baked goodies perfect for a tea party!

ummm... so, i sort of hosted a mini tea party at work this week. any excuse to bake some yummy baked goods, right? i'm not big on tea or anything, but i'll take all the goodies that come with it. :)

for our initial afternoon tea party kick-off, i settled on some coffee nutella macarons as well as some lemon cream cheese macarons (thanks to all the lemons in my garden), some mini lemon cupcakes with lemon icing, multi-berries scones, jam thumbprints and what better way to top it off then your not-so-typical savory bites, spam musubi. yup, you heard that right. we didn't have cute little tea sandwiches. we opted for spam musubi instead and those were delish! spam musubi is quite a hit with my coworkers and me. we'll take it any time of day, any day of the week, just as we'll take any of the other baked goodies.

anyway, the recipes are below if you'd like to bake any for your tea party or any party or just because. yeah, when you think about it, who needs an excuse to bake? i sometimes just bake because i wanted to. okay, enjoy and happy baking! :)



multi-berries scones
recipe adapted from smells like home's blueberry scones

ingredients:

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries (i used a mix of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 egg, for egg wash

directions:

1. adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425° F. grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater. if using fresh berries, place the berries in the freezer until needed. whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl. whisk to combine. add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.
2. add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dough holds together in a ragged ball. add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.
3. roll the dough into a 12-inch square. fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.
4. return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again. sprinkle the berries evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface. using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log. lay the log seam side down and press the the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle. using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles. transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
5. brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with sugar. if freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed. bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes. transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

makes 12 scones (or however big/small you cut it)




mini eggless lemon cupcakes
recipe adapted from yum'e'licious

ingredients:

for the cupcakes

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk (or do what i do; add 1 tbsp lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, stir, and let it sit for 5 minutes before using)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• zest of 1 medium sized lemon
• few drops of yellow color, optional

for the lemon icing drizzle

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

directions:

1. if you don't have buttermilk, this is when you mix the lemon juice and milk together and set it aside while you do everything else.
2. preheat oven to 350°F. then sift the flour, baking powder and the baking soda in a good size bowl and set that aside.
3. in another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. then add in 1/3 cup buttermilk and beat again until fluffy. repeat again with another 1/3 cup. then add the lemon zest and lemon juice and mix well. now, if you want to use some yellow food coloring, this is where i add it in.
4. now add in the dry ingredients and mix well before adding in the remaining buttermilk; mix again until incorporated.
5. fill the mini cupcake cups to 2/3 full (makes about 20-24) and bake it in the oven for 14-15 minutes. or if you'd rather do a loaf cake instead, pour the batter into a greased loaf tin (9"x5") and bake it for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. let the mini cupcakes (or loaf) cool completely before drizzling the icing over. to make the icing, just mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. if it's too runny, just add more powdered sugar; and if too thick, add more lemon juice.

makes about 20-24 mini cupcakes or one loaf




other goodies you can find recipes for:

• coffee nutella macarons
• brown sugar salted caramel macarons
• coral french macarons with citrust buttercream filling
• jam thumbprints
• blood orange cranberry scones
• blueberry cream scones
• traditional english scones
• cranberry scones
• white chocolate biscottis

strawberry-banana cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting inspired by sprinkles cupcakes

happy last day of february!

to close out the month, here are some (mini) strawberry-banana cupcakes with strawberry frosting. sometime last week we had a lone banana going brown. instead of making some banana muffins again or something else with banana i decided to do a take on a strawberry cupcake. i mean, add banana to it. a quick google search later, i landed on good old martha stewart's website. sprinkles strawberry cupcakes recipe, to be exact.

so here you have it. a take on their recipe, but with the pureed strawberries out for strawberry jam and some mashed bananas in, all topped off with a super simple strawberry buttercream frosting. you can't get any easier than this. no fancy blender required! this is my kind of recipe when it comes to using very minimal equipments. ;)

below's the recipe should you want to make some. it's quite good, i should say. you get both the strawberry and banana flavor in the cake. and the added strawberry buttercream frosting on top? that just makes it even better. i know the photos don't show much since you lose out the color once you mix the frosting together, etc... but the flavor is definitely there. i guess you can top it off with some strawberry and/or banana slices if you like. i personally couldn't be bothered to. so go ahead and make yourself some. enjoy and happy baking! :)


strawberry and banana are two fruits that pair well together. the strawberry frosting really balances out the strong banana flavor in the cake and makes for one sweet bite.


i love making one-bite cupcakes. these mini versions of a full-size cupcake gives you the same yummy taste and satisfaction of a standard size one, but for way less the calories.

strawberry banana cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting
inspired by sprinkles' strawberry cupcakes

ingredients

cupcake batter:

• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam or preserves
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites

strawberry frosting:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam or preserves
• milk or cream as needed

directions

for the cupcake batter:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. in a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, mashed bananas and strawberry jam; set aside.
3. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
4. with the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
5. divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes (or 15-16 minutes if making mini cupcakes). transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before frosting.

for the strawberry buttercream frosting:

1. in a good size bowl, cream together the butter and powdered sugar until somewhat combined.
2. then add in the strawberry jam and mix until fully incorporated and resemble the right buttercream consistency. if it's too thick, add a tablespoon of milk to the mixture at a time and blend it some more until you've reach the right consistency. if it's too thin, add in more powdered sugar.
3. frost the cupcakes and enjoy! :)

makes 12 regular size cupcakes or about 45 mini cupcakes.

salted caramel & fig mini tarts

if you haven't noticed already, in my last few posts i mentioned about having extra heavy whipping cream in the fridge that needed upswing up. i used some of it and made a salted caramel sauce. the recipe made about 1-1/2 cup of caramel sauce and was just sitting in the fridge because i couldn't think of what to use it for. actually, i did end up using some of it as a drizzle for some cream puffs i made. those were so good. you really cannot go wrong with delicious cream puffs with whipped cream filling topped with salted caramel sauce. those were a big hit when i brought them into work to share with everyone. i know i ate 3 of them right off the bat after i assembled them the night before. yes, it's delicious and you can make some yourself if you like. the recipe is here.

so what do you do when you still have about a cup or more of the salted caramel sauce left? ummmm... make some mini tarts with leftover cookie dough. yeah, you can grab any sugar cookie dough and cut them into circles, then stick them in your mini cupcake pans to make your mini tart crust. that's what i did with the one leftover tartine lemon cream tart crust recipe. i still have one left (sitting in the freezer) and finally decided it was about time i put it to use.

and here you have it. these good-looking and very tasty mini salted caramel with fig topping mini tarts. so good. it's like sweetness on top of sweetness on top of sweetness. you can't complain about that. a little sugar overload? sure?! but the caramel gives you just the right amount and hint of salt to make this a truly delicious and sweet bite. i love it!


the sweet tart dough makes the perfect crust for these mini tarts. perfectly sweet and buttery and tastes delicious with everything as a whole.


you can never go wrong with salted caramel. i love how the salt from the caramel really balanced out all that sugar.

salted caramel & fig mini tarts

ingredients:

• 1 cup salted caramel sauce (recipe here)
• 1/4 of this sweet tart dough crust recipe
• 4-5 fresh figs or any fresh fruit of your choice

directions:

1. prepare the salted caramel sauce and sweet tart dough mini crusts according to their recipes.
2. once the salted caramel and mini crusts are ready, you're ready to assemble. pour about a teaspoon of the sauce into each cooled mini tart crust. if you need more caramel, add more caramel until it's close to the top. then top it off with a slice of fresh figs. you can even add a dollop of freshly whipped cream too if you like.
3. that's it. enjoy and happy eating!

makes 24 mini tarts. :)

blueberry cream scones

since that first time i baked some scones, i've been a fan of it. i love how it's not too sweet and so if you're not a sweet tooth-kind of person you can have it as is, with a dab of butter or not. or if you've got a sweet tooth (i do most of the time), you can add on some jam and cream. oh it is really good, especially when it's nice and warm soon after it's come out of the oven.

i had some fresh blueberries in the fridge and decided i would finally make some blueberry scones. having a bunch of heavy whipping cream still on hand and very few eggs available, i opted for the cream scones instead because it uses no eggs or butter. the outcome like i've mentioned above is delicious. absolutely the perfect breakfast or afternoon treat. i actually had mine for breakfast. i prepared the scones the night before and had them sit in the fridge overnight. in the morning i preheated my oven and baked these delicious goodies. the house smelled wonderful the other morning when these were in the oven.

if you'd like to have a delicious smelling warm oven in the morning or any time of day, i say why not make some of these scones. again, it uses no eggs or butter so it's perfect for anyone who has an egg allergy. below's the recipe should you be interested. enjoy and as always, happy baking and eating. :)


i love how this recipe uses no eggs or butter. it's super easy to make and comes out perfect every time.


scones are perfect for any time of day really. i could eat them for breakfast, snack, lunch or yes... even dinner! ;)

blueberry cream scones
recipe adapted from food & wine

ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 5-6 oz blueberries (i used fresh blueberries, but you can use frozen ones too)
• raw sugar, for sprinkling

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 375°f and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or you can use a silpat like i did).
2. in a bowl, whisk the flour with the granulated sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt. using a wooden spoon, stir in the cream and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice; fold in the blueberries.
3. on a lightly floured work surface, gently knead the dough just until it comes together. pat into a 9-inch round, a scant 1/2 inch thick. cut the dough into 8 wedges and arrange them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
4. brush the scones with heavy cream (or you can use milk) and sprinkle it with some raw sugar.
5. bake the scones for 20 to 25 minutes, until slightly firm and lightly browned on the bottom, pale on top.
6. let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

makes 8. of course, more or less depending on how you cut it. ;)

note: i don't quite agree with the cooling completely part unless you don't plan to eat it right away. generally scones are best eaten warm. they're delicious as is, but you can add butter and/or jam (or clotted cream as they do in england and i swear it's the best thing ever), if you like. to reheat room-temperature scones, place on a baking sheet, tent lightly with foil, and warm in a preheated 350°f oven for about 10 minutes.

lemon loaf cake

yes, i know, i've been MIA lately. but just because i haven't been blogging about any baked goodies or delicious eats doesn't mean i haven't been baking or eating good stuff, or designing or even exercising/running. actually, i have been with all of that. in fact, i've been baking a lot. i just haven't been taking any pictures and sharing them on here. that's because i can never find the time to take pictures of all the delicious eats i've been making. about the only time i can take photos of any baked goodies i make is in the morning and mornings around here are quite hectic with two little ones.

but yes, at long last, here is a yummy post. and if these photos aren't so great, it's because i took them with my phone this morning. so please, forgive me for the awful backgrounds and anything else that's imperfect about it. ;)

over the weekend my bro-in-law stopped by with a giant bag of freshly picked meyer lemons from his backyard. i kid you not, when i say giant, i mean one of those 13-gallon white garbage bag. it was halfway full at least, with who knows how many lemons. i know i've used about 1/3 of it already and there's still a ton left. so you see, my bro-in-law has this good-size (i don't think it's huge, but it sure produces a ton of lemons) lemon tree out back in his yard. it seriously is one lemon-producing machine because no matter how many branches he has cut off, the tree still finds ways to get more lemons out.

anyway, i decided to make use of the lemons. one of the things i've made with these lemons is this lemon loaf cake. i've made this recipe twice already in the last three days. it's pretty simple, so yes, piece of cake. i love how lemony this cake is. the amount of lemon juice is perfect and the added zest in the cake really makes all that lemon flavor stand out. i love how it uses both butter and oil and not just one or the other. the cake comes out just right and not dry at all. oh, to make it even more lemony is that added lemon glaze at the end. oh, so good. our house smelled delicious as the cake was baking in the oven. i couldn't wait to get it out and eat it while still hot. but yes, i was patient enough to wait until it cooled down to slice into it.

below's the recipe should you want to make it yourself. it's very easy and pretty straight forward. i've baked it twice already with minor adjustments and it hasn't failed me once (or twice). so go ahead and make some. these are delicious as an accompaniment to that afternoon tea or with your morning breakfast (i had it this morning w/ my iced coffee). enjoy and happy baking! :)


i love how lemony this cake is. it's the perfect treat with that afternoon tea or morning coffee.


this lemon loaf cake is so easy to make. you can make it again and again and it'll turn out just perfect every time.

lemon loaf cake
recipe adapted from sugar loco

ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup oil
• zest of one lemon

lemon glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350°f. prepare 9x5 loaf pan or 6 mini pans.
2. in a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. in a medium bowl combine eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla and lemon extracts, and lemon juice with a mixer. scrape bottom to make sure all is combined.
4. pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and blend until smooth, scraping sides and bottom of bowl.
5. add oil and lemon zest. mix well.
6. pour into prepared loaf pan(s) and bake for 45 mins (9x5) or 25 mins (minis). note: i did the loaf pan and only baked mine for 43 mins and it was fine. but of course, every oven is different.
7. insert toothpick to test. if the toothpick comes out clean, they should be good and taken out of the oven.
8. once removed from the oven, let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
9. while cake is cooling in the pan, prepare the glaze. combine both the lemon juice and powdered sugar and whisk to combine.
10. remove the cake from the pan(s) and onto a wire rack. make sure and put a cookie sheet or newspaper under the rack. pour glaze over the cake loaf. let the cake cool completely on rack.
11. once cooled, slice and serve. enjoy!

makes 10-12 servings depending on how thick or thin you slice it. cake is good for 1-2 days covered/wrapped (uncovered for me because i'm too lazy to cover it so we leave it uncover, plus it gets eaten within a day) at room temperature. it could probably go longer, but it might go dry as the days passes. enjoy! :)

honeydew pudding cake bars

last month when i visited my mom she gave me two very ripe honeydews and a cantaloupe to bring back home. i'm not a fan of honeydews or cantaloupes. i don't know, as a kid and even now as an adult, i just don't care for the fruit. of course both fruits aren't quite the same, but for the most part, i feel like they are. they have similar flavors or taste that my tastebuds can't be bothered with. but that's besides the point. my mom knew c and m loves cantaloupes. she threw in the honeydews too because i told her they would eat it. well, actually, the cantaloupe got eaten up that very week after we got back. the honeydew however stayed put, getting more ripe by the day. i eventually got around to cutting it up and discovered that it was way riped and super sweet. it had so much juice that i decided i would repurpose the pudding cake recipe i made a while back with the passionfruit juice. the end result? not too bad. instead of doing what i did last time, i decided i would turn these into bars instead. i figured i wasn't in any rush to eat it right away so i can afford to let these cool until they're ready to be cut into.

the verdict? it's definitely different from any kind of bars i (or you) have eaten. m loves it. he said it's got this custardy taste to it. i say it's gummy good because there's so little flour and lots of liquid in the mix. although i have to confess, there was this weird bitter aftertaste to it. i can't quite put my finger on why the recipe came out this way. not sure if it was the honeydew juice that was giving it this bitter aftertaste or something else. i've made this recipe a few times in the past with passionfruit juice and guava and all those times they turned out tasting just fine.

well, nevertheless, if you're curious to try it out, feel free to. it's still good and i'll probably make it again. yes... even with that weird bitter aftertaste. i say it just makes these pudding cake bars all that more interesting. :)





honeydew pudding cake bars

ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter, melted (and maybe a little bit more for greasing)
• 1-1/3 cup sugar
• 1-1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup honeydew juice or puree
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350°F.
2. in a good-size bowl, throw in all the ingredients except for the confectioners' sugar and mix until everything is incorporated/combined.
3. pour mixture into a lightly greased ovenproof dish (i used an 8x8 nonstick pan) and bake for 1 hour or until golden.
4. let the pudding cake cool completely before cutting them into squares. then dust with confectioners' sugar to serve.

makes 16 squares. enjoy and happy eating! :)

raspberry jam french macarons

it's been a while since i've made french macarons. actually, these ones here i made last month for sabrina and andrew's one-year wedding anniversary. there wasn't a whole lot because i only made half the recipe. i of course, made her favorite ones as well, the coffee nutella, in addition to the salted caramel macarons as well. but needless to say, i thought the raspberry jam ones turned out fabulous. actually, all of them did. i personally love raspberry jam, so raspberry jam as a french macaron filling is just yummy.

below's the recipe should you want to make some. it's pretty simple so i say if you'd like to make some, go ahead. nothing too fancy, just a little gel or powder food coloring to add some color to your cookie shells and filling it with your favorite jam, store-bought or homemade.

okay, enjoy! :)


i love raspberry jam. so raspberry jam in a french macaron cookie is just a great creation. seriously, so good. :)


these french macarons do make for the perfect gift.

raspberry jam french macarons

ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 tsp red or pink gel food coloring
raspberry jam (or any jam of your choice), store-bought or homemade

directions:

to make the macaron batter/shells:

1. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
2. sift together the powdered sugar and almond meal so there are no lumps. set aside.
3. in the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or if you prefer, you can use a bowl and hand mixer), beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. while whipping, beat in the sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
4. add in the gel food coloring. then carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. when the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).
5. pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1.35-inch circles evenly spaced one-inch apart.
6. rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. then let it sit for at least 30-60 minutes depending on humidity before baking them in the oven. about 10-15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bake for 15 minutes.
7. once macaron shells are out of the oven, let them sit for 30-60 seconds before removing the hot baking sheet underneath. let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the parchment paper.

to assemble the macaron cookies:

1. before assembling these cookies, make sure to pair up all the cookie shells so they are as close as possible in size.
2. using a knife, spread a good amount of raspberry jam (or any jam really, of your choice) on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together.
3. let them stand at least one day (keep them refrigerated) before serving (serve at room temperature), to meld the flavors.

store in airtight container for up to 5 days. makes 20-24 macarons. happy eating because these are really, really, good! :)

mixed fruit popsicles

yes, it's already june and that means the kiddies are out of school. c just finished his first year of school (kindergarten) and is moving on to first grade in the fall. he looked so sweet and proud on that last day of school last week. ahhhh… i can't believe my little baby is growing up!

okay, with school out and the weather heating up, a sweet and cool treat is definitely the perfect thing to have on a hot day. no kid can say no to a nice cold popsicle. c loves popsicles and had been asking me to make some with him for the past month or two. so one day sometime a couple of weeks ago we finally got around to making it. it was delayed so long because we didn't have any popsicle molds in the house; and yes, i didn't even have itty bitty dixie cups as a substitute for the molds. but yes, we finally got around to making it.

below are our incredible thirst-quenching cool treats. these fruity popsicles are the best thing ever for the upcoming and already hot (summer) days. c loved it and was so proud of himself (for helping me make them -- he put the fruit pieces and poured the juices in the molds) when the popsicles were finally ready to eat. i know we'll be making this again. but of course, i'd love to try a few other recipes. i'm thinking a creamy coconut would be awesome. nothing beats creamy coconut anything. i personally love coconut, so of course… it should be delicious. well, if i do make those, i'll try and see if i can snap a few photos to share on here!

below's the recipe. it's super easy to make and you can use whatever fruits you have available. the fruits we used we happened to have on hand. this makes for such a fun mini food project with the little kiddies, especially now that school's out. enjoy and stay cool. :)


these mixed fruit popsicles are the perfect things to make (with the little ones or without) for this hot summer weather.


we can't wait to make more fruity popsicles. these were so easy to make. :)

mixed fruit popsicles
recipe adapted from martha stewart

ingredients:

• 1 peach (or nectarine work too), cut into tiny chunks (or you can cut into 1/2-inch slices too if you like)
• 1 apple, cut into tiny chunks
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup cherries, pitted
• 2 pouches of caprisun fruit punch (i'm sure you can use 1-1/2 to 2 cups of any fruit juice you like)

directions:

1. arrange some of each fruit in eight 3-ounce ice-pop molds, making sure pieces fit very snugly.
2. pour enough juice into each mold to just cover fruit.
3. insert ice-pop sticks and freeze until solid, 6 hours (or up to 2 weeks).

that's it! pretty simple eh? makes 8 delicious, cool and yummy popsicle treats perfect for any hot weather. enjoy! :)

tartine's bread pudding

happy memorial day everyone and thank you to all of you who have put your lives out there (and/or still are) to serve and protect our beautiful country of u-s-a!

i love 3-day weekends. nothing particular about it, just the fact that i get one extra "weekend" day or two sundays as m calls it. now, with the weather being gloomy and all today, it was the perfect day to bake something delicious this morning. yesterday during one of my outings, i needed to stop at trader joe's to pick up some of their naan bread for m's chicken tikka masala he's making tonight for dinner. yes, someday we'll make our own naan bread to go with m's indian cooking, just not today. while i was there i noticed that they had some challah bread in stock. usually i always end up going to trader joe's at the end of the day and almost always they are out of challah bread. but nope, not yesterday. actually, that was probably because i went early enough in the day!

anyway, i bought the challah bread. why challah and not brioche? well, that's because they don't sell brioche anymore – i asked a while back and they said they're still trying to work out a deal w/ their bread vendor for brioche breads. i decided that it was finally about time i make tartine's famous bread pudding. and hopefully that it would turn out okay if not as good as the actual one from tartine itself?! well, sure enough i did make it this morning and i have to say, it was delicious! just as good as i remembered it, eating their bread pudding at the bakery. so, so good! i made the entire recipe (minus the making your own brioche bread of course!), from the bread pudding itself to the caramel sauce and even caramelized fruit toppings to add to it. oh, i have to say, it was seriously that good! even m was impressed and he said he doesn't care for bread pudding (hehehe.. that's because he grew up having to so much eat bread pudding as a kid and somewhat despises it these days). well, he said this bread pudding was quite good and if all bread puddings were like this, he wouldn't have a problem eating it. it's sort of like a yummy french toast. very rich and buttery – just yum, period.

below's the recipe if you want to make it yourself. i say it's totally worth a try. someday when i'm up to making bread (i can't be bothered because i don't have enough patient for it, waiting for the dough to rise, etc), i will make my own brioche and make this bread pudding again. otherwise, i'll stick to my store-bought or bakery-bought brioche or challah bread. yes, you can make tartine's brioche bread pudding with challah or croissant, and that's exactly what i did, using challah because brioche wasn't available. it's just as good.


i had been eyeing this recipe for the longest time ever. and finally, i've made it! too bad no one else in my family likes bread pudding. i may have to share it with my coworkers.


a close-up of all this yummy goodness.

tartine's bread pudding
recipes from tartine cookbook

bread pudding:

• 6 brioche slices*, cut 1-inch thick
• 8 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt

caramel sauce (for topping):

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 of one vanilla bean
• 1-1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3/4 tsp lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

directions for bread pudding:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°f. Butter a 9×5-inch glass loaf dish (i used an 8x8 glass dish and that works fine too!). Arrange the brioche slices on a baking sheet. Place in the oven until lightly toasted, 4 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
2. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk until blended. Add the sugar and whisk until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve.
3. Place the toasted bread slices in the prepared loaf pan, cutting the slices to fit as needed. Pour the custard evenly over the bread, filling the dish to the top. You may not be able to add all of the custard at this point. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, so that the bread can absorb the custard.
4. Just before baking, top off the dish with more of the custard if the previous addition has been completely absorbed. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, place in the oven, and bake the pudding for about 1 hour. To test for doneness, uncover the dish, slip a knife into the center, and push the bread aside. If the custard is still very liquid, re-cover the dish and return the pudding to the oven for another 10 minutes. If only a little liquid remains, the pudding is ready to come out of the oven. The custard will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven and it will set up as it cools.
5. Let the pudding cool for about 10 minutes before serving. You can serve the bread pudding by slicing it and removing each slice with an offset spatula, or by scooping it out with a serving spoon.
6. Serve with fresh or sautéed fruit and caramel sauce (directions below). Makes 6-8 servings.

*note: you can use challah bread (which is what i did) or croissants if you can't find or have brioche available. both alternative bread options should yield a very satisfactory result. :)

directions for caramel sauce:

1. Pour the cream into a small, heavy saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the tip of a sharp knife to scrape the seeds from the pod halves into the cream. Place over medium-high heat and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low to keep the cream warm.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, salt and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then cook, without stirring, until the mixture is amber colored, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. The mixture will continue to cook off the heat and become darker, so make sure to have your cream close by. Carefully and slowly add the cream to the sugar syrup. The mixture will boil vigorously at first. Let the mixture simmer down, and then whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Cut the butter into 1-inch chunks and add them to the caramel one at a time, whisking constantly after each addition. Then whisk the caramel periodically as it continues to cool.
5. The caramel will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one month.
6. Makes 1-1/2 cups.

*note: Use a good-sized pan when preparing this caramel. When the hot cream is added, the caramel will boil furiously at first, increasing dramatically in volume. Have ice water nearby in case of burns.

for photos of the step-by-step, you can visit Jun-blog or Alexandra's Kitchen. they've got great photos. ;)

banana nut bread

as mentioned in my cranberry scones post, i also made a bunch of banana bread for my uncle's funeral service. below is one of the recipes i used. i think i tried at least 3 different ones, some with nuts and some without. how did they all taste? i'm afraid i can't really tell you because i didn't try all three. but what i can say is, banana bread is banana bread. okay, actually, that's no true. some banana bread could be pretty dry out. this one here isn't too bad actually. i love how it stayed nice and moist even overnight (i made it friday, served it saturday morning).

so if you have some brown bananas you'd like to use up, i say go ahead and make some banana bread today. the recipe below is so easy to make and whips up in a flash. the only time consuming thing is waiting for it to finish baking in the oven. but it's kind of like, you set it and forget it (well, not totally, but while it's baking you can do other stuff).

below's the recipe should you want to make some. and if you do, let me know what you think. enjoy and happy baking!


i love my banana bread lightly toasted with a little butter spread on. so good.


banana breads are so easy to make. i love how they really put all those browning bananas to good use.

banana nut bread
adapted from my baking addiction

ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 overripe bananas
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup walnuts

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350°F. lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan – i used olive oil, but you can use butter or any oil of your choice.
2. in a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cake spice. in another large bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes. stir in eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas until well blended. using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently stir banana mixture and walnuts into flour mixture – stirring until ingredients are just combined. pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack.

notes:

• you can add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to your batter if you like. i personally don't care for it so i skipped it.
• banana bread is better served after it has had time to sit overnight at room temperature.
• banana bread will keep wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 3 days.
• this banana bread is amazing toasted with a pat of butter.

meyer lemon curd

in my last food blog post, the angel food cake cupcakes with strawberries and cream one, i mentioned that i still had these egg yolks i need to put to use or throw away. well, i'm glad to say i did not throw them away. i actually got around to making some lemon curd with them. meyer lemon curd actually. okay, i guess it doesn't make a whole lot of a difference whether you use the regular lemons or meyer lemons. it'll still turn out pretty tart-y delicious. either that or my tastebuds aren't that great and can't taste the difference.

i think lemon curd is actually one of the easiest things to make and there's just no way one can mess up while making it. i mean, you just throw everything together in a saucepan on medium heat and stir until it comes together. then strain it through a sieve. easy peasy, right?! i think so. not only is it easy to make, it's super versatile. i mean, you can use your curd and spread it on a nice piece of toast in the morning for breakfast (like i did in the pics), use it as a cupcake or macaron filling, as mini tarts or add in some butter and make it a cream tart or even as a twist to your good old classic s'mores. i've actually seen pinterest pins of lemon curd s'mores. they look really tasty and i cannot wait to try it when i get around to having a s'mores craving. actually, come to think of it, i should definitely try it out since i do have a bag of open marshmallows hanging around my pantry. might as well use that up before it goes bad.

below's the recipe for this yummy meyer lemon curd. i grabbed it from one of my MIL's cookbooks. it's an ancient looking one with just all text, but i have to say, some of the recipes in there are delicious. maybe one of these days i'll go through it and pick certain ones out and make them and take (gorgeous) photos of the outcome. i bet they would look scrumptious. hehe ;) yeah, we'll see about that. one of these days, maybe.

okay, so i love my lemon curd pretty sour. the more tart it is, the better. the original recipe actually calls for 6 oz of sugar but i only put in half of it. of course, if you like yours sweet, then maybe add more sugar than i did or go all the way up to the 6 oz. personally, i would just hang out at 2-3 oz. up to you anyway. let me know what you think if you do make this. enjoy! :)


who doesn't love lemon curd? these meyer lemons make the perfect curd for morning toasts, afternoon tea sandwich cookies or yummy cupcake fillings.

meyer lemon curd

ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3-6 oz granulated sugar (about 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup, use the higher amount if you like your lemon curd sweet, less if you're like me and prefer it more on the tart side)
• 1/3 cup meyer lemon juice (it took me 2-1/2 good size meyer lemons, you may need more or less depending on yours)
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 egg white

directions:
combine all ingredients in a saucepan and put it over medium heat. stir the mixture until it reaches a honey-like consistency. turn off the heat and strain the lemon curd using a sieve. store in an airtight container. keep refrigerated.

makes about a cup. enjoy and happy eating! :)

angel food cake cupcakes with strawberries & cream

i'm loving the spring season at the moment. i can't complain about it, especially not here in san francisco. the last few weeks we've been so fortunate with mother nature giving us gorgeous sunshine and almost no-jacket/sweater weather. seriously, today was about 80 degrees in the city! i went out for my daily lunch walks earlier today not needing to bring a coat. you don't get this too often here in the city. but lately, it's been fabulous. i can't complain. i just hope this weather trend stays like this for several more days, weeks even! too bad it doesn't usually last very long. but in the mean time, i'll take it.

alright, so with spring comes all the amazing spring fruits such as strawberries. over the last few weeks i've been eating strawberries nonstop. i couldn't help it. it's everywhere in the grocery stores, farmer's market… wherever. so what better way to use up some of the strawberries than your classic angel food cake for a little of that delicious berries and cream combo?! oh boy, this strawberry angel food cake dessert is to die for. it is so perfect; nice and light with that fresh taste of strawberries and the sweetened freshly whipped cream. mmmm… delish!

so there's a backstory to this angel food cake dessert. you see i've never ever attempted to make angel food cake before. yes, like ever! a year or so back when i asked for requests from my coworkers as to what kind of baked goods to bring them, one of them asked if i could make an angel food cake. i told him, no way, not in a million years. i would have to like him a whole lot, like a lot LOT or somehow be bored out of my mind to make one. i'll make anything else but angel food cake. so yes, for some odd reason, i've just never cared or be bothered to make angel food cake. i guess you could say, and i will admit this here that i was a bit intimidated by all those egg whites! yes, there are so many egg whites you have to whip up just to make one angel food cake. even in this first attempt, i didn't even make the full recipe. actually, i didn't even use your typical angel food cake pan mold. i made mine as cupcakes instead. even mini ones! but yes, i was intimidated by the egg whites. looking at the recipe i'm thinking, "what?! i have to whip all those egg whites? what am i going to do with all the yolks. there are so many egg yolks!" -- hahaha, silly i know. but these days, i have ways to use up those egg yolks. yeah, i still have those yolks sitting in the fridge. they'll probably either (a) end up in the garbage, (b) turned into some delicious pastry cream for cream puffs or whatever, or (c) it's about time i make some lemon curd with all those lemons in our backyard (yes, we have an itty bitty meyer lemon tree out back that actually has some lemon on it! i know, it's pretty incredible considering how tiny it is and the fact that there's hardly ever any fruits in all the years we've had it!)

mmm… so there you have it. i'm not sure what happened, but i guess i did sort of make some form of angel food cake. yes, not the real thing, but close enough. you can say it was because of all the fresh strawberries and sunshine that inspired me to finally attempt to make this cake. will i make it again and am i intimidated by all those egg whites now that i've done it once? nah, no way. blah. easy peasy. i can do it in my sleep! hehe jk i'll probably make this cake batter again, and yes, one day in the proper form and all. the cake is lovely and turned out fantastic. yeah, it's the diet dessert -- actually, not! no dessert is a diet dessert. but i have to say, it is seriously super light (at least it tastes like it, minus the sugar?! haha) and delicious.

below's the recipe i used to make the cupcake form of angel food cake. feel free to make some and let me know what you think. so, what do you say? pretty good eh?! i'm in love with these and they taste absolutely amazing -- fresh and sweet just like the perfect spring weather we are enjoying right now! enjoy and happy baking! :)


the weather here in san francisco has really been that awesome. for sure beach-worthy.


an instagram photo of this yummy treat a lucky few received one day at work last week.


i am in love with this angel food cake cupcake. it is such a refreshing spring treat with the fresh strawberries!

angel food cake cupcakes with strawberries & cream
recipe adapted from the baker upstairs

ingredients:

cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

strawberries & cream filling:

• 12 strawberries, washed (you can use more or less strawberries depending on your preference, i used a strawberry per cupcake)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

directions:

1. preheat your oven to 350° F and prepare a cupcake pan (12-count) with paper liners.
2. in a small bowl, combine the flour and sugars, set aside.
3. in the bowl of your stand mixer whip the egg whites for one minute, until frothy. add the cream of tartar, vanilla and salt, and whip for 5-6 minutes until stiff peaks form.
4. then sprinkle 1/4 cup of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold in gently, repeating until all the flour is incorporated.
5. spoon the batter into the paper liners and bake for 15-17 minutes, until lightly golden and springy to the touch.
6. remove from the oven and cool completely in the pans.
7. while cupcakes are cooling, make the whipped cream and slice the berries.
8. for the whipped cream: add the heavy whipping cream and sugar to a medium size bowl and whip for 3-4 minutes, until light and airy. refrigerate the whipped cream in the refrigerator while you slice the berries.
9. to assemble the cupcakes: take the paper liners off the cupcakes very carefully. slice the cake in half and top the bottom half with a very good spoonful of whipped cream. then add the slices of fresh strawberries before topping it off with another spoonful of whipped cream. put the top half of the cake back on to finish. if the cupcake looks like it's falling apart you can use a toothpick to hold it in place. of course, remove the toothpick before consuming. serve immediately or keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

makes 12 cupcakes. enjoy and happy eating! :)

macarons make the best mini gifts

i love making macarons. in addition to that lemony peach cake that i made last week to bring up to my mom, i also made these french macarons. i had some guava sitting in my fridge and decided i needed to use them up too. so i grabbed whatever was left (about 5-6 mini ones) and mashed them up. i didn't bother taking the seeds out. i figured it would add a nice unexpected crunch or whatever when you bite into the cookie. of course, should you decide to do this, you can certainly take out the seeds or leave them as is. i still have some leftover guava puree in the fridge so i may make these again. if i do, i think i'll remove the seeds from the puree. i'm sure people will appreciate that very much.

below's the recipe for the guava macarons. i also made a plain shell cocao-dusted macaron with chocolate ganache filling. i'm sure if you want to make those instead, you can modify the recipe to your liking. otherwise, maybe i'll make those again and write up a post for that in a future post. enjoy and happy baking! :)


these macarons are scrumptious. they look so pretty in these homemade origami boxes.


i say go ahead and make some macarons and give them away!

french macarons with guava buttercream filling

ingredients:

macaron batter:
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon pink gel food coloring (or any gel food coloring of your choice, or none at all)

guava buttercream filling:
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons guava puree
cream or milk, if needed

directions:

to make the macaron batter/shells:

1. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
2. sift together the powdered sugar and almond meal so there are no lumps. set aside.
3. in the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or if you prefer, you can use a bowl and hand mixer), beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. while whipping, beat in the brown sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
4. add in the gel food coloring. then carefully fold in the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. when the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white and the food coloring looks like it's fully incorporated, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone). note: it's very important to not overmix/fold here. it's better to go under than over because if it's too runny, you may have ruined the batter. and you can't go back. if it's too stiff, at least you can fold it a few more times.
5. pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1.35-inch circles evenly spaced one-inch apart.
6. rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. then let it sit for at least 30-60 minutes depending on humidity before baking them in the oven. about 10-15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bake for 15 minutes.
7. once macaron shells are out of the oven, let them sit for 30-60 seconds before removing the hot baking sheet underneath. let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the parchment paper.

for the guava buttercream filling:

1. in a medium size bowl, using either a handmixer (i usually just go with a fork) mix the butter, powdered sugar and guava on low speed together until they're incorporated.
2. then turn the speed to medium and mix for 2-3 more minutes until everything is blended and you've reached the right consistency for buttercream. add in a little milk or cream if the buttercream is too thick or more powdered sugar if it's too thin. once everything looks good it should be ready to use.

to assemble the macaron cookies:

1. before assembling these cookies, make sure to pair up all the cookie shells so they are as close as possible in size.
2. using a knife, spread a good amount of the guava buttercream on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together.
3. let them stand at least one day (keep them refrigerated) before serving (serve at room temperature), to meld the flavors.

store in airtight container for up to 5 days. makes 20-24 macarons. happy eating because these are really, really, good! :)

if the above recipe isn't for you, but you'd still like to try and make some other kind of macarons, you can certainly check out these recipes:

• coffee nutella macarons
• brown sugar salted caramel macarons
• browned butter coconut macarons
• browned butter burnt sugar macarons
• chocolate macarons with chili pepper chocolate ganache
• peppermint macarons
• chocolate banana macarons
• mango macarons

donna hay's lemony peach cake

this past weekend was easter weekend. c and i made a quick trip to visit my mom and came back before easter sunday. before we went up i knew i wanted to bake some goodies and bring it to them. actually, my family isn't very big on sweets or any baked goods. must be a cultural thing. i never grew up craving candy, desserts or delicious baked goods. we never had afters (dessert) after a meal or afternoon tea with pastry (unlike m's because he grew up very english with tea time, afters and all). it wasn't until i met m and had c that i eventually acquired or grew to like all these delicious baked goodies. now, i'm a big fan of very well made pastry and sweets. it's a big deal in our house these days.

okay, so back to what i was saying. yes, my mom doesn't really care for very sweet things so i decided to bake her this peach cake (okay, more like nectarines because that was all i had in the fridge and needed to use them up before they went bad). i still had 6-7 nectarines lying around in the fridge that i had bought a week or so back. they were really firm when i got them (that's how i like my peaches and nectarines). they were still firm, but i knew they would be going if i didn't eat them or use them up somehow. upon a quick search on pinterest, i saw a recipe for a peach cake. the recipe and ingredients looked simple enough so i decided to go ahead and made it.

so, how was it? pretty good. if you're not a sweets fan, i say you'll like this cake. actually, even if you are, it's good to change it up. the texture of the cake is just perfect and i love the added bite of the fruit. i like how the nectarine slices kept the cake nice and moist. the dusting of the powdered sugar on top adds an extra bit of sweetness and finishes the cake really well. my mom loved it – and i'm really shocked because she almost always never eat any baked goods. and she ate like three slices! that says a lot. hehehe ;)

below's the recipe should you want to try it. let me know what you think. enjoy and happy baking!


my mom loved this peach cake. the simple confectioners' sugar dusting at the end adds a nice touch of sweetness to this simple, yet very elegant looking cake.


i say this peach cake would go very well with any afternoon tea or brunch. or any occasion, or no occasion at all! hehe

lemony peach cake
recipe from donna hay

ingredients:
1-1/2 stick (175g) butter, softened and chopped
3/4 cup (165g) caster (superfine) sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
3 eggs
1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
3/4 cup (70g) natural yoghurt
3 peaches, sliced
powdered (confectioner’s) sugar, for dusting
double (thick) cream, to serve

directions:

1. preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). place the butter, sugar and lemon rind in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6–8 minutes or until light and creamy.
2. gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. add the flour, baking powder and yoghurt and beat until just combined.
3. spoon into a lightly greased 9-inch (25cm) round cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper. top with the peaches and bake for 1 hour or until cooked when tested with a skewer. allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. dust with powdered sugar and serve with cream.

serves 6. enjoy and happy eating! :)

the best baked apple tart ever!

a while back one of my coworkers brought in this delicious apple tart. it is definitely one of the best if not the best apple tart i've ever had. so good that i had to make one myself so m and my MIL can confirm it with me. and since i had made that lemon cream tart recipe from tartine and had 3 extra pie/tart dough leftover, why not?! the sweet tart dough would be perfect for this apple tart recipe.

this recipe was adapated from dalloyau, a very well known and popular pastry company in paris and comes from dorie greenspan's paris sweets book. of course, i missed out on tasting all the goodies from dalloyau the last time i was there. one, let's just say i wasn't aware of them as i am now and two, i'd been eating paris sweets literally every day we were in paris. i know, i was too spoiled. i remembered we even walked pass dalloyau's pastry stands inside galeries lafayette (the giant shopping mall in paris). they had so many opera cakes, macarons and every pastry you can possibly imagine! but at the time i remembered all i wanted was real food (no more sweets, at least at the time anyway) and opted for some thai food. i know, thai food in paris (kind of disappointing huh?). but this place is for sure on my to-eat-list the next time i'm in paris. i can't wait to go back and try everything (okay, maybe not everything, but almost?!) on their menu.

so, what's sooooo good about it? let's just say not only do you get these nicely sauteed caramel-y sliced apples, but the added almond cream with the apple is just delish. it's really THAT good! i've never had a tart with almond cream before and i have to say, the almond cream makes a giant difference. it's a nice added sweetness to the tartiness of the apples. ever since i've made the almond cream in this tart recipe, i've been making the almond cream and putting it on everything! it's super simple that you can whisk up in a few short minutes. one of my personal favorites i like to put the almond cream on is french toast. it's sort of like a take on those delicious bostocks i had at b. patisserie a while back, but homemade and just as good. i'll have to put up a post on these later at some point, but for now… let's enjoy this delicious apple tart.

oh, so what did m and my MIL say? they loved it. like absolutely loved it! m said it's the best he's ever had and the only kind of apple tart or pie he'll ever eat! we're for sure adding this to the list of many baked goodies we make during the holidays. he loves the sweet dough tart with the apples. it's like a nice shortbread crust that compliments the apples and almond cream nicely. i told him i could also make it with puff pastry sheets as the pie crust but he said no. the sweet dough tart is perfect and loves the apple tart exactly the way i had made it. so i guess i'll stick with what i have.

below's the recipe if you'd like to make it. seriously, it's the best apple tart ever! :)


this is really the best apple tart ever. even if you don't like apple pies or tarts, i say you should still give this a try. the almond cream will make you fall in love with it. really.


a close-up shot of a tart slice. seriously, so good. i can't wait until we go to paris again so i can really hit up dalloyau and have an actual slice made from the recipe maker themselves!


as i was taking a shot of this slice, little miss v couldn't help it. she wanted to get a piece (or this piece) of this delicious apple tart!

tarte aux pommes au four
dalloyau's baked apple tart recipe from sabrina ko's blog

ingredients:

the almond cream:
1-1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce; 20 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup (30 grams) ground almonds
1 large egg, preferably at room temperature
2 tablespoons (30 grams) heavy cream
1 tablespoon calvados or apple brandy (or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract)

the apples:
6 large apples (2-1/4 pounds; 1 kilo), preferably Fuji or Granny Smith, peeled and cored (note: if you want to skip the grated apples part, you can use 4-5 apples instead)
7 tablespoons (3-1/2 ounces; 100 grams) unsalted butter (note: this can also be reduced without much sacrifice to the taste. i actually halved the butter here and it still came out delicious!)
1/2 cup sugar (75 grams)
2 tablespoons calvados or apple brandy (or 1-1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract)

the crust:
1 unbaked 9-inch (24-cm) tart shell made from sweet tart dough (recipe here) or you can use puff pastry (homemade or store-bought)
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

directions:

the apples:

1. center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°c).
2. cut 4 of the apples in half and slice each half into thirds. grate the remaining 2 apples on the coarse side of a box grater (you can skip the grating if you like – i didn't though).
3. melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a large skillet over high heat. add the grated apples and cook, stirring, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a plate (if you skipped the grating, you can skip this step). add the remaining 6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter and the rest of the sugar to the pan and, when the butter is bubbling, toss in the apple slices. cook the apples, stirring frequently, until they are lightly caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. pour in the calvados, turn off the heat, and carefully touch a match to the liquid. when the flames die down, pull the pan from the stove. (note: if you don't have the calvados, you can just add in the vanilla extract after turning off the heat. no need for lighting up a match or anything like that.)
4. transfer the apple slices to a baking pan (or keep them in the skillet if it is ovenproof) and bake for 20 minutes, or until they are almost cooked through. cool for 30 minutes.
5. while the apples are baking, make the almond cream. working in a medium bowl with a whisk, beat the butter and sugar together for a minute or so, until the sugar dissolves and the butter whitens a little. whisk in the almonds, then the egg, beating until the mixture is blended. finally, whisk in the cream and calvados (or vanilla extract). cover the bowl and refrigerate until needed. (the cream can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

to assemble the tart:

1. position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and put the tart shell on the sheet.
2. spoon the almond cream evenly into the crust. top with the baked apples, arranging them attractively in a single layer. check the grated apples—if they are wet, press them either between your palms or between paper towels. fluff up the grated apples with your fingers or a fork and arrange them over the apple slices, leaving a bare border of an inch (2.5 cm) or so.
3. bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the almond cream has puffed and the apples are beautifully browned. cool the tart on a rack; unmold and serve it when it is either just warm or at room temperature. dust the tart generously with confectioners’ sugar right before bringing it to the table.

notes:
while all of the elements can be prepared ahead, once the tart is assembled, it should be baked immediately, and once it is baked, it should be served soon thereafter.

this tart is perfect on its own or if you prefer, is also delicious with either a bit of crème fraîche or vanilla crème anglaise. but in our household (being the very english people we are! hehe) we have it with evaporated milk and it's delish! of course, a giant scoop of good ol' vanilla ice cream is yummy as well. i do love my vanilla ice cream. :)

makes 8 servings. enjoy!