Tag: dessert

Pear and Chocolate Pie

12 October 2023

A few weeks ago, we were very pleased to win the Great Bloggers Bake Off award in the pie-category with a Pear and Almond Pie. A delicious, uplifting combination that works very well thanks to the crème fraîche and the calvados. The Bake Off is organised by A Jeanne in the Kitchen.

Pear and chocolate is a match made in heaven, that’s why we decided to make a Pear and Chocolate Pie. The result is a rich, intense flavoured pie. A small slice with an espresso will make for a very nice dessert.

What You Need

  • Dough
    • 50 grams White Caster Sugar
    • 100 grams soft Butter
    • ½ teaspoon grated Lemon Peel
    • Pinch of Salt
    • ½ Egg
    • 3 grams Baking Powder
    • 150 grams All Purpose Flour
  • Almond Paste
    • 225 grams of White Caster Sugar
    • 250 grams of Almond Flour
    • One Egg
    • Lemon zest
  • Filling
    • 200 grams Chocolate
    • 50 grams Double Cream
    • 50 grams Sugar
    • 1 Egg
    • 1 Egg Yolk
    • Pears, preferably Doyenné du Comice (or Conference)
  • Decoration
    • Whipped Cream
    • Cinnamon Powder

    What You Do

    Start by making the Dough. Beat the egg. Combine sugar and butter until smooth. Add Lemon zest and salt. Mix. Add the egg. Mix. Combine baking powder and flour. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture. Best is to use a kitchen mixer with kneading hooks. Wrap in foil and transfer to the refrigerator for at least two hours. The dough freezes well so not a problem if you’ve made too much.

    Now make the Almond Paste. Combine almond flour and sugar. Add one beaten egg and (optional) lemon zest. Mix until you have a paste. Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for months. You could also use 250 grams of white almonds. Grind these and continue as if almond flour. In this case you need half the quantity (or less).

    Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 355 °F. Coat your pie tin with butter (we used a 15 cm, 6 inch tin). Roll out the dough, it should be 5 mm (0.20 inch). Line the tin with the dough. Don’t worry if the dough breaks; it’s easy to repair. Remove the excess dough. Line with aluminium foil or parchment paper, add baking beans and bake the pie blind for 15 minutes.

    When the pie is in the oven, it’s time to make the Filling. We used cooking chocolate, that makes life a lot easier. Add the broken chocolate to the cream and melt gently in the microwave (set to low power) or au bain-marie. Add sugar. Allow to cool. Lukewarm is fine. Beat the egg.

    Use almond paste to make a thin layer on the bottom of the pie. Take half of the chocolate mixture and (using a spatula) add a layer of chocolate on top of the almond paste. Add the egg to the remaining chocolate, mix well and make a third layer. Peel the pears, quarter and push the pears into the mixture. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes (depending on the pears and the mixture).
    Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

    Pear and Chocolate Pie ©cadwu
    Pear and Chocolate Pie ©cadwu

    Pear and Almond Pie

    24 August 2023

    Only a few weeks to go before we can enjoy fresh, new pears and apples. Time to start thinking about a traditional Dutch apple pie, about stuffed apples with raisins and cinnamon, about a chocolate-pear pie and of course about this classic pear and almond pie. Rich in taste with a crunchy crust and a soft, light, creamy filling. A very taste dessert but also great with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

    We begin by making the dough. It freezes well, so it’s a great idea to make a bit extra.

    What You Need
    • 50 grams of White Caster Sugar
    • 100 grams of soft Unsalted Butter
    • Egg (beaten)
    • ½ teaspoon of Lemon Zest
    • 1 gram of Salt
    • 3 grams of Baking Powder
    • 150 grams of All Purpose Flour
    What You Do

    Adding an egg to the dough makes its flavour richer and the dough will be easier to handle when lining the baking tin. The lemon in the crust will work very well in combination with the pear and the sweetness of the filling. Start by combining the sugar and the butter. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks. When mixed, add halve of the beaten egg, then add the lemon zest. Combine salt, baking powder and flour. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture. Use the kneading hooks to mix. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

    The filling is a combination of almond paste, crème fraîche and pear. We used Conference, but you could also use the very aromatic Doyenne du Comice. 

    What You Need
    • 50 grams of Almond Paste
    • ½ egg
    • 100 grams of Crème Fraîche
    • 10 grams of Calvados
    • 2 or 3 pears
    What You Do

    Preheat your oven to 200 °C or 390 °F. Roll out the dough, it should be 4-5 mm (0,15-0,20 inch). Coat your pie tin with butter (we used a 15 cm, 6 inch tin). Line the tin with the dough. Don’t worry if the dough breaks; it’s easy to repair. Remove the excess dough. Peel the pears and slice in nice chunks. Combine the almond paste, the egg, the crème fraîche and the calvados until the mixture is smooth. Add the mixture to the tin, Add the pear. Transfer to the oven for in total 40 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 160 °C or 320 °F. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

    PS

    In case you want to make your own almond paste, then combine 250 grams of almond flour with 225 grams of sugar. Add one beaten egg and (optional) lemon zest. Mix until you have a paste. Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for months.
    You could also use 250 grams of white almonds. Grind these and continue as if almond flour.

    Pear and Almond Pie ©cadwu
    StarBaker Award 2023

    Eton Mess

    2 February 2023

    For some reason we were talking about summer, about typical summer food, about strawberries, green peas, melon, okra, peaches, spinach and new potatoes. Of course, most of these are available all year round, but we like to enjoy the season. Today was different, we really wanted to eat strawberries and we decided to make Eton Mess.
    According to Hilaire Walden in her excellent Book of Traditional English Cookery the strawberry dessert is eaten on June 4th in Eton during a picnic for pupils and parents of Eton College, as part of the annual prize giving ceremony. Others say it was first served during the annual cricket match between pupils of Harrow School and Eton College.
    One anecdote is that a chef planned to make Pavlova but it collapsed, the other anecdote is that the Pavlova was perfect but a dog sat on it, making a mess, an Eton Mess.

    Mascarpone is sometimes added to the cream, but that’s a bit over the top. No need to add sugar to the cream because the meringue is sufficiently sweet. Hilaire Walden suggests soaking the strawberries for two hours or longer in kirsch, an idea we liked. She also suggests using ready-made meringues, which make it even easier to make Eton Mess.

    What You Need

    • Strawberries
    • Raspberries (optional)
    • Kirsch (or Brandy)
    • Cream
    • Merengue
    • Lemon Zest

    What You Do

    Clean the fruit, chop, place in a bowl and sprinkle with kirsch or brandy (one or two small tablespoons per portion). Leave in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Whip the cream. Add some lemon zest, mix. Start assembling the Eton Mess: first a layer of merengue crumbles, then fruit, then whipped cream, then a second layer, same order but make sure you can see some of the red fruit. Serve immediately.

    PS

    In case you want to make your own (French) meringues: you need 2 egg whites and 100 grams of (finely granulated) sugar. The weight ratio should be 1:2, egg white to sugar. Set your oven to 90 °C or 190 °F. Whip the egg whites until somewhat stiff. Start slowly adding the sugar and continue whipping until the egg white mixture shows stiff peaks. Pipe the mixture on a baking sheet, transfer to the oven for 2 hours. The shape of the meringues is not important because you will need crumble for the Eton Mess

    • Eton Mess ©cadwu
      Eton Mess ©cadwu
    • Book of Traditional English Cookery - Hilaire Walden
      Book of Traditional English Cookery – Hilaire Walden

    Mousse au Chocolat

    9 January 2023

    Crème Brulée, Ile Flottante, Crêpes Suzette and Mousse au Chocolat: four classic French desserts. It’s tempting to buy them ready-made, especially Mousse au Chocolat is popular in supermarkets, but why not make your own?

    From 1992 until 2002 Belgian cook Herwig van Hove and host Dré Steemans (better known as Felice Damiano) had a weekly program on television called ‘1000 seconds’. In these 1000 seconds (just under 17 minutes) Herwig van Hove would prepare a three-course meal. Sometimes he took a short cut by serving cheese as dessert, but very often he would prepare three courses. His recipe for Mousse au Chocolat is quick and easy. The result is a delicious Mousse au Chocolat, one that will keep well for at least 24 hours.

    What You Need (for 4)

    • 2 fresh organic Eggs
    • 35 grams of fine Sugar
    • 100 grams of Dark (Cooking) Chocolate
    • 165 grams of Cream
    • Raspberry (to decorate, optional)

    What You Do

    You will need 2 bowls plus one larger bowl. Start by separating the eggs. Beat the egg white until firm. In the larger bowl beat the egg yolks and the sugar until ‘ruban’ (meaning thick and pale). Whip the cream until firm. This order allows you to use one wire whisk for all three steps in the process.
    Melt the chocolate with 65 grams of cream in your microwave on very low power. No rush, the result should be lukewarm. This will take 3 minutes or longer. Use a spoon to mix the cream and chocolate until smooth.
    For the next steps you need a spatula. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and combine. Now fold in the cream using a spatula and then fold in the egg whites. Don’t stir or mix, just fold.
    Fill four nice glasses with the mousse, cover with cling foil and transfer to the refrigerator. Just before serving decorate with raspberries and perhaps some freshly whipped cream.

    • Mousse au Chocolat ©cadwu
      Mousse au Chocolat ©cadwu
    • Mousse au Chocolat not decorated ©cadwu
      Mousse au Chocolat not decorated ©cadwu

    Tiramisù

    21 November 2022

    Such a simple, tasty, fairly easy to make dessert. No oven needed and the result is always a pleasure to serve. We rely on the recipe of an expert, in our case Dutch pastry chef Cees Holtkamp. Renowned for his excellent patisserie and his truly delicious croquettes. If you ever have the opportunity to visit the shop in Amsterdam, please do so.

    After his retirement he started working on his book Dutch Pastry (De Banketbakker in Dutch). The recipes are very clearly written and easy to follow. One of the remarkable aspects of this book is that he prepared all pies, cookies, doughs etcetera in his own home kitchen with basic home cook utensils.

    If you want to see his amazing technique and his gently style of creating wonderful patisserie, then visit FoodTube and enjoy how chef Cees Holtkamp and his granddaughter Stella Meijles prepare Pavlova, Black Forest Cake, Lemon Meringue Pie, Saint Honoré, Cheese Butterflies, Tiramisù and many more.

    Dutch Pastry is available via the usual channels or via the publisher for 20 euro.

    Liqueur

    Let’s go back to the Tiramisù. It’s all about eggs, mascarpone, sugar, ladyfingers (savoiarde, sponge fingers or boudoirs) coffee and cocoa powder. Most recipes suggest adding a liqueur to the coffee, for instance rum, cognac, amaretto or marsala. Obviously, we want to add an Italian liqueur to our Tiramisù, so perhaps marsala? This is a fortified wine from Sicily, dry or sweet. A good choice but for some reason the idea of an almond based liqueur is tempting, perhaps because of its slight bitterness in combination with the coffee and the cocoa?

    Unfortunately, most amaretto’s taste nasty and artificial. We decided to spend a bit more money and bought a bottle of amaretto produced by Lorenzo Inga. The distillery is located near Gavi, a city known for its amaretti cookies. They produce grappa, bitters and liqueurs such as sambuca and limoncello. Their amaretto is all about almonds. It has a soft structure with a sweet and full mouth feeling. We added it to our Tiramisù and the result was delicious.

    Leftovers

    The next day we noticed that we had some leftover ladyfingers and also some coffee-amaretto mixture. Why not combine them with whipped double cream and perhaps some vanilla sugar? Would that work? We followed the same approach and stored it in the refrigerator for half a day. We were pleasantly surprised!

    • Tiramisù ©cadwu
    • Amaretto Originale Lorenzo Inga
    • Cees Holtkamp

    Lemon Curd

    2 June 2022

    A Lemon Meringue Pie, a Tarte au Citron or Scones with Lemon Curd: tasty, refreshing, bitter, sour, a bit sharp and sweet. We love it! Provided of course that the lemon is more than just juicy and sour.

    This has been a bit of an issue over the past years. Similar to the German consumers who complained about the watery and flavourless Dutch tomatoes they bought around 1990, we think that most lemons lack aroma and taste. We tried limes, bought more expensive lemons, added a bit of yuzu, but in the end, we still missed the true taste and aroma of an old-fashioned lemon.

    Until one day we bought a Bergamot lemon. Its aroma is intense, floral and long. The juice is sour, deeply citrusy, refreshing and bright. Exactly what we were looking for! We went home and prepared a lovely curd.

    Recently we had a similar experience when we visited a dear friend. She grows a Makrut (or Thai) Lime tree, also known as Makrut Lime, in her garden mainly because she wants to use the fresh leaves in Thai and Indonesian dishes such as Tom Yum, Soto Ayam and various curries. The leaves have a complex citrus flavour with floral notes. We talked about the lovely yellow fruit and how you could use its very aromatic zest as well.
    The fruit contains little juice, so when preparing a curd with Makrut limes, you need to add lime, Bergamot or lemon juice.

    What You Need

    • 65 ml of Lemon, Lime, Bergamot and/or Makrut Lime Juice
    • 65 grams of Butter
    • 100 grams of Sugar
    • One Egg
    • Zest

    What You Do

    Beat the egg, melt the butter and combine all ingredients. Make sure the sugar is dissolved. Cook Au Bain Marie until you have the right consistency. Or transfer to your microwave, put it on 50% or 70% power and heat with intervals of 20-30 seconds. Mix between the intervals. This is a very precise way of heating the mixture and it gives you full control over the process. Towards the end of the process you may want to reduce the power or shorten the intervals. The percentage and the duration of the intervals depend on your microwave and the bowl you use. We use a microwave saucepan (£1,29 only) and it works perfectly. The material doesn’t absorb warmth, so the mixture doesn’t get extra heated when you stop the microwave. Pass through a sieve (you don’t want the zest in the curd), cool in a water bassin and store in a jar.
    The curd keeps for a week in the refrigerator .

    PS

    Around 1992 a German television program characterised the Dutch tomatoes as watery and tasteless, and called them ‘wasserbombe’. The short-term impact was enormous: the Dutch tomato went from 50% market share in Germany to something close to zero. Longer term the impact was very different: Dutch producers invested in their product, making their tomatoes tastier, richer and more diverse.

    Lemon Curd ©cadwu
    Makrut Lime Plant ©cadwu
    Makrut Limes ©cadwu

    All Our Recipes For You

    1 July 2021

    A few years ago we created an overview of recipes per season, simply because it’s such a good idea to enjoy what is available in the season. Nice to eat strawberries in Winter, but isn’t it a much better idea to enjoy seasonal slow cooked pears?

    We then introduced overviews per course, ranging from side dish to lunch. The categories didn’t always make sense, so we added a few more, making our admin more complicated, especially when we updated a recipe or a picture.

    The obvious thing happened: we lost track of recipes, noticed some links were broken and the overviews became incomplete.

    So how to organise this blog?

    After much debate and intense workshops (not really) we’re pleased to present to you an old fashioned, up to date and very easy to use (and maintain) index of All Our Recipes For You!

    All Our Recipes For You ©cadwu
    All Our Recipes For You ©cadwu

    Caudle, Eggnog, Ajerkoniak and Advocaat

    1 April 2021

    In the old days new mothers and their visitors were served Caudle, a combination of white wine, eggs, sugar, cloves, raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon. The idea was to strengthen the new mother and of course to celebrate the occasion. Dutch master Jan Steen painted De Kandeelmakers (The Caudle Makers) around 1665. Note the nutmeg grater!

    The ingredients are not too dissimilar to those of Eggnog. Basically this is custard infused with various spices, such as vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. The custard is enriched with whole cream, rum/brandy/whisky/cognac and whipped egg white. Our Eggnog was very tasty, creamy and soft with the right push from the cognac. The spices worked really well, especially the nutmeg. We suggest not adding cream because it actually doesn’t bring much other than a fatty feeling in your mouth.

    A less complex version is Ajerkoniak from Poland. It combines egg yolks with non-sweetened condensed milk, sugar and vodka (or plain alcohol). The result is a strong, smooth and sweet drink. The vodka worked very well with the eggs but we thought the condensed milk was a bit too present.

    Making Caudle, Ajerkoniak or Eggnog begins with whisking sugar and egg yolks until it’s smooth, pale and creamy. This is called whisking the eggs ruban and may take 10 minutes. Interestingly the result is a dish in its own right called Kogel Mogel.

    We also prepared Advocaat from the Netherlands. It is a combination of eggs, alcohol and sugar (so no milk, cream or spices). It can be enjoyed as a drink (but our grandmother used a small spoon, probably because she didn’t want to be heard slurping). Our version is a bit thicker, making it ideal as a dessert.

    What You Need

    • 2 Egg Yolks
    • 25 grams of Sugar
    • 50 ml of Brandy, Gin or Vodka
    • Whole Cream

    What You Do

    Mix the egg yolks and the sugar well. It doesn’t need to become ruban but some increase in volume is needed. Now gently add the brandy, gin or vodka. Transfer to the microwave and very gently heat the mixture. We used one interval of 10 seconds to start with and continued with intervals of 5 seconds. In total only 55 seconds on 30% power. Stir well after every interval until it becomes thick. The consistency must be similar to a thick pastry cream (crème pâtissière). Cool quickly and store in the refrigerator. Serve with some whipped cream.

    PS Obviously you need fresh eggs when making Ajerkoniak, Eggnog, Kogel Mogel, Advocaat, Mayonnaise, Sabayon, Béarnaise, Kimizu et cetera. We don’t think eating fresh, organic eggs is a problem. Eating all kinds of additives, chemicals such as E102 – Tartrazine to make commercial Advocaat look as yellow as real Advocaat, unclear syrops, modified milk ingredients, guar gum, monoglycerides etcetera, that’s a problem.

    • Advocaat ©cadwu
      Advocaat ©cadwu
    • Eggnog ©cadwu
      Eggnog ©cadwu
    • Ajerkoniak ©cadwu
      Ajerkoniak ©cadwu

    Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis

    23 September 2020

    Cream, Cream and More Cream

    Such a lovely and simple dessert! Provided of course it’s made the right way. So no milk, no yoghurt, no cream cheese, no whipped cream and most certainly no whipped egg white! Just cream. Cooked Cream. And preferably cream with lots of fat because then you will need less gelatine. 
    Fresh raspberries are preferred, but no worries, the frozen ones are also very tasty and suitable for making a coulis.

    What You Need (for 4)

    • For the Panna Cotta
      • 500 ml fresh Cream
      • 3,5 leaves of Gelatine (5,25 grams)
      • 1 Vanilla Bean
      • 25 gram Sugar
    • For the Raspberry Coulis
      • 250 grams of Raspberries
      • 25 grams of Sugar
      • 1 tablespoon of Water

    What You Do

    The recipe is for 4 panna cotta (actually we should say 4 panne cotte). Slowly bring the cream to the boil. Add the seeds of the vanilla but also add the remainder of the bean. Now keep close to boiling for 15 minutes. Stir when necessary. Remove from the heat and while stirring add the sugar until totally dissolved. Now pass through a sieve to make sure you remove all the bits you don’t want. Follow the instruction of the gelatine and add the leaves. Stir well until homogeneous. Cool the liquid somewhat before filling the forms. We used a silicone mold. Nice and easy! The only thing you need to do is to make the mold a bit moist with water. Let the panna cotta cool and then store in the refrigerator until set. Don’t forget to seal with cling foil, otherwise your panna cotta will absorb aromas from other food in the refrigerator.
    Heat the raspberries with the sugar and water. Cook gently for 5 minutes. Pass through s sieve (if necessary twice) making sure you apply some pressure but not too much. You don’t want pips in your coulis! Let cool for 30 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator.

    Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis © cadwu
    Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis © cadwu

    Clafoutis

    29 July 2020

    Cherries, cherries, cherries!

    We love them! The rich, sweet taste in combination with the right texture! They just want to be eaten, one after the other. So what better summer dessert than Clafoutis?
    Fresh, small, black or dark red cherries are the best for Clafoutis. Don’t use anything canned or jarred.
    Clafoutis is made with milk and eggs, so in a way familiar to Crè­me Brûlée and Far Breton. But in case of Clafoutis you only need to whisk and wait for it to bake in the oven. That’s all.
    There are many recipes for Clafoutis, some with cold milk, some with hot. Some use milk and cream, others just milk. We use warm milk because you get a better feel for the consistency, but cold milk will also do the job.
    Some add Kirsch and others add Vanilla. We can’t see the benefit of adding Kirsch when using tasty cherries. Vanilla is distracting, so not recommended.

    Another decision to make: use whole cherries or pitted ones? Not removing the pits is less work (obviously) and it reduces the risk of a soggy Clafoutis. The pits contain amygdalin, a toxic compound that can also be found in almonds, apple seeds and apricot stones. Amygdalin tastes like almonds. In this recipe we pit the cherries and compensate for the lack of almond flavour by adding almond flour.
    If you decide to pit the cherries, make sure you remove all of them!

    Finally, yes, you can replace the cherries with fresh apricots, berries, peaches or prunes. Then it’s called a Flaugnarde. But nothing as tasty as Clafoutis made with fresh cherries!

    What You Need

    • 2,5 dl of regular Milk
    • 2 Eggs
    • 30 grams of plain Flour
    • 10 grams of Almond Flour
    • 20 grams of Sugar
    • 500 grams of Cherries, pitted
    • 10 grams of Butter

    What You Do

    Pre heat the oven to 180° Celsius or 350° Fahrenheit. Whisk together the eggs, plain flour, almond flour and sugar. Bring the milk almost to a boil. Stir the milk into the mixture. Butter a large, shallow baking dish, add cherries to the dish and make sure the bottom is nicely covered with cherries. No need to have two layers of cherries. Pour the mixture over the cherries. Bake (lower third of the oven) for 20 minutes, add a few dots of butter, continue baking for another 20 minutes or until the clafoutis is golden. Leave to cool for 60 minutes or so, this will enhance the taste. clafoutis should be served luke-warm. You could decorate the clafoutis with icing sugar, but it’s not essential.