Figs again and a bit of rain today

Firstly, yes I'm still slicing and dicing the figs. This morning I made another batch of jam. I also made fig ice cream, using this recipe I found on Pinterest:

It's in the freezer as I type, quite a different technique to either the parfait style ice cream I usually make (see recipe here), or the 'custard' type of ice cream where you heat the egg yolk mixture. This one you just whip the egg yolks and sugar then add cream, milk and vanilla then put in ice cream machine. The fig 'sauce' is layered with the ice cream after it has spent a while in the freezer to firm up some.

Meanwhile, the fig and chocolate cake/bread was a great success. The recipe made quite a lot of mixture - I ended up filling 2 loaf pans, although I must say they didn't rise a great deal. I'm always hesitant to fill a cake pan more than 1/2 way in case it doesn't cook in the middle!

And the other thing about today is that we finally had a bit of rain, didn't last long but it was a reasonable shower. Has been so dry for so long that we really need the rain. I'm especially pleased because I sowed a whole lot of peas this morning!

Yes those are rain clouds!

That's not mist it's rain!

Pumpkin pie time

Yesterday I made a pumpkin pie for the first time in ages. I used some of the Musquee du Provence pumpkin. The recipe (I tried this one from a web search) only called for 2 cups of pumpkin puree, which did not use up very much of the huge pumpkin..! Never mind, now that we have pigs again, they will enjoy any leftover pumpkin!
Here is a photo of the pie, I might not get top marks for the cracked pastry, but it was delicious anyway!

Rustic peach tart

G had to pick all the peaches off the tree since the birds were going for them and really doing a bit of damage to the fruit. A bit of a shame since some of them would be better if they were riper. We will have to get some bird deterrents sorted for next season as even with the netting on the tree, the birds were able to get through to the fruit.

So with a large bowlful of peaches on hand, I was able to knock up this peach tart for dinner this evening. It was pretty good. We had it with a dollop of homemade vanilla ice cream.

Nectarine crostata

Since we have an abundance of stone fruit available in the shops at the moment (none left on our trees unfortunately) I decided to make this dessert last night.
The recipe (from Taste magazine Feb 08) was actually for a peach crostata (a rustic Italian tart) - I substituted nectarines.

Pastry:
3 cups plain flour
2/3 cup caster sugar
350g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
2 egg yolks
iced water

Topping:
6-7 nectarines
1 Tbsp orange zest
1/4 cup brown sugar
Juice 1/2 orange

Make pastry, either in a food processor or - since my food processor is buried in storage - like I did by hand. Mix flour and sugar, then add cubed butter and rub in with finger tips. Add egg yolks and 2 Tbsp iced water, mix (with fork or knife) to distribute. Turn out onto floured surface and bring together gently into a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic film, chill for at least 30 mins.

Roll out to fit a rectangular baking tray, patching any holes, make a bit of a crust at the edges. Prick with a fork. Blind bake for 10 mins at 200deg C.

Cut nectarines in half remove stones and place skin side up on the pastry. Mix zest, sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Brush over fruit, bake for 25mins at 190degC. Brush remaining sugar mix over pastry, nectarines and return to oven for a further 10-15mins until pastry is nice and brown.

Delicious!

Chocolate cherry tart

Yesterday I had fresh cherries in the fridge and some dark chocolate on hand and wanted to make something a little different for dessert.

I found this recipe online. It was quite easy to make and only required chilling for a few hours before serving.

The verdict: nice, but VERY rich. A small sliver is enough!

Ice cream cones

Ever since I've started making my own ice cream I've had a hankering for a waffle cone maker. At last I have obtained one (2nd hand - they don't seem to be available in the shops any more) and last night had my first attempt at making some.

The result was a nice crisp cone. Next time I might turn down the thermostat a bit though as they came out with a dark ring where the element is on the maker. Lower heat for longer might be the answer to a more even colour.

In any case we each gobbled one down with a generous scoop or 2 of home made vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Banana ice cream

I found this easy recipe, which requires no eggs. Our hens have decided to stop laying so we're only getting 1 egg a day which isn't very good. Means that I can't do much baking or make most ice cream recipes. One hen is broody and sitting on some eggs, so we'll hopefully have chicks any day now. Some to eat and some new ones to lay more eggs.

Anyway, I digress.....

Banana ice cream, using the ice cream maker.

3 bananas, pureed using a stick blender.

In a bowl, put the banana puree, add 375ml cream and 100g caster sugar and blend until combined.

Pour into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn until thick, then freeze in a container.

Chocolate ice cream - the verdict on day 2

Well overnight freezing of the chocolate ice cream I made in the ice cream maker last night proved to be just what was required. It was delicious!

Now I want to try out the strawberry ice cream recipe, just need those strawberries to hurry up and ripen........come out sun where are you.......?

Ice cream maker

Although I make vanilla ice cream on a regular basis, there are some recipes I've seen that call for the use of an ice cream machine. So with summer approaching (any day now, err when the cold wind stops that is....) and the thought of strawberry ice cream at some stage soon, I purchased a machine while we were out and about doing some shopping yesterday.

The machine is one that requires pre-freezing of the inner canister and prior preparation and chilling of the mixture. I chose the recipe for chocolate ice cream, since I had just the right amount of chocolate on hand, a nice dark mocha. The recipes in the booklet all require egg yolks only, so I guess I'll be making a pavlova any day now to use up all those egg whites, what a great excuse. I can put some of our strawberries on top. Anyway, I digress.......

The mixing took about 40mins, the booklet says it's ready when the paddle starts turning both ways, this was only to a soft scoop stage, but as we prefer our ice cream harder I put the canister of ice cream in the freezer for a further 30mins as suggested.

The verdict: nice but too soft! We've left it in the freezer to have tomorrow night instead.

Blackberry cake

With a plentiful supply of eggs, some blackberries in the freezer, and no cake or biscuits in the house, this afternoon I decided to make Julie Biuso's yummy blackberry cake.

It turned out very well and went down very well for afternoon tea with G and D, would be even nicer with a dollop of fresh cream, or creme fraiche, which is exactly what G and I will have for dessert tonight.

Pie time again - Lemon meringue

Pastry:
125g butter
250g plain flour
90g caster sugar
1 egg
iced water

Filling:
3 Tbsp cornflour
125g sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup water
2 egg yolks
3 tsp grated lemon rind
30g butter

Meringue:
4 egg whites
90g sugar

Make pastry and chill for 30 mins.
Preheat oven to 220deg C.
Roll out pastry to fit 23cm pie dish. Prick sides and base and cook for 10 mins or until lightly browned. Set aside.
Make filling - mix cornflour, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Add water. Stir until thick. Remove and cool slightly. Whisk through egg yolks, lemon rind and butter. Pour into pastry case and chill for 1hr or until firm.

Make meringue - beat egg whites in clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Add sugar slowly until thick and glossy. Pile meringue on top of pie and bake at 160C for about 5 mins until meringue is light brown.

Pumpkin pie

We're having a bit of a pie fest at the moment. Always on the look out for a pumpkin recipe, yes we're not sick of them yet, here is one I made the other night. Pastry got a little over brown on the edges, but the taste was good.

500g cooked mashed pumpkin
90g sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 eggs
160ml evaporated milk
125ml milk

Pastry for a double crust pie:
250g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
155g cold butter
60-90ml ice cold water

Make pastry and chill.

In a large bowl mix pumpkin, sugar, spices. Add eggs and beat until combined. Gradually add evaporated milk and milk. Mix well.

Line a 23cm pie plate with pastry. I made leaf shapes to put round the edge to build up the sides if I made the pie again I might not do this as it was a bit fiddly, plus they caught on the oven rack when I took it out.

Pour the filling into the pastry. If using leaves to decorate cook these separately on a baking sheet for about 15 mins then place on top of cooked pie.

Cover edges with foil to prevent over browning (cut out a hole from a square of foil) and cook at 190C for about 25 mins. Remove foil and cook for a further 25 mins until a knife inserted near the middle comes out clean.
Cool on rack for 1hr, then chill for 3-6 hrs.

Blackberry and apple pie

We have a lot of apples on hand (in the 2nd fridge) mainly as we like to buy in bulk from a good grocer. So I made this pie the other night.


350g plain flour
150g cold butter, cubed
100ml ice-cold water
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 apples (recipe said Granny Smiths but I only had dessert apples - Pink Lady)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
250g frozen or fresh blackberries
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
100g caster sugar, and extra for sprinkling on top
2 Tbsp cornflour
1 egg white, lightly beaten

I made the pastry by hand (since my food processor is in storage) rubbing in the flour and butter, then adding the water and egg.
I peeled and sliced the apples, then mixed them with lemon juice, added the blackberries, cinnamon, sugar and cornflour.
Once the pastry had chilled for a while I rolled it out to fit my pie dish, added the filling then topped it off with more pastry. Then brushed the top with the egg white and sprinkled a little more caster sugar on top.
Cooked for40 mins at 190c.

Verdict: looked nice, but the apples were crunchy - maybe because of the variety I used, or maybe too much filling? The following night I reheated the pie in the oven for a while and the apple was a bit softer. If I made it again I'd probably cook the apple first.

Tiramisu

Tiramisu, Italian for "Pick me up". Sometimes it's essential to eat a rich dessert like this one, especially on a winter's evening. Warning - not low fat!



1 cup mascarpone (Italian cream cheese)
1/4 cup sifted icing sugar
150ml strong brewed coffee, chilled
1 1/4 cups cream
3 Tbsp coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)
115g Savoiardi (sponge finger) biscuits
Plain dark chocolate and cocoa to serve

Grease and line a loaf tin with plastic wrap.

Beat mascarpone and icing sugar for about 1 min. Add 2 Tbsp of chilled coffee, mix thoroughly.

Whip cream and 1 Tbsp of the liqueur until soft peaks stage. Stir a spoonful into the mascarpone mixture, then fold in the rest.

Spoon half the mixture into the loaf tin and smooth the top.

Put rest of coffee and liqueur into a shallow bowl. Dip one side of the biscuits in the liquid for a moment and then arrange coffee side up over the mascarpone mixture in a single layer.

Spoon rest of mascarpone mixture over the biscuit layer and repeat with remaining biscuits. You should use 6 biscuits per layer, there were 12 in the pack.

Drizzle any remaining coffee liquid over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Boysenberry, dessert wine and rosewater jelly

I'm back after a few days away from blogging, been pretty busy with stuff at home this week.

I tried this recipe today, and then discovered G is not a big fan of jelly! The jelly had quite a strong flavour, while not unpleasant, I most likely won't make it again.

Here's the recipe (courtesy of NZ House and Garden).
Makes 6 small glasses/jelly moulds (I did half the quantity).

2 cups frozen/fresh boysenberries
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp gelatine
1/3 cup hot water
1 cup dessert wine
1 Tbsp rosewater

Mix berries, sugar and first measure of water in a pan, bring to boil, stir to dissolve sugar then simmer for 5 mins. Turn off heat.
In separate bowl mix gelatine with smaller amount of water (hot) stir to dissolve gelatine. Add to hot berry mixture, stirring well.
Add wine and rosewater, stir again. Strain into jug (reserve berries for serving) and pour into moulds or small glasses. Refrigerate until set. Serve with cream and reserved berries.

Peach danish

This is a nice quick and easy 'pudding' for a winter night. It's from a cookbook called Alison's Kitchen by Alison Holst.

2 cans sliced peaches (in juice not syrup)
75g butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup juice from canned peaches
1/4 tsp almond essence
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups SR flour

1/4 cup flaked almonds

Optional icing: 1/2 cup icing sugar mixed with 2-3 tsp lemon or peach juice.

Drain peaches in a sieve reserving the juice.
In a large bowl mix melted butter, egg, milk, 1/4 cup peach juice and the almond essence.
Chop peaches roughly in sieve, add 1/2 of them to the above mixture. Add sugar and flour and stir gently to combine.
Spread mixture into a greased or lined cake tin (I used the small roasting tray from the benchtop oven). Spread remaining peaches over the top and add flaked almonds (OR reserve flaked almonds and toast to sprinkle over top and drizzle with the icing AFTER cooking).
Bake for 15-30 mins at 190deg C.

Serve with cream, or better still, homemade vanilla icecream.

Feijoas make a delicious pie

This time of year sees the short feijoa or pineapple guava season in New Zealand. I'm not much of a fan of them raw but love them cooked in pies. I've read that feijoas can be substituted for apples in pretty much any dessert recipe.
One of the favourites in our household is this recipe from Alison Holst.

Pastry:

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
75-100g very cold butter (I freeze mine) the bigger quantity for a richer, flakier pastry
1/2 cup milk to which 1 tsp white wine vinegar has been added

Put flour and baking powder into bowl. Grate the butter and mix with a fork. Add the milk gradually while tossing with a fork. Gently press dough together then refrigerate for about 10 mins.

Filling:

about 600g feijoas
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp melted butter

Halve feijoas. Scoop feijoa flesh into bowl. Add ground almonds, sugar and melted butter. Stir.

Preheat oven to about 200deg C. Roll out pastry to a largish round. I place this round on a baking tray or in a dish, then fill with the feijoa filling, then I just tuck the pastry over at the edges, pleating a few times, "free form" style.

Bake for about 25 mins. Serve with whipped cream, or your home made vanilla ice cream.

Delicious!

Easy home made vanilla ice cream

This recipe does not require an ice cream machine and you don't mix the ice cream once it goes in the freezer like some recipes.

You'll need:

300mls fresh cream
3 eggs*
some caster sugar
1 tbpsn vanilla essence** or 2 vanilla beans
3 bowls
beater

Method:

1. In a large bowl beat the cream with 1 tbspn of sugar until whipped softly.

2. Separate the eggs into 2 more bowls, then beat the yolks in one with 3 tbpsns of sugar until light and creamy.

3. Make sure beaters are clean, then beat whites in the other bowl until soft peaks form. Then beat in 1/2 cup sugar until thick and glossy.

4. Mix all together GENTLY with the vanilla essence or seeds scraped from the split pods.

5. Using a spatula, scoop the ice cream into a plastic container and seal with lid.

6. Freeze for 12 hrs,

* I use fresh free range eggs when our hens are laying. If you have to buy them get free range, I urge you to avoid purchasing eggs from battery hen farms. The labels on the cartons can be misleading, such as "Farm Fresh" etc so watch out. Why not think about keeping chickens? You only need a few. I'll be posting some tips on chicken keeping soon.

** I never buy artificial or flavoured essences as I personally think these are unhealthy to consume. Look for natural vanilla essence, or even vanilla beans, after all you're going to the effort to make some delicious ice cream why not make it a real treat? I buy my vanilla beans from Trade Me (see links).

Blackberry ice blocks

400mls sugar syrup*

500g blackberries, fresh or frozen

1 cup water

In a large saucepan stir all ingredients over medium heat until simmering point. Turn heat down, put lid on and simmer for about 3 mins. Turn off heat and let sit for about 10 mins.

Push through sieve into large bowl to remove seeds. Scrape pulp from under sieve. You have to do this several times to get as much juice & pulp out of berries as you can. Discard seeds.

Add a further 1 cup of water to mixture and stir in. Then pour into ice block molds and freeze for 24hrs. Remove from mold by running warm water over mold or putting it into warm water for a few seconds until the ice blocks come out easily.

* Sugar syrup is made by dissolving 1 1/2 cups caster sugar in 2 1/2 cups water. Once cooled it can be stored in the fridge for use at a later time. I use a big jam jar (with lid) to store it in.

You could use other berries for this recipe, we just have a lot of blackberries we can use!