Chocolate and pear clafoutis

The renovation and move made me energy less. There was a long waited, special day on Saturday! We packed our belongings and overloaded we crossed the doorstep of our new apartment. I’m learning my new way to work and how to solve things in cabinets. Slowly I’m coming back to cooking because finally I have a kitchen!

I started with a dessert to make our living here sweet!
Recipe from atdownunder.com.

Ingredients (makes 4-5 portions)
3,5 oz (100 g) wheat flour
2,5 oz (70 g) brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup milk
2,5 oz (70 g) dark chocolate
1,7 oz (50 g) butter
2 – 3 medium pears
pinch salt
lemon


Method
Peel pears and cut them cores, drizzle with lemon juice to preserve from becoming dark. In a bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, salt and cocoa. In another bowl whisk eggs with sugar until fluffy, add the flour mixture and milk step by step whisking all the time. Add slightly cooled melted chocolate with butter. Pour batter into the small baking dishes, on top of each place a wedge of pear. Bake for 30 min. in preheated oven to 175 oC. Serve warm (not hot).

Rustic style fruit tart with thyme and rosemary

Considering the amount of fresh, ripe fruit you can now easily find everywhere, the end of summer is one of my favourite seasons! I mixed everything I had in my kitchen: pears, apples, raspberries flavoured with thyme and rosemary. This combination also works well with peach desserts – you have to try – herbs beautifully enhance the desserts taste.

Ingredients
Dough
4,5 oz (125 g) room temperature butter
3 oz (90 g) powdered sugar
1 egg
9 oz (250 g) wheat flour
pinch of salt
Filling
1 apple
1 pear
1 cup raspberries
lemon juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 sings of thyme
4 leaves of rosemary
2 tbsp almonds


Method
Dough: mix butter and sugar in a food processor, until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and whisk for about 30 sec. Add flour and mix until combined (not too long as the batter can’t become too hard). Wrap the dough in a cling film and for 30 min. keep it in the refrigerator. After 30 min. roll it out at about 5 mm. in thickness. Place it on the baking paper.
Peel the fruit and cut them cores. Cut into small pieces, drizzle with lemon juice – to preserve them from getting dark. Apple, pear and raspberries place in a bowl and mix with sugar and cornstarch, add chopped herbs. Place the fruit mixture in the middle of rolled dough, sprinkle with almonds. Fold the edges of the dough but leave the space in the centre. Bake it in preheated oven to 180 oC until golden brown. Serve slightly warm with i.e. ice creams or whipped cream.

Extra quick omelette with divine plums

I dream about mornings with a smell of freshly baked rolls. I could give a lot for a daily delivery of crispy baguettes and sourdough bread! As the world is not perfect, and I don’t have enough of strong will to regularly bake bread I’m left with “mornings alternatives”. Very often I start my day with different omelettes, pancakes or crepes. All you need is 2 eggs, a little bit of flour and something tasty on top! And as for the matter……

Ingredients
Favourite omelette – 2 beaten eggs, a little bit of flour, drop of milk and pinch of salt
10 sweet plums
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar muscovado
¼ cup water
big pinch cinnamon
big pinch pimiento (optional)
2 cloves


Method
Fry the omelette. Heat the butter in the pan, add the plums cut into quarters, sugar, water and spices. Fry for a few minutes until plums are juicy and soft and sauce thick. Warm plum sauce put on top of the omelette and enjoy your breakfast!

Strawberries

Strawberries…there is nothing better in a Summer time! Today with a homogenized cheese: delicious duet!

Ingredients
18 oz (500 g) strawberries
8 oz (200 g) natural homogenized cheese
8 oz (200 g) vanilla homogenized cheese
1 package strawberry jelly
optional: few drops lemon juice, sugar to taste


Method
Gently blend strawberries, the mixture doesn’t have to be smooth, leave some pieces of strawberries. Prepare jelly adding extra ½ cup water ( about 250 ml). Combine jelly mixture with strawberries and homogenized cheese, season to taste with sugar and lemon juice. Pour the jelly into prepared dessert bowls, put them in a fridge for a few hours. Serve decorate with vanilla and sugar, in a room temperature.

Rhubarb and apple sorbet

I have a great weakness for all kinds of sorbets. Having a choice between a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and sorbet I’ll always choose the other one! Below my first, home made intense in taste, frozen, natural and delicious!


Ingredients
3 apples
5 thick rhubarb sticks
1 cup water
lemon juice of ½ lemon
¾ cup sugar (or as you prefer)
½ teaspoon ginger
pinch cinnamon


Method
Cook the syrup with water and sugar. Peeled and diced apples and rhubarb simmer on a low a heat until soft. Sieved fruit combine with water syrup, add lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into a flat container and place in a freezer. From time to time stir the mixture with a fork avoiding creation of big crystals. Before serving puree the sorbet with a blender it will become nice creamy and smooth.

Smoothie

The same name make me feel like drinking this...drink? no the smoothie is something more. Full of fruit, nice addition to breakfast or afternoon piece of cake. Blend fruit and juice in a food processor and there it’s – vitamin bomb!

Ingredients (any you prefer) (serves 2)
5 apricots
5 strawberries
1 cup orange juice (the best fresh made)

Method
Place the fruit in a freezer for a while. When frozen, blend them in a food processor with a juice, season with sugar or honey (I didn’t need it). You can also blend the fruit with some ice cubes.

Plum dessert

As I got so many plums, bought in the market I started looking for a dessert’s recipe. I wanted to make something simple, without too many ingredients and the best if I could make it without a food processor…. I looked trough many cookbooks and found it! It’s simply called ‘Plum dessert’ and it can be made in 10 min.

The recipe is from “Baking” by Emma Patmore.

Ingredients ( I made 3 portions and used ¼ ingredients)
35 oz (1000 g) plums
100 g sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 oz (25 g) corn starch
10 oz (225 g) wheat flour
2,5 oz (75 g) sugar
pinch salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
5 fl oz (150 ml) buttermilk
2 oz (75 g) melted and cooled butter


Method
Grease 2 l baking dish. Stoned and cut in half plums mix with sugar, flour and lemon juice. Put the fruit into the baking dish. Whish egg, add salt, sugar, remaining flour, buttermilk and butter. Stir with a spoon until smooth. Spoon the mixture on top of the plums. Bake at 380 F/ 190 oC until golden.

Honey yoghurt with fruit – the Summer time dessert

I was surprised that this simple combination of just a few ingredients can taste so good! Such fruit is not only a good idea for a breakfast but it can easily be a dessert. You have to do as much as you can during those few weeks a year when fruit are everywhere!
You can modify the amount and kind of fruit you use. Currants, raspberries, ripe peaches, you can use them all.

Ingredients (for one)
6 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp liquid honey
2 tbsp sliced strawberries
2 tbsp wild strawberries
2 tbsp blueberries
1 tbsp roasted almond flakes


Method
Mix yoghurt with honey. On a bottom of a dessert bowl put 2 tbsp of yoghurt mixture. On top put fruit alternating with yoghurt. Sprinkle with roasted almond flakes. Serve chilled.

Peach crumble with coconut

Such a crumble for me is a symbol of a slowly arriving Autumn. When there is hot I don’t feel like eating warm fruit, but when is colder and more and more apples, peaches and pears are in shops- it is a crumble time!


Ingredients (make 3 portions)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp wheat flour
1 tbsp wholemeal flour
2 tbsp dark sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 teaspoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 tbsp coco flakes
3 peaches
2 tbsp cranberries
pinch salt


Method
Mix all the crumble ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, coco flakes, cold butter. Place the fruit mix with honey and starch in ramekins. Cover it with crumble. Bake at 360 F/ 180 oC, until golden brown and fruit soft.

Cottage cheese dumplings with plums

It has been the second time (plus one my Mum’s time) I made dumplings from the Basia’a (my blog friend) recipe and each time the effect was delicious. The dough is delicate and easy to make. As a filling I used strawberries and plums (separate) and I was amazed! Try!!

Ingredients (make about 25)
9 oz (250 g) minced cottage cheese
75 g wheat flour
75 g semolina flour
1 tbsp butter
1 egg
pinch salt
plums (or other fruit) as a filling


Method
Knead smooth and elastic dough from all ingredients. Put aside for 20 min., so the dough will rest. Roll out the dough pieces. Each stoned plum cover with dough, form a ball. Cook in boiling, salted water, for about 8 min.

Serve with sugar and butter (I made a syrup with sugar, water and butter) and cinnamon.