Yogurt Icing

This icing is a bit like a light cream cheese icing (which is kind of weird to say since it's mostly butter). The yogurt is mostly there to add a tang to the sweetness.

4 cups (650g) icing sugar

160g butter, room temperature

115g plain full fat yogurt

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a stand mixer or by hand whisk the butter until creamy, then add the icing sugar in ½ cup increments until it's all in. 
2. While continuing to beat, add the yogurt and vanilla.
3. Continue to beat at medium speed until the sugar is completely dissolved into the yogurt and the icing looks glossy, about 10 to 20 minutes.

Olde English Blacke Berrie Pie

Adapted from a recipe in the classic Food in England by Dorothy Hartley, this is a surprising pie with a very thin crust. The apple thickens the filling so that when it is completely cooled, it creates a lovely silky loose jammy texture. If you've made Blackberry Liqueur, try cutting in about a cup of the boozy fruit with regular fresh berries for a little kick. If you pick your own blackberries, there is a difference in flavor depending at what time of the season you pick them. According to Hartley's research, the first berries should be eaten fresh, the mid-season berries used to cook with, the late season berries used to cook with and augmented by spices, such as ginger or lemon zest (brief notes in the recipe on this).

2 medium apples (364gr) peeled, cooked and mashed

1 Sweet pie dough recipe, rolled extra thin and the edges rolled up to be a bit thicker

A little oil

½ cup sugar

3 cups (432gr) blackberries (or substitute 1 cup with leftover blackberries from making liqueur)

¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter

For Late Season Berries

- 2 tsps fresh grated ginger

- zest from ½ lemon

1. Peel and core the apples. Steam with a little water to get perfectly soft, then mash fine. Mix in the sugar and allow the sauce to cool completely before mixing with the blackberries and before putting in the pie shell to avoid melting the butter in the shell. 
2. If you have late season berries, now is the time to add the ginger and lemon to the apple.
3. As the apple sauce cools, roll out the dough quite thin, ¹⁄₁₆" or about the thickness of a nickel. 
4. Put in the pie plate and, to avoid soggy crust syndrome, brush the bottom with a little oil or melted butter to help seal it against the liquid of the blackberries. 
5. Do not trim the crust. 
6. With a wooden spoon, very gently combine the blackberries and the applesauce. Spoon the mixture into the pie shell, then dot the top with bits of butter. 
7. Instead of cutting away the excess, fold over the crust, wet the edges and pinch together.  The extra crust should fold over the pie leaving an open center with irregular edges. Pop in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 15 minutes.
8. When you're ready to bake, turn on the oven to 400°F. Brush the top of the pie with a little more oil and put it on a parchment-lined baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown.
9. Allow to cool completely before serving to allow for the juices to set.

Apple Crumble

I can't resist a simple, oldfashioned recipe. Easy and quick to make, this is such a comfort food, baked using our lovely mystery apples growing up on the hill at our old farm. I don't use store-bought quick cook oats but oats I roll myself from whole groats - the texture is just different enough that I prefer this to store-bought but, otherwise, they work well! With the Poudre Douce, it adds a little Mideaval flavor that does not go amiss. If you prefer things more simple, just an equal amount of cinnamon will do.

2 lbs apples, diced (weight before peeling and coring)
1 Tbsp flour
¼ cup white sugar
¾ tsp ground Poudre Douce
¼ cup water
--
1¼ cup quick cook rolled oats 
1¼ cup flour
¾ cup brown sugar (loosely packed)
¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp Poudre Douce
½ tsp salt
¾ cup (6oz/169gr) melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl toss the cut apples with the flour, sugar and cinnamon, then pour over the water. Toss again before spreading out evenly in a 2 quart baking dish. 
3. Mix together all the dry ingredients for the topping, then pour in the melted butter and mix until it takes on an evenly crumbly consistency.
4. Spread this over the apples, but don't pack down. Try to maintain the crumbly texture.
5. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and some of the filling is bubbling around the edges. Remove, cover loosely with foil to keep warm and let stand for 10 minutes before serving (let's the apple filling come together). Just as good at room temperature.
6. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Galettes de Memère (Ginger Molasses Cookies)

Every day after school I would cross the single road that ran through my home village from the school yard to my grandmother's house - an apartment built on the top floor of an old house owned by a second cousin. She would always have a snack (une collation) for me, usually a glass of milk and some cookies. Most often, these were the cookies she made. As is common with so many grandmothers of my generation, her recipe was "a smidgeon of this" and "mix in the usual way" kind of instructions. It took me a while to figure out how to make them, and now I make them regularly, usually for special occasions.

1 cup (260g) Blackstrap molasses or Black Treacle

1 cup (200g) brown sugar
1 cup (8oz/225gr) lard or butter

3¾ cup flour (450g)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup boiling water

1. In a mixer bowl, whip together the molasses, brown sugar and butter until it turns pale.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, the dry ginger, salt and flour.
3. When the butter mixture starts to go pale, slow the speed to the slowest! It suddenly and unexpectedly splashes everywhere as soon as you add the the boiling water if the beaters are going too fast. 
4. Mix thoroughly, then slowly add the dry mixture until combined.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Roll into balls (1 oz each), set on cookie sheets and flatten slightly.
7. Cook in 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Blackberry Slumpie

This sounds too much like a dessert from Ankh-Morpork to pass up. Turns out to be pretty tasty, too. I've made it many times and every time I feel like there is not enough butter for the dumpling dough, and every time the dumplings come out light and delicate, clouds in a sweet dark syrup.

Stewing Liquid
3 cup blackberries
⅓ cup sugar
1¼ cup water
1 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Dumplings
1 cup flour
2 Tbsps sugar
2 tsps baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) cold butter
½ cup cream (I used light 18% cream)

(optional) Cream or Whipped Cream to serve

1. In a large saucepan, combine all of the stewing liquid ingredients and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With your fingers, mash the butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the milk and only stir in until it's combined, and no more, or you'll have tough dumplings!
3. Divide the dough into 6 even portions and drop into the simmering berries.
4. Cover and cook for 10 minutes and do not lift the lid until they're done. The dumplings cook by steam and won't cook as well if you let the steam out by lifting the lid.
5. To serve, spoon out into bowls and serve warm with cream or whipped cream on top.

Plum Compote

My wonderful mom and sister are visiting and it's early spring. Not a lot of fresh stuff to eat on the farm. However, I still have a bunch of frozen plums in the chest freezer. My mom likes fruits and veg and my sister likes desserts. So I made this, which we ate with plain cake and it was plate-licking good. I've also made it to eat with sweet dumplings and on toast and it's still tasty!

2 lbs Italian prune plums, pitted
½ to ¾ cup sugar (quantity depends on sweetness of plums, and personal taste)
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsps vanilla extract.

1. Stew the plums in a pot with the sugar, cinnamon sticks and vanilla with the lid on, mixing occasionally for about 20 minutes.
2. When the plums have released their juices remove the lid and keep at a medium simmer until enough of the liquid has evaporated to thicken the juice into a sauce, about another 15 to 20 minutes to my taste, but maybe more or less for yours.

Dessert Crackers with Custard and Blackberries

What happy things accidents can be! I've been trying to find an easy and 'perfect' way of baking little tart shells because I wanted to make Lucie's Buttertarts for Linda for her birthday. I still haven't succeeded in making the little shells (an ongoing project until I can crack the code, sans the troublesome pie weights), but one of the accidents in my attempts was that they just baked into flaky delicious disks. The following is what I made with them.

1 recipe Cookie Pie Crust

2 recipes Pastry Cream

80 to 90 blackberries

¼ cup chopped 70% dark chocolate

1. Start the Cookie Pie Crust to make the dessert cracker base.
2. While the dough is cooling, prepare the Pastry Cream up to step 5, then set aside.
3. When you've rolled out the dough, cut into disks - I use the top of a standard round plastic container, like a yoghurt container lid, for my cutting shape.
4. Arrange the disks on a large cookie sheet to blind bake, as per the instructions in the recipe, except lightly place a second cookie sheet on top. This will prevent the dough from puffing up excessively. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the top cookie sheet and bake another 5 minutes or until the crackers start to lightly brown.
5. Allow the crackers to cool completely. 
6. Finish the Pastry Cream by following step 6 of the recipe which is to whisk in the heavy cream.
7. Assemble the crackers by evenly distributing the Pastry Cream in dollops onto the crackers; arrange the blackberries on top of the cream and lightly press into the cream.
8. In a double boiler melt the chocolate and drizzle lightly over the loaded crackers. 
9. You can either wait for the chocolate to set, or serve with the chocolate still semi-liquid. 
10. Have napkins at the ready - it's easy to get smeared with the chocolate!

Chocolate Soda

From Fran Bigelow's book Pure Chocolate, this is a lovely drink, reminiscent of soda fountains.

3 Tbsps Chocolate Sauce
3 scoops vanilla gelato
Sparkling or carbonated water

1. In a tall glass mix 2 Tbsp chocolate sauce with 1 scoop gelato and mix to make a paste.
2. Carefully and slowly pour in sparkling water until the glass is half full - the water will react and foam up. Dilute chocolate ice paste in the sparkling water until uniform.
3. Add the rest of the gelato as balls, then drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of chocolate sauce.
4. Continue adding sparkling water until water is 3" from the edge, to leave room for the soda-fountain bubble.

Stuffed Baked Figs

Fresh figs are a fruit I associate with wonderful frivolousness. They're expensive and rare but so very delicious, stange, seedy watery soft sweet fruit. This is a quick way to elevate them to a light dessert.

8 to 12 fresh figs

2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) butter, softened

2 Tbsps sugar

¼ cup pistachio or almond flour (or briefly run through a blender)

2 Tbsps flour

1. Heat the oven to broil. 
2. Cut a cross from the top about three-quarters of the way down into the figs. 
3. Mash together the butter, sugar, ground pistachios and flour and chill for 1 hour.
4. Divide chilled filling into as may balls as you have figs, and wedge into cross-cut of each. Broil a few minutes, until the nut mixture is golden and the figs are hot. 
5. Serve with whipped cream or crème fraîche.

Marshmallow candy

There is nothing like a fresh, home-made marshmallows. It's a little involved but well worth it. The funny thing is that, because of the gelatine, it's not a vegetarian dessert!

Part 1 - the candy
3 (1 oz) packages unflavoured gelatine

1 cup ice cold water, divided

12 oz granulated sugar, approx. 1½ cups

1 cup light corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Part 2 - the finishing
¼ cup confectioners' sugar

¼ cup powdered starch, corn or arrowroot

vegetable oil

1. Place the gelatine into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1⁄2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
2. In a small saucepan combine the remaining ½ cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240°F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
3. Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows:
4. Combine the confectioners' sugar and starch in a small bowl. Lightly coat with oil a 13 x 9" metal baking pan. Add the sugar and corn-starch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
5. When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and starch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
6. Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1" squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Fresh Apricot Tarts

1 recipe of Cookie pie crust, completely cooled

3⁄4 pound apricots, pits discarded, cut into 1⁄4" wedges

4 tsps. sugar

1⁄2 cup apricot jam

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the Cookie pie crust to a 1⁄8" thick rectangle, about 6 by 11 inches. Using a 5" round cutter or a bowl, cut out 2 circles; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Using a fork, poke several holes in the crusts to prevent them from ballooning while cooking. Chill the dough on the sheet in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 400°F and bake the crust until it's pale golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350°F. 
3. Cool the crust completely before going on to the next step.
4. Arrange the apricots in a fan shape on the crusts. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar on each tart and bake until the tarts are golden and the apricots start to brown, 25 to 35 minutes. As tarts bake, warm the jam in a saucepan. Remove the tarts from the oven and cool. Strain the jam into a bowl and discard the solids; this is your apricot glaze. Brush the glaze on the tarts and enjoy.

Croûte aux pêches - Baked Peaches

Another lovely and wonderfully simple recipe from Monet's Table. The bread toasts wonderfully, browning on the bottom, and the juices drawn out of the peach by the melting sugar and butter spills over and soaks into the bread, caramelizing underneath. Each bite is a soft, buttery, sweet bite with a satisfying crunch. Really good!

6 slices of bread, crusts removed (pieces should fit the size of the peach, ie: all fit in the pie plate)

3 ripe peaches, cut in half and pitted

6 Tbsps. or 6 tsps. sugar, or to taste

1⁄2 cup (4oz/114gr) butter, cut into 6 pieces

1. Place oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Generously butter an 8inch pie plate and arrange bread in it, plopping a peach half, cut side up, in the middle of each piece.
3. In the cavity left by the pit, add sugar, however much you'd like, distributed evenly in each peach, topped by a piece of butter.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the peach is cooked through.
5. Serve warm or cold.

Sweet pie crust

I've published my savory pie dough on this blog, so here's the sweet version. This is such an easy and absolutely delightful dessert pie crust. To enjoy the flavour of the butter and avoid the excess fat, just chant over and over "No Calories Here" while you're making it, to cast a protective spell.

1 cup (150g) flour

1⁄4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1⁄2 cup (4oz/114gr) butter, cut into pieces 

1⁄2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsps + cold water

NOTE: The pastry needs time to cool in the refrigerator not once, but twice, for about 15 minutes each time, and then another 15 minutes to pre-bake in the oven, a total of about 45 minutes.

1. Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and pinch with your fingers to create a lumpy mixture with pea-sized pieces throughout. We're not looking for perfection here, just to break up the butter a bit and spread it out.
2. Make a well in the middle, and pour in the vanilla and water. Quickly work in the flour to create dough. Do not over-mix. The bits of butter are what help the crust become crisp and flaky.
3. Pat into a thick disk and refrigerate 15 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough to about 2⁄3 of the usual size, fold in, reform into a ball and roll out again. You can do this one more time if you want before rolling it out completely to line the tart shell. Chill another 15 minutes. These two chilling times are important, because it hardens the little bits of butter in the dough so that it creates minuscule pocket in the crust for that flaking effect.
5. To pre-bake, heat the oven to 400°F. I use weights to blind-bake the shell, this prevents it from puffing up. Line the frozen pie shell with parchment paper, pour in weights (I use beans), just enough to cover the bottom and up the sides. Bake the shell for about 10 minutes like this, then remove the weights and the paper, put the partially-baked shell back in the oven and bake another 5 minutes or until the crust is ever-so-lightly browned.
6. Allow it to cool completely before using to allow the crust to set.

Lemony good butter cookies

These are delicious and versatile butter cookies that can be flavoured with all sorts of good stuff. The standard I make is with lemon rind, but I've also put in ground anise, and I'm looking forward to trying it with fresh lavender flowers. What else can I use in them? Only time and inventiveness can tell.

1 1⁄2 cups (12oz/339gr) butter, softened

2⁄3 cup white sugar

1⁄4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

(see Options, below)

1 tsp grated lemon zest

2 1⁄2 cups flour

1⁄2 cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder

1⁄4 tsp salt

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in lemon zest. Combine the flour, cornstarch and salt; mix into the batter until well blended. Divide dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten to about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate to let the dough rest for about 1 hour and up to 72 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets - stoneware works great.
3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, just until cookies begin to brown at the edges. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
4. OPTIONS: 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lavender, 1 tsp ground star anise seeds, and/or hey, why not, fresh mint leaves, etc, etc, etc...

Frosting to improve hips - Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yes, a butter frosting. Usually for this type of recipe an unsalted butter is recommended, but I like to use salted - I always find that salt improves flavour, even when it's a sweet. Although I have made this by hand, I prefer to use an electric mixer to cream the butter. All I'm saying is that, in a pinch, you can beat the butter with a wooden spoon by hand; it may in fact offset a bit the calories...

NOTE: you can choose how sweet you want your frosting by playing with the quantity of icing sugar. Two cups may be a bit skimpy and create a bitter-sweet chocolate frosting, but I find four cups way too sweet. I recommend you start at 2 cups and add to taste after that.

ANOTHER NOTE: It's best to sift light powders like cocoa and icing sugar after measuring - the measuring process can compact it again and cause it to lump.

YET ANOTHER NOTE: Notice that the darkness of the chocolate frosting will lighten depending on two things: 1) how much sugar you use and 2) how long and how vigorously you beat the mixture (especially if you use an electric mixer).

1 cup (8oz/228gr) softened salted butter

1⁄3 cup (2.8oz/78g)crème fraîche

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 cup Dutch processed or de-bittered cocoa powder, sifted after measuring

2 to 4 cups (1 cup = 5.1oz/145g) icing sugar, sifted after measuring

1. Beat butter until creamy (it will become pale, almost white).
2. Blend in crème fraîche and vanilla; beat until very smooth.
3. Add the cocoa and icing sugar.
4. Beat on high until smooth, no longer than 45 seconds or depending on the colour you want.

Chocolate Pavement

I'm always surprised at the reaction I get from this incredibly simple dish. It's a perfect thing to do if you don't have time to make a dessert, such as when unexpected guests drop by and the company is so good that they end up staying for dinner.

At least 6 oz. 70% chocolate

1/4 cup of dried fruit or nuts or both (cranberries, cherries, candied ginger, salted almonds, etc)

1. Chop the chocolate bar into small pieces. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie.
2. Put some parchment paper in a cookie sheet or plate or pan. Arrange the fruit and/or nuts in the general area of you think the chocolate will cover, keeping a few bits aside.
3. Pour the chocolate over the other ingredients, pushing stray pieces into the chocolate, to cover. Sprinkle to top with the bits of fruit/nuts you've kept aside. Let harden in the refrigerator or, if this is last minute, in the freezer, which should take about 10-20 minutes to set.
4. Break into slabs and pile on a plate or serve the whole stretch of pavement on a board and let guests hack away as they please.

Chocolate-Stuffed Figs

These are surprising and delicious. I like to use bittersweet chocolate; when you bite into one there is the rich, bitter flavor of the chocolate that is transformed by the intense sweetness of the fruit. Apparently the best dried figs are obtained from October to March, the leather of the dried fruit should be moist and supple, which also means easier filling with chocolate. As a dessert, it entertains with the novelty, and it seduces with its flavour. When I say this, I'm not being metaphorical - whenever I have made these the reaction is always dramatic and positive.

To serve you can leave the fruit unadorned, or you can dip half of it in couverture chocolate, or you can cut into quarters for more dainty bites. I got this from the book Pure Chocolate by Fran Bigelow and Helen Siegel.

1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces chocolate, finely chopped (70%)
24 to 36 dried Calimyrna figs, depending on size
1 1/2 pounds chocolate (70%), tempered (optional)

NOTE: Have ready a 9-by-13-inch or quarter sheet pan lined with parchment.

1. In a saucepan, heat the cream over medium-high heat just until it begins to boil. Remove from the heat. Add the finely chopped chocolate. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the top to exclude all air, and let set for 6 to 8 hours at room temperature.
2. Prepare the figs for stuffing by gently rolling them between your thumb and fingers to loosen the seeds and soften the flesh. Insert a wooden or metal skewer in the hole in the bottom of the fig and wiggle it to enlarge the hole slightly for stuffing.
3. When the ganache is set, gently stir it with a rubber spatula a few times. Spoon some into a pastry bag fitted with a small round 1/4-inch tip.
4. Hold each fig's stem gently between your index and middle fingers, using your thumb to support the plump fruit. Insert the tip of the pastry bag into the fig's bottom and gently squeeze, stuffing until the fig is plump and full of ganache. Do not worry about leaks in the fig's skin. They can be fixed later.
5. Place the filled figs on a parchment-lined pan and allow them to set at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Using a sharp knife, scrape the excess filling from each fig's exterior. With a pair of sharp scissors, snip off the very tip of each stem, which is too tough to be eaten, before serving (if not dipping).
6. The stuffed figs can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Remove and return to room temperature for eating -- or dipping, if desired.
7. To dip, follow tempering and dipping instructions to get the chocolate at the correct crystalizing temperature (coming, at some point!). Holding the stuffed fig by the stem, dip the bottom half of each fig into the tempered chocolate. Place the dipped fruit on a parchment-lined pan and let the chocolate set. If you haven't already, with a pair of sharp scissors, snip off the very tip of each stem, which is too tough to be eaten, before serving.