Baked

Happy Tuesday!  Hope your week's off to a good start.

Life has been pretty busy, and maybe just a little chaotic, so I took out a moment to bake. Something I haven't been doing that much these days, but when I do it's quite calming.  I'm also trying to eat healthier...not always easy ;) These tarts definitely have a little dose of fat, but only a sprinkle of added sugar. I try ;)

The crust is made from almond meal, and I like to have these ready to fill with anything. This time I roasted some peaches and sprinkled the tops with almonds. Easy and pretty delicious. Click here for a savoury tart with an almond crust.

Peach Tarts with Almond Crust - makes about 24 mini tarts

3 cups almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water

Peach filling:
4 large peaches, cut into slices
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
sliced almonds to top
icing sugar to sprinkle on top

For the crust:
Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Spray a little oil in mini muffin tin and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond meal, baking soda and salt. Add oil and water and stir until dough forms (I use my hands for this part. Add to that calming experience!). Press about a tablespoon of dough into each mini muffin cup to form a cup. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until just slightly golden on sides. Allow to cool completely before adding a filling or place in an airtight container to store for a few days.

For filling:
Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Spread out sliced peaches on a baking sheet. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over top. Cut small pieces of butter and place on top of peach mixture. Bake for about 15 minutes. Fill almond crust cups with peach mixture, top with sliced almonds, and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until tops just start to turn golden brown. Allow to cool completely then sprinkle with a little icing sugar. Enjoy!

Have a great day!

janis

Baked

How's your week going so far? Hope it's been smooth sailing!

I had heaps of plums, that were on their way out, so I made a tart. Inspired by a recipe from Ina Garten, I just added a basic custard to the mix.

Plum & Custard Tart - makes one 9" tart

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cups pecans
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg
1 lb plums, pitted and cut into quarters

Custard:
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1  large egg
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Lightly grease a 9" springform pan and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse together the whole wheat flour, pecans, and sugar. Add the butter and egg and pulse until a crumbly mixture forms. Scoop about half the mixture into the pan and press down making an even layer. Layer the plums on top of crumb crust.

To make the custard, place all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together until it thickens a little.
Pour the custard over top of the plums, then sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture, evenly, on top. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the sides are slightly golden. Allow to cool before cutting. Enjoy!

This is so easy to make. If you try it out, let me know how it goes!

If you didn't see Monday's post, I'm giving away one of my 2013 calendars. Click here to check it out. 

Back soon!

janis

Baked

I picked up some of the last of the summer fruits out there, and threw them together to make a quick and easy crumble. If it weren't for my addiction to orange zest whipped cream it would have, almost, been on the healthy heart side!

Cherry Blackberry & Blueberry Crumble - makes one 8x8 pan or 4 small ramekins

Filling:
3 cups mixed berries (if using cherries, make sure to remove the pits)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Crumble Topping:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3 oz unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds or walnuts, chopped (I used almonds this time)

If you would like to add the whipped cream...
Whip up 250 ml of whipping cream with 1 tablespoon sugar, then stir in the zest of one orange. Yum.

Preheat heat oven to 375f. Apply a light spray of oil in pan or ramekins and set aside.
For the filling, mix together the berries and cherries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and orange juice. Try not to smash up berries.

In another bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and cold butter. I used my hands to mix together until a crumbly mixture forms. Fold in the rolled oats and almonds.
Pour filling into ramekins and top with crumble topping. Bake for about 25 minutes until top is golden colour and filling is bubbling. Allow to cool before eating or, take my word for it, you will burn your tongue ;) Top with orange whipped cream, and enjoy!

What fruit combos do you lean towards? Let me know!

Have a great day. Back soon.
janis

Sunday Observations

Hope you've all had a nice weekend! It's been another wet weekend here in Vancouver. I think summer will start soon. Just around the corner. ;)

What did you get up to? Hope it was fun!

Back soon.

janis