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No comments from the peanut gallery…

I swear they taste great!…

Peanut tarts

Makes 10:

Pastry
100 g wheat flour
15 g butter
50 ml milk (as necessary)
a pinch of salt

Combine well all the ingredients.
Let it rest for half an hour covered with wrap film.
Roll out the pastry over a lightly floured work surface until very thin.
Put on small moulds

Filling:
300 g sugar + 150 ml water
100 g peanuts, roasted and powdered
30 g butter, melted
5 egg yolks
1 egg white
zest of 1/2 lemon

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Bring the water to boil with sugar on a covered pan.
Uncover when it starts to boil and let it boil for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the butter.
Let it cool down for a while.
Combine together the remaining ingredients.
Pour the syrup gently over the peanut mixture.
Pour this mixture into the small moulds.
Sprinkle with icing sugar.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.

November 24, 2008 | Filed under pies, tarts, tartelettes | 6 Comments 

Cottage tart with pink grapes

A couple of weeks ago Rita Palita challenged me creat a recipe with cottage cheese.
I immediately bought it but in the meanwhile I went to Portugal I couldn’t make it on time.
As better late than never and the cottage chees was still waiting for me in the refrigerator I’ve decided today to create my recipe and contribute to such an original idea!

The fox and the grapes

A fox, almost with hunger dying,
Some grapes on a trellis spying,
To all appearance ripe, clad in
Their tempting russet skin,
Most gladly would have eat them;
But since he could not get them,
So far above his reach the vine—
“They’re sour,” he said; “such grapes as these,
The dogs may eat them if they please!”
Did he not better than to whine?

La Fontaine fable based on Aesop: Phaedrus, 4. 3.

Cottage tart with pink grapes

Makes 4:

Crust:
100 g sweet plain biscuits
20 g oatmeal
25 g butter, melted

Grind the biscuits and the oatmeal.
Combine with butter.
Press this mixture into the bottom of 12 cms pie pans.
Refrigerate.

Filling:
400 g cottage cheese
100 g sugar
40 g cake flour
zest of 1 lemon
Vanilla
4 egg whites

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Mash the cheese.
Combine the cheese with the flour and lemon zest.
Whisk the egg whites until firm peaks form and add sugar.
Gently fold the meringue into the previous mixture.
Pour the mixture into the pie pans.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Let it cool down before unmould.

Grape Jelly:

200 g seedless red grapes, halved
100 ml water
100 g sugar
some drops of lemon juice

Bring the grapes to boil with the water until tender. Sieve.
Add the sugar to the sieved grape pulp.
In a saucepan bring to low heat until it thickens, stirring regularly.
Skim off foam while boiling.

Decorate with grapes and brush the top with jelly.

October 16, 2008 | Filed under pies, tarts, tartelettes | 5 Comments 

Lemon, chocolate and a good night kiss

I make a cocoa’s bed and lay chocolate’s sheets over.
With a good night kiss, I put cream and lemon to sleep.

Lemon and chocolate pie

Serves 6:

Crust:
175 g wheat flour
25 g cocoa
25 g icing sugar
125 g cold butter, diced
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt
75 g 60% dark chocolate, grated

Combine together dry ingredients.
Add butter and blend.
Add egg yolk and water.
Wrap tightly and refrigerate (1 hour).
Roll out the dough (5mm thick).
Transfer the rolled dough to a 23 cms diameter pan.
Dock the bootom of the crust to prevent it from bubbling up, cover with wrap film and refrigerate for 2 hours (minimum) or overnight.
Pre-heat the oven to 180º C.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Take out the foil and bake for 5 minutes more.
Remove from oven and spread the grated chocolate.
Let it cool down.

Filling:

3 lemons (fine zest and 150 ml of sieved juice)
150 g sugar
4 large eggs
150 ml double cream
Icing sugar to sprinkle

Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC.
Mix together the juice, zest and sugar, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves.
Add the eggs and cream while stirring until creamy.
Pour the filling over the crust and bake for 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and let it cool down before unmould.
Serve chilled.

You can sprinkle with icing sugar before serving, I don’t think it’s necessary.

September 28, 2008 | Filed under chocolate, pies, tarts, tartelettes | 22 Comments 

Eve’s apple

Temptation serpentines through the tablecloth.

The apple becomes pie and Heaven comes down to Earth…

Today we are Adam and Eve and again the forbidden fruit is desired as in the original sin.

Apple pie

Crust:
250 g wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
100 g sugar
125 g soft butter
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
Egg yolk to brush

Combine all the ingredients together.
Cover the dough with wrap film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Roll out the dough on a floured work surface and line a pie pan.
Roll out the remaining dough and cut small stripes to cover the pie.

Filling:
7 apples
300 g sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick

Peel the apples and cut in thin slices.
Bring to boil the apple slices with sugar and lemon until they are transparent.
Put the apple slices in te pie shell.
Finish with the crossed dough stripes.
Brush with egg yolk.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Brush the pie with a light coating of apple jelly.

September 22, 2008 | Filed under pies, tarts, tartelettes | 11 Comments 

Plum pie

At the sound of the last summer notes, plums make their return:
Fleshy, juicy, sweet, with a sour touch that repulse but addicts…

Plum pie

Dough:
125 g wheat flour
75g butter
50 g sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp yeast

Combine together all the ingredients with the butter.
Roll out the dough and line the pie pan.

Filling:
4-5 plums
50 g butter, melted
50 g sugar
2 eggs
A few drops of lemon juice

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Put the plums, peeled and sliced, in the pie shell.
Combine the remaining ingredients and pour the mixture over the plums.
Bake for 30-45 minutes.

You can brush the pie with a light coating of plum jelly.

Plum jelly:
250 g plum jam
2 gelatin sheets (4 g)

Bring the jam to medium heat without boiling.
Add the gelatin, previously hydrated, stirring constantly.
Use while hot.

September 15, 2008 | Filed under pies, tarts, tartelettes | 5 Comments 

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