Cherry Almond Custard Tart

Sauntering through the produce section at the local grocery store I spotted a bin filled with giant deep red sweet cherries. I couldn't resist and headed home with my purchase in tow but with no idea how I was going to use them in my next baking creation. I didn't want to go down the road of the standard cherry pie and a cherry crisp, though intriguing, just wasn't cutting it either. I love almonds and cherries together - their tastes are so complimentary of each other and make a wonderful dessert when combined. I also love the idea of a custard but wasn't sure clafoutis was exactly what I was looking for at the time.

Finally, I found the perfect recipe. A cherry almond custard tart! The crust has the consistency and taste of lovely shortbread. The filling: sweet cherries sitting in a rich and creamy dense custard. The common theme in all parts of this tart is almond flour. You use it in the crust, custard and sprinkled on top of those gorgeous cherries right before baking.

Serve up a slice with a dollop of whipped cream and you may actually think you have died and gone to heaven!

LET'S GET STARTED

My preferred extracts: Organic and top quality



1 lb pitted and ready for use !



Prepared tart ready for the oven

RECIPE:
adapted from Patricia Wells At Home in Provence

WHAT YOU NEED

CRUST

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1/2 cup fine granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons blanched almond flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

FILLING

5 tablespoons heavy cream (35%)
1 large egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup fine granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoons blanched almond flour for filling
2 tablespoons blanched almond flour to sprinkle on crust


TOPPING

1 lb pitted sweet cherries
2 tablespoons blanched almond flour

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
GREASE SIDES AND BOTTOM of a 9" tart pan with removable bottom
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together all crust ingredients except flour
SLOWLY add flour stirring until combined with wooden spoon or rubber spatula
PRESS into tart pan ensuring tart crust reaches all areas of the insides of pan
BAKE 10 minutes
SET ON BAKING RACK and leave oven heated at 350F

IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together all custard ingredients
SPRINKLE 2 tablespoons of almond flour on par-baked crust
POUR custard filling over crust
TOP with cherries
SPRINKLE 2 tablespoons almond flour over cherries

BAKE 45 MINUTES until golden and custard is firm when touched.

PLACE tart pan on cooling rack and let rest still ready to serve.

TO REMOVE, simply push removable bottom upwards so tart pulls away from sides of pan.

ENJOY!

Also seen here:

Blueberry Lemon Sour Cream Ice Cream

A rich, sweet and delicious ice cream made with only a few key ingredients: blueberries, sugar, lemon, heavy cream, sour cream and a splash of vanilla. How easy is that? After a few hours freezing time you will be able to sit back, relax and indulge in an incredibly smooth and creamy summertime treat. This ice cream would also be especially good served with a slice of dense and heavenly scented vanilla pound cake.

LET'S GET STARTED !

RECIPE:
adapted from Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream, Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

WHAT YOU NEED

your trusty ice cream maker
a small food processor or hand-held blender

1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
zest of one lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

MAKE IT

IN MEDIUM SAUCEPAN, combine first 4 ingredients
HEAT slowly over MEDIUM heat until mix starts to simmer.
STIR continously until berries start to pop and release juices (4-5 minutes)
REMOVE FROM HEAT and puree with food processor or hand-held blender
ADD cream, sour cream and vanilla
PULSE to combine
PLACE in refrigerator for 1 hour
REMOVE and add to ice cream maker basin.
BLEND AND FREEZE according to manufacturer's instructions. I have a Cuisinart 2 QT machine and I stir for 25 minutes, transfer to a freezer container and freeze 4-5 hours.

ENJOY !!!



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Gluten-Free Raised Donuts with Honey Glaze

These beauties are gluten-free, yeast-raised and deep fried. They have a lovely texture, great taste and are finished with a simple honey glaze that sets wonderfully letting you indulge without having your fingers coated in sticky sugary icing.

The source recipe can be found in my newly purchased, and deeply loved cookbook, Doughnuts - Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home by Lara Ferroni.

I took Lara's recommendation to use Chia Flour (ground chia seeds) as she states it adds a slight chewy texture to these donuts which mimics that of a regular raised donut. She was right! These have the taste and texture we all love in our gluten-based deep fried donuts.

You can find ground chia flour in nearly every health food store now. If you strike out, feel free to substitute 1:1 with brown rice flour.

I did adjust Lara's recipe as I went along by adding a few more spices and reducing the yeast somewhat because I didn't want an over-powering yeast flavor which sometimes can happen with raised donuts. When you reduce the yeast you also need to increase the proofing time so I did that as well.

The glaze is nothing more than 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey and 3-4 tablespoons of milk.

I highly advise you use a stand mixer with dough and paddle hook attachments for this recipe. Mixing by hand would be a challenge but could be done if you really wanted to go that route.

To begin, you will first need to combine the following ingredients which will serve as your basic gluten-free donut baking mix. I combine all the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, give it a good shake, use what I need and store the rest in the fridge.

• 1 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup potato flour or sweet sorghum
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour

Now let's get started !

RECIPE:
altered source recipe: Doughnuts - Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home by Lara Ferroni

WHAT YOU NEED

1/3 cup chia or brown rice flour
2 cups GF baking mix (see above)
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon guar gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup milk warmed to 110F
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons fine granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegetable shortening at room temperature
Canola Oil - enough to fill a dutch oven with 2 inches of oil

In addition to the basics, you will also need a dutch oven, doughnut cutter or biscuit cutters in large and small sizes, oil/candy thermometer, steel spatula used for frying donuts and a non-terrycloth dishtowel

GLAZE

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of honey
3-4 tablespoons of milk

MAKE IT

IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together first 7 ingredient which I will refer to as "flour mixture"
IN LOW LYING BOWL ( I used my soup bowl), sprinkle 1 1/4 teaspoons of yeast over warm milk. Allow to sit 5 minutes then gently stir with fork until yeast is mostly dissolved
ADD 1/8 cup (20 grams) of flour mixture and stir well until a paste forms
COVER with cling wrap and let sit 15 minutes
IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER, fitted with paddle attachment, stir together remaining yeast and water
ADD flour/yeast paste, sugar and salt
STIR MED speed until smooth
BEAT in eggs, egg white, vanilla and vinegar
MIX IN 1/2 cup of flour blend on MED speed for 30 seconds
CHANGE to dough hook attachment
CONTINUE adding flour mixture , 1/4 cup at a time (until remaining flour mixture is used up) kneading shortly after each addition until dough finally starts pulling away from sides.
COVER bowl with cling wrap and let sit 30 minutes

FLOUR work surface with some gluten-free (GF) baking blend
ROLL out dough to 1/2 inch thickness
CUT OUT with donut cutter
PLACE donuts and holes and a baking tray lined with a linen dish towel sprinkled with GF flour
COVER with cling wrap and let rest 35-40 minutes until risen with rounded tops

WHILE DONUTS ARE PROOFING, heat oil in dutch oven to 350F
WITH SPATULA, ADD 2-3 donuts at a time or 5 donut holes at a time to hot oil
TURN after 1 minute, fry additional minute
REMOVE to a baking rack covered in a few sheets of paper towel
CONTINUE frying remaining donuts

LINE a cookie sheet with waxed paper and place a baking rack on top of waxed paper. This will make clean-up after glazing a breeze!
IN LOW LYING BOWL, whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth
DIP tops of donuts into glaze and submerge donut holes entirely in glaze
PLACE donuts and holes on a baking rack and let sit 10 minutes for glaze to set
FEEL FREE to double dip too. After initial 10 minutes just re-dunk the donuts in the glaze a second time

DIG IN !

Also seen here:

Chocolate Glazed Baked Donuts

It is officially a toss-up. I am hooked on cupcakes AND donuts! I cannot decide which I like more. And then the thought struck me. Why choose? Cupcakes one day, donuts the next. See , there is heaven on earth after all!

Today I wanted to bake donuts versus deep-fry them but my cookbooks lacked a chocolate baked donut recipe. Deciding to be resourceful, I headed over to Lara Ferroni's website and lo and behold, found a perfect recipe. And voila, an amazing chocolate baked donut was born. I topped them with a simple chocolate glaze and a few sprinkles for fun.

Lara is the author of my most recent purchase, Doughnuts, Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home. This recipe is exactly that: simple and delicious!


I did adjust Lara's recipe somewhat by substituting sour cream for yogurt and adding the scrapings of one vanilla been in lieu of vanilla extract. Plus the sprinkles were my idea :)

So let's get started, shall we? You will have these baked, eaten and devoured in under 20 minutes. How great is that ?!

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

DONUTS

1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
75 grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup full fat sour cream
1 teaspoon scrapings of one vanilla bean
1 large egg at room temperature

GLAZE

3/4 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2-3 tablespoons milk

MAKE IT

SPRAY donut pan with baking spray
PREHEAT oven to 350F
IN LARGE BOWL, sift together first 4 ingredients
WHISK in sugar, salt and nutmeg
ADD butter and mix into flour mixture with fingers until crumbly (as if making a shortcrust)
IN MEDIUM BOWL, WHISK together remaining donut ingredients
ADD WET ingredients to dry, folding in with rubber spatula just until combined
PIPE batter with round open piping tip into donut cavities
BAKE 8 minutes
LET DONUTS cool slightly in pan 5 minutes then remove donuts and transfer to cooling rack placed over waxed paper

IN MEDIUM BOWL, sift in icing sugar and cocoa
WHISK together and add milk until desired glaze consistency is reached

DIP tops of donuts into glaze and return to rack, right side up, to allow glaze to set
SPRINKLE with candy confetti

ENJOY !






Also seen here:

Spiced Chelsea Buns

Known in Britain (and around the world for that matter) as Chelsea Buns, these pastries are yeast based buns originating from England. Though similar in "design" as our traditional cinnamon buns, these are quite different. No thick frosting on these babies. Just an amazing sweet glaze of milk, honey and sugar. For the filling, traditional recipes tend to call for cinnamon, sugar and dried fruit. Other ones I have seen add more spices to the filling for even greater flavor. I combined the best of both worlds. This recipe has 2 types of raisins, cloves, and nutmeg in addition to the standby cinnamon and sugar.

According to historians, for almost a century, until its demise in 1839, the Chelsea Bun House in England was famous for its spicy, sugary buns which were aptly named Chelsea Buns. The precise location of the famous bakery is up for debate but many state Bunhouse Place, London, seems like a safe bet.

Another interesting note: the owners also claimed to have invented the hot cross bun, and one Good Friday tens of thousands of people, King George III included, thronged down Ebury Street, keen to be seen in the fashionable queue to buy sticky buns.

Thank you, England, for another great baking creation! For those who haven't tried a Chelsea Bun, you don't know what you are missing. So please, bake up a dozen and tell me what you think. I suspect these may quickly become your Sunday morning family favorite. Personally I enjoy them on any day that ends in "Y" .

Now onto the baking!

Though I initially intended to follow the Chelsea Bun recipe in The Great British Book of Baking, I wasn't keen on the dough directions. It lacked any steps to proof the yeast. As a result, I decided to revamp the recipe to ensure a well-risen dough. I also dramatically adjusted their filling ingredients too. I felt the addition of a few extra key spices would really kick these up a notch. Thankfully my intuition was bang on. Sugar and spice and everything nice, that is what these little Chelsea Buns are made of !

LET'S GET BAKING !

You can either knead the dough by hand or use your stand mixer equipped with a dough hook.

Once your dough has risen for 1 hour, you simply roll it out
and fill with spices, raisins, sugar and butter.


Spread the filling out leaving a 1 inch gap between filling and all edges


Roll up length-wise and pinch seam to seal long edge


Cut in 1 1/2 inch slices


Add buns to a greased baking pan and let rise , covered, 1/2 hr


They will puff up even more as they bake


Before you know it, you will have freshly baked spiced Chelsea Buns!

RECIPE*:
*source recipe (adapted) : Chelsea Buns, The Great British Book of Baking

WHAT YOU NEED

BUNS

175 ml milk (I used 2%)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons active dried yeast
50g unsalted butter
450g white bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg at room temperature

FILLING

50g unsalted butter, melted
75g dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sultanas (golden raisins)
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

GLAZE

2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoon fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoons honey

MAKE IT

IN SMALL BOWL, microwave milk for 20 seconds or until lukewarm
ADD sugar and stir
ADD yeast, sprinkling on top of milk mixture
LET stand for 2 minutes. Then slowly whisk yeast into milk mixture
LET stand 5 minutes
IN SMALL BOWL, microwave butter until just melted
IN SEPARATE SMALL BOWL, gently whisk egg just until slightly blended
IN LARGE BOWL (or bowl of stand mixer), stir together flour and salt
MAKE well in middle of dry ingredients
ADD yeast mixture, butter and beaten egg
STIR for 2 minutes until a shaggy dough starts to form
KNEAD 10 minutes by hand on a floured surface or 4 minutes with stand mixer on MED speed
DOUGH will be somewhat soft but not sticky
COVER dough with dishtowel and let rest in warm area for 1 hour

MAKE FILLING

IN SMALL SAUCEPAN, melt butter over low heat.
STIR in remaining filling ingredients until combined
Stir continuously for 2 minutes over med/low heat
REMOVE from heat and allow to come to room temperature

WHEN DOUGH HAS RISEN, punch down and move to a floured work surface
ROLL dough into large rectangle (approx 10 X 16 inches)
SMOOTH filling over rectangle leaving 1 inch gap between filling and edges
STARTING with long edge, roll up dough into a spiral
CUT into 1 1/2 inch rolls

SPRAY a large baking pan (I used my lasagna one) with baking oil
ARRANGE buns in pan (sides not touching)
COVER with dishtowel and let sit 1/2 hour

PREHEAT oven to 400F
BAKE 15 MINUTES
WHILE BAKING, whisk together milk, sugar and honey.
MICROWAVE 20 seconds on HIGH power
STIR well

AFTER BUNS have baked 15 minutes, remove from oven, brush glaze over tops and return to oven for 5 minutes

REMOVE and let cool completely in pan set over a cooling rack

ENJOY!

Also seen here:

Gluten-Free Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

I cannot get enough of cupcakes! Perfect single serving size treats that are always welcome by all. Though I absolutely love cupcakes made with traditional ingredients such as flour and eggs, I am also thrilled with the fact that it is now so easy to make gluten and egg free ones that taste divine with a wondrous crumb and moistness one doesn't usually expect in an allergy conscious sweet. I remember when I started making gluten-free treats years ago and it was NOT a pleasant experience. Picture a piece of cardboard covered in frosting. Not good. Oh how ingredients and availability have improved !

What is the secret to really tasty gluten-free baked goods? My opinion is the answer lies with the quality of ingredients and this holds true for all types of baking, including those that include gluten, eggs and dairy. Top-notch ingredients are key to success!

I have tried many gluten-free flour mixes and various brands of rice flour, tapioca flour, etc, and yes, I definitely have my preferred faves. I cannot be without Authentic Foods rice flour. It is light and silky in texture and is a must-have for my gluten-free baking. How did I find this flour? By buying Cybele Pascal's cookbook The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook and taking her recommendations to heart. She swears by Authentic Foods brown rice flour and now I do too! If you have the chance, order some. You can also now order the pre-blended mix as well. If you prefer to use a different brand then absolutely, give it a try. Please be forewarned - I cannot attest to the baking results.

I have shared many recipes on Lemon Drop from Cybele Pascal's cookbook The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook and here is another one for chocolate cupcakes, which I have altered (her recipe is also dairy free), and to which I added a fudgy caramel frosting.

You would never guess, in a million years, that these are gluten and egg free. The richness is supreme and the frosting adds an amazing sweetness filled with the flavor of creamy and buttery caramel. So let's get started shall we?

Get it ! You won't be disappointed !

Basic Gluten-Free Baking Mix
used throughout the book:

• 4 cups superfine brown rice flour (preferably from Authentic Foods)
• 1 1/3 cups potato starch (NOT potato flour)
  
• 2/3 cup tapioca flour or tapioca starch

You will need 1 cup of this baking mix blend for this cupcake recipe.
Store the excess in a plastic Ziploc bag. Keep refrigerated.


Absolutely Delicious!

RECIPE:
*altered source recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes, The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook

MAKE IT

CUPCAKES

1 cup Gluten-Free Flour Mix (see above)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Saigon ground cinnamon (regular cinnamon works too but Saigon has such great flavor!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
3/4 cup fine granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

FROSTING

1/2 cup unsalted butter ( 1 stick)
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3 cups icing sugar, sifted

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 12 tin muffin pan with paper liners
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together first 7 ingredients
WITH ELECTRIC MIXER, in separate bowl beat together buttermilk, sugar, oil and vanilla for 1 minute on medium speed
SIFT in flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing on low speed 3o seconds after each addition
FILL muffin liners 2/3 full
BAKE in center of oven for 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
LET COOL in pan 5 minutes then transfer cupcakes to cooling rack to cool completely before frosting

FROSTING

IN MED SAUCEPAN, melt butter over med/low heat
WHISK in brown sugar and salt
CONTINUE WHISKING and bring to a boil
BOIL for 2 minutes whisking continuously
REMOVE from heat
WHISK IN heavy cream
RETURN to stovetop and bring again to a boil slowly over med/low heat
IMMEDIATELY remove from heat
STRAIN through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl or into the bowl of your stand mixer
LET stand at room temperature for 1/2 hr
BEAT in icing sugar in 3 parts, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

FROST as desired. I used a 1M Wilton Swirl tip for these cupcakes.

TOP them off with any candy you prefer or leave plain. I opted for chocolate covered caramel balls.

ENJOY !!!

Also seen here: