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Rustic Almond Plum Galette + Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

2 Aug

Stone fruit is in full swing. Peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, pluots, apriums, and all sorts of cross breeds like you couldn’t imagine!

I make galettes every summer. A galette is supposed to be rustic, so I don’t feel guilty if the dough is not perfectly and evenly crimped. Here is a quick look back at some sweet galettes that I have made in the past:

Nectarine Galette

(just follow this recipe but use nectarines instead of plums and nix the lemon zest)

Summer Peach and Blueberry Galette with Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Fresh Fig Galette

Today I made you a rustic almond plum galette. The almonds are ground and are spread on the bottom of the dough, underneath the plums. This helps hold all of the juices from the plums inside and adds a nice flavor palate to the open-faced tart. I paired this galette with homemade creme fraiche ice cream. Tangy and smooth, this ice cream is the ultimate hot summer day cure.

The plums offer a nice red hue when baked. They are soft but still hold their shape.

Creme Fraiche Ice Cream right out of the machine, super soft and creamy

I still can’t believe that I am turning on the oven in this insane New York summer heat, but it is all in the name of rustic pies and good eats.

Now excuse me while I go wipe the sweat off my forehead and dip into some homemade dessert…

Rustic Almond Plum Galette

from KissmySpatula, check out her gorgeous photos!

  • 1 1/4 cups + 3 tbsp all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp + 1/2 tsp sugar, plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2-4 tbsp ice water
  • 1/4 cup whole, skin-on almonds, toasted
  • 5 to 6 firm plums, halved, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • zest of half a lemon
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

In a food processor, combine 1 1/4 cups flour, butter, 1/2 tsp sugar, and salt.  Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add ice water, 1 tbsp at a time.  Pulse until dough is crumbly, but holds together when squeezed.  Do not overmix. Remove dough from food processor and shape into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, wipe bowl of food processor clean and add almonds, 3 tbsp sugar, and 2 tbsp of flour.  Pulse until ground to a coarse meal.

In a large bowl, toss the plums with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp flour and zest of half a lemon.  Taste and add more sugar for desired sweetness and set aside.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 13-14 inch round, about an 1/8-1/4 of inch thick.  Transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet (preferably without sides) and spread almond mixture over dough, leaving a two-inch border.  Spread and arrange plums on top of almond mixture.  Fold and pleat edge of dough over fruit.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take your galette out of the refrigerator and brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.  Bake until crust is golden and underside is cooked through, about 60-70 minutes, checking after 30 minutes and every 10 minutes thereafter.  Allow to cool before slicing.

Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

adapted from David Lebovitz and Crispywaffle

1 cup milk (preferably whole milk or 2%)

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 t. salt

5 large egg yolks

2 cups creme fraiche

First, make the custard. Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium low heat until it’s steaming. Pour the milk over the egg yolks, whisking the whole time. Add the milk/egg mixture back to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula. When the mixture thickens (at around 190 F) and coats the back of the spatula, pour the mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Chill the mixture in the fridge for a few hours until cold.
When ready to freeze in the ice cream maker, stir in the creme fraiche. Chill in the ice cream maker as directed and the ice cream is thickened, about 20 minutes.

Buttermilk Sweet Corn Ice Cream

15 Jul

After hemming and hawing over my next ice cream flavor, I finally decided on Buttermilk Sweet Corn Ice Cream. You will kick yourself silly because it literally tastes like sweet corn with a splash of tang from the buttermilk.

Oh, and you can see from my photos that figs are just beginning to pop up! I purchased my figs from an Italian open air market in the Bronx, along Arthur Avenue, after stopping in a pastry shop for some cannoli and rainbow cake first. Sweet glory I cannot wait for more figs to arrive in season!

Oooo and I just purchased Sherry Yard’s cookbook, Desserts by the Yard from the most fun little cookbook shop called Bonnie Slotnick’s in the West Village. At Bonnie Slotnick’s, you will find all sorts of treasures–books you might find in grandma’s closet or in my case, a book that I have had my eye on for quite some time. Sherry Yard’s Nectarine Cobbler and Honey-Glazed Cornbread (both of which would go dashingly with this buttermilk sweet corn ice cream), her White Birthday Cake with Chocolate and Butter Fudge Frosting, and all of her cookies are screaming for me to bake.

Ok, back to this corny ice cream. It is pretty great. Sort of messy to make: corn kernels flying all over the place as you chop them off the cob, using your blender, using a pot, using your strainer (twice), fishing out corn cobs, tempering egg yolks, etc. etc. But the mess it worth it. You get a crazy good frozen summer treat. Man, I wish I had a warm waffle cone right now…

Buttermilk Sweet Corn Ice Cream

adapted from Simmer Down!

4 ears sweet corn

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 a vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

6-8 egg yolks (I used 6)

Remove the husks and cornsilk from the corn and break each cob into thirds.  Cut the kernels from the cobs with a sharp knife,  reserving the cobs. Put the kernels in a blender with the buttermilk and cream and pulse into a rough purée.

Pour the cream mixture into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, adding the corncob pieces, vanilla bean (scrape the seeds and add them), salt, and ½ cup of the sugar.  Bring to a boil, then cover and remove from heat.  Let steep for one hour.

Remove the corncobs and discard.  Fish out the vanilla bean and set aside.  Strain the mixture through a medium or fine mesh strainer, pressing down firmly to expel as much of the liquid as possible; discard the solids.  Return to the saucepan and place over medium heat.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup sugar.  Whisk in a little of the hot cream to temper the yolks, then add them to the saucepan.  Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon.  Pass through a fine mesh strainer and let your mixture cool over an ice-water bath. Once cool, refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (at least 4 hours).  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Makes slightly less than 1 quart.

***SERVE WITH A DRIZZLE OF HONEY  AND SLICED FRUIT (CHERRIES, FIGS, RASPBERRIES, PEACHES…) OR ATOP OF SOME HOMEMADE PIE OR COBBLER!!!!

Dutch Baby with Sauteed Strawberries

3 Jul

Woah baby! What did I do?! What did I just make?! (I think it might be alive).

I think I just made a baby come out of my oven. A Dutch Baby. Yes, this oven- pancake looks puffed and lively, but no worries, it is not a real human baby from the Netherlands.

A Dutch Baby (aka German pancake or Bismark) is a sweet breakfast pancake similar to a Yorkshire pudding (often seen as a gravy-meat-soaked puffed muffin-like dinner side). My Dutch Baby is airy and crispy in all of the right places.

I put my cast-iron pan in the oven and preheated it to 450 degrees F. While the pan was heating up, I blended up some eggs, milk, flour, and some vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Yes, I used the blender to do this. Once my oven was preheated and my skillet piping hot, I threw on some butter and it sizzled like crazy. My pan was coated and then I immediately poured in my batter, returned the skillet to the oven, and 20 minutes later, I made a baby.

A Dutch Baby. With Sauteed Strawberries. Sauteed strawberries with a touch of sugar and a split vanilla bean.

I threw on a dash of honey for some sweetness. You could also use maple syrup, powdered sugar, or make your own orange sugar or lavender sugar.

Dutch Baby with Sauteed Strawberries

from Joy the Baker

**NOTE: This does not keep very well. If you have left-overs, just leave it out of the fridge and have it for a snack later in the day. Soggy Dutch Baby leftover in the fridge is a big no-no.

3 large eggs at room temperature for 30 min (or just run under some warm water)
2/3 cup of milk at room temperature
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon (freshly grated) nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick butter, cut into pieces

about 1 pint of strawberries, sliced
1 vanilla bean (optional)
1/3 cup sugar (or less, depends on how fresh and sweet your berries are)

1. Place a cast-iron skillet in the oven. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. In a blender, combine your eggs and milk. Whiz for about 20 seconds. Add the flour, spices, and salt. Whiz for about 1 minute more.

3. When your oven is preheated, take the hot skillet out and add the butter to the pan. Swirl to coat (NOTE: this could get dangerous so make sure you have your oven mits on and you work quickly; the butter will bubble up and melt super fast). Quickly pour in your batter.

4. Bake in the oven for about 18-25 minutes. Don’t open the oven until 18 minutes have gone by. Then check. Your pancake should be puffed and golden brown (NOTE: it will fall a little in the center when you take it out of the oven).

**While your Dutch baby is baking, in a pan on the stove-top, heat your strawberries with sugar and vanilla until warm, glossy, and sweet.

Serve your Dutch baby with honey, syrup, or sugar.

Looking for another fruity cast-iron breakfast delight? Check out my Cherry Clafoutis!!

Ricotta Blintzes, From Scratch…with Homemade Lemon Curd

10 Jun

Remember when I started to tell you about the Shavuot feast that my pal Sara and I put on? Well, the real star of the meal was ricotta blintzes that we made from scratch.

With 2 pans going to make our thin crepe-like pancakes, and the oven on to finish and keep warm the filled blintzes, Sara and I were hard at work.

While this was indeed a fun experience, making blintzes from scratch is quite labor-intensive and in my opinion, not worth the sweat. Next time I would opt for the easier yet equally delicious route by making Ina Garten’s Baked Blintz Casserole from her cookbook Back to Basics.

Alas, biting into a homemade blintz filled with a sweet but not too sweet ricotta cheese and dolloped with homemade lemon curd was really like nothing else. The fruits of our labor were worth all of the sweat. It was a fun process with a delicious outcome. All in the name of love, family, and celebration.

The meal: Ricotta Blinzes, Lemon Curd, Veggie Fritatta Casserole, French Bread

Click HERE for my recipe for Homemade Lemon Curd

Sweet Ricotta Blinzes From Scratch

from Picture and Plate

serves 5

**NOTE: Check out my tips for crepe making HERE as a good base to compare methods and techniques.

Blintz Batter:

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp powdered sugar (don’t use for savory fillings)

4 eggs

1 1/3 cup of milk

2/3 cup of water

2 tsp vanilla  (don’t use for savory fillings)

Sweet Filling:

1-2 cup ricotta mixed with a little bit of cinnamon or lemon zest

½-1 cup Strawberry Jam (optional) **You can also make some lemon curd and serve on the side

2 tbsp butter reserved for baking

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the blintz batter, put all the wet ingredients in the blender and blend them for 10 seconds and then pour in all the dry ones and then blend that for 20 seconds. Let the batter sit for a half an hour to relax. It helps the texture get smoother.

When you make the blintzes it’s all about having the right pan and the right heat.  A big wide non-stick frying pan works best if you don’t have a crepe pan. Set the heat to medium high on the stove. I find it easier and healthier to use cooking spray rather than butter to cook the blintzes in. The batter should be thin and spread evenly but just barely cover the bottom of the pan as you tilt it around to spread it. Watch for the bubbles to start to pop on the first side before flipping them over. It takes about 45 seconds on the first side and roughly 30 seconds on the second side. We had two pans going to make it go faster.

**NOTE: I think it is a rule of thumb that your first pancake will always be a mess-up. Just keep on trucking, the pan needs to get to the right heat and then you will be fine.

Fill each crepe with ricotta filling and put in a baking dish. If you are using strawberry jam, spread the ricotta first and then do the jam. Melt the reserved butter and brush it lightly over the top of each blintz. Bake for ten minutes. Eat them.

Rhubarb Ice Cream

8 Jun

Today has certainly been a whirlwind in the kitchen. After a day of lounging and swimming in the pool, my good friend Sara and I cooked up a feast: ricotta blintzes from scratch with homemade lemon curd, a veggie cheesy fritatta baked with breadcrumbs, and rhubarb ice cream for dessert.

Today is the Jewish Holiday known as Shavuot. In short, this holiday is a celebration of the Israelites receiving the Torah and of the seasonal harvest of wheat. Most of what I remember from this holiday is the FOOD. Dairy is the name of the game on this holiday. There are all sorts of explanations given as to why it is customary to eat dairy on Shavuot (see wikipedia). Anyway, I saw today as the perfect excuse to make some ice cream.

Rhubarb ice cream.

So easy to make. First you chop your rhubarb, then you simmer it for 15 minutes until it softens.

(The black piece is a vanilla bean)

Then you combine your braised rhubarb with some milk and some cream. Let it chill. And freeze in the ice cream maker. OOooo this tastes HEAVENLY. And it is the most precious pink color.

Here is my pal, Sara, scooping out the last bits of the ice cream. Check out that smirk on her face, she is going to get every last drop out of that bowl!

Rhubarb Ice Cream

from Not without salt

3-3 1/2 cups rhubarb (I used 6 medium sized stalks), washed and cut into half inch pieces

OPTIONAL: 2 oz (1/2 stick) butter ***I just nixed the butter and threw in a splash of water

1 vanilla bean, seeded

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup brown sugar, not packed (you could probably use regular granulated sugar, too if you prefer)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

Combine the rhubarb, butter (if using), vanilla bean, vanilla extract, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Cover and place on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb has softened. Remove the lid and break the rhubarb up with a wooden spoon or spatula.

In a medium bowl, combine the cream and milk and add the braised rhubarb. Cover and let it chill completely in the fridge or an ice water bath. Churn in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

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