Açaí Mousse (mousse de açaí)

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I wrote about açaí before when I shared with you my recipe for Brazilian Açaí Bowl. This time I am sharing a different way to incorporate açaí in your cooking. I use the same frozen pulp as usual(smoothie packs), but this time I made a mousse-like dessert. This is a very light and airy dessert, it has a wonderful texture. The best part for me is that is not too sweet, thanks to the açaí slightly tart flavour. To make it even more health-conscious, I used agave nectar in place of sugar.

You can make this recipe on a bundt pan or jello mold, like on the photo, and serve it by the slice. Another way of serving it is to pour it into a glass bowl (or individual ones) to be scooped out. Hope you enjoy it!

Açaí Mousse Recipe:

makes one 8 inch pan, enough for 10 slices

You will need:

1 package (0.25 oz) of unflavored gelatin

10.5 oz (300 g) of frozen açaí pulp, thawed

2 egg whites at room temperature

4 ½ tablespoons of agave nectar

8 oz (250 ml) of whipping cream, chilled

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Dissolve the gelatin in ½ cup of boiling water.

In a small saucepan, bring the açaí pulp to a boil and let it reduce for 5 minutes. The pulp with thicken slightly.

In a large bowl, mix the açaí pulp with the gelatin. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Continue to beat while slowly drizzling the agave nectar. Stop beating when you have a stiff meringue (beaters hold stiff peaks). Fold the egg whites into the açaí gelatin.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream and vanilla until you reach whipped cream consistency. Mix the whipped cream with the mousse until there are no streaks of white in the mousse.

Spray an 8 inch round cake pan or a bundt pan with cooking spray and transfer mousse to it. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Before serving, dip the bottom of the pan in hot water and unmold it over a plate.

Red Wine Tapioca Pudding with Vanilla Whipped Cream (sagu de vinho tinto com chantili de baunilha)

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This is my first post of the year, and I would like to start by wishing everyone that reads my little blog a Happy 2010. I didn’t mean to neglect this space for so long, but life has been just a little too crazy for me lately. Hopefully I am ready to start posting more often. I miss this place, I miss coming here, sharing recipes with you and reading your comments. The first recipe I post this year is an old fashion Brazilian recipe: red wine tapioca pudding.

Cooking tapioca in red wine (or grape juice for kids) is a very common practice in Brazil. This is not your usual tapioca pudding, it tastes less sweet and it’s not as rich as the ones cooked with milk or cream. I like to make some fresh whipped cream to top the tapioca pudding and vanilla is one of my favourite flavours. Use the larger tapioca pearls if you can find them. A full-bodied wine works best for this recipe, but you may use grape juice if you want to avoid the alcohol.

Red Wine Tapioca Pudding with Vanilla Whipped Cream Recipe:

makes about 1 quart

You will need:

 

For the tapioca pudding:

2 cups of tapioca pearls

3 cups of water

1 bottle of red wine (Zinfandel or Cabernet)

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 cinnamon stick

10 cloves

 

For the vanilla whipped cream:

1 cup of heavy whipping cream, chilled

2 tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar

1/2 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract

 

Make the tapioca pudding:

In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add the tapioca pearls. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring often. While the tapioca cooks, use another pot to heat the wine, 1/2 cup of sugar, cinnamon stick and cloves and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain wine mixture into the pot with the tapioca and continue simmering until the pearls are translucent. At this point, if you thing the Add the rest of the sugar (1 cup) and remove from heat. Let it cool to room temperature and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

 

Make the vanilla whipped cream:

 

Beat the cream and the sugar until soft peaks form, add the vanilla and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Spoon the chilled tapioca pudding into cups or bowls, top with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream and serve immediately.

Chocolate Salami

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This is an old Brazilian recipe that has been on my list of things to cook for quite a while and I am so happy I finally made it, it was easy to do and the end result was quite delicious. No, it’s not a sweet salami. In fact, it’s not a salami at all. This is a sweet, chocolaty treat made with cocoa, nuts, sweet condensed milk and a touch of cognac. Sounds good? It gets even better: this is a one-dish, no-bake recipe that requires less than half an hour of hands-on time.  It’s called “salami” because this log shaped treat resembles a salami, both from the outside or when sliced. Even if the salami resemblance is not that obvious,this dessert will for sure make a good conversation piece.

 

Chocolate Salami Recipe:

makes 3 logs

You will need:

1/2 cup of raisins

4 tablespoons of cognac, divided

2 packages of Maria cookies (400g total)

1 cup of blanched almonds

1 1/2 cup of melted butter

2 cups of cocoa powder

1 can of sweet condensed milk

confectioner’s sugar for decorating

Soak the raisins in 2 tablespoons of cognac for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, break the cookies with your hands into medium size pieces. Add the almonds, butter, cocoa powder and sweet condensed milk. Add the soaked raisins and stir it all very well. This will be a very stiff dough and the best way to mix it all is by using your hands. It may seem like it’s not going to come together, but it will, just keep mixing it up until all ingredients are well incorporated, forming a dark, moist dough.

Roll a double layer of plastic wrap onto a clean work surface and place one third of the dough in the middle. Using your hands, shape dough into a log about 2-3 inches in diameter. Place log towards the end of the plastic wrap and start rolling the plastic tightly around the log. Twist the ends of the plastic like a candy and tuck them under the log. Refrigerate log overnight.

When ready to serve, use a small sieve to sprinkle the outside of the logs with confectioner’s sugar (or, if you prefer, sprinkle the confectioner’s sugar on a kitchen towel and roll the log on it).

Slice it with a sharp knife. Enjoy it!

 

 

Pumpkin and Coconut Sweet (doce de abóbora com coco)

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This is such a perfect dish to cook on a November day when pumpkins are in season and the crisp air outside makes us want to stay in, turn on the stove and cook something warm and comforting.

This dish is really simple to make and it fills the house with wonderful aromas of cinnamon and cloves while it slowly simmers. The ingredient list couldn't be shorter: pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon cloves and coconut. This is a very typical Brazilian dessert and it's normally served with a slice of fresh cheese. Here in the States I pair it with feta cheese and it makes for such a treat.

Pumpkin and coconut sweet recipe:

makes about one 16 oz container

You will need:

2 lb of pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into large chunks

2 cups of sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

10 whole cloves

16 oz of shredded coconut

Put all ingredients, except the coconut, in a large pot and cook on medium-low heat until the pumpkin is very soft, about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.Add the coconut, mix well and remove from heat. You can mash any large pieces of pumpkin with a potato masher, or, if you prefer, leave it more chunky.

When it's cooled down a bit, transfer it to an air tight container and store it in the fridge. Serve it cold or at room temperature. I like to eat this sweet with a slice of feta cheese, or spread over a piece of crusty bread, always accompanied by a good cup of coffee.

Enjoy it!

Raspberry Oatmeal Squares

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This is a simple treat I make quite often since the ingredients are all staples here at home. Raspberry is the most common flavour I make, but you can use your favourite jam. I even thought about making this with Nutella or dulce de letche. I bet it would be wonderful... If anyone decides to give it a try, I would love to know how it turned out! If you take your jam straight out of the fridge, it might be a little too hard to spread. A quick 5 seconds in the microwave should take care of that.

These oatmeal squares are best eaten the day they are baked, but they will keep well in an airtight container for a couple of days. They go very nicely with a cup of tea, perfect on a lazy afternoon.

 

Raspberry Oatmeal Squares Recipe:

makes about 25 squares

You will need:

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

2 cups of rolled oats

1 cup of brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 sticks (1 cup) of cold butter

1 1/2 cup of raspberry jam

 

Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter a square 9 inch baking pan.

In a food processor, blend the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut the butter into pieces, add to the food processor and pulse a few times until large crumbs form. Divide the dough in half.

Press one half of the dough into the prepared pan, covering the bottom and a little bit up the sides (about an inch).

Spread the jam over the dough evenly and cover it with the other half of the oatmeal dough by just sprinkling it overtop (do not press it).

Bake in the preheated oven f0r 55 minutes. Let it cool before cutting the squares.

 

Banana Crumb Cake (Cuca de banana)

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I know I haven't been around here a lot lately, but I have good reasons for that. The best one is that I got a new job. It's a job I believe it's perfect for me, but I will talk more about it at another time.

For now, I would like to share this recipe with you: Banana crumb cake. I learned this recipe back home when I was studying in the south, where the German influence is very strong and therefore there is plenty of German dishes. I suppose the Germans originally made it with apples, but bananas are definitely more "Brazilian". There are two ways I do this cake, this one is what I call the tall version, layered with banana filling. There is another type of "cuca" (I have no idea where the name came from. If anyone out there knows, please share!) that is's more simple and has no layers, it's normally baked in a shallow square pan. The second one resembles more the types of crumb cakes I find here in the U.S. I hope you like this one. According to Andrew, it goes very well with a glass of milk.

On another note, I wanted to thank everyone that joined my Facebook page so far. You are welcome to post questions or comments over there too.

Banana Crumb Cake Recipe:

makes one 9 inch round cake

You will need:

 

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup of brown sugar

3/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

 

For the cake:

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 cups of cake flour

1 tablespoon of baking powder

4 bananas, peeled and sliced

3/4 cups of milk

 

Butter and flour a 9 inch cake pan.

Make the crumb topping by mixing all the ingredients with a fork until you have  pea size crumbs. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites until it forms stiff peaks. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and the baking powder together. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the yolks, butter and sugar on medium-high until it gets pale and creamy. Add the vanilla. Turn speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture and the milk, alternating both and finishing with the milk. Fold in the egg whites into the batter.

Pour half of the batter in the prepared pan. Make a layer using half of the bananas and half of the crumb mixture. Pour the remaining batter on top of it and repeat the layer of banana and crumb topping (crumb topping last).

Bake it at 350 until the toothpick tester comes out clean. This cake takes me about 1 hour to bake, so be patient. Cool it for 15 minutes before slicing it.

 

Enjoy it!

 

 

	A spring form pan will make it easier to keep the crumb topping intact and give you a nicer presentation,  but it's not necessary as you can just take slices straight from the pan.

 

Fresh Peaches Poached in Spiced Coconut Milk Topped with Granola

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I am a big fruit person, but I normally eat them fresh without any cooking involved.  Peaches are especially nice fresh, when they are juicy and have a wonderful aroma. Sometimes though, I like to try something different. This time I decided to poach the peaches, and as I was opening the can of coconut milk I thought about how nice it would be to add some spices to it, like cinnamon and cloves. These spices are normally used during cold month desserts, but they worked very nicely here. The granola on top is optional, but I like the crunch. Fresh whipped cream or ice cream would work well too, specially if you are a fan of cold and hot contrast on a dish.

 

 

Peaches Poached in Spiced Coconut Milk Recipe:

serves 4

You will need:

 

2 fresh peaches, ripe but still firm

1 can of coconut milk

1 cinnamon stick

10 whole cloves

1 -2 tablespoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you want it to be)

Granola (optional)

 

Peel the peaches, cut them in half and remove pit. Place peaches in a small sauce pan and cover with the coconut milk. Add the spices and sugar. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, without boiling.

Pour each half peach in individual bowls and top it with some of the coconut milk. Top it with granola, if using. Serve immediately.

 

 

Dobos Torte - Daring Bakers

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The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of

A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus:  Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

This was the first time since join the Daring Bakers that I was not completely  pleased with the results. The Dobos Torte tasted very good, which was not a surprise. White sponge and lots of chocolate ganache, how bad can that taste? My problem was with the presentation, and it probably had a lot to do with my decision to cut the recipe in half (lesson learned).

Since it's only the 2 of us, and I was  recently told by my doctor to decrease my sugar intake , I thought  I would make just a small cake for us to share. The problem of making small amounts is that if something goes wrong, you don't have much back up, and that is what happen to my sponge cake. It all went well for the first batch, but the second one stuck to the baking paper and I couldn't remove it. So I ended up with 1/4 of the sponge cake from the recipe. That is the reason you only see a small slice of my "torta"....

The chocolate buttercream was easy to make and tasted great, the only thing is that it melts pretty fast so it has be kept in the fridge. Even after the layers were assembled, I had to keep it refrigerated or the layers would slide off and melt.

A typical Dobos Torte is topped with  a caramel-covered sponge layer, normally sliced into wedges. Since I was already running short of cake layers, I decided to skip the caramel altogether.

I ended up with a multi layered mini torta that tasted great (just like store bought actually), but didn't exactly look that attractive., specially if you think of Dobos Torte as a beautiful, tall cake with a crunchy and shinny caramel topping.... Mine wasn't any of that.... 

Although Dobos is a wonderful dessert, certainly elegant (when made properly), I don't think I will be making this again anytime soon. Perhaps it is a little too rich for my taste, but as a true Daring Baker, I am happy that I tried it.

 

For more beautiful photos of Dobos Torte (and too see how they are really suppose to look like), head over to the Daring Kitchen. And for the complete recipe for this particular Dobos, click here or here.

Pure Honey Ice Cream

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This ice cream is the ultimate proof that when it comes to good food, less is often more. With only 3 simple ingredients (plus a pinch of salt), you can make this delicious ice cream that tastes so homemade and pure. Because the recipe is so simple, it is important to use the best ingredients that you can find and afford. Local, organic eggs and dairy are wonderful and easy to find this time of year. The final product will taste exactly like the honey you use, so choose something that you really like. I used a raspberry honey that I picked up last week at my local farmer's market.

This ice cream can be a starting point for many other variations. I kept it simple, but you may want to add some chopped walnuts to it, or some chopped semi-sweet chocolate. You can also infuse the base of the ice cream with herbs or spices such as basil, mint, cinnamon, vanilla. On this case, just add the extra ingredient to the simmering dairy base, let it rest for at least 2 hours, strain it and proceed with the recipe.

Another great way of using this honey ice cream is to make smoothies and shakes. Try blending it with fruits like peaches, bananas and strawberries.

Pure Honey Ice Cream Recipe:

You will need:

4 egg yolks

2/3 cup of pure honey

1 1/2 cups of half-and-half

1 1/2 cup of whole milk

a pinch of salt

 

Bring the cream and the milk to a simmer, do not let it boil.  While the cream mixture warms up, whisk the yolks, honey and salt together until pale and fluffy.

Slowly incorporate the warm cream mixture into the eggs, one ladle full at the time, whisking vigorously. Return the egg and cream mix to the stove and cook over low heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Do not let it boil. The custard is ready when it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail if you pass your finger on it.

Cool custard completely in the fridge before putting in the ice cream maker. Follow instructions of your ice cream machine.

Enjoy it!

Milano Cookies - Daring Bakers

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The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

We were given a choice of making both cookies or only one of them. I chose to make the Milano cookies because I am not  a big marshmallow fan. The cookies were very easy to make and the dough reminded me of my first Daring Bakers challenge, the Tuiles. Remember them? This time the dough was piped and had a much thicker consistency. The filling of the cookies was as simple as a chocolate ganache can be, with the addition of some orange zest.

The recipe is pretty straight forward and I did not make much changes to it. I did, however, omit the lemon extract (didn't have any), and halved the entire recipe. I ended up with about 16 cookies. If you would like to see more  Milano cookies or the chocolate covered marshmallow cookies, head over to the Daring Bakers site and have fun!

This is the original recipe given to us. I halved all ingredients (using 3 egg whites) and omitted the lemon extract.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

 

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

 

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Banana and Chocolate Tart

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I know very little people (if any) that don't like chocolate or bananas. The combination of both is even better, so when I ended up with an extra tart shell from my last Daring Bakers challenge, I knew exactly what to do with it. It's hard to go wrong with chocolate and bananas.

If you have already a tart shell frozen or if you are using a store-bought one, this dessert comes together in no time at all and can easily be made on any busy week night. If you are going to make the dough from scratch, than you'll have to add some extra time, but this dough is really easy to work with. For this recipe, I used an already blind-baked tart shell,

The idea here is to make a layer of chocolate on the bottom of the tart shell and top it with fresh bananas. A no-brainier, really. I also added some possible variations and additions to make this tart even more delicious.

 

Banana-Chocolate Tart Recipe:

makes one 9 inch round tart

 

You will need:

1 tart shell, homemade or store-bought , par baked and cooled (recipe for sweet short crust pastry as well as how to blind bake a tart shell, here)

4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 cup of cream or half and half

3-4 ripe bananas, depending on their size

1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons of  brown sugar

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the cream just until bellow boiling point. Pour it over the chocolate and stir until you get a smooth consistency. Let it cool.

Peel the bananas and half them lengthwise. Squeeze the lemon juice over the bananas and add the sugar. Mix well.

Spread the chocolate sauce on the bottom of the tart shell and top it with the bananas, cut side up, forming a circular pattern.

Bake it until tart is golden brown and bananas are soft, about 30 minutes.

Serve warm by itself or alongside some vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy it!

 

Possible variations:

Sprinkle the bananas with some chopped peanuts or walnuts half way trough baking.

Place a layer of shredded coconut between the chocolate and the bananas.

Use cinnamon-sugar instead of the brown sugar.

 

 

Bakewell Tart - Daring Bakers

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The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

I have never heard or Bakelwell tarts before, so didn't know what to expect. It turns out it is a tart shell layered with jam and topped with frangipane. That's the best way I can describe it. I also had never made frangipane before, and was excited about that. Frangipane is a almond flavoured filling that can be used in many different ways and it is often found in French pastries. It was easy to make and I loved the flavour of it.

 

I followed the recipe given to us and ended up with a surplus of both shortcrust pastry and frangipane. Not a problem, just made some small tartlets using muffin size baking shells. It worked out great.  By reading the comments from other Daring Bakers, I realized that when making a large size tart it would be better to pre-bake, or blind bake the shell, or the jam could make it soggy. I did that with my 9 inch tart and the dough was perfectly cooked at the end. The small tartlets didn't need to do that, but I made sure they stayed in the freezer for a while before I baked them.

I used an organic, good quality, store bought raspberry jam for my bakewell tarts, but any kind of jam or spread would work too, homemade or store bought. The recipe can be split into two days (prepare the shortcrust pastry in one day and the rest in another day).

I really enjoyed making this challenge, the tarts were so delicious, very delicate and elegant. Head over to the Daring Bakers home to see plenty more bakewell tarts and get inspired!

 

 

 

Bakewell Tart Ingredients List:

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
1cup of raspberry jam
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

 

Sweet shortcrust pastry Recipe:

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane Recipe:

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

 

 

Assembling the tart

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatized for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

For a large 9 inch pie: blind bake the tart shell before moving to the next step. To do that, cover the cold tart shell with foil, place beans or pie weights on top of it and bake for about 15 minutes, until slightly golden brown.

For small muffin-size tartlets:  continue with recipe as bellow, baking the frozen  tartlets straight out of the freezer.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly giggly and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

 

Strawberry Ice Cream

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I am excited about making my own ice creams this summer. Ever since I got the attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer at Christmas I really didn't do much with it (with a few exceptions). But now the summer weather finally arrived here in Seattle and I find myself wanting ice creams and frozen desserts. This one is not going to win any awards in originality, I know. It was Andrew's request though. I've established a "request rotation" here at home for the ice cream flavours. That's because I like to try new and different ideas, whereas Andrew prefers the more conventional flavours. So next time it's my turn to choose a new combination of flavours. I have to say, though that this ice cream turned out extremely well and in fact it tastes just like something from an ice cream parlor. Take your time when making the custard and your patience will be paid of. This recipe calls for 6 egg yolks, so plan on having an omelet or perhaps making meringues with the whites.

 

 

Strawberry Ice Cream:

makes 1 quart

You will need:

3 cups of half-and-half

6 egg yolks

1 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 1/2 cups of  strawberries, cleaned, leaves removed and sliced

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

 

Heat the half-and-half over medium-low heat until it gets steamy, without boiling it.

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended. Add the hot half-and-half very slowly, a little at the time, whisking vigorously. This ensures that the hot cream cools down fast as it is whisked and therefore won't cook the eggs. Once all the half-and-half is incorporated, transfer the liquid to a saucepan and cook over medium-low, stirring until it has formed a thick custard ( check by coating  a wooden spoon with the custard, pass your finger on it, the trail left on the spoon should be clear). It is important not to hurry this process, as the custard should never boil.

Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl and stir in the strawberries and vanilla. Let it come to room temperature, cover and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, up to overnight.

Pour cold custard into ice cream machine and freeze it following the manufacture's instructions. Transfer the soft ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze it until set, about 3 hours.

Enjoy it!

 

Apple Strudel - Daring Bakers

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The last couple of months have been quite busy for me and unfortunately it has taken me away from the kitchen. But I couldn't pass on this month's Daring Baker's Challenge: Apple Strudel. I love apple strudel and was quite excited about making my own strudel dough from scratch. We could do any kind of filling we wanted, sweet or savoury but I wanted to stick to the classic German Apple Strudel, in part because  Andrew and I both like apple desserts.

Making the dough was easier than I expected, but I didn't manage to stretch it as much as needed and it resulted in only 2 layers of rolled strudel dough. It was delicious anyway, and I figure that the more you practice the better you get at stretching the dough. Mine covered half of my dining table, next time I'll try to cover the whole table. The dough is so nice to work with, it made me realize how much I enjoy cooking, making foods from scratch, transforming simple ingredients into delightful creations. I intend to get back to my baking and cooking routine very soon and will definitely make this strudel again, playing with different types of fillings.

 

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

 

I did not make many changes to the recipe given to us, posted bellow.  This is all I changed:

• I used panko instead of fresh bread crumbs,because that was the only thing I had in hand.
• I used 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
• Following some tips from other daring Bakers, I spread the bread crumbs all over the stretched dough as shown in the photo bellow.

 

Apple strudel
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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This cookies are really easy to make, as most cookies are. At least the ones I choose to make.  They are thin cookies, which means you can have two, or three...:)  The raisins are soft and make a nice balance with the crispy oats. These cookies filled my kitchen with a great cinnamon aroma.

When baking these cookies, make sure to separate them well apart on the baking sheets as they spread a lot.  I made three cookie sheets using two at the time. If you need to reuse the same cookie sheet (like I did) make sure it is completely cooled before placing the dough on it, or it will affect the cooking time. Running the cookie sheets or trays under cold water will speed up the cooling time.

 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe:

makes about 25 cookies

You will need:

1 3/4 cups of rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

3/4 cup of raisins

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup of  dark-brown sugar

1/4 cup of sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cookie trays lined with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until combined. Add the oats and stir well. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer beat sugars and butter until pale and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Slow down the mixer speed and add the egg and vanilla extract, mix until it is well incorporated. Add the flour mixture slowly, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl when necessary. Add the raisins and mix it quickly, or stir it with a spatula.

Drop cookies by the spoon full onto cookie sheets, be sure to leave space between them as they spread a lot. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack and keep it in an airtight container.

Enjoy it!

 

Sweet Cream of Avocado (Creme de Abacate)

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Cinco de Mayo means avocados are on sale everywhere, but instead of guacamole, I decided to make cream of avocado, a sweet treat I used to have as a child. I just love the creaminess of the fruit and this is, for me, one of the best ways to enjoy it.

This is something very simple and yet super tasty. The idea is to combine avocados and vanilla ice cream to make a creamy dessert that's ready in minutes. Brazilian avocados are the large type that are hard to find here in the U.S. They tend to be much sweeter than the small ones and Brazilians use them in dessert and sweet recipes. I only found small Hass avocados to make this cream and even with the use of ice cream, it was still not quite sweet. I added some sugar, and depending on your sweet tooth you might want to add even more, but I like to be able to taste the fruit as well.

You can also make an avocado smoothie by adding more milk until the mixture becomes liquid enough. Another alternative is to omit the ice cream all together and add more milk and sugar. Choose very ripe avocados for this recipe, and if you can find the large variety, even better.

Cream of Avocado Recipe:

serves 1

You will need:

1/2 large avocado or 2 small ones, very ripe

8 oz of vanilla ice cream, softened

a splash of milk

1/2 teaspoon of lime juice

1 tablespoon of sugar (approximately)

Peel avocados and remove the pits. Blend all ingredients until smooth, adding milk until you get the consistency of a pudding. Add more or less sugar, according to your taste.

Enjoy it!

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust - Daring Bakers

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When I saw that the Daring Bakers challenge for this month was cheesecake, I knew Andrew would be so pleased, he likes cheesecake a lot, specially this one with a touch of raspberries. What I didn't expect was that even I would enjoy this pie (cheesecake is a pie, not a cake, right?) so much. I made cheesecakes before, but this one turned out extra creamy and tasty. 

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

At first I wanted to try something new and different like a savoury cheesecake or a tropical one with mango and papaya flavours. At the end, I decided to make what was Andrew's favourite: raspberry swirl cheesecake. Besides from the use of raspberries, the only other change I made from Jenny's recipe was to use chocolate gram crackers for the crust. There are two things that I believe is important for making a good, creamy cheesecake:

First is to start with all ingredients at room temperature. The second important thing to do is to scrape the bowl of the mixer many times, so there are no cream cheese lumps or eggs that aren't fully incorporated.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake with Raspberry Swirl Recipe:

Notes:

I didn't use a pan with removable bottom (springform pan), as my past experiences proved that they leak. I used an 8x3 inch cake pan. To get good results with a regular cake pan, butter it well and cover the bottom and the sides with parchment paper before pouring the batter. When it's time to release it, dip the bottom of the pan into hot water for about 30 seconds, remove the paper form the sides of the pan. Cover the cake with wax paper and invert it into a platter like a cake. This video helps a lot to visualize it.

For the raspberry swirl, I like to save some for serving along side the cheesecake.

 

You will need:

For the crust:
2 cups / 180 g chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tablespoons / 24 g sugar
1 teaspoon. vanilla extract

 

For the cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

 

For the raspberry swirl:

8 oz of raspberries, fresh or defrosted if frozen

3 tablespoons of sugar

 

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice.  Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

 

To make it a raspberry swirl cheesecake:

Place raspberries in a food processor and blend it until all combined. Pass it through a fine mesh and discard the seeds. Add sugar and mix well to incorporate it. Use about 2/3 of the sauce on the batter and the rest as a sauce to be served on the side.

Incorporate the sauce to the batter after pouring the batter into the pan. The best way of doing this is by the tablespoon full, going around the cake pan. After this is done, use a chopstick or a knife to swirl the sauce in the cheesecake until it creates a nice pattern. Proceed with the recipe.

Fruit-on-the Bottom Yogurt

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I love yogurt. But what I don't like so much is how they are flavored. Most of the time I find flavored yogurts to be too sweet and they never really taste like the fruit pictured on the pretty package...So what I like to do is to buy plain yogurt and dress it up with whatever I feel like at home. Most times I just use honey or maple syrup. This one posted here is my take on the "fruit-on-the-bottom" type of yogurt. It is easy to do and it can be assembled in advance and kept in the fridge.

The recipe bellow is for the fruit mix. The only sweetener used here is the natural sugar from the fruits, so don't expect an overly sweet fruit compote. If you want something sweeter, try using maple flavored yogurt or stir in some honey. Feel free to substitute any kind of dried fruits you have in hand or your favorite ones. Topping the yogurt with some chopped nuts would make this snack or breakfast item even more wholesome.

 

Fruit-on-the-bottom Yogurt Recipe:

makes about 1 cup of fruit mix

4 tablespoons of mixed dried fruits, chopped *

2 tablespoons of prunes, pitted and chopped

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

 

Place all ingredients in a jar and top it with water by an inch. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to use, place fruit mix on the bottom of a cup and top it with plain yogurt.

Enjoy it!

 

* Use any dried fruits you like: raisins, apples, berries, mangoes, pineapple, persimmon.

Brazilian Peanut Candy Squares (Paçoca)

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This candy is as Brazilian as it gets. The original paçoca (Pa-SSO-ca) is made with peanuts, sugar and cassava flour and it is ground in a mortar. The name paçoca comes from a Brazilian Native Dialect (tupi-guarani) and it means "to crumble". That is because this candy crumbles down easily either in your hands or in your mouth.

This candy is found at just about any grocery store, street markets and school's cafeterias around Brazil. There are two types of paçoca. One that is drier and crumbles easily and normally comes in a cork shape. The other one is slightly denser, moister and it is normally shaped into squares. The last one was always my favourite and it's the one posted here.

There is an old tradition amongst Brazilian Christians of eating paçoca during lent or on Good Friday, since peanuts are naturally high in energy. My grandmother used to mashed them with bananas (for moisture) and eat it with a fork.

You can make this candy using salted peanuts too, it will lend a slightly salty bite to it, which is common in many Brazilian paçocas. If you just like it sweet, go ahead and make it just like I did, and you'll end up with a sweet, peanuty treat.

The best part: The whole thing comes together in minutes and there is no baking or cooking involved at all.

Brazilian Peanut Squares Recipe:

makes about 36 squares

You will need:

9 oz (250g) of roasted, skinless peanuts

1 1/2 packages of Maria Cookies **(see note bellow)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons of sugar

In the food processor, combine peanuts, cookies and pulse until it's well combined and even. It should resemble a coarse flour. Add the sugar and pulse. Add the condensed milk and process until it forms a ball of dough. Transfer to a 9 inch square baking dish lined with wax or parchment paper. Using your hands, press it very well to form an even layer. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes up to overnight. Remove from the baking dish and cut into squares. Keep it in airtight containers.

** Maria cookies are round, flat cookies found at the Ethnic aisle of most grocery stores near the Latin foods, or at Latin and sometimes Mediterranean food stores.

Easter treat bags.