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.

A Savory Autumnal Pear, Pecan and Cheddar Pie

Who doesn't like pies? The buttery crust alone draws crowds from all over! The Foodies+ community on Google Plus dedicated a whole month for pies. Community members are challenged to concoct pies with seasonal ingredients using at least two  from a list prepared by the moderators that reflect the taste of autumn.

I rarely post savory recipes on my blog, but this time I wanted to go with something different, simple and savory.

The filling is made from a delicious trio of simple, yet complementary ingredients: pear, pecan and cheddar. Pears are known to complement the flavors of both nuts and cheese. Their mild sweetness softens the sharpness of cheese and brings out the nuttiness of pecans.

The cheese that you would use for this pie depends on your personal preference, but you do need to use one with character and depth of flavor. You can choose a blue cheese for example, if you appreciate their strong and sharp flavor. However, keep in mind that very strong cheeses do not suit the palate of many.

Though it was my first time trying this food trio in a pie, it certainly won't be the last one! The result was just perfect: nutty, buttery, and creamy with a touch of sweetness.

Let´s start baking (yields 4 servings; 18 cm pan):

For the crust you need:

• 175 g pastry flour
• 100 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 15 g sugar
• pinch of salt
• a dust of cinnamon (optional)
• 25 g grated cheddar 
• 20 ml cider vinegar
• 25 ml cold water

In a bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, cheese and mix. Add the butter and work it quickly with the tip of your fingers or a dough blender. Add the vinegar and mix. Slowly start adding the water. Keep in mind that each flour absorbs water differently so don´t add all of your water at once. Drop the dough on your working surface and just gather it until it comes together. Don't overwork the dough as this would activate the gluten and it won't be crumbly. Wrap the dough in plastic and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour. You can do this step one day in advance. 

For the filling:

• 300 g pears, cored and cut into wedges (you need pears that withstand cooking and have a nice round flavor)
• 2 small shallots, cut into wedges
• 50 g chopped pecans
• 1 tbsp honey
• 50 g cheddar 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard 
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 15 g butter
• 1 tbsp of flour

Over a medium heat, add the butter and oil and wait a bit until the butter melts before adding the shallots. Cook until softened. Add the pecans and allow them to toast and soak in the flavors. Add the pears, salt, pepper, the mustard and cook for few minutes. Don't overcook the pears, you just want to sauté them. Add the honey and cinnamon, mix well and turn off the heat. 

Honey and cinnamon sauce:

• 40 g honey
• 20 g water
• 1 stick of cinnamon

Mix everything in a saucepan and then bring to a boil for few minutes. Leave to cool.

Assembly:

Roll the dough to about 5 mm thick,  arrange it over your tart pan, prick it and put it in the fridge again for 15 to 30 minutes.  

Mix the flour with the cooked pears then add the cheese and mix well with the filling. Now spread the filling over the dough.

You can decorate the pie with the leftover dough, it's not mandatory but it does add an extra touch. Brush the pie edges with cream and bake it in a preheated oven (175C) for about 35 to 40 min. Let the pie rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Drizzle with the honey sauce and serve with a simple green salad and a good glass of wine.

Bon appetit.

Plum and Pecan Frangipane Galette

Summer lingered in Madrid this year. Day temperatures did not drop below 28 C until just recently. I really missed the cool autumn weather and now that it is finally here, it's time to enjoy some comfort food. 

For the first autumnal recipe, I used a fruit that is nearing the end of its season: a variety of colorful sweet and tart plums. 

This recipe is pretty basic and it calls for a flaky buttery crust, a sweet and nutty frangipane filling and tangy colorful plums rosettes. To make things more interesting, I added a comforting touch of cardamom to the crust and spiced up the frangipane with some ginger. Moreover, instead of using almonds like it's customary with frangipane, I used pecans. 

I did not know how the mix would turn out but it was really smooth, delicious, and the spice level was just right for that extra heart-warming sensation. 

For 4 to 6 persons, you need:

 Ingredients for the crust:

• 175 pastry flour
• 100 very cold butter
• 25 g powdered sugar and 25 g vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt
• 45 ml cold vodka or kirsh (or just ice water)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional)

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; at first one tablespoon then one teaspoon at a time. 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.

For the frangipane:

• 50 g soft butter
• 50 g sugar (I used 10 g maple sugar and 40 g castor sugar. You can use brown sugar if you wish)
• 1 small egg
• 60 g ground pecans (lightly toasted)
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

Mix the sugar and the salt with the butter, add the egg and whisk until well combined.  Add the pecans and ginger and mix well again. 

For the topping you need:

• 400 g of plums
• milk to brush the edges
• sugar to sprinkle

Assembly

Roll the dough to about 6 mm thick and 25 cm in diameter. Fold the edges to make them about a cm higher. If you don't want a free form shape, you can use a tart tin.

Spread the frangipane over the dough. You can use the whole quantity or adjust the amount to your liking. 

Arrange the plums on top of the frangipane. If you are patient enough, you can form rosettes with  sliced plums, if not, just half or quarter the plums and arrange them on top. 

Brush the edges with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven (180C) for 25 to 30 min, or until the frangipane is almost set in the middle.

Set it aside to cool. 

Served alone or with a scoop of creme fraiche, this is a delicious galette that you will be happy to share with friends or to enjoy by yourself, especially when the weather is getting chilly.  

Apple Pie Funnel Cake!

Autumn is officially here but Madrid is still enjoying a summer like weather. Many people are enjoying the warmer temperatures but I can't wait for the seasons to really change.

And while I wait, I could not resist to bake with the fruits of autumn with apples being one of my obvious and favorite choices. Apples go so well with several spices, which makes them such a useful ingredient in many baked goodies. I certainly love how my house smells whenever I am baking something with apples!

I have made many recipes with this fruit before and shared quite a few like this apple butter that you can use in many recipes like this cake, and how about this simple tart?

The recipe of today is from Austria and called Strauben, but widely known in the USA as funnel cakes. It is quite a popular dessert in carnivals.

The funnel cake might remind you of other cakes made in similar fashion around the world. In the Middle East, a very popular dessert, called Mouchabak, is made from a fermented dough that is fried in deep oil and then dipped in sugar syrup,. In India they have a similar cake too.  And while the funnel cake is made with baking powder, strauben uses whipped egg whites!

My version of strauben or funnel cakes incorporated the traditional apple pie spices and served with spicy caramelized apples instead of jam. The result was just perfect!

With the amount of ingredients I used you will get around 15 small cakes (about 10 cm), so if you are not too greedy, make sure to invite some friends over for a brunch or an afternoon coffee!

What you need:

• 1 egg at room temperature, separated
• 70 g flour
• 85ml  milk 
• 5 g sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of each of the following spices: cardamom, dried ginger, cloves, and nutmeg
• one tsp of brandy or gin, I used juniper brandy (optional)
• 7 g melted butter
• oil for frying

In a bowl combine the egg yolk and the milk, whisk well, once combined add sugar, alcohol, flour and spices and mix. In a separate bowl add the salt to the egg white and beat till soft peaks. Fold in the egg white to the mixture. Once well combined fill the batter in a piping bag or a squeeze bottle.

In a pan, heat the oil until it reaches about 170C, slowly squeeze the batter in the hot oil and swirl to make a lace pattern. The batter will expand, so controlling the shape of the cakes will be a bit tricky but that's perfectly fine as the cakes are supposed to look rustic.  Once golden brown fish them out of the oil and place them over a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. 

Serve these crunchy and delicious treats with some powdered sugar or with spicy apples that I made using this recipe!

Enjoy!

Ruffled Milk Pie, a Greek Classic!

I don´t know about you, but in most of my trips to the supermarket I end up forgetting what I came in for initially and instead buy stuffs that, let's say, were not really needed urgently.

So during my last supermarket adventure, I bought filo pastry because it was just there and I couldn´t resist! I also bought way too many blueberries and raspberries. When I left, I thought to myself, how on earth am I going to consume all of these fruits before they go bad or are no longer in their prime flavor and texture?

In my head I started jumping from one recipe to another in which I would use the fruits and the pastry together, and I finally landed on a pie I saw many years ago while watching a Martha Stewart show. The Galatopita, a typical Greek recipe, was prepared on the show  by Vefa Alexiadou and I loved how simple and beautiful the pie was.

I felt that the pie would lend itself beautifully to berries and so I decided to twist the original recipe a little by omitting the cinnamon and using the excess blueberries and raspberries I had. If you want to stick to the original recipe, by all means do, it is perfect as it is: sweet, crunchy, creamy and with a mild taste of cinnamon.

To make this pie, for an 18 cm pan you need:

• 7 filo sheets
• 50 g melted butter
• 100 g of mixed berries: blueberries and raspberries
• 130 g sugar
• 2 eggs (about 100 g in total)
• 100 ml milk and 100 ml of cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

First you need to generously butter your pan. Then brush a filo dough with the melted butter and place some berries at the longest side of the sheet; I used 3 blueberries and 3 raspberries in each sheet. Roll the sheet to just cover the fruits then gather the rest of the sheet to create the ruffles.

Roll the ruffled sheet into a flower shape and place in the pan. As you work on one sheet of filo, make sure to cover the other sheets with a damp cloth or kitchen towel to prevent them from drying.

Once you have all your filo filled and rolled bake in a preheated oven (180C) for about 25 to
30 min or until the dough is golden brown.

Meanwhile, combine the milk and the cream and let them simmer on a low heat. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla, slowly start adding the hot milk mixture. You need to temper the eggs before adding the rest of the milk and cream mix.

Add the custard mix over the filo and bake in the oven again for another 20 to 25 min or until you see that the mixture is set. If you feel the custard mix is in excess to what the pie needs, reserve the excess and cook separately.

Serve with a dust of powdered sugar and extra fruits. Enjoy the crunchiness of the filo on the top layer, then the tart and fragrant flavor of the fruits and the velvety smooth creaminess of the bottom layer.

What a wonderful Greek pie! I highly recommend you try it, especially if guests are coming over!

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!