Tag: Baking

4. Dolci (dessert)22 Comments

My First Pumpkin Pie

StefanGourmet

Last week was Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie is a traditional Thanksgiving dessert. Americans among you might find this hard to believe, but I had never eaten a single slice of pumpkin pie before in my entire life. When I was throwing a dinner party last Saturday and needed to decide on a dessert, I thought it would be nice to try and bake my own pumpkin pie. I saw a recipe for pumpkin pie on the blog of the Unorthodox Epicure, also known as Adam J. Holland, for what he claims to be the ultimate pumpkin pie. I had already decided … Continue reading My First Pumpkin Pie

4. Dolci (dessert)12 Comments

Pear Tart

StefanGourmet

I’ve been baking pie crusts from scratch for years, but I was never completely satisfied with the results. Thanks to tips from CampariGirl and Emmy as well as using proper (pastry, low-gluten) flour I am now finally happy. I made this pear tart based on CampariGirl’s recipe for peach tart and the crust was perfect: crunchy and flaky, even under the moist filling. This is a a very simple but lovely dessert: tender fragrant sweet pears on a great crust. Nothing fancy, but who needs fancy if simple tastes this good? Feel free to make this with another type of seasonal fruit like apples … Continue reading Pear Tart

4. Dolci (dessert)18 Comments

Cake with Plums, Almonds and Orange

StefanGourmet

I served this delicious cake to my parents for dessert when they came over for dinner, and everyone loved it. I got the recipe from the newspaper a long time ago, and found it when I was sorting out old recipes. It’s so good I regret not making it earlier. Ingredients 500 grams (1.1 lbs) ripe plums 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar juice and zest of 1 orange vanilla bean For the dough 150 grams (11 Tbsp) butter at room temperature 150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar 2 eggs 85 grams (1/2 cup) flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 100 grams … Continue reading Cake with Plums, Almonds and Orange

4. Dolci (dessert)2 Comments

Tina’s Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp (Rabarber och Jurdgobbar med knäckigt havrepajs täcke)

StefanGourmet

When we were visiting our friends Tina & Magnus in Sweden, Tina made this wonderful dessert for us: rhubarb and strawberries topped with an oats crust and baked in the oven. I watched her making it and took some photos, and thought it was delicious so I got her permission to share the recipe with you. For those of you who can read Swedish this should suffice, but for the rest here is the step by step in English. I’ve increased the quantities in the non-metric equivalent a bit to avoid things like “5/6 cup”. Ingredients For the oats crust … Continue reading Tina’s Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp (Rabarber och Jurdgobbar med knäckigt havrepajs täcke)

4. Dolci (dessert)4 Comments

Ciambelline al Vino

StefanGourmet

When he tasted my cantuccini, my co-worker Mauro said that he usually prefers ciambelline al vino, the typical cookies from his home-town Rome. I had never heard of those, but decided to make them and liked them. You can make them with either white wine or red wine. Although I have not tested this theory myself, I believe these cookies are very suitable to bake with children. Easy dough and an interesting shape. The alcohol will of course evaporate when they are baked. On a side note: this morning I finally succeeded in booking a table at l’Astrance*** in Paris! … Continue reading Ciambelline al Vino

Cooking23 Comments

Cold-fermented Pizza Dough

StefanGourmet

Although baking pizza on an aluminum plate under the broiler was a major improvement, I was not completely satisfied as it was very hard to stretch the dough. It kept retracting. I had also read in many sources that real pizza dough should have no sugar or olive oil, which I did include to let it brown more easily. So I did some more research and found an interesting article on Serious Eats about letting dough cold fermet for several days rather than letting it rise in a few hours. I gave it a try, and the results were amazing! … Continue reading Cold-fermented Pizza Dough

Bread5 Comments

Focaccia alla Genovese

StefanGourmet

Focaccia is mostly known as Italian flat bread topped with herbs, salt, and olive oil. One of the original types of focaccia is the one from Liguria, known as focaccia alla genovese after the capital city of Liguria (Genova). This is plain focaccia, preferably eaten still warm, and not only eaten with dinner but also used for sandwiches as well as for breakfast! Focaccia alla Genovese is salty, oily and slightly crispy on the outside and soft and airy on the inside. You could also bake it topped this with olives, rosemary, or sage, but it is really good just … Continue reading Focaccia alla Genovese

4. Dolci (dessert)12 Comments

Strawberry Cake

StefanGourmet

We have a group of young friends that we like to have over for dinner because they know how to enjoy good food and wine and like to learn about it. Recently 8 of them came over for a do-it-yourself dinner party, where everyone was helping with the shopping, cooking, etc. and we had a great time. You can imagine it was a bit chaotic, so I don’t have photos of everything. We started with home-made sushi and sashimi, of which I don’t have enough photos to blog about. So we’ll leave that for another time. Then we made home-made … Continue reading Strawberry Cake

4. Dolci (dessert)6 Comments

Bergamot cookies

StefanGourmet

A bergamot orange is a citrus fruit that looks like a hybrid between an orange and a lemon. Chances are you’ve never seen one before. I certainly hadn’t. Chances are also that you do know what bergamot oil tastes or smells like, because this oil (that is obtained from the skin) is what lends its flavor to Earl Grey tea. I don’t drink a lot of tea, but Earl Grey is one of my favorites. So when I saw bergamots for sale, I decided to buy one and try to make something with it. After some thought, I decided on … Continue reading Bergamot cookies

4. Dolci (dessert)12 Comments

My Key Lime Pie

StefanGourmet

Whenever I’m in Florida, I eat Key Lime Pie all the time because I love it. There are lots of different versions: with or without whipped cream, with or without meringue, with a crust from graham crackers or with a baked crust, etc. I like all versions, because what defines key lime pie for me is the contrast between the velvety texture and the sour tanginess of the custard. It may be impossible to find key limes out of the US or Mexico, but it’s fine to substitute with regular limes (living in the Netherlands, I do too!). Since key … Continue reading My Key Lime Pie

Dutch cuisine21 Comments

Dutch Easter bread (Paasstol)

StefanGourmet

One of the traditional treats for Easter in the Netherlands is a “paasstol”: a bread filled with raisins and almond paste. The same bread is also made with Christmas and then called “kerststol”. Other than the name, there is no real difference. In many cases the filling also contains candied fruits and hazelnuts, but I prefer just raisins. A similar bread is made in Germany and then called “Stollen” (Weihnachtsstollen, Christstollen). Instead of proper almond paste, a store-bought stol will in many cases contain ‘confectioner’s paste’ (“banketbakkersspijs”) which is actually made from beans instead of almonds. It is of course … Continue reading Dutch Easter bread (Paasstol)

4. Dolci (dessert)4 Comments

Black Forest Cake

StefanGourmet

I’ve always liked Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, but this is the first time I’ve made a Black Forest Cake from scratch. It turned out great, although my cake-decorating skills are not outstanding. Ingredients For the cake (24 cm/9″ springform pan) 75 grams butter 140 grams dark chocolate 100 grams flour 15 grams baking powder 50 grams corn starch 6 eggs 180 grams sugar (preferably vanilla-scented by keeping used vanilla beans in the sugar jar) For the filling 500 grams (net weight) pitted sour cherries with syrup from a can or jar, preferably Italian amarene 70 ml kirsch (cherry brandy) 750 ml whipping cream … Continue reading Black Forest Cake

Bread6 Comments

Italian bread

StefanGourmet

Whenever I have guests over for dinner I always bake this bread. Even though it’s straightforward bread, since it’s fresh out of the oven it has a great taste, texture and smell and is therefore always very well-received. I use my breadmaker to make the dough, but use the oven to bake it for a superior crust and shape. It is not a lot of work at all to make your own bread if you own a breadmaker to make the dough for you, but you do need to consider that it will take about 5 hours from start to … Continue reading Italian bread