Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie with Coconut Crumble Topping

As rhubarb has a short seasonal availability and it's not the easiest ingredient to find in Madrid, so whenever it's around, I incorporate it in all sort of recipes. Today's pie is an example of such recipes.
  
Strawberry and rhubarb are a beautiful flavor combination, but  add coconut to the mix and you get something really special.  It´s the first time I try this combination and it surely won´t be the last. It's such a winning combo! Trust me on that, try it and you won't be disappointed. 

This rhubarb and strawberry pie has a flaky yet crunchy crust, a sweet and soft filling with a crumbly coconut topping. Did I convince you? If so, these are the steps you need to make this lovely pie.

For the crust you need: (22 cm pan)

• 200 g pastry flour
• 115 g butter
• 50 g sugar
• 35 to 45 ml vodka or kirsch
• dash of salt 

In the food processor, mix flour, sugar and salt, pulse for few seconds to combine, add the butter and pulse a few times to get a sandy mixture. Slowly add the vodka or kirsch; one tablespoon at first then one teaspoon at a time. Each flour has a different absorption capacity, so be careful to avoid having a soggy dough.

Once the dough forms a ball, drop the mixture on the working surface and gather it. Do not over work the dough. Wrap in plastic and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

Once you´re ready to bake, flatten and roll the dough on a floured surface to about half a cm thick and place it in the pie dish. Prick the dough with a fork, cover with baking paper, put some weight over it (beans, rice or ceramic pearls) and blind bake for 10 to 15 min in a preheated oven (180 C). 

Set aside to cool.

For the filling:

• 3 tbsp of raspberry and rhubarb jam (or any strawberry jam)
• 125g sliced strawberies
• 125g sliced rhubarb
• 50 g sugar (or adjust to your liking)
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• seeds of half a vanilla bean 
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
• pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients but the jam and leave to macerate for at least 20 minutes. 

For the streusel topping:

• 25 g cold butter cut into small cubes
• 25 g sugar
• 50 g pastry or all purpose flour
• dash of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50 g desiccated coconut                                                                                                                  

Combine the sugar, flour, salt and butter using a dough blender or your fingertips. Work quickly as you don´t want to melt the butter. Once you have a sandy mixture add the coconut flakes and vanilla and mix to combine.

Assembly:

Spread the jam over the baked and cooled dough. Add the strawberry and rhubarb mixture (discard the excess liquid) then evenly sprinkle the streusel on top. You can add some extra shaved coconut if you wish.

Bake in a preheated oven (180 C) until the top is golden brown. Leave to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Sprinkle some powdered sugar for an extra nice touch, although not necessary. Serve while still  warm with vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche, some jam and slices of fresh strawberries. 

The combination of these flavors is spot on and will satisfy any pie lover.

Banana and Peanut Butter Pancakes

After a long working week, we all crave the break the weekend provides. On Saturday mornings, when Monday still feels distant, there's nothing better than to wake up a bit late and enjoy a relaxing breakfast.

To be honest, I often plan during the weekdays what I will have for the weekends' breakfast; something to do with planning ahead and avoiding wasting time! Quite often, I choose pancakes because they are easy to prepare and can be made with just about any flavor you can imagine.

I have shared several pancake recipes before and experimented with many flavors. This time, I decided to combine the flavor of bananas with that of peanut butter, for a sweet, protein-packed, and healthy start of the day.

For 4 people you need:

• 180 g cake flour
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 g baking soda and 4 g baking powder
• 30 g brown sugar
• 60 g peanut butter (if it´s too stiff heat it in the microwave for few seconds)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 50 ml milk (use more if the batter is too thick)
• dash of salt

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda and baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon.
In another bowl whisk for a couple of minutes the eggs, banana, peanut butter, vanilla and milk.

Now all you need to do is to mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones, the mixture should be rather thick but liquid enough to be poured on a hot pan.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of the batter on a greased and hot pan. Cook until you see bubbles surfing on the top of the pancake then flip it and cook for a couple of minutes on the other side.

Once you finish baking all the pancakes, serve them warm with some maple syrup, honey, or fresh fruits, and enjoy a comforting and delicious breakfast!

For more breakfast ideas featuring pancakes, check these recipes: here, here, here and here . 

Tropical Panna cotta!

Spanish summer is not for the faint of heart, especially in the Spanish heartland away from the coast. Temperatures sometimes exceed 40 C in Madrid. With such hot weather, I avoid traditional baking and I satisfy my sweet cravings with fresher desserts that are quick and easy to make.

An Italian classic, panna cota, which means cooked cream, is one of these easy desserts that are made ahead of time and served chilled: just what you need on a hot day!

The basic recipes calls for three main ingredients. To this base you can add whatever flavor you want. I went for tropical flavors in the form of mango and passion fruit. Mangoes add a mellow and sweet flavor to the panna cota, whereas the passion fruit gives the dessert fresh and tangy notes.

These 2 amazing fruits work perfectly with the creaminess of the panna cotta and this will give you a refreshing and delicious dessert that you can even make several days ahead!

For 4 servings you need:

• 400 ml 35% cream
• 40 g sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 4 sheets of geltaine (about 7g)
• 50 g mango purée
• 2 passion fruits pulp

First, break the gelatin sheets and soak them with cold water for about 5 minutes.

In a sauce pan combine sugar, vanilla and cream and let them simmer on a gentle heat for few minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside. Drain the water from the gelatin sheets, add them to the cream, and whisk to make sure that the gelatin melted completely. Divide the mixture in 2, add the mango purée to one half and the passion fruit pulp to the other. Pour the mixtures to the serving pots and let them chill for at least 4 hours.

When you´re ready to serve decorate the pots as you wish. I decorated the passion fruit pots with mango flowers and the mango ones with passion fruit pulp!

And now you are ready to serve a cold, refreshing, fruity and gluten free dessert! Enjoy!

Zebra Berry Cheesecake!

Last week my friend asked me to bake something for her boyfriend´s birthday. We discussed all the options focusing on a cake with chocolate or one with fruits. Finally, we went for a cake featuring berries. This was a logical option now that the berry season started all over Spain and all sort of fresh berries are readily available. Moreover, I love the taste of berries in cakes and my friend couldn't agree more! 

Instead of a regular cake, like a sponge flavored with a filling of berries, I suggested to my friend to make cheesecake. A cold and creamy cheesecake would be perfect now that summer has officially arrived in Spain and Madrid is slowly heating up. 

I played around with my usual cheesecake recipe, and mixed 2 batters to create a beautiful layered or zebra look. The cake was such a hit that I decided  I deserved one just for myself. I did show some restrain and shared few pieces with my close friends. 

The recipe is simple, I baked it in a 15 cm springform pan to get a high result.  You can use an 18 cm pan or even a 23 one if you want a flatter cake. Always adjust the baking time when you change the size of pan that was used for the recipe. 

For this cheesecake you need:

The base:

• 50 g caramel cookies and 50 g digestive cookies 
• 20 g melted butter 
• 1 tsp coconut sugar or brown sugar

To prepare the cookies place them in a zip-lock bag and pass a rolling pin over them as many times as you need until you end up with coarsely textured crumbs.  Add the melted butter, sugar  and  mix well. Place the cookie mixture in a springform pan that is greased and covered with parchment paper. Press the mixture to cover the bottom. You can create a rim at the edge of the pan if you want, though I didn't. Bake in a preheated oven (180 C) for 8 to 10 min.  Set aside and cool.

For the cheesecake mix:

• 600 g cream cheese at room temperature
• 3 large eggs at room temperature 
• 120 g Greek yogurt (or thick yogurt, or sour cream)
• 130 g sugar
• 1 tbsp flour 
• 25 g caramelized biscuits spread (Lotus Biscoff)
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or to your liking)
• 1/2 tsp of kirsch (optional)
• 3 to 5 tbsp of berry coulis (recipe follows)

In your mixer bowl, add the cheese and mix on a low speed with the paddle attachment for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the sugar, the Biscoff spread, yogurt, cinnamon and flour and mix again until well blended and no lumps are visible. Add the eggs one by one and keep mixing on a low speed. Finally add the salt, kirsch and vanilla and mix a bit. 

Divide the batter in 2. To one batch, add the berry coulis but don´t add too much or else you will end up with a runny batter. 

To get the zebra effect, add 2 tablespoons of the white batter, then two of the berry batter  and so on. Ever so slightly tap the pan or shake it to flatten the batter.

Bake in a preheated oven (150 to 160 C). 

Usually it's customary to wrap the spring-form pan with aluminum foil and place it in another pan filled with warm water and then bake for the required time that is usually for a pan of this size one hour to one hour and a half (oven-dependent).  This bain-marie method of cooking is needed to bake your cake at a gentler heat to avoid surface cracks.

What I do is different though. I put in the middle layer of the oven a pan and fill it with warm water then place the cheesecake pan over a cookie sheet and put both over the pan. This creates  a steamy environment in my oven and allows the cheesecake to cook all the way through while retaining a smooth creamy texture and most importantly with no surface cracks whatsoever.

After one hour, turn off your oven, shake the tray, make sure the middle is still a bit wiggly and leave the oven door cracked open for another half an hour to an hour. 

Let the cake cool completely before you put it in the fridge overnight. 

For the berry sauce or coulis:

• 300 mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, blackberries and I also used cranberries)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• half vanilla pod or 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and let them simmer for few minutes over a flame until the fruits are soft. Mash them well then and pass them through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.

You will have sauce than the cake requires. Use the remaining sauce to cover the top of the cheesecake and decorate as you  wish! 

Now you´re ready to taste a luscious and creamy dessert with the amazing tangy addition of the berries! Everybody will love it, I can guarantee it! 

Check my other cheesecake recipes here and here

A Jazzed Up Cherry Compote!

In my last post I have mentioned that I will be posting some recipes featuring cherries as a main ingredient. As the season of these amazing summer fruits is coming to an end, there are many ways to preserve them while at their peak of freshness and quality.  You can of course make jam out of cherries and it will taste wonderful but this time I thought of preserving them as compote. This option is slightly different from jam as you won't need to chop or process the cherries, however, you may pit the fruits or leave them whole.

Cherry jam made only with cherries has a wonderful taste on its own but I do find it needs a booster and what better way than to add some citrus fresh for added freshness and taste? I do believe that lemon, lime and orange (or any citrus for that matter)  add so much flavor to both sweet and savory recipes even when used sparingly.

This compote recipe is really quite simple but perhaps the only problem with it is the cherry pitting. It does take time and you better wear gloves if you don't want your hands to stain! However, the end result is really worth it! I have made several batches of this compote, and I think I will keep on making it until the cherry season is over. It is really that good!

For 2 small jars or a big one,  you will need:

• 350 g pitted cherries
• 180 sugar
• 1 lemon and 2 orange peels (a small slice of each fruit is enough, remember you only need the zest)
• 1/4 tsp of pectine (optional, it thickens and helps in the setting of the compote)
•  1 tsp lemon juice and 2 tsp orange juice

Combine everything in a heavy bottom sauce pan, mix well then leave to simmer over a gentle heat for about 30 min. When done, the cherries are tender but still holding their shape. If you overcook them, the fruits will disintegrate and you don't want that in a compote.

Transfer to sterilized jars and close. Once cooled transfer to the fridge. If you want to preserve them out of the fridge, you need to sterilize the filled jars again. However, once opened, it's better to put them in the fridge. I usually don't bother with this process as I only make small batches.

Enjoy them over your pancakes, over a toast and some butter, as a filling for a cake, over baked brie or camembert, really, the choices are endless.

I will share with you soon an easy recipe using this extremely delicious compote, stay tuned!

Cherry Clafoutis, a summer classic.

Summer is an amazing season and although I´m not a fan of hot weather, however there are so many beautiful things to do and to enjoy during this season that make up for this annoying detail.

Any visit to the market during summer-time will greet you with a bounty of wonderful fresh fruits; a feast for the senses! As the season progresses different fruits and fruit varieties start to make their way to the market. By late spring and well into summer, fresh cherries can be easily found in Madrid markets. Cherries not only look good and taste great but they are also highly nutritious. With so many cherry varieties from sweet to sour, there's a cherry variety to just about any taste. 

I love all fruits, well almost, but cherries are one of my favorites and hold a special place in my heart. When I was still a kid, I used to pick them fresh from my uncle's orchard which was teeming with cherries, apricots and apples. Anyone who tasted super fresh fruits picked from trees knows that it is quite unrivaled, and until this day I don´t think I have tasted something as delicious as those cherries.

Nevertheless, the Jerte Valley of Spain is very popular for its cherries that are well appreciated and can be found in almost all markets. To make good use of this super fruit in its season and peak of freshness I decided to use it in several recipes starting with a classic: the cherry clafoutis.

Like many great classics, cherry clafoutis is a French dessert that is surprisingly easy to make and can be simply tweaked to meet your taste. The recipe has two main parts, the base and the fruit. The base is very simple and pretty similar to the crêpe batter. Once prepared it is poured over the fruits and the whole thing baked in the oven.

I should note that traditionally the recipe keeps the cherries whole, but I like them pitted. It's really up to you to pit the cherries or not. In case you don't want to pit them, do warn your guests!

For a 22 cm tart pan you need:

• 2 large eggs
• 70 g sugar
• 30 g melted butter
• 30 g ground almonds
• 75 g flour
• 125 ml milk plus 125 ml of cream
• 350 g  pitted cherries
• 1 tsp of kirch (optional) and a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract or 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• dash of salt

First whisk the eggs with the sugar, the kirsh and the vanilla then add the melted butter and whisk again. Fold in the almonds, the flour and the salt. Slowly add the milk and cream while mixing to avoid having  any lumps.
Once you have a smooth batter you just need to pour it over the cherries that you have arranged in the generously buttered tart pan.

Bake for about 10 min at 200C then lower the temperature to 180C and bake for an additional 15 to 20 min.
You need to watch the clafoutis and take it out of the oven when it´s golden brown and still a bit soft in the middle. 

Serve it warm with some vanilla ice cream and a light dusting of powdered sugar. It´s also delicious when it´s cold, but I like to heat for 10 sec in the microwave before enjoying the leftovers!

Enjoy this wonderful classic dessert with its authentic and refreshing taste of summer!

Ultimate Dried Fruits and Nuts Christmas Cake!

What´s Christmas without cold weather, snowy mountains, decorated streets and houses, the hustle and bustle everywhere, the perfect gift hunting and of course the countless calories one packs from all the delicious season's food!!

I absolutely love how a couple of days before Christmas Eve everything is on speed drive, preparing as much food as you can beforehand and then what took days to prepare disappears in mere hours. Of course food is not what Christmas is all about, but nothing gathers families and loved ones more than good food bringing them together in joy and happiness. Of course, every copious Christmas meal should end with a sweet note and I am not the one to disagree with that!

Some cakes are typically associated with Christmas. In our family we usually prepare the Christmas Log cake (or Yule cake) and serve it at the end of our rather rich Christmas meal. However, this year I wanted to try something different and make a fruit cake that is also famous around Christmas time but not exclusively as it is made during weddings, baptisms and similar events. This cake has everything I love and I expect on Christmas: dried fruits, nuts, spices and alcohol.

I made some research to find the perfect recipe for the perfect Christmas fruit cake, but I eventually had to make some little tweaks and adjustments to suit my taste. I omitted raisins or sultanas, as I am not a big fan  and I replaced them with dried fruits that I preferred. Instead of feeding the cake with brandy, I prepared a spicy brandy syrup that elevated the cake to a whole new level.

Christmas or not this cake is a must try!

Now let´s start baking.

The list of ingredients is quite long, but its mostly ingredients within reach. The amounts listed here are ideal for a small 15 cm (6 inches) pan; adjust the amounts according to your pan. You will need:

• 120 g soft butter
• 100 g brown sugar (use muscovada or panela)
• 150 flour, all purpose
• 3 medium eggs at room temperature (between 53 to 63 g each)
• 400 g of mixed dried fruits (I used cranberries, apricots, plums, cherries, blueberries)
• 120 g mixed nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and almonds) chopped and lightly toasted
• 55 g candied orange peel
• 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp mixed spices. I used, cloves, allspice, crushed coriander seeds, star anise and nutmeg.
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• the zest of an orange
• dash of salt

For the brandy syrup:

• 80 ml orange juice
• 50 g sugar
• 50 ml of brandy
• Mixed spices. I used the same I put in the batter. You will need : 2 cloves, 1 star anise, 2 allspice berries, a small piece of nutmeg, half a cinnamon stick and 2 orange peels and few coriander seeds)

First, chop the dried fruits into small pieces and soak them in 80 ml of brandy and 80 ml of orange juice. This needs to be done one day in advance to allow all of the flavors to marry.

On the next day, mix the flour with the spices, the rest of the dry ingredients, and set aside.

With a spatula or wooden spoon, cream the sugar and butter. Then add all of the eggs along with the orange zest and mix till well incorporated.

Fold in the flour, once well combined add the dried fruits, peels and nuts with any left juice and mix till they are distributed evenly throughout the batter.

Pour the batter in an 15 cm tin, covered with parchment paper. Line the paper so it is higher than the rim of the tin; this helps the top of the cake from drying too quickly in the long baking process.
Bake the cake in a preheated oven (140 C/285 F) for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. After 2 hours insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean then the cake is done. Set it aside to cool.

When completely cooled, cover and place it in airtight container. You can start feeding the cake as of the next day. Feeding means that you prick the cake with a fork or better with a long thin toothpick to create small holes that allow the brandy to soak in the cake. Then you "feed" the cake with brandy by putting some liquor on top and waiting till it is completely absorbed. That's the traditional process, however, I tried something different and created a sweet spicy brandy syrup that adds more flavor than brandy.

To make the syrup, just combine all the ingredients but the brandy and let them simmer on a low heat. Once the sugar is completely dissolved  and the mix is simmering gently add the brandy let it simmer for few seconds and turn off the heat.

With the cooled syrup, I started feeding the cake. I fed it for just 2 days.  Usually the process is repeated over a longer period, but two days are enough for an outstanding result.  Any left over syrup can be served as a drizzle over the piece of cake.

You can make that cake months earlier, if you are able to provide optimal storage conditions. But I wouldn't have the patience to prepare a week or two in advance without sampling it as I don't have a high level of self-restraint when it comes to food!

You can decorate this cake in many ways. Sometimes using just a holy leaf is enough. You can cover it with marzipan and add some decorating elements if you you want to do more. I accompanied the cake with decorated brunsli cookies, a recipe I will share soon.

I will be making this cake soon as it is quite a delicacy. Sure enough it is not the easiest cake out there, it requires lots of ingredients, some planning ahead and quite some time to finish all the needed steps but it is well worth it.

Christmas is right around the corner, gift yourself and your loved ones this scrumptious fruit cake. 

Wild Blackberries Pie

Madrid is just beautiful in Autumn, the weather is perfect, the colors of the city start changing to offer  beautiful scenes throughout its streets and especially in its numerous parks. To top that, just few kilometers outside of Madrid you can explore the most amazing villages and mountains dotted with beautiful forests, rolling hills and much more. Pines, oaks, chestnuts  are some of the many trees you would find there, even more, scattered throughout these villages and forests you find lovely blackberry bushes. Blackberries are not only beautiful to look at but they have a unique acid flavor that's quite addictive. Picking them from the wild brings back many of my favorite childhood memories.

Not far from Madrid there's a small village by the name of Rascafria. Blackberries there seem to ripen later in the season and I couldn't pick any fruits until the first week of October. The first batches I picked were consumed fresh, as they were pretty hard to resist, however, I picked some more to use in a delicious and easy to make pie.

To make this pie you need a really nice and flaky pie dough and two main ingredients for the filling, that's it!
If you're feeling lazy or don't have enough time, you can buy a ready-made pie crust, but make sure that it is made with butter! However, once you master the art of making a good flaky pie crust you can never be satisfied with bought ones. Often, I make more dough than I need and I freeze the rest to be used later on.

For the crust you need

• 400 g flour
• 220 g very cold butter, cubed
• 2 tbsp sugar
• A pinch of salt
• Ice water, between 4 to 6 tbsp   

To get a flaky and delicious crust you need to work with  ingredients that are really cold. I start by mixing the dry ingredients in the food processor and place the container in the freezer for about 20 to 30 minutes. You can omit this step, I have done so in the past and have gotten very good results, but it is worth the time investment as the dough will be even more crumbly and flaky when all ingredients are cold. Meanwhile, prepare the butter by cutting it into small cubes and then freeze them until they are very firm.
I then take out my ingredients from the freezer, add the butter to the flour mix and pulse for about 30 sec to one min maximum. Then I add the icy cold water, one tbsp at a time. This is where you need to be careful not to add too much water and not to overwork your dough. Once the dough just barely comes together stop mixing. It is acceptable if the dough does not come together in a single ball, that's not the aim.
Now, line a clean working surface with cling film (or aluminum foil if you prefer), remove the dough from the food processor onto the cling film. Work the dough slightly with your hands so it comes together and shape it into a disk. Cover it with the cling film and place it in the fridge for at least an hour. It is better if you prepare the dough one day ahead, which is what I usually do.
The amount of water that you will add depends on the quality of the flour and the water contained in the butter. Don't be tempted to put more water as the dough might seem dry at first, but when it rests in the fridge, it comes together nicely and the butter is absorbed  by the flour.

Now that you have the dough, it's time to prepare the filling and for it you need:

• 300 g wild blackberries (or any other berries you prefer)
• 60 g sugar (I don't like the filling to be too sweet, but if you want it to be sweeter, add more sugar)
• The seeds of a vanilla pod or 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• a dash of cinnamon (optional)
• Cream and sugar for the top

Once you have all your ingredients ready, just mix together and you're done, the filling is ready to be poured into the pie shell.

Remove the pie dough from the fridge 10 to 15 min before you start working with it. Cut it into two portions, with a bigger one for the base and a smaller portion for the top. Roll out the base portion out until it's 6mm thick and it's big enough to cover the pie pan. Pour the fruit mix into the pan.

For the top layer, you can roll it into one single layer or you can get creative and create a lace effect like I did and cut some pie into nice leaf shape. Whatever design you might do, don't forget to leave enough room for the steam from the cooking fruits to escape or else the pie would be too wet.

Finally, brush the crust  with cream then sprinkle with sugar for  extra crunch!

Bake the pie in a preheated oven (180) for at least 40 minutes. Note that the top will bake faster than the bottom of the pie that's why cover the top with aluminium foil, and remove it after 20 to 30 min
of baking.

Serve the pie with some whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon! Enjoy!