Tag: dessert

Crostata Di Marmellata (Fruit Jam Tart)

My boyfriend and I were lucky enough to spend most of January in Italy this year. One of my favorite sweet dishes that I tasted was a crostata di marmellata (jam filled tart) in Bologna. In Italy this is considered a breakfast item but I will probably eat it as a dessert.

This recipe is another recipe from Pasta Grammar’s duo Eva and Harper, which is featured in their amazing cookbook The Italian Family Kitchen. This is a close replica to the one I had in Bologna.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3/4 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting

10 TBS unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1 large egg, room temperature

Grated zest of lemon

24 ounces fruit jam or marmalade

Directions:

In a large bowl combine flour, powdered sugar, butter, egg and lemon zest. Knead everything together by hand until a dough forms. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 355F. Grease a 9 inch pie or tart pan with butter and dust with flour.

Remove the dough from the fridge and cut off two thirds of the dough to use for the base and leave the other one third portion in the fridge. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and gently press down into the pan.

Spread the jam evenly into the prepared crust.

Roll out the remaining dough and cut into 6 strips that are each 1/2 inch wide. Lay 3 strips parallel over the top and the other 3 strips in the opposite direction.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Allow to cool then dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Croissant Apple Turnovers

 

This is a recipe that my best friend Dawn found online but she tweaked it to her liking so now I am only going to cite her as the source. My daughter likes it so much that she had me make them for her classroom during a heritage feast; even though they have nothing to do with our heritage. Regardless, they were a hit with all the children.

Ingredients;

  • 2-3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
  • 1 can croissants
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 6 oz (1/2 can) lemon Pelligrino soda

Directions;

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X13 glass baking dish. Unroll croissants and cut each triangle in half making a total of 16 rolls. Place 1 apple slice in each piece of croissant. Place in dish and sprinkle remaining apples around (I coarsely chopped these). Melt butter and mix with sugar and cinnamon, pour over turnovers, then pour Pellegrino soda over turnovers.

Bake 35-45 minutes, it will be golden brown. Check to make sure the bottoms are not gooey.

Serve with ice cream if you wish.

 

 

 

Brownies and Salted Caramel Sauce

I found this recipe on Bon Appetit via Twitter. It is very rich but these are the first homemade brownies I made that didn’t taste like chocolate cake. I loved it but my daughter felt the bittersweet chocolate makes it taste like dark chocolate brownies, so beware if you dislike dark chocolate flavor. The caramel sauce was easy to make and very yummy.

Brownies

Ingredients:

  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 1 tablespoon natural unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for pan
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Caramel Sauce

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • Gray sea salt or flaky sea salt (such as Maldon; for serving)

Directions:

Brownies

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Dust with cocoa powder, tapping out excess. Place butter, unsweetened chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, espresso powder, kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder in another medium bowl; set aside.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick, about 2 minutes; beat in vanilla. Fold in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients, just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
Bake brownies until a tester inserted into the center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, 20-25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let brownies cool in pan. Cut brownies into 16 squares.

Caramel Sauce and Assembly

Bring sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and cook without stirring, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush, until sugar is a deep amber color, 5-8 minutes. Remove caramel from heat.
Add cream and butter (mixture will bubble vigorously) and whisk to combine. Let cool slightly in pan.
Drizzle caramel sauce over brownies and sprinkle with sea salt. DO AHEAD: Brownies can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep at room temp-erature. Caramel sauce can be made 1 week ahead. Let cool. Cover and chill. Reheat before using.