Lime Tartelettes

Before the summer is officially over, here is another refreshing and delicious lemon/lime recipe!
By now, I think you are all quite familiar with my passion for lemons and all things citrus.

Though I quite like pies, I don´t make them often. I thought it's time to use more of the delicious organic limes I had at home.

The crust I made was inspired from a Marry Berry recipe but with slight modifications. with some modifications to make it even more crumbly and delicious. For the curd, I used the recipe of the famous French pastry chef Pierre Herme. I don't think you will ever use any other recipe; the lemon cream is beyond delicious.

For the crust you need (enough for 6 tartelettes, 8 cm diameter):

• 175 g pastry flour
• 100 g cold butter cut into cubes
• 25 g powdered sugar and 20 g vanilla sugar
• 45 ml of cold vodka (or water)
• Dash of salt

In the food processor, mix flour, sugar and salt, pulse for few seconds to combine, add the butter and pulse again to get a sandy mixture. Slowly add the vodka, first one tbsp then teaspoon by teaspoon. Each flour has a different absorption capacity, so be careful not to get a soggy dough.

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

With a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 6 mm thick and place it in the pie mold. Prick it with a fork, cover it with baking paper, add some beans or ceramic beads, and bake in a preheated oven (180C) for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and the weight and bake for extra 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 

For the lemon curd

• 2 eggs
• 100 g sugar
• the zest of 2 limes or lemons
• 90 ml lime or lemon juice
• 150 g soft butter

In a big bowl combine the zest and the sugar and mix well (I did that the night before to allow the sugar to absorb the lemon flavor). ِِِِِِAdd the eggs and whisk until well combined. Add the lime or lemon juice, and whisk again. Put the bowl on a pot with simmering water (or double boiler) and keep mixing for about 10 minutes or until the mixture reaches 82 C and thickens.
Take off the heat and let it cool for at least 10 minutes until the temperature drops to under 60 C. Add the butter and whisk until well combined. Leave the cream to cool completely. You can keep it in the fridge in a well sealed jar for up to 5 days! 

For the meringue you need:

• 60 g egg white
• 100 g sugar
• pinch of salt
• lemon zest or few drops of vodka

In a clean bowl placed over a pot with simmering water, add the whites, salt, sugar and zest or vodka. Start whipping on slow speed until the mixtures reaches 45-50 C. Once it reaches this temperature remove it from the heat and gradually increase the speed until you reach the top speed. Keep whipping until the meringue forms stiff peaks. 

Assembly:
Fill each tart shell with lemon curd and be generous to fill it up to the top.

Pipe some meringue on the top. You can skip the meringue if you want, but it does add a nice touch and it balances the tartness of the lime cream.Blow torch the meringue for a brief time to give it a beautiful color.

Decorate to your liking and you're ready to serve.

Keep in mind that once you burn the meringue you have to eat it immediately. If you place the tarts in the fridge, you risk getting a soggy meringue and wet tarts.

I hope you try these little cute tartelettes, as the French call them. They do require some time to make with several steps but the final result is so worth it: crumbly and buttery base, a lemony and creamy curd and a soft and sweet meringue! Just the perfect combination! Seriously I doubt you will stop at one, I know I couldn't!

Limoncello, a Refreshing Italian Liquor

When life gives you lemons you make tarts, cakes, lemonades and if you are feeling adventurous, you make limoncello! 

I recently got my hands on a lot of organic lemons, and they were more than I needed. However, when you get your hands on good quality organic lemons, you can use them in so many ways. I used most of them to make refreshing pitchers of lemonade to cope with the heat of sunny Spain. 

With the remaining lemons, I wanted to try something that I had never dared to make before and that is liquor. I cannot remember when I first tried limoncello, but I remember that it I loved it instantly. No surprises there, I think I love everything that has lemon in it.  Ever since I was young, I loved eating lemons slices sprinkled with some sea salt, or even eating the pulp of squeezed lemons! 

Naturally, I was excited to try this Southern Italian spirit that was first concocted at the beginning of the previous century. I had always thought that it was complicated to make, but when I read about the process of making it, it seemed pretty straightforward and simple. It only requires four ingredients and some time. 

To make one liter bottle you need:

• The peels of 10 organic lemons (you need only the yellow outer skin and none of the white part)
• 1 bottle of vodka (about 700 ml; use the brand that you prefer)
• simple syrup using 200 g sugar and 220 water

In a jar, combine the peels with the vodka, tightly close the jar and leave it in a dark and dry place for at least 10 days.

All you need to do during the steeping period is to shake the jar once a day. After 10 days, the color of the vodka will take on the beautiful bright yellow color of the peels.

You can prolong the steeping period for up to four weeks, but after ten to fifteen days, the result will be pretty good.

To make the simple syrup, just combine the sugar and with the water and heat for about 10 minutes. You will get around 400 grams of syrup. This will give the liquor the needed sweetness. You can add more if you want, but I don't like it any sweeter.

Now that the vodka has all the flavor and color of the lemons, you need to strain it into a big pitcher, and mix it with the simple syrup. You need to stir well to make sure the syrup is mixed thoroughly. Transfer to a bottle and let it rest in the fridge

for few hours or a day. The recipe will yield a bit more than one liter of limoncello, so you can use a larger bottle if you want or put the rest in cute small bottles.

Limoncello makes a wonderful aperitif or digestif before or after heavy meals. It's also great on its own, mixed in drinks, added to cakes or baked goods. It's such a useful drink to make at home.

Finally, don't discard the lemon peels! You can dry and grind them to make a wonderful spice to add flavor to meringue, cakes, cheesecakes, tarts and just about anything that requires a hit of lemon flavor.

For other lemon recipes click on the following links: ricotta lemon cake, lemon and shortbread cookies, blueberry and lemon popsicles, blueberry lemon and coconut cake, lemon and coconut madeleines, mum's lemonade

Blueberry, Lemon and Coconut Cake

Five years have passed by since I started blogging. This blog has certainly kept me busy and distracted from all of life's stresses and hard times. Whenever I need an escape to a more peaceful and calmer world, I run to my little kitchen and start mixing, kneading, shaping and decorating. Time flies when you are doing something you love and you just enjoy every single moment!

To celebrate the blog's fifth year anniversary and all the beautiful moments it helped me to live, I decided to make a simple, easy, yet delicious cake with vibrant, fresh and summery flavors.

I´m not revealing any secret when I say that I´m obsessed with berries, all kind of summer berries, and I just love to eat them fresh or use them in my baked recipes. Blueberries were my choice for this cake and I married their flavor with that of lemons and coconuts. Trust me when I tell you, the result was amazing! Give this cake a try and you won't be sorry!

Now for the sponge you need for five 15 cm in diameter pans:

• 5 eggs (at room temperature)
• 150 g sugar
• 150 g cake flour
• dash of salt
• 60 g melted butter
• Zest of 2 big lemons
• 1 tsp of kirsh (optional)
• 50 g shredded coconut

Combine sugar, eggs, lemon zest, kirsh and salt and start whisking at low speed and then start increasing until you get to the highest one; beat for at least 5 minutes. The mixture should triple in volume, become very pale in color and with a cloud-like texture.

Add the flour and the coconut. Mix gently with a spatula until everything is incorporated. Finally, add the butter and mix slowly.

Pour the batter in the greased and lined pans.
If you don´t have 5 pans of the same size, pour the batter into 2 pans and then once baked slice your cakes. Be careful that the baking time will vary as you change the size of the pans.

Bake the cake in a preheated oven (160 C) for about 18-20 minutes. Leave the cakes to cool for 5 minutes in the pan then unmold and transfer them to a cooling rack.

For the blueberry sauce:

• 250 g fresh or frozen blueberries
• 125 g sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• half vanilla pod

Combine everything and cook the berries for about 15 min, on a very gentle heat. If the sauce is too runny, just scoop out some of the liquid, but reserve to serve with the cake.

For the frosting:

• 150 g soft butter
• 50 g cream cheese or mascarpone
• 100 to 150 powder sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Combine butter, cheese and sugar and beat until  fluffy and pale, add the lemon juice and beat for few seconds.

To assemble:

Place a bit of the frosting on the cake board and then place the first layer. Pipe some of the frosting on the cake and spread with a spatula to cover the whole layer then pipe a small circle round the edge.In the middle of the cake layer add a tbsp or 2 of the blueberry sauce and then top with another layer. Repeat until you have covered all the layers,

Add some frosting on the top and edges, smooth with a scraper then decorate as you wish. I covered the top with fresh plump blueberries and multi-colored pansies and added some petals and flowers on the sides too.

Do make this cake and enjoy its light and summery flavors.

From now and until the sixth year blog anniversary keep on baking!

Coconut and Lemon Madeleines!

I, like so many people out there, thrive on daily cocktails of little rituals. They form part of my life and I wouldn't give up on them for anything. Morning starts with a cup of cup sipped while watching the news and the afternoon is coffee time again but with a sweet nibble like a cake or a cookie!

When I have the time, I like to indulge and treat myself with layered cakes, stuffed with creams with countless flavor combinations. However, time is precious and not always available. Short on time, I look for simple yet delicious cakes that need no extra cream or filling to sing!

Madeleines de Commercy are one of those recipes that I think everyone should have in their repertoire. While they have a reputation of being hard to master, they are in fact easy. Of course, like all French desserts, you need to respect a certain protocol, but once you do that, the result will always be in your favor. Madeleines are also a good dessert to prepare ahead of time as you can prepare the batter up to one day in advance.

These little buttery cakes were first made in 1755 by a young girl named Madeleine.
King Stanilas of Lorraine was holding a lunch with guests when he knew that his pastry chef left after an argument. As a royal lunch would not be complete without a dessert, something was needed to be done.  The King's butler went on to it and found the right dessert. Cakes of a new and unusual shape, nice golden color, and a rich and deep flavor. The cakes were an instant hit and the king asked to know who was the genius behind the cake. The king was presented with a shy young girl. He then asked her about the name of the dessert. The girl said they didn't have a name and that this is what we usually bake at la "Commercy". The king asked the girl about her name and she replied" Madeline". The king then said "well then, we will call them after you" Madeline.

And after a bit of history let´s make these wonders with a little twist!

For 12 Madeleines you need:

• 1 egg at room temperature
• 50 g sugar
• 50 g pastry flour
• 25 g shredded coconut
• zest of half lemon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract or paste
• dash of salt
• 4 g baking powder
• 70 g butter

First, put the butter in a saucepan and let it melt on a gentle flame, leave until it browns a bit and a wonderful nutty flavor fills your kitchen. Add the lemon zest and set aside.

In a bowl, mix the egg, vanilla and the sugar until it dissolves. Add the flour, salt, coconut, and baking powder. Mix until well combined and add the butter and the lemon.

Cover the batter and place it in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight for better combination of flavors!

When ready to bake, grease the Madeleine mold, cover with flour and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. You can also do that step the night before!

Preheat the oven to 210 C, fill 2/3 of the mold to leave space for the cake to rise, place in the oven, and reduce the temperature to 170 C. The Madeleines should be done in 10 minutes.  The typical Madeleine bump will form and the edges will turn golden. Your cakes are done!

These cakes are better consumed the same day and they are so good dipped in a cup of coffee or to be enjoyed with tea or hot chocolate.

An Autumnal Treat: Apple Butter.

Apples are incredibly useful fruits and I always make sure to have some in my kitchen. Apples come in many different colors, textures and sweetness to please even the pickiest of eaters. You know how some fruits are just meant to be consumed fresh? Luckily apples are wonderful as fresh and get even better when cooked or baked. Apples go so well in way too many sweet recipes and what's more, they make wonderful ingredients in several savory dishes.

Nowadays we can have apples all throughout the year, however, the best apples are had during autumn. During this time of apple-plenty, one thinks of ways to capture the essence of apples while they are at their best. Apple jams and preserves is one way but another and perhaps lesser known way is apple butter. Spicy with a silky soft butter like texture, this preparation is a wonderful addition to many sweet and savory goods.

During old times, apple butter was seen as a way to make use of excess apples and since then many recipes have been developed. I opted for a simpler and quicker recipe that delivers the flavor and texture expected from apple butter.

Next time you have lots of apples, make some "butter" for yourself and for others, as it makes a great gift: autumn in a jar!!

To make the apple butter you need:

• 1 kilo of  peeled, cored and cut into chunks apples (I used different types of apples like granny smith, russet, red delicious, royal gala and fuji as this will provide a mix of sweet and tart flavors)
• 40 g dark brown sugar, 40 g white sugar (you can adjust the amount to your liking)
• mix of spices, 1/4 tsp of ground cloves, ground ginger, ground cardamom, ground all spice, ground star anise, ground nutmeg, orange zest and 1 tsp of cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• squeeze of lemon

In a pot, mix the apples, sugar, salt and the lemon, add a tbsp of water and cook on a gentle heat until soft. Process the apples into a purée. I used a hand blender and it took me just a few minutes.

Add the spices and cook again until you get the desired thickness. The cooking time will depend on the kind of apples you use, mine took about an hour before adding the spices, and after that they needed about 10 to 15 minutes.

Now you´re ready to fill the apple butter into your sterilized jars. Once cold leave in the fridge.

The uses of this butter are unlimited. Put some in a melted cheese sandwich or with chicken, on a pizza instead of the tomato sauce with arugula and Parmesan and many more. But for me this apple butter really shines in baked goods and I invite you to make it and experiment with its uses. I'm pretty sure you will not be disappointed.

Ricotta, Lemon and Rosemary Cake; Three Years and Counting!

Another year has gone by and my blogging adventure now turns three. It´s impressive how time flies by, but it's even more impressive how I learned from sharing recipes with like-minded foodies myself, trying their recipes and taking note of their tips and advices.

I started thinking about a cake for this occasion a while ago. I had many ideas on my mind, but I finally went with an inspiration I had during my visit to Rome back in Easter. It wasn't my first time in this enchanting city, but as usual, it still managed to amaze me especially when I ventured out of the usual touristic hotspots.

It's needless to say what a festival for the sight and the palate Italy can be. I have been always a huge fan of Italian cuisine with all it has to offer! When I was in Rome I couldn't have enough of the usual Italian delicacies, but most importantly, I couldn't have enough gelato. Check with the locals for the best gelaterias and do pay at least one a visit. You will have a really hard time deciding which flavors to pick as there are so many on offer! My cousin recommended a gelateria located behind the famous Piazza Navona not too far from the St. Angelo bridge. As usual, the flavors on offer were just too many to sample in one visit, so I picked three scoops, one of which had yogurt, honey, rosemary and lemons. This combination just worked and I immediately knew I had to make something featuring these flavors all together. 

Therefore, for my blog's third year anniversary, I decided to use this Italian flavor combination in the celebration cake. Now, as usual I like to tweak things based on what I see works best but sometimes based on more mundane issues. Since I had three packets of ricotta in the fridge I decided to substitute the yogurt with ricotta which is after all a quintessentially Italian ingredient. Ricotta like yogurt does wonders in cakes, affecting both the flavor by making it richer and creamier and the texture by making lighter and  moist. Do try to incorporate ricotta in your baking and I am sure you will use it again and again. You can even make ricotta at home, I hope I will share with you this particular how-to soon.

Now, enough talking and let´s start baking.
For the cake you need: (3x15 cm cake pan)

• 4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
• 240 g cake flour
• 200 g fresh ricotta
• 100 g soft butter
• 110 g white sugar
• 110 honey (I used rosemary honey)
• 1 or 2 tbsp of lemon zest (adjust to your taste)
• 1 or 2 tbsp of finely chopped rosemary (again adjust to your taste)
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 20 ml of lemon juice (4 tsp)

First combine the flour, salt and baking soda and sift.

In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, honey, lemon zest and rosemary, and beat until creamy and well combined. Add the ricotta and beat again until combined, then the egg yolks and again you need to whisk! To that mix, fold in the flour mixture with a spatula and then add the lemon juice.

Add a dash of salt and few drops of lemon juice to the egg whites and beat them till stiff peaks are formed.

Fold the egg whites with the ricotta mixture gently so you don't lose all the air from the whites.

Once everything is well combined, divide the batter into 3 pans, previously greased and covered with parchment paper, and bake between 25 to 30 min in a preheated oven (170C). I usually check on my cakes after 20-22 min, by inserting a skewer in the middle of the cake, if it comes clean then it's time to take the cake out of the oven, if not, leave it for few more minutes.
If you don´t want to use three 15 cm in diameter pans, you can use two ones of 20 cm in diameter. 

Let the cakes rest in the pan for 5 min, then let them cool down completely on a cooling rack.

For the frosting you will need:

• 200 g soft butter
• 200 g powdered sugar
• 80 g cream cheese or ricotta
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients but the lemon juice, beat until creamy and almost white in color. Add the lemon juice and beat again until combined.

Now the assembling is up to you. I opted for a naked cake i.e. a cake that's not completely frosted. I put a really generous layer of filling between the stacked cakes and then did a thin crumb coat to the outer edges covering only parts of the cakes and keeping the rest mostly visible.
In keeping with the Italian, and specifically Roman, theme of the cake, I decorated with a few branches of rosemary assembled to look like a Roman crown.

This cake is beyond delicious. It fits the bill on some many levels. It is rich, lemony, creamy, crumbly and refreshing; it does  have it all!

Lemon and Thyme Shortbread Cookies.

I like neighborhood shops, of all kinds. They are more friendly and have this extra human interaction that you just don't get in large supermarkets. Down in my building, there's a shop that saw many businesses come and go in the past few years. Last winter, I couldn't be happier to see that this place is now a flower shop. As I go to work and come back home I am greeted with various beautiful shapes and colors and not to mention the familiar and exotic scents.
I often stop by to check out the latest arrivals and last week a small plant with the cutest small purple flowers caught my attention. It was a thyme plant with a fantastic aroma; I bought it immediately.

As I got home I started thinking of the many recipes that one could make with thyme. I went with one that would also feature the fresh lemons that I got from Valencia and it is this recipe that I am sharing with you. Both lemons and thyme capture the essence of Mediterranean summers and having both ingredients in one recipe is just what I needed to cope with the hot days Madrid has been experiencing lately. There are many recipes of shortbread out there and almost all are pretty easy and straightforward. Like many basic doughs, shortbread dough is flexible enough and can absorb as many flavors as your heart desires and this is what I did with the lemons and thyme I had!

To make around 8 to 10 round shortbread cookies flavored with thyme and lemon you need:

• 120 g white flour
• 25 g potato flour (you can use rice flour or cornflour instead)
• 50 g sugar
• 100 g butter (room temperature)
• zest of a small lemon
• 1/2 to 1 tsp of chopped thyme leaves
• dash of salt

Cream the butter with the sugar. When well combined, add the lemon zest, the thyme, the salt and mix again. Finally add the flour and mix well with the butter mixture. 

Wrap the dough in plastic and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight as I did.

You can shape the cookies as you like. What I did is to flatten the dough until about 1 cm thick and then used a 6 cm round cutter to cut out the dough.

After shaping you need to refrigerate the cookies for half an hour. Bake the cookies in a preheated oven (170 C) for 10 to 15 min. The baking time depends on the shape of the cookies and your oven. The rule of thumb is that you don't want to cook the shortbread for too long. You just need  the cookies to acquire a light golden color.

The cookies are delicious as they are, but if you want you can add a bit of lemon icing for an extra  touch. The icing is made by simply mixing some powdered sugar with lemon juice. You add just enough lemon juice to have the pouring consistency you like.

Decorate, serve and enjoy!

Torrijas, a Typical Spanish Dessert

Spain buzzes with so many recipes during Easter time, but if there is one that you will surely find everywhere it would be Torrijas or ¨Spanish French toast¨!

Although you may find the dessert in some places all year long, but it´s in the Lent season that you find it just about everywhere, either in cafés, restaurants or in bakeries.

In modern times, many chefs have been really creative with this traditional dessert, adding more flavors to the basic recipe or making up fancy sauces to go along with it. However, the traditional version is still the Spaniards' favorite.This is a really simple recipe that requires only a few basic ingredients; you can't go wrong with it!

Now let´s make some torrijas. For 6 to 8 servings you need:

• 1 baguette or torrija bread (it´s widely available in Spain but I'm not sure if it is easy to get by elsewhere)
• 500 ml milk
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• A piece of lemon rind
• 50 g sugar
• 1 xl large egg or 2 small ones
• A pinch of salt, dash of cinnamon and a bit of lemon zest for the egg
• Olive oil for frying

For the honey syrup you need:

• 3 tbsp of honey
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar
• 2 tbsp of water

First you need to cut the bread into 2 or 3 cm thick pieces. In a saucepan, combine milk, cinnamon stick, lemon rind and sugar. Let them simmer gently and once you can smell the cinnamon and lemon turn off the heat. Let the milk cool slightly and you´re ready to soak the bread pieces. While the bread is soaking, whisk the egg with the salt, cinnamon and lemon zest. You don't need to overbeat the eggs, you just wanted all the ingredients to be well combined.

When the bread has absorbed the milk, coat it in the egg mixture, fry the torrijas until golden on both sides!

Traditionally, the bread is fried in lots of oil, however, I didn't want the torrijas to be too greasy, so I used only two tablespoons of olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. I wouldn't put less because you really need the oil to give the golden color that torrijas are known for.

Remove the golden pieces of bread from the oil and drain the excess on a paper towel.

Prepare in advance the syrup by simply combining all of its ingredients and letting them simmer over a gentle heat until all the sugar is dissolved into the honey. 

Serve the fried and drained torrijas with a healthy drizzle of the honey syrup. Adjust the amount of syrup to your liking!

Torrijas are great for breakfast, or a perfect companion for your afternoon coffee or tea! Do try this recipe and make it for your family or friends this Easter which I hope will be a very happy one for all of you.

Pear and Honey Cake.

I love fruits, but quite often I don't eat enough, so whenever I am baking something sweet, I often go for recipes that do well with fruits whether fresh or dried. Some fruits are best served fresh along with the baked sweets, but others really shine when baked. Fruits such as apples and pears are of this latter category.
This recipe incorporate pears which are excellent when baked. In fact, I think they taste even better when cooked properly and with respect.

This simple recipe features pears as the star ingredient spiced up with cinnamon and some citrus zest. It is quite simple, easily prepared in under 30 minutes, and is perfect served with tea or coffee.

For a 15 cm pan you need:

• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 80 g sugar
• 30 g honey
• 120 g flour, all purpose
• 100 g softened butter plus extra 10 g for the pan
• 3/4 tsp of baking powder
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• zest of half a lemon and half an orange
• 2 tbsp of orange juice (or lemon)

For the pan bottom you need:

• 2 pears 
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp of chopped almonds
• a sprinkle of cinnamon and the extra butter

Start by generously buttering the bottom of the pan, and the sides too. Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon, and the almonds and set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Add the cinnamon to the honey and heat a bit until it becomes rather runny.

Cream the butter with the sugar and the honey, using a whisk or a wooden spoon, (but save a tbsp of the honey to drizzle on the pears later). Add the eggs and mix well. Add the lemon and orange zest then fold in the flour. Finally add the orange juice and mix until combined.

Before adding the batter to the pan, slice the pears and arrange the pieces. Drizzle the remaining honey over the pear and pour in the batter.

Bake the cake for about 35 to 40 min in a preheated oven (180C). Let the cake cool about 5 minutes in the pan before removing it.

The cake is great with coffee, but you can also serve it with whipped cream, or Greek yogurt and honey. Rich and moist, it is perfect for breakfast, picnic or for a lazy and relaxed coffee break!