy” has one of the best I’ve seen: it’s beautiful, kind of poetic, and “Everybody’s Talkin’” gets stuck on your head indefinitely. And aside all the greatness of this movie, one thing really stood out to me: how much Angelina Jolie looks like her father when he was younger – the resemblance is really impressive.

***

Cakes made with sour cream have become favorites of mine – the texture is always really tender. This cake is no exception and as a bonus there are little pockets of dulce de leche hidden in the middle of the slices. Yum! :)

Sour cream dulce de leche swirl cake
slightly adapted from the always mouthwatering Delicious - Australia

225g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
180g unsalted butter, room temperature
230g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream*
½ cup dulce de leche
2/3 cup (73g) pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a round 20cm (8in) springform pan, line base with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well (I used a pan with a removable bottom).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream. Fold in flour mixture.
Spread half the butter mixture into the pan. Top the butter mixture with spoonfuls of dulce de leche. Use a knife to create a swirled effect. Repeat with remaining butter mixture and dulce de leche. Top with the pecans. Bake for about 1 hour or until golden and a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 25 minutes, then carefully remove the sides of the pan. Cool completely.

* 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

No churn dulce de leche ice cream

Besides being a cookbook junkie, I'm also addicted to kitchen gadgets (in my defence, I use them all the time, both the books and the gadgets). :) One of my favorite gadgets is my ice cream maker, which I keep in the freezer for whenever the feel for ice cream strikes, but knowing that not everyone has one I decided to try this recipe found in Nigella's latest book; not only was it dead easy to make but I think you can go wild and adapt it accordingly to your taste - for instance, Nigella used chestnut purée but I went for dulce de leche instead.

No churn dulce de leche ice cream
adapted from the gorgeous Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes (I bought mine here)

300ml heavy cream
200g dulce de leche + a bit extra swirl into the ice cream (optional)
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon dark rum

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the dulce de leche, salt and rum. Transfer to an airtight container and swirl in the extra dulce de leche (if using). Freeze for at least 6 hours.

Serves 6-8

Dulce de leche apple pies

When it comes to fruit desserts I need no convincing: I'll choose them over chocolate ones any day. Therefore, I got really curious when I saw the recipe for these pies: apple and dulce de leche together? Would that work? I don't think apple pies need any embellishment, but the idea of adding ddl intrigued me too much and I had to try it - what can I say? Delicious Australia was right again, for a change. :)

Dulce de leche apple pies
from the always delicious Delicious - Australia

Pastry:
2 ½ cups (225g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
150g chilled unsalted butter, roughly chopped
2-3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
600g (about 3) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons water
½ cup dulce de leche
1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Pastry: place flour, cinnamon, icing sugar and butter in a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the water (you might not need all of it) and process until the mixture starts to form a dough. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Make the filling: place the apples in a large saucepan with the butter and water. Place over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until the apples are soft and the liquid has been absorbed. Cool slightly then stir in the dulce de leche.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease a 6-hole Texas muffin pan, then line the holes with baking paper.
Roll out the pastry on lightly floured surface and cut out six 12cm circles. Bring the remaining pastry together and roll out again. Cut out six 6cm circles. Press larger pastry circles into the lined muffin holes. Fill with the apple mixture. Brush edges with egg, then top with the smaller pastry circles and gently press together the pastry edges to seal the pies. Use any leftover pastry to decorate the tops of the pies, then brush with egg. Sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden.
Stand for 10 minutes in the pan, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or with vanilla ice cream

Makes 6 – I used a muffin pan with 1/3-cup capacity cavities and got 8 pies; I did not line the pan with paper – I did not think it would work to press pastry on top of paper – and even thought I’d generously buttered the pan the pies got stuck and getting them out of the pan was a nightmare :S
I guess that using tartlet pans with removable bottoms would work better.

Salted chocolate caramel tartlets

Talk about perfect timing: the fall issue of my favorite food magazine arrived one day after I’d opened a jar of dulce de leche just to eat a spoonful of it (just ONE, guys, I swear). :)
Since I could not eat the remaining contents of that jar – wanted to, but couldn’t – I’d already started thinking of something to make with it; that was when, flipping through the beautiful pages of the magazine, I saw these tartlets – filled with dulce de leche and topped with ganache, they were just what I needed.
I know that not everyone likes salt in their sweets – my sister had her tartlet without salt – so consider it an optional addition.

***

So you don’t think I’ve forgotten about the “The Hunger Games” trilogy: after reading the first two books in a very short period of time, I’ve been procrastinating like hell with “Mockinjay” – is it just me or this book is boooring? :/

Salted chocolate caramel tartlets
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay Magazine

Pastry:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
½ cup (45g) cocoa
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) icing sugar
pinch of salt
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, cold and chopped
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon iced water

Filling and topping:
1 cup dulce de leche
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
120g (4oz) dark chocolate chopped
sea salt flakes, for sprinkling – I used Maldon

Start with the pastry: place the flour, cocoa, icing sugar, salt in a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the egg yolks and vanilla, then the iced water and process just until a dough starts to form. Transfer to a large piece of plastic wrap and bring the dough together with the tips of your fingers. Shape into a disk and wrap in the plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Lightly butter six 8cm tartlet pans. Divide the pastry into 6 parts. Between two pieces of lightly floured baking paper roll each piece of pastry into a rough circle then line the pans, removing the excess pastry. Prick the pastry with a fork then freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and cut roughly into six squares; place the foil squares, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. And here is the very best part: Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then carefully peel off the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake the crusts for 10-15 minutes longer or until cooked through. Cool completely in the pans.
Divide the dulce de leche between the pastry cases and, using the back of a spoon, spread evenly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place the cream in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy. Spread the tartlets with the ganache and refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Sprinkle with salt to serve.

Makes 6 – I made the exact recipe above, used 9cm (3½in) tartlet pans and got 10 tartlets; I first divided the pastry in 8 parts, then rerolled the scraps once to get two more tartlets

Dulce de leche financiers - a genius idea

One of the things I love the most about financiers is how moist and tender they are – their texture is really amazing. Besides that, financiers are a great way to use up frozen egg whites and they’re perfect for a baking urge as well – you don’t have to wait for the butter to soften to make these little beauties.

With a jar of dulce de leche in my pantry – apparently the ddl frenzy hasn’t ended yet – I decided to play around with my favorite financier recipe, tweaking some details to use dulce de leche instead of peanut butter, and what a genius idea that turned out to be (modesty is for the weak). ;)

Dulce de leche financiers
adapted from Rose’s peanut butter financiers

1 ¼ cups (125g) almond meal
½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (85g) all purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (156g) icing sugar
6 large egg whites
pinch of salt
200g unsalted butter, melted and still warm
6 tablespoons dulce de leche
about 3 tablespoons dulce de leche, extra

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°C; butter eight ¾ cup (180ml) capacity financier or muffin molds (I used this pan).
In a large bowl, sift together the almond meal, all purpose flour and icing sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites and salt until foamy. Add the almond flour mixture, beat well, then gradually drizzle the butter over the mixture, whisking well. Add the 6 tablespoons dulce de leche and whisk until evenly incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared molds, filling each about ¾ full. Place about 1 teaspoon of the extra dulce de leche in the center of each financier then, using a toothpick, marble the dulce de leche with the batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the financiers are golden and a skewer inserted in the financiers comes out clean.
Let the financiers cool in the molds for 8-10 minutes, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
Financiers can be kept in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days, or 5 days in the fridge.

Makes 8

Dulce de leche cheesecake squares + some great villains

I’ve already told you how much I adore Christian Bale and I think he’s a perfect Batman but after watching the trailers for “The Dark Knight Rises” – cannot wait for July to come! – I have the feeling that he’ll be eclipsed by Tom Hardy on the movie just as he was eclipsed by Cillian Murphy and Heath Ledger on “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”, respectively. I love it when great actors are cast for great characters – that’s how it should always be – and Christopher Nolan has been doing a wonderful job in his movies, with just a few exceptions (Carrie Ann Moss, Al Pacino), but I feel sorry for Bale, poor thing. :)

The original recipe for these super delicious cheesecake squares called for a chocolate glaze but I did not want it to eclipse the dulce de leche flavor; after having one square I felt that omitting the glaze had been the right decision: the cheesecake tasted wonderful and very rich, it did not need any embellishments.

Dulce de leche cheesecake squares
slightly adapted from the wonderful Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen

Crust:
100g (3½oz) digestive biscuits
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
225g (8oz) cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (350g/12½oz) dulce de leche

Crust: put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan then line the bottom and sides with 2 pieces of foil, leaving a 5cm (2in) overhang on two opposite sides. Butter the foil as well.
Finely grind cookies with sugar and salt in a food processor. With motor running, add butter, blending until combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of baking pan. Bake 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.
Filling: sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 2 minutes to soften. In an electric mixer, with the wire attachment, beat together cream cheese, eggs, salt, gelatin mixture and vanilla until well combined, about 2 minutes, then stir in dulce de leche gently but thoroughly. Pour filling over crust, smoothing top, then bake in a hot water bath in oven until center is just set, about 45 minutes. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.

Carefully lift cheesecake from pan using foil overhang and cut into 16 squares.

Makes 16

Almond and dulce de leche muffins

Besides being someone who watches the same movies over and over again I also purchase ingredients in excess, though I’ve been dealing with that a lot better lately (since the inventory decision). But when I saw some really good Argentinean dulce de leche for a great price at the supermarket I could not resist: I brought home three (very large) jars. After making the dulce de leche cake several times I still had some ddl left and it became the filling for these muffins, the same linzer muffins from the amazing Gourmet Today.

Almond and dulce de leche muffins
slightly adapted from the great Gourmet Today

1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups (150g) almond meal (finely ground almonds)
¾ cup (150g) superfine sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature
6 tablespoons (¾ stick/84g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
about 1/3 cup thick dulce de leche
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter a muffin pan with twelve 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin cups.
Whisk together flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk together milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract in a small bowl, then stir into dry ingredients just until combined – do not overmix; batter should be lumpy.
Put 1 ½ tablespoons of batter into each muffin cup. Top each with 1 teaspoon dulce de leche. Divide remaining batter among cups. Bake until risen and golden and muffins pull away from edges of cups, about 15 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 to 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Makes 12

Dulce de leche pound cake

As I was updating my list of books – a couple of new additions as I told you a while ago – I kept thinking of ways to make it more functional and interesting: therefore, I’ve changed it a bit. I hope you all like it.

Oh, aside from books, there is cake here today, too – and it is absolutely divine. :)

Dulce de leche pound cake
slightly adapted from O, The Oprah Magazine

1 ½ cups (340g/3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dulce de leche
2 cups (350g) light brown sugar, packed
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
6 eggs
3 cups (420g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter two 22x12cm (9x5in) loaf pans*.
In a large bowl, beat butter, dulce de leche, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; beat again until combined.
Transfer batter to prepared pans, smooth out the tops, and bake until loaves turn a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 75 minutes. Set aside to cool in pans about 45 minutes; then carefully unmold onto rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

* I’ve made this recipe twice, using different pans: I halved the recipe above and used a 25x10cm (10x4in) loaf pan and I made 2/3 of the recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan. In both cases the cake sunk a bit in the middle; according to Dan Lepard – I cannot tell you how much I’m enjoying his "Short and Sweet" – that happened because the batter needed more flour, so next time I make this cake (and there will be a next time, because it is so delicious) I’ll increase the flour amount

Makes 2

Dulce de leche crêpe cake with Suzette sauce

Before I give you the recipe for this delicious dessert, I have to confess something: I cheated. See those pretty little citrus segments on top of the crepe cakes? I did not cut those. I suck at segmenting citrus fruit. After murdering two oranges trying to finish up the recipe I gave up – and reached for the jar of mandarins in syrup I had gotten in a Christmas basket and thought I would never use. :D

Wow, I feel a lot lighter now. :D

Dulce de leche crêpe cake with Suzette sauce
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

395g (1 can) dulce de leche
4 oranges, segmented
pouring cream, whisked to soft peaks, to serve

Crêpe batter:
350g (2 ½ cups) all purpose flour
finely grated zest of 1 orange
4 cups (960ml) whole milk
160g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup (240ml) beer

Suzette sauce:
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
¼ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (68g) caster sugar
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon orange-blossom water (optional)
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon + ¼ cup (60ml) Cointreau, Grand Marnier or brandy, separate use

Start by making the crêpe batter: combine flour and zest in a large bowl and form a well in the center. Combine milk, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan over high heat until butter melts (5-6 minutes). Whisk eggs and oil in a bowl until combined, add milk mixture, then gradually pour into flour, stirring with a whisk until blended and smooth. Stir in beer, cover with plastic, stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate to rest (overnight)*.
Heat a non-stick crêpe pan with a 21cm-diameter base over medium-high heat, add ¼ cup (60ml) crêpe batter, swirl to coat pan, cook until golden (2 minutes), turn and cook until set (30 seconds). Transfer to a plate and repeat, stacking crêpes as you go. Makes about 25 crêpes.
Spread 3 teaspoons of dulce de leche on each crêpe except the top one, stacking crêpes on an ovenproof serving plate as you go. Set aside at room temperature.
For Suzette butter, cook butter, sugar, zest and orange-blossom water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and bubbles (4-5 minutes). Add orange juice and 1 tablespoon Cointreau and simmer until slightly thickened (7-8 minutes; the sauce can be made ahead up to this stage and reheated when ready to use).
To serve, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Warm crêpe cake in oven (5-8 minutes). Meanwhile, add orange segments to Suzette butter, warm over low heat (3 minutes), spoon a little Suzette butter with orange segments over cake, and transfer remaining to a serving dish. Return pan to heat until warm, add remaining Cointreau, carefully ignite alcohol with a long match, tilting pan away from you (be careful as alcohol will burst into flames), then pour over cake while still lit. Serve warm with whipped cream and Suzette butter.

* I refrigerated my batter for 6 hours and it worked out fine

Serves 12 – I halved the recipe above, made 12cm crêpes and got 20; made two stacks with 10 crêpes each