Chocolate and almond pear pastries

Pears with dark chocolate and almond surprise pastries (minus the caramel)

I have missed this last month's SABH.  Boo hoo.  Although I have made these simple desserts just for that hop. But no matter, as I'm sharing this easy peasy dessert anyway.

No excuse.  I've been on monkey mind mode for weeks now and have been busy with the extra guests we have at home.  The grandparents are here, that's why.  My parents were granted a 3-month multiple entry visa hence the unplanned visit.  As it is with visa applications from the Philippines, it takes ages to get especially as my folks are over the age of 70.  And while they are staying with us, I'm taking advantage of the adult conversations and extra help around the home.  They have grown older though.  It's hard to imagine our own parents being old.  To me they have always been the people who are always moving about - walking, gardening, buzzing buzzing every minute.  Two years away and my mum has changed.  She prefers staying home now, reading, no longer interested in gardening and when we go for walks the steps are slow and the walks longer.  

My dad on the other hand is still the keen cook that he is, taking after my grandmother.  I love our dynamics in the kitchen.  While he's cooking, I take a peek and taste and add some salt or pepper or other seasonings.  And the same when I'm cooking, he peers and adds his own dash of whatever. 

Pear with dark chocolate and almond surprise pastries with caramel glaze

Dark chocolate bits and almond slivers peeking...

To make these easy sweet dessert:

Ingredients:

2 pears, peeled, halved and cored

375ml Sangiovese verjuice

 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/2 cup caster sugar

60ml water

Method

Peel and half the pears.  Using a melon baller, core the pear and place in a saucepan with the verjuice.

Cover with a cartouche* and bring to a boil, then simmer until tender- about 15 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, lift the pears from the poaching liquid onto a plate and cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180*C and line baking tray with baking paper.

Take the puff pastry sheet and cut into 4 squares.

Place a pear half cut-side down onto a pastry square and using a small sharp knife, cut around the shape of the pear, leaving a 1-2cm border.  Repeat with the remaining pear halves and pastry.

Using a metal spatula, lift the pear from the pastry and cover the area of pastry with dark chocolate chips and toasted almond slivers then cover with the pear. Repeat with the remaining pears, chocolate chips and almonds.

Place the pastries on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.  

Place onto a wire rack. 

In a small sauce pan, combine the caster sugar and water and stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved.  Increase heat to medium and let the mixture bowl until the syrup turns golden.

Remove from heat and using a teaspoon, drizzle over the pears.

Leave to cool slightly.

Tips

* A cartouche is covering used to keep the moisture within the poaching liquid.  To make, use a baking paper fold into quarters, cut off the middle point to create a hold in the middle, then cut off the sides to fit the pan/pot. 

* Can be served with thickened cream.

* You can serve withou the caramel and it works just fine.

This sweet dessert is which did not make its way to last month's SABH was a surprise afternoon tea one weekend.  It is adapted from an old Coles instore mag with my own twists.  I poached the pears with Maggie Beer's Sangiovese verjuice instead of the usual water-sugar-cinnamon mix because I love its natural sweetness.  This is easy because all you need is store-bought puff pastry and bake away. 


I love having guests at home.  It breaks our routine and the extra hand/s is always welcome.  Plus it means extra taste testers for dishes I want to try which the girls would otherwise not.  Longer walks and more cooking at home and I'm grateful that both my parents are in a clean bill of health.  In their own little way and in more ways than one, they are an inspiration.  

Mango hazelnut torte

It's halfway through to winter in this part of the Southern Hemisphere, and I'm dreaming of tropical places. I miss my home country during this time especially when family and friends have just gone back from their summer outings and post drool-worthy photos online.  Sigh. 

Personally, the only upside of winter is wearing boots, scarfs and jackets.  I just love wearing them.  And since I come from the tropics, winters always leave me cold even with the slightest dip in temperature.  I'd be walking around with the complete package while some people in the shops are simply wearing T-shirts and thongs.  Seriously. It's winter people!  Gear up!  I found this article in the SMH back in May which I support completely.  Dress for the winter cold!

 

And while some of us can only dream of warm sunny skies and tropical escapes, here's a summer inspiration for those in the Northern Hemisphere who have access to some fresh ripe mangoes at this time.  And if you're really keen, keep this somewhere and make it when its summer at your place.  

This is a mango torte that's famous in the Philippines.  You'd see these at specialty cake shops like Dulcelin Gourmet and  Cuerva Bakeshop among a few. Original mango tortes sold in Manila are made of a cashew-meringue base and topped with buttercream.  I made this version very light using creme chantilly (whipped cream with icing sugar) spread around the base and piped in between the mango balls, instead of a basic buttercream.  The base is a recipe for a classic dacqouise which I made for my version of the sans rival for the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop in March last year, but substituted the almond meal with hazelnut meal.

Whip egg whites to stiffness.  A beautiful sight!

Fold through the 110g ground hazelnut (hazelnut meal)

Pipe two 20cm rounds onto a baking sheet with baking paper.  Left overs are piped into small rounds, for sampling and testing.  Bake at 100*C for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  

Mangoes are scooped with a melon baller.  Sweet!

They look really fancy, schmancy....

To make this hazelnut torte, you'll need:

3-4 fresh mangoes

a classic dacquoise recipe

creme chantilly recipe

Using a melon baller, scoop out balls from fresh mangoes and set aside.

Assemble the torte.

Place your dacquoise on a round tray.  Spread some creme chantilly on top, then layer the other round dacquoise and spread some more creme chantilly.

Place the mango balls on the top.

Using a piping bag with star tip, pipe the creme chatilly in between the mango balls and around the torte.

Serve immediately.

Tips:
* If you can make the base as thin as you can, the crispier and crunchier it will be as a base. Make sure to keep the dacqoise in an airtight container when making a day ahead.

* Because this is a meringue-nut base torte, using whipped cream for the topping will moisten the base so it's advisable to assemble the cake a few minutes before serving. Otherwise, susbtitute the topping with your favourite buttercream recipe.

* When making creme chantilly (or whipped cream), make sure your mixing bowl is cold.  Keep it in the fridge for half an hour before you start whipping.  You can add as much icing sugar as you want (I usually just use 25 grams - not too sweet).  You can also opt not to flavour the whipped cream with vanilla.  Its up to you.

PS - I have made this recipe many times during the summer but have only recently been able to clean up photos and files.  Been fighting the monkey mind mode for some time.  Thanks to Chari-G from My Glory Box for the inspiration and pushing me once in awhile from my lazy mode.  xx

Hot apple tarts (Tartes fine aux pommes)

 

Time flies when you're having fun!  Do you believe that saying?  Is there truth in it? Absolutely.  I realised a month ago my blog is already on its 5th year.  Hooray!  What started out as a personal journal to keep and remember recipes has evolved into something more. 

Through this blog, I've met the most wonderful people who share the same interest and passion that I have in food, both personally and virtually. 

Through this blog, I developed a keen interest in cooking and baking that I've decided to take Commercial Cookery and I'm onto my last semester.

Through this blog I have learned more about photography and food styling and op shop/prop shopping!

Through this blog I've created a happy place for myself - for those times when parenting, domesticity, work and all other things become frustrating.  Yes.  This has become an outlet of some sort.  Therapeutic as cooking and baking can be, writing brings a different sense of calmness.  Through this blog, I become a story teller.  And as it has been my initial intention, through this blog, my kids will read about their own stories and learn to cook along the way.

Now rewind five years ago, my first blog post was all about a trip to the Blue Mountains with some friends and we went apple picking.   I remember we had so many apples that after getting tired of juicing them and making apple crumble, I went on to make my first ever cake from scratch.  It was one Easter long weekend.  

On a recent trip to the Blue Mountains with the inlaws (hashtag #inlawsarehere) we did the same thing.  Despite the heat and the long drive (actually 2 hours is not that long, except when you have kids perpetually asking - are we there yet? ), we had great fun.  This time though we managed to control our pickings and harvested only what we can consume responsibly.

Bilpin Springs Orchard is 1.5-2 hours drive towards Western Sydney via Richmond. They orchard is open to the public for fruit picking most weekends with a variety of fruits to pick on offer.  It's a different kind of experience for our overseas guests especially apples, plums and pears are not locally grown fruits in the Philippines.  And while we were there, of course we showcased the famous Three Sisters at Echo Point in Katoomba and walked around the local shops.

So.  Five years of adobo down under in the blogosphere sounds like a celebration to me.  Not bad at all.  And to celebrate five years of food blogging, musings and story telling, let me share a simple recipe that embraces the coming of autumn. It is a simple, easy sweet dish that's a crowd pleaser any time of the day.  Its easy because you can use store-bought puff pastry.  Its simple because you only need a few basic ingredients.  But the result is something that looks really fancy.  And then you can say you made tartes fine aux pommes.   This recipe is inspired by Margaret Fulton's Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery.

To make these simple but fancy looking Tartes fine aux pommes:

Ingredients:

2 sheets puff pastry

4 apples (with enough to munch on while making)

50g butter (25g for brushing and 25g cubes to put on top)

1/4 cup raw sugar

cinnamon to sprinkle (optional)

I used a small 3-4cm cake pan to cut out the shapes from the puff pastry.  If you have pastry round cutters you can use that.  Or otherwise, do other shapes.

The layers.  Puff pastry, apples, brushed with a little bit of butter, raw sugar and a tiny knob of butter on top.

Golden crispy pastries with soft cinnamon scented apples.  Divine!

Method:

Sprinkle some flour on your bench top or table.

Using a rolling pin, roll the store bought puff pastry to slightly thin them.

Cut the pastry out to size - rounds or squares or triangles. Whatever you fancy.

Place the cut out pastry onto a lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator to chill for 20-30 minutes.

Wash, peel and core the apples.

Using a mandoline or sharp knife, cut the apple into thin slices.

Once the pastry has chilled, layer the apples slices onto the pastry.

Brush some of the melted butter on the top of the apples. 

Using your fingers, sprinkle some raw sugar on the apple slices then place a tiny cube of butter on the top.

Sprinkle some ground cinnamon on the tops.

Bake in a preheated 180*C oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Place on a wire rack to cool.

Tips:

* We've made these as squares and triangles and it works just the same.  

* When brushing the butter on the top of the apples, don't use to much.  You only want to wet the apples so the sugar will stick to the slices.

*The tarts are best eaten still warm and crispy a few minutes after baked.  

Happy 5th year adobo down under!  Even though there's no cake in this party, there is a big space to say Maraming Salamat. Gracias. Merci.  For being a part of this celebration.  Cheers! 

Double chocolate tart

How is it that birthdays just swoosh by when prepping for it feels like years. Getting the right presents, decorating the house, making the cake, etc. etc. It has been a tradition now for dad to spruce up the house every time there is a birthday with his creativity and this year it was all about the “Beiber fever” which Ate has been going gaga of late, while mum exaggerates the excitement in the kitchen with flour, butter and sugar. Cupcakes for school (yes even at high school, it becomes a proper birthday when you bring treats to your friends) and the traditional chocolate cake which is a breakfast treat.

Ate has been anticipating her 14th birthday for a gazillion years I think. Since that day when she chose the option to get a Macbook over a party. I believe it makes more sense to have a tangible helpful learning tool over a party-at -home that will entail preparation, cooking, decorating, cleaning and the unforeseen stress of having so many hyperactive teens around. So the day came as fast as you can say birthday and the excitement fizzled in a day or two. We had a good yum cha family dinner at the Emperor’s Table at the North Ryde. Ate is still having much excitement with her new toy, plus she got to hang out with her friends after the day so everything good.

Something new on Ate’s birthday besides “the Mac” is this double chocolate tart – which mum adapted from the Gourmet Traveller website. It is originally a Triple chocolate praline tart, but mum chose the alternate praline-less route.

To make this tart, you’ll need a 21cm fluted tart pan and:

160 ml pouring cream (mum used the regular cream from the supermarket)

40 ml milk (full cream as this is what we have on ready)

200gm dark chocolate, 61% cocoa solids, fine chopped

Chocolate pastry

200gm plain flour

60gm pure icing sugar, sifted

30gm Dutch-process cocoa (mum used the Nestle cooking cocoa we had in stock)

100gm cold butter, coarsely chopped

2 egg yolks

Milk Chocolate Praline, filling

150gm hazelnuts, roasted and skins removed

175gm raw caster sugar

300ml pouring cream

400gm milk chocolate, finely chopped

1. For the chocolate pastry, process flour, icing sugar and cocoa in a food processor until combined. Add butter, until mixture resembles fine crumbs, then add egg yolks, process to combine. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and bring pastry together with the heel of your hand. Wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 1 hour to rest.

2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll out pastry on a light floured surface to 3mm thick and line a 28cm diameter loose-bottomed tart tin, trimming edges. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then blind bake for 8-10 minutes, remove paper and weights and bake until dry and crisp (8-10 minutes).

3. Meanwhile, for praline filling, spread hazelnuts on an oiled baking tray, set aside. Combine sugar and 60ml water in a small saucepan, stir over medium high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, cook until dark caramel in colour (4-5 minutes), pour over nuts. Stand until cool and set (8-10 minutes). Process in a food processor until finely ground, set aside.

(The recipe in the site had some other instructions after this step regarding the cream, which mum assumed must be a typographical error, because Step 4 is about the cream, again so mum omitted that line here)

4. Combine cream and milk in a small saucepan, bring to the simmer over medium-high heat. Add dark chocolate, remove from heat, stir until smooth. Spread over tart, refrigerate until just set (45 minutes to 1 hour). Cut into wedges with a hot knife and serve immediately scattered with reserve praline.

The photo in the Gourmet Traveller page looked really, really dark and decadent.  So elegant. Ours looks a bit lighter brown and has bits of craters on the top, and the crust is not as perfect. and did not have the praline filling.  Just the same, it is a dark chocolate tart and this is what we love!  Mum’s actually wondering why it’s called filling when there was no instruction to include in the tart as a ‘filling’, and was instead used as ‘topping’ or even garnish. Maybe this recipe should be aptly called Triple chocolate tart with praline topping. Next time, we’ll try David’s version of this chocolate tart, which mum’s already too excited even before trying. Too biased and too excited! And why?! David will be in Sydney for the World Chef Showcase in October as part of the Crave Sydney Festival! Much too exciting!