Cherry Clafoutis

This is a dessert I can never say correctly and hubby just laughs whenever I attempt to say this. Admitting to this fact, please don't ask me how to pronounce it.

I recently made this dessert and I can say its a light and delicious dessert that the kids and I demolished this in minutes.

A little warning though, I kept the cherry stones in as it keeps the shape and flavour of the fruit intact. Please let your guests know before serving. Or you could pit the cherries but I was little time poor to do this.

Ingredients

500g fresh dark cherries
1 tbs caster sugar
2 tbs kirsh (I omitted this due to not having any)

Custard
2 eggs
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar

1/4 cup (50g) plain flour
1/2 cup (125mL) sour cream or crème fraiche
1/2 cu (125mL) cream
grated rind of 1 lemon

butter for baking
icing sugar for dusting

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius.

2. Place the cherries in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle caster sugar and kirsh, (if using) over them.

3. Bake 5-6mins or until cherries are cooked but still firm. Set the cherries aside and reserve cooking juices.

4. For the custard, beat the eggs with a mixer, then add caster sugar and beat until frothy.

5. Carefully add the flour and combine, then add 1 tablespoon of the reserved cherry cooking juices, sour cream, cream and lemon rind.

6. Dot a small baking dish with a little butter and spread half the custard over the base of the dish.

7. Spoon in the cooked cherries to cover the custard, then add the remaining custard.

8. Bake for 25-30minutes, the top will be golden and the cherries will appear as little mounds in the custard.

9. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.

Tips and findings

I have made this a couple of times and even had leftovers cold the next day. Its one of those desserts that does taste good either warm or cold.

My fave lemon tart

This recipe is made with homegrown lemons which are their best during the winter. As I'm getting over a cold, I wasn't going to say no to a bagful of bright yellow lemons. What better treat is a lemon tart for an afternoon tea or served as dessert after dinner on these cool evenings.

Your guests will be in for a treat with this one. I've had a few requests for this one, so I've finally written it down. A creamy tart filling with the perfect pastry crust. Totally divine, if I say so myself. This delectable tart was gobbled down quite quickly before you could say, 'Can I have some more, please?'

Ingredients

Sweet pastry

300g cups plain flour

150g unsalted butter cubed

120g icing sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 egg yolks

Zest of 1 lemon

Filling

3/4 cup caster sugar

zest of 1 lemon 

3/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 eggs


Serves 8

 

Method

1. In a food processor, combine flour, butter, salt, icing sugar until it forms a coarse crumb like appearance.
 

2. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract into the food processor and mix until combined.
 

3. Shape pastry into a disc and cover with plastic film and place in the fridge for 30 mins.
 

4.  Make a cartouche* with baking paper to cover the base of the 20cm flan pan or 20cm springform cake pan. Basically a circular shaped piece of baking paper so the tart crust doesn't get stuck on the bottom.

5. Roll out pastry between baking paper and the plastic film used to wrap pastry.

6. Place pastry into a lined 20cm flan/cake pan. Use your hands to mould pastry around the flan/cake pan. Cut off excess pastry around the flan/cake pan with a knife.
 

7. Prick the pastry lightly with a fork and refrigerate for 30mins. (This is so the pastry doesn't shrink and to add as much of that delicious filling as you can)
 

8. Preheat the oven to 180C degrees and bake the pastry case with baking paper held down by dried beans for 15-20 mins.
 

9. Remove baking beans and return pastry case to bake for another 10 mins. Before taking out to cool.
 

10. Turn the heat down to 150C. 

11. Whisk together sugar, zest, lemon juice, cream, vanilla extract and eggs one by one. 

12. Pour the lemon filling into the pastry case and cook 35-45 mins or until the mixture is set.

13. Serve as is or with a dollop of icecream.


Handy hints
 

*How to make a cartouche.
I usually start with a square, fold in half to get a rectangle, fold in half again to get a square, then fold again along the edge of the folds to get a triangle. You will want to use the end with no edges or else you'll end up with 2 semi circles. Place pointy end to the centre of the 20cm cake pan and cut off the larger end of the triangle to fit within the cake pan. When you unfold the baking paper, it should be a perfect circle.

Decadent Chocolate Fondants

I haven't forgotten you all and I've been on adventures to Taiwan and Hong Kong which I will need to fill you in at another time but I needed to stop and write a recipe for my decadent chocolate fondants.

I recently ate at Big Stone Tapas in North Sydney and I couldn't get over how amazing the chocolate fondant dessert was. It was one of the things I missed most on my travels was being able to cook and bake for my family.

I decided to rectify this to replicate a quick and easy chocolate fondant that could be whipped up whilst we enjoyed our family dinner of spaghetti bolognese.

Serves 6

Ingredients

100g dark chocolate
100g unsalted butter

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
100g sugar

100g plain flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celcius

2. Use a thin slice of butter and use this to grease the ramekins. (I use a pannacotta mould as I wanted these to be small as these were rather decadent)

3. Add chocolate and butter into a microwave dish with lid and place in the microwave for High 50 seconds. The chocolate wouldn't have completely melted but stir this mixture around and it will melt due to the residue heat from the butter.

4. Add eggs and egg yolks with the sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk for 3 minutes until pale yellow in colour.

5. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mix and fold in the 100g of flour.

6. Divide the mixture into the ramekins and place on an oven tray.


7. Bake for 8-10 mins or until the surface is cooked but still soft in the centre.

8. I like to serve mine with a dollop of yoghurt as it is a rather rich dessert.

Lime syrup cake

With limes in season and hubby's birthday coming up, it was perfect timing to bake a lime syrup cake for the family get together lunch. I've made this once before and found this cake so moist with a sweet sour taste. As this was to be the birthday cake, I added a few strawberries for the finishing touches.

 

Ingredients

350g caster sugar
30g self raising flour
90g desiccated coconut
zest of 1 lime
250g unsalted butter melted
2 eggs
250mL milk

Lime syrup
225g caster sugar
zest of 1 lime
juice of 5 limes
180mL water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

2. Lightly grease a 19cm (7.5inch) square cake tin. Line the base and side with baking paper.

3.Place together the sugar, flour, coconut and zest in a bowl.

4. Pour in butter, eggs and milk and mix until smooth.

5. Spoon mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour (or until skewer put into the centre comes completely dry).

6. Put foil over the cake at 40minutes to prevent it getting too brown and continue cooking.

7. Make the syrup when the cake has 10mins of cooking time to go. Put sugar and 180mL in a heavy based saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar is fully dissolved. Add the lime zest and juice bring to boil and reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes then strain.

8. Remove cake from the oven and use a skewer to poke a few holes evenly over the cake. Slowly pour the hot syrup over the cake and let it stand for 20mins to soak though.

9. To serve simply slice and serve on its own or with strawberries.

10. Cut up the baking paper into triangle edges and tie up with twine for a quick and easy presentation.

Handy hint

Pour the hot syrup over the cake whilst its still hot to soak up all the liquid.

Sweet Potato Pie

With a Canadian friend leaving to go back to the States, I thought I'd make my version of pumpkin pie, a sweet potato pie for her farewell. The cinnamon and ginger spice aromas wafting through the house, I couldn't wait to have a slice.

I thought I'd also follow the current food fads and make a paleo sweet potato pie. The filling is rich, smooth and thick served with a delish date almond pie crust and yoghurt. It is on the light side of sweet but the maple shards and extra maple add that extra hit of sweetness if need be.  With a nod of approval from my American friends, I think this one's a winner.

Serves 6-8
 

Ingredients

Sweet potato filling

500g sweet potato 

400mL coconut milk
200mL water
 

Pastry
10 dried dates

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g unsalted butter 

260g almond meal

I egg white
pinch of salt

Spice filling

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

finely grated zest of half an orange

60mL (1/4 cup) maple syrup
2 eggs and extra yolk

Shards for decoration

40g (1/4 cup) seed mix (I used sunflower kernels and pepitas)
1 tbs maple syrup
 

Dollop of Greek yoghurt

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius 

2. Grease a 24cm quiche pan with butter

3. Place sweet potato, coconut milk and water in a on over medium low heat and simmer for 25 mins or until soft. Cool

4. Whizz dates in the food processor until finely chopped.

5. Combine dates with almond meal, vanilla, butter, 1 egg white and a pinch of salt. 

6. Press mixture into the base and sides. Prick base with a fork. Then bake for 15-20mins until dry. 

7. Whizz sweet potato mixture, spices, zest and 60mL (1/4 cup) maple syrup in a food processor. 

8. Add remaining 2 eggs and yolk and whizz to combine. Pour filling into base. Bake for 45 mins or until just set

9. Toss seeds in remaining 1 tbs maple syrup. Bake on a baking paper lined baking tray for 8-10mins until golden. Cool then break into shards

10. Top pie with yoghurt, shards of seeds and extra maple syrup.