All posts tagged: sweet

Strawberry Mess

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As a side effect of the quarantine we mastered the art of the meringue. Were the batches of unchewable or dark experimental tries worth? Yes – because at the end we came to a decent result that combined with whipped cream and strawberries results to one of the best desserts  during a quarantine or anytime – a simple Eton mess or pavlova. The deliciousness is unproportional to its simplicity – but who says that complicated recipes are always the best… Just think of sushi… Or pommes frites.. it’s what you do with the ingredients; they just have to be the best and you just need to put a sense of fugues into your cooking or baking. Like what Bach did with a Blockflöte.  We tried several meringue approaches ( with burned sugar,corn flour or cream of tartar) and we found that the basic version with a splash of Calvados works best.  For the meringues (makes app. 15 golf ball size meringues) 2 large egg whites (at room temperature) 60g caster sugar 60g icing sugar 1 Tbsp calvados (optional) Preheat the oven to  100°C (fan). Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Put the egg whites into …

semolina and strawberry tart

Semolina and Strawberry Tart

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We deviated from our standard strawberry tart recipe and baked this for our easter lunch. It is an interesting hybrid  between the classic tart and the greek galaktoboureko and great when eaten same day. We kept some in the fridge for the next day, but the baked filling turned too solid. The moral of the story is, bake it for same day consumption. (Based on a recipe from Ottolenghi “The Cookbook”) For the sweet pastry 330g plain flour 100g icing sugar zest of 1 lemon, finely grated 1/4 tsp salt 180g cold unsalted butter 1 egg yolk 2 Tbsp cold water For the filling 345ml milk 180ml whipping cream 60g caster sugar 80g butter 1/2 vanilla pod, split lengthwise and seeds scrapped out 60g semolina 1 egg 200g strawberries icing sugar, to garnish For the sweet pastry, combine flour, sugar, salt,lemon zest and the butter in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Change to the hook attachment and add the egg yolk and the cold water. Continue mixing  until dough comes together …

Lemon and Pistachio Cake

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As we learned from “The Land where Lemons Grow” by Helena Attlee, lemons reached Europe with the Arabs when they invaded Sicily in AD 831. They were first grown in the protective environment of pleasure gardens until the Arabs built a new irrigation system, combining practices from the Islamic (water-challenged) territories in Egypt, Yemen, Mesopotamia and the Levant with the classical Roman water management  infrastructure that they repaired and extended. As for the Romans, not only did they build aqueducts, dams and conduits, they also introduced pistachio cultivation in Europe around AD 35. Until then it was grown in the Levant and Iraq – even in the handing gardens of Babylon during the reign of Merodach-Baladan, the king who fought the Assyrians and sent Hezekiah letters of concern because of his illness. (We can think of him dictating the letters to his scribes among the pistachio trees during a babylonian afternoon). So both the basic ingredients of this cake were brought to Europe from the near east – were they were introduced from central and southern Asia. The moral is that you should not take the delicate flavours of …

Lemon Tart

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The lemon tree in our garden is full of fruit right now and it is a challenge to make good use of the crop. We use a lot of lemon juice in our everyday cooking,we preserve lemons- stay tuned  for some really good recipes-, we freeze lemon juice ice cubes that keep for several months, and we bake. We are always trying out new recipes and after exhaustive research our preferences are a lemon cake and this rather rich Heston Blumenthal lemon tart for special occasions. Our advice? If you do not have a forthcoming special occasion, improvise one and bake this tart! Serves 10-12 For the pastry 300g Plain flour  150g Unsalted butter 120g Icing sugar 1/2 tsp Salt 3 Large egg yolks  Zest of 1/2 lemon, finely grated Seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod 1 egg for the egg wash For the filling Finely grated zest and juice of 5 lemons  390g White caster sugar 300g Double cream 9 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk To finish and serve 80g Unrefined caster sugar Creme fraiche …