Rose, first snow and travelling

This post was meant to be published few days ago, yet, it comes to light right now, once I reached my destination, unpacked and I can sit down and finish writing it at a leisurely pace.
The days before my leaving Budapest for Poland (and Christmas) were pretty busy - we were teaching weekend workshops (so great atmosphere we had!), DJing Friday and Sunday, taking part in the amazing Global milonga, baking bread for my parents... At the same time I tried to pack myself which was more than a challenge, given that I wanted to take my new huge cookbook, one kg of fresh walnuts, a jar with sourdough* and other crazy things that you normally take with you for Christmas ;)
I don't know how I did, but I managed to bake a tart on the top of all those things. Again, I don't know how this happened but I had to choose an elaborate one ;) The reward for my effort was very high though - delicious vanilla cream mixed with cherries and a delicate walnut merengue top... Three different textures, three different flavours closed in the form of a tart.
When I went out to the balcony to photograph the tart, it just started snowing for the first time with big big snowflakes... Magical. I tried to capture the moment, but the snow was so elusive...** So I focused on the tart... It's beauty called for something more than just a white background so I photographed it with the red rose I got from P. A special rose that in the middle of winter kept its head upright for a whole week and when I was leaving it still looked gorgeous.
The cake is so rich and yet delicate, that I'm going to repeat it for Christmas. It's definitely not a typical Christmas cake, but it has something special in it, which definitely makes it a good festive idea.

Walnut Tart with Cherries 
(recipe by Stephan Franz from "The Cook's Book")

Makes a 26cm (10 1/2 inch) tart.

For pâte brisée:
188g butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
250g plain white flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 scant teaspoon caster sugar
50ml full fat milk at room temperature

For the vanilla cream:
300ml milk
5 medium egg yolks (100g in total)
75g caster sugar
15g cornflour
100ml double cream
seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod or sugar with real vanilla

For the filling:
400g whole black cherries - stoned.***

For the walnut layer:
100g cake crumbs or toasted breadcrumbs, finely ground
90g walnuts, toasted and finely ground
pinch of ground cinnamon
100g unsalted butter, diced and softened
100g caster sugar
3 medium egg yolks (60g in total)
seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod or sugar with real vanilla
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
4 medium egg whites (120g in total)

1. Prepare pâte brisée. Check for detailed instructions here.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Use a round cake tin with 4cm (1 1/2in) high sloping sides or springform cake tin, any of them 26cm (10 1/2in) in diameter. Lightly grease the tin with butter.
3. Roll out half the pastry to a 3mm (1/8in) thickness and cut out a circle to fit the bottom of the tin. Lay in the bottom of the tin and prick all over with a fork so that no air bubbles occurs during baking. Bake for 10 minutes. The pastry should be set and only very slightly coloured.
4. Let the pastry cool and lower the oven temperature to 175°C (350°F). Roll out the remaining pastry into two equal strips, around 4cm wide. Use them to line the sides of the tin.
5. Prepare vanilla cream:
Pour 90ml of the milk into a bowl, blend with the egg yolks, 45g of the sugar and the cornflour. Pour the rest of the milk into a pan and add the cream, remaining sugar and vanilla seeds/sugar. Bring to the boil and add the egg yolk mixture. Stir continously and bring to boil, then remove from the heat immediately.
6. Pass the vanilla cream through a fine sieve and spread evenly over the pastry base.
7. Arrange the cherries onto the vanilla cream surface.
8. Prepare the hazelnut layer:
Lightly mix together the cake or breadcrumbs, walnuts and cinnamon. In another bowl beat the butter and 30g of the sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and combine well. In another bowl whisk the egg whites, remaining sugar and a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Add one third to the butter mixture and stir to combine. Carefully fold in the remaining whites using a large spatula. Fold in the nut mixture in batches.
9. Fit a piping bag with a large plain nozzle, spoon in the nut mixture, and pipe in a spiral onto the cherries. Bake in the oven at 175°C (350°F) for 45 minutes. Let it cool down and dust with incing sugar before serving.

* Sourdough's first plane journey was successful :) I fed it straight away I got home and it appeared that it likes Polish flour pretty well ;)
** If you know how to photograph falling snow - let me know :)
*** I used pickled cherries in a light sugar syrup.

Apple Tart - step by step

It's a simple and elegant apple tart. Delicate yet with character thanks to cinnamon. Not too sweet and calling for a glass of good white dessert wine. Or a dollop of whipped cream. It disappeared within 2 hours after baking... Is there anything else I need to write to encourage you to try it out? I hope not :) Let's get to work then...

Apple Tart

Makes 1 tart (27cm in diameter).

For shortcrust pastry - pâte brisée by Pierre Hermé*:
188g butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
250g plain white flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 scant teaspoon caster sugar

50ml full fat milk at room temperature

                                     

Other ingredients:

1kg apples (I used Granny Smith which are crisp, firm and sour)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar - important: taste the apples - some might need adding more sugar.
1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon whipping (single) cream


1. Place the butter in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon to soften. Stir in the salt and egg yolk. Stir the sugar into the milk in a bowl. Pour this onto the softened butter in a thin stream, stirring constantly.
2. Sift the flour into a shallow bowl and steadily stir it into the butter mixture. Mix by stirring with a wooden spoon or gently bring it together by hand in the bowl.
3. On a floured work surface and using the palm of your hand, lightly knead the pastry just until it forms a soft, moist dough. Ligthness of hand and speed are very important, and the whole process shouldn't take longer than 4-5minutes or the pastry will be tough.
4. Shape the dough into 2 balls, one larger (around 300-350g), one smaller. Then flatten  them slightly, and wrap in cling film. Leave in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hours. The resting time in the refrigerator gives the gluten in the flour a chance to relax. Effective chilling will prevent the dough from shrinking too much when it goes into the hot oven.

5. After the chilling time, roll the bigger dough out between two large sheets of baking parchment. Make sure to lift the top sheet of parchment from time to time so that it doesn't crease into the dough. When it's 3-5mm thick, move each piece into the bottom of the pan. Cut off  the excess pastry.
6. Press the pastry into and up the sides of the ring. If the dough splits or cracks as you work, then simply patch the split with small scraps of pastry using your fingers to glue them into place. Don't strech the pastry. Prick the base all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 30minutes.

7. Wash and peel the apples. Then grate them into a pan. Add cinnamon and sugar, taste the apples, if necessary add more sugar. Cook the apples on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until they become soft (but not mushy!)

8. Cut out a circle of baking parchment slightly larger than the tart ring or tin. Fold the disc in half several times to make a triangular shape, then clip the outer edge with scissors. Clipping the edge ensures a close fit against the rim when the paper is placed in the tart ring.

9. Take the tart pan with the pastry out from the fridge. Cover the base and sides of the pastry with the prepared baking parchment, taking the paper above the sides of the ring. Fill with dried beans- the tarts will keep the form and won't rise during baking.

10. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 18-20minutes. After that time it will be partially baked. Let it cool down a bit on a rack.

11. Fill in the crust with the apple mixture till the brim.

12. Take out the smaller pastry ball out of the fridge. Roll it out between two large sheets of baking parchment until it's 3mm thick. To form a lattice top cut 1 cm strips out of the pastry lid. Lay them across the pie. Fold back every second vertical strip and lay a new horizontal strip across the strips that have not been folded. Lay the folded back strips back down. Then repeat folding back the vertical strips that were not folded in the previous round. Cover the rest of the pie. With a pastry brush, lightly coat the top with the egg yolk mixed with cream.

 13. Bake the apple tart for 30 minutes 180°C or until the top is golden. Let it cool down on the rack thouroughly before cutting! (Yup, I know, it's _very_ difficult especially if you have vanilla ice-cream waiting for you in the fridge.)

*recipe comes from "The Cook's Book"

Caramel Pumpkin Tartelettes

To be honest - I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie, even though I'm a pumpkin addict. Caramel Pumpkin Tartelettes are not too far from the traditional pumpkin pie, but far enough for me to fall in love with their caramel delicately spiced taste.  The idea comes from Gourmet magazine, though I used Pierre Hermé's recipe for the shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée) and instead of preparing one big pie I went for small and cute tartelettes.
The tartelettes are rich with caramel, whose sweetness is contrasted with the spiciness of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger added to the pumpkin. The pastry's texture is delicate and buttery... Just poetry :)
Bon appétit! :)

Caramel Pumpkin Tartelettes 

Makes 8 tartelettes - 11cm in diameter each or 1 big (26cm - 10 1/2 in)

For shortcrust pastry - pâte brisée by Pierre Hermé*:

188g butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
250g plain white flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 scant teaspoon caster sugar
50ml full fat milk at room temperature

1. Place the butter in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon to soften. Stir in the salt and egg yolk. Stir the sugar into the milk in a bowl. Pour this onto the softened butter in a thin stream, stirring constantly.
2. Sift the flour into a shallow bowl and steadily stir it into the butter mixture. Mix by stirring with a wooden spoon or gently bring it together by hand in the bowl.
3. On a floured work surface and using the palm of your hand, lightly knead the pastry just until it forms a soft, moist dough. Ligthness of hand and speed are very important, and the whole process shouldn't take longer than 4-5minutes or the pastry will be tough.
4. Shape the dough into 8 equal balls, flatten slightly, and wrap in cling film. Leave in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hours. The resting time in the refrigerator gives the gluten in the flour a chance to relax. Effective chilling will prevent the dough from shrinking too much when it goes into the hot oven.
5. After the chilling time, roll the dough out between two large sheets of baking parchment. Make sure to lift the top sheet of parchment from time to time so that it doesn't crease into the dough. When it's 3-5mm thick, move each piece into the bottom of the pan. It should cover the bottom and the sides, cut off  the excess pastry.
6. Using your fingertips, press the pastry into and up the sides of the ring. If the dough splits or cracks as you work, then simply patch the split with small scraps of pastry using your fingers to glue them into place. Don't strech the pastry. Prick the base all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 30minutes.
7. In the meantime, cut out a circle of baking parchment slightly larger than the tart ring or tin. Fold the disc in half several times to make a triangular shape, then clip the outer edge with scissors. Clipping the edge ensures a close fit against the rim when the paper is placed in the tart ring.
8. Take the tart rings with the pastry out from the fridge. Cover the base and sides of the pastry with the prepared baking parchment, taking the paper above the sides of the ring. Fill with dried beans- the tarts will keep the form and won't rise during baking.
9. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 18-20minutes. After that time it will be partially baked. Remove the beans and lining paper, then return the tart pans to oven and bake for 6-7 minutes longer. Cool the shells on a wire rack.

*recipe comes from "The Cook's Book"

For caramel-pumpkin filling:

200g (1 cup) sugar
1/3 cup water
500ml (2 cups) heavy cream (I used whipping cream, 30%)
420g (1 can 15-oz solid-pack pumpkin, not pie filling) pumpkin purée
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (best if freshly grated)
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, gently swirling pan (do not stir!), until mixture is a deep golden caramel, about 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to moderate and carefully add 1 cup cream (mixture will bubble vigorously, don't be intimidated by that ;) ), stirring until caramel is dissolved. Stir in the remaining cup cream and bring just to a simmer.
3. Whisk together pumpkin purée, spices and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in hot cream mixture, then add eggs whisking until combined well. Pour filling into cooled crusts and bake until puffed and center is just set, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack, about 2 hours at least before serving - tartelettes will continue to set as they cool. Enjoy with some whipped cream :)

NOTES:
- dough can be chilled up to 1 day or frozen, wrapped well in foil, 1 month.
- the shells can be baked 1 day ahead and kept wrapped in a plastic wrap (after cooling) at room temperature.