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Saturday, December 11, 2010

Lemon Drops (Lemon Meringue Bites) - Naturally Gluten Free

This recipe is super easy and these delicious light and airy Lemon Drops are made really really quickly. You only need 3 ingredients and you can use the same recipe for chocolate meringues.

You will need:

2 egg whites, beaten very stiff
100 g / 3 oz sugar, divided
1 lemon, zest and a little juice only

Beat the egg whites super stiff, then mix in half of the sugar until smooth and shiny. Mix in the remaining sugar and lemon zest/juice slowly with a spatula.

Fill the mass into a pastry bag with a star tip and spritz little mounds on cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper. If you do not have a pastry bag, you can just form little mounds with two teaspoons.

Bake in a oven with the temperature set at about 100 C / 200 F for about 70 to 100 minutes. The oven door needs to be open just a little bit. The cookies dry more than they bake.




Tip: You can make these in many variations, for a chocolate version, just leave out the lemon zest and switch it out for 1 oz of cocoa powder,  for coffee flavor use instant coffee powder, or switch out the lemon zest for orange zest and orange aroma. You could even take two of them and then join them by sticking them together with nutella, jelly or butter cream. Color them with food color or a couple drops of beet juice.. The possibilities are endless!


Gluten Free Almond Cinnamon Cookies

Another Cookie very typical for Switzerland, you can buy them in any grocery store during Xmas time, and mostly throughout the year as well.  But you really have to have them around Xmas time. They are known back home as Cinnamon Stars, as traditionally they are cut out in star shapes.

I made these early this morning  and apparently they smelled so good I woke up my hubby with the smell wafting from the kitchen


Here is what you need:

3 egg whites, beat very stiff
300 g / 9 oz of powdered sugar, mix in with the sugar and keep about 1 dl / 3 oz for the glaze

1. 5 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cherry schnapps or 1/2 tbs lemon juice (as you like it)
350 g / 10.5 oz of ground almonds

mix the cinnamon, schnapps and almonds well, then mix with the egg white/sugar mixture and form into a ball.

On a sugared surface, roll out the dough about 5mm / 1/4 inch and cut out stars, and then coat the stars with the egg white mixture you set aside. Cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then bake in the middle of the pre-heated 250 C / 450 F oven for about 4 minutes.

ENJOY!

Tip: If you don't feel like cutting out stars, you can just roll out the dough into a square, coat with the egg white mixture, cut in squares, diamonds or strips and bake.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Easy and delicious Coconut Macroons

Another gluten-free and very easy to make cookie, that everyone loves, well everyone that loves coconut at least. It's easy to make and naturally gluten-free because you don't need any flour at all.

Here is what you need:

3 egg whites
3 sprinkles of salt
150 g / 5 oz fine sugar
250 g / 7.5 oz shredded coconut
1 Lemon, zest only

Chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Start by whipping the egg whites and the salt until stiff, add half the sugar and keep whipping, then fold in the remaining sugar.


Prepare two baking sheets and line them with parchment paper. Then start folding in the shredded coconut and the lemon zest until everything is well combined.

Take two tablespoons and make little mounds of the batter and drop them on the prepared baking sheets. Let them dry on the baking sheets for a few hours or best over night, before baking them at medium heat for about 12 minutes. Remove from the baking sheets immediately.

Let them cool and drizzle or dip in chocolate if you like. And now Happy Baking!

For all of you that weigh in ounces......... 1 oz  equals 33.3 g

Monday, December 6, 2010

Do you have a lot of contacts like me?

and do you always have multiple lens cases lying around? Well then you need an EYEBOX!


My friend Sharena came up with this great idea on how you can keep all your contacts in one place and keep the prescription right with it. No more searching for the right lens case or the matching prescription. It's all right there in your Eyebox!

Go ahead, order one! I'm glad I did! 

Oh and they make a great gift too!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Gluten Free "Linzer Cookies" or "Spitzbuben" aka at least in our family as "Riesner Krapferl"

I was in a baking mood today and as a child I always loved baking and eating cookies with my mom and grandma. I can remember the days when we went to visit with grandma in Austria over Christmas and there were always at least 5 different kinds of cookies for us to eat. There has not been a year where grandma didn't have cookies for us.

Grandma no longer bakes, because of her bad sight, but she handed down some of her recipes to me, so I could make them. I decided to adapt my favorite, the "Riesner Krapferl" which in other parts are called Linzer Cookies or "Spitzbuben", to a Gluten-Free version.


Here is what you need:

250 g / 7.5 oz Butter / softened
100 g / 3 oz Powdered Sugar
320 g / 9.5 oz of Sweet Rice Flour (Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour from Koda Farms)
1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
2 Packets of Vanilla Sugar
1 sprinkle of Salt

Cream the butter with the sugar, salt, vanilla sugar and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Mix the sweet rice flour with the xanthan gum, then quickly combine the buttermix and the flour so you get a nice cohesive dough, form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough to about 4 mm thickness and with a cookie cutter, cut out enough bottom and top cookies. Bake in the preheated 325 F oven for about 8 minutes or until light golden.

Mix some powdered sugar with vanilla sugar and set aside.

Once the cookies are cooled, fill cookies with raspberry, apricot or whichever jelly you like. Dust with vanilla/sugar mixture and ENJOY!

You can find Koda Farms "Mochiko" Sweet Rice Flour in Asian Grocery Stores or online from my Things to Buy section. Check out Koda Farms website at www.kodafarms.com for their long history in producing superior rice products. Their entire facility is dedicated to rice products and free of any gluten whatsoever!



Happy Happy Joy Joy.... and a new KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer

For the longest time I wanted a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, but I just couldn't afford it, there were always other things that took priority over a new Kitchen gadget. Then my wonderful Mom Christa and Dad Stefan stepped in and told me they were giving me one for Xmas. How cool is that? Here it is my new best friend in the kitchen



They even got me a a nice cover for it, that way I can just leave it on the counter, which is recommended anyway cause the thing is pretty heavy..... so schlepping it around is not easy.

The mixer came Thursday and I've made full use of it today.... making eggnog cupcakes with eggnog cream cheese frosting, Linzer Cookies and Coconut Macroons.... recipes will follow soon, but here's a preview.


The cupcakes are semi-home made, I used a baking mix for it, that I changed to what I needed. The Linzer Cookies are gluten-free, made with sweet rice flour and filled with Apricot and Raspberry preserves. The original recipe has been handed down from my great-grandmother, so for us they are called "RiesnerKrapferl"

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Experimenting...

with different flour mixes.... I always wanted to make Panettone, so I tried to make a Gluten-Free version. It turned out very nice. I mixed rice, quinoa and corn flours, added in the xanthan gum and the dough rose very very nicely.

I still have to work with the moisture and the baking time, so get it perfect and maybe add some more sugar, as my taste tester found it not sweet enough. So as soon as we ate this panettone, I'll make another one, and then I'll put out the recipe so you all can bake your own.

Check back soon.......

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A failed attempt at gluten-free Applestrudel

so yesterday I decided I wanted to make Applestrudel, because I haven't had it in a very long time and I had some extra apples. I was torn in between making the strudel or trying another cake with loads of apples in it.... baked apples, sugar and cinnamon.... oh my I could almost smell it.

I set out to make try and just use buckwheat flour for the dough, thought I might just be able to get away with it.. but yeah, NOT so MUCH! The color of the moistened flour already kind of threw me off.... it looked like mud, not good, but hey I kept on going, got it done and while the dough rested I sliced my apples and prepared the rest.

After letting the dough sit for 30 minutes, I rolled it out very thinly on a floured kitchen towel.. that's where the problems started... I could tell there was no way I would be able to stretch out the dough as thin as it needed to be. I guess the missing gluten does a job on the elasticity on the dough.

I rolled it as thin as I could and filled it... not to bad, but then it just started breaking everywhere... Totally uncool of the dough.. not what I wanted at ALL.

what a mess.. dough breaking



Anyhow, I baked the thing and it actually tasted pretty good... the house smelled delicious, but yeah it was UGLY.. not appetizing to look at. Complete fail on the buckwheat dough for strudel, not going to happen.

Not to worry though... I'll try to do a traditional strudel next and save my gluten free flours for other stuff. Might try again with sweet rice flour and then add some xanthan gum to replace the gluten... maybe that'll work..

In the meantime, I'll eat my baked apple mess, still tastes good .

Friday, November 12, 2010

My Review of Adjustable Round Frame Extender in Stainless Steel

Originally submitted at CSN Stores


Features:

  • Adjustable round frame extender
  • Frames used in conjunction with baking sheets to raise the height of the pastries
  • Used to bake and layer various pastries
  • Material: Stainless steel

  • Overall dimensions: ...


  • Just what I needed!

    By Katja from Marina del Rey, CA on 11/12/2010

     

    4out of 5

    Pros: Distributes Heat Evenly, Durable, Solid, Easy To Clean

    Best Uses: Baking, Assembly, Pastry

    Describe Yourself: Avid Cook

    This is really a great product, it adjust to all different sizes, so you don't have to get Pastry rings in every size under the sun. Great to bake the desired size of sponge cake and then use it to assemble the cake. It keeps fillings evenly distributed, without a mess, so you cake comes out with nice clear lines.

    Great for layered cakes, terrines or charlottes. I will use it for years to come.

    Gluten Free Caramel-Raspberry Yogurt cake

    thumbnail

    Tags: Made with Product

    (legalese)

    Thursday, November 11, 2010

    Gluten Free Caramel-Raspberry Yogurt Cake

    I got my adjustable pastry ring this evening and I just HAD to make a cake to try how it works. So I came up with a new recipe. I didn't want anything to heavy or too fattening and decided that I would use the plain yogurt I had in the fridge to make a low fat filling. To make the sponge cake base and layers I used Bob's Mill White Rice Flour or you could also use Ener-G Sweet Rice Flour.

    Here is what you need for the sponge:

    2 eggs
    100 g sugar, superfine
    100 g butter, melted
    100 g rice flour
    4 tsp cocoa powder
    1/2 tsp baking powder
    2 tbsp of rum/amaretto

    Melt the butter in a small sauce pan or in the microwave and set aside. In a bowl whisk the eggs, amaretto and the sugar until light and fluffy, continuing to whisk add the melted butter, the cocoa powder and then while mixing add the flour little by little. Fill in the prepared pastry ring (I opened it up to about 5,5 inches) and bake in the preheated 400F / 200C oven for about 20 to 25 minutes (it's good when a wooden skewer comes out clean). Remove from the oven and let cool, then slice into 3 layers.

    While your sponge cake cools, prepare the filling:

    16 oz Plain Yoghurt
    8 oz Caramel Sauce
    1 Envelope Knox Gelatine
    Raspberries

    In a bowl whisk the yogurt with the caramel sauce (or you could just buy caramel yogurt), dissolve the gelatin in a little bit of hot water and then combine well with the yogurt.

    In the meantime your sponge should be cooled down and you can start to assemble the cake. Take a baking sheet then prepare a cake round ( I just cut out a circle that slightly bigger than the cake and covered it in aluminum foil). Set down the first layer and position the pastry ring around it so there is a little room between the ring and the cake. Pour some of the yogurt mixture over it and layer some raspberries, cover with the middle layer, repeat. Put on the top layer, cover with the remaining yogurt mixture, decorate with some nice raspberries and chill overnight.

    Remove the pastry ring carefully and serve.......... voila, Gluten Free Caramel-Raspberry Yogurt Cake!

    PS: I'd think you can make this cake with any kind of flavored yogurt and fruit of the season, like blueberries, blackberries, or coffee and chocolate. Just really depends on your taste!

    Cherry Moon Farms - Gourmet Gift and Fruit Baskets from $19.99

    WOW.......

    I'm really impressed with the service from the people at CSN Stores ! Their shipping department R-O-C-K-S!

    I ordered my adjustable pastry ring 2 days ago and it's being delivered TODAY! How about that? Thank you thank you thank you CSN Stores! I'll recommend you to everyone I know!

    Tuesday, November 9, 2010

    Coming soon: A review of a new Baking Tool!

    Wedge Welly Giraffe Rain Boot
    I've been approached by several potential customers to make cheesecakes for them, but I discovered, that everyone wants a different size of cake. The dilemma is, I only have so much storage space in my kitchen and it's impossible for me to store 10 sizes of spring form pans. So I went and searched for a solution. And I found one at www.csnstores.com ! They have everything from furniture like extra tall bar stools to fashion, look at this fabulous rain boots, to yes cook and bakeware.




    I found just what I was looking for, the Paderno Word Cuisine adjustable Pastry Ring that I can use in conjunction with a baking sheet. With this great tool, I'll be able to make all kinds of sizes. Perfect! I had to have one!


    Paderno Adjustable Pastry Ring






    I ordered and soon the friendly folks at www.csnstores.com will send it to me so I can play. Once I received and tested it, look out for my reviews! Can't wait to get it!

    Wednesday, November 3, 2010

    Update on Petite Indulgence Mini Cheescakes

    Tomorrow is a big day for me, not only is it my lovely husband's birthday, I also received a call from
    Harold and Belle's in Los Angeles, that they wanted to taste and test my cheesecake creations in their restaurant. It is such an honor to have them taste my cheesecake.

    Check out their website Harold and Belle's and their ratings on yelp

    So I'll be a busy bee tonight making fresh fruit coulis and mixing up my cheesecake fillings. I think I'll be going with 3 or 4 flavors

    Vanilla Blueberry
    White Chocolate Caramel
    Chocolate Raspberry
    Pina Colada

    Keep your fingers crossed!

    Tuesday, October 26, 2010

    Gluten Free Madeleines

    Gluten Free Madeleines
    I love "Madeleines" and I wanted to make some for a while, always putting it on the backburner because I don't have "Madeleine" pans...... but so what? Finally I decided to make them anyway and just use mini cake pans. I set out to find a basic recipe and adapted it to make it gluten free, to do so I replace regular flour with Ener G Sweet Rice Flour....... and it worked like a charm!


    These little "Madeleines" are delicate, fluffy and delicious! Just have them plain, with a little chocolate drizzle or just some powdered sugar........ YUM!


    Here is what you need to make these "melt-in-your-mouth" buttery bites:

    150 g sugar
    3 eggs
    150 g butter
    150 g sweet rice flour
    1/2 tsp baking powder
    1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
    1 tsp almond flavor


    Melt the butter in a microwave safe dish or in a sauce pan and set aside.Sift the rice flour with the baking powder and set aside as well. In a bowl mix the sugar, almond essence and the eggs until light and very creamy, continue mixing and add in the butter in a stream until fully incorporated. Once you have done that, keep your mixer on and little by little add the rice flour mixture to the batter until all is well combined.


    Fill in prepared "Madeleine" or other shallow baking pan and bake in a preheated 400 F/ 200 C oven for about 16 to 20 minutes (until golden) remove from the oven and cool.


    There you have it delicious, buttery, delicate and gluten free "Madeleines"!

    You can find the groceries and molds I used for these delectable gems in my "Stuff to Buy" section!

    Madeleine Pan on Foodista

    Saturday, October 16, 2010

    Gluten Free Apple Almond Cake

    Here is a great cake for apple and almond lovers, perfect to use all the fresh apples we have now and most of all, it's Gluten Free and very easy to make.

    This is what you will need:

    • 50 g / 1.75 oz Butter
    • 175 g / 6.1 oz Sugar, fine
    • 2 medium Eggs
    • 250 g / 8.75 oz Almonds, ground
    • 250 g / 8.75 oz Applesauce
    • 1 medium Orange, finely grated zest
    • 100 g / 3.5 oz  Rice or Quinoa Flour 
    • 2 tsp Baking Powder
    • 4 medium Apples
    • 2 tsp Sugar


    Preheat your oven to 325 F / 180 C and prepare a 10 inch / 22 cm spring form pan.

    Get all your ingredients together and lets get started. Cream the soft butter, mix in the sugar and the eggs until light and creamy, then add the ground almonds the apple sauce and the orange zest. Sift the rice flour and the baking powder together and fold into the mixture with a spatula.

    Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the core, cut them in fine slice, but keep together. Then pour the batter into the prepared spring form pan and layer the cut apples onto the batter, so they make a nice pattern. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar.

    Bake the cake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for about 60 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. Once the cake comes out of the oven, brush the apples with some warm apricot jelly, that will keep the cake looking shiny and it tastes great.













    Tip: This cake can be made with pears as well and you could use hazelnuts instead of almonds. I have used the below flours and they worked great.

    Wednesday, October 13, 2010

    Turkey Moussaka with Eggplant


    We eat a lot of ground turkey, so I'm constantly trying to make it into different dishes. Currently we're also trying to get a bit leaner in our eating, so we're cutting out pasta, rice and bread. Therefore lasagna, which I love was a no go. 


    So I'm going for Moussaka, which uses similar ingredients, but the meat is layered with eggplant and potatoes and the dish only contains a little bit of cheese on top, not within the filling, which makes it a bit lighter than a lasagna, which contains, at least some of the time, lots of shredded cheese and ricotta.

    So here are the ingredients you will need:

    For the filling:
    3/4 of a large onion, finely chopped
    3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
    Bertolli - Alfredo Sauce - with Aged Parmesan Cheese - 15 oz2 tbsp tomato paste
    250 ml bouillon (vegetable or chicken)
    salt, pepper, paprika, thyme and little rosmary

    For the layers:
    1 large eggplant, cut in slices of about 5mm
    1 large baking potatoe, cut in thin slices of about 3 mm

    For the topping:
    1 glass of Bertolli Alfredo Sauce , it is gluten free!
    1/2 cup shredded cheese (Parmesan or Swiss, depending on what you like)

    In a skillet, lightly sautee the onion and garlic, then add the ground turkey and cook it until it is almost done, add the tomato paste and the bouillon, then season with the seasoning to taste. Continue to simmer the meat for about 15 minutes so it thickens. Set aside.

    In a buttered 9 x 9 inch pan layer some of the potatoe slices to cover the bottom, top it with 1/2 of the meat sauce, put a layer of eggplant slices on top, then add the remaining potatoes, cover with meat sauce and add the last layer of eggplant slices. Cover this layer with your Alfredo  sauce and liberally sprinkle with cheese.

    Bake in a preheated 180 C/350 F oven for about 45 minutes.

    Serve with a nice salad and a glass of red wine if you like.

    Bon Apetit!



    Moussaka on FoodistaMoussaka

    Monday, September 27, 2010

    Spicy Turkey Burgers with Almonds (No Gluten)

    Like I said in one of my previous posts, we eat a lot of turkey and I'm trying to play with flavors and textures to avoid getting bored with them. So this time I tried something I hadn't done before. I actually added chopped almonds to the burgers.... and it was yummy! The almonds gave the burger a little bit of a crunch and the flavor was fantastic.

    And all my GF friends can make these too, because there are no breadcrumbs in this recipe.

    Here is what you need:

    1.5 lbs of ground turkey
    3 gloves garlic, finely chopped
    1 handful parsley, finely chopped
    1 handful slivered almonds, chopped roughly
    1 tsp hot paprika
    1/4 tsp  ground cumin
    1/4 tsp  onion powder
    1 dash of worcestershire sauce
    1 egg
    2 tbsp grated parmesan
    fresh ground pepper, as much as you like
    salt

    To start mix all your dry ingredients in a large bowl, so all the spices are well combined, then add your ground turkey and the egg, combine with your hands or a spoon so spices and egg are nicely incorporated into the turkey. Shape into patties and either fry in the pan or grill until cooked through.

    Serve with a nice side salad, potato salad or whatever your heart desires! Bon Appetit!

    Wednesday, September 22, 2010

    Linzertorte "Gluten-Free" made with Rice and Quinoa Flour

    I love sweets and "Linzertorte" is one of my favorites, it's nutty, sweet and not difficult to make. Lately I've been trying to remake some of the goodies that are very typical for my Austrian and Swiss heritage and "Linzertorte" is definitely one of them. And it is obviously named after the capital of Upper Austria, LINZ!

    Here is what you need:

    150 g butter or margarine  
    150 g sugar
    1 sprinkle salt

    1 egg

    1/4 tsp Cinnamon
    150 g ground almonds
    75 g rice flour
    75 g quinoa flour

    your favorite jam or fruit preserve (I like apricot, but the original recipe asks for raspberry)

    If you are not GF, you can just use regular all purpose flour.

    9 inch spring form pan


    In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until small peaks form, mix in the sugar and salt, then add the egg and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy.

    Mix all other ingredients, then slowly mix with the butter and sugar mixture until you have a nice soft dough. Then cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

    Roll 1/3rd of the dough onto the bottom of the spring form pan. The from the second 3rd form a roll and place on the edge of the form to create a rim. Roll the rest of the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and into 2-3 mm plate and chill.

    While the remaining dough is chilling in the fridge, generously cover the crust with your favorite jam. Cut out little shapes from the remaining dough and decorate. Then brush with egg and put on the ring of the spring form pan.

    Bake in the middle of the pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Remove let cool and enjoy with a nice cup of coffee!


    Tip: If you can, and don't need the "Linzertorte" right away, wrap tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and let rest for a few days or so in the fridge. I'll be even better as it gets a bit soft.

    Allergy Grocer: 728x90

    Tuesday, September 21, 2010

    Gluten Free Lemon Cupcakes

    I love baking, well you probably figured that out by now, so I had some extra time this morning and I thought that while I'll do some other chores as well, I'd make some cupcakes for the office.

    I stuck with the gluten free theme, as I want to make delicious deserts and cakes that everyone can enjoy. And one can't really taste the difference in these.

    This is what you need for 9 regular size cupcakes or one small cake pan.

    100g butter (1 stick)
    100g sugar
    1 sprinkle salt
    2 eggs
    1 lemon, zest and 2 tbsp juice
    75g corn flour
    50g rice flour
    1 tsp baking powder

    With a mixer, cream the butter until it is nice and soft, then add the sugar and salt, continue to mix until nicely incorporated. Add the lemon zest and the lemon juice (from half of the lemon) and continue to mix. One by one mix in the eggs until nicely blended.

    Mix the two flours and the baking powder so they are nicely blended. Then, using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mix a bit at a time. DO NOT USE A HANDMIXER! Using a mixer will make the cupcakes rubbery.

    Fill the mixture into prepared cupcake cups and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. I added some raspberries to some of mine, cause I thought that would go well with the lemon.

    While the cupcakes are baking you can prepare the lemon glaze, using the juice form the second half lemon. Squeeze the juice into a little bowl and stir in powdered sugar until you have a thick runny glaze.

    Once the cupcakes are done, remove from the oven, poke a couple of holes in them and brush on the lemon/sugar glaze. It will soak into the cupcakes. Let cool a little and brush on some more glaze if you like.

    Once mine were cool, I drizzled some chocolate glaze on some of them, but you can leave that out. And now you are ready to enjoy!



    Let me know if you tried the recipe and how you liked them. Oh and of course if you are not gluten free, you can substitute the corn and rice flour with regular flour.

    Again Bon Apetit!

    Monday, September 20, 2010

    Gluten-Free Cream Puff's / Eclairs

    As more and more friends of mine have problems with gluten, I am trying to adapt certain desserts to their gluten free lifestyle. I love Eclairs/Cream Puffs and they are actually very easy to make. Well at least I think so. It probably only takes and hour or so to make them and you can have a very pretty dessert.

    Here is what you need for about 12 - 16 pieces:

    200 ml water
    2 sprinkles of salt
    50 g of butter

    100 g of Quinoa flour (this will give the eclair a nutty taste)

    2 - 3 eggs (I needed 3 medium eggs)
    1 tbsp sugar

    In a small pan boil water, salt and butter then set aside. Pour in the flour at once and put back on the stove and stir until the doug comes off the bottom of the pan in a ball. Cool down slightly.

    The mix in eggs and sugar, one by one. The dough should be soft but not runny!


    Using a pastry bag or two small spoons, set little balls on a prepared cookie sheet (butter them and rinse with cold water, leaving the water on, it will help the rising of the dough).

    Bake in a well preheated oven at at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR WHILE BAKING! After the baking time, open oven door slightly and let them dry a bit and cool.

    In the meantime you can prepare your filling. I just used whipped cream that I sweetened with sugar and a bit of vanilla and some raspberries.

    Once your eclairs have cooled down, cut them open with a sharp knife or kitchen shears, fill them with the whipped cream and set the top on.



    To make them look pretty, you can either sprinkle them with some powdered sugar or like I did, decorate with some yummy chocolate glaze. Now just arrange on a nice platter and there is dessert!

    Bon Apetit!

    Monday, September 13, 2010

    Quick and Delicious Plum Tart

    This delicious plum tart is very easy to make and you can substitute the plums with and fruit you like, apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, rubarb, red or black currents or even blueberries.

    These kind of tarts are very traditional for the NorthEast of Switzerland and every bakery, or deli usually carries them in their cases. Fridays, in some regions, are still observed as meatless days and these tarts are a great way to go.

    They are super easy and very quick to make, especially it you can buy your pie crust ready made. For this version I used fresh ripe plums and in 35 minutes I had a sweet and delicious meal.

    You will need:

    1 store bought pie crust
    4 oz or 125 ml milk (or cream if you like it richer)
    1 egg
    4 large plums
    2 tbsp almond meal
    1 tbsp plain breadcrumbs
    1 tsp vanilla
    1-2 tbsp sugar
    cinnamon


    Butter a 10 inch pie/tart pan and place the rolled up pastry in it, then sprinkle on the almond meal and the breadcrumbs.

    Wash the plums, cut them in half and then make about six slices of every half, layer the plums on top of the breadcrumb/almond mix in a nice pattern, sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and bake in the pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

    While the tart bakes, whisk together, the egg, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Once the tart has baked for 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and pour over the custard mixture. Return to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, remove from the oven and cool slightly, then serve.



    You could also serve it cold, or as a dessert with some vanilla ice cream! Bon Appetit!