Nectarine and blackberry crumble

Last time I posted a crumble recipe here I told you about one movie I loved watching as a kid – this past weekend I finally watched, from beginning to end with no interruptions, my husband’s favorite movie as a kid, “Stand by Me”; it amazes me how someone who directed this movie and “Misery” is also responsible for “Rumor Has It…” – that’s life, I guess. :)

To go with the subject above another crumble recipe – this time I’m using nectarines, which are in season here now.

Nectarine and blackberry crumble
adapted from the absolutely beautiful Tender, Volume 2

3 nectarines, pits removed, coarsely chopped
generous ½ cup blackberries – I used frozen, unthawed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon corn starch

Crumble topping:
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
2 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
2 ½ tablespoons (35g) unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped
2-3 tablespoons flaked almonds, lightly toasted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Have ready two 1-cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof ramekins or cups.
In a small bowl, mix the nectarines, blackberries, sugar and corn starch. Divide equally between the ramekins.
In a medium bowl, place flour, sugar and butter and, using your fingertips, rub the ingredients together until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the flaked almonds and mix. Sprinkle over the fruit mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes or until topping is golden and fruit is bubbling.
Serve with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 2

Cherry almond bars

I watched “Ides of March” last week and liked it a lot; it is very difficult to pay attention to anything else when Gosling and Clooney are on the screen – and I am sure the girls will agree with me on that –
but Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood deliver great performances, too. I usually do not like political thrillers that much but “Ides of March” surprised me in a very good way.

Cherries are abundant at this time of the year and I love eating them fresh, without anything else. My husband knows that and brought home buckets of cherry for me – the amount was so huge that I could never eat them all myself, so I baked these delicious bars – just be careful, because they are very addictive.

Cherry almond bars
from the gorgeous Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More

Filling:
500g (18oz) cherries, pitted and halved if small or quartered if large
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/8 teaspoon salt
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Crust and topping:
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
½ cup (88g) packed brown sugar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (114g) almond meal
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (168g/6oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; lightly butter a 23cm (9in) square baking pan, line with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sites then butter the foil as well.
Make the filling: combine the cherries, sugar, corn starch, salt, lemon zest and juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for 1 minute to thicken. Set aside.
Make the crust/topping: combine the flour, brown sugar, almond meal and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and process until crumbly. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse just until the mixture comes together.
Press two-thirds of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan then pour in the cherry filling. Press clumps of the remaining crumb mixture over the cherry filling.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until light golden brown and bubbling around the edges. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 16 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20cm (8in) square baking pan

Gingerbread chocolate madeleines

My last holiday post almost turned out like a big FAIL: after baking these delicious and oh, so tender madeleines I decided to deep them on a chocolate glaze I’d seen in one of my cookbooks. But the problem was that the glaze never set. Not ever. So I recommend dipping them in tempered chocolate to avoid that problem (just so you know it, the madeleines are great without the chocolate coating, too).
There was one good thing about the whole story, though: I adapted the madeleine recipe from my newest cookbook love. :D

Happy Holidays!

Gingerbread chocolate madeleines
adapted from Short and Sweet - mine was bought here

Madeleines:
2 large eggs
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (73g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Chocolate coating:
75g dark chocolate, melted and tempered

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter thirty 1-tablespoon capacity madeleine molds.
Place the eggs and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 3-4 minutes or until thick and doubled in volume. Add the vanilla.
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves into the bowl and gently fold into the egg mixture. Gently fold in the butter and crystallized ginger. Spoon the batter into the molds until they’re ¾ full. Bake for about 10 minutes or until risen and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and unmold the madeleines onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Deep them in chocolate if desired.
Keep the madeleines in an airtight container to keep them from drying out.

Makes 30

Eggnog pound cake with crystal rum glaze

I told you I was going to make Flo Braker’s eggnog pound cake, didn’t I? I am so glad I did – this cake is delicious! Very tender, with a crunchy glaze and a boozy touch – perfect.

I finally watched “TRON: Legacy” this weekend – I hate 3D movies, that is why I did not watch it in the theaters; up to this moment I still haven’t decided what I love the most about the movie: the creative plot, the breathtaking images or the amazing, flawless music.

Eggnog pound cake with crystal rum glaze
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Baking for All Occasions

Cake:
2 ¾ cups (385g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup (240ml) store-bought refrigerated eggnog – I used homemade, recipe follows
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (83g) dried cranberries, tossed with 1 teaspoon all purpose flour

Crystal rum glaze:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 10-cup capacity Bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter on medium-low speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar then continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape the side of the bowl.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in four additions alternately with the eggnog in three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl again. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the cranberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
Bake for 55-65 minutes or until the cake is golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes – in the meantime, make the glaze: place the sugar, rum and water in a small bowl and mix to combine.
Carefully unmold the cake onto the rack and, using a pastry brush, coat the top and sides of the cake with the glaze. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Serves 20

Blender eggnog
from the great The Essential New York Times Cookbook

1 large egg
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream

Crack the egg into a blender and blitz for 1 minute on medium speed. Add the sugar and blitz for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Makes 1 cup

Holiday biscotti + Nicolas Winding Refn

I cannot wait for “Drive” to arrive here but the first time I ever heard of Nicolas Winding Refn was when he got a prize in Cannes this year; since I am a very curious creature I looked him up at IMDb, which got me to “Bronson”; now I cannot wait to watch two movies from that director. :)

And because I am a very curious creature I do not know why it took me so long to try biscotti for the first time; now that I have, I’m completely hooked – you wouldn’t believe how many biscotti recipes I have bookmarked already.

Holiday biscotti
slightly adapted from the wonderful Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup (73g) dried cranberries
2/3 cup (86g) unsalted pistachios
1 large egg, extra, lightly beaten, for brushing

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. Mix in cranberries and pistachios.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each piece into a 40x5cm (16x2in) log, and transfer to prepared baking sheet, about 7cm (3in) apart. With the palm of your hand, flatten logs slightly. Brush beaten egg over surface of the dough logs, and sprinkle generously with sugar.
Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until logs are slightly firm to touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer logs on parchment paper to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 150°C/300°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Place logs on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut logs crosswise on the diagonal into 1.25cm (½in) thick slices. Place onto prepared sheets, 2.5cm (1in) apart. Bake until firm to touch, about 30minutes. Remove pan from oven; let biscotti cool completely on sheets.
Biscotti can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes about 4 dozen – I halved the recipe above and got 18 biscotti