dessert

Autumn Plum Tart, Perfectly Tasty!

There is a huge abundance of fruit in August and September.  Still lots of peaches, plums, grapes and nectarines and the early apples and pears are coming in.  What to bake?  Tough decision, still I love juicy ripe plums but seldom bake with them.  This is one of the only recipes I can make gluten free with blue plums; these are those oval small plums, sometimes called prune or Stanley plums that are only available for a few weeks in the early fall.  They are inexpensive, not too sweet and they get soft and purply delish in this simple tart.

purple plum

It is modeled after some German fruit tarts I had enjoyed in my wheat loving past life.  I think it replicates them quite well.

You will use my favorite cobbler mix as the crust base, which makes this recipe really simple.  I will put the mix recipe down at the end of this post.  I keep it in my freezer and one cup makes great cobbler or this tart base. To this particular batch I added a couple teaspoons of dried lemon peel powder.  This ingredient is made of lemon peels rolled in sugar and dried, leftover after make homemade lemoncello liquor.  They become powder after a few moments in my spice blender. The fine powder adds a subtle lemon flavor but its okay, you don’t absolutely need it to make this recipe work.  It is in the original recipe but I never bothered before to make some even though I had the dried lemon peels.  The addition is great and if you can add it you won’t be disappointed.   lemon peel

A few instructions to assist you if you make this tart: I cut up the plums first and sprinkle them with sugar, let them stand while I mix the dry stuff up and then stir up the wet items in a small mixing bowl.

Be sure to use a 10 inch tart pan; it can be made in a 9 inch one but it may well spill over and burn on the bottom of your oven which is never a good thing.

We like it with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. It is fine all on its own.  Makes a great breakfast too with a cup of coffee or tea.

plum tart

GF Fall Plum Tart

1 cup cobbler dry mix; recipe below

mix with 1/4 cup sugar

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2 eggs

3 Tbps. buttermilk

2 Tbps. melted butter

1/2  tsp. vanilla

1/2  tsp. almond extract

1 ½ lbs prune plums (enough to cover the entire tart pan) cut in halves or quarters. Mix them with 2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Spray a 10 inch deep tart pan or 9 in pie pan with cooking spray

Beat eggs in bowl, add rest of wet ingredients, mix well, add to dry ingredients, stir briefly just to mix up.  Pour into the prepared pan and spread it out with a spatula.  Top with plums, cut side up, push each in slightly into the batter and cover the entire surface of tart base.

Bake 30 min.  Top with mixture of 1 ½ tsp sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon

Bake ten more minutes or until top looks done.

Cool somewhat before slicing/serving.

Dry Cobbler Mix

2 ¼ cups white rice flour

½ cup potato starch

½ cup tapioca flour

1 tsp. baking soda

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1/3 cup sugar

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart….Best Chocolate Tart Ever!

Two years ago I made this dark chocolate tart and we ate it around a bonfire. Someone had the bright idea of putting toasted marshmallows on their slice.  Last Saturday I made the same tart but gluten free and we made sure to have plenty of marshmallows to toast and top our slices with.  Most of us had seconds, but I was able to save a tiny sliver for my mom to enjoy.  It was a big hit with all of the chocoholics there so here is the recipe.

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

Crust

1 cup gf flour (recipe below)

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

5 tbsp. butter cut into 5 pieces

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. water

Mix all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the butter pieces and blend until they are tiny crumbs.  Then add the vanilla and 1 to 2 tsp. water and blend.  It should be thick crumbs.

Spray a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking oil and then sprinkle with some gf flour; shake to coat.  Dump the crumbs of the crust evenly all over the tart pan bottom and press in with your fingers to make a fairly even crust, be sure to push some up the short sides of the pan so it is to the top of the metal and not too thick near the edges.

Bake at 350 for 11 or 12 minutes.  Let cool while you make the filling.

Image

Filling Ingredients

¾ cup heavy cream

1/3 cup whole milk

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, I like Ghirardelli.  Break into small squares/pieces.

1 large egg slightly beaten

Put the milk, heavy cream and chocolate in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and heat on low to moderate heat; stir often until chocolate is melted.  Remove from heat and cool a few minutes.

Add the beaten egg, blend well.  Pour into the tart pan and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. 

Brown Rice Flour Recipe

Ingredients

–         1 c brown rice flour –

–         1/3 c potato starch (not potato flour-

–          3 tbsp tapioca flour

Directions

Mix all the flours in a big jar or bag

 Image

This tart is best eaten warm with two or three toasted marshmallows pressed onto the top.  Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is also yummy.  This picture was taken in total darkness with an i-phone and the owner of this slice of tart was ticked off that her marshmallows cooled while the shot was made so she toasted up two more marshmallows and had all four on her slice of tart.  This dessert is seriously delicious and really easy to make. If you love dark chocolate this is a must recipe for your repertoire.  It can easily be made by you wheat eaters; just use your favorite cookie tart crust recipe.  The filling will be the same.  Now, go get some good chocolate and make your own tart and don’t eat the whole thing yourself; share it with someone you love!

Blueberry Smush Delish!

There are times when nothing but ice cream will do.  After a long tiring day and not much in my tummy I ate an omelet for supper.  It was pretty tasty but I had seen this article on ice cream blends in a food magazine at the library and was craving to try one. There were more than a dozen mixtures pictured, all based on vanilla ice cream and fruit and at least one or two other ingredients like a sauce and cookies/nuts.

There was one combination I was sure I had all the ingredients, ice cream, bananas, nutella sauce and cornflakes.  Seemingly simple with clean, clear flavors.  Upon some reflection I decided to replace the banana with some fresh blueberries I had purchased at a farm stand. Bananas seemed too bland and I adore blueberries with ice cream.

I put two small scoops nutella of ice cream in a cereal bowl, about a quarter cup of blueberries, a spoonful of nutella sauce and I dumped the cornflakes over it all.  Maybe ¼ cup of them.  I didn’t measure any of it.  I let the dish stand 2 or 3 minutes to allow the ice cream to soften.  Then using a spoon I blended the goop partially together before diving my spoon deep into it to try and get some of all four ingredients.

OMG, it was freaking crazy tasty.  The nutella sauce which is toasted ground up hazelnuts and chocolate/cocoa was wicked good against the other flavors. The corn flakes gave a nice crunch and the blueberries were bursts of fruity yumminess.  blueberry smush

I would say that this dessert is more than the sum of its parts. I was skeptical about cornflakes in ice cream but they worked well and didn’t get soggy.  The nutella was the star of the dish as far as my taste buds were concerned.  I could barely stop long enough to take this photograph as I suddenly knew I had to share this revelation with you my readers!

Now I need to go back and write down some of those other blends.  One had pureed peaches with bourbon and smoked almonds.  Oh, I think I must try that smushed up treat and soon!

 

Pear Split….the New Fruity Ice Creamy Dessert

Who doesn’t love a banana split? I remember when we were first dating Joe and I would often share one for dessert.  I like them not too gunked up with sprinkles and the like but hot fudge is a must on my banana split.  

Sometimes I am not in the mood for bananas and I looked for other fruit to make into an ice cream duet.  One that seems to pair well is the pear! I think a ripe bosc pear is fantastic split in half and made into a modified banana split, sans the banana of course.  Other types of pears would work, just make sure they are at the peak of their flavor and texture.  Image

Here is how I do it.  Take one large ripe pear, cut it in half and then into quarters.  Remove the hard seed area in the fat part of your pear.   You can use a melon baller for this process or a sharp paring knife.  I lay the pear wedges in my chosen dish.  I happen to have a couple of elongated frosted glass dishes with low sides that were made for banana splits. 

Top with 2-3 balls of ice cream.  I like to use vanilla or vanilla fudge but strawberry is also a great choice and if you are a chocoholic, indulge by all means!  Friendly’s makes a fantastic ice cream called “Banana Split” which is three flavors: banana with fudge ripple, chocolate with walnuts folded in and strawberry with flecks of crushed pineapple.  I am guessing it would go rather well in my pear split.

I heat up some hot fudge; there are a number of good jarred hot fudges out there.  Read the label if you are concerned about GF issues.  It would be sad to get sick from such a fantastic dessert.  Put a couple of dollops of it on there.  I also like a delicate stream of Hershey’s chocolate syrup poured over the top.  Image

If you are a lover of nuts; throw on some lightly salted peanuts or what ever floats your boat! Again, check the label for GF safety.

I don’t generally put whipped cream on it anymore, counting my calories but if you must: whip up some heavy cream, add a spoonful of powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla extract (GF of course) and spoon it on top.  I am not a fan of maraschino cherries but put one on if it is important to you! 

Note: if your pear is kinda firm you can poach it in some liquid; cider or wine, even cranberry juice; just until soft.  Cut in half and remove core and slice and use as the recipe suggests.

The quality of your fruit really matters.  Don’t use mushy or hard fruit and if it looks sub par, cut up, cook it and use as a sauce on your ice cream or make it into a cobbler.  I wouldn’t use it in this recipe. Same goes for ice cream.  Don’t use less than the best.  I personally love Turkey Hill, great mouth feel, the sweetness level is where I like it and the flavors are perfect.  Image

I couldn’t take a picture of my first pear split as my camera is missing in action and I didn’t think of using my cell until I had devoured the whole split!  This second split (one day later) is okay, it is missing the wonder of hot fudge…I am all out.  Bummer, although it was still tasty.

The beauty of this dessert is that you can enjoy some ice cream relatively guilt free as you are having fruit too! Plus, if you are not a banana lover this is a great option for a split.  I have even made it with peaches or nectarines in the summertime. Give my pear split a try, why should bananas have all the fun? Image

A Lemony Dessert to Remember…… Meyer Lemon Love!

This week my friend Josh bought some special lemons at Trader Joe’s in Montgomery county.  I was filled with envy, lemon envy to be exact!  He inspired me to post on these very lemons, Meyer Lemons.

My brother Robert lives in Texas, below Houston.  He had a good sized lemon tree in his yard and every December for the past few years he has sent me a box of lemons. Meyer lemons to be exact.  They are a cross between a lemon and an orange.  The fruit looks very much like a lemon but the flavor is much sweeter and they have a gorgeous fragrance that is hugely appealing.

When I received the first box I was at a momentary loss.  What to do with a dozen lemons!  I went to Food Network and looked under Meyer lemon.  I found a few items and the best of them was this lemony tart.  It is very simple; dump all the filling ingredients into a mixing bowl, spin them up good with a hand mixer and pour carefully into a partially cooked and cooled tart crust, bake some more, chill and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.  Real whipped cream, none of that funky canned stuff!   Image

Sometimes I make it in my long rectangular tart pan.  I like to put 3-4 thin slices of Meyer lemon down the tart as decoration.  Robert sometimes puts in fresh lemon leaves with his fruits and they are also a nice tart decoration.

This filling is made with buttermilk, which has a bad reputation with some.  Don’t be put off by that, when you bite into this tangy tart you would never know that it is based in buttermilk.  It is well blended and the addition of the lemon zest takes it to a higher level in flavor.  You will not be disappointed in this easy to make dessert.

I had no trouble making it gluten free; the tart shell is from my favorite cookbook by Annalise Roberts.  I swapped out the all purpose flour in the filling for sweet rice flour.  Perfect!

 

Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Tart

Ingredients:

1 9 inch Un-baked Tart Crust

Filling

¾ cup buttermilk

½ cup granulated sugar

2 lg. eggs

6 tbsp. Meyer lemon juice

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

2 tbsp finely grated Meyer lemon peel

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Preparation:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake 9-10 inch tart crust for 10 min

Cool at least ten minutes before filling

Mix all filling ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth.  Pour into crust and bake at 325 for 25-30 min; until set.  Cool completely and refrigerate until chilled.  Can decorate tart with thin slices of Meyer lemon tart.

 

Topping:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp powdered sugar

Beat cream, add powdered sugar.  Serve a dollop with each slice of tart.  It is okay without the topping but it really sparkles with lemon when you have the contrast of the whipped cream.

So, if you get your hands upon some Meyer lemons please make this recipe.  I promise you will love it for both the delicate flavor and the easy preparation.  Anyone who likes lemon will be in love once they bite into this tart!