Fruit Mince Pies

I am really sorry I haven't been posting during christmas time, but I had to learn that everything is a lot harder to coordinate when you're working full-time. I had one free weekend and knew that I needed to get my baking as well as making my christmas wreaths. 

Today's recipe was my recipe for the office's christmas party. Everybody brought something and I volunteered on bringing something sweet. The recipe for these pies is from the Donna Hay app, the December/January 2013 issue. And the best thing is that you can prepare the pastry and filling ahead, keep them in your fridge until the next day, and assemble everything when you're ready. 

Here's the recipe:

For the filling:
1 Granny Smith (green) apple, peeled and grated
2/3 cup (110g) currants
3/4 cup (120g) sultanas
1/2 cup (70g) slivered almonds
2/3 cup (85g) mixed peel
1/3 cup (80ml) maple syrup
1/2 cup (90g) brown sugar
60g unsalted butter, chopped
1/3 cup (80ml) butterscotch schnapps or sherry
1 egg, lightly beaten
white sugar, for sprinkling
icing sugar, for dusting

For the spiced brown sugar pastry:
2 2/3 cups (400g) all-purpose flour
300g cold unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 cup (90g) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1) Prepare the pastry first. Cut the butter (straight from the fridge) into small cubes. Place the flour, butter, sugar, ginger and cinnamon in a food processor or electric mixer and process in shorts bursts until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. 

2) Add the eggs and vanilla extract and process until the pastry comes together. Turn onto a generously floured bench and bring the dough together and divide in half. 

3) At this point, you can either roll the dough now or chill it first and roll it later. 

4) Grate the apples. Place them with the currants, sultanas, almonds, mixed peel, maple syrup, brown sugar, butter and alcohol in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the fruit is softened and the liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool. 

When assembling the pies:

5) Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Roll the dough between generously flour-dusted sheets of non-stick baking paper. Roll each piece of dough to 5mm thick. If you like a your crust a little thinner, especially when lining mini muffin tins, that'll work as well. 

6) Grease your tins (regular muffin tins, mini muffin tins or small pies tins each work well). For half of the dough, using a 7cm-round cookie cutter, cut 24 round from the dough to line 24x40ml-capacity patty tins. With the other half, using a fluted cookie cutter, cut out 24 round and, using a 1cm piping nozzle, make a hole through the middle of each fluted round. 

7) Line your tins of choice with the dough. Maybe you have to adjust the size of the rounds, depending on the size of your tins. For the mini muffin tins, I cut 6cm rounds, for example. 

8) Spoon the filling into the cases. Brush the edges with egg, top the fruit filling with the fluted rounds and press the edges to seal. Brush the tops with the remaining egg and sprinkle with a little white sugar. 

9) Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out to cool completely. Dust with the icing sugar to serve. 

Makes: 24 according to Donna. I ended up with 24 6-cm-rounds for the mini muffin tins and 12 8-cm-rounds for a regular muffin tin. The filling was enough for all.

Active preparation time: about 40 minutes
Total preparation time: about 2 hours

Here's how mine look:

I used dried cranberries, because I had no chance in getting currants in Switzerland in the winter. The cranberries added a beautiful hint of sourness and a slightly tangy note, that nicely balanced the sweetness of the filling and spices. I also couldn't find butterscotch schnapps, but sherry worked great. 

As I mentioned before, I used mini muffin tins and regular muffin tins as I don't yet have patty tins. Both worked well. You might want to adjust the size of the rounds you cut from the dough. 

Have fun trying and merry Christmas everyone!!

Quinoa with roasted beets and pear

Sooo, another monday has come around and it's been raining cats and dogs today. As soon as I got to the office, I boiled some tea and tried every little thing to stay warm. Today's recipe helped me do with keeping warm at lunch. I prepared it ahead yesterday, so I could have it all week. The recipe comes from Food52, a website where users can share their recipes. I love the site's construction, the pictures are just beautiful and their Twitter feed is the meanest thing, because it supplies you with endless pictures of the most beautiful looking dishes.
I loved the color from today's recipe and as I love beets and quinoa, trying this recipe was a no-brainer.

Here's the link:
http://food52.com/recipes/31742-quinoa-with-roasted-beets-and-pear

And this is how easy you'll get into quinoa heaven:

1) Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Rub the beets with some olive oil, wrap into tin foil and let them roast in the oven for about 50 minutes. It really depends on the size. I apparently ended up with large beets, so mine took about 1 hour and 30 minutes. 

2) In the meantime, rinse 1 cup of uncooked quinoa. Bring the quinoa along with 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, add a little salt, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid, then place back on the heat and press a paper towel between pot and lid. Let the quinoa rest for 5 more minutes.

3) Cube the pear and feta cheese and place into a bowl along with the quinoa. 

4) Once the beets are cooked, take them out of the oven. Let the beets cool a little bit. As soon as you can touch them, peel the skin under running water. 

5) Lower the oven temperature to 175°C (350°F) and roast the walnuts for 8 minutes. 

6) Cut the beets into small cubes and roughly chop the walnuts. 

7) Toss all the ingredients together, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I used 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, but use however much you like.

Serves: 4 nicely
Active preparation time: about 20 minutes
Total preparation time: depending on the size of your beets, up to 1 hour and 50 minutes

This is how mine looks:

i like the sweetness of the beets and pear, the saltiness from the feta and the earthy flavor from the quinoa, punctuated by a little hint of acidity from the balsamic vinegar. I used red quinoa, as the beets will turn everything they touch into a soft pink color anyways. I also think the red quinoa holds its shape a little better than the white variety and its flavor is slightly nuttier. I served the quinoa warm as the mere thought of eating something cold left me shivering today, but it would probably be just as good served cold. 

Have fun trying!

 

Plum/Prune jam

Hi there!

Wow, this week has just been flying by! But I love the cooler weather we've had in Switzerland. There's nothing quite like enjoying a warm cup of tea and treating yourself to whatever it is that makes you feel great. For my part that is savoring all the produce fall has to offer and get the best of the fruit. For example with this simple recipe from my godmother. It is super simple and super low-effort, but tastes great. I don't use a gelling agent for this one as I like this jam to be very soft and a little runny.

Here's the recipe:

about 3 kg (105 oz) plums or prunes, both work equally well; you need 2,5 kg (88 oz) pitted fruit
600g (2 + 2/3 cups; 21 oz) granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 cloves
1 empty tea bag

1) Wash your fruit, then pit it and cut it into small pieces, about 0,5cm (1/4 inch) wide. 

2) Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Place the fruit and sugar on a baking tray and stir carefully, but thoroughly to distribute the sugar evenly. 

3) Cut the cinnamon stick in 3 pieces, then put on top of the fruit at different ends of the tray. Put the cloves into a tea bag and place them on the tray as well. This way it'll be a lot easier to remove them once the fruit is cooked.

4) Put the tray in the oven and let the fruit cook with for 1 hour.

5) Remove from the oven, take away the cinnamon stick and cloves and, working quickly, fill the jam into glasses all the way up to the top. Let the glasses cool head first. This way, you'll generate a vacuum which will help the jam to keep longer. 

Yield: I ended up with 7 glasses of about 250ml (1 cup) capacity
Active preparation time: about 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour and 20 minutes + cooling time (about 2 hours)

Here's how it looks:

You can play around with the amount of sugar depending on the quality of fruit you can get your hands on. My plums were fairly ripe and sweet, so I didn't add a lot of sugar. Most jam recipes call for 1kg sugar for 1kg fruit or at least 500g sugar for 1kg fruit. If you don't like cloves, you can easily omit them.

This is one of my favorite ways, besides cake, to work with fruit. And you can enjoy it so much longer. You can have a piece of fall for breakfast for a few more weeks. 

Have fun trying! 

Pearl barley risotto with marinated feta

Hi guys!

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine was filled with baking and sunshine. The weather was breathtakingly beautiful and I enjoyed every second. Today's recipe plays with flavors that simply shout sunshine. Sunny tomatoes and tangy lemon help with making this recipe special and interesting. The recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi's book "Jerusalem". I accidentally discovered it in a magazine.

Here's the recipe:
200g (7 oz) pearl barley
30g (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
90ml (1/3 cup + 1 dessert spoon) olive oil
2 small stalks of celery
2 echalots
4 cloves of garlic
4 thyme sprigs
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika powder (pimenton)
1 bay leaf
4 strips lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1 can (400g; 14 oz) canned tomatoes
300g (10.5 oz) sieved tomatoes
700ml (2 3/4 cups) vegetable broth
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
300g (10.5 oz) feta cheese
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
salt and pepper, to season

1) Rinse the pearl barley thoroughly with cold water and set aside.

2) Cut the celery stalks, echalots and garlic cloves into small cubes (about 1/2cm; 1/4 inch).  

3) Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the butter over medium heat and cook the celery, echelons and garlic for 5 minutes until tender. Add the barley, thyme, pimenton, bay leaf, lemon peel, chili flakes, canned tomatoes, sieved tomatoes, vegetable broth and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir thoroughly.

4) Bring to the boil, turn the heat to medium-low and let cook for 45 minutes, stirring here and there, or until the barley is soft and has almost absorbed all liquid. You can add a little water if necessary.

5) In the meantime, roast the cumin seeds in a pan without oil for a few minutes. Afterwards pound the seeds using mortar and pestle. Add the feta and olive oil and mix to combine. 

6) At the end of cooking time, taste the barley risotto and season with salt and pepper. Serve the risotto with a little marinated feta on top. 

Yield: 4 as a main dish
Active preparation time: about 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Here's how it looks:

This dish offers a ton of different flavors. Don't let the long ingredient list discourage you. All of the ingredients are easy to find at any grocery store. And the final product is worth using all the ingredients. 

The lemon peel adds a nice tang, the tomatoes brighten things and the feta adds creaminess once it is starting to soften and saltiness to the recipe. If you don't like feta, try substituting a little cottage cheese or omit the cheese altogether.

I hope you can enjoy the last days of summer and have fun trying!

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bake

Hi guys!

I'm a little late for meat free monday, but I still want to share a vegetarian breakfast recipe with you. I am a little obsessed with anything that includes quinoa at the moment, so when I discovered the following recipe, I was hooked. It combines my favorite grain with all of fall's goodness. Sweet or tart apples and those spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg you love from your Pumpkin lattes.

I discovered the recipe on the website "www.fitsugar.com". The website focuses on everything surrounding fitness and offers a ton of healthy, easy to follow recipes. Here's the link to the recipe:
http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Apple-Cinnamon-Quinoa-Breakfast-Bake-32210316

Here's the recipe:
1 cup (200g) uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 apples
1/4 cup (50g) raisins
2 eggs
2 cups (500ml) vanilla soy milk
1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup
1/3 cup (about 60g) whole almonds
Sunflower oil or butter, for greasing

1) Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Rinse the quinoa thoroughly. 

2) Grease a 18 x 28cm (7 x 11 inch) baking dish. Fill with the quinoa and spices and mix.

3) Peel the apples and cut them into 1cm (1/2 inch) cubes. Add the apples along with the raising to the quinoa.

4) Put the eggs, soy milk and maple syrup in a bowl and whisk to combine. 

5) Pour the liquids over the quinoa and apples and carefully stir everything. 

6) Roughly chop the almonds and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 1 hour or until set. 

Yield: 6 slices
Active preparation time: about 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Here is how my bake looks:

This is perfect to make ahead on the weekend and reheat in the oven (about 10 minutes at 150°C (300°F) or microwave. 

I love the combination of soft quinoa and the fall spices. I made this bake once using regular soy milk and the second time using hazelnut milk. Almond milk should work perfectly, too. I personally like the addition the hazelnut milk gives this dish. It really complements the apple. I guess you could use your favorite variety of apples. I personally prefer crisp, tart apples that taste rather sour than sweet, but feel free to choose any sort you like.

Most of all though, I like the fact that this is warm. In autumn, the nights get chillier and I am feeling better starting my day with something warm.

Have fun trying and start the chilly fall days right!

Apple Pie

Hi guys!

It's Monday and time for a meat-free recipe. Today's recipe is for all of you with a sweet tooth. As autumn is in full swing right now, I love to bake more than ever, because it means my favorite fruit is in season. It's not something extraordinary or hugely decadent - I love apples. In crumbles, in a tray cake, baked, but especially, as apple pie. The list goes on and on... 
This recipe for apple pie comes from Cynthia Barcomi and is the first apple pie recipe I have ever tried. I just love the buttery pie crust as it isn't sweet and nicely contrasts the tart and sweet baked apples. 

Here's the recipe:

For the pie crust:
420g ( 2+3/4 cups; 14.8 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
240g (2 sticks; 8 oz) unsalted butter
90g (3.17 oz) palm oil 
160ml (2/3 cup; 5 fl.oz) cold water

For the apple filling:
4-5 apples (The recipes recommends Granny Smith, I like Boskoop as well or Elstar)
35g (2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
70-100g (1/3-1/2 cup) granulated sugar
pinch of cinnamon powder (feel free to use 1 teaspoon or more)

1 egg

1) Cut the butter and oil in small pieces. Put them in a bowl and let them cool in the freezer for about 15 minutes. I personally have never used the palm oil, but replaced it with equal amounts of butter. You could also use coconut oil, as it is hard at room temperature as well.

2) Place the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and mix.

3) Add the butter and beat the dough with a hand-held mixer or kitchen machine until small crumbs form. It should look a little a crumb topping.

4) Add the water, reserving one tablespoon at first. The dough should just be coming together. Add the remaining water if necessary. 

5) Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. The recipe calls for 2 hours, but I have never found it necessary to refrigerate it this long.

6) Preheat the oven to 225°C (437°F). Peel and core the apples and cut them in pieces, about 1/2 inch quarters. 

7) In a bowl, mix the apples with the sugar, flour and cinnamon and set aside.

8) Grease a 26cm spring tin with butter. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut in tin half. Place one half on a flour-dusted surface and roll it into a round disk of about 36cm caliber. You should be able to place the dough into the spring tin while it forms the bottom and sides in one piece. Fill the apples into the tin.

9) Take the other half and roll until about 2-3mm thick. Either you can roll it into a round disk and cover the pie with it completely, cutting the cover a few times so the steam can escape when baking. Or you cut the dough into 2cm-wide strips and braid them. I know, the braiding takes a little bit more time, but I think it looks much much nicer. For some extra glow, brush with one whisked egg. 

10) Bake the pie at 210°C (410°F) for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 190°C (374°F), cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil and bake for another 50 minutes. The pie is done when it is golden brown. 
© Copyright: Cynthia Barcomi's "Backbuch", p. 145f.

Here's how mine looks:

As you can see: The braiding is a little bit freestyle. It's easiest starting in the middle and working your way out. 

Here's a peek at the inside

I really love this recipe. The pie crust is the perfect combination between buttery and flaky and soft from the apple juices on the inside. The butter makes sure that no apple juice can escape. I always use more cinnamon than the original recipe calls for, as I love it. It's completely up to you. Feel free to leave it, if you're not into cinnamon, but I think nothing beats this classic, winning combination. 

Have fun trying and curl up on the sofa with a nice piece of warm apple pie!

Caramel maple mud cupcakes with fudge frosting

Hi guys!

I am truly sorry for not writing for sooo long. The past months have been super busy for me, finishing my studies, applying to a lot of jobs and finally starting an apprenticeship. All those things took up tons of time and whenever I had a few days off, I found that I wasn't in the mood to cook. 

Now, being in my job for almost four months and slowly getting the hang of it, I am enjoying cooking and baking again and - most importantly - I want to share recipes I've tried and loved with you. So thanks for the patience and hopefully you'll enjoy new recipes and want to try them immediately. 

Today's recipe comes from Donna Hay. She has hands-down become one of my favorites. I love the way she photographs her food and baked goods. And I have never tried a recipe that didn't work. As autumn had officially started this week, I turned to old editions of the Donna Hay magazine. I especially loved a chapter she did on caramel. Luckily, Donna decided to share the recipe for these cupcakes on her website, so you'll have easy access to it. This is the link: https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/desserts-and-baking/caramel-maple-mud-cupcakes-with-fudge-frosting

And here's my step-by-step-guide:

1) Place the maple syrup, milk, sugar, butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. This takes about 5-10 minutes. Be patient and don't turn the heat on high or you'll risk burning the chocolate. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

2) Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°C). Add both the flours and whisk until just combined. If you don't have self-raising flour, substitute with 200g of all-purpose flour in total and add a little less than 1 teaspoon baking powder. Add the egg and which until smooth.

3) Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. Fill the cases, leaving a little room to the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

4) To make the caramel fudge frosting, place the sugar, butter and salt in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. 

5) Turn the heat to high, add the milk and vanilla extract and bring to the boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

6) Remove from the heat. Add the icing sugar and whisk until smooth. Working quickly, spread the cupcakes with the frosting. 

This is how they look:

As usual, Donna's yield is not the same as my experience. Even though I used the exact amounts as she tells you to, I had enough dough for 12 cupcakes and more than enough frosting. Everything else worked perfectly. 

These cupcakes are sweet, so if you haven't got a sweet tooth, don't try them. The sweetness has different layers from using different kinds of sweeteners, sugar and maple syrup, and caramelizing the sugar. I love caramel as it symbolizes warmth and cosiness for me. 

I hope, you enjoy the start of fall-time and have fun trying!