Tag: apple

Two different chocolate cakes

I have recently made two different chocolate cakes.  These two different chocolate cakes combine additional flavours such as cinnamon, apple, or plum, chestnut. Interestingly both have dark rum.

One is a rich dense flourless chocolate cake with flavours of chestnuts and prunes and dark rum, the other one is a light chocolate mousse cinnamon, apple and dark rum dessert.

Gateau Mozart

Cinnamon chocolate mousse and apple gateau

Cinnamon chocolate mousse and apple gateau

This is a recipe from Pierre Hermé “Le Larousse du Chocolat“. Pierre Hermé is a famous french pastry chef, most famous for his macarons.  His cookbook Le Larousse du Chocolat gathers good chocolate recipes across France and some of Pierre Hermé as well.

I had not done the Gateau Mozart for some time (recipe HERE). Imagine three very thin disks of sweet shortcrust pastry with a subtle cinnamon flavour alternating with a light chocolate mousse which contains apples cooked in butter, a pinch of cinnamon and have been flambé !

Cinnamon chocolate mousse and apple gateau

Flourless chestnut, chocolate and rum cake

I found this recipe a while ago in the Delicious Magazine. I had cut out the recipe and placed in my cookbooks.  This recipe intrigued me because of the combination of chestnut and prune and rum.   With chestnut puree, you retain a lot of moisture and the flavour is undeniable. Years ago, I made up a chestnut steamed pudding. It is such a nice dessert. My curiosity was picked.

Flourless chestnut, chocolate and rum cakeFlourless chestnut, chocolate and rum cake Flourless chestnut, chocolate and rum cake

 

You will never fail your tarte Tatin again

Tarte Tatin or the upside down tarte.

Tarte Tatin is a French dessert,  with lots of butter, caramel and a beautiful pastry.  It is cooked with the pastry on top, not underneath like a usual tarte.  After cooling down a little, it is turned upside down on a serving plate.

Until now, mine resembled a gooey gathering of fruits and caramel.  I must say, since I tried this tip maybe three-month ago, I have found a new “Waho” dessert that is simple to make.  I know, some will say, I always say so (which is not true!)… Try, this will become your dinner party dessert. And you know what:  it is not a chocolate – even though we love it – recipe!

So, what results do you get?

I made the same recipe with apple and with pears.  For the later, make sure they are not too soft. By now at least two to three-time each. The last one was a large size one on Monday. Yes a week day! I have taken a few photos. I realise the best apple tarte Tatin were not photographed.  Check out the fruits sitting!  I can’t believe it every time I unmold one these days.

Tatin poires tatin pommes

And what is that tip?

A classic tarte Tatin recipe will call for you to either cook the fruits with butter and sugar in a thick based frypan and somehow avoid a puree or place the uncooked fruits directly in the baking tin and pray that they be cooked by the time the pastry is ready. I never fancied either techniques (I guess you got that by now).

The tip comes from Christophe Michalak, a French pastry chef very followed at the moment.  To be frank, he is a Master Patissier. I made some of his recipes (I made this amazing strawberry tarte of his a couple weeks ago for a birthday, delicious!!) and they are pretty good and very practical. All are not necessarily that easy.

Ok, the tip! Let us come back to our topic.  All right, swap the frypan for a good size saucepan. Butter, sugar, vanilla and peeled quartered fruits all get in and relax in there for a bit in their little jacuzzi until they are soft. That is the tip! No pureed fruits! Plenty space for them to move and cook slowly without coming to pieces. You are left with an interesting juice, which can be used for another Tatin or something else.  I have one on the corner of the stove right now and am getting ideas…

Back to our tarte Tatin again.  Then, you place the fruits over a caramel (you didn’t think you are going to stay idle all that time, did you?) you have previously  covered the base and side of the metal tin with.  Your job there is to ensure the pieces are fruits are cosy side by side.  Then the pastry comes on top, and all is sent for a little bit more warmth in Mr Oven for a little bit.

Conclusion: You will never fail your tarte Tatin again!

If you want the recipe, click HERE.

tatin pomme

La Tarte Tatin, the unfailable recipe

The Tarte Tatin is traditionally an apple tarte which fruits are precooked and coasted with caramel. It cooks head down, that is with the pastry on top like for a pie, and the tarte is then flipped onto a serving plate displaying then thick layer of fruits generously caramelised over a crusty pastry. Yum!

The  tin you use does not need to be too wide. Note that this dessert is quite nutritious (plenty butter and sugar).

I wrote a post on THE TIP which makes this recipe a foolproof success!  I didn’t make it up, only tumbled over it one happy day.  The secret is in the way the fruits are cooked, instead of cooking them in a fry-pan, they cook in a volume of water with sugar, vanilla and butter. Don’t discard that beautiful butter sauce, you can use it for a semolina cake or just plain semolina or any other creative idea.

Note: you can choose to use a shortcrust pastry (not sweet) or here I have chosen puff pastry.

Tatin poires
This is a pear tarte Tatin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serves 8 people.

Ingredients:
  • 150 g of caster sugar for the caramel
  • 300 g of  sugar for the fruits cooking
  • 300 g of unsalted butter
  • 300 ml of water
  • 1 vanilla bean, beans scrapped and placed in the water with the remaining bean.
  • 6 to 8 large apples
  • 1 quantity of puff pastry
  • Apple jelly or apricot jam to brush the top for a nice finish (I did not do it on the tartes displayed here)
Method:
  1. Quarter (half only if using pears), peel and core your fruits.
  2. Heat up the oven to 170°C
  3. Place the fruits, water, butter, sugar (300 g) and vanilla in a saucepans and bring to a small boil.  Cook until the fruits are just tender through (use a skewer to check).
  4. The tin you will use is important. It should be non stick and fully closed (at the bottom) i.e. a springform baking tin is not your best option here. An aluminium tin is the best here.
  5. In a thick bottom saucepan, place the rest of the sugar and heat up. When the sugar starts to dissolve and colour, do not be tempted to mix with a spoon, however you can shake the saucepan to distribute the sugar evenly. When your caramel is of a brown (do not go too dark), pour into the tin and making sure your hands are protected from the heat (use tea towels to handle the tin), turn the tin to distribute the caramel on the bottom and lower half of the sides.
  6. While the apples are cooking, you can roll the puff pastry out (unless you have some pre-rolled one) to 3 to 4 mm thickness.
  7. When the fruits are ready, allow them to cool down. This is only to avoid burning your fingertips though, so if you are in a hurry, skip this.
  8. Place the fruits quite close to each other over the caramel their outer face pointing partially up (see the photo of the tarte, this should make sense).
  9. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry on top is well golden.
  10. Allow to cool in the tin to warm before turning over.  You can then brush some apple jelly or apricot jam (dilute it with a bit of hot water before).
  11. Serve warm with a dollop of creme fraiche or some whipped cream.

Pepper apple and strawberry crumble

This pepper apple and strawberry crumble is a twist on the traditional recipe of the crumble. Be ready for a radical change in taste! The recipe is inspired from a bakes apple recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi.  The pepper is not at all overpowering, it brings up a different flavour combination.

Ingredients:
  • 4 apples (3 if quite large) – all apples are good, although the granny smith are likely to be a bit bitter (not my favourite)
  • 1 punnet of strawberries
  • 1 teaspoon of pink peppercorns
  • 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
  • Black cracked pepper
  • for the crumble: 150 g of flour, 75 g of soft butter, 60 g of caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup of orange juice (or water)
  • 1 tablespoon of pistachio (shells removed)
Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
  2. Prepare the crumble top: place sugar, flour and sugar in a bowl and rub until the ingredients are combined in a rough sand (or gravel to be more exact!).  Cut the pistachios with a large knife and set aside.
  3. Peel and cut the apples in small pieces. Rinse the strawberries and cut in quarters. Place the fruits in the baking tray with the orange juice. add the cinnamon.  Toss.
  4. Crack the black pepper all over (a bit les than for a steak) and sprinkle the pink peppercorn all around.
  5. Sprinkle the crumble all over, then the pistachios.
  6. Bake until golden brown on top.
  7. Serve on its own or with a creme anglaise.

 

crumble pomme poivre crumble pomme poivre