Tarte fine aux pommes

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It's been a while since I posted a dessert recipe and I thought that apple season was the perfect excuse to start baking again. I have a weird relationship with apples... I don't like to eat them fresh but I love to eat them cooked and sometimes I would rather go for any apple dessert than a molten chocolate cake!

Here is my recipe for a delicious french apple tart, it's so easy to make you wouldn't believe it and with this one you are sure to impress!

RECIPE for 2 tarts (16cm diameter):

2/3 apples

Puff pastry

Sugar

Butter

Cinnamon 

Vanilla bean ice cream 

For the puff pastry:

- Roll out the ready made puff pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface. Using a round bowl or cutter, cut into 2 or more rounds (picture 4)

- Prick the pastry with a fork (picture 5)

For the apples:

- Peel, core and finely slice the apples (picture 2&3)

- Place the apples on the pastry following the round shape of the puff 

- Brush a generous amount of melted butter all over the tart and sprinkle with fine caster sugar and a touch of cinnamon to give it that extra flavor (picture 6&7)

- Bake in the oven at 190C degrees until golden brown (about 30/40mins)

- Sprinkle icing sugar over the tart and use a blow torch or the grill of the oven to form an extra delicious coating of caramel (picture 8&9) 

- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream

Enjoy!

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Baci di Dama

Baci di Dama are a typical Italian biscuit and when I used to live in Italy back in my childhood days, I would go out from school and run to the bakery to get some of these delicious treats. Now that I live so far away from Europe I like to indulge in some of these traditional recipes that transport me back to those days. 

I used a recipe from here and below is the English version of it:

RECIPE

150g butter (softened)

150g flour

110g caster sugar

150g peeled almonds or hazelnuts (I used almonds)

1 generous pinch of salt

A few drops of vanilla extract (I used 1 vanilla pod instead)

Orange zest

FOR THE FILLING:

150g chocolate (I used Valrhona 70%)

1- Blend the sugar and the almonds together until a soft powder forms

2-In a separate bowl mix by hand the softened butter and the flower and when well amalgamated incorporate and mix the almond and sugar mixture

3-Add the zest of 1 orange, the vanilla and the pinch of salt, mix, wrap in cling film and lay the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

4- Once the dough has firmed up, form small sticks (as you can see in the second picture below) which you will then cut in small portions and roll in a ball shape to form your cookie. 

5- Set all the ready biscuits on a greaseproof paper and then on a baking tray which you will put back in the fridge for 30 minutes

6- In the meantime preheat your oven at 160 degrees C and melt the chocolate in a bain marie (or in the microwave)

7- Bake the biscuits for 20 minutes (or 30 minutes at 135 degrees C if using a convection oven) and leave them to cool completely

8- Once the biscuits have cooled and the melted chocolate has thickened use a spatula or a piping bag to place a drop of chocolate on the flat side of the biscuit and place another biscuit on top of it.

9- When the chocolate has completely cooled down in between the 2 biscuits your Baci di Dama are ready to serve!

Enjoy! 

PS. Happy Birthday Dad!   

Baking in a jar

Lately I haven't had the time to cook or bake much but I have noticed a growing food trend over here in the US which is cakes/cupcakes in a jar; these have definitely got me inspired for my next baking sessions! I think it's a cute and creative idea, what do you think about it?

*All pictures from Pinterest except for number 4&7*8

My first Gordon Ramsay recipe

Beef Fillet with a gratin of wild mushrooms

This is the first recipe I use from the Gordon Ramsay Chef's Secrets cookbook. When you think of such a talented chef you might think that the recipes are going to be too difficult, but trust me, when it comes to the savory dishes, they are just sophistically simple to make ;)

(You can also find this recipe on youtube by clicking here).

  

You can modify this recipe by using ingredients which are easy for you to find, for example in the cookbook Gordon uses mushrooms like Ceps, Girolles and Morels but they are not easy to find here in Singapore so I used Asian mushrooms such as Shitake and Enoki. 

In the youtube video, Gordon only uses Chives but in the cookbook he uses parsley, chervil and chives which taste delicious when combined. Finally, to give a nice kick to the mushroom flavor, add 2 tablespoons of white wine to them towards the end of their cooking time.

*The best advice I can give you for a successful and tasty recipe? 

Don't forget the seasoning!

Enjoy!

Spaghetti al pesto genovese

The secret of making a real genovese pesto (except for using the freshest ingredients) is to grind the ingredients with a mortar and pestle to get a real authentic taste. Most people use electric mixers nowadays which is still fine  however it is important to not over-mix the ingredients as it will then over-heat the sauce . This is one of the most simple recipes and it doesn't require a lot of ingredients, I used this recipe and have translated it for you:

Recipe:

2 cloves of garlic

100ml extra virgin olive oil

50g of basil leaves

70g freshly grated parmesan cheese

30g of pecorino cheese

15g of pine nuts

a pinch of salt ( I use fleur de sel)

*Start by grinding the garlic cloves with a pinch of salt in the mortar until a creamy like texture is formed

*Add a few basil leaves at a time to the garlic together with a pinch of salt and grind (or as they say in italy pestare) until the bright green essence of the basil has come out

*Add the pine nuts and crush until creamy, at this point you may add the 2 cheeses altering them with the olive oil and grind till the texture is consistent

Et Voilà! Buon appetito!  

Marble cake

Marble cake is one of my favorites and this time I thought about trying out a recipe I found in one of my french cookbooks. 

To be honest  I think they put far too much cocoa powder in their recipe so I decided to decrease the portion and it turned out beautifully by being nice and moist in the inside and had various degradations of chocolate colors which gave it the rustic look.

Next time I will try this recipe and see the difference between the 2!

You can now check out all my recipes on the tab below the "About Me" section

Christmas baking week - Gingerbread feast!

Here is the second part of my Christmas baking week : Gingerbread men!

What would the Christmas holiday be without the smell of delicious wintery spices of cakes and mulled wine in the house?! As I looked for the perfect recipe I realized that most recipes use molasses which I am not too fond of, therefore I use Lyle's golden syrup (previously used in this recipe). 

Gingerbread men are also a delicious treat to bring to the office and they can also make a fun decoration for your Christmas tree!

*Recipe here 

*Spices used for the gingerbread men: ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon*

*Make holes before cooking them if you wish to hang them on your Christmas tree*

*A perfect treat to bring to the office (labels designed by me and can also be found here)*